Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If the Member's asking me for my opinion, I don't want to give my opinion about situations like this. I'm not a police officer. I don't know the ins and outs of the situation in Fort Smith. But the RCMP are aware of their staffing numbers. This is not the first time that they haven't had a full complement of officers in a community. And as the Member stated, they have sent someone in to that community. They have the ability to send in additional officers to that community if they feel that they need to. So I would say that the RCMP has this situation in hand, and if there's a need for additional officers temporarily, they have the ability to do that. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell us what the Department of Justice is doing to address the RCMP staff shortage that is currently affecting Fort Smith and other NWT communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And this is a national issue. This isn't just one community in the Northwest Territories. During the pandemic, the depot where RCMP officers are trained in Regina was shut down and it was not accepting new recruits and was not graduating new recruits. So we are now in a time where there's a shortage across Canada of RCMP officers because they weren't training. So this is an issue that everyone is feeling. However, this is part of the daily operation of the RCMP. If there's staffing shortages, they deal with them. And the department works with them to deal with them. We do have a contract with them. And we work through the mechanisms in that contract to ensure that they are providing the services that we are paying for. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, can the Minister provide a timeline or any further details for which he anticipates that all or most of the vacant RCMP staff positions will be filled in Fort Smith? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't have that level of detail. But I can get back to the Member. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Thebacha.
Mr. Speaker, can the Minister assure me that the RCMP vacancies can be filled with casual members from other jurisdictions until the permanent staff are all in place? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't have control of the operations of the RCMP so I can't make that assurance personally. But the RCMP is aware of the situation and they do have the ability to bring in other officers, as I've stated. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Justice.
In regards to my Member's statement, has the Minister of Justice considered ways in which women, children, and those in the LGBTQ2S+ communities will be impacted by this recent supreme ruling allowing for the selfinduced extreme intoxication defence? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Minister responsible for Justice.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What the Member is talking about is a Supreme Court case. There's a recent ruling that changed the rules on defence and the types of defence that can be put forward. That doesn't really change the situation in the Northwest Territories however. The issues that we're facing are the issues that we're facing. This is a defence that would, you know, rarely be used. I don't know if it's ever been used in the Northwest Territories. But it doesn't change the fact that we face the levels of sexual violence that the Member has already stated. So the work that the department does is focused on those issues already. So this, you know, has the potential perhaps to exacerbate the issue but nonetheless that work is the focus of the department at all times. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Minister for that response, and I'm glad that the department is always focused on the issues that we have in the Northwest Territories.
So my next question is how will the Department of Justice ensure that women, children, and those in LGBTQ2S+ communities, especially those who are Indigenous, will be supported during any criminal process? And I guess this could mean during a process that's got to do with this as a defence or like sexual violent process. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Member's likely aware, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada recently established a sexual violence legal counsel team, and that's independent from the Department of Justice; I won't take credit for that. But that's a new development that's quite recent. And the department is also currently developing a new program to provide free legal advice and navigation supports for survivors of sexual, intimate partner and domestic violence, and assault. So we've secured funding to do that as well. So we are taking steps to address these very issues. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I too am an Indigenous woman of the Northwest Territories and have grown up here my entire life and have known of many other women, and even when I was younger, young girls who were being, you know, sexually had sexual violence against them, and the majority of the time the perpetrators were intoxicated. So my concern is with this defence, you know, and now that it's gone through the Supreme Court of Canada as possibly could affect, this could come out I mean, we will have defence lawyers that may try to use it if there are, so that's why I'm raising it here. And so I want to know how will the Department of Justice ensure that selfinduced extreme intoxication defence will not be used to perpetuate genderbased violence against women in the Northwest Territories. We are already higher than the second highest in Canada. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I know the federal government is likely going to respond to this decision by the Supreme Court, but we have no influence over the Supreme Court and the laws, the common law that they create, or the federal Department of Justice and the Criminal Code of Canada, or how the courts operate or the defence counsel or the prosecution service. So it is difficult for us to do what the Member is asking.
That being said, the case that the Member is referencing was a case where someone ingested a significant amount of psilocybin I believe, magic mushrooms. So it wasn't someone getting blacked out drunk. It was something else. And it's a different level than just being too drunk to know what you're doing essentially. It's not the kind of drunk you see perhaps at a party or something like that. It's a different level. And so I don't think that there's concern that this will now become commonplace in the territory. It is a very high threshold that people have to meet, and it's an extremely rare that people will meet that threshold. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Thank you, Minister, and thank you for your definition. And I you know, I've read there are three cases, and there were some hallucinogens that were the cause of the three cases. But the my concern is is that, you know, like I said, if it is if is being used, then then that's my concern, against the women and girls of this territory.
So will the Minister discuss some of the examples because there were some examples described by the Supreme Court judge that did the ruling, Kasirer, that they provided in their ruling with the federal minister. So will this will our Minister ensure that they raise this issue when they have their FPT and make sure that there is going to be some you know, something in place or where this is going, or are they are you know, just to continue this conversation so that way this is not end up in going backwards for women, you know. We don't need to be going backwards in Canada for protection of women, especially Indigenous women will be the ones that are in effect because they're less likely to even go to the court system as they do not trust, as I mentioned in my Member's statement. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Every time I speak with a federal minister, I bring the concerns of the territory to that Minister. And this is a perfect example of an issue that I'd be happy to bring to the Minister and have those discussions to let them know about the unique nature of the Northwest Territories, the rates of violence that we see here, and the concerns that are being raised. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Monfwi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Question for the Minister of Education.
Can the Minister tell me what actions are being taken to address recommendation number 5 of the Standing Committee Report Number 15 of June 2021? What has ECE done to support the schools in small communities?
Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We've been planning to make plans, and then we've been implementing those plans. I can say that much for sure.
It is clear that we need to support small schools and the students in those schools, and that's why prior to the OAG releasing their report, we've been taking steps to better support students in small schools.
One of the biggest things is junior kindergarten. You know, that's a few years old now, but that is the age where intervention has the greatest effect. And so we've implemented that and we spend millions of dollars each year on that.
Northern distance learning is a way to bring some more experienced teachers essentially into communities, virtually, to give students access to those teachers. Often in small communities, teachers are fresh out of school. They don't have a lot of experience, and they might not even stay in the community for very long. And so bringing some of those more seasoned instructors in is a way to help those students and give them some advantages. We have a territorial based support team that works with all of the different school boards and gives small schools access to some of the resources that you would generally only find in larger centres.
We have the career and education advisors that we've recently moved out into the regions so that they are closer to the small communities. And now with an end to the public health order and the restrictions, they will be travelling directly into communities to work with students.
As the Member mentioned, some of the plans going forward, as well, that have been delayed because of COVID, but there's a number of different things that we're doing to work with small communities. Thank you.
Thank you. ECE committed to several actions. Can the Minister give an update? For example, I have six example but I will do two for now.
Has a team been established that can travel to small schools and provide ongoing wraparound support and training throughout the school year, and is it already travelling are they. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm not sure if that's the team that would support principals and teachers in small communities. If that's the case, that has been delayed. But we are working on that one. Thank you.
Okay. So what is the progress on piloting training and support for small school principals and teachers of multigrade classroom plan for the 20222023 fiscal year. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the work is going on to create those supports so that we can go into the communities and support the teachers. So I hate to say to the Member but we are making those plans. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Monfwi.
What impacts will the partnering with BC for the NWT JK to 12 curriculum have on commitment made following the auditor general's report? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So curriculum needs to be updated, you know, every once in a while, and it's been quite a while since our current curriculum was updated. Updated curriculum is generally better at, you know, teaching students, giving them the skills they need. My hope with the BC curriculum and how we can integrate northern culture directly into the curriculum, not as some sort of an add on but into the curriculum, my hope is that that will engage students more in school, make them want to go.
One of the biggest problems we have is that the attendance rates, especially in small communities, are quite low. And there's a number of reasons for that. The Member earlier spoke about the need for a wholeofgovernment approach essentially to change education outcomes. If a student isn't going to school, it might have nothing to do with the school. It might be that they didn't get any sleep that night because they're in a home that, you know, is too crowded and there was a lot of noise and then they couldn't sleep.
You know, there's a number of different issues that we need to address. And so curriculum is one aspect of it. But I am working with my colleagues to address some of those other issues as well in hopes that, you know, we can really make some fundamental changes because for too long, we've seen this disparity between small communities and larger centres and, you know, we are very committed to working on it and implementing changes so that we address some of those issues. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
My statement dealt with the current status of implementation of the federalterritorial childcare agreement and, particularly, the childcare fee reduction program, a rebate program. There was an April 15th deadline for opting into the program.
Can the Minister tell us how many childcare providers opted in, how many didn't, and have funds flowed to the enrolled providers for distribution of fee rebates to parents? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe there's 98 organizations in the Northwest Territories all together who provide childcare and charge fees. And I can say that 100 percent of the centrebased programs that offer infant and preschool programming opted in to the childcare fee reduction subsidy for 20212022, so prior to the beginning of this fiscal year or last the end of last fiscal year as well as this current fiscal year. All but one family day home opted in to that time period as well. And all but two organizations who offer after school programs opted in for the entirety of the program starting from January 1st of this year. So of the 98 organizations, three have not opted in. Thank you.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that, and I'm sure he's going to tell me next whether the money started to flow.
But I mentioned the provisions in the agreement that cap fee increases for operators to 2.3 percent annually. And, you know, this is in an environment where nationally inflation is running at 6.7 percent. Here in Yellowknife, 7.1 percent. The Minister's confirmed the increase is above 2.3 percent will be allowed when deemed necessary. So what's the definition, Mr. Speaker, of "necessary" and when would the Minister allow increases beyond the 2.3 percent cap? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you. And to question 1(b), I can say that the ECE has processed the January to March payments for all programs and the majority of programs have received payments for the current fiscal year as well. And there is a 60day window after receiving that that programs can start flowing that to parents, understanding that, you know, it could take a little bit of work.
The 2.3 percent increase was based on historic averages. And, you know, I understand that historic average is comprised of highs and lows. And so going forward, we don't have a cap set for the upcoming year. We've moved some money around within the program to ensure that we can keep up with the unforeseen costs of inflation.
Sorry, the Member was asking some a number of questions here. So I'm just going through the notes to see what else I can answer here.
The 2.3 percent cap, a few programs were exempted from that, and that was based on whether or not, you know, they needed an increase beyond that to survive essentially. And so in those instances where the operating costs were exceeding what they were bringing in, that cap was adjusted. Thank you.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I appreciate the detailed answers from the Minister, and of course I gave him the heads up with these questions ahead of time.
So I've cited the use of funds for costs like training, staff development, wage subsidies, or costs of infrastructure to increase spaces. Can the Minister tell us whether there has been any new decisions or direction allowing use of agreement funds to meet these costs and how can providers access that funding? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the new money from the federal government, it's about $10 million a year, and it doesn't quite double what we were already spending. We were spending $10 million in GNWT funds and about $2.4 of federal money. So there's already a significant amount of money going into the system prior to this new influx of money.
So the current funding that is flowing out that everyone knows about is intended to reduce the costs for parents. However, there is obviously additional money, and we are working to get that out the door.
So the childcare fee reduction, that's the money for parents, we got that out the door. Parents should see probably over $4 million more in their pockets this year because of that. The wages for early childhood educators is the other big issue.
ECE already provides an incentive for early childhood educators based on the level of education. And so that's a payment of however many thousands of dollars based on education levels. This year, we are also rolling out the retention incentive bonus for early childhood educators out of the new federal funding recognizing that their wages don't reflect the importance of their roles.
There's also additional funding there's also funding now for postsecondary education. We have bursaries. We provide money to Aurora College or College Nordique to provide programming to educator early childhood educators. We'll be doing more of that as well.
So we're doing a lot, and this money is essentially allowing us to do more of the same as well as further reduce costs. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. I've talked here about, you know, the need to create more childcare spaces, particularly in communities that don't have childcare.
So can the Minister tell us what action needs taking now to create or ensure that new spaces are created in those communities that do not have childcare providers, period. And how is the Minister going to meet the demand for more childcare workers to provide universal and affordable childcare? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. These are very complex questions with many aspects to them. I will do my best to try and remember everything that the Member asked and provide some answers.
So as the Members know, we have the Early Childhood Infrastructure Fund, and that is being prioritized for communities where there are no childcare programs. There's currently 12 communities with no childcare programs, and that $1 million is available on application to communities to help them build that type of infrastructure.
We also have existing programming to help retrofit or make spaces more appropriate for early learning and childcare centres when perhaps not a new build or substantial renovations are required. So we're already doing that.
The other component is ensuring there are enough childcare providers or childcare workers to staff these childcare centres. And I spoke about the supports for students earlier as well as the retention incentive bonus, which I think really is key.
If you have people looking at the job market and you have a job where people are making good money, you're going to attract people. So that really is one of the keys of this program as we roll it out, to ensure that that is significant driver of people into this industry. 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 ITI.
Mr. Speaker, there will be gaps in the Disaster Assistance Policy. Therefore, will the Minister of ITI confirm how her department will work with MACA and other departments to close those gaps for businesses? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, first off, I do want to acknowledge the troubling times that are being faced by many businesses in Hay River. I think it's been mentioned a few times that several of us had the opportunity to attend to see what's going on for ourselves, and it's plainly obvious that there's quite significant impact to the community and to the business community there.
We are of course all working together as one government. That's why multiple Ministers did attend to bring to bear each of our perspectives. And ITI will continue working with MACA. MACA is the first point of call for the Disaster Assistance Policy, that that still the should be the people's first stop, or using their pathfinders if folks aren't familiar with how to make those accesses quickly. But beyond that, ITI's regional offices and our local staff here out of headquarters, given that some of our regional staff have been impacted, they are working directly with businesses. Similarly, staff at BDIC are in contact directly with the businesses to try to identify indeed what those gaps are likely to be. And once we have a better understanding, we'll be working hard and diligently to figure out what kinds of initiatives we could potentially bring forward to fill those gaps, or working with federal partners to see what opportunities they might have to help fill those gaps. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, during her visit to Hay River and meeting with business owners, does the Minister expect there will be businesses in the fishing, agricultural, and tourism sectors requesting assistance above what DAP may provide? Thank you.
