The short answer is: no, they are not being vaccinated now. NWT resident rotational workers in the larger centres have been prioritized to receive the vaccine since January 31st. What we've seen at the Gahcho Kue Mine is that, when you have people in a congregate setting, it doesn't really matter where they're from the NWT or somewhere else. They get sick equally, and they are all infectious to one another. As a result, we had the outbreak that we had of 20 cases, one very serious case.
What I can say about this is that the NWT will not, will not prioritize non-residents over residents. When all eligible residents have been vaccinated, and if there is vaccine required or available, then the CPHO will look at the possibility of vaccinating the rotational workers who are from outside of the territory who work in the territory.
Thanks to the Minister for that answer. My next question is: the immunization clinic that was in Inuvik, there were two weeks, and then, the second week, it was rapidly cancelled. People started blowing up our phones who are from that region because they got their appointments cancelled. We always kind of hear what's going on behind the scenes, and what we were told was that the vaccine was removed from the community and sent back to Yellowknife. How much of this vaccine was set for Inuvik during that clinic from the February 1st to 5th, and how many doses were sent back to Yellowknife?
My information is that the CPHO is not aware of any clinic that was proposed or approved for Inuvik for the first week of February. That's February the 1st to the 5th, and so there was no clinic that was cancelled at that time. As I think the Member is aware, the vaccine allotted to the NWT is a public and territorial resource, and it has been moved to places where it is needed to vaccinate priority groups. In terms of how many specific vaccines were in Inuvik the first week of February, I do not have that information with me.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. People can say there was no clinic. The people that had appointments know that there was, people booked in for appointments to have vaccines for their COVID shots, and they were all cancelled. I will move onto the next question: when will all Indigenous people be made a priority in rural and urban cities, whatever the term that we are going to use, in the Northwest Territories, and added to this list that was publicly released yesterday and is defended by our federal Minister who is the one coordinating all of the vaccines going out to the territories, remote communities, and Indigenous communities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Indigenous people were not listed on the new priority group because this is a public healthcare system. Everyone who works in a hotel regardless of their place of origin or their ethnicity is eligible to have a vaccine. What we do have the benefit of is that the initial vaccine allotment by Ottawa was very large to all three territories and the northern parts of the provinces in order to account for the fact that health vulnerabilities are higher in Indigenous people than they are in other populations. As a result of that, we were promised enough vaccine for 75 percent of our eligible population. As of today, we are at 44 percent of vaccinating our eligible population which puts us well ahead of any other jurisdiction in Canada, which we greatly appreciate.
We have been using the National Advisory Committee on Immunization advice to guide our own NWT vaccine strategy about identifying priority populations to vaccinate, and I just want to reiterate the two foundational principles of the development of the vaccine prioritization. The first is people who are at risk of severe disease from COVID-19, and the other is at risk of importing COVID-19. That is the foundation of our priority groups, and that is the basis on which we are now delivering vaccines.
I want to say further that, at this point, every community except Yellowknife, Hay River, and Inuvik is open for vaccination to every person over 18 years of age. The reason that the three communities I just mentioned are not open is because of the larger populations and the availability of vaccine not matching up at this point. We are waiting for another big shipment. At this point, every community has had two clinics, and every resident over 18 years old, except in Yellowknife, Hay River, and Inuvik, are eligible to receive that vaccine. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I was talking about rapid testing. We said we had a death in the community, and we have six family members sitting in a hotel in Inuvik. I want to know what's happening with rapid testing across the territory. On December 22nd this past year, NWT Health and Social Services said, "All NWT communities have access to rapid COVID-19 testing that can deliver preliminary results to patients in as little as 15 minutes." Can the Minister confirm these rapid tests are available and which communities they are available in? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Nunakput. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's my understanding that every community, even those without health centres, have rapid testing available to them. The important piece to know about rapid testing is that it is only used on people who have symptoms of COVID. They are not going to use it on me unless I am running a fever, I have aches and pains, flu-like symptoms, respiratory symptoms. Then they would give me a test, but they do not test healthy people unless they are essential workers in the healthcare system. The situation is that the tests are widespread, but they are only used for people who are symptomatic. Thank you.
I'm thinking, with these rapid testing, why did we get them in the first place? My six people can say, "I'm having the flu. I'm not feeling well," so I could get six tests brought over to the hotel and get them tested so they could go home and grieve properly with their family? That's not right. If we are going to provide that service of rapid testing, why can't we use them when they come off the plane? Rapid test them. We are legislators here; we could make changes. I want to know: when is the Minister going to take back control from Dr. Kandola and start doing that job?
The situation with the rapid testing is that, even though somebody doesn't have symptoms now, they can develop them at any point over the 14 days. The rapid tests are not a substitute for isolation. Until the virus creates a load in the body that can be detected, it's not possible to know whether this person is infectious or not. That's the situation with rapid testing. There really needs to be ongoing testing through the quarantine period to determine whether someone is infectious.
What the tests are for, I think, was really well illustrated in Fort Liard. What happened there, as we all know, there was an outbreak. It's my understanding that the community response team then tested everybody in the community repeatedly to find out whether they were infectious with COVID-19 in order to be effective in the outbreak management. That is what we are saving the tests for: to manage an outbreak if one were to come along.
I want to thank the Minister for that. Man, she could do the job. She could leave this COVID-19 and lead. I thank her for that. I want to ask the Minister. It states in the rules, like, family members, it doesn't state where you're from. The people in the hotel room are six people from Tuktoyaktuk, born and raised, because I was with them growing up. Now tell me: where does it state them being denied for hotel compensation. Why are we not paying their hotel compensation at the hotel during this isolation period?
I recognize this is a difficult time for the Member to have a death, not only in his community, but in his family. It is not my job to decide which hotel rooms are paid for and in what circumstances. That's the job of the Premier as the lead on the COVID Secretariat.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm going to ask the Premier. Madam Premier, I need help here. People from our communities are hurting. It's the last thing they need to be doing is paying a $2,000 bill for 14 days in a hotel room. They need help. I am asking for help here. We need to show a little bit more compassion and leadership in regard to this. It's not only them. There are other families who are hurting, not only the family that I am talking about. It's other families that are hurting. It should be looked at, reassessed, and say yes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Nunakput. Honourable Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's a fine balance. I would love to be able to accommodate every single person who wants to come to the NWT, whether they're residents or not. In fact, we started with that when we started the COVID secretariat. However, I am also conscious that it is taxpayers' money. It's a real fine balance between being empathetic and providing for every single person, no matter what reason, or being responsible to taxpayers. I heard MLAs; and I heard the general public; and I heard the business communities, and chiefs, leaders of communities, who were saying, "Don't do it anymore." The CPHO's recommendation is that no one travel. Jurisdictions throughout Canada are now saying the recommendation is, "Don't come to our jurisdictions. Don't travel."
Mr. Speaker, it's not as easy as just saying, "Cover them." We cover for almost everyone. The only people we are not covering in the NWT who are residents are people on discretionary travel, those who are going for vacations. Every other person has been covered, from my understanding. When they're not residents, whether they're born here or not, when you leave here after a certain amount of time, you lose your residency. Mr. Speaker, at this point, we are not covering that because we don't have the finances. We have to be accountable. The Member did say that we have a lot of money, but we also have to be accountable for it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Honourable Premier. Oral questions. Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Can the Minister explain how the department liaises with national NGOs or organizations such as the Canadian Liver Foundation to ensure that Northerners can maximize the supports and services they offer but also so that we can contribute to ongoing research? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Great Slave. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Health and Social Services has relationships with a number of national organizations, such as Canadian Blood Services and the Mental Health Commission of Canada. However, we don't have a relationship with the Canadian Liver Foundation. I have asked the department to determine if there are areas where the health system can work more proactively with that organization. Thank you.
I'm glad to hear the Minister say that she would have her department reach out to the Canadian Liver Foundation, given our propensity maybe for a little bit of liking the drink in the North. That would probably be a good thing. Annually, there is an 80 percent shortfall in funding to research liver issues when compared to the number of grant applications that are received. Could you imagine if any one of these applications actually contained the cure for liver disease or an early diagnosis tool? Does the GNWT participate in any sort of research in this area, and subsequently, do we provide any funding to do this type of research?
The Department of Health and Social Services does not conduct research in this area. If somebody who is a researcher comes to us and asks to partner with us, then we certainly would look at that proposal. We would consider offering things like in-kind services, letters of support, contributions of data, staff time, and so on. We are not the initiator of the research, but we are willing participants where we can be.
I'm glad to hear. I do know that the GNWT is a very research-open type of government as evidenced by our Aurora Research Institute. A lot of the health issues that involve the liver can be prevented by a healthy-living lifestyle and a reduction in alcohol consumption. What does the department of health do to provide early education and raise awareness around liver health specifically, given the high incidence of alcoholism in the North?
I am delighted to say, because I raised this when I was a Regular MLA, that the department is now exploring the potential for implementing screening, brief intervention, and referral for alcohol use at the clinical level. What happens here is that the patient, in the course of an ordinary appointment with a healthcare provider, would be screened according to Canada's low-risk drinking guidelines, and the healthcare provider could offer a range of supports, from counselling to a referral to an alcohol treatment centre. We are interested in exploring whether we can use that. Of course, even without this screening tool in place, people who are concerned that they are over-consuming alcohol can seek help from the community counselling program, they can access eMentalHealth supports, and of course, they can access supports through their healthcare provider if they feel like they need a detox or treatment.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That's great, around alcoholism or alcohol education. I guess, too, I would like to see the department looking at a more holistic conversation around liver health, which does include things like healthy eating, exercise, and such. As I mentioned in my statement, many people have liver disease who have nothing to do with alcohol. I guess my next question would be: can we commit to launching a healthy liver campaign in the North specific to the liver, not just focused on alcoholism, but on a healthier lifestyle and prevention? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I can't make that commitment at this point. I can say that, of course, we are interested in helping people to have the best liver health that they can have, and our current efforts are really all focused around the alcohol strategy. I know the Member is talking about liver disease that is not alcohol-related, but we are dealing now with the issues that are alcohol-related because we see them as such big drivers of poor health in our territory. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Finance in regard to the vendor complaint policy. The first thing I would like to know, though, has to do with the procurement review. I am wondering if the Minister of Finance can confirm if the Procurement Review Panel plans to release a draft of its report to the business community prior to finalizing that? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have been trying to be quite clear, both with the panel and publicly, that I think it's important that the panel have the opportunity and ability to do their work independently from my office, from government, and remain objective and remain creative and do what they need to do. I have not directed them to do that, and I have not heard back from them at present on whether they intend to do that. I'm sure, if the message doesn't get back to them through the course of this forum, then I can certainly make the inquiry on behalf of the MLA. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I appreciate that, and I think it's important that the 19th Assembly get this right. I think spending the time to work with northern businesses to make sure we are getting it right is really important. One of the things that the Department of Finance has, one of the tools at its disposal, is the vendor complaint policy. It produces annual reports every year, and I'm guessing that the answer to my next question might be similar to the first. I am wondering if the Procurement Review Panel will be using those annual reports as part of their review or, if the Minister is unsure, if she will make them available to them.
I can say that, over the course of approximately six years, there were only 19 complaints, and in fact, this fiscal year thus far, there has only been one. I certainly will look to compile that information and provide it for the use and review of the panel. As for what they may do with it, obviously, that is certainly up to them. Again, we'll see where it goes, but certainly, we can compile that and provide it for their use.
I appreciate that. I can confirm, though it's great news to hear that there is one complaint this year, I receive a complaint probably every week about procurement from Kam Lake businesses. Whether they are escalated or not is another story. Sometimes, it's great news that things can be sorted out between conversations with MLAs and Ministers, and sometimes, they require a little bit more digging. I am wondering if the Minister would be willing to make the annual reports that go to the Comptroller General public so that, potentially, people can find patterns within those, if there is more than one that comes out every year and, also, hopefully in the future, they can drive change.
First of all, I had April 1st as the fiscal year in my head and said one complaint. It's three, not one; my apologies. Nonetheless, fortunately, not a significantly large increase. At present, there is not a report per se. Again, not having a very large number of complaints, I don't know that a report has been necessary to date. That said, they certainly do gather up all of the complaints. Procurement Shared Services does process those complaints. The Comptroller General does receive notice of the finalized complaints. They certainly are reviewed throughout the government, and the purpose of that review, the purpose of the complaint policy, is indeed to not only provide an avenue of complaint, but to in fact change processes.
I will certainly commit to go back and see what could be perhaps collated into a report that could be shared. I am conscious that the information contained in the complaints may well be something that is subject to some privacy, and I certainly do not want to put any damper on people using the complaint process. As I say, I will commit to speaking with the Comptroller General's Office and seeing what information we can put together so that there can be some transparency on the kinds of complaints we're receiving.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. No. I appreciate the Minister saying that. I definitely do not want there to be privacy concerns, and I don't want to deter anybody from reporting complaints because they do in fact offer opportunities for the government to maintain its procurement policies as living documents and to continue to make change. Even if it is identifying an industry type versus a specific person or company within an industry, I think that is a much better way of going about that. I am also wondering and I just want to confirm that the Minister is willing to also take back to her department the idea of adding recommendations that were made and what happened with those recommendations within those reports so that we can see what action was taken on the part of the GNWT and what change was made for local businesses. Thank you.
Again, Mr. Speaker, the policy right now allows individuals who have gone through the procurement process or who have considered applying on a procurement process to look there and to see whether they would be eligible to make their complaint. It would go through the client department that they are working with and then involve Procurement Shared Services and, if necessary, yes, of course, to the Comptroller General's Office. It's not a formal report per se that gets completed. At this point, in fact, my understanding is that the three that were dealt with were dealt with in a manner that did not require any kind of proposed change.
Now, again, all of which is to say, Mr. Speaker, I am very alive to the fact that the business community wanted to see change in procurement. We advanced. That was not only part of the mandate. We accelerated that, and the work is underway. I am very alive to the fact that there are concerns with the process, but right now, the vendor complaint process is not really a tool wherein people will necessarily find the recommendations they are looking for. Those recommendations are likely to come out of the procurement review process. To the extent that the vendor complaint process is not what people want it to be, then that, too, ought to be something that is mentioned to us in the course of the review. If we can improve the complaint process to make it more accessible so that there can be that kind of a living document, I am certainly happy to hear it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Lands, who appears to have the lead on strategic oil and gas bankruptcy. The Cameron Hills sour gas field is a mess, and the remaining funds to manage and remediate this site are drying up quickly. Can the Minister tell us when he expects the GNWT will take ownership of the site? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Minister of Lands.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As everybody is aware, right now, we have a receiver in place who is looking after all aspects of it. Right now, they are making sure that regulatory compliance is followed and considering options to transfer the site to another operator through a sale process. However, it might be possible we might get small parts or the whole transferred back to us if we cannot find a company to take it over. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I want to thank the Minister for that. I think that is about as close as he has ever admitted to us taking over the site, so I am making some progress here. In my statement, I outlined that there is a total system failure in terms of preventing this site from becoming a liability for this government. I would like to know from the Minister what lessons we have learned from this mess and what is he going to do to fix this from happening again and again.
This was a unique situation. Securities were estimated by the federal government and then transferred to the GNWT upon devolution, and the amount held by the Canada Energy Regulator was not disclosed to the GNWT until recently. We did not know that the total amount of security is insufficient. It is unlikely that this particular situation will arise again as we have a robust regulatory system, including updating security requirements for oil and gas and other operations and devolutions since devolution has happened.
