Julie Green

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to update Members on the temporary shutdown of labor and delivery services at Stanton Territorial Hospital. This closure requires the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority to send pregnant people to Edmonton to give birth. I know that this has placed a significant burden on NWT families at what should be a time of joy and celebration. I also recognize that this decision is even more difficult, coming as it does, so close to the holiday season.

This difficult decision was made to ensure the safety of individuals and their...

Yes, thanks. I'm not a big fan of all the editorializing but I'm happy to answer the questions.

So most communities have a resident counselor through either the community counseling service or the child and youth counseling program. And in the event that they don't have a resident counselor, a counselor visits on a known schedule to provide those services.

I recognize from my own travels in the NWT that it's not easy in some communities to obtain enough internet connectivity to sustain a conversation, especially one that has video related to it, and that's a real impediment to the services that...

Yes, thank you. I take it that the Member is talking about buildings. We don't have any buildings on the books other than the wellness and recovery centre in Yellowknife. In Members decide that's a priority, they should bring it to the regular business plan process and pursue the resources necessary to build and operate it. Thank you.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm absolutely open to the idea of creating a partnership in a community outside of Yellowknife to offer these services, however, there would still be the question of resources, where the program was going to be located and who was going to pay for it. So at this point, as I said, there is no plan for a new facility or for the additional resources that would be required. But if Indigenous governments or community organizations are interested in partnering in the provision of wellness services, I urge them to contact me. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can tell the Member, the Member from Thebacha as well as the other Members, that our focus right now is opening the permanent wellness and recovery centre which the Member referenced in her statement. This facility will replace the current day and sobering centre, and the services offered in the one place will be transferred to the other once the building is open.

At this time, there are no plans to establish a similar service in any other community. That would require new resources which would need to follow established GNWT resource allocation processes...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Range Lake, that Bill 31, an Act to Amend the Pharmacy Act be read for the third time. And Mr. Speaker, I request a recorded vote. Thank you.

Yes, on the left is Kelly Mahoney, director of policy, legislation and communications, and on the right is Christina Duffy from the Department of Justice.

Yes, thank you, Madam Chair. I don't have any more specific information than the Minister of Finance has. So I can commit to getting that information and bringing it back to the Member.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm pleased to be here today to discuss Bill 31, an Act to Amend the Pharmacy Act.

The development of this bill is the result of swift effort by the Department of Health and Social Services and would not have been possible without the full support of the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight.

Madam Chair, the purpose of this bill is twofold:

First is to ensure that residents continue to have access to lifesaving naloxone kits in their communities and from organizations that work directly with residents at risk.

The proposed change will assist in the...

Yes, thank you. I'll just start by correcting something that the Member said in her statement. The obstetrics ward is open at this time, and it will remain open until December 10th. There was obviously a group of women who were too far along in their pregnancies to be moved to another location to give birth. So the obstetrics unit is open.

I met with leadership of the hospital and the health authority yesterday. I asked that question. I was told that at the hospital, there are no unit closures foreseen at this time.