Sandy Lee

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I agree that there’s a lot of information that has been going out and there’s a lot that people need to know. I am willing to answer any specific questions that the Member’s constituents may have about what supplementary health benefits are and what we’re trying to change, what is covered right now and how that is different from NIHB and other supplementary health benefits policies across the country.

Mr. Speaker, first of all, we are talking extreme examples in saying that somebody will pay $10,000 a month in insurance. The second thing, Mr. Speaker, is, yes, somebody could get their company insurance to pay for it or the government insurance to pay for it under our program. At the end of the day, there is individual responsibility to that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. This policy is not divisive. It’s divisive to those who believe that it’s divisive, Mr. Speaker. This is covering a group of people who are not covered. We have listened to everybody who gave us input over the last three years. We have responded, we are coming out with a proposal that will be as good or better than any government employee package. That is generous, that’s going far, that’s taking into consideration what everybody has told us, and, Mr. Speaker, we’ll have to agree to disagree, but, Mr. Speaker, we have done our best to come up with the best package. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, we have presented in our presentation on the website and in our public presentation, the profile of those who use our program under supplementary health and such. Mr. Speaker, we have designed a program to make sure that supplementary health benefits or extended health benefits are available to everybody in the Northwest Territories. You get them either by NHIB, NHB or third-party insurance. If you don’t have those, you fall under supplementary health benefits.

I know this is a point that people disagree with, but I am just trying to explain and I am being straightforward here. Our...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I have explained in our presentations and in answers to questions, Mr. Speaker, I believe this policy will enable access to those people who are excluded from the policy right now. We have a group of non-aboriginal people who are excluded from having basic coverage of dental and eye care, and, Mr. Speaker, I don’t believe this is divisive in any way. It is a Supplementary Extended Health Benefits Program to those who need it. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I agree with the Member that government has a responsibility, the Minister has a responsibility and we have a responsibility to respond to the people that bring forward serious allegations. So far, even talking to the Member, I do not have any specific information about what the situations are. That is why I am asking anybody out there who has concerns about a physician, they should follow this complaint process.

Mr. Speaker, so far what we are hearing is what we heard from somebody else. Mr. Speaker, the legislation states the board of inquiry, for example, could be open to the...

...not lie. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say lie.

Mr. Speaker, as I stated earlier, the Medical Profession Act does state the process by which a complaint against a practicing physician is conducted. It does try to balance the rights of the client as well as the physician, Mr. Speaker. I’d be happy to give the Member a private briefing on how this works. Once in a while we do get concerns from people about what they are not happy with about what the doctor has done or not, or any other health care professional. There are different phases that this goes through. Sometimes just talking to the local authority resolves the matter. Other times it...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Using income threshold and looking at one’s ability to pay to determine whether you have access to a program or not is used in many places. We have those in lots of government programs, including the seniors’ fuel subsidy. This is a very commonly accepted way of doing it. We’re expanding the program to those on the basis of income, whereas before it was on the basis of age. I believe that this is the right thing to do.

I am aware, Mr. Speaker, that the Member considers himself a student of rules and procedures of the House. I know he knows the rules and procedures of the House. He studies books on the rules and procedures of the House. Mr. Speaker, he knows that I’m not privy to table Cabinet documents, but the Member is also aware that every major information and analysis about this program would go to Cabinet and then it was made available to committees. That’s our regular practice.

Mr. Speaker, if the Member has any other alternatives that he wants us to consider, we would look at that. This has been a...