Mr. Speaker, I will say that I want the entire -- how we move patients in the Northwest Territories is what the focus I want to look at. How we move them, who's moving, what are the things that we cannot have to move people for. Is there ways that we can put things into communities that it's going to be less expensive in the long run. It's more of a fulsome review of how we move people for medical in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Final supplementary. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.

Thank you. And that is, indeed, excellent news, and I'm sure it's excellent news for those that have been struggling with our medical travel system for the past several years. Just, again, a final question. I mean, likely it's a redundant question given how this government has now been approaching what we do, but she will be engaging and consulting with all Indigenous governments on this plan, I assume? Thank you.

Yes, thank you. Medical travel is, I think, probably one of the standing agenda items with Indigenous governments. Every Indigenous government that we speak to will raise this issue. I am committed to continuing to work with Indigenous governments and hearing what their concerns are with how we move patients.

They've also stressed the issues from the Council of Leaders to Indigenous Service Canada, how we move patients. So it's not just the government policy part. It's the work that we're doing on the NIHB medical travel policy with -- you know, in collaboration with Indigenous governments. So thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are to the Minister of health, more so specifically to the challenges obstetrics has had over the years and the midwives. So, Mr. Speaker, my question specifically goes directly to the issue of what evidence-based evaluation's been used to re-profile the midwifery money to other purposes? Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. A little bit on the line there but I'm going to go to the Minister of Health and Social Services.

The work that's being done in the obstetrics unit is guided by, you know, the staff feedback that was done. So I can speak to that.

As for the midwifery area that -- you know, midwifery, the positions that -- in Yellowknife that have been there -- you know, I think that is a separate discussion. The obstetrics stuff that's been going on and trying to maintain our basic service and trying to fill that gap on the obstetric, there has been work. There has been -- like I said in this House before, the staffing complement has changed, and that was at the recommendation of the staff -- the previous staff that had put forward. And so we are trying to accommodate that and provide training on that unit so that way we can build up the capacity there. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, tieing it back to the obstetrics issue, again we're talking about children in the context of birthing and supporting. How do we meet these needs through locum nurses and how does -- through the evidence-based process, how is it defined as cheaper or smarter? Thank you.

I'm not sure how I answer quite that -- cheaper and smarter, providing health care services in the Northwest Territories to, you know, birthing people that are waiting to have babies is always going to be cheaper. Having staff that we can, you know -- using locums, bringing locums in, they -- you know, that's been one of the areas that we -- you know, even with locums, that is -- we try to hire full-time first and then if we can't hire full-time, then we go to terms, which locums are more for physicians. That's the term they use for physicians. We use terms, term contracts with nurses, which are fully -- they fully fall under the line of the collective agreement when we hire them. They're the same pay, the same benefits, but they provide the service. This is an expertise area that needs extra training. And we need specialized nurses that can work in this area so that women can have safe births. We also have accreditation which also looks at how our policies in that unit are safe practice. And so those are done in Stanton and in Inuvik to make sure that those birthing services are safe for the Northwest Territories' residents. And the less risk that we have, the safer, the less cost it is. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister says they've tried to hire the positions, but I can assure you the midwife advertisements for hiring has gone silent for some time. So, Mr. Speaker, back to the evidence-based question, what evidence-based analysis has proven this -- proven these solutions that the Minister has claimed to make are proven as facts? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, evidence-based or not, we need a basic delivery service. We need birthing services. We need a birthing service that is going to be staffed. That's what we're working towards. And that is what we are focused on in getting a birthing service in Yellowknife that we can -- you know, stabilize. Adding -- you know, expanding midwifery is an extra, like I said, in Yellowknife. It's not an extra in Fort Smith, and it's not an extra in Hay River. And, you know, it expanded from Fort Smith to Hay River. It even expanded in Fort Smith, the more midwifery. And so right now, we're having a hard time even keeping those positions filled, so we need to focus where there's no birthing services. And that's what I'm doing, and that's what I'm committed to doing. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When the Minister responds to saying evidence-based or not, does that draw the question that the department doesn't use evidence to make these decisions, or do they just make the decisions off the side of the table? Could the Minister clarify are they using facts or fiction to come up with these results? Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Point of Order, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member -- I believe the Member was questioning whether or not the Minister was using fact or fiction, essentially telling mistruths. But I may have misheard the Member and if I did, I apologize. But from this side, it sounded like the Member had crossed that line. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Can we stop the clock for a second, please.

To the Member, Yellowknife Centre, can you please clarify, please.

Actually, you know, it's fine. I'm comfortable with taking the context of fiction away. I don't feel like I want to tie Assembly time up so I withdraw the point of fiction, and basically, I'm back to the point -- I'll withdraw it, but I'll say are they using facts or creativity to make these decisions? Thank you.

Member, thank you. Member, can you please clarify what you just -- what are you trying to achieve, please. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Are they using facts to come up with these decisions? Thank you.

Thank you, Member. Minister of Health and Social Services. Thank you.

Yes. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Oral questions. Member from Great Slave.

Wow, okay. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are also for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Could the Minister please confirm if the majority of need for agency nurses is in obstetrics? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.