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EDITORIAL: The buck stops with you Minister Abernethy

“Their jobs will be dependent upon it; making sure the terms and conditions of the legislation are met.”

Health Minister Glen Abernethy promised to hold senior officials accountable after an auditor general report gave a failing grade to child and family services in 2014. A new report shows he has been unable to live up to that promise. Avery Zingel/NNSL photo
Health Minister Glen Abernethy promised to hold senior officials accountable after an auditor general report gave a failing grade to child and family services in 2014. A new report shows he has been unable to live up to that promise.
Avery Zingel/NNSL photo

This solemn promise belongs to Health and Social Services Minister Glen Abernethy. He was detailing action items to media after a devastating report from the Auditor General of Canada in March 2014 found his department was failing children in foster care.

The minister made it clear that heads of the seven regional health authorities would roll if improvements did not come to child and family services in the territory.

Fast forward to Tuesday, and another even more devastating report on child and family services. Problems there are worse than ever, the auditor general reports.

In 2014, social workers failed to maintain a minimum level of contact with foster children in 59 per cent of cases. By 2018, that had risen to 88 per cent.

The previous audit found 69 per cent of foster care homes didn’t receive basic screening, such as criminal record checks. That level remains at 66 per cent.

The audit reveals the department is still struggling to care for foster children and has failed to implement most of the recommendations contained in the original report.

This time around, here’s what Abernethy had to say in response to these disappointing findings: “It could be resources, it could be the demands of time. I just don’t know,” he said. “But it’s an area that’s very concerning as are the foster family checks and other things identified in the report.

“We are going to make those changes,” he added.

Well, whose heads are going to roll now, Minister Abernethy? Who is going to take the fall for his department's disgraceful inability to ensure the most needy and vulnerable of the territory's citizens are being protected?

Abernethy better hope MLAs in the legislative assembly don't have high expectations of their cabinet ministers, otherwise his head will be on the chopping block.

Health and Social Services has long been touted as a tough assignment among prospective cabinet appointees. Abernethy's predecessor, Tom Beaulieu, lasted two years. He was shuffled out after MLAs expressed disappointment with his handling of addiction issues in the territory, including the closure of the Nats'ejee K'eh Treatment Centre in Hay River.

After five years on the job, Abernethy might be tempted to count himself as a success. But let's not be mistaken. After two dismal reports his credibility on this file is seriously damaged.

There is blame to go around. Does it make any sense, with Abernethy already pointing to a number of vacant positions at child and family services, that the territorial government would shelve the diploma of social work program at Aurora College?

There is plenty of work to be had apparently. In a territory of 45,000 people, 1,000 of them are in protective or preventative care under the Child and Family Services Act.

Abernethy would be within his rights to demand more funding from his colleagues at the cabinet table to make sure a made-in-the North social work program stays afloat.

But at the end of the day, Abernethy can talk all he wants about how serious he is about dealing with his department's – again -- appalling record on this file or wonder aloud why staff apparently aren't doing their jobs. But it is his record, and it is a failure.

Abernethy may have had time to clean up this mess in 2014 but he doesn't anymore. And there is no one left to blame but himself.