Our system is not broken. We still provide funding. We still provide subsidy to those Northwest Territories clientele on income security, and we will continue to do. We always make improvements as well.

Again, I have to reiterate, in 2007 we made substantial changes to our food programming and we will continue to do so. Again, in 2015 we’re going to have another increase. I’m not sure. The Member is referring to a feasibility study. These are the changes that we heard and we’re moving forward on the changes from the recommendation of the general public. We’re making changes to our policy every now and then and this is one of them.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, indeed, we will continue to pour money down this drain ad infinitum without achieving what we want to achieve as opposed to the Dauphin study which the positive benefits lasted eight years after the money stopped. What more can you say? What we are doing now has not worked for some time and shows no promise of getting better. This government needs to admit that the welfare system has no future and, more importantly, that the clients who depend on it have no future either. That’s the point that’s being made here.

When will the Minister begin to move towards a system that is proven to work: the guaranteed basic income?

We are indeed pouring money into where it’s needed. The most clientele necessity, the most basic needs we’re providing funding towards that. That is our overall goal and objective to look after those who most need it. The ones who are in poverty, we’re providing a subsidy to them. We’re making changes to our programming, as I stated. This is what we’re doing as the Department of Education, Culture and Employment responsible for the Income Security Program. This is an area that we’ve made some considerable improvement, as I stated before, but we are putting money where our mouth is to the clientele who most need it.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The Minister of Health, Mr. Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The pharmaceutical strategy isn’t completed at this point. We have had difficulty finding permanent pharmacy or a pharmacist to actually participate in this in the department and we have actually done some contract work with pharmacists to actually start moving on this. So it’s not done. We are continuing to move forward. I don’t anticipate the pharmaceutical strategy will be fully 100 percent concluded in the life of this government, but many of the components will be well on their way to being completed during the life of this government.

Thanks to the Minister. That’s unfortunate because on February 6th the Minister

said to Mr. Dolynny that the final report is expected this winter. Now I just heard the Minister say that we’re not going to get it within this Assembly, so that’s disturbing. It’s more than two years that we’ve been waiting for this pharmaceutical strategy. I can appreciate the difficulties with getting expertise to deal with it, but that seems like a very long time.

The Program Review Office has been involved somehow in developing this strategy and assisting the department. I’d like to know from the Minister what the role of the Program Review Office has been in this development. Thank you.

A pharmaceutical strategy and the research and analysis are two different things. We will have a lot of that information prepared during the life of this government, but the full rollout of a comprehensive pharmaceutical strategy will take a little bit longer.

The Program Review Office has been doing some analysis into the costs and the implementation of distribution of pharmaceuticals through the health care system and they’re going to continue to do that work. Thank you.

Thanks to the Minister. So, we’re going to have some work done, and I appreciate it’s going to take longer to roll it out, but when can committee expect to see a report or a draft, some kind of concrete progress on a pharmaceutical strategy? Thank you.

We have been working on it. I can’t remember the exact date that we plan to have something available for the committee, but I will review my notes and talk to the department to get a concrete date for the Member. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Final, short supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.

Thanks, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister. I wait anxiously for that information on timing.

I’d like to know from the Minister if he can advise me and advise the public what kind of an impact having a pharmaceutical strategy is going to have on our Extended Health Benefits Program in terms of impact to individuals and impact on our costs. Thank you.

There are going to be many components of a pharmaceutical strategy and they don’t necessarily relate directly to the extended benefits that we provide at this time. Previously, Mr. Dolynny was talking about a catastrophic drug program for those large, expensive pharmaceutical treatments that we don’t provide support to now. Those will cover those for residents of the Northwest Territories who have incredibly high costs. We need to do the financial analysis, but many of those costs are hard to predict because many of these particular drugs or treatment programs are very rare or not used on a regular basis. But just as a note, they are not part of the Extended Health Benefits Program at this time, so it will not adversely affect that program. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Item 8, written questions. Item 9, returns to written questions. Item 10, replies to opening address. Item 11, petitions. Item 12, reports of standing and special committees. Item 13, reports of committees on the review of bills. Item 14, tabling of documents. Item 15, notices of motion. Item 16,

notices of motion for first reading of bills. Item 17, motions. Item 18, first reading of bills. Mr. Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that Bill 47, An Act to Amend the Child and Family Services Act, be read for the first time.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Bill 47, An Act to Amend the Child and Family Services Act has had first reading.

---Carried

Item 19, second reading of bills. Item 20, consideration in Committee of the Whole of bills and other matters: Bill 12, Northern Employee Benefits Services Pension Plan Act; Bill 36, Health and Social Services Professions Act; Bill 46, Deline Final Self-Government Agreement Act; Committee Report 10-17(5), Standing Committee on Government Operations Report on the Review of the 2013-2014 Annual Report of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of the Northwest Territories; Tabled Document 188-17(5), Northwest Territories Main Estimates 2015-2016; Tabled Document 205-17(5), Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditure), No. 5, 2014-2015; Tabled Document 206-17(5), Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditure), No. 3, 2014-2015; and Tabled Document 207-17(5), Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 1, 2015-2016, with Mr. Dolynny in the chair.

I call Committee of the Whole to order. Ms. Bisaro, what is the wish of the committee?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We would like to deal with Tabled Document 188-17(5) today, the NWT Main Estimates for 2015-2016. We’d like to continue with the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs and, time permitting, the Department of Lands. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Does committee agree?

Thank you. We will commence after a short recess.

---SHORT RECESS

I’d like to call Committee of the Whole back to order. Committee, as per earlier today, we’re going to continue with the main estimates for the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs. With that, we have the Minister responsible. Do you have any witnesses you would like to bring into the House, Mr. McLeod?