Monfwi MLA says current N.W.T. medical travel policy 'failing' residents

Jane Weyallon Armstrong already has a job for the next territorial government: fix the medical travel policy.

In the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday, the Monfwi MLA said two of her constituents were only diagnosed with severe illnesses after their families took it upon themselves to go to Alberta for medical services.

One of them never made it back home and died in Edmonton.

Weyallon Armstrong said the families decided to go to Alberta on their own after their concerns were "not taken seriously" in Yellowknife.

"The existing medical travel policy has failed the people of my region and other N.W.T. small communities," she told her fellow MLAs.

"Both of my constituents, even after receiving a critical diagnosis and being hospitalized,were refused any type of support from GNWT medical travel."

Julie Green, minister of health and social services, said residents need to be referred to Alberta for medical travel to kick in.

CBC has previously reported that travel also needs to originate in the N.W.T. for residents to be eligible for medical travel.

Weyallon Armstrong wants that policy reviewed to be more flexible.

"Fundamentally, there should be no barriers to access health care for the residents of the N.W.T.," she said.

Green said there have been multiple reviews of "different aspects" of the policy during her time as minister and declined to do another as the life of this government comes to a close.

"At this point, our primary focus is negotiating with Canada to sign a new [non-insured health benefits] agreement, which includes the compensation for medical travel, to include a wider range of escorts," she said.

Weyallon Armstrong said the work to improve the medical travel policy needs to be taken on early by the next assembly.