This is page numbers 19 - 38 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 cancer.

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

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Lesa Semmler

Lesa Semmler Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize my CA, Loretta Rogers, and I would also like to recognize a former colleague, John Stephenson. We both sat as previous chairs of education boards.

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

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The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Hay River North.

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

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R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would also like to recognize Mr. John Stephenson, the former chair of the Yellowknife District No. 1 education authority. I never had a chance to work directly with him, as our terms did not quite overlap, but I have heard nothing but good things, and I look forward to working with him, as he is still a trustee on the board. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Page 22

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Hay River North. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. If we have missed anyone in the gallery today, welcome to the Chamber. I hope that you are enjoying the proceedings. It is always nice to have an audience with us. Thank you. Item 6, acknowledgements. Item 7, oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. As I had mentioned in my statement, residents of the NWT expected that a brand new hospital would be better than the old one, but, so far, the new hospital has been plagued with problems, especially with plumbing and heating. My first question to the Minister is whether the new hospital has a warranty and whether that warranty is still in effect. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

Diane Archie

Diane Archie Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to let the Member know that, yes, there is a warranty, and it is between the designer-builder and the service provider, which is Dexterra. It was for a base period of one year, to November 30, 2019. There is a 10-year latent defects warranty.

Under the project agreement, the GNWT is provided with protection by transfer of responsibility and risk to the P3 partner, which is BHP, and Dexterra, who is responsible for dealing with the building performance issues, also the associated costs, and it is over the life of a 30-year agreement. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Thank you to the Minister for that response. As I understand it, then, the repairs are being done and paid for by the contractor. Do I have that correct?

Diane Archie

Diane Archie Inuvik Boot Lake

Yes, that is correct.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Thank you to the Minister for that. Who inspected the new hospital before it opened, and what were the findings of deficiencies, if any?

Diane Archie

Diane Archie Inuvik Boot Lake

Under the project agreement, the P3 partner, which is Boreal Health Partnership, was responsible for ensuring that the building was reviewed before the building was made available to the GNWT on November 30, 2018 -- that is the service commencement -- to begin preparation for moving the services to the new hospital.

All construction work undertaken was also subject to a sign-off by an independent certifier. BHP engaged the architect and engineers of record, who were liable for final reviews and approval that the facility is fit for use. The reviews ensured compliance with a range of technical requirements in accordance with the project agreement, the technical requirements, as well as codes, standards, and laws.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you to the Minister for that. Mr. Speaker, in Saskatchewan, the government is paying for a third-party audit of construction following similar problems at the North Battleford hospital. Is the Minister willing to contract a construction audit of the new Stanton hospital so that we get an overall picture of the ongoing problems with the building? Thank you.

Diane Archie

Diane Archie Inuvik Boot Lake

Yes, we are aware of the issues in Saskatchewan, which were much more severe than the challenges we have faced within the Stanton Hospital. Our focus is working with the P3 partners to ensure challenges that have been experienced are dealt with. We are seeing the number of issues decline over time. The project agreement provides provisions to enable the GNWT to undertake reviews and audits of the services provided by Dexterra during the life of this agreement. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Lesa Semmler

Lesa Semmler Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Will the Minister advise me if they will be running the Schools North Apprenticeship Program, referred to as the SNAP program, in my community this year? If not, why, and will his department reconsider? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The SNAP program, as the Member mentioned, the Schools North Apprenticeship Program, doesn't run on a schedule. It is not a regular part of the curriculum. There is no scheduled start time right now. The program requires a significant number of parties to all come together. You need employers; you need the school; you need students, parents, and ECE to ensure that things run smoothly.

If there is an interest from employers and there is an interest from students, then this is something that we can facilitate, and we can use this program. I will speak to the department to explore some further options. We have our career and education advisors who might be able to help facilitate this, but the first thing that we need is to have some participants who are willing to help us move forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Lesa Semmler

Lesa Semmler Inuvik Twin Lakes

In my Member's statement, I also talked about the trades trailers that are in my community that have been sitting there. Will the Minster advise me what the plan from the department is to continue to work with the Indigenous governments in my community to ensure that these trailers are being utilized for the purpose that they were purchased for?

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Aurora College offers trades, industrial, and occupational training in the trades mobile training lab. This lab is a state-of-the-art facility. I think it is pretty cool, basically. We are always open to having these discussions with Indigenous governments. In 2019, December, the lab returned to Inuvik from Tuktoyaktuk after offering the Building Trades Helper Program.

There are ongoing discussions about how we can better use this lab in the Beaufort-Delta for things such as trade preparation, entry-level programs for youth to enhance employment skills, and the Building Trades Helper Program. As the transformation of Aurora College into a polytechnic continues, there are going to be even more opportunities to utilize this tool.

Lesa Semmler

Lesa Semmler Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you to the Minister for that. I look forward to the ongoing work in that area. Will the Minister ensure that small businesses that have apprentices and utilize the on-the-job funding to support them to keep the apprentice until they reach their journeyman certificate?

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

My colleague is speaking about the trades and occupations wage subsidy program in which the department tops off the wages for apprentices for a couple years. She noted that it doesn't necessarily follow the apprentice all the way through. That is because the pot of money just isn't big enough to do that. We can't cover everyone.

I am looking forward, in this Assembly, to increasing the number of apprentices and journeypeople that we have in the territory. If this is something that we think is useful and a way to do that, then I look forward to having those budget discussions with Cabinet and with the Regular Members and seeing if that is where we want to allocate our limited resources.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Lesa Semmler

Lesa Semmler Inuvik Twin Lakes

Just one last thing: would the Minister, since I am pretty sure SFA falls under the Minister's department, if they could look at maybe a way that that would help apprentices continue on and maybe support them in that area? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

SFA is for students who are studying. I don't know if that is an appropriate avenue to provide funds to somebody who is working as an apprentice, but I have been speaking for years about the need to get more apprentices in the territory. We have so many journeypeople who are retiring, who have retired. Like the rest of Canada, we just do not have the people to replace them. I am hopeful and committed to increasing that number during the life of this Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.