Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all, I just want to thank the Member for bringing this forward. I also want to encourage the Member to have the family maybe contact our office through an email, and then I can share that with other departments such as Health and Social Services, ECE. It wouldn't be the first time that we've taken an interdepartmental focus on helping people out in our communities, or even organizations. I would like to also encourage the individuals to go and speak with their local housing organization, or go into the district office to see what kind of programs they'd be involved in. To get more of the details for the individuals, any Members who might come across such an issue, contact me and send me an email, and then we can get the process started. I do want to appreciate. as the Member said, the family that is taking in people into their homes. It's unfortunate, and if there's a way we can help, we'll definitely look at that.
I thank the Minister. He read all my questions over here, and he was able to answer most of them. I understand an email, but will the Minister be willing to work with me and the family to set up a meeting with his staff to do something like that? I mean, an email would work, but maybe a face-to-face may be beneficial.
Yes, I will definitely commit to having staff work with the Member as well as the family, but to get the ball rolling to get things started and looked into right away, and to get me started having conversations with some of my Cabinet colleagues, I would encourage that the Member work with the family to get an email sent to us with the details so we can look into how we can solve the issue.
Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I appreciate the Minister's willingness to open up and get an email there and work with his colleagues. Does the Minister know of anything that we can reach out and tell the family about right now through Housing? Are there any homeless programs or something like that, which we're able to work with? This will be my last question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Really, just get us a phone number, even, and we can get staff to call the family and start working on what kind of programs they might be able to apply for. I don't know the situation fully, but we definitely want to help. Get us a phone number. Get it to my office. We'll make sure that staff reach out. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Oral questions. Member for Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm following up on my statement to the Minister of Education here. My first question is: what role does the Early Childhood Education Action Plan play in supporting educating in the Sahtu region? Mahsi.
Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Early Childhood Education Action Plan doesn't actually specify which regions; however, throughout all of the Northwest Territories, on early childhood, with the partnership with the federal government, we're providing the expansion of our distance delivery for our part-time Early Learning and Childcare Certificate Program, so that's distance learning. That can be provided to all communities. As well, we have an Early Learning Childcare Diploma program currently offered in Yellowknife. Of course, people would have to come to Yellowknife to access that, and we have student financial assistance available for that. We also have additional scholarships for people who are looking into getting into early childhood development. We used to have 10. With the support of the federal government, we now have increased that to 30. Then, of course, we provide funding for junior kindergarten in all regions, as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thanks to the Minister for that informative reply. My next question is: is the Minister supportive of an education symposium in the Sahtu region?
The education monies are actually provided to the education bodies, councils in this situation, and sometimes authorities in different communities. We're always more than willing to meet and to talk about anything education, but it would have to go through the appropriate bodies, which would be the education council at that point. If they're willing to organize it and fund it, then I will make sure that, of course, we have staff from ECE to attend, for sure. I think it's important.
Thanks to the Minister for that information. I look forward to exploring dates and options here. There is the old saying, "If you want to do something, you have to do it yourself." In this case, I don't feel comfortable with the authority that we currently have in trying to schedule this gathering. My next question is: is the Minister in support of an education review for the Sahtu region?
I think it is important to review all of the programs throughout the GNWT on a regular basis. I am more than supportive of actually having an educational review, although I have to clarify and state that we only have a couple of months left in this Assembly. I already have priorities on the table. I don't think that I will be able to manage to do a review during the rest of this term. I will put it on a transitional report, though, to state that there was a request to have an educational review. I think, if we are going to do it, for one, we should be doing it right across our whole education.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I know we are getting to the tail end of this Assembly here, but I think we have more than a couple of months. Is the Minister willing to provide an assigned staff member to work with my office in scheduling dates that may lead up to this symposium? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I should clarify: my understanding of the question before was if we would do a comprehensive review on the whole education system. That isn't something that I could probably do in the next few months. However, we are constantly doing reviews of our education programming through our education renewal program. That is ongoing, that we are always looking at our programs, our education services, and they are always being reviewed on a constant basis. I just want to clarify that it is not like we are not doing it. We do it regularly. If you are looking at a full, comprehensive one, that is a little bit different. Having someone to work with the Members in organizing a symposium, like I said, if the district council is willing to fund and organize one, then I am sure that I can get my staff to find a date that would mutually work for all parties. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. ITI has undergone a few initiatives regarding manufacturing. We have our manufacturing strategy forthcoming, of course. Last spring, the Minister tabled a "what we heard" report with regard to that strategy. That had significant input from those interested in manufacturing. Also, the Minister and myself and the Member from Hay River North met with those who were interested in revitalizing manufacturers' associations.
Finding and retaining labour is a challenge that is consistently shared among manufacturers. I would like to ask the Minister: what initiatives, if any, is the Minister discussing with his other department colleagues to retain more skilled workers in the North, but especially around affordable housing and attracting people to the trades through apprenticeship? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think we work very closely with the Department of Education on this matter. A question like that probably would be better served going to the Minister of Education. I can say, on behalf of the Minister of ITI and our department, that the Government of the Northwest Territories takes this very seriously. You can see that in our partnerships. You can see it with industry partnerships with the mining industry and the Mine Training Society, how that has worked out, how it has linked education and employment and economic opportunities right across the whole territory for the residents.
Partnership between our government and the industry training provides and continues to help raise education awareness levels right across the territory. I know this isn't specific to the strategy, but it definitely raises the awareness around how people can access these programs and the trade levels and related fields and the benefits that come with these things. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I appreciate that some of the questioning might be better suited for other Ministers, but these are concerns. These are issues that manufacturers have raised directly with the Ministry, either in the "what we heard" report" or at the gathering that we had last fall. That is the reason why I raised them today. When it comes to procurement, many challenges have been identified by manufacturers. Specific frustration has been expressed with the lack of consultation and rationale on changes to technical specifications that require manufacturers sometimes to retool or modify their operations. I would like to ask the Minister: will the Minister make a commitment that specification changes will be consulted upon with the respective manufacturers prior to making changes to those specifications?
Standing committee has the manufacturing strategy in their purview, and I am looking forward to the comments that come back from committee on that. With that said, I think the issue the Member is highlighting is one that has been identified in the past. We have addressed it. We have taken a number of steps to improve the understanding and the application of our manufacturing policy, both to the manufacturers and to our GNWT procurement departments. I know for a fact that we have done that. We have taken these steps. We have even taken steps where we have sponsored facility tours and updated the manufacturers' product lists and the specifications. I think actually the Member even came one of the tours with me on that. I believe the one that he is highlighting specifically, actions that we are proposing within our strategy, is going to help address this because it is in there. We are talking about communication with the northern manufacturers strategy and the capacity of the Manufacturers' Association to interact with the Government of the Northwest Territories. Again, I am looking forward to hearing from committee on their comments on this.
Thank you to the Minister for his reply. Yes, indeed, the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment is looking forward to providing input with regard to this strategy. Many manufacturers describe the GNWT's enforcement of both the Business Incentive Policy as well as the manufacturing policy as being, quite frankly, unsatisfactory. A number of concerned representatives recounted instances where they believed policies were either misinterpreted, or possibly ignored, resulting in arbitrary decision-making. Does the Minister accept that these are legitimate concerns and will he revalidate the Business Incentive Policy and the manufacturers policy?
I believe we have already done that, because that was identified in the Economic Opportunities Strategy in 2014, which led our government to develop a strategy. This strategy is with standing committee, and I look forward to hearing their feedback, as I said. The strategy that is with standing committee includes provisions for renewing the Manufactured Products Policy by reducing the number of barriers and addressing past irritants to this sector.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In discussions, a number of the manufacturers have identified information-sharing as a concern. Many companies, in fact, said that they were unaware of the GNWT funding and support programs for businesses. How will the department support better means for manufacturers to more easily access government resources, supports, programs, and funding? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
As the Member will know from reading the strategy, it is focused heavily on increasing the capacity of the Northwest Territories Manufacturers' Association to be a voice for the manufacturers. We have continued to meet with them on a timely basis and make sure we get a lot of input from them as we move this thing forward.
At the same time, we want to use this strategy to connect them with funding and training programs that are available to them. Just because you are in manufacturing doesn't mean you actually know about all these programs that are out there. We are going to work on that with them.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The multi-year saga of NTPC's new diesel generators of the Jackfish Lake plant has finally come to a close, and I have questions for the Minister responsible for the Power Corporation. Now that the generators are, in fact, delivered and the contract has ended, what are the final cost overruns for this debacle that taxpayers will ultimately be responsible for?
I don't have that information at my fingertips. I will get that information to the Member, so I will take the rest of his questions as notice.
The Minister has taken the questions as notice. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. In remarks in Committee of the Whole the other day, there used to be an additional $373,000 for midwifery in 2019-2020, bringing the total resources devoted to midwifery to $1.78 million. There used to be a staff complement of 8.5 full-time-equivalent people. Could the Minister of Health and Social Services summarize where these positions will be located and how services will be offered to other communities? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There already are a number of midwifery positions that exist in both Fort Smith and Hay River. The new positions that are being established, there are 2.5 positions in total. One of the positions is going to be the territorial midwifery clinical specialist position, and this position will provide some coordination and consistent program guidance midwifery services that exist across the Northwest Territories. They will also be responsible for engaging the clinical governance and quality assurance activities within the authority and liaise with the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority for this exact same purpose.
We also are establishing a 0.5 midwifery position in Hay River, and this position is going to be added to the existing complement, and this position will ensure the sustainability of the current services in Hay River, but will also do some of the groundwork for rolling out midwifery services and supports to communities like Fort Resolution and other communities in the Deh Cho. We also have a 0.75 position that we are establishing here in Yellowknife, and this position will work with the territoral midwifery clinical specialist and other primary health practitioners to lay the groundwork for integrated midwifery services here in the capital, but also for rolling out midwifery services throughout the rest of the territories as part of the territorial model. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I want to thank the Minister for that and I am certainly interested in finding out more about how the services are going to be expanded to all our communities. I am not aware of any plans to monitor and evaluate the new Northwest Territories midwifery program and publicly report implementation and overall progress. Can the Minister describe how the NWT midwifery program will be monitored and evaluated, and how the results will be publicly reported?
The department has received approval for a monitoring framework that outlines a plan to monitor the assurances at the following three levels, at the three levels we are doing our work; the Legislative Assembly on behalf of the public of the Northwest Territories, the department, and the authority.
At the Legislative Assembly level, monitoring involves indicators of interest to the public, such as increased access to safe, qualified midwifery care as close to home as possible, and reporting at this level will be made public through the Legislative Assembly and through the Minister's office. Department-level monitoring involves indicators that show the territorial midwifery program is meeting best practices and standards as well as in-existence regular auditing mechanisms, and then the authority-level monitoring involves indicators that inform authority leadership on how to improve the quality and efficiency of programs. So there are multiple things that are being done to monitor the effectiveness of this program to ensure that any enhancements and changes are evidence-based and in the best interest of the residents and the programs.
I want to thank the Minister for that, and I would encourage him to share that framework with the standing committee. Families have been advocating for midwifery for years, mostly mothers such as Leslie Paulette, Wendy Lahey, and Joanna Tiemessen. How will the role of these public partners be continued as we roll out these services and evaluate their delivery?
As the Member so accurately described in his Member's statement, there has been a lot of work done on this, a lot of years on this, and certainly been a lot of advocacy in this particular area. Public feedback received through the 2017 midwifery stakeholder engagement process has informed the work of the advisory committee on midwifery to help it develop the process and the approach to midwifery expansion. The advocates and consumers were specifically targeted in this engagement. The advisory committee, which included representation from the authorities and the Midwifery Association, are going to continue to provide input into the expansion process. The department will continue to work with the authority in the expansion of midwifery services and will continue to work with clients who are interested in receiving these services to make sure that we develop a program that is strong and meaningful.
To prepare for some of the regional expansion, the Hay River midwifery program, the department, as I said, has received some one-time funding from the federal government to start engaging communities, traditional knowledge-keepers, and care providers in the South Slave and the Deh Cho regions, and this work will just continue to lead to help bolster and strengthen midwifery services as we roll out a territorial program here in the Northwest Territories.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that information and his good work on the file. Lastly, I think I have done my part in trying to share some of the good news about a Northwest Territories midwifery program, but I think that a lot more could be done to promote this significant achievement, so can the Minister tell us what plans his department has to communicate and promote a Northwest Territories midwifery program? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
A communications plan will be developed in collaboration with the health authorities to inform the public and other stakeholders of the expanded services and how this change will gradually increase access to services during the first few years of implementation. I do want to point out and note that expansion of midwifery services is envisioned as a process that will be phased in over several years. This is year one of a multi-year rollout, and of course, it is going to be incredibly important that, as we roll out different phases and steps, we make sure that the public understands what these services are, how to access them, and what benefits they will bring. So that will all be incorporated in the communications plans as we roll out over the next several years. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, and I am following up on questions I asked about her budget in Committee of the Whole last week. First, could the Minister tell us whether the new ADM of Post-secondary Education is being paid by the college or being paid by the department? Mahsi.
Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
