This is page numbers 295 - 344 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

Merci, Monsieur le President. In the last Assembly, the Minister of Justice agreed to carry out a comprehensive review of Victim Services. There are basically three programs; the Victims Assistance Fund, which receives the victims of crime surcharges, which are then used for application-based project. This program is working well, although there is an opening balance of $351,000 as of April 1, 2019, as shown in the most recent annual report tabled in this House.

The second program is the network of Victim Services coordinators that are funded through contribution agreements with the Department of Justice. This system has been in place since 1996 and there are currently eight community-based Victim Services coordinators with outreach positions in Hay River and Inuvik dedicated to serving communities without resident Victim Services providers. These coordinators, other service providers, and volunteers provide victims of crime in their communities with information, assistance, support, and referrals to community support services. Support is also supposed to be available to victims of crime in surrounding communities by phone.

It is my understanding that the number of service contacts with victims has more than doubled over the last five years. Given that this program is delivered through contribution agreements, there appears to be some issues with regard to consistency of support for the coordinators themselves, access to resources to support victims, and thus the need for a comprehensive review, along with more funding to complete the network and provide services to all of our communities.

The third program is the Victims of Crime Emergency Fund, which provides financial assistance to victims of serious violent crime. Although the program has eligibility criteria, there is apparently some discretion for justice officials. I understand that about $40,000 per year is available for the victims of serious violent crime.

I will have questions for the Minister of Justice on the status of the review of Victim Services and how this government intends to improve support for the victims of family violence and other crimes. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

Nunakput Elders Aging in Place
Members' Statements

Page 299

Jackie Jacobson

Jackie Jacobson Nunakput

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In 2015, the Aurora Research Institute did a study at the request of the NWT Seniors Society on Influences on the Quality of Life of the Older Adult in the Northwest Territories. This study found that Indigenous elders have a better quality of life when they feel connected and supported; active and independent; and safe and secure through a traditional lifestyle, which is bound in place at home. That is why it is so important that the government do everything it can to make sure that our elders have living places in their home communities and can access support and programs as their needs change with age.

The 19th Legislative Assembly identified enabling seniors to age in place with dignity as one of its key priorities. In the mandate, government is committing to have 10 percent more seniors with access to housing programs beginning in the summer of 2021. In the meantime, the mandate has set aside more than an entire year for the government to identify gaps. Mr. Speaker, I can help them do that before this summer comes, never mind next summer. I want to invite the Ministers of ECE, Health and Social Services, and the Housing Corporation to come to Nunakput to meet with the elders in some of my communities. It won't take long to figure out their needs.

Their needs are simple. They need access to safe, appropriate housing, where they can be near their families and friends, but where they can also feel safe from abuse when they have family troubles. They need access to affordable insurance, or they need the Housing Corporation to relax some of its policy requirements, so that simple repairs can be made without the need for insurance. They need to know that they can travel, hassle-free, with family members, when they need to travel outside their communities for medical care. They need access to palliative care and to die at home with dignity when the time comes.

I am ready and willing to work with the Ministers who have these responsibilities under this mandate item to make good things happen on the ground for the elders of Nunakput. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Nunakput Elders Aging in Place
Members' Statements

Page 299

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Nunakput. Members' statements. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Medical Travel
Members' Statements

Page 299

Steve Norn

Steve Norn Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Today, I would like to speak about medical travel services with the Department of Health and Social Services. It seems that medical travel is quickly becoming one of the top issues that my constituents have to deal with. I am constantly, almost on a daily basis, hearing from constituents about various issues they have experienced in regard to medical travel. Among the issues I have seen, there seems to be confusion about the filing of paperwork; it is too complicated. The reimbursement of claims taking excessive amounts of time to be returned to residents; and, of course, there is the issue of medical escorts being denied.

I can understand the reasons for a minor waiting period between date of submission of a reimbursement claim and the date the reimbursement is received by the resident. However, there are several cases I have seen within my riding alone where this waiting period is simply too long for some people. I have many constituents who are on a very tight budget and income, as it is in a lot of our small communities, so even the slightest deviation from their regular spending habits can affect them for months on end. Simply put, the long waiting periods for residents to receive their medical travel reimbursements is too long, and in some cases, it is harmful.

I strongly and respectfully urge the Department of Health and Social Services to review this element of their medical travel program, the waiting period, because some of our vulnerable people are once again falling through the cracks.

In addition, Mr. Speaker, I am told by constituents that some of the forms associated with medical travel and medical escorts can be difficult to understand. In other words, the forms are not user-friendly enough and should be simplified a little more and be more accessible for people. It seems like sometimes you will have to sit with a CGA, a certified general accountant, just to get through some of these forms. It should not be that way.

There is one example here. When I was helping one constituent fill out her medical travel paperwork, there was one form that she needed which was not readily available online, and it took the Department of Health several hours to obtain a copy. I think that these types of barriers can be easy fixed by our government and can potentially save time and resources in the future by not having to walk through all the medical travel paperwork with residents as much as we do today. I will have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services later today. Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker.

Medical Travel
Members' Statements

Page 300

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Members' statements. Member for Deh Cho.

Ronald Bonnetrouge

Ronald Bonnetrouge Deh Cho

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. My Member's statement today is regarding healthcare service in my community of Fort Providence and in the communities in my riding, which include Kakisa, K'atlodeeche, and Enterprise. This may also go for the other communities in the Northwest Territories, which may or may not have health centres. I believe the level of healthcare is concerning for the residents of the Northwest Territories. This issue most likely has been raised in every prior Assembly, with Members stating the problems with healthcare in our communities or lack thereof.

Everyone talks of fixing the healthcare system. I came to this Assembly with the mindset that I could make a difference in fixing the healthcare system. I want to have improved and simplified paperwork for medical travel right at the local health centre. I want to see better and improved diagnosis of patients at the local health centre. I want to see better health care service to the communities of Enterprise, K'atlodeeche, and Kakisa, and for the Northwest Territories as a whole.

I have had patients complain to me about being misdiagnosed for their ailment. They were seen by a nurse practitioner and sent home with a pill for the pain. Most have been back to the health centre four or five times, and only when their ailment was at a critical stage, they were shipped out. Most patients had to ship themselves out, with the assistance of a relative, for a serious misdiagnosis. People were afraid to go to a certain nurse practitioner for fear of not receiving the best healthcare that should be afforded to our people. This is very alarming to say the least.

Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the health Minister at the appropriate time. Mahsi cho.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Deh Cho. Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Alcohol Strategy
Members' Statements

February 27th, 2020

Page 300

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday, I spoke about the analysis by Harold Johnson of the harm alcohol abuse is doing in his northern Saskatchewan community. I could have been talking about the Northwest Territories. The problems are similar of binge drinking with terrible consequences. Today, I am going to talk about another approach to alcohol harm reduction that is informed by academic research.

The Canadian Alcohol Policy Evaluation project, known as CAPE, has quantified the costs of alcohol harm in the Northwest Territories at $56 million a year. That is $30 million more than we take in from alcohol sales. On their 2017 report card, we scored a failing grade on alcohol policy, mostly because we don't have a full and effective set of alcohol policies. Clearly, we have some work to do.

Mr. Speaker, we can get started by creating an alcohol strategy that provides an independent and evidence-based approach to public health policy. CAPE has identified seven areas which provide the best direct results for harm reduction. Alcohol pricing is one promising area. CAPE recommends a minimum price per standard drink for both on and off-premises sales, adjusted annually to keep up with inflation. A second area is one I have talked about before, which is to persuade doctors to do a screening, brief intervention, and referral with their patients who may need help with alcohol abuse. A third area is to move responsibility for the liquor commission into the department of health so there is some consistency around health and safety messaging.

It is not all bad news. CAPE gives the NWT credit for the graduated licensing program for new drivers because of its zero tolerance for blood alcohol content during the first year they have a license, and it is worth noting the NWT is one of only two jurisdictions that have mandatory health warning labels on alcohol cans and bottles.

Mr. Speaker, as legislators, we could do nothing and watch as the harm continues, or we could be the leaders this issue needs by supporting the development of a strategy with dedicated funding, an identified leader with a public health focus, and robust implementation and monitoring. We need to bring to an end simply picking up the pieces leftover from the harms of alcohol, and focus on prevention. I will have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Alcohol Strategy
Members' Statements

Page 300

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife Centre. Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife North.

Rylund Johnson

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I wish to speak about the hours of service for the Yellowknife Department of Motor Vehicles.

Mr. Speaker, a number of my platform points that I campaigned on currently lie dead in the water. I won't walk out of here in four years having delivered universal basic income or universal daycare. However, in my platform, I had a number of smaller, very simple changes, and hopefully, after four years of persistence, I can get the Yellowknife Department of Motor Vehicles to be open evenings or weekends, Mr. Speaker.

Firstly, I would like to begin by acknowledging that the Yellowknife Department of Motor Vehicles office has put more and more services online, which has reduced wait times. They are accessible 24 hours a day, but there are a still a number of services you have to go into the office for. I have been trying to change the address on my driver's licence for years. In this town, which is a government town, if you work government hours but government services are only available those same hours, you find yourself having to take a day off simply to catch up on bureaucratic paperwork.

Now, Mr. Speaker, when I do a jurisdictional scan, it is clear: Edmonton, open 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., seven days a week. You can go in after supper and renew your driver's licence. A number of jurisdictions; Ottawa, Thursday, they pick one night a week where they are open evenings and then a few hours on Saturday. Mr. Speaker, I believe we can accomplish this in the next four years.

One of the barriers to this is: we can't simply ask a GNWT employee to start two hours later, which would allow the DMV to be open two hours later, because we run into the collective agreement. I believe in the collective agreement, which serves the members who work in the public service, but in a government town where they have to then go access those services, it actually becomes a barrier. I have questions for the Minister of Infrastructure on whether we can add some flexibility into the collective agreement that allows our services to be open evenings and weekends. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Members' statements. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Lesa Semmler

Lesa Semmler Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I would like to talk about something that we hear about almost weekly in the news in the NWT, drug-related charges, offences. In Inuvik, at a recent town council meeting, it was reported 69 reports of possible drug trafficking in 2019 compared to 15 in 2018. This was according to the RCMP stats in January. In an article on February 13th, CBC quoted Constable Chris Main out of Inuvik: "In recent years, the Northwest Territories as a whole has seen a dramatic increase in the presence of drug trafficking, and Inuvik has been no exception to this," and reports to Inuvik RCMP of alleged drug trafficking shot up in 2019, more than quadrupling the number from the year before.

He also said the jump in this is the direct result of people choosing to alert the police about specific drug traffickers. Reports from the public work as a compass, he said. They help direct police toward certain locations or people.

Traffickers are coming up from provinces. Main has stated that criminal organizations, often from provinces, have set up operations in a number of NWT communities. "These groups rotate in and out of the communities, often with one drug trafficker replacing another," he said, adding they mostly deal in crack cocaine and powder cocaine.

"Particularly troubling for the police," said Main, "is that the traffickers are regularly using people's homes as bases for their operations, exploiting residents who are already living with addictions and poverty." Traffickers, he added, will seek out people who are isolated and who won't speak out against them. I would like to thank the RCMP in our community who are taking action on this, as well as the residents who are brave in reporting this to the RCMP.

Mr. Speaker, these drugs are coming in by road, by air. How can we, as a government, stop this? I don't know, but I do know that it is a problem. I see that the RCMP are doing their part, and the residents are doing their part. If we can provide local, culturally-relevant healing and focused aftercare in support for our residents who are struggling with addictions, we may see less and less of these news release headlines and do our part as government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Members' Statements. Member for Kam Lake.

Municipal Funding Gap
Members' Statements

Page 301

Caitlin Cleveland

Caitlin Cleveland Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. For four years, the regular Members of the 18th Assembly made repeated calls for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs to develop a strategy to address the municipal funding gap. That report was quietly tabled on the final day of the final sitting of the 18th Assembly, which prevented any public discussion. This is not surprising, Mr. Speaker, given how dire the findings are. On page 12, it states, "In 2019, the full cost of basic infrastructure has increased to $2.9 billion with an investment of $69 million needed annually." It went on to say that, "The total annual funding deficit for community governments is approximately $24.5 million."

The funding MACA provides accounts for up to 90 percent of community government revenues. The extreme funding shortfall leaves community governments to choose between allowing assets to age into disrepair or pass the cost to residents. If the City of Yellowknife chose to address their $11.5-million funding gap by raising taxation revenues, the property taxes of every land owner would skyrocket, making the capital an unaffordable place for all but the wealthiest to live.

Mr. Speaker, the government's mandate commits to closing the community funding gap by $5 million over the life of this government. At that rate, we may never close the funding gap; that barely keeps up with inflation. The funding proposed in the mandate is equal to a little over $37,000 per year per community. This means communities will continue to be underfunded by this government to the tune of $20 million a year for the next four years.

Closing the funding gap would satisfy not one, but two of the priorities of our government. According to the Conference Board of Canada, closing the funding gap would create an additional 220 additional jobs per year in infrastructure construction, environmental services, municipal government services, and infrastructure repair. Direct and indirect multipliers of employment through millions of dollars of investments at the municipal level equate to 13 jobs, whereas $1 million of investments at the territorial government level equates to seven. By accomplishing one priority, we actual satisfy two: if we close the funding gap, we create jobs in small communities.

In MACA's report, the Minister states, "I want to acknowledge that we are unable to definitely answer when and how the funding gap will be closed." It took the department four years of study to reach this conclusion. This is not acceptable, and it is not sustainable. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Municipal Funding Gap
Members' Statements

Page 301

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Members' statements. Member for Hay River South.

Rocky Simpson

Rocky Simpson Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This past week I witnessed and participated in a decision-making process where there appeared to be a misunderstanding with respect to a matter that would provide housing to approximately 42 people in Yellowknife; a misunderstanding that blew up in the press, and one that could have easily been avoided if this government gave serious thought to the benefit of the project, a project with many moving parts.

I give credit to the Yellowknife Women's Society, who identified a serious need in the community and have identified a potential solution to address and action this need. The solution, however, does require buy-in from Canada, this government, and all stakeholders, and this is where it gets cumbersome.

Mr. Speaker, it is important to note that there are multiple parties involved in the Arnica project. There is the owner of the building, the Yellowknife Women's Society, various GNWT departments, the Government of Canada, the City of Yellowknife, concerned residents, and the future tenants.

Mr. Speaker, the federal government would ultimately provide funding of approximately $4 million, which each territory could use. The NWT Housing Corporation would contribute approximately $650,000 to confirm its support of the project, to help it move forward. The federal government will want to know if the project is feasible. The GNWT will want to know if they are making a one-time contribution or if they will have to make further contributions or ultimately have to take the building over at some point.

However, it does not end there. There is the matter of the land and building. Is it suitable? What condition is it in? Is there contamination, and are there zoning issues? In addition to that, there are consulting fees, legal fees, purchase costs, ongoing maintenance costs, management costs, and tight deadlines. All this has to be addressed in what is now a condensed timeline.

Mr. Speaker, one area that will ultimately bog down the process is the red tape that both the federal and territorial governments have in place. It is in this area that non-profits require assistance, as they often lack the resources and time to navigate through it. It is assistance in this area that this government has to be proactive on and hands-on. In this day and age, we find it easy to send emails back and forth and try to address issues. Nothing, however, replaces initial face-to-face meeting with all parties present to clarify issues and come to a consensus on how to proceed and define responsibilities to meet deadlines and deliver projects. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement. Thank you.

---Unanimous consent granted

Rocky Simpson

Rocky Simpson Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, colleagues. I want to end this on a positive note and say that I am pleased with the Minister of NWT Housing Corporation's commitment to meet with all parties at one table in order to expedite this project. I will look to her to offer the same courtesy and resources to the Hay River Family Support Centre for their shelter project as well as those communities looking at similar projects. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Hay River South.

Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery
Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery

Page 301

Rocky Simpson

Rocky Simpson Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to welcome and recognize Colette Langlois, the Ombud for the NWT, and I think she is a constituent of mine in Hay River South. Thank you.

Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery
Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery

Page 301

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you. Member for Inuvik Boot Lake.

Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery
Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery

Page 301

Diane Archie

Diane Archie Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I would like to recognize Denise MacDonald, who is a constituent of mine in Inuvik Boot Lake. Welcome, Denise. Thank you.

Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery
Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery

Page 301

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Great Slave.

Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery
Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery

Page 301

Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to take this moment to recognize two of the Pages with us today who are constituents of mine in Great Slave. I apologize for names, Gianne Mercado and Willem Jacobs. I thank them for their commitment and time to this work. I would also like to recognize my constituent James Tally in the gallery. Thank you.

Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery
Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery

Page 301

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Range Lake.