Mahsi. We will now proceed to the Department of Education, Culture and Employment on page 17.
Education, Culture and Employment, 20232024 Capital Estimates, $9,123,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Does the committee that consideration of the Department of Education, Culture and Employment is now complete?
Agreed.
Mahsi, committee. We will now proceed to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources on page 23.
Environment and Natural Resources, 20232024 Capital Estimates, $2,072,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Does committee agree that consideration of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources is now complete?
Agreed.
Mahsi, committee. We will now proceed to the Department of Finance on page 32.
Department of Finance, 20232024 Capital Estimates, $16,118,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Does committee agree that consideration of the Department of Finance is now complete?
Agreed.
Mahsi, committee. We will now proceed to the Department of Health and Social Services on page 38.
Health and Social Services, 20232024 Capital Estimates, $35,904,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Does committee agree that consideration of the Department of Health and Social Services is now complete?
Agreed.
Mahsi, committee. We will now proceed to the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment on page 46.
Industry, Tourism and Investment, 20232024 Capital Estimates, $3,078,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Does committee agree that consideration of the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment is now complete?
Agreed.
Mahsi, committee. We will now proceed to the Department of Infrastructure on page 52.
Infrastructure, 20232024 Capital Estimates, $195,062,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Does committee agree that consideration of the Department of Infrastructure is now complete?
Agreed.
Mahsi, committee. We will now proceed to the Department of Justice on page 60.
Justice, 20232023 Capital Estimates, $1,480,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Does committee agree that consideration of the Department of Justice is now complete?
Agreed.
Mahsi, committee. We will now proceed to the Department of Lands on page 65.
Lands, 20232024 Capital Estimates, $225,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Does committee agree that consideration of the Department of Lands is now complete?
Agreed.
Mahsi, committee. We will now proceed to the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs on page 68.
Municipal and Community Affairs, 20222023 Capital Estimates, $29,160,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
May I just have a moment with the clerk for a minute here.
Mahsi, committee. There is just a typo on the dates of the capital estimates. It should have been 20232024.
Does committee agree that consideration of Department of Municipal and Community Affairs is now complete?
Agreed.
Mahsi, committee. We will now proceed to the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation, or it should be Housing Northwest Territories, on page 71.
I would like to remind the committee that the Housing Northwest Territories is included in the capital estimates as an information item, and the totals are not voteable. Are there any questions or comments from the committee? The summary for the Housing Northwest Territories is found on page 71. Are there any further questions or comments from the committee? Does committee agree that consideration of the Housing Northwest Territories is now complete?
Agreed.
Take a brief moment here. Seeing no further comments, does committee agree that this concludes consideration of Tabled Document 72319(2), Capital Estimates 20232024? MLA for Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I move that consideration of Tabled Document 72319(2), Capital Estimates 20232024, be now concluded and that Tabled Document 72319(2) be reported and recommended as ready for further consideration in formal session through the form of an appropriation bill. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mahsi. The motion is in order. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried. Tabled Document 72319(2), Capital Estimates 20232024, will be reported as ready for consideration in formal session through the form of an appropriation bill.
Carried
Committee, we have agreed to consider Committee Report 3719(2), Standing Committee on Government Operations Report on the Review of the 2022 Audit of Addictions, Prevention, and Recovery Services in the Northwest Territories. I will go to the chair of the Standing Committee on Government Operations for any opening comments. Mr. Johnson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Committee's report was read into the record yesterday. I don't have any substantive comments at this time but I would just like to thank the work of the Office of the Auditor General, the department for their work plan, and all of committee members. Thank you.
Mahsi. I will now open the floor to general comments on Committee Report 3719(2), Standing Committee on Government Operations Report on the Review of the 2022 Audit of Addictions, Prevention and Recovery Services in the Northwest Territories. Ms. Nokleby.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I just wanted to thank the committee for doing this work. I have to I would guess that it was difficult work to undertake, and I do believe that it would have taken a toll on the committee in some form or manner as well as it is difficult for the residents to also hear this conversation as some of my colleagues have discussed with me. So I do appreciate that it is hard work and that we are heading down a very dangerous path at the moment when it comes to wellness, particularly amongst our youth and our Indigenous youth, and I just can't stress enough how important this work is, and I hope that there will be meaningful action that comes out of this that will start to reverse some of the alarming trends that we're seeing. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mahsi, Ms. Nokleby. Any other comments? Ms. WeyallonArmstrong.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, originally this was supposed to be my Member's statement. So good timing to address now at this Committee as a Whole to the AOG report. So I would like to start.
Mr. Chair, earlier this year the Auditor General of Canada published the 2022 Addictions, Prevention, and Recovery Services in the Northwest Territories Report. The audit focused on the Department of Health and Social Services addictions, prevention, and recovery services to Northwest Territories residents. The report says that the department, quote, "did not do enough to provide residents with accessible, coordinated, and culturally safe addictions services," end quote.
Given the high rates of alcohol and substance abuse in the territory, I was very disappointed to learn of these findings. The Department of Health and Social Services addictions recovery and mental health supports are inadequate and unacceptable.
Mr. Chair, I have reviewed the department's twoyear work plan that is intended to respond to the Auditor General's finding. I do not see in this work plan a strong connection with Indigenous governments and communities to leverage community resources and strengthen a culturally safe approach from treatment to aftercare to evaluations.
I want to see the Department of Health and Social Services make major changes to the way programs and services are delivered in the Northwest Territories. Residents of the Northwest Territories need quality healthcare services in their communities provided in ways that respect their languages and culture now, not in five or ten years.
Mr. Chair, working towards cultural safety, by definition means having the critical consciousness to examine power dynamics and inequities within visits between healthcare providers and their patients as well as across organizations and systems. Only the client or community can tell us whether a service or system is culturally safe.
The report on mental health and addiction focuses on the need for more consultation with Indigenous governments. Consultation is a twoway street that requires people to listen to one another. A Greek philosopher once said, quote, "we have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak," end quote. This is the approach that the Government of the Northwest Territories needs to take when doing these consultations speak less and listen more.
Mr. Chair, the Department of Health and Social Services need to listen and learn from the Indigenous governments.
Indigenous governments and communities will tell you what is culturally safe health and social services care. I cannot speak on behalf of Indigenous government but it is clear, in my region, the Tlicho government does not have faith in the Department of Health and Social Services' ability to support good mental health and addictions for Tlicho citizens.
For the last year, Tlicho government has been working on its own communitybased mental health and addiction strategy Tlicho Healing Path. The Tlicho government have also requested that the child and youth care counsellor mental health program be transferred to them. To date, this program has not been transferred, and their concerns about program delivery remain unresolved.
And finally, as we have discussed, despite concerns being brought before them, Government of the Northwest Territories is currently without an Indigenousfocused facilitybased addiction treatment services having been unable to resolve its contract disputes with Poundmaker's Lodge. Thank you.
Mahsi. I'm seeing no further comments. Mr. Johnson.
