Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do want to take a moment to state that I do not see the MLA who just asked me the question as a coward. I see him as a very capable MLA, so I will start with that.
What have we done? What have we done so far? We put out the ad, and so again I will be releasing very soon where we are with the hiring practise. That will be coming up, by the latest, on Monday. I will be doing a Minister's statement on the polytechnic at that time. We have done visits, three visits to all three communities, and that was a lot. In fairness, when I went to the communities, there was a lot of fear-based. It took three visits to get them actually to feeling a place where they could see a future, that they can actually take hold of this and say it is the right thing to do, so that was very worthwhile, my time. We have also met with the community learning centres. Because there are 22 in different areas, we could not meet with them individually, so we had a teleconference with all of them to define what they see their strengths are and their needs are. We have done the draft of what the vision questions will be. I have submitted those to the MLAs. I believe I gave a timeline to get that information back so that the MLAs can give me final feedback on if the survey questions are appropriate. We are expecting that as soon as the beginning of next month. We will be submitting that out, the visioning out, throughout the Northwest Territories.
I know at the beginning the MLAs had asked me in committee if I would have an implementation plan, and I actually did not want to do that because I took the recommendation that said ECE is too entrenched, so I wanted to hold off, but I could not wait. As a person, I am a little bit "get her done," so we have started a draft implementation plan. Once this person is in place, they will take that draft and they will actually make it a final implementation plan. So we have done a little bit of work. We have much to do, but I am excited about the work to come.
Thank you to the Minister for the reply, and I appreciate the preparation that is under way. Residents, though, Mr. Speaker, although they are very excited about the opportunity that another level of education will provide to Northerners, they are still a little bit troubled to understand exactly what is undertaken, or what does a polytechnic university look like. Can the Minister maybe describe to us exactly what a polytechnic university looks like? What distinguishes it differently from Aurora College? Thank you.
A very broad question. In responding, can the Minister please take note of the time and the fact that we are not even halfway through questions? Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Okay. I am going to really try because, you know me, I like to talk. What is a polytechnic university besides Aurora College right now? A polytechnic university is actually really hand-on learning. It looks at taking in practicum plus the academic learning with that. So what it gives us that it does not have at Aurora College is that Aurora College is limited because it is a college. They have partnerships that can access university monies, but they don't actually get that money themselves. I don't know this money. It came out in a city report. I believe that it said that there was, like, $500 million floated through that we didn't access. We could only access a couple hundred thousand dollars of that money.
Moving into the polytechnic university will give us specializations in what our strengths are in the Northwest Territories, and it will also give us access to a lot more research money, which will lessen the dependency of Aurora College on the Government of the Northwest Territories, which is critical for sustainability.
Thank you to the Minister for the reply. The Minister has indicated a couple of times in previous replies and earlier in mine that there is soon, I guess, to be announced a new associate deputy minister. Once this particular ADM is hired, what will be the actual first steps and actions that this position or this person is going to have to take?
One of the first things, of course, that that person will have to do is get used to what he is walking into, or she is walking into. They will have to look at taking over the overall supervision, the operations of the normal day-to-day operations within all the campuses. Because we will be starting the vision exercise, they will be actually working with that close vision exercise, not only for the Northwest Territories, but taking that vision and then what we define as a vision of the Territories, they will be defining what the vision is for the polytechnic university. They will be taking our draft implementation plan, whatever state it is in, and finalizing that work. As well, they will be looking at their management team to make sure that they have the best-placed people in the best places. They have a lot of work to do in a short period of time. Like I said, I am a pretty hard Minister, and I want this done. I will be on them constantly to get er done.
Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you to the Minister for the reply. Clearly, there is lots of work to be done. As we know, we have little to no resources actually identified in this particular budget with regard to this initiative. There is a little bit of a concern toward how much are we actually cementing this initiative into the mandate of this Assembly. I would like to ask the Minister: what can we expect that will be done on this file in the remaining life of this Assembly? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Sometimes, in honesty, I think that sometimes we work too slow. Then I have to remind myself I only got this portfolio in April. I won't even have an actual year until it is finished, but I think we are making a lot of progress. What can be done? The person will be hired as our associate deputy minister. Our overall vision statement for the Northwest Territories and for the polytechnic will be done in this Legislative Assembly.
Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier I spoke about the situation in Fort Providence of dental services, or the lack of dental services. My questions are to the Minister of Health and Social Services. You know, we are elected here to serve the interests and the well-being of the public and ensuring we provide efficient programs and services. With that in mind, can the Minister sketch out for us the way that dental services are delivered in our small communities, including responsible parties, and how this compares to services in regional centres and in Yellowknife? Mahsi.
Thank you. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Recognizing the time, I will try my best to do this quickly. Dental services are not provided by the Government of the Northwest Territories. They are provided by private clinics and private practitioners. That is for all residents of the Northwest Territories. Dental services are not an insured health service.
However, the department does administer portions of the Non-Insured Health Benefits Program (NIHB) on behalf of the federal government, who do have some responsibility for ensuring that dental services are provided to those who are eligible for NIHB. The health authorities have and do enter into contracts on behalf of NIHB with dental providers, private businesses, to travel to the regions and communities that do not have local or resident dentists.
The actual dental services, as I have indicated, are provided by these private providers, and they will actually invoice the federal government directly for the cost of those services. Dental services are based on self-referral. Every resident can call a dental office or other to book their own appointments. They would do that directly with the dentist, not through the Health and Social Services system.
If dental services are not available in a home community, like Providence as an example of residents, those who are eligible for NIHB can make arrangements to travel to access dental services and have some of those costs covered through NIHB. In larger centres that have private dentist offices, individuals who are eligible for NIHB also book their own appointments directly with the dentist, and the dentist will invoice the federal government for coverage under NIHB program.
If services required are not covered by NIHB, which is the case for some procedures, or they exceed the benefit levels that are covered, then the cost is the responsibility of the individual. That is similar to individuals who are covered by employee dental insurance programs and other things, like our GNWT employees, who have some of the best benefits in the country. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I think the Minister covered a lot of information. I wanted to talk about the location of the services whenever it arrives in Fort Providence and perhaps at least acknowledging that communication has been problematic. Talking specifics about Fort Providence, residents have asked me why the dental team is using the old dental room at the Snowshoe Inn Centre when there are facilities and a new health centre. Can the Minister explain?
I have asked the department to provide me with some clarity on the use of the Snowshoe Inn Centre. It is my understanding that the dental providers out of Hay River actually weren't under contract with NIHB to come. They had actually made those arrangements themselves and made their arrangements in the community.
Having said that, we did construct the new health centre in Fort Providence, which we opened in 2015. Subsequently, a dental room was requested to be added to the new centre. The dental room has been completed, and the required dental equipment has been installed and commissioned in that health centre. Although the authority is currently exploring options for a dentist to be available to residents of Fort Providence who are eligible through NIHB coverage, we are talking to the federal government right now about doing an RFP or some other mechanism to find a dentist who will come in on a regular basis into that community to use those facilities.
The department is doing some very important work on oral health for infants, children, and youth. I don't want to take away from that, but I am also mindful of adults in need. How is the department taking action to improve adults' oral health in the NWT?
We did release the oral health strategy here in the Northwest Territories, and the focus is on prevention rather than the actual provision of services, because the provision of services is the responsibility of private dentists and others. We do accept and we do agree with everything the Member said about the value of oral health and healthy gums, a healthy mouth leading to overall health. We do have the oral health strategy. There is a lot of focus on youth, as the Member has said.
However, with regard to oral health initiatives for the adult population, there are a number of action items within the oral health action plan that will benefit adults as the action plan is implemented over the next three years. Some of those notable examples include the provision of oral health toolkits for all residents of long-term care facilities in the Northwest Territories; large-scale oral health promotion programs into the general population; the expansion of community water fluoridation in the territory; upgrading and replacement of dental equipment in dental rooms across the Northwest Territories, like we did in Providence; and augmenting oral health services for expectant mothers through prenatal oral health programs. There are a number of things that we are doing that are focusing on supporting adults as well as youth and children.
Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister did state that dental services, providing services to the community of Fort Providence, is really left up to private clinics. Can the Minister assure the residents of Fort Providence that, clearly and definitely, he will have a role in ensuring that private clinics do provide dental services to Fort Providence as soon as possible? Mahsi.
As I indicated, we have been in touch with the federal government about possibly issuing an RFP to find a provider to provide those services in Fort Providence. That is going to take a while. We are looking to see if there are any providers locally who might be able to do something immediately, but in the meantime, we are also trying to get some more communications information from the NIHB that we could share with community members, showing them how they can get some financial compensation to go to appointments, so that their ability to maintain their health or deal with emergencies isn't limited by financial situation.
A number of things are happening. I don't have those answers for the Member today, but we are looking into it, and I will get back to the Member as soon as I have more information. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Marsi, Mr. Speaker. In my Member's statement, I talked about small-scale mining. I would like to ask the Minister of ITI a couple of questions. Will the Minister work with the small-scale, high value-added mineral industry to adjust their requirements to a small scale from what would be a normal, large-scale operation? That would be proportional approvals, proportional requirements, and costs. Thank you.
Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. All resource projects in the Northwest Territories are reviewed in the same laid-out regulatory regime that we have within the Northwest Territories, according to their scale and scope. We have a multifaceted regulatory system in the Northwest Territories. There is a process to adjust the requirements and make changes within that process, but also, in the Northwest Territories, we have a lot of players. We have the Government of the Northwest Territories and our departments; we have the federal government and their departments; and we have Indigenous governments in the Northwest Territories that need to be involved in the regulatory process.
The one thing that I can say, as I said in the House here last week about this project, it is something that is very interesting that I will be following very closely with my colleagues on this side of the House, particularly the ones that manage natural resources. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Specific to that project, will the Minister work with the governments, regulators, and firms like Avalon and Cheetah to facilitate an accelerated timeline at Nechalacho to achieve small-scale production?
We will definitely work closely with them, as we do with many other companies in the Northwest Territories that are trying to get business done here. We want it done right, and we want to help them avoid any red tape unnecessarily to move their projects forward. The nice thing about ITI is that we have developed a Client Services and Community Relations Office within our department, and their role is to help the companies work their way through the regulatory system in the Northwest Territories. We certainly encourage Avalon and Cheetah to work closely with that division and help move their timelines and scope along.
As these companies move forward, the potential for ownership with the Indigenous governments and Indigenous groups, will there still be requirements for impact benefit agreements should these companies have ownership along with the Indigenous governments?
As you know, we introduced our bill here last week, so I want to speak very carefully about what I am going to talk about here, because it is in the standing committee's preview right now of the bill.
In our bill, we proposed benefit agreements, not impact benefit agreements. There is already a process laid out for that, and that is through the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act. When you look at our proposed bill, the benefits side of things, we want to make --
Minister, the bill is before standing committee, and it is inappropriate to discuss it at this point. If you could answer the question perhaps without direct reference to the bill that is properly before the committee? Thank you.
Well, as I said, the bill is with the standing committee, and in it is a benefits agreement, not an impact benefit agreement, as clearly laid out, as I said, in the process under the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act.
Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Minister discuss the possibilities of technology, energy, and green metals becoming a focus of research and study with the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment? Thank you.
Technology, energy, and green metals are already on the radar, particularly of this Government of the Northwest Territories, and particularly of our department, through the NWT Geological Survey. We are trying to get a better understanding of what role that the Northwest Territories and our resources can play in this global movement towards these types of resources. The early work on the knowledge economy has also identified the importance of leveraging and taking advantage of the world demand of green metals, and I am definitely prepared to find opportunities to work with my colleagues and add to the discussion further to the research and study of this. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In follow-up to my Member's statement, I have a few questions for the Minister of Justice. Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned in my statement, the community feels that it is very important that we have full-time officers in the community. I would like to ask the Minister: how many times since the fall have the RCMP stayed over the weekend in Tsiigehtchic? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Minister of Justice.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can advise that, in the 2017 calendar year, the RCMP conducted 22 overnight patrols and 67 day patrols, and in 2018, the RCMP conducted 19 overnight patrols and 76 day patrols in the community. I don't have a seasonal breakdown or a breakdown by month, but I know also that, in December of 2018, there were 14 day patrols through Tsiigehtchic. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
It is nice to have day patrols, but like I said, the community prefers when the RCMP stays the weekend; though, actually, a full-time station would be preferred. Will the Minister do a cost analysis to have an RCMP station in the community of Tsiigehtchic?
I don't think we are in a position, really, to examine such an idea in that kind of detail. I do know that setting up a new RCMP station would be extremely expensive, but certainly I would be prepared to have a conversation with the Member opposite about this matter. I have some idea about the overall cost of setting up a new RCMP detachment, and it is very high. We would have to decide if there was a need, first of all, before we examined it further.
The department has come up with those numbers in the past. As we work toward self-government, the community will be looking at having their own station. It is always better to have in place before those agreements are in place. Maybe as a pilot project, will the Minister and his department take a serious look at having a special constable, at least, in the community of Tsiigehtchic?
I thank the Member opposite for the question. I don't think that we are contemplating such a move at this time. If the Member opposite is contemplating having a situation in which there is one member in a community, I understand that generally we don't do that anymore, but I certainly would be able to consider this matter further. Again, the cost of setting up a full detachment would be very high, as I have mentioned previously, and I don't think we are contemplating it at this time. However, we certainly would be willing to look at the statistics for the community as a preliminary matter.
Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I know that the department always is looking at Aboriginal policing. I know we don't have a very much of an intake in that initiative that the department is trying to do, but the department always talks about the cost. You know, you might be looking at $5 million. We already have housing in place for the officers, so it is just a matter of putting up a station. Will the Minister at least get a rough cost estimate for having a station in the community? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
As the Member opposite has mentioned, there is now a housing accommodation for the RCMP in Tsiigehtchic, which I think is a marked improvement to the situation which existed prior to that. I don't think we are looking at setting up a detachment in the community at this time. Thank you.
Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister responsible for the Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission has clearly laid out his case that he has a statutory authority to appoint this candidate. The question is around the fairness of the appointment. I would like to know if the Minister can tell this House: how many candidates were considered for the workers' advisor position? Thank you.
