Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Thebacha.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister of Justice provide any measurable data or evidence that demonstrates a positive benefit to the people of the Northwest Territories in relation to the increasing costs of policing? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Minister responsible for Justice.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't have the data at my fingertips. I'd be happy to get back to the Member with that information. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, in my Member's statement, I talked about the government of the Yukon conducting a review of the Yukon police force. That review produced a final report, along with several recommendations for improving oversight to the RCMP and building trust with the public. The NWT could learn a thing or two from that work.
Has the Minister or the Justice department ever looked at the Yukon's police force review, and if so, have any of these recommendations been considered for the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So I haven't read the report but when the Member brought it to my attention, I did have a brief look at it. The department is aware of the report, and one of the things about having a national body like the RCMP is that all jurisdictions share information and so the NWT does work especially closely with the Yukon and Nunavut. So that information is shared between the jurisdictions as well. So there is definitely an awareness of that report and its findings. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell us if he or the Department of Justice has ever considered conducting a review of the NWT police force like what has been done in the Yukon? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We've just initiated that review. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Thebacha.
Mr. Speaker, in 1999, the Yukon government created the Commanding Officer's (Yukon) First Nation Advisory Committee. It was created to foster a healthy and positive relationship between First Nations and the RCMP. That committee meets twice a year.
Has the Department of Justice ever considered or attempted to work with the Indigenous groups in the NWT to create a similar committee for the NWT? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The commanding officer of Gdivision also has an Indigenous advisory committee, and they meet biannually. It's made up of community members and elders.
Of course, people may remember the RCMP is also working with the Dene Nation on an innovative program that is well underway, that was announced last year. And the GNWT, the RCMP, and Salt River First Nation are working together to address some of the outstanding issues out of that jurisdiction. So there's lots of work underway. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I said in my Member's statement, I would have questions for the Premier.
Can the Premier explain how the GNWT liaisons with the national defence in security efforts? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Honourable Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Canada takes the lead on international security and defence, including Arctic security. The Department of National Defence will respond to any military threat in the Arctic. Canada is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) which supports security of member nations. Canada and the United States partner in the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) with the goal of defending North America and protecting critical infrastructure in Canada and the States.
Last summer, they committed to modernizing our north warning system, of which we have seven in the Inuvialuit region.
Our security is a priority for the GNWT and for our Indigenous partners. It's a priority in our NWT chapter of the Arctic and Northern Policy Framework, in fact. So we meet regularly with the joint task force here in the North. They regularly conduct exercises throughout the North that many of us are aware of. It includes the Canadian Armed Forces and Reserve members, including our Canadian Rangers.
We also participate in the Arctic Security Working Group where we share information and cooperation among federal and territorial government departments, including the national defence, the coast guard, the Canadian space agency, the RCMP, the United States military, as well as nongovernment organizations, academics, private sector, and other stakeholders. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My understanding of the Arctic Council, that Russia has now been made the chair on the last time that they met. So what role does the Arctic Council, which Russia currently is the chair, have in Arctic security and what tables are GNWT at in this or where any conversations taking place in this? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Arctic Council is actually a forum for cooperation and collaboration on critical issues affecting the Arctic, but it doesn't include defence and security.
However, based on what's going on in the Ukraine, member countries, including Canada, have raised concerns about Russia's leadership of the Arctic Council and they're pausing participation on all meetings of the council at this time.
I also want to say that since this has been going on, I've met with the northern Premiers across the three territories. We all have concerns, and we've written a letter to our prime minister to request a meeting with him to discuss the Arctic security.
We've also requested that Arctic sovereignty be included in our next Council of Federation meeting, which happens this summer, and we want to be an agenda it needs to be a priority for all jurisdictions across Canada. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You know, I think in this House when it was raised yesterday that there was a Russian plane landing, you know, everybody kind of gets excited and we think for a while there, we're just watching it on TV but, you know, it's just over the ocean for us. It's just across the road or, some may say.
So does the Premier expect an increase of military presence in the NWT, especially around the coast in Inuvik now or in the near future, or is any of that discussion been happening? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's no doubt that our waters are opening up. We've known that for a while; we're watching it. Canada does acknowledge that the Arctic is becoming an international interest, and we've been having discussions on that and those will continue.
Right now in our discussions with Canada, there's no clear threat. The threat is on Ukraine. But we're going to continue to have the discussions, including the one with the prime minister that we've asked to meet with now. We need to ensure the security of Northerners.
But I also want to reinforce to the people of the Northwest Territories that we're going to have Russian tourists. We're going to have researchers. We're going to have explorers. We possibly will have family members of Russian residents that live in the NWT. The civilians of Russia are not the threat. So people need to realize that.
I've been watching the news, we've all been watching, and many Russian people are also not liking what's going on in the Ukraine. So don't blame all people. But I do want to reassure the residents, again, that the GNWT and our sister territories are aware of what's going on. We're watching closely, and we're working closely with the federal government to make sure that we protect our Arctic. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Honourable Premier. Final supplementary, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Premier for that. You know, I just wanted to bring it up in the House so that way, you know, our residents know kind of where we are as a territory in discussions or what's the threat and, as you said, there's no threat at this time, which is great news. And I'm glad that you mentioned the part where, you know, we don't we will have Russian families and tourists and people coming here. And, you know, I know better than a lot of people, like Indigenous people being targeted for just of who they are. And with COVID we found out you know, with COVID, we noticed that Asiandescent people were being targeted, you know, so more of just a thank you for your information, and I'm glad that you know, I'm glad I'm Canadian. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. I take that as a comment. Thank you. Oral questions. Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services.
What are the ramifications of the sixmonth gap in the contractors for the sober centre? For example, will there be additional expense incurred by the GNWT? Is the department going to retain the dozens of employees from the centre to minimize the disruption to clients? Any information that we can get would be very helpful so I can reassure my constituents. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Great Slave. Minister responsible for Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Member raising this issue so that I can provide some additional information.
The NWT Disabilities Council has been our partner in operating the day shelter and sobering centre for the last three years, since the centre opened in the fall of 2018. And they gave us notice on February the 24th that they did not want to take the sixmonth extension that we offered, and so they then went through the process of notifying their staff that they would be laid off.
The NTHSSA has already announced that they will be operating the day shelter and sobering centre from April the 1st onwards. There will be a change in a services where the downtown day shelter, the one that's on 50th Street, will be for sobering, particularly overnight, and that the other day shelter, the one that's located at the visitor centre site, will be for daytime use. So we don't expect any disruption in services there. There will be people to provide it. We're interested in providing opportunities to the disability council staff to work with us if they're interested in doing that. So our priority, of course, is to ensure that the homeless population has seamless services from us during the day and then over to the shelters at night, and that will continue. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I actually think that's going to help some of my constituents at Norseman who complain of people leaving the day shelter and then wandering into their apartment building at night. So I'm happy to hear that.
Next, can the Minister or tell me if her and her department are willing to engage with the past and present employees of the sobering centre to ensure that their experience and their knowledge is being captured and retained in order to inform future operations but also to help with the award of the RFP? I think these are the people that are the most situated to know what maybe didn't work in the last contract, and perhaps they could help to inform the department. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that the day shelter services were evaluated in 2019, and we learned a lot at that point and we were able to implement some of the changes before COVID arrived and turned everything upside down. The disabilities council was able to provide some innovative services, especially in the early going, where they provided a place for people to stay 24 hours a day, and that was very well received.
The employer here is the NWT Disabilities Council on contract with the NTHSSA, and I can certainly mention to the staff that it might be a good idea to connect with the staff generally. But we have to respect the fact that in this situation, the disability council is the employer so we can't just barge in there and start talking to people without their consent. But we are, of course, interested in the knowledge that the disability council and its staff have acquired in the last three years. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Minister herself said that being in 2019 was preCOVID, so I do think there is definitely some lessons to be learned and knowledge to be captured by following through on that, and I would ask that hopefully the Disabilities Council would work with the Minister and the department to provide some feedback.
My next question is it would only seem to me to be a retaliatory measure, why did the Minister ask the RCMP to investigate the whistleblowers? The Safety Act enshrines a worker's right to a safe workplace. How can this be honoured if workers are afraid to speak out for fear of RCMP investigations? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I didn't review the information that was released, but I understand that it breached the privacy of the people about whom the information was collected and as a result of that breach of privacy, the matter was referred to the RCMP. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm concerned if or confused, actually. If the Minister is open to hearing feedback and response, then I'm quite surprised to hear that she never actually read what the whistleblowers had to say about the sobering centre. I did, and I actually spoke with them, and what was said to me was quite concerning.
So does the Minister commit to ensuring that her colleagues with WSCC have a more proactive inspection going forward with the new contractors such that we're not in this situation again in a year? Thank you.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the service provider going forward until the summer, when the new RFP will be awarded and a contractor in place, is the GNWT. So certainly Members are welcome to hold the GNWT to account for the operation, both of the temporary day shelter at the visitor centre site, and the one that's downtown. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of the Housing Corporation. I'm wondering if the Minister of the Housing Corporation will remove the community residency policy? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Minister responsible for Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And currently with our strategy and our renewal and the review of the whole Housing Corporation, we will be looking at all policies within the corporation.
But looking at removing the residency requirements, I want to say that, you know, we have 33 local housing authorities that are operated by community members. Most of the hires are from the community as well too. They do have the authority within those local housing organizations, the boards, and the chair, to look at lifting those residency requirements depending on if they see that as an issue in their community. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don't have the opportunity to go and talk to all of the different LHOs and let them know how this policy is inadvertently affecting residents of the Northwest Territories. So will the Minister have that conversation with LHOs and remove the community residency policy from the Housing Corporation's policy network? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You know, in respect to the local housing authorities and how they manage our service contracts at the ground level, I'm in full support of whatever they decide. Myself coming from a smaller community, I see that, you know, residency does become an issue. I've had where I've experienced some residents moving back into the community that were out of the community for X number of years that decided to return. I've had people within that were sitting on the waitlist for seven years, three years, and the number goes on. We need to maintain fairness and consistency when delivering our programming. We also see the effects with our students returning back to the communities, incarcerated people returning back to the communities, and we have to be fair when we're allocating these units. But in respect, we do have residents that have been sitting on that waitlist for quite some time that end up with that do have medical issues as well. The applicants come with different needs throughout the Northwest Territories, and we try to work within the local housing authorities and supporting them when making these decisions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I'd love the opportunity to respond to each of those points, but I think you'd cut me off.
It sounds to me like what needs to happen is a reassessment of the priority point system that's allocated to residents whose names are on the waitlist so that all of these issues, that the Minister is stating that add to fairness, are the ones actually being evaluated.
So will the Minister remove the community residency policy and instead look at revising the point system? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm open to a lot of different changes throughout the corporation. The Member has raised an issue that I see throughout the territory as well. And it could be something that's brought back. I'd like to bring that back to my department and look at that as well because we are under review of all policies throughout the territory. But like I had said, we need to maintain the fairness and consistency in our smaller communities respecting our service agreements that the boards and the chair people do provide for us on our behalf. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Kam Lake.
Mr. Speaker, I've been bringing this policy up in this House since February of 2020, and so I appreciate that the Minister's willing to go back and talk to the department and bring it back to me but after two years, my patience is wearing thin. So I just want the policy, really, to be reevaluated for what it is, because it isn't fair.
So I guess my next question for the Minister is how is it fair, then, if the Housing Corporation cannot stipulate how a waitlist is used however ECE can stipulate that anybody who wants access to income assistance must put their name on a housing waitlist even if they don't need housing? So I'm wondering why the discrepancy and when Housing Corporation can step in and when they can't. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will have the conversation with my colleague as well in looking at that waitlist for income support. But I really want to stress that, you know, I hear what the Member is speaking about and it is an issue throughout the territory. But we have 2600 units throughout the Northwest Territories. We have a significant waitlist. The last number that I got a couple of years ago was 900 people on our waitlist. We don't have enough units to house every single person in the territory. That is why we need to maintain fairness and consistency with the policies that we do have.
But I will have this conversation with my department and really look at that point rating system as well too and how we could further accommodate people of the Northwest Territories. But I really want to emphasize one community, we could have 25 people on that waitlist, an additional 10 people coming back into the community I will bring that back to the department. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Infrastructure who has lead responsibility for the 2030 Energy Strategy, and her department commissioned a recent research on biofuels in the NWT.
Now that we know the promise and the challenges that biofuels present, I'd like to know from the Minister what are the next steps and proposed timeline? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
