Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier this week I was asked by a Member of Cabinet why I’m pushing so hard to have Stanton open its operating room for local dentists so that they can perform dental surgeries on young children who require major dental work, work that cannot be performed safely in local dentists’ offices. Why am I pushing so hard, considering that the department has already addressed the financial issues and has opened up time in both Inuvik and Hay River? The reason: because it’s the right thing to do.
I’ve seen disks of photographs compiled by Lesli Fisher in Hay River that show a large number of very young children who require significant dental surgery. Quite frankly, the photos are disgusting. Due to the delays in providing services, the teeth and oral health of these children have become so bad that you can actually see pus oozing out of the sores in the mouths of these very young children. If you see these photos, you’ll want the same thing I want.
What I want is to get rid of the backlog of children as quickly as possible and stop future suffering of the children in need. I encourage each of the Ministers and the Premier to view these photos. Once you see them, I expect that you’ll want the same thing I want.
I would like to acknowledge and applaud the Department of Health and Social Services for the work they’ve already done on this file. Unfortunately, I feel they have stopped short. I recently talked to an individual intimately involved in the dental surgery program in Hay River. She is extremely pleased they have reached the point where surgeries are being performed in Hay River and Inuvik. However, she has indicated that the sheer quantity of children who require the service is a bit on the overwhelming side. It would be a benefit to all children, as well as to dental clinics in both Hay River and Inuvik, if the workload could be shared and more time could be available, specifically more time in Yellowknife. Actually, any time in Yellowknife would be a good start.
So once again I ask: why is the Minister of Health and Social Services resistant to opening up more time in Yellowknife to get Yellowknife dentists so that they can contribute to the solution? Money isn’t the issue. The cost of the GNWT allowing the services to be provided in Hay River and Inuvik is the same as providing them in Stanton. The original budgetary concerns have been addressed.
By not allowing these services in Yellowknife, the department is telling the residents of Yellowknife that they have to pay more out of their own pockets for things like travel and accommodation. Why? This makes no sense.
The solution is easy. Make time available. The Minister has already indicated that they have only one day out of every eight weeks available to Stanton. That’s a starting point. Make that, as well as any dropped time, available in Yellowknife, and we’ve gone a short distance towards fixing the problem.
Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time I’ll be asking the Minister of Health and Social Services some questions on this issue.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
