Statements in Debates
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Mr. Elkin.
Thank you, Minister. Colleagues, we are on the Department of Health and Social Services. The operations expenditure summary on page 8-7, I’d like to request agreement that we defer that until after the detail and begin on page 8-8 with the Department of Health and Social Services, infrastructure investment summary. This is an information item. Does committee agree?
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Minister Lee.
Mr. Chairman, I note that we have a physician for inside the NWT and for outside the NWT. I am just wondering if there is any way to report on a regular basis the services we pay for from nurses who are part of our staff and those that are brought in on a local or temporary basis. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Monday, February 7, 2011, I will move the following motion: Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Great Slave, that Tabled Document 135-16(5), Response to the Standing Committee on Social Programs Report on the Review of the Child and Family Services Act, be referred to Committee of the Whole for consideration.
At the appropriate time I will be seeking unanimous consent to deal with this motion today.
Unfortunately, my questions are accumulating here, Mr. Speaker. I’m just not getting answers. I asked, had an evaluation been done of the existing programs. I asked what the Minister is proposing. Apparently, there is a document to be tabled today. Supposedly, the Minister knows that if she’s proposing to do nothing, I need to know that, Mr. Speaker. I will add a third question. Given that major benefits from programs such as the Healthy Families accrue to the Department of Justice, ECE and other departments, including Health and Social Services to get us out from these budget pressures we’re...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. I just want to start by noting that the Standing Committee on Social Programs did have the courtesy of sharing with the Minister our draft report on the review of the Child and Family Services Act, and we were pleased to do so. I want to preface my questions by noting that it would have been great to see the department’s response to it before it was tabled today. But not having seen it, when is the Minister proposing to get the Healthy Families Program into every community in the Northwest Territories...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Early investments in the health and well-being of mothers and children through nurse-family programs pays huge benefits down through the years. Good work is underway in four communities through the Healthy Families Program at the Department of Health and Social Services and I look forward to hearing more details on any expansion to be proposed in this year’s budget.
Nurse-family programs focus on improving prenatal health, reducing child abuse and enhancing family functioning in the first two years of the child’s life. Unlike many mental health, substance abuse and crime...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to deal with the motion I gave notice of earlier today.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Why don’t I get a good feeling here, Mr. Speaker? I guess, if I can try and ask a point-blank question here: would the Minister agree that despite an entire section devoted to prevention, and possibly the highest priority in our report, am I to conclude from the Minister’s remarks that in fact there is no expansion planned for the Healthy Families Program?