Debates of August 22, 2007 (day 15)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the case of Hay River, there was no bacteria reported in the sampling. There was no reported illness from the situation. So I guess it is an inconvenience, but I wouldn’t consider it an emergency.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Supplementary To Question 178-15(6): Hay River Water Quality And Supply

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to confirm with the Minister then, if the Town of Hay River administration put together an application under the extraordinary funding program outlining the problem, the challenge and the imminent costs, would MACA at least sit down and consider that possibility or that avenue? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. McLeod.

Further Return To Question 178-15(6): Hay River Water Quality And Supply

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, we would sit down and evaluate the ask. Mr. Speaker, we have had some discussion on this. There are still a number of options out there. However, if there is infrastructure investment required and it is something that the community can’t handle, we would certainly want to work with them. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my Member’s statement, I spoke to the SFA benefits and some of the changes that I had hoped to see. I would like to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment if there have been any changes made to the SFA assistance based on the cost of living where the students are going to school. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Dent.

Return To Question 179-15(6): Cost Of Living Component To Student Financial Assistance Program

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is an issue that has been brought up a few times over the last year. It is something that I have promised that the department will have a look at and try to move forward on. At this point though, we have not been able to propose any changes to our system.

We have reviewed what other jurisdictions are doing. Notably, British Columbia does have a system that recognizes the higher costs of the northern part of the province. So our intent is to, after finishing that review, looking for other examples across Canada and looking at the cost of living differentials, come back over the course of the next year and propose some changes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. McLeod.

Supplementary To Question 179-15(6): Cost Of Living Component To Student Financial Assistance Program

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for that answer. It is encouraging to hear that we are hoping to make some changes within the next year, but we have been hearing from the people across the Territories that are going to school here for a few years now, so we should base our decision on what they are saying and not what we are hearing from somewhere else. I would like to ask the Minister if this is a decision that has to be made through legislation or is it a policy decision that he can just sign off before his term is up? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mr. Dent.

Further Return To Question 179-15(6): Cost Of Living Component To Student Financial Assistance Program

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess I can sign off on it as long as I ignored the wrath of the Minister of Finance, clearly because there would be some financial costs for us to make changes to the program. It is an issue that will have to be proposed as an initiative that would be considered as part of the budget process. The Member talked about not necessarily looking at other examples. What we are doing is trying to look for examples of how this has been done in other jurisdictions rather than trying to reinvent the wheel. So we agree that it is a good idea. We want to find ways to ensure that northern students are encouraged to attend the northern colleges that we have such an investment in. So we are very seriously looking at how we can accommodate this idea.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. McLeod.

Supplementary To Question 179-15(6): Cost Of Living Component To Student Financial Assistance Program

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the Minister’s reply to the opening address yesterday, he said there are two outstanding issues that weren’t resolved. I think he meant just his. It is a good thing he didn’t count ours in there. It would have been a lot more than two. As far as the Minister of Finance goes, I share a community with him so I can possibly work on him for the Minister of Education. It just astounds me that something that has been asked to the Minister so many times and brought to their attention so many times, that they are not bringing this forward. It is something that people want. They are having to wait a long time. I would like to ask the Minister why is it taking so long to listen to the voice of the people, hear what they want? Why is it taking so long to act on it? It is just confusing. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mr. Dent.

Further Return To Question 179-15(6): Cost Of Living Component To Student Financial Assistance Program

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, if the Department of Education, Culture and Employment had an independent source of revenue, it wouldn’t take very long at all. But since we have to look at all of our initiatives across government and work together to try and find which ones are the ones that are going to be funded, it is one that has to be done through the budget process. So the earliest that that is going to happen is going to be the budget that is considered in the spring of 2008. I have no doubt that the next government will look at this as a very important initiative and that the Members who are here in 2008 will be able to approve it for the next year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask a couple of questions of the Minister responsible for FMBS, Mr. Roland. This regards the lease that our government supplies for the Rockhill Apartment building with the YWCA organization here in Yellowknife. The Y puts this building through very good use. It is part of a front-line social services infrastructure for families in need, emergency housing and transitional housing.

Mr. Speaker, the lease for this -- I believe it is a 10-year lease -- expires in May of 2008. The Y has been engaged for some time now in discussions with as many as five different departments of this government on the terms for renewing this lease. I brought it up in this House since June of 2005 with Ministers Dent and Roland and have, at various times, been assured that there is a process underway.

Mr. Speaker, with less than a year to go now before this lease does expire, could the Minister advise just what is happening in terms of the process to renegotiate this lease and give the Y the certainty that they and this community needs for the Rockhill Apartment? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Minister responsible for the Financial Management Board, Mr. Roland.

Return To Question 180-15(6): Rockhill Apartment Lease Renewal

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the issue of the Rockhill Apartment lease has been discussed through a number of departments, through Public Works, Housing Corporation, Education, Culture and Employment and Health and Social Services, on what needs to be done there. The lease, right now, is held with Public Works and Services. Once the renewal is done, it will be moved to the Department of Health and Social Services. That is ongoing. The process will go. All departments agree that it is something that should be continued. Once we enter into that, there is still a year left in that lease, so work is ongoing. As to actual negotiations, I think that some discussions have happened. In the meantime, departments have been doing their piece to ensure that facility is kept up. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Supplementary To Question 180-15(6): Rockhill Apartment Lease Renewal

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the answer and the information. I must admit, I am not hearing anything that really substantively moves this along. I do appreciate that when a lot of departments get involved, things get a little less straightforward. Is the lead department the Department of Health and Social Services? Is that who is taking the reigns on this one on behalf of the rest of our government, Mr. Speaker?

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Roland.

Further Return To Question 180-15(6): Rockhill Apartment Lease Renewal

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, right now, the lease sits with Public Works and Services. Once the new lease has been signed, it would then transfer to Health and Social Services. So we are working with all departments that are directly involved, Public Works and Services, Health and Social Services and the Housing Corporation, directly. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Short supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Supplementary To Question 180-15(6): Rockhill Apartment Lease Renewal

Mr. Speaker, I know that one of the conditions that is outstanding is that of ongoing maintenance. On the YWCA for instance, this year alone is covering almost $70,000 in unfunded maintenance. This is everything from broken windows to fixing toilets and the kind of things that happen in a high traffic, high use building. Mr. Speaker, will any department or which department be looking at covering the Y for this very substantive and unfunded cost of operating that building? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Roland.

Further Return To Question 180-15(6): Rockhill Apartment Lease Renewal

Mr. Speaker, that is an area that needs to continue to be worked on. Right now, again, a number of departments are involved with the organization and some of the expenses, and that would be Education as well as the Housing Corporation and Public Works, for some of its maintenance. It has done maintenance that it hasn’t actually billed for. As well, when you look at it, the fact that there has to be a grant-in-kind registered on the books for the department that does enter into this lease. So there are significant dollars being put to that facility as well as capital or renovation work that is ongoing. Thank you.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I have a question to the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment with the introduction of the Traditionally-Tanned Moosehide Program. I think it is a great initiative that the department has introduced here. It is great that the government shows support to our traditional economy. I would like to ask the Minister if the traditionally-tanned caribou hides have been considered under this initiative also, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. The honourable Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Bell.

Return To Question 181-15(6): Traditionally-Tanned Moosehide Program

Mr. Speaker, I guess, as it is a pilot project, we are going to try it with moosehides first. We think that is where the demand is for some of our artisans. That is what we are hearing, at any rate. If we had success there, then we could look at other ways to ensure we have a constant supply of raw materials. But the pilot will start with moosehides. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Mr. Villeneuve.

Supplementary To Question 181-15(6): Traditionally-Tanned Moosehide Program

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have a pilot project on the go here. I would like to see caribou introduced under this program just for the fact that caribou are going to be traditionally harvested anyway. I think this would put more information in the hands of the Department of ITI on who is harvesting and how many are being harvested. I think that information will be critical when the wildlife boards come back with caribou harvesting quotas and changes to regulations that we have in the caribou issue. I know there are no dollars set on how much they are going to be buying the hides for, tanned or untanned. All of these things have to be put in place. What has the Minister’s department basically budgeted for this program that is going to include moose only? What is the budget on that? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. Mr. Bell.

Further Return To Question 181-15(6): Traditionally-Tanned Moosehide Program

Mr. Speaker, I don’t have that information here available. I will get the information for the Member. As I have indicated, we haven’t considered, at this point, caribou hides. A lot of it is going to depend on uptake. We are not sure ultimately what the demand will look like, but we do have funds in the budget that we are going to use for moose at this point. We will watch the program. We will evaluate the program. If there is cause and room to expand it, we will certainly look at that. But we will get back to Members with the results of this before we propose to do that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Mr. Villeneuve.

Supplementary To Question 181-15(6): Traditionally-Tanned Moosehide Program

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Like I said, it is a great program. I think the government could really do a lot of expanding on this whole traditional economy support with caribou antlers and hides. But I just want to point out to the Minister that we have a lot of different types of caribou here in the NWT like the barren-ground and the woodland and the mountain caribou which are pretty much…There are a lot of mountain caribou and they are very big pieces of game. They are almost as big as moose in some areas here in the NWT. I just want to ask the Minister if his department would really seriously consider that a lot of people like in the Deh Cho area and the Sahtu area that do rely heavily on mountain caribou and woodland caribou would be considered as being compensated for their hard work and their traditional tanning of caribou hides, which is just as high quality as moose to artists and artisans here in the NWT? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. Mr. Bell.

Further Return To Question 181-15(6): Traditionally-Tanned Moosehide Program

Mr. Speaker, as I have said, we are going to consider it, but it will be moose first. We do understand that there is a fair bit of tanning of barren-land caribou hides already. It is much more prevalent, I believe, than moose. We have concerns about seeing moosehides left in the bush. We know that artisans are very interested in seeing traditionally-tanned moosehides. That is why we are starting there first. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today in my Member’s statement, I talked about my concern about how we are delivering power to our people in the North. I think that we need a clear strategy of where we are going to make sure we are delivering the best product to everyone. On top of that, I think we need to look forward and catch on to opportunities before us throughout Canada so we can harness our great potential here in the North. My questions, Mr. Speaker, are to the Minister of the NWT Power Corporation. So, Mr. Speaker, does the government have plans to develop a power generation and utilization strategy, in other words, a new hydro strategy, that will work to help develop and implement cheaper power for people of the North? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Power Corporation, Mr. Krutko.

Return To Question 182-15(6): Development Of New Hydro Strategy

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as we all know, through our business plans, I did commit. We are developing a hydro strategy in light of the change to develop our own hydro corporation. We are working with looking at mini hydro in communities. We are looking at the hydro potential to the pipeline. We are looking at hydro potential in regards to the expansion of Taltson, the diamond mines. In order to conclude that, we have directed the corporation to develop a hydro strategy which we are hoping to have completed and brought forward as a transitional document to the incoming government of the 16th Assembly. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Supplementary To Question 182-15(6): Development Of New Hydro Strategy

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with the Minister of the Power Corporation being the head of the Power Corporation obviously, is it part of their mandate or policy to ensure that we are delivering the most effective, affordable and cheapest power available? I am concerned that the NWT Power Corporation power rates are higher than they are when they are delivered by independent sources such as Northland Utilities. Is it the policy of the NWT Power Corporation to ensure that they are delivering the most affordable power to each home? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Krutko.

Further Return To Question 182-15(6): Development Of New Hydro Strategy

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at the end of the day, the perfect solution will be to have hydro power in all of our communities. We all have similar rates and everybody pays the same price. Because of the system we have today, we have three different rate systems. We go through a PUB process. I think the system itself has to be looked at. Again, that is something that we are hoping to bring forward to the incoming government, 16th Assembly, so they can have a debate and also come forward through the strategy, through the homes that we are working on, further transitional document for the incoming government. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Supplementary To Question 182-15(6): Development Of New Hydro Strategy