Mr. Speaker, as we are all aware, there are a number of issues which impact on our ability as a territory to attract and retain physicians for our communities. There is competition for doctors’ services both at the national and international levels. This means we have to be realistic in wages that we pay doctors and offer the same incentives and inducements that other jurisdictions provide.
For the most part we are competitive. We can promote the positive lifestyle and virtues of living in smaller communities all we want, but if doctors can easily make more money in another jurisdiction, we will lose them. This is what is happening right now because of the legislative gap, and it is impacting on our ability to attract and retain doctors to actually live in the North.
Because doctors can incorporate as a professional corporation in other Canadian jurisdictions, they are taxed at a lower rate and can make significantly more money. For example, if a doctor was professionally incorporated in British Columbia and making a good living, why would they take a pay cut to come to the Northwest Territories?
I’ve also heard that there are locums, which are doctors that we pay to fill in when there is a short-term need, that would consider moving north if there were the ability to professionally incorporate. Using locums to fill doctor positions is a costly way of meeting the health care needs of Northerners.
I understand that this inability to professionally incorporate also impacts other professions, like lawyers and accountants, and is actually discouraging people from moving north and setting up practices.
Mr. Speaker, we need to move on this before we lose any more doctors. We need a legislative regime that encourages professionals to move or return north and put down their roots in our communities. We need a professional corporations act.
Later today I will have questions for the Minister of Justice about what we can do to respond to this need in a timely manner. This is something that has just this past week affected Hay River, and it is something of very critical importance.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Members’ statements, the honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.
[English translation not provided.]
Today I would like to talk about a situation that puts single parents at a disadvantage when it comes to accessing public housing.
Many of our constituents are single parents with young children, who are trying their best to earn a living and provide for their children. Unfortunately, many of these single-income earners are struggling to make ends meet. Some have families and friends to assist them, but many rely solely on government assistance.
One such program is the social housing program at the NWT Housing Corporation. Under the current policies individuals can become eligible for housing assistance if they are within the Core Need Income Threshold.
The Core Need Income Threshold is a total of both assessable and non-assessable income used by Housing to determine eligibility for public housing units. The criteria which are used for determining an applicant’s Core Need Income Threshold do not fully take into consideration the costs associated with child care.
Interruption.
You may continue with your statement, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, numerically they are factored in, but the nature of these costs is not. That is to say, child care expenses would be considered the same as a car payment.
Of course, costs like these represent two completely different circumstances with varying degrees of need. As such, more often than not the applicant’s true discretionary income is not really captured, so a single parent’s eligibility many times falls just over the predetermined Core Need Income Threshold, and they become ineligible for public housing. This is happening all too often to single people who are making an effort to provide a better living for themselves and their children. I feel we need to do something immediately. We need to do an immediate review of the policy so that special circumstances associated with child care costs are properly factored in determining an accurate evaluation of an individual applicant.
Today I will have questions for the Minister Responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation. Thank you.
Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. From my spot I don’t know if they’re still up there, but I certainly would like to make recognition of Cecily Hewitt and Bill Burles, both constituents of mine. When I came in earlier, they were both in the gallery. I certainly hope they’re still there.
I don’t know whether I’m his constituent or he’s mine, but I’d like to recognize Chief Stanley Sanguez.
I would like to recognize staff and board members from the Yellowknife Association of Community Living and the NWT Council of Persons with Disabilities. First of all, the executive director of YACL, Jane Whyte. Then the board members of the NWT Council of Persons with Disabilities: Judy Sharp; Bill Burles; Don Gillis with his wife, Ann Gillis; and the staff who I believe were here earlier, Corine Nitsiza, Beth Lenardon, Linda Noseworthy, Heather Clarke and the executive director of NWT Council of Persons with Disabilities, Cecily Hewitt.
Welcome to everyone in the gallery today. I hope you’re enjoying the proceedings.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions will be directed to the Minister of Transportation today.
In my Member’s statement I talked about good public discussion on issues such as using cellphones while driving and, of course, smoking in cars with children. As a package issue would the Minister be willing to get out there and see what Northerners want and what they’re willing to have as new, or potentially new, road-safety rules?
The honourable Minister of Transportation, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My department is always very committed to the safety of the travelling public, and I’d be happy to listen to what the people of the Northwest Territories have to say about these two issues that the Member has raised.
I actually didn’t hear the answer. I was trying to listen very carefully. Would the Minister be willing to get out there and call for a public dialogue on these issues to make sure that we’re hearing the needs of our citizens out there and absolutely making sure we’re meeting the basic needs of our citizens?
Mr. Speaker, I would repeat that the department is monitoring the situation of cellphones that he raised and also the banning of smoking in vehicles while children are present in the vehicle. The department is monitoring the situation and monitoring the reviews that are happening across Canada. The department is interested in engaging in some discussions with the MLA and the public in terms of what emergent issues need to come forward in terms of continuing on and seeing what we can do with dealing with these two issues.
I heard that very clearly this time around. Does the Minister have any suggestions as to how we’re going to get public feedback on this issue? I’m glad to hear the Ministry is….
Interruption.
We’ve got a technical problem.
Continue with your question, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, whomever.
Mr. Speaker, the issue really is: can the Minister tell me how he plans to get out there and get that feedback? He did say his department is monitoring the situation, but how is he getting out there to get feedback from the general citizenship of the Northwest Territories?
Mr. Speaker, there are seven communities in the Northwest Territories that have cellphone coverage out of 34 communities, which are the larger centres. That’s 8,000 — in my estimate, from NorthwesTel — cellphone users in the Northwest Territories. We do not have this coverage all along our transportation infrastructure road system. We’re not at that level yet. So in that sense we are monitoring the situation. We certainly have to talk to these centres that do have cellphone coverage.
On the banning of smoking in vehicles with children in them, we understand that Nova Scotia and Yukon do have this ban. We have to, again, monitor the situation. There are lots of issues of this type that are talked about amongst the Ministers of Transportation. Alberta is into that type of discussion. When we are coming closer to the amendments of the Motor Vehicles Act, that will enhance some issues in terms of amendments to the act. I am following the issues with the department, and I’ll continue reporting to the Member as to how we’re doing with our progress.
Final supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My position is quite simple. I’d rather not be in the back seat riding along with this issue. I’d rather be in the driver’s seat on this issue.
The Minister did mention some potential amendments. All I’m calling for is some public discussion, maybe an ad in the paper or on the radio saying that we’re looking for feedback from citizens of the Northwest Territories on this issue. Let’s get control of this issue. Let’s get ahead of the bubble. Let’s grab hold of it and make sure we know what people want and put safety first. Would the Minister do that?
Mr. Speaker, the Member is correct in terms of the education process. I do apologize that I didn’t mention that the Department of Transportation has a campaign, a single-window approach, in terms of all drivers on the road: the Drive Alive campaign. This is one process that we will be sure the Members in the House and the public in the communities know. We will enhance our component of the Drive Alive safety program to let them know about the issue of any type of distraction in the vehicle and the dangers of second-hand smoke, especially when there are children in the vehicle. We’ll certainly work closely with our Minister of Health and Social Services to ensure that this issue does have front-page notice and that we are in the front seat driving this issue.
The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are spending a lot of money in regard to foster care, like I mentioned. It increased almost a million dollars from last year. We’re spending almost $7.6 million in this area. I’d just like to ask the Minister: do you have a program in place that allows families to be reunited with their children so that we can reinvest this money that we’re spending, the $7.6 million, in trying to keep families together, reunite them, and be able to keep the children in their home communities?
The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Member’s question. The million dollar increase that the Member mentioned is part of our new initiative funding in the budget which increases the rates that the foster parents receive. I could also advise the Member that in his communities of Mackenzie Delta, Aklavik, Fort McPherson and Tsiigehtchic, there are currently, as of March ’08, 36 children in care. The vast majority of them are with either the families or with extended families under various arrangements that makes it possible, with agreement from the government and the parents and the children involved.
Mr. Speaker, can the Minister give me a breakdown on the cost for the number of children who are in care and also the cost associated with the children in care in my riding?
I don’t have that level of detailed information, but I’d be happy to get the information for the Member.
In my statement I made a reference to the Auditor General’s report in assessing children who are being apprehended on reserves in southern Canada. I believe that also affects us in the Northwest Territories. Has anybody in the department looked at the recommendations of the Auditor General and at exactly what alternatives and options we can look at to try to stem the flow of children being put into foster care and find solutions to those problems?
I do agree with the Member that if it’s at all possible we should try to keep our children in our communities and with extended families. This is information the department keeps close tabs on. Currently in the Territories there are about 620 children in care. The vast majority of them are with extended families. Back in 1999 there were only 100 children who were with the parents or guardians or extended families. This year, as of March 31, 264 children are with parents retaining guardianship, and 316 children are with extended families. Many of them are in their communities. I think we could make a very strong case that we are improving, but obviously, it’s an area we continue to work on.
It’s good to see numbers going down, but I think there are a lot of children who have fallen through the cracks, who have now ended up in institutions such as our jail systems, our young offenders facilities. I’d like to ask the Minister: do you track the children who are in care, and exactly where do they progress? What happens to these children after the age of 18?
I don’t have the information as to what happens to children after 18, but I could see if I could get that information. For the children who are under 18, there are currently 18 children in care outside of the Territories: two children, because they have a specialized medical condition; four children moved out to be with extended family; two moved south with their extended family; and ten children have moved to go with a formal foster family, because it was thought to be in the best interest of the children that they stay in the family they know for now. But in terms of the numbers, this is quite small in comparison to over 600 children who are in care.
Final supplementary, Mr. Krutko.
Again, Mr. Speaker, 600 children are too many children to be in care. I think that, if anything, it is the trend that started off with residential schools, where children were taken away at a young age, put into residential schools and came into that cycle. I’d just like to remind the Minister that we have to do everything we can to get out of this cycle. I know there was the Plan of Care established under legislation. I fought long and hard to get that in my constituency. I’d just like to ask the Minister: what are we doing to ensure that all elements of the Child and Family Services Act are being implemented, especially in the area of the Plan of Care committees in communities.
I agree with the Member that we need to do more work on that. I appreciate the work the Member did on that Plan of Care provision of the Act that we amended. I supported that as a member of the committee. Regrettably, we do not have as many Plan of Care committees set up as we would like. The department is working with any committee that acts interested in it, to give them workshops and to help them set them up. That is something we need to do a lot more work on, which I am planning on doing more rigorously as we move forward.
The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I indicated in my Member’s statement today, we are probably the only jurisdiction in Canada that does not have legislation enabling professionals to become incorporated. I’d like to ask the Minister of Justice if this type of legislation is forthcoming in the Northwest Territories.
The Minister of Justice, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Just to address the question on the Medical Profession Act and what the Member is alluding to — the changes — yes, there is a draft comprehensive professional corporation legislative proposal coming forward. So we are working on that with the Department of Health and Social Services and our department — working closely together on the particular statement.
Mr. Speaker, we’re all aware in this House of some of the pressures that have been on the resources and the capacity that we have to draft new legislation and get it enacted. I’d like to ask the Minister if all the consultation and everything has already happened that would allow this legislation to go forward and if it will be given priority status.
Mr. Speaker, this has been an ongoing issue for a number of years, highlighting the doctors and the lawyers. I believe Mrs. Groenewegen raised that issue on numerous occasions in the past. It has triggered our department and also Health and Social Services to draft up legislation on this particular issue. We are currently establishing a draft proposal to be submitted, and then we will be discussing that further. It is one of the priorities that our department is also working on with the department.
To the issue of this being given some kind of a priority here, we cannot afford to lose any more professionals out of our community. As I said, I believe that the lack of this legislation is something that has affected Hay River just this past week in a very detrimental way. What kind of time frame could we be looking at to have this legislation in place and approved in this House?
It is true that we need to move forward on this. We certainly don’t want to lose professionals to the south. We certainly want to attract them and retain them here in the North. The draft legislation proposal will be forwarded for our review within the next month, so it is coming in a progression period.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.
