Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Members' statements. Member for Kam Lake.

Mr. Speaker, public servants can improve the lives of Northerners if they are empowered to do so. Yellowknifers have told me they experience frustration navigating government department, especially during high stress, multi-dimensional life changes. Housing and Education, Culture and Employment income assistance are the two areas causing the most frustration for my constituents. Earlier this year, Justice released the integrated case management social review on investment report. Women were slightly overrepresented at 54 percent of the program participants, while 78 percent self-identified as Indigenous. One in four participants were homeless; 80 percent unemployed; 89 percent had housing needs; and 83 percent required with income assistance.

The most common challenges clients faced were mental health, violence, food insecurity, homelessness, and poverty. The ICM social review found that common barriers to services in the NWT included cumbersome program requirements, late payments from income assistance, lack of person-centred approach, lack of communication among service providers, lost or missing documentation, delays in response from front-line workers, and service gaps. At the end of the day, much of the success of the ICM program can be traced to a public service ability to refer clients to the right programs with respect, fair access, and a client-centred or trauma-informed practice.

Mr. Speaker, government must always strive to improve its service delivery. Making the ICM program available in every community is one way to do this, but more needs to be done. Front-line staff must be empowered to do their jobs well. They must have processes for dealing with clients that need to cross departmental boundary. They must be trained in a corporate culture of help, respect, facilitation for client, rather than as gatekeepers. This changed approach in customer service also has a direct impact on our bottom line. One Canadian study found that malnutrition cost the healthcare system an additional 16 to 76 percent per year per person. Based on this estimate, food insecurity in the Northwest Territories could increase healthcare costs from $2,080 to $9,880 per person per year, ensuring that public servants administering housing and income security programs are empowered to work together is imperative to our health and fiscal success.

The NWT has a long history of government acting as the gatekeeper for access to information, program, and services. I believe that my colleagues on Cabinet want change in the system as much as I do, Mr. Speaker. To achieve this, Cabinet must ensure employees are empowered to apply discretion in their job, that the correct processes are in place, and that the public service knows its top responsibility is to provide service to the public. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, acknowledgements. Item 7, oral questions. Member for Nunakput.

Thank you, Member for Nunakput. Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am not sure I would characterize NTPC collection activities in light of the COVID pandemic as aggressive. We are encouraging customers to enter into repayment plans to get their accounts back in order. If they honour their plan, they will not be charged interest, nor will they have limiters installed. The reality, Mr. Speaker, is: the accounts-receivable owed to NTPC by our customers are up almost 450 percent since we temporarily suspended collection activities in March. If we let clients' debts continue to accumulate, we are setting our residents up for failure and hardship down the road. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I know this Minister's just received this portfolio. I'm wondering why we'd make a statement, that Power Corporation make a statement in mid-March saying that they would not use limiters during this pandemic, and why is that happening now? You are saying one thing and doing the other? Why is the government doing that?

As I stated before, we will continue to use limiters as a way of ensuring that clients do not get too much into debt and do not have their house ruined if the power gets shut off.

Is this government prepared to do, to stop the use of using limiters? That's more a southern concept of cutting people off, putting load limiters on. In the winter time up North, you're trying to cook. You're on for 10 minutes, and you're off for 10. That's not right. Is the Minister willing to stop using limiters? Can I get her to commit to that through the Power Corporation during the winter months? Summer months, put them on. During the winter, from now until April, could they stop that?

As I stated before, customers with arrears can enter into a plan, and as a result of that, they will not be charged any interest. We will not put limiters on their homes. I don't like the use of limiters, but just allowing a debt to increase to a point where customers have no chance at all for repayment ends up getting their power cut off for good. It just does not make any sense. Limiters protect the person's house and provide just enough power to run the furnace and rotate use of other appliances.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Nunakput.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am going to remind the Minister that we are in a pandemic. We have no jobs. People are living off income support, making the decisions either to buy food or pay your power or pay your rent. This government, this Minister, could make this decision right now and make it easier on everybody in the territory to stop using limiters from November to April. If not, I will bring a motion in the House, Mr. Speaker, to make limiters illegal in the territory. Would this Minister commit to that? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

There are programs that are in place within the GNWT for residents who require or need assistance in meeting their financial obligations. For example, Education, Culture and Employment has an income support program, and the NWT Housing Corporation can provide one-time payment or assistance through some of their homeless assistance fund. We are also going through a review and approval process right now on potential models. We will be scheduling a meeting with the committee when we are ready. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Monfwi.

Masi, Mr. Speaker. I spoke to after-care, addiction, and so forth for the past couple weeks now in my statement. As you know, it has been a very sensitive and delicate matter now, dealing with this in my region. We just lost a young individual who had six kids due to what we are faced with today, and that is a lack of treatment or after-care programs here in the North. I would like to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services about the actual numbers, people who have been sent South. How many of the 200 people sent South for treatment never finish that treatment? How many are unable to last 28 days in a foreign environment, separate from their family and community? Mr. Speaker, masi.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to start by expressing my condolences to the family who lost their person to addictions. It happens, as the Member says, too often and with heartbreaking results.

I have some numbers here to share with the Member based on his question. For the most recent year, which is the year we are in now, where capacity has been very reduced because of the pandemic, people choosing not to go South, and limited capacity within the centres, a total of 50 people have been approved to go South; 20 people have completed the program; three people also completed the extension or extended-care portion of the program; 14 of these people are still in treatment today; 10 people left without completing the program; and six people were approved to attend but chose not to. That is for this year. If the Member would like information going back to the 2014-2015 year, I can provide that to him, as well. Thank you.

Yes, I would like those actual numbers, probably for the last five years, so we can compare what is truly happening in our southern institutions versus the North. Just moving on to my next question, pertaining to the whole COVID-19 that we are faced with, the government sends people to southern institutions such as Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario for sometimes up to six weeks for treatment, exposing them to greater risk of contacting COVID-19 cases, then risks bringing them back to the Northwest Territories to go into two-week self-isolation. I would like to ask the Minister: how can that be less expensive than offering treatment here in the Northwest Territories, avoiding those high risks and paying high costs of hotel bills in the Northwest Territories?

It's worth remembering always that a decision to go into treatment is a voluntary decision. People may feel that they are ready at one point and then later feel that they, in fact, are not ready. I know that, with respect to COVID, I have heard from medical patients. They are somewhat reluctant to go South to the Alberta hospitals, for example, because there have been hospital-based outbreaks, and there is a perception of increased risk. I would not be at all surprised if that is the case with people who are looking at treatment programs. I would also say, and the Member has heard me say this before, there are lots of options here. Southern-based treatment is just one of them. There are other ways to engage in sobriety without going to a treatment centre, within the NWT.

The Minister talks about lots of options here in the Northwest Territories. I wish we had one of those options as a treatment centre here in the Northwest Territories for people to choose whether to go to a southern institution or here in the North so they can be close to their family and so they can avoid contacting COVID-19 in southern institutions. Just leading on to my next question for the Minister is: we Dene know our people better than any southern treatment centres. Let's dedicate the necessary resources, and together, let's build a place of healing for and by Northerners, a treatment centre that understands the residential school abuse and substance abuse. Let us set a national standard for Aboriginal healing here in the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, would the Minister at least commit to studying the feasibility of a northern-based whether it be a treatment centre or after-care program? Would she give that thought for the whole Northwest Territories as the demand is increasing on a daily basis?

Yes. I don't think that there is any guarantee that a building will make someone well. It's a place where they may access services that are helpful, but the building itself has no magic related to it. I will give you as an example the Arctic Indigenous Wellness Foundation that operates here in Yellowknife, out of McPherson tents with wood stoves in them. I know quite a number of people who are regular visitors there. They find counselling. They find companionship. There is a warm place to be. There is food and coffee. It has been proven very beneficial for those people. Now, that might not be helpful to someone who has to drive in from Behchoko, but it's an example of an out-of-the-building type of thinking about healing so that healing can take place with whatever it is the community wants it to be. I have talked at length about this, and I encourage the Member to consider the options that are available and how his Indigenous government can access them.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Monfwi.

Masi, Mr. Speaker. I, for one, am all for on-the-land program. When I was the Justice Minister, we pushed for that. On-the-land program in the Sahtu region has been very successful at that time. The Minister alluded to the funding that's available to Aboriginal groups or the Northwest Territories. That $1.8 million can only stretch so much. Five regions, that is approximately $360,000 if all access it, $360,000 for the Nunakput region. That is peanuts. That is very low funding compared to a major centre, so, Mr. Speaker, would the Minister consider, seriously consider, increasing the funding because it is badly needed across the Northwest Territories? I am not sure when was the last increase, but the $1.8 million versus the over $2 million we are sending people South, this is an area that obviously needs some enhancements. If I can get a commitment from the Minister? Masi, Mr. Speaker.

The answer to the question is that the on-the-land healing fund was increased by $700,000 for this fiscal year, and so the total now is $1.8 million. Thank you.