Tom Beaulieu

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell me what the plan is to strike more child and family services committees at the community level? Thank you.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I have questions for the Minister of Health on the follow-up to the child and family services response.

Mr. Speaker, there is in excess of $12 million in the area of children’s services. Will the Minister direct her staff to look at a program in the area of early intervention and prevention in as far as child apprehensions go? Thank you.

Another area that seems to have many long-term benefits and it’s kind of the area that today in my Member’s statement I talked a little bit about which is in the review of the Child and Family Services Act. It’s not just that. It’s the overall prevention in the area of health. Again, the addictions, apprehensions, the whole thing seems to have real long-term benefits. This is an area where I’d like to see the department step up more in the prevention. I’m talking about starting at a very low-grade level in the schools, promoting some good, healthy habits in the schools and so on. I think that...

I actually think that changing the policy would actually make us go too far over to that side, that I think putting some flexibility into the policy makes it easier to administer, actually, because of the case-by-case basis and the rough parameters of income and the nature of the issue. I think it’s something that can be developed. If we look at a policy change, it’s going to be something that’s going to take a long period of time to do, number one. Number two, it tends to put us in a box. That’s what most of the policies seem to do in the government. The government makes a policy and does not...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister tell me if she has had complete discussions on the possibilities of re-profiling the Health and Social Services budget to address the recommendations in the report of the Standing Committee on Social Programs as it pertains to the Child and Family Services Act? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister work with the First Nation governments to look seriously at community solutions to combating addictions? Thank you.

Can the Minister tell me if there are any discussions at all in the area of employment rates when the department decided to reduce some of the positions. I’m referring to filling positions in communities that have higher employment rates, reducing positions in communities that have lower employment rates. Was there any of that type of discussion in the department?

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Today I’d like to ask questions of the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment on employment in small communities, particularly the client services officer position in Fort Resolution.

Can the Minister tell me if there is any dialogue on how to retain these positions that have been reduced to half time, to full-time positions within the department?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Minister direct his staff to re-establish a full-time position of the client services officer in Fort Resolution and find work in the department that’s appropriate for full-time position status?

Can the Minister advise me if there are other positions of a client services officer nature that were filled within the South Slave region?