Julie Green

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you for the question. I advise the Member to tell his constituents we're working on it. We know the measures that are in place now have resulted in significant disruptions to people's lives, and we want to bring that disruption to an end. As I previously said, we'd be following an evidencedbased decisionmaking process in order to decide when and how to lift restrictions.

The CPHO has already agreed to lift leisure travel restrictions by March 1st, which is a week from tomorrow. She has said she is reviewing further orders and is prepared to make additional...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a Return to Oral Question asked by the Member for Great Slave on December 1st, 2021, regarding addictions aftercare and mental health.

Mr. Speaker, there's no single approach that I or the Department of Health and Social Services take to engage with the federal government to advocate for the needs of residents of the Northwest Territories. While it would not be appropriate for me or the department to direct the federal government regarding the operation and administration of its programs and services, I take every opportunity to provide advice or...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you for the question. At this point, there is a dedicated health human resources unit in the Department of Finance so we, in fact, already work closely with them to recruit people and to provide for training and other opportunities for staff. So that would be decided on a casebycase basis, what kind of support is available and to whom and when and how that relates to the department that the person is coming from. So this fund for skill enhancement is in place, and we want it totally spent. If people are interested in expanding their skills and taking up different...

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the question. The fact is that we need to continue to provide health resources in whatever way we can, whether that's hiring locums or agency nurses or, best of all, having people become our resident indeterminate staff.

So, we've worked particularly on hiring local indeterminate staff. I'm pleased to tell the Member that all 11 nursing graduates from Aurora College in 2021 were hired into indeterminate positions. The Indigenous Gateway Program has provided us with ten new hires. The Health and Social Services summer student program has provided us with...

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question, but at this time, I don't have a specific dollar figure. What we're trying to work out is what kind of increase in our public health capacity we need to continue doing testing, contact tracing, vaccinations, and managing outbreaks. And so it's so difficult to tell exactly what kind of resources we're going to need for that. And here's why:

Since the Omicron variant, we've had 6,000 cases in the NWT, three times as many as we had prior to the beginning of Omicron. So the amount of staff that has been involved in responding to...

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question. One of the game changers during this pandemic has been virtual healthcare. I'm sure most people in this room have had a virtual appointment with a healthcare practitioner or a mental health counsellor, and it certainly has opened the possibility of care without having to leave home, which many people appreciate.

We also do, as the Member has said, have people in new roles and that has prompted us to look at things like the scope of practice, whether people are working to the scope of their practice or whether, in fact, we need...

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there is no mandatory vaccine policy. Not for the public, not for the public service. People have a choice to make here. We are promoting a socially responsible place so that we can offer a safe workplace and a safe environment for the people of the NWT. That can be accomplished primarily by being vaccinated. It reduces transmission, and it reduces the severity of the illness.

So for further information on the government public service vaccine mandate, I recommend that the Member direct his questions to the Minister of Finance responsible for Human...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Member for Deh Cho for his questions.

I just want to begin by clarifying that there are no mandatory vaccinations in the NWT. It is, in fact, a personal choice. There are some businesses, municipalities, and other entities who have decided that in order to increase their gathering limits, they would ask for proof of vaccination from people who are using their services. So that's the proof of vaccine credential, which has been in place since the end of last year.

It is, in fact, a personal choice to get vaccinated. I do recommend it. It decreases the...

Thank you. I appreciate the question. I'm not going to end the public health emergency today, but bringing it to an end is a topic of discussion which I want to engage you and your colleagues in as soon as possible. We have been working on a plan, and I think that we will be in a position to share that with you by the end of the week and get your feedback on what we're doing and when we're doing it and how you think that will sit with your constituents. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish table the following document: Followup Letter for Oral Question 82019(2): Staffing at Stanton Territorial Hospital. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.