Julie Green

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Your Special Committee to Increase the Representation of Women in the Legislative Assembly is pleased to provide its interim report on increasing the representation of women to the Legislative Assembly and commends it to the House.

The Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories (NWT) has the lowest percentage of women Members of any Canadian legislature. NWT voters elected two women to the Assembly in 2015, or 10.5 percent of Members. By comparison, Nunavut has six women Members, or 27.3 percent, and Yukon seven, representing 36.8 percent.

On March 8, 2018, this...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Finally, we have heard lots about the Quality Improvement Plan, but it is not yet a public document. When will the Minister table this plan in the House? Mahsi.

Thank you to the Minister. I am just going to keep filling up his list here. The OAG recommended, and the department agreed, that staff required more training with a structured decision-making tool to ensure that it was being used effectively. The department agreed that new training will be implemented by the end of March. Can the Minister tell us: is that training ready to go?

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. What I am trying to gauge is how the planning and bureaucratic process is going down to the front line and to the clients in order to make substantive changes that the OAG had talked about. Another of the things the OAG report flagged was an increased risk to children in care because perspective guardians hadn't been screened properly. The Minister reported yesterday on changes to screening. My question is: has the front-line staff be trained in these new protocols so that they are in effect now? Thank you.

Thanks to the Minister for that response. In his statement yesterday, the Minster said the plan will address the recommendations in the OAG's report as well as "additional gaps that were found." Will the Minister please describe these additional gaps?

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Changes to facilities, installing change tables in washrooms, and quiet rooms for Members to care for children have been introduced in many public places. More than half of Canadian legislatures have installed change tables in washrooms, and several have designated quiet rooms, including Alberta, Manitoba, and the House of Commons.

Daycare facilities are not available to all legislatures. Thirty-eight spaces for children aged between 18 months and five years are provided to Members of the House of Commons in Ottawa. Ontario's Legislature holds a membership to a corporate...

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that, on Thursday, March 14, 2019, I will move the following motion: I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Great Slave, that, notwithstanding Rule 4, when this House adjourns on Thursday, March 14, 2019, it shall be adjourned until Thursday, May 23, 2019; and further, that any time prior to May 23, 2019, if the Speaker is satisfied after consultation with the Executive Council and Members of the Legislative Assembly that the public interest requires that the House should meet at an earlier time during the adjournment, the Speaker may give notice, and...

Thank you to the Minister for that. That is good information. Next, the OAG recommended that the requirements of the Child and Family Services Act be met in responding to child protection concerns, and the department agreed. The department agreed, in fact, to put key standards in place by the end of the month. Is that work on track?

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I would like to continue with my line of questioning to the Minister of Health and Social Services, to put a few more things on his list to report on. Next, the OAG report recommended that health authorities work together to promote equity in the delivery of foster care across the territory. The department agreed that a set of standards and procedures would be completed by March 31st. My question is: are they complete? Mahsi.

I am now going to turn to a few specific recommendations that the OAG made that the department agreed to complete by the end of this month. One of the key findings was that the health authority staff maintain minimum contact with clients, which was a failing of the department in the audit. The Minister has said that he has set up quality reviews in this area. What does that mean in terms of actually meeting the contact requirements with the youth and children?