Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

IQALUIT (May 10/99) - While they've agreed to throw their support behind the Department of Health, it would appear that the Baffin Regional Health and Social Services Board isn't about to roll over and play dead.

During their quarterly meeting in Iqaluit last week, chairperson Dennis Patterson recommended to the group of regional representatives that they accept the Cabinet's recent decision to dissolve the health and education boards in Nunavut and that they rally around the government and assist in the transition period.

But he also cautioned the members to bear in mind that until March 31, 2000, they still carried the responsibility of overseeing the delivery of health and social services in the region.

"We have too many difficult challenges and opportunities before us for this to be a time for us to have a fight with the government," said Patterson, in his official address to the group he has presided over for the last 18 months.

"Having said that we should give our full co-operation to the Nunavut government doesn't mean that we should obediently do everything they tell us."

Following his presentation, Patterson opened the floor to the board for their comments and questions and many representatives expressed concern about how the new system would see that issues at the community level would be adequately represented.

Patterson told members that he would direct their concerns to Health Minister Ed Picco the next day when he and his deputy minister Ken MacRury would attend the board meeting.

Patterson closed his presentation by assuring the board that the government's decision was not based on their performance, but rather, on a report which he proceeded to describe as being biased and outdated.

Drawn up by Consulting and Audit Canada at the request of Nunavut's deputy ministers in January of 1998, the 18-page report examined the role of the health and education boards and concluded that it was in the best interests of the territory that they be dissolved. Patterson said he and the board chairs in the Keewatin and the Kitikmeot regions were skeptical of its findings.

"I don't think my fellow health board chairs thought the study was as thorough as it might have been. We came to the conclusion that it looked like the study had been set up to achieve certain results," said Patterson.

During his own address, Picco upheld the report's findings and again asserted that the decision would save at least $3 million and would place more accountability into the hands of the elected MLAs.

And while he faced several questions from the board members about the future of health care and its delivery across the territory and at the community level, Picco committed himself to visiting as many communities as possible to explain the process and reassure residents about their representation.

He guaranteed the board that their participation and input was necessary over the next 11 months in order to assist a yet-to-be hired consultant to plan and develop the new organizational structure.

Before the meeting, Picco committed to seeing the consultant's work completed over the next four months and he said he already had a few ideas on the structure of the new hierarchy.

Once the extra layer of bureaucracy has been eliminated, the municipal community health councils -- which will be developed and strengthened over the next year -- will be responsible for monitoring the delivery of services in each community. Any complaints or concerns will be brought to the community health representative, or the council as a whole, and will then be forwarded to the mayor and hamlet council who will pass concerns on to the MLAs. The elected members will raise the issues with the chief executive officers in each region, who in turn, will bring them up with the minister.

While the MLAs won't be directly responsible for monitoring the new system, Picco explained they will need to keep abreast of the state of health-care and constituents' concerns in their ridings.

"When you eliminate the un-elected board and you have only the community health committee and the MLA, that's where you get the direct accountability. (The government) is accountable because the government will make the decision. You're eliminating one level of bureaucracy."