Julie Green

Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there's a process laid out in the Public Health Act. The CPHO is an independent health official, a medical doctor. That person evaluates the situation and determines the risk of the disease to the public. That person then creates public health orders that would mitigate that risk. And that advice comes to me, and I declare a state of emergency to give force to the orders that the Chief Public Health Officer has made. So I am taking advice from the Chief Public Health Officer who is looking at the technical risk assessments, which I do not have a level...

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I look forward to having this program in place for the benefit of people throughout the NWT but particularly those who are travelling from remote locations. Thank you.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I know the Member would like to hear "tomorrow", but the fact is this is a brand new program with brand new positions, and so the department is developing that program and job descriptions and so on. And those will be part of the next business planning process, although the money is already dedicated to the positions. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can't imagine really what it would be like to come in from Ulukhaktok and have to go through to Edmonton for an appointment. The culture change would be very extreme.

I'm not aware of the issue that the Member is speaking of, a number of cancelled appointments and the need to rebook them. So I will commit to finding out more about that and responding to him. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I recognize that medical travel can be a stressful time for the patients themselves and for their family members as well. What we did agree to in the budget negotiations is a patient navigator for each region of the NWT.

And so it's my expectation that when we're creating the job description for this new position, that it will include travel navigation and have special attention on people who are doing medical travel. Thank you.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I certainly will make sure that the CPHO hears that suggestion. And, of course, we appreciate the fact that people would like to get to Whitehorse and go shopping, pick up their vehicles and so on. And we look forward to making that happen as soon as possible. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Tuesday, June 1st, 2021, Bill 31, an act to amend the Pharmacy Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, thank you. I'm sure that that would be useful to if you had a copy of your own if you had your own immunization. But the information sharing would open it up to everyone without them having to obtain paper that indicates that they have been vaccinated.

These discussions are well along, and I heard the Chief Public Health Officer say on the radio yesterday that she expected them to conclude shortly.

I just want to add one more thing, and that is that the situation between ourselves and Yukon is what the whole world is now grappling with, with immunization records, how do we create a system...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't think there is a position that is specifically about navigating public health orders. Although, of course, people who work in public health in Tuk and in Inuvik would be able to talk to the public health orders, what they mean, and answer questions about them. So that certainly is possible. In terms of appointing someone brand new to a position in Tuktoyaktuk, that would really need to be a budget consideration. And so I invite the Member to forward that when the time comes. Thank you.

Good morning, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the COVID19 pandemic has presented the Northwest Territories and its residents, communities, and businesses with many challenges. I know all residents are now well into the COVID19 fatigue stage. We all want to see things back to normal and public health measures lifted.

Mr. Speaker, since the start of the pandemic, protecting NWT residents against COVID19 has been this government's biggest priority. We have known from the start that vaccines would be an essential part of our strategy and it is one of the most important factors the Chief Public Health...