There's a lot of work ahead, I can tell. Is there someone in the department who is tasked with the NTCL file, that is the expert on this, who is making the plans, who knows the acts, knows the devolution agreement, who is focusing on ensuring that this government is doing the right thing when it comes to NTCL lands?
Within the Department of Lands, the assistant deputy minister of Planning and Coordination is leading and coordinating the NTCL file, supported by a director, regional superintendents, as well as our lands inspectors. Our team has been proactively meeting with officials from across the GNWT, including ENR, the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations, and the Department of Justice. Meetings occur regularly and, in fact, there is another scheduled for this very afternoon. We are treating this matter very seriously.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Hay River North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Finally, I would like to ask the Minister if he would commit to keeping me updated on any movement on this issue. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Certainly we will keep the Members opposite updated.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Marci cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, following my Member's statement I have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services. I would like to ask the Minister what services are available today, right now, for youth struggling with mental health and addiction issues. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are a wide range of services available to residents of the Northwest Territories, including youth. We do have community counsellors in most communities. Where they don't exist in communities, we can reach them by outreach. We have 1-800 numbers, a 24-hour help line; we have the ability to do psychiatric assessments and provide treatment.
Every community in the Northwest Territories has a community wellness plan. Many of their activities focus on supporting youth through on-the-land programs. We as a government fund different Aboriginal governments and organizations to deliver on-the-land programs. A number of them have opted for youth-focused programming.
There are some differences, Mr. Speaker. If the Member is referring to individuals under 18, we do have a number of treatment options available to them. We have some Northern specialized treatment resources, based in Yellowknife and Fort Smith, to provide treatment and education to youth under 18. We have some southern placements available for youth under 18 if our northern facilities aren't appropriate. We have treatment centres with four different contracts. So there are a wide range of services available to all residents, including youth.
My understanding is that the department is currently working on developing a mental health and addictions action plan specific to youth, or for youth. Is this correct?
We've actually just almost concluded the work on a mental health and addictions framework here in the Northwest Territories, which I hope to share with committee either later this week or early next week and table it the week after. That framework outlines the parameters on which we're going to be moving forward on a number of items, including the development of a comprehensive Mental Health and Addictions Action Plan for Youth, which we hope to get out as quickly as possible. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell the House what is available for detoxification from alcohol and drugs, or alcohol or drugs?
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, within the Government of the Northwest Territories when it comes to detox, we often refer to withdrawal management. There are basically two different streams of withdrawal management that are available. There's social withdrawal, which we are facilitating through counsellors and other NGOs throughout the communities across the Northwest Territories. Then there's also the medical detox component or the medical withdrawal management. That can be done in a number of different locations in the Northwest Territories, Inuvik and Yellowknife are the prime examples.
If somebody needs that medical withdrawal management, we can facilitate them within out hospitals here in the Northwest Territories.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, aside from some of the counselling that goes on in the small communities and I guess sort of like a blueprint of what the wellness plans also bring to the communities, is there anything outside of that occurring in the small communities that's specifically trying to address the issues in the small communities relating to alcohol and drugs? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, there are variations across the Northwest Territories depending on the size of some of our smaller, more rural remote communities. Some of those communities do have mental health and addictions counsellors in them, some do not. All have access to our 24-hour hotline; all of them have access to professionals regardless whether they are there in person, by way of phone.
On top of that, Mr. Speaker, every community in the Northwest Territories has developed the community wellness plans, as I've mentioned before. Many, if not all, of those community wellness plans actually involve focus on youth, and those I believe are up on the website and available to anybody to read. But they focus on youth through things like on-the-land programming and other means of supporting youth who may be in crisis.
Having said everything that I've said, Mr. Speaker, I just want to be clear that we acknowledge that there needs to be significantly more work done on youth mental health and addictions here in the Northwest Territories. That is the prime reason that we are moving forward with a very focused youth mental health and addictions action plan, so that we can ensure that our youth are receiving the services they need regardless of where they happen to be located in the Northwest Territories. This is a priority, this is a mandate item, and this is certainly something that we're moving forward. I look forward to working with committee, Members and the public as we attempt to address these challenges here in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I mentioned earlier in my Member's statement here on the new system coming into place for the health and healthcare services reform, I understand that the territorial and regional councils have met and I'm just wondering if the Minister could elaborate? Taking into account it's only been nearing three months of operations, what can we expect for the remainder of this fiscal year? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the single authority went live here in the Northwest Territories earlier this year. Since that time we've had an opportunity to bring the different council members, the Regional Wellness Council members into Yellowknife for some training and orientation into the new system.
They've all then gone back to the communities, the chairs have come together and have held their first board meeting, if you will, then there has been some of the communities, regions, have actually already had some regional wellness council meetings. The CEO is travelling to those often with the Chair of the Territorial Board to provide some orientation upfront.
I had an opportunity to meet with the Chair of the Territorial Authority last week, and he indicated that he's got a real interest in getting out to the communities, meeting with people, meeting with the Regional Wellness Councils and working with them to focus some of the priorities within their individual regions. Mr. Speaker, this is still a growing phase, we're still in the learning phase, and we're looking forward to continuing to roll forward and make changes in the best interest of clients with a focus on clients throughout the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I know that would at least support the new administration after hearing a number of frontline concerns there on how to better improve our system, mostly in particular the area of service, travel and coordinated travel. Can the Minister elaborate, are we going to get regional referral coordinators back into the regions like we once had?
I'm not sure that I actually understand the question, I'm not familiar with the referral coordinators the Member is referring to. Is the Member referring to something related to medical travel or something else? I'm not sure.
Can I expect, for the Sahtu region, a regional medical travel coordinator to make travel arrangements and accommodations arrangements for patients from the Sahtu?
Mr. Speaker, one of the advantages of coming together as a single authority here in the Northwest Territories is when there are vacancies in different regions or communities some of the other communities and regions can stand up. It was my understanding that there was an individual once upon a time responsible for some medical travel coordination in the Sahtu. I'm not aware of whether or not that position was eliminated. I will have to get back in touch with the department and the authority to find out what is the actual status in the Sahtu, and I will commit to getting that information for the Member.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My last question. I'm very glad to hear that the Minister's going to be cooperative. We all have the heart of reform, better care, and to approve efficiencies where we can. So I look forward to hearing from the Minister on progress reports on the operations of the coordinated travel for any of the members or the senior members going to the communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I'll take that as a comment, but I'll allow the Minister to answer if he wishes.
Mr. Speaker, as the House is aware, we are doing some review of our medical travel policies here in the Northwest Territories with a focus on improving the results for our clients as they travel. I've made a commitment to getting that information to Members and I'll continue to provide the Members with updates.
I will say that now that we have moved to a single authority there's a real ability to consolidate and figure out how we can work together as a system to provide our residents a more seamless medical travel experience, and we're looking forward to seeing some positive results coming out shortly as a result of that.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Over the weekend the lead story on CBC's national website was about arsenic contamination throughout the Yellowknife area. My questions are for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. What role is the Government of the Northwest Territories taking on the analysis and remediation of the widespread arsenic pollution beyond the borders of the Giant Mine site? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, GNWT, we're a co-proponent of the Giant Mine remediation project, and the Giant Mine remediation project we are currently undertaking an additional human health risk assessment to supplement the previous assessments. This work includes consolidation of a wide array of existing studies and reports both on the Giant Mine site and offsite. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I appreciate the response from the Minister. I'm aware of the health risk assessment work that's being done around the Giant Mine site as part of that work. What specifically is the department doing about the offsite activity or the offsite contamination outside of the Giant Mine? You know, what sort of review of the effects of arsenic pollution caused by mining activities in the Yellowknife area on our environment and human health is the department actually working on?
Mr. Speaker, we have an interdepartmental GNWT legacy committee which includes Health and Social Services, ENR, Lands, WSCC, and ITI. It was created in 2015 to provide a coordinated approach to the topic of legacy contaminants. I am also aware of at least seven projects that are being conducted by academic institutions and one by ENR to study the legacy of contaminants in the Yellowknife area.
I thank the Minister for his response. I understand that there are a number of departments coordinating their work. That is good. Our understanding of arsenic and its toxicity has changed significantly over the last decade. How has this new knowledge influenced how we approach our assessment of arsenic in the Yellowknife area?
Mr. Speaker, the Member is correct. We have a better understanding of the effects of arsenic. Development of a bio monitoring program through the human health effects monitoring program of the residents of Yellowknife, Ndilo, and Detah, to understand current health is underway. This will set a baseline for our ongoing monitoring.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I again thank the Minister for doing his homework before coming into the House today. That is great.
---Laughter
Again, thank you. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources published an environmental guideline for contaminated site remediation in November 2003. Appendix 4 of that document contains remediation objectives for arsenic and soils depending on the end use. These guidelines, though, are now almost 13 years old. When does the department intend to review and update these guidelines? Will the Minister commit to consult this side of the House and the public as part of that update? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the Member pointing out the fact that I need to do additional homework on this particular issue. That is fine. I will make that commitment to have a conversation with my officials and see what updates are underway, and then I will share that information with the Members. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Justice. First off, I want to ensure that I understand the Minister's position on records of non-conviction based on our correspondence. As Justice Minister, do you believe the RCMP should release information on criminal incidences for which a person has never been lawfully convicted when the release of that information can result in unjust and even unlawful discrimination against innocent people? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. I would just like to remind Members to direct their questions through the Speaker, please. Minister of Justice.
Thank you. In the year 2000, the Criminal Records Act, the federal piece of legislation, came into effect. It provided for an enhanced criminal record check in situations where vulnerable people, either children or other vulnerable people, were involved. This was seen as a way of protecting the vulnerable groups. I appreciate the Member's opposite concerns as there is also balance between individual right and the rights of the vulnerable. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I don't object to having criminal record checks for vulnerable sector individuals or for any others who require them. What we are talking about here is providing records that say that there has been an interaction with the law but not a conviction.
The Minister has said that the 2012 territorial policing contract was designed so that the RCMP remains independent of political influence, and yet has the ability to apply the rule of law as determined by and in consultation with the territorial Minister of Justice. My understanding of the rule of law is that people are innocent until proven guilty. Will the Minister apply this rule and direct the RCMP to stop issuing records of non-conviction?
The short answer is no, Mr. Speaker. As I say, this act came into force in the year 2000. It has been in force for 16 years now. I frankly don't know whether it has been subject to Charter scrutiny or not, but since it still seems to be in effect, I assume that Charter challenges have not been made or failed. In my view, there always has to be a balance between protecting individual rights and, as I mentioned earlier, the rights of those that are vulnerable, children, and perhaps the aged in some cases. I think the act does set a correct balance. This can't be asked for in all circumstances. It can only be asked for when those two groups, vulnerable and children are involved.
Mr. Speaker, the 2012 media release announcing the new territorial policing agreement said, "With the formation of a new contract management committee, the Government of the Northwest Territories, together with other provinces and territories will have influence over cost and service decisions in an ongoing and co-ordinated way." Will the Minister put this issue on the agenda of the next contract management committee meeting and call upon the RCMP to cease issuing records of non-conviction in the NWT?
