When the Minister talks about using our health services in Fort Liard, that’s an entirely different question, because the Minister is well aware of the other concerns with regard to people not trusting or else being dismissed by our Fort Liard Health centre, but that’s an entirely different issue altogether.

What I’m talking about is when Alberta had the Capital Health Services we had a written agreement to use their services, their facilities with our medevac services, et cetera, and now they’re called Alberta Health. I’d just like to ask the Minister exactly what type of arrangement or agreement do we currently have with the Government of Alberta with regard to health.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I just want to follow up on my Member’s statement wherein I spoke about Fort Liard and Nahanni Butte residents accessing health services in Fort Nelson, BC. I just wanted to speak with the Minister of Health and Social Services with regards to that.

He was travelling in my constituency in May. He heard from the residents about the type of care that they do get from Fort Nelson. Part of the barrier there is that they’re not being referred there. They’re going there and they have been using it for decades, but their travel costs aren’t being covered to go there to access that health care. So, I’d like to ask, the Minister had agreed at that time to review it, to work with his officials, to see what can be done about accessing the health services in northern BC.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize three of my hearts in the gallery today: my loving partner, Mr. Lucyanne Kendo; a wonderful stepdaughter, Brittany Jewel; and my very small grandson, Kayleb Black- Villeneuve. Welcome to the gallery.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I’m very

pleased to hear the Minister of Health’s statement on the transformation of our health system, but today I want to let the Minister know that we simply must ensure that our residents in Fort Liard and Nahanni Butte health needs are taken care of. They want to be served by the BC Ministry of Northern Health in Fort Nelson, BC.

The Minister travelled with me in May and heard clearly from the residents that they are treated fairly and with care when they go to Fort Nelson. In fact, our residents have been treated in Fort Nelson for decades. They’re only asking to formalize the process, recognize the Fort Nelson Hospital as a point of service. This will then allow our region to refer and pay for the travel costs of our residents.

Having health services provided as close to home as possible will lower the costs of health care in my region. It’s a two and a half hour drive from Fort Liard into Fort Nelson, as opposed to when they travel to Yellowknife it’s a two day travel.

I have been standing in this House for three terms, asking our government and our Minister of Health to authorize Fort Liard and Nahanni Butte residents to receive their health care in Fort Nelson. We have an agreement with Alberta Health, and we use all their facilities. What will it take to have an agreement with the BC Ministry of Health to serve our residents in Fort Liard and Nahanni Butte?

I will have questions at the appropriate time. Mahsi cho.

Thanks, Mr. Chair.

All right. I’ll

await that confirmation. I just wanted to ask for another hour for my further questions, Mr. Chair.

---Laughter

I’ve got no further questions.

Thank you very much. Also, a new issue that came up out of Fort Liard was the road tests that the community was almost too small because I think we changed our legislation that the road test had to be done in the larger communities like Fort Simpson. Even Fort Simpson was questionable at that time. So I don’t know if the department has reviewed it with regard to giving out learners’ permits, class 7s and class 6s. I know that Aurora College goes to great lengths to train up to 10 people at a time in Fort Liard. So just with that there, Mr. Chair.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Just with regard to road licensing and safety, residents of Fort Liard still find it burdensome that they’ve got to drive all the way to Fort Simpson each time they need to get their vehicle registration and/or trailer registration. I know that we were supposed to have a mobile licensing unit out there. I don’t know if they ever got that going, or has online registration advanced to the point where they can do it from the comfort of their community? Thank you.

I think the Minister was talking about some of the bridges on the winter road section which kind of leads towards the Mackenzie Valley Highway Project to the north of Wrigley. I know that when the Minister came with me and we spoke with the Wrigley delegation, that was one of their asks, was can we start doing a small, mini program of highway development past the community of Wrigley, in terms of piecemealing the eventuality of a Mackenzie Valley Highway up the Mackenzie Valley. Just with those thoughts, any work that has been done by the department with respect to that other than the geotech work that was done.

I know that in the past few years that the highway between Fort Simpson and Wrigley there was investment in replacing culverts and almost like mini-

bridges, so I’ll just ask one more time

if there are any plans for replacing any more culverts towards Wrigley.