Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm going to continue on some of the questions for the Minister of ECE. I just want to know if the department of education has reached out to the Beaufort Delta Education Council and the DEAs or their staff to have a plan for next week when the teachers start returning, and the families. It's not just teachers. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is a meeting today, I believe at 1:30. The deputy minister and the departmental staff are going to be having a meeting with all of the superintendents, including those from the Beaufort-Delta. There has been contact over the past few days, as well. Those conversations are happening. I'm making sure they're happening.
Can the Minister also tell me how the department will ensure, if the schools aren't closed, that the most vulnerable are kept safe? For example, we have a lot of elders who work in our school. We have a high number of people who have chronic illnesses, students and staff. What the plan is for them, as well, if they're working in the school?
That is what is being worked on as we speak. Those are the kinds of plans that we're putting in place. There were protocols in place for the H1N1 outbreak years back. Those are being updated. I know the elders are especially vulnerable. I can't speak for the Chief Public Health Officer, and I'm not going to give medical advice, but I would imagine he would want elders to stay away from places where they could contract this virus.
All of the work is being done. This has been a very fast-moving situation, and nothing is off the table right now. Looking forward, I'm willing to take whatever steps are necessary to ensure safety.
The question that I also have is: will the Minister work with the department of health to make sure that there is somebody in each of the communities who can educate the DEAs? Because the DEAs are regular people in the community. If they are having to have the power to do this, to make this decisions, or our regional council, they need to have some one-on-one time with a health professional who can actually give them the education to make the call. I would like to see if the two Ministers will commit to having that conversation with our DEAs in the regional board.
The superintendents work with the DEAs and the DECs, and we have been working closely with them to get that information out so that they can disseminate it. The deputy ministers are meeting on a daily basis regarding this, and they are taking advice from the Chief Public Health Officer, and they are disseminating that advice through the proper channels. I can't commit health staff to do one-on-one work with all the DEAs because I'm not sure what the health staff are up to, but I can talk to my Cabinet colleague. Getting information to the people who need that information is a priority.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Thank you. That's not really a commitment to me. I just feel that there needs to be somebody. I know the Beaufort Delta Education Council can set up teleconferences if they had somebody there where the local DEAs or the regional chairs could sit and ask those questions, because they may have more questions than the information being provided. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I appreciate that suggestion, and it's always good to have information, so I will commit to work with my colleague to see if we can have a more direct line with the DEA so that they have that information. Because, like I said, they do have the authority to close schools, and so we want to make sure that they are exercising their authority with the best possible information. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I mentioned in my statement, I have questions for the Minister of Justice about the implementation of the new Corrections Act. In August of last year, the 18th Assembly passed the new Corrections Act, and I'm proud to say it incorporates the best practices for how offenders are treated while they're incarcerated as well as how they will be re-integrated into their communities. Can the Minister tell me when this act will be implemented? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife Centre. Minister of Justice.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The full act is expected to be implemented in the winter of 2021, but there's a phased approached taking place, and some of the corrections regulations will be online, I anticipate as early as this spring. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you to the Minister for that. I'm going to dig a little deeper into the details. Can the Minister tell us what progress has been made so far on preparing for implementation?
The Department of Justice has been working on quite a bit of policy change. There have been policy documents getting developed, and, as they're doing that, they are also developing training to go along with that, and curriculum for the various staff members and levels of staff who will be required to implement all of the new programs and policies and procedures within the act. In addition to that, there are some operating guidelines. There are new reporting relationships being developed, and all of that work, again, is occurring at present. It's ongoing. Again, that's where I say the regulations are expected to come into play in spring of 2020, so in the next few months, and how that rolls out will then depend on the development of the policies and the training.
I appreciate the additional detail from the Minister. The Minister did mention new policies and regulations. Has the Minister considered bringing those new policies and regulations to standing committee for review?
I do know that this act was one that had significant input from the entire House and was better for it. I'm not opposed to bringing things forward to the relevant committee, and I will certainly endeavour to provide an update to the committee as to the exact state of which policies and where things are at. I can't see why we wouldn't engage in that sort of a briefing; I just don't know what timeline it will take place in the current circumstances.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Minister's willingness to share that information when the time is right. My last question is about how information about the new legislation will be shared with the public as well as with all those who are most directly involved now. Thank you.
I acknowledge that is a good question. I do not have an answer for the Member right now. I will get an answer. It's important to have an answer. The new Corrections Act, really, is one that is a flagship for the North, for the Department of Justice. It's a piece of legislation that we are proud of, and I will look for opportunities and develop opportunities to make sure that we are sharing that with the public and showing the public the good work that is happening at the Department of Justice in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. I am not going to say too much today, but I just want to say really quickly, about this COVID-19 issue we are dealing with, if anything, history has taught us that we should always make sure that we control how our people traffic is being regulated and make sure that we contain this sort of thing because, again, history has taught us that, if we ignore it, it could be very costly in terms of lives. I don't want to see that. I would rather see our government be proactive on this, so I had a quick question for the Minister of Health and Social Services. I am kind of concerned about the small communities. Does the Minister have any backup nurses in case the current nurses are unable to work? Marsi cho.
Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to take this opportunity to talk about this coronavirus, the COVID-19, and I want to advise the following. The health and social services system has been preparing for a potential NWT outbreak since early February, based on emerging information from the World Health Organization and the federal government. The Office of the Chief Public Health Officer has developed guidelines for Northwest Territories health professionals and has issued regular alerts so that the health and social services workforce is being kept informed. Clinical resources will continue to be developed to reflect the latest advice from the international and national infectious disease experts, with guidance from the Chief Public Health Officer and staff, and is being provided to the frontline daily.
The Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority held a first staff information session last week, where the Chief Public Health Officer presented on the coronavirus. The Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority has also been retraining staff on the use of personal protection equipment, hand hygiene, proper hand-washing techniques, and have provided education sheets on the COVID-19 over the last four weeks. Presently, the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority have scheduled weekly all-Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority staff calls to provide information. Should the frequency of these calls needs to be increased, that will be done. I do want to talk a little bit more about the process, if that is okay; I think this is important, and I just want to go further into detail. I apologize to the House.
The swab testing kit for coronavirus is a standard nasopharyngeal swab. The swab resembles a large Q-tip, that is used to swab the back of your throat. This is a standard item stocked in all of our facilities. I have been assured that the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services has also been delivering more swabs to all of the staffed health centres. Once a test is taken, it is sent to the provincial lab in Alberta, with a three-to-seven-day turnaround time for results, depending on your location.
The Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority wants to ensure that all of their testing for COVID-19 are being directed to individuals who meet the screening criteria. The criteria for screening includes people returning from outside the Northwest Territories who develop symptoms after 14 days of recent travel. Symptoms include fever, cough, and difficulty breathing. So, if residents have travelled and are developing symptoms, they are being asked to self-isolate, contact their local health centre or the public health unit for information on how to coordinate testing, and also refer to the department's frequently asked questions posted on the website along with the attached information sheets on self-monitoring and self-isolation for more information. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thanks for that detailed response. It's important. I think we had to get that aired out for the public and let them know and be aware. I did not get a response back, though, from the Minister. Is there a backup plan to have medical staff and nurses for our nursing stations in the territories?
Yes, there is a backup plan.
I heard the Minister mention a little bit about the testing and, forgive me, is it nasopharyngeal swabs? I hope I got the pronunciation correct. I am going to ask the Minister now: will a new influx of testing, will that strain our resources to do that? Because we should expect an influx of testing now, so, if we could get the Minister to respond. Marsi cho.
In my long summary here, I think I did say in there that, yes, we are increasing supplies to the health centres and to the communities.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Marsi. I have one final question, again about the small communities. If there is anybody who wants to be tested in the small communities, what is the process for that? Marsi cho.
There is information on the website about what the process is, but the process is you call the 1-800 number or the number that is provided closest to your health centre and you will get a call back on the process for an assessment. Once you get the assessment, then the department will respond from there. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thought you said Frame Lake. Thank you for that. My questions today are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. My first question today is: did Education, Culture and Employment recently hire an arts curriculum advisor? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Yes, Mr. Speaker, ECE recently hired a new arts education, trades and career, and technology studies coordinator to fill a position that had been previously filled, so it's not a new position.
When I look at the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, I see an entire division dedicated to kids' sport and recreation. I am not saying that we do not need that at all and I, in fact, do not want that to go away, because I feel that children's activity and especially physical activity is very important as a preventative mental health support system. However, when I look at the department of education, I do not see an equally robust arts division, and so can the Minister confirm how many employees are dedicated toward youth arts curriculum development for the Northwest Territories? Thank you.
We have the one position that I just mentioned that is specifically dedicated to that. However, we do have hundreds of teachers in the territory, many of whom teach art courses.
Would the Minister be willing to work with those hundreds of arts teachers he just mentioned across the territory and the person who fills the arts curriculum role within the department of education along with people from different regions in order to develop a made-in-the-North arts curriculum that includes both cultural resurgence and art therapy initiatives, as well?
Right now, our curriculum, many parts of our curriculum are, I wouldn't say outdated, but it's time for them to be renewed, and so that type of work is happening right now. We're looking across at different provinces to see what they're doing, because Alberta has gone through a change, Saskatchewan has changed, BC, and so we're looking at all of this. I think the Member has a great point that, if we can incorporate northern art and those types of things into our curriculum, that would be great. So I will definitely look into this.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and I appreciate the Minister's willingness to look into this. My final question today is in regard to the CALM courses that northern students currently complete in grade 10, and CALM traditionally is where students can work on resumes and they get their volunteer hours, but we hear frequently from northern youth that they need more than that in order to get themselves ready for real life. They want budgeting classes, and they want to know how to do their taxes, and they would like to know how to do business development training. A lot of people in the North do go out and start their own businesses. So would the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment also be willing to look at the CALM curriculum so that it includes more real-life experience and education for our northern youth? Thank you.
That is something we're looking at. CALM has been around since I was in high school, and, frankly, there has always been talk that it could be done better, and I've heard that very recently, as well. So, for decades now, there have been desires to make it more relevant and, with our proposed pathways to education that the department is looking at, there are proposals to change what we now know as CALM, which is a three-credit course, to a series of one-credit courses, including financial literacy, 10 and 12; mental health and healthy relationships, 10; adult and child development. In addition, the current one-credit career and program plan completed in grade 9 is being replaced by a suite of career and transition plan courses to be taught in each year of high school, for a total of four credits, and these courses are meant to guide and support students in figuring out their future goals. So there are changes coming down the pipe to make it more relevant and address the very issues that the Member is speaking of. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
