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.
