Debates of August 17, 2007 (day 12)

Good morning colleagues. Before we begin the day, I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge a special day for one of our Members. It happens to be the birthday of the Member for the riding of Yellowknife South, the Honourable Brendan Bell.

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What a difference eight years makes. I remember when he was first elected to the 14th Assembly. Mr. Bell was known as Baby Bell, but he’s gone from Baby Bell to a seasoned veteran. So all the best to you today.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to take this opportunity today to report back to this House on last week’s Council of the Federation meeting as well as the meeting with aboriginal leaders I attended along with my fellow Premiers.

In what has become an important part of these meetings, Premiers met with the aboriginal leaders of the five national aboriginal organizations: Chief Phil Fontaine of the Assembly of First Nations, AFN; Patrick Brazeau, leader of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, CAP; Duane Smith, vice-president of the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, ITK; Bruce Dumount, interim president of the Metis National Council, MNC; and Beverly Jacobs, president of the Native Women’s Association of Canada, NWAC, to discuss issues of common concern.

These meetings between Premiers and leaders of the national aboriginal organizations grew, in large part, from the Western Premiers’ Conference we hosted in Inuvik in 2004. I am pleased to say that leaders agreed in Moncton to have these meetings become a regular and continuing part of the Council of the Federation meetings.

This year’s meeting, and the three aboriginal summits that took place over the past year, are evidence of the continued commitment by Premiers to work with aboriginal leaders to advance a national aboriginal agenda; an agenda that identifies priority areas as well as solutions we can put in place to tackle such serious issues as family violence, substance abuse, comparatively low rates of education and employment and poor health and housing conditions.

Premiers have taken their role as national leaders seriously and have worked hard to establish and maintain a mutually respectful government-to-government relationship with aboriginal leaders. In that spirit, I am pleased to advise Members that the Northwest Territories has agreed to host next year’s National Aboriginal Women’s Summit.

Mr. Speaker, as noted in my sessional statement, I am pleased to report that Premiers released an important document in Moncton entitled A Shared Vision for Energy in Canada. This seven-point national energy plan is geared towards ensuring a secure, sustainable, reliable and competitively priced energy supply that meets Canada’s present and future needs. The plan, supplemented by energy maps, provides an inventory of the current and potential energy sources from coast to coast to coast, articulates a shared vision for energy in Canada and calls on the federal government to formally involve provinces and territories in international discussions and negotiations that deal with energy and natural resource matters.

This national energy plan strikes a balance between security of energy supply, environmental stewardship, social responsibility and economic prosperity. In the context of energy development, Premiers reiterated their unequivocal support for the Northwest Territories to successfully conclude a devolution and resource revenue sharing agreement so they can be the primary beneficiaries of the development of northern resources.

The agenda of the Council of the Federation also focussed on the issue of climate change. Premiers released a document entitled Climate Change: Leading Practices by Provincial and Territorial Governments of Canada. This collection of best practices highlights the good work provinces and territories are currently doing, or plan to do, to reduce greenhouse gases and to adapt to climate change.

Premiers realize more needs to be done and together we agreed to:

produce an additional 25,000 megawatts of renewable energy through 2020;

join The Climate Registry to ensure the consistent and verifiable measurement of greenhouse gas emissions;

work to develop strategies to implement a national biofuels and hydrogen distribution system;

develop a comprehensive inventory of research currently underway to identify areas of focus for future work and potential partnerships;

include climate change in school curricula;

develop and implement programs, standards or incentives aimed at improving energy efficiency in buildings and promoting the use of energy efficient appliances, vehicles and other energy-using products; and

committed to recapture methane gas from large landfills.

The Northwest Territories has programs in place or in development to assist in meeting the above goals, including the recently released Energy Efficiency Incentive Program, which provides incentives for residents to purchase energy-efficient models of products they use every day.

Mr. Speaker, for the North, where climate change impacts are felt first, adaptation is a critical matter. Along with our territorial colleagues, we are successful in gaining support to work together on a number of fronts, including work around adaptation.

We have worked hard to establish a strong northern voice with our provincial and territorial colleagues at the Council of the Federation and I believe, as evidenced by this year’s achievements, we have succeeded. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is my pleasure to provide Members with an update on the status of the community capacity building fund and to share information on the projects communities have started with assistance from this fund.

Members will recall that the community capacity building fund was established in 2005 with funding provided by the Government of the Northwest Territories. The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs administered this $35 million program, which was designed to flow funding directly to communities, to assist them to advance their unique priorities and address capacity building issues on a community-by-community basis.

Mr. Speaker, there were some initial concerns raised by communities who felt that it would be too difficult to reach consensus among local governing bodies on how to spend their share of the money. I am pleased to announce that all 33 communities in the Northwest Territories were able to reach agreements and have submitted their proposals and applications for funding. This success demonstrates that community leaders are able to put aside their political differences and work together for the good of their communities.

The funding is being used to support an impressive range of projects that will enhance the quality of life in communities and I would like to share a few examples. Several communities are setting up to expanding youth centres and day care programs. Many communities, including Aklavik, Fort Simpson, Enterprise, Gameti and Inuvik, have used some of the funding to purchase playground equipment, develop golf courses, or buy sporting equipment for community use. Renovations and expansions are being done to arenas, community offices, curling rinks and sportsplex buildings. Fort Smith has a new swimming pool, and new community offices are being developed in Fort McPherson, Behchoko, Paulatuk, Hay River and Sachs Harbour. Arbours will be built in Aklavik, Jean Marie River and the Hay River Reserve. Many communities are expanding parks and trail systems and putting in street signs.

But not all the money is going to infrastructure. Some communities are supporting staff training and development and scholarship programs. Graveyards are being fenced and cleaned up. School programs and community recreation programs are being enhanced. In partnership with Aurora College, Colville Lake has developed a human resource plan which will provide training to every employable resident in the community, supported by a day care centre and training subsidies.

In reviewing the funding proposals, it is apparent that each community spent a considerable amount of time and effort in developing their priorities, to ensure that projects chosen reflect the unique needs of community residents.

The community capacity building fund will leave a lasting legacy in Northwest Territories communities, in improved infrastructure, in increased community capacity and in enhanced collaborative working relationships among local governing bodies. Beginning next year, Municipal and Community Affairs will work with communities to put together a final report on how the funds were used.

I would like to congratulate all the communities that have successfully developed proposals and are beginning the exciting stage of starting their projects. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi cho.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. An historic event took place when the Mace departed in the same arms of the Deputy Sergeant-at-Arms from Yellowknife for a long journey from Yellowknife to Sachs Harbour, Northwest Territories and Banks Island on August 1 to 3, 2007. The Speaker made it his mandate to travel and take the Mace across the Northwest Territories and I hope the 16th Assembly will continue this program.

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, I could not attend this event, so at this time I would like to personally thank the individuals who made this long journey to Sachs Harbour to display the Mace for the people of Sachs Harbour.

First, I would like to thank His Worship Mayor Robert Eldridge and council, Mr. Raymond Kaslak, the SAO, and the residents of Sachs Harbour in welcoming the staff and the Mace to the community.

Secondly, thank you to the Honourable Paul Delorey, Speaker; the Honourable Anthony “Tony” Whitford, Commissioner of the Northwest Territories; my honourable colleague, Mr. Dave Ramsay, MLA, Kam Lake; Mr. Tim Mercer, Clerk; Mr. Derek Edjericon, Deputy Sergeant-at-Arms; Sue Tkachuk, executive assistant to the Speaker; Patricia Russell, communications, for making this journey to display the Mace.

I understand there were delegations from News/North and also APTN. I understand the mayor and the residents of Sachs Harbour welcomed you with open arms and made you feel at home during the visit.

Mr. Speaker, a special thank you should go to John, Sr. and Samantha Lucas for taking you on the boat tour and for the catering. I understand you were able to see some local birds and wildlife on this local boat tour.

Mr. Speaker, there are two other events taking place this week in Sachs Harbour I would like to mention. The annual White Fox Jamboree starts today, and tomorrow the Department of Fisheries and Ocean will be holding their annual Oceans Day event. I know the mayor and community will welcome all visitors from across the territory and enjoy a safe weekend.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, because session is on this week, I cannot be in Sachs Harbour to help celebrate with the residents of Sachs Harbour. I would like to extend best wishes to the residents of Sachs Harbour and hope they have a safe and enjoyable week as they celebrate the jamboree and Oceans Day festivities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the eight years I have served as MLA, few issues have received as much attention as the chronic financial problems facing our non-government organizations. These are agencies like the YWCA, Council for Persons with Disabilities, Sport North, and, as my colleague from Hay River South highlighted so effectively yesterday, the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre.

Over the years, these volunteer-driven agencies have become reliable, trustworthy and essential partners with our government in the delivery of an immense range of services and programs in virtually every community. But I deeply regret, Mr. Speaker, that, as a government, we have not acted in the same spirit and commitment as they have. That is because in our contract and service agreements with them, we have failed to keep up our side of the deal. That is because we are slowly starving them of the money they need to keep up their side of the deal.

The situation has reached a crisis point. In a recently released report, eight Yellowknife-based agencies outlined their stark reality of the challenges they face. The gap in salaries falls between 23 and 41 percent. That is as much as $30,000 a year of what equivalent work in the GNWT pays. Many of the staff have to work two jobs in order to keep a household going. Turnover rates average 50 percent a year and can be triple that level, and recruiting for vacant positions has stretched up to six months. Mr. Speaker, managers face a hopeless catch-22 situation of never being able to get ahead. They are forced to backfill for non-existent staff and cope with increasing mountains of paperwork and accountability that we demand of them.

In the report, they have given a clear business plan of what we can do. We need to catch up to within 80 percent of the GNWT’s pay packet. I also advocate, Mr. Speaker, that we need to bring back the core funding model with multi-year agreements indexed to inflation to allow those volunteer boards that lead these organizations to the certainty and stability they need to lead their organizations in the vital work they do.

Mr. Speaker, above all, we need to change our political attitude. We need to treat them as true partners, genuinely value the contribution they make, and show that this government will change the way we do business and support their ideas and the service they give to us all. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The cost of living in the Sahtu is one issue that has been bothering my people for a long time. The Government of the Northwest Territories provided MLAs with a presentation in 2006 called the Cost of Living in the Northwest Territories. This presentation showed Sahtu communities are in the top 10 most expensive communities for food prices in the Northwest Territories. For instance, food in the Sahtu is actually double the cost of food in Edmonton. However, in Yellowknife, food is only 10 percent more expensive than in Edmonton. The Sahtu is also in the top 10 again when it comes to non-food items such as household supplies, cleaning goods and personal care items. Gas and fuel prices are very high. For instance, Colville Lake pays $1.22 a litre while in Hay River they only pay 95 cents a litre. Not only is the Sahtu paying more per litre in heating fuel, but we also are in the colder regions in the Northwest Territories. To add to this burden, Mr. Speaker, communities in the Sahtu also have, in general, a lower income and endure the highest cost of living in the Northwest Territories.

Larger communities on the highway system have the highest income and the lowest cost of living. Thousands of dollars are spent that pump into each household in an attempt to mitigate the high cost of living when, as I pointed out in my earlier statements in this Assembly, if you have a highway built in the Sahtu, life would be less expensive.

Maybe this government should save millions of dollars by just building a highway into the Sahtu. The cost of living discussions have taken a lot of time in this Assembly, Mr. Speaker. It is time to stop talking about it and time to start acting. Thank you.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, water is life. That is a very fundamental fact and a fact that is going to drive our political agendas more and more in the coming years. It is also the name of the major conference that is going to be held in Fort Smith next week: Water is Life.

There are people coming from across the North and across Canada to attend this particular meeting. It is being sponsored by the Akaitcho Government. I would like to commend them for doing that. I would also like to thank the Department of Environment and Natural Resources for their considerable help in arranging and helping to fund this particular conference, which I believe is going to be very important. One of the keynote speakers is going to be Mr. Justin Trudeau. I will be attending the first few days there. I also, as well, look forward to the words of wisdom that are going to be brought to us by Minister McLeod when he comes to address this conference on Wednesday.

Mr. Speaker, I want to point out that across the land, governments are adjusting their political agendas slowly to recognize the impacts of the climate, of global warming and of our hugely growing population. But we have to do more. We are still taking, in many cases, baby steps. I will be encouraging all those attending this conference to look to not only describe the concern and care that we have to take with water, but also give recommendations for, as we know in a few short weeks there will be the 16th Assembly taking its place in this House. They will need advice and guidance of how to better balance economic and resource development with protection of the environment and healthy people. I am going to be encouraging all those attending to give us those recommendations to help advise us as we move forward to the 16th Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in August of 2007, there was an advertisement in a native journal. The Kitikmeot Corporation wants to build a port, a road to Bathurst Inlet. The port will be capable of handling 25,000 tons of ice class vessels. A 211 kilometre all-weather road is south of some of the richest minerals in the territory and Canada. Nunavut is moving forward, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, it is time that we did something positive in our jurisdiction here in the Northwest Territories. There are three diamond mines in our backyard. We currently have jurisdiction over them. Diavik Diamond Mines has already been quoted as saying trucking supplies down an all-weather road will be much cheaper than flying them in, and a port is one of several options the diamond mines are considering.

Mr. Speaker, the areas of the diamond mines is situated on the Tlicho traditional territory, Wekeezhii lands and the Monfwi Gogha De Niitlee traditional territory. The mining companies and the GNWT must respect the Tlicho land claims and self-government agreement. We are currently in discussion with the Minister of Transportation and senior staff on a proposal of an all-weather road from Behchoko and connecting Whati, Gameti, Wekweeti and continuing on to BHP and Diavik Diamond Mines and other mines. Fortune Minerals that is in our Tlicho territory, the gold mine will also be on route.

Mr. Speaker, the diamond mines need to leave behind a lasting legacy after they have shut down. They have always talked about leaving something positive behind. This is one avenue that they should consider. A permanent all-weather road access will certainly benefit the Tlicho communities in the long run. The mines need to work with the stakeholders; rightfully, the Tlicho Government.

Mr. Speaker, we want an all-weather road built connecting the Tlicho communities on route to the diamond mines now before we miss the boat. Mahsi.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In our Assembly, we rely on Pages for much of the efficiency we achieve, such as it is, in the conduct of our business. They deliver copies of motions and statements, and they make sure we have fresh water always available. But, Mr. Speaker, probably the most important function for Pages in our Assembly is carrying notes between Members in the House.

Mr. Speaker, I doubt the public has any idea how much is done by way of notes between Members while we are in session. When we are at work here in the House, decorum requires we spend most of our time in our seats. So we use notes to conduct business, and, Mr. Speaker, though none of us would admit to authoring one, like conversations, not all of our notes would stand to public reading very well. I was reminded of that at the last session when I asked a Page what she thought of the job. She said she really enjoyed it but was surprised at how many notes were passed between Members. She went on to tell me that when her teacher saw a note being passed in class, she would take it and then read it in front of the whole class.

Mr. Speaker, I am sure I speak for all Members here when I thank you for not taking a similar approach.

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Mr. Speaker, our Page Program is a tremendous way to expose young northerners to how our consensus government system works. Most jurisdictions use older students than we do. I suspect those who are interested in the job in the South are already politically aware. Here in the Northwest Territories, we get young people in often before they even think of politics and, most importantly, before the cynicism that has become prevalent about the political process is entrenched in our minds.

Mr. Speaker, from talking to Pages after they have worked here, I know that many have had their eyes opened to politics as a possibility for their future. I have been surprised by how many young people have told me that, after being a Page, they were fascinated by what we do here and even how they thought politics might be in their future. Some have come back as youth parliamentarians. It is a good program.

On a more personal note, Mr. Speaker, I have been pleased for the past couple of days that our son, Tyler, could be a Page in this House.

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It has given him an opportunity to see some of my job and for him to gain perspective around politics. He has come to understand that when people discuss issues, their disagreeing with one another doesn’t mean that they really dislike each other, just that they have different points of view.

I am also pleased that it has given him an opportunity to experience our schedule, to help him understand…Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

The Member is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. You may conclude your statement, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and honourable colleagues. I am also pleased that it has given Tyler an opportunity to experience our schedule and help him understand why I have missed so many of his hockey and little league baseball games and parent/teacher meetings over the years.

As I am moving on to other pursuits, not retiring, as was reported in the newspaper, I expect to make more of those events. I know that Tyler looks forward to me being able to get to more of his games, but I am not sure he is looking forward to me being around more to make sure that his homework is done every night.

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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank all of the Pages for their work in this House. It is a great program, and I hope that subsequent assemblies continue the program. Thank you.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to use my Member’s statement today to talk about staffing concerns of nurses which have been brought to my attention. Staffing has, and continues to be, an issue in our health care system. We have had numerous discussions about the cost, and the impact, and the reliance on agency nurses and what that impact is having on our existing staff and the overall health care budgets at Stanton and the other health authorities.

I have a very difficult time understanding why I have to stand here again today raising issues on behalf of staff. It is not just a short list of issues like the use of agency nurses, workplace harassment, unfair labour practices, discrimination, intimidation, pay level disparity and the mobility of nurses to work in other regions. The department and Stanton have been working on staffing issues for four years, the four years that I have been here. Mr. Speaker, in 2003, the Stanton Health Authority was tasked with developing their own recruitment and retention strategy within the context of system-wide recruitment and retention initiatives. In addition to the strategy, Stanton was to come up with a human resources staffing plan in 2003. Early in 2004, Stanton was to conduct a staffing analysis to determine appropriate staffing levels and to confirm the role and mandate of the employee services function and give it a higher profile.

Mr. Speaker, where is this plan today? Why are so many staff still feeling left out with nowhere to turn for help except to the union and to their MLA? It seems so bizarre that we have to spend so much time, effort and energy and, really, we have nothing to show for it.

Mr. Speaker, another study which was started late last year was to interview staff and to try to find out exactly what was happening at Stanton. Where is this staffing utilization review report? The last reason I have heard is that the consultants have not completed the sections related to Stanton and to the satisfaction of that hospital. Mr. Speaker, if I can be so bold, it sounds to me like the report doesn’t say what Stanton wants it to say, so the consultants are busy trying to rework that report.

As a government, we definitely need to get a grip on staffing issues in our health care system. We can’t afford to be flying nurses in from Honduras and Newfoundland and paying the high cost of agency nurses. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

The Member is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. You may conclude your statement, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, like I said, we can’t afford to keep flying nurses in from Honduras and Newfoundland and paying the high cost of agency nurses. What the government should be doing is looking at creative ways to try to get more nurses to live here. How about a targetted campaign to newly graduated nurses in southern Canada where we would sign them up to return a service agreement for four, five or six years and, in return, the Government of the Northwest Territories could look at paying off their student loans? They would come here and some of them would stay here, Mr. Speaker. They would raise their families here. I think it is creative ways like that the government should be looking at instead of flying nurses in from Honduras. Mahsi.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I rise to express my well wishes to four couples in my riding who were married recently and to a dear friend who will marry this weekend. In Fort Liard, Mr. Speaker, I have Mr. Marc Schmitz married to Ms. Alana Harris, Mr. Jonathon Buckley who married Ms. Stacey McLeod; and in Fort Simpson, Mr. Michael Canney married to Ms. Lyn Wharton, as well as last weekend Mr. Colin Munroe to Miss Leah Keats. This coming weekend, a close friend of mine, Miss Lisa Lafferty to be married to a Michael Tetso. I wish to congratulate these families, every happiness and wish them fortune in their marriages and their futures. Mahsi cho.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to speak today about WCB. Mr. Speaker, let me start by saying that a lot of good progress has been made between the Members of this House, the Minister, the chair of the Governance Council and the new CEO over the last number of months. We have gotten some really good work done. I am particularly impressed, Mr. Speaker, with the changes in approach and willingness shown by the senior staff in working with us to make the new WCB Act under review as good and as responsive as it can be for the stakeholders.

Before I get too carried away with too many compliments and confusing the balance of things, Mr. Speaker, I have to tell you about something we have not seen as much progress on. That is the fact that we have not seen much movement in policy changes or closure of many long outstanding files. Some of them are 15 to 20 years long. The long awaited changes to the chronic pain policy announced in April of this year have not translated into concrete changes in situations for a dozen or so files that have been on the WCB lineup for many years. The abrupt settlement of the Ivan Valic appeal raised expectations for equally speedy settlement or system-wide changes. But that is not what has happened. Everything surrounding it remains enclosed in shadow. After a flurry of activities, I don’t know of any more resources or push being made to come to a resolution of longstanding cases.

Mr. Speaker, the last I heard, the new chronic pain policy was still hung up on retroactivity clause. I know the worker's advisor has been gathering all the cases hoping to make progress with the new management and new direction, but, as I see it, unless there are real efforts made and real resources put forward to clean up these files quickly, nothing is going to get done. So I urge the WCB, the new management, the Minister and the board to keep working, to really do something about these long outstanding files and the people that are waiting. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to use my Member’s statement today to tell this government that we are not doing enough to support small business in the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, we have expended a lot of time and energy going around and consulting, consulting, consulting. We have amalgamated things. We have come up with a new BDIC, but I tell you today still, if you want to start a business or expand a business, you have got a very rough road ahead of you in terms of accessing capital to do that.

I had the opportunity and thank the Minister of ITI for inviting me to attend a roundtable on the economy with our Prime Minister last week. The Prime Minister shared that sovereignty is a very big priority of the Conservative government. I took the opportunity to tell the Prime Minister that one step towards addressing the issue of sovereignty is to ensure that we have people living in the North. If we want people living in the North, we need something for them to do to support themselves. We need jobs and we need strong communities. That will create the presence that we need in the North to say that this is Canada and we have sovereignty.

So, Mr. Speaker, to the issue of accessing capital, we have business programs in place, but I think they have gone backwards. It has been many years since we have had an economic development agreement. If the federal government wants to do something useful with Canadian taxpayers’ dollars, they should revisit the issue of a very good economic development agreement in partnership with our government so that people who had the creativity, and the initiative, and the desire to start small businesses can do so.

Resource development is out there. It is big. We need the businesses to come in and to service that industry, but we need to create that opportunity on a level playing field. There has been a turning away from some of the emphasis on some of the level ones in larger communities, but yesterday the issue of housing came up in this Assembly of modular housing. Most of you who have been to Hay River to visit, you know that we have a proven track record there with a company that is building modular units. There is no reason why you would go three miles south into Alberta and people are building modular homes. If we can do that in Alberta, why can we not do that on a viable basis in the Northwest Territories? Part of the reason is it is a capital-intensive business to start up. We have a $2 million cap on our lending. It should not be there. For businesses that want to expand, with a proven track record, we should be revisiting the issue of those loan caps. I will have questions for the Minister of ITI on this today. Thank you.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with all of the illegal drugs that are starting to come out now, the single biggest addiction for years and years has been the abuse of alcohol. Mr. Speaker, every community that we visited over the last two and a half, almost three years that I have been here, almost the single biggest concern in every community has been the abuse of alcohol and the effects on the community and on their lives. I see some communities trying to take some initiatives now in dealing with the problems of alcohol. I think one community introduced prohibition just recently. We wish them luck with that.

Something struck me this summer, Mr. Speaker, as I was driving down to my office at six o’clock in the morning.

Oooh, hard working.

I noticed more and more people on the streets in Inuvik. That causes me a great deal of concern. They are people that really have no place to go. A lot of them are addicted to alcohol. I am sure many of them would like to seek help. But when you need to get help up in the Beaufort-Delta, you have to leave the Beaufort-Delta.

I go back again to the spring when my Social Programs colleagues and I had an opportunity to visit a camp on the east branch which was being put up by the Nihtat Gwich’in. They are hoping to use this camp to deal with these types of situations where they could have people have a place to stay. They could go there and hopefully turn their lives around and beat their addiction to alcohol. I am sure by having a camp on the east branch would make more people want to go and seek help, especially if they can have the support of family and the community.

As a government, we have to do what we can, Mr. Speaker, to not only encourage these types of initiatives taken on by people regardless of what our report says. People recognize the need for treatment centres and regional treatment centres. I think we should support that. If there is a way that we can support the Nigtat Gwich’in in any way financially to get this camp up and going, and deal with the problem that they recognize, and commend them for recognizing it and taking the initiative, we should back them with all the resources that we can, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

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Mr. Speaker, before I begin, I would like to make special note of red Friday. I always like to wear red on Fridays to show my support for our troops and their families, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to participate as a Member of the Legislative Assembly in what is a unique consensus system of government. Although the consensus system has many advantages, I believe that for it to continue its relevance, it must change and evolve with the needs of the North. I strongly encourage the 16th Assembly to seriously look at changes they may be able to make to continue consensus vitality in the sense of moving forward for our future.

We are truly an anomaly, Mr. Speaker, in that our current Premier, who was acclaimed as an MLA by his constituents and then acclaimed in his position in the House, achieved becoming voted as Premier without casting one vote. Now, of course, Premier Handley has served us very well and his comments are no reflection of his performance. However, one change I believe would greatly strengthen our system of governance is if we elected our Premier at large. A Premier elected at large would have the advantage of a clear mandate from across the Northwest Territories.

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Mr. Speaker, I believe that the Premier being selected throughout the Territories would have the strength, because they could select their Cabinet Members that they see with strength to move forward. This would give our Premier the ability to pick an A-team, our star team. Mr. Speaker, the Premier could also look at that time picking a Cabinet with regional balances…

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…balancing gender balances, Mr. Speaker, and also looking at other unique strengths and individual qualifications to make the continued Cabinet even better than they are.

The ability to hire and fire Ministers would also give the Premier the power to keep Ministers in line. We pay the Premier to act in the top job. Well, let’s give them the ultimate authority, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the responsibility of ministerial performances belongs in the Premier, not the Premier putting pressure on the Assembly. Mr. Speaker, it should not be up to Regular Members to spill blood in the Assembly for the Premier when he should be doing his job.

Mr. Speaker, could I have some attention and order here?

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Mr. Speaker, our consensus style of government needs to evolve. In closing, for the NWT to continue the strength of consensus government, it must move forward with innovative approaches to make sure it is relevant for today and tomorrow. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

…(inaudible)…

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize in the gallery today Sue Glowach, a good family friend and also a great supporter of an organization that I have been involved with for some time, the International Exchange Student Organization. I know that her family will again be welcoming a student to Yellowknife. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr. Braden. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to recognize a constituent whose family has lived in Weledeh for many years, well-known Bob Bromley.

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Thank you, Mr. Handley. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this time to recognize a Page who travelled here from Fort McPherson, Mr. Dennis Nerysoo. Hopefully Dennis is able to take back what he has learned here and also his experience back to his classmates in Chief Julius School. With that, I would like to thank Dennis for coming down and wish him a safe journey home tomorrow. Thanks again for coming, Dennis.

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Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to welcome those in the gallery today. In addition to that, I have two constituents who are Pages with us this week, Mr. Dent’s son, Tyler Dent. I would like to recognize him and my nephew Ryan Ramsay and as well all the other Pages that have been working on our behalf here this week. Thank you.

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Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member from Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to welcome everybody here also, but I’d like to recognize a Page from my riding. His name is Jake Olson. He agreed to step in and he’s having a lot of fun. So I’d just like to recognize him. Thank you.

---Applause