This is page numbers 887 - 916 of the Hansard for the 19th 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 going.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 910

The Chair

The Chair Julie Green

Thank you, Minister. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 910

Lesa Semmler

Lesa Semmler Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you. Under this medical travel benefit, I know that we have contracts. Does that fall under this budget? Just to clarify, for Larga and for Vital Abel and for the different homes, does that fall under this chunk of money? Thank you.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 910

The Chair

The Chair Julie Green

Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Minister.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 910

Diane Archie

Diane Archie Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm looking to my colleagues. They are nodding "yes," so it does include that. Thank you.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 910

The Chair

The Chair Julie Green

Thank you, Minister. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 910

Lesa Semmler

Lesa Semmler Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you. Just to touch on here, I would like to know, since it falls under here and now that we're sitting under this, there have been a lot of concerns raised with medical travel and some of the places where they have to stay where there is not enough food for some of the residents who I've gotten complaints from, so how do we assess that? Is there an assessment over these places or questionnaires that go out to people so that we know that we are providing enough funding so that, when people are travelling for medical travel, they are meeting the needs of the clients when they are travelling out? Thank you.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 910

The Chair

The Chair Julie Green

Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Minister.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 910

Diane Archie

Diane Archie Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Madam Chair. I hear the Member's concern. When we send our patients out, we're sending them to the facilities outside the territories; even within the territories, we have a number of places we use. The Northwest Territories health and social services authorities, they have regular reviews to ensure that the locations or the facilities are meeting the requirements, so we do have the review done. Thank you.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 910

The Chair

The Chair Julie Green

Thank you, Minister. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 910

Lesa Semmler

Lesa Semmler Inuvik Twin Lakes

No, that's all I have. Thank you.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 910

The Chair

The Chair Julie Green

Are there any additional questions for page 182, supplementary health benefits? Member for Kam Lake.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 910

Caitlin Cleveland

Caitlin Cleveland Kam Lake

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I just have a couple of questions in regard to supplementary health benefits, and I'm just wondering: is there an anticipated review of supplementary health benefits coming in the near future? Thank you.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 910

The Chair

The Chair Julie Green

Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Minister.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 910

Diane Archie

Diane Archie Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes. Right now, we are looking, and we talked about the reduction in main estimates from prior years because that was one of the recommendations, that we put together a review, so we're doing that now. We have our committee on child and family services, and we are looking at that. That is something that we will bring forward to AOC, and we're planning a time to review that. Thank you.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 910

The Chair

The Chair Julie Green

Thank you, Minister. Member for Kam Lake.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 910

Caitlin Cleveland

Caitlin Cleveland Kam Lake

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Would the Minister be able to speak a little to the scope that they have planned for that review and what the anticipated cost of that would be? Thank you.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 910

The Chair

The Chair Julie Green

Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Minister.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 911

Diane Archie

Diane Archie Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Madam Chair. There are a number of things we're looking at within the review, mostly to save costs. If you look at supplementary health benefits and the amount of money we spend on a yearly basis, it is quite high, so it is something that our department is doing a review on so that we can look at if there are some areas that we can improve on cost savings. I mean, we're doing our budget review now, and it's a half a billion dollars. If there are areas where we can have a review done so that we can save some costs, absolutely. This is one of the things that we're doing, and it's in progress. Our plan is to have this tabled by the end of this session. Thank you.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 911

The Chair

The Chair Julie Green

Thank you, Minister. Member for Kam Lake.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 911

Caitlin Cleveland

Caitlin Cleveland Kam Lake

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Does this review solely look at the costs of supplementary health benefits, or does it also take into consideration the cost of preventative care and the long-term effects of actually being able to save money by spending money on people here and being able to ensure that they have access to supplementary health benefits that they ultimately need and that would pay for itself long-term, down the road? Thank you.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 911

The Chair

The Chair Julie Green

Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Minister.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 911

Diane Archie

Diane Archie Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Madam Chair. There are a number of things we're looking at. It's not just costs. When I bring it to AOC, I think there will be that further discussion because we're doing this in stages, and stage one is we are using internal resources to be able to get this started. Then, you know, coming back to AOC and being able to get that feedback so that we can ensure that, when we do this review, it takes into consideration some feedback. Thank you.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 911

The Chair

The Chair Julie Green

Thank you, Minister. Member for Kam Lake.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 911

Caitlin Cleveland

Caitlin Cleveland Kam Lake

I'm good. Thank you.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 911

The Chair

The Chair Julie Green

Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Any further questions on page 182, supplementary health benefits? Seeing none, I am going to call this page. Supplementary health benefits, operations expenditure summary, 2020-2021 Main Estimates, $30,009,000. Does committee agree?