Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. We had a great conversation yesterday about the Dental Auxiliaries Act, and I just want to make sure that the wheels keep turning on that one. As part of the oral health strategy, has the department done any jurisdictional research or spoken with dentists and dental hygienists to determine the feasibility of allowing dental hygienists to be self-initiated? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A jurisdictional scan of dental hygienist regulation was completed in January 2018 by the Canadian Dental Hygienists Association. This scan includes provinces, territories, and international jurisdictions.
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, we talked about oral health, and the Member and I continued this dialogue. I just looked up the Dental Auxiliaries Act, and I recognize the section where the Member talks about having the dental hygienists go off and do their own work in the communities. I recognize, Mr. Speaker, that this is important. Oral health in the Northwest Territories, not any specific region, is crucial. It's something that, although the scan has been looked at, I am reviewing the act. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I'm going to pretend she said "yes." I want to be part of the yes club today. I do have a yes question, though. Would the Minister be willing to commit to determining if we are willing to make this change as the Northwest Territories this year, so that we can potentially update the act in 2020?
Yes.
Wednesday is my new favourite day of the week. I am wondering, Mr. Speaker: what legislative change has the department initiated under the Oral Health Action Plan to oral health professional role?
Before I answer the question, I do want to go back. I was saying, "Yes, we will look into the feasibility study," just for clarification. Let me get back to the Member's question on what legislative changes the department has made. The Department of Health and Social Services has not initiated any changes in the Dental Auxiliaries Act. The Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority, however, has implemented a territorial specialist, an oral health position which is under the territorial manager, Allied Health. The dental therapist and the newly recruited dental hygienists all report to this position.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My final question for the Minister of health is: has recruitment begun for the chief oral health officer position that was identified as part of the oral health strategy? Thank you.
We have not begun the hiring process. I'm sorry; I can't go three yeses in a row. The department, however, is determining the scope of the work for what this role should be, and this should be done by the end of April. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.
