Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. The honourable Minister responsible for Finance, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. While we have some involvement with the telecommunications on the regulatory side, in the normal business operating issues we are not normally involved. So, no, I was not aware and I will have to check with the department to see if they received any correspondence of this particular outage that the Member refers to.
Thank you, Mr. Minister. In regard to the phone lines being down, you know it creates a lot of hardship on families just not talking to their loved ones or even your parents. Is the Minister willing to give his support to the community to make a complaint to NorthwesTel regarding their service?
If the Member would send me enough of the information, I would forward it to the department, through the office of the chief information officer, to see what option we have to, in fact, help them further their concern about filing their concern with NorthwesTel. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I’d really like to see if the department could also do an investigation in regard to what went wrong and what could be provided for better service, not only for this incident but other problems such as this that could happen in the future. Could we get the commitment from the Minister? Thank you.
We have some information that I can share with the Member that we just got though Public Works and other departments. So we can share that with the Member and we can have the discussion about necessary next steps to try to be able to be more responsive to this issue, if that’s possible. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Your final supplementary, Mr. Jacobson.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I look forward to seeing that information that the Minister has. The bottom line, Mr. Speaker, is the safety concerns of the people of Tuk and the people of the Northwest Territories in the remote communities if something like this was to happen. I know we can’t control the weather, but we had three days prior to the blizzard hitting the community of Tuk and the response to the community for the phone line system. Mr. Speaker, I mean, we have to hold NorthwesTel accountable in regard to their action in the service business. We need to get NorthwesTel to come and meet with the community. Is the Minister willing to help me to ask NorthwesTel to come meet with the leadership of the community of Tuktoyaktuk? Thank you.
I understand that long distance service has been impacted but local service and cell phone service is still available. But, yes, I would be happy to talk to the Member. We’ll make sure he gets this information and we can help him forward his concerns to NorthwesTel. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I find it hard to believe that as a government we still don’t have a firm consultation policy when it comes to dealing with aboriginal governments in our Territory, considering half the population here, Mr. Speaker, is of aboriginal descent.
Mr. Speaker, we have a duty to be fair. Successful consultation must include a process and a decision. Today across this country, governments are actively engaged with aboriginal peoples. This engagement undoubtedly includes a degree of accommodation and mitigation. Our government cannot continue to downplay the importance of inherent treaty rights. Consultation process needs to be fair, reasonable and transparent. I’d like to ask the Minister of ENR: how does the decision to ban all hunting in the North Slave region accommodate the rights of aboriginal harvesters? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there’s the short-term need, because of the precipitous drop in numbers, for the ban. The long-term goal, to affect the rights of all aboriginal harvesters especially going forward into the future, is to make the right decisions now to make sure that there are caribou, in fact, available to be harvested and so that aboriginal people can, in fact, exercise that right to harvest. Thank you.
Other Members have talked about this, but the Sparrow case in British Columbia and the Sparrow test, I wanted to mention this, as well, Mr. Speaker. Is there an existing aboriginal right? Most certainly there is. Under the Sparrow test, does it impose undue hardship? Undoubtedly, it does. Does it prevent the holder of the right from preferred means of exercising that right? Undoubtedly, it does. The Minister’s decision, he says that it was made on the basis of conservation. Now, in that Sparrow test, the government has to recognize a priority for First Nations harvesting. I’m wondering how the government has recognized First Nations as being a priority in harvesting, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.
We have a clear priority and we have held to that and we have held to it consistently across the Northwest Territories. There’s no more outfitting. There’s no more commercial harvest. There’s no resident harvest. The only harvest that’s permitted is aboriginal harvest. We’ve indicated that in this one area there’s a need to preserve the herd, but we’ll make an accommodation and we’ll provide the resources to go access and put to use the right to harvest in a carefully controlled circumstance with the Bluenose-East and the Ahiak.
So, Mr. Speaker, we are very aware of our obligation in everything we do and we can point to example after example of how we fully engage in consultation in the past, now, and we’re going to do it in the future. In the case of the caribou, we have done that and we’re going to continue to do that. We have support from the Metis, the Tlicho and we’re going to continue work to resolve the situation with the Yellowknives. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, the Minister talks about groups that are onside, but there are groups that aren’t onside, and I know he says we’re working on it. I’d like to ask the Minister today, how exactly is he working on bringing other groups onside with the decision to ban hunting in that area. Also, how is he going to accommodate the treaty right for aboriginal people to harvest caribou in that zone? Thank you.
I want to speak first to the issue of, yes, there are some treaty right implications, but the aboriginal right to harvest, as well, includes those of the Metis, and we are very sensitive to those as well. I met with the Yellowknives last night. We’ve had discussions this morning. I met with the Tlicho acting grand chief today along with Minister Lafferty. There are discussions happening this afternoon. There is active work with the Yellowknives and with the Tlicho to make sure that we can keep moving forward, keeping in mind the primary function and focus of the ban and the purpose of the ban is conservation so that, in fact, for the coming generations there are, in fact, animals to be harvested so that the traditional right and aboriginal right to harvest can, in fact, be put to use. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Your final supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there were two motions recently passed, one in October of last year and another one late last year, pertaining to caribou by the Dene Nation. I was wondering if the Minister is aware of those two motions that were passed and the fact that they show goodwill on behalf of the aboriginal leaders and governments in this Territory. Why is it that we’re in the predicament that we’re in today? Why couldn’t a solution be found to this situation? The goodwill was out there and now we’re left, again, our credibility is suffering because we cannot come up with a solution to this, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.
I think the Member is over-generalizing. That, in fact, if you look, the Inuvialuit, Gwich’in, Sahtu and the Tlicho, the Metis, we have worked through our arrangements with any decisions on wildlife. Where there are settled claims, we have very solid, productive working relationships on very difficult circumstances. In the North Slave, with the Tlicho and the Metis, and we’re working on the Akaitcho. I think the Member, this is a case of where I believe our glass is about 80 percent or 90 percent full, and we’re working on the final 10 percent with the Yellowknives to come to an accommodation. I think we should be celebrating the success we have working with aboriginal governments in a whole host of areas, including co-management boards. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’d like to ask questions again today in regard to an NWT-wide coordinated energy plan. I’m going to direct my questions today to the lead Minister for the Ministerial Energy Coordinating Committee to see whether I can get some more full answers, perhaps.
Yesterday, the Minister of Finance, in answer to my questions, implied that we have a coordinated approach to energy across the NWT. So I would like to ask the Minister for MECC if he can identify for me the one document which outlines all the NWT energy activities for both the government and our residents. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Minister responsible for the Ministerial Energy Coordinating Committee, Mr. Bob McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess I can point out a number of different documents. I can also tell her that the previous two governments created energy strategies that cost about a couple of million dollars apiece both in the 14th Assembly and the 15th Assembly, so we do have a benefit of those documents. We have a number of different departments that have different responsibilities. I guess a good place to start would be the business plans of this government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the Minister but, again, I have to ask the same question. I am asking for one document. Does this government have one document which talks about all the energy activities that we do? He’s mentioned that there are a number of documents. I don’t dispute that. There are way too many documents, in my view. He has also talked about strategies which we paid for many millions of dollars. Where are those? Why aren’t we using them? Is there one document which coordinates all our energy activities? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, like a well oiled machine, we have a number of different charts and a number of different connections. We do have a number of different departments that are responsible for a number of different things. We have a number of coordinating committees that ensure that all of the provisions that have been identified and the different strategies are provided for. The Department of ENR deals with energy conservation, energy efficiency. We also have ITI that has the energy planning unit. We have the Executive and the Premier responsible for the Northwest Territories. In our commission, we have the Ministerial Energy Coordinating Committee. We make sure that all aspects of energy are dealt with. As far as having a separate department that would house all of these different responsibilities, well, that is something that is a decision that is made when you look at the structure of government. Up until this point, it has been seen that it can work very well through Ministerial Energy Coordinating Committee. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I guess I have to take from the Minister’s answer... That was a simple yes or no question. I don’t think I heard either yes or no in that answer. So I have to assume there is no one document. I didn’t ask for a new department. I asked for a document.
Mr. Speaker, the GNWT has a Greenhouse Gas Strategy. I believe that we have a target within that strategy. It is probably outdated, but I believe that we have one. I would like to know what our government is doing to include our communities and all of our residents as individuals in setting and meeting their own greenhouse gas targets. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, as my colleague indicated, we do have a Greenhouse Gas Strategy. It is one that needs to be reviewed and updated. Every community in the Northwest Territories has a sustainable energy plan. It has been provided for through different levels of government funding. Like the Minister of Environment has indicated, it is very difficult for us to go on our own. We have to know what the United States is doing with regards to climate change and greenhouse gases. Here in the Northwest Territories, we only provide for a very small part in the whole world in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. Although we are the highest per capita as emitters of greenhouse gases, but we do have a process. We do have a Greenhouse Gas Strategy, and we will be updating that strategy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.
Mr. Speaker, I guess I just have to say to the Minister that I have a really hard time with the argument that we need to wait for what the U.S. does or we need to align ourselves with the United States. I am sorry, but we are a Territory in and of our own right. We should be doing our own work and setting our own targets. The fact that it is only a small bit in the environment of the world has nothing to do with the fact that we should do it.
I would like to ask the Minister if he can identify, and this is again in terms of energy initiatives, what the GNWT is doing to educate our residents and our staff about energy initiatives that they can, as individuals, take part in to better our environment. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I did say that, although we are only a small part, we are doing a greenhouse gas review. We will have a Greenhouse Gas Strategy where we will be doing more than our share. I agree with the Member; education is very important to anything that we do. We have the Arctic Energy Alliance, which is funded by a number of government departments. This is something that we focus on continually in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. There is a whole conservation education department. This is one of the priorities for this government. Also through the $60 million of Alternative Energy Initiative, we have identified the need for education and we will make sure that we differentiate between energy efficiency and alternative energy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’d like to raise the issue I was discussing in my Member’s statement today and it’s my concern that there is still no legislation, that I’m aware of, on the legislative agenda coming forward in this Legislature’s term.
Mr. Speaker, we have a little more than a year and a half left, and the question keeps getting asked to the Minister of Transportation, where is this legislation, where is the department on this legislation, where is the department on this issue.
So, Mr. Speaker, to the Minister of Transportation: does he expect any legislation coming forward in this term to deal with banning cell phones while people are driving? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister of Transportation, Mr. Michael McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member is starting to sound like a broken record. Every time he doesn’t get his way, he’s starting to say the Minister doesn’t care, the Minister doesn’t care. That’s a very strong statement to make, given that I take very seriously what the Members raise in this House and outside of this House and what the residents of the North bring forward.
I also have to say where was he when I did make the response on what we were doing with cell phones. Either he doesn’t know what I made in my statement, or he doesn’t care to know what I made in my statement, or he’s totally confused about what I said in my statement. I would certainly be glad to share that statement with him. It would lay out what we’re planning to do.
I had indicated, in commitment to this House, that we would be collecting data and that’s what we are doing right now. Thank you.
Apparently, I should say I hurt the Minister’s feeling over there. I didn’t realize he was all sensitive about this and maybe the job is too big for him...
Awww.
...to the issue of being challenged. Mr. Speaker, you know, gathering data is about as useful as collecting a single e-mail on this particular case. What does that actually mean in the real life of bringing forward legislation that reflects a ban for this type of product in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I don’t have to point out to the Member that enforcement and penalties are just one portion of what it would take to deal with the issue of distracted driving education. It has to be part of that process. We have started doing the communications. We are talking to the communities. We are talking to the City of Yellowknife. I know he’s very much in a hurry and is a very impatient person, but there are certain steps that we have to take. I will remind the Member again, in case he wasn’t here for the vote, but we did vote in this House and the vote to bring in legislation on cell phones was defeated. It is my job now to have all the information in place before I go back to the standing committee to present that information so they can see what work is out there, how serious this concern is and then I would take a measure on whether there is enough support to bring it forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I can obviously see there is an excellent jousting match going on today. I will send one back. The Minister is correct; I am impatient because safety is at risk here. I wish he would realize that too. Mr. Speaker, consultation, we have to talk, we have to talk, we have to talk. We have eight out of 11 regions that are addressing this issue. I am not sure what more studying the Minister needs to do other than the fact that do we need to make a particular type of legislation that reflects northern values but still keeps safety in mind? Mr. Speaker, what signal is the Minister waiting to move forward on this issue? Is he waiting for a private Member’s bill by Regular Members to move forward on this issue? Would the Minister support a private Member’s bill if it was brought forward by a Regular Member? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, unlike the Member, I would like to bring information forward when I am totally prepared. We did have a vote in this House. I don’t want to bring a piece of legislation forward to the Members of this House and have it defeated. I think there is a lot of work that has to be done. The Members have to see some of the drafts of the legislation that we would be proposing. That is what we are working on right now. We are still consulting. We’ve heard how serious the issue of consulting with residents of the Northwest Territories is. We plan to do the work necessary. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.
Mr. Speaker, that is one of the better answers that I have heard from this Minister in a while. Mr. Speaker, this Minister is wanting a show about working together and doing homework. At present, I have already started working on a private Member’s bill on this particular issue. When it gets finalized, I am going to bring it forward to my colleagues to see if they have input. I guess my question to the Minister directly is: would he like to co-author this bill and show some unanimity in this House where that side of the House, the government side works with Regular Members, put our citizens first in a safety process? Mr. Speaker, would the Minister be willing to co-author a private Member’s bill? Thank you.
The Member knows full well that we’re always open for advice. The Member seconded a motion in this House that got defeated on this very issue. He knows the challenges that cell phone and distracted driving legislation has, that it needs a lot of attention and a lot of work. We have to have all our facts straight. We need to consult with our colleagues across the floor. We are going to be writing to standing committee to request some time to do so. That’s our plan right now.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I found the Minister of Human Resources statement interesting today about eRecruiting and the vacancies in the territorial government. The territorial government isn’t the only employer in the Northwest Territories who has issues with recruitment and retention of staff and I believe I can safely say this is an issue in the private sector as well as in the public sector. The Minister indicated that with the new system up and running, that they’ve had a lot of applications come in. There were 587 applications for 112 government positions. These come from a total of 76 different countries. This effort is all well and good, but I’d like to ask the Minister of Human Resources what we’re going to do when people apply to come to work in the Northwest Territories from other countries and we have a bottleneck at Service Canada with a person who works in that office who is over-opinionated and anti-immigration, from what I know. Just about every constituent that I have talked to that has any dealings with Service Canada has found this particular individual to be a problem. I’d like to ask the Minister what he’s going to do with that. It’s great to advertise jobs and get applications from all over the world, but what are you going to do when we don’t control immigration and we have no control over who sits in that seat?
