This is page numbers 1153 - 1196 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 seniors.

Topics

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Member for Nunakput. The motion is in order. To the motion.

Some Hon. Members

Question.

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Abstentions? The motion is carried.

---Carried

Member for Nunakput.

Jackie Jacobson

Jackie Jacobson Nunakput

Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that this committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories provide a response to the recommendations contained in this report within 120 days. Thank you, Madam Chair.

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Member for Nunakput. The motion is in order. To the motion.

Some Hon. Members

Question.

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Abstentions? The motion is carried.

---Carried

Does committee agree that this concludes consideration of Committee Report 1-19(2)?

Some Hon. Members

Agreed.

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you, committee. That concludes consideration of Committee Report 1-19(2). I would like to thank the chair of the committee, the Member for Nunakput.

Members, committee has agreed to consider Committee Report 3-19(2), Standing Committee on Social Development Report on Long-term Post-pandemic Recovery: Recommendations to the GNWT. Does the chair of the Standing Committee on Social Development have any opening remarks? Ms. Cleveland.

Caitlin Cleveland

Caitlin Cleveland Kam Lake

Thank you, Madam Chair. As noted by the Member for Nunakput, the GNWT's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the long-term recovery of our economy and territory have been the focus of all committees' discussions. The Standing Committee on Social Development focused its work on the response of the Departments of Education, Culture and Employment, Health and Social Services, Justice, and the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation. As chair of the Standing Committee on Social Development, I am pleased to introduce this report and would like to take this opportunity thank committee members for their hard work and contributions to both the development and finalization of this report. Thank you, Madam Chair.

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Ms. Cleveland, Member for Kam Lake. Committee, we've agreed to forgo general comments on the report and proceed directly to the recommendations. Member for Kam Lake.

Caitlin Cleveland

Caitlin Cleveland Kam Lake

Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that this committee recommends that the Department of Education, Culture and Employment make permanent the policy changes made to support clients in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, to continue to reduce the amount of verification information required to apply for Income Assistance to ensure clients are registered as quickly as possible and automatically assessed for both basic needs and enhanced benefits, to continue with the allowable income exemptions and to increase the annual income limit for unearned income per year on top of the money received from impact benefits agreements, treaty or land claim agreements, to continue to allow for clients to select self-care as a productive choice option, and reduce the requirement for face-to-face monthly reporting, and to continue to payroll long-term vulnerable Income Assistance clients to increase consistent payments to a three-month reporting. Thank you, Madam Chair.

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. The motion is in order. To the motion. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Madam Chair. For more than 10 years in the time that I've been here and the time that I worked with the YWCA, there have been repeated calls to revamp the Income Assistance Program, which is well known to be onerous to comply with if you're a client and onerous to deliver if you're staff. One of the great things about COVID is that it jump-started the reform of the Income Assistance Program in ways that are very helpful to clients by giving them additional money and less paperwork to complete. This has been a change that's been very well received and is very important to me, personally, that these changes which have started us on the road to revamping Income Assistance continue in place and that we continue the conversation about how this program can be strengthened so that it not only keeps people in poverty, which it is well known to do, but it actually helps them get out of poverty. Thank you.

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife Centre. To the motion. Member for Frame Lake.

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

Thanks, Madam Chair. I want to thank the social development committee for allowing me to sit in on some of their discussions. I support these changes that the Department of Education, Culture and Employment made, and I want to commend the Minister and his department for these creative changes made during the pandemic. We have to make sure that they actually stay in place. That's the purpose of this motion.

We had the release of the integrated case management program recently the Minister tabled a report in the House. It's a very good report that says a lot of good things about integrated case management. What I took away from that is that we need to find a way to transition our system from, as I think it's been characterized, the punitive nature of Income Assistance to much more of an enabling, empowering system. That's what integrated case management actually does. We need to expand that outside Yellowknife. We need to expand it across the NWT and the way to do that is to transition our Income Assistance program to providing a guaranteed basic income. Integrated case management makes the case for doing it in that way. If we're able to get Income Assistance workers and transition them into guaranteed basic income pathfinders and pathfinders through integrated case management, we're almost there.

With the federal government supports offered through CERB, we're almost there at a guaranteed basic income. I'm happy to support this, but what we really need is a precise roadmap from where we are to where we need to be in terms of universal basic income. That's a challenge to my colleagues on the Cabinet side and perhaps the colleagues on this side with social development. We need that roadmap. Step by step, how are we going to a guaranteed basic income so that we enable all of our residents to become full citizens in our economy and exercise all their rights and meet their potential. That's what we really need is a guaranteed basic income. This is a step in the right direction, so I'm happy to support it. Thanks, Madam Chair.

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. To the motion.

Some Hon. Members

Question.

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Abstentions? The motion is carried.

---Carried

Member for Kam Lake.

Caitlin Cleveland

Caitlin Cleveland Kam Lake

Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that this committee recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services continue to work with national partners to increase testing supplies, materials, and personal protective equipment to maintain a robust inventory for the anticipated second wave of COVID-19. Thank you, Madam Chair.

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. The motion is in order. To the motion. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Madam Chair. This recommendation has taken on particular importance today now that the Minister of Health and Social Services has shared modelling numbers of the number of potential hospitalizations, the number of potential cases, the number of potential deaths. We obviously need to be on top of our testing and contact tracing game. I know there has been a lot of testing to date, but that's based on five cases. If we end up with a hundred cases, a thousand cases, we need to be ready. The purpose of this recommendation is really to encourage the Minister to continue working with the national partners to make sure that our stockpile is equal to the task of a second wave. Thank you.

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife Centre. To the motion.

Some Hon. Members

Question.

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? All those abstaining? The motion is carried.

---Carried

Member for Kam Lake.