Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just speaking from a layperson perspective, these

TeleSpeech, telehealth machines are big, nice, flat-screen TVs that could be connected to anywhere there is a service provider on the other side. Telehealth was the initial part of that and TeleSpeech is a program that’s offered through telehealth. This is something that would expand as we get more people and more connection from point A to point B. Health care professionals have spoken to me about the possibility of diagnosing through telehealth. Somebody could sit in Deline and talk to a radiologist or neurosurgeon maybe, especially in follow-ups, especially right now. We have DI/PACS where X-rays could travel electronically and they don’t actually have to be moved physically. So it is possible, by use of this machine, where we could have people sitting in our communities and get services that are not available, especially in follow-ups, because sometimes you have surgery on your ankle, for example, and then sometimes you need to have that looked at by an orthopaedic surgeon two or three times just to make sure the bones are healing right, but they may not necessarily have to go physically to get those done. It’s possible to even do surgery. I mean, that’s like looking years down the road, but obviously this is a communication machine and it can only work with the people that would operate it at both ends and they have to be trained and we will work in a phase-in process as the providers are ready to take it as we have the money to deliver those programs and provide necessary support to the staff so that they feel more comfortable using this device. It is something new to us in the North too. So it will take effort and we are working on that to incorporate it into our everyday practice. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Lee. Anything further, Mr. Yakeleya? No. Mr. Hawkins, did you have something?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Are we operating off the 8-8 or 8-9? Because my question specifically points to 8-9, which I thought we were on. I’m just making sure we didn’t go back.

Page 8-8.

Okay, page 8-9. Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Under revenue summary, I’m just curious as to finding out what particular money is built into this bottom line here that emphasizes the money paid to us through our NIHB figures. Thank you.

Minister Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Is the Member, I don’t see the area that he is talking about on page 8-9... Oh. Could he be more specific?

It’s my assumption that hospital care under Indians and Inuit, as well as medical care under Indian and Inuit, maybe the Minister can help me find out where that money is specifically earmarked from and does it cover some of the NIHB money that is owed to this government? If not, perhaps the Minister can point to the relevant page. That’s my specific area of concern. I assumed that’s what that line meant. Thank you.

This is money we get from DIAND for hospital and doctor care for our aboriginal people. There is NIHB separately later on under 4 and 5, which is a technical language, but I think it’s under extended health. It’s under 8-36. Thank you.

Thank you for clarifying which page my specific question would be on. Seeing how it is related, I’d like to continue. What is the present formula that causes us to get $21 million for that type of care in this particular budget cycle? What type of inflationary factors are built in? As I understand it, the territorial government services cost more than we’re being paid. In other words, did we put in a particular figure and did the federal government respond with a particular figure and, of course, what would that figure be? Thank you.

This is one where we have a longstanding agreement with the federal government. I believe it was signed in early 2000, or somewhere around there. There’s a built-in escalator there at 2 percent. That’s the funding formula that’s being used.

Thank you for the answer there. What is the actual cost that’s being predicted this year for those types of services and, therefore, what would the territorial government be subsidizing as the actual gap between what’s the estimated cost to do the actual services that we’re providing and, furthermore, trying to get a grip on how much money are we losing on this endeavour? Thank you.

I’m not sure if it’s correct to say that we’re subsidizing this care, because every province and territory is responsible for the delivery of health care to their residents. So whether we get any money from the federal government or not, we would be providing health care to every resident, and doctor care to every resident in the Territories. In the case of aboriginal peoples in the Territories, we get money from the federal government. The federal government’s position is that they are funding for the health care for aboriginal people by this agreement plus the transfer payments that they make to us.

I appreciate that answer but, with all due respect, I think that’s an issue of semantics where we’re saying something similar. Ultimately, I think that it goes back to the question why are they funding us that particular case and on what basis

are they funding us that particular case? Thank you.

I believe that’s what the agreement is and we will have to continue to look into that to see whether that could be changed or not. I can refer to the deputy minister to see if she wants to add more to that.

Deputy Minister Meade.

Thank you, Ms. Meade. We look forward to getting that information. Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you. I certainly hope that all that information can be shared amongst all Members. Mr. Chairman, just to continue a little further, when the original agreement... Or let me say it this way. The present agreement had been signed, it must have an expiry date when the whole contract, if I may describe it that way, or agreement, was to go forward. When does this particular agreement come up for full renewal or is that what the territorial government is presently working on when you refer to I think you said about a year from now? Is that when it’s intended to expire or are you trying to find some way to open up the agreement and reflect the true cost to provide health care that the federal government is responsible for. Thank you.

The Minister of Health, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This agreement is renewed every year on a year-by-year basis. For the last two years my focus and concentration has been to renew the THAF funding, but we are working to strengthen our position on this particular agreement to see if we could renegotiate the terms. I would be happy to get the Member more information on what the terms of the contract are. There is not a lot of room for negotiating in terms of the escalating clause and such, but we are doing everything we can to see how we can strengthen our negotiating position.

Mr. Chairman, this may not be the time or place in the context of that level of detail, but I’m just trying to understand if it’s a year-by-year agreement, what are we actually negotiating or renewing if it sounds like it automatically renews at

a flat escalator of 2 percent? I mean, I’m just trying to understand what are we renewing. Thank you.