Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today my Member’s statement was on the H1N1 flu vaccinations in the communities. I didn’t really have any questions, but got thinking about the issues and the dates that I was reading out. Health Canada said that the flu vaccinations will be given to our communities first, Mr. Speaker, and on the schedule I have here, Tuk is 10 days away, Sachs Harbour is 12, Paulatuk is 13, Ulukhaktok is 14 days away and 15 days away. Mr. Speaker, why is there such a holdup in the flu vaccinations? Why are they doing Yellowknife, Diavik Diamond Mine and the southern communities first when it’s a more harsh environment in our riding? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all, I would like to thank the Member for his leadership and speaking directly to his constituents in his riding to take advantage of this vaccination program, because it is safe and it is important.
Mr. Speaker, as we have communicated to the public, we have action teams travelling to the communities. A couple of things that people should know when they look at these lists on the websites are that even if communities are not listed there, there are vaccinations happening by the local staff. The second thing about the Beaufort-Delta region is that contrary to what we thought...Because our government fought hard, and I made it clear in our provincial and territorial Health Ministers telephone calls all through the summer that we needed to have the vaccine first, because we knew the fall and winter comes here first and our areas are remote and isolated and we do not have readily accessible acute care facilities everywhere, that we wanted to be first and we did become first, but within the region we do have to make some priority decisions. So far the Beaufort-Delta region is showing a lot less cases of H1N1 and I think that’s the basis of those decisions.
Well, it just shows that the Minister’s categorizing us again in regard to putting us on the backburner here in regard to our dates for our communities. So the Minister also told me, Mr. Speaker, that if I was to phone my health centres in my communities that I represent, they would say they have vaccine on hand.
Yes, Mr. Speaker, the vaccines have been distributed and it’s to communities. Communities have them and local staff are able to administer them. What we are doing with these action teams is that we know that our health care professionals, during the normal course of business, are short staffed and overworked in many cases. So we didn’t want to burden them with the extra work that was required to do the vaccinations. So the action teams are augmenting the workload. But, yes, most of our health centres have supplies of the vaccine. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, what are the plans if there’s a big outbreak of the flu in our communities? What plans are there in place? Do communities know how to deal with this situation? How is it being dealt with by the local community governments?
I can advise the House, all of the communities in the Territories are under close surveillance. There are staff ready to react on hours of notice. Inuvik office would react if there is a major breakout in some communities.
Mr. Speaker, I would also like to commit to the Member that I’m going to look at this list again and get information on what else is happening in Tuktoyaktuk and his region while they are waiting for the scheduled teams to arrive.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. Your final supplementary, Mr. Jacobson.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Health Canada said that the flu shot should have been given to our communities first and that should have been the way it should have been properly handled, but I do commend the Minister for the work that she’s been doing so far. I look forward to bringing her to the communities and seeing it firsthand. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. I don’t think I heard a question there. I’ll allow the Minister to answer is she wants to. Ms. Lee.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. NWT is a priority list. We are moving very fast and so far we have vaccinated more than 4,000 people. I will get back to the Member on how we can move some of the communities around. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
