Agreed.

---Agreed

Thank you. On behalf of the committee of the whole...Mr. Gargan.

I have just one question, and that is with regard to payroll tax. Is this an area in which we could address that?

Madam Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. No, we have nothing to do with the payroll tax.

Thank you. I believe that was the Department of Finance. Program summary, total O and M, $4.464 million. Agreed?

Agreed.

---Agreed

Thank you. So are we agreed that the Department of Personnel 1994-95 main estimates is concluded?

Agreed.

---Agreed

Thank you. On behalf of the committee, I would like to thank the Minister and her witnesses for appearing before the committee. Thank you.

The next on the list is the Department of Social Services. I believe Ms. Mike wears that hat. Do you have any opening remarks on behalf of your department, Social Services?

Agreed.

---Agreed

Agreed. Proceed. Do we agree?

Agreed.

---Agreed

Agreement. Ms. Mike.

Department Of Social Services

Introductory Remarks

Qujannamiik, Mr. Chairman. I have opening remarks on the 1994-95 budget of the Department of Social Services. The proposed budget does not contain any enhancements or changes in direct response to the report of the Special Committee on Health and Social Services as the report was received after the 1994-95 budgets were finalized.

However, I was very impressed with the work of the committee. With regard to the family law review, I circulated a discussion paper earlier in this session, and plans call for new legislation in the winter session of 1995.

However, as announced earlier in this session, I have taken steps to provide a wage increase to the staff of alcohol and drug treatment centres. These increased salaries and settlement allowances should bring a measure of stability to the centres. Mr. Chairman, when the Baffin regional treatment centre is added to the other three centres in the territories, we will have enough treatment beds that there should be no need to refer residents to the south for treatment.

As you know, a new deputy minister has been appointed. His first task was to reorganize the department to promote efficiency and effectiveness.

As a result, the department eliminated one assistant deputy minister position and reduced the number of directors from five to four.

Four of the five members of the assessment and treatment team in Yellowknife were decentralized to regional offices to develop strong community mental health teams in each location.

In addition, to deal with the need for enhanced staff training and career development opportunities for Social Services staff, I have established five new staff training positions in regional offices.

I am pleased with the progress made in 1993-94, and I would like to highlight some of the achievements during the year.

The department employs among the highest proportion of aboriginal people in the government, with approximately 88 or 42.7 per cent of the total departmental work-force. In addition, a high proportion of the 305 community-based projects' employees funded by the department through our $18 million contribution fund are also aboriginal.

An adolescent solvent abuse pilot program is under way in cooperation with the federal government and Northern Addiction Services in Dettah, with clients from the NWT, the Yukon and northern Quebec.

Thirty additional treatment beds were added through the opening of a new alcohol and drug treatment centre on the Hay River Reserve. The Iqaluit centre will come on stream early in the next fiscal year, adding a further 18 beds. The three treatment centres currently in operation employ a total of 49 staff.

Fourteen additional beds were added for elders and handicapped through the opening of new personal care facilities in Iqaluit and Deline. The personal care facilities employ a total of 86 residents.

Seven additional beds will be added for children with the opening of the Baker Lake group home in March of 1994.

Forty-two community alcohol and drug projects employed a total of 99 employees.

Nine family violence shelters were funded during the year, providing jobs for 39 residents.

Nine group homes provided a further 32 jobs.

The budget of $79.956 million for 1994-95 has increased by three per cent from the 1993-94 level of $77.453 million. The budget also includes a total of 204 person years and projected revenues of $27.771 million. The major changes to the department's budget for 1994-95 are:

-cost increases of $421,000 for various multi-year contracts for care of children and the aged and handicapped adults;

-operating costs of $355,000 for a new child welfare group home in Baker Lake;

-operating costs of $862,000 for a new alcohol treatment centre in Iqaluit;

-operating costs of $195,000 for two new group homes for disabled adults in Rankin Inlet and Inuvik;

-an increase of $1.6 million to cover greater demand for social assistance;

-$1.6 million for improved food allowances;

-$291,000 for operation of the social assistance information system;

-savings of $500,000 from the recovery of social assistance overpayments; and,

-$33,000 to participate in the environmental assessment of the Great Whale hydro project.

Mr. Chairman, I took the recommendation of the Standing Committee on Finance related to the department's 1993-94 budget very seriously.

As a result, my priority for the coming year as the Minister of Social Services is to develop a comprehensive strategic plan which will build on the recommendations of the Special Committee on Health and Social Services and the family law review.

There are a tremendous number of priorities these days, and it will be crucial for the department to have a comprehensive plan to address them. The long-term strategy for Social Services will be complete by September 1994 and will include: -A capital planning framework to assist communities and the department to deal with requests from a wide variety of facilities;

-A framework for the community transfer of social programs, where it is requested;

-A response to the family law review, as it applies to the Department of Social Services;

-Income security restructuring to provide support to employable social assistance recipients and to provide secure income for those who cannot be self-reliant;

-An alcohol and drug and community mental health strategy;

-A comprehensive human resource plan, including strategies for increasing the representation of aboriginal people at management levels in the department; and,

-An evaluation strategy.

Mr. Chairman, I am confident that our plan will allow us to provide better levels of service to clients and allow for more rational use of resources. That concludes my opening comments.

Thank you, Madam Minister. Do we have a report from the Standing Committee on Finance? Mr. Antoine.

Standing Committee On Finance Comments

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Although committee Members noted some improvement in this department's budget presentation to the committee, serious concerns remain. Committee Members feel that the department's budget does not respond adequately to the needs of its clients. The department is, so far, apart from increases to treatment centre employees, unresponsive to direction from the Assembly and its committees. Furthermore, the committee believes that the department's management philosophy is characterized by reacting to circumstances, rather than providing leadership.

The committee has doubts about the ability of the department to take the lead in comprehensive new initiatives such as income security reform. We feel strongly that the Minister must assume responsibility for determining and priorizing the main initiatives of the department, and for developing a budget and a strategy which will allow those initiatives to be met.

Departmental Budgeting

A specific example of the committee's concerns was raised by the budget presented for the 1994-95 year by the Minister. The committee feels it is obvious that a department's budget should reflect the department's best estimate of funds that will be expended in the coming fiscal year. However, committee Members noted various examples throughout the budget where estimates for 1994-95 bear no obvious relation to actual figures for previous fiscal years.

In fact, the Minister informed the committee that they had provided increases of nearly $3 million, half for inflation and half for increased volume. However, the committee notes that this increase of $3 million didn't even bring the total up to what this year's actual figures will be. The department is not keeping up with demand and inflation. We do not understand how those assigned to deliver the programs of the department can adequately provide those services if the amounts budgeted continue to be unrealistic and unrelated to demand.

The committee appreciates that the department has a new deputy minister, and that the FMB is encouraging the department to provide better budgeting information. However, we would like to emphasize that we consider this a critical issue, particularly in view of the department's critical role in the future well-being of the citizens of the NWT, and it must be dealt with very quickly.

Recommendation 32

The committee recommends that the Financial Management Board Secretariat and the Department of Social Services develop a plan to improve the department's budgeting process, and respond to the committee with that plan by August 1, 1994.

Zero Tolerance For Violence

Committee Members noted that there has been no increase to grants and contributions in family violence prevention services, child sexual abuse programs and family counselling. These are areas where we expected to see funding increased in order to support the zero tolerance for violence position adopted in this Assembly. This should be a major priority of this government. These programs require funding support. If these programs are not tackled now, we are going to have extreme social problems in our communities in the next generation.

Family violence affects not only the victim, but also the offender and the families of each party. The impact is felt by the community as well. In addition to providing funds for community groups to address the problem of family violence, we need to provide appropriate training so that people can deal with these problems at the community level. The Department of Social Services must identify the training needs and ensure that an appropriate curriculum is developed to respond. Members expressed some concern that the current program at Arctic College may be more focused on processing and administration than on teaching people how to deal with human problems.

Committee Members feel that the government, in consultation with social agencies and special interest groups, must develop a range of options to address these major social problems. Different solutions are required for different situations. The old solutions are not working. We have to devise new and innovative community-based approaches.

Recommendation 33

The committee recommends that the Department of Social Services work with the Department of Justice to develop and implement an action plan which supports the declaration against family violence. The committee further recommends that the Department of Social Services, in consultation with social agencies and special interest groups, develop a range of program options and training plans for family violence prevention services, child sexual abuse programs and family counselling. A preliminary report on the overall status of this initiative should be made available to the committee at least one week prior to its review of the 1995-96 capital budget.

Income Security Reform

As discussed under the Executive, the committee is impressed with the proposed income security reform package. However, we are concerned that the Department of Social Services may have difficulty playing the lead role in this initiative. In order for the income security reform programs to be at all effective, the leadership of the department must improve.

On the other hand, committee Members do not want to see the department wait for income security reform to happen before addressing other important issues. Income security reform should not be seen as a cure-all for the many social problems facing northerners today. Rather, the department must address the important issues now, as best it can, while it attempts to change and improve.

Partners In Youth

The partners in youth project being piloted in Edmonton was discussed under Education. We strongly recommend that the Department of Social Services participate with the departments of Education and Justice in implementing such a proposal in selected northern schools on a pilot basis. So many of the social problems in the north affect school age children; either directly, or indirectly through their situations at home. If these children have a single, central place they can go for help, their school, they are much more likely to ask for and receive the help they and their families might need.

Mr. Chairman, I have a motion. I move that the committee recommends that the Financial Management Board Secretariat and the Department of Social Services develop a plan to improve the department's budgeting process, and respond to the committee with that plan by August 1, 1994. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Antoine. The motion is in order. To the motion.

Question.

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Motion is carried.

---Carried

Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Antoine. The motion is in order. To the motion.

Question.