Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, when we started this process back in January, there was a recognition that there were some clear structural system problems that had to be fixed in order to improve our ability to provide services to individuals. We have, as was widely recognized, high turnover. We had retention-recruitment issues. We had organizational relationship problems where the boards, the authorities, and the department were not working as cooperatively together as they could be or should be. We had significant...what is the term I like to use...we had significant systems problems in terms of how we did human resource management, how we did our staffing. We have a high turnover rate, not only in nurses and doctors, but in staff across the board. We were not very effective. There was significant confusion over the type of model that was being used for trustees when they sat on boards. I speak specifically of the confusion over Carber, not Carver, and how things were to be run.

When I came on board, we dealt with issues of significant deficits because we have financial systems that were not clearly compatible. Simple things like common chart of accounts, so we had to make sure that we had the trustees on line in support of the process. We have to acknowledge that they turnover regularly. We have to provide a system to provide them training.

We have come up with ways to integrate our services, or our management functions with the joint senior management committee, that brings senior managers from the authorities and the department together to start doing some of the systems-wide planning.

We are coordinating better our recruitment and retention issues. In addition to this, there are a whole bunch of other just systems issues in terms of financial systems that are not all the same. Not all people, not all authorities are on the same human resource system.

We are trying to put some of these systems in place, fixes in place at the same time as we put money in towards long-term care, addictions, and all other funding for foster care and all the other program costs. We have to start fixing the system as well. That is what some of these dollars are focused towards doing. Thank you.

Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think the Minister has demonstrated a great deal of familiarity with the many layers of the system. I have to give him credit that he is being diligent and is, I think, taking a strong and a hands-on approach to it.

It is still a lot of money to be putting into fixing something that has been in place for a while, that we are spending a lot of money on already. Is the money asked for a here a one-time, one-shot allocation, Mr. Chairman, or are we seeing an increase in the base funding that we are going to have to continue to put into our bureaucracy? Thank you.

Mr. Handley.

Mr. Chairman, I will refer that to the Minister of Health.

Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, our budget in Health and Social Services has been growing about 9 percent a year. It has grown 21 percent since division, almost $34 or $35 million. The cost of health and social services is not diminishing, as you can see by this supplementary appropriation. We are trying to keep our system costs, once we get things fixed, down. We want to focus as much money as possible at the program level, which is why we are trying to move towards an integrated service delivery model at the community level.

But very clearly, Mr. Braden has been here now, like I have, for this whole term, and you have seen the growth, just since 1999. There is a significant ongoing growth in health and social services, and this is not unique to the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. One more piece of detail. There is a line in the allocation here detailed as communications plan for the action plan. There is $100,000 identified there. Is this actually going to see a new generation of communication launched? Are we going to see brochures or videos or workshops or this kind of thing coming out of this $100,000, or is this just more money going into yet another strategy on how to communicate? Is it really going to deliver? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Miltenberger.

Mr. Chairman, these are funds that are going to be expended for updating this Assembly, the communities and the people on the work that has been done with the action plan. In fact, I have, in my files here, a draft update that is just about ready to be finalized -- hopefully it will be sent out before the end of session -- that will be done as economically as possible across the Northwest Territories. We would like to be able to do this on a regular basis, because there are so many fundamental issues being addressed in the action plan. One of the commitments was to be accountable, so it will show the dates we have missed, the dates we have hit, and how we are proceeding on accomplishing meeting the goals of those 45 action items.

Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Similar concerns as to what was just raised in regard to the amount of expenditures here. When you look at just the amount that is going directly to services for people, it is interesting that we would be spending so much in the support of, and when you look at it in the headquarter section, ministry and corporate services, that to me would be deemed, those actions directly being conducted out of the headquarters section, and then again in the other section, program delivery and support. Maybe there is the area I can sort of understand that a bit. Maybe the Minister can elaborate on what actually is going to happen in the Ministry and corporate services section that would improve system-wide management. Thank you.

Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the two big fundamental shifts have been with the setting up of the Joint Leadership Council and the structuring of the senior management and the joint senior management committee that brings together the CEOs and the deputy ministers, ADMs and directors of the department to meet on a regular basis to start to do some of the systems planning that was not done.

As awkward as it could have been in the past, those are the two major shifts that I would say there is a cost towards being able to do that, to provide that kind of coordination. Thank you.

Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, then is that, for example, system-wide improvement management, $195,000 a portion of that $611,000? Is that travel costs? Because right now CEOs, deputy ministers are already fully paid. There should not be, I do not see any other management. They have all the paper in the offices, they have fax machines, computers, so is this strictly increased travel? Thank you.

The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, travel is one of the costs. We have also set up a working group on a host of issues that have to be dealt with, funding models, service delivery models, core service issues. It is bringing other services, resources to the table that may be needed to help these working groups. So there is a range of activities involved with this.

Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am starting to get a little nervous here. This sounds like maybe consulting fees, something of that nature. More studies. I hear an echo of "no more studies" ringing through the walls of this Assembly. Is that the case here, potentially consultant fees, study fees, things like that? Thank you.

The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, we are using a minimum of consultants and we are not doing studies, we are trying to come up with how we are going to implement the action items. For example, the documents on the table now in terms of the integrated service delivery model that speak to addictions and mental health, family violence, continuing care issues, the recruitment and retention work that was done, bringing people together to do that, trying to coordinate and pile on that extra work, there is a cost to that.

There have been some consultants used. They tend to be from within the North, from south of the lake, north of the lake, to help on the various projects, service delivery model, integrated service delivery models, but it has been a bare minimum and it is to get work done that is now on the table before the Social Programs Committee. Thank you.

Mr. Roland.