This is page numbers 2163 - 2198 of the Hansard for the 19th Assembly, 2nd 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.

Topics

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. For the most part, this is the continuum that happens with treatment. The access to treatment is facilitated by somebody who is a counsellor, often in the community counselling program. They could be in a non-profit like the Tree of Peace here in Yellowknife or in the Ingamo Hall in Inuvik, and as soon as that person is referred and accepted into treatment, there is an expectation that planning for after-care begins immediately. The counsellor will begin that after-care planning, will be in discussion with the client while that person is in treatment, and connect with that client as soon as they arrive back in their home community to ensure that there is a continuum of services to help that person to remain sober.

The Member talked quite a bit about housing. We know that housing is absolutely crucial to maintaining sobriety. Unfortunately, we don't have enough housing, as the Member well knows. We are looking at the possibility of creating transitional housing units for people who are coming out of facility-based treatment and other forms of treatment, but that is a commitment that will take some time to accomplish. Thank you.

Lesa Semmler

Lesa Semmler Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you to the Minister. Will the Minister commit to having staff being proactive? If they are government staff and this is the department that falls under her, they are the ones sending them out, or if we're paying for them to go out for treatment, proactive in connecting with all residents exiting treatment facilities to ensure that they have some sort of process and follow-up and support coming from treatment.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

In order to go to facility-based addictions treatment, it's necessary for a referral to happen from somebody who is a physician, a counsellor, whether that's in the non-profit sector, in the friendship centres, or within the community counselling program. There is a relationship that is established there that goes from the referral, includes check-ins during the treatment duration, and then follows up when the person exits. This is a program standard. This is not something that is optional for counsellors. We expect this to be done in each and every case. The thing that does happen, though, is that people come out of treatment and they don't take up that relationship again. They don't follow up with their appointments and other contacts that have been made on their behalf, and they are adults. They can make that choice. It's not a choice that we would want them to make. We want them to continue to be sober, having invested 28 or 48 days into their sobriety program. At the end of the day, they have to be committed to the follow-up, and we are there with the resources.

Lesa Semmler

Lesa Semmler Inuvik Twin Lakes

I thank the Minister for her answer. I can honestly say that, in theory, I know the department has a lot of good solutions, but at the frontline, these don't necessarily follow through. There are gaps. The worker that is on the other end who has nowhere to turn falls short. What is the process used by staff to support individuals leaving treatment who are facing homelessness or inadequate housing? Are staff able to act as pathfinders to navigate how to access housing programs?

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

The point of which they are looking for housing is really outside of the Department of Health and Social Services, but having said that, we do recognize the importance of housing to maintaining sobriety. The counsellor would connect people with the housing authority where, honestly, they're likely to see a huge waiting list, and also to connect them with Income Assistance, where they may be able to obtain market housing if it's available and have that paid for through the Income Assistance program, along with the other benefits that that program provides.

To me, this is a systemic wraparound that needs to happen with this person exiting treatment. We are certainly very central to this, but we also need supports from ECE and housing, for example, to provide the kind of support that we would like to see for people exiting facility-based treatment.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Lesa Semmler

Lesa Semmler Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know that the health department has recently launched a survey for people who have engaged in addictions services, and I am hoping that we do get some good responses as to what I have been saying. People who have gone through the system are feeling that they have been dropped, kind of, at the end. Indigenous people, I have said it in this House before, have a hard time trusting health systems, have a hard time trusting the counselling system. It's not culturally appropriate to some. Some people, once they have sobered up, they don't want to go to the counsellor if it's somebody that they know. We have heard that time and time again. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister commit to ensuring there is some sort of wraparound support so that people are successful in their recovery? I hope that this survey will be able to help the Minister do this. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

As I said, this is a continuum of services that is required by people who are accessing treatment. We are, as a department, actively involved with integrated case management and the integrated service delivery initiatives so that we are, in fact, able to provide this seamless care approach to people coming out of treatment.

With respect to the survey, I am delighted to say that, in the first week it was offered, we had in excess of 300 responses. We certainly look forward to more by the end of March. This survey is available in hard copy at the health centres, and it is also available online. It is specifically for people who have been to treatment and who have some thoughts about what was successful for them and what wasn't, and how they can identify gaps in services and give us advice about how to close those gaps. I am confident that this one-of-a-kind survey will provide us with some very valuable information. That information will be collated and put into a report, and that report is due at the end of May. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Great Slave.

Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of ECE. When I was lucky enough to be able to still travel through Europe, I used Google Translate a lot to order food and not get myself lost. My question for the Minister: is there an online translation tool such as Google Translate to assist students in oral proficiency of Northwest Territories Indigenous languages? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Great Slave. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Not that I am aware of. I know that there are a number of apps that can help students learn or act as dictionaries, but as for an online translator, I am not aware of any. Specifically, Google does not have Indigenous languages in Google Translate. Thank you.

Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

It seems to me it would be very smart to approach a good, large company like Google who may want to look really good in helping a small jurisdiction want to preserve their language. I am going to follow up with the Minister on that. Google Translate does have 108 languages available on their site. Have we actually approached them at all to add our Indigenous languages to their site?

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

As for the GNWT, I don't believe that we have approached them. Perhaps other Indigenous governments have. I think that's an interesting idea. Just imagine if we could get nine Indigenous languages onto Google translate. That would be something. I look forward to following up with the Member on this one.

Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

Great. I'm a firm believer in not reinventing the wheel, and like I said, it could be a good PR move for Google. The deadline for the MAP applications that I mentioned in my statement was November 20, 2020. Can the Minister speak to the uptake of this program and what the success rate of applications was? How many pairs of mentors and apprentices do we have?

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

I believe this is the third year that the program has run. In the first year, there were 30 pairs. In the second year, there were 40 pairs. For this intake, there were 60 applications, and 40 were accepted. We have 40 pairs in the Mentor-Apprentice Program. It is very popular, and it is growing in popularity every year.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Great Slave.

Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I look forward to learning more about the mentorship program and its success. Lastly, I would like to know if there have been any modifications or issues with administering the program due to COVID-19 restrictions? Thank you.

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

As far as I know, it hasn't been affected by COVID-19. It hasn't been put on hold. It is going forward full force, and it doesn't seem to be held up whatsoever. It's a solid program, and I think that the people who are participating in it genuinely enjoy it. The language speakers genuinely enjoy transferring their language. People enjoy learning it. I am hopeful that, for years to come, this is going to be a key part of our revitalization initiatives. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Steve Norn

Steve Norn Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh

Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Going back to my Member's statement about medical emergencies in small communities. It is a really growing concern. A lot of these times when our government workers have a way of doing the work, there is usually a written procedure or some sort of directive that is given to them to help guide them through their duties. My question for the Minister of Health and Social Services here is: will the Minister be able to share with us when and where a written procedure, or a procedure otherwise, was put in place that prevents community medical staff from responding to emergency calls outside of our local health centres? Marsi cho.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am just going to talk a little bit about the role of community health nurses, and then I will give the specific answer the Member asked for. It's important to know that community health nurses are not first responders. First responders have a different skill set. Community health nurses are not permitted, under NTHSSA policy dated November 6, 2019, to leave the healthcare centre in order to provide emergency services. What we do recognize that exists in many NWT communities is a gap in service that relates to ambulances and first responders. That involves going to the injured person and transporting that person from the site of the injury to the health centre. This is something that is in MACA's mandate. I know it's a long-standing problem that I have heard questions asked in the House during this sitting about, and my colleague has said that she is working on it.

I want to give a clarification that community health nurses do leave the health centre when it is their role to provide things like homecare and services to clients in their homes. This is non-emergency service. This would be scheduled service that relates to meeting the needs of people who can't meet them themselves on an ongoing basis, so of course, the community health nurses do leave the health centre to provide that service. The NTHSSA policy is dated November 6, 2019. There were some policies in place that were similar prior to the amalgamation of the health boards, and I am happy to provide the Member with a copy of that policy for him to review. Thank you.

Steve Norn

Steve Norn Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh

Yes, thank you very much for that. I'd like to take a look at that document. I think it's important that we have open lines communications with our small communities and our service on how we deal with these calls. Like I said, I want to make sure that our residents get as much as we can out of our government departments. That leads to my next question: how do we increase community opportunities for first aid training or for first responder training in the NWT?