Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister responsible for Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the barriers are multifold, and that's a part of the reason why we have launched the Indigenous Recruitment and Retention Framework. It's one that looks not only to recruitment, which is certainly one of the barriers, but also to retention. And Mr. Speaker, the barriers, as I've stated, they're manyfold, meaning that they're not only structural within the Affirmative Action Policy or other tools or techniques or a lack thereof, they go into the very fact of people's you know, the need to understand who we are as a territory, living well together, and other aspects of that, understanding who we are as a territory, and all of the work that happens over at ECE to ensure that the residents of the territory have the best possible education so they are able to apply to all the jobs that are available to them. So multifold, Mr. Speaker, but that's, again, a big part of why there is now our framework to respond to them. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And now 30 years later, will the Minister commit to finding workable solutions to overcome those barriers? Thank you.
Yes, Mr. Speaker. And, Mr. Speaker, again, I don't want to be belabour the Indigenous Recruitment and Retention Framework, but if one spends time on both the framework and on the action plan that goes with it, it is now an effort to look at each department's needs, each department's barriers. There are different barriers in different departments because of the nature of the work in those departments, because of the nature of the jobs in those departments, and that's exactly the point of having this, is that there's now going to be that individual look but within a framework, with measurable targets, and with those targets tied to the performance measures of the senior people within those departments. So yes, absolutely, that's exactly the point. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Minister commit to a complete review of all current positions within the government with a focus to staff those that are vacant or about to become vacant with Indigenous persons through direct competition for Indigenous persons only or direct appointments or transfers? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So Mr. Speaker, I can't make that commitment. Every department does have its own area of responsibility for their hiring and for their positions and vacancies. But again, one of the points here for each department is that once they have targets that they have to meet, they're going to have to use all the tools and tricks available to them, whether that's the various policy items that I know the Member's already spoken of, the Indigenous recruitment, retention or sorry, the Indigenous Gateway Program, internal management training, education plans, all of that needs to be used so that each department's meeting their targets.
It's not enough to simply put people into roles that they for the sake of the numbers. That's not what we want. We want to have a public service where people are being brought in and then trained up within and moved into positions that are appropriate to their training and being given the training to achieve them. So that requires a plan and it requires some thoughtfulness. Mr. Speaker, I do think we are now on that path. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we need to be bold if we want to see change. So I ask the Minister, will the Minister commit to a temporary suspension of the Affirmative Action Policy and departmental targets and replace it with a oneyear moratorium on nonIndigenous hires and transfers throughout this government in favour of a focus on Indigenous recruitment? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that we're trying to find solutions but if we simply we are already going to do a review of the Affirmative Action Policy. We are certainly looking at the Public Service Act. We're doing the recruitment and retention framework, and we now are looking at having a GNWT action plan. The framework and the action plan are new. We didn't have that overarching look at what's going on across the entire GNWT before. And again, I don't want to minimize how important that is. So if I'm to suddenly turn around and say well, we're just going to up end all of the way in which we hire right now, the work that it will take to do that is going to stop the work that we're doing on the Affirmative Action Policy. It's going to stop the work to roll out the framework. And Mr. Speaker, those are both things that are looking at the real structure and the barriers that we have and the systemic barriers that we have. That work has to get done. I want it to get done. And I want it to get done in this Assembly, Mr. Speaker. And so that's where I want to focus our attention. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I spoke at length of the need to assist many of our residents who don't know where to turn for income. The school students have the Take a Kid Trapping program, but many of our young adults, or the young men, who don't excel in school and didn't leave the community don't have the luxury of such a program. Can the Minister of ENR commit to tailoring a trapper training program for our young adults? Mahsi.
Thank you, Member for Deh Cho. Minister responsible for Environment and Natural Resources.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Member for that question. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources has a number of existing programs that support trapping. ENR provides ongoing trapping training in the communities across the NWT for trappers to ensure they can get top quality for pelts sold at auctions. We have new actions that can help support young and middleaged adults, as well as women. ENR has been working with the Indigenous governments to develop a pilot program for trapper mentorship. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, income assistance payments are on the rise. Our healthcare system is stretched due to injuries stemming from excessive alcohol and drug use. We require this government to come up with initiatives to getting our residents back to work and curbing the excessive use of alcohol and drugs. This is affecting many of our young adults in our communities. Will the Minister commit to providing funding and developing an action plan to revitalize the trapping industry for our communities? Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, ENR and ITI are working closely together to explore additional opportunities to support domestic markets for our fur marketing within the NWT, the North, and across Canada. This includes a proposed fur industry forum in 2022 to develop a roadmap for a future of the NWT fur industry and opportunities for innovation. ENR is currently evaluating the existing Genuine Mackenzie Valley Fur Program to determine what is working and where changes will maybe needed to enhance that program. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker, and mahsi to the Minister. Mr. Speaker, no one is doing anything with furs in the Northwest Territories. The Fort McPherson Tent and Canvass is not using the furs in their products. The Dene Fur Cloud Shop in Fort Providence is using rabbit pelts imported from out of territory. I see potential industries for our territory in the creation of mitts, gloves, vests, coats, hats, and the list is not exhaustive. All this with the use of furs caught in the NWT.
Will the Minister take a closer look into this possibility and develop plans to making this initiative a reality? Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, ENR and ITI continue to look for ways to enhance trapping in the traditional economy. The proposal for proposed fur industry forum planned for 2022 is intended to help develop a plan for the future of the NWT fur industry. This forum will bring together key players in the NWT fur industry and will address the issue that the Member is raising. And I thank the Member for bringing forth this concern. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Deh Cho.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. And I thank the Minister for that. I'd like to suggest the Minister work with other departments to advance this initiative, and it could be more than just two departments. Even during tough times, we have to be seen as being optimistic for the future, including the fur economy.
Will the Minister commit to open dialogue with First Nation leaders to discuss the government's plans to revitalize not only the fur economy but to actively putting our residents, including the young adults, back into the working environment? Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, ENR undertook a very broad engagement when developing the sustainable livelihood action plan, which included 18 community open houses. This included engagement with the communities, Indigenous governments, Indigenous organizations, renewable resource boards, and councils, hunters and trappers committee. All actions in the plan reflect key community concerns related to harvesting, trapping, and food security. ENR remains committed to continue ongoing engagement in collaboration with our comanagement partners and the trappers themselves for input on the proposed fur forum and trapping in general. And Mr. Speaker, I can guarantee you our Indigenous governments are very much a key stakeholder and partners as we move forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.
As we apply the learnings from the pandemic and the flooding events that occurred in 2021, could the Minister comment on how lessons learned from the past will affect our future collaboration with the Canadian Red Cross in the Northwest Territories? How will the Red Cross work with this team during our next emergencies? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Great Slave. Minister responsible for MACA.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Member for the question. Red Cross has we've had conversations with them, myself and the Minister of Health and Social Services. We've had conversations on that. Communities have reached out to Red Cross as well. So we are working with them presently. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the collaboration is a collaboration; I appreciate that answer. So next my question is in complex and protracted events, it is essential to collaborate with organizations that bring learnings and expertise from across Canada that we may not have here in the territory; as well, we're all responsible for community preparedness and readiness.
So how will the GNWT and the Red Cross collaborate and share expertise on important initiatives such as volunteer capacity building, advanced preparation and disaster planning, and community education and awareness? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have reached Red Cross has reached out to us; we've reached out to them. We're having these conversations. We are building our capacity within the territories. We're working on our flood management programs, our floodrelated issues. ENR is working with them with fires as well. So we are working on these things. We are building the capacity in the communities. And if the communities are saying we need certain things that we don't have to offer, we're looking elsewhere. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'll try again; I'm actually looking for details on that collaboration in training programs, schedules, you know, meeting appointments, anything that could be provided to the Regular Members as to actually what is going on in that conversation with the Red Cross.
Can the Minister explain why at the beginning of the flooding disaster last year, it took so long for the GNWT to draw on the resources of the Red Cross? It's my understanding that it took Indigenous leadership in the region to start that ball rolling. What is the Minister doing to ensure that if we do need help in the future that we're going to request that help at the first moment possible? Thank you.
Thank you. The Member has about three or four questions in there so I'll try to focus on a couple of them.
We are working on a plan to move forward. If that involves Red Cross, we will add that into it. We are working with the communities to make sure they're prepared for it. We had learning opportunities from the last flood, and so we're working on those. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister did not explain or answer my question as to why it took time for the Red Cross to be pulled in and why we left it up to Indigenous governments in order to do so. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. For that detail, I'll have to get back to the Member. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I spoke about in my statement, right now the shingles vaccine is both available and recommended for those over 50; however, it's only covered under both Blue Cross health extended benefits and NHIB for those ages 65 to 70. I was hoping the Minister of Health can explain this, especially the cap. It seems odd to me that if you are 71 and you go to get the vaccine, you're too late. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister responsible for Health and Social Services.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I recognize that shingles is a very painful condition for those who contract it and it can lead to significant health outcomes, as the Member said in his statement.
The rationale here is that the numbers of people in the NWT who require the shingles vaccine is relatively small compared to other vaccines that we would like to fund and don't have the money to fund at this point. In order to bring the vaccine to the whole 50 to 64yearold group, and then the EHB would cover it after that, we'd be looking for an investment of $2 million which is something, of course, the Regular Members could request during the budget process. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yeah, I and I know that the department and whenever we're looking to bring a vaccine into public funded, there's a bit of a debate, you know, about most vaccines that save us money in healthcare costs in the long term if they prevent hospitalizations we save money in the long term. And with shingles, in this case we would save people a lot of pain. I'm just wondering if the department has any evidence that or has done any of the research about whether extending this vaccine to everyone would actually save the health system money? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a full analysis has not been done but there are some estimates. So cost due to hospitalizations due to shingles for NWT residents aged 50 plus, for 2009 to 2018, was $1.3 million. The cost for the vaccine product to immunize the entire NWT population for 50 plus is $1.91 million. And there's also a need for boosters with shingles, and the annual cost of that would be $165,000.
So as things stand now, it would cost us more to vaccinate than it would cost for hospitalizations. But that is a very mathematical answer. People who have shingles and I'm aware of people in my own acquaintance who have had shingles it's a very painful condition. So if people have employer plans that would cover the shingles vaccine and would be able to get it prior to age 65, I would certainly recommend that. Thank you.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think I'm going to have to revisit those numbers because if there's annual ongoing hospitalization costs and we can just do a one time, get everyone out there vaccinated and, you know, largely at some point the chicken pox vaccine will catch up and the number of shingles cases will really decline in the population. But I'm hoping I you know, as public health moves into, you know, having a little bit more time on their hand, we could get some information out there telling people to get vaccinated for shingles and how exactly and when they can get reimbursed. I know it's different whether you have NHIB or it's different if you have Blue Cross, and I know some people have went and paid for it not even knowing they were eligible for any sort of reimbursement. So if the Minister could commit to getting some information out there for our seniors to get vaccinated against shingles? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yes, the department is interested in targeting the most high risk population, which is that 65 to 70yearold group. Also, people who are receiving active cancer treatment who are immune compromised. And the NHIB program offers an exception to the 65 to 70 age group. People can apply for coverage if they feel they can make a case for that with NHIB.
Having said all of that, I think that the Member's suggestion is a good one, that we provide a more targeted campaign to encourage uptake on the vaccine for the 65 to 70 group and for those who have benefits, as I say, who might be able to get it sooner, to go ahead and do that rather than deal with the pain and potential longterm consequences of shingles. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Justice responsible for the maintenance enforcement program.
My statement outlined the complexities of adjusting the amount of maintenance enforcement payments and the difficulties of enacting these changes. The Minister told me that an automatic adjustment regime would be coming into place at the beginning of the year. Can the Minister tell me the status of this improvement? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Minister responsible for Justice.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And like many things over the past two years, it's a story of delays. We were initially waiting for the federal government to make changes to one of their acts, the Divorce Act, which they did, then there was a federal election which meant that our discussions with the federal government on using a recalculation service under the Divorce Act were delayed. But we've restarted those and we've made significant progress, and so while we didn't hit the January 1st deadline, we're hoping by April 1st to have the draft regulations posted for public comment, and I expect that we'll get some good feedback on that. And as soon as we review those comments and see if there's any adjustments needed, we hope to be able to put these into force. However, we do need to still work with the federal government and ensure that there's an MOU in place so that we can use this for situations under the Divorce Act. Thank you.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. The sooner the better. Of course, it's one thing for the changes to be made and another for those affected to be informed. So what activities does the department plan to carry out, first, to identify those maintenance orders affected by the change; and secondly, to inform child support payment recipients that a new regime of annual payment recalculation is being introduced? Sorry, Mr. Speaker. Those are questions for the Minister. Mahsi.
Thank you. So those wishing to use the service will have to apply. It won't not everyone will be able to use the service. There are parameters. There are certain criteria that people will have to meet. But we will have a broad information campaign through social media through all we will update all of our family law publications, the website. The information will be distributed by legal aid lawyers through we'll distribute it to the Law Society so that all lawyers have that information, can distribute it to their clients. So every way we can get the information out, we are going to get the information out. Thank you.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that and, of course, we're starting to get the word out right now.
Obviously, delays in receiving child support payments can have serious consequences for wellbeing of children. I've dealt with my instances of money paid to or some of these cases myself for my constituents where constituents have not been paid promptly.
Can the Minister say what provisions are in place to treat instances such as emergencies and takes swift action to recover and disburse payments for child support? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
