Mr. Speaker, I have a Return to Written Question 48-15(5) asked by Mr. Villeneuve on February 19, 2007, to the Honourable Floyd Roland, Minister of Health and Social Services, regarding interpretive service in health centres.
Health care professionals in all health centres throughout the NWT make efforts to ensure that those patients who need help are provided with interpretation services, whenever that is possible.
A number of employees of the Department of Health and Social Services authorities may be occasionally required to use a second official language in the workplace and they are identified as bilingual employees. Nineteen health centres across the NWT are funded to employ clerk interpreters. A detailed breakdown of this information will be provided to the Member.
Employees who have primary job duties to provide translation and interpretation, are paid remuneration according to their job evaluation and the pay range for that evaluation. Bilingual employees are paid a bonus of $1,200 each year.
Family members who assist non-English-speaking patients with translation at the health centre are not paid by the GNWT for those services. If a family member is authorized to accompany a non-English-speaking patient on medical travel, then that escort is eligible for coverage of their travel, accommodation and meal costs as outlined in the medical travel policy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.