Caitlin Cleveland

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Premier in regard to the COVID secretariat. The isolation centres in the Northwest Territories take up 54 percent of the total budget of the COVID secretariat, and so what I'm wondering is: given that the isolation centres are by far the highest cost, what is being done to mitigate this? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. This year, I am sure we will see differences in the actuals of departments versus what they had originally budgeted for, especially, for example, in the area of or the line item of travel. Public servants are not travelling as much as they probably anticipated that they would. Conversely, other departments are going to have much higher line items. For example, Health and Social Services is a great example of that. They are doing a lot more rapid testing and investing in areas that they did not anticipate having to invest in. What I am wondering is: what...

I am happy to hear that because, although, yes, things like medical travel are absolutely a requirement for the government to help out with, there is some misuse of the isolation centres happening and it is an expense that is just really unaffordable for the people of the Northwest Territories. I did hear the Minister responsible for the COVID secretariat speak a little on contracting out services, and I'd like to find out more information about what the COVID secretariat is looking at contracting out to local businesses around the Northwest Territories. This not only increases the GDP in the...

Mr. Speaker, the majority of my constituents supported the swift responses of the Chief Public Health Officer that prioritized our safety in the face of a largely unknown virus. Today, we know more and know that our responses need to be sustainable, as COVID-19 has no end date. My constituents are becoming increasingly frustrated as COVID cases surge in the South and our COVID communications and policy implementation still struggle. The announcement of the COVID secretariat wasn't well-received. We've been told there are 150 staff members, most of whom are GNWT employees on transfer...

That leads quite nicely to my next question, and I just want to confirm first, though. Are there currently no out-of-territory physicians practicing virtual care with NWT residents?

Mr. Speaker, today is the first sitting day of our second year. The air outside is fresh, and after seven long months of COVID, today is a good day to hit the reset button. Last night, I spoke with a bright young student named Maggie, preparing for today's class presentation on the NWT. I asked her about her favourite NWT thing, and her response was, "The ice castle." Her favourite thing is a local "king" in Carhartt's who cuts his castle from our frozen lake to create a community that vibrates with excitement, and I love that.

A year ago, I stood here and congratulated my colleagues because...

Mr. Speaker, the third set of questions is for the Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation. According to the Northwest Territories Bureau of Statistics, 42.7 percent of Northwest Territories homes are in need of at least one major repair, and Government of the Northwest Territories major home repair funding programs require applicant homeowners to have homeowners' insurance, but, because of the remote location and limited services available in most northern communities, residents do not qualify for homeowners' insurance.

How does the Government of the Northwest...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have three sets of written questions today. The first is for the Minister of Finance, and the question is:

What has been the impact of COVID-19 spending to date, including the number of dollars that have directly contributed to our gross domestic product;

The number of businesses saved;

The number of jobs saved and/or recovered;

The projected impact of new or proposed spending; and

How many businesses and jobs were lost in the Northwest Territories as a result of COVID-19?

A standing barrier to providing virtual care is the barrier created by differential licensing requirements which the Minister touched on, and there's different requirements straight across Canada. What work is being done to simplify the registration and licensor processes to enable qualified physicians or healthcare providers to provide virtual care across provincial and territorial boundaries?

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. In March of this year, I asked the then-Minister of Health and Social Services about virtual care in the Northwest Territories. Since then, the GNWT has put together a three-phased approach to virtual care to address healthcare needs in the face of a global pandemic. In regards to the advances that were made through the COVID-19 pandemic as far as virtual care is concerned, I would like to see the changes and advances that were made continue their momentum. I'm wondering: for phase two, the virtual care initiative identified a need to create secure messaging...