Thank you, Minister. Mr. Testart.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I note this activity also includes unit beds for withdrawal management. How many detox beds are currently available? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Testart. Mr. Minister.

Mr. Chair, we provide those services in Stanton and in the Beaufort Delta Health and Social Services Regional Hospital. There are no dedicated beds per se, but we make beds available for that purpose in those hospitals. We have to make sure that, you know, if we have a rush on beds that we're able to fill them. We can't say oh, you can't go in there because it's a detox bed. We do provide those services in Stanton and we do provide those services in Beaufort Delta Regional Hospital. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Testart.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. If these aren't dedicated beds, is there a reason they're kind of included in this expenditure activity as-- like, if it's just general beds and we're providing the service, is there a better way to communicate that? Because this makes it seem like there are detox beds and there are mental health beds, right. If it's just there are beds and then there's money that goes to supporting these things. I'm just looking for capacity really, Mr. Chair. If we can get a sense of what the capacity is for our healthcare system to handle mental health cases and medical withdrawal management. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Testart. Mr. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the description describes the range of services that are being provided under this particular budget category and it does include detox or, you know, withdrawal management beds, and it does include beds for mental health. Any facility is going to have to do bed management and make sure that they're flowing beds or making beds available based on the change and demand, and demand changes every day.

These dollars are dedicated to making sure that we can provide certain services and we do provide withdrawal management in those two facilities and we also provide beds for our mental health unit. There are dedicated mental health beds within Stanton Territorial Hospital.

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Testart.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to the Minister for his answer. Given that there's a new mental health framework coming out and some of these needs are going to be reassessed, including this issue of youth services, is this an area of the budget that may change in the future out of forced growth issue perhaps or as we assess there's more capacity needed? Are we anticipating-- is the department anticipating we'll be spending more on mental health services as a result of the new framework? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Testart. Mr. Minister.

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. The first thing we have to do obviously is finish the framework and get a sense of where we need to be going, then we need to obviously assess the programs and services we're providing. It may mean that we have to change some of our programs radically and spend money in different ways. It may mean that some of the things we're doing we shouldn't have been doing and maybe we should be doing something different. It may mean changing the way we're spending. It could also mean spending some more.

We're not there yet. As we move forward with the framework we'll all have an opportunity to discuss that framework and figure out what future costing might be and what reallocations may be necessary to make those new realities effective. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Testart.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I appreciate the Minister's comments. I'll just conclude by saying I think the lack of designated youth services for psychiatric and psychological disorders should be a priority for our healthcare system. There's been several high-profile issues around youth mental health and it's a problem we're only becoming increasingly aware of, it's not going away, and we definitely need to tackle that. So I'm hopeful that the new framework will do good work on that. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Testart. Would the Minister like to respond?

Yeah. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I agree completely, which is one of the reasons we moved forward with the interim action plan as a result of the case study that was reviewed last year. We're already moving forward with that action plan. We believe that action plan will form an integral part of the future framework and more comprehensive action plan with a focus on children and youth, absolutely. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Anything further, Mr. Testart?

Next is Mr. Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I'd just like to ask a couple of questions on midwifery right now. What happens if the residents in my riding wish to access this service instead of coming to Yellowknife to deliver the children in the hospital here in Yellowknife? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the service isn’t currently available in Simpson, so you would have the same challenges that we have in Yellowknife, but this is why we're developing a Territorial midwifery implementation plan which will hopefully answer those questions. I don't have those answers today. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Thompson.

I guess I should rephrase my questions 'cause I didn't ask the question properly. If a resident wishes to access midwifery services in Hay River instead of delivering her baby with a doctor here, can my constituent go to Hay River and give birth to their child with midwifery services? Thank you.