Minister removes NWT health authority’s leadership council

A leadership council that presided over the operations of the NWT’s health authority is being removed and replaced by a single administrator.

Health minister Lesa Semmler said the NWT Health and Social Services Leadership Council will be dissolved on December 16.

Public administrator Dan Florizone, a former healthcare leader in Saskatchewan and Nunavut, will take over.

In a statement, the NWT government said the territory’s health authority needed “enhanced strategic direction.”

The leadership council – formed in 2016 – acted in a similar fashion to a board of governors, overseeing the work of the staff who actually manage the health authority on a day-to-day basis.

The council’s current chair is Gerry Cheezie, a former Smith’s Landing First Nation chief who was appointed in 2022. Cheezie declined to directly discuss with Cabin Radio the decision to replace the leadership council, but the council issued a statement after this article was first published in which it said the move was being made without prior consultation.

“The role and structure of the leadership council as the board of management of the NTHSSA has not proven to fit the rapidly evolving and challenging needs of the current health and social services system, nor within the broader context of the GNWT,” the territorial government said in a statement

“The goal in appointing a public administrator is to enable a more nimble approach and support efforts to find and implement solutions.”

The GNWT said Florizone “has experience leading large-scale change across the Saskatchewan health sector, the Saskatchewan education sector, and throughout the Government of Saskatchewan.”

He will be “responsible for exercising all powers and performing all duties and functions of the leadership council,” the GNWT added.

Regional wellness councils, whose chairs formed the overall leadership council, will continue.

The GNWT said appointing a public administrator was “not unprecedented.” Hay River’s health authority has one, the territory said – Brian Willows, who also sat on the leadership council in that role.

The Tłıchǫ Community Services Agency, which is the NWT health authority’s equivalent for Tłıchǫ communities, will continue to be governed by a board.

“This decision was not made without significant consideration and deliberation and does not reflect any failings on the part of the leadership council or the NTHSSA,” Semmler was quoted as saying.

“Appointing a public administrator provides the dedicated, full-time leadership needed to tackle the significant challenges in our health and social services system and deliver real, lasting improvements for all northerners

“This is an important step toward fostering healthy people and communities across the territory. By establishing strong, focused leadership, we aim to address longstanding challenges within the system and lay a more resilient foundation for the future.”

The health authority’s chief executive and its current management team, who sit below board level and will answer to the new public administrator, remain unchanged.

In a Q&A published alongside its news release, the territorial government said the change “reflects a current need for specific expertise in managing the needs of the NTHSSA under increasing pressures and operational and financial challenges the system is currently facing.”

The territory said it had considered candidates in the NWT to become the public administrator, but “could not identify a candidate who met the requirements and was willing to take on the role.”

“Mr Florizone brings the expertise required, the time and capacity to take this on,” the GNWT said, “and the experience working in a northern context.”

Aastha Sethi contributed reporting.