Glen Abernethy

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Once again, a new format that we’re looking at here today and there are things in a few different places. It is going to take us all a little bit of time to become familiar with this and we will re-offer that briefing.

The federal dollars the deputy minister is talking about appears on page 220 under work performed on behalf of others. It’s the second from the bottom, home and community care, $5.5 million.

It would be inappropriate to talk about individual cases. But I can say that we do work with our residents of the Northwest Territories, and when they do have challenges with the NIHB benefits that they’re entitled to receive, we do participate with them. We do work with them by providing the doctors’ notes and everything they need, and those issues do get resolved. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Just to confirm, the Member is talking about the CIHI at this point?

Thank you. We don’t have a specific budget for creating or utilizing or creating opportunities around technology. We would have to look within our budget and see what categories might be useable or might be possible to use for that particular project and we will do that. We will look at the budgets that we have. We have a very, very small budget for Aboriginal languages. There’s a lot more money for French languages in here as a result of the recent court case. But it’s a good idea. We will certainly look within our budget and see what categories would allow us to do this work.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, the bill is coming forward in the next week or two for first reading and second reading, at which point it will be committee’s bill for 120 days. At this point in time, based on the changes that are coming, we don’t believe that there will be additional costs. We believe it’s a matter of using our money more appropriately and using the existing resources to the best effect, and the changes in the bill will actually give us better direction and better results without adding additional dollars.

In this process we don’t want to dictate to any of the communities or regions what project would be appropriate for them. This is a community-driven initiative. So it’s what the community wishes to see and how the community wishes to see it unroll.

As I said to Member Blake yesterday, we’re there to add clinical advice and expertise if they seek it, and if they want some of our people there, we’re willing to participate as well. So if they want a youth program, they can have a youth program. Thank you.

We did bring that up to the Beaufort-Delta board and the public administrator and the staff at the Beaufort-Delta. They indicated that they actually felt they had an adequate supply of BiliBlankets and other tools they can use for individuals. But since that time, they’ve also put in this award-winning obstetrical program called MORE OB, which is changing the way they’re delivering some of the services in the Beaufort-Delta. It’s an amazing program. As a result of those changes, there didn’t seem to be a desire for them. They weren’t that interested in bringing in an additional BiliBlanket...

We have a pretty solid relationship with the NWT Disabilities Council. We do provide them with a significant amount of money. Not all organizations get forced growth, like non-government organizations get forced growth, and I don’t believe at this point in time the NWT Council is one of the ones that’s getting forced growth. It isn’t. We have been talking to the council about updating the action plan. It’s pretty old and it really needs to be updated, and they certainly have an interest in doing that. They have been a little busy with a number of the different projects that they have...

It is certainly something that we’re looking at doing, but at the same time we’re engaged in a significant number of initiatives and every time we’re pulled off by committee or another group to do another analysis, another research project, it has to be done by the staff that we have and there’s a number of major priorities that were set by the 17th Legislative Assembly’s Caucus that we’re working on. We’re progressing and it’s in the queue and the work will be done. Thank you.

Yes, Madam Chair, we do believe that there will be opportunities to get some economies of scale and reduce some expenditures in some areas, but the overall price of delivering health care in the Northwest Territories continues to climb. We’re not going to turn patients away and the cost continues to climb. So we don’t see an overall savings in this activity, but we do see an opportunity to save in certain areas, have some economies of scale, control future growth of expenditures and make sure that we’re getting maximum benefit for all the dollars that we’re spending within the system. So, yes...