Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there is quite a variety of items that we do undertake within the GNWT towards improving renewable energies. For example, there are about $12.3 million put towards greenhouse gas emission reduction projects. This consists of money that goes to Arctic Energy Alliance, for instance, where they do, obviously, have renewable energy systems that they provide supports for. There's another $2 million that goes to an energy action plan which includes some programming and some supports to residents and communities around energy planning. The retrofit program in GNWT -- or in the Department of Infrastructure. Then there's, of course, Mr. Speaker, there's a number of other initiatives - electrical vehicle stations, low program access for energy property to provide some subsidies to low income residents. And, of course, then there's some of the big-ticket items, Mr. Speaker. There's the Inuvik wind project that was provided a subsidy to the tune of $38 million. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So my quick math on those is about 49, $50 million on what was spent on those. Mr. Speaker, does those budget items also include the climate action strategy and the energy action plan included in those numbers? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, firstly, the rough math of about $50 million is correct insofar as what I've listed here. There's additional money that we get from the federal government, so this is not the sum total of all that we spend. And, indeed, there is some further and additional funds that do go towards the climate change framework that is out of my colleague's department in ECC. The energy action plan or the energy strategy that is being renewed right now, some of that I can list out as being at around $2.1 million, but that does not necessarily include staffing costs that we have associated with that plan or similarly that we would have with the climate change action strategy. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Finance. Final supplementary. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you for that, for that information.
Just kind of flipping gears for a second, Mr. Speaker, I also spoke about the Mackenzie Delta LNG report that was tabled in this House. I believe it was 2022 but I could be incorrect; it could have been 2021. I guess, Mr. Speaker, my question is have we taken this report off the shelf and given it some dust off, and how are we continuing to promote this amazing opportunity in the Beaufort Delta? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It certainly is related to all of these other initiatives to try to remove our reliance on fossil fuels, and I am happy to say, and really it's -- I passed this torch to my colleague from ITI, Minister Cleveland, with respect to the efforts that she is now taking to indeed dust this off. She's been out all year speaking to the Japanese consulate, to PNWER, the Pacific Northwest Economic Region, speaking -- going to be coming up at the Arctic Energy and Resource Symposium in Calgary in March. I believe she's spoken to the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. So, Mr. Speaker, I'm happy to flag the good work that's happening there. This is an important report that has not perhaps seen as much light as it could have but, as I say, in the last year does seem to be getting some traction. So happy to add that here. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Finance. Oral questions. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday, in Behchoko, the MP, Michael McLeod, made an announcement of funding from the federal Government of Canada to announce counselling and coaching and harm reduction strategies for the Tlicho government, and that's really welcomed news, and the money that was announced is $1.9 million. The theme was no one is left behind. I just wanted to ask the Premier if we could work together with my four communities in Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh riding as to how we could give support to find similar monies to help curb the issues and drugs in my community. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Minister of Justice, the Premier. Mr. Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The question took a bit of a left turn there. It started talking about wellness. I thought it was going to go a different direction, so I probably need a bit of clarity on what was asked. I think it was about how the territorial government can work with the community to access some of these funds; is that correct?
The community can reach out, and we can have those conversations. That's not a problem. You know, we have a number of departments with relationships with the federal government that have awareness of different potential pots of money, and so either through the MLA or by direct reach out from the community, we can do what we can to work with them and provide that information. Thank you.
Thank you, and thank you very much for that. The -- one more, I guess the question I have now is that I know that we have tools in the toolbox in regards to trying to help the RCMP to do their jobs and the service they provide in our communities are very important; however, Mr. Speaker --
-- We will put you back on the list. Okay, thank you. Oral questions. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, continuing on my thread of energy and, particularly, the LNG in the Beaufort Delta, I have questions for the Premier. Can the Premier kind of tell me how the Government of the Northwest Territories has engaged or has continued to engage with the significant discovery license holders in the Beaufort Delta. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Inuvik Boot Lake. Mr. Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And there has been engagement between the GNWT and the significant discovery license holders, or the SDL holders, in the Beaufort Delta and specifically to discuss LNG related opportunities and considerations. These discussions included perspectives on next steps and the importance of broader collaboration. ITI has met with the main SDL holders in the Beaufort Delta on numerous occasions over the last few years. They are -- have been made aware of the Mackenzie Delta LNG project concept. They've all expressed interest in learning more about what we know from the pre-feasibility phase. Any interest expressed in advancing the concept would obviously require collaboration across multiple SDL holders and with the IRC of course, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you for that, and that's encouraging that we continue to meet with the SDL proponents in the Beaufort Delta.
The Premier mentioned the Indigenous governments, mentioned the Inuvialuit specifically, of course, because that is in the Inuvialuit settlement region. Can he maybe elaborate a little on what engagement has been, again, ongoing and have been going on with the Indigenous governments in the region as well as it pertains to the LNG development, particularly given that they are now the LNG developer in the Beaufort Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And so there's been conversations over the last number of years about the Mackenzie Delta LNG project concept. And, of course, IRC has been busy advancing its Inuvialuit energy security project in the meantime. The opportunity remains for IRC to pursue larger scale LNG project opportunities in the Beaufort Delta; for example, that could result in exportation to Asian Pacific markets where the LNG demand is growing as we know. That being said, this is all happening in the Inuvialuit settlement region so we are following their lead. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Premier. Final supplementary. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank the Premier for that. And, again, as I mentioned earlier, what a great opportunity perhaps to look at a working group for this development and for ongoing developments.
But can the Premier speak, given what's happening federally, again, there may be some winds of change coming, we're not sure, and I think it doesn't preclude either of the potential new governments, has the Premier been engaging with industry at large, with -- I mean, obviously, preparing, I guess, to make sure that, hey, there's an opportunity could come here in the next, you know, 6 to 12 months, and are we ready for that; are we engaging with industry and potentially with Ottawa as well? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And not me personally but our Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment has been engaging industry all across Canada. This was mentioned earlier by my colleague. But she has discussed this at the -- at PNWER, the Pacific Northwest Economic Region Conference, at the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers Conference, at the Arctic Energy and Resources Symposium that's coming up in March; I believe she's the keynote Speaker there. And so she is out there engaging with industry, letting them know what the opportunities are in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Premier. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of housing today.
Following up on my Member's statement, so as part of the latest homeownership program that was recently discontinued, the homeownership entry level program, or HELP, 190 new units were constructed between 2006 and 2011. And does the Minister happen to know how many of those 190 units that were originally constructed actually ended up being transferred to the tenants to allow them to become homeowners? Or can the Minister commit to at least get back to me with that total number that turned into actually homeownership units? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Minister of Housing NWT.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In terms of the HELP units that were constructed back in 2007, the numbers include 21 units that have been transferred to tenants since the start of HELP. And the breakdown is Beaufort Delta, 4 units; Nahendeh, 3 units; the North Slave, 4 units; the Sahtu, 2 units; and the South Slave, 8 units. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister for having those numbers on hand.
So 21 out of 190 units is a pretty low percentage I think we can all agree. Can the Minister explain what were some of the barriers or challenges that prevented more of those HELP tenants from actually achieving that homeownership that they set out to achieve when they joined the program? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think of challenges in homeownership would include like capacity to pay the utilities. Sometimes they fall into arrears. Sometimes family situations change. And sometimes they don't want to no longer be a homeowner. So upkeep of the unit, again, this is something that homeowners face every day in the Northwest Territories. So this would be another challenge. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Housing NWT. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm sure we could have a much longer conversation too about all the barriers and challenges. But we have a new homeownership initiative program now that's sort of superceded the old. So how has the current HIP program been designed differently to try to overcome some of those challenges, or what different result do we expect this time? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, like homeownership is a challenge in the Northwest Territories. So what housing's doing differently now is they're providing counselling, they're providing budgeting sessions, they're providing those with arrears an opportunity to pay off their arrears so they can become eligible. And also with the HIP program, it is a forgivable loan over three to five years so the tenant would become the owner of the house through a forgivable loan which would zero out at the end of those years. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister responsible for Housing NWT. Oral questions. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier I just mentioned that in regards to tools for the RCMP, I just wanted to ask the question to the Minister of Justice.
How can we all work together with the GNWT government, the Indigenous governments in my riding, including with the RCMP, to look for solutions on the interim until the new SCAN legislation and the new strategy on drugs -- new drug strategy and dedicated RCMP crime reduction unit? I just wanted to ask that question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Minister of Justice.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And as I stated earlier, a lot of that work has already started. Public Safety Canada has gone into the community. I've gone into the community, met with leadership, along with my deputy minister. The RCMP, as I mentioned, I have -- I've made one of their priorities to strengthen relationships with Indigenous governments. So ensuring that those touch points are actually happening, that those conversations are happening, is important.
And one of the most important things that the community can do is report things to the RCMP. And I understand that there's times when people don't want to put their name towards a tip. They don't want to testify because of potential retribution. But regardless, we have to make those reports. And when we can, we have to be willing to testify. That really is, from what I've seen, maybe the biggest barrier in the Northwest Territories to dealing with this issue on the enforcement side. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question to the Minister of Justice, now that we're talking about the SCAN legislation, next year, February, is there any way where we could try to help move that date up so that we could get that into action? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I received this request about SCAN legislation and civil forfeiture legislation quite often because there is a real concern about what's going on and people want more tools to move things forward. So I will ensure that we're working as fast as we can on this, but I don't want to get anyone's hopes up that we're going to be able to get this done and introduced prior to the next sitting.
SCAN legislation has proven to be controversial in the Northwest Territories. It was brought forward once before, and it did not make its way through this House or out of this House, and so we want to make sure that we are doing the proper engagement, that we are hearing from everyone, and that we're crafting it in such a way that we will be able to get it through this House so that communities can benefit from it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Justice. Final supplementary. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I just wanted to ask the Minister of Justice if there's a way where we could get the RCMP in Fort Resolution to work with the Deninu Kue First Nation and the Metis Nation to have a meeting to address some of the concerns they have. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, I mean, I don't even need to be involved in that conversation. That's a community-level conversation, and the community can have that. Through the Department of Justice, we can relay the Member's comments and the desires for such a meeting, but I think those are the types of things that can really happen at the community level.
Deninu Kue First Nation does receive $50,000 annually to hire a community justice coordinator. I understand that that position is not filled. But that's the position that would help coordinate these types of conversations among leadership, including the First Nations, the Metis, and the RCMP and the GNWT service providers as well. And the department is also offering to help to support the staffing of that position should the First Nation require it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Premier. Oral questions. Member from Frame Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question today is for the Minister of Health and Social Services.
Mr. Speaker, last sitting Members raised a number of concerns and passed a motion regarding the health care system, and a lot of the concerns that were raised were about workplace morale among nurses, doctors, health care workers in general. And I would note that with the system sustainability unit and the new public administrator, it's not really clear if morale issues are actually being addressed by those initiatives. So can the Minister clarify for the House who is tasked with improving morale in the health care system, and what are they doing to help our nurses and doctors? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Frame Lake. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as the Member has stated, you know, this is not something that comes to a surprise to this House. We've heard it on the floor many, many times. It is in the mandate of the public administrator to ensure that the NTHSSA is dealing with this morale issue. I also took it upon myself, and now accompanying with me within the NTHSSA, the PA attends all of the -- along with the CEO and the COOs of the region, we have completed -- sorry, we've completed TCSA. We've completed Stanton. We've completed Fort Smith. We have a whole stretch of regions that we'll be doing town halls with staff in March and into April to making sure we're hitting every region and as well as the operations area within the NTHSSA. And all of that feedback is part of the work that we're all working towards ensuring that staff are being heard and that there are going to be, you know -- like, from the recommendations and the concerns brought forward, there will be actions on those for the managers, the CEO to deal with. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister for that answer. And so, Mr. Speaker, I understand that workplace morale can be a bit of a difficult thing to track and to measure. So I'm just curious has the department thought or the Minister thought about how she's going to track progress on this issue? Are they establishing measures? Are they, you know, taking a baseline to understand from staff where things are at now and where things are going? How are they going to be measuring success on this important issue in our health care system. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, you know, with the work that's ongoing in the next, you know, little while, I think that the last employment engagement satisfactory survey that was done from staff that is done every two years, that will be a tool that is measured. But I also -- you know, I think that one of the areas is all managers and staff have to take ownership of making sure that they're bringing their concerns forward. And this is something that I've said in the town halls with staff is that if they're -- you know, if they're bringing the issues forward and they're not being heard, we've heard from COOs to say that, you know, make sure that it's coming to the COOs if you're not being heard as a group, as a department, as a -- you know, as an area so that way that we are aware. There's times where the senior leadership is not aware of some of these things. And some of those things that cause morale issues could be small fixes, but it's actually going up the chain of command to ensure that voices are heard. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
