[English translation not provided.]
Similar to my last response, when it comes to educating mothers or expectant mothers, even mothers from small communities, we do rely on our health practitioners, community health nurses, or doctors to help share that information with them and make them aware.
Mr. Speaker, as one of the western and northern provinces and territories, we sit on a national FASD network. We work with the Canadian FASD Network, which does a significant amount of research, and they've put together a lot of really solid materials on the harms of drinking while pregnant.
This information is available to our staff and to our residents. We don't have a campaign per se. We focus on mothers when they are pregnant. I will ensure that that information is getting out to our practitioners so that they can, in turn, make sure that pregnant mothers have that information.
I have recently attended a number of clinical appointments, and I have seen that information available in our clinics. I will verify that we do make that information as available in some of our smaller and more remote communities.
[English translation not provided.]
We have the Aboriginal Health and Community Wellness Division within the Department of Health and Social Services. I'm happy to say that they have been working very closely with Education, Culture and Employment on new health curriculum here in the Northwest Territories that focuses on some of the realities and challenges that our people are facing. It does focus on prevention, and it's my understanding, but I will certainly confirm, that there is information in there on pregnancy and the risks of alcohol on a child of a pregnant mother.
Certainly, we need to go further and make sure that there's more information in that on the impacts of cannabis on the developing brain, because, as I said, a pregnant mother smoking cannabis or drinking will both have detrimental impacts on the child and their developing brain.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Marsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, [English translation not provided.] Marsi.
The Member is right. I mean, we all need to work together to help people make productive choices and understand the impacts of their actions, and drinking alcohol while pregnant is certainly a problem. There is money being spent on that which should be spent on healthy choices for the mother while she is pregnant, healthy eating, healthy living.
I'm certainly prepared to sit down with the Member and get a better, clear understanding of exactly what he's asking and figure out how as an Assembly we can work to help people understand the impacts, including the costs, the impacts, of consuming alcohol. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Hay River North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at the recent NWT Association of Communities meeting with Hay River, the Minister of Housing was questioned by one of Hay River's representatives about the issue of drug dealers and bootleggers living in housing units. Her response actually prompted an editorial which appeared in today's Hub newspaper. The editorial echoed the opinions of others who brought this to my attention.
People have concerns about this. One of the concerns is about fairness. People don't like coming home from their second job, which they need so they can afford to pay their mortgage or their rent, and seeing another brand new Ski-Doo parked in front of a housing unit when they know that the person who owns that Ski-Doo and lives in that house declares no income and pays next to nothing for rent despite having a steady income from the sales of drugs.
The other obvious concern is about community safety. People don't like the government providing safe spaces for illicit activities which harm the community. I have been told by some that they see this as the government is complicit. For my first question, I just want some clarification: what is the Housing Corporation's policy regarding bootlegging and drug dealing in housing units by tenants? By trafficking, I mean all aspects of trafficking, storage, packaging, et cetera, not just the physical exchange of money for drugs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our current policy on bootlegging or selling drugs, trafficking, is that we do follow the Residential Tenancies Act, which says that no one shall commit an illegal act or permit another person to do so. That is in our lease that people sign, that they are not allowed to do that. If that someone is reported to the local housing organization that they suspect their neighbour is selling drugs or bootlegging and is causing a disturbance, the local housing organization will go over and ask the person who the complaint is against to make sure they don't disturb their neighbours. That is what we do.
If the person is convicted, then we can file a remove tenancy order to the rental officer to look for eviction. That is our current policy, although I must state that we are in the middle of revising all policies. That is one that I am looking at seriously. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
It is good to hear they are looking at it seriously. Just to be clear: does the Minister consider it a problem that the residents of the NWT and the Housing Corporation pay to house active drug dealers and bootleggers?
Absolutely. I consider it a problem that we have people who are maybe selling drugs or maybe bootlegging in our housing units. We have children in those units. We have family members. It is a concern. However, I am bound by the law, and as so, we have to respect the law. The law does specify what exactly we can do when we look at evictions. Although I would love to be able to go and kick out drug dealers, suspected, or every bootlegger, I have to abide the law, which says that I have to have proof.
I understand that. I should say people who are assumed to be drug dealers, housing those people, I know that there is a policy when they are convicted. The Minister admitted it is a problem. Because it is a problem, does the Housing Corporation, as a landlord and a publicly funded entity, have a responsibility to ensure that it is not a providing a safe space for these illicit activities to occur?
We do look at it. We do take responsibility. We recognize that we need to make our housing units as safe as possible for all residents of the Northwest Territories. We can't act on speculation, though. We need to recognize that people have human rights. We get a lot of people who complain about their neighbours. We can't just jump on every complaint. We need proof. I do hear the community, and I do hear that it is an issue. I am encouraging people to actually step forward and actually bring it to our attention, but also call the RCMP.
We are bound by the law. Like I said, one of the factors that we had within the law, within the Residential Tenancy Act, says that we just can't walk into someone's unit if we hear that they are selling drugs or bootlegging. We need to give them 24 hours' notice, and that notice has to be in writing and it has to specify the purpose of our entry. My suspicion, I may be wrong, if I give a bootlegger or drug dealer 24 hours' written notice that I am coming in to see if they are bootlegging or selling drugs, there will be no drugs or no alcohol there in the 24 hours. We take responsibility, but we also need to abide by the law.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Hay River North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I understand that there are legal constraints the corporation is bound by. I know this isn't an easy issue, and I know there are issues related to children in these houses, too. If there is a mother and father looking after children and they are dealing drugs, what do you do? Do you just kick them all out? The children are victims in that situation, as well. I know this isn't an easy issue, and I know the Minister has said they are looking at all the policies. Can she give us some insight into what they are looking at as solutions to this issue? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
When I talked to the first question and was answering about what our policies are, we do have a policy that says that if someone is convicted of a criminal offence, the local housing organization can -- and specify "can," not "shall" -- can terminate that one person and ask for the other family members to be able to stay. "Can" is not good enough for me in our policy renewal.
We are looking at it within a gender-based analysis, which means: how does that affect people? When I look at the gender-based analysis within the Residential Tenancies Act, currently, it only states that we can ask one party to leave if there is an emergency protection order in place, a peace bond, or a protection order. Often, those things aren't in place for people who are in those kinds of situations.
I will share a story. I had a phone call, actually, from a woman in a small community who had concerns that an elder, one of her relatives, their grandchild was living with the elder. The grandchild was selling drugs. The person phoned me and they wanted me to kick out the grandchild, but they didn't want the grandmother kicked out. They didn't want their elder kicked out. I didn't want the elder kicked. I can understand, being a grandparent and the things that sometimes we might put up with with our children. I am not saying it is okay. It is not okay. Sometimes we make bad choices to protect our children because the consequences to them would be dear.
We are looking at it within a gender-based analysis. We are looking at: can we change our current policy so that, if someone is convicted, it will not be a "can" but it will be a "may," that if the other person is not convicted, that person and their children will be allowed to reside in the unit. Only those convicted will be evicted. That is one thing I am doing.
I really encourage people: please step up. I can't do this alone. Please report. If you see drug dealers or bootleggers, call the RCMP. They do have the means to be able to investigate. We want them off the streets. We want them out of your communities, but I need your help in doing this. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document entitled "Northwest Territories Tourism Marketing Plan 2018/19." Thank you, Mr. Speaker
Masi. Tabling of documents. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following two documents entitled "Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 73-18(3): Alcohol Harm Reduction Measures"; and "Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 114-18(3): Medical Travel Coverage." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River South, that Bill 6, Cannabis Legalization and Regulations Implementation Act be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. The motion is in order. To the principle of the bill.
Question.
Masi. Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.
---Carried
I will now call Committee of the Whole to order. What is the wish of committee? Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, committee would like to consider Tabled Document 63-18(3), Main Estimates, 2018-2019, with the Department of Health and Social Services. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. We will consider the document after a brief recess.
---SHORT RECESS
Committee, we have agreed to consider Tabled Document 63-18(3), Main Estimates 2018-2019, the Department of Health and Social Services, which begins on page 163. The departmental summary can be found on page 167. We see it's a $461 million department. I will open up the floor to the Minister of Health of Social Services for opening comments. Minister Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am pleased to be here to present the 2018-2019 Main Estimates for the Department of Health and Social Services. The total proposed budget for the department is $461,563,000. Overall, the department’s estimates propose an increase of about $38.3 million, which is an increase of 9 per cent over the 2017-2018 Main Estimates.
Highlights of the proposed estimates before you include:
Forced growth of $9.2 million;
Sunsets and other adjustments of $25.5 million, including $12.6 million to address existing base deficiencies in six high-pressure program areas that have been experiencing significant growth; and
Funding for initiatives totalling about $3.995 million.
The department’s proposed spending in 2018-2019 continues to support the priorities of the 18th Legislative Assembly.
Some specific funding activities in support of these priorities include:
$2.863 million to operationalize the new Norman Wells Health Centre and Long-term Care Facility;
$762,000 for the Yellowknife Sobering Centre;
$653,000 to enhance rehabilitation services for children;
$848,000 to enhance services for FASD and autism;
$1.234 million to establish school and community child and youth care counsellors in the Dehcho and the Tlicho; and
$498,000 to establish three positions to respond to the additional requirements for front-line inspections, advice and support to agriculture-related operators, food establishments and the associated policy, and regulatory work to support the multi-department efforts to implement the GNWT Agriculture Strategy.
Mr. Chair, that concludes my opening remarks, and I am looking forward to answering any questions the Members may have.
Thank you, Minister. I understand you have witnesses you wish to bring into the Chamber. Sergeant-at-Arms, would you please escort those witnesses into the House. Minister, please introduce your witnesses for the record.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, with me today is Jeannie Mathison on my right, who is the director of Finance, and Mr. Bruce Cooper, for his first time at this table, is our new deputy minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you. Welcome to the witnesses. Committee, we previously agreed to forgo opening comments. Does committee again agree to forgo opening comments?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. As is usual, we will defer the departmental summary until after consideration of the activity and detail. The first activity can be found on page 171, administrative and support services. Does committee have comments or questions about this? Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, when we spoke about the business plan for this department during the business plan meetings in November, there was some discussion about quality assurance and the potential of making a division of quality assurance within the department. Could the Minister please update us on the progress towards this action? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, we don't have a quality assurance division in the department, and I suppose I will need the Member to remind me. I remember talking about quality assurance in the Territorial Health and Social Services Authority who is there at the frontline level to take input from residents who have concerns so that they can explore those and make improvements. I am certainly open to have the Member remind me if that is otherwise, but it has always been clear in my mind that we had been talking about the Territorial Healthy Authority.
Now, with that in mind, we do have positions in the Territorial Authority. We are working to have a centralized sort of support to that, i.e. a director or something along those lines who can provide some oversight at a territorial level, but we also need to make sure that we continue to have those supports at a regional level within the Territorial Authority to make sure that those are available to residents when they do have concerns.
The department itself as we continue to strengthen the single authority model will be more of a ministry as opposed to a program delivery, so there is going to be some role as far as writing policies, procedures, regulations, but not so much as far as monitoring the day-to-day quality. That would be the Territorial Authority.
Thank you, and I just ask the Minister and witnesses to indicate when you are finished talking so that our tech team knows when to change the microphones. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, according to the notes that I took at the time, there is a need for greater clarity of roles between the department and the authority, so this would seem to be on point to the discussion we are having now. How does quality assurance in the department relate to quality assurance at the front line? Who is driving the bus there? Thank you.
