Steve Norn

There's a line here, medical professional development. I'm not sure exactly what that is. Can the Minister just describe what those funds are for for professional development? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you. That was good to hear. I mentioned in my Member's statement earlier that there are a lot of service gaps, and we try to make sure that we are always keeping on top of it and making sure that we don't have vacancies for extended periods of time because that means that our residents will go without some valuable services. Forgive me, too, that I have kind of inserted myself here right in the middle of this. If I am being repetitive here, my apologies. The other part of my question here: is the Department of Health and Social Services, in terms of mental health...

Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Committee wishes to consider Tabled Document 286-19(2), Main Estimates 2021-2022, Department of Health and Social Services. Marsi cho, Mr. Chair.

I'm starting to get a little better, clearer picture right now. Maybe when I have time, maybe I will have some more questions for our Minister of MACA, but maybe I'm hoping the Minister could probably help, maybe answer, and shed some more light on this. Is the Minister able to answer if first aid or first responder training is tracked in the NWT at all, in any way, shape, or form?

Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Going back to my Member's statement about medical emergencies in small communities. It is a really growing concern. A lot of these times when our government workers have a way of doing the work, there is usually a written procedure or some sort of directive that is given to them to help guide them through their duties. My question for the Minister of Health and Social Services here is: will the Minister be able to share with us when and where a written procedure, or a procedure otherwise, was put in place that prevents community medical staff from responding to...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Where I'm going with this is: one of the biggest things, in terms of medical treatment and medical services for our small communities, and I guess for all our communities in the territory, is that, if you want to effectively treat somebody or offer them the best service you can, you have to fully understand what their culture is like and what cultures are like in small communities and understand that. I think that would make a lot of our medical professionals better practitioners and help them hone their craft. It's a little tougher if you just insert somebody from the...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. That's really good to hear. One of the biggest things I notice, especially when you have one department working on any sort of initiative, there always tend to be things lost in translation, so I'm glad there is some sort of agreement there to make sure that there are some clear lines and clear responsibilities because anytime there is something missed, then the whole think kind of runs amok. I'm glad to hear that there is some collaboration. Right now, even in times of COVID, mental health is a real issue now, and we have to make sure that we keep on top of it and not be...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just looking at page 180 on Child and Family Services, just in regards to my riding, I know that social workers, child protection workers, have a very, very tough job. I commend those guys because I understand there are very high turnover rates on that just because of the mere stress of the job. I know that, in one of my communities, in Deninu Kue, there was recently a change in staffing that left a position open. I am just wondering if that position was going to be filled in Deninu Kue. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you for that. My next question is: has the Minister's department ever looked into an assessment process for applicants with criminal records?

Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. I just want to acknowledge Pink Shirt Day. I'm glad to see we're all wearing pink today and talk about mental health a little bit. I want to say that kindness, love, and support must shine through to fight these issues. I just heard a couple of my colleagues talk about crime and whatnot, so I'm going to segue into that.

Mr. Speaker, I last spoke about the Affirmative Action Policy and the hiring practices in November. At the time, I spoke of policy shortfalls, specifically Ministerial appointments, GNWT hiring practices. Today, I'd like to talk about individuals with...