This is page numbers 5011 - 5050 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 work.

Topics

Committee Motion 338-19(2): Measure Cultural Safety Effectively, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 5044

Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, it was obvious during the briefing, or debriefing, whatever you want to call it, with the AOG that this term of "cultural safety" and "indiginization" is thrown around quite lightly within -- or often within departments but without a real clear understanding of what that actually means. I don't have all of my notes from that meeting in front of me at the moment, but it was apparent to us that the AOG was not finding that the government was meeting this commitment at all. And so I just can't stress enough again how important this is for the government to actually be measuring whether or not what they're doing is culturally appropriate or culturally safe rather than just telling people that it is culturally appropriate and culturally safe given that it's coming from a colonial perspective. Thank you.

Committee Motion 338-19(2): Measure Cultural Safety Effectively, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 5044

The Chair

The Chair Ronald Bonnetrouge

Mahsi. Mr. Johnson.

Committee Motion 338-19(2): Measure Cultural Safety Effectively, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 5044

Rylund Johnson

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North

Yeah, thank you, Mr. Chair. I'd like to just point to the wording of "non-users" in here. I think the department and the work plan has made some good commitment to, you know, survey and work with users of our addiction services, follow up with them, try and get some sort of tracking on how our services are working. It's a much harder ask to track people who are not using your system, but I think there is a wealth of information and lessons to be learned from people who, you know, perhaps tried ten years ago once to approach the GNWT for addictions services and have never felt safe going back or perhaps have never felt safe, you know, approaching the use of ours services. And so I think the department's going to have to make a concerted effort and get creative in approaching people who, you know, are suffering from addiction but are not willing to seek help and identify the barriers that they face. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Committee Motion 338-19(2): Measure Cultural Safety Effectively, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 5044

The Chair

The Chair Ronald Bonnetrouge

Mahsi. The motion is in order. To the motion.

Committee Motion 338-19(2): Measure Cultural Safety Effectively, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 5044

Some Hon. Members

Question.

Committee Motion 338-19(2): Measure Cultural Safety Effectively, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 5044

The Chair

The Chair Ronald Bonnetrouge

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? All those abstaining? The motion is carried.

---Carried

Mr. Johnson.

Committee Motion 339-19(2): Extend Work on Cultural Safety Throughout Government, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 5045

Rylund Johnson

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that this committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories conduct a whole-of-government review of cultural safety in all standards and policies associated with GNWT programs and services and provide a timeline for implementation. This review should identify barriers to cultural safety to inform efforts to remove or reduce identified barriers. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Committee Motion 339-19(2): Extend Work on Cultural Safety Throughout Government, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 5045

The Chair

The Chair Ronald Bonnetrouge

The motion is in order. To the motion.

Committee Motion 339-19(2): Extend Work on Cultural Safety Throughout Government, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 5045

The Chair

The Chair Ronald Bonnetrouge

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? All those abstaining? The motion is carried.

---Carried

Mr. Johnson.

Committee Motion 340-19(2): Prioritize Revised Hiring Practices, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

November 2nd, 2022

Page 5045

Rylund Johnson

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North

Yeah, thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that this committee recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services and health and social services authorities, in collaboration with the Department of Finance, prioritize their commitment to revise hiring practices for addictions positions to recognize the value of Indigenous qualifications. Committee further recommends the timeline for this work be moved up by six months, to 2023-2024. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Committee Motion 340-19(2): Prioritize Revised Hiring Practices, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 5045

The Chair

The Chair Ronald Bonnetrouge

Mahsi. The motion is in order. To the motion.

Committee Motion 340-19(2): Prioritize Revised Hiring Practices, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 5045

Some Hon. Members

Question.

Committee Motion 340-19(2): Prioritize Revised Hiring Practices, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 5045

The Chair

The Chair Ronald Bonnetrouge

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? All those abstaining? Motion is carried.

---Carried

Mr. Johnson.

Committee Motion 341-19(2): Incorporate Indigenous Knowledge into Standards of practice, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 5045

Rylund Johnson

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that this committee recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services and health and social services authorities review and adjust standards of practice to recognize the value of Indigenous knowledge and provide a timeline for implementation. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Committee Motion 341-19(2): Incorporate Indigenous Knowledge into Standards of practice, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 5045

The Chair

The Chair Ronald Bonnetrouge

Mahsi. The motion is in order. To the motion.

Committee Motion 341-19(2): Incorporate Indigenous Knowledge into Standards of practice, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 5045

Some Hon. Members

Question.

Committee Motion 341-19(2): Incorporate Indigenous Knowledge into Standards of practice, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 5045

The Chair

The Chair Ronald Bonnetrouge

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? All those abstaining? Motion is carried.

---Carried

Mr. Johnson.

Committee Motion 342-19(2): Set-up Mechanism for Staff-Identified Changes, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 5045

Rylund Johnson

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North

Mr. Chair, I move that this committee recommends the Department of Health and Social Services and health and social services authorities set up a distinct method for frontline staff to identify barriers to care and cultural safety or propose better practices and policies on an ongoing basis and provide a timeline for implementation. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Committee Motion 342-19(2): Set-up Mechanism for Staff-Identified Changes, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 5045

The Chair

The Chair Ronald Bonnetrouge

Mahsi. The motion is in order. Mr. Johnson.

Committee Motion 342-19(2): Set-up Mechanism for Staff-Identified Changes, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 5045

Rylund Johnson

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North

Yeah, thank you, Mr. Chair. I just want to-- I believe this is a recommendation that committee will look to make it to a number of departments and that there's no real formalized mechanism right now for frontline staff in the GNWT to recommend policy changes. You know, I sometimes get emails from them saying hey, please don't tell anyone I'm contacting an MLA, or they sometimes go up to the director. But I think there's some good examples. There was just a review done of income assistance and they talked to all the frontline staff, and a number of recommendations that were relatively easy to implement came out immediately. And so I just think all departments need to have some sort of method in place where their frontline staff can identify concerns in regards to policies and practices and then that there's a formal mechanism to actually review that. We kind of do it on a one-off basis every few years through surveys or when we are reviewing a program, but I think something much more regular across government is needed and especially as a priority for our addictions services. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Committee Motion 342-19(2): Set-up Mechanism for Staff-Identified Changes, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 5045

The Chair

The Chair Ronald Bonnetrouge

Mahsi. The motion is in order. To the motion.

Committee Motion 342-19(2): Set-up Mechanism for Staff-Identified Changes, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 5045

Some Hon. Members

Question.

Committee Motion 342-19(2): Set-up Mechanism for Staff-Identified Changes, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 5045

The Chair

The Chair Ronald Bonnetrouge

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? All those abstaining? The motion is carried.

---Carried

Mr. Johnson.

Committee Motion 343-19(2): Reach Those Who Do Not Use Addictions Services, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 5046

Rylund Johnson

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North

Mr. Chair, I move that this committee recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services collect and analyze data from residents who do not use GNWT addictions prevention and recovery services, to identify creative ways to remove barriers and make services more culturally safe and provide a timeline for implementation. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Committee Motion 343-19(2): Reach Those Who Do Not Use Addictions Services, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 5046

The Chair

The Chair Ronald Bonnetrouge

Mahsi. The motion is in order. To the motion.