Debates of March 1st, 2022

This is page numbers 3603 - 3664 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.

Topics

Oral Questions

Members Present

Prayer

Yellowknife Airport

Update on Health Human Resources

Tourism Supports Across the Northwest Territories

Lifting of Pandemic Restrictions

Government of the Northwest Territories Remote Work Policy

Lack of After-Care Facilities and Transitional Housing in the Northwest Territories

Opening of the Snow Castle in Yellowknife

Mactung and Cantung Contaiminated Sites

Accountability and the RCMP Territorial Police Service Agreement

Northwest Territories Housing Corporation Customer Service

Supports for People Parenting with FASD

Use of Biomass Energy in the Northwest Territories

Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery

Costs and Services Related to Substance Abuse

Increasing Costs of Policing Services in the Northwest Territories

Government of the Northwest Territories Remote Work Policy

People Parenting with FASD

Labour Market Supplement for Health Care Workers

Mactung and Cantung Mine Sites

Northwest Territories Housing Corporation Customer Service

Three-year Energy Plan

Prohibition Creek Access Road

Tabled Document 578-19(2): Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 3, 2021-2022 Tabled Document 579-19(2): Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 3, 2021-2022 Tabled Document 580-19(2): Northwest Territories Tourism - Welcoming Visitors - 2022-2023 Marketing Plan

Tabled Document 581-19(2): Article from The Daily dated February 16, 2022 - “Black and Indigenous people's confidence in police and experiences of discrimination in their daily lives”

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Tabled Document 561-19(2): Main Estimates 2022-2023 - Infrastructure - Deferral of Department

Report Of Committee Of The Whole

Orders Of The Day

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Page 3621

Diane Archie Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Madam Chair. I don't have that breakdown by community. But airport operations, you look at our main estimates budget and you look at the surplus, the variance, the $1 million, is due to amortization expense that is being miscoded to program services. So in one section, we're taking it out and then we're moving it to the other section.

The decrease is the travel budget reduction. And the other decrease is for the amortization for adjustments for our airport division assets. And we had an increased cost for airport maintenance costs as well as factoring bargaining -- collective bargaining agreement increase as well. Those are the higher operational costs. In terms of detail, I don't have that with me right now. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you. Member for Thebacha.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Frieda Martselos Thebacha

Thank you, Madam Chair. Is the airport operations, is that line where they're going to be resurfacing of the runways? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you. Minister of Infrastructure.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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Diane Archie Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm going to get clarification. I don't think this is a line item that falls under here. I think it comes -- part of it does but it is still a federal funding, and I'm going to get -- I will ask Mr. Brennan to speak about where it falls within the budget, because it was quite complicated because it is a new initiative under a new federal pot. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you. Mr. Brennan.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Brennan

Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes, so the runway overlay for Fort Smith runway is actually in capital, and it's funded by the airport capital assistance program for $15 million. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you. Member for Thebacha.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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Frieda Martselos Thebacha

I don't have any other questions. Thank you.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you. Member for Monfwi, did you have questions? Did you have questions?

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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Page 3621

Jane Weyallon Armstrong Monfwi

Yes, thank you. For the regional operations for the highway, active position here it says for Tlicho, it says here we're not part of the North Slave, this one. So I see that -- well, the Tlicho All-Season Road is open now, and the last fiscal year for this coming -- you know, 2021-2022, it was this nine, and it's still nine within the new fiscal year. Is that number going to change now with the all-season road opened for the -- that active position that's in page 257?

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Member. Minister.

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Diane Archie Inuvik Boot Lake

Sorry. Thank you, Madam Chair. No, that's not going to change. That's the contractor maintenance part of it. Thank you.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you. Member for Monfwi.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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Jane Weyallon Armstrong Monfwi

Okay, contract services, okay. And so out of these position, how many of these are full-time or part-time positions?

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Page 3622

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you. Minister of Infrastructure.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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Diane Archie Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Madam Chair. 270 are full-time. There are 13 seasonal. And no part-time at this time. Thank you.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Minister. Member for Monfwi.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Jane Weyallon Armstrong Monfwi

No, it's -- you know, the highway from Highway 3 from -- that's the most busy highway. And I'm kind of a little bit surprised we have only nine active positions, which I thought it would be more than some of the regions when Tlicho make up six percent of the population. So I'm just a little bit -- why is that, that, you know, there's only nine positions when that road is busy. It's the most -- it's busy all-season road so I'm just -- I'm just asking why there's only nine and other regions have more than us. Thank you.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you. Minister of Infrastructure.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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Diane Archie Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I'm going to see if Mr. Brennan can add further clarification and to be able to justify why -- how the regions are separated based on positions. Thank you.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you. Mr. Brennan.

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Brennan

Yeah, thank you, Madam Chair. So the -- I guess the factor is looking at for determining how many people work in what we call "the highway beat" is the length of the "beat". And so there's a Yellowknife camp which goes from the end of Highway 4 out near Tibbett Lake up to approximately Stagg River. And then the Tlicho camp takes from Stagg River out to Chan Lake. And then the Fort Providence camp goes from Chan lake basically out to Highway 1 near Red Knife. So nine is basically a standard. It's the most we have in any camp in the Northwest Territories. Some of the camps in South Slave actually only have seven people depending on how close they are to other camps. So we don't look at the population of a community when we're determining. We look at the length of the highway and how many people we need to maintain that safely. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you. Member for Monfwi.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Jane Weyallon Armstrong Monfwi

Okay, thank you. Thank you, that's -- you know, at least now I understand so, yeah, thank you. That's it for now.

Debates of March 1st, 2022

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