Ministers' statements. Honourable Premier.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to start today by acknowledging the devastation experienced by residents in Hay River, K'atlodeeche First Nation, and West Point First Nation. Thousands of residents were forced to leave their homes and their lives behind earlier this month when floodwaters rose to unprecedented levels in the area.

Last week I visited the three communities with, the Honourable Shane Thompson, Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs; the Honourable Caroline Wawzonek, Minister of Finance; and the Honourable Diane Archie, Minister of Infrastructure, to assess the situation and meet with leadership. It was devastating to see the damages to homes and property and hear the heartbreaking stories of people who have lost so much.

The Government of the Northwest Territories will continue to support residents and leadership in flood-affected communities and help with the re-building process. It will take time, but we will be there every step of the way.

Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories is committed to giving residents and communities the best opportunities to achieve success. The COVID-19 pandemic has put us all to the test over the last two-plus years, and I express my sincere condolences to the families, loved ones, and communities of those who have died from the disease or have been severely impacted by it.

COVID-19 took a huge toll on residents and businesses and as a government, we are laser-focused on the social and economic recovery of the territory. Mr. Speaker, there have been positive steps made that impact this important work.

Last May, our government tabled Emerging Stronger: Planning our Economic and Social Recovery Together, in the Legislative Assembly. This plan builds on the commitments made in the mandate of the Government of the Northwest Territories 2019-2023 to revitalize our economy and support communities and people to recover from the economic impacts of the pandemic, and to bridge the social gaps exposed by the pandemic.

Since the release of Emerging Stronger, our government has sought and received input from Indigenous governments, business, and industry groups, Regular MLAs, and the public on our actions to support social and economic recovery. We have reviewed that input and made updates to the plan that reflect our shared priorities as Northerners as we continue to build the future together.

Mr. Speaker, I will be tabling an update on Emerging Stronger this sitting that will highlight the progress the Government of the Northwest Territories has made to recover from the pandemic over the course of the past year despite numerous challenges both in terms of the spread of COVID-19 and the broader economic uncertainty and social instability. I expect the conversation around social and economic recovery to be ongoing and to continue to evolve, with a further update to Emerging Stronger to be provided one year from now.

A fundamental part of our success as a government, and the future prosperity of our territory, depends on the productive and collaborative partnership with Indigenous governments. The decisions we make as a government must reflect our commitment to reconciliation and the affirmation and advancement of Indigenous rights and self-determination. We have tried to foster constructive and respectful government-to-government relationships with Indigenous governments who have or are in the process of negotiating land claims or self-government agreements with the Government of Canada and the Government of the Northwest Territories. We are trying to advance reconciliation, recognize and affirm Indigenous rights, and support expanded program and service delivery. A huge part of this process is building trust. Indigenous people have not had a lot of reasons to trust colonial models of government.

Mr. Speaker, I say this often: Nothing about us without us. The relationships we foster with Indigenous governments in the Northwest Territories is a key part of our collective success. The pandemic has demonstrated that we must work together with Indigenous governments, as well as the federal government, municipal governments, the business community, and other key stakeholders to achieve success.

One of our biggest accomplishments in the life of this government has been the strong and collaborative partnership we have developed with Indigenous governments. However, we still have a number of unsettled land claims that our government has committed to advancing.

We recognize that Indigenous governments being able to make and implement their own decisions is a fundamental part of self-determination. Settling and implementing agreements with Indigenous governments is one of the most important ways that the GNWT can advance reconciliation and demonstrate respect for Indigenous people.

Mr. Speaker, settling and implementing treaty, land, resources, and self-government agreements is a priority for the Government of the Northwest Territories that will help secure respectful relationships with Indigenous governments, clarify responsibilities for land and resources, and create new economic opportunities for Indigenous governments and residents of the NWT.

That is why we've committed to reviewing, updating, and publishing territorial principles and interests for concluding and implementing land, resources, and self-government agreements that reflect the Government of the Northwest Territories' new priorities and mandate.

Mr. Speaker, I have heard two common themes when talking to Indigenous governments about negotiations: clarity of our mandates and dislike of our need for core principles and objectives within the agreements.

The NWT Core Principles and Objectives were a set of high-level statements that described the fundamental characteristics of social programs and provided the context for the development of operational standards associated with consistent program delivery in the NWT.

Mr. Speaker, our approach to negotiations has not changed in decades but the world that we live in has. As such, we will be taking two steps to improve our approach to negotiations.

First, we have reviewed, updated, and will publish Principles and Interests: Guiding the GNWT at Aboriginal Rights Negotiations with Indigenous Peoples. I will table this document later today.

It is time we better articulate our principles and interests to help clarify and help build trust in negotiations.

As well, Mr. Speaker, we will be removing the requirement for core principles and objectives from self-government agreements being negotiated, pending agreement of Indigenous governments.

The NWT Core Principles and Objectives were a set of high-level statements that described the fundamental characteristics of social programs and provided the context for the development of operational standards associated with consistent program delivery in the NWT. Indigenous governments expressed the view that the current approach to core principles and objectives is not aligned with their interpretation of the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Mr. Speaker, we recognize that flexible, innovative approaches may be needed to help resolve long-standing negotiations and we are committed to working with partners to find creative solutions that are in the best interests of the parties and the people of the Northwest Territories. I am optimistic that removing these two barriers will assist and look forward to continuing to advance the negotiations of outstanding land claims in the Northwest Territories.

Partnerships and collaborative relationships with all levels of government are the foundation of our success as a territory. By working together with Canada, other provinces, Indigenous leadership, community governments, we are able to make great strides in building a better territory for everyone. I have had the opportunity to have important and productive discussions as part of the Northern Premier's Forum earlier this month, and the Western Premier's Forum just last week. These meetings are opportunities to continue to build on our relationships, advance shared priorities, and continue to find ways to ensure our voices are being heard by leaderships across the country, including the federal government.

Since our last sitting, I have had conversations with federal Ministers, and continue to advocate for investment in the Northwest Territories. There are economic and social challenges that impact us in ways that our neighbours south of the 60th parallel take for granted: basic infrastructure, affordable and reliable housing, roads, broadband, and cleaner sources of energy.

For decades, the Northwest Territories has been playing catch up to southern Canada. It is time for Northerners to be given the same opportunities afforded to the rest of Canada, and I remain committed to advancing our priorities in Ottawa. Supporting people to have comparable quality of life and benefits wherever they live is a fundamental Canadian value and an important part of reconciliation, Mr. Speaker.

Governments across our territory rely on a collaborative partnership with the federal government. The gaps we are seeking to close are those identified in Canada's Arctic and Northern Policy Framework that was developed collaboratively with Canada and will be implemented with the NWT Council of Leaders.

The Council of Leaders has agreed to collaborate on areas of shared interest and to become the regional implementation body for the Arctic and Northern Policy Framework in the Northwest Territories. We view this as the roadmap to closing the gap and will continue to work with Canada to ensure the framework becomes a reality and provides positive long-lasting benefits to Northerners.

Mr. Speaker, in April, I attended the Arctic Encounter Symposium in Anchorage, Alaska. It was an opportunity to discuss shared opportunities and challenges with Arctic leaders and policymakers from around the Circumpolar North. Given the tragic situation in Ukraine, there is a heightened sense of urgency when we talk about Arctic sovereignty and security, and the symposium provided an opportunity to talk about how we contribute to improving the quality of life for Northerners and ensure the safety of our residents and support the need for global stability. This was an opportunity to work closely with other Arctic leaders to increase awareness around Arctic security, economic development, infrastructure development, housing, climate change, and women in leadership.

If we are going to advance our priorities as a territory to ensure residents and generations to come have the best opportunities available to them to achieve success in life, we must continue to build important relationships with others around the world. It was clear to me over the course of the symposium that many shared common concerns and faced similar challenges as we do in our territory.

By building stronger relationships and learning from one another, we can grow stronger in our collective efforts to improve the lives of Northerners, not only in our territory but around the world.

I know this is a short sitting before we go into a lengthy summer break but I am hopeful that we can continue to advance the priorities of this government. The life of this government is short now and I, along with Cabinet, are committed to advancing and completing our mandate priorities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the flooding that just occurred in the South Slave was, perhaps, the largest natural disaster this territory has ever seen. The number of persons and properties compromised was extensive. The cost for the initial response and evacuation, which include contractors, additional staff, equipment, transportation, and continued accommodation needs, will only increase. Private and commercial properties will require abatement, repairs, and possibly replacement. The DAP applications received may well exceed 400 and costing an estimated $150 million or more. In addition to this amount, we must consider the cost of mitigating future damage to those homes in floodplains throughout Hay River and the NWT. Then, we may well be talking a billion dollars and counting. If we do nothing to mitigate flooding, then the cost will only increase overtime.

Mr. Speaker, this government has been dealing with flooding throughout the NWT for decades. Last year, it was Fort Simpson, Jean Marie, and Fort Good Hope. This year, it was Hay River, West Point, and K'atlodeeche.

Apart from modifying the Disaster Assistance Policy and placing pathfinders and assessors on the ground quickly, what, if anything, was learned from this and previous floods? Did this government, with all the resources at its disposal, do all it could to assess, predict, and mitigate the potential for flooding in the South Slave? Or was that responsibility placed on the shoulders of the communities, which lack capacity and expertise when it comes to predicting floods.

Mr. Speaker, when one looks at the extent of the Hay River watershed, we can see it extends well into Alberta and northeastern BC. As spring arrives, the quantity of water within the watershed is impacted by snowfall, ice quantity, ice thickness, glacial melt, rainfall, fluctuating temperatures, deforestation, natural and manufactured obstructions, and climate change, all being indicators when developing modeling to predict flood potential.

Mr. Speaker, in addition to personal abatement, mitigation, and repair of homes and businesses, we need to question what measures are available to mitigate future damage and what will that cost be. To determine mitigation measures, we need flood mapping to determine flood risk areas and elevations, an assessment of not only the river and climate conditions in around Hay River, and extensive analysis of the Hay River watershed if we expect to predict flood risk and develop long-term mitigation measures. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the past, blasting and drilling at the mouth of the Hay River was used. This method artificially pushed the location where ice jams occurred further out into the lake thereby allowing ice to flow in the river. Dredging occurred in the mouth of the Hay River but was discontinued many years ago. With some success, the latest method used is that of earth and berms along the shoreline at the West Channel. Whatever the methods we choose, it must be based on science and actioned sooner than later. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Members' statements. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this past winter, the homeless shelter and the emergency shelter have been operated by the Housing Corporation. Since being elected, I raised issues that have been brought forward to me impacting them and their operations. The emergency shelter was having difficulty and needed support; however, the homeless shelter, from my discussions with the past board, were running somewhat well by the board minus their concerns for minimal funding and ongoing search for funding.

Mr. Speaker, the past board had stated that they would assume to take over the emergency shelter before Housing Corporation assumed control over both. Why the Housing Corporation did not let this happen, I am unsure, and I never really got an answer.

These two shelters were run by separate not-for-profit boards, and they have both since dissolved.

When advocating for support for the emergency shelter last spring, the Housing Corporation took over control of both shelters and hired employees into GNWT positions and ran it throughout the winter.

Mr. Speaker, there is now an RFP posted to try and go back to have it a non-for-profit run the organization again. I raised the issue of assuming full control over the shelters and then tried to give them back will not be an easy task. I have also been asking for the homeless strategy and have yet to see this after many promises of "the next sitting, we will have it ready", "the next sitting we will have it ready." I heard this a few times, Mr. Speaker.

I'm worried for the future of our homeless and emergency shelter in Inuvik and will have questions for the Minister responsible for Homelessness. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Members' statements. Member for Deh Cho.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to point out to this Assembly that the Hamlet of Enterprise is the only hamlet in the Northwest Territories that does not have a school of its own.

Mr. Speaker, can you imagine that in today's climate of reconciliation and with the national focus and the utmost importance of quality early learning and childcare that the parents of young children in the Hamlet of Enterprise are still forced to send their children to the town of Hay River, which is approximately 40 kilometres away, in order to receive an education. Mr. Speaker, this situation is completely unacceptable.

This government has made a commitment to the people of the North that every effort will be made to reconcile the horrific history and legacy of the residential school system, including the long history of sending our students away from their community to attend day schools. I wonder how many of our Cabinet and Regular Members, who themselves may be parents or grandparents of young children, would be comfortable in having their four, five, or six-year-olds sit on the bus each day, and even in extreme weather conditions, to be transported to a school 40 kilometres away.

Mr. Speaker, the Hamlet of Enterprise and the education working group have been advocating for numerous years to have a small elementary school established in their community. The elementary school would focus on educating students from junior kindergarten to grade 6. The hamlet has identified existing infrastructure that could be converted but does require the assistance from ECE.

Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment at the appropriate time. Mahsi.

Thank you, Member for Deh Cho. Members' statements. Member for Frame Lake.

Merci, Monsieur le President. It certainly came as a surprise when the merger of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and Department of Lands was announced on May 17, 2022. I thought this sort of change might cause our Cabinet colleagues to engage this side of the House before final decisions on government reorganization might be made.

To be clear, I never really understood why there was a Department of Lands created at devolution as some sort of a buffer or arbiter between the pro-development Industry, Tourism and Investment and the pro-sustainability Environment and Natural Resources.

I am not opposed to this merger but would like to know more about the basis for this decision already taken by Cabinet and believe that the principle of "no surprises" has not been followed by this government. Who had input into this decision and how was that process designed and approved?

I had understood that some government reorganization or efficiencies might come about from the so-called "government renewal initiative" that is apparently underway, but this merger was not announced as part of that process.

There are other more urgent needs in terms of government reorganization that should be addressed by this Cabinet.

The conflicting roles of ITI as both a promoter and regulator of resource development could and should have been avoided at devolution by having surface and subsurface resources administered by one department and leaving the promotion to ITI, which they are very good at.

Support for NGOs could be better coordinated out of the Executive where local government affairs would also be better situated.

Back in October 2019 the soon-to-be Premier promised to change the name of ENR to the Department of Environment and Climate Change, but that hasn't happened either.

I'll have questions for the Premier on government reorganization and whether regular MLAs and the public will be engaged now and in the future. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in March I made a statement about homelessness, where I highlighted a tiny homes pilot project which Salt River First Nation is trying to get underway with the help of additional funding. At the time, the housing minister would not commit to allocate any funds to this project because it is a project solely for members of the Salt River First Nation.

Well, Mr. Speaker, that is a narrow view of looking at the situation. I like to look at things in a broader context to see the bigger picture.

This tiny home project is an innovative solution in addressing the issues of homelessness within Fort Smith. Sure, the funding would go directly to the Salt River First Nation, but the benefits of the project would help the whole town when all is said and done. Besides, allocating funds to help Salt River with housing is not a new concept.

Premier Cochrane spoke in March about her time as housing minister in the 18th Assembly where she worked with Salt River to allocate funds to build homes on reserve for the members of the Salt River First Nation.

Mr. Speaker, how is that situation in the last Assembly any different from the situation we are in now?

I would encourage our current housing minister to approach this housing project in a similar way - with an open heart and open mind - as her predecessor did. After all, how is the Salt River First Nation tiny home pilot project any different from any other housing projects that the Minister listed off last Thursday, May 26th during question period?

In an exchange with the Member of Great Slave, the Minister mentioned various new housing project applications around the NWT, which includes:

• the Family Support Centre for $3.7 million and 14 units;
• Habitat for Humanity with 10 units;
• Avens Society with 102 units expansion;
• Borealis Co-Op with 50 units in affordable housing;
• Spruce Bough receiving $640,000;
• the Nahanni Butte Dene Band with 10 new units;
• YWCA with 21 units;
• NWT Community Services for a project valued at $6 million; and,
• the Deline Got'ine Government with 10 new units.

The people of Salt River are residents of the NWT as well so they deserve equal consideration for territorial funding to help address homelessness just as any other community, region, organization within the NWT. I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister told me that officials with Housing NWT would meet with Salt River Nation in April to discuss details about their Tiny Home Pilot Project. However, I spoke to Chief Poitras recently, and he confirmed they did not meet in person with Housing NWT to discuss the project so I can only assume discussions took place virtually via Zoom.

As the MLA for Thebacha, I will continue to work with Cabinet to ensure Salt River First Nation is properly assisted in their application to the National Housing Co-Investment Fund for their Tiny Home Pilot Project. I hope to see Cabinet working closely with Salt River First Nation to help them apply for and successfully receive the funding they require for this innovative homelessness project.

I will have questions for the Minister of Finance at the appropriate time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Northern Manufactured Products Policy provides incentives to support production within the NWT of goods purchased. But if the NWT is not making the effort to buy the products that the other arm is incentivizing, then the policy falls flat. Instead of manufacturing, innovating, and growing, northern manufacturers are setting up shop inside government departments to get their attention or in their inboxes to work through the application process.

Here in the NWT, the territorial government remains the most significant economic driver. And this government knows this, Mr. Speaker. In multiple budget addresses, we have heard this government reflect on the impact of its capital budget to the NWT economy and have incrementally passed the biggest capital budget the NWT has seen under the guise of northern benefit and pandemic recovery. But large projects are awarded to large companies who break down the work and shipyard it south void of the NWT's business incentive policies, our expectations of northern benefit outside of a completed project, and no teeth to hold winning bids to the northern benefit promises made to secure the project in the first place.

In addition to losing northern benefit through subcontracts, local manufacturers are also missing out in contracts valued under $25,000. And when so much of the potential market falls under this procurement threshold, much of the potential for manufacturing growth comes from each individual department.

The GNWT needs to identify local manufacturers across departments and coordinate when multiple departments need the same item. Coordinated purchasing reduces unit cost, drives labour needs, and allows for greater investment in business growth.

Mr. Speaker, in this government, local manufacturers were publicly praised for offering needed product and then left in dismay as product was ordered from outside the territory without giving them the opportunity to quote. We pass budgets that fund capacity building and innovation but then skip the part where the GNWT buys local, and this is not walking the talk.

At last count, over 165 people work for 18 companies in the NWT's manufacturing industry, but this is a far cry from our territory's potential and the GNWT holds the key to reaching it. Like all northern entrepreneurs, northern manufacturers want to invest in their businesses, expand markets, and grow our skilled workforce. That's why NWT businesses participated in this government's procurement review and the manufacturing strategy review of the 18th Assembly. The government knows the challenges, and now we need change. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mr. Speaker, May has marked Sexual Violence Awareness Month. With some of the highest rates of sexual violence in the country, it is important that we all work to address this devastating crime that impacts all aspects of life in our territory and crosses socio-economic lines.

Mr. Speaker, the legal age of consent in Canada is 16 and consent is defined as "a voluntary, mutual, active, and ongoing agreement to engage in a sexual activity." Consent is not the absence of "no" and it is not silent. Consent cannot be given by someone who is intoxicated, unconscious, or otherwise unable to give their agreement. Consent is not possible when one person is in a position of authority or power, or when the sexual activity is exploitative.

When we speak of sexual violence, we must remember that this term encompasses a range of activities and behaviours that we may not necessarily think of as "violent."

Last session I spoke about unwanted social media messages I have received since taking office. These messages made me feel unsafe in my home and I felt violated. It didn't matter that I had never been physically touched, or even been in the presence of the perpetrator; however, the impacts to my mental health were real. Add in years of unwanted touching and negative comments throughout my career as a woman in engineering, and I find these events very triggering, as I still cope with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, from my time working in northern camps. And I am not alone.

The rates of sexual violence in our territory are staggering and likely underreported. In 2018, 38 percent of women and 18 percent of men experienced unwanted sexual behaviour in a public space. And one in three women and one in six men experience sexual harassment in the workplace. In fact, Mr. Speaker, 11 incidents of sexual assault happen in the NWT every day. Can you imagine how this further contributes to the growing mental health crisis many of our residents face already?

Mr. Speaker, I found a lot of this information on the NWT Status of Women's social media page, and I commend them on the important work they're doing to combat sexual and all types of violence in the North.

Tomorrow, May 31st at noon, the council will be hosting "Walk a Mile in Their Shoes" at Sambaa K'e Park. People are encouraged to wear teal, and join the Status of Women Council in their efforts to raise awareness of this important issue that hurts us all.

Thank you, Member for Great Slave. Members' statements. Member for Monfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am doing my Member's statement today on inflation and infrastructure.

Mr. Speaker, on May 18th, 2022, the bureau of statistics released data on the consumer price index. This tracks changes to the average price of goods and services in the Northwest Territories. In other words, inflation.

That report has shown that since this time last year inflation has risen 7 percent. Mr. Speaker, my constituents see much more than that. Seven percent reflected in the prices they pay for food, fuel, electricity, clothing, and other everyday items. The past two years have been hard enough without the cost of living increasing so much. The government must implement solutions to alleviate this burden on my people.

Mr. Speaker, I look to what was done in Tuktoyaktuk and how residents benefitted from the Inuvik-Tuk Highway. Connecting our communities to larger centres decrease the cost of transportation and lowers the cost of living.

Mr. Speaker, with the opening of the Tlicho Highway, previously known as the Whati All-Season Road, I am excited to see these benefits for residents in Whati. In addition, the eventual completion of the Whati Transmission Line will lower the cost of electricity. These two projects will certainly assist with the cost of living in Whati.

Mr. Speaker, while good things may be happening for Whati, we need to speak of Gameti and Wekweeti. Residents there are not seeing the same benefits. Both remain fly in/fly out communities with seasonal winter road access. The cost of living in these communities is expensive and inflation is making it worse.

Tlicho region has a deficit in our existing infrastructure, Mr. Speaker. If connecting Whati to the North Slave is the first step, then the next logical step would be continue the road and transmission line to Gameti and eventually to Wekweeti.

Currently we have seasonal access by winter road. But who is to say that climate change will make winter roads a sustainable solution in the future? Mr. Speaker, with the expected shut down of the mines, the time is right to start planning an all-season road to Gameti.

I will have questions for the Minister of Infrastructure at the appropriate time. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin today's statement with an apology in this House.

On Friday, I referred to His Royal Highness Charles, Prince of Wales, as "ole Chuckie Boy." The Rules of the House do not allow us to speak disrespectfully of the Monarch, or any Member of his royal family, and I withdraw those remarks, Mr. Speaker.

But with all due respect, I will now deliver a statement, Mr. Speaker, that I believe it is time for Canada to end its relationship with the monarchy, and I think a good start in that House would be to remove that rule, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I know that constitutional reform for the country of Canada is well above my pay grade but, Mr. Speaker, we often have conversations about reconciliation in this House, and I believe in a territory that has been passed around for hundreds of years between Royal family members, fur trading companies, and colonial governments, we owe ourselves to have that conversation when Members of that family show up to assert their sovereignty.

Mr. Speaker, all of us in this House have and had to swear an allegiance to Her Majesty and her heirs in order to sit in this House. This has been tested in Canada and a democratically elected officials have been refused their seats if they do not swear that oath. In Quebec, many of them go into the back room and swear it secretly, Mr. Speaker. We have kicked people out of city councils, MLAs for refusing to swear this oath in other jurisdictions. And, Mr. Speaker, I find it a little odd that in the 21st century, we're still having a debate about whether Republicans should be allowed to sit in this legislature.

So I've already sworn that oath, as have we all. I'll have to admit as I swore it, I cringed a little. I do not like taking legal oaths that I would never actually uphold. If it came down to it, I am not -- have any allegiance to Her Royal Highness, Mr. Speaker. But I challenge the next Assembly to think before we swear that oath and make a political statement to refuse to sign that oath. I think it would put our Commissioner, our clerks, and our prime minister in a very uncomfortable position about whether they are going to not allow a democratically elected House to exist but I think it is something the NWT should do.

And Mr. Speaker, this is not some sort of new conversation. Last year, Barbados left the monarchy; Belize, Bahamas, Jamaica, Grenada, Antigua, Barbuda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, are all planning to leave the monarchy. Pretty soon, it's just going to be us and England left there, Mr. Speaker. Only about 14 of the 54 countries remain.

And Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Premier that I hope the next time that a Member of his royal family shows up, we express that the final act of reconciliation is leaving that monarchy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Health care in small communities. On May 16th, 2022, Northern News Services published a leaked email exchange between myself and the Honourable Minister of Health and Social Services. It is regrettable -- sorry, regretful that this private communication was revealed without the benefit of context. And for that, I am sorry.

It is important that consensus politicians, we uphold ourselves to the highest standard and conduct that ensure the greatest amount of respect for our colleagues, especially so when we do disagree on issues.

Mr. Speaker, all that being said, I must now turn to the dismissive and patronizing tone struck by the Minister of Health and Social Services during our written exchange and many more times in this House and over the course of our duties serving in this institution.

It is not appropriate for any Minister to scold a Member for doing their job representing their constituents. It is not appropriate to attempt to silence, validate criticism of a Minister portfolio by threatening the integrity of the health care services in the community that I represent.

And finally, it is not appropriate too for an non-Indigenous Yellowknife resident to talk down to a small community representative when she has zero experience in the day-to-day experience living in rural remote Indigenous communities.

During May 9th, 2022, interview with CBC, the Minister spent a great deal of effort to downplay negative patients' experience and even trying to gaslight patients who received unacceptable care into believing that it was their own fault for failing to advocate for their own medical conditions.

She has demonstrated fierce determination to silence her critics promising to ignore complaints from the public [indiscernible] outside the government channels stating and telling media going to result in a resolution to complaints of the individual families.

Mr. Speaker, people have lost confidence in the health care system. It is understandable that they don't trust their complaints will be taken seriously, but at the same time assist them.

The Minister of Health and Social Services owes my constituents and the people of the Northwest Territories an apology. This is not about my ego. I have thick skin. I have been in politics for a long long time despite what the Minister thinks. This is about residents who are crying out for better health care and have been dismissed by our leaders. We all know the challenges in health care are great but even so, our citizen deserves compassion and honesty from the Minister and her department.

I want to be crystal clear so my words are not misconstrued.

I support the work of our health professionals and therefore offer my warmest thanks for the hard work they do supporting the wellness of our residents. My issues lie with the management of our health centres, hospitals, ministry under the Minister of Health and Social Services. She is the only one accountable for the disastrous treatment of the Indigenous small community members and she must take responsibility for her portfolio.

I will have questions for the Minister later today on health care policy and will continue to call on the Minister to apologize to the House and the people of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, under the Rules of Debate 3.2(3)(h) and (i), the statement made by the Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh is out of order. Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife Centre. The Member for Yellowknife Centre has called a point of order. What is your point of order? I know you gave little description, but please.

Mr. Speaker, Rules of Debate 3.2(3) item (h), it says in a debate the Speaker will call a Member to order if the Member, (h) makes allegations against another Member, a House officer, a witness, or a Member of the public; and, (i) imputes false or hidden motives to another Member.

By suggesting that I am downplaying, gaslighting, requiring an apology for disastrous treatment, I believe this Member is over the line. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister, Member for Yellowknife Centre. The Member for Yellowknife Centre has called a point of order. Does the Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh wish to speak to the point of order.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I had trouble with my headset here. So if the Minister could repeat her question. Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Member for Yellowknife Centre, could you please repeat your.

Mr. Speaker, according to the Rules of Debate, section 32(3), in a debate the Speaker will call a Member to order if the Member, (h) makes allegations against another Member, a House officer, a witness, or a Member of the public; and (i) imputes false or hidden motives to another Member.

There are various other charges another Member with uttering a deliberate falsehood, uses abusive or insulting language of a nature likely to cause disorder.

In no particular order in his statement, the Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh suggested that I was downplaying concerns, gaslighting concerns, needed to apologize for concerns, treated his community in a way that was disastrous and was threatening. None of these things are acceptable in this House.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife Centre. Does the Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh wish to explain what he stated. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm speaking to the Point of Order.

My Point of Order that was raised by Minister is to talk about my comments made on -- looks like on May 9th. This interview actually took place, the majority of the residents of the Northwest Territories have listened to those -- that interview. And I have received a lot of calls from my constituents in regards to those comments. So I'm not sure where we go from here, Mr. Speaker, but I'm only conveying what's been said by my constituents. Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. The Member for -- does anyone else wish to speak to the Point of Order?

Seeing none, colleagues, I'll take this under advisement and provide a ruling later. In the meantime, I'll ask all Members to choose their words carefully and treat each other with respect. Thank you.

Members' statements. Member for Nahendeh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I'm a bit early; however, I rise in this House today to congratulate the Class of 2022 for the two schools in Nahendeh riding. This year we see the Lidlii Kue Regional High School and Echo Dene School set to have their own celebrations for their graduates.

Mr. Speaker, these graduates completed school in the midst of a global pandemic. No doubt their life was disturbed. No doubt there was added stress. No doubt there was uncertainty.

Despite these challenges, or more accurately because of them, they are stronger. They are stronger students, having tested themselves. They will be a stronger job applicant as they have overcome the unexpected and persevered. They are stronger people that found ingenuity and resolution that they did not know they had.

Mr. Speaker, I'd like to congratulate them. Their special day will be fast approaching wherever they get to celebrate with their family and friends. That day is the one they have been waiting for since they entered kindergarten some 13 years ago. For some of them, it's waiting to get out of school and get on with their life. It brings to mind the old childhood rhyme - No more pencils. No more books. No more teacher's dirty looks.

They have taken the next steps on their adventure called life. For many others, high school graduation is just the next step in their education, whether they are heading to university, college, or looking to set up an apprenticeship, the daunting task of preparing for the career that is in front of them.

Mr. Speaker, I'd like to tell the grads as they return the caps and gowns they will be wearing during their special day and they take the tassels home, remember this: The diploma you receive today is your insurance policy paid in full by your hard work over the past 13 years. The value of this policy will depend on how much effort you put into your education and what you do with it as you go out in the world. All the best to them on their special day. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Nahendeh. Members' statements. Returns to oral questions. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Mr. Speaker, I'd like to recognize Hailey Kudlak and Zandria Blake-Andre-Bernhardt. They are two pages from the riding of Inuvik Twin Lakes. And they'll be with us all week. Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Monfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize two of the pages from Monfwi riding. From the community of Wekweeti grade 10 students, Nate Simpson and Alexis Kotchilea-Judas, along with their chaperone Melvin Tom from Wekweeti. So I would like to say welcome and to recognize them. Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Yellowknife South.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, very happy to welcome Mr. William Jacobs here in the gallery, resident of Yellowknife South, and also acting as a page this week. Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife South. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Acknowledgements. Oral Questions. Member for Hay River South.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, climate change is real and flooding is real. This government has the capacity, resources, and financing to address disasters and should not offload it on the communities. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I ask the Minister of MACA, what is the department's staff complement and qualifications of those who provide flood modeling data for flood scenarios in the NWT? I know that the communities do not have that capacity and expertise, and we cannot expect them to carry those costs for that capacity. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'll actually get the Minister of ENR to answer that question because it will be more of an ENR question.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources has three dedicated hydrologists. During spring breakup, these three hydrologists assessed conditions and relay information on to Municipal and Community Affairs, communities, and residents regarding water levels and ice conditions and forecast weather. If required, they can reach out to other agencies and scientists such as Environment and Climate Change Canada and Natural Resources Canada to assess conditions such as weather, forecasts, and satellite imagery. They also participate in the EMO meetings as scheduled and as needed. So that's the ENR's part of the EMO process. Thank you, Mr. Speaker

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I thank the Minister for that. It was a mouthful, and the flood still caught us off guard.

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell me what work, if any, is the department doing to assess those factors in the Hay River watershed that may lead to flooding? What, if any, flood monitoring reports has the department generated for the communities of Hay River and K'atlodeeche and are they shared with communities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. ENR hydrologists compile an annual spring water outlook report that assesses snow conditions and current water levels. These reports are -- or the reports this year was released to the public on April 25th, 2022. Daily water monitoring bulletins are generated during spring breakup, and they're shared with Municipal and Community Affairs and communities. As mentioned earlier, ENR hydrologists participated in the Town of Hay River and NWT's EMO calls as needed and when they required them to be there, they were there. The bulletins are made available by the department on its website as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I thank the Minister for that, and I'm glad to hear the hydrologists participate in the EMO exercises. Unfortunately, I wasn't invited to any of those so I wasn't privy to it.

Considering the drainage area of the Hay River basin is mostly in Alberta and BC and with the drainage area of approximately 47,900 square kilometres, can the Minister confirm if the department has any standing on the Alberta Watershed Planning and Advisory Council or at least consult with the advisory council or other organization with similar interests? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I hear the concerns by my Member from Hay River South. I can tell you that as the Member that was with Nahendeh, I wasn't invited to those meetings as well. It's local EMO and the team that are doing the work. So I understand your frustrations about it, but it's the process, and that's how the work is done.

ENR hydrologists have worked close -- have close working relationships with their counterparts in Alberta, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, and Yukon. They receive information about snow accumulation each spring and other information of water levels as needed. This year ENR hydrologists participated in calls with the Alberta river ice forecasting centre. So we have a close working relationship with our counterparts in other provincial jurisdictions and the Yukon territory. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we talk about lessons learned and the lesson is that we have communities in flood zones. We have residents in flood zones. We have businesses in flood zones. That will not change. So when will the Minister start discussions with communities and federal government on what can be done to mitigate damage, or do we need to be taught further lessons and incur more costs before we take some action on mitigation? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can honestly tell you this year our government provided more information to residents, communities, on proactive steps to prevent flood damage. That started with the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, ENR as well part -- giving that information out there. ENR is currently working with Natural Resource Canada to update flood mapping for the NWT that were created back in 1980s. ENR is cost sharing this work under the federal Flood Hazarding Identification and Mapping Program. Updated maps are the first step in understanding existence of areas impacted, and they're important tools for consideration of future planning and mitigation efforts.

I can tell the Member and this House and the public that ENR staff were there as soon as they were allowed to be and safely get in there, and they started doing that mapping, identifying where the high watermark is. So this is all started -- part of the process as we move forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are related to my Member's statement regarding a school for the Hamlet of Enterprise.

Mr. Speaker, the Hamlet of Enterprise has gone to great lengths over the years to meet with various officials from ECE regarding a school for Enterprise but have constantly been told there's no funding available. Can the Minister commit to working with the hamlet to ensure they will receive assistance from ECE in order to have a school in place for the fall school year? Mahsi.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No, we can't have a -- I can't commit to having a school in place by September. Schools need to be constructed or space would need to be renovated. There would need to be amendments to likely the Education Act. There's too much work to be done to have a school in place by September.

That being said, I have met with representatives from Enterprise, and I'm happy to continue to meet with them and have discussions as well as with the Hay River DEA, who are also involved in those discussions. Thank you.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I ask the Minister to commit to meeting with the Hamlet of Enterprise's mayor and council, along with the Enterprise education working group, as soon as possible to discuss this all too important issue. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd be happy to meet with them. I know they have been busy lately. They've been providing evacuation services for a lot of the residents in Hay River. But if they're ready to meet -- or whenever they're ready to meet, I'm happy to meet with them. Thank you.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. And I believe the hamlet would like to meet by themselves as a hamlet and not have any involvement with Hay River at this point.

Mr. Speaker, this government has the opportunity to do the right thing by working collaboratively with the residents of Enterprise to find solutions to the request for a school, whether it be a new build or an existing infrastructure. Can the Minister commit to putting this request at the top of their business plans and quite possibly have a school in place for the coming school year? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And as I said earlier, we're not going to have a school in place for this upcoming school year.

I can say that, you know, there are some roadblocks with the Education Act with the way all the districts are drawn, and so I know the Member has stated that hamlet doesn't want to work with -- or to have the Hay River involved but I think the Hay River DEA does need to be involved at this point. That's probably the easiest way to get things done. I've had meetings with representatives from Enterprise and the DEA, and there was discussions about perhaps starting small, having a teacher in the community, travel into the community, something, just some sort of education presence in that community, and then going from there. So I don't think that, just given the fiscal situation, the fact that we have to fight tooth and nail for any piece of infrastructure, that we're going to be getting a school in Enterprise this upcoming school year. But that doesn't mean we can't take those steps to have education provided in the community and move towards something like that in the future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Deh Cho.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker, and mahsi to the Minister for all his responses today. If he can't commit to having a school by the fall, if he's happy to meet with them but then we got to include Hay River, the DEA, I'm not sure how that process works, but I'm just wondering -- I want to know if the Minister is committed, you know, to having a school in Enterprise? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So this Assembly, it's getting near the end. This is probably our last kick at the can to get things done. And so if there's going to be a school in Enterprise, it would be a future Minister. But I spoken -- I've had conversations with representatives from Enterprise. I hear their passion. I hear their desire to have their children stay home, be educated in the community, and I want to continue to work with them to see that come to fruition.

Part of the issues are with the Education Act, the way that education bodies are created, and the way schools are created, and the authorities of the local district education council, the authorities of the local DEAs. So I don't need the -- anyone from Hay River to be at the meeting with the community -- or the Hamlet of Enterprise but I just think that in this situation, that might be the path of least resistance to get things off the ground. But I'm happy to hear out the hamlet and go from there. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions, as I mentioned in my Member's statement, are for the Minister responsible for Homelessness.

This past fall, or actually last spring, it was raised in the House when there was struggles with the board to keep the emergency shelter warm with my continuous talks with the Minister. What I would like to know now, since the Housing Corporation has taken over operations of the two shelters in Inuvik, can the Minister advise what is the plan on the future running of these two homeless shelters in Inuvik? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Minister responsible for Homelessness.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member for her question. I did respond to her in earlier this year. I travelled to Inuvik with my staff to address the housing issue in the Inuvik region and also during COVID as well too.

The Housing Corporation did speak with the Indigenous groups. They are in support of an expression of interest for the homeless shelters in Inuvik. Right now the advertisement for a request for proposal was advertised May 6th, and the closing date is May 31st, 2022, and our intention is to work with the -- with the person who -- or the company who is going to be submitting for the RFP.

We did have conversations as well with local memberships that were interested. But I'm not too sure, I can't confirm right now, if they have put forward any submissions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The cost of running the shelter over the winter has, I think if the last numbers that I received from the Minister, have almost quadrupled from what their funding is normally is. So I'm just wondering if the RFP is put out now and the Indigenous groups are going to run it and they come back with an amount that doesn't meet what the budget used to be, because this is the issue that I raised with the Minister even when we met with -- in our community -- in my community, what are we going -- are we going to continue to -- is Housing Corporation going to continue to run these shelters? Because, you know, I hope that this discussion is going to keep going because I don't want these people -- I mean, they're already homeless, and we don't want them to not have a space to go sleep safely. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Housing NWT was just there to support the boards at that time. They did have some issues. They did have some board issues, staffing issues, management as well. Housing was there to support them and try to -- in trying to find successful solutions.

The Indigenous governments in the Member's riding has only supported the expression of interest. They did not say that they would be taking over the homeless shelter. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So that brings me back to my initial thought, question, is what is going to happen to the homeless shelters in Inuvik if nobody bids on these RFPs? Like, I'm looking at the RFP. I've received an email from past board members about the RFP and how strict and how many things that they're asking for. We know that there's gonna be ongoing issues. So what is Housing Corporation going to do now that they've assumed operations? They have assumed. These boards are no longer there. They're dissolved. They've closed up their books. So what is Housing Corporation going to do? Or are our homeless going to be on the streets come fall time? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Right now I am confident on the RPF going out. The closing date is the 31st. I can't comment whether we've had success or no success with that approach. The operation of the homeless shelter right now is supported by Housing NWT. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Final supplementary, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, I guess my final supplementary question to this Minister is where's our homeless strategy? It was promised in the 18th Assembly. The Minister has said on repeated occasions, when asked by Members of this side of the House, when are we going to see it, it'll be the -- oh, it'll be ready the next session, next session. We haven't seen it. Where is this homelessness strategy and when can we expect to see this strategy? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I've taken the strategy back to my department. It's a very complex issue to be worked with within the territory. But not only that, the strategy doesn't come with any money. How are we going to support and operate the strategy coming forward? And speaking with my colleagues in other departments, that I'm looking at hopefully being able to table this document in the fall. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is for the Infrastructure.

Mr. Speaker, elders in my constituency have told me of an existing route that is more suitable, that the route chosen for the winter road. Will the Minister commit to reviewing all land alternate route and incorporate traditional knowledge for the Gameti winter road that could to lead to an all-season road. Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Minister responsible for Infrastructure.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, right now the GNWT's efforts is focused on the approved mandate which advances the Mackenzie Valley Highway, the Slave Geological Province Corridor. And I'm always willing to listen, but we don't have this on the budget to be able to build that road. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, will the Minister at least do this: Will the Minister commit to working with the community of Gameti and Tlicho government to develop a working group to begin the process of all-weather road? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Department of Infrastructure is working with the Tlicho government to advance some of these projects. Last week there was a meeting that we had, and it's, you know, looking at the Whati transmission line, the access road, some of the roads along in the Tlicho region. So yes, we are working with the community and the government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Does the Government of the Northwest Territories have a plan for dealing with rising prices in the NWT? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That's a really good question. I assume we do. I mean, we look at, when we're putting in proposals, to have some room for inflationary price costs. So it depends on which project actually. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, does the Minister of Finance believe that Fort Smith deserves a solution in addressing homelessness? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I've had the opportunity also to speak with my colleague, the Minister responsible for Housing and for Homelessness.

Mr. Speaker, this is a mandate item of the Government of the Northwest Territories. I would venture to say that every person in this House considers it a priority and considers it a priority for every resident anywhere in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell us if she and her department treat people living on reserves, including members of the Salt River First Nation, differently than other people or communities within the NWT? If so, can she explain why that is. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I've had the opportunity to say on many occasions, the GNWT's approach, whether it be in policy development, funding decisions, it's meant to be inclusive. We look at the whole of the Northwest Territories, the needs of all communities. Funding is not distributed -- or not not distributed on the basis of one group and where they may or may not be, and that is equally the same for the members of the Salt River First Nation. They have the same access and must have the same access, of course, to services as every other member of the Northwest Territories, and the government does its best to allocate the funds that we have based on that need and based at looking at the whole of the territory to maximize the benefits to all residents of all those services. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, in an April 29th email, the finance minister said that officials with Housing NWT met with Salt River First Nation in April to discuss housing priorities, including the Tiny Home Pilot Project.

Can the Minister provide more detail with what her department will be doing next to financially support Salt River in getting this project underway? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, so if anyone's wondering perhaps why as Minister of Finance I'm speaking to this is the Member and I have had the opportunity to begin these discussions back at the time of the last budgeting cycle and in discussing where and how funding decisions are made. I've since had an opportunity, and continue to have the opportunity, to meet with the Minister responsible for Housing NWT. It's her staff directly who had met with the members from the Salt River First Nation, the chief, the vice-president I understand, or CEO. I understand that happened April 12th or thereabouts. And they will certainly be continuing to lead the development of this project.

At this point, the information I have received is that the Tiny Homes Project is potentially very innovative. It is potentially one that could have a lot of interesting solutions. I had an opportunity to speak with staff from my colleague's department, and they spoke well of it. The simple fact at this point, though, is that right now the community has the existing community housing support initiative program funding. They're going to pursue the funding that they have for a project that is well developed, costed, and then once that's run its course, that they will continue to develop an actual proposal and a more meaningful detailed proposal on the tiny homes. And I've been assured that staff from NWT Housing Corporation do now have individuals ready to support and to assist the development of that project going forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, will the Minister commit to assist Salt River First Nation with their application to the National Housing Co-Investment Fund, including a letter of support assisting them with the project? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And so, Mr. Speaker, ultimately it would be, again, Housing NWT that would be leading the development of a formal support letter. Certainly, we would work together as a government when it comes to time to developing budgets and to looking at the availability of initiatives funding. So that work will certainly continue through business planning process. But I've been assured by my colleague that, of course, the Housing NWT is quite eager to continue to work with Salt River First Nation as they develop a proposal, and then that proposal can go through the process of being considered for the National Co-Investment Fund Program.

So, again, I'm very confident that the staff from -- again, from Housing, but certainly from Finance if needed, will be there to work with the Salt River First Nation and to discuss with them what is needed to put a proposal together. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Merci, Monsieur le President. My question's for the Premier as the head of the government.

I said I was caught by surprise by the recent announcement of the merger of Environment and Natural Resources with Lands without an opportunity for input from this side of the House or the public.

Can the Premier explain this decision and tell us what background information or studies were done for this merger and share that with us and the public? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Madam Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So way back when devolution occurred in the last Assembly, actually Assembly before that, the Department of Lands was created and the organizational structure of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources was changed. Some functions, in particular related to water, came to ENR, and others went to ENR, to Lands.

There was a commitment at the time to devolve and then evolve if needed after time was passed.

Since then, it became clear that there's a -- well, I'm missing a step.

First of all, there was a -- in my speech from -- to be Premier, Mr. Speaker, I said that I'd be looking at the Lands department and seeing if I could combine it with another department. I found in the last government that smaller departments often sometimes don't get the attention they needed because of the size of the departments and it's also a lot of departments for ministers. So there was a benefit to reorganization.

But when we did that work, we actually found that the department that I thought might be closer related was the wrong one. So it was clear that there was a closer intersection of some of the work with Lands and ENR.

I know that Members here have brought that up that inspections in contaminated sites, for example, that's how there's overlaps, securities in project assessments or others. So several concerns were also brought forward by the public and Indigenous governments and organizations regarding the confusion of what roles and responsibilities between the departments. The government renewal initiative to date identified close significant intersections between ENR and Lands.

So when we started this government, and the Members were provided a copy I believe, I had asked Minister Thompson to review the Lands and MACA organizational structure in this mandate letter. And I do believe Members were given a copy of the mandate letters. If not, let me know. If they're public I can give them to you.

And the Minister, in his work, decided that he wanted to include ENR as well to meet the commitment that was made at devolution.

As well, another MLA raised an oral question in this House in December of 2021 asking if we'd started the work. And I responded that it was underway and could be actioned in the life of the government.

So we did a jurisdictional scan of functions at Lands, MACA, and ENR across Canada, and after review, we decided that we actually had a private contractor do this work, and they -- the contractor developed four potential options that were reviewed by the deputy ministers, committee of Cabinet, and Cabinet.

The design process, when we bring it together, would be a collaborative process involving senior managers from both departments to ensure that we get it right. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Premier for that. That's way more information than was certainly in the news release. But I did ask her if she could share the background information. So I look forward to getting the consultant's report and I'd ask that the Premier also to make that public. So I look forward to getting that information. It's not clear what or who is driving this merger and how many staff may lose their jobs.

Can the Premier tell us who Cabinet consulted in making this the decision; was it the business community, Indigenous governments, or who? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to start by saying that this merger of departments was definitely not about reducing costs or losing jobs. That is not my goal at all. It was just, like I said, one commitment was with devolution devolve and evolve.

The bigger thing for me was just my experiences in the last session and seeing the difficulties with smaller departments competing against bigger departments. So at this time, we're not looking at -- we're not expecting that this will be a cost saving endeavour. This is about making sure that the program's more effective and more efficient and better for the users in the end.

Who do we use? When devolution occurred, I'll bring it back there, the Department of Lands was created, and organizational structure of the Department of ENR changed. Some functions in particular related to water came to ENR and others went to ENR to lands. And those were some of the confusions we were having.

Since now, I mean now it's become clear that this close intersection of the work being done, and so we're looking at changing it -- sorry, I was reading the wrong answers.

So the decision was made on concerns that have been brought forward by clients and the experience of those working in and within the departments themselves. And again, my own interests and the promise with devolution to devolve and evolve.

Merging the departments is consistent in how the functions are organized in the majority of other Canadian jurisdictions. There's many examples to turn to existing within the GNWT and across the country on how to organize to support gathering information for and maintaining effective stewardship and regulatory functions where climate change fix within the new department will be a focus of this work as we go forward.

Again, Mr. Speaker, this is not a cost saving endeavour. This is about efficiency. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Premier for that. Maybe I'm out of order here, but I'm trying to get a commitment out of the Minister to -- sorry, my questions are out of order. I'm just trying to get a commitment out of the Minister to actually share the background report, tell us who was consulted in this decision. And I didn't get answers to those but I'll try something else now.

So I've raised many times the inherent conflict of interest with one department acting as a promotor of resource development and then regulating rights administration and royalties at the same time. We've got NGO community government support that I think would be better situated in the Executive.

You know, so can the Premier tell us what further government reorganization is being contemplated and whether this side of the House, and perhaps even the public, might be engaged? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At this time, there are no reorganizations being expected within the term of this government. It was a campaign commitment that was made and so following through with that. It was in a mandate that was followed through. There was no other identified reorganizations that were necessary. However, never say never. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Merci, Monsieur le President. I'm not sure where I'm getting with the Premier on this. But I'd hope that she would say that gee, sorry we missed you guys last time but we'll talk to you before we do any more reorganization.

I'd understood that the so-called "government renewal initiative" would be much further along by now, and that process would be a place where reorganizations and efficiencies would be driven. But that's not even referenced in the news release. It doesn't even mention the words "government renewal initiative."

So the can Premier tell us why the decision on the merger appears to have had nothing to do whatsoever with the government renewal initiative? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, I think that they are kind of related in that the government's renewal initiative is looking at program evaluations, making sure that we're providing good programs for the money, bang for the buck. But the re-amalgamation of departments, reorganization of departments, was not based on the government's renewal initiative. It was actually, like I said, it was a mandate letter of Premier's commitments from the beginning of the Assembly, before we were even talking about government renewal.

What I do want to say as well that the first phase of the government renewal was to develop the inventories that were to be completed in 2021-2022; that two departments, both ENR and Lands, did complete their government renewal inventories. And that's why when we started to realize there was more similarity in those programs than there was in the other organizational departments.

So with the substantial intersection, it made sense that we would start to look at combining those departments for our organizational design. I do really want to repeat to the public, to the staff, this is not a cost saving exercise. This is not about saving money and taking away jobs. This is about providing a more efficient and a more effective department so that services that you provide will actually be better for the public, which is our ultimate goal. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.

Mr. Speaker, the department did a procurement review along with a large engagement with NWT businesses, and I'm wondering when the GNWT responses to the procurement review will be shared be the public, and does the GNWT intend to provide a draft response to standing committee for feedback first? Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm glad to have an opportunity to speak about this. Certainly, we're going into the fall session and getting ready on capital planning.

During the public review process, there was some Indigenous governments who had chose to not partake in that process and instead we've been engaging more directly with them in terms of the Modern Treaty Self-Government tables, Council of Leaders tables, in order to ensure that all Indigenous governments here within the Northwest Territories are properly involved in this process. So that process is now complete. There was some requests for additional time. But we have all of that information and comments back in now, all the feedback back in now, and so the next stage is, indeed, to prepare a final and formal response that can be shared with the public. And while I don't have the detailed work plan here in front of me, Mr. Speaker, it would usually be practice that we would be sharing things with the committee in advance, and I expect we'll do the same here. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the review suggested incremental changes to GNWT procurement policy and processes. So I'm wondering while we don't have a work plan here today with a concrete date, I'm wondering if the Minister can speak to what changes have taken place with procurement in the NWT thus far? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yes, there have been some incremental changes, some interim changes already in place. One in particular I want to highlight the Vendor Performance Management Program. There's a few phases to this.

Essentially when we are going to be changing procurement, if we're not monitoring how vendors are doing and how those contracts are unfolding, it's going to be very difficult to ensure that we're either incentivizing or dealing with any lack or failure to deal with what was being said in the contracts. So we've ruled this out first phase last June for construction projects over $250,000, Mr. Speaker. We're now looking toward monitoring of compliance on those contracts. And currently coming up on one year, we'll be in a position now to analyze whether or not and to what extent contractors are, indeed, meeting their BIP obligations.

That's not all, Mr. Speaker. There's also some work happening in terms of one-stop shop for procurement information. So, again, one of the concerns that was raised that was raised in the report was about the fact that there's just too much different information about procurement and it lives in too many different houses within the Government of the Northwest Territories. But we do now have a one-stop shop dashboard that has GNWT procurement information, contact information, the contract dashboard etcetera. So starting to bring those things into a more unified fold. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, before the procurement review of the 19th Assembly, the 18th Assembly did a review of the northern manufacturing policy and that strategy. And from within that strategy, there were a number of actions that were suggested to the GNWT and that were committed to. And within the procurement review that was done in this Assembly, they suggested simply implementing those action items from the northern manufacturing strategy review. And so I'm wondering will these actions will implemented in the 2022-2023 fiscal year as our businesses and our business owners have spent the time in order to provide the information on the review and do the engagement? So I can sense a frustration in not having that feedback implemented yet. Thank you.