Thank you, Minister of Justice. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So my questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services.
I know we've spoken a number of times in this House about the high rates of staff vacancies and turnover among social workers, particularly within NWT child and family services. I am wondering if the Minister has any insights into how that high staff turnover and high caseload for the rest of the social workers, how that affects children in care. So specifically children in temporary or permanent custody of CFS, for example when it comes to those children being able to establish a meaningful relationship over time with the social worker assigned to them or a revolving door of staff assigned to them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, what we do know is stability does matter. Child protection workers are not a replacement of caregivers. They are facilitators on a pathway to family reunification and healing. A lot of our stats show that many of the kids that are in the program of child and family services are under voluntary service agreements and a large portion of those children still remain at home with their families. So the main caregiver for those children and supports are their family at home; however, I understand that when they're in foster care their child protection worker may be the one consistent when they become in that area. But the change from individual child protection worker to another, the child protection workers are trained through their training, the training system, and they follow territorial standards to try and focus on cultural safety, trauma-informed practices. So, I mean, and that's why the emphasis is always trying to keep them with family and in their homes or in their communities as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So given that CFS workers sometimes have the power to make really fundamental decisions about children's lives, including who they stay with, if or when they might be put up for adoption or how often they might get to travel to see relatives, how can we be confident that those workers are making decisions that are in the best interests of children in their custody given that those staff are so overworked and may struggle to even maintain regular contact with the children? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, decision-making at child and family services are guided by what is the best interests of the child. Child protection workers do not act or make decisions in isolation. Their decision is guided. Decisions regarding safety, protection, permanency, reunification, and adoption, are considered with supervisors and managers, are often reviewed by the regional directors. And in cases of adoption and even kids coming into care now, Indigenous children, you know, with the new federal law, there's discussions with notification to Indigenous governments. So there's many different areas where they take into account when making these decisions. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Final supplementary. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, finally, can the Minister explain how the children and youth that are in care, how they themselves are involved in making those fundamental decisions about their own lives? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Children and youth have rights when involved in child and family services, and the right to be heard is very critical for the department. The Child and Family Services Act emphasizes that wishes of the children over 12 must be considered in case planning and in drafting care agreements and minimum contact with children emphasizes the inclusion of a child's voice in decision-making. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to follow up on my Member's statement where I am suggesting that we need pathways or navigator people to work with the medical travel system because people often, I find, are overwhelmed by the process and whether they understand it fully or not, they're under the fog of stress of the challenge before them, Mr. Speaker. And I am going to say, as an example -- it's not a real person, but I am going to -- the name that is, but it's a real circumstance is, you know, Yvette got approval for her medical travel to book her own travel arrangements, but when she did the follow-ups she was told no. And it only seems fair that the subsequent journey is supported.
Mr. Speaker, is there a way that the Minister can create or develop or redistribute resources to ensure that patients get the navigation and support during the medical travel process so they know they have to keep going back for approvals thereafter? Because they were quite upset the second and third time on the same journey they were denied. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the scenario but without -- and I wouldn't speak to details on any personal medical travel on any individual. But every medical travel case that goes through medical travel, you know, it depends on what insurance that covers them that's covered for them. It depends on the point of nearest facility available. It depends on, you know -- the follow-up appointments can be -- every single time there's a travel, it has to be initiated with a new medical travel process. So, I mean, I appreciate the Member trying to create a scenario but whenever we deal with medical travel or any BFs, it's every single -- it's a complex system and so I wouldn't be able to respond to just that. However, we have put navigators throughout the system over the years, like the cancer navigators that really help with patients that are travelling for cancer issues. We have recently approved the case managers for medical travel that are going to be overseeing, making sure people are travelling when they need to travel. And then we also have the client of office experience and the medical travel office themselves and the staff there themselves, so. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, we have to take the context here. Yvette's not the real name, but it's personalized because it's true to real people, and I've even talked to some of my colleagues who've had similar examples.
Yvette goes for her treatment and told you can book your same -- your travel and make arrangements, but she goes back for the follow-up for the exact same process and under the fog, whether she was told or not, it doesn't matter, but natural justice would think it's supported. So, Mr. Speaker, that's why I am asking for, would a navigator keep checking in with these people.
Mr. Speaker, is there anything the Minister can do to, A, correct the situation I am describing; and, B, move forward in a more positive supportive way.
Mr. Speaker, that is why we initiated the medical travel case manager pilot so that they can make sure that the process and people are travelling and whatever paperwork and processes are needed to be done are getting done. And as anyone -- as medical travel is initiated, it has to be pre-approved for travel and so if they were approved for the first travel, the second travel still has to be pre-approved. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Final supplementary. Member from the Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And under the fog of stress and focus, that's the problem, is those messages get lost and the relationship is important so, Mr. Speaker, I reaffirm once again the same point which is, is there any way to revisit this challenge? Looking back as well as looking forward, today we could do something for a family that feels very stressed. And I am not representing the only family who's gone through this experience. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said, we have implemented the -- you know, the nurse case managers for medical travel in -- as a pilot right now because we know that there is an issue. And so that is what we have initiated to try and -- try to resolve some of these issues. And once this is rolled out, we'll be able to assess that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Oral questions. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think my statement kind of clearly states my concerns around the cost of living for seniors, and I understand that the solutions I seek may cross several departments. I will start with one, Mr. Speaker, on my questions. That will be for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. I know we've had this conversation before in this House around the thresholds for income, and I guess what I am looking for, Mr. Speaker, is recognition that there is an issue here and recognition that there are different circumstances for not only the territory but to individuals themselves. So I'd like to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment whether her department is willing to, again, look at the income thresholds for these programs that are offered to seniors. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Inuvik Boot Lake. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Member for raising this. Certainly, we want to make sure that we are staying on top of where our cost of living is going in the territory and in that process definitely looking out for our most vulnerable residents when we're talking about children here today, we're talking about elders and seniors, and we want to make sure that we are constantly reviewing trends as far as fuel prices and cost of living. So this is something that the department does continuously to make sure that we are doing our best to understand the pressure that is on residents of the Northwest Territories. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I think I can read a sentence that sums it up here, and it's that no senior should be penalized for having a modest pension, for stepping forward to care for children and family members when that support is needed most.
Mr. Speaker, my question is, when we look at our policies, when we look at these income thresholds, do we or is there an appetite to look also -- not only yes, we understand the income portion of it based on the economic realities and based on cost of living, but the cultural aspect of it as well, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. You know, recognizing what the Member has said in regards to, yes, there's economics to it, but there is also understanding that regardless of if a senior is living with multiple generations of family members for example, that does not have an impact on consideration of a senior's income in deciding if they qualify or not. So if a senior is living with people that are part of their family or out of their family, only the senior's income is recognized in determining if they qualify or not for the program. So certainly not looking to control or have an impact on who people live with because recognizing that we all need support, especially we need to make sure that seniors have support as well. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Final supplementary. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.
Thank you. And I understand that, but I think the point I was making, not that there's going to be other income in the household considered for the subsidy but the fact that typically there's not, typically there's one. And if that senior is actually in that home caring for members of their family for various and whatever reasons -- that's other issues I know we deal with. But if they have care of their grandkids, their children that they also have to provide for, then there should be a cultural aspect taken into that when looking at these programs and whether or not these seniors qualify for it.
My final question -- and I am going to hopefully at round 2 get some more, and maybe I will ask the questions of the Minister of housing as well.
But, like, our income thresholds are all over the place, across different departments, across different programs. And has there ever been a consideration to look why don't we have one? Why don't we look at least -- and it may be one for different regions and different scenarios, but one income for every program rather than $80,000 for home heating and whatever it is for home repair and so on and so forth. Is that something that this Minister could advocate for and possibly take to her counterparts to look at evening the board across for these. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And, Mr. Speaker, I think that some of the work that has definitely been done on both sides of this House this term is how can we, you know, reduce some of these administrative impacts on residents of the territory. I appreciate the Member bringing forward another instance of potentially red tape in the government and so certainly happy to commit to the Member to discuss this with my Cabinet colleagues and see if there are things that I don't know about that would be, you know, a reason for this, but certainly want to make sure if there is room for us to have unity across government programs that we are taking the opportunity to do that. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Oral questions. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as we await for the tabling of the auditor general's report, I do want to turn back to a previous auditor general's report into child and family services that the Minister provided an update to this House in 2024 saying 88 percent of the commitments were on track. Can the Minister provide an update to that action plan that was previously worked on that was at 88 percent. Have we completed it as of today? Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as of right now, we have a child and family service strategy and action plan. That's a five-year plan, and we're two years into it, just over two years into it. But I don't have that level of detail. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Many of the actions that were reported on were process review based, ongoing, as we know the Minister just said. Some are pilot, some are engagement exercises, some are framework development, and some are still in review stages. So my question is, is that progress, or are we actually making tangible difference to the day-to-day operations of this system that, again, deals with our most vulnerable youth in the territory? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So when we look at the past auditor general reports, with 2014 and then 2018, you know, there has been some -- there has been progress and there was evidence in progress between 2014 to 2018, you know, and now where we are with tracking with the progress. And I do like to highlight that. When we look back at this system, this is a very complex system. It's a high turnover system. We have, you know, many communities that -- that, you know, as we said, like we struggle with recruitment into some of the smallest and remote communities. And now we're, you know, over the years, we've been struggling with the change in what has been going on in homes. Because when you look at things that have been happening in homes from prior to the first audit to now to where we are today and all of the review that we've done, we've had to constantly pivot to how we support families. And with the recruitment challenges, you know, the training that we're doing to support and reinforce, and the prevention and the positions that we're putting into family preservation is a huge difference, and it's something that was never seen before. So thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Final supplementary. Member for Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And we know it's complicated. We've brought these issues to the floor many, many times. Mr. Speaker, this will be the third audit that is tabled by the Office of the Auditor General into one program area. Mr. Speaker, the problems are well known. They often repeat.
Mr. Speaker, will the Minister today accept responsibility for the results of -- or does she agree that she is ultimately responsible for the outcomes of the child and family services system in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this area, this is not just a department. This is the North. This is what has happened to Indigenous people in Canada. And my commitment has always been to every person in this territory and every Indigenous family is that we are doing everything that we possibly can to ensure that those children are safe. And, you know, when we -- yes, the audits are just another tool to make sure that we have outside -- you know, somebody looking in and saying we need to still continue to focus on this. And I said -- but if you look at government, every single department, auditor general is always going to be there and is always going to find some improvements as we change, as AI gets involved, as social media has blown up, you know. I said everything has changed in this world. And so we're always going to have to -- and I've always -- I will always accept any responsibility for any of the work. And, you know, and the staff. The staff that are working in this department, these staff see the worst in this territory. They see our children and families at their worst, and we need to make sure that as a government that we are there to support them and these children to have the best life that they can have in our territory. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Oral questions. Member from the Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Following up on my barging statement earlier, my question is to the Minister of Infrastructure.
My first question there, Mr. Speaker, what coordinations, communications, are underway between the marine transportation services department and the Canadian Coast Guard on navigation routes, depths, and channel markers? Thank you.
Minister of Infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I always appreciate the opportunity to speak "a boat" MTS. However, we've been in close contact with coast guard over the last few months. Coast guard's been communicating with MTS. MTS has been trying to find out details on when they're able to put the buoys in. We've been working with ECC also to get water depths so that we're aware of what's going on. I've actually had some correspondence with the Minister for National Defence who's now in charge of Canadian Coast Guard to -- not put pressure but, you know, express to the Minister how important this is to the North and how important it is for the Canadian Coast Guard to get out there and put navigable buoys out there so that we can get our boats out there as soon as we can.
We have a commitment from the Canadian Coast Guard to get out there as quick as they can. For the first time, from my understanding, in a long time, that we actually have a date of June 13th that they're hitting the waterways and they're steaming down the river to put buoys in, and I assure you that our MTS team will be right behind them with the shipment. So thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thanks for that information from the Minister.
My next question there, Mr. Speaker, is huge concerns from last year was, in particular, rates and the short notices for sailing, which really put challenges on the shipment of southern vendors to get their cargo to Hay River. Can the Minister share preparations or practices or mitigations to these two particular concerns. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the first part I will talk about is the rates. Earlier on this year, a team from MTS traveled the Sahtu area to speak to customers, and customers have been spoken to in all our shipping routes to talk about rates, you know, and the potential changes and impacts to improving them. So that's on the works.
Secondly, in regards to the sailing season last year, very unique situation of course. We had water that we were unsure of that would be able to operate our sailing of the boats. So we were concerned throughout the whole season. And as coast guard was able to put the buoys in, our boats followed them. And that was the point of getting the high water and making sure we were able to do it. However, they weren't sure at the very beginning. So, you know, we were able to get communication out as soon as we could. As soon as we found out Coast Guard was sailing, we were sailing. So we don't determine whether or not the waterways are navigable, Coast Guard does, and as soon as they give us the okay, MTS is right behind them.
The fortunate thing this year is everything is looking promising for water levels. So the snowpack in the mountains, the water levels in all the river systems, the Liard Basin, the Peace River, the Slave River, the Hay River, all the water levels are high, and that will definitely help the Mackenzie River with the flow so we can get our boats going up to the Arctic. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Infrastructure. Final supplementary. Member from the Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thanks to the Minister for those replies. Those are just identifications of challenges that we face at the other end.
My last question there, Mr. Speaker, can the Minister, within his portfolio on the petroleum products division side, share some of the fuel volumes that are going to be barged down to the Sahtu communities. It really relieves the shipment over the winter road season as we get more volumes during the summer. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We were fortunate with our winter haul again we were able to get a lot of fuel to the communities. But, again, we will take advantage of a good shipping season and haul more fuel. So we're forecasting deliveries to the Sahtu this year of -- to Fort Good Hope, 650,000 litres of gasoline and 3.4 million litres of diesel. And to Tulita, we're looking at about 300,000 litres of gasoline and 3.3 million litres of diesel. As always, these volumes are subject to change depending on demand and if there's a possibility of adding more, we always can. So thank you, Mr. Speaker.
