Deputy minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I don't have much to add other than that we've looked for the resources internally and have been able to identify them, and we feel that we have the resources that we need to complete the work. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair, and thanks for that. I'll be watching it very closely, and I am concerned about the level of resourcing, but.
I want to move on the Community Harvester Assistance Program. This program has been under review for at least two years. It was even raised in the last Assembly about how effective this was in building some food security and enabling people, particularly in smaller communities, to get out and get country foods. So it's been under review for at least two years. What is the timeline for finishing this review and securing some additional resources for the program? Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Mahsi, Mr. O'Reilly. Minister.
The timeline, I'll turn to the deputy minister for giving the detailed timeline realizing the time. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. We have completed the engagement on the review of CHAP, and we released a "what we heard" report where we've asked to check in with Indigenous governments and harvesters to ensure that we got it right. That response is due back on February 10th of 2022. Even now, we're starting to work on some of the changes to the program, and we will be coming back hopefully in the summer with the final version of all the changes that will be made to that program.
I will just add here very briefly that there are a number of other programs, and when we did the engagement, we heard that CHAP is not the only program that is needed. There's skill development and other elements, and we've been working on those and have new programs related to those as well. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mahsi. Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. Yeah, can someone tell me when the last time the Community Harvester Assistance Program amount was actually increased? Because it looks like it's just a constant for as long as the Main Estimates appear, or the years that are listed here. Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Minister.
I'm sorry, for that detail I'd go to the deputy minister. Thank you.
Deputy minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. While there haven't been increases to the CHAP funding, there have been increases to funding that have been used for some of the training programs that I mentioned, trapper training, some of the resourcing to ensure that others are available to access these programs, not just the CHAP program itself. So there has been some additional resources but not specifically for CHAP. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mahsi. Mr. O'Reilly.
Yeah, thanks, Mr. Chair. I'm going to let the Minister in on a little secret. I expect that there's going to be a supplementary appropriation probably come forward maybe May/June for this set of main estimates, and I want to encourage him to bring forward an increase in funding for the community harvester assistance program. So I'll just put that out on the record.
I want to move on to the disaster compensation fund. That's a grant; it's on page 74 of the main estimates. And I see that the actual amount for 20202021 was $400,000. And I think this was as a result of flooding of Taltson and damage that was done to people's cabins and so on. So it's good to see that the amount has been increased to $275,000 in this year's main estimates. But it's still not even what was paid out last year, or a couple of years ago. So why is this not increased to a greater extent than just the $275,000, and what would happen if there's more claims than that submitted? Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Mr. O'Reilly. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, so when we increased it, it's based on applications, when harvesters submit their applications, and that's how we come up with our numbers. Right now it's based on that. But for further detail, I'll turn to the deputy minister to explain if we have overexpenditure and what happens moving forward on that. Thank you.
Deputy minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. We requested some additional funding to review this program. It's quite similar from a flooding aspect to one that we also have for forest fires, and we wanted to do a program review this year, which is ongoing, and we did request additional funds because of the flooding along the Taltson where we knew that we would require additional funds. So to date, there have been $185,000 in claims related to the Taltson flooding. So the intent here is to review the program and make any adjustments that are needed and also to ensure that it's similar in nature to the fire one, the fire compensation program that we have as well. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mahsi. Mr. O'Reilly.
Yeah, thanks for that information. So this review one of the questions I had was whether the criteria are going to change because I understand there's only some things that can get claimed. There's a maximum amount and that not everybody was necessarily happy with the amount that they received compared to the actual damages. So when is this review going to be finished and when will the criteria be changed? Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Mahsi, Mr. O'Reilly. Minister.
For that detail, I'll go to the deputy minister. Thank you.
Deputy minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. We're working on the review right now. There are a number of criteria that were reviewed, and there were some criteria that for a specific purpose for the Taltson flooding were adjusted.
One of the things that we have here is this is for harvesters, and one of the criteria pieces, that 25 percent of your income needs to come from that. But we recognize in this day and age that many people are harvesting, but 25 percent of their income, it's quite a large amount. So we're looking at all of the criteria when we're doing the review, and we'll most likely adjust some of that criteria through the review process. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mahsi. Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. That's all I have for this activity. Thank you.
Thank you. Are there any further questions for Ms. Nokleby.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. So I guess just further along about the disaster compensation program, do we anticipate that there's going to be a lot of claims this year coming from the flooding that happened around in the Deh Cho last year? Are we prepared for that, or are we going to see more issues? Are we going to be back looking for more money later? Thank you.
Mahsi, Ms. Nokleby. Minister.
So in the Deh Cho, we had flooding. We addressed those already. We've already dealt with it. But, again, I can't tell you what's going to happen, predicted, like if it's going to be there. So we feel right now with our budget we are close to being able to do it and move forward on it. But if we have a bad flood season as we did last year, then we may have to come back again. But right now, we feel that with the money we have allocated in the budget, we should be able to meet the needs moving forward. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mahsi. Ms. Nokleby.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I also want to reiterate support for some of the grants or the contribution funding here. I'd also like to see increases over time with some of the ontheland work and the Take a Kid Trapping, et cetera, et cetera. So more of a comment that I just would like to also see some increases there. So thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mahsi. Minister.
Thank you very much. We will be looking at those things as we move forward. Thank you.
Mahsi. Any further questions, Ms. Nokleby? No. Any questions on this section? Ms. Martselos.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would like clarity on Furs Act because when the Wildlife Act was passed, I was Chief at the time and the public engagement was not we were not listened to. And there was some sections in the act that still have we still have a problem with in my community, especially the First Nation, the two First Nations. And so I'm wondering when those public engagements are going to start and hopefully they're facetoface and not virtual. I think it's extremely I don't want it to happen and then there is no engagement, you know, because not everybody wants to go virtual, especially First Nation people. I know that from experience. So that is one of my concerns. So I'd like an answer to that, please.
Mahsi, Ms. Martselos. Minister.
Yes, thank you very much, Mr. Chair, and I thank the Member for that. I can guarantee you we're going to do public consultation. We also have the process with IGCs that we are working with that through that process. But for the detail on exactly how we're going to do it, I will, with your permission, turn to the deputy minister to answer the rest of the question. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Deputy minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. We're currently working with a technical working group to create a legislative framework, and that would translate to drafting the bill, and then the bill would be reviewed by the technical working group as well. And once we have the bill, we will consult with Indigenous governments on the bill, and we will also engage with the public. Depending on what the situation is at the time, we will offer to meet with folks, whether it's virtually or in person, and we understand that in person is better but we'll see where we're at with the COVID situation at that time. And our hope is that we will be doing some of that work this summer, but it will depend on how far we get with the technical working group because it's important that we get the bill right. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mahsi. Ms. Martselos.
Further to the Wildlife Act, you know, Salt River has to follow the Wildlife Act but there's no enforcement on reserve. You know, they expect the Government of the Northwest Territories expects all members on reserve to follow the act and but we don't have no enforcement when we have poachers or anyone else on the lands. And I just wonder, Mr. Chair, if that is going to be addressed eventually. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Ms. Martselos. Minister.
Thank you very much. We've been reaching out to the federal government, talking with the federal government. We've worked with had conversations with Salt River First Nations, and we're moving forward on that. But for the detail of where we are right now, I will turn to the deputy minister. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Deputy minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. So my understanding is that we're still engaged in the conversations about the trilateral MOU and that we're committed to finding the right tool to address enforcement concerns on Salt River First Nation land.
The main issue that we have is that the GNWT cannot directly regulate or enforce specific territorial legislation on federal land. But we would like to work with Salt River First Nation in finding a solution, and perhaps that would be a federal regulatory tool. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mahsi. Ms. Martselos.
My final question, Mr. Chair, is about the harvesters support program. It has remained the same for years. And there's not a big increase or anything in this, like some of my colleagues have mentioned. And it's the one program that affects everybody within the First Nations, whether it be Metis or First Nation Dene in my community. And, you know, it's important that we look at that and increases should be done throughout the Northwest Territories on the harvesters support program. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mahsi, Ms. Martselos. Minister.
