Julie Green

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about the devastating impact that the drug poisoning crisis has had on the community of Hay River. The coroner has confirmed that there were six deaths related to drug poisoning in 2022. Many families are struggling to understand and cope with the emotional toll of these deaths.

Public health officials have noted that these deaths are drug poisonings rather than overdoses. The difference is that with a drug overdose, someone takes too much of something they know they are taking. But with a drug poisoning, the drug user is not aware their supply is contaminated...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following two documents: Information for Return to Written Question 4919(2), Three Year Turnover Rates of Child and Youth Counselors by Region; and, Followup Letter for Oral Question 115919(2), Mental Health and Suicide. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a better description of these positions is adult social workers, adult services social workers. So my understanding is that the operational situation for the two when they are hired is to have one available at the health centre and one who is doing outreach. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my understanding is that the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority has been able to fund these positions with internal funds at this point but that they are looking for a longer term solution to continue funding the medical social workers. Thank you.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we do have a highlevel service dashboard that is available online, but it doesn't drill into the level that the Member is asking for. And so I will follow up with her to give her specific times for Inuvik, Stanton, and Fort Smith. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we're not looking at making that change.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in fact, the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority is now actively recruiting two medical social workers who will support community outreach efforts and coordinate clinical care. So I don't know where that process is at, but the money has been identified; the ad has been posted, and we it usually takes somewhere up to 12 weeks to fill a position. So I hope that before we leave here at the end of March, you will I will be able to announce to you that the medical social workers are in place. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to thank the MLA for the engagement he has with this issue in his community. I'm very pleased that he gets calls directly and can provide the information that he has and I'm providing. So there are all frontline registered nurses are qualified to administer and support medical detox under the direction of a physician, and that applies to opioids and alcohol. So the starting point is to go to the health centre and to be assessed for the substance that the person wants to detox from, and the process then rolls from there. There are always registered...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a Return to Oral Question asked by the Member for Kam Lake on October 27, 2022, regarding Infertility Treatment.

To answer the Member’s question as to who decides what conditions are covered as a medically necessary insured health service, it is not unfortunately a simple answer.

There are multiple factors that come together to determine what is deemed a medically necessary insured service. While the Canada Health Act sets out the principles of its Medicare system, specifically the principles of universality, portability and accessibility, it is the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, these are Hay River Health and Social Services Authority positions.