This is page numbers 5215 - 5258 of the Hansard for the 19th Assembly, 2nd Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was housing.

Topics

Frieda Martselos

Frieda Martselos Thebacha

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell us if she considers the recruitment and retention bonuses to be fairly distributed among healthcare staff? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Caroline Wawzonek

Caroline Wawzonek Yellowknife South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I certainly do consider this to be one tool in the toolbox of recruitment and retention efforts that are underway within the health authorities and supported by the Department of Finance. The intention again is to ensure that we are finding those positions that have been hard to recruit here in the Northwest Territories and, again, to then pay according to the positions that were discussed between ourselves and the union and looking at the data available about what those positions are. It doesn't mean that every single person employed within the Department of Health and Social Services, or within one of the authorities, gets a labour market supplement. It was positions that were determined to be difficult -- particularly difficult to recruit for and that is in line with the labour market supplement policy. That policy applies not only to the healthcare field but to the entire public service. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Frieda Martselos

Frieda Martselos Thebacha

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell us what type of feedback Finance has received from healthcare staff about these retention and recruitment bonuses? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Caroline Wawzonek

Caroline Wawzonek Yellowknife South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would say probably the single thing that I have heard the most, that I have had to correct, has been the concept or the notion that these are thank-yous or that these are COVID bonuses. Every single public servant deserves a thank you and is valued. The bonus in the labour market supplement isn't the thank you, and it's not a COVID bonus. It really is a reflection of the challenging situation we are in right now all across Canada recruiting healthcare staff and wanting to ensure that our recruitment and retention personnel had every tool available to them, and that's where the labour market supplement came in. And so we have certainly been trying to ensure that folks are aware of exactly what it was for and what it was not for and certainly trying to ensure that we don't undermine people's sense of value and worth. These are all -- every public servant is valued, Mr. Speaker. But the labour market supplement is hopefully going to bring more folks in to those difficult positions to make it easier for everyone to do their job there. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

Frieda Martselos

Frieda Martselos Thebacha

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell us if the Union of Northern Workers considers the parameters of these recruitment and retention bonuses to be fair for their NTHSSA members? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Caroline Wawzonek

Caroline Wawzonek Yellowknife South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, while I do hope to have a positive relationship with the union and hope to continue that, I'm certainly not in a position to speak on their behalf. I can say that there were -- this was an opportunity where, while not always a smooth path along the way, I do believe this was a reflection of a good collaborative effort between the GNWT and the UNW in terms of trying to identify ways to bring more healthcare staff in. With more staff there, it helps lessen the burden on each individual staff and it helps retain the staff that we have. And, again, without losing anybody, that helps maintain the overall staffing contingent that we have. So, you know, discussion around the labour market supplement continues. I expect it will continue given the labour market situation we're in in Canada, and we'll certainly look forward to participating in those discussions with the union. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Lands, who seems to have primary responsibility for the former Cameron Hills solid gas field.

Can the Minister tell us when the abandonment agreement with Environmental Liabilities Management Incorporated, or ELM, was signed and the value of that work or contract? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Minister responsible for Lands.

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I thank the Member for the question. The abandonment agreement with the contractor was signed on December 9th following a procedural process authorized by the court. The work is being undertaken by the receiver to carry out the order issued by the regulator of oil and gas regulations. The cost to complete this work is $15 million but as the workers -- or the contractor gets into the site, there may be additional costs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. So during the review of the public accounts, it was revealed that an extra $20 million had been added to the GNWT's environmental liabilities fund as a result of Cameron Hills.

So can the Minister confirm this is the total amount of liability GNWT has calculated for Cameron Hills and whether any further funds will be needed for proper closure and reclamation? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, to date, the GNWT's only calculated the liability required to carry out the order issued by ROGO. This order includes closure of oil and gas wells at Cameron Hills along with removal of pipelines and related infrastructure such as tanks and batteries. The cost of reclamation under the land use permit and water license, such as sumps and contaminated soil, has not been estimated at this time, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. So there's going to be another hit coming our way? So as I understand, the closure and reclamation plan for Cameron Hills has never been completed, and there's no publicly-available cost estimate for the site. So it's not clear just what ELM is actually doing and how the public is supposed to have any input.

Can the Minister tell us when the closure plan and cost estimate work will be completed and why this work was not done before ELM was contracted? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The contractor is conducting work to meet the timelines in the order issued by OROGO to close the wells at Cameron Hill and remove pipelines and related infrastructure. This work is being inspected and certified by OROGO according to the legislation and standards. The land and water board issued a permit to allow this work to proceed. The land and water board has required the receiver to submit a revised closure and reclamation plan with other work at the site by June of 2024. This revised plan will be available for public comments through the land and water board process. The receiver is currently working on this plan. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

Merci, Monsieur le President. I'm learning a lot from these questions. The fourth report from the receiver shows that K'atlodeeche First Nation was not happy that the current closure and abandonment work went to a southern company. There's apparently some sort of northern benefits plan that has been required of ELM Incorporated.

Can the Minister provide us with some details about what is in that northern benefits plan, and will he commit to table it in this House? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The initial benefits plan for Cameron Hills was approved in 2002, was transferred from Canada at devolution, a draft of the 2002 documents of the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board is at the public registry. So it is already available publicly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Hay River South.

Rocky Simpson

Rocky Simpson Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the flood in Hay River last year not only damaged homes and businesses, it impacted the health of individuals and, more so, our seniors.

Mr. Speaker, I've heard of possible PTSD amongst first responders, volunteers, and flood victims. In some, we've seen an increase in substance abuse, stress, anxiety, family violence, family separations, and senior health issues as well. And that is why it's so important to get residents back in their home and to get it right and provide the support that they need.

So, Mr. Speaker, can the Minister of MACA tell me how many homes affected by the flooding in Hay River have been either repaired or replaced to date? Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have to thank the Member from Hay River South, Hay River North, and the Deh Cho, for asking these questions, important questions, on the residents who were impacted by the flood.

MACA doesn't have the information because homeowners in Hay River are managing their own repairs and replacements. MACA only becomes aware of the work to repair or replacement when the homeowners completed a final claim for the disaster assistance. As of December 31st, MACA has processed approximately 100 claims for disaster assistance in Hay River and on KFN. Thank you.

Rocky Simpson

Rocky Simpson Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, deadlines were established for structural assessments, mitigation consultation, and final disaster assistance claim.

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister confirm that these deadlines have been reviewed and will they be revised considering residents have unanswered questions and the fact we have a long way to go before we see all affected persons back in their homes? Thank you.

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the deadline to request mitigation assessment and structural assessment was March 31st, 2023. This is only a deadline to make the request. This is not the deadline to complete the structural assessment or apply for mitigation funding. Assessments are conducted to take place, and work will continue until all assessments are done. The deadline to request the mitigation and structural assessment was communicated directly to all registered disaster assistance clients and advised within the town throughout various means such as Facebook and radio ads. The deadline for the submissions of the final disaster assistance claim is December 31st, 2023. Municipal and Community Affairs will be contacting clients numerous times over the next year to check the status of their repairs and replacements, reminding them of the deadline and encouraging them to submit their final claims on time. However, Mr. Speaker, Municipal and Community Affairs will explore options to extend the deadline for final claims if it becomes apparent that the repairs and replacements cannot be completed by this deadline. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Rocky Simpson

Rocky Simpson Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Some of the people who have been impacted by the flooding, they're seniors. There's some people who, you know, can't even read and write and they're expected to, you know, manage the remediation of their home. And like I said in my statement, some of them have come and asked me for support. I've done that. But I think that's -- you know, that's something that this government should be looking at and trying to provide that support however they can.

So, Mr. Speaker, will the Minister commit to reviewing the need for added funds to help those needing third party project management services or, in the alternative, allow the cost for that service to come out of remediation funding? Thank you.