Sandy Lee

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Whether by the definition that I read or the definition that the Member read, I believe to say that someone is doing that in this House is in violation of Section 23(j). Mr. Speaker, I ask you to rely on a ruling in the House on February 21, 2003, pages 231 to 260, in which a former Member for Monfwi, which then at the time was North Slave which is now Monfwi, accused former Premier Joe Handley of travelling on a separate road from the truth. He didn’t say that the Premier lied. He just said that he was travelling separate from the truth and that was found to be in...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have the access to information when the complaints come forward. The Medical Profession Act allows that when there are sufficient complaints, a licence can be suspended or even while the investigation is going on and the medical legislation committee would make a recommendation to the Minister to revoke a licence. So all those powers are available under the current system. Thank you.

Point of order.

I believe I answered that question. I really feel we have one policy that looks after our families and I don’t know what else to say. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Member knows, we have investigated this. I have responded to the answer to this. We are not in support of designing a separate program based on different medical conditions.

When somebody needs to go away for medical treatment, their needs are similar, whether an elder or somebody having brain surgery. We have mothers who need to be medevaced out or babies who need to be medevaced out. We have elders who need to be taken elsewhere. We provide all kinds of medical services where the family needs to be there. We provide that service. We have a Medical Travel Policy...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In all of the, I believe, written material that’s been on the website, the presentations made in public meetings about supplementary health benefits, we have stated that NWT residents receive supplementary health benefits in various ways by all kinds of different third-party insurance. NIHB is a third-party insurance. MHB is a third-party insurance. Employer health insurance is a third-party insurance. People who have private insurance, that is a third-party insurance. And supplementary health is trying to address these people who don’t fall into any of that, who don’t...

The answer to that has to do with what I keep saying about insured services versus non-insured services. Insured services are what people know as our health care. That’s our doctor service, hospital service, nursing service, surgeries, hip replacements, having a baby. Those are what we know to be a health care that everybody is entitled to and everybody will get. Nothing changes from that.

What we are talking about is uninsured services. Things like the cost of drugs, glasses, dental, and equipment. Right now the aboriginal people get those covered through NIHB and Metis health benefits. For...

The fact of the matter is, as a part of our consultation process we did write to the pharmacy association and the NWT Medical Association. The pharmacy association did not respond. We had written in March. We did get an email from Mr. Dolynny, who was not a president of the pharmacy association. He invited our staff to come. We had five days’ notice. Our staff was not going to be available for that time. It was five days’ notice. We had offered to meet with them at another time when it was more convenient, Mr. Speaker. So it is entirely inaccurate for anybody to suggest and it’s without...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do want to let the Member know that I do agree that people who have concerns of this nature should be able to go through the process and have the matter resolved as soon as possible.

Mr. Speaker, I would have to commit to look into how long certain cases do take, what is the normal course of process in going through this. I have to tell the Member that this does not come across my desk very often. I think I might have been thinking about a court case that seemed to take a little longer, but that’s different than the board of inquiry. So, Mr. Speaker, I just do not have...

My position is that it is fair and equitable because it gives access to all non-aboriginal people. It uses a criteria being used all around the world and all across the country, in determining a government social program. This is to be a safety net. We are going to give benefits to seniors. We’re going to give benefits to those with chronic conditions. We’ll be able to expand services to single moms, young university students. We’re going to be opening the program to everybody.

The program that we have now is not a program... We already have a separate program for Metis and NIHB for the treaty...