Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I know the Minister's identified that the medical travel policy will be reviewed. Can the Minister identify a timeline for reviewing the policy? Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Inuvik Boot Lake. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the timeline of the medical travel policy, because of the enormous amount of work that's going to take and collaboration and consultation in the Northwest Territories when we roll -- like, once we start may take -- you know, it could take the life of this government to get it right. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I like the word get it right. I'm glad that myself and the Minister are on the same page there.
So then, Mr. Speaker, then, my assumption, then, is during the review that the Minister will be engaging with the public as well obviously as Indigenous governments with this process? Thank you.
Yes, most definitely. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I spoke specifically to youth that are living in Edmonton, going to school in Edmonton under the age of 19 and not having the ability to get an escort to come down to attend medical appointments with them, whether that be a CT scan or an MRI or things that often we're sent out to Edmonton for. So I guess my question is can the Minister commit to revising section 6.2 to recognize that a minor under 19 years of age requires an escort or is provided an escort upon request? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I've committed to reviewing the entire medical travel policy and looking at all the different things and those are -- I think that is important. But the other part of it is, you know, we hear the concerns, and this is not -- I was on the other side, and I raised many concerns on medical travel. But the understanding of the different programs that medical travel is, so if we're looking for an escort, if they are NIHB, then that doesn't fall -- the escort criteria doesn't fall upon GNWT to approve that exception if it doesn't fall exactly. If it's GNWT, then there's the appeals process that appeals can go in. And then there's other insurances that also cover people that are travelling down for medical travel. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I do understand that. And, again, the concern is had the student been living, say, in Inuvik and had required to be escorted out, then there would be an escort provided, wouldn't be an issue, they would go out both the student -- and I know the Minister is a mother, so she would -- if she had an 18-year-old getting a CT scan, she'd probably likely to be there and not trust the 18-year-old to get the information he's required to get, or he or she is required to get from that doctor. So I guess my question is, then, can the Minister explain whether there's any expectation that departmental staff have a conversation with the family before making the decision on escort requirements, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, you know, I can't speak to individual cases that are, you know, throughout the territory, and Inuvik being so small that I wouldn't want to speak to individually making a decision. Our medical travel policy is to assist patients from the Northwest Territories to travel. And I hear the Member that if the Member is away at college, then the travel is already there and I hear what the Member is saying, and, yes, I am a mother and I've traveled many times that I've paid my own way because of, you know, a lot of things. And I'm still covering some costs for some travel. But the instances -- not everybody -- you know, there are circumstances, and that's why I said there are appeals, there are other ways to look at it. And, you know, and if this was an ongoing issue or was the other -- the other thing is that if it didn't generate in the territory as well and it was generated outside the territory for certain things, then the medical travel policy doesn't even apply. So then there's no escort policy. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Oral questions. Member from Monfwi.
