Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.
A couple of weeks ago I tabled redacted meeting summaries from the GNWTChamber of Mines COVID19 Working Group meetings. From the April 28th meeting, ITI states "allowing money from philanthropic organizations from the south is something we will be watching so it doesn't influence land use planning with more protected areas."
Can the Minister tell us which philanthropic organizations are being watched and what kind of monitoring or surveillance is being conducted? Merci, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there is no surveillance being conducted. Mr. Speaker, I understand that these meeting minutes continue to be a source of great consternation. They are minutes. They are taken by a note taker, they are not transcripts, and they certainly are not something to which I would say speak on my behalf about what the department is or is not doing or the priorities of the department. So just to put that context on the quotes that are coming, again there are notes taken by someone at a meeting.
That said, Mr. Speaker, philanthropic organizations, this quote, this has long been a matter raised by certain members of the industry that we want to ensure that when decisions are being made about land use in the Northwest Territories that those decisions are made by members of the regions in which the matters arise so that they're decisions made by northern residents, by northern communities, by northern governments. And that's really the role of the GNWT here, is not to go spying on anybody but simply to facilitate land use planning by and for the benefit of Northerners. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. In October 2021, Alberta released the report from the $3.5 million Allan inquiry into foreign funded antienergy campaigns that found no evidence of wrongdoing by environmental groups.
Can the Minister tell us whether this government is going to hold a similar public inquiry in terms of watching philanthropic organizations, or does this government actually recognize the value that these organizations can bring to the NWT? Merci, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we very fortunately in this government have the LNR departments all working well together. That is Lands, Natural Resources, and Environment all working together. In this particular instance, ENR happens to be the lead in terms of trying to work through a process or governance where we might, if there were to be opportunities to work with large organizations, is to bring funding alternatives on conservation initiatives, then we want to ensure, again, as a collective and as the GNWT and as Northerners, that we'd be doing that within a structure that is for the benefit of Northerners.
So we don't share the concern that I believe was the impetus behind that study and behind that inquiry, that there was some sort of nefarious thing happening. We are quite trusting and quite happy to work with anyone who wants to come and be mindful of the benefits of the northern residence and northern communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for those words. As I understand, the Chamber of Mines has filed for a judicial review of decision by the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board not to issue unlimited extensions to land use permits. And, Mr. Speaker, I don't want to speak to the case in any way, but the meeting summary show that the chamber met with Ministers of this government about their application before it was filed. So can the Minister tell us what happened in those meetings? Merci, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, I wasn't at the meetings but I was able to make inquiries, and I appreciate a bit of a headsup that these topics might be coming.
The importance or the desire of industry to ensure that they have access to leases that are effective has long been a matter of their advocacy. That said, this is an area where, although I understand CIRNAC on behalf of the federal government might have actually taken the position that leases should be extended, the GNWT has not taken a position. We have remained neutral and we continue to remain neutral, and whatever process might be happening before the courts with other parties, as the Member's already said, is not ours to speak to here. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for clarifying that. So I've suggested a couple of times now there are a number of options to bring greater transparency and accountability to these secret meetings.
Can the Minister tell us whether these meetings are consistent with our open government policy and describe how she is going to bring greater transparency and accountability to these secret meetings? Merci, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, given the multiple times we've now spoken about these meetings, I'm not sure I agree with the characterization of them as being particularly secret in any fashion. And indeed even after the last round of exchanges that the Member and I had on this, the Chamber of Mines themselves put a number of the meeting minutes onto their own website to demonstrate that they too are more than happy to make known the fact that they are working to advance the interests of the industry with the GNWT.
As for the ongoing work there, Mr. Speaker, I certainly took note of the concerns that were raised in the last time that this matter came before the House. The deputy minister and I are looking to have a new set of terms of reference issued. When I have them, I will certainly make them available to the Members so that we are able to, in fact, be clear and focused on the purpose here. And the clear purpose, clear focus, is that this is an anchor area, an anchor section of the economy. It's one that we want to see supported, and we want to work with those with their knowledge of that sector to see where we have mutual areas of interest. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Great Slave.
Oral Question 863-19(2):
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Housing Minister who is also the Minister responsible for Youth.
My first question is will the Minister commit to touring Home Base and learning about the work and programs that they're providing firsthand? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Great Slave. Minister responsible for Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member for the question. I have met with Home Base recently through zoom. And I have been able to receive a comprehensive understanding of the supports that they provide to the youth. But looking forward into the new year, I will commit to touring the facility with the Member. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Minister for that commitment to come and take a look at their operations. I think it's always good when you can see things firsthand. Let's keep it on vein of saying yes.
Can the Minister commit to providing Home Base with emergency funding to expand support hours to 24/7 and to keep their shelters open? The reason that this is so crucial right now is the temperatures are dropping, and they do provide a very important service for youth. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To date, the Housing Corporation has supported Home Base with capital funding under our shelter enhancement fund to do minor retrofits to the building. Their operational funding has been provided by Health and Social Services. I understand the emergency shelter funding within the Northwest Territories has been fully subscribed and allocated to all seven current operating shelters across Northwest Territories.
I can ensure the Member and the House that the Housing Corporation is in further discussion with Home Base. After our recent meeting with them to see how the Housing Corporation can work with them, and the Housing Corporation will invite other social program departments to participate in these discussions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister's answers sort of speak to my next question as well.
Can the Minister commit to assisting or working with her colleagues to look for core funding for the Home Base program so that we can keep youth from not experiencing homelessness as well as ease the burden on social services? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I understand that there is a need and importance of the service they provide. We are currently in conversations with other social development departments after our mutual role and responsibilities when it comes to funding and supporting the various shelters and accommodation supports across Northwest Territories. The support provided to youth is one of the specific target groups. We are also in conversation with Canada and to access programs like the federal Reaching Home initiative to support programs and facilities within the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm glad to hear the Minister speak about working with other departments. I think that the way that youth are being dealt with definitely crosses multiple departments so we do need to keep breaking down those silos.
My last question is will the Minister commit to touring other buildings in my district, such as Norseman Manor and Simpson House, to see where we are placing the vulnerable youth and committing to developing an action plan to end youth homelessness? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The department does have a working group with the various lessees that we hold in Yellowknife. And also I will be making sure and commit that we reflect the youth homelessness needs in our homelessness strategy that will be tabled in early 2022. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
