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

Richard Edjericon

Richard Edjericon Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh

Mr. Speaker, thank you. We know that the health system is collapsing. Every day there are more signs of distress. While I agree wholeheartedly with these words, they are not mine. Mr. Speaker, rather, they belong to the Canadian Medical Association who wrote, in August last year, there's no part of healthcare system untouched by the current crisis. The problem isn't physicians or nurses or healthcare workers. It's not one province or a territory.

Mr. Speaker, my constituents have been struggling with healthcare support for many years. The medical travel system is held bounded by the health department's inflexible and outdated policies, staff shortage at our state-of-the-art hospital here in Yellowknife, our chronic and services have been reduced and likely to be even more curtailed as the government struggles to come to grips with this crisis. This is not an easy problem to solve but there are solutions.

Mr. Speaker, last year the Canadian Medical Association brought together thousands of professional patients and policymakers to collaborate on workable proposals that will fix many of the problems in healthcare. Amongst these are * expanding team-based care so many Canadians have timely access to family doctors and other primary care practitioners; creating national human resources strategy to rebuild Canada's healthcare workforce in a proactive sustainable way; improving workforce data collection across healthcare systems to track ongoing gaps in progress; investing in new training and education infrastructure to increase the supply of physicians, nurses, and nurse practitioners; introducing pan-Canadian licensure to make sure physicians are more mobile, potentially easing pressure on rural and remote communities, allowing for more quick and able crisis response amongst other benefits; scaling up virtual cases and leveraging the promises of artificial intelligence to improve access to care.

While the CMA may have solutions in the organized noted, what's missing is leadership and collaboration between all levels of government as well as with health professionals and patients who live in the current crisis every day. A lack of leadership and collaboration is all too familiar the story in this Assembly. Time and time again we have asked the government to work with this side of the House. Instead, we are stonewalled with policies and politics that get in the way of helping our constituents. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my Member's statement. Mahsi.

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. Mr. Speaker, Northerners want to know what the government is doing to solve our current health crisis; I mean real solutions and strategies, not lip service statements in the House and status quo in our health centres. So I'll be asking the Minister for a clearer and decisive action to make long-term overdue improvements in healthcare and I expect that she has the answer that my constituents, and all NWT residents need to hear, to be confident in their medical system is on the road to recovery. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

Rylund Johnson

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When are we going to remove Walmart from the business incentive policy, Mr. Speaker? I want to clarify it's not just Walmart, it's the entirety of Schedule 3 of the business incentive policy, which is a list of 54 grandfathered southern-owned companies that, about a decade ago, seemed to get grandfathered in. And, Mr. Speaker, these are some of the largest companies in the world, like Loblaws. Why do we have to give preferential bid adjustments to Loblaws, Mr. Speaker?

Another egregious example, Northwestel. Northwestel has a legally-protected monopoly in the North yet we have adjusted well over $60 million of their bids. They bid and we say oh no, that's not enough money for your legally-protected monopoly; we're going to add a little more under the business incentive policy, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, now there's a number of reasons why companies have got on there. But at this point, the only fair thing is to remove them all. Another example is Clark Builders, Mr. Speaker, who have won well over $200 million in contracts from the GNWT under BIP adjustments. At one point they had their start in the North, but they have grown to be one of the top ten construction companies in Canada. They no longer need their bids adjusted.

Mr. Speaker, also on that list is Golder and Associates, which has thousands of employees. And I'm happy they have an office with a few employees in the North, but they have grown so large they don't need their bids adjusted. And the reality is they compete against local firms and local environmental consulting firms who are actually BIP registered.

Mr. Speaker, there are countless examples where, whether it be paying for food, paying for construction, paying for consulting, these companies that have been bought and sold time and time again, until they are part of global consortiums with thousands of employees, are now having their bids adjusted for no justifiable reason and all it is doing is costing the taxpayer more money. I will have questions for the Minister of ITI on when we are going to update our BIP policy and remove this schedule. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

Jane Weyallon Armstrong

Jane Weyallon Armstrong Monfwi

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Decentralizations of North Slave district housing office. Mr. Speaker, I have spoken in this House many times about the housing crisis in the Tlicho region. There are not enough homes to house the people in Tlicho region. The homes we do have are overcrowded and undermaintained. Many homes have mold. There are no housing staff in district office that speak Tlicho language. Further, there are not enough housing staff in the Tlicho region, and they are overworked. Tlicho residents need someone who can speak the language to help them deal with their housing issues. If people in the Tlicho region have problems or issues or want to submit program application, they have to do so through the North Slave district office in Yellowknife. Mr. Speaker, this is a barrier.

Mr. Speaker, this means that residents from Tlicho region have to drive into the capital city, enter a government building which is intimidating for some people whose first language is not English, or they have to wait for the North Slave district office to visit the communities. The requirement to work with the North Slave district housing office in Yellowknife is not working for Tlicho citizens and other people living in the Tlicho region. Mr. Speaker, there needs to be decision-making authority within the Tlicho region. The North Slave housing district office needs to be decentralized into the Tlicho region so Housing NWT can actually improve the housing crisis in the region.

Mr. Speaker, we know there is a housing crisis in Behchoko, the largest Indigenous community in the NWT, yet the main estimate show that Behchoko housing support worker has been sunset this year. A local Tlicho position has been sunset but, Mr. Speaker, there are six new positions established in Yellowknife for this fiscal year. This is unacceptable. Mr. Speaker, this government should be focused on decentralizing services to improve services to residents in small communities, not creating more barriers. I will have questions for the Minister of housing. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Members' statements. Member for Nahendeh.

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today it saddens me to stand in this House and speak about the passing of a well-known man from the community of Jean Marie River.

Eddie Gargan was born on November 10th, 1945, at Kelly Lake to his parents Celine and Charles Gargan. Eddie was the third oldest of his family. He passed away on October 20, 2022, with his loving family around him. The family told me about the day he was born. His grandma told his sister Beatrice and brother Phillip that he had walk to his mom when he was born. They were so excited to see the tracks outside their grandma's home. They danced around with joy that day. Later in life, they were told that those were whiskey jack footprints and not Eddie's. It was a family joke that they still share today.

Eddie grew up in Jean Marie River and Fort Simpson. In his younger days, he enjoyed being on the land with his parents and his siblings. Eddie was a very quiet person. Even when he was seriously sick, he didn't tell people about his pain or sickness. The family talked about how he enjoyed listening to his dad read the Bible very Sunday. It was one of his highlights of the week. To the day he passed away, you could always find the Bible near his chair.

Like his family, Eddie was a hard-working person who enjoyed all aspects of work he did. He took pride in getting things done right the first time. If he needed help, he would ask. I can tell you he was well-respected by his co-workers and bosses. He worked hard to get things done in a timely manner. As well, he was very respectful to his colleagues and co-workers. He would always find good in people and had nice things to say about them.

Eddie was buried in Jean Marie alongside his family that passed away with him. Eddie will be greatly missed by his daughter, two granddaughters, his brother and sister and great many nieces and nephews.

Mr. Speaker, the Gargan family would like to thank everybody for all their support and kindness during their time of sorrow. They appreciate everyone who was able to attend his funeral. And then as well, they would like to thank all the medical staff in Fort Simpson during the difficult time. Mr. Speaker, he will always be in our thoughts and our prayers. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Nahendeh. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and community.

Members' statements. Returns to oral questions. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Great Slave.

Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery
Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery

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Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a little bit of a list here today. So I'd first like to start with recognizing Jennifer McManus, the vice-president of the Red Cross for Alberta and the Northwest Territories who has provided a lot of help to us over the past few years through climate change events as well as COVID-19.

Next, I'd like to recognize Mr. Raymond Pidzamecky, who is a registered social worker with health Canada's First Nations and Inuit Health branch. Mr. Pidzamecky has been working in the North with families of residential school survivors for several decades now, I believe.

And then behind me, I have from Canadian North, I have Jim Ballingall who is the vice-president of sales, distribution and marketing.

As well as Yellowknife's own Samantha Stuart who is the manager of sales and community investments for the Northwest Territories.

Welcome them all to the Chamber. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery
Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery

Page 5219

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Great Slave. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Range Lake.

Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery
Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery

Page 5219

Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd also like to recognize Samantha Stewart, a constituent of Range Lake. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery
Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery

Page 5219

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Range Lake. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Replies to budget address, day 4 of 7. Member for Frame Lake.

Mr. O'Reilly's Reply
Replies To Budget Address

Page 5219

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

Merci, Monsieur le President. The 2023-2024 Main Estimates present pretty much a status quo budget for this government. I am going to talk about what's in the budget, what should be in it, and also about some priorities for the next Assembly in terms of fiscal sustainability.

While I can support most of the spending, there are still some serious shortfalls and trouble is still on the horizon. Both short-term and long-term debt continues to increase, and we remain very close to the debt limit. There is the largest operating surplus of the 19th Assembly at $178 million, but that is largely due to the scaled back over-budgeting on the capital side. This much healthier surplus comes despite slow growth in revenues, higher inflation, and unforeseen flood remediation requirements. The healthier surplus should also provide greater room for the spending associated with the issues and priorities identified by Regular MLAs.

It's unfortunate that input from Regular MLAs is not sought earlier in the process, something I've recommended for the last seven years I've been here. There should be a meeting between the Regular MLAs and the Finance Minister to share priorities and issues before the budget is developed.

There are some good initiatives in this budget, such as funding for the labour market supplement for some healthcare workers, which should be expanded, and more for recruitment as well. There is more funding for some non-governmental organizations, apparently a 2.2 percent increase with a total value of $780,000. However, it's not clear why some departmental contributions and grants funding was not increased, and I will single our Environment and Natural Resources, Lands, and the Executive and Indigenous Affairs departments where there were no increases. About two-thirds of the NGOs seem to be targeted for the increase but this should be applied to all of the contributions and grants provided by GNWT, especially during this period of high inflation. Better yet, we need a policy change to our funding arrangements that incorporates increases into multi-year funding arrangements to allow NGOs to continue to do the valuable work that makes the NWT a better place. The GNWT also needs to do a better job in disclosing, on an annual basis, all of the grants and contributions provided along with the organizations that receive them.

With this budget, the Cabinet will complete its very low and less-than-ambitious commitment to increase funding by $5 million to make a small dent in the municipal funding gap. That $5 million probably doesn't even begin to cover the increases in that gap that have taken place since 2015. We can't even get a new calculation of the current municipal funding gap from Cabinet. This gap will continue to grow and will do so even more during 2023-2024 due to the carbon tax increases and the decision by Cabinet not to share any of those revenues with community governments.

I understand that the increased carbon taxes will cost community governments an extra $2 million in 2023-2024 and this will climb with further carbon tax increases. Tax-based municipalities will be forced to raise property taxes and smaller communities will likely cut programs and services to cope with the carbon tax increases. If GNWT is to continue the administration of a carbon tax, or receives carbon taxes from the federal government, we must share some of the revenues to cover these increased costs and treat the communities as if they were diamond mines.

And while I am talking about the diamond mines, Mr. Speaker, I remained unconvinced that GNWT is doing anything serious to support the workers at Diavik which is scheduled to close in 2025. I got vague statements from the Finance Minister last week that GNWT departments are at some meetings on the socio-economic monitoring agreement. That's not good enough in terms of planning for economic transition. I would welcome any specifics on what we are doing as a government to help these workers but I don't see much in this budget that is likely to be of assistance.

A few other observations on the budget I would like to make:

The first is a $75 million bond issuance for the NWT Hydro Corporation. There are absolutely no details in the main estimates about this increase in debt and what this spending is actually all about. I am still waiting for details, Mr. Speaker. This Cabinet has failed to restore public governance to the NWT Power Corporation and our energy planning is, quite frankly, a mess. Crumbling and underutilized assets, reliance on big grids and old technology, no way of properly analyzing and disclosing trade-offs, I can't begin to express how out of touch with reality this system has become. A new focus on energy self-sufficiency and smaller scale solutions is urgently required.

There are some interesting references in the budget and papers to a review of the fiscal responsibility policy that has failed to keep us out of growing debt and huge over-budgeting of capital projects. It appears the Minister has finally heard Regular MLA calls for the calculations associated with the determination of compliance or non-compliance with that policy that will now regularly be found in financial documents. We need more detailed financial reporting and accountability throughout the year to ensure that sound financial management continues. There needs to be some consequences for non-compliance with the fiscal responsibility policy and, at a minimum, a requirement for a plan to be made public to bring our finances back in order.

I am particularly concerned with this government's increasing reliance on public-private partnerships as a way to finance larger capital projects. There has been little to no analysis or disclosure of the impact this has had on our operating budgets as P3 servicing costs eat away into our ability to provide programs and services. There should be a firm cap on P3 servicing costs just as there on debt servicing as part of a renewed fiscal responsibility policy.

One would also think that something as important as the fiscal responsibility policy would go through some form of public engagement as we do with such mundane matters like the renaming of the Stanton Legacy Building, or a survey on liquor and cannabis products. I will pursue this further with a Member's statement and questions for the Finance Minister at a later date.

The Government Renewal Initiative appears to have ground to halt, and I've yet to see anything made public or much that is very useful. While I support the concept of program evaluation and review, this work cannot possibly find enough spending cuts to fund our unsustainable path when there is over-budgeting on capital, growing debt, and no willpower to raise more revenues.

I would like to turn to some future priorities that I will pass on to future Assemblies in terms of fiscal responsibility that I do not believe have been adequately addressed during the budgets presented in this Assembly.

  1. Review own source revenues and undertake a fair taxation review
  • Increase the number of personal income tax brackets to five as seen in most other Canadian jurisdictions;
  • Increase own source revenues as much as possible in the territorial formula funding arrangement and work with federal opposition parties to make that happen;
  • Increase our resource revenues that have been characterized by world experts as some of the most charitable in the world. We are giving away our resources when we should be maximizing the benefits.

I will give some credit to the Finance Minister who appears to have listened to my concerns, and those of others, about the lack of transparency around the disclosure of resource revenues. For the first time ever, there is a statement showing the past and anticipated net fiscal benefit in these main estimates; in other words, what we actually get to keep from non-renewable resource development. This is good but can be improved by separating mining and petroleum revenues. We should also be accounting for payments from the federal government for Norman Wells. Of course, we should go even further and disclose royalty payments from each facility as is already done in Quebec and elsewhere. Mr. Speaker,

  1. Focus on Economic Diversification

There are lots of statements in the budget address, and the economic and fiscal reviews about the pending closure of the diamond mines with little prospect of anything similar on the horizon. The next potential mines are financially and environmentally risky, in many cases already fully licensed, and what is holding them back is financing and commodity prices which we have no control over. Past efforts at concerted economic planning and diversification in the NWT have largely failed. We need to focus on economic diversification and self-sufficiency by building greater food security and import substitution. In an uncertain world with a climate crisis, economic diversification and self-sufficiency will provide greater security for all our residents. Mr. Speaker,

  1. Housing, Housing, and More Housing

Cabinet has promised 100 new public housing units over four years of the 19th Assembly. Nunavut will build that many this summer under its new plan. If this government is serious about economic development, poverty, reconciliation, and virtually everything else, people need safe and affordable housing. This needs to be the priority for the next Assembly. No more mega-projects over housing when Cabinet goes to Ottawa. Treat housing as the mega-project for the next Assembly.

  1. The Climate Crisis

The current Cabinet continues to pussyfoot around the climate crisis or climate emergency. I would have thought that two successive years of extraordinary and catastrophic flooding would have convinced this government that we are now in the midst of a climate crisis that will change virtually everything we do. I think I have only once ever heard a GNWT senior staff person say "climate crisis" once.

Our government continues to fail on climate change mitigation and adaptation. Our public reporting is so convoluted that no one understands it. The only reason we may reach the old and outdated greenhouse gas reduction targets is because of the closure of the Diavik diamond mine. I will be watching very closely to see if the new Department of Environment and Climate Change actually uses the terminology of a "crisis" or an "emergency" and has the responsibility and tools to coordinate and lead GNWT's efforts. If this is not part of the establishment policy for the new department, this Cabinet will have failed again. This government needs to stop being part of the problem, acknowledge the crisis or emergency, show leadership, and make better decisions on mitigation and adaptation.

In terms of the budget process, I can say that the relationship and negotiations with Cabinet over financial matters has been respectful and fruitful, a much different and welcome change from the previous Assembly. I will be happy to work with my colleagues on this side of the House to push for changes to the current budget. We still have more work ahead of us to ensure that the priorities of Regular MLAs are more clearly reflected in the budget, but I am confident that working together we can reach a reasonable compromise and a better balance. Merci, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. O'Reilly's Reply
Replies To Budget Address

Page 5220

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Replies to budget address. Acknowledgements. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.

Rylund Johnson

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In Schedule 3 of the business incentive policy is quite a long list of companies, and I don't want to go through the reasons of why each of these got in here or others that, you know, seemingly have the exact same situation in this territory didn't. But can the Minister just give me some explanation of how we got here; why is there a specified list of southern companies that we give preferential treatment to? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment.

Caroline Wawzonek

Caroline Wawzonek Yellowknife South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the story starts way back in 2010. There was some policy revisions made at that time. And essentially any business that was already here at that time, and that was already operating in the Northwest Territories, was grandfathered in under that policy. And that has not changed, and so those companies continue to be on Schedule 3. Thank you.

Rylund Johnson

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think at this point the only fair thing is to scrap the entire list and have a policy that anyone can apply to, and maybe some of these companies will reapply. But when you look at many of them, it's clear they have been bought and sold tens of times since they were put on this list and many are owned by, you know, global consortiums around the world. It just doesn't make sense to be spending extra taxpayer dollars on them.

So my question for the Minister of ITI is when is this procurement review going to be finished and will it remove this schedule? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Caroline Wawzonek

Caroline Wawzonek Yellowknife South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, there's a number of different things happening with respect to the procurement review. Some already have seen some changes. There's been, for example, vendor performance management is now underway. Contracts are being updated accordingly. There's significant work happening led by EIA on Indigenous procurement, being codeveloped or codetermined with Indigenous parties that would benefit from that. There's also work happening in ITI, Mr. Speaker, around the business incentive policy and around the manufacturing policy to look at ways to improve that. And that is all expected happen still within the course and the lifetime of this government. That includes determining exactly what the definition of a northern business should be, which is certainly a little more complicated than just one department making that determination. Should it be an entity that has a place of business here, that does a majority of its business here, that has a certain number of residents that are employed here; that's certainly proved to be rather more contentious than simply a blanket decision to be made. But, again, I can certainly say that there will be work ongoing and it will be happening in the life of this Assembly. Thank you.

Rylund Johnson

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm going to try again once more. Okay, perhaps we have to wait for the new policy that answers, you know, some of these companies -- and I get it's difficult to say if your base of operations are here but you've sold -- since been sold, should you fall under the new policy. But to me the answer to that is the new policy. So I don't want to see a situation where we create a new policy and then we keep Schedule 3. So we go well, we're just going to leave those people there forever.

So will the Minister commit that once we have a new policy in place, we will be removing Schedule 3? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Caroline Wawzonek

Caroline Wawzonek Yellowknife South

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, Mr. Speaker, that is certainly -- was exactly the recommendation in the procurement review, was indeed to remove Schedule 3. And the work that's going on about what that will look like to be replaced and how businesses might find themselves, that work is underway right now. And I'm afraid the Member's going to have to wait and see how that unfolds and then any business that's in Schedule 3 can determine whether or how they find themselves reflected in the new policy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

Rylund Johnson

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, you know, and I think this is a tough policy question. There has to be a way to write it because take Walmart, for example, one of the largest corporations in the world, we presently -- if they bid on food services, we buy a few hundred thousand dollars-worth of food in this territory, we give them some extra money. And I get they have a building here and they have staff here but my question is, will the Minister remove Walmart from Schedule 3? Thank you.

Caroline Wawzonek

Caroline Wawzonek Yellowknife South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Walmart's the easy one. Walmart and Loblaws and, in fact, many of the other businesses on Schedule 3 have not bid on any GNWT contracts in over ten years. And in that sense, they're sitting there but they're not really gaining much benefit from being on Schedule 3. Those aren't the difficult circumstances. The more complicated ones are those who are long-time northern-based businesses who have had the benefit of growing and becoming large -- larger businesses, which is really a good news story for the Northwest Territories and for having those businesses based here and who have been grandfathered in, and to determine what, in fact, or how, in fact, we might want to continue to encourage the growth of businesses in the North, to be based in the North, but competing on a national scale, that is the more difficult question. Walmart, I'm not too concerned about as we move forward with this process but, again, it's those northern-based businesses we want to consider how to be tracked and capture that kind of growth in our economy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Colleagues, before we continue, I believe in the gallery today we have Avery Parle, president of Northern Territories Federation of Labour. Welcome to the Chamber. Oral questions. Member for Great Slave.