Thank you, Madam Chair. I will reiterate my colleague's comments that the NWT SPCA does do work in all of the communities. I think, more and more, we're realizing that animal health is just a part of human health, and if you see rabies transmit between species, it can have devastating effects. It's a huge public health thing. I'll just reiterate that. That is the aspect that I find most concerning about the gap.
I wanted to switch. I heard the Minister say that, currently, all calls are being answered in the NWT. My understanding is that there were some dispatch centres, and that may actually be community dispatch centres, or there was talk of us, I believe, hiring Alberta to take over phone calls if medical services can't. Can I just confirm whether that's happening?
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes, the Member is correct. We do have Inuvik and Hay River, but these services were established before 911, and we work with them in conjunction, as well. Yes, we work with them. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you, Member, for your comment.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I look forward to seeing this first 911 report. I know that there have been some growing pains, and there are a number of conversations. I was wondering if the report will have a comparison of dispatch times post-911 and pre-911.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Sorry, Minister, wait for your light.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm just thinking, post-911 and pre-911, the program hasn't been around for a year, so I would really like to look at those stats after the year that the program has actually been launched to determine those numbers. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Madam Chair. The concern I am wanting to address is that I know 911, due to the certification, adds some extra steps, which means, at times, when a person is calling 911, as opposed to the old number, the time is actually taking longer. I am wondering if dispatch times will be part of the report.
Thank you, Member. Minister.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Looking at the response times that we have, don't quote me on it, but I think that we are in the seconds to be responding to calls that are coming through. Looking at where the Member is probably thinking that the time is kind of taking a while for us to respond is, I want to say, with the City of Yellowknife, because they do provide a service; we provide a service, but we are actually working together to improve and have one established service for the City of Yellowknife. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Yellowknife North.
I appreciate that, and I know that there is a lot of work to do. It's with each dispatch. I think 911 is a great step, and I think that following these public service standards is great. Sometimes you're better off just calling the fire department directly if you need the fire department in Hay River. We need to eliminate that step. We need to encourage 911 to be always used. When we get the numbers, seeing how many calls are going to the old number, I would also like to see if we, in the report, will have numbers showing how long 911 calls are taking.
Thank you, Member. Minister.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I hear the Member's comment, and we are still in transition, so I'm expecting the members of the public to be continuing to call the old numbers that were distributed in the past, but we are in transition. Going forward, I will provide the Member with the times of the calls that were received. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister. I just want to remind the Members to say "thank you" at the end. We have a different sound guy, so he needs to know when you're done, for the microphones. Thank you. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I'll remember to do that. I appreciate looking at the dispatch times, because I recognize people are going to continue to call the old numbers, and the goal is to eventually get everyone on 911 and make sure we are all having conversations about dispatch times. I look forward to those conversations. My next question is to consumer affairs. I, in time, would like to see a new Consumer Protection Act with a little more teeth, but can I get a sense of how many complaints the consumer affairs department deals with? Thank you.
Thank you, Member. Minister.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm not familiar with the number of consumer affairs complaints that we have received, but I will look to my colleagues to see if they have additional information that I can provide for you right now. I'll have Ms. Young respond. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Ms. Young.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Surprisingly, the number of calls is actually quite small. In 2019, we had five complaints originate out of Yellowknife, two out of Hay River, and that has been typical. A lot of the emphasis has been on public education, but there have not been a lot of calls. I think part of that lends to what the Member is speaking of, about what we can do under the act. With us having a limited ability to do something, there may not be an impetus for people to call. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Ms. Young. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes, I completely agree. I think, without the legislation having more teeth, you get fewer complaints. I was just curious whether it was being utilised and the extent, now. Sorry, I wanted to switch to the Office of the Fire Marshal. This is probably one of my largest, actually, areas of constituents' complaints, is coming out of the Fire Marshal. I'm very excited that we will be reviewing the act. I believe there is a bit of a cultural issue in the department, in not working with people, and there has been inflexibility. I even know that the GNWT itself has had some issues with that office. What is the Minister doing to deal with the number of complaints regarding the Office of the Fire Marshal?
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I am aware that we do have some concerns in regard to the Office of the Fire Marshal, but then I just feel reluctant to answer the question because it is a human resources question. Going forward, we are very consistent with the number of complaints that we do deal with, and we do act on them, as well. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Sorry, I actually don't even know who the Fire Marshal is. I'm not speaking about the specific Fire Marshal; it's an office with procedures and policies in place, and people run into them. I know the Chamber has talked about appeal mechanisms. People have talked about adopting the Building Code to be more flexible for the realities on the ground. There are a number of ways we could amend the current policies and procedures under the Fire Marshal. I'm not speaking of the Fire Marshal as a person. I'm just wondering: has there been an increase in complaints stemming out of disputes around the Office of the Fire Marshal? Is that being dealt with? Can I just get a sense of where that's going?
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister.
Thank you, Madam Chair. My apologies to the Member. I misunderstood the question. There are concerns in regard to the Office of the Fire Marshal, and the concerns that are brought forward deal with buildings and standards and whatever. That is why we are working with the Fire Prevention Act to improve our services. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister. I will now move on to Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Madam Chair. My questions are to do with emergency management. I'm aware that the department created an NWT emergency plan in 2018. Has that emergency plan been fully implemented at this point? Thank you.
Thank you, Member. Minister.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes, it has, and it is available. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you to the Minister for that response. What would it take to activate this emergency plan now, if we required it in connection with the public health emergency? Thank you.
Thank you, Member. Minister.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Looking at the emergency plan, because I do know that we have quite a concern happening right now and there's a lot of discussion happening in the Northwest Territories. I'm going to have Ms. Young elaborate on the emergency plan and what it would take to initiate it. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Ms. Young.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I don't remember the specifics in the act, but it does refer to widespread things that impact public health and safety, and things of that nature. That is part of the live conversation happening every day right now between the Department of Health and Municipal and Community Affairs about which legislation is dealing with which aspects of the situation with the developing virus and which one offers the best tools to take steps, if steps are required, for further action than what is currently in place. That is part of the ongoing conversation. Sorry. I don't remember the specific wording in the act about when we actually activate a state of emergency, which is really what triggers our emergency measures organization to be fully up and operating. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Ms. Young. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you for that response. The state of emergency is the activation tool. Once the state of emergency is declared, what kind of scope and reach does this plan have? Does it reach every NWT community? What kind of reach does it have, and scope? Thank you.
Thank you, Member. Minister.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to be specific on the response because looking at a community level and the stakeholders that would be involved in the process, if there were to be any concerns in regard to initiating the emergency plan. I'm going to have Eleanor elaborate on the response. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Ms. Young.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes, the act provides powers to declare a state of emergency in part or all of the territory, depending on the nature of what activities need to be undertaken. If it was for example related to travel or provision of goods and services across the territory, it could be the entire territory, but if it's dealing with a specific region, a wildfire, it could be within the region. The plan provides the flexibility to respond to the type of emergency that is in place. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Ms. Young. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you for that response. What kind of resources would you need to activate the plan on a territory-wide basis?
Thank you, Member. Minister.
Thank you, Madam Chair. The plan would involve, I would say, all levels. All levels would be involved, and there is consultation and involvement to make sure that the emergency and the safety of the people of the Northwest Territories, that it's a collaborative plan that involves stakeholders and people within the Northwest Territories, not only Municipal and Community Affairs. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Yellowknife Centre
