Members, welcome back to the Legislative Assembly. Our Chamber looks very different. There are more seats and tables, to allow Members to physically distance themselves. I thank Members for their cooperation. These steps and others, such as hand washing, hand sanitizing, and changing how we move around in the building, have been taken to reduce the risk of COVID-19.

Before we begin today, I would like to extend the condolences of this House and my personal condolences to all who have lost a loved one recently. Such a loss is never easy. During these uncertain times, it has become particularly difficult as families and friends have been unable to come together to support one another and grieve their shared loss. Although you have not been able to get together to celebrate the lives of your loved ones, I know that you have continued to grieve their passing and honour their memories individually.

These are challenging times. However, there is essential work to do. Members must review and adopt the government's 2020-2021 budget. Also, this sitting allows Members to ask questions and review the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While the Assembly is closed to the public, the media can still attend. We continue to broadcast and stream live our proceedings. It is important residents can see and understand the work being done. This sitting will have interpretation into Chipewyan, French, and Tlicho. These proceedings will also be interpreted into all official languages and posted online. I want to thank our interpreters for their hard work.

To our residents, thank you. The restrictions required to stop the spread of COVID-19 have been hard. Now that some restrictions have been lifted, we must remain committed as we enjoy spring and summer.

Members, the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories has recommended to the Assembly the passage of Supplementary Appropriations Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 2, 2020-2021. Thank you. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Honourable Premier.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to welcome all Members back to the continuation of our Second Sitting of the 19^th Legislative Assembly.

Much has changed in the Northwest Territories and around the world since our sitting was interrupted by the declaration of a global COVID-19 pandemic this past March. Governments across Canada, including our own, have had to take swift and strong action to protect the health and safety of Canadians from this disease.

COVID-19 is a disease that no one in the world has a natural immunity to. There is no vaccine, and there is no effective anti-viral treatment for it. The best way to prevent its spread is to ensure people are not exposed to the virus.

Physical distancing was and still is the best protection against COVID-19, and that is why governments across Canada moved quickly in mid-March to close businesses, restrict travel, and put limits on gathering of people.

Mr. Speaker, while these strict limits were absolutely necessary for protecting everybody's health, they were devastating for the national and territorial economy. The situation has left our government, like all governments in this country, grappling with two challenges at the same time: a public health crisis and a socio-economic crisis.
On the public health side, we have relied heavily on the work of the Northwest Territories' Chief Public Health Officer as well as the Department of Health and Social Services and the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority.

Along with public health officials across Canada, the Chief Public Health Officer was monitoring the progression of COVID-19 in other countries and taking steps to make sure the Northwest Territories was ready for it even before the global pandemic was declared on March 11.

The day before the pandemic was declared, the Chief Public Health Officer issued an update on COVID-19, and gave extensive advice to Northwest Territories residents on how to keep themselves safe. Recommendations included avoiding non-essential travel outside the territory, self-monitoring for people who had recently travelled, reconsidering plans for public gatherings, and keeping a two-week supply of food and medicine at home.

As COVID-19 began to spread in southern Canada, the Minister of Health and Social Services, on the recommendation of the Chief Public Health Officer, declared a public health emergency in the Northwest Territories on March 18, 2020. The following day, the Government of the Northwest Territories took the unprecedented step of directing its employees to begin working from home in an effort to help encourage physical distancing and slow the spread of COVID-19.

Two days later, on March 21^st, the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in the Northwest Territories and a public health order prohibiting travel into the territory was put into place, except for residents returning home and workers providing essential services. All people entering the Territories from outside were also required to self-isolate for 14 days in one of four regional communities where appropriate medical care was available in the case that they developed COVID-19.

On March 22^nd, the Chief Public Health Officer recommended that all mass gatherings be cancelled immediately and that certain businesses, where it would be impossible to maintain physical distancing, be closed. These recommendations were made into binding public health orders on April 10, 2020.

To assist with the implementation of the Chief Public Health Officer's orders, the Government of the Northwest Territories set up regional self-isolation centres for people returning from outside the territory and established a compliance and enforcement taskforce, drawing on staff from across the Government of the Northwest Territories with enforcement experience.

To better coordinate the whole-of-government response, the Municipal and Community Affairs Emergency Management Organization was fully activated and a territorial state of emergency was declared on March 24^th.

While all these measures were necessary to protect residents and communities from the spread of COVID-19, our government recognizes that these decisions also had serious economic consequences for people, businesses, and communities. We also recognized that we had an obligation to not just protect public health, but to help the territory weather the financial and economic storm that COVID-19 had caused. This would require a whole-of-government effort with all departments involved in the response.

On March 20, just days into the crisis, the Ministers of Finance and Industry, Tourism and Investment announced on behalf of our government the first set of measures designed to help reduce the impacts of the COVID-19 shutdown on the NWT and its residents.

Valued at $13.2 million, this first economic package included measures like providing low-interest loans through the Business Development and Investment Corporation to help businesses offset the impacts of COVID-19.

The Government of the Northwest Territories also agreed to advance resource revenues to Indigenous governments that are signatories to the devolution agreement and to allow Indigenous governments, non-government organizations, and community governments to carry over unused contribution amounts into the current fiscal year. Increased funding was also made available through Education, Culture and Employment for Income Assistance clients and seniors to help address the impacts of COVID-19.

In addition to new funding, the Government of the Northwest Territories also decided to suspend or defer the collection of fees and revenues owing to it. This was another way to relieve the financial burden being experienced by people, businesses, and communities as a result of COVID-19. These measures included removing transportation fees by the Department of Infrastructure, deferring Business Development and Investment Corporation and student financial assistance loan payments, pausing most collection efforts, and extending the due date for Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission employer fees. The Northwest Territories Power Corporation contributed to these relief efforts by removing load limiters and ceasing disconnections, as well as pausing its collection efforts.

A second economic relief package valued at almost $8.3 million was announced on March 31^st, including additional supports for Income Assistance clients and further fee reductions.

This package also identified $5 million for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation to create temporary housing for homeless persons, including housing in Yellowknife and 130 units in communities outside of the capital.

Further announcements saw Education, Culture and Employment allocate $5 million to support childcare for essential workers and decide to exempt federal emergency benefits from Income Assistance eligibility calculations. The Department of Finance also introduced a wage top-up plan for workers earning less than $18 an hour.

The Department of Justice also instituted a moratorium on residential evictions, allowed for rent deferrals for residential tenants affected by the pandemic, while the Housing Corporation enhanced the Territorial Rent Supplement Program.

Leaseholders on public lands were also seeing relief in the form of a $2.7-million decision to waive rent on existing leases for the 2020-2021 fiscal year from the Department of Lands.

Support to businesses has been a joint effort of our government and the Government of Canada, with Government of the Northwest Territories efforts being designed to complement immediate relief available to territorial businesses from the federal government. In addition to working capital loans provided by the Business Development and Investment Corporation, $4 million is available to territorial businesses through Industry, Tourism and Investment's SEED Program to help businesses recover as the COVID-19 pandemic subsides.

In the first of two planned announcements, the Government of the Northwest Territories, in partnership with the Government of Canada, is helping four northern passenger-based airlines access $8.7 million in funding. Further funding announcements with Canada are expected for additional airlines.

Of course, the Northwest Territories is not alone in facing this pandemic, and all Members of Cabinet have been working closely with their federal, provincial, and territorial counterparts to help coordinate efforts and advocate for the Northwest Territories. All Ministers are working hard to ensure that the Northwest Territories' needs are clearly understood so federal assistance programs benefit our residents and businesses. We are also coordinating on key issues like securing the national supply chain so the territory continues to have access to essential goods and participating in national bulk orders for personal protective equipment.

While the threat of COVID-19 is not over, our government also recognizes that a complete shutdown of the Northwest Territories economy and society is not sustainable or affordable. Although our priority in the past two months has been on managing the immediate threat to public health, we have also been working on plans for recovery and for emerging wisely.

Mr. Speaker, I am sure all Members felt the same relief I did when the Chief Public Health Officer unveiled her phased plan for carefully relaxing the public health restrictions that have kept Northwest Territories residents safe during the first stages of the pandemic. To be clear, emerging from those restrictions means taking on greater risk that there could be new COVID-19 infections, but the gradual relaxation outlined in Emerging Wisely will help us manage that risk together.

With a plan in place for managing the public health risk, the Government of the Northwest Territories is now focusing on emerging stronger with a plan for broader social and economic recovery.

This will not be a plan the government develops in isolation; the pandemic hit all sectors of the Northwest Territories, and all sectors need to be involved in designing the recovery. As outlined to Members previously, we will be working closely with Members of the Legislative Assembly to design a plan, advised by committees representing business and industry, Indigenous governments, community governments, and community organizations.

COVID-19 presents a shared challenge like none this government has faced before, Mr. Speaker. No previous territorial government has had to respond to a global health threat so quickly and with so little time to prepare. I am proud of the work this Government of the Northwest Territories has done to design solutions on the fly; protect public health; manage and mitigate the social and economic impacts on individuals, businesses, and communities; and keep essential services running safely.

I want to thank all the staff who worked tirelessly to help support the government's response to COVID-19, especially our front-line staff in the healthcare system, staff managing the self-isolation centres, and the compliance and enforcement staff protecting our borders and making sure people are following public health orders.

I also want to thank and recognize all the essential workers who have continued to come into work throughout this pandemic, like the truckers, grocery store and pharmacy workers, childcare workers, law enforcement, and airline employees, who have continued to keep the Northwest Territories moving.

While the entire territory has risen to the challenge of COVID-19, there are more challenges to come. We are a strong and resilient territory, and I am confident that we can successfully manage our way through this pandemic and emerge even stronger, by working together with the same kind of spirit and determination that Northwest Territories residents displayed over the past two months. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Honourable Premier. Ministers' statements. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the past few months, we have asked people to change the way we live, work, and socialize in order to protect our territory against COVID-19. This is by far the most significant public health crisis we have faced in decades. Today, I would like to reflect on the public health measures that we have put in place and how we will continue to protect our territory, while bringing some stability back to our lives.

Mr. Speaker, our response to COVID-19 began well before the public health emergency was called. In early March, the Department of Health and Social Services and the Chief Public Health Officer activated the Emergency Operations Centre. This allowed for rapid COVID-19 system planning and preparation. We also began enhanced testing of residents and visitors for COVID-19 who presented flu-like symptoms and had travelled outside the Northwest Territories well before the pandemic was declared. This allowed us to take quick action if a positive case was confirmed and ensure that our testing capability was in place across the NWT.

The Chief Public Health Officer also issued guidance to all long-term care facilities to protect our elders against the spread of the virus. Additionally, our healthcare system initiated enhanced infection control practices in all healthcare facilities to protect front-line healthcare workers. Our public outreach was also increased to provide residents with truthful, evidence-based information on the virus, and how to keep each other safe.

Mr. Speaker, as the situation in southern Canada began to escalate, it was apparent that stronger action was required. I declared a public health emergency on March 18^th on the recommendation of the Chief Public Health Officer. This allowed the Chief Public Health Officer to issue the necessary public health orders to protect our territory. These orders prohibited non-resident travel within the territory, mandated two weeks of self-isolation for residents returning from anywhere outside our boundaries, and that self-isolation plans be submitted in order to ensure compliance.

As we began to get positive cases, we made the difficult decision to close businesses where physical distancing could not be maintained. At the same time, we provided the necessary advice for essential businesses and employers to stay open safely. We also acted to limit the risks from essential workers entering into the Northwest Territories to play crucial roles in our society and our economy by getting measures in place to track them, monitor their health, and have them self-isolate whenever possible.

Mr. Speaker, a significant amount of work went on behind the scenes to build the necessary systems to fully implement the public health measures. Within hours of restricting travel, our government instituted a public call centre, staffed check stops on our highways and airports, set up self-isolation hubs, and implemented a self-isolation planning and assessment process.

The Chief Public Health Officer has also established a compliance and enforcement taskforce trained to respond to public health risks in our communities. This team is working across the Northwest Territories and has visited more than half of our communities to provide outreach events to educate residents about the public health measures, as well as enforce.

Mr. Speaker, the results from our initial response have allowed us to contain the spread of COVID-19. We currently have no active cases and no community spread. That is a testament to the effectiveness of the orders in keeping us safe, and it is a credit to everyone in this territory who followed the orders and advice to contain this virus.

While implementing timely and aggressive public health measures was necessary to contain the spread, the need to gradually and wisely ease our restrictions was always part of the overall plan. We were just waiting until it was safe to do so.

Two weeks ago, the Chief Public Health Officer released Emerging Wisely, our path to emerging gradually, safely, and wisely from our strictest public health measures and bringing some stability back to the territory. It reflects the caution and care that our residents expect in order to continue to protect our remote communities and our healthcare system.

Through the four phases of easing, restrictions are gradually lifted to allow for residents to visit their friends, family, and neighbours; do more activities; and re-open more businesses, and doing it all safely, but we also made it clear that this is not a return to business as usual, and it will not be until this pandemic has run its course. We are calling on residents to accept that some measures will be in place for a long time.

Travel into the territory will remain restricted, and self-isolation requirements will remain in place for residents who choose to travel outside of the Northwest Territories and for those entering on an essential or exceptional basis. Until there is a vaccine, we must keep physical distance of two metres and continue to wash our hands more than we ever have; wear non-medical masks in crowded spaces; and keep our most vulnerable safe. That is what will keep this territory strong and healthy.

Mr. Speaker, all Northwest Territories residents have a role to play. We must remain mindful and use caution as our restrictions are lifted, because this pandemic will continue, and so will our response.

Lifting restrictions comes with some risks. It is likely that we will get more cases and we may experience community spread. To rise to the challenge, we may need to call on everyone to make sacrifices again, but, with these months behind us, I am confident that Northerners have the strength and resiliency to do what is necessary to protect themselves and their family and friends and communities to remain healthy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. Member for Hay River South.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is with great respect and admiration that I stand here today and recognize Mr. Alex Morin, a respected elder and a long-time resident of Hay River who recently celebrated his 90^th birthday on May 22^nd.

Mr. Morin grew up in a commercial fishing family, and it was the allure of the Great Slave Lake and the resources it had to offer that brought him to the NWT at the young age of 17. Alex, as he prefers to be called, is originally from Ile-a-la-Crosse, a small commercial fishing community in Saskatchewan. Alex and his wife made Hay River their home, where they raised three children and were blessed with many grandchildren. Alex still resides in the west channel in Hay River, which is the heart of the commercial fishing industry.

Alex fished the big lake until his retirement. He is a strong supporter and advocate for fishers on the Great Slave Lake. He is well aware of the problems that have existed in the commercial fishing industry and continue to exist to this day. If you want history on the Great Slave Lake commercial fishery, then Alex is the person to talk to.

In addition to fishing, Alex found the time to help establish the Metis Association in the NWT. He was president of the local Hay River Metis Association for a number of years, where he advocated for Metis rights and programs.

Alex, I know you enjoyed your birthday, and I look forward to having coffee with you when I get back home. As the commercial fishing industry is a priority of this government, I will be looking to you for some guidance. Happy birthday. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Merci, monsieur le President. Like many residents of the Northwest Territories, I have been mulling over the dramatic changes to our lives as a result of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Very few of us could have predicted in January where we are today. Many have lost their jobs or had their income severely reduced. Students have lost the opportunity to fully complete their studies this year. Many parents and guardians are struggling with adapting to work from home.

On the positive side, there have been significant government assistance programs developed and delivered in very short order. We are on the verge of a guaranteed basic income. We have found housing for homeless people, including a managed alcohol program here in Yellowknife with remarkable results.

Here are some of the concerns that have been foremost in my mind during the COVID-19 public health emergency. They are largely a result of the concerns brought forward by constituents and residents across the NWT:

• Need for better communications from Cabinet;
• Stronger and better-coordinated border controls, follow-up, and enforcement;
• Clearer definition and communications around essential service workers; and
• Appropriate precautions being taken to ensure that southern workers do not put northern residents at significant risk.

There are still some gaps in the assistance programs including:

• Financial assistance for renters and small landlords;
• Targeted assistance for seniors and vulnerable populations;
• More tools for communities around liquor restrictions;
• Improved benefits and wages for essential service workers;
• Better-coordinated financial assistance for small businesses;
• Financial and other assistance for critical supply chains, including regional air carriers and trucking services; and
• Greater support for those activities and sectors that build greater self-reliance and economic resiliency, including food security.

We also need to start to turn our minds to what life can and should be like in a post-COVID world. We need:

• A thorough and public review of GNWT's pandemic planning and response;
• A re-evaluation of 19^th Legislative Assembly priorities and Cabinet mandate;
• A thoughtful discussion of how to restart our economy without losing some of the significant assistance and program gains; and
• Increased initiatives to build a more self-sufficient economy.

As Northerners, we always help each other. We will get through this together and be that much stronger for it. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Members' statements. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, we return to this House for our first day of our regular spring session, but this is anything but regular. We have our seats six feet apart, and Brian has the measuring tape to prove it. We have become accustomed to following arrows, not only in the Legislative Assembly, but everywhere in public, it seems. We have been recommended to wear masks in public, and we cannot fly without one. Like I said, Mr. Speaker, this is anything but regular.

Mr. Speaker, when we left here after session on March 16^th, things changed so fast. On March 18^th, the public health emergency was declared. Our first case of COVID was diagnosed. Travel was restricted to non-residents. The education leaders across the territory closed the schools for the remainder of the year. Then, on my birthday, I got a state of emergency declared. All this within less than two weeks, but on April 1, 2020, it really hit home for me. Inuvik got its first and only case of COVID-19. I thought my phone was busy when the day the first case was announced, but when it arrived at home, it scared everyone. My community was afraid. They were angry. They wanted to know who it was. I tried my best to answer the questions, give them as much information as I could on how to keep themselves and their family safe.

I want to thank my community for staying safe by following the recommendations that were given by Dr. Kandola. I want to thank the groups of people who got together to help out those in isolation, elders, and high-risk. I want to thank the Indigenous groups and their staff in my community for continuing to provide food, gas, and supplies for families to get out on the land. This year, I saw so many families' pictures out on the land.

Thank you to all the essential workers who continued to work in Inuvik to provide the needed supplies, groceries, and services. Thank you to the Ministers who took my calls and emails and made quick decisions and policy changes to assist our residents. I hope we can continue to make those quick changes.

I also give my condolences to you, Mr. Speaker, you and your family on the loss of your father, and to the families of my community who lost loved ones during this time. Even having a funeral was not normal, but they managed to pay their respects as best they could, and celebrate the lives anyway. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Members' statements. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. We are all Northerners. As Northerners, it's our very nature to mingle, hug, and shake hands, to be physically close with each other, especially true in our small communities. During this time, we normally had our carnivals. We had our jigging. I could hear the jigging in my head right now. I could hear the drums and people having a good time, but that was all disrupted by COVID. You know what? I believe we are all resilient. We are a resilient bunch, and we can get through this. We got through other scourges. I said in an online address on my social media that the key to getting through this is through patience and discipline, and I stand behind that. I still believe that. We're not through this. This isn't over, and we need to stay the course.

Mr. Speaker, again, I mentioned that we went through the Spanish influenza way back, before World War I. When I left my home community, Deninu Kue, there is still a mass grave marker there. I hope we never have to go through that ever. I want to thank all the medical staff and all the workers, what they need, what they did to protect our people and to make sure everyone got through this without dying.

Our small communities, they took measures to protect themselves, i.e. security checkpoints. I stood behind them. I think that we could have done a little bit more as a government, but right now, this is a process. We are still going through this process. Where we are sitting right now is a perfect example of it, with our masks and our arrows now, our new protocols now because of COVID.

It did bring out some experiences through all this. It made us think, reflect. During this time, as a people, we managed to house our homeless during this pandemic. It made me think about basic universal income that we are giving to people through this. It made me think of how we give Mother Nature a break, some breathing room here, some reduction in greenhouse gases. Those kind of things really, really, brought some things to light, and how we can proceed as a government in the future. I would ask unanimous consent to finish my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. I will be brief. In closing, I wanted to say that a lot was disrupted. There were no weddings, or anything like that, and our funerals aren't even the same. My condolences to all those who lost their loved ones, all our elders. Hopefully, when all this is done, we can have a good, proper celebration, a good feast, and pay our respects the right way as a group like we always do, because that's what we do as Northerners. We're going to get through this, and I want to pass the message on to everybody in the North. Marsi cho.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We in the NWT are experiencing a much-needed pause in the pandemic. It's time to reflect on what has happened and to plan for the second wave of COVID-19 which we are told is coming.

Mr. Speaker, I wish I printed my statement out. We ended up sitting in a time of high anxiety. In my family, both my daughter and my partner were tested for COVID and quarantined until the results came back negative. Our family business, the funeral home, has had to adapt to a new way of helping families, because funerals are not allowed. It has been difficult for us and for grieving families to find new ways to say goodbye, but we are committed to, and we have followed the Chief Public Health Officer's orders, and we have adapted.

My constituents are also anxious. I had more calls than ever before, seeking exemptions to the public health orders as well as complaining about a perceived lack of enforcement; constituents worried about being evicted from their homes, and about not having a home to self-isolate in. Personal services businesses wondered how they could pay for their bills when their revenue dropped to zero, and from retailers who also saw similar drops. I'm sorry, Mr. Speaker, I'm having technical difficulties.

Good things have happened. The Chief Public Health Officer's orders have contained the spread of the virus in the Northwest Territories. People in all walks of life have innovated to keep us going, from new restaurant take-out options, to the beginning of a managed alcohol program, to teachers taking up the challenge of delivering distance learning. The United Way has been busy fundraising for communities around the NWT. The Yellowknife Co-op has generously shared its profits to help people who need food. The Yellowknife Community Foundation has doubled its scholarship offerings to assist students who do not have jobs this summer. Yellowknifers have been very generous to one another, from offering to pack hampers, donating to non-profits, and offering personal acts of kindness.

Mr. Speaker, now that we are emerging wisely, we are trying to get back to activities and services that are part of everyday life. Once again, the Chief Public Health Officer is guiding us through this process, and we need to continue listening to her advice and apply that to ourselves, our families, and friends. Throughout this stressful time, we have shown that we are indeed stronger together. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Welcome back, everyone. It's truly an honour to be sitting in this House once again. I would like to begin by thanking everyone, our citizens, my colleagues, our public servants. I do not know when people sleep, honestly. Everyone has been working so hard, and it's been amazing.

The World Health Organization said, "In a pandemic, you must move quickly, and that won't always be perfect." I believe that's what we have done. We are one of few places on Earth with no active cases of COVID-19, Mr. Speaker. We are in the midst of a global pandemic which is no doubt a tragedy. Hundreds of thousands of people have lost their lives across this planet, but we, as the Northwest Territories, have had a very strong and resilient response, and it is in the midst of this pandemic that that resilience and entrepreneurial spirit of the North must guide us through.

I want us to not lose ground on the progress we have made to date. It is amazing how quickly our government can pivot on issues when we put our minds to it. I want us to think bigger, Mr. Speaker. Working from home, four-day work weeks, a guaranteed basic income, a truly digital government, hundreds of small businesses and entrepreneurs in a place that truly values their neighbours and neighbouring communities, I think all of these things are possible and more.

We know Northerners are resilient, and I want to take a moment to focus on our ability to be adaptive. Three months ago, I thought the idea of using the Internet as a tool to forward politics, education, and healthcare was a far-off dream. I thought our virtual care strategy in public health was not going to go anywhere, and, in months, we have seen more progress in virtual care than I ever thought to see in four years. I want to congratulate the Department of Health and Social Services for all of the amazing work they have done to date, Mr. Speaker.

I hope we realize that, as a territory, we have the capacity to continue improving our systems. Our government is uniquely positioned to take advantage of these new opportunities. We have proven that the GNWT can be flexible and nimble, and our size means that sweeping and effective change can be made simply by trying.

I look forward to these next few weeks. I look for to a renewed spirit of cooperation across the north, and, Mr. Speaker, I believe we will beat COVID-19 together. Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Members' statements. Member for Kam Lake.

Mr. Speaker, I am thankful to Doctors Kandola and Cook and their teams, who have worked tirelessly to keep Northerners safe, but the last 10 weeks have taken their toll. My constituents are suffering. Businesses were told to closed, consumers asked to stop consuming, and people were required to distance themselves.

I am grateful for the messaging urging people to stay home, stay connected, and that we are all in this together. However, while we are all in the same storm, we are not in the same boat. Some have faced this pandemic alone. Some have struggled to provide for their families through layoff or closed business. Many continue working full-time while home-schooling children. All are struggling to process the grief of change, uncertainty, and fear.

I have noticed an alarming change in my interactions with constituents. At the start of our lockdown, my constituents looked to me for clarification on restrictions and supports. Now, every single evening, I receive tear-filled phone calls from people who have run out of adrenaline. Change is exhausting. Treading water is exhausting. Our people need hope and to believe that things are going to get better.

Mr. Speaker, the GNWT needs to step up and take bold actions to quickly reinforce and rebuild our northern economy. It must ensure that all Northerners stay afloat, regardless of how leaky their boats may be. This will require all Members of this House to stay focused on the most important issues and to make tough decisions necessary for our recovery.

To my constituents, do not stop calling. Don't apologize for taking time, calling too late, or sharing too much. In this Instagram-ready world, society encourages us to put out an image of our best selves and teaches us to judge ourselves for negative emotions like sadness or anger. If we refuse to allow ourselves the space to experience these feelings, then we are denying our own humanity. Northerners need the space to be human in the midst of this pandemic, to navigate their grief, cope with where we are today, and build the skills required to move forward tomorrow. Embracing the emotional courage to share allows you to be human.

Mr. Speaker, our tomorrow will not look like our yesterday, and this is scary, but change also brings great potential. I pledge to continue to help my constituents push the GNWT to take bold and decisive steps to lead us to our new normal. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I stand up, and I would like to say condolences to some of members of my community of Tuktoyaktuk. We lost a great leader, Eddie Dillon, community corporation chair, longest standing mayor of Tuktoyaktuk, and a big asset to the Inuvialuit Final Agreement. He sat on so many boards, and the Tuktoyaktuk community corporation chair. At his passing, I would like to give condolences to his brothers, Billy, Wayne, Floyd, and his sister Coreen (ph); his children, Sara (ph), Terry-Lee (ph), Tessa (ph), Tia (ph), and his son William. Thoughts and prayers are with you.

Mr. Speaker, also Mr. Bert Kimisana (ph), thoughts and prayers are with Roy, Margaret, and Fred as they grieve, passing on.

Gord Nuknuviuk (ph), probably, in my own community growing up, one of the greatest polar bear hunters. He always travelled by himself with his dog, travelling out on the ice. You could watch when we were just kids going to school, and always successful, too, in his hunts. He passed away, and thoughts and prayers to his sister, Minnie Butt, and her family out of Hay River.

Mr. Speaker, also I would like to speak for yourself: your dad was a mentor to a lot of dug mushers in the Beaufort Delta. He was a mentor in bringing the delta husky to the region. One year we brought George Attla into the community. George Attla wanted one of his huskies. He said no, and that said a lot for your father. He was a great mentor, trapper, and he will be sadly missed. Thoughts and prayers to yourself and your mother, Grace, and all of the brothers and siblings.

Also today, the passing of my uncle, my wife's uncle, Billy Gordon (ph). He passed away this morning. I want to say to his partner, Helen Laroque (ph); his sister, Edith Burke (ph); my mother-in-law, Maggie Jordan (ph); Danny Sea Gordon (ph); his children, Janine (ph), Chuckie (ph), Ryan, (ph), and Von (ph), our thoughts and prayers are with you, and we will get through this together. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Nunakput. Members' statements. Member for Monfwi.

Masi, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] In my home community, there is a funeral service. We're here now, but we would think of them, and you know there is so much tragedy has been happening in our home community. It's not very, very great. These are things people are going through. All the Drybones family, there is a funeral service in Behchoko right now, and there will be another one tomorrow. That would be a natural family. They are all related. I would like to say to them we are thinking of them. Although we are in a process of this Assembly session, but because we think of one another, thinking of them, having them in our prayers, we think of them greatly, Mr. Speaker.

Today, as the government, we have our work to do and how many gatherings that we do when we say social distancing. Because of the gathering, we have to respect our leaders, as well, that we have a lot of things that we have to be able to face.

Right now, today, I would like to say that we think of our people. What do we do? What do we say? We stand up strong, and we think of them in our prayers that we would make them feel they are remembered. Whenever we speak our family, because there is just been so many tragedies right now within our communities, within our lands, I will say right now that we are thinking of them.

Right now, today, you know what we are facing. I have to say one more time that we are thinking of them, praying for them, young and old and that passed now. We are all thinking of them, as well. We are hoping that we would be able to go through this whole process so that, with our great mind, with open minds, with us gathering right now, this gathering at the Legislative Assembly, take a minute to pray for them. Thank you. [Translation ends]

Thank you. Members' statements. Member for Range Lake.

[English translation not available] ...2020. Robin was an incredible woman who touched the lives of many. She was an example of a true Northerner, one who gave her all, but, no matter how busy, she always made time for others.

Robin was an inspiration. [English translation not available] ...starting in 1976 as an 11-year-old figure skater. She also represented the NWT in both the Canada winter and summer games, making her one of the most accomplished Team NT athletes. In 1985, Robin helped start the first women's hockey in Yellowknife, and she is recognized as one of the NWT's greatest female hockey players.

Proof of her phenomenal skills came in 1990. Robin travelled to Hawaii to play in the Royal Hawaiian Cup. She was the only woman playing and won top goaltender and most valuable player. In 1994, Robin was scouted for the women's hockey Team Canada, but a bad knee prevented her from joining the team.

Robin's other passion, Mr. Speaker, was broomball, and she competed in many territorial, national, and international tournaments, winning the 2013 Pacific Rim Tournament in Melbourne, Australia, as their coach. Robin has won awards over her career, including the Sport North Beth Miller Senior Athlete Award. In 2018, Robin was given the well-deserved honour of being inducted into the NWT Sport Hall of Fame.

Although famous for her sports career, Robin was also an incredible friend to many, many Northerners, as well as having friends from around the world. She was always the first to lend a hand where needed. Robin took on every challenge with grace and heart. It was that heart that led her to marry the love of her life, Traci. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Robin Mercer-Sproule was a true role model, not only in sports, but in life. Robin never backed down from a challenge, facing every day with relentless will. As Robin would say, "It doesn't matter if you are winning the game or losing the game. Always try your hardest, and never give up." My deepest condolences to Traci Mercer-Sproule, Robin's family, and the many, many people the North and throughout the world whose life she touched. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Range Lake. Members' statements. Colleagues, as it has been an hour since we started, with the rules that we agreed to go by yesterday, we will be taking a 10-minute break, as we don't have Pages in the House to refill your drinks or anything. We will give the Members 10 minutes and reconvene. Thank you.

---SHORT RECESS

Thank you. I will now call the House back to order. Item 4, recognition of visitors in the gallery. There are a couple there. Item 5, reports of committees on the review of bills. Item 6, reports of standing and special committees. Item 7, returns to oral questions. Item 8, acknowledgements. Item 9, oral questions. Member for Hay River South.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are all well aware that, because of the pandemic, our economy is being hit hard. We have to find a way, I guess, to get it back on track. One of the things that I see is that we have three departments, probably: Housing; Infrastructure; and Education, Culture and Employment. Those, I see as the three departments that are going to provide contracts and provide the employment and training for our residents and for our businesses. We also talk about, you know, having panels, like blue-chip panels and that, of businesspeople, and I guess what I see with that, if we're looking for our blue-chip panel, our blue-chip panels are in every community. They are made up of businesspeople who are working hard and trying to make a dollar.

The questions that I have are for the Minister of Infrastructure. Time is of the essence when it comes to helping businesses survive this pandemic period. Besides the loans, deferrals, and grants that are being provided, what is the Department of Infrastructure doing to make sure that businesses have the opportunity to get back to work? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister of Infrastructure.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank the Member for his questions. The Department of Infrastructure is continuing with our capital plan. We have had to have a bit of delay in our process to account for COVID, including the lack or want of southern or outside workers in small communities. This has delayed the implementation of some of our contracting at this point.

However, the Department of Infrastructure does plan to continue with most of our infrastructure projects going forward that we already had on the books. We have started to tweak and look at our procurement strategy. We have done a few things right now to make that a little bit more accessible to Northerners and favouring Northerners, in that we have removed the minimum scoring requirements for the RFPs and a few other tweaks. I believe that I sent you all an email about that last week.

We are starting with some small changes that we can make at the moment, but we are going to be executing a multi-department review of procurement, which will include BIP. It will be in conjunction with the Minister of Finance's department, as well as my two departments, ITI and Infrastructure. We recognize that procurement has some issues in the Northwest Territories. We are committed, as we have said in our mandate and priorities, to addressing those issues, and that is still the plan for Infrastructure going forward. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I would like the Minister to provide me with some comfort that the department will start to use tools, such as negotiated contracts and sole-source contracts, to the advantage of our northern businesses. Right now, what is happening is we still see contracts from the North going to southern contractors. There is always a reason why; there is always an excuse why, and we have to put a stop to that. I am looking to the Minister and her department to tell me how she's going to do it, and as soon as possible.

Yes, I completely do commit to making these changes. I think that, within the department, I have recognized that it is a much more complex situation than when I was first speaking to you about this. I do recognize that people are tired of excuses and tired of hearing, "We just have to do it this way," and playing it safe, because that is pretty much the messaging, is that the safest thing for me as a Minister is to put everything out to open tender, and then I protect myself.

That is not the way that we will be going forward, and I can guarantee and commit to that right now. We are already in discussions with Cabinet about some specific negotiated contracts, but, as well, a general conversation around direct, sole-source, and negotiated contracts and maximizing our dollars in the North. We definitely intend to go down that road.

I have already acknowledged that, at times, it's tough to move this government ship very quickly, and I acknowledge that it hasn't moved fast enough for some of the Members on the other side, but I continue to commit to making those improvements where I see fit. I do have to make sure, though, that I make informed changes and choices for my department, and I am recognizing, the more I am in this role, how little I actually know, and therefore, I do need to make sure we're making the right choices moving forward. I do commit to all of you that, at any time, if people do want to discuss specific contracts or this going forward more, we can.

We saw how fast the Department of Health responded to COVID, and we saw what the government could actually do, how fast they can react. I am hoping that the Department of Infrastructure is going to be the same way, and not kind of drag this out with, "Wait until we get panels in place," and coming up with more excuses.

One of the problems that I see is that the staff, no doubt, are working hard, whether they are at home or not, but one of the problems that I see is that we don't have a lot of people in the offices. We have office buildings in the communities that have separate offices, and we have nobody working in them. That has to change. I would like to see that change sooner than later, and I would like to know what the department is doing about that.

A lot of the direction around the workplaces and such came from the CPHO's Office, and Infrastructure and ITI just had to accommodate it like everybody else in the workplace. There was a whole-of-government conversation around our workspaces, but I do agree with what the Member is saying. Now we are past the reaction stage where we were just trying to keep everybody safe, and now we do need to look at being proactive and getting people back to work.

I do think that having people go back to the offices will actually increase productivity. I know, for myself, when I started coming to the Leg again a couple of weeks ago, when I was able to leave my home, that actually had a huge amount of change in my mental health about work, and just feeling like I was more productive. I was able to also, then, separate work from home, which I am hearing is a big concern of many of our employees. They are not able to deal with doing their work and having their children at home, and then they are finding that their work hours are extending well into the evenings. For some people, that's great. They're flexible; they work in the morning, and then they work in the evening. However, we do need to get back to doing business in the Northwest Territories.

Infrastructure did have a large role in the pandemic around the borders and the supply chain and procurement and PPE. We were quite busy with doing that. We did have contract issues that we had to look at for contracts that were ongoing, as far as whether they were still going to be able to be executed and whether we were opening the government up to liability. There was a lot within Infrastructure that we had to deal with before we could start turning out the contracts again and determining how we were going to do that. It has been, probably, a little slower than the Member would like, but I do commit to taking the points you have made about the offices back to my department and having that conversation with them this week.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Hay River South.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess, in saying all this, I think that it is important that the Department of Health and the Department of Infrastructure work together to coordinate moving ahead. Everything went so fast, and I understand that, you know, the Department of Health probably had to take the lead and do stuff without really having time to talk to anybody else, but now we have that time. How is your department working with the Department of Health to make sure that this goes ahead smoothly and quickly? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

All of the departments have, quite often, ADM committees, working committees. They also have DM working committees. I would say that my department and the Department of Health have actually had a lot of conversation over the last while, but you are correct. There was a direction coming from Health and Social Services that needed to happen so that we could protect worker health and safety.

Maybe now is the time that Infrastructure does need to push forward a little harder and say, "Okay, we need to take a little bit more risk in having people back to work so that we can move forward the process of government." I would say that we did step back and, really, our priority and our focus was ensuring the health and safety of the residents. We also went into issues with WSCC if people are not feeling safe to go back into their workplace. They have every right to refuse unsafe work.

Right now, what the department is doing is we are looking at our buildings, all of the buildings that we manage for the GNWT, and we are trying to put as many measures in place, or engineering controls, so that we minimize the exposure of people who are working. Right now, we have things like sensor faucets going in, looking at no-touch doors, those types of things. Right now, that is the work that is going on with Infrastructure so that we can get government employees back to work. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Merci, monsieur le President. My questions are for the Premier, who is coordinating the GNWT's pandemic planning and recovery. My statement earlier today reflected on some of the lessons learned to date. I recognize that we are still in the midst of the pandemic, but we must have learned some lessons and best practices by now. Has the Premier begun to plan for a thorough and public review of GNWT's pandemic planning and response, and what sorts of specific measures or steps can we expect to see? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Honourable Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Looking for a plan of our response for COVID-19, absolutely, we are looking at it. However, I do want to be careful with that, because COVID-19 is still here. We are still experiencing things at a rapid rate. It has slowed down a bit, but, by the second wave, we are expecting that changes will come pretty rapidly.

We have been in the process now of changing our services, providing services that we needed and programs that we needed to accompany people, but some other things will need to be done. For example, the municipal and community government, EMO is the one that stands in my head, the most prominent at this point. EMO, the emergency management organization, was meant to be a program for community programs, community issues, floods, forest fires, et cetera. This pandemic made it worldwide, and so, at that point, it became more of a Cabinet decision.

Those are things that, going into the future, will probably be a legislation that I would want changed in this Assembly. At this point, we are still in the middle of it. We have only just begun it. It would be inappropriate at this time to go looking at changing legislation right now, recognizing that Cabinet already has control of it, but it will be something that we need to do in this Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I want to thank the Premier for that. I think that I almost heard her say that she is willing to look at the Emergency Measures Act. That's a good thing. I have lots of other ideas. I am sure that the Chief Public Health Officer is going to conduct some kind of review, as well, but the review needs to be done in a public fashion. Maybe the Auditor General can give us some ideas, as well.

I want to move on, Mr. Speaker. As MLAs, we collectively developed a set of priorities, and then Cabinet went off and developed a mandate that was tabled and discussed in the House. Would the Premier agree that, given the pandemic, it is time to review and update those priorities and the mandate?

A couple of months ago, when COVID-19 hit us, it was early March. Towards late March, I started to realize that life was changing really quickly. We were having to supplement areas that we had never put money in before; programs were closing up; offices were closing up; we were looking at a new way of doing business. It made me wonder, Mr. Speaker. We spent months going over the mandate, making it based on the priorities, and I started to wonder, "Do we have the money? Is it still the priority?"

I gave direction, actually, at the end of March for the departments to start looking at the mandate and actually looking at what they can do. I am not going to give too much right here, because it is process, and I do believe that it's important to work with Regular MLAs. We have put an offer in to standing committee, my understanding is, and so, at that point, we would like to be able to talk to the Members to review where we are with the mandate and if we need any changes, because, in an initial review on our side, it looks like a lot of the mandate can still be done.

I want to thank the Premier for that. I agree that it is time to review the mandate. Probably, you need to collectively look at the priorities we developed. I want to say that GNWT's economic assistance programs to small businesses have been very slow and uneven. I am going to have a lot more to say about that, but I want to ask the Premier about overall planning for economic recovery. We have had an initial presentation without specifics, but can the Premier tell us now how the views of Regular MLAs are going to be incorporated, and when does she anticipate this effort really starting to take off?

Again, most people, when they talk about COVID-19, people have seen the economic impacts and people across the world, across Canada have been talking about economic recovery. I think we are one of the only jurisdictions that is talking about economic and social recovery. Perhaps because we are a small population, we had the benefit of actually seeing what we could do in a short amount of time. So I think that involving MLAs was a commitment that we made at the beginning of this session. It has been long. It does take a lot more time, but I made a commitment that it would not be Cabinet plus three, and I will maintain that commitment, which means that, as we work forward, when we develop our economic and social recovery plan, we have proposed to Members that we have a joint committee that is made up of Cabinet and the Regular Members so that the Regular Members are actively engaged, not just giving information, but actually engaged in the process of defining what our future will be.

Thank you, Honourable Premier. Final supplementary, Member for Frame Lake.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Premier. I do believe that she is committed to an inclusive process. Clearly, there have been some success stories during this pandemic, and I mentioned some of those in my statement. We have got social programs that are starting to deal with homelessness. We have got a managed alcohol program, wage subsidy for low-income workers, payrolling of Income Assistance and more. Can the Premier share her thoughts about how we can keep these significant gains and how we can continue to plan for economic recovery at the same time? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Those who were here in the last Assembly would remember one time I had been asked in the House about where I stood. I said people have called me many names, but they haven't called me a name, but people have called me at times a socialist. I don't think I am really that radical, but people have said that. I am all about universal childcare and guaranteed living wage. I think it is part of the answer. I do not believe the perception that people will just sit back and be lazy. I think that would tire people very quickly. I have already started to put the fuel in the fire.

As I meet with our Premiers across Canada, with our Prime Minister, I have already been saying to them things such as, "You've given the wage increase. You are giving these out to people. How can you ask us to take it back?" So I think that that is really important. It is a matter of not only what we do as a government, what the federal government does. I have been working very closely with our three territories on both sides, and we are looking at providing a win-win to the federal government. These programs, getting people in housing, giving people almost a guaranteed wage, giving people more access to childcare are all things that all of us in this House should be proud of. It would be a sin, Mr. Speaker, to take them back. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Honourable Premier. Oral questions. Member for Monfwi.

Masi, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] Today, I would like to speak in Tlicho, but my interpretation is not coming across clearly, so I am going to do this in English. [Translation ends] [Microphone not turned on] ...at the last Assembly. It's a vital part of North Slave's highway lifeline to the rest of the territory and also the South. It's 50 years old and badly aging. Mr. Speaker, five months ago, I asked the Minister of Infrastructure in this Chamber about the status. The proposal was submitted at that time. Has it been submitted to date with the federal government? If yes, when was it submitted? Masi.

Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Minister of Infrastructure.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have started discussions again with the federal government about the funding on the Frank Channel Bridge. As part of the COVID relief, the federal government's infrastructure stream is being allowed to have more flexibility within it. One hundred percent funding is one of the options. As well, we will be allowed to do the municipal infrastructure projects in schools and things.

Not super specific to the bridge. However, the bridge would fall under that funding, and we have had lots of conversations with the federal ministers about the fact that infrastructure projects are what is needed in the Northwest Territories to keep the economy going and keep our businesses running. We are very optimistic that we will get the funding soon for the bridge. I do believe that the actual submission is in. I will confirm that, though, and get that back to you. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. Before we continue, we will just do a test on interpretation, make sure everybody's hearing well. No? Just maybe continue with the question and see how everybody's gauging it. Thank you.

I understand that the Tlicho Government is in full support to replace the Frank Channel Bridge and submitted a letter to your attention, Mr. Speaker, to the Minister of Infrastructure. Of course, they requested a sole-source contract or a negotiated contract on the bridge, which is situated in the heart of the Tlicho land. Has that been shared with the federal government as part of the Chapter 26 of the Tlicho Agreement on economic measures, the possibility of either negotiated contract or sole-source contract as part of the Tlicho constitution?

I will look at you this time. The discussion around the Frank Channel Bridge within my department is very much about how we keep the Tlicho involvement in that. We are definitely having conversations about negotiated contracts on the Tlicho bridge -- sorry. There we go, giving it away. The Frank Channel Bridge. We recognize going forward that this could be a great opportunity to have Tlicho people employed and Tlicho people trained. Significant training would be part of what I would want to see in any negotiated contract. I do not want lip service, and I do not want to have a situation where I have the Member for Monfwi asking me why an American company is now operating in his area. I am well aware. His points have been taken, and we are definitely having that conversation with the federal government.

Thank you Minister. I would like to ask the Member if he could speak in Tlicho so we could see how Members are -- I could hear clearly. I am not sure if anybody else can. Thank you. Member for Monfwi

Masi, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] Chapter 26 of the Tlicho Agreement strictly lays out the process between the Tlicho government, GNWT, and the federal government on any economic development in the Mowhi Gogha De Niitaee area, in which the Frank Channel Bridge is located. Section 26.3.3(8)(b) activities on Tlicho land will not be public tendered. Is the Minister of GNWT contracting fully aware of such agreement? Can I get a guarantee from this Minister and GNWT as a whole to bring this to the attention of the federal government and make them aware of Tlicho Agreement? [Translation ends]

[Microphone turned off] ...I apologize, but it's just that last bit of the question. I definitely would commit to having this conversation with the federal government about having the Tlicho involvement from the start. Once we have that funding, that conversation is going to begin with the Tlicho government. I made a promise to those chiefs, and I made a promise at roundup in front of those chiefs of what I was going to be doing with my department to ensure that Northerners worked and that we built meaningful Indigenous businesses out of that. I still stand behind that commitment, and I commit that again today that, when we have that funding in hand, we will have arm-in-arm in partnership with the Tlicho.

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

Masi, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] The question is on Chapter 26 and is it [Translation ends] ...highly encouraged. Also the Minister if she can accept to conduct extensive training or workshop within her Department of Infrastructure to get familiar with the Tlicho constitution. Chapter 26 clearly highlights it in the subsections. One of the subsections, obviously, states out that, within any activities on Tlicho land, there shall not be any public tenders. The federal government is part of that agreement. They should be aware of it, too, but we have the onus on our GNWT departments. Can the Minister commit to having an extensive workshop or training for the senior staff so they are fully aware of our agreement? Mahsi.

Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Minister of Infrastructure.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I can commit to that. I also wanted to state that one of the conversations that I'm having with my deputy minister at this point is that I want to see a creation of an engagement unit within Infrastructure to deal with these exact types of situations and not have that be a tack-on, add-on to the project manager's or the technical project manager's role. While it's very preliminary, I would then also welcome your input on how you would like to see that unit get formed. That is my plan, that is what I've conveyed to my deputy minister, and we're going to start doing engagement better in the Department of Infrastructure. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. Colleagues, before we continue, we're really running short on time, here. Just to let everyone know to keep their questions short, and same with the answers, please. If you can, get straight to the answer. I know we have a lot of Members yet who want to ask questions and we are only on number four now, so just a reminder. Also, it's kind of challenging, but kind of talk slower so the interpreters can catch what you're saying, as well. Thank you. With that, we'll continue on with oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. We've been told that testing and contact tracing is key to discovering and isolating COVID-19 cases. That has worked fine so far, but it's easy to see that it's more difficult if community spread of the virus begins. Let me start by asking how many tests of either the rapid or standard type the NWT has today? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have a cooperation agreement with the National Microbiology Laboratory, which is responsible for acquiring and distributing the reagents kits, and then we allocate them based on jurisdictions' needs. Right now, in the Territories, we do have a database in stockpile, and I won't show my paper up, but we do have a database that is able to track how much PPE we have, including the tests. Right now, in the Northwest Territories, we're getting 40 tests per week.

Thank you to the Minister for that answer. It doesn't give me an idea of the size of your stockpile, but let me try to get at it another way. How quickly could the department wrap up testing and provide results if there was an outbreak within a facility like a school or a jail or a small community?

There are several tests that we do here in the Northwest Territories. One is the swab test, which we send out to Alberta, and we usually get a response within three days; and that, we have basically an unlimited stockpile. It's the GeneXpert test, which is the point of care, this is rapid testing, so the turnaround time for those tests is about an hour. Right now, we have supplies in for 40 kits a week with that, and we continue to receive weekly supplies.

Thank you to the Minister. My next question is: what resources does the department have to conduct contact tracing and what kind of training do staff need to participate in contact tracing?

We have two tests here at the Stanton hospital, and there is some training aspect required in order for us to administer it. We are still waiting for another form or test to come in so that we can send them out to Fort Smith, Hay River, and Inuvik. Right now, we have the training pieces administered for the one test and we're just waiting for the stockpile to come so that we can send it out to the regions.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm sorry my question wasn't clear. I was talking about contact tracing, where staff call all the people who the infected person has been in touch with to try and figure out who else needs to be tested. What is our capacity for contact tracing in the NWT?

I can find out for the Member. We do have a system in place; I'm just not aware of what it is right now. Since we've had non-residents come in, they have to fill out a self-isolation plan. With the self-isolation plan, we have a mechanism that is in place so that, if their tests come back positive, we have a way to track where they've been so that we can do the contact testing. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Merci, Mr. Speaker, and I'm sorry I didn't give the Premier a head's up, but it's on the list for today. I'm wondering if the Premier can tell us whether mandate letters have been prepared for each of the Ministers? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Honourable Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, absolutely. Mandate letters were done, painfully, again. At the beginning of this Assembly, first of all, it was identified which Ministers would take over the priorities in the mandate, and from the mandate exercise we developed mandate letters. We had made a commitment that we would be sharing that with the standing committee. When we were almost ready, it was in my inbox waiting for me to give final, and COVID-19 hit. With COVID-19 we stepped back and we said, "Do we need to add in this COVID-19?" My first gut was just to add in COVID-19, you've got to do it, but then my staff challenged me, and rightfully, and they said, "Is life going to be the same after? With this COVID-19 are we going to have the same programs?"

We actually went through and again we just spent the last little while going through our mandate. It's not as bad as we thought. We're ready now to give out the mandate letters based on how they were before, of course, with a little inclusion of COVID-19. I believe, again, that we've offered it to standing committee. If we haven't offered it, I will make sure it's done in the next day or two. The next step is to present it to MLAs, and I promise to get their feedback on that.

I thank the Premier for her forthrightness. I had understood that copies of these letters would be provided to the standing committees before they've been finalized. That's what I had understood was supposed to happen. I know COVID, and so on, but here we are more than two months late, and the Premier is saying that the letters are finalized. I haven't seen these letters. When is the Premier going to provide these letters to the Regular MLAs, or at least to the standing committees?

Thank you for pointing it out. That was miswording. The letters have been done. They've gone through me. The commitment has been to share it with Regular Members, and that, I will do. No Minister at this point has received their mandate. They've got a first draft of it that they were allowed to provide feedback on to me. At no time have they gotten it. The work is done on my side. My commitment before, and I'll honour that commitment, is to provide it to MLAs for their feedback. The commitment was that we wouldn't negotiate, that it would be feedback, and I would take that. Once I listen to that feedback and decide what is done, at that point I will be handing those letters to my Ministers, hopefully within the next couple of weeks.

I want to thank the Premier for clarifying that, and I'll stand down a little bit, myself. I guess I had misinterpreted that to say that the letters have actually been finalized. I understand that they are in draft form. Can the Premier confirm when she intends to share these letters with the appropriate standing committees?

Things have been going really fast over the past few months, really fast the last few weeks, so I was under the impression that we had already done it. My commitment is, if we haven't already done it, that I will be providing those this week. I know my staff is listening. They're jumping on it right now.

Thank you, Honourable Premier. Final supplementary, Member for Frame Lake.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Premier for that, and I look forward to getting these letters, seeing them in draft form. It's customary for these in the last Assembly and in the federal government, they make the letters public, and I assume that the Premier is going to do the same thing. The reason why I'm so interested in these letters is that the mandate, the priorities we develop, don't actually cover a lot of what some of the Ministers may have to do. Can the Premier tell us whether these letters contain work for the Ministers to do that might be outside of the actual mandate? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Yes. The mandate letters do identify some of the normal day-to-day operations that would be expected. It does focus on the mandate. There is a section on COVID-19, and there is room where we can actually tailor it. However, I must point out that every single duty that I expect from our Ministers will not be in that mandate letter. It is not possible. I would have to write a book to do that. There are other ways to make sure that Ministers do their jobs, such as why we are here. There is the BF system, where people ask, enquiries. There's walking into offices, talking to Ministers, and challenging on the floor, and that's what we're all here for. The mandate is one tool. It is not the only tool. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Honourable Premier. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. While my colleague was asking questions of the Premier, I overheard an assumption that the mandate letters would be made public, and I'm wondering if the Premier can confirm whether she intends to make those public or not. Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Honourable Premier.

Mr. Speaker, you said to make our answers short. The answer is: Yes.

I'd like to start off first by congratulating the GNWT on its Emerging Wisely document. It was well-prepared and well-communicated to the public. The document sets out for residents what they need to do to move from the lockdown phase, and to loosening of restrictions, and being able to interact again with their loved ones. I believe that, to accompany this document, we need an economic recovery plan that identifies the financial supports and programs the GNWT intends to put in place to combat COVID-19, or as businesses attempt to combat COVID-19. My question for the Premier is: what does she see as the most important thing the GNWT needs to do to recover the economy while moving out of the lockdown phase?

It is really hard to pick one. We have done a lot of economic revitalization programs and services that we provide to do for people. One thing I noticed is that, every time we had an initiative and went to the federal government and said, "Help, help our tourism industry, help our airlines, help our mines," there was somebody coming in behind.

I can't pick one. I'm going to have to pick two. There are two very critical things that I have to do, and I have been working on it. Every week, I meet with the Premiers, and every week, I meet with the Prime Minister. I've been saying, never has it been so critical. We have been saying this since the beginning that this House was built, but never is it so critical, base plus funding. Per capita is not working. All my Ministers are carrying that message strong. The other thing is flexibility. Do not put us in a box because a lot of your programs, people in the territories are still not accessing. Those are the two things, federally, I've been doing, so that's important.

The other thing that's important is to listen to the stakeholders, and that's why we're doing the groups. My Minister of ITI did a great job, putting out surveys to all of the businesses, trying to find out what they say. It is inappropriate for us as Members of this House to define what the future will look like for all residents unless we hear from the residents. That, again, is my commitment.

The Premier alluded to the federal government in her response and, over the course of the pandemic, we have seen the federal government really crack open its purse. Given how close we are to our federal borrowing limit and the fact that, really, the territorial financing formula doesn't necessarily work for our territory, what can we expect to see this year to address both of those financing supports from the GNWT?

I'm going to kind of guess the answer, because the last part of that got quiet and I couldn't really understand what the question was, but if the question is what we're actually looking for the federal government for supports, I'm going to go with that and you can correct me after. Again, it's, like I said, flexibility. The federal government, at each meeting that I meet with the Prime Minister, I'm told, we're at an opportunities gap to start with. We did not come in at the same place as our southern jurisdictions. I respect them. They are all fiercely fighting COVID-19, but they have the infrastructure we don't have, so I've been an advocate at asking for additional. We started with an opportunity gap. This COVID-19 can put us way back, if we're not careful. I do believe that our Prime Minister is hearing us and supporting us.

Thank you, Honourable Premier. Final supplementary, member for Kam Lake.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question was in regard to the territorial financing formula, and also the borrowing limit. Thank you.

I am not going to take other people's glory away, but I do know that the borrowing limit, our Minister of Finance has offered a briefing to standing committee on that, and I will let her do that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Honourable Premier. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have no doubt that the Chief Public Health Officer has been making numerous decisions on data, and we've heard that today. We have heard numerous requests, from Members and the media and the public, to see some of that data. I recognize are is some issues with modelling, but firstly, I just want to get a sense of our capacity to really be making evidence-based decisions. I was hoping the Minister of Health could tell me how many people specializing in epidemiology we have on staff?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have four full-time staff and four part-time staff.

The reason I ask this question is because I have no doubt that those eight people who are trained in epidemiology, this is the most important time in their career, and the most important time for the decisions they are making for all of our residents. A lot of that has been behind closed doors, and I haven't seen a lot of that data today. I think there is sometimes a hesitation on the part of scientists to give data to people like myself, who have no idea what to do with it. I was hoping the Minister could commit to bringing forward some sort of report of modelling, the data we have, an idea of the number of people with respiratory illness in the territory, what other jurisdictions have been doing. I would like to see some scientific evidence, and I was hoping the Minister of health could get that team to put something together for the public.

The epidemiology unit created what is called a public dashboard. The public dashboard is not quite live yet. It is something that demonstrates some of the Northwest Territories' case and test data in more detail. We are developing some important and transmission models so that we can better understand how this COVID might spread throughout the Northwest Territories with partners that are outside the Northwest Territories. We are working on the dashboard. It's not live yet. We are getting there, however; we do have information that is available.

I look forward to seeing that public dashboard and what kind of scientific evidence is put on there, as well as seeing the transition modelling. I hope to see that sooner rather than later. A request: often, when our government publishes data, they don't actually do it with a data set or give you access to the open data. Sometimes, it's just a PDF. Sometimes, it's a nice graph, but, obviously, there is always some underlying data there. My question for the Minister is: in that public dashboard, can we contain access to the actual underlying data in an open format?

The guidance documents are available on the GNWT website, and the public data dashboard will be available shortly, as I have just mentioned. The daily situational reports used identifiable data so these can be made public. Individual privacy can be assured. This only can be done with greater numbers. Right now, we don't have that.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. With the Emerging Wisely document, post-secondary is not recommended to begin in the fall, and there are a lot of post-secondary students who are hoping to continue or pursue their post-secondary this fall. Will there be programming in September, and what will it look like this fall for post-secondary in the college?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the Emerging Wisely document, I believe it is phase 3 that the colleges can open. What the college has been planning for is for distance learning, come September. However, we don't know exactly where we're going to be, and we would like to be able to provide some in-person instruction for people who absolutely need it. The work is ongoing to try to figure out if we can do that, but the plan right now is distance learning for the most part. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

With the way the economy is right now, a lot of our students have no jobs. Some of them offset the cost of their post-secondary with these jobs. The federal funding is not a lot of money compared to what summer students would normally make. Will SFA be increasing the funding this year for those students to be able to afford their post-secondary?

The Member is absolutely correct. With the lack of summer employment, it is going to make it very difficult for summer students. As well, some of their parents, too, maybe have lost their jobs. It's going to make a very tough situation.

The federal government has announced increases to the Canada Student Loans Program. The Northwest Territories opted out of the Canada Student Loans Program back in the '80s, I believe, in order to create our own program tailored to Northerners. It is more generous to Northerners, but, as a result, we don't get that increase that the Canada Student Loans Program will get. However, the government did commit an increase to those who have opted out of the program, so we will be seeing an increase. The way it works is that the territory gets the student loan money based on how many students went to school. For the upcoming school year, we will receive that money in January of 2022. There is a bit of a lag there. With that being said, I am looking at ways that we can bridge that gap and figure out how to support students, because this is a serious issue that is going to affect a lot of people's lives.

Student housing, for some, is their main housing. Will the students be able to continue to live in the student housing even with distance learning?

The Member is hitting all of the high points here. These are a lot of hard conversations that we are having. There are some people who are from communities where, perhaps, the Internet doesn't allow them to take distance learning. I got an email from someone the other day saying that they max out at 2.3 megabits per second on their Internet speed; they need 2.5 in order to take the program at the U of A. There are some real issues out there. We are looking at how we can support those students. Opening up residence for people is one of those, but that is an ongoing conversation. There are a lot of considerations, but these are exceptional circumstances, and we need to do everything we can to ensure that this is not a lost year for the students who wish to pursue post-secondary.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.