There is a plan. There is an action plan. I can get the Member more information. Just to let you know, the department is very supportive of this. In the 2019-2020 fiscal year, the GNWT provided $20.4 million for Indigenous language education initiatives, and 5.9 of that was federally funded. The vast majority of that comes from the territorial government. A quarter of the funding was distributed directly to regional Indigenous governments for language revitalization initiatives; $9 million was committed to implementing NWT action plan that I spoke of earlier; and $11.6 million was allocated to implementing the Indigenous language in education policy, which supports the development of Indigenous languages in schools. There is a lot of work that is happening. I wish we could say we were further along. One of the important things we need is partnerships. We need speakers. We need people to want to get into these programs and learn the language. Part of this is talking about the importance of it and trying to get our youth involved, as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Northwest Territories Housing Corporation, with over 2,800 units, is by far the Northwest Territories' landlords. My concern is: should the COVID virus become a full-on pandemic with outbreaks across the Northwest Territories, I do not want to see people getting eviction orders when they have been told to self-isolate. I think, if this should become a pandemic, we are going to see increasingly people struggling to pay their rent. My question is to the Minister responsible for NWT Housing Corporation: should we have a pandemic with cases across the Northwest Territories, is the Housing Corporation prepared to stop evicting people?
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister responsible for NWT Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Housing Corporation has taken an approach as an emergency effect right now to deal with the COVID-19 virus. We are working as a government, together as one. We will find solutions for these situations going forward. We will be looking at the eviction notices, as well. In case we need to find alternative units, we will have to end up looking at hotels for our applicants going forward. Right now, we won't be evicting anybody. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I am very happy to hear that. I do hope that we do not get to that point where this is a pandemic across the Northwest Territories. I leave that up to the facts. My next question is: I am also concerned there is an issue with homelessness across the Northwest Territories, and our most vulnerable may also be our most immunocompromised who may not be able to find a place to self-isolate. Can the Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation speak to the plans to address our homeless population should a full pandemic occur?
Thank you, Member, for bringing up your concern, because we have to think of something very quickly in emergency plans going forward. It's something that we are working strategically at and within our approach. We are looking at the homeless population, as well, and we are going to try our best in what solutions we come up with, and how we could possibly be able to accommodate our homeless population. We are paying very strong attention to this concern, and we will be taking it to the next level.
I guess my question is: should a pandemic occur across the Northwest Territories, has the Housing Corporation and the Minister reached out to shelters? If possible, is it possible to secure hotel rooms for the homeless population?
We are looking at solutions throughout the Northwest Territories, and we are looking at the smaller communities, as well, where we have limited accommodations and actually nowhere where we can actually put the clients in right now. Looking at the hotel rooms that are available, we need to start gathering and getting those numbers together, because I am not sure right now at the moment at what the availability is. I will follow up with the Member with those numbers.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have many seniors in my riding of Yellowknife Centre, so I would like to ask the Minister of Health what kind of precautions the department has advised for organizations, including the Department of Health, who provide long-term care for seniors. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife Centre. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As we speak, our Chief Public Health Officer is currently meeting with the seniors and reaching out here in Northwest Territories to Avens and other places to have a discussion on the importance of ensuring the visitors and the people who are coming in and how important, you know, to sanitize, and it is just really important. I mean, you look at this virus, and it is our seniors who are most vulnerable, so we are taking precautions and we are reaching out to our seniors, as it is very important. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you to the Minister for that. Is it the case, then, that there could be special precautions put in place to protect the people who are most at risk from this disease?
You know, we need to ensure that there is limited access. I mean that is so important when we have people wanting to come and visit our elders who are in their facilities and, you know, it is our nature, it is our people who want to go and visit their elders, make sure they are okay. Our department is just reaching out to ensure that these places have limited access. I mean, although we do want to ensure that there is family who are able to come and continue meeting with their seniors, we just want to ensure the limited access piece.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Monfwi.
Masi, Mr. Speaker. As we sit here in the House, we are getting all kinds of messages as well about this whole COVID-19. One question I have is: we have cancelled most or all the trips outside the NWT, but we still have people coming into the Northwest Territories. Is there a plan in place to deal with that matter? I am not sure if it will be to Health or Justice or the Deputy Premier, Mr. Speaker; I will leave it to you. Masi.
Thank you. Deputy Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This COVID-19 virus is an interdepartmental approach, and we are all working hard with our teams and we have messages that are just, we need to be consistent. I just want to defer the question over to our Minister of Justice and Finance to talk about what is some of the work that is being done in regard to the virus. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Deputy Premier. Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I feel like we are all wearing sort of a collective Ministers responsible for supporting GNWT through the COVID virus hat right now, so it just so happens that I think the department of human resources or division of human resources might have had some of the most recent information on this. Just to reassure that on a broad scale, at this point, anyone coming in or out, coming into the NWT, it is suggested that they consider monitoring for their symptoms and consider whether or not they need to self-isolate.
As far as leave provisions, non-essential travel outside of NWT, as I said earlier, is being restricted and travel within the NWT is being looked at department-by-department in order to ensure that essential services are being provided, but that non-essential travel is not taking place. Beyond that, the Chief Public Health Officer again continues to brief all of the Ministers, and, as I understand, will be looking to brief the House, all the Members on the rise of the House, about any ongoing developments. Things are changing rapidly, but, at the same time, there are people who are responding to them rapidly. It is a bit difficult to do so, certainly, when we are all sitting here together, but I do have faith that that is happening even while we are here. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
As it stands, obviously, we would like to follow what the Chief Medical Officer recommends, and I understand that she has stated that she doesn't have the authority to stop this from happening, people coming from the South. It is this government that is responsible, and we have had experience with PDAC participants who came back and there are some issues. This is becoming a pandemic, as it has been called. We have people coming in from the South. We don't know where they have been, but they are it bringing into the Northwest Territories. Not only the Northwest Territories, but small and isolated communities. We have a lack of health professionals, so I am very worried about my community, the Wekweeti and Gameti small communities. Is there a plan in place to deal with that matter immediately? Because we are saying, "Well, we are allowing self-isolation, if that needs to be the case," but we are just allowing them to do that on their own cases. It is optional. As a government, are we dealing with this particular matter?
Yes, the small communities and the needs of small communities have been at the heart and at the center of a lot of the considerations that have gone into the planning that is under way. I know that there are going to be some differences. Hesitancy now isn't the lack of a plan. Hesitancy is that I want to ensure that I am speaking with the most current information on behalf of all the departments.
Obviously, the House is aware that, right now, our Premier is actually on a phone call with the Prime Minister and other first Ministers. It would be helpful, I think, to know what has been discussed in that conversation, and it would be helpful certainly to check back in with all the departments and our Public Health Officer, as they have been meeting this morning and taking steps to ensure that they are doing everything they need to. Because there hasn't been a confirmed case in the Northwest Territories, and so we want to ensure that there is not a confirmed case in the Northwest Territories, as a result of which our Chief Public Health Officer has been taking an approach that is directed at achieving that goal. That, Mr. Speaker, is why, if there is a sense of us not speaking fully, it is because we want to speak clearly and correctly and accurately with the most up-to-date information.
Again, Mr. Speaker, the fact that we have small communities who have less healthcare infrastructure than the larger centres, that has been something that I know I have personally raised when I have been on the national calls with my colleagues, and I believe they have been raised by the colleagues in Cabinet with their colleagues, that we need to take those considerations very seriously. I simply want to assure the Member that, as soon as I have the current up-to-date plan and information, we will share that with the House and get that information out to the public.
I am just trying to get the points across so I can share them with my constituents, as well. People who have been texting and messaging us. People who are coming from the South. To be self-isolated, is it optional, or is it mandatory from our perspective, the government's perspective?
At this point, it's still a recommendation that anyone coming back into the Northwest Territories would consider their own symptomology and determine whether or not they need to self-isolate. That is still the recommendation. Indeed, there have been media releases on a national level only just this morning about travel that is coming back internationally and recommending that anyone returning internationally, I believe, is being recommended, indeed, to self-isolate. They're being a bit more aggressive here in the Northwest Territories about travel coming in from elsewhere in Canada, as well, but the latest information that I have is that that was still a recommendation.
Again, in response to what was happening at a national level this morning, literally as we have been sitting here for the past hour, there has been an effort to update that information for the Northwest Territories in keeping with what's happening nationally and ensuring that we do what we can to either prevent or slow the time within which we would have a virus identified here in the Northwest Territories. I will continue to update the House, and we will continue, all of us, to update the public in due course.
Thank you, Minister. The time for oral questions has expired. Item 8, written questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. I request that we take a short recess, please, just to discuss some items of an urgent matter. Marsi cho.
Okay. We will take a short recess.
---SHORT RECESS
Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Sahtu, that Bill 3, An Act to Amend the Public Highways Act, be read for the second time. The bill amends the Public Highways Act to address government liability for loss or damage resulting from a failure to maintain primary highways in the Northwest Territories. The bill requires the Minister to maintain primary highways and provides that the Government of the Northwest Territories is liable, with exceptions, for loss or damage resulting from a failure to do so. The bill makes clear that the Minister has no duty to maintain roads that are not designated as primary highways under this act. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Government House Leader. To the principal of the bill.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Any abstentions? The motion is carried.
---Carried
I will call Committee of the Whole to order. What is the wish of committee, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh?
Marsi cho, Madam Chair. Committee would like to consider Tabled Document 43-19(2), Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 1, 2020-2021, Department of Finance. Marsi cho.
Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. We will proceed with the first item. 2020-2021 Supplementary Estimates, No. 1, (infrastructure expenditures), Infrastructure, capital investment expenditures, asset management. Sorry, I forgot. Minister of Finance, do you have any opening remarks?
Yes, Madam Chair. Thank you. Madam Chair, I am here to present the Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 1, 2020-2021. The supplementary estimates document proposes an increase of $28.7 million, comprised of the following items:
$10 million to fund environmental assessment and planning work to be completed in 2023-2024, to inform the potential construction of an all-weather road from Highway No. 4 to Lockhart Lake within the Slave Geological Province Corridor. Of this amount, 75 percent will be funding by the Government of Canada's National Trade Corridors Fund;
$10.6 million will be for surface structures adaptation for climate change resilience at the Mike Zubko Airport in Inuvik;
$3.5 million will be to increase fuel storage capacity to mitigate impacts to public and essential services;
these two projects are funded 75 percent by the Government of Canada's Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund; and
$4.6 million for the Mike Zubko Airport runway extension design, which is 100 percent funded by the Department of National Defence.
That concludes my opening remarks. I would be happy to answer any questions that Members might have.
Thank you, Minister. Do you have witnesses to bring?
Madam Chair, I do have witnesses, and I think I can say at present staff from the Department of Finance, all of my senior staff from the Department of Finance, have been involved in a variety of meetings this morning, and they are on their way. They are not here. I think they had thought there would be a break, not realizing that we had just broken for lunch. I am told they are literally on their way here, but they are not here now. Madam Chair, I am prepared to begin speaking to the infrastructure supplementaries on my own and have the witnesses escorted in as they arrive.
Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Marsi cho, Madam Chair. In light of the development that the witnesses are not here, I would ask just for a quick recess until the witnesses arrive. Marsi cho.
I will ask committee. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
