Thank you, Mr. Speaker. FASD is a lifelong disability. Early diagnosis, supportive environments and a range of special supports and services are necessary to assist individuals and their families in their journey toward self-reliance and well-being.
Today and tomorrow, the Department of Health and Social Services is hosting an NWT Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Conference in Yellowknife.
The theme for the conference is, Diagnosis: Creating a Path for a Healthy Future. Leading national specialists in the field of FASD, as well as northern FASD experts, will be giving presentations related to FASD diagnosis. The conference has over 75 participants, with representatives from every region in the NWT. The participants include a wide range of health and social services professionals including, among others, social workers, nurses, physicians, NGOs, counsellors, early childhood consultants, school principals and community justice workers.
The conference will focus on sharing information about the Canadian FASD diagnostic guidelines. We want to increase awareness of these guidelines and the necessity for diagnostic and community teams to address the needs of children and their families.
Through a number of break-out working sessions during the conference, participants will be able to provide input to determine what we need to do to utilize the guidelines, what the challenges will be, and how we will apply these guidelines in smaller community settings.
This conference will analyze different program models from across Canada. Participants will examine all levels of services from public health nurses to early learning, and from childcare consultants to NGO support providers. At the end of the conference, direction will be provided for the development of FASD teams and a communication mechanism to keep people informed.
As a member of the Canada Northwest Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Partnership, I recently met with the Ministers from Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Nunavut and Yukon in Calgary. The partnership is an alliance of seven jurisdictions working toward the development and promotion of an inter-provincial/territorial approach to prevention, intervention, care and support of individuals affected by FASD. At the meeting in Calgary, we discussed the progress and development of the Canada Northwest FASD Research Network and the need for more collaboration between the federal government and the partnership jurisdictions.
This weekend, the Canada Northwest FASD Research Network is conducting a research forum in Yellowknife, initiating a research network to promote the development of evidence-based practices in supporting adolescents and adults with FASD. This is the final of three forums that the network has been conducting this fall; the previous two took place in Winnipeg and Calgary in September. Approximately 35 participants will engage in
the discussions related to FASD research with representatives from each of the seven jurisdictions of the partnership, including physicians, psychologists, researchers and those who work in the areas of social services, justice, FASD and mental health.
Mr. Speaker, solutions lie in the networks of community supports available to at-risk women and their families, and we believe that every community can make the commitment to the next generation of children so that every baby in the NWT has the potential to enjoy a healthy life. We are committed to preventing FASD in our territory. It is an important task and, with conferences such as this, we are working together to achieve this goal. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
---Applause