Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The government services officers record all service contacts they have with community members, and we are closely monitoring the number of service requests in each of the pilot Service Canada partnership communities. We are not expecting a large increase because, prior to this arrangement, most of the GSOs were handling a lot of Service Canada requests, and I believe the smaller communities average about five requests in any work day. If we do notice an increase in workload, we are prepared to look at extending our service hours. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I thank the Premier for that answer. It is great that we are tracking stuff. Do not get me wrong. This is a really great program. I think it is doing what it is supposed to be doing in the small communities. Does the federal government provide additional funds for the cost to run these three positions and offices because of the new duties?
For these three pilot programs, the federal government is operating on a fee-for-service basis. For the six programs that we deliver on for the GSOs, they are paying us an average of $25 per fee, so at the end of the pilot program we will evaluate the number of services and evaluate and determine the bill that was sent to Service Canada.
I thank the Premier for that answer. It is just a basic cost service approach, which is really good. With this being a 12-month pilot project, has the GNWT and the federal government developed an evaluation to see if this project is successful?
The government services officers and the three pilot Service Canada communities are recording all of their contacts, so after 12 months, we will sit down and evaluate all of the requests for the six program areas, and we will determine where we go, whether we go forward or not.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Premier for his answer. I am actually very happy to hear that we are tracking this. This is a very good tool to help. When this pilot project is successful, and I think it will be successful, do the GNWT and the federal government plan to extend these services to other communities with GSOs in place? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is our longer-term goal to extend all of these services to all of the 21 communities that have GSO services. After this pilot project, we will evaluate it and we are hoping to extend it, even though, for the other committees that have GSOs, we continue to provide services to federal government programs. We are hoping that we will be able to expand it to all of the GSO communities.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today, I spoke about apprenticeships, and I take note that the Minister also spoke about a new apprenticeship strategy that the department will be unveiling shortly, with both friends on the systemic committee and social development. Today, I would like to know a bit more about that apprenticeship strategy, specifically if the Minister can share: is there a financial commitment to support any parts of that strategy so we can get some real, tangible results by investing in our trades? Thank you.
Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, we do have a draft strategy moving forward that we are going to be sharing with the standing committee on developments. It entails a lot of items, but before we can table it in the House and really submit information, we have to go before a standing committee, and I encourage the Member to come to that presentation when we do. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I, of course, represent the business community that makes frequent use of trades. I have laid out some of the good work the department is doing already. I wonder if the department spoke with the people making use of this program and agrees that their businesses are unsupported, or not supported as much as they could be. I clock that at 25 per cent capacity of what they get. Does the Minister agree that, by providing more financial resources, we could get more people into the trades and more apprenticeships going with these businesses?
The strategy that we have developed is going to work on a strategy to improve training, certification, employment opportunities in skilled trades, as well as occupations in the Northwest Territories. Yes, we did go out and do our consultations. We did a bunch of one-on-one interviews; surveys with certified journeypersons who are currently working in trades; we have spoken with current apprentices, employers, business and industries that have developed into the strategies that we are going to be presenting to the standing committee.
One thing I have heard is that, if the funding followed the apprentice and was paid to the employer, it would be a more flexible program and you could have apprentices shifting employment to various things. For example, if they worked in the mine and came into Yellowknife or Hay River and worked in a manufacturing facility, they could still retain the benefits of government-funded apprenticeships but be able to spread that benefit across the Territories. Does the Minister support that approach, and can he share that detail, if it is included in the strategy?
Yes, those are some of the things that we have been hearing as we were going out doing our consultation, and we will share that detail when we go before standing committee.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last week, I had some questions for the Minister responsible for the Power Corporation with regard to the delayed generators purchased out of California. Today, I am inclined to ask the Minster some questions about the Power Corporation’s procurement policies. I am wondering, to start, if the Minister can indicate: when the Power Corporation receives bids or proposals for goods and services, what steps are taken to ensure that the bidder is reliable and qualified? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister responsible for NWT Power Corporation.
Mr. Speaker, the Power Corporation, as most government operations, does have a procurement policy. I can’t speak to what steps were taken to ascertain, in the instant case, the qualities of the bidders. I do know, from what I have read, that they all were well-known bidders in this area, so I assume the Power Corporation took the regular steps in determining that when they reviewed the bids. I don’t have any specific knowledge as to the steps that were taken in this specific case. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
That leads to my next question. When a bidder proposal is evaluated, sometimes it is not uncommon with government procurement that we could find a bidder to be what we call “non-responsive.” That means that they somehow didn’t fulfill the obligations of the bid. Another aspect that is sometimes brought into question is whether the bidder is what is called “non-responsible” and unlikely to work out. Maybe, in this instance, it is almost too good to be true. What does the Power Corporation do to determine if a bid proposal is responsible or not?
I imagine that evaluation is done at the time any bid is received. They could certainly look at whether it had past history with this bidder, how the potential bidder had done in other bids, and how they had done with other contractors. I have no idea what exact steps were taken in this case, but I imagine those steps would have been taken.
Just to be clear, can the Minister indicate that the Power Corporation does, in fact, follow GNWT procurement policies, or do they have their own procurement policies?
The Northwest Territories Power Corporation does have its own purchasing policy. I don’t imagine it is very different from that of the government.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To that extent, then, there are probably opportunities or times when certain contracts are not going to be put out for public offering. Can the Minister describe if, in fact, the Power Corporation puts all of its contracts and services out for public offering, or are there circumstances where the Power Corporation sole-sources contracts? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That information is, in fact, contained in the purchasing policy. The determination as to whether it will go out to the broad public or to sole-source is determined by a series of factors, including price. I know there is a sole-source contract awarded that would depend on factors such as emergency and other factors. There is a policy which the Power Corporation follows.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. What premedical diagnosis policy is in place for patients coming into the average community health centre, for example? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am not 100 per cent sure that I understand the question. I am not sure what a premedical diagnosis would be. When it comes to residents of the Northwest Territories in the small communities attending a health centre, we have a number of standing orders that the nurses in the communities utilize when assessing an individual trying to determine what, if anything, is wrong with them. We also have a number of standing programs that are available in each of our health centre, Well Man, Well Woman, Well Baby, and there are some pretty defined guidelines and the types of things that the nurses are looking for when those residents come to those particular programs. We also have the codes of practice for nurses as outlined by the individual licensing bodies which outline the practice and the types of things that the RNs can do. There are a number of protocols, standing orders, and procedures that are used by our practitioners when assessing an individual. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I welcome the response from the Minister. My next question on that phase of medical checkup, if you want to call it, on the principle of quality control is: is this practice being monitored on an appointment-by-appointment case at the end of the month?
Prior to moving to a single authority in the Northwest Territories, we used different protocols by regions and communities on how things were monitored and assessed. We now have 32 performance indicators that we utilize in the Northwest Territories and collect on a regular basis. That information helps make some evidence-based decisions moving forward. We are continually trying to enhance the monitoring that we are doing of the services and program delivery to make sure that they meet the needs of our residents, and we will continue to move forward. I am happy to sit down with the Member and go through his concerns and questions to see if we can focus in on exactly the area he is looking for.
I welcome the Minister's invitation. As we all know, we live in a small area and communication is really fast, faster than RC's fibre link for example.
---Laughter
The fearful word we are commonly hearing now, and I have experienced it quite frequently on requests for medical services, is the word cancer. In some cases, the medical staff are saying, “Here is a jar of Tylenol. Go home and come back later” kind of thing, just to summarize it up. Later on, as tests are --
What is your question, Member for Sahtu?
I thought I was at number 5. Excuse me. Yes, I welcome the invitation from the Minister. As part of the invitation, would he provide some information on the cancer proceedings on a preliminary diagnostic assessment?
As I indicated, as we are moving forward and rolling out the single authority here in the Northwest Territories, we are trying to improve the protocols and standing orders that we have in all of our health centres. We also have a cancer strategy -- I think the Member is talking specifically about that -- that outlined some of the services that we provide, but also some of the standard testing that we do in cases where cancer may be suspected. I am happy to sit down with the Member and go through some of the protocols that we have so that he will understand what service are being offered both at the front lines in communities but also all the way through the system to our territorial hospital here in Stanton.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my Member's statement, I spoke about parents who want to maintain the current range of choices for early childhood development and I asked the Minister in writing to provide an analysis of how the implementation of JK will accommodate the existing programs. Unfortunately, I didn't get an answer. My question is: can the Minister say whether this analysis has ever been done, and if not, will he undertake it? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Through our program, we run a lot of subsidy programs with our early childhood partners. As for the analysis, I would have to check with the department to see if something has been done. In terms of moving JK forward, this government has committed to fully funding junior kindergarten, and it was agreed on by this House when we passed the budget earlier this week. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I appreciate the Minister's commitment to check with the department to see whether there has ever been an analysis done about the financial viability of the programs. It is my understanding that ECE offers a subsidy to existing programs like Montessori because they meet the department's licensing requirements. Does the Minister believe his department has any responsibility to ensure these programs remain viable?
Providing early childhood quality programs and services throughout the Northwest Territories is a mandate of this government. On October 1, 2016, we made a commitment to all early childhood providers across the Northwest Territories by making changes to our early childhood programs, the way we fund them. I also want to assure to the Member, as well as families with four-year-olds, that JK is an option for families and a choice for families where they want to have their four-year-olds get the early childhood program services that they need.
It is my understanding that ECE increased its subsidy for the first time in eight years last fall, but that no further increases are being planned, and yet these programs are going to lose their four-year-olds, or some of them, come this fall. How is the Minister going to offset the loss of those children in the fee-based programs?
I can't look into the future and say how many students are going to be in early childhood programs throughout Yellowknife and our regional centres. We are dealing with what we need to do today. We want to provide services to all families across the Northwest Territories, give families in Yellowknife, in Hay River, in Inuvik, the same options and opportunities that we have in our small communities by providing quality early childhood programming through junior kindergarten in the schools.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
