Rocky Simpson

Thank you, Madam Chair. No more questions.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Geez. I thought I ran out of time there. I just wanted to talk about the sterilizer room. Is that for the new facility or is that to do with the old H.H. Williams Memorial Hospital? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Can the Minister tell me if the geotech has been done in the area where this new building is going to go? Thank you, Madam Chair.

No further questions.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The questions I have are for the Minister of health. Employees continue to find Protect NWT forms to be inconsistent. When Protect NWT is questioned about the forms, they do not always have the answer. The answers provided create additional confusion. NWT employees are trying to follow the process but find it easier to operate from the south due to less paperwork and less issues entering and exiting the NWT. I know of NWT employers who are laying off northern workers and operating out of Alberta. Can the Minister commit to having Protect NWT forms reviewed for...

I think we all appreciate the work that the staff has done, as well. Mr. Speaker, if we are to open our borders at some point, it is imperative that the responsible department consider increasing our monitoring enforcement staff in communities at NWT entry points. This is crucial. Once the borders open, will the Minister commit to additional staff being added to monitoring and enforcement staff?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Mr. Speaker, I would assume that Protect NWT's slow response time is caused by staff shortage and the high volume of calls they are receiving. Can the Minister tell me: how many calls has Protect NWT received to date, and is it increasing or decreasing? What are the average calls per day? What is the nature of the calls? Are they for exemptions, monitoring, enforcement, reporting, or general information? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

In the NWT, our curve is flat. Our neighbour to the south has flattened its curve. At this time, it's important that, as we are relaxing restrictions, we take into consideration the need to support the economic recovery as soon as possible. The departments appear to be working in isolation of the Chief Public Health Officer. I would ask the Minister: what input did the Department of Infrastructure, ITI, education, and housing have in developing the Emerging Wisely plan? If they had none, does it not make sense to include them in planning as we re-establish the economy?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said in my statement, I constantly receive calls from constituents about southern workers coming into the NWT and not self-isolating, not self-monitoring, and not wearing proper PPE. Residents are becoming short tempered and discouraged at what is taking place. We need added staff to monitor and provide enforcement in Hay River. Can the Minister provide me with some guidance as to what I can tell the residents of Hay River to alleviate their concerns about those not self-isolating and how they will be dealt with?

That was a mouthful. Response time by Protect NWT has been an issue, so I would ask the Minister: have we added or considered adding additional staff to Protect NWT to address the slow response time to questions because, evidently, there are a lot of requests?