Debates of November 22, 2021 (day 81)

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think one of the unique things today as well as we go forward with the Great Slave Lake fishery is this plan to have supports in place for marketing and sales for northern fishers. And so I think that that's one of the really exciting parts, it gives the autonomy to northern fishers potentially to increase the value of the market, and to really market themselves in a really unique way to the north. The north has a huge reputation around the world for the fish that come out of our lakes, as it should. And to be able to sell that for the value that it so holds is a really exciting opportunity.

My next question, and last question, Mr. Speaker, is when will the department complete the Great Slave Lake commercial fishery marketing strategy, and will the strategy identify the operations to manage sales with higher value clients than the FFMC? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the sales and marketing strategy is expected to be complete, right now the target is March 31st 2022, so a few months -- a few short months away, I would say. And, Mr. Speaker, the point is I think exactly what the Member is getting at, which is namely that we are looking to provide information to the industry here, but what channels, what clients are available to them, that is something more than -- something more that's higher end that's going to really bring the value that we see, that we believe exists for freshwater fish in the Northwest Territories, and to add the higher value products that right now, they're not accessing but relying solely on the FFMC or primarily on FFMC.

So a few months away, Mr. Speaker. I'm sure the Member's written that date down, and I can look forward to discussing it further. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Great Slave.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm going to ask some questions about energy which could be directed to the Minister of Infrastructure; however, I had such a great time with Minister Thompson on our trip that I'm going to ask ENR about these questions.

So my questions for Minister Thompson are, is what new innovation discussed at COP26 does the Department of ENR feel can best help the North to make a transition to clean energy? Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Great Slave. Minister responsible for Environment and Natural Resources.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I have to say the Member from Great Slave did a great job representing SCEDE and the Northwest Territories at the conference. She was able to meet with a number of people that I didn't get to meet with, so kudos to her.

One of the interesting new innovations discussed at COP was green -- or green hydrogen. Green hydrogen came from a renewable -- or power resources. These power sources would include wind, solar, hydro, or geothermal. Green hydro products produce no carbon dioxide. Currently, around 5 percent of the world's hydrogen is produced in this way. This new technology is a significant part of Greenland's climate change plan which shows opportunity in the North. And I've had the opportunity to meet Minister Lund and have that conversation with him.

I understand that the Department of Infrastructure are hosting to participation -- or practitioners workshop in 2022 at the hydrogen -- on hydrogen and its feasibility in the North. We are looking forward to discussions, this further with Infrastructure and the climate change council moving on. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to the Minister for his kind words. It was a great conference, and I was really excited to hear about the green hydrogen as well.

Can the Minister speak to whether he or any of his colleagues have plans for there to be -- to introduce incentives for industry in order to encourage them to reduce their carbon footprint by changing out their operations. For example, taxi companies moving towards electric cars. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, currently, the GNWT has a greenhouse gas grant fund for buildings, an industry that provides up to 25 percent grants to industry for greenhouse gas reduction projects. This fund is approximately 8 million until 2024. This could include support for retrofits of vehicles to make them less greenhouse grass initiatives.

Under the carbon tax system, industry not only pays an increased tax on fossil fuel use, but part of the carbon tax revenue goes into admittance special funds that can be used to support greenhouse gas reduction projects. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Minister for that answer and hope that there will be some newer innovations, sort of incentives, to come.

What is the Minister -- in the Minister's opinion and the department's opinion are the biggest barriers to the Taltson hydro expansion project from an ENR perspective? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the GNWT is working with our partners to address barriers to the project itself. We, as ENR, are very confident that the environmental concerns related to this project will be addressed for the NWT's robust regulatory process. So right now, we're confident in the process that we're moving forward and we'll be able to complete this project besides the money that we need from the federal government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Great Slave.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That was a great segue to my next question which was in the Minister's opinion, was the GNWT successful in making headway to getting additional funding from the federal government towards transitioning the NWT off of fossil fuels? I know there was a lot of conversations happening, but could the Minister share whether or not he felt they were successful. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I did have the opportunity to talk to Minister Guilbeault about the adaptation program that's going to be happening, and it's going to be done in 2022. So we had that opportunity to talk about there is money available that they're going to be talking about and how it's going to be impacting.

I also had the opportunity to meet with the Minister from Ontario, and we talked about this exact same issue. And, again, we stressed them to the fact is it can't be population based, it has to be needs based plus. And so we've had that conversation.

So the GNWT is currently eligible for 254 million until 2020 in federal funding under the Investment in Canada Infrastructure program to fund a total of 338 million in infrastructure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as keeping our system reliable and affordable.

The GNWT also received 31.2 million until 2024 under the federal low carbon economy fund to address greenhouse gas emissions mostly in buildings and industry.

I was able to meet, like I said, with the federal Minister, and I've also said previously Minister Archie has been able to meet with Minister Wilkinson as well and talk about future funding opportunities.

What we need is funding that is specifically tailored to meet the needs of the North with more flexibility and lower NWT contribution percentages. We continue to lobby the federal government in this regard. And I do have a meeting with the federal minister and my provincial colleagues and territorial colleagues in December to talk about this very topic. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there was a commitment in this House as part of the 19th Assembly priorities to increase the number of affordable homes and reduce core housing needs, and then that -- and part of that mandate there would be a hundred houses built over the four years.

Mr. Speaker, as we are halfway through our term, how many of these hundred houses have been completed as it was stated that there would be 25 per year as part of the mandate. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member for the question. I also had the chance to visit Inuvik a couple of weeks ago and in looking at the homelessness initiative in the community as well too so I was able to see firsthand on the housing -- the huge housing need in her riding. So I thank her for that, to that invitation.

Right now, the Housing Corporation has submitted a co-investment application. We did get the approval for a 60-unit delivery. We also received an additional funding in April of this year that was -- that was given to us from the federal government for an additional 30 units.

The agreement has only been signed in August of this year, and money has flowed in September. So right now, that we're looking at a 90-unit public housing delivery for the Northwest Territories. Four of them have been completed, and 51 have been awarded. 60 percent of that delivery is either completed, awarded, or in progress.

I will keep the Member updated for the delivery in her riding. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So my question was how many were completed. So I think I got four out of the Minister. Can she confirm how many are actually in the process of being built right now in the Northwest Territories, of that hundred? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member is correct, it's four that have been completed, and we have 51 right now that I had said that are either -- they're in the process right now either being awarded or completed. The thing that has slowed us down as the Housing Corporation is the delivery of material coming to the territory and also the transfer of the funding from and the agreement finally signed by the federal government. So we actually do have the federal funding that is -- that we do have as a corporation. We will be looking at the unit delivery.

The other information I want to provide to the Member is the completion of the 90-unit delivery should be year 2023-2024. All units should be built, and people should be living in them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So we should have 90 completed by the end of this term going into the next term. So how many actual units will be built in my community? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just wanted to add as well, too, to the 90-unit delivery, the Housing Corporation did submit a co-investment application for an additional 14 seniors units that will be built throughout the Northwest Territories. And out of that 90-unit delivery, 33 communities, the Member's riding will be getting two. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As a final supplementary, you know, I go back through -- like I said, back through my Member's statements and throughout the two years I've been stating that we have over -- we've had over a hundred people on the waitlist and for my community to get two units, you know, it is hard to hear because as the Minister was there, we have many, many residents that are living in emergency shelters, in the homeless shelters, and couch surfing. So as a priority, we've talked about many different things in this House, a lot of social impact. So I think my question to the Minister is when is this department going to get serious and go to Ottawa and get some money, more money, and get more houses on the ground in our territory so we could start to deal with some of the issues that relate to not having homes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just wanted, you know, to speak to the territory and also speak to the Member that this is the largest delivery that the Northwest Territory has had in a certain amount of years, to be receiving 90 additional public housing units throughout the territory. The advocation for the federal government does not stop there. It's still continuing.

The Housing Corporation has been working with the council of leaders. We have worked with Indigenous groups and have now created a housing working group where we are working collaboratively and supporting their initiatives with the federal government as well to afford them to receive additional federal funding that will be coming to the territory but directly funded to the Indigenous groups. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Hay River South.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when it comes to COVID-19 and the devastation it's caused, you know, I'm concerned that, you know, I don't want to see people die, I don't want to see people sick, I don't want to see them in the hospital, but at the same time I also don't want to see people unemployed. And in the Northwest Territories, we have a number of people that are working with the Power Corporation, the government, the

Housing Corporation, private sector. And many of them are in the position to lose their jobs. Many of these people are long-term northerners, they're Indigenous, and I can't believe that we as a government cannot sit down and come up with some solutions to mitigate that.

So the first one I want to start with is I have questions for the Minister of the NTPC. The first question is does NTPC have a vaccine policy in effect right now, and what is it? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister responsible for Northwest Territories Power Corporation.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yes, we do have a vaccine policy. From what I've read, it's quite vigorous, more vigorous than the vaccine policy for the GNWT.

We are looking at -- you know, all NTPC employees will need to be fully vaccinated against COVID as a condition of employment. That's effective November 30th. That kind of goes in line with the GNWT vaccine policy as well. Also, employees in remote communities will have to be given two additional weeks to achieve compliance due to potential logistical challenges if they're not yet vaccinated.

So to answer the Member's question, Mr. Speaker, yes, we do have a vaccine policy. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I guess I look at the GNWT and we have a policy for some of the departments. Now I hear the Power Corporation has a different policy. Then we have the federal government has their own policies. And I would ask the Minister what criteria was used to develop that policy and why would it not be in line with the GNWT policy? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories is a -- it's a corporation which is perhaps a little bit different than the GNWT as a whole. Having said that, the Power Corporation has -- have different rules on policies and procedures, but, I mean, you look at the corporation as a whole, and you know, predominantly many employees have to travel in the communities. That's where, you know, majority of the work is in the communities and therefore, you know, we've been challenged in the past by members in small communities that, you know, have really -- not really welcomed some of the employees because they are either not vaccinated or coming from outside the Northwest Territories. So we struggle with that. Then, you know, we've been working with the communities and the office of the Chief Public Health Officer to be able to deliver -- and deliver capital projects, perform required maintenance in a way that manages exposure and risk so that we could protect our public and also our workers. But not only that, but we have, you know, small communities as well where we need to send our employees into. So we take that into consideration working with the office of chief public health officer. So thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I thank the Minister for that answer. But it still -- I guess I still have a hard time wrapping my head around when she says that, you know, we send employees in there, and I know we're concerned about the small communities, or any community and about all people, but if we send in unvaccinated people, we're sending in vaccinated people as well who can still pass on the virus. So -- and I know in some of the GNWT policies is that if you're going to go in, you've got to be tested. So I would expect that vaccinated people would be tested as well.

But any ways, the question that I have is because of the policy, how many employees will be affected, and are there any discussions with the employer or unions to find the means for accommodation ongoing? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don't have that number in front of me right now but if I can commit to getting back to the Member in terms of what the numbers are like. I do want to make a note, and perhaps maybe I didn't say it in the earlier question, you know, maybe the Member may ask me in his final supplementary, but I do want to note that, you know, within the Northwest Territories, all employees travel by air, and we're also impacted by federal aviation restrictions. So we have to keep that in mind, that when we send our employees out to the communities it's predominantly by air, but we have restrictions as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm not sure how many people will or how many employees will be affected. But I'd like to ask the Minister will there be any supports for transitioning these employees once they're let go? Will there be any financial support for them as well? Because when I talk to some of them, they're looking at moving out of the NWT. That's pretty well what they've got to do if they're going to be looking for employment. These are people that have lived here all their lives, some of them. And, you know, I don't want to see them go and it just -- I guess I'm still amazed that we cannot find a way to ensure that we can keep them somehow. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I agree with the Member's concerns about, you know, what the impact may be as a result of not getting vaccinated. And, you know, it's the same as the GNWT's policy that'll come into effect November 30th. So I mean right now within the GNWT, and maybe the Minister maybe correct me, but it is predominantly a voluntary system that you show. But I mean it will come into effect on November the 30th for employees of NTPC.

So having said that, we won't know the number until then. And, you know, yes, we will commit to working with the employees to, you know, try and look at some options. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Returns to oral questions.

Mr. Clerk? Oh, yes. Recognition of those -- oh, sorry, sorry. Must be getting late here.

Mr. Speaker, I have a Return to Written Question 30-19(2) asked by the Member for Kam Lake on May 28th, 2021, to the Minister of Health and Social Services regarding self-isolation exemptions.

There is no single policy document that guides travel exemption decisions. Each request is unique, though they do fall into overarching categories. Decisions are based on a public health risk assessment conducted by public health officials. According to the Public Health Order for Travel Restrictions and Self-Isolation Protocol, as amended on December 1, 2020, travel within the Northwest Territories, or NWT, that originated across any interjurisdictional border is prohibited for all persons. However, the order lists categories of travellers who are considered exceptions to this prohibition.

Each exception under the order is subject to further conditions, and in some cases, a person must receive approval from the Chief Public Health Officer, or CPHO, in order to receive the exemption. CPHO approval can provide the person permission to travel within the NWT, as is the case for compassionate or family reunification requests; permission to work during the self-isolation period, which will include further requirements; exemption from the self-isolation requirements; or permission to isolate in a community outside of one of the four communities, such as Norman Wells or Fort Simpson. The process for submitting a travel exemption is described on the GNWT COVID-19 website.

Nunavut travellers may also apply for an exemption from self-isolation requirements. They are asked to provide their location history, vaccination status, isolation hub community, and to respond to a variety of questions used to measure their risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19. Non-residents can apply for exemptions from travel restrictions within the NWT on a case-by-case basis for family reunification, compassionate reasons, and other exceptional circumstances, such as the care or retrieval of property and the management of an estate.

If the applicant demonstrates a legitimate need to travel within the NWT and has a suitable self-isolation plan, an approval will be granted. In the case of family reunification, an applicant must have a familial relationship to an NWT resident. If the applicant is seeking to reunify with a family member in one of the four hub communities, or Fort Simpson, or Norman Wells, and has demonstrated a suitable self-isolation plan, the applicant will receive an approval. ProtectNWT will ask the applicant various questions to determine the suitability of the self-isolation plan and to inform the public health risk assessment.

Questions typically focus on an assessment of the dwelling, the number and risk level of those living in the space, and the vaccination status of those living in the space, but additional questions may be asked depending on the situation. In order to isolate in a non-hub community, the applicant must demonstrate that there is an important circumstance or reason they are unable to isolate in a hub community.

The threshold for these exemption requests is higher, as non-hub communities do not have the same level of health resources to deal with a COVID-19 outbreak. Some of the reasons that may be considered include an illness in the immediate family that the applicant needs to tend to, someone in the immediate family that is terminally ill, an elderly applicant or unaccompanied minor who is unable to safely stay in a hotel in a hub community, etc. While these reasons do not constitute an exhaustive list, they are some of the more common examples considered.

The Office of the Chief Public Health Officer, or OCPHO, reviews requests and if an exemption is granted, a letter will be emailed to the applicant from ProtectNWT. Each day, a committee consisting of the Chief Environmental Health Officer, Deputy CPHO, and other staff from the OCPHO meet to review exemption requests received from the previous day. Exemption requests are received and processed over weekends and holidays as well, with two staff members responsible for processing, reviewing and approving urgent requests during these periods.

Staff from the Department of Health and Social Services Public Health and Communicable Disease Unit are also notified, and their advice sought when an applicant identifies that they were a contact of COVID-19, were part of an outbreak, or have previously tested positive. If an application is denied, the individual will receive a denial letter which outlines the rationale for the decision. The most common denial will be for travel to a small community if there is no urgent circumstance or reason why they are unable to complete the isolation period in a hub community.

The applicant may seek a reconsideration of the request, and if they can demonstrate a need or provide supporting rationale, an approval may be granted. If the request does not meet family reunification, compassionate or other exceptional circumstances criteria, it could be considered as “leisure travel.” Currently, leisure travel is not permitted under the Public Health Order. Later today, at the appropriate time, I will table self-isolation exemption data for March, April, and May 2021. We now include the reason for exemptions in the Consolidated COVID-19 Statistic Report, which is posted weekly on the GNWT’s Response to COVID-19 website. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your committee would like to report on its consideration of Bill 23, an Act to Amend the Public Utilities Act.

Bill 23 received second reading in the Legislative Assembly on March 11th, 2021 and was referred to the Standing Committee on Government Operations for review.

On September 29, 2021, the standing committee held a public hearing with the sponsoring member on this bill.

Mr. Speaker, the committee reports that Bill 23, an Act to Amend the Public Utilities Act is ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Thebacha. We will now do Bill 32, Member for Thebacha.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your committee would like to report on its consideration of Bill 32, an Act to Amend the Northern Employees Benefit Services Pension Plan Act. Bill 32 received second reading in the Legislative Assembly on June 2nd, 2021, and was referred to the Standing Committee on Government Operations for a review.

On September 16, 2021, the standing committee held a public hearing with the Minister responsible for the Department of Finance on this bill and completed its clause by clause review of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, the committee reports that Bill 32, an Act to amend the Northern Employees Benefit Services Pension Plan Act is ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Martselos. We will now do Bill 33. Member for Thebacha.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your committee would like to report on its consideration of Bill 33, National Indigenous Peoples Day Act. Bill 33 received second reading in the Legislative Assembly on June 4th, 2021, and was referred to the Standing Committee on Government Operations for review.

On September 23rd, 2021, the standing committee held a public hearing with the Minister of the Executive and Indigenous Affairs on this bill and completed its clause by clause review of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, the committee reports that Bill 33, National Indigenous Peoples Day Act is ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.