Thank you, Mr. Chair.
The Future of Health and Social Service Authorities
It is apparent to members of the committee that our current method of administering health and social services by using regional authorities is unsustainable, going forward. A health authority with 42,000 residents in southern Canada would be a very small health authority. In recent years in most provincial jurisdictions, it is likely a health authority of that size would have been rolled into a larger authority. The fact that the GNWT has seven health authorities means that many administrative functions are duplicated and that some economies of scale by such things as centralized purchasing are not being realized.
In addition, it is understood that having seven different employers of health care workers has made it difficult for workers to temporarily work in other communities if the same health authority does not employ them. It is proposed that a single employer of health care professionals would make the system more flexible in responding to emergencies and staffing shortages. Members also believe that a centralized single employer would result in a better outcome for the funding that is currently spent on recruitment and retention by allowing for greater mobility for our health care professionals.
The original intent behind the regional health authorities was to build regional governance capacity. Members believe that between the development of the institutions of the territorial government, the non-government organization and the various aboriginal governments and development corporations, this capacity now exists and that a strong case can be made for consolidating operations in a single board representing all regions of the NWT.
It should be clear to all residents of the NWT that if Members of the Legislative Assembly are faced with a choice of cutting Health and Social Service programs or changing governance systems to save money, Members will choose to save programming for the residents.
Phase II of Family Violence Strategy
The committee was pleased to see the family violence action plan is moved from being coordinated by the Department of the Executive during its development and implementation to being delivered by the department and its authorities.
The department will spend nearly $1 million to enhance emergency services in regions with no services and to increase funding for existing shelters and programs. This is an important step in ensuring the safety and welfare of northern families. The committee looks forward to reviewing results of our increased investment in future years.
Recruitment and Retention Issues
The standing committee has reviewed information provided by the department on bursaries and paying for seats in medical schools for doctors. It is not apparent that the people of the Northwest Territories are receiving value for money in sponsoring these medical seats, as past experience indicates that very few of these doctors are returning north, even with a Return of Service Agreement in place. The reality is that other jurisdictions are so desperate for doctors that they are more than willing to foot the bill to pay out a Return of Service Agreement.
Although the original intent made sense, given the problems in recruiting doctors, the situation has evolved into one where the Department of Health and Social Services is paying to train doctors for other jurisdictions. NWT students are being accepted into medical school on their own merits, regardless of whether the Department of Health and Social Services is paying to reserve seats for NWT medical students. For this reason, the committee recommended that the Department of Health and Social Services examine eliminating paying for the seats at medical schools. The department agreed with this recommendation and will be phasing out paying for seats at medical schools as current students graduate.
Mr. Chair, Iād like to now pass off the reading of the report to Mr. Beaulieu.