Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’m glad to see answers are free-flowing tonight. I thank the Department of Health for coming before us, and I’m going to keep my opening comments specific to the Minister’s comments.

That said, I’m pleased to see the infrastructure, not just here in Yellowknife but throughout the Territories. I know this investment will go a long way. I’m very happy that Yellowknife will be receiving a primary downtown clinic. I’ve heard from a number of people. Most recently, a couple of weekends ago, I was at Canadian Tire, and someone was telling me how difficult it is to get in to see a regular doctor nowadays. At the doctor’s they have to book weeks in advance just to get a spot, so they take either themselves or their kids to emergency, where they have to wait hours just to see a basic doctor over something simple. They certainly wish there was a more streamlined approach.

I’ve heard a number of concerns — I would describe it as no fault of the staff — in the context of the triage approach. It’s the approach that exists and works, but the fact is, it is slow for people with everyday concerns who just need a little help, as opposed to the emergency ones, which it’s designed for.

So I’m really pleased to see that the primary care clinic is being moved forward, finally. This is an initiative.... I couldn’t tell you exactly when it first came to light, but I’m sure it must be in the range of seven or eight years ago. Someone came up with this idea of consolidating all the clinics and putting a primary clinic downtown. That way, we could take some stress off Stanton. It’s phenomenal.

I’m always impressed when government moves at the speed of government. So much goes on by, long before anything gets done. This is a fantastic example of this. But the fact is, maybe it’s this project’s turn, and I’m kind of glad to see it’s on the books.

Mr. Chair, I’m quite curious as to where it will show up — the acquisition of what land or what spot or what facility will be turning into this. I certainly hope that the government, as I’ve said on a number of occasions, does not purchase a lease for life. I often find it quite concerning when there’s no end in sight for these things, or no option to buy after a certain number of cycles. This would be a horrible prospect to invest in unless the government was the end benefactor of owning a building or some type of capital investment.

Mr. Chair, another project I’m quite pleased about — and I know a number of members here are — is the territorial dementia facility. It’s a significant piece of infrastructure in this community, because it will finally deal properly, in an appropriate and respectful manner, with people who are suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s. I know that YACCS, the Yellowknife Association of Concerned Citizens, has worked tirelessly with a number of members there to bring this project to life. They’ve struggled for many years. This is quite a credit to their lobbying and pushing, and the pursuit of a number of MLAs to keep this project on the books for many years or, I should say, at least on the radar of government for a number of years. Moving forward with it, with the launch a month or so ago, was certainly a significant movement. Without the partnership from groups like Diavik, I don’t think the project would be built. I’m very grateful for their contribution, because this infrastructure is, of course, needed, as many other pieces here are needed throughout the North. My only fear is, of course, that this is tied to the budget, and the project’s success or failure will be tied to the budget. I will have questions for the Minister, at this time, to find out whether, if this budget doesn’t proceed in this forum, they will be lost in this potential capital investment.

Mr. Chairman, I look forward to seeing the outcome of.... Again, speaking of the Minister’s opening remarks, I look forward to seeing the evolution of this $150,000 to collaborate with MACA on developing a framework for ground ambulance and highway rescue. I know when I was on city council with Mr. Ramsay and Ms. Bisaro, that was always an issue — that the Yellowknife fire department was responding to emergencies. There was always, of course, the fairness of compensation as well as a number of other issues. So it’s finally nice to see it again — fine work from government moving at the speed of government. The fact is, this is finally another initiative moving forward, and I’m glad to see it. I’m sure the city will be quite pleased, as well as other areas such as, probably, Hay River and maybe even larger centres that have their own ambulance service.

Mr. Chairman, although this moment’s probably not the time, I’m certainly curious as to the description of where these 17 positions are being reduced.

I would like the information on a line-by-line basis. If it can’t be read aloud, I’d certainly like it on a piece of paper for myself.

The issue, really, is the 17 positions in Yellowknife. The fear is…. We’ve heard from a number of sources, whether they’re in ORs maybe mentioned, or in other areas. I’ve heard a diabetic nurse has been let go; what happened, more accurately, was that someone left and they decided not to re-staff. That’s having an impact. That’s affecting constituents of mine who are having those types of problems. I just want to make sure we find out what and where spots have been chosen to be eliminated. Again, I say that it’s a public document. I’m sure I’m not the only one here who would like to see the detail of exactly where they — supposedly strategically — let someone go.

Just on that note, the fact is…. Fundamentally, I’m a little cautious on agreeing that strategic analysis has been done on a lot of these positions. I don’t reserve that comment strictly for the Department of Health; that’s probably for most departments. I

wonder what motivated them to choose one

person or one position over another. On that point alone, I wish, as a Regular Member, we had more input on that. I know there are a number of positions in sectors of government that, I feel, probably do little to nothing and could have gone first before some of the things that have been chosen.

On the federal wait-time money, I certainly hope the Minister will highlight a little further on what we will realize and see what’s happening out there. She highlights, here, $1.8 million for patient wait-time guarantees. Whether that’s here in Yellowknife at Stanton or at the Yellowknife Health Authority or throughout the communities or the territory, I’d certainly like to see where that is highlighted directly on the ground. The principle of that is, I want to make sure people are served up front and by the front-line workers. That’s really where they have the biggest impact.

On that note, I’ve heard from a number of constituents about their concern — and this goes back to the 17 positions. The fear is that the front line has often been attacked, whereas the management line has been cushioned, and the senior management has been covered with high honours to ensure they were protected. Oddly enough, they are the ones who have the highest salaries and whatnot.

These are just opening comments. I just want to leave it with one final area. It was mentioned earlier, and I’m sure it will be mentioned a few more times, about the locum nurses. I’d like to repeat some of the comments made by, I think, Mr. Abernethy. At a constituent meeting of mine

I heard from a number of nurses about the fact that overtime is at its max.

To that detail, I’m going to ask what the cost of that is and what the cost of it is in the sense of affecting our hospital and our bottom line. I wouldn’t be surprised if that was related to that $11 million problem that Stanton has. All these things are cumulative in how this place is being operated. The nurses were telling me a little more about when it gets to be late at night and their phone rings; they know who’s calling, because no one wants to work and there’s a shortage of staff.

Again, I’m highlighting comments already said, but I’ve heard them myself. I’ve had the pleasure of recently being in the emergency ward. I could see how busy they were, serving people and trying to do their best. I watched people come in and said, “Well, they got the phone call. They were really short and they had to be there.”

The fact is, it causes me to wonder…. The point was made earlier: if we hired a few more people and built in that redundancy factor, that probably could make a big difference and go a long way in balancing out the stress. The burnout factor is high. Sure, if you’re young, it’s always exciting to get a lot of extra overtime and whatnot; the older people like lieu time and whatnot. But you reach a point in your career where you just don’t want that stuff anymore. You want to do your job and go home at the end of the day, be with your family or whatever is important to you. This so-called stuff of overtime and lieu time, I think, burns out the experienced person. They really like to focus their energies and time elsewhere. That said, it really comes down to the principle of reasonable and fair and responsible management.

Mr. Chairman, I’m going to thank you for this time. I shall be listening eagerly to the other Members as they bring forward some observations and comments on the Minister’s opening statement.