I had the opportunity to review the materials around the 8(a) Program that comes out of the United States, and I can't say that that program has been looked at as a model for the Northwest Territories. I do want to assure the Member that ITI does look at best practices that come from across Canada in terms of how we are supporting local business and will continue to do so.
Again, thank you for that response. Okay. Switching gears a little bit, will the GNWT set a goal or a target to increase government contracts for Indigenous business?
I think that is a very good idea, but I am not at the point yet where I can say for sure whether or not that will be the outcome of the procurement review that is under way, or about to be under way, I suppose. Again, I think I have already committed in the House that the idea of developing and Indigenous procurement strategy is something that I will commit to. Whether that includes a specific target or not, again, that is but one of many good ideas that I think are coming from the dialogues that we're having in this session on this topic.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Again, thank you for that response. At least we'll get that dialogue going. Like I said, we want to make sure we get as much juice for our squeeze for our businesses and business community. My last question: in my riding, in order for a new business in Ndilo, Detah, Deninu Kue, or Lutselk'e, to compete on government contracts, what supports are there for the businesses in my riding? Marsi cho.
There are business supports that ITI does have in terms of providing business mentorship. The Business Mentoring Program run through ITI has been, in fact, oversubscribed for the last two years, so I think that speaks to its success. I certainly would plug that program. There are certainly funding supports through ITI, for example, with the SEED Program that can help businesses as they are getting started. Then, of course, in terms of accessing contracting, there are the existing programs under BIP, for instance, that can help businesses gain access to government procurement, and there are certainly supports through procurement shared services in terms of helping businesses navigate the procurement process.
There are a lot of ways the government is trying to support and help businesses, but I'm going to put in one more plug: there is also the fact that we are going to continue to review those processes. It's been a long time since there has been a full review, so we're going to review them and make sure that they're doing the best that they can. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Thebacha.
Mr. Speaker, can the Minister provide us with a timeline for when we can expect his department to announce where the headquarters of the future polytechnic university will reside? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Since February, I've been talking about an implementation plan that I'm going to be releasing that will lay out the path forward to a final transformation to a polytechnic university, and I will be releasing that in the coming weeks. That is going to have some key dates in there, and it talks about things like the facilities plan. The college is going to go out and do an assessment of all the different facilities and see what's in place, and that can inform things like programming and things like the Member is talking about. I can say, and I've said before, I've never heard any discussion from within the department about moving the headquarters. If there is already a headquarters in Fort Smith, I don't know why we would build a headquarters somewhere else.
I don't have an exact timeline for the Member, but we will be appointing a board at some point in the future. That board is going to operate at arm's length, and it's going to have much more discretion over human resources matters. That's what everyone wants, is an arm's length board. I can't tell that board what to do, but I have no plans to move any headquarters. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Does the Minister consider it problematic that the City of Yellowknife is already operating under the assumption that a future polytechnic university will be headquartered here, in spite of no formal announcement?
I'm not sure under what premise the City of Yellowknife is operating. I'm sure they have a desire to have infrastructure built in the community. I mean, any community leader does. I expect that, but I think there is a lot of maybe confusion about what a university has to be, these days. A lot of people, in their minds, still see a big, single building made of brick with ivy growing up the walls and a big quad where students are sitting out in the sun reading, but that's not the way things are these days. With technology, you can have campuses that are spread out. When I went to university, I was in one faculty, and there was a faculty next door to me. I never went in that building. It could have been a thousand miles away, as far as I was concerned. I want to dispel the notion that a polytechnic university is going to be one single campus in one single community. The plan is to strengthen all of the campuses in the territory, and the community learning centres, and the presence of the college in all communities.
Given that Fort Smith already has much of the infrastructure, an existing knowledge-based economy, and a highly qualified workforce employed presently in a campus atmosphere, it would only make sense to keep the future headquarters in Fort Smith. Does the Minister agree?
I think it would be an odd choice, given everything, if I made the recommendation to uproot 40-some people and move them to Yellowknife and move the administrative offices of Aurora College to a different community. To the Member's question, does it make sense to keep the people employed where they live in the building that they are currently working in? Of course, it does.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Thebacha.
Mr. Speaker, it's extremely important that we get strong leadership as the president of the future polytechnic university, with a strong governance structure that reflects all of the NWT and ex officio members from across Canada. However, no matter how many documents and papers the department publishes, if there isn't strong leadership at the top, with strong innovative visions for the future, I worry that we won't create a truly northern-based polytechnic university. Does the Minister agree? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
There are only two ways organizations become successful: strong leadership and dumb luck. I'm not going to bank on dumb luck, so I agree that we do need strong leadership. The current president of Aurora College, I believe he is doing an excellent job. Right now, we need to strengthen the foundation. There needs to be real organizational fortification, and that is moving along very well. I've been very happy with what I've seen. Once there is a board of directors, a board of governors appointed, then they will use their knowledge and their vision, frankly, to find a president who they believe is suitable, and the board of governors will also play a very important role.
For those of you who have read the government's paper, you will know that we are proposing to have a board based on competencies, things like financial expertise, legal expertise, marketing expertise, experts on reconciliation, people with experience in post-secondary, so I think that leadership at the board level is going to help ensure success, as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister of Infrastructure provide me with a list of all the projects that are planned for the Inuvik airport and runway extension? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Minister of Infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are three capital projects that are planned for the Inuvik Mike Zubko Airport. The first one is a new air terminal building, which will replace the current air terminal building. The second project we have is the airport civil improvements, and this is to bolster the airport's resilience towards climate change. Finally, we have the runway extension that is meant to increase the runway length by about 3,000 feet. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Can the Minister tell me what work has already been awarded out of those?
The design of the new air terminal building has been awarded, and it has been awarded to Stantec. That was done through an RFP, the request for proposal. Also, the demolition of the RCMP hangar was awarded to Delta Northern Alliance of Inuvik, and that was done through negotiated contract. Delta Northern Alliance is an Inuvialuit and Gwich'in business entity. Finally, the design of the airport civil improvements and the runway extension was awarded to Associated Engineering, and that also was done through a request for proposal.
Can the Minister tell me what work has yet to be put out, then, to be awarded and how we are ensuring that northern businesses are getting all this work?
Mr. Speaker, the department has been authorized to pursue a negotiated contract, and that is with the Delta Northern Alliance, the DNA, for the construction of the new airport terminal. The department will be providing the completed design documents to DNA in early 2021, so that is just after the new year, to begin the negotiated contract process. The runway extension is a 100-percent federally funded project. Having said that, the GNWT must abide by the requirements to ensure that contracts are awarded and managed in accordance with the federal policies and their procedures.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My final question to the Minister is: does the Minister have a timeline of when the work that is yet to be done to start, and how long does the department figure that it's going to take until it's completed? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
If it were up to me, it would be started yesterday, as the Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes will know. However, in the worst-case scenario, we anticipate the air terminal building construction to begin in the fall of 2021 and to be completed by 2023-2024. We also anticipate the pre-construction work, which it's called the granular production, for the civil improvements to begin as early as February 2021 and the construction expected to be completed by 2022. Currently, there is no funding agreement in place for the construction of the runway extension. However, the Department of Infrastructure is anticipating discussions with the department of defence by November 2021. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, my questions are for the Premier. Mr. Speaker, what is the GNWT doing to help communities in the extraordinary funding for additional services required through this COVID-19 pandemic? With extra services, community governments are already underfunded, so the extraordinary funding of additional services community are having to take on by themselves, like food hampers, funding for the community hunts, for increased recreation, for department funding. Is there any help from the government through the COVID funding? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Nunakput. Honourable Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are a number of departments that actually provide support. I will start with a couple. ENR offers a Take a Family on the Land program that is new, to help people because of the COVID-19. There is also the COVID Regional Training, Mentorship and Support Program. That, again, is on-the-land for people to access. MACA has quite a few things. MACA received, I believe, $1,583,000 to distribute to sports organizations so that they could continue with services and make sure they were sustainable throughout the pandemic. They also provided community governments through the Sports Canada Fund, is my understanding, to the community governments, to support things like outdoor events, staffing, repairs. It's pretty flexible in that programming.
I know that, Mr. Speaker, some of the organizations and governments are a little bit unclear on what they can do and what they can't do, and so my recommendation is: if you are not sure and you want to do a thing, reach out to ProtectNWT or 811, and we will link you in and make sure that all organizations understand what limitations they have because of the CPHO orders and what they can do to support their community members. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Madam Premier, for that. What is our GNWT doing to help the people with new expenses? There are tablets for students. I know we talked about it a month and a half ago. We had a meeting, nightly meeting, and they bought 1650 Chrome Books. Those Chrome Books, are they going into the communities that really have people who cannot afford stuff like that? Are you able to sign them out or give it to them, to income-support people who are in need because they don't have a house LAN line or cellphone? Pretty much everybody has a cellphone these days, but at the end of the day, the children at home, the kids at home who need for keeping themselves busy because half the time, cold, dark days are here now, and they need help. Is there any opportunity for that to happen to our small communities all across the territory, making sure there is something available like that?
If I could defer that question to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment because it's about schools? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Madam Premier. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Chrome Books the Member is referencing were purchased with the allocation of funds that was announced a few weeks ago. It was a joint effort between the Department of Finance and the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. Those Chrome Books were intended for students who could not access full-time, in-person learning. In small communities, the students have been lucky enough to have access to full-time, in-person learning.
There is also a contingent of those Chrome Books that are for a worst-case scenario. If a school was to shut down because of a COVID-19 outbreak in a community and everyone having to go home, we would be able to deploy those Chrome Books to that community. In that case, if it was a small community, we would be able to distribute them, but those Chrome Books are intended for students who cannot access full-time, in-person education. The work to distribute those is happening with the education bodies. The numbers were determined as a joint effort between education bodies, finance, and ECE, and now work is undergoing to determine exactly where we need to get those. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I guess we are going to be buying more Chrome Books, please and thank you. Under a different, through our $87-million project there we got with COVID-19, we could really do good things. Mr. Speaker, our communities are seeing an increase in addictions for alcohol and drugs, and as the Government of the Northwest Territories, we are the ones who provide it. Is there any way that we could get, as MLAs, to bring in people to come and help people with addictions? Like I said, you know it as well as I do, dark days ahead. It's cold, 55 below some days, 50 below. What are you going to do? You are going to stay inside, and that is basically six, three, four months.
We need to help the people who are struggling with addictions. We need to provide AA. We need to provide any kind of 1-800-number call-ins. What I used to do was bring people into the community, but you'd be there for like two days. It's not long enough to come in and, like suicide prevention workshops to help our youth, to help everybody that really needs it right now. COVID-19, it's a new lifestyle that we have to try to work together for the people. If we could get something like that done, extra funding for the communities that they could access to bring people in from Poundmaker's or something like that that could help.
Again, that is a better question for the Minister of Health and Social Services, if I could defer the question to that Minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Madam Premier. Minister Responsible for Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Health and Social Services has a range of programs and services that will assist people in small communities with their mental health. The child and youth community counsellors program is available through the schools to people from the community. It's just a matter of calling and making an appointment, so that's right onsite. For people who don't want to meet in person, there are virtual care appointments that are available. Of course, that goes back to needing some technology and broadband availability to access that.
There are also apps for phones. I'd looked at a couple of them, one is called Seven Cups, another one is called Breathing Room. They may be more oriented to younger people than someone my age, but they look very interesting, very solution-focused. There is the NWT Help Line, which is available 24/7, that will assist people with any kind of an issue that they want to raise. Of course, Tuktoyaktuk also has a family violence shelter, which is available to anyone who feels they need to leave their home and seek emergency shelter for a period of time. There are a range of things, and if the Member would like Tuktoyaktuk-specific phone numbers and contact people, I can produce that for him. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know every one of those people she's talking about. I don't need their number. I need help in regard to providing that service with the Minister. Tuktoyaktuk's one, but I have Sachs Harbour, Paulatuk, Ulukhaktok, most northerly communities across our territory. We need help. That's what I'm asking for. During the first few months of this pandemic, we had phone calls once a week with our mayors. You probably took part in them with your communities. I took part of them with my mayors of Tuktoyaktuk and Sachs Harbour and Ulukhaktok and Paulatuk. Are we still able to start having those meetings? We had the RCMP, the DEAs, people who were ready to respond to something if somebody ended up with COVID-19. Are these meetings still happening, and if not, when are they going to start back up because we are in round 2 of COVID-19 and people are scared. People are asking. Thank you.
That is a question for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, if you can defer it there. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Madam Premier. Minister of Community and Community Affairs.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm just hearing the Member's comments and the questions that are coming out of them. I do understand that COVID-19 has really brought us to a different level and brought us to a different way of administering and to caring for our people, as well. Right now, the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, we do meet with the mayors and chiefs on a monthly basis. We decreased those meetings because of the numbers of COVID coming into the Northwest Territories have not increased. Right now, we are going to be meeting with the Northwest Territories Association of Communities, and we will start increasing those meetings. We will be communicating and bringing the hamlets and charter communities up to date as to what to expect as we go forward. We do work very closely with the Department of Health and also with the new secretariat, as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Colleagues, just a reminder to be wary of the time. We're only on the fifth one here and over half the time, so keep your preambles short and your answers to the point. Okay. Thank you. Oral questions. Member for Great Slave.
