Debates of August 23, 2007 (day 16)

Thank you, Mr. Pokiak. Mr. Menicoche.

Further Return To Question 188-15(6): Inuvialuit Lands Administration Land Use Application

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’m probably going to have to get into some level of detail here for the Member. He’s well aware of the challenges we’ve had with the ILA and fees and royalty structures in that particular regime. The permitting process necessary for constructing the road from Tuktoyaktuk to source 177 is the application submission will have to have the royalty fees associated with that permit attached. Our estimates, based on the length of the road and the land around the source that we need, runs about $3 million, Mr. Speaker. That’s something of a huge issue for us as a department and us as a government. Secondly, once even upon application of $3 million, the title to the footprint of the route is not even available to the government after that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Final supplementary, Mr. Pokiak.

Supplementary To Question 188-15(6): Inuvialuit Lands Administration Land Use Application

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If I recall, having worked with ILA prior to being elected here, my understanding with regard to the application process is that all they require at the initial stage is the initial application fee plus the first 1,000 cubic metres so that the application can go forward. I don’t know where the Minister is getting that information, but I can guarantee you for sure that all they require is the initial application fee plus the first 1,000 cubic metres. Will he do that? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Pokiak. Mr. Menicoche.

Further Return To Question 188-15(6): Inuvialuit Lands Administration Land Use Application

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’m going to have to respectfully disagree with the Member that that is not the case. We are continually negotiating and having discussion with ILA to discuss the permitting fees and the permitting to access the route for source 177. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the 14th Assembly there was a report that recommended multi-year funding and the importance that it would bring to NGO organizations to create stability and a sense of continuity for their funding source. Mr. Speaker, in the 15th Assembly I was able to work with the NWT Seniors’ Society to help get them a multi-year funding agreement, and special recognition goes to then-Minister Miltenberger of the Department of Health. Mr. Speaker, that was a milestone, I’d say, but one that, I think, passed without any thunder and excitement, because it was a big milestone. Mr. Speaker, my questions now go to, I’m going to say, Minister Roland, because I think it touches on both his departments, both Finance and Health. So my questions to Minister Roland today are what is the difficulty to create a process that still alludes us? What is the difficulty starting a program and a policy clearly outlined that can help NGOs get a multi-year funding agreement in place? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister responsible for Finance, Mr. Roland.

Return To Question 189-15(6): Multi-Year Funding For Non-Government Agencies

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as the Member himself has stated, multi-year funding has been entered into in a number of areas through a number of departments and that continues to be the program we do have available. Each department would look at a case-by-case if they could support that. Ultimately, whether we call it multi-year funding or not, every year has to have its approval through our budget process and the approval of this Assembly. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Supplementary To Question 189-15(6): Multi-Year Funding For Non-Government Agencies

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, the Minister must have been answering with his Finance hat on in that situation because the fact is he’s quite correct that every year has to be approved. However, the fact is we can set out long-term agreements clearly in writing and, as I’ve said on numerous occasions, that if we have a bad year in the Assembly where we have to do cutbacks, that proviso could always be written into any agreement. I’ll tell you, the NGOs that I speak to welcome that because they recognize that we can’t predict every day for how many more years ahead of us. So the fact is, this can and will save us money. Would the Minister agree today to look into setting up a process that we could streamline a system, that any group who wants to come forward and ask for multi-year funding with the provisos required, that he can set up this process so we can get the ball moving on this initiative? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Roland.

Further Return To Question 189-15(6): Multi-Year Funding For Non-Government Agencies

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the issue of multi-year funding has been looked at by departments and, as I’ve stated, we do enter into multi-year agreements; they are case by case. I can, once again, bring back to my colleagues on the Cabinet side if this is to be reviewed and if there are potential changes that could be made there. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Supplementary To Question 189-15(6): Multi-Year Funding For Non-Government Agencies

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the answer because I see the Minister recognizes how important this is. Mr. Speaker, he says case by case. The one thing I think will help everyone out there who are in the NGOs would be, for example, if the Department of Finance set out rules and guidelines and anyone could work with the individual department. So would the Minister of Finance take upon the work to design some type of framework that an NGO can go to, maybe a website, click download it and help the application process? Therefore, when it goes to the specific department, we’ve already streamlined the system so people can go through it and see if it can work in that particular case. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Before I go to Mr. Roland, I’m going to take just an opportunity to recognize a couple of people in the Chamber that I was waiting for this opportunity while they were in here. There’s two Pages from my riding, Hay River North: Rena Squirrel at the back and Kayla Maurice right here at the front.

---Applause

They’re doing an excellent job for us. Thank you, girls. Mr. Roland.

Further Return To Question 189-15(6): Multi-Year Funding For Non-Government Agencies

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I know the Member, whenever he rises on a question, would like to hear a simple plain yes to his questions, but I think at times we have to take a step back and look at the whole process. As we have in the past, we have looked at multi-year funding programs. There are a number of them in place, but there are so many differences between the specific departments and programs; whether they’re contract, contribution, that all has to be taken into consideration. I don’t think it is as easy as saying one process will work for everyone. But as stated, I’ll bring it back to the table for further discussion. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Mr. Speaker, there’s been studies that have demonstrated that there is many thousands of tradesmen short across the country. Institutes of technology like SAIT and NAIT are going virtually around the clock trying to train all the apprentices that they’re trying to get into the system as we’re doing with nurses and other professions to try to meet the demand. In the Northwest Territories, we face similar restrictions and shortages. The college in Fort Smith, the trades program, unfortunately cannot deliver all the programs and all the years of a trades program that are required. There is one instructor for welding; there’s one instructor for plumbing; there’s one instructor for electrical.

Mr. Speaker, my question to the Minister is: Has there been a review of the requirements in order to have four years of all the trades programs offered in the Northwest Territories? Right now there are severe limitations because of student contact hours, professional development, annual leave and all these other restrictions. Thank you.

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

Return To Question 190-15(6): Review Of Apprenticeship Programs

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, we’ve contracted for a review of the Apprenticeship Program in the Northwest Territories earlier this year and we’re expecting to see a draft of the report in late September. So by this fall there should be a thorough review that will be available to the new government.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. Miltenberger.

Supplementary To Question 190-15(6): Review Of Apprenticeship Programs

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it’s good to hear that that work is being done. This final question then to the Minister is, being as we don’t know the results, would the intention be to try to have that information be able to tie into the current business planning process that is unfolding now, as we speak, that will be ready for the 16th Assembly? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Mr. Dent.

Further Return To Question 190-15(6): Review Of Apprenticeship Programs

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Hopefully it will be done. If I remember correctly, the draft was supposed to be done by the end of September. So hopefully there won’t be issues around the review of that and I would expect it could be turned around fairly quickly into final form, which would mean that it should be ready for consideration during the business planning process.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Transportation in terms of the issue on feasibility study on the extension of the runways in the small communities. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister of Transportation, Mr. Menicoche.

Return To Question 191-15(6): Airport Runway Extensions In Small Communities

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. The Member is correct; the department has undertaken a student to look at all the airport runways in our communities, to look at the length and as well as the 2010 new CATSA requirement for runway lights there, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Supplementary To Question 191-15(6): Airport Runway Extensions In Small Communities

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister is clear there that the federal government has put some restrictions on runways by the year 2010. I would ask the Minister if the feasibility study will be out amongst our people that are going to be affected in these small communities in terms of what type of provisions that we have to prepare if the Government of the Northwest Territories or the federal government doesn’t step in to help extend some of these runways that are desperately needed in the regions, especially the ones with no highway or bridges?

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Menicoche.

Further Return To Question 191-15(6): Airport Runway Extensions In Small Communities

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I believe all our communities have runways, so I don’t know what the Member is talking about. The existing runways aren’t impacting any current movement of our freight and transportation of people there, Mr. Speaker, but the runway issue study is to identify the need for extensions in the communities that may have shorter runways and requirements for the 2010 CATSA requirements for longer runways. It is going to have an impact upon our government, Mr. Speaker. We’re looking at potentially 16 runways right now and it’s estimated between 44 to 170 million dollars to extend them. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Supplementary To Question 191-15(6): Airport Runway Extensions In Small Communities

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I believe the Minister was up in Colville Lake and landed on their runway. I think that, compared to Yellowknife, the Colville Lake runway is like a parking lot and we want to extend. There’s lots of activity going on in the Sahtu region. I just got word this afternoon that some more oil and gas activity is going to be happening this year.

More?

More and more. Mr. Speaker, I would ask the Minister if he would consider, with his counterpart in the federal government, looking at grandfathering some of these clauses in terms of our runways because of the speed of light that this government works and the federal government works in terms of extending these runways to meet the regulations of the MOT's and flying into our communities?

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Menicoche.

Further Return To Question 191-15(6): Airport Runway Extensions In Small Communities

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I just want to say that right now DOT has no immediate plans to be extending any runways in the NWT, but we do have several runway extensions identified within our current 20-year needs assessment. I just want to add, Mr. Speaker, that the longer runways have been suggested as a solution for supporting air carriers, existing planes. The theory is that a longer runway will allow the aircraft to meet the requirements in all situations is incorrect. Longer runways will not solve aircraft performance requirement problems, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Final supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Supplementary To Question 191-15(6): Airport Runway Extensions In Small Communities

I don’t know; I need to read the Hansard again. Mr. Speaker, the issue here is very dear to my people in the Sahtu region about longer runways. They have told the Minister, they have told this government, they have told me that the issue of the longer runways is critical, critical to their services, critical to the safety of our people, critical to developing our region. We can’t get a road right away into our region; it doesn’t look like we’re going to get any bridges yet; at least look at helping us with the extension of our runways. By golly, can this Minister do something like that? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Menicoche.

Further Return To Question 191-15(6): Airport Runway Extensions In Small Communities

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to say that we’re not not doing anything, Mr. Speaker.

---Laughter

At the Member’s request, we’ve undertaken and pressed forward with this runway extension study. It’s something that we’re looking at. We’re looking at the 2010 regulations as part of the study to see how much of an impact the requirements of the 2010 will actually have, then, thirdly, to identify which communities will require these extensions and work forward to a plan to move towards it, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have to bring this up again to the Minister of Human Resources here on the last day of Assembly, because the answers to these questions are so important and so serious to a constituent of mine in Hay River who's going to be wanting to hear the answer. One of the grounds of discrimination covered by the NWT Human Rights Act is family. Family status includes the status of being related to someone who requires your care. An employer's duty to accommodate includes accommodating, including family obligations. Family obligations could include requesting altered scheduling hours of work to accommodate caring for a family member. An employer is expected to look for ways to accommodate family obligations. The other consideration is that the family issues is an obligation, not a preference. Caring for an immediate family member with a disability is considered a family obligation. Does the Minister feel, or can he assure me, that the policy of the GNWT reflects this in the human rights legislation? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Honourable Minister responsible for Human Resources, Mr. Dent.

Return To Question 192-15(6): Human Resources Duty To Accommodate Policy

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm obviously not a labour lawyer or qualified to interpret the legislation as it might be done before the courts, but I will assure the Member that we will have a look at the human rights legislation. We'll have a look at what the requirements are and ensure that this government is in compliance. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Supplementary To Question 192-15(6): Human Resources Duty To Accommodate Policy

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, does the Minister concur that public servants of the GNWT should not have to take issues such as this to the Human Rights Commission to get a satisfactory solution; that as a leader and a role model in employing people in the public service in the Northwest Territories that this government should be setting that high standard and that it should directly comply with the human rights legislation? Thank you.