Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As always, it gives me great pleasure to acknowledge and welcome NWT’s favorite son – and we all know who that is – Mr. Anthony W.J. Whitford. There he is. He attends hearings quite often.
Mr. Speaker, I also want to acknowledge Ms. Lydia Bardak. She’s the executive director of the John Howard Society. As I understand it, right on the side here we have Hannah Allen. She’s a Page for this session and she’s from Yellowknife Centre.
Finally, Mr. Speaker, the last person I’d like to acknowledge in the gallery here today is Zoe Ignacio-Pacunayen. She’s my constituency assistant for the summer. She’s in her second year of dental hygiene down south, but I hope she makes sure she will return to the Territories to work full time. Please give her a warm welcome.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to introduce, to you and through you, one of the residents from Range Lake. She probably doesn’t need any introduction, but Ms. Carmen Moore who is from the office of protocol and she’s one of our best ambassadors that I think we have in the North and, of course, our special guest. Thank you for joining us today. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize the leadership from the Sahtu, specifically the Tulita leadership delegation. I’d like to recognize the grand chief and Chief Frank Andrew; president Clarence Campbell from Tulita Land and Financial Corporation; vice-president Jimmy Mendo; Sally Horassi, board member; Leon Andrew, board member; and from the Fort Norman Metis Land Corporation, Rocky Norwegian, board member; and Valerie Yakeleya, board member. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all I’d like to recognize, of course, Tony Whitford, resident of Weledeh. Welcome, Tony. I recognize other residents up there. I know Sheila Bassi-Kellett, I think I saw her up there with our special guests; Lydia; and I’d also like to recognize our distinguished visitors from Britain and also I’d like to offer a wee welcome to our Irish visitors, Pat and Jim Thom. I know Pat has a strong affiliation with Giant, which is, of course, in the Weledeh riding. Welcome.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mrs. Mary Kendi, a well-respected elder from Aklavik, passed away in Inuvik on Monday, May 26, 2014. Mary just recently celebrated her 99th birthday.
Born on the Pokiak Channel in 1915, Mary Vittrekwa spent her early years in Aklavik, Fort McPherson and Nagwichoo Tshik, mouth of the Peel. She married Alfred Kendi in 1932 and together raised 10 children. She sewed for her family, always making sure her children had slippers and fancy footwear and they were dressed warm in winter months. Later on, taking care of her grandchildren sewing traditional parkys, mukluks, mitts, Mary took great pride in dressing her family with her sewing. Many of her works are now treasured keepsakes in the homes throughout the Delta.
She always had a home-cooked meal ready for anyone when they visited her, a sure sign that she often had people in her home or was expecting people to stop by. Mary contributed effortlessly to the Anglican Church in Aklavik; she was a member of the Women’s Auxiliary and Women’s Institute. Mary was one of the founding members of the Gwich’in Social and Cultural Institute, one of the first women in the NWT to receive the Wise Women Award. She received numerous awards throughout her lifetime, special tributes at events and gatherings. She is honoured for her many years of dedication and commitment to her community. Mary spoke strongly about the importance of young people being well educated both in today’s world and the ancestors’. It was important for Mary to pass on cultural survival skills and traditional knowledge. She made our community a better place to live by being a positive role model to everyone. Mary Kendi will be forever remembered and deeply missed. Condolences to the family. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Blake. Condolences to the Kendi family on behalf of all of us at the Assembly.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today I did a Member’s statement on the increase of fuel prices in the small, remote communities that is delivered by the petroleum products division, so I would like to ask the Minister of Public Works and Services questions on the increase of fuel prices.
I’d like to ask the Minister, how are the fuel prices determined in all our small and remote communities? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. Beaulieu.
Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. The fuel prices include the cost of the actual product being purchased, the transportation cost to get the product to the community, there’s a sales commission for the sales within the community and the O and M expenses, evaporation loss and taxes. Thank you.
I know it can be argued that the transportation cost to the remote communities is additional tax to these communities.
Has the department looked at not applying a transport tax so that we can lower the fuel prices into our small and remote communities? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, petroleum products operate through a revolving fund. There’s a Revolving Fund Act, which means that the fund itself is self-funding. So the only way that we’re able to deliver fuel to these communities is by charging what it costs to deliver fuel to the communities.
If we were to subsidize one community, which we are allowed to do up to 95 percent of the cost, we would have to take it from another community. We’re allowed to charge up to 105 percent of the cost of delivering fuel to a community.
We try to keep it fairly balanced and do it at the true cost, 100 percent of the cost. So the actual transportation cost is what we use. Thank you.
I’d like to thank the Minister for that explanation. To a normal person, I guess it wouldn’t make sense.
I’d just like to pursue another angle. Government is providing these services in the communities and we’re charging a commission fee.
Can our government provide this service for free, instead of charging it back to the smaller communities? They’re small populations. They’re the ones that get the brunt of it. I think my colleague from Mackenzie Delta has the highest fuel prices as a result of the petroleum products division, at $2.01.
Can they look at the government providing the service without a commission charge? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, the sales commission is paid to individuals in the communities that sell the fuel, so we would be asking the individuals who are selling the fuel in the communities to do it for no fee if we were to eliminate the sales commission from the price structure of the fuel. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I guess what I’m asking is if Public Works and Services would review how we can deliver fuel, how we can drive down the cost of living. In fact, I think nationally one of the big moves is to lobby the federal government to drop the GST for gasoline and heating fuels in remote communities.
Is that something that the Minister is willing to look at as well? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, if that is internationally to lower the cost across the board, then our government is prepared to look at that particular tax for fuel into small communities that we’re delivering ourselves. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Health and Social Services.
I understand that the department is reviewing its Medical Travel Policy. What is the timeline for this review? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Blake. Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Abernethy.
Mr. Speaker, in the last sitting I talked about the schedule for the review of the Medical Travel Policy, and we were hoping to have the base Cabinet policy ready for discussion on March 31st of this year. I did have an opportunity to get briefed by the department and go through that Cabinet policy and I didn’t feel that it was quite right and it needed some additional work, so I’ve actually sent it back to the department.
Between that and some other competing priorities, we are a little behind. I’m hoping to have that Cabinet policy to Cabinet and then to Standing Committee on Social Programs in July. In the meantime, I’ve had an opportunity to travel around the North and talk to a number of people, and there are lots of individuals who are obviously frustrated about medical travel, in particular escorts.
In our discussions on the medical travel review, I had indicated that once we had the Cabinet policy done, then we would work on the individual portions: escorts, appeal process, price. Recognizing that there is this delay and we won’t be ready until July, I’ve asked the department to expedite the review of the escorts policy in light of situations like the Member has discussed. We will be going out for an RFP immediately to seek input and provide some direction and to find some options to deal with the escort portion of medical travel. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned in my statement, my constituent was given a support letter from her doctor, and then once it came to medical travel it was denied.
I’d like to know why was she denied a medical escort after being approved earlier?
Mr. Speaker, I’m not comfortable talking about specific individuals, but with respect to the Medical Travel Policy, a recommendation can come from the practitioner. But when it comes to non-medical escorts, there are some guidelines and not all non-medical escorts are approved.
This is clearly an area that needs improvement. We have heard from residents all across the Northwest Territories, that when you’re dealing with chronic conditions like cancer or other issues, you need emotional, compassionate support, and non-medical escorts needs to be reviewed. This is going to be included in the review that’s going to be conducted once the RFP goes out, and I’m hoping that we can take some immediate action on addressing non-medical as well as medical escorts.
The RFP, as I said, will be out early this summer and we should have something to have discussions with committee by the end of the summer/early fall. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Can the Minister describe what is being done for medical travel situations in the interim, before the final recommendations of the review? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, there is always an exception process that individuals can access if they feel that they’ve been declined medical travel. It’s not always going to be exactly what the Members want or what the individual residents want, but we do try to meet their challenges and the issues that are coming forward, and we are attempting to find solutions for individuals on non-medical escorts. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Blake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As we are waiting for the review and revision of the Medical Travel Policy, will the Minister make an exception in this case?
Mr. Speaker, I’m not prepared to talk about an individual case, but I’d be happy to sit down with the Member and we can look at the file and see what we can do to resolve this particular situation.
In the end, the Minister doesn’t make decisions on medical travel. There is a policy and a process. It’s just a matter of finding the appropriate way through the process. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ve wanted to tag team with my colleague from the Mackenzie Delta on this issue of medical escorts, especially paid escorts from our small communities. When I returned back to Yellowknife, I met a constituent in Deline that talked about him going out with an elder to escort the elder out, but the elder is going to be in the hospital for about a month or so and he said I just can’t afford to stay with him for a month or so. We need to do something with the medical escorts, so I’m glad that Mr. Blake is raising it today.
I wanted to ask the Minister, between the RFP and the reviews and the feedback, committee work, in between that is there any type of interim solution? This person is going to go out next week. Can he seek some type of formal financial compensation, because he’s away from his job, his community, he has family obligations in his community, which he does not see anything now?
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Once again, I’m not comfortable talking about a specific individual, but we do have a Medical Travel Policy, it is under review. In the future it will address the types of situations the Member is discussing. I’d be happy to sit down with the Member and talk about this particular situation and get the details and have the department get involved, but this is part and parcel with many of the concerns that we’re hearing about medical travel and in particular around escorts and non-medical escorts. This is work that we need to get done. Thank you.
I do appreciate that the Minister is working hard in this area. This individual I talk about could be anybody in the Northwest Territories. So let’s talk generalities because I know the issue I am talking about. I haven’t given you names. I’ve just said a person in Deline. I could be talking about someone in Good Hope or wherever.
So I want to continue the discussion. This could be Tulita, it could be Tuktoyaktuk, it could be Tsiigehtchic or wherever. We have people who are leaving their communities, who have family obligations, who have jobs, who, out of the goodness of their hearts, are escorting people to facilities where they have to stay for a long time without any type of financial compensation. They are asking their land corps., their bands to cover their costs for fuel, groceries or whatever. These people are staying months, weeks.
So, given all that the Minister is telling me, is there any type of interim solution to help these medical escorts to come with their people to the hospitals?
On the Medical Travel Policy now, there is a per diem that is provided. It may not be sufficient enough to cover some of the costs that the Member is talking about, but I know that communities throughout the Northwest Territories have stood up and have been supporting members of their communities when they are away for extended periods of time.
During my discussions with residents across the Northwest Territories and with Members, we’ve heard a lot of suggestions on escorts and what we need to be doing. I’ve heard individuals say we need to actually create or employ some dedicated escorts in the communities who could be the escorts for everybody, proper language training, proper interpretation training and some medical terminology. I’ve also heard greater fees for individuals who are on medical travel. I’ve also heard people say that these are really bad ideas and that other options need to be considered. The bottom line is there are a lot of ideas and we need to wade through these ideas and find out which ones are really practical and feasible.
In the interim, I would still encourage the Members to work with their communities, to maybe have conversations with income support and we will continue to provide per diems accordingly. Thank you.
What I am hoping from this Minister is saying yes, let’s look at some out-of-the-box type of solutions. I’m really happy the Minister talked about possibly income support. Can the Minister sit down with the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment to say listen, we have an issue here because of the bureaucracy, because of the timetable, we just aren’t able to meet the current needs right now of what’s happening. The issue is medical escorts that need to be compensated by people in the communities. It’s okay here in Yellowknife, you can drive your car and head over there, but from the small communities you’re travelling away from your family, you have family obligations, you have children, you have bills. They have to get paid.
I agree with the Member completely. We need to think outside the box and I’m certainly happy to have some conversations with the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, who is responsible for income support. I don’t know if that will work. I don’t know what mechanisms might exist, but I’m certainly willing to have that conversation and that discussion with him. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister commit to the House before the end of this session that the conversation has been had with the Minister, we’re looking at options, again, what can we do within the session here? I’m looking for some support, some direction, so when we go back to our communities we can say yes, the government will look at this. This is for all my communities in the Sahtu that there will be some compensation when medical escorts are asked, you know. That’s the type of support I’m looking for. I really don’t know. Maybe if I was on the other side I would have some suggestions and sit with the Minister. But can we do something like that?
I will commit to having a conversation with the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, but it would be impossible for me to commit to finding a solution within a seven-day session. So we will have the conversation, we will explore any opportunities that exist and I will keep the Member informed. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
