Rocky Simpson

Thank you, Madam Chair. We are probably looking at a delay. How long do you expect that delay to be? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister confirm what authority the Chief Public Health Officer has, and can it be overridden by this government? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Can the Minister confirm how her department will address the ongoing issues surrounding border security such as documentation, essential workers exemptions, status cards, drug dealers, bootleggers, and tourists coming into the territory. They seem to be getting across the border.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Residents of Hay River are wondering what is happening with the security on our border on Highway No. 1. Last evening, I received a call concerning a person who arrived in Hay River and was visiting job sites, attempting to sell mechanic tools. I was informed this individual was from Alberta and entered the NWT as an essential service. In Hay River, we have businesses that sell tools; we have a retailer that has his own truck filled with tools that is sitting at home because he is following our rules.

Mr. Speaker, a second complaint involved a person who once resided in...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This will be for the Premier. With the weather becoming warmer and people are starting to want to move around now, people are wanting to go south. They're wanting to come back. They're not wanting to self-isolate. They're looking to maybe self-monitor instead.

I guess the question I have is: how is the Chief Public Health Officer and the COVID task force working with departments to identify gaps or gray areas affecting our businesses and residents, such as the ones I've mentioned; and how are they going to deal with people travelling south and coming back? What we're...

I think she answers about everything I've got down here for questions in that one statement, so I'm good. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I would like to discuss the matter of NWT small businesses conducting cross-border services who may now lose out on contracts due to the fact they are required to self-isolate upon their return.

A real-life example would be a business that currently has a contract to pick up vehicles in the NWT and deliver them to a location in Alberta. The contract this business has is with the southern company. This service is intermittent and requires the business owner, upon his return, to self-isolate in Hay River, while his home base is Fort Simpson. The consequence of this...

I have had concerns raised by some of the staff that their leave has been cancelled, and there is starting to be some burn-out. Is your department aware of this?

Thank you, Madam Chair. I wasn't pleased about the comment you made about the Minister of ECE.

---Laughter

Anyway, one thing that is important, though, is service. One thing that I've noticed the government lacking is that we tend to forget that we're there to provide a service to the people of the NWT and not the other way around. I'm hoping to see that change over the term of this Assembly. I'm just wondering: how do you see that? How do you see us providing that service and how can we change it so that we're there to help them solve problems and assist them in building capacity, assisting...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess, in saying all this, I think that it is important that the Department of Health and the Department of Infrastructure work together to coordinate moving ahead. Everything went so fast, and I understand that, you know, the Department of Health probably had to take the lead and do stuff without really having time to talk to anybody else, but now we have that time. How is your department working with the Department of Health to make sure that this goes ahead smoothly and quickly? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.