Iqaluit social services transfer set for July 26

MICHAELA RODRIGUE
Nunatsiaq News

IQALUIT — The transfer of Iqaluit’s social services to the Baffin Regional Health and Social Services Board is about to take place.

On Monday, July 26, the health board will begin providing the social services that the Town has run for the past 18 years.

But local residents shouldn’t notice a difference — at least for the time being.

Social services previously delivered by the Town, such as child welfare and the administration of probation orders, will remain at the same location and will have the same telephone number. Income support will also stay in the same office.

Similarly, services already run by the health board, such as community health, will remain at their same location and phone number, said Judy Watts, the acting chief executive officer of the Baffin health board.

“At this point in time it really, in terms of the public, should make no difference whatsoever. Services will continue as ever, in the same location, with some of the same staff and with some new staff,” Watts said.

The health board decided to cancel its $1.4-million social services contract with the Town of Iqaluit last March. The health board said it could provide the same services at less cost. And it said it wanted to merge the two sets of services and provide “one-stop shopping” for residents.

The services will eventually be linked, Watts said.

“Once we have the transfer of the social services in place and comfortable and things moving smoothly, then we will be looking with the staff of both social services and the community health group here at how we can improve services by linking them. But we want to do one step at a time.”

That job will fall to Derry Martens, the new director of health and social services for Iqaluit. Martens previously was the director of community services in Churchill, Manitoba.

She said she hopes to have every position filled and to start developing new programs and systems this August.

“We’re going to keep the community informed as the steps of the process move along. We’re going to make it an issue to keep the community informed,” Martens said.

The Town of Iqaluit currently has eight employees delivering social services and two employees delivering income support through the Department of Education.

The eight employees were all given offers of employment by the health board, said Paul Fraser, Iqaluit’s current director of social services.

Three accepted the offers and four other positions have already been filled. The health board will also add additional staff to help during the transfer, Watts said.