As mentioned, the cap in the regulations relates to the no-fault portion that an operator would be required to pay. Those regulation provisions will be part of the review that the department is undertaking. Without having had their input on that review, I do not want to make that commitment at this time to the Member.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. I am not sure what the problem is. This is a one-page regulation; one page. These limits are in there. Let's just fix it. The Minister can fix it tomorrow, if she wants. Can the Minister explain when and how long this review is that she is going to undertake? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
I do not have the authority to make that change on my own. It is a Cabinet decision to change regulations. I would need to bring that to my Cabinet colleagues. As the Member is aware, we have many things going on, but I will commit to the Member to do so in a timely manner. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. We had a great conversation yesterday about the Dental Auxiliaries Act, and I just want to make sure that the wheels keep turning on that one. As part of the oral health strategy, has the department done any jurisdictional research or spoken with dentists and dental hygienists to determine the feasibility of allowing dental hygienists to be self-initiated? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A jurisdictional scan of dental hygienist regulation was completed in January 2018 by the Canadian Dental Hygienists Association. This scan includes provinces, territories, and international jurisdictions.
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, we talked about oral health, and the Member and I continued this dialogue. I just looked up the Dental Auxiliaries Act, and I recognize the section where the Member talks about having the dental hygienists go off and do their own work in the communities. I recognize, Mr. Speaker, that this is important. Oral health in the Northwest Territories, not any specific region, is crucial. It's something that, although the scan has been looked at, I am reviewing the act. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I'm going to pretend she said "yes." I want to be part of the yes club today. I do have a yes question, though. Would the Minister be willing to commit to determining if we are willing to make this change as the Northwest Territories this year, so that we can potentially update the act in 2020?
Yes.
Wednesday is my new favourite day of the week. I am wondering, Mr. Speaker: what legislative change has the department initiated under the Oral Health Action Plan to oral health professional role?
Before I answer the question, I do want to go back. I was saying, "Yes, we will look into the feasibility study," just for clarification. Let me get back to the Member's question on what legislative changes the department has made. The Department of Health and Social Services has not initiated any changes in the Dental Auxiliaries Act. The Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority, however, has implemented a territorial specialist, an oral health position which is under the territorial manager, Allied Health. The dental therapist and the newly recruited dental hygienists all report to this position.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My final question for the Minister of health is: has recruitment begun for the chief oral health officer position that was identified as part of the oral health strategy? Thank you.
We have not begun the hiring process. I'm sorry; I can't go three yeses in a row. The department, however, is determining the scope of the work for what this role should be, and this should be done by the end of April. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I have questions for the Minister of ENR. I guess, I would like to firstly say that we are always friends, you know; just sometimes our jobs put us on different sides. Well, we're on different sides of the floor, anyways. We know that, for sure. This is regarding the hiring practice in my community. I know I've pleaded with the Minister; I've sent emails, you know, short of signing over my GST cheque, but it's about inexperience versus experience.
It's just come to my attention since I got back earlier today that there is a very inexperienced Renewable Resource Officer III, which is the lead in the community, or officers. From what I am hearing, this person didn't know how to use a firearm. He discharged a 12-gauge in Fort Simpson, and it injured a person. He was sent out for further training on firearms, use of firearms and firearm safety, plus I am getting reports that former renewable resource officers even had to teach him how to operate a snow machine and teach him how to just live in the bush.
Just wait one second. It's pretty easy to identify the person you are speaking about, so just oral questions. Thank you.
My apologies, Mr. Speaker. I guess it's experience versus inexperience that I am getting at. I'm really hoping, because we have been pleading to have our local people in the community hired into the positions. My question to the Minister is: will he revisit the hiring of the positions in Fort Providence? Mahsi.
Thank you, Member for Deh Cho. Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The honourable Member for Deh Cho has been talking to me about this in December, January, and February. We have had good conversations. We have had communication. I have shared as much information as I can share without getting into privacy and about process. At no point in time as a Minister should you be directing staff who to hire. It is about following fair process. Sorry. I won't be jumping on the bandwagon yet, but no, I won't re-look at the process. We followed the process, and the best candidate was given the RRO III position. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mahsi for that answer. I don't have any further questions in that regard since he is already taken a solid stance, but just to let him know that we will probably be seeking other actions to hopefully address this issue. Mahsi.
Thank you, Member for Deh Cho. I will take that as a comment. The Minister would like to respond.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is the appeal process, and it is all there. It is about trying to get the best person, the best candidate for the position. The honourable Member for the Deh Cho is an advocate for his community about people. I want people to understand he is doing his job. He is working hard to get his residents work and employment. Presently, right now, the RRO3 position went through an open competition, and the best candidate was given that position based on that. There is an appeal process through the mechanism. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document. It is a follow-up letter for Oral Question 71-192: Oral Health Action Plan. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Tabling of documents. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the Arctic Indigenous Wellness Foundation 2018-2019 annual report. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Tabling of documents. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document "FASD and housing in Yellowknife: a Mosaic of Options, Yellowknife," dated March 2020. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I now call Committee of the Whole to order. What is the wish of committee? Mr. Norn.
Mahsi cho, Madam Chair. Committee wishes to consider Tabled Document 30-19(2), 2020-2021 Main Estimates, Executive and Indigenous Affairs and Legislative Assembly. Mahsi cho.
Thank you, Mr. Norn. Is committee in agreement?
Agreed.
We will take a short recess.
---SHORT RECESS
I will now call committee back to order. Committee, we have agreed to consider Tabled Document 30-19(2), Main Estimates 2020-2021. We will begin with the Department of Executive and Indigenous Affairs. Does the Minister of Executive and Indigenous Affairs have any opening remarks?
Yes, Madam Chair. Thank you. I am here to present the 2020-2021 Main Estimates for the Department of Executive and Indigenous Affairs.
Overall, the department’s estimates propose an increase of $783,000 or 3.5 percent over the 2019-2020 main estimates. These estimates support our fiscal objectives to prioritize responsible and strategic spending while matching the modest expected revenue growth over the coming year.
Highlights of these proposed estimates include:
$905,000 in forced growth related to salary increases resulting from the 2016-2017 to 2020-2021 collective agreement with the Union of Northern Workers;
$705,000 for the establishment of the Office of Devolution Initiatives responsible for leading the Government of the Northwest Territories through negotiations related to the management of offshore oil and gas resources. This office has also been assigned the lead of a review of the NWT Lands and Resources Devolution Agreement transitional provisions as they relate to the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act;
a sunset of $82,000 for a project to deliver a communications campaign and strategic communications plan for campaign schools that would increase the engagement of women in politics in the Northwest Territories. This is offset by an investment received from the federal Department of Women and Gender Equality for $525,000.
This money was made available to the Government of the Northwest Territories for two years, beginning August 2019, to expand pilot testing of the campaign school in five communities and to develop an online portal to support this initiative:
a sunset of $495,000 that was part of a project designed to access third-party negotiation and facilitation services to assist in the finalization of self-government agreements;
a sunset of $80,000 that is being provided as a grant to the Northwest Territories/Nunavut Council of Friendship Centres to assist with building capacity and strengthening partnerships of the centres;
a sunset of $170,000 in grant funding made available to individual Northwest Territories friendship centres to match contributions received from other entities; and
the department will see an increase in three positions in 2020/2021. These three positions are located in Yellowknife and are the result of the creation of the Office of Devolution Initiatives.
These estimates continue to provide funding for various priorities of the 19th Legislative Assembly by:
funding the operation of single window service centres that provide residents in 22 small NWT communities with access to basic Government of the Northwest Territories and Government of Canada services;
the delivery of campaign schools twice yearly in order to increase the engagement of women in all levels of politics within the territory. This will also include, as I mentioned earlier, piloting of the campaign school in an additional five communities, which has been made possible through a partnership with the federal government; and
the negotiation and implementation of self-government and land claims agreements throughout the territory.
That concludes my opening remarks. Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Premier. Do you wish to bring witnesses into the House?
Yes, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witness into the Chamber. Madam Premier, would you please introduce your witnesses?
Thank you, Madam Chair. On my right is Mr. Martin Goldney, who is the Cabinet secretariat and the deputy minister for Executive and Indigenous Affairs. On my left is Amy Kennedy, who is the director of Shared Corporate Services. Thank you, Madam Chair.
I will now open the floor to general comments on the Department of Executive and Indigenous Affairs. If there are no further comments, does the committee agree to proceed to the detail contained in the tabled document?
Agreed.
Committee, we will defer the departmental summary and review the estimates by activity summary beginning with Cabinet support, starting on page 108, with the information item on page 110. Are there any questions? Member for Yellowknife North.
