Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm looking at page 180. Just for clarity, Mr. Chair, the Fort Smith Health Centre would come under community clinics and health centres? Am I correct?

Thank you. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'll ask Ms. Mathison to confirm that. Thank you.

Ms. Mathison.

Member.

My question is: community clinics and health centres, the budget went down. That's all the small communities, and I guess we're not considered a hospital. We're considered a health centre. The budget went down by almost $2 million. I'm just wondering, especially now that we've been through a pandemic and are still in a pandemic, why would budgets go down in community clinics and health centres? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Minister.

Thank you. What I see here is that this budget has some fluctuation in it. In the current fiscal year, it bumped up because of COVID restart money. That's why it's at $79,841,000 for this year. We're not anticipating, or at least not budgeting, for the COVID money for the next fiscal year because that hasn't been firmed up yet. There is no reduction in services. This does not represent any loss of nursing positions or other services to community clinics and health centres. It's puzzling to me about why that budget is a little bit smaller than it was in the actuals, but also in the main estimates for 2020-2021. I'll ask Ms. Mathison if she can explain that for us. Thank you.

Thank you. Ms. Mathison.

Thank you. Member.

Thank you. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. This budget is at a very high level, so it doesn't speak specifically to what's going on in Fort Smith, and I don't have that detail with me. That would really be part of the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority budget, to say what money was being spent in the specific areas that the Member asked about. We have spoken in the House before about Fort Smith lab services, and there is a switch from laboratory services to point-of-care tests. That transition is well under way, so almost all of the services that the Fort Smith lab had previously, it will have again. I think that some of the positions that are vacant are vacant because it's difficult to recruit people to those positions. It's not because we don't want Fort Smith to have them.

Those are my general answers. As I say, this budget is really at a very high level, so it's hard to provide that drill-down to the Fort Smith Health Centre in particular. One way you could do that is to take it into question period and ask me those questions there, and that would prompt me to get that level of detail to offer. Thank you.

Thank you. Member.

I'll turn to page 181, then, and go to Health and Social Services Authority funding. That went up by $22 million, so my question is for clarity. Everybody is equal in the territory, and we all expect the same services everywhere. I know it's very difficult. You can't have a large hospital in a small community, but it seems like we're always making sure that the Health and Social Services Authority funding, it went up by $22 million. It puzzles me how these budgets are presented because I just feel like it could be done more simply, so that we all understand very easily because I'm very good at numbers. Then there are hospital services over here, and then there is the Health and Social Services Authority. I just want more clarity, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Minister.

Thank you. Just to say, again, this is a very high-level budget, so it does not have Fort Smith-specific information in it. What I want to say is that the budget for the current fiscal year was subject to a supplementary appropriation for $21.4 million that had to do with the dialysis unit expansion in Hay River; mental health and addictions funding; safe restart funding; Child and Family Services, this was hiring some additional staff in that area; also, the child and youth care counsellor. Those are very general numbers. I do not know if Ms. Mathison can offer anything more specific, but could you please call on her, Mr. Chair?

Thank you. Ms. Mathison.

Thank you. Member.

[Microphone turned off] ...questions.

Thank you. Questions? Member for Yellowknife North.