Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have questions for the Premier about the new healthcare funding from Canada. The Premier was very public about his opposition to the deal as was presented by the federal government and a number of weeks later has signed on to the deal and spoke to the great benefits of it. So how did the deal change from when he initially opposed it to when he ultimately accepted it? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Honourable Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The deal that was originally presented was on a take-it-or-leave-it basis; it was significantly less than what we we're getting now. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Could the Honourable Premier give a few more details than just that? The deal that we accepted is still less money than we have enjoyed previously on -- even with the additional mental health funding and homecare funding, it's still less than we would have received under the old agreement, so can the Premier be specific about how we're winning on this deal?
I should ask the Member if he could tell me how much money we're receiving so that -- how he came to that conclusion.
Maybe I'll just tell him, so he'll know that we are spending $445 million on healthcare. We are receiving, on a per capita basis, funding through the Canadian Health Act. Per capita, we are receiving about $40 million, and the federal government offered targeted funding. Over 10 years the percentage increase on the per capita Canadian healthcare funding was 6 per cent, and it was going to drop to 3 per cent. We had a program called THIF which helped with medical travel. It provided for innovation and also for some other benefits which was going to disappear completely.
I am aware that the escalator was decreasing from 6 to 3 per cent, and that was the source of the frustration initially. It does sound like there's some other funding available, and I thank the Premier for making that more clear.
The last thing he mentioned was the THIF, I think, or the acronym for the innovation program that helps with medical travel. The Premier mentioned that it may have been disappearing. I assume that it is not and it is part of this deal. Can the Premier elaborate on that funding? How much is there? Has it increased from its previous level of funding and will it be there to benefit Northerners?
I'm not at liberty to disclose that information; obviously, the Government of Canada is still negotiating with many provinces. The three territories felt that what was offered in a very short period of time for which to respond was sufficient to allow us to accept the deal going forward and felt that as a government, as the three northern territories, we were very diligent in finding ways to become more efficient and effective in delivering our healthcare and consequently we were penalized because we were told, well, you're only spending this much money. I'm not at liberty to disclose the details because the Government of Canada is still under negotiations, and at the appropriate time we'll be able to release that information.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Premier for that answer. My last question, Mr. Speaker, is the Premier also made public statements to the effect that, if this deal remained at its current levels, there would have to be cuts made to continue to support the healthcare system. The new sources of funding that he has previously addressed in this line of questioning, is that enough to avoid the need for cuts to pay for decreases in the health system? Do we have enough money flowing in that we don't need to make any cuts or adjustments in order to maintain a quality healthcare system in the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think the fact that the majority of our healthcare funding is provided for through a formula financing arrangement will allow us to have enough money so we don't have to resort to program funding.
On the money from the Healthcare Act, which is on a per capita basis, because of the fact that it's reduced, it went from 6 per cent to 3 per cent. Obviously, that will have some implications but, on a per capita basis, the difference is a little over a million dollars. The targeted funding for home care and for mental health is on a per capita basis, and it's close to offsetting the reductions from the Canadian Healthcare Act, but, obviously, depending how much we want to provide for home care and mental health, we may have to supplement that funding. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
