Fort Smith jail and midwifery positions re-instated in N.W.T. budget
The cuts were expected to save the territory nearly $3.7 million
N.W.T. Finance Minister Caroline Wawzonek has reversed her decision to close the men’s unit of the Fort Smith Correctional Facility, and is putting some money back into the territory’s midwifery services.
Wawzonek made the announcement at the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday, saying funding for the jail and $331,000 for two midwifery positions in Yellowknife would be reinstated in the territory’s proposed budget.
Partially closing the jail and discontinuing a midwifery expansion project in Yellowknife were part of the N.W.T. government’s plan to manage the cost of unexpected events like wildfires and floods that have forced many communities to evacuate over the past few years.
Cutting the midwifery program was expected to save the government $990,000, and closing the men’s unit of the jail was expected to save $2.7 million. There were plans to use the space and staff in Fort Smith to make a wellness centre instead.
The $331,000 will be reinstated to cover a manager and a senior consultant midwifery position in Yellowknife.
Wawzonek said the need for that type of support still exists, and must be guided by communities and regional governments. “We do not want to put a deadline on doing hard work,” she said, adding that the government would provide updates on that work, as it continues to unfold.
Wawzonek also said midwives provide a “valuable service” and the territory is committed to expanding midwifery services to Behchokǫ̀ and another community that’s yet to be determined by the end of the current government.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Birthing services temporarily paused at Inuvik hospital due to staffing shortages, CBC News
Finland: Fewer than 50,000 births in Finland last year, Yle News
Sweden: Giving birth in a car: a real rural problem in Sweden, Radio Sweden
