Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as far as next steps are, I would like the opportunity to sit down directly one-on-one with Chair Elias with the IRC. From there, Mr. Speaker, we've got multiple significant discovery license holders that sit on top of the Mackenzie Delta LNG field, and that is a great opportunity for us to be able to sit down with them because next steps really is a feasibility study that needs to be done on this work. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you for that. Yes, I know the Minister has heard me quote many times the 2021 MD LNG report that was tabled in this House.
On engagement, Mr. Speaker, how does ITI engage with our federal partners so they, Mr. Speaker, understand the opportunity with the Mackenzie Delta LNG to meet the Prime Minister's goal to double non-U.S. exports by 2035? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, how do we engage with the federal government? We talk to Ministers quite often that are our counterparts. In regards to the Minister for NRCan, I've made sure, along with my colleague, the Minister of strategic infrastructure, to ensure that that federal minister has access to that study. Sorry, I am talking too fast. The Members got me all excited, Mr. Speaker.
So we make sure that the Ministers have copies of that pre-feasibility study. We also make sure that our own MP, MP Alty, has copies of that study as well so that when these conversations do come up at the federal level, we've got multiple people that can bring this forward and make sure that it's top of mind.
We make sure also that, given we meet with these people annually, that we share that information again with them annually and let them know what are some of the next steps that need to happen in order to continue to push this project forward. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of ITI. Final supplementary. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And if the Minister is excited, I am excited, Mr. Speaker. I am always excited to speak LNG and our potential.
I mentioned in my Member's statement about the comments made from the High Commissioner of India and understanding that we do promote nationally with our federal government, how does or do we have a reach internationally? Do we promote the Mackenzie Delta LNG to international investors, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the answer is yes. We've had a number of visits, even here in the Northwest Territories, from ambassadors from around the world. We also, when we travel, make sure that we're reaching out to specific ambassadors and also consul generals and having meetings with them. Upcoming here at the Arctic Energy and Resource Symposium in Calgary, we will be sitting down specifically with businesses to ensure that they also have the information they need and doing a technical briefing with them that involves the pre-feasibility study and making sure that we are informing people of the work that we've already done and the opportunity that exists in the Northwest Territories.
Thank you, Minister of ITI. Oral questions. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, refusing to allow slight accommodations for late paperwork not only excludes individual children from sport but also goes against the best interests of youth and the spirit of the Arctic Winter Games. How does the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs justify upholding a decision that penalizes kids rather than supporting their participation? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Unfortunately, I am not involved in the process of all these applications, and there is an application process in place, like anything else that we do in this world, whether we're applying for passports or any other documents. At times you don't fill out the forms properly, they're denied. And the reality is, is with this process here, we're following Safe Sport. There's a bunch of processes behind that to make sure that all the athletes are filling out the documents, like the code of conduct and everything like that. So when the application process was put out, everybody had the opportunity to fill out these forms and at times, when certain things were missed, residents were contacted a few times to make sure that they fill out these documents. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, these residents that I represent were not told that they missed something and that they could fix it. That's the exact problem we have.
Given that the decision to not step in and find a way to allow this young person to participate in the games effectively barred this young athlete from participating in the Arctic Winter Games, why did the Minister, or through their office of course, not through his personal capacity, but why did the Minister not exercise oversight, as he just mentioned, to prevent this unfair outcome for my constituent? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There's over seven -- you know, roughly about 700 athletes that went to tryouts. There's roughly 350-some athletes going to Arctic Winter Games. And, you know, everybody had the opportunity and fairness to apply for these positions for Arctic Winter Games. And if I was to bend the rules for every individual that were late essentially, then I would be giving out -- or taking away opportunities from other individuals who followed the rules. So, Mr. Speaker, the beginning of October was opening, end of November, November 30th was closing of the registration, and there's a lot of time there for people to get these applications in and fill them out properly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. Final supplementary. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. These are kids and their families; these are not people filling out passport applications or opening bank accounts, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, given that the Minister is not inclined to exercise any kind of oversight to fix this, it seems like we need a more systemic approach. So will the Minister work with Sport North to ensure that there's an appeals process in for when one form wasn't signed, Mr. Speaker -- every other form is signed, one isn't -- can he commit to a process that will ensure errors like this will be caught, can be resolved in a way that ensure no child is unfairly barred from participating in a future Arctic Winter Games event? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I cannot ask the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs or Sport North to be responsible for every parent's application or kid's application when they put in for Sport North or for Arctic Winter Games or anything else like that. However, Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, you know, there is a process to be filling out these forms. There was a few incidents where people were contacted when they weren't done properly and given the opportunity to correct those; however, again, those weren't acted on by the people who filled out the forms. I can't help that, Mr. Speaker; however, I will say that I have I spoke to Sport North and the Indigenous Sports Circle, and I have asked for a review on some of our processes there. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. Oral questions. Member from Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the 2017-2027 NWT Disability Strategic Framework has four goals, one of which is a shared commitment to coordination and collaboration through a whole-of-government approach and across non-government disability partners.
So if this is a whole-of-government goal, Mr. Speaker, I am hoping that the Premier can elaborate if there is ongoing collaboration both within government and with NGOs to improve research, analysis, evaluation, and reporting on disability issues. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Great Slave. Mr. Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I understand there is collaboration ongoing. I can speak directly to my portfolio with the service integration initiative. We are sharing more -- we are working with NGOs to share information about specific clientele, and that is currently only focused on the homeless population. But nonetheless, we can get information through there about status of persons with disabilities. But that being said, that is the one department. To see what's going on across the rest of government, I will need to take this back and get some more information, and I am happy to do that and provide it to the Member. I think it's important that we gather that information and make it available, so I will be doing that for the Member. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Premier. With the same whole-of-government lens, then, can the Premier confirm whether the Assembly could anticipate a renewal or a re-imagining of the said NWT disability strategic framework or any future disability action plans that look at the whole-of-government lens? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The framework is under the purview of the Department of Health and Social Services. It runs until 2027. And, of course, because a framework has a date in its title doesn't mean that we just throw it out the window come 2028. So the ideas, the pillars in that framework, are still valid going forward. There's not currently a plan, from what I understand, to develop the next generation of framework. That being said, it does run for -- until the end of 2027. So we have a couple more years. So thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Final supplementary. Member from Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Premier's previous commitment to the House to assess whether pathfinding for disability-related programs and services could be a future focus for integrated service delivery. I am curious, can the Premier also explain whether he sees value for overarching policy approach on disability across the whole of government. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I think that there are certain things where we do need an all-of-government approach. It's important that all of the departments, when making decisions, are aware that this is an important issue to the Legislative Assembly, to the people of the territory. So I definitely see the value of it, which is why we have the framework. And the Member's questions really have sparked my interest in this so I will be looking at this going forward and looking at what we can do to ensure there is more consistency. We do do a lot across government. That being said, I find things can often be fragmented. So I agree, there is value in having a strategic framework. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Premier. Oral questions. Member from Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This goes to my Member's statement earlier in regards to the housing boards in the communities. There has to be a mechanism in place where the clients can go to the place to have their specific needs looked at instead of coming directly to me. I don't mind them coming to me, but there should be a mechanism in place at the community level where they can have their concerns addressed instead of going directly to the housing staff and getting the same answer. Maybe their workload is -- I feel is more. So the housing boards can have a bigger impact and better access to these needs of the community. And how can the department ensure that the local housing staff are following the local housing board's decisions? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Mackenzie Delta. Minister responsible for Housing NWT.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you to the Member for the question. This is the type of question we get throughout the Northwest Territories on the relationship between the local housing authority and the board staff and also all the tenants within the community. Important question because the relationship has become more so where we're finding that the authorities are more responding to the districts, and I see it in many of the BFs that are issued to the Minister. And I think, again, we have to go back to the housing staff and the districts and also the authorities and just make sure that everybody's working in partnership and we're administering the community housing services agreement at the local level, and we're administering it properly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It would be much easier if a tenant goes to the local housing authority board and expresses his concerns so they can go directly to the staff and have their concern addressed, but it's just not working for some reason. How hard is it to change the housing policy to reflect the needs of the community and those wanting to make change in terms of the board and the tenants? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I think in terms of the policy, it's about the implementation of the policy and how we're affecting our community housing services agreement at the local level. It's about, again, relationships and communication. So I think with the tenants, the first step is talking to the tenant relations officer, perhaps elevating it to the manager, and then they would go to the housing board or sometimes to the MLA. And I see with most times in the Mackenzie Delta, they're going to the MLA, which is fine. I mean, that's an MLA's role as well. But I think in terms of with the community itself, perhaps we can have an internal discussion with housing, the district level, and also the LHO, to see how we could work this out so it's more collaborative. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister responsible for Housing NWT. Final supplementary. Member from Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I don't mind helping the constituents of the Mackenzie Delta, but I feel there should be an easier mechanism where they don't have to wait and maybe it can be resolved easier.
What role does the local housing boards have over the workers and the staff of local housing authorities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think the role of the local housing board is important. They work with the housing staff to make sure that the community housing services agreement within the community is maintained and also followed but also looking at infrastructure within community, looking at applications. The board doesn't necessarily look at the applications themselves because of the new -- the point rating system that's been in place for the past 15 years. But in terms of more of a collaborative role, a community contact role, hosting annual general meetings so tenants can come to that meeting and have discussions about housing in their community. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister responsible for Housing NWT. Oral questions. Member from the Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of strategic infrastructure.
During our PDAC approach here, our team effort approach during PDAC, I did not attend the Minister's three project announcement presentation. I did notice a large attendance. What can the Minister share in terms of feedback during that engagement on the Mackenzie Valley Highway? Thank you.
Thank you, Member from the Sahtu. Minister of Strategic Infrastructure, Energy and Supply Chain.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It was a team approach when we were at the PDAC recently, and so I -- while I appreciate that the Member couldn't attend -- he was busy at yet another event that he was at -- I did have the opportunity to present to a large room full of folks who were interested in the three big projects that we've had here in the Northwest Territories for a long time.
Mr. Speaker, the room was packed. I have had the opportunity to be at these conferences now for a few years, and I have to say this was a strikingly packed room and striking also in the sense that it was not faces I am familiar with. So often, Mr. Speaker, we see there's, you know, a lot of our own governments from the Northwest Territories will go down, existing operators, existing explorers, existing companies, start to see some familiar faces. They were not familiar faces in the room. That's a good story. These are increasingly large corporations, multinational corporations who know that there's investment opportunity, know that there's opportunity here, and they want to know where those opportunities are. And so they, in my view, were filling that room to understand where are these projects at, what is their timeline, when are they going to be delivered, because they want to have the opportunity to come talk to all of us here and have priority. So that's the impression I had from that, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thanks to the Minister for sharing that engagement. My question is to the Minister of ECC. During PDAC, both Ministers --
(audio).
Yes.
Okay, you'll sit down, and I will call you up for the next set of questions.
Oral questions. The Member from Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Hopefully you won't be as tough on me. That was tough.
Mr. Speaker, in the final months of the Assembly, you would have experienced -- you've been here more than one term, including any Member who's been here more than one term -- the Assembly does make some appointments through the executive council, and my concern is about the transparency and how that is particularly reported. So my question is specific to the Minister for human resources in this particular regard, although it's a Cabinet concern overall.
Can the Minister explain what safeguards currently exist around direct appointments, particularly in the last six months of our term, to ensure that direct appointments uphold the merits and impartiality? Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, direct appointments are made in accordance with the Public Service Act and in accordance with guidelines that are established. There are a number of fairly specific parameters under which someone can be direct-appointed into the public service. They would -- and including, you know, for example, internships do go through the direct appointment process and a number of the -- and the other larger category is under the Indigenous recruitment processes. A number of those will come through because they aren't going through the typical competition process. So the building capacity in Indigenous communities, gateway program for example, those would all come through. There are no changes made in the course of an Assembly, or certainly not in the course of this Assembly, or in the last Assembly, because I can't speak, Mr. Speaker, to what might have happened in the past. But there won't be changes to those policies or guidances in the last six week -- or last six months. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, my experience there are no protections. And I want to be clear, no protections from senior executive staff being appointed at the last minute as a parachute on the way out the door when there's no veils for accountability. So, Mr. Speaker, my question really is about the direct appointments that raise concerns.
Can the Minister tell this House what assessment the department has done to look at the risks when it comes to direct appointments during a period where there is zero accountability from the legislature and Members when we go to an election and they still operate and do these functions? Thank you.
