Thank you, Minister Abernethy. Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, then there is no other area where there is something called "catastrophic drug coverage?" Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Minister Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. There is no program called "catastrophic drug coverage." This is certainly an area that is in need of some discussion, and this, I think, can form part of our conversation during our supplementary health programs review.
Thank you, Minister Abernethy. Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Nothing further, thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Any further questions from committee? Seeing none, I will call this summary on page 193. Health and Social Services, supplementary health programs, operations expenditure summary, $32,393,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Agreed. We shall proceed on to questions to the information items starting on page 195. We will go page by page to the end, which is on 201. Any questions to the information items on 195? Mr. Thompson, go ahead.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. On page 195, it shows that the NWT Health and Social Services Authority and the Tlicho service authority are seeing increases in their budgets, but I did not see Hay River Health and Social Services Authority get an increase. Can the Minister explain the rationale for this? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, that is because the Hay River authority got a bunch of money as part of the transition into the hospital, into the new hospital, and the fact that Woodland and the old hospital had to be opened to cover the long-term care for a period of time.
Thank you, Minister Abernethy. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. So will we see an increase next year for the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority, once it's all in one package? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, we have not gone through forced growth or business planning for the next fiscal year, so it's kind of difficult for me to say. Yes, I cannot say for sure. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister Abernethy. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. When we talk about the deficits from amalgamation and that, it being a large amount, so is this deficit associated with Health and Social Services, the territorial Health and Social Services authority, or is this going to be something that is in our deficit? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. The territorial health authority has a deficit about $67.3 million. That deficit is the territorial health authority deficit, but the territorial authority falls under the Financial Administration Act, so it ultimately is a GNWT debt. The Finance Minister has told me I have to pay it back. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister Abernethy. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I thank the Minister for that. I guess I'm trying to understand this debt because I keep on hearing numbers, $67 million. Now I'm hearing $67.6 million deficit. Is this $67.6 million debt the most current accurate picture of where our situation is in regard to this authority? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, as of March 31, 2017, so just shy of a year ago, the deficit was officially $67.3 million for the three authorities combined. As of today, we're actually projecting a March 31, 2018 of $92 million, but it's not official until March 31. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister Abernethy. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you. I guess I'm just looking at the audited financial statements. It says it's about $67.1 million in 2017. Where are we getting the information? Is the financial audited statements where we should be getting the information, or does the department have different numbers according to the books? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, what audited financial statement is the Member looking at? Is it an NWT or NTHSSA audited financial statement, or is it the other books, and what date is it? What date, March 31?
Thank you, Minister Abernethy. Mr. Thompson.
NTHSSA financial statement of March 31, 2017. It says $67.12. I guess I'm trying to get a clear understanding of this because it does have an impact if our numbers are going up to $92. If it's gone from $67 to $92 million, then we're missing this number. I'm just trying to get a clear picture of the amalgamation. We are supposed to be actually saving money in this area, and I understand we're just in the process, but it seems to be our debt is starting to go higher in this area. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I'm not an accountant, so I will go to somebody who is much better with numbers than I, the director of finance, Jeannie Mathison.
Thank you, Minister Abernethy. Ms. Mathison.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. The numbers that are being referenced in the audited financial statements, I believe, include the liability for employee leave and termination, and the numbers that we are referencing here do not include those. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Ms. Mathison. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I thank Ms. Mathison. Now I understand the better picture. It is very clear, because in the new auditing process, we need to show that as a debt. I greatly appreciate that. When will we start to see some savings? Because right now my understanding is that we're $92 million projected by the end of this fiscal year. When will we start seeing savings with this transformation? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Mr. Cooper.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. In terms of the question regarding when will we start to see savings, this is an issue that ourselves and the department and the NTHSSA and the Department of Finance are seized with. We have a project group that has been established. We have hosted a two-day workshop in the month of January called "A Better Future Initiative." We are preparing a plan for doing a deep drive into the finances of the new authority and identifying efficiencies, ways that we can both find savings and also address quality of care at the same time.
This is something we're actively developing a plan and to identify options, and I expect that you'll see some tangible ideas in terms of the things that we can do to bend the cost curve within the coming three or four months.
Thank you, Mr. Cooper. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I thank Mr. Cooper for that answer. With this plan being in place, will this plan be shared with the standing Committee on Social Development? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Mr. Cooper.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, I believe we have a return to standing committee with these questions. We'll certainly be there to share where we are.
Thank you, Mr. Cooper. Minister Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just a point of clarity. I mean, there's a significant amount of work we have to do here to control costs. As we move to a single authority, we were always very clear that this isn't about saving money, but we do believe strongly there's an opportunity to have better control of costs, control of growth, and an opportunity to make sure that we're getting maximum value for dollar, and spending it appropriately. It doesn't necessarily mean savings. It means efficiencies and opportunities to make sure the money is going to the right place to give us the best services possible. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister Abernethy. Recognizing the time, I will allow one more. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'll try to be real quick. I guess I'm a little bit concerned at how we're going to be able to pay the Finance Minister the $92 million if we're not seeing, I understand the efficiencies and that, but if we can suddenly see this growth of a debt, we're going to be owing that Finance Minister some huge amount of money after a few number of years. Is this part of the plan? I understand we don't want to affect the quality of it, but at some point in time, we need to make some savings so that we can help alleviate some of the costs. Is that part of the process? I understand that, but you can't effect the delivery of it, but are we able to put something in there that we're going to see a decrease in our deficit? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Debt repayment is part of our cost now and will continue to be a part of our costs in the future, so yes, absolutely. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister Abernethy. Mr. Simpson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I believe we're on page 195 here. Can I get some detail on the $300,000 or $400,000, yes, about $300,000 reduction for the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority and some clarification if it has anything to do with the position change that can be found on the next page, where I see decrease in two full-time positions and an increase in two part-time positions? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
