Good afternoon, Members. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as part of our government's commitment to create opportunities for Northerners to live and work in the Northwest Territories, the Department of Lands launched a Resource Management Officer training and development program three years ago. Since its creation, there have been two graduates of the program, with another nearing completion in the coming months. These first graduates have been permanently employed with the Department of Lands, and recruiting for new Resource Management Officers will begin shortly.

The training program began with the recruitment of entry-level, or level 1, resource management officers in each of the department's five regional offices. Participants completed courses through the Environment and Natural Resources Training Program offered at Aurora College, an orientation course to the Government of the Northwest Territories, as well as safety and on-the-job training.

During this training period, these resource management officers are supported financially by the department. Through extensive training and mentorship, incumbents increase their employability and essential skills for this position. Those who successfully complete the program are then qualified to be level 2 resource-management officers or inspectors with the Department of Lands.

These resource management officer positions, along with other resource management and superintendent positions, open career paths for northern residents and succession planning opportunities for the Department of Lands. The program also supports our government's priority to foster skill development, training, and employability for residents in all of our communities. Our program is building on the programs offered at our post-secondary northern institutions, is exposing Northerners to an exciting and rewarding career path, and is successfully graduating participants into positions with the Government of the Northwest Territories in communities throughout the territory.

The Department of Lands relies on qualified inspectors to ensure responsible and sustainable development in the Northwest Territories. Their success in the field relies on a combination of education, practical experience, and land-based knowledge as they carry out, on average, approximately 700 inspections annually throughout the territory.

Mr. Speaker, this program is a success for the Department of Lands, for our residents, and for our government. Congratulations to all those who have successfully completed the program, and I look forward to the continued success of this initiative of the Department of Lands. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. Member for Hay River North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the problems surrounding procurement have been raised numerous times by numerous Members of this House, yet, despite what we say, the Minister of Infrastructure insists that the GNWT has a top-notch procurement policy.

We have relayed our constituents' complaints about the policy to him on multiple occasions, but he continually insists that, aside from one or two people, no one has issues with it. The implication is that we're "fake news," Mr. Speaker, but we're not making this up. I've had half a dozen business owners and representatives in my office in Hay River discuss their concerns about procurement with me. I sat in on the manufacturing strategy consultation in Hay River, and heard the concerns about procurement. I've met with multiple business owners in Yellowknife and further concerns about procurement. I've met with representatives in the Beaufort Delta and heard their concerns. I hear the concerns coming out of the Deh Cho.

Mr. Speaker, I can't understand how the Minister doesn't hear the chorus of people from across the NWT who have serious concerns about the GNWT procurement practices. There's a growing number of small businesses that are so fed up that they refuse to do business with the GNWT anymore; and it's not just because of the red tape, the ridiculous paperwork, or the senseless policies. It's also the arrogance and the lack of respect shown to private businesses and entrepreneurs. It's no surprise that the GNWT has once again earned an "F" on the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses' Annual Report Card.

Procurement is one of the most powerful tools the GNWT has to build capacity, grow Northern businesses, and most importantly, put people to work. That doesn't seem to matter. The department would rather save a few bucks on an infrastructure project by contracting a southern company over a northern one, despite the fact that the benefit to the North in terms of skill development, job creation, and local purchasing would far outstrip any price difference.

The department would rather import manufactured goods from the South than support a northern business by tweaking a departmental policy handed down on high because it would require political will and a little bit of energy.

The department would rather put on its "how to do business with the GNWT" workshops than ask businesses how it can be better at doing business with them. The GNWT's failure to use its purchasing power as a tool to support small businesses and diversify the economy runs contrary to the mandate of this Assembly and is a black mark on this government. The fact that the Minister denies there is even a problem raises serious questions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members' statement. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is going to be an exciting day for the Minister of Infrastructure, as a number of us today have statements on procurement.

Mr. Speaker, I have raised numerous complaints around the procurement policies of this government. It is adversely impacting my constituents and the constituents of many other MLAs across the territory. It is time that we take a look at these policies and make them work for the people of the Northwest Territories, not for the Department of Infrastructure. It's time that we invest in the North and use procurement as a way to grow the economy, create jobs, and enrich businesses. Also, to develop their capacity. This Minister continues to ignore these requests from this side of the House. This Minister continues to say there are no problems. How many problems do we need to bring to his doorstep until he'll take action?

Well, we'll see, Mr. Speaker, because I have another issue I'd like to raise today. The current policy around payments, progress payments from our government for work completed, is you're only allowed to receive progress payments if you can post a supply bond that is not less than 100 per cent of the contract value. What small businesses can afford that, Mr. Speaker? While they lack progress payments, they need to come up with the capital to complete these projects. This is an untenable situation for many small businesses. The current policy strains cash flow, especially for small businesses that still have to meet payroll, pay taxes, pay WSCC premiums and other costs.

This is so bad it has forced some businesses into insolvency in some cases, and certainly discourages them from competing on RFP processes. The current policy stymies job creation and restricts investment in apprenticeship training. The construction industry alone accounts for 40 per cent of all apprenticeships in Canada, as trade contractors must limit their payroll commitments to meet cash flow expectations. Late payment practices erode the level playing field, as those who maintain honourable practices are put at a disadvantage.

These issues around payment are not secret, Mr. Speaker. They are well-known to the Minister. They are well-known to the department, and they are well-known to me and to other Members of this House. It's time to stop sleeping at the wheel on procurement issues. It's time to turn procurement into an economic engine for the people of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and it's a third round or procurement, but I'll start with some kudos because, Mr. Speaker, I have to admit I am encouraged to see the work that this government is doing in developing a manufacturing strategy. Frankly, this strategy does support our mandate commitment to expand and grow our manufacturing sector, promote and market NWT products, and aid in the professional and technological advancement of the industry.

The public engagement sessions conducted last year provides significant insight into the challenges and opportunities faced by our communities. Some of the common themes are related to labour, recruitment and retention, training and development, infrastructure, and geography.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to talk about GNWT policies and practices that are hurting our local businesses. Specifically, I'd like to echo complaints from my constituents on our procurement practices, guided by the Business Incentive Policy and the Northern Manufacturers' Products Policy. Mr. Speaker, our small businesses already face significant disadvantages in being located here in the North. Instead of supporting them, it seems that sometimes our own practices are used to exclude these manufacturers from being able to compete on RFPs or contracts with the government.

Frankly, there's a general lack of confidence in the GNWT's procurement processes. We've heard of some local companies that choose not to bid on RFPs because of adverse past experiences and the government's inability to address complaints about the process. Some businesses also stated that government actively seeks to change procurement requirements in order to skirt policies designed to promote northern businesses so that southern suppliers could be hired instead.

Other concerns include the lack of policy enforcement; the numerous loopholes that detract from the intent of the policies; the disconnect between the Business Incentive Policy and the Northern Manufacturing Policy, since they are policies of different departments; and inflexibility in not allowing for progress payments on larger projects, as we've already heard.

Mr. Speaker, we have the advantage of having the Departments of Infrastructure and Industry, Tourism and Investment being led by the same Minister. A review and harmonization of our procurement policies is long overdue. I hope that the Minister takes this feedback seriously, and restores confidence in the procurement process. We must have confidence so that it is fair and fulfills the intent of our mandate. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Members' statements. Member for Deh Cho.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wanted to speak to you today about the state of housing on the Hay River reserve. The problem is, I don't know what else I can say. I have told you that my constituents have come to me in frustration and despair. Families are forced to choose between separation, with young people leaving the community to find housing, or overcrowding, with inadequate homes degrading the fabric of family life. We have tried to work with the GNWT. We have tried to work with the federal government. We have been patient, and yet the situation has not materially changed.

At a constituency meeting in the Hay River Reserve last month, residents shared the concerns of overcrowding and the disappointment of the failure to progress on this file. I know the Minister is making an effort, Mr. Speaker, and I thank her for that. I know that dealing with the federal government on these units isn't easy. We are still waiting on six units while the 10 units now under the Housing Corporation remain empty. This just isn't an administrative problem loading up on someone's desk in Yellowknife or Ottawa. This is far more than paperwork at stake. We are talking about people's lives, their dignity, and their rights as Indigenous people under Treaty 8 and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous people.

It is 2018. Indigenous people need adequate housing. While Canada and the GNWT are calm in the seas of bureaucracy, both are failing to provide the leadership necessary to address this critical need. A handful of units, Mr. Speaker; that is all it would take to change the lives of residents of the Hay River Reserve forever. Surely, that is not too much to ask. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Frame Lake.

Merci, Monsieur le President. On January 12, 2018, TerraX Minerals announced that it had acquired the mineral rights at the old Ptarmigan Mine for $5,000. While this may be good news for some, it raises serious questions about the remediation of the site. While this property was a gold producer in the 1940s, 1980s, and 1990s, it was abandoned over 20 years ago and is another mining public liability.

Some minor remediation work has been done at the site, including signage and fencing, but the buildings are in shambles. Dust from the tailings pond continues to blow around unabated. Further remediation apparently awaits negotiations with the federal government, as does the allocation of those costs between GNWT and Canada.

It is not clear why the mineral rights for the site were made available for further development while the site is under remediation. Similarly, it is not clear how the company has claimed it "has no liability for any remediation of the previous mine site."

How will the acquisition of the mineral rights for the Ptarmigan Mine site affect the ability to carry out remediation of the site? If there are exploration activities going on, such as drilling, sampling, or trenching, this could presumably impact the ability to carry out remediation. I discussed the acquisition of the Ptarmigan Mine with the representative of TerraX. They would like the property remediated as much as anyone else, but the company has encountered many problems in trying to work with GNWT over this site and the abandoned Crestaurum Mine. While there are legitimate concerns around liability, the issue of Good Samaritan legislation and policy deserves some attention from this government.

The news release issued by TerraX on the Ptarmigan Mine raises more questions than it answers. I will have questions later today for the Minister of Lands. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Nunakput.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, industrious northern students are already submitting their applications for work as summer students and interns with the Government of the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, today I want to honour their hard work and their commitment to live, work, and give back to their home communities by talking a little bit about student success.

We know that quality early childhood education, whether provided at home, at playschool, or through programs like the Aboriginal Head Start or junior kindergarten, are critical to the emotional and intellectual foundation that our children need to thrive. A foundation is just that, something to build on. As students move through primary and elementary school and then high school, they need programs that deliver core curriculum, but also programs that speak to unique community and cultural needs.

Mr. Speaker, cultural programming ensures that students can remain immersed in their culture, their language, traditions, and activities throughout the course of their western education. Plus, local people such as elders, language teachers, and hunters and trappers can be included in the planning and delivering of this programming. They can pass on knowledge, values, and traditional ways of life.

Mr. Speaker, attendance at school and the completion of schoolwork fills the majority of students' waking hours for the entirety of their development from the age of four to the age of 18, if not beyond. Where culture-based education is fully integrated into students' experiences, their sense of pride and community will soon follow. With pride and cultural strength come improved performance and achievement, including attendance and marks. That is why we need to support our students to succeed both in high school and beyond to any opportunities that they wish to pursue. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Sahtu.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I, too, will join the procurement train here and have questions for the appropriate Minister. More specifically, I see the values and the process of procurement only to ensure and build confidence in our private sector, Mr. Speaker, to ensure confidence in our private sector. I can only ask the questions later on to the appropriate Minister more specifically in regards to the P3 process. Mahsi.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Nahendeh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today, I regret to inform you that Rita Cazon passed away on November 16, 2017.

In talking with her family, I was told in typical Rita fashion. Rita was born in Edmonton on August 6, 1954. What the unique thing was, was her family was visiting Canada from Germany. Four years later, the family moved back to Canada via New York on a big ship, as they would say. She was raised in Leduc, Alberta, until she was 17 years old. Then she moved to Yellowknife in 1972.

That year, while attending school in Yellowknife, Ernest Cazon saw this very beautiful lady and said, "Wow. I need to get to know her." Unfortunately, he did not get that chance during that year. In 1974, as fate would have it, Rita ended up moving to Fort Simpson and worked at the Nahanni Inn where Ernest saw her again. As he told me, here was his soulmate. On October 15, 1975, the two were married with a huge community celebration.

Mr. Speaker, Rita and her family were known for their willingness to foster children. She was known to be able to relate to them at a level others were not. Rita and her family fostered over 168 youth during this time. The youth felt that this was their home, and so did their friends. I had the pleasure of knowing her and her family personally. She looked after my children for a number of years. She was considered and is considered "Auntie Rita" to them.

Rita was known for her willingness to help with elections, regardless if it was band, municipal, NWT, or federal. She was an excellent resource of knowledge when it came to election issues and challenges. One time, when there was acclamation in the Nahendeh riding, she was asked to go to another riding to help out, and she moved away from her family during this time. Even after retirement, she was still called upon for help.

She sat on Local Education Authority, Community Education Council, and the District Education Authority to make sure youth had a good commitment from adults in the riding. Rita was known for being part of the community. She was always volunteering her time for various events. During our ball tournaments, she was always keeping score and announcing the games. Ballplayers, umpires, and fans loved her humour and wisecracks. She was part of every tournament and will be sadly missed.

Mr. Speaker, Rita was known about fairness. One time, her and two friends were in a store and noticed the produce was going bad. They placed the food on the floor and were heard saying, "This food is not good enough for human consumption." Within a half hour, the store brought out the new produce and apologized.

Rita was known for her baking, especially during bazaars. She would have five to 10 tables full of her baking. Unfortunately, for the family, nothing was left to go home. Luckily for Ernest, she would come home and bake some bread or buns for her love. Mr. Speaker, the family would like to thank Stanton Hospital, Fort Simpson Medical Travel, Liidli Kue First Nation, Fort Simpson Metis Local, Fort Simpson High-Performance Soccer, Fort Simpson Ambulance and Fire Department, and Doctor Hubert for all the support during her sickness and during this family's difficult time.

Rita is survived by her husband, two sons, daughter, and two granddaughters and grandson. The service will be later this month. She will be sadly missed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Our condolences to the family, as well. Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery.

Colleagues, I would like to draw your attention to visitors in the gallery. I am pleased to recognize Mr. David Jones, the Conflict of Interest Commissioner for the Northwest Territories, who has joined us for the tabling of his annual report later this afternoon. Please join me in welcoming him to our proceedings today.

Colleagues, we have with us distinguished guests. I apologize in advance if I mispronounce your names, but I will try my best. I am pleased to recognize a group with us here today from Ontario Legislative Internship. They are here this week to learn about our consensus-style government. They are Daryl Gonsalves, Mackenzie Taylor, Jaskiran Shoker, Shireen Salti, Matthew Klassen, Harmeet Sandhu, Ana Qarri, Josef Methot, and Kassandra Loewen. Thanks for joining us here today. Enjoy your time in the Northwest Territories. Masi for coming. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Yellowknife South.

Mr. Speaker, today I'm pleased to recognize the following people from Dene Nahjo in the gallery today. They are authors of "We are One Mind - Perspectives from Emerging Indigenous Leaders on the Arctic Policy Framework," a document that I will be tabling later today; Nina Larsson, Kayla Kakfwi Scott, Mandee McDonald and Deneshe N'akehkoe. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Marci cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would look to recognize our interpreter who does the interpreting in my language, Mr. Tommy Unka. Thank you.

Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Hay River North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to recognize a couple of the Pages from Hay River North who have been here with us this week, Ms. Madison Beck and Mr. Ricther Ignacio. Thank you.

Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. If we missed anyone in the gallery, welcome to our Chambers. It's always great to have an audience as part of the proceedings. Masi. Item 6, acknowledgements. Item 7, oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we've heard a lot of concerns and questions about the Western Canada Lotteries Act, and we're soon to be hearing about some multi-sport funding issues within the budget here. So my first question is to the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs: can the Minister please advise if the Western Canada Lotteries Act has a clause in the bill that allows the lotteries to be used for multi-sport games? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.

Mr. Speaker, yes, the proposed bill that was submitted to standing committee does have a clause in it that allows the dispersal of funds to cover multi-sport games. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Just a friendly reminder to Members that this bill is before standing committee. So if you could not go into detail on specific questions, I'll allow further debates, but not specific details. Member for Nahendeh.

Uh, oh. We'll work on it.

---Laughter

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank you for the clarification on that. This is going to be a little bit challenging, but I guess we'll go into what's in the budget and -- the budget is before the House, too. Oh, well, here we go: what is the intention in the budget with the bill in adding this multi-sport games funding to the bill? Can you answer that question?

Basically, Mr. Speaker, why did I include the line in the bill, is my understanding of the question. So I'm going to try to state that without getting into trouble for talking about the bill. Basically, it's important that the -- I'm struggling to not talk about the bill.

It's important, Mr. Speaker, that all of the monies that are obtained through the Lottery Fund are protected and that we can actually use it for sports and recreation, which was the intent of that funding. So I am proposing that we would maintain that, as we have historically done, that we would do that in the future.

I thank the Minister for that answer as we navigate on some difficult grounds here. Can the Minister please tell us how much money the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs put into exploration of funding excluding salaries?

Currently, the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs provides $8.3 million for sport and recreation programs. That includes $4.7 million from the Western Canada Lottery Fund revenues and $3.6 million from the Government of the NWT operation funding for Municipal and Community Affairs.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Minister for that answer. I guess $4.7 million is on taxpayers who actually play lottery, so I appreciate that's where the money is coming from. So can the Minister actually give us a breakdown of the $3.6 million, where this money is actually spent and allocated? Is it in salaries? Is it programs? Or what variety of programs is this money accounted for? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To divide down the actual monies from what we spend on actually supporting of youth and taking part in sports activities, and from what we pay staff, is a process that would take some time. If the Member would like, he can either present a written question or he can come to my office and I can provide him that information. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Again, I'd just like to remind Members to refrain from asking questions when the bill is before standing committee. Masi. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are to the Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation. As I have asked before, will the Minister advise the House on the progress that has been made on the 10 units that have had land tenure? When will these homes be available for occupancy? Mahsi.

Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Currently, the properties, the 10 units that we're talking about, three of them are occupied and seven need repairs. We have actually met with Chief Fabian, January 19^th, actually, when my department went down to talk to him, and there are a couple of things we're doing with it. It's really exciting. Like I stated many times in this House, each community has different needs when it comes to housing, so we're looking at my community housing plans. Part of that was working with Chief Fabian, so with the 10 public housing units that are on reserve land, there have always been some issue with land tenure. We've got that straightened out, but what we're also doing is we're moving forward. We're actually working with the chief to actually look at how we can provide employment in his community. He's going to be providing us with a proposal to do a training program so he can train residents on the reserve to do the renovations, and a proposal so that he can maintain the public housing units. That will meet not only the housing needs of the community, but also address some of the employment concerns and the economic development that they have in that community. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I really have to commend the Minister for taking some extraordinary and constructive steps in ensuring that, ultimately, at some point, more housing will be made available to the residents. So I thank her for taking those steps. The Minister indicated that three houses of the 10 units will be occupied and seven need repairs. What is the current status of work to secure the remaining seven homes?

For clarification, three of the units are currently occupied. They are not looking at it, so, out of those seven units that are looking at needing renovations, we are working with Chief Fabian. Because of capital plans, we have to make sure that we spread the wealth throughout all communities, all 33 communities, so, in this fiscal year we are looking at them working in partnership with the chief, with the band, to actually develop five units. Five of the remaining seven will be renovated. Like I said, we are hoping that the chief will come forward and provide us a proposal so that we are training community members to provide services in their community.

The next question I wanted to ask is just the next steps: how will the Minister prioritize this work in the months ahead? She has indicated five of the seven units will be renovated.

Like I had stated earlier, prioritizing, we have already met with the chief. We are waiting for him to come back with a proposal to us on how he will provide the work. I should also state that there are six other homes on the reserve that have sat empty for over a decade. It is a sin, Mr. Speaker.

The reason they have sat empty is because of land tenure. It has always been an issue that the land belonged to the federal government and so we could not get it. These buildings were new, sitting empty, with people needing homes, so not only are we looking at the public housing. We are also looking at these homes, as well. Land tenure on those is still an issue, so we are looking at: can we change that into a home ownership? They are on the reserve. That land will not disappear, so can we do like we did with the Salt Lake River Reserve, and can we actually look at turning those units into home ownership units so that people again will actually have more housing.

Is it a priority? Definitely, Mr. Speaker. Every single community and their housing needs are a priority, and we will continue to work hard with every single community to address their housing needs.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, once again I commend the Minister for taking those extraordinary steps in working with First Nations leaders in our small communities. She has highlighted the model that likely could be templated and used as an example across Canada. Would the Minister be willing to consider the idea of in the future to invite her federal colleagues to visit the Hay River Reserve and see for themselves just the housing issues that people have to contend with? Mahsi.

As a resident of the Northwest Territories myself, I have always felt that often people who are living in the South do not really recognize the needs of the Northwest Territories. We are often fit into models that "one size fits all." I do not believe in that model. I do not believe that one size fits all. I believe that every community, every territory, every province, has distinct needs and distinct strengths.

Within that philosophy, my own philosophy: every time I go down to meet with any federal Minister, I not only invite them, I almost beg them to come to the Northwest Territories to see our reality; to see, like I stated, our strengths and our weaknesses so that they can understand and so that we will not be put into a box that says "one size fits all," because it does not fit for us. So, yes, I will commit to continuing to advocate that all federal Ministers come up to the Northwest Territories to visit us and to see our realities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nunakput.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier I spoke of student success in the dimensions of western and cultural education, and my questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Mr. Speaker, my question to the Minister is: how does the Department of Education, Culture and Employment support education authorities as well as individual schools when they want to develop unique cultural programming for their students? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First and foremost, we do fund all of the education authorities on an annual basis throughout the Northwest Territories. One of our goals is ensuring that all students are grounded in the reach and diverse history, cultures, language, and heritage of our peoples. As we fund our education authorities, they are encouraged to develop local and regional courses and resources that do focus on culture, heritage, and languages, and we continue to support them.

One other way that we do that is through Elders in Schools. Not only our students, but our teachers, as well: teachers have the opportunity to develop and participate in cultural orientation days. Further to our support for our teachers who work with our students throughout the Northwest Territories, they go through an orientation during our New to the North conference on a yearly basis as well as the work that we do with the NWT Teachers' Association around professional development.

That is a good piece of information. Mr. Speaker, I understand the department is working on revisions to the Aboriginal Language and Culture Based Education Directive. I would like to get a status from the Minister on that.

In the 18^th Assembly mandate, the GNWT did commit to implementing a renewed directive to strengthen the role of schools in supporting Indigenous language development and cultural programming as well as the TRC's call to actions that address supporting the development of culturally appropriate curricula and the protection of the rights of Indigenous languages, including the teaching of Indigenous languages. We are well into that. As an update for this directive that we are working on, called the NWT JK to Grade 12 Indigenous Languages and Education Policies and Procedures, that will begin being phased into all schools beginning in the 2018-2019 academic year.

I appreciate the status from the Minister. The Northwest Territories uses an Alberta curriculum. Can the Minister describe what kind of alterations and allowances are made to ensure that northern students are able to see themselves and their cultures reflected in their school experiences?

Yes. As I mentioned earlier, we are very big on supporting culture, heritage, languages in our schools and support our education authorities to deliver these programs. We have made some improvements, such as Elders in Schools, and that has been working very well. We continue to work with Alberta, as you mentioned. As I mentioned in the House, we have really great partnerships with the Minster of Education from Alberta. We are currently participating in working groups on the renewal of the Alberta curriculum that will help them promote culture and Indigenous languages in their schools, but promote how we learn here as Northerners in the Northwest Territories. We have Northern Studies 10, which is reflective of our way of life in the Northwest Territories, as well as Northern Studies 20, which we are currently developing. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nunakput.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the response. Mr. Speaker, my last set of questions: I asked the Minister for a toe, and I did not get that. Mr. Speaker, we talked about culture exchanges between territories and provinces, and, Mr. Speaker, I believe it is important to learn from each other in prospective communities across the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, my question to the Minister is: does the department support the cultural exchange between students in the communities across the territory? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Our education authorities or education bodies currently receive about $9 million from ECE to promote cultural activities, heritage activities, as well as things such as drumming, sewing, beading, traditional classes in traditional practices that we have had over the years. The elders in the schools provide a big opportunity to help teach the traditions, not only traditions and skills, but the values of our ancestors in the schools today as well as working on revitalizing our Indigenous languages. We continue to work with all of our education bodies and support our schools in promoting those programs, on-the-land programs, as well as, as I mentioned, teaching those values that we have lived so long by and will continue to do so. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Hay River North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when I made my statement earlier, I was a little fired up, but I'm here to represent the people, Mr. Speaker, and the people are sick and tired of being ignored. They're exasperated, and so am I. The GNWT has failed to adequately use government procurement to grow and diversify our economy, build capacity, and employ Northerners. These are all priorities for this Assembly. They can be found in the mandate that we all agreed to, even the Minister. I'm not sure if our statements today convinced the Minister that there are issues with the practices of his department, but admitting you have a problem is the first step in fixing it. So will the Minister admit that the concerns we've raised are valid and that there are problems with infrastructures procurement practices? Thank you.

Masi. Minister of Infrastructure.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Any concerns that are brought forward to me by any Members of this Legislative Assembly or members of the public are valid, and we sit and listen to them, and my door is always open. As to the comment about having procurement issues in the GNWT and that our policies and procedures are wrong, I totally disagree with the Member. Our department is here to adhere to the policies that are in this Legislative Assembly; it's here to support businesses and, at the same time, protect the GNWT's investment. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

People always say to me, "We voted for change. What happened?" I'm tired of saying, "We're working on it." I'm starting to say, "Let's wait another year and a half," because answers like this are ridiculous. Mr. Speaker, I mention the disrespect shown to small businesses by the government. I've seen some of the correspondence sent by the representatives of the GNWT to businesses regarding procurement, and I've heard stories from business owners. Businesses are treated like children and subordinates. The government acts like business exists to serve them, not the other way around. So will this Minister commit to providing ongoing customer service training to all infrastructure employees involved with procurement, the same way the Minister of Housing has done?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm glad he's asked this question, or has mentioned it, because Infrastructure routinely offers procurement training workshops to Government of the Northwest Territories employees. I will update this House, as of now, the Department of Human Resources does this training calendar, and workshops are held to design NWT procurement process for all procurements regardless of value, and focus on supporting Northwest Territories businesses and manufacturers, wherever possible. Up to date, this year, since April 1^st of 2017, the department has delivered 48 procurement training workshops, with over 450 GNWT employees who participated in this, and that's not even counting the workshops that are within our department alone.

My questions are focused on solutions, but it looks like I'm not going to get any. Having procurement training workshops, teaching these same tactics that are the problem, is not going to solve anything. The question was about customer service, not about more of the same. Will the Minister commit to reviewing the practices of his department regarding procurement to identify and fix the areas that are currently restricting small businesses from effectively competing on RFPs?

As I've said, the department is very supportive of northern businesses, and we have to adhere to the policies that are here, and we are here to support and protect the northern purse as well. At the same time, the department has also come out with a community engagement process for RFPs. This is to engage the proponent, the criteria around used to credit available, around the community engagement process, along with the BIP process, to have policies for local and northern labour and material and goods purchases in the Northwest Territories. Under this community engagement criteria, this is what we use to help demonstrate that we are supporting the local economy in the Northwest Territories, and we will continue to do so.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Hay River North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm just going to forgo the rest of my questions. I know the Minister can't offer opinions, but, you know what, it's the government, maybe there's a policy about it. What would it take for the department to realize that there is a problem? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As I've said in this House many times, and I will say it to everyone across the room here, and I don't have a problem saying it, last time I sat in this House, we had two or three people who came to me directly about complaints about the procurement system. Since I've last stood in this House and said the exact same thing, I may have had one person come to me. I do not have a problem with the procurement system within the Government of the Northwest Territories, and I will not review the policy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my colleague, my honourable friend the Member from Hay River North, talked about the GNWT. I have less of an issue with the policies that our public service has to follow; I'm more with the government. So I want to ask the Premier today if he will direct his Cabinet to do a comprehensive reform of procurement on all of the government approach? Will the Premier commit to doing that? Thank you.

Masi. The Honourable Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I've been in government a long time. I've probably been through about six reviews of the Business Incentive Policy, and every time we've brought it forward, there have been no changes because everybody sees that the Business Incentive Policy is the best government policy ever written. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

My next question, again, is for the best Premier ever: will he commit to amending the Minister of Infrastructure's mandate letter to include a review of the procurement policies in the GNWT?

I've had many meetings with the NWT Chamber of Commerce and almost in every instance, when we raise concerns about procurement, it's because of a difference in understanding. Certainly, if the Members can provide me with a list of the problems, as they see them, then we can determine whether there is actually a need for a review of it. And, as I said, the last time I met with the Chamber of Commerce, which was about four months ago, we asked them to tell us what they see as the problem or what concerns they have, and then we can act on it. Certainly, if we have a whole host of problems where it's warranted to do a review, we will certainly look as doing so.

This government has just done a lengthy public engagement process on manufacturing, and in some of those sessions, concerns were raised. I find it hard to believe that there are no concerns that are coming out of these meetings. Maybe the Premier is not talking to the right people, or maybe the Premier needs to listen to this side of the House. So will the Premier commit to look at the recommendations of the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment that recommended procurement reform or an evaluation of procurement policies? Will he look at that recommendation, accept it, and make it part of this government?

I'd be pleased to do so if somebody would tell me what the problem was. Is it a service problem? It's been suggested that our employees are not providing the necessary service to businesses. If that's the problem, then we can look at educating our employees further, which we seem to be doing a lot of. If it's the policy problem, well, tell us what the problems are, then we can determine. I mean, working for the government, I like doing reviews, but I want to have a reason for doing it.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

Mr. Speaker, I don't know how many more Member's statements that I need to make or that my honourable friends need to make before the Premier will listen to what we're saying and address those issues. So to the issue of progress payments, will the Premier direct his Minister to fix that problem, to ensure progress payments don't require bonds, and that they can move forward to support small businesses? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'd be prepared to look at that, but, obviously, we've gotten to a lot of issues with the fact that we need to protect the government's investments, and if we make progress payments without the necessary securities, then it might put us in a difficult situation. Certainly, now that the Member has raised it, even though I do not know if it is a committee concern, I am prepared to look at that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I made a Member's statement on the doctors and how only 45 per cent of residents in the Northwest Territories had regular doctors, explaining the problems with that, while the rest of Canada is averaging over 80 per cent. I would like to ask the Minister if he can tell this House if the department is still trying to hire doctors to live in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.

Masi. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are committed to trying to fill all of our physician positions with local practitioners rather than locum practitioners. We run about a 23.6 per cent vacancy, and we continue to recruit pretty much all the time. That is both for the GPs and for the specialists.

We do recognize that it is a challenge. We are trying to do a few things differently that will hopefully help us improve some of our numbers. One of the things we have done is we have recently talked to the University of Alberta about running a medical residency program here in the Northwest Territories. We are somewhat early days in discussion on that, but we think there is a real opportunity to get some of the students up here to do some of the residency placements. Hopefully, they will fall in love with the place as much as you and I.

That is good news about the residents. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister if the Minister can tell us if the communities of Hay River, Forts Smith and Simpson, Behchoko, Norman Wells, and Inuvik have local doctors? What is the percentage of local doctors, the vacancy rate, in those communities?

Mr. Speaker, we have most of the positions filled in Yellowknife. We do still need some locums to cover time off, sick time, annual time, those types of things, and people do come and go, so there is turnover in Yellowknife, as well. Beaufort Delta and Inuvik, right now we are pretty fully staffed. I believe there are five physicians out of five up there on a permanent basis, but, you know, any one of them could leave at any time, so we must continue to recruit, even when positions are filled, just to keep the awareness up.

When it comes to Norman Wells, Forts Smith and Simpson, we have reoccurring locums, so individuals who come back on a regular basis, but do not permanently reside. When they are not there, we do have to rely on other short-term locums. We continue to recruit in those areas, as well. Hopefully, when we open the Norman Wells Health Centre, that might be a bit of a draw for somebody who might want to come and be part of that new facility. We will continue to recruit at the same time.

In Hay River we have, I think it is, three permanent physicians now, but some of the them, I think, are already at a percentage of a full FTE, so we still have some locums there, as well. We will continue to do everything that we can to promote this beautiful territory, the great jobs that are here, and an opportunity to come and work with our residents from across the territory.

I would like to ask the Minister if there are any doctors living in Yellowknife who do most of their practicing in one of the other communities I mentioned in my previous question?

Yes, Mr. Speaker, we moved to a single medical system here in the Northwest Territories, even though we have individuals located in different communities. We do have physicians who will travel to other communities. Some of our communities, as the Member is aware, do not have permanent physicians, some of our smaller, more rural communities, so doctors will travel to those communities, but not just doctors. We have community health nurses and advanced practice specialists who have additional training. They can do some things like suturing and some level of diagnosis based on formulary and other work. We have other professionals come out, as well. Yes, doctors do travel to communities throughout the Northwest Territories.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister if there is an actual plan to be rolled out. The plan I guess I am referring to is -- I do not know what it is called, but I am kind of calling it a territorial doctors pool. Is there an actual plan? I know that, when we try to hire doctors, some doctors do not want to live in the small communities because of services for their children, and services for children are just not in in the small communities.

Yellowknife can provide almost all the services, so, as opposed to using locums, is there an actual plan to build a territorial doctors pool here in Yellowknife that will actually work maybe half-time in Hay River, as an example, or half-time in another community? Thank you.

That is actually one exact model that has been discussed previously, and we have explored it. We do have some of our physicians who can go out and provide time in other locations. There has been talk about expanding the pool in Yellowknife so that we can do that coverage rather than rely on locums. We still have trouble recruiting physicians, so we continue to try to figure out how to move that, roll that forward. In the meantime, we continue to provide that distance care.

One of the things that many of the doctors have approached us on, as well as practitioners throughout the system, and we have looked at other systems, are some changes to our primary healthcare model to change it more to a team-based approach where there are groups of physicians, nurses, social workers, counsellors, who are working together in teams or pockets who can provide coverage and care to different groups throughout the Northwest Territories. It is a model similar to the one that was put in place in one of the Indigenous health authorities in Alaska. So we are looking at that right now to see how that might be something that we could roll out. Since we have moved forward with health transformation, now is the logical time for us to look at this more comprehensively, build upon primary healthcare to provide overall, collaborative, integrated, team-based care to residents of the Northwest Territories. That pool would fall in there, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are not on the procurement zombie. They are for the Minister of Lands. Earlier today, I spoke about the recent acquisition of the mineral rights for the abandoned Ptarmigan Mine and the problems this may cause for remediation of this site and perhaps other contaminated sites. Can the Minister of Lands tell us the current status of remediation at the Ptarmigan Mine? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister of Lands.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can advise that, while no reclamation or remediations have started at the site, the GNWT did complete a Phase III Environmental Site Assessment and remedial action plan. This work was done in preparation for meetings with the federal government to determine respective liabilities with respect to this site, and I can advise that GNWT officials, I think from Lands and ENR, met with Indigenous and Northern Affairs representatives to discuss the outcomes of the Phase III assessments and remedial action plans that were completed on that site and some other sites in 2017. The GNWT is specifically reviewing the Ptarmigan file to determine how best to negotiate the associated liabilities and costs.

We have done some risk mitigation with respect to the site, including placement of signage to restrict access, erecting a fence surrounding the main structures, placement of a gate, and placement of boulders and ditching completed at another access point, so that work has been done, but no reclamation or remediation activity has actually taken place yet.

Thanks to the Minister for that information. Can he tell us, then: have there been any cost estimates prepared for the reclamation/remediation work at Ptarmigan Mine? How much is it going to cost the taxpayers to remediate this site?

Yes, Mr. Speaker, I can advise that we are still in negotiations with respect to that matter, the situation as to who will be responsible for the liabilities. I believe that I did correspond with the Member opposite. An estimate for the Ptarmigan Mine remediation outlined a cost in excess of $4 million.

Again, I would like to thank the Minister for that information. It's not clear how TerraX was able to acquire the mineral rights for the Ptarmigan Mine while it's under remediation, but this would seem to complicate these efforts, as exploration may interfere with the need to restrict access to the site. Drilling and sampling and trenching, that could disturb tailings, covers from vegetation efforts and so on.

I would like to know from the Minister: does GNWT, and/or the federal government for that matter, withdraw the mineral rights for sites that are under remediation such as the Ptarmigan Mine site, and if not, why not?

With respect to the site referenced by the Member opposite, the Ptarmigan site, mineral rights, rather, were issued prior to devolution by Indian and Northern Affairs, which was responsible for subservice rights and tenure. I understand, under the devolution agreement, our government has to respect existing interests at the time of devolution, including mineral interests that existed at the Ptarmigan site.

Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I appreciate the answer from the Minister. I can tell him, though, that the mineral rights had been withdrawn underneath Giant Mine, so I don't know why we don't ensure that mineral rights are withdrawn for sites that are being remediated or under consideration for remediation. I want to move on.

TerraX indicates in its news release that it has no responsibility for environmental contamination or remediation of the Ptarmigan Mine site. Can the Minister tell us whether TerraX was given any kind of an indemnity or release by GNWT or Canada in acquiring these mineral rights, and how the company can make such claims in its news release? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

I also had the opportunity of looking at the press release, which does contain the line that TerraX has no liability for any remediation of the previous mine site. I can advise that this government has not given an indemnification.

I cannot speak for what the federal government may have done. I do know, however, that press releases by public companies have to be very careful in their assertions. All I can say, again, is that we did not indemnify them with respect to those liabilities. Thank you.

Oral questions. Member for Sahtu.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Earlier I mentioned I was going to be talking about procurement for the P3 projects that this government seems to be leaning more towards in the process of tendering. My question to the Minister of Finance is: can the Minister confirm the GNWT's P3 policy allowance for NWT vendor preference within that policy? Mahsi.

Masi. Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the P3 policy was enacted in May of 2011. I'm not sure the whole contents of the particular policy, but I do know, when they're putting a proposal together and it is presented, there are a number of factors that are taken into consideration. One is choosing a successful proponent. I would have to confirm it, but I think the question that the Member asked would be one of the items that they look at.

The driven approach for the P3 public/private partnership initiatives is to incorporate a P3 corporation, which this government has done. On our general tendering process, previous governments have incorporated the BIP policy to allow northern preference in giving that extra advantage to the local seasonal operators of our business community. In the concessionaire agreement that follows as part of the P3 initiative or tenement process, can the Minister confirm whether there's a BIP similar allowance in that concessionary agreement?