Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Caribou are central to our communities as a food source and as part of our local culture and way of life.
As you know, Mr. Speaker, our caribou herds are struggling. In particular, the Bathurst and the Bluenose-East herds have suffered serious declines in recent years.
The Government of the Northwest Territories is committed to supporting our caribou through periods of decline. Today I am here to highlight some of the actions that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources is leading in our government's efforts to manage human impacts on the Bathurst caribou herd.
Five years ago, the Government of the Northwest Territories, together with Indigenous governments and organizations, and the Wek'eezhii Renewable Resources Board, made the difficult decision to close the Bathurst caribou harvest.
As a result of this decision, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources set up a no-harvest zone around the Bathurst caribou, known as the mobile zone. The boundaries of this zone change every week, based on the location of the collared caribou. This is how we make sure that the caribou are protected.
It is illegal to hunt caribou in this zone, Mr. Speaker. Officers monitor the area by ground and by air throughout the winter. We have two checkpoints at Gordon and McKay Lake that are staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Local community members also assist Environment and Natural Resources with the harvest monitoring.
It is important that all hunters going out on the land know where this zone is. Maps with the current mobile zone are posted on Environment and Natural Resources' website and Facebook page, on the winter roads, and in our communities.
The people of the Northwest Territories take caribou conservation very seriously. We continue to work with our co-management partners to communicate the importance of this zone for protecting the Bathurst caribou. It is up to each and every one of us to do our part to promote this herd's recovery.
Last August, the Government of the Northwest Territories released the Bathurst caribou range plan. This plan guides decision-makers, developers, and communities to help manage activities on the land in a way that supports the recovery of the Bathurst herd.
Our government is now working to set this plan into motion. This includes sitting down with our Indigenous partners to identify important habitat for Bathurst caribou, such as key land and water crossings and areas of unburned forest.
I am also pleased to report on our efforts to expand on-the-land programs to monitor Bathurst caribou. Last month, a workshop with Indigenous groups from across the range of the Bathurst herd was held to further develop a Bathurst guardianship initiative, which included representatives from Nunavut. The workshop brought in members of the Hamayas Stewardship Network from the Queen Charlotte Islands to share their knowledge and experiences as guardians on their traditional lands.
Mr. Speaker, traditional knowledge tells us that caribou have always experienced periods of highs and lows. The current population established for the Bathurst herd is the lowest it has ever been, that we know of. It is up to all of us to support our caribou herds through this current low and towards recovery.
ENR has heard from communities and wildlife co-management partners that all management actions need to be considered, including wolf management. Environment and Natural Resources and the Tlicho government developed a Wolf Management Proposal based on the best available traditional, local, and scientific knowledge. It includes management actions for wolves on the winter range of the Bathurst and Bluenose-East herds as a way to promote the recovery of these barren-ground caribou herds and support the traditional economy.
The next population survey for Bathurst caribou is just a few months away in June, and the results will be available in late fall. Together with the local and traditional knowledge, these survey results will inform our actions going forward to manage and protect barren-ground caribou.
By applying the best available knowledge together with our co-management partners, we can help support healthy caribou populations for future generations of Northerners. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Ministers' statements. Members, I would like to draw your attention to a Member in the gallery, former Member Bill Braden, who was the Member for Great Slave in the 14th and 15th Legislative Assemblies.
Mr. Speaker, for my Member's statement today, I would like to address the point made in yesterday's Commissioner's address regarding modernizing airport infrastructure in the NWT.
On June 17, 2019, the leadership of the community of Fort Smith wrote a letter to the former Minister of Infrastructure regarding narrowing the main runway at the Fort Smith Regional Airport. The leadership felt that, by narrowing the runway, disastrous results could happen if Fort Smith had to evacuate due to forest fire or other natural disasters. The leadership felt that this decision was made unilaterally, without consent from the community of Fort Smith. A drastic change without consultation with the community of Fort Smith is not acceptable.
I have also been informed that the "Arctic Light LED Package" was not put in at the airport, therefore causing multiple safety issues relating to risk factors of take-off and landing. In discussion with the former Infrastructure Minister and senior management of that department, I was told that Transport Canada instructed the Department of Infrastructure to narrow the airport's runway by 50 feet on both sides and change their lighting system, at a cost of $2.3 million. No other airport in the NWT was forced to endure such extreme changes to their airport infrastructure.
Mr. Speaker, the point of modernizing airports has failed in Fort Smith, based on the reduction of the runway that was forced on our community. I will have questions for the Minister of Infrastructure at the appropriate time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Members' statements. Member for Monfwi.
Masi, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] I would like to talk about justice. I want to say a few words regarding that. [Translation ends] Canada's Office of the Correctional Inspector says that Canada's correctional system has reached an all-time low for the Indigenous population. Comprising barely a twentieth of the general population, Indigenous people now account for almost a third of federal inmates. That is an incarceration rate six times that of mainstream Canada.
In the Northwest Territories, the rates of imprisonment of Indigenous persons are equally troubling: 83 percent. Mr. Speaker, 83 percent of people behind bars in the Northwest Territories are either Dene, Metis, or Inuit. In the case of women, it is 100 percent.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission calls upon our territorial government, at recommendation 30, to commit to eliminating the overrepresentation of Aboriginal people in custody over the next decade.
It goes even further. TRC Recommendation 31 calls upon our territorial government to provide sufficient and stable funding to implement and evaluate community sanctions that will provide realistic alternatives to imprisonment for Aboriginal offenders and respond to the underlying causes of offending.
Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time, I will have questions for the Minister responsible. Masi.
Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Members' statements. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to speak about the stagnant economic condition in the NWT and, more specifically, the regions outside Yellowknife.
In these uncertain economic times, we must understand that the majority of current business opportunities for the regions are tied directly to government projects. Keeping this in mind, it is important that we, as government, ensure that our northern businesses and residents have first opportunity to participate in any and all government-funded projects. It is important that these projects are not delayed, in order that we can put northern companies and northern people to work.
I understand that we have processes in place to make sure that this happens. However, it is within these very processes that we fall short when it comes to carrying out projects in a timely manner or doing everything that we can to support businesses and create northern employment.
Our Business Incentive Policy, although an excellent tool that provides support to northern businesses, does fall short for large projects and the monitoring of northern content while work is ongoing. Our hit-and-miss schedule of 20- and 30-day payments for contractors, when not followed, can cause a business to experience undue financial hardship and sometimes push them to the brink of failure.
Then, there is the dreaded red tape that we continue to pile onto our northern businesses, which drives up costs of doing business while reducing productivity, which ultimately takes away from timely delivery of projects. This often results in contractors being penalized through non-payment, holdbacks, or being told they cannot bid on future projects.
A further reality is that, with the Alberta economy suffering, we are experiencing an influx of southern contractors with which our northern businesses must compete. When our northern businesses lose a contract to a southern firm, it results in the bleeding of dollars outside of our communities, out of the regions, and out of the NWT. These may be the very 75-cent dollars that we fight to receive from the federal government for projects or services in the NWT, and we are throwing them away.
This government has a responsibility to support our northern businesses and provide our residents with job opportunities. It is time that we stand up for our businesses and our residents. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Members' statements. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I am going to talk about the past, the present, and what the future may hold for trades in my community.
As far back as grade six, I can remember being introduced to the trade of carpentry. I can remember Mr. Gordon teaching us the basic skills in our options class. As I moved through the grades, I remember shop, automotive, and other trades offered to students. There was even a stream in our school for those who were more interested in the trades to focus solely in this area. It was a practical program within the senior high school.
Today, if we are lucky to have a teacher in our school who can teach the trades in combination with other classes, like math, English, or science, we will offer some intro to trades in our school.
How do we get more youth interested in carpentry, welding, mechanics, or to become an electrician or any other trade, if we are not exposing these to them or providing support for those who are interested in trades? Yes, I know, Mr. Speaker, students need to achieve an education level high enough to pass these trades exams and apprentice programs to obtain their journeyman certificate. I feel that, if we were giving them the opportunities to experience these areas, it may empower them to achieve what they need in their education.
In my community of Inuvik, we have trades trailers that were purchased in partnership with our local Indigenous groups and the GNWT, but they seem to do more sitting than using.
Within the past few weeks and months of briefings from the departments, and budgets, and looking at future capital projects, I am afraid that we will be continuing to use out-of-territory workers to complete these projects.
I want the Minister of Education to look at how we can increase the opportunities for trades to our youth, as well as support our local small businesses to apprentice them throughout the years that it takes to obtain their journeyman certificates. The current funding is only for two years. My understanding of this reason from the department is that they make money for the company in their third and fourth years. Small businesses face a lot more expenses and try to keep people working, even when the economy is slow, and in our community, there is not much going on.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I will have questions for the Minister of ECE.
Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Our brand new hospital has been plagued with problems from the day it opened in May. First, it was the food provided by the kitchen. Now, eight months after opening, there are chronic plumbing and heating issues. It is my understanding that the new Stanton hospital has more mechanical problems than the one it replaced. These ongoing problems are distressing for staff, patients, and residents of the NWT, who expected so much more from the most expensive building the GNWT has ever built.
I spent a day inside the emergency department before Christmas with a bad knee. An alarm rang for hours, and I understand that alarm fatigue is now a problem because medical staff do not know whether the alarm is for a real problem or whether it is an all-too-frequent false alarm.
Throughout the day, staff shared cellphone pictures of doors frosted over, as well as stories about how cold the hallways are near the outside doors, while others are uncomfortably hot. They have been dealing with plumbing problems since the hospital opened and as recently as yesterday, and they are tired of the workarounds.
I know that the Minister, staff at the department, and the hospital health authority are aware of these problems, but their best efforts have not resulted in an end to the problems. I am not sure if there are new problems every week or whether the problems have been multiplying since the hospital handover. I have no idea who is doing the repairs and what they are costing. Does the hospital have a warranty, like a new home, and how long is it good for?
You may be aware of a hospital constructed in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, using the same P3 model and 30-year maintenance contract. That hospital, which opened two months before ours, has had some of the same problems with mechanical systems. In fact, the problems in the North Battleford hospital are so extensive that they triggered a third-party construction audit of the project. A media report says that the audit will review the quality of materials, equipment, labour, and workmanship used during the building. It is expected to be completed sometime this spring.
The current state of our brand new hospital is discouraging, to say the least. We expected better of this $350-million facility. We want to know that we are getting value for money. I will have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife Centre. Members' statements. Member for Kam Lake.
Mr. Speaker, trust is a fragile and powerful thing. What can take decades to build can be broken in one action.
Surveys show that the professions trusted most by Canadians are scientists, nurses, doctors, and teachers, while politicians, unfortunately, are found at the bottom of the list. Today, only 13 percent of Canadians trust politicians. This is important because we know that, in order to truly work together, all Northerners need to trust each other.
I recently read an article which implied that the public's lack of trust in politicians is based on the sense that an "old boys' club" is maintaining the status quo to serve its own interests. Last October, northern voters changed the face of politics. I believe that this transformative change was at least partially motivated by a rejection of the old boys' club. I stand in a gender-balanced Assembly, where more than half of the Members are Indigenous, but that doesn't automatically mean that, as a government, we have changed how we operate, how we staff, do business, or our trustworthiness.
People sense three kinds of trust, Mr. Speaker: competency, emotional, and ethical trust. Competency trust is earned, and it reflects the knowledge we have and how we use it. We get this trust in steps, but we also lose it in steps. Emotional trust is based on how we make people feel. We earn it by making people feel safe and typically lose it gradually, a little at a time. Ethical trust, Mr. Speaker, is the hardest to earn and the hardest to keep. It is earned through principled actions and decision-making and can be lost in an instant.
Building trust takes the work required to understand the unique challenges of our people, the curiosity and empathy to care, and the courage to do what is right. Trust is a feedback loop of not only gaining trust, but also giving it, both inside the House, within departments, other levels of government and community organizations, and within our own neighbourhoods. Trust allows us to have each other's backs, work side-by-side, and advance with confidence towards a common purpose.
The Greek word "democracy" literally means "ruled by the people," and its definition is a system of government by the whole population. By that definition, to truly govern, Mr. Speaker, we need to build all three kinds of trust.
As we work to evolve governance and decision-making by welcoming everyone to the table, I hope that, over time, we can collectively rebuild our trust accounts. Northerners need to trust that their words, concerns, and passions for the North are reflected through our work here. We, as politicians, must respect all voices and be humbled by the capability of our actions when we trust each other. To govern justly, with both love and power, it is up to all of us to start rebuilding our trust accounts. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Members' statements. Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, my Member's statement is on cancer. It continues to touch the lives of so many people across our territory, and it is taking our loved ones far too often.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the front-line staff in Health and Social Services, who work every day with those affected by cancer, from the doctors and nurses to the people who book medical travel. These are caring professionals. They help cancer patients navigate the medical system in such stressful times in their lives.
Unfortunately, we face challenges, such as in the remote communities that I represent in Nunakput, Mr. Speaker. The remote location of our communities means a long wait time for appointments. These make the timely treatment of cancer even more challenging in the North. There are two things that I believe this department can do to improve the outcomes of our cancer patients across the territory, in the Beaufort-Delta.
First, I would like to see the Health and Social Services provide the Beaufort-Delta Health Authority with a dedicated position focused on doing travel arrangements solely for cancer patients. A focus on doing travel arrangements would alleviate the pressure on our local front-line staff to ensure that travel is booked, as well as follow-ups. Follow-ups are so important, and people are missing some appointments. This would ensure that cancer patients are booked in a timely manner.
Second, I believe that we could be doing more to prevent cancer through pre-screening. Cancer pre-screening takes place in medical appointments, but many people don't go to a doctor unless they feel sick, in their home communities.
I would like a commitment from the Minister today to develop a pilot project with me that would work to enable a team of professionals to travel to smaller communities at least once a year to do cancer pre-screening, especially for our less mobile elders. With today's technology, many cancers, such as colon cancer, breast cancer, and skin cancer, can be detected with simple, non-invasive procedures.
Mr. Speaker, as an MLA, I am tired of attending funerals for friends and family who have been taken by cancer. Today, I am asking the Minister of Health and Social Services to work with me to improve the lives of people in the Beaufort-Delta, the Sahtu, and in all the territory to do pre-screening for cancer, which will be able to improve patients' lives and outcomes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Nunakput. Members' statements. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Marci cho, Mr. Speaker. I am proud to let the House know that the Lutsel K'e Dene First Nation is implementing a two-year self-imposed moratorium on hunting the Bathurst caribou herd. This was just announced yesterday, and it will be a stewardship plan led by the community members. The plan is called Yunethe Xa Etthen Hadi. Directly translated, this means "the future of our caribou" in Denesuline.
As everyone is well aware, there has been a severe decline in the Bathurst caribou herd population over the years. The GNWT even went as far as to ban harvesting caribou in its mobile hunting areas since 2015.
Mr. Speaker, what will this initial implementation look like, of this hunting moratorium? Well, the Lutsel K'e Dene First Nation have hired four full-time Nihat'ni Dene Rangers in order to, as the name suggests, watch over and monitor the land, wildlife, and visitors. This will include hunters within the Thaidene Nene protected areas.
I would like to congratulate Chief Darryl Marlowe and the LKDFN for taking the initiative and protecting this caribou herd for future generations. I sincerely hope that other First Nations will take notice and follow suit, and I hope that this government will support endeavours such as these.
In closing, Mr. Speaker, I want to leave with a quote from Lutsel K'e Dene First Nation's caribou stewardship plan that speaks to the LKDFN values and love for the caribou, and I hope it resonates with you.
"Etthen huretth'a; the caribou are listening to us. We shouldn't talk too much about Etthen; they are listening to us. We must speak good words for them, and we must help protect them. The Etthen have their own natural laws and, as such, we have to respect the ways of the Etthen and all other life forms."
Marci cho, Mr. Speaker. That will be all for now. I will have some questions for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources later.
Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Members' statements. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. Over the last few months, Yellowknife MLAs met with trustees of Yellowknife Catholic schools and Yellowknife District No. 1 and the Commission scolaire francophone Territoires du Nord-Ouest. The City of Yellowknife held a plebiscite on extending the term of office for its councillors to four years from three in 2018. Of the Yellowknife voters who voted, 60.6 percent were in favour, and a bylaw to extend the term of office for mayor and council to four years was passed.
The term of office for Yellowknife City Council and Yellowknife Education Authorities are now out of sync. Elections were held at the same time, piggybacking onto the city's efforts and processes. If Yellowknife Education Authorities need to hold their own elections, the costs will be approximately $90,000 more, in terms of advertising, hiring workers, and other expenses. I am sure that we would all rather see that funding spent on our children's education than on running a separate election.
For CSFTNO, the situation is more interesting in that half of its commissaires are from Yellowknife, where there is now a four-year term for council, and the other half are from Hay River, where there is a three-year term for that local government. CSFTNO holds its own elections, if necessary, at its schools, so there is little additional cost but an obvious need for coordination.
Unfortunately, it looks like it would take a change to the Education Act to adjust the terms of office for education authorities to account for the four-year term of Yellowknife City Council. The current wording in the Education Act already contemplates coordination of the terms of office. However, it does not deal with the situation that we are now in, where a local government body has a term of office beyond three years or, for CSFTNO, where there are different terms of office for the local governments that its commissaires represent.
I raised this issue almost a year ago and was told by then-Minister of Education, "The good news is that we have a couple of years until the next election [...] so that we can actually have it dealt with before the election."
I will be asking the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment questions later today on whether the political will exists to make the necessary changes before 2021. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As we sit in this House, we must never forget who we serve. We serve the people on the ground, and the reality is that so many of them are hurting. The reality is that the North is at the bottom of most social indicators in Canada. We are dealing with a history of both past and ongoing colonialism and ongoing trauma from residential schools, and there are so many issues and only limited resources. Often in this House, we feel like we are being pulled in many directions, but government is a large ship, and we all have a responsibility to make sure that it goes in a coherent, strategic direction.
Today, I would like to speak about one of the many issues facing our territory. We are presently in a suicide crisis, Mr. Speaker. We have among the highest rates of suicide in the North. Additionally, we can only do so much with the information that we have, and there is a lack of data on this. Often, when there is a suicide, there are 20 times as many attempts. Additionally, many of our residents head south and they disappear into larger urban centres, where they too often fall to suicide and addictions, and we do not track those numbers properly.
Mr. Speaker, we have a responsibility to do more. We have a responsibility to develop a suicide prevention strategy, working with our Indigenous governments, working with the federal government, and working across departments to make sure that we are getting a full picture of this crisis. We have a responsibility to help those who are hurting, especially those in our small communities and those who have lost hope, Mr. Speaker.
I will have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize my CA, Loretta Rogers, and I would also like to recognize a former colleague, John Stephenson. We both sat as previous chairs of education boards.
Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Hay River North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would also like to recognize Mr. John Stephenson, the former chair of the Yellowknife District No. 1 education authority. I never had a chance to work directly with him, as our terms did not quite overlap, but I have heard nothing but good things, and I look forward to working with him, as he is still a trustee on the board. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. As I had mentioned in my statement, residents of the NWT expected that a brand new hospital would be better than the old one, but, so far, the new hospital has been plagued with problems, especially with plumbing and heating. My first question to the Minister is whether the new hospital has a warranty and whether that warranty is still in effect. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife Centre. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to let the Member know that, yes, there is a warranty, and it is between the designer-builder and the service provider, which is Dexterra. It was for a base period of one year, to November 30, 2019. There is a 10-year latent defects warranty.
Under the project agreement, the GNWT is provided with protection by transfer of responsibility and risk to the P3 partner, which is BHP, and Dexterra, who is responsible for dealing with the building performance issues, also the associated costs, and it is over the life of a 30-year agreement. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you to the Minister for that response. As I understand it, then, the repairs are being done and paid for by the contractor. Do I have that correct?
Yes, that is correct.
Thank you to the Minister for that. Who inspected the new hospital before it opened, and what were the findings of deficiencies, if any?
Under the project agreement, the P3 partner, which is Boreal Health Partnership, was responsible for ensuring that the building was reviewed before the building was made available to the GNWT on November 30, 2018 -- that is the service commencement -- to begin preparation for moving the services to the new hospital.
All construction work undertaken was also subject to a sign-off by an independent certifier. BHP engaged the architect and engineers of record, who were liable for final reviews and approval that the facility is fit for use. The reviews ensured compliance with a range of technical requirements in accordance with the project agreement, the technical requirements, as well as codes, standards, and laws.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
