Glen Abernethy

Thank you. Two parts to the question, my first answer is based on the second part. Yesterday, when I was talking about going in to the communities, I was talking about OT and speech-language professionals. They don't currently travel to some of the smaller communities in the Deh Cho. I have provided direction to the department that I would like to see more engagement in smaller communities. It still depends on caseload. If there is only one person, it may not be appropriate or financially reasonable to do that, but if there is a larger caseload, we want our professionals to go into the...

This is a file that has been important to me for a large number of years. Unfortunately, it has taken way longer to make progress on it than I or anybody had hoped. We had hoped actually to be live early in the life of this government, but there had been a change in the government in Alberta. They are a key partner in making this happen because we want to be able to have our residents register on their Alberta Organ and Tissue Donation Registry.

I am happy to say that we have made significant progress. Negotiations have basically been concluded. We are now basically dotting some i's and...

I don't actually know the answer to that. I'm happy to follow up with some medical professionals who would certainly be able to answer that question in an appropriate way. I'd hate to speculate one way or another and give false information. I will get that information for the Member.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. May 26th is fast approaching. It is going to be an incredibly important day for the healthcare system, and it is also going to be a very complex and busy day. In order to ensure that we have little-to-no patient interruption or reduction in services during that time, we have been doing a significant amount of planning.

Health Care Relocations Inc. has been contracted to guide the Stanton team and the Stanton staff through transition planning. Operational readiness activities have been under way since November 2016, with the creation of 17 different transition planning...

My apologies. I forgot to give the number for the caseload for rehabilitation services. For OT, it's 57 in the Deh Cho, and for speech, it's 85 in the Deh Cho. With respect to the follow-up question, we are working hard to support the demand for rehab services across the Northwest Territories. We are focusing on improving services delivered by the existing rehabilitation teams that exist. Additional resources have been allocated to the Beaufort-Delta in 2018-2019, and while we are proposing some additional investment into the Stanton team for 2019-2020, there have been significant new...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are 19 days allocated for speech-language pathology and OTs for the Deh Cho, and that's broken down as 10 for Simpson, and six for Providence and Fort Liard. That's site visits, daytime face-to-face meetings. This does not include weekly telehealth sessions with clients or intensive rehab sessions held at Stanton, where a client has to come in. These are also separate, just so we're all clear, these are separate from the numbers available for adults. These are for paeds. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, that Bill 41, Tobacco and Vapor Products Control Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I commit to getting the information that the Member is looking for out into the public through our website. I recognize that I am not an expert in communications. I don't believe the Member is an expert in communications, although he may be good.

My recommendation is that we rely on the experts who are involved in getting information to the public on a regular basis and take their input to make sure that the right tool is being used. If it's a Gantt chart, let's do a Gantt chart. If it's not a Gantt chart, let's not do a Gantt chart. Bottom line: let's get the information out there. Thank you...

There will be some temporary program moves as renovations are completed in the legacy Stanton building, the old building. For instance, outpatient rehab will be temporarily located on level 2 of the centre square tower, while speech and audiology will remain at the Stanton Medical Centre, which is the building beside McDonald's. The extended care unit will temporarily move to level 5 of the new Stanton building. There will be some temporary moves.

Mr. Speaker, we want this information to be clear. We want this information to be transparent. We are intending to keep our website updated on a...

We do have speech-language pathologists and we do have OT for paeds. We also have the FASD and the ADS coordinator positions. All these positions can be accessed through referrals through their health providers in the communities. Obviously, we were out there trying to get the referrals done so that we can get these kids the supports and services they need. Regardless of where you are in the Northwest Territories, it still takes a referral to access any of our rehab services, regardless of where you live. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.