Mr. Speaker, our world-class tourism industry offers the greatest opportunity we have to grow and diversify our economy.
As we approach April 1st, the budget proposed for the next year fiscal year reflects this. It contains nearly $6.3 million in contributions and program funding to support our tourism industry, an increase of $800,000 from 2018-2019. It's a sign that this government recognizes the integral role tourism is playing in diversifying and modernizing our economy, and that we recognize our responsibility to move this sector to the next level.
Today I would like to share with Members some of the investments the Government of the Northwest Territories, led by the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment, has planned for the tourism sector. We will invest in training products which will build the skills of our tourism operators to better deliver the unforgettable visitor experiences that they offer. We will continue to invest in the development of new tourism products; community-level tourism infrastructure; and NWT Tourism, our destination marketer, whose mandate is to promote our spectacular territory across the country and around the globe.
These investments will build on the $1.55 million that was invested in tourism-related businesses and initiatives this year. They will build on the investments we have made in Indigenous tourism alongside CanNor and the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada. They will complement the ongoing work of regional tourism development officers who deliver our programs and provide support to operators, communities, and Indigenous governments.
Last month I was pleased to announce the fifth consecutive year of increases in overnight visitors at our territorial parks. In spite of a wet and cloudy summer, our world-class parks and campgrounds continue to shine as attractions for visitors and residents.
Mr. Speaker, I have recognized in this Legislative Assembly that the tourism growth that we are nurturing is going to come with growing pains. We are taking steps through this transition to ensure that, above everything else, our tourism sector is operating with a focus on safety.
Up-to-date safety plans are a prerequisite for tourism operator licenses. In the North Slave, we are piloting initiatives aimed at getting aurora tours off the main highway, and are working with our industry partners to increase visitor awareness to the potential risks of cold weather, un-frozen lakes, and interacting with wildlife.
We have also introduced a vehicle identification program in the North Slave for all tourism operators delivering vehicle tours. It is a pilot project that we hope will help us identify which operators are working within our licensing process and those who are not.
It should be noted that the Tourism 2020 Strategy is expiring, and we must build on its success with a new strategy. Our new Tourism 2025 Strategy will guide tourism investment by the Government of the Northwest Territories from fiscal years 2021-2022 to 2025-2026. Its creation will begin this fall, with a multi-platform consultation process that includes industry and a wide range of tourism stakeholders.
Mr. Speaker, we know that our economy will gain strength as it grows more diverse. As we continue to move forward, we can see that our strategies and approaches are working, and that our investments are paying off. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Members, I would like to draw your attention to the gallery. I would like to welcome Mr. Jim Antoine, former Premier, former Minister, and the current chair of the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Leadership Council.
---Applause
Ministers' statements. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Mr. Speaker, the government is committed to addressing health inequities experienced by our residents. In October of last year I provided information on the Department of Health and Social Services' plans to move forward with our cultural safety and relationship-based care approach, and today I am pleased to advise that the 2018-2020 Caring for Our People: Cultural Safety Action Plan will be tabled later today.
Research shows that Indigenous peoples experience a disproportionate amount of negative health and social outcomes in comparison to non-Indigenous people. It is our responsibility as a government to address this inequity head-on, especially given the fact that over 50 percent of the NWT's population is Indigenous. This is why it is critical that we develop a two-year action plan that will see immediate steps taken to address the health outcome gaps to promote healthy living and communities in the NWT.
Mr. Speaker, this action plan advances foundational work that began with the release of "Building a Culturally Respectful Health and Social Services System" in 2016.
Since the fall of 2017, the Department of Health and Social Services has held over 30 knowledge-sharing meetings with Indigenous and northern people to hear directly from them about their experiences, concerns, and aspirations for the NWT health and social services system. What we heard was that we need to transform our system so that it is rooted in relationships that are trusting, caring, and ongoing. The underlying theme in these meetings was the importance of cultural safety: an outcome where Indigenous peoples feel safe and respected, and free of racism and discrimination, when accessing health and social services.
Our action plan incorporates what we heard and provides direction on transforming the health and social services system through four objectives: creating an organizational culture of cultural safety; strengthening staff capacity for cultural safety; honouring traditional knowledge and healing approaches in care; and improving client and community experience.
Mr. Speaker, creating a health and social services system where cultural safety and relationship-based care is at the heart of everything we do requires a profound shift in how we operate and think about healthcare. It means that our health system will make it a priority to put the needs of our clients and their families first so that they feel safe and respected when accessing health and social programs and services. By making this shift, we hope to see improved access, patient experience, and health outcomes for all residents.
To ensure that we successfully implement our cultural safety action plan, we will be engaging with clients to identify whether their care has been culturally respectful; we will provide training to our staff so that they have the skills, knowledge, and behaviours to provide culturally safe care; and we will make sure that cultural safety is embedded throughout the NWT health and social services system, from policies to practice, and is supported by leadership throughout our organization.
Work is already under way for staff training, with three pilot training sessions held recently. The first and second pilot focused on bias and building relationships in the workforce, and the third focused on cultural competence. Feedback from participants will help us develop a cultural competency training package tailored to the cultural safety needs of NWT residents. The goal of the training package is to equip staff with the tools needed to identify and resolve hidden biases that they may have when interacting with their clients who are accessing services, programs, and support. We hope that this training, along with other actions we will take, will see attitudinal behaviours changes that can lead towards improved relationship-based care.
Throughout this process of firmly entrenching cultural safety in our health and social services system, we are committed to ensuring that the voices of Indigenous peoples are acknowledged, heard, and respected. To do this, we will increase awareness of client rights and responsibilities and develop mechanisms for feedback and complaints to support them on their care journey. We are already mapping out a system-wide client feedback process and quality assurance processes.
Mr. Speaker, another key component to embracing cultural safety is having a workforce that reflects the population that it serves. To further encourage our Indigenous residents to be practising members of our health and social services team, and to promote wellness throughout the territory, the department will be working with the Department of Finance, human resources section, as well as with Indigenous governments to encourage youth and individuals considering a different profession to get into the health and social services field.
To ensure that we are moving in the right direction, we will be monitoring progress. We are integrating data collection on cultural safety into existing monitoring plans, such as the patient experience questionnaire and community counselling program, to see how we are doing. This approach further reflects our approach to make cultural safety part of how we deliver programs and services throughout our system.
Mr. Speaker, taking action to improve the way that Indigenous residents access health and social services and creating a relationship-based care approach for all Northerners responds to multiple mandate commitments. More importantly, it is the right thing to do and helps us address our past, promotes reconciliation, and helps to build healthy, strong communities. By implementing what we heard, we can achieve our vision for a territory where Indigenous peoples, families, and communities enjoy physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health and wellness. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Ministers' statements. Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Government of the Northwest Territories is committed to taking action so that seniors can age in place. We want to ensure that all seniors living within the Northwest Territories have the support and programs that they need to continue living in their own homes, if possible, and participate as full members in their community.
The number of seniors in our territory is growing at an extraordinary pace. While the population of the Northwest Territories has grown by one percent since 2004, the population of persons 60 years of age and older has grown by 53 percent. This trend is expected to continue well into the foreseeable future, compelling us to plan for how these changes will impact all of our systems.
Some housing efforts taken by this government to support seniors with their desire to age in place include the construction of seniors' independent eight-plex housing units in five communities: Aklavik, Fort Liard, Whati, Fort McPherson, and Fort Good Hope. A Seniors Aging-in-Place Retrofit Program was introduced, which helps make seniors' homes more durable and energy-efficient. The Northwest Territories Housing Corporation will soon introduce new multi-generational homeownership units in communities that will have a main-floor-accessible bedroom designed specifically for families that will be supporting an elder in their home.
These innovative initiatives are already making a difference. The Seniors Aging-in-Place Retrofit Program is now one of the most accessed programs that the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation offers. The magnitude of the issue, however, means that we need to continually explore and examine other solutions.
Mr. Speaker, to further inform our government, as well as other governments, private industry, non-governmental organizations, and other stakeholders and decision-makers, I requested that the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation commission the Seniors' Planning Study to examine options related to independent housing for seniors.
This Seniors' Planning Study is an assessment of seniors' housing in all of the communities in the Northwest Territories, including current and future needs. The report provides a detailed review of the current context of the senior population, households, and the housing market.
Mr. Speaker, this study is divided into two distinct phases. Phase One of the study focused on reviewing and identifying existing conditions and trends for seniors' housing in the two locations that show the greatest demand: the city of Yellowknife and the town of Hay River. Part of the methodology for these two communities was to conduct focus group discussions with key stakeholders. We have included the interim report for those two communities in the final Seniors' Planning Study document.
Phase Two of the study was conducted as a tabletop exercise focused on analyzing available statistics for seniors' population growth and household formation for all communities in the Northwest Territories. The analysis is at a regional and community scale and reviews opportunities and challenges around seniors' housing in our more remote and isolated areas.
The Seniors' Planning Study is broken down into five chapters. The first chapter on Regional Community Overview provides a breakdown of the seniors' profile in each region. Housing preferences, indicators, and affordability targets were developed based on existing statistical data. The second chapter on Future Projections looks at future population growth for seniors in the Northwest Territories. The third chapter on Community Engagement examines the engagement that was conducted with the City of Yellowknife and the Town of Hay River. The fourth chapter provides a cross-jurisdictional analysis on best practices and case studies around the growth of the senior population in regard to housing design, configuration, and senior support programs. The last elements of the Seniors' Planning Study are conclusions from the study, along with a list of options around the increasing demand for seniors' housing.
Key findings from this report indicate that the majority of the seniors aged 55 years or older own their home. However, there are communities across the Northwest Territories where a higher proportion of seniors are in rented homes. One of the key findings of the study was that we can now plan around an increase of approximately 165 senior households annually. The needs of this population are varied and will have to be addressed. Thankfully, we now have this study to help us plan for seniors' needs in each community.
This information will be factored into the work around the development of 33 community housing plans. Decision-makers at all levels will be able to use this information, as well as the broader context of a community housing plan, to inform their infrastructure and planning decisions, especially those communities that are taking a more active role in housing.
Mr. Speaker, seniors are one of our greatest cultural resources. They hold our histories, sustain our traditional languages and customs, and they have given so much to so many. We are committed to ensuring the health and well-being of our elders, and a crucial part of that is housing. With this study, we can improve on the good work already being done to ensure that seniors can remain well-housed in their communities and with their families and friends. Later today, at the appropriate time, I will table the Seniors' Planning Study. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
[Translation] Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This month is Deline language month. That is why I am going to make my statement in the Aboriginal language. Back in the old days, I am from Fort Resolution, people who lived around Fort Resolution, Little Buffalo River, Rocher River, the Slave River, Stony Point, people were living all over the place, and, when you are going from one camp to the other, everybody spoke Chippewan. Only Fort Resolution spoke English. Back in the days, when people were picked to go to school, we were living in Fort Resolution. I didn't speak English when I started school. I only spoke Chippewan. A lot of people were like that. Yes, we only spoke Chippewan language, and that is the way it was.
After we all went to school, we were taught the English language. We only spoke the Deline language, though. What I think now, the way we spoke our language, that is where we learned our language, at our home. Nowadays, they are teaching the kids in the school system, They are not really teaching the kids quite properly. What I think, if you want a really strong language, you've got to learn it at home. The ones who spoke the language, the Slavey, the Dogrib people, they learned at home. They taught the kids at home. That is the way the kids learned, and that is the proper way to do it.
I spoke Chipewyan. When I was going to speak English when I was in school, they had to give me somebody who spoke English so they could, kind of an interpreter. It was pretty hard for me when I first started school. That is the way it was in the old days.
So, when the kids are learning their language at home, everybody who is learning, they're writing to each other in their language now. Thank you. [Translation ends.]
Members' statements. Member for Deh Cho.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. [No translation provided.] Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our territory is unique in the world in many ways. I am proud that we work in such a unique system of government. I am proud that we have developed the consensus system that reflects our originality. I am proud to sit in this Chamber with colleagues from a wide variety of heritages. I am proud that we live and work in a jurisdiction that recognizes 11 official languages. We are fortunate to have a number of healthy languages in our territory and to be able to hear them on the radio every day.
On many days, you can hear, like today, those languages in this very Chamber, Mr. Speaker. I really appreciate that this Assembly has emphasized the importance of using Indigenous languages in our proceedings, especially in the past few sessions.
However, I wonder how much longer this can continue, Mr. Speaker. Years ago, I remember that there was a strong effort to recruit and train Indigenous-language interpreters to provide translation of public discussion and debates. In this Chamber and at conferences and assemblies across the NWT, language systems and simultaneous translation were staples of public discourse.
Today, that level of commitment to language services seems to have diminished. Interpreters are fewer and fewer and harder to find. The strong emphasis on training for language expertise and simultaneous translation seems to be missing. It makes me wonder what is the future of our languages? More importantly, what will be the outcome for the children who are coming up now?
Strong work on language preservation is going on in some places. In particular, the Tlicho language is actively used among all ages. There is even a Tlicho dictionary online. This is the kind of commitment that's needed to maintain our languages for the next generations. Historically, there were hundreds of Indigenous languages spoken across what is now Canada, Mr. Speaker. Sadly, many of them have disappeared entirely and/or are now nearly extinct. It is sad that, if a language dies, a whole way of life may go with it.
Mr. Speaker, I am proud that in the Northwest Territories so many different languages remain active and healthy. I think it's important that we continue to emphasize the learning, use, and health of all of the languages of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Members' statements. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is Indigenous Languages Month. It is now the time to celebrate the NWT's Indigenous languages and encourage people to learn about and use them. Here in the NWT, we are very fortunate that we live on lands rich with languages and cultures. We have 11 official languages, nine of those are Indigenous. For Indigenous languages to thrive and survive, it is important to promote their everyday use at home, in the community, and at work. The importance of Indigenous languages has been elevated by the United Nations, who have declared 2019 the International Year of Indigenous Languages.
Here in the NWT, we are the trailblazers, and our efforts to share and pass on Indigenous languages are clear for all, especially those who listen to our proceedings every day. You just have to open up the app store on your phone, and see that we have eight official Government of the Northwest Territories language apps. This is a great step to help in preserving linguistic heritage, stories, and culture, all while ensuring that this information is available to young and future generations. I hope that the NWT will continue with this story of success, revitalizing language and continuing to set an example for the rest of the country to follow.
I believe I can speak for many of my colleagues when I say that we shall continue to take measures to ensure that these languages and the rights of the people who speak them will continue to be protected. It is of the utmost importance if we are to ever achieve meaningful reconciliation, that future generations know their histories, languages, oral traditions, philosophies, writing systems, and literature, while communities, places, and persons can live and thrive in a system which does not inhibit their right to be named and recognized in their mother tongue. I am proud to play my small part in recognizing Indigenous Languages Month.
We are one land with many voices, and this is among our many strengths. Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker.
Members' statements. Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to commend the first two speakers who have spoken in their language, and I am going to speak about an elder in Tuktoyaktuk who is very fluent in Inuvialuqtun.
Mr. Speaker, Ella Jean Arnakina was born in the community of Tuktoyaktuk to Sara and Phillip Nogosak on December 12, 1944, the oldest sister to Peter and Charlie.
At a very young age, she was taken to residential school in Aklavik, where she stayed until the age of 12. She remembered having to speak to her father through a glass window as he was in the hospital. After leaving the residential school, she lived at her Ataatang's with her mother as her father did not return home from the hospital after passing from TB.
At the age of 15, Ella Jean had given birth to her only child, Jacqueline. Ella did her best to raise her Bunnik with the help of her mother and her stepfather. Ella also became Akka to Clarence, Sandra, Freda, Robert, and Matilda.
Mr. Speaker, Ella Jean became Nanuk to Denise in 1982, and later to Jared. Denise loved spending time with her Nan, and her Nan loved her adventures with Denise. Akka had also taken her grandson Jared into her home when he was five years old. Raising him on her own was a blessing for them both. He was lucky to have such a caring person to take such good care of him, giving him all of the love he needed, more when his mother was away.
In 2005, she became Great Nan to Jobey Dragon, whom she called "the Great." Then, Mac Mangilaluk was her ataatalung, as she was very proud to have her mother name him, after Mangilaluk. Easton was "Mr. Easton" to her. The love she had for her greats was amazing, from sharing her home-cooked meals to gifting them the little things she'd see and know they would like. All three were her loveable, huggable, squeezable greats.
All through her life, she would volunteer her time during community events, such as the Beluga Jamboree and music festivals. You would see her by the cooking pit, helping in any way she could, and she enjoyed being at any feast as she liked to have others' cooking, too.
Ella Jean was always thinking of others, sharing what she had by giving clothing or baked goods or a memento that reminded her of them. When she was needed by anyone during hard times and good times, no matter the time of day or night, she was there for support in any way.
Mr. Speaker, Ella Jean was diagnosed with cancer on February 4, 2019, and passed on February 20, 2019, so condolences to the Nogosak family in Tuktoyaktuk. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Our condolences to the family. Members' statements. Member for Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When the Truth and Reconciliation Commission released its final report, there were 94 calls to action. Federal, provincial, and territorial governments responded to these and pledged to implement them.
This work is ongoing, and during this historic process, we must not forget the experiences of Canada's First Peoples. It touches on every part of our lives.
Mr. Speaker, today, I want to talk about healthcare, specifically options for nursing education and training in the Northwest Territories, a respected and demanding profession. Nursing is an important area for reconciliation and one where Canadian nurses have shown leadership. For example, two years ago, the Canadian Association of Perinatal and Women's Health Nurses publicly acknowledged the role that nurses had historically played in colonial practices; then they committed to doing better.
When the Truth and Reconciliation Commission released its report, Justice Murray Sinclair talked about the importance of having schools and colleges that include Indigenous history, rights, treaties, and other subjects.
Mr. Speaker, as the GNWT works to make Aurora College better, we must keep that at the top of our mind, especially for the college's flagship program, the nursing program. When I looked at the nursing curriculum, I could see just one course on First Nations Peoples of the Northwest Territories.
There's definitely room to grow. I believe that we can design nursing training and curriculum that will help to address our staffing shortages, increase options for our youth, improve employment outcomes, and recognize the Canadian history.
As Justice Murray Sinclair also said, "We owe it to each other to build a Canada based on our shared future, a future of healing and trust." Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. It is my pleasure to mark Indigenous Languages Month by speaking about the importance and benefits of learning an Indigenous language during childhood.
We all know that the first language we learn has an enormous influence on establishing our bedrock cultural identity. Socially, emotionally, and intellectually, we embark on the world through the perspective of the language we first speak with our families. Children starting out in the world of formal schooling who have a strong grounding in an Indigenous language will also have a leg up to academic achievement. Once they have a strong first language, children can learn to speak another language easily. In fact, they can learn several languages at once.
Mr. Speaker, let's consider how to help children get this extra boost of language and identity. The NWT Literacy Council provides some tips. First, children need to hear the language. Each language has different sounds, and children need to hear those sounds in order to learn them. Children copy what they hear and see. If they see and hear people talking the language, they'll do the same. They'll do this by playing, and they play and learn at the same time.
Mr. Speaker, it is important to remember that children often have a silent period. That is the time they are listening to the sounds and getting ready to speak. They will speak the language when they feel comfortable, not to worry about the time it takes to get started.
Just like adults, children make mistakes. This is a natural part of learning a language. Sometimes, it is difficult for children to make certain sounds because their mouth, tongue, throat, and lungs are still developing.
Anyone who has read to children knows they often want to hear the same story over and over again. That is because they learn by repeating things. They also love rhymes and songs, which use a different part of the brain than talking. Children often learn the words to songs faster than everyday speech.
Most of all and best of it, it just takes time to learn a language, and those are some of the most precious times, when parents and children grow together. Indigenous Languages Month is really a family month with happy times of singing, playing, reading, and loving together with a focus on language. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Members' statements. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Each year, through the Fire Service Merit Awards, the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs recognizes individual firefighters and fire departments for the important work they do in our communities.
Previously, the community of Fort Simpson has seen this award go to Roger Pilling and Scott Withmore. In true Fort Simpson fashion, it is no surprise that this award is presented to another Simpsonite.
The 2018 NWT Fire Service Merit Award was awarded to Steve Nichol for his contribution as volunteer firefighter on the Fort Simpson fire department. He continues to express dedication and commitment to the ongoing protection of the residents in Fort Simpson.
Upon his retirement as a teacher at the Thomas Simpson school, Steve joined the fire department. In the past two and a half years, Steve has answered 241 ambulance calls.
In the past two years, Steven has been voted by his peers and colleagues as the Fort Simpson Volunteer Firefighter of the Year.
Many of Steven's accomplishments with the Fort Simpson fire department include countless hours dedicated to organizing, revising, updating, and cleaning the fire hall. Steve also was actively involved in the organization of the entire inventory, creating, and updating check lists for all of the department's equipment.
Steve's work ethic, dedication, and pride in the cleanliness of the fire hall has been appreciated by the department. There is an ongoing joke that Steven can spot a cracker crumb on the floor of the fire hall.
Steve has been instrumental in assisting with the training of new and older colleagues for the safety and security of the residents of Fort Simpson. Steve was able to use his past experience as a teacher to ensure people received professional training effectively and efficiently. Steve's colleagues looked forward to the training sessions.
In August 2018, Steve was promoted to the position of lieutenant of the Fort Simpson fire department. Steve is very proud of his accomplishments and appreciates the recognition he receives with a grateful and humble attitude of servitude.
I would like to take this opportunity to offer my congratulations to Steve Nicol and to the Fort Simpson fire department for doing a job well done. Thank you for your continued selflessness in offering the residents of Fort Simpson safety, security, and well-being. Your efforts are duly noted and appreciated. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Members' statements. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. When GNWT negotiated devolution in 2014, there was an interesting arrangement whereby the federal government's National Energy Board remained as the oil and gas regulator in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region onshore areas. In other onshore areas of the NWT, the GNWT had the ability to create its own regulator and has done so through the Office of the Regulator of Oil and Gas Operations.
It is not clear why the federal government of the day and our government, led by the current Premier, would agree to such an arrangement. Why should a regulator established under federal legislation with no northern representation and no significant presence in the NWT be permitted to manage oil and gas exploration and development in the region with the highest potential? What an odd arrangement.
Some might speculate that this arrangement may have been put in place to protect the corporate interests of the Mackenzie Gas Project, which has since folded.
The arrangement with the National Energy Board is to prevail for at least 20 years after devolution unless Canada and GNWT agree otherwise, according to section 12.1(2) of the federal National Energy Board Act and the devolution agreement.
Rather than focus on trying to assume legislative responsibility for the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act, why not go after this residual outpost of federal colonialism and allow for OROGO to manage oil and gas exploration in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region? Our government will have a very difficult time trying to convince the federal government, let alone the residents of the NWT, that it has demonstrated responsible resource development. We couldn't even get around to something as basic as reviewing the revenues we get from the extractive sector during the five years following devolution.
I will have questions later today for the Minister of Justice, who also serves as the regulator for oil and gas in parts of the NWT not under the jurisdiction of the National Energy Board. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, your Standing Committee on Government Operations is pleased to provide its report on the review of the 2018 report of the Auditor General of Canada to the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly (Child and Family Services) and commends it to the House.
Before we begin, we would like to recognize the contributions of the Auditor General of Canada, Mr. Michael Ferguson, to the completion of this report. Mr. Ferguson, who passed away on February 2, 2019, was a dedicated public servant who will be greatly missed. We offer our condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues.
On October 23, 2018, the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories tabled the 2018 Report of the Auditor General of Canada to the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly – Child and Family Services. The Standing Committee on Government Operations ("the committee") then convened a public hearing with staff from the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) and with representatives of the Northwest Territories Department of Health and Social Services ("the department") on December 12, 2018.
Like many Northwest Territories residents, Members know and care for those whose lives have been intimately affected by the child and family services (CFS) system. Some have been affected themselves. The CFS system shapes the lives of all children and families involved in it. In doing so, it shapes our territory's future. The importance of this work cannot be overstated.
To address the issues identified by the OAG, the Department of Health and Social Services has committed to achieving major, much-needed change within the next two years. This work is both urgent and challenging, and the stakes are high. Two years is not a long time, unless you are a child in care that is not working.
The Auditor General of Canada is an officer of Parliament, with additional auditing responsibility for the territorial governments, including the Government of the Northwest Territories. When delivering financial or performance audits of the GNWT, the Auditor General reports directly to the Legislative Assembly as one of its statutory officers.
The committee, which has oversight responsibility for each of the Assembly's statutory officers, then reviews that report and makes recommendations to the government. This work is part of the committee's core mandate.
Under the umbrella of the Department of Health and Social Services, the director of Child and Family Services, assigned by statutory appointment, and the health and social services authorities, including the Northwest Territories and Hay River authorities (NTHSSA and HRSSA) and the Tlicho Community Services Agency (TCSA), work together to deliver services as set out in the Child and Family Services Act and the Child and Family Services Standards and Procedures Manual. Through CFS, the GNWT must fulfill a parent's duties and responsibilities for each child in its care, in addition to providing various other services to children and their families.
As OAG staff told the committee, "The department has a fundamental responsibility for children in care. The department has to figure out how to make that work."
The OAG's report is the latest contribution to a large body of work on CFS, including past OAG audits, standing committee reports, third-party analyses, and internal government documents, such as action plans and annual reports. Much of this prior work is described in detail in Committee Report 16-17(5), issued by our predecessor committee on May 29, 2014. Interested readers may find all committee reports online at the Legislative Assembly's website or through the Legislative Library.
For its 2018 report, the OAG audited the department's and authorities' performance against current laws, policies, and procedures, focusing on whether the department and authorities "met key responsibilities for the protection and well-being of children, youth, and their families, [including] whether [they] had implemented selected recommendations from [the] 2014 audit." Auditors examined 37 child files and 37 foster care files in the Yellowknife, Beaufort-Delta, and Tlicho regions, which together serve as home to 67 percent of children in care in the Northwest Territories, and extended their file review of guardianship agreements and out-of-territory placements across all authorities. The audit also included engagement with child protection workers (CPWs) in all regions.
Overall, the findings are troubling. Service delivery continues to be plagued by "serious deficiencies" and, rather than see improvement, many services have worsened since 2014.
This report is about the OAG's 2018 audit of child and family services. It does not provide a comprehensive review of the CFS system, nor does it examine the Child and Family Services Act or internal CFS policies.
As the standing committee with the responsibility to oversee statutory officers, this committee is concerned with the official findings of the OAG regarding performance and compliance. Our objective is to make recommendations to the GNWT that will result in improved services to children and families and also, as elected officials responsible for the approval of the GNWT's annual budget, to ensure optimal allocation of public resources. Our colleagues on the Standing Committee on Social Development continue to monitor the ongoing delivery of CFS.
It is also important to note that the committee is concerned with overarching management and the direction of departmental business at the senior level, not with the day-to-day performance of front-line and other staff.
The department is developing a quality improvement plan for CFS. This plan should incorporate the recommendations made in this report.
The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services incorporate into its quality improvement plan for child and family services the recommendations made in this report.
The department has previously questioned the OAG's findings regarding CFS. For example, the 2015-2016 annual report of the CFS director states:
"Finally, there is a major limitation in both the Auditor General's findings and the current department audit findings, one that calls into question any conclusions drawn from the findings. Neither the Auditor General nor the Director of Child and Family Services were able to distinguish between 'work not done' and 'work not recorded' using the current methodology."
Similarly, during the public hearing, although departmental staff stated that they respect the OAG's findings, they also spoke of "debate over methodology" and their preference for internal audit results over the OAG's findings.
The committee requested the OAG's perspective on these matters. We determined that the OAG's findings are fully vetted with each audited department. OAG staff said, "We go through a very active process to vet with departments and give them every opportunity to provide any evidence. We vetted all of our findings, and the department and authorities signed off [on all of them]." The OAG dedicated a combined 7,000 hours to their audit.
The committee urges all audited departments to refrain from questioning the OAG's findings once they are accepted.
In 2016 and 2017, the committee recommended that any GNWT department being audited provide the committee with its action or implementation plan no later than three business days before the public hearing. A process convention is presently in development to clarify procedures for the distribution of such documents.
The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that any government department, board, or agency being audited produce a draft action or implementation plan in response to the audit, provide the committee with a copy of that plan that is consistent with the appropriate process conventions, and present the plan at the committee's public hearing.
Some performance parameters for CFS are immediately clear because they are set out in the Child and Family Services Act. Regarding these, the committee concurs with the OAG that 100 percent compliance is the department's legal obligation and that anything less is insufficient.
After the OAG's 2014 report, our predecessor committee recommended that the department and authorities conduct annual compliance audits, and that these audits, along with any subsequent action plans, be shared with the Standing Committee on Social Programs (now called the Standing Committee on Social Development) and tabled in the Legislative Assembly. At that time, the GNWT agreed to these recommendations and cited Building Stronger Families: An Action Plan to Transform Child and Family Services, which included commitments to a common audit tool and reporting template.
Since that time, however, the internal auditing process has been hindered by several issues. The department has dedicated significant resources to attempting to replicate the OAG's process in in its own internal quality assurance work. These attempts have left the department with unusable data, a "broken" audit tool, and inconsistency in reporting across regions.
Considering this, the committee is reminded of advice from the OAG's staff: "If you're going to do the quality assurance work, you have to make sure you have the resources." This will be discussed further under the heading "Assessment of required financial and human resources."
The committee also wishes to raise two additional points.
First, it is important to understand that the department's internal audit process and the work of the OAG are entirely distinct. These differences mean that findings cannot be compared in an "apples-to-apples" way.
The OAG's performance audit covered the period between April 1, 2014, and September 12, 2018. The department's most recent internal audit covered only the period between April 1, 2016, and March 31, 2017.
The OAG examined 37 child files and 37 foster care files and engaged with CFS staff in all regions. The department examined "a sample of 711 child protection and prevention events," including all foster care files within the audit period, and offered an online anonymous survey to staff employed in the authorities.
Second, since becoming aware of the OAG's findings, the department appears to have initiated comprehensive system-wide quality assurance, but failed to address immediate service gaps identified by the OAG. For example, at the public hearing, three months after the OAG's audit was concluded, departmental staff were unable to identify whether unscreened guardians and foster homes had since been screened, and referred instead to plans for system-wide quality assurance.
Departmental staff framed this as a "dilemma," or a choice between "perfect" performance and a "quality improvement approach." But the OAG's report has shown that the department's present "quality improvement approach" resulted in worsened services over time. "Perfection" may be difficult to achieve, but regardless, 100 percent compliance is required by law. The committee echoes its predecessors and urges the department to "begin immediately and in earnest to correct deficiencies in child and family services," even while it continues to develop its medium- and long-term plans.
The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services act immediately to ensure that all gaps in screenings and reviews identified by the Office of the Auditor General, including screening for guardianship agreements and foster homes, are addressed, and that it advise the committee when this is completed.
The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services appear before the appropriate standing committee twice yearly to report on its compliance with the Child and Family Services Act and its progress on its quality improvement plan.
However, compliance alone does not ensure that children and families are adequately supported, nor do individual measures, lacking context, provide a complete portrait of performance.
For example, the department has identified increasing rates of children receiving services in the home and increasing rates of voluntary services agreements (VSAs) as demonstrating improved services. Yet the OAG found that monitoring of children at risk under parental care at home had worsened since 2014, and that VSAs require no interaction with child protection workers (CPWs) and may be ended by the parent at any time. To quote directly from the OAG's report:
"In most cases, we found that plan-of-care agreements were not monitored as required, and that the monitoring that did take place focused mostly on parents instead of on the children these plans were intended to protect. For example, we found that, in most cases, HSSAs had some contact with parents, but did not interview children as often as the plans required to make sure they were safe and to assess their health and well-being. We found that this occurred even in some high-risk cases.
We also found that authorities allowed some children to remain under a plan-of-care agreement even when it was clear the conditions were not being met, and sometimes extended these same agreements. Further, in a few cases we examined, authorities allowed a parent to terminate the plan-of-care agreement early without being assured that the child was no longer at risk. These findings are significant because these agreements are often an alternative to removing a child from the home, and the termination of the agreement by the parents may not be in the best interests of a child."
Simply put, more children may have been assigned to receive services at home, but the services received, if any, were subpar and staff often failed to follow up.
To deliver effective services, the department must assess performance over time through both compliance rates and contextualized, client-centred performance measures. These should include desirable long-term outcomes intended to assess whether children engaged with the Child and Family Services system are flourishing over time. These might include social inclusion, for example extracurricular activities or the desire and ability to set and pursue educational or career goals, and other health indicators, for example, educational performance or mental health, as well as quality assurance practices focused on assessing children's satisfaction as "clients" of the system.
The department has accepted the OAG's recommendation that it "identify specific indicators to measure whether the system is achieving the desired results and is better supporting children." This work will be a critical component of the department's work over the next two years.
The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services publicly identify performance indicators, including client-centered outcomes, that it will use to assess improvements in child and family services over time;
And that reporting on these measures be incorporated into the department's annual business plan and the annual report of the director of child and family services.
Mr. Speaker, at this time I'd like to turn the reading of the report over to the honourable Member for Deh Cho. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Members. I am pleased to draw your attention to the presence of Mr. Shigenobu Kobayashi, Consul General of Japan, on the occasion of his first official visit to the Northwest Territories. Accompanying the Consul General are his wife, Ms. Keiko Kobayashi; Ms. Noriko Ikeyama, consul; and Mr. Paul Pryce, political and economic advisor; and, of course, Ms. Carmen Moore, GNWT Chief of Protocol. Members, please join me in welcoming them to the House this afternoon. Member for Deh Cho.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
It is well known that Indigenous children and families are over-represented within CFS. Further, while the number of non-Indigenous children in care has declined over the past 10 years, the proportion of Indigenous children has remained roughly the same, approximately 95 percent. The committee is also aware that many residents have observed or experienced parallels between involvement with CFS and the residential school system, particularly the very real fear of having one's children removed from their home and community by government officials.
During the public hearing, when Members questioned the department about engagement with Indigenous communities, staff advised that they had been "focused internally" and that they "haven't done that fulsome kind of outreach," but were "confident that grassroots staff were working with communities." The department must show leadership and ensure that senior staff connects with front-line staff, and that both regularly engage with Indigenous and community governments. Notably, this was also recommended by our predecessor committee.
If the department wishes to make meaningful, permanent change in CFS, Indigenous people must be engaged as part of the solution. The department and authorities must maintain children's access to their culture and traditions, and ensure staff is regularly engaged in community immersion and cultural safety training.
The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services incorporate into its quality improvement plan on child and family services a commitment to strengthen working relationships with Indigenous and community governments; and
That the department regularly report on its progress as set out in Recommendation 5.
The department must also regularly collaborate with other community partners, including the Foster Family Coalition of the Northwest Territories and the extended families of children in care. Foster parents are eager and willing partners, waiting to be engaged, and families of children in care want to know that they are being heard and that the children they love are being given the opportunity to thrive. As our predecessor committee noted, improvements are still needed in supports for kinship care, that is, children being cared for by grandparents and other relatives in lieu of being cared for by their parents.
When the OAG examined supports for foster parents, it found that one audited authority offered "specialized training to some foster parents," while the other two offered "very little or no such training." The committee would like to see these supports distributed equitably across the entire territory and designed to recognize foster parents' prior experience, abilities, and unique needs, for example, particularly in kinship care, and to help foster parents navigate the CFS system and the challenges it poses to those involved.
The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services incorporate into its quality improvement plan on child and family services a commitment to strengthen working relationships with community stakeholders in child and family services, including the Foster Family Coalition of the Northwest Territories and the extended families of children in care; and
That the department regularly report on its progress as set out in Recommendation 5.
The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services develop and implement training for foster parents.
The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services establish an information-sharing agreement with the Foster Family Coalition of the Northwest Territories to ensure that all foster parents may be connected with that organization's resources.
Mr. Speaker, I now pass the reading of this section to my colleague, the honourable Member for Sahtu, Daniel McNeely.
Member for Sahtu.
The OAG's engagement with CPWs also showed that front-line staff continue to face significant pressures, particularly in their workloads, which in turn negatively impacts children in care, whether through high staff turnover, duties "falling through the cracks," or in administrative burdens demanding CPWs' limited time. The committee heard of one employee assigned to complete, by themselves, quality assurance reviews of roughly 3,000 child protection decisions. This is not sustainable.
The department has used various methods to reach out to staff, including teleconferences, meetings, and surveys. Over the next two years and into the future, all staff must have the opportunity to provide free and honest feedback, whether positive or negative. An open, ongoing process with guaranteed anonymity is one way to achieve this.
The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services develop and implement mechanisms to enable staff to provide free and honest feedback anonymously.
Structured Decision Making (SDM) is a proprietary tool intended to aid CPWs in making decisions about child safety and to ensure consistency in decision-making. It is relatively new to the Northwest Territories. Although it is in use, it is not yet fully implemented.
The OAG found that in about eight of every 10 case reviews, CPWs did not use the SDM tool to assess longer-term risk for children in parental care, even though this was mandatory and risk assessment was an outstanding performance issue. The OAG also found insufficient staff training and significant lag in internal quality assurance. As discussed earlier, in one case a single employee was tasked with reviewing 3,000 decisions in addition to their regular job duties.
Further, a review commissioned by the department and undertaken by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency Children's Research Center, who created SDM, found a 50 percent error rate. This means that the tool's creators, experts in their field, disagreed with one in every two decisions made by a territorial CPW on a child's safety using SDM. This is not an acceptable standard of reliability.
Plan-of-care agreements (POCAs) are used where CPWs have established that a child is in an unsafe situation, but may remain in parental care under conditions tailored to address that situation. POCAs set out these conditions and "the support needed to help parents meet [them]."
As discussed, the OAG found that compliance rates for the management and monitoring of POCAs had declined since 2014. Children rarely received the services due to them, and some POCAs were continued even where parents failed to meet conditions. In some instances, CPWs "allowed a parent to terminate the [POCA] early without being assured that the child was no longer at risk."
The committee is concerned that, whether intentionally or not, as our predecessor committee warned, reductions in the number of child apprehensions may have been "achieved by cutting back on child protection services." The committee supports the general objective of limiting the number of apprehensions, but this cannot be achieved at the expense of children's right to a safe living environment or the department's compliance with its legal responsibilities.
Now I pass on the reading to the Member for Nunakput.
Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The OAG found that in 22 cases CPWs, without the knowledge of senior staff in the authorities or the department, "worked with [children's] biological parents to transfer guardianship… to a family member or other person, who then were given full parental rights and responsibility." Significantly, when a guardianship agreement is completed, CFS cedes its right to act on behalf of (or for) the child in question.
At the time of the OAG's review, there was no related legislation or formal policies, standards, rules, or advice to guide CPWs in the matter of guardianship. Further, in the 22 cases reviewed by the OAG, only eight guardians had been screened, and one of the unscreened guardians later assaulted the child in their care. During the public hearing, the department also advised that half of these agreements have since broken down, meaning that CFS failed to achieve permanency for those children. Staff were also unable to identify how many of these guardians had been screened or otherwise followed up with since the audit was concluded.
Responding to these findings, the department stated that staff had "acted with good intentions." Similarly, during the public hearing, staff emphasized to Members that the agreements had been reviewed by legal counsel. Such responses appear to focus on legal liability rather than practical responsibility. That front-line staff considered such use of guardianship agreements to be part of their regular suite of tools, with senior staff unaware, suggests a considerable breakdown in communications.
During the public hearing, the committee also considered authorities' failure to properly screen and review foster homes. Since 2014, "serious deficiencies in the screening and ongoing monitoring of foster homes [have] persisted": two-thirds of reviewed foster care files revealed that the home had not received an initial screening, including criminal record and reference checks, and that most files contained only incomplete annual reviews, largely because children were not interviewed.
Again, departmental staff were unable to identify how many of these foster homes had been appropriately screened and/or reviewed since the audit was concluded.
The department must act to address severe gaps in permanency planning for children in care. Quoting from the OAG's report:
"In particular, HSSAs did not maintain the required regular contact with many of the children they had removed from homes and placed in foster care or other out-of-home placements. As a result, they had no way of knowing whether these children were receiving the care they needed. They also did not develop permanency plans for most of these children. In some cases, this contributed to children moving between foster care homes multiple times. Such frequent moves make it difficult to provide children with stability and support."
During the public hearing, the department told the committee that its new information system, MATRIX NT (which is new and was not part of the OAG's audit), would enable staff to quickly and effectively "track children who make multiple [moves], which will trigger a quality review."
This type of "early warning" mechanism for children in care is necessary not only to track the movement of children in care, but system-wide. The department must be able to identify common "pinch points" in the CFS system, then intervene before children themselves are harmed. The committee hopes that new tools, including MATRIX NT and SDM, will prove useful. We also counsel the department to provide regular adequate training, including refresher training, to staff and to ensure that "boots on the ground" action accompanies all "tabletop" data analysis.
The OAG "found that the department had still not determined the financial and human resources required to deliver child and family services and had only started to assess what was needed toward the end of the audit period." The OAG also found that authorities' CFS funding was "based on historical amounts dating back to 1998" and that the daily rate paid to foster parents has only recently been increased for the first time in 10 years. The OAG also noted that, outside Yellowknife, authorities still did not employ family preservation workers.
None of these issues are new. The recommendation that the department do this work has been made and reiterated for the past 18 years. That it remains unaddressed has significant continuing implications. Without a clear understanding of what is needed, the department cannot assess the value or impact of staff vacancies, make appropriate budget proposals, identify the positions and skillsets needed, or implement initiatives to resolve longstanding issues. Such a needs assessment would also need to account for the unique challenges presently facing the system, for example, the demographics of system users, or the OAG's finding that 80 percent of children's files identified alcohol or drug misuse as a factor, while 50 percent identified domestic violence, which itself is more likely to negatively affect women. Appropriately resourcing the department's ambitious two-year quality improvement plan will be key to its success.
At the public hearing, departmental staff told the committee that an assessment of resource needs would be presented as part of the 2019-2020 budget. This assessment has yet to be considered and assessed. However, the committee is troubled that it appears that increases to CFS will be partially funded through reductions to other health and social services functions, including a reduction of homecare. Without a detailed resource needs assessment, money alone will not solve the problems facing CFS, and certainly not money reallocated from other departmental priority areas.
The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services incorporate into its quality improvement plan for child and family services a clear commitment to complete the assessment of financial and human resources required to deliver child and family services, as recommended by the Auditor General of Canada;
That this assessment incorporate gender-based analysis, e.g., via the Gender-based Analysis Plus tool;
That the department share with the committee its project plan for this work, developing subsequent timelines in discussion with the committee; and
That the quality improvement plan for child and family services be revised and re-released to reflect this assessment upon its completion.
Mr. Speaker, I pass this back on to the Member for Kam Lake. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Nearly two decades ago, the Child Welfare League of Canada (CWLC) recommended that the department develop caseload standards for CPWs. Following the OAG's 2014 report, the department commissioned the Child Welfare League of Canada to complete a workload management study, wherein the CWLC repeated its recommendation. Our predecessor committee made a similar recommendation in 2014.
Despite this, the OAG found that the department has still not completed this work.
The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services develop and implement caseload standards for child protection workers by June 30, 2019.
Our territory is one of just two jurisdictions in Canada without a child and youth advocate, that is, an independent officer of the legislature dedicated specifically to the rights, interests, and voices of children and youth, particularly those who are especially vulnerable, such as children in care. The committee observes that a similar role may be performed by the future ombud.
The committee's recommendations have been listed above. We also note that we have considered the recommendations of our predecessor committee. Although some progress has been made, for example, in the areas of extended services for youth aged 19 to 24, many of that committee's 30 recommendations remain incompletely addressed. Looking to the future, we hope for change.
In keeping with regular practice, the committee recommends that the GNWT formally respond to this report.
The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories provide a comprehensive response to this report within 120 days.
This concludes the committee's Report on the Review of the 2018 Report of the Auditor General of Canada to the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly (Child and Family Services).
All committee reports are available online at the Legislative Assembly website: www.assembly.gov.nt.ca.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Deh Cho, that Committee Report 12-18(3) be received by the Assembly and moved into Committee of the Whole for further consideration. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
