Members' statements. Member for Nunakput.

Quyanainni, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I'd like to wish the Team NWT athletes participating in the upcoming Arctic Winter Games in Iqaluit, Nunavut and Nuuk, Greenland all the best as they gather to display sportsmanship and fair play during the circumpolar celebration. I'd like to commend the following athletes from Nunakput who are attending Arctic Sports: Gemma Gruben, Agnes Kregnektak, Cassandra Kuptana, Sophie Dufour, Dawson Elias, Jacob Pokiak, Blaine Pingo, Robin Raddy Jr., Mikayla Jacobson, Jewell Kuvik, my nephew Joel Thrasher Jr., and their coach Mr. Charles Komiak. I'd also like to commend the following athletes for the snowshoe biathlon: Lucy Anokina and Jacob Klinkenberg. I would like to wish all the athletes safe travels to and from the Arctic Winter Games. Quyanainni, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Hay River North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier, the Minister of Transportation made a statement about some of the major infrastructure projects that we hope will go forward and help facilitate long-term revenue generation. As a government, we need to support visionary projects like these that will secure a strong and prosperous future. One such project that hasn't received enough attention and has amazing potential for the NWT is the expansion and southern connection of the Taltson hydro dam. Currently, the dam can produce up to 18 megawatts of which we use about 10. If upgraded, it could produce 190 megawatts. Taltson is only 200 kilometres from Uranium City, Saskatchewan. That means right now we're only 200 kilometres away from being connected into the continental grid. We'll essentially be able to sell as much electricity as we can produce, providing a revenue stream for generations to come. We need buy-in from Saskatchewan because the infrastructure from Uranium City to the south needs to be upgraded to accommodate the excess load, but the province has committed to doubling the amount of renewable energy it uses by 2013 and we're right at their doorstep.

While the project is costly, the federal Liberals have committed money for renewable energy projects, and just like the proposed highway projects, we may be eligible for up to a 75 per cent contribution. In 2013, the NWT Power System Plan recommended a 20-year plan for the southern expansion of Taltson, finding it would have positive impacts and create jobs. The NWT's 2013 Energy Action Plan states that a large-scale project like this presents the best opportunity for a fundamental change in energy supply. The federal Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources said, “That the absence of a link for the continental grid leads to costly and inefficient outcomes.” A key result of the 2014 NWT Energy Charette was a call to find ways to make use of the excess energy potential in the Taltson system. Over and over again, we say this is a good idea. Resource extraction is vital to our future, but we can't limit our investments to just highways. We have a resource with amazing potential and an eager market at our doorstep. It's time we think big and make investments in our renewable future. At the appropriate time, I'll have questions for the Minister responsible for the NWT Power Corporation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members' statements. Item 4, reports of standing and special committees. Item 5, returns to oral questions. Item 6, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Honourable Member for Great Slave.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to recognize two different individuals: Victoria Baker and Sheena Goudreau. Both are senior nursing consultants with the territorial health services division in the Department of Health and Social Services. Welcome to the gallery.

Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I'm very happy to have three of my sisters joining us and taking in the proceedings, and I'll introduce them from youngest to oldest. Starting off with my youngest sister, Heather Moses, Laura Moses, and Agnes Pascal. I'm really glad they can be joining us here today. It is their first time in the Legislative Assembly and hopefully we will be able to get them a tour at some point, but welcome for joining us today. Mahsi.

Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to recognize Chief Eddie Sangris from Detah. I'd also like to recognize my interpreter, Tommy. Thank you.

Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Deh Cho.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it's rare that I have visitors from my constituency, but I take great pride in recognizing two individuals that I recognize. I think he's still here, Sam Gargan, former Speaker, former MLA, and former chief, and currently the mayor of the Hamlet of Fort Providence, and also Michael McLeod, the MP for the Western Arctic, a former Minister, and a former MLA as well. Welcome to the House. Mahsi.

Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to acknowledge a Page from my riding. Her name is Robyne Walsh and she's a grade 10 student at Sir John Franklin High School. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Honourable Member for Yellowknife South.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm very pleased to recognize some relatives and some friends from my hometown of Fort Providence: Mayor Sam Gargan, Pearl Leishman, Susan Christie, Shirley Gargan, and Ricky Gargan. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Recognition of visitors in the gallery. I'd like to welcome all the visitors in the gallery here today. It's always great to have an audience during our proceedings. Masi. Item 7, acknowledgements. Item 8, oral questions. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Health and Social Services. As I mentioned in my Member’s statement earlier, the government has an initiative to move towards a territorial midwifery strategy. Two midwifery consultants have been working since last fall in program development and stakeholder consultation. Can the Minister update us on the current status of the NWT midwifery initiative, including the provision of midwifery services in Yellowknife? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi, Minister of Health and Social Services.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we moved forward with midwives and stabilized midwives in Fort Smith, so there are two positions there providing birthing services in the community. We also have two staffed midwife positions in Hay River that are providing birthing services, as well as other services in the community. We did move forward with a model in the Beaufort-Delta. Originally, we were planning to have a community-based midwifery program there, but our demographics and some of our information changed. As a result, we went with a more community-based, or more regional, model that is supported by physicians and the MOREOB program, as well as one nurse practitioner consultant who also happened to be a midwife in a previous career. Since then, we have been able to expedite the work that we are planning to do in the 2016-2017 fiscal year, and we were able to start that in the 2015-2016 fiscal year as a result of those changes in the Beaufort-Delta.

We have actually hired two consultants. It took a little longer to hire those consultants than we would have liked. It was difficult to find the appropriate staff. These consultants are working on basically three broad areas. First, strengthening and supporting the current midwifery practice in the Northwest Territories. This includes updating policies, reviewing and revising standards, and reintroducing the Midwifery Advisory Committee. They are also building on the 2012 report to continue community and territorial program design, so they put together, or rather they are putting together some terms of reference that will outline the work that they are going to be doing in that nature to move forward with the territorial program that includes midwifery services here in Yellowknife. Third, they are also doing monitoring and evaluation to ensure that the services are being provided appropriately and effectively. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you to the Minister for his reply. Can the Minister advise the House: Are there plans to include a midwifery unit in the new Stanton Hospital project?

There is no designated midwifery unit in the hospital, as midwifery is primarily a community-based service versus an acute care service. If the territorial midwifery program is advanced to implementation, part of the development will be to include identifying an appropriate location that best fits the needs of the program. As a note, Mr. Speaker, the three birthing rooms in the new hospital are sized to include birthing tubs, which would allow for water birth. Those rooms actually, the physical layout and how those tubs will be utilized, the midwifery consultants actually had some opportunity to provide some input on how that would be done. The midwifery staff have been having conversations about how those rooms can be used in the future.

We are only four years from the last midwifery report. Can the Minister clarify what outcomes are expected in the current consultation efforts that will be different than the outcomes that came in the 2012 Midwifery Options Report?

The 2012 report was more of an aspirational report. It wasn't actually a prescribed plan. It proposed three models for conversation: a community-based model, which the consultants felt could work in communities like Hay River, Inuvik, Yellowknife, or Behchoko; a regional model, which the consultants felt could work in the Beaufort-Delta, the Sahtu, or the Tlicho regions; and a territorial model. We did move forward and stabilize the midwifery services in Fort Smith. We did expand and provide midwifery services in Hay River. The realities in the Beaufort-Delta changed when we were actually looking at a community-based model for Inuvik. We had locum physicians, we didn't have any permanent staff, so there was a lot of turnover and inconsistency in birthing services, and we also had a very high rate of births.

The birth rates in the Beaufort-Delta have come down, and we now have stable staff in the Beaufort-Delta. As a result, we went with more of a regional model in Inuvik. The difference is we are actually moving forward on a territorial design, which is more than an aspirational document. It's a structured document outlining how we will provide the services both in Yellowknife and at a territorial level. It's actually a plan to move forward with some of the suggestions that were provided in the 2012 report.