Debates of Nov. 5th, 2020
This is page numbers 1689 - 1724 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 work.
Topics
- Oral Questions
- Members Present
- Prayer
- Minister's Statement 95-19(2): Work Plan for the Development of the GNWT Action Plan in Response to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Final Report
- Minister's Statement 96-19(2): Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission Support to Employers during COVID-19
- Minister's Statement 97-19(2): Sport Canada COVID-19 Funding Support
- Minister's Statement 98-19(2): Family Violence
- Remembrance Day
- Food Security
- Recognition of Interpreters
- Affirmative Action
- Remembrance Day
- Reflections on Effecting Positive Change
- Remembrance Day and Wish List
- Call on All Politicians to End Systemic Racism
- Elders' Housing Issues
- Guaranteed Basic Income
- National Skilled Trades and Technology Week - Recognition of Michael Turner-Davis and Nathan Dunn
- Remembrance Day
- National Skilled Trades and Technology Week - Recognition of Joel Hanthorn and Joseph Lemieux
- National Skilled Trades and Technology Week - Recognition of Slavomir Rohac
- Eulogy for Elaine Blake
- Return to Oral Question 358-19(2): Long-Term Care Facility
- Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery
- Question 477-19(2): Direct Appointments in Government of the Northwest Territories
- Question 478-19(2): Food Security
- Question 479-19(2): Income Assistance
- Question 480-19(2): Addressing Systemic Racism
- Question 481-19(2): Elders Housing
- Question 482-19(2): Hiring Local
- Question 483-19(2): Alcohol Strategy
- Question 484-19(2): Ingraham Trail Fire Services from Dettah
- Question 485-19(2): Increased Winter Trucking and Covid-19 Considerations
- Written Question 21-19(2): Applications to the National Co-Investment Fund
- Return to Written Question 19-19(2): Homeowners Insurance
- Tabled Document 235-19(2): Taking Action - A Work Plan to Address the Calls for Justice in Reclaiming Power and Place: Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Tabled Document 236-19(2): Interim Public Accounts of the Government of the Northwest Territories for the Year Ended March 31, 2020 Tabled Document 237-19(2): Northwest Territories Business Development and Investment Corporation 2019-2020 Annual Report Tabled Document 238-19(2): Grants and Contributions Results Report 2019-2020 Tabled Document 239-19(2): Consolidated Budget 2020-2021 Tabled Document 240-19(2): Northwest Territories Oil and Gas Annual Report 2019
- Tabled Document 241-19(2): NWT Health and Social Services System Annual Report 2019-2020 Tabled Document 242-19(2): Tlicho Community Services Agency Health and Social Services Annual Report 2019-2020 Tabled Document 243-19(2): 2019-2020 Annual Report of the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority Tabled Document 244-19(2): Hay River Health and Social Services Authority Annual Report 2019-2020
- Tabled Document 245-19(2): Annual Report 2019-20 Northwest Territories Hydro Corporation and Northwest Territories Power Corporation
- Tabled Document 246-19(2): Annual Reports for the Northwest Territories Education Bodies for the 2019-2020 School Year Ending June 30, 2020 Volumes 1 and 2
- Tabled Document 247-19(2): Operations Report 2019-2020 Western Canada Lottery Program Tabled Document 248-19(2): Northwest Territories Housing Corporation Annual Report 2019-2020
- Tabled Document 249-19(2): Excerpt from Globe And Mail, November 3, 2020 - "In Manitoba, An Omnibus Bill Puts Systemic Racism Against Indigenous People In Plain View"
- Motion 22-19(2): Appointment of Law Clerk, Carried
- Motion 23-19(2): Appointment of Sole Adjudicators, Carried
- Motion 24-19(2): Changes to Committee Membership, Carried
- Motion to Amend Motion 24-19(2), Carried
- Motion 25-19(2): Extended Adjournment of the House to February 3, 2021, Carried
- Bill 22: Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), 2021-2022
- Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
- Committee Motion 59-19(2): Committee Report 6-19(2): Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures Report on Remote Sittings - Authorizing Speaker to Conduct Remote Session, Carried
- Committee Motion 60-19(2): Committee Report 6-19(2): Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures Report on Remote Sittings - Display of Mace during Remote Sittings, Carried
- Committee Motion 61-19(2): Committee Report 6-19(2): Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures Report on Remote Sittings Report on Remote Sittings - Authorization by Speaker of Remote Attendance of Members for Session, Carried
- Committee Motion 62-19(2): Committee Report 6-19(2): Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures Report on Remote Sittings Report on Remote Sittings - Application of Rule 12(10) for Remote Attendance, Carried
- Committee Motion 63-19(2): Committee Report 6-19(2): Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures Report on Remote Sittings Report on Remote Sittings - Training and Headsets for Online Sittings, Carried
- Committee Motion 64-19(2): Committee Report 6-19(2): Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures Report on Remote Sittings Report on Remote Sittings - Neutral Background for Video Conferences, Carried
- Committee Motion 65-19(2): Committee Report 6-19(2): Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures Report on Remote Sittings Report on Remote Sittings - Recorded Votes in Remote Sittings, Carried
- Committee Motion 66-19(2): Committee Report 6-19(2): Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures Report on Remote Sittings Report on Remote Sittings - Registration of Votes in Event of Loss of Connection, Carried
- Committee Motion 67-19(2): Committee Report 6-19(2): Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures Report on Remote Sittings - Roll Call Procedures, Carried
- Committee Motion 68-19(2): Committee Report 6-19(2): Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures Report on Remote Sittings - Disconnection and Reconnection during Oral Questions, Carried
- Committee Motion 69-19(2): Committee Report 6-19(2): Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures Report on Remote Sittings - Redirection of Questions during Loss of Ministers' Connections, Carried
- Committee Motion 70-19(2): Committee Report 6-19(2): Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures Report on Remote Sittings - Announcement of Written Questions, Carried
- Committee Motion 71-19(2): Committee Report 6-19(2): Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures Report on Remote Sittings - Members' Statements in Event of Loss of Connection, Carried
- Committee Motion 72-19(2): Committee Report 6-19(2): Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures Report on Remote Sittings - Revised Daily Orders for Remote Sittings, Carried
- Committee Motion 73-19(2): Committee Report 6-19(2): Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures Report on Remote Sittings - Reference Guide for Remote Sittings, Carried
- Committee Motion 74-19(2): Committee Report 6-19(2): Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures Report on Remote Sittings - Standing Committee Review of Remote Sittings, Carried
- Report Of The Committee Of The Whole
- Bill 22: Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), 2021-2022
- Recorded Vote
- Assent To Bills
- Orders Of The Day
Question 477-19(2): Direct Appointments in Government of the Northwest Territories
Oral Questions
Page 1700

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake
I'd like to take that since it's a Cabinet question. Currently, the requirement for direct appointments is to be reviewed by Cabinet. It's established under the Public Service Act. That ensures that department appointments are being used appropriately. However, Madam Speaker, the Public Service Act is currently under review, and part of that review, we can consider changes to the direct appointment process. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Question 477-19(2): Direct Appointments in Government of the Northwest Territories
Oral Questions
Page 1700
Question 478-19(2): Food Security
Oral Questions
November 5th, 2020
Page 1700

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake
Merci, Madame la Presidente. My questions are for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment. My statement referred first to this government's mandate commandment to increase food security through food industry, increasing country food harvesting, and improving Nutrition North. Of course, there are several tasks there. Can the Minister give us a brief update on the current status of this mandate commandment on increasing food security? Mahsi, Madam Speaker.
Question 478-19(2): Food Security
Oral Questions
Page 1700
Question 478-19(2): Food Security
Oral Questions
Page 1700

Caroline Wawzonek Yellowknife South
Thank you, Madam Speaker. There are quite a number of initiatives taking place right now. There is, of course, the sustainable livelihoods program that is led by ENR that was introduced back in August of 2019. That includes a significant amount of work in terms of food security with respect to on-the-land and harvesting mentorship of young people to engage in on-the-land harvesting and on-the-land food security. In addition to that, there is work happening over in Health and Social Services. They are responsible for meat regulations, responsible for anti-poverty funding, responsible for nutrition supports. In addition to that, Education, Culture and Employment is responsible for supporting students and income support individuals who may require supports with food security.
Furthermore, there now is the Department of ITI with which I am standing to give a bit more information. ITI is responsible for the agriculture strategy and for the implementation of that. We have recently put in place a senior advisor for food security. I think it is envisioned that this individual will help coordinate all of this work that is clearly happening across the GNWT, and currently, that person is conducting an inventory of all of these different programs. I have not mentioned an exhaustive list. I've given only the highlights. One other one, I suppose, is the fish strategy with which ITI is responsible, and we have advanced that project just in the last month. I have two hours just tomorrow, in fact, where I will be sitting down with the department to see where that's at. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Question 478-19(2): Food Security
Oral Questions
Page 1701

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake
I want to thank the Minister for that. Could say something about fish there, but we had a great fish lunch today, too. I mentioned that the pandemic did disrupt some of our supply chains, put our food security at some risk. There was a lot of renewed interest in local food production. I mentioned some of the wonderful projects that took place this summer. It's not clear, though, whether we took full advantage of that convergence of events and interest. Can the Minister tell us what lessons we've learned about building food security during this pandemic?
Question 478-19(2): Food Security
Oral Questions
Page 1701

Caroline Wawzonek Yellowknife South
There certainly has been a lot of work done in ITI around the supply chains, monitoring those supply chains and ensuring that they are supported. I would say that the course of the pandemic and the need to maintain the supply chains was an opportunity to develop a lot more relationships, and good relationships, across the supply chain, both from the grocery store and all the way to those who are transporting the food. In addition to that, there has been certainly a renewed interest in terms of food production.
I would be remiss not to note that, while there is a lot more interest in food security, which is certainly helpful to all of those programs I mentioned earlier, the convergence is not entirely complete. There of course are challenges between: do we provide, for example, free seeds of potatoes, or do we encourage commercial production? It's not quite so simple, and there has to be a balance struck. However, I think this opportunity over the summer was a chance to start having those conversations so that we can be better going forward.
Question 478-19(2): Food Security
Oral Questions
Page 1701

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake
I want to thank the Minister for that. I have looked for data and reports on the output of the agricultural sector here in the Northwest Territories, and it's really hard to find anything. The ITI website has an agricultural sector profile page, but there is not much quantification there. The Bureau of Statistics doesn't seem to have much data on its web page, either. Of course, if you can't count it, how can we measure progress on building food security? Can the Minister tell us what steps she is taking to ensure that we can actually measure food security improvements with real targets and measurement of progress?
Question 478-19(2): Food Security
Oral Questions
Page 1701

Caroline Wawzonek Yellowknife South
There was an initial sector-wide survey done back in 2017-2018, as the agriculture strategy was getting rolling and being implemented. That does need to be updated, and another round of surveys does need to take place in order to compare to that baseline. I would note that one important thing that has happened this year, Madam Speaker, is the formation of a territorial agri-food association that can also help advocate for these issues and help ensure that, when we are gathering the data, we are, in fact, going to the right places to gather the data from that membership. Hopefully, there can be, in fact, more information and more quantified information going forward.
Question 478-19(2): Food Security
Oral Questions
Page 1701
Question 478-19(2): Food Security
Oral Questions
Page 1701

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake
Merci, Madame la Presidente. I want to thank the Minister for that. I really look forward to counting carrots in the future. We are going to get some hard statistics. I spoke about how ITI's efforts on agriculture seem to be largely focused on business and commercial food production. I think that there is some real urgency in building a food security strategy here for the Northwest Territories. Can the Minister commit to developing a real food security strategy for the Northwest Territories that incorporates food self-sufficiency, including agriculture, country foods, inter-settlement trade, and programs that deliver on targets, with regular evaluation reporting? Can the Minister commit to a food security strategy for the Northwest Territories? Mahsi, Madam Speaker.
Question 478-19(2): Food Security
Oral Questions
Page 1701

Caroline Wawzonek Yellowknife South
The need to look at food security and to improve food security is part of the mandate of this government, but the ITI lead is focused largely on the commercial side of that. It is not the only side of the food security issue, and that is why Health and Social Services, ECE, and ENR are also involved, because each department has a part to play. Again, I can certainly reaffirm the commitment to achieve what's in the mandate, but I cannot stand alone and say that there will be a particular strategy developed. I would again point back to the fact that we do have now the senior advisor of food security who can ensure that this work is being coordinated so that we can achieve the mandate item around food security. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Question 478-19(2): Food Security
Oral Questions
Page 1701
Question 479-19(2): Income Assistance
Oral Questions
Page 1702

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Firstly, I would like to acknowledge that the Department of ECE in income assistance does lots of great work, and we have probably one of the most generous income assistance programs in the country. I think the department even inherently recognizes some of the benefits of a basic income. During the pandemic, one of the first things we did is we payrolled people for three months to give them more guaranteed time to report. We also got rid of the productivity requirements such that they got their money whether they failed to show up for a meeting or whatnot. I believe the roots are there, but I believe we need to break out and look at what every department is doing and what the federal government is also doing to really make a proper guaranteed basic income. My question for the Minister of ECE is: as part of our income assistance review, will we conduct a feasibility assessment of a guaranteed basic income? Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Question 479-19(2): Income Assistance
Oral Questions
Page 1702
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