Thanks to the Minister. My last comment on this area would be: Once the legislation is done and passed and has come into force, if the department determines that the changes in order to provide better services that the changes are going to mean an extra expenditure, is the Minister willing to come back to the House with a supplementary appropriation in order to provide effective and valid child and family services? Thank you.

Mr. Chair, with respect to the rollout of child and family services, we are spending a significant amount of money on child and family services today. The changes that are being proposed are going to increase efficiencies and provide better services. It doesn’t necessarily mean we need more money. It just means we really need to do better with the money we have, and many of these changes are going to give us the ability to do those things.

I do acknowledge that there is a fundamental change in how we provide child and family services being undertaken right now. It has a three to five-year rollout period. A number of the actions are happening right now. We believe those can be funded from within. As we roll out, we may realize that, you know what, we do need some more money, at which point we would be going to the

Executive Council to seek additional dollars with the support of committee.

Mr. Chair, my other question has to do with the day shelters. We certainly have a day shelter here in the City of Yellowknife. I believe there’s at least one other day shelter elsewhere in another community. One of the things that were a problem when the Day Shelter was previously operated under another operator was a lack of programming. We kind of touched on this earlier, but what analysis has the department done with this new operator? There was a bit of a lull where the Day Shelter was not operating, and I think it was an opportunity to do some analysis and to do an evaluation of the previous operation. What analysis has been done to determine what programs and services are best put into the Day Shelter to assist the people that use it? Thank you.

Mr. Chair, during the hiatus between May and September, Yellowknife Health and Social Services actually went out and did a number of engagements with the public and other individuals about what types of programs and services they expected or would like to see, including actual conversations with the homeless people who happen to use the shelter, probably the best people to talk to about the types of things they wanted. That has helped to form some of the things that are going to be taking place.

There are a lot of significant changes between the old Day Shelter and the Day Shelter that we have today. One of them is around training that the staff are receiving. Staff are actually receiving training in this facility, unlike the old facility, in things like trauma, informed practice for service delivery, principles of crisis intervention as well as day-shelter-specific programming or training for programs that the Day Shelter current provider wishes to provide. I’d be happy to share that information with the specific programming with the Member once the Day Shelter is in a position to start delivering that. Some of that is not being delivered just yet because they are still in a tweak phase with respect to finishing some of the construction in that building.

Mr. Chair, I appreciate that explanation. My understanding is that the budget for the current Day Shelter is quite a bit more than the previous. I would like to know if that’s accurate, and I would also like to know where in the budget this money shows up. Thank you.

There is an increase. The department has budgeted $250,000. The city has contributed $50,000, so there is only $250,000 shown in the budget and I believe it’s in a different section than the one we’re currently in. I believe it’s in community health programs. So it’s in two parts, in the Anti-Poverty Fund and also in mental health and addictions. It’s $250,000 coming from us. The

price tag is a little bit higher. For this fiscal year, we were able to get some one-time funding from some of the other departments in the GNWT, Justice and ECE. We’ll be seeking additional supports from other outside organizations and others to help cover some of the costs in 2015-16, otherwise we’ll have to find it from within.

Thanks to the Minister for that. I move we report progress.

---Carried

I will rise and report progress. Thank you, Minister Abernethy. Thank you, deputy minister and director. Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses out of the Chamber.

Can I have the report of Committee of the Whole, Mr. Bouchard?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your committee has been considering Tabled Document 188-17(5), NWT Main Estimates 2015-2016, and would like to report progress. Mr. Speaker, I move that the report of Committee of the Whole be concurred with. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Do we have a seconder to the motion? Mr. Menicoche.

---Carried

Item 22, third reading of bills. Mr. Clerk, orders of the day.

Thank you, Mr. Clerk. Accordingly, this House stands adjourned until Thursday, February 19th , at 1:30 p.m.

---ADJOURNMENT

The House adjourned at 5:55 p.m.