Yellowknife (Apr 21/03) - Since the territorial health fund was approved April 1, Health Minister Michael Miltenberger has been hesitant to applaud too loudly.

"This is not new money," Miltenberger explained in an interview recently. "This is not a windfall."

With the GNWT facing an $100 million deficit this year "what the feds have given us is a modest amount," Miltenberger said.

The deal struck in Ottawa earlier this year netted the three territories a three-year deal worth $60 million to be spread equally among them. This money is in addition to per capita funding.

But the health care system in the NWT has been troubled for so long, the money received from the new health deal, "has already been spent," said Miltenberger.

But that doesn't mean the health minister can't dream.

Funding a toll-free help line to complement the book "Do I need to see a doctor/nurse?" and getting more nurse practitioners working in the NWT are two of Miltenberger's main interests.

Yellowknife South MLA Brendan Bell has a wish list of his own, which includes a detox centre in the NWT.

But he isn't counting on the new health care money to make that a reality.

"I'm not optimistic we have $20 million to plunk into new initiatives," Bell said.

But he's not giving up.

"I'm hopeful. I know from seeing the budget there isn't money to start building new buildings. But we do have some facilities that are under utilized. I think we need a community approach to some of these issues. We haven't had medical detox."

Federal Health Minister Anne McLellan's trip North next month could also make a difference, said Miltenberger.

"The whole phase of the agreement can be reached so we won't have to constantly fight the battle to get this money," he said.

Bell agrees.

"We need to address structural inefficiencies with our current funding arrangement. We can't keep going through this every year where we go down and camp out on the prime minister's doorstep and hope for $15 million bucks."