Glen Abernethy

First and foremost we should be working with the residents of Fort Liard and Nahanni Butte to restore their confidence in the health care system. We are moving forward to make significant changes in how we provide services. I did have an opportunity to visit Fort Liard and Nahanni Butte and I have been working closely with the public administrator and CEO, trying to find ways to restore that confidence.

If somebody is sick, they should use the health centre. But as a resident of Canada, they do have the right to go wherever they chose and we do have reciprocal billing agreements.

Our challenge...

Mr. Speaker, an equitable and sustainable health care system is one of the priorities of the 17th Assembly. One way we can support this priority is by improving the management of pharmaceuticals.

Mr. Speaker, to date, provincial and territorial governments have each made significant efforts to address the challenges and manage pharmaceuticals in a way that maximizes patient health outcomes while contributing to system sustainability.

Under the leadership of Canada’s Premiers, provincial and territorial governments have demonstrated their commitment to working together to produce significant...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable for Tu Nedhe, that Bill 47, An Act to Amend the Child and Family Services Act, be read for the third time.

That is the intent of the health care system, and in that clinic you’ll see well man, well woman, well baby clinics, as well as other information being shared with our residents. The facility has a huge opportunity to continue to provide the quality services that are being delivered in the community now, but over time, there’s also some space for growth and some change of programs. So, as I said to Mr. Menicoche earlier, we’re committed to the health and well-being of all of our residents and we will work with the communities. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know the public administrator and the CEO of the Dehcho Health and Social Services Authority have been working with the community, trying to make sure that those types of things are incorporated. Now that the legislation has been approved to move to one authority, I also am moving to re-establish wellness camps in the Deh Cho so we can continue to get input from the residents of the communities in a more effective manner. Thank you.

We will be making this information public. We will be sharing the new guidelines when they come out. A couple things around that: There is still going to be a requirement for individuals who are going to be away from the Northwest Territories for extended periods of time to let the health services office know, and I would still strongly encourage residents who are travelling outside of the Northwest Territories to get medical travel insurance to cover any extra costs while they’re in the United States or other parts of the world as well as in the southern parts of Canada.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Currently, residents of the Northwest Territories need to be in the territory for six months plus a day, which works out to about 183 days. But over the last number of years, a large number of jurisdictions within Canada have been decreasing that time period to about 153 days, so they only have to be in their province for 153 days to be eligible for a health care card. Those jurisdictions are British Columbia, Manitoba, Alberta and Ontario.

We have done some analysis based on questions that have been asked in this House and questions that have been asked by seniors, and...

Mr. Speaker, I did visit Fort Liard and Nahanni Butte with the Member and we did actually have this conversation and we want to have the best health care possible here in the Northwest Territories. We want to make sure that when an individual goes into that Fort Liard Health Centre, they’re getting proper treatment and diagnosis and referral as appropriate. Currently, it’s a referral within the Northwest Territories or to Alberta, and as I indicated, we’re going to finish our work with Alberta and Nunavut which will help inform future discussions with BC.

But, Mr. Speaker, in the meantime, when...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As Canadian citizens, residents of Fort Liard and Nahanni Butte have the ability to receive medically necessary services anywhere in the country that they wish. The NWT actually has a reciprocal billing arrangement with all the provinces and territories throughout the country under our obligations under the Canada Health Act. These agreements ensure that residents obtain medically necessary physician and hospital services when they are temporarily outside of the Northwest Territories without having to pay up front. This is true everywhere, with the exception of Quebec...

Currently, within our structure, there’s actually no board in the Deh Cho. We have a public administrator. The board was dismantled some time ago. With the move to single authority here in the Northwest Territories, we wanted to ensure that it was essential, or actually, we feel it was essential that we continue to get a regional voice and community voice to help us customize and enhance programs at the community level so that the regions and communities also have a voice at a territorial level.

As I’ve committed to this House before, now that the legislation has passed, I want to move forward...