The construction of an all-weather highway down the Mackenzie Valley to the Arctic coast is vital to connect our communities, and to access a wealth of natural resources that are critical for growing the NWT economy and ensuring Canada remains prosperous within the global economy.
Mr. Speaker, the northern most segment of the Mackenzie Valley all-weather highway, the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk highway, is our first priority for construction. This highway has received much attention recently as the Government of the Northwest Territories approaches some key decision points concerning the next steps for construction of this segment. At the same time, the Department of Transportation is reaching significant and notable milestones in planning the southern section of the highway from Wrigley to the Dempster Highway. The recent exploration activity in the Sahtu has drawn much attention to the southern portion of the Mackenzie Valley and we need to also continue our planning efforts to focus on the next construction priority: the road from Wrigley to Norman Wells.
I’m very pleased to announce the department initiated the second planning stage for the Mackenzie Valley Highway at the beginning of February.
Four project description reports for highway segments passing through land claim settlement areas have been combined into one scoping document and submitted to the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board for initial review. The department requested the application be referred to an environmental assessment. Last week the
Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board initiated the environmental review process for the proposed all-weather highway from Wrigley to the Dempster.
The project description reports for the southern segment of the highway were completed through partnerships with CanNor and Aboriginal land claim organizations. The partnerships delivered environmental and engineering information to support the regulatory review process for the all-weather highway project.
The Department of Transportation has engaged the federal government in discussions on funding for additional planning activities required to move the project through the EA process. In support of this work, CanNor recently contributed $600,000 for the next stage of environmental and engineering study activities.
A memorandum of understanding to create a partnership for Stage 2 Planning Activities was signed with the Gwich’in Development Corporation in January 2013 and a similar MOU is anticipated with the Tulita District Investment Corporation shortly.
While we work through the planning process for the all-weather highway, we have also been busy upgrading the Mackenzie Valley winter road. Through federal partnerships, such as the Building Canada Plan, the Department of Transportation has already invested over $100 million in incremental infrastructure improvements on the winter road.
The winter road’s grade and alignment have been improved significantly at key locations and the installation of permanent bridges has helped to stabilize the road’s operating season in the face of warming weather. Improvements in safety have been achieved by installing signs to indicate speed limits, distance and changing surface conditions.
Mr. Speaker, since 2005, the department has been collaborating with industry through annual contribution agreements to improve the level of service on the road to accommodate increased heavy traffic associated with resource development needs. This year the GNWT received $1.2 million in contributions from industry to advance the winter road construction effort.
This additional funding has allowed the department to accelerate the construction of ice crossings to deliver earlier access to the winter road, strengthen the road surface to better receive heavy equipment, and accommodate the demobilization of rigs and other gear at the latest possible date in the spring. Unfortunately, advance planning cannot account for the added measure of unpredictable and sometimes severe weather conditions experienced this year.
To improve safety, the department has increased the number of vehicle inspections and enforcement patrols, and is providing information packages to industrial drivers new to the winter road experience. Additional signage marking all the crossings will help new drivers understand and communicate their locations as they travel the route. We will continue to engage industry and work with them to improve winter road safety.
Mr. Speaker, while the capital investments required to complete the highway are substantial, the benefits that will accrue from this investment are significant and national in scope. The completion of the all-weather highway will improve access to our communities, help maximize the exploration investments from resource development companies, provide greater certainty for further exploration, and create significant employment opportunities for Northerners during construction and ongoing maintenance.
Mr. Speaker, strategic investment in our transportation infrastructure that will support economic development is an investment in a strong, prosperous Northwest Territories. The Department of Transportation is pleased to be moving the Mackenzie Valley Highway into the environmental assessment phase and closer to realizing the dream of an all-weather highway down the entire length of the Mackenzie Valley. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. McLeod.
Mr. Speaker, today I am pleased to speak about the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs’ upcoming Good Governance Conference. This year’s conference theme is Community Ownership. The conference will take place at the Explorer Hotel in Yellowknife from February 26th to 28th and 165 participants representing all 33 communities are expected to attend.
Mr. Speaker, our 33 community governments play a vital role in the sustainability and strength of our territory. MACA, through the School of Community Government, continues to support them as they build capacity to address their increased authority.
We promote and support effective governance and program delivery through initiatives such as the Advancing Local Government Administrators Program, the Community Government Mentorship Program, Occupational Certification and the Recreation Leaders Program. We also provide specific training on a wide range of community government-related topics. From April to December 2012, 450 community government staff from 29 communities participated in courses delivered through the School of Community Government.
Building community capacity requires partnerships with stakeholders, including the Northwest Territories Association of Communities, the Local Government Administrators of the NWT, our own Department of Human Resources and community governments themselves.
Strategic investments in capacity building have resulted in programs that meet community governments’ unique needs. The Public Service Capacity Initiative, through which MACA is hosting the upcoming conference, is one example of the type of collaborative program being delivered through the school.
This year’s conference theme of Community Ownership reflects the importance of asset management and community involvement in planning. Sessions will cover a variety of topics and feature some of the foremost experts in the field from the North and across Canada. We will talk about community capacity and how to keep our communities sustainable, vibrant and safe.
I invite all of my fellow Members to attend what is sure to be an informative conference. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is a priority of this government that children get the best possible start in life so they can reach their full potential. It is important that we continue investment in early childhood development as this is an investment in the future of our children.
In January of this year, in partnership with the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, we hosted a roundtable to identify priorities for a renewed Early Childhood Development Framework. I’m pleased to report that the roundtable was a success.
I know the Members of this House that attended the roundtable would agree that the experts provided us with great insights about integrating new research findings into current practices.
Mr. Speaker, it is important to note that we are on the right track. The experts and the local presenters confirmed that we are funding the right programs. We must continue with existing programs like the Healthy Families Program, which we plan to expand to more communities. This program provides community-level support for families.
We continue our investment of over 3 percent of our budget in prevention programs. We know that by starting prevention programs at a young age will allow our families to grow strong and healthy. Our Mental Health and Addictions Plan, A Shared Path Towards Wellness, will complement our Early Childhood Development Framework.
We continue to support the great work NGOs are providing. NGOs like the NWT Literacy Council and NWT Disability Council and programs like the Aboriginal Head Start will contribute to successful early childhood development.
We all want our children to have the best possible start in life. We must work in partnership with all agencies to ensure that our children are healthy and can grow into responsible, healthy residents.
Minister Lafferty and I look forward to sharing our renewed framework with Members of this Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The federal government will be getting out of public housing in 2038. That’s 25 years from now. I should be about 35 years old by then. The federal government will not continue to allocate funding for social housing in the Northwest Territories or in Canada.
We are experiencing cutbacks from social housing right now as we speak. Every year we’re receiving less and less. Soon the money will run dry, and then what? Are we ready for this? That’s a good question.
Today we own about 2,400 public housing units in the Northwest Territories. Each unit costs the NWT Housing Corporation about $16,000 per year. That includes electricity, heat, and water and sewer delivery. The sad part is that we have some houses sitting empty in our communities.
People keep reminding me of the promises that were made by the government of the day a long time ago, about how they were going to own their own homes once they were relocated off the land and put into public housing units at that time. Since we pay more for keeping our residents in those units, they are still not close to owning their own homes. They are residents who live in those units until they pass on. The government has to do away with that kind of thinking and work with people in training, creating jobs and assisting our residents with home ownership, and make it a priority of this government to provide support to our residents to become homeowners.
We value and take pride in our diverse cultures and our ability to adapt, and I believe we could adapt to new ways of looking at housing. We need to have discussions with our people, pay attention to them, and to adjust our strategic planning to see the future of our residents. We need a comprehensive territorial or national housing strategy.
We’re all in this together. There’s no telling what will happen if we work together with our residents and come up with solutions for our housing strategic plan. With the right amount of funding, it might just work. We need it to work. We need it to work now.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A couple of months ago our Minister of Finance took to the skies with his childhood bag of Legos and travelled the territory to talk to the people about the budget. I must admit the format was unique and provided some visual interaction, but months later, after the report has been tabled, one must look back and ask what we learned. What was used from this experience to influence the main estimates we’re currently reviewing? Did we listen? More importantly, did we hear the wishes of our people?
Interestingly, we are currently looking at the Department of Health and Social Services budget and I find myself dusting off this Budget Dialogue 2012 report to see what was captured and what was being transferred to good use today. Health was cited by most participants as the area where there were the most opportunities for savings. Suggestions range from cost reduction in administration of medical travel, using strategic staffing, using technology to reduce medical travel and investing in healthy lifestyles. These were all opportunities of efficiencies.
Medical travel, comments like “unnecessary trips to Edmonton” and “bad enough I had to travel to Yellowknife for medical reasons, even worse when I found out my appointment was cancelled” and “government needs to be vigilant about the abuse of the privilege” clearly shows opportunity for savings or potential abuse of the system. Some participants also indicated to have a better use of existing resources. Another quote, “We need to keep people in the North to get the treatment they need. That could be a cost-saving measure.” I agree. Reducing our need to fly people down south, in itself, is a very forward-thinking approach to reducing our medical travel costs. I applaud the residents who came up with that.
However, the many ideas generated for reducing the costs of medical travel, such as better scheduling practices to avoid these multiple trips and long stays, these checks and balances to reduce cancellation and missed appointments, and better coordination of our patients’ medical appointments, for the most part have fallen on deaf ears as we do not see any changes to these recommendations or any of this action today. This is very unfortunate.
I can speak to many more residents’ suggestions that are now part of the GNWT archaeological archives of other countless reports, but I’ll stop here. I will use this Budget Dialogue 2012 report to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services the appropriate questions later today.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wonder how many people in our territory know that they have to renew their health care card. I just asked that because that is the new system that has been adopted by our Health department. It is now up to everyone to check the expiry date on their health care card and apply for a new one a few months in advance. The form is available on the Health and Social Services website, and at nursing stations and medical clinics.
I know there has been some advertising about this, and postcards to remind people to renew are being sent out, but old habits die hard. No doubt there will be people who do not get the message.
It used to be the health care cards were seldom replaced and when they were, the new one would simply arrive in the mail. Many of our residents probably still think that that’s how it works. Of course, what I do not want to see happen is any of our residents running into problems with their health care coverage – especially if they happen to travel outside the Northwest Territories – expiring. Sometimes we are asked to pay a bill and then we have to seek reimbursement after we get home.
I know that many people have applied for new cards but have not received them yet. There may be a backlog in Inuvik; I’m not sure. But, obviously, we need to provide health care to those people when it is required, so it’s important that there be a grace period. My understanding is that health care providers are supposed to confirm the patient’s enrolment number. It might be a good idea to have an automatic grace period of some length and then handle problems on a case-by-case basis.
I am glad that the Health department is keeping health care cards up to date. I’m sure that one good side effect will be that few people who have left the NWT will still have valid cards. I am always amazed by how many times I am approached by people in the public who want to convince me of an urban myth that there are more health care cards than there are people in the Northwest Territories. We have gone over this many, many times and I’ve assured people this is not the case, but it is still out there in the public that we have people who have left the Northwest Territories still carrying around NWT health care cards. This new system will, hopefully, help to alleviate that.
But change is always hard and I’m sure there will be little glitches before the population is used to renewing their health care cards, and I want to encourage the Health Minister to stay with the information campaign for a while and then reinforce it from time to time.
Later today I will have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services on this new health care card renewal process.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The arts are alive and well in the NWT. We are blessed with visual arts, music, film, dance, and written word artists, to name just a few. This government recognizes the contributions that arts performers make. We recognize the positive impact on the economy from the arts and that they are essential to the preservation of NWT culture. Funding for the arts is provided through the Education, Culture and Employment budget, and we present awards for culture through the Minister’s Cultural Circle. But there’s one aspect of our lives and our history which needs greater profile, Mr. Speaker, greater profile and recognition, and that would be heritage.
We often speak of heritage and culture in the same breath. They complement one another. Culture tends to refer to language, customs and the arts, whereas, heritage tends to refer to artifacts, structures and stories from the past. The Minister of Education, Culture and Employment will be aware of a request to him and the department from nine NWT culture and heritage groups for assistance in preserving and profiling NWT heritage. This isn’t to say that the government doesn’t do anything for heritage right now, but we could do more. Other jurisdictions do. They recognize heritage in their ministries. For instance, Manitoba has a Department of Culture, Heritage and Tourism. In the Yukon, the Department of Tourism and Culture specifically identifies a process for managing, conserving and interpreting heritage.
Around the NWT we have nine heritage and culture groups: NWT Mine Heritage Society, Gwich’in Social and Cultural Institute, Hay River Museum Society, Norman Wells Historical Society, NWT Metis Cultural Institute in Fort Resolution, Heritage Centre Society in Fort Simpson, Native Communications Society of the NWT and the Fox Moth Society in Yellowknife. These all play an important role in the social and the economic fabric of their communities.
The GNWT needs to expand our focus and our support for culture to specifically include heritage. The requests in the letters sent to the Minister from these organizations are not huge. They ask the government to consider the following:
form a culture and heritage council similar to the NWT Arts Council;
establish a ministerial portfolio for heritage and culture;
allocate permanent funding for heritage and culture organizations and activities.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
They also ask for continuation of funding to hold their bi-annual meetings for culture and heritage. They also ask to provide support for ongoing training and networking opportunities. All of these asks are something that we as a government can do that won’t require much financial support. Maybe we don’t need another ministerial portfolio, but to consider an expansion of the Cultural Circle awards to include heritage I believe is certainly doable. I urge the Minister to seriously consider the requests from the NWT’s nine heritage and culture societies and to copy Members of this House on his response to their letter. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Transportation is going to mothball the Merv Hardie ferry. With the opening of the Deh Cho Bridge, the ferry service is no longer required at Fort Providence. Although the department has no intentions of selling the ferry or disposing of it, there are no plans to use it, either.
We need that ferry at the crossing in Tsiigehtchic. The Merv Hardie is a bigger vessel than the Louis Cardinal that currently services the river crossing in the Delta. Its bigger size allows it to transport more goods in a single trip.
That ferry supplied the entire city of Yellowknife and the North Slave region for many years, hauling all the material for this city and the Tli Cho communities could ask for. They built this city with that ferry. Just think of what it could do for the communities of the Mackenzie Delta.
The Merv Hardie can also run longer than the Louis Cardinal. Two hours every day over the course of the summer can really add up. A longer operating season across the river at the Tsiigehtchic crossing will also result in lower costs and help reduce the cost of living, overall, for the people of the Mackenzie Delta, and also extend the supply for liquid natural gas for Inuvik in the fall season.
Before the Merv Hardie is put into permanent storage and begins to fall into disrepair because of it not being used, the Department of Transportation should seriously consider moving it up the river to serve the Mackenzie Delta. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Blake. Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again today, advocates for the prompt provision of on-the-ground midwifery services are gathering outside this Assembly to press their case. Some may join us here in the gallery yet again, to watch our proceedings and repeat the appeal for early and full introduction of midwifery service. Through petition, letter, contacts with MLAs and with the Health Minister, the NWT Citizens for Midwifery have demonstrated their broad base of support espousing the wisdom of implementing territory-wide midwifery.
The proposed budget contains limited amounts for partial introduction of midwifery services. Some funds will be used to quote and gauge communities on expanding service further, and support planning activities for Hay River.
Enough study, enough planning, enough lost opportunity for savings and benefits, enough idling. We have a 162-page Midwifery Program review and expansion analysis report of March 2012. It’s comprehensive in all things but the assessment of the cost-savings to be reaped if we stop unnecessarily flying expectant mothers out of communities for residential living, away from home, and hospital delivery.
The social and health benefits have been repeatedly stated: improve social functioning, enhanced autonomy, bringing birth closer to home, increased continuity of care, decreased stress, improved early child development, improved access to culturally appropriate care that promotes the ancestral traditions of midwifery; and the increased opportunities for health promotion and disease prevention. Regional health centres are cost-effective and the foundational basis of our community health service. Midwifery service is an indispensable element of this approach.
We’ve delivered reports and studies of the quintuplets. The March 2012 report lays out the options, the detailed implementation requirements and costs. Now it’s time to bring this baby home.
I’ll be calling for inclusion of significant sums in this year’s budget for real progress in the expansion of this service for real people.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. For the first time ever, residents of Fort Providence can call, text and browse the Internet from a hand-held device in the community.
NorthwesTel launched its 4G network in Fort Providence on Wednesday, February 20th. Cell phone service is a goal of my constituents and I’ve had a petition that’s spoken loudly about it for a long time. The 4G network will allow residents and visitors to use the latest wireless devices, tablets and smartphones in our community. The introduction of this technology will enhance the quality of life for both residents and travellers. Anyone travelling through to the southern part of the Northwest Territories goes through Fort Providence.
We had a very sobering reminder of the need for emergency services on our highways this week. My sincere condolences go out to the friends and families of those involved in this accident. Expansion of telecommunications will enable continued steps to improve public safety, such as 911 telephone services and ground ambulance and highway rescue measures. Kakisa has also expressed the need for cell service.
NorthwesTel is not only providing 4G services, but representatives will also be in the community until Saturday to answer any questions about mobile devices and plans, and to demonstrate the latest gadgets, including the Apple iPhone 5, Samsung Galaxy S3 and the brand new Blackberry Z10. Maybe they’ll show us how to get moose calls and geese ringtones on our phones.
People can also get information about NorthwesTel’s services through its website or by calling its 1-800 line. NorthwesTel serves the largest operating area of any telecommunications on this side of the planet. It is expected to contribute over $15 million to support the enhanced broadband Internet service for 31 communities in the NWT in introducing enhanced mobile Internet services in 25 communities. This is the beginning of a new era for the North. This work is made possible by Infrastructure Canada and Falcon Communications, a broadband business alliance made of the Akaitcho Regional Investment Corporation, Dehcho Economic Corporation, Denendeh Advancements and the Tetlit Gwich’in Council. We can be proud of this Aboriginal partnership and what they are able to accomplish.
I’d like to recognize the work of NorthwesTel and all its partners, and encourage all Northerners to make the best and most responsible use of this amazing technology. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As we’re proceeding into the budget dialogue process, I’d like to refer back to the budget dialogue report that the Minister of Finance and his little tour that he went on through the Northwest Territories listening to our residents. Actually, I want to focus on three main areas that were discussed and addressed under the Health portfolio.
I won’t get into some of the detailed comments that my colleague went into earlier, but one was the investment in treatment programs and for mental illness, something that this side of the House has been fighting for ever since we started the 17th Legislative Assembly. It’s great to see that the Minister of Health and Social Services did commit to the detox beds and that he also committed to possibly bringing a supplementary appropriation here for an early intervention team to start up possibly this fiscal year. Also, one of our priorities is using existing infrastructure to put some of these programs in place. So it’s stuff those Members have been talking about since we started the 17th Legislative Assembly.
Another area of his focus that residents of the NWT have been speaking to is preventative health programs. The percentage of budget dollars that go to the Health budget is still very low, even though the Minister did make comments about it earlier in his opening remarks. It still doesn’t address the need of residents in the Northwest Territories and it’s something Members on this side of the House will continue to fight for.
You’ve heard colleagues mention this, but midwives was something that was also discussed and emphasized from the residents of the Northwest Territories for community-based maternal care and employment of midwives, not consulting about creating action.
On the news this morning, it was clearly stated, we’ve had enough consulting, it’s time for action. We have the reports. We have the documents. It’s time to put some of this stuff on the ground and start listening to our residents. If government isn’t going to act on it, then rest assured committee and Members on this side of the House will bring these concerns forward, get them addressed, get them in the budget process, and get the dollars for these programs and services to ensure that our residents are being listened to.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. The honourable Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This morning the Minister of Health, Tom Beaulieu, started his statement, “It is a priority of this government that children get the best possible start in life so that they can reach their full potential.” I’d like to recognize some of those people that help that.
We all know that many youth throughout the winter travel throughout the North to compete in many different sports: hockey, soccer, swimming, basketball, figure skating, hand games, and many others, including skiing. I’d like to recognize all those parents, grandparents and coaches that have been on the road for most of the winter taking these youth to different tournaments and events. Without that, these events would not take place and these youth would not have more potential to become successful in life.
Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to be in the arenas watching a lot of senior men’s hockey, and I’m glad the Huskies are doing pretty good. In my opportunity to speak in the arenas, I’ve seen lots of people from different communities in Hay River as well as when I was in Yellowknife. There were lots of people travelling in. I’d ask them what they’re doing in Yellowknife: we’re here for basketball; we’re here for hockey.
I think, in the process of raising these children in the North, we need to thank those people that get involved in their development. I was speaking with one of my friends. Out of the last six weeks, he’s been home for only one week of those six. They’ve been on the road for five weeks. As I’ve indicated, I’d like to acknowledge those hardworking parents, and coaches, and grandparents who help these youth in the Northwest Territories.
Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Today I rise to recognize the passing of Mr. Stephen Rowan, a long-time resident of Fort Simpson.
Stephen Hamilton Rowan was born in England and was educated in the United States, serving as a volunteer ambulance driver during World War II. He arrived in the Canadian North in 1963, after training as a teacher. Mr. Rowan also worked in Iqaluit, northern Quebec, Sanikiluaq, and Gameti, where he became a citizen of Canada in 1980. He also worked in Trout Lake, Behchoko and, finally, Fort Simpson. He retired in Fort Simpson, from the position of superintendent of schools in 1987.
Stephen Rowan lived simply, without a microwave or satellite TV, and burned wood to heat his home, known as The Yellow House. He was a strong member of his community, who showed quiet leadership by example. As a retired educator, he provided library services and guest speakers at the John Tetso Memorial Library. He offered ski lessons and led Jackrabbit skiing for children over 15 years.
His real passion was the history and heritage of Fort Simpson. Mr. Rowan was a founding member of the Fort Simpson Historical Society. He advocated for the preservation of Fort Simpson’s heritage buildings, which are some of the oldest buildings in the Northwest Territories. Stephen Rowan developed an annotated inventory of these buildings, gave public lectures, and led walking tours for both local residents and visitors. He loved spending time with archaeologists and other researchers, and was always ready to help.
Stephen Rowan was a generous man, a wise elder, and beloved friend to all. He will be sorely missed.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Fifteen years ago a study said that it was time to build a new courthouse in the NWT because the needs of the population had certainly increased. It would be cheaper, the study said, and more effective for the people who need the services, rather than continue to sink money into the existing building. The needs have not kept pace with modern times. Even Nunavut and Yukon have independent courthouses. When is it time that the Northwest Territories get its own independent courthouse?
If you don’t believe me, believe our Public Works. Two feasibility studies were led by our own Public Works, and they identified that our needs cannot be accommodated within the existing courthouse we have today.
Let’s go back a bit of time. Thirty-six years ago, that’s 1977, our courthouse was designed for three Territorial Court judges and one Supreme Court judge. What has changed? Security has changed, functionality has changed, victims' and accused’s' rights have changed and improved, working space has changed. We don’t have four judges like back in 1977. We’ve increased to eight judges in total, not even talking about the increase in the court circuit of appeal that has to show up every once in a while.
In 2003 this Legislature gave $3.6 million. In 2006-2007 we spent another $4.166 million on planning for the new courthouse. The functionality, size and requirements are inadequate for these modern times. Nunavut has a new courthouse. Yukon has a courthouse. When is it time that the Northwest Territories has its own independent courthouse?
I would like to ask who is speaking on behalf of the judges on this particular file. Who is fighting for the rights of those victims and accused who have to cross paths and share rooms with each other before a trial? That is not fair. Who is speaking for the bottom line when the 2003-2004 court case of Giant Mine was going on here in Yellowknife? They had to rent YK Centre space at $353,000, not even talking about the stress when the Franco-TeNOise challenged the NWT government and the Government of Canada about their rights.
The bottom line is that things have changed, except for the courthouse. Demands have increased, and it’s time that we addressed these needs with an independent study.
I will be asking the Premier about the program review office later today.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to recognize a friend and constituent, Amanda Dei. Amanda passed away last week after battling ovarian cancer for well over a year. She was a loving mother, daughter and friend. Amanda will be greatly missed by her daughter, Madilynn; her sister, Kim Lambrecht; brothers Robert Langlands, Trevor Lambrecht and Joel Dei; nephew, Alex Lambrecht; and father, Norman Dei, who is with us in the gallery today.
In addition to her loving family, Amanda had a huge circle of friends, often referred to as the No-Pants Army in recognition of Amanda’s distaste for pants. Amanda was a passionate musician and one of the founding members of one of Yellowknife’s more popular bands, The Break-Up. She wrote songs that came from the heart and struck a chord with everyone who had an opportunity to see her and her band perform.
In addition to being a musician herself, Amanda was a champion of women in music. She was a regular participant in the T’seko Celebration of Women in Music and was also one of the event organizers.
After being diagnosed with cancer, Amanda took on a dual battle. She not only fought her own battle with cancer but took on the challenge to raise money toward supporting cancer research, in hopes of eliminating cancer altogether. In Amanda’s honour, the No-Pants Army will continue to support cancer research. I understand that the No-Pants Army is already registered for the 2013 relay.
Amanda was an amazing person who will be missed by everyone that she knew and everyone that loved her. She will not be forgotten. Her music, distaste for pants, and desire to support the fight for cancer and raise money for research will continue through her family and friends. There will be a celebration of life for Amanda this Saturday, February 23rd, starting at 2:00 p.m. at St. Joseph School.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thanks to Mandy No-Pants for contributing a verse to our lives.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize two people in the gallery. First I’d like to recognize Norman Dei, who is the father of Amanda. He is a long-time northern resident and long-time Yellowknife resident. He is a quantity surveyor for the Department of Public Works and Services. With him today is Sherry Otis. I’d also like to recognize Sherry Otis.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Mr. Ramsay.
