Debates of February 13, 2012 (day 5)

These clients are children that have needs that require highly specialized daily attention for assessment, treatment, education and support services. The individual children that are in southern placements are there because we don’t have that service available in the NWT. Although the Child and Family Services Committee does deal with children receiving services, and under the whole Foster Care Program or the Child Protection Program we have these children in there in southern treatment or southern placement – some of these children in there in southern placement – it’s not directly associated with the creation of the committee cost. This cost here would be, unless we’re able to provide the treatment, educational and the support services that these particular children need. Even if we had all of the child and family service committees up and running, we would still have these children in these placements until, like the Minister of Finance indicated earlier, we’re able to build facilities and get staff into the North trained or brought into the North to be able to accommodate the needs of these children here.

On the surgery room, I’m just going to read some of the key messages here that all surgeries have resumed, with the exception of joint replacement surgeries. The processes are in place to ensure that all the best practice guidelines are continued to be met. Higher risk joint surgery is still on hold, pending additional infection control improvements, and that was on the sterilization issue that the Member brought up previously.

Bob Bromley

Weledeh

I appreciate that information. I did not hear anything about the child and family services prevention programs that we had recognized are needed here. There’s a national case going forward today where one of the workers we had involved in the review, Cindy Blackstock, is sort of leading the charge to take the Government of Canada to court, I believe, on their failure to appropriately fund Aboriginal children across Canada. I want to know that we are doing funding as we should be. There were a number of things that were identified, but funding is obviously only part of it.

We have funding in place. We need people who will go after the best spending of those sorts of things, and I hasten to add that I’ve been in discussions with my colleagues and we acknowledge that we wear some of that responsibility here, because I think these are our communities in all our ridings. So we need to be working with our communities to take advantage of the opportunity.

In this case here, we’ve got funding for five community committees and none of them up and running yet. But I want to know what we’re doing on the prevention side to implement these recommendations in an aggressive way.

I just want to point out that there’s a phenomenon here that we’re seeing repeated: the energy issues. You know, by not investing – and we know the returns are great, the paybacks are great – we’re paying at the other end big time now and it’s taking away other options. The same with the Hay River pension situation, of course. It’s now gone beyond our ability to address that $10 million. Here we have a situation again with child care. So I want to know that we are making good use of these dollars and not letting them slide. So can I get a sure answer that we’re actually going to do that here and get going on the prevention towards ultimately decreasing the escalating cost of looking after children outside of the NWT? Thank you.

The government has given Health and Social Services $470,000 to work on the creation of the Child and Family Services Committee. We think that will go a long ways to the prevention. The Member is right; we haven’t struck any of those committees at this point. We are, as this is all part of our tours to do consultation in communities. When we went into the Sahtu we looked at and we had an initial meeting with the health and social services authority, and at that time the health and social services authority felt like it was adding another layer of government to the system and thought it was going to just do nothing more than add costs.

After I met with the authority, along with the staff that were travelling with me, it became fairly clear that our intention of creating child and family services was for a good reason. That was that over the long term it would save costs.

The department is going to be offering the Train the Trainer workshops in Beaufort-Delta so that staff have the tools to establish the child and family services committees in the communities.

I think that I was surprised that each of the authorities, there was a plan for each of them, although they didn’t action the stuff yet, that each of them had a plan to try to create as many child and family services committees as possible. We looked at the numbers that I know at the top of my head right now would be in the Sahtu. When I travelled there with the Member for Sahtu we looked at the numbers. We say that two of the communities there may not need child and family services committees but the other three would need them. There was an actual call in the communities for them to be established.

Right now, back in October they delivered some of the workshops referred to as Child and Family Services Committees Train the Trainer Workshops. The authorities were doing them and they were delivering some of the programs in every authority except for the Beaufort-Delta. We’re hoping that by the end of March of this year that we’re going to hire a child and family services committees coordinator, and that individual will be located here, and we’re going to try to give that individual the responsibility to strike as many of these committees as possible. We’re actually working on it.

We’re not ignoring committee recommendations on these at all, it’s just taking some time to look at everything, train the staff and fill the appropriate positions.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Next on the list I have Mr. Yakeleya.

Norman Yakeleya

Sahtu

Thank you, Madam Chair. The Canadian Blood Services that we pay for, has the department looked at how the residents of the Northwest Territories could be part of helping these people that require blood? Is it cheaper or is it more convenient for them to just purchase the blood for these two people in the North than not to bother the rest of us? Because the Canadian Blood Service relies on donors too. Can there be something like that or is it just doesn’t quite fit the plans for having blood for these people in the North here?

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Miltenberger.

Michael Miltenberger

Thebacha

Thank you, Madam Chair. There’s one central operation for blood services. They circulate it. They create the products. It’s a high-tech, highly specialized, very carefully controlled process. One of the reasons being, as I’ve indicated in some previous answers, were the concerns about infection and the Krever inquiry. We’re part of the Canadian Blood Services Board and we sit at the table with the other provinces and territories and the federal government, and we buy from a central location where these highly specialized products are made.

Norman Yakeleya

Sahtu

Thanks to the Minister for explaining it to me.

I want to move on to the notion that at one time the operation of all the health boards was talked about. I think what the Minister said, if I understand it, is that they’re having some discussions to see if we would look at how do we all work together to cut some costs where it seems logical and beneficial if those cuts mean that we’re going to get more programs in our communities and regions. It is a delicate issue and it means people’s jobs, it means family, it means a lot of things. So if there’s a step or process that Cabinet has already looked at and the Minister has designed some type of strategy to see if this could pass through the Assembly, I think I’m all up for how we work this out. How can we help you make those difficult decisions? But you need to include us in that process. I know the last time it happened, I had some, I don’t know what you call it, from my constituents. They weren’t very happy. Something never went right there for us. So we’re willing to look at it again because we have to stop the leak of these deficits. Somewhere we have to stop the leak on our health board authorities. They do the best job they can. Like I said, we need to be funding our authorities and hospitals properly. That’s a lot of pressure on this government and ourselves.

Just looking at the sheet here, there’s money in here for costs to contain and remediate mould and air handling units on the fourth floor of Stanton Territorial Hospital. That’s dangerous. There’s mould there. In the air handling units on the fourth floor. We need to contain and remediate. It’s almost shock and awe. You’re going to look at that there. Those things I support, because there’s also mould in some other people’s houses in the Northwest Territories. I hope we have that kind of money for units, public and private.

I made some visits to the communities and there are people who live in the houses that have mould there. I don’t see any extraordinary funding to go to helping those people. I can see it for the hospital. We send a lot of people there from the Sahtu and other communities. More importantly, we have staff people working there day in and day out. I’m surprised nobody has come before us for any type of lawsuit with those types of conditions. That’s crazy. That I can see, I can justify that cost. It makes sense. Even for the sterilization of equipment in the central supply processing unit there’s money there. Those kinds of costs I understand and can justify.

Not looking to spend too much time on this, Madam Chair. I just wanted to raise those concerns. When I see contain and remediate mould in the hospital, what’s going on there? There are many other things that are not told to us. We don’t know; they’re not on the record. With our health facilities in the communities, mould in our houses in the communities, I don’t see any extraordinary funding to help fix it and to remediate it.

I’m going to leave it there. It’s been a long day. I think I’ve said enough already to the Minister. I think he’s got the gist of what we’re talking about. That’s the end of my comments.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Madam Chair. This is not a board reform. We’re talking about reforming governance essentially in the way that the authorities are governing their various authorities, the way we’re governing the hospitals and health centres and so on. Even though this is governance reform, there will still be a requirement for a lot of consultation and that’s what we’re proposing. We’re not proposing to do any board reform at this time, or there’s no plan to do any board reform in the future either, for that matter.

The concern with the mould remediation was raised because the mould was between the air handling units located on the fourth floor of the hospital. There was an issue raised of possible infiltration into the entire hospital. The mould remediation was done with the Department of Public Works and Services and the remediation followed the Canadian Standards Association. We have a standard to remediate mould. The Member is right; there is a potential liability had the mould become airborne. I think that was avoided when the mould was remediated.

Norman Yakeleya

Sahtu

Just to close off, I’m glad the Minister clarified that it’s not a board reform initiative. I’m very happy that he clarified it. We’re looking at governance. The same comment to the Minister and Cabinet colleagues is working with us on governance issues and how do we deal with it. It’s important because the money is not going to be there all the time, so we need to do what we have to do with the money that we have.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Next on the list I have Mr. Moses.

Alfred Moses

Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Madam Chair. Just a really quick question on a comment made by the Minister of Health and Social Services earlier in regard to the joint replacement surgeries. That was the one that has been on hold and we’ve had questions in this House about it in the past. With the funding being contributed to the repairs and modifications to the sterilization steam equipment and central supply reprocessing unit, does the Minister foresee any further delays in these surgeries or does he still feel that we’re comfortable and going to start performing them come April?

Thank you, Mr. Moses. Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Madam Chair. On August 15th of last year the operating room where there was an issue was resumed to capacity. However, the aging equipment continues to present challenges to maintain consistent pH levels and the optimum sterilization results. So we’re not anticipating that there will be further issues, but given the age of the hospital and the operating room itself, it is possible. At this time, like I said, we’re operating at full capacity and it should be okay. I can’t make a prediction on that, Madam Chair.

Okay, thank you. Nothing further? Department of Health and Social Services, operations expenditures, health services programs, not previously authorized, $4.790 million.

Agreed.

Agreed, thank you. Community health programs, not previously authorized, $2.126 million.

Agreed.

Total department, Health and Social Services, not previously authorized, $8.887 million.

Agreed.

What’s the wish of committee? We’re nearing our adjournment time of 6:00. Don’t want to rush through things that you might regret and ask questions about tomorrow. Mr. Hawkins.

Robert Hawkins

Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Madam Chair. After extensive and diligent review of the government’s books, I’d like to move that we report progress.

---Carried

I will now rise and report progress. I’d like to thank the Minister and his witnesses for their attendance here today.

Report of Committee of the Whole