Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions, I think, will be for the Premier. The Prime Minister of Canada stated that no one should have to worry about paying rent, buying groceries, or finding childcare. I recommend that should also include not going without electricity in our northern communities, whether it's for five minutes, 10 minutes, or the day, during this time, and I would hope that the Minister responsible for the Power Corporation would stand up and take a stand on that. Also, we shouldn't be evicting people from their houses.
The Prime Minister also stated that the federal government is preparing a significant fiscal stimulus package in the coming days to help Canadians and businesses hit hardest by the coronavirus outbreak. The question I have is: when will the Premier know what types of additional resources the federal government will make available to the NWT to address financial issues that small businesses will face due to COVID-19? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Honourable Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister of Finance has a call with the federal Finance Minister this afternoon, actually, to find out that information. We do know that the federal government has put aside a billion dollars already for health issues that there may be with COVID-19. However, our portion of that monies is just under $600,000, if I remember correctly, and I have already said that that is not enough. We're dealing with the health issues, what he's looking at giving us now, and when the economy comes, my instinct is telling me that my first words will be, "That is not enough." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
This government has a number of projects that will ultimately be impacted by COVID-19. These projects may be delayed for a number of reasons that include shortage of workers due to self-isolation, shortage of supplies from southern Canada, and other related reasons. Can the Premier or the Minister of Finance confirm how various departments will help small businesses address current government projects that may experience delays due to COVID-19?
I have already given direction to all of our departments to look at how we can support all of our residents in the Northwest Territories, including our business partners. ITI and Infrastructure are looking at how we can do the procurement, make sure that people are paid timely during this crisis, et cetera. All departments are looking at the influx of additional costs that are going to come. People who are going to be laid off of work will be impacting our systems, so income support is on that. We have asked for every department to now do tabletop exercises to see how they will react if people get sick and we have a public outcry for services.
Again, we don't know until the federal government comes down and allocates what the economic support will be to the Northwest Territories. We do know that there will be a downturn in our economy. We know that there is a downturn in the economy happening across Canada, so we are trying to plan not only about the financial rest tuition of businesses; we are also trying to plan currently about how we keep our supply chain open. Those are questions that we're asking now. Again, looking at the economic stimulus, after the fact is a little bit premature when, right now, we're worried about the health of people and making sure that our groceries get into the Northwest Territories.
We know that the departments have tools and legislation and policy that can assist small businesses. We don't have to go to the federal government; we don't need anything from them right now. What is this government doing with the tools that each department currently has to lessen the impact COVID-19 will have on small businesses?
Those are some of the discussions we are having right now. That is why we have given direction for the departments to do the tabletop exercises. Like I said, we are looking at procurement practices, bill payments. We will also be looking at things like loans, et cetera, how we can make those easier for people.
Again, the federal government is also doing that work. They are looking at it. There have been no promises yet, is my understanding; however, they are looking at things. Can they pump money into business development agencies? Can they take money away from mortgages? Can they look at loans? Can they look at EI? All of those factors are being looked at by the federal government, and every jurisdiction across Canada is looking at how we can assist not only our residents but our businesses, and we are all working in partnership as we go forward. Daily conversations are happening, so that hopefully we are all in the same place, because we are all experiencing the same impacts by this to different degrees.
Thank you, Honourable Premier. Final supplementary, Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wasn't sure what to ask on this last question, but listening to the Minister responsible for the NWT Power Corporation, I am pretty dismayed at his answer with respect to the limiters, because it is a small thing, but it means it is such a big thing.
I have a feeling that, if we are going to be, you know, nit-picking on that, we are going to be doing the same thing with evictions and housing, and both of those things have to be put aside, at least for the next few months. I would like to ask the Premier if she would commit to having a frank discussion with the Minister and with Cabinet to address these two issues? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Cabinet will be meeting every day throughout this duration. I should let everyone know that now, because we need to keep on top of this, so I can commit, Mr. Speaker, that we will have conversations on the evictions, on the power rates, on the supply chains, all the impacts that will come to the residents of the Northwest Territories. I am not going to commit on what the solution will be. What I commit to is that we will have those discussions and we will be looking at the least impact possible relating to COVID-19. We cannot just shut down every collection, every business happening in the Northwest Territories, or every bill out of speculation, but we will be having those discussions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Honourable Premier. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
