Thanks, Madam Chair. I have some questions for the Premier, if I could. I'm reading today, right now, on Cabin Radio, a news story about how they broke the story about how the Northwest Territories is going to get $8 million a year under a new tenyear federal funding arrangement for all the provinces and territories, and there's supposed to be a special fund set up for the Northwest Territories for $5 million for the next five years.
I'd like to ask the Premier why am I reading about this on Cabin Radio instead of getting this kind of communications directly from the Cabinet? That's not the way consensus government is supposed to work, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Member. Honourable Premier.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. The health minister would like that deferred to her. Thank you.
Minister of Health and Social Services.
Yes, thank you. This morning the Premier, the Finance Minister, and I met with our federal colleagues, the Minister for intergovernmental affairs and the Minister of health. We had some questions about what we had been offered at the the Premier had been offered at the Council of Federation last week.
What I can tell you is that the net new money available to the NWT is $12 million. That includes a $2.9 million increase to the territorial health initiative fund which is spent partly on medical travel and partly on bigger picture items like health sustainability.
There are four areas in which there are tailored what they call tailored bilateral agreements. They're worth $7 million a year for the next ten years. There is a $2 million topup to the CHT which will be for hospital services. It's a onetime only. There will also be some money for the escalator, the CHT escalator which is tied to inflation at this point so we don't have a firm figure on that. The personal support workers wage subsidy, we don't have information on that. The health equity fund for Indigenous people, we don't have information on that. So there are some considerable loose ends.
It was our intention to communicate all of this to the Members by the end of the afternoon. The meeting just happened this morning, and I had a subsequent meeting that ended at 2:30. So the information is coming to the Regular MLAs, and there will be a news conference tomorrow in which we will answer questions. Thank you.
Merci, Madam la Presidente. I want to thank the health minister for that. I'd like to know why I'm reading about this on Cabin Radio instead of getting the information from the Minister or the Premier. This is just not the way that consensus government is supposed to work. Why am I reading it on Cabin Radio first? Mahsi, Madam Speaker.
Yes, thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I can't control who the federal ministers decide to talk to in media interviews. I didn't know that they were going to do that. I learned when the Member learned, and I was probably just about as happy. Thank you.
Mahsi, Madam Speaker. Yeah, I actually sent three Ministers an email about this while I was sitting here, before I had even read the Cabin Radio story, saying you guys are doing a media briefing tomorrow, you haven't told us anything? So why are you doing a media briefing instead of talking to us and telling us this news? Thanks, Madam Speaker.
Yes, thank you. Just to say again we met with these Ministers this morning. They choose to do their own media engagement. We decided to do ours tomorrow. We have in the works a message to Regular MLAs. We have provided them with advanced notice of a media release or a media advisory. There will be advanced notice of a media release. So we are not working as quickly as the federal government is but we are prepared to answer any questions that may arise, whether it today or tomorrow after the news conference. Thank you.
Final supplementary. Member for Frame Lake.
Mahsi, Madam Speaker. So is this the kind of precedent like, this is the way that we used to get communications in the last Assembly; I can tell you that. But is this the way that we're going to continue to get information moving forward, is through Cabin Radio instead of communications directly from our colleagues on the other side of the House? Mahsi, Madam Speaker.
The Member for Frame Lake can rest assured this is not a new way of communicating. I've already explained that the federal government is doing its own communications. We don't have any control over that. I've told him what we're doing. And, you know, that is what we are going to stick with. I think I already said, but I will say again, I wasn't best pleased either to read on Cabin Radio that coming out of that meeting, apparently somebody had Minister Duclos had done an interview with Cabin Radio about the health agreement. We didn't have a specific embargo in place, so we have to go with the flow. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
