This is page numbers 1725 - 1748 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 residents.

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Question 488-19(2): COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout
Oral Questions

February 4th

Page 1731

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Steve Norn

Steve Norn Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh

Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. In line with my Member's statement, I worked with the Minister responsible for ECE, Minister Archie, and ENR Minister Thompson, and I want to thank them for all the information they gave me. So far, I am going back to the Taltson. From my understanding then, BC is denying responsibility, and that is fine. I was given a lot of raw data, and it could be interpreted a lot of different ways. My question now is for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. Can he give us an update on what, if any, preliminary findings are on the cause of the high water levels? Marsi, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all, I would like to thank the Member for the question. He has been doing his due diligence. He has been phoning me throughout as this has been coming out there. Again, I thank him for that. I know he is very passionate about it, and he is working for his residents.

ENR has received data both from Water Survey of Canada and NWT Power Corporation, and we are assessing the situation. The Taltson River has experienced high water levels since the summer. High snowfall and rainfall, including two very large rainfall events in mid and late August 2020, have caused the high water levels. Available data on the Tazin and the Abitau Rivers, which flow to the Tazin Lake, indicates a very large flow event in mid to late August 2020 with slow recession. Water levels in the Tazin Lake have been high enough to cause flow over the existing weir since July 2019, which is extremely rare.

This has increased the area flow out to the Taltson River by about 20 percent. ENR issued a public service announcement on November 19, 2020, because of the high water and possibility of unusual freezing this winter and the fall. ENR has received data from NTPC and has confirmed that the facility has been in compliance with their water licence, including over summer and fall of 2020. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Steve Norn

Steve Norn Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh

Thank you for the response from the Minister. With that information, I will likely have some more questions in the form of a written question later on. I guess for my next question: Can the department provide scientific data from a neutral third party to provide an assessment of the overflow and flooding? Because I think it's important that we get information not just from a GNWT source but from an outside source to have a more unbiased look at what is happening.

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

The GNWT uses data from the hydrometric gauges operated by Water Survey of Canada. The Water Survey of Canada hydrometric stations are part of the national network of stations that have been operating following standardization methodology over their 100 years. Gauges in the Taltson River basin have been operating since 1962. ENR assessment includes an analysis of Water Survey of Canada data and data provided by NTPC.

Steve Norn

Steve Norn Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh

Again, probably some more questions will be coming in the form of a written statement for those responses. I thank you for those responses. I am going to switch gears a little bit here. I want to think about some of the land users, the hunters and trappers in the area. Some of the images that we have seen in the media with the ice in the cabins, that is really impactful. Again, my heart goes out to them. I want to see if I can get a commitment from the Minister. Can the Minister report back to the House here with timelines on the loss of wildlife, i.e., beavers and muskrats and the lot, in the area?

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

Officials from ENR have done a field assessment of the flooding and have confirmed that there is some impact on the beavers, martens, and their habitats. Loss of beavers and martens due to flooding occurs periodically, and it's a natural part of the ecosystem. This will release nutrients into the environment and provide a source of food for scavengers, including insects, fish, birds, and other mammals. It is not possible to get an accurate count of the number of muskrats and beavers affected, but this event is not expected to have a large or long-term impact on their population. As such, ENR is not planning any further assessment of the impact on the beavers and martens at this time.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Steve Norn

Steve Norn Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh

Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. That's interesting. You're not going to hear the last of that from me, so I'm going to be probing a little more on that. My last question, and this is probably the most important. I had mentioned before, hunting and trapping 30 or 40 years ago helped to put food on tables for a lot of my constituents and a lot of people around the North. Historically, it used to be. Now, it supplements a lot of income, and there is still a loss of income here that happened as a result of this event. My last question is: Can the Minister advise on what financial supports are available for the impacted hunters and trappers? Specifically, I'm looking for relief for lost income, lost or damaged equipment, and damaged cabins. Marsi cho.

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

I can guarantee the Member will be knocking on my door, asking me more questions, so I greatly appreciate that as we try to educate each other and the public. ENR's hunters and trappers disaster compensation program can assist the traditional harvesters who suffer losses or damage to their equipment or assets because of natural disasters, including floods. The program is available to the NWT harvesters who possess a general hunting license and/or are a land claim beneficiary actively engaged in renewable resource harvesting activities and whose harvesting provides at least 25 percent of their gross annual income. ENR staff have been working directly with impacted trappers on accessing financial support presently. 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. If the Minister could provide the current enrolment numbers for the different trades programs at Aurora College and break that out by campus? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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. I will just note that the Member, in her statement earlier, she was telling it like it is. She laid out the state of education well, and some of the things we have to do and the challenges we face, and I agree that we do have to have more northern-born trained persons who can do the work that we bring people up from the South for.

Right now, schools across North America have taken a hit, whether it's JK-to-12 or post-secondary, and the North is no exception. There has been, as most people know, no face-to-face or rather limited face-to-face instruction. Despite that, though, I'm happy to say that, in the fall intake, we had 24 apprentices at Aurora College. They were at the Thebacha campus, where the vast majority of apprenticeship training takes place, given the beautiful facilities there. In Electrical Level 1, there were three students; Electrical Level 2, there were seven students; Carpentry Level 1, there were seven students; Carpentry Level 3, five students; and Plumbing Level 1, two students. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

The Minister somewhat touched on my next question, which is to ask about the effects of COVID on the enrolment in the trades programs, and if the Minister could provide any of the costs associated with either adapting the programs to the distance learning or for having to take more in-person COVID containment methods. I guess what I'm asking, and you may have already answered this, is: Do we have empty classrooms in these campuses?

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Before the pandemic, there were some empty classrooms, and that's really why we were embarking on this transformation. We want to make the college the first choice for students not just in the North, but from across Canada. The pandemic obviously emptied out some classes, and we weren't able to have lots of face-to-face. I'm happy to announce that, in the upcoming September session enrolment, we will have face-to-face programming resuming at Aurora College. There are some caveats around that, of course. This was all vetted through the Chief Public Health Officer, who has allowed this, but the classrooms may include up to 20 students participating in class learning, while still continuing to meet the requirements of the Chief Public Health Officer.

I know this is going to be exciting for those students who have had to rely on distance learning, which everyone knows is not ideal, so there is some progress on that end.

Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

I am really glad to hear that. As we all know, doing trades remotely would probably be quite difficult for students, so I'm glad to hear that we're going to be returning back. I look forward to further asking the Minister at a later date what some of those costs are, around the COVID response. My next question I just want to move on to is the new Blue Seal certification program that the department is rolling out. I have some understanding of that, but I would like to know if the Minister could speak a bit more to how that differs from the Red Seal program and maybe provide a bit of a timeline for its implementation and availability.

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

The Red Seal is governed under the Interprovincial Standards Red Seal Program, and that is a common set of standards across Canada. So, if you are a Red Seal in one province, your skills are comparable to a Red Seal in another province. We don't quite have that yet with Blue Seal, but what Blue Seal is building on is the Red Seal. It is a program whereby people who have earned their Red Seal can take additional courses in business and earn a Blue Seal. This is to really build up the workforce and allow perhaps journeypersons who want to rise up to management in companies or help them become entrepreneurs. We have Blue Seal certificates available in Alberta, in Saskatchewan; the East Coast has a similar type of program. I think, a lot of times, all you need is that idea that, "Oh, I can get this certification. I just have to take these courses," and that might prompt people to go. So I think, for really no cost to us, it's a good way to help build up the workforce.

I can't really speak to timelines right now. The bill that would allow this is in front of committee, but I hope to see this happen in the near future.

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. Just before I ask my last question, I wanted to apologize to the translators. I know I've got to get back into speaking a lot slower. My last question has to do with, again, something really close to my heart. Could the Minister provide an update on any programming or initiatives they are implementing to increase the number of women in trades? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

I appreciate the question. We need more people in general in trades, but especially women in trades. I think the number of women in trades is around 5 to 7 percent of the entire profession, which is quite low, obviously. The department has recognized this, and in addition to getting out and promoting trades to everyone, there is also a renewed focus on promoting it to women and young women in schools. What we are going to be rolling out in the new year is a new visual and media campaign to promote women in trades. There is going to be promotion via the radio, newspapers, and social media. There is development of materials for grade 9 to 12 high school students that the career and education advisors will share with students. There are new materials for career development officers to promote with residents, and there is going to be increased profile and promotion of girls in trades through the annual Take a Kid to Work Day. We really need to promote this for everyone, and I really appreciate the Member and all the Members who bring this up, because a number of Members have brought up the need for more women in trades. The more that we all promote this, I think, the more that we can help this cause. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

Rylund Johnson

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As has become a bit of a tradition, a tradition I hope to put an end to, I open every session asking about the Ingraham Trail fire services, so my question for the Minister of MACA is: Can I have an update on whether there are plans to reinstate fire services to the Ingraham Trail for April 1st? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.