Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. I want to talk about the elders in our small communities who have to go through a long-term care facility either in Inuvik or Yellowknife. Once they get assessed in that community, they are better suited in the long-term care facility, providing they have beds. Is it the responsibility of the elders to find themselves in those facilities?
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Obviously, we want to work with our residents to keep them as close to home as possible, recognizing that we do have some infrastructure challenges. The Housing Corp has been doing a significant amount of work with respect to facilities in the communities to provide some opportunities for elders as they age and have to move out of their own units. We are looking at putting in a long-term care facility in Norman Wells, which would be the first of its kind in that region. So we are doing a number of things, but from time to time we do have residents who do have to come out of their home communities, either come to a regional centre or, if their personal condition happens to be more severe, they might have to come to a place like Yellowknife. With respect to how that is funded, I will have to get that detailed information from the department. I would be happy to share that information with the Member at a later date. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I am certainly happy that Cabinet has agreed to put a long-term care facility in the Sahtu for the people of the Northwest Territories. My understanding, from talking to some of the elders, is once they are assessed and with the lack of infrastructure in their communities, they have to somehow make their way to Yellowknife or Inuvik and they have to pay for their airfare.
I want to ask the Minister, if that’s the case, is his department looking at where the elders don’t have to pay for their airfare once they get assessed and they have to come to a long-term care facility for their future needs?
Where it’s medically necessary for an individual to come from one community and reside in another community on a permanent basis where the services are, we do provide financial supports and assistance to help those individuals get here, but it’s got to be medically necessary. Thank you.
Would the Minister be committing to look at past files where people who have left their communities in the Sahtu who have to come to a long-term care facility because of their medical needs where these elders have paid for their own tickets from Colville Lake, Fort Good Hope, Deline or Tulita and that these files will be looked at and proper compensation will go back to these elders?
Where it’s deemed medically necessary by physicians or other health professionals, we would certainly be willing to have that conversation. I would encourage the Member to come to my office and maybe we can discuss the individual cases, because I’m not actually aware of the individual cases at this time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have certainly known elders who have left the Sahtu and have come to me and said we have to pay for their tickets, because they don’t have any money from their $550 a month pension cheque. We have to pay money to get to the centre. The Minister is also welcome to walk into my office to have this discussion.
I want to ask the Minister if he’s willing to look at this file again and properly compensate the elders who have made their own travel arrangements, paid their own tickets to come to Inuvik or Yellowknife.
I am happy to work with the Member. I am happy to walk down the hall to his office. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
