This is page numbers 5453 - 5490 of the Hansard for the 18th Assembly, 3rd 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 assembly. View the webstream of the day's session.

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Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The department is still doing the work on their portion of the regulations under the Public Health Act. I have provided direction to the department. I have indicated that I'd like to see the regulations of Health and Social Services under the Public Health Act done within the life of this government. I have been given assurances that, barring any unforeseen crisis or challenges, that work will be done in the life of this government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

I want to thank the Minister for that. I was going to ask the Minister about a timetable; he's provided one. What additional work needs to be done beyond regulations under the Public Health Act?

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

I think I need to ask for some clarity on this question. Can the Member explain exactly what he's referring to? I mean, Health and Social Services has a responsibility under the Public Health Act; then, other departments have other responsibilities; and the cities or the communities where crematoriums are being proposed have some responsibilities, as well. Just so I'm clear, what part of that question is the Member asking? Because I'll do my best to answer any of them.

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

I know that the Minister loves to answer questions, so what other work does our government need to do to allow for cremation services here in the Northwest Territories?

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

That does help, and I do like to answer questions, but before I get into some of the work that still needs to be done, I do want to point out that there is no territorial law or regulation that prohibits the practise of cremation here in the Northwest Territories. The Member did move a private Member's bill which, actually, will help strengthen some of the regulations around the public health aspect of providing crematorium services here in the Northwest Territories, but, as we took a deeper dive into this, it became clear that Health and Social Services doesn't need to do anything, or change anything, actually, to allow crematoriums to happen here in the Northwest Territories.

We feel we have an opportunity to strengthen the practise and make sure that it's meeting certain standards, and we do thank the Member for moving that legislation that allows us to do that, and we are committed to getting those regulations done. We have been meeting with the city, as well as the other departments here in the Northwest Territories that might be affected, which include departments like MACA and ENR, and they are working with the municipalities, obviously, to try to find some solutions to questions that are being raised about exactly how crematorium services and the disposition of by-products might be addressed. I understand from my department, and I'll certainly need to seek some clarity, that there is nothing outstanding in Health and Social Services that would eliminate or challenge the existence of a crematorium here in the Northwest Territories.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that, and I hope that he can share the clarity or insight that he's going to get from his department with me. I just want to nail this down, Mr. Speaker: can the Minister confirm that there are indeed no actual barriers in our legislation or regulations that would prevent the operation of a crematorium in the Northwest Territories? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

The Member is correct; there is no territorial law or regulation that prohibits the practise of cremation in the Northwest Territories. As I said prior to the private Member's bill, the Public Health Act actually provides the Chief Public Health Officer with the authority to take reasonable measures as she or he considers necessary in the circumstances to protect public health. So it existed. The private Member's bill, which is a great example of how to move forward a private Member's bill in this Legislation, is going to strengthen that, but it was available already.

I can say that officials from the Departments of Municipal and Community Affairs, ENR, and Health and Social Services did meet with the city in June of 2018 to determine the full scope of other regulatory changes that may be required, but none of those exist within Health and Social Services. It's our understanding that, currently, there is nothing that limits it, but the city does have some challenges that they want some questions answered on. I understand that work is under way so that we can, all together, move forward and see cremation occur here in the Northwest Territories.

Louis Sebert

Louis Sebert Thebacha

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Mr. Speaker, we are at a crossroads where we have to take serious action on childcare in the NWT. Childcare can no longer be part of the market. It needs to be treated like education and healthcare. The benefits of early childhood education are undeniable, as the Minister knows from the work that she has done. Is the Minister prepared to take this step with childcare and bring it wholly within government? Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would love to be able to say, yes, it's going to be a government responsibility, we'll provide the infrastructure, we'll provide the staffing, we'll provide the raises, and everything. I do know that there is a province, Quebec, that has done universal childcare, and I may be wrong, but my understanding is that they are now struggling because the government is taking so much ownership over that.

So if -- when we do this; it's not an if, it needs to happen eventually -- when we do this, we need to be strategic, Mr. Speaker. We need to make sure that we've done our research. We need to make sure that it's sustainable. One of the Members asked me before if I believed in universal basic income, and I thought, "Great idea." Then I did the research and realized basic income went for every person, and I went, "$30,000 times 44,000 people, that's $1.3 billion. Our whole budget is only $1.9 billion." So I think we have to be strategic. I think we need to support childcare, early childhood development, but we also need to make sure that it's sustainable and that we can afford it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Question 702-18(3): Investment in Childcare
Oral Questions

March 14th, 2019

Page 5460

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

I will just say briefly: I am not sure the Minister fully understands basic income. What I want to talk about is childcare. What we know is that the cost of finding and renovating space or building space from scratch for the non-profits who currently provide childcare is not affordable, even with the $35,000 that the department offers. My question is: what more funding can the government offer childcare providers in order to provide this essential service?

Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

The Member is probably right. My assumption of what guaranteed basic income was based on my own thinking. The research that I have done has mostly been on TED Talks. One of the Members actually shared with me some information on it. I was a little bit startled on it. I am more than interested in meeting with the Member if she wants to sit with me and educate me further on what basic guaranteed income is, because I think it is something we need to look at, as well.

What more support: there is more than just the start-up money, the safety money, and the expanding. There are the daily rates. Right now, I can only speak about Yellowknife. I don't know the rates for all over the Territories. In Yellowknife alone, daycare is ranging around $800 to $1,000 a month. Just our operating monies that we provide to daycares from the Government of the Northwest Territories for a full-time infant is $700 a month. That doesn't include the staff grants that we give. That figure, I don't have on hand. If I just took this $700 and averaged it on the $1,000, parents would be paying $1,700 a month. We are supporting it. It is not only about the start-up grants. It is all the things we do to support on the side, as well. I agree that we need to do more, that we need to do better, but we need to be strategic in doing that. One of the mandate commitments is to develop a plan. I have made my commitment in the House here many times that we will be developing a plan before the end of this Assembly.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Thank you to the Minister for her response. The fact is that, without infrastructure money, we can't create more daycare spaces. It costs tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars to build or renovate spaces so that they meet the exacting code required by childcare. A plan without any money for infrastructure is not going to move the bar on the need for licensed childcare in Yellowknife and in the communities without childcare. Is the Minister going to produce a plan that has money attached to it?

Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

I am absolutely going to develop a plan that has money attached to it. We will have what we are currently paying, what we project that it would cost, and the feasibility of that. Accessible daycare is not only about money that we provide to the daycares. I also want to say that, in partnership with the federal government, we are also providing scholarships. It used to be 10. Now, we provide 30 scholarships for the residents from the Territories to go in and take the early childhood development programming. We have expanded our programming at Aurora College to offer a two-year diploma in early childhood development. Accessibility is not just about the fees that parents pay. It is also about having quality staff to do that. Within the plan that I will bring forward, having accessibility will be not only about money, but it will be also be about having the staff that we need to provide it.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am going to try to refocus the Minister. The department provides a modest amount of start-up money. It provides subsidies for operators. It provides money for staff. We do not have the space to put the children in. We don't have the space. My question for the Minister is: how is she going to improve the supply of spaces, physical spaces, for children who need childcare? Thank you.

Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

I do have to give credit to this Assembly, all of our Members. The implementation of junior kindergarten has provided free childcare spaces, free early childhood development programming to all four-year-olds throughout the Northwest Territories. Over 500 children are taking advantage of this currently. That is only a start. I know we still have zero to three to do. It is not only about spaces. Every community is different. That is what is really important to notice. Smaller communities, when they only have three or four kids who might need daycare, does it make sense to have a full centre? Does it make more sense to have a family day home, jobs in communities? Those are things we need to look at with that.

I also have to put it back on the Members in some ways and myself included. When we came into this Assembly three and half years ago, we defined mandates, we prioritized, and we said what we wanted. For the last three and a half years, we have been saying what we need, where are we going with this. It is only within these last few months that I have actually heard about the drastic need in this community, in Yellowknife, for infrastructure to do that. It is almost too late. We have already passed our final capital budget months ago.

I want to think out of the box, as well. That is what I am doing. Do these have to be licensed daycare centres that are standalone as the normal model, or, if you think within an Indigenous spirit -- granted that I am Metis and represent both cultures. Within Aboriginal people, we always say education was the downside of us. They took our children away, and they stole our culture. Yet, Indigenous people are saying education is the key to regaining that culture.

I have already been talking with schools. I have already been talking with my department, saying, "Can we make schools the hubs of communities?" If our people are afraid of education, afraid of school systems, they are not going to bring their children there. Can we make a hub? We are trying to work with Health and Social Services. Together, can we bring the services so that children can go to the school? There is a daycare centre there. They can come for speech pathology. I haven't even talked to the Health Minister, so I am throwing things out there. Can it become a hub? Is the only model a standalone daycare, or is another model we need to look at making it a hub of communities. Those are questions we need to ask. I haven't got the answers yet, but it is part of the strategic plan that I will be bringing forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Oral questions. Item 8, written questions. Item 9, returns to written questions. Item 10, replies to the Commissioner's opening address. Item 11, petitions. Item 12, reports of standing and special committees. Item 13, reports of committees on the review of bills. Item 14, tabling of documents. Minister of Finance.

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following two documents entitled "Inter-Activity Transfers Exceeding $250,000 (April 1 to December 31, 2018)" and, on behalf of the Premier, "NWT Economic Symposium - Northern Strengths, Northern Prosperity: Symposium Summary Report." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Tabling of documents. Minister for the NWT Housing Corporation.

Alfred Moses

Alfred Moses Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document entitled "2019-2020 Consolidated Operating Budget, Northwest Territories Housing Corporation." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Tabling of documents. Minister of Infrastructure.

Wally Schumann

Wally Schumann Hay River South

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document entitled "Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 535-18(3): Taltson Project Expansion." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.