Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when it comes to COVID-19 and the devastation it's caused, you know, I'm concerned that, you know, I don't want to see people die, I don't want to see people sick, I don't want to see them in the hospital, but at the same time I also don't want to see people unemployed. And in the Northwest Territories, we have a number of people that are working with the Power Corporation, the government, the
Housing Corporation, private sector. And many of them are in the position to lose their jobs. Many of these people are long-term northerners, they're Indigenous, and I can't believe that we as a government cannot sit down and come up with some solutions to mitigate that.
So the first one I want to start with is I have questions for the Minister of the NTPC. The first question is does NTPC have a vaccine policy in effect right now, and what is it? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister responsible for Northwest Territories Power Corporation.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yes, we do have a vaccine policy. From what I've read, it's quite vigorous, more vigorous than the vaccine policy for the GNWT.
We are looking at -- you know, all NTPC employees will need to be fully vaccinated against COVID as a condition of employment. That's effective November 30th. That kind of goes in line with the GNWT vaccine policy as well. Also, employees in remote communities will have to be given two additional weeks to achieve compliance due to potential logistical challenges if they're not yet vaccinated.
So to answer the Member's question, Mr. Speaker, yes, we do have a vaccine policy. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I guess I look at the GNWT and we have a policy for some of the departments. Now I hear the Power Corporation has a different policy. Then we have the federal government has their own policies. And I would ask the Minister what criteria was used to develop that policy and why would it not be in line with the GNWT policy? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories is a -- it's a corporation which is perhaps a little bit different than the GNWT as a whole. Having said that, the Power Corporation has -- have different rules on policies and procedures, but, I mean, you look at the corporation as a whole, and you know, predominantly many employees have to travel in the communities. That's where, you know, majority of the work is in the communities and therefore, you know, we've been challenged in the past by members in small communities that, you know, have really -- not really welcomed some of the employees because they are either not vaccinated or coming from outside the Northwest Territories. So we struggle with that. Then, you know, we've been working with the communities and the office of the Chief Public Health Officer to be able to deliver -- and deliver capital projects, perform required maintenance in a way that manages exposure and risk so that we could protect our public and also our workers. But not only that, but we have, you know, small communities as well where we need to send our employees into. So we take that into consideration working with the office of chief public health officer. So thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I thank the Minister for that answer. But it still -- I guess I still have a hard time wrapping my head around when she says that, you know, we send employees in there, and I know we're concerned about the small communities, or any community and about all people, but if we send in unvaccinated people, we're sending in vaccinated people as well who can still pass on the virus. So -- and I know in some of the GNWT policies is that if you're going to go in, you've got to be tested. So I would expect that vaccinated people would be tested as well.
But any ways, the question that I have is because of the policy, how many employees will be affected, and are there any discussions with the employer or unions to find the means for accommodation ongoing? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don't have that number in front of me right now but if I can commit to getting back to the Member in terms of what the numbers are like. I do want to make a note, and perhaps maybe I didn't say it in the earlier question, you know, maybe the Member may ask me in his final supplementary, but I do want to note that, you know, within the Northwest Territories, all employees travel by air, and we're also impacted by federal aviation restrictions. So we have to keep that in mind, that when we send our employees out to the communities it's predominantly by air, but we have restrictions as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm not sure how many people will or how many employees will be affected. But I'd like to ask the Minister will there be any supports for transitioning these employees once they're let go? Will there be any financial support for them as well? Because when I talk to some of them, they're looking at moving out of the NWT. That's pretty well what they've got to do if they're going to be looking for employment. These are people that have lived here all their lives, some of them. And, you know, I don't want to see them go and it just -- I guess I'm still amazed that we cannot find a way to ensure that we can keep them somehow. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I agree with the Member's concerns about, you know, what the impact may be as a result of not getting vaccinated. And, you know, it's the same as the GNWT's policy that'll come into effect November 30th. So I mean right now within the GNWT, and maybe the Minister maybe correct me, but it is predominantly a voluntary system that you show. But I mean it will come into effect on November the 30th for employees of NTPC.
So having said that, we won't know the number until then. And, you know, yes, we will commit to working with the employees to, you know, try and look at some options. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Returns to oral questions.
Mr. Clerk? Oh, yes. Recognition of those -- oh, sorry, sorry. Must be getting late here.
