This is page numbers 5441 - 5516 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 know.

Topics

Caroline Wawzonek

Caroline Wawzonek Yellowknife South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at this point the next steps are to ensure that we have continuous funding and availability of funding. And I can say that the Canadian agricultural partnership, which is one of the most significant funding sources available, has been renegotiated between the federal government and all provinces and territories. It is seeing a 25 percent increase over the next five years. And with that now in place, that puts us in a good position to look forward and determine where the GNWT can and how we can actually look at our growing sector. I would also note there's other funding opportunities, often working with CanNor, often working with other federal pots. So, again, having had this conference with a viable organization and association they're running, we're in a much better place to look forward to what the next five years should bring. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I'm glad to hear the Minister acknowledge that there is more than just a food conversation and that it does span a lot of the different sectors. I'm interested to know a little bit more about that renegotiated federal pot of funding. Glad to hear it's 25 percent, however is there the ability to be flexible with that money and not have it go towards directly agricultural products like seeds? The reason I ask is that one of the number one cited barriers are things like fuel, power, heat, and transportation so I'm wondering if we have flexibility with that money. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Caroline Wawzonek

Caroline Wawzonek Yellowknife South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the specific implementation of the federal funds is being negotiated literally right now. What I can say is that there are five priority areas that were negotiated between the provinces, territories, and federal government. And they are reflective of priorities that I think we have here in the North. One, climate change and environment and looking to adapt. Another one, market development and trade, again recognizing the breadth of opportunities here in the Northwest Territories. Building sector capacity, growth, and competitiveness, which certainly will speak to the higher cost that we have here. And science research and innovation, again looking for ways to adapt to northern realities and northern opportunities I would say. So it certainly would be my hope that we'll be able to, you know, find what we need within those priorities and make that therefore a workable program.

Mr. Speaker, at the risk of going on a little bit too long, there's one more thing I really should add.

We've also signed on to agri-vest and agri-stability. Never been in this before, Mr. Speaker. We have signed on to this program now, and it's going to give more stability and another opportunity for our local industry to see themselves have some risk prevention opportunities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Great Slave.

Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I'm glad to hear that the Minister -- this seems timely, she can take my thoughts back to that negotiation and hopefully make them aware that what works in the south does not work for us here in the North generally.

My last question is just around one area that hasn't been touched on that I think is unique to us, that our southern counterparts may not have, and that is the food tourism industry. The Northwest Territories has a lot of interesting unique foods as from your region and others. So can the Minister speak a bit to how the department is promoting and supporting the food tourism industry? Thank you.

Caroline Wawzonek

Caroline Wawzonek Yellowknife South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is likely an area where more work can be done, and there's no harm in acknowledging that. It's a good year to do that. This July there will be the first -- I'm going to get the name wrong; I'll have to get it right later. But it's an opportunity in July to celebrate food and celebrate gastronomy here in the Northwest Territories. Chefs are coming in. There will be opportunities for foraging and harvesting. It's a first of its kind, Mr. Speaker. So acknowledging that there's work to be done here. There's opportunities here. And as I've said, this July we'll be getting underway, the food organization's putting that on. So looking forward to seeing where that goes in the future. 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 mouth is watering, but my questions are for the Premier who is responsible for the implementation of the open government policy. Can the Premier tell us whether this government still accepts and endorses the 2018 Open Government policy? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Honourable Premier.

Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, the open government policy continues to be a guiding policy for the GNWT. This policy establishes a roadmap for how the GNWT shares information and data with the public and the way we engage with residents on government decisions. It includes principles in encouraging the transparency of data and information in a way for citizens to become informed so they can participate meaningfully in potential government decisions, respecting however any privacy and information collection concerns as per the NWT access to information and protection of privacy legislation. We also continue to advance the implementation of the open government policy through several initiatives in that increasing transparency and accountability, such as our recently launched open data portal, our public engagement portal, and the GNWT's public engagement employee guide. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Premier for that. In my January 13th letter to the Premier and resource Ministers, I compared and contrasted some of the ongoing development of resource regulations that have left the public to the very end of the process with little time and limited access to information.

Can the Premier tell us how the open government policy is applied to these processes for developing resource regulations and if that work is documented somewhere other than my letter? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The open government policy is overarching and continues to shape our government's direction. Under this policy, the GNWT encourages citizen participation in GNWT decision-making where appropriate. One of the principles of open government is that citizen participation in potential government decisions should be encouraged. During this Legislative Assembly, Cabinet endorsed a guideline for the publishing of draft regulations online for public input. This pre-publication process allows residents to directly shape the context of regulations, including resource regulations, in an open and transparent manner. While regulations are ultimately delegated legislation, we appreciate and recognize the public's role in shaping their content and continue to review the process and progress to ensure our legislation and regulations best serve the residents of the NWT. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Premier again for that. The other place where our resource management legislation regulations have largely fallen down is public participation in actual decision-making. That requires public registries where information can be accessed, and stakeholders can have a say during decisions and appeals. Members of the public and committees have to propose amendments as departments seem to forget about the public or don't have access to resources to do the work.

So can the Premier tell us how the open government policy is applied in drafting legislation and regulations to ensure there's public participation in decision-making? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. During the drafting of legislation, departments engage in open government policy which captures the wide range of interactive engagement activities that occur throughout the legislative development process. Over the course of the 19th Legislative Assembly, this government has made significant improvements to ensure that legislation and regulations are developed collaboratively with Indigenous governments through the legislative development protocol. The GNWT also launched a public engagement portal and put in place communication guidelines to standardize how we engage with the public. Regular Members and standing committees play a crucial role in the legislative process, including seeking public feedback on bills, proposing amendments, and holding public hearings. I believe ensuring that the public has the ability to participate in the development of legislation is a task that's shared by all Members of the Legislative Assembly. This government is committed to improving how all departments engage with all partners and residents, how decisions are made, and how information and data is shared. This is important and ongoing work that will extend beyond the life of this government. It's something that we'll always have to continue to work at. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

Merci, Monsieur le President. There's a huge difference though in resourcing of departments to develop new legislation and regulations around resource management. ITI has been tremendously successful in securing millions of dollars for the Mineral Resources Act implementation, while Environment and Natural Resources and Lands have got nothing. It's not clear whether these other departments even ask for additional resources.

So can the Premier tell us how the open government policy is applied to the budgets of departments as they develop resource management legislation and regulations? Merci, Mr. Speaker.

Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Each department is a little bit different. As the priorities are developed at the beginning of each Legislative Assembly and ongoing, the departments develop and they implement work plans. Departments may consider where there will be significant legislative work, and they may consider making requests for additional funding to support those efforts. They may also decide that they can do it internally. Each Minister is individually responsible for the implementation of the open government policy and for ensuring that their respective departments and agencies follow the principles of the policy when carrying out their mandates. This includes ensuring that the departments are appropriately resourced to carry out engagement activities related to legislative projects. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Madam Premier. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Richard Edjericon

Richard Edjericon Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As you know, it takes a community to raise a child. And, Mr. Speaker, my Member's statement earlier talks about elders in our community. The social phenomenon of grandparents providing primary care to grandchildren is all too commonplace in our society.

Can the Minister speak to this phenomenon and what his department has done to recognize the support elders providing this type of support to their families? This question is to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Minister R.J. Simpson. Mahsi.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment.

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And this is something that I think most people in the territory are familiar with. The most recent stats I could find show that we are second in Canada when it comes to grandparents raising their grandchildren, after Nunavut. It's quite a big margin, right. It is quite common here. I'm sure that all of us have relatives who are doing this. Maybe they were raised by their grandparents. I'm sure Members have raised some of their grandkids here, so it is quite common. The department acknowledges this. Through the income assistance program, we do provide assistance to grandparents who are raising their grandchildren. And, you know, while some benefits outside of the income assistance program require the grandparent to have custody of the child, the income assistance program doesn't do that. So if a child -- grandchild is dependent upon the grandparents, they're living with the grandparents and they're raising them, then we consider that a dependent of that grandparent and so we fund that accordingly. Thank you.

Richard Edjericon

Richard Edjericon Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister. Our elders have spent their entire lives supporting themselves and their communities. Many haven't needed government assistance but now -- or financial support in their children and grandchildren and don't know where to go to get much needed assistance.

Can the Minister help get the word out on programs that could provide financial support to these elders on fixed income and the monthly pensions for elders? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I can speak to what ECE is doing; of course the department of health has a number of programs as well. But we have our income assistance program, and I know that there's some stigma around that but it really is there to help the residents who need that help. And we want residents to access that. We of course also have the seniors home heating subsidy which we've increased during this government, and we had a one-time top-up last year as well. And we have the -- we also have the senior citizens supplementary benefit which is administered by the Government of Canada on our behalf that low-income seniors receive automatically. So if someone comes to ECE looking for that type of support, those are some of the options they have. Thank you.

Richard Edjericon

Richard Edjericon Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you, Minister. Would the Minister consider developing a special grant-based program to provide no strings attached cash to elders providing support to their grandchildren? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So we don't have a plan to develop a standalone program such as the Member is talking about. But we have been undertaking a review of the income assistance program, and in this budget, there is $5 million for some significant changes. So seniors can expect to get some more support in that area. As well, there's other avenues. There's Jordan's Principle, Inuit Child First Initiative, Canada Child Benefit, and things like that as well. Again health and social services does also provide support when it's needed. But we are taking significant steps in this government to better support our elders. Thank you.