Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In last year's report, the committee expressed a great deal of concern about the then separate departments of Health and Social Services. Committee Members felt that the departments were not responding to the recommendations of this and other committees and, indeed, were not responding well to the needs of northerners. The diligent efforts of the dedicated front-line workers, such as nurses, social workers, alcohol and drug counsellors, and so on, will not be as effective as they could be without a strong, well-organized department structure backing them up.
The standing committee believes that the amalgamation of the departments -- as had been recommended by the Special Committee on Health and Social Services -- may provide the foundation to that well organized structure. Now that the new department has a strategic plan to guide decision-making, and now that they are also now responding to relevant recommendations -- including those made by this committee regarding early intervention and a school-based youth services model -- committee Members expect the senior managers of the department to improve in their planning and in relations with departmental employees. The emphasis on the "envelope" model appears to have helped, as well. This government has, with this budget, demonstrated a stronger commitment to improving social services to northerners.
There are still some concerns that the new department must address. Chief among them is the implementation of the amalgamation at the regional and community level. As discussed earlier, bringing staff from different departments together is a challenging exercise. Committee Members were concerned to learn that there is no clear strategy for implementation at the regional level. The committee encourages the department to take advantage of the resources
available in the regions and communities to make the merger go as smoothly as possible.
Health And Hospital Boards
With the new departmental structure comes hope of a new and improved relationship between the department and the health and hospital boards. It appears that a memorandum of understanding -- MOU -- will finally be signed this year, allowing the boards and the department to more clearly understand what their respective responsibilities are.
As well, the committee was encouraged to hear that the department is developing a formula for funding the health and hospital boards. This step is long overdue. It is important that the boards manage the resources available to them wisely and efficiently, and the current funding methods obviously do not encourage that. A funding formula will provide the framework necessary for the boards to start managing their resources more carefully, especially in a fiscal climate of growing cutbacks.
Finally, the standing committee is frustrated that progress on establishing health boards in the Dogrib and Deh Cho regions has been so slow. The department has a responsibility to ensure that all regions of the NWT are serviced by local health boards responsive to their needs. Further delay in this area is unacceptable, and the committee urges the department to make this a top priority for the 1995-96 fiscal year.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to turn this over to my colleague, Mr. Zoe.