Sandy Lee

Yes, I have. We have had the CFSA recommendations since October. My department and I went through the report, we reviewed them and we came up with every possible way of implementing as many recommendations as possible. There are some items that are big ticket items and we needed to put that into the next business cycle.

Having said that, I understand that the Members would like us to relook at it. I think it’s really important for all the Members here to have the full information about what re-profiling means, a $12 million item. My department is working right now to give the information to all...

It will be in the context of working with the recommendations from the Joint Working Group report, which is out there in the public. So we are responding to the direction from the Legislature by way of that committee report. Thank you.

I don’t believe there is a clear rule that says you can’t, but the authorities are block funded with guidelines on what the money is supposed to be spent on. There is room for flexibility as long as we make the case for it and go back to FMB.

We do that already, Mr. Speaker. For example, we have been working very closely with the Gwich’in Tribal Council as well as the IRC. We have given them funding and we are working in partnership on addictions and after-care issues. We are looking at some projects in that area to come up with on-the-ground addiction programs.

I realize that we have eight regions and many, many Aboriginal governments. I could list some of the projects that we are working on, but I just want to let the Member know that we do a lot of work in partnership with Aboriginal organizations and Aboriginal governments...

Mr. Chairman, on this issue, I am following the process that we have set for ourselves within this Legislature. As the Member knows, we had a Joint Working Group on this issue, released a report last fall. The department had a chance to review those and to work on them. We are consulting with the standing committee as we are expected to do. We have received feedback on that and the next stage is for the Cabinet to look at it, and that would include a communication strategy as well as making sure that our public is informed of what we are proposing or what the recommendations were coming out of...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As a Member of FMB as well as Minister of Health and Social Services, I need to say that nobody is getting in the way of making decisions about this sort of thing. We know, Mr. Chairman, that health care costs in the budget is the largest item in the government’s budget. We work hard to be efficient and use our resources wisely and as FMB we have given directions to authorities and departments to make sure that the money is spent for what it’s meant to do. That balances with the need for our system to respond. So I work with the Joint Leadership Council, the chairs of...

The Foundation for Change is an action plan that requires direction and intent and spirit. I say again, Children and Family Services Act review of the standing committee we agree with the recommendations. We support the recommendations. We have agreed to implement 61 out of 73 recommendations. The 10 that we’re not able to, the exact way that the committee has recommended, we say in our reply how we are going to go about them.

As I said, I realize it’s not the answer that the Member is looking for, but we see nothing in the recommendations from the report that’s not in line with what the...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. That money was put in in anticipation of changes and, as the Member knows, we are discussing making some changes and we will need the resources still.

Thank you, not only as the Minister of Health and Social Services but as his colleague and what I consider to be his friend, I would not want to do anything to raise his heart rate or temperature.

Seriously, on the social worker situation, the last I was aware of it from our visits, there were some personal things like, the Member mentioned housing, but I believe one of the workers were in a relationship with somebody in Norman Wells. We live in a small town where personal backgrounds could determine where one who’s hired could decide to leave and such. What I would like to do is, I haven’t had...

As would be the case with other positions, we would use locums to fill those positions as there are no permanent ones. Thank you.