Debates of Oct. 28th, 2025

Okay, thank you. I'll take that as a comment. Okay, thank you.

Next on my list I got is the Member from Range Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So I've asked about this, you know, about AI policy for the government, and I happily see correspondence from the Minister's office on how we're managing AI usage as a government. But I'm wondering if we are in discussions or planning to incorporate that into our information technology, like our enterprise-wide information technology systems. Because, you know, we're seeing more and more movement in this space. It's currently driving global markets and, you know, potentially we're entering into a bubble. But, regardless, I think it's safe to say the technology is here to stay, and there's a lot of infrastructure being put into it to support it. So are we trying to find a pathway through this changing environment so we can incorporate the technology to drive efficiency, improve programs, and improve just government effectiveness around the provision of services to citizens in the near future? Thank you.

Thank you. I'm going to go to the Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So, obviously -- or I shouldn't say obviously. But just to be clear, there's nothing in these capital plans that speaks directly to incorporating AI in any of these proposed additions or systems, I mean, although not to take away from the fact that they are certainly bringing up and enhancing the technology. A lot of the focus of the capital investments for finance is really to be enhancing our technology capacity and the infrastructure that is technology and computer systems. But that said, Mr. Chair, I do want to note this is certainly -- it is, as the Member notes, certainly on my radar and on the radar of the senior officials that are with me. We were at the digital services FPT just a few weeks ago now where it is one of the areas that you hear a lot from other jurisdictions who are starting to look for AI tools to implement AI tools, and I can say we are following up with those colleagues. It's an area where larger jurisdictions have more -- you know, simply more human capacity and more technology capacity within -- even just within larger municipal centres. So we've -- you know, we are going to be looking and we already are looking to what we can do with Alberta for example, in British Columbia for example, but really a lot of jurisdictions were open to sharing some of what they had. Now, where it will go, I can't say at this early stage. Procurement Shared Services is kind of an early -- you know, early investigator, if you will. They are looking to see if there's a -- if they can adopt some of the AI tools that were presented to us. We are also looking with our centre for geomatics up in Inuvik and what they can do. But it really, at this point, is trying to -- you know, we have rolled out co-pilot for staff. That is the policy the Member was mentioning, but we now need to look at what is on offer from other jurisdictions that we can most easily adapt. I'll point it back to the capital estimates, though, that we do need to bring some of our own systems up to date to be able to integrate those tools. Thank you.

Okay, thank you. I'll go back to the Member from Range Lake.

Thank you to the Minister for that. And I know it's emerging, and I know governments are still coming to grips with it and are moving slower than the private sector. But does the OCIO have a mandate to look at AI integration, like strategic AI integration to capital systems? I mean, I don't know what to call it, but that's kind of the idea here is to say have you tasked the OCIO to do this kind of work to be proactive about the implementation of emerging AI technology and tools into existing or new systems. Thank you.

Thank you. I'll go to the Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. At the risk of a spoiler alert, I can say that I've certainly conveyed that message. But given the question, that's really more for our chief information officer, so I'll send it to Mr. Heffernan, please.

Thank you. I'll go to the ADM.

Okay, thank you. I'll go back to the Member from Range Lake.

Thank you. That's good to hear, and I'm pleased that we are making progress in this area. Again, I have my own reservations. I know a number of my constituents and my own immediate family have reservations about this technology, but it is here to stay.

In those digital services conference and jurisdictional -- or sorry, in FTPs and things like that where the Minister is speaking to other colleagues, have there been any movements in other provinces that look promising for the Northwest Territories as well? I'm just wondering if we can get almost a sneak preview on that. Like, if we see those larger jurisdictions moving in a certain way, they can be the guinea pig for how to make this work. And I'm really interested in how we can make those frontline services, things like, you know, the motor vehicles registration and the one portal NT key stuff that we have -- we provide these digital services, and if we could use these tools to make them far more efficient than they currently are, it could save our staff a lot of time, it could save the government a lot of time as well. So do we see any kind of emerging trends and projects that we can -- we as Members as well can look at and see how other jurisdictions are incorporating this that the Minister can advise on? Thank you.

Thank you. I'll go to the Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So there is work happening, particularly in Alberta, and I will say that there's motivation to looking to Alberta as certainly that our medical record systems and their medical record systems often have to interact when hundreds of Northwest Territories residents are going there every day for medical services. So they -- you know, they have -- there's a couple of different things happening with respect to both the online systems that they have, the digital health care card they have, the electronic medical records they have. So it's not just one thing that would need to communicate, and it's not just one system that would need to be built. But we certainly are talking to them about what we can both be doing to integrate the records, the communications, so on and so forth. So that is one area. They also -- Alberta also didn't -- well, FPT was held in Alberta so perhaps they took that opportunity to highlight some of their work. And they have done a lot of work in the space of procurement and a lot of work that -- a lot of drafting that has to get done for an RFP to be prepared, for proponents to be submitting, for analysis of the submissions to go through. And they are trying to create AI tools to make that entire system a lot faster and enable the folks that are doing the work to then be more focused on inputting the data that they need rather than having to start from scratch each time. So we are certainly gonna look back there as well and see if there's something that we can then start to use here to enable our staff to work more efficiently.

I think beyond that, Mr. Chair, there certainly is work happening on a number of jurisdictions around increasing digital wallets and type services. So you'd have your ID -- instead of carrying your health care card or carrying your driver's license, you can do those things through electronic systems.

But before I close -- I should be watching the time -- you know, everyone is well aware that there's some discomfort with these technologies, so at every one of these conversations the policymakers that I'm sitting with are live to the fact that we need to be balancing and ensuring that there's security and privacy and comfort and understanding amongst the public so that nobody is in a situation where they're being put into a system that they're not comfortable with. So that always is at the forefront of the conversation too. Thank you.

Okay, thank you. I'm going to go to the Member from Range Lake.

No, thank you. That was a bit of a navel-gazing question so I appreciate the Minister's patience with it. But that's why I wanted to ask these questions around the OCIO because the privacy concerns are at the forefront and to make sure that it is being done properly according to our rules and according to the standards that are set by our legislation.

So with that in mind, if another department is pursuing -- so I'll use an example with health. If NTHSSA is pursuing an AI-powered electronic medical record system as part of the replacement when that RFP goes out or if, you know, the geomatics -- if we're bringing in an AI-powered geomatics system to assist with online map staking, all that kind of stuff, does it first come through this office to make sure that things are done according to policy and that we're -- like, does the OCIO play kind of a gatekeeper role on this, or are departments free to kind of look to these kinds of things and pursue these on their own? With respect to the Minister's comments, which I totally agree on, that we need to make sure there's kind of a short leash on this technology so it doesn't get out of hand, so is there -- are those controls in place to make sure that when these new systems are pursued that they are, in fact, being pursued in accordance to policy and best practices? Thank you.

Okay, thank you. I'm going to go to the Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair,

I'm happy to have a chance to explain that a bit better. I agree that the public will want to know that we're doing that. Let me start with the deputy minister just to describe a bit what that process looks like in terms of the whole department.

Thank you. I'll go to the deputy minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank the Member for the question. So just to give the Members an overview of how the process would work with respect to procurement of a new IT system, it generally works the same as procurement for anything, so there is -- you engage -- the department engages with the procurement shared services and the Department of Finance who then engages with that client department to find out what they need and what kind of procurement tools they will need to undertake that. So for an IT program, typically it would be an RFP so that we can get a very robust picture out there to the public as to what we need. But we also work with the OCIO to ensure that -- and that was really one of the advantages of centralizing IT services, because when they work with the OCIO, the OCIO can look at the applications we already have and determine whether something that we have already is suitable for what the department needs. So that's another step that we take in that. So that's generally how they all work together, as a centralized service with IT and procurement to ensure departments have the IT support they need. And then they each have -- each department has a business partner which has a direct line to the Office of the Chief Information Officer. So on an ongoing basis, their IT needs are met, whether they need a new application through procurement or just maintenance of existing applications. So that's how we support those departments.

I would also add that in terms of procurement shared services, we are planning on beefing up our expertise in terms of specifically IT procurement which is a real specialty on its own. So we are going to have a specialized IT procurement officer within procurement shared services as well. Thank you.

Okay, thank you. Is there any further questions from Members? Okay, seeing none.

Department of Finance, Office of the Chief Information Officer, infrastructure investment, $7,509,000. Does committee agree?

Thank you. Next we have is the Office of the Comptroller General on page 38 with information items on page 39. Are there any questions? We'll go to the Member from Great Slave.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Can the Minister please explain how long this replacement has been noted as a needed replacement, I guess. Thank you, Mr. Chair.