Thank you, Mr. Chair. Can the Minister tell us how long this program has been going on? When did it start? We know it is going to be ended in 2020. Can you tell us when it started and how long it has been running since? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Minister.
My understanding is that the pilot was a three-year program ending in 2020, March 31st, I assume.
Thank you. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Is this program a federally-funded program, or is this actually being funded by the territorial government? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. My understanding is that this is funded by our own resources. Thank you.
Thank you. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am going on to another topic in this area here, but when we talk about family violence, is it still the Department of Justice that is taking the lead on this? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Minister.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. This is important work, and it is shared by several departments. Mr. Goldney could perhaps give more detail, but we do realize the importance of this. It's just not our department.
Thank you. Mr. Goldney.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, this work cuts across many departments, including the Department of Health and Social Services, the Housing Corporation, and the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, and other partners as well.
There is a working group that has been tasked with exploring the programs that we have in place now related to this issue and tasked with coming up with recommendations for improvement and advancement. I wouldn't say that the department is the lead, but we certainly do take an active role, along with the other participants. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Since it is a multi-departmental approach, how is the work being done incorporating community partners and the other stakeholders? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Mr. Goldney.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Right now, the work is focused internally within the GNWT, but there are many of our programs directed at this work that do involve community partners, as well. So that's part of the discussion that is ongoing, but the focus really has been internal. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. It's my understanding that it's the final year for federal funding for the Family Information Liaison Unit, so can the Minister please elaborate on where we are with this work? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Minister.
Yes, thank you. The Family Information Liaison Units, or FILUs, help missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls' families find information about what has happened to their loved ones. About 50 family members, I'm told, have asked NWT FILU staff for help with their research. Cases span the years, according to this note, from the 1953 to 2018 time frame, and every provincial and territorial government has received federal funding to establish a Family Information Liaison Unit. I see that the federal government provided $285,000 in 2017-2018 and $351,000 in 2018-2019 to support the GNWT's FILU salaries, administration, training, and travel. We are expecting that, in 2019-2020, or we are hoping that it would likely be a similar amount to those I mentioned earlier. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. So we're in our last year, but have we approached the federal government and asked if we're going to be expanding this? Because we haven't seen a lot of results right now, and people are looking forward to or hoping that we can continue this, so have you reached out to the federal Minister and asked if they will be expanding this for future years? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Minister.
I understand that our officials have reached out to their counterparts in the federal government regarding this work. Thank you.
Thank you. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you. Could the Minister elaborate if there has been a positive reception from the federal government in this area? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. My understanding is that nothing has been finalized to this point, but that the discussions have been encouraging. Thank you.
Thank you. Mr. Thompson, 30 seconds.
Thank you Mr. Chair, and I'll try to get these 30 seconds in and give him a chance to answer the question. Emergency protection orders. Have there been any changes or expected changes to this program? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I understand that there are about 65 emergency protection orders that are judicially confirmed each year. I don't think, and I'll stand to be corrected if I'm wrong, that we're planning a change in the legislation in this area. We do recognize that this is an important way that we can support victims, so it is very important, the so-called EPOs. I don't think we're contemplating changes in the legislation in this area. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Next, we have Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Can the Minister confirm that the Integrated Case Management Pilot started in 2017 and will run until 2020? Thank you.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I don't want to change my response because there is a different questioner, but my understanding is that it ends on March 31, 2020. We're sure of that, and we are confident that it started three years ago. It's a three-year program, I'm told. Heads are nodding. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister, for assisting us with that complicated math. Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm looking at a news article on the CBC from September of 2017, and in that it's quoted as saying that 215 referrals have been made to the program since October of 2015, referencing Integrated Case Management. Prior to occupying this seat, I spent some time working in the Minister's department. That was prior to 2015, and my recollection was that Integrated Case Management was going on then. Why this is relevant, Mr. Chair, is that I understand evaluating a three-year program and determining how to proceed, but if this is more like a six-year program or a seven-year program, then it seems like it should no longer be a pilot. You know, we have officials and the Minister saying this is a great program, we need to keep going with it, so is this information incorrect? Is my own recollection incorrect? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Perhaps the Minister could clarify whether this is a second or third iteration of this program, or what the case may be. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. If I might, I'd like to defer the question to Mr. Goldney, as he may have more accurate information than I possess. Thank you.
Thank you. Mr. Goldney.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think the Member is correct in his recollection, and that report is accurate, but I do think we have to acknowledge there was a start and a stop to the program, with a bit of a redesign along the way. When we talk about ICM as we are piloting it today, it is the three-year program. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Goldney. Mr. Testart.
Thank you. I appreciate that. Are we going to keep piloting this, I guess? I mean, this budget is obviously continuing to pilot it, but are we going to see an expansion? When do we get out of the pilot phase? Can the Minister shed any light on that? Because once it's five or six or seven pilots, it's not a pilot anymore, it's an appropriation for a program. So, again, if we could have clarity on the future of the ICM program? Thank you.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm not certain whether there is any limitation on the number of pilots you can have, but the program, in our view, has been successful. I cannot commit to this, but I think it's time that we take a very careful look at this. It has been a success, and perhaps it's time to move ahead to a program that is not a pilot. In fact, that's the goal of the work that we're doing at this time, or the department is. Thank you.
Thank you. Mr. Testart.
Thank you. I'm looking at an undated presentation that is available on the Department of Justice's website, and it indicates that short-term outcomes of the project are that being housed in Community Justice has been a neutralizer, that departmental barrier work is challenging many individual-level successes, and that the current ICM model may not be sustainable. Are these still findings of the pilot in its current form, or have these been addressed? Thank you.
Thank you. Minister.
