Tom Beaulieu

The regulations being developed for Hay River, again, would be a regulation that’s developed so that the midwife services are delivered on a regional basis but not the full regional basis. We are trying to, as we’re getting the new hospital and health centre in Hay River, then we’re going to roll midwifery services into that facility and there will be more regulations developed in order to do a regional and, ultimately, a territorial one that will be based out of Yellowknife. That is the reason that we’re rolling it out in that way.

Madam Chair, yes, that is in the works. As I indicated in the House several times, we are making a strong effort with the health authorities to bring doctors to communities where the doctors should be. We are definitely having difficulties getting doctors into Hay River. We are hoping that with the new health centre, plus our work with the NWT Medical Association, we are going to be able to have doctors in Hay River. If that doesn’t work, and if that doesn’t work in any of the other communities where there should be doctors, then yes, a plan B would be to move to a pool within the NWT, a...

The department would have to go through this process, the business planning process, to make a case to cover the shortfalls at the Stanton so there is no deficit accumulating as a result of specialists.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are waiting on recommendations from the Ministers’ Forum on Addictions and Community Wellness. We do suspect that one of their recommendations may be to place an additional treatment facility somewhere. Once we get their recommendations, if that is one of the recommendations, we will weigh those against the current treatment centre we have in place and then move forward from there.

Thank you, Madam Chair. With the positions that are in the current budget under review, we would be able to roll out, I guess sort of like a pilot for TSN, this fiscal year.

Thank you, Madam Chair. We were looking to put the territorial midwifery program in place three fiscal years from now, so we are discussing, assuming that the mains that we’re talking about now is 2013-14, so 2014-15 of the next phase and then 2015-16 would be the regional. The expansion for Yellowknife would be in year 2016-17. I guess it would not be in this government but we would hope to have all of the funding approved and the program moving through the system if we stay with that schedule.

Thank you, Madam Chair. There is no gap and no delay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, that service will still be available and needed. Midwifery will not replace that. Midwifery will be a complementary practice.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I will have the director of finance provide the response.

Thank you, Madam Chair. In our medical travel review we are looking at medical travel being probably brought back to Health and Social Services and would be one of the projects under the back office functions.