Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Thebacha.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize Fort Smith Town Councillor Rashmi Patel from the Thebacha riding. Thank you.
Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Yellowknife South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to recognize a Page from Yellowknife south, Marie Carpenter, as well as Carmen Moore, our Chief of Protocol. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is confusing for some residents of the NWT when it comes to understanding the role of the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs when it comes to municipal government. We have heard of the department coming in and appointing administrators because a situation has gone from bad to worse. We also had strong support from the department in that. My first question to the Minister is: can the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs please tell us what role the department has when municipal governments break or do not follow the bylaws? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The role of the Municipal and Community Affairs is to support community governments and Aboriginal governments. We take that seriously. We will often help actually drafting some of the bylaws. We provide orientation to new governments on how to do bylaws, what the meanings are, how to interpret them, how to enact them.
When they break a bylaw, we try not to be punitive. Our first step is actually to support the community. If we get a complaint, we will actually reach out to the community government and try to speak to them about the bylaw that they may have jeopardized and see if they can actually look at revising the mistakes that they have made. Our job, like I say, is to support them, not to become authoritarian and take over.
We can go into administration. We can do co-supervision. Those are the last resorts. That is not the first process. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I appreciate the Minister in that answer. I really applaud the department for taking that approach. I think it is a very positive way to help them grow as a community. Can the Minister provide: when the department offers council training, do bylaws and following them get discussed during the process? When they get in there and do the training and that, are bylaws discussed and how they have to be followed?
Most definitely. With every new council that takes place, we do an orientation. The interpretation and the right understanding of the bylaws is critical in that. That is the main function of community government. We do spend time with them. We try to help them understand both how to develop bylaws and how to interpret them.
I thank the Minister for that answer. I appreciate the department continues to do that. Whether it is designated authorities or municipal governments, I understand that they do that. I have seen it done in the past. It is good to hear they are still following that practice. If the department sees an issue or has been advised of a potential issue, does the regional or each headquarter staff contact the municipal government and provide advice?
Again, like I said, our job at Municipal and Community Affairs is to support designated, thank you for clarifying that, Aboriginal and municipal governments. If we get a complaint at any level, either regional or at headquarters, we try to get the regional departments to go into the community. They are the ones closest to the ground; they understand their communities and their regions. That regional officer will go in and actually work with them. We don't tell them what to do. It is really important to note that. We will provide them advice, as the honourable Member has said.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the answer from the Minister. How can residents of the NWT address issues if they are not being successful in getting the municipal government to deal with the issues that they bring forth to them? Thank you, Mr. Speaker
The first step for any resident who has a problem with their municipal, Aboriginal, or designated authority is to ask if they can speak to the council. They are public bodies. They are responsible to their residents as public entities. People are allowed to go and present to the council. At a last recourse, if that does not work and the resident is still not satisfied, they have measures through the court of law. If they feel that the council has broken a bylaw and it has impacted them and they can't find a successful resolution, then they can take it to court. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think, on every other International Women's Day I have ever spent in Yellowknife, I have attended the Bread and Roses lunch and there has been an announcement of the Wise Women Award winners. I note that is not happening today. I have some questions about the status of the Status of Women Council, the body that usually organizes the Bread and Roses lunch and the Wise Women Awards. Can the Minister update us about the status of the Status of Women Council and why they may not have been able to host these events this year? Mahsi.
Masi. Minister responsible for the Status of Women.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Northwest Territories Status of Women is kind of at an arm's length of the Legislative Assembly. Although I, as the Minister of the Status of Women, appoint the board of directors and can take them out of their seats as board of directors, they have a little bit of flexibility in what they do. They are mandated within the Legislative Assembly to incorporate the act, to adhere to the act, to do the tasks that are defined within the act. Part of that act states that they will do gender-based analysis and support the Minister in reaching the Minister of the Status of Women's objectives, which in this case is the mandate about women in leadership.
Traditionally, they have done the Wise Women Awards on an annual basis. We are trying to move in a new direction, though. I am just going to put it out there, Mr. Speaker. There has been a change of administration. There have been some new board members who have come. Old board members have finished their terms, so we put new board members in. I did talk to them the other day about their purpose and their defined role within the act, which is a legal obligation, about their necessity, their purpose. Part of that is, like I said, to do gender-based analysis. The Wise Women Award, though, is not part of the act. It is not something they are mandated to do.
They have taken nominations. When I met with them the other day, they are stating that, because of the organizational changes at this time, they won't be able to do it on this date. They will recognize the Wise Women coming up in the future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I appreciate the Minister's answer. I have learned a whole load of things. I know that recently the Status of Women executive director resigned. Can the Minister tell us when new staff will be in place?
The appointment of the executive director is not under my authority. I only delegate the board of directors. In discussing the position with the board of directors, they have informed me that they have completed interviews and they have found a successful candidate. I can't state when they are going to be starting their position, but I do know that they have selected a new executive director. We are all looking forward to the changes that this new person will bring.
Thank you to the Minister for that answer. If the Status of Women Council's role is not to promote the accomplishments of women through the Wise Women Awards, as one example, what is the role of the Status of Women Council going forward?
It is not that Status of Women can't promote women by doing such things as the Wise Women Awards, the Take Back the Night, the December 6th Vigil. Those are important things for women. Those are things that they choose to do on their own in their work to promote women's concerns within the Northwest Territories. Their primary role, though, Mr. Speaker, is to enact the legislative requirements within the Status of Women Act, so that is their primary role. We are trying to move there.
I do want to say that my vision of them, I met one of the new board members that I appointed actually is an old board member, and so she brought me some history which is really important to know. She talked of a time, and I know it was over a decade, but she talked of a time when she was a board member originally, and they had a different executive director, and they were seen on national boards. They were bringing the voice of women to the forefront. They were invited to the table to bring their concerns forward. I think we've lost that, Mr. Speaker. We are trying to work together as a board and the Minister of Status of Women to regain that strength, to regain that voice. They are representatives of all regions of the Northwest Territories, so it's important that we refocus our energies and look at bringing forward the voices of women from the Northwest Territories at a territorial, a local, and a national level.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister for that answer. The Minister said a couple of times that the Status of Women Council needs to return to its purpose as set out in the legislation. Could she just refresh my memory of what that purpose is? Thank you.
It's been actually quite a while since I've read the act, although I had read it previously a number of times. The biggest things that stick out for me, though, is the gender-based analysis. They are to be looking at all government departments, territorial departments, and looking at it through a gender-based view to see how they impact women, their policies, because some policies do affect women and people of diversity differently than men. That is one of the main purposes.
The other thing that sticks out in my mind is that they are accountable, they are to support the Minister of the Status of Women. I don't have a department, Mr. Speaker. I am kind of alone in this and we have a lot to do. The Status of Women is my department. They are to help me as the Minister of Status of Women to make sure that the mandates defined within the Legislative Assemblies are moved forward. I need them to help me with that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister responsible for the NWT Power Corporation. Mr. Speaker, we're all familiar, of course, with the saga of the missing generators, and so I would like to try to get some additional clarification today.
Mr. Speaker, in March of 2017 we were told that additional costs due to the absence of the generators was $500,000. Seven months later in the fall session of 2017, when asked, and still without any generators, the amount remained the same. I assumed that we still had to pay some rent for back-up generators for those seven months, as well. Now we have received three generators and are awaiting two more. I assume again that we have to pay some kind of costs for back-up generators while waiting for these two remaining generators. Can the Minister explain how the amount of $500,000 has remained the same since being asked a year ago what the overruns would cost? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Minister responsible for the NWT Power Corporation.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to give some background as to this matter. The original contract, or the contract that was entered into between Virdi Power and the Power Corporation, was in 2015. That original signed contract for was $3.4 million, and that's United States dollars. It was later increased to $3.6 million when a tie breaker module was added under a change order. Now, of course, we did not receive the generators on time. In fact, they were almost two years late. I did mention earlier in this House that had been a pre-payment, an initial progress payment to the corporation. That in American dollars was $962,500, which approximately is $1.2 million CAD. I mentioned the change order for the additional equipment. That was $176,500USD, which is approximately $238,000CAD.
Upon the delivery of the three units, there was a bill sent by Virdi Power to the Power Corporation of $1,468,000. From that was the deducted $943,000 USD. This money was deducted because of the delays which were caused by Virdi Power. There will be costs going forward. As Members likely know, we have entered into a new contract with a Canadian supplier to receive the last two generators. As to whether we can recover that money from Virdi Power, we are looking into that. It is a complex matter, including, if there is litigation, where litigation would be conducted, in the United States or in Canada. This has been a difficult project, but I believe we're back on track. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you to the Minister for the detailed response and some additional background information. I'm still not sure, however, that I was clear on getting an answer with regard to the $500,000 that the Minister a year ago indicated were the overrun costs for not receiving the generators at that time. Seven months later, we still have incurred more costs. I find it difficult to see how the $500,000 amount remained the same.
Of course, the Minister has referred to additional costs that we have incurred since then. What is the total overrun cost that is on the line now that the Power Corporation is trying to recover in some form or another? It just can't be $500,000 anymore, Mr. Speaker. What is the new, revised number? Can the Minister share that with us, or at least share the detailed information with committee, breaking out these costs and how they intend to recover them?
As I mentioned earlier, there was a set-off, so money for the costs that were incurred by the late delivery of the first three generators was recovered. There are going to be ongoing costs. That is acknowledged. Our expectation, however, is that the overall original or the expected budget of $8 million will be exceeded by about $500,000. We are looking into whether we can recover additional funds from Virdi Power, but as I mentioned earlier, that is a complex issue. If there is litigation, we would have to look at the cost and time that that might take, and in fact which jurisdiction it would be held in.
I would appreciate it, though, if the Minister then could also make a commitment to share with us the break-down of the costs to date, and be able to show us their intention of how they intend to recover them. I appreciate that there may be a challenge to litigate this matter, so can the Minister maybe provide, so that we're clear, you know, is the government still intending to hold Virdi Power's feet to the fire, and if in fact, try to recover any additional costs due to these delays? Or is the Power Corporation ultimately going to be on the hook for these costs now?
Certainly, I would be prepared to meet with committee to discuss this. I know that the numbers involved are complex, partially because some of the contract was initially in United States dollars, so it was necessary to get some information as to what that approximated in Canadian dollars. Certainly, I would be willing to meet with committee. As I say, we are looking at the possibilities of taking legal action, but we have to look also at the time and complexity of such legal action and also which jurisdiction such legal action would be commenced in. Certainly, I would like to meet with committee. I realize I have thrown out a lot of numbers today. I have had the Power Corporation provide me with up-to-date numbers, which I certainly would be prepared to share with committee. Thank you.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Minister for that commitment. So, let's just say, then, if at the end of the day we are going to take the responsibility for this debt and that there will be no recovery from the contractor, can the Minister advise what the Power Corporation's plan is in order to cover off these costs if in fact we end up having to be the ones to cover it? Can the Minister offer assurance that NWT ratepayers are not going to be facing yet another increase as a result of having to cover this loss? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I wish I could give the assistance or the assurance requested by the Member opposite. As I say, we are expecting to be over the expected budget on this project, which frankly is not unusual in contractual situation, but ultimately I suppose it would be up to the Public Utilities Board to determine whether these additional costs would be passed on to ratepayers. Thank you.
Masi. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the response to questioning during the review of the 2018-2019 Main Estimates, the Minister of Health and Social Services said, and I am quoting from unedited Hansard February 28, 2018:
"We are talking about the resident being able to block their record from being seen by certain individuals within the healthcare system, including certain specific information. The initial system as designed didn't really have that available, but we have been working with the developers to see how we can incorporate that in, and we believe there is a mechanism. We are not a hundred per cent sure, and I may come back and say I was wrong, but at this point we believe there is something we can do."
I would like to ask the Minister if that system he was referring to in that quote was the MediPatient system referenced in the recent Information and Privacy Commissioner report. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the system I was making reference to was the electronic medical record system that we have incorporated in the Northwest Territories. I have had some further discussions. We believe that we will be able to put a system in that will allow our residents to block some individuals from seeing their information. We have not formulated that or put that in place yet, but we believe it can happen.
So, I have it here. The electronic medical record system is a system of patient information used in healthcare clinics for scheduling, longitudinal charting, and billing to support the delivery of patient care, and it's available to all health authorities, whereas the MediPatient system referred to in the Information and Privacy Commissioner report indicates that it's local hospital patient information used by several NWT health and social services authorities and includes admission, discharge, radiology, rehabilitation, and scheduling functions. So are some authorities still using the MediPatient system, or is the electronic medical record system replacing the MediPatient system?
No, we are moving to the electronic medical record system in the Northwest Territories, so it's going to be one system where we can have patient information, they can see what their test results are, all of those types of things. There are three communities that do not have that system in place yet. We are still rolling it out in the Northwest Territories, but we intend to have it everywhere in the Northwest Territories.
So when the Health Information Act first came into place, the department identified 15 separate information systems. I will not go into them exhaustively, but they all seem to do different things: MediGent, MediPharm, ORMED, Risk Monitor Pro, Vital Statistics System, Health Suite. So, with these 15 separate information systems, are any of these going to be retained, or is this all rolling into one?
The Member did indicate a few systems, Vital Stats and a few others as an example. Those continue to exist. They are collecting data for a different reason, and the inputs are coming from a different mechanism. Electronic medical record is a system where individuals' records are kept and maintained. It does provide some statistical data so that we, as Members, can make informed decisions. We have 32 indicators that we are monitoring and reporting on, on a regular basis.
Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
