Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wanted to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services about the issue of no-shows for health care appointments, which has been a problem for a number of years, and I know it's a frustration both for patients who can't get into the system and for practitioners who are wasting their time or wasting our resources when we could have practitioners seeing patients.
So I saw in the 2019-2020 health authority reports that there were stats up to then for no-show rates and how they've changed over the years previous to that. Can the Minister commit to providing Members with the most up-to-date statistics up to this year on no-show rates for health care appointments and how the trends may have gotten better or worse over the past five years? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, you know, I appreciate the question and I think I'll be able to take this back to NTHSSA, because this is something that I have also asked for. I wanted to know the stats. I want to know how many patients are being seen in the clinics, especially here in the capital, and are those numbers increasing? What are the waitlists? So I know that they are working on some data right now, and I most recently spoke with the public administrator, and they are getting ready to provide a briefing to me on some of this data and when I do have this data, I'll be able to have that information shared with the Member. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So what is being done now? We've known for a number of years this is a problem. So what's being done now to try to reduce the number of no-show appointments, healthcare appointments, such as automated reminders or phone call reminders by administrative staff? You know, a number of us know these kinds of things are done in other contexts like dental appointments so what has taken so long for us to come up with strategies around no-show appointments in primary care? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, what I do -- what I can say and for the amount of information that I can -- that I know of right now is that within the waitlist, like anybody who contacts or does the email call back, they will offer to be put onto waitlists and so anytime that there are openings, they will contact people from that waitlist to fill those openings to see if they can come in. The problem is, is that many times those are short notice and it's hard for people to get across the city to those appointments. This is something that was raised even when we were most recently at our health Minister meetings, is in the southern provinces they do do online booking but what's happening is, is people are booking in all of the different areas and then they're not cancelling when they get an appointment. So this is a problem that has actually came up at our meeting because we can't -- we're not allowed to bill, there's no -- to bill people for missing appointments or things like that under the Canada Health Act. So, I know within the department, we really take those appointments, they are important, and so we do utilize that waitlist, and what I can do is I can follow up with the, especially here in the capital, to see how they're managing those waitlists. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister for Health and Social Service. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife North.
Thank you Mr. Speaker, just on that specific point about waitlists or cancellation lists, I think there may be some confusion about this, and I would ask the Minister to try to clarify this, because I've heard directly from primary care physicians, practitioners, as of a few weeks ago that there is in fact no cancellation list, there's no waiting list, and we don't have any mechanism for trying to fill spots that are open on a same-day basis so I would very much appreciate if the Minister could clarify even what's currently happening in Yellowknife Primary Care and then what's being done to improve it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I can follow up with NTHSSA. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister for Health and Social Services.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following four documents: Plain Language Summary for Bill 32, An Act to Amend the Public Service Act, No. 2; Statement of Consistency for Bill 32, An Act to Amend the Public Service Act, No. 2; 2024-2025 Northwest Territories Carbon Tax Report; and, the Northwest Territories Heritage Fund Annual Report 2025. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Finance. Tabling of documents. Minister of Justice.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following three documents: Annual Report on the Activities of the Rental Officer 2024-2025; Department of Justice Corrections Service Annual Report 2024-2025, and Territorial Police Service Agreement Annual Report (2024-2025). Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Justice. Tabling of documents.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Wednesday, October 23rd, 2025, I will move the following motion:
Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Kam Lake, that pursuant to section 61 of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, that Mr. Andrew Fox be reappointed for a term of five years as Information and Privacy Commissioner;
And further, that the appointment be effective November 23rd, 2025.
And, Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time I will be seeking unanimous consent to deal with this motion today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Notices of motion. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Wednesday, October 23rd, 2025, I will move the following motion:
Now therefore I move, seconded by the Member for Yellowknife Centre, that the Government of the Northwest Territories accepts the after-action review report recommendation to create one dedicated territorial emergency management agency for the NWT providing coordination support to local authorities leading the emergency response(s);
And further, that the Government of the Northwest Territories implement the recommendation to create one territorial emergency management agency for the Northwest Territories within the recommended timeframe of 0 to 12 months;
And further, that the Government of the Northwest Territories bring forward the necessary policy changes and resources to implement the recommendation by May 2026 as recommended by Transitional Solutions Incorporated;
And furthermore, that in accepting the recommendation, the Government of the Northwest Territories consider repositioning existing resources within the public service in addition to new investments, including establishing new mandates for existing, new, or amalgamated line departments;
And furthermore, that a dedicated emergency management agency so established will work to implement the remaining recommendations of the after-action review report, including ensuring that the care of children, elders, and persons with disabilities are better supported by public safety policies and programs;
And furthermore, that the Government of the Northwest Territories respond to this motion in 120 days.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to deal with the motion I gave notice earlier today. Thank you.
The Member from Yellowknife Centre is seeking unanimous consent to deal with this motion he presented today. Seeing no nays, you may proceed.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you, colleagues.
WHEREAS section 61 of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act permits the appointment of the Information and Privacy Commissioner by the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories after the approval of the appointment by resolution of the Legislative Assembly;
AND WHEREAS the Legislative Assembly considers the appointment of an Information and Privacy Commissioner essential to exercise the powers and perform the duties under the Act;
AND WHEREAS the term of the Information and Privacy Commissioner is expiring;
AND WHEREAS the Legislative Assembly is of the opinion that the appointment of an Information and Privacy Commissioner should now be made to be effective on November 23, 2025;
NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Kam Lake, that pursuant to section 61 of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, that Mr. Andrew Fox be reappointed to a term of five years as Information and Privacy Commissioner;
AND FURTHERMORE, that the appointment be effective November 23, 2025.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. The motion is in order. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? All those abstaining? Motion has been carried.
---Carried
Motions. Notices of motion for the first reading of bills. First reading of bills.
Colleagues, being respectful of the time, the translators need a break and so we will have a brief break. Thank you.
---SHORT RECESS
Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Kam Lake, that Bill 32, An Act to Amend the Public Service Act, No. 2, be read for the second time. The bill includes comprehensive amendments to update the legislative framework for the operation of the public service of the Government of the Northwest Territories. The proposed amendments clarify roles and responsibilities under the act, reflect modern public sector practices and aim to improve the act's clarity and readability. The bill also includes provisions to formalize in legislation the process for safe disclosure of wrongdoing by public service employees. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. The motion is in order. To the principle of the bill. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Although the contents of the bill or the intentions of the bill are not things I'd necessarily oppose, what these things will do to the Public Service Act don't address a fundamental flaw with the legislation, and it is a flaw that creates risk to ongoing Charter or potential Charter challenge related to how the act is structured around collective bargaining. I won't get into detail on this, Mr. Speaker, because I don't want to drag into the House's time, but it's something that the public and the House is well aware of. Until this is addressed, it's like adding a new storey to your house when the foundation is cracked. And this is a fundamental aspect of the bill, and I cannot support legislation that does not meet the first test of is this actually Charter compliant and until -- as long as there is an open question on that, I will not support changes to the Public Service Act until that fundamental deficit is corrected. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. To the principle of the bill. Principle of the bill. To the principle of the bill.
Question.
Question has been called. The question is shall Bill 32 be read for the second time. All those in favour, please raise your hands. All those opposed, please raise your hands. All those abstaining, please raise your hands. The motion is carried.
---Carried
Bill 32 has been read for a second time, is referred to the standing committee of the assembly for further considerations.
I now call the committee to order. Committee, what is the wish of the committee? Member for Inuvik Boot Lake.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, committee wishes to consider Tabled Document 388-20(1), Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 2, 2025-2026; and, Tabled Document 385-20(1), 2026-2027 Capital Estimates, Legislative Assembly and Housing Northwest Territories. Thank you, Madam Chair.
