Glen Abernethy

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m glad the Member asked the question. Contrary to what has been suggested previously in the House, I as a Member, I as the Minister and the department both take this issue incredibly seriously. Within the department of Health and Social Services, our chief clinical advisor is actively involved in putting together a working group and committee, formed consisting of physicians and other health care practitioners, pharmacists and government personnel, to discuss and come up with solutions around the prescription drug abuse issue. Also, the department is working to set...

There are a few more details. I have the specifics, which I can read off to the Member if he would like so that it’s on public record, or I can share it with committee, whichever the Member prefers.

Mr. Speaker, the Member is asking me for my opinion. I am happy to give it, but at the same time, I work with my colleagues in the other departments and as Minister responsible for the social envelope, I will continue to do that. We will analyze the questions that the Member is asking and we will come back to the Member with a unified response. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Madam Chair, our goal is always to complete the projects in the year in which they are budgeted for, to spend the dollars in the year that they are approved and supported by the Legislative Assembly. Ultimately, we would like to have no carry-over and that’s our goal.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can’t talk to the details about the NWT Housing Corp’s programs, but I would encourage the Member to follow up with the appropriate Minister.

What I can say is that I listened intently to the Member’s opening comments and Member’s statement. The issues he is bringing up are consistent with issues that he brought up during the winter session about conflicts in departments and having barriers to providing quality services to our residents. At that time I did get a copy of the Member’s statement with a list of samples and examples of areas where he felt, and others have...

My apologies, Mr. Chair. I missed her question. If she can repeat it, that would be great.

Thank you, Madam Chair. We haven’t set a target like 5, 10, 15 percent, but our goal is always to do better and to get that percentage as low as we can. Ultimately, it would be great to get to a point where all the capital we budget for is completed in the year in which it’s budgeted, but there are always extenuating circumstances that may limit that or interfere with that. Our goal is to get it as low as possible and spend the money in the year that it’s allocated.

I will commit to having a conversation with the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, but it would be impossible for me to commit to finding a solution within a seven-day session. So we will have the conversation, we will explore any opportunities that exist and I will keep the Member informed. Thank you.

On the Medical Travel Policy now, there is a per diem that is provided. It may not be sufficient enough to cover some of the costs that the Member is talking about, but I know that communities throughout the Northwest Territories have stood up and have been supporting members of their communities when they are away for extended periods of time.

During my discussions with residents across the Northwest Territories and with Members, we’ve heard a lot of suggestions on escorts and what we need to be doing. I’ve heard individuals say we need to actually create or employ some dedicated escorts in...

Mr. Speaker, I’m not prepared to talk about an individual case, but I’d be happy to sit down with the Member and we can look at the file and see what we can do to resolve this particular situation.

In the end, the Minister doesn’t make decisions on medical travel. There is a policy and a process. It’s just a matter of finding the appropriate way through the process. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.