Glen Abernethy

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There already are a number of midwifery positions that exist in both Fort Smith and Hay River. The new positions that are being established, there are 2.5 positions in total. One of the positions is going to be the territorial midwifery clinical specialist position, and this position will provide some coordination and consistent program guidance midwifery services that exist across the Northwest Territories. They will also be responsible for engaging the clinical governance and quality assurance activities within the authority and liaise with the Hay River Health and...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The department has reviewed the recommendation, and we agree with the OAG as well as the committee that addressing workload capacity within the CFS system is critical, absolutely critical, in ensuring the delivery of appropriate services to children and families. The department has recognized capacity challenges related to workload and caseload issues in the regions. In February 2019, just a few weeks ago, the Minister of Finance released the proposed budget for the 2019-2020 fiscal year, which, as the Member indicated, included $3.3 million investment to add 21 new...

In the development of the Continuing Care Action Plan, we reached out to stakeholders across the Northwest Territories and got feedback from a number of them. With respect to Charting Our Course: Northwest Territories Cancer Strategy, the territorial palliative care specialist is working with the different authorities and communities in order to streamline services and programs. Some of the things that we're looking at are helping individuals in smaller communities who have family members who might be palliative, to support them in their own homes and communities. This may include support from...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The department does accept this recommendation. As a note, this isn't something that was contemplated in the existing Quality Improvement Plan in the way that it is articulated here. However, having read the recommendation and having read the report, the department will be adding this recommendation to the Quality Improvement Plan. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That item is 4.2.1. In an effort to limit the number of action plans that we are developing, we have actually incorporated the palliative care work within the existing Continuing Care Services Action Plan. That is actually under objective 4 within that action plan. Palliative care is a component of home and community care, and this review is currently under way and will help to inform these services when they are rolled out and delivered.

Also, Mr. Speaker, palliative care is also a component of the Charting Our Course: Northwest Territories Cancer Strategy 2015-2025...

Our current legislation requires us to work with the Indigenous governments and Indigenous communities here in the Northwest Territories if a child from their community were facing apprehension. We are committed to continuing to do that. If the Indigenous governments choose to draw down these responsibilities, of course, we want to work with them and with Ottawa to make sure that those responsibilities are transferred effectively.

Currently, there are two different Indigenous governments that actually have the power and the authority to draw down child and family services today. We are working with all of our Indigenous partners. If these Indigenous governments choose to draw down those authorities now, we will certainly work with them in cooperation with Canada to ensure that those services are drawn down and devolved in a way that gives them the ability to provide high-quality services for all their residents.

Honestly, we can't answer that question yet. One of the issues that has been raised at the national level about this legislation is that there are no dollars tied to it. If dollars come in phase 2, and I believe that is where the federal government said money might come, we would be happy to work with them, with our Indigenous partners. The bottom line is we all want the same thing, which is fewer Indigenous children in care. We want to build and support stronger families. I think we are all trying to do the same thing. We are prepared to work together.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The department has had the legislation for about a week, and we have been going through and trying to determine how it will impact here in the Northwest Territories. I think there is still more work that needs to be done on that analysis. However, through our early analysis, it is not expected that the proposed legislation will significantly impact how CFS is currently delivered here in the Northwest Territories. It is important to note that the key principles in their legislation remain generally consistent with the principles set out in our NWT Child and Family...

I do hear the Member. We do not provide homecare just because an individual is old. All homecare needs to be referred based on needs of an individual, and there is a range of services that we can provide through our home support, which does include activities of daily living support as well as some food preparation. So there is a wide range of services, but they do need to be referred out, so I would not be prepared to commit to providing home-support workers to the independent living units because some of those individuals might be independent enough and not actually want or need those...