Rylund Johnson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to thank the Department of Education, Culture, and Employment for reaching their discussion paper on early childcare and the great work they've been doing to date. I'm happy to see the funding for increasing education in that. But I think the big announcement is what's  the ambitious words coming out of the federal government, where they've been committed to having the cost of childcare. I know there's $30 billion federally over the next five years.

What I'm looking for from the Minister is do we have a sense of how much that money we will see in our bilateral...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Previously the Minister drew into question the 75 percent vaccination target. This was kind of a light at the end of the tunnel for many people, and I recognize at that time there was some changing signs with variants. But I believe people now need a vaccination target. I think getting over this hurdle of 60 percent vaccination, people want to know if we get here, it will actually encourage more people to get vaccinated.

So my question for the Minister of Health is what is our current vaccination target. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The current public health order which restricts many of the NWT's activities was drafted one year ago. That's the order that prohibits having five people in your home. It prohibits singing. It prohibits indoor funerals. And, in fact, many of the things it prohibits in that order are no longer relevant, as we've since allowed exceptions and variances of that order that was drafted one year ago.

Mr. Speaker, when that order was drafted, the context and the justification for those impositions were that our health care system had this risk of being overwhelmed. There was...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The last restriction which is a recommendation, actually, that there be no nonessential travel  and a number of jurisdictions have now published what their summers look like, what their summers look like based on vaccine descriptions. We're talking about a travel bubble. And I know that this is a problem for our senior management who have been directed not to travel. It's a problem for many teachers and nurses who want to be role models but are struggling that they have not seen family members in almost two years now, Mr. Speaker.

So my question is does the Minister of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I recognize that. But I'm trying to get a risk assessment based on our specific situation. And it is my understanding  and I recognize I can barely read a report from the Johns Hopkins, let alone make a decision on it  that given our vaccination rate and what we know about the effectiveness in vaccination in reducing hospitalizations, that there's actually no path forward right now where COVID would fill up our ICU beds.

That's my understanding. But I am not an expert here. So I'm looking for clarification of whether there is actually a risk to the health care system or...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. During the most recent outbreak in Yellowknife, like many members, many of my constituents turned to me for answers. And despite having multiple outbreaks across the NWT at different periods and being in this for a year and a half, it is clear we did not have many of the basic answers.

Mr. Speaker, there are a lot of lessons to learn as we move through this. But I suggest if we have to impose isolation on people, the first thing we do is send a personalized email to those people. I would suggest that email say: "You're receiving this email because you have potentially...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess my other concern is that we have a number of different documents that speak to different areas of the economy. We have film strategies, art strategies, agricultural strategies, mineral resource strategies. We have a number of different documents, and I know there are many areas that the government is working.

So to me, I view this Emerge Stronger Plan as really new items, things that we are doing that we have not already done. But in order to do that, it really comes down to money, Mr. Speaker. There's no point of creating another plan without some...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm hoping this is the last time I have to ask this question. When will the Emerge Stronger Plan be complete.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If it was the department's position that at no point was the GNWT going to pay for any of this service, it would have been very helpful to know that in October because it completely changes the whole conversation if they had to approach the city and completely fund this with their own taxes. Currently, residents on the Ingraham Trail, they pay taxes every year. They receive zero services for those taxes. Is the Minister willing to take some of the taxes that residents pay and use that, those taxes that already exist, as a portion of any agreement that could be reached...

I think the unfortunate reality here is that the residents who built their houses and have lived out there for decades with fire services kind of expected them to continue. Now, the city and the GNWT are in some sort of fight over jurisdiction, and it seems the city wants $1.7 million to accommodate. The loss is really to the people, to my constituents, while this kind of fight between governments occurs. However, I never viewed this as a $1.2-million-annual problem. I thought the city was more in the hundred-thousand-dollar range, that we were going to get this to continue. It is one fire a...