Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The department is actually currently completing a Territorial Palliative Care Framework and Action Plan, which is going to guide us on the delivery of community-based palliative care services throughout the Northwest Territories, and this plan and action plan are expected to be completed by the end of March 2014. Once that’s done we’ll be in a better position to have a discussion about what we can do with existing infrastructure and new infrastructure.

I do know that with all new infrastructure that we’re building with respect to long-term care facilities, we are...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Obviously, we want to work with our residents to keep them as close to home as possible, recognizing that we do have some infrastructure challenges. The Housing Corp has been doing a significant amount of work with respect to facilities in the communities to provide some opportunities for elders as they age and have to move out of their own units. We are looking at putting in a long-term care facility in Norman Wells, which would be the first of its kind in that region. So we are doing a number of things, but from time to time we do have residents who do have to come...

In the Northwest Territories there are a number of long-term care facilities throughout the Territories in different communities and regions. The Housing Corp has done some pretty impressive work in getting some infrastructure on the ground to provide types of support. There is a dementia centre here in Yellowknife. So, we do provide a significant number of services to individuals needing it.

I’m not sure I fully understand the Member’s question. Is he asking how many seniors are utilizing long-term care facilities outside the Northwest Territories? I’m not too sure what he’s asking, but I’d be...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Psychiatric services in the Northwest Territories have been enhanced through a partnership between Stanton Territorial Health Authority as well as Dalhousie Global Psychiatry and Yellowknife Health and Social Services. As the Member knows, there are two resident psychiatrists in the Northwest Territories, and mental health services, as I’ve just said, have been expanded to include the Dalhousie Global Psychiatry department of Dalhousie University. Both the on-site psychiatrist and those helping us through Dalhousie provide both direct and distance treatment consultation...

The Medical Travel Policy requires that travel must originate in the Northwest Territories. However, for the case like the one the Member is talking about, there is a process to consider exceptional circumstances, which I know the department is doing. They are aware of this situation. They will be in touch with the individual and they will work with the individual to see what can be done to address this particular concern.

This is the type of information that is helping us have an informed discussion around medical travel as we move forward, and a significant amount of work has already been...

Absolutely, I will follow up with the Member and his office and explore options. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. This Assembly’s vision of healthy, educated people contributing to a strong and prosperous northern society starts in early childhood. The departments of Education, Culture and Employment and Health and Social Services have worked collaboratively to craft a renewed Early Childhood Development Action Plan based on best practices, national and international research and the wisdom of our elders.

This action plan is the companion document to the Early Childhood Development Framework tabled in May 2013 and we will be tabling it later today.

The framework identified the need...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I wish to table the following document, entitled “A Framework for Early Childhood Development in the NWT, Action Plan.”

With respect to this particular case, I’m certainly willing to have some conversations with the Member. I also know that the department is working and will work with the individual to explore these exception opportunities.

When an individual goes on medical travel, they work with the medical travel unit. They usually get a pamphlet with contact numbers, who they can contact within medical travel should there be any problems with their plans. In this case, it was my understanding that this person went down and something happened to them when they were down there, so they weren’t taken down on...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. We have more than 13,000 patient cases that are managed by the medical travel system a year, so it’s a significant load. For the individuals that are going through medical travel, I mean, for the most part, they’re focused on their diagnosis and treatment. For many of them, most of them, the medical travel system seems to work, but as I’ve heard from Members, as I’ve heard from the public, as I heard from the MLA again today with the particular case that he’s brought forward, there are people that are frustrated with the medical travel system. We know we can do better...