Thank you. Mr. Chairman.

Health and Social Services board issues. Committee Members wish to encourage the department in cooperating with the regional health and social services boards to develop a formula-financing agreement that meets the needs of boards in delivering services to northerners. Committee Members were pleased by the department's efforts to improve the quality and quantity of support to the regional boards. It was felt that an improved support structure at the headquarters level would result in less interference by the department in board affairs at a later date. A central contact point for the boards should make it easier for them to get quick answers to crucial questions.

It was also felt by committee Members that the boards and the department have to do a better job in communicating to people and families that they have to take responsibility and ownership in meeting their own health issues. Northerners have to be educated as to the long term health consequences for engaging in high-risk behaviors. Committee Members encourage the department to develop preventive strategies that would lessen the impact of high-risk behaviors on the social programs envelope.

Mr. Chairman, under Human Resources. The department's Human Resource Strategy focuses on how the department will deal with the health care personnel shortage in the smaller communities. The hiring of a retention and recruitment specialist and the development of nursing programs in northern colleges are a good start in dealing with the health care personnel shortage. Committee Members were disappointed in the lack of detail on affirmative action. The business plan process is one of the few opportunities that the committees have to gauge the success of the department's efforts in meeting the government's overall goal of building a representative workforce. The committee appreciated being provided with a further breakdown on affirmative action by employee task or occupation.

Committee Members realized that these are trying times for all departments and appreciated the candor the Minister and the deputy minister showed during the business plan review in admitting that not all positions in the department had a job description. The committee was pleased to note that the job descriptions were completed by March 31,1999.

Repatriation of northerners from southern institutions and facilities. The committee encourages the department to repatriate northerners presently institutionalized in southern medical care facilities to ones in the north wherever possible. It is felt that it might be possible to realize savings to the government through reduced payments to other jurisdictions and provide an environment for patients that encourages greater contact with their families and communities.

Children in care. Committee Members were concerned that with the exposure of systemic abuse within the residential school system, similar conditions may have existed for past permanent wards under the Child Welfare Act. Committee Members feel that given the similarities between group homes and residential schools, it is only a matter of time before cases are made public. The department should develop a contingency plan to deal with this in co-operation with other departments in the social envelope.

Probation services. The decision by the Department of Justice to develop a stand-alone probation service should bode well for social services workers in the Northwest Territories. Combined with the income support worker administering income support, this should allow the social worker to make more home visits and spend more time on individual files. Committee Members believe that this will result in better service to the clientele and more made in the community solutions by the social worker. In addition, social workers should be able to supervise more special needs cases in their home communities, without having to refer the clients to outside resources or southern facilities.

Mr. Chairman, that concludes the report of the standing committee.