Legislative Assembly briefs
Lack of counsellors closed treatment centre: minister
Laura Busch
Northern News Services
Published Monday, October 28, 2013
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The reason why funding was pulled from the Natse'jee K'eh Treatment Centre on the Hay River Reserve was revealed on Oct. 18.
"The bottom line was that there was one counsellor," said Health and Social Service Minister Tom Beaulieu. "To continue to have intake of people into Nats'ejee K'eh with only one counsellor was a problem and this created a safety issue not only for the counsellor, but for the people coming in for counselling.
"It was the executive director that approached the board and said 'I think it's time to shut down Nats'ejee K'eh.' At that point, we took action and cut the funding, effective Sept. 30."
Now, any NWT resident seeking treatment for drug and alcohol addictions travel to one of four treatment centres the department holds contracts with in the south.
Keep on truckin' down the Dempster
The Department of Transportation intends to keep the Dempster Highway open year-round for the first time in order to keep fuel flowing into Inuvik.
Both the Abraham Francis Cable Ferry near Fort McPherson and the Louis Cardinal Ferry crossing over the Arctic Red River near Tsiigehtchic will continue to operate until the ice crossings open, which could happen as late as January.
To make this happen, the department has put $400,000 into upgrading the Louis Cardinal Ferry, which is not scheduled to continue crossing to Tsiigehtchic during freezeup and breakup, but will be carrying vehicles driving the Dempster. $1.4 million is available to maintain continuous service during the shoulder seasons.
Inuvik residents continue to rely on trucked liquid natural gas for heat, with five days of storage available in the community.
Inuvik Boot Lake MLA Alfred Moses told News/North he's skeptical if the highway will be able to stay open year-round, but hopes it does.
If the road does go out for more than five days this winter, "then we switch back to natural gas and continue to take the non-renewable gas from the well," he said.
A nurse for every community
Calls were renewed in the legislature for a full-time nurse for the community of Tsiigehtchic.
"They'd like have an actual nurse in place full time," Mackenzie Delta MLA Frederick Blake Jr. told News/North. "We've had some situations in the past where, if a nurse was there, maybe there would be different circumstances."
In response to questions on Oct. 18, Health and Social Services Minister Tom Beaulieu said there have been recent discussions with the Beaufort Delta Health and Social Services Authority to make this happen, but it remains against government policy to allow a single nurse to live in a community without full-time RCMP officers. He did pledge to visit the community with health authority staff to discuss this issue with residents.
Six NWT communities are without resident nurses.
Current agreements with the Nurses' Association dictate that one nurse cannot be in a community by themselves, but that a community of more than 250 people can accommodate two nurses. Beaulieu said these policies are being re-examined.
Time for a health 'system overhaul'
The Deh Cho Health Authority is the fourth and most recent regional health board to be taken over by a public administrator.
The changes have raised questions about the efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery in the region and caused "a slew of resignations" on the boards, leaving just two of 10 spots filled, said Deh Cho MLA Michael Nadli on Oct. 22.
The takeover of the regional boards "signals the need for a system overhaul," he said, adding that jurisdictional boundaries should also be looked at. Under the current system, constituents from the Hay River Reserve and Fort Providence receive health care in Fort Simpson. Nadli has heard some would prefer to receive treatment in Hay River or Yellowknife.
"One of the reasons we appointed a public administrator is that there are certainly some significant concerns with health and social services in the Deh Cho," said Health and Social Services Minister Tom Beaulieu in response to questions.
The department's plan is to have a board back in place in about two years, he said.
Program promises regional jobs
The Department of Human Resources is introducing a new program to fill vacant GNWT positions in the communities, Minister Glen Abernethy announced Oct. 23.
"At any given time, there are approximately 150 to 200 vacant regional positions available within all departments, boards and agencies in communities," he said. "The Regional Recruitment Program will assist with placing Northerners into these vacancies. This program is a tool that will help with decentralization efforts."
The program will provide a maximum of $15,000 per person to provide the training needed to fill a vacant position. The training will be flexible - it could be course work, a job-shadow in a similar position in another community, or another creative option - and the program will be supported by a new decentralized regional recruitment officer.
