Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at this point we're working with Aurora College to really gain clarity on what the picture will look like, and our actions from there will be to determine how we go about working with our education partners and stakeholders across the territory to ensure that at the end of the day we still are providing options for adult education and opportunities for education and employment in our small communities across the territory. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Oral questions. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have questions for the Minister of housing. Mr. Speaker, I know she's live and well aware of the work that the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation/the Gwich'in Tribal Council are doing in Inuvik around new housing. My question is what or how many new units are planned by the NWT Housing Corporation for Inuvik? Thank you.
Inuvik Boot Lake. Minister responsible for Housing NWT.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the current fiscal year, we have a duplex that was completed in Inuvik and also 34 units that are under the modernization and improvement. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And that's excellent information. And I'm wondering, can the Minister give me a timeline on the renovations? Given the long waitlist that we do have Inuvik, the timeline on when those 34 units are being renovated, what kind of a timeline are we looking at for those? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In terms of a timeline for the M and I projects, we're looking at spring of 2025 to complete most. We are waiting on approval for the biomass project for the 17-unit apartment in Inuvik to transfer that over to a biomass energy. So waiting on approval on further funding for that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister responsible for Housing NWT. Oral questions. Member from Monfwi.
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, for programming such as the SEED program, the artist to market programs, or financing programs, can the Minister confirm if representatives from ITI and Prosper NWT go into the small communities to promote programs? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Minister responsible for ITI.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Yes, Mr. Speaker, we do have a regional office that does travel into communities and work specifically with the ED -- sorry, the economic development officers that are also funded by ITI that work within the community, and that is afforded through the community transfer initiatives. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you. Besides funding opportunities, what type of educational programming is available to develop business skills for residents in our small communities? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there's everything from training workshops, workforce development, through Education, Culture and Employment, not just ITI. There's also support afforded through on-the-job training. And so ECE does do wage subsidy programs that employers also do have access to. Workshops are everything from arts focused to tourism focused and even agriculture focused as well. And you know, when I look at the numbers, there's certainly some good activity happening within the region, but also always, always looking for more opportunities as well. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of ITI. Final supplementary. Member from Monfwi.
Thank you. Is entrepreneurship in general being promoted by ITI on the ground in our small communities? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I certainly would hope so. There are 2.5 positions for economic development officers within Tlicho community, and the Tlicho communities also do have the Tlicho regional economic development working group that those economic development officers directly work with, and that is in support of the economic development strategy that was produced by the Tlicho government between 2022 and -- or for 2022 to 2027. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of ITI. Oral questions. Member from Frame Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Mr. Speaker, in the previous sitting of the Assembly in October, I asked the Minister about the ongoing issue of targeted amendments to the waters regulations. The Minister committed to come back to the House with a timeline for Members. I'm just wondering, Mr. Speaker, if the Minister has an update for the House today on that process. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Frame Lake. Minister of Environment and Climate Change.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yes, the issue around water regulations has certainly been a topic of much conversation over the past number of months since the last sitting, and I'm very happy to stand here today and, you know, report to this House that right now, ECC has received approval from Cabinet and the IGCS to proceed with the appraised approach to amend the Waters Act and the water regulations with Phase 1 be the targeted approach to making amendments that were suggested by the land and water board, some of the Indigenous governments and the Chamber of Mines. We're currently in the process of working toward planning those meetings. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that news from the Minister. That certainly is encouraging. Can the Minister give us an idea of what kind of a timeline we're looking at for this. He did commit to give that to me in the previous sitting of the House. Thanks.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, currently, we're -- like I said earlier, we're in the planning stages, and we are targeting to have a more concrete plan available in the spring that we'll be able to deliver at the next meeting of the Mackenzie Valley operational dialogue. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Final supplementary. Member from Frame Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, is the department planning to run this process through the operational dialogue, or are they going to be running the process themselves? It's becoming a bit unclear to me how this is going to play out, what the expected timeline is. I just want to remind the House and the Minister that the idea of doing targeted amendments was to get it done quickly if possible. Just looking for some more clarity on how this process is going to play out and hoping to get some kind of indication from the Minister that we might be able to see the changes come forward within the year. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Frame Lake. Minister of Environment and Climate Change.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, right now ECC is in the planning stages with the IGCS technical working group to advance the amendments to the targeted amendments to the water regulations, and it certainly is an area of high priority. We certainly, you know, want this to happen very, very quickly, and it is a process that will happen outside in the Mackenzie Valley operational dialogue, but we are definitely pushing forward to get that work done as quickly as possible. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, given that the NWT government has hired the Saskatchewan health care expert, and now I call him the health care czar, to reengineer the NWT health system and certainly given the fact that the Minister has shared with Members confidentially, of course, Mr. Speaker, the mandate of the health care czar, and the only person who can make it public is the Minister, would the Minister be willing to table that mandate letter of the public administrator before the House so Northerners can find out what's actually being directed here and if she can't table it, can she explain why transparency isn't the best approach for Northerners? Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, currently, the -- I have the information before me, and I have -- I'm just in the process of reviewing what will be shared with the Members, and at that time I will table that in the House. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'll take whatever we can get and certainly table it before the House would be good for everyone. Knowing that -- also, Mr. Speaker, knowing this information about what the health care czar is doing and knowing that the NWT health and social services budget isn't approved until the Assembly's budget has been approved and is long gone and the House is closed up, Mr. Speaker, for clarity would the Minister be willing to table NTHSSA's draft budget publicly before we review the department of health so we know what we're actually approving, not just the dollar amount, and we have trust and faith that new programs are being offered or we have clarity where reductions and cuts are being expected? Thank you.
Minister of Health and Social Services. It was a fine line; I was almost sending it back to the bull pen. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as NTHSSA, you know, when we look at a lot of our different departments within our ministries, NTHSSA is arm's length and, therefore, the public administrator will be working with the NTHSSA with whatever the budget is for the next coming year. And then when we do have that, that's when that will be tabled. That is the process, and you know, I know that this year it seems like there's a different approach in the process and with part of the work that we've been trying to do within, you know, making sure that we're staying within our limits and spending within our limits is looking at the NTHSSA's policy on the change that they no longer -- the deficit budgeting that went on for many, many years, and so this is what's being worked on, and it is every year tabled in the House once they have their budget. So I will follow the process that we have and, again, I will -- when I do have the information, I said it last week, I will share that with Regular Members. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
Mr. Speaker, when we think of the whole budget -- and I'm not getting into the details of the budget specifically that hasn't been tabled -- it's something in the range of $700 million. We're being asked to take a lot of it at good faith, in other words. That's a lot of millions, Mr. Speaker.
So, Mr. Speaker, the Minister says the process. Well, we are in charge of the process. She is in charge of the process. So in other words, the people that can change the process are us. Mr. Speaker, the question really is designed around how can MLAs be informed as to what's actually happening behind the scenes before it's too late? Because I'm being told by NGOs that they're being told that their budgets are being cut, and the only way we can talk about it is when that budget's tabled which is sometime long after this sitting. So how can we work better together when that's all we hear we're not working together? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I said, I will -- when I have the NTHSSA's budget, I will have that conversation with the Members. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Oral questions. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister mentioned that she's ready to come -- or she will be prepared to come back to the House with a plan from the public administrator to solve the problems we have in health care or at least start to solve them. When can we expect to see that plan; can we have a date? Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I did say last week that I would -- you know, I'm meeting with the PA. I'm looking at, you know, his -- the timeline that he has that he's reviewing. You know, there's many regions within the Northwest Territories. He's here in Yellowknife doing the work that he's doing here. He still has to meet with the regional authority -- like, the regional health authorities. And so where I'm at right now is that hopefully we'll have a plan to bring forward to Cabinet and then to Regular Members in March. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, does the public administrator have a schedule the Minister's aware of when he'll conclude his consultations with regional health advisory councils and authorities? Thank you.
Thank you. I do not have that information as I met with him prior to session. I will be meeting with him again not until next week in regards to our regular meetings, and I can ask that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Final supplementary. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, March is not a date, so I'm wondering if the Minister can commit to a specific date when the House can expect a plan or at least -- or a deadline when a plan should be made available. I think this is important for us so we have a comfort that the process is moving along; there's a clear deadline. I don't -- earlier or later, that's fine, but we need something set so we know what the deliverable is, our constituents will know when the deliverable is, and we can hold the Minister accountable for this -- for the commitments towards the public administrator improving the health care system. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I cannot commit to a date right now. Things change rapidly. I may -- you know, maybe it will be sooner; maybe it will be at the beginning. There might be travel issues. There might be -- you know, there might be more information that is required. So to be able to come up with a plan to be able to present timelines, I will -- as I said, I will follow up and I will get back to the Members, and I will hopefully have a plan before the end of March. Thank you.
