Ministers' statements. Minister responsible for Health and Social Services.

Mr. Speaker, mental health and addictions continues to be a serious issue in the NWT, which is why this government has committed to increasing the number and variety of culturally-respectful community-based mental health and addictions programs. I rise today to update Members on the work to meet this mandate commitment.

Mr. Speaker, we adopted the Stepped Care 2.0 approach to mental health supports to ensure individuals and families have access to the right level of care when and where they need it. This approach provides both modern and traditional supports, like smart-phone applications, to offer residents options to choose from, regardless of where they live. The goal of this recovery-oriented approach is to empower residents to offer more choice and reduce gaps in service. We want to be responsive to the needs of clients entering the system.

With the implementation of Stepped Care 2.0, we have improved access to community-based counseling by reducing wait times and adding same-day services. Prior to this change, the median wait time for a counseling appointment in the NWT was 19 days. Mr. Speaker, with this shift to a Stepped Care approach, the median wait time is now just four days.

Since 2020, we have increased the availability of e-health options. The Strongest Family Institute supports individuals and families who are experiencing mild to moderate anxiety, depression, and behavioral challenges. BreathingRoom is an online program for youth that offers new perspectives and practical strategies to manage stress, depression, anxiety, and strengthen their coping skills. The Wagon app is a virtual addictions aftercare program that offers an abstinence-based approach to sobriety. It enables clients to develop a personalized plan for recovery and maintenance after they complete addictions treatment. It offers residents weekly two-hour virtual group therapy sessions with registered clinicians to build on the skills developed during treatment.

Mr. Speaker, offering effective and culturally safe programs and services is a priority for this government and for the health and social services system. Since 2020, we have enhanced the On the Land Healing Fund by increasing funding specifically for mobile addictions treatment aftercare. We have also added three new funds that support Indigenous governments and community organizations to deliver mental wellness and addictions recovery programming.

The Community Suicide Prevention Fund supports these organizations to deliver and develop culturally-safe programs by increasing community wellness and reducing stigma. The Addictions Recovery Peer Support Fund helps these organizations provide their own peer support programs such as AA or Wellbriety. The Addictions Recovery and Aftercare Fund funds the establishment of local community-based counsellors to support individuals working towards recovery and to provide addictions aftercare programming.

Mr. Speaker, we are also taking steps to create a territorial model for medical detox and managed alcohol, as well as establishing transitional housing for people returning from addictions treatment. The Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority has established a working group to lead the development on the medical detox model which will incorporate both inpatient and in-community offerings.

Lessons learned, through the distribution of alcohol during the pandemic, have been used to inform the development of standards to serve as the foundation of a Managed Alcohol Program in the NWT in the future.

An expression of interest for transitional housing programs was issued in December 2021. Four community organizations and Indigenous governments applied. Staff are working with these groups as they develop specific program models.

Mr. Speaker, to ensure that we are integrating cultural sensitivity into the delivery of services, we have also increased support and training opportunities for frontline staff in the community counselling program. Staff are receiving training in cultural safety, addictions recovery, and key components of Stepped Care 2.0.

Mr. Speaker, while I recognize that there is still a great deal of work to do, I also firmly believe that we have made and will continue to make progress. These initiatives will make a meaningful difference in the lives of NWT residents, and that is what this government strives to do every day.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, the COVID-19 pandemic has been challenging for NWT residents. The public health restrictions have affected our ability to gather, to participate in the activities that bring us joy, and to travel and visit with loved ones, to the detriment of our mental wellness. The department has been tracking social indicators throughout the pandemic, and while the total number of people accessing services has not increased, the reasons why they are accessing services have changed. Lately, we are seeing that the reasons are more frequently related to anxiety, stress, and substance use.

Even as the public health emergency and associated orders come to an end, Health and Social Services recognizes the effects of the pandemic will not be short-lived. People are going to need support to recover from what has been a very difficult time. The health and social services system will continue to monitor trends, shift service delivery as required, and actively promote our programs and services so NWT residents understand how and where they can get the support they need. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Ministers' statements. Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment.

Monsieur le President, one of the beautiful things about living in the Northwest Territories is the diverse range of cultures and languages that reside here. Our Francophone community, made up of approximately 4,200 residents, is an important component of our society and a significant contributor to our social, economic and cultural development.

That is why I am proud to celebrate our Francophone community during the 24th Annual Rendez-vous de la Francophonie. This nation-wide event, held every March, is an opportunity for Canada's 10 million French-speakers, and all Canadians, to celebrate and promote French language and culture.

The theme for this year's Rendez-vous de la Francophonie is Traditions. This theme will highlight the ties that connect past and present generations, communities and cultures. Rendez-vous de la Francophonie gives us an opportunity to reconnect with ourselves and celebrate the richness of the Canadian Francophonie in all its diversity.

Monsieur le President, as we celebrate Rendez-vous de la Francophonie, I would like to acknowledge the work done by the Francophone Affairs Secretariat. In the last year alone, the secretariat translated more than 3 million words that have allowed Francophone residents to access important information in French. [Translation Unavailable]

In addition, the secretariat launched the annual Francophone Community Satisfaction Survey in February to help ensure that the Francophone community is aware of the Government of the Northwest Territories' French language communications and services, and is satisfied with their delivery at Points of Public Service in French.

Finally, Monsieur le President, the GNWT has been working diligently to improve its French active offer and delivery of French services. A French active offer is a way of greeting the public to inform them that they are welcome to communicate in either English or French. The secretariat has updated training videos for employees and, this month, is launching a video campaign to promote our French language services to the public and inviting feedback on the quality of these services.

Monsieur le President, our diverse French population adds a cultural richness to our communities. I am proud of our ongoing efforts to support our Francophone residents and to strengthen the diversity of our territory. Merci, Monsieur le President. [Translation Ends]

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Service facilities, military installations, hospitals, communication infrastructure, residential buildings, airports, utility infrastructure, and much more. There have been approximately 18 attacks on healthcare facilities with the latest assault being a children's hospital and maternity ward.

Mr. Speaker, an attack on a hospital is a war crime under the Rome Statute the International Criminal Court provided they are not military objectives, which come with consequences.

Mr. Speaker, an unnecessary death toll is mounting on both sides of the conflict. Destruction of infrastructure is growing, the number of people displaced is rising, there is no indication it is about to let up. Because of this, Ukraine requires supports from other countries, which include military equipment, medical staff and supplies, temporary shelters, emergency funds, and basic supplies such as food, drinking water, and clothes - support required not only for Ukraine but those bordering countries taking on refugees.

Mr. Speaker, the Premier announced that this government would match donations up to $50,000. This is a fantastic way to encourage people to donate and support the needs arising from the conflict in Ukraine. However, the $50,000 in matching donations, if not received, then my expectation is for this government to contribute the $50,000 regardless. Although it may appear to be a small amount, it will help efforts in Ukraine and show our support as Northerners.

Mr. Speaker, what else can this government and the people of the NWT do in support of Ukraine - people forced to flee from their homes and country.

We must continue to denounce the action taken by Putin government against Ukraine and encourage the federal government to do everything in its power to support Ukraine while not ruling out military support. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this government must be willing to welcome Ukraine refugees to the NWT. We must continue with the boycott of Russian-made goods coming to the NWT and not just limited to alcohol products. For the people the Northwest Territories, we can provide financial support directly to organizations delivering humanitarian efforts on the ground. Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Premier at the appropriate time. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today, I'm going to speak about the land lease fees for people who own cabins on lands in the NWT. This is a topic which I have discovered that the Minister of Lands seems to enjoy speaking about. In fact, the Minister asked me recently if I was going to ask him questions about this anytime soon. Well, here it comes.

Mr. Speaker, I once pointed out that the Minister stood up 72 times during the 18th Assembly, talking and asking questions about land leases. He later told me that it was likely more times than that. Well, I went back and checked Hansard, and he was right. I would like to amend that number to 83, that he stood up and mentioned land leases in the previous Assembly.

Mr. Speaker, I have not done a Member's statement on this topic since November of 2020. That has given the Minister of Lands and his department plenty of time to work on the Public Lands Act and enough time to hopefully advance the whole issue into a positive direction for the people of the NWT.

Mr. Speaker, the last time I spoke about this, the Minister admitted that the main reason lease rent fees had increased was to create more revenue for the government. Therefore, the previous government had decided to increase user fees for rent on leases rather than cut costs elsewhere or find revenue from other sources. So in essence, these fees and lease rent increases are a money grabber for the government. It's time we be honest and say that.

Mr. Speaker, at the time when inflation is at a 31-year high, these increased land leases are hurting regular people more than ever. It was nice that the lands department had waived all lease fees for the fiscal year 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic as that did offer some reprieve for people; however, I think that same offer should have been extended for another year for the fiscal year 2021-2022 as the pandemic was still ongoing during that time.

I did ask the Minister to consider that via email but he declined to pursue that. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I believe that the Minister of Lands knows in his heart of hearts that the new rent minimum for cabin lease costs had gone up too much and too soon for the people of the NWT. To get up 83 times and talk about cabin leases and lease fee increases, I have to believe the Minister shares my concerns that the increases were too much for people to absorb in such a short time span. I understand that lease rent and fees had not increased in 20 years, but I urge the government to have some compassion for people's pocketbooks.

There are some people who are on very fixed incomes, and there are others living paycheque to paycheque, so these high cabin-rent increases are having a very negative impact for many people in my riding and across the NWT. I can go on, but I will leave it at that for now. I will have questions for the Minister of Lands later today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Members' statements. Member for Frame Lake.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I made a statement almost two years ago about the lack of a clear process for developing regulations by this government. I had to dig deep, very deep - in fact, to appendix 4.11 of the executive council submissions handbook - to find anything public after repeated requests to the Premier on this subject. In that three-page appendix that was signed off by the Premier on March 11th, 2021, there are some vague guidelines on leaving virtually all of the discretion over any public and even standing committee engagement around regulations to each individual Minister and agency.

This appendix called Cabinet operational guidelines, publishing proposed regulations, was finally posted publicly in April 2021 with no public announcement and no consultation or engagement with standing committee before the fact. I contrast that with Cabinet taking more than a year to negotiate the legislative development protocol with the intergovernmental council to develop regulations and legislation. This came after repeated calls for involvement in the development of regulations and post-devolution resource management legislation from the last Assembly that left most of the details to the regulations and whims of future Ministers with no checks or balances.

I will give this Cabinet some credit as there have been a little over ten public engagement opportunities on proposed regulations since the beginning of this Assembly. These can be seen on the "Have your Say" web pages. However the first, and perhaps only time in this Assembly when a standing committee recommended public engagement on a proposed regulation, the response from Cabinet and the Education Minister was "no".

The Standing Committee on Social Development recommended, based on public input, that the Department of Education, Culture and Employment undertake public consultation to develop prescribed emergency provisions under the Employment Standards Act. The department went ahead on its own and took three months to develop these so-called emergency regulations that did not come into force for another months. Four months is hardly the kind of emergency timeline that should have precluded public engagement.

I will have questions later today for the Premier on how our government is going to put into practice its open government policy with regard to regulation-making going forward and public engagement. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mr. Speaker, I woke this morning, had my coffee as I do, began to read the news as I do every day, and I was saddened to see the article about the NWT woman files lawsuit claiming doctor sterilized her without consent.

Mr. Speaker, I'm not going to speak to the details of this case as it's before the courts; however, it's unfortunate reality, Mr. Speaker, that Indigenous people in Canada have a history of medical experimentation and sterilization without consent.

Mr. Speaker, in this House my colleagues and I continue to raise the issue about the mistrust and the treatment of Indigenous people when accessing services in the NWT. That is why, Mr. Speaker, it is so critical for the GNWT to implement the Living Well Together Training Program. The Living Well Training Program provides Indigenous cultural awareness and sensitivity training to all GNWT staff to assist them in their job, as well to give them space while they're learning or taking this training as it may be difficult for some.

On December 1st, 2021, the Minister of Finance publicly stated to everyone in this House to my answers, the GNWT, except for new hires, would have this training done by March 31st, 2022. The Minister also committed to discussing with Cabinet prioritizing the training among frontline service for staff.

Mr. Speaker, if you are a GNWT worker in the medical field, the healthcare field, correction service, child and family service system, you are in a position of power. The Living Well doc training needs to be prioritized among frontline workers dealing with Indigenous people when they are most vulnerable. And we are ensuring that locum doctors, locum nurses, all frontline staff also receive this training.

Mr. Speaker, I also want to stress the importance of hiring the Indigenous patient advocate. It is really important for the GNWT to fill these positions because there are so many stories we hear out there about the injustices from the healthcare field, and we don't ever want to see headlines like we did this morning. I will have questions for the Minister of Health later today. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just two weeks ago, our own Department of Health and Social Services put out an advisory of laced cocaine after two overdose deaths. And, Mr. Speaker, this certainly wasn't the first time. In fact, every few months the public, both across Canada and across the world, is warned of an increasingly toxic and poisoned drug supply. And Mr. Speaker, the sad reality is we are only going to see more deaths in this area unless we take serious action. And there is no enforcement way out, Mr. Speaker.

The Northwest Territories spends more per capita on policing than anywhere else in Canada. We've spent millions of dollars on very sophisticated wiretap drug operations, and all that we see is new drug dealers emerge with a more poisoned and toxic drug supply each time, Mr. Speaker.

It is long overdue that Canada decriminalize drugs, Mr. Speaker. And Mr. Speaker, the conversation around decriminalization is not complete without mentioning the Portugal model.

Over 20 years ago, Portugal decriminalized drugs. It stopped arresting and putting people in jail for possession of drugs. Instead, it made an administrative penalty and provided them with treatment, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, this model is proven to work. The number of HIV cases went down. The number of hepatitis cases went down. The number of drug users went down, Mr. Speaker. And they have consistently remained lower than their European counterparts in Portugal, Mr. Speaker.

Now, Mr. Speaker, decriminalization is a federal responsibility, and it is not a silver bullet solution. Any decriminalization must be paired with increased treatment options and a safe supply where the drug supply is poisoned. However, Mr. Speaker, a government cannot arrest addicts on one hand and then ask them to come to that same government for treatment. Decriminalization removes the stigma and encourages people to get help.

Mr. Speaker, the Association of Canada Chief Police have asked for decriminalization; countless public health officials have asked for decriminalization; the Premier of BC has asked for decriminalization. There is safe supply operating in BC, Ontario, and Yukon. We have years of experience with providing people with methadone treatment, Mr. Speaker. This is not a new area. It is long overdue. If we want to save lives, we have to add our voice for the call for the decriminalization. I will have questions for the Premier whether she will join that voice in asking Canada to partner with us and decriminalize drugs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, housing is a human right. Many in this Assembly are working hard to uphold this right but face a housing stock and housing repair deficit in their communities and unnecessary policy barriers to access housing.

Mr. Speaker, I speak often about policy barriers in this House. They don't always require millions of dollars and they have the potential for great change. Removing policy barriers requires political will, the ability to weigh the unintended consequences with the original goal, and the creativity to find solutions. Policy changes, Mr. Speaker, will open doors to alternative housing solutions that work.

The Spruce Bough, operated by the Yellowknife Women's Society, is a breakthrough example of an alternative housing solution. It started as a place for people to isolate but evolved into a community of Northerners from across the North, many seniors who now call Spruce Bough home. The Minister of Health and Social Services has herself stated that the Yellowknife Women's Society is running great programming at the Spruce Bough and that their work not only provides housing but also supports the healing journeys of residents.

To continue operations, alternative housing solutions like the Spruce Bough require stable, consistent, multiyear funding. Policy changes are needed to bulk fund the income assistance rental benefit to NGOs that provide alternative housing solutions.

Currently, tenants receive their housing benefits with income assistance on an individual basis in separate intervals without alternative solution. This means inconsistent and unstable funding for programs like Spruce Bough and jeopardizes the future of solutions like this expanding outside of Yellowknife.

But bulk funding policies aren't the government's barrier to alternative housing. The rent benefit requires people to have their names on the public housing waitlist. First residents need to go to the Housing Corporation to add their name to this waitlist. Second, many Northerners are unable to do this because of arrears and past evictions so either people need a grace period to get their name on the list while they are still moving their rent benefit application forward or, better yet, stop forcing Northerners onto a housing waitlist when the government knows there is not enough housing. This policy is clearly based on an assumption of available public housing but we all know housing Northerners is reliant on partnerships, market rentals, and housing alternative.

Mr. Speaker, the need for housing is too great and too urgent to pass on any and all policy interventions that can make a difference. Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Members' statements. Returns to oral questions. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Acknowledgements. Oral questions. Member for Hay River South.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The questions are for the Premier. I'd ask the Premier what discussions, if any, are taking place between this government and the federal government on what supports are being offered to Ukraine and those countries supporting humanitarian efforts? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Honourable Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Canada's taken the lead on international relief efforts for Ukraine. There are discussions taking place mainly around immigration planning, donation matching, and sanctions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Premier commit to providing the $50,000 in support of Ukraine regardless if matching funds are received or not as it is the right thing to do? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thanks, Mr. Speaker. Northerners have always been really generous so we're pretty confident that the 50,000 will be matched by people. We will be also promoting it within the GNWT as well. So the other thing that we're doing is right now we have a portal that's now online. It will be released this afternoon so that we can track the donations from the NWT. But again, like I say, I have no doubt that $50,000 will be donated. And if not, at that point, then definitely I'll look at it. We're committed to helping the Ukraine. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Premier commit to setting up a support desk that would provide various information for displaced Ukrainians entering Canada and who may be looking at the NWT as a place to relocate and work? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm not sure if an online portal -- or a support desk is the right way to do it but we've always been welcoming people in the Northwest Territories. We'd welcome anyone from any nation, especially those that are going through troubling times. So we'll find the appropriate ways to provide opportunities so that the NWT is known to those that are coming to Canada. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Premier. Final supplementary, Member for Hay River South.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm going to squeeze two questions into one. Will the Premier commit to an advertising campaign in NWT to encourage ongoing support efforts to help Ukraine humanitarian efforts, and will she be willing to fly the Ukrainian flag in front of the Legislative Assembly? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We're going to be promoting the giving portal that I mentioned above. And as for flying the flag in front of the Ukraine, I think that flying the flag outside of the Legislative Assembly is the responsibility of the Legislative Assembly and I'm not sure if I can defer that question to the Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Honourable Premier. We are -- it's in the plans. Oral questions. Member for Thebacha.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Lands has repeatedly stated he wants to "get it right" on the land leases. He has had now about three years to work on this. Has the Minister found a way to reduce the 460 percent increase in minimum land lease rent costs for territorial land leaseholders? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Minister responsible for lands.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all, I'd like to thank the Member for the speech. Her Member's statement was great, and I applaud her for that and I say thank you very much.

Mr. Speaker, is it -- there's a process. The scope of the work is significant. The department is reviewing nine existing regulations, 22 land withdrawal orders, and developing in regs under this act. I committed to have these regulations done by the end of this year. I wanted to have them done sooner but there -- as I said, we need to do it right. So we need to work with the timelines with the Members. We also have to work with our Indigenous governments and community governments, leaseholders and stakeholders, and the public.

The other challenge is the department is following a new intergovernmental council protocol and legislative development and working collaboratively with Indigenous -- or Intergovernmental Council Secretariat members on the development of the regulations. Since 2021, there's been three other Indigenous governments that have participated in a public land regulatory technical work group -- working group, and it's been going well. It takes some time but it's going well. And we still have the commitment to have it done by the end of this fiscal year. Thank you. Or not this fiscal year, correction, the end of this year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell us if the Lands department is planning to increase land lease rent costs on a regular basis? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, currently all lease agreements have a review clause for every five years to look at lease potential changes to address appraised land values. However, as I said previously in my other answer there, is this is all part of the regulations and the work that we're doing. We're trying to, as the Member said that I said, get it right this time, because it has been some challenges in the past. As the Member has heard me say was more than 72 times, it was 83 times, and she got it right. And I thank her for that. I applaud her. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I hope he gets it right with my next question.

Mr. Speaker, for fiscal year 2021-2022 the Department of Lands waived all land lease fees in the Northwest Territories. That was a welcomed relief for the people of the NWT. However, the pandemic was still ongoing throughout 2021. Can the Minister explain why the lands department did not extend the temporary relief in land lease fees for the fiscal year 2021-2022? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the department's pandemic response was in time with the GNWT's COVID-19 economic relief plan with commitments to provide relief measures designed to assist territorial residents, business owners, and operators as the territorial response to COVID-19. These measures for the department cost -- provided over $2.7 million in relief to our clients but was only designed to be the 2021 fiscal year with the impact of pandemic were the most sudden and impactful. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mr. Speaker, I know that sometimes Ministers must defend bad government decisions; however, this Minister spoke 83 times about land leases in the previous Assembly. Will the Minister live up to his own convictions and reduce the cost of minimum land lease rent costs for territorial land leaseholders? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate and share my colleague's passion for this subject. I am sticking to my convictions. We need to do it right. We need to look at this. So this is why I made it a priority when I became the Minister of Lands, it was one of the first things that we needed to address. Unfortunately, the timing that I wanted it done didn't meet with some of the challenges that we have faced in here. But as I said, we've made a commitment to have it done by the end of this year, if not sooner. We're working with the Indigenous governments. We're working with community governments. We're working with leaseholders. And the Member can be advised that one of the biggest things that we heard in our survey was about lease payments and how that was implemented. So we are looking at that and we are moving forward, and hopefully we'll have a solution that is acceptable by all residents. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Okay, thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.

Mr. Speaker, today -- still today there are residents without clean drinking water in one of -- in one of the community. And their homes and personal property are being damaged and made unsafe from backup sewer pipes. An emergency under the Emergency Management Act means a current or imminent event that requires prompt coordination of action or special regulations of persons or property in order to protect the safety, health, or welfare of people or to limit or prevent damage to property or the environment.

Mr. Speaker, Behchoko which is -- I mean, in Edzo but it is part of Behchoko, is in a state of emergency. Will the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs declare a local state of emergency in Behchoko and to finally respond to the lack of clean water and crumbling infrastructure? Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Minister responsible for Municipal and Community Affairs.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it's not our responsibility to declare a local state of emergency. We're working with the municipality on this very issue. The Member has brought it up. We are working. We have staff, whether it's regional or headquarters, meeting with the SAOs and their staff there. So if the community wants to declare a state of a local emergency, we are more than willing to work with them and explain the process to them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Because he said no? Okay, Mr. Speaker, in other situations in Canada, including most recently in Iqaluit, the lack of clean water resulted in the declaration of a state of emergency. Can the Minister explain to residents in Behchoko why he does not consider the situation as an emergency? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think the Member, you know, when she talks about Iqaluit, that's in Nunavut. The city of Iqaluit declared a state of emergency. The community can declare a state of emergency. We're more than willing to work the community on addressing that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Okay, Mr. Speaker, under the Emergency Management Act, a local authority may declare a state of emergency but the Minister can cancel such a declaration and must approve it before it can be renewed. If the community government declared is local state of emergency, would the Minister cancel or not approve the renewal of such declaration? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, let's be very clear. Chief and council from Behchoko have not reached out to us to declare a state of an emergency. If they declare a state of emergency, we're more than willing to work with the Chief and council. And if they want to declare it, I'm more than willing to work with them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mr. Speaker, thank you. Yes, at this time we are still dealing -- this is an emergency situation for many of my constituents. We are dealing with a situation where there's health is addressed of many of my residents. That's why I am addressing this. And he keeps saying this is not my responsibility. Well Behchoko, or any of the community government in Tlicho regions, that is the responsibility of MACA. That's why I am addressing it. I am addressing it and it's just more of a comment; he doesn't have to answer me back. Thank you.

Thank you, Member Monfwi. Minister responsible for MACA.

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Municipal and Community Affairs, we work with the community governments. That's our responsibility. If the communities come to us, we're more than willing to work with them. The Chief has identified an issue there. We had a conversation. We brought in support staff, regional and headquarters, to work with the SAO and their staff there at the water treatment centers. We're working with their staff. We are working with them. We are trying to address it. There are some challenges. And I feel very sorry that these challenges are happening but we are working with them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned in my Member's statement December 20th -- or December 1st, 2021, the Minister of Finance indicated that all GNWT employees would have the Living Well Together Training Program by March 31st, 2022. Today it's March 10th. Mr. Speaker, but my question will be directed to the Minister of Health and Social Services.

How many of the Department of Health staff and the NTHSS staff have completed the Living Well Together Training? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don't have the number with me of how many people have taken Living Well Together. That is something that I can provide to the Member.

I will say that Health and Social Services has an additional cultural safety training program for medical and social services staff with a unit that -- a module that was developed in-house and has been delivered at different places in the NWT during the pilot phase. And subsequently in the pilot phase, about 225 staff of ours participated. And then there were various opportunities to do the training again last year. So what I want to say about this is that Health requires that people do both training. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you for that, Minister. I'm glad to hear that our Health is supposed to get more training than most of the GNWT staff. Can the Minister explain how they reach out before hiring locums, doctors, nurses, any other healthcare practitioners that may be working with Indigenous populations, to complete this training before starting? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, cultural safety training is a standard part of the orientation process for new staff. However, that complete training program is not provided to locums and agency staff, and that's clearly a gap in the training that we provide that we need to address. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You know, with the rates of the locums and the way that we're going and agency nurses now, I'm worried that they're not getting this training but that's not my question.

Will the Minister -- looking at the position for the Indigenous patient advocates that this House has been championing and it was approved in our last budget, will the Minister commit to follow up on an exact date that the Indigenous patient advocate will be advertised? And if no date, commit that we will see these positions filled sooner than later, because I don't want to be asking this when I come back in May. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will come back to the Member with that information.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if this government, this Minister, as well as all the other Ministers, is really serious about cultural safety for the Indigenous people in the Northwest Territories, they will add to their job description as a mandatory requirement on all job descriptions to have this training completed. Will the Minister of Health and Social Services commit to doing that? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this training is now mandatory for people who are hired on a long-term basis. So the gap in service that we've identified -- or in training is with locums and agency nurses. That's what we need to work on next. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Premier and whether she will take a stand and join police chiefs, public health officials, countless politicians, and most recently the Premier of BC, in asking Canada to decriminalize drugs? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Honourable Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to defer that to the Minister of Justice, please. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Premier. Minister responsible for Justice.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And as the Member pointed out, this is not our -- we don't have the authority to decriminalize drugs in Canada. That is a federal responsibility. But we are keeping an eye on the situation across Canada and there are -- there are committees made up of all the provinces, territories, and the federal government, who are looking at this exact thing. They held their first meeting back in August. So there is a movement on this recently, and I really look forward to seeing what comes of it because the Member pointed out there was a couple overdoses recently. But that doesn't take into account the other drug-related deaths, the murders, the suicide. A lot of things -- people who moved out of the territory, you know, who brought their drug problems with them out of the territory who recently passed away. You know, I think we all know people who have been affected by this. So we are watching this closely. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can appreciate that the Minister's at those tables and he's watching it closely, but I guess my question is what is the position of this government in regards to decriminalization? When we're sitting in a meeting with other Ministers of Justice, and clearly ones from other provinces are saying yes, let's do this, what does the GNWT say, Mr. Speaker? Do we have a position that it is time to decriminalize drugs? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The position is that we need to work with the Indigenous governments in the Northwest Territories because this is not our decision alone. Thank you.

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

Oral Questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Premier on regulation-making by this government.

Cabinet did not engage with Regular MLAs on the development of the Cabinet operational guidelines publishing proposed regulations. I'd like to ask the Premier why that happened and compare that to the year-long negotiation with the intergovernmental council on the legislative development protocol? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Honourable Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Actually, there were multiple letters exchanged between the government and the chair of the Committee of Accountability and Oversight between March and June 2021 on these guidelines on how they'd operate, including the role of the standing committee and where the draft regulations would be published.

Mr. Speaker, traditionally, the creating of regulations is generally the responsibility of Cabinet and Ministers. This is by design. It's the Legislative Assembly that delegates regulation-making authority to Cabinet and Ministers. Regulation-making is intended to be less onerous than the development of acts, and that's why the regulation-making power is delegated.

The negotiation with the intergovernmental council on the legislative development protocol did, indeed, take time. The devolution agreement that was signed in 2014 provides for mutual cooperation in developing changes to land and resource legislation. This is a legal requirement that we are bound by and that respects the jurisdiction of the intergovernmental council partners. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Premier for that. And in those letters that were exchanged, what we got was a signed document. It had already been completed, drafted. No matter what this side said, they didn't make any changes. So it's taken repeated requests on my part to uncover the process that Cabinet apparently has in place for engagement around regulation-making. It's buried as appendix 4.11 of the executive council's submissions handbook, a best seller, Mr. Speaker. Can the Premier tell us if and when Cabinet expects to undertake some public information or promotion of this new process for regulation-making? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One of the primary ways that we make residents aware of the engagement opportunities is through the government of the NWT's flagship website. Information related to all active, pending, and closed engagement opportunities, including engagement regulations, is posted on the "Have your Say" page. We pre-published 17 draft regulations since the guidelines were created last year. EIA is currently making edits to the handbook to create a more user-friendly format, and this work is expected to be done in the spring. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that -- or the Premier for that. Needless to say the Premier can probably detect that I'm not very happy about the way this is rolled out.

Can the Premier explain why each Minister and agency gets to decide if, how, and when, any public or standing committee engagement takes place on new regulations? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Regulation-making authority is outlined in each of our territorial laws. It's the Legislative Assembly that decides whether a Minister or Cabinet or another entity has responsibility for making regulations under a territorial law.

In cases where a Minister is assigned regulation-making authority under the law, the Minister decides whether engagement is to take place because it is the Minister that's responsible for all matters arising within their department. The guidelines are helpful in that they outline the incidents when a Minister should publish a draft regulation for input. They provide guidance in that regard. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Premier. Final supplementary, Member for Frame Lake.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Premier for that. Of course, I'm not asking for an opportunity to review every single set of regulations but a more collaborative process; a better reflection of so-called consensus government should have been carried out here. The only way for the public to know about regulations now is by combing through the wildly popular Northwest Territories Gazette that is posted after most of the regulations are already made.

Will the Premier commit to reviewing the Cabinet operational guidelines publishing proposed regulations with standing committee and the public before the end of this Assembly. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We've had almost a year with the process of publishing the draft regulations. I will commit that before the end of this Assembly we will review them to see if there's any improvements that need to be made, and we will share that -- we'll engage with standing committee as part of that review. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Premier. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

A lot of changes I'm going to ask for today relate to the income assistance review. Can the Minister clarify when we will see the updated -- or sorry, can the Minister provide an update on the progress of this review and when we can expect to see frontline policy change as a result of this work? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Members are aware, or as they've been notified, we are currently engaging the public and stakeholders on the income assistance program. That engagement ends tomorrow. There have been meetings with Indigenous governments, vendors, former income assistance clients, current income assistance clients, and so on, and once we have that information we will have a "what we heard" report to share with the House and a -- the reprofiled income assistance program that will be the ultimate result of all of this work should roll out in April 2023. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my concern is that it doesn't leave for a lot of time for us to see how the new program is working towards the end of our term. And we've spent a lot of our time over the course of the 19th Assembly identifying changes that different Members would like to see to the income assistance program. A lot of these changes are longstanding challenges that NWT residents have seen for decades. And so I'm wondering why not start with the low hanging fruit or changes to policies that present barriers to getting Northerners housed? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There have been some changes. I mean, everyone now is on the wellness productive choice and so that is essentially been eliminated. That's something that's been asked for. So I want -- I just want to note that there are some things happening but, you know, calling something low hanging fruit doesn't mean it's low hanging fruit. The change the Member's talking about would probably cost millions of dollars, and we're working on that right now to make those determinations. So it's not as easy as just saying let's do something. There's other factors. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Somebody's paying for housing; I guess it just depends on who. It's either shelters, or it's ECE, or it's Housing.

Within the income assistance program policies, many policies that relate to housing Northerners are at the discretion of senior managers or the director. This means policies are subjective and potentially inconsistently applied to NWT residents. It also means people are sitting waiting for approvals rather than securing housing.

So will the Minister issue an immediate directive to remove "with director approval" from policies that is present housing barriers allowing clients to work directly with their caseworker to secure their rent benefit? Thank you so much.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think if you have a director, then it would be more consistent than spreading it out perhaps. But the director is a statutory officer of the income assistance program, and the director has given discretion to regional managers and client service officers to issue rental benefits on the behalf of clients.

So in situations where a client doesn't have their name on the public housing waitlist or their rent exceeds the limits that we have on rent, the client service officer has to seek approval from the director but in my experience that happens very quickly. People aren't waiting days or weeks for this to happen. So having that central authority provides the consistency that the Member is talking about, and we don't sacrifice time. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think the Minister and I have differing reports back from people who are using this service and that sometimes days or even a week means that somebody is not housed in that time.

Will the Minister remove the requirement on the income assistance clients to put their names on the public housing waitlist knowing that there's not enough public housing in the NWT and that housing Northerners relies on market rentals, partnerships, and also alternate housing solutions? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If Members are aware of specific issues where people are waiting weeks for a service, please let me know. As part of the income assistance review, I want to make sure that we include some way to track these types of incidents. Until then, if I don't know I don't know. So I think it's the duty of everyone to let me know about that when they hear it because I want to make sure that doesn't happen.

And the comment the Member made about removing the waitlist requirement, we're working on that, as I've said. There's money involved. There's other things involved. But I've heard the Member, and we are considering that as part of the review. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Infrastructure. I want to build on some questions that my colleague from Hay River South asked the other day about whether the Minister is willing to implement a rebate for electric bikes.

I know the Minister's going to review this and do some calculations of GHG emissions, but I'm worried, you know, Mr. Speaker, if we say it's 50 bikes and you get $500 back, that's $25,000 a year. I'm worried we're going to spend more asking some engineer or consultant to review whether this is a good idea. So I know we don't have a lot of money laying around but maybe the Minister can find $25,000 laying around, and we can get a rebate program started with 50 bikes, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister responsible for Infrastructure.

Thank you. Since there's so much interest in this Assembly, I will commit to looking at the rebate for electrical bikes as part of the three-year energy action plan and the business planning process. And you know what, Mr. Speaker, this doesn't mean the Member keep asking questions that I would eventually say, yes. This is not the case. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Quite a few of my constituents ride electric bikes, and they're quite proud of them. My question for the Minister of Infrastructure is if I bring an electric bike over here to the legislature, will she take it out for a rip, Mr. Speaker?

Quanainni. I have a bicycle, but I use the pedals. So, you know, if they want to test a electrical bicycle, by all means; I'd be happy to do circles around the Assembly.

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

No further questions.

Oh, sorry. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I have some Ukrainian ancestry myself. My great-great-grandparents on my mom's side came to Canada in 1898, and when the Premier called for donations on February 25th I did it the same day. I donated $500. But how's the government going to match that donation now? The portal just opened up this afternoon. There's no way that my donation seems that I can get it matched right now. So can the Premier tell me how she's going to match my donation? I can walk the receipt over if she needs it, but. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Sounds like the Member wants to walk to the other side. Honourable Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Government of the Northwest Territories is matching $50,000 to all residents. We are hoping that residents will contribute.

I can say as the Premier if that Member walks the receipt over to me, I will commit to personally donating $500 towards the campaign. And I challenge every Member in this House to donate $500 to the campaign. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that -- or the Premier. I think I can up her on that. I'm going to send it to her by email as soon as I sit down so she's going to get it right away. And so can the Premier commit that she's going to match that donation and make sure that the GNWT doubles it? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I made my commitment that I will. I already had one Minister say that they already give their $500 as well. Out of that $50,000, if we don't spend it all, which I commit we will spend it all, I already said if it's not spent, we will donate it to the Red Cross. But, again, the plea is for all residents to donate to this cause. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Honourable Premier. Oral questions. Member for Hay River South.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. These questions will be for the Minister responsible for MACA. Unfortunately I didn't have time to give him the questions, but -- I just wrote them.

Does the Minister of MACA believe water and sanitation is a basic human right thus essential for all our northern communities? Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister responsible for Municipal and Community Affairs.

Thank you. I think the Member's asking for my opinion so I can tell you the department believes that water and sewer is important. That's why we have the water and sewer subsidy program. We work with the municipalities on that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Does the Minister's department believe that every community in the Northwest Territories deserves access to clean water to avoid potential health issues? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Yes, we work with the municipalities on issues, and that's why we have the CIP gas tax. We work with them. We give them the money. They pick their priorities. They work with them. If there's challenges, we work with the municipalities. We have staff that go in there working with them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Does the Minister's department believe that reasons Indigenous communities that don't have clean drinking water, in part, is due to marginalization, remoteness, age of systems, lack of funding, and maintenance? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.