Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Premier. Yesterday, the Premier gave some answers on the new healthcare funding deal which was signed with the federal government last month. He repeated, "The new healthcare deal provides what Northerners want and need." The healthcare accord has a 3 per cent cost escalator rather than the 5.2 per cent the Premiers asked for in December. I didn't hear a clear answer to the question yesterday, so I'm going to repeat it today: what is the point of walking away from those talks and then settling for less? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Honourable Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't know what channel the Member was watching yesterday, but I certainly didn't say that. We walked away because they offered us zero on the territorial health funding, and we obviously settled because they offered more. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you to the Premier. What was reported in the news is that Canada offered 3.5 and that the leadership walked away from that deal although they had wanted 5.2. You got 3. You wanted 5.2. There's a gap. Why did you settle for less?
The federal government said, "Take it or leave it." We didn't take it until they came back and offered more.
Thank you, Premier. The problem is that healthcare costs are forecasted to rise significantly, and I gave some numbers in my Member's statement especially around the provision of longterm care to our aging population. That's on top of home care. What is the plan to ensure that healthcare funding is adequate to meet our needs? Because I don't see that this deal with $7.4 million in it will do it?
I'm not sure what $7.4 million she's referring to. I think she's referring to targeted funding of home care that the federal government raised. We spend approximately $420 million. We also get funding through the Healthcare Act which is provided on a per capita basis, which, on a per capita basis for the Northwest Territories, works out to about $40 million. This year, because the federal government reduced the healthcare funding percentages to 3 per cent, they offered targeted funding of $13.5 million over ten years for home care and for mental health. We still have to work with the federal government to determine how they want us to spend that money. Obviously, $13.5 million over 10 years works out to about $1.5 million a year. That's not going to help us with the longterm home care, but it was never intended to do so.
Prime Minister Trudeau, during the government election, now Prime Minister, wrote to us and indicated that there was some significant infrastructure funding that would be available, including social infrastructure funding. We are still waiting for details. In his letter, he pointed out that funding under those programs could be used for seniors' housing and other options to raise money to provide for seniors' housing. We are still waiting for that detailed information. We're looking forward to the federal budget, upcoming, where we expect to have more details of those programs.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Premier. It's my understanding, but this math really needs to be set out, that the reduction of 6 per cent to 3 per cent is not offset by the $13.2 million over 10 years. Infrastructure funding is good, but the longterm care beds cost $139,000 each per year to operate. By the Health Minister's own estimate, that's $33.9 million annually required to provide care to people in longterm beds. I'm still not clear. Where's that money going to come from? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The healthcare funding was not intended to provide for that. The federal government provided $7.4 million over 10 years from homecare, and we're still waiting for them to tell us how they wanted to spend that targeted funding. The housing for seniors over the long term will have to come out of whatever funding that our government comes up with and whatever federal government funding we can access through the social infrastructure funding.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
