Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to speak to the Auditor General of Canada’s report on the Northwest Territories income security programs.
This audit identified systemic problems in the Department of Education, Culture and Employment in their delivery of core programs: Income Assistance, Student Financial Assistance, the Senior Home Heating Subsidy, and the Child Care User Subsidy. A majority of files reviewed by the auditors did not comply with key legal and policy requirements for these four programs, 90 percent of the files in the case of income assistance. The Auditor General’s staff considered the errors were significant and said so in their report.
This government spends $30 million annually on income support programs. That’s just in the Department of ECE. That figure would be much higher if we considered the cost of all 16 subsidy programs to the government. But I digress.
The Auditor General of Canada’s report tells us that Education, Culture and Employment is failing to run these four programs properly. There were three key recommendations from the AG’s report: The lack of monitoring of programs, the need for more and better training for staff, and the lack of assessment for programs.
Is the $30 million we spend on these programs reaching the people who really need it? My experience with constituents suggests it is not. My experience suggests that income support staff try very hard, but they are not able to meet their clients’ needs.
Mr. Speaker, behind the numbers and statistics are real people who need help and who deserve respect. I’m talking about the Income Security Program staff and the Income Security clients. It’s very telling that the Department of ECE has a 50 percent annual turnover rate for client service officers. It indicates a work environment that is much less than optimum. It indicates a work environment where staff are not supported or assisted.
The Auditor General’s report points out that many client service officers struggle with vague program guidelines, a lack of monitoring and supervision, and inadequate training.
The report also called attention to client service officers’ caseloads which, in some cases, are more than 100 per month; overworked managers; and employees’ safety concerns. Such a staff cannot effectively serve their clients’ needs.
Thankfully, the department has accepted all of the Auditor General’s recommendations. In our meetings with them, ECE officials listened closely to the Members’ concerns, and they’ve told us they have started to act and will continue to act until the system is reformed. I certainly hope that is true. Only time will tell and Regular Members will be watching carefully. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
