Thank you, Madam Speaker. Good morning. Madam Speaker, I have a return to an oral questions asked of the Premier by Mr. Dent on October 19, 1994. It deals with family violence workers' wages and benefits.
Madam Speaker, the Department of Health and Social Services currently provides contributions to a wide range of community groups to provide health and social services to members of the public. These include alcohol and drug treatment centres, alcohol and drug counselling projects, violence shelters and personal care facilities. In addition, contributions are provided to other community groups which provide less direct services to clients. In total, Madam Speaker, over 305 residents are employed using the funding provided under these contribution agreements. Unfortunately, there has not been enough money to pay these workers at the same level as government employees.
In the past, the department has funded these organizations from a variety of discreet program areas. As a result, the workers provide the services in only one program area and often in isolation of their counterparts who work in other disciplines.
The departments of Health and Social Services were combined to achieve some economies and, as we work our way through the restructuring of the organization, the savings will be quite obvious. The same process needs to occur in the integration of contributions to community groups.
One of the critical projects that is currently under way is the development of a community wellness strategy. This strategy aims at finding innovative ways to help residents deal with a variety of personal issues such as child sexual abuse, spousal abuse and neglect. One of the outcomes of this strategic initiative will be greater involvement by community groups in the determination of how government money will be spent to promote healing and recovery. Ideally, Madam Speaker, communities will explore the mandates of many of the groups currently providing services through government funding with a view towards amalgamation at the community level in an attempt to provide services in a more integrated and more effective manner.
It may be necessary at that point, depending on the priorities set by individual communities, to divert money from some of the programs that have been operating unchanged for many years in an attempt to find more effective ways of healing. At the same time, it may be possible to deal with wage inequities for groups such as family violence workers.
This strategy should be complete for tabling at the winter session of this Assembly. By 1995-96, communities will be empowered to examine all of the relevant resources provided by government to their communities and to set priorities that will address their own unique needs. At that point, Madam Speaker, I am confident that a greater emphasis will be placed on community mental health and combating family violence. Thank you, Madam Speaker.