Thank you, Madam Chair. I think harking back to the Minister’s comments earlier, this is core funding to enable this non-government organization to do their work. I’m wondering how long they’ve been stuck at $105,000 a year while we’ve been enhancing our budgets every year, and whether they can anticipate enhanced funding in recognition of the realities that they do face. Thank you.
Thanks, Mr. Bromley. Minister Abernethy.
Thanks, Madam Chair. It’s my understanding that they haven’t asked for any additional funding. When they do, we’ll certainly have that conversation with them.
Thank you.
We are on page 9-32, activity summary, Justice, services to the public, grants and contributions, contributions, $105,000.
Agreed.
Page 9-33, information item, Justice, services to the public, active positions. Any questions?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Page 9-34, information item, Justice, lease commitments - infrastructure. Any questions?
Agreed.
Pages 9-35, 36, 37 and 38, information item, Justice, work performed on behalf of others. Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Page 36, the NWT/Nunavut study, I see we spent a quarter of a million dollars on a design for the delivery of justice services in remote and northern communities. I’m wondering what the results were on that and what we’ve learned and are putting into practice there. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Minister Abernethy.
Thanks, Madam Chair. I don’t know. It was before my time. I’m happy to pull some information together and provide it to the Member.
Thank you, Minister. Thank you, Mr. Bromley. We are on pages 9-35 to 9-38, information item, work performed on behalf of others.
Agreed.
Okay. We will return to page 9-7, department summary, Justice, operations expenditures summary, $113.674 million.
Agreed.
Are we agreed? Are we agreed, committee, that we have concluded the Department of Justice?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Thank you, Minister. Thank you, witnesses. Minister Abernethy.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Before I get up and leave, I’d just like to point out that this is probably the last time that Deputy Minister Bronwyn Watters is sitting in this Assembly in front of the House, so I’d just like to congratulate her for all the hard work she’s done over the years and her dedication to the people of the Northwest Territories.
---Applause
We will miss Ms. Watters. Thank you, Minister. Thank you to the witnesses. Sergeant-at-Arms, if you would escort the witnesses from the Chamber.
Okay, committee, the next department is Health and Social Services, section eight. Minister Beaulieu, do you have opening remarks?
Yes, I do, Madam Chair.
Please carry on.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I am pleased to present the Department of Health and Social Services main estimates for the fiscal year 2012-2013.
The department’s main estimates propose an operations expenditure budget of $349.9 million which is $5.4 million more than the 2011-2012 Main Estimates. This increase of 1.6 percent consists primarily of forced growth increases for existing core programs.
The Caucus of the 17th Legislative Assembly set as one of its five key priorities “to ensure a fair and sustainable health care system by investing in prevention, education and awareness and early childhood development, enhancing addictions treatment programs using existing infrastructure, and addressing our health facilities deficit.”
Since I was appointed Minister of Health and Social Services, I have travelled to as many communities as possible and met with stakeholder groups to hear their concerns and priorities. I am committed to work together with our residents, communities, governments and agencies. This collaboration will ensure that we can meet the health and social services challenges that we face to ensure we have a sustainable health and social services system in the future.
Through the proposed budget, we will continue to support initiatives that will ensure residents have access to high quality programs and services when they need them.
We are continuing to invest in and support staff in communities to take advantage of e-health, using modern communications technology to bring services to people in their home communities. We have already had great success in sending X-rays from communities to Yellowknife; in providing speech and language therapy to children in community schools; and in providing psychiatric and family counselling by videoconference. Expanding e-health can help to minimize the need for medical travel, resulting in cost savings and providing faster and more convenient care to patients.
In response to the review of the Child and Family Services Act by the Standing Committee on Social Programs, this budget includes funding to support establishment of child and family services committees, to allow communities to make a more active role in supporting children and families in a culturally appropriate manner.
As outlined by the Minister of Finance in his budget address, we will also invest in our health care facilities, which are at the top of the government’s list of critical infrastructure needs. The GNWT will be spending $36 million this year on facility replacements sand renovations, such as the new Hay River Health Centre, renovations to the Fort Smith Health Centre and a planning study for the Stanton Territorial Hospital, which provides critical health care services to residents from across the territory. These investments complement and support our efforts to provide our residents access to a range of health and social services and other programs.
We continue to rely on a combination of federal funding and GNWT revenues to finance the system. Based on the continued operating deficits in the health and social services authorities, we know that current funding levels are insufficient to continue providing programs and services at current levels. But we also know that there are many opportunities in our system to improve efficiency and sustainability, and to manage cost increases.
In 2012-2013 we plan to address growing concerns and challenges faced by all health care systems in Canada, while building on the commitments made in the department’s strategic plan, tabled in August 2011. For example:
To improve sustainability, the department intends to streamline governance of the system. Based on analysis of where there is potential to be more efficient, we will begin to implement shared services among all the health and social services authorities. This will be done only where it makes sense to do so and without taking jobs away from regional centres sand communities.
To improve the quality of services, and to ensure that all residents have access to quality care, we will continue our focus on connecting patients to services in the timeliest manner. This includes modernizing our Medical Travel Policy, but it also includes taking advantage of the full potential of electronic communications, including new technologies like the electronic medical record, EMR, system and telehealth, to link clients and care providers.
We will also continue to improve the range of supports and services available for our elders, by having services that help them remain in their homes as long as possible. In addition to expanding the availability of long-term care beds in the NWT as part of our capital planning process, we will also work with our partners to see if we can improve assisted living services in communities where there is the potential.
I will be presenting our latest Mental Health and Addictions Action Plan during this session of the Legislative Assembly. This plan will not have all the answers, but it will define a number of steps that we can take as a government and as a territory over the next three years to ensure that our system is equipped to respond and support those in need with appropriate programs and services. Part of this plan will be the appointment of the Mental Health and Addictions Forum, mandated to provide advice on effective community-based solutions. I have already asked my fellow Members of the Legislative Assembly to nominate individuals who they feel would be an asset to this forum.
As indicated by the Commissioner in his opening address, prevention is the most effective way to ensure our residents lead healthy lives. As I have said before, prevention is about making positive, healthy choices in the way we live our lives. We need to support residents to make positive choices, such as eating healthy foods, exercising, not smoking and drinking in moderation, or not at all. We need to make sure that communities do not condone family violence and take actions to support those who are victims. But as I have heard from our elders and our youth as I have visited communities over the past few months, we need to involve communities in designing and delivering programs that speak to local issues and priorities.
Ensuring sustainability and addressing the challenges in our health and social services system will not be easy and I look forward to working with Members to achieve the priorities of the 17th Assembly.
This concludes my opening marks. Thank you for the opportunity to provide an overview of the department’s 2012-2013 Main Estimates. I look forward to discussing them with you in more detail. Mahsi cho.
Thank you, Minister Beaulieu. Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I move we report progress.
---Carried
Could I have the report of Committee of the Whole, please? Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your committee has been considering Tabled Document 3-17(3), Northwest Territories Main Estimates 2012-2013, and would like to report progress. I move that the report of Committee of the Whole be concurred with. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Is there a seconder to the motion? Mr. Abernethy.
---Carried
Orders of the day for Wednesday, June 6, 2012, at 1:30 p.m.:
Prayer
Ministers’ Statements
Members’ Statements
Returns to Oral Questions
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Acknowledgements
Oral Questions
Written Questions
Returns to Written Questions
Replies to Opening Address
Petitions
Reports of Standing and Special Committees
Reports of Committees on the Review of Bills
Tabling of Documents
Notices of Motion
Notices of Motion for First Reading of Bills
Motions
First Reading of Bills
Second Reading of Bills
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Tabled Document 2-17(3), Commissioner’s Opening Address: Creating the Conditions for Success
Tabled Document 3-17(3), Northwest Territories Main Estimates 2012-2013
Bill 1, An Act to Amend the Student Financial Assistance Act
Committee Report 1-17(3), Standing Committee on Government Operations Report on the Review of the 2010-2011 Annual Report of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of the Northwest Territories
Committee Report 2-17(3), Standing Committee on Government Operations Report on the Review of the 2010-2011 Annual Report of the Northwest Territories Human Rights Commission Annual Report
Report of Committee of the Whole
Third Reading of Bills
Orders of the Day
Thank you, Madam Clerk. Accordingly, this House stands adjourned until Wednesday, June 6, 2012, at 1:30 p.m.
---ADJOURNMENT
The House adjourned at 9:06 p.m.
