Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
The Evacuee Income Disruption Program that was announced yesterday meets some of the issues raised by the Union of Northern Workers in its letter regarding the creation of an evacuation relief fund. And, Mr. Speaker, I'll be tabling that letter later today. But I would like to know, can the Minister say how the government will provide wage loss relief beyond the $750 announced today possibly through permanent changes to the Employment Standards Act? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Member said, yesterday this government announced the first ever Evacuee Financial Support Program, and so I think that's a big step forward. I get that the Member wants to build on that momentum and ask what's next. So I can say that in the Employment Standards Act, there are emergency leave provisions but that's emergency leave without pay, and so I think the Member is looking for something beyond that. But as of right now, there is no other emergency relief program. Thank you.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that and, yes, so I think he's confirmed that unpaid emergency leave is within the scope of the Employment Standards Act. But is the issue of paid emergency leave within the scope of the current public engagement on the Employment Standards Act and how does the Minister propose to ensure amendments deal with future evacuations and similar emergencies? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's a pretty wideranging review of the Employment Standards Act so I wouldn't say that anything is out of scope. The questions that have been put to residents and businesses haven't specifically spoken to paid emergency leave. But residents are free to give their opinion on anything related to the Employment Standards Act. The online engagement survey is available until, I believe, June 18th, so there's a few more weeks, and so we'd love to hear feedback on this very timely issue. Thank you.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. You know, looking across the number of other Canadian provincial and territorial jurisdictions, it looks like there's a patchwork of disaster and emergency relief supports that are available. So as part of the Employment Standards Act review, can the Minister commit to carrying out a jurisdictional scan, including lessons learned and sharing that publicly? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Yes, Mr. Speaker, absolutely we can, and we will report that publicly in the "what we heard" report that we develop based on this engagement. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. I'm hoping that maybe the jurisdictional scan can be completed to enable a better discussion during the public engagement, but I'll leave that with the Minister.
As I said yesterday, the climate emergency is going to increase disasters and evacuations in the NWT. How is the Minister working with his Cabinet colleagues to ensure a comprehensive climate emergency action plan? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I will say I'm not the lead on this file but of course it takes a wholeofgovernment approach. So GNWT departments are working together to implement actions in goal 3 of the climate change action plan, which is focused on building resilience and adapting to a changing climate.
In preparation for the next climate change action plan, the GNWT is leading a territorial risk and opportunities assessment to help focus actions to address key risks like flooding. The GNWT is working to ensure the national adaptation strategy and its implementation provides resources to better address the NWT's adaptation priorities. And I can say that, you know, based on my experience as MLA I also have a number of recommendations that I will be making directly to the Ministers in my role as MLA. So we're all working on this, and I appreciate the Member bringing attention to it. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Monfwi.
