This is page numbers 5061 - 5094 of the Hansard for the 16th Assembly, 5th Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was communities.

Topics

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. During my Member’s statement I raised the issue of the liberation treatment that can offer a new hope to MS patients out there. I have written the Minister of Health and Social Services regarding this concern and I would like to call it an opportunity of hope for those people who have MS. My question to the Minister of Health and Social Services is: What is her department doing to look at this treatment? Is there any possibility that the Department of Health and Social Services can get on board and see if we can select a couple of patients to try this treatment to see if we can bring new hope, opportunity, and have a return of quality of life that these people have lost and so much deserved? Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.

Sandy Lee

Sandy Lee Minister of Health and Social Services

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Government of the Northwest Territories and the Department of Health and Social Services is on board with all of the other jurisdictions in Canada. All of the Ministers of Health have agreed that we are supportive of this treatment going forward once there is scientific evidence that would take us to the next level. All provinces and territories have agreed that we will work together and work with the scientists to be ready when the scientific evidence shows that this procedure is ready for clinical trial. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

Mr. Speaker, the issue before us here is the Minister is saying not enough science out there that says one way or the other. Saskatchewan believes that there is enough science out there to give this a try. If I have it correct, I believe Newfoundland is seriously looking at this and if you ask anybody who has received the treatment for liberation to help them, certainly they think the science exists, because they are travelling all over the world to get these types of things.

Not to be cynical, but may I remind the Minister, and certainly this House, that for years scientists said cigarettes were just fine too. Science will say one thing depending on who is paying for it and science could say something else depending on the

other person, but the reality here is this is a new hope and certainly that is what I am asking for. What type of strategy can we put in place to bring new hope to people who haven’t had hope for a long time? Thank you.

Sandy Lee

Sandy Lee Minister of Health and Social Services

Mr. Speaker, for the Member’s information, Saskatchewan is not doing clinical trials. They are doing clinical research which is being done in a number of sites. They are being funded by the federal government too. Minister Aglukkaq announced that. The federal government and Saskatchewan and the Province of Newfoundland are not doing clinical trials. What they are doing is the Minister announced a funding to monitor those who are receiving this service overseas. There is no clinical trial being done right now, but we are all working with scientists in various jurisdictions in different clinical research, because clinical research has to give us the scientific evidence that would tell us that it is safe to move to clinical trial.

I want the Member to know that we are on board along with all other Ministers to work together so that we are ready when the scientific evidence shows that it is ready for clinical trial. Thank you.

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

I will agree with her on the clinical trial part, but who do you think they do the clinical trial part on? On people who have MS, in my view. If you talk to people who have MS out there, and I have some constituents who do have this, they view that as an opportunity for treatment and they would like to certainly be involved in this opportunity, as I’ve tried to describe it. Quite truly it is an opportunity of hope finally coming to a sector that has had very little hope and opportunity.

So the issue continues to be sort of the same point, which is how do we get our patients, our residents who have MS here in the Northwest Territories involved in any type of opportunities, such as this liberation treatment? Even if the Minister wants to call it research, how do we get them involved in the research of this new therapy? Thank you.

Sandy Lee

Sandy Lee Minister of Health and Social Services

Thank you. We would be part of or we could sign up to be a part of national research when the clinical trials are ready to proceed. Mr. Speaker, my understanding is any clinical trials or procedures like this have a very set objective process that scientists and doctors follow. They have to be random, they have to be double blinded and it has to be safe. In all of the jurisdictions there are lots of researchers at different university settings that are studying this issue and right now. The information is that science does not indicate that we could do this clinical trial safely. But NWT residents could get on board with clinical trials once that becomes available as a safe clinical trial procedure. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Final supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Anything that moves this forward even by an inch is a success, in my view. I want to get people into this treatment. Again, we’ll call it research, if that’s all we want to describe it as, although I know very well that it’s being used as real treatment for a lot of people.

As I said earlier, we have MS patients in my riding who would like to be part of this process. Is the Minister willing to get out there and reach out to the MS community to start finding out if there are people who would be willing to join the research, who would want to be involved in the opportunities before us here? This is a chance of a lifetime, if I may describe it as that, but certainly a new hope in a life that needs new success. So would the Minister set something up and work with the MS community to make sure our residents could be involved in this profound, positive opportunity? Thank you.

Sandy Lee

Sandy Lee Minister of Health and Social Services

Thank you. We will be monitoring and working with other jurisdictions to see the results of clinical research that is being conducted. A lot of multi site researchers are being funded by the federal government and we are also watching to see what’s happening in Saskatchewan as well. So, Mr. Speaker, we do not have a research capacity in the Northwest Territories to do our own research, but certainly we will be part of the national research and findings and any progress that we can make on this issue. We are focused on this issue very much nationally and as a small jurisdiction. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I have questions for the Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation regarding targeted seniors housing programs.

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister advise me if seniors are still the highest core need group in housing across the Territories? Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Robert McLeod.

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Seniors continue to be one of the highest core needs across the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe

I thought they would be the highest core need group; that was my understanding. However, can the Minister agree that once a unit or a house is considered beyond

economical repair, that that unit is scheduled for replacement or should be replaced as opposed to being repaired? Thank you.

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

Once a unit is determined to be unsafe or unhealthy to live in, or beyond economic repair, then the plan is normally to demolish the units and replace them. Thank you.

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe

You can imagine the high cost of that, replacing all the seniors’ homeownership units across the Territories. Can the Minister commit to directing his staff and the NWT Housing Corporation to develop a program that targets core need housing for seniors’ home repairs? Thank you.

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

The NWT Housing Corporation has a few programs that are targeted at seniors, the Seniors Preventative Maintenance Program being one of them. You used to be able to qualify for up to $875, but it’s been raised to $2,000 and that will enable them to get some preventative maintenance work done on their unit. As well, through the CARE program, the old seniors program, they would qualify for possibly up to $20,000, but through the CARE program they can qualify up to $90,000 and seniors are given a priority. But as I heard in one of my visits to the Member’s community, there was some discussion about the old program and $20,000 and maybe using that. So it’s something that as a corporation we’ll continue to explore and if we find that we get more value for our dollar by spreading them out and doing more units, then that’s something we’d have to consider. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Mr. Beaulieu.

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The reason I’m asking these questions is because the CARE program is not addressing the issues with the seniors and the seniors wish to see targeted programs. So can the Minister, in addition to looking at a seniors home repair program, a targeted program for a seniors home repair program and commit to directing his staff and the NWT Housing Corporation to develop a program that targets seniors and disabled persons in a preventive maintenance program? Thank you.

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you. The Seniors Preventative Maintenance Program enables seniors to access up to $2,000 for some work. There are also two or three programs, where we’re a delivery agent for CMHC, that specifically targets seniors and one of them is Home Adaption for Seniors and Dependents. So there are some programs out there.

I’ve heard the Member’s concerns, I’ve heard the concerns from one of his communities that I visited. So it is one that I will take back to the corporation

and see how we can best address the needs of seniors. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Jane Groenewegen

Jane Groenewegen Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said in my Member’s statement today, I have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services. This has to do with the delivery of specialist care, specialist services to residents of the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, I fully understand and applaud the department for attempting to attract, recruit and retain specialists of various disciplines here in the Northwest Territories. It makes sense. However, Mr. Speaker, the truth of the matter is that specialists are sometimes available here in the North and sometimes not.

In the last several weeks in Hay River I’ve had two constituents who had been seen for a long period of time by a specialist in the south who was a neurologist, because most of these constituents have MS and this is a chronic condition, which properly managed and monitored can go into remission and can be substantively, even held at a certain level for a period of time. One of the negative contributing factors to a condition like MS is stress, and when a patient has had a longstanding relationship with a doctor, they know their case, they are trusted by the patient and this creates some stability for that patient.

So in both of these instances, kind of on the eve of medical travel to go to Edmonton to see their specialist, they were informed that their medical travel was denied because there was now a neurologist available to see them in Yellowknife. This does not seem like a good way to manage this and I’m asking the Minister of Health today is there a different way we can do this so that we avoid this kind of stress for these patients? Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.

Sandy Lee

Sandy Lee Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do appreciate the need to make this sort of process as smooth and seamless as possible for the patient. I am aware that one of the patients in Hay River we did approve the travel, but we did give notice that for next year she would have to travel to a neurologist in Yellowknife. Also, I will work with the department to make sure that we review the files and see that if there is going to be a change in specialists that they need to see, that we give them as much notice as possible. Thank you.