Status of Women committee  It comes from our department.

Status of Women committee  I wish I had the answer for you. As hard as it may be for people to believe, apprehending a child from a woman who has left an abusive relationship is the last option we want. We put out a significant amount of money to assist families that are on a very limited income, and sometimes income support just doesn't pay enough.

Status of Women committee  Oh, supplement. As a matter of fact, I can tell you that on average we probably give out between $5,000 and $6,000 a month to supplement.

Status of Women committee  The reason we do it is that I don't believe the child should be removed from a parent if they're able to look after the child. If they're short on money to pay.... Often we pay utility bills. Often we pay housing arrears so that a person can get back into the housing system and have rent geared to their income.

Status of Women committee  I just have a comment. You're really building up our self-esteem this morning. I am starting to feel wonderful. Wow, look out, we're out to advocate now. Honestly, I don't know. I oftentimes feel very isolated in the program I work within just because child protection is sometimes frowned upon.

Status of Women committee  Since I work in that area, I'll speak from my experience. It's definitely higher than we'd like it to be. Taking any child into care is totally against my belief. However, there are situations in which a parent is unable to provide for them at a given time, and we have to provide alternate arrangements for them.

Status of Women committee  Well, she possibly could be eligible for a student loan--

Status of Women committee  --if that's what you're speaking about, but our organization does not.... We would be there to support her, but financially we would not be supporting that person through that process. There are other opportunities.

Status of Women committee  Experience certainly does help you. For the social workers that I'm responsible for, you must have a college diploma as a minimum. Experience is certainly.... We look at equivalencies, but it's becoming more and more difficult to do this job; there is so much court involvement. So the requirement is that you must have a diploma or a degree.

Status of Women committee  My experience has been that it depends on how you relate to that individual. I think there are some aboriginal people who do struggle with the fact that I might be Caucasian, but on the whole, I would have to say that I'm very well accepted by the people I work with. I would like to see more aboriginal people involved.

Status of Women committee  No. We do have—and I think Barb touched on this—the Government of the Northwest Territories if you are an aboriginal person.... If you're a social worker and you get your degree or complete the diploma program, then you are put in a position in one of the social service offices.

Status of Women committee  I would have to say that the working relationship our staff have with the RCMP is very positive. There are times when we have our differences, but we're able to work those through. Many of the calls that we get are call-outs after hours, in the evening, from the RCMP asking for assistance.

Status of Women committee  Thank you for bringing that question forward, Dennis. From what I see on the front lines--and I often don't get an opportunity to be involved in the larger picture in the community because of the workload I have, but what I do see and what I did when I worked in the eastern Arctic....

Status of Women committee  Oh dear, that's a tough one. That's a tough question. Certainly the points that you've made are very well taken. In my experience, working at the front line and managing a very good team of social workers, I find that when we go for services, the services are not as readily available as we would like them to be for the clientele we are tasked with servicing.

Status of Women committee  I won't take ten minutes. Good morning, everyone. On behalf of the Yellowknife Health and Social Services Authority, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the committee for the invitation to appear before you today. I'd like to begin by saying that as a service provider mandated to carry out the roles and responsibilities of protecting children, we see the devastating impact that family violence has on aboriginal women and their children daily.