Shauna Morgan

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So I'm looking at the line item for Office of the Children's Lawyer, which I spoke about yesterday in my Member's statement. So children and youth in the child welfare system are some of the most vulnerable people in our communities. And decisions that are made for them are supposed to be based on their best interests, on their views and preferences when that can be determined.

So, first, if we just establish what exactly is being lost here. We see that the budget is being reduced by $200,000. Can you explain what is being reduced and what will remain in the program with...

Okay, thank you for clarifying that. And I'm sure we'll get lots more details soon about that specific program. It's certainly one that I support. It's been a long time coming, to be able to have that aftercare that people have been talking about is a huge gap, and people are especially, you know, returning from addictions treatment or programming and need somewhere safe to stay and get back on their feet. I also think there's much scope for more transitional housing/supportive living facilities beyond those needing aftercare, including those just needing stabilization and harm reduction. But...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'll just note that the Minister listed some excellent recruitment initiatives, and I think what I've pointed out is the problems with retention, which as I mentioned the other day is a different strategy and a different problem. But I'll move on to my next question, which is so due to shortages of staff, the health authority has pulled back schoolbased support since 2021. How does the department plan to reinstate schoolbased services for speech language pathology across the territory to ensure that all kids can gain the tools to be able to speak, communicate, and read...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Will HSS be hiring additional staff to support the Transitional Housing Addictions Recovery Program?

(audio) government know what's the reason for particularly poor retention of staff in speech language pathology and occupational therapy within the past five years? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'll just conclude by saying, you know, it's up to the Minister and Cabinet to really figure out what we need and make that argument to us, even if new positions or aspects aren't popular. I think that's part of the job, and those need to be explained both to the public and to Members why it's needed. So if that's needed, let's hear about it. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I've been speaking a lot about our huge challenges with literacy in the NWT. Today I want to celebrate a wonderful and inspiring initiative, the 19th Annual NorthWords NWT Writers' Festival. It's happening from today until Sunday, June 2nd. It is a literary extravaganza that brings together the magic of words, the power of storytelling, and the warmth of community.

For the next four days, Yellowknife and Hay River will be abuzz with creativity, inspiration, and literary camaraderie as the festival boasts a diverse lineup of readings, panel discussions, and writing...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm actually very appreciative that we're having this conversation that's sort of a more nuanced acknowledgement of the fact that, you know, we can't necessarily solve crime with more police. And I think people know that, but it's easy especially when drug crime and violence associated with it is devastating so many of our communities. We want to find something we can do now, and more police seems like the way to solve it. And I don't think it's the complete solution, especially, you know, recently our standing committee was up in Inuvik and speaking to the RCMP there and...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just to confirm, we're on out of territory services, right? Okay.

So the budget for residential care for out of territory services, so that would cover supportive living arrangements for adults in a residential or group home setting for extended periods of time in facilities outside the NWT. And so I understand that in many cases that the people that would require this kind of residential care might have very specialized needs or, like, particular conditions that, you know, can't be met with services or facilities inside the NWT. But I'm also hearing from the NWT...

So I understand that. And I do want to respect the independence of the regulator for sure. But I'm also eager to ensure that the level of funding is appropriate and corresponds to, like the level of need and the level of activity of the office. I wonder if the Minister can has any further explanation for us on why he was satisfied that the level of funding being allocated in this coming fiscal year is appropriate to the level of activity or the demands placed on the regulator.