Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister of MACA explain why under the disaster assistance policy the term "disaster" is narrowly defined to those events that affects a large area or a large number of people from an extraordinary event? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Minister responsible for MACA.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the disaster assistance program is a governmentfunded assistance program to ensure essential community functions and cover the basic needs of residents and businesses. That is not an insurance program that covers all losses or is applied to events affecting a single property.
Mr. Speaker, the requirement is for only applying the DAP for widespread damage in line with the disaster assistance policy across Canada with the criteria of the federal disastrous financial assistance arrangement. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, can the Minister explain why a tornado is not listed under the list of emergencies that may be eligible for disaster assistance? And can the Minister clarify if a tornado does occur in an NWT community, would people be eligible for coverage? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The definition in the disaster assistance program are in line with the disaster assistance policies across Canada. The definition of "emergency" does not exclude tornados and has provisions to include any other sudden events of unusual proportion caused by nature's phenomenon. This leaves the opportunity for tornados to be considered if either criteria for applying this policy are met and if the results is a widespread situation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, can the Minister explain why under the list of excluded emergencies, disaster coverage will not be eligible to people due to an extraordinary event that affected only a single property? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the definition of "emergency" speaks to events of unusual proportion. The criteria clearly outlines the requirements for an event to affect a large area or a number of people. Across Canada, and the majority of the world, disaster assistance programs are not applied to events affecting a single property. The intent of such disaster assistance programs are to ensure the continued function of a community. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Thebacha.
Mr. Speaker, can the Minister explain if he believes the updated disaster assistance policy is sufficient in its eligible coverage offered to NWT residents who endure a natural disaster, or if the Minister believes the policy is lacking? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the DAP was evaluated and approved following the 2021 flood and, again, is under revision this year as we have learned since applying it to the 2022 flood. While no policy is perfect, we are confident in meeting the intent to help communities and residents recover from a widespread disaster.
Mr. Speaker, DAP is not a compensation program and is not an insurance program that covers all losses. It is a governmentfunded assistance program to ensure essential community functions and covers the essential basic needs of residents and businesses. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the HRHSSA uses locum physicians to deliver healthcare in the community. My understanding as to why locums are used is that they are a means to support continuity of service for their gaps in recruitment and retention or where permanent positions are not available. However, the use of locums has become the norm for Hay River; therefore, Mr. Speaker, I ask the Minister of health, has there been an assessment or a study completed to determine if there's a gap in the quality of healthcare delivered by locums versus that of permanent physicians? If so, will the Minister share that information with me. If one has not been completed, will she commit the department to undertake in such an assessment. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister responsible for Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member for the questions. There has not been a specific quality review of locums versus resident doctors. I'd like to say that they all have to obtain the same kind of licensing. So locums are not second best to resident doctors; they have the same qualifications. We have recently, as you may know, embarked on primary healthcare reform which has healthcare delivered in teams. And one of the reasons for this reform is to provide continuity of care to residents. So while you may not be seeing the same doctor each time, you may be familiar with other members of the care team such as the nurse practitioner or the nurse. So the fact is that with a vacancy rate of 45 percent for doctors throughout the NWT, most of us are seeing locums for our doctor needs. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, timely access to healthcare and proper diagnosis is very important to residents of Hay River and the surrounding communities. I hear more often now that those who can afford it are bypassing medical travel and making their way south to seek those very services that are not being delivered here on a timely and consistent basis. For those that don't have financial resources to travel, they are forced to wait for services.
Mr. Speaker, we are seeing an increase in payments for outofterritory healthcare. What is the reason for it, and will the department consider covering medical travel for those taking the extra step to seek timely healthcare services outside the NWT? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we don't pay for people to bypass the public system. They need to engage with local healthcare providers in order to get a referral for services not offered within the territory. And if they obtain that referral, they would also be eligible for medical travel. But these are things that need to be done in advance. I see a trend of people coming to me after they have spent the money asking for a reimbursement. I want to be clear that's not how it works. How it works is you go to your healthcare team and you tell them what your issue it and you get into the referral process, which will then provide the care that you need. So if that is not happening for the Member's constituents, I recommend that they contact the Office of Client Experience and point out the gap in that service and have it rectified. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the NTHSSA recruits positions for Hay River, and it is not working, as we continually see notices from HRHSSA confirming physician shortages which translate into fewer services.
Mr. Speaker, with respect to the HRHSSA, I ask the Minister if her department is willing to shift the responsibility of physician recruitment back to the HRHSSA? Failing that, then maybe, just maybe, it is time for this government to dig deep and come up with the required funds to integrate the HRHSSA into the NTHSSA and if that is what is needed to improve healthcare for Hay River and area residents. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the NTHSSA has a MOU with the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority to provide physician services. And that MOU is now under review to determine what the best way forward is. So it's unclear to me that not having this MOU or not having some kind of formal arrangement would serve Hay River any better than it's being served now.
In terms of bringing the Hay River authority into the NTHSSA, that was last looked at seriously in 2015. A lot has changed since then, but there hasn't been any additional work done on the cost of bringing the health authority in. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, healthcare in the North appears to be falling apart. And I know people not receiving proper medical diagnosis or not receiving proper medical care at all. This is causing stress in the community, families, and patients' physical and mental health. Mr. Speaker, right now we need physicians in Hay River. We have none. In fact, we need 5.6 FTEs, Mr. Speaker. I ask the Minister if she will commit to providing Hay River with those positions immediately? After all, our health is no less important than those living in Yellowknife or other areas. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, let me say initially that this isn't just a Hay River problem. With a 45 percent vacancy rate, there is a doctor shortage throughout the whole of the NWT. We continue to actively recruit doctors, and we have had some success but, ultimately, we still do have a large vacancy rate. So there's no way I can commit to immediately providing the seven doctors allocated to Hay River Health and Social Services. The best thing that can happen here is for word of mouth from existing physicians and medical people to their networks to encourage them to give the NWT a try.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, Mr. Speaker, at 5:30 a.m., I received an email from Minister Archie. I want to thank her for that in regards to working together with us in regards to trying to get the resupply of Sachs Harbour power, to get that generator sorted out. Can the Minister update the House in regards to the status of the power generation in Sachs Harbour? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Nunakput. Minister responsible for Northwest Territories Power Corporation.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member and I have good communication in terms of, you know, some of the events happening in his High Arctic communities. So until the new power plant is commissioned, Mr. Speaker, we had originally planned this for February to get the new plant commissioned. You know, with some of the delays that happened, with COVID in the community, and delay in our barge system as well, has a big impact, you know, on getting the work done in the community. Right now the power is getting supplied to the community using our two backup generators. Both generators had issues at 5:30 this morning, Mr. Speaker, which caused the outage. One generator was repaired by the operator with assistance from some of the maintenance crews in Inuvik. However, there was still issues with the other generator. So Northwest Territories Power Corporation, staff organized a charter first thing this morning, as soon as we were aware of the situation. The charter could not be found because of lack of pilots or airplanes. Mr. Speaker, we flew one in from Norman Wells immediately to get in the community. That charter arrived at one in the afternoon. You know, concerns like this are raised with me by northern carriers for several reasons. When I was in Ottawa, I took the opportunity to meet with Transport Canada, the minister of Transport Canada, on some of the regulations that are imposed here in the North by northern carriers and the duty hours that pilots have to now adhere to. It's impacting all the work here in the North. Thank you. Especially the small airline companies and the helicopter operators. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks for that update to the Minister. Mr. Speaker, the new power plant shouldn't be taking that long in regards to setting it up. I know we're passed COVID now. It's starting to get back for parts and stuff and what's needed for the units. So what's a hard timeline in regards to getting that new generator up in the community of Sachs Harbour? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don't want to keep using COVID as an excuse but, I mean, predominantly that was the reason that we could not get this commissioned in February. As a result of not having the barge now not come in, we're looking at end of August 2023 to get the new plant commissioned. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What support's in place for emergency generators if they're not working? I mean, if the main power plant doesn't go down again, are they going to be sending in technicians or mechanics in from Inuvik to get the generators that are broken down now serviced and up and running so we don't have this issue? It's going to be minus 40 tonight, and I don't want to you know, at 5:30 this morning you're already worrying about what's happening in the community. So is the Minister going to make sure that happens? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when the incident happened at 5:30 this morning, we were in contact with the community and the generators at the school and the health centres were up and running and ready to receive any residents if it were required. You know, I also kept the Member updated, and we advised his office and staff, at 10 a.m., that the power was back up and running. So, I mean, I kept in contact all morning with the community, the Members, to ensure that this is a priority for us. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Nunakput.
Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again, I just want to thank the Minister for all the work that she's done with the power corporation to serve the community of Sachs Harbour. And I just want to make sure, Mr. Speaker, that August 2023, that generator is up and running and no more excuses. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, you know, these are timelines. I mean, we had a timeline to get the plant going in February. As a result of, you know, things beyond our control, we weren't able to make it happen. We wanted to get it serviced sooner and, you know, we couldn't get the barge in the community. That's a result. I mean, there's so many different factors that we want to say August 2023. We don't know what's going to happen, Mr. Speaker. That's a timeline that I have committed with the community and with the Member. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Infrastructure otherwise known as the Minister for ebikes. My statement dealt with the upcoming rollout through the Arctic Energy Alliance of an ebike purchase rebate. My information is that this rebate will be available only in communities with hydro power. I stated the good reasons why it makes sense in diesel communities too. Will the Minister ensure that ebike rebates are available to all NWT communities? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Minister responsible for Infrastructure.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. This Minister of ebikes is happy to know that another Member's all charged up for this pilot rebate program, Mr. Speaker. So I can tell the Member that we had reassessed where rebates for ebikes would be available since the release of the threeyear energy action plan which was last fall. I'm pleased to let the Member know that the rebate will be available to all the communities now, including the dieselpowered communities. This is different from we do with electrical vehicles at the moment as ebikes do not require much power and will not stress our isolated grids in that same way. So, yes, we are working with all the communities, including the dieselgrid immunities as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I'm pretty charged up, thanks to the Minister. Great news. My statement also dealt with reprofiling of funds between programs offered by Arctic Energy Alliance. I'm not sure that all the ontheland evehicles fund is going to be subscribed so I'm hoping that the Minister's going to allow for funds to be switched around within the ebike or sorry, the eprogram.
So will the Minister ensure that funding within Arctic Energy Alliance for electrical vehicle rebates can be reprofiled to where the need is greatest? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the intent of this pilot program is to better understand what the demand for ebikes are across the Northwest Territories. So should the demand exceed the funding, we will look for ways to meet the demand from other programs for which are undersubscribed. So there's kind of a second yes in there, Mr. Speaker. I think the Member will be happy with that answer as well. Thank you.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I can feel the electricity in the air here; it's just great. So I see that the Yukon is offering ebike rebates up to $750 for a regular ebike and up to $1,500 for cargo bikes. At $10,000 for the NWT, that would be about 13 ebike or less. Can the Minister tell us what the individual rebate will be for the NWT and whether we will allow rebates for more than 13 ebikes? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Not to shock the Member but this rebate program will be delivered through our partners at Arctic Energy Alliance. We're working with them to finalize some of the program, the guidelines and details, including the amount of the rebate. We're not sure yet, but as soon as the program gets announced I'm sure we'll have some great news to share.
I also want to reiterate, Mr. Speaker, that this is a pilot program. I think I've said that in three of my answers standing up here, how important it is. We've heard from Members that this is something that the territories and residents wanted. This is something we looked at. You know, we also want to encourage people to be able to transition to less GHG intensive modes of transportation. This program will start April 1st. I'll have more details that I can share. And the information, once we gather, the program is launched with some adjustments if we have to move forward on this. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I'm going to get the Minister a ride on an ebike. You know, the Yukon is really ahead of us. They allow for retailers to offer rebates directly to customers and online purchases in the Yukon are also eligible, so and we have at least one retailer of ebikes in the NWT. But can the Minister tell us whether the NWT whether NWT retailers will be able to offer the rebate directly to customers and whether online purchases will be eligible for the NWT ebike rebate? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. As I mentioned, we are working on finalizing the program details with our friends over at Arctic Energy Alliance. I assured the Member we are looking into the potential for local retailers to be able to offer a rebate but no final decisions are made. I will keep the Member plugged in in terms of what we're doing as we know more. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Tu NedheWiilideh.
Well, that's hard shoes to fill in. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Anyways, I just want to mention that in regards to my Member's statement earlier about honorariums, I'm just thinking back in 1999, when I was a chief for Yellowknives Dene First Nation and back then our band councils were given $250 a day. And since then, 24 years later, you know, I'm sure the rates have gone up. But anyway, the current rate of honorarium is set at $250 a day and was last updated in 2009. Inflation has increased by 32 percent since then, not to mention our economy's being hit with the global recession and global pandemic and a supply chain crisis.
Can the Minister explain what policy hasn't been revised sorry, can the Minister explain why this policy hasn't been revised in the last 14 years? Mr. Speaker, I'm not sure if this question should go to the Minister of Finance or Minister Thompson. Since he's here, I'll direct my question Minister Thompson. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Tu NedheWiilideh. Minister responsible for Environment and Natural Resources.
