Robert Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have to speak today again regarding the Minister’s lack of answers to the House regarding naturopath therapy as well as massage therapy in the inclusion of the coming forward omnibus legislation.

Mr. Speaker, it continues to be increasingly clear that the Minister continues down a conservative agenda and shows little interest in deliberalizing health care reform that would help people of the Northwest Territories. In areas such as massage and naturopathic therapy there have been numerous calls by people in industry as well as individual constituents that feel strongly...

So I guess the Minister should maybe explain to us what group association in the sense of regulation and legislation that actually recognizes these qualifications, because apparently she said earlier there is nothing out there to define that. Can she maybe clarify that for the House?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In follow-up to my Member’s statement today, I continue to raise concern about how conservative this government continues to be and leans towards stepping forward with government-appropriate legislation to protect people. Mr. Speaker, I’d like to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services what rules and regulations are out there that are in place at this moment to stop someone from calling themselves a massage therapist or a naturopath therapist. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, there certainly should be. Both the public and the industry are demanding fair and reasonable regulations. My last question would be: in unedited Hansard of yesterday the Minister was quoted as saying I want to say that those that are licensed to practice as a therapist or naturopathic practitioner, and even acupuncturists, all of those professionals are allowed to practice in the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, what governing body, registration style of body, or legislation or, certainly, regulation licence these people in the Northwest Territories to...

Thank you. Absolutely nothing, yes, that’s the problem. What rules, regulations or anything of that nature are out there and any type of regulation that ensures that these people are qualified to do the job that they are doing? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, there is a clear expectation from the public that certain industries are regulated for a lot of reasons, but certainly safety is particularly one high on their list. There’s an expectation that with legislation there are things like registering and licensing of these types of therapy groups happens, but as the Minister said -- and I won’t disagree -- that the people can practice these particular options outside of any legislation.

Mr. Speaker, legislation would help these therapy groups define their scope of practice as well as their standards, ethics and certainly bring much...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement today I talked about the need for legislation that comes forward that’s comprehensive and reaches out and provides support and regulation to alternative therapies. As a Member of the Legislative Assembly here, I feel strongly that our job is to make sure that we develop legislation that protects our citizens, and legislation that is developed for alternative therapy I think is the way to go.

Listening to the Minister’s responses to some questions earlier, I’d like the Minister, maybe for the House, to define and elaborate on the scope of what the...

Mr. Speaker, I think the Minister is missing out on an important component of this particular option before us here, is the fact that we have industry who wants to be regulated to ensure that they’re providing the best services, qualified services, trained services to their patients. Mr. Speaker, they’re speaking to their own, sort of, code of ethics that they go out. You know, naturopathy takes a significant amount of education. Massage therapists, if I understand, take at least two years of instruction and certainly with practical experience there are a lot of people developing significant...

I outlined a number of them in my Member’s statement, which is massage therapist, naturopaths and acupuncturists. There are other alternative medicines out there, and I use the word “alternative” in the sense of option. A lot of people think that there are many solutions to getting healthier and it’s not necessarily driven by just taking a pill. Many people like to take a natural approach. What would hold the Minister back from including these alternatives and other suggestions I’m providing here today? What’s holding the Minister and the department back from including these options in the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. About three-quarters of Canadians seek some type of alternative therapy. Therefore, I’m standing today to speak in support of fair and reasonable regulations over alternative therapies such as chiropractic, massage, acupuncture and naturopath therapy.

Mr. Speaker, regulation has been called for many times by many of these people and these organizations. It’s been calling out to this government by both therapists and clients. These people would like the government to move forward on regulations and protection measures that would ensure both the therapists and the clients...