Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A number of weeks ago I wrote a letter to the Minister of Health and Social Services to express to her my concern about a constituent of mine. This constituent had a very severe stroke about 10 months ago. Since that time, he has been cared for at Stanton Territorial Hospital and is currently in the ICU department. I had an opportunity to visit with my constituent last night. His partner is advocating for him. They would like to see him transferred to a facility that could assist him in being the recipient of physical rehabilitation as a result of this stroke. It’s my understanding that there is nothing more that can be done for him at the Stanton hospital. We do not have a neurosurgeon on staff at Stanton. I would like to ask the Minister if there is any encouraging news that I could share with my constituents with respect to this gentleman’s care.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member communicated this to me a couple of weeks ago, I believe. We are in the process of looking into that. Obviously, we don’t normally talk about individual medical situations here, but the Member did provide detailed information about the status of the situation and what the family is looking for. I’d like to just tell the Member that generally it is a practice for us to review a patient’s situation to see if the care being provided is acceptable or good, where we are doing it. If other options should be considered, we will be doing that. So I will confirm with the Member that this situation is being reviewed and what options we have. Given that this person is in ICU, it may be that person needs more ICU care and may not be able to be moved to some of the long-term care facilities.
I realize that we don’t normally discuss the details or specifics of a particular patient or particular constituent, but I believe that this is a situation where someone needs to advocate on behalf of this constituent. He has been in the ICU department of Stanton for 10 months now. It is becoming very stressful for his partner to continue to travel from Hay River every weekend to be with him. His medical circumstances are unique. The family has signed a consent, a waiver, a release for medical information to be shared with myself as MLA. It really speaks to the desperation of the situation. I appreciate the care that he is getting, but he is going to require very specialized care.
I’d like to ask the Minister what this government’s policy is. It’s my understanding they’re having a difficult time finding a rehab facility that will take him, because at night he’s required to be put on a ventilator and a lot of rehab facilities will only take people who do not require assistance with breathing. For him it’s only during the night when he’s sleeping, when he goes into a deep sleep. If there were a medical facility in the U.S., because I understand that there is a possibility of that, what is our government’s policy with respect to covering the cost of something like that?
Broadly speaking, we will first look at what services we have within the Territories, because we do want to keep our residents in the Territories as much as possible. We do know that we have at least a couple dozen patients from the territories in various jurisdictions all across Canada. I’m not aware of anybody that we have sent to the States. The decision on where to send the person will depend on what comparable services are available and we would try to find care for the patient closest to home as much as possible. So we would first look at southern jurisdictions before we would consider the US.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. Short, final supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am certainly not a doctor. There may be circumstances about this case that I am not familiar with. Having visited my constituent, he is certainly very alert mentally. He has mobility within his limbs. He can move his arms, he can move his legs, he can respond, nod his head. It seems like the unique and troubling part of it is his inability to continue breathing once he falls into a deep sleep. I know there are medical advances all the time that have to do with neurology. I’m asking the Minister to please commit to attempting to get this patient out of Stanton where he has been languishing -- I mean, he’s receiving good care, but not the kind of care he needs -- for the last 10 months. Would she commit to getting involved personally and seeing if he can be transferred to a facility with more resources?
Yes, I would be happy to do that and get back to the Member as soon as possible.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.
Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Today I have questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment in the area of employment. The employment rates in the small communities such as Fort Resolution and Lutselk’e are in the 40 percent range. This basically means that of people between 15 and 65, less than half of them are working in those communities. The employment rate in Yellowknife is around 80 percent.
I want to ask the Minister what he plans to do about the employment rates and low incomes in small communities, as it appears to be the responsibility of the Department of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to thank the Member for asking that important question for small communities. We are looking forward to debating this budget that’s before us. There is a new initiative in there that deals directly with employment in small communities. That will result in outstanding challenges or issues in the small communities of hiring, directly hiring summer students that are going back to school. Definitely, I’m looking forward to more opportunities to discuss the budget that’s in the process and this will surely shed some light into the small communities.
I’m assuming that’s to try to get the people in the small communities prepared for employment. I’m wondering if the staff are fully aware of what the employment possibilities are in the communities they serve, considering that the high school diploma rate in small communities is also in the 40 percent range.
Those logistics are still being worked on as we speak. It’s in the planning stages, but certainly those preferences and priorities will be given to the students that are returning to school. We want every student to succeed in our school system and succeed in life as well. At this point all I can say is it’s in the planning stages and, certainly, those considerations will be taken into effect.
I guess just a little bit more background to put a context of what I’m referring to here. Employment income in a place like Lutselk’e is 2.5 times lower than the average employment income in a place like Yellowknife. Are the staff fully equipped -- actually, and I’m wondering about the staff’s abilities here -- to deal with the employment needs in the small communities?
We will continue to work with employment development officers in the communities; also with the organizations we’ll continue to work with. Whether it be client service officers, employment officers in the communities and the regions we’ll certainly be prepared to deal with the new initiatives that will be before us. We’ll be prepared as much as we can when the time comes.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final supplementary, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The cases of income support, on an average basis, are eight times higher in the smaller communities than it is in Yellowknife. Does the department do any work with potential employees to actively try to match people who are seeking employment and to get off income support and go to work in these smaller communities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
That is our primary target, to get people off of income support as much as we can, working with different programs that we’ve initiated within our Department of Education, Culture and Employment’s Ready to Work Program and just maximizing opportunities for income support clientele. If they could work, if they’re workable, then we like to fully utilize them in different areas. We do provide training programs for them to deal with the productive choices. So, Mr. Speaker, we can certainly provide the detailed information to the Members so they can share it with their constituents as well. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I just want to follow up on my Member’s statement to the Minister of Health and Social Services. A resident of Fort Liard detailed her concern about stomach cancer and the rates of it in Fort Liard. As well, we have examined other communities in the past when they have similar concerns, especially just her cursory research, Mr. Speaker, talked about H. Pylori, which was a concern in other communities as well. So I’d like to know what processes are in place in the Department of Health that such an in-depth examination for environmental causes which may cause stomach cancers in Fort Liard can be examined. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The department does analyze and review data such as the cancer rates in the Territories. My information is that the cancer rates vary across the Territories, but in general, our rates of cancer in the NWT are similar to that of the rest of the country except in colorectal cancer, which is the reason why the government issued a new clinical guideline for screening colorectal cancer more aggressively. Having said that, the information that the Member brought to me is new. I’ve not heard that before, and it’s one that I am interested in looking to see further. We would have to get into touch with the person in question and get the information and see if we can at least do a preliminary study and see where we could go from there. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I think the stats and the Minister’s department should have those. I think that’s a baseline to start from. I think, of course, there are many, many types of cancer, and she’s not a professional, but her initial assessment and talking with family and friends in the community is that a lot of it is indeed stomach-type cancer and that’s the concern. So that’s what she would like examined, and I support her that we examine that. I would like to ask the Minister again what process do we have in place that we can initiate such an examination of this concern in Fort Liard. Thank you.
The number of 15 cases, that the Member stated, in a population as small as 583 is huge. So I need to get more information on the names and just get more information on that to start with. The department will work with the Deh Cho Health and Social Services Authority to look into this further and be able to get back to the Member on what our next steps could be on that. Thank you.
I would be pleased to work with the Minister and the Department of Health and Social Services and the Deh Cho Health and Social Services, as well as get the young lady involved that had contacted my office in getting the assessment if there indeed is a root cause in Fort Liard. As I said, we had done it in other communities, especially when… It’s not yet been determined if H. Pylori has been the root cause, but the concern is if this is the case, then we should examine it. I’d like to get the Minister’s commitment, for the record one more time, that this serious concern will be examined. Thank you.
The H. Pylori project in Aklavik was initiated by an educational institution. It was initiated by a university who wanted to take a look at it. The Department of Health and the Beaufort-Delta Health and Social Services Authority provided all the support that we could possibly give them to get that work done. My understanding is that the results of that will not come out for another year or two. They need to do an in-depth analysis of the data that they had collected. In the meantime, the H. Pylori tests are available to any resident that might be interested in getting tested for that, if that is their concern.
Going back to the Member’s question, I will look further into the cases and advise the Member as soon as possible on what we can do there. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’m glad that the Minister is well aware of the process that occurred in the community of Aklavik. If the Minister can give that to me as well, about how to begin that process is the concern and is something that I, of course, support, and to see how much in-depth examination of the environmental and of maybe pollution concerns in Fort Liard can be determined, and if there is indeed a relation to the increase of stomach cancers in Fort Liard. Thank you.
Yes.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today my Member’s statement, Mr. Speaker, was substance abuse and aftercare. I have a question for Minister Lee of Health and Social Services. Will this government adopt a duel system to provide an equal number of days for post-program assistance in their home community? For example, the participant spends 30 days in an addiction program and there will be a minimum of 30 days of professional support in their home community. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m not familiar with the program that the Member is mentioning, but I’d be happy to look into that. At the same time, Mr. Speaker, I’d like to advise the Member that the Department of Health and Social Services is working with the Gwich’in Tribal Council and IRC. We are investing $600,000 over three years to do an aftercare program in Tuktoyaktuk. We are working in partnership with IRC. IRC is working with Tuk to develop the Aftercare Program. I had the occasion to talk to Mayor Gruben when I was there for the Beaufort-Delta meeting, and he was pleased with this development. At the same time, IRC has separate money where they are doing a community needs survey of addictions programs for the entire Beaufort-Delta region, and they are working with GTC in this regard. So we have lots of things happening in the Beaufort-Delta. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, this is a new program I’m asking for. It’s nothing to do with what you’re initiating right now. It’s a program that we’ve seen people get sent out of the community and coming back, no aftercare, and the next thing they’re back doing their passive abuse.
Mr. Speaker, given that across the Territory community governments and organizations are saying the same thing -- the communities’ number one problem is not enough counselling support -- will this government commit to a small, fully functional, around-the-clock, fully equipped addictions centre with nurses and counsellors in every community?
Tuktoyaktuk does have a community wellness worker as well as a mental health and addictions counsellor. As Member Jacobson as well as the community have told us, that they would like to see an enhanced aftercare program in Tuktoyaktuk, especially in light of the fact that they voted to go restricted. I don’t know about the program that the Member is asking. I have to look into that. But I think, as I said, IRC is working with us to use this money to do up pilot projects in Tuktoyaktuk. They want to concentrate on aftercare and family wellness. They are looking into doing family counselling and workshops, and coming out of this pilot project, they will have more concrete ideas about what more they want to do. I think definitely the Member’s idea could put into this to see if we could incorporate that somehow. Thank you.
Again, I love my home community of Tuktoyaktuk and my other three communities I represent in my riding. As mentioned in my previous Member’s statement, during my community visits in Nunakput and the mayors and the community leaders all identifying the lack of professional and social support as one of the most serious issues in the communities, Mr. Speaker. People are very passionate about these issues and have lots to say. As a government, we must listen and we must act. I think this government should review our current territorial strategy on addictions and other counselling programs that can conduct comprehensive community-based decision…
Question, Mr. Jacobson.
…on a go forward plan. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I don’t know if I heard a question there. Ms. Lee.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, to the Member. We are reviewing the Mental Health and Addictions Program. Yes, we are working with IRC to do what the Member is saying, aftercare programming in Tuk. Yes, I agree with the Member that there is a need in all of the Beaufort-Delta, which is the reason why IRC is doing a community needs survey for the entire region. The Member mentioned earlier that we should work with the federal government. I want to let him know that the Department of Health has submitted an application to the Mental Health Commission to get more money. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement today I talked about my concern and, may I add, my disgust about people who park in handicapped parking who do not have the appropriate placard to be there. I would like to ask questions to the Minister of Transportation to see if the department would be willing to take a lead on this type of initiative to demonstrate its position as well as lend its voice to the fact that this is a wrong we should help correct by enforcing this not stricter but with a clear message.
Mr. Speaker, to the Minister of Transportation: would he be willing to investigate this process about causing a demerit system being added to those who park in the handicapped parking who do not belong there and who do not have a designated placard to be there? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister of Transportation, Mr. Michael McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That is an issue that we all share a frustration and has been voiced as a concern by many of the people that have valid placards. When we find people parking in their stalls it is also quite complicated because this is an area that is dealt with, for the most part, by the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs. Parking and municipal bylaws are under that department. We, as the Department of Transportation have not looked at the possibility of including this as part of our demerit point system and we feel very reluctant. We would probably have to require some change in legislation or possibly diluting our program that is restricted for moving vehicles and vehicle speeding tickets and things of that nature. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, understanding the experience and certainly sharing the frustration is much appreciated. Mr. Speaker, I have seen people sort of challenge these on their own. I know a particular father out there who has a child who is handicapped. They are challenging people face to face who park in handicapped parking. I fear for them because one of these days it is not going to be just two people arguing in a parking lot. We need some type of trepidation that sends a message. Mr. Speaker, what can the Department of Transportation do at this stage to help sort of build up this issue to make sure it is clear? Demerit points are a clear signal that this is wrong. Rather than saying how we can’t do this, let’s try to turn it around and say, can we find a way to do this? Thank you.
