This is page numbers 4833 - 4860 of the Hansard for the 19th Assembly, 2nd Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was know.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the reason for the delay has to do with the flood. The flood, while it didn't flood Woodland Manor, made services, water and sewer services, unavailable to the site, and as a result all of the residents had to be removed and relocated to other locations. And so we need to choose a site for the long-term care which is not subject to those risks. It is very difficult to move elders in an emergency. Thank you.

Rocky Simpson

Rocky Simpson Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that answer; however, I think moving to another site is one option but my understanding as well is that, you know, we're looking -- this government's looking at mitigation measures to ensure flooding doesn't happen. We're raising roads in the community and things like that. So there are other options.

So, Mr. Speaker, will the Minister confirm if consideration has been given to reposition the building on the site and tying it into the existing Woodland Manor facility? Thank you.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the repositioning on the site doesn't deal with the problems I mentioned around maintaining essential services to the building. Certainly repositioning could happen, but the maintenance of service is the first thing that needs to happen. What we're waiting for, and I know other departments are waiting for as well, is the new flood maps that will be created as a result of this flood. And the bottom line here is that if the building is not insurable, it can't be built in that location. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

Rocky Simpson

Rocky Simpson Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, to put the project back on schedule, is the Minister committed to revisiting the decision to delay and consider other options, such as another useable site, which she appears to be doing? Thank you.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to report to the Member that the department has a jump on this. Our infrastructure staff have met with the Town of Hay River to talk about an alternate site, and the leading contender is a site called Sun Dog which is adjacent to the new health centre which did not flood in the spring. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

Question 1227-19(2): Housing
Oral Questions

October 26th, 2022

Page 4839

Lesa Semmler

Lesa Semmler Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister explain to me how a non-BIPed business gets BIP preference in the Northwest Territories on housing contracts through Housing NWT? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Question 1227-19(2): Housing
Oral Questions

Page 4839

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Minister responsible for Housing NWT.

Question 1227-19(2): Housing
Oral Questions

Page 4839

Paulie Chinna

Paulie Chinna Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Member for the question as well too. And it's a quite complex question as well, and I'm quite surprised to know of this, that we've awarded a contract to a non-BIPed company. But according to what I've received so for, that the evaluation was completed according to the BIP policy. There were five bids that were received, and as part of the process the companies are provided a rating, if they indicate they will be using local labour and these types of items with Housing will ensure that it's being done.

I will follow up with the department in making sure that these obligations are met and what type of penalties are going to be exercised if these local contractors are not being used to fulfill the needs within the Member's region. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Question 1227-19(2): Housing
Oral Questions

Page 4839

Lesa Semmler

Lesa Semmler Inuvik Twin Lakes

Mr. Speaker, I'm really confused here because, you know, the company that was awarded the contract states that they will be using local content. So I'll be tabling a document later today to show that the local companies - the electricians, the heating and plumbing, the local supplier, were not used. The trucking companies that the -- I mean, the company had actually brought in all the supplies from the south just before I came back after the weekend. So how is this department going to review and ensure that the BIP process was fairly applied to our local BIPed businesses. There's four of them that are BIPed and one that is not, and how does this contract get given to them with a 4 percent difference? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Question 1227-19(2): Housing
Oral Questions

Page 4839

Paulie Chinna

Paulie Chinna Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Member as well too. And one thing with the portfolio is that we do have such a large housing roll out and my commitment to the Northwest Territories is that we keep majority of those contracts here in the North, and we are providing opportunities for small businesses and businesses within the territory as well.

What has been provided to me is that the contractor did confirm with Housing that they are using -- they are investing locally with the mechanicals that are required for the contract. But according to the Member's statement, I will be following up with Housing and looking forward to seeing if this has actually been fulfilled and exercising penalties if that is appropriate. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Question 1227-19(2): Housing
Oral Questions

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Lesa Semmler

Lesa Semmler Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm still confused, because if this local company is going to use just the mechanical, what about the supplies? We know that the supplies have come in, and they're from the south. What about the electrical? There's one electrical company there; we know that they're not using them. So I'm asking the Minister to pull this contract and start awarding contracts if they're available -- this is a local company -- and award it to a BIPed company, not be giving our money to the south. This is a company that we paid millions of dollars to rebuild their own builds and then having another local contractors go in and fix their problems. So I'm asking the Minister to pull this contract and give it to a BIPed company. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Question 1227-19(2): Housing
Oral Questions

Page 4840

Paulie Chinna

Paulie Chinna Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, you know, thank you to the Member for the question as well too. And I just really would like to express that when these contracts and these opportunities do go out that the Indigenous groups are acknowledged first. There are letters that are out there and sent for interest if they're wanting to pursue these contracts. I will have to pull this back for further evaluation and review and just really taking into deep consideration the comments from the Member. I take this very seriously, and I will be reviewing that within the department. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Question 1227-19(2): Housing
Oral Questions

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The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

Question 1227-19(2): Housing
Oral Questions

Page 4840

Lesa Semmler

Lesa Semmler Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, you know, we've got Crown corporations; we've got the Housing NWT; we've got the Northwest Territories Power Corporation; we've got N-Tech. We've got all these Crown corporations that our money is flowing through to, you know, and if we're not following one policy that can flow through all of our public dollars that we all have to apply to, then what are we doing? We need to follow one procurement policy within our government, within our Crown corporations, and so we can't be saying well, in this department we do this and in this department we do this.

So, Mr. Speaker, you know, what I want to do is if the NWT Housing Corporation Minister will be looking at her policy to ensure that it aligns with our new procurement policy and that it aligns with BIP policy so that we are doing what we are saying what we are going to do for the people of the Northwest Territories, the residents, the locals. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Question 1227-19(2): Housing
Oral Questions

Page 4840

Paulie Chinna

Paulie Chinna Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Member for the question as well too. And Housing does follow the GNWT procurement policy as well. And like I had mentioned, I take this very seriously. I want to bring this back to the department and provide a further response to the Member. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Question 1227-19(2): Housing
Oral Questions

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The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

Frieda Martselos

Frieda Martselos Thebacha

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister of Education explain what the distinction is, if any, about the term "administrative centre" versus "university headquarters" in reference to the Thebacha Campus for the future polytechnic university? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment.

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And of course I don't speak for the college. This House passed changes to -- amendments to the Aurora College Act which has significantly changed my role in relation to the college.

So the college has adopted the term "administrative centre" to acknowledge that the staff who support corporate administrative functions of the college are in Fort Smith. So that is why they're using that term. It's a term that's commonly used in post-secondary environments. Thank you.

Frieda Martselos

Frieda Martselos Thebacha

Mr. Speaker, just for clarity, it's one staff member that's doing that, okay. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, does the Minister agree with the statement that the term "headquarters" in reference to the university campus is solely a government term? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm not going to single out any individual staff member. That's inappropriate, it's against the rules of this House, so I'm going to leave it at that. That's the term Aurora College uses. That's the term the institution uses. The idea of a university headquarters is something that is -- it's not really used in post-secondary institutions. Colleges and universities don't distinguish one campus from another by calling one a headquarters and one, you know, a subservient. Each campus has difference roles. Sometimes they have different colleges as part of the same university. So every campus has its own role. I can leave it at that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Frieda Martselos

Frieda Martselos Thebacha

Mr. Speaker, clarity on a term is not singling out one person, for the record. Mr. Speaker, does the Minister agree and support the notion that Fort Smith is the education capital of the NWT as proclaimed by the former Commissioner in 1967? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm not aware that that would be an official designation. But I think that given the number of jobs in Fort Smith that are education related, the amount of money that the GNWT flows to the community in terms of education, probably more per capita than anywhere else in the territory, I think in that sense, yes, Fort Smith is the education capital. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.