This is page numbers 2951 - 2988 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 public.

Topics

COVID Accommodation Measures
Members' Statements

Page 2960

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

Merci, Monsieur le President. Many Members have seen the recent national media coverage on the claw back of federal Guaranteed Income Supplement, or GIS, payments from seniors who received the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, or CERB, during the pandemic.

The federal government was encouraging everyone to take CERB payments without a thought to how that might affect future income from our social safety net.

Only later, much later, are seniors now finding out that CERB payments are being counted as income against GIS and other social assistance, which are now being reduced. As many as 90,000 seniors are affected nationally.

Here in the Northwest Territories, there are further consequences with the federal claw backs. With the reduction in federal GIS benefits comes a corresponding cut in the NWT Seniors Supplement.

All of this because CERB emergency payments are now being declared and counted as additional income. And as we learned earlier in the year, people in the Northwest Territories public housing, including seniors, are having their rents increased if they received CERB payments.

So what can this government do to provide some clarity and help for seniors. First, we should find a way to de-link the calculation of the NWT Seniors Supplement for those who did not receive GIS because they took a CERB payment.

Ideally, we need to recognize that CERB was an emergency program during a global pandemic that might happen once a century and not penalize the poorest seniors by counting this assistance as some sort of unearned income.

I implore this government to work with other provincial and territorial governments to stop this unjust treatment of seniors. I'll have questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment on what this government is doing to stop these unfair claw backs of social assistance to NWT seniors. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

Obstetrical Care
Members' Statements

Page 2961

Caitlin Cleveland

Caitlin Cleveland Kam Lake

Mr. Speaker, in my duties, I try to be empathetic and put myself in the shoes of constituents. Yesterday expectant parents ready to deliver in Yellowknife were informed they will travel to Edmonton to deliver their child. And I refuse to accept this.

Some families have three weeks' notice that they will have three weeks or more less work and less income, be moved from the safety of their community and support system, potential deliver without their partner, potentially be left with no support for older children, and then be expected to travel home and isolate with a newborn.

I had my first child at 23 in the middle of float season, my husband is a bush pilot. He called in sick to be in the delivery room and returned to his work schedule the next day.

Travelling to Edmonton would not have been an option. Like many deliveries, mine did not go as planned and ended in C section. If I had been in Edmonton, I would have been alone unsure how to get home with a newborn after major surgery. But as a mother, the most devastating part would be leaving my older children for weeks while I waited to deliver.

Mr. Speaker, just last year, a constituent had to be sent south for specialty prenatal care, but her own childhood trauma meant that leaving her older children in Yellowknife was not an option.

Mr. Speaker, Stanton has incredible OBS staff, and I want to acknowledge the demands of shift work on family life and thank the staff that continue to serve our communities. If Stanton cannot find a solution, this change will not be a straight transfer of patients to Edmonton. Families will require financial supports. Medical travel policies need to reflect actual costs, and solutions need to be established for older children unable to stay home.

Mr. Speaker, we are still in a pandemic. Recently Alberta cancelled its services to northern residents during a surge of COVID-19 patients. As Southerners feel the effects of waning immunity, this could again just interrupt the NWT's access to health care. But then what?

I know Stanton made this decision for the safety of patients, but this is not a solution, Mr. Speaker. My time here is not enough to talk about the significance of people leaving their land, territory, and supports during childbirth. This is a huge step in the wrong direction for our entire territory and a decision I just simply cannot accept. We should be fighting for more and not less. Thank you.

Obstetrical Care
Members' Statements

Page 2961

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

Nursing Issues
Members' Statements

Page 2961

Rylund Johnson

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank my colleagues for their previous statement on the nursing situation in our territory. I think it's clear that our nurses are not having a good time in our territory, and many of these problems existed even before COVID-19 arrived in the territory.

Mr. Speaker, I sense that, you know, we are in a bit of a downward spiral and morale, and I don't want management or the department or the nurses to get defensive. I really want to find a solution so that we can all get through this.

I've heard many complaints from nurses about management, and then they are told to take those complaints to the very same people they're complaining about. I contrast to this House, Mr. Speaker, where we have a very rigorous complaint process we just went through.

Mr. Speaker, COVID arrived, and the nurses are now joined by all health care workers in the stress of a hospital and health care facilities across the North and Canada. They have been put in a high-demand position. I've heard reports of some of them are leaving indeterminate jobs so that they can be treated better as locums. I've heard of reports of other nurses taking benefits advantage of the signing bonuses that numerous provinces are now entering.

Mr. Speaker, I don't believe that, you know, this is just a problem of throwing money at it. I believe there is some cultural issues in management. I believe this is some flexibility needed. And I know there is a survey out. I encourage all nurses to take that. And more importantly, I encourage the department to take everything that is said in that survey very seriously.

I worry that we know what many of the asks are going to be. If they're going to be difficult and if we ignore them once again, we are going to find ourselves in an even worse situation.

Mr. Speaker, lastly, the reality is the nursing profession has found itself in extreme demand throughout this pandemic. Other provinces are competing. We are losing that competition. I have heard nurses requesting signing bonuses, requesting increases in pay. And I've heard that for whatever reason, collective bargaining, and the way we do that does not allow us to do that.

Mr. Speaker, I do not accept that. We need to work with the union. We need to work with the nurses. And we need to find a way to be competitive in this field. And I know that is hard. I know that it is a different form of bargaining than we are used to. I know our finances are tight. But that is at least step one in solving this problem. I'll have questions for the Minister of Health, Mr. Speaker.

Nursing Issues
Members' Statements

Page 2961

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

Eulogy for Martine Lomen
Members' Statements

Page 2961

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Martine Lomen was born on March 16th, 1933, in the Mackenzie Mountains past Fisherman's Lake 18 kilometers from Fort Liard. Her biological parents were Christina Dudan and Alexi Lomen.

In 1947, she was married to Fredrick Kotchea through an arranged marriage.

On October 13th, 1948, both of them had their first child, John Kotchea. The stories she told that she was pregnant and was due anytime and wanted to be at Fisherman's Lake with her parents when she would have her first child. However, during their travel, she went into labour on the way there, and just when -- it was just Fred with her. She gave birth to John. After the delivery, she told Fred she and the baby were okay. So they continued their travels to her parents' camp.

Both of them went on to have eight sons and four daughters. At the age of 15, she was a young wife and a mother and learned her craft skills with traditional moose hide making.

She said her mother had asked her to start fleshing a moose hide since she has injured her arm. That is when she realized that she was very strong, and fixing a moose hide was no problem for her.

She went on to develop her skills and passions for the moose hide making. When shares her stories, she said with a smile, I never go without flusher and scrapers.

She was known for her skills in crafting moose hide moccasins. Fort Liard is well-known for its traditional birch bark berry baskets. She and her late sister, Sarah Edda, contributed to reviving and redesigning the traditional ways of the birch bark berry baskets. Together they developed a new way of crafting birch bark baskets, such as a general sanding the bark and adding colored -- colorful dyes, porcupine quills. And as saying goes, the rest is history.

She was passionate and created her birch bark baskets with colorful quilled flowers and birds, and harvest the material from the land.

Many people are thankful and grateful for her traditional crafting as she usually passed on her skills and knowledge. She was well-informed, a stern teacher to her daughters, daughters-in-law, and great -- and grand-daughters.

On February 11th, 2021, she passed away.
Martine and Fred had raised a large family with many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and they will be forever missed and loved.

Mr. Speaker, as her son Steve said it best, Her legacy is with us, and her shoes will never be filled. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Eulogy for Martine Lomen
Members' Statements

Page 2962

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Nahendeh. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and community. Members' statements. Reports of committees on the review of bills. Reports of standing and special committees. Member for Nunakput.

Jackie Jacobson

Jackie Jacobson Nunakput

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Bill 29, Resource Royalty Information Disclosure Statute Amendment Act.

Mr. Speaker, your hardworking committee and your standing committee on Economic Development and Environment is pleased to provide its report on Bill 29, Resource Royalty Information Disclosure Statute Amendment Act and commends it to the House. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Reports of standing and special committees. Member for Nunakput.

Jackie Jacobson

Jackie Jacobson Nunakput

Bill 29, Resource Royalty Information Disclosure Statute Amendment Act is a private Member's bill introduced by MLA O'Reilly. Bill 29 received second reading on June 1st, 2021, and was referred to Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment.

Bill 29 proposes to amend three pieces of legislation to the Mineral Resources Act (not yet in force), the Northwest Territories Lands Act, and the Petroleum Resources Act. The amendments would allow the Minister to disclose information of a confidential nature received by development and evaluation policy (such as royalty payments) to Members of the Legislative Assembly and Indigenous governments subject to restrictions for further disclosure.

Public Engagement

Committee sought feedback from Indigenous governments, companies currently paying royalties in NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines. Stakeholder comments were received: Tlicho government, Sahtu Secretariat Incorporated, NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines with the Mining Association of Canada, Arctic Canadian Diamond Company, The Explorers and Producers Association of Canada, Alternatives North.

Mr. Speaker, stakeholder submissions (Appendix A) were polarized between opposition overall of the bill versus support of the bill including suggestions to strengthen the clauses. The industry was not supportive of the bill.

The bill was viewed as creating uncertainty in an already poor investment climate and duplicative or unaligned to other jurisdictions. There was concern with sharing confidential tax information beyond staff with financial and tax expertise such as business and financial information shared with staff that may not have responsibility or expertise to protect sensitive financial data.

Confidentiality provisions were viewed to protect industry investment and the sharing of information more broadly increased concerns regarding the likelihood of breach of confidentiality. The scope of information to be shared was viewed as unclear and not necessarily supported by all parties. The bill was not viewed to support the mandate of the Government of the Northwest Territories, premature to the concluding the review of Mining Fiscal Regime Review.

The Tlicho government, the Sahtu Secretariat and Alternatives North supported the intent of the bill. The Tlicho Government suggested clarifying the purpose and scope of implementation of the bill with provisions to ensure no information related to Indigenous governments would be shared. Both the Sahtu Secretariat and Alternatives North suggested to strengthen the bill requiring the Minister to share information.

Mr. Speaker, if it's okay I will let the Member from Deh Cho.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Nunakput. Member for Deh Cho.

Ronald Bonnetrouge

Ronald Bonnetrouge Deh Cho

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Committee concerns

On September 15, 2021 committee held a public hearing with the sponsoring Member. Committee also invited public presentations. The public hearing was live streamed on the Legislative Assembly channel. Presentations were provided from the NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines with the Mining Association of Canada, the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment, as well as the sponsoring Member.

Members held varying positions on the bill. There was concern regarding the bill duplicating the information found through the federal Extractive Sectors Transparency Measures Act (ESTMA). Under ESTMA extractive companies must publicly disclose payments made to governments in Canada and abroad. ESTMA helps the Government of Canada deter corruption in the extractive sector. It was recognized that royalty payments made by mining companies to the GNWT could be located here however it was also noted the royalty payments reported through ESTMA do not match the royalty payments recorded in the GNWT's public accounts.

The GNWT public accounts report the royalty revenues from mining, oil and gas received annually as an aggregate total (i.e. it is not broken down by mine or by company). There are other additional reasons why the royalty reported in the public accounts do not match the royalty reported in ESTMA (not limited to differences in fiscal year reporting, and the number of operations a company may have in the NWT).

Canada supports global financial transparency efforts and aligns with Extractive Sectors Transparency Initiative (EITI) standards through the reported information made publicly available through the ESTMA. Canada was a major player to develop the global standard on mandatory extractive sector transparency payment disclosures and is a contributing board member to the initiative. Although Canada doesn't report under EITI, it is a supporter of the initiative and requires company payments to be disclosed through the information made public under ESTMA.

There was concern that Bill 29 implicated the mining oil and gas sector to disclose confidential information without requiring other sectors that pay royalties (such as quarrying, forestry) to do the same. It was noted that the information disclosed would be information already provided to the Minister and the Minister could decide to share the information with Members of the Legislative Assembly or Indigenous governments. Committee recognized that even if Bill 29 was enacted, the Minister will still hold discretion whether to disclose confidential information.

There was concern among committee with the unknown risks regarding potential breaches of confidential information made possible through Bill 29. Following the public hearing, committee proceeded with the clause by clause review of the bill. I will hand it back to the Member for Nunakput. Mahsi.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Deh Cho. Member for Nunakput.

Jackie Jacobson

Jackie Jacobson Nunakput

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to thank Mr. Bonnetrouge for reading that section there.

Committee could not reach agreement on how to proceed with the bill, and therefore recommends the bill for consideration in Committee of the Whole. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Nunakput. Reports of standing and special committees. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Returns to oral questions. Acknowledgements. Oral questions. Member for Monfwi.

Jane Weyallon Armstrong

Jane Weyallon Armstrong Monfwi

Mr. Speaker, mahsi. [Translation]. Yesterday, I spoke on housing issues, and we have a lot of problems in our community. We don't have enough housing for our membership. There is overcrowding in a home, and I've mentioned that as well. I'd like to ask the question to the Housing Minister.

Who is eligible for housing and who is eligible for grants and repair program? There's a lot of people that are in need. Do they consider people's situation when they are approved for repairs? I'd like to know some of these rules and regulation on these. [Translation ends].Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Minister responsible for Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.

Paulie Chinna

Paulie Chinna Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Member for your questions. The eligibility for housing grants and repairs are accepted by application. We do have the local housing authority that is in the community and also the district office as well too. They travel quite frequently into the Tlicho region. Can I provide the Member when our staff members are available to be meeting in the community and just to inform the Member when the Housing Corporation will be in her region. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Jane Weyallon Armstrong

Jane Weyallon Armstrong Monfwi

Can the Minister commit to working in partnership with the Tlicho government, the community government and the MLA, myself or any other MLAs, who are experiencing the same situation, to prepare a needs-based action for our regions.

Paulie Chinna

Paulie Chinna Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When the Member had newly got elected I did make myself available to meet with her immediately to talk about the housing issues in Behchoko as this is what I recognize in her election time and wanted to follow up with that.

But right now the Housing Corporation is working with the Tlicho housing working group and we have developed that partnership. We do engage into federal engagements and applications for funding for her region. Also we do have the council of leaders housing working group which includes all Indigenous leaders throughout the Northwest Territories. That group was actually just established in June of this year as direction by the Premier. I believe that the council of leaders housing working group had met for the second time, I want to say in November. I can provide further information to the Member as well too. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Jane Weyallon Armstrong

Jane Weyallon Armstrong Monfwi

Will the Minister commit to providing additional housing units to the Tlicho region in this upcoming fiscal year. Thank you.

Paulie Chinna

Paulie Chinna Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And you know, previously, in my announcements that we had acquired federal funding and the Housing Corporation is going to be delivering 90 units throughout the Northwest Territories. I can confirm that the Tlicho region will be receiving ten of those units. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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