Tom Beaulieu

The department is looking at essentially a repackaging of what’s happening in the communities. We would see our budgets… You know we cannot increase the budget by ourselves. I mean, it takes the whole House to do that, but we can start to move the funding around internally, and what we’re thinking about doing at this time is repackaging the money that’s going into prevention that’s kind of scattered all over the department, repackage, focus in on community delivery by helping assist the community organizations to deliver the prevention programs. Thank you.

The intention, again, is to use the pilot programs to try to improve the programs, management of chronic diseases. Once we have the report or results of the piloting in those few communities, our intention is to expand it into all of the communities. Once we get the results of the pilot program we will share it with the House.

The Department of Health and Social Services funds the health and social services authorities across the North and they deliver the chronic diseases programing, including diabetes. Right now the department is piloting a Chronic Disease Prevention and Management Program in a few of the communities across the North with the intention of improving the situation for people with chronic diseases.

The intent of the shelter was to provide a warm place for people to go have coffee, socialize and so on. There is also the availability in there of some counselling pertaining to possible housing, employment and so on. The John Howard Society is actually the organization that works with the people in the day shelter in order to provide that service.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Health and Social Services has done an evaluation on the day shelter and at this time is reviewing the possibility of extending the funding through 2012-2013. The City of Yellowknife has also committed to extending their funding. Unfortunately the third funder on the project, BHP, will not be extending funding for this particular project but spending it elsewhere.

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to speak about the state of the health and social service system in the Northwest Territories. We need to take decisive action to ensure that we can continue to deliver high-quality services to our residents into the future.

Sustainability of the health care system is a national issue and one that is of concern to Canadians across the country. Every health system in Canada is affected by rising costs, shortages of health professionals and the health needs of an aging population.

But in the North we face additional challenges, including the heavy use of...

Yes, that work will be completed.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Grieving families of individuals who have passed away from cancer can get client counselling from the community counsellors. Also the access through how they can obtain community counsel to deal with the grieving of loved ones through cancer can be arranged through the community health nurse. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. For the prior year’s expenses, I believe is what the Member is referring to, I can get the assistant deputy minister to respond to that.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. NWT health insurance pays and approves the cost of cancer therapies provided to the clients, and the department works closely in partnership with Alberta Health Services, in particular the Cross Cancer Institute, to provide the services to residents of the NWT at this time. Thank you.