Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one of the priorities of the 19th Assembly is to increase regional decisionmaking authority. In the 20192023 Mandate of the Government of the Northwest Territories document, there's a commitment by the government to train its workforce to ensure they are aware of their decision-making authority.
Can the Premier tell us if there's any other potential commitments were considered in this area by the Department of Executive and Indigenous Affairs in addressing this mandate item? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Honourable Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I mentioned a few weeks previously, we started with looking at the regional decision-making by doing a review of job descriptions, and we found that there was no discrepancy. But we know there's discrepancies. So we have got together with the we did a questionnaire with regional senior managers to identify training. They did bring up training. But they also identified other things that were happening as was said; you know, the feelings that there's an unequal balance between headquarters in the regional centres.
So based on that, and recognizing that often it's not really comfortable for people to address management in the government, we hired a private contractor to try to do more work with the regional management to find out what their concerns were. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, within the life of the 19th Assembly, can the Premier tell us if she has received any encouragement from regional centres, small communities, or Indigenous governments to do more than just staff training to promote regional decisionmaking authority in the NWT? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Absolutely, and that's why, like I said, we hired a private contractor. It would be really easy for us to say that we just did the review of the job descriptions, everything's fine, we're giving them extra training. But that's not good enough. And I don't think that's what was wanted when we developed that priority. So that's why it's important that we dig further into this and we find out what are the obstacles. And, like I said, I think it needs to be from an outsider to do that work. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, during question period two weeks ago, the Premier mentioned a contractor being hired to go into the communities and ask what was needed to increase regional decision-making authority. Can the Premier elaborate on that statement? Who is the contractor that was hired and what are the terms and length of their contract? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The contractor is D.J. DeLancey Consulting, and the work that that consulting firm would be doing is a planned phased approach. There's three phases. The first one will be one-on-one meetings with senior managers, which has been done. The second phase of the work to be done is facilitated decisionplanning meetings, developing the questions that need to be asked. That's taking place early in January I believe. And the third phase is the facilitated discussions and a final report.
So like I said, we don't know what's going to come out of that, but we need to remain open so that when the report comes that we can actually make sure that we address the concerns so that people do feel that they have the right to be able to make decisions at their appropriate level. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Madam Premier. Final supplementary, Member for Thebacha.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again, two weeks ago, the Premier also mentioned a working group being created to help increase regional decision-making authority. Can the Premier elaborate and explain who sits on this working group, how they were chosen, and when is their work expected to be done? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the working group, or planning committee, has ten members, regional and headquarters senior managers. We looked for volunteers to start with and then if we didn't get enough volunteers, we did get people nominated by deputy ministers based on their experience working with both the regions and headquarters and to make sure that we provided a broad representation of the departments that are represented on the regional management committees. I said that they'd be meeting in early in January. It's actually late January, I forget it's Christmas, to develop the approach and the format. And through that, then again they'll be working with it straight throughout to make sure that these are the words of the people and that we look at what we can do going forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Honourable Premier. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.
Oral Question 877-19(2):
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my Member's statement made reference to the local education bodies in our communities, the district education authorities, or DEAs as commonly known. There are typically new elections every three years. We could see a whole new slate of elected members.
Can the Minister explain how newly elected DEA members are oriented to their roles as new members? Mahsi.
Thank you, Member for Deh Cho. Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And so as I've referenced before, the education bodies, the DECs, the DEAs, they have a lot of independence and they really run their own affairs. And so the type of training that is provided is really based on that particular DEA or DEC. So the superintendent would possibly develop some training on governance and then offer it to the new DEAs. The Member points out that there are often new members. There's elections every few years. Sometimes we have members who have been there for 20 years and they can act as a mentor, but quite often we have new members. And one of the issues I see is that the DEAs and DECs have so many responsibilities that it's difficult for someone who's really a volunteer, who's doing just a few hours every week, to really wrap their head around all of that. They have to know the Education Act. They have to know all the regulations in the Education Act. ECE has produced an orientation handbook, but even that is a big book because it's a big responsibility.
So I take the Member's point, and while there is training that ECE can provide, and DEAs can request training, I think there likely needs to be more training for the size of the role. Either that or we have to move ahead with some of the changes that we'd like to make to provide the DEAs and DECs with the authorities that they need and not necessarily all the authorities that one can imagine. I think that would go quite a ways. But I'll leave it at that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. And mahsi to the Minister for that. And I really hope they follow up with those departments through the Divisional Education Councils, that this is a very important step.
Mr. Speaker, it is daunting to say the least to sit on the DEA and not know the direction education is going as one sees the challenges students are having meeting the education levels. Has the department explained or engaged the DEAs as to the challenges students are facing and what the department is doing to address this issue? Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And it's a two-way relationship. The DEAs are the ones on the ground, and they often know the challenges students are facing better than anyone. And so I do meet with the education leaders, the chairs of the DEAs and the regional DECs, and we have those discussions. So I can hear exactly what is happening on the ground.
And for the information flowing the other way, we do reach out and we do explain what ECE is doing. So we've sent out the discussion papers on the Education Act, on the curriculum renewal and all of these initiatives, and we've offered briefings to the DECs and DEAs to say this is, you know, what we see the issues as being, are we correct; and how can we work together to move forward.
So there is an attempt to get the information flowing both ways. But, again, the way our system is set up, the DEAs and DECs are very autonomous and ECE is somewhat separate, and it does make for some difficult communication sometimes. But I am working on it, and I think that I have a good relationship with the education bodies, and we try to get that information flowing and keep everyone in the loop. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi to the Minister for that. Mr. Speaker, I'm not sure if social passing is introduced in the larger centres, but it is in the small communities. There is growing concern with the social passing system as this does not challenge the students to excel in their studies. It could be described as a system of complacency for both the student and the teacher. I could be totally wrong with this statement and perhaps stand to be corrected. But, it is what I am hearing.
Can the Minister explain how this social passing system came to be and if there any intentions to change this? Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And so what the Member's talking about is we wouldn't call it social passing; it's peer placement. So students are placed with their agerelated peers. So if you are of a certain age, you would be placed in a certain grade. And if you have different needs, if you perhaps aren't on the same level with certain subjects, the idea is that you would receive lesson plans and the supports you need to catch up to the rest of your peers.
In reality, I think that we realize, we see that's not the way things work. And this approach is used in many, many jurisdictions. It's not just the smaller communities in the Northwest Territories, it's all of the Northwest Territories, and it's a number of different jurisdictions as well. And it is based on research. But I think one of the issues is unless we have those supports to really help the students and bring them up to where they need to be, it's not a system that works effectively.
So there is no requirement for students to get placed in that next grade. It is supposed to be a decision that ultimately the parents make in consultation with the teacher and principal, if necessary, based on their particular child. And that information, I don't think, is readily available. I don't think people realize that they have the right to have their children held back if they think that's necessary. And so, you know, I recognize at the beginning of this Assembly and we have been working on getting that information out there and so we're developing some materials I believe early in the upcoming year, those will be available, and it will hopefully better explain this and it will inform parents about what our system is and how it works, and that they have that power to make those changes if they need. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Deh Cho.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker, and mahsi to the Minister for his reply.
When ECE develops new initiatives like the Education Modernization Act, the JK to Grade 12 Renewal, I'm often left wondering if the DEA members have a grasp on these initiatives in order to make informed decisions on behalf of the community, the teachers, and the students. I often wonder if the DEAs are given any information regarding the findings of the auditor general.
Can the Minister direct all divisional education councils to initiate workshops for the DEAs on all current initiatives and all new initiatives, including the auditor general's reports? Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And we do share all of that information with the education bodies. ECE will share it with the regional DEC, and they then distribute that to the DEAs. And we have offered information sessions on all of those initiatives, because we want everyone to be on the same page and know what's going on. So I can't really direct the DECs to do things like that. It's not my role. But I would be happy to share that information and provide those types of briefings if they are requested, because if everyone knows what's going on it's beneficial to everyone.
I will say, though, that we have a lot of initiatives going on, and I'm sure the Member has been in many, many hours of briefings on those initiatives. And so it is a big commitment of time, and it's tough to get the DEA members who are you know, they have families, they're generally parents; they don't have a lot of free time to sit through hours and hours and hours of briefing on those things. But I'm always encouraging it, and we're always very open to doing that. So thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Premier. Can the Premier explain to me how the GNWT is moving forward on implementing UNDRIP in spite of noncommittal federal direction and little action? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Great Slave. Honourable Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Actually, I would think that that priority is actually going along quite well. I've said since the beginning that the biggest thing within the United Nations Declaration is it's about Indigenous people and Indigenous people should take the lead.
We also have a special committee from the Speaker's Committee that has Members of Cabinet and the Regular Members. The chair of that comes to our meetings with Indigenous governments. And the Member did say that I have often referred to the relationship with Indigenous governments and the federal government in a triangle. I don't believe I would have used "triangle." It's threeheaded and it can turn and it's always got a top. I would say it more as an equal partnership is what I've always used, or even a circle, that we all have equality within that.
So we've done a lot. The Indigenous governments didn't wait. I know that the special committee would have loved to have been able to give more direction, but the Indigenous governments knew it was theirs.
So we formed three tables. We always had the Intergovernment's table. We now have the Council of Leaders table. Every Indigenous government's part of that. That committee has a working group. Every Indigenous government has representation on that working group. The GNWT is one member of that working group. They are moving forward with developing legislation, developing. But they have said it's not on this time of this Legislative Assembly; it's on their time. And they've also said, as the Member alluded to, is that what's the use of legislation if things don't change. So I've heard that clearly, and there's much work going on. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm going to go check Hansard because I'm pretty sure I've heard triangle somewhere there before.
I'm glad to hear that things are moving forward, and I will give the Premier kudos that I have heard from Indigenous leaders they do feel that there is a lot more discussion happening than there has been in the past.
My question is around last session I was asking about the investigations into the graves of the residential schools, and the Premier indicated that that work needed to be led by Indigenous governments and organizations, which I agree with. So could the Premier provide some details on where that work is at with Indigenous organizations and governments, and when we could expect to see some of that work starting? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm not sure if that's on the same line of questioning as the United Nations Declaration but I will say that I have put my name out there and said to the Indigenous governments that I will stand by them on what their definition what they want to do with that.
My understanding is that the Dene Nation is taking the lead on that and, again, we're willing to stand behind them and work with them as they see fit. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I won't argue with the Premier why I think that's important for UNDRIP, but I would imagine that others could probably provide some information on that.
What funding has the GNWT identified or committed to spending towards the implementation of UNDRIP? If the GNWT is committed to making missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls a priority, why has no funding been dedicated? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wouldn't say that no money hasn't been allocated. We haven't defined what it would be yet; they're still looking at it. But we have spent money internally. We have the Indigenous Council of Leaders that meets regularly. We pay for all of those leaders to come into the capital and we pay for their accommodations; we pay for their expenses to be able to take part in those meetings. So at this point other than, like I said, they're looking at codeveloping legislation for the United Nations Declaration. Until that's done, we haven't identified any extra money that we need other than getting them together in the workshops and the groups that we're doing. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Honourable Premier. Final supplementary, Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The point of dedicated funding is that it's actually set aside for that priority, and so I guess my point being is I'd like to see a pot that's actually for that work.
Moving on, the timeline on their website says that an implementation plan will be completed in the summer of 2022. Does that mean that nothing is going to be done any further until that time? Are we going to be waiting for another year to see action happening? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do need to make sure that the Indigenous governments know that I'm standing up for them and that I do not believe that nothing has happened. I believe that a lot of work has happened on that initiative. Other than the Mineral Resources Act, this is the first time that we are working together strong, meeting regularly to co-developing a legislative act with them. And this is the first time, in the history of the territorial government, that we brought all the leaders together as the Council of Leaders to be able to do this work. So I would say a lot has happened, and we will continue to move forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Honourable Premier. Oral questions. Member for Monfwi.
Thank you. I will have questions for Housing on a later date. So, okay, Mr. Speaker, Christmas is a time of joy but many people are struggling economically. Every person deserves food, shelter, and act of kindness during this Christmas season, and MACA provides funding to the communities. And in this one, it's up to the other departments if they feel generous, they can chip in as well, hey.
So first question: Can the Minister identify if there are any provisions in MACA funding for communities that support emergency housing solutions?
Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Minister responsible for Municipal and Community Affairs.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, communities can make a decision on how they spend their money. They get money from the government, and then they develop a budget. Some communities have set aside for emergency operations. Some have set up for special projects; i.e, it could be housing; it could be sports; it could be however they donate however they feel fit. So, again, the community has that opportunity to budget for it and move forward on it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you. Can the Minister commit to working with partners in communities to ensure vulnerable homes are provided food hampers during the holiday season? Thank you.
Thank you. That's a loaded question. I wish I could say yes, but right now it's not within our bailiwick. We don't do those things. But we would encourage the municipal governments to work with that, work with the Indigenous governments, to be able do those things. I know in some of the communities; i.e., the one community I live in, the friendship centre, the village, the band, the Metis, get together and provide these food baskets and people donate to them that way. So they do that right now. I don't think that's a Department of Municipal and Community Affairs directive but we're willing to encourage municipal government and aboriginal governments to do that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Can the Minister support communities to purchase food hampers and emergency clothing for cold weather?
Thank you. I have to give the Member her tenacity; she's very passionate about this.
We do give budgets to the municipalities. They can allocate money for those type of activities should they wish. Again, I do not want to be the one telling them what to do. I would encourage them to help. I know, like I say, in the community that I live in, again the three areas, whether it's the band, the Metis, or the village, they work together. And then in some of the other communities, the band does that. So I would encourage communities to work and help our less fortunate people. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Oral questions. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I got another Member's statement here. Not really, but I guess what I want to talk about is and the questions will go to the Minister of MACA is about reducing the funding gap.
You know, when I look at that, that's one area, that's one priority we could actually solve and wipe off his books, off the books, because it's a monetary solution to that. And, you know, we have to set the bar high. You know, we look at it and we say we're going to reduce it, but I think we can eliminate it. And, you know, the communities are the backbone of the NWT. We have to make them strong. They're run basically by volunteers, and the cost of doing business is increasing. And, you know, if we're going to grow the North, we need to support the communities.
So the first question I have for the Minister of MACA is, will the Minister confirm when the last review of the community government funding policy took place and what were the criteria used for that review? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister responsible for MACA.
Thank you, and I thank the Member for starting a Member's statement. I can do a Minister's statement on this, actually, and speak long on it.
So in 2014, MACA and NWTAC actually met and started working on it. So the group that was involved, it was political and this administration with the department and from the communities and NWTAC. Some of the things that they focused on was, you know, government funding, including flexible funding arrangements, community governments' accountability, responsibilities, changing community needs, regional roles of some communities, ability of small populations to generate revenue, and linkage between infrastructure costs and operation costs. And as well, we at the regional level work with the municipalities and we also try to work with them about the facilities and infrastructure they build on. So we work with them that way. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I'd like to ask the Minister to confirm what the dollar value of the current community funding gap is and what would be required annually to renew and replace community infrastructure as it reaches mid and endlife cycles? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the 20212022, it's basically approximately $36 million. So the second part of the question is what will it cost. Over $3 billion in investment in their infrastructure, which is basically not $5 million but it's going to cost them $70 million a year to replace it. So when the Member says, well, we can achieve that, it's not that easy to achieve, to find $70 million. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I actually disagree with the Minister and that comment. I think that, you know, like I said, we got to raise the bar high. We have to figure out where the money is and one of the places we can get it, and the only place, is really the federal government. And nowhere do I see anything about addressing it by going with a plan to the federal government.
So my next question for the Minister is will the Minister confirm, going forward, what is the department's plan to not only reduce but to eliminate this gap, and will the Minister provide a realistic timeline to accomplish it? Thank you.
