Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my Member's statement I spoke about the lack of cell phone coverage across the NWT highway system and it being a safety concern for residents. Can the Premier, who is also the Minister of Justice, tell us whether he considers this issue to be a public safety concern? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Deh Cho. Mr. Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think that it's clearly a public safety concern. If you need to contact someone because of an accident or because of an incident or because you see a wildfire that you want to report and there's no cell service, then that's an issue. And it's recognized as an issue not just here in the territory but really across Canada, because if you look at a map of cell coverage of Canada most of it is empty. Most rural areas do not have highway cell coverage, so it is a public safety issue that is known across Canada. Thank you.
Thank you, and thank you to the Premier for that. Mr. Speaker, can the Premier tell us if there are any plans within the life of the 20th Assembly to improve the telecommunications capabilities within the NWT highway system? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And this is actually something that's within the Department of Finance, and the Minister of Finance has answered this question many times before. So I would like to defer to her. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Premier. Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again echoing what the Premier said already, telecommunications is a known challenge across highways all across the Northwest Territories, across Canada. One of the roles that the Department of Finance has is as the liaison point or an advocacy point with the CRTC. I can say the CRTC recently with their representative member for the region was in the Northwest Territories, and we had an opportunity to meet, and finding a better path for telecommunications was one of the topics on that agenda. One of the challenges we've had O and M funding for cell communications towers, just between here and Behchoko, was over $500,000 per year back in 2021. That has no doubt gone up and would no doubt, of course, be significantly higher if we were to try to cover all of the highways across the North. That said, the federal government does have some pots of funding, which to this point did not apply to telecommunications. They were only available for fibre and for internet communications. We are advocating to see some change in that regard, if there can be a bigger pot of larger funding from which whether it's GNWT or Indigenous governments or regional governments could apply, we might be able to make some traction on this. Thank you.
Thank you, and thank you to the Minister of Finance for that. Mr. Speaker, will the Premier commit to work with Cabinet, the private sector, and the federal government to finding solutions to improve cell service on our NWT highways? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I'd like to send that to the Minister of Finance. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, Mr. Speaker, at the risk of it, I think I've probably already given away a bit of the answer, and the answer is yes, we will continue to do that work. There are there is some interest in the telecommunications space in the Northwest Territories on this but, really, again, there's not a private market that would support having this kind of service in the North. The market is just too small. We will really be looking to the federal government on this one and, again, really partnering likely with regional governments on whose lands or in whose regions these impacts would be most felt. So, you know, happy to go forward and continue to have that, but we are going to, first step, want to continue to advocate that the funding pots available, through ISED or otherwise at the federal government level, can actually apply to telecommunications and so that they can see improvements in this space. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Finance. Final supplementary. Member from Deh Cho.
This question I have is for the Minister of MACA from my okay.
I could put you on the list for the next. Thank you. Oral questions. Member from Monfwi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the question is for ITI for the mining industry.
We know there is a set date for a couple of mines in the NWT to close. So with that in mind, I want to ask the Minister how is the Minister working with the mines and the Indigenous governments to support mine workers in this transition?
Thank you, Member from Monfwi. Minister of ITI.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories has a crossdepartmental working group because we acknowledge that the impacts of the diamond mine closure date will have an impact on multiple departments. In addition, ITI has regular meetings and meets with Diavik, as have I. I've had four meetings now with Diavik in order to discuss multiple things, closure being one of them. And in the meetings with ITI, they discuss how Diavik is supporting its workers to ensure that we have an understanding of how many people we're talking about at the end of the day, and what they would like to do. And I'll wait for the Member's additional questions to provide more information. Thank you.
Okay, thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will ask this question anyways, and I know she likes to talk.
So, Mr. Speaker, our economy is depending on the mining sector. So what is the government doing to ensure the NWT economy can withstand this loss, this loss of labour, and economic development? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it's a really big question. ITI is constantly working to support other sectors. As well we heard today in the budget address additional dollars going to film. That said, there is an absolute recognition that other sectors within the Northwest Territories do not even begin to replace our mineral resource development sector. And that being said, I think there is also it's also important to acknowledge that any other one of our mines do not replace a diamond mine. These are world class billion-dollar diamond mines being operated by huge international companies, and we have been incredibly lucky to be home to three of them over the last two and a half decades. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the NWT we need to retain these mining investments that we have, but the budget doesn't show any increase for mining support. How is the Minister encouraging the diamond mines we have to extend their operating life? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there was just under $400,000 mentioned in the budget today that went towards finishing the regulations for the Mineral Resources Act. Our role as government is to create a landscape for development to happen. And in my role as the Minister of ITI, it's a role that I take very seriously and work hard with my colleagues across the floor in order to make sure that I'm keeping my ear to the ground and responding to industry as best as possible and making sure that I'm working with my colleagues to make changes that are being asked of me from the industry. That being said, Mr. Speaker, it's also I agree with the Member, it is crucial that we maintain the workers who are working at these mines who are Northerners. Our diamond mines have worked hard to make sure that they are providing learning and training opportunities to Northerners and mines have committed to ensuring that they are maintaining their socioeconomic agreements, maintaining their apprentices right up to the final days, and ensuring that they are working together as well so that when Diavik does close its doors, its skilled workforce migrates to, for example, other mines. Some people want to go work for Indigenous governments or for community hamlets. Some people might want to start their own business. And so the question is how do we, together, as Diavik and the Government of the Northwest Territories support residents to stay here, live in the territory, and do the jobs they want to do. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of ITI. Final supplementary. Member from Monfwi.
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister attends conferences to support and development of mining industry in the NWT. Can the Minister describe to the House the outcomes from these conferences and how is the Minister supporting new mines and projects to come online? Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Monfwi. Two questions, but I think the Minister can answer that question. Minister of ITI.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I know the House doesn't want me to speak forever so I'm going to keep this short. So how are we supporting mines? We are maintaining relationships with them. We have Pathfinders who support them in order to form relationships and understand our operating system. I have the opportunity to sit down with any industry partner that comes to the territory. I also report on those on our website that hosts all of our meetings so that we are transparent in those. I am from those conferences, sorry, I am meeting with mining companies, I am meeting with industry players, I'm I'm also hosting events, Mr. Speaker, where I'm bringing together industry and Indigenous governments and being trying to be a person who brings these relationships together and helps people understand who they need to talk to see some of these projects move forward. We're also supporting projects, so supporting projects to access federal funding. We, as ITI, do letters of support through the Critical Minerals Infrastructure Fund, for example. Sorry, I'm talking too fast, I'm getting excited. And then, Mr. Speaker, we also ensure that we are funding exploration through our mining incentive program. And we do what we can to make sure that we are supporting an environment for industry to come set up in the Northwest Territories, form relationships with Indigenous governments, and see a project through to a producing mine. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister for Education, Culture and Employment. Oral questions. Member from Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As followup there to the cancellation of yesterday's disturbing news beyond our control, the cancellation of the MTS barging schedule. To answer some of the many questions that I've been getting so far is to get a grasp on how much cargo is sitting at the Hay River terminal destined for the Sahtu, and my question to the Minister of Infrastructure is if I can get that information to help and assist in providing options of shipment to the requests that I'm getting. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from the Sahtu. Minister of Infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, and firstly, absolutely happy to provide a more detailed inventory not on the floor of the House. I've already committed that our officials from the Department of Infrastructure would be reaching out to regional leadership, regional SAOs to have sort of technical conversation and at then looking forward to having a chance directly to speak with leadership and with the MLA.
At this point, the information we have is that there actually is only a small amount of cargo at the MTS shipping yard, no doubt owing to communications we've put out earlier about, you know, being aware that we were really watching and monitoring water levels. At this point, the options would be either to leave that cargo for arrangements on the winter road or to you know, to look to have it shipped up in some other capacity, particularly by going over the top which is maybe not the easiest at this point. But they can leave it there, or they could certainly leave it for next year. So that will depend on each customer and on what they have. Again, right now, there's not a whole lot there. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thanks to the Minister for that availability.
My next question is, will the Department of Infrastructure, MTS, be working with, say, Water Surveys Canada to analyze the depths of water between the Dempster Highway and the community of Fort Good Hope to get an analystic ease of comfort if there is water levels there to support the tug boats needed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Fort Good Hope is still on track and fully expected to receive their barging services coming down from the top. So at this point and we do work the Department of Infrastructure and ECE and their hydrologists do connect and receive water reports regularly, so I could certainly perhaps share that. That might provide some additional comfort to the MLA. And, again, through the leadership channels that was mentioned earlier to ensure that everyone's aware of what we're monitoring, what's able. But at this moment, the information I have fresh off of the moment is that, indeed, the Fort Good Hope shipment is expected to be on track. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My last question to the Minister is if she can cooperate with my office and identify or developing a protocol of communications for the customers in Fort Good Hope and south of the two sets of rapids, Norman Wells and the community of Tulita, on working with a communique with the air barge company. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am aware of the air barge offers that are out there. Again, it is a private company that is offering those services. So where and how exactly that might fit into a government communication, I want to be just a bit cautious on. That said, I know the MLA's office and my office worked together this past winter when we were adjusting the winter road season as well as when we were adjusting to fly fuel into some communities when there were some shortages owing to last year's challenges. So both of those occasions, those types of pathways actually worked very well, and I heard that ultimately the winter road season, because of the communications, was very successful, residents saw that they had their concerns addressed. So very happy to do that again. It worked well once, twice, and will certainly work well again a third time. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister for Infrastructure. Oral questions. Member from the Deh Cho.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And continuing from my Member's statement yesterday to the Minister of MACA, can the Minister explain what discussions have taken place with the federal government regarding supports for the displaced residents of Enterprise and also, specifically, which federal departments have been engaged on this? Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Deh Cho. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the department and the GNWT engage directly with the Privy Council's Office, Public Safety Canada, CIRNAC, and Indigenous Services on the availability of federal programs to assist uninsured homes and businesses impacted by the 2023 wildfires with financial assistance to rebuild. The GNWT also asked those departments to engage with other federal departments and agencies, such as CMHC. They explored the other federal programs to see if they could assist with the recovery. The GNWT was advised by the PSO and the PSC that they have explored all options across the federal government and confirmed that there was no other federal programs available to assist with rebuilding uninsured homes and businesses in those affected areas.
MACA currently has been providing temporary accommodations to all affected residents through the assistance provided. And currently any resident who is uninsured is being taken care of with a place to stay at this time. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know, I don't know, I try to temper my enthusiasm but it's hard. So excited. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
So, Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health and Social Services. And I'm sure it will be no surprise I'm going to ask a question regarding the nursing association and the fact that they put that obstructive wall of 1,125 hours in front of an internationally trained competent nurse, who could practice any day of the week here, any day, and they've been approved in Ontario and in Alberta but yet there seems to be some bottleneck about saying you cannot get a license in the Northwest Territories unless you already have practically six months of experience elsewhere, which is a shame.
Mr. Speaker, my question for the Minister is is what is she doing about this to solve this gatekeeper problem that's restricting people who want to live and invest in the Northwest Territories, grow their families, by being refused the opportunity to practice here? Because if they leave, they're not probably going to come back. Thank you.
Member from Yellowknife Centre. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I'll give credit where it's due. Thank you to the Member for raising this issue and continuing to raise this issue.
I've actually had conversations with my department on this. I've had conversation was the Minister of ECE who deals with immigration. We are actually scheduling a meeting with CAN to go over a lot of the things that are under the International Educated Nurses and so we could fully understand what is needed in there. And I'll you know, I understand that this 1,125 hours is here. And one of the things with this is right now where we are as a territory is we are not Ontario. We are we are a small 40,000 population. And if an international educated nurse goes into Ontario, they have bridging programs, they have mentors, they have stable more stable workforce. Here in the Northwest Territories, we just talked about morale, we talked about burnout, we talked about all of these things that we're putting on our nurses that are here working. We have nurses that are here mentoring our Aurora College nursing students. And so we have to look at this, and we have to figure this out and how we can support it. So I'll just leave it there. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Minister acknowledging we're not Ontario. But if Ontario can you can submit your application in the morning and have it licensed by the afternoon, I mean, maybe that doesn't fit us. That said, Alberta does. And we often look to Alberta as the option or similarities as to where we do. And the last point I'll make, Mr. Speaker, is I can't imagine a doctor being told go find 1,125 Canadian hours, even though you qualify everywhere in Canada but here, and then come back when you're ready. So we've refused them. It's about standard of fairness, Mr. Speaker.
So my question back to it is the department has relinquished some of its authority under Bill 77 under the last government. That said, what directive can you send to the nursing association to eliminate this useless barrier that doesn't treat people fairly. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you for the Member. And, you know, when we talk about doctors, doctors have mentors. They have programs in place to mentor new doctors. They have residency programs within the territory as well. So with this issue, you know, like I said, I will be getting more information. We will be getting with CAN. We will be discussing this. I am going along with my colleague as well so that we can make sure that we have a full understanding of what it is and what needs to happen for here in the Northwest Territories. At the end of the day, it's making sure that everybody that's working in our area in the health field and not saying that the people that are waiting to fall into this group of people that want to work in the Northwest Territories but, you know, that everything is met before we have them taking care of our residents in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm asking the Minister, are you committed to see the elimination of this policy; this unbiassed, unfair, and unreasonable policy, because we're talking about our friends, our neighbours, our community is suffering and hurting more because we cannot allow these people in. Is the Minister committed to the elimination of that policy?
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, and I will repeat myself that we are looking at all the options. I will not put a nurse in front of patients unless we know that this 1,125 hours if it's not necessary, then I'll look at it if it's not necessary. But I don't have the full picture right now so I can't make that decision on the floor here today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, competency isn't the question here. So when you say I don't want to put a nurse in front of anybody who is not able to, no one here wants that. So let's make sure that's clear. If Alberta finds them competent skill wise, their international skills, whether they trained in the UK, India, Australia, United States, and they're supported in Alberta and Ontario, they must be okay by their standards. Can we not mirror their process because their competencies say yes?
Mr. Speaker, my question is this isn't a competency issue. This is they can be qualified anywhere else, but the Northwest Territories based on their screening. Why can't we mirror that? If they're approved elsewhere, approve them here. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
