Thank you, Member. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Unlike most jurisdictions in the Northwest Territories, most communities, the school infrastructure of YK1 is owned by YK1, for the most part. As such, it is not the GNWT that provides maintenance; it is actually YK1. The GNWT does provide a maintenance budget. I believe it is $1.4 million annually to YK1 to perform this type of maintenance.

Sometimes, when ECE has extra money in its budget, in its capital budget, it will provide that to cover some of these costs, but at this time ECE doesn't have that extra money in its capital budget and the YK1 actually has a surplus in its capital planning budget, so the money can be taken out of there as opposed to out of money that could be used for education.

Can the Minister tell us how much the surplus is at YK1?

The surplus at YK1, according to the 2018-2019 financial statements, the total operating surplus, is 1.7 million, and that includes $900,000 in the capital fund reserve.

That answer surprises me because I thought that, during the 18^th Assembly, the department had rolled back on the total amount of surpluses that school boards were able to keep. I am sure the Minister has given me accurate information, but it is certainly much bigger than I expected it to be.

Onto the question of the aging schools, all of the schools in Yellowknife, except for Allain St-Cyr and the re-built St. Joe's, are aging. What is the long-term plan of the Department to assist the board with maintenance and replacement of their schools?

Even though YK1 owns the infrastructure, the GNWT is responsible for new schools and major retrofits, so, if there is something that can't be covered with the $900,000 capital surplus, like a brand new school, that is what the GNWT covers.

Thank you, Minister. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the answer from the Minister. The fact is, though, that maintenance costs are increasing at YK1 because of the age of their schools. Not only do they have the boiler problem at Mildred Hall, they are also of course repairing the roof at William McDonald. I am wondering whether the Minister is going to review the maintenance budget given to YK1 to take into account their aging infrastructure. Thank you.

No, I am brand new in the job, and I plan on reviewing all the budgets that ECE has, to make sure that we are doing things properly.

ECE and YK1 have also been in talks about maintenance plans. The Department has offered to assist YK1. You know, we have the Department of Infrastructure here that specializes in this kind of stuff, and so the GNWT is offering assistance to help develop a maintenance plan so that some of these maintenance costs can be dealt with in a more timely fashion perhaps, or at least there could be a plan in place to avoid some of these emergency expenditures like the boiler . Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Merci, Monsieur le President. The last Assembly passed Bill 41, Tobacco and Vapour Products Control Act. This bill will prohibit the sale of flavoured vaping products that have been in the news as of late. As I understand, the act has not yet been brought into force. My questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Can the Minister explain what steps are being taken to bring this legislation into force to protect the youth of the Northwest Territories? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Bill 40, Smoking Control and Reduction Act, was passed August 2019, and its regulations include prohibiting smoking and vaping in public places, including those areas where children and youth ordinarily gather; prohibiting smoking and vaping in motor vehicles if someone under the age of 19 is in the vehicle; and requires retail outlets that sell these products to conspicuously post health warnings inside the stores.

Bill 41, Tobacco and Vapour Products Control Act, was also passed in August 2019 and its regulations include banning the promotion, advertising, and display of tobacco and vaping products wherever children and youth have access and increasing the legal age at which tobacco and vaping products may be purchased from age 18 to 19. Regulations are being drafted to bring these acts into force March 31, 2020. The regulations are almost done; however, time is needed to communicate the new requirements to retailers to the public. Regulations address in greater detail public places where smoking and vaping are prohibited, what products cannot be displayed, and health warning signs that must be posted. The regulation also addresses penalties, though we want to focus our efforts on educating and supporting NWT residents in making healthy and informed decisions about using these substances. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I want to thank the Minister for that comprehensive response, and I also want to acknowledge the work of the Standing committee on Social Development that had the forethought to anticipate this issue with vaping products, because there is a lot of news coverage on this now. I take it from the Minister's response, then, that the Tobacco and Vapour Products Control Act is going to take full legal effect on March 31, 2020. Can she confirm that again for me?

The act will be brought into force March 21, 2019. The regulations being developed to bring the acts into force do not go so far as completely banning flavoured vaping products in the Northwest Territories at this time. We are actively working to identify the right approach to banning flavoured vaping products. Our public health officials are talking with the Council of Chief Medical Officers of Health to support a federal ban on flavoured vaping products. Chief Medical Officers of Health across Canada are now calling on the federal government to ban flavoured vaping products outright. Before moving forward, the Northwest Territories regulations banning all sales on flavoured vaping products would want to engage with the public. We also want to carry out more research to make sure we have everything properly addressed.

I want to thank the Minister for that response. Sorry, I'm going to have to go a little bit off-script here, because I think I heard the Minister say that the Tobacco and Vapour Products Control Act is not going to prohibit flavoured vaping products from being sold. Section 6.1(1) says that: "No person shall sell a flavoured tobacco product at retail." In any event, does this section actually prohibit the sale of flavoured vaping products, or not? Is that what this act and this section are going to do?

I ask that I just clarify and get back to the Member at this time.

Thank you, Minister. Member for Frame Lake, final supplementary.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. It was certainly my understanding, having sat in on the committee meetings, that that was the intention of the committee, and I thought that's what the bill was going to do. In any event, recent media reports about the use of vaping products in southern Canada and the US describe an epidemic in use by youth, and that manufacturers and retailers have specifically designed advertising to entice youth. I've had this raised to me by teachers at schools in my riding. Can the Minister tell us whether her department has taken any steps to control or persuade NWT youth not to consume these products? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

In addition to steps to control so that other youth do not consume these products, we are focusing on providing the public with information on vaping. In October 2019, the department created a Frequently Asked Questions for parents. The Department of Education, Culture and Employment distributed this to schools across the Northwest Territories. This work began with the request from a school principal and is an example of how working together with our partners can be valuable in addressing an issue, just like when some of the other Regular MLAs in the Assembly worked with the last Assembly on the bills themselves. The Office of the Chief Public Officer is preparing communications and social marketing material.

In March 2019, the department and the Northwest Territories Association of Communities delivered a workshop for healthcare providers, artists, community leaders, educators, and youth. From this came the creation of The Dope Experience. This workshop series will be delivered in communities across the Northwest Territories during the 2019-2020 school year and will address vaping as well as cannabis and other substance abuse. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. The time for the question period has expired. Oral questions. Item 8, written questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation. In September 2017, the NWT Housing Corporation released a three-year action plan with the title "Towards Level Ground: Addressing Persistent Core Need in the Northwest Territories." This plan responded to a 2016 motion supported by Regular Members that called for a comprehensive and fully costed plan to reduce housing problems identified in the 2014 community survey. Please provide a report on the first two years of the action plan, including how many households the Housing Corporation assisted and:

1. A breakdown of the type of assistance by action and/or initiative, as detailed on page 11 of the action plan;
2. A breakdown of money spent on each of these actions and/or initiatives by fiscal year;
3. A projection of assistance by action or initiative, as detailed on page 11 of the action plan, along with a breakdown of money spent on each one for the current fiscal year; and
4. A projection of how federal money under the National Housing Strategy will assist in meeting these measures in the current fiscal year.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member. Written questions. Item 9, returns to written questions. Item 10, replies to the Commissioner's opening address. Item 11, petitions. Item 12, reports of committees on the review of bills. Item 13, reports of standing and special committees. Item 14, tabling of documents. Honourable Premier.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following four documents. Pursuant to section 32(2) of the Financial Administration Act, a document entitled "Northwest Territories Business Development and Investment Corporation 2018-19 Annual Report"; pursuant to section 106(3) of the Workers Compensation Act, documents entitled "Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission Annual Report 2018 - Northwest Territories and Nunavut" and "Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission Northwest Territories and Nunavut 2020 Corporate Plan and 2018-2022 Strategic Plan"; and, pursuant to section 125(2) of the Workers Compensation Act, a document entitled "Northwest Territories and Nunavut Workers' Compensation Appeals Tribunal 2018 Annual Report." Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker.