Thank you, Member for Nahendeh. Members' statement. Member for Sahtu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I would like to wish yourself and your family a Merry Christmas and also to my colleagues as well. I am happy to say today that my riding, the Deline Got'ine government today is opening up their preschool today, and looking at the education and the culture colliding, it's coming together in that community, and was such a milestone of their self-government agreement, bringing it to surface, and looking at their celebrations and taking education into their own hands and being the driver and an example for the people of the Northwest Territories. I would like congratulate the Deline Got'ine government and also to acknowledge my riding and to awesome work that they have done today. And it is extremely an exciting event and for years to come in looking at how they're going to be striving and looking at education at the community level. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker, and Merry Christmas to everybody and the people in my riding as well too. Mahsi.

Members' statements. Member for Hay River North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it seems like just yesterday people were counting the days until we were done with 2020, and they thought that 2021 was going to bring nothing but sunny days. While we've seen some great things happen this year, it's been a tough year. People here or their communities have really experienced the effects of COVID and my community as well. It hasn't been all good for all people but a lot of people have stepped up. I have heard my colleagues thank the leadership of their community, and I have to do the same.

We saw people stepping up, businesses stepping up to help out. We saw the leadership like the West Point First Nation, the Hay River Metis Government Council, and the Katlodeeche First Nation. I know they are in my colleague's riding, but their two communities are very close so I have to thank them as well.

It was also a difficult year for a lot of our vulnerable population in Hay River, and there's some organizations that really helped out a lot and I want to thank them for their work too. The Soaring Eagle Friendship Centre and the Hay River committee for Persons with Disabilities, as well as the RCMP.

As an MLA, we do our best to help our constituents but we can't do everything and these are the types of organizations who really step up and fill those gaps that exist, and so we are very thankful for them.

Of course we also had the COVID outbreak in the latter part of the year, and I know that the health authority in Hay River was working overtime nonstop to ensure that contact tracing was happening, that people were kept safe. And I have to thank them; I know the hours they put in and the whole community is very appreciative. The DEA also did a lot of work to ensure that students could remain in schools, remain learning and stay safe as well.

So I want to thank all the organizations, all the businesses, all the people who stepped up in Hay River over this past year, and I want to wish everyone, all of my constituents, everyone in Hay River, a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Happy Holidays. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Members' statements. Returns to oral questions. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Acknowledgements. Oral questions. Member for Hay River South.

Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister responsible for Northwest Territories Power Corporation.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, electric utilities across Canada, including those operating in the North, have or in the process of instituting mandatory vaccination policies. At this time, Mr. Speaker, NTPC employees and contractors have until January the 7th, 2022, to be compliant with the policy. And after this, employees will be placed on leave without pay, unless there is a significant change in the COVID pandemic situation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one of the issues with NTPC I think, and most employees I guess with the government in the NWT, is, you know, a lot of them have to use air travel. So will the Minister confirm if every NTPC employee is required to travel by air as part of their duties? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the majority of employees are required to travel for regular duties or travel on occasion for their jobs. For those employees who do not travel regular, they must be required to travel for things like safety training, professional development, site visits, or engagement with customers, and also engagement with communities. Just this week, for example, Mr. Speaker, we had a staff member who, at the direction of the community, was not allowed into the community because of their vaccination status. Obviously, this will cause operational issues for the clean delivery of power in the communities if we're not able to utilize all of our staffing resources. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister committed to work with impacted employees to look at accommodation options for those not vaccinated. Can the Minister advise this Assembly if that has happened yet. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as it is their right, all employees have had the opportunity to request an accommodation to the policy on the basis of a protected ground under the Human Rights Act. Where requests for accommodations were made, all employees received feedback. NTPC continues to engage with its employees who have concerns about the policy. Exemptions unrelated to protected grounds under the Human Rights Act are not being considered at this time but that may change in the future should the situation change as well. The resources to do individual testing in the communities outside of Yellowknife do not exist, and the corporation does not see that as a viable option.

We also, Mr. Speaker, have to consider the rights and safety of the majority of NTPC employees that are in compliance with the vaccination policy and their feelings on having to work side-by-side with unvaccinated coworkers. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, knowing that this pandemic will morph into an endemic disease, which may well be the new normal, when that will happen is not known. But we know it has to happen at some point. And those employees laid off or terminated due to the vaccine policy may well be qualified for rehire.

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister advise whether or not moving from a pandemic into an endemic situation was considered in developing the vaccine policy for NTPC, and will those put on leave without pay be in a position to get their jobs back at some point? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It was not considered. According to the health professionals, including the NWT Chief Public Health Officer, vaccination continues to be the best defence against COVID-19. Vaccination requirements are fluid across Canada as employers adapt to changing circumstances. NTPC is committed to providing a safe and healthy workplace for its employees, and it will continue to take conservative approach to achieve this goal.

So NTPC continues to review its policy on a regular basis as the COVID-19 evolves. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member's statement, I went through the fact that a number of jurisdictions are finally, I think, taking the long overdue step of introducing some paid sick days for workers under their employment standards legislation. My question for the Minister is will he do the same? Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I recall yesterday in the House the Member stood up and said we have to make some hard choices. We're facing a budget crunch, and we can't have everything we want.

If the GNWT were to do this, it would be a very expensive program. And if we put it on to private employers, it could be a very expensive program for them. That being said, maybe it is something we want so we do have to look into this.

The Employment Standards Act provides a bare minimum of protection for employees. So there could be employers right now under this act who are providing paid sick days. It is an employees' market right now. You know, it's tough to find staff. And so I think it would be a competitive advantage. So there is that market force.

As I said, maybe this is something we want. And when we review the Employment Standards Act, which is going to happen in the next fiscal year, so not that long from now, this is going to be one of the things we're looking at. Every once in a while, we have to look at our act to make sure we are on par with other jurisdictions and make changes as necessary. So I look forward to that review, and I'm sure I'll get lots of feedback from the Member. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I do believe that there's a much larger conversation to happen; if we're going do this, you know, how many paid sick days. Are they funded like vacation pay? Is there some GNWT contribution? There's a lot of different ways this can look. But when we do a comparison of currently unpaid sick days in the Northwest Territories, it's clear our employment standards is below average of what other jurisdictions. Is this something the Minister is also willing to look at, is increasing the guaranteed number of unpaid leave days? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And again, when we look at this review it's something we can look at. There's other ways that unpaid sick leaves are implemented in other jurisdictions. So some provide -- some Employment Standards Act provide for extended medical leave. In some cases, in line with the EI sickness benefits. So there are some options more than just beyond just adding days. But I want to say that I think that this pandemic has shown us that when you're sick, you should stay home, even if it's a flu. Those kind of things really do -- they hinder the economy, they hinder the public health system, and we want to ensure that we are supporting people. So I'm more than willing to look at these reforms going forward. But, again, I can't promise anything. It's the Assembly that passes legislation, and it's the Assembly that passes the budget. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I've tried to find some information on this, and I think key to having this conversation is knowing how many people currently have no paid sick days. I expect the overwhelming majority do. We know that all GNWT workers do and those with collective bargaining units certainly have paid sick leave. It's really a small percentage of what I would deem working poor typically who do not get access to paid sick days. I'm wondering if we have that information of who presently in the NWT labour force has zero sick paid sick days. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I don't have that information. Most people in the -- most employees in this territory are governed by the Employment Standards Act. But that is not to say that none of those people have access to paid sick days because employers could offer that. So while the majority of employees in the territory are governed under this act, we don't have the number of how many don't have access to paid sick days. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Yellowknife North.