I thank the Minister for looking into that. As I was driving down the roads, I also noticed that there are certain sections where the grass was creeping up onto the roads and causing a little bit of poor sight where wildlife can cut in front of you, but then other sections were clear. Can the Minister advise the House what the policy is as it pertains to clearing the ditches and, if they have a schedule for the various roads and, if he could share it with us?
Mr. Speaker, the department conducts brushing across the system on a cycled basis, and we usually do one third of the system every year. Last year, we did 1,300 hectares of brushing, mulching, and mowing, and this was completed across the system. We continue to do that on an annual basis, and we will continue that work moving forward.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for his answer. I hope he can still share it with us so that we can help our residents know what is going on. The last part of the Highway No. 1 is the section to Wrigley. There are a number of spots that have limited line of sight there. As well, there are some nice little bits of roller coaster rides. If you want to go on a roller coaster ride, you can go on that road to Wrigley. You guys, we could switch roads, I can tell you that. Can the Minister please advise us what the department is going to do with those sections of roads that are safety issues? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
As I said, we do probably one third of the complete system annually, on an annual basis. This improves sight lines, but also improves drainage along the whole system. I know Highway No. 1 on that particular section of highway going to Wrigley; most of it was mowed this year, so if the Member can actually sit down with me and give me some specifics on sight lines of concern, I can certainly have the department look into it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. As I pointed out in my statement, since the launch of the Yellowknife street outreach program, there has been a noticeable improvement in conditions downtown, not to mention a reduction in the costly use of both ambulance and hospital services. The city has announced its intention to continue the R.I.D.E. program while the new sobering centre location is renovated and opened. Can the Minister provide us an update on the new sobering centre? Thank you.
Masi. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as the Member indicated, we have a longterm solution for the sobering centre here in Yellowknife. The building does have to go through some renovations. On September 25th the Yellowknife City Council actually approved a proposal for the use of the new building for the sobering centre and a day shelter. This proposal allows us to actually continue our planning for the number of renovations that are required on that site. The department and the city are actively working with partners right now to find interim location while renovations are completed. In order to ensure that no opportunities are missed, we are working with the city right now to issue a public appeal for potential space that could accommodate the program in the short term.
Of course, I look forward to hearing the results of that call for interest. As I mentioned, the City of Yellowknife has stepped up and put their dollars behind the effort to reduce drunkenness and help people in need. It is worth knowing that analysis shows that the majority of people being served actually come from places other than Yellowknife, so this is truly a panterritorial problem, and yet it is the Yellowknife ratepayers who are facing the tax hike this year to help pay for these services. My question for the Minister is whether the GNWT will increase its contribution to the operation and delivery of the street outreach program where it is a territorial program.
Mr. Speaker, we are committing significant funds to the operation of a sobering centre here in Yellowknife as well as the day shelter, recognizing that, yes, many of the individuals who are utilizing those programs have moved to Yellowknife from different locations. Yellowknife is the home for many of those people now, and many of them have moved from different locations. We are contributing significant dollars, which is now part of our core funding, moving forward.
I appreciate the Minister's commitment to the day shelter and sobering centre expenses. I am wondering if he will include, in the next business plan, an increase in the contribution to the operation and delivery of the street outreach program.
Mr. Speaker, we have worked collaboratively with the city on a number of different initiatives. They have been partners with us throughout this whole process. They have taken on the responsibility of the Safe Ride Program. We have taken on the responsibility of the sobering centre. This is costing us right now about $1.4 million, to do the sobering centre and day shelter here in Yellowknife. Those funds are, as I have indicated, already core funding. We are not at this point planning to provide additional funds to the city for their Safe Ride Program, but we will continue to provide the location that many of the clients of the Safe Ride Program will go to.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you to the Minister. Of course, the Minister is aware that the sobering centre is a harm reduction facility and a further harm reduction measure is a proposed managed alcohol program, which we have talked about in this House before. Are there any plans to introduce a managed alcohol program now that there is a permanent location for the sobering centre? Mahsi.
Mr. Speaker, many times in this House I have indicated that, once we get a sobering centre up and running, what I have indicated previously is that we will need about a year to get it up, running, make sure the program is running effectively before we actually move forward with the concept of a managed alcohol program. We have not been up and running yet. As soon as we are up and running for awhile, we will see how things are going. We will make necessary tweaks to make sure that the programming is effective and efficient. We are definitely open to exploring the possibilities of a managed alcohol program at that time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier I spoke of the possibility of the possibility of a deep sea port in Nunakput, and my questions are for the Minister of Infrastructure. Mr. Speaker, my first question is: has the Minister reviewed the base for the Beaufort report? I would like to know what is being done with this information at this point. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Infrastructure has reviewed the report in detail. The information that is in that report builds on past studies conducted by the department to investigate the potential of a deep sea port in Tuktoyaktuk, and that work is ongoing. The Tuktoyaktuk Harbour has long been a supply base for the Beaufort Sea, as many of us know. The future of opportunities is very promising going forward now with the MTS up and running. The study has supported marine planning undertaken by the Department of Health and formed a list of potential marine infrastructure projects that could be pursued possibly under the allocation of the money we are going to get from the federal Oceans Protection Plan. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I appreciate the response. It is good to see that things look promising. I know on the other side of the Northwest Passage they are making plans to start construction of a deep sea port. It would be good to have something on the western side of the Northwest Passage.
Mr. Speaker, my second question to the Minister is: has any further consultation or collaboration taken place with the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation about the viability of a deep sea port in the Beaufort?
Since the publication of the report, the Department of Infrastructure has continued to gather information and research them from a variety of sources on the potential of a port and service centre in Tuktoyaktuk. We will continue to do that, incorporating this into our marine planning work as we move forward.
The harbour, like I said, is well-suited. There is a lot of supporting infrastructure that has been left there from the old oil boom days with the Dome Petroleum and the Gulf Resource properties that lie there. There are leftover docks, camp facilities, the existing fuel storage that is there; so there is a lot of potential there. We will continue to look at all these things moving forward, and the Government of Northwest Territories remains open to discussing the feasibility and the needs of marine improvements in the Community of Tuktoyaktuk, along with the IRC and other stakeholders as required, moving forward.
I appreciate the response. It is good to see some progress on this. At least looking forward we can ride on the momentum of the completion of the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk Highway to advocate for some deep sea services in the Beaufort region, more particularly in Tuktoyaktuk and, as well, some possible dumping sites and docking services in communities like Ulukhaktok, Paulatuk, and Sachs Harbour.
Mr. Speaker, my final question to the Minister is: what will it take to secure a political commitment for this project, and will Cabinet be looking at the viability of doing this as a P3 project?
The Department of Infrastructure has identified the marine service centre for the community of Tuktoyaktuk that builds upon existing harbour infrastructure, as I have said, and the community. In its list of priorities, marine infrastructure could be funded under the Oceans Protection Plan, which I have mentioned. At this time, we continue to engage with the federal officials on funding opportunities and the criteria under this plan, as these details have not all been worked out yet.
As we know, there is growing interest in the Northwest Passage; it is anticipated to increase traffic. We will have to put more federal interest in developing a marine infrastructure, possibly in Tuktoyaktuk, along with other key marine developments that we have been working on with the department and discussing going back and forth. We will continue to do that. Along with the new Tuktoyaktuk to Inuvik Highway, which is opening this year, this will open opportunities, I believe, for the community of Tuktoyaktuk on this.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.
Mr. Speaker, earlier I spoke on the need for senior care facilities in communities. My question is to the Minister of Health and Social Services. Can the Minister identify how many residents of Northwest Territories longterm care facilities are living in a community other than their home community? Mahsi.
Masi. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do not have that information at my fingertips. I will commit to getting that information to the Member and committee. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, earlier, the Minister unveiled plans for senior care facilities. Besides that, does the department have a policy to ensure that elders will be able to access long-term care services as close as possible to their home community?
Mr. Speaker, earlier today I talked about the Continuing Care Action Plan. It is a priority of this government to help our elders and our seniors age in place or as close to their homes as possible. There are a number of activities that we are pursuing to provide supports to elders as they age so that they can stay in their homes. If they are unable to stay in their homes for safety situations or concerns, we are hoping to be able to support them through the Housing Corporation and other partners in independent living units in many of our communities throughout the Northwest Territories.
One of our last resorts, Mr. Speaker, is long-term care. Recognizing that long-term care facilities are level 3/4 facilities where individuals cannot live independently, they need full-time, 24/7 care. It has always been this way. Long-term care facilities are located at regional centres. The reason they are in regional centres is because that is where physician positions are located. We need to be able to ensure that the residents of these long-term care facilities are receiving fully competent, safe services in communities where physicians are located. We do not provide long-term care facilities in many of our smaller communities, where we cannot provide that level of safety and care.
Mr. Speaker, how are our elders who have had to leave their homes for long-term care provided with additional support in ways that respect their culture and unique needs? For example, receiving services in their language if they're unilingual, being able to eat traditional foods, and being able to regularly visit with their families.
In many of our facilities where we have commercial kitchens we have had difficulty providing a service of traditional foods, but this is one of the things we are working on in the Department of Health and Social Services, is to find mechanisms to ensure that individuals are getting traditional foods. We are always able to bring traditional foods in and cook them in the shared kitchens as opposed to the commercial kitchens. In many of our facilities we do have interpreters who can provide language services to those who are unilingual, and where they don't we try to make sure that there are other mechanisms.
As far as the ability for our clients or our residents who are living in one of our regional centres to travel back to the communities, it really depends on their acuity, how ill they are or what limitations they have on mobility. One of the reasons many people move to long-term care facilities is they are not capable of mobility or not capable of taking care of themselves.
I can say it happens on a regular basis; we do have people who are able to visit communities for short periods of times with different supports. This is something we have been able to facilitate with the proviso that depends really on the acuity of the patient and whether or not they have mobility capability in any capacity.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Recently the Minister tabled the Continuing Care Services Action Plan. Is that plan, the continuing care services, a regional or community action plan? Mahsi.
Mr. Speaker, it's a holistic plan focused on helping residents stay in their communities and their homes for as long as possible. That's at the very smallest community to the largest centre. If we have individuals in Yellowknife who want to stay in their homes for as long as possible, this plan is to help support them stay there. If we have residents in some of our smallest communities like Colville Lake or Tsiigehtchic, this plan is intended to help those elders stay in their communities and the regions for as long as possible, until it's not safe for them to do so. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I was listening to one of the Members talk about a Small Community Employment Program. I have questions for the Minister of Education on that. Can the Minister tell the House today what the purpose of the Small Community Employment Program is? Thank you.
Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That focus is to create employment in our small communities across the Northwest Territories, as well as work on developing training opportunities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, can the Minister advise why the decision was made to go beyond the small communities with this program?
As you know, on April 1, 2017, there were significant enhancements to that program, with an influx of an extra $3 million. We made some changes to the program; part of that was actually looking at communities that weren't eligible before, and I'll say it again, these communities that were ineligible to apply for funding were Behchoko, Hay River, Inuvik, Fort Simpson, Fort Smith, and Norman Wells.
As Members of this House do know, we have seen a downturn in the economy, and I think this is an opportunity to work with other communities that weren't eligible for this fund previously to offer those types of employment opportunities, as well offer some type of training for organizations and/or residents who might have lost jobs because of the downtown in the economy. I think it's a great step moving forward to ensure the training and employment is there in all of our communities.
Mr. Speaker, is the Minister aware of what the distribution of employment rates is across the NWT's small communities, regional centres, and Yellowknife?
Yes, I do. As I mentioned, the economy has taken a downturn; we do have more unemployed people in some of the communities, and I want to make sure that we focus on giving them every opportunity to get employment as well as develop their training and their skills.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a small community employment program was put in place because we have communities with employment rates below 50 per cent, below 40 per cent, some below 30 per cent, those are small communities. The communities that were added are communities that have employment rates at 60 and 70 per cent. We're trying to address employment where employment is needed most.
Why did the Minister not advise us in committee on the change that they're expanding the Small Community Employment Program, which was designed and put in place to increase employment in small communities where it's needed most? Expanding it into communities where employment rates are high, why did the Minister not advise us of that move?
As I mentioned, on April 1, 2017, we did get a significant increase in that funding, and prior years the funding that we did have in place wasn't fully utilized. With this increased funding I thought it would be a great opportunity to reach out to more communities to offer that type of training, skill development, as well as increase employment in our other communities that have seen an economic downturn as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
