Ministers' statements. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories is home to a diverse group of people who live in a vibrant landscape shaped by rich culture and heritage. Our nine official Indigenous languages and our cultures bear sacred values and traditional knowledge that have been passed on through generations, shaping our identity and defining what makes the North truly unique. As leaders and residents of the Northwest Territories, we share the responsibility of revitalizing our Indigenous languages through celebration and practice to preserve our traditional ways of life. As Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, I would like to wish all Members of this Legislative Assembly and the residents of the Northwest Territories a happy Indigenous Languages Month. This month is an opportunity for residents to honour the rich culture and heritage embodied by the Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Territories and our nine official Indigenous languages.

The theme for Indigenous Languages Month 2021 is Cook With Me, which supports the mandate of this government to increase food security and is inspired by the United Nations' International Year of Fruits and Vegetables in 2021. This unique theme was cooked up in partnership with the NWT Literacy Council and embodies messages of warmth, home, family, and cooperation. Food and cooking are at the heart of our traditions, memories, identities, and togetherness. Food brings people from different cultures together, allowing us to learn about one another's backgrounds. We share our cultural heritage when we share food with others. Saying "cook with me" to our families and friends is an invitation to strengthen our togetherness, traditions, and customs.

Mr. Speaker, throughout February we encourage Northwest Territories residents to engage in the exciting activities and resources that have been organized for Indigenous Languages Month. In partnership with the NWT Literacy Council, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment has prepared a number of initiatives. You will see a social media campaign featured on the NWT Indigenous Languages and Education Facebook page that will support the theme, Cook With Me. In addition, a regional recipe book featuring recipes from individuals and families across all the regions of the Northwest Territories has been translated into all official Indigenous languages and will be made available over the course of the month on the ECE website and social media. This week, you can view recipes in Tlicho and North Slavey on our Facebook page. Lastly, digital Indigenous language Valentine's Day cards will be available for sharing with friends and loved ones.

This month, we are also offering regional Indigenous governments celebratory grants to produce videos and other creative projects that promote, celebrate, and engage in Indigenous Languages Month. We have also engaged with schools across the territory to encourage them to celebrate by creating food-themed lesson plans that are linked to the Our Languages curriculum by using Indigenized approaches to culinary arts classes and by organizing celebrations of traditional foods in schools. Promoting food-preparation-themed language education supports the Our Languages curriculum and provides the opportunity to learn Indigenous languages and culture while also promoting food security for youth.

Mr. Speaker, it fills me with pride to live in and represent our territory, which has an abundant living history full of vibrant culture. Mahsi cho to the elders, community leaders, language advocates, and teachers who continue to promote Indigenous language revitalization efforts across the Northwest Territories. I encourage all Northerners to advocate for Indigenous languages and join me in celebrating Indigenous Languages Month. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. Member for Thebacha.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Highway No. 5 is the road between Fort Smith and Hay River, and it spans 273 kilometres. It was constructed in 1966 as a gravel road, but it is now a fully paved highway that passes through Wood Buffalo National Park. Missing from this highway, though, Mr. Speaker, is a cellular service along the entirety of the road. This is a long stretch of road to have no cellular service. I would like to enhance my colleague's request to build cellular infrastructure along Highway No. 3, servicing Behchoko to Yellowknife, and include with it a cellular service along Highway No. 5. This is a much-needed infrastructure that needs to be built in order to increase the level of safety for all travellers who use Highway No. 5. In the event of an emergency, unless travellers have a satellite phone, they are obliged to depend on other bypassers along the highway to get any rescue assistance. Again, this is a 273-kilometre highway.

Mr. Speaker, this is not okay and is not acceptable. In this day and age, I think we have reached a point where this is considered critical infrastructure, and building it ought to be a no-brainer. It's a busy highway, and it is the only highway in and out of Fort Smith. It is also the NWT's entryway into Wood Buffalo National Park, which is the second-largest park in the world, making it a great tourist destination. A project like this would serve twofold. It would both enhance our highway safety and help increase the prospects of tourism in the South Slave region of the NWT. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, if the government is planning to enter into any new service contracts to install cellular service along any NWT highway, I would like to request that Highway No. 5 be considered in any future negotiations. I will have questions for the Minister of Finance at the appropriate time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In November, I passed a motion in this House asking the Northwest Territories health system to stop using fax machines to send health records. This is from a 2018 report where the Chief Information and Privacy Commissioner asked the same thing. There have been numerous breaches over the years, including some egregious ones such as health records being sent to CBC North in 2010 and 2012.

Mr. Speaker, I hope that the Minister in the reply can finally put an end to us sending health records. However, Mr. Speaker, there is a lot more to do in the area of electronic medical records. Specifically, I would like to see an online patient portal. In fact, our electronic medical records system was initially set up with one, but the department never turned it on due to privacy concerns, an ironic answer considering their consistent breaches of health information.

Mr. Speaker, in BC, a patient can log on and they can see their x-rays, they can see their MRIs, they can see status of the lab tests, they can see status of all their reports, including doctors' notes about their medical history. This allows patients to own their information and know when something is missing. In Alberta, which uses a very similar system to ours and which is our number one sharing-of-information jurisdiction, you can log in and you can see the status of any COVID tests. It has been crucial to their pandemic response, having people see where their lab tests are. I have had numerous concerns from constituents who are one week out from a COVID test, wondering where it is. They simply could have logged on to a patient portal, in Alberta, and seen that information.

Mr. Speaker, I understand there was work being done to upgrade our electronic medical records; I understand there is work being done to end the use of fax machines, but this work is long overdue. I will have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services when this work will be completed and when we can let patients truly see all their health records so that we can put an end to the faxing, the CDs, the USBs, and the numerous ways we try to share our health information with our Alberta that leaves patients' files often incomplete and in a confused state of disarray. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Members' statement. Member for Deh Cho.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Today, I will speak on an all-important matter regarding conflict of interests in respect to GNWT employees. As employees of the Government of the Northwest Territories, everyone is held to high ethical standards in complying with the GNWT Code of Conduct and GNWT Code of Ethics. This is to ensure that GNWT employees are maintaining public confidence and maintaining the integrity of the public service in the execution of their duties.

Mr. Speaker, one of the guidelines states that it is a condition of employment with the GNWT to respect the code of conduct in respect to the conflict of interests. It also states that employees who fail to comply with these standards may be subject to disciplinary action up to and including dismissal.

Mr. Speaker, a conflict of interests exists where there is an actual or perceived situation between the employee's duties and responsibilities of office and the private interests of the employee or an immediate family member, which can include but not limited to pecuniary interests including investments and business involvements. Outside employment service, whether voluntary or otherwise on the board, council or committee or any other organization and personal relationships, including immediate family or spouse.

Mr. Speaker, it is very important that GNWT employees be held to highest ethical standards to ensure the integrity of the public service. There are many rumblings and hearsay that GNWT employees are allowed to do as they please without any discipline whatsoever. GNWT employees who may be in an actual or perceived conflict of interest are being protected by the GNWT itself. Mr. Speaker, that is not being impartial when the GNWT dictates who is or isn't in an actual or a perceived conflict of interest. Mahsi.

Thank you, Member for Deh Cho. Member's statements. Member for Great Slave.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We always talk about how the North is such a unique place, and one thing that makes it so is our reliance on our winter road network. The allure and mystique of these multi-million-dollar annual ventures is so powerful it even spurred an entire television series, helping to put the NWT on the international stage. However exciting these roads are and how beautiful they are to drive, it must be pointed out that we spend millions of dollars every year building infrastructure that melts, not exactly a fiscally responsible situation.

The Mackenzie Valley Highway was completed to Fort Simpson in 1971 and the federal government, which was responsible for highway construction in the territories, promised the following year that it would continue up the east shore of the Mackenzie River and on to Inuvik. The highway would follow the natural route to the Beaufort Sea and provide outside connections to Norman Wells. It seemed only a matter of time until the road would complete the Trans-Canada Highway system. However, that was not the case, and the NWT still awaits the connection of this vital infrastructure corridor.

In the North, we need roads for every facet of our lives. If permanent roads connected northern communities, supplies could be replenished year-round. An established, constant and steady supply chain would reduce the cost of living for our people. Additionally, with travel limited outside the territory for the foreseeable future, a connected all-weather road system would allow for residents to travel internally, taking territorial vacations that would help improve mental health while stimulating the economy. An often-overlooked aspect of having connected communities is that of personal safety. Will a person fleeing a domestic violent situation be more likely to leave if they can drive away? A tank of gas is much cheaper than purchasing an airline ticket.

Given the current state of our environment, both physically and economically, permanent roads in the North are now a necessity. Millions could be spent on the construction of the Mackenzie Highway through to the Beaufort-Delta, ensuring contractors, consultants, and construction service providers stay in business. It would bring in tourism, internal to start, while the international travel situation recovers. It would cut 800 kilometres off the trip from Edmonton to Inuvik, lowering freight costs because trucks would no longer have to go through the Yukon, all leading to a reduction in the cost of food and other essentials in remote communities. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to finish my statement. Thank you.

---Unanimous consent granted

If I sound like a broken record, it's because I have often spoken about the need for all season roads. However, I do so again to urge my colleague, the Minister of Infrastructure, to go back to her federal tables and demand better for us; demand that we receive 100 percent funding to build our roads. They are literally the road to economic recovery for many northern businesses. Given the infrastructure deficit the federal government has left us in, the promised highway in the 1970s that never materialized, it is time we remind the Government of Canada that this was not our doing, and that it is an issue we can no longer afford to pay for at the expense of our people. Thank you.

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

Merci, Monsieur le President. Since its inception in 2012, the NWT Heritage Fund has grown to a very small amount of less than $30 million. During that time, the value of our petroleum and mineral production was about $18 billion. Of course, there were and continue to be benefits from resource development, but $30 million is not a lot to pass along to future generations for this one-time natural capital. That is less than 0.2 percent of the value of these resources. The purpose of the Heritage Fund is set out in legislation. It is "to ensure that future generations of people of the Northwest Territories benefit from ongoing economic development, including the development of non-renewable resources." I am not convinced we are doing a very good at that. The problems with the fund are well-known and were identified even during the discussion paper back in 2010:

• There is no defined revenue stream for the Heritage Fund; and
• There is no public governance and minimal reporting.

The Heritage Fund is so neglected that the last annual report posted on the Finance website is for 2014. Although there is a legal requirement for the tabling of an annual report on the Heritage Fund in this House, the Assembly website only shows annual reports for 2013, 2014, and 2016. In the last Assembly, there was even a promise of a discussion paper to revitalize the Heritage Fund and its legislation. That promise, too, was never fulfilled.

The only changes that seem to have been made to the original legislation and regulations since 2012 were to loosen up the very conservative investment requirements set in the regulations. The change was apparently made because the Heritage Fund was actually losing money against inflation. The management of the Heritage Fund was also contracted out to a third party.

The one saving grace is that there is a legal requirement for a ten-year review that must report at the first sitting after August 1, 2022. We must begin preparing for that review now. The review must include:

• the operation of the act;
• how to obtain public input and advice on expenditures from the fund;
• independent oversight and management of the Heritage Fund; and
• any other amendments that should be made to the act.

I will have questions for the Minister of Finance on improving intergenerational equity for residents of the Northwest Territories. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Members' statements. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Today, I want to speak a little bit about our front-line workers, and what I mean by front-line workers, our doctors, our nurses, our firefighters, corrections, people working at the borders, too many to list, social workers. I want to give out a good shout out to them today. I don't think we recognize them enough in the House, and the tough job that they have to do on a day-to-day basis.

They put themselves into harm's way. A lot of dangerous duties. Every shift, they go out there. They're putting themselves at risk. I just want to say: I can't say enough about them. I want to say a big marsi cho to them. When you go out there today, we're thinking about you. Again, I have been really thinking about this. It made me think about this on the way here when I drove to the Legislature this morning and saw the lights go on. I could imagine responding to calls in the very, very cold weather like this. You imagine fighting a fire in this cold weather. A lot of this is hard work. With that, I just want to say, a big marsi cho to all of those front-line workers. I am going to hit the desk for about five seconds just to show my appreciation.

---Applause

Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Members' statements. Member for Nunakput.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Speaking up on behalf of my teachers during this pandemic. In Nunakput, teachers provide a vital service, especially to our smaller communities, aside from parents, our kids' biggest resource for support. I have been talking to some of the teachers in Nunakput. They are really stressed out, and they need the government's help. Our teachers provide the essential services, but they're not being treated that way, Mr. Speaker. They are asking me why the nurses and doctors are considered essential service but they are not. I see where they are coming from, Mr. Speaker.

Teachers travel. They have to pay their own travel, their own hotel costs when they're going North for, say, spring break. Why is that? Why can't they do rapid testing? When they're in quarantine, they have to pay out of their own pocket, and they lose lost wages when they're COVID testing where we can get them back to the classroom more quickly, for the rapid testing, Mr. Speaker. We need our teachers more. Their job is hard and demanding, and even when there is no pandemic, it's still there. The stresses of work are there every day with them. I am hearing from the teachers who feel desperate but are afraid to speak out. I am here to speak out for them, Mr. Speaker. Today, I will have questions for the Minister of Health at the appropriate time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

[Translation] It is the government's responsibility to ensure its program and services are accessible to the people it serves. [Translation ends]

The GNWT spends millions on programs and services, but they are not accessible to the people who need them, and people are falling through the cracks. 2020 was a challenging year. Yes, Northerners are resilient, but Northerners have been fighting the social challenges highlighted by 2020 for a long time.

For many, life feels like an exhausting game of snakes and ladders where every roll lands them farther down the game board. We live in a territory with the second-highest family violence rates, staggering rates of undiagnosed FASD, trauma in every community, rampant substance abuse, mental health challenges, and $0.5 billion housing shortfall. When someone suffering through one of these challenges looks for support, the path needs to be clear. When someone is suffering through all of these, the path needs to be easy.

In November, I walked with an NWT resident trying to access supports. They agreed to share their journey, but I will call them "Avery" to protect their privacy. In short, Avery was a parent facing eviction from public housing, struggling with substance abuse and family violence in the home, both of which started during the COVID-19 lockdown. Avery's story is not unique and is relevant to all of our constituencies that we serve.

Avery's rock bottom brought us together. In the week that followed, they made 14 connections with public servants with the primary goal of accessing integrated case management and its wraparound support services. Mr. Speaker, I know the GNWT system, refused to take no for an answer, and it still took us 14 connections to find support that extended beyond the first contact. If an MLA can't untangle the system, how can someone struggling be expected to? Avery's journey went from RCMP to specialty courts, NWT Housing, adult FASD clinic, mental health counsellor, adult social worker program, and ICM itself, all in an attempt to work through social challenges prevalent in the NWT, and ones that I would expect that the GNWT prepared to address. This siloed system of dead ends is failing our people. Accessing support should not feel like a rigged board game. We need to meet people where they are with the right support. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Masi, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] Today, I am going to talk about Highway No. 3. Today, as we all know, the winter road has opened to the mines. When we look at it, there are a lot of people travelling on Highway No. 3. All sorts of vehicles go through. At times, we know that there is danger, and yet, that's the way that we are living today. Right now, we have issues that have been brought a few times already. This is why I am bringing it up again. [Translation ends]

Many have been hurt driving the road. Many have been killed, Mr. Speaker. Most recently being Kelly Washie, a 45-year-old constituent of mine who died on New Year's Eve. Mr. Speaker, I heard firsthand what had happened on this very sad day from my father, who was driving Kelly Washie to Yellowknife for a grocery run, an in-and-out quick trip. It turned out to be a very tragic trip for all.

Mr. Speaker, on the way back from Yellowknife, Mr. Washie wanted to use a restroom, to which none were available on Highway No. 3, so they had to go outside in the back of the vehicle. When they parked on the side of the road with flashing lights, as soon as Mr. Washie went to the back of the vehicle, a few transport trucks drove by without slowing down, leaving a cloud of snow flying behind. Couldn't see anything.

Mr. Speaker, that was when Mr. Washie was struck by this semi-truck head on. Would it have made a difference or saved a life if this transport truck was going under the speed limit or slowed right down for a parked vehicle with flashing lights? Mr. Speaker, we'll never know the answer, but we must strive to make changes that could save lives on Highway No. 3. I will have questions for Infrastructure at the appropriate time, Mr. Speaker. Masi.

Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Members' statements. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank the family for the honour to read the eulogy for Charles Edward Inglangasuk Lennie, known to most as Edward Lennie, who passed away on November 6, 2020.

Edward Lennie was born at the Husky Lakes area on June 23, 1934. He is the youngest child of Sarah Kyikavikchick and Lennie Inglangasuk. His mother Sarah was a Gwich'in who came from a historical line of Gwich'in chiefs, and his father Lennie was a well-known leader amongst the Inuvialuit. Lennie was known as a Bankslander because of the numerous trips by schooner to Banks Island on the mainland.

Edward spent his first ten years of his life travelling by schooner and by dog team with his family all over the Beaufort coast, Arctic islands, and Mackenzie Delta. His family had camps at Napoyak in the Mackenzie Delta, Nulluk in the Husky Lakes area, Lennie River on Banks Island, and he spent his winters on Victoria Island north of Ulukhaktok.

In 1944, his mother passed away, and the following fall, he was put into residential school in Aklavik. He mentioned some hardships but mostly talked about the lifelong friends that he made from Fort Good Hope, Fort McPherson, Tuktoyaktuk, and the Beaufort-Delta. His father died a few years later, and at a young age, Edward lived with his older sister Winnie Cockney. He also stayed with his aunt Alice Simon and Old Simon at Nepoyuk.

Square dancing stories started when he was living with his sister Winnie. When word came through that there were square dances at the station, he would finish his chores early and run over to the dance no matter the weather. His cousins remember waltzing with him at the cabin to music over the radio. If you didn't know how to dance, he would let you stand on his feet to follow his lead.

Edward's passion for dancing showed effortlessly when he participated at local square dances in all of the communities. He loved to call out square dances, and he was proud to see the young men learning to call, too. Edward would dance all night long if people would let him.

One of Edward's first jobs was working on the Hudson Bay supply boat, and he continued to travel all over the Beaufort coast. In 1958, he married Jeannie, and they began their family. He moved his family and worked at numerous DEW line sites, including Cape Parry, Stokes Point, Shingle Point, and Horton River.

In 1960, Edward moved his family to Inuvik, where he worked for the transient centre, and he continued to work for the Canadian Armed Forces, the federal government, and for Nortran, a branch of the oil industry, to recruit and train Northerners.

Inuvik was a modern town, so Edward made sure that his family lived a traditional lifestyle. He taught his family to burn wood for heat, haul ice for water, and use a dog team to check the snares down the river. He ensured that his family had always had time out on the land.

As Edward and Jeannie raised their children, they also provided a home for students who attended residential school. Edward enjoyed encouraging youth through northern games. They would spend hours playing these games in the living room that were always accompanied by the aroma of traditional foods that they would feast on at the end of the evening. Edward and Jeannie cared for a lot of young offenders who were placed in their home, as well, and showed them their way of life. Years later, the same boys would express their appreciation for the positive impact they made in their lives. Through his life, he promoted a sober lifestyle, teaching people that you did not need alcohol to enjoy yourself.

Edward worked hard at keeping his culture and history alive, and for this, he received many recognitions. In 2003, he was a recipient of the Indspire Award for Heritage and Sports, and they made the following statement: "When Edward Lennie heard that the Arctic Winter Games were to be held in Yellowknife in 1970, he was dismayed, 'How could they call something the Arctic Winter Games when there was nothing Arctic about them?' More than 30 years later, Mr. Lennie fixed all that. Northern games -- the one-foot kick, seal skinning, bannock making, and traditional dancing, to name only a few -- are alive and well in Canada's North. In 2000, the games that Mr. Lennie founded celebrated their 30^th anniversary and are a vibrant part of the Arctic life. From Alaska to Labrador, they provide the Inuit with a critical cultural exchange and a chance to reconnect with an ancient past. Their components have also taken their rightful place in the Arctic Winter Games and are now demonstration sports in the Canada Games. He taught by example, and we are richer for it. An Inuit leader once said Mr. Lennie trained athletes himself, raised funds when necessary, and brought his beloved games and culture to a wider audience through performances for Royals, Prime Ministers, and the national television audiences. Needless to say, northern youth have kept up this elder's call. 'Wherever the Inuit came from, that is where it all started,' Mr. Lennie says in describing northern games. 'All these sports fit into one life story. A guy that moves slowly does not have to be fast as long as he can think fast. The best way I can explain this is to keep playing the games.' And you can be sure the Inuit keep playing northern games for generations to come."

He was also the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medallion in 2012, where he was presented this award in Inuvik on February 15, 2013, by the Deputy Commissioner of the Northwest Territories, Gerry Kisoun, and Robert C. McLeod, MLA for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Edward is greatly missed by many who experienced his warm smile and his smarty sense of humour. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family. Members' statements. Member for Nahendeh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Morris Daniel Lafferty was born on September 22, 1934, to James and Marguerite Lafferty. He was the fifth born of five sons and five sisters. He spent his life in Fort Simpson, attending school locally and completing up to grade 8. Morris wed his late wife, Susan, on December 17, 1965. Together, they had two daughters, Zina and Marcie, and their son Skylor, who was lost in early infancy. They raised Gloria as their own from the age of five months old and fostered many other children throughout their lives. Two weeks prior to the arrival of their firstborn, Morris had emergency brain surgery to remove an abscess that formed from an accidental hit on the head from an axe, as a child. The surgery left him paralyzed on his right side.

He was a musician, an artist, and a long-term supporter of the Metis nation and promoted the unique Metis culture and traditions. He served as the first president of the Indian Brotherhood of the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, Morris started working at a young age, holding various positions throughout his life, buying his first fiddle from the Eaton's catalogue for $45 as a young man. In 1958, while working for the Power Corporation, he was given the privilege of turning on the power for the first time in Inuvik. He had a wealth of information and was always willing to share it with others, including contributions to publications related to the history of the Metis of the North.

He will be remembered by those who knew him for his witty sense of humour and ability to tell stories for hours. He leaves behind his three daughters, 10 grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. The family would like to thank everyone for their kind words, thoughts, and prayers during this difficult time. As well, they would like to thank the long-term care staff in Fort Simpson for their continuous to support and the care they provided him. He will be sadly missed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Nahendeh. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family. Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, replies to budget address. Member for Frame Lake.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I encourage all my fellow Regular MLAs to use this opportunity to set forth their views on the budget, our fiscal situation, and how to translate our priorities and mandate into action through this second budget of the 19^th Assembly. Of course, our priorities have changed with the pandemic, and while I encourage Cabinet to stay focused on that emergency, the mandate should not constrain what we need to do. We also cannot possibly achieve everything in the mandate, either. I will make some suggestions as to how to better focus our work going forward to ensure economic relief and recovery and to build long-term sustainability.

I will use my reply to the address to set out some thoughts on the following:

• a quick summary of the 2021-2022 budget;
• high-level observations on the process for the 2021-2022 budget;
• comments on the fiscal strategy;
• what is not in the 2021-2022 budget; and
• some concluding remarks.

Summary of the 2021-2022 Budget and Fiscal Context: the 2021-2022 budget is the largest ever for this government. There are no new cuts to programs and services to fund infrastructure. I am glad that there are no cuts compared to where we were four years ago with the previous Cabinet. There is only $117 million, though, of increased spending or about 5.5 percent of the total budget. I agree and can support most of the new spending in this budget, including the following:

• increased costs of existing health services;
• increased capacity in Child and Family Services;
• funding to participate in the National Housing Co-Investment Fund that the Regular MLAs fought hard to get added in;
• the final phases of the Child and Youth Care Counsellors program, including a travelling mental health team;
• increased funding for Income Assistance;
• some money towards the municipal funding gap;
• more funding for Northern Distance Learning;
• expansion of the dialysis unit in Hay River;
• increased funding for Indigenous language revitalization that the Regular MLAs pushed for;
• increased funding for daycare spaces
• more funding for long-term care services provided by AVENS;
• increased funding to emergency shelters;
• a renewed tourism strategy with Tourism 2025;
• funding to advance the knowledge economy;
• increased funding for the Sustainable Livelihoods Program;
• more funding for work on climate change; and
• the creation of a gender equity unit.

There are some spending items I cannot support, including increased funding to the NWT Petroleum Resources Strategy when there is no interest in exploration or development beyond possible production for local consumption.

I want to talk, Mr. Speaker, about the budget process. I can say that the relationship and negotiations with Cabinet over financial matters have generally been cordial and respectful, a much different and welcome change from the previous regime. With this budget, we had the benefit of the four-year business plans, although the links or changes could and should have been better documented and highlighted. In addition, it would have been very helpful to hold a meeting between the Minister of Finance and Regular MLAs to discuss priority areas for increased funding prior to development of this budget. That didn't happen, but I would encourage the Minister to do this next year.

Fiscal Context, while I appreciate the difficulty of trying to carry out prudent fiscal management during a pandemic, we are facing a fiscal crisis, despite anything to the contrary from the finance Minister. We just had our debt limit increased to $1.8 billion, and in this budget, we are already at $1.59 billion. Operating surpluses, which are required for spending on capital projects or infrastructure, have crashed dramatically, from a predicted $203 million to a deficit of $31 million this year alone. Only $68 million is predicted for 2021-2022. This drop is due to declining revenues and, in my view, overspending on capital projects initiated by the last Cabinet, which put roads over people. Unfortunately, we seem to be on the same path.

The Finance Minister promises creativity, innovation, and systematic evaluation of programs and services through the Government Renewal Initiative. While I support rigorous program evaluation, this will take time and extraordinary focus. It cannot make up the fiscal shortfall or make for a complete strategy moving forward. Put simply, we need more revenues to continue to provide the current level of programs and services, let alone the promises made in the mandate.

The untold story of the 2021-2022 budget is the catastrophic collapse of our own-source revenues, namely resource royalties and corporate taxes. I'll have questions for the Minister of Finance later today. Do we really expect to get nothing, zero, in terms of resource revenues from mining in the current year and only $1.5 million in 2021-2022? It's predicted we will raise about $28 million from alcohol and $14.5 million from tobacco, but corporate taxes and mining royalties are going to be about $2 million this year and even less next year, with negative corporate taxes.

Why does this government continue to promote mining if we don't get any direct revenues? This is a serious question that this government must come to terms with as part of its review of the fiscal regime for mining. In fact, there is no mention in the entire budget of any efforts to stabilize or increase any revenue sources. I am going to press the Minister of Finance to publicly release another version, hopefully with less anti-tax rhetoric, of the revenue options paper.

We need to start to have a public debate about options to raise revenues, such as an updated Territorial Formula Finance arrangement and keeping more, if not all, of our own-source revenues. A pandemic may not be a great time to introduce new taxes or increase taxes, but our current path is completely unsustainable. We need to have that debate. Some trumpet the reduction of the small business tax in terms of fairness and competitiveness. I've tried unsuccessfully now for five years to get Cabinet to seriously consider adding another personal income tax bracket in the same spirit of fairness and competitiveness. We're one of the few jurisdictions left in Canada that only has four income tax brackets. Nova Scotia went to five in 2010. British Columbia and Ontario went to five in 2014. New Brunswick went to six in 2015. Newfoundland and Labrador went to five in 2015 as did Yukon. Alberta went to five in 2016. Even the federal government went to five in 2016.

The Finance Minister has said we have $25 million in discretionary funds to work with to begin to make progress on the mandate over the next four years. The Finance Minister has never shared a costing of the mandate items, despite having been asked for that several times. What we do know, is that each of the large infrastructure projects, Taltson expansion, the Slave Geological Province Road, and the Mackenzie Valley Highway will cost a lot more than $1 billion each. We have to stop fooling ourselves that these can be done at the same time. We simply cannot afford them all at the same time, even if the federal government gave us or other potential partners all of the money. There would be lots of costs in simply managing these projects. For example, we have seen with the Stanton Territorial Hospital with its ever-increasing operational costs, some of which are found in this budget for the first time.

What we do need, and I will continue to push for, is some realistic and detailed economic evaluations of the big three projects in comparison to other ways of investing these public funds. We need to look at the number of jobs created, the longevity and the location of those jobs, building of local capacity, how our labour force matches with the job opportunities, and other ways of more objectively examining value for money. If I had to choose between investing a billion dollars in the SGP Road or Taltson expansion and getting all of our housing out of core need for $500 million or having 20 years of universal childcare, this would be a no-brainer. We would create more jobs, especially outside of Yellowknife, with an investment in housing and childcare and help our residents to better participate in our economy.

There is no funding for the large projects other than dribs and drabs provided by the feds for planning. There are no confirmed buyers or users in some cases and we cannot afford them. We need to make the tough decisions now about these three large infrastructure projects to stop us going over the fiscal cliff. We should focus on a phased approach for the Mackenzie Valley Highway to ensure we maximize local benefits, and we should drop the other two projects. That way, we can focus on people's immediate needs and build a more sustainable NWT.

Mr. Speaker, I want to turn to what is not in the 2021-2022 Budget. I recognize that this budget is status quo and that the mandate will require additional funding, partly through supplementary appropriations. Perhaps, the greatest missing item in the budget is the absence of any new funding for a comprehensive economic relief and recovery plan. In fact, there is no plan other than what has been cobbled together almost exclusively using federal assistance. We need the plan and a clear identification of any funding needs or gaps particularly for small business support, an area that we have some control over. That plan needs to include further support for the service sector, tourism, agriculture, and, even better, food security and the performing arts. We must look at how we can transform our economy to better take advantage of our knowledge, the Polytechnic university, and environmental remediation. No plan and no money in this budget is not a good place to be at this point in terms of economic relief and recovery.

In terms of other items that should have been in the budget, I have been a persistent advocate for midwifery, having raised it 15 times in this House over more than five years. A territorial midwifery program has been in development for at least seven years and seems to be stalled now as there are no further funds for its implementation. As I understand it, COVID has again intervened as a competing priority. While I understand the fiscal cliff this government is facing, investment in completing a territorial midwifery program has long-term savings and preventative benefits. It makes sense to support mothers, babies, and families get the best possible start. I will have more to say about this when we review the Health and Social Services budget in Committee of the Whole.

The budget address was virtually devoid of any discussion of the commitment to and need for additional resources for completion of the ongoing Indigenous land rights negotiations and implementation of the agreements already in place. To assist with these efforts, our government also needs to seriously move forward with implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. If we are to achieve more than the one agreement-in-principle at one self-government table in the last Assembly, more resources and a fresh approach are needed. It's not clear whether new mandates and/or negotiators have been identified to carry forward this important work.

Barrenground caribou surveys are to be done this upcoming summer as the surveys were cancelled in 2020 due to COVID. However, ENR has no funding for 2021-2022 budget to carry out this work. It's not clear where the funding would come from other than internal cuts. This is how ENR funded its work on legislative initiatives in the last Assembly, and it had a devastating impact on its work and morale. We have made very little progress in taking any concrete steps to save caribou and most of the herds are in a desperate state. The surveys are one of the key ways to determine the health of the herds and should be a funded activity.

There was no mention in the budget of the potential for benefits from the billion-dollar remediation of Giant Mine or the work required to reclaim the Norman Wells fields or other areas such as Cantung. The remediation economy is the equivalent of at least one of the big projects. It won't cost us anything as this is work to being done by the federal government or the private sector, but we have to work much harder to ensure Northerners will benefit. Of course, we must also put in place a proper post-devolution system to identify and manage environmental liabilities before they come back to this government and taxpayers. This is something the last Cabinet failed to do as we have seen with the Cantung mine, Cameron Hills, and the rollback of mandatory financial security in the Public Land Act. The Finance Minister must stop this bleeding now, working with her Cabinet colleagues and this side of the House.

There is little to no mention of the untapped potential of arts and culture to diversify the economy. This is another no-brainer, and there isn't even a whisper of it in the budget. Where is the promised Arts Strategy that should be used to help identify opportunities for investment and spur on economic recovery?

There are many other commitments from the mandate and elsewhere that will require our attention and investment, likely beyond the $25 million that is available under the current fiscal strategy. This includes completing the network of the single-window service centres in all our communities. We need additional and redirected revenues for addictions that should be focused on aftercare and mental health support. Measures to fight poverty including in my wildest dreams, a guaranteed basic income program. That also needs to be addressed. I will be happy to work with my colleagues on this side of the House to push these priorities.

In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, the decisions of the last Cabinet and the ongoing impacts of the COVID pandemic have clearly boxed us in, in terms of our fiscal situation and budgetary options. Previous cuts to programs and services to fund big infrastructure projects has pushed us closer than ever to the debt wall coupled with additional spending on COVID. This has resulted in more short-term borrowing and increased debt servicing cost. The infrastructure agenda from the last Cabinet continues to lead to increased O&M costs. It has generally failed to bring the anticipated benefits, whether it is the Mackenzie Valley fibre link that has not tied in communities, the failure to stimulate tourism in Tuktoyaktuk, the lack of northern workers on the Tlicho All Season Road, or the deficiencies in the Stanton Territorial Hospital P3 arrangement.

I am pleased to see this Cabinet beginning to promote a more balanced approach to our mandate in this budget with no reductions. We need to spend more on our basic needs, whether that is housing, healthcare, or education, for the long-term outcomes our citizens deserve, and we need to raise the resources to do that. This means more revenues and a new fiscal arrangement with Ottawa. Now is the time to start to focus on building a more sustainable revenue base for the NWT.

I sincerely thank my Cabinet colleagues and their staff and my Committee colleagues for much hard work in getting us to this point. We still have more work ahead of us to ensure that the priorities of regular MLAs are more clearly reflected in the budget, but I am confident that working together we can reach a reasonable compromise and a better balance. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Replies to budget address. Item 7, acknowledgements. Item 8, oral questions. Member for Nunakput.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I brought up for the teachers not only in Nunakput but the whole Beaufort-Delta, and my questions will be, today, for the Minister of health. Does the Minister, working together to respond to COVID-19 and becoming aware of the teachers' situation, not able to travel and putting them on the rapid testing list and supporting them, if they go out for travel and having them covered under hotel accommodation for their pay, is she working with the Minister of ECE to get them on the rapid testing list? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to start by saying how grateful I am to the 800 teachers in the Northwest Territories for the sacrifices they have made during the pandemic to switch to virtual instruction, to forgo holidays because of the isolation required. I realize it has not been easy. I have not heard from the NWTTA on the question of rapid testing. Our rapid testing capacity does exist in every community but in a fairly limited way, so that is something that I could enquire about, whether there is any interest on behalf of the NWTTA in ramping up rapid testing for teachers.

Did the public health officer determine that, as doctors and nurses are essential workers, is it possible to put teachers on that essential workers list also?

The Chief Public Health Officer determined the occupational groups that are in priority on the vaccine list, and the teachers are not there. I have heard from NWTTA about that. The CPHO determined the priority based on risk exposure and risk of severe illness. Fortunately for us, schools have been very healthy places. They have obviously been very diligent with their isolation, with their hand-washing, with their cleaning and so on. Maybe they have done too good a job, but they have not been placed on the priority list at this time.

I am asking if the Minister of health could talk with her colleague the Minister of Education to put the teachers on that listing. I am bringing it forward because I am getting calls from my teachers in Nunakput who are too scared to speak up, thinking that they are going to have backlash. Is the Minister prepared to talk with her colleague to put the teachers on the essential workers list and get them rapid testing and able to cover their costs when they are travelling out during spring break, for instance? The teachers need support, just like we do our doctors and nurses, which they do such a good job. I've been worked on for the last few months, so the Inuvik hospital are awesome, thank you, but I need help from these Ministers to help my teachers, all the teachers.

Just to say again it's the Chief Public Health Officer whose decision this is, so it's not my decision and it's not the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. We do know that we are on track to vaccinate everyone in the Northwest Territories who is 18 years and older by the end of March. At that point, teachers will be in the same position as everyone else in terms of having protection, from the vaccine, but as I mentioned last week in response to questions, I do not think that our border controls will come off at the end of March because the vaccination rate in the rest of Canada is so much lower.

I do want to say that teachers have access to the Employee and Family Assistance Program through their union, the NWTTA. It's available to them 24/7, and of course, they are also eligible to receive any of the services that we offer to residents of the NWT through the NWT helpline, the Community Counselling Program, and similar things which I also spoke about at length last week.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Why is it so hard to get commitment for getting essential worker status for the teachers? We need help. They need help. Like the Minister said, 800 teachers across the territory have done so much for the students and did their jobs well, but they are asking for help right now. They need to get out. It's been a year almost. Some of them have not been returned home. They need support to get them out for holidays and giving them a little bit of break during spring break. I am asking this Minister to talk to her colleague, to talk to the NWTTA, and get them on the list for rapid testing and support for them when they travel so they don't have to pay for their hotel when they come back into the territory. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I just want to take the opportunity to say that, where the vaccine has been given in the small communities, every adult over 18 has received the vaccine. Of course, that includes teachers, so the teachers in the smallest communities have, in fact, been vaccinated. In terms of leaving the territory, nobody is a prisoner here. They are eligible to apply for a self-isolation plan for when they come home, isolate for 14 days. If it is non-essential travel, then they, like everyone else, will have to pay the cost of isolation, but if it is essential travel for family reasons or for medical reasons, then the government will pay their isolation costs. We do for them what we do for everyone else. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Does the Minister acknowledge and agree that Highway No. 5 should have continuous cell service installed along its entire 273 kilometres? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Finance is well aware that the territories, including the Northwest Territories, are certainly behind some of our other provincial colleagues, anyways, in Canada in terms of providing cellular coverage on highways. In being aware of that, we are beginning to take steps to find out what options there may be available, to explore what can be done to expand the coverage. The simple reality, Mr. Speaker, is there is no private market for this. There is no way of earning any sort of revenue or profit on this. For this to go forward, there would have to be significant government support of the project, which takes certainly some consideration and planning. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Does the Minister agree that installing cell service along Highway No. 5 will help enhance the highway's safety and help grow the NWT economy?

Certainly, having cellular coverage over our highways would certainly improve safety. There is no question about that. I have not heard of the tourism aspect of it before today, so that is certainly an interesting aspect to have understood. We are taking steps, as I implied with my last answer. We are taking steps right now to have expressions of interest with respect to the highway through to Behchoko, between Behchoko and Yellowknife. It's my hope that, with that information, we will be able to look more broadly at other highways in the Northwest Territories.

Will the Minister commit to including Highway No. 5 in any future contract negotiations for new cell service along highways in the NWT?

As I said, there is right now an expression of interest open really to explore what options there might be, to see whether it's possible or how it would be possible to increase and improve cellular coverage on the highways in the Northwest Territories. Once we have that information in hand, I will certainly be sharing it with my colleagues in the Legislative Assembly, with a view to seeing, again, what we can do to improve coverage for all of the territorial highways. However, again, the first step is to get the information for that first stretch and to see what that can bring to us as some options.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member Thebacha.

Mr. Speaker, will the Minister commit to installing cellular service along Highway No. 5 within the life of the 19^th Assembly? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Would that it be so easy. I cannot make that commitment at this point. What I am going to commit to, again, is that we are going to get the information with respect to the stretch of highway between Behchoko and Yellowknife and to see what that costing might be, what those options might be. Once we have that in hand, we can start to look at other stretches of highway in the Northwest Territories. Again, it's not lost on me, the aspect of safety, and it's not lost on me the costs or the fact that we are behind coverage compared to the rest of Canada. There is a lot of attention on this issue right now in terms of cellular coverage, not only here but elsewhere with the federal government, so it certainly is my hope that there may be some options for us. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. My questions are in follow up to my Member's statement on conflicts of interest in GNWT employees with regards to outside activities. My questions will be directed to the Minister of human resources. Can the Minister provide the number of GNWT employees who were approved for an outside activity form? Mahsi.

Thank you, Member for Deh Cho. Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I understand that this number could well be into the hundreds. The requirement of having these forms is for any employee who is taking part in any outside activity. That could be anything as simple as volunteering as a sporting coach to having self-employment or to having some additional part-time employment, being on a board, et cetera. This is a good opportunity to make it clear that all employees should be filling out those forms, but it's really a number that is quite likely into the hundreds, if not beyond that, and it's done department by department. I have not had the opportunity here today to necessarily gather up the total number. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I can only imagine the vast number of outside activity forms that have been approved within each department, and there are many departments and many employees. Can the Minister provide a process each department has to perform prior to approving an outside activity form?

Again, this is something that comes out through each department, where any employee who wants to take on any kind of outside activity, employment, service, volunteer, anything of that sort, obviously needs to be outside of their regularly scheduled hours of duty, and they are expected to notify their deputy head in writing. Quite often, each department has their own form that they would fill out in order to examine and explore the nature of the activity. The point here is to avoid, certainly, conflicts of interest, but also the appearance of conflicts of interest. That would then be approved either by the deputy or possibly delegated to a senior manager.

I am curious as to who approves the outside activity forms within each department and their qualifications as to which outside activity is actual or perceived. Can the Minister provide that information?

This is another occasion where, although the Department of Finance, specifically within human resources, may give guidance on the matter, it does go down to each department. Each department does have their individual deputy minister specifically assigned to undertake the approval of these forms and then may well delegate that to senior managers.

Mr. Speaker, there does need to be some flexibility certainly. We would want to ensure that when there is an individual in a particular region making an application or making a request of this sort that the individual making the approval understands the nature of the activity at issue so that they can indeed assess whether or not there is any appearance of conflict.

Again, this is something that perhaps hasn't come up very often in the House. I think it's valuable to have this issue raised, because understanding the nature of conflicts and the appearance of conflicts is one that we certainly do take seriously. I do appreciate the questions, and I am confident that, as others may be listening, that deputies will be paying attention to ensure that they are following the process appropriately.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Deh Cho.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank the Minister for all those answers. They're very much appreciated. Can the Minister commit to reviewing all approved outside activity forms from GNWT employees and corroborating with listed outside agencies to ensure that there is no actual or perceived conflict of interest? I believe this may require the services of the Integrity Commissioner in looking at these. Mahsi.

As I had said earlier, they may well be into the thousands, the number of forms. I am not going to be in a position myself, personally, to do this. The Integrity Commissioner, of course, monitors the activities of MLAs here within the House, but what I certainly can do is go back to the Department of Finance and speak to those in human resources and ensure that we are doing our best to communicate department by department and to individual regions in what it is to understand the nature of a conflict, what it is to understand the appearance of conflict, and ensure that those materials are adequate, up-to-date, and regularly communicated so that those who are charged with making this decision and reviewing these forms have the best possible knowledge of how to do that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Infrastructure. Can the Minister please outline the plan for the upcoming fiscal year with respect to highway projects and any plans for reconstruction efforts? What I would like to hear is: What is different about this upcoming year versus other years, and has there been an increase to budget for road works in the North? Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Great Slave. Minister of Infrastructure.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I heard three questions in there, so I will try my best to get at least one of them. Several highway reconstruction/rehabilitation projects are planned for the upcoming fiscal year, such as work on Highway No. 1, Highway No. 3, Highway No. 4, Highway No. 7, and Highway No. 8. Tlicho highway construction is progressing, and it is on schedule for completion and opening by this November 2021. Two hundred kilometres of chipseal overlay has been planned for sections on Highways No. 3 and No. 6 and the Dettah Access Road, as well as the Rae Access Road.

No, there has not been an increase to the budget. The total budget for infrastructure for fiscal year 2020-2021 is $169 million. I have got a list of some of the highway projects that I would be able to provide the Member with. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, that would be great if the Minister could provide that. Can the Minister provide us with an update on the tendering for the Prohibition Creek Access Road, a project which is currently infusing $15 million of federal infrastructure money into the Northwest Territories? Can the Minister outline how that project will lead to increased training and economic opportunity for Northwest Territories residents?

The department continues to advance development of the Prohibition Creek Access Road. It's a 13-kilometre all-weather road starting from at the end of Canyon Creek access road south of Norman Wells. Twenty million dollars in funding has been secured under ICIP, the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program, to be able to support this project. This is based on a 75-25 funding model between Canada and the GNWT. There are a few activities that need to be completed prior to construction, including some of environmental and geotechnical work that will inform the final design. Following this, a final decision on procurement contracting approach will be made. We hope that the construction on this project will be starting early 2022. We are excited to see the project move to the construction phase and having its economic benefits and training opportunities start to become a reality.

I know I sound like a bit of a broken record, but I am always going to continue to bring up infrastructure and repeatedly ask the same questions. Can the Minister provide a timeline for the completion of the Great Bear River Bridge, including any unforeseen delays or difficulties due to the COVID situation?

There have been delays in scheduling some of the face-to-face public meeting in Tulita due to COVID-19. Engagement with groups and communities in the Sahtu, including a project update presentation, will resume when COVID travel restrictions are lifted, when we're able to do some video conferencing. The staff are working with the community to arrange for video conferencing that can reach as many participants as possible, so we have additional support as required from the community for land reserves, and the next community meeting should be able to assist us with that.

Prior to tendering work, the Department of Infrastructure will host an industry day far in advance of the construction tender in order to promote the integration of local, regional, northern businesses' opportunities on this project. Timing and logistics for this industry day will depend on the COVID-19 situation, which could be late 2021 or early 2022.

Mr. Speaker, the Member asked about the Great Bear River Bridge schedule. Right now, we have the project regulatory permits in place, and the projected timeline is March 2022, fiscal year 2022; tender and award construction contract for April to July of 2022; construction period, July 2022 to December 2025; bridge open to traffic, January 2026. Seasonal deficiencies and final demobilization will occur just shortly after.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am really excited to one day be able to drive across that bridge, as I have spent a lot of time in Tulita, so I am pretty excited to hear that. My last question just has to do with funding. Will the Minister commit to pressing for 100 percent dollars for northern infrastructure funding, particularly for northern highways? Will she commit to being a thorn in the side of every FPT table that she is on to impress upon them the urgency for this money for the North? It must start now, not in years, or we will lose too many businesses in the meantime. Thank you.

No pressure. I will do what I can. I do continue to engage with the federal Ministers assessing federal funding opportunities. I did raise the issue of 100 percent funding, particularly with the new construction of projects like the Mackenzie Valley Highway with Minister Omar Alghabra, the new federal Minister of transportation, so we had an introductory call on January 28^th. He is aware of some of the issues, and I will continue to pressure some of my federal counterparts.

I do want to make it clear, however, that many of the federal funding pots have very defined cost-sharing guidelines that do not contemplate any 100 percent federal funding. At this point, I am not willing to risk 75 percent federal funding on important projects by submitting applications that do not meet some of the program criteria. The issue of 100 percent highway projects will remain a topic of discussion with the federal government and myself as Minister of Infrastructure. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of education. As to my colleague from Nunakput's concerns of teachers and travel, most of our teachers in the regional centres in our small communities are providing what I feel is an essential service to our children. What is the plan for approving travel this spring break, since it was such a hot topic during Christmas? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The plan for spring break is going to be very similar to the plan for Christmas. Thank you.

We know that the CPHO has said, when we question whether the vaccine is going to loosen or take the border controls away, that she is not commenting that far. Has the department started consulting with the regional school boards or surveying if we will have a large amount of vacancies in September due to some of them not being able to travel for December and for their spring break? As we know, a lot of the teachers in our communities leave the summer and go back home to their families throughout Canada.

COVID has really changed a lot of things, but there are few who have been upended as much as teachers and students. There are things like the tourist industry, but schools across the world have been feeling this. I understand and I appreciate the sacrifice that teachers are making because not everyone is from here. I'm lucky that my family is in the territory. I don't have to go outside of the territory to see them, but that's not the case for everyone. Most of our teachers are from outside of the territory. A lot of them are young, and this could be their first time really away from their family. It is a big sacrifice, and I appreciate that.

The territory always loses teachers. It's tough to get teachers here, and it's often difficult to keep them. It's a different way of life, especially if you're used to a big city. You come up, and you're living in small communities. It can be difficult, and the weather, a lot of different factors. We often lose teachers at Christmas. Sometimes teachers just don't come back after the Christmas break, and often teachers don't come back after a couple of years. We fully expect that there will be turnover, as there always is, and we don't have any hard numbers at this point about how many teachers will not be returning. I have heard anecdotally that teachers have said that they won't be, but I can't point to any statistics. However, I would assume that it might be a higher number than normal.

One of the questions that I have for the Minister is: Trying to plan for the future, we don't want to plan in August or in July or June. If we do have a low uptake of teachers who are coming into the territory or applying for jobs or recruiting because of all of our restrictions, say if our border restrictions are still in place, is there a possibility that we will get more e-learning or Northern Distance Learning-type classrooms for some of our kids that could potentially have a teacher but have the kids in the classroom and the teacher may be on the screen with some support?

The last thing we want to do is move toward more distance learning. Our goal is to fully staff all the schools with all the teachers and have in-person instruction. We've been lucky, more so than the rest of Canada, more so than many places in the world, that we've been able to have so much face-to-face learning, and we want to keep that going. Staffing has already started for the upcoming year, and so hopefully we're making these moves early so that we can attract more teachers. There is a lot of planning that has to be done. Everyone who is involved in education, the teachers' association, the school boards, are all aware that this is a concern. It has been brought to my attention, and I take it seriously. I have these discussions with the department, but our hope is that we are going to continue to be able to attract teaches to the territory.

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

Masi, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] Thank you, Mr. Speaker. About the main road that I mentioned earlier, we know there has been a lot of traffic and a lot of collisions. We have a few people passed on Highway No. 3, and so far, we had about six from our home community of Behchoko. [Translation ends] I would like to ask the Minister of Infrastructure: Would the Minister of Infrastructure please provide this House with a 10-year breakdown of the vehicle accidents on Highway No. 3 between Yellowknife, Behchoko, and Fort Providence which involve tractor-trailer units? The Minister may not have the information, but if detailed information could come forward, that would be very helpful. Masi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Minister of Infrastructure.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am going to start off by saying my thoughts and prayers are with the family for the highway tragedy that happened at the end of December. The department is aware and shares some of the Member's concerns about the safety of Highway No. 3, especially the section between Yellowknife and Behchoko, which the Member knows is the busiest highway in the Northwest Territories, for that stretch of the highway. Like the Member said, I may not have the numbers with me. I know the numbers of vehicle accidents along the highway are high.

I do want to say, though, that the number of vehicle collisions on Highway No. 3 between Yellowknife and Behchoko has declined 76 percent between 1999 and 2019, despite a 225-percent increase in traffic. If the department has the numbers, then we can provide that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would be one of those frequent travellers on Highway No. 3 because I represent Behchoko and the communities, and obviously, I see a lot of semi tractor-trailers on the highway. Every time I am on the highway, there are big trucks on the highway. Speeding is the number one cause of these accidents, especially during the winter road season when it opens up, which is today, so there will be a lot of tractor-trailers on Highway No. 3. There will be very busy traffic, up to 6,000 loads, I believe, going up to the mine sites. These tractor-trailers don't slow down when there are vehicles parked on the side of the road with flashing lights. I do have a witness who was involved in this, as I spoke to in my Member's statement, first-hand, on December 31, 2020. My question for the Minister of Infrastructure: What are the protocols in place for these truck drivers when it comes to approaching a parked vehicle with flashing lights on the side of the road? How is it enforced?

I want to thank the Member for suggesting to look at speed limits for trucks and maybe even lower them. We will have to consult with the general public and the transportation industry and get their thoughts on this matter. It is a possibility that reduced speed limits could alleviate some of the tragedies and accidents along the highway. It will have to be a coordinated safety campaign that would make the highways safer. I can commit to having some of this work done and getting back to the Assembly.

Just to elaborate a little bit more because I did speak to the Minister in advance because this is of high importance in my region: I am getting messages from my constituents asking if this government can lower the speed limit for these tractor-trailer units down to at least 70 kilometres per hour. Right now, as it stands, it's 90 kilometres per hour, and it's still not being obeyed or followed. What would be the process to make this happen? We had a public meeting in Behchoko on Highway No. 3 safety issues this previous Monday with all the stakeholders, and almost everyone raised this issue. My constituents would like to see this change ASAP. Can we see this in the life of this government?

The Member talked about a meeting in Behchoko that happened on February 1^st, and there were representatives from governments, industry, and enforcement agencies, as discussed, to be able to make this Highway No. 3 safer for all motorists. I fully support that work going forward and agree with the need for increased cooperation at all levels and improving public safety education for professional drivers and for the general public who use Highway No. 3.

In the meantime, we are taking positive steps to make the Northwest Territories safer. For example, like all jurisdictions in Canada, we are in the process of developing and implementing a mandatory entry-level training program for new Class 1 truck drivers, so we expect to have this work done and a program up and running by this December. We do have some concerns about truckers speeding on the section of the highway, and I can say I have witnessed it in person. The majority of the truck drivers do obey the speed limits, but there are always those who do not. We need to come up with some ways to be able to work with the communities and try and come up with ways to be able to have transport trucks reduce their speed.

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

Masi, Mr. Speaker. I am glad the Minister is receptive to looking at reducing, possibly, the speed limit for these transport operators. Obviously, that would be a good start for this government. The safety of Highway No. 3 also should be and must be a priority, no matter who or what company they are working for. The posted speed limit should be obeyed at all times, especially for the tractor-trailer drivers, who we have seen so many times speeding. We are here to provide some options and ideas, so this is one of the recommendations that has been passed on to me: Could the Minister possibly look into establishing camera units at Fort Providence bridge crossing, where there are cameras already, one at Behchoko, and in Yellowknife to monitor to speed limits? A system where, once leaving the destination, let's say leaving Fort Providence and arriving in Yellowknife at a certain time, expected time of arrival is based on speed limit? Mr. Speaker, masi.

I agree with the Member that we need to look at increasing highway enforcement patrols in the region, especially with the opening of the Tlicho All-Season Road that is going to happen in November. I will be, and the Member may be happy because we did have a discussion, perhaps looking at funding for additional highway patrol officers in the North Slave to be included in the next business plan. I think the Member would be happy to say that adding one additional person to be able to help monitor the highway is a good start, and I think that is something positive coming out from the department. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I spoke earlier in my statement about our electronic medical record system and our eHealth system. At one point, the Northwest Territories was a leader in this area, being one of the first jurisdictions to completely shift all of our health records to electronic form. When we designed that system, we designed a patient portal, which allowed people to log in and see their health records digitally. Other jurisdictions have now caught up and have those portals open and operating, and we have refused to do this. My question for the Minister of Health and Social Services is: Why has that portal not been turned on? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The department supports, in principle, the idea of having a patient portal where patients can access their health information that's held in electronic medical records, recognizing that there is information that is not in electronic medical records. We recognize the benefits of them having confidence in managing their health themselves and to make sure they're making informed discussions with their healthcare provider. It turns out that turning this feature on is a little less like turning on a light switch and more like steering the Queen Mary. It hasn't been accomplished at this point, and in the meantime, the medical record system we're using is going to be retired on December 31, 2023, so we are now looking for a new electronic medical record system. It seems unlikely we are going to make modifications to this system, but rather, we'll look at it in the context of the next system. Thank you.

I look forward to bringing up this issue in the next Assembly as it was brought up in the last, as well. I understand we are now shopping for a new electronic medical records system. I heard that was 2023. Can the Minister commit that as part of going out and purchasing a new system, an online patient portal will be part of that system?

I can't make that commitment. I can say that there is interest in this. I've already said that. It's in the four-year business plan that you've reviewed in the fall. Another possibility is to have a separate patient portal that is not connected to the electronic medical records but, in fact, include a wider range of records such as you mentioned in your statement: records from Alberta, paper records, images, and that kind of thing. Before we go down this road, we need to do a very comprehensive privacy assessment, and we need to answer some fundamental questions such as: Can parents access their children's records? If you are a caregiver, can you access your patient's records or your client's records? We need to have a very robust privacy and public engagement on this issue before we are able to decide what the best route forward is.

I recognize that it may not be as simple as turning a switch on. However, our doctors and our healthcare professionals use HealthNet Viewer daily. There have been consistent problems in this area in making sure that patient files are complete. I think that there is a bit of a misunderstanding, and our patients think that someone is monitoring their file and making sure it is robust and complete and all of the data works in there. Actually, the health system is just as siloed as many other GNWT departments. My question is: What work is being done now to make sure we are bringing all of our information into one place, whether it is the electronic medical records system or some new system as the Minister states?

I will need to return to the Member with information about what is being done right now on bringing in different sources of information into electronic medical record. I can say that I've answered a couple of questions from MLAs about records that seem to be missing from the electronic medical records for one reason and another. If the Member has a constituent who feels that their electronic medical records are incomplete, we can certainly investigate that.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have had multiple constituent issues of records missing, but the problem is: they do not have access to that electronic medical record system. A portal accomplishes exactly that, is that they can keep a file up-to-date. As the Minister said, there is lots of work to do in this area. COVID, I think, has pushed this work to the forefront. Is there a digital health strategy coming forward with some of the lessons learned and some of the paths we have to go down that will answer these questions such as maybe by 2023, whether we will have this portal? My question to the Minister is: do we have a comprehensive digital health strategy that is factored in, the changes COVID has put on the system? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Department of Health and Social Services is very actively working on the pandemic rather than looking back at all of the lessons learned. I am not aware that there is work being done on a digital strategy at this point. Of course, it is important to capture the lessons learned, but this is not the moment. Thank you.

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

Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Finance. In my statement, I described the legal requirement for tabling of an annual report for the Heritage Fund in this House. Can the Minister explain why this legal requirement has not been fulfilled for several years and whether she will immediately bring the reporting up to date? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My understanding is that, when the Heritage Fund Act was initially put into place, it actually did not include a requirement for the report to be tabled or provided. However, when the act was amended and with a new Financial Administration Act in force, and I believe that would have been in 2016, from that date forward, the reports have, in fact, been published and brought forward by the Department of Finance and that indeed those reports are contained in section 3 of the public accounts, which does get tabled every year, and that 2018-2019, 2017-2018, and back to 2016-2017, all three of those public accounts, including section 3, including the report detailing the financial administration of the heritage fund, are available online through the Department of Finance website. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I want to thank the Minister for that. It would be much more helpful, in my view, if these could be tabled separately somehow in the House so people could actually know that they are publicly available. Having them buried in public accounts is not very transparent. However, the purpose of the Heritage Fund was "to ensure that future generations of people of the Northwest Territories benefit from ongoing resource development, including the development of non-renewable resources." With less than $30 million after almost 10 years and on resources worth over $18 billion, clearly, we have collectively failed. What is the Minister going to do to try to turn around the NWT Heritage Fund so that there is actually something worthwhile for future generations?

The value of the resources that are going out from the Northwest Territories, perhaps some of the challenges that we are facing right now, is that we are not necessarily speaking about the same thing. The royalties that are calculated, Mr. Speaker, come from the profits, and so the mines that have to generate profits, that have these resources, have to pay their staff, have to pay salaries, have to pay taxes, a variety of taxes, and have to pay royalties, as well, and, of course, have to pay for the capital to build the mines that actually then can generate the profits to take the resources out of the ground. It's not quite so simple as to simply say, "How much is it worth?" It is, "What money is actually available after, with the profits, to put back in?"

With that, Mr. Speaker, the Heritage Fund, I can certainly say, compared to a year ago when there certainly were tremendous shocks, the fund is actually up 15 percent since the lows back on March 31 of 2020 and that, in fact, the management of the fund is such that we are now seeing increases as markets are starting to turn around.

I want to thank the Minister for that report on the health of the fund, but she did not really answer my question about why there is going to be so little to pass on to future generations. The problems with the fund started with the very low rates at which we capture revenues from resource development. There is no legally set revenue stream for the heritage fund and no public governance. As we approach the 10-year mandatory review, what is the Minister going to propose to ensure that we capture and retain a fair share of resource revenues for future generations?

The 10-year review, in fact, it is the Legislative Assembly or a committee of the Legislative Assembly that is responsible for conducting the 10-year review. I can certainly assure the Member, assure this House, that myself and the Department of Finance are more than happy and very much prepared to be of assistance as that process goes forward through this Assembly.

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