Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, these questions will be for the Minister responsible for Health.
Mr. Speaker, a special advisory committee on COVID19 has agreed on the following criteria to determine whether jurisdictions are ready to lift restrictions, and this criteria includes COVID19 transmission is controlled, sufficient health capacity, test, trace, and isolate cases are there, expand healthcare capacities exists, supports in place for vulnerable groups, workplace preventive measures, avoid risk of importation of cases, engage and support communities to adjust to a new normal.
Mr. Speaker, I ask the Minister of Health what criteria is being used by the office of the CPHO to evaluate whether this government should continue invoking the public health order and does those criteria differ from the criteria I just mentioned? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister responsible for Health and Social Services.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Member for the question. This is obviously a topic that's very much on people's minds.
The CPHO follows evidence based decisionmaking based on science and her own medical professional training. And she does, in fact, monitor some of the same criteria that the Member mentioned, including the number of cases in the NWT, the impact on the health system of those cases, both in acute care in the hospital and through public health capacity.
She looks at where infections are occurring and in what populations, including the vulnerable populations, the severity of those infections measured through hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and deaths.
She also looks at the number of infections and trends in other jurisdictions, especially those in neighboring jurisdictions such as Alberta, Yukon, and Nunavut. She also looks at vaccine coverage, including booster uptake. As we know, vaccines reduce the impact of the illness on the people who have them.
And finally, as the Member mentioned, the CPHO looks at how COVID19 is being transmitted. So the criteria is much the same as he articulated. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I believe that the majority of residents on both sides of the fence do not expect a complete opening tomorrow, as much as some would welcome it. What I'm hearing people say is that they're wanting to see restrictions such as mask and vaccine passports removed or turned into recommendations. They want to see opening in sports and other venues where vaccinated and unvaccinated can participate. They want to see the SIP plan go away.
So Mr. Speaker, I ask the Minister what do I tell the residents of Hay River and those throughout the NWT when they ask, what is this government's exit plan from this pandemic? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you for the question. I advise the Member to tell his constituents we're working on it. We know the measures that are in place now have resulted in significant disruptions to people's lives, and we want to bring that disruption to an end. As I previously said, we'd be following an evidencedbased decisionmaking process in order to decide when and how to lift restrictions.
The CPHO has already agreed to lift leisure travel restrictions by March 1st, which is a week from tomorrow. She has said she is reviewing further orders and is prepared to make additional announcements by March 1st on areas such as selfisolation requirement after travel, gathering orders, and proof of vaccine requirements.
So what I hear from my constituents and from my constituency meeting last week and what I heard from Indigenous governments when the Premier and I met with them last week is that people favour a gradual withdrawal of restrictions. They want reassurance that we will be able to provide for their health needs in the event that the outbreaks continue. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, over the past several months, I've had the opportunity to talk to numerous constituents, including those vaccinated and unvaccinated about current COVID restrictions and posed the question to them, should the public health emergency end and restrictions lift? The overwhelming response was to end it but with the caveat that we must ensure the safety of the vulnerable.
Mr. Speaker, will the Minister tell the people of the NWT at what point will she no longer invoke the health emergency, and is she willing to do that today? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you. I appreciate the question. I'm not going to end the public health emergency today, but bringing it to an end is a topic of discussion which I want to engage you and your colleagues in as soon as possible. We have been working on a plan, and I think that we will be in a position to share that with you by the end of the week and get your feedback on what we're doing and when we're doing it and how you think that will sit with your constituents. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to hear that there is a plan in the works and that we'll hear something this week. I think constituents and people throughout the territory will be happy as well to actually hear something.
Mr. Speaker, we have seen COVID19 variants with the latest being less severe than others. Now I hear there's a B2 I think, coming out that may be a little more severe and can transfer 1.4 times more quicker than the B1.
So can the Minister tell the residents of the NWT what is her department's plan if another variant surfaces that causes severe health issues causing health services to be overrun. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you for the question. We are going to have health capacities set up knowing that this disease is not going to go away and that outbreaks are likely to continue. So the CPHO will be actively monitoring COVID as she has throughout the last two years. She will continue to do that and give us advice on how to deal with the variants as they come along.
As things stand now, what we're looking at is making sure that we have a robust public health response to the endemic portion of the disease, meaning that we have capacity to test, trace, vaccinate, isolate, and otherwise take care of the population if they become infected with COVID, with a special focus on the vulnerable population who may not have had the opportunity to get vaccinated. So we are acutely aware that this is not over, that it will continue, public health emergency or not, and that our obligation is to keep the residents of the NWT safe. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Housing. First, I'd like to know when there will be a solution to address the security issues with the apartments on 52nd Avenue like Norseman Manor and Simpson House? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Great Slave. Minister responsible for Housing.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Housing Corporation and the local housing organization here in Yellowknife continue to meet regularly with Northview Management to find key operating security and maintenance. Both the Housing Corporation and the Northview are committed to ensuring the safety of their residents. I'm pleased to advise that the Housing Corporation has seen continuous improvement over these areas in terms of securities such as expanding security checks, new key lock system, installation of new camera system, and increasing its numbers of security patrols at Norseman Manor from seven per day to nine per day. In addition, a standin guard coverage has been increased from four days a week to now seven days a week for ten hours during a day peak security hours.
These enhancement security arrangements represent an annual investment of over 50,000 by Norseman Manor alone. The Housing Corporation and Northview senior management continue to meet regularly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Minister for that answer. I do have some constituents that are saying they have not seen security around the building so I will follow up with the Minister on that.
My next question is when will the recently purchased Nordic Arms be available for NWT Housing clients and how will the department determine which clients will be moved there. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Housing Corporation is anticipating March of this year, 2022. The corporation will be meeting with each of the existing tenants to discuss transition planning. The timeline for public housing unit allocations are expected to be known earlier in this fiscal year. Public housing tenant allocation to the new buildings will be done in accordance to an existing public housing program policy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am glad to hear that, but I would also like to encourage the Minister to think about perhaps prioritizing vulnerable families over just going through the formal process list as before.
My third question is will the Minister commit to providing funding to the YWCA for the expansion of Lynn's Place as somewhat of a replacement to the transitional housing that was lost when Rockhill burned down. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And for the Member as well too, I will bring that back to the Housing Corporation to prioritize the families for the allocation to our new purchased building.
The Housing Corporation also continues to meet regularly with CMHC and YWCA on the status of this project to anticipate an announcement early in the near future. The Housing Corporation is certainly willing to consider cost sharing requirements for this project. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Minister for committing to bring back my comments, as well as I'm glad to hear that there is ongoing conversation around Lynn's Place as I know that the Y does lots of great work.
My last question, which may be a surprise to the Minister, is can the Minister speak about how she personally sees the transition of housing happening to more of a social department versus a technical or an infrastructurebased department? Can she give us some examples of how she sees that improving? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just to advise, I guess, the Members as well too that we've created a Council of Leaders working table with the Indigenous groups, and we will be looking at all of the programs and policies for the Housing Corporation. And also we will be looking at the mandate and the renewal for the corporation as well too, and those are expected documents to be coming in the next coming months. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Thebacha.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell us what her vision is for an economic recovery for the NWT? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Minister responsible for ITI.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, obviously the vision of this Assembly is laid out in the priorities of the Assembly, and certainly the vision in response to the COVID19 pandemic is laid out in Emerge Stronger, and Mr. Speaker, certainly that vision continues to evolve in response to the pandemic.
As for the Department of ITI as a single department, their role is to provide supports to all sectors of the economy so looking both from, you know, the smallest retail and the smallest hospitality or singletour operators all the way through to large investments, and we're going to continue to ensure that full spectrum is being covered as we recover from the pandemic. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, given the closure of many mines in the NWT in the coming years, can the Minister tell us if she and her department have plans to open the NWT up for business. Specifically, are there plans to create more desirable economic conditions to attract and secure greater investment in the NWT? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there is tremendous amount of work happening not only in the Department of ITI but across the government for that very exact purpose, to ensure that the Northwest Territories is a place that has all of the right pieces in place to help the economy grow. We have everything starting from the regional economic development plans, which is an opportunity to look at the individual and unique circumstances of each community from fisheries to maker spaces to knowledge economy, film, all the way through to work that's happening at the higher end of largescale investment to help revitalize the resource exploration sector and advance projects.
On that one, Mr. Speaker, consistently we hear that the barriers in the North around infrastructure, the infrastructure deficits seen across, that they are something that exists that can be addressed. We have the three large projects that are being advanced, Mr. Speaker, and much that's happening on a somewhat smaller scale. For example, Mr. Speaker, there's the Mackenzie Valley operational dialog that's meant to really look at how we can make our regulatory system more approachable and easier for those entrants. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell us what her department's plan is to encourage more investments into the NWT to support future projects that will help create economic development for the NWT? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again, it's a question that I could probably spend 20 minutes on my own speaking to. So what I'm going to suggest I do, Mr. Speaker, is focus specifically on the space of doing more around the things that we have that are so good in the Northwest Territories. And where I'm going with that is on ESG, or environmental, social, and governance factors. It's a growing area for investors all across the world, Mr. Speaker, but it's something that in the Northwest Territories is how we do business. We have strong regulatory system. It's comanagement in the Northwest Territories. There's social and governance factors where we value partnerships with Indigenous governments. The Intergovernmental Council, Council of Leaders have all come together. We have protocols now for the development of the Mineral Resources Act regulations.
And then the other comment I wanted to make, Mr. Speaker, is that this is a place where another area for future investment all around the world right now is on critical minerals and metals, and we are doing work in that space, so. And why I highlight those two in particular, Mr. Speaker, is that while everyone hopefully knows about the priorities and the advancements of the priorities, these are two areas that have been getting attention and work even as we continue to advance the priorities, and even though they weren't there two or three years ago, we figured out that that's an area that we have strengths and we're going to promote them. Thanks, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Thebacha.
Mr. Speaker, we've had many briefings from the Minister on various topics. Can the Minister tell us if she's aware of a new group called the NWT Indigenous Leaders Economic Coalition? If so, does the Minister support this group and does she intend to work with them to help strengthen the NWT economy? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, Mr. Speaker, I'm quite familiar with them. I've certainly have had the opportunity in this role to meet with them. And over the last several years that they've been around, Mr. Speaker, I know they've undertaken a variety of projects on behalf of the government or have been funded through SEED money and otherwise for other projects and activities that they have undertaken in the community, Mr. Speaker. So certainly continue to work with them, continue to also be working with the modern treaties and selfgovernment forums and generally any opportunity that we have to engage with organizations that are working with Indigenous governments and that have had involvement of the Indigenous governments, we would always be looking for those opportunities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Premier of the Northwest Territories regarding my Member's statement on mandatory vaccinations.
I spoke at length on what the mandatory vaccinations has caused in the communities across the Northwest Territories. It has marginalized residents into categories of vaccinated versus unvaccinated. Can the Premier explain to the unvaccinated residents as to why the need to take away their right to choose what is right for them and categorically marginalize them from mainstream society? Mahsi.
Thank you, Member for Deh Cho. Honourable Premier.
Mr. Speaker, vaccinations are within the Department of Health and Social Services. I'd like to defer it to Minister Green. Thank you.
Thank you, Honourable Premier. Minister responsible for Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Member for Deh Cho for his questions.
I just want to begin by clarifying that there are no mandatory vaccinations in the NWT. It is, in fact, a personal choice. There are some businesses, municipalities, and other entities who have decided that in order to increase their gathering limits, they would ask for proof of vaccination from people who are using their services. So that's the proof of vaccine credential, which has been in place since the end of last year.
It is, in fact, a personal choice to get vaccinated. I do recommend it. It decreases the impact of COVID, even in the Omicron variant, particularly if you have a booster as well.
And so, as I say, we promote vaccines, but the ultimate choice is to the resident to decide. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker, and mahsi for that answer there. Mr. Speaker, the Omicron variant has opened our eyes as to what it can do and who it can affect. Obviously, the Omicron variant does not distinguish between the vaccinated nor the unvaccinated. Can the Premier explain what this predicament does to the mandatory vaccinations policy? Mahsi.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Member for that question. Just to reiterate, there is no mandatory vaccine policy.
We did see people who were vaccinated contract Omicron variant and, in some cases, those people have been hospitalized and in some cases they have been part of the unfortunate number of people who have died. But generally speaking, the vaccine presents greater protection for the severity of illness and outcomes to people who choose to take it, particularly if they take the booster shot as well. And vaccination is an important tool that we consider in making decisions about whether it's time to reopen the territory. The higher the rate the better. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi to the Minister for that. It's the second time she said there is no vaccination policy, mandatory one. But the thing I've been reading in several documents is all the employees of the GNWT are being forced, you know, into losing their jobs and they have to take the vaccination, which is mandatory. So that's where I'm getting that from.
Mr. Speaker, for us that live in small communities, we don't distinguish between vaccinated and the unvaccinated. We go about our daily lives. Kids go to school. Residents go to work. Residents do their shopping. Residents are eating in restaurants, and everyone is mingling with each other. This is like it was before the virus. Can the Premier explain what this situation does to the mandatory vaccinations policy? Mahsi.
Mr. Speaker, point of order.
Raising a point of order.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A number of times the Member has stated that the government has a mandatory vaccination policy and has stated that GNWT employees are being required to get vaccinated or being laid off, and both of those are false. The Member is uttering falsehoods about the government and its policies. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. There is no point of order. Sorry, I'll allow it. Member for Deh Cho.
