Thank you, Minister of Justice. Oral questions. Member for Monfwi.
Mr. Speaker, I am still getting a lot of feedback from the public on this whole Aurora College. I do have possibly one question to the Premier. That is: when the Premier terminated the Aurora College president -- I am not referring to an associate deputy minister. I am referring to the president -- what did she base her decision on, what in the Aurora College Act, or was it the Public Service Act or other areas of acts that I am not familiar with? Can she please provide me and also the Members a copy or a section of such act that she based her decision on to terminate the Aurora College president a couple weeks ago? Masi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Honourable Premier.
[Microphone turned off] The Minister of Education would like to address the question. Thank you.
Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will be signing the revocation papers for the statutory appointment of the president of Aurora College. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I would still like to know the process of what happened. The public needs to be aware how the decision was made. All I am asking for is: what was the decision based on? If that can be provided to me so at least I have some information in front of me that I can share with the public, as well.
Last week, the Premier and I sat with the Regular Members in confidence, just the elected Members, the Regular Members, the Premier, and I, and we discussed this issue in detail. We took questions from the Regular Members. That is where it is going to stay because this is an HR issue.
I am not mentioning names here. I am mentioning the president of Aurora College. The document the Minister is referring to is not a signed document yet, today. Other signed documents in the past have occurred based on what decision that was made from the Premier of the day. I would like to know. The public would like to know. Here, we talk about being a transparent, being an accountable government. Please provide that information to me so I can have and I can explain to the public this is what occurred based on the facts, based on the act that was before us.
Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Honourable Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am going to try this one more time. I tried to explain many times the other day that hiring and firing the employment contracts is separate than appointments. I will give some firmer examples. My job is to hire and decide termination of assistant deputy ministers, deputy ministers, et cetera. Ministers are allowed to appoint to positions such as boards, presidents, et cetera. I'm going to use an example that perhaps the Member can understand, because he was a Minister, I believe, for at least four years, of education. Within that, when that was happening, under the Education Act, Principal Certification Regulations, the Minister may appoint a director of the Principal Certification Program. This does not mean that the Minister must be the person who terminates the employment relationship. Under the Apprenticeship, Trade and Occupation Certification Act, the Minister may appoint a director of Apprenticeship, Trade and Occupation Certification. This does not mean that the Minister is the person who terminates the employment relationship. Under the Child Daycare Act, the Minister may appoint a director of child daycare services. This does not mean that the Minister must be the person who terminates the employment relationship.
As the previous Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, I'm assuming that the Member would be familiar with these statutory appointments and should appreciate that, just because a statutory appointment might be part of a person's job, it does not mean that the applicable Minister who made the appointment is responsible for governing the employment relationship.
I'm not sure why this is so confusing, Mr. Speaker. I do know that the Member was also the Minister of Justice. However, if we need further clarification on the difference between employment contracts and an appointment by a Minister, I am more than willing to have our justice department sit with the Member to explain the difference. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Honourable Premier. Final supplementary, Member for Monfwi.
Masi, Mr. Speaker. I don't know how difficult it is to provide the answer of a policy-based decision. What was it based on? Was it based on an act? I'd like to know. I was being forthcoming with the Aurora College Act, stating in section 19 that a Minister, through consultation with the Aurora College Board, shall appoint the president of Aurora College. I'd like to know, the Premier, when she made her decision, what was it based on? Please provide that in writing to me. Which section is it based on, of the act, if she is referring to an act, so I can have that information? It's not only me who is asking; it's the public, so I can share with the public who are asking those questions. I think we need to clarify that, Mr. Speaker. Masi.
I did give many examples of places where Ministers do appoint, and that they are not responsible for employment offers. However, since the request is to have the answer in writing, I will make a commitment to have it in writing, but I also stand by my commitment that, if the Member is still confused, even though he was the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, my offer is still there that we will have someone from the department of Justice sit with the Member and explain the difference between an appointment and an employment contract. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following three documents entitled "Follow-up Letter for Oral Questions: Housing in Behchoko;" "Follow-up Letter for Oral Question: Evictions from Public Housing;" and "Follow-up Letter for Oral Question: Temporary Emergency Warming Shelter in Hay River." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Tabling of documents. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table "Their Voices Will Guide Us – Student and Youth Engagement Guide" and "Calls for Justice – Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Nahendeh, that Bill 1, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 3, 2019-2020, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The motion is in order. The motion is non-debatable. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.
---Carried
Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Nahendeh, that Bill 1, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 3, 2019-2020, be read for the second time. This bill makes supplementary appropriations for infrastructure expenditures for the Government of the Northwest Territories for the 2019-2020 fiscal year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Finance. The motion is in order. To the principle of the bill.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.
---Carried
I will now call Committee of the Whole to order. What is the wish of committee, Mr. Norn?
Mahsi, Madam Chair. The committee wishes to consider Tabled Document 12-19(2), 2019-2023 Mandate of the Government of the Northwest Territories. Mahsi cho, Madam Chair.
Does the committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. We will take a short recess and resume with the tabled document.
---SHORT RECESS
I will now call committee back to order. Committee, we have agreed to consider Tabled Document 12-19(2), 2019-2023 Mandate of the Government of the Northwest Territories. Does the Premier have any opening remarks?
Thank you, Madam Chair. I am pleased to present the 2019-2023 mandate for the Government of the Northwest Territories. This mandate is built on the priorities we set together as newly elected Members of the 19th Legislative Assembly in October 2019. Under the current process conventions, Members of the Executive Council discussed how we might implement these priorities in the best interest of all Northerners and in our current operating environment. I sat down with the standing committee in November and heard from each Member about the needs of our regions and communities, and the actions we might take in each of these priority areas. We met again in December and in January to further discuss and refine the mandate document. This dialogue is essential to open and collaborative government, and consistent with the guiding principles of consensus government.
Our government will focus on what we can do as a territory to find new and innovative solutions to the challenges we share as we implement our mandate. We will be creative and ambitious, while taking a hard look at what we are doing so we can make it better. We will seek out and examine new evidence, and use the real world experience of our staff and residents to improve our decisions, programs, and services. Building on the input and involvement Northerners have given the Government of the Northwest Territories over many years, we will start taking action so that services are improved and we achieve results. We want to position our people to be partners in addressing the things that matter to them and their communities. Through implementing the mandate, we want to help people build the personal and community capacity to work with us to make their families and communities stronger, healthier, and happier.
We know that accessible and affordable housing is the foundation for strong, healthy families; and our mandate commits us to getting more people in the Northwest Territories into homes. We know that people want good jobs in their home communities; and our mandate commits us to growing and supporting those sectors we have always relied on, like mining, while also looking to expand into new sectors that may have been overlooked in the past. We hope to find new opportunities for our communities and regions. We want people to have a good life. Our mandate commits us to helping our people get the education, health, and social supports they need from government to feel they are living secure, personally meaningful, and dignified lives at all ages.
Our mandate commits us to addressing the barriers that are holding our people back, and to creating a prosperous territory that shares benefits with all residents and all communities. We recognize and respect that we are not the only government in the Northwest Territories. Our mandate commits us to strengthening our relationships with Indigenous and other governments, and to supporting their capacity to help us to make this a better territory for all.
The people of the Northwest Territories want to succeed on every level. We know we can do a better job of supporting our residents take advantage of the opportunities available to us. The 2019-2023 mandate will help the Government of the Northwest Territories focus what we do and how we do it so we can make progress on the things that matter to our people based on the priorities of the 19th Legislative Assembly. Thank you, Madam Chair. This concludes my opening remarks.
Thank you, Madam Premier. We have agreed to begin with general comments. Does the Premier wish to bring witnesses into the House? Please escort the witness into the Chamber. Would the Premier please introduce the witness?
Thank you, Madam Chair. On my right is Mr. Martin Goldney. He is the Cabinet secretary and the deputy minister for Executive and Indigenous Affairs. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Madam Premier. I will now open the floor for general comments. MLA for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to start by reflecting on some of the challenges of developing a mandate. The Government of the Northwest Territories has been developing mandate documents to guide its work since the 1999 agenda for the new North set the vision for a post division Northwest Territories that no longer included Nunavut. In the last 20 years, subsequent consensus governments have been challenged with developing an agenda that articulates a shared vision of the Northwest Territories, one that reflects the aspirations of all Northerners while staying rooted in practical actions and goals that can be measured as we move toward our vision.
Finding the right combination of vision and action has been a challenge during the government mandate-setting exercises. Another has been crafting a mandate that respects the balance between the authority of the Executive branch of government to deliver programs and services and the responsibility of the legislative branch of government to provide oversight.
I think we can all agree that there have been some successes and failures in mandate-setting exercises and that we are continuing to learn from past experiences. The mandate of the 18th Legislative Assembly was set collaboratively between Cabinet and Regular Members, based on priorities set by all 19 Members of the Legislative Assembly. Having spoken to Members of the previous Assembly, I would think it would be fair to say that the collaborative effort to be inclusive resulted in an unwieldy mandate. The key mandate objectives were mixed in with day-to-day government business, resulting in a lengthy laundry list of hundreds of mandate items. There was also some duplication in the actions identified and varying degrees of detail about the work to be done.
Another shortcoming of the previous mandate is that it did not easily lend itself to measurement. For example, if the mandate identified improving food security as a goal, it offered no method for determining what progress was made to increase food security. The inability to measure progress hampers accountability, Madam Chair. I believe that some of the lessons learned have positively impacted the mandate of the Government of the Northwest Territories for the 19th Legislative Assembly that we are reviewing today.
Before I turn my attention to that, I want to start by thanking the Premier and her Cabinet for working collaboratively with Regular Members to develop this mandate. As a new Member, I found this collaboration to be one of the first real consensus challenges as an MLA. To avoid creating a lengthy mandate, Members had to make difficult choices when setting priorities. The priorities that emerged from our discussions are not necessarily the priorities that any one of us might have selected as individuals. However, they best reflect the overall priorities of the 19 Members as an Assembly.
You may have heard the saying that, if everything is a priority, then nothing is a priority. We kept that in mind and made some tough choices. As a result, some things that are important to my constituents might not have made the list of priorities determined by the Assembly, but they reflect the needs of all NWT residents, and, as a Member, I stand behind that. Once the priorities were set, the mandate was crafted by the Executive branch of government. It identifies not only what the government will do, but also how it will be done. As importantly, it also identifies the timeline for completing the work and sets out measures for determining progress.
I want to thank the Premier for listening to the important requests of Regular Members and ensuring mandate progress is measurable. This will be incredibly helpful to hold government accountable throughout our term and to demonstrate that we collectively achieved something real at the end of the Assembly.
I understand we will be working through 22 mandate priorities and the actions identified to achieve those priorities in detail, so I will hold my comments on the specific priorities until we come to them. There are, however, some important factors that will have an impact on our success in achieving the priorities we have set.
The first is the importance of good communication. Timely, honest, and accurate communication has the ability to unite our territory toward a common goal and empower Northerners to become involved with clear and encouraged democratic participation. Poor communication results in misunderstandings that distract the government and this Assembly from the important work at hand. I believe the GNWT has not paid enough attention to the importance of communication in the past. I believe that, in the past, there was reluctance by government to communicate with the public for fear of judgment or public criticism, but we are getting better. Communications have evolved in this connected internet era. The public's expectations have also evolved. People don't want spin. They don't want to be told what to believe. They want the facts so they can judge for themselves. In all the work the GNWT does to achieve this mandate, I encourage my colleagues on Cabinet to be as communicative as possible with the Members of this Assembly and with the public. So much can be resolved, simply by preventing misunderstandings in the first place. It is also important to acknowledge errors when they are made. Mistakes will happen. What matters is how we address our errors. We are all human, and none of us is perfect.
We have heard lots of talk about the importance of partnerships to help this government reach its goals. Effective partnerships are another essential ingredient for achieving a successful mandate, partnerships with community governments, stakeholders, non-government organizations, intergovernmental partnerships with Indigenous governments, and public-private partnerships. There are many types of partnerships, and they are all fundamental to good governance and progress. However, to be successful, partnerships must be built on shared objectives, mutual respect, and trust. For the GNWT to be successful in its partnerships, it has to be prepared to meet its partners as equals and to listen to the needs and concerns of those we choose to partner with, and who choose to partner with us.
The GNWT also needs to be consistent in its approach to its partners. A strong partnership between an Indigenous government and a GNWT department can be undone if the same Indigenous government feels it is receiving poor treatment at the hands of another department. In addition, we cannot drive a legacy of relationships and partnerships without moving the needle on lands, resources, and self-government agreements, and increase regional decision-making. Ministers need to listen, not only to the advice of their senior managers, but to the organization's clients and residents that government works with and for. As politicians, you are best positioned to have your finger on the pulse of the electorate and to provide clear political leadership to the public service.
I have said it before, Madam Chair, our priorities are all connected. While large budgets are always exciting, not every priority requires huge pots of money to move the meter. Some require the fluidity of being able to provide our public servants with the space to be creative and think outside their cubicle. For example, we have multiple departments working to attract people to the Northwest Territories, whether it is to stay for a week as a tourist or to stay for a lifetime as a new Northerner. Industry, Tourism and Investment; Health and Social Services; Finance; and Education, Culture and Employment each has a mandate to bring people to the Northwest Territories, but each work on attracting these people within the context of their own department mandate. NWT Tourism brings a beautiful, interactive experience-based booth to its trade shows and events, but what are we bringing to job fairs to attract nurses? We aren't selling nursing jobs. Every city, town, and island has a nursing job. We're selling an experience. How can we bring these public servants together and empower them to expand their creativity and work together to sell a common goal of experiencing the Northwest Territories? How can we work across silos to reduce costs and increase productivity? I believe that this Assembly can make its mark by leading a change in the government's approach to providing programs and services. We have a long history of government acting as a gatekeeper for access to public information, programs, and services. I believe that my colleagues on Cabinet want change in that system as much as I do.
This mandate will not improve the lives of Northerners unless we improve our service ethic. Every single employee of this government should be encouraged to adopt this ethic of service to the people of the Northwest Territories as their highest priority and bring this attitude with them to work every single day. I also believe that our public servants benefit from having a robust legislation and policy, providing a framework that affords them the ability to apply discretion when doing their jobs, to ensure that our clients, the members of the public, do not experience undue frustration in their dealings with the government. I hope that having an Ombud in place will help the GNWT to improve its procedural fairness in its dealings with the public.
Finally, Madam Chair, as Ministers work on defining the budget allocations that will be used to meet our priorities, I ask that they be bold in their leadership. Our legacy will evolve from a union of the way we drive accountability, what we leave Northerners and the 20th Assembly, and also what meter Cabinet chooses to move. Given our fiscal restraints, we cannot do everything. I ask that Cabinet make the tough decisions on what meter to move and to not make that decision lightly. What will drive the success of Northerners for generations to come? What will enable Northerners to thrive? Be bold. I am counting on you and believe this Assembly, in collaboration with every single department, has the potential to make change. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. I will give it to the Premier to respond. We're just doing general comments. I will just continue on, then. Member for Nunakput
Thank you, Madam Chair. The mandate was to develop Cabinet-based priorities to be set by all 19 Legislative Members. It sets out what the government intends to do during its term to achieve these priorities. I will have comments on individual priorities and move through them page by page. However, first, comments to the mandate and in general.
Madam Chair, the Legislature of Ontario governs 14 million people, roughly, for every MP. For 115,000 people, Legislature of Alberta, just 4 million people, roughly. For one MLA for 49,000 people, it governs that we have a population of 44,500 people, meaning that one MLA serves 2300 people roughly. Why does that matter? Because not governing tens of thousands of faceless people that we will never meet and governing our friends, families, and our neighbours, that gives us a unique opportunity to govern the compassion and respect. We know the people are doing that are directly impacted in decisions that are made in this House. It makes a huge difference in responsibility on all of us.
To do better for the people we know, love, we've been doing in the past. The GNWT budget is nearing $2 billion. It's such a big number. People can't even imagine how much money that is. It's like 2,000 million dollars when you look at it. That means territorial government is big business in the NWT. The government has all the responsibilities of provincial government to provide education, healthcare, social programs, and infrastructure. We have added challenge in delivering these programs. These services are in small and remote communities, scattered in a large land mass. This increases the costs of everything: food, building materials, wages, gas, power, you name it. The North costs more.
Given this reality, it makes sense the territorial government must spend carefully to keep an eye on the bottom line, however, prioritizing the bottom line has been ingrained in generations of public servants over the past 50 years, and it has deeply affected the corporate culture of the NWT. I believe the GNWT public servants, from deputy ministers to front-line staff, are expected to act as gatekeepers, controlling the public access to government services, to protect the public purse. The outcome is corporate culture. Members of the public often encounter attitude and resistance seeking access to government programs and services. They feel that they are being judged or feel unworthy of the jobs and support of the programs offered by the GNWT. What does this mandate have? Simple, we do things that are important to us. The Premier and the Cabinet have made a pledge to do things differently. In evidence, I grant, they're still early days. I believe what is needed is a dramatic change in how the GNWT responds and serves. The government needs to radically alter the corporate culture and focus on client-centred service. It also needs to rethink and prioritize the regional centres over smaller communities.
In implementing this mandate, I want the GNWT to put the "service" back into the public service. What I mean by this is I want a more client-oriented approach. I'd like every public servant empowered to support and serve the people of the NWT, no matter what the needs are. I want to see public service training and front-line staff. I want to see more of our people becoming employees and senior managers and more travel from senior managers into our communities so they can know and understand the challenges that are facing our people, who they work for. What I see, Madam Chair, is attitude, a service where the government and employees, when they come to work in the morning, they should be saying, "How could I help the people today in the Northwest Territories?" instead of thinking, "How can I protect the bottom line of the government purse?" I'm suggesting that we're not being fiscally prudent. We do, but employees need to be taught the ethic of service of the people, not the judgment of them.
Before I close my general remarks, I want to point out what is important. The government must recognize that the focus of past governments on big infrastructure projects has come at a cost. It has taken time, attention, and resources away from things that are needed in people's everyday lives: adequate housing, jobs, good schools, quality health, and financial support of the most needy among us. In delivering this mandate, these are things that matter most to the people. We must not forget that.
What matters most to the people in my riding of Nunakput is jobs, decent housing, adequate funding for the community government, dealing with shoreline erosion, affordable taxes. When I look at the successes and failures of our government in delivering this mandate, I'll be looking to see improvements in these areas, real, meaningful, and tangible improvements in the lives of the constituents that we serve. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member for Nunakput. I will turn it over to the Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Madame la Presidente. As I stated on December 11, 2019 in this House, I have a number of concerns with the priorities that were developed by the MLAs. We produced a list of 22 priorities versus the 25 in the 18th Assembly. Hard choices were not made amongst big infrastructure projects or even between those projects and investments in social spending that should include housing, polytechnic university, universal childcare, and guaranteed basic income.
I do not support some of the priorities developed by this Assembly. I will put people first over infrastructure. Some priorities work at cross-purposes with each other, such as increasing economic diversification or trying to increase mineral exploration. Other priorities are extremely vague: reduce core housing needs or advance universal childcare. The priorities provide very little direction for the work of some of the departments, agencies, and Ministers. I look forward to an opportunity to review the mandate letters as soon as they are available and well before they are formally issued by the Premier.
On to the mandate tabled late last week by the Premier, I want to firstly acknowledge the good efforts on the part of the Premier to work collaboratively with Regular MLAs in developing the mandate. We spent over two full days in direct discussion with the Premier, which is an unprecedented and welcome change from the last Assembly. We had intense discussions. Sometimes we agreed to disagree, but I think the results clearly show the influence of the Regular MLAs in shaping the mandate.
I had pushed for a structured approach to each of the priorities. I suggested clear timelines, measurable targets or outcomes, steps necessary to reach the targets or outcomes, and accountability for the proposed actions and coordination of them. I think this was largely achieved with the mandate that's before us. However, many of the outcomes or targets are very low. For example, increasing our housing stock by 100 units over four years is only about a 4-percent increase and will likely not even keep pace with our growing waiting list of residents wishing to get into public housing. As another example, there are supposed to be about, I think, 16 active negotiation tables for land rights and implementation of existing agreements. The mandate sets a very low target of two agreements to be concluded at the end of four years. I sincerely hope that these are the agreements that cover the Dehcho and Akaitcho territories, but surely we can do better than two agreements.
The mandate also contains vague commitments in some cases. These include words such as "advance," "working with," "increase opportunities," and similar words. Voters elected us for real change. That needs to start with a bold vision and goals. I think the mandate can and should have adopted clear commitments to this type of change, with more ambitious targets, outcomes, and deliverables.
I have a number of concerns with some of the actions proposed to fill different parts of the mandate and would like to highlight some of those now. The climate change sections are particularly weak, with few specific actions or outcomes to establish internal leadership, accountability, and improved decision-making. The infrastructure section is silent on whether and how we can possibly afford all of these projects at the same time. There is nothing about changing our messaging about the NWT being a great place to live, work, and do business to attract investment, instead of the tired old complaints about our regulatory system, that scares away investment. The roles of the Northwest Territories Power Corporation in our energy future is not even discussed, and the focus is on large energy projects that will do little to build energy self-sufficiency and lower the cost of living. The education section is rather lean, and there is no clear commitment to universal childcare. Clear targets should have been developed for food security, in my view.
In closing, I would like to thank the Premier, though, for working with the Regular MLAs and delivering a much-improved version of this mandate, and I'll have further comments and questions as we work our way through the document. Mahsi, Madam Chair.
