Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister responsible for Infrastructure.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker -- and the Member is correct. I mean, we've been going back and forth since the beginning, perhaps this Assembly, where the Member's been wanting to do dredging in the community. I went and met with the community members with both the MLAs, had good feedback. It was a room full of people with, you know, really strong interests in dredging. So as a result of that, we put some proposal together. We met with the federal Ministers, and you know, really stressed how important this project is. So the Member's asking where we are with this. We have permits in place. We can dredge until October 7th. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I'd thank the Minister for that response. And I guess since we lost three or four weeks here, will we be able to accomplish the scope of work that was set out in the RFP, or are we going to have to come back to this next season? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, so far we're doing good. We're on track. Yes, we did have some delays at the beginning during the fire season. So, you know, I -- we have until October 7th. The contractor's on -- you know, on site. So I am hoping that we can be able to get most of the work done this year. You know, I did apply for a five-year proposal for this work. So hopefully, you know, we're able to continue year after year for the next five years. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd ask the Minister, considering that we've had much lower water levels in the Hay River I guess and in the lake as well to the point that where we had people actually, you know, from the K'atlodeeche, ride bicycles across. That's how bad it was. So with these lower water levels, are we going to be looking at an extended area that's going to be requiring dredging beyond what we're doing? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we will return next season to be able to accomplish some of the work. We have kind of a mapped out of the river. So we are looking into it, and just to be able to assess what we've done now, where our next steps are. And I'd be happy to share an update with the Member in terms of what our plans are because we do have plans in place, I just don't have it right in front of me right now, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Hay River South.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yeah, I just wanted to do these off the cuff here to make sure that I was satisfied that the Minister was up to speed on this file, and she seems to be. So I guess I would -- and a good thing is that I hear that we are looking at -- looking for funding or support from the federal government, I think, for ongoing harbour maintenance, and I just want to make sure that, you know, that we don't let off on that and that the Minister keeps after the feds for that because we've got -- we've got a fairly big harbour there, and there's a lot more work to do. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yes, of course. I mean, you know, we look -- continuously look at the feds help. I mean, really, we ask for their participation and, you know, some of the work that's done, and I think we will continue -- we will continue. I don't think about it. We're going to continue to look for federal funding for harbour restoration. I take the dredging work back, it's harbour restoration. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

I just got in under the gun. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to finish off my questions that I had for the Minister of housing. Can you tell me how many housing units -- Housing NT units in Inuvik that are sitting empty currently? Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Minister responsible for Housing NWT.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I know this House, the Member -- or the Minister has stated that there are units in Inuvik that they were planning on selling off because they needed to get them -- move them off the land that they currently are on. They have been disconnected from the utilidor system. The Minister's very aware of this. When would the -- when would you be selling off these units to make room for new units? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Right now, we do have units that are sitting empty. According to what I've received from housing, is that we have three units that are vacant, two of which were allocated to the housing authority yesterday, and the remaining seniors' units should be allocated in the next coming days. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Colleagues, our time for oral questions has expired. Written questions. Returns to written questions. Replies to the Commissioner's address. Petitions. Reports of committees on the review of bills. Reports of standing and special committees. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, your Standing Committee on Social Development is pleased to provide its report on Bill 75, Council for Women and Gender Diversity Act.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Member for Great Slave, that Committee report 72-19(2), Standing Committee on Social Development report on Bill 75: Council for Women and Gender Diversity Act, be deemed read and printed in Hansard in its entirety. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Member for Kam Lake, we'll need a different seconder.

read it all over again? Okay, thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, your Standing Committee on Social Development is pleased to provide its report on Bill 75, Council for Women and Gender Diversity Act.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, that Committee report 72-19(2), Standing Committee on Social Development Report on Bill 75: Council for Women and Gender Diversity Act, be deemed read and printed in Hansard in its entirety. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. 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 is deemed read.

---Carried

Introduction

Bill 75: Council for Women and Gender Diversity Act (Bill 75) received second reading on March 9, 2023 and was referred to the Standing Committee on Social Development (Committee) for review. Bill 75 repeals and replaces the Status of Women Act (Act). In 2018, the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) initiated a review of the Act to modernize language, provide clarity, meaning and strengthen the Act overall.

Based on the results of the review, the GNWT proposes legislative amendments to the Act that allows the Status of Women Council to continue as the Council for Women and Gender Diversity; clarify roles and responsibilities of the Minister, Council for Women and Gender Diversity, and the Gender Equity Division; modernize language; promote inclusivity; clarify the composition and member term limits; re-define legislative objects and powers; and include a purpose statement of the Act.

Committee Members were keen to review Bill 75, and upon review, are concerned that the legislative amendments to advance gender equity and achieve gender equality amongst women and girls, and 2SLGBTQIPA+ in the Northwest Territories (NWT) are not achieved. Committee Members, the Status of Women Council, and Northern Mosaic Network shared that barriers to gender equality go beyond gender, and include other parts of a person's identity, like the expression of gender; sexuality; ethnicity; age; disability; political status; employment status; and/or geographic location (living in a small community versus a regional centre or Yellowknife).

Committee Considered Public Input

Committee sought public feedback on Bill 75 with a public notice and targeted engagement letters. Committee received a written submission from Northern Mosaic Network. The written submission is included in an Appendix to this report.

Public Review

Committee held a public review of Bill 75 on June 28, 2023. At that meeting, Committee heard remarks from the Minister Responsible for the Status of Women Council (Minister), and asked questions to the Minister regarding the lack of definitions for key terms like, “gender equity” and “gender equality,”; the lack of a preamble; the lack of reference to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls; the lack of reference to other entities in the NWT that are working to advance gender equality; lack of core funding mechanisms for those entities; appointment of council members; and diversity of Board Member of representation.

Committee also heard from the Status of Women Council including Board Members Rita Arey, Board President, Beaufort-Delta Region; Shelley Browne, Board Member, North Slave Region; Dora Minoza, Board Member, South Slave Region; Delphine Pierrot, Vice President, Sahtu Region; Anna Pontikis McLeod, Board Member, Deh Cho Region; and Sophie Lubet, Executive Director. Status of Women Council Board Members and Executive Director highlighted the need for collaboration with other entities working to advance gender equality; concerns about the lack of definitions of key terms; the need for a preamble; concerns that the stated purpose falls short on addressing critical issues; and desire to retain the name of the original Act.

Committee Cannot Endorse The Gnwt Approach At This Time

Committee is of the view that Bill 75's legislative amendments do not go far enough to meet the needs of stakeholders to support gender equity and achieve gender equality for women, girls and 2SLGBTQIPA+ in the NWT.

Committee is unequivocally committed to gender equity and gender equality for women, girls and 2SLGBTIPA+ among all persons regardless of their expression of gender; sexuality; ethnicity; age; disability; political status; employment status; and/or geographic location. Committee believes that taking an intersectional approach and acknowledging the ways that different aspects of a person's identity can overlap and create compounding experiences of discrimination is imperative to breaking down barriers to gender equity and gender equality. In addition, these unique experiences must be understood in an NWT context.

Robust engagement with Indigenous governments, non-governmental organizations and NWT residents are required to inform the development of inclusive and meaningful legislative amendments for future. Trauma-informed and culturally safe engagement facilitation is key as many women, girls and 2SLGBTQIPA+ have faced discrimination. Accordingly, future legislative amendments should be written in plain language through trauma-informed and cultural safe lenses. Committee heard clearly that legislation must be accessible and easily understood. Committee believes that this approach will foster sincere collaboration and relationship development Indigenous governments, nongovernmental organizations and NWT residents.

Finally, the NWT is unique in its population, geography and social landscapes. Future legislative amendments must be made with in-depth knowledge of the mandate, goals, and capacity of territorial non-governmental organization partners. The GNWT must work in collaboration with important partners, such as the Status of Women Council and Northern Mosaic Network, to honour differences and at the same time advance gender equity.

Conclusion

On September 21, 2023, Committee held a clause-by-clause review2. Based on stakeholder concerns, Committee passed a motion to report Bill 75 to the Legislative Assembly as not ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole. This concludes Standing Committee's review of Bill 75: Council for Women and Gender Diversity Act

Reports of standing and special committees. Member for Kam Lake.