Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I asked questions in regarding to the missing person of Frank Gruben. And the reason why I used his name a lot in my Member's statement was to make him humanized in regards to when you're bringing it up, you're not just hearing a name or looking at a picture, this is a human being. I really want to thank the Salt River First Nation, all the volunteers for what they did in the community. But, you know, with the fires that we've just been through and all the you know, it's almost unbearable for the last six weeks for the community. Where is this case now with the RCMP and what are they doing next to try to bring Frank home to his mother? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Nunakput. Minister responsible for Justice.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I appreciate what the Member has said about using Frank's name. You know, when I met with his family, it's obvious that, you know, it's a very loving family that very much care for him. And this is, you know, this is tough to say the least. And I can't imagine what the family's going through. With that said, Mr. Speaker, as the Member knows I am not privy to RCMP investigations. But missing persons cases are they remain open, so it is still an open investigation. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is my justice Minister who represents us as this House with the RCMP, and the RCMP have a signed contract with us. All I'm asking for is what is he able to do in regards to bringing forward to see get an update for the family. I know the RCMP are checking on the family because I talked to Laura. So now can this Minister reassure this House, and reassure me, that he's able to talk to the new superintendent of the RCMP to see the go forward steps on the file because we've been away from the the community's been under fire evacuation for a few months now. So what's the next steps? Are they is it active? So thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I've stated, it still is an open investigation. I do talk to the commanding officer from time to time and, you know, I do discuss this case with him from time to time. That being said, I'm not privy to the details of, you know, of the investigation. But if there's new information that comes to light, then the RCMP can use that and take further steps. So I reiterate the Member's comments: If you know something, please come forward. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, what we have I guess what like I said, somebody knows something. Like the Minister said, somebody knows something. There's $8,050 reward out there for something. And we really just want to bring this to a closure, to bring Frank home back to the Delta and to Aklavik, back to his mother. I really need my Minister to step up to the plate and talk to the superintendent on a go forward he doesn't have to tell us in the House. The RCMP could go to the mother and just tell Laura what's happening because she doesn't hear like, she didn't hear anything, no updates because of the fire. And I understand that. There's a lot of things going on across our territory. But they have to go see her and let her know the next steps. And are we able to I guess, before winter sets in down here in the South Slave, are we able to do another search? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And as the Member mentioned earlier, the RCMP are in contact with the family. They would be the ones to provide that information to the family. I'm not sure how else to say it, Mr. Speaker. If there is no contact, if, you know, the RCMP aren't in contact with the family, they can't reach the RCMP, then I can provide some assistance. But as it is, it sounds like those lines of communication are open. And as I mentioned earlier, I do have regular discussions with the commanding officer, and this is one of the topics that does come up. So it's not like it's not not by a long shot has this been forgotten about. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, from seldom to regularly, I want my Minister to ask the RCMP superintendent on a go forward on next steps of Frank Gruben. We need answers. I need a plan, a go forward plan, so I could give it to his mother. So I'm requesting the Minister to pick up the phone, either today or tomorrow, just to get the update, so we could update the family. So please and thank you. Have show a little bit of empathy and do your job. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
As a former RCMP member, a former Speaker, I think the Member's well aware of what my job is and my role in this investigation and what I can do and what I can't do. So as I've already stated, the family the RCMP and the family are in contact. If what the Member is saying is that the RCMP are not informing the family, then what I can do is reach out through the channels to the RCMP and say this is what we're hearing in the Assembly. It doesn't make sense for me to go speak to the commanding officer, he goes and speaks to the officers, they relay it back to the commanding officer, they relay it to me, and I relay it to the family. Why not just have the family and the RCMP talk? That's the proper process, and that's the way that things should be working. So I will ensure that that is happening. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There was a bit of a back and forth there between the Minister of Finance and the Member from Twin Lakes about if or when the Affirmative Action Policy is being changed, and I think I kind of lost the plot there. Can the Minister just confirm whether the Affirmative Action Policy is going to be changed in the very short remaining life of this government? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister responsible for Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is not a decision that I make by myself on this one. The Affirmative Action Policy, although a policy, is one that belongs to all the Cabinet. And as with almost everything else it seems in people's lives over the last few weeks, there's been a number of disruptions over this wildfire season and summer. So there is still a little bit of time left in the Assembly, Mr. Speaker. It is a Cabinet's policy. A lot of work has gone into it. And at this point, I can't speak for it beyond that other than to say a lot of work has gone into it, and we will certainly want to make what we can of the time that we have. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I think that was a maybe, Mr. Speaker. And I get that when things are going through the Cabinet process, there's Cabinet confidentiality and you can't, as a Minister, you know, expose the outcome of that. I guess I'm trying to understand what is going to Cabinet potentially or could possibly. My understanding is we version one was an Indigenous employment policy and then a diversity and inclusion policy which added a number of new categories, including P2 and disability and sexuality and racialized persons. That was version 1. We went out, engaged on that. Version 2 essentially dropped the entire equity, including the old P2s, and just had an Indigenous Employment Policy. So those are the two options. I'm just wondering is there some sort of third possible amendment that exists or is in the work to the Affirmative Action Policy? Is there more work being done that may or may not result in the change? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, so I certainly can speak to what is in the What We Heard report that came forward as a result of the engagement that was undertaken regarding the Affirmative Action Policy. And in that, Mr. Speaker, the recommendation there really is, again, that the Affirmative Action Policy is out of date, that it is inadequate, that this is unnecessarily complex. And coming from that, what was also contained in that report is that there be an Indigenous Employment Policy to offer priority hiring to Indigenous persons. That is an area where we all know that we have failed and continue to fail for 30 some years under this policy. It simply has not achieved its purpose or targets.
And then secondarily, Mr. Speaker, with respect to a second employment policy, a broader employment policy, that's not with the data it seems to suggest is required under Statistics Canada, certainly not an area that seems to be required in terms of looking at our own demographics as a public service. And there are other tools already in place, such as the diversity and inclusion framework that might speak to it.
So those are the recommendations that were put back to us via the work that was done over the last couple of years. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Monfwi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is my understanding that a person with a disability may receive extra funding to pay for things related to the disability; however, I am concerned still around the reporting requirements oh, okay. I thought sorry about that. Those with disability. Is the government looking to make this less burdensome on residents? I know they ask for utility bills, rent, disability assessment form, disability benefit from the federal government, notice of assessment from previous tax year; how often is all of this required? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the employment assistance program provides funding to people to help meet their basic needs. So it is not a program to you know, to make people rich or anything like that. So I understand that for the amount of money that you get, it can seem like a lot of work to provide all of these documents. That is why at the beginning of this Assembly, I set out to change the program and overhaul the program. And we have done the work, and we are months away from launching the new income assistance program for seniors and persons with disabilities. Once that happens, the persons with disabilities will have to provide their notice of assessment once a year. That doesn't mean that's the end of all documentation because if they would like their power bill paid, they have to provide the power bill. So there's things like that where that type of documentation will always need to be provided. How else would the department know how much the power bill is?
So recently, we have been transitioning from the old program hopefully to the new program. There have been delays. And with that transition, we have started I'll say removing the payroll. So if someone is not expected their income is going to change, they can be payrolled so they only have to provide documents, you know, every three months, six months, or 12 months. Because we are changing to the new program, we want to meet with clients, tell them about the new program and how it's going to work. And so because of that, it might seem like there is more frequent requests for documents but it's because we are working with the clients to help inform them of what it's going to look like going forward. So, Mr. Speaker, yes, we are streamlining the program. It's been a long process, but we are now mere months away. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's good to hear that. Good positive change.
Will the Minister commit to review the income support policy to reduce administrative burden for elders and people with disabilities? And then he touched base on some of them already too. So that's good.
Thank you, Member
But I do have one more question, sorry about that.
Are ECE and Housing NWT working together to create a more holistic approach to income support and social housing programs? Is there anything being done between the two departments to make it easier for people to access services? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes. With, you know, income assistance does provide funding for rent as does the housing corporation. So, you know, we have two essentially parallel housing support programs in the territory. So we have been working with the housing corporation figuring out, you know, where we can reduce some of these redundancies and how we can better support clients. So, yes, that work is ongoing. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Written questions. Returns to written questions.
Colleagues, we'll return after a short recess.
SHORT RECESS
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In one word I can summarize this Assembly. That word is locusts, because that is the only natural disaster we have not had to deal with. My heart goes out to all those residents who either lost their homes or were adversely affected by the floods, the COVID pandemic, or the fire. It has been a very trying three and a half years for all of us.
We started with 19 Members of which 12, including myself, had no prior experience as MLA. Nearly 50 percent of which were women which was unprecedent in Canadian politics. I am proud of that and I will speak more to it when I talk about my Cabinet colleagues. To say it is a steep learning curve as a new MLA is an understatement.
Mr. Speaker, those of us that were lucky enough to be seated onto Cabinet had to learn our roles as Cabinet Ministers and as MLAs just where one role started the other one began. I am going to start off by talking about the challenges we faced as Cabinet and Regular Members when we responded to pandemics, floods and fire. Of course we all know, just as we were getting our feet underneath us as MLAs and Ministers, the COVID pandemic hit early in 2020. As Minister of Health and Social Services at the time, there were many late nights trying to stay on top of all the new information and directions from the chief public health officer and relay that information to Cabinet, committees, Members, residents. The one thing that kept me up all night was realizing that we did not have the medical resources at our hospital to treat such a mass outbreak. We had to keep COVID out of the territory to keep residents, and especially our elders, safe. Closing the borders was a radical step but one we needed to do. It was the right decision at the time.
Next up, as newlyminted Minister of Infrastructure and the Minister Responsible for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation, we were dealing with the aftereffects of the 2020 ransom attack on the NWT power corp and the 2021 floods affected South Slave and resulting in the evacuation of Deh Cho communities of Fort Simpson and Jean Marie River that also impacted our highways, airports ,and power plants. With the exception of Jean Marie River, NTPC staff and community contractors were able to keep water out of the power plants. We were able to shut down in advance of the flood event, and NTPC was able to get back up running quickly as the water had receded and it was safe to do so.
The efforts of infrastructure staff and contractors to keep airports and Highway No. 1 open and deal with multiple road washouts were incredible. The work that NTPC crews did in getting power back up and running and dealing with flood damages was also greatly appreciated by residents as well as myself, Mr. Speaker.
In 2022, we faced more floods in the South Slave with the evacuation of the K'atlodeeche First Nation as well as the town of Hay River. The damages were significant to the residents and to the infrastructure of the communities including Hay River airport and Highway No. 2. Again, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank infrastructure crews and community contractors that were able to get the airport back up and running and the highway made safe for reopening and the work that was done to deal with the floods affecting Highway No. 1 between Enterprise and the border which was due to high water and very capable beavers.
This year we saw Hay River and KFN evacuated in the spring due to the Hay River flooding again, and then the unprecedented fire season that led to the evacuations of Hay River, K'atlodeeche First Nation, Fort Smith, Enterprise ,Jean Marie, Behchoko, Wekweeti, Dettah, N'dilo, and Yellowknife. As a territory, we never had to deal with a climate disaster of this magnitude.
We definitely need to look at what happened, how we as a government reacted, how communities reacted, and how we can better work with Indigenous groups in planning and actual disaster management. There is a lot of work to do but in advance of that, my heart breaks for the residents of Behchoko, Paradise Gardens, and Enterprise that lost their homes. We owe an immense debt of gratitude for the efforts of the firefighters and volunteers that held the lines, kept the damage from being much worse, and the work of communities that created the firebreaks to further safeguard communities. Through all of this, NTPC kept the power on in Fort Smith, provided power to Northland Utilities to keep the power on in Yellowknife, and got the power back up running in Behchoko as soon as it was safe to do so. Highway crews and contractors worked closely with ECC incident response to open and close highways when it was safe to do so to keep essential goods, equipment, and personnel flowing on the highways when able and to restrict access to communities under this evacuation notice. All this to say, Mr. Speaker, that this government and NTPC employees have went above and above and gone beyond in responding to the crises of the last three and a half years and kept lights on and providing the regular expected government services. I am proud of them.
So anyone listening to the picture I have painted so far might think that the Department of Infrastructure and NTPC were all consumed with reacting to disasters and the major projects did not proceed. Yes, there were delays to some of our projects because of COVID, floods, fires, but major projects along Highway No. 9, the Tli Cho to Whati, and the High Point wind project in Inuvik were completed. Significant progress was made or is being made on the Inuvik runway extension, the refurbishment of the existing Taltson dam facility, and repairs to highways across the NWT. This is very good news, Mr. Speaker. We will be submitting the developer's assessment report to the Mackenzie Land and Water Board for the Wrigley to Norman Wells during the life of this Assembly. Actually, I think it went in on Friday, Mr. Speaker. And we continue to work in collaboration with our Indigenous partners on the Slave Geological Province Corridor. And we will also be submitting permitting applications for gravel sources along the proposed alignment. The Taltson Hydro Expansion business case is out for consultation with our Indigenous Partners, as well with the Canada Infrastructure Bank.
I need to thank many people.
I was Minister of Health and Social Services when COVID hit, the advice of deputy minister Bruce Cooper and Dr. Kami Kandola, the chief public health officer, was greatly appreciated. It was a crazy time. the long hours were long that were put in by Dr. Kandola and her staff to keep residents safe cannot be forgotten.
As Minister of Infrastructure, I need to thank deputy minister Steve Loutitt and his team. And in between the hard work, we did have fun on our constituency tours as well as our travels to the south. ADM Robert Jenkins took some awesome pictures on our travels. If you ever need a picture of me with my half head missing, call Robert. I am proud of the work that was done by the Department of Infrastructure. They kept our roads, airports open, and managed the construction and renovations of all government assets. And they have done this through COVID, through the floods, the fires, with minimal delays.
As Minister responsible for NWT Power Corporation, I was pleased to appoint Cory Strang as CEO, who is the first Indigenous NWTborn CEO. I admire his passion for making sure the corporation is reflective of the people it serves, and I appreciate his advice on the operation of NWT Power Corporation.
As MLA for Inuvik Boot Lake, I want to thank my constituency assistant Arlene Hansen for keeping me organized in Inuvik and tracking all of the constituency requests to make sure they were addressed. Your hard work on behalf of me and the residents of Inuvik Boot Lake are appreciated.
As Minister, I need to thank the staff in my office for all of their assistance. I had three executive admin coordinators that worked with me, starting with Rachel Marin, then Corine Sanderson, and finally Val Daniels. Thanks to all of you for keeping the paper flowing. My ministerial advisor Robert Collinson has an excellent grasp of how the GNWT works and rules for Ministers and MLAs. I thank him for all of his advice.
I also want to recognize the staff at the Legislative Assembly under the leadership of the clerks, first Tim Mercer and then Glen Rutland, for all of their efforts on our behalf. Quyananni.
For my colleagues across the floor, while there has been conflict at times, for the most part we were able to get past that and keep working for the betterment of NWT and our constituents. Thanks to each and every one of you.
For my Cabinet colleagues, I was proud to be part of the first Cabinet in Canada with a woman majority. I thank you for your friendship and your work on behalf of all residents of the Northwest Territories. Special thank you to Minister Simpson and Minister Thompson for doing their share of the housework, mahsi.
When the 19 of us came together in late 2019, it was like the first day of class in a brandnew school. Most of us did not have a personal connection with each other and we needed to learn to work together, at least tolerate each other. Some of you I consider to be really good friends; some of you I would like to have a chance to get to know you better. Let's just say you can't expect 19 people stuck in a room together to be automatically besties. But I do wish the best of luck to all of you in the upcoming election. If you are running, good luck.
Finally, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the residents of Inuvik Boot Lake for the trust they placed in electing me. It has been a great honour, and I hope I can continue to serve you.
And thanks to you, last of all, Mr. Speaker, for your sense of humour and control of the asylum.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following two documents: Child, Youth and Family Services Strategic Direction and Action Plan 20232028; and NWT Department of Health and Social Services 20222023 Annual Report. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Tabling of documents. Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment.
Thank you, Minister. Tabling of documents. Member for Thebacha.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to table a Government of the Northwest Territories public service announcement dated September 27, 2023 titled "Public Service Announcement Have your say on the delivery of an Indigenous Environmental Studies and Sciences Diploma Program". Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Tabling of documents.
I now call Committee of the Whole to record. What is the wish of committee? Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Madam la Presidente. Committee wishes to deal with Committee Report 6219(2) and Bills 74, 78, 83, and 92. Mahsi.
Does committee agree?
