Caroline Wawzonek

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The situation of alcohol consumption and alcohol abuse certainly isn't new, as a result of the pandemic. It has, sadly, roots that extend long before the pandemic, and sadly will likely continue after, but the pandemic has certainly given us an opportunity to have quite a number of conversations about alcohol abuse and its causes and the troubles that abuse then causes, as well.

Unfortunately, the Emergency Measures Act doesn't give any special powers over any other piece of legislation. I shouldn't say, "unfortunately." It simply is the fact. It doesn't give special...

It certainly is nice outside, so I can imagine a lot of people would enjoy a four-day work week right about now, or anything less than the work week many of us have. Some of that work has actually been done in the past; it has been looked into, and I certainly would commit to looking into it myself and seeing what's available. It may well be that some sort of flexibility can be found, but all I can say for now is that I've also been alive to the news reports that are coming around right now in the pandemic and looking for some more flexible options. At the very least, I'll certainly commit to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the interest of brevity, Mr. Speaker, I will simply say the work is already under way, and we will certainly continue. Thank you.

I have already been in touch with my colleague from ECE. Obviously, this does, as the Member has already identified, fall within the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. Mr. Speaker, my colleague was just on his feet, being asked if he was going to start a pilot for universal basic income. Some choices have to be made sometimes. We certainly can't have every single program that moves forward under COVID move forward forever. There will not be sufficient money to do that.

That said, Mr. Speaker, two things: the minimum wage committee is already underway for this year for this two...

Yes, I was able to marshal a bit of information here for the Member. As of May 26, that is, as of yesterday, there have been 31 business applications to the wage top-up. The application has to come through the employer in order to top up the employee. Twenty-eight have already been processed, but three, we requested additional information. In total, this will benefit 242 employees, at least for the month of April. We are processing them retroactively. For April, that would be $65,000 going out into the hands of employees in the Northwest Territories.

At this point, processing takes...

Mr. Speaker, I certainly am pleased to be able to say that the Tlicho region will be getting two further officers under the First Nations policing program, so, to the extent that there is a need for greater enforcement by the RCMP, with more manpower in the Tlicho region, that is at least one piece of good news I can give to the Member at this point.

Beyond that, Mr. Speaker, I can also say I have now had several hours of conversation with some of the Indigenous leaders, including some of the chiefs from the Tlicho region, and certainly intend to continue to do so as or when necessary...

We don't necessarily keep detailed track at the Department of Justice about all of the actions of the RCMP. I can certainly commit, for one, to just follow up with the RCMP and determine exactly what statistics they might maintain so that we can ensure that they are provided. Certainly, they do provide reports to every community on a regular basis, but on this specific discussion, we will follow up with them. I can indicate, Mr. Speaker, that between May 19th and 25th, Behchoko RCMP did make five seizures of alcohol within the prohibition boundaries.

When the Legislative Assembly shut down in March due to the COVID health state of emergency, the Government of the Northwest Territories was well into its annual budgeting process. As we continue that discussion, we are also moving forward to other financial matters to be discussed during this sitting of the Legislative Assembly.

The disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic do not change the Government’s need to continue providing programs and services. At the same time, we have been responding to the immediate needs of the Northwest Territories economy, communities, businesses, and...

I need to just take 10 seconds and actually go back to the genesis of the program, which was that, when Canada, the federal government, ruled out this CERB program for individuals who were negatively impacted, lost their jobs as a result of COVID-19, and they set a floor that would provide money to everyone, $2,000 into the pockets of people who had been negatively impacted, there very quickly arose, particularly in southern Canada, the fact that a lot of front-line workers were now incentivized to leave what might have been considered, at least perceptually, a higher risk profession, whether...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The emergency wage subsidy provides a 75 percent subsidy to employers to encourage them to keep their employees on the payroll rather than laying them off during what might be more-than-lean times for those businesses, whereas the wage top-up program, Mr. Speaker, is one that is meant to support employees who are making under a certain level of wages, of earnings hourly. In that sense, the two aren't necessarily related. Rather, they are not related, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.