Caroline Wawzonek

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when the Government of the Northwest Territories vaccine policies were initially being developed, this was back in August, and if I recall correctly it was actually before the time that we had heard what the final federal policies might be, we were doing our best to develop our policy for the needs of our communities, having heard from Indigenous governments and communities here in the North and being aware of the vulnerable population we have in the North and seeing the evolution of COVID19 to that point. And around that time, Mr. Speaker, other...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That is a challenge, Mr. Speaker, that I hear about actually wearing my ITI hat as much as Finance in terms of an impact on labour market shortages in a variety of areas and particularly in the private sector as well. So certainly I'm very live to it.

With respect to childcare, obviously I'll turn it to my colleague at ECE and the news that's being announced around a movement towards $10 a day childcare. But back to more generally with respect to housing, again that is a wholeofgovernment problem and a wholeofgovernment challenge as it is a wholeofterritory challenge. So...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the labour market supplement was a policy tool that was developed, firstly, in consultation with the union.

In terms of what choice was made around which workers or which specific positions would first be would have the opportunity to utilize this policy, that was a choice made by the Department of Health and Social Services who was applying that policy. So there's a number of factors that are within the policy as to what types of positions should should qualify for what is an exceptional an exceptional tool, an exceptional that's being used to enhance...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So Mr. Chair, this is the area of food of the food security does is supported by quite a number of different departments. ITI's primary responsibilities certainly are the food are the fish plants, sorry, and then some support on some of the other programs.

Now, with respect to I believe it was I was just trying to find it. I do have it in my notes, but it's actually not I don't think ITI that's the lead on some of this, the Northern Food Development Program. Here sorry, Mr. Chair, I just want to make sure I'm getting the right date. I may have to get back to the...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I don't necessarily have an update. I didn't anticipate this being part of the mandate discussion. You know, obviously two years ago when we did the priorities document and the mandate associated with it, we certainly didn't anticipate COVID, let alone the inflation that and that might result in part from that as well as some of the other crises we've continued to see over the last two years.

So I mean, just by way of general comment, as I think I've said a couple times in the House recently, the Department of Finance is paying quite close attention. I'm well...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, so there is there's a few different things happening with respect to the makerspaces. The makerspace project here in Yellowknife did experience some delays, although I think they are on track or catching up as of now and do have funding to see themselves opening up a fairly significant operation.

There are other initiatives that are underway. There is the arts, craft, technology manufacturing centre in Inuvik that was opened in 2019, and they are partnering with a number of regional organizations in the Beaufort Delta to bring the makerspace concept and the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I when we discovered that this that the change in the federal exemption hadn't been applied, it wasn't again, it was not it was something that we were not aware of, that their changes were not a public change. It was a change not communicated to to the Department of Finance. So as soon as we became aware of it, the employ the affected employees were contacted. I certainly, Mr. Speaker, I don't mind, and I think it's appropriate to say that I would not want to see hardship caused to any employee, any member of the public service, including those seven...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, there of course is the GNWT's vaccination policy but then there are also some employees who, because of the existence of federal policies either in the places where they need to attend, such as an RCMP detachment, or because of the concern around travel, they would have been doubly impacted because of their job descriptions on on those policies. And the federal government had put in place an exemption initially to January 31st, and it was our exemption that or our understanding that that at that point, people who were subject to needing to travel...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there was a lot of discussion back and forth firstly around the design of the labour market supplement in which case some of the requests that were made by the union were, indeed, incorporated into that policy to better reflect some of their suggestions. Then when it came time to apply the policy on the first occasion where the Department of Health and Social Services had brought forward their suggestion, it you know, again, there was further discussions. There were requests to expand in a way that did not, in our view, meet the conditions of the policy...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the union was engaged, I believe, back in the fall I believe in September, in fact, with respect to this labour market supplement in terms of its design, and then there was a process of going through to determine which positions to which this the supplement policy would properly apply.

But, Mr. Speaker, the health recruitment unit that now exists, and was developed both by Department of Finance and Health and Social Services, that's something that's been in the works obviously in response to the fact that there's been challenges in our healthcare and this...