Julie Green

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I am pleased to announce the temporary day shelter will open next week at the site of the former visitors centre in Yellowknife. The day shelter is vital to keeping residents experiencing homelessness safe during the depths of winter.

Madam Speaker, the need for a temporary day shelter arose from the public health order to physically distance indoors during the COVID19 pandemic. This order, while critical to keeping all residents safe, has reduced capacity at the day shelter and sobering centre on 50th Street, meaning that many individuals who need that service are...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, progress in this area has been about implementing community-based models to promote selfmanagement of chronic diseases and creating, as the Member referenced, new diabetic/dietician positions. So the health authorities now have registered dieticians in every region of the NWT and so they, together, serve every community in the NWT. They're trained to provide to support to support people living with diabetes and they do this not only by providing education and support but also education in the form of, for example, grocery store tours, health fairs, and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know the Member in his statement referenced a knee replacement that took a number of years to accomplish. I don't think that we track those wait times for those major joint surgeries, and I know the time is variable. You can put yourself on a waitlist and get within a few months, or you can end up waiting years. I don't know how hard it is to track that kind of information so that's something I would have to take back to the department and inquire about.

There is some information online which I want to bring to the Member's attention.

Home care wait times are available...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member for Deh Cho for that question.

So Primary Health Care Reform goes beyond the traditional health care system, and it is a systemwide initiative to provide culturallysafe and relationshipbased care in both the Health and Social Services system. So rather than having decisions made in a centralized way and then implemented through regions and communities, under the Primary Health Care Reform, frontline clients and staff and communities are involved in developing new approaches and solutions based on their own needs and priority, building on their...

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm not aware that specific staffing is being considered at this point, although it makes sense to have someone who is able to answer questions and provide a navigationtype of role with people with neurodegenerative diseases for the reason that the Member has mentioned, that the incidences of these diseases is likely to get greater as time goes on.

I know of people who have had neurodegenerative diseases in the Northwest Territories who have received good support from nonprofits, but mostly that's been by telephone and not by in-person means. And so...

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, locums are selfemployed basically. They come here on shortterm contracts, and they may come once, they may come on a schedule; there's no way to know. And on the employer end, they are used to fill gaps as necessary. So in some cases, we do see locums returning on a regular basis and, wherever possible, we encourage them to continue coming to the NWT to ensure that patient continuity that the Member was seeking of.

In addition, we maintain a locum talent pool list which is a list that we consult and call people from on an ongoing basis.

What we've seen...

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it all starts with the relationship between the health provider and the patient. They would be able to recommend a range of health and social services that would assist with diagnosis, treatment, and support. For example, medications and medical supplies and equipment can be covered through the NIHB program for First Nations and Inuit residents and the Supplementary Health Benefits program for nonIndigenous residents. Home care services are available to residents in all communities, and Meals on Wheels in some communities. Rehabilitation services are...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you for the question. For the month of December, there will be 77 locum physicians providing services to the NWT. It sounds like a lot, but this is substantially lower than the average of 103 locums per month. In addition, as of October 31st the following casual locum staff working throughout the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority: 11 community health nurses, one midwife, one nurse practitioner, one respiratory therapist, and 26 registered nurses. And to give some context to these numbers, as of June the 30th there were 338 frontline...

Yes, Mr. Speaker. I'll take that question on notice.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, aftercare is a huge priority for me. I spoke about it endlessly as a regular Member, and I continue that passion in this role now.

I'd just like to clarify that the Indian Residential counseling Service is not, in fact, cancelled. The service has been reduced so that facetoface counseling occurs less often, approximately every four to six weeks, and there are alternative ways t-to to obtain counseling between times using the phone and the internet and so on as constituent as residents are comfortable in and according to the technology that they have. Thank...