Oral Questions, Aurora College Act, Climate Change — 7 December 2021 (19th Assembly, 2nd Session, pp. 3291–3324)
2021-12-07, 19th Assembly 2nd Session, pp. 3291–3324
Northwest Territories — Debates (Hansard)
Debates of Dec. 7th, 2021
This is page numbers 3291 - 3324 of the Hansard for the 19th Assembly, 2nd 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
Oral Questions
Members Present
Prayer
Continuing Climate Leadership
2030 Energy Strategy Update
Unity in the Legislative Assembly
Government of the Northwest Territories and Chamber of Mines COVID‐19 Recovery Working Group
Abstinence from Alcohol and Drugs
Home Base Yellowknife
Health Advocate for Medical Travel and Nunakput Residents
Community‐Based Education Programs in Small Communities
Safe Shelters in Regional Centre and Small Communities
Arts Community in the Northwest Territories
Procurement Decisions by Government and Crown Corporations
Needs of Arts Community in the Northwest Territories
Eulogy for Mary Bernadine (Bernie) MacKinnon
Health Care Advocate at Inuvik Regional Hospital
Government of the Northwest Territories and Chamber of Mines COVID‐19 Working group
Home Base Yellowknife
Northwest Territories Arts Council
Highway No. 7 Border Hours of Operation
Community-Based Education ProgramS
Needs of Art Community in the Northwest Territories
Government Procurement
Government of the Northwest Territories and Chamber of Mines COVID‐19 Workign group
Increase in Propane Prices
Cold Weather Testing
Relocation Costs
Board of Directors of Northwest Territories Power Corporation
Federal Regulations for Release of Water from Oil Sands
Written Question 32-19(2): Map Staking versus Claim Staking for Mineral Rights
Tabled Document 519-19(2): NWT Climate Change Action Plan: Annual Report 2020-21 Tabled Document 520-19(2): NWT Water Stewardship Strategy Action Plan 2021-2025 Tabled Document 521-19(2): NWT Water Stewardship Strategy Action Plan 2021-2025 Plain Language
Summary Tabled Document 522-19(2): Responding to Climate Change in the NWT Plain Language Overview Report 2020/21
Tabled Document 523-19(2): Northwest Territories Carbon Tax Report 2020/21
Tabled Document 524-19(2): Northwest Territories Energy Initiatives Report - Reporting on Actions under the 2030 Energy Strategy Tabled Document 525-19(2): Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 782-19(2): NTPC COVID-19 Vaccination Policy
Tabled Document 526-19(2): Plain Language
Summary for Bill 41: Justice Administration Statutes Amendment Act
Tabled Document 527-19(2): Rules of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories dated December 7, 2021 Tabled Document 528-19(2): 2021 Review of Members' Compensation and Benefits - Northwest Territories
Appointment of Equal Pay Commissioner
Move Committee Report 22-19(2) into Committee of the Whole
Appointment of Equal Pay Commissioner, carried
Move Committee Report 22-19(2) into Committee of the Whole, CARRIED
Bill 41: Justice Administration Statute Amendment Act, CARRIED
Consideration Of Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Concurrence Motion - Tabled Document 437-19(2): Capital Estimates 2022-2023
Committee Report 22-19(2): Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment Report on Telecommunications - Publicly-Owned Backbone Internet Infrastructure
Committee Report 22-19(2): Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment Report on Telecommunications - Fibre to Tuktoyaktuk Homes
Committee Report 22-19(2): Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment Report on Telecommunications - Open Wholesale Access to Northwest Territories Businesses
Committee Report 22-19(2): Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment Report on Telecommunications - Funding under CRTC Broadband Fund, carried
Committee Report 22-19(2): Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment Report on Telecommunications - Wholesale High-Speed Third-Party Internet Access
Committee Report 22-19(2):Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment Report on Telecommunications - Free Access to Basic Internet Packages
Committee Report 22-19(2): Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment Report on Telecommunications - Free Wi-Fi Service in Regional Centres
Committee Report 22-19(2): Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment - Report on Telecommunications - Procurement of Internet Services
Committee Report 22-19(2) Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment Report on Telecommunications - Government Response to Recommendations
Committee Report 20-19(2): Standing Committee on Social Development Report on Bill 30:
An Act to Amend the Aurora College Act - Co-drafting Legislation and Co-management
Committee Report 20-19(2): Standing Committee on Social Development Report on Bill 30:
An Act to Amend the Aurora College Act - Timeline for Consulation and Comments
Committee Report 20-19(2): Standing Committee on Social Development Report on Bill 30:
An Act to Amend the Aurora College Act - Government Response to Recommendations
Report Of Committee Of The Whole
Orders Of The Day
Members Present
Hon. Diane Archie , Hon. Frederick Blake Jr., Mr. Bonnetrouge , Hon. Paulie Chinna , Ms. Cleveland , Hon. Caroline Cochrane , Hon. Julie Green , Mr. Jacobson , Mr. Johnson , Ms. Martselos , Ms. Nokleby , Mr. O'Reilly , Ms. Semmler , Hon. R.J. Simpson , Mr. Rocky Simpson , Hon. Shane Thompson , Hon. Caroline Wawzonek . Ms. Weyallon-Armstong
The House met at 1:30 p.m.
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---Prayer
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Prayer
Prayer
Page 3291
The Speaker
Frederick Blake Jr.
Ministers' statements. Minister responsible for Environment and Natural Resources .
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Minister's Statement 194-19(2): Continuing Climate Leadership
Ministers' Statements
Page 3291
Shane Thompson
Nahendeh
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, climate change is one of the most critical issues we face today. I am pleased to report on actions the GNWT is taking to address its impacts here in the NWT.
As a territory, we are responsible for less than 0.2 percent of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions but we are experiencing climate warming at a rate that is three times the global average. We have already seen significant changes that are impacting our environment, our economy, our infrastructure, and our way of life. We are seeing changing ice conditions, coastal erosion, rising sea levels, and melting permafrost.
Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to taking action to address these destructive impacts.
Later today, we will table multiple annual reports highlighting work that has been done with our partners to mitigate and adapt to climate change across the NWT.
I would like to highlight a few of these actions today.
In January, we became the first jurisdiction in Canada to include consideration of a climate change factor in Cabinet and Financial Management Board decision-making. Assessing the potential impacts of government decisions on climate change ensures that meaningful and consistent climate change action is taken away departments and improving our accountability on climate action.
We have also worked with our partners to establish a Climate Change Council that includes members from Indigenous governments and community leaders. The council will include advisory groups such as youth, Elders, community governments, industry, non-government organizations, co-management boards, and academia who will inform priorities of the climate change action plan. In addition, the council will also include various advisory panels such as the water stewardship panel, the cumulative impact monitoring program panel, and the sustainable livelihood panel that will provide advice and recommendation.
The council and advisory groups are important forums to bring together community perspectives and expert guidance as we face a challenging climate.
Madam Speaker, climate action takes investment in people and programming. Over the last year, our government has made significant investments when it comes to addressing climate change. We have invested nearly $56 million, and have created 15 new positions across government to work on climate change actions.
In 2021, the Department of Infrastructure invested over $38 million as part of the 2030 Energy Strategy, and for energy and greenhouse gas reduction projects and programs, which resulted in 3.6 kilo tonnes of greenhouse gas emission reductions. This $38 million included significant investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, such as providing over $5.3 million to the Arctic Energy Alliance, resulting in nearly $2 million in incentives being given out. These incentives help residents, businesses, and communities to be more energy efficient.
Our government has also invested roughly $3.8 million dollars in energy retrofits to government assets which has contributed to our own emission reduction over the last year.
Madam Speaker, the Department of Finance continued its efforts on carbon pricing over the last year. The price per tonne of greenhouse gas emissions rose to $30, and we provide rebates for residents to reduce the burden caused by high costs associated with residential heating.
Madam Speaker, I would also like to highlight that earlier this month the GNWT participated in the 26th Council of the Parties in Glasgow, Scotland as part of the Canadian delegation. It is unfortunate that due to the pandemic, Indigenous participation was not fully represented this year as previous conferences. I am hopeful that Indigenous participation will return to pre-COVID levels at future conferences and commitment to working with Indigenous governments and Indigenous organizations through the Climate Change Council to support Indigenous participation in the future.
Our government will continue to lead in the fight against climate change. We will keep working closely with Indigenous governments and Indigenous organizations, the federal government, community leaders, academia, industry, and non-government organizations, who are our allies in taking action on climate change.
The GNWT has accomplished a lot over the past year in addressing climate change but there is still work to be done. We must all work together to find solutions to address climate change in the Northwest Territories and continue this important work. I know that we all rise to the challenge. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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Minister's Statement 194-19(2): Continuing Climate Leadership
Ministers' Statements
Page 3291
The Speaker
Frederick Blake Jr.
Thank you, Minister. Ministers' statements. Minister responsible for Infrastructure .
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Minister's Statement 195-19(2): 2030 Energy Strategy Update
Ministers' Statements
Page 3291
The Speaker
Frederick Blake Jr.
Thank you, Minister. Ministers' Statements. Minister for our Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.
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Minister's Statement 195-19(2): 2030 Energy Strategy Update
Ministers' Statements
Page 3291
Paulie Chinna
Sahtu
Mr. Speaker, strengthening our leadership and authority on climate change and enhancing efforts to stabilize the cost of power is a priority of the Government of the Northwest Territories; so is increasing the use of alternative and renewable energy.
Today, as part of our government's integrated approach to climate change reporting, we will release four reports, including the 2020-2021 Energy Initiatives Report. This report outlines almost $38 million in energy-related investments the GNWT made during the past fiscal year. These investments not only reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and help us take real action against climate change, they also provide our communities with reliable energy and stabilize costs for residents. This supports the goals of the Northwest Territories' 2030 Energy Strategy and 2030 Climate Change Strategic Framework.
Mr. Speaker, projects that are positively impacting residents and communities include those from the Greenhouse Gas Grant Program. One of the three projects approved this year by the GNWT was $1.1 million for the installation of two wood pellet boilers in two Yellowknife schools, in Mildred Hall and Range Lake North. Once these boilers are installed and operating, they are expected to reduce 578 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year.
This last year, the GNWT provided over $5.3 million to the Arctic Energy Alliance, resulting in nearly $2 million in incentives being given out. These funds support the energy efficiency, conservation, and alternative energy programs and services. Residents, businesses and communities all benefit. This year, the organization provided 1000 more rebates than in 2019-2020, despite dealing with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. We continue to advance key projects that will help us reduce greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation in diesel communities by 25 percent; one of the strategic objectives of the 2030 Energy Strategy.
This summer the GNWT and the federal government announced $60 million in funding to build the Fort Providence-Kakisa Transmission Line. This project will virtually eliminate diesel fuel consumption for power generation in these communities and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 3000 tonnes per year.
Mr. Speaker, the Inuvik Wind Project is another important initiative under the 2030 Energy Strategy. This 3.5-megawatt wind turbine will reduce diesel consumption in our largest off-grid community by up to 30 percent. The permitting phase for the project has been completed and it moved into final design. Construction is tentatively scheduled to start in the winter of 2022.
When it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the GNWT is leading by example through the Capital Asset Retrofit Fund. This program delivers energy efficiency projects for GNWT facilities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Projects completed in the last fiscal year decreased government emissions by two kilo tonnes.
The GNWT continues to advance the Taltson Hydroelectricity Expansion Project. Technical work on transmission routing options is also ongoing. We expect a preliminary business case for the project later this fiscal year.
Mr. Speaker, while we have accomplished a great deal during the first three years of implementation of the 2030 Energy Strategy, we must keep moving forward. It is time to take stock of the lessons we have learned in implementing this strategy. We must combine these learnings with new research and analyze to inform a renewed strategy and accompanying the energy action plan.
As the GNWT conducts this review and carries on with implementation, we will continue to engage directly with communities and Indigenous governments and organizations to ensure their participation, partnership, and empowerment when proposing and implementing energy solutions. The GNWT cannot meet its energy and climate change objectives by acting alone. We need all Northerners to play a role. By continuing to work together, we can make it happen. Quyananni, Mr. Speaker.
---Applause
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Minister's Statement 195-19(2): 2030 Energy Strategy Update
Ministers' Statements
Page 3292
The Speaker
Frederick Blake Jr.
Thank you, Minister. Ministers' statements. Members' statements. Member for Thebacha .
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Unity in the Legislative Assembly
Members' Statements
Page 3292
Frieda Martselos
Thebacha
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as Caucus chair, I must address a very important issue which is affecting everybody in this building, the Legislative Assembly, as well as all people across the NWT. The issue I am referring to is to the need to maintain proper confidentiality of certain sensitive matters that are before the Assembly and the need for more unity, cohesion, trust and professionalism as MLAs.
This Assembly has been plagued by constant and ongoing leaks of various confidential and sensitive information. These leaks have had damaging effects on proper function of our government. They also affected people's lives, careers, and families.
I have always been a proponent of accountable and transparent governance; however, in my work it is also extremely important to balance that with confidentiality of sensitive information. Both as an MLA but especially as Caucus chair, I expect a certain level of respect for the office we hold and for the common good of the people of the NWT.
Furthermore, Mr. Speaker, if this Assembly continues to engage in sideshow activities on concluded matters, where neutral decisions have already been made by independent third parties, then the work of the Assembly will suffer. We've dealt with all these sideshows already in the Assembly's workplace review and in the inquiry and work of the sole adjudicator. It is distracting and obstructing the work of the Legislative Assembly.
Therefore, for the sake of the people of the NWT, the sideshow has got to stop.
In addition, I think some of the content quoted within the December 6th, 2021 News North front page is unprofessional, out of context, and must stop. I, for one, am not controlled by no one, and I am tired of our Assembly being portrayed as dysfunctional by the media and by the people of the NWT. For the dignity of this House, we must restore order to this Assembly to this sideshow behaviour. A sideshow is not what we signed up for but that is what the business of the Assembly risks coming to. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
Our Assembly has lost its focus and has devoted considerable public funds and government resources in responding to and dealing with these various sideshow activities. It is time-consuming and inefficient for staff to continue to respond to these activities. What does it accomplish? Nothing.
Everything is at stake from the staff morale of the Assembly to the very confidence of the people of the NWT. We were put here to make the NWT a better place but are we really accomplishing that right now?
Lastly, Mr. Speaker, December for many people is supposed to be a joyful time during a special holiday season marked on our calendars. We shouldn't need to deal with this type of stuff. For those who want to continue these sideshow activities, just stop. For those who won't stop, our leadership must take action. We must turn the page on these matters and move on.
This Assembly has plenty of work to address. We can't be putting ourselves first before the people of the NWT. That is not good leadership. It is not what we were elected here to do. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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Unity in the Legislative Assembly
Members' Statements
Page 3292
The Speaker
Frederick Blake Jr.
Thank you, Member for Thebacha . Members' statements. Member for Frame Lake .
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Government of the Northwest Territories and Chamber of Mines COVID‐19 Recovery Working Group
Members' Statements
Page 3292
Kevin O'Reilly
Frame Lake
Merci, Monsieur le President. In June 2021 I tabled redacted summaries of the secret meetings of the GNWT-Chamber of Mines COVID Recovery Working Group. I tabled another set of summaries earlier this sitting as well and they contained about 80 additional disclosures from the department as a result of a new review conducted under our more permissive amendments to the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
As I said before, what was supposed to be a working group focused on economic recovery from the impacts of the COVID pandemic has transitioned into a high-level lobbying campaign. This is not about whether mining is good or criticism of the Chamber of Mines; this is about the appropriateness of these meetings held behind closed doors.
In June, I outlined several options for the Minister to bring some transparency and accountability to these secret meetings which does not appear to have been adopted in any way, so I will repeat them again here.
Now that this information about these meetings has been made public, the Minister has several options, as I see it.
The Minister could stop these meetings now that the pandemic is almost over;.
Confine these meetings to their original and stated purpose of economic recovery rather than the current lobbying campaign that appears to have no limits;
Allow other interested parties to observe and/or participate;
Make complete summaries of these meetings public;
Allow other economic sectors and non-governmental organizations the same opportunity for consultation and lobbying; and/or,
Bring in lobbyist legislation so there is proper disclosure guidance for lobbying.
I will have questions later today for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment on the GNWT-Chamber of Mines COVID Recovery Working Group. Merci, Mr. Speaker.
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Government of the Northwest Territories and Chamber of Mines COVID‐19 Recovery Working Group
Members' Statements
Page 3292
The Speaker
Frederick Blake Jr.
Thank you, Member for Frame Lake . Members' statements. Member for Deh Cho .
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Abstinence from Alcohol and Drugs
Members' Statements
Page 3292
Ronald Bonnetrouge
Deh Cho
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, given the upcoming festive season, I wanted to share a message regarding abstinence from alcohol and drugs. I wanted to relay a message about options should you continue and options to do other activities rather than turn to alcohol and drugs for enjoyment.
Mr. Speaker, when one chooses to party it up, whether they are single or in a relationship, and especially if they have children, there are significant effects to that decision. What we see from our communities and monthly RCMP crime reports is the escalating domestic violence and sexual assaults that plague our small communities.
Since COVID hit, there has been a significant increase in the use of alcohol and drugs, especially with all the free money floating around. Many families are running into problems with living expenses as they choose to buy significant amounts of alcohol and drugs; everything else is secondary to the fun they can have. The families of these people suffer because of their decisions and they bear the brunt of the stress waiting to see if they will come home safely and for many it is the children that are affected in this way.
We see far too often how happy the children are when their parents are home and taking care of them. This is what should be thought of before making decisions to purchase alcohol and drugs. What they also don't realize is the amount of stress that is placed on our ever-decreasing health care and staffing levels. Most get serious injuries from falls or beatings and most times can't get the immediate attention they require due to staffing levels.
Mr. Speaker, there are more positives than negatives when one abstains from alcohol and drugs. There is the all-important family relationship with immediate family and beyond, including the whole community. Healthy clear minds see improved mental health for all, increases willpower and self-esteem. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent.
---Unanimous consent granted
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker, and mahsi, colleagues. This will also improve education outcomes as our Elders envisioned for us and have stated. We want good education for our children and future generations to become doctors, lawyers, and teachers and so forth. Abstinence from alcohol and drugs creates a positive community atmosphere as this will hopefully improve volunteerism and that helps to improve life in the communities.
I encourage all residents of the Northwest Territories to start doing and making things happen for your family, your friends, your community and, most of all, for yourself. There are always supports within your community to begin this journey. Please take advantage of all services available to improve your lives. Mahsi.
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Abstinence from Alcohol and Drugs
Members' Statements
Page 3292
The Speaker
Frederick Blake Jr.
Thank you, Member for Deh Cho . Members' statements. Member for Great Slave .
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Home Base Yellowknife
Members' Statements
Page 3293
Katrina Nokleby
Great Slave
As a Regular Member, I'm active on our social development committee which has identified children and family services as an area of focus. From this work, I have been learning so much about the issues facing families and youth in the NWT. One area that I am becoming more familiar with is the foster care system, and I want thank everyone who has taken the time to speak with me about this topic as it's a sensitive one.
Mr. Speaker, when I look at our social problems, I can see the gap that youth and young adults are falling into. Aging-out or kicked out of foster care, they often find themselves with little to no options, with too many going on to become chronic dependents of social welfare as adults. One way we can remove adults from our system is to prevent them from being dependent on it in the first place. And in the Northwest Territories, only one organization is supporting youth to get them out of the system, and that is Home Base Yellowknife.
Home Base is a youth support organization that offers four programs for youth to help them become self-sufficient and deal with trauma from their childhoods. Home Base has ten full-time dorm spaces in their main building on 52nd Street, also operating a shelter there from 8 to 8 daily. The shelter provides a safe space for youth to sleep, have a meal, and wash their clothes.
Home Base operates a second youth centre next to Overlander Sports, open from 12 to 8 every day, providing a second place for youth to shower, do laundry, eat, and work on resumes and life planning.
Home Base also has a housing program that assists 20- to 24-year-olds with housing through commercial leases or at their newly acquired Park Place apartment building near City Hall. Youth can attend any of Home Base's programs to receive support, advice, and guidance on careers and life management skills. The goal of Home Base is to stabilize youth in order to reintegrate them into society and get them back into school.
Although Home Base wants to increase youth shelter supports to 24 hours a days 7 days a week, their current financial projection means a cut to shelter hours is coming rather than an expansion. In order to even maintain the current level of programming, Home Base needs additional emergency homelessness assistance funding to do so.
While Home Base receives programming money, they do not have core funding available for wages or to buy essential supplies. With core funding for staff and supplies, Home Base could offer 24-hour supports to youth in an effort to divert this vulnerable population from a lifetime of dependence on social programming. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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Home Base Yellowknife
Members' Statements
Page 3293
The Speaker
Frederick Blake Jr.
Thank you, Member for Great Slave . Members' statements. Member for Nunakput .
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Health Advocate for Medical Travel and Nunakput Residents
Members' Statements
Page 3293
Jackie Jacobson
Nunakput
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my constituents travel medical appointments either to Inuvik or they're travelling in from Inuvik to Yellowknife if they can't be serviced, and if we can't do the servicing for medical here, we're sending them to Edmonton. My constituents fly all the way from their home communities who it probably take five days in return to going to the community. They wait for their appointment especially, you know, some of our cancer patients. We've lost so many people this year due to cancer.
We do need a health advocate Mr. Speaker, in the Inuvik Regional Hospital to assist our communities, to making sure that the people are getting to their appointments, information is shared on the patient, and so likely what's happening. This means that the travel dates in the right place for the right times for their appointments, to be on time, because I got a couple of concerns from my mayor from Ulukhaktok that patients are traveling and they're not having an escort; they're getting to their appointment, there's no appointments.
Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, sometimes things get missed, appointments, but they don't book the flights, book the travel. This means sometimes residents need treatment and they don't get it at the right time. And this has to stop, Mr. Speaker.
We need a patients advocate, again. We need somebody to help the patients in the communities that are at nursing stations to help them because they're overworked already. Our nursing staff, our health staff, they're overworked and they need their patient advocate out of Inuvik to help assist them to do their job. You know, sometimes they get calls at one in the morning or a text message and they're saying I travel at 9 o'clock, I never got no travel yet. I'm not going to wake up the Health Minister , Mr. Speaker, at 2 o'clock in the morning saying I need travel done for somebody.
I'll send her a text message, and Julie's been good about it, the Minister has been good about it, get back to me first thing in the morning and we try to get it sorted out and try and do good for the patient. But Mr. Speaker, we do need a health advocate in Inuvik. I will have questions for the Minister on where that health advocate is for the community, to assist the communities out of the Inuvik Regional Hospital. Thank you Mr. Speaker.
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Health Advocate for Medical Travel and Nunakput Residents
Members' Statements
Page 3293
The Speaker
Frederick Blake Jr.
Thank you, Member for Nunakput . Members' statements. Member for Monfwi .
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Community‐Based Education Programs in Small Communities
Members' Statements
Page 3293
Jane Weyallon Armstrong
Monfwi
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, my Member's statement is for the Minister of Education on community-based programs. Mr. Speaker, we cannot wait for polytechnic university. Bring the program to the communities rather than having students leave their communities, families, culture, and language. They will get the same education as students attending post-secondary education in the south.
The GNWT is too dependent on workers from the south. These workers often don't stay in our small communities very long. We have many young people in our communities, with Grade 12 education, either unemployed or underemployed with others having to go on Income Support. Mr. Speaker, the community labor force survey shows that the Tlicho region has the highest rate of unemployment in the NWT at 28 percent; the lowest participation rate in the workforce at 60 percent; and lowest employment rate at 43.6 percent.
Mr. Speaker, if the Aurora College Campus is based in Tlicho communities were fully utilized to deliver community-based program, we would have local people trained to fill the need for local jobs in communities. The challenge to promote post-secondary education in the Tlicho region is that not everyone wants to leave their communities or be away for long periods of time without the support of the families and culture. Further, with housing shortage in the NWT young families do not want to leave their home as there is no guarantee they will be able to access housing upon their return.
Mr. Speaker, times have changed, technologies are improving -- Can I have a unanimous consent to conclude my statement, please?
---Unanimous consent granted
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, times have changed, technologies are improving. It should be possible to deliver Aurora College programs like education, social work, nursing, remotely in the communities and/or if the Aurora College does not have the capacity, perhaps another college or university can come and deliver the program. Who delivers the program is not as important as the fact that they must be delivered and based in small communities.
Facilitating the delivery of college programs in Tlicho region is a good opportunity to train young people to get the jobs they want and to find work to better their communities. The government can also save money on relocation costs for southern employees and reduce dependence on outside workforce. We need to invest more money in the younger generations.
Government leaders at every level say that the youth are the future but, Mr. Speaker, we seem to be failing to make the necessary investments in their future. The people that live in the NWT are not going anywhere. They are going to stay in their communities and work for the benefit for all Northerners. If the government can make the necessary investment in young people, the government can take a person dependent on the government for Income Support and social housing and turn them into a taxpayer. These savings, and the savings from relocation costs, should help to pay for those programs.
Our community people, with the right training, will do a better job as they know their communities, the people, the culture and language. The graduates will be part of northern economies. Masi, Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Minister of Education .
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Community‐Based Education Programs in Small Communities
Members' Statements
Page 3293
The Speaker
Frederick Blake Jr.
Thank you, Member for Monfwi . Members' statements. Member for Hay River South .
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Safe Shelters in Regional Centre and Small Communities
Members' Statements
Page 3293
Rocky Simpson
Hay River South
Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased that a new long-term day shelter has been made available to those in Yellowknife that have no other means of staying warm, staying fed, and staying safe during these cold winter days.
Mr. Speaker, it used to shock me how fast projects in Yellowknife, like the day shelter or others, can happen and how quickly funds can be found. Not anymore. I soon realized that when you are city with a population of some 20,000 plus; when you have the Premier ; the Minister of Health ; and the Minister of Finance , all being from Yellowknife, it will increase the pace at how fast funds can be secured and how quick an idea can be put into action.
Mr. Speaker, I now want to quote a portion of the statement made yesterday in a press release by the Minister of Health , which reads: "As part of our commitment to reconciliation and to ensure that everyone can access safe shelter facilities..."
Mr. Speaker, I was pleased to hear the Minister refer to reconciliation and by further stating that everyone should have access to safe shelters. However, our regional centres and smaller communities are also struggling with the same issues but we do not have the population of Yellowknife, nor do we have the Premier , nor the Minister of Health , nor the Minister of Finance living in our communities to support something similar.
Our communities desperately need something in place for the longer term. Addressing the need for a day and night shelter every fall is not sufficient. It is not fair to NGO's that provide that service. It is not fair to the communities. And most importantly, it is not fair to those who require the service.
Mr. Speaker, I believe this government is on the right path with respect to supporting those finding themselves living on the street by providing long-term shelter options. For those in regional and smaller communities, they must have equal and equitable access to supports that those in Yellowknife take for granted. We need to identify local infrastructure that is being underutilized or sitting empty and repurpose it for long-term shelters and programming in our communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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Safe Shelters in Regional Centre and Small Communities
Members' Statements
Page 3294
The Speaker
Frederick Blake Jr.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South . Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife North .
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Arts Community in the Northwest Territories
Members' Statements
Page 3294
Rylund Johnson
Yellowknife North
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A diverse and committed arts community exists in the Northwest Territories, with literally dozens of groups in the areas of dance, theatre, music, film, visual arts, crafts, and many more. Organizations may be small but they are big on hard work, enthusiasm, commitment, and inclusive programs that reach across our communities. Artists understand and acknowledge how the arts function to support our social strengths, our human health and well-being.
Hill Strategies Research Reports reveal the link between the arts and student engagement in education, positive economic impact, and cultural tourism, improved quality of life, importance in aboriginal health and well-being, and the lists goes on. Beyond these at a time when social changes and challenges are many, the arts provide a valid way to engage community learning, exploration, idea exchange, and critical dialogue that ground our culture and identity. These same artists are seeing gaps, key gaps that are limiting the role the arts can play in diversifying and strengthening our territorial economy.
One is the lack of a properly funded arts hub typically found in every other capital in Canada.
Mr. Speaker, we currently have a surge in vacant space in downtown Yellowknife, the Bellanca Building, and with other government offices being vacated as they move to new buildings. We have an opportunity to now to take action. Many of that space is in Weledeh, an ideal location for an institution.
Wait a minute, Mr. Speaker. I apologize; I just read a statement from my predecessor Bob Bromley from over a decade ago, Mr. Speaker, because nothing has changed in this focus, Mr. Speaker. And now we have released an art strategy and still nothing has changed, Mr. Speaker.
I do not believe this art strategy is taking this issue seriously. I do not believe we are capturing the federal money that is out there. There are numerous funding pots across numerous organizations in the federal government, and if we had a proper art strategy maybe we could actually make some progress on this issue. I will have questions for the Minister of ECE . Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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Arts Community in the Northwest Territories
Members' Statements
Page 3294
The Speaker
Frederick Blake Jr.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North . Members' statements. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes .
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Procurement Decisions by Government and Crown Corporations
Members' Statements
Page 3294
Lesa Semmler
Inuvik Twin Lakes
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, GNWT spending is a key economic driver for the NWT. We know through the pandemic how much we rely on GNWT spending. And, Mr. Speaker, the impact of GNWT spending extends to the procurement decisions made just by this government but for the Crown corporations supported by our public funds.
Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize that the GNWT has undertaken a review of procurement and has made a commitment towards an Indigenous procurement policy, which is very positive. Local NWT-based businesses, NWT Indigenous businesses that are based in our communities hire local employees and contribute wealth back to the community, and we hear often of them falling through the gaps of the NWT spending.
I am concerned, Mr. Speaker, the procurement review will address the gaps that we see with the NWT businesses today as they compete on bids.
Mr. Speaker, the procurement review needs to recognize full impact of GNWT spending and include a review of how at its arm's length Crown corporations who spend of hundreds of millions of dollars every year and are procuring NWT goods and services. Will the GNWT hold Crown corporations accountable to the value of the NWT-based spending?
Mr. Speaker, the GNWT also needs to improve the directory of the NWT-based businesses to ensure that it is comprehensive and reflects local business registries. An updated and current NWT business registration will improve procurement decisions for GNWT and its Crown corporations.
Mr. Speaker, public money should be leveraged to grow our local economy through the NWT-owned businesses. NWT-owned businesses need to be prioritized for all GNWT spending, including the extension of GNWT spending through its Crown corporations. GNWT needs to ensure that local Indigenous business are considered first and that companies who do business in the GNWT or GNWT Crown corporations are required to demonstrate local ownership and local employment.
Mr. Speaker, the strategy behind the GNWT spending right now is essential to build back our economy and ensuring our communities have an economic chance. I will have questions for the Minister of Finance later today. Thank you.
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Procurement Decisions by Government and Crown Corporations
Members' Statements
Page 3294
The Speaker
Frederick Blake Jr.
Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes . Members' statements. Member for Kam Lake .
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Needs of Arts Community in the Northwest Territories
Members' Statements
Page 3294
Caitlin Cleveland
Kam Lake
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as a child I have vivid memories, as my mother's sidekick, as artists discussed the needs of the NWT arts community. Many of the faces that advocated then are the same in today's fabric of arts activists, but they're tired of asking for the same things: core funding, independence, and infrastructure.
Mr. Speaker, the GNWT released the next ten-year art strategy. Despite several suggestions to improve the strategy from standing committees on both economic development and environment and social development, not one suggestion was considered or incorporated in to the final draft.
I have shared my gratitude for a strategy focused on art many times but I am disappointed that this strategy does not clearly capitalize on the opportunity to grow NWT arts now.
The Ministers of ITI and ECE recognize this. Yet, we still have no path to transition to an independent NWT arts council and continue to miss out on funding, economic development, and growth for northern artists. The board of the NWT Arts Council has been recently filled yet the GNWT states in the art strategy that the GNWT will "support the arts community to explore the feasibility or interest in creating an arm's length entity that would support and strengthen the NWT creative sector."
But independent arts councils aren't a new idea. Arts councils of most jurisdictions administer the majority of government art funds which, in turn, provide core funding for other regional arts organizations, key festivals, and events. So why is the GNWT dragging its feet and putting this work on to artists in volunteer roles to explore the feasibility of such an organization?
Mr. Speaker, in addition to legislation, an arts council needs core funding. The art strategy does not identify commitment for core funding. Most public funding initiatives are project or program specific and do not keep the lights on or staff working. If we want a robust arts strategy supported by experienced staff, the council needs the capacity to go after significant pots of private and public funding.
A solution to truly propel the NWT arts is before the GNWT, significant federal funding is available, COVID has given a boost to the arts on the global stage, and the time for change is now so that hopefully the Member for Yellowknife North won't be reading my statement three terms from now. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
---Laughter
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Needs of Arts Community in the Northwest Territories
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The Speaker
Frederick Blake Jr.
Thank you, Member for Kam Lake . Members' statements. Member for Nahendeh .
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Eulogy for Mary Bernadine (Bernie) MacKinnon
Members' Statements
Page 3294
Shane Thompson
Nahendeh
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Mary Bernadine MacKinnon, formerly known Petrie, known to us as Bernie, peacefully passed away in the arms of her partner, Terry Arnold, on August 23 in Happy Valley Labrador-Newfoundland at the age of 62 from a heroic battle with cancer.
Born on the west side of PEI, she worked hard all her life. She was a cook in many seafood restaurants, she was a co-captain on a lobster boat, and a general manager of Subways. She and her husband ended up coming north to work for the Northwest Company, known as the Northern Store. They moved from Hay River to Fort Smith and on to Fort Simpson.
Bernie excelled in every position she was placed in. I got to meet her when she was the food service manager in Fort Simpson. Because of her hard work, she received the Food Service Manager of the Year.
Bernie made friends with people very quickly as she was very thoughtful, caring, and a sincere person. It was Bernie's friendliness that made her a very special person to her co-workers and customers alike, making lifelong friends from all the stores she worked in. A perfect example was when she convinced a young man with some substance abuse problems to go out for help at a rehab place. He turned his life around, became a councillor, married a beautiful woman. Previously he and Bernie still played Scrabble online until her passing. The amazing thing was that he did not get a chance to beat her.
The family would like to thank the Northern Store for helping them move closer to Bernie's home province as she was recovering with her first battle with cancer. Bernie always spoke about her five children and grandchildren. They, along with Terry, were her life.
Bernie will be sadly missed by her partner of 17 years, her children and grandchildren. God bless her and may she have peace with the Lord. As well, both her parents who are in Heaven.
Terry and the family would like to thank all the medical staff that help Bernie during the battle, especially the medical staff in Fort Simpson and the Stanton Hospital and the hospital in Edmonton. They made sure she and her honey were treated well. She will be sadly missed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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Eulogy for Mary Bernadine (Bernie) MacKinnon
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Page 3295
The Speaker
Frederick Blake Jr.
Thank you, Member for Nahendeh . Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and community at this time. Members' statements. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Reports of committees on review of bills. Reports of standing and special committees. Returns to oral questions. Acknowledgements.
Colleagues, before we begin with oral questions, I will just ask everyone to please respect one another. I know sometimes we have a lot of heated discussions on whether you're asking questions or answering and sometimes we don't always like the answers we're given, I've been there, and sometimes I get heated but just, please, respect one another. Thank you. Oral questions. Member for Nunakput .
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Oral Question 861-19(2): Health Care Advocate at Inuvik Regional Hospital
Oral Questions
Page 3295
Jackie Jacobson
Nunakput
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I brought up the health care advocate for the Beaufort Delta in the Inuvik Regional Hospital. Mr. Speaker, I'm asking the Minister of Health , was it put into place, the health care advocate at the Inuvik Regional Hospital? Thank you.
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Oral Question 861-19(2): Health Care Advocate at Inuvik Regional Hospital
Oral Questions
Page 3295
The Speaker
Frederick Blake Jr.
Thank you, Member for Nunakput . Minister responsible for Health and Social Services .
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Oral Question 861-19(2): Health Care Advocate at Inuvik Regional Hospital
Oral Questions
Page 3295
Julie Green
Yellowknife Centre
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the regular Members negotiated, in addition to this year's operating budget, of four Indigenous patient advocates that would be located in Inuvik, Hay River, Fort Smith, and Yellowknife. Their specific mandate is to work to improve cultural safety and patient experience by supporting Indigenous patients in particular and resolving their concerns, complaints, and questions, and bridging cultural and language barriers. The job descriptions for these Indigenous patient advocates are now in development, and we expect to have them in place next year. Thank you.
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Oral Question 861-19(2): Health Care Advocate at Inuvik Regional Hospital
Oral Questions
Page 3295
Jackie Jacobson
Nunakput
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I really thank the Minister for that response. It's a good news story and I think that -- so is the Minister saying January next year? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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Oral Question 861-19(2): Health Care Advocate at Inuvik Regional Hospital
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Page 3295
Julie Green
Yellowknife Centre
I think I might feel the flames at my feet, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the information I have is that it will be early next year. So let's say by the time we come back. Thank you.
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Oral Question 861-19(2): Health Care Advocate at Inuvik Regional Hospital
Oral Questions
Page 3295
Jackie Jacobson
Nunakput
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No, no question, I'm just really happy that we're getting a patients' advocate so people have a place to phone and get assistance and get quicker response times. And I thank the Minister for that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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The Speaker
Frederick Blake Jr.
Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake .
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Oral Question 862-19(2): Government of the Northwest Territories and Chamber of Mines COVID‐19 Working group
Oral Questions
Page 3295
Kevin O'Reilly
Frame Lake
Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment .
A couple of weeks ago I tabled redacted meeting summaries from the GNWT-Chamber of Mines COVID-19 Working Group meetings. From the April 28th meeting, ITI states "allowing money from philanthropic organizations from the south is something we will be watching so it doesn't influence land use planning with more protected areas."
Can the Minister tell us which philanthropic organizations are being watched and what kind of monitoring or surveillance is being conducted? Merci, Mr. Speaker.
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Oral Question 862-19(2): Government of the Northwest Territories and Chamber of Mines COVID‐19 Working group
Oral Questions
Page 3295
The Speaker
Frederick Blake Jr.
Thank you, Member for Frame Lake . Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment .
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Oral Question 862-19(2): Government of the Northwest Territories and Chamber of Mines COVID‐19 Working group
Oral Questions
Page 3295
Caroline Wawzonek
Yellowknife South
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there is no surveillance being conducted. Mr. Speaker, I understand that these meeting minutes continue to be a source of great consternation. They are minutes. They are taken by a note taker, they are not transcripts, and they certainly are not something to which I would say speak on my behalf about what the department is or is not doing or the priorities of the department. So just to put that context on the quotes that are coming, again there are notes taken by someone at a meeting.
That said, Mr. Speaker, philanthropic organizations, this quote, this has long been a matter raised by certain members of the industry that we want to ensure that when decisions are being made about land use in the Northwest Territories that those decisions are made by members of the regions in which the matters arise so that they're decisions made by northern residents, by northern communities, by northern governments. And that's really the role of the GNWT here, is not to go spying on anybody but simply to facilitate land use planning by and for the benefit of Northerners. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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Oral Question 862-19(2): Government of the Northwest Territories and Chamber of Mines COVID‐19 Working group
Oral Questions
Page 3295
Kevin O'Reilly
Frame Lake
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. In October 2021, Alberta released the report from the $3.5 million Allan inquiry into foreign funded anti-energy campaigns that found no evidence of wrongdoing by environmental groups.
Can the Minister tell us whether this government is going to hold a similar public inquiry in terms of watching philanthropic organizations, or does this government actually recognize the value that these organizations can bring to the NWT? Merci, Mr. Speaker.
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Oral Question 862-19(2): Government of the Northwest Territories and Chamber of Mines COVID‐19 Working group
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Page 3295
Caroline Wawzonek
Yellowknife South
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we very fortunately in this government have the LNR departments all working well together. That is Lands, Natural Resources, and Environment all working together. In this particular instance, ENR happens to be the lead in terms of trying to work through a process or governance where we might, if there were to be opportunities to work with large organizations, is to bring funding alternatives on conservation initiatives, then we want to ensure, again, as a collective and as the GNWT and as Northerners, that we'd be doing that within a structure that is for the benefit of Northerners.
So we don't share the concern that I believe was the impetus behind that study and behind that inquiry, that there was some sort of nefarious thing happening. We are quite trusting and quite happy to work with anyone who wants to come and be mindful of the benefits of the northern residence and northern communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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Oral Question 862-19(2): Government of the Northwest Territories and Chamber of Mines COVID‐19 Working group
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Page 3295
Kevin O'Reilly
Frame Lake
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for those words. As I understand, the Chamber of Mines has filed for a judicial review of decision by the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board not to issue unlimited extensions to land use permits. And, Mr. Speaker, I don't want to speak to the case in any way, but the meeting
summary show that the chamber met with Ministers of this government about their application before it was filed. So can the Minister tell us what happened in those meetings? Merci, Mr. Speaker.
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Oral Question 862-19(2): Government of the Northwest Territories and Chamber of Mines COVID‐19 Working group
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Page 3295
Caroline Wawzonek
Yellowknife South
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, I wasn't at the meetings but I was able to make inquiries, and I appreciate a bit of a heads-up that these topics might be coming.
The importance or the desire of industry to ensure that they have access to leases that are effective has long been a matter of their advocacy. That said, this is an area where, although I understand CIRNAC on behalf of the federal government might have actually taken the position that leases should be extended, the GNWT has not taken a position. We have remained neutral and we continue to remain neutral, and whatever process might be happening before the courts with other parties, as the Member's already said, is not ours to speak to here. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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Oral Question 862-19(2): Government of the Northwest Territories and Chamber of Mines COVID‐19 Working group
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Page 3295
The Speaker
Frederick Blake Jr.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Frame Lake .
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Oral Question 862-19(2): Government of the Northwest Territories and Chamber of Mines COVID‐19 Working group
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Page 3295
Kevin O'Reilly
Frame Lake
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for clarifying that. So I've suggested a couple of times now there are a number of options to bring greater transparency and accountability to these secret meetings.
Can the Minister tell us whether these meetings are consistent with our open government policy and describe how she is going to bring greater transparency and accountability to these secret meetings? Merci, Mr. Speaker.
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Oral Question 862-19(2): Government of the Northwest Territories and Chamber of Mines COVID‐19 Working group
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Page 3295
Caroline Wawzonek
Yellowknife South
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, given the multiple times we've now spoken about these meetings, I'm not sure I agree with the characterization of them as being particularly secret in any fashion. And indeed even after the last round of exchanges that the Member and I had on this, the Chamber of Mines themselves put a number of the meeting minutes onto their own website to demonstrate that they too are more than happy to make known the fact that they are working to advance the interests of the industry with the GNWT.
As for the ongoing work there, Mr. Speaker, I certainly took note of the concerns that were raised in the last time that this matter came before the House. The deputy minister and I are looking to have a new set of terms of reference issued. When I have them, I will certainly make them available to the Members so that we are able to, in fact, be clear and focused on the purpose here. And the clear purpose, clear focus, is that this is an anchor area, an anchor
section of the economy. It's one that we want to see supported, and we want to work with those with their knowledge of that sector to see where we have mutual areas of interest. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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Oral Question 862-19(2): Government of the Northwest Territories and Chamber of Mines COVID‐19 Working group
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Page 3296
The Speaker
Frederick Blake Jr.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Great Slave .
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Oral Question 863-19(2): Home Base Yellowknife
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Page 3296
Katrina Nokleby
Great Slave
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Housing Minister who is also the Minister responsible for Youth .
My first question is will the Minister commit to touring Home Base and learning about the work and programs that they're providing firsthand? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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Page 3296
The Speaker
Frederick Blake Jr.
Thank you, Member for Great Slave . Minister responsible for Northwest Territories Housing Corporation .
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Paulie Chinna
Sahtu
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member for the question. I have met with Home Base recently through zoom. And I have been able to receive a comprehensive understanding of the supports that they provide to the youth. But looking forward into the new year, I will commit to touring the facility with the Member. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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Katrina Nokleby
Great Slave
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Minister for that commitment to come and take a look at their operations. I think it's always good when you can see things firsthand. Let's keep it on vein of saying yes.
Can the Minister commit to providing Home Base with emergency funding to expand support hours to 24/7 and to keep their shelters open? The reason that this is so crucial right now is the temperatures are dropping, and they do provide a very important service for youth. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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Paulie Chinna
Sahtu
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To date, the Housing Corporation has supported Home Base with capital funding under our shelter enhancement fund to do minor retrofits to the building. Their operational funding has been provided by Health and Social Services. I understand the emergency shelter funding within the Northwest Territories has been fully subscribed and allocated to all seven current operating shelters across Northwest Territories.
I can ensure the Member and the House that the Housing Corporation is in further discussion with Home Base. After our recent meeting with them to see how the Housing Corporation can work with them, and the Housing Corporation will invite other social program departments to participate in these discussions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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Katrina Nokleby
Great Slave
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister's answers sort of speak to my next question as well.
Can the Minister commit to assisting or working with her colleagues to look for core funding for the Home Base program so that we can keep youth from not experiencing homelessness as well as ease the burden on social services? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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Paulie Chinna
Sahtu
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I understand that there is a need and importance of the service they provide. We are currently in conversations with other social development departments after our mutual role and responsibilities when it comes to funding and supporting the various shelters and accommodation supports across Northwest Territories. The support provided to youth is one of the specific target groups. We are also in conversation with Canada and to access programs like the federal Reaching Home initiative to support programs and facilities within the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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Page 3296
The Speaker
Frederick Blake Jr.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Great Slave .
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Katrina Nokleby
Great Slave
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm glad to hear the Minister speak about working with other departments. I think that the way that youth are being dealt with definitely crosses multiple departments so we do need to keep breaking down those silos.
My last question is will the Minister commit to touring other buildings in my district, such as Norseman Manor and Simpson House, to see where we are placing the vulnerable youth and committing to developing an action plan to end youth homelessness? Thank you.
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Paulie Chinna
Sahtu
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The department does have a working group with the various lessees that we hold in Yellowknife. And also I will be making sure and commit that we reflect the youth homelessness needs in our homelessness strategy that will be tabled in early 2022. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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Page 3296
The Speaker
Frederick Blake Jr.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake .
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Oral Question 864-19(2): Northwest Territories Arts Council
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Page 3296
Caitlin Cleveland
Kam Lake
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister for Education, Culture and Employment .
My first question is what is the challenge to making the NWT Arts Strategy arm's length and why was this not initially just put into the art strategy as a deliverable? Thank you.
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Page 3296
The Speaker
Frederick Blake Jr.
Thank you, Member for Kam Lake . Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment .
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Page 3296
R.J. Simpson
Hay River North
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The type of arts council structure that the Member's speaking about, they are usually born out of a grassroots organization, a group of artists that get together and has a vision, has a plan, and it's an organization that then can be supported.
There is currently no organization in the territory that has that ability at this point. There's a number of different organizations, and maybe if they all combine their power, that might be an organization that we might be able to support. But that's just not the case. These are generally grassroots organizations. And while the GNWT has been asked to start a grassroots organization that could turn into an arts council, but that's just not the way things work. So is one of the impediments.
The other impediment is the fact that the O and M for such an organization would be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and that is the money that currently goes directly to artists. So we would have to take that from artists, put it towards office space, executive director, travel, all of those types of things. So those are a couple of the impediments. I'll just leave it at that for now. I know the Member has more questions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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Caitlin Cleveland
Kam Lake
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there's another way that we can do this. We could drive it from the GNWT outwards. It doesn't have to be, you know, continuing on with the whole notion and the age-old anecdote of the "starving artist." We can actually prop our artists up, give them an opportunity to bring in huge amounts of dollars into the territory, and go at it from a GNWT perspective, which I think is what a lot of people are asking for given the GNWT already does have a program that supports artists, and we want to be able to see that organization grow.
And so I'm wondering how long will it take the GNWT to complete "the action," explore the creation of an NWT arts association, and what are the measurable deliverables that the Minister sees coming out of that? Thank you.
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R.J. Simpson
Hay River North
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The work has begun under the arts strategy to look at the programs, look at how we fund different organizations, and that is the work to determine whether or not something like an arts council would be the way to go.
We provide more funding for the arts and culture in the Northwest Territories than any other jurisdiction in Canada per capita outside of the Yukon. So it's not like we are not providing these supports. But we also provide -- we spend twice as much on education per capita as the rest of Canada, three times as much on policing. I don't know how much more on health. So there's not unlimited money to go around and get everything we want. And I've had conversations with the Member recently that, you know, we need to really look at what we want to keep, never mind what we want to add.
So there are very real budget discussions that we need to have about how we spend our money, and we are doing the work right now to inform those discussions. I don't want to commit half a million dollars to support an organization without some real solid grounds to do so. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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Caitlin Cleveland
Kam Lake
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And I agree with the Minister, the GNWT cannot continue to grow its budget and expand its wallet a whole heck of a lot more than it already is doing. And this is what this organization would do, it would give the artists of the Northwest Territories an opportunity to bring in private and federal public dollars so that we can grow this wallet, so to speak, of NWT artists. And so I'm wondering how the GNWT intends to support northern artists to fulfill this work of the deliverable from the strategy to explore the creation of an NWT arts association. How is ECE going to include artists in this conversation to help propel it forward? Thank you.
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R.J. Simpson
Hay River North
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There will be engagement that's going to happen to get that feedback from artists, and that's going to begin likely early in the new year. So we are going to engage, and we're going to talk to them, and we're going to listen. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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Page 3296
The Speaker
Frederick Blake Jr.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Kam Lake .
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Caitlin Cleveland
Kam Lake
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think I could -- well, a lot of my colleagues could probably attest to the fact that I'm slightly hard of hearing, but I'm pretty sure I heard a sigh from a lot of artists of the Northwest Territories on that one.
Before I was even elected, before any of us were elected into the 19th Assembly, ITI and ECE did engage with artists across the Northwest Territories. They invested a lot of time and a lot of effort, and it was very well received from the artists of the Northwest Territories. And so I think people would be frustrated in order to go back and say the same things: We want independence. We want infrastructure. We want core funding. These are a lot of the things that we hear. We heard from the Member from Yellowknife North say the same thing. And so I'm wondering from the Minister, then, what will be different this time? Thank you.
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R.J. Simpson
Hay River North
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, you know, what the Member's talking about, it might be, I'm not going to infer too much, but I think the engagement on the arts strategy, and she's right, what we heard, we want more funding, more infrastructure, more of basically everything. And the fact is that we can't build a plan based on just more of everything. So we need to go out and say this is what we have now. These are the pots of money that we have. This is how we fund artists. Is this working? Is this pot of money working?
And then from there we determine perhaps we can put money elsewhere, and it might be in an arts organization, to help us access third party funding. But we need something a little more structured, a little less high level. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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The Speaker
Frederick Blake Jr.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions, Member for Hay River South .
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Oral Question 865-19(2): Highway No. 7 Border Hours of Operation
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Page 3297
Rocky Simpson
Hay River South
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. These questions are for the Premier . They are easy ones.
---Laughter
Can the Premier confirm the hours and what days the border crossing on Highway No. 7 is open?
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Oral Question 865-19(2): Highway No. 7 Border Hours of Operation
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The Speaker
Frederick Blake Jr.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South . Honourable Premier .
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Oral Question 865-19(2): Highway No. 7 Border Hours of Operation
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Page 3297
Caroline Cochrane
Range Lake
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Actually, I thought that was going to be easy but it's not quite as easy as I thought. I'd have to get back to the Member and find out the exact hours of operation, because we have three border crossings so I'm not a hundred percent sure. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do know you can leave any time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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Rocky Simpson
Hay River South
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know there's limited hours at that crossing. So when can we see those -- or when can we expect that the hours would be increased so that they're open -- you know, it's opened seven days a week for however many hours a day? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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Caroline Cochrane
Range Lake
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The determination of when borders open and when we'll need enforcement is a determination made by the CPHO. However, I can say that the CPHO has been vocal in saying that we're suspecting that by spring that we will be calling off the public health emergency and if do that, then there will be no border patrols. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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Rocky Simpson
Hay River South
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Now for the million dollar question. We have businesses in the southern NWT working further north, and they're travelling back and forth in, you know, through BC or the Yukon and working up north and then coming back. And they're finding it costly to go through Grande Prairie and come around. And you know, they have an idea of when they're leaving the -- they know when they're leaving the North to come back this way, and they would like to have access to that border to come through, through back into either whether it's Hay River, Yellowknife, or Simpson.
So I'm wondering if there's any way that those hours -- or they can be accommodated and supported so they don't have to make that extra trip and live with those extra costs? And some of them even said, you know, if there was a little cost to have the person go out there and open the gate, they'd be willing to pay for it. Thank you.
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Page 3297
Caroline Cochrane
Range Lake
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do know that the community was very concerned about COVID, and so I do know that once we reach a certain population that we opened it up a little bit more. But people -- businesses do have to reach out and let us know when they're coming. So we're trying to work with them as much as possible but we're also trying to make sure that communities are safe. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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Oral Question 865-19(2): Highway No. 7 Border Hours of Operation
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Page 3297
The Speaker
Frederick Blake Jr.
Thank you, Honourable Premier . Final supplementary, Member for Hay River South .
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Page 3297
Rocky Simpson
Hay River South
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, during the winters you'll usually see work on the pipelines, and I'm not sure if there's going to be any work this winter but I suspect there will be, and there's equipment, you know, coming in from the South and, you know, some of it comes around through Highway No. 1 while other equipment and goods come through Highway No. 7. So has Premier -- has the department I guess, or the secretariat, looked at how they could support that by, you know, extending those hours at that border crossing when there's a large movement of traffic coming north? Thank you.
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Caroline Cochrane
Range Lake
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Actually, the border open was specifically made to address the needs of truckers coming into the communities, needing to drop off supplies, etcetera. So that's been taken into account. Most of the trucking companies, speaking of almost two years, are well aware of the times of operation. If there's anyone that is not, they are required -- if they're an occasional user, they are required to file a self-isolation plan and therefore hopefully will identify what they need and we can get back to them on that. But if anyone has issues and can't access it and can't get information, let me know because we're here to help. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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The Speaker
Frederick Blake Jr.
Thank you, Honourable Premier . Oral questions. Member for Monfwi .
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Oral Question 866-19(2): Community-Based Education ProgramS
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Page 3297
Jane Weyallon Armstrong
Monfwi
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. For Minister of Education .
Since 2018, how many Northerners graduated from Aurora College specifically in nursing, teacher, and social work program?
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The Speaker
Frederick Blake Jr.
Thank you, Member for Monfwi . Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment .
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R.J. Simpson
Hay River North
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I try to stay up on my files but I don't have that level of specific information for the Member right now; I apologize. Thank you.
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Jane Weyallon Armstrong
Monfwi
It's going to be the same reply, but that's okay. How many people in the NWT have a grade 12 education and are Income Support? Thank you.
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Oral Question 866-19(2): Community-Based Education ProgramS
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Page 3297
R.J. Simpson
Hay River North
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I recommend perhaps a written question or sending these to my office because I don't have that information on hand either; I apologize. Thank you.
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Oral Question 866-19(2): Community-Based Education ProgramS
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Page 3297
Jane Weyallon Armstrong
Monfwi
Okay, another one. Can the Minister provide data showing how many Indigenous teachers, social workers, and nurses are in the NWT?
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R.J. Simpson
Hay River North
Mr. Speaker, I'm unable to produce that data for the Member right now; I'm sorry. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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The Speaker
Frederick Blake Jr.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Monfwi .
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Jane Weyallon Armstrong
Monfwi
I think he can answer, okay. So when will the report be completed for the teacher and social work program? When will the Aurora College open the doors to start accepting students for teacher and social work program? Thank you.
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R.J. Simpson
Hay River North
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I expect the earliest those programs could be reinstated would be the 2023-2024 school year, so not the upcoming school year that would begin in September 2022 but the following year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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Page 3297
The Speaker
Frederick Blake Jr.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North .
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Oral Question 867-19(2): Needs of Art Community in the Northwest Territories
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Page 3297
Rylund Johnson
Yellowknife North
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to follow up on some of the questions that my colleague from Kam Lake asked.
Presently one of the requirements to get Canadian Council of Arts funding at a certain level is to have an exhibition in a public art gallery. We are the only jurisdiction right now who does not have a public art gallery. Well, we kind of have one. It's a trailer that drives around to communities and shows public art. But I really think there's a lowest common denominator here where we could get some sort of space somewhere that meets the criteria of a public art gallery. Is that something we are planning to do anytime soon? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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The Speaker
Frederick Blake Jr.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North . Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment .
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R.J. Simpson
Hay River North
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre has two curated shows a year where they display the work of an artist. I would imagine that that would count as an art gallery for the purposes that the Member is speaking about. In terms of a public art gallery, building a new public art gallery, there are no plans to build a new public art gallery. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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Rylund Johnson
Yellowknife North
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I heard the Minister speak earlier about, you know, usually the arts organizations were thinking about a grassroots and then they go and they can access and leverage all this federal funding. And a similar thing exists for museums across the country. Many museums heavily settle for publicly funded but also receive a lot of federal donations and private donations and have an independent board. And I think this gets to some of the tension about what exactly the Prince of Wales is intended to be and what its mandate is. I think one of the ways to solve that would also be to put the museum arm's length. Is this something the department is considering?
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R.J. Simpson
Hay River North
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That is being looked into. The Member points out most -- I think we're probably the only jurisdiction that funds 100 percent of museum. This is not the way it works. Most museums in most jurisdictions are funded by organizations outside of government who can access millions of dollars from the federal government, from private organizations, etcetera. So yes, we are looking into this.
We have to keep in mind that the Prince of Wales also contains a significant amount of office space for the GNWT and it contains the territorial archives. So there are considerations, but it's definitely something that we are looking into because it could be an avenue to accessing additional funding. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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Page 3298
Rylund Johnson
Yellowknife North
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I heard the Minister speak earlier about, you know, we don't necessarily have a bunch of new funding for the art strategy and we have to look at what we're spending right now and evaluate that. And my understanding is how these things usually go is we do a strategy and then sometimes we do a framework or an action plan.
Can the Minister just speak to whether there is some subsequent document coming out of the art strategy and will it have any funding attached to it? Thank you.
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R.J. Simpson
Hay River North
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So one of the first things in the art strategy is to review all of the different funding, how it's working. Now, I had the option to just not put out an art strategy, and I considered that because I knew that people would want something a little more concrete and specific and I thought, well, we can just do this work without sort of telling the public what we're undertaking. But I thought, no, for the sake of transparency let's release the strategy, say, this is our plan; it's going to take some time but it's our plan.
And then after we take some of those steps in that plan, we'll be able to put out some concrete actions. And so what I expect after we do the evaluation of the funding is a plan to show how we are going to distribute that funding. So I'm not going to say that it's going to include new funding. The case could be that what we have, used in a different way, is sufficient. So there definitely will be something more pointed and concrete in the future coming from this. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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The Speaker
Frederick Blake Jr.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Yellowknife North .
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Rylund Johnson
Yellowknife North
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess I'm going to try once again with my questions from the Member of Kam Lake . I think the Minister makes a great point of if you can put the museum arm's length, it can leverage more funding. Presently, we have a bunch of art staff working in GNWT as public servants. We have an arts council that distributes funding. I don't see how it costs any money to take all of that out of the public service and give it to an arm's length body that can then leverage public funding. In fact, I think we can probably save some money if we could do that.
Is the Minister willing to make the arts council arm's length? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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R.J. Simpson
Hay River North
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is one person in the GNWT who, as part of their duties, works with the arts council to distribute that money. That is not enough money to fund an executive director and an office in downtown Yellowknife, never mind the additional funds for travel for everything else. So no, at this point I'm not willing to do that. It would not be a good use of our funds.
There's other jurisdictions in Canada who operate in the same manner that we do. We are not unique in this sense so it's not like there is one gold standard for arts councils. So at this point, I'm not willing to say yes. But in the future, who knows. Let's look into it and see what we can find out and see if we can arrange our money in a way that we can support an organization to bring in this countless millions that is apparently out there and free for the taking for third party arts organizations. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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The Speaker
Frederick Blake Jr.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes .
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Oral Question 868-19(2): Government Procurement
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Page 3298
Lesa Semmler
Inuvik Twin Lakes
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One of our priorities of this Assembly is to ensure government procurement maximizes local businesses. As the government is going through their procurement review to deal with this mandate item, they have many ways to do this. And I also understand there are times when the NWT does not have the expertise for service required. But my question for the Minister of Finance is can the Minister commit to ensuring that the process for the GNWT public tendering that there are mechanisms in place to ensure that businesses in the NWT and when possible that it is done to ensure that it maximizes the money staying in the NWT?
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The Speaker
Frederick Blake Jr.
Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes . Minister responsible for Finance .
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Oral Question 868-19(2): Government Procurement
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Caroline Wawzonek
Yellowknife South
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that, indeed, does essentially restate the obligation that is on us because of the mandate, and not because of the mandate but thanks to the mandate. It is an articulation of a priority that we all came together here and found, and it's one of Cabinet's priorities as well in terms of maximizing benefits to Northerners. So that is exactly what we want to try to do.
How it's going to come down, what that's going to look like, is the exact process we're in right now. So I hope that's enough of an almost yes for the Member for today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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Lesa Semmler
Inuvik Twin Lakes
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So going down that same path, can the Minister also commit to the same mechanism when doing negotiated contracts because we need to ensure that the work is going to NWT residents and businesses, whether it's local businesses, contractors, and/or with Indigenous governments. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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Caroline Wawzonek
Yellowknife South
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the more specific we get the less I'm probably able to make commitments here on the floor. The negotiated contracts policy right now, which is actually a policy of EIA, not Finance, not ITI, not Infrastructure, not procurement shared services, is one that is meant to provide a tool or a mechanism by which we could go directly to an Indigenous government. But, of course, as soon as there's more than one business that comes and requests a contract under a negotiated contract policy, the assumption is it goes to public tender.
The result of that being is that we often wind up not being able to use that tool in the way that it was perhaps intended. So it is certainly one of the things that I think has been identified as, again, would be beneficial to have under one umbrella. It would be beneficial to have a unified sense of the objectives and purpose, namely, to ensure that we are keeping benefits in the North, and to make sure that the tool is actually achieving that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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Lesa Semmler
Inuvik Twin Lakes
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm also concerned that the GNWT provides significant amounts of public funding to Crown corporations, and we've heard in this House in the capital budget of the millions and millions of dollars that flow through to our Crown corporations yet those corporations are not held by the same procurement policies of the GNWT.
So will the Minister commit to include consideration of Crown corporations, or speak with our Cabinet colleagues, to commit to this consideration of Crown corporation procurement policies in the GNWT's procurement review? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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Caroline Wawzonek
Yellowknife South
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am not a Minister responsible for one of the Crown corporations so I certainly want to be cautious in that regard. Now, that said, we are certainly operating on a whole-of-government approach, and I am able to work closely with my colleague, the Minister who is responsible, and I think perhaps here the messaging lies largely around the Northwest Territories Power Corporation. So they are not right now subject to t