The Dene Nation said on Wednesday it had “grave concerns” over the NWT government’s decision to replace a healthcare leadership council with a single administrator.
Administrator Dan Florizone, formerly a health boss in Saskatchewan and Nunavut, will take over next week from an eight-person board that previously oversaw the running of the NWT’s health authority.
The leadership council issued a statement on Tuesday saying it was being dissolved without consultation, though one of its members told Cabin Radio they supported the move. Regular MLAs have been split on whether health minister Lesa Semmler’s decision to appoint an administrator is the right move.
Dene National Chief George Mackenzie said in a Wednesday statement he had “significant concerns regarding governance, accountability, and the overall effectiveness of health services.”
“Dene, Inuit and Métis leadership must be included in all decisions that affect health and social services administered to our people. We are in a crisis state regarding medical travel, child and family services and the recruitment and retention of healthcare providers.”
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One former senior NWT healthcare leader, requesting anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter, said the leadership council could take too long to respond when things were changing rapidly or required urgent decision-making.
However, the former leader stressed that a public administrator should be a temporary shift and not a permanent one.
The Dene Nation, in its press release, said concentrating power in one administrator “can lead to a lack of diverse perspectives in decision-making” and mean less oversight of the system as a whole, “potentially leading to decisions that prioritize political agendas over public health needs.”
Some Dene communities, such as those under the auspices of the Tłı̨chǫ Community Services Agency, have healthcare that is not governed by the NWT health authority.
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More broadly, Mackenzie said it was “time for Dene to determine our own ways of caring for our people as the GNWT has shown its lack of care, consideration and respect for our people.”
Speaking with Hilary Bird on CBC North’s Trailbreaker on Wednesday morning, Semmler said the leadership council – which met quarterly to provide direction to health authority managers – had “done exceptionally well” but a change was needed.
“The decision was made to be able to support the NTHSSA better, to have somebody dedicated full-time with the expertise that is going to help to give the support to them,” Semmler told the broadcaster, “to get us on the track that we need to get so we can have the sustainable healthcare that the residents of the Northwest Territories are crying out [for].”
Semmler said the leadership council involved people who were not in a dedicated full-time oversight role, which Florizone would offer as an administrator.
Florizone “has worked with transforming some of the health systems” in Saskatchewan, Semmler said. “He understands the northern concept, he understands the needs of small communities. And when I’ve had conversations with him, this is a priority … we need to be looking at it strategically, how we support the entire Northwest Territories on equitable services for all residents.”
Semmler said the GNWT would use its meetings with the Council of Leaders – a broad group of Indigenous governments – and a dedicated healthcare working group to ensure the voices of Indigenous residents are heard.
