That's good then. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Debates of June 14th, 2016
This is page numbers 571-628 of the Hansard for the 18th Assembly, 2nd Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was services.
Topics
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair R.J. Simpson
Thank you, Mr. Vanthuyne. I note that pages 202, 203 and 204 are all related, so we could take them all as one item. Do we have any other further comments or questions on those pages? Mr. Beaulieu.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I'd like to ask the Minister if-- or how much of the non-insured health benefits of $13 million goes to medical travel or if it's already in medical travel from this Budget. Thank you.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Glen Abernethy Great Slave
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I don't have that detail at my fingertips but we certainly could provide a rough estimate of what those costs would actually be. The non-insured health benefits cover drugs, equipment, dental care, eyeglasses, boarding homes and a few other things, medical travel is one of those components. I don't off the top of my head know exactly of that how much is going to medical travel but we will get that detail and share it with committee.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the agreement expires March of next year. What is the plan or is there something already in the works for an extension of that agreement in non-insured health benefits? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Glen Abernethy Great Slave
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, we are currently analyzing the contract which does expire shortly. We have committed to engage Aboriginal governments across the Northwest Territories to be involved in the negotiation. We are formulating a plan, or we will formulate a plan with them, for full engagement as we move forward. Thank you.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I have no further questions. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Michael Nadli Deh Cho
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just on page 202, regarding the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer, continuity of care, I see a reduction in 2015-16 to 2016-17 from $325,000 to $157,000. Is this program going to continue? Has it been sunsetted? What is the status of this program?
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Glen Abernethy Great Slave
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, as I indicated before, we have had a really good relationship with the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer. We have entered into agreements with them where we are doing work on their behalf. Most of those are time sensitive. They are two, three years, and then they conclude. This is one of them. This one concludes this year. We reap the benefits of having that work done here in the Northwest Territories and being able to incorporate the learnings into our program delivery. These are their dollars that are being spent here in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Michael Nadli Deh Cho
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Especially in small communities, people are not being screened for cancer, mammograms, Pap tests and colorectal tests. Is the onus on the patients to get screened or is there a person perhaps to move to regional centres? Thank you.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Glen Abernethy Great Slave
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, for some of the details I would like to go to the Deputy Minister, please.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Delancey
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Actually, the issue of people in small communities accessing cancer screening is one of the priorities in our cancer strategies, which was finalized and tabled recently in the Assembly. We know the statistics show that the screening rates aren't as good as they should be. We actually are in the second year of a research project that we are doing in partnership with the community of Fort Good Hope and the University of Alberta, working directly with Fort Good Hope and people in Inuvik to try to figure out why that is happening and what we can do to work with communities to increase awareness to encourage people to access screening earlier. So this is a priority area for our cancer strategy and you will see more work on it as we roll it out. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Michael Nadli Deh Cho
Thank you, Mr. Chair. That is interesting to know that there are things being moved forward and it continues. It may be a critical element to this if the officials could maybe comment on the idea of a territorial cancer screening committee, whether that has been established yet? Thank you.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Glen Abernethy Great Slave
Thank you, Mr. Chair. It is an interesting idea. I would certainly like to get more thoughts from the Member on what he is actually visualizing here. I would be happy to share it with our cancer project team that is working on this.