Lesa Semmler, Minister of Health and Social Services, issued the following statement in response to the Auditor General’s report on Child and Family Services and recent public discussion about the findings:

“Over the past several days, there has been significant public discussion about the Auditor General’s report on Child and Family Services.

I want to speak to families, frontline staff, Indigenous governments, communities, and everyone who cares about the safety and well-being of children in the Northwest Territories.

The findings in the Auditor General’s report are serious.

Children and families who rely on Child and Family Services are among the most vulnerable people in the Northwest Territories. When the system does not meet standards consistently, that matters. It matters deeply. As Minister, I take that responsibility seriously.

The Auditor General identified real and serious gaps. Reports of suspected maltreatment were not always screened within required timelines. Investigations were not always completed within required timelines. Children in care did not always receive consistent monthly contact. Too many Indigenous children did not have documented cultural support plans. Vacancy rates were too high, caseloads were too heavy, and training was delayed.

Those findings are not acceptable. They require action.

That is why the Government of the Northwest Territories has accepted every recommendation in the Auditor General’s report.

Without exception.

Accountability means accepting the findings. It also means following through.

We need to know where standards are being met and where they are not. We need stronger and more consistent supports for foster care and group care. We need a better understanding of the staffing and resources required to do this work properly, and we need to make sure staff have the supports they need. And we need to be open with residents about what is improving and what still needs to change.

We have taken action, we have seen improvements, but we know work must continue.

This is not the first time Child and Family Services has been audited. Audits in 2014 and 2018 also identified long-standing failures. The question today is not whether serious challenges remain.

They do.

The question is whether the system has moved.

It has.

In 2018, only 21 percent of files reviewed had a courtesy supervision worker assigned. In 2026, every file reviewed where a courtesy supervision worker was needed had one assigned.

In 2018, only 11 percent of foster homes reviewed had completed annual reviews. In 2026, 81 percent had completed reviews. That is not just paperwork. That is oversight of the homes where children live.

Compliance with interviewing primary caregivers is now 100 percent, and interviews with children of concern have improved to 83 percent.

These are real changes in practice. They do not erase the gaps that remain, but they show that focused effort can lead to improvement.

One of the most important measures of a child welfare system is how often the system permanently replaces family.

Since the 2014 Auditor General’s report, the number of children under Permanent Custody Orders has fallen from 177 to 95. Temporary Custody Orders have also dropped, from 198 to 51.

Those numbers represent real children. They represent children who are more likely to stay connected to their parents, siblings, extended family, culture and community. They represent fewer children growing up with government as their permanent parent.

That matters.

In 2024-25, 1,199 children and youth received Child and Family Services. Fifty-two percent received prevention services, not protection orders. About three-quarters remained in their family home while receiving services and support. Fifty-five percent of Indigenous children in out-of-home care were placed with Indigenous caregivers. Fifteen of sixteen adoptions were Custom Adoptions.

This is not a system that exists to apprehend children. It is a system that is increasingly focused on prevention, family support, cultural connection, and keeping children safely connected to family and community whenever possible.

Is that enough?

No.

Is the work done?

No.

But it is movement in the right direction, and that progress matters.

I did not come to this role as a bystander.

I am an Indigenous woman. I am a nurse and a former frontline health-care professional. I have worked inside this system. I also grew up in an Indigenous family and community where I saw, and still see, firsthand, the impacts of addiction, trauma, colonialism and systemic failure.

I have watched family members carry the pain of losing their children to the Child and Family Services system, and I have seen the impact this has on children.

I know that pain. I have always known it.

I also know what it feels like when systems fail families, especially Indigenous families, and I know how long those harms last.

That lived experience shaped me and led me into politics, because I believed that if I was ever given the chance, I could help change this system from within.

This system was shaped by generations of colonialism and systemic racism. The trauma it carries, and the mistrust it has created, are the result of decades of harm to Indigenous people, to my people.

I know that mistrust intimately.

I have lived it, from both sides.

That is why the work ahead cannot only be about improving compliance. It has to be about changing how the system works, from the laws and policies that guide it to the way services are delivered to children, families and communities.

That includes continuing to support Indigenous governments that choose to exercise jurisdiction over child and family services. It includes recognizing Indigenous systems of care, custom adoption, extended family support, community-led care, and the role of Indigenous governments and communities in keeping children safe, connected and grounded in who they are.

It also includes significant amendments to the Child and Family Services Act.

These proposed changes are about strengthening voluntary prevention supports, introducing new collaborative approaches such as Family Support Circles, preserving family and cultural connections, recognizing the right of children and youth to be heard, and making clear that no child should be removed from their family solely because of poverty or socio-economic conditions.

This work is hard. It is necessary. And I remain committed to it.

I also want to recognize the frontline staff who do this work every day.

They work in difficult circumstances. They support families in crisis. They carry heavy responsibilities. They are asked to make hard decisions in complex situations, and they deserve clear direction, strong training, practical tools, and support from the system around them.

The Auditor General’s findings identify issues across the system. The response must also be system-wide. It has to be about clearer standards, better tools, stronger training, better tracking, more manageable caseloads, and the support frontline staff need to do this work well.

Accountability is not pretending that a complex system can be fixed overnight.

Accountability means acknowledging failures honestly, accepting recommendations, showing evidence of progress, and committing to do more.

That is what I am doing.

That is what this government is doing.

And that is what I will continue to do as the Minister of Health and Social Services.

There are also broader pressures across the health and social services system. I do not dismiss those pressures. Residents are frustrated. Staff are tired. Communities need better access to care and support.

I hear that from residents. I hear it from MLAs. I hear it from communities. I hear it from staff.

But the answer to pressure across the system is not to pretend the work is simple. The answer is to stay focused on practical changes, recruitment, supporting the workforce, better planning, better access, and accountability for results.

That work is underway.

Across the health and social services system, work is moving forward to improve primary and community care, strengthen services in small communities, modernize health legislation, improve home and community care and long-term care standards, support transitional housing and addictions recovery, modernize medical travel, improve access to cancer screening and cancer care, expand public health and harm-reduction supports, and advance critical health infrastructure and information-system upgrades.

That does not mean every problem will be solved quickly.

It means the work is underway, and I am committed to seeing it through.

I understand that people are frustrated. I understand why people are impatient. I understand why families, communities, MLAs and Indigenous governments expect better.

They should expect better.

Children and families deserve better.

The way we meet that expectation is through the work itself: legislative changes, workforce supports, prevention services, partnerships with Indigenous governments, and continued accountability for results.

That is where my focus has been.

That is where my focus will remain.

I am not asking anyone to accept that the system is good enough.

It is not.

I am asking residents to know that the work to change it is underway, that I am accountable for continuing that work, and that I will not step away from it.

I accepted this role because I believe this system can change.

I remain in this role because I am committed to seeing that change through.

That is what accountability requires.

That is what this work demands.

And that is what children, families and communities across the Northwest Territories deserve.”

Media requests, please contact:
Cabinet Communications
Government of the Northwest Territories
PressSecretary@gov.nt.ca