Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to keep the Minister of Health and Social Services hopping today. I’m sure he will get a break eventually.
Earlier in our June session, I asked the Minister questions on the status of efforts to reduce pharmaceutical costs. I did get some follow-up response from the Minister after the session, in which he indicated that work is underway to create a pharmaceutical strategy for the Northwest Territories. I would like to begin by asking the Minister what the current status of that work towards a strategy is. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In early 2012, Alberta Blue Cross completed an analysis and report on the NWT pharmaceutical strategy policy options for the Government of the Northwest Territories. This included a number of observations and recommendations to the government.
I know that that report had been completed sometime before June. I am wondering what the recommendations say. Can the Minister say what the recommendations were and what progress is being made to develop the strategy with those recommendations? Thank you.
I don’t have the actual recommendations from ABC with me here today; however, I do know that the plan is not to continue any work on the pharmaceutical strategy until after the end of this fiscal year due to other priorities in the department.
That, indeed, is a surprise. Members and committee have highlighted this as an issue, and we’re not aware, certainly I was not aware that this has been put on hold. So I’m wondering, the Minister, I believe, was going to take the ABC report out for consultation with, for example, the NWT Pharmacy Association, other stakeholders. Has that happened and what has been their input? Thank you.
No, we have not taken this report out. We’re looking at some of the key recommendations in there. There were about four or five key recommendations in there that we are looking at closely before we take it out to the public. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Obviously, this is very disappointing and a real lack of progress in an area that committee has identified as important. So I just want to express my great disappointment there, and ask when we will see a draft strategy and if the Minister will table the ABC report in the House. Mahsi.
I don’t think there is any issue with the department tabling a report. I think we want to take a look at it to have a discussion with ABC on the recommendations that they made. They made some recommendations specifically to why they feel that the pharmaceutical expenses are so high in the Northwest Territories. So we need to have that discussion with them. We’d like to have that discussion with ABC one time before we do a tabling of the report.
I can commit to saying that we will have that discussion to ensure that the information in their recommendations made is based on information that is 100 percent accurate. So after we do that we will be able to table the report. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
