Thank you, Mr. Chair. Under contract services, it looks like there's a 300 per cent increase from the revised 2017-2018 estimates to these documents before us. It looks like the majority of that money, which is a substantial increase to contract services, is going to facility maintenance and support. Can the Minister speak to that, please? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, it is the service payment for the new hospital, the new Stanton Hospital. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister Abernethy. Mr. Testart.

Thank you. Just to be clear, this department's budget is handling the service costs for the hospital? It is not coming from other departments? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister Abernethy.

That is correct, Mr. Chair. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Abernethy. Mr. Testart.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. In the Standing Committee on Government Operations' most recent review of the information of the Privacy Commissioner, it became clear to us that the health system isn't able to support the privacy requirements of the Health Information Act. How does this budget plan to address the deficiencies in the technology that is holding back our legal obligations under the Health Information Act? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I was a Regular Member when the Privacy Commissioner came to the Assembly and encouraged us strongly to put in a Health Information Act. We have put in that Health Information Act. I believe it was in 2014 or 2015. We have done a significant amount of work. We have significant obligations to report. We have hired designated and dedicated people to this file.

A significant amount of work still needs to be done. We have a lot of training to do. There has been some suggestion that we need to simplify the act. That may require a rewrite. It also could be done through maybe some plain-language documents. We have the right people to do this work. We are doing this work. We will continue to do this work.

I think the Health Information Act has been a good thing. There have been a number of incidents that have been highlighted as a result of the Health Information Act being in place that may not have been seen in previous Assemblies where we didn't have the Health Information Act. The privacy commissioner has some solid points. There is more work to be done. We have the resources in here to do it within existing resources. We will get that work done. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister Abernethy. Mr. Testart.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I grant that we may have the right people in place and we may have the right legislation in place. We don't have the right technology in place. The current technology the health authorities use is not equipped to handle the legislative requirements of the Health Information Act. Is there being addressed by the department in a substantial way? Are we replacing this technology? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I appreciate the Member's opinion, but he is actually incorrect. The resources we have and the systems that we have can do many of the things that the Privacy Commissioner has done. We just have to basically get it incorporated into the system. Some of these will take a bit of time, and we are committed to getting that done. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister Abernethy. Mr. Testart.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, I was operating under the impression of the most recent report of the Information and Privacy Commissioner. Her opinion is that the technology is not equipped to handle that. What is the timeline for this work? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, we are working on the plan to address the issues that were raised by the privacy commissioner but also other issues that have been raised in this area. We are hoping to make noticeable progress in the 2018-2019 fiscal year. I know this is an area that is of import to the Standing Committee on Social Development. I am happy to provide them with a briefing at their request. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister Abernethy. Mr. Testart.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I don't enjoy the privilege of serving on that committee, but I am happy to attend if any briefing is arranged. I think the point when the public hears there are problems with the Health Information Act and the Information and Privacy Commissioner publishes reports on it, there is a concern that this needs to get done. If any information could be offered today rather than waiting until a briefing can be offered to the standing committee, it would be very much appreciated.

I will change my question and just ask: one of the things that was recommended was that privacy coordinators be hired for each health authority. Obviously, moving to a single authority has changed that. How many dedicated staff positions do we have to support the health authority on privacy concerns? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, recognizing that we do take the concerns raised by the Privacy Commissioner very seriously, we continue to move forward on those recommendations. The report was based on a previous fiscal year. Some things have changed since then and before she made her report. We do take her concerns very seriously.

In the past four months, we have hired a new chief health privacy officer, and they have been engaged in discussions across the government and in clinical settings. Coming out of these meetings and discussions, suggestion on how to improve some of the processes and services have clearly been identified by front-line practitioners, clinicians, and others. We are moving forward with those.

In the authorities, every staff member will be trained. Right now, a large number of people have been trained. Our commitment is to get every person trained because every person has a responsibility under the Health Information Act. Every person has a responsibility. We will get that training done. We will get that training rolled out.

At a regional level, the CEOs have the primary accountability for the information in their regional offices. They have a relationship with our chief information officer. There are some shared responsibilities at a regional level. There are some clear responsibilities. At the end of the day, every person has a responsibility under the Health Information Act. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Abernethy. Mr. Testart.