Does committee agree?

Thank you. Committee, we will proceed with the first item. Consideration in Committee of the Whole of bills and other matters, 2025-2026 Main Estimates, Department of Health and Social Services, February 13, 2025. Committee, we have agreed to consider Tabled Document 275-20(1), Main Estimates 2025-2026.

We will now consider the Department of Health and Social Services. Does the Minister of Health and Social Services wish to bring in witnesses into the House?

Yes.

Okay. Does the committee agree?

Thank you. Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses into the chamber.

Thank you. Would the Minister please introduce her witnesses.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I have ADM Mathison to my right, and the deputy minister Joanne Cecchetto to my left.

Thank you. Welcome. Committee, we will resume where we left off yesterday. We were considering health and social services programs, Department of Health and Social Services. This key activity begins on page 203 with information items on page 209. Are there any questions? I will begin with the Member from Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So I -- yeah, to pick up where I left off yesterday, it feels like it's been years, following up on my question about programs for children and youth given the gap left by the closures of the residential treatment centres for children and youth. Can the Minister actually point to how much money in the budget is being allocated to support healing programs, treatment programs for children and youth. Is that a line that can be summarized?

Thank you. I'll go to the Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We don't have that level of detail here.

Okay, thank you. I'll go back to the Member from Yellowknife North.

Okay, thank you, Mr. Chair. I had a question about the line item community, culture and innovation. So there is a significant drop in that budget. It's about half of what it was the last two years. Can the Minister explain why the drastic reduction in that line item. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. I'm going to go to the Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, that northern wellness agreement, that's being renegotiated right now, so that is why there's a reduction so those funds come directly out of that northern wellness, so as soon as those -- that agreement is finalized, then that number will change. Thank you.

Thank you. I'll go to the Member from Yellowknife North.

Thank you for that; that does make sense. Sometimes we are caught in between funding agreements here.

Okay. Under the population and public health services line -- well, it's more in the business plan. There's a note in the business plan that there will be some kind of a transformation of the public health system. Can the Minister explain what will be involved in transforming the public health system. I mean, not all the details but what's the idea behind it. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. I'll go to the Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, during -- the word we don't like to use -- COVID, there were a lot of areas within our systems that we -- like, that we did not have -- that we needed to look at after going through what we had to go through and in detail, I can pass it on to the deputy minister to kind of give some little bit more in depth on what is happening in that area now, if I may, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. I'll go to the deputy minister.

Thank you. I'm going to go back to the Member from Yellowknife North.

Okay, And just to clarify, the idea is that population and public health will continue to straddle HSS and the health authorities or that it will be transferred entirely to the health authority? I understand that roles and responsibilities need to get sorted out, but is the intention that those roles and responsibilities will continue to straddle the two? Thank you, Mr. Chair.