Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I recently had a conversation with the chief of Deh Gah Got'ie First Nations at Fort Providence regarding cultural awareness of the health centre staff. The chief has stated that he has no faith in what they do, stating, "They do not understand us. They are going strictly by the book." This is alarming, especially when you are dealing with First Nations peoples. Can the Minister of Health and Social Services commit to providing cultural awareness training to all existing staff and new hires to health centres in the territory? Mahsi.
Thank you, Member for Deh Cho. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have a Cultural Safety Action Plan in effect at this time, and there have been a number of pilot projects that have determined what the best method is of providing this information to Health and Social Services staff. Now that there have been 13 of these pilots that have taken place, there is a model that has been settled on. It will be compiled into a framework, and the framework will be available to us this summer, the summer of 2021. I just want to say that, before it is rolled out to us, this framework will go to the NWT Health and Social Services Authority leadership council, which is comprised of community membership from wellness councils across the NWT, so there will be an opportunity for on-the-ground input into the cultural competency framework when it is finished. Thank you.
Mahsi to the Minister for that information. I'm not sure if I heard correctly if there was a timeline provided for providing the training on the ground.
I didn't provide a timeline because I don't have one.
I thank the Minister for that. We hope to see a timeline here soon because this is becoming an all-important issue for our communities in the Northwest Territories, especially dealing with First Nations peoples. I just wanted to relay some of my experiences. I had taken the cultural awareness training session for one day as an employee of the then Public Works and Services department. I found that this training was missing very valuable information, such as the history of the First Nations people in this country; the significance of the signing of the treaties; the residential school legacies and the continual generational traumas related to that; the 1969 Liberal Government White Paper; and a host of other facts that are significant in order to provide a cultural awareness training program. That is very important to our northern people and our cultures. Can the Minister commit to consulting with First Nations as to the content of the cultural awareness training and possible moderators?
The Department of Health and Social Services is certainly on board with the "nothing about us without us" approach to providing services and policy frameworks and so on. It's my understanding that the cultural competency training within Health and Social Services has been led by Indigenous people who are of the NWT and are very alive to the history of Indigenous people in the NWT and want to represent that in the training that they're giving. As well, this week, many of my colleagues on this side and I participated in a video launching the cultural competency training that is going to be offered through the HR function of the Department of Finance called "Living Well Together." This training is another iteration of ensuring that people are well-informed about where they are and who they are living with in terms of their history and their culture.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Deh Cho.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker, and I'd like to thank the Minister for her insight into the type of training. What I'm hearing is that it's just a generic document, generic training by some staff that we don't know who they are. Because each community has a unique history and situation with the people that they deal with, it's very important that we get the insight of the community leaders from every community. It's very important because we're dealing with a lot of things that this government pulls out and puts into our communities, such as Child and Family Services, where they are basically taking children away from our people. We have people within the community who are family members of those people who should have first rights of refusal to that child, when they are being taken away, so I really, really encourage the Minister to look into that aspect and to include every First Nation in this document. Mahsi.
I'm not sure what more I can do for the Member. The training that I just mentioned offered through HR is rolling out right away. It's mandatory. It has been developed by people who are Indigenous and knowledgeable in this field. I realize that what he is pointing to is some kind of a disconnect between what the government is developing and what is being received in the community. What I want to say is that everything is set to go, so this disconnect, I hope, will disappear very rapidly. If it comes to our next session and that hasn't happened, I would certainly be interested to hear that from the Member. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. She mentioned on Wednesday to my colleague that there are staff in place to connect people when exiting treatment with counselling and other support. How many staff are doing this important work, and where are they located? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. For the most part, this is the continuum that happens with treatment. The access to treatment is facilitated by somebody who is a counsellor, often in the community counselling program. They could be in a non-profit like the Tree of Peace here in Yellowknife or in the Ingamo Hall in Inuvik, and as soon as that person is referred and accepted into treatment, there is an expectation that planning for after-care begins immediately. The counsellor will begin that after-care planning, will be in discussion with the client while that person is in treatment, and connect with that client as soon as they arrive back in their home community to ensure that there is a continuum of services to help that person to remain sober.
The Member talked quite a bit about housing. We know that housing is absolutely crucial to maintaining sobriety. Unfortunately, we don't have enough housing, as the Member well knows. We are looking at the possibility of creating transitional housing units for people who are coming out of facility-based treatment and other forms of treatment, but that is a commitment that will take some time to accomplish. Thank you.
Thank you to the Minister. Will the Minister commit to having staff being proactive? If they are government staff and this is the department that falls under her, they are the ones sending them out, or if we're paying for them to go out for treatment, proactive in connecting with all residents exiting treatment facilities to ensure that they have some sort of process and follow-up and support coming from treatment.
In order to go to facility-based addictions treatment, it's necessary for a referral to happen from somebody who is a physician, a counsellor, whether that's in the non-profit sector, in the friendship centres, or within the community counselling program. There is a relationship that is established there that goes from the referral, includes check-ins during the treatment duration, and then follows up when the person exits. This is a program standard. This is not something that is optional for counsellors. We expect this to be done in each and every case. The thing that does happen, though, is that people come out of treatment and they don't take up that relationship again. They don't follow up with their appointments and other contacts that have been made on their behalf, and they are adults. They can make that choice. It's not a choice that we would want them to make. We want them to continue to be sober, having invested 28 or 48 days into their sobriety program. At the end of the day, they have to be committed to the follow-up, and we are there with the resources.
I thank the Minister for her answer. I can honestly say that, in theory, I know the department has a lot of good solutions, but at the frontline, these don't necessarily follow through. There are gaps. The worker that is on the other end who has nowhere to turn falls short. What is the process used by staff to support individuals leaving treatment who are facing homelessness or inadequate housing? Are staff able to act as pathfinders to navigate how to access housing programs?
The point of which they are looking for housing is really outside of the Department of Health and Social Services, but having said that, we do recognize the importance of housing to maintaining sobriety. The counsellor would connect people with the housing authority where, honestly, they're likely to see a huge waiting list, and also to connect them with Income Assistance, where they may be able to obtain market housing if it's available and have that paid for through the Income Assistance program, along with the other benefits that that program provides.
To me, this is a systemic wraparound that needs to happen with this person exiting treatment. We are certainly very central to this, but we also need supports from ECE and housing, for example, to provide the kind of support that we would like to see for people exiting facility-based treatment.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know that the health department has recently launched a survey for people who have engaged in addictions services, and I am hoping that we do get some good responses as to what I have been saying. People who have gone through the system are feeling that they have been dropped, kind of, at the end. Indigenous people, I have said it in this House before, have a hard time trusting health systems, have a hard time trusting the counselling system. It's not culturally appropriate to some. Some people, once they have sobered up, they don't want to go to the counsellor if it's somebody that they know. We have heard that time and time again. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister commit to ensuring there is some sort of wraparound support so that people are successful in their recovery? I hope that this survey will be able to help the Minister do this. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
As I said, this is a continuum of services that is required by people who are accessing treatment. We are, as a department, actively involved with integrated case management and the integrated service delivery initiatives so that we are, in fact, able to provide this seamless care approach to people coming out of treatment.
With respect to the survey, I am delighted to say that, in the first week it was offered, we had in excess of 300 responses. We certainly look forward to more by the end of March. This survey is available in hard copy at the health centres, and it is also available online. It is specifically for people who have been to treatment and who have some thoughts about what was successful for them and what wasn't, and how they can identify gaps in services and give us advice about how to close those gaps. I am confident that this one-of-a-kind survey will provide us with some very valuable information. That information will be collated and put into a report, and that report is due at the end of May. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of ECE. When I was lucky enough to be able to still travel through Europe, I used Google Translate a lot to order food and not get myself lost. My question for the Minister: is there an online translation tool such as Google Translate to assist students in oral proficiency of Northwest Territories Indigenous languages? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Great Slave. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Not that I am aware of. I know that there are a number of apps that can help students learn or act as dictionaries, but as for an online translator, I am not aware of any. Specifically, Google does not have Indigenous languages in Google Translate. Thank you.
It seems to me it would be very smart to approach a good, large company like Google who may want to look really good in helping a small jurisdiction want to preserve their language. I am going to follow up with the Minister on that. Google Translate does have 108 languages available on their site. Have we actually approached them at all to add our Indigenous languages to their site?
As for the GNWT, I don't believe that we have approached them. Perhaps other Indigenous governments have. I think that's an interesting idea. Just imagine if we could get nine Indigenous languages onto Google translate. That would be something. I look forward to following up with the Member on this one.
Great. I'm a firm believer in not reinventing the wheel, and like I said, it could be a good PR move for Google. The deadline for the MAP applications that I mentioned in my statement was November 20, 2020. Can the Minister speak to the uptake of this program and what the success rate of applications was? How many pairs of mentors and apprentices do we have?
I believe this is the third year that the program has run. In the first year, there were 30 pairs. In the second year, there were 40 pairs. For this intake, there were 60 applications, and 40 were accepted. We have 40 pairs in the Mentor-Apprentice Program. It is very popular, and it is growing in popularity every year.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I look forward to learning more about the mentorship program and its success. Lastly, I would like to know if there have been any modifications or issues with administering the program due to COVID-19 restrictions? Thank you.
As far as I know, it hasn't been affected by COVID-19. It hasn't been put on hold. It is going forward full force, and it doesn't seem to be held up whatsoever. It's a solid program, and I think that the people who are participating in it genuinely enjoy it. The language speakers genuinely enjoy transferring their language. People enjoy learning it. I am hopeful that, for years to come, this is going to be a key part of our revitalization initiatives. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Going back to my Member's statement about medical emergencies in small communities. It is a really growing concern. A lot of these times when our government workers have a way of doing the work, there is usually a written procedure or some sort of directive that is given to them to help guide them through their duties. My question for the Minister of Health and Social Services here is: will the Minister be able to share with us when and where a written procedure, or a procedure otherwise, was put in place that prevents community medical staff from responding to emergency calls outside of our local health centres? Marsi cho.
Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am just going to talk a little bit about the role of community health nurses, and then I will give the specific answer the Member asked for. It's important to know that community health nurses are not first responders. First responders have a different skill set. Community health nurses are not permitted, under NTHSSA policy dated November 6, 2019, to leave the healthcare centre in order to provide emergency services. What we do recognize that exists in many NWT communities is a gap in service that relates to ambulances and first responders. That involves going to the injured person and transporting that person from the site of the injury to the health centre. This is something that is in MACA's mandate. I know it's a long-standing problem that I have heard questions asked in the House during this sitting about, and my colleague has said that she is working on it.
I want to give a clarification that community health nurses do leave the health centre when it is their role to provide things like homecare and services to clients in their homes. This is non-emergency service. This would be scheduled service that relates to meeting the needs of people who can't meet them themselves on an ongoing basis, so of course, the community health nurses do leave the health centre to provide that service. The NTHSSA policy is dated November 6, 2019. There were some policies in place that were similar prior to the amalgamation of the health boards, and I am happy to provide the Member with a copy of that policy for him to review. Thank you.
Yes, thank you very much for that. I'd like to take a look at that document. I think it's important that we have open lines communications with our small communities and our service on how we deal with these calls. Like I said, I want to make sure that our residents get as much as we can out of our government departments. That leads to my next question: how do we increase community opportunities for first aid training or for first responder training in the NWT?
First aid training is within the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, and I'm certainly interested in working with them to understand what it is they provide. At this point, it's not a Health and Social Services role, so I don't have the specifics the Member is looking for.
I'm starting to get a little better, clearer picture right now. Maybe when I have time, maybe I will have some more questions for our Minister of MACA, but maybe I'm hoping the Minister could probably help, maybe answer, and shed some more light on this. Is the Minister able to answer if first aid or first responder training is tracked in the NWT at all, in any way, shape, or form?
This training is not provided within the Department of Health and Social Services or the health authorities, so I don't have the information the Member is asking for. He may be able to get that from MACA.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment who I know has plans to bring forward the Education Act, and as part of that, my question is: would he show support for students and allow them to vote in their school board elections at age 16? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This isn't something that's currently on the radar, but I'm not opposed to the idea. I think that it's not a bad idea, actually, allow having 16-year-olds vote for school board reps. That being said, there are implications in terms of administration. The DEA right now, they share their election with the municipalities, and so there are enumerations that are shared. You have to be a certain age to vote in a municipal election, and if now we're adding another cohort of people, there are those costs, as well. It's not like it's just something I can sign off and do. There're other acts involved, but that being said, I'm happy to have the discussion. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
