Tłı̨chǫ Community Services Agency Governance Structure

The TCSA was established under the Tłı̨chǫ̨ Agreement effective August 4, 2005. It is a unique organization in the Northwest Territories in two significant ways. Firstly, it is a Government of the Northwest Territories Agency, while incorporating the values and principles of the Tłı̨chǫ̨ people and having the longer term objective of transforming itself into an agency of the Tłı̨chǫ̨ Government.

Secondly, the Agency is the only one in the Northwest Territories to deliver both health and social services as well as education programs under one entity as defined under the Tłı̨chǫ̨ Community Services Agency Act. A copy of this legislation is available in the GNWT website at http://www.justice.gov.nt.ca/.

As a result of the Agency delivering the health and social services as well as education programs, it is accountable to the Government of the Northwest Territories Department of Health and Social Services and the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. The deliveries for both health and education programs operate under two different year ends: March 31 and June 30, respectively. The Agency prepares annual audited financial statements for the combined health and education programs as at March 31 for the Government of the Northwest Territories fiscal year end, as well as audited statements solely for the education program year ending June 30.

The Agency, unlike other Education and Health & Social Services authorities in the NWT, has three dimensions, as outlined in the figure below:

Three Dimensions of the TCSA

The Agency is governed by a Board made up of four members and a chairperson. The Tłıchǫ Community Governments (Behchokò, Gamètì, Wekweètì and Whatì) each appoint one member to represent their community on the Agency Board. The GNWT Minister of Aboriginal Affairs appoints the chairperson after consultation with the Agency appointees and the Tłıchǫ Government. The term for Agency Board members is determined by the entity appointing them and may not exceed four years. Members may be reappointed for consecutive terms. The TCSA Board meets quarterly throughout the year: additional meetings are scheduled as/when the need arises.

The current TCSA Board members include:

• Chairperson – Ted Blondin
• Behchokǫ  Representative – Rosa Mantla
• Whatı̀ Representative – Alex Nitsiza
• Gamètı̀ Representative – Irene Mantla
• Wekweètı̀ Representative – Marie Adelle Football

The terms for each of the current TCSA Board members ends in October 2021, while the term for the Chairperson ends in July 2022. The governance structure of the Agency is illustrated in the figure below:

Figure 7: Governance Structure of the Tłı̨chǫ̨ Community Services Agency

Because the TCSA is an intergovernmental services agency and delivers programs in the areas of Education, and Health and Social Services the administrative structure is different than that of other education authorities. The Agency employs a Chief Executive Officer who is responsible to direct the work of a management team consisting of a Director of Education, a Director of Health and Social Services, and a Director of Corporate Services as outlined below:

• Chief Executive Officer – Kevin Armstrong
• Director of Education – Linsey Hope
• Director of Health and Social Services – Sara Nash
• Director of Corporate Services – Rose Jiang

The CEO fulfills legislated roles under GNWT legislation including that of “Deputy Head” for the public service and “Superintendent” under the Education Act. The Early Childhood and First Nations Social Programs, initially transferred to the TCSA by the Tłıchǫ Government, were returned to the Tłıchǫ Government in 2012 as a step towards self-government. The management structure of the Agency is illustrated in the figure below:

Management and Program Function Structure of the TCSA

All senior management positions of the TCSA are indeterminate. Each senior manager undergoes a performance evaluation annually, and ensures annual performance appraisals for their staff.