Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, just to the first part of the Member's question is xray machines maintained. All the xray machines are maintained by our biomed and they are  like, they're all maintained in the communities.

And to the next question, the ontheland program, health is not running those types of programs. What the Indigenous governments have told us is that to make the funds available and more flexible for them, and so that's where the community wellness and addiction recovery fund it. And so that's where Indigenous governments from the communities can apply to access those...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The department of health is very active on social media. I mean, it came to my attention that tomorrow is World No Smoking Day through the health and social services media campaign. So as for the information how it relates to youth, the youth are on so many different media platforms so I can't be I'm not familiar as to what platforms that they're targeting, but I know that it is on social media and, you know, we can be reaching out to all the schools to ensure that, you know, with The Dope Experience, that campaign, that covers all different areas that is being offered...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, midwifery began in Fort Smith, and midwifery in Fort Smith began with two midwives. And those two midwives did the majority of the births and if not all the births in Fort Smith, and ran the only midwifery program in the Northwest Territories. I don't have exact dates but we have expanded that program over the years. So midwifery expansion happened in Fort Smith to an additional nurse. Then it expanded into Hay River. And currently, they have expanded from Hay River into supporting Fort Resolution, Deninu Kue, and the Metis of that community. As of right now...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I guess each region  so I know in the Beaufort Delta, the physicians are scheduled to travel from  like, if they're hired as indeterminate doctors in the Beaufort Delta or locums to fill the vacancies, they are all scheduled to  each community has its scheduled allotment of visits per month and those doctors will service those communities. The same thing in the south. There's different models for different areas. I mean, if you want more detail I can pass it on to the deputy minister to describe the south of the  and there's the doctors from Yellowknife that travel...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. There is yes, it is under this department and it is under the sorry, under the other community wellness and addiction recovery. So the new initiatives transition housing and addiction recovery, there's $1.417 million right there. And the role of the department's going to be in that is this is a collaboration between housing and Infrastructure as well as partnering with an Indigenous partner, and we are there to be the to support the program in our capacity. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, at this time I won't commit to that because what I am committed to is  in the business plan is taking a look at the medical travel and how we move people around is going to  you know, I'm hoping we'll be able to  I guess what I want to do is I want to implement, by the end of this government, a better way to move people, a way to make sure that when people have medical travel  and this is  you know, are not as stressed about getting the medical travel as they are about having to go to the appointment that they're going for. You know, and I think we've heard...

Mr. Speaker, evidencebased or not, we need a basic delivery service. We need birthing services. We need a birthing service that is going to be staffed. That's what we're working towards. And that is what we are focused on in getting a birthing service in Yellowknife that we can you know, stabilize. Adding you know, expanding midwifery is an extra, like I said, in Yellowknife. It's not an extra in Fort Smith, and it's not an extra in Hay River. And, you know, it expanded from Fort Smith to Hay River. It even expanded in Fort Smith, the more midwifery. And so right now, we're having a hard...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Tlicho Service Agency staffs theirs when when they're on the verge of having no nursing and I know that, from my understanding and this is why I know that there's five, is because everybody time I come to the House I always ask my department, so how many agency nurses we have? Because I know this is going to be a question here. And so but I do know that, you know, the Tlicho Service Agency does utilize them to keep their health centres open and they have, you know, vacancies over the summer and so they may have to utilize those if they cannot find...

The work that's being done in the obstetrics unit is guided by, you know, the staff feedback that was done. So I can speak to that.

As for the midwifery area that you know, midwifery, the positions that in Yellowknife that have been there you know, I think that is a separate discussion. The obstetrics stuff that's been going on and trying to maintain our basic service and trying to fill that gap on the obstetric, there has been work. There has been like I said in this House before, the staffing complement has changed, and that was at the recommendation of the staff the previous staff that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, since 2020, I think that is when we started using agency nurses, I don't have the number of the contracts and that's the level of detail that is. What we are doing is we're using nurses where they're not going to shut down services. And, you know, I hear that the Member this is something that, you know, he's raised many times in this House but then when you go out to the small communities and they're shut down and the services are we can't find a nurse, you know, those are the communities that, you know, may have to utilize a nurse. And so we can...