Item 2, Ministers' statements. Minister of Infrastructure.

Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories Power Corporation, or NTPC, provides an essential service to residents and businesses in the Northwest Territories. Without reliable electricity, many of the activities we take for granted, such as cooking, washing clothes, or using our computers, would be impossible. It is therefore critical that the corporation maintains its assets to ensure that electricity is available when it is needed and that it is delivered at an affordable rate. The vast majority of Northwest Territories residents have their homes powered by hydroelectricity. Approximately 75 percent of the electricity consumed annually is generated by hydroelectricity with the remainder generated by diesel, liquefied natural gas or solar.

Members we have heard my predecessors and I refer frequently to aging infrastructure and the challenges it creates in maintaining reliability of supply. Many of NTPC's key assets, particularly its hydro units, are reaching the end of their design life. The Snare and Taltson hydro assets have provided renewable energy to Northwest Territories residents and businesses for many decades. NTPC has been able to extend the life of these assets through maintenance and repair but has now reached a point where refurbishment or replacement can no longer be delayed. Reliability will continue to decline if we don't make significant capital investments soon. The long-term benefit of investment in hydro refurbishments is that these units can then generate clean, reliable electricity for another 40 to 50 years. The long-term health of our hydro system is critical to stabilizing the cost of energy across the Northwest Territories. However, we need to manage decisions within an environment of limited resources.

NTPC has an extensive capital plan to improve reliability of core assets and support reduction of greenhouse gas emissions as per the 2030 Energy Strategy. Many necessary projects will financially be supported by the Government of Canada through its Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program, or ICIP. NTPC has been allocated over $85 million through ICIP to advance several hydro refurbishments as well as other alternatives and renewable energy projects. Given a limited window of opportunity to ensure federal funding support, we recognize that it is far more cost effective to move forward with projects now rather than face ongoing emergency repairs for equipment failures. We recognize that ICIP funding will only partially off-set the costs of these capital investments. Customers and/or ratepayers will be responsible for paying 25 percent or more of these costs, which place upward pressure on the cost of energy. NTPC is working with the Department of Infrastructure to identify other sources of funding to help mitigate energy cost increases and to defer non-essential projects.

NTPC has developed a strategic plan to ensure it maintains its focus on lowering electricity rates, improving reliability and meeting its 2030 Energy Strategy commitments. The plan is based on four pillars: reliability, economic sustainability, environmental sustainability, and innovation. It outlines NTPC's approach to addressing these challenges and identifies potential growth opportunities. There will be some additional short-term capital costs that NTPC will incur, but over the longer term, the strategic plan will help reduce upward pressure on rates. This plan will be shared with Members and the public later in the year. This government understands that the high cost of living is a major concern for NWT residents. Through the 2030 Energy Strategy and NTPC's strategic and capital plans, we remain focused on our government's priority to lower the cost of power and increase the use of alternative and renewable energy whenever possible. Quyanainni, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Ministers' statements. Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. COVID-19 has affected us all and the pandemic has highlighted why meeting these mandate commitments are so important. As global supply chains have been disrupted and economic activity has been restricted, the need for locally sourced food has become even more valuable. Northern harvesters and trappers have been deeply impacted by COVID-19. Their economic livelihoods have been affected, which is an important part of northern culture. That is why now, more than ever, we need to support harvesting and land-based programs.

Mr. Speaker, I stood here during the last sitting and announced that the Government of the Northwest Territories, through the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, had launched three new programs in the fall of 2020 aimed at supporting both families in need and harvesters during the pandemic. These programs included a country foods harvesting subsidy, harvesting training, and mentorship funding and the launch of the take a family on the land program. I am proud to say that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources was able to support all eligible applications received under these programs and has provided an estimated $340,000 to harvesters and trappers. The funding was distributed to just over 20 organizations across the territory.

We are not done. For ongoing programs such as the take a family on the land program, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources plans to reach out to partner organizations this year to ask for feedback so that we can do an even better job next year. For the new pilot trapper mentorship program, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources is working with interested regional Indigenous governments to collaborate on the development of the program to best meet regional needs. We are working hard towards launching this pilot program in the coming weeks.

As for our fur industry, Northwest Territories trappers are well-positioned and protected from ongoing market disruption through the Government of the Northwest Territories' Genuine Mackenzie Valley Fur Program. In 2020, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources increased both eligibility and grubstake amounts to offset the challenges trappers faced due to the recent downturn in the fur industry. We will continue to communicate with trappers to show our support for the industry. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources is also continuing to work with our partners to evaluate the existing programs and develop harvester mentorship programs that support a strong and resilient traditional economy.

Mr. Speaker, it has been a tough year for harvesters and trappers. The Northwest Territories traditional economy can and will continue to endure thanks to the hard work of these individuals. The Government of the Northwest Territories will continue to stand with harvesters and trappers and support them as part of our efforts to bolster the traditional economy, create employment opportunities in small communities, and increase food security for Northwest Territories residents. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Ministers' statements. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Mr. Speaker, March is nutrition month, and I would like everyone to join me in celebrating next week. It is a time to highlight the importance of accessing and eating healthy food. The theme this year is "Good for You! Dieticians help you find your healthy." Dieticians support individuals to reach their nutrition goals, both to prevent poor health and to improve their overall health. I am encouraging residents to find their healthy by talking to dieticians if they have access to one. There are other sources of good dietary information, including traditional harvesters and healthy food experts in their communities who may be able to offer support and guidance in making wholesome food choices. Nutritious eating looks different for everyone; our culture and traditions are an important part of what we eat and how we eat.

Mr. Speaker, I can't talk about nutrition month without talking about food insecurity. It is a major issue in the NWT. High transportation costs, rising food prices, along with changing environmental conditions that affect wildlife harvesting are compounding this issue. Food is a vital part of culture, well-being, and health. Food security is essential to our ability to make healthy choices and live our best lives. Research consistently shows the link between wholesome food choices and healthy eating. Having access to affordable and nutritious food is a vital determinant in improving the health and well-being of our people and communities.

Mr. Speaker, addressing food insecurity is a priority for this government. We identified it in our mandate and have committed to increasing food security through efforts to support locally produced, harvested, and affordable food. It is also a key priority in our Anti-Poverty Action Plan. We have taken a whole-of-government approach to this issue through the establishment of the food security interdepartmental working group to ensure collaboration to address this important issue.

Through our renewed Territorial Anti-Poverty Action Plan, sustainable livelihoods action plan, and the agriculture strategy, we have begun work to support residents in accessing local sources of fresh food and ensure future generations have the skills they need to feed their families. We have taken action to improve food security by introducing new and enhanced programs to support harvesters and families going out on the land. A total of $330,000 in funding was provided for regional harvesting, a training and mentorship program, a pilot program for trapper mentorship, and assisting families to go out on the land. We continue to deliver the Small Scale Foods Program in each of the regions of the territory to assist in the non-commercial growing and production of food. This program helps underserved, remote communities, and organizations operating within them, to get the resources they need to support and promote local agriculture. We also offer funding to eligible organizations in their efforts to improve food security in their communities through a variety of programs.

Mr. Speaker, we know that addressing food security is a shared responsibility that requires a coordinated response from both the public and private sectors. It is important that we come together to identify priorities, challenges, and most importantly, solutions, to develop a path forward in our approach to improving food security. In January, the Department of Health and Social Services hosted a virtual anti-poverty round table to continue this important work. Over 80 delegates from across the territory, representing Indigenous governments and organizations, community governments, non-governmental organizations, and businesses, including local grocers and agricultural producers, discussed how to improve food security.

Experts from the NWT, British Columbia, northern Manitoba, and Nunavut shared their knowledge and experiences on harvesting and local food production, with the goal of providing long-term solutions to food insecurity that address underlying issues and empower people to provide for themselves. They talked about innovative projects that are leading the way in developing healthy food systems here in the North, as well as across the country. Representatives from the GNWT also provided an overview of the government's work on improving food security. Short panel discussions were followed by longer breakout sessions, where delegates had an opportunity to discuss what they learned, as well as share their thoughts and experiences. Delegates discussed how to build strong and sustainable systems so that hungry people had access to wholesome and affordable food. They talked about finding ways to include traditionally harvested food in local grocery stores and how to develop community specific, culturally adapted harvesting strategies and practices to strive towards Indigenous food security.

Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to thank the Anti-Poverty Advisory Committee members for helping to plan the round table, all the presenters, and those who shared their experiences. Thank you also to all the delegates who attended. I hope everyone left with a shared commitment to creating a sustainable, healthy food system for their communities and the territory. The GNWT is currently working on a report summarizing what was discussed at the round table. I am looking forward to sharing the report with Members and making it available on the anti-poverty website later this summer.

Mr. Speaker, we all have a role to play in addressing poverty in the NWT so that residents have access to supports they need to live in dignity, with access to the basics of food and shelter so they can be full participants in their families and communities. Our commitment to ensuring residents have access to nutritious, affordable food is a critical component in advancing our poverty-reduction goals. This government will continue to actively collaborate with our partners to develop shared approaches and find innovate solutions so that we can move forward as an equitable and healthy territory. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. Member for Hay River South.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to talk about the incentive to work. Due to COVID, we have seen the economic and business opportunities put on hold or disappear. The federal government, along with this government, has provided financial support to the residents and businesses of the NWT and continue to do so during this difficult time. Payments made to those who have been chronically unemployed but were very capable of working acted as a disincentive to seek or accept employment, while others leveraged it as stop-gap and opportunity to move forward.

Mr. Speaker, what I find in the NWT is that most people of working age who want to work are currently employed. This is true in Yellowknife and the regional centres, where opportunities actually exist. In smaller communities, employment opportunities are limited and almost non-existent for some. Any opportunity for employment in a smaller community is mostly short term and negatively impacts any government support one receives for basic needs. Because of this, there is not the incentive to accept temporary employment when one knows it will only set you back financially. It is in these communities where a living wage should be considered.

Mr. Speaker, I have talked to employers in the private sector. Many have the same concern, and that concern is that we are enabling a generation of people who have come to accept that living on government programs is not only acceptable but is now considered a way of life and a right. I do believe that there are people who are experiencing hardship, have limited opportunities, and do need government support, and providing that support to them is the right thing to do. However, there are those out there who are very capable but, for one reason or another, are not interested in joining the workforce nor in seeking training or higher education. This failing not only falls on the shoulders of those not wanting or willing to work, it also falls on our shoulders and the shoulders of parents and the community, as well.

Mr. Speaker, my expectation and hope is that all capable people are willing to get out of bed in the morning and be productive, but that is living in fantasy land as there are a few who are very capable and, for whatever reason, have no intention of ever doing that. I do have hope that there is a way to get them out of bed, off the sofa, off the games, off the cell phone, and out to work. Therefore, I challenge them: what will it take for that to happen? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My statement today is on mental health in the small communities. A lot of people are hurting from depression with all the deaths that we have been having over the last year, with the bullying, and it all comes into a cycle. We have to step up as a government, Mr. Speaker. I asked a couple of weeks ago. How I used to do it with the youth: I used to travel, and I would bring a professional hockey instructor or someone to come into the community. We would go to the school and do school talks, and you would feed them. You are there for three or four days, but we would do that three times a year, and then you never come back. For our adults, we need help in regard to sharing circles, to bringing people in, professionals who could listen, who could help them in regard to the hurt that has been passed on through residential schools and all that.

As an Aboriginal person, going to residential school myself, I hang on to that sometimes, and I do not use it as a crutch, though. I use it to push myself forward. I try to look at things in a positive light and try to help. With adults, again, getting teams brought in with some specialists with regard to being able to hear people's concerns and try to fix the problem and bringing them in for two or three times a year, maybe four times if it's possible, to the community, having someone there to let them know that they are not alone and we are listening to them, our government has to step up in regard to that. They have been doing a lot of good work, the teams that I see who are going around with the needles and the planes. They should be doing that now with people, bringing people to deal and cope with all the stuff that communities are dealing with.

We are having a tough time, Mr. Speaker. The communities I represent need help in regard to this, and I plan to be using that once we are able to start bringing people out into the communities, when we are accepted to come and help them. We have to look at this, as an Assembly, at the people you all represent and have to step up and ask their MLA for help in regard to doing something like this. I look forward to talking to the Minister of health at the appropriate time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Nunakput. Members' statements. Member for Great Slave.

Mr. Speaker, I am having a computer issue. Could you move on? Thank you.

Members' statements. Member for Thebacha.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I am going to speak once again about the issues pertaining to the Fort Smith Regional Airport. Today marks the fourth time that I have done a Member's statement about this topic in this Assembly. I spoke at length about the discontent and disappointment that the people of Fort Smith have about the changes done to the Fort Smith Regional Airport. Oftentimes, though, it seems my words fall upon deaf ears when it comes to this topic. Mr. Speaker, I am happy to share with this House that I am no longer the only voice opposing the changes made to the Fort Smith Regional Airport. I stand here today with the support of 550 people who agree with me and with what I have been saying about the changes done to our airport.

Mr. Speaker, last month, a petition was started by a small group of concerned Fort Smith residents. The petition is requesting that the Government of the Northwest Territories Department of Infrastructure restore the Fort Smith airport runway to its former specifications, in other words return the airport runway to the specifications it was before any changes were done to it in 2019.

This government, primarily the Department of Infrastructure, refuses to acknowledge that any errors or missteps had occurred regarding the changes done to the Fort Smith airport runway. I have asked the former Infrastructure Minister this very question. It was firmly denied that any wrongdoing had occurred. Mr. Speaker, I now have 550 people who would disagree with the Department of Infrastructure in that assessment. I argue that wrongdoing has taken place. Otherwise, the people of Fort Smith, would be pleased and perfectly content with the changes done to our airport. If no missteps were made, then why am I standing here today with the backing of 550 signatures who state otherwise?

In closing, Mr. Speaker, my hope with delivering this petition today is that my words on this topic will now carry more weight and meaning. I hope everyone will see that I am not speaking for myself and my own opinion about the Fort Smith airport. I will speak more about this later when I present the petition. I will have questions for the Minister of Infrastructure at the appropriate time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Members' statements. Member for Great Slave.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In 2019, mining, oil, and gas dominated the Northwest Territories' economy by accounting directly for 21 percent of the overall GDP in the North. However, when we look at the spin-off industries and benefits, this number is much closer to 40 percent of our economy. There has been a significant downturn in mining-exploration spending due to COVID restrictions. Many exploration companies have been able to retain claims but are not able to do any work as access is cost prohibitive and will be so into the foreseeable future. The mining industry continues to be at risk. Exploration companies do not qualify for federal initiatives as they are not revenue-generating and are seasonally driven, which does not fit well with the year-to-year comparisons used to qualify. Exploration is the life blood of mining. Mines need exploration companies to develop new projects and extend the life of existing operations. Without federal recognition and help, many exploration companies will not survive. Our government should be advocating for all companies with active exploration and mining operations in the Northwest Territories to qualify for the Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy or any subsequent programs regardless of the 30-percent revenue reduction requirement.

As a result of the decline in the industry, service and supply companies, many of which are northern or Indigenous small businesses, are losing out. Existing mines have been cutting back on capital projects or removing or indefinitely deferring items from their work plans. Government-mandated COVID-19 safety measures are driving up costs and reducing the already very thin profit margins for businesses that are already struggling. Last year, mining companies adapted very quickly to COVID-19, for example, sending staff from vulnerable communities home with pay and chartering direct flights to ensure southern workers are segregated from Northerners during travel. They are good corporate citizens who contribute a lot to the North, and as such, they deserve our support.

While the future of the mineral sector in the North is facing great uncertainty, as it is throughout the world, diamond mines have shown their ability to endure and project well beyond 25 years. This is exemplified by a global industry where diamond mining has been ongoing since the 1800s. With the right supports given to the exploration sector in the Northwest Territories, we can provide our residents with economic certainty through well-paying, meaningful jobs and an abundance of royalty payments, particularly in the arena of green industry minerals. It is in that arena I see the NWT playing for a very long time to come. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Great Slave. Members' statements. Member for Frame Lake.

Merci, Monsieur le President. After 50 years of existence, the Canadian Arctic Resources Committee, or CARC, is ceasing operation. CARC is a public interest, research, and advocacy organization committed to environmentally responsible northern development, support for the rights of Indigenous peoples, respect for the authority of northern governments, and increased international co-operation in the circumpolar world. It was established in 1971 in direct response to the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline proposal and the Berger Inquiry. In addition to research and policy analyses, CARC's activities include public communication, advocacy, contributions to the public policy agenda, and publishing books and reports. CARC often acts as an intervener, facilitator, and data repository, and has facilitated significant conferences on the Arctic. CARC is a registered charity operating under federal law. It is governed by a board of directors.

To quote the current chair and NWT resident, Lois Little, "There is a tendency for organizations to just keep going. We looked at who is in the best position to influence current and future decision-making in the Arctic, and we decided others were better positioned to do this, so we decided to step aside. The North is a very different place from what it was 50 years ago. Northerners have regained a lot of control over lands and governance, and they don't need us to help them to be heard any more."

There are still big questions out there about what sustainable development looks like in the Arctic, and the impacts of international problems such as climate change and contaminants. Northerners have the capacity to take on these issues and to make themselves heard on national and international stages and in new ways and places that didn't exist when CARC was born.

I am proud to say that I served as CARC's research director from 1995 to 2005. I set up and ran CARC's Yellowknife office and coordinated the Northern Minerals Program that included interventions in Canada's first three diamond mines. We helped secure benefits from diamond mining, including legally-binding environmental agreements, the genesis of the protected areas strategy, a heritage fund, and more. There were lots of mentors and great people, including Robbie Keith, Terry Fenge, Lindsay Staples, David Schindler, Tony Penikett, and many others. Much of that work continues to be relevant today. The values and spirit of CARC continue to guide much of the work I do as a Member of this Assembly. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have been waiting patiently for this Cabinet to present its post-COVID economic recovery plan, and I'm starting to think they are at a bit of a loss. If they're looking for ideas, they have to look no further than the great constituency of Yellowknife North where $947 million will be spent over the next 18 years remediating the Giant Mine site. However, the GNWT seems to have absolved itself of any of the responsibility to capture the economic potential of the Giant Mine remediation project. This is to say nothing against the project team and ENR, who are doing an amazing job ensuring that remediation is done properly from an environmental perspective, but environmental scientists are not economists, procurement experts, or lobbyists, nor should we ask them to be.

If we need a model for how to build our remediation economy, look no further than what ITI does to support the mining economy. We lobby hard. We attend conferences. We have positions dedicated to supporting the sector. We mandate benefit agreements. We negotiate socioeconomic agreements. We can use this project to build an industry in our territory, but we are failing to capture one of the largest economic development opportunities in our history. It's not just Giant Mine, Mr. Speaker. It's the sumps in the Beaufort-Delta. It's Cameron Hills. It's Norman Wells. It's Ptarmigan Mine, and hundreds of other federal contaminated sites across the North. There are decades of work to be done, and we need to demand a larger role in doing it. We need to be at the federal Treasury Board asking for northern labour requirements or management of some of the contracts. We need to be monitoring the socioeconomic outcomes of the projects and recording that data. We need to train the next generation of specialists in our polytechnic.

Mr. Speaker, the Giant Mine Oversight Board has been advocating for this work since 2016, with little success and little response from either the GNWT or the federal government. The YKDFN have recently launched a petition calling on the federal government to comply. Remediating the North's contaminated sites is an act of reconciliation, a massive economic driver, and leaves a better future for next generations. So, Mr. Speaker, let's get a plan in place and build a remediation economy that makes the North leaders in Canadian remediation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mr. Speaker, after-care is prevention. It helps residents successfully navigate life outside treatment to reduce cyclical use of institutional care and maintain personal wellness. I say "wellness" and not "sobriety," Mr. Speaker, because after-care is not exclusive to addictions treatment. After-care is the network of relationships and community support essential to success after institutional care.

The GNWT invests a significant amount of money in the wellness of residents through a variety of institutional care. For example, the GNWT budgeted $35 million on supportive living in facilities outside the NWT; $28 million to provide safe custody and supervision of adult and youth offenders; almost $19 million on community wellness and addictions; and over $2 million on addictions treatment facilities outside the NWT. That's over $84 million invested in variations of institutional care budgeted in the 2020-2021 Main Estimates.

While the process of care varies, the after-care goal is the same: safe and healthy reintegration into a person's home community, rooted in personal and community wellness. Regardless of what is driving the need, whether it is to maintain sobriety after addictions treatment or remain on the right side of the law after incarceration, the pillars that build effective after-care are the same: stable housing; consistent income; and physical and mental wellness of both the resident and their family. People working to maintain sobriety after treatment often experience ongoing systemic issues that challenge their ability to maintain personal wellness. They have difficulty finding a job that can support them, face barriers to secure safe and affordable housing, and struggle to find their fit within their community and family. People leaving our correctional facilities and those with cognitive disabilities returning from institutional care face the same barriers. Our vulnerable populations are the most expensive people to not care for, and may potentially cycle through government care without proper support.

If after-care needs are consistent, why not bring together an after-care team focused on wellness to preserve the GNWT's investment in the quality of life of Northerners and its bottom line? Sourcing safe and stable housing, helping people find meaningful employment, and community involvement in establishing community-based support networks are absolutely an additional investment, but they are more affordable than cycles that find people reinstitutionalized and ultimately leads to healthier communities, and that is an investment worth making. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Nolan Swartzentruber arrived in Iqaluit in 1974, assuming assigned duties as a classroom teacher at Nakasuk Elementary School followed by tenure as vice principal at the said school. Beginning in 1978, he served as the principal in Nuiyak school in Sanikiluaq, immersing and enjoying the lifestyle of the small traditional community, fishing for cod in Hudson Bay, watching the community boat arrive on the beach after a successful walrus hunt; observing the landing of the planes on the ice in 1978 with a herd of 60 reindeer on board, replacing a vanished caribou to be released and hunted in future years; listen to the excitement when a polar bear was spotted near the community; and standing amazed by the talents of the skilled soapstone carvers.

In 1984, the family moved westward to Fort Simpson. During this time, he served as a principal and later was hired by the Deh Cho Divisional Education Council as director. Here, below the treeline, he spent many weekends cutting deadfall, stacking firewood, and preparing for the winter. He enjoyed outdoor trips navigating the Dehcho River, loving every minute of the peaceful and pristine landscape while harvesting fish, camping, hunting moose and caribou.

During his tenure as educator, he engaged with various projects with the Department of Education, Culture and Employment in Yellowknife, served on the ECE Strategic Plan Steering Committee, ECE Teachers' Training Steering Committee, ECE's Financial Steering Committee, Principal Certification Program, Western Arctic director and superintendent/president, Association of School Board administrator. He was invited to sit at the negotiating table for NWTTA contractual agreements in 2009. He was recognized by his peers, awarded NWTSA distinguished service award.

He demonstrated an ongoing lifelong love of learning, always engaging in novel information and acquiring new skills. Hobbies included stain glass, photography, film development, woodwork, fix-it projects, and music. That which he learned, he passed on to the students and community members. He was accepting, fun-loving, friendly, always there to lend a helping hand. He vowed lasting relationships formed during his 36 years in the North.

He was an honourable man, Mr. Speaker, holding himself to high standards, and remaining true to himself and his beliefs. Central to his life and most important were his three girls: his wife, Fanny; daughter, Sharon; and granddaughter, Trinity. He was deeply loved and will be sorely missed by everybody that knew him. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Nahendeh. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and community. Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, acknowledgements; Item 7, oral questions. Member for Hay River South.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. These questions are for the Minister of education. Can the Minister tell me what his department's plan or approach is to getting those who are very capable but not willing to work off the couch and into the workforce using the tools at his disposal? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The NWT has the highest employment rate, the lowest unemployment rate in Canada, but it's not evenly distributed. We have communities where everyone who wants to work is working. Then you have small communities where there're people who might want to work, but there're no jobs. Over half our small communities have less than 50 percent employment. We have a number of different problems. In regards to the people who don't want to get off the couch, that's a tough one. How do you motivate them? I think the best way to start is to start young. ECE's doing a number of things, including career and education advisors, to help young people figure out what they want to do with their lives, show them what opportunities are available, what education they will need to get there, and all of that. I think that is going to be a boom to our labour market in the coming years. There are a number of different things that we're doing. The Member provided his questions to me earlier, and I think that I will be able to provide more of those comments as he asks them. Thank you.

What concerns me is that, if we cannot motivate those NWT residents not willing to work, then this government, along with business, are forced to recruit from not only outside the NWT, but outside Canada. Can the Minister confirm what labour shortages exist in the NWT and how we expect to encourage Northerners to fill them?

I always remember when I was a relatively new MLA and the Premier stood up at that time and said there's more jobs than people to fill them in the territory. I never really thought about it that way, but that really is the truth. That's why we bring in thousands of people a year to do work. What we really need to do is ensure that our northern residents are trained to get those jobs. We might still need people from the South. We likely will, but that's okay as long as we're keeping money in the North and northern people are working.

In 2015, ECE completed with the Conference Board of Canada a labour market forecast, and at that time, it was forecasted that between 2015 and 2030, there would be 28,500 job openings in the Northwest Territories. We're doing the work now to update that to 2035. Interestingly enough, we're also looking at doing the work that we already did but also focusing on new and emerging economies, things like infrastructure projects, housing construction projects, tourism and knowledge economy, and mining and remediation. They fit in nicely with things like the earth resources specialization, the new polytechnic. There's a big labour shortage. We know we need tradespeople. I could stand up here for hours talking about all the needs we have. We need teachers. We bring in hundreds of teachers every year from the South. You're not going to get an argument from me that there's a labour shortage.

Employers are frustrated. They try and employ Northerners, but most are working. Some of those who are capable and available refuse to work. What, if any, incentives, does the Minister's department have to encourage people to get out and take a job?

There is a number of things the GNWT as a whole does. Supplementing wages is one thing so that employees can be paid a higher wage, things like our wage top-up program. We also have a wage subsidy program through ECE that supports employers who hire people who might need training. We help those kinds of people who need the training who maybe don't have the opportunities to get the big jobs yet. We are developing a polytechnic university in order to help train people to get the jobs they want. The plan is to make it as easy and accessible for people to get educated and get trained as we can. We have a small community employment program where we hand out millions of dollars every year to communities and businesses to create jobs in communities. There's a number of things that we're doing. I wish there was a silver bullet to address this issue, but there's not. We are casting a wide net.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Don't get me wrong. Not all people who are unemployed are lazy. Some just need a chance. I also expect some need to be challenged as they must possess skills that they can survive off of little government support they receive or funds they receive from their parents. I would ask the Minister if there's any way we can have those capable people provide community service or work with employers in return for the monetary compensation they receive so they can acquire skills and possibly find out what interests them and hopefully move forward with their life. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We do have, like I mentioned, the small community employment program, which does just that. It puts money into communities to create jobs. I will also note that this is one of the reasons that I wanted to have a look and review of the Income Assistance program. The Member mentioned a few times that maybe it's easier to just not work than to work, and then perhaps, that's keeping people on the couch, so to say. Is there a way that we can use those programs to help people get passed that point, get over the welfare wall, as they say? That's something else that we're doing. Again, there's a number of wage subsidy programs. We have our Skill 4 Success initiative, which is focusing on increasing the number of people in trades, and there are programs in there that help pair employers with apprentices and get people into those programs. Basically, what the Member is asking is: what does ECE do? Everything we do is to try to get people employed, get them into the regular market. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On May 27, 2020, I asked the former Infrastructure Minister about what specific directions were given to our government from the federal government about the Fort Smith airport changes. This Minister told me that Transport Canada provided this direction in a form of updated standards and regulations for airport runways. The former Minister also offered to share these Transport Canada standards with me. My question is: will our current Infrastructure Minister commit to sharing with me these standards, along with any information regarding previous Fort Smith airport runway standards? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Minister of Infrastructure.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Aerodromes Standards and Recommended Practices, which is also known as TP 312, is a public document. As a result of that, yes, I will have my office forward the PDF copy of this Transport Canada document. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I understand the airport runway standards are only changed by the federal government, which is the entity who sets the standards by which airports are designed and operated. Can the Minister clarify whether the Government of the Northwest Territories requested that the Fort Smith airport runway standards be changed, or were the change of standards initiated solely by the federal government?

Changes to the Aerodromes Standards and Recommended Practices are initiated by Transport Canada in consultation with the Canadian Aviation Regulation Advisory Council. They apply to the entire country and are not specific to any airport. Transport Canada works with the International Civil Aviation Organization to maintain global consistency so any airline or pilot proceeding to an airport with Transport Canada certification knows the airport environment complies with both national and international standards and knows what to expect.

Can the Minister explain how often reviews of airport infrastructure are done in the NWT? Are reviews done periodically within a set time frame, or are they done subjectively, based on the decisions of the Minister and the government of the day?

Airport reviews are done regularly, and they are generally done in conjunction with some of the capital planning processes and when the department is planning any major upgrades.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Infrastructure insists that the changes done to the Fort Smith airport addresses both the current and future operational needs of the airport. If that is indeed the case, the Minister explain, then, why the entire leadership of Fort Smith, along with 550 citizens, disagrees with this statement? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

People need to realize that the type of aircraft that the airport is certified has not changed. The Fort Smith airport is still classified as a category IIIB airport, which is large enough to accommodate aircrafts such as a Boeing 737 or an Airbus A320 series. These aircrafts do not currently land in Fort Smith. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My Member's statement today was needing help in our small communities for mental health issues. Is the Minister of Health willing to work with us Regular Members and myself, in particular, to get these teams into the communities to assist our local people who need help in our small and remote communities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We recognize that mental health is an important and challenging issue. There are, in fact, resources available right in the community. The child and youth counsellor position at Mangilaluk School is filled, and it is available to anyone who needs the help. There are some vacancies in the Community Counselling Program, but we have, as the Member may know, recently taken a new approach to community counselling so that there aren't wait lists.

He mentioned children, and I have a few things to say about children. The kids help line is available to children and youth. It's available by phone. It's available by text. It's available by Facebook Messenger. It's available by live chat online. It's a great resource. There is a lot there for kids. I also want to mention the Strongest Families Institute app. This is something that people can obtain a referral to through the Community Counselling Program. As I mentioned in my statement yesterday, there have been very good reviews about how helpful the counsellors are in that program. The Breathing Room app, which will be next of our five mental health initiatives, will be live on April 1^st, and it is specifically for youth with anxiety and depression.

Finally, I want to promote the Nipaturuq magazine, which I sat here and read yesterday afternoon. It comes out of Inuvik. The third issue is all about mental health. It has first-person accounts of how people are coping with mental health challenges and how they are moving themselves into wellness. I don't know where to obtain that magazine from, but I am sure that the people in the Delta are familiar with this literary award-winning magazine produced in Inuvik focussing on mental health at this time. Thank you.

It sounds all good on paper with what we are providing with regards to services. We do have a shortage of counsellors in our community. The one counsellor, she phoned me the other night in dealing with issues coming up in our communities, but I'm not only talking about Tuktoyaktuk. I'm talking about Nunakput as a whole: Ulukhaktok, Sachs Harbour, Paulatuk. We needed a person, like I said, a person to come in or a team to come in to work with the community on the depression, the alcoholism, anything, anything that they want to talk about to get off their chest. We need help. A lot of people, we don't have laptops for everybody. Not everybody has laptops and iPads and access to stuff like that. I really look forward to trying to work with this Minister to try to help our communities.

Helping communities and residents is what I'm here for. I hear the Member when he says not everybody has the tools to access Facebook, telephone numbers, and so on. There are some accommodations available through the health centre with respect to using the phone, as I understand it. Where communities don't have resident counsellors, there is a travelling team that comes in from time to time with assistance and sees people over a more intense period. I don't know if they would consider sending those teams to Nunakput. I am not sure how well-staffed the resources are there, but that's something I could certainly inquire about.

I want to thank the Minister for that. That travelling team that she just brought up, they should be sent into all communities, other than the central locations. The smaller communities are needing it. You know that, Mr. Speaker; you live in a small community. What we have to do is we have to start trying to help them, in regards to trying to heal them and trying to move forward because this COVID-19 has been hard on everybody. I want to thank, again, the Minister, and when are we going to get these travel teams into Nunakput since she brought it up?

I appreciate the question, but I don't have that operational level of detail with me. What I can do, what I said I would do, is inquire about when the travelling teams might be available to go to the communities in Nunakput, and I will do that on an expedited basis so that the Member has that information.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to meet with the Minister in regard to working together for small communities and try to do a plan, like how I used to do it back in the 17^th Assembly, bringing people into the community, as an MLA, travelling with them and to assist them and to help them. I look forward to working with the Minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am always available to the Member for Nunakput. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. The Employment Standards Act attempts to carefully balance the rights of workers and the interests of employers. Recently, I had a constituent raise concerns about how a simple complaint has taken more than four months to get sorted out. Can the Minister tell us whether response times are actually tracked for Employment Standards Act complaints, and can he share a summary of that information now? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are service standards that have been developed for the Employment Standards Office, and those relate to how long between making a complaint or an inquiry and receiving a call back. The length of time between a complaint being made and a decision is not something that has traditionally been tracked. There is a wide variety of factors that determine how long a complaint would take to finalize or come to a decision. There are complaints that take one phone call to be decided upon, and then there are complaints that take months. It's feasible there could be complaints that take years because there are so many variables. Sometimes, even the complaint itself, the two parties don't agree on.

That number isn't something that has been tracked. The Employment Standards Office, in 2019-2020, there were 80 complaints received, and there were 119 payroll inspections, which is something they do; in 2018-2019, there were 79 complaints, and there were 80 payroll inspections; and in 2017-2018, there were 103 complaints and 39 payroll inspections. There was an increase in the payroll inspections, and that's because of increase in the NT Nominee Program applications. Those go hand-in-hand. At the same time, there was a vacancy for a year as well as slow-downs because people were working from home, and it's difficult to do investigations that way. There was a backlog that started building up at the beginning of 2020 and was exacerbated by an increase in payroll inspection applications later in the year. That could account for some of these delays that the Member is talking about. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I want to thank the Minister for that information. I was trying to scribble it down, but I'll catch it in Hansard. The Minister did mention that there are service standards for the employment standards section of the department. I'm wondering: can the Minister tell us whether he can share those service standards with us as Regular MLAs and perhaps even post it to the website? Because there is no information whatsoever about that on the website.

Absolutely. It's a public document. I'm sure it's available somewhere in hard copy possibly; maybe it's up in the offices. I'm not sure, but I'll make sure that it is nice and visible so the Member can find it. I will share it directly with him, as well.

I want to thank the Minister for that. It's great to hear "yes" a few times, so I look forward to getting that information and seeing it on the website. There doesn't appear to be any public reporting requirements under the Employment Standards Act, unlike other territorial legislation such as the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act or other laws where complaints and decisions are made. Can the Minister find a way to make public, perhaps on an annual basis, the response times and other basic administrative information such as the number of complaints and their outcomes under the Employment Standards Act?

I just saw the Member's questions earlier today, and I already started those conversations with the department to figure out if there is a way that we can get that information public.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that, and I look forward to a full report from him on how he is going to make that information public. Lastly, though, it's not clear how many employees there are who handle Employment Standards Act administration and complaints and how staffing and resource needs are assessed. Can the Minister explain how staffing and resourcing needs are determined for the administration of the Employment Standards Act? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Just like anything, we look at what's the need and weigh all of the different competing priorities across the GNWT, and we staff accordingly. Right now, there is a manager in the office who is also an employment standards officer; there are three inspectors; and there is a finance, collections, and information officer. In 2020, one of the inspector positions was vacant, and for the last six months or so of 2020, the finance position was also vacant. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I understand that ENR is the project lead on the Giant Mine and is leading much of our remediation work. There is a bit of a conflict of interest when the arm of government that is responsible for oversight and regulating contaminated sites, if I also ask them to advocate on behalf of the companies to capture benefits that they are regulating, so I'd like to understand what our Indigenous ministry is doing to build a remediation economy. My first question for the Minister of ITI is: in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and our post-COVID economic recovery plan, is the Minister willing to make building a remediation economy one of the pillars of that plan? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Remediation has been, is, and will be an important part of our economy in the Northwest Territories. It doesn't need to be said any differently than that. It doesn't need to be in any way fancier than that. That's just a fact, and we are already doing much work in that regard. I think already, earlier today, another Minister mentioned the importance of training and education in that respect, and there is no reason why, in fact, ENR would be anything other than supportive of that. This is one government, and we are all prepared to support this work and act with one voice. Mr. Speaker, whether it's myself or my colleague who is speaking to this question, we are all enjoined that this is an important area that the Government of the Northwest Territories as a whole needs to be aware of. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm glad to hear that, and I hope, in fact, we can have our entire territory speak with one voice. I think a great way to start doing that is that there is currently a petition tabled by our MP for the territory on behalf of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation calling for an apology and compensation for Giant Mine as well as supporting the Yellowknives Dene to develop the skills necessary to work on remediation contracts as well as conduct long-term monitoring at the former site. I think this is a very reasonable petition, a reasonable ask to make sure that we do remediation right in this territory. My question for the Minister is: is she willing to add her signature to that petition?

I think I have learned that, once one becomes a Minister, one kind of ceases to be an individual, and you pretty much stay a Minister all the time. As a result, Mr. Speaker, I think, if the Member is asking if I would personally sign, that is a conversation I am happy to have over a coffee, but I think what the question is: what's the position of the government? Mr. Speaker, the government is also a proponent on this project. We are a co-proponent on the project. What I have done, though, is looked carefully at what is on the petition. Again, with respect to developing the skills necessary, for the Yellowknives Dene to develop the skills necessary, that should be a question that is directed at ECE. I am sure they are listening just as intently as every other department. We have a responsibility ourselves to help support the Yellowknives Dene to have those skills.

Again, with respect to procurement approaches, procurement is the responsibility of the federal government on the Giant Mine project, but we are co-proponents. We are continuing to engage with our partners at the federal government level and to ensure that we are doing everything we can and making sure they are doing everything they can to abide by the socio-economic agreements, to abide by positive procurement practices. To the extent that there are concerns and questions being raised here, there is a responsibility on our end to look at them, to engage with the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, and that is the route which I will be taking to do that.

I am sorry to hear that the Minister has lost her individual identity. I quite like her as a person, and I was looking forward to seeing that signature. I am glad the Minister mentioned procurement because I think what has happened is that, due to the federal government being in charge of procurement on this, the GNWT has kind of stepped back on the economic recovery role, but despite numerous requests from the Giant Mine Oversight Board to have the federal government kind of understand the North and understand our labour needs, the federal government has also kind of stepped away from capturing northern benefits here. I think a new approach to how the Giant Mine procurement is going is needed. Has the Minister approached the Treasury Board or CIRNAC or the appropriate federal agency about either allowing GNWT to take on a portion of the contracts or getting some northern labour requirements into those contracts?

Again, it is ENR that is the lead on behalf of the Government of the Northwest Territories in terms of engaging and leading our role on this project but again working closely with ITI. Even before knowing that this might become a topic today, it turns out the Minister of ENR and I had actually been talking about the project and ensuring that he and I would have a chance to meet in the near future to check in on the role of the GNWT, what we are doing to ensure that Northerners are seeing themselves reflected in this project. Mr. Speaker, as I have said, the procurement process here is one that is governed by the federal component, by the federal partners, but, for the moment, the project does have the following targets: northern employment of 55 to 70 percent; a minimum of 10 northern apprentices are a part of the implementation phase; expenditures are supposed to be at 65 to 75 percent. These are targets that were finalized not quite a year ago, and they are being reported on. They are being reported on publicly. There are different phases of the project, Mr. Speaker. There are different opportunities along the way to adjust. Again, not to understate the fact that the procurement process here is a federal one, we are at the table, we are involved, and the Minister of ENR and I are also going to be re-engaging and continuing to engage to ensure that we have our voices at these tables on behalf of Northerners.

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

Thank, Mr. Speaker. I will make sure to ask questions to ENR on this matter at another time. Part of the reason for my concern is that I know many of the people on the project team and I know the work they are doing. It's great, but there is clearly an environmental focus there, as there should be within ENR. I question some of the targets in that they are targets; they are not legally binding. They are not the kind of things you would see in a socio-economic agreement, not that the ones the GNWT currently has are binding either. Is the GNWT willing to conduct some reporting of northern labour and the socio-economic benefits? The reporting to date, the Giant Mine Oversight Board has not been satisfied with, and I do not think we have been seeing the economic recovery benefits that we truly should be getting out of this project. Is the GNWT willing to conduct that tracking? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I think step one is going to be perhaps to bring back to the House what exactly at this stage is being tracked and to put that forward, to have that presented, so let me start with that commitment. I expect some of these, as I said, are largely publicly tracked. Let me make sure that everything is up to date and public, and we can look at what is being tracked in terms of northern employment; skill level; status, residential status, whether one is a resident of the territories or not; the training components; the number of suppliers; contract dollar value, so on and so forth, all of which is being tracked, and then work back if there is something else within that that is not adequate or not up to task. Again, the GNWT is involved. We are on the Giant Mine remediation team, and so if, as a member of that team, we are being told that the tracking that is happening and the publication that is happening is not satisfactory, yes, I want to make sure that we fix that. I want to make sure that we are fixing the right things. I will get that to the floor of the House, Mr. Speaker, and then we can see if that is not satisfactory. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are also for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment. Can the Minister maybe characterize what the decline in mining operations has been in the Northwest Territories due to COVID and maybe provide a bit of an estimate of the total number of companies that are expected to work on their mineral claims this upcoming fiscal year? Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Great Slave. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. All but one of the three diamond mines obviously remained in operation, and as of last month, the third one has come back online. The major contributors to our mineral resource industry have managed to operate through COVID-19, through strenuous efforts undertaken to be compliant, to protect their workers, which I really cannot understate. As far as the exploration side, Mr. Speaker, we have six advanced projects, all of which have been at least partially if not fully active. It's the smaller explorers and the smaller exploration companies who have, as I believe the Member noted in her statement, really struggled more. Now, of course, there is an exemption for mineral resource sector workers, and some have been able to operate. That certainly is one area that has struggled in the last year. That said, for 2021, Mr. Speaker, we are expecting higher levels of activity. In particular, there is a gold operator in Sixty North Gold Mining. They are a small-scale operator, but they are mobilizing to be ready to go for 2021. We are expecting an uptick in the next year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm not going to say it's good news, but I am glad to hear some people are still working. We have been hearing from companies that there is still a gap in the relief for some of the exploration companies that are required to do work on their claims to prove their claims, including drilling. Will the Minister commit to waiving all of the mineral claim work requirements for the upcoming years until COVID restrictions are lifted?

At this point, relief on work requirements on the mineral resource claims or mineral claims is enacted up to March 31^st of this year, 2021, so quite a large number, I think just under 200, in fact, have benefitted from that, from that relief. At this point, Mr. Speaker, there is not, as I understand it, necessarily a need for blanket relief. Many have been able to continue to do the work on the claim. What I will say is: we are going to look at it, and what we are looking at is whether and to what extent we can be doing some case-by-case relief for those who legitimately cannot get to their claims and cannot get work done on their claims. I will make that commitment to look into it and to see where it goes and get back to the Member on what the conclusion of that is.

I thank the Minister for the pseudo-commitment to that. I will probably follow up myself and just explain a little better what gap I am talking about because I do have some specific items to discuss. My next question is: what is the future of claim relief? What is the department going to do to ensure that, once restrictions are lifted, we are supporting our mineral exploration sector to get back to work?

[Microphone turned off] ...number one, again looking at to what extent there can be some case-by-case relief in terms of the work requirements, but really could not agree more that we have good success right now with the diamond mines and really exciting early-stage exploration projects coming on, early-stage projects coming online. We do need desperately to get the exploration sector going and have it active. There is money out there. It's starting to look around to where to be spent, and we would like to see it spent in the North. This is the place, in my view, to spend it for exploration, so one of the big areas is the Mining Incentive Program. We are, again, offering that program in 2021-2022. We are seeing increases to the program again and looking to bring in those applications for that kind of support. There were some modifications made for COVID-19 and looking at what we can do to try to make that program more available, more flexible, considering some of the constraints that the exploration companies may be operating under. Again, last one on that one, Mr. Speaker, we have really excellent pathfinding services within ITI to help those early exploration companies, which are often smaller companies, to ensure that they have the supports that they need to follow the regulatory processes here, understand them, and be ready to roll when they get here.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do agree with the Minister that the department has some really great staff to help out with the exploration industry. What I didn't hear the Minister say was that she is going to be a real loud squeaky wheel with the federal government to get more money for our mineral exploration sector, so I will just take that as a given, and I will continue to work with her on that. My last question is that it is my understanding that a critical minerals and metals action plan is being developed for the Northwest Territories. Can the Minister comment on the timeline for the completion of this plan and any others that the department might be working on with Indigenous organizations or governments? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I have used every platform I think I have had in the last several months to talk about critical minerals and why the Northwest Territories needs to be on, and is on, the value chain for critical minerals, and why everyone should be paying attention to that fact, to federal partners all the way through exploration companies. We have extremely good critical mineral resources here in the Northwest Territories and an extremely good place for those who are particularly looking at green energy. This is the place where you want to come because of the ESG factors, environmental, social, and governance factors. This is the place to go. I have been saying that loud and clear on a number of fronts; now I get to say it here, so thank you to the Member for giving me that chance.

More specifically, right now, Mr. Speaker, we are part of the federal government's Canadian Minerals and Metals Plan, one of which is a component involving critical minerals. Specifically to the Northwest Territories, we want to align with that plan. The federal government has started it. We are looking within the next year, within roughly the next 12 months, to have our own plan in line with what's happening with the federal government so that we can best utilize whatever resources they might put towards their plan but, in addition to that, Mr. Speaker, continuing to work with regional governments so that there can be regional mineral development plans. There are resources within ITI to support regional governments who may want to develop their own plans, and that is a great opportunity for them to learn about the industry, to make themselves accessible to the industry. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Hay River South.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to talk about mining but in a different context. This question would be for the Minister of ITI, and I would ask the Premier not to jump up and try and answer. Can the Minister of ITI provide an update on where the department is with providing toilet facilities for truckers and visitors travelling Highways No. 1 and 3 as fuel and freight is heading to the mines? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.

Mr. Speaker, I read quick, but I don't read that quick. As it is, Mr. Speaker, the Member had asked me this question, or I think I had overheard him asking this question to the Premier, and so I have gone of my devices to inquire with the departments. Mr. Speaker, I can assure the Member there is a plan. I don't have the details in front of me fast enough to read it, but there is a plan. We are going to work with Infrastructure in order to ensure that the toilets and outhouses are being cleaned regularly. I will provide the details of that plan to the Member in writing, Mr. Speaker.

This comes up year after year. I am sure that, next year, we won't have to have this discussion because there will be a plan in place. I hope that, every time the Minister walks by a washroom, she thinks about it. I thank her for her answer.

I also don't want to have to answer questions about outhouses for rest of our tenure here. As I said, I know that Infrastructure and ITI have been working together for years. It's not a new problem. It has become acute, given what's happening with COVID-19 and some of the restrictions put on those who are such a critical part of our supply chain. I can assure the Member they are being cleaned every two weeks. We are looking at whether or not that needs to be increased. Again, as I said, with COVID-19, I have had it confirmed to me that we are going to have, between ITI and Infrastructure, an assessment done on patrolling the facilities to ensure that they are maintained to the standard that they should be for their use.

The type of facilities we have, I think, are inadequate. It just seems to be in January, February, and March, when the trucking season and material and fuel is going into the mines. Just to show some respect to the people who are travelling the highways and trying to provide us with the services that we need is to look at a different type of facility that actually has some heat in it and has somebody cleaning it, as well, on a daily basis. I would ask the Minister to commit to at least taking a look at some other options that we could possibly use that would make it a little more comfortable for the people using them.

As it turns out, some work has been done in that regard. A permanent heated type of facility would be about $150,000 per unit, and we have right now about 10 pullouts from the border to Yellowknife. We are looking at $1.5 million, Mr. Speaker, which may not seem significant, but is not insignificant and would certainly have to go through the budget planning process. Whether there are other options, I will certainly inquire to see the extent of the inquiries that we have made and whether there is anything else that can be done. Not to make light of the whole situation, these people are working in our supply chain. They are providing an essential service. I certainly do take seriously that they need to have a dignified way of doing this essential work that we are asking them to do.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to hear the answers. I look forward to, going forward, what the department comes up with. It's not just for truckers. When we are finished with COVID, we are going to have visitors up here, and we get the same complaints during the summer time. We just have to look at a better way of handling it. Whether we need one at every pullout, I'm not sure. I'm not sure how often people have to go to the washroom. I'm sure not too many times between the border and Yellowknife. Whatever works, I am willing to listen to solutions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again, this is another time where this is a whole-of-government approach. We have ITI that does the wayside parks and Infrastructure that does the highway pullouts. Again, we are conscious that there needs to be a solution, and it needs to be ready and in place before the season begins so that we are not having to have this conversation every budget session in January or February. I will certainly commit to the fact that the plan can be laid out a little more clearly, and we will make sure to do that, as I say, well in advance of the season of next year. In the meantime, regular cleaning every two weeks, regular monitoring by one or the other department, we'll sort that out, will be happening. If, in fact, there are truckers or others trying to use the facilities in the next while and they are having difficulty, to the extent that it's because of COVID-19, there are 811 numbers, and to the extent that it's other matters, we certainly will take those inquiries and figure out a solution. They are essential workers. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. The department's business plan identifies that they are working to develop after-care programming with the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation. I am wondering where the department is at with this work and how soon we can expect to see a made-in-the-North after-care program that includes supportive housing. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you for the question. The department does, indeed, have a mandate commitment to establish nine transitional housing units for individuals returning from addictions treatment. The timeline on this commitment is completion by fall of 2023. Work is under way. The jurisdictional scan, research into best practices, and the scan of existing services have all been completed. These pieces of work will be used to inform the development of an NWT model for these transitional homes. To achieve an item of this nature, we need to work in an integrated manner with my colleagues in housing, ECE, MACA, and Justice. The department is currently designing an intradepartmental approach to the development of this model, and the development of the model is anticipated to happen next month followed by consultation with stakeholders through the spring. The model will then be finalized and put in place for planning purposes by the summer of this year. Thank you.

I am wondering if this review that the Minister is speaking of will also include supportive living for people with mental health and addictions but also their families, supportive living directed towards families?

Specific programs for individuals with mental health and addictions is out-of-scope for this supportive living review that the Member referenced. However, we do recognize that individuals may have co-occurring disorders. That is to say, they may be disabled and also have an addiction, and that will certainly be considered in the main work around mental health and addictions recovery.

I hope that will include families, as well, because people with mental health and addictions and disabilities and addictions are also parents, and coming by supports for families in the North is a very big challenge for people. One of the priorities of the 19^th Assembly is to increase the number and variety of culturally respectful community-based mental health and addictions programs, including after-care by providing services for individuals with addictions, such as Wellbriety and AA programming. This is to reduce the number of returns to treatments and increase the length of time between treatments, as well. The timeline identified for this deliverable was spring 2021 for that work to begin. I'm wondering, what improvements to after-care support services can residents expect to see in 2021, and do these improvements include supports for families or after-care for supports for families? Does it include matrix programming, or does it include life skill development, as well?

That was about 10 questions. I'll do what I can here. Certainly, the department is on track to deliver a number of programs at this point. We are preparing to roll out our peer support program, which provides money on an application basis to communities to set up things like AA and Wellbriety groups to assist people in retaining their sobriety. This work is on target, and we'll start on April 1^st of this year.

In addition to that, the department continues to work with Indigenous governments and Indigenous government organizations to assist them in accessing the On-the-Land Healing Fund. Of course, we know that that has a wellness and addictions treatment focus and is a flexible fund that can include families and after-care as a focus. That fund has been in place since 2014-2015. The funding is available during each fiscal year, so there will be a new opportunity to obtain funding after April 1^st of this year.

There is work going on to establish a managing alcohol program in the NWT as well as a model for better access to detox at the community level, that is to say, outside of the hospitals. The timing on this commitment, these two commitments, managed alcohol and medical detox, are to be completed by 2023. It's anticipated that, even though some of these items are not going to be implemented immediately, they will be in development, and if they can be expedited, that will certainly happen. I think that what's really important to understand in this area, and I'm sure my colleague is aware of, is that these are big and complex issues. It takes time to address them. We are working through the issues that we know need to be addressed and to improve the quality of the services that we provide. As I say, if we can get to them sooner than we think, of course, we will.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and I apologize for my wordiness. I'm trying very hard to concentrate, but all the talk of toilets from Mr. Simpson, I regret the water I drank today. Will the Minister commit to working with the Department of Justice to bring together after-care support team that focuses on wellness for all NWT residents that are returning from institutional care back to the Northwest Territories? Thank you.