Thank you. It has been an interesting couple of months since we last met in this House. A lot has happened. My big issue, which is a major concern to me and my constituents and residents of the Northwest Territories, is the announcement made by the Minister of Health and Social Services two weeks before Christmas, that the Department of Health and Social Services would be eliminating their four very popular supplemental health benefits program, programs which are currently available to all residents of the Northwest Territories, specifically the extended health benefits for seniors program, the Specified Medical Conditions Program, the Additional Drug Assistance Program and the Indigent Program. The Minister mentioned that these programs would be consolidated into a single income tested program that would provide assistance to low-income families and residents who do not have medical coverage through their employers.
On the face of it, providing to these low-income families is the right thing to do and a good idea. The problem is that Cabinet, in their infinite wisdom, decided that the cost of the changes must be on the backs of NWT seniors who live on fixed incomes and families with members who suffer from chronic conditions. This is a bad decision. The proposed program is a bad program fourfold and will create more problems than it fixes. Ultimately, I believe it will cost more than it saves.
Clearly the Cabinet did not do the research or cost analysis to identify the ramifications of implementing such a thoughtless program. I know this because I and other Members have continually asked for research and cost analysis information that Cabinet should have used to make an informed decision. To date, they have been unable to provide anything. Personally, I don’t believe that any research or analysis exists.
Fortunately, we have a slight reprieve. The Minister has announced that she is deferring the implementation date. She has indicated that some elements of the proposed program might create undue hardship for some Northerners. Mr. Speaker, the Minister has indicated that the program design will be reviewed before the program is implemented on September 1, 2009. There are several problems with this.
First, the right thing to do, in light of the hundreds of concerns raised by residents of the NWT and the lack of evidence that Cabinet used any real analysis or financial information to make a decision, would be to eliminate the proposed program altogether. To go back to the beginning and design a program to support low-income families without adversely affecting those receiving support through existing programs. It’s the right thing to do for seniors and those with chronic medical conditions.
Second, the timeline proposed by the Minister is ridiculous. There is no way that a comprehensive research and effective consultation followed by program design, final review and implementation can adequately be done by September 1, 2009. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted