Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I've spoken in this House many times about the vital importance of equitable and accessible health care provided by supported health care workers. Canadians en masse are working to access health care. They are waiting for elective surgeries, access to specialists, testing, and treatment requirements of cancers, chronic disease, and STIs, and a surge in addiction and mental health support needs. In addition, special treatment programs like audiology, speech pathology, physiotherapy, and occupational therapy appointments put off over the pandemic further bottleneck our already fragile health care system. The catchup, Mr. Speaker, will take years, and some national experts speculate that the Canadian health care system may never catch up under its status quo approach.
Here in the NWT, we're even farther behind with reliance on Alberta's health care system and the fact that many of our existing health care workers are practicing through a scope much more narrow than their southern colleagues.
Pharmacists in southern provinces can prescribe some medications or adapt a prescription to suit the needs and reactions of a patient, give injections like vaccines or flu shots, or work with patients to sort out medication amounts, or recommend alternatives. My concerns about the limitation of dental hygienists are longdocumented in this Assembly as well as their importance to preventative care and longterm impacts on the health and wellness of residents. And, third, Mr. Speaker, many Northerners are still delivering babies far from home and without their support system. Many families stop work early to leave their home community to travel for the arrival of a little one. This means less income, removal from the safety of their community and support system where they will potentially deliver without their partner, potentially be left with no support for older children, and then expected to travel home with a brandnew baby. Work on implementing the midwifery program and expanding access to doulas need to continue.
Mr. Speaker, our health care system has a regulatory backlog, and I believe that by working to expand the scope of some health care professionals, we can alleviate even some of the demand on our system. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Members' statements. Member for Thebacha.
