Thank you, Mr. Roland. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I too would like to bring attention today to the issue of medical travel. More specifically, to the lack of, or inadequate information systems available in tracking who travels where and for what.

Mr. Speaker, I am one of those who believe that we have a very generous and compassionate Medical Travel Program. I also know from my own personal experience, and from talking to my constituents, that the program can be improved so as to make maximum use of the resources available and to use the dollar where it is most needed.

The most often mentioned problem with medical travel seems to be the inconsistent application, or the lack of uniformity on who travels where, for what. In talking to a local medical specialist, Mr. Speaker, I am advised that currently the information about who goes where for what is not consistently kept track of. In fact, whoever is approving the medical travel most often uses what is known as DCI codes, which basically means disease, condition, illness unknown.

While this is understandable, Mr. Speaker, because chances are, unless one gets the proper diagnosis upon the completion of medical appointment by travelling, this may not be known. We have to have an information system in place that does a proper follow-up, so the health authorities know the details of the travel and properly analyze the data, so proper responses could be taken in the future.

For example, Mr. Speaker, if so many people from one community travel for a knee problem or one similarly related illness or condition, a protocol could be worked out at the local level where a specialist could be sent to the community. At this moment, the lack of an information system does not allow that.

Mr. Speaker, I understand that there are limited medical information personnel in the department. I would advise the Minister to look into this further to make sure that this section is well resourced and well used. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for North Slave, Mr. Lafferty.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Also on the theme of medical travel, I can follow up very directly with the comments by my colleague from Tu Nedhe, who spoke of the need to move around the North by a number of means, by aircraft, by car, sometimes by boat or even snowmobile. Those are all major challenges for the patient but, Mr. Speaker, what I would like to talk about today is highlighting the needs of the families and the caregivers of patients.

In the NWT, Mr. Speaker, my understanding is that we have very limited facilities, if any at all, for the assistance of the families and caregivers to be with loved ones and with close friends when they are forced to be out of town for medical care. This is something that I know has great value and benefit to both the patient and their extended family and friends. To help serve this genuine need, there are institutions in southern Canada and other parts of the world. I think the one most familiar to Northerners would be Ronald McDonald House, which is a corporate system that provides exactly this kind of service.

Here in the North, our medical and our health care system is still growing and maturing. Mr. Speaker, I wanted to highlight the needs of caregivers and family members in support of patients who are out of town, either in various facilities in the NWT or perhaps in southern Canada. During question period, Mr. Speaker, I will be asking the Minister about what kind of information and what kind of assistance our government provides for this.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the MLA for Thebacha, I as well have some questions about medical travel...

-- Laughter

...however, today I would like to recognize in this House a significant milestone of one of my constituents. As we speak, there is a birthday party going on in the Northern Lights Special Care Home for Dora Tourangeau, who is 97 years old today.

-- Applause

On behalf of myself and the Members of this House, I would like to extend to her our best wishes. This fine lady, one of the respected elders of our community, has lived through a tremendous part of the history of the Northwest Territories, parts that none of us will ever know and can only read about in the history books. Some of this stuff we will never read about in the history books. She is a fine lady. I know her well and I would like to thank you for your support as we wish her the best on this, her 97th birthday. Thank you.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. I believe she is well known to Fort Smith folks as Auntie Dora, and happy birthday to her. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Antoine.

You will be there in spirit, Mr. Antoine. Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, reports of standing and special committees. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a report on medical travel in the Northwest Territories presented by the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight.

Mr. Speaker, health care in the Northwest Territories continues to be a top priority for many residents and for this Legislature. As our population grows and ages, we can expect to see additional demands on the health system, particularly in the area of medical travel. Many insured services are not available in the smaller communities. Therefore, residents must travel to regional centres for services and/or treatment. Even in the regional centres, not all hospitals are fully equipped to provide all insured services, and in these instances, the Government of the Northwest Territories has a medical travel policy that applies to eligible persons.

Mr. Speaker, the policy states that:

The Government of the Northwest Territories will provide medical travel benefits to eligible persons in the Northwest Territories who must travel in order to access necessary and appropriate health services.

That is from Medical Travel Policy 49.06.1, statement of policy.

Mr. Speaker, the policy further states that the Government of the Northwest Territories will adhere to the following principles in implementing this policy:

1. The Canadian health care system is based on universal access to insured health services;
2. The cost of medical travel should not be an economic barrier to insured health services; and
3. The Government of the Northwest Territories is committed to reducing the economic barriers to insured health services.

Mr. Speaker, that is from Medical Travel Policy 49.06.2.

Mr. Speaker, members have raised concerns respecting the application of various aspects of the policy, including eligibility, provision and level of benefits on medical travel, inter-community transportation, escorts, patient boarding and local transportation of indigent patients.

The Standing Committee on Social Programs, in its report on the review of the 2002-2003 Main Estimates, had this to say about medical travel, and I quote:

The Standing Committee on Social Programs has commented on their concerns about the application of the department's medical travel policy in past reports to this Assembly. Many of the complaints that MLAs get from their constituents are about the uneven application of the medical travel policy by the individual health authorities.

As well, because many extended families have relatives in different health authorities, they talk about the differences of application for each authority. The lack of perceived consistency breeds resentment between communities and families.

Members of the committee look forward to the results of the review of the extended health benefits that is currently underway. There is hope that as a result of this study, a clear, concise and evenly applied policy on medical travel can be developed and communicated to the residents of the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, members of the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight have chosen to use the theme of medical travel in their Members' statements and questions today. Mr. Speaker, that concludes the report of the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight on medical travel in the Northwest Territories.

Therefore, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River North, that Committee Report 5-14(5) be received and adopted. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. There is a motion on the floor. The motion is in order. All those in favour? Thank you. All those opposed? Thank you. The motion is carried. Committee Report 5-14(5) has been received and adopted.

Item 4, reports of standing and special committees. Item 5, returns to oral questions. Item 6, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Mr. Speaker, our communities are small and close-knit in the North and people share their experiences. They discuss issues such as health and medical travel. They compare notes.

I would like to ask the Minister if he can tell me what the criteria or the approval process is for non-medical escorts. Who has the authority to approve escorts? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member pointed out an issue that we have recognized, which is the lack of consistency of the application of this policy. There is a medical travel unit in Stanton. As well, it is administered through Inuvik, Yellowknife and Fort Smith. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister has indicated that there are some problems in the Non-Medical Travel Program. I understand there are two different programs. One is federally funded and the other one is GNWT funded. I would like to ask the Minister, can he tell me if the criteria for the escorts is the same for both programs? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as far as I know, they are the same.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Minister, as the administrator of the fund, does the department have the authority to grant approval on behalf of the NIHB program, the Non-Insured Health Benefits Program? It is my understanding that there is a requirement for prior approval for this program. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am not quite sure of the question. I know that we administer the NIHB program and there are prior approvals required in the case of some procedures and some specific issues. We use the chart of benefits as provided by NIHB. Thank you.