Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are addressed to the Minister for Health and Social Services. I would like to follow up on some of the concerns that I stated in my statement earlier. One of the real difficulties that I see with the proposed plan and the discussion paper that’s out there is the timeline for implementation of these proposed changes. I’d like to ask the Minister, the time that is out there is September 1, 2010, I’d like to know what that date is based on. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The way the policy is right now, the implementation is to be on September 1, 2010. Thank you.
I don’t believe I heard in there that the timeline is based on anything, so I’ll have to assume it’s based on nothing.
I have a question with regard to some of the things that are missing in the discussion paper that is out there on proposed supplementary health benefit changes. I specifically feel that Members and the general public need to know how much these proposed changes will cost and I have not seen that anywhere to date. I agree with the need to provide coverage for NWT residents that don’t have supplementary health benefit coverage, but I have to ask the Minister for an estimate of what the cost of covering those who don’t already have it will be to this government. Thank you.
I think we should remember that the extended health benefits we have are very generous and there are no suggestions made about reducing the benefits. The big issue of consultation is who accesses these benefits that are available. This is the discussion we want to have with the groups of people in the Territories who are eligible for those programs right now. So in the next coming two or three months, I think the information we have put out in a discussion paper gives a good starting point with really good information about what the program does, what does it cover, who benefits now, who is excluded. I believe the department has done an excellent job, along with support from others like Finance and the Stats Bureau, to give people the information they need in this very important dialogue. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
To the Minister, I don’t disagree that the information that has been presented is good information. It is a clear explanation of the current program. But, you know, in order for people to make a decision or to make comment on the program and the suggestions that are out there, they need to know the cost of the program and we need to be able to consider what it’s going to cost us, what it’s going to save us. That information is not available. I am concerned about the timeline. I am concerned about the amount of consultation. Particularly I’d like to know from the Minister about the stakeholder working group and how they are going to be involved. I am very concerned that there won’t be meetings with that working group to discuss and debate the changes. I would like to ask the Minister to outline for the House how this working group will be involved in the consultation as it goes forward over the next several months or year. Thank you.
I believe I answered those questions in the Member’s previous questions. The stakeholder group, the public working group, will be involved in this process, so will all the other NGOs, health authorities, individuals. We are interested in talking to the public about what this program is.
The Member had a number of questions about how much it costs. That is all the information that will be answered at a town hall meeting. We have designed the discussion to be as open and widely conversational as possible. We are presenting the public with essential information for them to start their discussions on and we will have a facilitator. We will have key people who will be at every meeting so they can keep good track of what the people are saying. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. Final, short supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I reiterate my need for two meetings; one to get the info and a second one for people to provide their input. To the working group and how they will be involved, I appreciate they will be involved. I would like to know from the Minister how they will be involved. Are there scheduled meetings with the department and/or the Minister with this working group or are they simply expected to provide their input as a member of the general public? Thank you.
The public working group met with the staff who have been working on this for the last number of months a number of times. As the Member indicated, they have had input into the discussion paper and all of the publications that have gone out. They like the information they got. They gave us feedback within 48 hours. What they suggested has been incorporated, and I expect that throughout this consultation process they will play an important role, as will the committee members, the Standing Committee on Social Programs, and any other NGOs that are interested in this process, as will the...(inaudible)...leadership council who I met with last Saturday who really support the information that we are putting out to the public, because they believe, and I believe the Members believe, that we need to make important decisions that speaks to the sustainability of a very important program to the Northwest Territories. I give a lot of credit to our people that they’re intelligent, they’re engaged, they understand the information and they’ll give us very good feedback. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
