Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this being the last day of the session before August, I would like to take a moment to highlight the activities of the Range Lake North School and Range Lake constituency.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the Grade 6 boys and girls soccer teams who took both banners in the recent Super Soccer tournament. I would also like to take a moment to recognize the work of Range Lake North School Parents Advisory Group who has completed another successful family fun night a few weeks ago. This is a one night event where they raise over $10,000. They have done this every year for the last 12 years. I am proud to say that I have been a part of eight of them. The money raised stays in school for the benefit of students and parents. That kind of fundraising doesn't come without a lot of time spent organizing and preparing by the Parents Advisory Group, the parents, teachers, students and the larger community of Range Lake as a whole. I want to take this opportunity to express my thanks.

Mr. Speaker, the Range Lake North School Parents Advisory Group has also been very active and vocal about the latest Yellowknife school space issue. I have had countless conversations with them. I have listened to them and discussed ideas. I value their opinions, commitment and thoughtfulness on this issue. I want to thank them for their hard work.

Mr. Speaker, as we leave today, our work doesn't stop here. We will be doing intense travelling, doing public hearings on many bills before us. Our work will continue in our offices and communities. I look forward to being in my community with my constituents and spending every opportunity with them. I would like to wish everyone safe travels. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am going to speak today about the future of our government's operations. I have spoken previously in this House about the GNWT's lack of a comprehensive human resource plan or strategy. I believe strongly that, as a government, we need to address the growth and direction of our public service. For the past four years, I have witnessed a steady stream of knee-jerk reactions and ill-conceived position growth. Sure, we are expanding our workforce in the area of health care, teachers and social workers, but that does not explain the growth over a seven-year period of 3,761 in 1999 to over 5,500 today. That, Mr. Speaker, is an increase of over 44 percent. The government has grown by close to 1,800 positions in just seven years.

After division took place with Nunavut in 1999, it would have made sense at the time to come up with a human resource strategy. Instead, Mr. Speaker, we struggle year to year, budget to budget, supplementary appropriation to supplementary appropriation approving more and more positions. Mr. Speaker, I'm not opposed to supporting positions where they make sense and they're needed, but I have to be convinced that the subject department has not got the capacity to get the work done.

Not only have we seen growth to over 5,500 employees, we also have an acute addiction to consultants, contractors and services which, Mr. Speaker, oftentimes are rendered by former employees of this government. With the completion of land claims and the move towards self-government and implementation of those claims, we should be looking, as a government, at areas of our operations which we could devolve into the regions where claims are settled. To date, and to my knowledge, nothing, Mr. Speaker -- and I mean nothing -- has happened to address this issue. Why can't the government get a focus over a vision on what our future human resource requirements are going to be? We spend nearly $500 million annually on it. It should be a top priority of any government.

Judging by the answers I've received to date, I'm not the least bit convinced that this government actually cares about this situation, Mr. Speaker, and I'd like to ask some questions of the Minister responsible for Human Resources at the appropriate time. Mahsi.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to thank yourself as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, but, more importantly, this House for supporting the Page Program to allow students from the outlying communities, the small communities, ridings, to participate in the goings on of this Legislative Assembly.

Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to have an opportunity to have two Pages here this week to partake of what happens in this Legislative Assembly. From Fort McPherson and Aklavik, I have Allison Neyando from Fort McPherson, Chief Julius School...

---Applause

...and Trudy Kogiak from Aklavik who attends Moose Kerr School.

---Applause

More importantly, Mr. Speaker, it gives the students an opportunity to go back to our small communities to talk to their classmates and explain the goings on of this Legislative Assembly and, more importantly, to encourage other classmates to take part in this program.

Again, Mr. Speaker, I believe this is a very crucial program that allows the smaller communities, and students throughout the Northwest Territories, to see exactly what this government does, what the Legislative Assembly processes do and, more importantly, the goings on in this House.

Again, I'd like to thank my two young students for taking part in this program. As I drove them in from the airport, I encouraged them that the toughest part of the job that they had to do here was stay awake, because it is sometimes pretty dry.

So with that, I'd like to thank you very much. Enjoy your trip home and I wish you all the best. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Members' statements. Reports of standing and special committees. Honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to report from the Standing Committee on Social Programs Report on Matters Related to Child and Family Services Act. But before I do that, I would just like to take a moment to say a special thanks to the hard-working committee of Social Programs.

But especially, I'd like to take a moment to thank the hard-working staff of the committee, Mr. Speaker. I have to tell you that we did intense travels: six communities in six days, covering places like Tuktoyaktuk, Ulukhaktok, Colville Lake, Behchoko. Not the most accessible places, but the operation went like a smooth, oiled machine. I want to just express our thanks, on behalf of the committee, to the staff. I want to thank especially Mr. Robert Collinson who has the stupendous capacity to put into words all of our thoughts and everything we hear from our communities, so if I could just

do that. I might add, he doesn't get paid enough for his work.

---Laughter

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Yakeleya.

Use Of Non-Custodial Parent In Caring For Apprehended Child

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This was another issue raised by Mr. Enge during his presentation on Bill 5. Mr. Enge pointed out that after a child is apprehended, a non-custodial parent must gain custody rights through family court before they would be considered as a care provider for their biological child. Mr. Enge believes that, in cases where the custodial parent is proven an unfit parent, the child protection workers need the discretionary power to place the child with the non-custodial parent, on a temporary or permanent basis, if they are suitable.

As it stands now, the act only contemplates returning a child who has been apprehended to the parent -- defined as the person with legal custody -- or to the person who had care of the child at the time of the apprehension. There is no specific mention of non-custodial parents.

The Member for Monfwi is dealing with a constituent, working at one of the mines on a two-week-in/two-week-out rotation, facing a similar situation. The constituent, whose child was apprehended and placed in foster care outside of the home community, was not afforded the opportunity to arrange care for his own biological child.

There is, of course, the assumption that the child has a relationship with the non-custodial parent before the child protection worker should consider such a placement as a priority over foster care within the community.

Recommendation

The committee recommends that the Minister examine the issue of involving non-custodial parents in caring for apprehended children and, if necessary, make the required legislative and regulatory changes to allow child protection workers the discretionary powers to place apprehended children with the non-custodial parent on a temporary basis, providing that it is in the best interest of the child.

Mr. Speaker, I return over the next portion of the report to Mr. Jackson Lafferty.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Honourable Member for Monfwi, Mr. Lafferty.

Role Of The Extended Family In Child Protection Matters

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, the committee is appreciative that one of the results of the passage of Bill 5 will be the inclusion of a new clause in the preamble of the Child and Family Services Act that states "And whereas a child's extended family can often provide important supports in meeting the best interests of the child;".

A preamble to an act is important in that the preamble sets out the principles that will guide the application of the act.

Recognizing the role of the extended family in child protection matters is an important step and now we need to take the next steps to ensure that this important sentiment continues to be reflected in the day-to-day practices of the child protection workers.

During our hearing on Bill 5, in the community of Behchoko, we heard from Chief Leon Lafferty and his disappointment that Bill 5 did not specifically address the role of aboriginal families and did not take into account aboriginal traditions.

We also heard from elders, Mrs. Vernick Erasmus and Mr. Phillip Huskey, on the need to keep apprehended aboriginal children in their home communities, with their extended families, wherever possible.

Many members of the Social Programs committee have heard from constituents concerned about the placement of aboriginal children with non-aboriginal foster families, both in and outside of the community. Many of these constituents have pointed out that there are members of the child's extended families that are suitable and prepared to offer the child a stable and loving environment.

It is understood by the committee that the child protection worker already has the discretionary power to place an apprehended child with a member of the child's extended family and that this does occur in many cases.

Members were made aware of cases where this has not occurred. It is recognized that there are valid reasons, like a late night apprehension or the need to run background checks on members of the extended family, and that this sometimes means a child is placed in temporary foster care, outside of the extended family.

However, in cases where a child is unlikely to be returned to the custodial parent, and where there is no suitable non-custodial parent, there should be an onus on the child protection worker to place the child with a suitable member of the child's extended family in the child's home community, before any consideration is given to removing the child from the home community or placing an aboriginal child with a non-aboriginal foster parent.

Recommendation

The committee recommends the Minister issue a directive reinforcing the use of extended families in the placement of apprehended children and that every effort be made to place children with extended family within the child's home community, before a child protection worker considers placement in a foster home in or outside of the child's home community.

Mr. Speaker, I'd like to pass it on to my colleague Mr. Braden. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I apologize to the Assembly for missing my cue earlier.

Mr. Speaker, the committee looked into the area of child and family services committees in communities. It is a sad commentary that only the community of Fort McPherson has taken advantage of provisions of the Child and Family Services Act, that allow for the community agreements and the formation of a child and family services committee.

A community agreement allows a community corporation to establish their own community standards, which, as long as they meet the minimum standards set out in the regulations, reflect the realities of life in the community and the standard of care for apprehended children. They can also establish community standards to reflect whether a child is in need of protection under all of the reasons outlined in section 7(3).

For example, Mr. Speaker, young children out late at night unsupervised in Yellowknife would be of concern to a child protection worker and the Yellowknife Child and Family Services Committee, if one existed. The same level of concern may not exist for the child protection worker and the child and family services committee in a smaller, isolated community, and they would be able to establish their own standards to deal with such circumstances.

A community child and family services committee, as previously referenced in this report, would be a valuable resource in helping child protection workers, who may not be familiar with the local customs and families, in placing apprehended children with suitable members of the child's extended family within the child's home community.

There are also provisions for a member of the child and family services committee to sit on each child's individual plan of care committee and provide their input to reflect community standards and culture. In addition, if the child

protection worker is unable to get a plan of care agreement in place, they can turn to the chairperson of the committee for assistance. This allows greater opportunity for an agreement to be reached.

There are also provisions that the chairperson of the committee could be delegated the powers of a child protection worker and be allowed to apprehend a child in need of protection. Committee thought that, while not ideal, this may be a power that will encourage a community without a child protection worker or an RCMP presence to consider forming their own child and family services committee.

In questioning witnesses like Ms. Alana Mero and Ms. Denise Kurszewski, who appeared before committee during the hearings on Bill 5, it became apparent to Members that there was a buy-in on the child's individual plan of care committee and a general recognition that this works well in ensuring that the needs of the child are met and that parents are represented in the process.

However, Mr. Speaker, there seemed to be little knowledge of the ability of a community to enter into agreements and establish community child and family service committees. This was also reflected in the comments we heard in Behchoko.

All Members of this House are approached by communities and asked to help empower them to deal with their own problems. We can point to community justice committees as an example of community empowerment. The role of the community justice committees in delivering services and dispensing justice is evolving, and is being recognized through increased supports and funding by the Department of Justice.

The Social Programs committee pressed hard over the life of this Assembly to secure increased funding and supports for the community justice committees. While this battle is far from over, Mr. Speaker, it is apparent that the issue of funding and supporting community justice committees is at least on the radar of the Department of Justice.

Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask my colleague, the Member for Nunakput, to continue to report.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Pokiak.