This is page numbers 1945 - 1988 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.

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Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

Before I answer that question, I have to thank the Member for these questions. I appreciate that he's talking to the elders. They are our foundation. I have had the pleasure of just recently meeting the YK Dene elders and having a good conversation with them. I have made a commitment to other Members that, if elders wish, I am more than willing to meet with them. Moving forward, how was this developed? How were the elders engaged? The Tlicho government have meetings; they invite our ENR staff in there. They have that opportunity, they have that exchange, they hear their concerns, and then they are brought forth to us. The other thing that the Member talked about was the Wek'eezhii Renewable Resources Board. They represent the region and also the Tlicho government. We get information from them. We also get information from the chiefs and the grand chief and from the Member as well. I am more than willing to work with elders moving forward.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Masi, Mr. Speaker. It sounds like the elders should be all-inclusive. It sounds like there's only a handful of elders who may have been involved. The ones who were calling me have not been directly involved, and they want to be out there. Even at 70 years of age, they want to be out there with us. It's a bit of a challenge right now because every Tuesday, the boundary line changes. It's substantial right now and making it more challenging for us to hunt. Anyways, the next question I have is: with respect to community hunts or harvesting from the community perspective, what kind of options are available for a fuel subsidy or transport subsidy to MacKay Lake? That's the only area where we can hunt, so what is available to the harvesters in my region?

Question 543-19(2): Caribou Mobile Zone
Oral Questions

February 11th, 2021

Page 1950

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

I thank the Member for that question. Good news: the Department of ENR has given $30,000 to the Tlicho Government to help the people in the riding, but it's just not for the Tlicho. We've also done the same thing with the YK Dene, the Lutselk'e Dene, and the North Slave Metis, so we've given $30,000. We found the money thinking outside the box, as the Member asked me yesterday, finding money to help that area. We are willing to get that money out there. Again, I think the Member talked about one thing, and I'd just like to say, for those elders who were missing, I'm more than willing to go on a tour with the Member to meet with these elders. It's educational for me. It helps me. I bring staff here; they get to hear it, as well. Because we need to make informed decisions and that's our traditional and local knowledge, and elders are a perfect avenue for it, so I'm more than willing to work with the Member to attend meetings with him. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Great Slave.

Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of ECE. Has the department developed any sort of COVID-specific mental wellness training or supports for teachers and students to deal with the ongoing stress and fatigue of the pandemic? Thank you.

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Member for Great Slave. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, ECE has developed, offered, and delivered a professional development training session on promoting mental health and well-being in the time of COVID, recognizing, as I've said before in the House, that there have been few professions as upended as teaching due to the pandemic. Mental health and counselling services continue to be offered for JK to 12 students, either in person, virtually, or over the phone. I will note that, in the early days of the pandemic, when students had to work from home, counsellors went above and beyond to try and contact students in any way they could. It obviously wasn't a perfect situation, but the efforts have been made throughout.

Teachers also, through their collective agreement, have access to a mental health program called Starling Minds and LifeSpeak. I just know from speaking with teachers around the territory that these are really valuable resources and they are well utilized. That's something that I know that a lot of teachers have relied on during the pandemic. There have also been virtual workshops and resources for education staff so that they are aware of and informed about some of the counselling options that they have because sometimes people think they don't have access when, really, they do. We want to make sure that everyone knows every avenue that they have. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

I thank the Minister for that. I'm glad to hear that those supports are in place. I understand that confidentiality may be a bit of a factor, but can the Minister comment on whether or not they are seeing an increase in the number of teachers who are taking personal days or are going on stress leave as a result of COVID-19? Even if there is not specific data, maybe the Minister can speak a bit to any anecdotal evidence he is hearing to this.

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

There is no doubt that this has been a stressful time, and I'm sure that there are teachers who have been very stressed by this. There are different situations across the territory. I have spoken with teachers where it's not really an issue in their community or their school, but other ones are really feeling it. I have heard anecdotes, of course. I don't have any hard numbers with me right now, but we can work with human resources and the education bodies and get that information because I think it's important to know what the effects of this pandemic have been on our educators.

Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

Thank you for that, again. My next question is a really easy one, yes or no: does the Minister commit to pushing with his colleagues for the teachers to be declared an essential worker and therefore be given the vaccine immediately as a priority group?

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

This is, of course, a decision of the Chief Public Health Officer, who has made clear that she makes decisions based on public health information and not political pressure. That being said, we are always advocating for our teachers. I'm happy to bring this to the Chief Public Health Officer again for discussion.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Great Slave.

Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think I heard a yes in there for the Minister to go and advocate on behalf of the teachers to be getting the vaccine. My last question, again, is sort of repeating what was spoken in Committee of the Whole, but I would like to know if the Minister or his department is going to increase funding to the three local school boards here in Yellowknife in order to deal with their rising insurance costs. Thank you.

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

For those who aren't aware, school boards, there are schools in the territory that are not owned by the GNWT. Those are located in Yellowknife. They are owned by YCS and YK1, and because they are not GNWT assets, they are insured by the school boards. The school boards have been getting insurance through a cooperative in Alberta, a company that insures schools all over Alberta. However, given Alberta's recent history of floods and fires over the last number of years, which has been unprecedented, insurance costs have skyrocketed, and school boards have been paying, collectively, tens of millions if not over a hundred million dollars more a year in insurance costs. The school boards in Yellowknife were also insured by that company, which has since actually wound up. They had to go into the private market, so their costs have also skyrocketed. If those schools are uninsured and they burn down or they are damaged, it's on us to foot the bill to replace them or repair them, obviously, if there is significant damage that goes beyond regular maintenance. We can't have the schools uninsured, so we are working with the school boards to figure out how we're going to address this, but, of course, we are going to have to offer some sort of support. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Nunakput.

Jackie Jacobson

Jackie Jacobson Nunakput

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Can the Minister tell me when the vaccine team will be coming back into Tuktoyaktuk? Because it's not on their scheduling to be visiting Tuktoyaktuk, on the upcoming schedule. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank my colleague for the question. The next round of vaccinations are going to be offered to the most remote communities with the least amount of healthcare infrastructure, and so that does not include Tuktoyaktuk. That is going to be scheduled separately, and at this time, we don't have a date to provide the Member for when the vaccine team will be in to his community. Thank you.

Jackie Jacobson

Jackie Jacobson Nunakput

I think Tuktoyaktuk is pretty remote. It's 3,000 kilometres away. Anyway, it's a concern for me. We had a pandemic in 1914 that killed 5,000 Inuvialuit 18 miles away from Tuktoyaktuk. My elders are worried. I'm getting phone calls. Why are we put into that category? We have a road, yes, but we have to drive 148 kilometres to the hospital, one way. I really am recommending this Minister tell Ms. Kandola to get her staff into the community and put us on this list for getting these inoculations done. I have a card here from them saying we're seven days out on this immunization card, that the needles went into everybody's arm up in Tuktoyaktuk; seven days away, eight, so what's going to happen? It's not acceptable.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

There are a few facts to bring into this conversation. The first is that our vaccine allocation was reduced by 38 percent, and as a result of that, we don't have as much vaccine as we did for the first shots. The second is that the immunity conferred by the first shot is 92 percent, so people who have had their first shot have almost as much immunity as the person who has had two shots. The final point that I would like to make is that there is a period of time where people can receive their second shot without any hardship to their first one, that is no loss of effectiveness, and that is up to 42 days. We have already spoken publicly about the fact that, because of the reduced vaccine shipments, some people will end up waiting longer for the second shot, but rest assured; there will be a second shot within that time.

Jackie Jacobson

Jackie Jacobson Nunakput

When this 42 days is over and people do not get that inoculation shot for the second shot in Tuktoyaktuk, what? Do we start over for first and second needles again and we are waiting another 40 days?

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

We anticipate being able to give everyone their second shot within 42 days.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

Jackie Jacobson

Jackie Jacobson Nunakput

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No. Just in regard to that, if we are so short on inoculations for the community, we have people who never went and got their inoculation in the first go-around; we have some elders who were out of town on medical. Are they still able to get their inoculation shots when the next go-around comes into the community of Tuktoyaktuk? I need a date for the community. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.