Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the new health and social services fee guide shows how disconnected this government has become from the cost of living crisis. While residents are asking for relief, this government is increasing fees and adding new costs for essential care. Long-term care fees have gone up, and for the first-time residents will now be charged the daily fee for alternative level care and will be charged while waiting a long-term care bed effective July 1st, 2026. Each type of care will cost families more than $12,000 a year.
Mr. Speaker, this will hit small communities hard, where basic goods are already unaffordable. But families across the NWT will feel the pressure whether they live in a small community or a larger centre. That is because this cost will fall on families already struggling to keep up. For those who need financial assistance, government points to a fee waiver application. But the waiver criteria only proves how disconnected this policy is.
To qualify for assistance, family income must be under $80,000. So what happens to a family just over that threshold, already paying northern prices for food, fuel and rent? An additional annual expense of $12,000 could take up to 15 percent of their annual income before taxes. For families already living paycheck to paycheck, that is completely unrealistic.
Mr. Speaker, I understand the deficit is a serious problem, but the answer cannot be to make essential care more expensive for families being pushed to the edge. Government needs to take responsibility for the system pressures instead of making struggling families pay more for care they cannot go without. I will have questions for the Minister of health at the appropriate time. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.