Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, recently the Minister of Health and Social Services announced that the GNWT had finalized a bilateral agreement on health funding with the Government of Canada.
According to this announcement, the department will invest federal funding of about $6.7 million in mental health, addictions services, and home and community care.
For that last category, Northerners will see that money going to the implementation of InterRAl, a system for assessing long-term care needs, and the development of a Paid Family Community Caregiver Pilot Project.
This captured my attention, Mr. Speaker, because, like other places in the NWT, the communities of Nunakput are facing significant challenges in meeting homecare and elder care needs.
For example, Mr. Speaker, the community of Sachs Harbour used to have a dedicated resident homecare worker. That person served the elders in the community, helping them to age in place and to access the health services that, as Northerners, they have a right to. In communities like Sachs Harbour, positions like these can also help elders navigate the healthcare system, aiding in translation, and explaining prescriptions and complicated government procedures that some elders do not understand.
What I would like to see as well as my constituents, Mr. Speaker, is to see the reinstatement of this position in Sachs Harbour.
Mr. Speaker, I will have questions to explore how the Minister and I can work
together to enhance the home and community care needs in Nunakput. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.