Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I said, this is an extremely complex piece of legislation that's going to be enacted and as a result, the regulations themselves also are unusually complex, and we are always being mindful at every step, again, of the process and of the work that's taking place with the IGCS.
Mr. Speaker, I can say, and in keeping in mind the rules that we have here in a consensus government, that back on May the 12th we did provide a list of the research documents completed as of that time to standing committee and, certainly, if there are documents within that that Members may wish to have access to, I'd like to be informed. We can certainly provide it to Members in keeping with the consensus government's processes around confidentiality as between MLAs and Ministers.
With respect to the three additional contracts that my friend has so diligently sought out, Mr. Speaker, those items I think only of the one with respect to map staking, that one is complete. The others are still in progress. So there's nothing to report on or provide at this point.
With respect to the university of Calgary, it's an opportunity to have academic oversight. So that's likely to continue throughout this process. But as for the other two, as I said, when both are completed the one is not but when the other one is, we'll certainly be adding it to the list that I'd already provided to Members. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. And of course, some of those contracts, there's interim reports that probably could be shared already. But I recognize and support that the development of these regulations is being done with Indigenous governments but it doesn't substitute or replace public engagement. And I also acknowledge that some of these are complex matters and they require a delicate balancing of rights and interests. But this is all the more reason for an informed public debate and information.
So can the Minister commit to providing regular and detailed written updates to committee on the progress of the technical working group that is developing these regulations? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in a word, yes. I have found we've appeared in front of standing committee now numerous times on different parts of the process. The Mineral Resources Act regs generally but also on royalties specifically. And those are fruitful. They're helpful. In the one case, it resulted in changes to one of the discussion papers. So, yes, most certainly, Mr. Speaker, happy to make that commitment.
And I want to note, Mr. Speaker, it was pointed out that one of the Members of IGCS had attended the briefing. It's not the usual process here that other Members would necessarily be speaking at a technical briefing, but we do now have this technical working group that includes IGCS members, and I'm confident that we could, in fact, if done in advance and if planned, we can have an opportunity to have members of that group attend as well in their roles or in their roles with the IGCS. And that would, again, likely be a benefit to all parties. So happy to ensure that we can move that forward.
And Mr. Speaker, I you know, I haven't been put on the spot for this, but I wanted to note at the time of that briefing, MLAs specifically asked if we could sit down oneonone. That also remains an opportunity for all Members. I'd be happy to do that and sit down with each of them and the teams so that if there's even more technical issues that we can work out, then we'll make that commitment that we can do that as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that, and I will take her up on that commitment. It appears the Minister is going to publicly post five sets of detailed mining regulations that cover a variety of matters, including notice of claims, work, royalties, benefits, and disputes. These are all matters of public interest. It's not clear how long people will have to review and comment, whether those comments will be public, and whether there will be responses to the comments and issues that are raised.
But can the Minister explain how this public posting process will work and whether comments and responses will also be made public? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, with respect to public engagement, there's a standard position which is that any operational or any draft regulations get no less than 30 days, and that's that will certainly be abided by that guideline. But, Mr. Speaker, it's my intention that we'll be going on for longer than that.
It is, you know, as I've been saying, and as been said here by others, these are complex regulations; they are going to require more time. So they'll be posted to the engagement website as usual. Information will go out through social media as well as through other more traditional channels. When that happens, notices out as public service announcements will go out. And again, while the guideline is 30 days, I'm confident we'll have certainly more than that for people to give their information in. Comments come in. They're compiled. Then there's the 'what we heard' reports that get put together. Those, too, can be shared and then analyzed and incorporated into the materials shared with our IGCS partners as we move forward. And as I say, then that's how they get utilized going forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Thebacha.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is extremely important that other levels of government and the general public have their say on potential electricity rate increases.
Will the Minister responsible for NTPC commit to work with the Minister responsible for the Public Utilities Board to have public hearings regarding the impact of increasing electricity rates? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Minister responsible for Northwest Territories Power Corporation.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Public Utilities Board develops the review process for the general application and the Public Utility Board schedule allows for a public hearing, if required, on August the 4th to the 5th here in Yellowknife. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, since the Taltson Hydro Project is in the Taltson zone, will the Minister ensure that there will not be a onerate system for power rates and that the people of the Taltson zone will always have lower power rates than other communities, because it's a traditional territory of various First Nations and Metis peoples. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In accordance with the electricity rate policy guidelines approved by the GNWT, since 2010 the electricity rates in the Northwest Territories are set on a zoned basis. So each zone, including the Taltson, is to pay rates that reflect costs in the zone.
The utilities use a zone of reasonableness to help manage rate transitions. Today, due to these transitions, the Taltson is currently paying less than its costs, but over time the rates will transition to full cost level. The Taltson rates will be lower than other communities so long as the Taltson costs remains lower than the other communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, after the Taltson expansion is completed, can the Minister explain what the cost impacts will be in terms of electricity rates for the people in the Taltson zone and the rest of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We recognize that rate implications from the project is an important part of securing broad support to proceed to a construction decision for this longterm project. There are many factors that may impact revenues and, in turn, rate implications associated with the project.
For example, the results of a commercial arrangement between the project partners and the investors, construction conditions imposed as part of the regulatory approvals, and the size of the location of the customer demand. When there is more certainty in these areas, we will be better able to define any potential rate implications that is associated with this project. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell us when the NTPC will get rid of the current board of NTPC, which is currently occupied by deputy ministers, and be replaced by a new neutralappointed board? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This work is currently led by the EIA. It is my understanding that recommendations are in the final stages for presentation to the existing NTPC board and Cabinet. Once they have been reviewed, we will look to engage with standing committee. And then, based on feedback and general agreement, implementation this fiscal year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the MACA minister, which is Municipal and Community Affairs, and it's related to my statement on the flood situation at K’atl’odeeche First Nations.
It is appreciated that MACA, Health and Social Services, and possibly other departments, were on top of the evacuations of the residents in finding accommodations and providing meals.
Can the Minister advise if this will be evacuation preparations for any future flooding in K’atl’odeeche First Nations, Hay River, and other communities? Mahsi.
Thank you, Member for Deh Cho. Minister responsible for Municipal and Community Affairs.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Before I answer that question, I'd like to thank the Member for his statement. It was bang on. The leadership in K’atl’odeeche, the Chief, did an amazing job. And also the Member, we had been in constant communication throughout this disaster.
In regards to the question, so each year the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs reaches out to the affected communities, or the ones we feel that are affected. We do have plans in place with them. They have their plans. And we look at it.
We also again, it's about working we have regional staff that reach out to the leadership and the staff there and making sure we deal with that there. So again, we also give guidance. If you seen the preparation and information we got out there, telling residents and what they had to do and to get prepared for it, what the communities had to do, and what we were preparing to do.
In regards to scenarios, we do have tabletop exercises that we're able to use and that. But in reality, until you actually go through this, you find out how good your plan is and that there is it's unfortunate, but I think that plans in both the communities of Hay River and K’atl’odeeche First Nations, they did a great job.
One of the things that we did this year after the last flood, we reached out and looked at the Disaster Assistance Policy, and then we updated it. We looked at our crossjurisdictional reviews to making sure that what we were able to do is we were all consistent across Canada as well as with the federal government.
The other thing is, is that we created five new ENO positions which will then be working with our superintendents and the leadership in the communities and the regions to do that.
We also have created three positions at headquarters to help with disasters, whether it's floods, fires, COVID, situations like that. So we are always in constant contact with the communities, working with them, and we will be doing an evaluation after we move forward on that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. And mahsi to the Minister for that answer.
Mr. Speaker, it is a daunting task for any community to monitor for the changes in river ice flow, ice jamming, melting snow, unknowns such as the perfect storm situation as was the case at the Fox Barns, Paradise Gardens, West Point First Nations, West Channel, Hay River, K’atl’odeeche First Nations, including the Old Village.
Can the Minister commit to being the lead department for monitoring, providing warning systems, and working with the communities for possible flood conditions at all known flood zones? Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, MACA does connect with the flood risk communities throughout the risk season. We have those communications, and we have, you know, partnership working with them to address these things. We also have the NWT alert system in place.
In regards to wearing my other hat as ENR minister, we also published an NWT water monitoring bulletin on a regular basis throughout the flood season. We also make sure that the information's available to the leadership in the communities.
This approach, though, is again we have to all please understand, it's a team approach. And what I mean by that, it's about individuals, communities, governments, working together on this disaster. So we do have the lead function on it but we also rely on municipalities and as well as other government departments. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. And mahsi to the Minister.
We all know that on the yearly basis, we're getting floods, whether it's in different communities but there's still a flood zone. Hay River has been impacted every year, and all I wanted was the Minister's department to be the lead to help all these communities who are financially strapped for resources to be the lead monitor. Because as I mentioned before, like KFN, it was about 10:30, 11 o'clock at night they sounded the siren. It was dark by then. You know, there should have been actions taken before that. And if MACA had stepped up to the plate to help the communities, maybe we wouldn't be in that situation.
Many of the evacuees from K’atl’odeeche First Nations and surrounding areas were elders and persons with physical disabilities who were provided emergency cots. Of course this was a last minute emergency and people were placed where there were available accommodations.
Can the Minister commit his staff to look at placing the elders and persons with physical disabilities in comfortable accommodations as part of flood mitigation efforts? Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, before I answer the question, I need to clarify something.
Municipal and Community Affairs is working with the community handinhand. We were working with the communities before. Our regional staff are working with their staff in the and I am been in constant contact with the leadership and having that conversation of what we need to do, how we can work together, and that's the most important aspect about the communities lead, and we are there to support. We as the Government of Northwest Territories are all there to help.
In regards to the question the Member asked, yeah, we have a process. So when an individual, whether it's an elder with mobility issues or young families, they come in to the system, like into the evacuation centre, we evaluate, we assess it, and we see if the individuals cannot stay in the environment.
We were able to, again, work with the Health and Social Services. We have a process. We set it up. We look at it. And then we move people if we need toother accommodations. So, again, it's about part of our plan. We have it in place. Did we fix it from last year? Yes. But, again, it's about a living document, and we're going to be seeing what happened this year and how we can better improve it. So, again, I thank the Member for this. And yes, we are doing that. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Deh Cho.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi to the Minister for that. Mr. Speaker, I believe the departments are still tallying up costs related to the last year's flooding at Jean Marie River and Fort Simpson. We are aware the GNWT has footed the bill for new builds for Jean Marie River. K’atl’odeeche First Nations riverfront homes have been damaged by the flooding and quite possibly are uninhabitable.
Will the Minister commit to replacing the damaged homes on the K’atl’odeeche First Nations? Mahsi.
Again, thank you to the Member for the question. We are fairly early into the process. So again, we need to identify the level of damages for all the homes. Damage assessments are currently underway, and this information will be utilized to make decisions by the homeowners related to the next steps in the process.
I can tell the Member that our pathfinder was in the community of K’atl’odeeche on Wednesday, and they were going door to door with the staff there. So we are working on that. Once that is done, we will make sure they're registered. Then the assessors will be in there.
We have seven assessors in to look at the damage and that there. So the GNWT will coordinate flood recovery for the K’atl’odeeche Reserve, and the federal government through Indigenous relationships or Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, CIRNAC, and Indigenous Service Canada. So we've already reached out to the federal government, handinhand with the KFN, to make sure we were able to work with them because it is on a reserve and we need to respect that. It is government to government relationship, and we work with them on that. So we have reached out to that there.
Unfortunately, at this point in time, we have yet to have all the information on the Coverly report, but I can guarantee you that I will keep the Members from Hay River North, Hay River South, and Deh Cho, updated as well as committee on the process of it when we're moving forward, as well as the local leadership in the communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yeah, we all know the extent of the damage caused by flooding in Hay River and the reserve and in outlying parts of the area as well. And, you know, we were fortunate enough to get the pathway the pathfinders in and the assessors in in a timely manner, and they did a great job. They were set up in Hay River. They were set up in the arena. A lot of people, you know, attended the arena. And as far as I know, there's approximately 300 applications at this point.
So, Mr. Speaker, can the Minister of MACA confirm where the department is with receiving applications and conducting assessments of those impacted by flooding in the South Slave? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister responsible for Municipal and Community Affairs.
And I thank the Member for that. So the Member is correct as soon as it was safe we had our pathfinders in. We are working with impacted residents and that. So we are encouraging people to register, whether it's online or into the Hay River evacuation centre. As I said, we've had people going door to door on the reserve. So we do have pathfinders in there working on that. So once we get that, then we will have our assessors go in and check out the damages. And so again, it's working on the process. And again, the numbers, I'm not a hundred percent sure. Last number I heard was a hundred homes have already been assessed. We've had over over 230 people registered. And again, that doesn't count the KFN, but. So we are in the process of working there. Once we have the assessments and that, then the pathfinders will reach out to the homeowners, and we'll go from there. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I understand that in talking with the pathfinders and the assessors is that they were will probably be out of Hay River at end of this week. At least the pathfinders. The assessors may be in there a little bit longer.
So I'd ask the Minister to confirm, you know, how long the pathfinders will actually be in Hay River and the assessors as well. And once they do leave, there will be some people who probably have not registered, so how will those people contact a pathfinder to register? Will we have somebody stationed in Hay River on a temporary basis? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, our pathfinders are supposed to be there until we finish dealing with this crisis that's happening in Hay River and the reserve. So we are looking at trying to find some local pathfinders, because right now we have pathfinders that are outside the community. They are working there. So we're working to try to find local pathfinders to help that there.
I also have to say thank you to the MLA from Hay River North and Hay River South and to the Deh Cho MLA. They are willing to help out, and they had the conversations. We've given them the information. So I also have reached out to had the opportunity to talk to the insurance company. They're in Hay River. And we've shared that information. We've given the information to everybody as much as possible, encouraging people to register there. But if they have problems, to reach out to our MACA office. They will help make sure people register. That's part of our disaster assistance policy. You need to register there.
In regards toour assessors, the assessors are going to be there until all the homes are assessed. We have seven there. Wewere prepared, that we had the assessors lined up in case this happened. So we have seven there. They're there to be there through the whole process.
But also I need to really stress, the pathfinders are not just going to disappear. We're still using our pathfinders for the Little Buffalo, Jean Marie, Fort Simpson, and Fort Good Hope. We still have pathfinders working with the communities that are still affected from the 2021 flood. So right now they're there. And if residents have a concern, they can reach out to our regional office, to the MLA's office, or even my office. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the number of people that have been impacted in Hay River and the surrounding area is fairly substantial. Some of them have actually taken on and done some of the work themselves in their house just to avoid, you know, advanced mold, you know, causing issues and that. So they've stripped the you know, their basements down and have done quite a bit of work.
Many have had their houses assessed already. And now the question that they've been asking, what's next. Like, do we have to wait a week, you know, a month, a year before we hear, you know, where we stand in, you know, what type of reimbursement orwhat costs will be will be allowed to fix their places.
They're ready to start. They're ready to get back in their homes. They want to be back in their homes. And they're ready to, you know, bring in contractors.
So Mr. Speaker, will the Minister confirm the next steps and timelines in the DAP process because residents want to start rebuilding. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last year my constituents were going through this as well as Little Buffalo and Fort Good Hope. So I just need to make sure people are aware there are multiple steps. Many of them are occurring at the same time. You know, the GNWT needs to see the results of the detailed damage assessments to better understand the nature and extent of the flood damage. Some houses are impacted more than others and same with businesses. Many people have already started their cleanup and repair work, and they've been in touch with their insurance providers.
And again, we encourage people to start the process as soon as they can. What I also need to really stress is that when people are doing it, take pictures, record the make sure they have the receipts and then as well record the time that they're working themselves are on there so we can keep track of that.
As well, once the damage of assessments are provided to people, they can ask for an advancement. So when you give them the assessment, they can if they can't afford to do it right away, they can do an advance. So it gets up to it's $10,000 but up to 50 percent of the assessment. And so when we say $10,000, if it's more expensive for somebody and they don't have the money, we are able to advance it up to 50 percent there.
Just just like I said, if they're going to start doing the work, please document it. That's the one thing that I learnt from the last flood. Some people didn't start documenting until after. So document, make sure you keep your receipts, and take pictures through the whole process.
When I was in the town of Hay River, that's what I was stressing to people, get to work right away as soon as you can to start dealing with this. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, some of the people have actually had insurance, and I know some of the insurance companies have actually already stroked cheques for some of the residents who have been impacted. And so it's people that are going to be relying on government assistance through the DAP, you know, are wondering, you know, how soon they're going to see money and to provide DAP support.
And there's a lot of people just don't have the funds sitting in their bank account to proceed.
So I'd ask the Minister, you know, when can people expect to see those advance payments and how are those advance payments going to be calculated. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in regards to that question there, the process is that the assessments will come in; they will do the assessment of the damage. Then the pathfinders will reach out to the impacted homeowner or businessowner and explain what the assessment is. Then we'll also have that conversation about do they need an advance, do they need this here.
Then through the process, it's basically seven to ten days once we process the advance.
So, again, it's about asking people to be a little bit patient right now as we go through the process. Once we have the assessments done, we explain and have that conversation with the homeowner or the businessowner. Then we would be able to get the advance going into the system. And it takes seven to ten days. And that's what the process was last year.
And it's quick. It's usually 30 days with the Financial Management Board, but the department of finance has been very cooperative in helping us address the situation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Monfwi.
Thank you. On May 18th, 2022, Government of the Northwest Territories and Tlicho government signed a memorandum of understanding on housing that commits both government to a formal framework for intergovernmental cooperation of housing. Can the Minister responsible for housing Northwest Territories share the key elements of the framework. Thank you.
Thank you, member for Monfwi. Minister responsible for Housing.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, we did sign an agreement with the Tlicho Government. I can have that document available for the member. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Can the Minister for Housing NWT share the vision and goals of the framework, how this MOU will change their current housing situation faced by the people in Tlicho region. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The intent of the agreement is for both governments to be working in collaboration together in addressing the housing issues in the Tlicho area. The agreement is a is a fair agreement, a considerable agreement between both governments.
We are working towards establishing the working group as well too for housing in that region. The Northwest Territories as well, the Indigenous governments have received distinctionbased funding.
So through this agreement, we're trying to understand what is our responsibility when we are addressing housing in the smaller communities. It is a significant amount. We do have the expertise within Housing NWT, and this is this is a respectful agreement to making sure that we both meet the priorities of this of the regions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Can the Minister responsible for NWT Housing provide information from the framework on the sale of Housing NWT assets, like houses and units. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Right now Housing NWT is going through our mortgage files. And, you know, I wanted to make sure that we are able to close those files by the end of this government. But unfortunately, we are experiencing a lot of arrears within those mortgage files. We have approximately 247, and 207 of those files are experiencing arrears. And then 115 out of the 247, the clients are either paying on a regular basis or periodically.
We did announce that each of the public housing units are for sale. Through that, we are going through our programming to making sure that we are not setting up the clients for failure but really looking at their eligibility and really wanting to see success amongst our public housing clients should we be able to sell the public housing units to our tenants. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
