N.W.T. eyes changes to family services act

The Northwest Territories' MLAs want to update parts of the Child and Services Act to address northern realities and issues, such as poverty andthe high number of aboriginal children in care.

Politicians and child welfare professionals say the current 10-year-old act does not work well enough for aboriginal children, who are nine times more likely to be in foster care than non-aboriginal children.

"All we're saying is that any change in that should be done with the view of, you know, aboriginal values," Tu Nedhe MLA Tom Beaulieu, who chairs the standing committee on social programs, told CBC News on Tuesday.

The committee is currently reviewing the act and is expected to table its findings during the fall session.

Beaulieu said the current Child and Family Services Act is similar to legislation elsewhere in Canada, but it does not recognize the struggles parents and caregivers have in the Northwest Territories, such as poverty or a shortage of housing.

"A grandmother who lives in a one-bedroom unit now that's not really an appropriate place for the child to sleep and so on, but that's probably the best solution for that's child future and for the whole development of that child," he said.

Making resources available

Simone Fournel, the territory's manager of child and family services, agrees that the N.W.T. has specific issues, and they're not limited to poverty.

"We have some really great resources. I think it's certainly a challenge in trying to make sure those resources are available to all children in the territory, because of our geography and how spread out we are," she said.

"We can't always offer to have a therapist available in every single community to help."

As part of its review of the Child and Family Services Act, the standing committee will invite the public to comment on a discussion paper it will release later this month.

A series of public meetings will be held in April in communities across the territory. The standing committee is also inviting people and organizations to mail or email their feedback at any time.