Debates of March 30, 2004 (day 11)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health and Social Services. In light of the new initiative this government is doing in terms of having the mental health and the alcohol workers in the communities and regions come under the wing of the health programs, can the Minister inform this House on the status of these initiatives in terms of how many agencies or people have been adopted into this program? Thank you.

Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Return To Question 116-15(3): Reclassification Of Mental Health, Drug And Alcohol Workers

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my information is that the majority of authorities have concluded the discussions, and the majority of the staff in alcohol and drugs, community wellness workers and mental health workers, have agreed to become board authorities and get the benefits and pay of the positions as you would classify them within the government. Thank you.

Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Supplementary To Question 116-15(3): Reclassification Of Mental Health, Drug And Alcohol Workers

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, Mr. Minister. In light of that, can the Minister inform this House and instruct the majority of the authorities of the mental health and drug and alcohol workers in terms of the expectations of having these workers secured in place in this initiative, in terms of security in their positions and their roles from now on with the GNWT? Thank you.

Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Further Return To Question 116-15(3): Reclassification Of Mental Health, Drug And Alcohol Workers

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the intent of this initiative was to at long last recognize the work that was being done by the alcohol and drug workers, who for many of these years have laboured often in isolation. We got the positions reclassified, we had money added to the budget, and the issue now is would they become employees where they could get the benefits, they could also get the benefit of the supervision and support for training. The intent here is to continue to provide this service in all of our communities. The issue is to work out the arrangements with the various communities. The preference would be that in fact the employees would agree to come under the authorities, however, that is an issue that we have agreed to discuss with the communities on a case-by-case basis. Thank you.

Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Supplementary To Question 116-15(3): Reclassification Of Mental Health, Drug And Alcohol Workers

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I understand the importance of the drug and alcohol and mental health workers as I was one of those people who were in that field. In terms of initiating a new program -- and I applaud the Minister for taking on this initiative and providing some level of comfort for the drug and alcohol and mental health workers -- March 31st is just around the corner, in terms of them securing some level of comfort in terms of them opting into the new initiative. I would like to ask the Minister what level of comfort can he give the mental health workers, the social workers, or the drug and alcohol workers that their employment will continue? Thank you.

Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Further Return To Question 116-15(3): Reclassification Of Mental Health, Drug And Alcohol Workers

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The comfort we can give the alcohol and drug workers and the mental health workers is the fact that we have invested a considerable amount of money. We have taken the time to work with the communities and the authorities to get a reclassification done that recognizes the value of the work they do. With the appropriate classification, we have raised the pay so they would have the benefit of job security, the benefit of having some qualified clinical supervision, ongoing training, and that commitment is there. It is in the budget, it is in the business plan, and we want to work out the details in those communities where there are still questions. Thank you.

Final supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Supplementary To Question 116-15(3): Reclassification Of Mental Health, Drug And Alcohol Workers

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, Mr. Minister. Can he instruct his department in the communities that need to work out some of the case-by-case details in terms of informing the mental health workers, or the drug and alcohol workers -- because it might be a week or two before they have their final details to secure them into these new positions -- that these workers will continue on with their employment and the detail will be worked out to secure them in their positions? Thank you.

Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Further Return To Question 116-15(3): Reclassification Of Mental Health, Drug And Alcohol Workers

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would be happy to commit and reassure the workers and those staff or employees that may be out there listening that the intention is not to put anybody out of a job April 1st, that we want to work with the communities. There may be some transition time required, and we want to be sensitive to that. This is supposed to be a good news story. The intent here is not to get into a conflict situation with communities or staff, but to work through the questions and to work through the process. We have done that in the majority of cases, and those cases where we haven’t we will work extra hard with the involved communities and authorities to resolve the issues to hopefully everyone’s satisfaction. Thank you.