Julie Green

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The survey is going to fulfill a couple of different purposes. One is that it is going to feed information into the alcohol strategy which is being developed, which is the greatest driver of hospitalizations because of alcohol use. There is that part of it. The other part of it has to do with evaluating how well our current treatment regime is working. I am anticipating that the department will take into account what is collected in the alcohol survey and apply it to planning going forward. That's really the point of having the survey. I don't know if I've captured...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. This budget is at a very high level. It represents spending in big categories and not at the regional or health centre level. I don't have a specific answer to the Member's question. I will say that we do not contemplate eliminating any positions anywhere, so if there is a vacancy, then I am going to say that it will be filled. Thank you.

Thank you. I would like the deputy minister to try this question. Thank you.

I didn't provide a timeline because I don't have one.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would like to refer the question to the deputy minister. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am not sure that there is a new action plan coming. I think that the department is taking a different approach, as they are with cultural safety, of embedding the work right into the department rather than segregating it into an action plan, but the deputy minister would have more information on this point. Thank you.

Thank you. I will just say that the hospital services budget is spread through several different categories in this budget, and this particular one is about in-patients. That is what the Minister is referring to in terms of Indigenous navigators. We do have people in navigator positions at this point. There is a question about whether it would be a good idea to have more people in this position, and that is something that we are interested in exploring further.

That may or may not be connected to medical travel. What I mean by that is that, in a separate review of medical travel, which is in a...

Thank you. I understood the deputy minister to say that the RFP is out or about to go out and that the results would be ready by the end of the year, but perhaps he could be more specific. I would like to refer the question to him.

Yes. Thank you. The reason that the long-term care is offered in regional centres is that we need some efficiencies in the number of beds and the number of staff for the 24/7 responsibility, so it's turned out that, in the smaller communities, we just can't get to that economy of scale to provide for full supportive living, which would include nursing care as well as care aides. In terms of whether there has been any discussion to create a business or training component to situate in small communities, I am not aware of that, but I will ask the deputy minister if he is. Thank you.

Yes, that is correct. After-care takes place in the NWT, and this is an out-of-territory segment.