Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The wish of the committee is to proceed with the Department of Health and Social Services and if that is concluded, proceed onto the Department of Human Resources. Thank you.

Does committee agree?

With that, we will take a short break and begin with the Department of Health and Social Services.

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Thanks, everyone. I’d like to call Committee of the Whole to order. The first item is I will ask the Minister of Health and Social Services if she’d like to bring in some witnesses.

Yes, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Lee. Sergeant-at-Arms, could you escort the witnesses in? Thank you. Does committee agree?

Thank you. Thank you, Minister Lee. Thank you, committee.

Committee, we are on page 8-23, health services programs, operations expenditure summary, $176.717 million.

Before we get to that, for the record, Minister Lee, if you could introduce your witnesses, please.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. To my right is director of finance Mr. Derek Elkin and to my left is Mr. Dana Heide, acting deputy minister of Health and Social Services.

Mr. Chair, I’d like to move a motion.

Thank you. Mr. Krutko would like to move a motion. Does committee agree?

Oh, sorry. Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I move that this committee strongly recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services take immediate and concrete action to improve the delivery of health and social services programs in small and remote communities;

And further, that the department develop a strategy for program and service delivery that is flexible and

responsive to the unique challenges experienced by small communities;

And furthermore, that the strategy address all community primary care and “first contact” care services, including, but not limited to, doctors’ visits, nursing services, mental health workers, and dental care services. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The motion is in order. To the motion. Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I think I have asked a lot of questions in the last couple of days in regards to this area and I think it’s important that by way of a motion we can be able to try to stem some of these problems we are seeing in our smaller communities, especially with regard to the area of programs and service delivery in communities, because what we are finding is that there are different types of sizes of communities. You meet challenges in a lot of the communities. I think it is important that we cannot refuse services to communities especially when we realize that by providing good health care and social services in our communities it does provide for a healthier community.

I think, Mr. Chairman, it is important that we do have to get to the bottom of this problem, especially when we are realizing that there are challenges in regard to finding nurses for a lot of our smaller communities, deal with mental health and addiction issues and, more importantly, the service by way of doctors’ care and visits and also the dental care in our communities. I think it is important that we do come forward with some sort of a strategy in regard to looking at these programs and services and realizing that we have to have something that is flexible to meet the unique challenges we have in a lot of our smaller communities.

With that, I look forward to the support from the other colleagues in the House to move this motion forward so we can move on. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. To the motion. Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will be supporting the motion. I agree with the Member about trying to get health care services in the community, whether there are more doctor visits, nurses that are there full time, certainly mental health workers, and I couldn’t disagree with the dental care services either.

Mr. Chairman, in this day and age, I think what this Member is asking for is a strategy for implementation. I certainly agree with that. Everyone knows this isn’t going to happen overnight, but it is about coming forward with an

action plan so we can provide those real services to the communities that they want and certainly need.

Health care is one of the defining hallmarks of our Canadian society. The older I get, the more I realize how important it is. I think Mr. Krutko has been fighting an admirable battle on this one, trying to get nurses full time in his communities. I will be supporting this motion. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. To the motion. Mr. Yakeleya.

Mr. Chairman, I also will be supporting the motion that has been put forward by Mr. Krutko. I certainly look forward to the flexibility and the responses to the unique challenges by our communities. It has been noted by several MLAs over the past week or so in terms of the unique challenges faced by small communities. I certainly hope that the Minister takes this motion to heart and comes back with some options or some things that we need to have some more discussion on in terms of how we service our small communities in a way that we would see an increase in terms of our health care in our communities. I will be supporting the motion. Thank you.

Mahsi, Mr. Yakeleya. To the motion.