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

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

February 28th

Page 5465

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you. Minister of MACA.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

February 28th

Page 5465

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

Yes, thank you, Madam Chair. Yes, we agree. I mean, we've heard the Member, and we heard other Members here on the floor talk about the importance of it so we started doing the work. So when the 20th Assembly, the foundation will be started there. So it'll give them a head start in the 20th Assembly. Thank you.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

February 28th

Page 5465

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you. Member for Nunakput.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

February 28th

Page 5466

Jackie Jacobson

Jackie Jacobson Nunakput

Madam Chair, just in regards to where Ms. Martselos had a question in regards to disaster mitigation and the timelines that we'd have for, I guess, people getting paid for their insurance and stuff like that, getting -- for the architects to come in. Does the government have any architects in site on, say Hay River for instance; do they have any architects that are able to go in to assist people with houses that have been damaged through the flood and through a blast that they had in the community? What's their timelines on that to getting people settled back into their homes safely. Thank you.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

February 28th

Page 5466

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you. Minister of MACA.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

February 28th

Page 5466

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

So maybe the Member can clarify. I might be on the wrong path, but each resident are responsible for their own homes. And we have Pathfinders there, and we work with them to do that. The Member from Hay River South and Deh Cho and Hay River North has talked to us briefly. And so we do have an individual that's pretty well informed and working with us. But to have a specific somebody like a technical advisor, no, we don't. Thank you.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

February 28th

Page 5466

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you. Member for Nunakput.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

February 28th

Page 5466

Jackie Jacobson

Jackie Jacobson Nunakput

Madam Chair, does the Pathfinder, I guess, help or assist them to find somebody? Because if not, that Pathfinder's lost right now in regards to assisting the people in the community, Hay River. So is the Minister or that Pathfinder able to assist them to get an architect into the community sooner rather than later because the timeline -- it's winter time now and there's cracks, and there's cracks in the basements. We don't have basements back home but that's what -- I just read the text. But is there any way that the Pathfinder could assist in that blast area, I guess, in the community? And it was from damage from the flood. So is the Pathfinder able to assist? Thank you.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

February 28th, 2023

Page 5466

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you. Minister of MACA.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

February 28th

Page 5466

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

So I'm not too sure if he's talking about the blast that happened, that there was a propane blast. That wasn't part of the flood. But in regards to the Pathfinders, we do have a list of contractors that are available. We get that information. The community owners have to make that decision. In regards to the blast, they might have to be dealing with their insurance. However, the home that had the accident, their insurance would have to be the ones they would reach out to. Thank you.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

February 28th

Page 5466

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you. Member for Nunakput.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

February 28th

Page 5466

Jackie Jacobson

Jackie Jacobson Nunakput

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Thank you, Madam Chair. No, just in regards to that, the biggest thing I guess is a timeline, from start to finish, in regards to disaster mitigation for the flood. What is your timeline on people actually seeing funding, and are they getting an advance to help them to get through what's happening with them? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

February 28th

Page 5466

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you. Minister of MACA.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

February 28th

Page 5466

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

Thank you. Yes, so we do give advances. And it's application based. So they come and they ask for -- it's up to 50 percent. But we also have exemptions depending on the person's financial situation. So, again, it's on per person and it's, again, situation-based. So we do have it. And then the payouts, we pay out as soon as we can moving forward. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

February 28th

Page 5466

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you. Member for Nunakput.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

February 28th

Page 5466

Jackie Jacobson

Jackie Jacobson Nunakput

Madam Chair, no, just in regards to that, the timeline on the payout. Like, if somebody fills out the application, how long does it take for them to see money in their bank account? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

February 28th

Page 5466

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you. Minister of MACA.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

February 28th

Page 5466

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

Thank you. Again, it depends on the application and if they have all the receipts in place moving forward. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

February 28th

Page 5466

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you. Member for Hay River South.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

February 28th

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Rocky Simpson

Rocky Simpson Hay River South

Thank you, Madam Chair. The first question I got is the estimate is $175 million dollars for Hay River and K'atlodeeche First Nation. What does -- what are the major costs, I guess, associated with that? Thank you.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

February 28th

Page 5466

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you. Minister of MACA.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

February 28th

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Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

For that detail, I'll turn to the deputy minister.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

February 28th

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The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you. Deputy minister Gareau.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

February 28th

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Gareau

Thank you, Madam Chair. The major costs are with actual repairs to damaged homes and then the replacement of homes that were completely lost in the flood. The construction and replacement costs are fairly significant.

There's also many people that -- so we -- I'll just back up a bit. We have approximately 500 unique files. So there's 500 registrations, claims for disaster assistance, so. And those can range, you know, from $20,000 to, you know, the maximum is $600,000. So the actual claims being paid out are another significant cost. We have costs for project management oversight. And we have costs, you know, that we paid out to community governments for assisting with recovery efforts. There's also costs of other GNWT departments. So, for example, Housing NWT and Infrastructure. So damage that was done to GNWT assets through the flood. So those would be the largest categories of flood costs. Thank you.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

February 28th

Page 5466

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you. Did you have anything further to add, Minister?