Thank you, Mr. Chair. My next question is about the segment of programs that are listed under women's advisory. I note that, on page 118, the amount of money that is provided to each of these initiatives has been static over a period of time. I am wondering how the government is going to meet its mandate commitment to increase the participation of women in politics without increasing the availability of money to initiatives that would make that happen. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Premier McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. We would be very supportive of providing increased funding for a woman campaign, especially with elections coming up in less than two years. We will be seeking supplementary funding if it has not been approved already. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Premier McLeod. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am wondering if the Minister can provide a little more detail on this. How much money has been set aside? It looks like the same amount of money as every other year going back to 2016-2017. Could the Minister provide a bit more explanation of how much more money is available for offering women support who want to get into politics? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Premier McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. On page 117, under the heading "women's advisory, corporate administration costs," you will note that there has been an increase from $205,000 in the 2017-2018 revised estimates, it has been increased by $84,000 to a total of $289,000 under the 2018-2019 Main Estimates. The $84,000 has been earmarked for women's campaign expenses or schools. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Premier McLeod. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate the clarification. Historically, I thought that money came out of the status of women council, and that figure hasn't been raised since 2016-2017. It is good news that there is a specific amount of money available for the campaign schools. I just want to confirm now that I understand what the Minister said previously, which is that if all that money is spent then there is an opportunity to obtain more through a supplementary appropriation. Do I have that right? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Premier McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. All I can say is we have identified $84,000 in this business plan. If it is approved, that money will be available. In the past, we have made requests, and it has not always been approved. You can take that situation as money is pretty tight. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Premier McLeod. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. What I took away from that is that there is $84,000 available. If all of that money is spent then that is a new ballgame in terms of where the funding is going to come from. Do I have that right? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Premier McLeod.
That is correct, as far as campaign schools go. Thank you.
Thank you, Premier McLeod. Ms. Green.
That is everything. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Going back to some questions that Ms. Green was talking about, the Arctic Inspiration Prize. First of all, I have to congratulate the department for consolidating it. I also have to thank the government for investing into this prize, because it has had a huge impact over the last four years to our residents of the Northwest Territories. My brief question in regards to this: is this something that is going to happen yearly from now on? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Premier McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, the Arctic Inspiration Prize will continue on an annual basis. This year it was aligned with the Northern Lights Conference in Ottawa. The Northern Lights Conference only happens every second year. My understanding is that the Arctic Inspiration Prize will move to every second year. Next year, it will be hosted in Whitehorse. I expect that, the year after that, it will be back at the Northern Lights Conference. I expect that it will continue to move around every second year. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Premier McLeod. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I thank the Premier for that answer. Just going on to another line item, single window service centres. I know we have 21 here, and in my speech to the budget I was hoping to see if the government is willing to increase that number this fiscal year. I don't see it in the budget here presently, but is it something that the department is looking at increasing? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Premier McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. My understanding is that the Finance Minister will be dealing with that, and we will be responding at the appropriate time to committee on where we are at with additional GSOs. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Premier McLeod. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I thank the Premier for that answer. I am excited about these positions because they have a huge impact in my small communities, the ones that access it right now. I am hoping to see something here in the future. Can the Premier talk about the potential of something regional, not a GSO specifically, but if there is something that the department could be looking at for regional centres or the City of Yellowknife, not for this year, but for the future? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Premier McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. We are certainly very pleased with the level of services that our government services officers currently provide. As the Member knows, one of the most important functions that the GSOs provide is the ability to speak the Indigenous languages of the community. Communications is an essential service when explaining the Government of the Northwest Territories' programs and services. Certainly, our commitment has been to increase the amount of GSOs until we fill all of the small communities with GSOs. I think we are very close to fulfilling that requirement. Certainly, we have been using existing resources to create GSOs. If additional resources become available, we will be prepared to hire more GSOs, although our capacity is very close to being reached.
As far as services to Yellowknife and to regional centres, I guess our view is we need to take a much more holistic approach. It involves more departments, and if we are to improve service delivery in Yellowknife or regional centres, we need to know what kind of improvements would be involved. Certainly, in Yellowknife, we've put a lot of effort and resources to moving more services online; this has proven very popular. So we are looking at undertaking I think we call it a citizen service initiative in which we will look at the whole area of service delivery. We think that the Service Canada model seems to be working quite well, and we have certainly looked at how we can improve the level of service and certainly, as I said, with the GSO service delivery, communication is very important because not everybody knows the whole host of programs and services that are delivered by our government. I think, through the Citizens' Services Initiative, we'll be able to determine what the best way is to move forward, including costing out some various options. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Premier McLeod. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I appreciate the Minister's answer. I appreciate them looking at this, and I think that will help all the residents. In regard to the GSOs and getting close to capacity, has the department developed a plan as to when we're going to be able to fill these positions? I know the Premier talked about it being based on the fact that it's funding-related and if there's money available. Can the department look at developing a plan so that we know when we can see these positions filled, so all communities have GSOs, and small communities have GSOs in them? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Premier McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Certainly, as soon as this budget is approved, we'll have a more definitive plan recognizing that some communities are harder to fill, to staff GSOs than others; but certainly we will have a plan that will lay out where we would see GSOs being housed. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Premier McLeod. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I thank the Premier for that answer. So in regard to GSOs, I know right now we have a pilot project with the federal government and for some of the communities. I guess: can the Premier talk about how well that is working, and is there a potential for it to be expanded into other communities? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Mr. Aumond.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. So far the pilots in the three communities are going quite well. Folks are better able to access federal programs for the GSO offices that are there. As well as that's going, what we are finding, though, is that the demand, perhaps, for those types of federal services aren't as high as the federal government would have thought. Nevertheless, we are doing an undertaking and evaluation of that right now, and we'll be talking with Service Canada about whether to continue that or how to expand that type of service to those communities that don't currently have that. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Aumond. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I thank Mr. Aumond for that answer. At this point in time, I think I'm satisfied with the questions I've been able to get answered here today, so that will be the end of it. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Mr. Blake.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just a few questions here under the GSOs, as well. As I've said numerous times, it's a big help to our small communities that have no resources, unlike regional centres, and people really appreciate that service. Moving forward, is there a possibility to cost-share with the federal government in the future to have that staff position full-time? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Blake. Premier McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. When we do a review of the pilot project we now have with Service Canada and, certainly, depending on the results, it would certainly depend on whether the federal government is prepared to expand the service. In my view, this pilot project certainly helps make those people that are entitled to programs and services. It helps them to make sure they can access everything they're entitled to. So that's certainly been a benefit; but we will be undertaking this review and we would certainly look at that consideration with the federal government, depending on the results. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Premier McLeod. Mr. Blake.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, as I mentioned, a lot of people make use of this service in the communities; but for our elderly folks, I think it's very important that a lot of our small communities have radio stations. I think it's really important that we have our GSOs go on the radio and just let the community know what their services are, because we're seeing in a couple of communities that it would be helpful if elders are reminded, even the community is reminded, what services the GSOs actually do. There are some people who aren't too sure what the GSOs are able to do. I just think we need to do a little more education on that part, and local radio stations are the best to do that. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Blake. Premier McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. We're certainly prepared to do that. We will find out which communities have radio stations, and I'm sure we can get our GSOs to go on the air and talk about some of the services that they can provide, and educate, and communicate the programs and services that are available to people. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Premier McLeod. Mr. Blake.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I know it states that there's no end date for the employment, but can the Premier assure us that these positions will be ongoing for, maybe, say, the next 10 years, for example, or any sort of timeframe? I just wouldn't want this important resource to the communities to end in the next couple of years. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Blake. Premier McLeod.
