Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 93(4) and have Committee Report 4-14(6) moved into Committee of the Whole for today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. The honourable Member is seeking unanimous consent to waive Rule 93(4) and advance Committee Report 4-14(6). Are there any nays? There are no nays. Therefore, Committee Report 4-14(6) will be moved into Committee of the Whole for today.

Item 12, reports of standing and special committees. The honourable Member for Yellowknife south, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Standing Committee on Social Programs met from January 13 to January 24, 2003 to review the draft main estimates. The Social Programs envelope includes the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, the Department of Justice, the Department of Health and Social Services and the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation. The committee, in our discussions with the Ministers, raised a number of issues. These discussions resulted in the committee making some specific recommendations. The issues and recommendations will be discussed in detail under the individual departments.

The Standing Committee on Social Programs is very concerned with the capital allocation process. Several large infrastructure projects, which have appeared during this business planning cycle, are causing Members to question the validity of the current methodology in determining how the GNWT's limited funding for capital projects are allocated.

The Social Programs committee relayed these concerns to the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight, who in turn, wrote a letter requesting that the funding for the renovation to the Fort Smith Health Centre, the construction and renovation of student housing for Aurora College and the construction of a new Territorial Women's Correctional Centre be deleted from the infrastructure acquisition plan until such time as their inclusion could be justified to the Standing Committee on Social Programs.

In the response to the letter from the Accountability and Oversight committee the Minister of Finance declined to remove the projects from the infrastructure acquisition plan. The Minister argued that as these projects were for future years, the decision would ultimately rest with the 15th Assembly and that the committee's concerns could be dealt with over the next business planning cycle.

Members of the Standing Committee on Social Programs are very disappointed the government's response ignores the committee's valid concerns. The committee believes that because the infrastructure acquisition plan is included as part of the main estimates, residents of the NWT think the projects and funding for future years have received due diligence from the committee process. This is not the case for future year infrastructure projects.

The danger in allowing these projects to stay in the infrastructure allocation plan is the tendency of the funding numbers to become institutionalized. For example, the government proposes to replace the Territorial Women's' Correctional Centre at a cost of just over $10 million. At this time, even the department agrees with the committee that the functionality and the cost estimates of the proposed facility must be reviewed.

The committee fears leaving the $10 million in the infrastructure allocation plan will mean any planning process will use that number as the end target.

Because of time constraints and other issues surrounding the transition to the next Assembly there may not be sufficient time for the next Standing Committee on Social Programs to fully examine these capital projects. The Standing Committee on Social Programs will therefore be recommending to its successor that the Territorial Women's Correctional Centre, the student housing for the Aurora College Campus and the renovation of the Fort Smith Health Centre be removed from the infrastructure acquisition plan until such time as the respective department's can justify the need for these projects.

Mr. Speaker, that concludes the introductory comments of the Standing Committee on Social Programs on our report of the draft 2003-2004 Main Estimates. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River North, that Committee Report 5-14(6) be received and moved into Committee of the Whole for further consideration.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. We have a motion. The motion is in order. To the motion.

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

---Carried

Therefore, Committee Report 5-14(6) will be received and moved into Committee of the Whole for further consideration. The honourable Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 93(4) and have Committee Report 5-14(6) moved into Committee of the Whole for today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. The honourable Member is seeking unanimous consent to waive Rule 93(4) and advance Committee Report 5-14(6) into Committee of the Whole for today. Are there any nays? There are no nays. Therefore, Committee Report 5-14(6) will be moved into Committee of the Whole for today. Are there any further reports of standing and special committees? If not, we will go to item 20, consideration in Committee of the Whole of bills and other matters: Bill 3, Committee Reports 3-14(6), 4-14(6) and 5-14(6) with Mr. Krutko in the chair.

I would like to call the Committee of the Whole to order. We have Bill 3, Committee Reports 3-14(6), 4-14(6) and 5-14(6). I would like to ask what the wish is of the committee. Mr. Dent.

Mr. Chairman, I would like to recommend the committee consider Bill 3 and Committee Reports 3-14(6), 4-14(6) and 5-14(6) concurrently.

Does the committee agree?

We will take a short break and come back and begin with Bill 3.

---SHORT RECESS

I will call the Committee of the Whole back to order. Before the recess, we agreed to deal with Bill 3, Appropriation Act, 2003-2004. Any general comments with regard to Bill 3? General comments? What is the wish of the committee?

Detail. Does the committee agree?

We are dealing with the Department of Health and Social Services, page 6-2. I would like to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services if he has any opening remarks.

Yes, I do, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Today, I am pleased to present the 2003-2004 Main Estimates for the Department of Health and Social Services. These main estimates total $226.182 million and represent an approximate 13 percent increase in O and M expenditures compared to last year's main estimates. Of this amount, 73 percent or $163 million is provided to the seven health and social services authorities and a further $19 million is paid to out-of-territories health care providers.

Mr. Chairman, during the meetings with standing committee and in the Legislature last fall, we spoke about the human resource and financial pressures on our health and social services system. All Members of this Legislature talked about the importance of having a stable system that can provide services when they are needed.

I am pleased to say that considerable progress has been made in the last few months to address these pressures. Since the last session, I have released two human resource plans: a retention and recruitment plan for allied professionals, nurses and social workers; and, an interim health profession plan for physicians, midwives and the nursing profession. Together, these inject $9 million in new, ongoing funding to our system. These plans:

• • Begin to alleviate workload issues in the nursing and physician professions by introducing 42 new positions;
• • Facilitate the development of two new professions, nurse practitioners and midwives, in the NWT system;
• • Focus work on identifying appropriate types and numbers of professionals required to effectively provide services in various NWT settings;
• • Enhance professional development opportunities for our health and social workers;
• • Streamline hiring processes for hard-to-recruit positions;
• • Examine issues of compensation in the nursing and allied health care professions; and
• • Improve the level of educational support for students in the health and social fields.

In addition to these developments, Mr. Chairman, the NWT Medical Association has indicated its support for a new contract for general practitioners.

Mr. Chairman, together, these human resource developments represent significant moves to stabilize and strengthen our workforce. I should note that such change would be next to impossible to develop over the same time frame in another province. But this is precisely the kind of opportunity for change that I spoke about to the Legislative Assembly a mere five months ago. We are small enough to identify innovative solutions to issues and quickly act on them. I believe, Mr. Chairman, these investments will create a work environment that will retain our current professionals and attract others.

The Romanow report presents strong arguments for an increase in federal funding in the health sector. The report has created an opportunity for the Government of the Northwest Territories to pursue discussions with the federal government on funding that will meet our unique health needs and service delivery challenges.

As Members know, these discussions are still underway so there is no guarantee of what funding might come to the NWT. However, we remain optimistic that the federal government will recognize the service delivery challenges and funding needs of Canada's territories. I will work with our Premier and my colleagues to maintain the national recognition of northern health care issues we have achieved in the last two weeks in order to successfully conclude a funding arrangement with the federal government.

We must continue to do the work necessary to demonstrate what resources our system truly needs to provide high quality health and social services throughout the territories. This includes completing two tasks in the HSS system action plan, developing an integrated service delivery model for the NWT and completing a comprehensive human resource plan for the system. These two initiatives, slated for completion in the next six months, will help us define more precisely our resource requirements for a made-in-the-NWT health care system that matches need with service.

Mr. Chairman, these main estimates also include new funding for the government's response to the Social Agenda. This complements the funding being spent across the government to improve the health care of our residents.

Of course, Members are well aware of the work related to the Health and Social Services System Action Plan. Over the next few months, we expect to complete half of the 45 action plan commitments. This includes:

• • Distributing a self-care handbook and core services information to all NWT households;
• • Establishing a common approach to sharing expertise and specialized services within the system through collaborative service networks;
• • Implementing a standardized orientation for staff and board trustees;
• • Developing a common performance measurement and reporting system; and, developing a five-year plan that addresses health and social impacts relating to economic development.

Each of these accomplishments adds to the capacity of our system to provide high quality care, where and when it is needed.

Mr. Chairman, these activities are only highlights of some of the work being done by the department and authorities. The review of our main estimates provides an opportunity to discuss more of our work. I look forward to discussing our activities and answering the committee's questions. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. At this time, I would like to ask the committee responsible for reviewing the department under consideration if they have any comments. Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. At this time I'd like to ask the Minister if he will be bringing in any witnesses.

Yes, Mr. Chairman.