This is page numbers 185 - 206 of the Hansard for the 18th Assembly, 2nd Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was housing.

Topics

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Mahsi. Oral questions. Member for Hay River North.

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier I spoke about some changes that the government should undertake that would help small businesses grow, help build our capacity, and keep Northerners working. These are cross-departmental issues, but I will address my questions to the Minister of Finance. As I stated, to bid on government tenders worth over $100,000, bidders must put down a five per cent cash bond or a 10 per cent security bond. Given that this requirement may unduly penalize small businesses that are just doing their best to get ahead or stay afloat in this economy, and given that there's other, more accommodating ways that to protect the government's interest, will the government commit to reviewing this policy and ultimately, increasing that $100,000 threshold to an amount that allows and helps small businesses to compete and grow. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Mahsi. Minister of Finance.

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Department of Finance, we will work with our three infrastructure departments -- Transportation, NWT Housing Corporation, and Public Works and Services -- to review the requirement value of the security required on government tender for contracts, recognizing that the regulations for this particular issue are quite old. We will have a review of it and see if there are any changes that can be made. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Thank you for the answer. I will follow up with the Minister on that in the future. According to the Government Contract Regulations, all purchases over $5,000 must go to tender. Given that this is also an antiquated amount and doesn't reflect the reality of doing business in 2016, will the government commit to amending the Government Contract Regulations by increasing this $5,000 threshold.

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

On February 18, 2016, the Financial Management Board approved increases to the GNWT sole-source limits effective April 1, 2016, and that is concurrent with the implementation of the modernized Financial Administration Act. Specifically, the sole-source limit for goods and non-professional services will increase from $5,000 to $25,000; professional services from $25,000 to under $50,000; and for architectural and engineering professional services, to under $100,000. The Modern Management Initiative is friendly to northern businesses and also addresses inflationary increases since the GNWT sole-source limits were established 20 years ago. This initiative has broad stakeholder support and is consistent with what is being done with other government jurisdictions in Canada and the province of Ontario. ITI will be seeking approval in March to make the corresponding changes to BIP to increase from $5,000 to $25,000, and the Department of Finance is actually preparing a letter to send to the Standing Committee on Priorities and Planning informing them of these changes. But since the question is being asked today, I thought I would respond to that today.

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

That is very good news. I appreciate that. When awarding contracts for large multi-million-dollar capital projects, do factors such as the ability for local businesses to participate in the contract, the potential for capacity building, the cost savings associated with having locals employed and so on, ever factor into the decision? Or are contracts awarded without consideration of these potential benefits?

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

For tenders, the Northwest Territories Manufactured Products Policy and the BIP bid adjustments are other factors that are taken into consideration for request for proposals. A number of other factors other than price are taken into consideration when evaluating proposals; criteria may include but are not limited to team experience, methodology, design and construction, project schedule, and BIP adjustment. PWS has developed, in my understanding, has implemented new evaluation criteria for design-build RFPs called community engagement. As part of this new evaluation criteria, proponents are asked to explain and demonstrate the following: how local labour will be recruited and utilized as part of the project; what plans are in place to provide and maximize on-the-job training opportunities for local residents; understanding the local economy, highlighting how their proposal addressed any economic constraints or challenges; and the approach for communication and collaboration with local government and First Nations organizations. PWS is working with client departments to start using the community engagement criteria for large, multi-year RFP contracts to assist with supporting local labour and businesses.

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Lots of good news out of the Minister of Finance today.

---Laughter

That last response answered my next question, so I just want to thank the Minister and let him know that I will be following up with this on the floor of the House and privately.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Mahsi. More of a comment. Oral questions. Member for Nunakput.

Herbert Nakimayak

Herbert Nakimayak Nunakput

Quanani, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Medical travel is an important part of health care in the NWT, especially in Nunakput where all communities are fly-in communities, so accessing services outside the community requires air travel. This is a necessary but significant expense. Could the Minister tell us what the cost of medical travel is for the NWT, and if you're going to look at ways to reduce that cost? Quanani, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Mahsi. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Medical Travel Policy is designed to reduce financial impact on residents who are accessing insured health services. Those benefits are in place mostly to help address the geographical realities and needs that we have in the Northwest Territories for people who are accessing these insured services. There is a significant expenditure. The total budget for the medical travel program in 2015-2016 was $36.9 million, with projected expenditures actually over that, of $38.2 million. The total cost, we are able to recover some of those dollars from other revenues, such as including non-insured health benefits for First Nations and Inuit as well as third-party employer and insurance. Medical travel has been underfunded for many years. The department is working on a medical travel modernization project to help improve program and patient experiences for those who are accessing medical travel. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Herbert Nakimayak

Herbert Nakimayak Nunakput

The Minister mentioned that the department is working to modernize the medical travel program. Could he please tell us more about the project, and what progress has been made?

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

The medical travel modernization is an ongoing project. The first step in the work was actually revising the Medical Travel Policy, and that was actually revised and came into effect on April 1, 2015. The policy revisions included moving the program administration detail out of the Cabinet-approved policy into a ministerial policy. These are now subject to periodic reviews, and may be updated so that they can continue to meet the needs of the public and the health system. Under the revised policy, we have also been able to establish an appeals process, which is new. One of the major elements being looked at is improving guidelines for patient escorts, which is one of the issues that I have heard the most about as I have travelled around the Northwest Territories. We're also streamlining business processes to make it more efficient. Other projects underway as part of medical travel modernization are focused on improving the patient experience. A medical travel handbook is nearly developed, almost ready to go, and will be made available to all individuals who are going on medical travel, and the staff have been working and have taken additional training to become certified service professionals to improve customer service at the front line.

Herbert Nakimayak

Herbert Nakimayak Nunakput

Medical travel escorts is something I hear a lot of concern about from my constituents, especially for elders. Could the Minister explain how decisions are made about escorts and how the process is being improved? Quyanini, Mr. Speaker.

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

s I indicated, I've had the opportunity as Minister to travel to all the communities in the Northwest Territories, and when I've been there one of the things that I hear the most about is medical travel and frustrations that exist around medical travel. The policy on escorts actually sets out that the requirement and criteria for an escort to travel with a medical travel client is known as a “non-medical escort,” and they may be approved if: the patient is under the age of 19; the patient is breastfeeding an infant and requires an escort to assist with the baby; the patient has a mental or physical disability and is not able to travel unassisted; the patient requires an escort for interpretation; or if an escort is needed to learn how to care for the patient after they are discharged. Escorts are not automatically provided for elders unless they meet one of those criteria. There's been a lot of discussion. I've heard a lot of elders actually talking about this, and I've heard some of them say we don't want an escort because we are an elder. I've heard other people say we should have an escort because we're an elder. I've heard individuals say that the escorts should be a family member, somebody known to them. I've heard other people say that we should have established escorts. There's no one simple solution, and we've pulled all this information together through public consultations and others and we are moving forward with an escort policy, which I'll be discussing with Regular Members as we move forward. One of the first things that we're doing is getting out the handbook so that when individuals are going medical travel they know the information of where they're going, what they need to do, what information they need to bring with them, and what information they'll need to bring back. I'm happy to share the results of medical travel review as we take steps forward with committee and all members. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Mahsi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment some questions regarding Aurora College. As the Minister may know, students with disabilities have plans set in place while they are in school for their success. As well, it helps them prepare when they get on to post-secondary school. Does the Minister know if Aurora College has a plan or a policy in place that deals with students with disabilities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Mahsi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Alfred Moses

Alfred Moses Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do agree that developing these kind of plans for individuals and students right from K to 12 to post-secondary is very important and we need to look at those kinds of options moving forward. Yes, the college does have a number of policies designed to assist students in post-secondary. We have barrier-free facilities, so all of our campuses include accommodating persons with physical challenges. We also have inclusive approaches for students when they do get into colleges, but also in terms of making sure that admissions and applications presents fair and equitable considerations for all students, so there are a few programs in place. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

I thank the Minister for his answer. Does the Minister know how each campus implements these plans and policies in place?

Alfred Moses

Alfred Moses Inuvik Boot Lake

I did mention that our three campuses do have these policies in place. I don't have the detailed information, but I can get that information for the Member. We also have 26 community learning centres that also follow these policies, and as mentioned, I can get some more of those details for the Member.

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

I thank the Minister for his answer. However, I'd like to really get into depth with these students who have learning disabilities, and how the college actually implements their plans. Does the college actually look at down south and how they're implementing these plans? Because I know if we go to Grande Prairie, they actually have a process where they guarantee success of their students.

Alfred Moses

Alfred Moses Inuvik Boot Lake

Yes, when we go through developing our policies we also review the Canadian post-secondary policies and look at what's going on down south. We've got to ensure that any students that are going post-secondary that might need assistance, whether it's financial or whether physical challenges, that they self-identify and let the institutions know what might be some of their challenges to get that education they need. We need all parties to be onboard with this. But yes, in terms of the question, we do look at other policies when we do our review.