This is page numbers 2493 - 2524 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 care.

Paulie Chinna

Paulie Chinna Sahtu

To have a submission brought forward that is going to separate, and looking at the Indigenous groups within the City of Yellowknife, as well, this is a really sensitive topic, and I would have to bring this back to my department in order to make sure that we are productively moving along. Also clarifying, is this a priority for the City of Yellowknife and the Indigenous groups within the city, as well? Then it would change the approach of MACA and our involvement, as well, to better support what are the priorities for the city.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Yellowknife North.

Rylund Johnson

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A head's up: during the Property Assessment and Taxation Act, I am going to be requesting the ability for municipalities to implement vacancy taxes, to have land value taxes, to have different tax tools that the department won't let them. Can I get the Minister to commit that they can go away and educate themselves on what city charters and these fiscal arrangements look like in other jurisdictions, in preparation for further questions? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Paulie Chinna

Paulie Chinna Sahtu

I hear the Member's passion, as well. This is not the first time he has brought this up with the charter for the City of Yellowknife and reflecting and elaborating on the taxation, as well. I want to really emphasize that this is a very sensitive issue, and it involves more parties than just the City of Yellowknife. I will provide the Member with a current update and the current status of the ongoing conversation with the Department of MACA and the City of Yellowknife. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Thebacha.

Frieda Martselos

Frieda Martselos Thebacha

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The 2017 NWT Midwifery Stakeholder Engagement Report was 75 pages long. Can the Minister tell us if her department is ready to implement all 10 recommendations to ensure that all communities have access to births in their home communities within the life of the 19th Assembly? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you for the question. As I said in February, we, the Department of Health and Social Services, have been successful in completing five out of 10 recommendations. The department continues towards moving to the completion of the remaining five recommendations, and we previously committed and continue to commit to coming up with a preliminary plan on how to implement these recommendations in June of 2021. The next phase of this plan is phase 2. If it has funding, it would provide four midwives in Yellowknife, one in Hay River, and one in Fort Smith. It would not provide a way for women who live in small communities with health cabins to have their children in their own communities. Birthing is really a centralized process. Thank you.

Frieda Martselos

Frieda Martselos Thebacha

Can the Minister tell us how her department will implement all 10 recommendations of the 2017 midwifery report?

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

The plan is now four years old. We have committed to reviewing it. We have committed to costing out the remainder of the five recommendations, and we have said that we will provide that information by June of 2021.

Frieda Martselos

Frieda Martselos Thebacha

Can the Minister provide a timeline for when her department expects more communities to have midwifery services in the NWT?

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Hay River and Fort Smith have midwifery services at this point, and the idea of hiring one additional midwife for each of these locations is to stabilize the program. The next community on the list for midwives is Yellowknife, and as I already said, that would require the hiring of four midwives. There are some conversations going on about how the program could be expanded beyond that. Today, this very day, there is consultation going on with Fort Resolution community members and healthcare workers to find out whether they are interested in having midwives, whether they would prefer to have a doula program or an Indigenous caregiver program. Those are the kinds of things that we would like to hear, not only in Fort Resolution, but in the Deh Cho and in Behchoko, as well.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Thebacha.

Frieda Martselos

Frieda Martselos Thebacha

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister tell us when her department expects to enter into phase 2 of the midwifery service expansion? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

As I've said previously in this House, phase 2 of the midwifery program does not have funding in the current budget. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

Caitlin Cleveland

Caitlin Cleveland Kam Lake

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are also for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Mr. Speaker, over the last year, the fourth trimester has drastically changed for new mothers. We spent decades telling new moms to get out and stay active only to now tell them to stay home and stay alone. How have the supports for new moms changed or evolved over the last year in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank the Member for introducing a new term for me, the fourth trimester. For a moment there I thought that pregnancy might have been extended for an entire year, but I understand now that this is the first three months of baby's life. Of course, as the Member said in her statement, it's common for new parents, especially first-time parents, to be anxious about how to care for their baby, their family, and themselves, and certainly, it is not a time where we want people to feel alone and unsupported. We realize that COVID-19 has, in fact, had that kind of an effect. However, having said that, the health system continues to deliver health programs, so clients can access different kinds of programs and services for post-partum care.

There is post-natal care at six weeks with their primary care practitioner, where an additional post-partum and mental health screening is provided to catch any issues that are prevalent at that point. There is also comprehensive care available at that same six-week mark if the person is within the midwifery program. There are also virtual post-partum classes that are delivered by Yellowknife Public Health to those who need to stay at home. We are willing to provide the services. We are hoping that parents will articulate what they need, and we will be able to respond to that with the specific services they need. Thank you.

Caitlin Cleveland

Caitlin Cleveland Kam Lake

I appreciate that there are existing services available. I can say I have used some of them myself as a new mom. All of my babies were born in Yellowknife. I am wondering if the Minister of Health and Social Services is willing to evaluate post-partum supports to new moms by engaging with recent and new moms to ensure they are meeting this generation of moms at the right time and with the right support. An example of this is: traditionally, like the Minister said, new moms are seen at six weeks in order to give the moms a chance, to say, "Okay, let's check on you now." In an environment where, now, we are spending a lot more time at home, there is a lot more uncertainty about the world, and people are using social media a lot more, maybe it's more relevant for that to be moved up to three weeks. I am wondering if the Department of Health and Social Services will commit to engaging with new moms to see what they are looking for.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

The department is always working with new parents to understand what they need and how we could better support them. That is a core part of our mandate. We do not need to be directed to find out how they are feeling. This is the ongoing work of the department. We, of course, could always offer more services and deliver them in different ways, and so we are interested in looking at our prenatal and post-natal education programming and delivery and making sure that it is as effective as can be, that not only is it effective but that it is grounded in traditional knowledge and presents a culturally safe option for Indigenous moms. The department has, as I mentioned, conducted extensive engagement with parents and families through the midwifery review that was referenced earlier this afternoon, and all of this information will be included in our continuous evaluation of what we are doing.

Caitlin Cleveland

Caitlin Cleveland Kam Lake

Since the department is always looking for new ways to serve new parents, I am wondering if the department is willing to look at new ways to communicate with parents. Asking for help can be very hard, and asking for help when you need it, it might actually be something like 2:00 in the morning. Our next generation of new moms is heavily invested in virtual communication through social media and text messaging, so I am wondering if the Minister will commit to establishing new communication protocols in the Northwest Territories that accommodate text messaging supports for new moms so that they have access to NWT support when they need it, in a communication style that suits them.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Midwives, in particular, have always engaged their clients using a variety of methods, and in the current communications environment, that includes phone, text, FaceTime, and video conferencing. This particular engagement is being considered in the expansion of midwifery services in the Yellowknife area, which I referenced earlier, and so how to meet current needs is certainly on our radar. We do not expect everybody to pack up the baby and come into the office.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Kam Lake.

Caitlin Cleveland

Caitlin Cleveland Kam Lake

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I am definitely excited for the changes that the midwifery program will present to the Northwest Territories, but the fact of the matter is that not everybody has access to a midwife or uses one. I am wondering if this is a change that can be made at the public health level because every new mom is connected to public health. I am wondering if public health can take on the responsibility or the option of passing along a phone number to new moms so that they are able to text somebody when they need it. Many people who work for public health are already on call; they probably already carry a cellphone. I am wondering if this cellphone number can be provided to new moms to use within the first three months, if and when they need it, because being a new parent can be very scary. Thank you.