Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’m pleased to introduce Bill 8, Social Work Profession Act. This bill will regulate the profession of social work in the NWT and ensure that only qualified individuals will be able to call themselves social workers. It was developed collaboratively with the NWT Regulation Subcommittee of the Association of Social Workers in Northern Canada.

Social workers play a crucial role in the health and social services system and provide services to children, adults, families, groups, organizations and communities. This legislation is intended to protect the public by ensuring that social workers are qualified to practice, by including a complaint and discipline process that is fair and protects the rights of social workers. The major components of this legislation are registration licensing and complaints and disciplinary procedures.

Mr. Chairman, the registration model in the act is consistent with other NWT health profession legislation such as the Pharmacy Act. Because there are too few resident social workers in the NWT to enable the profession to be self-regulating, the GNWT will administer the licensing and registration of the profession. This model is supported by stakeholders. The new legislation will assign registration duties such as the maintenance of registers to the registrar and also provides an appeal mechanism for registration decisions. Appeals of decisions are made directly to the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories.

Two registration categories for social workers will be established under the act. Registered social workers will require a bachelor’s degree in social work and licensed social workers will require a diploma in social work. Aurora College graduates of the Social Work Program will be eligible to apply as licensed social workers. A dual category system was considered the best option as the NWT continues to be challenged in recruiting health and social services professionals. Under this system, Aurora College graduates can be licensed. It provides the GNWT with the flexibility of developing and training a homegrown workforce and employers will still have the option of considering education and experience equivalencies when recruiting for a position.

Mr. Chairman, some of our northern social workers have worked for years as social workers and have accumulated a wealth of experience and knowledge but do not have minimum formal education requirements required to be licensed under the act. The proposed act contains a grandfathering provision allowing anyone employed as a social worker in the NWT for at least two years immediately prior to the act coming into force to

have the opportunity to apply for registration as a licensed social worker.

Mr. Chairman, there are many non-profit agencies, teachers, band councils, aboriginal leaders and elders that provide services that might be considered within the scope of practice of social work. The act will not prohibit those individuals from continuing to provide those services as the act protects the title of social worker rather than the scope of practice.

In order for social workers to maintain a standard level of competence, the proposed act includes a continuing competency provision. Every three years all registrants will be required to fulfill the continuing competency requirement as a means of ensuring that social workers maintain current skills, knowledge and abilities throughout their careers.

The conduct and discipline section of the proposed act is consistent with modern health profession legislation in the NWT and other provinces in the areas of complaints, investigation and the board of inquiry. The disciplinary process separates the investigative and adjudicative provisions to ensure procedural fairness.

The complaints officer will review a complaint and decide if it should be dismissed or if he should attempt to resolve it. The complaints officer will also have the option of appointing a facilitator to engage in alternative dispute resolution or to appoint an investigator to investigate the complaint or refer the complaint to a board of inquiry. The appointment of a deputy also gives the complaints officer the ability to initiate the complaints process if he or she has reasonable grounds to believe that a social worker may be engaging in unprofessional conduct.

The Association of Social Workers in Northern Canada established an NWT Regulation Subcommittee to assist the department in the development of this legislative initiative. I would like to thank Members of the subcommittee, Ms. Sandy Little, Mr. Les Harrison, Ms. Anne Gill, Mr. J.C. Catholique and Ms. Jette Finsborg, for all of their time and effort thus far and for committing to continue to work with the department in the future to develop the regulatory framework required to implement this act.

I would also like to acknowledge the nearly 80 stakeholders who participated in the regional workshops that helped lead to the development of key elements in the legislation. This collaborative effort has resulted in a modern piece of legislation that meets the needs of all stakeholders: social workers and the general public.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Ms. Sandy Little, secretary-treasurer for the Association of Social Workers in Northern Canada, and the chair of the NWT Regulations Subcommittee, and also to thank Ms. Denise

Bowen, chair of the Health and Human Services Program with Aurora College, for voicing their support of the bill during the public review process.

Finally, I would like to thank the Standing Committee on Social Programs for their review of this bill and for their comments. Questions posed demonstrated their interest and support of the legislation and their passion for ensuring the legislation protects the public while remaining fair to social workers.

That concludes my opening remarks and I would be pleased to answer any questions Members may have.