Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I spoke today in my statement about the need for more psychology services in our territory. I guess, first, I would like to ask just for some basic information about how many psychologists the GNWT presently employs and who exactly they are available for, whether they're available to just members of the general public through some sort of referral system or how you would go about seeing one? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister responsible for Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you for the question. The Member, I think, does not want to hear about counsellors and the community counselling program; he wants to hear about psychologists. They are not part of the NWT health plan. We don't employ any at the Department of Health and Social Services. The Department of Justice employs two who serve the incarcerated population. Thank you.
Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. You know, I do appreciate that a lot of work has gone into the community counselling program and those wait lists and those times have gotten shorter. It is an improvement that this government has made. But it's clear to me, in speaking with people, that for certain disorders you need a psychologist. You know, that is the recommended treatment from their psychiatrist.
Are there currently any plans for the Department of Health and Social Services to hire any psychologists? I really do believe we need to start down that path. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you for the questions. We have no plan to hire psychologists. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think that's a very unfortunate gap. There is clearly demand for this. You speak to any private psychologist in the territory, their wait list is extremely long, and their fees are extremely high. Many people do not get reimbursed. I am just wondering if right now if a person goes and sees a private psychologist and, you know, they've been told to do that by their doctor, is there any part of that treatment that is covered by our government? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you for the question. The GNWT does not cover the cost of psychologists or their services. There are, however, private insurance programs, such as the GNWT Employee Benefit Program, that will pay for psychologists' services and so people can obtain them in that way. But this is not a funded service. And so it is not provided by the GNWT.
And an analogy that people may be familiar with is massage. Massage may be very beneficial but it is not a service that is offered by the GNWT, but it is offered in Yellowknife, for example, and it can be paid for through private insurance. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Yellowknife North.
Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. You know, I don't think massage is the right thing. On the one end, we have our community counselling program, and that's great, those people are, you know and then on the hand we have our psychiatrists who have gone through, you know are medical doctors. And we need to take some pressure off of the psychiatrists. They have often said for more advanced disorders, psychology treatment is the way to go.
Can the Minister commit to reviewing whether other jurisdictions have brought psychology into the public system and whether there is a path forward where we can hire some publiclyfunded psychologists in this territory? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don't have any information about what other jurisdictions do. I can certainly commit the resources to see what Alberta does as our closest neighbour. There is no path forward for this service unless the health budget is increased. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories intervened in Attorney General of Quebec et al versus the Attorney General of Canada, which is a challenge to a federal law, C92, which provides for First Nation, Inuit, and Metis governments to implement their own child welfare laws. My questions are for the Premier.
What was the legal basis and rationale for the Government of the Northwest Territories intervening in this case before the Supreme Court of Canada?
How does the GNWT justify its intervention in this matter when the public position of the GNWT has been in support of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation's child welfare law?
What direct engagement and/or consultations did the GNWT undertake with the IRC, or other Indigenous government, prior to making the decision to intervene in this case before the Supreme Court of Canada?
Both the IRC and federal government have expressed their frustration and disappointment with the GNWT's intervention in this case. What direct steps have been taken to engage with the IRC and Canada on the position taken by the government; and,
How does the GNWT rationalize the position taken in its intervention in this case with its intention to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as law in the Northwest Territories, in particular, with Articles 21 and 22.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your committee would like to report on its consideration of Bill 77, Nursing Profession Act.
Bill 77 received second reading in the Legislative Assembly on March 29, 2023 and was referred to the Standing Committee on Social Development for review. The standing committee held a public hearing on May 10th, 2023 and completed its clausebyclause review of the bill with the Minister of Justice on May 31st, 2023.
Mr. Speaker, the committee reports that Bill 77, Nursing Profession Act, is ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Reports of committees on the review of bills. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, your committee would like to report on its consideration of Bill 82, Legal Profession Act.
Bill 82 received second reading in the Legislative Assembly on March 30th, 2023 and was referred to the Standing Committee on Social Development for review. The standing committee held a public hearing on May 10th, 2023 and completed its clausebyclause review of the bill with the Minister of Justice on May 31st, 2023.
Mr. Speaker, the committee reports that Bill 82, Legal Profession Act, is ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document: Government of the Northwest Territories Response to Committee Report 4719(2), Homelessness Prevention: Supporting Pathways to Housing NWT Residents. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Madam Premier. Tabling of documents. Minister responsible for Finance.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following three documents: Plain Language Summary for Bill 92, An Act to Amend the Petroleum Products and Carbon Tax Act, No. 3; Interactivity Transfers Exceeding $250,000 (April 1st to December 31st, 2022); and, Interactivity Transfers Exceeding $250,000 (April 1st, 2022 to March 31st, 2023). Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Tabling of documents. Notices of motion. Motions. Notices of motion for the first reading of bills. Member for Inuvik Boot Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to request we return to item number 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Inuvik Boot Lake. The Member is seeking unanimous consent to return to item five. Are there any nays? There are no nays. Member for Inuvik Boot Lake.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and colleagues. I would like to introduce to the House Members of the Northwest Territories Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscience, or NAPEG as they are more commonly known. NAPEG is the delegated regulator under the Engineering and Geosciences Act.
Mr. Speaker, NAPEG asked the department to consider several proposed changes to the Act to modernization the association's powers and responsibilities, and the association has been instrumental in development of Bill 93. They have joined us in the House for first reading of the bill today.
Mr. Speaker, I'd like to recognize Melanie Williams who is the president of NAPEG. We also have Elaine Gillespie who is the NAPEG councillor. We have Dinah Elliott who is also the NAPEG councillor. And we have Ed Hoff who is the NAPEG Act and bylaw committee chair. And I'm not sure, Mr. Speaker, if Vince McCormick is behind me or not, but he no, he's not here, okay. Just checking. Quyananni, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Inuvik Boot Lake. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also rise to recognize the members of NAPEG that have joined us here today for the first reading of the bill. Yes, first reading of the bill make sure I have that right.
One of the really interesting things about this group I've already acknowledged Ed so I'm not going to speak further about him is that all three of the women sitting up there are my constituents. I am also a former councillor for NAPEG. So it's very exciting for me to have them all here and to have such amazing strong scientificallyminded women in my riding. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Great Slave. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I recognized a chaperon, she just walked out, so I'd like to now recognize the chaperon Teena Lafferty. Thank you very much for being here. And I saw your daughter here as well. So thank you very much for being in the gallery today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to present to the House Bill 93, Practice of Engineering, Geoscience and Applied Science Technology Act, to be read for the first time. Quyananni, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Bill 93 has had first reading. First reading of bills. Minister responsible for Justice.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to present to the House Bill 94, Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2023, to be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Honourable Member for Nahendeh, that Bill 92, An Act to Amend the Petroleum Products and Carbon Tax Act, No. 3, be read for the second time.
This bill amends the Petroleum Products and Carbon Tax Act to establish an unconditional carbon tax revenue sharing grant payable to community governments and to establish an annual report with respect to the collection and administration of carbon tax under the act. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. The motion is in order. To the principle of the bill. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I rise to speak to the principle and merit of this bill.
I want to sincerely thank the Minister for bringing forward the bill that addresses some of the concerns raised during the review and debate on Bill 60. Specifically, Bill 92 requires unconditional carbon tax revenue sharing grants to communities with a formula to be determined by the Minister. This is a much better solution than dealing with community government payments through the main estimates. I still there are still some issues around when the payments will be made and what other deductions may be made to gross carbon tax revenues. I am confident that these issues can be resolved when in review of the bill.
The other issues, though the other issue covered in the bill, Mr. Speaker, is mandatory annual reporting, which is a good move but there are no details on what is to be reported and when. Reports are to be on the collection and administration of the carbon tax but there's no specific details required, such as financial information, money in or money out, or the cost of administration, predictions on greenhouse gas emissions, and whether the carbon tax is fulfilling its purpose of reducing greenhouse gas emissions as confirmed in this House on March 23 by the Finance Minister.
There's also no deadline for annual report that's set out in the bill. Of note, the three carbon tax reports issued so far have taken seven, nine, and seven months from fiscal year end to be made public. Bill 91, in contrast, does provide a list of financial items to be reported annually, greenhouse gas predictions and a discussion on the effectiveness of the carbon tax in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. There's also a sixmonth period for an annual report to be prepared and made public in Bill 91 providing some clarity over when it will be available. A draft of Bill 91, which only focuses on carbon tax reporting, was provided to Cabinet with a request for feedback but no response was received. It will now be up to the Standing Committee on Government Operations to sort it out, but I will come prepared with ideas.
Lastly, I want to comment on the narrow scope of this bill. Without diving too deeply into the tragedy and trauma of Bill 60 and the debate we had in this House in March, Bill 92 does not resolve the need for separate accounting as well of the carbon tax from the consolidated revenue fund. There's also the outstanding issue of fair treatment for all businesses and NGOs as only the large emitters, the diamond mines, will get an effective 72 percent rebate. There's also issues, Mr. Speaker, around the exclusion of methane emissions from the carbon tax, which I believe should also be revisited. And there should be mandatory public engagement before regulations are made or significantly changed.
Mr. Speaker, those are my remarks on Bill 92, and I look forward to working with people in this House to get this resolved. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. The motion is in order. To the principle of the bill.
Question.
