DEH CHO
On the heels of a funding announcement from the federal government, Deh Cho MLA Michael Nadli and Nahendeh MLA Shane Thompson say more is needed to secure the budget of the Northwest Territory's health department.

Deh Cho MLA Michael Nadli and Nahendeh MLA Shane Thompson are unimpressed by a deal that would see Health Canada send $13.5 million to the NWT. - NNSL file photo

On Jan. 16, Health Canada announced the Northwest Territories would be receiving $7.4 million to support home care services and $6.1 million for mental health initiatives over a 10-year period. In total, $36.1 million in new health funding was announced for the Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut.

A plan for how the funds would be spent, as well as accountability and reporting, will be worked out in the coming weeks, the department stated.

While both MLAs welcomed the news of funding, Nadli said more could be used in order to maintain the health care system that is currently in place.

"The system is, of course, under stress. So more resources would have been good," Nadli said.

"We need to ensure the system is properly resourced in terms of doctors, nurses and health centres, and of course all the programming that goes along with that, too."

Thompson said MLAs have not heard from the GNWT on the funding but added he expects more information will come out in the next sitting of the legislative assembly.

He said one important question that needs to be answered is whether the funding is rolled out slowly over the 10-year stretch, or whether it's a lump sum - and how to tackle the challenges posed by either option.

If the funding is spread out, that could mean "slim pickings" across the Northwest Territory's 33 communities, he said. Alternatively, a lump sum would bring with it the question of how to sustain any projects taken on.

"We're not looking at a huge amount of money," he said.

"It will have an impact but it's not going to have the impact we're looking for."

How the money is distributed remains to be seen but Thompson said his hope is that the mental health portion be put toward mental health workers in schools.

At minimum, he wants to see three mental health workers in the Deh Cho spread between Fort Providence, Fort Liard and Fort Simpson, and able to reach all the smaller communities in the area.

Nadli said the mental health funding could be used for family counselling and support.

"I think that's the missing link in terms of having adequate resources . (for) some of the challenges families go through on a daily level in small communities," he said.

As for home care, Nadli said he plans to continue advocating for an expansion of home care initiatives, driven from a small-community perspective.

He compared Fort Simpson, which houses the headquarters for health care operations in the Deh Cho region, to Kakisa and Fort Providence, which are hours from Hay River as well as from Fort Simpson.

"We're kind of on our own out here," he said.

Nadli said health care comes up frequently in conversations with his constituents, and he is often approached about diagnoses or lack of proper diagnoses. Although mental health and home care are two key issues within the health-care system, he said there are other issues as well that need to be addressed.

"In smaller communities, we don't have doctors, so we have to have nurses on rotation who work in shifts. Every month or so, we have a new nurse," he said.

Another area that needs to be addressed, he added, is allowing seniors to age in place. Nadli said recently 10 elders in Fort Providence received notices asking them to move to the newly renovated senior home, but many of them didn't want to.

"Given the fact that we have an aging population, within the span of maybe 10 or 15 years, how are we going to meet those needs?" he said.

"Are we going to address it through more beds in the regional centres? Or do we try to make a shift in terms of priorities, in terms of expanding the home care unit?"