This is page numbers 4545 - 4582 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 education.

Topics

Paulie Chinna

Paulie Chinna Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With the portfolio, I am open to be working with Members. And looking at what we have done with the portfolio, we're looking at working with the renewal that we have just completed and also a 90-unit delivery that is coming to the Northwest Territories. We've had several engagements with Indigenous groups from homelessness, to the homelessness strategy to putting units on the ground, to looking at negotiated contracts, and looking at employment at the ground level, making sure that the communities are benefitting from housing being rolled out in our communities as well too.

And also just looking at the number of programs that we do have, we don't have enough housing in the Northwest Territories to house every single person. That is the reality. We have a 90-unit housing delivery that we have not seen in four decades for the Northwest Territories. And this is significant work that has been done within Housing NWT to change our approach with the federal government to be working more in conjunction with the federal government and with the Northwest Territories and with the Indigenous groups as well too.

For the Inuvik warming shelter, it is hard and challenging right now to find nonprofit organizations that are willing to come forward and wanting to work with us. There was a number of issues that have been identified. But Housing is working with those communities and with those nonprofit organizations as well too. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.

Ronald Bonnetrouge

Ronald Bonnetrouge Deh Cho

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my Member's statement spoke of the problems with actual grade levels of the graduates, the lack of information available to determine actual grade levels of these graduates. Mr. Speaker, information regarding actual grade levels will help education authorities to determine next steps to remedy these problems.

Can the education Minister let us know if these statistics are being collected and what are the findings? Mahsi.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Deh Cho. Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment.

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Data collection has been identified as an issue by the Department of Education, Culture and Employment as well as by the Office of the Auditor General in their 2019 review of education in the Northwest Territories. And so we're definitely well aware of the situation and, in the past number of years, have taken steps to remedy it. Every year I table a document in this House, accountability framework, which has information about the results from all of the different education bodies in the Northwest Territories. We produce a JK-12 education system performance measure technical report. This was held up because of Covid but I've tabled one previously. The draft of the next one just came across my desk. So the data is out there. And the findings, I think the Member's probably aware of the findings. I think we're all well aware of the findings.

In the Northwest Territories, we have lower graduation rates than the rest of Canada. And those differ between Yellowknife, the regional centres, and small communities. And small communities, the outcomes are the worst of those three groups.

So we have the data. We have much of the data. But we don't have all of the data at our fingertips. And that's one of the issues that we face, is that the data is in the possession -- it's effectively owned by the education bodies, not by the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. And so we aren't as nimble with it as perhaps we could otherwise be. Thank you.

Ronald Bonnetrouge

Ronald Bonnetrouge Deh Cho

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, small communities are the most vulnerable in regards to receiving a good education to be able to get a good job and a better future for our youth.

Can the Minister commit to ensuring small communities will receive improved education content in their curriculum? Mahsi.

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, and I've been doing my best to live up to that commitment. As the Members know, we've recently announced that we are transitioning from using primarily Alberta's curriculum to adopting and adapting the curriculum from British Columbia. And we wouldn't do that if we didn't think that it would help.

British Columbia's curriculum allows for more integration of local culture, local knowledge. And we know that when students are familiar with what they're being taught, there's better educational outcome. So we connect their real lives to what they're learning and make education relevant, there will be better outcomes. And while we have this opportunity to adapt this curriculum, we're going to make sure that we do make it relevant. So we have an amazing opportunity here, and we are definitely going to capitalize on it.

And one thing I'll mention as well is that the British Columbia curriculum, it works well with small multigrade schools. And so that's one of the issues we have across the territory, is we have a number of schools where there are teachers teaching to two or three or four different grades at a time. And this curriculum will better support teachers and students in those situations. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Ronald Bonnetrouge

Ronald Bonnetrouge Deh Cho

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. And Mahsi to the Minister for the answer.

Mr. Speaker, small communities used to have teachers assigned for every grade. Somehow this has changed during the course of our education journey, and now most teachers are teaching a wide array of grades. I don't believe they have the training for this type of situation since there are many grade levels.

Can the Minister commit to reviewing these situations in our small community schools with the intent of providing remedies to providing quality education in the small communities? Mahsi.

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And this is another issue that we are well aware of and are taking steps to remedy it. There are some schools where there is one teacher, and that's also the principal. And so we're developing training for individuals in those situations so that they can better handle those schools because we recognize that it is an issue. And that will be done in conjunction with the rollout of the British Columbia curriculum that we are adapting. So, yes, that plan is underway. We recognize its importance, and we are doing that work. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Deh Cho.

Ronald Bonnetrouge

Ronald Bonnetrouge Deh Cho

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. And mahsi to the Minister for that.

Mr. Speaker, the North needs leaders that will clear a path for the education of our youth to be able to take over from us eventually. We need total education reform for our small communities, and we need to start now. We're losing many of our youth to substance abuse, peer pressures, and many are staying in the communities with no hope for a future.

Mr. Speaker, I live in a small community, and I see this every day. I am saddened by what I see and also angered at the people that can make change but are not doing their jobs.

Can the Minister commit to the small communities that the department will do everything in their power to improve the education systems for the betterment of our youth? Mahsi.

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I can make that commitment; that's what we do every day. That's why I had dark hair when I started this, and I have gray hair now, because this is a focus of my life. The Member said that, you know, we're not doing our job. This is all I do. Yesterday I was here 14 hours in this building with no breaks working on the education system. So there's a lot of dedicated people who are focusing on this. It's not an issue government can solve alone. It's a community issue. It's a family issue. We need kids in school. We need kids prepared to go to school. There's obviously a lot that government can do. You know, we have a major responsibility, and we owe it to the students and the families and the people of the territory to carry out that responsibility. But we can't do it alone. But we are working hard, and I can commit that we will continue to. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Question 1159-19(2): Mental Health and Suicide Prevention
Oral Questions

October 13th, 2022

Page 4560

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Lesa Semmler

Lesa Semmler Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Health. And, you know, I hear the Minister when she -- like, with her Minister's statement on suicide, my question -- my Member's statement, this is not something that we haven't talked about in this House. But with the recent stats, you know, that's a significant jump. And we know that we've been going through a pandemic and we know things got worse. And we on this side of the House, and I'm sure you as well, know that we've gone through mental -- like, everybody's having mental health crises right now, addictions crises. And with these stats, I'm just wondering how the department -- I know when an initial suicide happens, there's all this team that comes in and supports the community. But how are they using this stat to prioritize assistance to these communities that are showing the higher rates? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I appreciate the question. As the Member said, we have a crisis response team that goes into a community for immediate help. Following that, we take the lead of the community to tell us what they want. Sometimes they don't want additional counselling support. Sometimes what they want is an inspirational speaker. That was recently the case in Tuktoyaktuk. And there is a fund, a suicide -- community suicide prevention fund available to communities to identify what kind of activities we'll provide for prevention and for them to apply for.

One of the most promising things that I see on this front in the Beaufort Delta is the Inuvialuit suicide prevention strategy which, in English, is called Moving Forward, Healing Together. That lays out a comprehensive vision of what a suicide prevention strategy should look like in the ISR, and it invites the GNWT to be partners in the implementation of that strategy. And we are very keen to work with the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation to implement their suicide prevention strategy.

I've mentioned a number of other -- if people don't want to engage in a formal way, a number of other ways to reach out for help, including using the help lines, making a same-day appointment for community counselling, going to hospital if the need is imminent, or calling 9-1-1. So there are a suite of actions that are available. I feel that what we need to understand better is how to help the people in the group most affected by suicide according to the most recent statistics. We need to know how to reach them more effectively in order to offer them help. Thank you.

Lesa Semmler

Lesa Semmler Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister for that. So looking at what you just said goes into -- kind of leads me into my next question is what prevention programs does Health have to target men and younger adults -- younger adult age groups with regards to depression and suicide at this time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you for the question. At this time, we -- of course, youth have the child and youth counsellors in the school. There are three at the East Three School. My understanding is they are able to take same-day walk-in appointments. And so certainly for the group that is still accessing school, they could access those services.

We have a campaign called My Voice, My Choice in which we've been offering subscription boxes on topics that youth have identified as important to them. As it turns out, the September box was about suicide and self-harm. We've had excellent uptake on that. And, in fact, we've put the resources online now so that people don't necessarily have to wait for a box to be made available to them; they can grab the information right off of the computer.

You know, the other things that I mentioned in my first answer are, of course, available to youth, including the kids help line, which as well as being a phone number, youth can text. They can make use of some of the e-mental health strategies like -- or apps like the Breathing Room app. The community counselling program is available to them. So I feel that there are a good number of supports available.

And as I said in my last answer, I'm interested in connecting with the Member about how we can involve young men who are in that most at-risk range, 20 to 29, to be more interested in what we have to offer. Thank you.

Lesa Semmler

Lesa Semmler Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, you know, I hear the Minister when she answers with the CYCs. You know, I think that program, from what I've been hearing, it is a program that works except that when the students are in crisis, there's not enough of them. When they want -- when students are wanting help, in that crisis mode, they want help now. And what I've heard is that our CYC, especially in the Inuvik school, is busy. Like, she's -- they're booked. They're booked. And when a person is in crisis, I know the department tries to accommodate and help and, you know, everybody -- but it's -- I think that's the thing is, is they need ongoing.

But my question to the Minister is -- and I mentioned this two years ago in 2020 and I don't know if you were the Minister at that time but you may have been. It might have been Minister Archie. But, you know, we have programs like the ASIST. And I'm not a youth, but I know when I was struggling as a youth, I would talk to my peers. I didn't want to talk to adults. I didn't want to talk to anybody. I talked to my peers. I talked to, you know, my partner or, you know, those types of things. So I'm just wondering if the department has looked at providing the ASIST training or a youth component training to the schools for youth so that they can be equipped with the tools on how to support somebody that discloses depression or discloses that they're suicidal or discloses that they have an addiction. So I'm just wondering if that's something that the department will look into because this is prevention too, you know. If we start younger, then we may prevent deaths later and suicides. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Yes, thank you. I appreciate the recommendation that we start earlier on prevention and that the ASIST program may be a good place to do that so that their peers are more knowledgeable about helping peers. So I certainly am prepared to have a conversation with the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment about what is offered now and whether it's possible to increase those offerings.

As I've said before, we have a suicide prevention fund. The last I heard it was not all spent. And communities decide what they want, whether it's suicide prevention training, which I know some communities have taken up, or whether it is an inspirational speaker. So I appreciate the suggestion, and I will follow it up. Thank you.

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. My final supplementary is, you know, you -- we see that the risks of suicide, depression, our dropout rates are higher in the small communities. We know that we hear about -- like, kids with addictions at a way younger age in the small communities that's -- because there's nothing to do. We're not providing with prevention tools. And I mentioned this to the Minister before is we don't have nurses in the community that are focusing on health promotion, health prevention. And I think that we need to start looking at different ways of doing business in our health prevention and especially in the small communities. You know, we have public health nurses, community health nurses, home care nurses in our bigger centres. But I think if we start looking at focusing on hiring a nurse, we could have a new grad. I went into being public health pretty much out of school, you know. So it's not something that you need to have all this emergency trauma training. You could go into the communities and be hired into your community and work with the students and work with the elders. You already know them. And this takes the time -- they're focused on health promotion, health prevention. Leave the chins to be working on the -- you know, the emergency nursing and clinics and things like that that they're trained for, just like we do in the regional centres. And I think maybe if we start focusing more on prevention that maybe we can start to turn a corner. And I'm just wondering if the Minister will commit to even entertaining this idea. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. And again, I appreciate the question. As I said in my statement, I feel that we have turned a corner into labelling this issue a crisis because it will draw extra focus and attention to the issues. And to that end, I have engaged my Cabinet colleagues to see whether we can develop a whole-of-government approach to the issue of suicide. So that would include things like the training that the Member spoke about in the schools, recreational opportunities which would be offered through my colleague the Minister of MACA.

Mental health and wellness is not only a Department of Health and Social Services issue. It really does require a cross-department approach to look at the kinds of ideas that the Member has provided.

I just want to say in closing that the Department of Health and Social Services assisted in sponsoring the training of the Dene Wellness Warriors at Rhodes College in BC. And there is an addiction and aftercare fund which provides money to hire a counsellor. This counsellor could have suicide prevention as his or her focus. So that's something that communities might want to consider looking at especially if they don't have other mental health resources that are on site. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

Jane Weyallon Armstrong

Jane Weyallon Armstrong Monfwi

Mr. Speaker, some elders owe $100,000 or more. There is no way -- we know that there is no way in their lifetime they will ever be able to pay back this debt.

So Mr. Speaker, why is the Minister of Housing penalizing elders with a financial burden that is unrealistic to pay back within their lifetime? Does the Housing NWT consider the financial burden it puts on our elders? Thank you.