Jane Groenewegen

The age of the young people we may be talking about may fall in that gap. I think foster care funding is only available to children up to the age of 16. I believe that income support may be available. That’s for people who want to live independently, I believe.

Would there be funding available for a room and board type situation, a home boarding situation for a young person under the current programs that exist? Would there be funding available under room and board situations? It doesn’t fit the foster care age group, and it may not fit the income support model either.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement today I talked about the issue of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder in the Northwest Territories. I don’t know the exact statistics, but I daresay we are still among the jurisdictions that are the most affected by this.

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to create a scenario. In a community a young woman comes into a clinic or a nursing station and finds out that she is pregnant. The workers in that community are concerned about social pressures and lifestyle issues that may not result in a healthy child being born as a result of that pregnancy. The young...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

WHEREAS the Ministerial Benefits Policy has been tabled in this House;

AND WHEREAS the Ministerial Benefits Policy requires detailed consideration;

NOW THEREFORE I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, that Tabled Document 7-16(3), Ministerial Benefits Policy, be referred to Committee of the Whole for consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to deal with the motion I gave notice of earlier today.

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Monday, October 27, 2008, I will move the following motion.

Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, that this Assembly formally move to conduct an Executive Council accountability review process within the next 12 months whereby the Premier and Members of the Executive Council shall report to and be accountable to Members of the Legislature on progress to date and plans for the remainder of the term of the 16th Legislative Assembly.

Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time I will be seeking unanimous consent to deal with this motion...

We’re very fortunate to have non-government organizations, NGOs, here in the Northwest Territories and here in Yellowknife that are very concerned about the fortunes of women and children

I would like to ask the Minister if she could, through some format, initiate a dialogue with some of these organizations that may have firsthand knowledge of these types of situations and come back with more information to gauge if there is interest and a need in the community for this type of service.

I consider this to be important. The outcomes we have seen in the people we care for, who are children in our education system…. Many end up in our justice system and on long term support from this government as a result of FASD. It’s far more costly than having the opportunity to refer those who wish to a healthy home environment.

When I was Minister of Health and Social Services, I had a chance to travel to Winnipeg, where they had a network of homes where people said: yes, we will receive young women into our homes; we will care for them; we will nurture them during this time of pregnancy.

Wo...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to use my Member’s statement today to draw attention to what I think may be a gap in our social safety net here in the Northwest Territories.

We probably have a disproportionately high rate of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder in the Northwest Territories. I think there need to be options that are made available to young women who are pregnant. Certainly, there is the legal option of having an abortion, but for those young women who wish to carry a pregnancy to term and who wish to give birth to a healthy child but find themselves in situations where they may...

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to deal with the Ministerial Benefits Policy motion that I gave notice of earlier today.

Unanimous consent granted.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Monday, October 27, 2008, I will move the following motion:

Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, that Tabled Document 7-16(3,) Ministerial Benefits Policy, be referred to Committee of the Whole for consideration.

Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time I will be seeking unanimous consent to deal with this motion today.