Kevin A. Menicoche

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I noticed that the Med-Response system is not open to the general public. Maybe the Minister can explain that. In previous emergencies and times of distress, not only the health care worker was calling the regional centres but the family themselves wanted to hear the answers from the nurse in charge or whoever’s in charge while they wait however long for the medevac and that kind of stuff.

What kind of public information is out there to help families in times of distress? Perhaps it will complicate things if everybody is phoning, but what does the Med-Response system see...

I am very pleased to hear the explanation from the Minister. Of course, this is not the first time the residents of small communities had to call their own plane because a medevac was thought not to be necessary.

I would like to ask the Minister about what assurances and successes has the department had to date because they have been up and running since November, I believe. What assurances and successes have they had to date in responding to emergencies? Is there documentation or evaluations in place or contingency checks on the effectiveness of the Med-Response system? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Early in February of this year I spoke in this House about the new provider for the medevac contract and questioned the Minister of Health and Social Services about how this will benefit those in small and remote communities. At that time the Minister spoke about contract guarantees of two hours to get to a community and the upcoming implementation of the new Med-Response program.

Last week the Minister of Health and Social Services advised this House that the Med-Response call centre is officially open and ready for business. Just to recap, this is a system...

I am pleased to see some of those results and, as well, it’s about restoring the confidence of the people in the smaller communities that our system will be there for them. Further to that, how will they augment the training for community health workers to work and learn this new system? I would suggest perhaps bringing them to Yellowknife to see the facilities and to meet some of the staff of the new Med-Response centre that they will be dealing with, hopefully not on a daily basis but it is always good to have a familiar face when you’re on the phone, especially in times of emergency. Thank...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. About four years ago a child from Trout Lake could not get authorization for a medevac plane for a serious illness. The grandparent was deeply concerned, not to mention the stress of the mother. He consequently chartered his own plane because the child’s lips were turning blue.

While in Fort Simpson, the doctor said, “It’s a good thing you brought her here,” because she had a case of severe croup, potentially life-threatening for a child without medical attention.

Can the Minister of Health and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased that the Minister will be travelling with me this spring to Fort Simpson. Will he make time to meet with Nogha Enterprises on their plans for their new building?

Thank you very much. Certainly, I’m glad the Minister is aware that his officials know about the plans for Nogha Enterprises to build a 20,000 square foot office building.

Will the Minister continue to direct his officials to meet with Nogha Enterprises now that they’ve been in contact to see if they can be a part of that plan for future office needs? Thank you.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I read with great interest the editorial in today’s News/North about decentralization. I’m glad that the editor agrees with regional MLAs and supports, “a policy that improves services in remote and isolated communities.”

Certainly we as a government have to continue planning to increase the amount of jobs for our regions. Every job transferred out of Yellowknife brings benefits for a small community and new families that will help the community grow.

In these communities, people with jobs stimulate the service sector as demand rises. For example, the move of the Business...

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I see a large increase here in material and supplies in the second category, so maybe I can get an explanation of that increase up to $16,000. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you very much. I just want to ask the Minister about the long-term plans for further decentralization into Fort Simpson. Thank you.