Ministers' statements. Minister responsible for the Status of Women.

Mr. Speaker, today is International Women's Day. Designated by the United Nations as an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of women, it is a day to raise awareness of gender inequality and reflect on the journeys we have all taken to get here. It is an opportunity for us to come together and to commit to continue the fight for gender equality.

This year's theme is Break the Bias. This is about breaking from the beliefs we have about what women are capable of. We must work together to break the bias in our workplaces, in our communities, and in our own homes so that all genders have the opportunity to flourish. Together we can create a world that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive - A world where difference is valued and celebrated.

This morning I had the pleasure of participating in a fireside chat alongside the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, as well as the Honourable Lisa Thompson, Honourable Margaret Johnson, and Honourable Lana Popham, Ministers of Agriculture from Ontario, New Brunswick and British Columbia. During this event we discussed the women and girls who inspire us through their leadership and contribution to the social, economic, cultural, and political spheres across Canada.

Mr. Speaker, as I look around this room, I see courageous, intelligent, and powerful women, sons of mothers and fathers of daughters. It is an honour to be part of the first gender-balanced Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories. Across the Northwest Territories, voters have also elected women in unprecedented numbers at all levels of government including Chiefs, mayors, and councilors.

Mr. Speaker, these great achievements are cause for celebration because it is a sign that in the Northwest Territories, we are breaking biases. While I feel great pride for the progress we have made, I am also saddened by the discrimination that women and gender-diverse people continue to experience daily.

From unequal salaries and low representation in leadership roles to being victims of gender-based violence and domestic abuse, many women continue to face challenges that stem directly from gender bias and inequality. This is not the world I want to leave our children.

Mr. Speaker, although the last two years have been a struggle for everyone, they have been particularly challenging for women. During this time, women have suffered through what has been called a shadow pandemic. Data shows that all types of gender-based violence, particularly domestic violence, has greatly intensified since the start of COVID-19. At this very moment, there are women across this territory who are stuck in cycles of poverty and violence and forced to make difficult choices every day that put their safety at risk. This is not the world I want to leave our children.

Mr. Speaker, Indigenous women are 3.5 times more likely to experience violence, and we continue to hear reports of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. And I repeat, this is not the world I want to leave our children.

Mr. Speaker, as the Minister responsible for the Status of Women, I reaffirm this government's commitment to addressing the evolving nature of work related to gender, including gendered violence and gender equity. One year ago, I stood in this House to announce the creation of the GNWT's gender equity division and today I am happy to share some of the important work that they are undertaking.

On December 8th, 2021, I tabled Changing the Relationship, a draft action plan in response to the Calls for Justice on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people. This comprehensive plan was developed by the gender equity division with support from all GNWT departments and key stakeholders. The plan includes 95 actions to address systemic causes of violence, inequality, and racism so that Indigenous women and girls can feel safe and empowered in our territory. So far, the Northwest Territories is one of only a few jurisdictions across Canada to develop an MMIWG action plan.

The gender equity division will also be responsible for implementing Gender Based Analysis Plus, or GBA+, to assess how diverse groups may be impacted by government policies, programs, and initiatives.

The gender equity division continues to support women in leadership initiatives including the Campaign School for Women, which encourages the participation of women in political leadership and equips them with tools and supports to run for elected office. If we want to measure success and importance of this program, we can simply look at all the women elected in this room and beyond holding office across the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, on this International Women's Day, we do have much to celebrate. It's important to acknowledge the work that has been done to honour and recognize those women who have gotten us here today. However, if we want a gender equal world, one that is free of bias, stereotypes or discrimination, we do still have a lot of work to do.

The time for gender equality was yesterday; it was last month, last year, decades and centuries ago. The time for gender equality is long overdue, Mr. Speaker, but today will have to do. Together we can forge women's equality and together we can Break the Bias. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Ministers' statements. Member for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation is delivering an exceptional large capital program to cost share the delivery of 60 new single public housing units. 46 of those units are projected to be completed in 2022-2023, and 14 are projected to be completed the following year. The majority of this funding is coming from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation under the Co-Investment Fund.

In addition, Crown Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada is also contributing funding towards the delivery of 30 new public housing units. Seven are expected to be completed this year; 21 are expected to be completed in 2022-2023; two are expected to be completed in 2023-2024.

This will be the largest expansion of public housing units in the Northwest Territories in over 20 years. The annual capital delivery plan of approximately $94 million involves the construction and renovation of more than 364 housing units in the Northwest Territories. This represents almost a 100 percent increase in capital investment compared to the previous year's $47 million capital plan. This plan includes new and replacement public housing units, major retrofits, and a large biomass district heating project, market housing, and the remaining units for the RCMP housing initiative.

Mr. Speaker, the majority of this delivery is now either already completed or in the construction phase. Over the last year, the Housing Corporation has awarded negotiated contracts for the construction of 12 new housing units being delivered by the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, the Gwich'in Tribal Council (Delta North Alliance); Fort Smith Metis Council; and the Norman Wells Claimant Corporation. Under the Tlicho Infrastructure Corporation Agreement, the Housing Corporation has also awarded the construction of the local housing organization office in Behchoko. The NWT Housing Corporation is continuing its discussions with Indigenous governments and Indigenous organizations to support this extraordinary delivery.

Mr. Speaker, in addition to our own delivery, we will continue to work in partnership with Indigenous governments, Indigenous organizations, community governments, and non-profit organizations to help them access funding through the Government of Canada's National Housing Co-Investment Fund. The co-investment fund application process can be very time consuming and requires significant resources to move through the different application phases. There are currently ten active projects we are aware of in construction phase, two nearing completion of the application process, and more than 20 projects the Housing Corporation are engaged in supporting through the federal co-investment application process.

The Housing Corporation will continue to support applications from across the Northwest Territories as they move through this complex process.

Mr. Speaker, beyond the benefits of adding housing options in communities where new units are built, the economic benefits of the construction delivery can provide meaningful employment opportunities. The committed to working with northern contractors as much as possible to maximize the benefits of these projects.

To support these outcomes, on April 1st, 2020, the Housing Corporation amended its construction contracts to require general contractors to support at least one northern apprentice on work assignments for the duration of the construction project.

I am very pleased to advise that in addition to the dozen apprentice positions the Housing Corporation supports each year with local housing organizations, the new apprentice hire as required for general contractors has supported the creation of 33 new apprentice work assignments to date.

Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories has made a commitment to increase the number of affordable homes and reduce housing core need. In this territory, with support from our partners, we have made and continue to make great progress towards fulfilling this commitment. From home repair and community housing plans to invest in new housing units and addressing homelessness through the Northern Pathways to housing programs, the Housing Corporation and its partners are taking big steps to ensuring residents most in need have access to comfortable, safe, and affordable homes.

Despite the progress being made, there is still more work to be done. The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the need for affordable housing and shown us that adequate housing plays a critical role in the success, health, and wellness of residents and communities across the territory.

The Housing Corporation will continue to engage with the Government of Canada, Indigenous governments, and the stakeholders to help make housing in communities across the Northwest Territories more affordable and more accessible for the residents who need it most.

I'd also like to thank the staff at the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation and our Indigenous partnerships and our partners throughout the Northwest Territories for this collaboration and this work being done today. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with the rising cost of fuel and gas prices throughout the NWT, Canada, and internationally, we must consider alternate forms of transportation.

Mr. Speaker, Arctic Energy Alliance provides rebates for electric vehicles and charging devices. As an added benefit, these rebates can be piggy-backed with federal rebate programs as well. The reason for these programs is to reduce greenhouse gases through the use of zero emission vehicles. We are off to a good start. However, we can advance this by taking a page from our friends in the Yukon who have implemented rebates for electric bikes and electric snowmobiles.

Mr. Speaker, e-bikes are an excellent choice for commuting, exercise, and reducing the carbon footprint. The electric bike does not require one to have a driver's license while saving on fuel and insurance costs. What would excite my colleague from Frame Lake is that the electric bikes and snowmobiles benefit the environment as the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere is not an issue.

What excites me about the e-bike is the exercise it can provide. Although the e-bike comes with an electric motor for those steep hills, it does have pedals and if those pedals are actually used, it will benefit one's heart, lungs, muscles, and sense of well-being.

Mr. Speaker, we all know one cannot live in the Northwest Territories without owning a snowmobile. Or better yet, having a friend you can borrow one from at no cost. There are now electric snowmobiles available in Canada that have a range, on a single charge, of approximately 100 kilometers. In addition to being fully electric and not requiring fuel, the machines are quiet, have comparable performance with machines we are familiar with, and require minimal maintenance.

Mr. Speaker, one drawback in all of this is the lack of EV charging stations in the NWT however I understand there are plans to install more this year. Nevertheless, it is important we look to alternate EV modes of transportation beyond trucks and cars - electric bikes, electric cargo bicycles, and electric snowmobiles would be a good start. Each must be part of the list of equipment eligible for rebates in the NWT.

Currently, the Yukon government provides a rebate for electric bikes and electric cargo bikes of 25 percent up to a maximum of $750 and $2500 for electric snowmobiles. Let's not be left behind.
I will have questions for the Minister responsible for Infrastructure. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to recognize International Women's Day, which is held on this date, March 8th, every year.

International Women's Day is celebrated globally to recognize the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. Today is also a Call to Action for accelerating gender parity which is working towards achieving equality with men and not to be discriminated against because of their gender.

Mr. Speaker, great strides and progress have been made since the days of just being a housewife or someone to send to the store to do the shopping. We have to recognize achievements made by women including in trades, management, business, and politically. We can look at the 19th Legislative Assembly, which is the first to have nine female Members of an Assembly. I believe this is a first for any Assembly anywhere.

Mr. Speaker, I have to note that a by-election held in the Monfwi riding, and with the election of a woman, this has now given the 19th Legislative Assembly a majority of women.

I also recognize the many achievements of women in leadership who have broken the glass ceiling. I congratulate and applaud all women who serve on local councils and the many other organizations for which they volunteer. Mr. Speaker, I would like to close with a quote from someone who states, "there's no evidence whatsoever that men are more rational than women. Both sexes seem to be equally irrational." Mahsi.

Members' statements. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today is International Women's Day. The government of Canada's theme for International Women's Day is Women Inspiring Women. It celebrates all the women and girls who inspire us by demonstrating leadership and the choices they make in their day-to-day lives to contribute to the social, economic, cultural, and political spheres.

The international 2022 campaign is Break the Bias. Imagine a gender-equal world, a world free of bias, stereotypes, discrimination; a world that's diverse, equitable, and inclusive; a world where difference is valued and celebrated.

Mr. Speaker, I'd like to point out that I stand in this House with a gender balance. Actually, majority of women representing this territory. We have a female Premier and a majority female Cabinet with most of our chair -- our special and standing committees are chaired by females.

As I stand here, I'd also recognize we have our clerks today that are both female sitting in the House today.

However, I want to express my thanks to our male colleagues who have treated me as an equal throughout my time as a sitting MLA. Never once have I heard a bias against any issue or idea that I have brought forward, unless they're scared to approach me.

Mr. Speaker, there are so many women who have inspired me throughout my life, each one of them has made me who I am. They're women in my life who have led the way long before women had a place at any table. Thank you for breaking this trail.

There have been women who inspired me to strive to be the mother and wife I am today. Thank you.

There are women and girls who continue to inspire me every day, and this gives me the energy and the courage to continue to do the work that they put me here to do. I hope this inspires them to follow in the footsteps, in many of the female footsteps before them. We need to ensure that days like today are not celebrations but are the norm in our world. So I would like to wish everybody a Happy International Women's Day. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

I am also going to speak about International Women's Day.

Mr. Speaker, the Oxford dictionary defines bias as "a strong feeling in favour of, or against, one group of people, or one side in an argument, often not based on fair judgement."

Since time immemorial, women have faced bias, labelled as the "weaker sex", "hysterical", "emotional", and my personal favourite, Mr. Speaker, "angry". All words used to discredit opinions and lived experiences so that justice for women and girls remains difficult and we are taught to blame ourselves.

Mr. Speaker, this is the greatest example of gaslighting we can see in human history. And it has hurt all people, across the gender spectrum, as we now have generations of people, men, who struggle with expressing their emotions and showing vulnerability as society says those attributes are weak and belong only to the "fairer sex".

As we've heard, this year's International Women's Day theme is Break the Bias, something that I've attempted to do most of my life before I even knew what that word meant.

In 1991, I was the only girl in my high school's industrial education, or IE, class. This, after my antiquated school district finally stopped putting the girls automatically into home economics and the boys in IE.

As a child I was a "tomboy", another one of those biased words used to make women feel lesser than, implying if you don't fit into the traditional gender role you will be labelled as different and held out as an example. If I had a dollar for the number of times that I've been told that it would be hard for me to find a man, I'd be able to build housing for the entire territory, Mr. Speaker. And as I stand before you a single, never married woman, I guess they were right.

As sad as I am that I haven't fulfilled what society tells me is my purpose in life - to get married and have children - I have managed to fill my empty life with other matters, including my career as an engineer, my role as an MLA, and of course being a cool auntie.

Mr. Speaker, I may joke about this situation but as I've said before, humour is how I cope and cope I have, as women have coped for millennia. Never in my life have I so keenly been aware of being a woman, and I am proud to be part of the change that began for this nation when the legislature became the first with a majority of women. And I know the focus of this Assembly reflects our voices. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A powerful Indigenous woman, a woman who persisted to overcome and then thrive, once demanded to see my fire. We all have fire. Sometimes its hidden deep with a whisper of a flame and sometimes it roars.

Mr. Speaker, International Women's Day isn't only about women who make headlines and win awards. It is especially about women who persist every day to overcome the social and economic challenges that life throws their way. These are the women who risk financial stability to flee violence, the women who support children with disabilities day in and day out, the women who parent through their own mental and physical disability and trauma, the women who work multiple jobs to stay housed; today is for the women who persist to wake up tomorrow and do it all again. Today is about the persisters.

Mr. Speaker, to say the word "equality" is not enough. Action is needed on the heels of this public health and shadow pandemic. We need to call out bias, douse stereotypes, squash systemic barriers, and reject that which doesn't serve our persisters.

Whether deliberate or unconscious, bias makes it difficult for women to move ahead so as residents we must recognize our bias and build up the women around us. And as legislators, we must recognize the bias in legislation, policies, and how the government serves Northerners.

Mr. Speaker, supporting women is good economics. Increasing women's participation in the workforce to that of men is said to generate an extra $13 billion to Canada's GDP. So how can income assistance policies evolve to help persisters thrive? How can government get out of the way of entrepreneurs? And, how can policies that drive housing support women? Meeting residents with the support they need to overcome and thrive furthers our $700 million investment on social programs. So how can integrated service delivery break down department silos this year?

To me, International Women's Day is about looking at what I am thankful for as a woman and ensuring that all women have access to the same. But today is not only about women as true change doesn't happen in gendered silos either. Today needs all voices because being a champion of women is being a champion of social change, economic strength, and prosperity for this territory.

Mr. Speaker, here is to strong women. May we know them, may we be them, may we raise them. And here is to supportive men. May we know them, may we hear them, and may we raise them. And, to today's true heroes, the persisters, speak your truth, demand your worth, and continue to call for our fires. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just want to wish everybody a Happy International Women's Day, and with that, Mr. Speaker, I have a different topic.

Mr. Speaker, the Affirmative Action Policy has existed in the Government of the Northwest Territories for 33 years now. The purpose of the policy is to hire more Indigenous people in the public service, which sounds simple enough, but has not been so easy in practice.

Since affirmative action was created, the number of Indigenous employees across the Northwest Territories has remained stagnant at about 30 percent every year. Mr. Speaker, the Affirmative Action Policy is not fulfilling its stated purpose. It simply is not working for many Indigenous people. I hear stories all the time from Indigenous people in my community about folks being screened out of jobs or trying to appeal hiring decisions or trying to move up to a higher-level management positions but they run into roadblocks every step of the way.

It is not easy for Indigenous people to move up to higher-level jobs within our government.

Mr. Speaker, in January the Standing Committee on Government Operations had a public meeting on the Affirmative Action Policy, which had some very insightful presenters. Among the presenters was the Fort Smith Metis Council who stated that there needs to be serious consequences for employees and managers who do not follow the Affirmative Action Policy. I agree with that statement.

Employees and managers need to know that by not following affirmative action, they will be reprimanded in some way. With mechanisms like that built into the policy, perhaps we will see more Indigenous hires into the public service.

Mr. Speaker, another point that was mentioned at that public meeting was the need for the government to accept education equivalencies more broadly within all or most job descriptions. Again, I agree with that statement, and I've mentioned that several times here.

In many cases, Indigenous peoples are screened out of the job application process simply because their education level does not match exactly what is stated in the job description. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

Mr. Speaker, another aspect of Indigenous hire in the public service, which is not talked about often, is mentorship. It is extremely important for managers in every department to mentor and provide every opportunity for professional development with all Indigenous employees. Indigenous employees need to be supported and treated as valuable Members of the team.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I know that the Minister of Finance has been working on a new Indigenous Recruitment and Retention Framework and Action Plan. She tabled those documents in November. While it is good to see those plans advancing, I hope to start seeing some results from those plans sooner rather than later. I will have questions for the Minister of Finance later today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Merci, Monsieur le President. I raised the issue of the federal wage top-up program offered through GNWT in June last year. The federal funding appears to have ended on August 31st, 2021. At that point, GNWT workers receiving $18 an hour reverted back to their previous wages as low as our miserly minimum wage of $15.20 an hour.

No matter how the Minister of Finance tried to pitch the wage top-up program and who was supposed to benefit from it, the program definitely helped a lot of people impacted by our totally inadequate minimum wage. I was surprised to see that the Department of Finance still has a webpage on the now defunct wage top-up program.

As of July 19th, 2021, the total cost of the program was $4,607,888, including employee wage top-up, employer EI and CPP, and $50 per employee compensation fees; 102 businesses participated; and 3,053 individuals benefitted from the program, or about 12.5 percent of the labour force.

I recently had a small business person who lives in the Frame Lake riding contact me about government assistance as they were hoping for a reinstatement of the wage top-up program. That business understands the need to retain employees and wants to pay their employees a living wage. When I contacted the finance minister, all I got was a brush off that the program had ended and a link to where federal assistance programs could be found.

The response from the Minister did not deal with the fundamental problems outlined by this small business person. There is no shortage of labour, but a wage/benefits shortage where people are no longer looking for work that pays less than a living wage.

There should be a general wage top-up program that is focused on increasing the wages for lower income workers. The GNWT could provide a wage top-up program to applicants to get low income workers up to a living wage and then a staggered withdrawal over time. This would bring up the wages for low income workers and would mitigate the risks for small businesses.

Do we want to support a more vibrant economy and attract employees with better services to the public, Or do we want to continue to have workers living in poverty? I will have questions later today for the Premier. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If you search through Hansard, there's no shortage of questions about audiology wait times, both in this Assembly and the last. And I know the department has made some progress both for wait times for hearing and those in certain priority candidates, but I'm still hearing from many constituents that the time to get proper audiology services is too long.

Mr. Speaker, hearing loss in adults over 50 years of age is currently one of the top contributors to the burden of disability. Hearing loss increases social isolation and worsens the symptoms and onset of disorders such as Alzheimer's and dementia.

Mr. Speaker, I've been told by multiple constituents that they have waited well over a year to have their audiology needs addressed. And in the interim, some have gone out-of-territory to get those services.

Mr. Speaker, we have to recognize that when we have massive wait times for services, some people are going to go out-of-territory and get those services so that they can get the service they need. In doing this though, I have helped constituents try to get reimbursements. I've had constituents tell me conflicting information about whether they can be reimbursed from services both from one aspect of whether it's their doctor or it's the office in Inuvik that ultimately deals with this. I think there is some silos occurring and an overall comprehensive reimbursement policy is needed so clear direction can happen to someone who is stuck without being able to get a service here, goes down and tries to get their hearing needs addressed. I'll have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services about what we are doing to end the audiology wait times. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Yes, okay, I'll do it in my language.

[Translation begins] Today is March 8th, International Women's Day. They say this is our day. It is all over the world as women exist, this is our day. That's a day that we do have. So when we look at this the way it is, our fore-parents, our ancestors, we have to remember them and this is a day that we would also have a day for them to remember who they were. And without them, we wouldn't be where we are today. We know they have worked very hard for all of us, our ancestors that I am talking about. So when we remember them and thanking them for who we are as women being and as a leader, so we know that time has changed and we have lived that experience to be who we are today. But it's not only us that we are who we are today but as a lot of change happens under Indian Act and for the Indigenous women, a lot has -- a lot has changed for the election as well as women in leadership. And the women made some changes so that we would have women in power so in that sense, that we have gone forward. So for that reason as women, so we are very important and very precious of who we are and what we do for our people today. And I see it's some are women -- some women are in the background but we would like to also have the other women in leadership as well.

As Tlicho region that I say, I see, I know we have two women in leadership in Tlicho region, Chief in Gameti, Doreen Arrowmaker. In Wekweeti, the Adeline Judith Football. And for myself, as being the first woman being an MLA. So it is, like, an opening an eye and go on the right way of who we are as a women, what we can do for our people. But for -- we know that a lot of women today, they have a lot of work to do as a leadership, as teachers as well. We know that we do have a lot of ladies as women in leadership in their own way, in their own role, so we have to say it's being women is very important. Without them, we wouldn't be where we are today because of our ancestors. Thank you very much. [Translation Ends]

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too want to recognize the International Women's Day.

Mr. Speaker, I'm concerned about Indigenous employees of the GNWT. I have been hearing from my constituents in my riding about the challenges to advance into management positions. I recognize, Mr. Speaker, that a GNWT Affirmative Action Policy has recently released Indigenous Recruitment and Retention Action plan, and these are positive steps, Mr. Speaker, but I am concerned that the Indigenous employees are still falling through the crack -- or falling through the gaps.

The GNWT provides employment to 6,249 people. And of that 6,249 people, there are 1,832 are Indigenous. The vision has made it publicly clear that GNWT wants public service to reflect its population. Indigenous people represents nearly half of the NWT population and 29 percent of that is GNWT employees. And when we look at the senior management, Mr. Speaker, this number drops to 20 percent. So 80 percent of leadership in the GNWT is held by non-Indigenous people.

In 2020, there were just over 250 GNWT senior management and managers. Only 50 of them were Indigenous and if half of them were to be Indigenous, we would need 75 more Indigenous senior managers.

How can we change this, Mr. Speaker? Can we do -- what can we do today in the short-term to retain and develop Indigenous employees we have? Why do Indigenous employees feel that they are not advancing?

We know that lower education rates are lower amongst Indigenous people in the NWT compared to non-Indigenous people. So what plans are in place to help Indigenous employees get the required training, experience, or education they need to advance in the workforce? Mr. Speaker, I have questions for the Minister of Finance later today. Mahsi.

Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Members' statements. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Sahtu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize my constituent from the Sahtu, Ms. Heidi Hodgson. And my constituent assistant Natasha Takazo. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Welcome. If we have missed anyone in the gallery today, welcome to the Chamber and I hope you enjoy the proceedings. It's always nice to have an audience with us. Mahsi.

Reports of committees on the review of bills. Reports of standing and special committees. Member for Deh Cho.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Your Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment is pleased to provide its report on the Statutory Reviews of the Species at Risk (NWT) Act and Wildlife Act and commends it to the House.

Executive Summary

The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment Committee is mandated to review the Wildlife Act and Species at Risk (NWT) Act pursuant to Section 171 and Section 147 of the Act respectively.

Due to the change in Assemblies, there was a delay commencing the statutory review process and a further delay as a result of COVID-19.

Committee began the statutory review in August of 2020 and established the following key priorities in which to guide the committee's approach:

• the role of Indigenous governments from areas with ongoing negotiations in relation to lands, resources, or self-government agreements with respect to wildlife management;
• emerging role of guardianship and related programs; and
• community-based wildlife management.

Between September 2020 to October 2021, committee held several rounds of public engagement seeking feedback from Indigenous governments, renewable resource boards, hunters and trappers associations, non-government wildlife stakeholders and the public. The committee received seven written submissions and three public presentations as well as briefings from the Minister and officials from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

The committee heard a broad range of concerns including, but not limited to:

• the role of Indigenous governments (without agreements) in wildlife management;
• application of the legislation with regard to infractions, enforcement and identification;
• Indigenous guardians;
• harvester education and training;
• community conservation plans;
• wildlife habitat;
• food security;
• alternative measures under the Wildlife Act.

The following report provides a summary of what committee heard from stakeholders and submits recommendations to the GNWT to improve the Species at Risk (NWT) Act and the Wildlife Act.

The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment has provided 14 recommendations to the GNWT:

Recommendation 1

The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment recommends the Government of the Northwest Territories advance discussions under section 12 of the Wildlife Act with Indigenous governments who are not represented by renewable resources boards or without a final lands, resources, and self-government agreement.

Recommendation 2

The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment recommend the Department of Environment and Natural Resources strengthen the application of Section 14 and 21 under the Species at Risk (NWT) Act to ensure that Indigenous governments without a final agreement have a say in management of species at risk.

Recommendation 3

The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment recommends the Government of the Northwest Territories establish an expedited legal process for Indigenous hunters to regain access to hunting equipment when there is a risk of losing the hunting season without it.

Recommendation 4

The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment recommends the Government of the Northwest Territories increase funding support for the Community Harvester Assistance Program and related programs that develop hunting, trapping and harvesting skills.

Recommendation 5

The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment recommends the Government of the Northwest Territories make further hunter education a requirement of the kindergarten to grade 12 NWT education curriculum.

Recommendation 6

The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment recommends the Government of the Northwest Territories expand section 98 of the Wildlife Act to require consideration of community conservation plans when determining allocation of harvests for wildlife and that written reasons be required for all decisions on harvest allocations.

Recommendation 7

The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment recommends the Government of the Northwest Territories work with Indigenous governments and renewable resource boards to identify appropriate culturally-grounded processes for enforcement using alternative measures, which include restorative justice models.

Recommendation 8

The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment recommends the Government of the Northwest Territories establish a role for Indigenous guardians in legislation.

Recommendation 9

The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment recommends the Government of the Northwest Territories create a funding program to establish and maintain Indigenous guardian programs in communities, and that multiyear funding be available to employ people in small communities.

Recommendation 10

The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment recommends the Government of the Northwest Territories remove any regulatory barriers that prevent communities from sharing wild meat to improve food security.

Recommendation 11

The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment recommends the Government of the Northwest Territories expand Part 6, Conservation and Management Measures of the Wildlife Act, to include provisions for nomination of conservation areas by Indigenous governments and others, consistent to the Protected Areas Act.

Recommendation 12

The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment recommends the Government of the Northwest Territories make the results of discussions at meetings under Section 15 of the Wildlife Act publicly available.

Recommendation 13

The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment recommends that the Minister extend the statutory review period under section 171 of the Wildlife Act to match the review period established under section 147 of the Species at Risk (NWT) Act, and that both of these statutory review periods be required every other Assembly.

And in closing,

Recommendation 14

The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories provide a response to the recommendations contained in this report within 120 days.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Great Slave, that Committee Report 24-19(2): Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment - Report on the Statutory Reviews of the Species at Risk (NWT) Act and Wildlife Act be deemed read and printed in Hansard in its entirety. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the motion?

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Any abstentions? The motion is carried.

--Carried

Reports of standing and special committees. Member for Deh Cho

INTRODUCTION

The Standing Committee on Economic Development is mandated to undertake statutory reviews of legislation. Section 171 of the Wildlife Act requires the Act to be reviewed by the Legislative Assembly within five-years after coming into force (November 2014), and Section 147 of the Species at Risk (NWT) Act requires review ten-years after coming into force (February 2010). Due to 19^th Assembly starting office in late 2019, along with limitations imposed in early 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic, Committee was delayed commencing the statutory reviews. Due to the overlapping nature of both pieces of legislation, Committee is providing one consolidated report.

In committee's preparation on the Report of statutory reviews, committee conducted internal research, engaged with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and held three rounds of public engagement, all of which contributed to the recommendations as detailed in this report.

Committee recognizes this review was extended over two years. While Committee acknowledges the intent of statutory review clauses in legislation to maintain accountability, these reviews require significant time, energy, and resources in addition to other priorities set by Committees.

REVIEW PROCESS

On August 20, 2020, Committee commenced the statutory review of the Wildlife Act and Species at Risk (NWT) Act. The following key priorities emerged from Committee's review:

• the role of Indigenous governments from areas with ongoing negotiations in relation to lands, resources, or self-government agreements with respect to wildlife management;
• emerging role of guardianship and related programs; and
• community based wildlife management

Between September 2020 and October 2021 Committee sent letters seeking feedback to all Indigenous governments and renewable resource boards, the Inuvialuit Game Council, hunter and trapper associations, Northwest Territories wildlife stakeholders, Indigenous guardian programs, tourism outfitters and the general public. Committee had originally planned to hold public hearings in various locations across the NWT but given COVID restrictions, written submissions and video conferences formed the public engagement. Subsequent calls for submissions were released on the Legislative Assembly's various social media platforms.

The following stakeholders provided written submissions and/or public presentations before committee:

• Sahtu Renewable Resource Board
• the Inuvialuit Game Council
• the Wek'eezhii Reviewable Resource Board
• NWT Metis Nation
• Acho Dene Koe First Nations
• Ducks Unlimited
• Nature United
• Malcolm Jaeb

Any written submissions are contained in Appendix A of this report. The public presentations can be found on the Legislative Assembly channel.

BACKGROUND

Wildlife Act

The original Wildlife Act was an inherited piece of legislation from the Government of Canada and was in force for more than 30 years. The implementation of land, resource, and self-government agreements required the Act to be updated. In 2010, the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) began drafting the replacement Wildlife Act. This involved extensive consultation and co-drafting with settled and unsettled Indigenous governments and travel to all 33 communities. The new Wildlife Act legislation and regulations came into force in November 2014, while Sections 46 and 48 pertaining to a Harvester Training Course and a number of other “Phase 2” regulations later came into force on January 1, 2020.

Species At Risk (NWT) Act

The Species at Risk (NWT) Act was developed through a co-drafting process that commenced in 2005 including: GNWT representation from Environment and Natural Resources and Justice, negotiated land, resource and self-government agreement organizations (Inuvialuit Game Council, Gwich'in Tribal Council, Sahtu Secretariat Incorporated, and the Tłı̨chǫ Government), and renewable resources boards established under land, resource or self-government agreements (Wildlife Management Advisory Council (NWT), Gwich'in Renewable Resources Board, Sahtu Renewable Resources Board and the Wek'èezhìı Renewable Resources Board). The Act came into force in February of 2010.

WHAT WE HEARD

Through Committee's public engagement efforts, many stakeholders expressed high regard for the collaborative efforts of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in the development of the Wildlife Act and the Species at Risk (NWT) Act. Many stakeholders viewed the Departments progressive approach to co-management very positively.

Role of Indigenous Governments in Wildlife Management Without Agreements

The existing Aboriginal and treaty rights of Indigenous people are recognized and mandated under section 35 of the Constitution Act (1982) and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The Wildlife Act and Species at Risk (NWT) Act also provide further recognition of Aboriginal and treaty rights with respect to wildlife management and species at risk.

Committee has identified an interest to strengthen the role of Indigenous governments from areas without land and resource management agreements, in the management of wildlife in the NWT.

Wildlife Act

Section 9 of the Wildlife Act identifies renewable resource boards as the main instrument of wildlife management in areas of the Northwest Territories with land claims agreements.

Sections 12 and 14 of the Wildlife Act provide the authority for the Minister to enter into an agreement regarding wildlife management. This can include Indigenous governments who are still negotiating their lands and resources rights.

Committee recognizes this section of the Act is a tool for the Minister to give more responsibilities to Indigenous governments in areas without final agreements, but in Committee's view, this legislative tool has not been fully utilized.

Several stakeholders including Indigenous governments also voiced concern that wildlife co-management needs to incorporate a place at the decision-making table for Indigenous governments in areas still under negotiation.

In their submission the NWT Metis Nation states:

“...in areas of the NWT that are not subject to a land claim agreement, Indigenous governments provide input and are involved in wildlife management. The Wildlife Act and the Species at Risk (NWT) Act must recognize co-management rights of all Indigenous Governments irrespective of whether a group has a land claim.”

Nature United submits:

“...it is neither equitable or effective for conservation to exclude from wildlife co-management and decision-making the full participation of Indigenous governments who represent peoples and territories extending over approximately two-thirds of the land mass of the Northwest Territories.”

Whereas in the Wek'eezhı̀ı Renewable Resources Board submission, Committee is reminded that during the drafting of the Wildlife Act, there was opposition to Indigenous governments without agreements having specific decision-making authorities. While these Indigenous governments should be treated fairly and equitably, the WRRB states the GNWT must be careful not to grant legal authority where it does not exist, and to avoid an adverse effect on those areas with established institutions and rights.

Committee recognizes the legal authority and rights of the areas where institutions to manage wildlife in the NWT have been established under agreements and legislation. Committee also recognizes the legislative tools available under the Wildlife Act to provide more responsibility to Indigenous governments without final agreements areas have not been fully utilized.

Recommendation 1:

The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment recommends the Government of the Northwest Territories advance discussions under section 12 of the Wildlife Act with Indigenous governments who are not represented by existing renewable resource boards or without a final lands, resources and self-government agreement.

Species At Risk (NWT) Act

Section 11 of the Species at Risk (NWT) Act lists the members to the Conference of Management Authorities which does not include a seat for Indigenous governments without a final agreement.

Section 19(1) lists the composition of Species at Risk Committee which also does not provide a seat for Indigenous governments without land and resource agreements.

Section 14 provides the authority for the Minister to invite others and details the extent to which they will participate regarding the Conference of Management Authorities.

Section 21 provides the same authority for Minister with respect to participation in the Species at Risk Committee.

Under the Species at Risk (NWT) Act, Indigenous governments from areas without land and resource agreements can observe the Species at Risk Committee, and the Conference of Management Authorities, but there is no decision-making role.

Some stakeholders specifically requested that Indigenous governments still negotiating agreements hold decision-making influence in the Conference of Management Authorities.

Acho Dene Koe First Nation recognized the need to strengthen the role of Indigenous governments without representation by a renewable resource board. Acho Dene Koe recommends:

“...amending the Species at Risk (NWT) Act to provide Indigenous governments currently negotiating land claim agreements (and therefore currently without co-management boards) with interim, independent decision-making influence in the Conference of Management Authorities.”

It was recommended that the Indigenous governments (not represented by renewable resource boards) still have equal roles and representation on the Conference of Management Authorities and that interim measures be established to finalize this role until agreements are completed.

Committee recognizes the legislation provides methods to involve Indigenous governments from areas without agreements in decisions, but Committee understands these provisions have not been fully utilized.

Recommendation 2:

The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment recommends the Department of Environment and Natural Resources strengthen the application and use of Sections 14 and 21 under the Species at Risk (NWT) Act to ensure that Indigenous governments without a final agreement have a say in management of species at risk.

Illegal Hunting

Members have discussed at length the challenges of the GNWT to address declining caribou populations and illegal hunting activity along roads. Committee recognizes the growing media and public attention to meat wastage and illegal harvesting along the Tibbitt to Contwoyto ice road.

The Inuvialuit Game Council also identified harvesting compliance and meat wastage is an area of concern for the NWT.

Committee acknowledges the Department of Environment and Natural Resources collaborative efforts to advance effective public awareness campaigns on illegal harvesting activities, such as the March 9, 2021 press release, Join A Wildlife Officer Monitoring Caribou on the winter road educational video, as well as the Department's efforts to host meetings among “Respectful Harvesters” to collaboratively address this issue.

Committee also acknowledges ‘effective road planning and management' are actions the Department intends to take to address declining herd populations as identified in the Bathurst Caribou Range Plan.

Committee is concerned about the status of some declining herd populations, but also recognizes the proactive and collaborative efforts the Department is taking to address this issue, and therefore has no specific recommendation on this topic other than the need to continue these efforts collaboratively with Indigenous governments and harvesters.

Hunting Enforcement

Committee recognizes Part 7 of the Wildlife Act describes the authority of an officer appointed by the Minister to seize anything the officer thinks might have been involved in an offence or that provide evidence about an offence under the Act.

Committee recognizes the authority of the Minister to investigate wildlife infractions, which may lead to seizure of evidence. While Committee recognizes the legal process to retrieve one's seized equipment is identified in the Act, Committee is also concerned that seizing the hunting equipment of individuals can decrease the chance of gathering meat for a season and any sharing that usually takes place.

Recommendation 3:

The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment recommends the Government of the Northwest Territories establish an expedited legal process for Indigenous hunters to regain access to hunting equipment when there is a risk of losing the hunting season without it.

Indigenous Peoples' Identification

Committee also has heard the need for Indigenous harvester identification in the field. The NWT Métis Nation recommends that the Department should recognize an identification card issued by Indigenous governments as an acceptable form of identification.

Committee suggests the Minister utilize the authority established under section 20 of the Wildlife Act to enter into agreements with Indigenous governments respecting the form of acceptable identification.

Harvester Education

Committee recognizes the importance of harvester and trapper training across the NWT. Furs and hides are an economy that can be pursued by individuals across all communities and is a skill set that should be widely taught, shared, and supported.

Committee acknowledges the efforts by the GNWT to expand hunter education across the NWT.

Sections 46 to 48 of the Wildlife Act provide the requirement for anyone who is hunting or harvesting wildlife to complete the harvester training course.

Committee applauds the Department's increased requirements to complete Hunter Education before receiving a hunting licence, and a hunter education course that is currently being piloted in nine schools across the NWT.

The Department has also expanded programs and funding to support the development of on-the-land skills.

Committee fully supports the Department's efforts in this regard.

Recommendation 4:

The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment recommends the Government of the Northwest Territories increase funding support for the Community Harvester Assistance Program (and related programs that develop hunting, trapping and harvesting skills).

Committee also requests the hunter education course to be formalized in education curriculum across the NWT.

Recommendation 5:

The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment recommends the Government of the Northwest Territories make hunter education a requirement of the kindergarten to grade 12 NWT education curriculum.

The Committee also recognizes the opportunity for the Department to support and formalize organized community-based hunts. Community-based hunts ensure that communities have access to meat, while conducting hunts in a setting where knowledge sharing between Elders, youth, and families can be facilitated. Committee sees these organized community hunts as an opportunity for caribou monitors as well as officers to participate.

Committee acknowledges the efforts of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation (IRC) through the Inuvialuit Harvesters Assistance Program to support subsistence harvesting. Under this program the IRC "provides assistance to Inuvialuit individuals and groups to engage in traditional and emerging renewable resource activities".

Committee encourages the Department to find ways to increase community organized hunts across the NWT.

And finally, Committee recognizes the need to educate and train people of all ages, not just children and youth. Committee suggests that the GNWT support community led hunter education training efforts. While the GNWT has developed this course, Committee would like to see Indigenous governments supported to build capacity to deliver this training.

Authority of Conservation Plans

Sahtu Renewable Resources Board (SRRB) requests the Community Conservation Plans (which includes aspects of harvest management) to be recognized under legal authority, likely under the Wildlife Act. ENR and Colville Lake negotiated an Interim Management Agreement to formalize certain local authority over harvest management, but other issues remain unresolved and unconfirmed in current law.

SRRB would like to see Community Conservation Plans be considered before determining Total Allowable Harvest limits. SRRB is of the view that the current regulatory framework being applied by GNWT may not respect the rights, customs, and practices of Sahtu Dene or Métis.

Committee recognizes the authority of the Minister to establish allocation of harvest on wildlife and agrees that Community Conservation Plans should be considered in this decision. Committee also believes that the Minister should provide written public notice on reasons for the decision on allocation of harvest for wildlife.

Recommendation 6:

The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment recommends the Government of the Northwest Territories expand section 98 of the Wildlife Act, to require consideration of community conservation plans when determining allocation of harvests for wildlife and that written reasons be required for all decisions on harvest allocations.

Alternative Measures

Committee recognizes how expensive and complicated court processes can be when dealing with infractions.

Committee recognizes that alternative measures are detailed under section 167 of the Wildlife Act.

Committee views infractions under the Wildlife Act seriously but also believes that alternative measures may be more effective tools to address illegal harvesting practices.

Committee believes that restorative justice models where Elders and Guardians (for example) as part of enforcement efforts may effectively increase compliance under the Act.

The SRRB recommends that the GNWT Minister consider culturally appropriate restorative justice processes in the Délı̨nę and Dehla Gotine Community Conservation Plans that reflect and accommodate community enforcement capacity under the authority available in the Wildlife Act.

The SRRB wants to see the Wildlife Act accommodate community-based authority, to define offences and/or determine enforcement measures.

Committee suggests the GNWT discuss alternative measures with Indigenous governments and Renewable Resource Boards to identify how alternative measures can be applied more often to promote compliance under the Wildlife Act.

Recommendation 7:

The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment recommends the Government of the Northwest Territories work with Indigenous governments and Renewable Resource Boards to identify appropriate, culturally grounded, processes for enforcement using alternative measures which include restorative justice models.

Indigenous Guardians

Committee recognizes that Indigenous guardian programs, where Indigenous peoples take the lead on monitoring, stewardship, and protecting lands and waters are growing across the NWT and indeed the world. Committee also recognizes Indigenous guardians are an avenue for Indigenous peoples to exercise land rights and maintain cultural connections to the land through stewardship.

Committee is fully supportive of these efforts as a tool for wildlife conservation and management.

In Nature United's submission:

“A growing body of global evidence shows that Indigenous people who are able to actively participate in the management of lands and resources in accordance with Indigenous laws, customary management systems and Indigenous knowledge results in more effective and durable sustainable management over time^[1].”

The social return on investment of Indigenous guardian programs in the NWT is estimated that for every $1 invested in an NWT Guardian Program there equates approximately $2.5 of social, economic, cultural and environmental value[2].

Committee recognizes the hardship this may create for hunters in their traditional territory. Committee also recognizes that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources provides support to the public to facilitate testing of Chronic Wasting Disease.

Committee recommends that the Department work with Acho Dene Koe First Nation to ensure that testing for Chronic Wasting Disease is made accessible and appropriate to harvesters.

Food Security and Sharing of Wild Meat

Committee is concerned about food security in the NWT, and the opportunity for communities that have abundant levels of big game to be able to share with communities that do not. Committee would like to eliminate regulatory barriers that prevent communities from sharing meat, to stock up community freezers, and to reduce the number of children and families going hungry in the NWT.

The Inuvialuit Game Council recognized that the GNWT has made it more difficult to share harvested meat which has resulted in negative impacts on food security.

The Creation of a Northwest Territories Food Security Strategy Motion 37-19(2) was passed on June 4, 2021, by the 19^th Legislative Assembly. This motion moves that:

“The Government of the Northwest Territories remove all of its legislative and regulatory barriers over the next 12 months to facilitate regional sharing of harvested meat or other food products.”

Committee acknowledges the GNWT response, November 22, 2021 to this motion did not address a timeline for regulatory action to improve the sharing of harvested meat in the NWT.

Recommendation 10:

The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment recommends the Government of the Northwest Territories remove any regulatory barriers that prevent communities from sharing wild meat to improve food security.

Wildlife Habitat

The Acho Dene Koe First Nation suggested that the Species at Risk (NWT) Act be amended under section 84 when authorizing the destruction of habitat to include: considerations on the impacts of a species on the well-being of Indigenous people; and to identify accommodation measures in collaboration with the Conference of Management Authorities and Indigenous people where impacts cannot be avoided or mitigated.

The Wek'èezhı̀ı Renewable Resources Board (WRRB) also stressed the importance of habitat in wildlife management. The WRRB urges the GNWT to consider forward looking wildlife management to face the climate change and the biodiversity crisis. Wildlife laws should reflect the importance of wildlife and wildlife habitat and be prepared for future challenges.

Ducks Unlimited also recognized the opportunity for the GNWT to take a proactive conservation approach and suggest that relational planning, land management and Indigenous viewpoints be integrated into a comprehensive Wetland Policy to protect critical habitat.

Committee recognizes the importance of protecting conservation areas for future generations.

Committee also recognizes that the Protected Areas Act allows for Indigenous governments or organizations (as well as the Executive Council) to nominate a candidate protected area. Committee suggests the Wildlife Act expand the provisions around the establishment of conservation areas to allow nominations from Indigenous governments and the public.

Recommendation 11: The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment recommends the Government of the Northwest Territories expand Part 6, Conservation and Management Measures of the Wildlife Act to include provisions for nomination of conservation areas by Indigenous governments and others, consistent to the Protected Areas Act.

Use of Traditional Knowledge

The WRRB recommends that the GNWT continue to build relationships with renewable resource boards and ensure balanced decision making by using both traditional knowledge and science.

Committee acknowledges that the GNWT is making efforts towards this end. On March 2, 2021 the GNWT announced that the Species at Risk Committee adopted a new species assessment process that adopts Indigenous, community and scientific knowledge equally and respectfully.

Annual Wildlife Meeting

Section 15 of the Wildlife Act requires the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to convene a meeting of bodies and organizations responsible for wildlife management in the NWT. Committee views this annual meeting as an important process in the co-management of wildlife and believes a summary of the discussions at these meetings should be made publicly available.

Recommendation 12:

The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment recommends the Government of the Northwest Territories make the results of discussions at meetings under Section 15 of the Wildlife Act publicly available.

Timeline of Statutory Review

Section 171 of the Wildlife Act provides the authority for the Legislative Assembly to review the Wildlife Act every seven years after the tabling of this report. Under Section 147 of the Species at Risk (NWT) Act the Assembly is required to review the legislation every 10 years.

Committee recognizes that the Statutory Review process takes a significant amount of Committee attention. Committee recommends that both Acts be amended to require review at the same time, Committee further suggests the timeline be established by Assembly as opposed to a set number of years.

Recommendation 13:

The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment recommends that the Minister extend the Statutory Review period under section 171 of the Wildlife Act to match the review period established under section 147 of the Species at Risk (NWT) Act, and that both of these Statutory Review periods be required every other Assembly.

Recommendation 14:

The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories provide a response to the recommendations contained in this report within 120 days.

CONCLUSION

This concludes the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment Report on the Statutory Review of the Species at Risk (NWT) Act and Wildlife Act.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Great Slave, that Committee Report 24-19(2): Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment - Report on the Statutory Reviews of the Species at Risk (NWT) Act and Wildlife Act be received and moved into Committee of the Whole for further consideration. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Deh Cho. Motion is in order. To the motion?

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Any abstentions? The motion is carried. The report will be moved into the Committee of the Whole. Thank you

---Carried

Reports of standing and special committees. Returns to oral questions. Acknowledgements. Oral questions. Member for Hay River South.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister responsible for Infrastructure confirm the process and criteria required for adding new items to the EV rebate list administered by Arctic Energy Alliance? Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister responsible for Infrastructure.

Quanani. In 2020, the Department of Infrastructure launched the electrical vehicle program -- rebate program in corporation with Arctic Energy Alliance. This rebate program provides $5,000 rebate towards the cost of a new electrical vehicle and up to $500 towards a charging station in hydropower communities. This program is currently restricted to hydropower communities as the use of electrical vehicles in diesel-powered communities do not represent the best GHG reduction opportunities.

So the Department of Infrastructure works with the Arctic Energy Alliance to establish which EVs will be available for a rebate. The list of eligible vehicle changes as prices for EV changes over time as more EVs come into the market.

This program has been successful, and there are currently 34 fully electrical charging vehicles registered here in the Northwest Territories. Quanani.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, you know, since Russia started its invasion of the Ukraine, we have seen crude oil prices jump from $96 a barrel up to $124 in less than two weeks. So, you know, considering this rise in cost, can the Minister confirm if any discussion has taken place around adding electric bikes and electric snowmobiles to the list of EV vehicles for rebates? If not, will she commit her -- to moving forward? Thank you.

Quanani. Everybody is wanting AS here so let's see how we do.

Reducing our emissions for transportation sector by 10 percent on a per person basis is the objective of the 2030 Energy Strategy. At this time, we are focusing our program dollars towards the promotion and increase of electrical vehicles which represent the best opportunity to reduce GHGs in the transportation sector.

Discussions have been occurring in the GNWT, and working with Arctic Energy Alliance, to see if we can get electrical snowmobiles to be able to test here in the Northwest Territories. Once we better understand the technology, if it's a good fit and if there's potential public demand, we can be able to make a decision to support electrical bikes and snowmobiles. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Minister for that response. You know, as a starting point, I would suggest the Minister -- or I would suggest to the Minister she have her department review rebates provided by the Yukon government for electric bikes and electric snowmobiles. And I would look for a commitment from her that she will have her department make this a priority. Thank you.

Quanani. Here in the Northwest Territories, we need to make our own decisions about what's right for us and what will work here in the Northwest Territories. We have significantly different energy and road systems here in the territories.

As a big factor for us, if a rebate would actually encourage public uptake of electrical snowmobiles or e-bikes and if the amount of GHG emissions reduce through such a program warrants government investment versus investment in other programs that might result in more GHG emissions.

We need to ensure our limited funds are spent in a way that maximizing our ability to reach our current targets. As new technologies emerge in the area of electrical snowmobiles and bikes, we expect there to be more public interest in these projects. There's something we are interested in hearing from the public and our partners during our engagement process for the next three-year action plan under this 2030 Energy Strategy. What we hear will be able to help us understand what we should do here in the territories next. Quanani.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You know, I guess I listened to the answers and it sounds like -- I was hoping for yeses, I'm sure that's what she promised me, but it sounds more like yeah, we'll think about it.

You know, when I look around Yellowknife, for instance, I see a number of people that ride bikes and I think that, you know, in throughout, you know, in Hay River and throughout the territories and, you know, we have to start somewhere, and we started with vehicles; there's not a lot of vehicles out there. And you know, moving on to skidoos and e-bikes I think is a good move.

So the next question is one of the issues voiced by owners of e-vehicles that I've heard, whether it's cars, trucks, bicycles, or skidoos, is that there are limited number of charging stations.

Can the Minister confirm for the NWT, how many EV chargers are available to the public and has there been a decision to add charging stations on our major highway system? Thank you. And where.

Quanani. I heard three questions; I'll probably answer all of them, just because. There are currently six public level 3 -- or level 2, sorry, chargers here in the Northwest Territories. We have no level 3 chargers. But most electrical vehicle owners have their own chargers in their homes or businesses.

The Arctic Energy Alliance provides a $500 rebate to residents or businesses for the installation of level 2 charging stations, which are the type you'd use at your home. We are looking for ways to be able to improve this rebate such as leveraging federal funding opportunities.

The department has also undertaken a study that's related to the development of electrical vehicle charging network in the Northwest Territories. While our more remote highways may not have the necessary infrastructure to be able to support the development of fast-charging infrastructure in the near term, it is most definitely our longer term vision as we work to reduce the reliance on fossil fuels. Quanani.

Programs that exist could be able to help support this infrastructure. The GNWT program, GHG grant program, can provide funding towards level 3 fast chargers. These are the kinds of things that you find along the highways to be able to charge up in a half hour. The program could provide 25 percent grants to individuals and up to 75 to communities, and we had discussions with partners to be able to promote the use of these programs. Quanani.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister of Finance tell us when the new Indigenous Recruitment and Retention Framework and Action Plan will start producing some positive results for Indigenous hires into the public service? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the work to implement the Indigenous Recruitment and Retention Framework has already begun. That work was underway, as the House might recall in the course of business plans, departments were already going through the motions of setting targets for themselves and that, of course, being tied now to the performance evaluations of senior management.

Mr. Speaker, I can say that in the last year, one important positive result that we do think has come from this renewed attention and the renewed efforts within human resources is that since its launch in 2018, the Indigenous Career Gateway Program was never fully utilized until now. It is now fully utilized, on top of which, Mr. Speaker, an additional 12 Indigenous people were hired through the processes that are established without there even being the additional funding. So it's not only oversubscribed; it's actually seeing even greater benefits. And Mr. Speaker, I do think that's because of the kind of attention that is being seen on this issue by this Assembly, by this government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister explain how and when the Indigenous Recruitment and Retention Program and Action Plan will be rolled out across our government? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, this is a whole-of-government approach. The tools and the processes that are being employed exist across the government and to the availability of all departments. But at the same time, it's going to be also specific to each department owing to the fact that different departments have different jobs predominant in those departments. There's two different goals here. There's Indigenous representation in the workforce and then there's having Indigenous leadership. So to achieve both of those goals, each department is expected to have their own work plan that's being supported by the Department of Finance so that, again, so that all of the tools that we hear about sometimes are actually being marshalled to their use, including the Indigenous Career Gateway Program that I just mentioned that certainly has seen some success. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister has previously mentioned that each department will have Indigenous employment plans along with specific Indigenous employment targets.

Can the Minister tell us how the Indigenous employment targets will be formulated and how those targets will be achieved? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So Mr. Speaker, the steps that are taken is that each department is looking at all their different employment categories. So they analyze across one department what kinds of jobs or positions are there available, then they're looking at the number of Indigenous employees that they may already have employed within that department and within those individual positions, looking then at known upcoming vacancies or existing vacancies and then trying to determine if, in fact, there are people already within the public service or perhaps in the casual pool, in the intern pool, looking for opportunities to train up and trying to connect the Indigenous employees or potential employees that we know are there with those positions.

And Mr. Speaker, along the way, there's quite a few things that -- and I'm conscious of time, Mr. Speaker, but there's other things along the way that are being done.

There's exit interviews happening. There's work done with the Indigenous Employment Advisory Board, all with a view to figuring -- to matching up either, again, the opportunities that are there or the ones that are upcoming in a more thoughtful way, in a more targeted way, in a more meaningful way, with folks that we know are there and who can fill those positions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mr. Speaker, we know that affirmative action is a policy within the Government of the Northwest Territories; however, can the Minister tell us what she thinks about creating an Affirmative Action Act with the creation of a legislation regarding affirmative action strengthen the stated purpose of the affirmative action and produce better results for the Indigenous recruitment and retention in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That is, Mr. Speaker, admittedly, the first time I've heard that proposed as a specific solution although what I will say is that within the course of reviewing the Affirmative Action Policy, which is work already underway, right now, really the point is to consider all options as to how to make that policy more effective.

As I say as well, Mr. Speaker, we are also, of course, undertaking a review of the Public Service Act, which is not only focused on the formal elements therein but focused also on diversity and inclusion and what we can do with the Public Service Act, which is the guiding legislation for the public service, to make that act also have diversity and inclusion as a focus.

So, you know, Mr. Speaker I don't know right this moment how those two reviews processes might shake down. Maybe there will be a whole another piece of legislation. But one way or another, I certainly am committed to looking at all the possible options and all the possible solutions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I have questions for MACA minister for sport and recreation.

I would like to see a campaign to increase awareness of sports available in the NWT and specifically for the Arctic Winter Games. Does the department have trained certified coaches on staff, and how many? Mahsi.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, communities have the coaches. They're the ones who get certified. We have a certified program called the NCCP, the National Coaching Certificate Program. So it's very much about the sport, technical, and the theory part. So they get trained that way. So staff may have it. Volunteers have it as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I'm trying to highlight that in the small communities there, we don't have a lot of the sports coaches or many people that play the sports themselves to be able to engage the youth in our communities. And I'm trying to get that so that we can get them some specific training from the department themselves. This is the department that works for the people, and we want them to go into the communities to provide much needed training.

I'm just wondering if the Minister could reach out to the communities, or his department, to determine the number of sports offered in the communities? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we do have regional staff. There is rec coordinators in the majority of the communities. We have volunteers that offer programs. Each community has different sports programs in their recreation programs. So for the details and try to get that information, I'm not going to ask the department to get out there and do that right now. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Yeah, that's kind of disheartening to hear from the Minister that works for the people of the Northwest Territories, especially for people, the residents of the small communities, because I come from a small community too, and I don't see that. I see we need help. Even if there's a rec coordinator, that person needs help. And I really, you know, would recommend that the Minister get his staff, his trained staff, out into the communities, every community, and to meet with the hamlet and the recreation staff and see how we can, you know, progress the sports in the small communities, especially the training that's probably required and the coaching required, the certification that's required, so that we can encourage the next batch of youth coming up. And especially the times when, you know, you're training for Arctic Winter Games. There's many sport in Arctic Winter Games and you need to make people aware of those things, those opportunities. It seems like we have to start from ground one, day one.

I used to be involved in recreation way back in the early days, before it was even a paid program, and we were advocating for a position, a paid position at that time. There was a few of us around that time. And here I am, back to square one putting that out there. And I really want the Minister to consider sport and recreation as a priority for the communities and his department to get out and help the communities. That's more or less a comment that I just make there, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi.

Thank you, Member for Deh Cho. Taken as a comment. Minister responsible for MACA.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess we should clear something up. The department, Sport North, Aboriginal Sports Circle, NWTRPA, Mackenzie Recreation Association, and the BDSRA, we all work with the communities. We have regional staff that go into the communities. The communities have the opportunity to meet with the sport and recreation, the Mackenzie rec meetings and the BDSRA meetings, so there's two different regions, one in the north, one in the south, have the opportunity to meet with the communities. The communities have that opportunity to bring forth their concerns, what they would like to do. There is programs out there through our youth ambassadors program -- or not youth ambassador, our youth tours. So we do have those things. We have those things right now. Communities just need to ask the departments or the Sport North or the Aboriginal Sport Circle if they can do it. We are able to do those things, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. I was wondering if the Minister could provide this House an update on the current wait times for audiology services in the territory. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister responsible for Health and Social Services.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question. I'm just going to provide a little bit of context to begin with.

I am personally aware of the isolation that occurs as a result of hearing loss and the importance of being able to have some kind of intervention that will reduce that.

We, as the GNWT, provide audiology services to all residents and we are unusual in Canada in publicly funding this benefit rather than having people -- asking people to have it covered through their insurance or out of their own pockets. So we have been challenged to maintain service levels in the NWT because the audiology profession is in high demand.

So with that preamble, we have two audiologists in the NWT at this time. There's one in the Beaufort Delta and there's one at Stanton Territorial Hospital. The wait time for adults is 19 months in the Beaufort Delta and 26 months in Stanton Territorial Hospital.

Now, having said that, we do have a triage system so that if someone experiences sudden hearing loss for no particular reason, they can be seen within a matter of days. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Minister for providing those figures. I think there is a recognition that we need to do more to get those numbers down.

I know there's -- I heard the Minister say there's one position in Yellowknife at Stanton and there's one in the Beaufort Delta. Can the Minister just speak to whether there is -- if there is vacancies presently or whether there is plans to add additional positions? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there are, in fact, two positions in Yellowknife and the position -- the second position in Yellowknife has been vacant since August of 2021. Recruiting has been going on for this position but unfortunately we have yet to find a successful candidate. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And given those long wait times, I've heard from a number of constituents they are just simply going out-of-territory to get their tests and to get their services, and they find that a much more efficient system. I'm just wondering given this long wait time, are we able to reimburse people who get services out-of-territory? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, thank you. I understand why that would be, Mr. Speaker, an alternative however we do not provide reimbursement for people who go out-of-territory for assessments. They would need to do that at their own expense and with their own insurance plans, including NIHB. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I guess I would note that I understand why people are doing that and I think perhaps there is a hesitancy, you know, with a publicly-funded system to start reimbursing people when they go outside of our territory and perhaps some concerns about, you know, whether travel would be included. But I worked with constituents to get certain expenses reimbursed. I know there's an NWT out-of-territory reimbursement form for services. However, in doing that, I've been quite confused about what exactly and when is eligible for reimbursement. So I would just wonder if the Minister would be willing to review current reimbursement policies given, you know, we have a lot of long wait times in a lot of services and this seems to be increasingly happening.

So would the Minister be willing to review what we currently reimburse and perhaps get some information out there to the public? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I appreciate the question. The dilemma we face is that in the NWT we provide many additional services at no cost to our whole population, and we have two challenges. One is the cost of providing those services and the other is recruiting people to provide those services.

So with a $600 million approximately budget for the next fiscal year and ongoing deficit position of the service providers in the health and social services authorities, I think it's very difficult to make the case that we should reimburse more uninsured services than we do now. But having said that, we're reviewing the health and social services budget tomorrow, and I look forward to having an additional conversation. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm going to direct my questions to the Premier and if she wants to redirect them, I'm fine with that.

Yesterday, Alberta put a pause on collection of provincial fuel tax to help consumers shocked by high prices. I would like to let the Premier know that my community is shocked in our community by the gas prices. It's $2.30 for a litre for gas and $2.40 for diesel right now.

Can the Minister tell us if there's any conversation re the NWT pausing any fuel tax to aid in this shock to my community or any of the other residents of the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Honourable Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At this point, we haven't had those discussions. We're aware that the prices are going up. I will be having a conversation with the Council of Federation, I believe it's tomorrow. If not tomorrow, Thursday. But this week, we will be having that conversation at the Premier's table for all jurisdictions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Heating homes -- sorry. Heating home fuel still continues to heat many of the homes in my community as well as the Northwest Territories. How will the GNWT work to ensure that people in the NWT can still afford to heat their homes? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Those are the conversations, that is the discussions I will be bringing to the First Ministers meeting -- or to the Premiers meeting this week. It's also why we do have a -- I believe it's called a plan in place for which fuel is more expensive that we can actually look at compensating. So if necessary, those things will be looked at within the government. But at this point, it's a matter of finding out what we're dealing with, talking to the Premiers across Canada. This isn't an issue just for the NWT; it's all of Canada is facing this issue and so I am expecting that the federal government will be expected to provide some assistance as well. But I do know that the heating fuel in the territory is extreme and we do need to make sure that our residents have the ability to heat their homes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my third question is more to our NTPC. So if the Premier can answer this, I'm very afraid that the NTPC is due to submit another application for power rates to the Public Utilities Board. How will the NWT ensure that our residents can survive financially if these rates increase? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I haven't had those discussions with our Cabinet yet at this point so I can't speak on that. But I will bring back a commitment to get back to the Member on that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Honourable Premier. Final supplementary, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know when we sat down as 19 Regular Members before we were Cabinet and before we were Ministers and before the rest of us sat on this side of the House, one of the things that we did bring to the table was the cost of living in the Northwest Territories.

With the cost of fuel, a potential cost in power increase, inflation, our groceries are astronomical especially in the smaller communities, you know, so is the government, and I know the Premier has said that she hasn't done this, but I'm asking if they're looking at a way to keep our costs low, Mr. Speaker? Is there going to be a plan in place? Is it going to be public? I'm afraid that we will be losing more residents if our costs continue to increase, or else this government better increase the money that's going to income support. So I'm looking for a plan. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member is right. When we first began this government, we didn't know what we were coming up against. We didn't know about COVID. We didn't know about potential of a world war. We didn't know about the cost of inflation that would be happening. And we made 22 priorities, huge priorities. And I think that we're still trying to address those priorities and still, at the same time, address the realities of COVID, the realities of inflation, the realities of a world war potential.

So I think that, Mr. Speaker, we do need to make tough decisions. This is a session that we're talking about the budget and the finance minister's been diligent in saying that we don't have enough money to solve world peace. We don't have enough money to do everything that all Members will want done. So we have to make some tough choices in this Assembly, Mr. Speaker, and I'm hoping that Regular Members will assist us in that work as well because there will be tough choices, and we have to make sure that the priorities are priorities for all residents of the NWT. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Premier.

I've raised the questions in this House over the last six years about how inadequate our minimum wage is, how low wage workers are left in poverty, the need to extend the Wage Top-Up Program, and a guaranteed basic income.

Can the Premier tell me whether this government has any sort of a plan or program to get working people out of poverty as part of a COVID economic recovery and just transition? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Honourable Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There's a few things. Of course, we have the anti-poverty fund which is looked after through health and social services. We do have, for people that are facing poverty, income assistance programs, housing programs as well. Much of the work that we do is meant to address people living in poverty.

Of our mandate, one of our mandates was to separate the income assistance program, tailoring it to seniors and people with disabilities. That should help a bit. And our Emerging Stronger to improve the existing income assistance program to ensure the type and level of benefits and income exemptions are meeting the basic needs of residents. As well as advancing work on the integrated service delivery so that people can get the supports in a timely manner. And we're doing a whole review of the NWT Housing Corporation policies which should help people with housing as well as looking at financial support for students. So yes, Mr. Speaker, we're doing the best we can. Thank you.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Premier for that. I've raised these issues with the finance Ministers, the Ministers in charge of income assistance, to no avail, and I'm frustrated. I don't think the answers or solutions are easy, but if the only things we can come up with are some lengthy review of income assistance or some sort of integrated service delivery concept, we're failing our residents.

Can the Premier tell us whether this government has ever seriously considered a basic income program? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do know that the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment has during this House and talked about -- they've done some preliminary looking into it; they're doing some more research into it. But as stated earlier, Mr. Speaker, we have 22 priorities, I believe, that we have to -- plus we had COVID and we had, you know, an economic situation at the same time. So we have to make sure that we are meeting the needs of all residents. And we're doing the best we can to do that with what we have. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I couldn't even get the minimum wage Minister to reveal advice from the last advisory committee or to consider a permanent increase to the NWT minimum wage to $18 per hour. Can the Premier tell me whether there has ever been any discussions with the federal government about a guaranteed basic income, and what happened? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I certainly wish that things weren't the same as it has been for the last few years. But no, we haven't had those discussions. At the federal table, we've talked about COVID. We've talked about our priorities that we have, the 22 priorities of this government. We've talked about economic and social recovery. And now we're talking about Arctic sovereignty and the potential of a world war. So, Mr. Speaker, no, we haven't had that direct conversation yet. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Premier for that and would encourage her to raise this with the feds.

But can the Premier commit to raising the issue of a pilot project on guaranteed basic income with her Cabinet colleagues and federal officials? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At this point, the Cabinet is focused on trying to get the 22 priorities that we have identified already. So that is our focus for the next while.

At the federal table, I'm willing to take whatever assistance they can give us, recognizing that the federal government is also struggling financially with the amount of money they've had to give out because of the situation that Canada has faced in the last few years. But what I will commit to is if we get those 22 priorities done, we will look at bringing forward more priorities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member -- or Honourable Premier. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Justice.

The Integrated Service Delivery Program isn't only good for the people of the Northwest Territories; it's good for the bottom line of this above. And so I'm wondering what can residents expect to see first, policy changes or changes to frontline staff that serve multiple departments? Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Minister responsible for Justice.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Both. So currently we, of course, have the Integrated Case Management Program that is service to residents from multiple departments through a single point. Of course, there's government service workers -- or government service officers in communities. So that work is happening. And it's been happening for years in the GNWT in other ways as well. But particularly flowing from this, those are some of the prime examples.

In terms of policy work, we are already seeing changes to information sharing policies. Across Canada, we've seen privacy legislation grow in importance over the years but some of that growth has resulted in putting up barriers for ourselves in our ability to deliver programs. So we are working to adjust our policies so that we don't need consent from an individual to provide them government services from multiple departments, which is really our problem, not the person's problem. The person wants support, and how do we give them the support? We have to adjust our policies to properly serve them.

So those are a couple examples of the things that we're doing. We are working between departments to review the referral process and ensure that -- and so we -- departments meet to talk about individuals and individual cases, and they also discuss the programs and perhaps some of the barriers that a person is facing in accessing those programs and then policies are being adjusted based on those conversations as well.

We are looking at co-locating certain positions so that a person can go to an office and receive support from multiple departments. And perhaps it's not a full-time co-location, perhaps it's on a rotational basis. So these are the types of things that are happening. They're operational, and they're policy. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm really glad that the Minister brought up the case management -- or the integrated case management group. It's definitely something that -- or a group, sorry, that has seen a lot of success over the course of our term, and one that I know has been recognized by my colleagues, especially colleagues from outside of Yellowknife who see the value in having a program like that.

In June of 2020, the Integrated Case Management Social Return on Investment Report was tabled here in this House. This document identifies barriers of GNWT social programs. And so I know that the Minister acknowledged that they're working on changes to policies, but are the recommendations specifically from this report being addressed incrementally as part of integrated service delivery and is the Minister able to speak to which ones? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You bet. Continues the Integrated Case Management Program was one of the recommendations. That one's done.

There were recommendations related to income assistance and in my other portfolio, we are doing a review of income assistance and those are being looked at specifically so we can address those. I mentioned co-location. That was one of the recommendations. A dual contact system so that those people who are not clients of the integrated case management system can still receive some fashion of support while they are directed to the appropriate service provider.

So yes, we are -- we've done some of them. We're doing other ones. But like everything, it takes time. So when we get down to the real -- the real foundational change that that report was really getting at, we are working on it and we will get there. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm wondering what mechanisms the Integrated Service Delivery Working Group has developed to ensure interdepartmental relationships are effective to serve Northerners where they are at?

One of the most common ones that I hear from my constituents that they would like to see is an effective relationship between housing and income assistance. So I'm wondering if the Minister can let us know what mechanisms have been developed? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So one of the first things that we are doing is drafting principles and standards of practice. Right now, we have a number of different departments offering services, and not all departments take the same approach. And so when you try to integrate two departments or a number of departments doing things differently, it can cause tension and it can result in things not working as smoothly as they otherwise could. So by creating these standards of -- principles and standards of practice, we are going to be able to ensure that there is some consistency across departments in how services are delivered and what people can expect. And that is going to facilitate, you know, some of that collaboration and cooperation across departments in terms of delivery and in terms of policy. I've been speaking a while; I think I'm going to leave it at that. Thank you.

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