Madam Speaker, today I would like to provide an update on the progress of Housing NWT's community housing plans, which is a comprehensive, detailed information document to better direct housing investments in the Northwest Territories' communities. Through partnerships with Indigenous governments, community governments, and stakeholders, over the last three years housing plans have been completed in Fort Good Hope, Whati, Paulatuk, Enterprise, Nahanni Butte, and the K'atlodeeche First Nation. These plans provide communities and stakeholders with the tools necessary to direct the future of housing in their communities.
A housing plan includes an assessment that combines baseline data with housing needs identified by the community. It also includes the housing plan itself, which identifies the community’s goals as well as actions for the future in their housing investment. As set out in Housing NWT's mandate, we understand the importance of meaningful partnership with communities, and it is essential that these plans are the products of meaningful collaboration.
Madam Speaker, Housing NWT recognizes that each community has unique needs. The community housing plans initiative was developed in recognition of this and to give communities a voice to express their own housing situation, issues, and priorities. For example, Paulatuk’s housing plan reinforces the need for home designs that recognize the community’s location on the Arctic Coast. The K'atlodeeche First Nation’s plan priority is energy efficiency, housing and innovative ways to share materials and expertise. In Enterprise, community leadership prioritize the need for improved communication, both internal and external, while Nahanni Butte has signified a focus on selfsufficiency and community development. In Fort Good Hope, priority was placed on building local capacity to be capable to support private home repairs. As of today, ten additional plans are currently underway at various stages.
As part of the development of the Hay River housing plan, Housing NWT and the Town of Hay River hosted a housing forum in the fall which brought together stakeholders from across the community to discuss solutions to housing issues in Hay River. Additionally, Housing NWT has partnered with the Town of Fort Smith and worked on their housing plan that began in December 2022. In the Inuvialuit settlement region, we have partnered with the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation to develop a regional housing plan. As part of this work, staff from both organizations have travelled to Sachs Harbour and Ulukhaktok to hear from community residents and leadership and will be visiting the other Inuvialuit communities in the coming months.
Through the community engagement process, various elements are reviewed and prioritized and one such example is when those community plans is underdeveloped, includes plans for local shelters to assist women and children fleeing violence.
Madam Speaker, with the arrival of federal distinctionsbased funding to Indigenous governments and to avoid the duplication of work and housing is no longer proposing to develop unique community housing plans for all 33 communities. Instead, we are supporting the development of community housing plans where communities or Indigenous government leadership has expressed an interest.
Madam Speaker, strong partnerships are key to success and outcomes, and these community housing plans are proof of all of that work. We are excited to combine the work on the community housing plans, along with our work on the partnership with Indigenous governments, to improve our supports working on priorities that are important to the individual communities and regions. We will continue to reach out and work in partnership with Indigenous governments, community governments, and stakeholders to increase the wellbeing of individuals and communities as we continue to address the housing needs across the Northwest Territories. Mahsi, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Ministers' statements. Madam Premier.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise Members that the Honourable Shane Thompson will be absent from the House today and tomorrow to attend the federal/provincial/territorial sport, physical activity, and recreation ministers’ meetings in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
As well, Madam Speaker, I wish to advise Members that the Honourable Julie Green will be late for the House today as she is currently participating in a phone meeting with Indigenous Services Canada's Minister Hajdu. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you. Ministers' statements. Members, I'd like to draw your attention to the presence of former Member Daryl Dolynny, who was the Member of Range Lake in the 17th Assembly.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, prior to 1989, this government recognized the inequity with respect to Indigenous representation in the GNWT public sector. In an attempt to address that inequity, the government of the day drafted the affirmative action policy. It was meant to place Indigenous people into public sector workforce. Madam Speaker, thirty plus years later we are still talking affirmative action and saying how it has not worked.
Madam Speaker, this government committed to a review of the affirmative action policy and in doing so set up the advisory committee on diversity and inclusion. Now this government is considering replacement of the current policy with two policies: the Indigenous employment policy that prioritizes the hiring of persons who are descendants of the Dene, Inuit, or Metis people, Indigenous to the present boundaries of the NWT; and
The employment equity policy that would provide preferred hiring status to Indigenous Canadians, racialized persons, persons with disabilities, longterm Northerners, and members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
Madam Speaker, we are under the assumption the existing policy has not worked, and what I have not heard is the underlying reasons of why this would be true. If underrepresentation continues to exist, what are the factors that contribute to it?
Madam Speaker, prior to moving forward and replacing what we have, there must be a reasonable and measurable basis if we are to commit to implementing any new policies. If we expect to achieve success, then we need to conduct an analysis, both internal and external, to determine if the targets we have set are reasonable and, if not, why. We must follow that up with a reasonable action plan that supports accountability at all levels of government if we expect positive results on affirmative action.
Madam Speaker, what was once an immediate need to include an underrepresented Indigenous population in the government workforce has been expanded further with no clear metrics to justify the need for such a change or for a policy at all. When we cannot fill current government positions, then we need to get it right.
We should be targeting Indigenous and Northern postsecondary students for employment, developing an Indigenous and Northern recruitment, training, and retention policy. Madam Speaker, if we expect the North to grow, we must hold deputy ministers and management accountable to ensure all Indigenous people, longterm Northerners, and their children are a priority for this and future governments. Thank you.
Thank you. Members' statements. Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, elders in our communities need a facility to live in. We have spoken in this House many times about overcrowded homes in Nunakput. In many homes in Nunakput, large families, cramped in small spaces, includes elders and ones we are supposed to be taking care of. Madam Speaker, we're supposed to be making sure our elders age in our homes and with dignity in our communities and not getting homesick and not missing family.
Madam Speaker, many elders are living with extended family, cramped houses, living in our own public housing units that are difficult to maintain. Many of the elders are forced to leave communities and go to Inuvik and live in the seniors home and the hospital. This is not right, Madam Speaker. We should be able to do better for our elders.
Paulatuk and Ulukhaktok are very isolated communities on the Arctic Coast elders in my communities living their entire life beside the ocean with a small group of families around them. This is all what they know. We shouldn't be forcing our elders to leave the coast to move to Inuvik because we don't have facilities to take care of them in their home communities, Madam Speaker.
Ulukhaktok and Paulatuk, we even have private secured funding to build the facilities and a privatepublic partnership with monies to build these elders facilities and this Minister's not giving us the opportunity. I want to work with my Minister, Madam Speaker. We're dragging our feet. It's been three years since I brought this up in the House, and it needs to be taken care of. We're in our last year of this government, and let's try to make a difference and work together. Let's get it done. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Member. Members' statements. Member for Deh Cho.
Mahsi, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, the devolution agreement came into effect on April 1st, 2014. While five Indigenous governments in the NWT have signed on to devolution, there are still Indigenous governments who have not. I think there's more than five at this point.
Madam Speaker, devolution was intended to allow the NWT to take responsibility for public land, water, and resources. It was also intended to provide economic benefits. But, Madam Speaker, these benefits only flow to the governments who have signed on to the devolution agreement.
For those who are partners in devolution, there is a seat at the table, there is decisionmaking power, and millions of dollars in resource royalty payments. For those who are not partners in devolution, there's an opportunity to participate in lands and resource management but without decisionmaking authority. Chapter four of the devolution agreement describes postdevolution resource management, specifically, the Intergovernmental Council.
The Intergovernmental Council is intended to allow the public and Aboriginal governments to cooperate and collaborate on matters related to lands and resource management. Their intergovernmental agreement on lands and resource management addresses Indigenous governments who have not signed on to devolution. It states, under section 4.9, the council may invite observers to its proceedings and determine whether and to what extent they may participate. This may include representatives of boards, councils, comanagement boards, regulatory bodies, or other entities established under settlement agreements or selfgovernment agreements.
The agreement goes on to explain how an Indigenous government can become a party to the agreement with the consent of the GNWT. It also states that nothing in the agreement shall affect existing obligations of the GNWT in relation to any Aboriginal government that is not a party. Madam Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
Unanimous consent granted
Mahsi, Madam Speaker, and mahsi colleagues. Madam Speaker, the devolution agreement created the Intergovernmental Council. The Intergovernmental Council is the body that cooperates on all lands and resource matters but how can Indigenous governments, who have not seeded their inherent right to their land, not have any decisionmaking authority when it comes to land management decisions?
The IGC has a legislative development protocol. This protocol does allow nonIGC Indigenous governments to potentially participate with the drafting process of any particular legislation.
Madam Speaker, devolution was supposed to increase northern control over lands and resources, but the aftermath of devolution divides Aboriginal governments between those signed on and those not. The creation of the IGC and the roles of Indigenous governments at this council demonstrates more divide and conquer by the GNWT than cooperation and collaboration. I will have questions for the Premier at the appropriate time. Mahsi.
Thank you, Member. Members' statements. Member for Monfwi.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, the government's housing policies are not working for Indigenous people. There are too many barriers in place for Indigenous people to succeed in being a homeowner. These policies are working against our people, not for them.
Madam Speaker, the territorial government receives funds from the federal government to provide housing for Indigenous people however more of our people are homeless. Housing NWT has a homelessness specialist to fix the problem, but the solution is simple: Give public housing houses to current tenants to be homeowners and build more houses to eliminate homelessness.
Madam Speaker, Housing NWT policies and procedures are not serving Indigenous people. They are developing a manual on how to be a good tenant. This is an insult to the Indigenous people who live in housing. Our ancestors did not need policies and procedures or guidelines on how to live and be a good steward on their land. Colonialism changed this. It created more problems and barriers for our people to live and exist in our homeland. The Indian Act, residential schools, the 60s Scoop, all interfered with our ways of life and living. Madam Speaker, we were seen as not civilized but have lived in an organized responsible manner for thousands of years. We do not need Housing NWT telling us how to live or controlling the funds given to solve the housing problems caused by colonization. The money received from CIRNAC for Indigenous funding should be provided to Indigenous governments to address housing consistent with selfdetermination, our land claims, and our selfgovernment agreements. Madam Speaker, we should not be begging Housing NWT for accommodation in our homeland. Thank you.
Thank you, Member. Members' statements. Member for Tu NedheWiilideh.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Lucy Fabien was born on August 26th to the mother Eda Fabien and father Angus Delorme. Lucy was survived by siblings Warren and Richard Delorme. Lucy had three children Melissa, Scott, and Jamie; two grandchildren, Shanelle and Serena; and her small bosses Lila and Drake Delorme. After Lucy passed, they had many tributes on social media for Lucy and all of them depict a wonderful human being filled with love and positive comments which shows the impact Lucy had on anyone she had reached out or was part of her life. She would give her shirt to help anybody.
Lucy was also full of humour and laughter and would remind friends of certain milestones that occurred in friendships were developed and nurtured. Lucy had nicknames for many people. Some I've seen on social media, but I won't say who the real persons were, nicknames like Matilda, Hamburger, Cupcake, CKLB, Chum, AJ, Mary Football, Lyndom, critical minerals Punk, Ed Muffin, Senai, and so on. Lucy loved to laugh, play pranks, and joke around. She always showed love and affection to her family and friends.
Lucy joined her mom, dad, brother Kenneth Tinker, grandparents, and family and friends on her final journey. The world was a better place with her in it but Heaven gained an angel on November 16th, 2022.
As her friends and family would say, I love you Lucy. Farewell My Friend, and condolences to the family and all her friends.
Thank you, Member. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family. Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I do not believe that this territory can move forward on settling land claims without first sorting out the issues of rightsbased cabins. And, Madam Speaker, this is a bit of a catch-22 in that the cleanest solution to settling rightsbased cabins is settling land claims, because once an Indigenous government has their land and their cabins are on it then they can sort that out with their membership. Yet, Madam Speaker, we have heard time and time again, in many meetings with Indigenous governments, on no matter what the subject, quite often it comes back around to complaints about cabins. And, Madam Speaker, I want to point out just how inconsistent we are in this.
Many rightsbased cabins right now do not have leases or taxes, and we have posted notices on them that they are squatters. Some Indigenous governments have shared which cabins they identify as Indigenous rights. Others are saying they will not do that because they do not trust the government. Some rightsbased cabins, many years ago someone was told they had to get a lease and then they were instructed by their Indigenous government not to pay those lease fees or taxes and so they're now in collections with the GNWT. Some rightsbased cabins, Madam Speaker, are unauthorized occupants but are paying taxes because we tax squatters. Some Indigenous rightsbased cabins have actually applied for tax exempt status. There's about eight different scenarios you can be in with your rightsbased cabin. Part of the problem is saying every rightsbased cabin needs a lease is then you are going to pay lease fees, you're going to pay taxes, and quite often these hunters and trappers cabins are not actually in compliance with our cabin regulations. They may be too close to the water. They may not be up to building standards. All this results in multiple infringements of what is a clear Indigenous right to have cabins to hunt and trap, Madam Speaker. I do not believe we are going to make any progress until we settle this. And there are things we can do.
One is to create some form of tenure so that those who have rightsbased cabins can be protected knowing that is their cabin; they have exclusive use to it. There's different ways of what that tenure can look like but I propose it is not the traditional lease that we're requiring for everyone else.
Secondly, we need to have some consistency on when a rightsbased cabin has to pay lease fees, has to pay taxes. I propose most of those should be a nominal fee, at best, and we certainly shouldn't be sending our hunters and trappers, or our elders living in their cabins, to collections, Madam Speaker. I think it is losing trust with our residents and, ultimately, we're not going to make any progress on many of these issues until we solve this. I will have questions for the Premier about what we're doing to solve this issue once and for all. Thank you.
Thank you, Member. Members' statements. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, in December 2022, the NWT recorded the highest employment rate in Canada. But like the rest of the world, NWT employers, including the GNWT, struggled to fill many positions critical to our success. But our population growth is not keeping up with our needs. By the 2040s, our population is projected to grow by only nine percent while Canada's at 25 percent.
Madam Speaker, the bureau of statistics projects that by 2035, the population will decline in 18 of 33 NWT communities, including Inuvik, Fort Simpson, Fort Smith, Fort Resolution, Whati, Fort Providence, and Tuktoyaktuk.
Sustaining and growing our population would benefit our economy and society in so many ways, Madam Speaker. It would help boost economic opportunities and growth. Employers, including our government, would be able to fill vacant positions and provide needed goods and services. We know we're facing acute labour shortages in the next decade. We will need almost 14,000 people for new job openings in the next decade, including 270 nurses and 140 other health occupations. Population growth will fill jobs and reduce the cost of living, Madam Speaker.
Higher population would also support more and better social programs. Federal transfers are directly linked to our population growth. More residents mean bigger tax base and making it more feasible to maintain and expand our social safety net and our infrastructure.
Population growth would also help address our mounting demographic challenges. We have a rapidly aging population. Many people, especially young people, leave looking for better opportunities elsewhere. A larger population would provide more opportunities for our young people to stay and work here. It's also about supporting residents of small communities to be empowered to stay in small communities.
The need and benefit of sustaining and growing our population is clear. That's why last June, this House, with the support of every Regular MLA, passed a motion calling on the GNWT to create a comprehensive strategy to match Canada's population growth. At present, the GNWT lacks the unified framework to address demographic challenges and opportunities. The GNWT's response tabled last fall was disappointing. It pointed to the failure of the GNWT's last population growth strategy and declined this Assembly's recommendation to develop a new unified strategy.
Our territory needs and deserves a better plan. Our incredible, culturally and mineral rich, diverse North has so much to offer, Madam Speaker. I hope we can share it with more of the world. Thank you.
Thank you, Member. Members' statements. Member for Great Slave.
Madam Speaker, the Northwest Territories has a resourcebased economy. Mining has driven our development for decades. It has built roads and power lines, provided high paying wages, apprenticeships, and other opportunities for Northerners. Mining has also driven significant secondary business development throughout the territory, including within the service industry and through contracting. NWT communities benefit from socioeconomic agreements, and Indigenous governments who have signed onto devolution share in the resource royalties our primary industry creates.
Madam Speaker, without resource development, the Northwest Territories would be a very dismal place, with little opportunity for residents to better themselves financially. It is with this in mind that I want to recognize and celebrate the mining companies that are driving business development in our territory. At every opportunity, we should be encouraging junior companies to continue exploring and help them to expand their operations.
In January, the GNWT, along with Indigenous governments and MLA Weyallon Armstrong, attended the AME Roundup conference in Vancouver. Roundup is a longestablished conference that I attended way back when I was a student at UBC and continues to be one of the largest resource conferences in Canada. It is a great opportunity for the GNWT and Indigenous governments to build relationships, establish partnerships, and attract business in the NWT.
When I attended Roundup in 2020 as the Minister of ITI, I was thrilled to witness the partnership announced by Det'on Cho Nahanni Construction, a corporation owned by the Yellowknives Dene First Nation and Cheetah Resources, to manage the operations of Nechalacho rare earth mineral project. This partnership was the first time in Canada that all mining operations were contracted to an Indigenous firm, enabling them to be miners on their own lands.
So today, Madam Speaker, let's recognize and celebrate the value of mining in the NWT. And especially the progressive and innovative partnerships that are emerging, showing a new way of doing business where Indigenous people are the decisionmakers and the beneficiaries of the rewards.
And, Madam Speaker, I'd like to take a moment to wish MLA Weyallon Armstrong a happy birthday. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Member. Members' statements. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Madame la Presidente. That's a tough act to follow.
This is the 14th time I've raised midwifery as an MLA. Based upon an update received recently from the Minister of health, some good progress appears to have been made. Although I would say it's been a long road. Work on creating a full midwifery program began a decade ago in 2013. Here's a summary of where I'm told we are now.
Work has gone ahead under the coordination of a territorial midwifery program implementation working group. Staffing has and continues to be a big challenge but, again, good progress appears to have been made. I'm told that a territorial manager is staffed and tasked with overseeing midwifery care through the NTHSSA regions and in cooperation with the Tlicho Community Services Authority and Hay River Health Authority.
A territorial midwifery specialist is staffed in Yellowknife, providing postpartum care through Stanton Hospital. The Yellowknife team has two of four midwives hired, also providing outreach services in Behchoko since 2022.
A lactation specialist was staffed in September 2022 with federal funding for one year, supporting Stanton Hospital and the regions.
Fort Smith was fully staffed with three midwives although a recent staff departure has cut service, with patients having to travel to Yellowknife.
Hay River has full services while recruiting continues.
The work of the implementation group is apparently being carried out under a project charter. That's news to me, and I'll have questions.
With these actions, I am told that full implementation of midwifery services for the NWT is moving into its final phase. One aspect of implementation that I don't see referenced is the rollout of program structure and design through consultation with the Midwives Association of the NWT. That group expressed concerns in late 2021 with the model of central nodes of midwife expertise providing remote services to clients and community health nurses, not midwifery services located in all regions. The update provided to me noticeably lacks references to midwifery service delivery in the Sahtu and BeaufortDelta and I'll have questions there as well, Madam Speaker.
That said, it looks like the long road from 2013 has an end in sight, and I'll have questions for the Minister of health on what remains to be done and how we're going to begin evaluating what we do. Mahsi, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I would also like to rise and recognize Daryl Dolynny who is my constituent of Great Slave. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Member. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Madam Premier.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I'd like to recognize the Manitoba interns who are going to be future politicians coming up. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Hay River North.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I'd like to recognize Georgina Lloyd. She is the assistant deputy minister with Northern Affairs for Crown Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. She is in Yellowknife this week and has meetings with the Aurora College transformation staff to discuss federal engagement opportunities relating to the transformation of Aurora College into a polytechnic university, and we're happy to have her here. Thank you.
Thank you. Recognition of visitors in the gallery.
I am pleased to recognize a group of legislature interns visiting us from Manitoba. They are here this week to learn more about our consensus form of government. With us today are
Cheta Akaluka
Bea Basaran
Hannah Drudge
Tayla Gudnason
Alina Hart
Dane Monkman, and
Dr. Kelly Saunders
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, the fourth and final budget for the 19th Assembly was delivered by the Finance Minister one week ago, on February 8, 2023. Overall, among the many issues we dealt with throughout this term includes the fragile fiscal situation that our government finds itself in right now. According to this year's budget, the Government of the Northwest Territories' total debt for 20232024 is $1.47 billion, which is not far from our territory's debt capacity of $1.8 billion, although I will acknowledge that for the first time in the life of this Assembly, the GNWT's debt has reduced since last year's budget. However, Madam Speaker, for several years that has not been the case as our territory's debt load has been steadily increasing year over year for the last ten years.
Not since the 17th Assembly has the NWT seen a reduction of its overall debt load. It must be stated, though, Madam Speaker, that the high amount of debt that the NWT has continued to accumulate is not because of spending of the 19th Assembly. No. Our debt has climbed to where it is today because of the decisions made of previous MLAs from previous Assemblies, which is the Legislative Assembly by extension, the people of the NWT must now pay for.
Let me be clear and more specific, Madam Speaker.
I believe our presentday budget restraints are largely due to the decisions of the former Finance Minister from the 17th Assembly, who also happens to be the former Member of Thebacha from that Assembly as well. I say this because it was the Finance Minister who signed off at the 11th hour on the contract for the new Stanton Hospital building, which is the elephant in the room. I say it is the elephant in the room, Madam Speaker, because it was that project that put the Government of the Northwest Territories hundreds of millions of dollars into debt. In fact, according to this budget, the Stanton Territorial Hospital project has a debt load of $120 million. What's worse is that at the end of the 30year lease with the new hospital, the government would spend over $1 billion on this P3 project.
On that note, Madam Speaker, another mistake made with the old hospital building, now known as the Legacy building, is the fact that officially the Government of the Northwest Territories still owns that building yet for some reason our government signed a 30year lease to rent that building to a thirdparty company, that's not even based in the Northwest Territories, called Dexterra. Why is that? Who made that decision? The answer is that the 30year lease was signed by the Minister of Finance in the 17th Assembly.
Based on all of this, Madam Speaker, I'd say the former Finance Minister from the 17th Assembly has a lot to answer for, since it was the Stanton Hospital project and other related decisions that put the Government of the Northwest Territories into a weakened financial position we're in now.
One other issue with this is that the opening of the newly renovated Stanton Legacy building has been delayed multiple times. First, it was supposed to open by summer of 2021. Then again by spring of 2022. And now they're saying by the summer of 2023. Moreover, Madam Speaker, there are several other issues that have occurred throughout this Assembly which I want to address now.
For example, in 2020 during the pandemic, the Department of Finance amended some of the liquor regulations to allow people to order liquor to be delivered to their homes. This was known as "dialabottle." I strongly disagreed with the decision at the time and I believe that was the wrong thing to do. To me, that decision was almost like government was encouraging our population to drink more alcohol. Those types of decisions have consequences which hurts vulnerable people the most.
Madam Speaker, another area the Government of the Northwest Territories needs to address is the disaster assistance policy, because the current policy is not sufficiently addressing the needs of the people of the NWT. As it's currently written, the disaster assistance policy is only applicable to people when a natural disaster occurs with damage so widespread that a significant number of people or properties are affected. There are holes in this policy and some residents have been falling through the cracks. People, like my constituent who endured a tornado that destroyed his home, are excluded from the disaster assistance policy because it only affected his property. So just because there is only one casualty from the disaster, does that make it okay? That is not fair and it is not right, and it needs to be fixed.
Madam Speaker, another area I have taken issue with is the onetime recruitment and retention bonuses that were given to a select number of health and social services staff. The issue with this is that these bonuses were not eligible to all health staff, only certain positions who perform certain duties within health and social services. The bonuses were not distributed evenly among staff, particularly longterm staff. In fact, I know of several nurses who have worked for the Government of the Northwest Territories for many years, some for nearly 20 years, yet they were not eligible to receive the retention bonus. There is something seriously wrong with that because it has created the unintended consequence of sowing division amongst new and old nursing staff. For our government to prioritize giving recruitment bonuses to brand new nurses, medical laboratory technologists and midwives, but not to longterm nurses who have lived and worked here for years, is not okay.
In addition, Madam Speaker, there is the issue of the exorbitant fee increases for residents who have cabins on land leases across the NWT. While this decision is another carryover from the previous Assembly, it is a decision that is affecting all leaseholders who renew their lease agreements and must pay the new $840 minimum cost with this. I have constituents, both Indigenous and nonIndigenous, who own cabins and they have told me these new costs do hurt. Many of these residents have asked to bring the Minister of Lands to my riding so they can discuss these changes with the Minister himself. I have tried numerous times now to coordinate a visit with the Minister, but it has not occurred yet. I am working on this with him, and he has committed to do a visit before the end of the Assembly, which I am looking forward to.
Madam Speaker, I also want to address a matter that is currently before this Assembly, and will be voted on very soon, which is the carbon tax. First of all, I want to be very clear that I am very much against this federallyimposed tax on carbon emissions. In fact, I've never been supportive of this tax since it was first introduced in 2018. And the reasons for my position are because this tax is harming regular people and businesses across the NWT. The final implication of this tax is burdensome for seniors, for families, and for businesses of all sizes, and the financial burden is only going to get worse as time goes on since the tax is going to increase every year until 2030. As leaders, we need to do what's best for the territory and the people we represent. So for those reasons, I will be voting against the carbon tax bill that will be voted on in this session.
Moreover, Madam Speaker, I would like to talk about the polytechnic university and the transformation process of Aurora College. First off, I want to thank the Minister of education, again, for reiterating several times now, throughout this Assembly, that the headquarters of the future polytechnic university will be in Fort Smith. My constituents are happy that Fort Smith will continue to be the education capital of the NWT. However, there are two Fort Smith based college positions that are currently being borrowed by the Yellowknife campus, both of which must be returned to Fort Smith as soon as possible. These are two senior management positions that were intended to be based in Fort Smith but for reasons beyond me, which I do not agree with, the positions are currently stationed in Yellowknife. So that is another area that needs to be adjusted by our government very soon.
Also, Madam Speaker, one other aspect about the college transformation that I do not agree with is the fact that our government is basing that process on a document that was written by a former assistant deputy minister of education who is now living in the Caribbean. Plus, that document, the Foundational Review of Aurora College, is from the 18th Assembly which is filled with old ideas and a hostile tone towards Fort Smith. Our government should not be following any reviews that do not make sense, nor ones that only favour further centralization to the capital.
Furthermore, Madam Speaker, I also take issue with how the Department of Finance has conducted the review of the affirmative action policy. Last week the GNWT announced its intention to replace the existing affirmative action policy with two new policies in its place, which the government has named the Indigenous employment policy and the employment equity policy.
The Indigenous employment policy mirrors the existing affirmative action policy, prioritizing the hiring of Dene, Inuit, and Metis people born in the NWT, which is good. However, Madam Speaker, the employment equity policy would give preferred hiring to Indigenous Canadians, racialized persons, persons with disabilities, members of the LGBTQ community and longterm Northerners. While there is some good in this second policy, such as providing preferred hiring to longterm Northerners, there are major aspects of it that I do not agree with. Specifically, I don't agree with providing preferred hiring to Indigenous Canadians atlarge. As I said in my statement last week, I have no issues with Indigenous Canadians who are not born in the NWT being employed by our public service. I just take issue with that group of people getting the same affirmative action status as the Dene, Inuit, and Metis people born in the NWT. In my view, these new policies do not resolve the issues with the affirmative action policy. It only widens the net for who qualifies as priority one hiring into our public service. Therefore, I call on all Indigenous leaders to reject these two policies and for them to make that known to both the Finance Minister and that department.
Madam Speaker, as we embark upon the final year of this term, I think this is an opportune time to also discuss some of the 19th Assembly's mandate items. For example, decentralization is a key mandate item for this Assembly yet most of the new jobs created over this term have gone to Yellowknife instead of the regional centres or small communities. This is a mandate item that must be improved upon and must continue to be pursued into the next Assembly.
Madam Speaker, another aspect of our term's mandate has to do with the price and type of electricity generated in the NWT. We said we would reduce the cost of power and increase the use of alternative and renewable energy, and similarly, that we invest in the expansion of the Taltson hydro dam. Well, we did not manage to reduce the costs of power this term; in fact, it has only gotten more expensive with each year. So we must continue to work on that into the future. As for the Taltson expansion, this government and the federal government have made several strategic investments to advance this project forward. While construction has not yet begun, pursuing this expansion would help the NWT succeed in our 2030 Energy Strategy. I am strongly in support of this mandate item, and I support the efforts of the Minister of Infrastructure with this undertaking. There are still some aspects of the project that need to be worked on with Indigenous governments so hopefully that work will conclude before the end of this Assembly.
Also, Madam Speaker, one point I want to make regarding the mandate item to create a polytechnic university is that the former residential school building, that is currently being used by Aurora College in Fort Smith, must be removed. That should be the first thing done to the new Fort Smith headquarters university campus. I also want to see in that future facility a universitysize gym, a theater for the arts, along with a new single residence, a modern cafeteria, and a student lounge. I also think the new building should have an Indigenous accent to it.
Additionally, Madam Speaker, another priority of this Assembly was to increase mental health and addiction programs, including aftercare. I have said several times through this term that a new territorial aftercare facility should be situated in Fort Smith because I believe that's an ideal location for it, and I think the former Trailcross Treatment Centre building would be a good location to consider this. I say this because I think placing an aftercare facility in a nonindustrialized location, that's not too far for the NWT residents to travel to but is far enough away from the familiar environments of peoples' addictions, can be very beneficial for our people.
Madam Speaker, enabling seniors to age in place with dignity is another priority of this Assembly, which I am unsure how we've done to address. Nonetheless, one suggestion to advance this item is exactly what I said in my statement yesterday, which is for Housing NWT to create and implement a seniors' housing strategy. As part of that strategy, we should implement a flatrate singlefixed cost system that determines the rent for seniors regardless of income level, race, or which part of the NWT they live. Doing this would help reduce the amount of rental arrears incurred by seniors and provide them with far more less financial stress. I think Housing NWT needs to lead these efforts and work in partnership with Indigenous governments and seniors' organizations to help craft an effective seniors' housing strategy.
In conclusion, Madam Speaker, I believe that this Assembly has succeeded in advancing several of the mandate items that we created at the beginning of the term. However, I think we all know that as MLAs, more work still needs to be done to help improve the quality of life for all the people of the NWT. And as the MLA for Thebacha, I will continue to fight to achieve the priorities that I outlined today. With that, I'd like to thank all the amazing constituents of Thebacha for their continued support in me as their representative. I also want to thank my family, including my husband Peter, my sons Gerry and Mickey, and my dog Rambo, for their steadfast support in whatever I do. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I do share the view that it's clear that our problems started with the 17th Assembly, Madam Speaker, but I will address my comments today to the Minister of Finance for the 19th Assembly.
Firstly, I believe this budget is lacking in two areas. One is more money for NGOs. I know this budget contains some increases for our nongovernment organizations, which was a result of the last budgets negotiations, and I thank the Minister of Finance and all the departments for their work on that, but I am concerned that this is simply set out to be a onetime funding. I spoke with many NGOs who had contribution agreements with no increase for over a decade, Madam Speaker. And I think what we are looking for here is a permanent policy, a change to the stock contribution agreement form, multiyear funding, and an inflationary increase built forward so that this is solved going forward for all Assemblies, Madam Speaker, not just a onetime topup.
The second point I would like to emphasize in order for me to support this budget is more funding for our communities. We have heard that multiple times in this House, and I think from day one there was some uncertainty and a bit of a tension in the budget of whether reducing the funding gap by $5 million meant $5 million total or it meant reducing the gap $5 million plus the inflation that gets built up over the time. It's clear the government is proposing that it's just $5 million fixed. At the very least, we need to see carbon tax revenue shared that is revenue neutral for those communities so that we are not actually passing a budget and a carbon tax that further puts our communities behind.
As well, Madam Speaker, I've made this point before. I think the budget is a time to open up some policy asks that are purely political. The GNWT doesn't like to do anything without a thorough review, without talking to everyone, without the strategy, the “what we heard” report, and then the legislative proposal. But I think everyone once in a while and I think budgets are a great time to pick out one thing and just announce that you're going to do it. In my last two budget addresses, I suggested that we introduce five paid sick days for workers. Our pandemic taught us that forcing people to choose between missing pay, where they struggle to buy groceries or going to work sick, is putting their coworkers at risk and it's ultimately hurting the economy. I once again make this plea. That is a simple change we can make. I know there has to be a grand review of the Employment Standards Act and we have to talk to everyone in the world about it, but sometimes you can just pick something out and get it done, Madam Speaker.
Madam Speaker, once again, I know I am asking for money, and I will not be remiss to say that we have to make hard choices. Some things I am willing to do on the revenue side, one is to create a high-income tax bracket. Presently in the Northwest Territories, under GNWT tax once you make over $147,000, you pay the same tax rate whether you're making $150,000 or $500,000. Almost every other jurisdiction in Canada has a tax bracket above 147. The Department of Finance estimates creating additional brackets, depending how they look, is somewhere between $800,000 or $3.5 million.
Secondly, I am willing to increase our corporate tax rate by one percent. We have one of the lowest corporate tax rates in Canada. We're largely always kind of pegged to Alberta, because we have this concern what Alberta's doing, but I'll note the Yukon next door has a much higher corporate tax rate and their economy's doing a lot better than ours, Madam Speaker. One percent on a corporate tax is approximately $3 million, Madam Speaker.
I made this plea in all my budgets I think we got to end the contracts for all fax machines. I budget this at about $100,000 in savings. As well there's been a number of proposals over the year for a completely paperless GNWT. We still rely on a whole lot of printing and a whole lot of paper. Estimates have shown that can save governments and our government up to $1 million. I know there are a number of efficiencies to be found. I am convinced that by creating a service GNWT model, with government service officers in the capital whereby income assistance, housing, many of these social assistance programs can all be dealt with by one person and one form, we will save money. There's some different ways you can make that work but I think the work to get Eservices online has really been lacking. Right now, the only things you can do are your fishing license, your healthcare card, and some DMV services. I know there's plans to roll out more, but it seems clear we are years and years away from bringing the social envelope into Eservices which would free up a lot of time for our already overworked officers, such as income assistance officers.
Madam Speaker, I want to express my disappointment that government renewal did not bring more effects to our budget in this Assembly. And I think one of the ironic things is a lot of the things that our government renewal was actually trying to do, trying to fix, is one of the reasons we didn't get it through fast enough. The government renewal, quoting from the Minister of Finance's own proposals, want to look at our process and do away things that are unnecessarily complicated, wasteful, or inefficient. They wanted to do away with getting rid of multiple application forms for a single programming or having unnecessarily complex internal approval processes. I am very convinced that the Department of Finance ran into its unnecessarily complex approval processes in order to implement government renewal where there were just simply too many voices at the table and direction cannot be provided to departments to clean up their processes. In the government renewal plan that the Minister initially presented, there was things like having its software that is intuitive and crosscompatible with other systems. Madam Speaker, our software does not talk to each other.
We heard yesterday the Minister of Housing say in one community she estimates that the housing waitlist is somewhere between three and seven years. The housing corporation doesn't even know what their wait lists are. They don't even know the state of their units. They don't have any coherent reporting on their maintenance. They have little to no software let alone some sort of software that would be compatible with all the other departments and all of the other work we need to do on our infrastructure and our capital planning.
One of the issues that government renewal identified is structure that is having too many middle managers and too much overhead and a culture of micromanaging. This is something that integrated service delivery and integrated case management both recognize, and both made recommendations, yet they were victims of their own bureaucracy where they did not have the authority to make recommendations or make orders to departments. And I get this is very hard. I think the next government, you have to do it from day one. You have to put it in the mandate letters. It needs to come from the Premier. And you have to be willing to move staff around, to redo job descriptions, to redo software, to integrate it all. It's not an easy task, and I don't believe one Minister or one deputy minister has the authority. It really has to be clear direction to set all of that out, and I am disappointed we did not see more from government renewal. But I hope that we find a way to find these efficiencies that result in better programming. I know a number of years the Government of Canada put a freeze on new programs because it was struggling to deliver the programs and services it currently had. And I think we're very much in that situation. It's always tempting to create a new tailored program but that creates a lot of staff time. It creates a lot more work when we have a lot of programs that we simply know need a topup. We have a lot of programs in competing areas that are multiple forms that I think can just be done away with or rolled into one. We need to stop trying to specialize so much.
Similarly in this vein, I think we need to do a lot more for digital government. One of the principles of Egovernment that I love is the onceonly principle. This is a principle where a government can only ask for a piece of information once, Madam Speaker. If you provide your 2019 T4 to the government, you can only do that they're only allowed to ask once. And then it is shared with all of the other departments. This applies for birth dates, your address once only. I can't even imagine how many times people, in addressing social assistance, apply the same forms and the same documents over and over and over again. We hear these stories and I think, you know, there are lots we can do in that digital government thing.
So just to quote the Minister of Finance, you know, words back at her, I really do believe in valuebased budgeting and prioritybased budgeting, and I think this year over year incremental budgeting that the GNWT does, where each department goes away, comes forward with their proposals, and we get this mishmash without clear centralized coordination, is not working for us. We don't have a clear picture of what programs are giving us value for money. And I guess I just express disappointment that we did not get far enough in this government and that this budget is not doing it. And I hope that in the remaining time we can make some progress on that.
But ultimately, Madam Speaker, I've shared a number of solutions of things we can do. I've shared my two funding priorities, which, is at the end of the day our nonprofits are delivering the best value for dollar. I don't need a government renewal to tell me that. And they need a little more help. And our communities as well, Madam Speaker, they need a little more help. I've provided a few ways in which I am willing to fund that and make some hard decisions. I look forward to our continued budget negotiations. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
I think I need some sick days.
Madam Speaker, many of us understand why the affirmative action policy was first implemented 30 plus years ago, and still we seem unable to reach our target for Indigenous hires. Why is that? Is it because of the education levels? Because of the type of positions available? Because of location of potential Indigenous employees? Because we have a young population not of working age? Is it because we have settled claims and people are working there instead? Is it because of the buddy system that we often hear about? Is it about racism? Is it about hiring the committee bias as well? Whatever it is, we need to know what those barriers are prior to developing something that we may or may not need.
So, Madam Speaker, will the Minister confirm what research and measures, if any, were used to determine the success or failure of the current affirmative action policy? Thank you.
Thank you, Member. Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I might draw your attention back to the Indigenous Recruitment and Retention Framework. This was put out I now believe back in December of a couple of years ago. That was the fruit of much research and consultation at that time, looking at a number of barriers across a number of areas that we were going to start to address. You now see, and you'll see in the main estimates, there are targets being set for each department. There are also in addition to that in order to set those targets, there was a labour force statistical analysis conducted in June of 2022, and that has provided a basis by which we can begin to have those targets. And now continuing with the work that we're in to evolve the public service, to be more representative, we've come forward to make good on the promise to review the affirmative action policy. So there's been much research done. The affirmative action policy has been looked at and reviewed multiple times. There's never been the will to get it over the line and to make it better, to try something better, to try to fix it. It hasn't delivered, very simply. We all know it hasn't delivered because the needle hasn't moved. It's not only because of this policy; I completely agree. But that's where we get into that recruitment and retention framework that does some of that work. This is one more step that's going to refocus attention on the hiring of Indigenous Northerners while also ensuring that there's other groups, including longterm Northerners, who also will be benefitting from an employment equity policy. So a lot of research went into all these pieces, Madam Speaker. Thank you.
