This is page numbers 5431 - 5456 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 health.

Topics

Jackie Jacobson

Jackie Jacobson Nunakput

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today my Member’s statement was on the Mackenzie Valley Highway, particularly the Tuk-Inuvik section. I mentioned that it’s a great opportunity and we made great progress with the department. I want to thank the Minister of Transportation and his department for working so well with the community in the past year. We still have a lot more to do. Can I ask the Minister of Transportation what actions we are taking to promote the highway to the federal government?

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. The honourable Minister responsible for Transportation, Mr. Michael McLeod.

Michael McLeod

Michael McLeod Deh Cho

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This has been an issue that has been on the drawing board for some time. We have moved forward fairly quickly in the area of Tuk and Inuvik with a project description report, a report that we had anticipated was going to take several years and ended up taking a little over a year. That’s been submitted for review. We are, and have been, raising it with the federal government. We, as early as last week, met with the parliamentary secretary to the Minister of INAC and this was raised as something we wanted to talk further about. Also, while attending the National Council on the Ministers responsible for Transportation I had an opportunity to have a brief chat with Minister Strahl and we agreed that we needed to get together and have further discussions on infrastructure issues in the Northwest Territories. This would be part of the discussion. I’ll also be meeting with Minister Aglukkaq while we’re down there in a couple weeks.

Jackie Jacobson

Jackie Jacobson Nunakput

Since the Minister has begun lobbying the federal government, when does the Minister anticipate the Environmental Impact Review Board process will be completed?

Michael McLeod

Michael McLeod Deh Cho

The EIRB process is something that’s outside of our jurisdiction at this point. We don’t control the process, however, we hope that the final reports or approvals for the Tuk-Inuvik section of the highway will be ready sometime next summer.

Jackie Jacobson

Jackie Jacobson Nunakput

You know, I’m glad to hear the process is moving so quickly. The sooner this project gets completed for the cost of living for my constituents, the cost of food, the fuel, transportation between the communities and all up and down the valley making it accessible for people to take their families out on holidays a lot cheaper. It’s beneficial for the sovereignty of Canada, because I always say I always have all the oil and gas in the northern Beaufort. Will this government receive the necessary permits from the Environmental Impact Review Board? What are the Minister’s next steps in continuing the progress on this important road link?

Michael McLeod

Michael McLeod Deh Cho

A big challenge, the biggest challenge, and will continue to be the biggest challenge, will be to secure appropriate funding to continue the work on the road once all the approvals are in place. We would expect that as soon as we hear positive response, we would, of course, move forward and try to secure those dollars to do further work. We would also have to start the process to develop more detailed road design. While I can’t commit to any dollars for the life of this government, I would expect that those

issues will be brought forward and will continue to take precedence. The work would take probably more than a year to complete.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.

Bob Bromley

Bob Bromley Weledeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions follow up on my Member’s statement from earlier today and are directed to the Premier as the Minister of Executive. I’d like to ask, recognizing that civil society in the voluntary sector is an important third leg on the stool of government market and the civil society, what actions are we taking as a government to ensure a strong civil society and voluntary sector in a jurisdiction where our government sector is so huge and powerful? Of course, we have a strong market sector.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Premier, Mr. Roland.

Floyd Roland

Floyd Roland Premier

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess we need some clarification on this. We have a couple of areas we work in that we would determine, and through the Executive, the NGO, non-government organizations who deliver programs through department initiatives, and then we have the volunteer sector that the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs is involved in.

On the NGO side, the funding stabilization side, multi-year funding process, that work has been ongoing and we have put in a funding package to try to help stabilize on the NGO side. Thank you.

Bob Bromley

Bob Bromley Weledeh

I appreciate those comments and those actions that are being taken. I think what I’m talking about too is, as a third arm I think we have the role of assisting communities in recognizing that they have a responsibility and an opportunity in fulfilling an important role that’s sort of independent of government. It’s a self-strengthening exercise, if you will. Government has a role in helping them out in that. I’m wondering if we are working with communities to get that sort of independent spirit out there and helping them recognize the role that actually individuals and families and communities can play in strengthening that civil society on their own, perhaps with some assistance from government.

Floyd Roland

Floyd Roland Premier

I’m aware in communities and trying to strengthen the role of the volunteer organizations and those organizations serving our communities in a very, I guess it would be a supportive capacity. I know the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs is working through the Volunteer Organization Development Contribution Policy. As well, we continue to do,

through MACA, the Outstanding Volunteer Awards Program that they continue to help.

Bob Bromley

Bob Bromley Weledeh

I’m wondering, the voluntary sector -- speaking specifically about the voluntary sector -- has called a number of times for an independent office within government, such as the Department of Executive, that would serve to simply help them in building capacity. That’s something this government has talked about a number of times. I think we may even have talked about it earlier in this session. The Premier I believe is putting some consideration into that. I’m wondering where the Premier is at or when we might be able to give a positive response to these organizations that are requesting that office.

Floyd Roland

Floyd Roland Premier

I know that there has been call for establishing of an office within Executive. We have not been able to get there at this point, as we have gone through our business planning to look at what options are there. I’d have to get back to see what the request was from committee in this area and then be able to provide a better response.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Final supplementary, Mr. Bromley.

Bob Bromley

Bob Bromley Weledeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate that commitment again. Let me just ask whether there is anything we can do on this side of the House or, in fact, that our voluntary sector could do to help support the Premier in making that positive decision.

Floyd Roland

Floyd Roland Premier

As I’ve said many times, any new initiatives that we would look at putting in place or expanding the role of within departments, we go through our business planning process and look to Members when they make recommendations on any potential changes or new initiatives we’d like to see put in our business plan. So for us, we look at key areas during the budget development process. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

David Krutko

David Krutko Mackenzie Delta

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are directed to the Minister of Health and Social Services in regard to my Member’s statement on the health care provided in northern communities and the importance of this service, which is an essential service to the residents of all these smaller communities. A lot of times we don’t have the privilege of walk-in clinics or even seeing the doctor. Basically you have to wait for the doctor’s visits. In some cases it’s a month or even longer. In some cases we don’t even have a

community nurse stationed in a lot of our communities.

Mr. Speaker, I think it’s important this government has some baseline guidelines in regard to services that are being provided to ensure that there is a minimum level of services in our communities so that people can really feel that their well-being is being taken care of. I’d like to ask the Minister, do we have minimum standards for health care services in all of our communities in the Northwest Territories so we at least know there’s a minimum level that you can get and work your way up from there. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.

Sandy Lee

Sandy Lee Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member’s statement and question speaks to the importance of thinking territorially, that whenever we are planning the business plan, programming, we need to look at our work as being territorial. We need to make sure that all of our residents are treated fairly and equitably. This is why in our Foundation for Change we put so much focus on access, because what the Member is talking about is that every resident needs to have access to essential medical and health care and that’s one of the three pillars of the Foundation for Change. Thank you.

David Krutko

David Krutko Mackenzie Delta

Again, in my Member’s statement I talked about the lack of services in a lot of our communities. I think the importance that we talk about here, we talk about respite care, we talk about home care, we talk about supplementary health, but a lot of the times people in a lot of our communities don’t have those fundamental services. Like the communities I represent, a large portion of the population are elderly. We want to keep our elders in our home communities. We want to keep our elders close to their families, but, again, they need that important delivery and service and care, regardless if it’s respite care or home care. So I’d just like to ask the Minister, I know that there’s a lot of wants out there, but what are we doing to ensure that those services are spread fairly throughout the Northwest Territories and everyone has those types of programs and services in the communities that we serve, regardless of the size of the community.

Sandy Lee

Sandy Lee Range Lake

Thank you. The Member is absolutely right in what he’s saying and this is why our work in the department has been in creating a territorial team where doctors, nurses, everybody is working as a team to make their services available to everyone in the Territories, especially the small communities. The Member is right when he says that a lot of our communities, actually over 25 of them have to wait for doctors, eye doctors, specialists, and nurses even come two or three

times a week, they’re not there permanently. So we are working and medical directors and all the nursing professions are coming together to work out a territorial plan so that at any given time, anybody in the Territories has access to the essential medical and health services, at the same time, enhancing respite care and home care and community level care so that our residents can stay in their communities as long as possible. Thank you.

David Krutko

David Krutko Mackenzie Delta

Another item that I touched on is the importance of medical travel, of medevacs. In most of our communities that’s the only means of getting in and out of our communities. People have to travel to meet with the different specialists either in Inuvik, here in Yellowknife or Edmonton, or by way of clinical services out of Inuvik hospital. I think it’s important that we have to enhance that program to have a better delivery of medical travel services for the services we do provide. Again, that’s another way that we can improve our medical services in the Territories. So what are we doing to enhance that program so that people really understand medical travel is an essential way of delivering our health care service in the Northwest Territories?