Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I'm sure they can find a way to do this, and this government is good at hiring consultants. You know, if they hire a consultant, they can -- if there's a will, there's a way. So they can find money to help our neighbours -- to help their neighbour. So it's more of a comment. I don't have any more questions, so I'll just leave it at that. Thank you.
Member, please ask the questions. I don't need the preambles. Thank you very much.
Oral questions. Member from Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thanks for this opportunity for another question. My question today is to the Minister of housing.
We have a beautiful building there in Tulita, the Tulita four-plex, that was transferred ownership to this government. It was designated for health staff but it's currently not ready and that ownership was transferred last -- the beginning of the summer. And I would like to know what measures is the housing Minister taking to make it occupied for the health staff so that'll release the current building for the teachers? Mahsi.
Thank you, Member from the Sahtu. Member for Housing NWT.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member for the question. The four-plex in Tulita has been transferred over to health for use for the nursing staff in Tulita. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Okay, thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of health -- no, I'll wait for another opportunity. Thank you. Mahsi.
Member from the Sahtu, please questions, because I got a whole list of people that want to still get on the second one. Members, oral questions. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question for the -- is for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Doctors are complaining about not being able to provide timely and effective feedback with respect to the structure of the system and the problems they see. Primary care doctors more specifically have proposed initiatives. I'm asking what forum does the Minister allow good conversations and discussions about proposals that doctors are providing that can help save the health care system? Thank you.
Member from Yellowknife Centre. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, within the NTHSSA, the primary care sits within NTHSSA and the doctors work within the NTHSSA. And so the doctors have -- you know, they have the medical director. They have the territorial medical director, they have the COO, they have the CEO, and they have the governing council. So they have very many levels that if they're not being heard, you know, they have very many levels. And if the -- you know, and if they're still not being heard after they've gone all the way up to the governing council, then that's when -- then, you know, the discussions between myself and the governing council can happen. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that answer from the Minister, but when the doctors are suggesting to open up the CT scan that -- system and creating avenues to help patient care and expedite it in the sense of service and save money, it's going on deaf ears. So what next if no one seems to care about the advice and direction offered by doctors, especially our primary care doctors? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as that is very operational questions, I -- you know, that is the first time I've heard that issue so that would be something that they -- I would recommend them to be raising with the COO and the CEO. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there are more concerns and, apparently, that's been highlighted many times, and I think even another MLA pointed out scheduling. These doctors are saying they could provide suggestions through efficiency and management of time by doing their own scheduling and they're reaching the point that they're considering leaving, if not some have already left. Maybe we could start with the first clarity on this particular issue is how many primary care doctors do we have in Yellowknife and working in the Stanton hospital? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will have to get back to the Member on that. Thank you.
Minister of Health and Social Services. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I've been made aware that it's close to five or six doctors have either left or just recently have given their notice of leaving. I'd like that to be confirmed with respect to the numbers I've asked a few moments ago. Is the Minister aware of this, and what is she doing about it? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, you know, this conversation that has come up in the House, it came up yesterday and, you know, and it has -- many people come within our system and, you know, we are doing exit interviews to find out why and we are using the data to change the way that, you know, we're engaging with staff or retention. So what I can say is that I don't get notified whenever there's a health care person or a doctor within the whole Northwest Territories that is hired or has left, you know, and so therefore if the Member wants to know, I -- like, I was willing to share with the Member yesterday, the variance, like, when staff are -- you know, and any -- and positions, I can provide that to the Member. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Oral questions. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, right now we have a system that competes with itself as I said. This is not coming from my analysis; this is coming from health care workers, doctors, nurses, allied health care professionals. Why has the choice been made to prioritize locum contracts, temporary workers, and agency nurses over full-time staff? Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there has been no prioritize on locum workers or agency workers. Mr. Speaker, we have to follow the collective agreement. We cannot bargain outside the collective agreement on indeterminate employees and therefore you know, this -- and which leaves us if we don't have any indeterminate employees, then we have to go to the next steps which we go for terms, and then if it impacts units being closed then we would discuss that with the union and get the consent to be able to look at agencies. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, is the Minister willing to look at the length of contracts? A six-month contract means the worker's going to stay in the Northwest Territories for at least a longer time commitment. We're talking about contracts that are two days long, that are a week long. Will the Minister commit to stopping that practice and ensuring contracts are long enough to keep people in the North and keep money in the North and keep continuity of care in the North? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, Mr. Speaker, you know, I can commit to having that conversation again with the NTHSSA of what their practice is. I am not familiar of how long contracts are, if they're -- you know, I mean, in the past, you know, the only time I've ever seen a short enough contract in my time working in the health authority was within, you know, maybe over Christmas so that we didn't have to shut down services so maybe a two or three-week contract. But, you know, as the -- as it is now, we are struggling with staffing. And whether Members in this House or anywhere, you know, we don't know exactly how long this is going to be throughout Canada. We don't know. And, you know, this is priority -- this is priority not just for me, it is a priority for Canada. It's a priority that we are going to be discussing at the next health Ministers' meeting because it is an issue. It is an issue across Canada. We are struggling to find and retain health care providers. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Canadian government's pumping billions of dollars into health care right now. This is not -- this problem is a northern problem. So what's the Minister's northern solution? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, the Canadian government may be pumping millions into the -- into health care but as you -- it's not only even at the health Ministers' table now. It is at the Premiers -- you know, the Premiers are discussing the health because it is not sustainable. Our health care budgets in all of the territories and provinces are not sustainable. And so there are issues throughout Canada. Thank you.
Minister of Health and Social Services. Final supplementary. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And that number is $200 billion over ten years. So, you know, I appreciate that it's going to be divvied out in different places. We need to have a resolution to this. We need to find a way to retain workers. This is a blockage that's been identified to me. Will the Minister at least commit to doing an exploration of this, working with staff, working with the whole team, and coming up with a solution that's meaningful, impactful, and will actually solve this problem instead of just more listening exercises? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, during my time as the Minister so far within this year, you know, we have excellent staff, you know, and, yes, they are -- they are tired and, yes, there are, you know, very -- not just at Stanton. In the regions, you know, you most recently hear about in the regions we have, you know, obstetrics closures, we have nursing stations that are on emergency services. And so what we're -- you know, like, what we're trying to do is we're looking at it as a whole of territory because as I said in the very beginning, this is a whole of territory issue, and Stanton is our territorial hospital and it is at the brink. And the Members are correct, the Members in Yellowknife have raised this and the people in Yellowknife have raised this. But the issue, you know, from Yellowknife is all of the people that are coming in from the small communities, so we still need to look at what is going on elsewhere so that way there's not such the burden on the territorial health system in Yellowknife. And so that is what I'm committed to do. I am committed to working within our structures. I am committed to working with my -- looking at my legislation to see the authorities that I have over the health care system and working with the rest of the Members in this House. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you. Oral questions. Member from Frame Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I appreciated the answers I got earlier from the Minister of ECE and note that she just kind of finished on the point she needs support from industry. Mr. Speaker, I want to talk about what we are doing.
Mr. Speaker, let's connect the dots. Education outcomes, will the Minister speak to the education outcomes and how that's relating to our inability to sufficiently provide a workforce for industry in the territory? Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Frame Lake. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I feel like by the question, the Member already knows the answer. Absolutely, our education outcomes are linked to employment a hundred percent. And this is why within the Northwest Territories we're doing things like looking at the ELCC program in conjunction with the Government of Canada and making sure that our ELCC service providers have education and certification that they need in order to provide support at the zero to age 4 level. Then we're looking at our curriculum renewal. We're switching to the BC curriculum which is also going to help out. We were looking at -- you know, our students need school-based mental health and wellness because they need to be mentally cared for in order to be able to learn at the end of the day. So this is a huge focus of mine. The other piece around this is our review of the Education Act which is also taking place in this Assembly. And then there is also, of course, the new post-secondary education legislation that was passed in the last Assembly to make sure that the post-secondary education that is being offered to Northerners is quality education so that we can ensure that we have a robust workforce at the end of the day. And it is absolutely all connected. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I guess where I -- where I'm a bit confused is, you know, when I look at education outcomes, workforce planning, you know, let's focus on the Giant Mine project for a second. That project is only achieving 36 percent employment. This is a project that's going to be spending billions of dollars in the territory over a number of years. Why have we failed to maximize northern workforce in that project if all these plans are working so well? What's the missing piece, Mr. Speaker?
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think it's worth saying that this project is led by the federal government. We do not as the GNWT hold the reins on this project. I think that it is an accumulation of everything that I have mentioned here today. It is also a matter of making sure that projects are right-sized for the Northwest Territories which I know in having sat down with one of the key leaders on that project that they are doing what they can to make sure that projects are broken down and they do have a focus of northern procurement. However, they do work within the federal system and the federal system -- I think we have some room to work together to make sure that our procurement rules align and that our goals at the end of the day align as well. So I think there's always room for improvement in the territory, and I think we should always maintain our drive and desire to always do better. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, does the Department of ECE or ITI have stated goals for workforce -- increasing the northern workforce in the territory? Have they set a number that they're trying to achieve either at the diamond mines, Giant, through northern -- through our contracting? Are they looking to achieve a goal?
Member, direct it to one Minister, not -- though she has the two different roles, I am going to turn it to you as the Minister for Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with all of our mining projects -- well, our diamond mining projects, we do have socio-economic agreements which in them do contain northern employment goals in them. So that is baked in to a lot of what we do in the territory. And it is always our goal to ensure that our industry in the Northwest Territories is serving and benefitting Northerners. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Final supplementary. Colleagues, our time has come to the end.
Before we do that, I'd like to welcome the students from Sir John Franklin High School for attending here. They got to watch a lively debate and thank you very much for being here today.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Your Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight is pleased to provide its Report on the Committee's Statement on the Housing and Healthcare Crises in the Northwest Territories and commends it to the House.
Mr. Speaker, this report sets out the accountability and oversight committee's concerns and call for urgent government intervention regarding the crises conditions that have developed in the delivery of health care and social services and affordability and availability of housing across the Northwest Territories. Through correspondence before the fall sitting, committee issued the following statement to their Cabinet counterparts:
The Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight is committed to upholding the four priorities of the 20th Legislative Assembly, which are:
the suitability, accessibility, and affordability of housing;
a strong economic foundation;
access to health care and addressing the effects of trauma; and,
safe residents and communities.
Mr. Speaker, committee has become increasingly concerned with the crises conditions that continue to develop in the delivery of health and social services and the affordability and availability of housing in the NWT. After a thorough consideration, committee is not able to support a capital plan while the top priorities of the 20th Legislative Assembly still require urgent attention, action, and associated funding.
We have heard from our constituents, frontline staff and practitioners, that our primary health care system is seeing unsustainable challenges. We are calling on the government to make immediate changes and adopt a more staff-centric approach that will incorporate the input of our critical health care staff and frontline workers, protect their mental health, and show them that they are valued. We are requesting a fundamental culture shift which we acknowledge may need to include changes made to the foundational governance and accountability structure.
Mr. Speaker, we also wish to see adequate supports given to youth mental health and other HSS services such as therapeutic and diagnostic supports. Failure to solve these problems impacts our capacity to deliver services and our fiscal sustainability goals by causing unnecessary costs to address the crises points.
Committee is concerned that Housing NWT is not making significant progress on addressing the housing crisis that exists across the entire housing continuum in the Northwest Territories. Given the available data, we believe that Housing Northwest Territories has enough information to take meaningful action to advance the creation of more housing units. We need more investment into the creation of housing units.
It is not lost on committee the gravity of the position that we have taken and would reiterate that we are urgently seeking a course correction from government with appropriate resourcing behind it that reflects both the Assembly priorities and the concerns of NWT residents.
Committee is very concerned about the fragility of our health care system and the apparent inability to put appropriate resources into housing. Committee remains dedicated to fostering a transparent and collaborative budget process. It has become clear to us that failing to fix these problems is undermining our ability to practice responsible fiscal management and puts our goals in jeopardy, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, we believe that by putting appropriate focus on our shared priorities, we can achieve a more prosperous and resilient future for all. We look forward to continuing this vital conversation and hope that we'll see the appropriate shift during this government session.
Committee understands that the capital budget is before us; however, we cannot approve the budget until we see real commitments for change and a shift in government resources that better reflects the priorities of this Assembly.
This report is presented to the House as a demonstration of committee's ongoing commitment to transparency alongside a continued call for action to better and more immediately address the priorities of the 20th Legislative Assembly.
Mr. Speaker, in recent discussions, it has become clear that the government's mechanisms to address the serious issues that have arisen in housing and health and social services are falling short of what is necessary to make meaningful change. As we navigate the complexities of our fiscal and policy landscape, we are reminded that it is imperative that we, as a government, make informed decisions that reflect the needs and values of our communities and residents. We are becoming increasingly concerned that those needs and values are not being addressed meaningfully, so we are prepared to take a strong position to urge the government to act right away.
Mr. Speaker, committee observes that Housing NWT is not making, nor plans to make, significant progress on addressing the housing crisis that exists across the entire continuum of the Northwest Territories when considering the Housing NWT Action Plan 2022-2025. The lack of meaningful metrics and targets put forward by Housing NWT in their action plan make it difficult for committee, or any other stakeholder, to ultimately understand the capacity and capability of the organization.
Mr. Speaker, committee advocates for the Housing NWT to use all available data and evidence now to advance the creation of new housing units across the entire housing continuum to advance the creation and/or retrofit of housing units aggressively and ambitiously. Committee requires a far greater commitment from Cabinet to put more resources into supporting territorial housing needs. Committee is ultimately seeking a commitment to the creation of expanded housing units and resourcing behind that commitment, Mr. Speaker.
In the spirit of reconciliation, committee acknowledges and supports the work done collaboratively with Indigenous governments. To that end, committee also expects that Housing NWT will better demonstrate and report on how they are working with and supporting the work of each Indigenous government in delivering their housing strategies. The government must support the bilateral relationship between the Indigenous governments and the federal government to ensure that additional resources can flow directly to Indigenous communities.
Mr. Speaker, finally, committee acknowledges the ongoing and serious challenges faced by municipalities and small communities who are attempting to identify lands suitable for housing stock development and are finding the options limited and not suitable. As such, committee urges the Department of Environment and Climate Change to commit to and proactively pursue arrangements where bulk land transfers to municipalities can occur, including implementing transparent, clear processes to help departments and municipalities understand how they can participate.
Mr. Speaker, committee maintains that any real or perceived limitations of municipalities (or interest of the community, community type, community legislative and administrative tools, and community capacity and resources) are the concern of the municipality and would encourage ECC to not take a paternalistic approach.
Mr. Speaker, committee is aware of the increasingly unsustainable issues faced by both the Department of Health and Social Services and the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authorities, including the indications from frontline staff and practitioners, that the primary care system may be on the verge of collapse.
Mr. Speaker, committee is calling on the Minister of Health and Social Services to make all actions necessary to immediately intervene and stabilize primary, secondary, and tertiary care. We have seen evidence that the current management model is not staff-centric, nor does it foster problem solving or incorporate the input of our critical health care staff and frontline workers. We wish to see a governance and management organizational structure implemented right away that signals to staff they are valued.
Mr. Speaker, a culture shift is required that empowers our frontline staff and makes the Northwest Territories an attractive place to live and work. We know that HSS has received evidence-based observations and clear, achievable recommendations from a number of sources. For example, the March 1st, 2024 correspondence from the NWT Medical Association, which was tabled in the House on May 28, 2024, contained organizational and systemic change recommendations. Committee calls on HSS to respond to these recommendations.
Committee is also concerned that there are not adequate levels of support in schools for youth mental health and other vital health and social services such as therapeutic and diagnostic supports for our children and young people.
Mr. Speaker, committee sees evidence that not enough is being done to show appreciation and support for our health care staff and our frontline workers, including supporting their physical and mental health, and we call for concrete action.
Committee urges more efforts to enhance recruitment and retention of health care frontline workers, specifically around point-of-care staff. Committee is also aware that many of our practitioners are not being supported in the face of significant challenges with critical staffing and resource shortages. For example, Mr. Speaker, we know that health care practitioners are regularly denied requests for annual leave, and policies related to organizational demands are interpreted and implemented in such a way that makes it challenging for staff to take the leave allotted to them.
Mr. Speaker, this concludes the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight’s Report on Committee's Statement of the Housing and Health Care Crisis in the Northwest Territories. In conclusion, committee remains dedicated to fostering a transparent and collaborative capital budget process that gives the appropriate, urgent attention to our territory's top priorities. We believe that by focusing our attention to prioritize and adequately fund health care and housing issues, we can achieve a more prosperous and resilient future for all. Committee is very concerned about the fragility of our health care system and the apparent inability to put appropriate resources into housing.
Committee will continue to consider the capital plan that is before us, but our concerns with operations and services are serious ones. As previously stated, committee is not in a position to support a capital plan while we feel the top priorities of the 20th Legislative Assembly are not being addressed to the best of our abilities.
Mr. Speaker, committee is calling for a shift in resources that better reflects the priorities of the 20th Assembly. We look forward to continuing this vital conversation during the Fall 2024 session. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document: Update on Recommendations from Healing Voices Report. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
