Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this past weekend, I attended the annual conference of federal/provincial/territorial Ministers of Health in Toronto.

The primary focus of the meeting was to follow up on a number of specific commitments related to the implementation of the 10-year plan to strengthen health care, signed by all First Ministers in the fall of 2004.

I would like to take a few minutes to provide an update on some of the key discussions that took place, those of significant national interest, and those that are of particular importance to the NWT.

Wait Times

The issue of wait times received significant media coverage across Canada in recent weeks, leading up to the meeting. A "wait time" is how long you must wait for a specific medical procedure, from the time when the procedure is formally booked in the hospital until it has actually carried out.

At the 2004 First Ministers' meeting, it was agreed that by December 31, 2005, benchmarks for wait times are to be developed for the five priority areas: cancer, heart, diagnostic imaging, joint replacements, and sight restoration. "Benchmarks" represent the maximum amount of time patients should be waiting for specific procedures.

At the meeting, the provinces, territories and federal government confirmed that a first set of benchmarks will be completed by December 31st.

Several jurisdictions across Canada, including Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia, have wait times listings and registries posted on the Internet. The NWT will have a similar capability in 2006 for procedures performed in the NWT, beginning with basic wait list information early in the new year and more detailed information, similar to the Alberta wait list registry, by the spring. For medical procedures the NWT residents receive in Alberta, they can access the Alberta web site for information.

National Pharmaceuticals Strategy

In follow-up to the National Pharmaceuticals Strategy announced in 2004, Ministers reaffirmed the commitment to continue to work towards protecting Canadians from financial hardship due to catastrophic drug costs. This issue has been recently highlighted nationally by media coverage of a number of rare diseases, including Fabrys disease, which requires expensive drug therapy.

Ministers agreed to expand the common drug review to work toward consistency regarding which drugs are covered by provincial/territorial health care plans.

Pandemic Influenza Emergency Preparedness

Building on the Canadian influenza pandemic plan released in February 2004, the topic of ensuring that Canada is better prepared for a pandemic influenza outbreak was also discussed at the meeting. The federal government gave an overview of the international conference on global pandemic preparedness that it is hosting in Ottawa yesterday and today.

Crystal Meth

Ministers agreed that a collaborative approach is needed among federal, provincial and territorial governments as well as stakeholders in Education, Justice and Health, to address the issue of crystal meth in our communities. The federal government has agreed to explore how to control the chemicals used in manufacturing methamphetamines.

Blueprint For Aboriginal Health

Of particular interest to the NWT and our two northern neighbours was the discussion on the draft blueprint on aboriginal health. At a September 2004 meeting of First Ministers and national aboriginal leaders, direction was given to develop an action plan to improve health service for all aboriginal peoples, to close the gap between the health status of aboriginal peoples and the Canadian public.

Over the last number of months, each jurisdiction, as well as the various national aboriginal organizations, has conducted consultations and prepared submissions to form the basis for the national blueprint on aboriginal health. Once finalized, the blueprint on aboriginal health document will be presented at the November 2005 First Ministers' meeting on aboriginal issues. The NWT continues to send the message that the federal

government needs to acknowledge its fiduciary obligation for health services for aboriginal people, and that any new initiatives arising from the blueprint need to be accompanied with financial resources to implement them.

Mr. Speaker, as we try to do at every national meeting we attend, I met with my territorial counterparts, Minister Leona Aglukkaq from Nunavut and Minister Peter Jenkins from the Yukon. Along with our officials, we took time in Toronto to discuss a number of issues of mutual concern to determine how we may best work together to present a strong, united northern voice at the national table.

One of the outstanding issues for all three territories is the progress towards the finalization of the transfer of funds related to the territorial health access fund committed by the federal government in September 2004. Department officials of the three territories met in Ottawa yesterday with senior officials from Health Canada, Northern Secretariat, to continue to move this forward. This has been a lengthy process and negotiation, which will hopefully be concluded by the end of this calendar year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.