Ministers' statements. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.

Mr. Speaker, it is fitting that, as we focus this sitting on the government's budget, including how GNWT spending impacts the NWT economy and the role it can play in our economic recovery efforts, we are also beginning a territory-wide conversation about our government's procurement practices and policies. Procurement is a significant tool that can positively increase the benefits of government spending on the private sector and, as a result, on the economy as a whole.

Ensuring that government procurement and contracting maximizes benefits to residents and businesses is a priority established by the 19^th Legislative Assembly. Building on that, one of our government's guiding principles is to ensure that the expenditure of public funds supports northern businesses and maximizes economic benefits to Northerners. This is consistent with our long-standing commitment to support Northwest Territories businesses and grow a strong, diversified economy. The conversation that has formally begun around procurement is part of the effort to achieve this priority and advance this guiding principle.

It is important to remember that the concerns and needs that led to this priority and, similarly, to the political recognition that it is time for new recommendations to improve procurement practices came from the territory's Indigenous governments and organizations, the business community, and the public at large, rightfully so as the last comprehensive review was over a decade ago. The people of the NWT know and have made clear that we have an opportunity for positive and long-lasting change and that we need to work together to achieve it. At a time in our history when it is clearly needed, we are prepared to reset or re-imagine our government's approach to buying and contracting the goods and services it needs to deliver its mandate. To that end, we have accelerated our mandate commitment to strengthen GNWT procurement policies and practices.

Mr. Speaker, I have spoken in previous sittings about the procurement review. I want to use this opportunity to provide an update. Recently, I announced the start of the process to get this very important work done with the release of the discussion paper, dedicated section of the ITI website, and the introduction of our review panel.

We have put a review panel in place that I am confident will remain open-minded, objective, creative, and responsive and whom I have personally asked to do so. The panel will hear from a variety of stakeholders and residents. From panel interviews to written submissions, targeted-engagement opportunities, and an online discussion forum, we are working to ensure that everyone has a means and opportunity to share their thoughts and perspectives. We want the panel to hear real experiences with government procurement, both positive and otherwise. This should include specific examples of when the system did or did not work and collect innovative ideas for making our procurement process better. The panel will also meet with officials from Indigenous governments about GNWT procurement generally and ideas for a possible Indigenous procurement strategy and ways to best achieve the economic goals of modern treaties. I will continue to reach out to Indigenous leaders, as well, for ongoing government-to-government discussions about GNWT procurement. We need everybody with an interest in this discussion to seek out the information and opportunities that are available to provide their input.

Mr. Speaker, our use of a public review process reflects our confidence that the ideas and guidance needed on this important matter can be found in the leadership, experience, and creativity that exist within the Northwest Territories. We want to continue to help stimulate economic growth and encourage entrepreneurship and local competition. Our review of public procurement is one part of work that must be done to support a resilient, more diverse economy. I encourage everyone in our territory to contribute to this process. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The handling of the COVID-19 pandemic by the Chief Public Health Officer and her staff has paid off when one looks at the low number of cases, with no confirmed deaths in the Northwest Territories. Compared to the rest of Canada, the NWT appears to be moving along quickly with the rollout of the vaccine, which has resulted in the NWT receiving 19,100 doses with another 16,200 expected shortly. To date, approximately 14,600 first doses and 2,000 second doses have been administered in the NWT.

Mr. Speaker, the World Health Organization, in an interim guidance communication dated January 25, 2021, stated that, 14 days after receiving the first dose of the vaccine, the efficacy is said to be 91.9 percent; after receiving the second dose, based on a two-month follow-up, it is said that an efficacy of 94.1 percent has been established. The World Health Organization and the Centre for Disease Control recommends that the second dose should be administered as close to the recommended interval as possible. The stated time for this second dose was to be 28 days after receiving the first dose. Recently, that number, that 28-day number, has been pushed out as far as 42 days.

Mr. Speaker, this government has to rely on the supplier for the vaccine and, as such, has no control when delivery will be made. When we know we are to receive the vaccine from the supplier, I would expect that a decision is made to either use it all up as a first dose or possibly hold some back to administer as a second dose when a delay becomes a reality. The delay in receiving additional supply has created anxiety among residents who were expecting a second dose of the vaccine on day 28.

Mr. Speaker, because of this delay, constituents in Hay River have been asking why the second dose was delayed and if this delay will have an impact on the efficacy of the vaccine, questions I will have for the Minister of health later. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Merci, Monsieur le President. We are now about a third of the way through our term. I am increasingly concerned with lack of substantive legislation from Cabinet. To date, there have been a total of 24 bills, almost half of which were appropriations. This is not quite as bad as the last Cabinet as they had only introduced a total of six non-appropriation bills at this point. The bills from this Cabinet, outside of appropriations, deal with pithy matters, including:

• a monumental effort, with some of the most convoluted wording I have ever seen, to change the Public Highway Act to absolve GNWT of liability for winter roads connecting off our roads;
• the much-vaunted Temporary Variation of Statutory Time Periods (Covid-19 Pandemic Measures) Act that has been used once;
• probably my favourite, the Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act;
• housekeeping changes to the Securities Act; Apprenticeship, Trade and Occupation Certification Act; Legal Professions Act; and the Corrections Act;
• changes to the Interpretation Act that would have allowed Cabinet total discretion to change time zones and other time changes, which would not get my vote as something of importance to deal with during the pandemic;
• bills also from the Clerk's office to allow for remote sittings and to standardize more of the terms of contracts for the Assembly's independent officers. I think that is good legislation.

My point here, Mr. Speaker, is that we have yet to get anything substantive from Cabinet. We are supposed to be a Legislative Assembly, not a debating club. This less-than-ambitious legislative agenda has not put our committees to work nor delivered on the promises in the mandate nor the needs of our citizens. I am concerned that, like the last Assembly, we will have an avalanche of bills in the last few months of our term, which doesn't allow for good public input or careful consideration of improvements. I will have questions for the Premier on Cabinet's legislative inertia and lethargy later today. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

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

Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Today, I am going to talk about the Liwe camp, which is a fish camp that is hosted on Mackenzie Island, on the shores of Great Slave Lake, for the last two weeks and is hosted by the Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning. This is the second time that Dechinta has hosted a public fish camp. I had the opportunity to visit the camp this past weekend. I had a great time being out there. Camp Liwe provides a great opportunity for community members to engage in culture, language, and other traditional ways of being on the land during the winter.

Mr. Speaker, Dechinta is an organization that is always striving to bridge the gap between the old ways of Indigenous life and the modern world. They blend culture and education and treat them with equal importance to one's identity. "Strong like two people," that is the motto of Dechinta, which encourages an individual to excel both in modern society and in traditional ways of being.

Mr. Speaker, I applaud Dechinta and all the organizers who helped contribute to this event. By all accounts, it was a very successful event, and they are planning to run it again next year. I hope to continue seeing Dechinta host popular and successful community events like this into the future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and just in line with my questioning last Friday, I'm going to continue asking some questions to the Minister of MACA on gaps in healthcare and emergency response. Marsi cho.

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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The Hamlet of Enterprise has approximately 120 residents; five businesses, including a motel, convenience, and gas bar. The businesses mostly cater to out-of-town requests for service, businesses such as a plumbing and heating contractor, cabinet supply company, modular home company, and the furniture cash-and-carry business. There are a couple of small, niche businesses such as Winnie's Dene Art Gallery and D'Arcy Moses Fashion Design, both in the same building that used to house a former cafe and gas bar.

Mr. Speaker, one would think this was a vibrant and happening place, considering all that economic potential. However, many of the businesses are small mom-and-pop operations and cannot afford to hire new staff or any staff at all. Since COVID hit, this hamlet has been hit hard in terms of business potential and opportunities. The hamlet's only gas bar, motel, and convenience store has not opened for a couple of years since it had new owners, and this was due to COVID. I understand this may well be for sale once again.

The hamlet is the first community on Highway No. 1 and approximately 84 kilometres, roughly 54 miles, from the 60^th parallel, the NWT-Alberta border. It is very puzzling that Enterprise is not touted as the gateway to the falls, as these are very near to the community. I don't see much signage in Enterprise or a visitors information centre to make visitors and tourists aware of these hotspots for activity. Even the residents who run small businesses are bypassed for campground custodian contracts. Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment at the appropriate time. Mahsi.

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

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Tree of Peace Friendship Centre, located in Yellowknife, has been serving Northerners with community and wellness programs that include educational, economic, recreational, and cultural activities for over 50 years. At the heart of their work is a deep respect for Indigenous peoples' cultural distinctiveness and the trauma created by the legacy of the residential schools. This positions the centre to be even more effective in the work they do than perhaps programs offered by the GNWT that may evoke feelings of colonialism and institutionalized racism.

In 2004, the Company of Young Canadians, the economic wing of the Tree of Peace, finalized construction of the 15,000-square-foot building complex on 51^st Street. The CYC owns the building, renting space to the centre for its programming. Construction of the complex was completed solely through fundraising efforts of the organization itself, without any funding from government; an amazing feat. However, the Tree of Peace does rely on government funding for its programs, and in my opinion, it is time to step up that funding to ensure that the centre and others like it can continue to be effective.

Community wellness and youth workers at the Tree of Peace have not seen a salary increase for several years. With an increasing population utilizing the programs provided by the centre as well as inflation and rises in the cost of living, personnel often go without raises so programming isn't cut, and like all teachers everywhere, educators are often purchasing supplies for their classrooms out of pocket. For example, the Alcohol Educator Program, which provides the ongoing after-care support needed post-treatment, has been at the same rate of pay and program funding for years. Given the growing addictions issues in the North and the push for rehabilitation services, this funding needs to be reassessed as, currently, the program is constantly being monitored to not go over-budget, potentially leading to diminished services. In order to maintain growth and the economic self-reliance of the program, its funding needs to be increased.

Currently, the Upgrading Education Program at the Tree of Peace is exclusive to adults. With appropriate funding and a needs assessment, this service could be expanded to youths, as well. By working together with educators at the Tree of Peace, we can continue to expand on the educational needs and supports required to increase educational levels for residents in a culturally sensitive manner. The Tree of Peace Friendship Centre continues to play an active and inclusive role in our communities toward empowering youth, elders, and those in recovery. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mr. Speaker, mining has always driven the North's modern economy. When I was growing up, you were most likely either the kid of a mine employee or of a public servant. Today, mineral resources and the public sector are driving our territory's workforce and cash flow. Although the NWT is rich with opportunity, mineral exploration is stagnant. Natural Resources Canada estimates that mineral exploration in the NWT fell 54 percent over 2020, and while all mineral spending across Canada dropped during COVID-19, the NWT fell from the seventh highest in ranking across Canada down to the 11^th.

Mining report cards produced from the Fraser Institute Survey of Mining Companies, the C.D. Howe Report, and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives offer some insight. These reports suggest that the NWT is the second-lowest attractive location for mining investment in Canada. The NWT is known for long, uncertain permitting processes. Roughly one third of regulatory permits are issued in under six months in the Northwest Territories, yet Yukon and Nunavut can issue over 60 percent of permits within the same time frame. Our northern neighbours can double our pace of development in terms of permitting, Mr. Speaker.

What is most concerning, however, is the fact that the GNWT does not meet their own timelines, creating further uncertainty for doing business in the Northwest Territories. Improved regulatory communication, transparency, and consistency are necessary to attract investors to our resource-rich territory, and these fundamental pillars to building an attractive policy environment for mining are the NWT's weakest policy points. Implementing the large infrastructure priorities identified in the mandate of the 19^th Assembly, such as the Slave Geological Province Corridor and the Taltson Hydro Expansion Project, are not feasible unless there are large-scale resource development projects to support them.

Mr. Speaker, diamond production has reached its peak, and private investment in the NWT has been steadily declining for years. How is the GNWT turning the tide on this trend? Will the GNWT effectively increase transparency and consistency in the regulatory process, and how will the GNWT improve its own internal timelines in the regulatory process? I will have questions for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment about specific efforts to increase investor confidence and bolster exploration and mining in the NWT. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Consensus government, at its core, has a transparency problem, and it not an easy problem to solve without all of us in this House making some sacrifices for the public good. In our system, Regular MLAs are awarded a great deal of input into decision making. We see draft budgets, draft business plans, draft budgets, and draft legislative proposals, and we are given ample time to comment and provide input to those draft decisions. In many cases, Mr. Speaker, Cabinet actually listens to Regular MLAs, and I commend them for that. I understand that some Assemblies have done better than others at this.

However, Mr. Speaker, whenever something is draft, it is marked "confidential" and any discussions take place in secret. A by-product of this is that most decisions, by the time they are made public, much of the hard work and debate has been done. This often results in an anomaly where we pass things in this House with little or no comment.

Now, Mr. Speaker, I want to note that this is not any better in a party system where the solution is simply not to share information with the opposition, and sometimes things become public all at the same time as a surprise to opposition MLAs and the public. Clearly, this is not a solution to the problem, but it is often framed as the alternative. If MLAs are unhappy with doing business planning in secret, then they can wait and review a finalized document in public, but changing finalized Cabinet documents is a rare and difficult occurrence.

Mr. Speaker, the real solution here is a large dose of transparency at all levels. A dose of transparency that requires all of us becoming much more comfortable working with draft proposals publicly. We also must be much more comfortable speaking of when we failed to act.

The GNWT being an inherently risk-adverse organization, often the decision to do nothing is the most important and the most common. As an example, Mr. Speaker, our Affirmative Action Policy has not changed in some decades. However, if you weed through the multiple committee reports and you glean that it has probably gone to Cabinet multiple times, or at least to committee, and yet, nothing has been done. From the public's perspective, no change or effort to change such an important policy has ever occurred, yet repetitive decisions to fail to change it are often what has occurred.

Mr. Speaker, much of the work we need to do is set out in the GNWT's open government policy. However, we have heard little what the steering committee for that policy does, being made up of public servants who ironically meet in secret. One part of that work is an open data portal. I will have questions for the Minister of Finance on how we can become a more open government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I'd like to bring up the rental assessments for our local housing authorities back in the Delta or across the territory. I'm getting a lot of constituents coming into my office and asking why aren't they able to go and get their rental assessment redone and have it done soon because the high cost of living back home for all your bills, your power, your food, everything that comes up with that. That being said, when they're going in, it's not being done.

Mr. Speaker, I'm asking the Minister today to pass on to make sure all local housing authorities are given notice to assist the constituent or the renter when they come in because everybody back home are seasonal workers, most of them, and anything helps from cost-of-living, extra funds for anything that help to pay our power bills and everything, just day-to-day lives from people back home.

Today, I'm asking the Minister that making sure that she's getting her local housing authorities across our territory, when somebody comes to the housing office, to make sure and asking for an assessment, it gets done that day. I will have questions for the appropriate Minister at that time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Nunakput. Members' statements. Member for Monfwi.

Masi, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] Today, the federal government, I'd like to talk about it. I'd like to ask the questions to the federal government about: when you look at the legislation 292, it is called 292 today, I'd like to, I will ask the Minister of Health and Social Services [Translation ends] National Aboriginal Day, June 21^st, marks the second anniversary of a very important new federal law. I refer to Bill C-92, An Act Respecting First Nations, Inuit and Metis Children, Youth and Families.

Mr. Speaker, this landmark federal legislation acknowledges that inherent right of Indigenous people through jurisdictions over Child and Family Services. This includes foster care, child apprehensions, and other forms of family interventions.

Among other things, Mr. Speaker, Bill C-92 establishes procedures for orderly transfer of this authority from the colonizing government to the relevant Aboriginal governments across the Northwest Territories. It also provides for funding agreement to cover the costs of administering the devolved services.

Mr. Speaker, this is a good law, one that is recommended by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. However, Mr. Speaker, its successful implementation requires the cooperation and goodwill of this government, also provincial governments that are involved. At the appropriate time, Mr. Speaker, I intend to question the Minister of Health and Social Services about how this act is being rolled out here in the Northwest Territories. Masi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Members' statements. Member for Thebacha.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I'm going to talk about the Affirmative Action Policy and how it is not being evenly applied across all departments within the Government of the Northwest Territories. What I mean is that I have brought several constituency issues pertaining to the Affirmative Action Policy to the attention of the Minister responsible for human resources. Oftentimes, the Minister will defer any answers on these particular enquiries to the department or Ministers who are doing the hiring. Through my work on these issues, it has come to my attention that there is not an even application of the Affirmative Action Policy taking place across the government. There seem to be a lot of gaps and loopholes, which allows the government to work around the Affirmation Action Policy.

For example, Mr. Speaker, recently, within the Department of Lands, there were three vacant positions, one of which a constituent of mine had applied to. My constituent applied and was denied because she was told she was inexperienced. My constituent felt she was overlooked, so she asked me to intercede on her behalf to see whether affirmative action was properly enacted for that position. I later found out that the position in question was filled by a direct appointment.

Mr. Speaker, I'm not okay with this. There is something wrong with this picture. Some people argue that the direct appointments are a good thing for Indigenous people as it provides an alternative means of hiring Indigenous candidates into government positions. However, direct appointments could also create the opposite effect and can act as a loophole around the Affirmative Action Policy.

Mr. Speaker, our government and all its departments can say all it wants that the Affirmative Action Policy is being properly enacted, but how do we know that that is, in fact, true. If it's up to each department to regulate itself regarding affirmative action, how are hiring decisions being tracked, measured, and overseen in accordance with this policy? Where is the accountability and transparency in that? I will have questions for the Minister of human resources at the appropriate time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, acknowledgements. Item 7, oral questions. Member for Hay River South.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. These questions are for the Minister of health. Can the Minister confirm how decisions are being made with respect to the vaccine rollout, more specifically the second dose? Is it at the sole discretion of the Chief Public Health Officer, or is there a vaccine working group? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the opportunity to talk about this issue, because it is one that I have heard discussed quite often. The Chief Public Health Officer is the staff person who is ultimately responsible, but she doesn't work in a vacuum. She works with colleagues across the country. She works with colleagues in her office. She regularly consults community and Indigenous leaders. She also receives advice from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization. She uses a variety of information sources to look at the decisions she makes about priority groups for vaccination and, as has emerged recently, the timing of second doses based on the supply interruption by the manufacturer. Thank you.

Can the Minister confirm if there was a decision made by the Office of the Chief Public Health Officer to forego the administration of a second dose of the vaccine in favour of providing as many NWT residents with a first dose?

As a matter of fact, that did not happen. The people who are receiving a second dose of their vaccine are doing so within the recommended 28-to-42-day time frame, even though we did receive fewer vaccines than we had hoped at the beginning of February, we have now received plenty of vaccine. In some cases, people are closer to the end of the 42-day time frame, but nobody was shortchanged a second dose because of rolling out first doses.

Can the Minister confirm the number of persons who have had their second shots delayed due to the delay in receiving the vaccine from the suppliers?

All residents should be able to receive their second dose within that 28-to-42-day time frame. I am not aware of people going over that unless they are unavailable to have the second dose because they are out of their community or out of the territory. To the best of my knowledge, there is no delay in this area.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister provide us with an indication of the efficacy of the vaccine when receiving a second shot after the 28^th day and up to the 42^nd day? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The vaccine is not an off-on proposition. When it enters the body, it creates antibodies to fight off the COVID-19 infection. It continues to create antibodies from the 28^th day, from the 42^nd day. The second dose is really a booster. Having said that, as the Member is well-aware, this is a very new vaccine, and there is not a lot of information about the maximum interval between doses. What we do know for now is that there is no problem extending up to day 42.

There are jurisdictions that are experimenting with a greater interval than that, but we are staying with the National Advisory Committee on Immunization recommendation, which is that the second dose be given between 28 and 42 days. In terms of how effective it is, the vaccine is reported to be 92 percent effective 14 days after the first dose. As I say, it continues to build. Anyone who is over the 42 days will not have to restart their vaccine series. They will be able to get the vaccine when they are ready to get it. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister of human resources tell us if her department is ensuring that the Affirmative Action Policy is being evenly applied within all departments of the government? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Every department is responsible for their own hiring. What they would do, then, is bring in the Department of Finance and human resources. We are there to, indeed, support that process and to work with them to make sure that, in fact, the Affirmative Action Policy is being properly applied. I certainly am confident that that does happen. Every time these questions come through my office, we are able to review and to look at and to ensure that the policy is being applied. The short answer, Mr. Speaker, is yes. Thank you.

Can the Minister tell us if the affirmative action strategy applies to all departments of the Government of the Northwest Territories?

It certainly does.

Some people believe that direct appointments are beneficial for Indigenous P1 individuals. Can the Minister tell us if she agrees with that statement?

The direct appointment process is one that is quite carefully used. There are specific rationales, and only under those specific rationales can a department request a direct appointment. Then the rationale needs to be, of course, reviewed by the Minister before supporting the request for direct appointment. It is most often used, Mr. Speaker, for situations where a competition has been held and a position can't be filled. It's been used to make use of the tools and techniques, such as Indigenous Gateway and internship programs, and to try to support those individuals here in the Northwest Territories who are advancing through these avenues that we have.

For example, the numbers I have this year for the 19^th Assembly are, indeed, that direct appointments do tend to, far and away, favour affirmative action candidates. Based on that information, it is a system. It's one tool. It's not the only tool, but it is one tool by which we are trying to ensure that the Government of the Northwest Territories can be responsive and flexible towards its goal of having a representative work force.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Minister commit to bringing my concerns about the direct appointment process to Cabinet to determine ways to improve direct appointments to ensure greater transparency and accountability? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, absolutely. Early on in the process of becoming a Minister, this is a policy that I wanted to have reviewed to understand better, and I agree. It is, as I said, a tool that can be utilized. It should be utilized towards the goal of being a representative work force, and if it's going to be a tool, then it should be better understood. I would certainly commit to bringing the concerns forward, but what's more, I will commit to looking for a way that we can make its use more transparent so that it is more understood how it actually works. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Just in light of my Member's statement on Friday about service gaps for emergency services, the Minister of Health and Social Services gave me a little bit of direction of where to go with this. I have some questions for the Minister of MACA. I live in a small community, and I wanted to take first aid training or first responder training. Where would I go? Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This was a question that I did bring back to my department, and I wanted to know because, when governments are established, industry, whatever, we are supposed to have a safety arm to every organization, making sure that we do offer those services. Bringing that back to the School of Community Government, I asked about the fire safety training that we do have and the first aid, looking at the procedures that we do have to encourage work safety. Within the School of Community Government, we do offer first aid, and we do offer safety training, as well, also looking at the fire safety, as well, and looking at the training that we provide significantly to making sure that we do provide safety when fighting fires.

There was also training that was supported in terms of the automated external defibrillator, training in response to a motion of the Legislative Assembly in 2014. MACA tapped into some federal funding and supported the purchase and implementation of the automated external defibrillator to mass-assembly buildings. We also supported training to the use of the defibrillator. This was done through a partnership with the NWTAC, NWT Fire Chiefs Association, and the Heart and Stroke Foundation. As part of this project, it was recommended that all communities note the location of the automated external defibrillator training in their emergency plan when they are looking at submitting for their capital plan. I brought this back to my department to make sure that safety is taken very seriously, and we have acknowledged the need in the smaller communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Before we move on, colleagues, please just take your time. Our interpreters are having a little difficulty keeping up, so just be mindful. Thank you. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker, and thank you for that very thorough response. This training is so important. I spoke with one of my constituents who works with the volunteer fire department for Fort Resolution, and she said it runs out. It's very important that we keep our training updated. Even through times of COVID, life still has to go on, so I just thought I would speak to that. I commend all of the volunteer fire fighters and first responders in our communities. It's a tough job and very, very necessary, very needed. My next question for the Minister: does MACA track the number of people trained in first aid training and first responder training in the Northwest Territories?

Since the training is an opportunity that is offered through the School of Community Government, MACA does keep a list of people who we have trained. However, if they have received training outside of Municipal and Community Affairs, the School of Community Government, we do not keep track of those numbers if it's provided privately.

Again, thank you for that. Going back again, I heard AEDs mentioned, so does MACA keep track of how many AEDs we have in our smaller communities?

That information, I do not have on hand, but I will follow up with the Member.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Like I said, I am going to keep pressing for this, like I said, a very glaring service gap. I am going to keep on pressing, make sure that we get some real responses. That is something so undignified, so maybe I will leave it at that. Marsi cho.

Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Would the Minister like to respond? I will take that as a comment. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Merci, Monsieur le President. Earlier today, I spoke of the legislative lethargy of our Cabinet. We are about a third of the way through our term, and no bills of any substance have been proposed by Cabinet. Changes have been promised to the Education Act, to implement UNDRIP, to bring our resource management into this century, and more. Can the Premier explain whether there is any substantive legislation planned for the current sitting? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Honourable Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to defer that question to the Government House Leader, who is responsible for legislative initiative, Minister Simpson. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Honourable Premier. Government House Leader.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At the beginning of every sitting, I provide the Regular Members of this House with a list of the legislation that is likely to be introduced. This sitting, there was no legislation planned to be introduced. That said, we are hoping to get a couple of bills introduced at some point in this sitting. However, those have to go through Cabinet, so I cannot say whether or not they will happen. Whether or not they are "substantive" according to the Member's definition, I am not sure, but we hope to have some work for them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I want to thank the Government House Leader for that answer. Maybe we will get a couple of bills. However, I spoke about how this is supposed to be the Legislative Assembly, not a debating club. Can the Government House Leader tell us when any significant legislation is going to be introduced to put our committees to work?

I hope the committees are busy working right now. There is a lot of work to do outside of legislation, despite being the Legislative Assembly by name. Again, any bill that is introduced is subject to Cabinet approval, so I cannot say that a bill will be introduced by this time. However, any member of the public can go and look at the four-year business plans put out by the Government of the Northwest Territories. Every single department lists their legislative initiatives with their proposed dates when they want to introduce the bills. Now, has there been some slippage? Yes, there has, but we were dealing with something for the past year that took a lot of our energy. Some of the departments with the heaviest legislative loads for this term were some of the hardest hit and most affected and were busy with other things. Despite that, we have still had twice as much legislation as the previous Assembly by this point.

I want to thank my colleague, the Government House Leader, but who could forget the legislative landslide in the last eight months of the last Assembly? I personally spent most of the summer away from home, in committee travel, meetings, and a final sitting of the House in August where one clause-by-clause review of a bill stretched on for four-and-a-half hours, until past midnight. Who could forget that, Mr. Speaker? What is Cabinet doing to prevent a repeat performance?

I, for one, will not forget that, and I remember all of the Member's amendments that made it stretch out until past midnight. However, we did learn from the last Assembly. We have asked departments to give us more realistic timelines for legislation and to be brutally honest and look at themselves in the mirror and say, "Can we get this done at this point?" Right off the bat, we had a more realistic list. We are also using technology to ensure that we can track our legislation better. We are one of the first divisions in the government to start using the APEX Database, which is something that is going to be rolling out. It is taking some time because we are the first to use it and there are some technical challenges. That is going to help, as well, and we will all have access to the legislation. I also want to point out that, yes, in the last Assembly, there was a lot of legislation at the very end and that some of the departments that put forward that legislation now have regulations to work on for this entire term and are not putting forward legislation. There is another component to it, as well. It's not all acts; there are also regulations.

Thank you, Government House Leader. Final supplementary. Member for Frame Lake.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Government House Leader for giving me credit on the clause-by-clause review of that faulty legislation in the last Assembly. Of course, we are looking forward to getting some regulations, as well. While I can understand that COVID may have delayed some of our legislative work, I am more than happy to ensure that departments and the government as a whole have the resources to start legislation flowing. Can the Government House Leader confirm whether there are the human resources and capacity necessary to begin to turn the legislative taps on? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

It's always a challenge to develop legislation. In addition to the people to just sit down and write the legislation, there are some bills that need a lot of consultation before they are ever bills. People have to fly into communities to talk to communities. There is a lot of work and a lot of hours that go into developing these. That being said, we do have the capacity. It's a matter of prioritizing, and so I would just ask that the Member keep down the number of additional requests he is making of the government so that we can prioritize that legislation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Government House Leader. Oral questions. Member for Nunakput.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just hearing that debate, you have to remember we work for the people of the Northwest Territories, and we have to respect everybody in the House in regard to working together. Today, Mr. Speaker, I have questions for the Minister of housing. We have seasonal workers in the communities who are coming home from work. When are they eligible to get the reassessment done on their rent? How quickly can we get that done? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Nunakput. Minister of Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The local housing authorities have been given the direction to follow through with the rent assessments, moving month-to-month. I have recognized the seasonal workers, as well, and looked at the increased rent that they could be paying over the duration of their current employment at that time. We have also looked at the rent assessments and the CRA reports to try to work on lowering our rent requirements throughout the year. I just instructed the LHOs and LHAs throughout the Northwest Territories to make sure that they fulfil those requirements for our tenants in the public housing units and make sure that they look at the rent assessments and make sure that we consider the tenants who are not permanent employees, indeterminate employees, who have been working seasonally, make sure that their rents are calculated month by month. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the Minister for that. When the seasonal worker goes in to get a reassessment in the LHOs, local housing authorities, are they able to do that right then and there when they are asked, or do they get told to come back another day? That's the problem we've been having. Is the LHO able to do that assessment that day?

I'm not too sure about the paperwork and the details that have to be submitted when completing a rent assessment, but the current information that I do have is that these assessments can be done at the local community level, with the support of the district offices and with the support of headquarters.

Could the Minister commit to me today that she will talk to the LHOs in the Delta, in my riding, to make sure, when somebody is going in to get an assessment, that they work together with them to get that assessment done? Because the cost of living is a lot more than it is here in Yellowknife, and anything helps, like I always say, for the constituents that we represent. If the Minister could just commit to working with our local LHOs in the Delta for that?

Yes, I will commit to that. I will have the district office just remind the LHO offices in the Beaufort-Delta, in Nunakput, and throughout the Northwest Territories that rent assessment should be done month-to-month, if we have seasonal workers occupying our public housing units, and they should be done without any complications.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member's statement, I spoke about the pilot project in the Beaufort-Delta where they were going to be mailing out the FIT kits. Can the Minister of Health and Social Services advise me or this House if the pandemic delayed this pilot project rollout as planned? If not, have the rates increased in screening in our region? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to start for thanking the Member for drawing attention to this Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. It's a very significant problem all around, but especially in the Beaufort-Delta. She will be pleased to know that the program rolled out as planned in January of 2020. The response rate was low in Paulatuk and Ulukhaktok, so the kits were sent again in November of 2020 to those communities. In total, there were 1,157 FIT kits distributed, and the screening rates in the smaller Beaufort-Delta communities, that is, excluding Inuvik, doubled from 7.9 percent to 15.64 percent, and screening participation rates for the whole Beaufort-Delta region, which, of course, includes Inuvik, rose from 6.7 percent to 11.8 percent overall. Thank you.

Thank you to the Minister for that, and I'm glad to hear that that rolled out as planned. Those who are at risk require a colonoscopy. Can the Minister provide what the wait lists were before the pandemic hit for colonoscopies in Inuvik and Yellowknife?

I don't have information about what it was, but I do have information about what it is. Right now, the wait time from a positive FIT test to colonoscopy through the Territorial Colorectal Cancer Screening program in the Beaufort-Delta is approximately 88 days, so let's say three months. Our target for improvement is to ensure that patients are seen more quickly than that, and we are now working on a pilot project that will help us to identify where we can make improvements to reduce the amount of time that it takes to go from a positive test to a colonoscopy.

One of the issues that I know sometimes happens in the Northwest Territories is that, if you can't get in in Inuvik, because we do have an endoscopy room, you get bumped to Yellowknife, or vice versa. I'm just wondering, with the sterilization issues that happened at Stanton, did this impact any of the wait times for people accessing colonoscopies in our endoscopy rooms?

No, that's not a factor. The reprocessing of endoscopy instruments is in a different machine than that which was giving us trouble through the fall.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thanks to the Minister for that. That's good to hear. I am very concerned about the pandemic's impact on cancer diagnosis and treatment, due to travel restrictions, appointment availability, and fear of travelling out of the NWT to the Alberta Cross Cancer Institute. Can the Minister tell us if the department has had these issues, and how are they handled? Because I would really hate for residents to be delayed for diagnosis and treatment, which could decrease the risks for survival. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

All services remain available now, as they were before the pandemic started. The travel restrictions have not impacted residents' ability to travel to Alberta, to the Cross Cancer Institute for Cancer Treatment, although people may have decided not to go because they were concerned about the number of infectious cases in Edmonton. There is regular communication between the Alberta Cross Cancer Institute and NWT residents, and that is facilitated by medical oncology and haematology oncology. These are two cancer speciality clinics that continue to be offered virtually at Stanton Territorial Hospital, and this is done in coordination with the cancer nurse navigators and oncologists. These clinics are managed virtually, unless the oncologist decides that the person has to be seen in person. Required diagnostics and virtual appointments are made in the NWT as often as possible because we are aware that some people are leery about travelling into regions with increased COVID infection rates, but all of these services are available to residents of the NWT, just as they were before the pandemic. Thank you.

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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Enterprise is a proud community, and many residents lucky enough to find local jobs are counting their blessings. My question to the Minister is: in light of the gas bar business coming up for sale once again, is it possible to explore ownership of the business by the Hamlet of Enterprise? Mahsi.

Thank you, Member for Deh Cho. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can say that the Department of ITI has been recently quite involved working with the community to support some of their economic development programs and projects. The deputy minister has been there several times, as has deputy minister of ENR, working with the community, again, specifically on their economic development. I am confident that they can, again, reach out to the community, continue that involvement, and continue to support them in looking for economic development opportunities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am aware of ENR and ITI being into the community, but that was strictly to discuss another issue dealing with an AWP. The ownership of the gas bar, the convenience store, and the motel creates the jobs for residents of Enterprise, and it's always going through different ownership throughout the years. This is a really great business opportunity for the hamlet itself since no one else would be able to take it on. I am just wondering if it's possible for ITI and MACA officials to meet with the hamlet to discuss the options available for the purchase of this business opportunity with the help of ITI and MACA.

To the extent that there can be support from ITI with economic development or support to individual businesses with respect to their business plans, whether it's through economic development type supports or whether it's through the BDIC, with respect to, for example, loans, I can certainly ensure and direct the department to reach out so that they have all the available supports there for them.

As far as the government actually stepping in to buy private market assets, I don't want to give any false hope that that is not likely to be something the government is going to be doing, but we are there to support the private industry. We are there to support private businesses, and as I can say, if there is this reoccurring challenge, then yes, I will certainly ask that the department follow up with the business and make sure that they are navigated to the right supports that are available for them.

Mahsi to the Minister for that answer. I spoke about tourism potential for the hamlet through an aggressive campaign of incorporating signage from the border leading up to the community. The hamlet has the right to advertise the falls as their own as these are in their background. They also have the right to compete with campground attendant contracts. Can the Minister commit to having their officials meet with the Hamlet of Enterprise to discuss these tourism initiatives, including discussion on the campground contract opportunities?

It turns out that today, in fact, the tourism development officer from the South Slave is meeting with the SAO from Enterprise. I will personally follow up so that I can see what transpired in that meeting and will communicate with my colleague the MLA to let him know also what transpired at that meeting and to hopefully advance whatever projects might be discussed and whatever ideas might be discussed.

With respect to the campground contracts, those do go through a procurement process. I will follow up with the MLA to ensure that he is aware and that the SAO in the community is aware when those contracts are coming up so that everyone is well-placed to put themselves forward for those.

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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I spoke to the fact that Enterprise is the first community on Highway No. 1 from the border. It's sad to say there is no visitor information centre at Enterprise. I mean, goodness, we have all the ITI staff in Hay River, all the business advisors, and no one is speaking tourism business opportunities to the Hamlet of Enterprise. This is potential employment for the residents of Enterprise where there are limited jobs. Can the Minister commit to having all available staff meet with the Hamlet of Enterprise to realize the tourism marketing potential and associated businesses, including the campground contract opportunities? Mahsi.

As I said, it just turns out by happenstance there is a meeting happening today at the SAO level. I will follow up on that and see where it gets to. There are staff across the South Slave who work on tourism.

Mr. Speaker, just a few years ago, I was told that, in fact, money had been advanced to the community of Enterprise to look at building visitor capacity. The project didn't go forward, but I certainly wouldn't want there to be any misunderstanding of the willingness of ITI to work with the community to see if they are interested in pursuing something and to see what funding might be available in one of the many different tourism supports and tourism programs that we have as applicable.

Again, I will certainly follow up. If sufficient information didn't get through today at the meeting that they are having, then we will make sure that the staff in the South Slave offices are there and available to the people of Enterprise, to the community of Enterprise, so that they can make good use of it. To the extent that we can promote tourism in the North, that is the goal. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Premier. Many of the non-governmental organizations, like the Tree of Peace and others, provide services or subcontracted services to accommodate residents that perhaps are not able to get them otherwise. As I mentioned, many of these workers have not had a cost-of-living or salary increase in many years. While I understand the GNWT does not fund these organizations directly, can the Premier tell me what she is doing to ensure that there is more funding for NGOs that support our communities? Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Great Slave. Honourable Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Within my department, Executive and Indigenous Affairs, as long as the budget gets approved, there is extra funding for the Status of Women and Native Women's Association that we proposed for this Assembly. Also, in the 2019-2020 fiscal year, the GNWT did increase the NGO stabilization fund by actually doubling it from $350,000 to a fund of $700,000 now. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am glad to hear that. I hope the Premier will consider doubling it again. My next question has to do with the alcohol educator program, which has had the same rate of program funding for years. Again, I understand that it is not directly funded, at times, from the GNWT. However, given the increased need for rehabilitation services that these NGOs often provide, can the Premier commit to instructing her Cabinet to increase funding to NGOs that do provide rehabilitation and after-care services?

I can't stand here and give direction to a department to actually increase their funding. Departments have various reasons why they do funding based on capacity, based on needs, based on assessments, all kinds of reasons. What I can say, though, is that I come from the NGO world before I came here, for many, many years. I hear what the Member is saying. One of the biggest things that I hated when I came in was that smaller NGOs that don't have the capacity often don't get the money. Larger NGOs that have either the capacity, or are smart enough to get MLAs on board, are actually getting increases, and that's not fair, Mr. Speaker. I brought it up in the last Assembly, and I brought it up in this Cabinet, and I will see it during this term: we need a fair, equitable model to be able to fund NGOs so it's not the squeaky wheel that gets the grease, that NGOs have a formula. That I will commit to in the term of this government.

I am really glad to hear that. I do agree that the squeaky wheel gets the grease in the North often. I do appreciate the look to make that fair across the board. One thing I often hear when speaking with NGOs is that they are in this constant loop of having to apply for project funding or funding that has a lot of restrictions or has to be used in a specific manner. Oftentimes that funding will then be removed a year or two later when the program has actually started going. It then becomes somewhere within the NGO to find the money to continue on with the works. I think a lot of that speaks to the lack of core funding for our NGOs. They probably know the best way to spend their own money. My question is: what is the Premier going to do to ensure that NGOs like the friendship centres have stable, adequate core funding to cover operating expenses and pay their staff wages given the recent cuts in her budget to friendship centres?

There's a conversation. Core funding is a sensitive topic, I understand. Core funding is something, that's an issue. Like I said, I came from the NGO world. The NGO that I was administrating got $30,000 a year core funding for 30 years, Mr. Speaker. We were feeding women hotdogs if we were lucky enough to buy them. NGOs got huge core funding. I'm not going to say that we're going to increase core funding right now. I need a formula that says, this is what's fair for NGOs, and that, I can commit to.

Kind of a second question within that is the friendship centres. Absolutely, I worry about them. They provide valuable services. What I've committed to doing is: I don't have an increase in my budget for it this year, but what I have committed to do, and I've already talked to my department, is we're going to meet with the NWT and the Nunavut Friendship Society and see if there's a way that we can actually support them to get the capacity. The original funding was to build capacity for fundraising. It wasn't to be core funding. Evidently, it worked somewhat in that they got a lot of money. Didn't work because they weren't sustainable in doing that. We're looking at other measures. Maybe, perhaps, I can second someone. We're looking at other ways that we can actually build the capacity so that they can be sustainable financially.

Thank you, Honourable Premier. Final supplementary. Member for Great Slave.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This might be more of a comment. I think that the Premier's comment sparks in me the thought of this conversation we keep having around the hoops everybody has to jump through and the fact that there does need to be dedication positions that are literally just there to apply for federal funding which is going to be the best method instead of all of us fighting over territorial money, which is very limited. More of a comment: I urge the Premier, if she's going to second somebody from her department, that that be their goal, is just to get more federal money. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I do appreciate that comment. I do think that it should be focused on federal funding, not only, but territorially as well. It kind of gave me a hint, and so maybe, I'll be looking at that position, a position, actually, that can work with NGOs, not just the friendship centres. I'm not committing, but I heard the remark, and I'm just going to start thinking my head around that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.