Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to announce the launch of the new Municipal Elections website, created by the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs in partnership with the Northwest Territories Association of Communities. This website provides easily accessible municipal election resources to prospective candidates, community governments and to the general public. In addition to providing recent municipal election results, the website contains information on the dates, number of seats, and terms for upcoming municipal elections.
Mr. Speaker, the website targets three main audiences. These are members of the public who are considering running in a municipal election, candidates who have been elected, and returning officers who administer the elections.
For members of the public who are considering running in a municipal election, we have created the "Before You Run" section. This section provides information on the roles and responsibilities of an elected official, candidate eligibility, campaigning, and what to expect if a recount is needed.
For those who have been elected as a municipal councillor or mayor, we have created the "Now That You Are Elected" section. This section helps elected officials better understand their roles and responsibilities as community leaders. The website also provides information on conflict of interest, code of conduct and financial matters.
For returning officers who administer municipal elections, we have included resources on the
legislation that governs local government elections, including the Local Authorities Elections Act. The Returning Officer Manual is included as a resource. The manual clearly outlines the responsibilities of returning officers and provides a step-by-step guide to running a municipal election.
Mr. Speaker, the municipal elections website has been designed as a resource to be used throughout the year. If a resident would like to know when the next election is or the length of term of a council seat, this information is now easily accessible. If a municipal councillor wants more information on code of conduct or conflict of interest, a trusted source of information is now available.
Mr. Speaker, as community governments approach their elections later this year, the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs and the Northwest Territories Association of Communities will continue to promote this website to support candidates, returning officers, and elected officials. We hope that community leaders will visit this resource on a regular basis, not only to better understand their role in the community but to improve overall governance at the municipal level. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the courageous and difficult work of Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission should be a benchmark in Canada's relationship with our First Nations, Inuit, and Metis people, but the news every day tells us that, rather than being more united, the world is becoming more fractured. Instead of more caring and love, political dialogue articulates more hate. That is why it will take serious, deliberate, and brave actions to try to unify people in communities, and the TRC's calls to action should offer a road map to heal the wounds of the past and move toward a fair, more just society by providing the basis for an honest, open conversation.
It concerns me, Mr. Speaker, that I don't know if our government is doing enough to respond to those calls to action. Have our dedicated public servants had the opportunities for the learning and growth that the TRC recommended? Are our senior managers and directors receiving training and orientation as the calls to action describe? How are we overcoming the gaps in education and health? Are we fully committed to restorative justice and significantly lessening Indigenous incarceration rates in the NWT?
I was inspired recently, Mr. Speaker, by some reading about the approach taken by the City of Edmonton. Edmonton established an Indigenous Relations Office. Last summer, they held Reconciliation Week to mark the anniversary of the TRC, and later they held an event called "We Are All Treaty People." It was designed to engage the public in a discussion about culture and history, educate them about the treaties, and to celebrate the historic contribution of our country's First Nations.
Mr. Speaker, I don't suggest that the GNWT should be acting like a municipal government, and I am aware of our positive collaborations with our Indigenous governments, but similar events in the North, especially here, in Yellowknife, where many other nonIndigenous people live, would go a long way in educating all of us on the important work we have as a society toward finding truth and reconciliation. Mr. Speaker, truth and reconciliation is about changing attitudes, and we must lead the way and make the calls to action a high priority for this government. At the appropriate time, I will have questions for the Premier. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Members' statements. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we will likely soon have a new industry in our territory manufacturing wood pellets. Aurora Wood Pellets' operation in Enterprise is expected to create many jobs at its mills and jobs for wood cutters from two First Nations communities. This is a very good thing.
I see from the records of the NWT Land and Water Board that green trees will be cut at various sites for pellet-making. Cleared lands are expected to regrow naturally without tree planting. The cuttings that have been approved are deemed to be sustainable for our forest. This is also good.
What is much less clear is whether cutting virgin forest in the NWT and then burning it as wood pellets is an environmentally sound thing to do. The release of greenhouse gases figures big in this equation. Another factor is that the live trees remove carbon dioxide from our atmosphere.
Currently, most of the wood pellets burned here for heat come from Alberta and BC. They are made from sawmill waste that would otherwise be burned without producing useful heat or energy. That is the main reason why burning these pellets instead of heating oil results in less greenhouse gas going into the atmosphere.
I am concerned this environmental benefit might be lost if we turn slowgrowing northern forest into wood pellets, whether they are burned here or elsewhere in the world. So far, I have not been able to find any studies of this question in assessing the environmental impact of Aurora Wood Pellets' operation.
On the other hand, I have found studies, including one published by the Canadian Forest Service, showing that the use of Canadian green forest as a source of fuel for power or even heating releases more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere than other fossil fuels, even coal. Mr. Speaker, this tells me that caution is warranted as our territory breaks into the wood pellet industry. It tells me that this new enterprise might be more environmentally friendly if we use the by-product of saw mills that produce northern lumber. This is a business that we once had and have lost.
I am also afraid that the piece-meal review of the projects may result in, well, overlooking the forest for the trees when it comes to greenhouse gas. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, privacy is a fundamental individual right that is under constant threat in this digital era. A reminder of the importance of privacy and the diligence required for government to safeguard the information it collects comes from a recent NWT Information and Privacy Commissioner ruling.
In 2015, a patient at the Inuvik Hospital complained to the CEO of an unwelcome visit from one of the medical clerks who worked there. This complaint touched off a round of investigations that revealed there was "a culture of inappropriately accessing patient information" within the clinic or, in plain language, snooping. The Information and Privacy Commissioner found that there was a poor understanding of privacy in the clinic, poorly administered policies and procedures, poor supervision, and poor orientation for users of the electronic record system. Further, the IPC concluded, "Most likely, there are similar problems in other health facilities as well."
Mr. Speaker, to remedy the situation, the IPC made a number of recommendations. She suggested that there be a designated senior staff person responsible for privacy. He or she would deliver policy development training and supervision on privacy issues. He or she would conduct periodic audits to ensure staff were not snooping.
This privacy complaint was not the first that the hospital has received. In 2012, the IPC had investigated a different complaint on the same topic and made a set of recommendations. Some of those recommendations had not been acted on when the second complaint came along three years later. For example, the IPC recommended that each electronic medical record user have a unique user name and password. This recommendation was not followed. This recommendation is repeated in her 2017 report, along with the suggestion that new employees not be granted access to the system until they have been fully informed of privacy and confidentiality issues related to medical records.
A second unimplemented recommendation from 2012 was to grant access to electronic records based on the role that staff had at the hospital.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
At the time of her report, the Information and Privacy Commissioner found that almost everyone at the Inuvik Hospital had close to full access to the whole system. This recommendation on limitation is also repeated in the 2017 report.
Mr. Speaker, residents of the NWT must have confidence that this government is taking their right to privacy seriously. I will have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Mahsi.
Masi. Members' statements. Member for Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs is the territorial leader in emergency planning.
Each community is responsible for developing its own emergency plan, one to help them deal with things like forest fire evacuations, communitywide power outages, and more, but MACA is always there to help.
I am glad to hear that, Mr. Speaker, because emergency planning is on people's minds in the Mackenzie Delta. The recent windstorm and multiday power outage in Paulatuk really drove home how easy it can be to fall prey to natural forces. Residents also remember, in 2004, when fire destroyed the Fort McPherson power plant, leaving residents in the cold, in minus 25 degrees below zero, to be specific.
At recent constituency meetings in each of my communities, residents brought me their concerns on these matters. They also brought forward their ideas for improvements. Residents would like to see schools equipped with backup generators, so that communities have guaranteed warming centres. They are also seeking assurance from the Housing Corporation that plans are in place to prevent pipes from freezing in public housing units and private homes, as well.
For example, when the Fort McPherson power plant was destroyed, many residents stayed warm by visiting friends and family members whose homes were heated by woodstoves. An inventory of woodfirefuelled homes could also be a valuable asset. All of these issues could be addressed in welldeveloped, uptodate community emergency plans. Such plans could also help communities plan for a wide range of potential emergencies, not only coldweather crises. I would like to engage the Minister to help my communities take the necessary next steps to develop or update their emergency plans. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will have questions later today.
Masi. Members' statements. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. Since our fall sitting, two important NWT climate change events took place. The draft Climate Change Strategic Framework was finally released on January 3rd of this year, and Regular MLAs met with the Auditor General and GNWT officials to discuss the audit on NWT Climate Change.
The audit found, and I quote:
ENR did not develop a territorial strategy to adapt to climate change;
ENR did not fulfill its commitment to provide departments and communities with information needed to take action on climate change;
The territorial greenhouse gas strategy did not have a significant impact on reducing emission levels; and
ENR did not address longstanding deficiencies affecting its leadership on climate change.
ENR provided its draft action plan in response to the audit literally a day-and-a-half before the standing committee public hearing on the matter. That is in breach of at least two Consensus Government Process Conventions. The audit action plan went as far as to claim that the Climate Change Strategic Framework addresses all of the audit recommendations. Nothing could be further from the truth. There is also almost no mention of carbon pricing and the role that will play in our international and national obligations on climate change.
Both the framework and the audit action plan neglect to say why ENR continues to fail in its leadership role on climate change or to propose specific policy or structural changes. When the Auditor General did his work, ENR was down to two staff on climate change.
I'm calling on this government to make climate change a real priority. Develop and introduce a climate change act or at least a Cabinet-approved policy that gives ENR the authority to implement the framework. Make climate change a part of Financial Management Board submissions and reviews. Establish a Ministerial round table on climate change to show real leadership and get industry buyin. Finally, give ENR the resources to actually do the work. I will have questions later today for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Mahsi. Members' statements. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have spoken before in this House of the need for the NWT to implement the guaranteed basic income pilot in the life of this Assembly.
Whether it is a way to address income disparity or prepare for major changes in our economy, this innovative policy initiative is not only the right course for our government to take but, in all reality, an inevitable change we will have to implement even if this government chooses to remain idle and continue supporting paternalistic and punitive income support programs.
I've used historical examples of Dauphin, Manitoba, but I now have something more contemporary for this government to take note of, the Ontario Basic Income Pilot. The Province of Ontario is amongst several areas of the world that is pursuing a basic income project, including Finland, which began a two-year pilot last January. The three-year pilot project in Ontario which began in Hamilton and Thunder Bay last summer and in Lindsay last fall is testing whether unconditional cash support can boost health, education, and housing for people on social assistance who are earning low wages. Information gleaned from the three communities will guide future provincial policy on how to better support all Ontarians living in poverty.
How it works is that individuals chosen are part of the first wave of participants in this pilot project with basic income received on a monthly, no-strings-attached payment of up to $1,400 for people living in poverty, with those with disabilities receiving an additional $500 a month. This amount remains fixed no matter an individual's living conditions, which is a change from the Ontario Works payment, the province's welfare program for people without disabilities, where a person can have their benefits reduced based on if they have shelter or work.
Mr. Speaker, 3,000 people have been enrolled so far. The province helps to recruit another 6,000 participants with 4,000 who receive a basic income, fill out surveys, and participate in focus groups as part of the study. A further $2,000 won't go into the monthly payments but will be paid to complete surveys and tracked as a control group. Though they will need more time to properly analyze the full results of this ongoing pilot project, the initial result has been overwhelmingly positive and is achieving exactly what was intended: boosting health, improving prospects with better education and housing for people living in poverty.
Let us begin experimenting with the same kind of guaranteed basic income pilot because, from these results rendered initially, it would seem to be a policy that Northerners living in poverty could benefit from. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Members' statements. Member for Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I raise the issues of community land tenure and the understanding of how this ensures program qualifications for recipients in my riding.
Mr. Speaker, this calendar year, and more specifically last week, the Department of Lands sponsored community engagements in Fort Good Hope and Tulita. The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, and Finance will participate to share information on the property, assessment, taxation regimes, collections systems, et cetera. Understanding land tenure ensures benefits to residents and the seniors of the Sahtu for the variety of housing programs.
Mr. Speaker, modernizing our current legislation is a proven and responsible function of land management and administration, and, most importantly, community consultation with stakeholders contributes towards transparency and public engagement. Mr. Speaker, later, I will have questions for the Minister of Lands. Mahsi.
Masi. Members' statements. Member for Deh Cho.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, February 21, 2018 [translation] it will be eight years since my last drink. A year after my late father passed on, I decided that I wanted to sober up and not drink anymore.
Alcohol has been around since the early ages. Alcohol is accepted as a way for people to socialize. Alcohol abuse heavily affects our NWT communities, especially First Nations identity, families, and children. High crime rates such as spousal assaults, family violence, and tragedies such as murders and fatal accidents can be attributed to the misuse of alcohol.
Since alcohol became a part of Dene life, it has tragically changed our self-identity and culture forever. Before alcohol, I believe Dene were strong and healthy people who were happy and vibrant in spirit. Besides personal wellness, my mission of sobriety is to dispel the stereotype that "all Indians are drunks." At a younger age, I came across a movie about Alkali Lake, a community in BC that took steps to sober up their families and community. Seeing that movie about Alkali Lake and what we can do to help ourselves and our families changed how I see myself today.
As they say in recovery and healing, we must take the first important steps towards sobriety one day at a time. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is a great honour to have some of our students from Aurora College joining us today and taking in proceedings. I believe every year students from the social work program come and learn about how the Legislative Assembly works. I believe they got a great tour this morning, so I would just like to welcome the students and the instructor from the Aurora College social work program. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to recognize Susan Fitzky. She is the instructor at Aurora College with the social work program, and she is also a constituent of Yellowknife North. Welcome to the gallery.
Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to recognize Danita Frost-Arey, originally from Aklavik. She is here in Yellowknife as part of the social work program at Aurora College. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery.
Colleagues, I would like to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery, Ms. Emily Doiron. Ms. Doiron is joining us on attachment from the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island, and will be at our table for the next three weeks. Welcome to the Northwest Territories and to our Assembly.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. One of the takeaways from the 2017 investigation by the Information and Privacy Commissioner into the privacy breach at the Inuvik Hospital is that it was almost certainly avoidable if the recommendations from the 2012 investigation had been acted on. In an effort to ensure there is action on the problem this time, I am looking for information on the implementation of the 2017 recommendations. My question is: who is in charge of privacy issues at the Inuvik Hospital, and who does that person report to? Mahsi.
Masi. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a number of things have happened since 2012, including the introduction of the Health Information Act, which is actually an item that was recommended by the privacy commissioner. With that new act, we have done a number of things. We have set up a number of new privacy policies. Those have been put in place basically since May 2017. They follow up on recommendations of the Privacy Commissioner but are also consistent with things we need to do under the act. Those focus on things like privacy breaches and the requirement for privacy impact assessments, the requirement for mandatory training, as well as how we utilize mobile devices within the system. In addition, we have put in a new public awareness campaign and materials about the clients' rights. It is important the clients understand their rights and what information they can access, how information is used.
Since the incident the Member referred to in Inuvik, since June 2015, the department has delivered over 57 territory-wide health information training sessions for over 373 staff. This is on top of the training that is done at a local level for local staff.
Beginning this year, this winter 2018, there are some new privacy training modules in place that will be delivered to all health and social services employees in order to meet our mandatory training requirement. We have also hired a new territorial risk manager. One of their roles is to develop and implement programs and policies that will mitigate risk and improve the overall health privacy across the entire Northwest Territories.
I thank the Minister for his response. I would like to ask: specifically at the Inuvik Hospital, the breakdown was that privacy wasn't anyone's job, so I am going to repeat my question: who is in charge of privacy at the hospital, and who does that person report to? Thank you.
We have the territorial risk manager, as I have indicated. We also have a territorial health information director or manager. At a local level, all employees are in fact custodians and have a responsibility under the Health Information Act. Ultimately, in every one of our regional offices, the COOs have the responsibility to ensure that all of their staff are properly trained and have a clear understanding of their obligations under the Health Information Act.
I would like to know from the Minister what restrictions are now in place in Inuvik within the electronic record system to limit access to the records based on the actual job the person does at the hospital.
As I indicated, every individual is getting trained. Many of the individuals in the Inuvik regional office in the Inuvik health and social services region have been trained. They understand the roles and responsibilities. There are limitations on what the individuals can see through our medical records. We are ensuring that our people who have the training understand their roles and responsibilities under the Health Information Act.
Oral Questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Health Minister has demonstrated that he has, let's say, a heightened understanding of the importance of privacy and that is reflected in Inuvik and elsewhere. Can he tell us with respect to the privacy breach in Hay River whether the same safeguards are in place there? Thank you.
The situation in Hay River and Inuvik were different. As we roll out the Health Information Act, we get out and train. Also, as we move forward with the single authority, what is clear is that, in the past, not all authorities have applied rules as consistently or the same as others. Having a single authority has really given us an opportunity to make sure that our rules and our procedures and our territorial legislations be applied consistently.
The Hay River situation, as I said, was slightly different than the Inuvik situation. The data that was in question wasn't the same type of data. The breach wasn't the same. We take both of them very, very seriously. We have been in touch with patients who were affected. We have made sure the employees understand where they had possibly breached the legislation. We are making sure they have the training. We need to make sure that in every corner of the Northwest Territories, in every office, every health office, every health delivery agency, that they understand their roles. That is why we are requiring everybody to have the mandatory training, which we are rolling out as we speak. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral Questions. Member for Nahendeh.
