Oral questions. Member for Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, my questions are directed to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Mr. Speaker, the current Norman Wells daycare center is fully furnished, and the power remains hooked up. I would also like to take the opportunity to thank the Minister for the previous letters of support submitted to the new daycare society. I'm very encouraged by this new society of young parents, long-term residents, and their new energy to get this centre up and running. My first question is: the society has submitted to the department an application for start-up funds. When can they receive a reply to that application? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I really want to start with saying that I'm really excited about Norman Wells' daycare. One of our mandates is to get daycares in every community, as many as possible. There is lots of research. I could go on and on about the amount of research that says early intervention is the best intervention for children to ensure that they are successful in life. So Norman Wells is one that we've been watching closely. We're working closely with that community. I know that they have submitted their application. There are a little bit of processes: they need to get a fire and a health inspection. We are willing to work with them, and then, once those inspections are done, we're hoping that they'll be able to start to provide services to children.
I'll ask the question again: when can they receive a reply to the submitted application from the society?
As a commitment, I know that there are processes, but, if it makes the MLA feel better, then I can commit to, by the end of this week, we will phone Norman Wells' daycare society and actually help them to give them an answer and tell them what they need to go through. It is a process. They need to apply for the health and safety, they need to apply to the fire marshal to get those inspections. It's not as easy as just one department taking this over, but we are willing to work with them as much as possible to make this a reality.
Now we have a deadline for a yes or a no. My next questions is: because the society has limitations, will the Minister's regional office assist the society in working with the Department of Infrastructure to certify the building, as the Minister mentioned earlier, for the assistance
I've said it, and I'll say it again, that we are committed to making this a reality. We will do whatever we can to support the daycare. I'm not even sure what they're called, but the daycare center in Norman Wells. So, if that means working with Infrastructure, if that means helping them to fill out the applications, if that means walking into offices, we will do what we need to do to make this a reality.
Masi. Member for Sahtu.
I'm very encouraged by the energy of the Minister's statement to assist the society. You can imagine, the society, I know the individuals, they're young parents. They don't know the difference between a two-by-four and a building code, so I'm encouraged by the Minister's statement to help the young parents. Mahsi.
Masi. I'll take that as a comment. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, further to my Member's statement, there was a prominent case of cultural bias in the Northwest Territories, in the death of Hugh Papik, an elder in Aklavik. A subsequent report made 16 recommendations to improve services delivery. Can the Minister of Health and Social Services give an update to this House on the progress the department has made in implementing those recommendations? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it's completely inappropriate for any Member in this House to be talking about an individual.
I can say that there was a review done of a situation a number of years ago that resulted in some suggestions and recommendations on how to move forward to address systemic racism that exists here, in the Northwest Territories. The Member should be aware because I am pretty sure he was in the House when we tabled, in November 2016, Building a Culturally Respectful Health and Social Services System, which is our commitment to building a Health and Social Services system that is culturally safe and respectful of all patients and clients across the Northwest Territories.
A key component of that document was the requirement for an action plan, which we intend to release this fall, with a number of recommendations and programs to move forward with training our staff here, in the Northwest Territories. We have cultural safety programs and training that have basically been developed. We're looking at piloting here before the end of the calendar year. We'll make revisions based on what we hear, and we will roll out on a territorial level for all Health and Social Services staff starting in the 2019-2020 fiscal year. We have made significant progress in this area.
That case and other cases are well-canvassed in the media, including the case of my constituent that I mentioned earlier. I think they are subject to discussion in this House. The cultural safety and training piece is probably the largest part of these recommendations. Can the Minister speak to some of the details of the cultural training program that is being developed by the department?
I appreciate the Member's comment, but, because other people breach those confidentiality and talk about things, it doesn't mean we in this Assembly should. I appreciate that the Member is ultimately talking about cultural safety, and I appreciate that conversation, but it's inappropriate to use people's names in this House.
We have done a significant amount of work to develop cultural safety training here, in the Department of Health and Social Services. We have an Indigenous Health and Community Wellness division who have actually worked with different Indigenous governments and individuals across the Northwest Territories to develop this meaningful training. We are about to pilot that. We are intending to pilot it between now and the end of the calendar year.
From there, we anticipate that we will have to make some tweaks here and there, based on what we hear from the staff who are going through it. Our intention is to finalize this fiscal year and begin rolling out for all staff over the next couple of years. It will be training that's available for new staff as they come in, as part of their orientation. Refreshers will be available, as well. It is probably going to take us a bit of time to ensure that all Health and Social Services staff have the training because we also have to keep providing services while we're getting this training done. This is well on its way. The action plan will be out in the next couple of weeks. Training is happening, and we are moving forward.
Thank you to the Minister. I would like to know: what is the total budget allocation to this training? Do we have those details yet for the pilot program?
In 2017-2018, the department allocated about $970,000 which came from the federal government under the Health Services Integration Fund. This included about $476,000 in carry-over funding from the previous year to help us actually develop these programs, test these programs, reach out to other people throughout the Northwest Territories to make sure we are getting a proper cultural component, to make sure that it's relevant to the people in the Northwest Territories, recognizing that it may be slightly different in Fort Smith than it might be in Paulatuk.
Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, finally, one of the issues is ensuring there's a process to respond to patient and family concerns related to issues that they hear from front-line medical services is a process to register those complaints and deal with them. Has that been established in the health authority?
Yes, we have put in some quality assurance mechanisms within the territorial authority, Hay River as well as Tlicho. Where individuals have concern with the care they are provided or anything, any of their engagement with the authority, they should reach out to our quality-assurance staff. They will be best to investigate the situation, find out what happened, and, where appropriate, make recommendations so that we can fix those challenges in future so future people don't experience them, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.
Oral questions. Member for Hay River North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Further to my earlier statement about the recent Auditor General report on Child and Family Services, I have some questions for the Minister of Health. The report notes that, over the last 10 years, there have been about 1,000 children a year engaged in the system. We know there are not 10,000 children in the last 10 years who have been engaged. Does the Minister know how many individual children in the last 10 years have been engaged in the system? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on page 13 of the directors' report that I tabled late last week, there is a chart that shows a number of individuals who are receiving services in any given year. For instance, in the 2017-2018 year, there are 815 unique individuals who are receiving support. If you look at that chart, it will also show that there are multiple years. Many of those kids are in the system for many years. It is not like you are in one year and you are out the next. It is sometimes the case but not always. I do not have the total number of kids that received services over the 10 years. I'm not sure that it breaks down to that detail, but I will check to see if it is available.
I will note that we have seen a decline in the number of kids in permanent care, also contained in the report. In 2008 and 2009, there are 244 kids in permanent care in the Northwest Territories. In 2017 and 2018, we are down to 152 children in permanent care.
The reason I ask that is because we know there are not 10,000 children. Are there maybe two- or three-thousand children that have been in this system that has been failing them for that long? When you look at it that way, you realize, this is a major impact on these people's lives.
The OAG staff was quoted in a recent article saying, "Despite multiple commitments to do so, the department has still not assessed whether the financial and human resource levels it allocates to authorities are enough to deliver the required services for children and families." Earlier, in response to the Member for Yellowknife Centre's questions, the Minister once again made a commitment to do just that.
How do we know that he's going to do that? How can he assure us that he is finally going to do what the department has said they were going to do for years?
I appreciate that Members think that nothing has happened, but a significant amount has happened. In fact, we did contract with the Child Welfare League of Canada to help us do the exact work that the Member is asking us to do again. At that time, we were optimistic that they were going to provide us with a formula that would actually allow us to adequately resource the system because, clearly, we feel that it is not.
We did not get a report from the Child Welfare League of Canada that said, "This is how many positions you need." What we got was, "Here are some things you need to consider when you are actually doing the evaluation to determine how many positions you need." We are taking their recommendations and their parameters, and we have started to apply those to help us determine what the appropriate number is but also the appropriate make-up.
One of the challenges they expressed is moving away from an apprehension system to a prevention system. It changes the make-up, and there really aren't any solid prevention systems out there. We are leading the way in many ways.
Having said all that, we hear you. We have already begun the work to help us identify, and I will be and have proposed, new positions starting next fiscal year. I have already directed the department to start moving with anticipatory hiring to fill these positions. That's step one. We need to continue to do the work that Members are describing to break in and look at the types of positions we need, recognizing that we have changed from an apprehension- to a prevention-type system.
To clarify the Minister's statements, I didn't think anything. That wasn't my thought. I quoted the Office of the Auditor General of Canada, who said that the department hadn't done what they said they were going to do.
When the Minister completes this work and determines how much resources are needed, will he commit to share that publicly so we can see exactly what needs to be done?
Absolutely.
Oral questions. Member for Hay River North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In a CBC article today, the Minister spoke about the difficulty in retaining social workers in the territory. It's a tough job. I mean I don't think I could do it, and so I understand. Yet, we have a social work program at Aurora College that is being cut, and I haven't heard anything coming from the Department of Health saying: no way; we need social workers here.
Could the Minister please explain what work has been done by his department to engage ECE and engage Aurora College to try to build up the social worker program so we can develop social workers here, in the territory? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
We are running about a 25 percent vacancy in this area, so we lose about a quarter of our employees every year, which is deeply troubling, obviously. I am a firm believer that we want to recruit and train Northerners to do the important work that is needed in the Northwest Territories. I am a very big supporter of Northerners developing the skills to be social workers, which, if you don't have a previous history or previous background, would require a degree in social work.
The social work program that exists now, unless you choose to go south for the second portion, doesn't give you the degree. I have shared my needs with the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, both of them. They know the demands we have. The demands for social workers is clearly articulated in Skills4Success. I don't think you will find anybody in this building who doesn't want to support or feel the need for a degree-based social work program here in the Northwest Territories.
What we need to do is make sure we get it right, and I think the foundational review that was done and the direction put forward to move forward is the right direction and will lead us to having a high-quality social work degree program here in the Northwest Territories, so that our residents can pursue that education. Thank you, Mr. Speaker
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Finance, who is in charge of carbon pricing.
The Minister has said that we haven't quite signed onto carbon pricing by stating that a memorandum of understanding is yet to be completed. Can the Minister explain what this memorandum of understanding is all about and whether there is a deadline for its completion? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the federal government has proposed that there will be an MOU signed with the three territories. It turned out the MOU is largely applicable to our sister territories because they were using the federal backstop. The federal government had indicated just recently that they are not advancing the MOU with us, as what would be included has already occurred. With the release earlier this week, the federal government has confirmed their agreement with the proposed NWT approach to carbon pricing. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thanks to the Minister for that. I would be interested in seeing the written confirmation about how the feds have agreed to our approach.
The Minister released a plan for carbon tax in July. That approach would see large emitters getting all of the taxes back. It may involve some spending on greenhouse gas reduction measures, but while individuals, families, and small businesses will get some of the carbon tax back, the remaining amount is what will be used to subsidize GNWT investments into the Energy Strategy, including Taltson Hydro Expansion.
Can the Minister explain why large industrial emitters will not be contributing to investments in energy for communities and households?
The proposed approach for us is to rebate for fuel use, for heating and electricity generation, for the large emitters. 75 percent will be rebated back to them. The other 25 percent will be put into a trust that they can use to make investments into reducing the greenhouse gas emissions.
Thanks to the Minister for confirming that the large emitters are not going to be contributing towards energy investments for communities and households.
Regular MLAs and the public have been waiting patiently for the costed action plan for the Climate Change Strategic Framework, and that is a key part of our climate change plan. That includes carbon pricing. We have had an action plan for the Energy Strategy since May. Can the Minister tell us when the Regular MLAs and the public will get a costed action plan for the Climate Change Strategic Framework and why this is so out of sync with the work that has already been done on the Energy Strategy?
I did not confirm that about the large emitters. What I confirmed was that 75 percent would be rebated back to them, and the other 25 percent would be going to their investments into greenhouse gas emissions. You could look at it another way. With all the corporate tax that they are paying, they are funding a lot of the programs that we offer across the Northwest Territories. They do make a contribution to that as well.
To the Member's question, the draft action plan, we shared that with committee, Indigenous governments, and organizations for a four-week review commencing at the end of October. Once the feedback is received from the parties during the plan engagement period, ENR will lead the finalization of the action plan. We want to go out there and have a conversation with committee and members of the public on the action plan, and then we will do the finalization of that action plan.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. Thanks to the Minister. I look forward to seeing this draft action plan.
The carbon tax plan released by the Minister in July does not contain any information or analysis of other scenarios or approaches, including the federal backstop. The federal government just announced how funds will be redistributed in jurisdictions that do not have a federally approved scheme. It is not clear to me whether our government has actually done any analysis on the federal backstop.
Can the Minister explain whether the work on an NWT carbon tax considered other scenarios, including the federal backstop, and can he share this information with the public and Regular MLAs? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
When we released our planned approach in July of 2018, we also released the results of the engagement process. A lot of the background material is available on the Department of Finance website. We did share what the analysis of the federal backstop would be, and we know that it was going to cost residents of the Northwest Territories a lot more had we just gone and used their backstop.
It is noteworthy that the federal approach to offset in other provinces where the federal backstop is being used is quite similar to what we announced in July. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in follow up to my Member's statement, I have a few questions for the Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister: what is the exact dollar amount, and what is the impact of these changes on the average tenant's power bill? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
