Michael Miltenberger

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am aware that there were discussions in Nunavut, but it is not an approach that we have taken to date in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, when we do medical travel we attempt to be as frugal as possible, as effective and efficient as possible. Oftentimes medical travel is booked on short notice so we don’t often get the benefits of long-range planning. We do attempt to be as careful as we can be. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, the broad figure for medical travel, which I don’t have broken down in my mind, but I know the ballpark figure is about $10 million a year. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Sorry, I apologize, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Metis health benefits are the benefits provided under non-insured health benefits. The one big benefit that we do have in the Northwest Territories is we don’t have the cumbersome federal bureaucracy and rules and payment process that is in place with non-insured health benefits. So we have ours administered through Blue Cross. We have an arrangement with them for the administration and processing. The Metis benefits mirror the non-insured health benefits.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today is Weedless Wednesday during National Non-Smoking Week. I would like to make use of this opportunity to recognize the work that is being done so that our territory can eventually become a smoke-free society.

Mr. Speaker, there are numerous examples of people and communities working to a common goal of a smoke-free society:

A growing number of NWT communities have now enacted progressive smoking bylaws that protect their residents against the health risks of secondhand smoke;

Citizens, tobacco action groups and community health professionals have come together...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I referenced earlier, the supplementary health benefits review that’s underway, its sole intention is to try to rationalize and consolidate those services that we now provide where there are consistencies that developed in an uncoordinated and a patchwork manner. So this is to level the playing field. We must keep in mind that on the non-insured health benefits side, that is a federal program. It is tied to aboriginal First Nations people, Inuit people. It’s a program that is very sensitive when it comes to making changes. We are working with the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am aware that the system of supplementary health benefits that we have has been with us for some time and it is patchwork of programs such as the non-insured health benefits which, in itself, is another program we administer for the federal government that we have significant problems with, along with our colleagues in Nunavut. Through the review of supplementary health benefits and with the meetings with federal health Ministers, and most recently Minister Pettigrew, we once again raised the issue of the need to sit down and look at non-insured health benefits...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In fact, yes, if that was correct I would agree that we want to look at that very specific issue. I recognize that there are inconsistencies in the program, but once again, my information is that when it comes to seniors, benefits are intended to mirror the services provided by the non-insured health benefits. That was the baseline that we used. But I do recognize, as the Member has pointed out in his questions, that we do have problems in the system that is currently there and we intend to look into that and ways that we can rectify it for all northerners.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we’ve been engaged in a process now for some months in terms of setting up a separate, standalone Sahtu authority to deal with health and social services. We’re currently in a state of transition, separating from Inuvik. There have been, as my colleagues indicated, a number of unfortunate deaths in the Sahtu, and the staff in the communities have been under a lot of pressure to deal with them.

The Member, as well, has been very persistent in terms of requesting that I come into the region and meet with the community leaders and we, in fact, intend to do that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, clearly as a legislature we have not come to grips with the specific plans of action for a lot of these broad areas. I indicated to Ms. MacDougall that in fact it was an issue before the legislature and we were still in relatively early days and we hadn't come to any decision on how we wanted to proceed on reviewing that issue, but the intent was to address this issue hopefully in the coming months. So regardless of what approach is taken, clearly it will come before this House. It will be at the direction and understanding of this House how we're going...