This is page numbers 2121 - 2162 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 health.

Topics

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

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Mathison

Thank you, Mr. Chair. My apologies. I should have added that, as well, to my last answer. That falls within the health centres. It's probably a mix of health centres and hospitals, depending on which community the supports lie, but it's between those two objects there. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

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The Chair

The Chair Rocky Simpson

Thank you. Member for Great Slave.

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Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would like to look at page 181. I am looking at the contributions generally to NGOs and other organizations to support Northwest Territories residents. I notice that we are really stagnant to our standard budget and not a lot of line item increases, other than the Health and Social Services Authorities funding. I am disappointed to see that. I think that we have had a lot of conversation around mental health and addictions supports and such. I know that NGOs are really good at making their money stretch and are being very effective in our communities, recognizing that a large portion of them are in Yellowknife. However, that does spill out to other communities. Can the Minister speak to why there is no increase to the amount of funding to all of these programs, given that people are starting to really feel the effects of the isolation of COVID-19? Thank you.

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The Chair

The Chair Rocky Simpson

Minister.

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Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Thank you. The core mental health services are provided by the NTHSSA, the Tlicho Community Services Agency, and the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority. These grants and contributions are primarily community-based funds, such as the Anti-Poverty Fund is available by application by communities across the NWT. The Child and Family Services contribution is to the Foster Families Coalition. The community-based suicide prevention is brand new this year. We haven't had a chance to find out whether that's the right amount of money or not. The community wellness initiatives, that's another community-based fund which we've just started advertising for applications for. These are primarily funds that are available for people to apply for, like peer support and on-the-land. They are not generally supporting specific NGOs like the Spruce Bough, the Yellowknife Women's Society, or the YWCA. These are more funds that we provide to communities to do their own programming. Thank you.

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The Chair

The Chair Rocky Simpson

Thank you. Member.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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February 25th, 2021

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Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

Thank you for that. That doesn't really answer my question. As all of these groups are where these projects or this funding can be accessed by these community organizations or whomever, that, to me, seems like an area where we would want to be focusing more money, given the current situation of what's going on, particularly if this is something that different organizations can access. The conditions around them could be made a lot more flexible, given the restrictions of COVID and the inability of a lot of organizations to operate in the same way that they have in the past. Maybe they could be accessing some of this funding to help them adapt their programming to be virtual and things like that. I just would like to reiterate that I find it extremely disappointing that we are not supporting more of the funding that would allow for non-governmental people to access money to provide supports to our people because I often hear the GNWT is failing at doing this themselves. I do recognize it is a growing problem across the country and the world, and most healthcare systems are taxed in dealing with it. Thank you.

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The Chair

The Chair Rocky Simpson

Thank you, Member. Minister.

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Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will take that as a comment.

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

The Chair Rocky Simpson

Thank you. Member.

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Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

Thank you for that, Mr. Chair. I am just looking at the active positions. Again, seeing that there have been 10 positions added to the headquarters, again, not to the regional offices, could the Minister maybe speak to why a decision was made to increase headquarters staffing versus putting those positions elsewhere? Thank you.

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The Chair

The Chair Rocky Simpson

Thank you, Member. Minister.

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Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

I have to find what page that is. Here it is. I'm just going to reiterate a point I made a little earlier. The department provides the administration, policy, legislation, communications, and oversight functions for what the health authorities do. It is, just by default, here in Yellowknife. There are 12 new positions. I see here that there is a Healthy Family Program regional coordinator in Hay River and another in Inuvik. The others are, as the Member said, based here. It doesn't mean that they do all of their work here, but it means that they are, within larger groups, add-ons to other initiatives. It wouldn't be easy to put one person out in Behchoko, for example, with these kinds of programs. They need to be working within a group of people. For the community-based monitoring of seasonal influenza, it wouldn't make sense to put an epidemiologist in Behchoko when all of the other epidemiologists are in Yellowknife. That's the reason that almost all of these new positions are located in Yellowknife and not in other places. Thank you.

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The Chair

The Chair Rocky Simpson

Thank you. Member.

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Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

Yes, I appreciate that, that there would be specialist-type situations or positions that would need to be with their fellow. I think we talked about that a lot in engineering collaboration. However, some of the items that you listed that these new positions are covering have to do with the administration. They have to do with things that sound very computer-oriented, very much sitting at a desk, I would just maybe again, as a comment, urge the Minister to consider, given our priority and mandates to increase employment in small communities, that we look at thinking outside the box and looking to have virtual collaboration instead of always in person. Thank you.

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The Chair

The Chair Rocky Simpson

Thank you, Member. Minister.

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Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Thank you. I will take that as a comment.

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The Chair

The Chair Rocky Simpson

Thank you. Member.

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Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

I'm good. Thank you.

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The Chair

The Chair Rocky Simpson

Thank you. Member for Nunakput.

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Jackie Jacobson

Jackie Jacobson Nunakput

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just in regards to page 179, it's all based in, the community healthcare clinics in my riding, I'm hoping to make sure that the adequate doctors visit in the community more. Then it's kind of in regards to -- especially for the cultural, in regards to the community groups for languages, too, for translators that are coming in. Where are the translators? Do they have them on call in regards to for the doctors because a lot of our elders, they won't say anything in regards to when they're being talked to. Proper interpretation, is that being done? I'll start off with that. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

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The Chair

The Chair Rocky Simpson

Thank you, Member. Minister.

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Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Thank you. I want to do something a little unusual and ask the Member a question. What happens now? If somebody appears in one of your community health clinics and they need help with interpretation, who helps?

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Jackie Jacobson

Jackie Jacobson Nunakput

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I don't know what staff in the communities, who do they call? Is it a number they call? I don't even know that because we never -- in Tuktoyaktuk, per se, I have elders in Ulukhatok that need translation. Are there people that are hired in the communities to do that? Are they on an on-call basis, or they're full staff? Thank you.

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The Chair

The Chair Rocky Simpson

Thank you. Minister.