Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are also for the Minister of Health and Social Services. I note that the Minister has said that full obstetrical hospital services are available, so the loss of the Midwifery Program is not serious here in Yellowknife. This, of course, misses the point. Midwifery delivers a service that, in fact, ensures the health of young mothers and their babies far beyond surviving the experience.
Our current underfunded service is probably delivering big savings and enjoys enormous client support, but the promise since 2009 hasn’t been carried out. At the very least, a thorough analysis of the program can best be carried out while we have the program and community linkages to include in the analysis. Why must this program be cancelled during that analysis? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Member is aware, we are, as a government, facing significant financial constraints and that constraint is translated and transferred down to all the agencies and boards that we fund, which are health boards, education boards, housing boards, and all the other very many programs we run. Yellowknife Health and Social Services made a determination that it was not effective to run it with one midwife, so they made a decision to put these services on hold pending the result of the broader review. That’s what they’ve done and I supported their decision. Thank you.
Following up on my colleague’s question, the first step of the analysis will undoubtedly be assembly of the terms of reference for the review. We want to get off on the right foot, so let’s ensure that any review incorporates the concerns, insights and experience of the clients and stakeholders, that’s past and present clients of the program, the NWT and Nunavut Public Health Association who are on record in support, and even the Dene Cultural Institute to flesh out revival of this traditional practice. Will the Minister commit to including stakeholder groups in the development of the terms of reference for this analysis, and when will that take place? Thank you.
The Member is aware of the response to his petition that the former Minister of Health and Social Services wrote to him, and we will honour the points and the content of that commitment, that written response to his petition. Thank you.
Thanks for that response. Of course, it’s good to hear it in the House, having the record of the past Minister making claims that haven’t come to fruition.
Mr. Speaker, we hear a lot of talk about the money here. The money involved is actually quite modest, even for a backup for this, and we all are aware of the areas in the government that could be tightened up for this sort of thing. When you look at $1.4 billion, this is a priority that’s been stated by our people, so will the Minister immediately reinstate the Midwifery Program, add the necessary backup at modest cost, and conduct the review while it is in operation just as we do in all other program reviews? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, the decision to suspend services was made by the Yellowknife Health and Social Services Authority. Just listening to Member’s statements, many of the small community Members laying out all the things that they require for basic services in their communities, some of them fairly modest in terms of cost if you just looked at them individually. So we have, and I’ve also stood up in this House and laid out the constraints that we’re under as a government. So the answer to the Member’s question would be no.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Your final, short supplementary, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister seems adept at pointing out the small communities and the service problems that they have there, things that Members on this side of the House regularly talk about. I’m getting kind of tired of that response when we’re talking about specific issues here. I’m wondering what will the Minister do in terms of getting this back in service immediately, and does he see this as a temporary cancellation extending for years and years. What is the end point, the actual implementation of recommendations as a result of the analysis? Thank you.
The concerns of small communities are legitimate ones. Yellowknife has the good fortune as the capital and the largest community to have by far the best services in just about every area. So we cannot diminish those concerns of the small communities when they are often struggling for basic services. The plan and timeline for this particular review, it will be there for the 17th Assembly to consider as they move into their business planning process. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
