Masi. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the single authority went live here in the Northwest Territories earlier this year. Since that time we've had an opportunity to bring the different council members, the Regional Wellness Council members into Yellowknife for some training and orientation into the new system. They've all then gone back to the communities, the chairs have come together and have held their first board meeting, if you will, then there has been some of the communities, regions, have actually already had some regional wellness council meetings. The CEO is travelling to those often with the Chair of the Territorial Board to provide some orientation upfront.

I had an opportunity to meet with the Chair of the Territorial Authority last week, and he indicated that he's got a real interest in getting out to the communities, meeting with people, meeting with the Regional Wellness Councils and working with them to focus some of the priorities within their individual regions. Mr. Speaker, this is still a growing phase, we're still in the learning phase, and we're looking forward to continuing to roll forward and make changes in the best interest of clients with a focus on clients throughout the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I know that would at least support the new administration after hearing a number of frontline concerns there on how to better improve our system, mostly in particular the area of service, travel and coordinated travel. Can the Minister elaborate, are we going to get regional referral coordinators back into the regions like we once had?

I'm not sure that I actually understand the question, I'm not familiar with the referral coordinators the Member is referring to. Is the Member referring to something related to medical travel or something else? I'm not sure.

Can I expect, for the Sahtu region, a regional medical travel coordinator to make travel arrangements and accommodations arrangements for patients from the Sahtu?

Mr. Speaker, one of the advantages of coming together as a single authority here in the Northwest Territories is when there are vacancies in different regions or communities some of the other communities and regions can stand up. It was my understanding that there was an individual once upon a time responsible for some medical travel coordination in the Sahtu. I'm not aware of whether or not that position was eliminated. I will have to get back in touch with the department and the authority to find out what is the actual status in the Sahtu, and I will commit to getting that information for the Member.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Sahtu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My last question. I'm very glad to hear that the Minister's going to be cooperative. We all have the heart of reform, better care, and to approve efficiencies where we can. So I look forward to hearing from the Minister on progress reports on the operations of the coordinated travel for any of the members or the senior members going to the communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'll take that as a comment, but I'll allow the Minister to answer if he wishes.

Mr. Speaker, as the House is aware, we are doing some review of our medical travel policies here in the Northwest Territories with a focus on improving the results for our clients as they travel. I've made a commitment to getting that information to Members and I'll continue to provide the Members with updates. I will say that now that we have moved to a single authority there's a real ability to consolidate and figure out how we can work together as a system to provide our residents a more seamless medical travel experience, and we're looking forward to seeing some positive results coming out shortly as a result of that.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Masi. Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, GNWT, we're a co-proponent of the Giant Mine remediation project, and the Giant Mine remediation project we are currently undertaking an additional human health risk assessment to supplement the previous assessments. This work includes consolidation of a wide array of existing studies and reports both on the Giant Mine site and offsite. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I appreciate the response from the Minister. I'm aware of the health risk assessment work that's being done around the Giant Mine site as part of that work. What specifically is the department doing about the offsite activity or the offsite contamination outside of the Giant Mine? You know, what sort of review of the effects of arsenic pollution caused by mining activities in the Yellowknife area on our environment and human health is the department actually working on?

Mr. Speaker, we have an interdepartmental GNWT legacy committee which includes Health and Social Services, ENR, Lands, WSCC, and ITI. It was created in 2015 to provide a coordinated approach to the topic of legacy contaminants. I am also aware of at least seven projects that are being conducted by academic institutions and one by ENR to study the legacy of contaminants in the Yellowknife area.

I thank the Minister for his response. I understand that there are a number of departments coordinating their work. That is good. Our understanding of arsenic and its toxicity has changed significantly over the last decade. How has this new knowledge influenced how we approach our assessment of arsenic in the Yellowknife area?

Mr. Speaker, the Member is correct. We have a better understanding of the effects of arsenic. Development of a bio monitoring program through the human health effects monitoring program of the residents of Yellowknife, Ndilo, and Detah, to understand current health is underway. This will set a baseline for our ongoing monitoring.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I again thank the Minister for doing his homework before coming into the House today. That is great.

--- Laughter

Again, thank you. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources published an environmental guideline for contaminated site remediation in November 2003. Appendix 4 of that document contains remediation objectives for arsenic and soils depending on the end use. These guidelines, though, are now almost 13 years old. When does the department intend to review and update these guidelines? Will the Minister commit to consult this side of the House and the public as part of that update? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the Member pointing out the fact that I need to do additional homework on this particular issue. That is fine. I will make that commitment to have a conversation with my officials and see what updates are underway, and then I will share that information with the Members. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Justice. First off, I want to ensure that I understand the Minister's position on records of non-conviction based on our correspondence. As Justice Minister, do you believe the RCMP should release information on criminal incidences for which a person has never been lawfully convicted when the release of that information can result in unjust and even unlawful discrimination against innocent people? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. I would just like to remind Members to direct their questions through the Speaker, please. Minister of Justice.