Thank you. Please turn to page 7 for the Department of Health and Social Services.

Department of Health and Social Services, operations expenditures, administrative and support services, not previously authorized, $2,201,000. Does committee agree?

Is there any questions? Seeing no further questions.

Department of Health and Social Services, administrative support services, not previously authorized, $2,201,000. Does committee agree?

Thank you. The Department of Health and Social Services, operations expenditures, health and social services programs, not previously authorized, $10,692,000. Are there any questions?

I am going to go to the Member from Great Slave.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, in this section, there is $1.75 million to address increased costs for diagnostic laboratory services performed outside the territory. In the tabled main estimates for 2026-2027, we have a new 24/7 laboratory and diagnostic services unit being stood up. Is there contemplation that this sort of supplementary request will reduce or be eliminated by that new ask? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. I will go to the Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The increase in the 24/7 servicing improves services, improves the timeliness of service, and likely will, but I can't say that with certainty, only because one of the other cost drivers has been an increase in demand. So without knowing whether or not the testing volumes continues to outweigh perhaps with more availability of services, hard to say. And also inflationary pressure. So this is a service that when sent outside of the territory is driven by a contract. And if the contract costs change, then that also can increase the costs. So, yeah, again, hopefully yes, but, really, the 24/7 service is one that can -- you know, is likely to have a wider impact than just -- it wasn't being driven entirely or exclusively by a cost -- a reduction in other costs. Thank you.

Okay, thank you. I will go back to the Member from Great Slave.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate that. There is another item under this activity where $348,000 is allotted to provide funding for the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines. And I am wondering if this cost overrun was due to the fact that some orders were invalid in transport and more had to be repurchased. I know that in the flu and COVID vaccine clinics, there was a sort of pause in being available -- the availability of the COVID vaccine last fall. And I am wondering if this is a shortfall addressing that particular issue. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Okay, thank you. I will go to the Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, excellent question. That amount was not the cost driver on this particular request. I mean, that -- the amounts there -- I don't have that exact amount here, but that wasn't one that was of a sufficient nature to result in this request. This request is entirely because federal funding ended for COVID vaccines in 2024-2025 which meant that for the coming year for that -- for this 2025-2026 year, GNWT had to purchase their own vaccines. And so they went through the process of updating eligibility recommendations, running a diagnostic of what would be anticipated to be needed. Some -- again, there was some challenges with a portion of that, but overall the main purchase agreement was because the federal government has exited this space. Thank you.

Okay, thank you. I will go back to the Member from Great slave.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So I can understand that answer, but I can only presume that the feds exiting the space, as the Minister just stated, would have been known in advance or was it, indeed, known in advance. It seems like something that you would hope you would know quite a ways in advance, but perhaps I am mistaken. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Perhaps the Minister can clarify.

Thank you. I will go to the Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, it did meet the cutoff in terms of, you know, having it in main estimates, but it also -- if I am not -- if I understand correctly. Mr. Chair, I certainly will come back to the Members if there's an incorrect -- if this is not accurate. But the the challenge here is knowing what the anticipated amount of doses would be to meet what the recommendations were. And in this case, that wasn't known with finality until later in the fiscal year. So it -- again, because there's a -- can be a change -- in this case there was a change in the eligibility recommendations and then coupled with determining whether -- knowing what that change was and then trying to extrapolate what the demand would be made it difficult to know for certain what the then purchase amount would need to be or -- that's right, or what the pricing would be at the end. So putting all those three things together resulted, then, in the final numbers not being available in time other than to come through by way of a supplementary appropriation. Thank you.

Okay, thank you. I will go back to the Member from Great Slave.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So was the GNWT's estimate of uptake of the vaccines lowballing, I guess, for lack of a better term? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. I will go to the Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. No, Mr. Chair, we don't -- we don't want to lowball. And if anything, Mr. Chair, I would note, and folks should be aware, that, you know, there's a disproportionate impact on Indigenous residents of -- well, Indigenous Canadians and therefore a significant impact on Northerners with 50 percent Indigenous population as they have statistically faced higher and more -- higher risk of more serious COVID impacts. And so in this case, the doses were ordered in such a manner as to meet the public health recommendations of who should be prioritized of receiving them. And in this case actually it was the chief public health officer expanded eligibility to include more high-risk populations, and that's what increased the forecast by over double in terms of what was determined to be required. Thank you.

Thank you. I will go back to the Member from Great Slave.

Thank You, Mr. Chair. Good to know, and nothing further.

Thank you. Is there any further questions? I will go to the Member from the Yellowknife North.