Mr. Speaker, I want to welcome all Members back to the House for this sitting of the 19th Legislative Assembly. There is important work to be done over the next six weeks, and I look forward to working with each of you as we advance the priorities of this government.
I want to start today with an acknowledgement of the 18 residents who have lost their lives to COVID-19 in the last two years. It is a painful reminder of the unpredictable and unforgiving nature of the pandemic. My heart goes out to those who have passed away, and the family, friends, and communities of those who continue to grieve. Our thoughts are with you.
Mr. Speaker, the last two years have been challenging for all levels of government across Canada and around the world, including the Government of the Northwest Territories. Since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared in March 2020, our government has been primarily focused on protecting the health and well-being of residents.
It sometimes feels like COVID-19 has dominated all public discussion and attention and while the government's COVID response is important, it has had the unfortunate consequence of hiding lots of other good work this government has done on our many pre-existing priorities and I want to highlight some of them today.
The work we accomplished in the first two years of this government is about people, place, prosperity, and partnerships. Mr. Speaker, these themes are not mutually exclusive of one another, they represent our efforts to improve the lives of residents and communities; to sustain our land and environment as we adapt to a changing climate; and, to ensure Northerners have access to the infrastructure and opportunities required for prosperity.
To achieve all this, strong collaborative partnerships are needed. The pandemic has demonstrated that we must work together with Indigenous governments, the federal government, municipal governments, the business community, and other key stakeholders to achieve success.
I want to turn now to what our government has accomplished to support people, place, and prosperity in the Northwest Territories.
Mr. Speaker, while in Ottawa in December for meetings with the Prime Minister and Members of his Cabinet, we announced the Early Learning and Child Care Agreement with Canada. This investment of $51 million over five years is an historic investment that will create more affordable, inclusive, high-quality child care across the Northwest Territories. It will put money back in the pockets of families and ensure increased childcare options across the territory and, in some cases, access to childcare spaces for the very first time.
Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories is committed to improving student success across the territory and understands that education is vital to all residents. The plan to adopt the British Columbia curriculum will produce far-reaching and long-lasting outcomes for students and the future of the Northwest Territories.
BC's curriculum is designed to meet the needs of students in an ever-changing world. It incorporates financial literacy skills, begins providing career education in the early grades, and offers applied design, skills, and technologies curriculum that builds on students' natural curiosity and creativity. This approach will prepare students for the challenges of life after high school.
We need a public service that is representative of the people who live in the Northwest Territories and understand the needs of our diverse population. The Indigenous Recruitment and Retention Framework has been developed to help our government improve Indigenous representation among public servants with the ultimate goal of a public service that is representative of the population it serves. As we move forward towards achieving this goal, we will become more engaged, more responsive, more aware of residents' needs, and more flexible in our responses to those needs.
We have invested in mental health and addictions supports, Mr. Speaker. Our government is committed to ensuring a healthy and vibrant territory, and this includes making sure our most vulnerable residents are not left behind. An additional $725,000 to address on-the-land healing currently in place. The funding assists Indigenous governments to deliver mobile addictions treatment, family-based treatment, and aftercare programming. Supporting Indigenous governments to deliver land-based healing helps residents to receive supports for mental health and addictions healing closer to home, in their own language and culture.
Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories recently established an Addictions Recovery and Aftercare Fund to increase access to peer support for addictions recovery programming in the communities. The fund increases the number and variety of culturally respectful community-based mental wellness and addictions recovery programs in the Northwest Territories. The fund creates increased opportunities to hire local community-based counsellors who can support individuals working towards recovery and healing at the community level. As a result, there are currently eight agreements in place in six regions across the territory.
As part of the GNWT's commitment to enhancing community safety and resiliency, we launched a Community Safety Officer Pilot Program in Fort Liard in July last year. The program is an innovative, community-driven initiative exploring alternative approaches to community safety and crime prevention. With an annual investment of $303,000 over the next three years, community safety officers will respond to non-criminal safety concerns, develop and implement crime prevention strategies, build and promote the community's relationship with the RCMP, and patrol the community. The safety officers act as a community safety enhancement service who work collaboratively with the RCMP to better address residents' needs and to promote safety and wellness.
Mr. Speaker, the new Corrections Act came into force in October 2021. The new act brings the Northwest Territories' corrections legislation up-to-date by incorporating modern practices and approaches, shifting the focus of the legislation to support the rehabilitation and reintegration of people in the corrections system through a supportive environment. The act recognizes the unique cultural background, historic legacy and experiences of the people we serve in the territory and sets the framework for incorporating these elements into the rehabilitation process in the corrections system.
Strengthening our leadership and authority on climate change and enhancing efforts to stabilize the cost of power is also a priority of this government. So is increasing the use of alternative and renewable energy. I want to highlight some of the accomplishments the GNWT has had since the beginning of this government.
Last year, we secured $45 million under the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program for the Fort Providence-Kakisa Transmission Line Project. Mr. Speaker, this will help stabilize the cost of power and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 15 percent of our 2030 target. In the life of this government, a record $11.9 million in funding has been provided to the Arctic Energy Alliance to help residents, business, and communities reduce their energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions. I am proud to say thousands of rebates have been given out, Mr. Speaker.
Under the Greenhouse Gas Grant Program, the GNWT has distributed $4 million to community governments, government agencies, and businesses. This includes The Woolgar Avenue Biomass District Heating System in Yellowknife that will replace 60,000 litres of heating oil with wood pellets. This switch will reduce emissions by the equivalent of 193 tonnes of greenhouse gases per year. The program also includes the Fort Smith Electric Heat Project that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 510 tonnes per year, and the addition of a third liquefied natural gas tank in Inuvik that will reduce emissions by 606 tonnes per year and help stabilize electricity rates.
The pandemic has brought to the forefront the economic and social challenges that the territory is facing, Mr. Speaker. In the last two years, we responded by making investments that will support the prosperity of residents, communities, and businesses across the NWT. Infrastructure projects will play a significant role in our economic recovery. This Legislative Assembly understands why we need to make this kind of significant investment. It creates jobs for residents and supports business growth. Capital projects will inject millions into the economy and help us recover from one of the largest economic downturns the territory has seen.
Mr. Speaker, the last two capital budgets passed in this House have totaled $957 million. The 2022-2023 capital budget alone is the largest in history, at $506 million, helping to deliver the critical infrastructure the territory needs to thrive.
The government's renewal initiative will help ensure we are investing in areas that are most critical and valuable to residents. We will support departments to evaluate their programs and services to determine if the intended results are being met. It is about more than just delivering the same programs year over year, Mr. Speaker. It is about meeting the needs of residents over time.
The future is bright for post-secondary education in the Northwest Territories as we work towards the establishment of a polytechnic university that will help Northerners be first in line for Northern jobs. We are well positioned to benefit from scientific research, innovation, and technologies, especially with an Indigenous and Northern lens.
The work to amend the Aurora College Act and the $8 million investment from Canada to support our transformation efforts are significant accomplishments that will support post-secondary education for residents for generations to come.
Mr. Speaker, a healthy and vibrant mineral exploration and development sector is critical for the NWT, its people, and our future prosperity. That is why we are working hard to develop a Mineral Resources Act and Regulations that benefit all Northerners and represents the priorities of Indigenous governments across the territory.
Critical and strategic minerals are key components in modern technology. Those found within the territory are an important part of future resource and economic development for the Northwest Territories. The development of a critical mineral strategy will ensure we put ourselves on the map to support the international transition to a greener economy. This work is well underway, Mr. Speaker, and represents the next chapter in mineral resource development in the Northwest Territories.
We have undertaken a comprehensive review of our procurement policy that will help ensure more money stays in the North. While we will continue to rely on specialty workers from outside the territory and suppliers, this government is dedicated to working to close any potential loopholes in the system, maximize benefits for Northern companies with a specific focus on Indigenous procurement, and ensures much of our public spending as possible stays in the territory.
A diversified NWT economy will help support our current and future prosperity, Mr. Speaker. We are investing in secondary industries like manufacturing, diamond polishing, and the new commercial fish processing plant in Hay River. We recently completed public engagement on how to best support the knowledge economy, recognizing the economic value of scientific and traditional knowledge.
As part of Emerging Stronger, our post-pandemic plan for social and economic recovery, we have identified the need to investigate how we can reap the benefits of the reclamation economy that exists in the Northwest Territories and beyond. There is significant potential in the NWT that could create jobs and business opportunities while ensuring we can protect the environment.
Making more land available for community governments means more business opportunities that help build stronger local economies. To reduce the municipal funding gap, we have transferred a total of $405,000 worth of public lands to community governments. The transfer of lands will better position municipal governments to administer and control land within their communities and remove barriers for land transfers. It will also enable communities to advance their own priorities for land development and present more own-source revenue opportunities. A process guide has been developed to support this work and will continue to ensure an effective and efficient transfer of lands moving forward.
Mr. Speaker, without strong, collaborative partnerships, things would have looked very different for this government over the last two years. If we have learned anything from this pandemic, it is that we must find ways to work together and ensure that we are doing our best to support residents and ensure they have every opportunity at success.
We worked closely with regular Members, Indigenous leaders, municipal governments, the business community, and many other stakeholders to share information, hear the concerns they had, and find solutions to ensure we continued to adapt to the ever-changing pandemic. In many ways, through partnership and a collaborative spirit that exemplifies what it means to be a Northerner, the pandemic has brought us all closer together.
Emergency management and response is a collective responsibility that relies on participation from everyone, including individuals, families, communities, the GNWT, and Indigenous leadership.
In spring 2021, we faced the largest flood in our history resulting in major response efforts, evacuations, and damage to six communities. The Emergency Management Organization coordinated GNWT resources to support affected communities, evacuated residents, and coordinated disaster assistance. Flooded communities responded to ensure the safety of residents and to reduce damage. Despite the challenges that existed because of the pandemic, residents, communities, and the GNWT worked together to ensure everyone's safety.
In the first two years of this government, we have secured $635.1 million from the federal government - an increase of $277.5 million from the previous government's first two years. This is a 78 percent increase, Mr. Speaker. Our work with the federal government over the last two years has resulted in significant and historic investments in the Northwest Territories.
Having safe and affordable housing is a priority for this government. Through partnership with the Government of Canada, $60 million from the National Housing Co-Investment Fund is flowing from the federal government to housing in the NWT. This is on top of the $25 million we received for housing in Canada's 2021 budget.
This is the biggest increase to public housing in the NWT in a generation and responds to the need to improve and increase our housing stock. This is not just about partnerships, but the people it will benefit, the economic opportunities and jobs it will create across the territory, especially in smaller communities, and the overall improvement to the health and well-being of communities.
One of our biggest accomplishments has been the strong and collaborative partnerships we have developed with Indigenous governments.
Mr. Speaker, we have established the Council of Leaders and the Modern Treaty and Self-Government Partners Forum, in addition to the Intergovernmental Council established because of devolution. All of these tables are a way to support discussions and common areas of interest amongst Indigenous governments to identify opportunities to work together. If we continue to work together, we can achieve improved outcomes for residents.
For instance, the NWT Council of Leaders has agreed to collaborate on areas of shared interest and to become the regional implementation body for the Arctic and Northern Policy Framework of the Northwest Territories. It's a major step forward, but we still have work to do to enhance collaboration on both the GNWT and Indigenous government initiatives.
With the support of nine Indigenous governments that sit on the Intergovernmental Council, the Legislative Development Protocol is another shining example of the collaborative spirit of our government. Mr. Speaker, the protocol will result in stronger and more effective land and resource management legislation that accounts for Indigenous priorities and views. It will also better position the GNWT to collaborate on any new legislative authority it obtains through ongoing discussions to bring elements of the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act home to the NWT as part of devolution.
Mr. Speaker, we have spent significant time and resources in the last two years on the COVID-19 pandemic, and I want to take a moment to recognize this work.
When the pandemic was declared, we said our top priority was the health and well-being of residents. This priority extended beyond the healthcare efforts that have helped us limit the spread of COVID-19 and protect the integrity of healthcare delivery in the NWT.
We had an obligation to support residents and businesses as best we could during these challenging times. As of December 31, 2021, we have invested $74.9 million to support residents, businesses, and industries important to our economic success and prosperity. This is on top of the $156.9 million the federal government has provided during the pandemic. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement. Thank you.
---Unanimous consent granted.
Mr. Speaker, we are moving towards a return to normalcy. We are moving into a situation where society will begin to live with COVID-19. Leisure travel will return at the end of this month, which has been greatly anticipated by the tourism and hospitality sectors. The end of restrictions and the public health emergency will happen in the very near future where we are planning for the ongoing supports Northerners will need to stay safe while we transition to an endemic state in the territory, including managing for future outbreaks.
We have just under two years left in the life of this government. It's important that we take every opportunity to bring positive change that will have a long-lasting impact on the health and well-being of all residents. As we emerge from the pandemic, we have a lot of work to do and will continue to invest in people, place, prosperity, and partnerships. We are committed to the overall economic prosperity of the territory and will continue to work closely with our partners for a better Northwest Territories for all of us. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.