Julie Green

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to point out that the situation is very different in the Yukon. They have declared a public health emergency around overdose deaths following a series of deaths right after the New Year. We had three overdose deaths in the NWT in the first three quarters of last year. And three is too many. But compared to the toll that alcohol takes on people in the NWT, alcohol is a much more significant problem, and it's the one that we are addressing with the development of the territorial alcohol strategy. Thank you.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you for the question.

There's obviously an overlapping responsibility here where Justice is primarily responsible for what's criminal and how to enforce that, and Health and Social Services is responsible for what is a health issue and how to respond to that. So the change yesterday doesn't address the primary concern of health which safe supply of illicit drugs, the amount of drugs, and whether they qualify as possession or should be seized is really a Justice issue. Thank you.

In favour.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as the Member is aware, this is a federal program and the NIHB benefits are federally funded. The Government of the Northwest Territories funds medical travel to the same extent for people who are not eligible for noninsured health benefits and not eligible for Metis health benefits.

So we spend about $45 million a year on medical travel. The older you are, the more likely you are to get access to medical travel. There is a very specific set of criteria. It's set by the federal government and we administer it.

It is time to look at it again, and the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, since we last sat I had the opportunity to go to six different NWT communities, and certainly some of them are small communities and they have a lot to say about health care delivered to them. And while some people are satisfied with it, other people see room for improvement and I'm certainly interested in hearing those ideas for room for improvement.

What we want for the whole population is the best possible health outcomes, whether they live in a small community or they live in Yellowknife. And that's something that we are very focused on as a department...

Mr. Speaker, Rules of Debate 3.2(3) item (h), it says in a debate the Speaker will call a Member to order if the Member, (h) makes allegations against another Member, a House officer, a witness, or a Member of the public; and, (i) imputes false or hidden motives to another Member.

By suggesting that I am downplaying, gaslighting, requiring an apology for disastrous treatment, I believe this Member is over the line. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as the Member may be aware, we're currently facing a shortage of nurses in the Fort Resolution health centre. They've been operating quite often with two nurses rather than three. So the idea of adding more nursing positions is a risk that because we may not be able to fill them. The nursing staff who are there provide home care and wellbaby checks and of course emergency and chronic disease management.

So the nursing level is not up to where we would want it. As I said, it's two rather than three. But I feel confident that they are covering the basic needs...

Yes, thank you. And I'm pleased to note that the CEO of the Yellowknife Health and Social Services region, within which Fort Resolution is located, has been to the community a couple of times this month and has opened channels of communication with the leadership there to work on the specific issues that people have raised.

I also want to say that while people may be afraid or unsure about advocating for themselves in the moment, there is also a complaint process where people, instead of sitting with their issues, can point out what their problems are and ask us for resolution.

Because it's...

Mr. Speaker, according to the Rules of Debate, section 32(3), in a debate the Speaker will call a Member to order if the Member, (h) makes allegations against another Member, a House officer, a witness, or a Member of the public; and (i) imputes false or hidden motives to another Member.

There are various other charges another Member with uttering a deliberate falsehood, uses abusive or insulting language of a nature likely to cause disorder.

In no particular order in his statement, the Member for Tu NedheWiilideh suggested that I was downplaying concerns, gaslighting concerns, needed to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, under the Rules of Debate 3.2(3)(h) and (i), the statement made by the Member for Tu NedheWiilideh is out of order. Thank you.