Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Justice recently completed a corrections service workplace assessment. Can the Minister explain how he is going to address the toxic and unhealthy workplace in the corrections system as described in this report, to ensure that our government will help to rehabilitate our incarcerated Indigenous people so that they can take charge and make changes in their lives? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Minister of Justice.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Members are aware from the numerous times that I have addressed this in this House, this is a project that I am keeping a close eye on because it is so vital to the hundreds of staff in the corrections system as well as the inmates and their families and their futures.
One of the things that came out of the assessment was the creation of a working group with senior management from the Department of Justice, the human resources people from Finance, as well as the UNW. A working group at this level has never been assembled before. The union has never had that type of input into these changes before. This is something that is different than the past, and it's something that I think is really going to give some force to the changes that we hope to implement.
Together, that working group is developing an accountability framework, something that they can be held accountable to, that everyone can be held accountable to, and will really guide the work going forward. After the initial report, there was engagement between the staff and senior managers. There was going to be initial engagement based on what was previously heard so that we could focus on developing solutions. These are solutions that are not just from the top handed down. These are solutions coming from the ground up in collaboration with management.
Another of the changes is that there is going to be a review of operational schedules, including the movement of inmates, which is to address safety concerns that have been brought forward. There is going to be a new software system to coordinate training, recertification, all of those things. That was an issue. There is a renewed focus on retention and retainment. One of the big things is just enhancing the lines of communication, ensuring that management gets on the floor and that they talk to staff. That was one of the big takeaways, and one of the easiest things to remedy, just opening up those lines of communication. I have been following up with my department to ensure that these things are happening because, like I said before, I don't want this to be a report that just sits on a shelf. I want it to result in action. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Will the Minister consider reinstating some of the programs that previously helped inmates rehabilitate back into society? Can inmates once again do activities such as cutting grass, shovelling snow, or work regular jobs during their stay, or attend Aurora College to advance their education?
Immediately following the beginning of the pandemic, all of those types of programs stopped. However, in July of 2020, they were reinitiated. That work has been going on in certain places. However, I note the Member is concerned that the work isn't happening in her community. Some of the things that need to be considered are basically public safety. There are always assessments of offenders. It depends on who is at the facility at that time. This is something that I am following up with further with my department because I know that it has been raised a number of times. I am looking into this specifically, but on the whole, those activities can occur.
The workplace assessment report validated all of the concerns of staff within NWT corrections. Until this is corrected in a professional, orderly way, would the Minister agree that no rehabilitation of our incarcerated people will properly take place?
I have to disagree with that. I think that, despite the concerns raised by staff, they still have the ability to perform their jobs and help inmates with rehabilitation. I understand that a healthy workplace where people want to be is always conductive to a better job, and so we are working to make that happen.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Thebacha.
Lastly, Mr. Speaker, would the Minister ensure that all of the concerns our Indigenous staff brought forward in the workplace assessment are addressed and that our Indigenous staff are heard? Positive solutions must address these staff issues to ensure rehabilitation of our incarcerated people will properly take place. Does the Minister agree with that statement? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
It is my goal to ensure that the concerns brought forward by staff will be addressed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Monfwi.
Masi, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] I made my Member's statement regarding addictions. Now the government is making money from alcohol, and all that money goes to the GNWT. I am asking these questions today because I will not be here tomorrow. [Translation ends]
My questions are for the Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Liquor and Cannabis Commission. Mr. Speaker, how can this government reconcile benefitting financially from the substance abuse it is enabling through the $57 million in annual liquor and cannabis sales in this territory? Masi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The consolidated revenue fund is the entirety of the budget of the Northwest Territories. That is the money that is spent to do all of the things that the Government of the Northwest Territories does, including funding Health and Social Services, including funding addictions services, including funding housing. It's not misuse. That is really the money that we all, then, come together and decide what we want to do and where we want to allocate it through the budgeting process.
Mr. Speaker, to the extent that there are concerns about the budgeting process as we do the reviews for, in this case, particularly Health and Social Services that has primary responsibility for addictions, perhaps the Department of Justice with respect to the rehabilitation of those who may have run in contravention of the law, then that's the opportunity that we all have as Members to evaluate and review where we want to spend our money. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
[Translation] If we take a look at the money that is coming in, it's in the millions every year. The money goes to the government. We need to take a closer look at contributing some money towards addictions. [Translation ends]
Mr. Speaker, my next question to the Minister is: why doesn't this government link its addictions treatment spending directly to the millions it rakes in from the retail sales of these intoxicants? Has the Minister considered allocating a certain percentage, possibly 1 or 2 percent, of the revenues earned on an annual basis towards addiction programming or after-care programming?
I certainly do appreciate the attempt to solve what is obviously a huge problem for the Northwest Territories. As far as earmarking, though, and taking a specific amount that is within the Department of Finance, under the Northwest Territories Liquor and Cannabis Commission and the sale of liquor, the challenge with earmarking what would otherwise be going into the consolidated revenue fund is that it actually reduces the ability to be flexible that we all have about how we spend all of the money to achieve all of the priorities and the mandate of the Government of the Northwest Territories.
That said, Mr. Speaker, what is happening right now are two things. There is a review that is about to begin with respect to the liquor act. There is also, happening right now, work to develop an alcohol strategy within the Department of Health and Social Services, and the two departments are working together.
To the extent that the Department of Finance does alcohol prevention and misuse prevention activities, that does fall within our mandate. Mr. Speaker, I will look at the amount that we spend on that. I can commit to doing that, and I can commit to coming back and seeing if there are further activities that we can undertake there and, aside from that, continuing to do work with the Department of Health and Social Services.
I'm glad the Minister is recognizing the huge challenges that we are faced with addictions here in the Northwest Territories. It's a real issue. We need to be dedicating our resources, allocating funds towards that, meaning that we should be taking a certain percentage out of the revenue generated on an annual basis. We need to think outside of the box. We have always said this government is doing things differently. Well, show it. Show the territory that we can do that.
Mr. Speaker, what has the Minister learned from those more enlightened jurisdictions? Other jurisdictions are allocating a certain percentage, a dedicated statutory share of liquor and cannabis profits, to addictions treatment. Why couldn't we follow this practice that is already in place in other jurisdictions?
We are on track to deliver on a pressing review about the structure of the pricing of alcohol in the Northwest Territories. As I say, it's on track. It's coming back in March. As soon as I have the information put together, that will demonstrate what, in fact, is happening in other jurisdictions, what best practices there are available, and at that point, we can make a decision based on that information as to whether or not there are best practices that we aren't following and go forward from there.
Mr. Speaker, at this point, if we were to earmark a certain percentage, my concern, of course, is: are we giving the right amount to Health and Social Services to do their work in terms of alcohol prevention? Are we giving them enough, and are we giving it to them at the right time when they are ready to utilize it effectively? Should it be going somewhere else, like to Indigenous governments? Should it be going to the communities? Having it part of the budgeting process that we are here for right now is the best way for us to all have that conversation and have that debate about where and how much to spend.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Monfwi.
Masi, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] Right now, all of these issues are under the Minister of Finance, how the money and where the money is going. She is the person who makes these major decisions. This is the reason why I'm asking the Minister of Finance. Right now, under Canada, with alcohol, money that we are getting, all that funding we do get, I would like to see the percentage in each department, how far and how much can we get for each department regarding the addiction money that we will get from finance. [Translation ends]
If I have understood correctly, there is a request to ensure that we are properly reporting back on how much has come in in terms of any revenue, any actual profits, revenue from sales, and then to determine where that goes. If I understand correctly, that is very difficult. I mean, that goes into the consolidated revenue fund, and it is distributed to every department. As for which percentage goes for addictions treatment, again, we would involve the Department of Health and Social Services, which is certainly the lead on addictions services, with some supports to housing and some supports from Justice.
I will go away and look back at Hansard and see what I can come back with. If there is information I can collect, I certainly will, but to the extent that it is the money of the consolidated revenue fund, then it's the money that is spent by all the departments on addictions, which is in the main estimates which we are reviewing right now. Again, we will do our best to put some information together, Mr. Speaker. Really, that is what this purpose is to me with main estimates review, is to look at where we spend all of the money of the Government of the Northwest Territories and make sure it's meeting the needs of the people of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The questions are for the Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation, and the questions are just a formality because I am sure that she is going to agree with me. Mr. Speaker, with all due respect to the Minister and her department, can the Minister explain how the NWT Power Corporation is expected to be arm's length and provide oversight when we are using senior bureaucrats as a board of directors to oversee management and strategic direction? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Governance and accountability for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation has been a long-standing issue for the GNWT, and several reviews have been done, completed over the last 10 to 12 years. The use of senior bureaucrats as a board was an interim measure while looking at a comprehensive review and also building on all the past reviews that have been undertaken. I admit this work is not proceeding as fast as we would like it to. I currently have a request in with Standing Committee on Government Operations to discuss some potential NTPC governance structures. Mr. Speaker, we need to get this right. We need to figure out how to make any NTPC board structure accountable to me as Minister and to the Legislative Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Can the Minister confirm, during the number of reviews, as to the effectiveness of the board that is made up of bureaucrats versus independent directors, and if so, what were the criteria used?
I think that was two questions, but I will try to get it in one answer. There has been no formal assessment done as to the effectiveness of the current board structure versus the previous board structure. That was his first question. There are advantages and disadvantages of either structure. The important thing, Mr. Speaker, is to come up with a structure that is accountable to ratepayers, the Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation, and the Legislative Assembly without costing an arm and a leg and not having power rates go up to pay for all this.
Since I tried to sneak in that extra question, I will just ask one more. The NWT Power Corporation has a series of aging infrastructure along with potential major projects on the books. I would ask for a commitment from the Minister to initiate the process for replacing the current board of directors with persons who have the interests, experience, and time to ensure we properly position NTPC to take advantage of new technology and cost-saving measures as we move forward.
I have stated that there is a review underway, and I am hoping to meet with Standing Committee on Government Operations this session to be able to discuss some options. I do agree with the Member that, whatever board structure we land on, there is a need for independent engineering advice for decision-makers to be able to understand the consequences of any decisions that they have to make. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. My question is for the Minister of Health and Social Services. First, let's establish the position of this government. Does this Cabinet support a national pharmacare program? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Mr. Speaker, yes.
While I am on a roll, does this government support the creation of a national program as envisaged on the federal Bill C-213, the Canada Pharmacare Act, and has that position been communicated to our Member of Parliament?
This legislation, if it does, in fact, pass through the House of Commons this week, represents a real game-changer toward prescription medications for people in the NWT. Only about 50 percent of our population has pharmacy and medication coverage, so this would take in a lot of people who are currently left out. However, there is a lot of fine print that needs to be negotiated between the federal government and the provincial and territorial governments. Obviously, pharmacare would be a national initiative but implemented by provinces and territories, so there is a lot of detail that needs to be worked out. Of course, we would not want a boiler-plate system; we would want a system that suits our particular needs here in the Northwest Territories. We would also, of course, want funding that was secure and long-term, that would ensure that, once we start to offer a pharmacare program, we would be able to continue offering it. We are interested in seeing this happen, but we are not at the stage yet of negotiating these details.
I want to thank the Minister for that. I am not asking the Minister for negotiating the details right now. Does this Cabinet support Bill C-213, and have they communicated their position to our Member of Parliament? He has to vote on this bill tomorrow. Does this Cabinet support Bill C-213, yes or no, and can you communicate that with our MP?
As I mentioned before, the Cabinet does support a national pharmacare program represented in this case by Bill C-213. I am not aware about what conversations have happened with the MP about this bill. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. If I could respectfully suggest, then, that the Premier pick up the phone and call our MP and say, "Get on this. We support it. Please vote in favour"? However, I want to ask what else our government is actually doing to try to promote a national pharmacare program, so can the Minister answer that question for me? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
This area has not received the attention it deserves, primarily because it has coincided with the pandemic, and federal and territorial resources have been focused on that. However, the Member may recall that, in October 2020, the federal Speech from the Throne invited provinces and territories to participate in federal, provincial, and territorial discussions on a national strategy for high-cost drugs for rare diseases, and in fact, the NWT has been participating in that dialogue. There is a public engagement going on now on high-cost drugs for rare diseases, and it continues until March 26th.
A second FPT forum that we've been involved with has to do with increasing our participation in the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance. This is an alliance that negotiates with pharmaceutical companies on volume purchases of drugs in order to reduce the costs. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The issue of what we term as "elder abuse" has been going on for years. It seems that there is no end in sight. That is, if we can actually do something about the situation the elders are facing regarding elder abuse, whether it be financial or caregiving. My question to the Minister responsible is: can she provide the resources required to stop this elder abuse, and I term it as a pandemic? Mahsi.
Thank you, Member for Deh Cho. Minister responsible for Seniors.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Elder abuse is a real and frightening problem in our territory. We are very concerned about it; all of us are concerned about it. What to do about it is not as easy as putting money into a program. It is a set of attitudes that people have towards elders, in which they are neglected and exploited, as the Member said in his statement. We have been having discussions about whether we could strengthen our regulatory environment around elder abuse so there are real consequences for failing to protect elders and for taking advantage of them. At the moment, what we're doing is all of the run-up steps of a jurisdictional scan and whether we need regulation change or legislation change. In this work, we're working with the NWT Seniors' Society, who are the lead organization on the Network to Prevent Abuse of Older Adults. We are working with them on the potential to provide regulation and/or legislative change which would provide for real consequences for people who are engaged in elder abuse. Thank you.
I thank the Minister for that and the steps that the NWT Seniors' Society is taking, but that society, I rarely hear of them in my community. I was speaking with an elder in my community. They were stating that there was a meeting last fall in Fort Providence, an elder abuse awareness session, but there were no elders in attendance, especially the ones being abused financially and mentally. No one even went out of their way to gather them up or, at the very least, have sessions with them one-on-one at the senior's home or another location. Can the Minister responsible for Seniors provide resources to ensure that every elder is interviewed in total confidence regarding elder abuse?
