Mr. Speaker, our guiding principles for consensus government recognizes that a healthy tension between Cabinet and Regular Members is normal, Mr. Speaker. That is evident today. Our debates have not been without their disagreements.
As leaders, we will often be called upon to make difficult decisions; decisions where the path forward is not always clear. There are many priorities and many demands, many things that we want to do for our people. Managing the complex challenges and demands our government faces is a key part of every Minister's job, and there is not always going to be agreement over how that is done or the decisions that are made. I believe Minister Abernethy is doing a good job of facing the many complicated issues and challenges involved in delivering Health and Social Services to all 44,000 Northwest Territories residents in all 33 communities.
The methods for addressing a Minister's performance issues in the consensus system are well-known. As is the tradition in the consensus system, Cabinet works together to make decisions on behalf of residents and carry out the responsibilities that we are each responsible for.
As Premier, I am responsible for providing leadership and management of Cabinet, and I speak frequently with all my Ministers about the work that they are doing. If Members have concerns about how a Minister is performing, they may speak directly to the Minister to raise those concerns. If they feel there are still concerns after speaking with the Minister, Members can always come and speak to me directly. Our process convention also gives Members the option of asking for a fireside chat with me to speak as a group about issues they are concerned about.
I do not believe that action to revoke Minister Abernethy's appointment is warranted. He is an experienced leader in his second term as a Minister and has performed well in several portfolios.
The recent audit of the Child and Family Services System is concerning, but I am satisfied the Minister is taking this issue seriously and has a plan for addressing the concerns raised by the Auditor General. The department has been engaged with the Office of the Auditor General for several months during the development of this audit. They have examined the issues raised by the Auditor General carefully and in detail to develop a management response that is part of the audit report.
The management response lays out how the department will fix the problems identified by the Auditor General. I encourage Members to do their due diligence and hear from the department in detail about the actions they have taken and will continue to take to ensure that children are safe. I understand that Committee has set a meeting for December 12th to review the Auditor General's report with the department. I expect this will be a good opportunity for Members and the public to hear in great depth how the Minister and his department are taking action on this file.
The first audit found that the Northwest Territories' Child and Family Services system needed a complete overhaul, and this Minister undertook those changes recommended by the Office of the Auditor General. The Government of the Northwest Territories responded with Building Stronger Families, a comprehensive response to bring about foundational change in a system according to the Office of the Auditor General's recommendations.
Under Building Stronger Families, the Government of Northwest Territories has taken the time to bring a new legislation and procedures to completely change the orientation of the system from one that apprehended kids to one that is also focused on prevention and providing better supports to families. This is exactly the kind of shift and focus that Minister Jane Philpott has been talking about nationally, in which we have been among the first jurisdiction as to formally implement.
Take a look at other provinces and territories. Children in care is a national issue that we are challenged to address. The department has invested $5 million into putting the systems in place to respond to the 2014 Office of the Auditor General and Building Stronger Families plan. This includes support for the structured decision-making tools and the development of a new information system called Matrix. They will also be requesting resources through the next budgeting cycle to hire more staff.
We have made systemic change to the foundation that require staff to do work in a fundamentally different way. They are the right changes, focused on keeping kids in the communities and in their cultures, but implementing those changes has been challenging for front-line workers in the system.
The department has been monitoring its implementation of the system, including doing its own internal audits, that was telling them the same things the Auditor General learned. They have already brought in changes to ensure they are monitoring the system more closely, more frequently, and are directing systems to hear from front-line workers on implementing challenges on the ground. They have made management changes, are focusing on increased training and support for front-line workers, and are planning to increase the number of workers.
These are all steps that will help the Government of the Northwest Territories ensure it has a high-performing Child and Family Services System that puts the safety of the Northwest Territories' children first.
Cabinet has heard clearly from Members about their frustrations and their concerns. I intend to take what I have heard to heart. We can always do better as Ministers. As Premier, I am committed to doing whatever I can to live up to ours residents' expectations on the provision of good government, and so are all the Members of Cabinet.
Mr. Speaker, Cabinet will be voting against this motion. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.