Caitlin Cleveland

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, is this committee solely to talk about issues, or will there be opportunity for youth to drive change within their communities? So will this committee also come potentially with the power to change policy, the power to change or provide recommendations to school boards, to communities, and will it come with funding? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to thank my colleagues, not only for their support today but for their honest and candid conversations that we had in committee. Every single person in this room, I would say, knows somebody that they have lost or who is struggling right now. And so I want to thank the Members for sharing so candidly together because those are very difficult conversations not only to have but to have with your work colleagues. And so I thank the Members for that very, very much.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to challenge...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, my first set of questions, if we get through a couple, are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

On October 20th, the department issued a communique identifying renewed plans for the youth advisory committee. I'm wondering if the Minister can tell the House how the department plans to use this committee to provide agency to NWT youth? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker,

WHEREAS there has been an alarming number of suicides in the Northwest Territories in 2022;

AND WHEREAS Tabled Document 64919(2), the Office of the Chief Coroner 20212022 Early Release of Suicide Data Report, raised concerns about the 18 suicides so far in 2022;

AND WHEREAS the Office of the Chief Coroner did not wait until the end of the calendar year to provide data on suicide in the territory in order to elicit a territorial government response now;

AND WHEREAS the majority of those deaths by suicide is impacting youth and young adults in...

Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, in a perfect world we would have 30 Indigenous students in the nursing program, or 30 Indigenous and northern students in the nursing program at Aurora College. So the budget ideally would allow us to max out the 30. So the budget really, in theory, is already there. So all I'm asking for is that we ensure that the Aurora College nursing program bursaries are fully subscribed every year to ensure that we have the biggest capacity of nurses, because as soon as we can say hey, we'll educate you in exchange for service, we have a guaranteed eight...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, my questions are again for the Minister of Health and Social Services.

I questioned the Minister during this sitting in regards to bursaries for students who want to partake in the Aurora College nursing program, and I was happy to learn and to hear that Indigenous students and northern students are both open to access bursary programs for the Aurora College nursing program. So I'm wondering, though, if the Minister will allow southern students to access northern nursing bursaries to fill the remaining spots in the Aurora College nursing program to...

Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, one of the things that Health and Social Services introduced this year from headquarters are mental health subscription boxes. But these boxes, which I believe in September the theme of the box was suicide prevention, these boxes are not made available to people in healthcare centres or in hospitals. And so I'm wondering if that is a change that the Minister is willing to make? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services.

In June of this year, I asked the Minister a series of questions in regards to people who presented at our hospitals and healthcare centres with suicide attempts or suicide ideations. And the Minister committed to taking my comments and concerns and asks around the supports that are provided to people away and into account and considering them. And so I'm wondering what changes have occurred to supports or responses to suicide attempts at our healthcare centres and hospitals in...

Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, the reason I started this conversation by asking to speak to the Minister of Health and Social Services was because I wanted to find out if there was an avenue for funding for what youth are looking for in their communities potentially through there. So the department of health has their suicide prevention fund, and currently to access that fund, you have to be with an NGO, you have to be with an Indigenous government. There's a list of about four or five places or people, rather, that can access that. But youth specifically, as individuals...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services.

Madam Speaker, the Department of Health and Social Services put together the Child and Youth Care Counsellor Program, and this is a program that came out of actually talking to youth and finding out what they wanted and really having that conversation about mental health and how to fill that need. Given where this program is at now, I'm wondering what kind of work Health and Social Services is doing to evaluate this program? Thank you.