Julie Green

The answer to the question is that the on-the-land healing fund was increased by $700,000 for this fiscal year, and so the total now is $1.8 million. Thank you.

It's worth remembering always that a decision to go into treatment is a voluntary decision. People may feel that they are ready at one point and then later feel that they, in fact, are not ready. I know that, with respect to COVID, I have heard from medical patients. They are somewhat reluctant to go South to the Alberta hospitals, for example, because there have been hospital-based outbreaks, and there is a perception of increased risk. I would not be at all surprised if that is the case with people who are looking at treatment programs. I would also say, and the Member has heard me say this...

It is my understanding that the only travellers or essential workers who get immediate tests are people who are going into a healthcare setting, that other people do not receive those tests. That is primarily a function of our capacity, that, if we do not have people who are symptomatic, we do not really have a good test for them at this point. There is work going on to provide that kind of testing, which is not really testing; it's screening. That is coming down the pipe, but it does not exist now. The gold-star approach would be that everybody who comes into the NWT is screened to see if...

It's my understanding that there is a lay vaccination program in the NWT that ensures rabies vaccines for animals are available to communities who do not have a local or resident veterinarian to administer the vaccines themselves. The big challenge here is getting people to administer the vaccine, especially where there aren't veterinarians or other technicians who can do this themselves. I know that there has been some work between Health and Social Services and my colleague at ENR to identify and train individuals to administer those vaccines. I do not have information about how many of...

What's truly surprising and shocking is that this issue did not come out during our mandate priority setting exercise, not a word about an addictions or healing centre at that time. The TRC recommendations are directed to the federal government. I understand that there is a role for all of us to play in telling the government what it is we want them to fund, so that is certainly work that could take place. Just to remind the Member for Monfwi, I have been the health Minister for eight weeks, and I have learned a tremendous amount. I have not had the opportunity yet to learn about the Nunavut...

I’m not sure if I can answer that question. We don't have any inside information. We have heard, of course, about the privatization being contemplated in Alberta. We've heard about the possibility of wildcat strikes. We've heard about the surge in COVID cases. I'm going to say those are factors which will mean that there are fewer surgeries available to Northerners rather than more. Those are really issues that are beyond our control. They have been helpful in helping us to validate the sterilization in their own machines, but as for sending people there, that seems like a more difficult...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's my understanding that Nunavut, with a more homogeneous population, put together a proposal and requested federal funding. That's not the stage that I understand that we're at here. I'm not aware that this government ever says no to federal money, but I've never seen a proposal for this healing centre. I'm not clear where things are at. I want to say that there is no reason that the GNWT alone needs to take the lead on this. Indigenous governments and Indigenous government organizations could band together to create a proposal and work with the GNWT on that or not...

It's not as if there are no surgeries taking place, it's just that some surgeries which require larger instruments are not taking place. As a matter of fact, since July, 200 surgeries have been completed, and of the 124 surgeries that were cancelled at the end of July, about 23 of those have been completed. There is a need, of course, to address this big backlog. Some of the things we're looking at is whether it would be possible for people to go to the Inuvik Regional Hospital and have surgery performed there. We had been considering sending patients to Alberta, but unfortunately, that is no...

Mr. Speaker, I have a return to oral questions asked by the Member for Monfwi on October 20, 2020, regarding Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommendations.

I acknowledge the Member's reference to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission calls to action. Recommendation number 21 calls on the federal government to make funding a healing center in the NWT and Nunavut a priority. We are interested in the work that is going to take place in Nunavut to create a healing center that is distinct from an addictions treatment centre. The department is constantly reviewing best practices in healing...

What I heard when I was on the Standing Committee for Social Development and we toured the treatment centres in the South is that people were most concerned with housing, in particular. They wanted to not return to overcrowded housing, housing over which they had no control of their environment. They were living on a couch and that kind of thing. What they really wanted was a house of their own. Not necessarily even a house but an apartment of their own. That seems to be one of the key factors in making after-care work, and there is, in fact, some language in the mandate about trying this...