Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Northwest Territories Housing Corporation is actually just beginning to do a full study on seniors' needs, not only where they are most populated and where we should be building, but also what exactly they want within those buildings. We will be working with the Department of Health and Social Services because I know they have quite a bit of information. We will be working with the NWT Seniors' Society. We are looking at how better we can serve seniors, not only what their necessities are, but also what their wants are as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I think my question and my statement are mostly around senior homeowners; not what can be built for the seniors, but allowing the seniors to age in place in their own home, in their own community. That is the planning I am referring to, Mr. Speaker. Can I get the Minister to commit to completing that planning prior to winter roads?
I do have to say that I am the Minister for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation. I do not run the Department of Infrastructure, and I do hope the Department of Infrastructure is also working on winter roads because winter is right around the corner. I can say that we have 700 seniors currently in public housing units. We have 374 public housing units that are designated for seniors and/or disabled people. We built seniors' complexes within the last couple of years in Fort McPherson, Fort Good Hope, Fort Liard, Whati, and Aklavik.
We have increased programs for seniors. We have a seniors' retrofit program. They can qualify for the CARE Major, CARE Minor, or SAFE Program. The seniors' retrofit is on top of all those; so it can be compounded for their renovations. The biggest thing I want seniors to know, though, is our CARE PM program. That program will actually come in once a year and actually look at things such as your furnace, such as your hot water tank, to hopefully make sure that you will not have any problems over the winter months. The biggest thing, like I say, is to let all our seniors know, our elders know, in the communities, to apply for the CARE Preventative Maintenance, because that is the most effective way to provide services to seniors before crises happen.
I am not talking about construction of winter roads. I know that if I have a question on winter road construction, I would ask the Minister of Infrastructure. I am trying to get a feel for whether or not the Housing Corporation has done any planning at all. What I am referring to is home ownership, not public housing. That does not matter to me. We can continue to move seniors around in the appropriate public housing in order that they remain in public housing as long as possible. I know that for sure. That is obvious. I am asking about seniors who are aging out of their houses, and what we need to do is make sure that they are able to remain in their homes. I am asking the Minister the question for that reason. Has the Minister determined the number of seniors across the NWT that can age in their own home, in their own community?
As stated earlier in my answers, we are actually just in the process of doing a full review of all services available to seniors, identifying how many seniors, what their needs are, and what the most effective way is to keep them not only in their homes, but comfortable, so that they can be in their homes and age in place. That process is just starting.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu NedheWiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there are approximately 2,900 households in need in the NWT. I would like to ask the Minister if the NWT Housing Corporation, in the last two years, has been able to divide that need into the four nuclear groups that I spoke of earlier.
Every five years, the government of the Northwest Territories does a statistical analysis of all the residents in the Northwest Territories. Part of that actually addresses the housing needs within the territories, and that gives us our core need report. The last one was done in 2014; so I am expecting that fairly soon another full report will be done. At that time, it will break down exactly where the core needs are, if it is suitability, adequacy, or affordability. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier, I spoke about air transportation regulations, and my questions are for the Minister of Infrastructure. Mr. Speaker, my first question is: what is the GNWT's position on proposed federal regulatory air transport changes? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As all Members know, safety of our passengers and our pilots is the number one concern of the Government of Northwest Territories when it comes to air travel. This oneapproachfitsall for the regulatory change does not work well for the government of the Northwest Territories and particularly the airline industry on this approach. We are going to work very closely with our federal counterparts on ways to address the unique needs of our operators and our airports in the Northwest Territories, and we will hopefully do this through appropriate amendments to the federal regulations coming forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I appreciate the response. Mr. Speaker, this is not the first time that specific issues to the Northwest Territories have been affected through federal regulations. I think it is time for a Northwest Territories 101 to federal Ministers so that they can closely understand our unique needs. Mr. Speaker, my second question is: what is the GNWT doing to intervene on behalf of the Northern aviation industry?
Just so Members know, on this particular regulation change, this is under the authority of Transport Canada with the federal government; so there is no direct role for the Government of Northwest Territories or myself or the department. Nevertheless, with that said, we know there are a lot of concerns with this going forward around flight times, flight duty times, rest periods, and travel times, of that type of nature.
We expect that the proposed regulations, if they were to go forward the way they are presented, would have a serious impact on residents of the Northwest Territories and its passengers and shipping and cargo. We are keeping a very close eye on this. We will continue to monitor the proposed changes of the Canadian Aviation Regulations, and we will be pressing our federal counterparts and make sure they are very aware of our unique challenges of the Northwest Territories.
It is good to see that the Minister is looking at this. Mr. Speaker, my final question is: will the Minister commit to speaking with his counterparts in the Yukon and Nunavut to urgently develop a Northern position on these proposed changes?
I regularly talk to my counterparts in the Yukon and Nunavut on a broad range of issues. With this one in particular, I am sure we are going to have more conversations, particularly with Nunavut, as they are a little bit more remote and face more challenges than the Yukon and very similar to us. We will continue to press the federal government, I imagine, all on the same page moving forward, in particular, possibly as soon as the next FTP meeting around transportation.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to continue my questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services. My first question is: how long is he prepared to wait for Avens to get itself into a position for providing a day program? Mahsi.
Masi. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Avens, as I indicated, has always been a fantastic partner for the provision of services for seniors here in Yellowknife and, really, for residents across the Northwest Territories. They are having some financial difficulties right now. They are trying to ensure that they are spending their money wisely, and we are working closely with Avens right now to make sure that they can continue to move forward to provide core services. We obviously would like them to continue day services, but we really need to understand where they are financially. Once we have a better sense, we’ll be in a position to determine whether or not we can help them more in the area of day program or whether we’re going to have to look outside, but we do need a little bit of time to work with Avens to see where we are, see where they are, and figure out a path forward. I don’t intend to wait like a huge amount of time, but I do out of respect for our far-out partners want to make sure that we are working with them with them as closely as we can in the likelihood that they will be able to provide those services in the future, and if not, we’ll find another way. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the spring session, the Minister said that Avens had requested an operational review to “look at how they are spending their money to make sure they are getting the dollars being allocated and they are using them to maximum effect.” Has the Minister agreed to fund this review? Mahsi.
Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Avens is an incredibly important partner. We’re working closely right now with them to look at the different areas where they’re having some financial pressure. One of the things that’s come up is the decrease in revenues and how that’s affecting the overall operations. We’re working closely with Avens to explore these different things, find out what’s happening, and find a way to ensure that they’re getting the money they need and that the money that they’re getting is being spent on the core services that they’re so good at providing. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, is the Minister funding an operational review of Avens at this time? Mahsi.
Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we’re not funding an operational review at this point in time, but we are working closely with them to do an analysis of their programs or services and the areas that we provide funding. The department flows funding for operations of Avens Manor long-term care facility for the operation of Avens cottages, the operation of the territorial dementia facility through the NWT Health and Social Services Authority. The three groups are working together to figure out how those dollars are being allocated, if it’s enough, if it’s not enough, how we can improve services, and we’re working closely with our partner. This is a partnership, Mr. Speaker. We’re not looking to impose anything on this point. They want to be involved. We want to be involved. We’re working together. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Avens Manor and Avens dementia cottages together lost almost $200,000 in the last fiscal year. Granted, that’s less than the year before, but it’s still not a sustainable position for Avens to be in. I would like the Minister to talk about what he thinks the possible solutions are, especially with respect to revenue. Mahsi.
Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one of the things we’ve talked about in this House before is looking at the rates that are being charged for different long-term care facilities in the Northwest Territories per bed, but with Avens as an example, we have taken some steps already. Last month, September, the department provided Avens with funding to pay the major loan that has been taken to do some site preparation, so we paid off their $1.1 million loan which is going to help them address some of their costs with respect to paying back that loan but also some of the interest costs on that loan. We are doing things immediately. We are trying to help them address some of their pressures. Some of the things are going to take a little bit more time, but we’re working with them to identify where they feel some changes need to be made and how we can work together to make sure that Avens continues to be sustainable in the long-term. Thank you.
Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this government’s spending is approximately equivalent to 52 per cent of our GDP. That’s $3.854 billion. This compares to, let’s take a province in Canada: Ontario, our largest. Their government spending amounts to 20 per cent of GDP, so clearly our government has a huge role in this economy. A lot of that comes out of procurement of these contracts. I’d like to ask the Minister of Infrastructure if he will once again commit to a comprehensive review of our procurement policies on this very important economic driver. Thank you.
Oral questions. Minister of Infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ve been on record. I’ve told the Member a number of times in this House, no, I will not review the procurement nature of the department. We’re all working on the mandate of this Legislative Assembly. A number of initiatives fall under my departments, which are directly related to economic development in the Northwest Territories. We’re pushing on those mandate items and we will continue to do so. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thought ahead of the mid-term review, I might gain some more traction on this issue. It’s true, the Minister does have a number of mandate commitments, but procurement is an ongoing issue of every government and doesn’t need a specific mandate commitment especially when the concerns are out there.
Mr. Speaker, I’d like to ask the Minister about prompt payment. Prompt payment is a practice for businesses who are required to agree to fair and reasonable terms of their suppliers, ensures suppliers’ invoices are approved and paid within agreed terms, and to encourage the adoption of the same practices through their supply chain. Is the Minister aware of this concept and does the department practice it? Thank you.
Oral questions. Minister of Infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I’m well aware of the department’s mandate to do prompt payment. I believe most of the payments, not always because there are always circumstances around every challenging one that comes forward but we’re supposed to pay within 20 days of receipt of an invoice and that’s what we will continue to do as a department. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Certainly, our government is on the ball on this. It’s more about the suppliers, people down on the supply chain. We enter into very large contracts, so prompt payment is an important issue as we move down the supply chain. Mr. Speaker, the Ontario government is now considering prompt payment legislation that will create a prompt payment regime and require a mandatory adjudication of certain disputes within construction. Is the Minister familiar with this legislation and is he reviewing our own legislation in light of that? Thank you.
Oral questions. Minister of Infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No, I am not aware of the legislation Ontario is proposing to move forward, but if the Member wants to share that with me, I’m glad to have a look at it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you to the Minister. I’ll gladly share that. The Canadian Senate is also considering a bill, the Canada Prompt Payment Act that would apply to construction contracts and P3 projects in particular. These P3 contracts the federal government enters into, its institutions, agencies, and related subcontracts. We are now pursuing P3 projects from everything from the Stanton Hospital to the Tli Cho all-season road. P3s are becoming part of how we do business. Is the Minister aware of any prompt payment clauses in those P3 projects that ensure our northern businesses are given the payment they deserve through their work with these large contracts. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Oral questions. Minister of Infrastructure.
