Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I did commit to the Member that I would share the information that was available on this issue, and I will commit to the Member to follow up with the department. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, just briefly, given the lack of regulation on security guards, including training and problems, as even noted by my colleague from Yellowknife North, how do you manage complaints currently through this process given that there's nothing?
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, depending on the nature of the complaint, there are a number of pathways. Either that is backed through the employer to be addressed as an HR matter, or if it's a matter that's criminal in nature it would be moved along through the RCMP. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Justice. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I've noted even training for NGOs is lacking with respect and asked any future agreements include training because of this problem.
Mr. Speaker, my question is what can the Minister of Justice do on the interim of this gap until we bring forward a bill in some form that we can deal with this matter? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think at this point, as we do not have any governing legislation in this area, I think certainly, you know, our ability to work with our communities, with our Indigenous partners, with our Indigenous organizations, and the GNWT across the NWT, you know, we're having conversations with those companies that are providing this service. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Justice. Oral questions. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Finance, follow-up to my Member's statement.
Mr. Speaker, for many, many, many fear they are never truly removed from the rehire ineligibility list once they are placed on it. Given that the department may have access to this information across the public service, how does the government ensure that someone who is no longer on the list is not effectively and indefinitely prejudiced in seeking public service employment? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that is one of the reasons why we have a centralized human resource services, to ensure that we are maintaining any such lists today in a confidential and in an appropriate way. I can assure the Member, Mr. Speaker, that the number of individuals on an ineligible hire list is actually very small. After the Member's statement, I was able to get some data from a five-year period. There was less than seven people on those lists. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, how does the Minister reconcile in maintaining a list of Northerners banned from rehire to the public service with her stated efforts to increase Indigenous employment when at least half of those affected by these bans are Indigenous employees? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, Mr. Speaker, over a five-year period there was less than seven people who were impacted by this, and it is a very strict definition of the employees who might be affected in this manner. It's someone only who is, in fact, terminated from the public service and it is for misconduct only. Under those circumstances, Mr. Speaker, I am confident that that is being applied in a narrow fashion and that we continue to otherwise have the other some 6,000-strong folks within the public service to whom this would not apply. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Finance. Final supplementary. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Two years after the ombudsman recommended that this practice be maybe halted until it's reviewed through an equity lens and lawfully authorized in legislation, Northerners are still being placed on the rehire ineligibility list. Why has this government failed to cease this practice as directed, and on what legal authority are these bans still being imposed? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I believe that I am familiar with the specific recommendations that are at issue here, and there have been some steps made by the department to address, as we would any recommendations from the ombud, in particular about the pathway by which decisions are made, particularly with respect to having a delegation done by a deputy head, so ensuring that there is a clear pathway, and also, Mr. Speaker, that our own human resource manual be updated to reflect the practice clearly and transparently. That is available. And other than that, Mr. Speaker, again, to ensure that we are always abiding by our collective agreement, which is the foundation for determining what is an appropriate sanction for someone who may find themselves in misconduct and therefore could potentially be eligible to be -- or subject to be on the list. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Finance. Oral questions. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned earlier today, the safety at the emergency room at Stanton Territorial Hospital is of top concern for the community and certainly for the people who work there. A number of high-profile incidents have been reported in the media. I am sure there are many more that are not reported. How is the Minister of Health and Social Services addressing safety concerns at the emergency room? Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at Stanton Territorial Hospital, the workplace violence prevention strategy was implemented and within the time that this has been implemented, there has been assessments done. There are established monthly meetings with RCMP, working with Dexterra contractors on dealing with aggressive and potentially violent patients, education with staff, ensuring staff have access to safe room space, provisions of escorts out to the parking lot. They do meet regularly, and there are some statistics that have shown improvement over the time that they've established this. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am going to encourage the Minister to share those statistics that show the improvement. I am sure that will put everyone's mind at ease.
Mr. Speaker, previously when there was a firearms incident in the emergency room, it was brought to my attention that they didn't have a code silver in place at the time. I understand that has since been rectified. But are all the appropriate codes and operational procedures in place now for Stanton Territorial Hospital to the standard that other hospitals enjoy? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, there is a policy and procedure development and revisions on code silver and code white, and the education has gone out to staff. There's also -- they've implemented many other changes. And I can share those with the Member instead of reading the lists of the things that they've implemented. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Final supplementary. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Finally, the issue here is about weapons, largely. It's about the presence of weapons in the emergency room and how they cause concern to both patients and staff. Has the Minister -- is it time for a metal detector in the emergency room to ensure the safety of the public and the safety of staff? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, according to the data that we have is since November 2025, there are ten reports, incidences, and before that, prior to that, for the two-year period before, there were 23 reported incidents. However, I know -- I do hear the Member. I know that there has been implementation. I know in our emergency room, here in Stanton, does have a secure area where staff are behind and we do have implemented increase in security. The security guards even have improved puncture-proof body vests for security. And these are things that have been raised with this working group to be able to identify the concerns of the staff. And then as they've come forward, we are -- the NTHSSA is trying to implement those concerns as they arise. However, we continue to have the work plan, and it's reviewed monthly, and it is updated monthly as these things come forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Oral questions. Member from Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In their 2024-2025 annual Report, the rental officer stated that only two successful rental applications for lack of maintenance and repair to the premises made it through. In their words, the rental office continues to receive many inquiries from tenants regarding landlords' obligations under section 30 of the Act, although very few tenants follow through with making an application. I would like to know from the Minister of Justice if section 30 of the Residential Tenancies Act is planned to have a fulsome review and recommendations from the Department of Justice expected this year. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Great Slave. Minister of Justice.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, concerns with section 30 of the RTA will be noted in the review that is currently being undertaken. It's important to note that as part of this review we're identifying the areas of concern, and we will intend to take those forward and have recommendations that come out of a future review in the 21st Assembly that will allow a fulsome improvement to the legislation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I just want to clarify if I heard the Minister correctly. Can he explain if further policy work and legislative amendments will contemplate less onerous practices for tenant-landlord disputes over safety and repair of units and rental complexes? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I would say yes to that, Mr. Speaker. There will be an in-depth policy analysis and an engagement with the stakeholders will occur as we look at the potential amendments to the RTA in the 21st Assembly. And I will say, you know, this is something that we need to do it right, so we want to ensure that we're taking the time to do the pre-work so that when we go on to that level of work we're doing it right. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Justice. Final supplementary. Member from Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I understand that rental caps and rental control might not be the best solution for the NWT, but can the Minister explain what, if any, policy or legislative review has been done or is contemplated so as to reduce the likelihood of sudden rental price spikes, rent evictions, or other gentrification efforts in privately held rental stock? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, these issues have certainly been flagged for the review, and we'll receive an in-depth policy analysis from the department as we are determining what proposed amendments will come forth to the RTA. There'll be significant engagement in this process as well with the public, the partners, and all of the stakeholders to ensure, once again, that we get this right as we go through this process. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Justice. Oral questions. Member from the Dehcho.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi. My questions are to the Minister of health.
What immediate steps will the department take to improve consistent access to diabetic foot care services across all regions of the Northwest Territories, particularly in small and remote communities where gaps in services continue to put residents at risk of preventable complications? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from the Dehcho. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, our health centre, our community health nurses, play a key role in our chronic disease management, which also incorporates services to the residents in small communities. And I know that they work closely with the community health representative to do some education on, you know, awareness on type 2. Most of the Indigenous communities throughout the Northwest Territories, you know, and the population, are type 2 diabetics so a lot of that is lifestyle changes. And I can follow up again with the department to see where we are with our education across the territory on diabetes, especially in our small communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Given the serious and preventable nature of diabetes-related foot disease, what specific actions is the department taking to reduce the incidence of infections, ulcers, and amputations among diabetic patients, and how will these actions be monitored for effectiveness? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, as I mentioned, in our small communities we oversee -- you know, there's acute care. So that would be your community -- like, seeing the community health nurse. If they're seeing home support, home support, they can, you know, ensure that the home support workers know that, you know, if they're part of the home care team, they would know if they're diabetic and have these issues. However, diabetic foot care is an advanced practice and so there is training for this. What I can do is I can take this back to NTHSSA and say how much training and is there gaps in all of our small communities, and is there a way that we can provide a training, you know, opportunity for those residents in those small communities to identify some key people in those communities to do diabetic foot care. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Final supplementary. Member from the Dehcho.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister kind of answered some of the questions -- my third question, but I am going to ask it anyways. How does the department plan to incorporate diabetic foot care into its broader chronic disease management strategies, and what investments or policy changes are being considered to reduce long-term health care costs associated with unmanaged diabetes complications? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I really appreciate the questions because I think that the --
(audio).
Oh, sorry. With this -- I am just passionate; I used to be an advanced foot care nurse, so. And I believe that, you know, it does take an analysis, and so what I will commit to is bringing this back to NTHSSA. Within NTHSSA, we do have a territorial director of home and community care, and branch out. Because we do have a professional development PDI for our healthcare providers, and maybe we need to find and bring some opportunities, especially for our small communities. So I will commit to bringing that back to NTHSSA to be able to work towards making sure there's training available for our frontline staff in small communities. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Oral questions. Member from Mackenzie Delta.
