Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. On the issue of the mandatory vaccinations policy, or COVID19 vaccinations policy, the mandatory vaccinations list, I note that from the amended vaccination policy guidelines, that the definition of COVID19 is the coronavirus. That was at the beginning of the whole outbreak in 2020. This has not been updated to include the omicron variant and the science behind the omicron variant. There's nothing. I've never seen it since the omicron came out. There's no science to say what will work to cure it except to stay home. And it didn't distinguish, and I say it again, between vaccinated or unvaccinated people. It didn't. Vaccinated people were the ones that got you know, they were sicker than anybody else. And it's been known and it's shown around. I'm not sure where the science is behind all that, behind that there. You know, they're putting in new revising the implementation or putting new public health orders. They're not new. They're still the same. You know, it was in there already, work with vulnerable you know, people have to have proof of vaccination. That's what it's saying. We haven't changed anything. We're just reiterating what was already there. We're still marginalizing our people. People still need vaccine passports to get into facilities and everything.
Thank you, Member for Deh Cho. Minister responsible for Finance.
Well, Mr. Speaker, let me maybe just explain, again, what the vaccinated policy is for the Government of the Northwest Territories. I think that's what the question was.
Vaccines have, and continue to be, the most effective way of preventing not only transmission but also serious illness. And Mr. Speaker, I have the pleasure of sitting with the Chief Public Health Officer where she has reiterated that science to us repeatedly, that this is the single best way of preventing severe illness. We've obviously realized with omicron that the nature of the COVID virus is changing, it's evolving, as viruses do. And that is where we were seeing a change in the approach from the public health agency and, as a result, a change in the approach by the Department of Finance on behalf of the public service.
Our vaccine policy was not mirrored on the federal policy. Our vaccine policy was done in keeping in mind the advice of the Chief Public Health Officer here and in looking at the approach of other jurisdictions all across Canada.
As we've seen the change in the Chief Public Health Office and the health approach here in the Northwest Territories, so we too at the Department of Finance are modifying our vaccine policy, which is something I know I have committed to doing several times.
So at present, or rather starting imminently now, what we're going to be suggesting as of tomorrow is that it would be proof of vaccine is required for individuals who work with vulnerable members of the public in healthcare, educations, and corrections. This is just to continue, as we are coming down the wave of the omicron variant, to ensure that those who are most vulnerable, either themselves or working with most vulnerable, are still given the best possible form of protection and those working in federallyregulated work sites.
Mr. Speaker, I have no jurisdiction to change the rules of the federal government, for instance with respect to airlines, and those individuals, therefore, have to continue to be vaccinated. The alternative, it's never been a mandatory policy here in the Northwest Territories other than for those who are those federallyregulated sites. Employees who aren't within the vulnerable sectors can continue to be tested and wear PPE. If you do have to attend a federal work site, again, Mr. Speaker, that is out of my hands, and at that point they have to comply with the fact that the federal government will continue to have mandatory policies for them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi to the Minister for that. I think we can argue this all day if we wanted. But anyways, I think my question was can we make any allowances for the settlement maintainers in the small communities who aren't vaccinated, you know, to not work in the RCMP facilities but to have people from the regional centres come in to do those duties? Because even what she' saying, I'm just not clear yet, you know. I'm not sure if I read somewhere where we're getting rid of the vaccine passport for travel. I don't know why they would do it there. But I don't know if she can reiterate if that is the case and if she can answer if the vaccine passport has been is going to be done away with. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have not heard anything from the federal government directly in terms of how employees are being dealt with, that there's been any change in their approach right now. And as such, to the extent that an employee has an obligation as part of a bona fide work requirement to travel or to attend a federallyregulated space, then they will continue to have to apply by or to apply those rules.
With respect, again, to our own policies, right now, Mr. Speaker, there are only 326 employees of the public service who are undergoing either the enhanced testing approach or and who may therefore be having to get testing and PPE. It's a very small number. The vast majority of the almost 6,000 employees of the GNWT's public service have actually been able to comply with this policy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I wasn't quite clear on what the Minister stated about the unvaccinated population, whether they're given the options to do all the testing regardless of the facilities that they would have to enter. If I could get that clarity. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So Mr. Speaker, again, so there's 326 employees that departments have asked for testing materials, meaning the amount of materials required for to do the proof of or do a COVID test and to wear PPE rather than comply with providing a proof of vaccine.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Deh Cho.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker, and mahsi to the Minister for that answer. My concern here is, and I mentioned it several times, because one of the requirements is it's saying to work in a RCMP facility, it's federally regulated all right. I know about the flights and that; I wasn't alluding to any flights. But for the facilities, like in my community we have a facility the settlement maintainer can't go into there. But employees out of Hay River who typically and normally, perhaps on a weekly basis, do come into our communities anyways. I'm just wondering if those employees can cover that facility and still have our own settlement maintainer stay employed? Because I've talked about marginalization at length a lot of times because a lot of our employees are longtime Northerners and many are Indigenous and they have, you know, mortgages, payments, and all this stuff, and what we're doing is imposing our will upon others, to people that choose to have a right to do what they want with their bodies. And, you know, I don't want to say any more about the government in this regard at this time. But, you know, I'm just wondering if there would be any allowances made that can be relayed to Infrastructure to make these happen? Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if an individual cannot do their job and their job requires them to attend a location that is federally regulated, then they then that there's not much that can be done about that. People have bona fide job requirements and job duties and if they have to attend a location regulated by the federal government and the federal government has put on a policy saying that they have to be vaccinated, that will apply to them as much as it applies to me.
The GNWT, unlike many jurisdictions, did not have a mandatory policy. Most many jurisdictions did. We've allowed in fact, specifically, I allowed and insisted that we ensure that there's the ability for testing, that we allow the ability for testing and PPE. But when the handful of individuals run up against a federal policy, there's not much I can do to change it.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
