Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions will be for the new Minister of Health. Earlier today I gave the Minister a brief update of what’s been happening in the Mackenzie Delta region.
With no board in place for years now in the Beaufort-Delta, how are residents of my region supposed to provide input on health care in our region? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Blake. Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said in my responses to MLA Menicoche, there is no question that we want the input from our citizens and our residents. Right now, as the Member knows, we do have a public administrator in the Deh Cho. The previous Minister of Health and Social Services made a commitment to reinstating the Beaufort-Delta Health and Social Services Authority before the end of this government and we will live up to that commitment. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, that’s great news. The previous Health Minister said in May the process of appointing a new board in the Delta would begin immediately. What progress has been made? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, as I indicated in my last response, we need to make some changes to this system. It’s not working. We want to make sure we are getting the input from the people and from the communities and regions. We also know, as the Member has clearly outlined in his Member’s statement, that there are some real challenges. We want to focus on the care of our residents, the individuals. We want to focus on the person. So we do need to do some work. We need to finish that work before we move forward with re-establishing the authority in whichever capacity we move forward in, whether it’s a board of management, as the Member identified, or an advisory board. We need to know what we’re doing because we want to make sure that the delivery is effective and efficient and it’s the best services that we can provide to our people.
We need a bit of time. But as I have indicated, we are going to live up to the previous Minister’s commitment and we will have something established in the Deh Cho before the end of this government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I would just like to remind the Minister that I am from the Mackenzie Delta, not the Deh Cho.
---Laughter
My next question is Deputy Minister DeLancey spoke recently on changing legislation, but that is the first I’ve heard of it. No such legislation is before the House. The process takes time, as we all know. So what changes are being made and when will this legislation come forward? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I apologize. I know the Member is from the Mackenzie Delta. We have toured the Mackenzie Delta together and I look forward to touring it again.
Mr. Speaker, as we move forward with reviewing the authorities and how things are going and what changes we may have to make, it will most likely, most definitely take some legislation changes. I expect I will be working with committee in short order and I think we will likely have to bring some amendments to the Hospital Insurance and Health and Social Services Administration Act that will provide more clarity on accountability, roles and responsibilities and this will be an important first step, but we will work with committee on that. All legislation has to go through the legislative process. We are seeking input from the boards, public administrators and the public on how to make the system work better. We will work with committee on that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Blake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A former board member told me that one of the major challenges was the financial part of operating the board. Will the Minister assure that finance training will be made available to those future members? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, if it’s a management board we go with, that would make perfect sense. If it’s an advisory board that we go with, it may not make as much sense, but regardless, we will work with the members of the boards that exist and the future boards to make sure that they have the training so they can adequately provide informed direction and decisions within their particular mandates. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
