This is page numbers 917 - 956 of the Hansard for the 19th Assembly, 2nd Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was going.

Investing in a Polytechnic University
Members' Statements

Page 924

Rylund Johnson

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As we head into what is likely to be a very large, global recession, I believe it is time for the Northwest Territories to double down in diversifying its economy and building a knowledge economy. I think one of the best ways we can do this is to continue forward in our path to create a polytechnic university; a polytechnic university that will meet our increasing skilled labour demands, which will allow industries in the North to build skills and experience to eventually compete for contracts, not just here in the NWT but across Canada and the world. Mr. Speaker, I want to see a university with northern, southern, and foreign students all coming here to learn together. I believe, in the past, there have been many northern economy success stories, but where we often see as northern businesses who get too successful, grow too large, and they pack up and move their headquarters. We need to break that cycle.

Mr. Speaker, I don't want the diversification of the economy debate to be an anti-mining debate. I think that is a false dichotomy, and we must build upon what we have. We are about to spend a billion dollars on Giant Mine remediation. I believe we have to build the skills to make sure that we get every dollar out of that contract. Mr. Speaker, we are leaders in geoscience. We are leaders in mining logistics, ice road building, and so many of these knowledge economy skills that we can build from the resource sector, Mr. Speaker. These are all things we can and should teach in our new polytechnic.

Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt we are government economy, and as the recession comes, this is, in fact, a good thing for us, to have a stable flow of government money into our economy. I have no issues with this, but every single dollar we invest must grow our economy to be more diverse and more resilient, such that in further economic downturns, all of our companies can find alternative means to succeed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will have questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment to make sure our plan to establish a polytechnic university is still on track.

Investing in a Polytechnic University
Members' Statements

Page 924

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Masi, Mr. Speaker. There is no place in the NWT more vulnerable to COVID-19 than our long-term care and seniors' homes. To illustrate, Mr. Speaker, in Canada, these homes account for an incredible 80 percent of all COVID-related deaths. That equals more than 3,000 deaths in Quebec; and in the case in Ontario, more than 1,500. That's as of May 20, 2020. Mr. Speaker, this raises critical concerns about the ability of our seniors to cope with an outbreak of COVID-19 in our territory. At the appropriate time, Mr. Speaker, I will ask questions of the Minister of Health and Social Services regarding the precautions of our seniors' homes have taken against the threat of COVID-19. Masi, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

Passing of Judy Lafferty
Members' Statements

Page 924

Paulie Chinna

Paulie Chinna Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to take this time to express my deepest condolences to the family of Ms. Judy Lafferty who had passed away peacefully Sunday morning in Fort Good Hope. She was surrounded by her loved ones. Ms. Lafferty is well-known across the Northwest Territories for her exquisite, very well-detailed handcrafted art, sewing, and traditional practices, and delicately preparing flawless moose hide, providing tanning workshops throughout the Northwest Territories.

Ms. Lafferty's art is well-designed. Her moose hide jackets, slippers, bead work were bought across Canada and throughout the Northwest Territories. Attending fashion symposiums, and also displaying her talent in New Mexico where she shared her talent, her traditional knowledge, and language with the Navaho Nation. Ms. Lafferty is a national treasure. It is saddening, and it is a huge loss to the women of the arts for the Northwest Territories. Ms. Lafferty proudly displayed her unique designs representing the Northwest Territories at the recent Arctic Winter Games set up for arts and crafts in March of this year. Ms. Lafferty mentored several women, passing on her traditional knowledge and skills to empower Indigenous women throughout the Northwest Territories to rebuild their skills and provide the importance of guidance to empower each other.

With her kind heart and deep compassion for people and willingness to see the good in everyone, her passing will have a significant impact on our traditional arts and culture for the Northwest Territories. Today, I want to acknowledge Ms. Judy Lafferty's family, friends, and the community of Fort Good Hope, include my constituents of the Sahtu region, in her legacy, contributions through arts and crafts and leadership throughout the Northwest Territories. Thoughts and prayers are sent to the family. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Passing of Judy Lafferty
Members' Statements

Page 924

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Sahtu. Our thoughts are prayers are with the family and the community. Mahsi. Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife South.

Caroline Wawzonek

Caroline Wawzonek Yellowknife South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One of the indirect impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic has been on people's mental health. Today, I want to speak to the fact that it can take strength, courage, and sometimes both to seek help for illnesses that may not have obvious physical symptoms.

Eight years ago, when my daughter was born, I experienced postpartum depression. It has taken me years to even be able to say those words, postpartum depression, and it still makes me uncomfortable. At first, I insisted that my behaviour and feelings were from a lack of sleep, but as weeks turned into months, I slept less and less until I was unable to sleep at all. I became increasingly irritable, distant, and angry. Always seeing myself as a problem-solver for others, I insisted that I could think my way out of this. I read every book there was about infant sleep and, still running my own law practice, threw myself back into work. I tried to rationalize my behaviours away, and I continued to blame myself for what I was feeling or, some days, not feeling.

My spouse finally put a label on what was happening and insisted that I speak to a professional. At first, that label made me angry, but ultimately, this is what gave me permission that it was okay for me to not be okay. I came to accept that it was not my fault that I was experiencing a mental illness, that I had not failed, and that I deserved help from others. That's a hard list of acceptance for many of us, Mr. Speaker, particularly when we prize characteristics such as strength, problem-solving, and independence, and it is hard to admit when the thing that defines you can, in fact, be holding you back from getting help.

Over the last several months, the world has been through rolling shutdowns as we've watched COVID-19 march across countries and decimate healthcare systems. It is okay to not feel okay throughout this, or with the impacts that this is having on individual lives and communities. Mental health wellness resources are not just there for someone else; they are there for everyone. Do not let a misperception about what mental illness is make you hesitate about whether your feelings warrant checking out the available resources. For those who work for any level of government, Mr. Speaker, there is a good chance there are some great resources out there in the human resources systems. Many large private corporations have mental health and wellness services, and the GNWT has a variety of programs available for all different kinds of mental health support. If someone stops for even a moment to wonder whether they should check into these options, I sincerely hope that they do. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife South. Members' statements. Item 4, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 5, returns to oral questions. Item 6, acknowledgements. Sorry, we didn't have notice for acknowledgements, so we'll do that tomorrow. Item 7, oral questions. Member for Hay River South.

Rocky Simpson

Rocky Simpson Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will direct the questions to the Minister of Finance, and possibly the Premier. As this government was initially put in place to govern the territory and support the Aboriginal inhabitants, I am curious as to the amount of funding on a per-capita basis spent directly on Aboriginal people through the various departments and also the total amounts in labour directed at Indigenous government employees. The first question I have is: can the Minister confirm what amount this government will receive in revenue for the fiscal year 2020-2021 from Canada through territorial financing and other revenue sources? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

Caroline Wawzonek

Caroline Wawzonek Yellowknife South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wasn't actually sure if the question is simply the total revenues, which, of course, is $2.1 billion; but alternatively, if we're looking to remove from that general revenues of non-renewable resource revenue at $33 million and the tax revenue of $277,000, then that would leave the remaining amounts, which is the amount that we get from Canada, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Rocky Simpson

Rocky Simpson Hay River South

Yes, the total amount is good. Can the Minister confirm the total estimated expenditures for all departments for the year 2020-2021? She can either break them down by department, or she can give me the total.

Caroline Wawzonek

Caroline Wawzonek Yellowknife South

For reference, I am looking at the summary of operations expenditures page, which is in the main estimates binders, and that does have a breakdown by department and also by expenditure category, showing a grand total of expenditures of $1,895,865.

Rocky Simpson

Rocky Simpson Hay River South

Of those amounts for each department, what amount by department goes directly to support or care for Aboriginal people in the NWT? I am looking for a number, a per-capita number, I guess it is. The reason for this is that I want to know what we're doing with the money that is coming in from all sources, and how much is actually going to assist or to support Aboriginal people in the Northwest Territories.

Caroline Wawzonek

Caroline Wawzonek Yellowknife South

I suppose one answer is that every dollar spent, to a degree, supports the Indigenous people in the Northwest Territories insofar as it provides the day-to-day functioning, programs, and services of the Government of the Northwest Territories that help all of the residents of the Northwest Territories, including Indigenous people. To the extent of breaking it down per capita or by demographic, certain programs and services, certainly, I will make an effort to go back and see which programs and services are targeted specifically to Indigenous groups in the Northwest Territories, but as far as breaking down program by program, again, so many of them are so intertwined that that would be an impossible task. I won't be able to do that to the extent that I gather the Member is actually seeking here.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

Rocky Simpson

Rocky Simpson Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for that answer, and I would still like to see some numbers. I don't want it to the penny. I just want a general number. The reason why is that we do have people who come up from the South to support what this government is doing with respect to Aboriginal people. At the same time, they bring family members down, and they're taking beds away, possibly, from Aboriginal residents, say in extended care, or whatever. I guess I just want to know what's going on. In saying that, it seems that we just continue on, and I want to know from the Premier or the Minister if it's going to be business as usual. Are we going to really direct some of our energy towards making sure that Aboriginal and Indigenous issues are dealt with in a timely manner, and that we are actually providing support for them, and that we are actually receiving the funding that we require from the federal government and other sources to make sure that we are addressing their concerns? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Caroline Wawzonek

Caroline Wawzonek Yellowknife South

Mr. Speaker, this seems to be a whole-of-government response. I think, perhaps, it is appropriate that I turn it over to the Premier.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you. Honourable Premier.

Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are a couple of things. It definitely isn't going to be business as usual as the last Legislative Assembly. I mean, we don't even have the same Cabinet here, so it couldn't be business as usual, Mr. Speaker. However, I heard the question, and it's an interesting question. When he asked about breaking it down by department, it would be almost impossible, Mr. Speaker, because it would be identifying, as well, how many Indigenous people are in public housing, how many Indigenous people are taking post-secondary education, how many identified at post-secondary education. I'm not even sure that my own children, who are Metis, identified as Metis when they applied for post-secondary. Those are questions that are out there. It is a lot easier if you say "how many Indigenous people are hired in the government"; that we have statistics for, and I watched that very closely over the last Assembly, as well.

Hopefully, it won't be businesses as usual. I know that, in the last Assembly, when I was watching around HR, human resources, hiring for the GNWT, I was adamant about the number. In all honesty, I was the Minister of Status of Women; I was advocating about how many Indigenous women. One thing that I never got to is how many are in management positions. Hopefully, that is something that we will be looking at. I know I am a strong advocate. I know my Cabinet are strong advocates. We will be looking at that as we go forward.

The best answer is: do we have enough money for Indigenous governments? Absolutely not. We don't have enough money, Mr. Speaker, for this government. Land claims and self-government agreements, those are the answers for Indigenous people. The more that we can get those through, not pushing them through, but work them through, actually will give the power to the Indigenous governments, and therefore, Mr. Speaker, we will have a huge impact on Indigenous people. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Masi, Mr. Speaker. No one is more vulnerable to COVID-19 than elders living in long-term care and seniors' homes. COVID facilities in these homes have become a national scandal. In light of the alarming death rate in such homes, I have a number of questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services. The first question I have is: what special COVID-related training have staff at the territorial long-term care and seniors' homes received in anticipation of a possible outbreak of the virus in our territory? Masi, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

Diane Archie

Diane Archie Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On March 12th, we began implementing preventative measures several days before we had an active case. We did things like prohibiting visitors, stopping day programs, using social distancing, screening staff before and at the end of their shifts, wearing masks continuously, cleaning common high-touch areas, following 14-day isolation protocols. These are all some of the preventative steps we have taken in preparation for this pandemic. Staff are all trained. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

In light of the documented danger of long-distance airborne transmission, what consideration has the government given to retrofitting the territorial seniors' homes? I am referring to the virus-scrubbing systems of the type being integrated into the hospital's HVAC system.