Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Any abstentions. The motion is carried. The committee report has been received and adopted by the Assembly.

---Carried

Reports of standing and special committees. Member for Nunakput.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your committee on economic development and environment is pleased to provide the report of prevention and management contaminated sites and commends it into the House.

The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment identified contaminated sites as a priority of the committee to focus through the life of the 19th Assembly. The Committee focuses to ensure the Northwest Territories is well positioned to prevent environmental liabilities and effectively manage contaminated work sites. To guide committee in the review of contaminated sites, several stakeholders included several briefings from the Government of the Northwest Territories. As a result the review, committee has provided several recommendations to the Government of the Northwest Territories and the intent and purpose was improve, prevention, management of contaminated sites in the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker,

Recommendation 1

The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories create a mandatory legislative requirement for companies to operate with approved closure and reclamation plans on regularly reviewed and updated with appropriate adjustments through financial security.

Recommendation 2

The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment recommends the GNWT keep closure and reclamation tools up to date and publicly available to ensure the GNWT is collecting enough security to reflect true costs of a closure and reclamation.

Recommendation 3

The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment recommends that the GNWT work inter-departmentally with communities and their existing community-based monitoring programs to align monitoring efforts with the surveillance programs required under regulatory permits and licences.

Recommendation 4

The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment recommends the GNWT ensure it has the internal expertise to inform regulatory decision-making and inspection capacity to prevent further public liabilities.

Recommendation 5

The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment recommends the GNWT expand the Approach to Contaminated Sites guidance document to ensure policies and processes are in place to prevent future public environmental liabilities, most significantly projects that result in perpetual care situations. Further policy and guidance with respect to public disclosure are also required.

Recommendation 6

The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment recommends the GNWT establish the internal capacity for an effective early warning system to prevent further public liabilities. This approach will also require clear measures to prevent perpetual care situations, including mandatory financial security that is regularly reviewed and adjusted.

Recommendation 7

The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment recommends the GNWT ensure legislation has clear and appropriate timelines for remediation and reclamation of inactive or suspended well sites.

Recommendation 8

The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment recommends the GNWT study the Government of Saskatchewan Institutional Control Program and develop an NWT model that better implements the polluter-pays principle for the long-term and unforeseen remediation of mining sites while providing regulatory certainty with respect to industry relinquishment. An NWT model should be developed by the end of the 19th Assembly.

Recommendation 9

The committee recommends the GNWT implement transparent and clear processes to ensure that securities are established, reviewed and coordinated among various departments.

Recommendation 10

The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment recommends the GNWT review and amend all legislative requirements regarding the form of financial security for environmental compliance and remediation to ensure financial security must be irrevocable, absolute and unconditional.

Recommendation 11

The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment recommends that the GNWT undertake an immediate review of the Oil and Gas Spills and Debris Liability Regulations to ensure that the absolute liability caps are increased to fully implement the polluter-pays principle, reflect best practices and protect the public from liabilities. This review and increases to the caps should be implemented before the end of the 19th Assembly.

Recommendation 12

The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment recommends the GNWT make financial security information (including operator, land and water related securities, amounts, location of project, form of security, expiry dates) public through a website to help build public confidence in resource management.

Recommendation 13

The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment recommends the Department of Finance provide a plan with timelines to enhance reporting on the GNWT Environmental Liabilities Dashboard by matching reporting practices in the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat's Federal Contaminates Sites Inventory.

Recommendation 14: The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment recommends the GNWT develop a plan with a budget and schedule to better support communities in the management of landfills, that includes training, capacity building, best practices in waste management, diversion, backhaul and related matters. This plan should be developed by the end of the 19th Assembly.

Recommendation 15: The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment recommends the GNWT explore partnerships with industry and industry associations to provide hands-on practical training for landfill managers across the territory.

Recommendation 16: The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment recommends the GNWT provide a response to these recommendations within 120 days. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Nunakput. Reports of standing and special committees. Member for Nunakput.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, move, seconded by the honourable Member from the Deh Cho, that the Committee Report 39-19(2), deemed read, and printed in Hansard in its entirety. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Nunakput. The motion is in order. To the motion?

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Any abstentions. The motion is carried. Committee Report 13-19(2) is deemed read and will be printed in Hansard.

---Carried

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, second by the honourable Member from the Deh Cho, that Committee Report 39-19(2), Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment report: The Prevention and Management of Contaminated Sites be received and moved into the Committee of the Whole for further consideration. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Nunakput. The motion is in order. To the motion?

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Any abstentions. The motion is carried. The committee report has been received and will be moved into Committee of the Whole for further consideration.

---Carried

Reports of standing and special committees. Returns to oral questions. Minister responsible for Housing NWT.

Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a Return to Oral Questions asked by the Member for Great Slave on October 13, 2022, regarding Homelessness.

The current data count for homelessness in the territory are from 2019 and show that a total of 1,585 Northwest Territories residents have experienced homelessness at some time in their life. In April 2021, the Homelessness Hub Yellowknife conducted a point in time count and found 312 individuals experiencing homelessness in Yellowknife.

The NWT has only done counts as part of specific projects, and we do not currently have a systematic collection of data on this population to allow us to track the population over time. Not only does this make it difficult for me to tell you how many NWT residents are impacted at this point, but it also means that I do not have the data on how long individuals remain homeless and what kinds of housing solutions they move into. As social departments have worked together, they have noted the need for better data collection to support the work of these clients.

It was recently reaffirmed by meetings with my colleagues from provinces/territories at the recent Ministers of Housing meeting, that the issues we are facing in the NWT are being faced in all jurisdictions of Canada. We have learned that there are a variety of approaches being taken in other jurisdictions, ranging from taking innovative approaches to collaborative program and services delivered for vulnerable populations to changing the architecture of government departments. All efforts recognize that improving access to programs and services is required to meaningfully address homelessness.

Similar to other jurisdictions, the Government of the Northwest Territories' response to homelessness has been challenged by unclear lines of accountability, a patchwork funding sources, an ad hoc policy approach, and a lack of dedicated human resources. Homelessness is a multi-faceted challenge that requires a whole-of-government approach.

Announcements from the federal government on the Reaching Home Strategy have identified a territorial funding stream of $43 million to address the causes of, and solutions to, homelessness in the Northwest Territories.

The Reaching Home Strategy was designed to support the goals of the National Housing Strategy and to reduce the chronic homelessness, nationally, by 50 percent. The City of Yellowknife is receiving a total of $6 million over five years for homelessness programming. Reaching Home also currently provides funding to the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, Deline Got'ine Government, and the Tlicho Government.

In addition to the Reaching Home funds, I am pleased to be able to say that some of the projects funded under the National Co-Investment Fund from Canada are also targeted to supporting vulnerable populations. Examples of this are included in Yellowknife, an additional 21 units under construction at Lynn's Place and the renovation of 41 units at Spruce Bough, and the creation of 14 units at the Family Support Centre in Hay River. These projects are just the beginning of some of the investment that will benefit the vulnerable persons across the Northwest Territories.

Homelessness is a very complex issue and truly to make change we do need to work closely with other social envelope departments to generate solutions and develop client-centered and focused approaches. That necessary collaborative work is now underway. We believe taking a bit more time will provide us with the opportunity to develop a more cohesive whole-of-government approach.

As noted in a response to a question earlier, this sitting in the House I have committed to providing a strategy regarding homelessness on or before April 1, 2023. This will allow the strategy to represent the intergovernmental nature of responding to homelessness instead of focus just on the Housing NWT's response.

We also recognize that engagement with our partners, including non-governmental organizations, Indigenous governments, and community governments, will be necessary to further advance work on this issue. I expect that this engagement will continue and further inform work during early this summer. As you have heard myself and my colleague speak in this House, we recognize that addressing homelessness is more than just Housing NWT or Health and Social Services responsibility and therefore our strategy must focus on a multi-faceted response. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker

Thank you, Minister. Returns to oral questions. Minister responsible for Health and Social Services.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a Return to Oral Question asked by the Member for Kam Lake on October 27, 2022, regarding Infertility Treatment.

To answer the Member's question as to who decides what conditions are covered as a medically necessary insured health service, it is not unfortunately a simple answer.

There are multiple factors that come together to determine what is deemed a medically necessary insured service. While the Canada Health Act sets out the principles of its Medicare system, specifically the principles of universality, portability and accessibility, it is the provincial and territorial healthcare insurance plan administrators who work with their respective physician groups, and across jurisdictions, to identify a set of services that each jurisdiction accepts as medically necessary insured service provided by physicians and in hospitals. This common set of services allows Canadians to have access to the same suite of services no matter where they live in the country.

Of course, each province and territory can cover additional services that are not universally insured across Canada. These services are only available as an insured service to the residents of that jurisdiction. In the NWT, we cover additional services such as eye examinations and rehab services, which are not services covered in other jurisdictions.

In cases of infertility, when an underlying medical condition is identified as the probable cause of the infertility, treatment of that underlying condition is covered under the NWT Healthcare Plan as an insured health service.

Where the cause of infertility is not readily known, these cases may be submitted to the Medical Advisor for review of the specifics of the case and decision. This process, referred to as 'prior approval,' is used in situations where detection and treatment of a potential underlying condition may be outside the Health and Social Services system's usual referral pathway or in circumstances that warrant further examination. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Returns to oral questions. Acknowledgements. Oral questions. Member for Hay River South.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I talked about detox beds and the importance of them in all communities, not only Hay River. You know, just before we came into the building here, I had a call from somebody who was, you know, asking me if I could take them to the health centre in Hay River because they wanted to detox. But whenever I -- you know, I've done it in the past, and whenever I do it, it's usually, you know, we don't have a bed, or they don't have -- they don't seem to have the qualified staff there. So we need a mechanism, I guess, whether it's through legislation or something to also be able to kind of hold a person, you know, for a number of days as we do with mental health to help them along to detox. But, Mr. Speaker, the question I have is for the Minister of health, and I'd like her to tell me how many dedicated detox beds are available in Hay River. Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister responsible for Health and Social Services.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would just like to start by saying that not everybody with addictions needs hospital-based detox. For example, somebody who has an opioid use addiction can be treated as an outpatient with an opioid antagonist therapy, which is a medication-based therapy. So there isn't a need in that case for someone to be in hospital. The really key time that people need hospital detox is in the withdrawal from alcohol which can produce life threatening symptoms. So the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority does not have dedicated detox beds, but they certainly can be made available when a health practitioner assesses the patient and decides that inpatient detox is the preferred option to take. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I appreciate that answer. However, you know, when somebody comes to me, and they ask me to take them somewhere, they want -- you know, they want to detox, you know, I've got to respond, and I've got to try and help them because it could be between -- you know, a matter between life and death. So, you know, to say that, well, not all people, you know, require a bed in the hospital to detox is maybe correct, and I agree there's other forms. But I think it's important that, you know, we have those places available. And I find that in the community we need them. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell me the number of staff available at the Hay River health centre who are actually qualified to deal with persons seeking detox support? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to thank the MLA for the engagement he has with this issue in his community. I'm very pleased that he gets calls directly and can provide the information that he has and I'm providing. So there are -- all frontline registered nurses are qualified to administer and support medical detox under the direction of a physician, and that applies to opioids and alcohol. So the starting point is to go to the health centre and to be assessed for the substance that the person wants to detox from, and the process then rolls from there. There are always registered nurses at the health centre who can provide this assistance. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, again, I appreciate that answer. You know, I understand that there are staff there. I understand they all have qualifications. But at the end of the day when somebody goes in there, they don't only need medical treatment; they also need, you know, support from counsellors as well. And because what I find is that it's difficult sometimes for a person to actually stay there. They're looking for ways to leave the facility. And I know we can't stop them, but I think if we have people there to provide that support, they may stay. So, Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell me if the department has dedicated detox beds on its radar for Hay River, and if not, will she make a commitment to reviewing it and making it a priority. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there is a gap in our continuum of service which relates to people who are ready for detox and facility-based treatment to have a place, a safe place to live while they retain -- regain their sobriety and move forward with counselling and the application form to get into facility-based treatment. So what I would say about this is that the hospital is one possibility, but there needs to be a community-based possibility as well where people have a safe place to stay where they can access counselling, where they can use whatever therapy has been prescribed to them. And this is something that I think maybe exits is in Yellowknife but not anywhere else in the territory. So it's certainly an area that needs strengthening which we need to look at. Thank you