Please be seated. Colleagues, I'd like to thank Evelyn Parry for the opening guiding words.

Colleagues, before we get going, I'd just like to reiterate that during question and answer period, if we could be succinct with our questions and succinct with our answers that would be greatly appreciated moving forward. Thank you.

Ministers' statements. Mr. Premier.

Mr. Speaker, today marks the 80th Anniversary of D-Day. The landing at Normandy was a turning point of the Second World War. As Premier, and as a Canadian, I honour the sacrifice of all those who served in this war, the ultimate sacrifice of all those who lost their lives in the conflict, and the memory of the veterans who have passed on in the years since. While I was not able to join the Canadian delegation for the commemoration ceremony taking place at Juno Beach today, I am grateful for the efforts of all participating nations to ensure the lessons learned through the last Great War, and through the individual sacrifice of so many, are never forgotten.

NWT residents have long served in similar capacities, through times of peace and conflict, and today I wish to honour our own veterans, as well as our friends and neighbours who are currently serving, including those stationed at Joint Task Force North and with the Canadian Rangers. While many veterans are no longer with us, the memory of their service and sacrifice echoes through generations. May that remembrance continue to guide us. Lest we forget. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Ministers' statements. Minister of ITI.

Mr. Speaker, art is powerful, and art is beautiful, but it is far more than a thing of beauty. Art is a personal, local, and global connector. It connects people to themselves, to one another, and to people living across the world. Further, it connects us to culture, land, and elders and it is critical to our well-being and to our shared and individual histories. Art is a conduit of healing. Art is foundational to how we educate our children, preserve traditions, feed community wellness, and build a strong and independent territory.

The arts sector plays a valuable role in the NWT, not only for its own sake but also by upholding a diverse economy that provides artists with employment choices and income opportunities. With such a vast territory, artists are supported across all disciplines, from fine craft to jewelry, from spoken and written word to film productions, all of which are enjoyed by residents and visitors alike.

As part of our mandate, this government committed to making GNWT programs and services more accessible to NWT residents through person-centered approaches that prioritize ease of access for residents over ease of administration. The decision to realign the various programs that serve the arts sector so that they are housed in one place, within the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment, is one way to deliver on this promise.

This action brings supports for NWT artists of all types under one department for a single point of contact rather than spread between staff at different departments. I expect this work to build more capacity to deliver arts programs and result in a better service experience for all artists. Artists will no longer need to navigate multiple government departments to access funding, resources, and assistance.

To ensure a smooth transition for artists and staff, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment along with Industry, Tourism and Investment, are developing a structured change management process that ensures the full transfer of knowledge and processes. The departments are committed to advancing this change with input from all staff while maintaining open communication.

Mr. Speaker, this shift excites me, not only as it creates an easy-to-access single-service window for resident artists but also because it allows the government to more effectively leverage the economic opportunities presented to the arts sector. The arts sector represents a significant component of the Northwest Territories economy. Cultural industries added up to over $100 million in gross domestic product in 2022. This number is likely an underestimate to the extent that some people involved in arts and culture do not formally identify as artists.

Promoting the arts within a unified voice is expected to create more opportunities for artists to showcase their creativity to the world. Indigenous artists are gaining recognition and demand worldwide as they reach new audiences and sell their work to new consumers online. The film sector, in particular, has great potential to bring the North to the world and the world to the North and shows the linkages between arts and tourism.

Partnerships between artists and the tourism sector can lead to innovative cultural experiences for visitors, while collaborations with the film industry can promote the NWT as a filming destination. Such strategic collaborations will maximize the economic and cultural impact of the arts sector in our territory, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, by placing supports for artists in one spot, our government is empowering our public service to provide flexibility to deliver programs and services that work for residents. I look forward to sharing more details on these changes later this year. As we move forward, let us reaffirm our commitment to championing our arts sector to reach its full creative, cultural, and economic potential. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of ITI.

Colleagues, before we get into the next Minister's statement, I'd like to recognize Major Karen Hoft and her husband Allan Hoft and welcome to our Assembly here. Thank you very much for being here.

Ministers' statements. Minister for Infrastructure.

Mr. Speaker, I recently had the opportunity to address the Northwest Territories Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists at their annual professional development symposium. The theme for this year's symposium was Building a Resilient North, which underscores a collective commitment to overcoming challenges and fostering innovative solutions for a sustainable future for residents. Today, I want to highlight the pivotal role that strategic infrastructure plays in securing the future prosperity of the Northwest Territories.

The strength of our economy and our future prosperity depend on reliable supply chains supported by critical infrastructure. This includes roads, rail lines, ports, ferries, pipelines, airports, and electricity transmission infrastructure, all essential for transporting goods, services, and materials to both domestic and international markets. As we build for tomorrow, it is crucial that we leverage the best standards, tools, and technologies to create infrastructure that meets both present and future needs.

With this in mind, the Government of the Northwest Territories is committed to maximizing federal funding to help close the infrastructure gap with investments in green power generation and transmission, transportation and communications networks. Transformative infrastructure projects such as the all-season Mackenzie Valley Highway, the expansion of the Taltson hydroelectric facility and airport updates and expansions are significant contributors to the stability of the NWT's economy.

Enhancing our all-season highway system remains a top priority. The Department of Infrastructure currently maintains 3,856 kilometers of highways, with nearly 2,500 of those kilometers being all-season roads half gravel and half chip seal or asphalt. Our road network includes 115 bridges, 247 bridge culverts, and more than 3,000 smaller culverts, as well as four ferry crossings. This summer, Infrastructure staff will be busy with over 20 roadway projects in various stages of completion, including access road construction, multiple highway development projects and bridge and culvert expansion and construction.

We are nearing the completion of phase one of the Prohibition Creek Access Road near Norman Wells, which will further strengthen our transportation system in additional to providing employment and training opportunities for Sahtu residents. During peak construction, the contractor hired 95 workers - 61 from the Sahtu and 12 from other Northwest Territories regions.

Mr. Speaker, we continue to advance strategic infrastructure projects such as the Mackenzie Valley Highway and the Slave Geological Province Corridor. Strong relationships with Indigenous governments and organizations are central to the success of these transformative projects, and we continue to work together on their advancement. The analytical phase of the Mackenzie Valley Highway environmental assessment is currently underway with technical and community information sessions anticipated this summer and fall. We remain on pace for a final report of an environmental assessment in 2025, and we also have extensive fieldwork and engagement planned for this summer, which will inform future regulatory applications for the Lockhart All-Season Road, the first phase of the Slave Geological Province Corridor project.

In addition to new roads, we are undertaking necessary repairs to cables on the Deh Cho Bridge and progressing the planning and design of highways, bridges and culverts including Dehk'e Frank Channel bridge replacement.

Mr. Speaker, waterways, like the Mackenzie River and Great Slave Lake, have long been vital for transporting people and goods. Despite challenges such as low water levels, Marine Transportation Services and the fuel services division are adapting and planning to ensure essential resupply to northern communities. The ongoing Hay River harbour restoration project is a testament to our commitment to maintain these crucial transportation routes. I am pleased to share that dredging operations began as scheduled on June 3rd, and approximately 80,000 cubic metres of sediment are expected to be removed from the harbour by mid-September.

Extreme weather events linked to climate change, including wildfires, floods, low water levels, volatile wind, wave action, and changing Arctic Ocean ice pack have interrupted the supply of fuel to communities in the Northwest Territories. In an effort to minimize the impacts of these supply interruptions, the GNWT continues to explore funding opportunities with Canada to increase bulk fuel storage capacity of diesel, aviation and gasoline fuels in Sachs Harbour, Ulukhaktok, and Paulatuk. These projects will be critical to modernize, improve, and expand fuel storage facilities and to mitigate risks to the environment and achieve code compliance and when completed, would allow for the storage of two years of normal fuel consumption in each community.

The future prosperity of the Northwest Territories hinges on our commitment to building and maintaining strategic infrastructure. Last year's evacuations and re-entries across the territory highlight the paramount importance of access and transport by air, road, and water. The GNWT's ongoing investment in transportation infrastructure aims to improve residents' peace of mind and quality of life, lower living costs, and support economic expansion and diversification. Thank you, Mr. Speaker you.

Thank you, Minister of Infrastructure. Ministers' statements. Members' statements. Member from Range Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when a person learns they have cancer, their world turns upside down. In just one moment, they find themselves in the fight of their lives. Thankfully in Canada, we have a universal public health care system that is always there to connect cancer patients with the medical professionals they need. Unfortunately, in the North, that connection of doctor to patient is a bit more complicated. We can't offer every specialized treatment that southern Canadians take for granted and when that's not ideal, the added travel for medical care is a fact of life for Northerners.

However, there's a growing trend of health and social services becoming too reliant on southern-based medical services instead of working to keep as many of those services available here as possible. This burdens more patients with medical travel, increases service delivery costs, and adds pressure on the cooperation between northern and southern medical systems. This is a recipe for disaster, Mr. Speaker, diminishing the quality of care and increasing stress on patients.

It should be no surprise, then, we have ended up in a dire situation that we are faced with regarding hematology oncology services. With apparently little notice, the services were suddenly relocated to Alberta effective May 1st forcing blood cancer patients to travel constantly in and out of the Northwest Territories for blood work and chemotherapy. I have been in contact with Range Lake constituents, including one suffering from multiple myeloma, who expressed the anxiety and strain that this has caused on her and her family. Apparently, this is because medical service providers in Alberta have grown concerned and frustrated with challenges to obtaining timely and accurate blood work from Yellowknife, coupled with an inability to access these results through the patient network. There are at least seven other Northerners suffering from multiple myeloma, and they have received no timeline as to when these services will be repatriated.

What are these patients left to do, Mr. Speaker, besides move out of their homes to be closer to the lifesaving treatment they need? Situations like these are urgent and require not only an immediate fix but also a serious review of the circumstances that have brought us to this place. I hope the Minister has a plan to support the well-being of cancer patients across the North. I'll be asking her that later today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Members' statements. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to congratulate the 2024 High School Graduating Class of the Inuvik East Three Secondary School. Mr. Speaker, this year's ceremony is extra special for me as my son will be among the graduating class.

I would like to thank the incredible staff at East Three Secondary School, and I would like to congratulate the families and mentors who have helped the grade 12 students accomplish this milestone in their lives. Mr. Speaker, there are 27 students graduating this year, and they are:

• Andy Albert
• Livia Amos
• Kira Bretana
• Kaycee Campbell
• Jared Day
• Mila Eldridge
• Isabel Firth-Gruben
• Sienna Gordon
• Hope Gordon-Thrasher
• William Inglangasuk
• Tamara Kaglik
• Kaylyn Kayotuk
• Derek Lennie-Ipana
• Zaiden Maring
• Symantha McCarthy Adams
• Rowan McInnes
• Tatum Mistaken-Chief
• Dreydan Natsie
• Chase Nogasak
• Sami Rahman
• Will Rodgers
• Bianca Rogers
• Alexandria Ruben
• Charlie Snowshoe
• Connor VanLoon
• Race Vittrekwa-Blake
• Rylan Wainman

Mr. Speaker, I, again would like to congratulate all these students. I'd like to let the Speaker know and the House that I will be absent from the House tomorrow to travel home to Inuvik to attend the ceremony and give an address to the students on Saturday, June 8th. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Members' statements. Member from Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am concerned about the cost of food in my riding. Access to healthy nutritious food is essential for everyone. Nutrition North is a program of the Government of Canada in 2011 and replaced the food mail program. The Nutrition North program provides subsidy to retailers and wholesalers for the overall cost of food which is transferred to the customer when they purchase eligible items. It does not subsidize the transportation of food yet, Mr. Speaker. We know the transportation of food is a significant cost to stocking grocery store shelves in the NWT.

In my riding, Aklavik is eligible year-round for subsidization under Nutrition North; however, Fort McPherson and Tsiigehtchic are eligible only during periods of seasonal isolation. Yet, Mr. Speaker, in order to supply food to the grocery stores in my communities, it first has to travel 3,200 kilometers from Edmonton to Inuvik. This is the longest food supply road network anywhere in Canada. And from Inuvik, it still has to get to the Mackenzie Delta communities.

Food is expensive, and yet many residents in my region are on income support. The average family in my riding earns $50,000 less than the average NWT family. Paying for nutritious, healthy food is essential to our well-being, and this is something that many families can't afford in my region.

In the mandate of the 19th Assembly, the government said that it will work with the Indigenous and community governments to make recommendations for improvement to the Nutrition North program. The Legislative Assembly also approved a motion for the GNWT to create a food security strategy. I will have questions for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment later. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Mackenzie Delta. Members' statements. Member from Monfwi.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'll do this in Tlicho for the intro.

[Translation] 62@9:30

[Translation Ends]

Mr. Speaker, June is the month of high school graduations. On behalf of the Tlicho region, I want to congratulate all students graduating high school, especially those graduating from Chief Jimmy Bruneau school in Edzo, Mezi Community School in Whati, and Jean Wetrade School in Gameti.

Mr. Speaker, I believe that in general, all youth who graduate high school likely had good attendance throughout their schooling. It is sad that our territorial budget for some schools is decreasing due to low attendance rate. We had this attendance issue before COVID. We know that many families are still dealing with the trauma from residential school. Some hesitate to send their children to school. To overcome this fear, our government and school system must break free in colonialism and move forward. We were forced; now it is our choice.

Mr. Speaker, the only job for young people is to be in school, learn new things every day, and work hard to pass and move to the next level. With good attendance, there are many opportunities for people. With good attendance, a child can learn to read by grade 2 or earlier. But in the NWT, especially small communities, the literacy statistics are not good. This is at least partially due to poor attendance.

Mr. Speaker, we have good schools and staff in the NWT who work hard for students to achieve. Teachers are invaluable with special skills to teach youth every day. Elementary school gets young people ready for junior high. Junior high gets them ready for high school. And after high school, it's about growing and experiencing --

Member from Monfwi, your time is up.

Can I have unanimous consent to conclude my statement? Thank you.

---Unanimous consent granted

Life after high school is a choice young people must make, whether to pursue higher education, training, work, living life off the grid, or to travel, but travelling requires money to pay for the trips.

Mr. Speaker, according to the statistics, between 2017 to 2021, small community attendance rates for grade 9 dropped by 10 point from 79 to 69, an even bigger decline is between 2012 to 2021 where small community attendance rate for grade 6 dropped by 21 points from 89 to 68 percent. That is an alarming rate. These are extremely trouble --

Member from Monfwi, your time is up.

I will have questions for the Minister of ECE.

Thank you. Thank you, Member from Monfwi. Member from the Sahtu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. In my absence in the last couple of days there, I had the privilege and wonderful opportunity of attending the youth workshop in Tulita sponsored by the Sahtu Secretariat. Life promotion and harm reduction was the theme of the conference, and to listen to the youth, or the future of our territory. Developing our self-independence is fundamentally critical as defining the cultural values and beliefs.

Mr. Speaker, in the Northwest Territories living this reality is visiting and spending time in reference to the small communities. The reality of cost of living far outweigh the recreational and economic opportunities in remote areas of our Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, the last two days I attended the youth workshop and experienced many discussions of those small communities and the challenge facing them in particular in today's society where there's so many addictions and temptations. Mr. Speaker, the Sahtu Secretariat took the lead in addressing the drug addictions by sponsoring this regional leadership addictions gathering in Fort Good Hope in early May last month. In recognition that there's a missing gap, leaders sponsored the youth workshop in Tulita so the audience and the gathering and the population is all attributing to the developments of the regional strategy.

Mr. Speaker, integral to addressing the drug addictions crisis we're experiencing, support and resources to implement the development strategy is one that's going to really make a difference.

Mr. Speaker, as quoted by Winston Churchill, we make a living by what we get but we make a life by what we give. This institution, with the design of this room as a healing circle, stands for a model to support today's society, in particular investment in our youth, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi cho for sharing the time for me to address. Mahsi.

Thank you, Member from the Sahtu. Members' statements. Member from Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I want to speak about renewable diesel, which is a very promising clean energy technology that could be a game changer in reducing our greenhouse gas emissions and in helping us keep up with the global shift away from fossil fuel technologies.

Roughly 80 percent of NWT emissions come from the use of diesel. Transportation, particularly transport trucks and mining equipment, account for almost half of our emissions. And it's just not realistic to think that we could ever electrify all transportation routes across our remote communities and remote mines in the North.

The GNWT commissioned a modelling study last year which found that if the NWT wants to set a goal of net zero, biofuels will be absolutely necessary to get us there. So what is renewable diesel?

To be clear, it's not the same as bio diesel. Renewable diesel is diesel made from vegetable oils and fats. It can be used in any existing diesel engine, furnace, or boiler; you simply drop it in. No retrofits, no need to buy new equipment or vehicles. You can also blend it in any proportion with conventional diesel fuel. So you can start gradually mix in small amounts and every little bit helps to reduce emissions.

It was first developed in the 1990s in Finland, and an Arctic grade has already been for sale in Finland since 2016 that can be stored down to minus 40. Global mining companies are also looking to this technology. De Beers is committed to be carbon neutral across all of its operations by 2030, and it has specifically committed to explore renewable diesel.

Renewable diesel does cost more than conventional diesel but if we compare it to other renewable energy projects we've already undertaken, the cost per ton of reduced emissions is two to eight times lower than solar, LNG, wind, or hydro grid expansion. The cost has been high because there's been very little production and little demand but in early of this year, in early 2024, Canada's first renewable diesel refinery opened in Prince George, BC, and another is planned for Strathcona, Alberta. Mr. Speaker, I ask for unanimous consent to conclude my statement; I'm almost finished.

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the Yukon government is already planning pilot projects to evaluate renewable diesel for transport, heating, and power generation by 2025. If we joined with them and other partners, such as large mines, we could create enough demand to start the renewable diesel energy revolution in the North. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Members' statements. Member from Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We all agree housing is a challenge and sometimes we have to face the facts that we need to start doing things different by being innovative. Mr. Speaker, we cannot wait for others. That's the hallmark for failure. I say to the GNWT, to the Premier, it's time to be bold and innovative because if politicians are acting like bureaucrats, you know, who's leading the public service?

Mr. Speaker, let's be fearless and be bold. Let's shake the system up and break free of this mediocrity. Mr. Speaker, stop pumping the brakes on innovation. I'm going to give two examples of how we can change the narrative or the story of housing here in the Northwest Territories.

For example Rockhill, back in October 2018, burned to the ground. It's an unfortunate experience that affected 13 families. Mr. Speaker, that property has essentially sat vacant for years. I say let's think outside the box. With some conditions based on public good, Mr. Speaker, I say give the property away. Let's be innovative. Let's create proposals and tell industry to come forward. Create an opportunity for people who do design of buildings, create homes, gives opportunities for families to live safely and grow. How could we do this? We could say things like, for example, in our proposal, you must show public good, you must demonstrate a certain amount to, say, public rent that's targeted at people with low incomes. Again, social responsibility. Let's not miss opportunities. That property has been emptied or flat and ready to go for at least the last five years. People want that property, Mr. Speaker, to build homes. There's our chance.

Mr. Speaker, the second idea -- and I want to stress not in isolation without consultation -- the GNWT could swiftly change its rules by eliminating permitting fees for buildings. And I say that because other areas in Canada have waived permit fees to stimulate the economy.

The other aspect is automatic approvals. Mr. Speaker, I've got a lot more to say on this one, but time runs quickly on the Member's statement. But the important part is we need to set up conditions that work to get people building. If a building or property is designed that meets engineering and architectural and, of course, municipal zoning bylaw rules, it should be automatically approved.

Mr. Speaker, these are just fresh ideas, but they're not new ideas. Let's be exciting and reach out and solve some of our housing problems by being part of the solution, not part of the problem. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Members' statements. Member from Kam Lake.

Happy Birthday to Jackson. Members' statements.

Colleague, you know every once and a while, you find a person that loves a job and stays there for their whole career. I had a constituent from Fort Liard that did that. Mrs. Corinne Sassie had spent more than 35 years of dedicated service to the youth of Fort Liard at the Echo Dene School. I can imagine that she is looking forward to her well-deserved retirement. As the principal said, she leaves behind a legacy of unwavering commitment to education, her culture and tradition.

When you look at someone's employment story, you get a good picture of who that person is. Corinne began as a student support assistant at the Echo Dene School where her deep dedication to the academic and personal growth of every student she worked with is evident. Over the years, she passionately pursued opportunities within the school, eventually rising to the role of Indigenous language educator. In this role, she was instrumental in preserving and revitalizing the Dene Zhati language, ensuring the cultural heritage remained an integral part of our educational experience.

Throughout her career, she touched the lives of countless students, colleagues, and community members with her warmth, knowledge, and tireless advocacy for the Indigenous language and culture. I can tell you her contributions have left an indelible mark on Echo Dene School and the community, which has helped shape the educational landscape for future generations to come.

Colleagues, her impact extends far beyond the walls of the Echo Dene School. In the community, she has fostered cultural pride and identity among the students, providing vital mentorship and support services. Regionally, her efforts have led to a greater recognition and respect for the Dene language and culture, creating a more inclusive learning environment for students across the region. Territorially, she has championed Indigenous education policies and practices, addressed systemic barriers and injustices faced by Indigenous students.

As she embarks on her new journey, the whole community of Fort Liard, the Deh Cho region, and myself, we salute her remarkable contribution to education and the Dene culture. We wish her all the best and an enjoyable retirement and new adventures, knowing that her legacy of passion, dedication, and advocacy will continue to inspire us all. Again, I would like to thank her for her service to the youth, the community, and region. I hope to see you in Liard the next time I am there. Thank you, Colleagues.

Members' statements. Member from Deh Cho.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I see constituents in my riding struggling to put food on the table. In the 19th Assembly, the Government of the Northwest Territories committed to working with Indigenous governments and communities to make recommendations to improve the Nutrition North program. In 2021, the list of NWT communities eligible for the Nutrition North program increased by five, bringing the total number of communities in the NWT to 20.

Mr. Speaker, because the communities I represent are along the road system, we are not eligible for the subsidy or grant programs under the Nutrition North program. In 2018, the bureau of statistics showed that 26 percent of households in Fort Providence and 14 of homes in Enterprise are worried there's not enough money to pay for food.

Mr. Speaker, we also know income is the biggest determinant of food security. If residents in the NWT do not have enough money to pay for food, what subsidies or other financial relief can be provided to help them feed their families?

My concern, Mr. Speaker, is that the communities in my riding cannot access federal support programs to reduce the cost of living. There is support available through the federal government, but it's out of reach for my constituents. Is the GNWT advocating to the federal government to consider more NWT communities for eligibility under the Nutrition North program? How is the GNWT working with Indigenous leadership to address food security in the NWT? I will have questions for the Minister of ITI later today. Thank you.

Thank you, Member from the Deh Cho. Members' statements. Returns to oral questions. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member from Range Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to recognize one of my constituents, Nancy Bies, who not only a Range Lake constituent but a multiple myeloma survivor, and I'll be asking questions on her behalf today and the others who are suffering from that disease in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Recognition of visitors in the gallery.

For those other visitors here, we thank you very much for coming to your House and allowing us to represent you here today.

Recognition of visitors in the gallery. I just got a little note. Colleagues, including myself, please slow down; sorry about that.

Acknowledgements. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife North.

Sorry, go on to the next. My computer just died.

Okay. Member from Range Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister of health clarify the rationale behind Alberta Cancer Care's requirement that all blood cancer patients from the NWT travel to Alberta for blood work and treatment? Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in April, we were notified by Alberta Health Services that effective May 1st that they would no longer be providing virtual care and allowing for the hematology oncology patients here in Yellowknife to do their blood work. Under the standard of practice, they felt that their patients weren't being able to be serviced virtually, and so they made the decision to have all of the patients have to go to Alberta and be serviced through their oncology department. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It should come at no shock to anyone that this is a huge imposition on people who require this care. It's stress inducing. It is jeopardizing their health further potentially to make these trips. So what measure is the Minister taking to address the concerns raised by blood cancer patients regarding this anxiety, exposure to potential germs, and logistical challenges, and possible job losses associated with frequent travel to Alberta for cancer care? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, first of all, I want to, you know, say to the Member I -- as soon as I found this out, this was a priority, this was something that I brought -- made sure that I had all the information as to what happened and to direct the department to come up with what the resolution is, and I hear the Member. I don't believe that it's -- you know, and I've heard from constituents and other constituents of other Members that, you know, this is not a sustainable -- for them already having to go through cancer treatment and going through this process, adding on having to travel, some of them -- and everybody is different -- weekly, this is not sustainable for anybody. And so that I made sure the department has come up with a plan. The plan is to work with Alberta Health because they are the drivers of what needs to be put in place, and that is being done right now with the department and Alberta Health Services. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I want to acknowledge the Minister has been responsive to my constituent and the other constituents as well. Is this -- I'd like to know more of the detail of work with -- is this bringing an oncologist to the North? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think what it is is there are approximately -- there is about 50 residents that are impacted and 11 residents receiving active cancer care. All of their plan of cares are different and so what the ask is that because of the -- I mean, and we've all heard it in this House -- the process of transferring blood work and records down to Alberta Health Services, well, their system doesn't speak to our system. That way the oncologists don't have the information because when we send it down to them, it's not being entered into their system on a timely manner. So what they've done is they've asked to increase -- to have a dedicated hematology oncology and to have a dedicated oncology nurse for this program in order for it to be able to resolve the issue and then come up with a plan in how to make sure that we're running it again in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Final supplementary. Member from Range Lake.

Thank you. That sounds like what we need and what we're looking for. What is the timeline for this plan, Mr. Speaker?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And this is the question that I keep asking the department, what is the timeline. This is what I heard from your constituent, from my constituents, is I can't sustain doing this. We cannot -- and, you know, put aside the medical travel, it's the -- like, the things that you said, the things that -- you know, the stress of having to travel, you know, the -- some people are still working and trying to do this, so there is recruitment, so, you know, the Alberta Health will have to recruit an oncologist and then we will have to recruit an oncology nurse here in the territory to support that oncologist to ensure that this program is up and running again. I have asked to have it done as soon as it can be done, but I cannot push Alberta Health Services on how fast they can go. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife North.

Thank you for everyone's patience and to Mr. Speaker. So my questions are for the infrastructure Minister. Has the Minister looked into what the Yukon is doing in terms of piloting renewable diesel and considered possibilities of working together with the Yukon to get a pilot project off the ground here in the NWT? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Minister of Infrastructure.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in fact, I have actually reached out myself to my counterpart in the Yukon, Mr. Striker. We had a brief exchange on what efforts they might be engaged in with respect to renewable diesel. They so far have run into similar challenges as we have here in the Northwest Territories, which is, for one, not being able to find Arctic grade to do a pilot on or when we find it, for a small volume, it is extremely expensive. That said, obviously, Mr. Speaker, if we can band larger numbers together, it would be easier, and so Minister Striker and I, I expect, will speak again about this at EMMC, which is the Energy Mine Ministers of Canada Conference later this summer. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Has the Department of Infrastructure been in touch with potential suppliers, such as the new Tidewater Refinery in Prince George, or Imperial Oil which is starting their refinery in Strathcona, to better understand current supply and pricing for different grades but also to explain the potential in the NWT in terms of our market and our needs? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there has been outreach to a number of different suppliers. There was an effort, in fact, to run a pilot as I alluded to in my last response. But in terms of exactly which suppliers they've reached out to, I don't have a list in front of me. I can say again, though, that the challenge was, firstly, not even being able to find any supplier. If there are new supplies available, we can certainly go back, make sure that we do have the latest information. I'm happy to commit to do that and to report back. Again, I know I have followed up with the department actually quite recently and the challenges were still the same, which is what I heard from the Yukon. If there's new options, again, I'll commit to make sure that we are up to speed on the latest availability. Thank you.

Okay, and thanks for that. I mean, recognizing some of the challenges, has the Minister had any conversations with the federal government regarding both the potential to fund renewable diesel projects or ways to incentivize the production of Arctic grade renewable diesel? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I certainly have not had those kinds of conversations with the federal government, Mr. Speaker, nor do I -- nor can I say, really, how receptive they would be. The direction that we seem to be getting of late on areas when we do try to push the federal government for some awareness of the continued need for diesel in the Northwest Territories, in the North in general, tends to not be one that is received very favourably. So certainly can look at an opportunity to bring that forward, noting the realities of the North and noting the fact that some form of diesel is still going to be around here for quite a long time in terms of our redundancy if nothing else. So thank you.

Thank you, Minister of Infrastructure. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So has the department had discussions with De Beers or other mining companies about the potential for renewable diesel pilot projects in the NWT? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier, as was mentioned earlier in this government, the Member actually had put us in a room together with a number of folks who are in this space, and it came up that De Beers was looking at this, so we have -- the department has reached back out to them. I understand that while that may have fallen off the radar for De Beers, there's been some further conversations now with some of their folks. So as I said earlier, if there's a larger coalition able to look for Arctic grade -- not just winter grade and definitely not summer grade, but Arctic grade -- it may be that we can, A, find some and, B, find some at a better price. So we will continue those conversations with De Beers, possibly other large mines. I'll certainly commit to reporting back to the Member on that once we had a sense of whether the situation on this area has changed or not. Hopefully it has. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of Infrastructure. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my statement I talked about trying to be innovative, exciting, and maybe even in some ways courageous about trying to find housing solutions. I did point to two different types of Ministers, which is, you know, one could be municipal and certainly one could be housing. But I think I'm going to go to my favorite Minister today which would be the Minister of housing. I'm saying today.

So that said, Mr. Speaker, I'm going to focus in on the area of my statement that talked about Rockhill. Mr. Speaker, the reason I specify that and this particular Minister is pulling the land titles, which I'm creating economic development -- I just spent the four bucks to get the title -- Mr. Speaker, it says NWT Housing Corp or Housing NWT owns the property. Mr. Speaker, does the department have any particular plans with the property at this very moment? Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Minister responsible for Housing NWT.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member for the question. Housing NWT does have plans for the property. They're working with a local NGO, and they've leased the property for the next few years with the local NGO. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, as I pointed out, in October 2018 there was that tragedy of the fire -- sorry, not tragedy as someone died but the sadness of the fire in general. 33 families have been without a home, Mr. Speaker, and I bet it's been at least five years it's been, say, construction ready in the sense of once it was cleaned.

Mr. Speaker, would the Minister consider the options I proposed in my statement, which is be innovative, give the property away to industry, and have them create a social component that guarantees low cost of living for a certain element; in other words, create a public good opportunity and work with business to get a building built without delay? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Housing NWT is working with the NWT Disabilities Council on a project. They are working on a federal funding arrangement. NWT Disabilities Council is waiting on the proposal and the approval of the project. So we have to give it some time, but we're working in partnership with the NWT Disabilities Council. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And as Speaker, whatever way you describe it is perfect.

That said, Mr. Speaker, my concern is, and this is not a strike against the NWT Disabilities Council, but I would rather see an agency that's designed to create leasing and housing opportunities to the core as their primary business and focus. B, take the opportunity to create something.

So I'm asking the Minister would she perhaps revisit this issue? And I can talk to her more about it, but would she be willing to revisit this issue and maybe create -- we'll call it a partnership where industry works with the disabilities council, or other types of appropriate NGOs, so we get an effective company or organization that runs it that's designed this is their business and format. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd be happy to have that conversation with the Member, but I would not be able to revisit the issue until I talk to the NWT Disabilities Council and also to the president of the Housing NWT. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister responsible for NWT Housing. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife Centre.

Mr. Speaker, I would have obviously hoped for a yes, and I would have been fine as that my last question. But she did say something that did cause me some worry is, is there an agreement or contract or some type of formalization that they automatically get this property? Because I'm worried about not -- this being the first I've ever heard of it. And so if this has been worked behind the scenes, I'd like to know if this is formal, is there a contract, an agreement, that type of thing, or anything similar in place at this particular time? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And from what I've learned with Housing NWT, there is a term lease in place with the NWT Disabilities Council, and they have four years on that lease left. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister responsible for Housing NWT. Oral questions. Member from Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions will be directed to the Premier.

With the high cost of living in the Mackenzie Delta and throughout the Northwest Territories, in my region there's the community of Aklavik who's isolated year-round, and Fort McPherson and Tsiigehtchic are seasonally isolated. The Nutrition North program is set up to help the customer with the prices of food. There are news articles that highlight grocery stores are recording profits while many families in the NWT struggle with food insecurity. Has the GNWT advocated for increased reporting under the Nutrition North program? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Mackenzie Delta. Mr. Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will have to get back to the Member with that information. That could have occurred in the last government, but I don't have that information at my fingertips. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Premier explain what work is happening with the Indigenous governments to address the high cost of food in the NWT? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The GNWT has a number of food security programs that support Indigenous governments to help their members go out on the land. Through the anti-poverty fund, funds are distributed that go to food security programs often, often by Indigenous governments. The GNWT provides funding to schools, education bodies, to provide meals in the schools. I can provide the Member with a full list of all of our food security initiatives as well as the associated funding amounts, but I don't have that on hand right now. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I look forward to the list that's going to be provided. Can the Premier explain the status of the GNWT Food Security Strategy? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We're in the process of assessing all of the strategies that we have here in the Northwest Territories. We have a number of them. Some of them sit on shelves, and they can be very labour intensive to produce and sometimes they're forgotten about. So we are looking at ways to limit the number of strategies we have and be more strategic with that, and I will get back to the Member with an answer to his question. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Final supplementary. Member from Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Premier explain what supports are available to subsidize transportation costs for food in the North? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Once again, I'll have to get back to the Member on that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Oral questions. Member from the Sahtu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I mentioned in my statement, I had the wonderful opportunity in working and associating and interacting with the youth at the Tulita workshop. The ages were 14 to 18. My question to the Minister of Health and Social Services, and I know we've had some questions previous, but adding to that, in talking to the audience, which has recently spoke out, can the Minister supply youth -- identify and supply some information on youth support funding sources there? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from the Sahtu. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the community wellness and addiction recovery fund is an area where that can be targeted for youth. Also, we do have the community suicide prevention fund, and that can also be targeted to youths or adults in any communities. And those are currently taking proposals for programs. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thanks to the Minister for providing that knowledge. As we always say in the private sector, no funding, no projects. So my next question is can the Minister share her support on the -- once the SSI has developed the drug and addictions strategy for the region, is the Minister willing to support a post-meeting between SSI and her department to look at the implementation of this strategy? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yeah, Mr. Speaker, you know, with all of the work that I've been hearing from the Member that the Sahtu is doing to try to provide wellness and the workshops that they're doing and the collaborating that they're doing, I really commend them for that because, you know, we hear so many times that our leadership are not supporting our youth and our residents and, you know, here we are, we're trying to work together, and they're working together. So I really appreciate that. And, you know, I know that we have a bilateral coming up with SSI and, you know, I can -- if there's further things that they want to -- with they're moving forward with what they want, we do have the -- as a regional, as SSI is a regional government, they can provide for multi-year funding. So if they have an action plan, the community wellness and addiction recovery fund with the regional governments could apply for multi-year funding agreements to probably, you know, if they want to roll out what they want to target in their region. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister for Health and Social Services. Oral questions. Member from Deh Cho.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The GNWT mandate in the 19th Assembly identified that recommendations would be provided to the Government of Canada to make improvements on the Nutrition North program. Can the Minister commit to providing this House the recommendations that were provided to the Government of Canada for Nutrition North program? Mahsi. Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Deh Cho. Mr. Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'll see what I can dig up from the last Assembly and provide it to the Member. Thank you.

Thank you, and I look forward to that. Is the Minister aware of any further changes or improvements to the Nutrition North program to include other communities in the NWT? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the Nutrition North is, of course, a federal program and they are currently undergoing an internal review, and so I am not aware of any changes that they may be making as a result of that review, but I look forward to the results. Thank you.

Thank you. And the Nutrition North program also provides grants for harvester support and community food programs. But none of my communities are eligible for these programs. Has the GNWT advocated the Government of Canada to increase the eligibility of NWT communities for these grant programs? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will have to get back to the Member on if there's been any official level discussions on this. Thank you.

Final supplementary. Member from the Deh Cho.

Thank you. Can the Minister, Premier, describe how the GNWT's working with Indigenous leaders in my riding to address food security? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There haven't been formal conversations between myself and Indigenous leaders, but food security is obviously an issue across the North. At the Council of Leaders, there is very much an interest in the economy which, as was stated before, a good income goes a long way to ensuring food security, and so that's part of the interest in that area. But I look forward to having further conversations with Indigenous leaders on this. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Oral questions. Member from Monfwi.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just like what Mr. Hawkins said, to my favorite Minister, ECE, but housing is still my favorite. So, Mr. Speaker, so this is for the ECE. Mr. Speaker, as I said in my Member's statement, attendance rates in small communities for junior kindergarten to grade 12 is on the downward trend when you look at the data over the last ten years. Aside from COVID-19, can the Minister explain the reasons why school attendance rates are trending downward? Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Monfwi. Minister for Education, Culture and Employment. Yes, ECE.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, attendance has long been a concern for education bodies across the territory and have put in different mechanisms to try to address attendance over the years, but as the Member stated in her statement today, there is definitely a huge concern for attendance across the territory in today's world as well. And so this is really a situation and a challenge that is going to have to be addressed not only by teachers, principals, education bodies, but by communities as a whole and by a territory as a whole. Thank you.

Yes, thank you. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister explain what efforts that -- I mean, I'm going to -- her answer's going to be the same thing, but what efforts the Department of ECE has done over the years to help increase and maintain attendance rates of schools particularly in small communities? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, different education bodies have used different tactics because they see their challenges as being unique in communities across the territory. Many of our -- well, all of our schools have food programs to try and incentivize youth to come to school for that reason. Some education bodies send busses around the communities to pick students up from their home and bring them to the school. And, of course, teachers have come up with unique ways to try and incentivize attendance in schools and that could be anything from choosing subjects that are important to students. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister explain if the department has any plan moving forward to help increase attendance rates in schools, especially in the small community? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can confirm to the Member that this is a holding topic at meetings with the education bodies, with the chairs, across the territory and is frequently discussed. Mr. Speaker, I can also confirm for the Member that this is something that is very important to me because we can -- it doesn't matter how much money we invest in education, if students around attending school then we cannot improve our education outcomes as a territory. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Final supplementary. Member from Monfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Minister commit to provide more departmental resources to and work with closely with district education authorities and divisional education councils across the NWT to help increase attendance rates in small communities? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I commit to working with education bodies to understand how I can support their needs to improve attendance across the territory. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Oral questions. Member from Range Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this week, the Standing Committee on Social Development had received a presentation from an academic on universal basic income which was, I think, informative for many members. This is something I've long been supportive of. One way we could make it work in the Northwest Territories is through a resource dividend. This is something they do in Alaska, something that we could make work and have an easy way of funding and providing financial relief to everyone in the Northwest Territories. Is the Minister of Finance open to developing -- exploring this idea in this Chamber today? Thank you.

Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, if I'm understanding correctly I'm being asked if we would have a universal basic income, which a universal basic income means it's an amount paid to every single person regardless of their income status, regardless of their personal home household income, wealthy or otherwise, and that would then come from, of course, government coffers. So I just want to make sure that we're clear that universal basic income and guaranteed basic income are not necessarily the same thing. So let's start the conversation and make sure that we are talking about the same thing. Everyone, regardless of income, getting some money from the government, just because? Thanks.

I believe I'm being asked a question, Mr. Speaker, so I'll clarify. A resource dividend would be paid out to everyone in the Northwest Territories just like they have in Alaska. That's done through interest. Is the Minister willing to make changes to the heritage fund so we can extract interest from our investments and pay it out to Northerners? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If we want to have a discussion, that means questions back and forth. So, well, if we're going to do that, Mr. Speaker, right now, I think it's also well-known we have, really, three large diamond mines that provide all of the royalties in the Northwest Territories, one of which is on the verge of closure; the other two are staying open for now but it's been pretty clear, and said many times here, that that shelf life is coming due fairly quickly. So in terms of what we do with that resource income, firstly, it's not perhaps as big as I would like it to be. But, secondly, it is one of the very few owned source revenues that we have in it the Northwest Territories. Now as for what Alaska is doing, there's an awful lot of difference in terms of the regulatory space, political space, financial space, economic space, population space. So not sure that's going to be the right comparison. But if we want to take one of the few streams of owned source revenue of the Government of the Northwest Territories and just split it up into cheques for everybody, that is a much bigger conversation than just here. But I gather that that's where we're at. So I guess we'll have to see where the Member wants to go with that next. Thank you.

Well, the Minister -- thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister makes it seem like I want to give free money to everyone, and that's not the point here. The point here is to get a return on our investments. The heritage fund isn't working. It's been losing money for years. What's the Minister's plan to fix it? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So now we're onto the heritage fund. Mr. Speaker, the heritage fund, in it right now, I believe, has around $40 million. It's a fund that is, yes, meant -- well, it's meant to be where we put a portion of the resource revenues that we do get here in the Northwest Territories. It was never meant to be something that we would zero out or hand out dollars at a time or cheques at a time. There are jurisdictions in this country, for example Alberta, where they have at times of great wealth, due to their resource situation, essentially handed out money to residents, and there are different political beliefs as to the effectiveness of that as far as being a good use of public dollars. That is a much, again, larger political conversation in terms of whether that is an effective use of public funds to achieve the goals of equity and, you know, collective good, if that's a good way to ensure that people are having access to health care and education, which are done better on a large scale, or if, in fact, it should just go one by one by one.

Mr. Speaker, the heritage fund is coming up shortly in the Department of Finance. I don't know that it is losing money so that might be the response that I'll end with. Thank you.