Northwest Territories ministers face vote on being expelled from cabinet

Under the territory’s consensus government, cabinet members can be fired from their portfolios by regular members of the legislature.

Abernethy ran into trouble after an audit found little has improved in the last four years in children’s services and some concerns have worsened.

The report found two-thirds of foster homes weren’t subject to a criminal record check before being assigned children. One guardian had been criminally charged with assaulting the child.

But the report cited a litany of other failures.

Social workers failed to check on children in care at least every two months in 88 per cent of cases and 89 per cent of foster homes didn’t get an annual review. In one-fifth of cases, child welfare officials didn’t respond to child protection concerns.

In 2016, one child was moved 20 times.

Abernethy has blamed the restructuring of child services and high staff turnover for the problems.

But Testart said Abernethy has been in the job since 2014 after a previous audit found similar concerns. Two more internal audits made the same points.

“To find out things are worse than they were when the minister took over the file is really troubling. At some point, responsible government compels members of any legislature to hold government to account.

“We’re talking about 666 kids that are in unsafe, unmonitored environments.”

Three communities were cut off from crucial winter stocks of everything from dog food to construction material earlier this month when the territory-owned Marine Transportation Services Ltd. cancelled a barge shipment. Parts of the shipments will be airlifted to the communities, at great expense.

At the time, officials in Schumann’s department blamed heavy sea ice drifting unexpectedly into the supply route.

But Testart said the real problem was the department was too slow getting organized.

“The management was already three months behind its deliveries and was unable to catch up with changes in weather conditions. It is costing our government millions of dollars that could spent on other things.

“Like child and family service workers.”

— By Bob Weber in Edmonton. Follow him on Twitter at @row1960

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Northwest Territories ministers face vote on being expelled from cabinet

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