Madam Speaker, I would like to do a short presentation on the budget address that was tabled by the honourable Caroline Wawzonek, the Minister of Finance, on February 25, 2020. First of all, this budget is status quo, with the vast majority of funds going to Yellowknife. I want to remind all Members, including Cabinet, of our 22 priorities, which included regional centres and smaller communities.
Madam Speaker, this budget focuses on all of the capital city of Yellowknife's needs and less on the regional centres and communities. The 2019-2023 Mandate of the Government of the Northwest Territories clearly outlined our priorities. The process was followed, yet, again, this 19th Assembly is leaving the people outside the capital without hope and future prospects for growth in a meaningful way. The 51 new positions for Stanton and the Integrated Case Management Group under Justice will be increased by two, which includes four permanent staff members, and all of the new positions designated for growth in other departments only in Yellowknife must all be looked at in a more strategic and objective manner. As an MLA, I am not going to approve this budget, especially the Integrated Case Management Group, unless two out of the four new positions that this budget is asking for are situated one in Fort Smith and one in Inuvik, respectively.
Madam Speaker, as an MLA and a strong businessperson with 50 years of business experience, my main concern is the economy. I feel that this budget is not addressing how we are going to come out of deficit. Strong emphasis must be placed on the economy to advance our business sector in the exploration of diamonds, oil, tourism, and small business, to ensure that we have a strong economy so our people in the NWT can have hope and faith in their government. The Taltson expansion is probably the most beneficial green project that makes sense. With 75 percent of the funds coming from the federal government and with 25-percent input from our own Indigenous governments, it's a win-win situation that must be looked at seriously.
Madam Speaker, the total expenditure for this budget is $1.9 billion. The majority of this budget is slated for the capital of Yellowknife. The ordinary Members on Cabinet should be more mindful of how Cabinet presents a budget of this sort when it affects the smaller communities and the regional centres outside of Yellowknife. Obviously, this did not happen.
A quote: "Self-government and self-determination are not possible in a society in which there is no set of criteria defining what behaviour and beliefs constitute acceptable expressions of leadership." Madam Speaker, when we get into the budget estimates, which we already have, and have to vote on the outcomes, we must keep in mind our mandate of inclusiveness, ensuring that the entire population of the NWT benefits from this budget. Changes to this budget must be made to reflect this. This is what the people of the NWT want. The majority of the NWT, the people of Thebacha riding, and the Indigenous people outside of Yellowknife must benefit from this budget and in future budgets from this day on. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Madam Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Finance. My first question is: since the Stanton P3 and the legacy, 100-bed, long-term unit for Yellowknife have crippled our government for moving forward, could the Minister tell me who makes up the Boreal Health partnerships?
Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. As to the first part of the Member's comment, about being crippled, I would reply to simply say that this actually did come in on budget and that the project costs for construction were as expected, and that the contract costs are as expected. To the second half of the Member's question, Madam Speaker, the Boreal Partnership is made up of HOCHTIEF PPP Solutions, Bird Capital Limited, and BBGI Corporation. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Can the Minister tell us who owns the majority of shares of Dexterra, as well as where is the company based out of, and what the emergency number that is used by Stanton hospital staff after 5:00 p.m.?
Dexterra, I believe, is owned by a company named Fairfax Financial Holdings. They are based out of Ontario, for their corporate office. With respect to emergency numbers, those numbers are available to Stanton Territorial Hospital staff and, if there is some concern that the Member is raising on that, rather than having those numbers put here in the House, I will ensure that those numbers are, in fact, posted appropriately and communicated to staff in the hospital.
I want the Minister of Finance to justify and explain to the people of Thebacha and the NWT how all the shortfalls in this territorial hospital are going to be dealt with and who is going to be paying for those shortfalls?
A number of initiatives have been begun in the last few months as a response to the fact that there were some challenges with this building when it initially came online. It's always expected that there is going to be some difficulty with a building that is the size and complexity of Stanton Territorial Hospital. Indeed, this hospital is arguably one of if not the most complex building ever undertaken by the Northwest Territories government, certainly one of the most technical in terms of the kinds of equipment, so while we are cognizant that there have been challenges, there is work under way. There are committees that have been formed now between BHP and the GNWT, to ensure that partners are adequately addressing issues in a prompt manner. There is currently a senior executive committee that meets now to oversee the fixing of any difficulties or problems that arise. Assistance is being delivered by the Department of Infrastructure to the partners over at the hospital so that, again, there are adequate hands on deck, essentially, to make sure that things are being looked at. As for the payment, there is a very detailed schedule in the contract where, if there are issues that should have been delivered by the partner, then the partner has to pay for that. There is contract monitoring to ensure, indeed, that, if there are performance issues that fall within the contract, then the payments that are being made regularly to the provider of services deducts that from their monthly payment.
Thank you, Minister of Finance. Final supplementary, Member for Thebacha.
Madam Speaker, finally, I would like to address the mayor of Yellowknife's media statement of February 19, 2020. The new Stanton hospital tax bill for the amount of $4.5 million is the highest taxed building in the NWT. The mayor of Yellowknife made a statement that she did not have to raise taxes because of a new assessed property value of the new Stanton hospital. My question is: as all monies out of public funds belong to the people of the NWT, are you comfortable as the Minister of Finance with this statement?
We have a good partnership with the City of Yellowknife and with the mayor of Yellowknife, and I am confident that she was making every effort to explain to people who she represents how grants in lieu work and how taxes are paid by the Government of the Northwest Territories. We do not pay taxes. We pay a grant in lieu, and the grant in lieu supports the city when the Government of the Northwest Territories is using what would be municipal land that the municipality could otherwise garner tax-based revenue from. Instead, there is a grant in lieu that is paid for the use of that land and, obviously, for all of the various city-based services that the GNWT uses on the footprint of the hospital. I am confident that the grant-in-lieu policy has been applied appropriately and fairly for the City of Yellowknife, for Stanton, as it is to all of the tax-base communities across the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Finance. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Lands. In regard to transferring Commissioner's land within city boundaries to the City of Yellowknife, what formal arrangements have been put in place at this time for this initiative and what are their timelines? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Minister of Lands.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. The department has been meeting with the city several times this past summer and most recently as of Monday, February 24, when I had the opportunity of meeting with the city as well as YK Dene First Nation. We have a working group in place that involves the city, the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, Lands, and E and I, and so we are working together on this issue. The department's goal is to have the process document done hopefully this year, and then we will work on transferring the lands in the future. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
This past weekend was the NWT Association of Communities AGM in Inuvik. Since long before the election of the 19th Assembly, the topic of Commissioner's land within the City of Yellowknife has definitely been a hot topic. What commitments were made at the AGM in regard to the transfer of Commissioner's land to municipalities?
Yes. We did attend the NWTAC meeting, and there were no commitments or no questions asked from the association in regard to this issue, but I can tell this House and the public that we have had communications with the various tax-base communities on how we can move forward on this issue. This is very complex, and we are trying to work together.
I am wondering if local Indigenous governments are supportive of land-transfer initiatives within the City of Yellowknife.
Like I said, last Monday, May 24th, I did attend the meeting with the City of Yellowknife and the YK Dene. In that conversation, in that meeting there, basically what I believe the conversation, what we heard, was that they were supportive of this as long as it does not infringe or interfere with the Dehcho Process.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Kam Lake, final supplementary.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. It's my understanding that the City of Yellowknife requested a memorandum of understanding in partnership with the City of Yellowknife, local Indigenous governments, and the GNWT. Will the Minister be prepared to satisfy this request for a memorandum of understanding, committing to working together on land-transfer solutions? Thank you.
An MOU may not be the necessary document or process we need to do moving forward, so what we are doing is we are working with the municipality to come up with a document that will ensure, as we move forward 10, 20, 30, or 40 years down the road. It's going to meet the needs of the residents of Yellowknife and the Government of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Justice, regarding cannabis. Madam Speaker, we find ourselves here, a year and a half after cannabis legalization, with the promise being, after one year, we would have private cannabis stores in the Northwest Territories or at least be along the road. My question is: when will we see our first private cannabis store in the Northwest Territories?
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister of Justice.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I acknowledge that there certainly has been a delay since even, I believe, the date that I provided to the House with respect to some aspects of the process. In order to have a cannabis store, there was first an RFQ, request for qualifications, that was sent out this summer, and then there needed to be an RFP, a request for proposals. That process was due out in January. I acknowledge that it's now not January. I am assured that that will be complete and that that will public this month. I will certainly ensure that I am doing my best to follow up on that date. At that point, how quickly private individuals or private companies are able to develop their progress per store will be in the hands of those individuals or companies. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
I appreciate the Minister of Justice's response that we will see those RFPs out this month, and I will encourage my constituents who are interested to apply to that process. I had a constituent attend the uptown liquor store the other day, the only place to buy cannabis legally in town, and there was, in fact, no cannabis there. My question for the Minister of Finance: why, 18 months after legalization, do we still not have our procurement process in order?
There have actually not been very many stock outages since January of 2019, though there was indeed some delay recently. I am told that the resupply did come in last Friday and that it is something that we are continuously monitoring. Staff from the Department of Finance are involved in ensuring that the supply is regular and, indeed, I believe met with one of the repliers just last week. It is certainly our hope that, as we continue that relationship, that there should be hopefully fewer challenges for those seeking to avail themselves.
I want to express the issue here is that when someone attends a legal cannabis store and there is no cannabis, they go to the black market, which I can assure the Minister of Justice is still very much alive and well in the Northwest Territories. That means we are allowing criminals to continue to sell cannabis as well as not gaining the tax revenue needed from this. My question to the Minister of Justice is: what is currently happening to find new sources that can meet the demand?
The Northwest Territories Liquor and Cannabis Commission is tasked with identifying new suppliers, where they're available. It is a challenge that's being faced by our other territorial and provincial partners. It's one that we'll continue to talk to them about their own practices and see if there are options in our procurement that we haven't considered. As I say, I am alive to the ultimate impacts of not having supply and what that does. Again, it's a fairly new system across Canada, so hopefully, as all the provinces and territories work that through, that we will see a general improvement to the legal supply to all provinces and territories, including ours.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions, Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Madame la Presidente. In my statement earlier today, I talked about how we have some of the best access to information, protection, and privacy legislation in the world, maybe. The problem is it hasn't been implemented; it hasn't been brought into force. I'd like to ask the Minister of Justice to explain what the next steps are with regard to bringing these changes to ATIP into legal effect and when that might happen. Merci, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Minister of Justice.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I have some good news. That is that the majority of provisions are expected to be brought forward, or brought into force, in the fall, this fall of 2020. That would include the changes that are being made to reduce some of the fees. With respect to changes that are going to be made that will impact on smaller communities and municipalities, Madam Speaker, a working group has been formed with representatives of the small communities to ensure that they are part of the process to develop those regulations. That working group now has set dates when they will meet, and as they meet the next stages will be developed in conjunction with that process. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
I want to thank the Minister for that great news. Unfortunately, it looks like it's going to take about one and a half years to finally get the fees reduced, maybe even closer to two or three years from when the "what we heard" report came up. That's still good news. There are a number of areas that were identified in the "what we heard" report, such as a training, identification of classes of records, that do not require an ATIP application. Can the Minister give us a sense of the priorities in terms of that work and when it's going to be implemented, as well?
The training and the guidelines, resource materials for all the different departments, that is either has been or is being developed right now, with some training due to begin, I understand, in April. As to the specific training schedule, of which departments, I don't know that offhand. I will commit to providing that to the Member as I can identify it. I can say that, certainly, reducing the fees has been a priority, and ensuring that movement to provide better access to information, there is one area of documents that will be identified, so they can be available without having to go through the process, that is also a priority that we will be working on.
I want to thank the Minister for that reply. Back in June of 2019, the then-Minister of Finance read out in the House a series of proposed decreases in fees, and I mentioned those in my Member's statement. I'm not going to run through them again, but is that what the Minister going to do with the regulations that are coming forward as early as fall of this year?
I did take your full note, as the Member was speaking earlier, I can't confirm that those are indeed the changes that are being contemplated to reduce the fees.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Frame Lake. No? Okay. Oral questions, Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. As I mentioned in my statement, new federal legislation sets minimum standards for the treatment of children in care. These standards are meant to ensure that Indigenous children grow up immersed in their language, culture, and community. My question for the Minister is: how does our child and family services legislation align with the new federal legislation? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife Centre. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. The Child and Family Service Act and the federal Bill C92, and the child and family services in the Northwest Territories act is in line with the principles of the federal act. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
My more specific question is: whether the order in which children will be placed, if they are taken into care, is that exactly the same order that exists in our Child and Family Services Act?
Yes, that's correct. The Northwest Territories Child and Family Services Act and the federal act recognize the need to deliver culturally appropriate services by decisions concerning the children are made in the best interests of the child, taking into consideration cultural values and practices. Also, each community has a role in supporting and promoting the best interests of the children, and the wellbeing of the families and the communities. Yes. They are in line, and some of the principles that we have are in line.
