Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If there's no plan to introduce paramedics and drone ambulance services any time soon, when will the Minister commit to establishing a volunteer emergency first responder program to address this critical services gap in our small communities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Like any small community, you know, volunteerism is very important. And I hope that members of the community would step up -- and I know there has been recently -- to establish their local fire department and maybe take on roles of responding to other emergencies. However, when it comes to talking about paramedics, that's a field, a detailed line of work that is similar to being a nurse or a doctor. You know, that's a different type of qualifications. It falls under department of health. But when it comes down to emergency response in the communities and first responders, you know, we are looking at supporting them here in the near future, you know, of hopefully having some established training in the communities, like even the simplest thing of basic first aid. So hopefully we can have something out here shortly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. Final supplementary. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you. And thank you, Mr. Speaker. Is the Minister committed to working with community leaders, as well as his Cabinet colleagues in health and social services and justice, to ensure that volunteers EMR services can be community-driven initiative that is not tied up in the bureaucracy of the system? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe the goal is to support what the community is requiring or what the communities' needs are. We're not going to slow anything down as the government. We're going to work and try to find a path forward in supporting communities when it comes down to emergencies. We have the ability in place to support these communities, and we'll continue to do that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. Oral questions. Member from the Deh Cho.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Finance.
What criteria does the Department of Finance use to determine the adequacy of financial support provided to evacuees under the emergency evacuation relief program and has the department reviewed whether the current funding levels meets the actual cost incurred by Fort Providence evacuees? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from the Deh Cho. Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with respect to this program, this grew after the initial -- well, the most recent evacuations that we had in 2022 and then in 2023 and 2024, and initially there was no additional supports beyond those which were provided by the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, which do include transportation to an accommodation facility, food and meals at the accommodation facility, some basic toiletries, and often support for the United Way who will step in and provide additional supports through either NGOs locally or to municipalities. It was as communities were experiencing multiple evacuations that the Government of the Northwest Territories decided to step in, and that's where the amounts were -- that were determined, we looked and did some jurisdictional scans.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Minister commit to working with the community of Fort Providence to assess the full financial impact of the evacuation and consider additional reimbursements for those who face exceptional costs? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This question certainly has come up over the last few years when individual communities have been evacuated, some, honestly, for very lengthy periods of time or on multiple occasions in the course of one year.
So again, the program we've landed on at this point is really meant to supplement. So it's supplementing the fact that there are accommodations provided, that folks who need accommodations outside of the group-type accommodations are triaged and meant to get access to hotel accommodations and as well as transportation. The goal being that most people should not be experiencing significant additional costs.
Again, it's abundantly clear individuals all have a variety of different circumstances. So, Mr. Speaker, at this point, there's not a plan to further evaluate this program, which was just evaluated after the 2024 season. And what we can be, again, doing is making sure that we are continuing to work with municipalities and the service providers through the United Way so that their programs are making their way to those who need it. Thank you.
Final supplementary. Member from the Dehcho.
Thank you. Is the Minister open to revising the emergency evacuation relief program to include tiered or extended support for longer evacuations with payments upfront, especially in remote communities where costs are significantly higher? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, obviously, the department does certainly take a whole-of-government view. We do work with municipal and community affairs and to look at what programs and services they are offering through the emergency services that they are leading and coordinating and keeping ourselves, as much as we can, within the parameters of programs that are at least somewhat funded by the federal government and their programs, Mr. Speaker, and, of course, working too with ECE. They also provide emergency funding for income assistance clients and at the same time wanting to encourage employers who can to be able to continue to pay their staff, as does the GNWT. So, Mr. Speaker, with that, at this point, there's no plans to do yet another review. The review, as I mentioned, was done in 2024 after the 2023 evacuations. And at this point, we just want to make sure we are focusing on getting the money moving quickly into the hands of those who need it from what we are providing. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Finance. Oral questions. Member for Monfwi.
Masi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for Minister of housing. So I want to ask the Minister what specific measure is Housing NWT taking to support elders with language barriers, not just elders, but there's others, vulnerable, with language barriers who struggle to navigate automated phone systems and remote offices? Thank you.
Minister responsible for Housing NWT.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I recognize that there is many communities in the Northwest Territories where elders do have language barriers and many times English is not their first language. In terms of the Monfwi riding in the Tlicho region, we do have three staff that regularly go into the riding and meet with constituents or tenants for Housing NWT, but they also provide a translator for that work as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, has Housing NWT considered placing a dedicated housing officer or position from the North Slave office in one of the Tlicho communities to improve accessibility and communication for elders and other vulnerable residents? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And again, recognizing the number of concerns that we have from the Tlicho region and Monfwi riding that these discussions could be -- we could have internal discussions, but we can also talk to Tlicho government. We do have a memorandum of agreement with Tlicho government. So this could be a discussion item with the Tlicho government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister responsible for Housing NWT. Final supplementary. Member for Monfwi.
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So what is Housing NWT's plans to address the growing waitlist of 140 people in the Tlicho region, and how does it prioritize elders and unhoused people in urgent need of housing? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A huge question, because this is the type of question that I asked Council of Leaders in Ottawa when the Minister, the federal Minister, Gregor Robertson was attending the Council of Leaders.
Considering the waitlist, considering we have over 900 families on the waitlist, considering we have probably 140 of them in Behchoko alone, how do we address housing needs across the Northwest Territories? One thing we need to do is we need to work in collaboration, and this is what I spoke to with Indigenous leaders at the table, is we need to work in collaboration, we need to communicate, we need to work together, because the GNWT, Northwest Territories government, we can't do this alone. Like, we've provided $150 million over the next three years for housing and for public and social housing. That's going to give us about 300 units, and we're going to fix about 500 other units through renovations and modernization techniques. But we still have, according to our Territorial Housing Needs Assessment, another thousand units that are required. So the efforts of this Assembly, plus the efforts of Indigenous governments, plus the efforts of the federal government, who recently announced Build Canada Homes -- and with that Build Canada Homes, there was an announcement to include transitional and supportive housing which is really critical because we're finding, as Housing NWT, many people are not ready to move into their own unit, but with a supportive living component, they can be successful.
So that's what I'm hoping for every riding, for every region, moving forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister responsible for Housing NWT. Oral questions. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, continuing on with my Member's statement on the condition of the Dempster Highway, again specifically from Rengleng River to Inuvik. I know, Mr. Speaker, that the Minister is aware of this. I know I'm not the only one that's received letters and emails and texts from constituents and from businesses on this. So now that the Minister's had a little break and was able to take a breather, I'll ask the Minister of Infrastructure what plan do they have going forward to ensure that this section of highway doesn't continue to deteriorate and gets resurfaced to be able to handle the seasons, spring and fall? Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Inuvik Boot Lake. Minister of Infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, this is definitely an area of concern. It's been brought up many times, obviously. This is one that's definitely been a hot radar topic area. So they've done a lot of work on it. But, obviously, during this time of year when it's raining as bad as it is, it shows that it's getting a little slushy and mucky. So the department has reached out to the contractor to do some work on it. Obviously, we can easily -- we can obviously easily say it's going to go away as soon as it freezes and the snow fills everything in. But you're right, when the spring comes around, we're going to be obviously looking at some more issues with that. So I will work with the department to see what solutions we can have to be prepared for the spring and the summer and see what our options are there. So thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yes, and if you look at the sections that were redone on the Inuvik-Tuk Highway, certainly some of the sections that were redone on the Dempster Highway to enable -- again, resurfacing work that enabled that road to be able to withstand the rains that we get every spring and every fall so we don't have those conditions, so we don't have transport trucks coming in and almost sliding off the road, so we don't have this spine-rattling, shock-busting road that we get for that section coming into Inuvik that, you know, will create an hour-and-15-minute drive and now it's taking two and a half hours for residents to get in there.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So with that section there, I assume part of the issue is with the material going away, falling off the sides or whatever it may be, so it makes it all muddy this time of year. So I'll commit to working with the Member and getting to the department to finding out what a solution is going forward to make sure that if we don't fix it right away or fix it initially that we can build on it by putting layers of gravel on it and fixing it over the next few -- while. So thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Final supplementary. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I think I almost got a commitment out of the Minister on that one, Mr. Speaker. Yeah, the issue is the amount -- I mean, and I've spoken to contractors. When you're putting a putting a small amount of crushed gravel, when it's one-quarter inch crush, you're doing it at a time of year where it's not appropriate. You're doing it in September; you should be doing it in June. You should get to working on this thing in June and maybe even looking when the ferry service is out, so you have less traffic to get out and build that road up. And that's the issue. And the only thing that will solve it is to resurface that section of the road, similar to what they've done on the ITH and what they've done on other highways. What I'm looking for is a commitment -- and I realize this is resources -- a commitment to actually once and for all resurface, upgrade that section of road, so we don't have those issues going forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I hear the Member, and I agree with his concerns. Again, I will work with the Member to work with the department and see what we can do to find a path forward to make sure that it's corrected and repaired properly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Infrastructure. Oral questions. Member for Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last year, or this fiscal year, the SPCA was given $13,000 from the NGO Stabilization Fund, which is under the Office of the Premier. Can the Premier find a way to provide more funding to this vital organization as if it ceases to function, we will have a big problem in a lot of communities, in particular small communities who don't have access to veterinary services, and this is an important and, I believe, a very critical service for communities. Thank you.
Mr. Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said earlier, I definitely value the work of the SPCA. Not everything that happens in the territory is government-supported, nor should it be. There are some things where the community, where people have to step up. I'm happy to make a donation. I'll commit to making a $500 donation to the SPCA here. I encourage other Members to do it. There are some things that we as citizens of the territory need to come together and support. There's other things only government can really support. So while I'd like to be able to stand up here and say every NGO gets money because they all do valuable work, the fact is that we have a certain amount of funds, and we have to ensure that we're distributing those where they're going to make the largest impact to the people of the territory. So the SPCA, again, a wonderful organization. I value the work that they do. The government values the work that they do. But the Government of the Northwest Territories can't be everything to everybody all the time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you to the Premier for the donation. I donated earlier today, and I would challenge every Member of this House to provide a contribution as well. But it shouldn't be up to members of this House or the members of the -- or the citizens of the Northwest Territories to fund veterinary care in small communities and regional centres, places where the SPCA spends a lot of their resources doing spay and neuter programming, emergency medical care, all those kind of things.
Why are those not considered critical territorial services? Because if we don't -- I mean if the Premier knows about stray dogs in a community, he knows they can be a danger to public safety. And if we're not spaying and neutering dogs, that's the kind of thing that happens. So can the Premier explain to me, because I don't understand, why this is not considered a critical service when it directly relates to public safety and the welfare of communities. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I think I explained earlier what we're talking about when we talk about critical services. However, I do take the Member's points. You know, from time to time you hear about the impact of stray dogs in communities. It comes and goes. Sometimes it's worse than others. But what I'll do is I will have a conversation with the Minister of MACA, I'll have a conversation with the department, and see what type of work is happening in this area and what types of supports are possible, if any. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Final supplementary. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Premier transmit that to the SPCA as well, that that commitment's been made, that that work will be ongoing and the SPCA will be involved in those discussions so they are not left waiting to see where this work is going? And thank you to the commitment. I think that's progress. But I think the SPCA needs to be a partner for this discussion just as they were during the evacuation. They were a partner back then; they can be a partner today. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So I've committed to work with the Minister of MACA, have a conversation with him, talk to EIA about what is possible, and so I will ensure that I do that. If it moves beyond that, I'm happy to work with the SPCA as well. Thank you.
Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I'll be continuing on with more questions for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.
So in its response, rejecting a recommendation to set up a dedicated stand-alone emergency management agency, the government has claimed that the current structure is very strong because it operates independently from day-to-day departmental bureaucracy, it's shielded from political interference, and it facilitates timely decisions based on the best available information. And yet the after-action review actually found that the current structure has led to political interference and delays in decision-making, confusion about responsibilities, lack of clarity about objectives, and resource constraints.
So my question: If the GNWT will not consider setting up a stand-alone emergency management agency, does the Minister have concerns about the current reporting structure where the incident command system reports ultimately to the MACA Minister since this can create danger of political interference or delays? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just to be clear, the after-action review brought out the issues that happened during that time. From that time forward, the government has taken steps to correct some of those and has been working since that time. The after-action review brought out a lot of the concerns that even I had. So to say that that's happening right now is not exactly correct. So some of the things that have been brought out may have been corrected before this after-action review has been released, some of which is what the Member is speaking about right now.
So the EMO organizations throughout the Northwest Territories use an ICS system, so the Incident Command System. That does not report to the Minister. What this structure does, it allows all your trained personnel to get together to make educated, you know, responses for that type of emergency, because every emergency is different.
What happens then is the recommendation may be put forward to the Minister for something like a territorial state of emergency. So it's only a recommendation that ultimately goes to the Minister. Decisions are made by trained personnel using the ICS system. And this is a common system throughout Canada.
So, you know, in the past where there may have been some political interference, that happening now is highly unlikely due to the amount of training that we've been doing. ICS training has been done at every level of the government, including us as bureaucrats. So thank you, Mr. Speaker.
