All of the departments have, quite often, ADM committees, working committees. They also have DM working committees. I would say that my department and the Department of Health have actually had a lot of conversation over the last while, but you are correct. There was a direction coming from Health and Social Services that needed to happen so that we could protect worker health and safety.
Maybe now is the time that Infrastructure does need to push forward a little harder and say, "Okay, we need to take a little bit more risk in having people back to work so that we can move forward the process of government." I would say that we did step back and, really, our priority and our focus was ensuring the health and safety of the residents. We also went into issues with WSCC if people are not feeling safe to go back into their workplace. They have every right to refuse unsafe work.
Right now, what the department is doing is we are looking at our buildings, all of the buildings that we manage for the GNWT, and we are trying to put as many measures in place, or engineering controls, so that we minimize the exposure of people who are working. Right now, we have things like sensor faucets going in, looking at no-touch doors, those types of things. Right now, that is the work that is going on with Infrastructure so that we can get government employees back to work. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, monsieur le President. My questions are for the Premier, who is coordinating the GNWT's pandemic planning and recovery. My statement earlier today reflected on some of the lessons learned to date. I recognize that we are still in the midst of the pandemic, but we must have learned some lessons and best practices by now. Has the Premier begun to plan for a thorough and public review of GNWT's pandemic planning and response, and what sorts of specific measures or steps can we expect to see? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Honourable Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Looking for a plan of our response for COVID-19, absolutely, we are looking at it. However, I do want to be careful with that, because COVID-19 is still here. We are still experiencing things at a rapid rate. It has slowed down a bit, but, by the second wave, we are expecting that changes will come pretty rapidly.
We have been in the process now of changing our services, providing services that we needed and programs that we needed to accompany people, but some other things will need to be done. For example, the municipal and community government, EMO is the one that stands in my head, the most prominent at this point. EMO, the emergency management organization, was meant to be a program for community programs, community issues, floods, forest fires, et cetera. This pandemic made it worldwide, and so, at that point, it became more of a Cabinet decision.
Those are things that, going into the future, will probably be a legislation that I would want changed in this Assembly. At this point, we are still in the middle of it. We have only just begun it. It would be inappropriate at this time to go looking at changing legislation right now, recognizing that Cabinet already has control of it, but it will be something that we need to do in this Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I want to thank the Premier for that. I think that I almost heard her say that she is willing to look at the Emergency Measures Act. That's a good thing. I have lots of other ideas. I am sure that the Chief Public Health Officer is going to conduct some kind of review, as well, but the review needs to be done in a public fashion. Maybe the Auditor General can give us some ideas, as well.
I want to move on, Mr. Speaker. As MLAs, we collectively developed a set of priorities, and then Cabinet went off and developed a mandate that was tabled and discussed in the House. Would the Premier agree that, given the pandemic, it is time to review and update those priorities and the mandate?
A couple of months ago, when COVID-19 hit us, it was early March. Towards late March, I started to realize that life was changing really quickly. We were having to supplement areas that we had never put money in before; programs were closing up; offices were closing up; we were looking at a new way of doing business. It made me wonder, Mr. Speaker. We spent months going over the mandate, making it based on the priorities, and I started to wonder, "Do we have the money? Is it still the priority?"
I gave direction, actually, at the end of March for the departments to start looking at the mandate and actually looking at what they can do. I am not going to give too much right here, because it is process, and I do believe that it's important to work with Regular MLAs. We have put an offer in to standing committee, my understanding is, and so, at that point, we would like to be able to talk to the Members to review where we are with the mandate and if we need any changes, because, in an initial review on our side, it looks like a lot of the mandate can still be done.
I want to thank the Premier for that. I agree that it is time to review the mandate. Probably, you need to collectively look at the priorities we developed. I want to say that GNWT's economic assistance programs to small businesses have been very slow and uneven. I am going to have a lot more to say about that, but I want to ask the Premier about overall planning for economic recovery. We have had an initial presentation without specifics, but can the Premier tell us now how the views of Regular MLAs are going to be incorporated, and when does she anticipate this effort really starting to take off?
Again, most people, when they talk about COVID-19, people have seen the economic impacts and people across the world, across Canada have been talking about economic recovery. I think we are one of the only jurisdictions that is talking about economic and social recovery. Perhaps because we are a small population, we had the benefit of actually seeing what we could do in a short amount of time. So I think that involving MLAs was a commitment that we made at the beginning of this session. It has been long. It does take a lot more time, but I made a commitment that it would not be Cabinet plus three, and I will maintain that commitment, which means that, as we work forward, when we develop our economic and social recovery plan, we have proposed to Members that we have a joint committee that is made up of Cabinet and the Regular Members so that the Regular Members are actively engaged, not just giving information, but actually engaged in the process of defining what our future will be.
Thank you, Honourable Premier. Final supplementary, Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Premier. I do believe that she is committed to an inclusive process. Clearly, there have been some success stories during this pandemic, and I mentioned some of those in my statement. We have got social programs that are starting to deal with homelessness. We have got a managed alcohol program, wage subsidy for low-income workers, payrolling of Income Assistance and more. Can the Premier share her thoughts about how we can keep these significant gains and how we can continue to plan for economic recovery at the same time? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Those who were here in the last Assembly would remember one time I had been asked in the House about where I stood. I said people have called me many names, but they haven't called me a name, but people have called me at times a socialist. I don't think I am really that radical, but people have said that. I am all about universal childcare and guaranteed living wage. I think it is part of the answer. I do not believe the perception that people will just sit back and be lazy. I think that would tire people very quickly. I have already started to put the fuel in the fire.
As I meet with our Premiers across Canada, with our Prime Minister, I have already been saying to them things such as, "You've given the wage increase. You are giving these out to people. How can you ask us to take it back?" So I think that that is really important. It is a matter of not only what we do as a government, what the federal government does. I have been working very closely with our three territories on both sides, and we are looking at providing a win-win to the federal government. These programs, getting people in housing, giving people almost a guaranteed wage, giving people more access to childcare are all things that all of us in this House should be proud of. It would be a sin, Mr. Speaker, to take them back. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Honourable Premier. Oral questions. Member for Monfwi.
Masi, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] Today, I would like to speak in Tlicho, but my interpretation is not coming across clearly, so I am going to do this in English. [Translation ends] [Microphone not turned on] ...at the last Assembly. It's a vital part of North Slave's highway lifeline to the rest of the territory and also the South. It's 50 years old and badly aging. Mr. Speaker, five months ago, I asked the Minister of Infrastructure in this Chamber about the status. The proposal was submitted at that time. Has it been submitted to date with the federal government? If yes, when was it submitted? Masi.
Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Minister of Infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have started discussions again with the federal government about the funding on the Frank Channel Bridge. As part of the COVID relief, the federal government's infrastructure stream is being allowed to have more flexibility within it. One hundred percent funding is one of the options. As well, we will be allowed to do the municipal infrastructure projects in schools and things.
Not super specific to the bridge. However, the bridge would fall under that funding, and we have had lots of conversations with the federal ministers about the fact that infrastructure projects are what is needed in the Northwest Territories to keep the economy going and keep our businesses running. We are very optimistic that we will get the funding soon for the bridge. I do believe that the actual submission is in. I will confirm that, though, and get that back to you. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Before we continue, we will just do a test on interpretation, make sure everybody's hearing well. No? Just maybe continue with the question and see how everybody's gauging it. Thank you.
I understand that the Tlicho Government is in full support to replace the Frank Channel Bridge and submitted a letter to your attention, Mr. Speaker, to the Minister of Infrastructure. Of course, they requested a sole-source contract or a negotiated contract on the bridge, which is situated in the heart of the Tlicho land. Has that been shared with the federal government as part of the Chapter 26 of the Tlicho Agreement on economic measures, the possibility of either negotiated contract or sole-source contract as part of the Tlicho constitution?
I will look at you this time. The discussion around the Frank Channel Bridge within my department is very much about how we keep the Tlicho involvement in that. We are definitely having conversations about negotiated contracts on the Tlicho bridge -- sorry. There we go, giving it away. The Frank Channel Bridge. We recognize going forward that this could be a great opportunity to have Tlicho people employed and Tlicho people trained. Significant training would be part of what I would want to see in any negotiated contract. I do not want lip service, and I do not want to have a situation where I have the Member for Monfwi asking me why an American company is now operating in his area. I am well aware. His points have been taken, and we are definitely having that conversation with the federal government.
Thank you Minister. I would like to ask the Member if he could speak in Tlicho so we could see how Members are -- I could hear clearly. I am not sure if anybody else can. Thank you. Member for Monfwi
Masi, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] Chapter 26 of the Tlicho Agreement strictly lays out the process between the Tlicho government, GNWT, and the federal government on any economic development in the Mowhi Gogha De Niitaee area, in which the Frank Channel Bridge is located. Section 26.3.3(8)(b) activities on Tlicho land will not be public tendered. Is the Minister of GNWT contracting fully aware of such agreement? Can I get a guarantee from this Minister and GNWT as a whole to bring this to the attention of the federal government and make them aware of Tlicho Agreement? [Translation ends]
[Microphone turned off] ...I apologize, but it's just that last bit of the question. I definitely would commit to having this conversation with the federal government about having the Tlicho involvement from the start. Once we have that funding, that conversation is going to begin with the Tlicho government. I made a promise to those chiefs, and I made a promise at roundup in front of those chiefs of what I was going to be doing with my department to ensure that Northerners worked and that we built meaningful Indigenous businesses out of that. I still stand behind that commitment, and I commit that again today that, when we have that funding in hand, we will have arm-in-arm in partnership with the Tlicho.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Monfwi.
Masi, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] The question is on Chapter 26 and is it [Translation ends] ...highly encouraged. Also the Minister if she can accept to conduct extensive training or workshop within her Department of Infrastructure to get familiar with the Tlicho constitution. Chapter 26 clearly highlights it in the subsections. One of the subsections, obviously, states out that, within any activities on Tlicho land, there shall not be any public tenders. The federal government is part of that agreement. They should be aware of it, too, but we have the onus on our GNWT departments. Can the Minister commit to having an extensive workshop or training for the senior staff so they are fully aware of our agreement? Mahsi.
Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Minister of Infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I can commit to that. I also wanted to state that one of the conversations that I'm having with my deputy minister at this point is that I want to see a creation of an engagement unit within Infrastructure to deal with these exact types of situations and not have that be a tack-on, add-on to the project manager's or the technical project manager's role. While it's very preliminary, I would then also welcome your input on how you would like to see that unit get formed. That is my plan, that is what I've conveyed to my deputy minister, and we're going to start doing engagement better in the Department of Infrastructure. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Colleagues, before we continue, we're really running short on time, here. Just to let everyone know to keep their questions short, and same with the answers, please. If you can, get straight to the answer. I know we have a lot of Members yet who want to ask questions and we are only on number four now, so just a reminder. Also, it's kind of challenging, but kind of talk slower so the interpreters can catch what you're saying, as well. Thank you. With that, we'll continue on with oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. We've been told that testing and contact tracing is key to discovering and isolating COVID-19 cases. That has worked fine so far, but it's easy to see that it's more difficult if community spread of the virus begins. Let me start by asking how many tests of either the rapid or standard type the NWT has today? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife Centre. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have a cooperation agreement with the National Microbiology Laboratory, which is responsible for acquiring and distributing the reagents kits, and then we allocate them based on jurisdictions' needs. Right now, in the Territories, we do have a database in stockpile, and I won't show my paper up, but we do have a database that is able to track how much PPE we have, including the tests. Right now, in the Northwest Territories, we're getting 40 tests per week.
Thank you to the Minister for that answer. It doesn't give me an idea of the size of your stockpile, but let me try to get at it another way. How quickly could the department wrap up testing and provide results if there was an outbreak within a facility like a school or a jail or a small community?
There are several tests that we do here in the Northwest Territories. One is the swab test, which we send out to Alberta, and we usually get a response within three days; and that, we have basically an unlimited stockpile. It's the GeneXpert test, which is the point of care, this is rapid testing, so the turnaround time for those tests is about an hour. Right now, we have supplies in for 40 kits a week with that, and we continue to receive weekly supplies.
Thank you to the Minister. My next question is: what resources does the department have to conduct contact tracing and what kind of training do staff need to participate in contact tracing?
We have two tests here at the Stanton hospital, and there is some training aspect required in order for us to administer it. We are still waiting for another form or test to come in so that we can send them out to Fort Smith, Hay River, and Inuvik. Right now, we have the training pieces administered for the one test and we're just waiting for the stockpile to come so that we can send it out to the regions.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm sorry my question wasn't clear. I was talking about contact tracing, where staff call all the people who the infected person has been in touch with to try and figure out who else needs to be tested. What is our capacity for contact tracing in the NWT?
I can find out for the Member. We do have a system in place; I'm just not aware of what it is right now. Since we've had non-residents come in, they have to fill out a self-isolation plan. With the self-isolation plan, we have a mechanism that is in place so that, if their tests come back positive, we have a way to track where they've been so that we can do the contact testing. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Mr. Speaker, and I'm sorry I didn't give the Premier a head's up, but it's on the list for today. I'm wondering if the Premier can tell us whether mandate letters have been prepared for each of the Ministers? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you. Honourable Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, absolutely. Mandate letters were done, painfully, again. At the beginning of this Assembly, first of all, it was identified which Ministers would take over the priorities in the mandate, and from the mandate exercise we developed mandate letters. We had made a commitment that we would be sharing that with the standing committee. When we were almost ready, it was in my inbox waiting for me to give final, and COVID-19 hit. With COVID-19 we stepped back and we said, "Do we need to add in this COVID-19?" My first gut was just to add in COVID-19, you've got to do it, but then my staff challenged me, and rightfully, and they said, "Is life going to be the same after? With this COVID-19 are we going to have the same programs?"
We actually went through and again we just spent the last little while going through our mandate. It's not as bad as we thought. We're ready now to give out the mandate letters based on how they were before, of course, with a little inclusion of COVID-19. I believe, again, that we've offered it to standing committee. If we haven't offered it, I will make sure it's done in the next day or two. The next step is to present it to MLAs, and I promise to get their feedback on that.
I thank the Premier for her forthrightness. I had understood that copies of these letters would be provided to the standing committees before they've been finalized. That's what I had understood was supposed to happen. I know COVID, and so on, but here we are more than two months late, and the Premier is saying that the letters are finalized. I haven't seen these letters. When is the Premier going to provide these letters to the Regular MLAs, or at least to the standing committees?
Thank you for pointing it out. That was miswording. The letters have been done. They've gone through me. The commitment has been to share it with Regular Members, and that, I will do. No Minister at this point has received their mandate. They've got a first draft of it that they were allowed to provide feedback on to me. At no time have they gotten it. The work is done on my side. My commitment before, and I'll honour that commitment, is to provide it to MLAs for their feedback. The commitment was that we wouldn't negotiate, that it would be feedback, and I would take that. Once I listen to that feedback and decide what is done, at that point I will be handing those letters to my Ministers, hopefully within the next couple of weeks.
I want to thank the Premier for clarifying that, and I'll stand down a little bit, myself. I guess I had misinterpreted that to say that the letters have actually been finalized. I understand that they are in draft form. Can the Premier confirm when she intends to share these letters with the appropriate standing committees?
Things have been going really fast over the past few months, really fast the last few weeks, so I was under the impression that we had already done it. My commitment is, if we haven't already done it, that I will be providing those this week. I know my staff is listening. They're jumping on it right now.
Thank you, Honourable Premier. Final supplementary, Member for Frame Lake.
