Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, we do have the ability to have during negotiations discussions with the federal government on NIHB and its coverage, and we are planning, we are going to be going into negotiations soon where we will certainly make some points about some specific things that are covered that confuse us a little, and we will certainly raise those issues.
We don't just mirror NIHB for Metis health benefits. We also mirror NIHB for extended health benefits. It we get into a position where we start changing the benefits that we provide to some people in the Northwest Territories like seniors or Metis, we would be in a situation where we are providing different benefits to different people. The baseline is NIHB based on the services that they provide, and we stick tightly to that.
There are opportunities for exception requests. We have supported some of our residents in those exception requests. Sometimes they win. Sometimes they don't. I think there is value in being consistent within NHIB rather than creating a two-tiered health system here in the Northwest Territories for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal residents, Metis and non-Metis residents.