When we went out and did our consultation it was clearly stated that we need to have a secure, safe, reliable source of energy. Technology is not there to totally switch to totally renewables for us and particularly because we have such a vast territory that we have to have fuel in to some of these smaller communities, such as Sachs Harbour, Ulukhaktok, and Paulatuk, which is a challenging environment. That is why we are doing our wind studies up in that type of environment, to see if it's feasible. So we have to balance this up. Technology is not there to totally get us off of fossil fuels and into renewables.
Under the GNWT's carbon pricing scheme the large industrial producers of greenhouse gas will get 75 percent of their taxes rebated; 25 percent goes into a special fund. I truly believe that industry would take more aggressive action on reducing its greenhouse gas emissions and replacing fossil fuel if they were asked. So in developing this element of the plan what evaluation was made of how less rebate and more project support would influence industry to make these changes?
We all know that the large industry emission people in the Northwest Territories are the mining industry. These people are already located in a situation where they are off the road system, they are off hydro. They have to make their most efficient operation they possibly can to keep their costs down. This fund we set up as 75/25 is going to be able to help them come up with new types of approaches to be able to get them off of fossil fuels, and it's a balanced approach that, like I have said, we have had to do across the Northwest Territories. The mining industry is a big part of helping us try to come to some type of solution, but they are trying to mitigate their costs in what they are doing presently.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Minister for that. Finally I note that recently announced spending under the federal-territorial low carbon leadership fund provides support for carbon sequestration in forestry. This would hardly seem to me to be a priority against the more pressing needs of, say, aggressively improving the energy efficiency of government housing stock, so can the Minister explain why the emphasis was put, again it's the balance thing, but on sequestration rather than energy improvements to public housing?
The Low-Carbon Economy Leadership Fund does have money in there for helping to gain efficiency in public housing. There is a significant amount in there. Again we have had to take a balanced approach to this whole aspect of how we are going to lower greenhouse gas emissions in the Northwest Territories, but the other side of it is that on these applications there are certain criteria that we have to fulfill to meet federal funding and, to be able to access some of this money, we have had to spread it around and try to help all parts of the economy in the Northwest Territories. This is one of the ones that has come forward, and we are working with ENR on that to move the carbon sequestration forward for reforestation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when I was asking the Minister responsible for Housing, he said that the corporation demand, he was talking about the demand and need of the HELP units in the communities. Can the Minister provide what the corporation definition is of "demand" for HELP units in the communities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When we look at the demand in our communities, we look at what the priorities are of the region. As I mentioned, over this session one of the initiatives that we are taking on as the Housing Corporation in working with the communities, as you heard in my Minister's statement earlier, is we are going to be developing these community housing plans and we are going to be working with leadership, we are going to be working with stakeholders to identify these.
In the situation and the questions that the Member has asked earlier, you know, we had to make some changes within the community to meet some of the market units. As you know, as all Members here know, there are low-market units for teachers, for nurses, for professionals to have a place to stay and provide the services that our residents need in the Northwest Territories. The housing plans are going to address that. When we work with our communities we are going to develop a comprehensive strategic planning document that's going to say whether or not homelessness is the priority, seniors are the priority, singles' units, or market units, and we are going to work with every community across the Northwest Territories. We are going to find northern solutions for our northern housing needs.
One other program that I just want to put out there, Mr. Speaker, is our community housing support initiative. We are working very well with communities to address the housing needs that they have, and it's a really good program, and I encourage all Members to take a look into it. We are developing some really good programs, and we are developing some very strong partnerships, so I would ask the Member to reach out to us and maybe have the leadership have a discussion with our staff to see how we can address some of the concerns that the Member does have in addressing whether it's a HELP unit or a market unit or public housing units in the community.
I thank the Minister for that answer. So he is talking about community housing plans and that, and we are going to do six in the next year coming up, so can he tell me when Fort Simpson is going to be on that list? Because, if we are going to be waiting six, 12, 14, two years from now, I would like to know that so the community can know that. Because right now the Housing Corporation is relying on these community housing plans, so can the Minister advise us when Fort Simpson will be on that list?
At this moment in time I do not have a timeline for when Fort Simpson will get on that list. We have put it out there. As I mentioned in my statement, we have Indigenous governments that are seeking interest into developing these community housing plans. The community of Whati for one is a community that we are going to start with. This is new. This is new to government. It's new to the NWT Housing Corporation. As we start to develop it, and I have said this time and time again during the session, once we get a housing plan up and running it might show us a template for similar communities across the Northwest Territories. So I think that, as we move forward and we start developing these housing plans throughout the Northwest Territories, hopefully it will steamroll so that all communities will eventually get on board and we will develop some community housing plans for all of our communities in the Northwest Territories.
I have heard the words "may," "hope," "could be the template." So, if it isn't the template, what are these communities supposed to be doing in the short term? Because right now we are looking at HELP units being turned into market units, and we are bringing in market units into the community, and I also know some private industries are bringing market units in there. So what are the communities supposed to do if they are not fitting the model, the template, that they are working for?
The NWT Housing Corporation has gone through a significant change during the 17th and the 18th Legislative Assemblies. We have developed some great programs that are helping communities, that are helping families, and we are going to continue to promote those programs. I encourage communities, I encourage Members, I encourage residents to go and speak to their local housing office. Also go and speak with the regional district offices on low those programs can help and benefit a community. We have a lot of programs that are very successful.
Like I mentioned, we have gone through a change over the last two governments. In terms of private industry, we are more than open to work with private industry to address the housing needs in some of our communities and regional centres, and we will continue to promote that. Partnership with the NWT Housing Corporation is significant, and we pride ourselves on that. We have shown success with Indigenous governments. We have shown success with private industry. The Inuvialuit Corporation is a really good benchmark that we can look at as a standard. So, in the meantime, I think we have done a lot in the last two governments to address the housing needs across the Northwest Territories. We will continue to do that. I encourage the Member and leadership in the Nahendeh riding to reach out to our district office. If not, we can make sure our district office reaches out to leadership.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, I am stumped for words here because, first of all, I have never, ever said anything bad about the district office. They have done a great job. They are promoting the information out there. They are getting there, but what I am seeing is that the Housing Corporation has changed a HELP unit to market rental unit, we are bringing in more market rental units, and people are still looking for HELP units. Is this government taking away the HELP units, then? Is this no longer going to be an option for people in the future?
Just for the record, I did not say the Member had said anything bad about our regional district offices, so I do not know where he got that from. Secondly, we continue to promote our programs in the Housing Corporation that have been having an impact in all of our communities across the Northwest Territories. In terms of HELP units, I answered the question earlier. It's based on demand for the program, and, if the demand is not there, then we are going to turn it into a market rent unit and vice versa. If the market unit is there and it's not being used, we will turn it into a HELP unit. Some of these programs are application based, so it's really based on the application and whether or not residents meet those criteria for the application. Once again, I apologize if I came off any way saying that the Member had mentioned anything bad about the regional office, but I do not believe I did. I just wanted to put that out there. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as follow-up to my Member's statement on trapping season I would like to ask the Minister responsible for ENR if he could share the numbers. You know what, many of us here have Facebook accounts, and we see all of the nice pictures people put on, whether it's trapping, hunting, but I have seen in my riding a number of young people starting to get into trapping. So can the Minister share numbers from the last trapping season on the number of trappers, if they have seen an increase or a decrease? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, from November 2017 to June 2018, which is basically the trapping season, there were 661 trappers in the Northwest Territories. They marketed about $622,000 of Northern fur for that particular year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I know many of my constituents, especially the ones who go out, bring in a lot of furs. I just have a question. I would like to get an update on the uptake on the Grubstake Program. I know this Territory is a leader that is pretty much the only territory -- none of the provinces that I know of have a grubstake program similar to ours. Just a little update from the Minister on that program?
As far as I know, we are the only jurisdiction in the country that offers a grubstake program as far as traditional fur harvesting goes, and we are quite proud of that fact. We recognize the fact that it is an important economy in the Northwest Territories. The Member is absolutely correct. We are starting to see more and more young people get back into the traditional lifestyle. We are getting a lot of support from the government.
As well, I know of a couple of Aboriginal governments, I think the GTC has a great program where they support the young people who are trying to get back into trapping.
Trap and Grubstake Program allocated a total of $101,000 for the current 2018-2019 trapping year. We have it broken down by regions, as well. I think in the BeauDel last year, there was about $34,000 that was allocated through the Grubstake Program.
The department has started a new initiative in the Mackenzie Delta, especially in Aklavik-Inuvik, with harvesting of beaver this past spring here. It was very, very productive. You know, the community has seen over $100,000 brought into the community of Aklavik alone; the communities that were a part of this. It wasn't cash into the communities, but it was money that went into cards, whether it was to the local Northern store. On that note, on-the-land collaborative, how many projects and how was this paid out?
The program that the Member spoke about, I think I was in collaboration with the Aboriginal governments up there. I think IRC was heavily involved in that. My understanding was fairly successful program. As far as the on-the-land collaborative, we received a number of applications, I think it was about 104 applications, but 48 projects were approved. Approximately $1 million was dispersed to support on-the-land programming.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a final run on this topic. I know in the past, even myself, I have attended a couple of trapping workshops. You know, it is always good to show our up-and-coming trappers new techniques and ways to set traps. Does the department plan to hold any more trapping workshops this winter?
I know a number of people have been asking about how to get traps in communities, especially the ones that don't have any hardware stores or anywhere to get them actually in town. Is the department planning to have any trapping workshops this winter? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
As far as the actual workshops, I am not quite sure of that detail. I will commit to getting that detail to see when and where we are having any workshops that are going out. I think the department is also coming forward to this Assembly, I believe, soon with the new initiative that they would like to try. I will not speak of it now, but it will be brought up before this Assembly as we deliberate the O and M budget during February-March. I think the folks out there will be pleased with the new initiatives that are coming out through ENR.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this set of questions is for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Last winter we discussed the availability of family planning tools such as birth control and the medication that terminates an early-stage pregnancy called Mifegymiso. At that time, the Minister said his department was reviewing gaps in supplementary health benefits. Can the Minister update the House on the progress of this review as it relates to family planning? Mahsi.
Masi. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the review of the supplementary health program is in relation to all coverage for all types of thing, including the things the Member has described. That review is going to take some time. It will likely go into the next government and be something the next government is going to have to make some hard decisions on.
We did have a brief chat this morning, and I did confirm that to the Member. Since then, I haven't had an opportunity to talk to the department. Taking the Member's point that waiting that long could be problematic for many, many women, I have issued a directive to the Department of Health and Social Services to put in some interim measures to cover the treatment or the Mifegymiso on an interim basis until the conclusion of the supplementary health review.
This means that it will be a payment of last resort and that individuals must use either NIHB, Extended Health Benefits, Metis Health Benefits, and an insurance if they have it through their employer or indigent health benefits. Basically, low-income workers who don't have insurance will be covered once this directive goes into place. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I appreciate the Minister taking proactive action on this. The other issue that we talked about last winter was exploring options to make the pill available in regional health centres. Has there been any progress on making this service available outside of Yellowknife?
There has been progress, but not enough. One of the challenges that we are facing is the diagnostic steps that need to be taken before the pill can be issued or prescribed. We are having some complications making sure that that can happen at a regional level. I commit to the Member that we will continue to do that work, and we will make sure that this is available through the NOW Program to all residents of the Northwest Territories. It will take a bit more time to make that happen.
I appreciate the Minister's efforts. Could he give us any proposed timing for resolving those issues? I guess at this point the question is: is it during the life of this Assembly, or will it be deferred until the next one?
After our conversation this morning, I did talk to the department and issued that directive. I did tell them that I wanted this other issue resolved as quickly as possible. There are a few technical issues we have to work through. They said they would get me a timeline on how long they think it might take, but I directed and indicated I want to see it happen in the life of this government and not dragged out into the life of the next.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for letting me clear out my closet of extra questions. This time, my questions are for the Minister of Infrastructure. The GNWT invested millions of dollars to construct a new office building in my riding. This building has been open for several years, and it's called, very glamorously, the New Government Building, or the NGB for short. Several constituents have approached me with names for this building, and my question for the Minister is: when will the Minister begin the process of finding a proper name for the NGB? Thank you.
Masi. Minister of Infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That policy actually doesn't lie with me. Just because Infrastructure built the building and we have some of our staff in there, that policy of naming a building actually lies with the EIA, with the Premier's office, the Executive. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I appreciate the Minister's information. My question for the Premier is: when will the Minister begin the process of finding a proper name for the NGB? Thank you.
Minister of Infrastructure.
I'm not the Premier. Let's get that straight. That question would have to be redirected to the Premier, and I can gladly have a conversation with the Premier after this sitting and see how we are going to move on that, if we are moving on that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Premier, and it's about finding a new name for the NGB. Could the Premier please review the policy that he is going to follow for finding a name for this building? Thank you.
I would like to remind Members that, when you direct a certain question to a Minister, we stick to that Minister unless the Premier allows other Ministers to respond. At this point in time, I will allow the Infrastructure Minister to continue. Minister of Infrastructure.
