Oral questions. Minister of Infrastructure.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No, I’m not aware of the prompt payment program if we have one under P3. P3 falls under the Minister of Finance, but we’ll be glad to look at any ideas that Members want to share to help alleviate the situation for businesses that have done the work and completed on time and done a successful job. If there’s a hold-up on payment, we would certainly have a look at anything to help facilitate that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we all know we’re in the hunting season. Right now, the residents of Nahendeh have seen a large influx of out-of-town hunters around on the roads and in the river. Unfortunately, we’re not seeing the wildlife officers out there or if they’re out there, we’re not seeing them right now. People are concerned about that because we’re not sure if these hunters have valid hunter’s licenses and are following the rules. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources explain how wildlife officers are scheduled during the hunting season. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Oral questions. Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Wildlife officers are on regular duty from Monday to Friday 8:30 to 5 o’clock. During busy hunting season, schedule can be adjusted to provide additional coverage when and where needed. Also, we can bring in additional resource officers from other communities or regions if there is a need in a particular area. There are renewable resource officers on call 24 hours a day in each region, with the contact information posted on the GNWT website hunting guide. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the Minister for that answer. I guess the big concern is that when we see the hunters, it is usually on Friday to Sunday and Monday. We are hoping, with the Minister's permission, that they can start working with the department and the communities about this. The other issue is with these non-residents that come in is that they are leaving garbage, and they are using people's cabins. Is this something that the department does monitor, or is it just that people are able to leave garbage and use whatever facilities are available to them?

I thank the Minister for both answers. It is unfortunate. I have had concerns from our residents saying that we have hunters using their cabins, and that is unfortunate. I respect that they do not have jurisdiction on it. I could probably answer this question as well, but I am going to ask the Minister anyway. What are the department officers able to do when they are out there and they see people under the influence, whether it is on the road or in boats? What is their role? What can they do to address this issue?

Again, to the Member's first point about the use of personal cabins, a lot of it is common sense. Some people will leave their cabins open, allowing other people to use them in case of emergency, and they have to respect that person's cabin. It is a practice that has been going on for a long time, but again, it is common sense that people need to respect the personal property of others.

To the Member's second point, the renewable resource officers have no authority to enforce alcohol-related infractions, but because they are peace officers, they can report the infraction to the RCMP. However, there are provisions in the Wildlife Act regarding harvesting in an unsafe manner, and that can be enforceable by the renewable resource officers.

I thank the Minister for that information. I will be sharing this information with my residents that have concerns, and I thank him for that. I guess my last question here is: can the Minister explain what the process is for out-of-town hunters or out-of-territory hunters to come in and check in so that we are aware that they are out there?

Every person that is a non-resident or a non-resident alien must have a licence, a tag, and engage the services of an outfitter. There is a mandatory reporting of their harvest, and outfitters and their clients say they provide meat to local community organizations, who distribute that meat amongst their members. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier I spoke about elder abuse in communities, and two years ago this government developed a strategy. My question is to the Minister of Health and Social Services. What actions has the department taken in the last year to act on the recommendation and needs outlined in the strategy, creating safe communities for older adults? Mahsi.

Masi. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the department provides about $205,000 annually to the NWT Seniors' Society, and they do a number of things with those dollars. They support the Senior Citizens' Month. They support the Senior Citizens' Advisory Council. They also provide community outreach programs. Of that $205,000, $90,000 is allocated to support the Network to Prevent Abuse of Older Adults and different activities.

This has also led to a significant number of resources that are available. I believe they are on the NWT Seniors' Society website, but they are also on the GNWT website and the NWT Health and Social Services website. That actually can direct seniors to resources that exist or programs that they can go to support them if they feel that abuse is occurring and direct them to where they might be able to get assistance, guidance, or help. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

My elders are seeking reassurances. My second question to the Minister is: can the Minister provide an update on the piloting of elder abuse screening tools in territorial seniors' programs and, also, in particular communities?

Much of that work has been done, but much of that work is also ongoing. It continues to evolve. It is one of the items in the Continuing Care Action Plan. Actually, it is in objective number one. I believe it is on page 5 that it talks about elder abuse, and it is continuing the work that we are doing in partnership with the NWT Seniors' Society to finalize a standard set of elder abuse screening tools and to test those tools as well. It also includes protocols and intervention procedures for youth by a different health care provider. When an individual comes into a health centre, as an example, and it is identified that they might be a victim of elder abuse, what they can do and how the staff can recognize it.

Much of that work is proceeding. Some of it is done, others still need to be done, and we will continue to keep committee updated on that information, but also work with our communities to make sure that that information is out and available to elders. To that end, we are also going to be including those types of things in the elders' handbook, which I will be tabling later today. As those tools are developed, there will certainly be linkages to them in those documents.

The Minister clearly states that the action of the government is evolving, and again, elders seek reassurance. If there are indeed screening tools within the strategy and the department is employing those, what are the next steps for those who have flagged the abuse and for the elders themselves in terms of the screening tools that are employed by the department?

The department is just one of the partners in putting these tools together. The NWT Seniors' Society is also a key partner in the work that has been done in this area. We are certainly going to work with the NWT Seniors' Society as well as other seniors' societies to find the best way to get that information out to seniors. I know that the NWT Seniors' Society, through the NWT Network to Prevent Abuse of Older Adults, have been around since 2009, and they try to get information out to our seniors and to our elders across the Northwest Territories. We are going to continue to work with them to find the mechanisms to get that information out that work best for the residents in small communities, large communities, and regional centres.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again, the government has the strategy for creating safe communities for older adults. My last question is: are we meeting the goals of the strategy, and could the Minister provide a substantive example of the concrete steps that his department has undertaken to ensure that elders are no longer being abused in communities?

I think one of the concrete things that we are doing is actually providing the money to the NWT Seniors' Society to do the work around prevention and awareness and through the Network to Prevent Abuse of Older Adults. We are providing them money. We are working with them to get the information out. We are working on those different screening tools to make sure those are available to our health practitioners so that when individuals come in who are victims of abuse, they are recognized, and they are directed appropriately.

This work continues to evolve as new information becomes available and as new things are happening. As technology changes, these things will continue to evolve. We will be, at a point in time, but it is important to acknowledge that these things will be continuing to evolve as time goes on and as technology changes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.