Kate Reid

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm curious if the department has been looking into any of the most high need areas for medical travel, and what I mean by this is the areas of medical requirements that have a lot of subscription or uptake. So what I'm curious about is does the Minister think that we could bring specialists to the North to remove long haul burden on folks to go out of territory which is also a high cost for the GNWT? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I like being in your line of eyesight now.

Mr. Speaker, over the next three and a half years, you will hear me say to Ministers of the GNWT that people need to come first in the delivery of government programs and services. When a policy or process doesn't work continually, government can't keep defending it as being right without cause. There should be a genuine effort to learn from and listen to those who are affected. We must remove barriers that don't support the goal of service and move towards a client service model that enables continued improvement.

Mr. Speaker...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And it's really wonderful to hear from the Minister that they're looking indepth to a lot of the issues that I'm highlighting today.

Mr. Speaker, I'm also wondering, though, about improvements to processes that complement medical travel. So right now if someone accesses a practitioner on medical travel in the south who recommends lab work as an example, they then must get the lab requisition redone in the territory so they can have those services completed in the NWT. The question is, can the Minister speak to what work could be done to streamline this process to change...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the process of medical travel can be confusing. Depending on what treatment you need, intake can be different and it's also not really clear to some folks who are not employed by the GNWT as to what stream of medical travel they fall into. From personal experience, the forms for medical travel are also confusing and duplicate information.

Can the Minister explain if there is any work underway to improve standard operating procedures or communications with the public for the different streams of medical travel? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Certainly. Thank you, Mr. Chair. So just for clarification, I wanted to say thank you to the Minister, I understand that contract dollars are being represented in these interim estimates as for a full year, which is fine and dandy. I'm just curious if that contract amount for fire suppression, such as aviation contracts, has increased for this year compared to the last? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I was wondering if, similar to my colleague from Yellowknife North's question around ECE, if the dollars for wildlife and forest management are based on previous contracts for fire suppression, aviation contracts, that sort of thing, from the previous year or if there are increases? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, from previous discussions held in this House, which included tabled photographs of infestations of tenant units, there are sometimes ongoing environmental health concerns in residential units. So can the Minister please explain how the NWT rental office works with other government departments to monitor the environmental health and safety of units? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Justice. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister explain what mechanisms are in place to address repair and maintenance of tenant units? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, since the election period last fall, I have heard multiple concerns from constituents in my riding with respect to the upkeep of rental units. The recent Northern Housing Report 2023 released by CMHC provides an analysis on market housing in Yellowknife. Rental rates have gone up and 28 percent of families in the city are unable to afford secure, affordable, rental housing.

Mr. Speaker, 18.2 percent of renters in Yellowknife are in core housing need. This means that they are living in units that are unaffordable, unsuitable, or inadequate. I have seen...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. That's okay.