Thank you, Mr. Speaker. During my Member’s statement I raised the issue of the liberation treatment that can offer a new hope to MS patients out there. I have written the Minister of Health and Social Services regarding this concern and I would like to call it an opportunity of hope for those people who have MS. My question to the Minister of Health and Social Services is: What is her department doing to look at this treatment? Is there any possibility that the Department of Health and Social Services can get on board and see if we can select a couple of patients to try this treatment to see if we can bring new hope, opportunity, and have a return of quality of life that these people have lost and so much deserved? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Government of the Northwest Territories and the Department of Health and Social Services is on board with all of the other jurisdictions in Canada. All of the Ministers of Health have agreed that we are supportive of this treatment going forward once there is scientific evidence that would take us to the next level. All provinces and territories have agreed that we will work together and work with the scientists to be ready when the scientific evidence shows that this procedure is ready for clinical trial. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the issue before us here is the Minister is saying not enough science out there that says one way or the other. Saskatchewan believes that there is enough science out there to give this a try. If I have it correct, I believe Newfoundland is seriously looking at this and if you ask anybody who has received the treatment for liberation to help them, certainly they think the science exists, because they are travelling all over the world to get these types of things.
Not to be cynical, but may I remind the Minister, and certainly this House, that for years scientists said cigarettes were just fine too. Science will say one thing depending on who is paying for it and science could say something else depending on the other person, but the reality here is this is a new hope and certainly that is what I am asking for. What type of strategy can we put in place to bring new hope to people who haven’t had hope for a long time? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, for the Member’s information, Saskatchewan is not doing clinical trials. They are doing clinical research which is being done in a number of sites. They are being funded by the federal government too. Minister Aglukkaq announced that. The federal government and Saskatchewan and the Province of Newfoundland are not doing clinical trials. What they are doing is the Minister announced a funding to monitor those who are receiving this service overseas. There is no clinical trial being done right now, but we are all working with scientists in various jurisdictions in different clinical research, because clinical research has to give us the scientific evidence that would tell us that it is safe to move to clinical trial.
I want the Member to know that we are on board along with all other Ministers to work together so that we are ready when the scientific evidence shows that it is ready for clinical trial. Thank you.
I will agree with her on the clinical trial part, but who do you think they do the clinical trial part on? On people who have MS, in my view. If you talk to people who have MS out there, and I have some constituents who do have this, they view that as an opportunity for treatment and they would like to certainly be involved in this opportunity, as I’ve tried to describe it. Quite truly it is an opportunity of hope finally coming to a sector that has had very little hope and opportunity.
So the issue continues to be sort of the same point, which is how do we get our patients, our residents who have MS here in the Northwest Territories involved in any type of opportunities, such as this liberation treatment? Even if the Minister wants to call it research, how do we get them involved in the research of this new therapy? Thank you.
Thank you. We would be part of or we could sign up to be a part of national research when the clinical trials are ready to proceed. Mr. Speaker, my understanding is any clinical trials or procedures like this have a very set objective process that scientists and doctors follow. They have to be random, they have to be double blinded and it has to be safe. In all of the jurisdictions there are lots of researchers at different university settings that are studying this issue and right now. The information is that science does not indicate that we could do this clinical trial safely. But NWT residents could get on board with clinical trials once that becomes available as a safe clinical trial procedure. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. Final supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Anything that moves this forward even by an inch is a success, in my view. I want to get people into this treatment. Again, we’ll call it research, if that’s all we want to describe it as, although I know very well that it’s being used as real treatment for a lot of people.
As I said earlier, we have MS patients in my riding who would like to be part of this process. Is the Minister willing to get out there and reach out to the MS community to start finding out if there are people who would be willing to join the research, who would want to be involved in the opportunities before us here? This is a chance of a lifetime, if I may describe it as that, but certainly a new hope in a life that needs new success. So would the Minister set something up and work with the MS community to make sure our residents could be involved in this profound, positive opportunity? Thank you.
Thank you. We will be monitoring and working with other jurisdictions to see the results of clinical research that is being conducted. A lot of multi site researchers are being funded by the federal government and we are also watching to see what’s happening in Saskatchewan as well. So, Mr. Speaker, we do not have a research capacity in the Northwest Territories to do our own research, but certainly we will be part of the national research and findings and any progress that we can make on this issue. We are focused on this issue very much nationally and as a small jurisdiction. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.
