Thank you, Mr. Speaker.The next question is with respect to child and family services vacancies and compliances.
Repeated auditor general reports highlight chronic gaps within the Northwest Territories child and family services system that directly threaten vulnerable children. High caseworker vacancy rates and intense staff turnover continue to undermine the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority's ability to meet its statutory duties under the Child and Family Services Act. A clear, regional accounting of caseworker retention and compliance benchmarks is required to ensure accountability and guarantee that mandatory cultural support plans are being actively delivered.
My questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services:
- What is the current caseworker vacancy rate by region, and what specific targeted recruitment strategies are being deployed to fill frontline positions in small communities?
- Of the active child protection files opened in the past 12 months, what percentage have fully complied with mandated safety welfare check timelines?
- What concrete measures or training frameworks have been implemented to ensure caseworker compliance with required cultural support plans for Indigenous children in care?
- How many child welfare safety audits were completed late or remain overdue across the Northwest Territories as of April 1, 2026? And lastly,
- What baseline funding increases or resource allocations have been directly committed to community-based Indigenous governments to support localized preventative child and family services over the last two fiscal years?
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.