Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ve wanted to tag team with my colleague from the Mackenzie Delta on this issue of medical escorts, especially paid escorts from our small communities. When I returned back to Yellowknife, I met a constituent in Deline that talked about him going out with an elder to escort the elder out, but the elder is going to be in the hospital for about a month or so and he said I just can’t afford to stay with him for a month or so. We need to do something with the medical escorts, so I’m glad that Mr. Blake is raising it today.
I wanted to ask the Minister, between the RFP and the reviews and the feedback, committee work, in between that is there any type of interim solution? This person is going to go out next week. Can he seek some type of formal financial compensation, because he’s away from his job, his community, he has family obligations in his community, which he does not see anything now?
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Once again, I’m not comfortable talking about a specific individual, but we do have a Medical Travel Policy, it is under review. In the future it will address the types of situations the Member is discussing. I’d be happy to sit down with the Member and talk about this particular situation and get the details and have the department get involved, but this is part and parcel with many of the concerns that we’re hearing about medical travel and in particular around escorts and non-medical escorts. This is work that we need to get done. Thank you.
I do appreciate that the Minister is working hard in this area. This individual I talk about could be anybody in the Northwest Territories. So let’s talk generalities because I know the issue I am talking about. I haven’t given you names. I’ve just said a person in Deline. I could be talking about someone in Good Hope or wherever.
So I want to continue the discussion. This could be Tulita, it could be Tuktoyaktuk, it could be Tsiigehtchic or wherever. We have people who are leaving their communities, who have family obligations, who have jobs, who, out of the goodness of their hearts, are escorting people to facilities where they have to stay for a long time without any type of financial compensation. They are asking their land corps., their bands to cover their costs for fuel, groceries or whatever. These people are staying months, weeks.
So, given all that the Minister is telling me, is there any type of interim solution to help these medical escorts to come with their people to the hospitals?
On the Medical Travel Policy now, there is a per diem that is provided. It may not be sufficient enough to cover some of the costs that the Member is talking about, but I know that communities throughout the Northwest Territories have stood up and have been supporting members of their communities when they are away for extended periods of time.
During my discussions with residents across the Northwest Territories and with Members, we’ve heard a lot of suggestions on escorts and what we need to be doing. I’ve heard individuals say we need to actually create or employ some dedicated escorts in the communities who could be the escorts for everybody, proper language training, proper interpretation training and some medical terminology. I’ve also heard greater fees for individuals who are on medical travel. I’ve also heard people say that these are really bad ideas and that other options need to be considered. The bottom line is there are a lot of ideas and we need to wade through these ideas and find out which ones are really practical and feasible.
In the interim, I would still encourage the Members to work with their communities, to maybe have conversations with income support and we will continue to provide per diems accordingly. Thank you.
What I am hoping from this Minister is saying yes, let’s look at some out-of-the-box type of solutions. I’m really happy the Minister talked about possibly income support. Can the Minister sit down with the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment to say listen, we have an issue here because of the bureaucracy, because of the timetable, we just aren’t able to meet the current needs right now of what’s happening. The issue is medical escorts that need to be compensated by people in the communities. It’s okay here in Yellowknife, you can drive your car and head over there, but from the small communities you’re travelling away from your family, you have family obligations, you have children, you have bills. They have to get paid.
I agree with the Member completely. We need to think outside the box and I’m certainly happy to have some conversations with the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, who is responsible for income support. I don’t know if that will work. I don’t know what mechanisms might exist, but I’m certainly willing to have that conversation and that discussion with him. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister commit to the House before the end of this session that the conversation has been had with the Minister, we’re looking at options, again, what can we do within the session here? I’m looking for some support, some direction, so when we go back to our communities we can say yes, the government will look at this. This is for all my communities in the Sahtu that there will be some compensation when medical escorts are asked, you know. That’s the type of support I’m looking for. I really don’t know. Maybe if I was on the other side I would have some suggestions and sit with the Minister. But can we do something like that?
I will commit to having a conversation with the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, but it would be impossible for me to commit to finding a solution within a seven-day session. So we will have the conversation, we will explore any opportunities that exist and I will keep the Member informed. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
