Debates of October 14, 2005 (day 10)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, it’s a case-by-case review of what we are looking for. In this case, we were looking for office space. We are familiar with the community and went to the department with our own staff there on the ground in the community and did an assessment of what is available in that community and if it would meet the requirements for that particular office space. We were informed that there was only one suitable location available to us. On that basis, we made a decision to go to a sole source process. So it’s case by case. If there are other opportunities out there, if you are aware of other adequate building spaces, then we would use an RFP process. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Final supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.

Supplementary To Question 115-15(4): GNWT Office Space Procurement

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In this case, it appears there is a wrong here, and the wrong is that our protocol wasn’t followed, Mr. Speaker. In fact, I think our policies dictate that it’s Cabinet that determines to authorize negotiations. In this case, it’s apparent that regional staff or administration decided who gets the contract and who doesn’t. I don’t think our government should be able to do that. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister who authorized the sole source negotiations on this file? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. Roland.

Further Return To Question 115-15(4): GNWT Office Space Procurement

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there are a number of procurement policies that we do have within the government: sole source is one of them, negotiated contracts is another, and public tender process is the one we use most commonly. In this case, it wasn’t the staff on the ground in the community who made that decision. They provided the information to headquarters here and, from that information, it was brought forward to me that they were proceeding to make that decision based on the information that they had in hand. That decision could be made here in headquarters and that is where it was made, not at the regional office. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I share the views of other Members in congratulating the RCMP for some of the major arrests that went down. The thing is that once the smoke from this clears, we still have to address the needs of those who are addicted to cocaine and drugs and that is an ongoing issue that we have to pay attention to. So my question is for the Minister of Health and Social Services. The people who are involved in dealing with those with drug addiction speak about the need for a spectrum of services that have to be available to those who need them. The spectrum speaks to a treatment centre that people often speak about, but there are lots of other programs. People can go to a treatment centre, get dried out, be treated and sober, but they have to live their everyday life and they need support in that regard. I know there are groups in Yellowknife who are working to set up a transition home for men, especially, who have substance abuse problems. I know they were looking at submitting an application to the Minister for some funding. Would the Minister indicate whether or not he supports providing that assistance? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Lee. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Return To Question 116-15(4): Addictions Treatment Services

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are working with a number of groups, and we give all these proposals serious consideration of what fiscal resources may be available to meet such requests. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Supplementary To Question 116-15(4): Addictions Treatment Services

Am I to understand, then, that the Minister is not aware of a proposal at this time?

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Miltenberger.

Further Return To Question 116-15(4): Addictions Treatment Services

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am aware of a number of proposals, some related to the Salvation Army and their plan to build an addition. The specific project the Member references is not clear enough for me to know if that’s the same one. If there is another one, then I am unaware of it. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The people in our communities and in our cities always express their frustration at what seems to be a lack of action on the part of the government to address this drug problem and crime problem that seems to be prevalent in our communities. They don’t understand why the Minister is not talking about building a treatment centre and providing support to those who need to get some help. There are some real long-term residents, just regular citizens, who are struggling with this very serious crack and drug problem. Whenever I ask that question, the Minister always speaks about the millions of dollars that we are spending to deal with mental health people and addiction…

Do you have a question, Ms. Lee?

Supplementary To Question 116-15(4): Addictions Treatment Services

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Sorry. I would like to know if the Minister sees a transition home for men who are addicted to crack or any other drugs as part of his plan for addressing people with a substance problem?

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Miltenberger.

Further Return To Question 116-15(4): Addictions Treatment Services

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in fact, we do invest millions of dollars. We had initiated and completed two years of a three-year plan for mental health and addictions. For the third year, we have the funding there and we are taking the time to review where we’ve been, where we are and where is the best direction to go. I have approached the committee for their input. We have also gone to the authorities. We are also going to have Ms. Chalmers, the author of the State of Emergency report that initiated this plan three years ago now, to take a look to see the work that we have done. In the meantime, we know there are drug issues. Crystal meth is coming. We know about crack cocaine. We have made arrangements locally with the Salvation Army and other groups to try to address that issue. So we are looking to the future, to where we go. We are looking for input, and we know there has been interest in creating another treatment centre in the Northwest Territories. That’s definitely one of the options on the list. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final, short supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Supplementary To Question 116-15(4): Addictions Treatment Services

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think the Minister is still floating from the compliment that he received earlier and he’s not getting to the specifics of what I am trying to get at. Could I ask the Minister to enquire into this proposal that is being put forward by the people in the community who are in the know about dealing with people with substance problems? They are really looking at setting up a transition home or home for men who are trying to live a sober life. Living with sobriety requires a home that is conducive to that, and there is a proposal…(inaudible)…gives its best consideration on that proposal. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Miltenberger.

Further Return To Question 116-15(4): Addictions Treatment Services

Yes, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to follow up with what the Member for Monfwi raised regarding policing services. It is appalling to hear that it takes over an average of 48 minutes to respond to calls in the Tlicho region. Mr. Speaker, it takes an hour-and-a-half to fly to Sachs Harbour from Inuvik. Maybe we should send two of the RCMP officers over to Sachs Harbour. I would like to ask the Minister of Justice, has there been any progress to date in regard to policing services in Sachs Harbour? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Pokiak. The honourable Minister of Justice, Mr. Bell.

Return To Question 117-15(4): Policing Services In Sachs Harbour

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I indicated earlier, it is a priority of the government to work with the RCMP to come up with an approach for policing in our smaller communities. I think it is a reality that we will never have detachments in every community in the NWT -- some of the communities are too small -- but we are going to try to increase the number of detachments that we have. Having said that, it is very important that all of our communities have a police presence and have an adequate response by the RCMP. That is something that we are targeting. We have a working group of senior Justice officials and RCMP members who sit down and better understand how we can most appropriately target the problem. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Mr. Pokiak.

Supplementary To Question 117-15(4): Policing Services In Sachs Harbour

Thank you for the response, Mr. Minister. I would like to follow up. I know yesterday the Member for Sahtu talked about special constables. I spoke with the commander and chief of the RCMP when he was traveling through Tuktoyaktuk and Paulatuk, and he did say that he had sat down with the department. Can the Minister indicate to this House exactly what plans they have in place to deal with the RCMP presence in the Territories? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Pokiak. Mr. Bell.

Further Return To Question 117-15(4): Policing Services In Sachs Harbour

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the question of an RCMP presence in the Northwest Territories, I have indicated the RCMP did submit a business plan to this government that deals with the need for resources going forward. We have decided to approach it with a three-year response. We are into the third year of that response coming up in the budget session. We will have additional resources for the RCMP but, again, the level of detail that the Member is looking for is probably something that we had best deal with in the budget session. I can tell the Member that additional resources are coming and will be spread across the territory. We are going to target those communities that don't have detachments and talk about a plan for providing them the best level of service we can. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Mr. Pokiak.

Supplementary To Question 117-15(4): Policing Services In Sachs Harbour

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just a quick comment. Can the Minister explain how soon the additional resources will be coming to the Territories? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Pokiak. Mr. Bell.

Further Return To Question 117-15(4): Policing Services In Sachs Harbour

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. April 1st of next year is our new budget year. At that point, funds will flow to the RCMP from the government. I know the Member is aware that we fund 70 percent of the operations of the RCMP; 30 percent comes from the federal government. The commitment is already there. We will be discussing that and have been discussing that through the business planning process. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of Health and Social Services, the Honourable Michael Miltenberger.

Probably one of the concerns we have had raised most often at our constituency office, and just from meeting people in the street and talking to them -- townsfolk of Hay River -- is the wait time to get into the Hay River Medical Clinic. That seems to be the hot topic right now in Hay River. With all due respect to our CEO and our board, they have devised a new plan where they are trying to resolve issues like backlog and avoid no-shows. Certainly people have a responsibility for those kinds of things, and there is always several sides to any given story. I just want to give you and example of what seems to be coming down to almost a work-to-rule.

We should have six doctors in Hay River. We have three: Two are leaving, and we have one half-year locum. I know the Minister can't wave a magic wand and make doctors appear; however, this is compounding the problem. The people of Hay River received in their mailboxes recently something called walk-in process. It says, "The walk-in clinic is not for prescription renewals, reviewing test results, requesting referrals, no-show for medical scheduled appointments, and no WCB follow-up. You can't do a walk-in to quit smoking; you can't do a walk-in for wart removal, dandruff, lumps or bumps that you have had for years or any ailments that you have had for six weeks or more." This was sent to every household in Hay River. The walk-in clinic in Hay River is kind of like "come take your chances." If the doctor is busy at the end of the day at 5:00, you could have sat there all day, but they clear the office and say go home, come back another day and try. If you try to book an appointment, they tell you that you have to wait until next week for this time slot. It is just this new regime, which I understand is supposed to help, but I have been in Hay River a long time and I remember the good old days when we paid doctors on a fee-for-service basis and nobody got sent home without seeing the doctor.

I just want to know, realistically, as the Minister of Health and Social Services, is there anything that you can do to help us address this, or is this something that has to be managed at a local level? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Return To Question 118-15(4): Wait Times At Walk-In Clinic In Hay River

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member referenced the fee-for-service and at one point there were fee-for-service doctors who made a decision to switch to salary positions. There have been concerns ever since about productivity issues; we work with the doctors and have tried to address that; we have added more doctors; we are going to continue to work with the doctors and the authorities to recruit.

The Member points out a problem that is an issue, and that is the access to doctors. I can tell you that the constituency that I represent has the same circumstance. I still, on a regular basis, get notices from the small communities, especially up north where they are on emergency services because they don't have nurses.

The authorities have a significant amount of responsibility and authority to try to address these issues as best they can. The Member does have me somewhat at a disadvantage; I haven't seen the document that she is referring to. I take the Member's point that there are problems with waiting times in the community and now that the Member has raised it, I will commit to following up with the authority and with the department and look at the circumstances. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Supplementary To Question 118-15(4): Wait Times At Walk-In Clinic In Hay River

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when we switched from fee-for-service to salary, it was intended to be a recruitment tool to get physicians to come here so that they would be able to enjoy a quality lifestyle. We could offer a definitive package which was competitive with other jurisdictions in Canada. Is the department looking now at doing a combination of fee-for-service, where there is a salary and a fee-for-service combination, something that would encourage physicians to see more patients on a daily basis? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Miltenberger.

Further Return To Question 118-15(4): Wait Times At Walk-In Clinic In Hay River

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as a system, we are doing a number of things. We have added nurse practitioners; we have added midwives; we are going to look at trying to improve and upgrade the licensed practical nurses that we do have to give them a greater scope of practice; and we are going to work with the doctors with whom we have a long-term agreement that goes to 2008. But the Member raises a very good point. We are always looking at ways to improve how we do business, and we are going to be looking seriously with the doctors at ways to maximize performance and deal with the issues of wait times. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Supplementary To Question 118-15(4): Wait Times At Walk-In Clinic In Hay River

Thank you. For all intents and purposes, the old system of privately owned clinics run by physicians on a fee-for-service was private health care to some extent. What is the rule, or what would the opinion be now, of the Department of Health and Social Services if a physician wanted to come to Hay River or Yellowknife or Inuvik, set up a private clinic and bill the government on a fee-for-service basis? Seriously, it could run some very serious competition on the system that we have got right now. What would be the response of the department to such a proposal? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Miltenberger.

Further Return To Question 118-15(4): Wait Times At Walk-In Clinic In Hay River

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have contractual arrangements, in actual fact, with all the doctors. They’re on salary, but they all have contracts. In fact we do, I think, still have four fee-for-service doctors in Yellowknife. So the issue of fee-for-service is a reality that exists in the North and we can’t exclude them from anywhere else, in my opinion, if they exist in Yellowknife. We’ve already accepted that fact. So there’s nothing, in my opinion, to preclude a doctor from setting up a fee-for-service arrangement. We already have the basic process set up in Yellowknife as we speak. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Supplementary To Question 118-15(4): Wait Times At Walk-In Clinic In Hay River

Thank you for that, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for that. We’re trying to think outside the box here in terms of how to address this problem because we don’t want people to see our communities as having a lesser standard of living or quality of life because of lack of medical services. So those are the kinds of things in discussions we’ll probably have in our communities. I’m glad to hear that response, and I’ll certainly pass that on in Hay River, that maybe we’ll have to do some recruitment as a community on our own, quite apart from what the Minister does. You know, I can’t think of a question, but we’ll continue to work on it. Thank you.