This is page numbers 5457 - 5492 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 care.

Topics

Sandy Lee

Sandy Lee Range Lake

Mr. Speaker, I don’t believe we will be able to roll that out to all 33 communities. What we need to do is expand as much as possible to communities. We have begun that process three years ago. We have to do a lot of work to do that, but we have started that. We have about four or five communities outside of Yellowknife. So we’re going to work in conjunction. We’re going to provide it to communities outside of Yellowknife as well as Yellowknife. The important thing is we have begun the work and we have to move as quickly as possible. The resources are what are needed to do that. I look forward to coming to standing committee to see how we can move forward together, because I’m going to need the support of the Members on the other side to put this in. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Your final supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

David Krutko

David Krutko Mackenzie Delta

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That wasn’t too encouraging, the Minister’s last answer there. I find it kind of hard to believe that you’re not going to provide similar services throughout the Northwest Territories for people in the same situations, same status, and yet people are treated differently. I’d like to know, from the Mackenzie Delta riding, when can I see respite care being delivered in the communities in the Mackenzie Delta.

Sandy Lee

Sandy Lee Range Lake

One of the first expansions of respite care programs outside of Yellowknife was started in Inuvik. We have been working with the NWT Council of Persons with Disabilities to do that. We had to lay out the foundation to begin that work, Mr. Speaker. It is our desire and wish that we can have this program in all 33 communities. What I’m saying is, practicably, I would be… Well, I wouldn’t be able to meet the commitment if I said we will do 33 communities next year. What’s important is that we have it in our action plan. We have laid the foundation. We have staff at the department who have been designing the program. We will look to NGOs to help us to do that if that does get to go. I think, Mr. Speaker, this is an opportunity for us to look at this comprehensively and try to be fair and equitable to all communities. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Kevin A. Menicoche

Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just want to follow up on my Fort Liard health care issues that I spoke about in my Member’s statement. My question is for the Minister of Health and Social Services.

I had previously raised the issue about how the residents of Fort Liard feel that their health needs would be best served if they were able to travel over to the Fort Nelson, B.C., hospital. Some of it, Mr. Speaker, is just for tests, exams, even minor day surgery. Right now, they currently have to spend two days travelling to get to Yellowknife and return home and have to throw in the travelling over Highway No. 7, of course, there, Mr. Speaker.

I’d like to ask the Minister, once again, one of the biggest reasons, over time, that they wouldn’t look at it is because we had an agreement with the Capital Health Authority of Alberta. That’s not in existence anymore. I don’t know what the agreement is there. However, to me, and for my constituents, I think it’s an opportunity for us to talk with the British Columbia Minister of Health on a similar agreement for services in Fort Nelson, B.C., Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

Sandy Lee

Sandy Lee Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The issue on this, I don’t believe, has to do with an agreement with Capital Health necessarily. It is true that when NWT residents need health care not available in the Territories, we usually go to Alberta and Edmonton, and it used to be called Capital Health, which now is Alberta Health. The issue here about the residents of Liard wanting to go to Nelson instead of Simpson or Stanton and then Edmonton, if that’s required, is that we already have a facility in Simpson and Stanton that we are paying for. If our residents are going to Nelson, then that’s extra cost that we need to incur. I realize that it is much more convenient for them to go down the street, but from what we know of what’s offered in Nelson is comparable, or it is not beyond what will be available either in our health centre in Simpson or at Stanton. It is a question of us having to use, or should use, our NWT resources first. Thank you.

Kevin A. Menicoche

Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh

Mr. Speaker, I certainly have the confidence and acknowledge the confidence of our health authority and staff. However, residents of Fort Liard feel they are better served if they can just make the two-hour drive over to Fort Nelson, B.C. for some of the minor things. I am not talking about a highly complex arrangement with the ministry of Health in B.C. or else their northern health authority, just the ability to go to quick exams, X-rays, et cetera. Anything major will certainly be identified. Can the Minister at least analyze this? I am certain that there will be a cost savings, Mr. Speaker. Is the Minister at least willing to analyze it and see if it can indeed be a possibility? Thank you.

Sandy Lee

Sandy Lee Range Lake

Mr. Speaker, I believe we did look into this, as the Member has brought this forward before. The variable in the cost that we need to look at is that we already pay for staffing the facility, the X-ray machine and we have just invested in DI/PACS and other electronic health equipment in Simpson, for example, for the entire Deh Cho region. Whether 10 people use it or 100 people use it in a month, there are fixed costs involved in this facility. It is the same with Stanton. If a number of residents decide to go down and use a B.C. facility, it results in us paying twice for the same service, so to speak. The second thing is that when you use out-of-town or out-of-jurisdiction service, the money B.C. charges us for same services are a lot higher than what they would charge their own residents.

Mr. Speaker, I would undertake to give the Member more information, but I just want the Member to know that there are many variables in doing the cost-benefit analysis. Thank you.

Kevin A. Menicoche

Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh

Mr. Speaker, I certainly would like to see some of the analysis that she is talking about, because I am not really convinced that a thorough analysis was done. If the Minister will share that with me, and also I would just let her know that that is something I would like to share with residents of Fort Liard and the band council, the Metis Council as well as the Hamlet Council and maybe advise me, too, what she doesn’t want to share. I don’t believe I have actually seen that analysis, Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much.

Sandy Lee

Sandy Lee Range Lake

Mr. Speaker, I will undertake to do that. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

Kevin A. Menicoche

Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As well, the Minister spoke about enhanced services and enhanced equipment. I know that those are just new to the Dehcho Health and Social Services, new to Fort Liard and new to Fort Simpson. What would be a good time period for her to assess how well the new equipment is working and helping with the services in the communities and regions? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Sandy Lee

Sandy Lee Range Lake

Mr. Speaker, as the Member knows, we have busily rolled out the equipment into almost all communities in our Territories. We are training and we are introducing this new technology to staff and the residents because we need to get a buy-in from the people. I could assure the Member that we are evaluating the use of it. We are keeping track of data. I would be happy to share that with the Member in due course, hopefully three to six months after that equipment comes into use. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.

Bob Bromley

Bob Bromley Weledeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to follow up from my Member’s statement earlier today when I talked about the relationship between the Minister and the standing committees on Social Programs and Priorities and Planning. How will the Minister include the Standing Committee on Social Programs? Perhaps, how is she including the committee and how will she include the committee in coming to a solution for priority funding and maintenance of respite services in Yellowknife and the Northwest Territories? Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. 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 Member knows that we just went through a preview of the business plan process for 2011-12. That is the normal process. We reviewed those with the Standing Committee on Social Programs. Mr. Speaker, I do admit that THAF and THSSI funding worked in a different process, because, as I said before, it is one large transfer from the federal government outside of the main budget, it had to come through supplementary appropriation.

With regard to going forward on this territorial respite care program, I would be happy to meet with the Members as soon as possible to discuss that further, because we need to add the money to next year’s budget.

Bob Bromley

Bob Bromley Weledeh

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the Minister’s comments there. Just for confirmation, will the Minister recognize Members’ advice on this, that it is clearly a priority and it needs to be treated as a priority, and will she commit to bringing some solutions forward when next we meet, I believe early in December? Thank you.

Sandy Lee

Sandy Lee Minister of Health and Social Services

Mr. Speaker, we always do and we will. I would be happy to appear before the committee in December. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

David Ramsay

David Ramsay Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just wanted to pick up where my colleague Mr. Bromley left off, with some questions surrounding respite care again.

If you look at the Minister’s intentions, they are good, expanding respite care around the Territory. Mr. Speaker and Members around this room and in this House will agree that is a noble goal to expand this respite program around the Territory. It was included in the business plans that the committee went through just about a month and a half ago, Mr. Speaker, but something happened between those business plans and a decision to get rid of the funding, the $250,000.

I would like to ask the Minister, she mentioned THAF and THSSI funding being different, but did the department and did the authority not know during the business plans that the respite care program funding of $250,000 was not a target when the committee met with the Minister back in September? Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

Sandy Lee

Sandy Lee Minister of Health and Social Services

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don’t want to be rude, but the way this Member keeps interpreting what I am saying and me answering, it makes everything so confusing. I will just try to clarify this. As the Member knows, it is true we just went through the business plan process. There was a budget there for respite care. Yes, of course, I knew what was in there. The department knows what was in there. Like I said before, that money has nothing to do with YACL or respite care program for Yellowknife. I said that many times during the two weeks. That was money for respite care program for communities outside of Yellowknife. The money for YACL comes through THAF or THSSI. We just approved that two days ago for year 2010-11. The reason why it didn’t go through the main budget is because it is extra money we got from the federal government and they are being treated as a IV and V, which is accounting language that I don’t want to get into, but we had to get it in as a supp. We approved that for $250,000 for 2010-11. We just did that two days ago or whenever we did that, Mr. Speaker.

There is nothing confusing or unclear about this. We have two-year funding and we will work together, and I said that this morning, or this afternoon earlier, that we are going to come up with a territorial respite care program. We are going to combine the money we have. We are going to use the resources in the department to continue providing funding to the families. Thank you.