Good afternoon, colleagues. Before we get started, I’d like to recognize Mr. Peter Taptuna, Deputy Premier, Minister of Economic Development, Transportation, Tourism, Housing, Nunavut Business Credit Corporation, Nunavut Development Corporation and Minister of Energy. Welcome, Mr. Taptuna.
---Applause
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. [English translation not provided.]
Mr. Speaker, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment is committed to providing quality education opportunities for all residents of the Northwest Territories. Healthy, educated people are the backbone of a strong and prosperous society, and a goal of this Assembly.
Strong working relationships with partners, such as the district education authorities and schools, make this possible. The education a child receives in the classroom is essential to their continued success in life. Our educators help each student achieve and celebrate new milestones every day, whether socially, mentally, emotionally or physically. Learning does not start, nor stop, when students walk through the school’s doors. Learning is a lifelong journey that includes family and community.
Mr. Speaker, I want to acknowledge two incredible educators who received Canada’s Outstanding Principal Awards for 2013: Ms. Lois Philipp and Mr. Dan Summers. These are exceptional leaders in their schools and communities. They engage their communities, mentor their staff, and create safe
and nurturing environments for students. Each has implemented changes and innovations that improved student achievement.
With passionate leaders in our schools working with the department and their communities, our students will receive strong learning foundations that will help them recognize opportunities and follow productive paths. Deh Gah School and Deninu School have these leaders already in place. They have encouraged parents and community members to take active roles in their children’s education. They are paving the way for others in our territory toward improved education outcomes and a sustainable future.
Please join me in honouring Mr. Dan Summers of Deninu School in Fort Resolution and Ms. Lois Philipp of Deh Gah School in Fort Providence as two of Canada’s Outstanding Principals for 2013. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Before we go on, I’d like to welcome a former Member back in the House, Mr. Fred Koe. Welcome back to the House, Fred.
---Applause
The honourable Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Ramsay.
Mr. Speaker, consistently investing in parks infrastructure is essential to strengthen and diversify our economy. Parks improvements ensure more people visit our communities, spend money at our local businesses, and spread the word about our spectacular territory. The Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment maintains 33 territorial parks, and today I am pleased to share the highlights of an on-line survey conducted this past summer that shows our investments are paying off.
Many visitors and residents use our parks to enjoy the outdoors, visit with friends, and explore our diverse and beautiful territory. However, our parks system faces many challenges. Our financial resources are limited, we face stiff competition from other destinations, and visitors want more from their parks experiences.
We need to remain competitive, encourage longer visitor stays and ensure visitors have the best experience possible. Surveying park visitors is one way to better understand what they want and need from their park stay.
We had a good response rate: 684 visitors from Canada, the United States and around the world completed the NWT Park Visitor Satisfaction Survey.
The results speak for themselves. We were proud to find out that visitors are choosing our parks because they are clean, safe and well run. They also liked the campsites, the scenery and the fact that they could have a campfire. Some of the most popular activities were resting and relaxing, swimming or playing at the beach and going for walks.
Visitors gave the highest ratings to the courtesy, friendliness and helpfulness of our parks staff. They also praised the condition and cleanliness of the parks, campsites, playgrounds and buildings.
The survey also gave us ideas for improving the parks experience, including more educational and interpretive programs, interpretive trails and displays, as well as stores in the parks.
Respondents also wanted recycling bins, wireless Internet and more amenities for RVs and trailers including sani-dumps and water hook-ups.
We will be investing over $2 million in capital expenditures to ensure our parks and campgrounds are at their best. Some areas for improvements are a new kitchen shelter at Blackstone Park, a sports recreation area and improved hiking trails at Gwich’in Park, and upgraded shower facilities at Lady Evelyn Falls Park.
Mr. Speaker, since the survey was on-line, we were able to monitor the results each week. This meant we could identify issues or concerns as they arose and send our staff out to make things right.
We were also able to hear about all of the great experiences our visitors were having and we were proud to hear that they will be recommending our parks to their friends and family, and have plans to come back.
The final survey report is nearly complete and will soon be posted on the Industry, Tourism and Investment website.
While the survey results show that we are doing a good job in providing quality services and amenities for our park visitors, they also show we need to keep investing in our parks. Continued investment is key to supporting and growing tourism in the NWT, and reflects this Assembly’s priority and commitment to strengthen and diversify the NWT’s economy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Minister of Human Resources, Mr. Abernethy.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to confirm that the Government of the Northwest Territories has signed a memorandum of agreement with the Union of Northern Workers on procedures for employees to safely disclose allegations of wrongdoing.
I want to be clear that we have always encouraged our employees to feel they could safely disclose information about illegal acts; gross mismanagement of public money or public assets; or substantial and specific dangers to health, safety or the environment. Our staff is our most valuable resource. We trust them and respect their judgment. When they suspect wrongdoing, we want them to let us know so we can investigate and take appropriate actions.
What is new is that the memorandum of agreement sets out a process for this kind of disclosure, building on existing processes. There were times when employees may not have been sure who to contact with their concerns. We will create a safe disclosure coordinator, and a safe disclosure panel that will report annually. This process would be useful for other public servants who are not covered by the UNW Collective Agreement, and the GNWT supports extending it to them.
Mr. Speaker, this agreement demonstrates what can be accomplished when the GNWT and its partners work collaboratively to reach a common goal. As part of the 2012 collective bargaining process, the Union of Northern Workers and the GNWT established a joint committee to work together to reach unanimous recommendations on safe disclosure processes. I want to commend both the UNW and GNWT representatives for aligning our interests and reaching agreement so constructively.
This memorandum of agreement comes into effect on April 1st. It will become part of the Collective Agreement and will remain so until the Legislative Assembly passes legislation on safe disclosure. Our government remains committed to the creation of public service disclosure legislation that will apply to all public servants during the life of the 17th Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My statement today is a continuation of some of the discussions that were held in the House yesterday. This morning I woke up and listened to all the reports on the news about inclusive schooling that had a lot of Members here asking a lot of really tough and difficult questions in the House.
I want to clarify, because there was a statement in the House that there was direction from a standing committee that money be taken out of inclusive schooling, and I just want to clarify that over the course of our budget dialogue and our 16 months in the House, there’s a lot of ways that we got to where we are today and yesterday and where these dollars came from.
On the website for the Department of Executive, there’s a program review office. Under the program review office on the last government, they reviewed a couple of departments, specifically the pupil-teacher ratio as well as the inclusive schooling. They reviewed those programs with the intent of the results coming towards this government so we can make the decisions and choices for the betterment and effectiveness of programs. That’s what the program review office intended to do, review our departments, our programs and see where we can better spend our dollars more efficiently, more effectively. Mr. Speaker, that’s what we did.
On this side of the House, we have a lot of Members who put a lot of time in and know the investments of early childhood development. The Members on this side of the House made a recommendation based on what the program review office had said and had told committee, and what they did in the last government, all the hard work they’ve done.
What good is having a program review office if we don’t act on those recommendations, this government? That’s where we’re looking at spending our dollars more effectively so that other programs and services can actually thrive and flourish, and we can put those other dollars into other programs such as early childhood development.
I did take a little bit of offense yesterday when it was said the direction/recommendations that the million dollars comes out of inclusive schooling was on the direction of standing committee and I don’t believe that’s the case. We did make recommendations on both programs and it was the direction of the Minister to look at possibly taking those dollars from one program. We have to work together to find the best ways to spend these dollars.
I just want to state that it wasn’t standing committee that directed that the one million comes out of inclusive schooling and into ECE. I just wanted to put that on record. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are certainly times when our education system doesn’t support our students or support the good decisions made by their parents.
In many of our small communities, students have to go away to a larger centre to complete high school. That can be really on both the student and the parents. For example, Mr. Speaker, a parent I know in Trout Lake wants to send their child to Yellowknife for high school instead of Fort Simpson. This parent has considered the various factors and made a decision. However, the education authority does not agree with this choice and will not support it. What does that mean? It means they will fund high school in Fort Simpson, but not Yellowknife. Basically it means that the parent’s judgment is written off. The system seems to think it knows better, Mr. Speaker.
School funding is largely based on enrollment, so if a student enrolls in a Yellowknife school, it will be funded accordingly by the Department of Education. We are paying to educate that Trout Lake student anyway. Why does the parent have no right to choose where their son or daughter goes to high school?
On one hand, Mr. Speaker, we want and expect parents to be true partners in the education system. On the other hand, we fail to support those parents who try to take reasonable, concrete steps to help their children succeed. It is a mixed message at best. Really, it is shameful.
I want to be absolutely clear. Our system must support what is best for the students. Our system must support decisions made by parents in their children’s best interests. Our government is in part responsible for Aboriginal education in the Northwest Territories. If our residents seek training through the federal Department of Aboriginal Affairs, they can seek it anywhere within reason. This is the example we need to follow. I don’t think it takes a full reform of our education system to make changes like this one. The Minister can, and should, order it done.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to convey the sensitivity of my topic today, and that topic is about cremation and the regulations around the functioning of a crematorium. Admittedly, I’m very respectful of the topic around some of our Aboriginal cultures and for that I ask some leniency for today’s Member’s statement.
Approximately 30 percent of people who die in the NWT are cremated, according to Janice McKenna of McKenna Funeral Home. As striking as this statistic is, it is equally interesting that the NWT and Nunavut are the only two jurisdictions left in Canada that lack legislation for providing regulation of a crematorium. For the record, Yukon has enabling legislation but has no regulations at this juncture.
It is also important to point out that the City of Yellowknife has a by-law covering the operation of cemeteries and how remains are to be disposed within the city, but the by-law does not cover the operation of a crematorium.
As well, I must point out that the NWT regulates the disposal of cremated remains in the Vital Statistics Act and that act just came into effect January 1st of this calendar year. However, again, this act does not regulate the operation of a crematorium.
The question remains that the costs of cremation are typically much cheaper than embalming, casket and burial, but because we lack legislative capacity, we are not able to offer families of the NWT a viable cost option at the time of their grieving. I believe we owe it to these families to have such options.
The regulation of a crematorium in Canada is a provincial/territorial responsibility in which municipalities often play a role, and it is with this in mind that I will be asking the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs to which degree his department will be able to facilitate that legislation for the people of the Northwest Territories.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is more news and recognition to the City of Yellowknife’s achievements on the environment. Recognized by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities recently, the city has taken steps to reduce greenhouse gases and improve energy efficiency, thereby achieving the fifth milestone of the Partners for Climate Protection Program. The program is a network of municipal governments that have committed to reduce greenhouse gases and act on climate change. Fort Smith and Fort Simpson are also partners for climate protection communities.
Municipalities progress through five milestones that help build capacity to reduce greenhouse gases. They create a greenhouse gas emissions inventory and forecast, then set an emission reduction target and develop a plan to achieve it. They implement the plan and, the milestone being recognized now, they monitor progress and report results. This is professional program delivery.
On the basis of the plan, the City of Yellowknife has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 10 percent and decreased its reliance on non-renewable energy by 20 percent. The Pellet Fuel Conversion Program, introduction of the EGH 80 Building Standard, expansion of the trail system, use of Energy Star equipment, and other measures have pushed the city forward in achieving this goal.
Municipalities have control over approximately 44 percent of Canada’s emissions while all other orders of government need to work together to reduce Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions. Municipalities are taking effective action themselves. In total, PCP members have invested over $1 billion to date to mitigate climate change, implementing over 700 green projects or measures and reducing emissions by 1.7 million tonnes. NWT municipalities are thinking globally and acting locally.
Congratulations to the city. Let’s use their example to spur our own efforts. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to talk to talk about a great worldwide initiative entitled Girls Fly Too. The year 2012 was the first year to celebrate more than 100 years in aviation, and it was called Women of Aviation Worldwide Week. As part of that week, last year, under the leadership of Yellowknife helicopter pilot Kirsten Brazier, Yellowknife Airport earned the title of the Most Female Pilot-Friendly Airport Worldwide.
There were over 400 girls and women who participated in the event, and they weren’t just from Yellowknife. Families drove in from Tlicho communities, there was a group from Fort Smith, and there were a number of delighted visitors to the NWT who came with their Yellowknife families.
There were helicopters taking off with multi-generations of families on board. More importantly, there was interest and engagement in aviation from young girls and women and their families.
Kirsten Brazier has returned to YZF – the airport code for Yellowknife – to defend the title that we won last year. On March 9th, from 9:00 to 5:00 p.m. at the Yellowknife Airport, fun, interactive and educational activities are planned for everyone. There will be free flights for eligible girls and women of any age. Taxiway “Kilo” will once again be buzzing with girls and women, pilots and helicopters spending the day going up and down, up and down. There will be both civilian and military aircraft on display, attended by flight and maintenance crews, and participants will be able to interact with them and ask questions of them.
The site manager for the Yellowknife Airport, Tammy Wotherspoon, has offered to conduct tours of the NAVCanada facilities so people may better understand what happens behind the scenes in air traffic control and aviation weather services.
This is a true community event with many sponsors and volunteers. The Girls Fly Too event is about educating girls and women about the opportunities in aviation, but it’s also about inspiring and motivating them. To quote Ms. Brazier “Only about 4 percent of helicopter pilots with a commercial helicopter pilot licence are women. We are trying to change perceptions and let people know that, hey, women do do these jobs and that there are so many career options available.”
These career options range from an office job doing accounting, to helping prepare aircraft for flight, to piloting them. There are numerous opportunities for women in the aviation industry.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted.
I encourage everyone, male and female alike, to experience the magic and the uniqueness of this event and get involved. Girls can register for a flight at www.girlsfly2.ca, volunteers can sign up to help with the event by contacting Ms. Brazier at @email.
Let’s get as many girls as we can from as many communities as we can at the Yellowknife Airport March 9th. Other airports worldwide are after the title that the NWT now holds. Let’s make sure we keep the title of the World’s Most Female Pilot-Friendly Airport for another year. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. People are living in warehouses, they are living in tents, they are drifting from house to house, sleeping on floors and couches, they are overnighting in RCMP cells. As NASA would say, Houston, we have a problem.
I want to put it on record, loud and clear, there are homeless in my region and in other regions too, no doubt. Why is this happening? I can only speak to what I see myself. Why do people lose their homes or get kicked out of one of them when they have alcohol addiction, which is one of the biggest causes. We know that the easiest way to get addictions treatment is to go to jail, which also puts a roof over their head.
People get kicked out of public housing too. It could be for not paying their rent for too long or for other reasons.
Let me go back to my original question. Where are the people without their homes supposed to go? There’s no homeless shelter in the Sahtu region, unless you include a few jail cells. Other regions do have shelters. I know there are emergency shelters in Inuvik, Fort Smith and, of course, Yellowknife. Some Sahtu residents end up in Yellowknife for that reason. There is at least some help for them here in the capital. I’m not sure how much money our government spends to help fund these shelters – probably not enough anyway – but not one measly dollar is spent in the Sahtu region.
As Members, we set our priorities more than a year ago for healthy, safe and sustainable communities, but we still struggle with the basics. Where do you go when you have no home? Where do you go to escape family violence? Where will you get help to beat an addiction or restore your mental health? For starters, we need emergency shelters in the Sahtu region. What we need is some help to solve these problems closer to our home. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to congratulate Ms. Lois Philipp, principal of the Deh Gah Elementary and Secondary School in Fort Providence, on being recognized as one of Canada’s outstanding principals for 2013. The Learning Partnership announced Ms. Philipp was one of 51 exceptional educators to receive the Award for Excellence in Public Education.
Through her leadership at the Deh Gah Elementary and Secondary School since 2004, the school has evolved from a community school with cultural inclusion to a school that is truly culture-based. In the last few years, 28 students have graduated from the school, and registered secondary school students have doubled the number of credits previously obtained in a year.
Ms. Philipp… [English translation not provided]
[Translation] …she wants to be a good leader in the community of Fort Providence. She also grew up in Fort Providence. To help young students, she had become principal. Because of that, we have a lot of young people that are well educated and become good people. This is why Ms. Philipp took this avenue in her career. This is why I am speaking up it today. She is a good role model for young students. [Translation ends]
… when she led the planning of a four-day river trip from Fort Providence to Jean Marie as the cultural component of the program. The trip was such a successful learning and a bonding experience that it became a metaphor for all classroom-based learning to follow. She is always asking, what will make a difference in the life of a student, and she has that uppermost in her mind when introducing new approaches and programming. She truly understands the strength of combining education, culture and community into a solid foundation for her students, an effective tool for her colleagues and an open door for the community. Please join me in congratulating Ms. Lois Philipp. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Some diamond mines are not living up to their employment targets as prescribed in their legally contracted socio-economic agreements. The Government of the Northwest Territories and the mines signed these agreements in good faith, where we wanted 60 percent of the mines’ employment to be northern workforce. Right now there are some mines making up less than 40 percent of that workforce.
Increasingly, I know that we live in a time where people can live anywhere, but who’s defending the small communities when unemployment rates reach as high as 70 percent? Are there too many jobs in that community? Do people just not want to work? I say people want to work. Only a handful of people in the Sahtu and, as a matter of fact, four people in the Sahtu work at this mine. Four people in the Inuvik region. Is that too many? Have we oversaturated the employment opportunities? No. People in those regions need job opportunities.
What good is the Mineral Development Strategy if we have no one working at the mines and Northerners aren’t benefiting from these? It was only a few short years ago the same person was complaining in the House about mines subsidizing workers to get to Edmonton to catch the big flight to the northern mines. We need better attitude over here from that side of the House, the Cabinet side, because we should be demanding these mines subsidize the workforce to come south from those hard hit areas that have low unemployment.
We could be going to the Sahtu, we could be going to the Inuvik region, we could even be going to the Nunakput region to put people to work, because people want to work. In some cases there is over 60 percent of our mine force that can only be described as a tourist. That should go on our stats.
So I want the Minister to stop blaming education, stop blaming the mines. What is he going to do to protect our northern legacy? Let’s get our people working. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.
Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. [English translation not provided.]
I want to congratulate Mr. Dan Summers, principal of Deninu K’ue School in Fort Resolution, for being recognized as one of Canada’s outstanding principals for 2013. The Learning Partnership announced Mr. Summers as one of 51 exceptional educators to receive the Award for Excellence in Public Education.
Through his leadership at the Deninu School, since 2009 learning outcomes have significantly increased. In 2012, 87 percent of Deninu School students achieved a national average or better on a group reading achievement and diagnosis evaluation, more than 10 percent above the national average. This is almost double the results of 2008 when only 46 percent of the students achieved the national average. In 2011, 100 percent of the Deninu School grades 3 to 6 met the national standard on the Alberta Achievement Test for reading and writing. This test is one of the highest standards in the world. Through his positive attitude and focus on working effectively in partnership with others, Mr. Summers has been instrumental in changing the culture of teaching and learning in Fort Resolution.
Upon announcement of this award, Mr. Summers graciously attributed the success of his school to the strength in each of his staff and all hands-on-deck attitude. He is truly an inspiring man, and on behalf of the town of Fort Resolution, I want to thank him for all his hard work thus far in Fort Resolution. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Item 4, reports of standing and special committees. Item 5, returns to oral questions. Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a return to a written question asked by Mr. Dolynny on February 6, 2013.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a return to a written question asked by Mr. Dolynny on February 6, 2013, regarding the itinerary for the 2013 diamond tour. Later today, at the appropriate time, I will table a document, entitled Itinerary for 2013 Diamond Tour.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m pleased to recognize the leaders of the Gwich’in Tribal Council that are here in the audience. President Robert Alexie and Chief Operating Officer Fred Koe.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s an honour and privilege to recognize a colleague from Nunavut, Deputy Premier, the Honourable Peter Taptuna. He’s also the Minister of Economic Development, Transportation, Tourism, Housing, the Nunavut Business Credit Corporation, the Nunavut Development Corporation, and also the Minister of Energy. Welcome to Minister Taptuna.
With Minister Taptuna is his executive assistant, Pat Angnakak. Welcome.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Lafferty.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Oh, I thought you said Abernethy.
---Laughter
