I thank the Minister for that. I believe we do have to be realistic here.
The other issue that has come to my attention is the area of income assistance where you have
individuals who, basically, for one reason or another, because they get medevaced to Edmonton and now we’ve got the 48-hour turnaround, those people have to get them out of Edmonton and back into their home communities, but these people are walking around with walkers. Then they go to income support to try to get support and they’re being told, well, sorry, you have to wait for a period of three or four months in order to get the benefit, because it takes that long to meet the criteria.
There again, we have to be realistic that we have situations where people need that emergency attention, especially when it comes to medical reasons in which, basically, medical professionals have basically instructed them that they have to be not mobile or basically have a walker or basically a wheelchair that they’re in. Again, myself and Ms. Lee had to deal with this situation in Aklavik, and again, the individual was told, well, sorry, you have to wait four months because of his disability.
For me, I mean, again, we have to be realistic. There has to be those special circumstances that people have to have access to these programs on an emergency basis and we have to allow that flexibility in our policies and programs. Again, that’s another area that I think we’d have to be cognizant of and consider.
I’d just like to maybe leave that with the Minister and see exactly, you know, is that something that we can also consider in light of the aged but also the people that are, because of medical reasons, require that attention regardless if it it’s because of being medevaced to Edmonton or southern hospitals, and now because we have another restraint we’re dealing with because you have to have a 48-hour turnaround and get these people back out of the hospital in Alberta, back to the Northwest Territories, back into their communities, because we are now under different restraints.
Again, that’s the type of stuff, I think, that we have to be realistic about and make sure that the time limits that we’re talking about, yes, we have to have time limits, but I mean, they also have to be realistic that in special circumstances we do have emergencies and we have to be able to comply with those emergencies.
Again, I’ve got patients who are basically going through cancer treatment and whatnot and they can’t go to work. The doctor told them, sorry, you can’t work, but they’re told, well, sorry, you’ve got to wait three months. But these people basically have a doctor’s note telling them you can’t work. Again, these programs, we have to ensure that they’re actually there for support, they’re there to help people when they need it, and more importantly, help the people that are the fragile, the elderly or the sick and lame people that we’re having to deal with.
Again, I’d just like to maybe ask the Minister is that something that your department again can also look at in light of these unique situations we’re finding ourselves dealing with.