Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd ask the Minister responsible for Health and seniors to confirm where her department is with respect to developing a home care strategy that is in line with this government's commitment to supporting seniors, aging at home, with dignity. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister responsible for Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is a very important commitment to me. I plan to age in place here. I know some of my colleagues do as well, and their parents as well. And so the services provided are very important.
In the 18th Assembly, the department commissioned a home and community care study. It was delivered in September of 2019. It had 22 recommendations. And the department followed up by responding formally to the home and community care review. And so that is basically our strategy for what we're doing with home and community care; how we're addressing those 22 recommendations.
In this fiscal year, there are six new positions in home and community care, a total of spending of $1.42 million. And the priorities for this year are to hire three new regional home care nurses who will provide oversight for home care in their areas, two territorial wound care nurses, support for additional home care services after hours and on weekends, and for people who are palliative, and a project manager in Yellowknife. So there are a lot of things going on in home and community care to better meet the needs of residents of the NWT, recognizing that our population of people who are aging need these services. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I guess you provided me with the Minister provided me with the number of supports that are going to be coming out. And I'm just wondering on the timing of them, if some are out already, if we're moving ahead, or are some going to be in place later on, if she can just come up with some idea of time for me. Thank you.
Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm not sure when these six positions will be filled or if they've already been filled so I'll have to come back to the Member with that information. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister confirm if her department is working with the Minister of Housing and ECE to collaborate on effective programs and support for seniors? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are taking a whole of government approach to seniors aging because it cuts across many different departments. And one of the things that we're working on together is an elders strategy which will look in more detail at the gaps that exist across government in services for seniors and to make a plan to fill those gaps. So that includes housing. So we recently the Minister of Housing and I recently went to Fort Good Hope for the opening of their new seniors housing. And the collaboration there is that the Housing Corporation built the facility, and the nursing unit in Fort Good Hope provides the home and community care so that the people who are living in the housing can stay in the housing. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one of the issues that arise, and I know it is in Hay River, is that some seniors don't have access to transportation to get to the health centre. You know, they may have to take a taxi and some may not have the funds. And I know that there are vouchers that are provided at some times. But can the Minister confirm with her department about considering providing financial support to communities without adequate means of transportation to health centres so that they can make it there. Thank you.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, transportation is an issue in every community, including Yellowknife. Getting seniors to program sites, health sites, shopping, and so on is an issue all around. This is not something that the department has taken on but it's something that I can inquire about. The department provides the individual support. So if somebody needs a walker, for example, then the department would assist them in obtaining that but not necessarily a ride to the health centre. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are related to my Member's statement presented earlier regarding suggestions to incorporate life skills courses into schools to pique interest in career paths for students. Can the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment provide an update as to development of this initiative. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As what the Member was asking about teaching life schools in school, and I don't have specific information about a life skills initiative but I can talk a bit about what is done in schools in a broad sense, understanding that what happens in the school is highly dependant on the DEA, the community, and the teachers at that time. And there could be a lot of variation and there could be heavy focus on life stills depending on those influences. So in schools of course we have the courses like career/life management that people are familiar with.
We also have courses like career and technology courses where you can take more practical handson type courses as opposed to theoretical thins. We are introducing career and education advisors across the territory, and those individuals can help students figure out what path they want to go on in terms of education. So these students I guess aren't aimless in their education. They can really focus on what they need and get the skills that they need which in and of itself is practical. Of course we are also engaging in a curriculum renewal and one of the criteria that we are looking at is a curriculum that is not so much focused on just memorizing things but focused on gaining skills, competencies that you would need to use in everyday life. So those are some of the things that we're doing. You know, if there's something more specific that the Member has in mind, I can try and speak to that as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for that. I know he states there's handson experiences but I think shop centres and trade centres were built and developed for the larger centres and not necessarily the small centres. We really want to see some change to increase changes of students' success that could create a positive learning experience for them, then, you know, cost should not with be a stumbling block and waiting for decisions to be made others. I just reiterate again, will the Minister develop an action plan to initiate this initiative? Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So we're not looking at an action plan, to initiate something like that. However, I can say that I have had conversations with the education leaders across the territory, so the chairs of the regional boards and the local DEAs, and there has been a focus on the handson type learning, and you know, it's clear that there is a lack of those facilities in the smaller communities, and I even hear in the larger communities it is difficult to staff a lot of those facilities.
There is a shortage of journeypersons across Canada and not every journeyperson wants to be a teacher. And so, you know, there has been difficulties in Yellowknife and in the communities in staffing those positions. However there is a renewed focus on that with the transformation of Aurora College into a polytechnic university. We're looking at expanding the reach of the college in to every single community in the territory and hopefully that will help us strengthen the relationship between the college and the JK to 12 system so that there can be some of those handson skills taught in a by the college or to high school students and have some perhaps dual credit courses where students can take high school courses to get credits for the college. So that is focus of what we're doing.
We understand that we need to prepare people for the job market. We need to prepare people for the real world and there is a focus on ensuring that we take the steps now to do that without a specific strategy as part of our overall goal. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. And I thank the Minister for that answer. Mr. Speaker, I want to relay my personal experience while attending school at Sir John Franklin, more of a comment to the Minister.
Coming from a small centre, this was a humbling experience. There were music classes, photography classes, automotive, mechanics classes, carpentry classes, coupled with drama and the arts. There was quite a bit of action happening at the schools. I just can't quite recall but I think I took them all. There may be logistical challenges but I believe we can overcome and meet those challenges head on. And I thank the Minister again for not discounting I guess initiative. Mahsi.
Taken as comment.
Thank you.
Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. My question's for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources who should actually be the Minister of Environment and Climate Change still waiting for that change.
In my statement earlier today, I noted how the Yukon government has established a youth panel on climate change and that they met virtually for the first time in January of this year. Can the Minister tell us whether we will ever get a similar body for interested youth in the Northwest Territories and if not, why? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Minister responsible for Environment and Natural Resources.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The NWT Climate Change Council was established in March 2021 and so they have been having meetings. Part of the development of this council is panels, and we do have a panel for youth and we are trying to getting them engaged. This summer, ENR has some opportunities for youth to be involved. But other youth have had the opportunity to reach out to me, and I've had the opportunity to meet with them. In my former life, youth were important. I always say our foundation of our elders and our future is our youth. So I'm more than willing to meet with them. We do have the panel and I can tell you that the council during their meetings are really interested in developing that youth panel. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Merci, Monsieur le President, I wanted to recognize the work that the Member has done with youth or the Minister, I should say. There are a number of court cases in Canada against the federal and provincial governments due to their inability or unwillingness to deal with climate emergency without fobbing off responsibility in to the future which is what our government's approach is really all about. Can the Minister indicate whether our government is watching these court proceedings and perhaps watching over its shoulder for NWT youth? Merci, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the GNWT is aware of these cases. The Department of ENR follows the shifts in climate change best practice and legal actions as part of their comprehensive approach to addressing climate change. Youth have a particularly important role and stake in climate change. As we all say, that's our future. At the people are going to be looking after this looking after us and our planet.
ENR continues to take active advantage of and providing opportunity to youth involvement, including the youth advisor group and youth gathering. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. Of course one of the principles of these court cases is intergenerational equity and that is actually one of the considerations that is supposed to be used in drafting a statement of environmental values that sorry, quote: "Statement of environmental values that explains how environmental considerations, including the right to a healthy environment, will be integrated into decisions that might have a significant impact on the environment." End of quote.
Mr. Speaker, that quote is from the Environmental Rights Act that was passed a year and a half ago in the last Assembly. We still don't have that statement of environmental values. Can the Minister tell us when Cabinet will finally obey its own law and bring forward the statement of environmental values for public consultation and explain how the climate emergency was considered? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Member for the question. The statement of environmental values required under the Environmental Rights Act will outline how the environment will be considered when government decisions are made that may have a significant impact on the environment.
Specifically to the Member's question, ENR has prepared a draft statement of environmental values that will be ready for a 90day public comments period by the end of this summer. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President; I want to thank the Minister for that. Sometimes I feel like, and I probably even look like a dinosaur, Mr. Speaker. But the real dinosaur here is our climate change approach, which I think is headed for extinction as it's not going to be successful in doing our part to meet emission targets that are required to save this planet. So I'm not prepared to wait until another two years for Cabinet to only find out that it's not on track. It's backend loaded with projects that will never happen.
So can the Minister tell us when Cabinet is going to review and revise the faulty climate change approach from the last Cabinet? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this required a lot of details and I thank the Member for giving us advance notice on it so it's going to be a little bit longer but I need to share this important information.
The 2030 Climate Change Strategic Framework in the 20192023 action plan were developed collaboratively with Indigenous governments and organizations and other partners in NWT after extensive engagement. As reported in the annual report released early this year, the GNWT and our partners are making a lot of progress in implementing the action identified in the 20192023 action plan.
I am pleased to report that all 104 action items in part 1 of the action plan have been initiated and are in process. The NWT Climate Change Council is established and its panels get off the ground, they will further prioritize future actions.
Progress is being made on some parts to action areas; for example, funding was secured to develop a climate change adaptation plan for wildlife in the NWT. Additionally, the last fiscal year, 15 positions were funded across five GNWT departments to support actions on climate change. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like today my questions or my Member statement was on housing. You know, we have the overcrowding. We have houses that are sitting dormant. We have old housing that needs in dire need of repair. I'd like to ask the Minister if she's willing to commit to doing a constituency tour with me to see firsthand and hear it from the people on what's happening with the community and the housing situation that we're in. And when we're doing that tour, to bring a staff member to travel with her to see what's needed, like ordering windows and doors and that. I don't have very many houses in my riding in Nunakput, but I think what we could do is do a list because I know MTS is going to be coming and getting ready for the barging season and hopefully we could do it before then and get if they don't have that information already to do the proper renovations. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Nunakput. Minister responsible for Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I will commit to go into Nunakput to do a constituency with the MLA. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I look forward to that day.
Can the Minister provide an update regarding the summer retrofit programs in renovation season specifically for Nunakput before MTS day. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I did receive a list from my department. Currently we have in Ulukhaktok we have four units, Paulatuk four units, Sachs Harbour two, and Tuk nine as well. I also requested from my department the activity that had happened over the past five years, and it's quite detailed and I will provide that to the Member. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I should have asked her last week, it's so good news. Now we need windows and doors, Mr. Speaker, and insulation for the floors. You know, I really this last about a month ago, you know, I really got a disturbing text message in regards to Sachs Harbour, one of the housing members there that's really going through a tough time. The house is in really dire need of repair. I really look forward to seeing him and the individuals that sent that message in regards to bring the Minister to hear it from them as well to get the problem fixed.
The renovation, can the Minister make sure that we're committing to local contractors in the communities, the work that's provided that's being put out for renovations, making sure they're local content. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Working with Indigenous partnership is a priority of our department and my leadership as Minister as well. When we had announced the $60 million coinvestment and the allocation of the government's 25.5 million, all Indigenous leaders were consulted. So I will follow up with the Member to see if there's any interest at the community level. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With all the work, for instance, in Tuktoyaktuk that's happening with regards to the housing units, they got a note from the mayor regarding the gravel haul and working together with the school and piggybacking at the same time because the gravel trucks are so wear and tear on the road in the community, and I'm hoping that they could Housing and Minister Archie to work together to get the gravel haul at the same time if it's possible. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you to the Member for the question. I will follow up with my colleague, Minister Archie. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Thebacha.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the Aurora College foundational review paper, Breynat Hall is described as an outdated student residence which does not conform to generally accepted student housing standards. The paper also mentions the fact that Breynat Hall is a former residential school which has a discouraging effect on students attending Aurora College Thebacha Campus. Can the Minister tell us if he considers this point to be problematic? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes.
Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell us if the fact that Breynat Hall, as a former residential school, is considered in its future planning use for polytechnic university and the Department of Education. If so, how does the department contend with that fact? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
