In my general comments to the department yesterday, I talked about the importance of early childhood development, and development is what we’re really discussing here and the critical years are zero to two, zero to three, and I think that a lot of Members thought that this department should have been the head lead on early childhood development and looking at that. Committee was supportive. Once again, as mentioned, we did try to bring in a motion for, I think, $1.2 million for early childhood initiatives which was also defeated. But I think we’ll put that on the agenda for standing committee and we’ll try to get some correspondence to move on that.

The next one is in terms of the Disabilities Fund. Sometimes it seems that our organizations that work with people with disabilities tends to get overlooked when we’re also dealing with a whole bunch of other issues. I look at the amount of funding that goes into the Disabilities Fund and there hasn’t really been a big increase in this area. I just wanted to know if the Minister, as my questions to the Premier last week in terms of the Third-Party

Accountability Framework, whether or not forced growth is looked into working with our organizations that do work on behalf of government such as the Persons with Disabilities Council and also an update on that action plan. Can the Minister provide maybe an update on the action plan that was, I guess, tabled in 2008, and also whether or not forced growth is given to these organizations such as the NWT council?

We have a pretty solid relationship with the NWT Disabilities Council. We do provide them with a significant amount of money. Not all organizations get forced growth, like non-government organizations get forced growth, and I don’t believe at this point in time the NWT Council is one of the ones that’s getting forced growth. It isn’t. We have been talking to the council about updating the action plan. It’s pretty old and it really needs to be updated, and they certainly have an interest in doing that. They have been a little busy with a number of the different projects that they have undertaken lately that we’ve been working with them on, but we anticipate that those negotiations and discussions will continue and we will be moving forward with an updated action plan or, rather, they will.

That action plan was developed February 2008 and a lot has changed in the last seven years, and I appreciate the Minister working with the Persons with Disabilities Council to look at modernizing this and see how we can take better steps in working with the Council and with individuals.

The next one is in terms of home care support and whether or not we’re providing our home care staff in the communities and in the regional centres… I know we have, I think, when I was working with public health, we only had one home care support worker, and to deal with a community of over 3,000 at the time was very cumbersome and working pretty well right from when she walked in and usually worked a little bit late to provide support to those who needed home care. I’m not sure where the department is in terms of looking at the home care support and resources that we have for those that provide home care services to our residents, and when was the last time that we looked at supporting them?

Our home support workers as well as our home care nurses provide a really valuable service throughout the Northwest Territories. We have home support workers in many communities throughout the Northwest Territories and we’ve also provided training to many of the individuals that are supporting individuals who need home support such as our personal support workers. By way of example, we’re doing training in the Sahtu right now to prep a bunch of individuals from the Sahtu for the new long-term care facility to

provide personal support in there. There are a number of things that we are doing. These are incredibly valuable positions. But for some of the specifics on some of the things that are going on, I would like to go to the deputy minister.

Thank you, Minister Abernethy. Deputy Minister DeLancey.

Thank you, deputy minister. I’ll go back to the Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Once again, a new format that we’re looking at here today and there are things in a few different places. It is going to take us all a little bit of time to become familiar with this and we will re-offer that briefing.

The federal dollars the deputy minister is talking about appears on page 220 under work performed on behalf of others. It’s the second from the bottom, home and community care, $5.5 million.

Thank you, Minister. I think we’re going to allow everybody to ask some questions and have a little bit of leniency, a little change in format here. Mr. Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate the update on the agreement and the funding from Health Canada. Speaking with mental health and addictions theme day again, I think that’s one area that we might be lacking in. I think we need to provide more services and programs. You heard it today in some questions about the waiting times to get into counselling. I’m glad that we’re streamlining people to get down to treatment and getting to the institutions that they need to go to, to get the help that they need, but it’s when they come back to the

communities, especially if it’s a small remote community.

What kind of after-care are we providing for individuals that are coming back who have been healed and taken those first steps? What kind of after-care are we providing so that our residents don’t relapse back into the situations that they were in before? What kind of financial resources are we putting into that? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Moses. Minister Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Before somebody goes out for treatment, and one of the residential treatment facilities that we’re currently working with, they do agree to, when they return, contact or be contacted by the community counsellor. So, there are community counsellors who are providing some degree of after-care.

There are also other opportunities. We know, and we don’t believe that we should be administering it or running it, that AA is a valuable program, but the reason it’s effective is because it’s a non-government sort of member-driven organization. We do know that there is some frustration because there may be not enough people in the community to actually really hold an AA. We’ve been working with AA groups that are trying to get established. We’re making our facilities available to them after hours. We’ve also indicated that we’d be absolutely willing to make things like telehealth available so that they could link to other communities. In fact, it has worked in a couple of communities in the Northwest Territories.

There are a number of things we’re doing. We’re trying to make sure that people have the tools they need. At the same time, and this doesn’t apply to every region in the Northwest Territories, a couple of the on-the-land programs that have come forward have had a focus on after-care. So, there are some varieties out there for individuals, and there is community support for individuals who are returning, and they are required to indicate or sign up to have continued contact when they’re back.

Thank you, Minister Abernethy. Next on my list I have Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just have one more question in this section and then I want to follow up where Mr. Moses left off on the early childhood development and discuss that a little bit. As Mr. Moses indicated, it was the view of committee, and as a member of the committee I agree with the view, that Health and Social Services should be the lead on the early childhood development initiatives. I would urge the Minister to reconsider with his partner Minister whether or not, after some time in putting these programs in place, maybe Health and Social Services is better placed to be the lead on these particular projects.

My specific question goes to the comments made by the Minister in his opening remarks. He stated, “We will continue to partner with the Department of ECE to provide early childhood development options for families,” and then went on to say, “a social marketing campaign will be launched this year.” That struck me as a little strange. I guess my question to the Minister is: How is a social marketing campaign going to provide for better services and programs for early childhood development, basically the zero to three, zero to four age group? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Minister Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. There is no real lead to early childhood development. We have an effective working relationship between Health and Social Services and the department. We’re working closely together and our staff are meeting regularly on the implementation of the individual items. Some of the items are education-specific; some of the items are health-specific, but many of the items are collaborative. We’re doing our best to break down the barriers, destroy the silos in this particular area. I wouldn’t say that there is a lead department. I’d say there’s an effective and collaborative working relationship here moving forward on ECD.

With respect to the second question, it is actually directly related to one of the action items within the ECD Action Plan. I will get the deputy minister to explain the details.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Deputy Minister DeLancey.

Thank you, Deputy Minister DeLancey. Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thanks for the explanation. How much money has been budgeted? How much money is being spent on this campaign between the two departments? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Minister Abernethy.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I don’t have that at my fingertips, but I will commit to getting that to the Member and committee. Oh, wait! Yes, we do. For ‘14-15, $100,000; ‘15-16, proposing another $100,000.

Thanks to the Minister. That’s an awful lot of money in my view. I really question the value of spending $200,000 on what sounds like it’s going to be… If it’s a social marketing campaign, it sounds like it’s going to be pamphlets and I’m presuming Facebook and tweets, I guess. I’m not sure, but that’s what it sounds like to me. It does seem like a lot of money. I would far rather that that money went into a program in various communities. Certainly we have to alert parents to stuff that’s available, but I question the value of these types of campaigns. I don’t question the need to educate, but I question the methods that are being suggested. I’d like to know from the Minister if there was any kind of an analysis prior to the decision to spend and budget this money. Was there any kind of analysis of another similar campaign that was done within the government? Thank you.

The Early Childhood Development Action Plan was based on two years of research and best practices across the country and the world. So, yes.