Masi. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there is an orientation manual for the regional wellness council members on their roles and responsibilities. The handbook is updated on a regular basis. It's currently being reviewed to include updating information around additional guidelines and whatnot to make their jobs better understood and more clear. This will be shared, obviously, with the regional wellness councils across the Northwest Territories. There is a training session coming up where we are inviting all regional wellness council members to come in for an update and to be familiarized with the updated manual. However, as you know, Mr. Speaker, I can confirm that all the regional wellness council members in the Deh Cho have actually attended training, have participated in training that either occurred in 2016 or more recently in February 2018.
Thank you to the Minister for that answer. Can the Minister tell us, this orientation, do they do it annually, is it biannually, or is it just when you get appointed, and do they do it as a complete group, or is it individualized?
Generally speaking, members receive their orientation at the beginning of their first appointment. This helps to get them familiar with the roles and responsibilities of the council and how to engage with the public and also with the authority. The leadership council, which are the chairs of the regional wellness councils, I met with them in the spring and they identified that ongoing support for the regional wellness council members is something that is really important to them. The department and the authority are presently developing some options to help increase refreshes and other orientations and other mechanisms to make sure that the regional wellness councils are as up-to-date as possible on current programs and services that are being provided so that they can provide advice in a meaningful way.
I am very happy to hear that through the Minister and that we are moving forward on that. Some of the questions that constituents bring to me, I know the process, but what happens if board members hear concerns about health and social services and the system and how do they bring these concerns forward presently?
The regional wellness councillors are an incredibly important group of individuals, and they have the opportunity to bring information both from the public to the system, but also from the system to the public. Regional wellness council members are encouraged to obviously contact the chairperson of the respective wellness councils and to add items of concern to the agendas of those councils. They also have an opportunity, when appropriate, to go to the chief operating officer of a region, who may be able to provide them updates or information if they are looking for that information so that they can share it with the residents of their communities and their surrounding areas. The following discussions with the regional wellness councils, the chairs may also escalate concerns up to the board itself. We have set it up so that responses to concerns and questions brought by the leadership council to the board from Regional Wellness Council members have a 30-day turnaround time to get those Regional Wellness Council members a response.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Minister for that information. So a board member comes to the chair. The chair brings it to the meeting. The meeting brings it to the territorial leadership board. What is the follow-up? What I am hearing right now from a number of the board members is that they don't know where their concerns are being brought forth. I think the Minister has explained the system, and maybe I am missing something, but can he explain what that process is? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
As I indicated, there are several different ways for information to come in and different levels that it can go to, which means that there are several different ways for that information to come back.
If the Regional Wellness Council member is seeking just generic or general information from the chief operating officer, the chief operating officer can provide that directly to the council member or have their staff do so. If the information has been escalated up through the chair to the board, the information will pass, then, through the chair of that particular wellness council to the wellness council members.
As a note, Mr. Speaker, I did have an opportunity to meet with the leadership council in the spring, and there were a number of concerns raised about mechanisms to provide the council and the Regional Wellness Council members with some support to make sure that that information is flowing effectively, because, to the Member's point, it hasn't always. There have been some growing pains.
We are looking at providing some additional supports to that unit so that there are more people providing that information on a regular basis and making sure it is getting back. Much like all the Ministers have supports here, we want to make sure that there are supports to the board members as well so that they can help flow information as seamlessly as possible. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment. I have looked at the NICO Socio-Economic Agreement, but there are no sanctions or penalties for non-compliance or failure to reach targets. It is basically an unenforceable best efforts arrangement. For example, with employment and training targets, why not make a payment into a training or education fund or program if the targets aren't reached? Can the Minister explain why our government continues to sign best efforts agreements without any teeth, without any sanctions or penalties? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our government has long taken an approach of working in collaboration and partnership with industry and Indigenous governments, which has evolved from a time when we did not have the authorities and responsibilities that we are going to be having since devolution has taken place.
That said, we believe that our approach is working. These agreements have been signed and fostered billions of dollars in procurement and thousands of jobs for residents of the Northwest Territories since they were introduced in the 1990s, Mr. Speaker. The socio-economic agreements are one of those tools that we use to bring our partnerships to the table. There are targets that are set, but these are just targets. We are responsible for a degree of this because we are responsible for workforce development.
With that being said, again, as I have said, these are successful based on our accountability, and we do demand a face-to-face meeting with the companies and Indigenous governments and ourselves and local communities. We believe these things are working. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thanks to the Minister for confirming that this is another one of those unenforceable agreements. I tabled a University of Victoria study in the fall that pointed out how our socio-economic agreements are rather poor, and lots of ways to improve that. I would like the Minister to explain how that review, or any other work that is going on within the department, of our weak socio-economic agreements played into what was negotiated with Fortune Minerals for the NICO Project.
As the Member may not know, this agreement with Fortune has been in the works for some time, and we will continue to work on it. We signed with them last week in Vancouver. Its structure and its approach has been based on previous agreements that we have negotiated and put into place with the Government of the Northwest Territories. While we are reviewing our socio-economic agreements, the work is ongoing, and it has not reached a point where any conclusions or decisions have been made or could be reflected in the Fortune agreement.
The Minister didn't answer my question, but of course, he is not obligated to do that.
The Tlicho government issued its own news release on the signing of this agreement, the NICO Agreement, and they said that they believe it is a breach of the Tlicho Agreement and entirely inconsistent with this government's policy on engagement with Indigenous governments. Can the Minister confirm that there was no real consultation with the Tlicho government before the signing of this agreement and explain why?
For those of you who don't know, these are agreements on broad benefits for the Northwest Territories. It was negotiated with Fortune Minerals by our government and my department specifically on behalf of all residents of the Northwest Territories, including those in the Tlicho region. There is no requirement to engage the Tlicho government. We had hoped that, given this level of benefit to the Tlicho people, they would participate in the ceremonial signing agreement and be witnesses to this, but they chose not to.
That said, in December we met with the Tlicho government to discuss the contents of the SEA. We presented them with the substance of the agreement, including employment and procurement targets, and took comments from them ahead of finalizing and sharing our final SEA with them and Fortune last week.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I would like to thank the Minister again for confirming that there was no serious consultation. You would think that our government would talk to the Tlicho government before deciding where the learning centre might be located or where a legacy project might be located. That is not the way we should be doing business.
Mr. Speaker, lastly, it appears that this agreement was rushed through without consultation with the Tlicho government, signed at a mining conference down south, and entered into before a new higher bar might be established in the Mineral Resources Act. Can the Minister explained why this agreement was signed in Vancouver and rushed through before the Mineral Resources Act might establish higher standards? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
As the Member knows, we are going to be sharing the specifics of our bill very soon in this Legislative Assembly, and that would be an appropriate time to comment on that.
With that, I would like to say that, generally, legislation of this type takes periods of years to come to and enforce after supporting regulations are developed. I wouldn't anticipate that we would want to wait until that act came into force to pass negotiation benefits for our residents. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of Infrastructure, also the Minister responsible for the Energy Division.
Mr. Speaker, we have committed to capturing local alternatives to fossil fuel usage, such as hydro. This government, along with the federal government, has made some public announcements recently, as well as provided some funding recently with regard to the potential expansion of the Taltson Hydro Power Project. The Premier spoke about it proudly earlier today in his statement. There still remain concern and some criticism about this project, so I have some questions for the Minister responsible for the Energy Division.
Mr. Speaker, I am aware of our existing hydro system, such as Snare, Bluefish, and Taltson, but does the Government of the Northwest Territories have a long-standing hydro strategy with plans to install dams on a number of NWT rivers? If so, could the Minister please provide that strategy to the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Government of the Northwest Territories released a draft hydro strategy in 2010. The hydro potential was noted to be 11,520 megawatts in the energy report produced by the Government of the Northwest Territories in May of 2011. Hydro development is included in the vision for the 2030 Energy Strategy and Energy Action Plan. The Taltson Hydro Expansion Project is the best understood option that we have to develop industrial-scale hydro potential in the near term that connect three legacy hydro assets you've mentioned. There is no specific plans in place beyond that exploratory work. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I thank the Minister for the clarity. We are really, when it comes to Hydro, just talking about the existing dams and hydro systems that we currently have. Mr. Speaker, it's been also stated that hydro power is not "green" energy. What is the GNWT's position on hydroelectric power? Is it ecologically and environmentally sound, or is it an unsafe way to generate renewable energy?
The Government of the Northwest Territories believes that hydro power can be developed in an ecologically sensitive and environmentally safe manner for the benefit of the residents of the communities and our economy in the Northwest Territories.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that the Minister believes that this is a safe, ecological, and sound way in which to produce energy. I am happy to hear that the government believes in that. I would like to ask the Minister: is it the intent of expanding the Taltson to lower the cost of living for residents, or is it to mitigate impacts on climate change, or is it in fact to provide carbon-free energy to the mineral development industry?
Yes, we believe that all three of those can be achieved through doing this and as well as for future resource development in our territory.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
Mr. Speaker, sometimes we are criticized that, if we put money in one area, then another area is going to suffer. Does the money from the GNWT or the federal government that gets directed at hydro power take away from money and/or resources to develop or expand alternative energy opportunities in our thermal, remote communities?
No, it does not. Mini hydro is a firm and renewable energy option for three of our thermal communities that we will consider as part of our existing funding agreements with the Government of Canada, and we can set aside the funds necessary to build those projects where communities feel it is the best option to pursue. We will also consider other alternatives. Feasibility stage costs for the Taltson hydro expansion are included in the energy action plan, but significant new sources of funding and financing will be needed before it can proceed to construction. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Today I made a Member's statement on Avalon rare earth resources. I have questions for the Minister of ITI. I would like to ask the Minister if the Minister has been engaged in any discussion with the mining company that is hoping to continue or start operations at Thor Lake? Thank you.
Masi. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When we were down at the mineral roundup in Vancouver last week, I had a chance to have a discussion with the CEO, Mr. Bubar, and he actually introduced me to their new potential partner, a private Australian company, Cheetah Resources, and I had a brief discussion with them of their exciting new project that they want to take on at Nechalacho.
Does the Minister know if that company has any discussions or any engagements at all with the Aboriginal groups, Indigenous groups in the area, specifically I think maybe Lutselk'e, YK Dene, and Fort Resolution?
I would have to check into that, but my suspicion, talking to Mr. Bubar and his new partner, is Avalon would still be the lead on this project through engagement and the permitting process and the work that would have to be completed, and I would suspect that their new concept of a new mini, micro-mine concept, that they will have to engage our Indigenous partners and have discussions with them, as well, and update them.
Has the Minister at any point during his discussions gotten into what might make that project viable and what might get that project started with the company?
What I can tell the Member and the Assembly is, in my discussion with them, they are looking at a very small-scale development of a -- I know the acronyms for the elements are Nd- and Pr-rich concentrate. They want to do a low-cost mining operation for crushing, an ore-sorting operation, to have a look at specifically their T-zone and the resource that is there.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Minister if during his discussion there was any feel for whether or not they will go beyond this small-scale mining operation that they are planning now? They must be doing it because of the current situation with rare earths right across the globe. I am wondering if the Minister had any indication whether or not the company wants to move beyond a small-scale mining operation?
From the conversation I had with their financial partner there from Australia, his approach he says has been always a small-scale approach to see what the real potential is there without a whole large investment. This was over a $1 billion investment to actually get Avalon up and going, their original pre-feasibility study, what they wanted to do. This is a new approach, and the department wants to follow this closely. Any type of economic opportunities that we can bring to the Northwest Territories for the residents and our Indigenous governments is a welcome opportunity, and we will work very closely with Avalon and their new partner to try to move this small-scale project forward and have collaboration and meaningful input from everybody in the NWT. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I believe it's important that this government provide clear information to the public so they can make informed decisions. There is a document on the Department of Finance's website called "Questions & Answers: GNWT Position on Pay Increases." A number of my constituents looked over this information and had some concerns that I would like the Minister to respond to today.
In one of the examples, for a classroom assistant, starting pay in 2015-2016 on this graph shows $60,762, increasing to $72,131 in 2020-2021. Now, the department then claims this is a total increased pay of $30,000. That is nearly a 50 percent increase in base pay. That does not make sense with the first part of the graph and, if you look at all the positions contained in this document and posted currently on the website, they are all like this. It seems the department or the government is double counting its numbers to show an overly generous total increased pay. Can the Minister respond to this discrepancy and set the record straight on what expectations Northerners can have of these proposed pay increases? Thank you.
Masi. Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the chart, and I wish I had it in front of me here, the chart the Member is speaking of does talk to the fact that, if you start at a pay level below level 16, pay level 1, you get this amount of dollars through the pay grade system and the step system. Once you get to step 8, I believe is the highest you can go, then it would be a significant increase. I do not think we are double counting our benefit. We are just stating the facts.
