Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'll draw on another positive example which is to say that in the community of Behchoko, there was a longstanding challenge of the school there and a desire to see that school changed and moved from the site where it was previously put to a new community. The Department of Education, Culture and Employment as lead, with support from infrastructure, are now working with Tlicho government going to Ottawa to advocate for education. Mr. Speaker, I would be very happy to see that we can get to a place where another Indigenous government, together with the GNWT, are able to advocate for better education in their community, and I am happy to meet with the chiefs to work towards that goal. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Infrastructure. Oral questions. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today it's a fairly momentous day in the Canada-US trade relationship. Donald Trump has imposed his tariffs, and Canadians are reeling from the consequences. Markets are reeling from the consequences. And our future is increasingly uncertain. I know the Premier's been front and center with Team Canada on protecting our nation's interests and Northerner's interests. Can he provide an update to this House now that these tariffs are a reality. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Mr. Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. we have all heard the news that the President of the United States has decided to implement tariffs on Canada and Mexico. Prime Minister Trudeau has stated that he has initiated counter tariffs on our side of the border and with additional counter tariffs coming in a few weeks, depending on how things go. For our part here in the Northwest Territories, we've directed the NWT Liquor and Cannabis Commission to cease all procurement of American products. We have directed the department to refrain from procuring anything from American companies wherever possible. We're looking at how to end our contracts with Starlink. And we're going to continue to do anything else we can to support Team Canada and Canadians and Northerners. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has said that this epp today, shockingly, I think, that this effort of this -- of this trade war is to weaken Canada's economy to make it easier for the Americans to annex us into the 51st State. These are very shocking comments. Has the Premier been able to speak to the Prime Minister and just get a sense of how real that threat it? The NWT is, of course, in the Arctic, and that's a prize for the Americans clearly. Is this -- how serious is this threat, and what are we doing to prepare for it? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, we've had almost weekly conversations, all the Premiers and the Prime Minister. I actually had to leave the call early to come down to the House today, so we were just meeting. And I don't think there's a lot of nuance in what the President has to say about annexing Canada. I think if you read what he's saying and if you listen to what he says, it sounds like he's serious about it. And I think that people across Canada in all levels of government now realize that, and we need to do what we can to ensure that, you know, we stay united and we stay strong economically. We don't want the Americans to be able to use economic force or coercion to weaken our federation to the point that, you know, we are at risk of annexation. And, frankly, Mr. Speaker, I don't see that happening. I don't -- I can't imagine a world where the Americans are in control of Canada. It's just not something that I think any of us can fathom. It doesn't mean that we won't need to protect against that possibility and that we as Canadians, you know, we might have to put up with some pain based on these tariffs. It might be a difficult few years for us. But I know that we're going to stay united, and we're going to resist. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Premier. Final supplementary. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm really appreciative of these comments and the Premier's leadership on this. Premier Ford today also said he would do absolutely everything to protect Ontarians and Canadians, tearing up contracts, putting surcharges on energy, barring critical minerals. Is the Premier willing to pay any price to protect Canada and the Northwest Territories' sovereignty? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I listened to what Premier Ford has to say sometimes, and I wish I was able to say a lot of those same things, but the fact is we don't have that type of economy. We don't have those types of direct exports to the United States to be able to make those types of threats. We're not currently exporting any critical minerals to the United States, and so we're in a much different position. That being said, I'm confident that as Canadians we can come together, and we can both support Canadian businesses and ensure that the Americans are feeling the negative impacts of boycotts and of the counter tariffs so that we can overcome the situation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Premier. Oral questions. Member from Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just have one question to conclude my questions from the previous. Will the department look at consulting with the tenants of market housing, not just sending a letter but, you know, meeting with the tenants of the communities because consultation is key. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Mackenzie Delta. Minister responsible for Housing NWT.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member for the question. The local housing authorities and the district offices are always available to talk to clients about market housing needs in their communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Housing NWT. Oral questions. Member from Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health and Social Services. After hearing her answers to questions today, does the Minister agree that equity to health care includes accessibility to health care? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Great Slave. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Yes, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, you know, this is something I talked to the Minister about quite a bit. So can the Minister commit to looking during this primary care reform period into how we allot spaces between the two Yellowknife locations for same-day services? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Yes, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Oral questions. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am hearing that patients are being more or less warehoused in waiting rooms in the hospital. They're spending days on stretchers in an overcrowded emergency department. Hospital continues to be on gridlock, meaning care is delayed, tensions run high, and safety risks multiply. What is the Minister doing to address gridlock at Stanton Territorial Hospital? Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, since May 2024, Stanton Territorial Hospital has been gridlocked of an average of 10 to 15 days per month. So each day Stanton has an average of five patients in the emergency department waiting for a bed in the in-patient unit. For the past year, Stanton has been sitting at or above 100 percent capacity. As a result of no available beds for admission, Stanton has had to open extra beds in the ICU three to five days per month to treat and discharge emergency room patients. There are nine acute care beds that are currently occupied by patients who could be discharged to an altered level of care, such as out of territory services and long-term care, and these patients are at various stages of planning for those placements. On average, five to eight surgical procedures per month have had to be cancelled due to the lack of available beds for post-operative care as results gridlocks on numerous admissions in the ER. And, Mr. Speaker, what is this government doing? What is the Minister doing?
Well, the Minister is looking at -- you know, looking at how are we supporting our small communities and how are we supporting our regional centres? Because many of these people that are sitting in our emergency departments are medevacs that are coming in from small communities. Our hospital in the regions are at capacity as well. And so there's much work that needs to be done on the outlying to support people to -- you know, to have access to care sooner so that it's reducing the amount that's needed on in-patient care. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I mean, half a month your hospital's gridlocked, that's not a favourable statistic. Mr. Speaker, the Minister talked about providing support to regional health care and health care centres to release the pressure on Stanton. So how are these -- how have these efforts in regional centres had an effect on gridlock at Stanton? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as this is ongoing work that's happening and reviewing the model of health care centres and many of these things, these things are going to take time. I understand that the hospital is gridlocked. We're holding patients here because there's gridlocks even in the south happening. So this is something that is affecting us all across the system. So what we're doing is we're working diligently. You know, we've opened up more beds in the Liwego'ati Building and therefore those patients that need to go into -- you know, in long-term care, we're getting more spaces open for that. You know, and it takes all of us to try and -- you know, and reach out to our health care providers sooner. And, yes, we hear that it's a struggle but, you know, these are the things that we need to be -- we're focusing on and trying to change the way that we're doing things and looking at the frontline services and where things are going to be needed. And those are the things that maybe, you know, in this next year are going to have to change. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Member from Range Lake. Final supplementary.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm hearing the same concerns, the same energy to solve them, but I'm not -- I'm light on details. So I'll put it another way. The public administrator's been in place for some time now. He's got an expansive mandate to solve these problems. What is the public administrator doing to address gridlock? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the public administrator, yes, he is in place, and he is working on his mandate, and there are other things in his mandate that are -- that have been higher prioritized right now, and those are the things that he's focused on. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Thursday, March 6th, 2025, I will move the following motion:
Now therefore I move, second by the honourable Member from Yellowknife South, that this Legislative Assembly, by virtue of Section 5 of the Elections and Plebiscite Act, recommends to the Commissioner, the appointment of Mr. Stephen Dunbar of Yellowknife as the chief electoral officer for the Northwest Territories for a fixed term commencing on a date to be communicated by the Speaker.
And, Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time I will be seeking unanimous consent to deal with this motion today. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Notices of motion. Member from Range Lake.
Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Thursday, March 6th, 2025, I will move the following motion:
Now therefore I move, seconded by the Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that this Legislative Assembly calls upon the Government of the Northwest Territories to develop and implement a compassionate medical evacuation policy for our emergency ground/air ambulance and highway rescue allowing for patients in critical conditions to be accompanied by non-medical escorts. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Notices of motion. Member from Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Thursday, March 6th, 2025, I will move the following motion:
Now therefore I move, seconded by the Member for Deh Cho, that the Minister of Health and Social Services appoints a person to investigate the incident of the treatment of Avery Burke, Wesley Marcellais, and Hilary Norwegian;
And further, that the Minister of Health and Social Services table before the Assembly at the earliest opportunity any recommendations that the investigator includes in their investigation report alongside a plan to advance such recommendations;
And furthermore, that the Government of the Northwest Territories provide a response to this motion within 120 days. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to deal with the motion I gave notice of earlier today.
Thank you, Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. The Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh is seeking unanimous consent to bring forward his motion today. Seeing no nays, you may bring forward your motion.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues.
WHEREAS the Elections and Plebiscites Act provides for the appointment of a chief electoral officer who has the responsibility to exercise general direction and supervision over the administrative conduct of an election and enforce, on the part of all election officers, fairness, impartiality and compliance with the Elections and Plebiscites Act;
NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife South, that this Legislative Assembly, by virtue of Section 5 of the Elections and Plebiscites Act, recommends to the Commissioner the reappointment of Mr. Stephen Dunbar of Yellowknife as chief electoral officer for the Northwest Territories for a fixed term commencing on a date to be communicated by the Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. The motion is in order. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. Does the Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh wish to close the debate? Thank you. All those in favour, please. Opposed? Abstentions? The motion is carried.
---Carried
