Mr. Speaker, I would like to take the opportunity today as the lead Minister for the Refocusing Government Strategic Initiative Committee to provide an update on the activities related to the Board Reform Initiative.

We need to take a moment to take stock of the whole board reform idea and where it has come from. It is important to remember that the question of how the GNWT approaches boards and agencies has been discussed by the Legislative Assembly for more than a decade. This is not an idea that has just occurred during this Assembly. During the 15th Assembly, Members were involved

in an extensive boards and agency review that considered many of the same issues on the table for discussion now. With our renewed focus on effective and efficient government in the 16th Assembly, the time is right to move forward with changes. We can take steps now that will allow us to offer improved services to our residents and help us resolve some long outstanding issues.

Board reform is not about suggesting that the boards aren’t working hard to deliver programs and services. However, it is about recognizing that a large part of the client base for each of these boards is the same people and that the issues in one area cross over into another. It is also about ensuring that what funding we do have is spent as much as possible on direct delivery of programs.

The Northwest Territories is relatively small in terms of its population. At the moment, there are more than 70 different education, health and housing boards at the local and regional level. Each of these boards has a dedicated group of individuals who represent community or regional interests, an administration, and programs that it delivers. This wasn’t necessarily a situation the government set out to create. The current structure emerged over many years as individual boards were created, sometimes in response to specific circumstances or needs. While some boards may function well individually, they were not necessarily designed to function as a system. We need to ask ourselves if this is the approach we need now, or if we want to have a system specifically designed to deliver integrated, comprehensive services to our people.

Mr. Speaker, when we got together at the start of the 16th Legislative Assembly a key message from

Members was that we needed to get on with board reform. Work had been done in the past on various elements of the system and the call was for us to act. In trying to determine the most appropriate approach, there were three factors that drove our thinking.

First was that regional input into service delivery mattered and should be preserved. We have a long history of having local input into program delivery. While some might prefer to see all services delivered at a territorial level, we believe that regional priority setting is an important feature of our approach to boards that must be retained during this reform.

The second element was that a case management approach was needed. Our services should focus on our clients and their needs, which is aided by removing barriers to people working together and integrating service delivery wherever possible.

Board reform is not about fixing particular problems with education boards or health boards, but it is about finding better ways to serve the needs of our residents. This is not to suggest that many of our regional staff aren’t already trying to find ways to work together, but often these efforts are done in spite of, rather than because of, the organizational structures we have in place.

The third element of our thinking was related to the management and administrative duplication that occurs when 70 boards are involved in governance for health, social services, education and housing programs. While board reform isn’t about saving money, it only makes sense that we don’t need separate administrative structures for every single business line when these resources could more effectively be directed at front-line delivery in services our residents need.

Mr. Speaker, we have heard concerns from Members, stakeholders and the public about the amount of information the government has provided on the Board Reform Initiative. I understand that people are concerned about what this initiative might mean for them and are anxious to hear some details. We intend to provide those details as work on this initiative progresses. Board reform is a significant undertaking and we did not want to finalize our plans behind closed doors without input from the people it will affect. Our strategy was to get some initial ideas and concepts on the table for discussion, rather than to try to work out all the details before letting the public know what was going on.

In late January, we released a document that provided a description of the general approach to the proposed regional services boards. This document was not intended to answer every question or provide specific implementation plans, but rather to support continued discussion on elements of the proposed approach. We have been consulting with boards and staff on this general approach and also want to hear from the public and other stakeholders. We have posted the consultation package already distributed to boards on the Department of Executive website. The package includes an overview of the issues we are looking at as we develop our plans, and asks specific questions about elements in our approach. I encourage anybody with an interest in board reform to download and read the package and give us their thoughts on the issues we have brought forward at this time.

To those who are merely standing to say “no” to a change to how boards operate in the NWT, we would ask that you give some thought to the goal we are trying to achieve. We want to provide better and more effective services for our residents. We encourage you to come to the table not with a no, but with a list of what is most important to you and your ideas about opportunities to work better together within communities and regions.

Board reform is a work in progress. The issues are complex and it will take time to develop our plans and implement any changes. We have stated in the past that this may end up taking on different forms in different regions. There may also be a

different time frame for implementation in different regions and it is possible that a phased approach will be most effective.

Much has been made of the milestone set for this coming April. Let us be clear that this is only one such point on a much longer path. In April, the first round of consultations on our general approach will be done and we will have completed some of the more detailed costing associated with board reform. We will then be in a position to work with Regular Members and make decisions on how we want to proceed with this initiative. No one has suggested that regional services boards would be established this April or that all final decisions will be made.

Mr. Speaker, I want to state for the record that boards are an important and vital part of how the GNWT manages and delivers services to the people of the Northwest Territories. Boards are a critical link between the government and the people we serve. We depend on the boards to ensure that services are meeting community and regional needs and we do not see that role changing. Boards do good work and this initiative is not because we think they don’t. But where we are doing a good job now, we believe we can do an even better job in the future.

I encourage all Members to continue to engage in a dialogue on the best path forward. There are some that may prefer that we do nothing. I believe that if we are true to our goals and priorities for the 16th Legislative Assembly we will all work together to make the changes needed. Thank you.