So we would be left with two coordinators then: one in Inuvik, one at headquarters. I do understand from the information the department provided to the standing committee that some of the sort of technical support is going to be provided by TSC, and that’s a good thing. What is going to be the function of the two coordinators that are left? Will they have a regional scope, and just what regions will each of these two people cover?
Mr. Cummings.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. The remaining positions actually have a territorial scope, and the functions they provide are to assist with the scheduling of sessions on Telehealth and to do training around Telehealth and to provide support if there are technical glitches during the sessions. It is possible, with the technology we have, for that to be done remotely. So the people who do that work can be located anywhere in the system and can do that work on-line. The plan is to have the position remain at the Beaufort-Delta Health and Social Services Authority and in the Department of Health and Social Services, but either could have a territorial scope of responsibility.
Thank you. That’s great. That’s good.
We’re on page 6-10, Department of Health and Social Services, information item, Active Positions – Health and Social Services Authorities. Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In Mr. Hawkins’ questions to the Minister I don’t know if she answered as to how many unfunded positions we have across the health authorities. I’d be interested to know that, especially at Stanton.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Minister Lee.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I do not have information on unfunded positions for authorities. I would be happy to make a commitment to get back to the Member about Stanton.
I have heard it was as high as 26 at Stanton, but I guess I’ll wait for the Minister to get us that information.
I would be interested in knowing, not just at Stanton but in the rest of the authorities, what the unfunded position level is.
I’ll get that for the Member.
We’re on page 6-10, Active Positions – Health and Social Services Authorities.
Department of Health and Social Services, Active Positions – Health and Social Services Authorities, approved.
Moving along to 6-11, Department of Health and Social Services, information item, Health and Social Services Authorities, Active Positions – Community Allocations.
Department of Health and Social Services, Health and Social Services Authorities, Active Positions – Community Allocation, approved.
Moving along to 6-12, information item, Revenue Summary. Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. My understanding is that the Government of Canada has a fiduciary and legal role to provide health care services for aboriginal people in Canada, including the Northwest Territories, but that there is an agreement for this department to cover those services in the Northwest Territories.
I understand that the federal government compensates the department with about a 3 per cent annual growth for increasing costs, but we’ve been experiencing something like a 7.8 per cent, or thereabouts, average increase in annual costs. I’m wondering, if I’ve got that right: what is our current estimate of the accumulated debt that the department views is owed by the federal government and over what period of time does that apply to?
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Minister Lee.
Mr. Chairman, the Government of Canada under supervision of DIAND department is responsible for funding for insured hospital and doctors’ services to our Inuit and Indian peoples of the Territories.
That’s in line with the practice before the health programming and service delivering was transferred to GNWT in 1988. At that time there was an agreement in place that put a 2 per cent cap on the funding they would provide. How we would do it is that they would provide the services to our aboriginal peoples and then we bill DIAND for those programs. The stats we have available is that since 1999 the expenditure has been a lot larger than 2 per cent, obviously, and the accumulated deficit there is about $95 million.
I’m wondering what the estimate for this particular year will be for the addition to that debt and where that shows up in the budget here and where we’re at in the process to recapture those costs.
We estimate that this year’s expenditure will be at about $41 million, and the expenditures we could claim as per the agreement will be about $25.6 million, which gives us a gap of about $15 million a year.
I’m wondering where we’re at in negotiations with the Government of Canada or DIAND to recapture those dollars and the accumulated debt. Also, does it show up here in the book somewhere?
It does show up on the page that we’re on, 6-12 under the Hospital Care and Medical Care for Indians and Inuit. Those are the expenditures we are incurring. Then we submit our reimbursements. We will be submitting last year’s reimbursement this year.
We have been going back and forth in the House about some of the actions and interactions the Premier has had with the DIAND Minister and the Prime Minister in his previous role as Minister of Health and Social Services. There are two federal departments involved in this issue. The major one is the DIAND Minister and the Prime Minister, obviously, and then on the side is the federal Minister of Health, Tony Clement.
I think we need to renegotiate, and the Member may appreciate that in order to negotiate you need two parties to come to the table. We’re asking the federal government to come to the table and negotiate a better term and to remove that cap, but I believe the federal government feels that some of these fundings are being provided through other means — their transfer payments and such. We will continue to pursue this issue and see if we can renegotiate and raise the cap.
Thank you, Minister Lee. Any other questions on page 6-12? Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I must be having a tough day, because I’m confused again with the numbers. Page 6-12 is titled Revenue Summary, yet the two amounts that were referenced by the Minister add up to about $25 million to $26 million, which I thought she said was the amount we incur in expenses, and we only get $15 million back in revenue. If I could have a clarification, please.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Mr. Elkin.
The $26 million for the agreement is reflected in the two lines: one says Hospital Care Indian and Inuit and the other one, Medical Care Indian and Inuit. But we receive that full amount. Our expenditures are $40 million.
Okay. I am having a bad day. I did have a question, as well, on this page. There are two numbers, a 1 and a 2, that reference notes, I presume. But I don’t know where those notes are in the document. If they’re important, I guess I need to know. What are they referencing?
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Ms. Lee.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. I have the same copy as the Members do, so I can answer that. I will undertake to get that information for you.
Thank you, Minister. Further questions? Page 6-12, Revenue Summary, information item.
Department of Health and Social Services, Department Summary, Revenue Summary, approved.
Moving on, under Directorate, page 6-14.
Department of Health and Social Services, Activity Summary, Directorate, approved.
Page 6-15, Operations Expenditures Summary, votable activity: $6.780 million. Questions? All agreed?
Department of Health and Social Services, Activity Summary, Directorate, Operations Expenditure Summary: $6.780 million, approved.
Page 6-15. We’re agreed. Moving on, page 6-16, information item, Directorate, Active Positions. Questions? Mr. Robert McLeod.
Thank you. Not so much a question, Mr. Chair, as a comment. I was just noticing the staff at the headquarter level and something I’ve been telling the departments I’ve been speaking to. Taking more staff from headquarters and leaving the program staff on the front lines is something I appreciate. I think more of the departments should have been looking along those lines and saving a lot of people on the front lines, especially if they’re positions that are not really needed or vacant positions. I just wanted to comment that I thought this was a good move on Health and Social Services’ part.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Comment only. Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Earlier today we were provided with a list of position reductions under Health and Social Services. I just want to be clear. Under Active Positions here there seems to be a loss of eight positions. If the Minister could clarify which positions have been re-profiled in the bigger scheme of things.
Minister Lee.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We have the seven positions that were provided already — FTP policy adviser; graphic design and communications specialist; communications planning specialist; senior adviser, financial planning and analysis; junior financial board analyst; data entry clerk; manager of planning and reporting, impact assessment analyst. Those are the seven position reductions, not eight positions.
No, it didn’t seem quite clear. There may have been a position missing or something there. Could we clarify that? If we have 15 positions here, two to be determined, and this is headquarters, that’s minus eight. If I read this paper, there are 15. The paper I’m citing is the one. I just want to make sure.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. I believe the eight positions are the first eight listed on the page there. Is that correct, Minister Lee?
Yes, those are the first eight. I think the other positions are under other tabs.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. Anything further, Mr. Hawkins?
No, that’s it.
On page 6-16, Directorate, Active Positions
Department of Health and Social Services, Activity Summary, Directorate, Active Positions, approved.
Moving on, page 6-17. Questions? Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Under the third paragraph down we have a section highlighted under the recruitment....
Excuse me, Mr. Hawkins. We were still on page 6-17, Directorate, Active Positions.
Department of Health and Social Services, Activity Summary, Directorate, Active Positions, approved.
Moving on, 6-18, Program Delivery Support, Activity Description. Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, colleagues, for that.
Mr. Chairman, there’s a section under Human Resources, and it talks about recruitment and retention. If I understand it, there’s the difficulty of balancing this out. I’m just trying to find out what the activities are that this would apply to. If I can get some breakdown as to some examples of how they’re reaching out.
Mr. Cummings.
Okay. The activities under human resources recruitment are the recruitment and retention activities we have the Human Resources Department do on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Services. They include programs such as the Community Health Nurse Development Program, the nurse mentor program, the nurse practitioner development program, the medical bursary program for physicians. Those are the programs the Department of Human Resources administers on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Services.
I thank the deputy minister for that detail. As I understand it, for better or for worse there are nurse practitioners out there on term positions. They haven’t been made permanent, in other words.
That said, I’m under the understanding that this section, through this type of program, goes out to continue to find more potential nurses to become nurse practitioners who we don’t have jobs for. As I understand it, the situation is that you need to be a practising nurse practitioner in order to keep your credentials active and useful. It’s not a question of losing typical RN status. It’s more in the sense of how are we investing. If we continue to pay people to become nurse practitioners when we don’t have positions for them, that’s a concern. If I can get some information as to how they deliver this program for nurse practitioners. How many do they train? What positions exist for this transition from training to practical work?
