Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services. The Minister has been in his office for five years and, before that, was a member of the Standing Committee of Social Programs that undertook a comprehensive review of Child and Family Services. Given the Minister’s clear experience and interest in this file, why has he not made correcting the deficiencies in Child and Family Services his top priority as Minister? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. It is nice to be heard. We spend a lot of time speaking in this House, so it is nice that the Minister is taking this matter seriously. I look forward to seeing the feasibility study. I appreciate that this appropriation is largely to improve the quality of service available at the Yellowknife courthouse to those seeking mediation and, also, to improve security conditions for the staff there, and for those reasons, I am supportive of this.

My only concern is that if we are spending money in a feasibility study, let's make sure that it is actually going somewhere and not...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have noticed that there is another project here for the Yellowknife Courthouse. I'm wondering if the Minister can speak to the feasibility study that's going into the potential stand-alone courthouse here, in the city of Yellowknife. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, you know, I am torn with these responses. I appreciate the Minister is working on this. Ultimately, he has had plenty of time to start making progress on this. Things are worse today than they were before. Someone needs to take responsibility for this, Mr. Speaker. Will the Minister take personal responsibility and resign? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Auditor General, as my honourable friend from Yellowknife Centre has mentioned, found that these new administrative structures that the Minister has spoken about have not improved service delivery. In fact, these complex changes have turned it into an overburdened system, continues to leave children vulnerable. It sounds like the Minister was personally involved with approving these changes. What has his follow-up been on seeing if they are actually working given what is said in the Auditor General’s report and in the department’s own internal audit report?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I, like many Members of this House were shocked by the findings of the Auditor General's full audit of Health and Social Services' child and family services work. Not merely as a legislator as I'm concerned by this clear lack of oversight on the part of the Minister, I'm appalled as a parent.

Mr. Speaker, Members on this side of the House will do their work with both the Auditor General and departmental officials when we conduct our formal review of this report. However, I am concerned about the accountability of the Minister of Health and Social Services on...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will take that as a commitment from the Minister. How many more resources are we going to expend up on this building that we currently rent from a private landlord? This is $341,000. There has been significantly more than that expended in the past. Are we going to continue to put millions of dollars into someone else's property, or are we going to complete these renos that are before us now, and then move on with a stand-alone courthouse? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to report to the Assembly that the Standing Committee on Government Operations has reviewed Bill 18: An Act to Amend the Cities, Towns and Villages Act, and Bill 20, Ombud Act. Mr. Speaker, the committee wishes to report that Bill 18 is now ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole and that Bill 20 is ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole as amended and reprinted. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Minister talked about taking immediate action when he took over this portfolio. He has talked about the May audit. Clearly, these concerns from front-line staff and the totality of concerns are significant and have been present for a long time. When was the Minister first made aware that Child and Family Services was worse off now than it was in 2014?

No, sorry.