Mr. Speaker, in a crisis, consistent and timely communications are crucial. The Government of the Northwest Territories understands the critical role of communications as part of our pandemic response. It helps create safer behaviours, greater community solidarity, and, in the end, improved health outcomes.
Mr. Speaker, we have said right from the start of the pandemic that our priority is to protect the health and well-being of residents. That is why the COVID-19 Coordinating Secretariat is using every tool at their disposal to connect with residents across the Northwest Territories. In the early days of the pandemic, we launched aggressive public outreach and advertising campaigns aimed at engaging NWT residents, from our youngest to our elders. These campaigns continue today, evolving as the pandemic changes. Our comprehensive social media strategy allows our message to reach over 20,000 residents every week on Facebook and Twitter. Radio reaches residents in 31 of our 33 communities and is critical to respecting valued oral traditions. We are running radio ads, many translated into Indigenous languages, seven days a week. We have been investing in communications, but we have also relied on the northern media to share our message. Through regular media briefings and a relationship built on timely information sharing, residents are kept informed. I want to thank the media for their efforts as you have played an important part in our success.
An important part of how our government operates is building strong partnerships with Indigenous leadership and community governments. These relationships support our ability to educate and inform residents. The Chief Public Health Officer, the Minister of Health and Social Services, the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, and I meet regularly with Indigenous leaders and community governments to share information and ensure we are hearing their concerns and working closely with them. Meetings like this are part of our communication efforts and play a valuable role. These partnerships allow us to understand what residents want to know so that we can better target our communications efforts and ensure Indigenous leaders and community governments can support their residents and help limit the spread of COVID-19.
Mr. Speaker, last month's COVID-19 outbreak in Fort Liard reinforced the importance of partnerships and communications at work in a pandemic response. Key information that residents needed to know was written in plain language and shared with community leadership, first responders, and health officials to ensure message consistency. A door-to-door campaign was launched and written materials in English and Dene Zhatie were left with residents. We ran radio ads and designed posters in both languages. The Government of the Northwest Territories partnered with CKLB Radio to run a programming, social media, and voicemail call-in campaign called Dear Fort Liard that inspired hundreds of people across the territory to post videos and messages in support of residents.
Mr. Speaker, just as important as our communications efforts is our approach to community engagement. In early January, we changed our approach to paying for isolation centres after hearing from Members of the Legislative Assembly, Indigenous leaders, community governments, businesses, and residents that we needed to reduce these costs. In response to this feedback, the Isolation Centre Policy was revised to require residents to pay for stays related to discretionary travel, which has reduced costs.
Finally, Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories has been working with the NWT and Yellowknife Chambers of Commerce and NWT Tourism to address some of the concerns of the business community. In response to suggestions raised by the Business Advisory Council, the secretariat issued a request for tender for isolation centre services, which resulted in the issuance of 76 standing offer agreements for these support services.
Mr. Speaker, every day, we see the success of our communications and engagement work in changing behaviours. This work has normalized wearing masks and keeping a safe distance from others. People understand the importance of self-isolation and following public health orders, and vaccine uptake is high. We are travelling less and staying home more. The business community has adapted, with many offering new and innovative services. We are all safer as a result of our collective efforts to limit the spread of COVID-19 to protect our loved ones and our communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Honourable Premier. Ministers' statements. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.
Good morning, Mr. Speaker. I'd just like to start off by wishing you a happy birthday.
Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories Association of Communities, or NWTAC, represents all 33 of the Northwest Territories' incorporated communities. The NWTAC promotes the exchange of information among community governments, working together to reach collective goals for our communities across the Northwest Territories. Together, they are an effective and passionate voice for community governments.
This year, due to the pandemic, the 2021 Annual General Meeting will be carried out virtually from February 25th to the 27th. If ever we had any question about the importance of building strong relationships with our community governments, this past year has clearly demonstrated how inter-reliant we are on each other. There has been a tremendous effort to work collaboratively and creatively to protect our residents and their communities against the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. These partnerships we have built are stronger because of the development of these relationships with our community governments. This year's AGM is another opportunity to further continue to strengthen those relationships.
Mr. Speaker, this is a time of complex changes in the world, especially with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic that we are all experiencing. This meeting remains an excellent networking, information-sharing, and collaboration to achieve our mutual goals and provide community governments with a platform to focus on common issues as well as to provide feedback on Government of the Northwest Territories programs and services. I want to congratulate the Northwest Territories Association of Communities on their ability to continue with the AGM, ensuring that information continues to be shared and the work toward common goals continues to be a priority, while doing so in a manner that keeps everyone safe.
The virtual agenda for this year's NWTAC AGM is set to include many interactive sessions as well as conducting their organization's core business, such as approval of financial statements and budgets as well as the election of new directors. In addition, members will have an opportunity to approve their 2021 resolutions as well as reaffirming the resolutions from previous years. One of the highlights of every NWTAC AGM is the ever-popular open discussions with the Premier and Cabinet. I know I am looking forward to these discussions, as I am sure my colleagues are, as well. It is an excellent opportunity to hear directly from the leadership of our communities on their priorities and their concerns. This better enables the government to make informed decisions that reflect on-the-ground realities in our communities.
On behalf of the Cabinet, I wish the NWT Association of Communities well with their upcoming AGM. I look forward to being part of these discussions and hearing from communities to better understand their priorities and concerns. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It has been a difficult year for many NWT residents and businesses, and as the vaccine is rolling out, it appears we are now moving in the right direction. It is now time to place our economy front and centre with the goal of ensuring northern businesses are provided every opportunity to be successful.
Mr. Speaker, the issue of economic recovery for the Northwest Territories has been a topic of discussion and rightly so. As such, my immediate concern is how this government will ensure that we can push out shovel-ready projects in businesses big and small that will provide benefit to northern businesses this construction season.
Mr. Speaker, northern-owned businesses are looking for our support when it comes to tendering and awarding contracts. It is important that this government uses the tools at its disposal to make every effort to award contracts to northern businesses. Whether we are using sole sourcing, obtaining quotes only from northern businesses, negotiated contracts, standing offer agreements, Business Incentive Policy or manufacturing policy, we must pull out all the stops and do everything possible to support northern businesses.
Mr. Speaker, everything that can be said about the need for this government to provide support to northern businesses has been said many times. What we now need is a commitment from this government not to give continued lip service to our real northern businesses but to provide our northern businesses with substantial work during the upcoming construction season. I do understand we are going through a procurement review process, but in the interim, we need to continue to find ways that support northern businesses in order to allow them to survive this pandemic. For Hay River, our businesses are the backbone of the community, and I expect that is true to many of the regional and small communities, and that is why we have to champion them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I will have questions for the Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Members' statements. Member for Deh Cho.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I would like to bring attention to an all-important issue facing our communities. It must be understood that First Nations peoples have faced and continue to face many battles dealing with land rights issues, housing, education, jobs, and the residential school legacy. We must also be mindful that the Liberal government agenda of 1969 in which they wanted to wipe out the Indian in our people. First Nations people have faced many obstacles and will continue to do so where as long as this government and other governments ignore the facts and the plight of First Nations in this territory and this country.
Mr. Speaker, many GNWT employees are being hired from out-of-the-territory to deliver programs and services for many First Nations peoples and communities of this North. The majority get placed into our small communities without a thought as to who they are actually dealing with. They do not know the struggles of our people, how we operate as a family system, how we operate as a community. This issue and practice has become common place with this government. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Deh Cho. Members' statements. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The time most individuals spend in a southern residential treatment facility represents a small period of time when you compare the many years a person has taken to get themselves to the recovery stage. Going to a treatment facility is the biggest and most important step for many in their journey to recovery from addiction, but it is only one step that is part of their healing journey. When we look at our communities, we lack the supports required to help them remain in recovery. This creates endless cycles of homelessness, family violence, and trips to southern treatment facilities. The government's current approach to addiction treatment stops at step one. Sending people to receive treatment but does nothing to ensure people remain in recovery when they come home. This has been a longstanding barrier for as long as anyone can remember.
Mr. Speaker, this is an example of a poor investment, a one-off, fragmented, and unsustainable approach that demonstrates little progress. We are spending the money for people to go out to treatment, but we need to continue that investment in aftercare. If people have nowhere to live and there's no way they can maintain any type of sobriety, no amount of on-the-land programming or community counselling will help. NWT research on family violence, integrated case management, and people leaving correctional facilities all tell us the issue that is a lack of client-centred supports, a lack of suitable housing, and more resources to stay in housing are needed. Good investments that have seen progress focus on providing community-based recovery and support services. It moves the focus away from one-off crises and emergency management responses towards longer term community-based addiction prevention and support.
Mr. Speaker, we know lack of programming that combines client-centred services and housing is at the centre of the long-standing challenges. Focused investments into individuals that support them to remain addiction-free according to their needs has demonstrated longer term and better outcomes. Not addressing this issue is what's holding the NWT government and our residents back from progress in their addictions. This is evident in our NWT statistics related to addictions that demonstrate these issues are growing. They are not getting better. Recovery starts with support. Permanent housing is the most important aspect of recovery to address these addictions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Members' statements. Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, Mr. Speaker, I'm going to fulfill a promise I made at the Dene Nahjo Forum while still on the campaign trail. In honour of Indigenous Languages Month, I would like to attempt to speak some of the language of my colleague from Monfwi. [Translation] Good morning. I am grateful to be here on this beautiful day to work with my colleagues for the betterment of the people of the Northwest Territories. [Translation ends] What I tried to say was: Good morning. I am grateful to be here on this this beautiful day to work with my colleagues for the betterment of the people of the Northwest Territories.
Today, I also wanted to represent the Indigenous people of the area in which I was born, the Sto:lo of southwestern B.C., so I wear a coat designed by Haida artist Dorothy Grant.
February is Indigenous Languages Month in the Northwest Territories. We are once again unique in that we are the only political region in Canada, which recognizes 11 official languages, nine of which are Indigenous: Chipewyan, Cree, Gwich'in, Inuinnaqtun, Inuktitut, Inuvialuktun, North Slavey, South Slavey, and Tlicho.
Indigenous Languages Month is another opportunity for the Northwest Territories to celebrate our unique culture and heritage. It is important that we preserve and revitalize Indigenous languages through their use and education as well as implementing new technology to ensure these languages will survive for generations to come.
Between 1989 and 2014, the percentage of territorial residents aged 15 years and over who spoke their Indigenous language declined to 17.1 percent. Currently, that number stands at 38.5 percent speaking their traditional language, and while this increase is great news, there is still a lot of work to be done to ensure northern Indigenous languages are no longer at risk of endangerment. We must continue to support and fund language revitalization programs to increase the use of Indigenous languages by all of our residents.
One such program is ECE's recently launched Mentor-Apprentice Program, or MAP. The goal of MAP is to connect those wanting to learn an Indigenous language with a fluent Indigenous speaker for instruction. The MAP is recognized worldwide as a successful method of reviving endangered languages. This program provides over 100 hours of training for the apprentice and the mentor, and compensation is based on the completion of progress reports, incentivising both parties to be successful.
Another strategy we need to explore is the use of partnerships with established technological giants, such as Google Translate, to make use of existing services, platforms, and apps to ensure northern language is captured digitally in order to aid in its preservation. I will have questions for the Minister of ECE in this area at the appropriate time. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Great Slave. Members' statements. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to talk about adequate and affordable access to Internet services and the barriers facing students and families, especially our post-secondary distance learners.
First, on the elementary and secondary school side, in a recent Yellowknife school board meeting, it was revealed that the Internet connectivity volume shared by the three boards and Aurora College is grossly inadequate, especially given distance learning requirements imposed by the COVID pandemic. Astonishing as it sounds, YCS, YK1, Aurora College, and CSFTNO share an Internet connection of 300 megabytes per second provided by the GNWT. Just for context, that's about equivalent to your cable modem at home. This is for four entire school organizations. This is a totally inadequate allotment, considering that there are 1700 users in YCS alone, and this usage is not streaming content or videos, just for day-to-day operations.
Even without the increased distance demands of COVID-19, providing students adequate opportunity to learn and use technology is an essential part of modern education. Failure to provide needed technical infrastructure puts our students at a disadvantage compared to learners in other jurisdictions and even within communities here. Inadequate connectivity was rated in a recent teacher survey conducted by YCS as the number one problem affecting performance and wellness. The school board also noted that routine service calls to GNWT's Technology Service Centre were not resolved in a timely manner, which adds to frustration with teachers and students. Accessibility and affordability present further problems for distance education. Even though so-called unlimited bandwidth is coming to northern communities, the $100-plus cost of adequate home plans creates a digital divide in communities, including Yellowknife.
Likewise, students of post-secondary distance programs face increasing Internet charges that can be crippling. Although there is now a technology support grant as part of Student Financial Assistance, it is not adequate to allow for the access that students require. I will have questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment on putting our students on adequate and affordable technical footing. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Members' statements. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. I want to talk about a serious procedural loophole within the Department of Health and Social Services that I believe is endangering many Northerners in our small communities. That, Mr. Speaker, is that many medical nursing staff in our communities are prohibited from responding to emergency medical calls. This is a serious concern.
Mr. Speaker, this procedural gap ultimately showed its shortfalls in the last year alone in my riding. In June of 2020, we lost an elder in Deninu Kue who was in medical distress, and the local nursing staff were bound by policy or procedure and were not able to respond. The elder in question was less than a few hundred metres from the local health centre. More recently, Mr. Speaker, we lost another resident who could very well have been still with us if there was a swift response to attend to their emergency. Again, there was valuable time lost because of response and transportation of a patient to the health centre.
Mr. Speaker, there is a glaring gap within the Department of Health and Social Services. If you were in a small community and called 911 right now for a medical emergency, you would need to be transported by a friend or RCMP, for example, to get the medical attention you would need. That's a problem. I do understand the need to protect our local medical staff to prevent them from being put into compromising situations. However, I strongly feel that Health and Social Services needs to step up their game and work with our communities to help prepare them in what to do in the event of an emergency.
COVID, I understand, has impacted many of our government initiatives, but we still need to do our very best to ensure that our residents get the best service and attention they can get. Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services at the appropriate time. Marsi cho.
Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Members' statements. Member for Thebacha.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I would like to use my Member's statement to thank and acknowledge the church community in Fort Smith. Mr. Speaker, there are three churches in my community: the Anglican, the Catholic, and the Pentecostal. The church community in Fort Smith has become a core constituency of the town itself. The church community contributes to the entirety of the community of Fort Smith. They want Fort Smith to thrive and do well, along with the rest of the NWT. The church community contributes to local events, and they share their building space with other organizations or groups when needed, such as Alcoholics Anonymous or other recovery programs.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the church community for all the work they do to help support and contribute to our community as a whole. I hold this community very close to my heart. It's important to remember that all members of any churches, or any other spiritual or religious sects, are also members of our community, too. They are our neighbours, our friends, our co-workers, and the like. For these reasons, I thank the church community for their dedication, hard work, and the spiritual aspects of serving the amazing community of Fort Smith. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. For those of you in this House who grow tired of hearing from me all of the time, I would like to try something different today and read an essay by Raven Mudford, a student at Ecole Sir John Franklin, who has been advocating to lower the voting age.
"Teenagers deserve the right to vote. They deserve the opportunity to have a say in how they enter the world of adulthood. Why, in the context of voting, do we see them as children, but in others 'young adults'? We trust them to enter the workforce, drive cars, take care of children, protest, but not influence their futures?
"Many 16-year-olds have jobs, and as a result, pay taxes. That alone is a valid argument: no taxation without representation.
"There is a perception of apathy among teenagers, lowering the voting age would fix this. If teenagers really are prone to rebel around the age of 16, we'd see them research against their parents' points of view and lead to them making decisions of their own.
"Social media gives teenagers an early exposure to these topics, both to extremists, to people who oppose their viewpoints, those with unique experiences, and those whose ideologies align with their own. Teenagers often engage in online debates about politics. Teenagers are willing to do the research if they know it makes a difference.
"Young adults, teenagers, adolescents, no matter what you call them, deserve the right to vote. At the age of 16, they start thinking about post-secondary options and a future which will be affected by whoever is elected. We are told that the youth are the future, but when it comes down to it, they are deprived of the capability to influence it. It is so important to teach youth about politics and to give them the opportunity to vote in elections. Their futures are at stake."
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Raven Mutford for writing that essay and for all of her political advocacy. I could not agree with her more. Places that have lowered the voting age increase voter turnout for life. In fact, parents of teenagers who are able to vote vote more themselves. Mr. Speaker, I think a great place for us to start is our own school board elections, which have oversight of many of our teenagers and have a very low turnout. I will have questions for the appropriate Minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Members' statements. Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I want to give my condolences for Jana Blow in her passing in Tuktoyaktuk last week. Speaking to her mom, Barbara Panaktalok, she is survived by Barbara; her brothers, Ellery, Ross, Darcy, and Dale; her sisters, Lennette, Tina, Amanda, and Eva; her two daughters, Dana and Bobby Joe; and her grandchildren, Ricky Lee, Nicky Anne Kikoak, Jared Adam Kupon, Jolena, Selena, Marie Mabel, Jace, Anne, Joe Dale, Josie, Amelia Lena, Haisley, and Joe Matthew. Jana leaves behind nine grandchildren. She is predeceased by her dad, Joe Blow, a well-respected elder, and her sister Veronica. Jana will be missed and not forgotten. Thoughts and prayers are with her and her family and the people of Tuktoyaktuk. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Nunakput. Our thoughts are with the family and the community, as well. Members' statements. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is kind of just coming off from my chest here. Today is your very special day, and I greatly appreciate that you are here today with us to make sure we keep the Legislative Assembly running. I would like to ask our Members here to all get up and wish you a very happy birthday and maybe sing you the song. No singing? No singing, okay. No singing, but anyway, we wish you very much a very happy birthday, Mr. Speaker.
---Applause
Mahsi. Mahsi. I was going to allow it today, but... just kidding.
---Laughter
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The questions I have are for the Minister of Finance. Can the Minister confirm if her department is working with other departments to ensure northern businesses are provided preference and every opportunity to participate in projects this upcoming construction season? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister of Finance.
Thank, Mr. Speaker. For the upcoming season, all businesses will be subject to the existing processes that we have, which are meant to support northern businesses, including the BIP, the Business Incentive Policy, and all of the current procurement processes that exist. To the extent that we want to improve and change those processes, we did accelerate the procurement review. That is underway, and one of the very questions we are looking at is whether there are new, additional, different ways to better support those businesses. While, if there are improvements, they will not necessarily happen in time for this season, we do have some existing processes in place and are looking constantly to improve them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Can the Minister confirm if her department in cooperation with other departments has identified any projects that can be considered Aboriginal set-asides and negotiated?
Under the current system, having set-asides is not one of the current tools we necessarily have. We did, of course, not too long ago negotiate the MoU with the Tlicho Government, which does include some enhancement of the way in which procurement is done on Tlicho lands. I know that there has already been quite a lot of interest from other Indigenous governments who also had economic measures in their agreements, so those discussions are underway. At present, the tools still are what the tools still are. We are, however, again in the course of the procurement review asking that very question: should there be a different way of having procurement done for Indigenous governments in the territory? Again, I am happy to have the questions asked, and I hope that in this process we will be able to identify if there is a better way of doing business.
Can the Minister confirm if her department in cooperation with other departments looked at the structure of the work and how it can be tendered so smaller businesses can benefit? What I am asking is: can contracts be broken into smaller parts to benefit smaller businesses?
Yes, I can say certainly that Procurement Shared Services under the Department of Finance really assists other departments. The other departments are really the clients of Procurement Shared Services, but those conversations and those decisions around what is the best way to undergo a procurement, what is the best way to advance a project, including whether or not the contract can be broken up, that rests with the home department that is responsible for the project. They then work with Procurement Shared Services to do the procurement of it. However, that exact conversation of how to do it, how to best serve the businesses, that is a conversation that is happening. It is going to continue to happen, and Procurement Shared Services will very happily then enact whatever those decisions are. The short answer is yes, but that is the long answer of how.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for those answers since I only gave her the questions a few minutes ago. This question here, maybe she will not have the numbers at her fingertips, but can the Minister confirm: what is the estimated total budget for projects this construction season? Thank you.
Our 2021-2022 capital budget is over $500 million, including a budget for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation; in 2020-2021, our capital spend was already $293 million, so money is getting out the door. There were some challenges last year, no doubt, with COVID and some of the challenges that would have imposed in terms of supply, in terms of exemptions for people moving in and around the territory. The capital budget we have now is significant. All departments are very conscious of the fact that, number one, we need our infrastructure to grow and, number two, we want to support northern businesses. With a large budget on the way and this spring season certainly coming down the pipeline, I am confident that we will be seeing increases in spending in terms of our procurement and our capital over the next few months. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
