Merci, Madame la Presidente. I want to thank the Minister for that. Of course, I'm going to keep pressing this issue. My next question, though, is about GNWT policies that require CSFTNO to sometimes conduct internal workplace investigations. Of course, the employees are French-speaking. The GNWT offers assistance with workplace investigations but in English only. When CSFTNO has to do this work, it costs them about $64,000 a year. Will the Minister commit to making an arrangement with CSFTNO to reimburse these additional costs or provide these services in French, [English translation not available]? Mahsi, Madam Speaker.
The Member is correct. The GNWT doesn't provide these services at all. It doesn't have the ability to provide these services currently. School boards are funded for their operations, including things like workplace assessments. That said, though, I will have a discussion with the Minister of Finance and see what kind of progress we can make on this. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Monfwi.
Masi, Madam Speaker. [Translation] I want to ask the Department of Justice a question regarding there is supposed to be a new RCMP station in Whati. I would like to ask him questions regarding the Justice Department. [End of translation] I have questions for the Minister of Justice pertaining to the process of how we allocate a structure from one community to another community. I am referring to the RCMP detachment out of Whati to Gameti within the same region. I'd like to know from the Minister: what would be the process to establish that type of dialogue within my region and the other players involved? Masi.
Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Minister of Justice.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I've had conversations with the Member about this. I was supposed to meet with the chief of Gameti, but our schedules didn't line up during this time, which isn't unusual; but I look forward to that conversation. The detachment in Whati is being replaced. It's a federal asset, and there is a process by which the federal government surplus their goods. That's the process we would have to follow. We did reach out to the commanding officer of "G" Division, and he said he is open to having that conversation to see if that can be surplused. Now, it's just a matter of advancing those conversations, and I'm happy to do that. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
[Translation] As we stand here today, regarding the Ministers, they are responsible for each department, and they also work with the RCMP. [End of translation] Does the Minister agree that the Whati RCMP detachment should stay within the region, from Whati to Gameti? Gameti badly needs an RCMP detachment to hold those individuals who are causing issues in the community.
The detachment in Whati right now, I believe it's about 30 years old. It's being replaced because it's no longer up to the RCMP standards. If the detachment were to be moved to Gameti, it wouldn't be positioned as an RCMP detachment. They are getting rid of it because they don't want to use it as a detachment. That being said, in Gameti, I know, even when I was there years ago, the chief brought this up that, if someone is detained while the RCMP are in the community, they keep them in the back of the truck for however long they need to, or they put them in the community government office. There is not a good system in place to hold people who are detained. If this asset was transferred, it doesn't meet RCMP standards, but I don't believe an office or the back of a cruiser would, either, in terms of that. I can't say whether or not I believe it should be. I'm not sure what condition the building is in, what the cost would be to move this building. There're a lot of these variables. In some instances, it's very expensive to try and lift up a building and haul it and set it up somewhere else, and it might fall apart along the way. There is a lot to look into. However, it could be an improvement over what is in place now, and like I said, I am happy to look into that.
I would like to ask the Minister about the process in also engaging the community, the community chiefs, and my Tlicho Government. I would like to know from the Minister what kind of engagement has taken place so far with respect to RCMP, the Commissioner, and also at the federal level within the Justice Department and my leadership. Could the Minister provide me with an update of what has been happening or what would be the process of engaging those parties?
As I stated earlier, the Member was an intermediary between me and the chief in Gameti, and we were supposed to meet. Things did not line up, and so we have not had that meeting yet, but I am happy to have those meetings, work with the Member, and meet with the Tlicho Government. We have already reached out to the RCMP, and now we need to take that next step. I have told the department we need to take that next step sooner than later, so the wheels are turning. I am committed to moving forward with this and exploring any options that we have and including the Member and updating the Member as we make process.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Monfwi. Final supplementary.
Masi, Madam Speaker. [Translation] Today, in Gameti, they have been asking for the station for a long time. We have two RCMP in the community. Sometimes, when they are in a situation, where are they going to hold the people? They do not have any place. They have a small building that they hold people there, which is not right, so I would like to ask the Minister a question. [Translation ends] Obviously, the community of Gameti has been pushing an RCMP detachment for a number of years, and I think this is a great opportunity for us. Yes, it may not be suitable, but it is a facility that can be utilized in some form or fashion in Gameti. What I am after, Madam Speaker, is: can we expedite this process where, during -- the winter road's coming from Whati to Gameti, if we can reach out to RCMP division, the federal counterparts, to expedite the process, so at least try to make it before this winter road or the following winter road if it's possible? The community is badly expressing a need for a detachment in Gameti. Masi, Madam Speaker.
When the federal government is involved, I cannot really commit to expediting. It's just the nature of the beast. However, I told the department that it's probably been a month since this first came up and that I want to start moving on it immediately, so I am doing my best. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Thebacha.
Madam Speaker, I want to be able to ask the Minister of Lands: what is the Minister's policy on enforcement, for enforcement on reserve lands?
Thank you, Member. Minister of Lands.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Presently, we do not enforce policies on reserve land. However, the Member has asked in a meeting with Salt River that we look into this. I have made a commitment to her and to the chief that we will be reaching out to the federal government to try to work with that. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
It is extremely important that the Government of the Northwest Territories makes policy with the federal government to ensure that enforcement on reserve lands is a priority. The people who belong to the Northwest Territories, just because we have an affirmed land claim, does that mean we are different, even though we are residents of the Northwest Territories? I would like to ask the Minister: is there a timeline to ensure that there is enforcement on reserve lands?
As I have told the Member here in the House, we need to work with the federal government, and we need to respect the jurisdiction of both the federal government and the territorial government. We are trying to work with them. The Member has been very clear on some of the challenges that they face with ENR and with Lands, so we are trying to work with this. It is a process, and we need to be respectful of the process. Again, it involves EIA, as well.
Does the Minister agree that it's all right for poachers to go on reserve lands and kill wildlife, that they do not enforce anything on reserve lands? I would like to know if the Minister agrees with that. We are members of the Northwest Territories, and we have rights. Wouldn't you agree, Minister?
Please direct your questions to me. Minister of Lands.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. As I have tried to explain here, and maybe I am not getting the message out there properly, there is a process, and we need to respect the process. On reserve lands, it's federal jurisdiction. We need to work with the federal government, Salt River First Nation, and the departments to deal with this matter. I understand it's been a long-standing issue for this Member, from when she was former chief, but we are willing to work with it. We have reached out to the federal government. We are working with EIA on this, so it's March, the whole department is working on it. Madam Speaker, we are working on it.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Thebacha. Final supplementary.
Madam Speaker, the claim was signed in 2002 on June the 22nd. That is 18 years. That is a long time without enforcement on reserve lands. I think it's time that this Minister and the Premier and the executive realize Salt River's goals to ensure that we get enforcement on reserve lands. Wouldn't he agree? Thank you, Madam Speaker.
I will wear my ENR hat here. Yes, I agree we need enforcement in there. We need to do it right, and that means we have to work with the federal government and Salt River First Nation to deal with this matter. I understand it's been since 2002. Again, we need to work with everybody in place so we do it right. I understand the Member, and I am hearing her. We have reached out, like I said, to EIA, Salt River First Nation to have this as a discussion, and we are working on it. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I do have two returns to written questions, which I understand will be tabled by the clerk.
Thank you, Minister. Mr. Clerk.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I do have a return to written question 17-19(2) asked by the Member for Kam Lake on October 15, 2020, regarding COVID-19 spending impacts.
As of September 30, 2020, the Government of the Northwest Territories has spent approximately $61 million on COVID-19 related expenditures. As with all government spending, these COVID-19 related expenditures will directly contribute to NWT gross domestic product. Government of the Northwest Territories' expenditures account for between 50 and 60 percent of NWT nominal gross domestic product.
Madam Speaker, the GNWT is projecting expenditures and foregone revenues to be approximately $175 million for 2020-2021. There has been total support announced by the Government of Canada of just over $92 million, which results in a potential impact on the GNWT of $83 million. The COVID-19 related expenditure shocks will reduce the operating surplus that is needed to fund the capital budget.
Madam Speaker, COVID-19 related spending has helped NWT businesses retain staff, make rent and mortgage payments, and has provided other financial relief. Efforts to understand the needs of the NWT's business community and the effectiveness of the Government of the Northwest Territories' COVID-19 economic support programs cannot be determined without polling businesses directly. While government support has helped numerous NWT businesses, businesses have also shown their own ingenuity in finding ways to keep their doors open. Business innovations, like curb-side pickup, "stay-cations" targeting local tourists, and phone or video appointments, have allowed NWT businesses that would otherwise have been forced to close to continue to operate during the pandemic.
NWT businesses most severely affected by the pandemic, and those that were most at risk when the coronavirus pandemic hit in March 2020, are concentrated in four areas of the economy: hospitality, retail, air transportation, and personal services. The Government of the Northwest Territories' and the Government of Canada have provided financial support targeted towards these severely affected and at-risk economic sectors.
COVID-19-related spending has directly aided NWT aviation companies and prevented them from closing despite severe drops in air passengers. To date, not a single NWT aviation company has been forced to close their business, which in turn has supported other businesses that rely on aviation services to transport goods and the government that needed air transport in response to the health crisis.
The Government of the Northwest Territories' has supported NWT businesses through Business Development and Investment Corporation Loan Payment deferment or reduction, and Business Development and Investment Corporation working capital loans. To date:
162 Business Development and Investment Corporation accounts representing 126 NWT businesses were approved payment deferment or reduction.
Of these 162 accounts, 107 were approved extensions through the end of the fiscal year, bringing the total deferment/reduction savings from April 2020 to March 2021 to $3.3 million. This total consists of $3.1 million in deferments for 145 accounts and $183,208 in loan payment reductions for 17 accounts.
89 Business Development and Investment Corporation accounts representing 88 NWT businesses were approved working capital loans of $2.3 million. A further seven accounts were withdrawn after approval.
As of October 23, 2020, the Support for Entrepreneur and Economic Development Policy program has supported NWT businesses as follows:
187 grants have been approved, totally nearly $2.1 million.
59 of these approved grants, totaling $319,588, are directly related to providing support due to the effects of COVID-19. These grants have helped NWT businesses purchase personal protective equipment, and supplement their operations in order to operate under the Chief Public Health Officer restrictions.
Madam Speaker, the NWT lost roughly 4,000 jobs during the coronavirus pandemic. Between February 2020 at the pre-COVID employment peak and May 2020, the COVID-19 trough, the number of jobs in Canada declined 18 percent, while the number of jobs in the NWT fell by 14 percent. Since then, the number of jobs has begun to recover, and as of July 2020, which is our most recent month of data, NWT jobs were 12.7 percent lower than what they were a year ago. By December 2020, it is projected that NWT jobs will have recovered to 90 percent of January 2020. The NWT jobs decline was less severe than the national average due to a combination of the following measures:
Innovation by NWT businesses, which allowed many companies to find new markets and ways of delivering products and services;
Large public sector, which acted as a stabilizer in the economy, allowing nearly 8,000 employees to work from home with regular income which was then spent at local NWT businesses, keeping consumer demand for NWT goods and services strong; and
Active GNWT and federal government support programs, which supported both businesses and employees directly through such programs as aviation sector supports and the wage top-up program.
In May 2020, the hardest hit month of the pandemic, there were 820 active businesses in the NWT. For context, an active business is a business with at least one employee. This number was 79 fewer than in May 2019, and 66 fewer than in January 2020. Of the 79 fewer NWT active businesses between May 2019 and May 2020, 85 percent were in the Services sector. Industries with the largest decline in NWT active businesses between May 2020 and May 2019 were:
Retail Trade with 24 fewer active businesses;
Accommodation and Food Services with 18 fewer active businesses;
Other Services with eight fewer active businesses; and
Construction with seven fewer active businesses.
Industries with the largest declines in active businesses were not necessarily the industries with the largest concentration of job losses. Compared to a year earlier, industries with the largest job losses in May 2020 were:
Mining & Utilities with 830 fewer jobs;
Accommodation and Food Services with 800 fewer jobs;
Construction with 375 fewer jobs; and
Retail with 330 fewer jobs.
The discrepancy between declines in active businesses and declines in jobs reflects the capital-use intensity of different industries and the distribution of large, medium, and small businesses across different industries. The decline in active businesses has been less severe in the NWT than in Canada as a whole. Between May 2019 and May 2020, there were 13 percent fewer active businesses in Canada compared to but just 8 percent fewer in the NWT. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
I do have a return to written question 18-19(2) asked by the Member for Kam Lake on October 15, 2020, regarding capital budget carry-overs.
The Member asked for information about the amount of the capital budget that the Government of the Northwest Territories has carried over in each of the last five years. Madam Speaker, in response to the Member's question, later today, at the appropriate time, I will table a summary of the total annual capital carry-over by category. Additionally, the Member asked for a description of the reasons for the carry-overs by category. It is worth noting for a capital project to be considered for carry-over, it must meet specific eligibility criteria under the Financial Administration Act and Financial Administration Manual:
The amount requested for carry-over must be lapsed in the previous fiscal year; and
A contractual obligation must exist, or substantial work has commenced on the project and cannot be completed in the planned timeframe.
Madam Speaker, over the past five years, capital carry-overs have been requested for a variety of reasons. There are some common reasons why projects experience delays, including:
in the procurement process including the time required to develop and release tenders, project scope changes, bids in excess of approved budgets, and time required to negotiate final contract value;
projects substantially completed but final contract payments withheld until deficiencies have been corrected by the contractor;
multi- delays due to the regulatory and environmental assessment process;
delays due to delivery times for materials and supplies and timing issues due to barge deliveries of materials;
delays due to unfavorable weather that had a significant impact on the project delivery dates;
delays year projects that required additional time for consultation with Indigenous partners, community governments and other stakeholders;
delays due to negotiations with stakeholders on land use;
delays due to time required to obtain land use permits and geotechnical survey results; and
specific to the 2019-2020 capital carry-over requests, delays as a result of COVID-19, including the redeployment of contractor resources and GNWT employees.
While lengthy, this list is not exhaustive as each project is unique and there may be other more specific reasons in addition to these general examples.
In the Member's third question, she asked whether the reasons identified for a project to be carried-over point to internal or external capacity challenges within the Northwest Territories. Madam Speaker, the detailed explanations provided by departments for capital project delays point to more than just internal or external capacity challenges. In some instances, delays in delivery of materials and supplies have had significant impacts on capital project timelines, which are often outside the control of either the contractor or the GNWT project management staff. Negotiations with stakeholders and external parties also impact project delivery timelines and are not within the control of the project management team. The short construction season in the NWT impacts also contractors' ability to complete projects on time. Any delays, internal or external, have an impact on project timelines, which is intensified by the short construction season.
Finally, the Member has asked what gaps the Government of the Northwest Territories has been able to identify to facilitate spending government capital dollars.
Madam Speaker, the capital carry-over process is a key mechanism used by the GNWT to facilitate capital spending; funding cannot transfer from one year to the next as the Financial Administration Act does not provide for multi-year appropriations. Using the carry-over process allows overall project budgets to remain unchanged; it is just spread over more fiscal years than was previously appropriated. This process reflects the reality of capital projects, the delays are often unavoidable and outside of the control of either the contractor or the project manager, and that projects are not often complete on the last day of the fiscal year. The capital carry-over process ensures that funding committed by the GNWT to be spent is available to be spent in the appropriate fiscal year.
As mentioned earlier, the criteria required to be met for the Financial Management Board to recommend a carry-over includes two specific criteria that an equal amount is lapsed and that a contract is in place or substantial work is completed. This ensures that departments do not continue to carry-over projects indefinitely as there must be a plan for expenditure. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Madam Speaker, I wish to table the following six documents: "What We Learned: Tourism Strategy Stakeholder Engagement Strategy (1) September to December 2019;" "What We Learned: Tourism Strategy Stakeholder Engagement Strategy (2) May to June 2020;" "Northwest Territories (NWT) Film Commission 2020 NWT Film & Media Sector Stakeholder Engagement Report: What We Heard;" Inter-Activity Transfers Exceeding $250,000 (April 1 to June 30, 2020);" "Public Service Annual Report 2019/2020;" and further to my return to Written Question 18-19(2), I also wish to table the "Summary of Capital Budget Carry-overs from April 1, 2015 - March 31, 2020." Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you. Tabling of documents, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I wish to table to following document: "Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 368-19(2): Contracts to Northern Territories Businesses at Giant Mine Remediation Project." Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Tabling of documents. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I wish to table the following two documents: "2019 Annual Report - Office of the Fire Marshall" and "Northwest Territories 911 2019-2020 Annual Report." Thank you, Madam Speaker.
