Mr. Speaker, equitable access to health care is in the front of minds of all Northerners as we look to our families, and we always want the best for them. This includes specialized support services, such as specialists to get testing and treatment, Mr. Speaker. We all know delays cost lives, they cost money, they create frustration and inefficiencies, and this trouble Northerners far and wide. So whether you're in the Mackenzie Delta or you're in the Sahtu, Mr. Speaker, people get frustrated.
For example, delays in specialized services because your government chooses to send our team of experts, our specialized health care professionals to Nunavut, instead of putting our Northerners, our own citizens, to work. What does this do? It causes burnout in our health care system, our caregivers, delays getting care if you're a Northerner, and the catch-up just never seems to happen.
Mr. Speaker, I have to get frustrated as I shake my head and I see that why do we send people from Yellowknife to Edmonton practically daily for rheumatoid arthritis treatment? Does that make fiscal sense? What about the craziness and frustration people feel when they hear that folks have to travel from the Delta for diabetes treatment regularly, or dental treatment? The numbers just don't make sense, Mr. Speaker, when you see hundreds of people annually travelling down when we can do business much smarter.
Money doesn't grow on trees, but in the theme of Mining Week, Mr. Speaker, it can be found in the ground. But efficiencies pile up. Addressing the latter two matters, Mr. Speaker, is very important to resolve funding issues because those two alone would help us fund extended health care benefits. It's not innovation, Mr. Speaker. It's common sense.
Mr. Speaker, with current budget of around $650 million, there's opportunities abound. Maybe the department should consider instead of hiring more and dozens and hundreds of employees, be it on the books, off the books, funded, unfunded, agencies, casuals, etcetera, they just hire one efficiency expert to ask the question, why are we doing things this way? Can't we do them better? Differently? Doesn't it make sense to reflect once in a while why we do things?
Mr. Speaker, I raise this point because there's so many opportunities before us. The other day I was reading online, it said people won't support change if they're not confident in their abilities to adapt. So people are threatened by the shortcomings, real or imagined, and then they protect themselves by resisting to change. It comes down to fear of failure and knowledge and inability. Mr. Speaker, I say this, as I finish, dear, health department, I believe in you, you can do it.
Members' statements.
