The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Ministers' statements. Honourable Premier.

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Ministers' statements. Minister responsible for Lands.

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in May 2022 our government announced the merger of the Departments of Lands and Environment and Natural Resources. Post-devolution, the merger is an important step to evolve the resource management, regulatory, and security responsibilities that are linked but currently split between the two departments.

Mr. Speaker, we have been hard at work since May 2022. Leadership in both departments have worked with staff to develop the merger organization structure for the new department. In mid-November 2022, the high-level organization design was approved; and, on March 9th, the establishment policy for the new department was approved. Leaders continue to work with staff through workshops and information sharing sessions and regular engagements to make sure we collectively make the merger a success.

Managing change is crucial to maintaining a strong public service. To this end, we have contracted experts to help guide us through the first year of change. This process will create a resilient and focused organization ready to tackle the current and future priorities of our territory.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to announce that Dr. Erin Kelly will be the deputy minister of the Department of Environment and Climate Change. Dr. Kelly is highly qualified for the role, with 21 years of experience in the environmental science and management sector, including nine years of progressive leadership within the environment and natural resources directorate. Her extensive knowledge and dedication to public service makes her an ideal fit for the position.

Mr. Speaker, we want to ensure we get this right. That is why the merger will be moving forward in two phases. April 1st will conclude the first phase of the work to align complementary program areas within both departments. During phase two, the new department will continue to enhance organizational structures to make the best use of human and financial resources so that we provide the most efficient programs and services to the residents and organizations of the NWT. This work is intended to align with the government's renewal initiative.

Mr. Speaker, with change comes uncertainty but it also provides opportunity. As we build the Department of Environment and Climate Change, we will take every opportunity to create an organization which will connect this territory's land, water, air, wildlife, and forest resources and continue to strengthen our leadership on climate change. Thank you, Mr. Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Ministers' statements. Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment.

Caroline Wawzonek Yellowknife South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories Business Development and Investment Corporation, or BDIC, is excited about business development and digital transformation opportunities in the territory. As we shift to a digital economy where consumers are purchasing more goods and more services online, looking for e-commerce convenience and expecting vendors to personalize offerings, there is a greater need to support businesses to establish or increase their online presence. I am pleased to announce the introduction of the Accelerate Digital Adoption Projects for Tomorrow Fund, or ADAPT, at the BDIC.

The fund is a revamp of the BDIC's contribution program to assist businesses with digital adoption. This fund can be used in combination with the Canadian Digital Adoption Program, for a total of $5,000 to get online, increase online presence, boost e-commerce or digitalize operations. The federal Canadian Digital Adoption Program provides qualifying NWT small businesses with up to a $24,000 in grants and e-commerce advice to help businesses build their digital capacity. The Accelerate Digital Adoption Projects for Tomorrow Fund is designed to complement the federal funding program with up to an additional $2,600 available in grant funding for a total of $5,000. To deliver its mandate to help create and develop business enterprises in all industries and promote economic development in the Northwest Territories, the Business Development Investment Corporation is committed to finding ways to create value for entrepreneurs that are entering the digital market or expanding their digital presence. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Ministers' statements. Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife North.

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Lands is currently running an ad campaign on the benefits of leasing. And, Mr. Speaker, I want to talk about the main benefit of leasing, which is one we all tend to ignore in this territory, and the main benefit is that at the end of a lease, a lessor can take the land back, Mr. Speaker. And, in fact, in the Northwest Territories, not only do we take the land back, we require the lessee to tear down any structures and remediate the land, Mr. Speaker. And yet everyone I talk to who has a lease does not seem to think this is at all a possibility.

So, Mr. Speaker, we have to ask ourselves - are we actually going to take back any of the land and the structures that people live in under these leases? And, Mr. Speaker, if the answer to that question is no, there is a very simple and obvious solution. That is to give those people their land, Mr. Speaker, that we have no intention of actually taking back. And, Mr. Speaker, I believe it is time we get out of the leasing business.

Firstly, Mr. Speaker, I think we have to start with the hunters and trappers who are exercising a traditional right. I say the easiest and most simpliest solution here is to identify their cabins, give it to them in fee simple for a dollar, and leave them alone, Mr. Speaker. No more inspections.

However, Mr. Speaker, if we're not willing to do that, I think there is an elegant solution in some sort of tenure for Indigenous rights holders. May I suggest a 99-year lease for $1, and then we leave them alone, Mr. Speaker. And we might just have to accept that our pages and pages of lease guidelines aren't the best fit. Mr. Speaker, we're going to have to meet our hunters and trappers where they are. The reality is they have cabins that are sometimes within the hundred meter set back from the high watermark, Mr. Speaker, and we might just have to accept that, Mr. Speaker, and give them some sort of tenure for $1, Mr. Speaker, and stop charging them lease fees, stop charging them taxes, and stop taking them to collections.

Next, Mr. Speaker, once we are in community boundaries, why do we have any leases? The key role of community government is to set bylaws that speak to setbacks, the size of structures, and to administrate their land in community boundaries. It is time we take every single lease we have in the community boundaries and either give it to the community government or the individual who lives in that house. The GNWT needs to get out of the leasing business and stop doubling down on the benefits of leasing if our intention is to not actually take the land back at the end of the term. I'll have questions for the Minister of Lands. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Members' statements. Member for Great Slave.

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

Good afternoon, Mr. Speaker. It's good to be back in the House after the Spring Break, and I rise today to praise the efforts of young leaders in our territory. Over the last few months, youth from around the territory have been organizing and hosting summits in their communities. These gatherings brought future leaders together to discuss the challenges they all face, to learn from each other and experts, and to share their solutions and ideas for a brighter future. Gatherings have been held in Behchoko, Dettah, and Fort Providence, to name a few, and saw youth gather, not only from the NWT, but from the Yukon and Nunavut as well. Events involved traditional hand games, crafts, and drumming, as well as workshops on communication skills and mental and physical health and well-being. Youth had the opportunity to try new things and make new friends, building relationships that will last a lifetime; Relationships I know will be crucial when these young people take their seats in this House and at the consultation tables across the regions. These youth are our future, and it heartens me to see their strength and resiliency, to see them take the reins of their own destiny. For that, I want to thank everyone who helped organize these events that give voice and opportunity to the youth of the territory.

Mr. Speaker, it's no secret youth are facing challenges. The reports being tabled by the social development committee show that youth are crying out for help and want solutions and our government is failing them. Whether it is youth aging out of care, children trapped in the endless cycle of care which is akin to the trauma of the residential school system, boredom due to the lack of resources in communities, no youth psychiatric facility, and no youth treatment centre. Why do we have a Minister responsible for Youth when there appears to be little to no advocacy from them in this area?

Mr. Speaker, we need to invest in our youth. This means actually taking care of them and providing the resources they need. When Ministers tell me that a 16-year-old must find themself a new home or go to the overcrowded youth shelter that is barely funded by this government, it shows me that they don't care. And more devastatingly, Mr. Speaker, it tells the youth that they don't care, and that breaks my heart. We are role models. The youth are watching and learning what works, what doesn't, and whose needs are actually being met. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Great Slave. Members' statements. Member for Deh Cho.

Ronald Bonnetrouge Deh Cho

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it should be clear that the current bilateral water management agreement with Alberta is not an effective mechanism to protect our waterways. We have heard from the Minister that there have been two separate incidents at this oil sands mine between the 5.3 million litres of industrial waste spillover in February and then a separate incident where oil sands tailings ponds, with contaminants over the regulated guidelines, have seeped into the groundwater and surface water since May 2022. According to the news reports, the premier of Alberta has gone on record to state that the Alberta government, through the 2005 Bilateral Water Agreement, have no obligation to notify the Government of the Northwest Territories. Our ability to create stronger environmental protection mechanisms with other jurisdictions is very limited as noted with the current bilateral agreement.

Mr. Speaker, the impact to our watershed and aquatic life is at risk. Our way of life is at risk due to another jurisdiction's inactions to protect the waterways at all costs. The Alberta government do not believe that water is life and is sacred to the well-being of Indigenous nations that live on the waterways. The Indigenous nations have never been consulted nor have any meaningful consultations prior to the development of the tar sands for oil extraction. I will have questions for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources at the appropriate time. Mahsi.

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Deh Cho. Members' statements. Member for Monfwi.

Jane Weyallon Armstrong Monfwi

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Housing NWT has accumulated $16.5 million in arrears. Of that, $4.9 million is owed in mortgage payments. The role of Housing NWT is to provide safe and affordable housing to residents. It is not to set up people for failure, entering into mortgages with people only to evict them later because they cannot afford the mortgage.

Mr. Speaker, I have residents who renewed their mortgage with Housing NWT when it was clear they were unable to keep up with costs of that mortgage. I agree that we need to promote homeownership, but Housing NWT must consider a person's fiscal reality and enter into realistic contracts when doing this.

Mr. Speaker, Housing NWT has a collection policy that it does not appear to use.

I have seniors who are being told they need to renew a mortgage they cannot afford to renew when they receive a letter saying they are behind on their mortgage payment. We have Housing NWT refinancing mortgages with young adults in their 20s upon getting their first full-time job. This, again, is setting up our people for failure, Mr. Speaker.

The Government of the Northwest Territories needs to take responsibility and support our residents if Housing NWT mortgage arrears continue to grow. That means there is something wrong with the NWT Housing process for entering into mortgages or collecting payments or managing arrears. There is mismanagement on Housing NWT's side. This is not reflective of what residents need. Thank you. I will have questions for the Minister of housing. Thank you.