Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I think today there was an outstanding shout out for women on International Women’s Day by my colleagues here and I, too, share the recognition, but my shout out today is to express my thanks to social workers for all the hard work they do in our communities.
While I have chosen to say thank you during National Social Work Month, their work is really appreciated in Nahendeh communities all year round. The reality is that our social workers are on the front lines of changing history for the better. Many of the problems they help people with stem from residential school experiences, racism and substance abuse. Being a social worker is one of the hardest jobs out there. I’m sure it is very rewarding each time someone or a family does well with a little bit of caring help and counselling, but it is tough when hard decisions have to be made, sometimes unpopular decisions. The day-to-day workload is unpredictable. You just never know when you’ll be in the middle of a crisis.
Last year’s Auditor General report noted that very thing. In the course of daily duties, social workers are exposed to traumatic and stressful situations and they are tasked with making life-altering decisions about the welfare of children. So it takes real courage, strength and good judgment to be an effective social worker. They are key people in our communities. I am not sure what we’re paying them, but it’s probably not enough.
This leads me to another point: retention. Given the challenges of the job, social workers deserve strong support and training to succeed wherever they work, but especially in the smaller communities. We need to offer cross-cultural training on a regular basis. New social workers, if they are also new to the region they service, should receive a thorough orientation when they arrive, coordinated with the local leadership. This is not asking too much.
We expect a lot from our social workers and they have a lot to offer. We owe them all our thanks and all the tools they need to succeed. Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.
