NWT’s new ministers face community leaders’ annual ‘bear pit’

Medical travel, the RCMP and wildfires were key topics as ministers appeared in front of dozens of local leaders at the NWT Association of Communities’ annual meeting.

The yearly face-to-face grilling of ministers is known as “the bear pit” for the likelihood that pointed questions will be fiercely asked.

At the session in Hay River, health minister Lesa Semmler said a federal program is hampering efforts to deliver dental services in the North. Premier RJ Simpson told communities he will focus on the work of RCMP over the next four years as drugs “spread out across the territory.”

Some communities said they need more money to ensure they can keep residents safe from another severe wildfire season.

Chief April Martel of the Kátł’odeeche First Nation told cabinet problems with the medical travel system are having a significant effect.

“It’s not only me, it’s other towns and cities, small First Nations that are facing issues calling the 1-800 number or calling the 811 number. We cannot get through. It’s a big miscommunication to the people,” Martel said, referring to the process of making medical travel arrangements.

“People are missing appointments going south. We can’t get any dental in the communities, eyes as well, for the Elders and the young people. We don’t have any escorts … We need to change the policies.”

Joshua Oliktoak, the mayor of Ulukhaktok, agreed that Elders and young people regularly miss appointments without escorts to facilitate medical travel.

Addressing concerns about the absence of visiting dentists, health minister Lesa Semmler said Non-Insured Health Benefits – a federal program – sets rates it will pay for dental work, including the cost of flying dentists to isolated communities and accommodating them.

Semmler said the program, known as NIHB, caps rates at a level where dentists say “it’s not worth their time to bid on those contracts to go in.”

“That’s the discussion we’re having with NIHB right now,” said the minister. “NIHB give the Northwest Territories probably one-third of what it costs us to run their program … Over $30 million of our own money that we’re spending on federal programs.”

Semmler said the territory has a tentative agreement with the federal government for additional medical travel funding this year. 

The staffing of healthcare facilities in smaller communities was also raised by Martel, who called for more education of staff working in the North, noting some residents’ belief that nurses rely too heavily on recommending pills like Advil or Tylenol when something more serious may be occurring.

“We can’t get a doctor in every community. We have 33 communities. We can’t even fill our doctors in Yellowknife,” said Semmler, responding. 

“When we don’t have anyone who wants to keep coming back – we’re just getting casual after casual. I think that’s the struggle that we’re having right now.”

Body cameras on the way

Simpson, who is also the minister of justice, was asked if the territorial government is looking to add social workers beyond providing resources for the RCMP to address mental health-related calls, similar to the Yukon government’s Car 867 partnership, which pairs police officers with nurses from Yukon’s Mental Wellness and Substance Use Services unit.

“Often it’s not a crime that they’re responding to, it’s a mental health issue,” Simpson acknowledged. 

“When the RCMP show up, they don’t know that. They don’t have this person’s medical records. They don’t know if they’re having mental health issues or they’re not, and that changes how you approach the situation.”

Simpson said he had spoken with the territory’s chief superintendent, Syd Lecky, who previously worked at the Kamloops detachment where a similar program existed. 

“They’re very open to that, so it’s just a matter of us putting that into motion,” the premier said.

“I am focusing quite a bit on the RCMP this government because of the things we’ve seen first here in Hay River, then KFN with the drugs and the crime. It’s now spread out across the territory. I have a heavy focus on ensuring the RCMP have the legislative tools, the staff to address those issues. That is a conversation I’ve had with the commanding officer.

“I can’t say that we have solid plans for it now, but it is part of a longer-term vision.”

Fred Daniels, the mayor of Fort Smith, inquired about police body cameras, which the federal government plans to roll out across Canada – a program that has been delayed. In northern communities, Simpson said technology is a barrier.

“There’s no way to upload that amount of data,” he said of the video files body cameras generate. 

“When they were piloting this in Nunavut, there were issues with the cameras working in the cold weather. While they have been progressing, there have been a number of issues that they’re overcoming. I believe in the upcoming year is when that is going to happen,” Simpson said of the cameras’ NWT introduction.

“There are positives and negatives to it. Some people believe it will prevent some people from having discussions with the RCMP. They might not want to be on camera talking about something … It’s going to be a bit of a learning curve but, one way or another, the feds told us we have got to do it, so we’re doing it.”

‘Fifty years behind’

Ulukhaktok mayor Oliktoak said rising costs of fuel to heat homes are worsening residents’ mental health.

“We all say it’s healthier for your own mental health to get out on the land to recuperate, to reset for another work week. But the cost to get out there today is so high,” Oliktoak said. 

“Some people can’t even afford that now, and it just creates new mental health problems.”

Simpson pointed out that the territory’s income assistance programs are changing and new programs arriving in the next few months will benefit seniors and people with disabilities. Although those programs will address some challenges, he said there was not a lot the government can do in the short term “beyond what we’re doing now.”

“It’s a tough environment,” the premier said. 

“The feds built a lot of infrastructure across Canada over the last 100 years. There’s big populations down south that have the ability to generate a lot of revenue to help build more infrastructure. We’re really 50 years behind everywhere else in Canada, playing catch-up so we can actually do those kinds of things and get the cost of living down.”

A running topic at “bear pits” like this one is the gap – running into tens of millions of dollars – between the territorial funding provided to communities and the funding those communities expect.

Communities minister Vince McKay said closing the gap would “take a lot more than just our government.”

“I have to work closely with the cabinet to try to get some more funding,” McKay said.

Asked if communities could expect funding to improve emergency preparedness after last year’s wildfire season, McKay said the GNWT is lobbying the federal government for the money to do that.

Meanwhile, an updated NWT-wide emergency plan is expected to arrive before this summer’s fire season, the minister said. The plan hasn’t been updated since 2018.

Asked if communities would be consulted on that update, McKay said his department wanted to “get it out as soon as we can,” in all likelihood before communities could provide comment, “but we will accept any submissions … and try to put it into the plan over the year.”

Chief Clifford Daniels of Behchokǫ̀ set out the problems some northern communities face in trying to guard against fire and other disasters with few resources and residents spread over some distance. Behchokǫ̀ covers three distinct areas: Rae, Edzo and Frank Channel.

“We have almost three communities and we have two fire trucks, we have two water plants, and they’re separated [by] 15 kilometres on the road,” he said.

“The funding isn’t really fair for us. That’s why we always say Edzo should be a separate community, and maybe the funding will be a little better.”

This year’s bear pit didn’t quite feature the full cast of cabinet members.

Caroline Wawzonek and Lucy Kuptana, the infrastructure and housing ministers respectively, were unable to attend. Deputy infrastructure minister Steve Loutitt and Housing NWT president Eleanor Young took their place.

A delayed flight meant Young, Semmler and education and industry minister Caitlin Cleveland arrived late. Simpson had to leave the formal Q&A a little early to attend another meeting.