Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Following on the Minister of Health and Social Services ministerial statement today on the Supplementary Health Benefits Policy, I would like to add a few comments.
Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity to co-chair a joint working group made up of Cabinet Minister and Regular Members to look at this topic. This is something that has received a lot of public attention. Mr. Speaker, I think if I could characterize the Supp Health Policy as it was proposed, it comprised of some very good initiatives and some very good principles. Unfortunately, bundling them all together and expecting to advance all of those initiatives in concert was a problem.
We don’t even have to think about them; things like pharmaceutical bulk buying, buying generic brands. These are the kinds of things that should be regular, run-of-the-mill business decisions within the department that would make economic sense and contribute to the sustainability of our provision of these services. Mr. Speaker, some of the other ones do require more analysis, more consultation and perhaps some thought to the timing and the implementation.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the Minister for her comments today and we do look forward to working with her and with Cabinet on advancing these principles. Although we could not accept the wholesale change to the Supplementary Health Policy as it was proposed, ironically the individual initiatives and individual principles are all things that have merit and need to be pursued further.
I think that we have arrived at a good conclusion here going forward. The main things that we were concerned about, like medical bankruptcy with catastrophic conditions and catastrophic costs for pharmacy, the fact that there are people in our communities and our society that do not have any coverage, the fact that third-party insurance should come to play before our government insurance kicks in, many of these very, very important issues need to be addressed.
Leadership is not always about what’s doing the popular thing; it’s about what’s doing the right and responsible thing in ensuring the sustainability of our ability as a government to continue to deliver these programs and services into the future.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Ditto. I’d like to thank the Minister for her Member’s statement today.
Frankly, the Executive Council’s decision to rescind the 2007 policy on supplemental health benefits is a great step forward. Since this policy came into place and it was passed by the 15th Assembly in their dying days, it’s caused nothing but problems. It’s fundamentally flawed.
Sure, something needs to be done. We can’t argue that. We need to find a way to provide support to the low-income families who don’t have access to insurance or can’t get insurance. Clearly, that needs to be done. We’ve heard since the Minister started bringing this forward that the direction that this government was going wasn’t the right way. I think they’ve finally heard all the information, they finally gathered all the information that they needed to make a decision. I’d like to thank them today for rescinding that policy.
I do have one area of concern. I’ll ask the Minister later today. In her statement she said that she will make a further announcement next week regarding the implementation of these changes. I think it’s important, given the interest on this side of the table and the interest in the community, that the Minister meet with us and talk to us and give us a bit of an idea of what she means by an implementation plan. I’m not 100 percent certain what is ready to be implemented. I’m not sure that anything is ready to be implemented.
In my opinion, we need to go back to the drawing board on a lot of the issues. The Minister is working on a Foundation for Change for the health system in the Northwest Territories and I think that’s part and parcel of everything that needs to be done in order to fix the health system overall. I’m looking forward to the Minister coming to us and talking to us about what she means by implementation plan next week and that anything that does start to roll out that has a clear plan, that people are informed, that people are consulted, that people understand what’s being done and why.
Communication is important. A solid communications plan on any changes that come forward with extended health benefits in the future is required for anything that’s ever implemented. Let’s work with our people. Let’s make sure they understand. Let’s make sure they have input.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The long-awaited response from the Health Minister with regard to supplementary health benefits is finally here. I’d like to thank the Minister for her statement today. Many, many people in the public have been asking for a response to the Joint Working Group, to the changes to the Supplementary Health Benefits Policy, and they’ve been looking for information on these changes literally for months. I appreciate the Minister advising the public today through her statement.
I have to say that the 2007 policy, the rescindment of that policy is music to my ears. I believe that Cabinet and the Executive Council have finally seen the light. The 2007 document is just bad policy; I’ve said it before and I will say it again. I look forward to discussing amendments to that policy and to the implementation to both the Extended Health Benefits and the Metis policy, as is mentioned in her statement, with the department and the Minister. I know we can develop a policy which will work and that will be fair and equitable for all NWT residents.
However, and it has been mentioned, there is one thing in the Minister’s statement and I’m dismayed about the lack of statement with regard to any action to cover those people who are not currently covered by extended health benefits or its conditions. I hope that is expected, but it’s not in the statement and I would like to know from the Minister at a later time whether or not actually that is the plan.
I certainly hope that’s in there, because it is the right thing to do. We do need to cover those people. I believe if we really try hard, if we are creative, that we can identify efficiencies and savings in the current Supplementary Health Benefits Program. Some of them have been identified already. Those savings will significantly offset any costs to add more clients to the program.
I look forward, as I’ve said, to the Minister’s of Health and Social Services announcement next week about implementation. I have the same concerns as my colleague Mr. Abernethy. There needs to be ample opportunity for Regular Members and the public, hopefully, to provide input on this implementation plan.
I want to thank the members of the Joint Working Group, of which I was a member, for the work that it did do relative to this particular issue.
Lastly, the Minister talks about difficult decisions and I agree. But if we work together, consider the needs of all residents and be objective, we can be successful.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today is a fantastic day for the people of the NWT. The people of the North have certain cause to celebrate. The people have won a decisive victory in their struggle for health care, for everyone who has worked tirelessly on this problem of second-class health care proposed back in the 2007 Cabinet directive.
Health care is no less important to anyone across this North. Health care is one of the defining factors that helps identify Canadians. It makes us the envy of the world and certainly the envy of our neighbours to the south.
Today the Health Minister has heard the voice of the people and I personally want to thank her. She has, with the support of her Cabinet colleagues, pulled back the 2007 directive that gave direction to change the Supplementary Health Benefits Policy. That must have been a tough thing to do.
I’m going to acknowledge the Health Minister and her Cabinet colleagues for the courageous consideration and decisive action of finally pulling this off the table. Today’s statement demonstrates that the ground has really moved; an impossible day that many of us thought would never come. The improbability was overcome and it has.
So with great respect, I certainly will never say any one person or one group has done anything wrong, but I will say that the people have won a common sense victory. The struggle to protect health care will not be over, as the fight will wield on for many of us for many years to come. The principles of health care must live on, namely access and fairness, just to name a few.
Today clearly shows government can listen to the people and to the Members of this Assembly. I want to give credit to them, the people. This struggle was not won only by the voices on the floor of this Assembly, it was won by the people who braved to speak out, by those who signed their names to petitions and postcards; many who have never signed or spoken out before. I want to thank them and many others who stomped out there on this problem, challenged and e-mailed, and told all of us to stand for our rights. Health care is a principle we need to fight for and protect at all costs. Protection of the principles, yes; reform, we should not be afraid of that; but it should be fair and we should make sure everyone is covered in a fair way as well.
As our future is before us and this government has turned to a new page and perhaps even a new chapter on this problem, the time to unite Northerners could not be greater. The people look to this government to continue to demonstrate leadership in courageous decisions such as today that have been made. Today was one of the small steps going forward. I applaud this government for hearing the voices of the people.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to speak today about supplementary health benefits. First off I would like to say thank you to the government. You’ve done the right thing by rescinding the 2007 Supplementary Health Benefits Policy.
Equality and fairness are principles that should build the foundation of any health benefit policy in the Northwest Territories. I’ll continue to work toward ensuring that any of these policies include these principles.
As much as I’m very happy to hear that Cabinet has decided to rescind the 2007 policy on supplementary health benefits, I’m left wondering how the other proposed changes will be implemented in the next 10 months. The Minister said she’d be speaking next week to an implementation plan and I do hope this plan will allow for a full dialogue with the public and Regular Members of this House as changes move forward. She has a lot of room for improvement when it comes to that.
The Minister states in her statement today that it was the spirit of consensus government that moved Cabinet to actually listen to the concerns Members and the public have had with the 2007 policy on supplementary health benefits. The spirit must be evident every day, not just when they’re faced with a crisis.
This government just seems to continually take issues to the wall even though Members are here day in and day out telling them that what they’re doing is wrong and that they’re making a mistake. They continue to push us to the very limit of our tolerance and of our patience.
In closing, I want to thank the Members of this House, my Cabinet colleagues especially, for trying to get this right. Thank you, as well, to all the Regular Members whose dogged determination has turned this decision around. To the many members of the public, the NWT Seniors’ Society and all those people who have spoken out over the past two years against this policy, I want to say thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I applaud the government’s reconsideration of changes to the Supplementary Health Benefits Program. The Minister shows, with this action, that she has listened and respected the clear voice of democracy and has benefited from the input of Members and the public in reaching a wise decision. The response of the government shows that the detailed input of Members and the public has been, and will be, taken into account. The announcement of the requirement for third-party insurance where it is available, measures to ensure parity between the emergency health benefits of other plans, and the development of measures to take advantage of group buying for medicine shows a progressive and equitable approach to serving all the members of our society with similar benefits and programs.
I have often spoken on the essential point that our government services should help those most in need when they are most in need of help. I thank the government for ensuring our services are equitable and universal. I have also taken the position that we should use the tax system and use of progressive taxation to put the costs on those who can afford them most, but only after we have taken our most effective action to reduce costs and increased efficiencies and demonstrated need. Members of the public have been consistent in supporting this approach and we need to recognize this. Should they be needed, I will support changes to tax regimes for the progressive distribution of the cost of government throughout society. In announcing these changes, the Minister has extended a hand of cooperation and commitment to work with all Members in finding the best system possible and I look forward to her proposals.
I thank the Minister again for listening, acting, and asking for the participation of all Members in the continued improvement of our health services and programs, but in particular, Mr. Speaker, I salute all those citizens who demonstrated their faith in the processes of our democracy, and responsibly and actively participated in the political process. This response by our government once again shows that committed citizens can make a difference. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.
