Michael Miltenberger

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, clearly we, the Legislature, the government, have supported the creation of these processes to give people every protection and access to due process when dealing with government and decisions made. That is a process that’s available for use. Should it be put to use and a judgment is made then, of course, as a government we would be looking at how we comply with whatever the decision is. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I don’t want to quibble with the Member. The change to STI is very, very recent. The numbers of what we are talking about in terms of what used to be STDs have been accumulated for many years when they were called STDs. So the disease label clearly didn’t really hold anybody back from unsafe sex practices, I would submit. Maybe STIs will, combined with all the other work we intend to do. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, the Member is correct; we’ve had numerous discussions on this issue and it is, as the Member said, water under the bridge. There were 476 positions affected by the review; 201 of the positions were -- pardon me while I put my glasses on -- re-graded with salary increases, 24 positions were downgraded, 235 positions remained in the same salary range, and 16 positions were new. There were some grievances and appeals filed. There are still about 21 outstanding.

Why did we do this? Because, in my mind, there was pressure from the nurses and in their opinion a...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, those of us at this table are unaware of plans to do any major capital projects. We know there is no money in the budget for that. Yellowknife Health and Social Services may be doing some required renovations, but they are, as well, fully apprised and aware of what is being contemplated in terms of possible consolidations. We will follow up with the chair and the CEO. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, this is another case where technology and the way the world is unfolding far outstrips the legislation and policy that governs the circumstances. We’ve identified two key pieces of legislation. One of them is the Public Health Act and the other one is the Pharmacy Act, which are both significantly out of date and need to be updated. We have the process underway to do just that and there is consultation on the Pharmacy Act. One of the questions that we’re looking at is that very question within the legislation and the legal base that we have to operate on...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have a Collective Agreement with the Medical Association that’s going to carry us into 2007-2008, but if I could just quickly reiterate some of the points that I gave in my last answer. We are looking at how emergency is currently structured, and the Member is correct, that it is estimated that anywhere from 40 to 50 percent of the people at emergency aren’t really emergency patients; they could be seen in other areas such as in a clinic or by nurse practitioners. So we’re looking at that and there’s money in the budget for the renovation of Stanton, as...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, clearly, in my mind, it is not because of lack of effort or lack of resources on behalf of the Government of the Northwest Territories. There has been a significant amount of resources identified for this, in spite of concern in some quarters that we are just setting up another level of government. We have positions identified. We have had trouble staffing them. There has been some difficulty in getting a clear indication or signals from the leadership in terms of establishing of the board itself. We continue to operate with the public administrator....

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services remains unwavering in its commitment to work with the people in the Sahtu to establish their authority. We filled eight of the 14 positions that were identified in the Sahtu for administration and running of the health authority. Unfortunately, there has been an underwhelming response in terms of the actual structure and setting up of the board itself. That is a challenge yet to be met and dealt with, but we are continuing to work with the region. In the meantime, there are still...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the department over in Centre Square is working with the Yellowknife Health and Social Services Authority. Those are two major players in the health and social services system. The board is responsible for services in Yellowknife, and the Department of Health and Social Services, which has oversight and responsibility territorial-wide, is working with the SideDoor. They are there in good faith and they are there to try to work with that operation to see if they can establish a program for youth on the weekends. So I think the fact that they are at the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there is a facility in town called the SideDoor that has been providing services to youth, and it’s my understanding that the department and authority are working with the SideDoor to look at a weekend program for youth that will help address that issue. They have targeted the weekend nights as the most important time for that service. Thank you.