Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, my question would be for the Minister of ECC.
I just want to just quickly highlight one thing here. In Alberta, the tar sands, it flows into Lake Athabasca, and they also have a uranium mine in Saskatchewan that also flows into the same lake and flows north. But my question would be to the Minister of ECC, is in the event of the Alberta government failing to include or consult or accommodate Indigenous governments in the Northwest Territories, what can we do to work with Government of Canada to come up with new legislation so we could hold Alberta to account on downstream-user effects? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Minister of Environment and Climate Change.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it's hard to speak to a question that's hypothetical like that one, so I just don't have a response for that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Okay, thank you, I appreciate that. But, Mr. Speaker, also the effects of downstream in Lake Athabasca and Saskatchewan, the Saskatchewan government has taken the approach to clean up that project but there's still no consultation with the Indigenous governments in the Northwest Territories. Has this Minister been able to work with the Government of Saskatchewan to figure out why we're not included in that remediation project on the abandoned mines in that northern Saskatchewan? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at a staff level we are engaged with the Province of Saskatchewan through our bilateral agreements. We currently don't have a transboundary water agreement with Saskatchewan. We are in the process of having conversations. As these issues are raised, certainly something I will take back to the staff and get a further update. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Final supplementary. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Right now, as it is, it's really concerning because in my riding in Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh riding, I've been to so many funerals, and we are feeling the effects from these downstream users. I guess my question, Mr. Speaker, is that has this government had any discussions with the Government of Canada on creating new legislation so that downstream users in the Northwest Territories are protected? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we work very closely with the federal government, with the environment and climate change. We have had multiple conversations around the treat and release issue that has been raised in Alberta. And we also have, through bilateral meetings, conversations about water quality and quantity in the Northwest Territories. We have many funding opportunities that we share -- receive from the federal government that helps to inform our quality and quantity of water within the Northwest Territories and supports Indigenous governments in many monitoring programs throughout the Mackenzie Basin. This work is ongoing. And, really, like I said earlier, you know, our transboundary water agreement is really the key tool that allows us to ensure that we have metrics to measure the current quality and quantity of our water and ensuring that our ecosystem health is stable and meeting those measures. So we are constantly working on that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Oral questions. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker -- there we go. Mr. Speaker, I am concerned about the number of inmates at NSCC with respect to its overall capacity. The correctional centre, at its peak in 2013-2014, of 196 inmates. Its current capacity is 173. When we reviewed the Department of Justice in the main estimates, their current numbers are 141. That's 81 percent capacity. We know the Prime Minister is pursuing bail reform. Do we have enough capacity and resources to ensure the successful operating of our correctional facilities in the Northwest Territories? Thank you. Safe. Safe.
Minister of Justice.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are currently -- as of yesterday, we're at 88 percent, and I am happy to provide a -– or at 80 percent capacity. I am happy to provide an update today. So we've had -- yeah, at this time we feel we have capacity. There are a couple of things that are going on. There is some security changes that are being made to the facility in Hay River which will allow them to take a little bit higher-rated offender which will expand a little bit on the capacity. And as we move forward, currently the capacity load within the North Slave Correctional Centre is still at a manageable state. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you. My concern is, again, about safety, Mr. Speaker, but it's also about resourcing. If correctional officers are forced to do overtime shifts and things like that, it can drive huge costs. The auditor general has already found this in our facilities, also in Nunavut's facilities, which have similar challenges.
Mr. Speaker, if we're changing SMCC -- that's a therapeutic campus. That's a big part of their operating -- how is that going to impact the therapeutic campus in Hay River -- or in that facility? Thank you.
So the changes to the therapeutic campus in Hay River will just allow another level of offender to be able to participate in the programming that is currently available in that facility. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Justice. Final supplementary. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So when those changes are made to the facility, how many more inmates will they be able to take on? There's 14 people there. That was what we heard in the main estimates. So once the changes are made, how many more higher security classified inmates will be able to be housed at SMCC? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this change to the security will not change the overall capacity of the facility. That number will remain the same. The change will allow a different level of inmate to be housed in the facility and participate in the programming. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Justice. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So one of our priorities in this Assembly is workforce development. And I know we've spoken a lot about apprenticeships, the need for more apprenticeship opportunities. And we've often heard, including the other day from infrastructure, that one of the barriers is not being able to find enough Red Seals journeypersons to mentor and apprentice people who might be interested. However, I wanted to ask the Minister of education, are there apprenticeship opportunities that don't require a Red Seal? There may be many skills and trades out there that could -- that just need sort of more informal mentorship to learn a certain trade without needing a Red Seal.
Can the Minister comment on whether those kinds of opportunities are available either for SNAP students or other types of apprenticeships. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, there are certainly, you know, things like work experience and certain labour roles, of course, that people don't need to be under a Red Seal person or -- let me start over, Mr. Speaker. Sorry.
So the answer to the Member's question essentially is yes, there are ways that we can do this in the Northwest Territories. So in the Northwest Territories, you don't need to be supervised by a Red Seal tradesperson. You can be supervised by a journeyperson. This is in our regulations.
A journeyperson is someone who has completed at least 72 hours of work experience in that specific trade. And I will wait for the Member's other questions before I try to answer all of them in one response. Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Chair. And so to the extent that we're struggling to find placements for SNAP students or those entering into these kinds of programs, have we clearly spread the word, communicated to communities that we're looking for experienced journeypersons of all kinds to be able to mentor people to find more opportunities for those placements? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, I try to talk about things like SNAP as much as I can in the House to the point where I feel like sometimes I must drive my colleagues a little bit nuts, and I hope they are all well acquainted with SNAP. I've also done things like send out information through email to Members so that they've got the information at their fingertips. And it's also shared with schools through career and education advisors who work directly with our students across the Northwest Territories. But I do agree that I think there is always ways that we can better communicate and better share this information. And I think this is one of those key moments where we also need to say who's our audience. And, you know, I wouldn't say that any of us in this room are well-versed in TikTok, but I think that that might be a better way to share this information. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So I know a number of government departments themselves, infrastructure, housing, in business plans have their own targets for numbers of apprentices. And so what is the Minister doing to work with other departments to try to meet those targets in business plans around apprenticeships to find, perhaps, government employees who may not be red-sealed but might be experienced journeypersons to take on those apprentices? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, I don't just talk in the House about SNAP; I also speak to all of my colleagues. I've sat down with the Minister of housing, I've sat down with the -- well, Minister of strategic infrastructure when she was the Minister of Infrastructure, sat down with the Minister, as well, of Finance, who is also the Minister of human resources, to ensure that the government is also playing a part when it comes to making sure that we're supporting the growth of apprentices. A lot of times people in communities who are journeypersons, who are Red Seal tradespeople, do work for the Government of the Northwest Territories in some form, and so making sure that we are capitalizing on our human capital as best as possible across the territory is critically important to our success in this area. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am going to ask questions to the most athletic Minister we have here today. That'd be the Minister of MACA who is in charge of sport and youth. And I can see him all excited there with knowing he's getting my questions, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I understand that the Minister is not going to the Arctic Winter Games to wave the NWT flag and support the parents and athletes. Yeah, it's a real shame. Mr. Speaker, in my time, I've always seen political representation to show that support. Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister explain why he or someone in his position is not going to politically represent the Northwest Territories at these games? Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It goes back to an old sports-related injury. Actually, so, basically, what it comes down to is we know that we've had some financial difficulties in the department with getting athletes to the games, travel costs, everything else, so, you know, I've got a few things going on also, so I've asked the department to take me off the list to travel there to help save money and hopefully use some of that money for the athletes and their travels. So some fiscal sustainability there. And also just to -- I will be attending the meetings, however, virtually, so there are meetings there that I will be attending virtually. And, you know, there are staff that are going -- sorry, there are people going that will be representing the Northwest Territories. So thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am not sure what the Cabinet's hoping for after hearing that answer. My goodness, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, someone at a political level should represent the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, if the Minister doesn't have the time, maybe one of us. I sit on the committee that oversees it. And, if anything, Mr. Speaker, I am sure the senior envoy has nothing to do; he could go. Mr. Speaker, would the Minister be willing to designate someone or put an offer out there, because those parents and youth really appreciate us joining arm-in-arm with them, supporting them, and waving the NWT flag? Because it matters, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, you know, the role of the Minister, obviously, is to take part in some of the activities but it's also to take part in some of the meetings that are happening there. We all know the cost of doing government. We've heard time and time again how much money it costs and how much money we waste, and that goes on and on and on. So I've decided to use some of that money, and hopefully it goes towards some of the travel that the athletes are going towards. And at the end of the day, I've decided not to go and attend the meetings virtually. We have the Commissioner going. I hear the Speaker's going. And I hope the Speaker will be waving our flag high for us. And my understanding is he's quite keen on going, as he normally is -- likes to go to the Arctic Winter Games, and he's going to hopefully hand out some medals for us and hopefully attend the opening ceremonies for us. So thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. Final supplementary. Member from the Yellowknife Centre.
Mr. Speaker, the Minister talks about the budget, the money. Can the Minister confirm to this House that 100 percent of what would have been his travel budget is going to support our northern athletes at the Arctic Winter Games? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I could guarantee that that money, and then some, is going to be going to the travel and everything else at the Arctic Winter Games. So if we can get back to the Member, once the games are done and all expenses are out and you can see where all the money has gone, we can get all that information from Sport North and all the other organizations that might be dipping into my travel funds that go to the Arctic Winter Games. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, your committee would like to report on its consideration of Bill 29, First Responders Workers' Compensation Amendment Act.
Bill 29 received second reading in the Legislative Assembly on May 29th, 2025, and was referred to the Standing Committee on Government Operations for review. A motion extending the committee's review of Bill 29 by 120 days was adopted by this Assembly on October 16th, 2025.
The committee is actively continuing its review of the bill but has not yet conducted a clause-by-clause review; therefore, Mr. Speaker, in accordance with Rule 8.3(2) of the Rules of the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly, I move, seconded by the Member for Great Slave, that the review period for Bill 29, First Responders' Compensation Amendment Act, be extended to February 27th, 2026. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Frame Lake. The motion is in order. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? All those abstentions? The motion is carried. Standing committee review of Bill 27 is extended to February 27.
---Carried
Reports of committee on the review of bills. Member from Frame Lake.
Thank you again, Mr. Speaker. Your committee would like to report on its consideration of Bill 32, An Act to Amend the Public Service Act, No. 2.
Bill 32 received second reading in the Legislative Assembly on October 21st, 2025, and was referred to the Standing Committee on Government Operations for review.
The committee is still reviewing the bill and has not yet conducted a clause-by-clause review; therefore, Mr. Speaker, in accordance with Rule 8.3(2) of the Rules of the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly, I move, seconded by the Member for Great Slave, that the review period for Bill 32, An Act to Amend the Public Service Act, No. 2, be extended by 120 days. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
