Mr. Speaker, again, I want to ensure that we do track these positions and we track the hard to fill positions. They are done by region. I'm just trying to see if I was able to give the Member an example. Well, and so that December 31st date that I'm using, there was 108 vacancies in the Beaufort Delta. That's 12 percent of the region's funded or rather funded positions so you can note slightly higher than the overall total. So perhaps lightly different slightly more difficult to recruit. But, again, would have to look at the underlying reasons. It may well be that there are some positions there in the Beaufort Delta that have been vacant for a long time, and we need to look either at more creative ways to fill those positions or to look at whether or not there are positions there that need to be cleaned up. Again, so happy to have that on the radar, and we'll certainly make sure that we are working to clean up positions that are not being properly filled. Thank you.
Minister of Finance. Oral questions. Member from Frame Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I noted in my Member's statement earlier today, the previous health Minister committed a year ago to bring changes to the pharmacists' scope of practice for early in the life of the 20th Assembly. How much progress has the health department made since the previous Minister's commitment, and well, that's my first question, Mr. Speaker.
Member from Frame Lake. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member for the question. An advisory committee has been established with the pharmacists appointed by the NWT Pharmaceutical Association to collaborate with the department officials. The advisory committee operates under clear terms of reference and reviews and advises on issues identified during the development and drafting instructions and regulations under the Health and Social Services Profession Act.
To date, this group has convened ten times to address this mandate. As well as through the work of bringing more professionals under the Health and Social Services Profession Act, the GNWT is committed to ensuring NWT residents have the confidence of health and social services system and the people caring for them by having clear rules in place for how professionals are licensed and maintain standards of care and competency. Clear standards for licensing, care, competency, complaints, discipline help increase the confidence that patients, practitioners, and partner organizations have in health and social services by improving safety and accountability. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister for that answer. I do appreciate hearing that there's progress being made.
Mr. Speaker, what kind of scope is the department looking to give pharmacists here in the territory; is it comparable to jurisdictions on the higher end of the scale such as Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, and Alberta?
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the scope of practice being considered is in line with the scope of other jurisdictions. The work will hopefully align the Northwest Territories with best practice and establish standards with the rest of Canada provides practitioners and patients and an understanding of what's required and expected of professionals. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I'm very happy to hear that from the Minister. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister commit to a timeline of six months that being August 2024 to get these new regulations into force?
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the work required to bring regulations in is a minimum of two years. What we are projecting is a 2025 comeintoforce date for the pharmacy regulations, and we are very pleased with the support and commitment of the pharmacists' working group with the department to move this work forward as quickly as possible. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Final supplementary.
Oral questions. Member from Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned in my Member's statement, my questions today is for the Minister of ITI and ECE.
A unique remediation opportunity is within our grasp. The Norman Wells oil field is creating revenues for the owners as we speak. Revenues that can fund Nortran, a trades training initiative. This is an ideal candidate for economic diversification. My first question to the Minister is the GNWT working with the community of Norman Wells Indigenous governments and industry to prepare for the closure of the Norman Wells oil field? Mahsi.
Member from Sahtu. Is that question for ITI or ECC?
ITI. Thank you.
Minister of ITI.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the remediation of the Norman Wells oil field will be managed by the owner of that lease that's on that property, which is Imperial Oil Resources. However, what I can say is due to ongoing development in the planning process on that remediation, the Government of the Northwest Territories, while it doesn't have detailed information, is doing what it can in order to try and make sure that there is some synergy happening. Like the MLA said, this is Canada's longest operating onshore oil field which definitely is a legacy but one that has some opportunity to learn from from what is happening with the remediation of the diamond mines or the winding down of the diamond mines, I should say. And there's definitely some potential to be had. I can say that right now, ITI is working with Indigenous organizations, stakeholders, and businesses through its SEED funding to help networking processes with Imperial Oil and to ensure that they're doing what they can to support the local governments in order to ensure that there are relationships there for local contracts and also remediation opportunities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thanks to the Minister for the replies. I guess I should have put training in there.
But my second question, can the Minister provide an update on the work the GNWT is doing with the federal government to explore the viability of the training remediation economy in the NWT? Mahsi.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, what I can say on the collaboration between ITI and the federal government, as well as with local communities, Mr. Speaker, is that ITI is doing what it can in order to support local businesses as far as business development. There's opportunity as well for also training through ECE as well for businesses to be able to prepare for the remediation that's ongoing.
What I can say, too, is that as a government, we're constantly advocating at the federal level for funding, for example, for labour market initiatives and investments and also strategic infrastructure investments as well through my counterpart colleagues here in order, really, to build a skilled workforce and make sure that we have the critical infrastructure to be able to move forward with the economy. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thanks to the Minister for that reply.
Carrying on to my next question, are any pilot programs to develop remediation labour force or business capacity planned to the principles of Nortran? Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is probably a little bit more of an ECE question and kind of a marriage between the two departments, which is so nice to be able to wear both hats. But as far as Aurora College is concerned with that date, they have informed us that they do have a funding agreement with CIRNAC to develop courses related to mining remediation. These courses are currently under development and while Aurora College is at an arm's length, I'm more than happy to follow up with any of the particular information with the chair of the board that Members might want. Thank you.
Minister of ITI. Final supplementary. Member from Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My last question thank you to the opportunity has the department explored partnerships with training institutions like MTS, Mine Training Society, Aurora College, or the Olds College in Olds, Alberta, to provide labour force development in the Sahtu? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in addition to the program development that's currently underway with Aurora College that I just spoke of, what I think is best positioned to be inputted here in the response to this question is really promoting both apprenticeships and the SNAP program with students. And so, really, what this is about with the principles of Nortran that the Member is speaking of, it is about developing a skilled workforce and it's about making sure that our students or our youth know about these opportunities as well. And so what I would really like to put in a plug for is the ability to leverage one another in this room to create relationships between students and youth and employers. And so if anybody knows of any employers that are willing to take on apprenticeships and student apprentices, this is a great opportunity to work together to build a skilled workforce. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of ITI. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And that's a great segue as my questions are also for the Minister of ECE around remediation workforce.
So my first question is what are ECE's objectives from having a staff person sit on the Giant Mine socioeconomic working group? In other words, are we achieving what we're hoping to achieve by participating in that working group? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Sorry, Member, could you ECC or ECE? E, okay, thank you. Thank you, Member. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this working group is responsible for implementing and coordinating activities to support the multiyear Giant Mine Remediation Project SocioEconomic Agreement, or strategy, and a staff member that we do have sitting on this group is a labour development and standards division staff member, and their role in this group is, I think, a very important one because they provide information on labour market information, training needs, and also employment standards perspectives. Thank you.
Okay, thank you for that. So I'll go to a different aspect. So one of the needs identified by the working group, Giant Mine working group, was for a coordinated training hub in the North Slave region, which I understand the GNWT has been working with a thirdparty organization to establish. Will the training hub increase the amount of training available to Northerners for remediation work, or what is the hub expected to accomplish?
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member's correct, ECE did partner with an external entity to develop the North Slave regional training hub. And the goal of this was really to provide and improve coordination between employmentrelated training and potential projects coming to the region. And so I can say to the Member though, in 2023, so last year, ECE shifted its focus to what's called a North Slave regional training partnership, and this was developed under the federal strategic partnership initiative in collaboration with the federal government. And this partnership was established to encourage collaboration between regional training partners and to provide leadership as well in identifying and responding to short and longterm market needs and potential within the market to make sure that we're prepared for what's coming and that we're responding with potential training opportunities for Northerners in the region. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So I understood from that response that the main purpose is to coordinate existing training. Does the Minister believe that there are enough training opportunities for Northerners to be able to take jobs in the remediation economy to increase the percentage of Northerners that are actually in the workforce? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have a tremendous amount of training opportunities and education opportunities for people here in the Northwest Territories. And I believe that, really, the response to this question is an allofgovernment response where really it's about making sure that, A, people have access to this training; B, that people are prepared to enter into any kind of training that we are making available, and so I think that this is a coordinated response as far as making sure that people can put food on the table, that people have access to food, that students are going to school, and that it is a domino effect from there. And so I think that as Northerners, we all have a role to play in ensuring that people have access to this, and that includes us in this room making sure that we are putting information out there and connecting the residents that we serve with opportunity. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Final supplementary. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the Minister mentioned a few minutes ago the SNAP program, the apprenticeship program. Has the SNAP program been able to link apprentices or students to work at the Giant Mine Remediation Project? Or what is the plan if not? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I might add that might have been my influence from the 19th Assembly.
Mr. Speaker, I'm very excited about the SNAP program. The SNAP program has grown tremendously in the last number of years. What the SNAP program comes down to is employers willing to employ students and having the capacity to take students on in order to create those opportunities. So it's something that people are going to hear me talk about over the next four years, ad nauseam probably, in this House because I think it's such a tremendous opportunity, but it's really reliant on that relationship. While, you know, we are not the ITI, sorry, is not the lead department on this relationship, really the lead entity on this is the federal government and they have contracted Parsons to kind of do the contracting work out at Giant Mine. It is really would need to be a relationship with them in order to, if they want, create that as part of their contracting requirement. But, really, I think the better way of going about this is making sure that employers know that this opportunity is available and that we want to support them in order to help create a skilled workforce of tomorrow. Thank you.
Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Oral questions. Member from Tu NedheWiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as mentioned that we had set the four priorities a few weeks ago, and housing is one part of the top priorities for of the four. CMHC funding expires in 2038. My question to the Minister of Housing NWT is that what are their plans for the next 12 years as CMHC funding expires? Mahsi.
Minister of Housing NWT.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member for raising this issue. The Member is correct that the NWT social housing agreement signed in 1997 allocated $21.2 million in annual operational funding to support the delivery of the Northwest Territories Public Housing Program. The funding has declined and is scheduled to be fully exhausted by 20382038.
Since 2019, Housing NWT has been able to mitigate these annual funding declines with funding supports provided under a new bilateral agreement with CMHC. The funding under this agreement is being used to offset the decline in CMHC funding up to 20272028. Housing NWT has been meeting with CMHC to discuss new or extending the bilateral agreement. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, going forward, as we mentioned that the policy of the housing corporation doesn't sorry, Housing NWT policies doesn't work for Indigenous governments. Going forward, though, can maybe or is the Minister planning on giving Indigenous governments more control of their housing during their term? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So Housing NWT is actively engaging with Indigenous governments and they're actively engaging through the NWT Housing forum. So they meet and then meet like annually discussing housing initiatives across the North. So Housing NWT's new mandate is to place a focus on collaboration with partners, including those Indigenous governments. Collaboration can take the form of intergovernmental agreements that outline priorities for both parties, but this collaboration can also be more informal.
We are pleased to see Indigenous governments take on an increasing role in housing and are pleased to see that the federal government is now flowing distinctionbased funding to Indigenous governments.
All governments have a role to play in the housing crisis in the North. We recognize that there's no one size fits all solution, and each community and government has different needs, capacities, and aspirations. Only through collaboration and working in partnership will we be able to effectively address the North's housing crisis. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last year the housing Minister stated that she was advancing multiyear capital plans that involved delivery of 510 homes. Can the Minister of housing provide an update on this plan? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, again, to the Member. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So Housing NWT continues to advance a multiyear capital plan which includes the construction and repair of over 500 housing units. The scale of this work ranges from modernization and improvement projects for housing assets in the communities to new construction, including duplexes for seniors and a large multiunit residential building plan for Yellowknife. These 500 units include 100 new public housing units for the territory. Of these hundred units, all are either under construction or complete. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Housing NWT. Final supplementary. Member from Tu NedheWiilideh.
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last year my colleagues and I brought up some the deplorable housing conditions. Has there been any progress addressing safety concerns in public housing making homes healthier to live in? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, Housing NWT routinely assesses the conditions of its housing assets through a comprehensive unit condition rating. And these unit condition ratings are done every couple of years for each housing unit across the territory, and we have 2,900 units across the territory so a lot of unit condition ratings. Through this work, Housing NWT prioritizes the health and safety of housing units. Housing NWT's preventative maintenance program, which is administered by the local housing associations, also targets the safety of housing units. Tenants in the housing units are encouraged to contact their local housing association with concerns around the health and safety of their unit. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Housing NWT. Oral questions. Member from Monfwi.
