Jane Weyallon Armstrong

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, every child matters in NWT, especially those in small communities with limited services. These young children, they have the same rights as children living in larger regional centre with regular dental services. And I thank my colleague for introducing the Private Member's bill. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, we cannot wait four years for our young kids to have proper dental treatment. We have kids as young as like she said, as young as 12 years old needing dentures. That is unacceptable. That is unacceptable. And it is the year 2023. We should have all these...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The reason why I brought this up is because the community of Whati are very concerned, especially the leadership. So that's why I brought this up at this time. And they would like to see the work completed as soon as possible because it is if you drive on it, it is not good. The last section leading to the Whati road, to Whati to the community of Whati is not drivable. So that's why I brought it up because the chief from Whati would like to see this completed as soon as possible. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Tlicho highway to Whati was built only to the preexisting Whati access road used to connect Whati to the winter road. The access road does not meet modern engineering standards that consider things such as ponded water, drainage, and drivability. It is not up to the same standard as the rest of the Tlicho AllSeason Road. With this in mind, the community government of Whati would like to see this deficiency corrected.

Can the Minister tell me when will this section be constructed and, if it's not in the works, commit that it will be included in the next...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to acknowledge and recognize Tlicho interpreters/translators Jonas Lafferty of Behchoko and Mary Rose Sundberg of Dettah. And the other interpreter/translator, Sarah Gargan, Mary Jane Cazon, Bertha Catholique, Tom Unka, Sarah Cleary, Therese Etchinelle, Lillian Elias, and Susan Pepper, for doing the important work and preserving our Indigenous language. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I support this bill too because prior we used to have dental therapists and dental assistant workers in our communities working in our school with elementary to higher grades doing more of a preventative work. And it wasn't just only open for the school, but it was also open to the communities at large. You know, a lot of community members took advantage of it because they're they're there, they provided the services. And now when we look at it, the only people that benefit from dental services are children of GNWT workers or other workers with a good dental...

I don't want to get into it, but I will do it later, okay.

Will the Minister of health commit to a medical policy review to ensure that residents who access care outside of the NWT, especially in urgent situations that require hospitalizations or treatments that are unavailable in the NWT, can qualify for medical travel? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we need more programs and services in small communities. Indeed, the health care systems needs to be improved, especially in small communities. If it was okay, then all these things would not be necessary.

Can the Minister explain if any review of the medical travel policy is underway to allow for more flexibility in these circumstances for the residents of the NWT? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the health care system is failing our Indigenous population from access to quality and timely care. Our residents face systemic barriers, and more work is needed to break through the red tape to improve accessibility to programs and services. Many community members in my region travel to Yellowknife to get health care services. I am disappointed to hear from constituents who travelled to Yellowknife who feel their concerns are not taken seriously. I have also heard concerns that some people have been told they cannot book appointments in Yellowknife.

Mr...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just want to make a comment. I know that the Minister is going to be retiring and not returning in the fall. But the question that I asked, it needed to be asked. The Assembly may be ending but the work is not ending, so I just wanted to make that comment. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are losing services in our communities and when we go to regional centres to access treatment, our residents are being turned away and denied access to care. What is being done to ensure there are no systemic barriers to accessing programs and services? Thank you.