Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So earlier in her statement the Member mentioned that back in I believe it was 2002 it was thought that there would need to be a replacement sometime around 2015 or 2020, something like that. And clearly we haven't needed that yet. So it's hard for me to put numbers out there, dates out there, when obviously things can change. Right now, based on the information we have, we're looking at 2035. But that could come a lot sooner; it could take longer. You know, Fort Smith has Aurora College with a trades school, and I think that expertise in trades really has helped those buildings be maintained in excellent condition for many, many years. So I hear it all the time that the Department of Infrastructure does a good job maintaining schools, at least in the regional centres, and I believe that the longevity is a function of that maintenance. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Thebacha.
Mr. Speaker, of the 49 schools across the NWT, there have been several new school replacements built in multiple communities where their schools are actually younger in age than JBT in Fort Smith. For example, in Yellowknife, the former JH Sissons School was only 45 years old when it was demolished and replaced with a brand new school just a couple years ago. And I'm happy for them. And that school was 20 years younger than JBT.
Can the Minister explain what is the necessary criteria to replace a school when the community wants one as soon as possible? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So we rely on the Department of Infrastructure and their technical assessments of schools. As well, we have our schools’ capital planning sorry, capital standards and criteria document to guide capital planning and space requirements. We look at the need for school infrastructure projects, including a new construction, renovations, and upgrading of facilities and equipment. Criteria are used to assess and determine needs while standards describe the amount of space considered adequate to meet those needs. So there's a couple different elements we need to look at the actual building, the physical building, as well as the rates of utilization, how many students are using the facilities. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, safety of children while taking student bussing transportation is important to all of us and more so, you know, when it comes to the smaller children who during the cold winter months, you know, maybe missed their bus stop and not quite sure where they are.
So will the Minister of ECE confirm who is responsible for developing student bussing policies? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Education Act lays out the various responsibilities of the department as well as education, the DECs and DEAs. And so it would be the DEAs who are responsible for developing their own bussing policies however there's always supports available from the regional body or from ECE if it is needed. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, sometimes the policies, at least some I've looked at, they're very vague and, you know, they may just be a couple of lines.
So will the Minister confirm if a student bussing policy lays out responsibilities of the DEA, bussing contractors, students, and parents or caregivers, and the GNWT as well? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A bussing policy can touch on many of those things. It doesn't necessarily have to have all of those things. There are different ways that education bodies go about providing bussing. So sometimes there is a contractor, sometimes the bus is owned by the education body, so it really depends on the situation. But I'm sure there's best practices that we would like all the DEAs to follow. And, again, the department's always happy to provide any sort of assistance when DEAs want to develop these policies. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister confirm who is ultimately responsible for the safety of those persons using student bussing? Is it the department, the DEA, or the bussing contractor? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Safety is everybody's responsibility. And so the bussing depending on how things are structured, you know, the bussing contractor could be responsible for the safe operation of the bus, the technical status of the bus. Education bodies are responsible for developing the policies. But ultimately the department is responsible for ensuring that education bodies are developing policies in accordance with the legislation. So ultimately the GNWT is responsible. Whether or not the Act lays out a framework that makes that easy for us to be responsible and puts the authorities in the right places is a different conversation. But that is the situation. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Final supplementary. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister confirm that he will have his department ensure that all DEAs have in place a comprehensive student bussing policy that sets out the rules and responsibilities for the DEA, bussing contractor, students, parents or caregivers, and any other, you know, people or things that would be included in there? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish I could say that I would ensure that DEAs have all the appropriate policies in place but my authority doesn't allow me to dictate to DEAs which policies they should have in place. We're happy to work with DEAs and encourage them to develop policies. If a DEA doesn't have a bussing policy, we can look at other bussing policies and provide those as templates, we can outline which policies DEAs should have, but ultimately it is up to the DEA. I know that in Hay River the DEA is working on improving their bus policy so at least in the Member's constituency that work, from what I understand, is well underway. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Monfwi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we know that children who have grown up in the child welfare system are more at risk of being homeless, homeless than others. The high numbers of Indigenous children and youth in care relates to the high number of Indigenous youth in the NWT seeking homes, housing.
Can the Minister describe when the department is dealing with young adults what types of exceptions are considered to support that person? Does the department recognize the need for flexibility and compassion when providing supports to youth? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I hope that we would always be a compassionate government. Sometimes our own policies and procedures get in the way of that and recognizing that we are working to change the income assistance program so that it can be more compassionate so it is not so rigid. However, as it currently stands, the income assistance program is laid out in regulations and so it is legislated so there is minimal flexibility in many instances. However, when we can be flexible, we are. And I've seen many instances of that happening. Thank you.
I would not have said compassion if I didn't have a reason.
Mr. Speaker, we need to ensure our residents have timely access to government supports as they struggle with many challenges. Completing unnecessary paperwork creates difficulty for accessibility. Can the Minister advise if there can be advanced payment to shelter and utility support to youth who are looking for support? Thank you.
Thank you. So utility payments are paid to utility providers upon receipt of an invoice. So I don't think there would be advanced payments made without that invoice. But if someone needs income assistance, they can go apply for income assistance and then they receive it pretty quickly. There's not generally a big period where people are waiting. So I'm not sure what the Member is referring to in advance of what; receiving support in advance of what? Thank you.
Advance payment to shelters and utilities to people. That's what I'm talking about. To where these young people are staying at, living at, and if it can be part of their income assistance instead of the policy that's in place. That's what I was referring to.
So, Mr. Speaker, couch surfing is also homelessness. What support does the department of ECE provide to help young adults break free of homelessness? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So just speaking to the income assistance program, because ECE does much more for young adults than just the income assistance program, ECE will pay for eligible clients' accommodations. So pay really the full cost of rent, the full cost of utilities to someone who needs that service. So that is the assistance that we provide with people who are seeking shelter. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Monfwi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It was almost four years ago that this House passed the Public Land Act, a landmark piece of our postdevolution work that truly gave a madeintheNorth approach to how we were going to deal with land. And so my question for the Minister of Lands is as we approach that fouryear mark, when are we going to bring that piece of legislation into force? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister responsible for Lands.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when we started the process, we had to work with IGC in that process there. So we're hoping to have it done by the end of this Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was hoping the Minister could give us I'm happy, I really want to see the Public Land Act put into force and I know that requires phase one of the regulations. I was hoping the Minister could just update this House a little bit more about what exactly will be brought into force, hopefully by the end of this Assembly, to do that and what has now been put into another Assembly for the rest of the regulations? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we're working on trying to get all the regulations done. There's been a process working with IGC, the secretariat as well, and Indigenous governments. We're working with them. In regards to where we are, we are working on I think the last part of it. Again, it's we're trying to do it all and then we're going to take it to the drafting process and that, get it done there. So to give them there's nine regulations there we're working on. We got eight done, and we're working on that. So I will have to get back to the Member on the exact details and timelines on when we expect everything done. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I hope all nine of those regs are done by the end of this Assembly. I think that would be a true step in getting the Department of Lands to start some of their other work.
First amongst that is the Land Leaseonly policy, Mr. Speaker. I know the department has gone out and done a review on the Land Leaseonly policy. I'm wondering if the Minister could update this House on when he expects to see changes to that policy. Thank you.
Short, Mr. Speaker, we're hoping to have it something here in the House by the end of this session. Not this Assembly but the end of this session. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think first in that policy, I and I believe the Minister shares, that people living in communities who've been in a lease for many years would be given the option to own their homes in fee simple. Is that something we can expect to see from the changes to the land leaseonly policy, Mr. Speaker?
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't want to, you know, wreck the surprise and say that. But this is part of the conversations that we're having. Again, we have to recognize we have 33 different communities, different organizations like designated authorities, hamlets, and taxbased communities. So we have to look at those as we move forward. So we may or may not be able to do that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Finance who seems to have the reins when it comes to telecommunications for this government.
The Minister has probably had ample time to review the CRTC decision on Cabin Radio. Can the Minister tell us whether Cabinet has taken a position on the CRTC decision? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Minister responsible for Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, to be clear, I do not have any reins when it comes to telecommunications. There's a little thing called a constitution and the jurisdiction over this is exclusively with the federal government. That said, Mr. Speaker, under the Department of Finance, we do have the Office of the Chief Information Officer. The OCIO does represent us with respect to northern interests on internet broadband. And we were able to get a bit of information and some support with respect to telecommunications radio or rather with radio broadcasting. So in that regard, while this isn't going to be a Cabinet position, and again very clearly do not have that constitutional authority, I have indicated, and I will be writing a letter outlining the position a general position of support to the FM license application that's been put forward. Thank you.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that excellent explanation. I said in my statement that while I respect the authority of the CRTC, I disagree with their decision in this case. Can the Minister tell us whether Cabinet is going to do anything about this CRTC decision, and if so, what? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I don't really have any authority and don't have the authority constitutionally to do anything per se. That said, Mr. Speaker, having the opportunity to raise the issue publicly, as the Member's doing here, probably is one of the strongest things we can do to get all of the public aware, and they can make their own choices and decisions and participate as members of the public visavie the federal government in terms of raising the voices from the North. As I've indicated, we certainly can write in general with respect to this decision, keeping in mind that it is a decision by an administrative body and that does put some obligation to be respectful, given that we are, again, also a level of government that is not directly responsible. But having this conversation here, again, Mr. Speaker, there's a lot that members of the public may want to do. Thank you.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. I spoke on the lack of NWT representation on the CRTC. There's an AlbertaNWT commissioner in name only. The commission's enabling legislation provides for a board of up to 13 members. There are currently nine, one vacancy.
Can the Minister tell us what action, if any, has this Cabinet taken about nominating individuals or changing the composition or appointment requirements for the CRTC? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, Mr. Speaker, I am also aware of the appointments to the CRTC insofar as they are known on the internet. The federal government does not have an obligation to come to me with respect to their decisions over who they appoint. They are appointments done by the Canadian heritage minister, federal Canadian heritage minister so, again, they're fiveyear appointments. It may well be that it's an opportunity to put forward some names if people in the Northwest Territories are interested in this area. I would certainly be interested in hearing from them or hearing about them. But, again, it's an appointment made by a federal minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. Glad that the Minister offered a free advertisement there for people interested in the CRTC and that Cabinet's willing to maybe even nominate some people. That's great.
So when this subject was last raised in this House a couple weeks ago, the Minister committed to write a letter to, quote, "comment upon or to express some concern around this decision," end of quote. So I think the Minister said that she hasn't written the letter but can the Minister actually confirm that she does intend to write this letter, and will she commit to table it in the House before we break on March 9th? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the department and I do have a draft letter that we are working on. It will be ready I think by the end of today or tomorrow. I am mindful again that this is a federal adjudicative body that has made an adjudicative decision whether or not we may now agree with it. And so in my role, I do want to be conscious of what I comment upon and how I do so. When I made that determination, I'd certainly be, if it's appropriate, happy to table it or at the very least to share it with Members confidentially. But, again, this is a good opportunity to let members of the public more broadly know that they certainly can also lend their voices if they may choose to do so, depending upon how they feel about the matter. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
