Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The motion is in order. To the motion. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I agree with this idea of using extended families for the placement of an apprehended child. I just have two caveats or concerns about that. I think that extended families should receive the same remuneration to care for that child as would a foster family that would not be related to that child. The reason being is that sometimes, just because it is an extended family, it doesn't mean that they don't have other obligations, a job or may need to procure childcare or support. I think sometimes it has been the thinking of the system that if you put a child with an extended family member, automatically there should be no financial assistance for that family member to take care of that child. I think that is maybe one of the reasons why there has been some resistance, because it can create quite a change in the family dynamics to take in especially younger children that need some supplementary care or babysitting. That is one thing that I would say about that.

Another thing is that I don't think that extended family members should automatically be considered a viable placement either. I know there is always the overriding thought that they will do what is in the best interests of the child, but I think that the extended family should still, even though they are related, be subject to the same kind of home study, stability study, that any foster family caring for a child would undergo. It can be done fairly quickly. It can be done on an emergency basis. It can be done and assessed fairly quickly, but there have been some pretty publicized cases where children were being cared for by grandparents or extended family members that it was not a good situation for that kid. I don't think you can just categorically say because this person is a relative, they are an ideal placement. It should be subject to the same kinds of criteria that you would use in approving any home for a child that has been apprehended. Those are just my two comments and concerns on that. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Lafferty. To the motion.

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I just highlighted the whole purpose of this motion that was brought forward was due to the fact that we consulted with the communities. The community elders, mostly elders, have told us that with the apprehension process, most of the kids are transferred to Yellowknife. That is the whole idea behind this motion where we always stress the importance of having the child with an extended family member. I do agree with Mrs. Groenewegen from Hay River South, that there has to be a fit home as well in the community with the extended family. Is it a safe home? It has to be a safe home. That should be a priority. But there are other extended family members within the community. We all know each other. I fully respect that and I fully support that, too. There has to be a safe home. We are doing this for the safety and well-being and also the best interests of the child. At the same time, we come from a small community. We also speak our language, as well. We are also lucky to have our cultural background as well with our elders in the community. Certainly, we cannot punish the child when he/she has been taken to a

bigger city where a child does not speak English, but the English speaking foster parents are there. So I do understand to some degree that it is a last resort. Yes, I will support that if it is the last resort because of the well-being of the child. At the same time, we must work in the community to identify those suitable homes for the extended family. Mr. Chair, that is the whole purpose of the motion that is brought forward to us. I just want to highlight that. Mahsi, Mr. Chair.

Mahsi, Mr. Lafferty. To the motion. Mr. Pokiak.

Thank you, Mr. Pokiak. To the motion.

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

---Carried

Mr. Pokiak.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that this committee recommends that the Minister direct the department and authorities to continue with ongoing activities and to design and adequately resource a plan to develop child and family services committees in the communities and that this plan be presented to the Standing Committee on Social Programs as part of the 2009-2010 business plan. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Pokiak. The motion is in order. To the motion. Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just want to add to this. I will be voting in favour of this motion. I just want to state that, in our committee discussions about all that we heard, we were quite puzzled by the fact that, as of now, there is only one family services committee in the communities and that is in Fort McPherson. We also recalled when we were in Fort McPherson about a year ago, we were told that up to one-third of children in that community were being apprehended. I think the community felt really important that day getting to action and set up a committee and to not only deal with the situation, but work towards reducing the need to apprehend children. I think they have done that job because I believe the latest statistics showed that the apprehension has gone down. I do appreciate that there have to be a lot of community leaders working in different areas to make that happen. I think what is happening here is the legislation provides for such communities, but there have not been parallel resources that go with that or the leadership and support on the part of the government to facilitate that process. So the possibility that was envisioned in legislation has been allowed to fall by the wayside. Through this recommendation, we are hoping that the department will pay more attention and work with communities at least in major centres or in communities where there are more apprehensions, where there are frequent apprehensions. We could understand that in some communities they have not had an apprehension so there might not be a need for such a committee, but I think we feel what is happening is these committees are not in place. Their absence is not noticed until a child is actually being apprehended. By then, it is too late to set up a committee and the people in the communities are left to wonder, how come we didn't have any say on what is going to happen with this child or what is in the best interests of the children? In order to avoid that, we need to have the department working more diligently to facilitate this from happening.

I do want to state that we do understand that there is a plan of care committee that gets set up when a child is apprehended. But this is something different than that. So I just want to put the context of this motion in order. We just would like to see the department putting some resources into this so that, while the child protection workers have to do their job of protecting the safety of the children, we do make some effort to involve the communities in talking about and in having a say on what is to happen to those children. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. To the motion.

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

---Carried

Thank you, committee. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I move that this committee recommend that the department work towards increasing the number of foster homes in the NWT and that a plan, complete with numbers of existing foster homes, targeted increases and required resources, be presented to the Standing Committee on Social Programs as part of the 2009-2010 business plans. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The motion is in order. To the motion. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Committee recommended this motion because foster parents provide a very important service. I have had the opportunity at one time to foster a couple of boys, so I have an idea of what is required of foster parents. To see that the government put a little bit more money raising the basic rates I think is a good thing. The cost is going up. One thing I would caution the government...Right now, you have people that aren't foster parents. A lot of these people care very deeply about children, their safety and their well-being so they, regardless of the remuneration, become foster parents just because they care about the well-being of these children. Now, the rates are going up. We are hoping to increase the number of foster homes that these children can be placed into, but I do want to caution the government to take great care in selecting and choosing who can be foster parents. I don't want to get into a situation where some people become foster parents because remuneration is a little higher than it normally is. So that would be something that I would caution the government to take into consideration. I do know that you have to go through quite a screening process to become foster parents, because of being through that and qualified foster parents in the Yukon and the Northwest Territories. That is one of the reasons, Mr. Speaker, that we thought we would bring this motion forward. I think it is a good motion. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. To the motion.

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

---Carried

Thank you, committee. Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, we have one more, the last committee motion. I move that this committee recommends that the government provide a comprehensive response to this report within 120 days. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The motion is in order. To the motion.