Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a question for the Minister of Health and Social Services. At the start of the term I raised the issue of the lack of legislation regulations for massage therapy and still we have seen nothing to date, that I’m aware of. The reason I raise that is because recently someone had brought to my attention that there is no legislation or regulations set up for chiropractors in the services in the Northwest Territories. With some looking in the issue, I found that we do not have anything, although it’s considered a normal type of legislation throughout Canada.
Mr. Speaker, I made note of the lack of a massage therapy act, because I’d like to suggest to the Minister of Health and Social Services, due to the fact that we don’t have either, is there a possibility of looking at this and addressing this particular issue in a combined effect going forward to ensure that we have the protection of our public citizens in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Legislation for the professions that the Member mentions are in the line-up. The legislation for various health care professions have been lacking for a number of years, so we have had to update the Medical Professions Act, the Pharmacists Act, we’re just going through the Social Worker Profession Act. There are a number of professions that are more numerous in numbers that we have had to update, and the ones that the Member is talking about are in the pipe, so to speak, in the legislative writing line-up. There is a long list of legislation that needs to be updated, but we’re hoping to do it as an umbrella legislation. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, each profession can speak about the importance of their legislative requirements and regulations on how important they may or may not be over, certainly, other ones, but I can assure you that there is a concern about health and safety. If one can only imagine that if they’re laying on a chiropractor’s table and someone’s twisting their neck, what type of rules, education and authority have they played to ensure that they’re safe at that particular time.
Mr. Speaker, the point I’m getting at is there’s a health and safety issue on both issues, massage as well as chiropractic, that needs to be addressed for employers, workers and, quite clearly, the public. Can the Minister expect anything of that regard to come forward in the life of this particular Assembly, even in a draft form, so we can show the people that we are putting their public safety first? Thank you.
This is a time and capacity issue and I think that it’s important to let the people know that those professions that the Member mentions do have professional bodies that they have to belong to and adhere their rules to. I mean, there’s a difference between a registered therapist and other massage therapists, for example.
Mr. Speaker, I don’t believe that we can have this legislation completed within the life of this Assembly, but the Member knows, having been here for more than one Assembly, that there is a list of legislation that moves its way up, and this is added onto that list. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, although I enjoy question period to be disagreeable, which is my right, the reality is I think the Minister is incorrect on this particular occasion, because massage therapists, some of them do belong to national organizations, and I will say that’s correct, but they don’t have to be -- and certainly if you’re in the chiropractic industry you’re not obligated, to my knowledge -- associated with any public body or national body. If you said that they were self-regulating, there are only a couple of them, so, I mean, that’s really challenging.
Mr. Speaker, in light of that, what can the Minister do to ensure that public safety is taken into consideration in light of the fact that we don’t have anyone overseeing these two specific areas that I wonder if we can use mirrored legislation from other jurisdictions. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, all that work will have to be done when legislation is drafted, and in most circumstances in drafting legislation that governs professions, whether it be… I mean, we’ve had recent examples of social workers, but I remember NWT doing one for the architects and engineers. It’s a normal practice to look at what other jurisdictions are doing and to update the legislation and bring any new precedents that we should be considering.
So, in drafting new legislation, that will be done. Mr. Speaker, that would be a normal practice. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. Final supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The point I am trying to get at, and I am sure the Minister understands this, is the fact that public safety is at risk out there. There is a leap of faith people are taking when they go to these places, that they are insured at one level or not that they are protected as well as they are regulated. What I am asking the Minister is: Is there perhaps, maybe a discussion paper that could come forward that we could work on and develop to see what type of priority fits with the ambition of this government and this term as well as the ambition of the next government going forward? Asking for a discussion paper doesn’t seem to be too difficult for the department to ask where does it want to be going forward and is it meeting the challenges and certainly the needs of the people of the Northwest Territories. That is what I am asking the Minister, knowing quite well the legislation doesn’t appear out of the air but a fair bit of work has to get done. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, what I would like to do is just communicate to the Member on the legislation for the department that we have in the type that we are trying to get through and that is quite... I understand every safety issue and every profession, well, many professions have come forward and asked us to regulate. We have to do the major ones first and we are just working really hard to get through those.
As I stated earlier, I have the umbrella or omnibus profession legislation that we are looking at, but it will take some time. It is not something that we could do in the next little while within this Assembly. Thank you.
