Colleagues, please be seated. Mr. Clerk, will you ascertain if the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories, the Honourable Margaret Thom, is ready to enter the Chamber, and to assent bills? Thank you.
Please be seated. Colleagues, I would like to extend the appreciation of this House to the Commissioner, Margaret M. Thom. It is always the pleasure to have her in the House.
Colleagues, before we begin today, I would like to take a moment to acknowledge three of our statutory officers as they prepare for their upcoming retirements.
Ms. Elaine Keenan-Bengts was appointed as the first Information and Privacy Commissioner of the Northwest Territories in 1997 and has held the position for 23 years.
Ms. Deborah McLeod has been with the Human Rights Commission since its inception in 2004, first as the deputy director and then as director. Her retirement marks 16 years with the Human Rights Commission.
Ms. Shannon Gullberg is retiring after 15 years of involvement with the office of the Languages Commissioner. Ms. Gullberg acted as legal counsel for the Languages Commissioner from 1996 to 2000 and became the Languages Commissioner in 2005. Unfortunately, Shannon was unable to attend the sitting today, but we wish her all the best in her retirement.
To each of you, thank you for your many years of dedication and service to the people of the Northwest Territories. Mahsi.
Colleagues, please join me in thanking our statutory officers for their service and wishing them all the best in their retirement. Mahsi cho, thank you.
The Member for Frame Lake has requested to address the House this afternoon on a matter of personal explanation. Mr. O'Reilly, please proceed.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I rise pursuant to Rule 21(1) of the Rules of the Legislative Assembly to make a personal explanation. During the debate on Motion 12-19(2), revocation of appointment of the Honourable Member for Great Slave to the Executive Council on August 26, 2020, I made the following statement, "The Yellowknives First Nation publicly withdrew their support for the SGP Road on August 1, 2020, given that the GNWT contracted another southern company for up to $20 million worth of work."
The Yellowknives Dene First Nation issued a news release dated August 1, 2020, that included the following, "The most significant of these contracts was a standing offer agreement which was recently awarded to two large multinational consulting firms." I will table this news release later today. I have been asked to clarify my remarks made on August 26th by the Association of Consulting and Engineering Companies NWT in a letter dated October 23, 2020. I will also table that letter later today. I will speak to the particulars of my remarks and not the merits of the Slave Geological Province road as my views on this subject are well known. I do not support that project.
In July 2020, Stantec Consulting Limited and Golder Associates Ltd. were awarded standing offer agreements for the provision of environmental and engineering support services for the advancement of the Slave Geological Province Corridor. The contract values were $9.9 million and $7.4 million respectively. Of the two firms, Golder Associates is registered for the business incentive policy. Both firms have offices in the NWT, Stantec for over 30 years and Golder for 25 years, with a significant number of local employees, some of whom are expected to work on the Slave Geological Province road. I apologize unreservedly to anyone who may have taken offence or felt to be misrepresented from my earlier remarks. I wish to thank the Association of Consulting and Engineering Companies NWT for bringing this matter to my attention. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for the opportunity to correct the record.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I wish to provide an update on the ongoing efforts of the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs to work with community government partners to support the COVID-19 pandemic response.
We have all been affected by COVID-19. Taking action to slow the spread and protect public health has required leaders from all levels of government to act and adjust operations in order to continue serving the Northwest Territories' residents. Since mid-March, MACA has worked with community governments to identify and monitor impacts to communities, share information about the government response to the pandemic, update community emergency plans, and ensure local emergency and essential services are provided. Community governments have also needed to adapt. Practical changes have been met with creative solutions such as holding council meetings remotely and making changes to bylaws to do so.
Mr. Speaker, these efforts have been supported in partnership with the Northwest Territories Association of Communities through virtual town-hall meetings with community leaders that have happened since the beginning of the pandemic. Other Ministers and GNWT officials have worked collaboratively at these meetings to share information and answer questions that leaders may have about specific topics. I am proud to say that these meetings have fostered engagements between our community governments, resulting in responsive made-in-the-NWT plans that have helped to provide assistance and support to the Northwest Territories' residents. These include food hampers and on-the-land supports. MACA also worked with other departments to create multimedia communications about safety during the pandemic, fact sheets, and how-to-get-help guidelines.
Mr. Speaker, MACA continues to connect with community governments regularly to share current COVID-19 information, provide support with problems and issues they are encountering, to hear their concerns, to answer any questions they may have, and to provide a mechanism to feed their information into the government response. Currently, MACA is continuing our work with the health authorities, the Department of Health and Social Services, and to engage community governments to provide community-specific details and updates to community pandemic plans that reflect the capacity and resources in each community and region to support the health response efforts.
Mr. Speaker, we want to share our gratitude and thanks on the ongoing efforts of the community governments, not only maintaining support for their residents as well as their support for the government in maintaining isolation centres and border check points, both on our highways and at the airports. On that note, I also must recognize the GNWT staff, especially those who have put their hands forward to be redeployed to support these efforts. As the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, I want to echo an early statement by our Premier and take a moment to recognize them in the Legislative Assembly and say thank you.
Mr. Speaker, we have benefitted greatly and appreciated the collaboration and solution-based approach of everyone involved. We thank the leadership in our communities for their efforts and their cooperation. MACA is committed to continue working with the communities to share information, to listen, and to respond to issues and concerns. We will work together to continue to manage the risk and protect our residents. Nothing is more important than the safety of our people. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. Ministers' statements. Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This year particularly has been hard for many Northwest Territories communities and residents who were already struggling to make ends meet. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought new economic challenges for some families in the Northwest Territories.
In response to these concerns, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources is increasing funding this year to support harvesters and families going out on the land. Three new programs will promote the sharing of land-based knowledge and provide training for the next generation of hunters and trappers. The Take a Family on the Land Program will provide subsidies to Indigenous governments and organizations, community governments, and non-profits to help offset costs for families in need to go out on the land. The Regional Training, Mentorship and Support Program will provide funding to regional Indigenous governments to increase mentorship opportunities and support land-based training needs. The pilot trappers mentoring program will support trappers who want to learn trapping skills this season. Applications for the Take a Family on the Land and the Regional Training, Mentorship and Support Programs launched on October 21, 2020, and applications are now being accepted. The pilot trapper mentoring program will be launched in November.
The Department has also increased the amounts for this year's grubstake payments. These payments are made to trappers at the beginning of the season, based on the number of furs brought in the year before. Trappers use these grubstake payments to help offset some of the annual start-up costs of trapping, which supports participation in the fur industry. This year's trappers will be provided with more start-up funds, and more trappers will be able to access the program.
As a government, we are committed to supporting our residents to go out on the land. During the engagement on the Environment and Natural Resources Sustainable Livelihoods Action Plan, we heard from communities about the importance of mentorship programs for beginning harvesters and trappers. We also heard about the need to provide support for families to pursue on-the-land activities.
Each of these new programs draws on the strengths of the northern tradition of land-based learning, mentorship, and sharing of knowledge. They support a number of actions identified in the Sustainable Livelihoods Action Plan, including providing starter kits for new trappers, support for harvesting mentorship, and funding for families with limited resources to go out on the land. The new funding for this season builds on the successful community partnerships that have been developed through our regular programs, such as Take a Kid Trapping, the Genuine Mackenzie Valley Fur program, Community Harvesters Assistance Program, hunter education, and trappers' training.
Mr. Speaker, we have heard from Indigenous governments and organizations about the importance of land-based skills and knowledge. This government believes that sustainable livelihoods are vital to a prosperous, diverse, and sustainable territory. Land-based skills and knowledge help ensure harvesters can access nutritious country foods and that our communities maintain strong and resilient. Environment and Natural Resources remains committed to supporting the next generation of harvesters and stewards of the land and promoting sustainable access to country foods. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
[English translation not available] ...check point was initially set up at Enterprise. The reasoning, I assume, was to have something in place immediately. Eventually, with some persuasion, reflection, and evaluation, the COVID task force concluded that the appropriate location for the check point would be at the border. In my mind, that was the correct decision then and remains so today.
Mr. Speaker, staff, while at Enterprise, were in a position to travel home after each shift. This was not the case when the check point was subsequently relocated to the border. The border setup with the addition of a portable camp sleeper and use of government equipment already onsite provided an alternative for staff from having to endure a one-and-a-half-hour daily community each way home. The initial services in part were supplied by GNWT park infrastructure and that of private sector. This appeared to work well with the warm weather, where freeze-up of water and sewer lines were not an issue.
Knowing that cold weather would be upon us and knowing the camp business, I provided the task force with a recommendation as to what would be required for accommodation at the border during the winter months. I suggested a two-unit Texas camp, which included a kitchen, washroom, rec room, and six single bedrooms. The camp would further require, of course, lighting, yard lighting, communication tower, power, propane, heated water storage, and heated grey water storage. All this could be set up within eight hours.
Mr. Speaker, operating a camp, big or small, requires qualified and at times certified maintenance staff to ensure worker and environmental safety. I mean no disrespect to the supplier of the current facility, which is made up of infrastructure more suited to remote mining camps that do not have road access. It is important that we provide our staff with safe and comfortable infrastructure while they work to secure our borders and keep us safe. Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Premier. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Members' statements. Member Nunakput.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I talked in this House many a time with regard to sealift to our communities in Nunakput. Once a year, there is an opportunity for our constituents to order dry-goods supplies that they need to get through the winter season, and I am really happy to say that, for the residents in our small, remote communities, it helps them reduce the cost of living and the high cost, brutally high cost, of everything that is brought in by air.
I want to give credit where credit is due, Mr. Speaker, to our former ITI, our former Minister, our current Minister. Thank you very much for the work that MTS did this year. I kind of warned them at the start of the season to make sure we get into our communities and get what goods that are needed for the communities, and they did. They did an awesome job. I am very happy again to say the 2020 sealift season was a success. I want to thank MTS staff out of Tuktoyaktuk and Hay River and John Vandenberg. For instance, he was up in Tuktoyaktuk more than once, and I thank him for the hard work that he has done. It is important to the GNWT to make sure of our vital services and support to our remote and vulnerable communities. They did an awesome job. Thank you so much. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Nunakput. Members' statements. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. As an MLA, I regularly confer with leaders in and around my constituency. Very recently, while having one of these discussions, an idea was shared about firefighting services, which I might share with this House.
Mr. Speaker, this is an idea which my colleague the Member for Yellowknife North and his constituents will appreciate and I am hoping they will support. Within the next five months, residents of the Ingraham Trail will no longer have firefighting services provided by the City of Yellowknife. This has left much speculation for how this void of vital public services will be filled for the people on the Ingraham Trail.
Mr. Speaker, here is an idea that will possibly strike two birds with one stone. One, the GNWT can help increase its capacity, training, and infrastructure at the existing fire hall in Detah. In addition, MACA could contract out all fire services for the Ingraham Trail to Detah. Two, this will help Detah become more self-sufficient as a community and as a First Nation. Also, Mr. Speaker, it will provide much-needed public services to residents along the nearby Ingraham Trail, and this will relieve the City of Yellowknife and territorial government from this responsibility.
I think this is a very reasonable idea that would be a win-win for all parties involved. It will, however, take some time, preparation, and resources to achieve this, but time is of the essence. For example, Detah will need to assemble a pool of volunteers who will remain on-call in case of emergencies. They will also need more equipment in terms of vehicles and personnel and protective gear, as well as training exercise to ensure that best health and safety practices are being followed.
Mr. Speaker, cost is always a consideration. What I do know is that building on what we already have in place is far more cost-efficient than starting from scratch. Mr. Speaker, I urge our government to work with all relevant departments on this, along with the YKDFN and the City of Yellowknife, to make this idea a reality. With that, I will have questions for the Minister of MACA at the appropriate time. Marsi cho.
Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Members' statements. Member for Thebacha.
Mr. Speaker, for my Member's statement today, I am going to talk about aftercare addiction services in the NWT. As a mother, a former Dene leader, and now as an MLA, I have seen from multiple lenses the adverse effects that addictions have on people. I am very passionate about this issue because it is something which affects me directly because addictions affect all people; addictions affect all walks of life, of every family. Addictions do not discriminate based on skin colour, social class, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or language. Addictions are considered a disease, and anonymity is an essential part of recovery and aftercare.
Mr. Speaker, during my previous leadership at the Salt River First Nation, the former Minister of health and the present deputy minister of health had a three-day meeting on the delivery of addiction services to the North. All 33 community leaders, both Dene and Metis, were included in this meeting, and it was decided at that time that the external delivery was more effective because the teams required to treat these different levels of addiction were not available in the Northwest Territories. These teams include an addictions doctor, a clinical advisor, an elder, a psychologist or psychiatrist, counsellors, and supervisors. These are very highly trained staff. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I think the gap in addictions services in the NWT is the aftercare component. Once a client comes back into the NWT from the outside treatment centre, they go back to the same environment that they left, and it is very hard to remain clean and sober. I will have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Members' statements. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Indigenous languages are an important part of the NWT identity, given that over 50 percent of our residents are Indigenous. Languages are vital to our Indigenous groups, and they signify identity and pride of our Indigenous people here in the Northwest Territories.
Mr. Speaker, we know our Indigenous public service numbers remain low and have been that way for 30-plus years. We continue to struggle in increasing those numbers for a variety of reasons. One reason, I believe, is because of GNWT policies that do not have any teeth, and we lack the will to create policies that will actually make a difference in bringing those numbers up and moving away from colonial practices like cuts to vital programs because they do not measure up to somebody's measurements.
Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, languages are important to all cultures, and we must make equal effort to promote and encourage language use. While I recognize our French language is thriving, I do have some serious concerns about forcing our Indigenous public service members to provide active offers in French. Mr. Speaker, I do not need to remind this House of the systemic attempts made by government policies in the past to strip language from our Indigenous people. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I will have questions for the Minister responsible for languages.
Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Members' statements. Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the 1980s Yellowknife was a prosperous goldmining town where only a handful of people did not have homes. These folks were known as "The Bailey Boys" as Reverend and Mrs. Bailey cared for these souls with love and compassion. The downtown was bustling, commerce was thriving, and people felt safe to walk with their children on the streets. Fast-forward 40 years, Yellowknife is the diamond capital of North America, the population has grown and, with it, so has access to money, designer drugs, and alcohol. The capital now plays host to a bourgeoning population of people who are homeless, have addictions, and are in desperate need of help.
As Northerners, we are prone to addiction. The roots of our addiction issues have long been linked to residential school trauma and abuse. This has created a multi-generational cycle of addiction that needs to stop now. We now know that addiction is often closely linked to childhood trauma. People are looking for an escape from their pain and turn to substances as a way to numb themselves. While sending addicts to a treatment centre in the South seems like a direct and forward approach to dealing with addictions, it is merely a band-aid solution if other pieces of recovery are missing.
There are several phases to a successful recovery. The first phase is counselling. When an addict receives counselling, they are accessing assistance to take the next step forward in their recovery. Counsellors help people to understand the steps required. Once people are finally ready to get help, there is a very short window of opportunity to get them into a detoxification program. An addict cannot enter a rehabilitation program in the South until they have sobered up. In order to board a plane, make the journey to a facility, whether it be in the North or the South, they need to take this crucial first step in their path.
In the NWT, there are significant delays at this critical step that often cause patients to withdraw their requests for help or to remove themselves from the treatment process. Once in a southern-based treatment facility, patients have access to resources to help with the struggle of addiction and often times are able to move forward in their progress. However, the journey doesn't end with treatment in a facility. Once a rehabilitated person has returned to their community, access to a lifetime of ongoing supports is also required. This is the piece that is missing in the Northwest Territories, the aftercare. Culturally appropriate after-care, such as on-the-land based programs, ongoing trauma counselling, sober living facilities, online and social media supports, and sober event programming will help to establish a healthy support network for all NWT residents battling addiction. I will have questions for the health Minister. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Great Slave. Members' statements. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. The problems with sterilization of instruments and equipment at Stanton Territorial Hospital will be known to Members through media reports, health authority updates, and even calls from constituents awaiting surgery as I've had. As the problem remains unresolved into its third month, it's time to step up with urgent action.
The issue is as detailed as it is longstanding, but basically, it's this: on July 23rd, the hospital's three sterilizer units simultaneously started producing instruments contaminated by moisture. This means the instruments can't be considered sterile, because moisture can attract bacteria. In a series of public updates issued July 24th, September 14th, and October 5th, the health authority has described efforts taken with the facility operator, Dexterra, Boreal Health Partnership, the Department of Infrastructure, and the sterilization equipment manufacturer. The number of sterile instrument packs produced has been increased, but there is no guarantee that packs are reliably sterile. The description of the measure being used to fix the problem is basically a continued jiggling of the many factors that go into successful sterilization: varying instrument wraps and tray methods and sizes, to the adjusting the machines themselves, steam production and delivery, the list goes on, all aimed at finding the perfect combination of factors or settings. What's being described basically sounds like a big experiment.
Stanton has worked to stockpile sterile instrument packs for use in emergency surgeries and for some small elective procedures. However, the authority reported October 5th that 124 elective surgeries have been cancelled and remain unscheduled because no reliable fix to the problem can be predicted.
What's at stake here is not the functionality of a technical system but the health and even suffering of our residents. For example, delayed hip-joint surgeries mean day after day of misery for patients awaiting surgery. I don't think it's an over-simplification to say that I have heard of no comparable situation at other hospitals in Canada. We can't get this right, and does it mean that we will never have reliable sterilization at Stanton? I will have questions later today for the Minister of Health and Social Services on an urgent solution to this crisis in patient care. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Members' statements. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I've said before that a house is not a home. A home is a place that assures us safety, individual and community health, a platform for participating in community, and is embedded sustainably into the fabric of an emerging North and provides reliable comfort. The focus of a home, Mr. Speaker, is the person.
Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights argues that housing is a human right that underpins an adequate standard of living throughout all stages of life with focused attention on mothers and children. Article 21 of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples distinguishes the right to housing as an integral part of the Indigenous right to economic and social development consistent with their unique cultural character in the context of self-determination. A home is not a big box commodity available to those that can afford it. A home is fundamental to the dignity and worth of every human life that is free of poverty, underdevelopment, and discrimination.
Housing must support and express the diversity and richness of our communities and cultures. Canada's 2017 National Housing Strategy begins with the principle that every Canadian deserves a safe and affordable home grounded in the principles of inclusion, participation, accountability, and non-discrimination. It is intended that housing program should align with sustainable and accessible communities, climate change, the needs of the most vulnerable, and the values of Indigenous self-determination, reconciliation, respect, and cooperation.
Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories is at a fork in the road, and it is time to prioritize housing NWT residents. We need to look at the barriers NWT residents face to access affordable housing. We need to actively set up partnerships to build housing, and we need to ensure trauma-focused client service is there to support the GNWT's efforts to house Northerners. Housing is theme that permeates the priorities of this Assembly. It shows up as affordable homes and the reduction of core housing. It shows up by enabling seniors to age in place with dignity. It shows up as the container for childhood development and as economic benefit retention in home construction. It shows up in the adaptation and transformation of climate change impacts. Housing is critical to building a North that provides a secure and healthy home for us now and into the future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Members, before we carry on, I'd like to recognize Ms. Elaine Keenan-Bengts, who is with us in the gallery. She was appointed as the first Information and Privacy Commissioner of the Northwest Territories in 1997 and has held the position for the last 23 years. Wish you all the best in your future time. Mahsi. Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Before I begin today, I'd like to thank the Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh for raising the idea of Detah providing fire services for the Ingraham Trail. I'll note that this is actually from Detah to the junction as opposed to the Yellowknife North Fire Hall to the junction is actually a few kilometers shorter, so it could result in a quicker response time. Also, the risk profile of a fire occurring in the Detah and the Ingraham Trail at the same time is much lower than a fire occurring in Yellowknife and the Ingraham Trail. I hope the Minister can get all those parties together and find a resolution for that.
My statement today, Mr. Speaker, is about something that has been mentioned in this House multiple times by multiple MLAs, and that's core funding for the SPCA. I think, in one sense, core funding for the SPCA is the ultimate goal, but my frustration lies in that we've had dribs and drabs of funding in different policies over the years and we haven't even got to the process where there is some sort of application funding for the SPCA. Mr. Speaker, presently, it is not clear in the GNWT who is responsible for animal welfare.
There is an argument that dogs in ditches is just municipalities. However, the work of the SPCA and the work of animal welfare is so much larger than that. Rabies is endemic to Arctic foxes in the NWT. There is no way for us to meaningfully address rabies in this territory other than consistently vaccinate our dogs. Public health has provided rabies vaccines in the past, however, consistently making sure they got out into the public has fallen on the wayside. Our ENR wildlife vet does great work making sure anthrax outbreaks do not occur, making sure that we are tracking, as ticks move south, the possibility of Lyme disease. I am grateful for their work, but the ENR mandate stops as soon as it stops being wildlife.
Climate change is going to make these issues more apparent, and I'm not asking for a lot. I'm asking for a pool of funding such that a very important organization can have some stability, and to make sure someone in the GNWT across all these departments is looking at the issues surrounding animal welfare. ITI has part of that mandate if we are dealing with livestock or egg producers and the commercial aspects of it. As we sit here in a global pandemic and as we see the increases of viruses largely due to animal and human interaction, I think it is not too much to ask to make sure there is someone in the GNWT looking for this and one of the key organizations who has long brought stability to this area is properly funded. Today, I will have questions for the Minister of health on the public aspect, health aspect, of animal health. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Members' statements. Member for Deh Cho.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I would like to speak about the exemptions of many of the medical travel patients and their escorts, which, in most cases, include family such as children. Many of the patients have to go to Edmonton to see a specialist for serious ailments as there are not many or very few specialists in the Northwest Territories. Upon return to the NWT, they would have to self-isolate at a regional centre for 14 days. According to the document, thresholds and criteria for exemptions to self-isolate in a non-hub community for compassionate or exceptional reasons, the Chief Public Health Officer after review of requests in relation to set criteria may grant approval to self-isolate at home in their home community.
Mr. Speaker, the document goes on to state that in addition to ensuring that there are clear, compassionate or exceptional circumstances associated with an application, there is also a need to ensure that community leadership is advised of decisions made by the CPHO respecting exemptions. It goes on to state this is not an approval nor an opportunity for leadership to deny but an opportunity to expect concern or not of exemptions to isolate in their community and to be aware of exemptions.
Mr. Speaker, this is good news for many of the patients on medical travel and, perhaps, alleviate their stress of having to be away from home for long stretches of time and then do the routine all over again after the next appointment. There could be many more appointments. Mr. Speaker, a decision that is made solely by the CPHO who does not live in the communities where there are concerns with people self-isolating in the community without submitting a coronavirus test result is very concerning to the local leadership. Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services at the appropriate time. Mahsi.
Thank you, Member for Deh Cho. Members' statements. Member for Monfwi.
Masi, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] Mr. Speaker, I'd like to talk about how we receive funding. I'm talking about billions of dollars, and it's very difficult. Sometimes, it's really difficult to get an addiction treatment centre here in our homeland. Instead, I'm going to talk about the treatment centre [Translation ends]. Why can't we as a territory with our billion-dollar budgets find a way of providing residential addiction treatment here in our homeland in the Northwest Territories instead of spending $2 million a year sending people south?
Mr. Speaker, our sister territory Nunavut is proceeding with a new treatment centre. That territory is using $25 million to leverage an additional $50 million in federal funding for a treatment centre to be built in Nunavut. Furthermore, they have committed $11 million for training counsellors because, unlike the Northwest Territories, Nunavut believes in Northerners caring for Northerners.
Mr. Speaker, the federal contribution stems from a call to action by the National Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Call to action number 20 calls for a sustainable federal funding for "New Aboriginal healing centres to address the physical, mental, emotional, spiritual harms caused by residential schools," and to ensure, Mr. Speaker, that the funding of healing centres in Nunavut and Northwest Territories is a priority. Unlike the NWT, Mr. Speaker, Nunavut took the action seriously.
Mr. Speaker, shame on us. Shame on us that we would take this so lightly, dismissed the recommendation of truth and reconciliation commission report. Shame on us, Mr. Speaker, which we would so recklessly disregard the federal funding, opportunity contained into call to action number 20. Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Premier at the appropriate time. Masi.
Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Members' statements. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Isadore Sam Ekolta was born September 20, 1936, in Snake River, B.C., and passed away on July 10, 2020, at the age of 84. Isadore was preceded by his father, Charles Edward, his mother, Alice, his sons, Gordon (ph), Frederick (ph), Leonard (ph), Emile (ph), and his daughter Joan.
Sam was a very knowledgeable hunter and trapper that was well-respected in the community of Nahanni Butte. He was always able to provide good advice when asked. He had an open-door policy and was always encouraging people to drop by and chat. Isadore is survived by his wife, Maribella; his son, Brian; his daughters, Helen and Ellen; and his sister, Pauline Bertrand; half-brother, Frederick Work; his greatgrandchildren, Hailey , Shawna, Destiny, Shawn, Gary, Tangris, Trevor, and Leonard; his aunt, Mary, and numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews.
The family would like to thank everybody for their kind words and for those who were able to attend the funeral from out-of-town during this trying time. He will be sadly missed by the family and the community. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Nahendeh. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family. Members' statements.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm pleased to introduce Ms. Deborah McLeod and her husband. They are my constituents, and I wish them the very best for their retirement. Thank you.
