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.
