Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Member indicated, these 15 recommendations came about, they are extraneous to the requirements of Bill C-24. These recommendations were not discussed or voted on in Committee of the Whole and there is no requirement for a government response; however, since we are a government that focuses on results, a government that gets things done, we are in the process of reviewing and responding to all 15 recommendations and the Minister responsible for the Liquor Act or the Liquor Board is coordinating and monitoring the response and the work that is being done by seven departments on these 15 recommendations. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thanks to the Premier for that answer. I do know that those recommendations, that the government is not required to respond to those, but all those recommendations are integral to the issues we discuss here every day and to the issues that our standing committees discuss, the things that we hear from our residents, so I am very appreciative that the Premier indicates that we do have some action that is happening. I am also appreciative that I now know the lead Minister who is looking into these 15 recommendations.
There is really not much else for me to ask, Mr. Speaker, but simply to ask, when can I expect a response from the government on these 15 recommendations? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I have a tendency to be optimistic, so I will say that we will be able to respond before the end of this session. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I will be asking questions for those that can’t speak up themselves and those that need representation. Today I have questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
In a lot of our communities we have a long waiting list to get into housing. As a result, a lot of our residents will go through the Rental Subsidy Program and will go into market rental units. However, with the high cost of living in some communities, such as Inuvik, I would like to ask the Minister, what process and practice does the department do when they are looking for a place for some of our residents who need housing in our communities? Do they help them find a place, or do they find the cheapest place for them to go, or what is the process when our residents need a place to stay in the communities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. There is a process that we have to follow through Education, Culture and Employment when it comes to dealing with clientele when it comes to housing. I have to work closely with the Housing Minister because they have the units of availability in the communities and the units that may be available to them.
The process that we have highlighted is also based on the Office of the Auditor General guidelines that we have to follow. Based on the needs of those individuals, the community members, whether it be couples, it is a guideline that we have within Education, Culture and Employment, again working closely with the Housing Corporation to find a match to these units, whether it be a one bedroom, two bedroom or three bedroom for those clientele. Mahsi.
Mr. Speaker, I am going along these questions because I have an elderly couple in the community of Inuvik who are having a hard time to find a place to stay and when they approached the Minister in question, the elderly couple was asked to look for a different apartment when they were initially approved.
So, how does this Minister and the department approve a couple that meet the disability accessibility and then take that away and look for another unit that is cheaper and not meeting the needs of the couple? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, when we talk about the couple in Inuvik, we may be getting specifically into the clientele which I don’t feel comfortable discussing in this House. I can talk to you about the process itself, and with this we are talking about individuals from the community accessing housing units available through the Housing Corporation. We subsidize on the rent scale a one-bedroom apartment based on their needs, or a two-bedroom apartment depending on availability in the community as well.
It is my understanding that there are two available in Inuvik, so those are discussions that we have been having with my department with the Housing Corporation, so this is an area that we have to be very cautious because we have to deal with the Office of the Auditor General guidelines. They set very stringent, very strict guidelines and it is a public purse, as well, so what we do here with a purse of funds, we are going to be setting precedents in other jurisdictions as well. Those are just some of the areas of precaution that we follow with the guidelines. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I was speaking on behalf of all elders. We do have a growing population of seniors in the Northwest Territories and we don’t always have the housing units to allow them to get into housing, they have to go into the market rent areas.
I would like to ask the Minister, what is he going to do to change his policy, especially when we have our seniors who are in wheelchairs, seniors that use canes or walkers, or seniors that have very limited mobility, to address the issue that when we get some of our seniors, or whomever it may be, the proper housing units that they need? How is he going to change the policy to address some of the disability concerns that are out there in the communities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the information that we receive with a one-bedroom apartment is suitable to this couple and the funding that we provide is upwards of $1,100 to cover the rent on a monthly basis. The information that we receive is assessable for this couple, so based on that we provide the funding, but if they want to access a two-bedroom, at their request, then we can provide up to what they qualify for and the difference will be up to the couple, but at the same time, they are eligible for a one bedroom subsidy from our department. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just going back to my other question about the policy, will the Minister take a look at his policy with this and make it specific, possibly working with the Minister responsible for Seniors and see how we can change that policy to better address the need? As I mentioned, we’re getting a higher seniors population in the Northwest Territories and the lack of long-term care facilities, some of these seniors do still live a pretty independent lifestyle and we want to promote that independence in our communities as well.
So, will the Minister look at reviewing his policy again? Thank you.
Mahsi. Within the income support division, we’re always reviewing our policy. This is one area that we can certainly look at working with the Housing Corporation, also the seniors, the Minister responsible for Seniors, how we can manage this file. At the same time, we have to keep in mind the Office of the Auditor General, the strict guidelines that they set for us. We have to follow those as well. By all means, we will be reviewing those policies that we have within our shop. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Wildlife Act was recently passed by this House after many years of effort, but it left many of the tough decisions to regulations, which must be developed for implementation of the law.
Can the Minister of the Environment provide an update on the development of these regulations to date? Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Minister of ENR, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There was a preliminary meeting held in mid-January of the working group to look at what needed to be done, what regulations are required for the Wildlife Act to come into effect, what regulations may take longer and what regulations may not be required. That work is underway and the next formal meeting is going to be near the end of March. In the interim, as well, we intend to work out the process to engage with the stakeholders and Wildlife Act Advisory Group on the work that’s been done on regulations, and my intent is to meet the timelines and have the Wildlife Act ready to come into force within the year since it was given assent. Thank you.
Thanks to the Minister. I’m glad to hear we’re off to a start here. A large part of the reason it took so many years to revise the Wildlife Act was that people did not feel they were included in the early rounds of discussions.
Can the Minister outline the approach we will be taking to ensure that everyone will be included in the development of the new regulations – and so far the people I’m talking to are not getting a warm and fuzzy feeling there – and how committee will be included in this work? Mahsi.
The intent is to use the same process that we had developed, maybe with some modifications since the type of work is a little different, but the same intent that we had when we engaged with the Aboriginal governments, the Wildlife Act Working Group and then, as well, with stakeholders, the Wildlife Act Advisory Group to make sure we get the full range of input as we lay out and do the work in terms of the regulations. We will, of course, be prepared to provide regular updates with committee whenever they would like to have that feedback and opportunity to have input. Thank you.
Thanks to the Minister again. I’m not aware of any briefings to committee on this, or any offer, but I appreciate that offer now. This House, I believe, is on record on wanting input into the development of regulations for this act and also the Heritage Fund Act.
How has the Minister started work on this approach and what groups have been contacted so far? Mahsi.
Thank you. As I indicated, there was a very preliminary meeting held in mid-January with the Wildlife Act Working Group. They’re working out the work plan, they’re looking at the regulations, the extent of the regulations, what regulations need to be done, what regulations are currently in place that are fine as they are and what regulations may require more work, they’re laying out that work plan. We’re laying out how we can best engage. Part of that work is being done as well. So right now the initial focus is on making sure we have that process nailed down. Thank you.
Again, the Minister referring to the working group doesn’t tell me exactly what groups are being contacted there. Perhaps he could provide that information. I just note that in developing the Wildlife Act we recognized that our desire to carefully manage wildlife through accurate reporting of how many animals were harvested was perceived as a barrier to hunting by Aboriginal people, especially elders. We left that issue unresolved, but, if anything, the need for accurate harvest estimates has become even more extreme, as the Minister has stated himself.
What is the Minister’s approach to this as the regulations are developed? Mahsi.
The make-up of the Wildlife Act Working Group is there for review. It contains and involves the Aboriginal governments and their representatives, the GNWT, the stakeholders, Wildlife Act Advisory Group as well as a membership that was in place prior to the start of the regulatory development. We’re looking at engaging those two bodies again.
One of the challenges that is on the table, as the Member has pointed out, is an understanding reflected in regulations that’s going to require mandatory reporting so that we can collectively manage the wildlife in the Northwest Territories, because you can’t manage what you can’t count, as the Member has often said and I have concurred with. That is going to be one of the expectations coming forward, that we’re going to come up with a meeting of the minds on how that is going to get reflected in regulations so that it is applicable across the board so that we can all have that same information and all the concerned parties, all the public co-management boards, Aboriginal governments, everybody knows and agrees with the rules and the need to have that critical information. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I spoke earlier about the people driving up in the Sahtu and we have the Sahtu winter roads. For example, from Wrigley to Fort Good Hope is 480-some-odd kilometres and from Tulita junction to Deline is about 105 kilometres. So there are a lot of roads in the Sahtu and people use a lot of this opportunity to go down south, drive to each community, get fish, caribou and to visit.
I want to ask the Minister, because of a constituent asking, how do we get the Sahtu winter road recognized as a public road like any other roads in the Northwest Territories?
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Minister of Transportation, Mr. Beaulieu.
Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. The winter roads maintained by the GNWT are considered public roads. Thank you.
Just conversing with my colleague here, we were kind of having a little mini day here. So we want to ask the Minister how do we let the Ford dealership, the GMCs, the Toyotas, those car dealerships know that these are public roads and when we buy a brand new $50,000, $60,000, or $40,000 vehicle there’s roadside assistance? They’re saying right now that they cannot go because it’s an ice road or winter road. So how do we get that message through to the dealerships?
Mahsi cho. We’ve been in contact with two major roadside assistance organizations, the Alberta Motor Association and Ford Roadside Assistance, and both organizations indicate that they cover all public winter roads in the Northwest Territories maintained by the GNWT.
That’s very strange because I just had a tour of the Sahtu, a young lady came to me, bought a GMC, said I phoned for roadside assistance and GMC said we do not recognize that as a public road. So, somewhere there is a glitch. I want to ask the Minister – and I hope the Minister one day will come on the Sahtu winter roads to see what I’m talking about – how does this Minister, this department, this government phone the dealership, put an ad, whatever, so they’ll recognize the Sahtu winter roads, any winter roads in the Northwest Territories under a public system so that we can get service and not wait 16 days and take money out of our pockets to pay for a tow truck to bring our vehicles into a garage? Thank you.
All roadside assistance organizations are private and really have nothing to do with the GNWT, but we have contacted what we thought were the two major roadside assistance providers on the winter roads, those being the two I mentioned earlier. We have no issue contacting the organization that covers GMC or Chevy that provide roadside assistance in the same manner that we’ve contacted these organizations and have provided the concerns from the people of the Sahtu to them, and also people from Deh Cho.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you. I appreciate that from the Minister. I think the people from the Sahtu or any other winter road drivers who are listening would appreciate that. I think that’s what the people are asking. This constituent is shocked and surprised and saying how come I’m not getting any type of roadside assistance, and I need to call the dealership. I ask the Minister if he would do that as soon as possible, and I’m not even talking to see if there’s any type of how do we go about reimbursing him, but I would appreciate that. I would ask the Minister if he would send me a quick note saying these are the companies and the dealerships that I’ve contacted for the winter road roadside assistance.
On the two companies that we did contact, they indicated to us that there is a method if individuals that are not satisfied with the Alberta Motor Association for roadside assistance that they are to contact the provider, so we can provide that information to the Members, and also if there are vehicles outside of roadside assistance provided by those two organizations, we will also find out the information for the Member on those organizations as well.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Just following up with the Minister of Transportation on roadside assistance and people that travel north to Wrigley, I did write to the Minister, I think about eight days ago, and his response was for me to tell my constituents to contact roadside assistance about their concerns. They already know their concerns. They’re stuck. They can’t get assistance. But what he’s asking me is to ask help from the Minister of Transportation to get a hold of roadside assistance and let them know that this is a public road, that this is not an ice road. Their designation is an ice road, that’s why they’re not travelling on it. They must be scared of ice roads, I guess. The issue is the Minister has to designate it in writing to these companies that it is a public highway and a public road.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The Minister of Transportation, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have been in contact with the roadside assistance organizations and they’re aware this is a public road. Both of those organizations indicated to us that they will provide roadside assistance, and if there are issues with roadside assistance and they provide us information, I would be pleased to pass that information, plus other companies that may be providing roadside assistance on the winter road, on to the Member.
I don’t think the Minister heard me. People are getting stuck and they’re not getting roadside assistance. I don’t know where he’s getting his information from. What we’re asking is no cost to government. What roadside assistance need is, the perfect term for it, of course, is a letter of comfort that this is a public highway system and not an ice road.
Can the Minister do that? Can he write a letter without costing the government?
We’d have no problem sending a letter to the roadside assistance providers indicating that this is a public road. If their assistance is to provide roadside assistance on all public roads, that the winter roads that are maintained by the GNWT are considered public roads, we’d have no problem addressing that letter to the roadside assistance providers.
The Minister has heard. As well, I’d like to ask the Minister if he can copy me and Mr. Yakeleya on that, and also to include that residents of the Northwest Territories aren’t being serviced, that’s why he’s writing them on behalf of his constituents.
I would be pleased to copy the Members on that. I would probably have to get some detail from them. I don’t want to be writing to an organization that’s providing service when somebody else is responsible for providing that assistance, so if I can get some detail from the Member, I will include that in the note to the organization.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I would be pleased to provide as much information as I can to the Minister. He already contacted a couple. I’d be glad to assist the Minister with that. Thank you very much, and thank him for his question.
