Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, just to answer the Member's question, no. But, you know, I think where we are and the service that it's going to provide, you know, we'd always consider all of the different options that are out there. But no, we haven't. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Final supplementary. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I encourage the department to certainly look at that. I have no other questions other than to say thank you. I appreciate that it's still on the books and still looking to happen. Thank you.
Member, not a question. Thank you. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm going to put the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment back on the hot seat here. Has the Minister considered the implications for the NWT of both the 2012 Supreme Court decision that recognized that learning to read is a basic human right and the Ontario Human Rights Commission's public inquiry into the right to read? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in March of 2022 I delivered a similar Member's statement on the sorry, reading being a privilege, and or sorry, not being a privilege and being a human right. Jeez, I need to focus here, sorry. And so yes, Mr. Speaker, I've considered the importance of literacy, and I share the Member's concerns.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm glad that we're on the same page here. Can the Minister explain whether the NWT inclusive schooling directive or handbook recognizes that learning to read is a basic human right and therefore a top priority goal for all students? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the ministerial directive calls on all students to have access to quality education programs within a common learning environment in the community in which the student resides, including being able to access instructional and support strategies that remove barriers to learning. Mr. Speaker, when demonstrating a need for extra support, a student support plan with focused supports for difficulty in reading is created to provide supports and reduce barriers in conjunction with the school team and the parent or guardian. ECE offers funding to education bodies for assistive technologies to support the learning goals of students. But I think it's also important that we acknowledge that the demands of teachers have changed over the last few years as have the number of students that are needing access to services. And I think this is also a good point to also talk about the need to ensure that we're getting students to class so that they have access to those supports from their teachers and from their education bodies. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So yesterday the Minister told us that when we look at the achievement tests over the years that have been implemented through Alberta curriculum, things are not seeming to get better; things are not improving.
Can the Minister commit to ensure that our education system is well funded enough to provide the necessary supports and interventions to ensure all students can learn to read? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, ECE allots funding to each education body using the school funding framework. This framework allocates funding equitably and, outside of prescribed funds, allows flexibility to accommodate local decisionmaking. I will say, Mr. Speaker, there is absolutely more and more demand for dollars within our education system and one of the tasks that's been afforded to me this term is to work on the Education Act, along with our partners, and the school funding formula will be a part of that work. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Final supplementary. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To drill down to one item that I mentioned in my statement, will the Minister commit to ensuring that all students who require one, will be able to access a speech language pathologist in order to learn to communicate effectively? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this might take me a little bit longer than 30 seconds to answer.
I wish I could say yes to this, but it's not even a million-dollar question; it's a much more than a million-dollar question. It was something that Education, Culture and Employment saw as a need in schools, and so they put together a territorialbased support team with the dream of being able to bring rehabilitation services to schools. That team was originally put in place in Yellowknife with a dream of one day having regionalbased territorial support teams so that all schools would have access to the supports that it needs so that students can even begin to access education. That team has never been able to be fully staffed despite the great efforts of Education, Culture and Employment. I know that Health and Social Services also has vacancies within their rehabilitative services team that have been ongoing and chronic vacancies. And so while I would love to say yes to this, and I know that many parents and many students across the territory would love me to say yes to this, it is an effort that we have tried to fill and have not been able to. That said, I see this as a big deal, and I think that it is a gap that we need to fill and as such, the Minister of Health and Social Services and I, along with each of our teams, have already sat down and started discussions about how we address the need for rehabilitative services in schools. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister for Education, Culture and Employment. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I spoke about Escooters in my Member's statement. And, really, the primary issue is about safety for the public and certainly safety for the people using the Escooters. I mean, their safety matters too. And I know one size doesn't fit all, Mr. Speaker, so I'm not assuming what policy in Yellowknife would fit Wrigley because that just doesn't make sense. We have to be practical.
So my question for the Minister of Infrastructure, who oversees the Motor Vehicle Act, is what can she do to bring in Escooters into some form of regulation? Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Minister of Infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, like any other new matter, item, concern, question, safety issue, or otherwise, the process would be the same. Obviously, departments would consider often what's happening in other jurisdictions, could consult locally with municipalities, jurisdictions, regional governments to see what needs there may be.
In this particular instance there is, in fact, quite a number of jurisdictions who are struggling with the question of what to do appropriately to balance considerations for Escooters. And so the Canadian Council of Motor Transportation Administers and Transportation Canada have, in fact, struck a task force to look at this very question. And I can assure this House that the Northwest Territories will be participating. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If things were only as easy as the stroke of a pen; sometimes they are, but most of the time they're not. Even in Alberta and I believe in BC, and even referenced by ICBC, which is their insurance agent or arm, they recognize Escooters as motor vehicles. That could be an adjustment in definition and a directive by the Minister through the department that they're further recognized and follow through with that tent. Is that something the Minister would be willing to examine in this short session we're having to have some action as we proceed into summer where we're really seeing the problem of people using Escooters when it's nice out. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again, I had an expectation, given the Member's statement, that this was going to come up today and so I've already been engaging with the department about what the latest is, which is why I've assured that we'll be participating on a national level. But I can also say that in these short time since the Member's statement, I have actually had residents reach out to me and point out that, in their view, having an Escooter might be more safe to be able to be on bike lanes and to be able to use Escooters on the bike lane roadway as compared to relying on large vehicles, fossil fuel driven vehicles, providing alternative means of, you know, human motorized transportation, a healthier opportunity. So all of which is to say just when we think one thing is easy, it often doesn't prove to be quite so simple. So, again, we do want to look at what's happening in larger jurisdictions. It's quite common that smaller jurisdictions, not only ours, but others, will look to the larger ones, see what they're doing, try to avoid reinventing wheels, motorized or otherwise, and then try to strike the right balance when we go forward. So I'll certainly commit to going back and having that conversation where is this at nationally, what are we doing, where do we see ourselves fitting in. But as far as creating a timeline in the space of two to three weeks, that's overambitious. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I won't go at length, but I'll say section 246, we talk about how bicycles are clearly not allowed on sidewalks. Section 252, it says pedestrians must look both ways to cross the sidewalk. So, Mr. Speaker, we're regulating pedestrians for goodness sakes but we're allowing Escooters to proceed in a manner unregulated, which puts us at risk.
Mr. Speaker, my question back to the Minister is, is she willing to examine her authority as Minister to issue a directive to clarify the definition of "vehicle" and could she report that back to the House before the end of this very short session in the interest of public safety? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm happy to examine my authority in this regard. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Infrastructure. Oral questions. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services what her department is doing to improve staff morale and prioritize retention strategies for current frontline nursing staff? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Sorry, I didn't get the question, Mr. Speaker. If he could repeat it.
Thank you. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you. What is the department doing to improve staff morale and prioritize retention strategies for current frontline nursing staff? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I know that this question came up in the last sitting, and there's things that the department is doing. I know within the NTHSSA, you know, they're doing a lot of communicating with the staff. The level of the communication that is required, I am not familiar of where they are and what is needed and so but then the other areas, you know, they've run a lot of different areas where they could support the morale and even to get staff in. I have a whole list of all of that stuff. I've said it in the House before, but I'd have to get back to the Member with all the other information. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think that's useful to get that information. I left it open ended to see what we'd get back, but I think the nurses need to know what's going on. So will the Minister commit to an investigation, that her office will head up, into staffing conditions at Stanton and throughout the health system and provide an avenue for frontline workers to express their concerns and see some resolution about those concerns? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, every single time I meet with my DM or with the CEOs of the health authorities or the chair, the constant conversation is how are we supporting our staff. And so one of the things that, you know, I hear, you know, that they're not seeing their managers enough. The managers, you know, are tied up doing a lot of the stuff that they need to be doing with hiring and all of this other stuff. And so, you know, I think one of the things that I would like to do is, you know, the Member has invited me to a constituency meeting, you know, and, you know, I think as well as to hear from the Member exactly you know, we hear over and over different areas what the concerns are, and I bring this back to the department. The department, you know, NTHSSA, we go back and forth. And so every time an issue is brought forward to me, I bring it to NTHSSA. So I think this is you know, I can sit down with the Member and go over some of the things that he's hearing, and then I can bring those back to the attention and see if they can be resolved. So I'm willing to work with the Member. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that would be appreciated. So can the Minister commit to attending a town hall that we can facilitate with nurses in my riding or throughout anyone who wants to attend, so she could speak to them directly and answer their concerns? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, what I commit to is if he invites me to a constituency meeting, I can attend a constituency meeting, as we do as Ministers who any Members that request one. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Final supplementary. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, Mr. Speaker, I very much appreciate that. Mr. Speaker, transparency around this is important as well. And I think proactive communication of wait times, daily number of patient visits, gridlock, status of flight availability, all those things need to be made available to frontline workers as well so they know what they're going into on a given day. So can the Minister work with the authority to ensure that staff are to be given more information about their working conditions before they start off on a shift? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, you know, I hear the Member, and I know what the nurses get when they come onto shift. As a past nurse, I got shift report. The focus of the frontline nurse is to take care of their patients. You know, but they also need to know what the bigger picture is and that is what my understanding of the weekly emails and the manager's emails that are going to the staff, and if there's more information that they're requiring to do their job to take care of the frontline you know, to take care of the residents, you know, I'm always willing to bring that feedback back. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Oral questions. Member from Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And this is actually fantastic timing because it'll sort of lead off my questions of yesterday and the Member for Range Lake's questions today. This question is for the Minister of Finance, and I guess I couldn't actually speak to it yesterday anyway. But what specifically does the Minister want to accomplish in this year's budget to prioritize a stable resident health care workforce? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Great Slave. Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'll try not to go on for 35 minutes again, Mr. Speaker, with respect to the budget. But on a high level, first of all, if the government has the fiscal capacity to invest in the Northwest Territories and in the people and the residents of the Northwest Territories over the long term in a sustainable way, then we can continue to provide all of the programs and services. We are running up ourselves right now against a situation where we don't have that fiscal capacity year over year and that one bad fire season can wipe us out with nothing left to show for it and nothing left to reinvest, so simply as a starting point.
Now, that said, Mr. Speaker, more specifically, the Department of Health and Social Services, for a very long time and continuing with this budget, receives onethird of the full operating budget of the Government of the Northwest Territories and receives the largest single addition this government had in this particular budget of some, I believe, $30 million. So in short, we are now still in a position where we're continuing to invest in health and social services. We have the health recruitment unit that is housed between the departments of Finance and Health and Social Services. That will continue, and that will continue to receive the investments in this budget and going forward through departments' efforts. It is seeing successes. We've actually achieved having a net 20 percent gain in recruitment to the health profession.
Mr. Speaker, I realize, and as Members noted, definitely on the last question, we do still have to address morale. We have to address retention. But we will be in a better position to do that when we have the capacity within the government. So, Mr. Speaker, I realize I've gone on probably longer than you want us to, and I'm going too fast, so I will stop there and wait for the next question. Thank you.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. And while I understand the Minister is the Minister of Finance, today is budget day, we're talking about dollars, we're talking about investments. I really want to get at the core of what she spoke to at the end of her answer, which is what actionable ways can we start looking at making sure our health care workers are valued in ways that are not dollars ways, that are supporting them to be serving the public in the best way that they can and make sure that their morale is increased? I don't think that necessarily means more people or more staff. I think that means ways of looking at the work culture to improve it. So how can the Minister help our health care workers feel like they are in a safe, inclusive, and stable workplace? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Department of Health and Social Services and the Department of Finance have met several times over the last short while. In fact, quite recently. I have also included meetings with staff from the health care profession. And in the course of those meetings, we are in a place now where we do need we've acknowledged, and we know that we need to work together. Taking the work that's already been happening in health recruitment, which has been successful, and now building on it to ensure that we can translate what's happening there and translate that success into one that is building on morale, improving morale, and making sure that the folks that we're recruiting are being retained. So, again, you know, we've had success with the health recruitment unit. That is continuing. That work is reflected in the work of the departments, which is what's reflected in the budgets that we have in front of us. But that is absolutely the next step.
So if I'm hesitant a little, there was a number of items that you know, again, it's not about making cuts and it's not about taking things away. We want to look at what we are doing better. One of the things we need to do better is retain retaining our staff and perhaps also, if I might, in the health care area, it's in questions of medical travel. Are we getting good service and good value for folks that are put through the system of having to go through medical travel? Those are two areas that are priorities for Health and Social Services and Finance. We are going to be working on them in the next few months. The business planning process for 20252026 starts in the fall. This year, we're a little off cycle, but that's only a few months away, and that is priority one or one of the priorities that these two departments are going to be working on as we work to right size the health care budget. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Could the Minister commit to bringing back some actions that are tangible, pragmatic, and approach the concerns they're hearing from staff around the idea of morale, around the idea of management training, around the idea of, you know, making sure people are feeling heard and seen? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think the answer is yes; it's how that is really the question here. Just recently the 2023 version of the Employee Engagement and Satisfaction Survey results have come back. I've had a chance to look at my own department's, Mr. Speaker. I often do look at other departments, including, in particular, Health and Social Services and the health authorities. I know other Ministers are doing the same. That is an important starting point. It gives us a sense on a number of indicators, including morale and training and engagement, to be able to connect some of those dots, see where our progress is, see where we're making gains, and see where we are challenged. So certainly we'll say we're going to have to start well, no, that is one place we're going to want to start. We are looking at as the Department of Finance in terms of what we're doing with our own broader recruitment and retention plans and policies and practices, including management training and including a particular management training and leadership training for Indigenous employees. So these are all areas that exist in our business plans and the work that is happening in departments, it's in the budget, this is what we do as departments, and we'll certainly want to be doing that. So, again, I'll end where I started with a yes, but the how we're going to get there is a much longer answer. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Finance. Final supplementary.
Oral questions. Member from Deh Cho.
