I believe I have said that we will look at it. It is not a yes right now, but it is something that we will look at going forward for some of the staffing positions in the community.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Thebacha.
Mr. Speaker, logical decisions must prevail when considering large infrastructure projects like the Taltson dam expansion. Would the Minister agree? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The Taltson expansion project is a major expansion. I had the opportunity to be able to go into the community with the Member, tour the facility, have a look at what a big scope of work it will be for this project, and just speaking to some of the leadership in the communities in terms of hearing some concerns and what a major project this will be for the community, but not only that, for the Northwest Territories. You look at our Energy Strategy. To be able to achieve some of our goals and our targets, we will be looking at the Taltson project as one of the ways to do this. At that time, we will be able to work with the community and the Member to look at some of the capacity and staffing needs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I have two written questions.
The first one is on the Slave Geological Province Corridor. My questions are for the Minister of Infrastructure. Cabinet's Mandate 2019-2023 proposes to make strategic infrastructure investments, including the Slave Geological Province Corridor. Could the Minister describe the phases of the proposed Slave Geological Province Corridor as found in the Mandate 2019-2023, including the following:
Identify the time frames of construction, how each phase of construction will be financed, and whom the corridor will actually serve;
Identify how each phase of the corridor will be operated and financed;
State the calculated costs for each phase of the corridor, including a breakdown of construction and anticipated operations costs and the engineering class for such cost estimates; and
State how caribou and their key habitat have been considered in the preferred location for each of the phases of the corridor.
Mr. Speaker, my second set of questions are on the Taltson Hydroelectric Expansion Project. My questions are for the Minister of Infrastructure. The Executive's 2030 Energy Strategy and a Climate Change Strategic Framework rely heavily upon greenhouse gas reductions supposedly resulting from a major expansion of the Taltson hydroelectric system. Could the Minister describe the phases of the proposed Taltson hydroelectric expansion set out in the 2030 Energy Strategy, including the following:
Identify the time frames of construction, how each phase of construction will be financed, and to whom will the energy be sold;
Identify the amounts of power to be generated and whether any additional impoundment and/or flooding will occur;
State the GHG reductions anticipated for each of the phases and in which jurisdictions those reductions will take place; and
State the calculated costs for each phase, including a breakdown of hydro facilities, power lines, and related infrastructure, including roads and the engineering class for such cost estimates.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a return to written question 23-19(2) asked by the Member for Nunakput on March 4, 2021, regarding the practice of using power-limiting devices in the Northwest Territories.
The data for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation was compiled at 12:00 noon on March 5th. The numbers fluctuate on a regular basis due to the timing of Northwest Territories Power Corporation's billing cycles. The Northwest Territories Power Corporation had 72 residential load limiters in place. There had been a total of 336 load limiter instances since collection activities resumed on November 9, 2020. These instances could be multiple occurrences on a single location and does not represent 336 unique customers.
For the Northland Utilities Ltd. Limiters, a breakdown of the number of load limiters per community for both Northland Utility companies as of the week of March 15, 2021, is as follows:
Northland Utilities Ltd. (Yellowknife):
Yellowknife - two load limiters
Northland Utilities (NWT):
Hay River - four load limiters
Hay River Reserve - two load limiters
Enterprise - one load limiter
Fort Providence - one load limiter
Trout Lake - four load limiters
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I have a return to written question 24-19(2) asked by the Member for Deh Cho on March 9, 2021, regarding assessing and managing conflict of interest in the Government of the Northwest Territories.
In order to preserve the impartiality and integrity of the public service, the Code of Conduct Respecting Conflict of Interest and Oath of Office and Secrecy (code of conduct) identifies standards of conduct for GNWT employees, including steps that employees can take to ensure they do not place themselves in situations that could be perceived as being a conflict of interest.
Deputy head approval is required before employees begin any employment, service, or volunteer activities outside of their employment with the GNWT. If a new request is received from an employee to participate in an outside activity, and the activity is considered to be a conflict or potential conflict of interest, the deputy head, upon consultation, has the authority to issue a letter denying the request. The letter would stipulate that the employee is prohibited from engaging in the activity and would inform the employee of possible disciplinary measures should they proceed with the activity. Depending on the circumstances, upon consultation, the deputy head also has the discretion to limit or restrict an employee's participation in part of the activities requested.
If a conflict of interest is suspected regarding an employee's already existing and approved outside activity, the supervisor will discuss with the employee, and approval of the activity can be revoked by the deputy head if, upon consultation, a conflict of interest is found.
The labour relations division of the Department of Finance is asked to review employee requests to participate in outside activities when departments have questions or when a possible conflict may exist. All requests are conditionally approved to allow for the approval to be revisited in the event that circumstances change. The conditional approval, in most cases, relates to adhering to the conditions outlined in the code of conduct; however, there could be approvals that have other conditions, such as an employee removing themselves from a meeting if a topic comes up where they have knowledge obtained though their employment.
An employee can ask that a decision to deny their participation in an outside activity be reviewed by the Deputy Minister of Finance, or, in the case of employees of the Department of Finance, a request can be made to the secretary to Cabinet or the Ethics Counsellor. Should an employee not agree with any decision or action taken as a result of the application of the code of conduct, the employee may access the grievance process contained in the appropriate collective agreement or the Public Service Act.
On initial hire, all employees are required to read the code of conduct, as well as sign the "Oath or Affirmative of Office and Secrecy," and are encouraged to speak with their supervisor if they have questions. Departments are also encouraged to send out yearly reminders to ensure employees are aware of the requirement to request approval before engaging in employment or activities outside of the government. The mandatory onboarding training for all GNWT employees also contains information on conflicts of interest and outside activity, specifically in "Module 4 - Important Policies and Programs." The training highlights the importance of adhering to the code of conduct while engaging in outside activity.
Later today, at the appropriate time, I will table a document that serves as a breakdown, over the past 10 years, of the number of conflicts of interest that have been found, based on the requests reviewed by the labour relations division. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following two documents: "Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 497-19(2), Corrections Workplace Assessment"; and "Operating Plans for the Northwest Territories Education Bodies for the 2020-2021 School Year Ending June 30, 2021." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Tabling of documents. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following three documents: "Northwest Territories Tourism: Towards Resilience - 2021-2022 Marketing Plan"; "Tourism 2025: Roadmap to Recovery, April 2021"; and further to my Written Question 24-19(2), "Conflict of Interest Information." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Tabling of documents. Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following two documents: "Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 655-19(2), Biomass Heating and Energy Efficiency for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation"; and "Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 664-19(2), Devolving Power to Municipal Governments." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Tabling of documents. Minister of Infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document: "Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 515-19(2), Highway Infrastructure Projects." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Tabling of documents. Member for Yellowknife North.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the Guiding Principles and Process Conventions for Consensus Government in the Northwest Territories dated August 2020.
Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Range Lake, that Bill 28, Appropriation Act (Operations Expenditures), 2021-2022, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. The motion is in order. The motion is non-debatable. All those in favour? All those opposed? Any abstentions? The motion is carried.
---Carried
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River North, that Bill 24, An Act to Amend the Revolving Fund Act, be read for the second time. This bill amends the Revolving Funds Act to increase from $1 million to $3 million the maximum fiscal year-end debit or credit balance in the Petroleum Products Stabilization Fund. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. The motion is in order. To the principle of the bill.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Any abstentions? The motion is carried.
---Carried
Bill 24 has had its second reading and is referred to the standing committee of the Legislative Assembly for review. Second reading of bills. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that Bill 25, An Act to Amend the Education Act, be read for the second time. This bill amends the Education Act to allow Members of a district education authority to have terms of office of two, three, or four years corresponding to the term of the members of the governing body of the community that the district education authority represents. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. The motion is in order. To the principle of the bill.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Any abstentions? The motion is carried.
---Carried
Bill 25 has had its second reading and is referred to the standing committee of the Legislative Assembly for review. Second reading of bills. Minister of Finance.
Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Range Lake, that Bill 28, Appropriation Act (Operations Expenditures) 2021-2022, be read for the second time. This bill authorizes the Government of the Northwest Territories to make appropriations for operations expenditures for the 2021-2022 fiscal year. It also sets out limits on amounts that may be borrowed by the Commissioner on behalf of the government, includes information in respect of all existing borrowing and all projected borrowing for the fiscal year, and authorizes the making of disbursements to pay the principal of amounts borrowed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
