Thank you, Mr. Chair. And, you know, I commend the government for stepping up and providing this benefit when -- instead of just not -- no one providing it at all. Has the health department or intergovernmental affairs started negotiating on this or raised the issue that this -- these benefits should be paid for by Ottawa and not by Yellowknife? Thank you.

Thank you. I'll go to the Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the more fulsome response likely lies either with the Premier or the Minister of health. I certainly can say that in the last year, and even before that, that it is an issue that does come up at bilateral meetings with the NWT Metis Nation and that, in fact, progress in terms of at least our collective or joint advocacy is positive. The president and the Northwest Territories Metis Nation actually travelled with Minister -- our current Minister when she was last there to advocate on this very issue. So while it is a bit frustrating for all of us, it is certainly an opportunity for us to share and to raise our voices collectively. Thank you.

Thank you. I'll go to the Member from Range Lake.

Thank you. I have great confidence in President Bailey and our Cabinet to press this issue at the federal table.

Can the Minister explain what the cost overage on the program is; what's driving the costs? Thank you.

Thank you. I'll go to the Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The projected shortfalls from this one, Mr. Chair -- sorry, we do have the base funding here built in. There is -- yes, I don't actually have great detail as to what has led to that, Mr. Chair. I'm not sure if the deputy minister can speak to it, but it may well be -- yes, sorry, I'll just pass it to the deputy minister. Thank you.

Thank you. I'll go to the deputy minister.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. So the program is demand driven, so it is a little bit difficult to predict how much demand there will be on the system from the people that are eligible for those benefits. But just to give the Member an outline of how it's budgeted for, so there is a base budget of $2.7 million for Metis health benefits and then the program costs, we estimate until the end of this fiscal year, will amount to about $3.4 million. The department has a bit of a surplus under its extended health benefits budget, so that's $257,000. So that'll be applied to the overall shortfall in this program which is $868,000. So $868,000, taking away the $257,000 that the department's applying to that shortfall, gives you the sup request which is $611,000. Thank you.

Thank you. I'm going to go to the Member from Range Lake.

Thank you. Can the witness repeat the surplus for extended health benefits. Thank you.

Thank you. I'm going to go to the Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. $257,000.

Thank you. I'm going to go to the Member from Range Lake.

Thank you. So this is -- and this surplus exists after the changes were made to income testing extended health benefits; is that correct?

Thank you. I'll go to the Minister.

Mr. Chair, I'm not sure -- I'm not sure, Mr. Chair, and I don't want to presume.

Okay, thank you. I'll go to the Minister -- sorry, to the Range Lake Member.

Thank you. Well, these estimates reflect the budget we passed last year, is that correct? Thank you.

Thank you. I'll go to the Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, it -- yes, so it should be from 2024-2025 there is the slight surplus of $257,000 and that's being, again, put there, so, yes, it should reflect the total impacts from anything that happened over the course of the year. Thank you.

Thank you. I'll go to the Member from Range Lake.

Thank you. It doesn't surprise me that there's a surplus from extended health benefits given that was the point of changing them. I'm just -- I think conceptionally it's disappointing to think you're taking money from one class of people and giving it -- to pay for the benefits of another class of people. I think, again, conceptionally that's not great. I still get plenty of complaints. I get a constituent who texts me monthly with his -- the increased costs to his medical needs because of income testing of extended health benefits, something I do not support. So I mean, like I said, conceptionally unfortunate because I think that's how many people will feel when they understand that there's a surplus from those benefits and that that surplus is being used for other benefits when everyone should be treated, you know, equally and have full access to the care they need regardless of circumstances. So thank you for that. Again, I support the Metis health benefit program. I think it -- I think we are stepping up as a government. That's a very good thing. I hope that the federal government will come to its senses and pay for this. There's a federal election upcoming, no doubt. Perhaps this is something that the Premier can write to the party leaders about to ensure we can take this off our books and get some financial flexibility into -- or sustainability into the health care system. But, yeah, I just -- I hear about this all the time, about the additional financial hardship that's been put on my constituents, and obviously that's the story for many Northerners right now and, yeah, it's just disappointing to see the numbers on the page. Thank you.

Thank you. Is there any other Members that want to speak to this? Okay, seeing no further questions.

Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 2, 2024-2025, Department of Health and Social Services, operations expenditures, supplementary health programs, not previously authorized, $611,000. Does the committee agree?