Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, the lead for the Yellowknife shelter and sobering centre. I know the Minister is familiar with the social-licence approach of the Good Neighbour Agreement. I related some of the feedback I have received on creating a similar agreement for our centre's operations yesterday. Can the Minister tell us if there are plans to introduce such an agreement here and, if so, outline the status of that work? Mahsi.
Masi. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A number of months ago, the mayor of Yellowknife actually approached me with information on these Good Neighbour Agreements. At that time, I did direct the department to do the research into the Good Neighbour Agreements and approach the neighbours to see if there was any interest in actually pursuing those agreements here in Yellowknife with the neighbours around the day shelter sobering centre. There appears to be some interest.
One of the neighbours has actually submitted a draft for consideration, recognizing that this is about getting an agreement from all the partners, all the proponents, including City of Yellowknife, RCMP, Health and Social Services, the day shelter staff, sobering centre staff and operators, as well as those who have businesses or their homes immediately adjacent. I have now directed the department to work with the neighbours to see if they are interested in actually doing a facilitated process where we can come together with a facilitator and find a way to come to a mutually agreeable Good Neighbour Agreement. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I appreciate the Minister's response that he is prepared to enter into a facilitated process. One of the features that is common to these types of agreements is a liaison mechanism such as a committee where all the stakeholders the Minister listed can gather and consult on how responsibilities are being met and where solutions are considered. As usual, of course, there are some resources, primarily administrative, to run the committee like this. Will the Minister commit to providing the necessary support to run a Good Neighbour committee?
In the absence of a Good Neighbour Agreement, we have already made a commitment to working with our partners in bringing them together on a regular basis to receive their input and feedback on how things are going. I do appreciate the Member's description of an organization or committee that might be struck. I am prepared to have that discussion, but I would hate to presuppose what a facilitated Good Neighbour Agreement is going to look like. I think we need to leave it in the hands of the individuals, those who are going to be the signatories, to come up with a plan that meets their needs as opposed to us presupposing what that agreement will look like.
I'd be very surprised to know that the neighbours don't want to have a regular mechanism of input into the agreement should they reach one. Just as the day shelter and the sobering centre is a 24-hour operation, neighbours have suggested the need for an around-the-clock phone line that can be used to report problems and incidents. Is that something that the Minister would consider introducing through the operator of the day shelter and sobering centre?
I wasn't suggesting it wouldn't be part of the agreement. I just suggested it's too early to presuppose what that agreement is going to look like, so I appreciate the Member suggesting that I said or suggested something else. With respect to a phone line, we're totally open to that. It actually does make some sense. We've tried to set up a situation to give those neighbours an opportunity to call somebody within the system already. If it needs to be clearer, if we need to set it up in a more structured way, we're happy to do that. I think it's important that we work with our neighbours. This is an incredibly important program, the service being delivered here in Yellowknife, and our neighbours are essential to its success. I will certainly pursue that.
Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate that strong endorsement of neighbourliness from the Minister. My final point is about timing. There will be a request for proposals for a new operator coming out sometime in the near future. It seems to me that a Good Neighbour Agreement might be an essential part of that RFP. Can the Minister say whether this Good Neighbour Agreement is intended to be part of that RFP? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I'm certainly not waiting for the RFP to be issued before we actually make progress on a Good Neighbour Agreement. I think we need to have a Good Neighbour Agreement now. I've given the department the direction to work with a facilitator to see if our neighbours are interested in working with a facilitator to come to an agreement on a Good Neighbour Agreement.
Having said that, yes, we will be issuing a new RFP. I have asked the department to reach out to the current proponent, other interested proponents, the public, and others on types of things we need to do to strengthen those services, to enhance those, and include new ideas which may be things like security and other things into the new RFP. I will certainly encourage them to find a way to make sure that the Good Neighbour Agreement is built into that, but I'm not going to wait for that to happen before we move on this Good Neighbour Agreement. If we end up with the same proponents, the Good Neighbour Agreement will stand. If we end up with different proponents, we may need to do a little bit of negotiation again to get a new Good Neighbour Agreement, but I do believe it needs to be part of this operation, this service, and this community. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In follow-up to my member's statement, I have a few questions for the Minister of Infrastructure. As I mentioned, there are a lot of positive things happening with the Marine Training Centre. I'd like to ask the Minister: since the opening of the Marine Training Centre, how many people have completed their training? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As of May 7th, we've had 98 people attend the training centre.
That's a pretty good turnout. Out of the people who completed the training, how many have been hired by either MTS or ferry operations or the Coast Guard?
I don't know the exact number, but what I can tell happened this year: MTS has identified six people for our operations, one for each tug, and I think two for Kakisa operating out of the harbour. Canadian Coast Guard has made six job offers to people who have graduated out of their class, and I think four have accepted to date.
Is there a guarantee for employment once completed at the Marine Training Centre?
Some of these courses that are offered at the Marine Training Centre are actually lifesaving stuff for the fishermen and these sorts of things, different skills that need to be set. Some of the courses that are going to be offered this coming season, because they've already expanded their mandate at the training centre, it's going to include a bridge watch rating program, a small vessel operator proficiency, and fishing master programs. These things are targeted towards NWT residents, of course, Indigenous people, and women. Myself and the Member from the Sahtu actually had the opportunity to stop there probably about a month ago, and just surprised the class that was ongoing there, and there were a couple of young ladies from his particular region who sought the desire to actually be on the Imperial Esso boat in Norman Wells. That was interesting. We had a good conversation with them. There's no guarantee for a job when you come out of there because there are so many different types of related training. There is opportunity with the Government of Northwest Territories to continue to grow the non-positions that we will need, and the boat captains and the deckhands. This is a large industry. Last year, I think we had 170 or 180 people who were working on our boat systems, so there's a lot of opportunity for these people to move on.
Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to ask the Minister: will the marine training also focus on engineers to maintain our vessels? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Actually, earlier this year, our senior management hosted a meeting with Canadian Coast Guard and transportation officials and the Marine Training Society, as well, and we actually proposed that we have a serious look at some of the trades in the industry, and we're going to start having those discussions on moving that forward. MTS, as I said, has a number of positions there as well, and we'll be looking at opportunities for residents in the Northwest Territories to get some type of apprenticeships there as we identify them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Throughout this Assembly, we have started to see the significant impacts of maintaining good mental health. The de-stigmatization of mental health and the promotion of best practices, and the emphasis on culturally based healing, is becoming more apparent as we enter the era of reconciliation. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister of Health and Social Services tell me if the progressive features of this hospital, the Stanton Territorial Hospital, can be made towards the hospitals in the Beaufort Delta so that it's within reach of constituents in Nunakput? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our commitment to cultural safety and culturally respectful healing is a system-wide endeavour, and the Health and Social Services system is making changes to service delivery to ensure that this commitment is reflected across the entire Northwest Territories. Yes, a number of activities have taken place in the new Stanton. We are hoping to learn from these initiatives to make sure that, where we can roll them out in different communities, we will. Some of them are infrastructure-related and may not be able to be done in hospitals that are already constructed, but, where we can actually implement some of the concepts and ideas, we certainly will do that.
Food services is certainly an example. We've been pretty creative about it during an ability to provide traditional foods in Stanton. That doesn't actually start until July 1st, but we brought in special freezers. We're doing training with our providers, and we found ways to make that happen, and we'll certainly learn from that and apply it where necessary.
Having said that, I do want to point out that the Inuvik Hospital is also continually improving its delivery of culturally relevant services and trying to incorporate local ideas and local concepts. They've tried really hard to bring in local art and make the place a little bit more welcoming to the local residents of the region, and they'll continue to do that. We're doing it at the territorial level. We'll take what we learn from Stanton and apply it where appropriate, but Inuvik is not waiting. They're doing things themselves, as well.
It's good to see that the Department of Health and Social Services is working with Indigenous governments and our federal government. Mr. Speaker, it takes funding from federal programs, and also, it takes implementation from the Government of the Northwest Territories, as that's where the majority of the capacity is when it comes to mental health and wellness. I appreciate the response from the Minister. My second question is: can the Minister tell me what health efforts have been provided to Stanton Territorial Hospital to address the underlying causes for mental health and suicide?
Stanton is an acute care facility, so often, by the time an individual has shown up at Stanton, there is already a health issue under way, but we want to make sure that we're respectful. We want to make sure that we're supporting. To do that within Stanton itself, recognizing that it is an acute care facility, they have recently introduced the behavioural health work model, which is actually replacing the old standard security model in the psychiatric unit. A behaviour health worker is a non-professional staff member who has received focussed, job-specific training, and they are both intended to build relationships with our clients and intervene when aggression occurs, but the training also includes identifying early warning signs and escalation and de-escalation approaches and techniques and provide support to mental health clients. So they're not just seen as a uniform; they're there to actually support the individuals and provide some opportunities for discussion in addressing some of the issues.
This is, obviously, more aligned with the recovery-oriented model of care that is presented in the Mental Health Framework, so there are things in the hospital we're trying to do to better support our residents, as opposed to the old models that have been in place.
Now, as far as trying to address some of the underlying causes, that's not being done within Stanton. I think that's being done at a territorial level. It's a multi-department responsibility. We have a number of action plans we're moving forward with for youth and adults at a territorial level.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the response information from the Minister. Mr. Speaker, during his statement yesterday, the Minister stated that Health and Social Services would focus on culturally appropriate food for patients at Stanton Territorial Hospital. Can the Minister give us a timeline of when this healthy initiative will be carried out in the Beaufort Region, as well as regional centres around the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
This is an incredibly important area. I don't think there's a Member from a small community throughout the Northwest Territories, an MLA, who has not raised traditional foods as an issue. The designer of Stanton, the Health and Social Services Authority, has recognized the value in that, and we have taken steps to make sure that we can provide traditional foods in Stanton, and from there we can learn and develop opportunities to look at other locations.
Having said that, they're not serving traditional food today. The targeted rollout date of the availability of traditional foods, as I said earlier, remains July 1st at the new Stanton. The staff within are currently focussing on training of staff, and staffing up processes with the contractor, who is Dexterra. Stanton Indigenous wellness staff and Dexterra plan to visit the Whitehorse Hospital in mid-June to meet with their traditional foods program staff and learn everything they can from them, so that we can bring it back here. The implementation at Stanton will provide a model, as I said, for other facilities across the Northwest Territories, whether that's long-term care, regional health centres, anywhere that we are providing food. So we hope to see this grow out across the Northwest Territories, with Stanton being the kick-off. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member's statement, I talked about some of the work that our young parliamentarians did when they were here earlier this month on mental health. It was a very impassioned debate, and I think they offered a lot of things. Of course, our government has a Youth Mental Health Action Plan and there are some major changes to how mental health supports are offered in schools that were made in the last operational budget. I'm wondering if the Minister of Health and Social Services can speak to some of the concerns raised in the motion that was debated in Youth Parliament. The motion called for all high schools and communities having access to dedicated youth mental health specialists, and if the Minister could speak to whether or not that's been achieved and to whether or not the changes that were made have expanded and increased access to mental health supports for young people in the Northwest Territories in their schools. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member is correct, we rolled out a Youth Mental Health and Addictions Action Plan last fiscal year. It's a four-year plan, including rolling out travelling youth counsellors, who are the professionals the Member is highlighting throughout the Northwest Territories, 49 positions over four years. We're in year two. We staffed up in the Tlicho and the Deh Cho last fiscal year. This year, we are staffing up in the Beaufort-Delta and the Sahtu region. Next fiscal year, we will be staffing up in Yellowknife, and the fourth year, we will be staffing up in the South Slave. I can tell you that it's my understanding that there is only one vacancy in the positions that were identified last fiscal year, and we are making good progress in staffing up for this fiscal year. The school year starts in September; that's when we're hoping to have the positions all in place. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
That's great news, and I think that this is a really key initiative that young people are speaking out and speaking up on, and that's why we need to really pay attention to it. It sounds like we're making good progress.
They also brought forward the need for online mental health resources for youth to be made available, including online peer support and anonymous counselling options. In many ways, young people want to engage through mobile devices or by keeping their identity somewhat depersonalized. Does the department offer these services, or are these services offered in schools or some other mechanism that youth can access in the NWT?
I had an opportunity to sit in the gallery and listen to the youth parliamentarians during their debate, and it was great to be there, it was great to hear everything they had to say. I have to say, one of the things that I found unfortunate is many of the things they were talking about, including the ability to have some supports online and using tools that are useful to them, they didn't seem to recognize that they existed, which means we have failed to do our job to help get that information out to them.
What I can tell you is we have a significant number of supports that are available online to do exactly the types of things they were talking about. I've asked the department to reach out to youth to see if there is any opportunity to figure out how we get that message to them because, although we have these programs in place, many people don't seem to know.
I can give you an example of some of the types of things that we do have. The department does partner with the Kids Help Phone to promote services to NWT youth, so there is the 1-800 line, but on top of that there is live chat with Kids Help Phone counsellors. We have an informative website, including the Resources Around Me, which connects youth in need to local resources and more information that is available at a national level, things like the kidshelpphone.ca. There is a button on that link that connects to you Resources Around Me that articulates what is around you, what is in the Northwest Territories. There is also some text options. You can text to a crisis line, if that's the technology that you're comfortable with.
In addition to this work, the department is working towards the implementation of eMental Health options for NWT residents, including an app specifically for youth with depression or anxiety. I could keep going, Mr. Speaker. There is more, but I do take the Member's point, and I do take the point from the youth that they want it. If they don't know it exists, it doesn't matter that it does, and we need to do a better job of making sure that they're aware that it exists so that they can use it when they want it. So we'll be working to find a way to get that information into the youths' hands and technology.
The Minister has a reputation as a mind reader in some of these exchanges we have in question period, and that was my next question. I know that a lot of these supports are already there. We've seen them in business planning reviews; we've seen them in budget reviews, and it seems like a lot of the kids who came forward just didn't know about them. I know that all kids are connected, now, through online. My son has a Google account, and he is nine years old. So is there a way for the Minister to work with his colleagues in the Department of Education, Culture and Employment and the school boards to put some of these resources into those online learning materials that are already going on? So there could be an online resource when kids are going to the computer labs, when they're using their tablets, they can just access it right there, it's built in. Can the Minister work on that?
I've already directed the department to reach out to youth and partners like Education, Culture and Employment to figure out how best to get that information, and this is consistent with what we heard from youth when we held Back to the Trail, which helped our Youth Mental Health and Addictions Action Plan, but another thing that I've learned from talking to young people is they don't want old people like me telling them how to use technology or how to get that information. They want to tell us how they want to access that information. So I think, in addition to working with our partners at Education, Culture and Employment and school authorities, it's also going to be important to reach out to them and find out how they want us to get that information, and I've asked the department to do that work.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you to the Minister. The final recommendation I might propose, and I am wondering if the Minister would take this up, is to form some sort of mental health advisory body specifically for youth mental health and specifically representative or made up of youth from across the territory. Can the Minister work to establish some sort of advisory body to inform the department's operations? Clearly, they have a lot of good stuff going on. It's just not getting to the target audience, so I think having a body like that, made up of young people, would greatly enhance the department's ability to get its resources to their intended clients.
The Department of Health has an amazing division called Indigenous Health and Community Wellness that actually helps facilitate Back to the Trail, which is exactly the type of thing the Member is talking about. We brought youth from every community in the Northwest Territories to talk about this very important issue and make recommendations on how to improve youth mental health and addictions issues here in the Northwest Territories. I am not going to commit to forming an advisory committee. I am sure people are tired of hearing this: we have three months of life left in this Assembly.
It is certainly an idea I think is worthy of pursuing. Whether it's a full-time advisory or whether we reconvene Back to the Trail annually or every two years, there is a way to get this done. I think we need to hear the voice of the youth moving forward, and I will make sure the department is working on some mechanisms, whether it's an advisory committee or reconvening Back to the Trail, to get that information into our ears and our minds. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member's statement, I spoke of the Affirmative Action Policy, indicating that I feel that Affirmative Action Policy is not working. I would like to ask the Minister of Finance questions on that. I will begin by asking the Minister of Finance if the Minister can get the department to look at other forms of preferential hiring processes as an alternative to affirmative action?
Masi. Minister of Finance.
