Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, what I can say is, yes, paramedics have been used in circumstances where there hasn't been any -- enough nurses available, community health nurses available in some of the health centres. When there's a shortage and they've expanded all ways to try and recruit, even locums, they reached out and they have paramedics that go in. The paramedics, however, are there used to assist nurses to do assessments in triage so that frees up the community health nurse in the health centre. They don't work on call, and they don't work alone. And while they're working in the health centre in that role, they don't -- they're not working outside of the health centre in any -- like, in a paramedic capacity. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Is it possible to staff -- is it possible to have an extended program to have home care workers work after hours to assist elders or people with disabilities in my riding? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, right now we have started to transition, and during the last year, we actually have increased some communities with the funding that we're getting through the home -- Inuit home and community and funding that we have within to start to provide after hours and weekend support to those home care clients by home support workers that are hired locally in the community. I have asked the department to do a review of actually the Member's riding to see when was the last time home care assessments were done in her riding. I know that across the territory we've had this conversation -- I've had the conversation with the Member that, you know, as we expand these programs, we have to make sure we're expanding into the communities that have the greatest needs with -- like, when we are doing that. So I have asked to make sure that all of our home care assessments throughout our regions are going to be -- like, going to be up to date so that way if we -- when we are able to start expanding into other communities that we're using the -- we're putting the extra hours into those communities that have been assessed to need that. So I have committed to the Member that I will be doing that in -- making sure because that was the request that she asked, my riding, but I will, however, make sure that, you know, all our small communities are making sure that they have the care that they need, and as we roll out this we will continue to look at where they need to go. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister for Health and Social Services. Final supplementary. Member from Deh Cho.
Okay, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister explain which home and community care services are currently offered in my riding, the communities in my riding?
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, what I do have, I have the -- there is a home care nurse and two home support workers that are located in Fort Providence. They do report to the nurse -- the home care nurse in-charge from the Deh Cho out of Simpson. I will have to get back to the Member on the other three communities that she serves. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Oral questions. Member from Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my four questions today is to the Minister of Infrastructure on the Sahtu winter road resupply and public safety, to some degree, survival.
My first question to the Minister of Infrastructure is how is it the Department of Infrastructure monitoring this heavy traffic north of Fort Wrigley? Mahsi.
Thank you, Member from the Sahtu. Minister of Infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, monitoring and planning, really, for the monitoring began back, I would actually say last year. We obviously went through a difficult resupply last year and had to develop pretty good connections with the trucking community, with those on the other end on the receiving on the supply side. It went well. And starting this summer and through the fall, we rekindled those connections. So the monitoring is happening both by our staff as well as by making sure we have those contacts. We have extra folks on the entire stretch of winter road in order to make sure that we are keeping an eye on what is happening, and also we're monitoring the number of fuel trucks and trucks of all sorts that are going on the road starting all the way from Enterprise and, again, going all the way through for the entire network. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thanks to the Minister for that information here. My next question: Will the Minister make available weekly fuel delivery schedules? I've got that report coming from Imperial so if I can monitor for myself interest of the scheduled deliveries. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I receive a regular weekly report on what's been delivered, and I'm more than happy to make sure I do try to send that out to MLAs but I will, again, certainly make my best efforts to do that now.
As far as the schedule of deliveries, I'm certainly quite happy to ask that the department try to do that. I also am receiving the one from Imperial. With respect to the ones from fuel services division, the same folks typically that are actually doing the resupply would then be the ones having to issue out the schedule so there, at times, might be some delays getting that out but certainly happy to make some best efforts in that regard so people can plan their travel accordingly. Thank you.
Final supplementary. Member from Sahtu.
I really want to thank the Minister for providing those measures. This window is going to close in another seven weeks, so we got to make sure that we have the schedule and monitor the schedule. My last question here will be, to the Minister, provide advanced notices to my office and the public travellers for the transportation of the Colville Lake school wide dimensional loads. Mahsi.
Thank you, Member from the Sahtu. That will be your final supplementary question. Minister of Finance -- or Infrastructure. Same.
Mr. Speaker, I am very closely watching this, as is my colleague Minister Cleveland, and we'll be more than happy to provide notice to the MLA and will then also have it up on social media so the public knows when it's happening. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Infrastructure. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I cited in my Member's statement regarding health privacy concerns at the clinic, and so I'm going to ask the Minister what can she do to investigate, access, address, and follow up to people like myself, MLAs that is, what action can and will be taken to address these issues so inadvertently personal private information is not being shared? Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd have to get more specifics from the Member, and I'm willing to have that conversation with him to figure out what the issue is and what's being -- the breach is, if there is a breach. I mean, we have stringent, like rules around sharing of private information, of health information. So I would further like to discuss this with the Member, and we can deal with it in the appropriate channels. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I may have used the word "breach." I'd have to go back to transcript. It wasn't -- no, no, but I want to be clear just for the mere second of grace you'll allow me. It's not a breach when two people are talking and people are listening as in a nefarious breach; it could just be shared inadvertently hence that's the breach per se, in that -- so if CBC's listening, you're not getting a fax.
Mr. Speaker, in my Member's statement, I also cited the fact that there are line-ups at 7:30 when the doors open for those few precious appointments, and they're gone moments later, and then we have tons of people waiting in line behind them for those on the spot, same-day appointments, and the phone lines open at shortly past 8 and they're long gone. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister explain to this House what is the key issue underpinning the refusal to create an online booking system like there are so many out there already, and will she direct her department to find a workaround so we can become efficient and modern? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, Mr. Speaker, the proposed online booking system, this is -- NTHSSA is aware that the department within NTHSSA has added this to their intake process for IT projects, and that's triage based on the funding and need and so we are currently, as you know, having a very huge deficit of IT infrastructure. So I will make sure I figure out if there is a timeline or if this is going to move forward and how much this is, and I can report back to the Member with any of that information once I have it. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I look forward to that answer from the Minister.
Mr. Speaker, in my Member's statement I also cited that there are issues with the phone system where people will leave messages, and the message online, whether you're calling the hospital to a specialist section, whether it's, you know, ultrasound, etcetera, or the clinics, etcetera, is you will get a callback between two and three days, so Mr. Speaker, if the -- maybe the Premier's trying to draw the attention of the House. I thought I was being interrupted there. Did you want something, Mr. Premier? Oh, maybe not.
Mr. Speaker, my question to the Minister is what can she do to either accelerate the return call process or make sure someone's live to take these calls that keep coming in because people are frustrated they either don't get a call or never hear from them, period. I guess that's the same thing. She understands the issue. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife Centre. Colleagues, focus, please. Thank you. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, Mr. Speaker, the short answer is NorthwesTel and TSC are working together to trial a new system right now currently. Software and equipment have been procured. Staff are in training. And this will be tested within the next couple weeks, and then the trial -- live trial is expected sometime this month for that system to be ready. So I'm hoping that this will work. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Great answer. Got everybody happy. That's good to hear.
Oral questions. Member from Monfwi.
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is a question for the Minister of Justice.
On October 21, 2024, the Minister mentioned introducing new legislation that is intended to help the communities and RCMP address these impacts. Can the Minister advise the House if this legislation is ready, and if not, can the Minister provide a timeline for when it will be introduced? Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Monfwi. Two questions in one there. Minister of Justice.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And the Member is correct, I have announced that we are looking to introduce three pieces of legislation to help with public safety. So the first is the SCAN legislation, and that stands for safer communities and neighbourhoods. And that's the type of legislation that allows for buildings to be temporarily shut down and if there's residents there, those residents would have to find somewhere else to go if those buildings are causing harm to a community and that can be proven on a balance of probabilities in court. So it bypasses the Residential Tenancies Act and the criminal justice system. And so this is a system that is used in jurisdictions across Canada and has been effective at shutting down drug houses. So this is one tool that I want to provide to communities.
We also have the Trespass Act. And I've heard from a number of MLAs, and I've heard from, you know, my own constituents, that there are some apartment buildings that have unwanted drug dealers in them, and they just can't get them out. And so this would allow, in those instances, for those individuals to be removed and make those apartment buildings and the families in them safer.
And the other piece of legislation is civil forfeiture legislation. And sometimes if the RCMP arrest someone with a stack of drugs and a stack of money but there's no conviction, they have to give that money back. Civil forfeiture legislation would allow the RCMP to apply to the courts to prove -- and if they can prove on a balance of possibilities that that money was gotten through criminal activity, then they can retain those funds. They can do the same thing for vehicles and houses and other assets as well.
So the idea behind these pieces of legislation is to make the Northwest Territories a less inviting place for drug dealers to do business. We want to make it a miserable place for drug dealers to do business. SCAN legislation is under -- there's still research happening. This spring, we hope to go out for public engagement, maybe have a legislative proposal later this year. I understand this is a controversial piece of legislation. It has been in the past. And so there might be some movement in those timelines there because we want to make sure we get the support and get it right. And the other pieces of legislation are likewise expected to be completed and hopefully have the bills passed during the life of this Assembly. Thank you.
Thank you for the answer. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned in my statement, safe residents and communities has been a priority of this Assembly. What actions are the Minister and the department taking to address the priority in light of recent drug and gun related crimes in the NWT? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As Minister of Justice, I provide the RCMP with their policing priorities. Priority number 1 is to address the impacts of drugs and alcohol on our communities, so illegal drugs and bootlegging on our communities. That's my first priority that I've given to the RCMP. So that's step one.
In this fiscal year, we funded a new crime reduction unit to be made up of RCMP officers who are going to focus on organized crime and drugs. They'll have the time and the specialized training to undertake investigations and hopefully -- well, not hopefully. They're going to make a dent in the drug trade in the territory. We've also funded additional officers for the emergency response team to help that crime reduction unit go kick in doors when it's necessary. There have been officers added, regular duty officers added around the territory every year for the last number of years. We are also on the other end looking at providing supports for individuals who are released from jail or need to navigate the justice system to hopefully stay out of the justice system. We have a number of programs like this rolling out, and I look forward to discussing these more in the coming weeks and months. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Justice. Final supplementary. Member from Monfwi.
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister commit to investigate whether the Behchoko RCMP detachment need more resources or personnel to continue traffic stops and combat the problem we are facing? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe it was in the last fiscal year there were two positions added to the detachment in Behchoko. Last year -- this fiscal year I think there was one in Whati, and next year there's another one. And so there's a number of positions going into the Tlicho region. What we -- the way we work with the RCMP is that they identify the pressures in different communities, and we work with them to resource them as necessary. And so there are pressures around the territory, but we have recognized those in the Tlicho region and responded.
The RCMP have also implemented their new divisional drug strategy across the territory. And that's part of the reason why you see in the news more check stops resulting in drug seizures. It's because the RCMP are -- they have taken a different approach in the last maybe year and a half, and it's paying dividends, and we see it in the news with these regular drug busts. And this is -- we all take this issue seriously. We've heard it throughout the House today. You know, every -- the last few years, I think the coroner reported around six or seven deaths because of toxic overdoses. But that's not the end of it. There's also more deaths associated with the drug trade. There's murders, there's executions, there's suicide, there's human trafficking. So we recognize the weight of this issue, and we are responding. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Justice. Oral questions. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, recently the BC Premier Eby has announced that he is fast-tracking 18 resource projects in his province, a blend of energy, mining, and critical minerals projects worth around $20 billion and that will employ 8,000 people. There are certainly some people who have issue with the fast-tracking, but he is committed to do it to deal with the trade war. Yes, Mr. Speaker, we are still very much in the midst of a trade war. It's time to fast-track some of our own projects. We have nine advanced critical minerals projects or a mix of projects that could help our critical minerals future. Can the Minister of Environment and Climate Change commit to fast-tracking these nine projects? Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Minister of Environment and Climate Change.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that is a fact that there are many projects that are advanced and ready to move on. Unfortunately, the GNWT is unable to unilaterally make the decision to advance projects in that manner. The department is committed to working with our co-management partners, and we have a very robust co-management system. And for us to streamline that process and -- you know, without proper consultation and without ensuring that we're talking with the Indigenous governments and the Indigenous organizations would really, you know, not follow the commitment of this government to work closely with those groups and ensure that the process is moving forward.
Having said that, Mr. Speaker, I have been working closely with ITI, and we recently were at Roundup. We've had multiple meetings with industry, and we are discussing ways to find quicker paths forward with regards to the regulation and the permitting process, and that work has been ongoing for almost a year now. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to be clear, I don't want to circumvent the rights of Indigenous people; that's certainly not what I'm suggesting. I'm suggesting let's work together to fast track these projects.
Will the Minister bring this concern to the Council of Leaders' table or work with the Premier -- I don't know that process -- but will he get this on the agenda at the Council of Leaders so everyone can work together to fast-track these projects for the sake of our -- every community in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it certainly has been a regulation and land use etcetera have been a topic of -- a common topic with the Council of Leaders and at that table, and, you know, as we work forward together to try and address some of the challenges of fast tracking, if we want to call it that, but, you know, moving the regulatory process at a quicker pace, it certainly involves a lot of communication and ensuring that we have, you know -- we have the Intergovernmental Council legislative developmental process that we use to do this work, and I think it's really important that we work together through that process to find ways through a collaborative effort to move things at a quicker pace. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Final supplementary. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To be clear, regulatory streamlining is something I support, but this is an emergency situation. Will the Minister work with the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment and the Premier's office, declare a state of urgency at least over the regulatory regime and work with the relevant parties, whether they be federal, Indigenous, to ensure that we could fast-track these nine projects and get these critical -- get our critical minerals out of the ground, into market, and create good jobs in the communities? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, I've been working closely with the Minister of ITI and industry, you know, and as well as the land and water boards and the different regulatory agencies across the territory. And certainly, it's been -- you know, the potential closing of the diamond mines in the next number of years and, you know, the interest from industry to advance their projects in a timely way has certainly been top of mind. You know, those conversations happen not just with the two of us, but it's an all-of-Cabinet approach and we're all involved in those conversations. So I'm certainly happy to continue those conversations amongst my colleagues. And, you know, as we look at the potential tariffs and some of the decisions that are going to come in the days to come to see what we can do together to advance that potential. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife North.
