Just for clarity, the Midwifery Program that was in Yellowknife was never funded. It actually never had core dollars to fund that program. It was funding the authority had taken out of other programs in order to create midwifery services.

I’m still committed to midwifery services, I always have been, which is one of the reasons we are looking at re-envisioning how we roll out midwifery services over the next couple of years.

As I indicated, we had planned to move forward with Beaufort-Delta. Things look like they might be changing. There have been some alternate proposals submitted to us on how...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Unfortunately, the position in Fort Smith is still not filled. We’ve attempted to go out and recruit that position a number of times and every recruitment activity has proved unsuccessful. We are intending to fill the position and we continue to go out and recruit and we hope that we do find somebody to fill that position in short order.

At the same time, we have filled the two positions in Hay River. That program has started. They’ve already started meeting with clients and we anticipate that the midwives in Hay River could be facilitating a birth in the community as...

At this point in time there is no intention to build a territorial treatment facility in the Northwest Territories. We will continue to utilize the incredible facilities that we use in the South that are giving a wide range of programs and services to the people of the Northwest Territories; we will continue to deliver on-the-land programming through our Aboriginal partners, which the money has been put in the budget to do so; and we are continuing to pursue the mobile treatment options, which I would be happy to discuss with Members more.

With respect to withdrawal management, that is in the...

The work has begun but it is not concluded.

We have a number of different programs that we are working on. We do have a chronic disease prevention promotion program that is underway and we have programs like BETTER and other tools that are available in individual communities to residents across the Northwest Territories. In every one of those programs we talk about the value of not smoking, eating healthy and getting lots of exercise. Healthy people will be more productive, they will contribute to society more, they will be living better lives and, obviously, that will result in lower overall health care costs in the long term. Thank...

There are a number of things that we are doing to encourage people to quit smoking or to reduce the amount they smoke, preferably quit smoking. We are promoting some services, resources, tools to help people quit smoking, such as the NWT Helpline, we have tobacco cessation aids, we are continuing to promote things like National Non-Smoking Week, and we are also promoting World No Tobacco Day. We are putting together some new websites, building upon the good work that was done with the Don’t Be a Butthead campaign. Those resources or tools still exist and we will continue to hand those out...

The Mental Health Act is currently in the process of being completely rewritten. Timing-wise to do an amendment and then interfere with the process that’s underway might actually slow things up.

The types of issues the Member is talking about are going to be addressed under the Mental Health Act. We had hoped to have the Mental Health Act in front of this House in the life of this government, but it’s taking a little longer to draft than we had thought. We think we may be done drafting in the summer, which means we’re not going to have enough time to bring it to the House to go for first...

We’re trying to do a number of things to increase awareness of mental health issues here in the Northwest Territories. We did release a magazine last year, which was Mind and Spirit, which encourages people to read, talk and understand mental health issues. One thing I’d like to encourage all Members to do, as well as all the Ministers and all residents of the Northwest Territories, is to take Mental Health First Aid. That creates an awareness in the individuals so they can recognize when people they know might be struggling.

At the same time, we do have community counseling programs that are...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that Bill 44, An Act to Amend the Hospital Insurance and Health and Social Services Administration Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

In Tsiigehtchic, a community of 128 people, we do have a public health nurse going in there one day a week. I hear the Member; we will certainly take that under consideration, but we also have two times a year where there is a public health nurse in the community for six weeks at a time. There is some room for discussion and I would be happy to have that conversation with the Member. Thank you.