Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. We have made some changes to our SFA application guidelines, and having a student’s consent was a barrier over the past several years now to linking the students with the employers and working with HR. So now we have the opportunity. We have the students’ consent to move forward, working very closely with employers and also the Human Resources department. There are also a Facebook page that allows employers to advertise jobs and work with our department to create opportunities for our students.
Again, in partnership with Human Resources, there is information sharing and some employment throughout the Northwest Territories about employment opportunities. These are the changes we’ve made. We have heard from Members in the past and now we are moving forward on that. It is making progress within our application guidelines. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Can I clarify a question with the Minister? So, now we have that checkmark in the application, currently we have the ability to contact those students when we have job positions from HR? We can contact the students that these are the positions we currently have in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
That’s correct. We didn’t have the checkmark prior to making those changes. Now we do have the students’ consent to allow them to explore opportunities in the Northwest Territories and creating opportunities for them through the employers. So, yes, we are making progress in that respect. We want to attract those students who return to the Northwest Territories, whether it’s an apprenticeship or other professional areas, and provide opportunities for them. That’s our overall priority. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Sounds great, Mr. Speaker. Has the department made those contacts with HR? Have we started to make the links of linking those students with potential positions in the future, linking up what the students are currently taking with what we have in our inventory of positions in the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
That’s exactly what is happening between our two departments. Also keep in mind that there is the employer aspect that we need to work with. We are dealing with upwards of 1,600 students and we need to identify who is graduating when, what kind of positions should be available to them in the Northwest Territories. Not just the GNWT, but other prospects and partnership opportunities within the Northwest Territories. There is also Skills for Success, improving employment success in the Northwest Territories. That’s another initiative on the go that involves integrated departments to work together to improve those successes. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bouchard.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m just wondering if the Minister can give me more information or indicate to me whether we are linked to all other departments in the NWT, Justice, HR, Housing, some of those positions where we know we need a certain skill set that we want, not just for highly educated people but also for tradespeople. Are we linked to all the sectors and all the private sectors? Can the private sector come to us and say we would like to put this job out to the students of the Northwest Territories? Are we able to take that information and pass it on to our students? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Since we got the consent from the students, now we have the dialogue with the interdepartmental discussion we are having, whether it’s the Housing Corporation, the housing maintainers or any other positions within departments and also outside the Government of the Northwest Territories, private agencies and public agencies as well. So those are discussions we are currently having since we got consent from the students. Yes, we are having the dialogue with the respective parties within the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Without question, the recent announcement of the draft Protected Areas Strategy caught the resource industry by surprise with clear word from the resource industry that the Northwest Territories was no longer safe to do business with. My questions today are for the Premier.
Can the Premier indicate how does this recent unchecked announcement from the Premier’s Cabinet as a goal to conserve 40 percent of NWT’s land mass support his vision of a strong and prosperous territory? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As a Member, he’s been around a long time and should know we have had a Protected Areas Strategy that was developed in the 1990s. When devolution occurred, we devolved and evolved and we’ve taken that Protected Areas Strategy and reviewed it and served our northern priorities. It is a draft document and those have been put out for discussion. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The Premier is quoted, “We need a solid framework on which to build this potential. The Mineral Development Strategy is that framework.”
So, to the Premier: How is limiting up to 40 percent of land going to support an increase in mineral exploration? Thank you.
The appropriate term is “balanced development.” We’ve always said that we would have development while protecting the land and environment at the same time. With the draft Conservation Strategy, it allows for up to 80 percent for development. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The Premier is also quoted in the Mineral Development Strategy: “The new strategy represents a commitment. The NWT is serious about addressing our investment challenges and unlocking the mineral potential of the territory.”
Can the Premier share with the House, how does this draft Protected Areas Strategy not conflict with our ability to unlock dismal mineral exploration numbers? Thank you.
We have quite a number of strategies. We finished the Economic Opportunities Strategy, Mineral Development Strategy that the Member is referring to. We also have a Land Use Strategy Framework, and the Member knows that the lack of investment or the downward turn in mineral exploration is something that’s happened across the world. It’s an international problem.
I have said many times that we will have balanced development. A priority is to settle land claims, and there will be up to 80 percent of land available to development when it is all said and done. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The recent draft Protected Areas Strategy has been deemed by some as a clear indication of this government: we are closed for business. If indeed some truth, Mr. Speaker, what is the Premier prepared to do within our limited time in the 17th Assembly to correct this characterization of his government? Thank you.
We have been working with a very large group in developing this draft plan, so it shouldn’t have been a surprise to anybody. We’ve reached out and had a number of meetings with the Chamber of Mines, Chamber of Commerce and other organizations. Also, we have to keep in mind that settling the land claims is very important. We want to do it as quickly as possible. There’s 144,000 square kilometres of land as part of the interim land withdrawal, and once those land claims are settled there’ll be additional land available. As I said, it’s a draft document and it’ll be a transition document and it will be dealt with the 18th Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I just want to follow up on my Member’s statement wherein I spoke about Fort Liard and Nahanni Butte residents accessing health services in Fort Nelson, BC. I just wanted to speak with the Minister of Health and Social Services with regards to that.
He was travelling in my constituency in May. He heard from the residents about the type of care that they do get from Fort Nelson. Part of the barrier there is that they’re not being referred there. They’re going there and they have been using it for decades, but their travel costs aren’t being covered to go there to access that health care. So, I’d like to ask, the Minister had agreed at that time to review it, to work with his officials, to see what can be done about accessing the health services in northern BC.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. The Minister of Health, Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker As Canadian residents, the residents of Fort Liard can receive services anywhere in this country with no cost as long as it’s medically necessary. So if they travel down there for a doctor’s appointment or if they travel down there for an emergency situation, those costs are actually covered through reciprocal billing.
What I believe the Member is talking about is when members of the community choose to go to Fort Nelson as opposed to going to the health centre, they want their travel covered. Our recommendation is that we use the health facilities here in the Northwest Territories first and that they go to the health centre. If they get a referral out, we do cover those costs, but we don’t have an agreement with the Government of British Columbia to provide additional services to residents of the Northwest Territories.
I have asked my department to have some discussions with BC at the admin level to figure out what steps would be necessary to do that. We haven’t made it very far, unfortunately, and I don’t really have too much of an update for the Member at this time other than the fact that we are looking at it to see what needs to be done in order to allow us to do some referrals, if possible.
When the Minister talks about using our health services in Fort Liard, that’s an entirely different question, because the Minister is well aware of the other concerns with regard to people not trusting or else being dismissed by our Fort Liard Health Centre, but that’s an entirely different issue altogether.
What I’m talking about is when Alberta had the Capital Health Services we had a written agreement to use their services, their facilities, with our medevac services, et cetera, and now they’re called Alberta Health. I’d just like to ask the Minister exactly what type of arrangement or agreement do we currently have with the Government of Alberta with regard to health.
The Government of Alberta, the Alberta Health Services is our primary partner in the delivery of services. They do most of our diagnostics around things like MRIs, they are the specialists that we send our residents to, and they have a direct link and cooperation with our practitioners here in the Northwest Territories and agreements that allow them to share information, where appropriate, as long as it falls under the Health Information Act and the Access to Information.
We have agreements in place that allow us to work together and refer to them. We don’t have those same agreements with BC. It would take negotiation to set up those types of agreements, and we’ve got to do, obviously, cost-benefit analysis on that and make sure that those agreements are actually going to provide some value.
In the meantime, I do remind the Member as well as the residents of the Northwest Territories, and particularly Liard, as you travel outside of the Northwest Territories and you do go to hospitals or health centres outside of the Northwest Territories, those costs are recovered under our reciprocal billing and you shouldn’t have a cost. Where we’ve run into a difficulty with Fort Nelson is they don’t have the ability to refer back to the Northwest Territories for things like home care, physio, occupational therapy or any of the additional programs that we provide above and beyond what is consistent across this country.
I’m very pleased that at least the department is beginning the process of trying to understand the situation about having Fort Liard and Nahanni Butte residents having a travel cost. I think that’s the biggest issue, because the Minister is right; we do have reciprocal billing and we do have an agreement throughout the provinces that our health care cards are recognized in BC as well as Alberta, but it’s just a matter of getting there, seeing the services. Like I said, they’ve been doing it for decades. They’re familiar with the doctors and the dentists in those communities in northern BC.
I’d just like to ask the Minister once again, can he commit to have his department seriously look at this issue and see how much further we can go about delivering health care close to home to the residents of Fort Liard and Nahanni Butte?
I’m happy to have the department continue and re-engage in some dialogue with BC to see what it would take, but I do put some provisos around that. When a resident of the Northwest Territories chooses to go outside of this province for medical treatment that’s available in this province, we don’t cover that. What we’re talking about now is whether or not we can cover people for referrals, somebody who’s actually accessed and engaged in the system, so not people who are just making choices to travel outside but where there’s been a referral or something, we’re certainly willing to have those discussions.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Certainly, I can say unequivocally on behalf of the residents of Fort Liard and Nahanni Butte that they’re not choosing to go there. It’s just that over time they’ve developed trust issues about service of health delivery within our own system. But aside from that, if we can develop this base, the residents have a working relationship already. I’m just asking our government, let’s formalize this, let’s work a way around it, let’s continue supporting our residents getting the proper health and close to home delivery of health care that they can.
We’re committed to providing health and social services in the Northwest Territories as close to home as possible, and I hear the Member that we have some issues with Liard and the trust issues. I’d say that it’s going to be important for the future Ministers and the existing Minister as well as Members to work with our communities to find out how we can overcome some of those trust issues and re-encourage some trust and faith in the system that is available here in the Northwest Territories.
Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following four documents, entitled “Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 2, 2015-2016;” “Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 3, 2015-2016;” a letter dated March 13, 2014, to the chair of the Standing Committee on Government Operations regarding committee recommendations on Bill 24, An Act to Amend the Liquor Act; and a letter dated September 5, 2014, to the chair, Standing Committee on Government Operations, regarding committee recommendations on Bill 24, An Act to Amend the Liquor Act.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document, entitled “Government of the Northwest Territories Response to Committee Report 19-17(5): Report on the Review of the 2015 Report of the Auditor General of Canada on Corrections in the Northwest Territories.”
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Pursuant to Section 68 of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, I wish to table the 2014-15 Annual Report, Information and Privacy Commissioner of the Northwest Territories.
I would also like to recognize, colleagues, Ms. Elaine Keenan Bengts, the Information and Privacy Commissioner of the Northwest Territories, who is present in the gallery here today. Thank you for visiting our Legislative Assembly, Ms. Keenan Bengts.
Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Tuesday, October 6, 2015, I will move the following motion: now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that this Legislative Assembly request the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories to dissolve the 17th Assembly of the Northwest Territories on October 25, 2015, to permit polling day for a general election to be held on November 23, 2015;
and further, that the Speaker transmit this resolution to the Commissioner.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Kam Lake, that Bill 69, An Act to Amend the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act, No. 2, to be read for the first time.
Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. The motion is in order. To the motion.
