Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to recognize our visitors from Ulukhaktok and the Nunakput riding, specifically Patrick Joss. I know some other Members have talked about Patrick. He’s a real ambassador for the community of Ulukhaktok and the riding of Nunakput and it’s great to see him here in the House today.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Item 6, acknowledgements. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I had an acknowledgement that I would like to address.
The Member is seeking unanimous consent to go back to item 6 on the Order Paper.
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He didn’t give notice?
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Okay. Item 8, written questions.
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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Recently the City of Yellowknife launched a public news release to inform the public that they have now taken on the Certificate of Recognition program that they have been awarded with that accreditation. Asking for the COR program to be implemented in the Government of the Northwest Territories through the leadership of Public Works and Services here, I’ve been asking them for some time about when they will be bringing this program forward and implementing it when it comes to our contracting of services.
My question to the Minister of Public Works and Services is, quite simply, this: Does the Minister see the rolling out of the COR process, that’s the Certificate of Recognition, happening any time soon and, if anything, can he point to a particular date when we can start seeing that program implemented?
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister responsible for Public Works and Services, Mr. Jackson Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. This area of COR competence, the safety factor has been discussed for numerous occasions now. It has been recognized through the Northwest Territories, as well, through various companies. These are discussions that we continue to have within Public Works and Services along within the GNWT as a whole. There are various partners involved, as well, whether it be WSCC and Public Works and Services and other companies as well. The safety factor plays a key role in all company businesses, so we will continue to have the dialogue with the organization.
Many businesspeople are taking the initiative to join the Certificate of Recognition program, the COR program, from across our territory from big communities to small communities. It’s becoming a territorial initiative. To add one more, it’s actually becoming a national trend where many jurisdictions, whether it’s the provinces or even the federal government, are leaning towards this is the type of recognition that you need to have in order to apply for service contracts, construction works, et cetera. Recognizing that there’s been a commitment from many small businesses here in the Northwest Territories working towards this, does the Minister see the GNWT implementing COR as a requirement in government programming when we go to tenders?
We deal with, as I stated, various companies. One of them is of course the Northern Safety Association, which we have a GNWT representative on there as ex-officio. As PWS we work in collaboration with the Department of Transportation and NWT Housing Corporation on developing a position as encouraging contractors to utilize these services. It is a northern-wide safety factor, COR competence.
As I stated, these are ongoing discussions that we are having. We recognize through all the organizations that have been highlighted as recipients of COR. We’ll continue to work with them.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.
QUESTION 39-17(1):
STUDENT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE REVIEW
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Education. It’s concerning the financial assistance program. One of the concerns I’ve heard of during the campaign was that we are fully funding a lot of the students, which I recommend is a good idea, but we have no agreements to see any of those benefits. Some of the fully funded students get jobs in the South and there’s no agreement for us to see any of their benefit in the North. Will the Minister see if that will be part of the review?
Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. The honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. That is the very reason why we’re doing the overall review of the Student Financial Assistance. We want to hear from the students and community members, such as Hay River North and the general public. If there are issues or concerns or ideas or suggestions that can be brought forward, and this particular area of concern that has been brought by the Member will be highlighted as part of our discussion as we review the overall SFA.
Just one other question. My other question was an issue from one of the students in my constituency, who indicated that the core of the review for residency is fairly lengthy. Would the department look to streamline that process as well?
It’s not the first time we’ve heard that from a community member. That is part of the process that we need to discuss under the review. I hope that the general public and the particular individuals who may have some concerns, that they can raise that issue during the review process and that will be taken into consideration. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. They deal with his Minister’s statement on Friday dealing with the Aboriginal Student Achievement update. He set out four priorities, and my question is dealing with the early childhood and child care priority that he has put into his priorities for the ASA achievement.
What’s currently in place that he can provide us information on for early childhood and development programs throughout the Northwest Territories? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Within Education, Culture and Employment, early childhood has always been a priority for this government and it is a priority for ASA now. This is an area that has been a prime focus when we visited all five regions plus the Yellowknife region, so six regions; discussion on our priorities. Early childhood has always been at the forefront of our discussions. Within our department we provide various funding, whether it be the daycare operations, the workers and subsidizing those individuals that are in the child care programming, the Head Start Program. We have partnerships with the federal government as well. There are numerous, various different programs relating to early childhood and the child care services within our department. Mahsi.
We do know there are programs out there and we do know that it is a priority for the government and within the Department of ECE. My question specifically was what programs are in place for communities that don’t have those programs and communities that need those facilities. What are the action steps that the Department of ECE is going to take within the next two years to make sure that those infrastructures are put in place so that people in our communities and children can succeed? Thank you.
As I stated, there are a number of programs within the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. Some communities may not have specific programming, but it is delivered through the regional programming officers as well. Just highlighting some of them is: Early Childhood Program administration operations and maintenance, Early Childhood Program, there are contributions in place within the communities; early childhood small communities initiatives; healthy children initiatives; Language Nest, Early Childhood Development Framework for Action. These are just some of the programs I’ve highlighted and there are a number of other programs that specifically relate to the communities and also to the regions. We will continue to increase those where it is badly needed. Mahsi.
Like I mentioned earlier, I do know there are programs out there, but in some of the communities and regional centres specifically, there is not enough infrastructure to house the number of youth that we’re getting that need those programs. Moving forth with his Minister’s statement last week, he did mention that one of his priorities were Aboriginal language and culture. However, there’s nothing stating here in his next steps about increasing our Aboriginal and northern teachers within the Northwest Territories. As you know, we do have a high transition of workers in the Northwest Territories. I wonder what is his plan to create jobs in the Northwest Territories for Aboriginal and northern people.
Mr. Speaker, producing Aboriginal language teachers is also one of our top priorities, because we’ve heard from the forums that we’ve had on ASA, language immersion is their priority as well. We need to do that with qualified Aboriginal language teachers and language speaker teachers. With that, we’ve initiated the TEP program, ALCIP program through the Tlicho Community Services Agency a couple years ago. Now we’re initiating that in the Beaufort-Delta. The next step is also on the Hay River Reserve. Those teacher education programs and Aboriginal language instructors programs are being initiated as we speak. We need to reach out to those regions and to the communities and that’s what we’re doing. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Minister, for your answer on that question. In terms of your priorities – and I do know that the ASA does provide funding to all the communities – you mentioned that there were five communities that received funding this year. How were those communities chosen to receive that funding?
Mr. Speaker, there may only be five communities at this time but we’re looking at the other communities as well. It is based on the committee that has been formed and established. There is a steering committee that consists of various groups and they make recommendations to my attention and we move forward on those initiatives. We have to keep in mind that we have to deal with all 33 communities, and the five communities I think is a good start. We need to work with other communities as well. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of the NWT Housing Corporation. I’d like to follow up on my statement earlier today. My colleagues and I have spoken in the past about including more creative mechanisms in our collection of rents in communities. With few jobs, the lack of wage opportunities could be offset by allowing tenants to reduce their rent by, for example, supplying wood for the community or public housing, or giving their labour in maintaining and repairing houses. I’m wondering if the Minister can say if such options are being examined in the Shelter Policy review that’s currently underway. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Robert McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member is quite correct; there has been some input as to how we can be creative in allowing people to take care of their arrears or pay on their arrears. There have been some cases in the past where this has happened, and it’s something that I can assure the Member and all Members that it’s something that we are looking at to find ways. I mean, obviously there are going to be other issues, but we have to sort through those and try to find common ground that will work for both tenants and the local housing authorities. Thank you.
I appreciate the response from the Minister. I will look forward to the results there. It’s my understanding that under the current funding arrangements, local housing organizations who do not meet their rent recovery targets lose operating funds equivalent to the amount of uncollected rents. This is a very retrograde approach, because whether they collect rent or not, their costs of providing housing don’t go down. It only digs a pit of debt, and I realize there’s a balance here. Can the Minister say whether the options being considered in the Shelter Policy review include the possibility of disconnecting rent collection from operating funds allocation? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, we ask all our LHOs to meet a specific target – usually it’s around 90 percent – and that would allow them to do the work that they have the money to do the work; the revenue could do the work that they need. As far as taking money back for rent not collected, I would have to follow up on that because I’m not sure if we really do that, but we do set a specific target and it’s an internal target that the LHOs try and reach so that they’re able to generate enough revenue to help with their repairs and that they need. But I’d have to follow up on the Member’s second point and I don’t really think that we do that. Thank you.
Again, I appreciate the Minister’s response and commitment to looking into that and getting me that information.
My next question is the Nunavut Housing Corporation has some interesting features, one of which I mentioned: a sliding scale for maximum rent from 10 to 28 percent. Another feature is that rent is re-evaluated annually on September 1st, to account for changes in income. Income is based on the previous tax year. Many beneficial factors worth consideration must go along with that, and I’d be intrigued on what those might be. Will the Minister look at what the options are and/or, perhaps more directly, are these being considered in the current Shelter Policy review that is underway? Mahsi.
We have had internal discussions on doing the assessments on an annual basis based on last year’s tax receipt, as the Member has stated. One of the drawbacks is if they work in previous year and not work in the current year, they would be assessed on their rent or their tax or earnings from the last year so that may put them in a difficult position, but it is something that we are looking at.
We are looking at either doing an annual or a biannual basis. Feedback that I have had in some of my conversations with the LHOs, the assessment per month probably works best for the tenant and it would allow them to declare their income. It is something that we are looking at. We are looking at all different ways we can make providing housing and the assessments and that a lot easier for the LHOs and for the clients. This is all part of the Shelter Policy review. We are looking forward to the opportunity to meet with committee and go through some of the recommendations and options and get some feedback from them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I noticed the Minister focused on the one negative of the Nunavut side of things. The income may be different but, of course, one would hope that over time a family’s income rises rather than goes down, in which case it would actually be a benefit in allowing them a little adjustment time.
The Minister has heard me cite the commonly heard case of people refusing work to avoid radical increases in rents. In carrying out the Shelter Policy review, can the Minister give information on what other more flexible models are being examined? What options are available for adjustment of the rental rate regime? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I didn’t focus on the one negative; I’m just not sure how it would best apply to residents in the NWT. Obviously we know the challenges that Nunavut Housing is facing with the debt that they have. Ours is nowhere near that. It’s not even close. I’m just trying to focus on what I think would work best for the people we serve on this side of the North.
I can assure the Member that one of the things we’ve heard – and I think all of the MLA candidates heard as they were going through the campaign – was: “I don’t want to work because my rent is going to go up.” It is one of the most important reasons I think we undertook this Shelter Policy review, is to see if we can find ways to assist those people that are trying to work.
I am running out of liberty to say too much right now on the work we’ve done. I need to meet with committee, go through the recommendations and options with committee, and then we can roll it out to the public. I am positive that this will be well received by both Members and people across the Northwest Territories because this answers a lot of concerns that they have had in the last number of years. We are looking forward to rolling it out.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today I made a statement on the Dehcho Land Use Plan. My question is directed to the Premier. What is the Government of the Northwest Territories prepared to do to help move the Dehcho Land Use Plan forward so that it could be completed?
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The honourable Premier, Minister McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We think land use planning is a good thing, and it helps with planning for development in the Northwest Territories and also to protect areas of environmental importance.
We as a government have been working since the 16th Legislative Assembly to develop a land use framework for our government. We are continuing to work on that. I think the work that the Dehcho has been doing on the land use plan has been very good. I think the past chair will be very difficult to replace. I think that we are getting very close. As a government, we want to work with the Dehcho First Nation and the federal government to develop a real worthwhile and a forward looking land use plan that we can all work together from. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I just want to ask the Premier: Is there any follow-up on what it is we can do in terms of helping out the process? How is this government planning to ensure that the success of the interim Dehcho Land Use Plan is completed? Mahsi.
I think there are a lot of ways that we can work together. I think that with the advent of devolution and one of the things that the Government of the Northwest Territories wants to ensure is that lands that have not been selected by the Dehcho that there is some potential economic development that can be undertaken. I think that the areas that are of importance to the Dehcho First Nation, we want to work with them and the Government of Canada to make sure that they are clearly identified. We also want to make sure that there are lands available for land selection by the communities and the Dehcho when it comes down to it, because there are lands being set aside for protected areas. There are still lands that have to be identified by communities. We will work consistent with the Dehcho Land Use Plan in terms of reference with all of the main players to see if we can advance this fairly quickly.
My final question is to the Premier. Is there a timeline in terms of perhaps concluding the Dehcho Land Use Plan? I realize there have been a lot of discussions and pull towards concluding the Devolution Agreement. Will the Premier assure other First Nations, including the Dehcho First Nation, that their agreements would take precedence before the Devolution Agreement? Mahsi.
As a government, we are reaching out to all Aboriginal governments to establish good working relationships, and I think this is the kind of area that we think we can use to advance our working relationships with the Dehcho First Nation to work on the Dehcho Land Use Plan. I guess ideally we would like to see something happen within a year if that’s possible. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
