Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is no secret that NWT communities are diverse. They are small, medium and large. They are on the road system and not on the road system. They follow the traditional economy, the modern economy, and sometimes both. Providing services to our communities is a serious challenge for the GNWT given this diversity. It is particularly difficult to ensure that the same services are available in each of our 33 communities.
My colleagues on this side of the House have often spoken to our failure in that regard. But do we, as a government, really know what level of programs and services we should be providing to our residents? Have we established standards for the delivery of programs and services in the NWT? If we have, they haven’t made it to my desk, Mr. Speaker.
We should know what level of service and what programs we want or need to provide. We should have a target level of service, particularly in the areas of health and social services, education, income support, housing and community services, all of the GNWT service departments. For instance, should every community have a nurse and a doctor, a mental health worker, an addictions counsellor? What is the minimum acceptable level of service for our income support and housing programs? Should every community have staff on site or should service be provided by regional office staff? Should every community have a recreation officer and who should take financial responsibility for that position? Should every community have child care available for working parents?
I have no doubt that all of these questions have been considered by various Assemblies at one time or another, but did we get answers? Are the answers documented and in any organized and coordinated way? Have we, as a government, ever looked at the provision of GNWT programs and services across the whole system to determine the must haves, the nice to haves, and then delivered them as allowed by our available finances? I think not and I think we need to do that.
I realize what I am suggesting is a big undertaking, but it is a necessary step. To quote a well used expression, how do we know where we are going if we don’t know where we are? We need to do the work to find out where we are, to determine the standards for our programs, the services required. We owe it to our residents, particularly those in our smaller, isolated communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
