Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, right now we have a system that competes with itself as I said. This is not coming from my analysis; this is coming from health care workers, doctors, nurses, allied health care professionals. Why has the choice been made to prioritize locum contracts, temporary workers, and agency nurses over full-time staff? Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there has been no prioritize on locum workers or agency workers. Mr. Speaker, we have to follow the collective agreement. We cannot bargain outside the collective agreement on indeterminate employees and therefore you know, this -- and which leaves us if we don't have any indeterminate employees, then we have to go to the next steps which we go for terms, and then if it impacts units being closed then we would discuss that with the union and get the consent to be able to look at agencies. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, is the Minister willing to look at the length of contracts? A six-month contract means the worker's going to stay in the Northwest Territories for at least a longer time commitment. We're talking about contracts that are two days long, that are a week long. Will the Minister commit to stopping that practice and ensuring contracts are long enough to keep people in the North and keep money in the North and keep continuity of care in the North? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, Mr. Speaker, you know, I can commit to having that conversation again with the NTHSSA of what their practice is. I am not familiar of how long contracts are, if they're -- you know, I mean, in the past, you know, the only time I've ever seen a short enough contract in my time working in the health authority was within, you know, maybe over Christmas so that we didn't have to shut down services so maybe a two or three-week contract. But, you know, as the -- as it is now, we are struggling with staffing. And whether Members in this House or anywhere, you know, we don't know exactly how long this is going to be throughout Canada. We don't know. And, you know, this is priority -- this is priority not just for me, it is a priority for Canada. It's a priority that we are going to be discussing at the next health Ministers' meeting because it is an issue. It is an issue across Canada. We are struggling to find and retain health care providers. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Canadian government's pumping billions of dollars into health care right now. This is not -- this problem is a northern problem. So what's the Minister's northern solution? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, the Canadian government may be pumping millions into the -- into health care but as you -- it's not only even at the health Ministers' table now. It is at the Premiers -- you know, the Premiers are discussing the health because it is not sustainable. Our health care budgets in all of the territories and provinces are not sustainable. And so there are issues throughout Canada. Thank you.
Minister of Health and Social Services. Final supplementary. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And that number is $200 billion over ten years. So, you know, I appreciate that it's going to be divvied out in different places. We need to have a resolution to this. We need to find a way to retain workers. This is a blockage that's been identified to me. Will the Minister at least commit to doing an exploration of this, working with staff, working with the whole team, and coming up with a solution that's meaningful, impactful, and will actually solve this problem instead of just more listening exercises? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, during my time as the Minister so far within this year, you know, we have excellent staff, you know, and, yes, they are -- they are tired and, yes, there are, you know, very -- not just at Stanton. In the regions, you know, you most recently hear about in the regions we have, you know, obstetrics closures, we have nursing stations that are on emergency services. And so what we're -- you know, like, what we're trying to do is we're looking at it as a whole of territory because as I said in the very beginning, this is a whole of territory issue, and Stanton is our territorial hospital and it is at the brink. And the Members are correct, the Members in Yellowknife have raised this and the people in Yellowknife have raised this. But the issue, you know, from Yellowknife is all of the people that are coming in from the small communities, so we still need to look at what is going on elsewhere so that way there's not such the burden on the territorial health system in Yellowknife. And so that is what I'm committed to do. I am committed to working within our structures. I am committed to working with my -- looking at my legislation to see the authorities that I have over the health care system and working with the rest of the Members in this House. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you. Oral questions. Member from Frame Lake.
