Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm going to just speak to the on-the-land camp a bit, I'm not going to delve into -- this falls under EIA so the -- although health didn't put money into it, there was federal dollars. This was all through -- for homelessness so that fell under EIA, to be clear.

As to the Member's question, there are currently -- health is not going to be putting any on-the-land camps anywhere in any of the communities. What we do do, though, is, we've heard loud and clear, and I've said this many times in the House, is that we are providing funding to Indigenous...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You know, I hear what the Member is raising, you know, I think, but what we're looking at is what the things that are covered that are insured services that have been -- and it's not just here. It's across Canada. There are a standard of things that are covered, what are covered under insured services. These are core services. And then there's other things that would be considered cosmetic and those -- the process -- I can't tell you how the process goes when it's in between patient and doctor. I mean, I can find out the information as to how that process works and...

Mr. Speaker, vaccination is one of the most effective ways to protect residents and communities from serious diseases. Today vaccine hesitancy and misinformation are weakening trust in the science and public health. As a result, vaccination rates are declining, leaving residents, especially elders and children, vulnerable to preventable diseases. Right now, Canada is seeing more cases of influenza, measles, and pertussis (whooping cough). The NWT is not immune to these trends.

Measles vaccination rates among two-year-olds have dropped from nearly 90 percent in 2019 to just over 82 percent in...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as this is ongoing work that's happening and reviewing the model of health care centres and many of these things, these things are going to take time. I understand that the hospital is gridlocked. We're holding patients here because there's gridlocks even in the south happening. So this is something that is affecting us all across the system. So what we're doing is we're working diligently. You know, we've opened up more beds in the Liwego'ati Building and therefore those patients that need to go into -- you know, in long-term care, we're getting more...

Yes, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as mentioned, the same-day appointments are available at the Liwego'ati and Yellowknife Primary Care locations. There is one phone number to book appointments for both locations, and people are told which location they'll have an appointment when they book if it is the same day. These appointments are filled on a first come/first serve basis, and the location where you would go would be determined by the number of providers working that day and where they are working.

Mr. Speaker, we know that access to primary care is essential for maintaining overall...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, same-day appointments are available in both the Liwego'ati Building and at the primary care centre location. That's the downtown location. There are approximately 24 available same-day appointments Monday to Friday which are offered during expanded hours until 9 p.m., and there are approximately 18 available same-day appointments on Saturday available from 10 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. Same-day appointments can be booked by calling first thing in the morning or by walk-in to the primary care centre. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, you know, the business plans -- and I agree, sometimes when we get into the beginning of how we're going to do things in a new government, it's very -- in a way, may I say vague as to how we're going to get these things done. But I -- you know, and that's one of the reasons why I think just recently I sent a letter to the committee on a briefing for the primary health care reform which will be able to dive deep into some of the work that the department is doing and for Members to be able to ask questions and get the information that they need in a better...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, you know, and I appreciate that the Member is highlighting this. This is something that, you know, we always think that we live in a little bubble up here in the North and these kind of things are not going to happen to us but as I was in Halifax, there was another serious incident that happened there while we were there. And, you know, I hear it from my colleagues in Hay River, you know, the staff there are worried about the safety. And so we take this very seriously. And there is ongoing work right now learning from this specific incident, and any other...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, just to the code silver, there is a draft code silver policy that's been developed and since the beginning of this year, the policy is currently being reviewed by various stakeholders including the occupational health and safety and other various teams. Next steps will be to ask the RCMP to review. And then it will be circulated more broadly for feedback. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.