Kevin O'Reilly

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that financial information. Of course, finally, I think it's important to know whether the -- we have cleared up the backlog, but I just want to get some reassurance from the Minister that this is not going to happen again, so can the Minister tell me what the likelihood is that the problems will re-occur? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

I want to thank the Minister for that. Of course, during the problems over the last six months, patients were often left in pain, and really, many surgeries were delayed. I just want to get some reassurance from the Minister whether there is still a backlog of surgeries and whether that has been cleared up.

Merci, Monsieur le President. The problems with sterilization of instruments and equipment at Stanton Territorial Hospital appear to be over based on a January 14, 2021, update posted on the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority website. The issues began last July 23 when the hospital's three sterilizer units simultaneously started producing instruments contaminated by moisture. This means the instruments couldn't be considered sterile because moisture can attract bacteria. A series of eight public updates were issued beginning on July 24 and became much more regular and...

Thanks, Madam Chair. Look, I don't want to drag this out, but has that capacity increased or decreased? Has it changed over time? As I said, I am happy that you guys come forward and ask for more resources here so that we can get more legislation before the House and committees. Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thanks, Madam Chair. I appreciate that response from the Minister. Certainly, I pushed for him to separate the issue of reducing the fees from the other matters that need to be regulated, so I appreciate that very much. Can the Minister point to me, in the budget here, are there any additional resources, then, for Justice to carry out these additional coordination functions related to ATIP? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thanks, Madam Chair. Thanks to the Minister. Is the Minister going to share that report with the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment? Thanks, Madam Chair.

No. Thanks, Madam Chair, and thanks to the Minister and his staff. I'll probably be asking about the status of it in May/June, so just a little head's up. Thank you. That's all I've got. Thanks, Madam Chair.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to acknowledge and thank the mover and seconder of the motion for bringing the matter forward in the House. I didn't use my Member's statement to speak to the issue today, but I'm not sure I really have a lot to add that is profound or different from what my colleagues have already said. I acknowledge that racism continues to exist here in the Northwest Territories and that we do need to work to stop it and put in place measures that will help people reach their full potential. I acknowledge that my colleagues on the Cabinet side have started some of that...

I want to thank the Minister for that. It sounds like the backlog is going to be taken care of maybe before the end of March, and I really do appreciate that. These problems with the sterilization equipment, though, appear to have started soon after the new building was opened. Of course, this was a very large public-private partnership P3 arrangement, so I want to know from the Minister if she can tell us what the total cost of the investigations and delays were and who is responsible for these costs?

Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. The problem with sterilization equipment at Stanton hospital began in July 2020 and took almost six months to resolve. I do want to acknowledge that the new Minister certainly updated the public and myself more regularly when she took over the portfolio and did contact residents who were waiting, but I still have a basic question. What was the cause of the problem with the sterilization equipment, and has it been permanently fixed? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.