Thank you, Member from Frame Lake. Minister of Finance.
Debates of Feb. 25th, 2026
This is page numbers of the Hansard for the 20th Assembly, 1st Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was work.
Topics
Question 1099-20(1): Recruitment and Retention of Healthcare Professionals
Oral Questions
Question 1099-20(1): Recruitment and Retention of Healthcare Professionals
Oral Questions
Caroline Wawzonek Yellowknife South
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the target was to have an increase in indeterminate healthcare professionals of 5 percent annually. So it's not a set number target but as I said earlier, certainly happy to look if there's additional ways that we can continue to monitor the work that's happening with the HRU. Thank you.
Question 1099-20(1): Recruitment and Retention of Healthcare Professionals
Oral Questions
Julian Morse Frame Lake
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I guess I should have made my question more clear. Because I was aware of the 5 percent per year target; what I was talking about was an ultimate target.
I am going to move on to my next question, however. Nurses and allied professions were mentioned in the statement, but doctors were not. How is our progress looking on recruiting physicians? Do we have targets related to physician recruitment, and how close are we to meeting those and I mean ultimate targets, not percentage. Thank you.
Question 1099-20(1): Recruitment and Retention of Healthcare Professionals
Oral Questions
Caroline Wawzonek Yellowknife South
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, I -- this is where there is a split in responsibility between myself and the Minister of Health and Social Services. The mandate for health recruitment unit doesn't include physicians. That would be under the Office of Medical Affairs and Credentialing. But, Mr. -- and, again, Mr. Speaker, I expect at this point we may well have to go back and just make sure that we're questioning whether or not there's other forms of looking at the achievements that we're having. We brought in indeterminate staff -- or brought up indeterminate staff by 29 percent relative to the workforce in just March of 2024, so a little over two years ago. Those are big percentages. It doesn't include turnover. But, again, happy to see if there's increasingly additional ways that we can monitor the work that's happening in the space. Thank you.
Question 1099-20(1): Recruitment and Retention of Healthcare Professionals
Oral Questions
Question 1099-20(1): Recruitment and Retention of Healthcare Professionals
Oral Questions
Julian Morse Frame Lake
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I appreciate those clarifications. It's a bit of a confusing space to understand with recruitment happening in various different areas.
Mr. Speaker, how does the recruitment unit relate to and coordinate with the health department on targets, needs, and desired outcomes? Thank you.
Question 1099-20(1): Recruitment and Retention of Healthcare Professionals
Oral Questions
Caroline Wawzonek Yellowknife South
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, those conversations are ongoing regularly. I know I have, on previous times when the HRU was earlier set up, a few years ago now, had the opportunity to engage with my department and with the Department of Health and Social Services to make sure that, in fact, there were those communications happening. There's regular updates that come from individual divisions and departments within health and social services and the authorities, comes in through assigned folks within health and -- or within the Department of Finance who are assigned to the HRU to specifically maintain those contact positions directly with management. So this is very much the kind of work that happens to maintain that continuity. That's the benefit of HRU in part, Mr. Speaker, is that it allows a singular place where there's an organized person, a mandated person, and they have contacts directly and so they're constantly getting updates as to the openings that need to be filled. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Question 1099-20(1): Recruitment and Retention of Healthcare Professionals
Oral Questions
The Speaker Shane Thompson
Thank you, Minister of Finance. Oral questions. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Question 1100-20(1): Income Assistance Program
Oral Questions
February 25th, 2026
Richard Edjericon Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of ECE.
The Minister from ECC confirmed that the GNWT income support assistance program is provided to all residents in the NWT. My question here is, but here in NWT we have 51 percent of residents, that all Indigenous Metis and Inuit combined. Mr. Speaker, on September 27th, 2023, the 19th Assembly passed Bill 85 legislation. My question is to the Minister of ECE. What has ECE done to date to modernize their policy to respect the 51 percent of the Indigenous, Metis, and Inuit human rights of Indigenous people? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Question 1100-20(1): Income Assistance Program
Oral Questions
The Speaker Shane Thompson
Thank you, Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Question 1100-20(1): Income Assistance Program
Oral Questions
Caitlin Cleveland Kam Lake
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, in the life of the last Assembly, there was an extensive review done of the entire income assistance program. That program included adjustments, for example, like adding another branch of the program, if you will, that is income assistance dedicated to elders, seniors, persons with disabilities. We also updated the amounts that people receive on a monthly basis and tied them more closely to the northern basket measure. In addition, there were changes made to the program that allowed for more earned income to be kept and also exempted other things from someone's unearned income, and some of those items I listed off in my previous responses to the Member. Thank you.
Question 1100-20(1): Income Assistance Program
Oral Questions
Richard Edjericon Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question back to the Minister of ECE is when can her department give me -- or Minister give me an answer in regards to when they're going to modernize their policies in line to Bill 85, the legislation? Thank you.
Question 1100-20(1): Income Assistance Program
Oral Questions
Caitlin Cleveland Kam Lake
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So Mr. Speaker, as the Member knows, based on the responses from the Premier last week in regards to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People Implementation Plan, we have a committee that is prioritizing what pieces of legislation they will be reviewing first, and that committee has the authority to determine what pieces of existing Government of the Northwest Territories legislation will be reviewed and in what order. Thank you.
Question 1100-20(1): Income Assistance Program
Oral Questions
The Speaker Shane Thompson
Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Final supplementary. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Question 1100-20(1): Income Assistance Program
Oral Questions
Richard Edjericon Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My next question is that what is the timeline, and do you expect that work to be done in this Assembly? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Question 1100-20(1): Income Assistance Program
Oral Questions
Caitlin Cleveland Kam Lake
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would have to defer that question to the Premier as that piece of legislation, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People Implementation Act, falls under his authority. Thank you.
Question 1100-20(1): Income Assistance Program
Oral Questions
The Speaker Shane Thompson
Thank you, Education, Culture and Employment. Colleagues, our time for oral questions is up. Oral questions. 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. Tabling of documents. Notices of motion. Motions. Notices of motion for the first reading of bills. First reading of bills. Second reading of bills. Consideration in Committee of the Whole of bills and other matters, with the Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh in the chair.
Question 1100-20(1): Income Assistance Program
Oral Questions
The Chair Richard Edjericon
I will now call the Committee of the Whole to order. What is the wish of the committee? I will go to the Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.
Question 1100-20(1): Income Assistance Program
Oral Questions
Denny Rodgers Inuvik Boot Lake
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the committee wishes to consider Tabled Document 448-20(1), 2026-2027 Main Estimates, with the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Question 1100-20(1): Income Assistance Program
Oral Questions
Question 1100-20(1): Income Assistance Program
Oral Questions
Some Hon. Members
Agreed.
Question 1100-20(1): Income Assistance Program
Oral Questions
Question 1100-20(1): Income Assistance Program
Oral Questions
The Chair Richard Edjericon
Okay, order. Committee, we have agreed to consider Tabled Document 448-20(1), 2026-2027 Main Estimates. We will now resume our consideration of the Department of Industry and Tourism and Investment. I want to go to the Minister of Industry and Tourism and Investment.
Question 1100-20(1): Income Assistance Program
Oral Questions
Question 1100-20(1): Income Assistance Program
Oral Questions