Good afternoon, colleagues. I’d like to acknowledge a former Member who passed away, a former scholar, activist and politician, Robert Williamson. He passed away at the age of 90 on Sunday, February 12, 2012. Mr. Williamson was the first elected Member for a newly formed Keewatin riding, later known as the Central Arctic riding. He was a member of the 5th and 6th Assemblies of the NWT Council from 1966 to 1970.
Mr. Williamson was born in England, November 2, 1931, and immigrated to Canada in 1952.
He began his long career in the North in the community of Fort Simpson where he started recording Dene folklore. In the 1950s, he lived in Pangnirtung where he learned to speak Inuktitut and founded the first Inuit language journal: “Inuktitut.”
Mr. Williamson taught at the University of Saskatchewan and was chair of the university’s International Committee. In his time in the North he helped establish the Arctic Research and Training Centre in Rankin Inlet and in 1958 founded the Eskimology section at the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs. He also worked with the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada, Canadian Eskimo Arts Council, the Inuit Circumpolar Conference and the CBC Northern Service. In 1983 he was invested into the Order of Canada.
Mr. Williamson was married to Karla Jessen Williamson. He had two children from his second marriage and four children from his first marriage. Our condolences go out to the Williamson family.
To pay respect to a former Member of the Legislative Assembly, our flags will be flying at half-mast today.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am happy today to update my colleagues on the huge increases in pelt prices seen at the first wild fur auction of the year.
However, I would first like to take a moment to recognize the loss of a respected elder, wise teacher and talented trapper, Mr. Aà Harry Pierre Mantla. Even at the age of 71, Aà was one of the most active trappers in the North Slave region and could be regularly counted on for 200 marten pelts a year. We would like to offer our sincere condolences to the Mantla family. His contribution to the fur industry will be missed.
The first wild fur sale of the season was held last month. Fur sold through the Genuine Mackenzie Valley Fur Program had notable price increases across the board; cross fox, red fox and beaver pelt prices all more than doubled. The prices were also up for grizzly bear, muskrat, wolf and arctic fox.
The pelts sold through our Genuine Mackenzie Valley Fur Program continue to fetch a higher-than-average price for harvesters in the Northwest Territories. One example is cross fox: a high of $100 for a pelt this year, compared to the overall average of $64.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Colleagues, before we continue on, I’d like to recognize a former Member of the Mackenzie Delta who sat in the 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th Legislative Assemblies, former Speaker, Minister and MLA, Mr. David Krutko. Welcome to the House, David.
The honourable Minister of Health, Mr. Beaulieu.
MINISTER’S STATEMENT 13-17(2):
Mr. Speaker, this Assembly has talked about the importance of supporting residents to be healthy, educated and free from poverty. I think most people in our territory will agree.
We need to help our children, families and communities get to a place where they feel good, can meet their own needs and contribute in a positive way to our society.
We’ve talked about the need to use prevention, education and awareness in making this happen. Today I will speak about the approach we want to take through the health and social services system to reach this goal.
Prevention is basically about making positive, healthy choices in the way we live our lives. I often talk about the four pillars of healthy living: eat healthy foods, get exercise, don’t smoke, and drink in moderation. These are all cornerstones of the government’s Healthy Choices Framework, and the Department of Health and Social Services works closely with other departments to promote these positive choices. Recently, Members of this House joined me in the launch of the My Voice, My Choice campaign. It gets NWT youth talking about addictions and alcohol abuse in their communities. If there is one thing that comes across in the stories these kids are telling, it is that they know what the issues are in their communities. They know what the problems are; we all do. They also make the connections between being active, eating right, avoiding alcohol and other drugs, and feeling well.
Over the next few weeks we will roll out other programs to support healthy choices. Drop the Pop will kick off in 40 schools. March is Nutrition Month, and during that time we will work closely with regional authorities and the Northern Nutrition Association to promote healthy eating through local activities such as cooking programs and grocery store tours. And we are working on a new anti-smoking campaign to encourage adults to be good role models for their children.
These investments are important and we have seen positive results from campaigns like Don’t Be a Butthead. Starting tomorrow, Stanton Hospital, including its grounds, will be a non-smoking zone. But real change has to start at the community level. Communities are essential in making prevention work. I have been travelling around the territory since I became Minister of Health and Social Services, and I have heard that we need to involve communities in designing and delivering programs that speak to local issues and priorities. Over the coming weeks and months I intend to reach out to communities, to Aboriginal leadership and to other stakeholders and invite them to partner with the department to find effective ways to encourage healthy choices, approaches based on local needs and priorities.
Prevention and health promotion activities are not only the right thing to do, they are essential if we want to improve the health status of our population and keep our system sustainable. I look forward to keeping you all up to date as our work in this area progresses. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The people of the Northwest Territories have a stake in the ongoing development of the oil sands. Protecting our land and water from potential downstream impacts of development in Alberta is critical.
The Joint Canada-Alberta Implementation Plan for Oil Sands Monitoring is a solid first step in addressing the concerns raised by Aboriginal peoples, scientists and concerned residents, both upstream and downstream, of impacts of the oil sands development on our waters.
This new oil sands monitoring plan is based on sound science and incorporates world-class tools to monitor and assess air quality, water quality and quantity, aquatic ecosystem health, wildlife toxicology, terrestrial biodiversity and habitat disturbance.
The new plan outlines a transparent and accountable monitoring system and adaptive management process, which could address the concerns of Northerners depending on how Canada and Alberta implement it.
While the implementation plan does not clearly identify governance mechanisms, I am encouraged by comments last week by Alberta Premier Alison Redford recognizing the need for an independent oversight committee or monitoring agency.
Collaboration with our government and residents of the Northwest Territories is definitely required if the monitoring plan is to be successful. We will continue to press both Canada and Alberta to include our government in the implementation of monitoring programs, and encourage the participation and engagement of Aboriginal people in it as well. We will be requesting representation on the independent oversight committee for our government and Aboriginal groups.
During the next few weeks I will be seeking further clarification on key aspects of the joint implementation plan and confirming our continued involvement through all phases of the new oil sands monitoring program. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today we in the North mourn the loss of a long-time friend. Bishop John R. Sperry passed away in Hay River on Saturday, February 11th, at the age of 87.
Bishop Sperry, known to his friends as Jack, was born in eastern England in 1924. He joined the British Royal Navy in 1943 and served until 1946 on the destroyers and escorts, doing convoy duty.
After completing his tour of duty, he immigrated to Canada in 1950, serving parishes in Kugluktuk, then known as Coppermine, and Fort Smith. He served as the diocese bishop of the Arctic for the Anglican Church from 1973 to 1990 and is the author of “Igloo Dwellers Were My Church,” a memoir of his time in the North.
Bishop Sperry worked throughout the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and northern Quebec. He travelled in the North, visiting communities along the way, telling his stories of the way things used to be, passing on his knowledge and experience wherever he went. He lived his life as a true Northerner, often travelling by dogsled.
He had an amazing respect for the culture of the Inuit people. He learned several northern languages and translated the Bible, prayer books and hymns into the Inuktitut dialect, which was instrumental in teaching the Anglican faith to the people of the Western Arctic.
After retirement Bishop Sperry worked with health and volunteer organizations, and was instrumental in supporting fellow veterans in the Northwest Territories. He was chaplain of the Rangers division of the Joint Task Force North. He regularly visited patients at Stanton Territorial Hospital as well as veterans and elders living at home or in long-term care facilities in Yellowknife.
In July 2002 Bishop Sperry was named Companion to the Order of Canada, recognizing his outstanding lifetime achievement and service to the North.
Bishop Sperry passed away peacefully with his loving family close by: his son John Sperry, his daughter Angela Friesen, and their families in Hay River, where he lived for the last several years. Bishop Sperry will be missed for his spiritual leadership, his stories, his sense of humour, and his knowledge and wisdom, but mostly and especially for the love he shared with so many people along the path that he took while spreading the word of God. The many people he taught and helped and the blessings he bestowed on all those he met will long be remembered.
He was dedicated to the people of Canada’s North for over 50 years. We thank him for this. I extend my sincere condolences to Bishop Sperry’s family and friends today. Our loss is heaven’s gain.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Most recently the Government of Quebec has announced new measures to counter cyber-bullying and bullying in schools, and I have to commend that government and other governments across Canada who have gone down that path.
This made me reflect that not that many weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending a town hall meeting with the YK1 trustees and parents. One of the topics discussed that night was on bullying and I was concerned that although the schools are doing their part to curb this type of behaviour, we as legislators are sitting on the sidelines with our mouths zippered. I ask myself why.
Why as legislators can’t we assist our school systems to provide measures to counter bullying and cyber-bullying? Why hasn’t the GNWT denounced cyber-bullying and violence by providing funds for aggressive campaign ads for television, radio or Internet awareness? Why can’t the GNWT provide a website to identify bullies and strategies for their victims? Why haven’t we acted as stewards to provide the ability for NWT residents to symbolically or publicly declare our concern against bullying? And most of all, why hasn’t the GNWT acted like many of our provincial counterparts and put measures and legislation in place to denounce bullying and cyber-bullying? This will be asked later today of the Minister of Education.
Some may argue that we already have such legislation via our NWT Human Rights Act under the protection against harassment, but I say with conviction that this is not enough. This act does not specifically address or protect the victims of bullying of our children and youth, and it clearly does not go far enough to protect ourselves from the ever evolving cyber-bullying that takes place.
It’s imperative that our message needs to be broad based and our responsibility should not only be to protect our children or youth during the school hours but at all times during their development period. The message should be loud and clear: This government has a moral and ethical obligation to stop bullying and stop the intimidation, that it has no place in our schools or in our northern society at large. We have the means and the power to draw the line in the sand to bullies everywhere to say no more.
As legislators we can and we must pull together to agree that anti-bullying and cyber-bullying legislation has to be added to our priorities in the coming months, and I ask each and every one of the MLAs here today to step forward and accept this challenge. Together we can change behaviour.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Growing old in the Sahtu is no picnic for our people. When the Minister of Health and I did a tour in the Sahtu region, we heard from many elders and heard from the leaders how hard and difficult it was for our old people to have family members live with them and to support them by cutting wood, hauling water, looking after their house, helping them with their medication.
Last week I heard my colleague Mr. Blake’s account of elders in the Mackenzie Delta who had to leave their families in the communities to live in home care. Over a number of years I have spoken about the support of our elders. What I want to talk about this afternoon is the government’s practice to claw back on income support for families and fuel subsidies, who have families living with these elders.
Many elders need help around the house and the elders need company. In my culture, family helps the older people and families stay together. This is one of the real strengths of our way of life. Coincidentally, it helps us govern too. It meets the objective for healthy, independent people. The problem is this government is not putting its money where its mouth is. Instead it is penalizing elders who have families living with them. An elder may be poor and broke, but if anyone lives in their house and makes a little money, income support will claw back. It’s the same story with the fuel subsidy. If there’s family income, someone has to pay Grannie’s fuel bill.
There are many ways to keep our people down and the clawback is one way. We talk about the Anti-Poverty Strategy in this House, and believe me, we need one. We have too much poverty with our elders. Instead of helping our people, this government clawing back on our elders will just make things worse. It’s time to change the policy. I urge this government to help our elders. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As Christmas approached a few months ago, I began to see ads in the newspaper advising Northerners about upcoming GNWT office closures, and I was struck by the contradiction in an ad from Education, Culture and Employment which gave notice of a two-week closure of all offices right beside a slogan proclaiming ECE helps you go places. Hopefully, ECE does that, but certainly not for the two weeks at the end of December and the beginning of January each year.
The motto of the strategic plan for the Department of Human Resources is: public service, public focus. I fail to understand how the government can call itself a public service and then remove that service for a protracted period of time. We’ve had Donnie Days since 1996, and although people have become used to the lack of service at Christmastime, it’s a most difficult time for residents who in an emergency need some GNWT help.
It’s time that we, as a government, review this shutdown situation. If we really want to provide the services to our residents as we profess to do, we must evaluate the value of closing such things as service centres, income support offices, student financial assistance offices. Listen to the names: service, support, assistance. We are definitely not providing any of that with our two-week Christmas break shutdowns.
I’ve worked in the retail service industry for almost 20 years and admittedly things slow down over Christmas and New Year’s, but life does not stop. The problems and the emergencies do not stop happening just because it’s Christmas. What are our residents supposed to do when they need help on December 23rd and no GNWT office is open? Who can they turn to? NWT programs and services are supposed to make life easier for our residents. Two-week-long closures are not a way to provide that help.
It’s time to review the impact of these GNWT Christmas closures. It’s time to consider the importance of service to our residents by the government. It’s time to look at keeping some offices open during the Christmas holidays. We don’t need to fully staff those offices, and I’m not asking for offices to be open on stat holidays, but we should have service-based programs available to our residents at any time of the year.
Current and previous Ministers of HR have often told us that the Department of Human Resources prides itself on its service to its customers, but does that same pride of service, that same culture of service exist in policy and overall government thinking? At a time when we are celebrating 60 years of public service by our Queen, when we’ve just awarded 11 Northerners the Queen’s Jubilee Medal for public service, it is ironic that our government has to be reminded of their duty to provide service for its residents. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, when we express our love to special people in our lives. I know most of us have good hearts, so I was a little shocked when I found out that strokes and heart attacks are the second most common cause of death in the Northwest Territories.
Our rate of heart of attacks is a bit lower than Canada’s, but our rate of strokes is about 50 percent higher than the national average. What makes this particularly scary is that effective treatment of strokes depends on very fast medical action. Most of our citizens won’t get that. Some communities have no nurse and even Yellowknife has no 911 emergency service.
There have been advances in heart research, and some of us have raised money for it. Once you have heart disease, there is no easy cure. Treatment includes medication, surgery, and a variety of procedures which can be invasive and expensive.
We should do all we can to prevent heart disease. Smoking, for example, is a major risk factor. In the Northwest Territories we smoke much more than the rest of Canada. Being physically active and healthy prevents heart disease. I was surprised to learn that only about 41 percent of the Northwest Territories population is physically active enough to maintain or improve their health compared to 53 percent of all other Canadians. Being overweight and obese is another risk factor. Again, we are worse off than the rest of Canada. Sixty-three percent of our Northwest Territories residents are overweight or obese and the number is increasing.
Moderate to vigorous physical activity is recommended for people of all ages. At least two and a half hours per week for adults and 60 minutes a day for children is needed. Of course, eating a balanced diet helps too. Even so, some heart conditions are not preventable.
About three years ago Fort Providence lost an 11-year-old girl to an undiagnosed heart condition. In memory of young Shayna, her mother Shauna Clark-Canadien is organizing a fashion show and a silent auction to raise money for the Heart and Stroke Foundation. It will take place in Fort Providence at the Nahecho Keh Centre on February 25th. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My Member’s statement today is going to be in regard to one of the Minister’s statements last week in regard to a strong, very heavy contribution that was made to the City of Yellowknife here. It is in regard to shelters in the communities of the Northwest Territories.
As great as it sounds for Yellowknife to have this shelter brought forth into our territory and help those people that are in need, we also have to look at adjusting the root causes and the issues. As long as this government doesn’t address those issues or those root causes that put our people into these shelters or make people go to these shelters, we are going to continue to have this problem. We are going to have to continue more infrastructure building to house these people in the communities that come from the communities who are either running away from very harmful relationships or who are having problems in the communities not having adequate housing.
We need to work together. This government needs to work together. Department and departments, when we build infrastructure, that we have programs to go alongside it. If we create programs, we have to have the infrastructure to house those programs to benefit the people of the Northwest Territories. Right now I think our government needs some work in that area. I think this government’s 17th Assembly should be addressing that over the next four years so that our people don’t suffer anymore. When we put our money out there to build these things, we should do it in the best way and for the best way for the people of the Northwest Territories.
I was really glad to hear of the Minister of Health’s statement earlier today, that we need some focus on prevention and promotion. I will have some questions for him later on today in regard to that area and possibly changing up some of our policies so that people of the Northwest Territories, our non-government organizations, our people who are working on the front lines have adequate resources and funding to put these programs into place to help these people that are in dire straits in these shelters. That is it, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to make another statement on the need for new schools in Nahanni Butte and Trout Lake. I want to thank the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment for writing to me last week to advise me where the schools stand in the department’s capital needs assessments.
According to the Education, Culture and Employment assessment, work to replace the Charles Yohin School should begin in 2016-17. Work to replace the Charles Tetcho School should begin in 2018-19. While this is good news, I am well aware that identifying needs for new schools and getting them into the capital plan are two different things. I am anxious to move to the next step. Of course, I would like to see work begin on the new schools sooner than the years ECE has identified because I do believe that they are urgent and critical.
I have clearly explained in earlier statements why replacements for these two schools are badly needed.
We won’t achieve the goal of having educated people, as we state over and over again in our Caucus strategic plans, without having suitable learning environments for our young people. The existing buildings are just not adequate. Every year we wait for new schools we risk the future success of our youth. I don’t believe that’s a risk we can afford to make, Mr. Speaker.
It’s good to have this letter in hand, but I want to be sure we are going to be hearing the wonderful and welcomed sound of saws and hammers in Nahanni Butte and Trout Lake within the next three years.
Later on today I will ask questions to the Minister as I continue to press for these needs of these new schools in our communities. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Negotiated contracts such as that proposed for Det’on Cho Corporation to realign Highway No. 4 play a critical role in the Northwest Territories. The Negotiated Contracts Policy is intended to lead to benefits which could not reasonably be expected through competitive processes which maximizes economic benefits for NWT residents and businesses, provides training and development opportunities, and supports the development of self-sustaining local and regional businesses. That sounds to me like a checklist of the merits of the Det’on Cho negotiated contract proposal for Highway No. 4. Det’ on Cho has proven its capacity in the initial Detah road contract, where it achieved a 70 percent Aboriginal hiring rate. The firm delivers projects safely, on time, on budget and well below costs of comparable contract arrangements.
Its achievement of the policy objective for development of skilled local tradespersons and the continued provision of training opportunities has been nothing less than outstanding.
There is more to this, though. The highway realignment around Giant Mine is part of the long overdue remediation of the environmental disaster inflicted on Akaitcho lands. Over the years, the Yellowknives Dene have suffered lost use and occupation of traditional lands, loss of hunting and trapping range, debasement of water quality and fish stocks and the introduction of toxic poisons into the environment they rely upon and cherish. Each of these created high costs and the need for equally costly alternatives to these people. The Highway No. 4 realignment project provides the Yellowknives Dene an opportunity to recoup a modicum of these costs through economic growth based upon their savvy and initiative.
As the Transportation Minister said last week, negotiated contracts are intended to keep the benefits of GNWT spending in local economies, backing Det’ on Cho actions to that principle.
I urge the Minister of Transportation to argue strongly with his Cabinet colleagues for a positive decision on granting this negotiated contract. The negotiated contract route thoroughly promotes and upholds the policy principles while to some degree redressing the significant cultural and economic loss from the degradation of Akaitcho traditional lands. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Over the weekend I was happy to visit with many people from Hay River that were in Yellowknife for several sporting events. Last week several of my colleagues from this side as well as the Ministers’ indicated that we need to support volunteers in the North and make sure that we encourage people to be more active. I’d like to take this opportunity to tell those people that I think that’s strong in the North, after seeing the many activities this weekend.
Minor hockey has three tournaments in Yellowknife, one in Hay River, and I know it took a great number of volunteers to run these tournaments and there were hundreds of youth that were actively playing their hearts out. I also know that there was a swim meet, a badminton tournament and a volleyball tournament. As well, the GNWT employees had a curling bonspiel this weekend. I know that there were many other events throughout the North and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those people that helped organize and all those people that participated.
Sports are a healthy way for us to promote our people and to make active living and healthy lives. I’d like to thank everybody for their hard work. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. The Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This past Friday the Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corp made a capital contribution announcement regarding the Betty House. First off, Mr. Speaker, I want to emphasize clearly that as a Member I’m very pleased to hear about this commitment on behalf of our government, and it’s something that I have spoken in the past about and stressed the need we need to invest into. But sadly, at the same time, I, like many Members in this House, was shocked to hear this announcement. What should have been seen strictly as a good-news story, something we’re doing to promote the cause and help women in transition shelters, now becomes a conversation of where is the process. Where was the involvement of the Members on this particular side of the House? Where was the discussion in committee?
Where’d you get the money?
Where did you get the money, as well? While this is happening, Members are becoming concerned that this is becoming an Epimetheus when it comes to work in this particular Assembly. In short, are we simply an afterthought of this particular government?
Our Premier preaches continually about building good relationships and working relationships; however, it’s starting to look like he’s inviting everyone but this side of the House. While he’s busy out there courting new relationships…
---Interjection
While this Premier is out, busy courting new relationships and he’s filling that wonderful dance card with all his new friends, he’s forgetting about us sitting on this side of the House looking to be involved in this investment.
It’s been my experience, with more than eight years behind me, that when any new contribution or major contribution is a budget investment or certainly infrastructure item of this type, typically the affected Member or Members are involved. What working relationship is this Premier telling his Cabinet Minister to build? Regular Members want to be involved. He’ll say, well, I did inform you. Informing the Members an hour before session started on Friday while we were in Priorities and Planning getting ready for the morning is not communication. Yet again an afterthought.
The fact is the lack of information seems very disrespectful. It seems along the fine lines of are we trumping our privilege in this Assembly. Members want to be involved.
There will be questions later today to the Premier, asking about when you will start informing and working with Regular Members on projects like this. We should be celebrating this contribution, not concerned about the process.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to recognize a former MLA and colleague, Mr. David Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize the former Member for Mackenzie Delta, who has left very big shoes to fill here.
Thank you, Mr. Blake. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d also like to recognize my former colleague, Mr. Krutko. It’s an honour to sit in his chair at committee meetings. They’re much shorter now.
