Julie Green

Yes, thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, this is a timely question. All persons, regardless of where they live, are offered screening for diabetes. That's an inventory of risk factors and then a blood test which would confirm whether the person is diabetic or prediabetic.

I'm pleased to say that work is going to begin this year, and ongoing for three years, to work with families who are living with type two diabetes to develop culturally relevant diabetes education materials and programming and looking also at ontheland camps that would be specifically for intergenerational families...

Yes, thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, we don't have a specific Indigenous diabetes approach but we are well aware that this is a disease that has a greater effect on Indigenous people, and men in particular, and so that's something that we work with awareness of.

We started some primary healthcare reform projects in the last year, and one of the aims of these is to improve access to services for people who have chronic conditions. So the planning is underway now to expand the primary healthcare reform projects to the Deh Cho, Tlicho, Beaufort Delta, and Hay River regions. So with that...

Mr. Speaker, the Department of Health and Social Services is reviewing the supplementary health benefits available to NWT residents. These benefits cover prescription drugs for approximately 1,500 residents, benefits that go beyond coverage provided by the NWT Health Plan. Unfortunately, these programs are not currently available to everyone, so we are now updating policies that underpin this program.

To access the Supplementary Health Benefits Program, you must be a senior or have a specified disease named on a list of conditions developed more than 30 years ago. The seniors program remains...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, as I said earlier to the Member this week, this program actually hasn't launched yet. The uptake is unknown. The funding is secure for the 25 positions at this point. So while I know she would like to score a point today, it is not possible for me to commit to what she wants. Thank you.

Thank you. This is part of the trajectory of health needs to do more and more and more without any additional money. So this program is funded from within. What we can afford to do is 25 students at this point.

I want to say, however, that this bursary is not the only bursary or way to receive additional funds for education. If people in the nursing program go to the bursary section of the Aurora College website, they'll see some additional ways that they can apply for funding. Thank you.

Yes, thank you, Madam Speaker. My information is that there are a total of 121 people enrolled in the nursing program, and 29 of them are first year. And between 24 and 28 typically are Northern or Indigenous. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I appreciate the Member's passion for this. I am not going to change my answer. This program hasn't even launched, and the criteria the Member's asking for the criteria to be changed. We need to launch the program. And I invite her to come back to me with questions once it has been launched during the winter term. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, at this point, this is a brand new program, the bursaries actually are not going to be available to apply for until the winter of 2023, and at that point it will be possible to apply for them retroactively. So we don't have any information on the uptake to say whether it's possible to expand it to other populations. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, this is the standard operating procedure, that a person leaves with a safety plan. I think that some of the confusion comes around having a standard diagnosis. Not everyone who comes in with selfharm is recorded consistently in that way or with suicidal ideation. So they may not always fall into the category of the suicide risk assessment. So it depends on what kind of information is conveyed right at the beginning. But the safety plan is required. So if the Member knows of times that safety plans have not been given to people who have suicidal ideation...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I think that would be the intention, but I can't commit to this funding. What the process is, is that Hay River Health and Social Services Authority needs to make a business case for the medical social workers and then submit it during the regular business planning cycle. Thank you.