Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. [English translation not provided.]
I would just like to recognize and I appreciate all the Pages working with us. I appreciate their work ethics and just for being here with us. One of them will be Sahara Sadeh Lafferty. Sadeh stands for my sunshine. She’s also my girl, Sahara Sadeh Lafferty. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to join in and thank retired Chief Superintendent Wade Blake for his many years of northern service. He has dedicated himself in an excellent manner. At the same time, I’d also like to recognize our incoming chief superintendent, Ron Smith. I really appreciate the dedication and service both gentlemen have offered Northerners. They continue, as in Mr. Blake’s case, serving Northerners working for the Department of Justice and Mr. Smith works now serving Northerners in his new role. I want to say thank you to both of them for their fine service and certainly service with distinction to all Northerners. That’s an important difference, distinction, it’s a high quality in their area. Thank you for that.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On behalf of the residents of Frame Lake, I too would like to thank Mr. Blake for his service. It has been great service and we appreciate that. I would also like to welcome the incoming commander, Mr. Smith. I have some Pages as well. Frame Lake is extremely well represented with Pages in the Assembly this week. Today I would like to welcome three Pages from Frame Lake: Sebastian Ransom, Isaac Macpherson and Dakota Earle. Thanks to those three in particular for your service, but thanks to all the Pages for the work they do for us. Thanks, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In follow-up to my Member’s statement today, I have a couple of questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services.
The issue of child and family services is something that has been much discussed in this House. The previous Assembly did a very in-depth consultation in this topic and now the Auditor General’s report has been reported on. There is one area that I particularly wanted to zero in on today. We know that families do, from time to time, suffer from extreme challenges and from crisis, and where there are children involved, sometimes it requires an intervention or outside support.
It would be the natural thing for close family members to be aware of these situations and to step up to the plate. However, in reality this may put stress on that family that’s helping, those grandparents, aunts and uncles, may put financial stress on them.
I’d like to ask the Minister if the department has ever contemplated support for direct family members than is less invasive than having to apprehend children, putting children through the trauma of that, but finding a way to support those related family members who could, at a time of crises or challenge, step in and help family members. Has the department contemplated that being done on a collaborative basis and seeing some remuneration available to those family members? Thank you.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Health and Social Services does become involved with children at risk when they enter the system and access the Child and Family Services Act. When that occurs, whether it’s voluntary or through identification, we do try to keep children with families as much as possible. When a child needs to be placed, we obviously like to approach families to see if they’d be willing to foster. If they’re willing to foster, we’ll put them through the process. If that happens, they will receive remuneration that is consistent with all other foster families. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
My experience has been that sometimes when family members step in, there is a sense in the department or with the child welfare worker that the problem has now been alleviated, it has been solved and the inclination is to step away from the situation and say, okay, the children are no longer at risk and therefore they are safe.
I would like to know if there is a process that allows family to be involved in that transition for those children. Quite often, child protection workers are seen as the enemy coming in to apprehend children and take them out of their home. I know there are very many variables on what can happen in terms of why those interventions are required, and I have always been very reluctant to ever criticize child protection workers who have to do a very difficult job. But, is there a piece missing here?
Is there a collaborative way that family members could approach social services and realize the same end without having to intervene with an apprehension? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, just for clarity, raising children is, first and foremost, a responsibility of the family. Parents have the right to make decisions about where their children live, but the GNWT is not necessarily responsible for paying for those decisions. The only time the GNWT would actually become involved is if a family has some financial challenges, is living in poverty, and we would provide income support. Families can make the decision to have children stay with one group and then apply for income support.
When health and social services becomes involved, the only time we can actually engage with families and do the types of things the Member is talking about is when they actually become part of the system and we have a file on them. When they come in, whether it’s voluntary, which I think is part of what the Member is talking about, or whether it’s through an intervention, we will work with families and we will try to find ways to keep the children with the families. If that requires a foster placement, we have a process that is expedited or modified for family placements, which is less thorough – thorough is not the right word – less intense than the normal foster process. When they are placed with those people, whether it’s a shorter term placement or a longer term placement, they do get the same funding or financial support.
But as we move forward with child and family services, we’re talking about changing our philosophy. We’re talking about helping support and build stronger families, which means we want to work with families when they are struggling, so that they can continue to provide the loving care that they want to to their families, which will include the types of things that the Member is talking about. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I’ll keep this really short. Here’s a scenario: The grandparents already have the child in their care. The child is not apprehended. The grandparents intervened. They already have the child in their care. Who can they go to to talk about getting support for caring for that child, other than income support? Thank you.
It depends on the timing. If the family has made a choice to put their children with grandparents or another family member and the system is unaware and hasn’t been involved, we don’t have the ability to engage. If the family had indicated that they’re having problems and they’re struggling and they weren’t meeting the needs and they engage the system through a voluntary mechanism and then through a plan of care it was decided that the children would benefit from spending time with the grandparents while the parents work on their challenges, in that scenario we would be able to provide support. But if they do it without engaging the system, the system doesn’t know, doesn’t have a plan of care, doesn’t have a plan, hasn’t worked with the parents to see what the parents’ long-term plans are and how we can help those parents get to the point they need, in that scenario the family made decisions we weren’t aware of, we weren’t engaged. I would encourage them strongly to go to income support. If families are having problems, I would encourage them to engage the system. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Final, short supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.
So, Health and Social Services has not been involved from the outset. I am a grandmother. I’m looking after my grandchildren. Can I go to social services and explain the situation to them and work collaboratively with them to ensure that I can afford to financially care for my grandchildren? Thank you.
I would encourage the grandparents, obviously, to talk to social services to see how they can engage with the system, but it does come back to the parents who have the legal responsibility for those children. They would have to be involved as well. History would have to be determined; a file would have to be created. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today I discussed some of the concerns surrounding a Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Admittedly, the Alberta Labour Minister earlier this week indicated that Ottawa is over-reacting with the foreign worker moratorium and that responsible employers are being unfairly punished. Ultimately what we are hearing from many of the big western provinces is that they want to have more control over the program. It’s about a month since the temporary freeze on the program. I thought it would be important to see what our Minister of Education, Culture and Employment has to say on this subject.
Could the Minister indicate to the House where does NWT sit on the temporary foreign worker file? Is the Minister in contact with the federal Minister Jason Kenney on a regular basis? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. We are fully aware of the temporary foreign workers moratorium that is laid out across our country. GNWT has no Temporary Foreign Workers Program. It is a federal program but we do share concerns. I did speak with Minister Jason Kenney just the other day, Wednesday evening, May 28th, about this particular program and share our concerns, how to move forward on this and what his plans were. My department senior officials are working very closely with other counterparts as well, territorial/provincial and also the federal Minister’s office on this particular subject. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
It’s good to hear that we have some communication here with our federal Minister, but I would like to get a little bit more information in terms of where we are at with our NWT Nominee Program. This is where we administer from our end. I am led to believe that we have only two out of four employees actually working in this department, so I’m a bit concerned whether or not we have the capacity to work with it.
For example, what has been our quota for this program? How many unprocessed applications do we have? How long have these applications been in stasis and how many have actually been processed during this fiscal year? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the Temporary Worker Program, again, is a federal funding, but also federal programming. The Nominee Program, we also administer that with the federal government. Part of the process is to monitor and evaluate the program itself. With the actual numbers which I don’t have with me, the detail, but I can share with the Member all the transactions that have taken place since we took over the program with the federal government until today and how we are planning to integrate that with the federal Temporary Foreign Worker Program as well. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I will entertain those numbers when the Minister has them for me. That would be great.
We know that this Temporary Foreign Worker Program is, as I said, delivered here through the NWT Nominee Program. We know that a recent ITI Economic Opportunity Strategy implementation plan proposed strengthening this NWT Nominee Program. However, there has been little information on the proposed timeline of action. There hasn’t been any mention of any anticipated resources required.
Can the Minister share with the House what is this action plan and how much is this going to cost taxpayers?
During my discussions with Jason Kenney, these were some of the discussions that we’ve raised. We’ve raised some concerns, as well, just to elaborate and also enhance our nominee programming. The Northwest Territories Nominee Program is employer driven. The program is administered by our department and supports a permanent residency. The department is investigating ways, as I stated, to enhance the immigration program, which includes raising awareness of the Nominee Program and provide supports for new Canadians. Any new enhancements to the Nominee Program will be met with the existing resources. Those are the discussions that I had with Jason Kenney, and he is also supportive, and we will be pushing forward with the federal government.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We heard that there are internal funds being used for that, but I didn’t quite hear a timeline, so I’ll encourage the Minister to get back to the Member and the House.
We know that competition with the local job market requires a strong policy with such an NWT Nominee Program. Can the Minister reassure the public, with pending reform, will GNWT policy, including mining industry socio-economic agreements, still recognize Aboriginal people at a higher priority than foreign workers?
Yes. Of course, the people of the North are our most important resources, and first and foremost, we want to ensure that Northerners in the Northwest Territories have the skills and knowledge for their employment success. That’s our priority. We also recognize that there are growing pressures on the government, not just our government but the federal government, industries, business, to respond to the increase in the labour market demands due to changing demographics. Those are some of the important discussions that we have had with Jason Kenney just the other day as well. It’s important that my department is also working with all partners to ensure skills training and also the post-secondary education system responds to these needs. I will carry this forward with the federal Minister as part of a priority for this government.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I indicated, the new health centre definitely has some issues and some questions. My questions today will be for the Minister of Public Works and Services.
The question is: What is the department doing to address the office space that is not currently planned for the new facility?
Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. The Minister of Public Works, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are evaluating the needs of the staff for office space at this time when the people from the old centre go to the new health centre. We recognize that there are approximately…well, at this time exactly 57 people that would have to be housed outside of the new health centre, so we are looking at all of the possibilities including refurbishing the clinic, which will be moving to the health centre, to accommodate some of the staff in there and maintaining the current lease that we do have that accommodates 11 staff members. We’re looking at a location for another 23 staff and probably also some contingency space. We haven’t made a final determination on how we’re going to do that at this time.
The Minister indicated the refurbishing of the current medical clinic. I guess my concerns and questions are: Do we have an estimated cost of what that refurbishing is to an older building, and would those dollars be better spent adding to the new facility so that we have office space right in the location as opposed to renovating an old building?
It would be around $785,000 to get that clinic tenant improvements to accommodate the staff at this time. We will be doing a cost comparative analysis to determine whether or not leased space purchased from the private industry would be more feasible. Hay River has very good rates, so that is something that when we go in to needing office space in Hay River we do do a comparison to actually going into the market and getting leased space as opposed to producing our own space through capital because the rates are very good in Hay River.
Obviously, the fall of 2015 is when the new facility is going to be established. I guess the question is: When will the general plan for this office space be released and the report completed so that we actually have a plan in place before the close of the fall of 2015?
We’re going to complete the move into the new health centre. The individuals that are currently housed in the H.H. Williams will remain there until the spring of 2016. Prior to that date, we will be placing them outside of H.H. Williams and then the Department of Health and Social Services would then have an opportunity to determine whether or not the H.H. Williams is surplus to the government.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bouchard.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess the question is about that renovation and the $785,000. Would that not be better spent to be invested into a newer building, into a newer facility, along with some of the costs associated that we currently have in leasing? Is the department looking at that as an option as well?
Certainly, we are looking at that. The clinic itself is a good building. Whether or not it will be used for health, it most likely would be feasible for the government to retain as office space, but for this purpose and at this moment we are looking at the possibility of housing the individuals that are moving from H.H. Williams outside of the refurbished clinic as well.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was very excited with the recent youth forum that we had in Fort Providence. It brought together the leaders and youth of Fort Providence. My question is to the Minister for the Homelessness and Youth.
Could the Minister explain the kinds of programs, funding and resources for youth that his department could deliver and that’s available for communities that may want to work with the youth.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Through MACA we deliver a large number of programs and we have funding for many youth initiatives. We went through the numbers during the debate on the budget back in February or March. The youth centre funding program is one of them. We do support some youth centres. We have a lot of youth initiatives. There is a long list. I could compile a list and provide it or even table it in this House as to the number of programs we have for the youth and the amount of money that we allocate to these programs.
I’d like to thank the Minister. I’d be very interested in having a list of the programs that are available for youth initiatives in the community. One primary finding of the discussions that were held recently in Fort Providence was the need to follow up with the meeting to try and identify the next steps. The other thing that was recognized and acknowledged by the leaders is that we need to work with our youth in terms of leadership development, showing them how we make decisions, role modeling and that kind of stuff.
How is the Minister ensuring that youth leadership development is a priority of local communities? Mahsi.
Thank you. This government takes the future of the youth quite seriously. With the Youth Parliament they have every second year, it gives them an opportunity to see how we work here. As well, through Municipal and Community Affairs we have the Youth Ambassador Program, which is actually an excellent program and every opportunity I have to speak on it is most welcome, but we just had a recent intake. So we’re in the process of having intake now. We get applications from youth, I believe, from 17 to 24 across the Northwest Territories, and they have an excellent opportunity to broaden their horizon. I believe this next group that’s coming in may have an opportunity to be part of the Pan American Games that are taking part in Toronto next year, as well as the Aboriginal Games. This past group took part, they were actually volunteers in the Arctic Winter Games in Fairbanks; they were part of the volunteer team. So there’s a lot of opportunities there to help youth build their leadership abilities. Thank you.
Thank you. When we did have the forum, I think everybody was there, the local leadership, the youth, the agencies, and the only missing element at the time was a representative perhaps from MACA, maybe even the Minister was absent. So I’ll give him an opportunity to make up for his absence and ask him how will his department be prepared to assist the leaders and the youth of Fort Providence in trying to follow up on this meeting and identify the next steps in trying to advance the working relationship between the leadership and the youth? Mahsi.
