Thank you.
Public Communications
Centralized, clear, and consistent communications to the public are important during an emergency. Such communications can ensure that people understand what is expected of them and that they know where to turn for help and further information. This is most important at the outset, when an emergency is called, because that is the time when public fears and uncertainty are at their highest. Again, committee is generally satisfied with the GNWT's communications response to the COVID-19 pandemic but feels that more should have been done, sooner, to put the government's emergency communications response in place.
During the earliest days of the GNWT's response, around the time that staff were instructed to begin working from home, Premier Cochrane found it necessary to self-isolate as a result of having travelled. Lack of visibility by the Premier, while understandable, reflected the lack of a clear communications plan for the Premier and her Cabinet to lead the public through this emergency.
Committee members appreciate the briefings that came to be held by the Premier and the Chief Medical Health Officer but notes that these could have been more effective if they had been scheduled to occur on a regular basis at a fixed time and if they had been clearly publicized through a variety of media channels. Committee believes the example set by the Prime Minister, who held regular daily briefings for the nation, should be emulated by the GNWT during any future emergency response.
Committee believes that the implementation of the 811 NWT COVID Support Hotline was a positive move but notes that it was not opened to the public until April 17, more than a month after GNWT employees were instructed to begin working from home. Committee encourages the GNWT to prioritize the opening of such a hotline in future so that the public has a number to call from the outset of a declaration of emergency. Committee further suggests that the GNWT should not move to close the existing hotline until well after the final pandemic response measures are lifted pursuant to Emerging Wisely.
Committee feels that, if ever there is a time when the GNWT should strive to speak as one government, with one voice, it is during an emergency such as that created by COVID-19. Members strongly encourage the GNWT to design and execute a public communications approach with this overarching objective in mind. Members note that multiple government websites and channels of communication created uncertainty for their constituents, who looked to their MLAs to confirm facts and quell misinformation. This uncertainty was exacerbated by the fact that information was not always kept current in all locations at the same time, leading to a lack of consistency in the information being made available to the public.
Committee was pleased to see the GNWT launch a definitive single COVID-19 website on May 9, 2020 but again notes that this was not done until almost two months after the onset of the pandemic. In future, the GNWT should strive to make such a website available from the outset of an emergency. Members also note constituent complaints about the lack of information in languages other than English and therefore feel that more effort must be made to provide information in as many of the NWT's official languages as possible.
Members also feel strongly that, particularly in the smaller communities, the availability of information by electronic means should not supplant the need for the GNWT to provide visible leadership to assist residents. In future emergencies, committee would like to see the GNWT keep a single office open in each of the smaller communities, where people can go to ask questions and seek clarity. Committee notes that the government service officers in the department of executive's single-window service centres might be best positioned to fulfil this role, provided they are equipped with the appropriate social distancing measures and personal protective equipment necessary to ensure their safety and that of their clients.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to turn it over to the honourable Member for Yellowknife North at this time.