Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services, focused on early childhood development, questions of midwifery, and child and family services centres. In March of this year the Assembly provided a specific, clear direction and allocated an additional $330,000 to Health and Social Services to ensure that a midwifery program would be established in Hay River this year. That was six months ago.
Can the Minister confirm that the Midwifery Program in Hay River is now operational or will be within the next few months? Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m not able to confirm that. I don’t believe that the Midwifery Program will be operational within the next few months In Hay River. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I’m disappointed to hear that, obviously. The House provided clear direction here as a result of several years of previous discussions. When we directed the Midwifery Program be accelerated for Hay River, we envisioned and stipulated that this would also accelerate the midwifery programs for the Beaufort-Delta, Behchoko and Yellowknife.
Can the Minister please explain how the department is planning to get the midwifery expansion back on schedule, and confirm that the delays in Hay River will not be allowed to delay implementation in other communities as well? Mahsi.
Mr. Speaker, one of the main components to expansion of the Midwifery Program was to have the Midwifery Program that is currently operational in Fort Smith be the main supports to developing a Midwifery Program in Hay River and then expansion to Beaufort-Delta and ultimately into a territorial Midwifery Program.
One of the midwives resigned just at the point when we were launching into our plan to expand the Midwifery Program, so the first action became the replacement of that midwife. That has been done. A new midwife has been hired. A team has been put together.
In addition to that, another issue was that we had a change in the CEO. The CEO for Hay River had moved to another position. Then we are working on that as well. However, we are proceeding forward with a plan and we put a team together. We are working on expanding midwifery into Hay River now that we have the second midwife back in place in Fort Smith.
Mr. Speaker, that sounds kind of weak to me. Governments have to be able to chew gum and think at the same time and, in fact, in multiple ways, so I wouldn’t expect this sort of thing would allow a delay.
On the area of a related issue – child and family resource centres in Tulita and Ndilo – could the Minister please provide an update on the status of these centres that are long overdue? Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The child and family services centres essentially, I guess, would be the Healthy Family Program that we have been expanding. This Healthy Family Program is expanding across the territory. We do believe that we have programs or satellite programs operating in 21 communities. It is a fair expansion. I think that all of the Sahtu now is involving themselves in the Healthy Family Program, then there will be further expansion into the South Slave.
At this point I think that once we have the two expansions in the South Slave, most of the communities where there is any significant amount of births will have a Healthy Family Program. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m very pleased to hear about the Healthy Family Program. I have been aware of that and I think that is an excellent program.
My question was on the commitment to get in place new child and family resource centres. I know those were attempted in the previous fiscal year and they failed to be established. I assume the Minister is working with the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment to get those up and operational. Hopefully they are by now. We have been at this now for a year and a half. I wonder if the Minister, if he’s not aware of not being able to provide an update, if he could commit to providing me that update very soon. Mahsi.
Mr. Speaker, I apologize. I recognize that we were dealing with the child and family service resource centres that are now under the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, but the plan to consolidate programs along with our Healthy Family Program is in the works. It is something that we are doing under the work that we are doing under the Early Childhood Development Framework. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.
