Mr. Speaker, it is fitting that, as we focus this sitting on the government's budget, including how GNWT spending impacts the NWT economy and the role it can play in our economic recovery efforts, we are also beginning a territory-wide conversation about our government's procurement practices and policies. Procurement is a significant tool that can positively increase the benefits of government spending on the private sector and, as a result, on the economy as a whole.
Ensuring that government procurement and contracting maximizes benefits to residents and businesses is a priority established by the 19th Legislative Assembly. Building on that, one of our government's guiding principles is to ensure that the expenditure of public funds supports northern businesses and maximizes economic benefits to Northerners. This is consistent with our long-standing commitment to support Northwest Territories businesses and grow a strong, diversified economy. The conversation that has formally begun around procurement is part of the effort to achieve this priority and advance this guiding principle.
It is important to remember that the concerns and needs that led to this priority and, similarly, to the political recognition that it is time for new recommendations to improve procurement practices came from the territory's Indigenous governments and organizations, the business community, and the public at large, rightfully so as the last comprehensive review was over a decade ago. The people of the NWT know and have made clear that we have an opportunity for positive and long-lasting change and that we need to work together to achieve it. At a time in our history when it is clearly needed, we are prepared to reset or re-imagine our government's approach to buying and contracting the goods and services it needs to deliver its mandate. To that end, we have accelerated our mandate commitment to strengthen GNWT procurement policies and practices.
Mr. Speaker, I have spoken in previous sittings about the procurement review. I want to use this opportunity to provide an update. Recently, I announced the start of the process to get this very important work done with the release of the discussion paper, dedicated section of the ITI website, and the introduction of our review panel.
We have put a review panel in place that I am confident will remain open-minded, objective, creative, and responsive and whom I have personally asked to do so. The panel will hear from a variety of stakeholders and residents. From panel interviews to written submissions, targeted-engagement opportunities, and an online discussion forum, we are working to ensure that everyone has a means and opportunity to share their thoughts and perspectives. We want the panel to hear real experiences with government procurement, both positive and otherwise. This should include specific examples of when the system did or did not work and collect innovative ideas for making our procurement process better. The panel will also meet with officials from Indigenous governments about GNWT procurement generally and ideas for a possible Indigenous procurement strategy and ways to best achieve the economic goals of modern treaties. I will continue to reach out to Indigenous leaders, as well, for ongoing government-to-government discussions about GNWT procurement. We need everybody with an interest in this discussion to seek out the information and opportunities that are available to provide their input.
Mr. Speaker, our use of a public review process reflects our confidence that the ideas and guidance needed on this important matter can be found in the leadership, experience, and creativity that exist within the Northwest Territories. We want to continue to help stimulate economic growth and encourage entrepreneurship and local competition. Our review of public procurement is one part of work that must be done to support a resilient, more diverse economy. I encourage everyone in our territory to contribute to this process. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The handling of the COVID-19 pandemic by the Chief Public Health Officer and her staff has paid off when one looks at the low number of cases, with no confirmed deaths in the Northwest Territories. Compared to the rest of Canada, the NWT appears to be moving along quickly with the rollout of the vaccine, which has resulted in the NWT receiving 19,100 doses with another 16,200 expected shortly. To date, approximately 14,600 first doses and 2,000 second doses have been administered in the NWT.
Mr. Speaker, the World Health Organization, in an interim guidance communication dated January 25, 2021, stated that, 14 days after receiving the first dose of the vaccine, the efficacy is said to be 91.9 percent; after receiving the second dose, based on a two-month follow-up, it is said that an efficacy of 94.1 percent has been established. The World Health Organization and the Centre for Disease Control recommends that the second dose should be administered as close to the recommended interval as possible. The stated time for this second dose was to be 28 days after receiving the first dose. Recently, that number, that 28-day number, has been pushed out as far as 42 days.
Mr. Speaker, this government has to rely on the supplier for the vaccine and, as such, has no control when delivery will be made. When we know we are to receive the vaccine from the supplier, I would expect that a decision is made to either use it all up as a first dose or possibly hold some back to administer as a second dose when a delay becomes a reality. The delay in receiving additional supply has created anxiety among residents who were expecting a second dose of the vaccine on day 28.
Mr. Speaker, because of this delay, constituents in Hay River have been asking why the second dose was delayed and if this delay will have an impact on the efficacy of the vaccine, questions I will have for the Minister of health later. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Members' statements. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. We are now about a third of the way through our term. I am increasingly concerned with lack of substantive legislation from Cabinet. To date, there have been a total of 24 bills, almost half of which were appropriations. This is not quite as bad as the last Cabinet as they had only introduced a total of six non-appropriation bills at this point. The bills from this Cabinet, outside of appropriations, deal with pithy matters, including:
a monumental effort, with some of the most convoluted wording I have ever seen, to change the Public Highway Act to absolve GNWT of liability for winter roads connecting off our roads;
the much-vaunted Temporary Variation of Statutory Time Periods (Covid-19 Pandemic Measures) Act that has been used once;
probably my favourite, the Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act;
housekeeping changes to the Securities Act; Apprenticeship, Trade and Occupation Certification Act; Legal Professions Act; and the Corrections Act;
changes to the Interpretation Act that would have allowed Cabinet total discretion to change time zones and other time changes, which would not get my vote as something of importance to deal with during the pandemic;
bills also from the Clerk's office to allow for remote sittings and to standardize more of the terms of contracts for the Assembly's independent officers. I think that is good legislation.
My point here, Mr. Speaker, is that we have yet to get anything substantive from Cabinet. We are supposed to be a Legislative Assembly, not a debating club. This less-than-ambitious legislative agenda has not put our committees to work nor delivered on the promises in the mandate nor the needs of our citizens. I am concerned that, like the last Assembly, we will have an avalanche of bills in the last few months of our term, which doesn't allow for good public input or careful consideration of improvements. I will have questions for the Premier on Cabinet's legislative inertia and lethargy later today. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Members' statements. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Today, I am going to talk about the Liwe camp, which is a fish camp that is hosted on Mackenzie Island, on the shores of Great Slave Lake, for the last two weeks and is hosted by the Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning. This is the second time that Dechinta has hosted a public fish camp. I had the opportunity to visit the camp this past weekend. I had a great time being out there. Camp Liwe provides a great opportunity for community members to engage in culture, language, and other traditional ways of being on the land during the winter.
Mr. Speaker, Dechinta is an organization that is always striving to bridge the gap between the old ways of Indigenous life and the modern world. They blend culture and education and treat them with equal importance to one's identity. "Strong like two people," that is the motto of Dechinta, which encourages an individual to excel both in modern society and in traditional ways of being.
Mr. Speaker, I applaud Dechinta and all the organizers who helped contribute to this event. By all accounts, it was a very successful event, and they are planning to run it again next year. I hope to continue seeing Dechinta host popular and successful community events like this into the future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and just in line with my questioning last Friday, I'm going to continue asking some questions to the Minister of MACA on gaps in healthcare and emergency response. Marsi cho.
Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Members' statements. Member for Deh Cho.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The Hamlet of Enterprise has approximately 120 residents; five businesses, including a motel, convenience, and gas bar. The businesses mostly cater to out-of-town requests for service, businesses such as a plumbing and heating contractor, cabinet supply company, modular home company, and the furniture cash-and-carry business. There are a couple of small, niche businesses such as Winnie's Dene Art Gallery and D'Arcy Moses Fashion Design, both in the same building that used to house a former cafe and gas bar.
Mr. Speaker, one would think this was a vibrant and happening place, considering all that economic potential. However, many of the businesses are small mom-and-pop operations and cannot afford to hire new staff or any staff at all. Since COVID hit, this hamlet has been hit hard in terms of business potential and opportunities. The hamlet's only gas bar, motel, and convenience store has not opened for a couple of years since it had new owners, and this was due to COVID. I understand this may well be for sale once again.
The hamlet is the first community on Highway No. 1 and approximately 84 kilometres, roughly 54 miles, from the 60th parallel, the NWT-Alberta border. It is very puzzling that Enterprise is not touted as the gateway to the falls, as these are very near to the community. I don't see much signage in Enterprise or a visitors information centre to make visitors and tourists aware of these hotspots for activity. Even the residents who run small businesses are bypassed for campground custodian contracts. Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment at the appropriate time. Mahsi.
Thank you, Member for Deh Cho. Members' statements. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month in Canada. The Beaufort-Delta region has the NWT's highest rates of colorectal cancer and the lowest rates of screening, according to the NTHSSA. I can honestly say that most people from my region have been personally affected by this disease. I would like to give my condolences to all the families in the NWT who have lost loved ones to colorectal cancer as many of my friends and family have. To those who are survivors of colorectal cancer, please continue to be champions of colorectal screening. If caught, nine out of 10 people can be cured. This means screening is essential to prevent deaths from this disease.
Mr. Speaker, last February, the NTHSSA announced it was going to begin a pilot project, and the first phase of that pilot project will focus on the Beaufort-Delta region, that they would be sending out fecal immunochemical tests, or FIT kits, out in the mail to those who met the screening criteria. During that announcement, the stats were only 16 percent of the eligible population of the Beaufort-Delta region participated in colorectal cancer screening. This is less than the territorial average at that time of 21.9 percent and extremely less than the national goal of 60 percent.
Today, I would like to bring awareness to screening for colorectal cancer. Those aged 50 to 74 with no family history, those who have immediate family diagnosed, you are at an increased risk. Mr. Speaker, I encourage all residents to discuss this screening with their healthcare practitioner. We need to make sure that our residents are aware of the screening criteria and ensure that we see our screening rates rise so that we can prevent any further deaths for our loved ones. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I will have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Members' statements. Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Tree of Peace Friendship Centre, located in Yellowknife, has been serving Northerners with community and wellness programs that include educational, economic, recreational, and cultural activities for over 50 years. At the heart of their work is a deep respect for Indigenous peoples' cultural distinctiveness and the trauma created by the legacy of the residential schools. This positions the centre to be even more effective in the work they do than perhaps programs offered by the GNWT that may evoke feelings of colonialism and institutionalized racism.
In 2004, the Company of Young Canadians, the economic wing of the Tree of Peace, finalized construction of the 15,000-square-foot building complex on 51st Street. The CYC owns the building, renting space to the centre for its programming. Construction of the complex was completed solely through fundraising efforts of the organization itself, without any funding from government; an amazing feat. However, the Tree of Peace does rely on government funding for its programs, and in my opinion, it is time to step up that funding to ensure that the centre and others like it can continue to be effective.
Community wellness and youth workers at the Tree of Peace have not seen a salary increase for several years. With an increasing population utilizing the programs provided by the centre as well as inflation and rises in the cost of living, personnel often go without raises so programming isn't cut, and like all teachers everywhere, educators are often purchasing supplies for their classrooms out of pocket. For example, the Alcohol Educator Program, which provides the ongoing after-care support needed post-treatment, has been at the same rate of pay and program funding for years. Given the growing addictions issues in the North and the push for rehabilitation services, this funding needs to be reassessed as, currently, the program is constantly being monitored to not go over-budget, potentially leading to diminished services. In order to maintain growth and the economic self-reliance of the program, its funding needs to be increased.
Currently, the Upgrading Education Program at the Tree of Peace is exclusive to adults. With appropriate funding and a needs assessment, this service could be expanded to youths, as well. By working together with educators at the Tree of Peace, we can continue to expand on the educational needs and supports required to increase educational levels for residents in a culturally sensitive manner. The Tree of Peace Friendship Centre continues to play an active and inclusive role in our communities toward empowering youth, elders, and those in recovery. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Great Slave. Members' statements. Member for Kam Lake.
Mr. Speaker, mining has always driven the North's modern economy. When I was growing up, you were most likely either the kid of a mine employee or of a public servant. Today, mineral resources and the public sector are driving our territory's workforce and cash flow. Although the NWT is rich with opportunity, mineral exploration is stagnant. Natural Resources Canada estimates that mineral exploration in the NWT fell 54 percent over 2020, and while all mineral spending across Canada dropped during COVID-19, the NWT fell from the seventh highest in ranking across Canada down to the 11th.
Mining report cards produced from the Fraser Institute Survey of Mining Companies, the C.D. Howe Report, and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives offer some insight. These reports suggest that the NWT is the second-lowest attractive location for mining investment in Canada. The NWT is known for long, uncertain permitting processes. Roughly one third of regulatory permits are issued in under six months in the Northwest Territories, yet Yukon and Nunavut can issue over 60 percent of permits within the same time frame. Our northern neighbours can double our pace of development in terms of permitting, Mr. Speaker.
What is most concerning, however, is the fact that the GNWT does not meet their own timelines, creating further uncertainty for doing business in the Northwest Territories. Improved regulatory communication, transparency, and consistency are necessary to attract investors to our resource-rich territory, and these fundamental pillars to building an attractive policy environment for mining are the NWT's weakest policy points. Implementing the large infrastructure priorities identified in the mandate of the 19th Assembly, such as the Slave Geological Province Corridor and the Taltson Hydro Expansion Project, are not feasible unless there are large-scale resource development projects to support them.
Mr. Speaker, diamond production has reached its peak, and private investment in the NWT has been steadily declining for years. How is the GNWT turning the tide on this trend? Will the GNWT effectively increase transparency and consistency in the regulatory process, and how will the GNWT improve its own internal timelines in the regulatory process? I will have questions for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment about specific efforts to increase investor confidence and bolster exploration and mining in the NWT. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Consensus government, at its core, has a transparency problem, and it not an easy problem to solve without all of us in this House making some sacrifices for the public good. In our system, Regular MLAs are awarded a great deal of input into decision making. We see draft budgets, draft business plans, draft budgets, and draft legislative proposals, and we are given ample time to comment and provide input to those draft decisions. In many cases, Mr. Speaker, Cabinet actually listens to Regular MLAs, and I commend them for that. I understand that some Assemblies have done better than others at this.
However, Mr. Speaker, whenever something is draft, it is marked "confidential" and any discussions take place in secret. A by-product of this is that most decisions, by the time they are made public, much of the hard work and debate has been done. This often results in an anomaly where we pass things in this House with little or no comment.
Now, Mr. Speaker, I want to note that this is not any better in a party system where the solution is simply not to share information with the opposition, and sometimes things become public all at the same time as a surprise to opposition MLAs and the public. Clearly, this is not a solution to the problem, but it is often framed as the alternative. If MLAs are unhappy with doing business planning in secret, then they can wait and review a finalized document in public, but changing finalized Cabinet documents is a rare and difficult occurrence.
Mr. Speaker, the real solution here is a large dose of transparency at all levels. A dose of transparency that requires all of us becoming much more comfortable working with draft proposals publicly. We also must be much more comfortable speaking of when we failed to act.
The GNWT being an inherently risk-adverse organization, often the decision to do nothing is the most important and the most common. As an example, Mr. Speaker, our Affirmative Action Policy has not changed in some decades. However, if you weed through the multiple committee reports and you glean that it has probably gone to Cabinet multiple times, or at least to committee, and yet, nothing has been done. From the public's perspective, no change or effort to change such an important policy has ever occurred, yet repetitive decisions to fail to change it are often what has occurred.
Mr. Speaker, much of the work we need to do is set out in the GNWT's open government policy. However, we have heard little what the steering committee for that policy does, being made up of public servants who ironically meet in secret. One part of that work is an open data portal. I will have questions for the Minister of Finance on how we can become a more open government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Members' statements. Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I'd like to bring up the rental assessments for our local housing authorities back in the Delta or across the territory. I'm getting a lot of constituents coming into my office and asking why aren't they able to go and get their rental assessment redone and have it done soon because the high cost of living back home for all your bills, your power, your food, everything that comes up with that. That being said, when they're going in, it's not being done.
Mr. Speaker, I'm asking the Minister today to pass on to make sure all local housing authorities are given notice to assist the constituent or the renter when they come in because everybody back home are seasonal workers, most of them, and anything helps from cost-of-living, extra funds for anything that help to pay our power bills and everything, just day-to-day lives from people back home.
Today, I'm asking the Minister that making sure that she's getting her local housing authorities across our territory, when somebody comes to the housing office, to make sure and asking for an assessment, it gets done that day. I will have questions for the appropriate Minister at that time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Nunakput. Members' statements. Member for Monfwi.
Masi, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] Today, the federal government, I'd like to talk about it. I'd like to ask the questions to the federal government about: when you look at the legislation 292, it is called 292 today, I'd like to, I will ask the Minister of Health and Social Services [Translation ends] National Aboriginal Day, June 21st, marks the second anniversary of a very important new federal law. I refer to Bill C-92, An Act Respecting First Nations, Inuit and Metis Children, Youth and Families.
Mr. Speaker, this landmark federal legislation acknowledges that inherent right of Indigenous people through jurisdictions over Child and Family Services. This includes foster care, child apprehensions, and other forms of family interventions.
Among other things, Mr. Speaker, Bill C-92 establishes procedures for orderly transfer of this authority from the colonizing government to the relevant Aboriginal governments across the Northwest Territories. It also provides for funding agreement to cover the costs of administering the devolved services.
Mr. Speaker, this is a good law, one that is recommended by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. However, Mr. Speaker, its successful implementation requires the cooperation and goodwill of this government, also provincial governments that are involved. At the appropriate time, Mr. Speaker, I intend to question the Minister of Health and Social Services about how this act is being rolled out here in the Northwest Territories. Masi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Members' statements. Member for Thebacha.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I'm going to talk about the Affirmative Action Policy and how it is not being evenly applied across all departments within the Government of the Northwest Territories. What I mean is that I have brought several constituency issues pertaining to the Affirmative Action Policy to the attention of the Minister responsible for human resources. Oftentimes, the Minister will defer any answers on these particular enquiries to the department or Ministers who are doing the hiring. Through my work on these issues, it has come to my attention that there is not an even application of the Affirmative Action Policy taking place across the government. There seem to be a lot of gaps and loopholes, which allows the government to work around the Affirmation Action Policy.
For example, Mr. Speaker, recently, within the Department of Lands, there were three vacant positions, one of which a constituent of mine had applied to. My constituent applied and was denied because she was told she was inexperienced. My constituent felt she was overlooked, so she asked me to intercede on her behalf to see whether affirmative action was properly enacted for that position. I later found out that the position in question was filled by a direct appointment.
Mr. Speaker, I'm not okay with this. There is something wrong with this picture. Some people argue that the direct appointments are a good thing for Indigenous people as it provides an alternative means of hiring Indigenous candidates into government positions. However, direct appointments could also create the opposite effect and can act as a loophole around the Affirmative Action Policy.
Mr. Speaker, our government and all its departments can say all it wants that the Affirmative Action Policy is being properly enacted, but how do we know that that is, in fact, true. If it's up to each department to regulate itself regarding affirmative action, how are hiring decisions being tracked, measured, and overseen in accordance with this policy? Where is the accountability and transparency in that? I will have questions for the Minister of human resources at the appropriate time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. These questions are for the Minister of health. Can the Minister confirm how decisions are being made with respect to the vaccine rollout, more specifically the second dose? Is it at the sole discretion of the Chief Public Health Officer, or is there a vaccine working group? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the opportunity to talk about this issue, because it is one that I have heard discussed quite often. The Chief Public Health Officer is the staff person who is ultimately responsible, but she doesn't work in a vacuum. She works with colleagues across the country. She works with colleagues in her office. She regularly consults community and Indigenous leaders. She also receives advice from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization. She uses a variety of information sources to look at the decisions she makes about priority groups for vaccination and, as has emerged recently, the timing of second doses based on the supply interruption by the manufacturer. Thank you.
Can the Minister confirm if there was a decision made by the Office of the Chief Public Health Officer to forego the administration of a second dose of the vaccine in favour of providing as many NWT residents with a first dose?
As a matter of fact, that did not happen. The people who are receiving a second dose of their vaccine are doing so within the recommended 28-to-42-day time frame, even though we did receive fewer vaccines than we had hoped at the beginning of February, we have now received plenty of vaccine. In some cases, people are closer to the end of the 42-day time frame, but nobody was shortchanged a second dose because of rolling out first doses.
Can the Minister confirm the number of persons who have had their second shots delayed due to the delay in receiving the vaccine from the suppliers?
All residents should be able to receive their second dose within that 28-to-42-day time frame. I am not aware of people going over that unless they are unavailable to have the second dose because they are out of their community or out of the territory. To the best of my knowledge, there is no delay in this area.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister provide us with an indication of the efficacy of the vaccine when receiving a second shot after the 28th day and up to the 42nd day? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The vaccine is not an off-on proposition. When it enters the body, it creates antibodies to fight off the COVID-19 infection. It continues to create antibodies from the 28th day, from the 42nd day. The second dose is really a booster. Having said that, as the Member is well-aware, this is a very new vaccine, and there is not a lot of information about the maximum interval between doses. What we do know for now is that there is no problem extending up to day 42.
There are jurisdictions that are experimenting with a greater interval than that, but we are staying with the National Advisory Committee on Immunization recommendation, which is that the second dose be given between 28 and 42 days. In terms of how effective it is, the vaccine is reported to be 92 percent effective 14 days after the first dose. As I say, it continues to build. Anyone who is over the 42 days will not have to restart their vaccine series. They will be able to get the vaccine when they are ready to get it. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Thebacha.
