Yes, as mentioned earlier, we do have various courts, DVTO court and wellness court, that are new to the system and are exciting and hopefully initiatives that will result in a change. We realize that there is an over-representation of Aboriginal people in the system and in the jail system, but particularly, as I mentioned, there are the specialized courts, there is corrections programming, court workers including legal aid and outreach, so we are making improvements. Hopefully, these many initiatives will lead to success. Thank you.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. In my Member's statement, I noted that there is a group of low- or no-income non-Indigenous women who do not qualify for birth control or the new abortion pill. Why not? Thank you.
Masi. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Mifegymiso pill is actually something that is prescribed by physicians in the Northwest Territories, so it can be prescribed. I think the difficulty that we have is that it is not covered by all of our insurance programs or supplementary health programs that we have out there.
We know in the Northwest Territories there is a gap of individuals who are not covered by our supplemental health programs and do not have insurance from their employer. All other individuals can get this covered. In that light, we are conducting an internal review of the supplementary health benefits program, and that work is happening right now with the view of addressing the coverage gaps that exist that I think this particular pill falls under. We are hoping to get that review done so that we can have some informed discussions with Members and the public on how we can work together to close that gap and in an equitable, affordable, and fair way.
I appreciate the answer from the Minister. I am glad to hear that he is proactively reviewing gaps such as the one that I have highlighted today. I want to point out to him that it is not just the new abortion pill. It is also birth control. Birth control is specifically excluded. Is that being reviewed, as well?
Drugs that are covered under extended health benefits or non-insured health benefits that are covered by the federal government go through a lengthy process to determine whether they are covered. I am not sure why that particular medication is not covered, but I do know that it is covered by a large number of insurances, that it is covered by NIHB and other things, so it would be covered for a large number of the residents of the Northwest Territories.
What we are doing is a review of our supplemental health programs, which is going to focus in on the gap of individuals that are not covered, so low-income families who do not have insurance and what to cover for. We are going to get that work done so that we can all have an informed discussion in this House, in the public, about how we could have an affordable, equitable, fair supplemental health program for all residents of the Northwest Territories.
I appreciate the Minister's answer, but he did not answer the question. We were talking about, on the one hand, the provision of medical abortion; on the other hand, birth control. Neither is covered for this vulnerable group of women. Is the Minister also looking at the birth control end of it?
I kind of feel like I did answer the question. Maybe the Member did not like it. The bottom line is we are doing a review of the supplemental health program. If these things are covered under other insurances, like NIHB, we want to find a way to make sure that those low-income families without insurance are getting covered appropriately, and we need to make sure that it is done affordably, equitably, and fairly for all residents of the Northwest Territories. That includes all drugs, not just the ones that the Member is talking about today, that are covered under existing programs, that are not covered for this group.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Thank you to the Minister for that response. So, the new medical abortion pill, Mifegymiso, is available in Yellowknife. I am wondering when the government will make this pill available in regional centres that have doctors or midwives. Thank you.
Mifegymiso is actually provided through the Northern Options for Women program, which offers reproductive choices and abortion services for all women of reproductive age in the Northwest Territories, as well as the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut. This program is currently offered in Yellowknife, the Member is correct, as well as Inuvik when we have particular physicians who have the knowledge providing local coverage in that area.
Consideration is currently being given to support the NOW program, which is the Northern Options for Women program, in other regional centres of the Northwest Territories so that it is available in a wider range throughout the Northwest Territories. We are exploring those options now to try to determine the cost and make sure that it could be done in a fair, equitable, and affordable way. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Sahtu.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. In the whole community of sports, recreation, arts and crafts, my first question to the Minister of ITI is: what role does ITI play in supporting the arts in the Northwest Territories? Mahsi.
Masi. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all, the Government of the Northwest Territories recognizes that the arts play an important role in the creation of healthy and vibrant communities. Traditional arts in particular, I would say, play a big role in that because they are a source of income and economic development in many of our small and remote communities. We want to advance and encourage that as part of our economy.
My next question, and I thank the Minister for that answer: does the Minister see the arts sector as one that can play a role in building our economy?
As I said, I see it as a source of income and economic development, but, in particular, I think where I see a role in the arts community playing a significant role is around how we represent and promote ourselves around tourism. That is a big part of it. A lot of these people come here and buy mementos and souvenirs before they go home, and this represents the traditional artists of the territory. With that, though, we also reach out to help these people in the small communities to get the right pricing and marketing for their communities. We have these regional sessions, workshops, to help them get the right value for their product.
In my statement earlier, I had mentioned both departments, ECE and ITI. My next question is: what joint funding initiatives are available for traditional artists in the Northwest Territories by a strategy that includes both departments?
Last year, ITI provided $1.6 million for funding for artists in the Northwest Territories; $250,000 of that was invested regionally to support specific arts and fine crafts. We also have the SEED program, which has huge uptake, to help support the arts program. We have a bunch of other stuff that we do. We support venues and events where artists can promote and sell their products, like the Great Northern Arts Festival and a number of music festivals in the Northwest Territories. Also, last year I had the opportunity and maybe a number of Members of the House did: we had a pop-up art show in Yellowknife, and we brought in regional artists from across the NWT to promote that.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am thanking the Minister for the information here so we can relate that back on to the leaders that I represent in five communities. My last question: what is the government doing to promote traditional arts in the area of, say, music and painting, for example? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I want to thank the Member for his question. We have the NWT Arts Program and the website that we established. On there, you can register your product or what you do, whether it is selling your CD or whatever, at no cost.
On that website, we also do the marketing campaigns and advertising for NWT artists through that web page. Also on there, we have a "where to buy NWT arts" page which will direct people who are looking for specific types of products to which NWT outlets they can purchase these types of things at. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have questions for the Minister of Finance on cannabis. I would like to ask the Minister: what is going to occur if the federal government is not able to pass legislation as of July 1st? It appears at this point like that is not going to be possible. I would like to know what the action plan for our government would be if that was to occur. Thank you.
Masi. Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If the federal government does not pass legislation, the current laws will remain in place. There is not much we can do but continue our work to get ready to implement once they do pass legislation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I would like to ask the Minister what action his government would take, or this government would take, if the federal government recognized that they were not able to pass legislation and decided to decriminalize marijuana by July 1st?
Well, as I said, it is federal law that they are working on. If they decide that it is unable to be done by the time that they have specified, then we would just have to change direction and just continue to do the work that we can to sure that we are ready for implementation once the federal government does legalize cannabis.
I would like to ask the Minister what process, I guess, we would have to do if we decided that there was no way that we were going to be able to pass legislation within this time frame and then the federal government moves to decriminalize the legislation. If the federal government continues on with that, at this point, would this government actually actively try to decriminalize marijuana, too? I am curious to know if that could something that could be done quickly or if that process would be just as slow as actually passing the legislation.
My understanding is that the federal government has to pass legislation to legalize cannabis. I do not think we have the ability as a jurisdiction to do it on our own, because it is still illegal according to the Criminal Code, and that would have to be changed. I do not think we have the ability to enact this legislation on our own without the federal government passing their legislation to legalize cannabis.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier I made a statement on the water treatment plant situation in Fort Providence and the problems with the intake line. Of course, the community of Fort Providence, through the hamlet council, has undertaken a study. My question is to the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs: what is the department's role in updating the Fort Providence water and sewer system to modern and reliable standards? Mahsi.
Masi. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The role of Municipal and Community Affairs is to support communities as best as possible. When it comes to water and waste water, we provide annual funding to the communities to develop it. We support them in developing their annual capital planning process. That planning process actually usually guides the communities to develop strategies for long-term projects such as a water treatment plant or big infrastructure projects. Then, once that has gone through that process, we will support the hamlets and communities in actually looking at what federal funding they can access to build their large infrastructure projects. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Other communities are likely in the same situation where aging infrastructure from the 1970s more than likely served its purpose beyond its years. One common theme that has been suggested to communities is the idea of reservoirs. Can the Minister explain why a water reservoir may be one option for the community?
The purpose of the study from the hamlet conducted was to look at all options to provide clean water to the residents of the community. The reservoir was one of the options that the hamlet reviewed, so it was one of many options that the hamlet could look at. Then it is the process that the hamlet has to decide which of the options provided in that study would best meet the needs of their community.
MACA, of course, provides funding, as the Minister stated, infrastructure funding to community, and, of course, it is based on federal allocations. What priority does aging infrastructure, like the water treatment plant in Fort Providence, receive when considering community infrastructure funding allocations?
Every community has different needs. Every community has different infrastructure needs. Some of them are more up-to-date than others. During their capital planning process, that is the time that each community identifies which of their infrastructure projects are reaching the end of life and which ones we need to support, then, in obtaining federal infrastructure money so that they can meet the infrastructure needs within their individual communities.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of Finance. I appreciate that the subject of a knowledge-based economy is a multi-department initiative, but I understand that the Minister is taking the lead.
I spoke earlier about a couple of examples; a young woman developing an app to promote education as it relates to her traditional language. I talked about the opportunity of a young man becoming an architect and having an impact on housing that supports Indigenous lifestyles. These are all things relevant to the knowledge-based economy. Mr. Speaker, if I can, I would like to ask the Minister if he can provide the House with an update on what the GNWT is doing to develop and promote the knowledge-based economy? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have committed in our renewed mandate to developing a knowledge economy.
First of all, we are going to focus on advancing access to knowledge in our agricultural sector, expanding our geoscience information and implementation of the NTGS Strategic Plan, and advancing public understanding of resource development in the NWT.
The examples that the Member gave, I think, are very good examples of an initiative going forward that would work to our knowledge-based economy, and as we've heard a number of times in the past talking about with the benefits of the fibre-optic line and possibly doing a knowledge-based up in Beau-Del, I think there are some opportunities there. There are a number of issues that we are looking at, and we do recognize that going forward, it is very important that we cultivate our knowledge base to take advantage of the options that might be out there.
Thank you to the Minister for the reply, and the extensive reply. I really appreciate that. He did touch on reaching out as it related to opportunities that might be had with regard to certain industries. I talked earlier today about the challenges that we're facing with regard to climate change that are affecting us on our doorstep here, day in and day out. I also talked about mining resource extraction and challenges that they faced in protecting the environment. I also talked about the agriculture sector in the innovation and how it's affecting it. I'm wondering: can the Minister let us know if he's been reaching out as a government to those industries and to those sectors, asking them what their challenges and how innovation and technology might help them overcome those challenges?
We're always reaching out to folks out there to get their input on how they're affected by a number of different issues that are facing the Northwest Territories, such as climate change. We actually don't even have to reach out to them. They reach out to us and point out some of the challenges that they're facing, too. I think it's critically important that we continue to work with them, hear what they talk about, the challenges that they face, and then we'll have a discussion with them on some of our options and some of the things we're working on going forward, because it is a critical issue and I think now is the time to start trying to deal with the impacts of climate change and everything else on business and people across the Northwest Territories.
