Please sit. I'd like to thank Mary Jane Cazon for the prayer song today to start off our session.
Colleagues, good afternoon. In yesterday's ruling, I urged caution in your language here and social media. As I said previously, it is frustrating that posts continue to be brought to my attention. Again last night, a post was brought to my attention. I feel the post did not accurately reflect my decision. The post suggested I found no wrong was committed. My job is to interpret and apply the rules we have agreed to. It does not mean someone, or their actions, are right or wrong. And to be clear, as stated in my ruling, had the Member made those comments in the House they would have been out of order. Members should not use social media to get around the rules of the House. I was also clear that the same words could have resulted in a different ruling if they had been made by a different Member. I expect that Members will address their concerns about their future posts. Thank you, everyone.
Mr. Speaker, as the 2025 wildfire season approaches, I would like to provide an update on the planning and investments we have made to support wildfire prevention, mitigation, and resilience. Our approach is focused on preparing people and communities across the NWT to live safely alongside wildfire, ensuring that we are ready for emergencies.
Last year, we launched a number of new FireSmart programs, including the FireSmart Advanced Home Assessment Program and the Neighbourhood Recognition Program. Across the territory, more than 100 Northerners had their homes assessed, receiving expert guidance from fire professionals on steps they can take to enhance fire safety.
Critical to this success was the engagement of community fire departments across the NWT. Over the winter, 15 local fire departments received training in the Neighbourhood Recognition Program, with additional sessions planned for the Advanced Home Assessment Program.
Mr. Speaker, last month we announced $10 million in additional investments in FireSmart initiatives over the next three years. We are also working with a number of communities on vegetation management projects that build on $20 million in federal funding being administered by the NWT Association of Communities. We look forward to sharing the significant improvements and innovations as the work progresses.
We have funded eight community wildfire preparedness day projects, empowering local teams to lead these initiatives. We are also forming regional and territorial FireSmart advisory groups that will help guide the critical FireSmart work we are currently prioritizing.
We are excited to co-host a wildfire preparedness gathering in Yellowknife this spring, in partnership with the NWT Association of Communities. This event will bring together fire department members, community leaders, and Indigenous leaders from across the NWT's forested communities. Activities will include training on wildfire management, fire behaviour, and FireSmart practices, along with cross-training exercises to enhance local response capabilities. This reflects our renewed commitment to interagency cooperation and cross-government collaboration.
Mr. Speaker, our team has worked very hard to prepare for the upcoming wildfire season. They have taken advanced fire behaviour training, fulfilling a key recommendation in the 2023 wildfire review. We are continuing to mobilize personnel, aircraft, and equipment to respond to a potential early start to the fire season and have invested in additional structural protection equipment to ensure a rapid response when any property is threatened.
Annual training will start shortly to ensure our wildfire management teams are fully prepared once the snow melts and fire danger rises.
In short, Mr. Speaker, our team is ready to fulfill this government's promise of safe communities for Northerners, communities that are more resilient to a changing climate that has resulted in longer and more severe wildfire seasons. We will continue to invest in a wide range of activities, education, and training that enhance wildfire prevention, increase resilience, protect communities, and allow our team to respond quickly and efficiently to protect residents and the natural beauty of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of ECC the Ministers' statements. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Mr. Speaker, almost 30 percent of residents in the Northwest Territories over the age of 15 consider themselves as smokers. Smoking, which includes vaping, remains one of the worst substances for your overall health and can significantly reduce a person's life expectancy. That is why the Government of the Northwest Territories continues to find new ways to support residents in making the shift towards a smoke-free life.
Mr. Speaker, smoking is an addiction that often requires several attempts and a combination of tools and supports to overcome. We recognize that quitting is not easy, especially on your own, but with the right resources it is possible.
Today, I am pleased to share a significant milestone in improving our health systems' support for residents so they can quit smoking and be healthier. On January 20th, Yellowknife Primary Care became the first health care facility in the Northwest Territories to implement the Ottawa Model for Smoking Cessation; a gold-standard in Canada for integrating supports to help people quit smoking into their routine health care practice. This means that when a resident visits the Yellowknife Primary Care, a standard part of their visit will include being asked about their smoking status. People who indicate that they are smokers and are ready to quit will be actively offered support specifically tailored to their needs by a health care provider trained to help people quit smoking.
In other regions, implementing the Ottawa Model for Smoking Cessation has been shown to significantly increase how often health care providers advise and assist residents in their efforts to quit or reduce smoking. This approach has led to:
Increased long-term smoking quit rates;
Lowered health care use; and,
A lowered risk of premature death.
Mr. Speaker, implementing this approach at Yellowknife Primary Care is just the first step this government is taking to enhance the supports for residents who are ready to live a smoke-free life, and work is underway to bring this gold-standard model to Stanton Territorial Hospital and eventually to health centres across the Northwest Territories.
If you are ready to quit smoking, you can talk to your local health care provider at any time or call 811 to talk to a registered nurse trained to help you quit smoking. This is a service that is available to all Northwest Territories residents 24 hours a day seven days a week. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have spoken a lot about the need for establishing measurable targets for priority implementation, and today I want to put that lens on our priority for access to health care. When we set this priority, what I specifically meant by it was putting a focus on ensuring everyone in the NWT has access to primary care. Since setting that priority, we have seen the Premier establish the health care sustainability unit and, most recently, the health Minister appointed a new public administrator for the NTHSSA. Together, these changes are heavily focused on the financial aspects of system sustainability, but I question whether we have appropriately weighted the importance of access to primary care in our health care goals and planning.
I will acknowledge that the public administrator's mandate does include primary care reform as does the business plan but, similar to my concerns about other priority areas, I think we need to be more specific about what exactly we are working to achieve. Indeed, Mr. Speaker, when I look to the business plan for the health department, I note several key items.
One is that an integrated primary care framework is to develop performance monitoring by 2025. Great first step. However, there isn't a target identified for what this framework is meant to achieve.
Second is that performance measures are established and trended to identify improvement areas, but the target is listed as target not established. So we have some work to do.
Together, these targets don't tell MLAs or the public what outcome we are trying to achieve with primary care reform or prioritization. As I said last week, if we don't communicate what we are trying to achieve, it is impossible to know when we have achieved it.
In her book Health for All, which I'm happy to note I saw on the health Minister's desk, Dr. Jane Philpott suggests that leaders need to articulate a vision, and I emphasize, with a measurable end result. Dr. Philpott suggests the goal at the provincial and territorial level needs to be universal access to a primary care team. Our goal should be everyone in the NWT has access to primary care. I think that the department is working towards a goal like this but it is not clear that is indeed the goal or when we expect to achieve it. So let's make it clear, Mr. Speaker. I'll have questions for the Minister at the appropriate time. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Frame Lake. Members' statements. Member from Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm sensing a theme day.
Mr. Speaker, the riding of Great Slave is a walkable Yellowknife constituency. Part of the attraction of the riding for residents is that it is close to downtown but close enough to nature that folks can enjoy green spaces like the gem that is Tin Can Hill and ease of access to Great Slave Lake.
Mr. Speaker, I'm also very aware that many of my constituents either choose not to have or cannot afford vehicles to take them to other parts of the city that are less walkable. I try to hold all my constituency events in the riding or near the riding with this in mind. My upcoming event this weekend is easily serviceable by transit at a well used city facility, for instance. But, Mr. Speaker, receiving same day primary care services can be hard to plan for when you need to spend money on a cab to get to the Liwego'ati Building or timing public transit in the heat of the moment to get yourself and a sick family member to the clinic uptown. I'm concerned that limiting access to same day primary care service downtown is creating hardships for folks of limited means in my riding, Mr. Speaker. I will have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services at the appropriate time. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Great Slave. Members' statements. Member from Range Lake.
Mr. Speaker, hostile situations at Stanton Territorial Hospital's emergency department are not out of the ordinary. Hospital staff, including nurses and doctors, are increasingly facing threats, verbal abuse, and even physical assaults. Last Saturday, when MLAs were notified about a person who had entered the facility in a hostile state, it was not clear what was so exceptional about this particular event. Only yesterday I was shocked to learn through the media that someone at the hospital had pointed a firearm at staff. This is a serious escalation of the violence emergency department staff were becoming accustomed to, and I am very grateful no one was hurt.
It is completely unacceptable, Mr. Speaker, that emergency department staff have cause to fear for their safety. The emergency department is vital to our health care system and has only become more essential with primary care changes that have limited access. The NWT's experiencing both a drug crisis and mental health crisis exacerbated by increasing poverty and homelessness. So it is no surprise that violence is escalating at an emergency department which has become the only place many Northerners can find care. With gun crime proliferating in the North, alongside the increase in drug activity, it would seem it was only a matter of time violence at the hospital would start including individuals armed, not just with knives but handguns as well.
The only thing standing between threats to staff are private security guards that have neither the training nor the commitment to handle firearms. They are not able to contain threats like these, and the hospital itself has no code silver for them to call despite repeated requests at occupational health and safety meetings from staff for new procedures like a code silver to be implemented.
Nurses are now asking me, Mr. Speaker, is the Minister listening to their concerns. Now I am asking the Minister will she do whatever it takes to keep them safe, including updating Stanton's standard operating procedures and providing security with the staff, resources, and training they need to do their jobs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Members' statements. Member from Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to address the issue of possible rent increase for tenants who are residing in market housing within the Northwest Territories.
It is my understanding that there has not been a rent increase since 2012. There are only a few market housing units available within each of the communities. The tenants of these units are in the workforce and trying to assist in building the economy of the Northwest Territories. Increasing their rent on only a select few will not alleviate the debt of this government is experiencing, but it will put the tenants in more hardship that they are already enduring.
Mr. Speaker, again we see this government targeting the resource people of the Northwest Territories. In our smaller communities, we have teachers, social workers, the RCMP, and local residents, who are trying to live a healthy and prosperous lifestyle. With the high cost of living within the smaller communities, the resource people, even the locals, cannot afford a rent increase any time soon. Everything from the cost of heating fuel, and especially cost of groceries, will have a negative impact on their decision and employment status within their respective communities. Smaller communities cannot afford to lose these resource people and try to recruit others with the rent increase is imposed on them.
Mr. Speaker, Housing NWT and this government has to look at other options to increase revenue and not target the workforce who are trying to be productive members of their communities and the NWT as a whole. The smaller communities of the Northwest Territories need these resource people to be stationed within our communities merely for the fact that we do not have local professionals to fill these positions.
Mr. Speaker, with the housing crisis that we are experiencing, we do not have other options to house our resource people, so we cannot afford to increase their rent. Another fact is that some of these units and buildings are older units so increasing the rent on units that have passed its life span should not be even considered. Some of these buildings are 50 years old. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. Mr. Speaker, if the Housing NWT is going to continue with this rent increase, then please consult with the tenants of market housing, give the tenants a grace period to adjust or find other options for accommodations. Consultation is key when you are negatively impacting our residents of the Northwest Territories, especially the smaller communities. I will have questions for the Minister responsible for Housing. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from the Mackenzie Delta. Members' statements. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in June 2023, the Member from Inuvik Twin Lakes provided a Member's statement which was following up on a motion she brought forward to the House in relation to Indigenous peoples having cabins for rights-based purposes and how they should be exempt from lease payments for those rates-based camps and cabins, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, in the NWT Lands Act in section 19(d), it states: To set apart and appropriate such areas or territorial lands as may be necessary to enable the GNWT to fulfill its obligations under land claim agreements in the Northwest Territories and to make free grants or leases for that purpose.
Mr. Speaker, one example is the Inuvialuit Final Agreement, an agreement that is constitutionally-protected, an agreement that provides for certain rights to Inuvialuit to access and establish camps as part of exercising their right to harvest; an agreement, Mr. Speaker, that we signed as the GNWT.
The Inuvialuit Final Agreement specifically states that the Inuvialuit need not pay fees to exercise their right to harvest, including their rights to establish camps. This has been ongoing for several years, Mr. Speaker, and the response has always been we're working on it. I still have examples in my riding where leaseholders are being taken to collections. In one case, Mr. Speaker, the cabin was actually washed away on the banks of the Mackenzie River. The land isn't even there anymore, much less the cabin, and they're still being taken to collections over their lease.
Yesterday, the Minister stated that leaseholders can apply for a pause on invoicing. If this shouldn't be happening in the first place, why are we asking leaseholders to apply? Are there people out there, Mr. Speaker, that want to pay? And if so, maybe the Minister can pause all and have those who would like to continue to pay apply to do so.
This is taking far too long, Mr. Speaker. People are frustrated. They are suffering financial hardship. Indigenous governments are fed up, and we need to resolve this issue now, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Inuvik Boot Lake. Members' statements. Member from the Deh Cho.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have been talking a lot about educational opportunities in our communities in recent weeks. Today I would like to share with the House an example of how programming in our small communities can make and does work with when right people come together.
The Getting Ahead Pilot, or GAP program, was developed through a collaborative initiative between Aurora College and Deh Cho First Nations. The program was designed to address the need for employment readiness training in Fort Providence, particularly for individuals facing barriers to employment such as lower literacy levels, limited work experience, and a lack of essential workplace skills. The goal was to provide participants with career planning, financial literacy, digital literacy, and workplace safety training to help them transition into the workforce or further education.
The GAP program incorporated courses that are part of Aurora College's curriculum. Successful participants earned academic credits with Aurora College contributing to their ongoing educational pathways. The program was funded through Deh Cho First Nations Indigenous skills and employment training program, and Aurora College contributed instructional leadership and provided the structured training framework. The GAP program ran for 15 weeks, from September to December 2024.
While it is not a standalone certificate program, participants, who successfully completed their required coursework, earned academic credits with Aurora College which can be applied towards further studies. Seven students successfully completed the program. GAP provided them with valuable workplace skills, career planning tools, and industry recognized safety certifications, increasing their employment prospects.
Mr. Speaker, we need to see more partnerships and outcomes like these in our small communities, meeting people where they're at and providing the needed training to advance academic and employment opportunities. Mahsi.
Thank you, Member from the Deh Cho. Members' statements. Member from Monfwi.
School attendance: Mr. Speaker, Members have recently discussed education in our small communities. The graduation rate in the Northwest Territories fell below 60 percent for 2022-2023 school year. The Government of the Northwest Territories 2022-2023 report notes that attendance rates are trending downwards across the NWT. Attendance is as low as 63.5 percent in small communities, and less than 60 percent of students attend in some grades according to the NWT statistics.
Mr. Speaker, we can blame the pandemic for these declining rates, but this has been happening for over a decade. A 2013 education framework document stated that by grade 4, the average NWT student has already missed half a year of school or two full years by grade 10. These statistics suggest that even students in small communities who graduate will have no higher than a potential grade 10 upon graduation. You cannot finish at a grade 12 level if you miss two years of school.
Mr. Speaker, this is unacceptable. Students need to attend school but in small communities, there are other considerations:
Busing and getting to the school building;
Fewer remote learning options; and,
The need to be on the landlord at different times throughout the year.
Mr. Speaker, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment knows there is a divide between small community and urban students. We need to address this barrier and get students in small communities to attend school daily. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Monfwi. Members' statements. Member from Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I'd like to reflect on what makes the NWT different from other parts of Canada in ways that are both maddening and also beautiful. Even looking to our neighbour territories, each has a more unified sense of identity either because there's a common Indigenous government or the population's concentrated in a capital region. But the NWT has a collection of 33 communities, and it often seems that each one wants to go its own separate way, find its own unique solution, and even sometimes groups divided up within communities want different things.
I think the instinct behind that attitude is, Don't tell us what to do. We don't fit into the mold, and we don't want to follow the rules that are imposed upon us by anyone whether that person is in Ottawa or Yellowknife or in a regional centre. That attitude sometimes blocks us from working together, finding common purpose, and actually accomplishing anything, and that's the maddening part. But I also have to say, Mr. Speaker, that that very thing is a big part of why I live here and why I could never live anywhere else.
Many of us have chosen this place as or adopted home precisely because we found a place with more freedom from the kinds of rules and constraints that we would have found down south. It's somewhere to spread your wings, do things your own way, go ahead and take the initiative instead of waiting for the instructions or the protocols to be established. There is so many beautiful and also practical things that can be created from this urge to colour outside the lines and step outside the box.
There's constant tension in the NWT between people's urge for uniqueness and their desire for standards, between the need for fairness and rules, and also everyone's desire to be the exception to that rule, between the need for strength in numbers and the need for people to have their own unique voice. Mr. Speaker, this government is caught in those dilemmas, and I don't know a clear way out, but I have a few suggestions.
We need to let go of this dream of creating one set of instructions that all communities are supposed to follow in order to achieve standardized results. It's just never going to work. Instead of starting with the instructions, we need to start by looking at what's actually working in communities never mind how haphazardly they got there. Mr. Speaker, I ask for unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker and to my colleagues. We need to stop punishing public servants for trying to step outside their silos and boxes, and we need to stop thinking of decentralization as simply taking this one set of instructions and delivering those from a regional centre instead of from Yellowknife. I believe we can find a way forward, Mr. Speaker, and I look forward to us working through it. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Members' statements. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Mr. Speaker, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which passed through the previous Assembly, outlines the right for self-government participation and decision-making and free prior and informed consent for Indigenous people. Article 23 states that the Indigenous people have the right to determine and develop priorities and strategies for exercising the right to develop; in particular, the right to be actively involved in developing and determining health, housing, and other economic and social programs. However, the Department of Infrastructure and ECE continues to not consult with Yellowknives Dene First Nation leadership on the capital needs especially when it comes to upgrading and replacing their aging school and gymnasium.
For example, Dettah Kaw Tay Whee School was built out of four trailers in 1970 and rapidly aging. The gymnasium that supports that school is not attached and is far too small. Dettah students therefore must bus into Yellowknife if they want to get proper exercise and enjoy recreation activities students in Yellowknife have. J.H. Sissons School in Yellowknife, meanwhile, was built around the same time as Dettah school but it was completely demolished and rebuilt just a few years ago. The gymnasium in N'dilo also has been long outgrown and doubled as a community hall. The community has long been calling for a new larger gymnasium to be built so the old facility can be retrofitted into space for community programming. I, and my predecessor, have been working to get this project on to the capital plan to no success. Assessments and evaluations seem to have taken place in the last decade but have not yet amounted to any meaningful progress.
My communities know what's best in their -- what they need for the community but, so far, they have not been listened to. I am now calling on the Minister of Infrastructure to get these projects onto the capital plan to build as soon as possible. I hope to secure a clear commitment from the Ministebr later on today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Members' statements. Member from Yellowknife South.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Members' statements.
Colleagues, the Paul Stipdonk Memorial Soccer Tournament in Fort Simpson is not just a sporting event; it is a celebration of community spirit, resilience, and the love of soccer. Held annually in memory of Paul Stipdonk, a passionate advocate for youth sports and community development, the tournament brings together teams from across the Mackenzie Region, fostering camaraderie and healthy competition.
This tournament serves as a platform for young athletes to showcase their skills and develop their talents. It emphasizes the importance of teamwork and sportsmanship, values that Paul championed throughout his life. Participants range from seasoned players who are in grade 3 to 7 to newcomers who are grades junior kindergarten to grade 2, creating an inclusive environment where everyone can learn and grow. The event also attracts families and supporters, turning the tournament into a vibrant community gathering filled with laughter, encouragement, and shared experiences.
Beyond the community gym, the tournament has a significant impact on the youth that are participating and the community of Fort Simpson. The influx of visitors from Hay River Reserve and Lutselk'e to this event encourages new friendships in the region. As well, the youth get treated to amazing meals by the local speedskating club. Additionally, the tournament features workshops and clinics held by experienced coaches and older athletes from the community, providing valuable learning opportunities for aspiring players.
Moreover, the Paul Stipdonk Memorial Soccer Tournament highlights the importance of youth engagement in sports as a means of promoting healthy lifestyles. It encourages young people to stay active, develop friendships, and build a sense of belonging within their community. The legacy of Paul Stipdonk lives on through this tournament, inspiring future generations to pursue their passions both on and off the field. In this way, the event transcends mere competition, becomes a cornerstone of community identity and pride in Fort Simpson.
This year's tournament was held on Friday, January 10to to Sunday the 12th. And I was fortunate enough to be able to attend and witness the youth have a great time. I know Paul was proudly looking down on the youth that weekend.
We would like to thank the Stipdonk family, Mackenzie rec association, the Village of Fort Simpson, Fort Simpson speedskating club, Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, and all the volunteers for their continued support.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services about the recent very serious situation that happened at Stanton Territorial Hospital. The code that was called was a code white which means everyone from each department attends on -- at the site, what actually led to increasing risk to safety of those people who did attend. Other hospitals have code silvers which means shelter in place, more or less. Can the Minister -- and these issues have been raised with hospital management. Can the Minister explain why we don't have a code silver in place at Stanton Territorial Hospital? Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, just to the code silver, there is a draft code silver policy that's been developed and since the beginning of this year, the policy is currently being reviewed by various stakeholders including the occupational health and safety and other various teams. Next steps will be to ask the RCMP to review. And then it will be circulated more broadly for feedback. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm sure health care workers are relieved to hear that. When does the Minister plan to have that fully in place? Thank you.
As this work is ongoing, Mr. Speaker, I can ensure that, you know -- that we, and I -- and I think any Member in this House -- do want to take health and safety of any of our public service very seriously. And so with this work that's going on, I don't have the exact details of when these things will happen but as I get more information from that, I can provide that in writing to Members as they wish and to the Member that's asking. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Final supplementary. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister for that commitment.
Mr. Speaker, another issue is the security at Stanton do not have the resources that they need to deal with situations like that. Is the Minister willing to review the security complement at the Stanton Territorial Hospital and ensure that they are properly resourced to deal with future violence at the ER?
Thank you.
