Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At this time we look at heart disease along with all other chronic diseases; lung diseases, diabetes. So with the heart disease, what the department wishes to do at this time, recognizing that it is quite a cost-driver in our system, is to develop a strategy by first examining the pilot projects that we have run. We have run I do believe it’s three different pilot projects across the territory to then evaluate how the results of those pilot projects were, and from

that we’re trying to develop a chronic disease strategy. So within that disease, like I said, we would have lung disease, heart disease, diabetes and any other disease, including cancer, that is considered to be a chronic disease. Thank you.

Thank you. I know one of the priorities of the 17

th Assembly was to try to take some

preventative steps in terms of trying to address the health and social issues. So my question to the Minister is: What are some of the preventative measures that are in place to try to curb? He’s indicated that heart disease and other afflictions are cost-drivers. What are some of the measures in place to try to curb the rates of heart and stroke disease in the North? Mahsi.

Thank you. The department works with the Department of Education in healthy foods in schools and so on, hoping that this type of thing will carry on from the schools to the home. We support the anti-smoking campaigns like Don’t Be a Butthead as an example. We’re also in a federal campaign called Healthy Weights, so we deal with that as well. So these are some of the areas that we see as preventative. But just the whole nature of chronic disease management would be based on prevention that we feel is the best bang for the buck. Thank you.

Thank you. Lacking an ambulance in most small communities, what emergency measures do the health centres have in responding to heart and stroke situations? Mahsi.

Thank you. I don’t know if all of the health centres have the equipment to deal with a heart attack or a stroke. I don’t have that information with me. I know that we are, in some of the larger centres, able to deal with it, we have the equipment to deal with that, but I can’t commit to saying that we have that type of equipment in all of our smaller health centres. So it would be difficult for me to answer that question.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My final question is just in terms of the long-term horizon. I know it’s probably improbable for every community to have an ambulance, but is it within the department’s plan, in terms of long-term objectives and goals, to ensure that at least, at the very minimum, communities such as Fort Providence would have an ambulance?

Yes, the department has had some conversations with some of the key communities in strategic areas of the highway system that may benefit from having a service such as an ambulance service. We are working with an interdepartmental group, along with MACA and the Department of Transportation, to try to get the people trained. We are also looking at including one

of the people that are required for emergency measures that would work in the ambulance under the umbrella legislation that Health is now trying to bring to the House as a legislative proposal. Within there, we would have the emergency measures people who would be able to also be riding the ambulance and so on. There are a few things in play. We just don’t have the timelines here, but I’m sure we would be able to get the timelines to the Member.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.