Julie Green

Yes. Thank you. Once again to the deputy minister.

Yes. Thank you. We recently completed a long-term care bed study, and for that, we used 10 years of data that tracked what age people were when they went into long-term care and what level of acuity they were at in terms of service need. We have a pretty good idea of when people need to move out of their independent living. We also, of course, provide homecare throughout the NWT, so there are metrics about how many people require homecare and what kinds of services they need. For more detail, though, I'll ask, Mr. Chair, if I can refer this question onto the deputy minister.

Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chair. The explanation is that we historically have shortfalls in this area where we exceed the budget. In 2019-2020, that shortfall was $11.8 million for hospital services and another $2.4 million for out-of-territory physician services. That combined shortfall was addressed through a supplementary appropriation. I don't see that that has been necessary in the current fiscal year that will end next month, but I think that further detail could be provided by the director of finance. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I want to make sure I am on the right page. Could the Member please say which page she is referring to?

Yes. Thank you for the question. I do not have that information to hand. I will look towards the deputy minister and see if he does.

Thank you for that comment. I think the Member has hit on the reason that we are doing the review. It's because we have heard from people that they would like to know whether it would be possible for their family members to come back, and the answer without the study is: we don't really know. Can we provide for the level of care they need? Do we have the physical space? Do we have the staffing expertise to provide that care? This is what we want to learn and share so that we are all on the same page in understanding the kinds of needs. That is one dimension, of course. Whether the person...

Sure. The month of March is going to be a very big month for first doses, if required; second doses, for sure. There will be vaccines available in just about every community in the NWT. I'm really hoping that, by the end of March, we will have good uptake in the regional centres. I know that there are various people and organizations, like Hotii ts'eeda, even the NWT Association of Communities, who are really promoting getting vaccinated, and I appreciate those efforts. I think that all of us who are working from an evidence-based decision-making point of view need to encourage vaccination. It...

Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am not seeing that my page has any detail on it, so I would like to refer the question to the director of finance. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, I do.

Thank you. It's my understanding that the evaluation will point the way forward and this will be incorporated into the budget planning for the 2022-2023 fiscal year. Thank you.