Madam Chair, I have to say that this has been a decade-long procrastination in striving for an effective response by the government to the deteriorating conditions at Stanton Territorial Hospital. I know others regard this as an utter disgrace and failure to deliver on our responsibility to provide priority and best care hospital services for the people across the NWT. Here we have yet further information that we are continuing to fail to perform these duties even on the relatively modest work that has been authorized in light of the work that we know is needed in the order of 200 to 400 million dollars of infrastructure work to upgrade this deteriorating facility. As a result, again, the health care of our citizens is compromised. There is a lack of security, lack of safety. There is lack of efficiency in delivery and failure on preserving dignity in patients because of the lack of privacy. Meanwhile we are taking on new projects at the drop of a hat that are costing us tens or hundreds of millions of dollars.

What are we going to do to get this up to speed? Again, six years in politics working on this. I know my colleagues have worked hard before me and recognize the deteriorating situation now. Committee has had tours of the hospital. We realize the difficulties that it presents in delivering this health care. What can be done? Where is the accountability on this? What are we going to do to accelerate and start addressing this? So far I ignore the deficit. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Minister Miltenberger.

Madam Chair, if you actually look across the whole health care system, I think the government, Health and Social Services, Public Works and Services has and is doing a commendable job in terms of infrastructure in Fort Smith, Hay River. We have done Aklavik.

In my life as a politician, we opened up the Inuvik hospital. We are looking at facilities in Norman Wells, places that had older infrastructure, places that had no infrastructure. At the same time it is now clearly Stanton’s time and we are putting in money. There’s $20 million in next year. We recognize that we’re going to be putting significant dollars in once the planning studies are done.

The commitment is there from this Legislature, from the government, but we shouldn’t make, I don’t think, sweeping condemnation of the whole system when you look at all the things to be done. We have to address many needs and I think we’ve done that in effective ways.

So, clearly, we are now committed to getting this project done. It will be probably the biggest project we will have done and that will be bigger even than the Tuk-Inuvik highway and it’s definitely bigger than the bridge. So we are going to put those resources to bear and it will be done.

Obviously, I have a lot of problems with the Minister’s comments. We’re not talking about facilities elsewhere; we’re talking about Stanton Territorial Hospital, our premier health service centre for those that are in desperate need of care. They come here from across the Territories.

I’d say there is certainly no clear commitment that the Minister continually refers to with budgets like this for the work that’s required. We’re talking more than the Tuk highway, which is probably a 300 or 400 million dollar project or more. We know it’s well over $300 million and we’re talking about $2 million budgets and $5 million budgets. We’re continuing to procrastinate here.

So I ask the Minister where is the clear commitment that he’s referring to here as we take on new projects and dedicate whether we throw $60 million on to a project this year and not a territorial project.

The Member and I will have to, I suppose, agree to disagree in terms of our commitment, our commitment to Stanton, our commitment to managing a whole system for all Northerners wherever they live.

Recognizing that Stanton is our flagship, it is now in need of the repairs. That need has been increasing. We’re going to be putting in $20 million next year. The class C estimate will be done this fall, and as that comes due and as we look at it, then we will look at the financing and timeline. But I don’t think that the Member should doubt for a second that we don’t recognize, we this Legislature and we the people of the North devalue Stanton. The commitment is there; maybe not to the level that the Member would want, but it is there.

Again, I’ll leave it at that and I don’t see the commitment. We’ve dedicated a paltry $5 million to this long-ignored situation and half the work got done. What kind of commitment is that? I’ll leave it there.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. I don’t know if that was a question or a rhetorical question. I’ll move on now to Mr. Dolynny.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I also agree with my colleague from Weledeh here to a certain degree. There is a definite need. What we’re seeing here today is just a very small glimpse of what potentially might happen. We’re hearing numbers from the Minister of $20 million investment in the future, but we’re talking a much more larger project than that moving forward.

I have grave concerns myself as to what are we going to do in the interim. We’ve heard the word “flagship,” and I believe it is our flagship in our delivery of premier health care services in the Northwest Territories.

That said, that building, that infrastructure was designed for only about 10,000 visits per year, and it’s clear from the administration that we’re doing twice that. We’re doing about 20,000 visits per year. This building is well beyond its capacity today and I am very fearful that we’re putting at risk patient care, even though I know what we’re delivering there is ultimate care.

The people that are working there, I commend what they’re doing. We saw physiotherapists, eight of them, working out of the size of a closet and you can’t have that. You can’t continue on that pathway. So I agree with Mr. Bromley; we need to have a serious look.

We’re seeing some commitment here, but as I am well aware in government here, I hear the word planning, feasibility study. That means it might get done; it might not get done when there are competing priorities as things come up. So unless I see something firm and fast on a budget, in my mind it’s a potential and I will leave it at that.

Madam Chair, my question has more to do with the Electronic Medical Records System Project where we see a line entry of an appropriation of a little over $2 million. I realize that this has been a multi-year, multi-term commitment. I know we’ve got federal funding. If I can get some explanation here as to where we are at with this EMR total budget and what does this $2.9 million mean in terms of the scope and detail we are at today with EMR. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Madam Chair. With regard to the Stanton budget, the budget is reflecting $20 million for next year and every year forward until it’s complete. Those numbers are clear commitments, and once the class C estimate is in, we will be having an even more refined discussion about the timelines and cost and what money needs to be put on the table. But right now we have that number in there.

We are also going to be doing, as we are obligated to under our P3 policy, a review of the project to see what is possible through the P3 side.

With regard to the medical records, I’ll ask the deputy minister of Finance to give the breakdown of numbers.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Mr. Aumond.

Thank you, Mr. Aumond. Mr. Dolynny.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I am just writing these numbers down and doing some math here. So if my math is accurate, we’re still a bit a ways here from completing our journey in the electronic medical records and I’m hearing 2015-16 as the completion of roughly about a $10.3 million investment, at which I believe the GNWT will be on the hook for about $6.2 million and Canada just over $4 million.

So my next question is with us being relatively – I’m going to use the word loosely here – I’m going to say maybe more than halfway through our budget process with EMR, yet we are of significant disadvantage because health-specific privacy legislation is still not active. This is something that was worked on way back in the 16

th Legislative

Assembly, and is not even on the radar for the 17

th Assembly and we’re nearing the completion here very shortly, Madam Chair, of EMR. EMR works, as far as I’m concerned, hand in hand with specific privacy legislation relative to health. Are we in line of completing everything, in the Minister’s opinion, so that we can actually finish the budget and still have all our ducks in a row when it comes to the full implementation of this EMR program? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The project timelines are there even with the carry-overs. The commitment is to get it up and running. The benefits are very clear about the value of electronic medical records.

With regard to the comments about legislation, the questions and queries about legislation and the plan of the department, I would ask the Minister of Health to respond to that particular question. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Miltenberger. Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The Health Information Act is currently being drafted and the bill will be introduced in this fall session of the 17

th Assembly.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Mr. Dolynny.

Just to close my comments with respect to EMR, with this being a supp for EMR, will we be looking at a further budget line in the upcoming infrastructure budget in this fall? Are we

going to be seeing the completion here of this full EMR program in the fall sitting of 2013?

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes. The ’14-15 budget will contain appropriate inclusion of this particular project.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I guess if I can add up all the dots here that we talked about today, is that we should see the completion of EMR from a financial standpoint. We’ve heard from the Minister of Health that we’re going to have the legislative standpoint in place, or at least starting this fall. So, as far as we’re concerned, this is a $10.3 million project where we’ve had supplementation of a little over $4 million from Canada, and that there should be no need for any other supplementary or other budgetary line for EMR after the 2015 budget. Is that my understanding?