Thank you, Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Oral questions. Member from Deh Cho.

Thank you, Member from the Deh Cho. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the community health representative in the regions, along with the regional wellness councils, the staff within that community, we don't audit what they do because the health promotion activities are driven from the community that they represent, and so we don't want to set, you know, things in motion that necessarily are dictated by somebody that's, you know, sitting somewhere in the region or in the capital to -- especially in the small communities. So we encourage that autonomy in those communities. So if there CHRs in those community, they can work within the community, they can see what's going on in the community, and then they can use the tools that we have developed within the health and social services, public health, you know, Office of the Chief Public Health officer, many of those things, and if they're having issues, then they should raise those issues with their COOs so that way, like, if -- then we know how to support them to get the information to them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What formats such as radio, pamphlets, posters, are used in health promotion campaigns to target different demographics, such as youth and elders? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, and I appreciate that question and, again, as I've travelled through -- you know, and I'll take an example in Fort McPherson, because I know they are very active on their radio, so any member can go in in Tsiigehtchic. The CHR goes on the radio and talks about things that the community, that she's seeing, you know, and stuff like that. So any CHR with the information that they have that's supporting -- you know, that we can provide them, if they need more information from the NTHSSA or within the department, you know, to raise that, you know, recently. And thank you to the MLA as well is highlighting the need for some education on toxic drugs, and that is now publicly on the website so that any CHR can use that information to do community presentations. And, again, it's encouraged that they are autonomous to be able to do the things that are needed in their community in all kinds of means. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Final supplementary. Member from Deh Cho.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to ask the Minister what areas of health promotion are prioritized in small communities? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, there are -- you know, it's based on the community, again, but there are CHRs that are more comfortable doing different age groups and so, you know, sometimes you'll see CHRs that might be more comfortable being in the schools or working with elders and less comfortable talking about sexually, you know, transmitted diseases. But those are things that if the community is needing those things, they should raise them within -- you know, with the CHR, with the health centre that they live in, with the regional council -- regional wellness councils. There's members throughout all of our communities. And then that way, the community can develop and support what needs to be done. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Oral questions. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. NIHB is a federal program. The GNWT health department can administer -- sorry, can the Minister explain what the rules make it difficult for eligible NWT residents to access NIHB when they are sick or injured outside the NWT, and does she provide this feedback for the federal government as well? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member for raising this issue. This issue has come up with residents who are using the non-insured health benefits program. The non-insured health benefits program, as you said, is a federal program, so we, on behalf of the federal government, administer parts of their program. Part of the program that we do administer is supporting First Nations and Inuit with medical travel when it's beginning from the Northwest Territories out, and then there's a process that gives them an approval for escorts through that same process when they're leaving the territory as if there is a medical need to leave the territory.

The issue that the Member is raising, and this has been raised in the House, is when people leave the Northwest Territories and they go into another province or a territory, every province and territory has a different agreement with the federal government. Some provinces may not even administer medical -- non-insured health benefits and, therefore, individuals who have status numbers or Inuit N numbers have to deal directly with NIHB and their office -- you know, their federal office.

So when they're leaving, it's very complicated. We try our best to ensure that our staff are very familiar, but I am raising this at every point in every issue, and I'm actually working on a -- because now we have an Indigenous federal minister and, you know, my hope is is that she has the struggles that we all had with NIHB as an Indigenous person from a smaller community, that we will be able to have more fulsome conversations as the understanding of the greater necessity that it should be being able to wherever you are to access NIHB across Canada, that you get the same type of benefits. And so we are continuing to work -- I am continuing to push that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My understanding that the medical travel process is NIHB application, and since the medical travel program modernization is underway, will the new medical travel program include ways of making NIHB more accessible? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I want to -- first, I want to say yes, that is part of the process. The second piece that I just want to explain a little bit more is that one of the things that we struggle with, and this is what usually ends up being the biggest issue that comes to my office when it is an NIHB client, is when the escort is being requested as an exception because it doesn't meet the criteria that the federal government lays out for a non-medical escort, is that we don't have the authority to approve that exception. That exception has to be sent to the federal government, and our staff have to wait on that approval. And they do not work, you know, around the clock like our staff do from 7 to 11 seven days a week, our medical travel staff work. They work the regular office hours in Ottawa. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Final supplementary. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the short-term, will the Minister work closely with MLAs to sort out constituents who are struggling with NIHB applications when we flag these issues to her office so we can solve the problem faster? Also, Mr. Speaker, is that proper posting and also medical travel insurance is much needed. Can you maybe help explain that or to your constituents? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I think when this issue comes up, what I can say is I'm always willing to work with Members when they bring these issues forward, and I think my office has, you know, even on weekends and everything, has tried to ensure that they are doing their due diligence to turn this issue around. However, sometimes when it's out of our control because it's in a different jurisdiction, then we have no leverage on if they're in a different province. So that means that they have to access the services in that province if they've travelled there on their own, and that's why I think this is important for everybody in the Northwest Territories, you know, especially those who tend to just, you know, weekend trips -- and I know I've said this in the House before, but getting medical travel insurance through -- you know, there's banks and different ways that you can get it. Some credit cards have them. It is vital so that way when you have peace of mind when you're travelling. If you get sick, you know, there's things in those travel things that will help you and support you and support your family while you're there. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I too am going to join in on the question regarding the DEAs in this Fort Simpson and the DDC in the -- DDEC in the region, Mr. Speaker. So for those listening, Mr. Speaker, just to clarify, of course, this problem applies equally across the NWT to all elected authorities and councils, so it isn't just a Fort Simpson issue. It's a Yellowknife issue. It's a Smith issue. It's a Tu Nedhe issue. It's a territory issue.

So, Mr. Speaker, my question here, to be very focused here, is strictly built around this simple premise and clarification that's needed. The elected officials and the community are telling me they feel like a puppet advisory board and feel they are not in charge of their one employee and, as such, there's great confusion. So in other words, this is leaving everyone wondering are they a management board or an advisory board which ultimately is run and controlled by ECE. Would the Minister clarify what the elected people for the people on these boards is really doing there? Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, our district education authorities and our district education councils do have a governance role. Within the Northwest Territories, we do have a decentralized system. The governance roles within those boards are setting mission, vision, goals, objectives, developing and reviewing policies, procedures, providing guidance and direction to administration, developing strategic plans, monitoring and evaluating implementation plans and procedures, allocating funds and resources, training members, ensuring effective risk management policies are in place, making sure federal/territorial/municipal laws are followed, hire supervisors and evaluates the superintendent. That's the role of the DECs. And there is quite a lengthy manual that does review roles, responsibilities, of these DECs and DEAs, and yes, thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, governance roles is not necessarily authority roles. So my question now is can ECE, or is it the superintendent, dissolve the boards when they don't like what they want to hear or don't like what the ECE -- sorry, DEC or other types of councils and advisory board want to say to them? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, superintendents do not have the authority to dissolve a DEA or a DEC. Thank you.