This is page numbers 5333 - 5364 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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Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

The department has received approval for a monitoring framework that outlines a plan to monitor the assurances at the following three levels, at the three levels we are doing our work; the Legislative Assembly on behalf of the public of the Northwest Territories, the department, and the authority.

At the Legislative Assembly level, monitoring involves indicators of interest to the public, such as increased access to safe, qualified midwifery care as close to home as possible, and reporting at this level will be made public through the Legislative Assembly and through the Minister's office. Department-level monitoring involves indicators that show the territorial midwifery program is meeting best practices and standards as well as in-existence regular auditing mechanisms, and then the authority-level monitoring involves indicators that inform authority leadership on how to improve the quality and efficiency of programs. So there are multiple things that are being done to monitor the effectiveness of this program to ensure that any enhancements and changes are evidence-based and in the best interest of the residents and the programs.

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

I want to thank the Minister for that, and I would encourage him to share that framework with the standing committee. Families have been advocating for midwifery for years, mostly mothers such as Leslie Paulette, Wendy Lahey, and Joanna Tiemessen. How will the role of these public partners be continued as we roll out these services and evaluate their delivery?

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

As the Member so accurately described in his Member's statement, there has been a lot of work done on this, a lot of years on this, and certainly been a lot of advocacy in this particular area. Public feedback received through the 2017 midwifery stakeholder engagement process has informed the work of the advisory committee on midwifery to help it develop the process and the approach to midwifery expansion. The advocates and consumers were specifically targeted in this engagement. The advisory committee, which included representation from the authorities and the Midwifery Association, are going to continue to provide input into the expansion process. The department will continue to work with the authority in the expansion of midwifery services and will continue to work with clients who are interested in receiving these services to make sure that we develop a program that is strong and meaningful.

To prepare for some of the regional expansion, the Hay River midwifery program, the department, as I said, has received some one-time funding from the federal government to start engaging communities, traditional knowledge-keepers, and care providers in the South Slave and the Deh Cho regions, and this work will just continue to lead to help bolster and strengthen midwifery services as we roll out a territorial program here in the Northwest Territories.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that information and his good work on the file. Lastly, I think I have done my part in trying to share some of the good news about a Northwest Territories midwifery program, but I think that a lot more could be done to promote this significant achievement, so can the Minister tell us what plans his department has to communicate and promote a Northwest Territories midwifery program? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

A communications plan will be developed in collaboration with the health authorities to inform the public and other stakeholders of the expanded services and how this change will gradually increase access to services during the first few years of implementation. I do want to point out and note that expansion of midwifery services is envisioned as a process that will be phased in over several years. This is year one of a multi-year rollout, and of course, it is going to be incredibly important that, as we roll out different phases and steps, we make sure that the public understands what these services are, how to access them, and what benefits they will bring. So that will all be incorporated in the communications plans as we roll out over the next several years. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, and I am following up on questions I asked about her budget in Committee of the Whole last week. First, could the Minister tell us whether the new ADM of Post-secondary Education is being paid by the college or being paid by the department? Mahsi.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The associate deputy minister of post-secondary position actually will come out of the Aurora College funding. They do have funding for what used to be a president position, and this person will be taking on the role of overseeing the operations of the college. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Do I understand, then, from the Minister that the new ADM is the president of the college?

Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

No. This associate deputy minister is responsible for overseeing the operations of the Aurora College, just like the president's duties. However, this is an associate deputy minister position. The main priority is actually bringing forward the framework, and then, of course, when that work is done, then that position will dissolve and then a president position will be reinstated for our post-secondary polytechnic university.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

The last Aurora College report shows that they were projecting a deficit of $374,000. I do wonder if that is still the case, given the fact that two programs have been discontinued, the board has been dismissed, and the president resigned just a little bit into the new fiscal year. Is there money available at Aurora College to pay this position and related expenses?

Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

Actually, yes, there is more money. The money for the associate deputy minister is budgeted already. It will come out of the monies that were allocated for a president fee.

The deficit that the MLA from Yellowknife Centre spoke of was a year-end deficit, monies to be drawn down in that year. There was direction from the Education Department that they need to use some of that surplus, but the accumulated surplus for 2016-2017 was over $10 million, and the accumulated surplus for Aurora College on the 2017-2018 year was over $13 million. They are trying to use it down, to use some of the money. However, their accumulated surplus keeps increasing yearly, and I will be tabling a report in this week to show the latest surplus.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My temptation now is to bring out my wish list of education spending to help the Minister with that colossal surplus. Are the surpluses going to continue because these positions are unfilled, and can Aurora College keep these surpluses as they occur? Thank you.

Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

These are accumulated surpluses. They add up over the years. Like I said, the last one that was tabled here was 2017-2018. It was over $13 million. That money will be used for the polytechnic university to assist with the implementation plan, although, Mr. Speaker, I must qualify that that is one pot of funding. If there is additional funding that is drawn up that is expected through the implementation plan, then I, as the Minister, or whichever Minister is in this position at that time, I am hoping, will be bringing forward that figure to the government to ask for additional funding. We will be looking at monies from the federal government. We will be looking at outside funds, as well. That is part of the comprehensive plan in developing this strategic work as we go forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a couple more questions for the Minister. The first one is: how much is the budget for this position in the next fiscal year? Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My understanding is that, if she is actually asking for the salary of a person, there might be some confidential issues on that. I am willing to meet with the Member outside the Chamber to define that more in depth, if she would like. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Let me ask this question in a different way. I am assuming that there is an office with an assistant, travel, contracting capabilities, and so on. The line item that is called "development of a polytechnic," how much is that budget for the next fiscal year?

Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

I do know that we give approximately $32 million to the Aurora College at this point. They provide a plan for how they are using that money. I don't, at this time, have the exact figure that is for the associate deputy minister's office, including travel, et cetera. Again, I can get that for the Member.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Thank you to the Minister for that commitment. In order to increase transparency, can the Minister commit to creating a line item in the next budget which shows taxpayers what is being spent on the development of a polytechnic university?

Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

I will take that under advisement. I can't make that commitment on the floor. I would have to talk with my colleagues in Finance, et cetera, to find out what is confidential, what is not confidential, and how we share that information. It is a little bit more complicated than I would like to make a commitment at this point.