Debates of Oct. 29th, 2025

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, who is responsible for the delays that incurred the late fees - was it the students working their summer student jobs and being late in applying, or was it the department that didn't have capacity to meet the demand that was late getting out? Can the Minister just clarify who is responsible for incurring the late payments, because I'm confused. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there are some students whose applications are late, some students whose applications are on time, and staff within the department do their best to process all applications as quickly as possible. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of ECE. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife North.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Member has stated, this is an important piece. We have been in the process of compiling what needs to be done working, I think, with procurement to be able to put out the RFP. There are some things that are -- there are challenges within our system, and this is an urgent thing and we're hoping that with the delay that we're working -- we're working with the finance Minister's department to be able to move this forward a little faster. At this time, I think we're looking at the procurement within 2026, early 2026, but I can't confirm that to be exact right now. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So I certainly -- I appreciate the Minister is trying to expedite that and will look forward to early 2026 having at least some progress towards the RFP. But in the meantime, we don't even seem to have a system where our doctors can talk to the Alberta system even though many of our patients are going back and forth obviously in and out of the Alberta system. Is there some kind of data sharing agreement that we could reach with Alberta so that our NWT-based practitioners can at least just get access to Alberta's electronic medical system? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the NTHSSA, along with I think -- I can't confirm, I know that we're having conversations with the information privacy -- is there's -- with the cross jurisdictional information sharing, there is none like this in Canada right now and so there's legislative -- not on our part but on their part that -- to be able to do this. That's why there's -- there's a whole working group, I think, within Canada on sharing of health information. However, we are looking at trying to find some quick, shorter solutions, and that is where my -- like, NTHSSA and the department is working with the -- I can't remember the -- under the Minister of Finance's department. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife North.

Just finally I wonder if the Minister could give any kind of timeframe or time scale to seeing some -- something come out of that work. You know, there's obviously working groups and -- but is there a goal or a date that we're working towards to see an outcome there? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, all I can say is right now they are collaborating with Alberta to try -- with the Office of the Chief Information Officer, the department is trying to collaborate with Alberta to see what we can do. So once we have the information as what we can do, then we can kind of come up with a timeline of when that can happen. And once we have that, I'll let the Members know. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Oral questions. Member from Great Slave.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the MACA Minister.

If the GNWT is unable to fund NWT SPCA for crucial services, will it instead consider making spaying and neutering of pets mandatory with exceptions for licensed breeders and dog teams so to reduce the litters and pressure on the NWT SPCA? Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Great Slave. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the Dog Act is administered by municipal and community affairs. MACA is responsible for overseeing the enforcement and operation aspects to the Act, the focus of which is to set out standards of care, prohibition, and distress, abandonment, and running-at-large dogs in Northwest Territories. The Act does not have the authority to make spaying or neutering pets mandatory. Additionally, responsibilities under this Act would need to be addressed through a legislative update. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Oh boy, is the Minister going to love my written questions later today.

Mr. Speaker, will the Minister prohibit the sale of kittens or puppies with exceptions for licensed breeders? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Dog Act currently governs the treatment, control, and the protection of dogs in the NWT. It includes provisions related to the care of dogs and penalties for neglect or mistreatment. The Act does not apply to other animals such as cats or kittens. It also does not address the licensing of breeders and therefore does not provide the authority to regulate, prohibit the sales of kittens or puppies. To regulate the sale of animals or introduce breeder licensing, new legislation would need to be deployed. This is a resource-insensitive process that would involve policy development and jurisdictional research, legislative drafting, public and stakeholder consultation, and the review and approval through the Legislative Assembly.

Given the significant resources required to the development, implement, and enforce new legislation, the GNWT will continue to focus on existing legislative priorities and areas where there are clear authority and capacity to act. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. Final supplementary. Member from Range Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister direct his department to work with communities to build capacity to develop and/or enforce pet containment rules and bylaws? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Community governments have the authority to appoint bylaw officers to manage the activities of dogs under the Dog Act. Through its bylaw officer course, MACA can provide direction to support how to implement Dog Acts in the community. MACA also responds to community government requests as they arise, offering guidance and supports related to enforcement and interpretation of the Act. While MACA remains committed to supporting communities within the existing mandate, the department is not currently planning a broader initiative to build capacity around pet containment rules or bylaws. Developing and delivering such a program would require significant resources and long-term commitment and is not part of the department's current priorities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to follow up on some questions with respect to SFA, similar to my good colleague to my left for the Range Lake. And it's about this late payment process. And I guess under income security this policy falls under is under income support, if you apply you can get your late fees covered. So I would wonder is there a policy specific to SFA that says if a student provides their application process by the deadline that monies will be available for the moment that they apply for them in the fall; is there anything that corresponds or links that together? Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Minister of ECE.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, while both programs are found within education, culture and employment, the purpose of the program is different. So with income support, it is intended to cover the basic needs of residents and therefore it is expected that residents won't have the funds in order to cover late fees and so it is covered under income assistance. As far as what a policy does or does not say, I don't have that information in front of me here, but my understanding is that there is no mechanism for that to happen through the student financial assistance stream. Thank you.