Thank you, colleagues. I'd like to thank elder Jonas Lafferty for the opening prayer and reflections here today.
Mr. Speaker, the cost of delivering health and social services is increasing faster than our resources can handle, at a time when our government is also facing additional costs related to climate change and inflationary pressures. This is why the delivery of sustainable health and social services is an important part of this government's mandate and the priorities of the 20th Legislative Assembly.
Through the mandate letter I provided to the Minister of Health and Social Services, we are addressing several initiatives that aim to deliver a more sustainable health and social services system. The initiatives are complex and multifaceted, and not something the Department of Health and Social Services or the health and social services authorities should undertake alone. Consequently, on July 15th the health care system sustainability unit was created within the Department of Executive and Indigenous Affairs.
The focus of this unit is to provide a deeper understanding of which health and social services programs and services should be core to the NWT, analyze how these programs and services can be delivered more efficiently, and determine how these programs and services should be funded within our limited fiscal framework. The goal is to achieve all this while still working to provide our residents the highest quality of care. This work will require careful coordination with the Department of Health and Social Services, as well as our three health authorities. It will also require analysis of a lot of information, including information gained from reviews that have already taken place, and engaging with those who are contributing most to our system - frontline workers and operational staff.
Previous reviews of the health and social services system were foundational in guiding operational changes based on our current service delivery, but they did not examine whether these services are fundamental to what our health system should provide.
If we expect a transformative change to happen, Mr. Speaker, we need to define and prioritize what programs and services are core to the Northwest Territories by using evaluative data, including our current population and demographics, legal and policy frameworks, and technological advancements. We are no longer able to keep expanding our health and social services to meet our growing needs; instead, we need to transform the way we provide health care and social services in a fiscally sustainable manner.
Moving forward with this initiative will better position us to actively respond to these challenges in real time and consider recommendations that can be implemented more quickly than others. We will engage the people who will be affected by change in the work of understanding challenges and identifying solutions and ensure our work is informed by northern expertise and lived experience, as well as wise and emerging practices within the sector. This will assure our unique fiscal, political, and legal factors are considered in any changes.
The work will be challenging. I am committed to working closely with the Minister of Health and Social Services and look forward to providing progress reports to Members of this House on a regular basis as we engage on this initiative for the benefit of all residents of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Premier. Ministers' statements. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Mr. Speaker, when students have food security, they can focus on learning, growing, and participating within their school communities; and most importantly, on being kids. To help students succeed, the Government of Canada and the Government of the Northwest Territories are working towards signing a three-year funding agreement that will support the expansion of the NWT school food program: Healthy Food for Learning.
Once signed, this new agreement will provide a significant and important boost to the program, creating real results for students and families across the territory. Since 2015, the territorial government has continually invested $650,000 annually into this program. This agreement is part of Canada's broader national school food program plans, which will invest $1 billion over five years across the country, with the goal of providing meals to up to 400,000 children every year.
With the high cost of groceries, the new funding agreement will help provide relief to families experiencing pressures of food insecurity and socio-economic challenges. All 49 NWT schools, and all junior kindergarten to grade 12 students will have access to the Healthy Food for Learning Program as needed so families can feel confident that their children will receive substantial and nutritious meals and snacks at school.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to conclude my statement today in French.
[Translation] … The schools have shared wise practices for what successfully a food program for them. This has included partnering with the local grocery stores, government departments and businesses, enabling students to play an active role; for example, in growing the food in school gardens. Elders and community members have also been involved in traditional food preparation.
Ensuring that all students have consistent access to healthy meals is vital as we work towards improving the students' outcomes and providing all Northerners with the best possible start in life. We want to make sure that all residents will have the best outcome. I am happy to conclude this agreement, and I will explain all of the details with the Canadian government in the next few weeks. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. [Translation Ends]
Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Colleagues, before we go any further, I'd like to recognize some special people here today. Range Lake North School, grade 8 class, welcome to our Legislative Assembly. We really appreciate you being here. As well as their teacher and chaperones. There's just one teacher or -- four teachers. I thought it was four so, yes, the four teachers. So thank you very much for bringing your students here today. As well as our students from Aurora College, thank you very much for being here today. Thank you very much.
Ministers' statements. Minister of Environment and Climate Change.
Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories is committed to maintaining ecosystem health while supporting sustainable economic growth for our communities. A key part of this is the NWT Project Finance for Permanence Agreement, now known as the Our Land for the Future Agreement, which will help to fund Indigenous-led conservation initiatives.
The NWT Project Finance for Permanence Agreement provides participating Indigenous governments and Indigenous organizations with the funding to do the things we agree to do together in our shared conservation work plan Healthy Land, Healthy People. The GNWT has negotiated a separate agreement with Canada to fund its own needs.
Mr. Speaker, since 2018, the GNWT has been seeking long-term funding solutions to support the management of protected areas like Thaidene Nene while creating jobs in nearby communities. The NWT Project Finance for Permanence Agreement is an innovative model that brings both funding and partnerships to ensure Indigenous governments and Indigenous organizations lead in the protection of important lands while creating local jobs and economic benefits through initiatives such as Guardians programs, eco-tourism, and sustainable development activities. The funding supports progress on shared conservation priorities and will also contribute to Canada's goal of protecting 30 percent of its land and waters by 2030.
The NWT Project Finance for Permanence Agreement is an Indigenous-led initiative that includes 23 Indigenous governments, the GNWT, the federal government, and three private donors. It works within our existing land management process and laws, including the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act, and established land-use planning processes, ensuring that decisions about the land remain in the hands of the people connected to it. It does not override these frameworks but provides funding to support Indigenous-led initiatives we agree upon through these decision-making processes.
The Healthy Land, Healthy People plan continues to guide our conservation efforts, and the agreement helps provide the resources needed to accomplish these shared goals.
Mr. Speaker, in April of this year, the federal government announced $300 million to support the NWT Project Finance for Permanence Agreement, enhanced by an additional $75 million coming from private donors. The agreement includes a strategic plan and financial plan, which outline how the funds will be used to ensure proper oversight and accountability. These plans are designed to ensure that the funding will be directed toward Indigenous-led conservation and stewardship efforts and related economic development activities. The agreement also creates an endowment that will ensure the long-term sustainability of these transformative benefits into the future.
Mr. Speaker, the GNWT recognizes the importance of maintaining a balance between conservation and economic development. The NWT Project Finance for Permanence Agreement will contribute to a strong, diversified economy that includes new, culturally supportive opportunities in the conservation economy, alongside continued investment and development in the resource sector. By ratifying the agreement, the GNWT is taking a significant step to deliver its mandate commitment to promote reconciliation and responsible land management while supporting economic diversification in small communities. This agreement will help to support our shared conservation goals while ensuring that the land and water of the NWT continue to provide diverse opportunities for future generations. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the digital age dawned so long ago that now our kids are almost born with a smartphone in hand and could not ever contemplate a world without high-speed internet. Indeed, our kids are now teaching us how to use our own laptops and phones. Yet, here in the NWT where the latest generation of health care professionals enter the workforce, they are forced into the way-back machine to relearn obsolete technology. Why? It's because NTHSSA still sends most diagnostic imaging onto CD-ROMs while other jurisdictions continue to upgrade dedicated medical communication networks. Using CDs to transmit and store vital data circumvents secure medical communications and therefore poses risks to both patients and medical providers, like leaking confidential information or opening the door to ransom ware attacks at a time when health care institutions are increasingly targeted. It should come as no surprise, then, that health technicians in other provinces are fed up with the NWT's backwards system.
Those aren't the only risks outdated systems have to our patients, however. Our cumbersome medical communication often prevents physicians down south from even accessing data at all. A patient sent for a CT scan in Edmonton would need their imaging sent to Calgary to be finalized and then sent back to Yellowknife to be burnt onto a CD for NTHSSA only to be sent back down to the appointment in Edmonton, on a CD I might add. That data may not arrive on time or be damaged resulting in physicians missing vital information and having to order whole new sets of CT scans which can bombard patients with 500 times more radiation than a simple chest x-ray.
That level of unworkable obsolescence is only matched by medical professionals here having to deal with three different charting systems, some still only available on paper. Sure, endlessly printing charts and burning CDs might save us from Y2K if it was 1999, but it's 2024 and we need to get with the times if we want more efficient public service. Our doctors and nurses can't keep working in the past; we need to bring them into the future. Thankfully, we don't need Doc Brown's DeLorean; we just need a Minister willing to work to bring our health care system into the 21st century. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you. Members' statements. Member from Monfwi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Municipal funding gap. Mr. Speaker, on May 29th of this year, the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight tabled a report in this House that noted the municipal funding gap under the current formula would not work without substantial investment. Members discussed a funding formula that equalizes the gap for communities across the Northwest Territories. The government responded on June 13th, noting that MACA recently updated its community government funding policies to, one, provide a more equitable distribution of funding by basing allocations on a needs-based formula. The new funding policies came into effect in 2024-2025. Allocation will not be implemented until 2025-2026 to allow time to engage with community governments.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to know how the government plans to engage community governments. These changes will not only affect Tlicho region but other small communities as well. The change will have the greatest impact on small communities with population under 500 people. Mr. Speaker, I fear this formula change will negatively affect our Indigenous communities. We have been told that allocations will be implemented over a three-year transition period.
The Minister has noted that funding sustainable community government services is a shared responsibility across all levels of government. But, Mr. Speaker, what have the community government told MACA about the implementation of these new formula funding policies? How have the community government been engaged in decision-making? Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for MACA at appropriate time. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Monfwi. Members' statements. Member from Great Slave.
Mr. Speaker, today I would like to speak to reviewing policing outcomes. As discussed in this House many times, including our last sitting, with a motion on supporting mental health response, the NWT relies a great deal on the services of the RCMP. The NWT asks more of them than what is truly their role, Mr. Speaker, and I don't believe it's fair to treat them as social workers.
RCMP services are one of the last places we should be asking people to do more with less. I'm glad that there is some change on that front, for instance through partnerships between NGOs and multiple levels of government. Crucial services have begun to be supported, such as Street Outreach here in Yellowknife.
I believe everyone in this House is familiar with the Yellowknife Women’s Society's report Overpoliced and Underprotected. It examines the relationship between unhoused Indigenous women in the NWT and their interactions with the RCMP. A key recommendation from this report asked the Minister of Justice to support a comprehensive review of policing practices in the NWT by the federal Civilian Review and Complaints Commission. Notably, such a review must be requested by the Minister of Justice, and it would be at no cost to the GNWT. When some Members have put this recommendation forward to the Minister in correspondence, he has responded that such a review would be too narrow in scope and take too long to see results.
There has also been interest in investigations on RCMP actions and whether they can be impartial without an independent external agency review. Currently, in the NWT the RCMP investigates the RCMP, albeit it from detachments from other jurisdictions, as we have seen in a recent inquest on a death in custody. Cabin Radio recently wrote an article discussing whether it is time to consider an oversight arrangement like that of the Yukon and the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team, a civilian police oversight agency allowed by the federal RCMP Act.
Mr. Speaker, I realize I'm speaking about reviews about systemic problems and serious incidents and that these will likely require different approaches and processes, and that is fine. Residents need assurance that if there are negative outcomes in our current policing structures that an impartial review is possible for both serious incidents and systemic issues. I will have questions for the Minister of Justice at the appropriate time. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Great Slave. Members' statements. Member from the Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I raised the a Sahtu issue of recruiting a regional medical travel coordinator during our past spring sitting. Mr. Speaker, the NWT health care system is in high demand. It seems, Mr. Speaker, today's society is impacted by many challenges beyond our control.
Mr. Speaker, the NWT is resilient in many ways to the challenge that it faced and is facing. One can only view the reactive approach to climate change impacts.
Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity during the week of September the 23rd for an invited ministerial tour of the Sahtu region. During this tour, many Sahtu residents raised the need for a medical travel coordinator and improvements to our medical escorts.
Mr. Speaker, after some research, the Sahtu region, in particular Norman Wells, there exists 24 funded vacancies. Can we restructure to create one or two medical travel PYs?
'Mr. Speaker, I have engaged discussions with many private sector enterprisers, workforce recruitment is a national concern particularly in the trades sector. Similar challenges are faced by the Government of the Northwest Territories. Later, Mr. Speaker, I'll have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Mahsi.
Thank you, Member from the Sahtu. Members' statements. Member from Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to speak about a critical issue in our territory and especially in our small communities. It's housing. We know there is a housing crisis in this territory. Shortages of housing, inadequate housing, and a great need for public housing. Last week, the Minister of Housing NWT stated that the waitlist for housing across the North is 897 applications. I've asked myself, Mr. Speaker, in this House, how can this be the case if suitability, accessibility, and affordability of housing is a priority of this government.
Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories isn't doing enough to ensure a path forward for people in need of housing. Indigenous governments are doing what they can, Mr. Speaker, to leverage federal funding and develop housing solutions for their participants and beneficiaries. Just last week, Mr. Speaker, the Standing Committee on Social Development received a public briefing from representatives of the Gwich'in Tribal Council on their new and innovative programming that is putting homes on the grounds in communities and housing families. But they can't do it all, Mr. Speaker. The Government of the Northwest Territories must meet its obligations for delivering on public housing programs.
Mr. Speaker, I won't speak on the capital estimates investments in the housing as it is before Committee of the Whole. But what I will say is that housing is a human right. This Assembly passed a motion to acknowledge and affirm housing as a fundamental human right, and I will state again that housing is a priority in this Assembly. And I will have questions for the Minister responsible for Housing NWT. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Mackenzie Delta. Members' statements. Member from the Deh Cho.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to talk about medical travel in the Northwest Territories. As residents, we may all come to rely on the health and social services medical travel program at some point in our lives for health care that isn't available in our home communities. Travel is necessary, Mr. Speaker. This is a reality in our territory with 33 communities spread across the vast land. With little access in and out, limited services are available.
A principle of the medical travel policy is that the cost of medical travel should not be an economic barrier to access insured health services. Many patients who require medical travel also require non-medical escorts to accompany them for many reasons. For example, elders who travel south or to a larger centre may face language barriers and unfamiliar terrain. This makes it difficult to communicate and navigate in these settings. They need an escort to ensure their appointments go well because of the language barrier. Without this support, the service itself is at risk.
The criteria for non-medical escort says escorts can travel with a patient to provide interpretation if needed. When it comes to the government policy, Mr. Speaker, I hear from residents that they're often not allowed an escort even though one is needed. I often hear that doctors and practitioners approve an escort for medical travel but then the health care centre staff arranging turns around and says no, and their request is denied. I would like to know who is making these decisions on behalf of our elders and why they are being denied non-medical escorts. One of the principle of the medical travel program is that it should be transparent and accountable. I will have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services later. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for the Deh Cho. Members' statements. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Mackenzie Valley fibre line was completed in 2017 -- oh, sorry -- Government of the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, this was welcomed news for the residents on the anchor tenants, the Inuvik satellite station facility, and the new north networks and their satellite station facility as well.
The Government of the Northwest Territories has made a long-term investment to improve telecommunications service and to support economic development along the Mackenzie Valley. Mr. Speaker, with the ability to handle greater volumes of high-speed data traffic with increased reliability, the link provides better access to health, education, and many government services in the Mackenzie Valley communities.
For the town of Inuvik, Mr. Speaker, the benefits of being connected to the Mackenzie Valley fibre link are immense. The connection allows Inuvik to strengthen its position as a base for satellite ground stations in Arctic research organizations and additionally qualified local contractors have been able to participate in contracts related to the long-term physical maintenance of the fibre optic link.
Mr. Speaker, I also understand that the second line, the redundancy line, is now complete. Once the 778-kilometer Dempster fibre line to Dawson becomes operational, it will offer backup. That means if one line goes down, the other can pick up the load. But, Mr. Speaker, businesses and commercial entities in Inuvik are questioning whether or not it's truly redundant given that our line, Mr. Speaker, runs from Inuvik down to McGill Lake and on through to High Level and into Alberta. The line that's being proposed on the Dempster Highway runs down as far as Fort Nelson. Now, I do understand that there is a potential to have another link go from Fort Nelson over to McGill Lake but, again, that's creating a loop and to get true redundancy, Mr. Speaker, I think we're going to need that link from Fort Nelson into Alberta as well. So, Mr. Speaker, those are the concerns that have been brought to my attention, and I will have questions for the Minister of finance later. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Inuvik Boot Lake. Members' statements. Member from Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, health care sustainability should not be about cuts to services. It is unfortunate that that's the message that the media took away from last Wednesday's public briefing on the new health care sustainability unit. From the perspective of those working on the frontlines of our health care system, we have neither the Cadillac nor the Ford Focus that the Premier was referring to but, rather, a vehicle with the wheels coming off that is running on fumes.
Yes, the health care system has expanded over the years but let's put this in perspective. This is not just about the addition of noncore services. Some of the positions that have been added that remain unfunded include pediatricians, a fifth emergency room nurse. These are not frills or nice-to-haves. The tool that we need here is not an axe but it's a screwdriver to tighten things up. And if we're using the vehicle metaphor, we need to first know what our destination is and then take the right amount of fuel for this journey, so we don't keep ending up stranded on the side of the road out of gas.
Our quest for health care sustainability must fundamentally be about delivering the basics right. There is resounding consensus that we need to focus on delivering primary care right. It's about using our resources wisely to offer the best possible care as efficiently as possible.
Now, last March, the NWT Medical Association offered valuable recommendations about how we can reduce medical travel and medevacs when someone could receive better care at home. In small communities, community health nurses can be assigned a physician to work with on a regular basis who would act as kind of a consultant. We can embrace the full potential of Telehealth. Now, frustratingly, the recent primary care reform ignored what doctors have been calling for many years and missed the opportunity when rearranging the team assignments to assign doctors to small communities.
Mr. Speaker, the fuel we need for this journey is our health care staff. We need this new unit to center its work around the insights of frontline staff. The Premier referred to how complex this initiative is but actually we need to focus on a simple goal. We need to figure out how to ensure we have the right amount of staff, the right kinds of staff, doing the right things. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Members' statements. Member from Frame Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in July 2024 the GNWT released the 2023 Employee Engagement and Satisfaction Report and attached an employee satisfaction action plan to that report. I do note, with some disappointment, that favourability scores were noted to decline across all indices relative to the 2021 survey. A couple of items I'd like to highlight, Mr. Speaker:
Only 58 percent of staff felt that innovation was valued in their work.
Only 52 percent said they felt valued as employees or that commitment to quality was a high priority.
Overall, morale lowered by 4.9 percent since the last report was done.
I do note that an action plan was published with the report, and I support all those action items; however, I do wonder if a few items were missing. One of them that I'd like to highlight today is the prevalence of overly burdensome bureaucratic processes and how those can, over time, grind people down and reduce morale. I've spoken to staff who have had to go through processes of multiple weeks to get approval to do something like respond to a comment on Facebook.
The other thing that I wonder needs more emphasis is the need for empowerment. I would note, Mr. Speaker, that when employees apply to the GNWT, they go through an incredibly burdensome hiring process where they have to do exams, they have to go through sometimes multiple interviews, and provide pretty serious qualifications only to get into a position sometimes where they have very little decision-making power and very little power to act without oversight by management. So I think reduction of micromanagement needs to be looked at as well.
Another quote that has stood with me, and I wanted to share today, is something that someone said to me the other day when I was chatting with them about how things are going at work - If you truly care about your work, your time at GNWT will be limited. That's an unfortunate sentiment for someone to hold in their job.
Mr. Speaker, I believe that we have an excellent, excellent public service. We have excellent staff at the public service. I request unanimous consent to finish my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, I believe that we are going through processes that ensure that we have excellent people in their roles, and then often we're in that role putting them through processes which effectively tell them that their expertise isn't as valued as it could be. So I want us to be looking at that when we're thinking about employee satisfaction, and I want us to be looking at our processes and empowerment of staff, I think it could help us save money over time as we build up our internal capacity for decision-making, maybe we don't need so much management. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Frame Lake. Members' statements. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Mr. Speaker, the clock is ticking to get started on the Premier's 50-year vision for the future of the Northwest Territories, a vision of decentralization of services and power to Indigenous self-governments. The vision is supported by the action of the previous Assembly which is committed to implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, a declaration that internationally mandates the right to self-determination.
Furthermore, decentralization of services for Indigenous governments was mandated in the devolution process passed a decade ago. As well, in fact, these rights have been pursued for generations. Yet, today, we stand here in this Assembly, year after year, with no real progress towards goals once more.
The cost of inaction is seriously holding our communities back. Indigenous governments alone passes the knowledge, traditions, and perspectives that are needed to solve our health and housing crisis, and they need access to the resources to make it happen. Indigenous governments are allocated $1.6 billion out of the $2.2 billion budget this government gets on an annual basis.
Mr. Speaker, but, yet because of the stages of the colonial remain in place, much of those funds don't make it to our small communities or are allocated through restrictive policies that don't work for our people. A new deal for the North that respects Indigenous governments would therefore give them the resources and empower them are largely entitled so their communities can thrive. This new deal for the North will take a lot of effort and a lot of time, but thankfully a lot of that work has been done already.
In 1992, as the Northwest Territories was on the cusp of division, a report was commissioned in the Future of the Government of the Northwest Territories written by the late Jim Bourque that outlined the solutions of the North, needs for the fair future, and this Assembly is committed to working towards. The biggest solution offered in Jim Bourque's report was the NWT Constitution which would clearly outline the role and functions of Indigenous governments and have governance in our territory. Unfortunately, despite all the time and money spent on the research, a Constitution to produce the report, it was never enacted and instead it was shelved for generation.
Well, Mr. Speaker, I can call on this government to take another look at the Jim Bourque report. We need to work as soon as possible as the claim is being settled. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my Member's statement. Thank you.
---Unanimous consent granted
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. To do so, we must work together to figure out a process to achieve these goals through the Council of Leaders and working group and committee to make this progress that has been promised for decades. As Canada makes its way for a long journey towards justice and reconciliation for Indigenous people, the North can -- sorry, the North can use this critical junction we are striving for as an opportunity to develop a model of governance. Mr. Speaker, I would have questions for the Premier at the appropriate time. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Members' statements. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In economics, there's a phrase called Jevons paradox which occurs when technology progresses in a manner to increase efficiency but the resources actually inversely further demanded because we've lowered the cost. So in order, Mr. Speaker, historically governments have been trying to find ways to be more efficient, but in turn, people -- efficiency gains enthusiasm which increases consumption. This is called the rebound effect of Jevons paradox.
So a good example is when you make fuel efficiency vehicles, Mr. Speaker, people tend to drive more and hence consume more fuels. Mr. Speaker, in the end it results that just because you make something cheaper and solve a problem, you don't necessarily take into the greater consideration of the demand it's now created.
Now the EU has noted, Mr. Speaker -- and this is where it's important -- that this principle of efficiency on economics also applies to government policy, and it can apply to us. So how does it apply to the GNWT?
Well, take the encampment, for example, Mr. Speaker. Are we addressing the cause or are we addressing the system of some of these problems? By fixing it with a Band-Aid solution, Mr. Speaker, is the government temporarily making things worse? Are we empowering people? That is really addressing the cause. Are we finding ways to create sustainable communities and independent people? I'm not so sure.
Mr. Speaker, I agree something needs to be done, hands down. I would definitely stress that, you know, things -- solutions like Aspen Apartments, you know, fixing it up is not a terrible solution in any way. But for 38 units, 38 potential families waiting for a solution between one and two years away from now, has done nothing to solve the problem.
Mr. Speaker, you know, sometimes I say a four door Corolla could solve our problems; why are we buying Escalades? We don't need them, Mr. Speaker. There's nothing wrong with Aspen Apartments that couldn't House people today. In other words, we could be saving and changing the lives of 38 people -- 38 families. By sewing these seeds, possibly we'd be getting the right effect.
Mr. Speaker, we also have other temporary solutions when we're scrambling for them. The government has the Territorial Treatment Centre, the TTC, right across the street from the encampment. We could be partnering with the women's society, we could be partnering with the YWCA, or even the Salvation Army to temporary solve the solution. Let's not bring a hammer when we don't need one, Mr. Speaker. We could work with our communities in partnership with our social agencies. And I'll have questions for The Ministers during question period later today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Members' statements.
Colleagues, it has been over a year since Adam Yeadon passed away on the fire line while protecting his home community of Fort Liard. Family members, residents and fire crews led a small, private ceremony in Fort Liard in remembrance of Adam. Colleagues, He leaves behind a partner, a young daughter, dad, brother and sister. And many cousins and nieces and nephews.
I can tell you it weighs on us a lot of his passing, and it is my understanding that firefighters across the territory doing the same difficult work Adam did, are thinking of him and how he lost his life. When you hear the message that the fire crew staff heard each day, the safety of your team must always be the first priority, it brings it home about the critical importance of safety in the field.
The family, his friends, community, would like to thank NWT Fire for creating the scholarship in Adam's memory for people in post-secondary education in forest-related fields.
This past fall, Adam was remembered by the Canadian Fallen Firefighters Foundation at the Canadian Firefighters Memorial in Ottawa. The family would like to thank the department for all its support to get there and be part of this event as well for having the Minister attend.
In closing I would like to use the words of Adam's partner, Keanna McLeod's word: He was such an outgoing person. Everyone liked being around him, and he was loved by all his friends and family. He liked being outdoors, being on the land, discovering new places, experiencing new things and more importantly meeting new people.
In closing, I wish to use the quote I heard from NWT Fire: Though nothing will repair the hole his absence leaves in the lives of those who knew and loved him, our steadfast support remains with his family and friends as they navigate the difficult path forward.
Masi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker [Translation] … Anita Wedzin, Diane Lafferty, Deniza -- and Linda Mantla, they're all here; they live here in Yellowknife, going to school. They want to, they are looking to further, to education. I know that their parents and their family members and also a lot of these young kids, I don't know who they are from the school, I am happy that they are here, I do believe, and also they are here with their teachers as well, the ones that are here, masi cho. [Translation Ends]
Thank you, Member from Monfwi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member from Range Lake.
