Glen Abernethy

We’re definitely breaking new ground in this area and we are working with our partners in the communities as well as across the Northwest Territories and they are working with clinical professionals who have provided more standard, typical type programming in other jurisdictions, as well, in the North. We are going to put a solid evaluation framework around this particular program to make sure that we can assess the on-the-land programs that are being delivered to make sure that as we move forward that any on-the-land program that we are supporting here in the Northwest Territories is...

In the Northwest Territories we want to make sure that our residents have options and choices, which is why we’ve gone with contracts in some southern facilities that provide some high quality programing. We are looking at on-the-land programming for, as I said, things like after-care or for prevention, support of families, and we are looking at a mobile option.

The Member is right; there was a pilot in Nunavut that didn’t work out around mobile treatment, but we are working with some of the southern institutions as well as there are institutions here in the Northwest Territories who have...

This is one of the areas that we’ve had some positive feedback on. We need to figure out ways to expand it out and make it more available. There are all sorts of opportunities here. Telehealth is one example. We have an opportunity to bring people together. I will commit to working with the Members to see what opportunities exist to expand this in the future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I’ve been the Minister of Health for about four months now, approaching five, and I’ve had this brought up to me several different times, and I personally have had the opportunity to sit down with residents in the Northwest Territories who have experienced cancer who have expressed the exact types of concerns that the Member is bringing up with me. We do have a cancer patient navigator position within Stanton. That position is intended to help individuals through the system. But I hear the Member and I know that we need to do a little bit more work there. We do have the Aboriginal health and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize a couple of individuals: Ravan Bedingfield and Jessica Marriott. Jessica and Ravan are policy analysts with the Department of Health and Social Services and I would like to acknowledge their role for preparing for session and for keeping track of all the work that’s going on in the House, and I want to thank them for all their hard work and commitment. Thank you and it’s great to have you both here.

It actually includes a number of programs. Over the years we had given out a significant number of bursaries and there is limited data as to whether we were actually getting any return of service on those bursaries and whether we were getting good value for money, so we have continued the bursaries for those individuals that are in nursing programs and other allied programs now, so those individuals that are in are covered, but we have suspended any future intake until we have an opportunity to do a comprehensive analysis to make sure that we are getting value for money.

The Community Health...

Thank you. We are committed to working with residents on this particular issue and we’re committed to doing a number of things, including some prevention and direct supports to our residents. We have run a number of pilots in different communities on diabetes programming, but I hear the Member, it’s an interesting idea. I would love to sit down with the Member and committee and get a little bit more input on specifically what they’re making reference to and I would be happy to have some additional discussion on that. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, diabetes is, from my understanding, on the rise across Canada. We are not unique. Our rates increase by about 200 people a year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The review, analysis and direction will be completed within the 17th Assembly. It might take a bit of time, but I will continue to work with the Member and committee. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I think it’s important to finish the analysis first so we can figure out what the appropriate make-up would be. It may not be an LPN, it may not be an RN. It may be, it may not be. We need to do that work and we have committed and I have committed to do that work and sharing the results with the Member, so we can have an informed discussion on how we can provide quality care for the residents of Tsiigehtchic and the other small communities in the Northwest Territories.