Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister responsible for the Status of Women.
So in October 2023, the Minister responsible for Status of Women at the time released a strategic framework for addressing family violence in the NWT. It was called Reclaiming the Capable Person: We Are All Capable Persons When We Have Community. I do appreciate the title and the recommendations contained within it, many of which echo recommendations that have been made repeatedly over the past 20 years. The strategic framework indicates that it was released as a draft and it was going out for input and then an action plan was supposed to be released.
So can the Minister confirm whether she did, in fact, receive any input on this strategic framework from Indigenous and community governments and other key stakeholders? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Minister responsible for the Status of Women.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can confirm that the GNWT did engage with stakeholders to gather input for the development of Family Violence Strategic Framework, and this involved reaching out to community partners like the NWT family violence shelters, frontline service providers, and government departments. This work also involved researching and tracking developments in other jurisdictions. In 2023, a What We Heard report called Insights Guiding the Development of a Family Violence Strategic Framework was prepared and available on the GNWT website. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Okay, thanks to the Minister for that. I understand there was a What We Heard report, and then the strategic framework was, in fact, released. But it did say in the framework that the intention was to move from this general framework with some general recommendations to an actual action plan. So when will a new action plan on family violence be released with funding attached, timelines, and milestones? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The gender equity division has begun work on coordinating with other departments through a family violence interdepartmental working group which was reactivated in August of 2025. This interdepartmental working group consists of members from health and social services, justice, Housing NWT, education, culture and employment, and executive and Indigenous affairs through their integrated service delivery agency.
The working group will also be working closely with a family violence coordinator to provide overall direction on the development of a corresponding family violence strategic framework action plan, including indicators which will be reported on annually. The projected completion date for the action plan is June of 2026, and a release of the annual report is the spring of 2027.
The family violence strategy is funded through the national action plan to end gender-based violence, which includes enhanced core funding for NWT families, shelters, and transitional housing projects. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister responsible for Status of Women. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I appreciate that we do now have a date for the action plan to be released.
Overall, I would just like to know what is going to be done differently this time. We've had many working groups and action plans in the past. What will be done differently this time that will lead to transformative change not only in government policy and legislation and the justice system but also leading to wide-spread access to safe homes and transitional housing that would really allow survivors to take their power back? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I understand as both Minister responsible for the Status of Women, and also Minister responsible for Housing NWT, that the added need for transitional and supportive housing is critical to the healthy growth of families and communities. We cannot continue to work in a silo as departments but need to work together to make better informed decisions. We also need to be responsible as leaders to speak out against family violence and violence in general. We need to raise our children and grandchildren to uphold traditional values and teach them that women and children are sacred. We need to do better both as a government and in communities and with leadership speaking out against family violence. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister responsible for the Status of Women. Oral questions. Member from Frame Lake.
