Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have questions today for the Minister of Health and Social Services going back to my Member’s statement where I talked about a thousand medevac or ambulance flights that originate in the Northwest Territories that head for Edmonton and use the City Centre Airport in Edmonton, Alberta. There’s talk now of closure of that airport and I’m wondering if the Minister of Health could let us know what the closure of the City Centre Airport in Edmonton will mean to our health care expenditures here in the Northwest Territories.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is not a new issue to us. There have been two referendums passed by the people of the municipality of Edmonton going back to 2007. The final report was in 2009. So the department has been working very closely with those involved on the ground to make sure that our medical transportation issues are taken care of. I think we’re fortunate that we have somebody within the department who is very familiar with the workings of the Alberta government as well as the municipality of Edmonton. We are deeply involved in making sure that the needs of the NWT with regard to transferring our patients are taken care of.
The patients will be looked after once they arrive in Edmonton, that’s not the case. The case is with the City Centre Airport closing down. The international airport, as everybody knows, is about a 40-minute ride into the city of Edmonton, and if you require STARS air escort into a major hospital in Edmonton, that’s 30 minutes and at a cost of $2,500.
The Minister didn’t answer my question. What is it going to cost the Department of Health and Social Services should the City Centre Airport close in Edmonton? I’m talking about ground ambulance and STARS service into a major hospital in Edmonton. Thank you.
I’m not sure… The Member mentioned different numbers than what we anticipate. Obviously in terms of air flight, flying to the municipal airport or the international airport, the cost would not be that much different, whether you’re flying from the Yellowknife municipal airport, well, from the NWT to municipal or international, because air distance is not that large.
The issue in the health field is we provide medical and medevac services as required, and obviously if there’s extra costs involved we would have to absorb those. What we are concentrating on is working with the people involved in working on medevac issues, because we have to prepare for the closure of the municipal airport, and we’re working closely with the people who are designing the plan to make sure that NWT patients are part of the equation. There are various options being considered: faster on-the-ground transportation, as well as helicopter service. So, Mr. Speaker, we are deeply involved in making sure that we minimize the impact of the possible closure of the municipal airport.
With people’s lives hanging in the balance on a medevac or an air ambulance flight from the Northwest Territories into Edmonton, you would think that the Government of the Northwest Territories would have a position on the closure of the City Centre Airport in Edmonton. I’m wondering why the Minister and why the government hasn’t taken a position on that closure. I think that’s very strange, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.
As I indicated already, we have been involved. We have put our input into the review process. This closure comes as a result of two referendums over 10 years. This is not a new issue. I know it’s coming to the attention of some people as a new issue, but this has been in the works for a long time. The NWT is not the only one who flies into the municipal airport for medical services; people from all over Alberta, B.C. and Saskatchewan are landing at that airport. So we are all involved in working together to come up with a plan, because we do respect the fact that the people of Edmonton have passed two referendums wanting this airport to be closed so that they can use the real estate for different reasons. That’s a democratic process. My job as Minister of Health and Social Services is to make sure that we are at the table and put forward our concerns and our needs, and we are doing that. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. Your final supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’ve been here for almost seven years and I’ve never heard this Minister or a previous Minister talk about this issue publicly. I’ve never seen a Minister of Health and Social Services come before standing committee and share the concerns of the Government of the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, I believe the Minister of Health and Social Services has an obligation to the people of the Northwest Territories to protect them, to make sure that they have access to the services available in Edmonton and that is at the City Centre Airport, Mr. Speaker.
I’d like to ask the Minister if she could share with us any correspondence that the Minister’s had with, let’s say, the mayor of Edmonton or, let’s say, the Premier or Health Minister in Alberta, to show that the Government of the Northwest Territories actually cared and actually had a position on this. Thank you.
We have communicated in this regard and I believe I have given a copy of that previously. I would be happy to share that with the Member. That’s not a problem. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
