Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are directed to the Minister of Health and Social Services in regard to the response that was tabled in this House yesterday. Mr. Speaker, the area I have concerns about is recommendation number 4. The reason for us that number 4 was at the top of the list was because we thought that was doable. Mr. Speaker, the recommendation states that to ensure funding for prevention and early intervention programs in every community, and also to present it in the Legislative Assembly’s 2010-2011 budget. But, Mr. Speaker, the response by the Minister clearly stipulates that they cannot get it into the 2011-2012 budget. Mr. Speaker, the budget hasn’t been passed yet. So I’d like to ask the Minister if she can work with Members of this House to implement recommendation number 4 in the budget process we’re going through now. Thank you.
Hear! Hear!
Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my opening statement to my budget on Friday I stated a couple of programs that we are expanding to Inuvik and Fort Simpson, Healthy Children Initiatives.
Mr. Speaker, I think everybody here knows how the budget process works. A major initiative such as this will require significant funding and the timing issue... Their report came out after we went through the business plan review. The Members had a chance to have a look at this budget in January and the Members are aware that it was not part of that budget.
Mr. Speaker, I think it’s really important for us to state and I’d like to state that we have, in every way possible, worked to respond favourably to the report. We have accepted 61 out of 73 recommendations, and even the 10 that we are not able to accept as it is written, we explain in detail why that is so. So I can tell the Member that we are committed to providing the substantiation as a department to look at these additional funding initiatives in the next business cycle, but given our fiscal pressure, unless we take out something that’s already in the budget it would not be possible for us to add a new program, to add an Early Childhood Intervention Program in every community in this budget. Thank you.
Again, this has been tabled in the House last fall. We’ve given the Minister ample time to bring forward the budget. In the budget right now there’s already $900,000 in regard to intervention or prevention programs. So we already have a category that we can work this into. It’s just a matter of moving the $12 million that’s in that portfolio to the areas where it’s important.
Mr. Speaker, this was a very important element of the consultation that took place. Community members and individuals wanted to ensure…
Do you have a question, Mr. Krutko?
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister tell us exactly how can communities prevent children from being taken away from their communities and working with the families and the children before it gets to this stage where you have to apprehend?
Thank you. If the Member could provide me with more information on what he said that’s within my budget that I should re-look at, I’d be happy to do that.
On page 8-30 of the budget under child services, intervention services, $858,000. That is something we can work with. I’d like to ask the Minister, can you seriously consider reprofiling these dollars and put it in the area of prevention and intervention?
The department already spends a lot of money and effort on prevention and the recommendations suggest that we must expend that, which we, in principle, agree with, we need to come up with the resources. But I will have to look at the section that the Member is referring to because I am certain that we have every cent of that accounted for. So if we’re going to talk about reprofiling that, we need to have the full scope of the information so we know exactly what we’re changing.
I’m sure as we go through debating our budget in the next couple of days we will have a chance to do that, but I’d be happy to engage with the Members on the other side about what choices we’re prepared to make, because without knowing even all of the details, I am certain that every cent of that is spoken for and there will be repercussions. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. Your final, short supplementary, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, it’s clear that it seems like the health and social services boards are block funded in regard to how these dollars are being expended and what we heard out in the field is that a lot of these core services are not being prevented in all communities in the Northwest Territories and that’s what the recommendation is asking for. So would you consider re-profiling these dollars, directly expend them in the communities and not send them to the health and social services authorities, and spend it where it really would make a difference? Thank you.
Thank you. I will undertake to look at that, but I believe that all of the Members on the other side would like to know exactly where that money is being spent before we make a decision about reprofiling them. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
