Mr. Speaker, the Ontario pilot project is just one of many that is taking place in the world. We've had them happen in Canada before. I'll ask the Minister. He mentioned the productive choices. How is that similar to a basic income pilot? How is that achieving the same results?
Some of our productive choices are trying to help people come out of poverty, so education, counselling, volunteering, where we're encouraging our income assistance clients to participate in a productive choice as they receive income from the GNWT in my department, but we're also trying to help them get out of poverty by getting the counselling that they need, looking at also getting the skills and training that they need, their education, and volunteering in their community.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One thing we're learning from these pilot projects, this basic guaranteed income, is that the best way to help someone get out of poverty is to ensure that their cost of living is taken care of without a lot of strings attached or government oversight. It allows them to get a job. It allows them to pay for food. Right now, we're clawing back a lot of income. I just don't understand what the hold-up is. Can we take a sample size of recipients of income support and start modelling this kind of effort, even on a temporary basis so it's a low-cost approach that still gets better results than we're currently experiencing? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Our client service officers do a great job of meeting with our clients to ensure that they're up-to-date on their productive choices but also make sure that they're actively seeking to get employment and getting the services that they need as well as counselling that they need. I believe we're already doing some of that work with our income assistance programs. We're going to wait until this pilot project is complete with Ontario, but we are closely monitoring to see how that is impacting residents in Ontario and if that's something we can possibly look at here, in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier, in my language, I spoke about how last week on February 21, 2018 marked eight years of sobriety for me, so I wanted to take the moment --
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Thank you, colleagues. I wanted to take the moment just to extend my appreciation and gratitude for the many professionals that have come across my path who weren't judgmental and were basically just professional and compassionate in believing in the service that they provide to the public. My heart is wholeheartedly felt to those people that go beyond the call of duty and provide a service to society in general. Mahsi to all of them.
My questions are to the Minister of Health and Social Services in terms of taking a step of sobering up. What kind of health does the department provide in terms of programming services for people who could be ready to help themselves to sober up and change their lives? Mahsi.
Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as a result of the mental health and addictions program that was held a number of years ago, what we heard clearly from the people across the Northwest Territories is that they want options, so we're trying to provide as many options and many alternatives for individuals to begin that healing journey as possible. At a community level in most of our communities, we have mental health and addictions counsellors or other counsellors who are available through NGOs and other partners. Thank goodness, they're out there. We have treatment facilities that are available to us in southern Canada that provide a wide-ranging program that could never be delivered in one facility. I think we need to be really proud of the fact that we're working with our Indigenous governments across the Northwest Territories for the delivery of on-the-land programming that is designed by the Aboriginal governments for their people. We also provide wellness dollars to every community in the Northwest Territories, who design their own wellness plans. Many of them are focusing on healing opportunities for the residents. We are working to provide as many options as we can. We always need to do more. We are coming forward with the new action plan. We are looking for some feedback from committee. I know the committee is putting something together for us, so we're looking forward to seeing that so that we can make more enhancements and improvements as we move forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The Minister did state that there are ongoing initiatives in terms of working with Indigenous governments, and I'd like to commend the Minister for taking those steps to working with all of our communities in terms of placing, in all far reaches of the NWT, on-the-land programs and initiatives. My question is, understanding that the on-the-land programs, what was called for from previous assessments is that people wanted options, and that's one option, whether and how traditional beliefs of Dene are reflected on on-the-land programs? Mahsi.
Mr. Speaker, we heard clearly from many people across the Northwest Territories that on-the-land and traditional healing is incredibly important to them, and it is certainly, for many people, part of the process that they are going to go through as they proceed down their healing journey. There are a lot of questions about on-the-land healing programs. There really hasn't been an evaluation mechanism, but we have worked with our Indigenous partners here, in the Northwest Territories, to start the development of an evaluation framework so that we can see and try to assess some of the value.
Obviously, we hear many great and important things about the on-the-land programs that are out there. I will say that every one of the programs is different because they are designed by a regional Aboriginal government. We, as a government, don't tell people how to design these programs. I feel like we're the wrong people to tell the Indigenous governments how to design the programs because they are from the people, for the people. We do make our staff available if asked. We want to be partners. We want to help. We continue to work with our Aboriginal partners to make sure that they have the resources to do this important work.
One observation that I have is, back in the day, we had in every community alcohol and drug workers as they call them. My understanding, their approach was in addressing the root of the alcohol issues. They treated the whole issue of alcohol as a disease. Now, we have mental health workers who more likely take almost an approach that every person that deals with alcohol has some trauma in their background. Besides that, how has the philosophy of treating alcoholism changed over the years with the department?
Mr. Speaker, I think the whole treatment methodology around addictions has continued to evolve over the years. Many years ago, it was believed that basically the 12-step program was one of the best sources, but we're starting to hear a lot more that there are other new approaches, more scientific, more medical-based systems that we need to be exploring. We're hoping and intending to explore this as we move forward with the next addictions recovery action plan. A number of years ago, the Member was correct, we had addiction counsellors in the community. Before my time, and certainly before the Member's time, I do believe this changed, where we brought in mental health and addictions counsellors instead, recognizing that some of the individuals who were struggling with addictions may have had mental health issues. That doesn't suggest that everybody who has an addictions issue has a mental health issue, but we wanted to make sure, rather the system wanted to make sure, that we were providing a full range of services to individuals who were struggling, whether it was a mental health issue or an addiction issue, or in some cases both. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister stated that there's an effort that the department is undertaking, primarily that he's working on the developing of an action plan. Can the Minister highlight his immediate priority and seeing the success of the action plan and addressing alcohol issues in the NWT? Mahsi.
Mr. Speaker, I had an opportunity to travel with members of the standing committee as they toured different facilities in southern Canada. I think we had a lot of good discussion. I think we learned an awful lot from that experience. As far as setting a priority for the next action plan, I do want to be cautious. I don't want to pre-suppose what's going to be in that document. We still have some work to do. We still have feedback coming from committee. I think all that is going to be incredibly important to help us have an informed discussion and set our priorities moving forward. We do know that there is a need to explore other alternatives and to think outside of the traditional box, looking more at medical or scientific sort of responses to addiction, not just rely on things like the 12-step program. We've got to continue to explore harm reduction as an option for providing our residents with more and effective tools, but I don't want to pre-suppose exactly what this document is going to look like. I haven't received the committee's report yet, but I am looking forward to working together to put together a document that is going to meet the needs of residents going forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier today, I spoke about the importance of the government's response to the calls to action relating to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's report. My questions today are for the Premier. The Executive and Indigenous Affairs, about a year ago, did provide this House an update on the status of the calls to action as it relates to our government. Some of the questions I have might be a little bit cross-departmental. I will try to keep them as general as possible and see what kind of replies I can get from the Premier.
Last year, when the department reported on its responses to the TRC's calls to action, one of the major goals was to close the education gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, Mr. Speaker. Can the Premier advise the Assembly how graduation rates are unfolding, and does he feel that the government is, in fact, closing this education gap? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. The Honourable Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Education is one of the most important priorities of this government, and I think that the Truth and Reconciliation report certainly confirmed that and made some concrete recommendations, which we have embraced. In 2015, the gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students was reflected in the fact that 67 per cent of non-Aboriginal students graduated compared to 56 per cent of Aboriginal students. Obviously, we have a ways to go to improve on that. The major initiative that the Government of the Northwest Territories is using to narrow the gap is the NWT Education Renewal initiative, which is a four-year program running and focusing or looking at areas for action in the areas of language and cultural identity, student and education well-being, teaching and learning, and system accountability. I think one of the ways that I look at as to whether the gap is narrowing is I know that we have more and more post-secondary Aboriginal students. I think the fact that that number is in the hundreds is certainly a reflection on the improvement in the education services and the narrowing of the gap.
Thank you to the Premier for the fulsome answer. I do appreciate that. A lot of the aspects around that question were relevant to the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. I am grateful for that fulsome and detailed answer.
On health, the government is building a team of community wellness planners and a series of community healthy living fairs. Of course, it is to promote healthy living and nutrition and fitness at the community level. Can the Premier advise if these wellness fairs have all taken place, and, if so, how are we measuring the success of these fairs? Are they having a positive impact?
I am pleased to report that the community wellness fairs are proceeding. They are going very well. The most recent ones were in K'atlodeeche. At the NWT Associate and Communities AGM, they brought in some of their props. You could walk through a colon, so you could get people to go and get checked out for colon cancer. I think the most important message to people is prevention and that people are the ones that, if they practise prevention, they will be healthier. I think a large part of the measurement will be how healthy people are going forward.
Thank you again to the Premier for his reply. I would like to maybe now direct the attention a little bit to our own GNWT employees. I recognize that all GNWT employees are required to undergo Aboriginal cultural awareness training. Can the Premier advise if all GNWT employees have now taken this training, and, if so, is the training provided continually to reflect turnover and maybe movement within the public service?
I am pleased to say that the Truth and Reconciliation Committee recognized the Government of the Northwest Territories for its leadership not only in cultural awareness but also the fact that the history of residential schools and also our land-claim negotiations are in our curriculum. We focused on mandatory training for students and educators. That has been our main priority.
Our expectation is that we will eventually have all of our employees undertaking cultural awareness training, and we will continue. Right now, we will focus on new employees as they come on board. We are hiring a consultant to review and update our Indigenous cultural awareness training program. I think that it is certainly very important for our public services to understand when they are delivering programs and services to both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people.
Masi. Oral Questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, thank you to the Premier for his detailed reply. It is much appreciated. I mentioned public outreach events such as those sponsored by the City of Edmonton. That was an example that I used. They were designed to engage the public on culture and history and to educate them about treaties and how to celebrate the historic contributions of First Nations. Has our government considered creating similar events in the North, particularly in the larger centres where maybe more non-Indigenous Northerners could participate? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Our government has even gone above and beyond that. Instead of a special event day we have a statutory holiday called Aboriginal Day where everybody gets one day off a year. If you are working for the Government of the Northwest Territories, you can learn about Aboriginal history and culture. Also, you can go out and participate. Aboriginal people can celebrate the fact that they are Aboriginal. Also, we provide funding to those Aboriginal groups who want to participate on Aboriginal Day. We are always looking for ways to promote that. I think that the fact that over 50 per cent of our population is Aboriginal, you can just drive down the road and participate in Aboriginal events that are put on by Aboriginal governments on a regular basis. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral Questions. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a few follow-up questions to the Minister of ENR on my Member's statement here. Can the Minister tell us: a lot of communities are looking at fire smarting their projects? Has the department encouraged the communities to look at working with the company to use this excess material for building and making pellets? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, specific discussions with the communities haven't happened yet. This has been identified as an opportunity. It does make sense that, if there are opportunities there to use wood that has already been cut, then we should explore that. The actual discussions haven't happened with communities yet. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I thank the Minister for that answer. I guess my next question is: how would the greenhouse-gas-savings calculations change if pellets burned were made from green lumber?
The report looking at greenhouse gas savings was based on utilizing green timber. It is generally understood that utilizing deadwood yields greater greenhouse gas savings than green wood. The fact that the wood pellets that are out there -- I believe they have to have a specific moisture content. I looked it up on the Environment Canada website. I believe it has to have a specific moisture content. My understanding is they dry the pellets and do not utilize green as much.
My final question in regards to this topic here today is: what limits has ENR established overall to the annual sustainable harvest of forests for the south and west of the Great Slave Lake?
The annual sustainable harvest level for the inventoried areas in the South Slave and Deh Cho combined is approximately 500,000 cubic metres per year.
Masi. Oral Questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker. I have some additional questions about privacy following on from the ones that I asked before. Is the Minister able to tell me what percentage of the NWT Health and Social Services Authority staff have been trained in privacy training? I will just start with that one. Thank you.
Masi. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don't have that information at the tip of my tongue. I will get in touch with the department. We will provide that detail to the Member and committee. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I appreciate that commitment by the Minister. I would ask him to include Tlicho Community Services Agency and the Hay River Health Authority, as well. I am wondering about the audits of usage of the electronic medical records system. Is there a regular audit procedure in place?
As I indicated in my previous responses, we do have some new positions that have been put in place to do this type of analysis and put the policies around that. I can't say for certain exactly what those processes are today. Once again, I will get that information for the committee and the Member.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Minister for that. Has the Minister considered reporting to this House and to the public on these issues of training and audits and other things that would strengthen our confidence in the ability of the Health Authority to keep our information private?
Mr. Speaker, if that is the wish of committee, I'm certainly happy to explore that within the department to see what we can do within our existing legislation. I obviously want the Members to be comfortable with the information, but, more importantly, I want the public to be comfortable. So if that's the wish of committee, I'll certainly explore it.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker; and thank you to the Minister for that. So, when the Minister says "the wish of the committee," is he looking for direction in a letter from the Standing Committee on Social Development, for example? Thank you.
