There are programs that are in place within the GNWT for residents who require or need assistance in meeting their financial obligations. For example, Education, Culture and Employment has an income support program, and the NWT Housing Corporation can provide one-time payment or assistance through some of their homeless assistance fund. We are also going through a review and approval process right now on potential models. We will be scheduling a meeting with the committee when we are ready. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Monfwi.
Masi, Mr. Speaker. I spoke to after-care, addiction, and so forth for the past couple weeks now in my statement. As you know, it has been a very sensitive and delicate matter now, dealing with this in my region. We just lost a young individual who had six kids due to what we are faced with today, and that is a lack of treatment or after-care programs here in the North. I would like to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services about the actual numbers, people who have been sent South. How many of the 200 people sent South for treatment never finish that treatment? How many are unable to last 28 days in a foreign environment, separate from their family and community? Mr. Speaker, masi.
Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to start by expressing my condolences to the family who lost their person to addictions. It happens, as the Member says, too often and with heartbreaking results.
I have some numbers here to share with the Member based on his question. For the most recent year, which is the year we are in now, where capacity has been very reduced because of the pandemic, people choosing not to go South, and limited capacity within the centres, a total of 50 people have been approved to go South; 20 people have completed the program; three people also completed the extension or extended-care portion of the program; 14 of these people are still in treatment today; 10 people left without completing the program; and six people were approved to attend but chose not to. That is for this year. If the Member would like information going back to the 2014-2015 year, I can provide that to him, as well. Thank you.
Yes, I would like those actual numbers, probably for the last five years, so we can compare what is truly happening in our southern institutions versus the North. Just moving on to my next question, pertaining to the whole COVID-19 that we are faced with, the government sends people to southern institutions such as Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario for sometimes up to six weeks for treatment, exposing them to greater risk of contacting COVID-19 cases, then risks bringing them back to the Northwest Territories to go into two-week self-isolation. I would like to ask the Minister: how can that be less expensive than offering treatment here in the Northwest Territories, avoiding those high risks and paying high costs of hotel bills in the Northwest Territories?
It's worth remembering always that a decision to go into treatment is a voluntary decision. People may feel that they are ready at one point and then later feel that they, in fact, are not ready. I know that, with respect to COVID, I have heard from medical patients. They are somewhat reluctant to go South to the Alberta hospitals, for example, because there have been hospital-based outbreaks, and there is a perception of increased risk. I would not be at all surprised if that is the case with people who are looking at treatment programs. I would also say, and the Member has heard me say this before, there are lots of options here. Southern-based treatment is just one of them. There are other ways to engage in sobriety without going to a treatment centre, within the NWT.
The Minister talks about lots of options here in the Northwest Territories. I wish we had one of those options as a treatment centre here in the Northwest Territories for people to choose whether to go to a southern institution or here in the North so they can be close to their family and so they can avoid contacting COVID-19 in southern institutions. Just leading on to my next question for the Minister is: we Dene know our people better than any southern treatment centres. Let's dedicate the necessary resources, and together, let's build a place of healing for and by Northerners, a treatment centre that understands the residential school abuse and substance abuse. Let us set a national standard for Aboriginal healing here in the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, would the Minister at least commit to studying the feasibility of a northern-based whether it be a treatment centre or after-care program? Would she give that thought for the whole Northwest Territories as the demand is increasing on a daily basis?
Yes. I don't think that there is any guarantee that a building will make someone well. It's a place where they may access services that are helpful, but the building itself has no magic related to it. I will give you as an example the Arctic Indigenous Wellness Foundation that operates here in Yellowknife, out of McPherson tents with wood stoves in them. I know quite a number of people who are regular visitors there. They find counselling. They find companionship. There is a warm place to be. There is food and coffee. It has been proven very beneficial for those people. Now, that might not be helpful to someone who has to drive in from Behchoko, but it's an example of an out-of-the-building type of thinking about healing so that healing can take place with whatever it is the community wants it to be. I have talked at length about this, and I encourage the Member to consider the options that are available and how his Indigenous government can access them.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Monfwi.
Masi, Mr. Speaker. I, for one, am all for on-the-land program. When I was the Justice Minister, we pushed for that. On-the-land program in the Sahtu region has been very successful at that time. The Minister alluded to the funding that's available to Aboriginal groups or the Northwest Territories. That $1.8 million can only stretch so much. Five regions, that is approximately $360,000 if all access it, $360,000 for the Nunakput region. That is peanuts. That is very low funding compared to a major centre, so, Mr. Speaker, would the Minister consider, seriously consider, increasing the funding because it is badly needed across the Northwest Territories? I am not sure when was the last increase, but the $1.8 million versus the over $2 million we are sending people South, this is an area that obviously needs some enhancements. If I can get a commitment from the Minister? Masi, Mr. Speaker.
The answer to the question is that the on-the-land healing fund was increased by $700,000 for this fiscal year, and so the total now is $1.8 million. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Health and Social Services. The department of Health and Social Services medical travel escort criteria policy is a ministerial policy. What does that mean? Does it mean that the Minister has the sole power to change it, and if they did, will they add elders to that criteria? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The medical travel escorts are determined by need, by the medical practitioner, not by the age of the person who is travelling, so I don't see that we need to change the policy right now, that an elder, by default, needs a medical escort. That's really up to the elder to decide. Thank you.
Just to add to that question, then: I know for a fact that I've seen letters from practitioners be denied because it's not on this criteria list from the ministerial policy, so will the Minister look at the policy and adding something in there that would consider elders on there?
The medical travel policies were revised last year, at the end of the 18th Assembly, and one of the new features is an appeal mechanism so that, if someone is denied an escort, then it is possible for that person to fill in an appeal form and file that with medical travel and have it considered. The only hitch to these, though, and I get lots of these crossing my desk, is that people need to plan ahead. Medical-travel people work a regular day. There is an on-call function, but I find they get a lot of last-minute requests. If the person who requires an escort is denied, there is an appeal mechanism, and good planning will get a quicker result.
I think I'm just going to put aside these other questions because, every time she answers, it just brings up another thing. The people are waiting for medical travel to get their travel and then, when they get their travel, they are denied. Will the Minister look at this policy and see? Because, as a medical travel person, if you get your travel the day before you're going to leave and then you have no escort, that's why it ends up on the MLA's desk, or an email to the Minister.
I need to do some work to understand where the gap is here. I know that the medical practitioner is the starting point for requesting an escort and that goes to medical travel and the staff there make a determination. It's not up to me to create exceptions. The policy has the exceptions in it, and as I mentioned, there is an appeal mechanism for people who feel it has been applied incorrectly.
I want to add one more thing. There is confusion that I've seen between the need for a medical escort and the need for compassionate travel. I have seen medical escort requests where what the request is really for is for family reunification in the event that the family member in hospital is about to pass. I think there is some clarity that is needed, here, and I can certainly work on my end of that. I look forward to working with the Member on her end.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I look forward to working with the Minister on this because I have a lot more to add than these four questions. The other question I do have, since it's the final one, is the issue that I also brought up in my Member's statement, which is the hotels. Medical travel, we send people to the boarding homes here in Yellowknife and in Edmonton. Lately, more than I can count, they have been going into the hotel, in the hotel downtown, where there is no restaurant. They are getting delivered meals, and the meals are -- I'm sorry, but we get a lot better meals here than our medical travel patients. I'm going to say that because it's unfair. It's unfair to our medical travel people who are staying there. We need to look at what is happening there, and we need to either give them a hotel that has a restaurant with vouchers or give them per diems. Will the Minister commit to looking into what is going on there? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I do make a commitment to look into what is going on with the meals. Thanks.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Infrastructure. In my statement, I was discussing maintenance costs and how the lack of performing maintenance could actually increase costs down the line. Could the Minister please tell me what the total value of deferred maintenance costs are currently on our aging existing infrastructure? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Great Slave. Minister of Infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Deferred Maintenance Program is an essential part of the government's strategy to effectively manage our infrastructure. The Deferred Maintenance Program has a budget of $5 million a year. The deferred maintenance backlog, I think that's where the Member is coming from, on our aging assets is assessed at $465,728,561; and, Members, you will hear more about it tonight in Committee of the Whole. It is estimated that there is about $11 million that is crucial, which could include safety upgrades, code upgrades, systems that are beyond their useful life, and issues that cause a lot of functionality in our facilities. The annual facility conditions assessments help us to prioritize deferred maintenance spending and also to identify and undertake remedial work to ensure that our buildings continue to be safe for occupancy and to maximize the useful life of these assets. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
That's a very staggering number to hear. I would encourage the Minister to have her department look into using systems where they can be maintained and operated by Northwest Territories businesses so that some of those costs come down, as we do bring people from the South. Earlier in the session, I did ask about funding that the department had committed to addressing needed repairs on the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk Highway. The ITH is currently experiencing conditions that could lead to permafrost degradation and safety issues that will only increase exponentially with time. Can the Minister please reconfirm the commitment to perform significant rehabilitation work on the ITH this year?
I am happy to hear that the Members are getting interested in some projects in the Beaufort-Delta. The department was able to resurface 26 kilometres of the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk Highway this summer, which utilized 15,000 square metres of aggregate. This was over and above the ongoing maintenance that we have completed by local contractors. The department has also hired a consultant to review the entirety of the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk Highway for any additional capital work that may be required. Infrastructure will also work to secure required funding as a result of that report. Additionally, we are working with the Department of ITI to secure funding for some highway pullouts.
That is all well and good, to have a consultant engaged. However, we all know, and I know personally, how long consultants can take to return their reports. I do believe that there needs to be work done this year. I am hearing that what has been done has not been adequate. Given the time sensitivities around permafrost could I have the Minister commit to trying to find some more money for this year to repair more of the ITH?
Absolutely. I know there is federal funding out there, and Infrastructure, we get two-thirds of our funding from the federal government. If there are pots of money out there that we can pursue, then there is no reason why the department shouldn't be pursuing that to upgrade some of our roads.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister tell me: in the last three months, has the government or her department turned down any offers of federal funding for infrastructure, for example, around roads or a treatment centre such as Nunavut has? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I'm not aware that the Department of Infrastructure has turned down any federal funding. I just mentioned that two-thirds of our funding does come from the federal government, and we should be actively pursuing any further federal funding to be able to increase projects in the territories. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Thebacha.
Mr. Speaker, I want the Minister to succeed and do well with her portfolio. My hope is that the Minister will hear my critiques and work with the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation to improve its client services at the Fort Smith Housing Authority. We are still in a pandemic. Threats, last-chance letters, and eviction notices must stop. My constituents who are reliant on public housing must be treated fairly and with respect. Does the Minister agree? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Client service is a priority of the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation. I appreciate the Member bringing this forward. It's an ongoing situation that I am dealing with at the local housing authority level. We have had the opportunity for employees to take part in client service training. I do see that there is a significant need for this, and my apologies to the Member that she is experiencing these bad client services within her riding. I will be working with my department and also will be working really strongly with LHO in Fort Smith. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Will the Minister acknowledge that systemic racism does occur within the NWT Housing Corporation and that it must be addressed?
I'm very dismayed to hear about systemic racism happening within the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation with our front-line staff at the local housing authority. I'm going to be working very strongly with my department, and this is something that is absolutely not acceptable within the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.
Can the Minister tell us what the current Northwest Territories Housing Corporation protocol is in dealing with client complaints about management at local housing authorities?
The Housing Corporation does have our front-line staff, the local housing authorities, and they are our front-line workers at the community level for complaints coming forward, for them to be addressing them at that level, and for the board to review those complaints. At this moment and at this time, I would direct my headquarters staff to be dealing directly with the local housing authorities. Now, it's come to the Minister's level, and it's going to be addressed significantly. This is something that I'm not going to pass by very likely. Client service is number one, it's a priority within my portfolio and what I'd like to display, strong client service and leadership.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Thebacha.
Mr. Speaker, it's good to see the Minister say she will do X, Y, and Z, but it means nothing if there is no follow-up by the Minister to ensure these things get done right. Will the Minister commit to doing regular follow-ups with her department to ensure her instructions are being properly followed? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
At this point, the concern for client service within the local housing authorities will be addressed. I will have a follow-up with the Member, as well, dealing specifically with her riding. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
