Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, before I get started, one thought that came to mind of a few people over here is that we do have GSOs in communities, that we've got them in 23 of our 33 communities that might be able to provide some assistance to getting information out and helping people access funds hopefully.
But further to my statement today on doula services, I'm very excited to ask some questions to the Minister of Health and Social Services today about the NWT Birth Work Collective and the work that they're doing to make doula services more accessible in the Northwest Territories.
So my first question today, Mr. Speaker, is for the Minister of Health and Social Services, and I'd like to know, during the 18th Assembly, then Minister of Health and Social Services, Glen Abernathy, made reference to a pilot doula training course in the South Slave and indicated that an evaluation of the pilot course would be the department's next step. So I'm wondering what did this evaluation find? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Minister responsible for Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you for the question. In February 2019, the Department funded an Indigenous doula maternal support training session that had a number of Indigenous governments as well as the Health and Social Services Authority involved, with a total of 16 participants. The key findings from the participants from this pilot were, first, participants want to support Indigenous women and their families to reclaim their identity, their health, and exercise greater control over their own childbirth and parenting experiences.
Second, doulas and birth work can contribute to the healing and strengthening of families and communities.
Third, locally developed doula training should be tailored to meet the needs of Indigenous and NWT communities.
Fourth, professional certification and credentialing needs to be clarified.
And, fifth, supportive infrastructure needs to be in place for mentorship, funding, connection with community resources, and integration with existing programs and services. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think that's great news, and I'm really excited to hear the synopsis of the evaluation from Health and Social Services. I think that's all really good news, and I think it lends well to the direction and the support that we as an Assembly would like to provide to the people of the Northwest Territories.
My next question for the department, which kind of plays off that, is does the department recognize doula services as a viable prevention tool for the people of the Northwest Territories to support healthy families? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the short answer is yes, doulas and Indigenous birth workers are welcomed now in the maternity care setting as an important support for expectant parents and families. They're sometimes doulas are members of the family or extended family. Sometimes they are contracted by the parents to be there to provide the support service. So they, it's important to note, are nonmedical personnel. They are not regulated. But they are hugely respected for the role they play with birthing in the North. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Northern Birth Work Collective is all about accessibility. The First Nations Health Authority, the BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres, and the BC Ministry of Health, currently work together to provide $1000 grants for doula services for Indigenous families living in British Columbia.
To make doula care accessible in the Northwest Territories, the services needs the financial support of Health and Social Services here at home. So will Health and Social Services provide financial grants to NWT residents to support doula services? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, to take a step back from that question, the department first needs to learn what services are going to be provided. So in the last fiscal year, the department funded the Northern Birth Work Collective to create an Indigenous doula and birth work training program. And we see a lot of potential in this, and we're looking forward to the results of this training and development. And once that's in place, then the department will be in a better situation to learn what the service model is, how communities are going to access the services, and then make an informed decision about what kind of support to provide for families. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, just I guess a very selfless plug. Today on the NWT Birth Work Collective's Facebook page, they did advertise a course that will be taking place this summer that will be available over Zoom. And so I would like to invite all of my colleagues to share it with people within their constituencies and the cost of the course is on a sliding scale for what people can afford. So it's a wonderful opportunity.
Given the potential, Mr. Speaker, for great benefits of doula care, I'm wondering if there is a mechanism for how low income NWT residents can access the funds necessary for doula services today in the NWT, and would Child and Family Services assist with this? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Minister responsible for Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again, we're a step back from that. We're trying to develop the model of care for doulas within the existing health and social services system that builds on the work that they're doing now and develops models that support collaboration between different partners in the birthing setting, including, of course, communities, families, and health services. So once that's in place, then how low income people can access this with grants would be the logical next step. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.
