Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I just want to briefly talk about Treaty 8 that was signed on July 25th, 1900. Part of that includes health. And the NWT Metis Nation also does have an agreement with the GNWT for health benefits. But I want to talk about just briefly what NIHB stands for: Non-insured health benefits for First Nations and Inuit.
Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of health on the emergency supports. In case of serious medical emergencies, when patients require family escort but NIHB approvals are delayed, particularly on weekends, my question is, I'm not sure how long this agreement's been in place but why has the Minister not established a contingency emergency fund to cover off escorts' flights and accommodations on the interim so families are not left out without support or stranded on the streets? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are currently working with NIHB to establish -- to try and come up with what they're criteria that they're using; however, those conversations are ongoing. When there is a medivac, this is where it becomes complicated because if it was a non -- when it's a scheduled appointment within non-insured health benefits, we also have our medical travel benefits that are for scheduled travel. So we are able to, you know, look at those within both of the rules under that and approve and use our exception area. When it becomes a medivac, this is where the GNWT does not have a policy that covers escorts under that. So it's usually NIHB clients that can put in for an escort through that process, but NIHB is the approver of those exceptions. They will not delegate. They have not delegated. In all the years that we've administered that program, they will and they have not up until this time. We are currently in conversations with them right now to be able to do that; however, you know, when there is these circumstances in place, we try our best to reach out and sometimes, you know, if we're able to we can get a hold of somebody. Other than that, you know, it ends up -- we're at the mercy of them to do the approval. Thank you.
Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. And when the treaty was signed, it talks about as long as the sun shines, river flows, and grass grows, the spirit and intent of the treaty is live and well. And it was done with the Crown. But, Mr. Speaker, right now, the policy of this government is overriding our treaties. So my question is if the Minister is unable to develop policies that uphold treaty rights and prioritize the health and well-being of Indigenous people, why should Indigenous governments trust the Minister and her government to administer NIHB on their behalf? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, medical travel is probably my top priority. What I've spent two years working on so far is the majority of the time is meeting with Indigenous communities, hearing from Indigenous leaders at the Council of Leaders, travelling with Indigenous leaders to Ottawa to explain the needs of the residents in the Northwest Territories. Many of the issues that rely around what we hear comes to the escort piece. When it comes to Indigenous people needing access, that access is always there for them. There is no limitations on them getting insured services through it. It's when we have to fall to the NIHB policy. GNWT only administers their policy, has to follow their rules. Those funding pots that come from them is how we administer that. In other jurisdictions in Canada, the governments don't run those. They go directly. And so what it is usually in provinces that have road systems, which we don't and we understand that, so that's why it's important to us to administer this so that it's not on the backs of the residents when they're actually needing any travel. They have to pay for it upfront and then submit reimbursement. So we in the GNWT have been administering so we can cover those costs, but we have to make sure that we follow within the boundaries that we're given so that we can get the approvals to pay for those. Right now, as released today, you know, we spend $80 million in this government on medical travel last year. $80 million. 36 percent increase last year on escorts alone. So those are some of our most recent numbers that are -- we are doing these things, but we just have to make sure that we are within what we can spend. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Final supplementary. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again, the policies of government, and especially in health, are continuing to override our treaties. My question to the Minister is -- and I never heard an answer from her on this -- is that since we are delivering NIHB program from the federal Government of Canada, we still have people falling through the cracks in the system and that could be left on the streets. My question to you is can we or can this government commit to creating a contingency fund in the event of an emergency so we don't leave our people on the streets. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, within the medical travel policy, no person should be left on the streets; however, the process is that when people travel, there is an approval process. So if they're travelling out for medical, they need to be referred through medical process and that needs to be approved through medical travel before they travel. When escorts travel, you know, sometimes, yes, it's last minute, but if they're not approved then it may not meet the criteria. And so how we come up with that criteria is what we're trying to look at. We're almost in completion of phase one of our medical travel modernization. We will be switching in to phase 2 which will take a look into all of those other pieces where there's escorts like, with small communities coming in for, you know, when it's escorts that are part of medical travel, med response, like air ambulance. Those are all lists of things that have been brought to my office, that have been brought to the Office of Client Experience, and those are partly going to make up what we do when we analyze and cost analyze. And through that process, we will come back to committee when we have that information, we'll come back through our Cabinet process, our FMB process, to see what those costs are. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment around what progress has been made on some of the promised economic and investment strategies.
So the 2030 tourism strategy was slated to be complete by March 2025. That was my understanding. So what is the status of that strategy; when is it going to be released and start to be implemented? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Minister of ITI.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, the tourism 2030 strategy is on time. It is slated to be released this spring. And as soon as it is released, it will be implemented right away so people will be able to use the strategy to its full advantage right away. And committee will have an offer for both a technical briefing and a public briefing very shortly from me. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So I look forward to further conversations on how we can get going on that.
The business plans for ITI have also identified an investment strategy that it's working on, and this isn't clear to me so I wonder if the Minister can clarify whether that investment strategy is focused on GNWT investment to stimulate the economy or on attracting more private investment or both. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, the investment strategy really is a whole-of-government approach in order to really increase the size of our pie. So it is attracting third party investment from outside the territory to the Northwest Territories and is really looking to, one, build our opportunities, so both for new and emerging sectors here in the Northwest Territories, grow existing sectors, and also connect the rest of the world to the Northwest Territories. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of ITI. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So can the Minister tell us what is the timeline for that investment strategy, when the public will get to see it? Or what is happening now? What stage are we at and what is the timeline? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So our first step is to finalize our economic vision and have this strategy really feed into that and ensure that what we're doing beyond that aligns. It's important to note that our investment strategy isn't just focused, for example, on minerals, it isn't just focused on tourism. It really is an all-of-government approach, and it's really important that we consider things like housing investment, that we consider things like DND, that we consider our health. Our health sector is also an economic sector. And so it really requires an all-of-government approach to widening and broadening and increasing the size of the pie here in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of ITI. Oral questions. Member from Monfwi.
Masi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Mr. Speaker, seniors on fixed incomes in our small communities are telling me that the current income threshold for the seniors' home heating subsidies and other program as well is simply too low to reflect the real cost of living. Will the Minister commit to reviewing the income threshold to ensure it better aligns with the true heating costs faced by seniors in smaller communities. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Monfwi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have to thank the Member for Monfwi because of her advocacy over the course of the last year, this work was done. And this is our first winter with reset and augmented income thresholds for the seniors' home heating subsidy. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the cost of heating fuel, electricity, and home maintenance continues to climb faster than many fixed incomes can keep up. Can the Minister commit to introducing an automatic cost of living adjustment to the subsidy income thresholds so elders are not left behind when northern costs of living rise year after year. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, as I said, we just increased the income threshold and so we use the updated heating costs data for the Northwest Territories and made sure that we were doing that regionally so it was reflected because we know that the cost of heat here in Yellowknife is much different, for example, than Ulukhaktok. We also use the living cost differential and as well the proportion of income typically spent on fuel in homes.
In addition, Mr. Speaker, for the subsidy rate itself, we were able to use updated fuel consumption data, fuel price information. And then because the intent of the policy is to subsidize the cost up to 80 percent of the total costs, we also made sure that it was brought up to be reflective of the goal of the policy. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Final supplementary. Member from Monfwi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Many elders are being denied the subsidy despite being just over the income threshold, yet they still struggle to afford heating their homes. Will the Minister consider creating a hardship provision or flexible reassessment process for seniors who narrowly exceed the threshold but clearly face heating insecurity? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, within our income support programs, there are appeals mechanisms. And in addition, what we found with the new income assistance for seniors and persons with disabilities is that many people that were on the seniors' home heating subsidy have actually transitioned into the income assistance for seniors and persons with disabilities where 100 percent of their fuel costs are covered within that program. So there may also be instances where people are in the wrong program and actually can work with their client navigator to make sure that they get put into the right program as well. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Oral questions. Member from Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are to the Minister of Justice surrounding my Member's statement.
The Missing Persons Act is supposed to improve dialogue between the authorities and the families of these missing persons. I don't understand at this time and age how discrimination-like behaviour can be allowed to take place. Is your department aware of the incident between the RCMP member from Fort Smith and Ms. Kalinek and if so, what's being done to rectify the situation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Mackenzie Delta. Minister of Justice.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as the Minister I'm not directly involved in the process within the RCMP. They are at arm's length from us. Having said that, there are a number of initiatives that the RCMP partake in in the Northwest Territories when it comes to, you know, addressing issues and improving the relationships with Indigenous governments and Indigenous people all across the NWT. You know, the commanding officer here at G-division has made mandatory that all of the officers take the GNWT training on cultural awareness. There is an initiative as well at the federal level that's Canada wide that the members take appropriate training. RCMP are also required to take the northern history course, Indigenous cultural awareness and sensitivity training. And, you know, I think it goes without saying that we need to ensure that the RCMP members are delivering services to the people of the Northwest Territories in a respectful -- culturally respectful and very respectful way. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Is the Minister willing to meet with the superintendent of that G-division and look at how this incident has taken place and what's being done to bring some clarity and some comfort to Ms. Kalinek? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, the RCMP are a contracted service to the GNWT and so in my role as Minister of Justice, I would not get involved into HR related matters, if there is an identified issue. However, as the Minister, also part of my responsibilities are to ensure that policing services are delivered in a satisfactory manner. I'm responsible for setting those policing policies which include, you know, building and strengthening relationships with Indigenous communities and certainly understand that we need to establish those relationships. You know, the history of that relationship has not been one that has been very, very good, and I think it's important that as we move forward, we continue to build on that, and I think the commander -- commanding officer has certainly committed to that in his work that he's done and the programs that he's implemented in G-division. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Final supplementary. Member from Mackenzie Delta.
Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions will be for the Minister of Health and Social Services because I know she loves my questions, and I'm always here to please.
Mr. Speaker, the Dental Professions Act is a very particular one. I'll try to do some comparisons later in my follow-up questions to the law society. But it falls under the envelope of the department of health, and they set up a professional licensing office, and they have a registrar chief of professional regulations and the position is currently vacant from what I understand. Could the Minister first clarify that is the position vacant, or do they have a review officer acting in a temporary basis that oversees the professionalism and the concerns of integrity, be it legal, ethical, or competencies, of dental practices in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don't have that level of detail of staffing right know in the House. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when that group is actioned, similar to the law society and if there's an outcome that needs to be scrubbed but pointed to a reference point at least that someone had practice concerns, etcetera, they would highlight that. Does the, again, the professionalism of the dental industry through their professional licensing office publicize in some form or matter that if some type of disciplinary hearings or outcome had been found in their particular case wanting in some way, and is it publicized, and is it accessible to Members such as ourselves? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I don't have that information, but what I will commit to is finding that out and giving that information to all Members. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Is the Minister able to speak to the structure and the performance of the particular office, whether it's, you know, in place, it's staffed, it's got a budget, etcetera? What can she tell the House? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You know, I have many briefing notes in front of me and that's not one of the ones that I have off hand so I won't be able to answer the question today, but I will provide an answer. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Oral questions. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just following up on my Member's statement and my colleague from Monfwi's line of questioning for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment around the fuel subsidy for seniors. And I know that the income threshold has been raised. I don't have the exact number, I think it's around 83 to 85,000. My question is will the Minister -- because I don't think it's enough. I don't think it's close. Will the Minister, once again, take a look at that to ensure that a single person heating a home in Inuvik, that that threshold is adequate. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Inuvik Boot Lake. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member is almost right. It was raised to $87,000, was the highest in zone 3. Zone 2 is $75,000. Zone 1 is $66,000 a year of annual income. And I'm more than happy to work with education, culture and employment to provide the substantiation for those amounts to the Member so that we can kind of work with together to see what that was based on and provide that information to the Member. Thank you.
