Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. In my Member's statement, I spoke of a former Member of the House talking about coerced sterilization in the NWT. Following that statement, there was an article written in Windspeaker publication which described a GNWT program where coerced sterilization victims could come forward to begin an inquiry if they believed they were wrongfully sterilized. My question for the Minister is twofold: how long did the program run in that time; and, in that time, how many women came forward? Thank you.
Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As a government, we acknowledge that the abhorrent practice of performing sterilization procedures upon Indigenous women under a forced or a coerced circumstance took place in the Northwest Territories in the past, long before any of us were in this House. I personally condemn the practice, as I know all Members in this House must, of coerced or forced sterilization. As a government, we take seriously the accounts that have been shared by residents. I would really like to commend the individuals for their courage in sharing their stories and bringing forth this issue.
Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, at this time, I do not have the precise information on the number of women who came forward under that GNWT program that was offered in 1998. It was a number of years ago. However, I would like to reconfirm that this government will always take seriously and respond to patients' accounts of forced sterilization. With respect to the information from the 1998 program, I will do my best to get that information and share it with the Member, as well as other Members of this House.
I would like to acknowledge once again that I agree with the Member that such practices are a violation of medical ethics and of a patient's rights to information and informed consent, so I thank the Member for raising the question.
I would like to thank the Minister for that response. Mr. Speaker, in December 2018, the federal Health Minister responded to an issue of coerced sterilization by inviting all provincial and territorial Health Ministers to participate in a taskforce on cultural competency in healthcare. My question is: what was the department's response, our department's response, to the call, and are we participating?
The federal government has formed a working group to look at ways of embedding cultural safety and humility into the design and delivery of healthcare services in Canada. This working group, as a note, will not deal directly with forced sterilization as part of its mandate. We do support the federal government's efforts to collaborate with provinces, territories, Indigenous groups, and national provider organizations on measures to improve cultural safety in the health system. We are participating in that working group. The GNWT is also committed to working with Indigenous governments in the Northwest Territories in our efforts to improve cultural safety here in the Northwest Territories.
As the Member knows, we have come forward with a Cultural Safety Action Plan to help us address the issues, the very real issues, around cultural safety that do exist here in the Northwest Territories, and we are determined to do our work in a culturally respectful, fair, and equitable way for all residents. We will ensure that any commitments made through the participation in the FTP working group align with our existing work here in the Northwest Territories in this area.
I do acknowledge and recognize the good work done by this department, our Department of Health and Social Services, on the cultural competency. I would like to ask the Minister about the federal task force and just a question asking the Minister if there is a current status since the task force was formed or, if not, then would the Minister provide a current status to the House once that status is available?
It's my understanding that the FTP working group is intended to be a forward-looking body that will examine ways of embedding cultural safety and humility into the design and delivery of healthcare services throughout the country. They intend to share information about initiatives and promising practice under way across the country, which is one of the reasons we are sharing the work that we have done. It's also intended to identify opportunities for collaboration between provinces, territories, and other bodies.
To date, Mr. Speaker, a draft terms of reference has been developed by the working group, including identifying some guiding principles. This, once again, is a federal document and federal initiative. As a first step, jurisdictions will be reaching out to their Indigenous partners to see if the Indigenous governments are interested in participating in the working group, and that engagement will hopefully be done soon.
Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank the Minister for that response. Can the Minister advise us if it's very clear to the practitioners that forced sterilization is not something that can and should be done in the NWT? Thank you.
Today, compared to when this activity was occurring, we have best practices and additional checks and balances in place to ensure that patients are given alternative options before referring a patient to sterilization procedures as part of pre-op. Today, it's also our best practice that patients are again asked if they fully understand the nature and the consequences of the procedures that they may be wishing to undertake, as part of ensuring the patient has provided informed and knowledgeable consent before the procedure is actually done. Additional supports can and could be offered, such as counselling, given that this procedure is permanent and irreversible in all situations. Yes, our practitioners know. Our practitioners understand the realities, and our procedures have changed radically since 1998, when that study was done by the GNWT. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Oral questions. Member for Hay River North.
