Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, it’s clear that it seems like the health and social services boards are block funded in regard to how these dollars are being expended and what we heard out in the field is that a lot of these core services are not being prevented in all communities in the Northwest Territories and that’s what the recommendation is asking for. So would you consider re-profiling these dollars, directly expend them in the communities and not send them to the health and social services authorities, and spend it where it really would make a difference? Thank you.
Thank you. I will undertake to look at that, but I believe that all of the Members on the other side would like to know exactly where that money is being spent before we make a decision about reprofiling them. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister of Health and Social Services. In my statement I presented my perception of the Foundation for Change strategic document that the department is currently using. So my first question to the Minister today is to ask whether or not she can confirm that I’ve understood it correctly and can she define for me and for the people listening the purpose of the Foundation for Change? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Foundation for Change is a pretty straightforward, clearly written document about what the department is proposing to realign the way we deliver our services and what we are focusing on. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that over the three and a half years I’ve been here working with MLA Bisaro, she has an insatiable appetite for details. So instead of making a broad statement about lack of information, if the Member could tell me exactly what detail she is looking for, I’d be more than happy to provide her with the details she needs. Thank you.
To the Minister, I like to think that my insatiable appetite for detail enables me to do my job properly.
As to the detail that the Minister is asking that I want, I think I explained in my statement that the Foundation for Change document, to me, has objectives and it has no detail on how those objectives will be achieved. About a month ago, Mr. Speaker, the Standing Committee on Social Programs met with the Minister to discuss the document. We asked for that kind of detail, we asked for the actions, we asked for an evaluation plan to flesh out the Foundation for Change document. Unless those things came today, Mr. Speaker, I haven’t seen them, the committee hasn’t got it. So I’d like to ask the Minister when Members can expect to receive the Foundation for Change update information that was promised to us a month ago. Thank you.
I don’t believe that was a month ago. I think it was January 14th or 19th. We are working on the details the Member asked for and it’s in my office, it’s about 50 pages long. I’d be happy to get the document to the Member as soon as possible. Thank you.
Thanks to the Minister for that commitment. I hope that we will see it sooner rather than later. If it’s in her office, I guess that means sooner.
To the Minister: if this is a strategic document and it guides the department, I would think that it should be reactive to new info and it should be a living and breathing document. So I’d like to ask the Minister what actions identified under the Foundation for Change document, the actions which presumably are on her desk, deal with recommendations from the Child and Family Services Act review report?
The three pillars of Foundation for Change are wellness, accessibility and sustainability. There is a section in Foundation for Change about working to support children, to enhance services for children, and as I said in my Minister’s statement on Friday, we support the direction and the general spirit and intent of the standing committee report on the review because it’s very much in line with what our department’s goals are under Foundation for Change. I see no gaps there and it’s very much in line. We are, I believe, moving in the same direction.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. Final supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess I have to take from the Minister’s answer that there are no specific recommendations from the Child and Family Services Act review which are dealt with in the Foundation for Change. I asked about actions. I didn’t ask about intent and I didn’t ask about direction.
My last question to the Minister is: I would like to know whether the Foundation for Change document has been re-evaluated and/or updated in light of the Child and Family Services Act report. Does it reflect the recommendations in the report, and, if not, will it be updated?
The Foundation for Change is an action plan that requires direction and intent and spirit. I say again, Children and Family Services Act review of the standing committee we agree with the recommendations. We support the recommendations. We have agreed to implement 61 out of 73 recommendations. The 10 that we’re not able to, the exact way that the committee has recommended, we say in our reply how we are going to go about them.
As I said, I realize it’s not the answer that the Member is looking for, but we see nothing in the recommendations from the report that’s not in line with what the department wants to do and what the Foundation for Change action plan has to say. I believe in that way we are in harmony about what we need to do for the benefit of the children and families in the Territories.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.
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. Beaulieu. The honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. As Members know, the transfer of the positions back to NWT Housing Corporation on the Public Housing Rental Subsidy has been active. As a result, there has been a loss of administration dollars within our Department of ECE. ECE is required to reduce the number of client services offices across the Northwest Territories. Those individuals were also handling the case of public subsidy units, public housing rental subsidy area, and then at the same time the client services officers were responsible for income security. Now the responsibility is with NWT Housing Corporation so we had to downsize the client services officers.
Can the Minister advise me if there are other positions of a client services officer nature that were filled within the South Slave region?
Yes, there have been other positions such as client services officers in a number of communities across the Northwest Territories that fill similar positions. Full-time/part-time employment status is determined also on the clientele caseloads.
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?
There have been numerous discussion and consideration taking into account a number of factors when deciding when and where the reduction will happen, including where the positions were initially established, with the funding and the current client caseload again. So, yes, to answer the Member’s question, these have all been taken into consideration when we were deciding.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final supplementary, Mr. Beaulieu.
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?
I appreciate that the Member is persistent. At the same time, we have to look at the caseload. If there is an increase in the caseload for a client services officer to perform extra duty on income security, this is an area we can definitely look at. We will seriously monitor the caseloads in the region.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. I’ve received conflicting information on funding for the Introduction to Advanced Nursing Practice Program at Aurora College. My question is for the Minister of ECE.
It is my understanding that the Department of Health and Social Services contributes support directly to this program, as well as indirectly through coverage of student tuition fees, and that ECE and the federal government may also be contributors, but obviously this needs clarification. I ask the Minister: what is the current and planned status of funding from these partners for this program?
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The program that we deliver through Aurora College, the funding that’s required is $2.7 million from ECE to Aurora College for a bachelor of nursing, special work in nursing, health access programs. As well, Aurora College receives additional money from the Department of Health and Social Services in the amount of $511,000 to cover the masses of Nursing, Nurse Practitioner and Introduction to Advanced Practice programs. This is funding that’s been required for these programs.
Again I would ask the Minister: what is the status of these dollars? What is the current plan for the immediate and long-term future of these programs?
Part of our plan of the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, working closely with Health and Social Services and also the college, is to continue delivering this program. If there are any changes in the program delivery or if there is an issue with the funding, then we definitely need to sit down and discuss our objectives and options and we’ll definitely let the Members know if there are any changes.
I haven’t heard the Minister talk about federal funding, although I have a communication from him indicating that will end and contribute to the end of the Nurse Practitioner Program, again conflicting with what I’m hearing today from the Minister just a day or two later. I’m looking for clarification. What is at least the status of the federal funding? Are we going to have that renewed, I’m going to ask the Minister on top of that.
The federal funding, I don’t have that information specifically. I just highlighted our department and Health and Social Services’ contribution to Aurora College. I will gather that information on federal funding, if it does exist, to the Members.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final supplementary, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks for the comments from the Minister on that. I’ll look forward to the details that he can provide.
I’d like to ask one last question. As far as the Minister knows, does the following commitment from Health and Social Services still stand? How does this reflect on the longevity of the program as planned? The GNWT is committed to increasing the number of NPs in the NWT. The Health and Social Services planning document also says, “Through Foundation for Change, we will focus on delivering the right services using the most appropriate service provider.” All too often we use high-cost service providers such as physicians to deliver primary care that would be more appropriately delivered by community health nurses or nurse practitioners. Obviously this speaks to the...
Do you have a question, Mr. Bromley?
I’m wondering if that commitment is still there and does the department still recognize that need.
Our GNWT and ECE are supportive of having more NPs in the Northwest Territories. We will continue to have this discussion with Health and Social Services on what kind of options are there. If there’s a budget issue or financial issue or program delivery is an issue, a number of students are in the program so those are discussions that we need to have. We have had contacts within the last couple of weeks, so we’ll continue to do that. With progress, we’ll let the Members know.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ve got some questions today for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. I just wanted to get a better understanding of how it’s possible that the Government of the Northwest Territories sold 36,000 acres of land to the Norman Wells Land Corporation without Regular Members of the House being informed in any way, shape, or fashion. That’s the first question I’ve got for the Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Minister responsible for Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Robert McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Commissioner’s land just outside the boundary of Norman Wells was... The Norman Wells Land Corporation had come forward with a proposal to purchase the land from the Commissioner and we entered into talks with them and an agreement was put in place.
I’d like to ask the Minister: is there not a policy or protocol that would have the Minister, the department and/or Cabinet inform Regular Members of such a land acquisition or deal like the one in Norman Wells?
The land in question, all the proper process was followed in disposing of the land. We normally would communicate to the local MLA that the land is being in question, but all the proper processes, as far as the Norman Wells Land Corporation and the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, was followed to a T.
Given the fact that it was a sizable tract of land, 36,000 acres, I’m just wondering whether or not the Minister and Cabinet would have an obligation to advise Regular Members of this transaction, especially considering we have constituents that would ask (a) if we know about the deal, and (b) what the selling price was. That piqued my interest, in that what exactly the government is getting in return for the 36,000 acres of land outside of Norman Wells.
As far as I know, we don’t normally. I’m not sure what the process is for letting the Members know, if it was an oversight on our part. I’ll follow up on that and see if it’s something that we would normally do.
The price of the land would be about $1.6 million for this particular piece and the Norman Wells Land Corporation are looking to better its economic base for the constituents that they represent. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Your final supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.
