Vince McKay

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member from Hay River North, that Bill 21, An Act to Amend the Workers' Compensation Act, be read for the second time. The bill will amend the Workers' Compensation Act to improve and update the way long-term benefits are calculated for permanently injured workers. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, and I hear the Member, and I do agree this is something that we need to work on. We'll continue to work, and we're in a unique situation where we share with Nunavut the responsibilities, and we'll continue to work with them and see how we can push this or get this through.

However, you know, workers are covered, and that's what emergency services are. They are workers. So there are some cases where they are covered under the Workers' Compensation Act. In fact, in the Act on page 28 shows a list of items that can be covered under workers. So there is some...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's not that the work hasn't been done. It's ongoing. And, you know, I've been a firefighter for 30 years. I know it doesn't look like it, but I will say that this is something that's near and dear to my heart, and I think it's something that I've echoed that we need to keep working on and actually continue working on. This is something that's been also -- from the previous Minister responsible for WSCC has been addressed. So part of the complication is is with two territories sharing an organization, we have to work together with the legislation, and I know they're...

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following two documents: Plain Language Summary for Bill 21, An Act to Amend the Workers' Compensation Act; and, Statement of Consistency for Bill 21, An Act to Amend the Workers' Compensation Act. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know every province and territory is different on their coverage for different types of cancers, and I know that some of the cancers that he's raised, I know, like, some of them are, like, 20 years in the service, that kind of thing. So I'm unaware if the work is being done on changing the timelines on them. But this is something we can look into and see if it's reflecting on what's the -- you know, the kind of standard or what's going on across the jurisdictional scan across Canada. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to update Members on the implementation of new community government funding allocations that will come into effect April 2025.

MACA distributes over $110 million in annual funding through the community government funding policy. While this funding was never intended to cover 100 percent of community funding costs, the funding helps community governments cover the costs of core programs and services like clean drinking water, local roads, recreation, and public safety.

Mr. Speaker, these policies have remained unchanged in over 15 years. In 2024, MACA undertook a...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. That is a very good question. I don't have that handy in front of me right now, but I'll -- I know I sent out the community fact sheets, and they're on there, but I'll ask the deputy minister here.

I would have to say that's depending on what the job description is for the facility, rec facility maintainer. I mean, some facilities or some municipalities like Fort Simpson, for an example, you know, being a bigger facility would need a recreational coordinator or recreational facility maintainer more qualified than some place like a recreational coordinator in, let's say, Jean Marie River for an example. So, yeah, depending on what kind of facilities they're operating is the type of training they would need. Thank you.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. So the federal government did do an update to the disaster federal -- the DFAA, and that is the federal government's policy, so our disaster assistance policy somewhat aligns to that, so that's going to be updated a little bit to align to that or -- yes, so, but what it comes down to -- I'll just leave it at that. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. For those positions, you know, being the technical part that they are, they would need certain qualifications in order to train, like facility maintainers or, you know, the firefighter training, stuff like that. So those -- the trainers would need the training, and also the people on the ground would need the training to operate the water treatment plants, the facility maintainers, and the other programs that are offered. Thank you.