Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Continuing along the same vein as my other colleagues with concerns of the cancellation of the Midwifery Program here in Yellowknife. My question to the Minister of Health and Social Services is built around the fact that why couldn’t we continue the program and do the review and how much the review will cost and why didn’t he talk to Members. To get it out right on the record: how much will this review actually cost to review the actual Midwifery Program that was being done here in Yellowknife?
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We anticipate somewhere in the neighbourhood of $100,000 range.
I want to thank the Minister for that particular answer, putting on record that it costs about $100,000. With this particular money potentially being spent -- because I assume it hasn’t been spent yet -- who will be doing this review and when can we see a report done back into this House? Obviously, a report won’t be tabled or presented to this particular House as it expires within a few months, but that said, when is there a true expectation of this report seeing the light of day and by whom?
What is being aimed for is this will be ready for the incoming 17th Assembly to consider, along with all the other work that will be laid out in the transition plan as they look at setting their priorities and doing their own business plans.
Who will be doing this particular work and initiative in order to review the program being offered in the midwifery services that were being run here in Yellowknife?
This is a review of birthing services, midwifery services as it would pertain to a type of territorial system across the North. The RFP has yet to be concluded, as far as I’m aware, so there is no clear proponent that I can speak to or point to.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To date it is my understanding that the Program Review Office does not charge back for full accounting of reviewing of programs. It would then stand to reason to me, and to other Members potentially, that the Program Review Office be tasked to do this review of the midwifery services.
As the Member has offered to this House the cost of $100,000 that would go to an RFP, would it not make sense that we apply this $100,000 for the review back to the person actually doing the services, or I should say who was doing the services for the record, and allow the Program Review Office to do the review at the same time? If there was not money available for that to provide service money to continue the Midwifery Program, then it seems odd that there’s money to review it. We would have been able to save money on one hand and continue the service until we got a good quality program. With that type of comment, would the Minister be willing to reconsider this approach?
I don’t think that would be an appropriate use of the skill set of the Program Review Office. This RFP is going to be asking for folks with a background that can also not only look at what’s there but look across the North and be able to offer up some knowledgeable skill-based and experience-based suggestions and options of an expansion of services across the Northwest Territories. That is definitely not the role of the Program Review Office.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.
