Bob Bromley

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate the update. I think we did try and address this in the 16th Assembly and I think we did it late, but we didn’t really pursue it to the point of actually getting something done in the 16th. I think, although time may be short, that is apparently what has to happen. We need to take this on and actually demonstrate some real progress in this Assembly. Albeit, time is short and I appreciate the Minister’s steps and I’ll be certainly working with my colleagues to make sure that this comes to some real realization for people and families on the ground.

So, I will be...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Wednesday, June 4, 2014, I will move the following motion: now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Deh Cho, that in recognition of the clear public concern about fracking, the Government of the Northwest Territories immediately refrain from supporting any hydraulic fracturing proposals until a full and public assessment has been completed that demonstrates that the impacts of fracking and related development on the North are better understood and demonstrates that it can manage this technology in a way that ensures the integrity...

The Minister is not listening to the Aboriginal Head Start educators. They have been trying to have their concerns related to the proposed pre-kindergarten curriculum heard by the Minister, who refuses to meet with them and his staff ignore them, but they have been unable to get a meeting with him to express those concerns.

Will the Minister, not his staff, agree to sit down with representatives from the Aboriginal Head Start program – people have been working in this area for 17 years on the ground, developing their expertise and evaluating it just as this government should be doing, but...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment following up on my Member’s statement. The Aboriginal Head Start program has been providing effective early childhood education in the Northwest Territories for the past 17 years. This program has been evaluated both locally and by the federal government and has been found outstanding.

Will the Minister agree that the northern experts in early childhood development education at the Aboriginal Head Start program have much to offer in the sphere of early childhood education in the Northwest...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We hear increasing concerns from parents, teachers and education professionals regarding ECE’s plan to implement a free kindergarten curriculum that many feel is inappropriate for the NWT. The curriculum, apparently a blend of kindergarten, pre-kindergarten and early grades, not only lacks benefits for four-year-olds, it may even be harmful to some aspects of child development.

The fact that our smaller communities recognize that go slow approach is required, means that we have some opportunity to get it right before irreversible damage is done. We must get professional...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, also known as FASD, affects many people in the North. It impacts every aspect of their daily lives in the way they interact and participate in society. It often causes them to act in ways considered harmful to the community or themselves.

My first question to the Minister of Health and Social Services is: Does the department consider FASD a treatable condition, or is it considered to be a lifelong chronic condition requiring continuous support? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’ll probably be delayed on the answer, but if it could be done during this session so the public is informed, that would be appreciated. Thanks for that commitment.

Work is needed, definitely needed. It’s a situation that we want to get resolved, and work is underway, but there is also the need for oversight to make sure it’s being done in the way that everybody has agreed upon.

Is the delay being done on purpose to delay public oversight? Thank you.

We often hear complaints about delays in process and so on, but really fundamentally most of the delays are because things end up on Ministers’ desks without resolution.

Could I ask why the delay? We’ve agreed upon it. Everybody has agreed upon it. Work is going ahead without being done under the conditions of the environmental assessment that everybody has agreed on. Why the delay?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our judicial system treats adults with FASD as though they are responsible for their decisions and have a full capacity for that responsibility punishing them instead of offering treatment or alternative ways of dealing with it, and thus, our jails are full of adults with FASD who circulate through this costly system without resolution. A wellness court announced for this fall that partnership between Health and Social Services and Justice is a positive step and is needed as soon as possible.

Is there any capacity within Health and Social Services and the courts to...

That was my understanding as well. Today diagnosis of children with FASD is routine, but diagnosis of adults who were not assessed at young ages is a problem and many adults remain undiagnosed. They find themselves abandoned by the system, in trouble, in hospital or homeless and unaware of programs that might help. They don’t have the ability to function in a society that seems uncaring and stacked against them.

What treatment options and support services are in place to identify and help adults who have FASD? Mahsi.