Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, with staffing issues facing our healthcare system, will the Minister confirm if her department has considered the need to establish, for smaller communities, a shared medical social worker position that would provide wrap around services. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Yes, thank you, Madam Speaker. The medical social workers work within the acute care settings and so at this time they are not in communities, and we don't have a plan to expand them there. Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, one can point to lack of housing as a contributor to addictions as well as physical and mental health issues. Can the Minister confirm her department's working relationship with the department of housing to address the connection between the lack of housing and health? Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I would like to confirm for the Member that we, in fact, do see the connection between homelessness and health, and for that reason, we have been participating in the development of a homelessness strategy being led by the NWT Housing Corporation. We believe that homelessness requires a wholeofgovernment approach. It's not usually just one reason that a person is homeless or one kind of service, like a house that they need; they need a number of different services. And so we are able and willing to participate in improving services to homeless population and look forward to seeing the homeless strategy when it's available. Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, it is clear from the Minister's answer in this House last Friday that she is committed to the placement of two medical social workers in Hay River. I would ask the Minister if the funding for the positions would be longterm and secure going forward. Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I think that would be the intention, but I can't commit to this funding. What the process is, is that Hay River Health and Social Services Authority needs to make a business case for the medical social workers and then submit it during the regular business planning cycle. Thank you.
Thank you. Oral questions. Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. According to Statistics Canada, the national suicide rates are higher among Indigenous people than the nonIndigenous population in Canada. The NWT Office of the Chief Coroner 20212022 Early Release of Suicide Data Report does not include any data on race or ethnicity, and the absence of this data does not allow the government to target supports and resources to those who really need it. So can the Minister of Justice explain whether or not the chief coroner tracks this data by race or ethnicity? Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you. Minister responsible for Justice.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. So the information is currently not tracked. The coroner's office does ask families for information about ethnicity but not all families provide that information. So it's not a full data set. But I can't commit that the coroner's office to do something, but we can have that discussion and look further into it. Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. He kind of answered my next question, which was could we commit to trying to track that data as clearly if we don't understand the or can't characterize the extent of the issue, then we wouldn't be able to come up with some good solutions. Given the overrepresentation of Indigenous men in our criminal justice system, which suicide prevention strategies are being used in our correctional facilities and rehabilitation programs? Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. So obviously the staff are the people who are in direct contact with inmates in correctional facilities and staff are they receive training in applied suicide intervention skills, so the assist training that's been discussed in this House before. They also receive mental health first aid training, and this year they've moved to the mental health first aid northern peoples edition training. The intake process at corrections includes screening for suicide and mental health issues. There are psychologists, counsellors, and traditional counsellors in the correctional facilities, depending on which facility you are in. And there are a number of different programs as well that incarcerated individuals can access. Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. And I'm glad to hear that those supports are in place for people while they're in the criminal justice system or within the facilities themselves. Can the Minister speak to what's given or offered to inmates after they've left the facility as far as mental health and wellness counselling or supports go? Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. So once someone is released from a correctional facility, they often have to check in with probation officers, and those probation officers can provide additional support, often things that are maybe not even necessarily in the policy manual. You know, when you're dealing with people in real life situations, you might be providing supports that are outside of what is normally provided. But we don't have, I mean aftercare I guess, in the Northwest Territories for people who are coming out of jail. The move towards the therapeutic model at the South Mackenzie Correctional Centre is moving in that direction where we are trying to give people the skills they need while they are incarcerated, and then hopefully begin to provide assistance afterwards as well so that they don't get back on the same track so they can maintain the progress that they've made. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Madam Speaker, and I'm glad to hear the Minister speaking about a change in the way that we're approaching things. There's definitely a lack of aftercare for people that are released from our correctional facilities. Can the Minister speak to anything that has been done in the last year, so that's innovative or different to the Northwest Territories when it comes to our vulnerable Indigenous men? Has there been something within the correctional system that he can point to as a success. Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. So one of the major things that has happened in the past or just over a year I guess a year and two days ago was the new Corrections Act came into force, and that act restructures our correctional system with more of a focus on rehabilitation as opposed to punishment. We are still, you know, in the process of implementing that Act. It has only been a year, and much of that was COVID times so we haven't quite gotten to the point where I think we want to. But there's a recognition that doing the same old thing doesn't work, and so we are trying to move in a direction where we while we have people in the facilities, that we work with them and we help them so that they don't wind up back in there again. Thank you.
Thank you. Oral questions. Member for Thebacha.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I know the Premier is a very compassionate leader when it comes to Indigenous issues. But when you have so many claims to work on and cannot concentrate on two or three that can be done in a single term, that's a problem. I would like to see at least one claim finalized within this term since we have only one year left. Does the Premier agree? Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you. Honourable Premier.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I agree that I'd like to see at least one claim settled within the term of this government. We have been focusing on the relationship building that was a little bit fractured in some of the Indigenous governments. We took a beating with COVID. We had a couple years that we couldn't meet in person, so that affected. But we have been listening, and we have been working, and we do feel that we're close with a number of them, although there's three parties to every table. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Madam Speaker, I understand at negotiations there are too many opinions. Speaking with one voice is extremely important when at negotiations. I've been there and done that. I'm also very respectful of the Indigenous leadership in their meaningful negotiations, and we must be able to mediate conclusions to some of their outstanding issues to succeed. Does the Premier agree with that? Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. It's hard to disagree with things that are philosophical in nature so absolutely I agree that, you know, we need to mediate some conclusions to some of the outstanding issues. When I began my term, when I was able to meet with Indigenous governments and talk to them, two of the largest outstanding issues were the core principals and interests and then the other one was the publishing the mandate. We did both. We heard that those were the major issues, and so we published our mandates and we took away the core principles and interests, and yet we're still having difficulties at the tables. So Madam Speaker, what I've come to realize is that there's many issues at those tables. And so when you deal with what you think is a major issues three more pop up. So we're trying the best we can, Madam Speaker, but we don't give up trying. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Madam Speaker, the negotiating team that goes to these negotiations must have a mandate and needs to be able to call people to make decisions, otherwise meetings later on will be months away and decisions are never made. That is how the federal government operates. The territorial government needs to follow the same standards and process with meaningful decisions. Does the Premier agree with that? Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Again, I absolutely agree with that. The thing is, Madam Speaker, it's really important to recognize, like I said, that it's not as easy as just one person making decisions. There's three parties. When I had first heard about the key principles and the interests, like I said we took them off the table. But that didn't stop things. The point is that whenever I hear of a major issue at the tables, and I do get regular updates on every table that's going on, if we're close and there's a standing issue, then I will try to negotiate with the department and find out what is going on. I'll talk to Cabinet, because they're Cabinet decisions, to see if we can be a little bit more flexible. And we have been flexible in this government, Madam Speaker. But any time that we're close or that a chief or Indigenous government reaches out to me, I do my best to try to see if we can unblock the obstacle on our side. However, like I said, that doesn't always work. But we keep trying the best we can do. And I am certain that all of these claims eventually will be settled. It's just a matter of when. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you. Final supplementary. Member for Thebacha.
Madam Speaker, negotiations and implementations of claims is probably the hardest task of this government. The will of the leader to help mediate the process is crucial to the outcome. Does the Premier agree with that? Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I absolutely agree with that. I know that Northerners want to see faster progress on the negotiations, and we continue to work towards that. However, Madam Speaker, it's really important that all Members realize that this is about the Indigenous governments. This is their future. So sometimes when we want to hurry things, it may be at the detriment of all of our governments. So I have a mandate to make sure that I take care of the public government, that I try to meet Indigenous governments, that I'm honest with Indigenous governments, and we have clarity in all of the agreements we sign. And we'll continue to do that as we go forward. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Madame la Presidente. My questions are for the Minister of Lands. The department seems to have placed top priority in our request from the mining industry to use surety bonds as an acceptable form of financial security. Ernst & Young has apparently been contracted to tell the government that surety bonds are good financial security. So can the Minister tell us how much this contract with Ernst & Young is going to cost and when a report is going to be finished? Mahsi, Madam Speaker.
Thank you. Minister of ENR.
Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Lands. Sorry.
Lands/ENR. Thank you, Madam Speaker. Ernst & Young have been contracted to do research on the use of surety bonds as a form of financial security, including how they were used in other jurisdictions. GNWT's position continues to be that security must provide GNWT with immediate, unconditional, and revokable access to the full amount of the security. The contract value is approximately $230,000, and the report is expected to be available early in 2023. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Merci, Madam la Presidente. I'm still trying to pick up my jaw because I couldn't find the contract anywhere in the OpenNWT contract website. But Madam Speaker, I think the fix is our government seems to be poised to accept surety bonds without a real plan to prevent further public liabilities like Cameron Hills and Mactung. So can the Minister tell us why his department has identified surety bonds as the top priority when it comes to financial security in preventing further public liabilities? Mahsi, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I think me and the Member are going to probably have to agree to disagree on this. The research of security bonds is only one of several initiatives that the department has undertaken related to securities. The department's top priority is the development and implementation of regulations under the Public Lands Act which will include provisions for land restoration and security. Surety bond review has been planned and aligned with work under the Public Lands Act regulations. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Merci, Madam la Presidente. I want to thank the Minister for that. Let's start with some easy stuff. Our government spent millions to develop some sort of a tracking system for financial security. That's good, but none of that information's been made public in an easily accessible form. Can the Minister tell us whether and when this government will actually post that information in a publicly accessible format, like a financial security data base, on a GNWT website? Mahsi, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. The public lands requires public reporting on all securities held, and the department is currently reviewing how best to make that information available to the public. Information on security is also available on the land and water board's public registry. This aligns with the top priority of the department to develop and implement the regulations under the Public Lands Act. We need to get this important piece of legislation in force. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you. Final supplementary. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Madam la Presidente. I want to thank the Minister for that. Now look, you don't need the regulations to start reporting financial security now. You don't need the regulations; just start doing it. So I know that our government has a protocol with some Indigenous governments around codevelopment of lands and resources legislation and regulations, and I support that process. However, our government seems to have forgotten that it must ensure that the public has a say in the development of legislation and regulations. More than eight years after devolution, there's been very little, if anything, from GNWT on preventing further public liabilities. So can the Minister tell us whether there's actually a plan for new legislation, regulations, policy, and capacity to prevent further public liabilities? Mahsi, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, again, I appreciate the Member asking these questions. Madam Speaker, multiple departments are currently working to implement the GNWT's approach to the management of contaminated sites. The action plan for the approach includes several items related to the prevention of public liabilities. This plan includes legislative and regulatory amendments as well as working with the land and water boards to update policies and procedures. Items have been completed including updated closure, cost estimate, guidelines, and a new estimate tool for land use permit securities. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Oral questions. Member for Monfwi.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, before I proceed I want to make some clarifications, a correction to one of the sentence that I made earlier when I said we witnessed another accident, and I would like to correct that. We came upon another accident. So that's for clarification. Thank you.
Madam Speaker, an expression of interest was issued by Finance in 2021 to address the lack of cell service on Highway No. 3. Can the Minister provide an update on what has been accomplished since this time, what is the status of work to improve cell service on Highway No. 3? Thank you.
Thank you, Member. Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, the expression of interest allowed for an opportunity to do some costing and to understand the potential costs of installing cell towers along the highway. With that information in hand, that was the position that we were able to then give, which I think they were spoken to the House, that it looks at notwithstanding the capital expenses, which are themselves significant, there would also be an operations and maintenance expense of $500,000 approximately every year and no other known source of funding other than that of the GNWT. And so in knowing what the scale and size of those costs are, there has not been any change in the decision of not including that in this year's capital. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Madam Speaker, does the Government of the Northwest Territories have a plan to implement cell towers between Yellowknife and Behchoko and when will it be implemented?
