Mr. Speaker, the national level Ministers responsible for Health and Social Services or Persons with Disabilities, get together on an annual basis. There's actually a side group been established to work on issues related to FASD. We fund the national FASD Research Group that goes out and pulls together data and helps develop promotional materials to encourage people to abstain from drinking while pregnant. As the Member said earlier, FASD is 100 per cent preventable but not curable. So they're doing a significant amount of work.
Next year, the Northwest Territories will be taking the lead on that FPT group; it will be the lead responsible for the FASD network over the following year.
Mr. Speaker, that's very good news that the NWT will be taking the lead in this. Can the Minister advise the House what is available right now in the area of programming and so on for FASD?
Mr. Speaker, across the Government of the Northwest Territories there's a wide range of programs and services available for children living with disabilities. Specifically related to FASD, the Stanton Territorial Hospital Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Family and Community Support Program has been established and it basically conducts diagnostic clinics to screen and diagnose FASD in children between the ages of seven and 17.
This team consists of doctors, psychologists, occupational therapists and other speech language therapists who can work with these children and help identify their limitations and help develop individual plans for care. At the same time, Education, Culture and Employment through their inclusive schooling has support workers in schools who can work with individuals who have been diagnosed or not diagnosed as the case may be, to develop individual care plans to help them through the school system. So there is a wide variety of things that are happening out there.
Can the Minister advise the House how much money has been spent on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder programs in the GNWT?
I don't have at my fingertips the cost of the Stanton Territorial Hospital program that I previously mentioned, and I'll certainly get that information for the Member and committee, but we do provide money to different organizations across the Northwest Territories, not specifically for FASD but for children who are struggling with a range of disabilities which can and often does include FASD. So what I'll do is I'll pull together some of that information and I'll share it with the Member and with Committee of the Whole.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Marci cho, Mr. Speaker. It would be nice to know the trend of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. Can the Minister tell the House if they know the prevalence of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder in the NWT? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd love to say yes, but I can't, obviously. There are a lot of adults out there who were never diagnosed and we don't have the clinical diagnosis for them, so there probably are individuals who are FASD who have never been accurately diagnosed.
I could get some information for the Member on the number that have been diagnosed through the Stanton program so that we have some current numbers, but there isn't a real solid set of information out there on the exact numbers that would exist in the Northwest Territories. But I will provide what I can to the Members across the hall.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Each year the winter road project is supervised by outside supervisors brought in at a cost. The cost includes such things as the vehicle, gas, room and board, and a significant amount of overtime.
My question to the Minister of DOT is, utilizing the GNWT and SSI MOU, will the Minister consider hiring local residents for this year's season? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Transportation.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would have to check into this MOU right off the bat, but DOT presently hires two casuals for highway maintenance supervision out of the Sahtu Region for the winter road system.
Yes, I heard the number 17. Today it's two, so that totals 19 positions that we may see. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, but will the Minister consider using the principles of the MOU, I know you have to reflect on the principles of the MOU here between both governments, and entertain the idea of a negotiable site supervisor's contract with a proponent from Sahtu?
Upon review of the status of having a Sahtu regional office, it's the department's view that, until we have an all-season road, which I am the biggest advocate for the Mackenzie Valley Highway, that it would not be in the best use of our dollars to put a regional office for transportation in the Sahtu region at this time.
I'm asking the question if the Minister would entertain the idea of cost savings on a negotiable arrangement to hire local and supply local for the vehicle and eliminate the provision cost and the hotel cost for outside supervisors. Would the Minister accept that?
As I've already stated, we already hired two casual maintenance supervisors from the region to monitor the winter road activities. What I could convey to the Member is I would have to look into whose vehicles we're using. We're already employing two people to do that, and I will get back to the Member on where we're getting the vehicles from.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My last question is that I drive this winter road. I have no other choice but to drive it here, because I want to import cheap groceries. So I see the polar bear decals on the government's trucks, so I can guarantee the Minister that there is government-supplied personnel totalling two positions and two vehicles and room and board to service those individuals.
My question is, with the two positions that are supplied locally and the other two positions supplied outside, would the Minister entertain including a negotiable arrangement to supply those two individuals and their supports locally? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The Member stated that I guess we're using government vehicles to do the maintenance supervision of the winter road. I can look into it, but I can guarantee, if we already have the units available, why would we go out to contract to rent vehicles for the complete four months of the winter road and add significant costs back onto the taxpayers of the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Minister, in follow-up to my Member's statement I have a few questions for the Minister of Housing. I'd like to ask the Minister, what is the current Housing Corporation's policy for NWT residents who inherit a family member's outstanding loan under the CARE program? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Currently the policy for family members who inherit a debt from a deceased parent and get ownership of the house is that, if they decide to sell the unit, they either have to pay back the loan that was taken by the parent or else. If they wish to stay in the unit, they can take on the forgivable loan and they would just take it on. It is a forgivable loan, so if you stay in the unit over five years it starts to come off without financial contributions. So that is the current policy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I understand that the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation is currently examining its policies on this matter. When can residents expect to see these changes implemented?
As stated many times, we are currently doing the engagement survey that will be coming out -- it should be in the MLAs' hands for the last review of the format and the questions. It will be going out to every user of Housing's services and every employee and local housing organization for their feedback.
We are giving two months for the feedback to be brought in, so starting in January we will be doing a thorough review of every single policy and every single program that we offer.
I would also like to ask the Minister: how will an amended policy affect current clients and family members of the clients?
The policy that we are speaking about right now is actually not an easy policy; it's very difficult. The reason that we did put on a time line of the forgivable loans starting to come off after five years and up to a ten-year period is because we found that, when we were doing the loans to people — some people, not all, in fairness — some of the people that we were providing the loans to were actually turning around and selling the units soon after they'd gotten the loans.
So they had fixed up their house, gotten up to $100,000 on taxpayers' money, and then turned around and sold the unit. So that wasn't fair, and that still is not a fair way. So we do have to be really careful with that policy, that we make sure that we are not penalizing people who do inherit houses and yet we don't put it back to the place where people actually can sell the units and there is no payback to the Housing Corporation.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. Earlier today I spoke about the WSCC Safe Advantage program and the practice of refunding a portion of premiums employers whose last three years of premium assessments were $40,000 and whose continuing premiums remain above $32,000.
Can the Minister responsible for WSCC explain why this refund feature is not available to all premium payers and only to those paying above a fairly substantial threshold amount? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister responsible for Workers' Safety and Compensation.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the WSCC is focused on ensuring safe workplaces and ensuring that the employees have safe environments to work so that no injuries occur. The Safe Advantage program details, as the Member has indicated, with businesses over $40,000 in assessment. It was found, Mr. Speaker, that large businesses, due to their accident records and claim costs drive the rates for all businesses in the Northwest Territories.
If the WSCC can get large businesses to lower their accident rates, then it will lower assessment rates for everybody, including small businesses. So their focus is on the larger businesses who actually have the claims actually occurring and are driving costs. Thanks, Mr. Speaker.
I appreciate the response from the Minister, but what seems to be driving the bus here is reducing premiums rather than safety. So I'll again ask the Minister whether a firm is large or small, these safety programs have a cost. When small firms have to take on these programs, that's probably proportionately a greater cost. So does the Minister not agree that small employers face proportionately equal or even greater costs for safety programs and will he consider eliminating the premium threshold for refund eligibility under the Safe Advantage program?
Mr. Speaker, the Member's statement that they're more interested in claims costs or premiums is completely off base. The corporation, the WSCC, is focused on safety. As I indicated, the vast majority of claims costs are coming from large businesses. The WSCC absolutely, without question, recognizes the value of small businesses and is working hard to help small businesses reduce their overall costs. Recently they put in a program and hired an employee who can sit down with small businesses, at no cost, to help them develop their safety plans, their safety programs.
This is a way to actually help them reduce their costs right from the start. The WSCC is also putting in a training position that can help the organizations, small businesses, with mandatory training, to help them deliver it at little to no cost to the businesses, also helping the businesses remain sustainable. Mr. Speaker, the corporation is committed to small businesses, it's committed to safety, and is committed to residents of the Northwest Territories.
I guess we have a difference of opinion here, but earlier I mentioned that COR certification can probably meet many of the same sorts of needs that the Minister spoke about, having these staff and working with small businesses and so on. But COR actually is subject to independent audit as well, so again the issue is one of cost for small businesses. Those that have already adopted COR, can't we find a way to help them in terms of their WSCC premium? So if the Minister won't consider refunds, can he suggest financial incentives or awards for businesses that do introduce a COR?
Mr. Speaker, yes, we clearly have a difference of opinion. The COR program is a construction-based safety program. It's a good program, there's no question. I support COR and there's a lot of organizations that are using COR to significant advantage; it helps them develop the plans they need, but it's very expensive to obtain and very expensive to maintain. It costs about $15,000 for a small business to get registered with COR and about $5,000 to $10,000 a year to maintain.
So the Member's suggestion that we require COR would actually drive up the costs of small businesses. We have put in, in the WSCC, a position to help individuals, small businesses, develop their safety plans. If you go to the websites, there's tons of different programs out there offering safety programming and assistance in developing safety plans that are very affordable, in many cases free, that can be done to help those small businesses meet their obligations under the WSCC legislation.
That is the direction that the WSCC has taken, they're providing support to small businesses so that they can do these safety plans for minimal to no cost, while at the same time recognizing the value of COR for those larger organizations who have the capacity and the numbers to warrant COR.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I think the Minister's misrepresenting what I was saying. I'm not talking about making COR certification a requirement for WSCC programs and so on. What I'm saying is that those small businesses that have actually entered into it voluntarily don't seem to get any recognition through WSCC in terms of having voluntarily adopted this and the extra costs that it brings on.
So once again, can the Minister commit to look at the Safe Advantage program and find ways to allow for those small businesses that have voluntarily entered into COR, that they receive some sort of financial advantage, not just the big guys, we're talking about the little guys. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, by design the Safe Advantage program has a review that is done every five years. They had a review done a number of years ago after the first five years was completed that talked about the value of supports and resulted in some changes. There will be another review in a couple years, at which point they'll be able to assess whether or not the Safe Advantage program is meeting its needs to drive down costs for all employers across the Northwest Territories. I look forward to seeing that review. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I was talking about in my Member’s statement and as I was saying in question period, there was a public meeting with the Power Corporation and they talked about their strategic plan for the communities and the power, and how we're going to generate it and make it specifically for the communities. So I guess my question to the Minister, can he please explain if, by developing this, did the corporation actually work with the communities to come up with their specific one or is this a generic one for the whole NWT? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister responsible for NWT Power Corporation.
Mr. Speaker, the Power Corporation always works with the communities. Specifically dealing with the issue of Colville Lake, which was a bit of a test case or an experimental case for the corporation, we can advise that the cost of the solar battery system there was $2.7 million. Now, we're hoping that the cost of these types of systems will decline, as seems to be often the case with technology and, at that point, we perhaps could look at other communities. So, yes, we are willing to look at other communities in the future. I can't specifically say we'd be looking at the community referred to by the Member opposite. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I thank the Minister for his answer. I guess I'm looking at when they develop this strategy, which we haven't seen yet, has the corporation actually worked with the communities to develop specifically their own strategic plans to help reduce the cost of electricity? So can the Minister please advise this House, if the corporation has worked with the communities to develop their strategy as part of their strategy, or is it the strategy for the whole NWT's generic picture?
Mr. Speaker, I believe that the energy strategy that they have looked at in the past is generic, as referred to by Member opposite and we will be willing to, of course, work with the smaller communities, but the overall policy, as is true of most policies, tends to be territorial-wide.
I thank the Minister for his answer. I'm just a little bit disappointed in hearing that it's a generic one and I appreciate we need to develop a territorial one, but when we're looking at the small communities we're trying to get them off diesel fuel. I mean, ultimately, we're trying to make it a better place for people and reduce costs. So will the Minister get his department or the corporation to look at that strategy and talk to the smaller communities so they can work on something that they can make use of their money to make it more cost-effective to live in their communities?
As the Energy Strategy is rolled out it's not going to be Yellowknife-centric; I do believe they are going out to regional centres. So we will be seeking input, and the other Minister involved also will be seeking input from the communities on just the issues that are raised by the Member opposite.
