Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday as we were recognizing our seniors, I was thinking, as our population ages and the number of travelling Canadians continues to increase, it is important that our government be attentive to travellers’ rights, especially our seniors and elders who now enjoy more mobility options than ever.
As a government, we have many layers of legislation, regulation and policies that make our approach to dealing with travellers either rewarding or problematic. The purpose of my statement today is to be sensitive to the needs of our travelling seniors and reveal some inconsistent standards and how the GNWT is rated versus other Canadian jurisdictions. To assist me, I will be using the Canadian Traveller’s Report Card, which is an evaluation tool published every two to three years by the Canadian Snowbird Association.
Admittedly, the NWT did rather well in this report card as we actually scored an over B rating, and I have to applaud we scored a best practice of an A-plus for their access to emergency health coverage when travelling. However, we failed in three other categories with a C rating.
One area was on the preservation of health coverage for frequent travellers, and the recommendation to correct this is to allow international travel for up to seven months or six months with unlimited short-term trips anywhere in the world while still maintaining health benefits.
Another low rating was under the access to prescription drugs for use during travel. With the GNWT only covering a three-month supply of medication, the recommendation is to cover the cost of a supply of prescription medication equal to the permitted absence from the territory.
Finally, the last of the low ratings was on the availability of government information. Apparently, the GNWT contains very limited health-related information or details for travellers on such issues as residency requirements and out-of-country reimbursement. The recommendation is to create a comprehensive brochure of medication or medical information and prescription policy for such travellers.
Clearly, with some minor encouragement from the Department of Health and Social Services, our jurisdiction could join the likes of the Yukon who has the best grade in the country at A-minus. My challenge now is to the leadership of the Department of Health to assess the patchwork needed to address these simple policy fixes. We have the choice for clear and fair government policies so we can make travelling pleasant, safe and a rewarding experience for our seniors and our elders. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
