Obviously that is part of the process. I will make sure that there is a reminder, as per the Member’s concern. I need to reiterate that we as a system take this situation very seriously. This is the reason why the government issued clinical guidelines. I don’t want people out there to think that people aren’t getting services that they desperately need. There are other measures being taken to make sure that people are screened for possible colon cancer. There are stool samples that are collected at the doctors’ offices. There is advice given about the dangers of this. Any man or woman over 50 is encouraged to take those tests. Those are being monitored closely to make sure that we don’t miss anybody. When they are referred to Stanton for colonoscopy, there is a system of people there to make sure that they are looking at the list constantly and that their resources are used as well as possible.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. Final supplementary, Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister can reiterate it all she wants. The bottom line is that people are waiting an extended period of time. I’m asking her to get her department, and Stanton specifically, to find a way to expedite those times as much as they can and to work with our residents to remind them that their appointments are coming so that they don’t feel like they are left in the dark. Once again, I was wondering if I could get the Minister to commit to actually putting in a process that ensures that residents are regularly updated about the time and date of their colonoscopy as well as other cancer screenings that are required.
I don’t think I’m denying anything that the Member is saying. I believe we agree that our process has to do that. The staff at the hospital is doing the best they can to make sure that this procedure and other screenings for cancer and treatment are used as wisely as possible. There are people who do keep track of the files that they have in front of them.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Transportation. I’ve received complaints about the 2011 registration stickers that people put on their licence plates. I know living in the harsh climate that we do, that the stickers that go on licence plates have to be durable in nature. I have a constituent that was in the office the other day and one actually fell apart while he was in the process of getting his registration changed. The Department of Transportation replaced it. He took his sticker outside and it immediately folded up on itself and was not useable. So he phoned the department and they said it was going to cost $20 to get a new sticker.
I’d like to ask the Minister if we have changed the stickers for 2011 that we put on licence plates here in the Northwest Territories.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Minister responsible for Transportation, Mr. Michael McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’ve responded to a lot of different concerns that have been brought forward from the Members of this House, including licence plates and issuing of registration and having more transportation officers on the highways. This is not an issue that has been brought to my attention. This is the first I’m hearing of it. As far as I know, there has been no change to the quality or type of stickers that we’re using. I’d certainly have to follow up on that. It’s not an issue that I was aware of.
I’d like to ask the Minister if perhaps, and I’m not sure when the new licence plates are coming in, but maybe we’ve ordered new stickers for new licence plates and we’re trying to use new stickers on old licence plates. I’d like to ask the Minister if that might be the case.
We are planning to introduce new licence plates sometime this summer. They are pretty impressive, from what I’ve seen. I’m not aware that we have changed our type of stickers. It’s an issue that will be of concern, of course, as we are going to be issuing new licence plates starting this summer. I will certainly commit to the Member that we will follow it up and see what the concern is, if that’s the case with a lot of people, if that is coming back to us. I personally have not had any problems, but having said that, we’ll follow up with the concern.
If these new stickers are actually intended for the new licence plates and are different than the ones previously and are causing our residents issues when they go to put them on their old licence plates, I’m wondering if the Minister will commit to not charging residents $20 to get a new sticker if the one they get should be destroyed by trying to apply it to their plate.
I can see the cause for concern. If it is an issue that has been caused by ourselves as a department and we can find out what the root of it is, we will certainly try to make amends so that people are not burdened by something that is not their fault.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister of Environment. It is in regard to my Member’s statement. The land claim agreements that have been settled have established an instrument for implementing regulatory bodies, whether it is land and water boards or environmental assessment review boards or management boards such as the wildlife boards to deal with wildlife and forestry. These boards play a fundamental role in regard to ensuring that conservation measures and the management of wildlife is done in such a way that it’s managed through a system, regardless if it’s regional bodies or a joint arrangement of bodies, regardless if it’s dealing with different herds. I’d just like to ask the Minister, knowing that the Bluenose-West herd was an issue in which the Sahtu, the Gwich’in and the Inuvialuit formulated a system that they all got together, they had public meetings, they had workshops, they were able to come up with some sort of a conservation plan, and they made recommendations to the Minister to consider those recommendations, then basically, once the Minister received those recommendations, then it was acted upon by the government. That was the process that I thought was in place to deal with this, but in regard to the Wek’eezhii board, it seemed like they haven’t really started the consultation process and haven’t been able to come up with a conservation plan that’s workable for them. So I’d just like to ask the Minister exactly when are these boards going to be able to have the authority that was given to them and be able to act on that authority before the Minister makes the decisions, which basically, in most cases, it’s a decision after the board recommends something forward to the Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First, I’d like to thank the Member for his recitation of the history of the co-management process and the support for that process which we, in fact, share. The Wek’eezhii process is in its first stages of getting up and running. In March they’re going to start hearing from interveners. The plan is to have a process agreement in place by the next hunting season. We have to deal with the Wek’eezhii process. We also have to engage and work with the Akaitcho and the Northwest Territories Metis so that we have a Bathurst management plan at the end of the day, similar to what the Member has talked about that took place between the Inuvialuit, the Gwich’in and the Sahtu. The big challenge, of course, in the North Slave is that the Tlicho Government is set. They had their lawmaking authorities clear, the mandate is clear. With the Akaitcho and the Northwest Territories Metis, it’s unsettled claims area and we have to navigate our way through those waters. But the intent is to have a plan in place before the start of the next hunting season. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, in regard to the Minister’s response, I believe the key word here is “conservation” and, more importantly, consultation and ensuring that the mechanisms that we use is a formal process, regardless to boards having some authorities, boards ensuring public input and boards ensuring that at the end of it all there will be some sort of a conservation measure recommended to the Minister. I think that’s the piece that we’re still waiting for. I know you mentioned that they’re hoping to have it by next fall. I’d like to ask the Minister exactly when will the conservation plan be, hopefully, on your desk so that you can formally either adapt it or suggest recommendations for change so that the process is not done independent by your department, it’s done unilaterally, the information being provided by those boards to yourself, as Minister and before it’s implemented it has to be agreed to by the parties. Thank you.
The intent, as I have indicated, is prior to the start of next hunting season, is to have an agreement that the Wek’eezhii process will hopefully be complete. As well, that we will have had a chance to have a broader discussion, both with the Tlicho, the Akaitcho and the Northwest Territories Metis as well as other stakeholders, about a Bathurst management plan that covers the whole range of the Bathurst and the North Slave. It’s going to be a challenging process, but that’s the date that we’re working towards. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, one of the main components of the agreement also talks about needs levels and conservation levels that is basically sustainable for community harvests so that it can sustain the herd on some means of harvesting. I know that they did that in regard to the Bluenose-West herd where they allowed communities tags, where the communities give out those tags to people that want to go harvest a certain species. I think it’s 25 tags per community, so the communities are able still able to sustain that. I’d like to ask the Minister in regard to the issue of needs levels for community sustainable harvests, where does that fit in regard to the decision of agreeing to a conservation plan?
As the Member indicated, that’s a key component of the decision-making process. We’re going to continue to do work on all the caribou herds, but we’re going to do work on the Ahiak, the Bluenose-East, we’re going to do some calf surveys on the Bathurst. That information will be part of the consideration that’s going to be looked at by the Wek’eezhii board, it will be looked at as we meet with the Akaitcho and the Metis, and it will be part of the deliberations that will result, hopefully, in the final recommendations for a broad Bathurst management plan. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final supplementary, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’d like to ask the Minister if there’s a possibility… I know there was a formal motion passed in this House to request some sort of a regional workshop or conference dealing with the boards in regard to the wildlife management boards so that they can come forward with their ideas on how to find a solution out of this problem that we’re all facing. Like I said, they’re the ones who are on the front-line, they’re the ones who are dealing with the harvesters, they’re dealing with the people in the communities. So I’d like to ask the Minister, has there been a decision made to come forward by some sort of territorial board to deal with this issue in light of the situation that we find ourselves in?
I will just point out for the people that the reality is the one area where there’s some difficulty is in the North Slave area because of the newness of the process in the Tlicho, with the Tlicho Government that’s getting up and mobilized, and the fact that we have unsettled claims adjacent that are part of the Bathurst herd range with the Akaitcho as well as the Northwest Territories Metis, and the need to come up with basically a tailor-made interim arrangement as these claims are settled. The Wek’eezhii process is underway. We’re committed to that process, as well as to a process that’s going to flow from that with the Akaitcho and the Metis. As well, we are in discussions with other co-management board executives and chairs to talk about the need to bring these folks together to look at some of the overlap issues that have come to light across the Northwest Territories as we deal with these caribou issues. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment... In the News/North newspaper last Monday it talked about a designation of territorial historical sites or events and in there it has Deline as a place of a significant event. I want to ask the Minister, in terms of the significance of this place being named as an historical site or event in the Northwest Territories, can the Minister explain to me the significance of this announcement.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Yes, the Member is correct that there was an advertisement in the newspaper on February 22nd requesting input and feedback from the general public at large. It was a recommendation by an ad hoc evaluation committee that met on February 12th that identified 10 different key sites and events. The Member is referring to the event of the first recorded hockey game in the NWT. Those are the areas that we’ve highlighted in the newspaper and now we’re just waiting for feedback. The deadline for feedback submissions is March 3rd, so it’s just around the corner. Mahsi.
Mr. Speaker, I asked the Minister, in terms of after the feedback on March 3rd, what’s the process, what will happen after that process. And I want to ask him again: what’s the significance of this piece of information that’s been in the paper, in terms of Deline, in terms of resources, funding and recognition? What’s the significance?
Mr. Speaker, once we see the comments and the feedback, then we go back to myself, as the Minister responsible for historical sites and the events that will be before us. Then I’ll certainly review them and get feedback from the committee itself, the ad hoc committee, and just go along with the process and how it’s been done in the past.
This particular hockey that we talked about, the hockey game in the NWT, is one of the events of the Northwest Territories that’s been highlighted here in the House, but at the same time, Mr. Speaker, the federal government does not recognize that particular event that happened, because they’re saying, well, other events happen in Canada as well, particularly hockey games. Those are the areas we continue to talk about with the federal level or with the general public. Mahsi.
I’ve been raising this issue for a number of years until I’m green in the face. There is some movement in this government here. I will be talking to the federal government and I’ll be talking to them until I’m blue in the face. However, I want to deal with this one here, Mr. Speaker. In terms of the process, the Minister said he’ll deal with the process, but I want to know the significance and what will happen. Is that going to be a time when this government is going to do something in terms of Deline being the place where hockey was played in the Northwest Territories? I want to let the people know in Deline. They are pretty excited about this and the significance of this process here.
That is waiting to be seen, based on the comments and input from the general public-at-large. I certainly cannot make the decision on my own without input from the Northwest Territories.
Mr. Speaker, we have to keep in mind that the Deline First Nation, there was a study commissioned by them and the study doesn’t provide certainty that Deline is the birthplace of hockey in Canada. It was quoted in there. Mr. Speaker, they realize that Deline should be recognized for their important contribution to the history of hockey in Canada and for the strength of hockey culture in the community. So that is the report we received. We continue to work with the report and the general public comments and input by March 3rd. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Your final supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That’s not what I want to hear. Maybe I’m asking the wrong way. What I’m asking for is when there’s a significant event or site recognized in the Northwest Territories, there is some kind of celebration, recognition, there’s funds, there’s stuff going to that event. Just like when they had the paving of the highway here, the last kilometre was paved, they had a big celebration. So I’m asking about that in regards to Deline. After feedback, after the process, what is this government going to do to signify if this is an event that is going to be supported by this government? What are they going to do?
That is what we’re waiting for: input from the general public. We just did an advertisement February 22nd and we have a few weeks to get input and comments from the general public. We did send out letters to stakeholders, as well, to receive their feedback. Until then, I can’t stand up here and say we’re going to recognize every single site, every single event that’s been put out there. Mr. Speaker, that’s why we want to hear from the general public of the Northwest Territories. Let’s hear them out and then I can get back to the Member on what the outcome is on the particular matter. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.
Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my Member’s statement I talked about the community status of Lutselk’e and their concern about having to convert to meet certain conditions in order to receive increased funding to deliver municipal services. I have questions for the Minister of MACA. Mr. Speaker, does the Minister and the Department of MACA recognize the inherent right of self-government as an existing aboriginal right under Section 35 of the Constitution Act 1982 in their day-to-day business? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Robert McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We, as GNWT, recognize all communities’ rights to self-government, Mr. Speaker. Because of the Indian Act not allowing band communities to own real property, we have been working with band communities to form interim corporations so we can flow the capital and gas tax money to them. We view the interim corporations as a way to build capacity for their eventual transition into self-government. There’s nothing about the interim corporation model that would interfere with or go against the band communities’ self-government goals and objectives. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, does the Minister recognize the chief and council as a legitimate First Nation government of the community of Lutselk’e? Thank you.
We do recognize them as the First Nation government and there’s no reason that they couldn’t serve on the interim corporation. We’re asking the band communities to form the interim corporation. Currently, we have seven of the eight band communities who have formed, or are in the process of forming, an interim corporation, so they can own real property and the capital money can flow to them. We’re sitting on close to $3 million, Mr. Speaker, in capital and gas tax money for the community of Lutselk’e. So it’s in their best interest to form a corporation and take advantage of that money. Thank you.
Will the Minister affirm that recognition and direct his staff to begin discussions with the community with the end means of funding them at similar levels as other community governments created under the NWT Act as hamlets? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
MACA officials have been meeting with Lutselk’e staff and council to try to see if they would be willing to form an interim corporation. Mr. Speaker, we’re not asking them to change status or anything along those lines. That would be a decision that they would have to make. We are asking them for the benefit of flowing money into their community, that the GNWT is holding for them. We are asking them to form an interim corporation so that they would be able to start using the money. We continue to have discussions with them. If it comes to where it needs to be a meeting between political leaders, myself and the chief, myself and council, I would be willing to do that, because this is an opportunity for the community to receive the money that’s due them. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Your final supplementary, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you. The community recognizes that the Minister is not asking them to change status, but it’s asking for provisions into the NWT Act to accommodate them. Will the Minister commit to keeping me informed and the community when these discussions are to be taking place, so I can also keep the community abreast of the most recent things that are occurring in these discussions?
The NWT Act is a federal act that we don’t change. The bands are governed by the Indian Act, so we’re working with the band to try to get them to form an interim corporation so the money can go to them. But I will commit to working very closely with the Member and seeing if we can get the message to the leadership in Lutselk’e that this is a step that they should look at taking for the benefit of getting capital land gas tax dollars into their community. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
