Thank you, Madam Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. Increasingly, seniors in the NWT are choosing to stay at home for as long as they can, of course, with their children being in the support capacity. However, we’re facing a dilemma in terms of the increased traffic on the public highway system between down south and up here in the North, especially with the establishment of the Deh Cho Bridge. However, there needs to be fundamental services that this government needs to maintain.
My question to the Minister is: I’m aware that MACA has been leading some efforts into trying to provide ground ambulances, so what emergency medical services are currently available for Enterprise and its residents? Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Through the Government of the Northwest Territories, we don’t provide any medical services to the community of Enterprise. I think the service they do get provided is from the community of Hay River. But I can assure the Member that through our Interdepartmental Advisory Committee we are looking at the whole issue of ground ambulance highway rescue, as we’ve heard from Members before, so we have that work underway right now, and we’re hoping to have something out to the Members soon.
I’d like to thank the Minister for giving me a brief understanding in terms of the progress that MACA is leading. Surely at this point governments must have a framework of possibilities in terms of how local communities and organizations could at least dovetail the efforts of the GNWT with community initiatives.
How does Enterprise coordinate emergency ambulance services with Hay River to ensure that Hay River is always available to respond to emergencies in the community?
That’s an arrangement that the community of Enterprise would have to work out with the community of Hay River, but I can commit to the Member that our department will work with the community of Enterprise again.
These are initiatives that are normally community driven. We will work with the community, and I think, later on when we debate the budget, we might be debating some funds for ground ambulance and highway rescue services, enhancing the funds that are already there so it gives more communities an opportunity to provide training and other initiatives along those lines. We will work with the community of Enterprise to see what options they might have.
I’d like to thank the Minister. My final question has to do with seniors. Obviously, seniors that have a pension are on a fixed income, and so, increasingly, seniors are choosing, with the support of their families, to stay with them in their homes as long as possible. When an emergency arises, an ambulance has to be dispatched to their community and brought to the closest health centre or hospital. Recently, a resident had to incur their own personal cost of paying for that ambulance service.
Would MACA at least investigate and at some point commit to ensure that residents that have to pay for these costs will be reimbursed for those expenses?
That is an issue that they would have to work out with the provider. I can’t commit to saying that MACA will reimburse these clients that have to be taken by ambulance; however, I can commit to working with my colleague at Health and Social Services and see what options might be available to them through Health and Social Services.
The quick answer is no, we don’t reimburse costs for ambulances.
Thank you. Final supplementary, Mr. Nadli.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Other than the encouraging words that the Minister has provided, what are some of the immediate reassurances that he can give to the residents of Enterprise along with other northern communities that don’t have access to ambulance services? Mahsi.
The assurance that I can give them is that it is an issue that we’re working on with our interdepartmental group. They have come up with many suggestions. One of the big ones we’re looking at is we want to be able to help the communities be able to train personnel in the communities to respond to emergencies. One of the issues we hear is there is no point in having an ambulance if we don’t have trained personnel. We have heard that, and again, as I said, as we debate the budget that’s before the House, we will be debating some enhancements made to the funds that are available to the communities again. Once the budget is passed, then we will have to work with communities and see how the money can be distributed. But we do recognize the fact that it’s a concern across a lot of the small communities and we’re taking steps to try and address that, Madam Speaker. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister McLeod. Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
