Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. The motion is in order. To the motion.
Question.
MR. SPEAKER:
Carried
Bill 48 has been received and adopted by the Assembly.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the GNWT, CRA provides a cost of living offset to individuals in the program to offset the costs of territorial carbon tax. Can the Minister of Finance look into implementing the cost of living to offset that IT provides Nunakput residents in the Beaufort Delta with the same assistance because it recognize their higher cost of living in a tiered system? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Nunakput. Minister responsible for Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, we are later well, I guess in 2023, facing a prospect of the federal government having changed the carbon tax system. As such, we are in a position having to amend our carbon tax system to be compliant. It is going to have an impact on residents in the North notwithstanding the fact that we are not wellplaced to respond to carbon tax changes and respond to the need to reduce GHG emissions as other jurisdictions in the south might be.
I am particularly cognizant, Mr. Speaker, ridings such as Nunakput, are especially going to be hard hit. They are already facing higher costs in this regard. So what I will commit to doing is looking at whether that is even possible. Negating the carbon signal is the issue that we cannot do, otherwise the federal system will come in and remove any ability that we might have for flexibility. So I will look into whether it's even possible to do that, Mr. Speaker, and will then get back to the MLA. Thank you
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And yeah, no, I'm just wondering if the Minister could work with our Minister of ECE to explore expanded home heating subsidy program for our Arctic region for our elders and people, private homeowners, that are in that system. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, Mr. Speaker, again, much of a similar response in that I'm certainly happy to work with my colleague. Obviously, you know, we certainly do have responsibility under the carbon tax in the Department of Finance but then the subsidy rests with ECE. So I know that there's some work happening with the income assistance review, and so we will ensure that the two departments are speaking to one another about the perspective impacts of the carbon tax issue and then looking at how that might be addressed, if possible, under programs under another department. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Looking back, I guess I try to cross the whole Northwest Territories, I think we should be talking to Canada now in regards to the carbon tax and why do we have to pay? We're small enough in the territory. We have 35,000 people. It's just going to draw more hardship on our families, our young mothers in social housing in regards to and our elders that are private homeowners. There needs be more money given out instead of being starting to try to claw back. Can the Minister commit to talking to Canada in regards to working with them to see if we could, you know, not have to pay; do we have to pay? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there is a situation of jurisdiction at hand and the federal government does have a jurisdiction. There's been challenges by other jurisdictions around carbon pricing and carbon tax systems. I certainly will commit to continuing the conversation. I want to make clear that there have been conversations between officials from the Department of Finance but as well as officials within other departments who are also taking a lead on climate change or climate change impacts here in the Northwest Territories. But Mr. Speaker, I most certainly will continue to raise the issue. And I appreciate the questions and the support that I think for the position of raising the needs of the North. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Final supplementary. Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we live climate change every day where we are from. I have shoreline erosion programs. I have so much going on. We have colder winters, more a lot less snow but colder, longer periods of time. You know that, you live up back in the Delta with us. Mr. Speaker, at the end of the day this carbon tax has to be really looked at and either make it help me help you. Put a tiered system in. Tier one Yellowknife, tier two Sahtu, tier three Beaufort Delta. Pretty simple. If they could do that and then talking again to talk to Canada, why do we have to pay? We're the most affected territory in the most weather compliant region in the whole of the Northwest Territories where I'm from. We can't keep going the way we're going here. I mean, it's tough for people to survive already. And here we're going to get dinged with another tax. Not right. Mr. Speaker, can I have the commitment from the Minister that she's going to talk to Canada and report back the House? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, you know, that's a responsibility of all Ministers certainly to be engaging with our counterparts. We all have been engaging with our counterparts. I am more than happy to make the commitment to raise quite specifically, you know, what the Member from Nunakput has said around the impacts of climate change on the North and then the impacts of the carbon pricing system which is within the responsibility of the Department of Finance. So I'll certainly carry that message forward. Again, I'm not don't know how much of a response I will get. There have been a number of different challenges across country on carbon tax and none of which have thus far changed the system. But the situation here, I get it, is serious. I will report back on what we hear. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I said in my statement, spring breakup is six months away. So it is important this government has a plan in place with measures to mitigate potential flooding for Hay River. Mr. Speaker, has the Minister of ENR considered establishing a group within his department to take on the responsibility for flood and ice management? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister responsible for Municipal and Community Affairs.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, MACA is leading ENR supporting information. ENR provides Municipal and Community Affairs with support role in flood management. ENR monitors and evaluates water and climate conditions prior to ice breakup every spring to help determine the level of risk of flooding. ENR shares its NWT snow surveys results and spring water level outlook for 2022 with MACA and public for emergency preparedness purposes. During the freshet and flood situation, daily water monitoring bulletins are shared with emergency management organizations and are available to the public via email, the ENR website, and through social media. These bulletins include information on water levels, ice conditions, weather forecasting, and photo and satellite imagery. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. All that, and we still flooded. Mr. Speaker, what direction, if any, has the Minister provided to his department to start assessing how the department can work both internally and with Indigenous governments, with communities, and with residents, to develop policy and work plans to deal with flood and ice management for Hay River and the NWT? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If I could control Mother Nature, we wouldn't be flooding, and I thank the Member who keeps on asking these type of questions as we move forward. Municipal and Community Affairs again leads ENR supporting information. The GNWT does not have an ice management program policy related to flooding because ice jam flooding is difficult to predict and cannot be actively managed. Ice jam occurs when ice chunks in the rivers do not melt fast enough and collide with each other. Ice jamming floods can happen any year and are dependent on the way ice breaks up in the river channel. Under the Emergency Measurement Act, community governments are responsible for developing and maintaining emergency plans and programs related to a wide variety of disasters, including floods. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, you know, we can sit here and say that, you know, we can't predict this and we can't predict that. But if we do nothing, then I know we won't be able to predict anything. But we have to make some educated decisions. We have to use, you know, Indigenous knowledge and, you know, if we're going to move ahead in trying to, you know, lessen the impact of the damages caused by flooding.
So, Mr. Speaker, has the Minister initiated any discussions with the Alberta government, or any Hay River Basin management organizations south of the border, to talk about what can be done to alleviate potential water flow during spring to minimize flooding in the community of Hay River? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'll wear my ENR hat on this one. So the GNWT and Alberta share information about the Hay River throughout the year, through the GNWT and Alberta Transboundary Water Agreement and its bilateral management committee. The data is used to inform the spring water level outlook that is shared with MACA and the public for emergency preparedness purposes. It is not possible to alleviate water flow on the Hay River as there is no control structure such as dams along it. That said, ENR is working with federal governments and other GNWT departments to create a hazard and risk management plains map in locations that experience ice jamming flooding. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And it's important that if we're gathering this information, you know, we're studying, we're developing plans, that we communicate that to the public as well so they know what's going on so they know we're actually doing something because, you know, most people look at it and, you know, they look at Hay River, they say well, what do we have for monitoring? Well, we got a couple of cameras on the river and we have an airplane that flies over us and says yeah, the water's getting higher. And that's about it. And that's people's understanding.
So Mr. Speaker, will the Minister of MACA, or ENR, going forward, commit to a public meeting in Hay River to discuss how his departments will address the practices of assessing, monitoring, and planning for flooding and emergency preparedness in Hay River? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, this is a MACA question. The emergency manager organizations work with all departments, including ENR. The department maintains contact with ENR prior to and throughout the flood season to monitor water levels. Municipal and Community Affairs offers ongoing assistance to assist communities with emergency preparedness including delivery of community emergency planning workshops, delivery of tabletop exercise material so communities can run through a mock scenario to ensure roles and responsibilities are well known before an event, distribution of community emergency planning tools and templates, preparation assistance in community planning. So we work with the municipal governments. We have staff that will go in there and work with them. So, again, if that's what the Member wants and the community wants, we'll make sure staff gets in there. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, my questions are for the health minister, and since I got in the House, you know, the fluctuations of the amount of beds that were going to my community went from 48 to this final number now is 20. So I'm just wondering the first question I have for the Minister, why is this fluctuation continuously changing? Thank you
Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Minister responsible for Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Member for the question.
Mr. Speaker, in 2015, we created bed projections based on historic occupancy of the longterm care and projections of the population going forward. We had reason to revisit that in 2020, and we learned that in fact there weren't as many beds required all across the NWT as we previously thought. And so at that time the bed projections were revised, and 20 is the number, as my colleague said, for Inuvik. Thank you
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So I know there's we have had a pilot program that the government has had since I think it was announced February 2020 on the Paid Caregiver Pilot Program, and I know that it was only in so many communities. So I'm just wondering now that this two year has passed, is this program continuing, or is it still going? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Paid Family Caregiver Program was indeed a pilot project. It has been evaluated and found to be worthwhile in the communities where it's operating, which is I don't remember off the top of my head exactly but it was about half a dozen communities and 30 clients. There is money for this fiscal year. There is money for next fiscal year. And we're looking to continue the program indefinitely. Thank you
All right, thank you. The reason I'm asking is, you know, I've had other people have contacted me in regards to this program, because it was a pilot, and they contacted it that it was not it was being reviewed. So I'm just clarifying that if it is continuing, that's great. Can the Minister advise if this program will be in all the communities now? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have enough money to continue running the program at the scale it's at now. In order to have a larger program, we would need a greater investment from the federal government who pays for a portion of home and community care and has been paying for this program. Thank you
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my past career, I know that this was something that the Indigenous governments did talk about and so I'm just wondering, Mr. Speaker, if the Minister has been discussing this possibly with Indigenous governments and then they can access more federal dollars together, and maybe the Indigenous governments could run this program for their seniors. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, these programs are community run at this point so it is possible to have Indigenous governments or Indigenous government organizations provide these programs in the communities as well as municipal entities and nonprofits. So we would certainly welcome that. At this point, there hasn't been a wholesale transfer only to one kind of entity such as an Indigenous government. Thank you
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Premier. The mandate commits us to an UNDRIP action plan for summer 2022. Obviously, summer has passed, and we have not seen that action plan. So when can we expect to see that, Mr. Speaker?
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Honourable Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was looking back on the mandate actually, and we're not that behind actually. It said September or summer 2020; it's in the mandate, however we had two years of COVID so I'm actually feeling pretty good about this one.
I'm hoping that the Member did get an update from the because the MLA is a Member of the special committee on reconciliation, and so I'm hoping that he got an update from the September meeting that just happened. At that meeting, we were really close to signing an MOU on the action plan for the United Nations Declaration of Indigenous People. There was a bit of a pull back at the end, but we're still in the process. Right up until last night we were in meetings. So I'm thinking that within the next few days that we'll actually have an MOU, memorandum of understanding. But it was really clear from the Indigenous governments as we started this work that they said you can't do an action plan, it has to be done in collaboration and cooperation directly with the Indigenous governments. I've said that all along, Mr. Speaker. This is about the Indigenous governments. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm going to try this again. I heard the Premier hoping that soon we will have an MOU. But my understanding was that that was an MOU of how to go about and create an action plan which seems quite a ways off from the actual plan. So when can we expect to see an actual UNDRIP action plan, and will it be in the life of this Assembly more importantly, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you for the clarification from the Member.
The memorandum of understanding with the Indigenous governments is around development of a plan to get us to the legislation of whatever that will look like. My commitment is as soon as that is signed, and I'm hoping that'll be actually within this session; I've been pushing as much as I can, still being respectful. As soon as that is provided or signed by all the Indigenous governments, I will provide an update to the appropriate standing committee at that time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And in a similar vein, the mandate committed to signing two agreements in the realm of treaty land or selfgovernment implementation. I'm just wondering if the Premier can update this House whether she still believes we can sign two agreements in the life of this Assembly. Thank you
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I am sure hopeful to be able to get two signed by the end of this government. The MLA did refer to the last one was signed in 2015. I do need to remind MLAs that although they're signed that day, it doesn't usually take some of these are 20, 30 years of process to actually get these defined. There's three parties to the table, and I'm doing our part. Some of the things that the Indigenous governments said was we don't like the core principles and objectives. We took it out, this government. Some of them said we don't know what your negotiated mandates is. We published them, this government. So, Mr. Speaker, we're doing the best we can to get these settled but it is three parties at the table. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Honourable Premier. Final supplementary. Member for Yellowknife North.
Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I recognize that there's three parties but, you know, there's 17 tables and I think getting two agreements out of 17 seems well, I'm hopeful we can at least get there.
I guess the Premier is still hopeful too that we're going to get two. I'm wondering if she would inform this House, or if she's willing to hint at what two she thinks that would be. And I'm also curious whether in that counting that the Premier is including agreementsinprinciple because I know we've signed a number of agreementsinprinciple that are well, they're over 20 years old now at this point so they don't necessarily lead to an actual final agreement. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No, I won't in the public House name the ones that I think we're close on. We are close on some. I would give a briefing to standing committee if that is decided by the appropriate standing committee. The problem is is that I think we're one step forward and then something happens, and we're two steps back. So because of that I can't say it publicly. But I'd be more than willing to give a briefing in confidence to the appropriate standing committee. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
