This is page numbers 1481 - 1522 of the Hansard for the 19th Assembly, 2nd 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 going.

Topics

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

I am still kind of baffled at how we can have a program that is developing without data, but a further element that is being worked on, of course, is staffing. A territorial manager is now hired. They are going to work with regional authorities. Again, a basic building block that we need to have in place is things like credentialing, performance review, response to complaints. Can the Minister tell us when the work will be completed on setting procedures for proper qualifications for midwifery staff, their performance, and a complaint procedure?

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

It's my understanding that the new territorial midwifery manager is working on all of these things. There is a standard job description for all registered midwives that is part of the regulatory framework that has already been established, and further, the NTHSSA bylaws have a process for reviewing performance of professional staff. This is the same process that would be used for midwives, as well.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. Of course, no aspect of government service delivery is free of the shadow of COVID, particularly health service delivery. We know midwifery consultation in the South Slave and Deh Cho is on hold, pending COVID. Can the Minister briefly summarize what impacts COVID has had on midwifery implementation and when we will finally have a full, territorial midwifery program? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

An example of the impact of COVID on this program is that, when the territorial manager of midwifery arrived in the territory in March, right at the outset of the pandemic, rather than being asked to sit and write policy, she was redeployed to support clinical care to postpartum and newborn clients at Stanton Hospital and in the community. That, I don't think, is in place any longer. I think she is back to her regular job at this point, but that was an example of where things were at.

As the Member is aware, the midwifery expansion project did not receive funding in the 2021 budget year, and there is no request for funding in the next budget year. This is a question of competing priorities. The department has a number of initiatives through the mandate to complete, and this kind of new initiative money has been allocated to the child and youth counsellor positions and to Children and Family Services' needs. Thank you.

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.

Rylund Johnson

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier, I spoke about the importance of supporting our entrepreneurs, and one of the best ways we do that presently is through our SEED program through ITI. My question for the Minister of ITI is: can we top up the SEED program funding this year to make sure that no applications are denied? This could be central to our economic recovery. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.

Caroline Wawzonek

Caroline Wawzonek Yellowknife South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just want to note that the staff who will be administering the SEED program are both orderly and smart in the way that they will be administering that program, and we appreciate the work they do every day. Right now, the budget for SEED is $3.8 million, and it has been that way for a great many years. Fortunately, as part of the COVID response, we were able to increase this budget up to $4 million through internal reallocations, and as of right now, we are actually projecting that that will hit $4.3 million in terms of the total applications being sought. Every effort is going to be made, indeed, to achieve funding all of those applications. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Rylund Johnson

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North

I am glad that the Minister is working to find that top-up internally. We are hearing this year that there is $4.3 million of demand for SEED applications. I can only imagine that this demand will continue next year. Really making sure that our entrepreneurs can find that capital in these tough times, I think, is central to our recovery. Is the Minister willing to increase the SEED funding in next year's operations budget?

Caroline Wawzonek

Caroline Wawzonek Yellowknife South

Increasing the funding on a permanent basis is something that has to go through a business-planning process and an analysis to determine if, in fact, that is the best way to spend public dollars. Certainly, there is a suite of programs right now that support entrepreneurs in small and medium-sized businesses, including not only the SEED program but programs spread across ITI, as well as BIP. I will say that part of what I want to ensure we do is make sure that we are adequately funding those programs in a way that they become complementary and that they fill gaps one from the next, but that takes something more than just looking at the one program alone. However, I do say that we are doing that work, and indeed, there is a review happening this fall of the SEED program itself, to help ensure that there are no gaps along the way, and to ensure, as I say, that we are funding our small and medium-sized businesses.

Rylund Johnson

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North

During our pandemic response, a number of SEED COVID-19 guidelines were released, and I want to thank the department for that work. They said, "We are going to be flexible; we are going to be quick and adaptive." I think they were great guidelines. However, underlying this was still the SEED application policy, which has a market disruption clause saying, essentially, "We will not fund businesses if they will disrupt the market." In my experience, there has been no consistency in application of this, and I do not really think it's the goal. By not disrupting the market, we are not increasing competition, and we are encouraging monopoly. Is the Minister willing to get rid of the market disruption clause from SEED applications?

Caroline Wawzonek

Caroline Wawzonek Yellowknife South

The market disruption clause certainly has been the subject of some discussion. What I will certainly commit to is saying that, in the course of the review that we are doing internally of the SEED program, a careful examination of the market disruption clause needs to happen. Certainly, what I have heard from some of the larger centres is that there is a greater desire to get rid of it. Yet, from the smaller centres, there is some desire to hang onto it. It may be that we need to find a "not one size fits all" solution to that clause.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Member for Yellowknife North.

Rylund Johnson

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am glad to hear the Minister commit to reviewing this. In my experience, I am confused what this clause does because we fund plenty of tourism businesses through SEED, and to me, every time we fund one, they are disrupting the market in comparison to their competitors. I helped one of my constituent fishermen get SEED funding. Then another complained that they did not get a government subsidy, so I had to go help them. It seems that, every time we give government grants, we are disrupting the market. To me, that is the goal. Is the Minister willing to just accept that during COVID-19, when we are being more flexible and we are trying to get SEED dollars out the door, market disruption does not apply? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Caroline Wawzonek

Caroline Wawzonek Yellowknife South

I did want to acknowledge that the Member had expressed the fact and outlined the fact that the program has been adapted to COVID-19 and that that adaptation happened quickly on the part of ITI. I would note that, for the purposes of COVID-19 right now, the SEED program has shifted rather substantially and that, for this year, they have waived the market disruption clause and indeed re-shifted the focus of a lot of the SEED funding so that small and medium-sized businesses can apply under a fairly different set of policies, given the fact that the markets themselves are quite disrupted. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

Question 434-19(2): Seniors Housing
Oral Questions

October 29th, 2020

Page 1496

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Masi, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] Just recently, the weather has been changing, and we are into the winter season. There is a lot of concern coming from my communities, especially the elders. It is regarding their furnace and if it shuts down or breaks down, or the sewage line. They have concerns regarding that. I want to ask the housing Minister a question. In Behchoko, Whati, Gameti, Wekweeti, if any of their furnaces or running water breaks down, what do they do? Who can they ask help for? Masi. [Translation ends].

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.

Paulie Chinna

Paulie Chinna Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I hear the Member's comments. Seniors' housing is a priority for the Housing Corporation. We have approximately 348 seniors who are occupying our units presently, but that does not include the private homeowners, as well, throughout the territory. We do have a number of programs that are available. Right now, we are under review of making those programs more accessible.

The Member had asked about his riding, as well, and looking at the furnaces and how are we able to work with that if there are freeze-ups to sewer lines. Right now, we are working with the Indigenous groups to look at a community initiative project and a community initiative funding plan, that the community would be able to provide that service on behalf of the Housing Corporation. Should this service not be available locally, we will be looking at hiring outside of the Member's riding in order to provide those services. However, the priority of the Housing Corporation is that I would like to work more closely with the Indigenous governments and have them provide those services. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

[Translation] When we take a look at our elders in the communities, they have worked a long life, and we are trying to give them a comfortable home. We should make sure that they are taken care of. [Translation ends]. I am speaking on behalf of the elders of the communities, even throughout the Northwest Territories. The Minister alluded to where private homeowners are not eligible, and when we provide services such as for a furnace breaks down or plumbing, minus 40, minus 50, it's very critical that we assist those individuals. Policy or papering should not be in front of us. We should send people out there right away and deal with the paperwork after, but that does not seem to be the case. I would like to know when can we start including these elders who own their own homes? There are quite a few of them, and they are still begging, begging us to have a dedicated person in the community, that they can pick up a phone, speak Tlicho to, and then that person can be there. When?

Paulie Chinna

Paulie Chinna Sahtu

My apologies to the Member. The Housing Corporation does have seniors' programming that do deal with emergency repairs in emergencies such as this. For the Member's riding, the Housing Corporation does provide that service from Yellowknife. We do have people who travel into the community to deal with those emergency services, to make sure that adequate care is being kept for private homeowners. I already had said that we are looking at the application process. I know it's quite lengthy and that language barriers are an issue, as well, and we need to start looking at how we are going to be better communicate with the Indigenous groups, using their language within that respective riding.

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

My colleague from Nunakput, his community, it's minus 26 today. That is coming to our region, too. It's a very real issue. Obviously, I would like to see this expedited. What I am stating here is coming directly from my elders calling me, speaking to me in my Tlicho language, just the other day. They do not want to go through this process again with minus 40, minus 50 the next couple of months. I highly encourage the Minister to expedite this process, and I am hoping that we can see before next month, at least. Would that be possible for the Minister's department to pursue that?

Paulie Chinna

Paulie Chinna Sahtu

The programming already exists. I will follow up with the Member to identify the individuals so we could provide the programming and also provide the assistance in what level of programming the client may need to acquire.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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