Good afternoon, colleagues. Welcome back to the Chamber. Before we begin today, I would like to draw your attention to the Canadian flags that are on your desk, marking National Flag of Canada Day.
---Applause
February 15th was declared National Flag of Canada Day in 1996. We commemorate the day in 1965, when the first red and white maple leaf designed flag flew proudly over Parliament Hill.
I quote the words of the Honourable Maurice Bourget, Speaker of the Senate, on that occasion:
“The flag is a symbol of the nation’s unity, for it, beyond any doubt, represents all the citizens of Canada without distinction of race, language, belief or opinion.”
The distinctive design of our Canadian flag has become a powerful and prominent symbol of Canada. It is recognized all over the world as the flag of a people who cherish the ideals of democracy, freedom, justice, diversity and respect.
It is a particularly fitting day to celebrate not only our flag but also this grand and beautiful country we live in. Thank you, Members.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I’m honoured to speak to the recent commemoration of a police patrol that has been known as The Lost Patrol.
On the 21st day of December 2010, in memory of the 100th anniversary of this historic event, the community of Fort McPherson joined members of the RCMP and numerous leaders and officials to honour the members of The Lost Patrol. The day-long event included a memorial service, a wreath laying ceremony and a community feast.
As history informs us, from 1904 to 1921 there was an annual Royal Northwest Mounted Police tradition to make a trip from Dawson City, Yukon, to Fort McPherson, Northwest Territories, which is approximately 620 miles, to deliver mail and dispatches.
In December 1910 the Commissioner of the Force asked instead that the trip be made from Fort McPherson to Dawson City. The patrol was led by Inspector Fitzgerald, who was accompanied by constables Taylor and Kinney, and guide, Special Constable Sam Carter. The four set out from Fort McPherson on December 21, 1910, with provisions for one month. Unfortunately, the patrol faced conditions that would prove fatal.
With the patrol long overdue, Corporal William John Dempster left Dawson City on February 28, 1911, in search of the patrol. On March 21st all four members were found. They had succumbed to the harsh conditions. Two of the members were found just 40 kilometres from Fort McPherson.
Although I was not able to participate in the events, I do share in remembering and honouring the dedication and sacrifice of the members of The Lost Patrol. It may have happened over 100 years ago, but the legacy of these officers has served as a foundation of the partnerships we share today in the delivery of policing services, a legacy of respect for the need to work together to meet the challenges of policing in a northern environment.
We need to take the time to reflect back on our history and the lessons we have learned from the loss of the members of The Lost Patrol and others who have lost their lives in the line of duty. These lessons all speak to ensuring we support one another and the community-at-large as we work together in building a police service that reflects on the needs of the North.
As an Assembly we have set ourselves the goal of creating sustainable, vibrant, safe communities. Each of us has an important role in pursuing that goal and making our homes and communities safer places.
This March the RCMP and the community of Fort McPherson will be further commemorating the 100th anniversary of The Lost Patrol by making a snowmobile trip to the area where the officers perished.
The community of Fort McPherson and all members of the RCMP should stand proud as they continue to build on the legacy of the members of The Lost Patrol.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Deputy Premier, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to advise Members that the Honourable Floyd Roland will be absent from the House today to attend devolution discussions in Deline.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good progress has been made towards preventing trespass in the Yellowknife area and on sustainable use of the resources of the Yellowknife block land transfer area. The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs is making good progress both in controlling unauthorized use and developing a plan and I want to recognize that.
A freeze on new leases was announced in December 2009, and legal and administrative action is underway to deal with squatters. Of 16 unauthorized occupancies in the Prosperous-Walsh Lake area, four sites have been voluntarily vacated, five sites have been legitimized, legal action is proceeding on three trespassers, and legal action is pending on four more. Perhaps best of all, the department’s actions in advertising, media relations and gazetting of legal actions is sending a clear message that squatting in the block land transfer is not on.
Work is also underway on development of the recreational land leasing plan. The block land transfer area is the critical watershed of this city’s water supply. It is a precious recreational and wildlife habitat resource and obviously there is a limit to the use this area can support. Analysis of that capacity has been taking place through a study, which I’m told is addressing the factors of water quality, occupation density, habitat, passive use and the like. Area residents and their organizations have been consulted thus far. I’m told that the City and Yellowknives Dene First Nation are being kept informed and involved.
This is good work and I thank the Minister of MACA and his staff for the leadership and action they’ve shown. I met with him recently and pressed my case for the next and essential stage in developing the recreational land use framework, the full involvement of citizens through a public consultation process. We may have been slow off the mark, Mr. Speaker, but MACA is now on track with this issue and my constituents and I appreciate it. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It was announced by the Minister of Health and Social Services last week and we are now in the middle of the 6th annual Drop the Pop campaign.
Last year 84 percent of our schools enthusiastically took part in the program. Ecole William McDonald School in Frame Lake had planned to drop a fake pop machine off the roof of the school to prove that they had moved pop out of the school, but insurance concerns intervened and they had to cancel the event, much to the dismay of the students, I’m sure.
But it is time to expand the Drop the Pop campaign to include energy drinks, Mr. Speaker. Students and adults looking for the rush that a sugary pop used to provide are instead replacing pop with energy drinks. It is absolutely the least healthy alternative to pop that can be found and it is dangerous. One energy drink contains far more than the recommended daily maximum limit of caffeine for a child, and that’s 85 milligrams. A can of Coke has 26 milligrams of caffeine. A much smaller can of Rock Star has 200 milligrams of caffeine. An indication of the potency of energy drinks is that they have well-known and listed side effects: nausea, vomiting, irregular heartbeat, tremors and diarrhea.
Health Canada reported 69 reactions to energy drinks between January 2006 and January 2011. That doesn’t sound or seem like a lot, Mr. Speaker, but one of those reactions was death for an 18 year old. One-third of the reactions occurred in young people between the ages of 12 and 30.
Mr. Speaker, last July a Canadian Medical Association Journal editorial stated that caffeine levels in energy drinks are hazardous to the young and that they must be regulated. It went on to say: “Caffeine loaded energy drinks have crossed the line from beverages to drugs delivered in tasty syrups.” These drinks, like drugs, are addictive. The well-known drink Red Bull has been nicknamed the drink of future junkies.
The government must consider banning energy drinks, Mr. Speaker. At least ban them from purchase by our youngsters. We can put in place the same restrictions that we have for the sale of cigarettes to young people. We need to encourage NWT school boards and educators to ban them from our schools.
Next year, Mr. Speaker, the Drop the Pop promotion should include pop and energy drinks. Maybe we can call it eliminating evil. Our kids will be healthier for it. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On June 2, 2009, the Minister of Human Resources committed to increasing the representation of persons living with disabilities in the GNWT public service. To accomplish this, the department and the Minister initiated several actions. These include the creation of an Advisory Committee on Employability, the implementation of a diversity officer to help counsel persons with disabilities through the GNWT hiring process, inclusion of specific references in job ads to applicants asking them to identify that they live with a disability and may require accommodation, and sensitivity training has also been offered to GNWT staff.
Mr. Speaker, these are all good things. However, new initiatives do take time to become commonplace in the workforce. There are certainly some departments that are supportive, and clearly there are some departments that are resistant to supporting this new direction.
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Human Resources is the gatekeeper of all HR policies and procedures. It is the department’s responsibility to make sure that all departments, boards and agencies adhere to the GNWT’s hiring processes and procedures. I’d say that the Minister’s department is doing a good job in this area. Unfortunately, not all departments, boards and agencies are adhering to the government’s position.
For example, I have recently been involved in assisting a constituent who applied on a job at Stanton Territorial Hospital. He is a young Aboriginal man living with the effects of FASD. His effects are very minor but he does require minimal accommodation to be successful in a job. Specifically, clear direction on his role and responsibilities is important. This is required both up front and when significant changes occur in the role.
He applied for a manual position at Stanton. He was screened in. He was interviewed. He passed the interview. His references were called. They gave positive references. They both indicated that clear direction would be valuable and that he would be an excellent employee, and both references were excited and were confident that this young man would get the job. Unfortunately, he was rejected by Stanton. He was told that they would not be able to accommodate his disability. They didn’t have the time to provide clear direction in their busy environment.
Mr. Speaker, this smells like discrimination to me. Mr. Speaker, clearly, good work being done by HR is being ignored by some departments, boards and agencies; in this case, Stanton Territorial Health Authority.
Later today I will be asking the Minister of HR how his department, as the gatekeepers of our hiring policies and procedures, intend to make sure that all GNWT’s employees involved in the hiring process understand and adhere to policies in this area. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have heard countless discussions with my constituents regarding the lack of student boarding facilities and other resources for high school students in our small communities; resources such as expansion of grades, high school services for small and remote communities in Nunakput.
Mr. Speaker, the DEAs, the teachers and parents are working hard to reduce the dropout rates. We are working to keep kids motivated to stay in school, showing our kids the value of education. But we can’t do this alone, Mr. Speaker. There are many reasons why students in Nunakput drop out of school, but the biggest concern is that they drop out because we don’t support them. Expanding grades in the communities will allow these students to stay in their communities longer. Flying them into Inuvik and having them stay in boarding facilities is obviously not working for everyone.
If we are asking our kids to stay in school, we need to help set up and meet them halfway. We need to provide them with the resources, moral support, a good school environment, a safe and reliable place to live, and provide them many of these services. And that, Mr. Speaker, is a shame that we are not doing this. I am concerned that with the approach of the end of this government’s term, that other issues will take priority while leaving these students behind another year.
Mr. Speaker, that is unacceptable. In the last session there were eight students in Sachs Harbour alone, for various reasons, who have left high school, moved back to Sachs; reasons such as nowhere to live and not enough resources, moral support, and, according to my recent notes, it has not changed. Things have not improved. I ask this government why.
Mr. Speaker, our kids are to be competitive in an increasingly global market. This government must get serious about providing equal standards of schooling all across the Territory, not just in larger centres, resources allocated for expanding grades and services to our students. As I expressed in previous Members’ statements, the recent closure of homes for students of many regional centres across the Northwest Territories emphasizes problems. Many of us who lived in the North all our lives, and some for a length of time, all heard the challenges, problems and statistics related to students from small, isolated communities and all hearing situations that make me wonder if these are some of the causes.
Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment at the appropriate time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank the Minister of Justice for his statement in regard to the hundredth anniversary.
Again, Mr. Speaker, I am standing here talking about an issue close to the heart of people in Tsiigehtchic especially, policing services or the lack of policing services in our small communities. Mr. Speaker, we have some 10 communities in the Northwest Territories that don’t have policing services year round, but yet require assistance of police detachments to provide additional services.
Mr. Speaker, the lack of RCMP presence in Tsiigehtchic is not only a stress on the local residents and its resources but also the local council. Mr. Speaker, there is only one bylaw officer who is responsible not only to implement local bylaws but enforce liquor regulations and be the person that is responsible for dealing with those issues in regard to the breach of prohibition order for the community of Tsiigehtchic and criminal activities that take place late into the evening. But yet, Mr. Speaker, as we all know, the RCMP members are not able to respond to any callouts without backup. Yet, Mr. Speaker, we have our local bylaw officers who are there all by themselves with no backup, no one to support them and they take these efforts on themselves.
Mr. Speaker, I think it’s important for the Minister of Justice to continue implementing police services in all our remaining 10 communities. More importantly, finding ways to improve those services. If that means scheduled community visits, developing programs on the local radio station, working with the schools, working with the community councils and also having annual meetings, or even monthly meetings with the local council to inform them of improving that working relationship with the RCMP. More importantly, Mr. Speaker, support the local bylaw officer who is there and left all by himself with no backup support. That’s why it’s important the RCMP and bylaw officers work in conjunction with each other and also provide the training that’s required for the bylaw officer to carry out his responsibilities.
Mr. Speaker, the Minister and department should seriously consider looking at recruitment and retention programs for summer students so that they can also assist the bylaw officer during the summer months on community patrols.
Mr. Speaker, I think it’s an essential service that we all sometimes take for granted.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
Again, Mr. Speaker, a lot of times we take policing for granted, except those communities that don’t have it. I think it’s important that the Department of Justice, the Legislative Assembly and the Government of the Northwest Territories take this issue seriously. It is putting our bylaw officers’ lives on the line, but more importantly they do require that support. All 10 communities that require policing services should be enforced.
At the appropriate time I will be asking the Minister of Justice questions on this matter. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. On January 20th to 23rd it was an exciting time to be in Fort Simpson as the town became the Village of Champions.
---Applause
The Village of Champions event celebrated hockey, but more importantly the achievements of many individuals and organizations, coaches, volunteers, parents and supporters. The event attracted approximately 500 people from Fort Simpson and other communities, including five hockey teams who participated in the weekend-long tournament.
This day was also recognized on Hockey Day in Canada on CBC North on Friday, February 11th.
To kick off the festivities, Parents for Playgrounds hosted a great community feast that was followed by a ceremony to recognize individuals who had been involved in development of hockey in Fort Simpson. Parents for Playgrounds also provided breakfast for participants and a canteen service all weekend. The Village of Champions also featured a silent auction fundraiser with all proceeds going to Fort Simpson Minor Hockey, and the Fort Simpson Hall of Fame that showcased a listing of past and present hockey leaders in the community, a collection of photographs and newspaper articles about hockey over the years. The young adults had a good laugh when they saw their minor hockey pictures from years ago, Mr. Speaker, an interactive area for guests to share their hockey memories. As well, local musicians from the Open Sky Creative Society provided entertainment at the Saturday evening dance.
This event celebrated not only individuals but also a strong community spirit. This event would not have been possible without the support of the Village of Champions event partners, the hardworking dedication of the families and individuals on the organizing team. A big thank you also goes out to those who generously participated in the silent auction. The Village of Champions event was entertaining and inspirational for everyone and showed there are many champions among us. Mr. Speaker, I look forward to the many years of Village of Champions events that will be coming in the future. Mahsi cho.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to speak to a number of concerns related to the perspective of the Liquor Board where the Liquor Act and the regulations are silent.
The NWT’s Liquor Board is made up of nine members appointed by the Minister. Members are selected on a regional basis to ensure that there is fair representation. Looking at this closely, I notice that there is a clear gap in board representation in the context of fair representation. Quite simply, there is no representative from the hospitality industry formally included. The only way someone from the hospitality industry can be on the Liquor Board is simply by chance. That doesn’t seem fair or reasonable, when considering the matter.
The Liquor Board issues licences and permits and is responsible for regulating our licence and permit holders and their operations. Among other roles, the Liquor Board advises the Minister on liquor policy, legislation and administration in the NWT. Undoubtedly, an industry rep would bring considerable value to the board’s discussions and functions as they work to fulfill them.
Some people may cry foul if someone from the hospitality industry was on the board, but one person out of nine can hardly be a deciding factor to create that conflict. On the conflict matter, we have a conflict of interest guideline that would apply to them no less than anyone else.
Many of our territorial boards make special allotment to ensure industry reps are included in some form. By way of example, the WSCC has both business and labour as reps. Accordingly, could it not be argued that both have singular focuses to grind away at the other perspective rather than bring insight and understanding to the table? I believe that they’re both valued on that board and I would think it would be less a board without them.
As well, while looking into the rules that govern the Liquor Board, residency requirements of both the chair and the board members is silent. If you are a member of a public board in the NWT, I expect, as many Northerners expect, you should be a current resident of the NWT. I do respect that there may be occasions when that need arises that we must seek representation outside of the Territory, but that is a very rare circumstance. I believe all boards and commissions should have territorial residence written into their rules. However, by and large every agency needs good people and I believe Northerners living in the North are the people that can represent us on our boards. As it stands, to be a member on the Liquor Board, residency is not a requirement under the Liquor Act or its regulations. As many others are concerned over the years that someone could see that someone who is on this particular board leaves the North, is once again rolling out the paternalistic attitude our Territory has been fighting for many years.
Later today I will have questions for the Minister who is responsible for the Liquor Board regarding this and other matters.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.
Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. [English translation not provided.]
The community of Lutselk’e has not been able to maintain their Tinkering Tots Daycare and Preschool Program. There simply isn’t enough money for this essential service in Lutselk’e.
These programs are very much needed. In the fall of 2010, negotiations between Lutselk’e First Nation and Education, Culture and Employment to offer preschool at the Lutselk’e Dene School occurred, but due to renovations not being completed in the summer of 2010, the program could not get final approval. The Lutselk’e First Nation would like to see the program get final approval and put into place in the near future.
Lutselk’e presently does not have a suitable building, government or non-government, or even a large room within a building to house and facilitate a daycare and preschool program. At the present time, many youth and young parents in Lutselk’e are interested in taking local upgrading programs but do not have a daycare that they can rely on.
The Lutselk’e Dene First Nation is in full support of a daycare and preschool program and is in definite need of a facility to house those programs. They also require training dollars to mentor a few individuals to become certified child care practitioners, as current regulations and funding sources require daycare/child care staff to be fully accredited and licensed in order to operate.
In order for students to have the maximum benefit of kindergarten and be ready for school, students must have the basic language skills in place, an ability to express themselves, and needed social skills that will allow them to listen, follow directions, to focus with interest, to ask and answer questions, to express themselves, and to respect and learn and cooperate with their peers.
Preschool is an essential part of education. Many four-year-old children who do not have the advantage of supportive, literacy-rich home environments and the experience of at least one year in preschool often arrive in kindergarten several years ahead at this time.
I will have questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment at the appropriate time.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to again speak today about the issue of sterilization equipment at Stanton Hospital. It is not my intention to cause undue alarm as the Minister stated yesterday, I just want to ensure that I get the right information out there for the public. The information I’m after for residents, and as if having a procedure such as a hip replacement is not a traumatic enough experience, can you imagine what it would feel like to get an infection which requires the massive wound to be reopened, cleaned and then closed up again? This is what I’m questioning.
When were elective surgeries cancelled? What surgeries have taken place between then and now? The Minister states that post-operative infection rates have been below the national average for the period of 2006 to 2009 and that there is nothing to worry about. When did the five infections she mentioned yesterday in the House actually occur?
Also I’d like to understand what the Minister mentioned yesterday in regard to waiting for parts. What parts are they waiting for and where are they coming from? With elective surgeries being cancelled, is that not going to put our residents awaiting surgeries in a difficult and sometimes painful holding pattern? We need to get this situation rectified as soon as possible so that the hospital can get back to providing the valuable services it does provide to our residents.
This whole episode, as well, has got to be hard on the great staff that we have out at that hospital and CSR in the operating room, and I know that they’re patiently waiting to put this all behind us and move forward.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment and I’d like to ask some questions about the student financial assistance client satisfaction survey that was held last year. The survey indicated that in general the student financial assistance staff are doing pretty well, but I was really struck by the answer to one question where 11 percent of the respondents were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the way staff explained their answers. I’d like to ask the Minister what action the department is taking to lower that percentage to improve the customer service for this particular measure.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. That information that we received we are following through with the various comments that were initiated. The customer satisfaction is, of course, our first priority. We need to rectify if there’s an issue or concern or challenge that’s before us. My department has been instructed to look at it seriously on the comments that came to our attention. We will follow through with that.
I thank the Minister for that response. I appreciate that the department is taking action. I would hope for a little bit more specific response.
I would like to talk a bit about the results of another question. This was a question asked about the usefulness of the student handbook. The answers there were very disturbing to me: 71 percent of the replies were negative; 32 percent of them said they never use it; 39 percent of the students said that it was somewhat useful. It seems to me that it’s obvious that a revision is needed. I’d ask the Minister what plans the department has to revise the handbook.
This particular issue has been addressed, as well, by some students; the usefulness of the student handbook. We are looking at a revision. It may not be useful to some students because a lot of information is on-line right now. This is an area we are making some changes to. As you know, there will be review of the SFA overall as well. This could be part of that. It’s been brought to our attention, so the revision, seriously we are looking at that as well.
I’m pleased to hear that the revision is going to be part of the overall evaluation of student financial assistance.
One other result struck me as probably not the best. Table 5 in the report shows the results of student financial assistance service objectives. I was really surprised by the measurements used there. They asked whether or not appointments were met within 15 minutes of the appointment time, whether e-mail replies were received within two days of them being received, whether phone messages or voice messages were replied to within two days. I thought those were pretty lax measurements. As the Minister mentioned, this is a customer service-oriented program. We should be seeing people at the appointed time and responding in the same day.
Can the Minister explain to me why these particular measurements are so easy, I guess? So lax, to put it another way.
Again this could fall under SFA review. As you know, we service over 1,400 students for the Northwest Territories. There are some issues that may come before us. There might be some delays in responding, depending on the certain days. Customer service has been addressed here in the survey. We will do what we can as a department to rectify the issue, because expedience is, of course, our priority. We want to respond back to the students as soon as possible, but there are occasions that there may be some delays. Our priority is to respond back to the students, each and every student, as best as possible.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister. I appreciate that they try to respond to people but I guess, you know, as soon as possible, in my mind, if I have an appointment, I want to see my person at the appointed hour.
The Minister says that things are in the works. I’d like to know -- with a school year starting again, they want applications in by July of this summer coming up -- when can the Minister tell us that we will be able to see some of these revisions? When will there be some concrete action for us to look at?
The school this fall is just around the corner. A few months. I can’t guarantee that all the revisions are going to be in accordance with what’s been said, but we’ll do what we can as a department to follow through with the issues that are brought to our attention as the Department of Education, Culture and Employment and lay that out. It will be shared with the Members as we make progress on these matters.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.
