Merci, Monsieur le President. There is still some confusion about what happens when people from outside arrive into the Northwest Territories. There was a CBC report yesterday on their website, and I just want to quote one sentence here. It says, "If they don't meet one of the essential services exemptions, they will be told they need to apply for an exemption and self-isolate for 14 days."
I have some questions for the Minister of health on this, and I have talked to her about this and raised some of these concerns. I would like to know, Mr. Speaker, if non-Canadian citizens arrive into the Northwest Territories, and they do not meet one of the current exemptions, will they be turned back? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. While we are talking about COVID, I need to take this opportunity to correct the record. Yesterday, in response to the honourable Member for Yellowknife North, I stated that roughly one third of the population suffered from chronic disease. I did not have the stats right in front of me, and I was working from memory; so that's my bad. In fact, Mr. Speaker, according to the Canadian Chronic Disease Surveillance System, more than 12,000 individuals, or about a quarter -- not a third, about a quarter -- of the population in the Northwest Territories are believed to have a chronic disease. Although not all chronic diseases are associated with increased risk of severe COVID-19 illness, that's the response to the Member's question yesterday. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Now I'll get back to the other Member's question. The Chief Public Health Officer's jurisdiction does not extend to public health officers being able to force people to turn back. Any person, whether you are a Canadian citizen or not, who presents at the border without approved documentation or without meeting any one of the exemptions under the travel restriction order will be told they can either wait at the border and submit a resident self-isolation plan for approval by contacting Protect Northwest Territories, return to their place of origin and submit a resident self-isolation plan for approval, or be charged $1,725 if they decide to proceed to travel in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. I think that's what you call two birds with one stone there. Member for Frame Lake.
I would like to chat with the Minister afterwards. You have an opportunity to make a personal explanation to correct the record, but that's a procedural thing. This is still very confusing, Mr. Speaker. What happens when a Canadian citizen arrives into the NWT and they do not meet any of the current exemptions? Will they be turned back, or are they allowed to stay somewhere, even if it's at the border? Are they allowed to stay for 14 days and self-isolate and then apply for an exemption? How does this work?
I will say it again. Any person, whether you are a Canadian citizen or not, who presents at the border without approved documentation or without meeting one of the exemptions under the travel restrictions order will be told that either they can wait at the border, do the paperwork, return back to their place of origin, or be charged the fine. I don't know how clear this can be.
I'm still a little confused here. Presumably, then, somebody coming in, even if they're a Canadian citizen, non-Canadian citizen, can camp out at the airport for 14 days, and then they've cleared self-isolation, and then they can travel anywhere in the Northwest Territories. Is that how this could work, Mr. Speaker? Thanks.
No. If a person travels into the Northwest Territories, you have to self-isolate in one of our four centres.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I am still confused, and I think members of the public are still confused about this. If someone presents at the border and they don't have an exemption, they don't have a self-isolation plan, and if they head off somewhere, who is going to cover the costs associated with that? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
A Canadian who does not meet any exemptions is prohibited from travelling within the Northwest Territories. If a person who does not meet our exemption arrives and is directed to self-isolate before returning to their point of origin, they will need to pay for their self-isolation. Currently, the GNWT only pays for Northwest Territories residents who need to self-isolate in a self-isolation centre. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
