Thank you very much. I am wondering how many of those people living outside of the territory are due to cognitive disabilities. Thank you.
Minister.
Yes. I would like to refer that to the deputy minister. Thanks.
Deputy Minister.
I do not have that level of diagnostic classification with me. Thank you.
Member.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. How many people are considered children?
Minister.
Yes. Thank you. Once again to the deputy minister.
Deputy Minister.
There are 32 children.
Member.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. This is something that has been raised as a concern by multiple community members within the Northwest Territories to multiple different MLAs. I know right now, and I am thankful, that the department is doing a review on residential care, hopefully with the goal of repatriating a number of NWT residents to the Northwest Territories. I am wondering if the Minister can let us know when this review will be completed.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you. I understood the deputy minister to say that the RFP is out or about to go out and that the results would be ready by the end of the year, but perhaps he could be more specific. I would like to refer the question to him.
Deputy Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. We expect the results by December 31st.
Ms. Cleveland.
Thank you very much. I really appreciate that, and I know that social development is very much looking forward to being able to review that report with the department and with the Minister. Can the Minister provide information about the scope of the expression of interest that has gone out? Does that intend to not only look for how to repatriate people but also look at what resources are required, not only in Yellowknife, but in regional centres and small communities, in order to allow people to stay home and age in place? Thank you.
Minister.
Thank you. It's my understanding that the point of this RFP is to find out what is possible in terms of creating alternatives for the level of needs that people have, which is the reason that they live out of the territory in the first place. I would like to refer to the deputy minister for additional detail. Thank you.
Deputy Minister.
Thank you. We are interested in looking at quality improvement of this particular sector. At the same time, we are interested in what model might be required for the future. If we were to build a model that had the functions required that are being met currently by others in the South, what capacity would we need to have to build here for that to happen? It's quality of the existing community- and facility-based care and what a future model might look like that would provide the care that's currently being provided elsewhere. Thank you.
Thank you. Ms. Cleveland.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Will this document also include work force development requirements or needs across the territory, and will this information also be looked at in unison with future plans for Aurora College? Thank you.
Minister.
Thank you. I would like the deputy minister to try this question. Thank you.
Deputy Minister.
Yes, I would expect we would have recommendations on work force planning and all of the elements that are necessary to have a complete system. Thank you.
Ms. Cleveland.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I have a delicate question. I have tried to find ways back to being able to ask about the adult FASD clinic. I am just going to ask it here because I feel like the two are related. In the Northwest Territories, we do have a high number of instances of FASD. We also do have people who really struggle with cognitive disabilities. I think that all of this also relates back somewhat to supportive living. I believe it relates back to integrated service delivery models, and I think that this is something that the North really needs is to find ways to better support Northerners at home where they live. I think that's part of the health of our communities and the health of our people. I really do look forward to this work, but I think that it lends itself to a bigger conversation, for sure.
I would also like to be able to ask about medical services of hospitals and physician services provided to Northwest Territories residents outside of the NWT. One of my concerns right now is that some of the residents of the Northwest Territories who require medical services are either not wanting to travel or are unable to travel because of COVID right now. I am wondering if the Department of Health and Social Services is somehow monitoring reasons that people need to see a physician so that they are able to potentially bring up a locum or a need that could serve multiple residents. They're kind of looking at the reverse; instead of sending people down south, can we bring up specific locums to serve a need to provide healthcare to residents? Thank you.
Thank you. Minister.
Yes. I have to say, honestly, that's a bewildering list of questions. I am just going to try, if I can, to start with the FASD portion, and then maybe the Member can just go over, again, the physician and out-of-territory care.
What I want to say about out-of-territory care is that the reason people go out of territory is because we don't have the appropriate services for their needs available in the NWT. It's not our wish to have them go away, but rather, it's a necessity. Some of these people have lived outside of the territory for the majority of their lives and, in fact, have replacement social units in the places that they live. Having said that, we understand that there are families who would like to have their family members repatriated to the NWT. That's the point of the report that is going to be done this year, to find out what those needs are and whether we can meet them.
In terms of FASD, I don't know if that specific diagnosis is tracked in the out-of-territory placements. We do know that FASD is one of those co-occurring conditions that may occur with addictions. It may occur with low intellectual functioning. It could be that some of the clients who are out-of-territory have this diagnosis. I have no idea whether we have that level of information available to us here, but I will look to the deputy minister to see if he can add anything. Thank you.
Deputy Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. No, I don't have any information about the number of individuals outside of the territory with FASD. Thank you.
Questions on this section? Ms. Nokleby.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am just curious to know, when I look at the addictions treatment facilities costs, in the actuals for 2019-2020, it was $2.4 million. We have estimated we will probably be just under $2.1 million this year. Can the department or the Minister speak to how realistic that is? Do we anticipate changes to these numbers because some of the facilities have shut down, and perhaps there's maybe a reluctance for people to go south? Do we think we are going to spend that $2 million? Thank you.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have seen the participation numbers for this year, and compared to the previous fiscal year, they are down by a half to two-thirds. I do anticipate that we won't be spending this entire amount on facility-based treatment this year.
Thank you. Member.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Maybe, then, can the Minister comment on how the money would be repurposed and whether or not it would be repurposed into other addictions treatment or supports up here in the North? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Minister.
The money that is going to be unspent in this fiscal year, I am not clear that that can be carried over and applied, so I would like to refer the question to the director of finance. Thank you.
Director.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. If there were funds there that weren't spent this year in 2021, those funds would just lapse at this point. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Member.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. And then, of course, just go back into the general revenue? I see nods. Okay. Thank you. I just want to reiterate maybe some concerns I have heard with repatriating people to the North, and I just would like to throw my support around. That seems to be a really hot topic and one area that I would like us to be working more towards. Maybe the Minister could speak to the fluctuations of the fees and payments line item. There is a $50 million line item in 2019 for the actuals, but then we have an estimated of almost $36 million, and for our year coming up, it's at $40 million. Can we get more information on that? Thank you. Page 189.
Minister.
Yes. Thank you. It's my understanding that, yes, there is a lot of fluctuation in this area. It's hard to predict how many people will need out-of-territory treatment and what that will end up costing. However, for more detail in this area, I would like you to please call on the director of finance. Thank you.
Director.
