Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As we’ve heard, the Report of the Office of the Auditor General on Child and Family Services was tabled in the House yesterday. I read the report last night and again today. There is so much in it it’s hard to know where to start. The assistant auditor general, Mr. Campbell, called it troubling, and considering the contents of the report, I see that as an understatement.

After reading the report, there was a mixture of emotions for me: gratitude to the office of the Auditor General for their work. As always, they were thorough, fair, in-depth, to the point, and extremely helpful to us as legislators. But I also felt disappointment and despair. Despair because I was part of the standing committee of the 16th Assembly

which invested many, many hours in 2010 doing an in-depth review of the Child and Family Services Act. The report from that committee included over 70 recommendations, and the committee members had high hopes for change, high hopes for improvement in a system which we had heard was not working.

Now, three years later, the Auditor General’s report indicates little change occurred; few recommendations were heeded. In fact, this review points out that similar recommendations from a report tabled way back in 2000 have yet to be acted on. Right now our child and family services system is operational but dysfunctional. Using the Health and Social Services department’s own guidelines, and that’s the Child and Family Services Act, as a measure, the system can be said to be in crisis.

Here are just some of the observations from the office of the Auditor General’s report:

• There is no accountability framework; therefore,

a huge lack of accountability at the health and social service authorities and at the department.

• Concerns brought to the attention of workers

and some necessary investigations were not acted on.

• Plans of care for children have not been

followed up on.

• Foster homes have not been properly vetted or

monitored.

• There are still no services for youth 16 to 18

years old.

• There is an identified need for the department

and the authorities to provide greater guidance for child and family service workers, to assist them with prevention activities so they can, in turn, assist families in trouble.

• There is a lack of both financial and human

resources to adequately deliver child and family services in the NWT.

The Minister and the department have responded swiftly to the report, as we have heard.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted