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.
