Member, there's two questions in that. So I am going to let the Minister -- give her the flexibility to answer how she wants to. Minister of Housing NWT.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Housing NWT and the integrated service delivery unit has been working really closely with all the encampment folks. And there has been multiple encampments throughout the summer and the fall time. We're hoping to move on transitional housing by December of this year. Again, we are providing weekly visits to all the encampments throughout Yellowknife. And there's, again, multiple encampments throughout Yellowknife. But again, these are conversations that we have and we can counsel, but people have the freedom to do what they want provided it's done in a safe manner. So they have to follow regulations. They have to work with the city, work with the bylaw, work with the RCMP, work with the fire department. And I'm so grateful, Mr. Speaker, that there was no one hurt in this encampment. So, and then again, grateful for frontline first responders and also for the Yellowknife fire department. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister responsible for Housing NWT. Oral questions. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the health care sustainability unit has determined that we pay just about double for health care in the Northwest Territories. Health care funding is a quarter of our budget and the deficit is expected to be $350 million, which is consistent with deficits that have been climbing over the years. That's why we have the unit. The question is, what is the public administrator doing to curb this deficit, to bring sustainability to the unit. We know how much it costs now. What is he doing to bring those costs down? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is a lot of work that is going on. The public administrator over this past year has, one of the most important things is that he had to go out and he had to attend and hear from the regional wellness councils. He attended all of the regions. We highlighted some of the areas where we've seen he's been working alongside with the NWT Medical Association. There is an ongoing process that's going on right now. The last budget that they tabled actually decreased, I think it was $20 million out of the current -- it would have been a deficit. And throughout the year, they're continuing on trying to find resources within, they're trying to streamline, they're working with the health sustainability unit, they're working with the department to try and do some of those things. They're looking at right now -- they're presenting me with looking at different org structures. We're looking at the governance model. So these are the things that we're -- these are all pieces that are kind of all going on all at once. So there is a lot of work going on. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the largest cost driver for these deficits is the medical travel system. I've been told by constituents that they're being scheduled on multiple trips for procedures that could be grouped together into one trip; so you could have all four done instead of being spread out. And what they're being told is well, people like it this way. So are we letting the personal preference of medical travel clients dictate our spending efficiencies, or are we actually applying some policy here to make sure we're providing the most cost effective use of taxpayer dollars? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the medical travel policy, as it stands right now, there is, you know, I too have heard of that. I've followed up with the department. What is happening within the department is physicians order, they book the appointment. Not all the time are those -- they're going to different facilities within Alberta Health Services when they're leaving or they're coming to the -- from the smaller communities into the capital at different periods of time. And when the person that's booking the travel, they get the piece, they don't know what they're traveling for, they just know they're traveling, they book it. I have followed up on that comment because it did come to my attention. I haven't had a response back but my understanding is that is not the policy, that is not allowed. It is based on the need of the medical travel. What we have, we are looking at is more looking at streamlining that, and there is work going on within the health authority right now to create that streamlining of appointments. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Final supplementary. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In terms of a complaint that I received, the patient actually pushed back and said please book it all at once so I don't have to do four trips. They didn't want this. So will the Minister commit today to end this waste that's going on in the system and ensure that we streamline appointments so they're all happening at the same time; will she commit to fix that in the medical travel policy today? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I have given that direction. I will reinforce that direction back to NTHSSA. I also have, you know, and I mean I'm going to say that on the other side of it, it is sometimes we try to streamline them. Patients, you know, there are certain things that they need to be seen sooner and another appointment can't be. We will make those accommodations but that is not the norm. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Oral questions. Member from Monfwi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is a question for Minister of Finance. I want to ask the Minister of Finance, can the Minister provide details as to how the available funding contemplated under the emergency evacuation relief program was determined? This outcome has really changed from 2024, 2025, 2023. Thank you.
Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And Mr. Speaker, prior to 2023 there was no form of reliable or consistent relief funding whatsoever. In 2023, initially after the South Slave regions had experienced multiple evacuations, the department started to try to, on an urgent basis, create some sort of system or a program to support folks. And now with that, Mr. Speaker, in 2023, we developed a couple of different programs and the feedback was that that was complicated. And so on review of those programs, it was after that review that a determination was made to have a single website system where folks who were evacuated could register and would then be able to access the relief program and would be one that would align roughly with similar to the types of supports that go to someone who's on income support and gets an emergency relief payment in that regard. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The lump sum funding provided for under the emergency relief or evacuation relief program does not take into account the actual amount of time a resident has been evacuated from their own community. It doesn't take into account the actual cost residents have incurred. Can the Minister explain why this is the case? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, what this is meant to cover are sort of incidentals, if you will. So at this point it's still through the emergency management organizations where transportation to or from an emergency relief location is provided, access to accommodations at an emergency relief location is provided, other expenses, for example mainly food, is provided. And at those locations, there is triaging that is done with all best efforts so that someone who's not able to remain in a group accommodation circumstance can access different types of accommodation, hotels for instance. And of course there's work that continues on in the non-profit sector to support municipalities that are often at the front lines of providing all those services. So all of those services remain in place, and this is meant to really provide a bit of a one-off incidental support. It is not meant to cover people's actuals in the course of an emergency, nor is it necessarily meant to cover off the fact that emergencies can be short and they can be long. We do keep an eye on what's happening in the rest of Canada, Mr. Speaker, and we continue to remain one of the most generous jurisdictions in this regard. Thank you.
Final supplementary. Member for Monfwi.
Thank you. The program as currently structured is inadequate given that natural disasters and the potential for community evacuations are unpredictable. Meanwhile, the cost for accommodations, grocery, gas, and other essentials continue to rise. Even until this day, like many of our private businesses and citizens from forest fire 2023 are still affected, recovering financially. So with that in mind, will the Minister commit to a review of this program to ensure that in the future it is more flexible and equitable, especially for small communities? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I mentioned at the beginning, Mr. Speaker, the individualized relief program, which is a cash payment, that program was reviewed after the 2023 evacuations and fires, and the changes that we've made were in response to that. I'm obviously well aware that there's been an after-action review of the broader response with respect to the wildfires here and the way in which that's managed. And again, all but the one recommendation are being accepted and advanced by the Government of the Northwest Territories as a whole.
Mr. Speaker, there's not going to be an additional and second review after just one year, a year and a half of this emergency relief program. I certainly will commit that we will keep an eye on what the rest of Canada is doing. As I said, we right now are one of, if not the most, overall generous jurisdictions in terms of what we provide to our residents in the case of emergency services notwithstanding that we go to the federal government and have to fall into their categories to get any kind of compensation for the events happening here. So we will keep an eye on what's happening. We want to make sure our residents continue to be serviced, but there won't be an additional review of this particular program. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Finance. Oral questions. Member from Great Slave.
Thanks, Mr. Speaker. I also have questions for the Minister of Finance. She used to be known as the Minister of Red Tape Production; I don't know if that's still the case.
I know and she knows, and I think this whole government and this whole House knows, that NGO pockets are not deep. You have to often include liquor sales at events and going and getting a liquor license as a one-off for NGOs that may not do events with liquor sales regularly is a complex process.
I've brought this forward to the Minister in the past, and she's told me they're working on it. So I'm wondering if the Minister can give me an update on any timelines that she might have as to whether or not the liquor license folks are looking to bring these pieces into an e-services portal. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Great Slave. Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Let me jump to the very end there, Mr. Speaker. With respect to e-services, that happens to also fall under the Department of Finance and is something near and dear to my heart that I think lies too far under the radar sometimes in terms of the service benefits it can provide. That said, I don't have a date right now. I would certainly be happy to commit to getting that information, and we'll certainly look to advance to the extent that we can. That should be one of the next areas that we look to move, if possible, to one of the online e-service areas. That is continually evolving.
Again, Mr. Speaker, I will most certainly look at the two branches of the department. I suppose the other piece of that is that the regulation work is underway to finalize the regulations for the new Liquor Act, and one of the things that has been emphasized is to do everything in those regulations to streamline access to licenses in a safe manner. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I look forward to those updates.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can certainly confirm it is an area that the two departments are working on together, and they are looking to ensure that they are putting forward a package that is aligned and cohesive between the two.
Mr. Speaker, I'm happy to commit to get a detailed timeline on that work. I didn't bring it in front of me here today, but I have heard this issue raised many times. It's not only a matter that affects NGOs. It's one that can hinder the availability of arts programs and festivals and activities that really can bring a lot of life to the community. So I am more than happy to continue working with my colleague and commit that we will get a date to see when the two departments can have a plan and a process and really my goal would be to have it in time for the festival season this spring. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Finance. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wanted to ask the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, following up on questions I was asking last week.
So the after-action review said that a lack of a unified command between the GNWT municipalities and Indigenous governments led to overlapping operational priorities, decision-making delays, and public confusion. While there was not an official recommendation about this, will the Minister undertake, as the report did recommend sort of -- within the text of the report, to practice unified incident command with the city of Yellowknife and other large NWT municipalities, including joint participation in drills with city staff and partners? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, so some of the line of questioning is related to the after-action review and the recommendations, and what we've done is that those recommendations have been actioned and are being actioned, so we are moving ahead. So although some of the after-action review has said we're not doing some of this stuff, it may have changed already, and we are actually doing some of this stuff.
For an example, you know, with the unified command. So back in 2023, there may have been that confusion on how to operate with the ICS and unified command. Going to today, there's a lot more clarity on the operations, more clarified roles on how we operate with the ICS, and more working exercises, more tabletop exercises, more training opportunities.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So I wasn't quite clear from that response. I wonder if the Minister can clarify, is the GNWT already operating in a unified command or unified incident command structure with the city of Yellowknife, or is this something that it's working towards? Has the Minister committed that in all future emergencies there will be a unified command? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, to clarify this, as part of the training and as part of our review and the new ICS training, the roles and responsibilities state to work in the unified command, and that is with all community governments, not just the city of Yellowknife, all community governments, all agencies work in unified command, and that's the only way emergency management operations would be handled in order to ensure that proper procedures are done and that all the agencies have the proper resources and tools to action that type of emergency. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the after-action report details the story of how the hamlet of Enterprise was excluded from fire risk communications with ECC and the EMO until it was almost too late to evacuate and that that was due to lack of situational awareness, lack of clarity on decision-making roles. So what exactly has changed to ensure that will not happen again? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, again, going forward, you know, there's been more clear communication. There have been more working amongst departments with the ICS system. There's been more communication between departments and, just to highlight, communication has always been an issue and it's still an issue on many emergency scenes, and communication is usually highlighted in every after-action review. So it's definitely something that needs to be worked on, you know, all the time, just to understand that. So although, you know, the review explained about Enterprise, you know, there was a lot of things going on, a lot of confusion. There was a lot of, you know, loss of communication. So there's lots of stuff going on, and definitely going forward the Government of Northwest Territories recognizes that and has already implemented a lot of those changes and will continue to do so. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. Oral questions. Member from Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When communities and organizations ask me to advocate on their behalf, I try my best to get positive results and if there's no positive results, I ask them, you know, for an explanation. Because if I don't get an explanation, they don't feel -- that I'm not doing my duty as their representative. My question is to the Minister of ECE. A simple yes or no would be sufficient.
Out of the three interested organizations from Aklavik and Tsiigehtchic, were any of these organizations successful in their bid to utilize the learning centres within their respective communities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
It's not a yes or no question because I simply don't have the information on the floor of the House without having a heads-up of the question. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. With that answer, my two other questions wouldn't be relevant, so I'll find another way of adding it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following three documents: Prosper NWT 20 Years of Bringing Greater Prosperity to NWT Businesses and Communities 2024-2025 Annual Report; Prosper NWT 2025-2026 Corporate Plan Priorities and Actions, and Strategic Plan April 2025 to March 2029 Prosper NWT. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
