Debates of February 3, 2006 (day 22)

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister responsible for Transportation, Mr. McLeod.

Return To Question 330-15(4): Maintenance Of Highway No. 3 Access Roads

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the clearing of access roads to cabins is really clearly outside of the Department of Transportation's mandate. However, we have, in some regions, been able to come to some agreements in areas where there are no other contractors or no construction outfits to come and do that work. I would be pleased to be able to sit down with the Member to talk about the particular roads that he's referencing. There is some flexibility here where if there's a clear demonstration that there is nobody else that can do it, if he can demonstrate that there is a land tenure to this property, we'd consider it. Other than that, we have been refusing all requests up to now in this area because there are contractors out there that have raised concern, that they have demonstrated that they work in the area and they want to do that kind of work. So I'd be able to sit down and talk to the Member to discuss this further; however, as to going out and saying yes we're going to set up a process to start clearing access roads, that's not something we're willing to do. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Supplementary To Question 330-15(4): Maintenance Of Highway No. 3 Access Roads

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to thank him for his answer. We always talk about cooperation and working together. We had a meeting in Rae and we talked about how we can all work together as governments. As he has mentioned, he is saying that it is out of his mandate and he's talking like this is not the mandate of the government. But if you look at it, the government, all the communities are our government. It's very difficult if there's no access road to these cabins, so I'd like to ask the Minister a question. Is he willing to work with us? Whose mandate is it to help these people? Is it the Tlicho Government, or maybe he can sit with the Tlicho Government to have further discussion on this issue? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. McLeod.

Further Return To Question 330-15(4): Maintenance Of Highway No. 3 Access Roads

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I already offered to do that. I'd be willing to sit with the Member and the leadership of the Tlicho to discuss this. There are a number of concerns that come to the forefront, and we have relayed this to the Member. The contractors have raised the issue of us going into an area where they could go as private contractors. There is land jurisdiction that is a concern. Anything off of our highway right-of-way is a jurisdiction that could possibly be federal land, or it could be Commissioner's land. We need authorization to go onto that land. We may need land use permits. There are a number of things we'd have to work out. If some of these properties are on Tlicho lands, that may be a separate issue and I'd be glad to sit down and work with the Member to see what we can do. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Supplementary To Question 330-15(4): Maintenance Of Highway No. 3 Access Roads

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank him for agreeing to sit with us and discuss this. This issue is important to the people who live along the highway because the traditional lifestyle is very important that we are trying to maintain. I thank him again for agreeing to sit with us. We will have discussions with the Tlicho Government and also the federal government. So the sooner the better that we have this meeting. Maybe as soon as this budget session is over, we can arrange a meeting. So the Tlicho Government is also awaiting our decision here regarding that. Maybe we can set a date in the next couple of weeks to have this meeting. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. I don’t know if I heard a question there; however, I will allow the Minister…I don’t know if the Minister heard a question or not. Mr. McLeod.

Further Return To Question 330-15(4): Maintenance Of Highway No. 3 Access Roads

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s pretty hard to answer when there is no question. I certainly will commit to sitting down with the Member in the next couple of weeks, or as soon as he can arrange with the leadership of the Tlicho, to get together to talk about this issue and see if we can find some resolution to it. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Finance Minister’s budget included so much about our reliance or our relationship with the federal government that I was thinking last night that not only should the Minister of Finance become an incredible hulk, I think all 19 of us have to become incredible hulks and maybe we should even consider parking ourselves outside of Wellington Street in Ottawa and make it our full-time job to just lobby the federal government.

Anyway, Mr. Speaker, we know of the importance of getting a deal on resource revenue sharing and devolution, but that’s the big picture item that is with us all the time. However, there are very real, item-by-item things in our budget where we are relying on the federal government to give us money, not only the $500 million for socio-economic impact fund. I don’t think we are concretely solid on that. We still need to get a commitment on that, as well as the money from the Kelowna deal, the Northern Strategy money that the Minister speaks about on page 5 where we are supposed to get a housing unit. I would like to know from the Minister what are our impacts on that. There is $100 million over the next three years for housing that the previous government committed we are not certain of. Then there is a whole whack of money going to community governments that we are not certain on. I would like to ask the Minister what his proposal is. My assumption is that everything is up to debate until they are confirmed. I am assuming that you have to confirm it with the new federal government. I would like to know what his strategy is to ensure we secure these fundings. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister responsible for Finance, Mr. Roland.

Return To Question 331-15(4): Federal Funding And The NWT Budget

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on a number of fronts, we are going to be approaching a new government. The Premier, of course, as soon as he is able, will be getting a meeting with Prime Minister-designate Harper. Myself, when we hear who the Finance Minister will be, will be trying to get some time with the new Minister of Finance. The Minister of Housing will do the same. We would employ much of the same strategies we have with previous governments about specific roles and the commitments made out there. We’ve already highlighted the areas that we feel are most critical on the list that we first need to make contact with. The Members mention a few of them. For myself as Minister of Finance, some of the more critical ones have to do with formula financing arrangements, the borrowing limit and, of course, resource revenue sharing is critical to us.

The issue of housing, specifically, Mr. Speaker, is something that comes out of Bill C-48 and the $1.6 billion federal contribution towards housing across Canada. The commitment out of that money, the amount that Ms. Lee mentioned, was looking initially at $50 million over two years to cost share some housing in the Northwest Territories. We will have to get down there as soon as Ministers are named to their portfolios, to get a commitment of how soon that money will flow. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Supplementary To Question 331-15(4): Federal Funding And The NWT Budget

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just concentrating on the smaller items but still vital, obviously, the $100 million over the next three years for housing that the Minister mentioned and also there is $12 million budgeted for communities, including $4.5 million from the federal Gas Tax Agreement. We don’t know at this time if it’s going to be multi-year funding. Then we have money for the water treatment plants. There are lots of partnerships between the GNWT and community governments that community governments really are relying on. Is it safe or can we be safe that the budget we are passing this session is reliable, or is there a possibility that we will have to revisit this in June, depending on what the federal government does? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Roland.

Further Return To Question 331-15(4): Federal Funding And The NWT Budget

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the funding amounts that we have included in the budget that’s going to be before Members identifies money we have accounted for. So legislation has gone through the federal Parliament, as well as Treasury Board. It’s a matter of just getting commitments of how soon will they flow and release some of those funds to us, but for the most part, they are confirmed money. The ones we have highlighted as issues are the large ones, as I have addressed yesterday, in fact. The housing money is something we need a commitment on. The $500 million impact funding is something we need them to commit on. That one flows outside of the budget process we are in. Yes, there are a lot of different facets we are going to have to get up to speed on. I know when new Ministers are named, they have to deal with issues from across the country and we hope to be front and centre on some of those initiatives to try to get some movement very quickly. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Short supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Supplementary To Question 331-15(4): Federal Funding And The NWT Budget

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With respect to the infrastructure money to the communities, it’s my understanding that those are multi-year funding in partnerships with the community governments and the GNWT and federal funding, as well as the federal gas tax. The former government, during the campaign, talked about making it multi-year. We are not certain about that. Could I just ask the Minister if the section that he has on page 5 is certain for now and not subject to change with the new government? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Roland.

Further Return To Question 331-15(4): Federal Funding And The NWT Budget

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the issues with community funding that we have identified have been put in trust, the agreements are signed and arrangements are made. Our arrangements where we need to match have been identified. What we have included for community infrastructure and budgets, the federal gas tax agreements, those are agreed to, signed off, and will be flowing. So those are straightforward in those areas. If there are areas that we have to match again, it’s identified within the appropriate Ministers' budgets and we are confident in those areas. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Final supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Supplementary To Question 331-15(4): Federal Funding And The NWT Budget

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, just to be clear, then, can we speak with the same certainty about the housing money, $4 million under the Northern Strategy and $100 million over the next three years now that the legislation has been passed? Is it okay for us to expect that the new federal government would honour that legislation? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Roland.

Further Return To Question 331-15(4): Federal Funding And The NWT Budget

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The particulars that we are working on, the gas tax situation, that is certain. The $4 million that comes from the Northern Strategy trust is certain. The $100 million amount that we were talking about over the next couple of years from federal Housing, Bill C-48, has been through Parliament but it did not make it through Treasury Board. So that is the one that we have highlighted as an issue that we need to get the federal government to make a serious commitment on and see where they are going to go with that. The $100 million is over three years. It’s tied to the $1.6 billion for housing across Canada, so that piece of legislation has been dealt with, it’s just the Treasury Board section that deals with us. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (English not provided)

I have a question for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Mr. Speaker, it is my understanding that Sahtu health is underway with the new health board. I want to ask the Minister responsible for Health what plans are in place for the new health board to have all the health centres brought up to standard in terms of the medical equipment for emergencies such as stroke, heart attacks and such other things that the other regional health centres have had. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Return To Question 332-15(4): Minimum Standards For NWT Health Centres

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the health authority in the Sahtu and their staff will carry on with administrative processes in place to deal with O and M requirements for minor capital and larger capital items will go into the capital planning process. As well, we have assessments of the health centres, the condition of the health centres and where they may be in terms of their life expectancy and potential required upgrades. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Supplementary To Question 332-15(4): Minimum Standards For NWT Health Centres

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I look forward to the assessments. My understanding of some of the centres in the Sahtu is you dare not have a heart attack in the Sahtu because we don’t have emergency medical equipment such as the defibrillators or the cardiac monitors or IV pumps. So we wanted to deem this as an emergency and not wait until the assessment. Other things can be forthcoming; however, we really need some equipment there. How soon can the Minister put these types of emergency equipment into the health centres in the Sahtu? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Miltenberger.

Further Return To Question 332-15(4): Minimum Standards For NWT Health Centres

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that work is underway across the Territories. We look at the resources we have and the needs that are there for the various facilities and communities and types of equipment. I would be happy to get for the Member the capital requirements for the Sahtu, both large capital and small capital and equipment, then we could have the discussion on a more informed basis. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Supplementary To Question 332-15(4): Minimum Standards For NWT Health Centres

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the invitation from the Minister. However, Mr. Speaker, I want to ask again, in terms of the types of services that are being performed, our nurses are working hard in our centres but need these types of services. I am hoping to have something from the Minister today in terms of saying to the people in the Sahtu we will get you this emergency equipment, such as defibrillators, cardiac monitors and IV pumps, that are standard in each hospital across the North. Also, to other centres that need them. I am looking for a commitment. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Miltenberger.

Further Return To Question 332-15(4): Minimum Standards For NWT Health Centres

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are committed to making sure that every community and every health centre is adequately resourced and equipped. That is the basis that we look at allocating the resources. As we go through the detailed budget review, and we have the staff here and we will have the documentation, I would be happy, at that point, plus separately with the Member, to go over what is on the books for the Sahtu that we can see firsthand. I can tell the Member that there are dollars allocated and identified that we are going to be spending in the Sahtu in a whole range of areas. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Supplementary To Question 332-15(4): Minimum Standards For NWT Health Centres

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, Mr. Speaker, I want to ask the Minister if there is anything in the policies in the current system right now, because of the time that we take to have our meetings and get the funding approved, to have certain medical equipment in our region between now and that time. Is there anything in the policy that would be of assistance to the Sahtu in terms of assisting people who have strokes or heart attacks that would satisfy on an interim basis? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Miltenberger.

Further Return To Question 332-15(4): Minimum Standards For NWT Health Centres

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will make a commitment to check with the deputy, so we can ask the Sahtu staff and the board to confirm what is available and if there are gaps in the areas that the Member has mentioned. At that point, I would be able to talk with the Member further. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my Member’s statement, I indicated that the government is receptive to the 22-kilometre access road from Tuk to source 177. I appreciate the receptiveness, Mr. Speaker, however, we need to continue the momentum by pursuing the implementation of the document, Corridors for Canada II. The question I have for the Minister of Transportation is, with the release of the document Corridors for Canada II, can the Minister of Transportation provide me with the next step and when the government will be able to implement the funding identified in Corridors for Canada II? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Pokiak. The honourable Minister responsible for Transportation, Mr. McLeod.

Return To Question 333-15(4): Implementation Of Corridors For Canada II Document

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the issue of gravel in the community of Tuktoyaktuk and the source of gravel has been a long-standing one that the community has raised on a number of occasions and the department has been looking at for a long time now. In the 1990s, they were able to construct a kilometre road and there is still another 22 kilometres that have to be constructed. We did have several meetings with the community and members of the community over the last while to discuss this issue. We looked at different ways that we could try to fast track some of this with the federal government. We have, as a government, included it in our Corridors for Canada II, as the Member has mentioned. We’ve also included the whole portion of the road from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk in other document called Connecting Canada. We’ve also shared this information with other organizations, such as the Business Coalition, and have been talking about how and what our next steps are going to be. We are waiting to see who will be the Minister, and we are in the process of drafting a plan to approach the federal government to present this to them.

However, having said that, at our meetings with the community, we’ve talked about our other options of what we can do in the interim. The communities indicated to us that they would like to start an engineering assessment of this stretch of road from Tuktoyaktuk to source 177. The federal government sat in on a meeting. We both agreed, as the territorial government and as the federal government, to provide some dollars to the community. An amount of $50,000 was requested and we have provided our share of $25,000 and sent it over to the community.

The other thing that we are looking at as an option is the possibility of doing a P3 project. Our departments have been working together to do an assessment of what the needs are in the community of Tuktoyaktuk over the next 20 years. We have been able to identify that there is a need of 200,000 cubic metres of gravel in the community. That doesn’t include other needs such as the actual gravel needs for construction of a road from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Supplementary, Mr. Pokiak.

Supplementary To Question 333-15(4): Implementation Of Corridors For Canada II Document

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank the Minister. We did sit down and get some money from the GNWT and the federal government, up to $50,000. I am well aware of that. The Minister mentioned a P3 project. Where is that process now? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Pokiak. Mr. McLeod.

Further Return To Question 333-15(4): Implementation Of Corridors For Canada II Document

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the community of Tuktoyaktuk and several representatives had talked about the possibility of looking at an option of entering into an agreement to sign a P3 project that would provide gravel to the community on a cost-recovery basis. The first step in doing that was to do an assessment of how much gravel was needed in the community. We’ve done some very conservative estimates. That number is 200,000 cubic metres. That doesn’t include the requirements for erosion control, for the Inuvik-Tuk highway, for other growth in the community. We know there is a need for a new subdivision in that community and approximately 30 or 40 lots that need to be developed. This does not take that into account, but there is a huge need. We are providing that information to the community. We will continue to work to see if there is some viability in developing a P3 project. Thank you.