Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As mentioned in my Member's statement, there has been a severe decline of the Bathurst herd in Lutselk'e, and over-hunting is a concern that they had. They hired four staff to help address this. This area in question is quite a large area, and I have a question for the Minister of ENR. What is the Minister's plan to assist the Lutsel K’e Dene First Nation with the issue of over-hunting in their region? Mahsi.
Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Barren-ground caribou are a shared resource and a shared responsibility, and it is important that we all work together to help their recovery. The band is a member of the Bathurst Caribou Advisory Committee, which works on their management plan for the herd. The band also participates in the Bathurst Caribou Range Plan Working Group, which will guide management of the herd moving on, and ENR continues to support the band and other Indigenous governments and organizations with their monitoring. This is in addition to ENR's regular monitoring of the Bathurst caribou herd. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I know that there are two ENR-monitored stations, but there are still a lot of hunters who are not checking in or reporting their harvest. What is the Minister going to do to ensure that proper reporting is met?
I don't know if I heard the last part of the question, but I am thinking. ENR conducts regular ground and aerial monitoring of the mobile zone, and we do have the two checkpoints there. They are manned 24/7 during the season. I know, from talking to some of the hunters, that the monitors and the staff actually stop people and talk to them and communicate, and some of the times, if they have heard or seen some challenges, they investigate that further.
With those four monitors that LKDFN had, I am just wondering if the Minister can make any commitment to the LKDFN to help fund those positions?
No. We are working with the community through the nature fund and some of that stuff there, so the community is actually coming up with the funding. We have monitors right now on the ground. We work with paying for those, again, so unfortunately I can't say we are going to pay for those four, but we do have staff and we do have one staff in the community, an RR-02 position, so right now we do fund those things.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Sorry about that. Actually, I have a question, I guess, for the Premier. It is to do with red tape. I am just wondering what this government is planning to do to alleviate the amount of red tape that we have within the departments. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Honourable Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am trying to think off the top of my head. Red tape has been identified as an issue for well over four years, I can say. In the last Assembly, we heard it often. Within our priorities, we identified that we need to support northern businesses. In our mandate that will be tabled later, we have some of the policies that we will be reviewing. I am not going to go through the three right now, because we have not tabled our mandate yet.
We recognize as a government that the bigger thing is that we need to support northern businesses and northern residents. Some of the red tape is necessary. We also need to make sure that we protect the environment and we protect all different things that can come up, but we are going to be looking through them all and making sure that what is not necessary is not there. We should not be just developing the pen for the sake of writing. We should be using the pen to make sure that we capture all of the risks, but that it is as comprehensive and appealing to people as possible so that people can access contracts within the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The other and, I guess, last question that I have for the Premier is that we have been here now for roughly five months, I guess, since the writ was dropped. In my community in Hay River and, I guess, in the regions, contractors are looking for work and people are looking for jobs. What is this government's plan, immediately, I guess, to start looking at putting people to work and ensuring that contracts are put out there?
Again, none of us believe that red tape that is not necessary should be there, so we will be looking at them all across. The philosophy is, and we have maintained that not only in what will be coming in our tabled mandate, but also in the priorities that we looked at as Cabinet Ministers when we talked about what our priorities are, we identified northern businesses and northern residents taking opportunities versus the South, so that is one of our priorities.
What have we done? We are already starting it. I attended Roundup, for an example. I am a diamond driller's daughter. I am proud of that, and I support the industry whole-heartedly, but I was very adamant in saying that I support the industry, but I also support northern business and northern residents. I will not accept that it is just about industry and it is about how we do whatever we can to get industries into the territories, unless there is a benefit to Northerners. I was pretty blunt; people know me as being very honest. I was pretty blunt in saying, "What's the use of having the mining companies in the North if there are no benefits to our residents?"
That message, I will carry forward with me, as I move forward. I expect that from my Ministers. I expect that from all MLAs. We have an obligation to make sure that the benefits of the Northwest Territories, as many as possible, stay in the Northwest Territories, and that is my commitment.
Thank you, Honourable Premier. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I spoke about trust and building trust within this House and also within our communities. My questions today are for Madam Premier. What I would like to know is: how is this Assembly building trust between our Members and between this House and our constituents? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Honourable Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It was noted. I mean, we have talked about it a lot. The newspaper, the media, everybody has said this is a changed government, and I have to put it back and say that the last government also was supposed to be a changed government, but I didn't feel that the people felt that it was changed enough, so they spoke out very loudly and said, "We're going to try it again. We're changing up our government."
We made a commitment. There is something wrong with politicians; if we were all doing a great job, the same Members would still be here. I am not saying that any of the colleagues didn't do a great job. I respect them all, but the people weren't satisfied, and so we weren't doing a good job. I think, a lot of times, the government has been pretty guarded in what we have done. We have taken a view sometimes, in my personal opinion, that says that we should know best, and if we don't know best, we look weak. I have to say that I am a mom, I am a social worker, I am a woman. I don't know if that makes a difference, but I believe it does. I don't see the lack of knowing answers as a weakness, and I don't see it as something that is a barrier. I see it as a strength, when you're willing to put it out there.
Already you see that this Cabinet has tried to work more closely with MLAs. We have shared information that has never been shared before. I hear the frustration of MLAs when we try to move in that way, saying, "You're taking too much. You're sharing too much. Get some work done." It is about finding that fine balance, is what I am struggling with. How much do we work together and build that trust, that relationship, and yet how much do we hold and get the work done? I know that some Members have said we have been here six months and nothing has happened. Other Members are saying we have been here six months and we have seen incredible things happen, with the change in how we are working across the floor. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
My next question for the Premier would be: given yesterday's events around Aurora College staffing, how does this government intend to do a better job with consistent communication, public-facing communication?
Again, the mandate letters will be coming within this session. All Members will be told to engage as much as possible with stakeholders. That is important. The events that happened yesterday were a little bit unusual in that some things, you can share very openly, Mr. Speaker. If we are looking at doing programs or changing policies or legislation, all open. We should be as transparent and open as possible.
When we are talking about people's lives, individuals, Mr. Speaker, I do think we have to pull back a little bit and make sure that we are cautious, because one is being open and transparent, and the other is talking about respect for the person behind that. One of the Members talked about suicide today. A lot of times, if we are not careful in how we treat people, that is a risk that we take. I am not willing to take that risk; I would rather, as a leader, be told that I'm not open when it comes to talking about personal issues of people. I will talk generally about issues of people, though, and that is how we will try to work.
Yesterday, we heard a lot from colleagues about their concern over the way boards are staffed and managed. Does the Premier agree that the way that boards are appointed and managed could be improved to better build public trust?
Absolutely. I have already had conversations with all of our Cabinet, and we are talking about terms of boards. In fairness to all of us here, sometimes our plates are so busy that the easy answer is just to reappoint the person who has been there before, because it's easy. They're already there; we have already gone through the vetting; we know who they are. Is that the best way to appoint boards? That is what I have been challenging my Cabinet with.
I think they are all in agreement. We will actually be looking at terms of boards, because there is a benefit to having corporate knowledge, a person who has the knowledge, but there is a real benefit to having new blood. We see that here in this Assembly, a younger and new voice, and I think that we have an obligation to make sure, in all of our boards, that we have an equal balance of people who have the knowledge and people who have great new ideas coming forward. It is a discussion that we are on, and you will see a change within our policies within this term.
Thank you, Honourable Premier. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. My question is for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment on the issue of coordination of municipal and education authorities' terms of office. Can the Minister tell us whether and when he has received any formal request from the Yellowknife education authorities or CSFTNO requesting changes to allow for a four-year term? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In March of 2019, YK1 and YCS raised the issue through a joint letter to ECE. To my knowledge, CSFTNO has not raised the issue through a formal channel like that, but I am sure that it is on their radar. ECE officials have engaged with the Yellowknife DEAs to begin to try to figure out how to solve this issue. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I want to thank the Minister for that information. We have been informed by the Yellowknife education authorities that the overwhelming opinion of parents is that they want money spent on education rather than holding elections. Does the Minister agree that additional costs for separate elections by education authorities to conduct their own elections would be better spent on children's education?
The best-spent money is always on children's education, so it's hard to argue with that.
I want to thank the Minister for the straightforward response. The situation for CSFTNO is different, as I mentioned in my statement, in that its commissaires represent two communities that now have different cycles for their municipal elections. To me, it sounds like the best solution here may be to allow education authorities to set their own terms of office, with approval of the Minister, of course. I am sure that the Minister is aware of this complication, but I am wondering whether his department has contemplated a solution for the term of office issue for CSFTNO.
The department is aware and looking into this. Unfortunately, I have to report that we do not have a silver bullet for this issue. It is going to take a bit more research, but we are committed to doing that, and I will get back to the Member when we have that information.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister. Great to hear that he and his staff are working already on this issue. I am just wondering whether the Minister can commit to making the small changes that are likely necessary in the Education Act to avoid spending money on elections rather than education. Can he make those changes before 2021? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
The department has looked at a number of ways of doing this. Unfortunately, there is no way of getting around the fact that the board members were elected for a fixed period of time. Any change to that period of time, to extend it, would be antidemocratic.
If you are elected to a certain period, if the voters vote you in and they think that you are going to be there for this many years because that is what the legislation says, I am not willing to extend that. What would be required would be a plebiscite, similar to what municipalities do.
I believe in democracy. I am a strong supporter of democracy. I do not believe that we should be extending term limits. We are not kings here. We are politicians who were duly elected. That being said, the department has had conversations with the education authorities. We are committed to working with them to mitigate the cost as much as we can. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a question for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Do we presently have a suicide prevention strategy?
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Health and Social Services does not currently have a specific suicide prevention strategy. However, the Child and Youth Mental Wellness Action Plan contains commitment to develop a suicide prevention and crisis response network.
I would like to add, also, that part of the work includes funding to support community-based prevention activities and improve screening by implementing two standardized suicide risk assessment tools, one for adults and one for youth. These tools were rolled out this summer in 2019.
We also have the development of a coordinated approach to responding to suicide or other crises. This work currently is in process and will focus on a clear process for Health and Social Services system when a crisis occurs. A key piece of this process will be engaging with community impacted and taking our lead from them as to what supports they need.
Also, I would like to add the department also delivers a prevention program aimed at educating residents on the signs that someone may be thinking of suicide and how to connect them to resources. In addition, these programs are called Mental Health First Aid and Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training. They are delivered across the Northwest Territories by the Health and Social Services authorities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I appreciate the Minister starting that question with a clear no, and I also appreciate that all of those programs are doing great work. I know that everyone in that department takes this issue seriously. Yet, our jobs as MLAs is to look at the larger pictures, to look at systemic issues, to make sure departments are not taking a siloed approach to an issue such as suicide. This is why the importance of government strategies are what we need to do our jobs. Will the Minister commit to developing a suicide prevention strategy in the life of this government?
Like I mentioned to the Member, we are looking at developing a suicide prevention and crisis response network.
I don't wish to get into a debate of semantics, but it is important to note that, in the GNWT, the word "strategy" has a very specific meaning. It is not the response program that the Minister is talking about.
However, I have another question for the Minister. It is important to address this, that we have all the information to do our jobs. My question for the Minister is: do we presently track suicide attempts in addition to suicide deaths?
When a Northwest Territories resident dies by suicide in another jurisdiction outside the Northwest Territories, we are notified that the person has died, passed away, but we are not notified with a formal notification as to the cause of death.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is clear that I am asking my questions out of the order in which I provided them to the Minister. It is important that we start tracking suicides in other jurisdictions, as many of our residents get lost once they head down south. But my question for the Minister was: do we presently track suicide attempts? Thank you.
We do track data regarding hospitalizations for self-harm but not for suicide attempts. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I apologize to the Member for that. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
