This is page numbers 5027 - 5084 of the Hansard for the 18th Assembly, 3rd Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was services. View the webstream of the day's session.

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Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

Merci, Monsieur le President. When GNWT negotiated devolution in 2014, there was an interesting arrangement whereby the federal government's National Energy Board remained as the oil and gas regulator in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region onshore areas. In other onshore areas of the NWT, the GNWT had the ability to create its own regulator and has done so through the Office of the Regulator of Oil and Gas Operations.

It is not clear why the federal government of the day and our government, led by the current Premier, would agree to such an arrangement. Why should a regulator established under federal legislation with no northern representation and no significant presence in the NWT be permitted to manage oil and gas exploration and development in the region with the highest potential? What an odd arrangement.

Some might speculate that this arrangement may have been put in place to protect the corporate interests of the Mackenzie Gas Project, which has since folded.

The arrangement with the National Energy Board is to prevail for at least 20 years after devolution unless Canada and GNWT agree otherwise, according to section 12.1(2) of the federal National Energy Board Act and the devolution agreement.

Rather than focus on trying to assume legislative responsibility for the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act, why not go after this residual outpost of federal colonialism and allow for OROGO to manage oil and gas exploration in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region? Our government will have a very difficult time trying to convince the federal government, let alone the residents of the NWT, that it has demonstrated responsible resource development. We couldn't even get around to something as basic as reviewing the revenues we get from the extractive sector during the five years following devolution.

I will have questions later today for the Minister of Justice, who also serves as the regulator for oil and gas in parts of the NWT not under the jurisdiction of the National Energy Board. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

The Deputy Speaker

The Deputy Speaker R.J. Simpson

Members' statements. Item 4, reports of standing and special committees. Member for Kam Lake.

Kieron Testart

Kieron Testart Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, your Standing Committee on Government Operations is pleased to provide its report on the review of the 2018 report of the Auditor General of Canada to the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly (Child and Family Services) and commends it to the House.

Before we begin, we would like to recognize the contributions of the Auditor General of Canada, Mr. Michael Ferguson, to the completion of this report. Mr. Ferguson, who passed away on February 2, 2019, was a dedicated public servant who will be greatly missed. We offer our condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues.

On October 23, 2018, the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories tabled the 2018 Report of the Auditor General of Canada to the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly - Child and Family Services. The Standing Committee on Government Operations ("the committee") then convened a public hearing with staff from the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) and with representatives of the Northwest Territories Department of Health and Social Services ("the department") on December 12, 2018.

Like many Northwest Territories residents, Members know and care for those whose lives have been intimately affected by the child and family services (CFS) system. Some have been affected themselves. The CFS system shapes the lives of all children and families involved in it. In doing so, it shapes our territory's future. The importance of this work cannot be overstated.

To address the issues identified by the OAG, the Department of Health and Social Services has committed to achieving major, much-needed change within the next two years. This work is both urgent and challenging, and the stakes are high. Two years is not a long time, unless you are a child in care that is not working.

Roles of the Auditor General of Canada and the Standing Committee on Government Operations

The Auditor General of Canada is an officer of Parliament, with additional auditing responsibility for the territorial governments, including the Government of the Northwest Territories. When delivering financial or performance audits of the GNWT, the Auditor General reports directly to the Legislative Assembly as one of its statutory officers.

The committee, which has oversight responsibility for each of the Assembly's statutory officers, then reviews that report and makes recommendations to the government. This work is part of the committee's core mandate.

Child and Family Services in the Northwest Territories

Under the umbrella of the Department of Health and Social Services, the director of Child and Family Services, assigned by statutory appointment, and the health and social services authorities, including the Northwest Territories and Hay River authorities (NTHSSA and HRSSA) and the Tlicho Community Services Agency (TCSA), work together to deliver services as set out in the Child and Family Services Act and the Child and Family Services Standards and Procedures Manual. Through CFS, the GNWT must fulfill a parent's duties and responsibilities for each child in its care, in addition to providing various other services to children and their families.

As OAG staff told the committee, "The department has a fundamental responsibility for children in care. The department has to figure out how to make that work."

What Did the OAG Look At?

The OAG's report is the latest contribution to a large body of work on CFS, including past OAG audits, standing committee reports, third-party analyses, and internal government documents, such as action plans and annual reports. Much of this prior work is described in detail in Committee Report 16-17(5), issued by our predecessor committee on May 29, 2014. Interested readers may find all committee reports online at the Legislative Assembly's website or through the Legislative Library.

For its 2018 report, the OAG audited the department's and authorities' performance against current laws, policies, and procedures, focusing on whether the department and authorities "met key responsibilities for the protection and well-being of children, youth, and their families, [including] whether [they] had implemented selected recommendations from [the] 2014 audit." Auditors examined 37 child files and 37 foster care files in the Yellowknife, Beaufort-Delta, and Tlicho regions, which together serve as home to 67 percent of children in care in the Northwest Territories, and extended their file review of guardianship agreements and out-of-territory placements across all authorities. The audit also included engagement with child protection workers (CPWs) in all regions.

Overall, the findings are troubling. Service delivery continues to be plagued by "serious deficiencies" and, rather than see improvement, many services have worsened since 2014.

What Did We Look At?

This report is about the OAG's 2018 audit of child and family services. It does not provide a comprehensive review of the CFS system, nor does it examine the Child and Family Services Act or internal CFS policies.

As the standing committee with the responsibility to oversee statutory officers, this committee is concerned with the official findings of the OAG regarding performance and compliance. Our objective is to make recommendations to the GNWT that will result in improved services to children and families and also, as elected officials responsible for the approval of the GNWT's annual budget, to ensure optimal allocation of public resources. Our colleagues on the Standing Committee on Social Development continue to monitor the ongoing delivery of CFS.

It is also important to note that the committee is concerned with overarching management and the direction of departmental business at the senior level, not with the day-to-day performance of front-line and other staff.

The department is developing a quality improvement plan for CFS. This plan should incorporate the recommendations made in this report.

Recommendation 1

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services incorporate into its quality improvement plan for child and family services the recommendations made in this report.

General Considerations

Accepting the findings of the Auditor General

The department has previously questioned the OAG's findings regarding CFS. For example, the 2015-2016 annual report of the CFS director states:

"Finally, there is a major limitation in both the Auditor General's findings and the current department audit findings, one that calls into question any conclusions drawn from the findings. Neither the Auditor General nor the Director of Child and Family Services were able to distinguish between 'work not done' and 'work not recorded' using the current methodology."

Similarly, during the public hearing, although departmental staff stated that they respect the OAG's findings, they also spoke of "debate over methodology" and their preference for internal audit results over the OAG's findings.

The committee requested the OAG's perspective on these matters. We determined that the OAG's findings are fully vetted with each audited department. OAG staff said, "We go through a very active process to vet with departments and give them every opportunity to provide any evidence. We vetted all of our findings, and the department and authorities signed off [on all of them]." The OAG dedicated a combined 7,000 hours to their audit.

The committee urges all audited departments to refrain from questioning the OAG's findings once they are accepted.

Timely Receipt of Materials

In 2016 and 2017, the committee recommended that any GNWT department being audited provide the committee with its action or implementation plan no later than three business days before the public hearing. A process convention is presently in development to clarify procedures for the distribution of such documents.

Recommendation 2

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that any government department, board, or agency being audited produce a draft action or implementation plan in response to the audit, provide the committee with a copy of that plan that is consistent with the appropriate process conventions, and present the plan at the committee's public hearing.

Quality Assurance

Some performance parameters for CFS are immediately clear because they are set out in the Child and Family Services Act. Regarding these, the committee concurs with the OAG that 100 percent compliance is the department's legal obligation and that anything less is insufficient.

After the OAG's 2014 report, our predecessor committee recommended that the department and authorities conduct annual compliance audits, and that these audits, along with any subsequent action plans, be shared with the Standing Committee on Social Programs (now called the Standing Committee on Social Development) and tabled in the Legislative Assembly. At that time, the GNWT agreed to these recommendations and cited Building Stronger Families: An Action Plan to Transform Child and Family Services, which included commitments to a common audit tool and reporting template.

Since that time, however, the internal auditing process has been hindered by several issues. The department has dedicated significant resources to attempting to replicate the OAG's process in in its own internal quality assurance work. These attempts have left the department with unusable data, a "broken" audit tool, and inconsistency in reporting across regions.

Considering this, the committee is reminded of advice from the OAG's staff: "If you're going to do the quality assurance work, you have to make sure you have the resources." This will be discussed further under the heading "Assessment of required financial and human resources."

The committee also wishes to raise two additional points.

First, it is important to understand that the department's internal audit process and the work of the OAG are entirely distinct. These differences mean that findings cannot be compared in an "apples-to-apples" way.

The OAG's performance audit covered the period between April 1, 2014, and September 12, 2018. The department's most recent internal audit covered only the period between April 1, 2016, and March 31, 2017.

The OAG examined 37 child files and 37 foster care files and engaged with CFS staff in all regions. The department examined "a sample of 711 child protection and prevention events," including all foster care files within the audit period, and offered an online anonymous survey to staff employed in the authorities.

Second, since becoming aware of the OAG's findings, the department appears to have initiated comprehensive system-wide quality assurance, but failed to address immediate service gaps identified by the OAG. For example, at the public hearing, three months after the OAG's audit was concluded, departmental staff were unable to identify whether unscreened guardians and foster homes had since been screened, and referred instead to plans for system-wide quality assurance.

Departmental staff framed this as a "dilemma," or a choice between "perfect" performance and a "quality improvement approach." But the OAG's report has shown that the department's present "quality improvement approach" resulted in worsened services over time. "Perfection" may be difficult to achieve, but regardless, 100 percent compliance is required by law. The committee echoes its predecessors and urges the department to "begin immediately and in earnest to correct deficiencies in child and family services," even while it continues to develop its medium- and long-term plans.

Recommendation 3

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services act immediately to ensure that all gaps in screenings and reviews identified by the Office of the Auditor General, including screening for guardianship agreements and foster homes, are addressed, and that it advise the committee when this is completed.

Recommendation 4

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services appear before the appropriate standing committee twice yearly to report on its compliance with the Child and Family Services Act and its progress on its quality improvement plan.

Performance Evaluation Through Measurable Outcomes

However, compliance alone does not ensure that children and families are adequately supported, nor do individual measures, lacking context, provide a complete portrait of performance.

For example, the department has identified increasing rates of children receiving services in the home and increasing rates of voluntary services agreements (VSAs) as demonstrating improved services. Yet the OAG found that monitoring of children at risk under parental care at home had worsened since 2014, and that VSAs require no interaction with child protection workers (CPWs) and may be ended by the parent at any time. To quote directly from the OAG's report:

"In most cases, we found that plan-of-care agreements were not monitored as required, and that the monitoring that did take place focused mostly on parents instead of on the children these plans were intended to protect. For example, we found that, in most cases, HSSAs had some contact with parents, but did not interview children as often as the plans required to make sure they were safe and to assess their health and well-being. We found that this occurred even in some high-risk cases.

We also found that authorities allowed some children to remain under a plan-of-care agreement even when it was clear the conditions were not being met, and sometimes extended these same agreements. Further, in a few cases we examined, authorities allowed a parent to terminate the plan-of-care agreement early without being assured that the child was no longer at risk. These findings are significant because these agreements are often an alternative to removing a child from the home, and the termination of the agreement by the parents may not be in the best interests of a child."

Simply put, more children may have been assigned to receive services at home, but the services received, if any, were subpar and staff often failed to follow up.

To deliver effective services, the department must assess performance over time through both compliance rates and contextualized, client-centred performance measures. These should include desirable long-term outcomes intended to assess whether children engaged with the Child and Family Services system are flourishing over time. These might include social inclusion, for example extracurricular activities or the desire and ability to set and pursue educational or career goals, and other health indicators, for example, educational performance or mental health, as well as quality assurance practices focused on assessing children's satisfaction as "clients" of the system.

The department has accepted the OAG's recommendation that it "identify specific indicators to measure whether the system is achieving the desired results and is better supporting children." This work will be a critical component of the department's work over the next two years.

Recommendation 5

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services publicly identify performance indicators, including client-centered outcomes, that it will use to assess improvements in child and family services over time;

And that reporting on these measures be incorporated into the department's annual business plan and the annual report of the director of child and family services.

Mr. Speaker, at this time I'd like to turn the reading of the report over to the honourable Member for Deh Cho. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Deputy Speaker

The Deputy Speaker R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Members. I am pleased to draw your attention to the presence of Mr. Shigenobu Kobayashi, Consul General of Japan, on the occasion of his first official visit to the Northwest Territories. Accompanying the Consul General are his wife, Ms. Keiko Kobayashi; Ms. Noriko Ikeyama, consul; and Mr. Paul Pryce, political and economic advisor; and, of course, Ms. Carmen Moore, GNWT Chief of Protocol. Members, please join me in welcoming them to the House this afternoon. Member for Deh Cho.

Michael Nadli

Michael Nadli Deh Cho

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Cultural Safety

It is well known that Indigenous children and families are over-represented within CFS. Further, while the number of non-Indigenous children in care has declined over the past 10 years, the proportion of Indigenous children has remained roughly the same, approximately 95 percent. The committee is also aware that many residents have observed or experienced parallels between involvement with CFS and the residential school system, particularly the very real fear of having one's children removed from their home and community by government officials.

During the public hearing, when Members questioned the department about engagement with Indigenous communities, staff advised that they had been "focused internally" and that they "haven't done that fulsome kind of outreach," but were "confident that grassroots staff were working with communities." The department must show leadership and ensure that senior staff connects with front-line staff, and that both regularly engage with Indigenous and community governments. Notably, this was also recommended by our predecessor committee.

If the department wishes to make meaningful, permanent change in CFS, Indigenous people must be engaged as part of the solution. The department and authorities must maintain children's access to their culture and traditions, and ensure staff is regularly engaged in community immersion and cultural safety training.

Recommendation 6

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services incorporate into its quality improvement plan on child and family services a commitment to strengthen working relationships with Indigenous and community governments; and

That the department regularly report on its progress as set out in Recommendation 5.

Community Engagement

The department must also regularly collaborate with other community partners, including the Foster Family Coalition of the Northwest Territories and the extended families of children in care. Foster parents are eager and willing partners, waiting to be engaged, and families of children in care want to know that they are being heard and that the children they love are being given the opportunity to thrive. As our predecessor committee noted, improvements are still needed in supports for kinship care, that is, children being cared for by grandparents and other relatives in lieu of being cared for by their parents.

When the OAG examined supports for foster parents, it found that one audited authority offered "specialized training to some foster parents," while the other two offered "very little or no such training." The committee would like to see these supports distributed equitably across the entire territory and designed to recognize foster parents' prior experience, abilities, and unique needs, for example, particularly in kinship care, and to help foster parents navigate the CFS system and the challenges it poses to those involved.

Recommendation 7

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services incorporate into its quality improvement plan on child and family services a commitment to strengthen working relationships with community stakeholders in child and family services, including the Foster Family Coalition of the Northwest Territories and the extended families of children in care; and

That the department regularly report on its progress as set out in Recommendation 5.

Recommendation 8

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services develop and implement training for foster parents.

Recommendation 9

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services establish an information-sharing agreement with the Foster Family Coalition of the Northwest Territories to ensure that all foster parents may be connected with that organization's resources.

Mr. Speaker, I now pass the reading of this section to my colleague, the honourable Member for Sahtu, Daniel McNeely.

The Deputy Speaker

The Deputy Speaker R.J. Simpson

Member for Sahtu.

Daniel McNeely

Daniel McNeely Sahtu

Engagement with Front-line Staff

The OAG's engagement with CPWs also showed that front-line staff continue to face significant pressures, particularly in their workloads, which in turn negatively impacts children in care, whether through high staff turnover, duties "falling through the cracks," or in administrative burdens demanding CPWs' limited time. The committee heard of one employee assigned to complete, by themselves, quality assurance reviews of roughly 3,000 child protection decisions. This is not sustainable.

The department has used various methods to reach out to staff, including teleconferences, meetings, and surveys. Over the next two years and into the future, all staff must have the opportunity to provide free and honest feedback, whether positive or negative. An open, ongoing process with guaranteed anonymity is one way to achieve this.

Recommendation 10

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services develop and implement mechanisms to enable staff to provide free and honest feedback anonymously.

Specific Observations

Services for Children in Parental Care

Structured Decision Making

Structured Decision Making (SDM) is a proprietary tool intended to aid CPWs in making decisions about child safety and to ensure consistency in decision-making. It is relatively new to the Northwest Territories. Although it is in use, it is not yet fully implemented.

The OAG found that in about eight of every 10 case reviews, CPWs did not use the SDM tool to assess longer-term risk for children in parental care, even though this was mandatory and risk assessment was an outstanding performance issue. The OAG also found insufficient staff training and significant lag in internal quality assurance. As discussed earlier, in one case a single employee was tasked with reviewing 3,000 decisions in addition to their regular job duties.

Further, a review commissioned by the department and undertaken by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency Children's Research Center, who created SDM, found a 50 percent error rate. This means that the tool's creators, experts in their field, disagreed with one in every two decisions made by a territorial CPW on a child's safety using SDM. This is not an acceptable standard of reliability.

Plan-of-Care Agreements

Plan-of-care agreements (POCAs) are used where CPWs have established that a child is in an unsafe situation, but may remain in parental care under conditions tailored to address that situation. POCAs set out these conditions and "the support needed to help parents meet [them]."

As discussed, the OAG found that compliance rates for the management and monitoring of POCAs had declined since 2014. Children rarely received the services due to them, and some POCAs were continued even where parents failed to meet conditions. In some instances, CPWs "allowed a parent to terminate the [POCA] early without being assured that the child was no longer at risk."

The committee is concerned that, whether intentionally or not, as our predecessor committee warned, reductions in the number of child apprehensions may have been "achieved by cutting back on child protection services." The committee supports the general objective of limiting the number of apprehensions, but this cannot be achieved at the expense of children's right to a safe living environment or the department's compliance with its legal responsibilities.

Now I pass on the reading to the Member for Nunakput.

The Deputy Speaker

The Deputy Speaker R.J. Simpson

Member for Nunakput.

Herbert Nakimayak

Herbert Nakimayak Nunakput

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Services for Children in Temporary and Permanent Care

Transferring Guardianship of Children in the Care of the Director

The OAG found that in 22 cases CPWs, without the knowledge of senior staff in the authorities or the department, "worked with [children's] biological parents to transfer guardianship... to a family member or other person, who then were given full parental rights and responsibility." Significantly, when a guardianship agreement is completed, CFS cedes its right to act on behalf of (or for) the child in question.

At the time of the OAG's review, there was no related legislation or formal policies, standards, rules, or advice to guide CPWs in the matter of guardianship. Further, in the 22 cases reviewed by the OAG, only eight guardians had been screened, and one of the unscreened guardians later assaulted the child in their care. During the public hearing, the department also advised that half of these agreements have since broken down, meaning that CFS failed to achieve permanency for those children. Staff were also unable to identify how many of these guardians had been screened or otherwise followed up with since the audit was concluded.

Responding to these findings, the department stated that staff had "acted with good intentions." Similarly, during the public hearing, staff emphasized to Members that the agreements had been reviewed by legal counsel. Such responses appear to focus on legal liability rather than practical responsibility. That front-line staff considered such use of guardianship agreements to be part of their regular suite of tools, with senior staff unaware, suggests a considerable breakdown in communications.

Foster Care

Screening and Annual Reviews of Foster Homes

During the public hearing, the committee also considered authorities' failure to properly screen and review foster homes. Since 2014, "serious deficiencies in the screening and ongoing monitoring of foster homes [have] persisted": two-thirds of reviewed foster care files revealed that the home had not received an initial screening, including criminal record and reference checks, and that most files contained only incomplete annual reviews, largely because children were not interviewed.

Again, departmental staff were unable to identify how many of these foster homes had been appropriately screened and/or reviewed since the audit was concluded.

Persistent Deficiencies in Foster Care Monitoring and Support

The department must act to address severe gaps in permanency planning for children in care. Quoting from the OAG's report:

"In particular, HSSAs did not maintain the required regular contact with many of the children they had removed from homes and placed in foster care or other out-of-home placements. As a result, they had no way of knowing whether these children were receiving the care they needed. They also did not develop permanency plans for most of these children. In some cases, this contributed to children moving between foster care homes multiple times. Such frequent moves make it difficult to provide children with stability and support."

An "Early Warning System" for Children in Care

During the public hearing, the department told the committee that its new information system, MATRIX NT (which is new and was not part of the OAG's audit), would enable staff to quickly and effectively "track children who make multiple [moves], which will trigger a quality review."

This type of "early warning" mechanism for children in care is necessary not only to track the movement of children in care, but system-wide. The department must be able to identify common "pinch points" in the CFS system, then intervene before children themselves are harmed. The committee hopes that new tools, including MATRIX NT and SDM, will prove useful. We also counsel the department to provide regular adequate training, including refresher training, to staff and to ensure that "boots on the ground" action accompanies all "tabletop" data analysis.

The System for Delivering Child and Family Services

Assessment of Required Financial and Human Resources

The OAG "found that the department had still not determined the financial and human resources required to deliver child and family services and had only started to assess what was needed toward the end of the audit period." The OAG also found that authorities' CFS funding was "based on historical amounts dating back to 1998" and that the daily rate paid to foster parents has only recently been increased for the first time in 10 years. The OAG also noted that, outside Yellowknife, authorities still did not employ family preservation workers.

None of these issues are new. The recommendation that the department do this work has been made and reiterated for the past 18 years. That it remains unaddressed has significant continuing implications. Without a clear understanding of what is needed, the department cannot assess the value or impact of staff vacancies, make appropriate budget proposals, identify the positions and skillsets needed, or implement initiatives to resolve longstanding issues. Such a needs assessment would also need to account for the unique challenges presently facing the system, for example, the demographics of system users, or the OAG's finding that 80 percent of children's files identified alcohol or drug misuse as a factor, while 50 percent identified domestic violence, which itself is more likely to negatively affect women. Appropriately resourcing the department's ambitious two-year quality improvement plan will be key to its success.

At the public hearing, departmental staff told the committee that an assessment of resource needs would be presented as part of the 2019-2020 budget. This assessment has yet to be considered and assessed. However, the committee is troubled that it appears that increases to CFS will be partially funded through reductions to other health and social services functions, including a reduction of homecare. Without a detailed resource needs assessment, money alone will not solve the problems facing CFS, and certainly not money reallocated from other departmental priority areas.

Recommendation 11

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services incorporate into its quality improvement plan for child and family services a clear commitment to complete the assessment of financial and human resources required to deliver child and family services, as recommended by the Auditor General of Canada;

That this assessment incorporate gender-based analysis, e.g., via the Gender-based Analysis Plus tool;

That the department share with the committee its project plan for this work, developing subsequent timelines in discussion with the committee; and

That the quality improvement plan for child and family services be revised and re-released to reflect this assessment upon its completion.

Mr. Speaker, I pass this back on to the Member for Kam Lake. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Deputy Speaker

The Deputy Speaker R.J. Simpson

Member for Kam Lake.

Kieron Testart

Kieron Testart Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Caseload Management

Nearly two decades ago, the Child Welfare League of Canada (CWLC) recommended that the department develop caseload standards for CPWs. Following the OAG's 2014 report, the department commissioned the Child Welfare League of Canada to complete a workload management study, wherein the CWLC repeated its recommendation. Our predecessor committee made a similar recommendation in 2014.

Despite this, the OAG found that the department has still not completed this work.

Recommendation 12

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services develop and implement caseload standards for child protection workers by June 30, 2019.

The Role of an Advocate for Children and Youth

Our territory is one of just two jurisdictions in Canada without a child and youth advocate, that is, an independent officer of the legislature dedicated specifically to the rights, interests, and voices of children and youth, particularly those who are especially vulnerable, such as children in care. The committee observes that a similar role may be performed by the future ombud.

Recommendations

The committee's recommendations have been listed above. We also note that we have considered the recommendations of our predecessor committee. Although some progress has been made, for example, in the areas of extended services for youth aged 19 to 24, many of that committee's 30 recommendations remain incompletely addressed. Looking to the future, we hope for change.

In keeping with regular practice, the committee recommends that the GNWT formally respond to this report.

Recommendation 13

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories provide a comprehensive response to this report within 120 days.

Conclusion

This concludes the committee's Report on the Review of the 2018 Report of the Auditor General of Canada to the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly (Child and Family Services).

All committee reports are available online at the Legislative Assembly website: www.assembly.gov.nt.ca.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Deputy Speaker

The Deputy Speaker R.J. Simpson

Member for Kam Lake.

Kieron Testart

Kieron Testart Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Deh Cho, that Committee Report 12-18(3) be received by the Assembly and moved into Committee of the Whole for further consideration. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Deputy Speaker

The Deputy Speaker R.J. Simpson

There is a motion on the floor. The motion is non-debatable. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.

---Carried

The report will be available for consideration in Committee of the Whole on Thursday, February 28. Reports of standing and special committees. Member for Kam Lake.

Committee Report 13-18(3): Report on the Review of Bill 31: Northwest Territories 911 Act
Reports Of Standing And Special Committees

February 26th, 2019

Page 5034

Kieron Testart

Kieron Testart Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your Standing Committee on Government Operations is pleased to provide its Report on the Review of Bill 31: Northwest Territories 911 Act, and commends it to the House.

INTRODUCTION

The Standing Committee on Government Operations ("the committee") is pleased to report on its review of Bill 31: Northwest Territories 911 Act.

Bill 31, Northwest Territories 911 Act, sponsored by the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, has been referred to the Standing Committee on Government Operations for review. The bill proposes to:

  • Direct the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs to establish a territorial 911 service;
  • Bind the Government of the Northwest Territories;
  • Establish a 911 cost-recovery fee to be paid by local landline and wireless/mobile subscribers and collected by telecommunications carriers;
  • Mandate the participation of local authorities and emergency service providers; and
  • Mandate the participation of telecommunications carriers, who will be required to comply with any prescribed registration and reporting requirements, and who will also be required to bill subscribers, collect the fee, and remit it to the GNWT.

Background

In 2015, the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs commissioned a report by Pomax Consulting, a firm headquartered in Ontario that provides independent emergency service consulting expertise to public governments at all levels and to public safety organizations. That report, which presented recommendations and an implementation plan for a territory-wide 911 service, was completed in January 2015. The report found that the Northwest Territories was well positioned to move forward with the implementation of basic 911 service.

Basic 911 service requires the caller to verbally identify the location from which they are calling, unlike enhanced 911, which uses automated number identification technology. With this in mind, basic 911 service was confirmed by the consultant to be the most cost-effective and timely option available for implementation in the Northwest Territories, provided it was done in partnership with an existing NWT emergency dispatch service provider. The consultant also noted that implementation of a basic 911 service would avoid the considerable technology, cost, and timing challenges associated with enhanced 911, which was rapidly becoming outdated and would not preclude the Northwest Territories from moving directly to next-generation fibre-optic 911 technology in the future.

In May 2015, MACA presented the Pomax report to the 17th Assembly Standing Committee on Economic Development and Infrastructure which, at that time, had responsibility for the oversight of MACA. The Department also committed to working with the City of Yellowknife to validate cost and planning assumptions associated with a proposal to house 911 with the Yellowknife Fire Department. In September of the same year, Pomax Consulting delivered an addendum to their original report, which updated the cost estimates for the proposed service. For those who are interested, both reports are available online.

Subsequent to the commencement of the 18th Legislative Assembly in November 2015, responsibility for the oversight of MACA was transferred to the Standing Committee on Government Operations. Since the outset, this standing committee has taken a keen interest in 911 and has advocated for its implementation. Members were briefed on the department's work, including the planning work related to the establishment of a 911 emergency service in the Northwest Territories.

Members were, therefore, disappointed to note that funding for the implementation of 911 emergency service was not included in the GNWT's 2016-2017 Business Plan, which stated only that "research has been completed on 911, and the initiative is under consideration as a future strategic priority of the GNWT."

At the conclusion of the 2016-2017 Business Plan review, the committee expressed the view that the value and life-saving potential of a 911 system in the NWT far outweighs the relatively small investment of costs set out in the Pomax report, which identified one-time start-up costs of $616,100 and ongoing annual operational costs of $869,300. Committee urged the department to move forward with the implementation of 911 without delay.

On the basis of the costs identified in the Pomax report, committee also supported implementation of basic 911 service on a full cost-recovery basis, which would require a monthly user fee estimated at approximately $1.15 per subscriber. Committee took note that this fee, according to Pomax, "is noticeably higher than the rest of Canada" and "likely attributable to the low volume of phone subscribers in the North." For comparison purposes, the monthly user fee in Newfoundland and Labrador was, at the time, $0.75, the fee in Prince Edward Island was $0.70, and in Saskatchewan, $0.62.

It is important to note that the fee estimate is exclusive of any tariff authorized by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). This additional tariff, if approved by the CRTC, may be collected by an incumbent service provider, in this case NorthwesTel, for costs associated with implementing and maintaining a 911 network, including trunk lines, selective routing software, and lines terminating at the dispatch centre. As yet, these costs are unknown, but were estimated in 2015 to potentially add an additional $0.27 to $0.47 to each subscriber's monthly user fee for 911. The potential impact of these additional costs has been factored into committee's assessment of the bill.

The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs has continued to be responsive to the standing committee's requests for information related to this initiative. In March 2018, the Honourable Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs and the Honourable Minister of Health and Social Services met with committee to update Members on the decision to co-locate the 911 dispatch centre with Med-Response, the service currently being used by the GNWT for the dispatch of medevac flights for residents in need of urgent medical care, rather than with the Yellowknife Fire Department.

Additionally, committee was most pleased to note the inclusion of funding in the department's 2017-2018 budget, and in each subsequent budget, for costs associated with the planning and implementation of 911. The committee wishes to take this opportunity to thank the previous Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs and the current Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs for their willingness to work with committee on this initiative. Committee also thanks all Members of Cabinet for their responsiveness to the committee's requests for funding of this initiative, despite it not having been identified in the government's mandate.

Bill 31 received Second Reading in the Legislative Assembly on November 1, 2018, and was referred to the Standing Committee on Government Operations for review. It was with great anticipation that the committee started its review of Bill 31, the results of which are reported below.

Mr. Speaker, I would now ask to turn the reading of this report over to the honourable Member for Nunakput. Thank you.

The Deputy Speaker

The Deputy Speaker R.J. Simpson

Member for Nunakput.

Herbert Nakimayak

Herbert Nakimayak Nunakput

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a proper copy here now.

The Public Review of Bill 31

To commence its review of Bill 31, the Standing Committee on Government Operations sent letters inviting input from an extensive list of stakeholders, including all municipal and Indigenous governments in the Northwest Territories, and a number of non-governmental organizations.

During the week of January 21, 2019, the committee travelled to and held public meetings in Fort Smith, Inuvik, and Fort McPherson, returning to Yellowknife for a final public meeting on January 24, 2019. Committee thanks every individual and organization who attended these meetings in order to share their views on 911 with the Members.

What We Heard

Qualified Support Depending on the Cost

The support that committee heard for 911 could best be characterized as "mixed." The City of Yellowknife commended the GNWT for contemplating Bill 31, noting that the "implementation of a 911 system quite simply saves lives," and that it "achieves this by eliminating any doubt or delay regarding the correct number to call in an emergency." The City of Yellowknife also noted that "as tourism increase[s] the numbers of visitors to our city, it is becoming increasingly important to have a 911 system that is recognized by travellers worldwide, to ensure that emergencies are reported in a timely manner to avoid adverse consequences."

Not all comments were as supportive, however. Mr. Bill Buckle, senior administrative officer for Fort McPherson, said, "I hate to say it, but it's really more of a Yellowknife problem with a Yellowknife solution."

Mr. Clarence Wood, current president of the NWT Association of Communities, with 20 years of experience on Inuvik Town Council, told the committee that he is concerned about the cost of the service and its efficiency. He posed the question, "Why pay for something when we don't have cell service across the territory?"

In general, committee heard qualified support for bringing 911 emergency service to the Northwest Territories. Most people who supported it saw the value in having a universal emergency number across the Northwest Territories, but were not prepared to subsidize the service at any cost.

Mr. Dez Loreen of Inuvik said he thought it was "cool" that 911 is coming to the Northwest Territories. He noted that he would be comfortable paying a surcharge, but wondered if the service could be introduced in a staged fashion, so that only those who have access would have to pay.

A comment made by Ms. Anna Kikoak of Fort Smith resonated with committee members. She said, "One of the things that ties us together in the North is that we take responsibility for one another; I would be willing to pay a little more [for 911] to help others."

From the input received, committee took away the message that people were prepared to pay a user fee for 911 service, but that costs should be kept as affordable as possible for the end user in these difficult economic times.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to pass it over to the Member for Sahtu.

The Deputy Speaker

The Deputy Speaker R.J. Simpson

Member for Sahtu.

Daniel McNeely

Daniel McNeely Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Desire for Better Cellular Coverage

Committee heard comments about the limitations of the current cellular service in the Northwest Territories. In Fort McPherson, Mr. Richard Nerysoo pointed out that cell service is sporadic around town and that smaller communities won't benefit from 911 if they don't have the infrastructure. Mr. Buckle suggested that maybe it would be better to spend the money on expanding cell service on the highway. The Hamlet of Tulita wondered if the GNWT was preparing to lobby Bell Canada to encourage them to install more cellphone towers along existing highways. In developing its recommendations to government, committee considered this input in the context of the future growth of the Northwest Territories.

Need for Training and Support to Communities

Mr. Buckle, drawing on his experience as the senior administrative officer for Fort McPherson, noted that it will be important for MACA to have an assessment of what infrastructure is needed in each community before implementing 911.

Mr. John Itsi, an elder in Fort McPherson, emphasized how important training is, not only for implementing the 911 system, but for everyone who is involved in emergency response.

Mr. Grant Hood, senior administrative officer with the Town of Inuvik, noted that Inuvik currently uses a 24-hour-per-day external call centre, and wondered if this system would become redundant with 911.

In a submission received from Tulita, the Hamlet Council noted that its understanding that small, remote communities, such as Tulita, may never be fully 911 compliant, because there is not a full need for the service. "After all," the submissions observed, "a resident shouldn't call 911 and request an ambulance if there isn't an ambulance in the community." With that said, the community noted its willingness to take steps to become 911 compliant by implementing a civic addressing system with standardized street signage and house number, but noted the need to make "special one-time funding and resources available to the communities in aid of this transition."

The City of Yellowknife pointed out that it currently operates a dispatch service receiving calls for fire, ambulance, and other emergency situations and that the proposed Northwest Territories 911 Act will bind the participation of the city as a local authority, which will be the case for all local authorities in the Northwest Territories. The city also expressed its concern about any increased cost of living for residents. On this basis, the city made clear its position "that the GNWT must undertake detailed consultation with the City of Yellowknife to ensure successful implementation of 911 services," and that "the GNWT must fund any costs incurred by the City of Yellowknife as a result of the transition to a 911 system, such as incremental costs incurred as a result of any necessary improvements to the Yellowknife fire dispatch and telephone network costs that are not covered by the 911 fees charged on monthly phone bills."

When questioned by committee, representatives from the City of Yellowknife indicated that they would be interested in participating in an implementation working group. They also noted that their discussion with MACA on the subject was in the spring of 2018 when the city was advised of government's decision to co-locate 911 services with Med-Response.

The concerns raised by those representing municipal authorities and those who have experience working for them demonstrates that there is a great need for information about the implementation and the operation of the proposed 911 system on the part of local governments.

At this point, I would like to pass the reading on to the Member of Kam Lake. Thank you.

The Deputy Speaker

The Deputy Speaker R.J. Simpson

Member for Kam Lake.

Kieron Testart

Kieron Testart Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Need for Further Public Information

Committee heard a number of questions from the public. People were interested in knowing how the system will work. They asked whether the government intends to get rid of the existing emergency numbers. They asked whether there are any communities in the Northwest Territories using 911 right now.

There was also a recognition of the benefit that 911 would bring for tourists visiting the NWT and for travelers to other communities. However, committee was cautioned that information for the public should ensure that people are made aware that 911 will not work on those parts of the highways where there is no cellular service. One of the elders in Fort McPherson stressed the importance of uncovering and upgrading the kilometre marker signs on the highways.

Committee is aware that MACA has been developing public information, the release of which will be timed to coincide with the launch of 911.

What We Did

911 System Costs and Affordability

Committee initially supported a full cost recovery approach to funding 911 based on the basis of the estimates set out in the September 2015 Addendum to the Pomax report. Since that time, a number of events have occurred. Significant assumptions in the report have changed, including the decision to co-locate the service with Med-Response. Committee has consulted with the public on the Bill. As well, the department has confirmed that key information related to the budget estimates for the 911 service are based on proprietary information that has not yet been confirmed. This includes the estimated number of devices the fee estimate is based on and the amount of the additional CRTC-approved charge that may be levied on users by the incumbent telephone company to cover its costs for systems operation and fee collection.

Committee developed a proposal to amend Bill 31 that would see user fees capped at no higher than $1.70 per subscriber per month for the first three years of the operation of the 911 service. This is figure is significantly higher than the original $1.15 quote and it is at the higher end of the range of $1.35 to $1.77 per subscriber per month quoted on the department's web site.

The cap will allow for the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs to compile at least two years of actual operational data. This data can then support an informed discussion about whether NWT residents should pay the full cost of 911 through user fees, or whether the GNWT should consider subsidizing the service on an ongoing basis to keep user fees in line with the fees in other Canadian jurisdictions.

The cap is designed to sunset after three years, making it a temporary measure. Should the 19th Legislative Assembly wish to continue to cap the user fee, the legislation would need to be amended. This proposal gives committee some comfort that they haven't supported full cost recovery being passed to an end user in the absence of full and substantiated operational program costs.

Cellular Coverage

Committee notes that, with the emphasis placed by the GNWT on the development of the Northwest Territories highway infrastructure, through projects such as the Tlicho all-season road, the Mackenzie Valley Highway, and the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway, the demand for cellular service in the Northwest Territories is only going to grow over time. Committee also notes that increased cellular coverage will be vital to ensuring motorist safety on NWT highways in the future. Accordingly, the committee makes the following recommendation.

Recommendation 1

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs work with the Department of Finance to develop a strategic approach designed to secure support and funding to expand cellular coverage in the Northwest Territories, as part of a national cellular network.

Committee recommends that this strategic approach identify current cellular coverage, along with funding needs and goals for future cellular coverage, and timelines associated with system improvements. Committee further recommends that this strategic approach consider appropriate ways to involve the Government of Canada, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, and large cellular service providers such as Telus and Bell Canada in any system-improvement efforts.

Mr. Speaker, at this point, I would like to request the reading of this report be continued by the honourable Member for Deh Cho. Thank you.

The Deputy Speaker

The Deputy Speaker R.J. Simpson

Member for Deh Cho.

Michael Nadli

Michael Nadli Deh Cho

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Training and Support to Communities

Committee clearly heard that community governments are concerned about the financial and operational impacts of implementing territory-wide 911. The City of Yellowknife correctly points out the Bill 31 mandates the participation of local authorities in the operation of the 911 service, yet this appears to be inconsistent with the information provided on MACA's website and reported in the media that participation is optional. It is important that MACA update all of its public information on 911 to be consistent with the provisions contained in the version of the Act that receives assent.

Committee notes the information contained in the Pomax report indicating that civic addressing is not a requirement for basic 911. Committee understands that this is one of the reasons the GNWT chose to move forward with basic, rather than enhanced, 911. Nonetheless, the Hamlet of Tulita is of the understanding that civic addressing is a necessary step to becoming 911 compliant, and it is likely that other small communities share this understanding. MACA confirmed for committee that the department has planners available to assist communities with street names and addressing, as noted by Tulita in its submission. It is important that MACA ensure that communities are clear in understanding the relationship between the basic 911 system being implemented and the role of civic addressing.

Committee heard that communities are concerned about their implementation costs, yet the department has been quoted as saying that there will be no costs to communities. It is important for MACA to have a dialogue with communities about the implementation of 911 to ensure a shared understanding of the costs that will be incurred as a result of implementation, and how those costs will be handled.

The questions that committee heard, and the apparent inconsistencies in understanding about what 911 will require, raise concern as to whether the department has done the necessary planning and communication to ensure that their local government partners will have the knowledge required to confidently meet a June 2019 go-live date. When asked by committee if the City of Yellowknife was prepared for a June go-live date, Mayor Rebecca Alty replied that it remained to be seen. She also indicated that the City would be interested in participating on a working group.

To ensure successful implementation, direct and extensive involvement by MACA of all local governments in the implementation of 911 will be vital. As anxious as committee members may be to see 911 implemented, they caution the department to take the time needed to launch the service correctly.

Recommendation 2

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs develop a detailed municipal implementation plan that sets out the information and supports needed by each local authority to ensure successful implementation of NWT-wide 911 service.

The standing committee further recommends that this implementation plan identify a realistic timeframe for discussion with local authorities and that the department be prepared to adjust the go-live date to a later date, if necessary, to accommodate the consultation needs of local authorities.

Public Information

It is important that all residents of the Northwest Territories and all visitors to the Northwest Territories understand how the 911 system is intended to work, the relevant operational dates, and the responsibilities of individual system users.

The committee recognizes that the department is in the process of developing a communications campaign aimed at developing public awareness. Committee strongly encourages the department to review its currently available public information to ensure that it is consistent with the provisions of the Northwest Territories 911 Act as assented to by this House.

With respect to the provisions in the bill, clause 7 of Bill 31 makes it an offence for anyone to use an automatic dialer to place a 911 call. This offence is subject to a fine of up to $500. Committee was concerned that members of the public might not be familiar with the term "automatic dialer" and could misunderstand clause 7 as a prohibition against using the speed dial function on one's phone. An automatic dialer is an electronic device or software that automatically dials telephone numbers for the purpose of playing a pre-recorded message. Placing these types of calls, a practice referred to as "robo-calling," is often associated with political and telemarketing phone campaigns, but can also be used for public service or emergency announcements. Committee proposed an amendment to clause 7 of Bill 31 providing that, for greater certainty, an automatic dialer is not to be confused with the speed dial function on a personal phone or alarm.

Committee also considered the importance of public information being made available by the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, to allow for a better public understanding of how the 911 system is working and being used in the Northwest Territories. As a result, committee proposed an amendment to Bill 31 to require mandatory annual reporting on the 911 service. The motion sets out the information that committee members would like to see included in the annual report, including: the total number of 911 calls received in each official language and from each community or region of the Northwest Territories; the total funds collected through imposition of the cost recovery fee; a breakdown of the operational costs of the service; and information regarding the performance of the service.

Mr. Speaker, I now pass the floor back to the honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Kieron Testart.

The Deputy Speaker

The Deputy Speaker R.J. Simpson

Member for Kam Lake.

Kieron Testart

Kieron Testart Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Clause-by-Clause Review of the Bill

The clause-by-clause review of the bill was held on February 21, 2018. At this review, the committee moved the following motions:

Motion 1: That Bill 31 be amended by adding the following after subclause 4(4):

Subclause 4(5) - [Limit on cost recovery fee amount]:

For a period of three years following the coming into force of this section, the cost recovery fee established under subsection (1) shall be no more than $1.70 per month. The honourable Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs concurred with this motion, and the motion was carried.

Motion 2: That Bill 31 be amended by adding the following after subclause 7(2):

Subclause 7(3) For greater certainty, subsection (1) does not prohibit a person from programming the number 911 on any speed dial feature of any communications device.

The honourable Minister concurred with this motion, and the motion was carried.

Motion 3: That Bill 31 be amended by adding the following after clause 11:

REPORTING

11.1.(1) For the purposes of this section, "Official Language" means a language referred to in section 4 of the Official Languages Act.

(2) The Minister shall, within 90 days following the end of each fiscal year, table a report of the NWT 911 service in the Legislative Assembly,

which includes, for the preceding fiscal year,

(a) the total number of 911 calls received, including the number of calls received

(i) in each Official Language of the Northwest Territories,

(ii) from each community or region of the Northwest Territories, and

(iii) in each month of the preceding fiscal year;

(b) the total funds collected through imposition of the cost recovery fee;

(c) a breakdown of the operational costs of the service; and

(d) information regarding the performance of the service.

The honourable Minister concurred with this motion, and the motion was carried.

Conclusion

This concludes the Standing Committee on Government Operations' Review of Bill 31. Committee wishes to thank the honourable Minister for his concurrence with the motions to amend the bill that were moved during the clause-by-clause review. Committee also thanks Cabinet for its support of and funding for this important initiative.

Recommendation 3

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs provide a response to the recommendations contained in this report within 120 days.

Following the clause-by-clause review, a motion was carried to report Bill 31, Northwest Territories 911 Act, as amended and reprinted, as ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole.

The committee thanks the public for their participation in the review process and everyone involved in the review of this bill for their assistance and input.