Latest news with #KieronTestart
Hamilton Spectator
30-05-2025
- Health
- Hamilton Spectator
Health care premiums not the solution to NWT's failing system, says MLA
Range Lake MLA Kieron Testart says plans by Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority (NTHSSA) to explore potential user fees and premiums for health care services is going in the wrong direction. On May 16, the seven-page public administrator's work plan was released. It detailed what NTHSSA public administrator Dan Florizone has done since he was appointed on Dec. 16, 2024, and provided a timeline for several projects. Those included developing a proposal on how to bring services closer to small communities by November of this year, streamlining the medical travel process and establishing an employee acquisition plan by June. It also calls for a review of budgets and a survey of potential revenue sources, 'including supporting the establishment of income assessment and fee collection structures, as applicable' by December. NNSL Media reached out to NTHSSA for clarification on what fee collection structures would look like in practice. 'As part of the expenditure reduction plan, the Public Administrator has directed NTHSSA to work with the Department of Health and Social Services to review options related to user fees and health care premiums,' said Krystal Pidborochynski, NTHSSA's communications and public affairs director in response. 'The aim is to reduce the projected deficit while prioritizing the essential programs and services that residents, especially those in smaller regions and communities, rely on. 'The NTHSSA has a responsibility to manage its limited resources responsibly. Without an increase in funding – including for example those provided through the Government of Canada for the Medical Travel and Non-Insured Health Benefits (NIHB) Programs – the NTHSSA needs to make difficult decisions to ensure the long-term sustainability and health of the organization.' Testart said most people in the territory, even many well-paid government employees, are already effectively living paycheque to paycheque and adding more costs to their monthly budgets could push them to the breaking point. Instead, he called on the GNWT to take the fight to Ottawa, particularly surrounding medical travel and NIHB, which he said the federal government should be funding. 'There's a big portion of that which isn't being covered by the federal government,' he said. 'So there is a role to play for Ottawa to increase the revenue. But if we're serious about that side of the issue, we should be playing hardball with the federal government and basically telling them 'If you're not going to cover these services, neither are we — and you've got a year to sort this out.' 'The NIHB program should be funded by Ottawa and current the NWT subsidizes that program. It is a problem that needs to be solved — we have a new government, we have a new focus on the North and a Northern prime minister, so the timing is right to have that conversation. Don't pussyfoot around, take bold action and get their attention. If you keep doing what you've been doing for the last 10 years or more, probably since the last NIHB and medical travel agreements were signed, we'll continue to wait. We don't have time to keep bleeding money when Ottawa is not keeping up with its responsibilities to Northerners and, more importantly, honouring its treaty obligations to Indigenous people in Northern Canada.' NTHSSA should be looking towards its upper management when looking for cost savings, said Testart, rather than targeting the end user for revenue. He repeated his call for higher compensation for medical staff in the NWT to cover the higher cost of living and the remote nature of the work. He said discussions about 'slaying the deficit' should take backseat to improving health care delivery, noting NTHSSA has been operating at a loss since its inception. 'We need to create an advantage up here, making people pay more for health care is not going to do that,' he said. 'If that means our health care system is more expensive then so be it, but right now it's expensive and its failing.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
CBC
27-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
First responders shouldn't have to prove jobs caused illness to WSCC, says MLA
Northwest Territories MLA Kieron Testart is proposing a private members bill that would make it easier for first responders in the territory to access workers compensation for post-traumatic stress disorder, cancers and heart disease. At a press conference Monday, Testart said he'll table a private members bill this week proposing amendments to establish "presumptive coverage" for sick and injured first responders instead of requiring them to prove their job made them sick. He says the proposed amendment would bring the N.W.T. in line with other jurisdictions in Canada, by recognizing the inherent risks of occupations like firefighting. "Despite spending years asking for support, the process has always moved too slowly to actually result in the changes these heroes need when they get sick," he said. Christian Bittrolff, president of International Association of Firefighters Local 2890, which represents Yellowknife firefighters, says the amendments would protect workers from the trauma of repeating their medical concerns to multiple people to obtain Workers' Compensation coverage. "You already told your story to the registered psychologist or the doctor, and you don't have to go through a bureaucratic process of reliving the thing that is causing you post-traumatic stress and putting you in crisis continuously," he said. Bittrolff says the amendments that would expand cancer care coverage bring recognition to the International Agency for Research on Cancer's classification of firefighting as being a carcinogenic occupation. "It's even more important in a small northern community where the access is limited, where the resources are limited, to have that presumptive legislation that streamlines the whole process," he said. Bittrolff says firefighters often know the people they are helping and these stressors are amplified in small communities. Tu Nedhé-Wiilideh MLA Richard Edjericon says there are volunteer firefighters in communities like Fort Resolution, and he has constituents who are going through some of the challenges address by the bill. "We want to make sure we get coverage for them," he said. Expanding covered cancers Bittrolff says the late Gregg Pratt, a Yellowknife firefighter, was diagnosed with a rare form of bile duct cancer not covered by WSCC. "When you have that kind of news, those kinds of conversations, having that fight or even going down the WSCC route to look and see if this is going to be covered, is the last thing you want to be thinking about," he said. "His focus was on fighting cancer, and that's where it should be." The proposed amendments would require firefighters to work for two years to be eligible for the presumptive coverage. Bittrolff says house fires put out 256 known carcinogens, but firefighters respond to industrial fires too. Pratt was the first one in on the Fitzgerald Carpeting fire in 2016 where flooring, paints and solvents burned. "The exposure on that single event alone is concerning," he said. The changes proposed by the bill would cover firefighters, police officers, nurses, paramedics, correctional officers, sheriff's officers, emergency dispatch operators, and continuing-care assistants.
CBC
21-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
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. 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.
CBC
19-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
N.W.T. scrapping consumer carbon tax following federal cancellation
The Northwest Territories is cancelling its consumer carbon tax following last week's federal decision to kill the measure. The N.W.T. is one of three provinces and territories that has its own carbon tax legislation, something finance minister Caroline Wawzonek said would allow the territory more flexibility to adjust how the tax is applied to northerners. That means that federal changes don't automatically change the territory's legislation and the N.W.T. needs to undertake its own process. The change comes into effect April 1 with residents to receive their last quarterly cost of living offset (COLO) payment in April. The government isn't able to repeal the Carbon Tax Act since the legislature isn't in session. Instead it's making changes to set the tax value to zero — effectively ending the tax without formally repealing the act. Carbon pricing has been heavily criticized for punishing Northerners who don't have more ecological alternatives for heating their homes, despite COLO payments that some politicians say has reimbursed residents "significant amounts". How will it impact consumers? Cancelling the tax will mean a drop of about 20 cents per litre at the pump, about 20 cents per litre. If gas prices are $1.629/litre — as they were at one Yellowknife gas station March 18 — without the $0.176 tax, consumers will pay $1.45/litres. In February 2024, the territory announced a carbon tax exemption on diesel for home heating fuel. For those who heat their homes with propane, they'll save about $0.123 per litre without the tax. But changes also means residents will no longer receive rebates. Those payments came four times a year in July, October, January and April with a tiered system that has residents furthest north receiving the highest offset payment. A family of two adults and three children in Paulatuk, for example, had been receiving quarterly deposits of $2,542, which it will no longer receive after the final payment in April. The Government of the Northwest Territories had also expected to earn about $97.5 million in carbon tax revenues. In the 2023/24 fiscal year, the territory collected $68.7 million. It used the revenue to invest in emission-reduction projects with some of that money distributed to communities helping to reduce property tax hikes in Yellowknife. Revenue from the tax has also helped pay for a 3.5-megawatt solar plant at Diavik Diamond Mine through the large emitter grant program. 'Northerners want this off the books' MLAs have voiced concerns and critiques of the tax since it was introduced saying it makes life less affordable for residents, especially those in smaller communities. Yellowknife MLA Kieron Testart went as far as introducing a bill to repeal the carbon tax, which passed second reading and is in a committee review stage. On March 13 he again told the assembly that the N.W.T. should adopt the federal backstop to be ready for Prime Minister Mark Carney's change to scrap the tax. "Northerners want this off the books. They're tired of paying a consumer carbon tax. Canadians are tired of paying a consumer carbon tax. We shouldn't be waiting. We should be moving," he said. The finance minister and department staff declined an interview. But in astatement, the department said the territory doesn't need to adopt federal legislation since its structure allows for immediate changes when the federal system is changed, "as is being demonstrated by the Northwest Territories changes coming into effect on the same date as the federal changes." The changes don't apply to large emitters, like mines, that will continue to pay the tax and receive a 72 per cent rebate. Dale Beugin, executive vice president with the Canadian Climate Institute, has championed that tax on heavy emitters as key to meeting Canada's climate goals. "Those industrial carbon pricing systems across the provinces and territories are the single most important systems in terms of delivering on climate objectives," he said.
CBC
04-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
N.W.T. Speaker rules MLA's critical Facebook post doesn't affect minister's ability to do job
N.W.T. Speaker Shane Thompson ruled Monday that a Facebook post by MLA Kieron Testart alleging backroom deals between cabinet and regular members does not impede Finance Minister Caroline Wawzonek's ability to do her job.
