Health care, wildfire report in spotlight as N.W.T. MLAs begin 7-day spring sitting

Health care is expected to be a focal point of the N.W.T. Legislative Assembly's short seven-day spring sitting which begins Wednesday. 

Doctors have been raising concerns about staffing shortages so severe that they're not sure how some units in Yellowknife's Stanton Hospital will continue to function. 

Range Lake MLA Kieron Testart said he's getting calls daily from patients and health-care workers about failures in the health-care system. 

"We've got to have real answers to this," he said. "We need to have a real plan, and we just haven't seen that yet."

On May 8, Testart, along with MLAs Robert Hawkins and Richard Edjericon, issued a news release outlining 13 calls to action to address the health-care crisis. That includes phasing out agency nurses by 2026, implementing minimum staff-to-patient ratios in N.W.T. hospitals, and fast-tracking policies on technology like artificial intelligence and virtual care.

Testart said they intend to introduce a motion calling on the minister and health department to implement those actions. 

"Even if they can't be implemented immediately, we need to have a commitment that those are going to be worked on," Testart said.  

Health Minister Lesa Semmler has pushed back on characterizations that the Stanton emergency room is on the verge of closure, and Premier R.J. Simpson has spoken out in support of Semmler. 

Julian Morse, MLA for Frame Lake, agrees health care will be a major focus of the spring sitting. He also expects MLAs to discuss the latest report into the government's emergency response to the 2023 wildfires. 

Morse says he's hoping to hear that the government is responding to the report authors' recommendations, including the recommendation to create a separate emergency management agency.

Education could also be a significant focus during this sitting. In March, Finance Minister Caroline Wawzonek said the government would have a strategy related to continued education in smaller communities after Aurora College announced in January it would close its community leaning centres. 

Sahtu MLA Danny McNeely said that's something he'll be waiting for. 

Wawzonek also committed to coming up with a strategy around Arctic defence and sovereignty in the upcoming sitting. She said at the time that the community learning centres and Arctic defence strategies were significant issues brought up in budget discussions. 

The spring sitting of the Legislative Assembly concludes on May 29.