Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This morning I heard on the CBC News and I had a phone call yesterday, actually, from a person in Fort Good Hope, that the elders are wondering what happened to their pension cheques. They’ve been waiting for a long time. So I want to ask the Minister responsible for Seniors if he’s aware of this and is he helping the elders in Fort Good Hope to find out what happened to their pension cheques from the federal government.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The Minister responsible for Seniors, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have tracked the situation. We recognize that it’s a federal government issue. We know the Minister and we have provided some information to the MLAs office, but we’re also prepared to make contact with that federal Minister to find out the details of why those cheques were late. Thank you.
The elders in Fort Good Hope are going through this a second time. There’s a glitch in the federal government’s system and I’m glad the Minister is on top of this issue. I want to ask the Minister if he’s working with his colleagues for this situation where some of the elders do not have the money to pay for some of their bills that the territorial government has issued, the power bill or some other bills, the housing bills. So is the Minister helping our elders in Fort Good Hope with the bills that are being poured on them by this government?
Thank you. I’ve not had that discussion with the Minister of Housing as far as any costs that may be coming from the Housing Corp, or had any discussion with the Minister of Education as in income support to carry the pensioners over until their cheques come. What we’ve been doing is trying to find out why they’re late and we’re going to be following up at the request of the MLA, follow up with the appropriate department federally to find out what the issue is with the two months in a row where their cheques are delayed. Thank you.
Thank you. This week is Elder Abuse Week. We should send that message to Ottawa. There’s a glitch in here and elders are taking quite a bit of abuse here. So I want to ask the Minister, is he going to inform his counterparts in Ottawa that enough is enough and that this is the second time, and somehow the elders in Fort Good Hope are going to be reassured that there are other alternatives that can be used to make sure that the elders get their cheques on time. Can the Minister do that?
Thank you. Yes, I’m prepared to call the Health Minister in Ottawa or if she’s in her Iqaluit office, to have this discussion with her. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Maybe we should all go to Ottawa and tell the federal government some of the issues here that are important here to us in the small communities.
Can the Minister tell me if, once he’s made some contact with our MP or the officials or the Minister in Ottawa, that he can inform the people through the chief and council in Fort Good Hope that this issue has been looked after once and for all?
Thank you. Yes, I’m prepared to do that. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I have questions for the Minister of Health and it’s going to deal with pharmaceutical and prescription drugs, and I’ll be very easy on the Minister, Mr. Speaker.
The term “off-label use” is a term used in the industry where it means a drug has been discovered to have properties of use or therapeutic use for something that was outside of its intended use. In a lot of cases, drug companies don’t go to the case of actually making proof of claim because of costs. Drug benefits such as Blue Cross, extended health will look at this synopsis and make their decision whether a drug is covered or not. So again, off-label use does have a merit out in practice.
My question for the Minister is: Does the department have a program in place to deal with the therapeutic advantage of using off-label drugs for therapy and is there a process in place for people in the Northwest Territories to go to get these prescriptions covered? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As Member’s may know, Cabinet direction for all extended health benefits, any health benefits that we provide, and as far as drugs and other services go, are in line with the non-insured health benefits that are provided by the federal government for First Nations. So if we were to go off of that system, that would be contrary to Cabinet direction. But we do have a system to look at these cases on a one-on-one basis. Thank you.
Thank you. The Minister is correct; and non-insured health benefits are used as a means for formulary design. However, that system does have some gaping holes in the process and currently, right now, if a patient was to question viability of a drug being covered, it goes to Inuvik to extended benefits for review and it is reviewed, hopefully, by an independent source or a professional source. Does the Minister have information whether or not there is a process for a review that goes outside the formulary design of intention? Thank you.
Thank you. At this point any drugs that are considered to be off-label drugs that have benefits other than what’s indicated and approved by Health Canada, is on a one-off basis, like I indicated. It’s requested by the physician so that an individual that is prescribed drugs and is having a positive effect in another area, the exception can be requested by a physician. The physician’s request will then go to Alberta Blue Cross for review and then it will come back to Health and Social Services for consideration.
Thank you. So what we’re hearing here is that there is a peer review process involved, that physicians are involved and it goes to Inuvik for further review. But can the Minister indicate to the House if there is an unfavourable response from this peer review, is there an appeals process that a patient or another health care provider can follow in order to get that drug covered? Thank you.
Thank you. Because this has occurred several times over the last few years, the department is actually now currently working on an appeal, a formal appeal process that we’re hoping to get developed very soon. I don’t know the exact intention or the date of when this formal appeal process will be completed, but we are currently working on that process now.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s very encouraging to hear that we are working towards an appeals program, but that could take several months, maybe years, to achieve. In the interim, can the Minister make a commitment to look, on a case-by-case basis, if it is brought to the department to look at those patients who are waiting in the wings patiently to hear from this government, so that they can get their drugs approved for their therapies that are not previously being covered by our programs?
Recognizing the deviation from the NIHB formulary could potentially cost more money than expected and have other impacts, but I will commit to continue to look at off-label drugs and the positive impacts of off-label drugs on a one-off basis.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The people of the Beaufort-Delta, at this time, are in a big need for some sort of economic job opportunities. Within the next week, Inuvik will be hosting the Inuvik Petroleum Show and I understand the Minister of ITI will be attending. I would like to ask the Minister what will be your message for the people of the Beaufort-Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Blake. The honourable Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. David Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the question from the Member. Certainly, I think the message has to be that there’s hope for the future, not only in the Beaufort-Delta but in the territory, when it relates to our economic development and the opportunities that are out there. I know the organizers have worked hard to put together a solid program for the Inuvik Petroleum Show, which takes place in Inuvik next week. I certainly look forward to speaking at that show. I know the Premier will be there as well as a couple of Regular Members. The message is that there is hope for the future, and we’re looking forward to being there.
What can we expect to get from the development of our petroleum resources?
We continue to move toward the conclusion of the negotiation on devolution, and certainly I think the territory will benefit greatly from the development of our petroleum resources here in the Northwest Territories. Not only on-shore, but off-shore. After the agreement is concluded, we will be able to negotiate a deal on off-shore. When you look at the potential that exists in the Beaufort, that’s a tremendous opportunity for this territory going forward. We’re certainly excited about the prospects that are out in the Beaufort. I know Chevron will be out there doing some seismic work this summer. There’s a renewed interest and focus on opportunities in the Beaufort.
Thank you to the Minister. At this time I have no further questions.
Thank you, Mr. Blake. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I just want to follow up on my Member’s statement and my concern about the construction of the Trout Lake airport. I’d like to ask the Minister of Transportation, what work is being planned for construction this summer.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Minister responsible for Transportation, Mr. David Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have had some difficulties with getting the construction of that airport complete in Trout Lake. We will continue to work. We’re under a project management regime now, similar to what we started out with in the community of Trout Lake. We look forward to continuing with the embankment work. There have been some delays in the project until next year, but certainly work continues, and it is our belief that the department can continue to work with the community of Trout Lake to maximize the opportunities at the local level.
I’m pleased that there is progress with the construction. The concern from the community, and myself as MLA, has been that when the Department of Transportation management team was previously wanting to do the contract, they were trying to get outside contractors, from outside the community, from outside the region. I want assurance and commitment from the Minister that they will not be doing this again.
The project manager certainly would have to come from outside of the community, but our expectation would be that the project manager would work with the community in trying to identify local labour contractors, and if they are not available in the community of Trout Lake, certainly looking at other communities located in the Member’s riding.
That’s the kind of assurance I’m looking for. It would be nice to get that in writing. I think the most important thing is, when I say work with the community, is that when they’re talking about contracting and opportunities, that there is some type of management team set up with the community members so that they are involved in the project. Currently, the way it’s set up now is that they’re being consulted, but they would like to be actively involved. This is a $7 million contract. How can we continue to involve the community so that we don’t even look outside our region for any contractors whatsoever?
The project manager in Trout Lake has identified a community liaison person who is responsible for finding operators, picking up and dropping off personnel, and general other duties associated with the project. We have a liaison there. We have been working with the community. If the Member is aware of instances where that isn’t happening, or cases where he feels or the community feels that we aren’t working with them, that’s something I’d like for him to bring to my attention and we’ll certainly try to rectify that.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. On behalf of the community and myself, I have certainly brought any deficiencies or inappropriate potential conflicts of outside contractors to the Minister and I will continue to do that. Is there such a policy that will guarantee that communities like Trout Lake, with huge infrastructure projects, will benefit? If we can’t involve the local development corporation because of unforeseen circumstances, that at least they be included in the management team.
We have employed this project management approach in a number of small communities across the Northwest Territories and we haven’t encountered difficulties. We are encountering some difficulties here. I’ve had an opportunity to sit down with the leadership from the community of Trout Lake. We are back there and doing what we can to work with the community. It’s moving forward and our commitment as a department is to work with the community. I just wanted to reiterate that. If the Member or the community feels that’s not happening, I’d be more than happy to address those concerns.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today I talked about the role of the hamlet councils in our communities. I have, in my riding, some communities that have clearly expressed their aspirations to try to be more independent in terms of trying to provide critical services to the communities. I wanted to ask the Minister what are the steps in how it is that these local community councils could undertake to address issues with trying to repair or build vital service infrastructure in the communities.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The honourable Minister responsible for Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Robert McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Most communities have a capital plan and they identify projects. In some cases in the capital plan, where the cost is very high, then they would start putting some money away. They work with our department in trying to assist in identifying best ways to put the infrastructure up. Once they go through all that, at the end of the day, the ultimate decision is up to the community as to how they want to proceed.
With the recent trends in how it is that we’re going to spend the next four years trying to allocate our priorities, I think there’s been a deliberate decision to ensure that any major capital infrastructure projects are delayed at the latter part of this Assembly. I wanted to ask if there are any interim arrangements that perhaps communities could be considered because of their long-standing aspiration to try to establish service infrastructure, like water treatment plants. Can this government at least try to prioritize these projects?
We give the communities their infrastructure money every year and there’s also the gas tax money that goes to the communities. They have money coming every year, as far as their infrastructure needs are. They get this money every year. It’s a line item in the budget. They make the decision as to what their needs are in the community. If the community feels that a water treatment plant is one of their high priorities, then they do have the ability to make that happen. We’ve worked with other communities before, where they’ve done a bundled water treatment plant, where it kind of kept the costs down. The communities have all the authority now as far as how their infrastructure money is spent.
