Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So a couple of the departments are involved. I can say that for in terms of BIP component and whether or not a business complies and continues to comply with BIP, that is monitored regularly through folks at ITI, and whether or not there's -- and then on the procurement side, Mr. Speaker, obviously, sometimes people like to suggest that we should move our procurement processes faster. One of the things we do try to do, of course, is to verify whether or not when someone is bidding on a contract that they are, in fact, providing information as necessary and as is required in order to ensure that we're satisfying ourselves that when they've made a bid that they are -- that they do have the necessary information. And then beyond that, once they've done that, again, we've introduced vendor performance management so that those who have made certain commitments in their contracts do, in fact, actively achieve them, and that is monitored regularly by the project officers. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister explain what would be the government's recourse if it found that a contractor was not living up to its commitments, you know, under the BIP policy in this case. What would be the government's recourse or what would be the process that would happen from there? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there's a host of different opportunities -- or possibilities here too. And certainly could be anything from, you know, looking at whether or not there's been a breach of contract in a more extreme circumstance, and then that could then lead to a number of different potential outcomes. There's also certainly, under our procurement policies, the ability -- or possibility that someone can, in particularly egregious situations or repetitive situations, someone could actually be named or noted as being a non-responsible contractor which could then lead to them having -- you know, being notified that they may not be permitted to make future bids. So, again, depending on the severity and on where the error might arise. If they're -- again, you know, if they're not achieving the goals that they have under vendor performance management and we can see that, we've also introduced the ability for holdbacks, greater holdbacks in certain type of contracts, and they may not get their holdback if they're not, again, meeting their commitment. So it depends a little bit on the circumstance and the type of contract, but there are a number of tools in the toolbox. Thank you.
Oral questions. Member from Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Premier. As he may recall, in the last operational budget review when we were speaking in Committee of the Whole, I asked him about a functional communications review that is no longer on the business plans. He wrote back later to explain that yes, indeed, EIA is looking at functional communications review in this fiscal year; however, I'm curious, Mr. Speaker, can the Premier speak to what the scope of that review will look like. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Great Slave. Mr. Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, you know, the Member has raised this before and she's well aware that we have had a number of reviews, I guess, in the past number of years here, and so instead of doing another review what's happening is we're looking at those reviews. You know, the past four years, during COVID and the floods and the fires, there wasn't a lot of time for communicators to do that type of background work. They were out there trying to do their best to communicate with ever-changing information. So we're now looking at those two -- or those reviews, doing an analysis of them, and then trying to determine how do we implement the changes that make sense that are recommended. We're going to do that by -- you know, maybe I'll stop there because there's more to say, but I don't want to take all the Member's questions.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Premier for that. If I might be so bold, Mr. Speaker, I wonder if the Premier would commit to how we communicate to the public and looking at that very specifically. Because it's very clear to, I think, all Members in this House that, you know, with the after-action review, we are not doing a good job about communicating to the public appropriately and in the way they want to see communications come from government. I wonder if the Premier could speak to that.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So in 2023, we had a contractor to go out and engage the public and talk about how they feel that we communicate with them. And there were issues obviously. Even with things like the website -- in normal times, most searches for government information starts on the website, and so we got a lot of feedback on that. And so we're going through a process of updating that website, and that means looking at all the content that's on there, tens of thousands of pieces of information, reviewing all of those. Writing them in plain language as opposed to using jargon, writing for residents, not writing about government. And so we've heard that feedback and we're going out and we're making those changes.
Another valuable thing we're doing is going and talking to the communicators in the departments to get their perspective on things. They see what's happening. They see the issues. And so how do we work with them so that they can do their job better. And that means things like eliminating some of the administrative burdens that they're dealing with, making sure that they are engaged at appropriate points in the development of new initiatives. There's always an opportunity to communicate, and we need to make sure that our communicators are able to -- we put them in positions to take advantage of those opportunities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Final supplementary. Member from Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you to the Premier for that. One more suggestion, if I may be so bold, Mr. Speaker. I wonder if the Premier could speak to the fact that we have quite literally dozens of Facebook pages. As everyone in this House is aware, Cabin Radio had acted as an aggregator during a public emergency. Will the Premier commit to, when they're updating the website, consider an aggregation of information of all departments? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And so one of the things -- speaking specifically about the website, reorganizing that website is one of the key things that we want to do. Group things by topics and themes that residents care about. So if they want to find something out, they just go to that topic. They don't have to try and figure out what department it's from and then go there. And in terms of the social media, I'm happy to get back to the Member on that one. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Pursuant to Rule 7.2(7), I've received follow-up information for Oral Question 671-20(1). Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Further to the response provided to the Member for Range Lake on May 21, 2025. The Department of Justice is actively implementing all five recommendations from the Commissioner’s Report Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner file 22-438-4 as outlined below:
Finalize and implement a Clean Desk Policy
The Department will implement an internal Clean Desk Policy by June 27, 2025. Additionally, the Office of the Chief Information Officer’s online Information Security Training contains modules specific to the Clean Desk Principle. Department of Justice employees will be encouraged to complete the Information Security Awareness Training Refresher course which contains a section on the “Clean Desk Principle”. Messaging will be provided to Justice employees by June 27, 2025.
Finalize and implement a Furniture Moving Policy.
The Department’s Furniture Moving Policy that speaks to the responsibilities of employees managing items stored within furniture, which may include records containing personal information, has been finalized in consultation with the GNWT Access and Privacy Office and was shared with DOJ employees on May 20, 2025.
Ensure that its employees receive privacy training commensurate with their roles in the collection, use, disclosure or disposal of personal information. Access to Information and Protection of Privacy General Awareness training was updated in 2023 to reflect the 2021 amendments made to the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act. These updated learning modules include information specific to the protection of personal information and privacy breaches.
The Department plans to formally recommend the training for all employees by June 27, 2025.
Ensure that desks and filing cabinets used to store records containing personal information are secured with locks, and that the employees who work at those desks are provided with keys and are instructed to keep records containing personal information reasonably secured at all times.
This recommendation will be integrated into the Department’s Clean Desk Policy and implemented by June 27, 2025. Additionally, the GNWT Enterprise Information Management Handbook includes sections specific to managing and securing paper records. Messaging indicating this will be circulated to Department employees no later than June 27, 2025.
Develop a comprehensive records management policy that provides clear direction to all employees on how to secure paper records containing personal information.
This recommendation will be integrated into the Department’s Clean Desk Policy and implemented by June 27, 2025. Additionally, the GNWT Enterprise Information Management Handbook includes sections specific to managing and securing paper records. Messaging indicating this will be circulated to Department employees no later than June 27, 2025.
Protection of privacy and personal information is of the utmost importance to the Department and the Government of the Northwest Territories. I hope you find this overview of actions taken in response to the Commissioner’s recommendations useful.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I've got a couple written questions. And I should say thank you to the clerk's office for their assistance.
Mr. Speaker, the first written question is: Staff Turnover and Vacancy Rates. My questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services:
What have been the annual turnover rates and vacancy rates for physician specialists, including orthopedic surgeons, in the Northwest Territories since January 2023?
Please break down the total vacancies by:
Resignations;
Retirements; and
Unknown reason departures.
Indicate the average time to recruit replacements; and.
Indicate the number of positions budgeted against those actually filled annually.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Written questions. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to return to item 6 on the order paper, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Member from Range Lake is seeking unanimous consent to go to item 6 on orders of the day. Any nays? Seeing no nays. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd just to recognize some firefighters in the audience, Justin -- I'm going to say this wrong -- Justin Zawyrucha, Zach Landry, Foster Bartel, Mike Bessette, Catlin Moffatt, Taylor Clarke, Tyler Gould, and my very favorite firefighter of all time, my dad Terry Testart. And I'd also like to recognize my mom, Maureen Marshall. I'm not sure if I've recognized her before in the chamber, but it's always good to see you guys and thank you for coming here as well. And if I missed any other firefighters in the audience, thank you very much for your service. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member from Monfwi.
Masi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, [Translation] Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Terry Testart, with his wife. And also firefighters, I want to thank them. And sometimes you work as a volunteer, and I know how hard the work is, so I just want to thank them for their hard work in firefighting.[Translation Ends]. Masi.
Thank you, Member from Monfwi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member from Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would also like to acknowledge the visitors in the gallery from the Yellowknife fire department, first responders, RCMP, and also Mr. Testart up there who is also a MACA employee at times. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Hay River South. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to recognize Mr. and Mrs. Testart. Thank you for being here. And I also would like to thank all the firefighters that are here in the gallery. Thank you for your services. Mahsi.
Thank you, Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member from Nunakput.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to recognize Mr. Terry Testart and his wife Maureen Marshall, former residents of the Nunakput riding and a mentor of mine with the hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk. Also recognizing all the fire department members, all the emergency responders, thank you for your service.
Thank you, Member from Nunakput. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member from the Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to recognize the firefighters in the gallery here. Thank you for your service and your safe comfort. Mahsi.
Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't think you could say it enough. Thank you to the first responders up here in our gallery today. I also see some RCMP members, so I want to make sure that they are recognized as well as the firefighters. These are callings and special people answer that call, so thank you and much appreciated. So to all of you, thank you.
Lastly, but certainly not least, I wish to acknowledge the Testart-Marshall family. Yesterday I think I acknowledged my colleague's spouse for being the brilliance. I would also, then, will have to have a conversation later about some of his less shininess and troublesome days. He helps be feisty here with me. Thank you very much.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following three documents: Plain Language Summary for Bill 28, An Act to Amend the Student Financial Assistance Act, No. 2; Statement of Consistency for Bill 28, An Act to Amend the Student Financial Assistance Act, No. 2; and Canada Energy Regulator's 2024-2025 Annual Report of Activities under the Northwest Territories Oil and Gas Operations Act. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment and ITI. Tabling of documents. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document: The 2025-2026 Health and Social Services Authority Budgets Summary. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Tabling of documents. Minister responsible for WSCC.
