Mr. Speaker, I have a return to written question asked by Mr. Moses to the Honourable David Ramsay, Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, on February 18, 2013, regarding GNWT contracts awarded to southern contractors.

For the 2011-2012 fiscal year, 2,223 GNWT contracts were awarded. Of this, 433 contracts were awarded to southern contractors.

For the 2012-2013 fiscal year to December 31, 2012, 292 contracts out of a total of 1,514 contracts were awarded to southern contractors.

Of the 136 change orders that were done to adjust the contracts, there were 103 that were specific to the 2011-2012 year. The remaining 33 contract change orders were for multi-year contracts from prior years that were still in effect in 2011-2012.

Up to December 31, 2012, of the current fiscal year, 76 change orders were issued, of which 39 change orders are specific to the current year’s contracts. The remaining 37 contract change orders were for multi-year contracts from prior years but still in effect in 2012-2013.

The total cost for 103 change orders amounted to a credit to the GNWT of $101,205. The remaining 33 contract change orders, for multi-year contracts from prior years but still in effect in 2011-2012, the value of change orders totaled $23.9 million.

The 39 change orders specific to 2012-2013 amounted to $318,613. For the remaining 37 contract change orders, for multi-year contracts from prior years but still in effect in 2012-2013, the value of change orders totaled $15.5 million.

The majority of the change orders to multi-year contracts from previous years relate to the Deh Cho Bridge Project and various software contracts the GNWT has in place.

The departments of Public Works and Services, Transportation, Environment and Natural Resources, Municipal and Community Affairs, and Industry, Tourism and Investment are responsible for the vast majority of the GNWT’s contracting activity.

There were no supplementary appropriations made in 2011-2012 that relate to contract change orders,

nor have any been brought forward to date for this fiscal year and, as such, there are no extra costs to report.

I have a return to written question asked by Mr. Hawkins on February 18, 2013, to the Honourable David Ramsay, Minister of Transportation, regarding Deh Cho Bridge deficiencies.

The Deh Cho Bridge has undergone a number of technical inspections within the quality control and quality assurance process. A full independent inspection took place November 6 and 7, 2012, by a team of engineers and experts to ensure the structure was ready for public traffic. A further inspection of the cables (December 15, 2012), the expansion joints (January 15, 2013) and the bearings/lock-up devices (February 6, 2013) all form part of the ongoing inspection regime by the GNWT to ensure specifications and contractual obligations are met. There will continue to be ongoing and detailed inspections this year as the contractor completes works. The tables are summaries of the inspection reports and technical reviews.

Later today, at the appropriate time, I will table the document Deh Cho Bridge Deficiencies which is divided into four tables to include:

1. Table 1 details the items which require further

work by Ruskin under the contract to complete and were deemed incomplete by the inspection team.

2. Table 2 details the items which must be

completed by Ruskin under the current contract that have not yet been started.

3. Table 3 details the items under the Atcon

contract that must be completed by the Department of Transportation (DOT) under the terms applicable to the security funds.

4. Table 4 details the new works introduced by the

DOT that are required to complete the project.

I have a return to written question asked by Mr. Moses on February 18, 2013, to the Honourable Tom Beaulieu, Minister of Health and Social Services, regarding alcohol and drug-related emergency hospital and health centre visits.

Health centre information is currently collected by the health and social services authorities. At this time there are no means to consolidate and report on this information on a territory-wide basis. The Department of Health and Social Services is examining options for a territory-wide system that

would permit for efficient and effective reporting of service delivery at health centres.

In 2011-12, there were 16,222 visits to the Stanton Territorial Health Authority (STHA) emergency department from NWT residents and 1,790 from other residents. In the current fiscal year up to December 31, 2012, there have been 11,736 visits to the STHA emergency department from NWT residents, and 1,232 from other residents.

In cases where the physician has indicated that the patient was under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, it is important to note that it is often not the reason the patient arrived in the emergency department. It should also be noted that there could be instances where the same patient has presented several times over the reporting period of the same or differing diagnosis.

The number of emergency room visits at Stanton Territorial Hospital in 2011-12 where alcohol and/or drugs were a factor is as follows:

• Of the 16,222 NWT resident visits, 1,276 had

alcohol and/or drugs as a factor, and 28 also had an indication of a mental health disorder with self-harming or suicidal indications. Of these 1,276 patients,

o 833 were discharged home;

o 90 left against medical advice;

o 339 were transferred to an acute care

inpatient institution (this includes other acute, sub-acute, acute psychiatric, acute rehabilitation, acute cancer centre, acute pediatric centre, et cetera); and

o 14 were transferred to another institution

(this includes ambulatory care, palliative care facility/hospice, addiction treatment centre, jails, infants and children discharged/detailed by social services).

• Of the 1,790 non-NWT resident visits, 80 had

alcohol and/or drugs as a factor, and three also had an indication of a mental health disorder with self-harming or suicidal indications. Of these 80 patients,

o 60 were discharged home;

o Two left against medical advice; and

o 18 were transferred to an acute care

inpatient institution (this includes other acute, sub-acute, acute psychiatric, acute rehabilitation, acute cancer centre, acute pediatric centre, et cetera.)

The number of emergency room visits at Stanton Territorial Hospital in 2012-13 up to December 31, 2012, where alcohol and/or drugs were a factor is as follows:

• Of the 11,736 NWT resident visits, 606 had

alcohol and/or drugs as a factor, and three also

had an indication of a mental health disorder with self-harming or suicidal indications. Of these 606 patients,

o 445 were discharged home;

o 26 left against medical advice;

o 130 were transferred to an acute care

inpatient institution (includes other acute, sub-acute, acute psychiatric, acute rehabilitation, acute cancer centre, acute pediatric centre, et cetera); and

o Five were transferred to another institution

(includes ambulatory care, palliative care facility/hospice, addiction treatment centre, jails, infants and children discharged/detained by social services).

• Of the 1,232 non-NWT resident visits, 34 had

alcohol and/or drugs as a factor, and none had an indication of a mental health disorder with self-harming or suicidal indications. Of these 34 patients,

o 20 were discharged home;

o One left against medical advice; and

o 13 were transferred to an acute care

inpatient institution (this includes other acute, sub-acute, acute psychiatric, acute rehabilitation, acute cancer centre, acute pediatric centre, et cetera).

When a patient is discharged from the emergency department it should be noted that they are not usually discharged directly to a facility-based alcohol or drug treatment program. This is usually because they often require some kind of stabilization in the hospital before they can go into treatment. Once stabilized, they work with their primary care physician or health authority to access a facility-based alcohol and drug treatment program. Furthermore, due to the current coding structure, there is no way to break these statistics down further without a manual chart audit. To undertake a review of this nature, written consent for every patient would be required. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.