Debates of February 11, 2005 (day 34)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Premier, continuing along the theme of resource development and the Mackenzie Valley pipeline. Mr. Speaker, I was really pleased to hear the Premier say that there is a realization that no, we are not ready for this project and that we have come, or at least he and his Cabinet have come close to defining some of the terms we need to see in place. That was at least specific to the pipeline that a resource revenue sharing deal must be in place before we will endorse the start of this pipeline. That is an admirable position to be in. Mr. Speaker, if we are to see this happen, we have a lot of work to do amongst ourselves. I spoke about the need for trust at all levels to be able to achieve this. What kind of measures, Mr. Speaker, is this government taking to engender and foster the trust that we need to get on with this? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Premier, Mr. Handley.

Return To Question 365-15(3): Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Development

Yes, Mr. Speaker, we have a lot of work ahead of us in the next 18 months or so to get ready for the pipeline. I am confident that we will be there. I want to clarify it’s not just about money either. We have got environmental issues that have to be sorted out. We have training issues. We have social issues, but we have to work together to achieve that. Mr. Speaker, the issue of trust is a good question because we have to work with each other, all of us in government at all levels, NGOs, everybody, towards achieving what’s best for our people, and this pipeline presents a great opportunity.

I hope that people will work hard toward that objective and not try to stall it. In trust, we, first of all, have the Northern Strategy that we have been working on. I trust the Prime Minister when he gives me his word and he made the announcement with us on December 14th. I trust the Minister of DIAND when he comes here next month and possibly the month after, and our MP. So we built that relationship, and until they show me they shouldn’t be trusted, I trust them.

I have been meeting with the Aboriginal Summit and with regional aboriginal leaders. Our most recent meeting was a little over a week ago. We had some good discussions and we will continue to have those discussions, but when I say something at the meeting and when they say something, then we have to approach it from the point that we are all being genuine in our statements back and forth to each other.

Mr. Speaker, those have been the two main areas, but we have to work with the other non-government organizations and with training institutions and be confident that they are going to work with us. That’s how we become self-reliant people in the Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Supplementary To Question 365-15(3): Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Development

Mr. Speaker, the Premier’s remarks are, of course, appropriate and encouraging, but I think there are things we need to do to move this along. The social agencies have been the ones who have been really at the plate trying to bring our attention to their concerns. What are we going to do to assist them in their drastically underfunded and under-resourced capacity to really be a player? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Handley.

Further Return To Question 365-15(3): Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Development

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. For starters, 70 percent of our budget of roughly $1 billion is for social programs. I don’t have a breakdown of how much of that goes to the agencies and what their priorities are and how they are going to go about achieving it. I would sure like to share that with them, as much as we have time to do it. I am sure the Ministers of the social programs will be able to give us a lot of detail, as we get into the department estimates, of where that 70 percent of the money is going. We’ve said yes and the Minister of Finance say it goes to social programs and community-level programs. Let’s work together to get some real tangible results that make a difference to people. That’s a big chunk of money. Are we going to get enough for each of the agencies that they will say don’t give us anymore, we have enough? I don’t know if we can afford that. We are dedicating a huge chunk of our budget, but it may never be quite enough for everybody. But we will make sure that we are working with the communities, municipal and band governments, the best way to get the best return for the dollars we are spending. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Supplementary To Question 365-15(3): Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Development

Mr. Speaker, the social agencies, the frontline agencies, continue to make the point to me as recently as yesterday with the budget that we are terribly under-prepared at the community level to cope with the consequences of a pipeline. This is where, I believe, we can really do something to help promote and engender the trust and preparedness at the community level. Will this government be prepared to come to their aid and do something soon?

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Handley.

Further Return To Question 365-15(3): Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Development

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think you will find that we are coming to the aid of the communities and the social agencies in a big way. Seventy percent of $1 billion is a lot of money. How does that money get allocated? How is it spent? Those are things that have to be worked out with communities, with the NGOs, the social agencies. My appeal to all of the agencies and programs that work in this is we have to work together on it. We can’t sit back and criticize each other and say we aren’t going to do anything because we haven’t got enough money. We have to take the resources we have and move it as far as we can. I will continue that struggle with Ottawa. I think the Finance Minister and myself have been very successful in the last few months of getting more money for us. We have the $40 million that is there that we will receive sometime next year that the Finance Minister mentioned yesterday. Money is there, but money isn’t everything. There has to be the willingness to work together and I appeal to all of the agencies to work with us. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.