Sandy Lee

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think the residents should be comfortable in knowing that their Minister of Health and Social Services and this government is working hard to look at our system and make system changes so that we make our health care system sustainable. We were also successful in obtaining $15 million from the federal government over the next two years. I have spearheaded bringing together western provincial Ministers of Health so that we look at group purchasing. I am also working with all of the chairs of the health authorities, because we now understand very clearly that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Monfwi, that Bill 8, Social Work Profession Act, be read for the third time.

Mr. Speaker, yes, we would do that wherever possible and wherever appropriate. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, that is a valid suggestion. It is an important suggestion. It is something that I think we need to consider. But, at the moment, Mr. Speaker, I think we could go far and we could do fine efficiencies by combining, for example, purchasing, where really the dollars count. We organize in the back offices so that we lessen the duplication and redundancy. We are making sure that each health facility only provides a service that it should. So the Stanton Hospital should become the territorial hospital that it was meant to be and it is meant to be, that any services that could be done...

Obviously, that money will come from our territorial budget. Our health care system right now takes about 30 percent of the total budget. Across the country, health care expenditures take up somewhere up to 40 to 50 percent of the budget. What we are working on right now is we are reviewing all of the important aspects of our health care system. Physician resources, how we are spending those resources, because that is one big ticket item. We spent about $26 million on medical travel. We want to make sure that we are doing the right thing in that regard. We are reviewing the business planning...

That would definitely be one way of doing it. Thus far different health authorities have been putting out their own RFPs. There is more than one business, I believe, in the Territories who does that. What we would be looking at would be doing an RFP for larger and more than one authority at once. It’s a detail that we need to work out, but it’s something that needs a lot more attention and a lot more detailed analysis and I will undertake to do that.

I understand what the Member is saying and, in fact, I visited that outlet that exists in Hay River. I do believe they already supply a lot of centres in the Northwest Territories. I will make a commitment to the Member and this House that we will definitely factor that in and do a cost-benefit analysis. I would have to do a lot of work with the Members in the next coming weeks to have the analysis done and how we can find savings and wherever possible we need to bring our NWT suppliers into play. I would be happy to come forward with a proposal.

We are part of that group. We are working with other Ministers. It’s a highly complicated process. Yes, we are part of that group. We are part of the agreement. We are a part of the partners and I chaired that meeting and we handed it over to Manitoba as of September. Mr. Speaker, we are doing the right thing. I am giving the Member an answer. Yes, we are very much a part of that. Thank you.

I called a meeting of all of the western provincial Health Ministers in Newfoundland. We had a meeting and on October 21st we signed the MOU as well. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to acknowledge the hard work of the members of the Standing Committee on Social Programs and congratulate them on the undertaking of this very important task.

The review of the Child and Family Services Act was timely and has offered an opportunity for the Department of Health and Social Services to hear feedback from the most important source of information: the families and communities directly affected by the legislation.

The department will undertake a detailed review of the report and recommendations and develop a comprehensive response. Many...