Thank you. I, too, would like to say welcome back to all Members of this House. It’s good to be back.
I’m going to speak today about a contentious issue; one dear to the hearts of those assembled in the gallery and dear to us on this side of the House as well. I refer to the proposed changes to the NWT Supplementary Health Benefits Program.
I can’t say it often enough or loudly enough. This program has been poorly thought out, poorly presented and is based on a poor policy. Cabinet had lofty goals and, I hope, good intentions when they decided to go forward with this new program and policy. We should be providing health benefits to those who currently are left unprotected. I agree with that premise, but Cabinet didn’t do their homework.
By using this policy change to fix one problem, that of a lack of health coverage for lower income workers and their families, they effectively created a bunch of new problems. Some examples: some disabled persons and people with families dealing with chronic conditions now face huge medical costs. Some of our residents aged 60 to 64 suddenly have no coverage at all. Our seniors, many on a fixed income, face a means test to determine if they will be able to continue to receive coverage.
This program is wrong on so many levels it’s hard to know where to start to identify the wrongs. The means test tables show income levels which are unworkable because they’re too low and require a health department expert to understand them. The Catastrophic Drug Program covers all drug costs except, oh right, you have to spend 5 percent of your income first before the program kicks in.
This policy change will cost people money. For many it’s money they don’t have. How does that fit with this Assembly’s stated objective to reduce the cost of living for our residents? It doesn’t. How does it fit with Cabinet’s goal to increase the population of the NWT in order to increase our revenues? It doesn’t. This proposed new Supplementary Health Benefits Program will drive our residents out of the Territory and I, for one, do not want that.
I recently heard someone say that we have a government without a conscience when it comes to the implementation of this program. I can only agree and will have questions for the Minister of Health at the appropriate time.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you. I, too, would like to speak to the proposed and ill-conceived changes to the Supplementary Health Benefits Program here in the Northwest Territories.
Probably in my 13 years as MLA this is the most public feedback I’ve received on something the government proposed to do. I do appreciate the Minister’s statement today, that in fact the government is willing to put this on hold -- the implementation -- and look at revising these changes so that they will be more thought out and will close those gaps as the Health Minister referred to them.
As my colleague Ms. Bisaro said, the problems with what the government proposed is wrong on so many levels and really dangerous on so many levels that it’s hard to know where to start in a two and a half minute statement. As mentioned by Ms. Bisaro, thresholds were not thought out. They are far too low for people living in the North. This really affects quite a small number of people and I don’t know if the government took into account what the losses and cost to our Territory would be in relation to what it costs for the supplementary health benefits for our seniors. I don’t think they thought that through. That’s the kind of information that we did not have access to. We had many questions. We did not get many answers. I do appreciate the work of the seniors who put so much thought into proposing good questions, which were then sent on to the department and we’ve been trying to get to the bottom of those questions.
We talk about attracting people to the Northwest Territories and all the things that we would do and all the incentives we would offer to get people to move here. Yet, for the relatively little cost that it takes to support our seniors living here in the Northwest Territories, it’s unthinkable that we would drive seniors out of the Northwest Territories when they contribute so much to our economies. They have worked and contributed to building our communities and our Northwest Territories.
I have very serious concerns about this. I don’t like the timing of the implementation amounts that are going to wait until September 1st, because everyone knows that we all are going to be gone and summertime is not a good time to get in touch with a lot of people and a lot of stakeholders. I think the government should do more than postpone and defer the implementation of this. I think they should take it right back to the drawing board. I don’t think that this should negatively impact any senior living in the Northwest Territories. The program is flawed. It’s not good enough to say that those who can pay should pay. That is not a good premise for what they’re doing.
Times are very difficult for everyone, including seniors. This is not a time to be stressing them out with these kinds of changes.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you. I would like to welcome everyone back to the House and also the visitors we have in the gallery. I would like to speak today about the proposed changes to supplementary health benefits in the Northwest Territories. I would like to begin by thanking all of those who I have spoken to in person and those of you who have e-mailed, phoned and faxed your concerns to me over these proposed changes. I have received more and more calls and concerns over this issue than any other single issue in the five years that I have been a Member of this House. I am very thankful for all of the input that I have received. It takes a great deal of courage to speak out, and a special thank you to those of you who have shared your own unique personal situations with me and other MLAs.
A couple of days ago the Minister of Health issued a press release stating the implementation of the changes would be delayed from April 1st of this year until September 1st. This certainly shows that the Minister and government finally have woken up and realized that there are many legitimate concerns out there on the proposed changes to supplementary health benefits. However, I am very sceptical of the date of September 1st, which will come right on the heels of a summer recess where Members go back into their ridings and into their regions. My belief is that between now and September 1st, I do not have the confidence that the work, analysis and meaningful consultation can take place on such a large issue. I believe that the delay is intended to take the heat off of the government and off of the Minister in this session and that the intent is to pursue it on September 1st with the changes, without a real chance for Members to ask questions and be involved in this process. What type of consultation can take place over the summer months when many are enjoying spending time with family or away from home?
The real answer is to send this back to the drawing board, get some real answers, consult and engage the public in a meaningful way and put all of the information on the table. The Minister has been quick to say that the proposed changes will be cost neutral, but she has never provided any evidence whatsoever to back this claim up. I understand and appreciate the gap that exists with lower income earners and families. I believe, as a government, we should address this gap. However, it should not be on the backs of seniors and families coping with chronic illness.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
Mr. Speaker, the income thresholds proposed are miserably low. Means testing individuals or families dealing with chronic illness is something we certainly need to re-examine. As a government, we cannot continue to make half-baked policy decisions that detrimentally affect the psyche and feelings of our residents. We need to keep people here in the North, not keep looking for creative ways to drive people away. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Member for the Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you. It has been an interesting couple of months since we last met in this House. A lot has happened. My big issue, which is a major concern to me and my constituents and residents of the Northwest Territories, is the announcement made by the Minister of Health and Social Services two weeks before Christmas, that the Department of Health and Social Services would be eliminating their four very popular supplemental health benefits program, programs which are currently available to all residents of the Northwest Territories, specifically the extended health benefits for seniors program, the Specified Medical Conditions Program, the Additional Drug Assistance Program and the Indigent Program. The Minister mentioned that these programs would be consolidated into a single income tested program that would provide assistance to low-income families and residents who do not have medical coverage through their employers.
On the face of it, providing to these low-income families is the right thing to do and a good idea. The problem is that Cabinet, in their infinite wisdom, decided that the cost of the changes must be on the backs of NWT seniors who live on fixed incomes and families with members who suffer from chronic conditions. This is a bad decision. The proposed program is a bad program fourfold and will create more problems than it fixes. Ultimately, I believe it will cost more than it saves.
Clearly the Cabinet did not do the research or cost analysis to identify the ramifications of implementing such a thoughtless program. I know this because I and other Members have continually asked for research and cost analysis information that Cabinet should have used to make an informed decision. To date, they have been unable to provide anything. Personally, I don’t believe that any research or analysis exists.
Fortunately, we have a slight reprieve. The Minister has announced that she is deferring the implementation date. She has indicated that some elements of the proposed program might create undue hardship for some Northerners. Mr. Speaker, the Minister has indicated that the program design will be reviewed before the program is implemented on September 1, 2009. There are several problems with this.
First, the right thing to do, in light of the hundreds of concerns raised by residents of the NWT and the lack of evidence that Cabinet used any real analysis or financial information to make a decision, would be to eliminate the proposed program altogether. To go back to the beginning and design a program to support low-income families without adversely affecting those receiving support through existing programs. It’s the right thing to do for seniors and those with chronic medical conditions.
Second, the timeline proposed by the Minister is ridiculous. There is no way that a comprehensive research and effective consultation followed by program design, final review and implementation can adequately be done by September 1, 2009. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
I won’t take too long. I have two sentences left.
This is clearly nothing more than a delay tactic. If the timeline is upheld, the Regular Members won’t have an opportunity to debate the program until after it has been implemented. This is inappropriate. Mr. Speaker, I’ll have questions on this topic for the Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services at the appropriate time. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.
