Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier today I talked about taking on social challenges. I am very pleased to see that the City of Yellowknife, in support with the GNWT, is doing a lot of good things, in particular in downtown Yellowknife in that regard. My questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services, and I am wondering if the Minister could kindly provide us an update on the status of the relocation of the day shelter? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, during the last sitting, I indicated a willingness and a desire to move the day shelter. At that time, I also indicated that we were hoping to tie it in with a sobering centre and coshare a location; separate entrances because they are different programs, but coshare a location.
Unfortunately, we have had an incredibly hard time finding a location downtown for a sobering centre. I think we have looked at as many as 12 properties, and all of them had to be rejected for one reason or another. Some of them were space issues. Others were landlords weren't prepared to rent for this purpose. Some of them had other structural issues that we couldn't deal with.
We are still moving forward, trying to find a location, but we have had to think a little bit broader, possibly moving the sobering centre out of the downtown core, at least for the interim, until we can find a more permanent location in the downtown core. Short story long, it is taking way longer than we anticipated.
Once we have a sobering centre figured out, we will be in a better position to figure out if we can immediately move the day shelter or if it is going to have to be moved in transition. I don't have any dates, Mr. Speaker. I wish I did. I am hoping to have some additional information by the end of this week, at which point I'd love to have a sitdown with the honourable Members opposite to discuss our options and see if we can find some resolution. This has got to happen, Mr. Speaker. It is a priority of this government. I know it is a priority of the Members. We have got to find a way. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The Minister just spoke about how there might be consideration of having the day shelter and the sobering centre together. Are there possibilities in finding a quicker solution by having these as two separate entities?
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think in the short term, we are not going to have any options but to consider them as two separate entities. I think in the long term, it would be great if we could find a way to co-locate them. At the end of the day, we need both services. If we cannot find a way to roll them into a single building with separate entrances because, once again, they are different programs, we have to absolutely, without question, be open to alternate locations.
Obviously, one of the reasons we are looking at co-locating is to get some economies of scale, and help us reduce and control some costs. As I've indicated, we have made a commitment to move the day shelter. We made a commitment to finding a sobering centre, and implement a sobering centre here in the Northwest Territories. We are still living up to that. We are frustrated by the fact that it is taking a little longer than anticipated. As I said, I am hoping to have some information by this weekend. Hopefully, we will have a chance to meet with committee, and have a conversation, hopefully, maybe as soon as next week.
Thank you to the Minister for his reply. I wonder, also, if the Minister can provide us an update on what we would refer to as the "Wet Centre." There is discussion that we were going to have the possibilities of a facility where those who were in need could go and have portioned amounts of alcohol to help them, and we have, I believe, put some funding towards this. Is there a location, and is there a program that we are going to be following through with, Mr. Speaker?
There has never actually been a budget allocated to a managed alcohol program. It is a commitment we have made, but as I indicated last October, our first priority is to get a sobering centre in place. A sobering centre is probably the most ideal location to have a managed alcohol program.
Since then, it has come to our attention that the City of Yellowknife has put in an application to the federal government for a managed alcohol-type program. We are waiting to see what the results are there, and whether or not they are going to need us to be involved, partnering in providing some technical expertise. We are open to that. When it comes to managed alcohol programs, you have got to make sure that it is well-designed and makes sense.
I had an opportunity to visit a managed alcohol program in Ottawa where we heard a lot about the positive aspects, and the negative aspects, and how important it is to have a thoroughly and properly designed program, focused on the clients who will be utilizing the program.
We are still open to it. We still have made the commitment, but it was never going to be immediate. We wanted to get the sobering centre in first, and move from there. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Marci cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have questions for the Minister of Education on the Teacher Education Program. Mr. Speaker, if we eliminate the Teacher Education Program, I predict that fewer Northern students will study to become teachers. The department must have looked into that before proposing the cut. What is the department's forecast in future years for the number of Indigenous students studying to become teachers? Thank you.
Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On average, we get about 29 students who enroll in Aurora College's TEP program. Over the last three years, we have also averaged seven graduates out of that program. Indigenous, non-Indigenous, we don't have those numbers right now, but we do support all Northerners when they are seeking post-secondary education. We also supported 33 students this academic year studying to become teachers in the South, in southern institutions. We continue to support them, and we are committed to continue to support financially, and support through counselling, and any support that the students in the Aurora College TEP program are currently in. We are committed to supporting them to complete their program by June 30, 2020. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
We are committed to training teachers and incorporating Indigenous knowledge in our practise through our pledge to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. How will we meet that obligation if we eliminate the Teacher Education Program at Aurora College?
I had a similar question yesterday when we talked about the social worker program. Our governments, our departments, through the JK to 12 system, run students through Aboriginal language and culture, basic education. We have On-the-Land programs. You have language programs. We have other programs that we are piloting in certain regions that focus on culture and awareness.
Over the last year and in the last government, we did implement a residential school Northern Studies training. We are working on developing Northern Studies that are going to focus on self-governments, land claims, and any teachers regardless of if they are Northerners or any Southern teachers who want to come up to the Northwest Territories, we do have a New to the North program that has a lot of cultural awareness in that program as well. Plus, we also run a teacher cultural orientation days that focus on residential schools, the history of residential schools in the Northwest Territories so that teachers, regardless of if they are Northern or Southern, have an understanding of how our families have grown up in residential schools, and understand the environments, and the communities, and the school environment that they're getting into. I believe that we are still going to be promoting that cultural awareness in all of our students that come back North for employment.
What was the conclusion of the most recent evaluation on the Teacher Education Program, and what improvements were suggested, if any?
The whole process of looking at reductions was in Aurora College. The department worked with Aurora College to look at their programs and reviews, and as all Members in this House know, our job is to make tough decisions at times; and sometimes, those decisions are not popular. After the reviews on looking at the programs, these two programs were selected and brought forth to this government.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister: what is the expected economic impact on Fort Smith if the Teacher Education Program is eliminated? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We don't know that at this time. As I mentioned, this is a program that is going to be phased out. June 30, 2020 will be the last day of this program. In that time, we are working on developing a strategic framework and strategy coming forward that might replace it with another program. We are going to see what that strategic plan says, while we are also going to be working with the Thebacha campus on the next steps as we move forward. We cannot make any predictions at this time on the economics that this will bring to Fort Smith.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
Sorry, Mr. Speaker. I got lost with my conversation with my colleague here. Mr. Speaker, in my Member's statement, I spoke about mental health and the work that FOXY and SMASH has done in my region. Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Health and Social Services has spoken about the work the department is doing on the Mental Health Action Plan in the stages that they are presently. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister please advise this House what the department is doing in the meantime in this area for the youth? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have been asked a number of these questions similar to this over the last couple of days, but I will try to provide a fulsome answer for the Member. The department is taking a holistic approach, the development of a Youth Mental Health Action Plan to address the challenges that we are facing here in the Northwest Territories, but at no time have we stopped providing services to youth.
Community counselling is available to youth throughout the Northwest Territories. If it isn't located in your community, we have access to it through other means. The department funds a number of on-the-land programs, run and organized by different Aboriginal groups and organizations. Many of those groups and many of those on-the-land programs are focused primarily on youth, so there are opportunities there. We do have specialized treatment options for youth through a number of out-of-territory treatment programs that individual youth can go to when they're struggling to receive some of the services, whether it's for addictions or behavioural issues or other mental health issues that a child or a youth may be having.
We are continuing to move forward with the action plan. Other areas, when it comes to an organization like Stanton and the design of the new hospital there, we've actually created a section for youth which didn't have a designated section in the old hospital, so there are a number of things that we're doing. More needs to be done, Mr. Speaker, I think it's clear. The Members have said it; I've heard it. The public have said it; I've heard it. This action plan will hopefully allow us to move forward in making enhancements and improvements and increasing the services and bettering the services we already provide. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I thank the Minister for his answer. Mr. Speaker, in the past I've heard the Minister speak about how they have been involving FOXY and SMASH as they move forward on the Mental Health Action Plan. Can the Minister advise this House if they're getting this organization to engage the youth across the territories about the plan when they do the community tours?
In moving forward with the framework which was already tabled in this House, we did engage with FOXY and SMASH who helped us through the validation exercise to make sure that we were on target on moving in the right direction with the framework. We've also indicated and have talked to them about being part of the validation exercise as we move forward with the development of the specific action plan for youth mental health and addictions, and we're looking forward to having them as partners, as well as other groups like youth ambassadors who have a pretty good insight about what's going on across the North as a whole. So we're absolutely looking to engage and we have already engaged them on the framework. We're excited to engage them on the action plan as well.
I thank the Minister for his answers. During the past two weeks we've heard the Minister talk about funding the department has been giving FOXY and SMASH. Can the Minister advise this House if the funding was for a specific project or a program that the department runs?
We funded FOXY and SMASH in a couple of different ways. We've given them money in previous fiscal years. I think it was in 2016 -- 2015-16 we gave $50,000 and I think last fiscal year we gave them $90,000; that was for some specific things they were doing in the organization. Their engagement in the validation exercise, we provided them with $25,000 so that they could reach out and we're looking at providing them $25,000 so they can reach out again this year. So there are multiple ways that money can flow to FOXY, but this $25,000 was to help engage in the validation exercise.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Minister for that answer. It's actually really encouraging and kind of answered my first question about reaching out to the communities.
Mr. Speaker, in the past I've heard the Minister speak about how they are working with other departments to address this issue. Can the Minister please provide this House with some examples of collaboration with Education, Culture and Employment, Justice, and MACA? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the government has been working really hard to break down silos across the departments and I think in some areas we've made progress; other areas, it's certainly taking longer to reach that progress.
In this particular area -- and I'll just refer to the work on the Child, Youth Mental Health Act or, sorry, action plan. We're taking a real whole of government approach and we're making sure that Education has stakeholders in there and Justice has some stakeholders from within the department to help us develop this plan. They're also going to be included in the validation exercise to make sure that we haven't missed something, as well as other stakeholders like FOXY and youth and some of the Aboriginal governments that are out there as well. So we're really trying to make sure that we have the right people at the table in the design and implementation of this action plan.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I made a Member's statement earlier about addictions treatments and the concern that there aren't treatment options here in the North; that we have to send our residents south to pursue treatment. Can the Minister of Health indicate whether or not we are looking at options to provide treatment here or if we're going to continue the practice of relying solely on southern facilities? Thank you.
Masi. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to correct the honourable Member just a little bit. There are a multiple number of programs available to residents in the Northwest Territories. We have community counsellors throughout the Northwest Territories, we've been running on-the-land programs across the Northwest Territories with our Aboriginal partners. We have piloted and we're looking to do more pilots of a mobile treatment option, which is a treatment-type program that can move from region to region rather than relying strictly on a particular facility. We travelled throughout the Northwest Territories, Mr. Speaker, and heard from residents across the Northwest Territories who said one option is not enough for people in the Northwest Territories; we need lots of different options. Dealing with addictions is very personal for some people and a facility-based treatment is not right for them. So we've worked hard to create options.
Yes, we don't have a facility-based treatment facility in the Northwest Territories, but we have contracts with four very reputable, high-quality institutions or facilities in the South. Earlier or later last year I had an opportunity to travel to Poundmaker's with some Aboriginal leaders from the across the Northwest Territories as well as some MLAs. We got to meet Northern residents who were participating in the Poundmaker's program who gave us very, very positive feedback and input on their stay and their experience in Poundmaker's, indicating that it was some of the best facility-based treatment that they've ever had, and some of them had attended facilities here in the North.
I'm not saying our system is perfect, Mr. Speaker. We've clearly got work to do. We've talked about moving forward with a mental health and addictions action plan which will hopefully address some of these issues, but the people told us clearly they want options and today they have more options than they've ever had. We can do better, we will do better, but we're moving in the right direction, Mr. Speaker.
The Minister has answered a number of my other questions. Of those options -- as he wanted to do. Out of those options, have we established a criteria for assessing these and what is that? Is it based on the number of people who are reporting successful treatment? Is it the number of patients processed? I'm just wondering how we're really understanding these options and how effective they are.
It's a good question and the answer is yes, yes, no, yes, no. Bottom line is there's a multiple range of programs that are out there, on-the-land programming being one. We don't currently have an evaluation mechanism to let us know or help us understand how effective these on-the-land programs are, but we're currently working with a stakeholder group who is helping us design an evaluation program for on the land. So yes, we're going to get there.
When it comes to treatment programs, what I can tell you, facility-based treatment programs, is traditionally our number in the Northwest Territories has been a dozen. We've had about a dozen people attending facility-based treatment from the Northwest Territories, whether that was Nats'ejee K'eh or one of the other facilities that failed here in the North.
What I can say is for the first time ever with an expedited referral process to these treatment centres with the high-quality program the word is starting to get back to individuals who are struggling with addictions, and we're actually for the first time seeing our numbers go up. I had a briefing last week and we were able to confirm that over the last little while it's been on average of 18 people from the Northwest Territories enrolling in treatment facilities, so we have seen some increase.
Then when it comes to community counselling, we can provide numbers. One of the difficult things with addictions is somebody might come back from a facility or from an online programming or from a community counsellor and they might be good for two years and then they relapse; is that success or is that not success? It's a hard thing to assess. We're trying to find a way to assess that so that we can continue to provide high-quality programs and enhance programs to our residents.
Thank you to the Minister for that answer. Certainly it is difficult to create a perfect program, and that's part of the concern with the Nats'ejee K'eh facility. One of the issues that was raised about that is there was a bit of credentialism creep that imposed very high standards of training and credentials that were required to provide treatment at that facility, and potentially limited our options to provide that treatment. Can the Minister speak to that? Would it be possible to design something that is based not in Western understanding of addictions but more traditional, Indigenousdriven process that could be facilitybased and potentially could be a service not just for our territory but for the entire north and Indigenous peoples across Canada?
Just before I go to that question, I would just like to point out that, in the Northwest Territories, following up on the honourable Member for Yellowknife North, we are looking to put in a sobering centre here in Yellowknife, which I know is not a treatment centre, but it is certainly a step in the right direction to providing a local facilitybased type support to those individuals that are struggling.
The Member is right. We have facilitybased treatment programs that are available that can tend to be very clinical. Poundmaker's is really fantastic in the fact that it provides a lot of culturalbased supports. Nats'ejee K'eh, I think, well before my time, so I obviously reserve the right to not be a hundred per cent accurate on this, but, when it started, it was more of a cultural healing, more focused on traditional medicine, traditional healing, and it evolved into more of a clinicalbased model.
The clinicalbased model does not work particularly well in the Northwest Territories due to economies of scale. They can be effective when they have a psychologist or a psychiatrist. A small institution with a low demand can't retain that type of professional.
We have been in conversation with the K’atlodeeche, the leadership in K’atlodeeche there, and we are looking at having them take over that facility to provide wellness programming and wellnesstype focused healing to help people deal with some of the root causes of addictions, but it wouldn't be a traditional treatment facility. We think this is a huge opportunity for the community. We think this is a great opportunity for our Aboriginal residents who might be struggling with addictions or impacts of colonization or residential schools, but it wouldn't be considered facilitybased treatment, so there is a distinction between the two.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think the Minister raised a key component of this work, which is traumainformed care and traumainformed therapy. When we are evaluating some of these alcoholism and addictions issues, they are symptomatic to the abuses of colonization and the residential school in particular. Is the department or is the Minister's staff working on a traumainformed care model to address addictions in the Northwest Territories, whether or not that is working with Indigenous partners or the southern facilitybased care we have? Is traumainformed care becoming the lens that we are focusing this effort to bring wellness and safety to our people? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Essentially, yes. I don't think that is the exact terminology that we are using, but we are looking at a holistic approach, recognizing the impacts and the reasons an individual might be struggling with addictions or mental health issues and building upon those. So, essentially yes, but we have been using different terminology.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in followup to my Member's statement, I have a few questions for the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation. As I said in my statement, there have been a number of changes in the rent scale over the years. In the past five years, I have seen a number of positive changes, but one change that my constituents and others throughout the territory are having challenges with is based on your income tax, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Minister: what kind of feedback has the corporation received on the rent scale, particularly after the changes made in 2015? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Members already know that I did extend the housing survey. We have not gotten all the feedback from that survey yet. I am interested in seeing it. I have seen some issues come across my desk, though, regarding the rental scale and the deductions from the income tax.
One of the things I should note is that I know that it causes some seasonal employment difficulties, but, if you look at the areas, it ranges between $10,000 and $20,000 that a person can make extra, depending on their income, before they actually get increased rent, so that is significant. The other thing that is really notable is that, since we have been using the income tax to determine peoples' rent, we have noticed that quite a few hundred people actually have been reassessed their rent because of failure to report during seasonal occupations, so that is a concern that I wanted to bring forward, as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I would like to ask the Minister: how can the corporation support the spirit of the rent scale, fair rent for all public housing tenants, for tenants like I have described whose income taxes don't show the full picture of their employment income?
One of the conditions within the new determining of rent scales is that people who have difference in income can go in monthly and provide that to their local housing organization. If they do that, they will be reassessed based on their monthly income. However, again, it is important to note that the income tax has been showing that not everyone has been reporting their income, and so that is also a concern for us.
