This week we have a new Chipewyan interpreter in the House who I will be recognizing on Friday along with the Pages from Tu Nedhe and also the veteran interpreter. Today I would like to recognize one of the interpreter’s sons, who is a constituent of mine, Rodney Lockhart.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. I’d like to welcome everybody again and thank you for taking an interest in our proceedings here today.

Item 9, returns to written questions. Item 10, replies to opening address. Item 11, petitions. Item 12, reports of standing and special committees. Item 13, reports of committees on the review of bills. Item 14, tabling of documents. Item 15, notices of motion. Mr. Dolynny.

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Item 16, notices of motion for first reading of bills. Item 17, motions. Motion 34-17(5), Workplace Safety at Stanton Territorial Hospital. As this motion has now been called twice and not proceeded with, it shall be dropped from the orders of the day, but it may be restored after due notice. Thank you, colleagues.

Item 18, first reading of bills. Item 19, second reading of bills. Item 20, consideration in Committee of the Whole of bills and other matters: Bill 38, An Act to Amend the Jury Act; Bill 41, An Act to Amend the Partnership Act; Committee Report 10-17(5), Standing Committee on Government Operations Report on the Review of the 2013-2014 Annual Report of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of the Northwest Territories; and Tabled Document 188-17(5), Northwest Territories Main Estimates 2015-2016, with Mr. Dolynny in the chair.

Good afternoon, committee. I’d like to call Committee of the Whole to order. What is the wish of committee? Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We will continue with TD 188-17(5), Northwest Territories Main Estimates 2015-2016, with the Department of Health and Social Services.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Does committee agree?

Thank you, committee. We’ll commence after a short break.

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I will call the House back to order. The committee has agreed that we are to proceed with the estimates for the Department of Health and Social Services.

At this time, I would like to ask Minister Abernethy if he would like to deliver his opening remarks.

Thank you, Madam

Chair. I am pleased to present the 2015-2016 Main Estimates for the Department of Health and Social Services. Overall, the department’s estimates propose an increase of $14.9 million, or 3.8 percent, over the 2014-2015 estimates. • One of the highlights of the estimates is new

operational funding for a long-term care facility in Norman Wells as part of the ongoing implementation of our strategic framework, Our Elders, Our Communities.

• This budget supports continued work to bring all

health and social services authorities onto common information platforms and allow them to access support from the Technology Service Centre and continued implementation of the Health and Social Services Information Systems Service Centre. This work is critical as we move to a one-system approach for the delivery of health and social services across the NWT and to delivering improved care.

• The one-time costs associated with our move to

one system are supported until 2017-2018 by the Territorial Health Investment Fund from Health Canada. In 2015-2016 the department will continue with detailed organizational design and the analysis of the financial implications of transitioning the system, including looking at the costs and implications of bringing on the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority into the public service.

• Funding is proposed to support expansion of the

Midwifery Program and we are working closely with the Standing Committee on Social programs to explore opportunities to advance the design of a territorial program in 2015-2016.

• Access to health and social services in French

is being expanded with seven new positions being recruited this spring to support services in communities, a toll-free information line, more French language materials and the provision of interpretation services by phone.

• Over $6 million in new funding is included in this

budget for salary increases for employees and physicians in accordance with our obligations under the respective collective agreements.

• The budget includes funding for improved air

ambulance services with newer and more advanced aircraft and equipment and faster response times to communities with shorter runways.

The proposed Department of Health and Social Services estimates continue to support the priorities of the 17th Assembly. The main estimates include specific activities in support of these priorities.

• We will continue to partner with the Department

of Education, Culture and Employment to provide early childhood development options for families. A social marketing campaign will be launched this year. New funding in 2015-2016 will support early intervention for at-risk families with pilot programs in three regions proposed to be delivered this year.

• We will continue to implement Building Stronger

Families, the Child and Family Services Action Plan, and will focus on developing new tools and training to support families through a flexible response approach.

That concludes my opening remarks, Madam Chair. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Abernethy. At this time I would like to ask the Minister if he would like to bring witnesses into the Chamber.

I would, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Minister Abernethy. Is committee agreed?

Agreed. Thank you. I will ask the Sergeant-at-Arms to please escort the witnesses to the table.

Minister Abernethy, for the record, could you please introduce your witnesses.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I would like to introduce, on my left, Jeannie Mathison, director of finance – you’ll notice I got it right this time – and Debbie DeLancey, deputy minister of Health and Social Services.

Thank you, Minister Abernethy. I will now open the floor for general comments on the Department of Health and Social Services. Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I do want to say to the Minister that we certainly look forward to the long-term care facility in the Sahtu. It’s going to be located in Norman Wells and also the new health care centre. We’ll continue to look forward to the implementation more so that the staff who are going to be filling those positions working with Education, Culture and Employment and Aurora College to get the message out there that there are opportunities for people in the Sahtu region and the North with regard to staffing that facility. There are spinoffs to having a facility such as a long-term care centre that not only looks at the career opportunities for people but also for business opportunities for housing and housing staff members who will come into the centre.

I look forward to the department’s persistent push to make sure that we have proper spaces there for workers in the town of Norman Wells and that we

provide every opportunity for our people to take advantage of the jobs that will be happening there, whether it be maintenance, personal care workers or the profession of nurses, doctors or specialists. The spinoffs are going to be felt by the region.

I do want to say to the Minister that we look forward to this opportunity to be beneficial. Many times we have all good intentions and they don’t quite pan out to what they want them to be, for whatever reason. Someone drops a ball, we call it. We are hoping, and I am thinking, this is a project that needs to be monitored and carefully nudged along its way where we will see workers go into the Inuvik Aurora College Campus and start training for 10 months, so when the facility opens there are opportunities for personal care workers. That’s the target group we are looking for right now to fill those positions in the Sahtu region.

I do want to say, Madam Chair, that the issue, and I’m going to raise it at a different time again, I’m just going to highlight it in my comments to the Minister on having a program, or developing a program, creating a program, whatever, to have former students of residential school survivors get into a program. I’m starting to hear more and more when I get back to the Sahtu, specifically in Norman Wells, where the residential school clients are coming to the town of Norman Wells to seek counselling. What I’m hearing from the service providers is that they are having a difficult time sending these clients out to a treatment centre. I’m working with some of the Members on this side to see what we can do, because even a couple weeks ago before coming back to this Assembly I was told that the counsellor had to turn away clients who were requesting to go into a treatment program. It’s frustrating for me, it’s frustrating for the clients and it’s really frustrating for the counsellor because the funding for counseling comes from Health Canada.

One of the issues, I understand, is that Health Canada closed its file. Ethically, morally, the counsellor can’t do that, out of good judgment, can’t close a file on its client knowing darn well that this client needs to be in a treatment program. You know, they just can’t close the file on that. That’s like putting your head in the sand and saying there are no issues here.

So they’re in a real struggle and I’m hoping that within the life of this government, the Minister directs his department to say what can be done about this issue, given that we have, as Minister Lafferty indicated, an inventory. There are 5,500 residential school survivors. If you somewhat have an understanding of the life of a survivor in one of these institutions, you’ll see the type of behaviours that come out of the experience of residential school survivors.

So I’m hoping that there is some movement with the Nats’ejee K’eh Treatment Centre on the Hay

River Dene Reserve as a possible place. We have northern people here that can put together a good, dynamic treatment program. We have the expertise, we have the people and we need to look at something like this. I’m hoping that this department, and this is the only issue I’m talking about, Madam Chair, many in the Health department, but this is the one that’s most pressing, the one that’s right up against our faces as politicians, as leaders in the Sahtu. What do we do, given the complexity of the issue and not blaming the system or the people, whatever, whatever? There are people there that need help and we’re not there. We’re saying go back to the community and get treatment or get help. But look in our communities. How many mental health workers are there in the Sahtu? How many social workers are there in the Sahtu? How many clients do they have? They’re either not there or we’ve worked them out and they’re too tired. We know that. We’re tight everywhere.

So I’m saying that we have the expertise, we have the people, we have the places, surely, surely we can come up with the money. This government has done it before, but that’s the challenge. That’s why you’re the Minister. That’s why we have departments. I don’t have the staff and I don’t have the staff to phone around Canada and say, what kind of treatment centres are out there? Can we look at one?

I’m saying there’s eight months. We have to have something to help them. I know I’m making a plea here, Mr. Minister, and I’m hoping that we can come up with something. We have eight months. Do we continue to let this go and not do anything? How do you work it? We have to think really outside the box on this issue, really, it’s a real challenge. That means challenging your staff, challenging your workers. What is it? Is it the system? Is it the money? What is it? That’s why we hire them, to do work for us, work for the people. That’s the only thing I can think of.

So I’m really making a plea and I know you’ve got some real smart people over there and we need the help. So I’m challenging your department to come to some form or way to help our survivors.

That is only one of many. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Would the Minister like to respond to Mr. Yakeleya’s comments?

Thank you, Madam Chair. I’d be happy to, but are we going to follow the same protocol we have with other departments that we go through the Members, a couple of them and then come back? Or is there a preference on how we move forward?

Thank you, Minister Abernethy. There’s been some

discussion around the best way to go and I think the consensus of the Regular Members at our last discussion was that they would like to have one set of general comments with the response from the Minister in between before the next Member speaks. So I know we did try that three and one on one department, but it would appear that people would rather have their comments responded to individually. Thank you, Mr. Abernethy.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I’m happy to go with whatever the committee wishes. Thanks to the Member for his comments. We too are really looking forward to moving forward and completing the construction of the long-term care facility and the health centre in Norman Wells. We believe it’s going to bring a new and important service to the residents of the Sahtu, which I believe they have wanted for a really long time. It’s also building upon our elders in our communities, which is creating more beds in the Northwest Territories for long-term care.

The Member is absolutely right; this will create employment opportunities and we have to do it right. I and others share the belief that if we really want to have some continuity in those communities in that long-term care centre, we’ve got to train local people to do local work. We’ve already started. We’ve actually sent out advertisements to all the communities in the Sahtu outlining the personal support worker training that is going to be facilitated in the Sahtu, in Norman Wells in particular, but for residents from anywhere in the Sahtu who have an interest in coming to Norman Wells to be personal support workers. That training includes all sorts of different things. Medical terminology, health care, basic support, WHMIS, food security, food safety, everything they will need in order to provide the personal support to the residents in that long-term care facility. So we too are very, very excited and I look forward to seeing that roll out and get a lot of people in the Sahtu trained so that we can get a lot of people in the Sahtu employed, which I think is something that we all want to see.

The Member did talk an awful lot about addictions and treatment facilities and the Member did talk a little bit about the residential school survivors program and the difficulty that people in the Sahtu have identified as a result of that program slowly shutting down. I have asked the department to engage with the federal government to find out what, if any, transition plans they have with respect to rolling that program out over time. Those conversations, actually the feds have engaged us in those conversations and we are starting to have a little bit of conversation about what their transition plan is. Having said that, the individuals in the Northwest Territories who happen to be residential school survivors do have the ability to access all of the programs and services we offer here in the Northwest Territories and we do have a continuum

of support for individuals with addiction issues, for one, or mental health issues, as well, including the community counsellors and mental health addictions.

I do hear the Member’s concern about the continuity and the fact that we had some turnover in that area, and that is an area that is proving continual. As I mentioned to the Member, Mr. Blake, earlier today in question period, we’re going to have work with leadership across the territory to find ways to encourage young people to start pursuing these careers if we want to have long-term continuity, but a number of things need to be done.

Right now all of the residents in the Northwest Territories can take advantage of our addictions programs that we have contracted out in the South that are facility-based with a limitation, and the limitation is, and I know the Member is frustrated by this, and I’m frustrated, but we do have to understand that the facilities can say no to individuals with criminal records and they do from time to time. Depending on the criminal record a person has, they may not allow a particular individual to come into their facility. An example is somebody with sexual violence would probably not be accepted into a unisex facility. This can leave some of our residents out of the facility-based option, which is why we continue to work with community-based counseling.

We’ve got matrix programs expanding across the Northwest Territories that can offer treatment in communities. It’s still a 42-day program but it’s a community program and basically on more of, for lack of a better term, an outpatient basis as opposed to an in-patient. There are options, but I think it’s clear that we have to work with committee and we have to work with Members to explore this gap where there isn’t a treatment facility option because of the person’s history. It might mean that we find an on-the-land option. We need to explore this, and I’m happy to work with committee and talk with committee about these different options. But there are a number of things happening around addictions. We have a multitude of programs. It is a very wide spectrum. It’s following the recommendations from the Minister’s Forum almost exactly, and we are continuing to make progress in that area.

Today I did talk about the on-the-land programs which are moving in the right direction. As we continue to move forward with partners outside of the GNWT or Aboriginal governments, funding partners, hopefully, we will see huge opportunity to expand these. The beautiful thing about these programs is they are designed by the communities for the communities. The communities know what their needs are and if they need us to offer some clinical support, we can do that. If they want us to participate in that way, we can do that. But we’re

also providing them the money to make it happen. I wish it was double, triple, but it isn’t. That’s why we’re looking at philanthropic partners.

I think I got most of it.

Thank you, Minister Abernethy. General comments. Next I have Ms. Bisaro.