Since the Member has brought this forward, we at ENR have looked at various options for automatic deposit in Yellowknife. The staff are putting some tech packs and specs together so we know that the equipment we do have to put out there would actually stand up to our weather in the Northwest Territories. We are in the process of looking at that. Thanks to the Member; he keeps on asking us questions. We are working on it, and we are moving forward.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am glad the department is working on it. Our beverage recycling program is one of the best in the country. We have extremely high rates of return, and it's a model for success. Does the Minister have an idea of when someone will actually be able to return some recycling in downtown Yellowknife? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
We are very supportive of piloting an automatic deposit. We are looking at doing this with the new licensing process for 2022. We are looking at it during that time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just have questions about having medevac services and delays in the Beaufort-Delta, especially my riding of Nunakput, in the last weeks. How many medevacs in a 24-hour period, how many planes are dispatched out in my riding are in the Delta at any given time, and is there a backup plane available if the pilot's times are maxed out? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Nunakput. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am going to take this question on notice because I have no information with me with which to answer these questions. Thank you.
There has to be a backup plan in regard to providing services when people are maxed out on timing. Is there a backup plane? She could take it as notice like she just did, but I want to just make sure. I will meet with the Minister at break and give her the questions that I do have to provide answers to my constituents who are quite concerned right now.
I am taking this question on notice because I don't have the information available to answer it.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services who has responsibility for the GNWT Anti-Poverty Strategy. In my statement, I referred to the recommendations put forward in the first poverty report card produced by Alternatives North. Is the Minister aware of these recommendations from this report, and does she intend to respond to the report publicly? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have read the report card, I have met with Alternatives North, and I am very appreciative of the effort that they put into the first ever report card. The government is not planning to provide a response to the report card. Thank you.
I want to thank the Minister for that. Look, I know that she is a passionate advocate on the issue of poverty and actually had a lot to do with the first strategy that was developed. I was a little bit disappointed to hear that response, so I might try something else. I'm aware that the work is under way in collaboration with the federal government to produce an updated northern market basket measures that would allow us to better monitor and track poverty here, especially in smaller communities. Can the Minister update us on this work including when a northern-specific market basket measure will be introduced?
This is work being undertaken and lead by Statistics Canada. What I know about this is that Statistics Canada held consultation workshops with government and non-government stakeholders in October and November two years ago in 2018, and it's my understanding that a member of Alternatives North attended the workshop that was here. The result of that is that the Yukon and the Northwest Territories have been assisting Statistics Canada to establish thresholds for their respective territories for the market basket measure. The end result was a proposal to create a Northern MBM and provide some methodology for how that's going to be calculated. Consultation is now open on the topic of this proposal, and of course, they would be delighted to hear from anyone who has a view on this. What I do need to say, however, is that this will not be a community-level measure when it is complete. It will be a regional measure. It will be available in six regions of the NWT.
I want to thank the Minister for that, and I'm sure that our Bureau of Statistics is eagerly engaged in that work, as well. One of the most disturbing conclusions of the poverty report card is the state of food security or insecurity confronting one in four families here. I'm aware that the recent anti-poverty round table focused on the issue of food insecurity. Can the Minister indicate what specific action is being undertaken on the issue of food security, specifically following the anti-poverty round table, even it if means working with her colleagues, other colleagues in Cabinet?
The focus on food security is really a whole-of-government approach with several different departments contributing solutions to how to create and grow more food in the North, whether that's gardens, eggs, meat, whatever. The objective of the round table the Member referenced, which was at the end of January, was to bring together people from the Northwest Territories with people who are working on food security solutions in other jurisdictions that are rural and remote and Indigenous like ours. It's my understanding that these 80 delegates who attended had a very good conversation about this. There's a report being prepared, which will be tabled in this House, and it will lead the way forward in what more we can do to address what the Member rightly calls an appalling rate of poverty.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister again for that. This government's anti-poverty strategic framework dates from 2013. Many of the key indicators around income disparity, food security, housing, and more have actually gotten worse since 2013. Can the Minister tell us when there will be a formal evaluation of our poverty work and more systemic solutions put forward such as guaranteed basic income, a living wage, or even economic restructuring? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
The strategy which, as the Member says, was released in 2013, was followed by an action plan released in 2015 and then, again, another action plan that came out in 2019 and runs until 2022. It builds on those original pillars in the Anti-Poverty Strategy. Just to remind the Member, that's children and family support, healthy living and reaching our potential, safe and affordable housing, sustainable communities, and the integrated continuum of service. What the Bureau of Statistics has done is created a special section on its website to report on poverty indicators that were agreed at the 2016 anti-poverty round table. I'm not going to list them all, but they are numerous. They include things like food security, children receiving services, employment rates, and so on. We realized that we have not conquered poverty, but we remain actively engaged in coming up with solutions that will help people to live without want. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment. I am wondering if, to start, she can tell me what percent of NWT's small/medium business owners are women? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do have a number on that with respect to women. It comes from national statistics naming that 24 percent of businesses are majority-owned by women. There are 3,378 small businesses here in the Northwest Territories, so I'm sure that will give her the ability to do the math that she wants. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I am wondering what percent of total BDIC loan funding goes to women entrepreneurs in the Northwest Territories?
BDIC's statistics do show that approximately nine percent of total loans go to businesses where women are the sole proprietor. Approximately, 55 percent of total loans go to those where there's a woman who is, at least, a part-owner of the business.
I don't think I have to say too much to that. I think it's pretty obvious that there is some room for improvement. Mr. Speaker, I'm wondering what supports are available to NWT women to foster successful entrepreneurship, and are any new initiatives in the works for this year?
ITI's very proud to partner with individual communities, particularly through the Community Futures programming. I can highlight that this year, the Thebacha Business Development Services ran an Indigenous women and entrepreneurship seminar, which we were proud to be a part of. Similarly, here in Yellowknife, the Chamber of Commerce hosted women's Trailblazers Symposium. I think that's, in fact, coming up just next week. We're proud to be a sponsor of that. Similarly, BDIC, although not specific to women, does host a quite large number of support services for businesses. It is of note given the theme that's being presented, that since April 1st of 2020, 65 percent of the attendees at the learning centre sessions hosted by BDIC, in fact, were women.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It's interesting to me that, as someone who grew up in the North, a number of people who decided to become entrepreneurs, whether or not they're men or women, who I went to high school with. When I talk to people from different communities, people have different parts of their life that they're passionate about, and they want to be able to turn that into a business. I'm wondering if the Minister of ITI would commit to working with the Minister of ECE in order to develop high-school-based business curriculum for NWT students? Thank you.
This actually allows me to answer the last part of the previous question that I realize I didn't get to. With respect to curriculum, that certainly falls very much within ECE's purview. With respect to the kind of programming and opportunities that are available for students in high school in a young age bracket, I absolutely will commit to speaking with ECE, with my colleague, to see what we can do so that we can find some complementary programs and ideas. One thing, Mr. Speaker, that ITI is right now at the idea stage of, and it's an exciting stage, is looking at bringing junior achievement back to the Northwest Territories. This is an exciting opportunity. It's kind of a program across Canada that really allows young people to understand business, understand entrepreneurship, and to develop some skills that hopefully will help them become the future entrepreneurs for the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral question. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of ENR. Recognizing the unprecedented water levels witnessed across the territory and in preparation for the upcoming spring melt, will the Minister commit to reviewing the guidelines of the Hunters and Trappers' Disaster Compensation Fund? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Presently, ENR is reviewing the community harvest support program and the Genuine Mackenzie Valley Fur Program. Members should be happy. Once those two things are completed, ENR will make a commitment to review the hunters and trappers' disaster compensation guideline, and we will have it completed by the end of this year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The end of the year, a little bit late for spring, but I will ask for exceptions throughout the year if I need to. Will the Minister commit to reviewing the parameters of this funding when they are doing their review, to decrease the percentage of income required through harvesting, to broaden the support for as many harvesters as possible?
We have two reviews going on. We would have to bump one if we had to do that, and both those other reviews are very important. In saying that, the program evaluation will include a review of eligibility requirements, including the current criteria related to the income percentage. For the Member, she has reached out to me previously to talk about this. We have brought those concerns forward to the department, and we are making sure this is part of our evaluation process.
Will the Minister maintain the $40,000 that he had mentioned in this House that would be eligible for compensation, put in place to support the trappers whose cabins flooded in the South Slave, for trappers elsewhere in the territories if that should happen?
This year is a new initiative, one-time assistance to provide compensation to people who have had unprecedented damage to property and equipment. However, in saying that, when flooding situations occur in the springtime, we will look at it on a case-by-case basis, and we encourage the Members to get people to reach out to our regional offices to bring forth their concerns.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am not sure if the Minister will be able to answer this one, but if he can provide the information, can the Minister provide what the department has allocated for this program for the past two fiscal years, how many applicants they have had, and what was paid out? Thank you.
I wish I could do that for the Member, and I really hate to make a commitment to have to come back to the Member with that information. For that detail, I will reach out to the department, and we will get it to her in a timely manner. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The practice of using power-limiting devices in the Northwest Territories: under Section 74(1) of the Public Utilities Act, any public utilities operating in the Northwest Territories must provide any information requested by the Public Utilities Board. In light of the current practice of using power-limiting devices by utilities and power distributors operating in the Northwest Territories, I submit the following questions to the Minister responsible for the Public Utilities Board:
What is the current number of power limiters installed in residential homes across the Northwest Territories by the Northwest Territories Power Corporation, broken down by region and community;
What is the number of power limiters installed by the Northwest Territories Power Corporation since resumption of the use of limiters announced in the press release of October 21, 2020;
What is the current number of power limiters installed in residential homes across the Northwest Territories by Northland Utilities (NWT) Limited (an ATCO Company), broken down by region and by community; and
What is the current number of power limiters installed in residential homes across the Northwest Territories by the Northland Utilities (Yellowknife) an ATCO and NII Company?
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
