This is page numbers 845 - 886 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 services.

Topics

Caroline Wawzonek

Caroline Wawzonek Yellowknife South

I apologize. I should have been briefer in my original answer. I happened to have a chronology of the efforts we made because it's not the first concern that's been raised to me about what I've done to engage and the time we spent speaking to not only Indigenous governments but also our community governments and others. We did write out, seeking input. We also had two further conversations about this, and it was actually as a result of those conversations and of the input that we received that, in fact, we did not allow taxis to be involved in the sale and distribution of alcohol and that, if a licensed establishment now is going to include alcohol sales with their takeout, it has to be through their own delivery service; it cannot use the taxi cab. So we did remove that, and we also removed the sale of cannabis, which was also one of the proposals. Again, while it's not answering what everybody wanted, it certainly did make an effort, I believe, to be responsive to some of the requests that were being made.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Hay River South.

Rocky Simpson

Rocky Simpson Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Just for clarity, what department has authority over border security and under what authority? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Diane Archie

Diane Archie Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The compliance and enforcement of the public health order falls under the Public Health Act and is the responsibility of the deputy chief public health officers and the compliance and enforcement public health officers who are appointed by the Chief Public Health Officer. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Rocky Simpson

Rocky Simpson Hay River South

Can the Minister confirm how her department will address the ongoing issues surrounding border security such as documentation, essential workers exemptions, status cards, drug dealers, bootleggers, and tourists coming into the territory. They seem to be getting across the border.

Diane Archie

Diane Archie Inuvik Boot Lake

In terms of documentation, we will continue to demand valid Northwest Territories documentation and provide them with information that I've outlined in the statement, and will follow-up if a complaint is made to protect Northwest Territories. In terms of the essential workers, we will continue to monitor the essential workers and their adherence to our rules. The case you cite in your Member's statement is very disturbing to me, and I commit to looking into the details and getting back to you. In terms of exemptions, exceptions are one-off and are granted for compassion or other valid reasons, such as caregivers and childcare are just two examples. There are also several categories of exemptions under the travel restriction order, so all Northwest Territories as well as essential service workers, mine workers, supply chain workers, are considered exempted under the travel provision. In terms of the status cards, we are only accepting Northwest Territories IDs where there's clearly NWT residency. In terms of the drug dealers and the bootleggers, of course we don't want these people in here. However, if they do have a valid Northwest Territories proof of residency, there's not a lot we can do other than, in the past, we have advised the RCMP when there are suspicious behaviours. That's been very successful because of the partnership with them.

Rocky Simpson

Rocky Simpson Hay River South

Can the Minister relay to our Chief Public Health Officer that we will be seeing more residents travelling south throughout the summer and that, upon return, some of them may start to ignore the self-isolation order and look to self-monitoring as an option? Also, ask her how that will be addressed? Because the last thing we want to do is make criminals out of our residents.

Diane Archie

Diane Archie Inuvik Boot Lake

Our compliance and enforcement task force are expecting and are prepared for more Northwest Territories residents that are travelling south during the summer months. They are working closely with officers who are manning the borders and airports to protect the Northwest Territories, to ensure that there is a consistent approach for returning residents, including extensive public awareness and communication efforts.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Member for Hay River South.

Rocky Simpson

Rocky Simpson Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister confirm what authority the Chief Public Health Officer has, and can it be overridden by this government? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Diane Archie

Diane Archie Inuvik Boot Lake

The authority is under Part 5 of the Public Health Act, respecting public health emergencies, as well as sections 11 and 25. The Chief Public Health Officer is a statutory appointment who reports directly to me, as Minister.

There are several categories in exemptions under the travel restriction order that all Northwest Territories residents, as well as essential service workers, mine workers, supply chain workers, are considered exempted under the travel-prohibition provisions. The best way to track the total exemptions would be to count the number of self-isolation plans, which we share weekly with our Members. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

Question 252-19(2): Remediation of Mining Sites
Oral Questions

May 28th, 2020

Page 859

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Premier, who is responsible for federal relations. My statement earlier today outlined how the federal government has made very substantial investments, hundreds of millions of dollars, in Western Canadian provinces to support the energy sector by expediting well site remediation. Has the Premier considered similar assistance to the NWT to accelerate action on our extensive contaminated-sites inventory? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Honourable Premier.

Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Absolutely, the remediation from mine sites has always been a priority. I take ownership for some of that. Just recently, a drill was returned to my brother that was left from my father. My father has been gone for over a decade, but, in the 1960s, the mining and the drilling here was not okay. They were dumping things all over the place. There are huge issues within the territories, and there is a huge economic opportunity to clean that up. It wasn't based on rudeness; it was based on ignorance. They did not know better back in the day. Mining is different. My Minister of ITI, as well, has been on this. That is not only her portfolio. It is her background. She also is well aware of the economic opportunities and the issues we face within that.

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

I want to thank the Premier for that. I think there are hundreds of millions of dollars at stake here and that, if we made the right pitch to the federal government, we could tap into that. Can the Premier tell us what specific work has been done to pursue this opportunity to drive economic recovery in the NWT through this strong federal investment in contaminated-site remediation here?

Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

On our side, with EIA, our officials have had discussions with officials before COVID-19, in all honesty, on a regular basis. I also know that my Minister of ITI is also right now working on a pan-northern letter to the federal government, to Minister O'Regan, actually, with CanNor to actually advocate for that funding.

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

I want to thank the Minister for that. It's good to hear. She might have anticipated the next question, so I'm just going to change it up a bit. Earlier today, I had mentioned that there are opportunities where we could perhaps work with our neighbours in Yukon and Nunavut on the dedicated accelerated Northern Contaminated Sites initiative. Sounds like some of that work may be underway. Can the Premier tell us specifically what she has done? I understand it might be a letter. Can she give us a copy of that letter when it's done and keep reporting back to us about progress on this initiative?

Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

There are two things. One, of course, I just checked with my Minister of ITI. Absolutely, she will give you a copy of the letter that she is writing on behalf of it. The other thing I want to speak about wasn't really asked, but I'm going to go there, is that every week since the beginning of March we have been meeting with the Prime Minister. We've been talking at our what is called FMM, First Ministers' Meetings. We've been talking about COVID-19. The last meeting we had, the council, the federation, the premiers across Canada decided that we were, and we told the Prime Minister, that from now on we are going to have one-week talks about COVID-19. One week goes back to our normal needs that we have longstanding. This will be something that I'll carry forward, as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Honourable Premier. Member for Frame Lake.

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

Merci, Monsieur le President. That is all good news from the Premier. I want to thank her for that. Just as the federal government is using this funding as leverage to get Alberta to commit to better management of resource extraction to prevent these sorts of things from happening, we haven't gone there. Five years after devolution, we've made no changes to our legislation or at least even brought them into force to make sure this doesn't happen again, and again, and again. Strategic Oil & Gas, we're going to inherit the site Cantung, it goes on and on. I want a commitment from this Premier that she's going to fix this issue and problem so that, when the feds say, "What are you doing about it," we can actually say that we are actually on it, finally.

Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

I do like to work with the Members. However, I would have to look into that. I can't make a commitment on the floor that I'll fix that in this Assembly. I have to look at what the legislation is and what we have going on. I will make a commitment that I will look into it, and I'll get back to the Member. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

Caitlin Cleveland

Caitlin Cleveland Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment. In relation to my Member's statement today, I'd like to talk about the SEED funding. Is the department tracking how many applications for SEED funding are being submitted specifically as a result of COVID-19, and, if so, how many applications for COVID-19 SEED funding has ITI received, how many have been approved, and how much funding is associated with these approvals? Thank you.