The question has been called. I call upon Ms. Green to conclude debate on this motion.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you very much, colleagues, for speaking in support of this important initiative, and thank you to the Minister for his remarks. I just want to reflect that I understand that the road to Whati is going in to the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board for permitting without any money to build it and so surely creating a plan to implement daycare, and a timeline, for it is no more outlandish a use of time and resources by the government. What we are talking about here, as you have heard, is education. It's about care, but it's about education. Surely, our children are worth 20 kilometres of highway in order to educate them and make them successful citizens of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Ms. Green. All those in favour of the motion? All those opposed? The motion is carried.
---Carried
We will continue with the section, “Cost of Living.” Do the Members have any comments or questions on this section? Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that Tabled Document 1-18(2), Proposed Mandate of the Government of the Northwest Territories, 2016-2019, be amended on page 23 by inserting the words “We will improve affordability of daycare, ensuring sustainability for operators of early childhood programs and expanding access to early childhood programs across the territory.” Thank you, Mr. Chair.
A motion is on the floor. The motion is in order. To the motion. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Daycare affordability is a major issue for working families in the Northwest Territories, as I just said. It's usually the largest expense after accommodation. Funding for childcare comes primarily from the fees that parents pay. Just 20 per cent of childcare costs come from public funding in the NWT, one of the lowest levels in the developed world and less than one per cent of our budget. In the academic study of the feasibility of providing universal daycare in the NWT, the authors make the following recommendations about grants to daycare operators. I'm going to quote from that report:
“If a daycare centre was positioned to apply for every grant, it would involve nine different application processes for relatively small amounts. Growing childcare in the NWT requires a more stable funding base and a less burdensome grant process. Consolidating the program contribution, rent/mortgage contribution, and staff grant program would refocus operational funding into a single payment stream to programs.
The Small Communities Initiative Fund could also be rolled into the consolidated grant, providing predictable funding for programs in remote communities. Multi-year grants would allow for program planning and reduce the administrative burden. Rather than allocating consolidated grant payments on spaces or enrolment, which is the way it's done now, payments should be based on legislated staffing levels, which are the major recurring non-flexible costs in daycare. To ensure funding improves staff wages, regional wage grids would provide transparency to staff and accountability to the public, and allow for differences in living costs. Tying payment levels to staff credentials and a wage grid would encourage capacity in the work force. Consolidated grant payments could be paid quarterly or as deemed appropriate in consultation with operators. The above approaches are funding-neutral. In other words, they can be implemented without additional funds. They address deliverables in the action plan, including reducing the administrative workload and promoting program stability by providing predictable funding. At the same time, they address wage levels, which impact the ability of programs to recruit and retain trained staff. Ultimately they provide the coherent base necessary if the NWT is to grow funding to expand early childhood education access and improve program quality.”
Thank you, Ms. Green. To the motion. Question has been called. I call upon Ms. Green to conclude debate. Is there anything further, Ms. Green?
No, thank you.
All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.
---Carried
Are there any more comments on the “Cost of Living” section? I'm seeing none. Does the committee agree we move onto the “Community Wellness and Safety” section?
Agreed.
Are there any comments on this section? Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I move that Tabled Document 1-18(2), Proposed Mandate of the Government of the Northwest Territories, 2016-2019 be amended on page 25 by deleting the words “Developing an action plan for enhanced home and community care services” and inserting the words “Developing and implementing an action plan for enhanced home and community care services.”
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The motion is on the floor. The motion is in order. To the motion. Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, just a few words on this. We are looking for an action plan for the enhanced homecare services to support the communities, largely in support of the aging in place, that we think would be a program or a project of the government that would have tremendous returns, would defer a lot of costs. We want ensure that there is an action plan on the homecare services. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. I will allow Mr. Beaulieu to conclude debate on the motion.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, as opposed to developing an action plan, what we are recommending is that we implement an action plan. We know that there is some money now in home and community care services, so we are looking for an action plan to enhance those services. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. All those in favour? All those opposed? Motion is carried.
---Carried
Comments and questions on the section. Mr. McNeely.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that Tabled Document 1-18(2), Proposed Mandate of the Government of the Northwest Territories, 2016-2019 be amended on page 25 by deleting the words “Developing an action plan for expanded palliative care services” and inserting the words “Developing and implementing an action plan for expanded palliative care services.” Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. McNeely. A motion is on the floor. The motion is in order. To the motion. Mr. McNeely.
Yes, I’m speaking in favour of this motion, and I encourage others as well. There is an aging population in our remote communities that in dire need of an action plan, and the action plan is only better if it's implemented. There's an increasing number of clients getting to the age to replace the ones that are already there in unfortunate circumstances. Greater yet, most smaller communities we do not have as much of the available services as more so in some of the luckier urban centres in this part of the country that we have. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. McNeely. To the motion. Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’ll be very brief. One of the things that small communities are seeing more and more often is that their elders, once they get to a certain age, are passing away from home, and in their last days they would like to have a service in the community. I think some of the communities such as Deline and in Fort Resolution have even you know marked a place location where they thought that this service could be provided, so for that reason I would support the motion. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. I will allow Mr. McNeely to conclude debate on the motion
I've got nothing further, Mr. Chair. Thank you.
Thank you. Mr. McNeely. All those in favour? All those opposed? Motion is carried.
---Carried
Comments and questions for this section? Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that Tabled Document 1-18(2), Proposed Mandate of the Government of Northwest Territories, 2016-2019, be amended on page 25 by inserting the following words under the “Fostering Healthy Family” section “We will reduce poverty in the NWT by implementing the GNWT commitments in the Territorial Anti-Poverty Action Plan, continuing to work with our partners to advance the plan and supporting communities' priorities for wellness.”
And further, that the proposed mandate be amended on page 26 by deleting the words “Supporting community wellness priorities that address the pillars of the Anti-Poverty Strategic Framework and aim to reduce the effects of poverty on children.” Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Ms. Green. A motion is on the floor. The motion is in order. To the motion. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'd like to give you some background on this motion. Starting in 2009, a group of non-profit organizations from around the Northwest Territories came together to lobby the government to create an Anti-Poverty Action Plan, and during the 17th Assembly that strategic framework was completed. Following on with that, then two action plans were developed, one by the GNWT reflecting the commitments of various departments that serve people in poverty, and another by a multi-stakeholder group of which I was part that then came up with the Territorial Anti-Poverty Action Plan, which was tabled in the Legislature in June of last year.
The Territorial Anti-Poverty Action Plan has been administering an anti-poverty fund for the last two years of approximately $500,000, in which there is a call for proposals to address poverty at the grassroots level. It has been taken up by small communities to address their most immediate needs, often around food, the production of food, or the harvesting of food. The point of this amendment is to draw attention to the fact that this work is ongoing and that we want to talk about poverty in a more general sense than only the effects on children, although it is important to say that children are disproportionately affected by poverty. In the NWT, the 2010 tax filer data for the NWT says that as many as 30 per cent of children throughout the whole territory are living with low income. We know from the number of meals that are served by organizations like Breakfast for Learning that food is a major issue for children. All of that to say we need to continue the good work that's being done, both within the government and by the Territorial Anti-Poverty Action Plan to combat this scourge. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. I will allow Ms. Green to conclude debate on the motion.
I have nothing further to add. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Ms. Green. All those in favour? All those opposed? Motion is carried.
---Carried
We will continue discussing the “Community Wellness and Safety” section. Any comments? Mr. Nadli.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that Tabled Document 1-18(2), Proposed Mandate of the Government of the Northwest Territories, 2016-2019 be amended on page 27 by inserting the following words under “Taking Action on the Crisis of Family and Community Violence” section, “continuing the support for a healing program for men who use violence in intimate relationships such as the Wek'eahkaa, A New Day Healing Program.”
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. A motion is on the floor. The motion is in order. To the motion. Mr. Nadli.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. The New Day Program is a men's program. As people might be aware, family violence within the communities is at an all-time high and it's reached the crisis level, and we need to do something about it. Part of this initiative, the men's healing program is addressing the matter of family violence and at the same time, giving opportunity for men to make positive changes in their lives. This program has been in operation since 2013. It's been a pilot project and a pilot program, and at this point, there have been discussions in terms of making an assessment of the program at some point and possibly looking at the idea of expanding the program.
That's more likely an exercise that governments would have to do, but the idea is to move this pilot project to a permanent program so that these kinds of healing opportunities and wellness initiatives are made available within communities at the same time, at least accorded to men as well. For those reasons, I'll support this motion. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. To the motion. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. As Mr. Nadli has correctly pointed out, family violence is at the second highest level in the NWT of the entire country, and unfortunately much of our funding efforts are aimed at helping the victims of violence after the violence has happened. This program is unique in trying to provide a systemic solution to family violence by treating the people who are expressing their anger with violence. I support it because it would make a long-term difference not only to the people who are experiencing violence now, but also to their families to spare their children from witnessing and repeating the cycle of violence in their lives. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Ms. Green. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. I'll allow Mr. Nadli to conclude debate on the motion.
