Thank you, Mr. Blake. The honourable Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to bring up the issue of Hay River’s harbour, because most of you know that Hay River is a natural transportation hub. Hay River is the start point for a lot of the barging and tugboats that go up or down the Mackenzie. The harbour is important to commercial vessels, commercial fishing and recreation uses. We have a Canadian Coast Guard based there as well.
The federal government once dredged the harbour to clear the silt that came down the Hay River. The federal government no longer dredges the harbour. The growing sandbars are making it more difficult to come into the harbour. The local fishermen and their 50-foot boats are sometimes hitting bottom in rough water.
Members and the public will recall in 2008 when we had a flood in the Vale Island area. Residents of Hay River have taken the time with the impacts of the sandbars. Six members of the Hay River Flood Mitigation Committee are taking the proactive approach to flooding. They have come up with a variety of options and one of those options is determining the costs of dredging.
In today’s day and age, with improving equipment and technologies and expertise, we should be able to dredge this harbour. The opportunity is building capacity for the North and Hay River. Hopefully we will be able to use and maximize some of our local contractors in this area. The federal government still has jurisdiction over the NWT waterways and we should pressure the federal government to implement some of the dredging in the Hay River area. The Government of the Northwest Territories needs to consider the Hay River harbour when it is planning to spend money in the upcoming years. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to speak about investment into Highway No. 7 or the lack thereof. My residents and constituents are disappointed that Highway No. 7 is nowhere on the GNWT’s fiscal roadmap this coming year. Residents know that the highway infrastructure is key to economic development in the Nahendeh region. Recently re-elected Chief Deneron heard this very clearly during his campaign. The road conditions isolate the people of Fort Liard. It is easier to drive to B.C. for goods and services than to Fort Simpson. By leaving Highway No. 7 out of its plans, dollars flow out of the North down a smoother highway.
As well, why is the number of tourists in the Deh Cho region down 30 percent from last year? The parks in the Deh Cho are some of the best in Western Canada. In the not so distant past, six tour buses travelled Highway No. 7 every season down to Fort Simpson. That number is down to zero now.
We can blame the economy for the lack of dollars for investment, but the economy looks a lot better than our highway. The Government of the Northwest Territories is making significant investments in tourism. The effort to attract more visitors to the NWT is getting noticed, but it is hard to promote our territory when visitors arrive and find the chipseal has turned to chowder. There is no sense in investing in tourism if we lack adequate road infrastructure to get here.
I just want to note, as well, I was paying much attention to the Finance Minister’s fiscal and economic update earlier today. If we do get some money to increase our borrowing limit, he is going to invest in a certain amount of projects, but nowhere does he mention Highway No. 7. That is disheartening, especially when in Committee of the Whole he said that it will be red-flagged and won’t end up on the red flag B list, which means that I believe in his statement Highway No. 7 should have been there. It continues to be a priority of this government because Highway No. 7 is an important link to Western Canada. The longer we ignore it, the more expensive it gets. Mahsi cho.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] I am glad that I am able to make a statement on the 16th Assembly. In the 16th Assembly they said that there would be a health centre that can be worked out in Fort Providence and with the new health centre the Town of Fort Providence would benefit from that. [Translation ends]
…use of local expertise. There should be good local jobs and business stemming from this project. This is the kind of development the community will be proud of. The health centre is the only real capital project being carried over from the last Assembly, but there is a lot of other work that needs to be done in all Deh Cho communities.
I spoke recently about developing mine mass resources in Fort Providence. Just down the road, the people of Kakisa want to build a central heating centre for the community. They envision burning wood or wood products such as pellets. I strongly support the use of local resources to lower costs and create jobs in the communities. In this case, we would also replace fossil fuels with a renewable source of energy. This is part of managing our land. I hope this government will work with Kakisa on this project.
The need for capital is somewhat different in Enterprise. As Members know, there is no school in Enterprise. Each day all of the students are bussed to Hay River. People in the community understandably worry about having all the local kids arriving in one bus every day. This problem could be solved by adding classrooms to the hamlet building, particularly for the younger students. I will be raising this matter with the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Finally, there is a need for a swimming pool at the Hay River Reserve. The community proposes that an addition be built at the Chief Lamalice Community Centre to house a pool. I am proud of these proposals from the Deh Cho communities. They are not huge projects; they are all practical and they all represent economical ways to meet the communities’ needs.
I look forward to working with these projects into our capital plan and getting the building itself underway. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It was indeed a pleasure to host Their Excellencies Mr. Governor General David Johnston and his wife Sharon Johnston here today. I want to say that tomorrow we will have the opportunity to host them in Hay River. We are very excited.
This is a first time in a very long time we have had a Governor General visit Hay River. I can’t tell you how long, but it is a very long time. When they arrive tomorrow, a member of the famous Beck dogsledding family will be taking them out for a dogsled ride. Danny Beck will be taking them out. After that they will go over to the Dene Cultural Institute. They will meet with community leaders there. They will then go to the Chief Lamalice Community Centre for a community feast of traditional foods. They will be able to observe a drum dance, a drum prayer with the elders and the young students there and many other ceremonies that are unique to our neighbours on the K’atlodeeche First Nation.
Then on Saturday they are going to have an opportunity to get up nice and early and take a bombardier ride on Great Slave Lake and attend with Shawn Buckley to pull fish nets on Great Slave Lake. Then we will be treated to fish delicacies after that. Then they will be off to the Hay River Ski Club. It is an exciting day at the ski club on Saturday because it is the Arctic Winter Games biathalon trials. We will have young people there from many different communities competing in that. It is my understanding that Their Excellencies will be fitted with cross-country skis, boots and poles and will actually be going out on a ski with some representatives, some other young representative skiers from our community. Apparently, they are going to do a two-kilometre ski at the ski club. They’re going to be meeting some youth ambassadors there, one from Fort Smith and Mr. Ty Buchanan from Hay River. They will then attend a community reception at the Hay River Golf Club, which they reactivated and we don’t usually have our golf club really open in the wintertime, but it will be ready to go with some community leaders and this event is open to the public. They’ll be treated to some music, some performing choirs, and they will be able to witness the race start for the Arctic Winter Games biathlon trials and the awards ceremony.
So it will be a very, very full and busy visit to Hay River, but we are so delighted to have them come there and I wanted to just point out that there are two opportunities for the public to be involved. One on the K’atlodeeche First Nation at the complex.
Sorry; could I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement, please?
---Unanimous consent granted
Thank you, colleagues, and thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, so there are two opportunities for the public to participate. One across on the reserve and then at the ski club. Also that event is open to the public.
Mr. Bouchard and I will depart early tomorrow morning to be there to receive Their Excellencies when they arrive in Hay River, so we won’t be able to join you in the House tomorrow, but we are very pleased, and honoured and excited to be having them visit our community starting tomorrow. Thank you.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe. Mr. Beaulieu.
Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. [English translation not provided.]
Mr. Speaker, today I would like to pay tribute to a well-respected elder, Pierre Catholique from Lutselk’e, who passed away last week. Elder Pierre Catholique was born May 1, 1927, and passed away on Tuesday, November 29, 2011, at age 84.
Pierre was born and raised around the Artillery Lake area at Gahcho Kue and that’s also in the Reliance area, known as Nats’ejee K’eh. He lived a very traditional lifestyle by hunting, trapping, fishing and gathering on the land. As a young man Pierre worked with the RCMP in Fort Reliance and worked in the mining exploration industry in Pine Point and Yellowknife areas. He did commercial fishing out of Hay River. Pierre eventually settled in Lutselk’e and continued a traditional and cultural lifestyle.
Pierre was well known for making traditional art and handicrafts, such as miniature dog teams, snowshoes, caribou hide drums and baby rattles. I’m fortunate enough to have two of Pierre’s drums that he made last year.
Pierre was actively involved in the East Arm Park proposal and was a member of the Thaidene Nene Parks Advisory Committee. He was instrumental in the direction that’s been taken for creating the Thaidene Nene Park.
Pierre was very concerned about the land and water. He was the first person to tell me about the contamination at Stark Lake. He asked me to ensure that a Stark Lake mining exploration site was cleaned up. He blamed that site for the mercury levels in the fish at Stark Lake.
Pierre is survived by his children: Mary Jane, who is married to Chief Antoine Michel; Herman; Joseph; Marina, married to Robert; Henry; and he also had custom adopted Ray Griffith, who is the current band manager, as his son. His siblings are Edward, John, Joe, Victor, Alfred, Annie, Agnes and Lorraine, as well as 14 grandchildren, numerous great-grandchildren, cousins and friends in Lutselk’e, Fond du Lac, Saskatchewan, across the Great Slave Lake and across the NWT.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. My condolences go out to Pierre’s family.
A church service for Pierre was held on Saturday, December 3, 2011, which I attended. Pierre will be buried in Fort Reliance on Saturday, December 10, 2011, alongside his wife, Judith, and son Lawrence, as was his wish. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m very pleased to recognize four special ladies today. First of all our new president of the Northwest Territories Status of Women Council representing the Deh Cho region, Tina Gargan.
Also Georgina Jacobson-Masuzumi, a board member with the NWT Status of Women Council from the Beaufort-Delta. I think you know her, Mr. Speaker.
Lorraine Phaneuf, executive director, Northwest Territories Status of Women Council.
And Gail Cyr, special advisor to the Minister responsible for the Status of Women.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Fort Smith, Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your uncle had trouble with Thebacha, too. He used to call it Tobacca.
---Laughter
God rest his soul.
I’m pleased to stand here today. I would like to recognize in the gallery, of course, my wife, who is up today and will be joining us for supper tonight. I’d like to thank her for coming and sharing some time with us and with me. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s a pleasure today to recognize in the visitors gallery Mr. Andrew Cassidy, who is the president of the Northwest Territories Farmers Association. That is his full-time job. He’s also a Hay River town councillor. Thank you.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. I’d like to welcome my mother, Georgina Jacobson-Masuzumi into the House. Welcome.
I’d like to welcome all of our guests who haven’t been recognized to the House today. Welcome.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to use this opportunity to celebrate the achievement of a resident and constituent of Inuvik. Ms. Alison Lennie had attended the University of Alberta for four years, got her commerce degree, and just recently wrote and passed her exam to become a chartered accountant and received her designation.
I think this is important that we use opportunities like this to celebrate the achievements and the accomplishments of our young people, and I think that goes a long way to showing that our education system is really working, and what you put into it is what you’re going to get out of it was a comment that I’ve heard in some conversations that I’ve had.
So, I’d like to ask the House to join me in congratulating Ms. Lennie and encourage all our youth from across the Territories to take advantage of all the opportunities we have as a government to go and further their education, and we as a Northwest Territories will benefit because of it. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I discussed in my Member’s statement about dredging, my question today would be to the Minister of Transportation. Does the territorial government have any dredging plans in the Northwest Territories currently?
Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. The honourable Minister, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Member for the question. Currently the responsibility of dredging in Hay River would fall with the federal government. That was discontinued in 1994. Certainly the Government of the Northwest Territories understands and appreciates the need for those channels to be cleared. There have been some concerns brought forward by commercial fishers, the Canadian Coast Guard, of the silting and the reduced availability of water within those navigation channels in the port of Hay River. It’s an issue that I think we need to keep pressing on the federal government to come up with a new program to address the concerns with dredging in the port of Hay River.
My next question is: Has the department assessed the dredging needs throughout the Northwest Territories?
I know there’s been some work done in Hay River, some analysis done on the need to dredge in Hay River. I’m not aware of any other studies that have been conducted in other ports across the Northwest Territories, but that information I’d be more than happy to get for the Member.
Can the Minister of Transportation inform me of any discussions the department has had recently with the federal government on dredging?
My tenure as Minister of Transportation hasn’t been a long one and I wouldn’t be able to speak to my predecessor’s discussions with the federal government specific to the dredging in Hay River.
Going forward, when I do have the opportunity to sit down with my federal colleague Minister Lebel, it’s an issue that I certainly would like to raise with him.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Final supplementary, Mr. Bouchard.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister of Health and Social Services.
In the 16th Assembly the Department of Health and Social Services cancelled funding for a respite program that was ongoing here in Yellowknife. It was a program that provided much needed relief to the caregivers of disabled children, and the families of those children and to the children themselves as well. The program was to be reviewed and revised. My understanding is that in the revision it was going to become a territorial program and expand well beyond Yellowknife and the three or four other communities than it was in the last Assembly. I’d like to ask the Minister whether or not that review has been completed and ask him if he can share the results of that review with the Assembly.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Mr. Beaulieu.
I’m sorry, Mr. Speaker, I didn’t hear the question.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Take it as notice? Okay. Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are addressed to the Minister of Health and Social Services with regard to the respite program which was cancelled during the 16th Assembly. I would like to know from the Minister whether or not the review that was scheduled has been completed and ask the Minister to share the results of that review with the Assembly.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Sorry about that. The department is completing a review. It is not complete. The plan is to expand the program from what was in only Yellowknife, to expand outside of Yellowknife. A few of the committees have been established. A territorial advisory committee has been established by the department to assist with a working group that has been developed, a territorial respite model framework that is the strategy that will take us to 2017.
Thanks to the Minister. The Minister says that the review is not yet complete. In Yellowknife here, the Yellowknife Association for Community Living was instrumental in delivering the program here in Yellowknife to some 25 or 29 families. It was an extremely successful program. It was a very valued program. I would like to know from the Minister, if this review is still ongoing, what role the Yellowknife Association for Community Living either has played or will play in the completion of the review.
Yes, the department is dealing or consulting with the Yellowknife Association for Community Living as it expands the current program, which, again, was in Yellowknife and the intention of expanding outside. There is consultation between the department and YACL to expand the program outside of just Yellowknife.
I guess I’d like a little bit more elaboration from the Minister on how the Association for Community Living is being used. There is great expertise there with their staff and the way that they deliver the program here in Yellowknife. I know they were assisting the other three or four communities outside of Yellowknife who were trying to get a respite program started. Could the Minister tell me a bit more about what the association is doing? It’s one thing to consult, but are you using the expertise that the association has? When this new revised program is up and running, will the Association for Community Living help deliver that program in other communities?
