Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yes, we can bring that to the board. Thanks.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of Health and Social Services.
Given infertility is designated as a chronic illness, does the GNWT intend to recognize it as a medical condition and offer financial supports to residents? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Minister responsible for Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, first of all, let me say I appreciate the disappointment that families experience when they want to conceive a child and they are unable to do so.
The GNWT provides services to treat underlying medical conditions that cause infertility, both diagnose and cause infertility. This is part of our insured health services. And that would include medical examinations to determine the reasons for infertility as well as treatment and surgery to correct physiological and anatomical causes of infertility.
When it comes to IVF, in vitro fertilization, this is not an insured service in the NWT, and there are currently no plans to include it as an insured service in the NWT. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have to apologize to the Minister because I'm going to ask a question that I did not provide in advance just in relation to what she said.
So the pieces of treatment that are covered, will medical travel pay for any medical travel associated to access those services because a lot of those services aren't available in the territory? Thank you.
Yes, thank you. Mr. Speaker, this would go through the normal referral process of the patient going to a general practitioner potentially leading to a more specialized investigation and if a diagnosis is provided that requires treatment out of territory that is an insured service, then that would be part of the regular medical travel program where I'm sure the Member is familiar with the criteria for providing medical escorts. So we're talking about two different things here. We're talking about infertility as a medical condition and we're talking about in vitro fertilization. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my next question for the Minister: is Health and Social Services doing any work right now to explore expanding the financial supports for fertility treatment that they do provide to NWT residents? Thank you.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are not exploring any of those options. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, like Newfoundland, the NWT does not offer fertility treatment in its own jurisdictions, and the travel for this can be quite expensive, and I know that the Minister did reference working with a specialist, getting approval from a specialist and travelling south. But there seems to be a bit of some gray area between what some see as being a chronic illness and what some see as being an elective process. And so it means that not everything is covered and not everybody has access to medical travel. And so is the Government of the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services willing to explore financial grants that cover travel costs for people like the province of Newfoundland has done in order to support families in their quest for family expansion? Thank you.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this would be, I think, decided on a casebycase basis depending on the diagnosis received from the physician and what followup steps are required. And if this is part of our insured health services, then there's the potential for access to medical travel.
I'm not familiar in any detail with what Newfoundland and PEI offer so I'm unable to make that comparison. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, these questions are for the Minister of MACA.
I've got a concern that, you know, with the extent of damage in Hay River, we're going to see an influx of contractors. You know, I suspect that a lot of them are going to be reputable and qualified, but we're going to have some flybynights, and I can see that costing us additional money at the end of the day.
So I'd ask the Minister, who is vetting contractors, or are we going to be vetting contractors to avoid the flybynights? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister responsible for MACA.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the quick answer is no. We're hoping the contractors that people look at are reputable. But the contractors that we have in place, the assessors, and the abatement crews, they're reputable with these are companies that we know that are working there. We encourage the residents that are being impacted if they are going to get contractors there, make sure that they make sure that these people are reputable moving forward.
I can tell you that in the experience from my experience last year, a lot of the contractors that we used were all reputable businesses in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I just want to go back to timelines because, you know, that's a big concern for people is that, like, they've got their applications in. Some of them have had their assessments done already and, you know, they're looking for that, you know, that next step, and we haven't really had any timelines from the department. So I'd ask the Minister when can applicants expect a timeline with respect to claim approvals with approved amounts? Thank you.
Thank you. As I explained to the Member here, the process is to make sure they register first. Once they register first, our pathfinders will be working with them. We also then have assessors. Once the assessors are looking at their residence, how it's impacted, they do a report. Then we get the report. We bring it forth to the resident. That's the pathfinder's, that's a responsibility. Then we explain the process to them. From there, if the resident wishes to ask for an advance because they can't afford it, then it's seven to ten days from the time we put it in to assess them. The Department of Finance has streamlined it. It used to be 30 days; they've streamlined it to seven to ten days.
So to give exactly a timeframe, it's impossible because it is going to be specifically to the individual as we move forward. So we're moving as fast as we can, working with the residents. We're telling people to reach out to our pathfinders, make sure they work with our pathfinders. They will keep them updated as quickly and as possible as fast as we can. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, right now in Hay River one of the big issues is accommodation. I know there is an RFP out for accommodation; however, with the extent of the damage we're going to see contractors, you know, coming to town, and they're going to need places to stay. And, you know, with summer coming on, we've got government staff going in, you know, for whatever reasons. We have tourists coming in. And right now, you know, the hotels are probably, you know, and motels, are filled up with people who have been displaced.
So can the Minister confirm who has the responsibility to provide temporary accommodation at this time for those people that have been displaced? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when you look at the situation, so accommodations, we've done an RFP for B&Bs, hotels, motels, and we also are in the process, if it's not already been done, for camps. So that there is for the residents that are impacted. We are working with them. There's a number of residents that are staying with friends, family. They've got their 5th wheel I guess you'd call it. They're already working on there.
So in regards to accommodations, should they, right now if they're elderly that have disabilities or young families that are impacted by homes, we have a vetting process, then we provide accommodations. If people want to stay in hotels themselves without doing that, then that's their cost right now. They could put it or either Disaster Assistance Policy, and we can look at it but I cannot make any promises. Right now, it depends on the situation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This event was probably one of the bigger disasters in the Northwest Territories, if not the biggest. Does the Minister have any preliminary costs for the flooding disaster in the South Slave?
Myself, I guess I'm looking at the numbers, looking at what's happened, I'm pegging it at 80 plus million. So I'm just wondering if the department has anything. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can't give you that number because we don't know what that number is. We're getting the assessments in. We're looking at what I can tell you, last year, from the flood with Little Buffalo, Jean Marie, Fort Simpson, and Fort Good Hope, and Aklavik, we came up and it cost us just under 40 million. I think it was 37.5 million. That's what that disaster had cost us.
We also adapted or changed the Disaster Assistance Policy from a $100,000 to $240,000. We also changed what people are eligible from 80 percent to 90 percent. So we have these additional costs.
I wish I could tell you the number. We are working on that. That's why these assessments are very important for us to get that number in there. We already have a special warrant to start off our process. Last year was $5 million. This year is $10 million. So I wish I had a crystal ball to tell you what it is but I think the Member is probably on the low end of it moving forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Finance.
Some employers are working to walk the talk when it comes to diversity, equity, and inclusion, recognizing and supporting the diverse ways that families grow. Many of these employers are expanding their benefits packages to include fertility supports. And so where does the GNWT stand on fertility benefits for their staff? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Minister responsible for Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there is a fairly generous leave package that has a number of different ways by which employees are able to take leave, both paid leave/unpaid leave, and the focus and the intent is that individuals have an opportunity to look at what their particular needs and circumstances are and can then apply to their supervisor for applicable leave. There's not a specific section within that particular for fertility benefits or fertility treatments. But, again, you know, the idea here that I'm trying to get at with that is that although we don't have that specifically, we are able to look at people's individual circumstances. And they would be able to hopefully be accommodated if they do require additional leave through the packages that are available. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, has the GNWT explored the projected costs of expanding fertility treatment supports to employees? And so the GNWT definitely has a very generous leave package for parents and for people who are going through any type of medical needs, but I'm wondering about the fertility treatment itself. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at this point the answer is no, that that has not been added or included specifically as an area where there might be some expansion of the leave packages. Obviously the leave packages are part of the bargaining process in the collective agreement. Right now, if there's specific health benefits or health treatments, those are done with approvals by a qualified medical practitioner. So in line with the questions that were asked earlier of the Department of Health, there won't be any sort of additional you know, we won't be seeking additional approvals if they're not being approved by a medical practitioner. Certainly if there are staff members seeking leave, again, I'd want to encourage them to be speaking to their supervisor to see that they at least do have access to necessary leave provisions, and that would hopefully help accommodate them in whatever choices they're making for their family. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Monfwi.
This is for Minister of Housing.
Can the Minister of Housing provide an update on how many units, public units, are renovated? Because I know in Behchoko alone in Tlicho region, I'm talking about Tlicho region, but in Behchoko, we have for this past fiscal year, 22 units were supposed to be renovated. They are in great need of renovations. And I do not see any contractors in those units. And unemployment is high in Tlicho region. And I do support the local contractors, just like my colleague from Inuvik Twin Lakes had mentioned. So I just wanted to know if the Minister of Housing can provide an update to us on how many units were renovated?
Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Minister responsible for Housing NWT.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't have that specific information on hand. But I do have the successes that were done in the Member's riding.
In 2021 and 2022, there was a complete delivery of two new public housing units in Behchoko. This past year, we invested $1.1 million in new construction, major retrofits, homeownership programming, and minor unit repairs. To date, one apprenticeship has successfully completed the Housing NWT Apprenticeship Program. There is currently one apprentice actively completing the program. To date, housing is required the requirement in our new contracts to include at least one apprenticeship to complete a work assignment during the duration of the contract.
The Tlicho has also been awarded one of the the federal Rapid Housing Initiatives. Sorry, the sun is just blocking my notes here. And they directly received $5 million for a housing project from the Rapid Housing Initiative provided by the federal government. So they actually went through the application process.
They were one of very few in the Northwest Territories that were able to access this specific program, the Rapid Housing Program. We had a short window. I think it was four months that the federal government had announced that. And I'm happy to say that the Tlicho government was one of the successful recipients of the awarded funding of $5 million. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Monfwi.
That's not the information I was looking for. What I was referring to was the renovation that was identified in the budget. There were 22 units that were supposed to be renovated this year. And summer is approaching, summer is here, and this is the important time that there's lot of young people that are looking for job as well. And so that's why I was referring to that's why I mention is there an update. Can she provide an update to us about how many houses that they have completed so far to date and are they on track to complete the units within this fiscal year? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. During the past couple of years, you know, we have recovered from the COVID19 and also the restrictions that had come along with it as well too. I can provide the Member with an update of those numbers that she is requesting. I don't have that immediately on hand. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to the table the following document: Followup Letter for Oral Question 102219(2): Living Well Together Training. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Tabling of documents.
What is the wish of committee? Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Madame la Presidente. I move that the chair rise and report progress. Mahsi.
Thank you. There's a motion on the floor to report progress. The motion is in order and nondebatable. All those in favour? All those opposed?
Carried
Motion is carried.
May I please have the report of Committee of the Whole, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
