Three MLAs are joining forces to demand "immediate action" from the GNWT on what they're describing as a health care "crisis."

A list of 13 demands was released on Thursday by the trio along with the threat of a confidence motion against Health and Social Services Minister Lesa Semmler if they don't see "urgent steps" taken.

"Since the election, we have been raising the alarm on the healthcare crisis, and the only action the Minister has taken is to fire the Indigenous-led oversight board," stated Tu Nedh茅-Wiilideh MLA Richard Edjericon. "That decision did not sit well with Dene people, and it certainly hasn鈥檛 improved healthcare in small communities. It鈥檚 time for this Minister to stop passing the buck. She must take her responsibilities seriously and hold her department鈥檚 leadership accountable."

In their joint release, the three cite an April 25 presentation titled Crisis in Care by the Northwest Territories Medical Association (NWTMA) to the legislative assembly's Standing Committee on Social Development. The presentation cautioned that the NWT currently has a 49 per cent vacancy rate for family doctors and a 42 per cent vacancy rate for specialists.

The NWTMA also reported that 63 per cent of active physicians in the NWT are seriously considering leaving.

On top of that, in 2023, only 59 per cent of people 18 years or older said they had access to a regular healthcare provider, according to the NWTMA. The national average is 84 per cent.

"We are in a state of healthcare emergency," said Yellowknife Centre MLA Robert Hawkins. "This crisis has been steadily worsening since the Covid-19 pandemic and quite frankly, there鈥檚 zero excuse for the inaction we鈥檙e seeing from the people in charge.

"The Premier鈥檚 plan to find efficiencies and cut uninsured services is not going to solve this crisis. The answer is simple: pay our hardworking doctors and nurses competitive wages while implementing their recommendations to improve front-line care."

The release also criticizes the dissolution of Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority (NTHSSA) Leadership Council in favour of Robert Florizone, a public administrator, whom they say has not engaged with stakeholders and has yet to present a plan in spite of being on the job since December 2024.

Instead, the three MLAs are calling for a end to the top-down model currently in place in favour of a operational model, which they believe will allow front-line workers more input into the overall health care service.

NTHSSA has been rocked by several high profile closures and near-closures in the past two years. More recently, there's been the situation at the emergency room at Stanton Territorial Hospital this month, where it was announced that there would be a lack of ER doctors available. The Hay River Regional Health Centre started the month without an on-site doctor, but two locums are apparently on the job now. 

Obstetric services were also been suspended at Stanton and Inuvik Regional Hospital at various intervals over the past year, forcing the relocation of expecting mothers. Inuvik has been without a dentist for an entire year.

"Doctors, nurses, and healthcare workers have given us their diagnosis: our healthcare system is flat-lining with no cure in sight,鈥� said Range Lake MLA Kieron Testart. "We've been at this for a year, and 黑料吃瓜网ers can't wait any longer for real change that improves their access to the healthcare they need. Front-line healthcare workers now feel as though they are mere cogs in a machine. Administrative engagement with their feedback has become a box-ticking exercise rather than a genuine process of consultation and collaboration.

"If the Minister of Health and Social Services is unwilling to make these changes, then we are willing to change the Minister."

Semmler where she acknowledged the concerns raised by the NWTMA as well as planned initiatives to try and bump up and retain the amount of doctors in the NWT. They included a long-term locum incentive pilot to reward 75 or more service days per year; increased daily locum rates with a focus on hard-to-recruit positions; a new standard travel stipend for fairness and consistency and; night shift premiums for Stanton emergency room doctors to improve short-notice coverage.

Semmler also stated that a new physician-led staffing model at Stanton would be in place starting this July as well as support for those in leadership roles through what she called "enhanced physician services funding."

The 13 demands made by the MLAs include:

• Establishing a ministerial working group composed of cabinet and regular members to oversee primary care reform and health system sustainability;
• Moving to interest-based negotiations with the NWTMA before fall 2025;
• Publicly releasing the details of the new locum contract for emergency department doctors;
• Improving flexibility in locum contracts to support physician retention and recruitment;
• Phasing out agency nurses by 2026;
• Strengthening collective bargaining practices for healthcare workers to ensure front-line voices are meaningfully heard in negotiation;.
• Enhancing financial incentives for shift work for all healthcare workers;
• Implementing minimum staff-to-patient ratios at all NWT hospitals;
• Supporting practitioner-led innovation to drive continuous improvement on the front lines;
• Negotiating physician licence-sharing between Nunavut and Alberta to eliminate red tape and speed physician entry into the NWT healthcare system;
• Prioritizing pan-national physician licensing in the GNWT鈥檚 federal engagement strategy;
• Fast-tracking policies on emerging medical technologies such as AI, e-consults, and virtual care (e.g., robotic ultrasonography) and;
• Expanding the role of auxiliary care in hospitals and community health centres to integrate advanced care paramedics into emergency medicine.