Wendy Bisaro

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m going to echo some comments which have already been stated by my colleagues. I, as well, appreciate the intent of the motion and the rationale for bringing it forward.

I can support the recommendation that we look at this issue. I am, as well, concerned by the fact that the motion is asking that we compensate medical and non-medical travel escorts for their time. If we were to compensate any escort for the wages that they are losing, we could be in, I think, very serious financial difficulty.

One of my colleagues has mentioned that perhaps we ought to be looking at...

Thanks, Mr. Speaker, and thanks again to the Minister. My last question goes to the staff that he was just talking about, the speech-language pathologists and the audiologists. In my time here I have learned that we have great difficulty often in filling both of those positions because they’re very specialized.

Thanks to the Minister for that explanation. I guess I’m just not exactly sure, my understanding is that this is a voluntary service that parents do not have to have their kids tested at birth.

So I’d like to know from the Minister, he said that the program runs in all birthing centres, but that presumably means that if a child is born, for instance, in Alberta, they have to go to Edmonton to be born, if they’re not screened there, when they come back here do we know whether or not they’ve been screened?

Can the Minister confirm to me or give me some assurance that every child in the NWT, any...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that contribution agreements with the health and social services authorities be immediately amended to include a performance component clearly indicating that funding is contingent on compliance with the Child and Family Services Act. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, want to extend my congratulations to the winners of the Education Hall of Fame awards today. Congratulations to every one of them. I also can’t see them, but I want to mention the seniors who are here with us today. I am wearing my purple jacket specifically to raise awareness of elder abuse. I do have three Frame Lake residents I want to single out amongst the crowds up there, so to speak: Kim Doyle, Yvonne Quick and Gordon Graydon. Welcome, everyone, to the Assembly. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that the Department of Health and Social Services conduct a thorough review of its accountability framework for child and family services to identify existing deficiencies and implement mechanisms to enhance accountability. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. May was Speech and Hearing Month, and many of us take our ability to communicate for granted, but the ability to speak, hear and be heard is far more vital to our everyday lives than most of us realize. One in six Canadians has a speech, language or hearing problem.

Each year Speech-Language and Audiology Canada dedicates the month of May to raising public awareness about communication disorders. This year in the month of May, speech-language pathologists, audiologists and supportive personnel joined forces to highlight the importance of early detection and intervention...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that the Department of Health and Social Services develop a communication plan pertaining specifically to child and family services so that stakeholders and the public are informed about completed actions, upcoming changes and anticipated timelines. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have a series of motions as well.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just want to speak briefly to this. The job of family preservation worker was one that came to my attention through the Auditor General’s report and we have one staff person with that title within the health and social services system. It would seem to me that this is an area that we will be well advised to expand on.

The family preservation workers, as the motion says, provide in-home, individualized intervention services and that’s the sort of thing that is required with the end goal of keeping children with their families and in their home and in their community. This...