Glen Abernethy

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I indicated earlier, there are four areas where we are concerned that we may not meet the March 31st deadline. I don't have the details in front of me. I know that, most of the areas, we have actually completed already. I have committed to getting the Member and committees an update of where we are. It will include that information. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am not familiar with that program. I have asked the department to do a little bit of digging. It seems that program was a program that existed many, many, many years ago, well before my time. I could not tell the Member today why that funding was discontinued. I also don't fully understand the nature of the program, but, if the Member has some information on the program, I am happy to take it, I am happy to read it, I am happy to look at it and see if there is any opportunity for us to include the concepts and principles in the work we are doing around the continuing care action plan and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The authority identifies a client's care needs based on a home and community care assessment that is done with each client. If a client is receiving care and services through the home and community care program, their care needs are assessed on a regular basis and, if they change or they need to be modified, the program for home support can be modified. So it is based on an assessment to determine the level of supports they do need.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. To the recommendation, we have read through the recommendations in this report and, with respect to recommendation one, we agree. The department values the work that has been done by the Standing Committee on Government Operations and will certainly incorporate the recommendations that are not already covered in the quality improvement plan that are being made by the committee.

A couple of them, we have some questions about content and specificity, but in general, we agree with incorporating their changes into our report. As we are going through each motion, I will talk...

As the Member so accurately described in his Member's statement, there has been a lot of work done on this, a lot of years on this, and certainly been a lot of advocacy in this particular area. Public feedback received through the 2017 midwifery stakeholder engagement process has informed the work of the advisory committee on midwifery to help it develop the process and the approach to midwifery expansion. The advocates and consumers were specifically targeted in this engagement. The advisory committee, which included representation from the authorities and the Midwifery Association, are going...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There already are a number of midwifery positions that exist in both Fort Smith and Hay River. The new positions that are being established, there are 2.5 positions in total. One of the positions is going to be the territorial midwifery clinical specialist position, and this position will provide some coordination and consistent program guidance midwifery services that exist across the Northwest Territories. They will also be responsible for engaging the clinical governance and quality assurance activities within the authority and liaise with the Hay River Health and...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The department has reviewed the recommendation, and we agree with the OAG as well as the committee that addressing workload capacity within the CFS system is critical, absolutely critical, in ensuring the delivery of appropriate services to children and families. The department has recognized capacity challenges related to workload and caseload issues in the regions. In February 2019, just a few weeks ago, the Minister of Finance released the proposed budget for the 2019-2020 fiscal year, which, as the Member indicated, included $3.3 million investment to add 21 new...

In the development of the Continuing Care Action Plan, we reached out to stakeholders across the Northwest Territories and got feedback from a number of them. With respect to Charting Our Course: Northwest Territories Cancer Strategy, the territorial palliative care specialist is working with the different authorities and communities in order to streamline services and programs. Some of the things that we're looking at are helping individuals in smaller communities who have family members who might be palliative, to support them in their own homes and communities. This may include support from...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The department does accept this recommendation. As a note, this isn't something that was contemplated in the existing Quality Improvement Plan in the way that it is articulated here. However, having read the recommendation and having read the report, the department will be adding this recommendation to the Quality Improvement Plan. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That item is 4.2.1. In an effort to limit the number of action plans that we are developing, we have actually incorporated the palliative care work within the existing Continuing Care Services Action Plan. That is actually under objective 4 within that action plan. Palliative care is a component of home and community care, and this review is currently under way and will help to inform these services when they are rolled out and delivered.

Also, Mr. Speaker, palliative care is also a component of the Charting Our Course: Northwest Territories Cancer Strategy 2015-2025...