Debates of February 6, 2006 (day 23)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to turn our attention to something that is of great concern to many parents and guardians of young children not only my riding of Hay River, but also, I am sure, throughout the Northwest Territories. The issue I am speaking of is children with life-threatening allergies who are attending schools in the NWT. For example, Mr. Speaker, I am aware of a child in Hay River who has an allergy to peanuts. If this child comes in contact with peanuts, any by-product of peanuts, or any substance that has been contaminated by peanuts, he will become violently ill and could experience a life-threatening reaction. There are many children with allergies attending school in Hay River, which is a serious concern for parents. Although students and parents are requested not to bring peanut products to school, it has been reported that some children continue to pack peanut products in their lunches and recess snacks. This is of great concern for parents as this may inadvertently cause a life-threatening incident to a child with allergies.

Life-threatening food allergies -- most commonly nuts, peanuts or shellfish -- can kill children. True food allergies occur in roughly six percent of children. Anaphylaxis occurs in approximately one in 200 school-age children. One in six episodes of anaphylaxis occurs at school. Children spend over one-third of their waking hours at school. Studies of fatal anaphylaxis have demonstrated that patients who died from this have generally been exposed to their trigger unknowingly, away from home, and that essential treatment was delayed.

Mr. Speaker, in recent news, we have heard of two separate incidents that resulted in death in Edmonton alone, just in the past three months. Both of these young people came in contact with just traces of peanuts and that contact was fatal for each of them.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, my point is, although the government has some regulations in place and our school administration and teachers are doing their best that they can do to protect their students, there is still no legal restrictions in the schools to prevent allergic substances from being brought in where children’s allergies could be

at risk. We must protect the children in our schools against exposure to any and all allergens. The only possible way to provide this protection is with legislation that would prohibit these allergens from being brought into the schools and making our classrooms a safe and healthy place for all children. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the NWT Housing Corporation was established in the early 1970s to provide safe, adequate, and affordable housing to the residents of the Northwest Territories. Somewhere along the line, Mr. Speaker, they began to lose sight of the very reason for their existence. Providing housing, Mr. Speaker, is no easy task, as we found out during our pre-budget tour. Everyone has an opinion on the state of housing.

With the amount of complaints on housing, that has to tell us, Mr. Speaker, that something is seriously wrong with the direction that the NWT Housing Corporation has taken. Too many poor business decisions over the years have proven that the NWT Housing Corporation should not be involved in any further ventures. Leave the business dealings to someone else and stick to what the Housing Corporation was originally established for.

Hear! Hear!

Lend some technical experience when required and asked for, but for our sake, stay out of the business end. We can’t afford any more blunders. How many units could have been put on the ground in the NWT, Mr. Speaker, with all of the money that we have lost so far? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. There is great concern recently, Mr. Speaker, with reported declines of caribou populations across the NWT and the Arctic. There are a couple of statistics here: the Bluenose West herd has dropped some 80 percent in size in the last 20 years. Mr. Speaker, the Bluenose East herd has dropped 40 percent in the last five years, and the Bathurst herd, one of the largest in the North, was reported to number 470,000 animals 20 years ago, but we are looking at a survey that was done in 2003. Their numbers are now 186,000, a 60 percent drop.

Mr. Speaker, last year, the Minister of Renewable Resources announced a major survey to try to account for these numbers. We are finding out that we are losing caribou at an ever-increasing and accelerating rate. In the management of this remarkable resource, Mr. Speaker, we have many different constituencies to satisfy: Dene and Métis communities and families who have relied on caribou for centuries and whose right to do so is well established in land claim agreements; Mr. Speaker, we have outfitters; we have a large population of resident harvesters who have also come to rely on caribou to supplement food on their dinner tables. But, Mr. Speaker, we have considerable gaps in our knowledge. The methodologies we have employed for the surveys, the impact of trophy hunting on breeding stocks, the cumulative impacts, Mr. Speaker, of almost 15 years now, of direct access into the heart of the Bathurst herd's wintering grounds through the resupply road to the diamond mines. There is a major gap, Mr. Speaker, in reporting harvests from aboriginal harvesters, whereas other levels are tightly monitored.

Mr. Speaker, the concern is that while we debate, compare, survey, study and discuss how to do this, are we destined to repeat those terrible legacies of other natural resources in Canada, the legendary bison herds that roamed the prairies, the codfish stocks of Newfoundland? This is not something that we should tolerate at all. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am going to use my statement today to address the issue of how the government is dealing with the recruitment, retention and hiring of nurses. I heard from a variety of sources that this government is paying substantial amounts of money to fly nurses in from southern Canada. If these nurses are needed and required, then I don’t have difficulty in accepting that this is a practice that we should condone. However, there are a couple of issues with this that I want some clarity on. I want to know why new nurses moving to Yellowknife have to send in resumes three and four times and don’t even get a phone call back from anyone to acknowledge that they have received it. There is absolutely no follow-up. Meanwhile, nurses continue to be flown in from the South with a huge price tag. Another item is that if you go out to Stanton, you can see all the numerous jobs posted on bulletin boards, but where else are these jobs posted? Most of them don’t even appear on the GNWT web site.

All I can say is, Mr. Speaker, that I believe that this is another indication that we are standing by and allowing the centralization of human resources to cost this government money. I want to state again for the record that I feel that it continues to be in the best interest of our government to follow through with the development of a department of human resources. However -- and, Mr. Speaker, it is a big however -- how long do we have to see and hear evidence from our constituents, employees and residents that there are substantial issues at human resources? I plan on addressing each of them during this budget session. This is the first one and it won’t be the last time that you will hear me speak about concerns that I have with the soon-to-be new Department of Human Resources.

Mr. Speaker, specific to my concerns over the recruitment and retention of nurses, I will have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services at the appropriate time. Thank you.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On October 26, 2005, I rose in this House to support the Hamlet of Holman’s request to change the name from Holman to Ulukhaktok. Mr. Speaker, during the municipal elections in December 2005, a questionnaire was included asking the residents of Holman if they were in support of a name change to Ulukhaktok. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to advise this Assembly that there was overwhelming support by the residents of Holman to change the name to Ulukhaktok. By changing the name, Mr. Speaker, to Ulukhaktok, it ensures the residents of Holman that their culture will be reflected in the name change. I would like to applaud the residents of Holman on their ambitious endeavour to grab the bull by the horn and pursue what they feel is reflective of their culture.

Mr. Speaker, this government will need to take the next step and implement the official name change to Ulukhaktok. Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time, I will have questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Thank you.

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Mr. Speaker, last session this House discussed the territorial-wide concern with dramatic rise in fuel prices. Last winter, the MLAs asked the various ministries to be proactive, rather than reactive, to what was inevitable. Furthermore, many constituents in Nahendeh have expressed their growing concern for the high cost of fuel and energy, especially in the small and remote communities. As indicated, prices have risen on two separate occasions in 2005 through the petroleum products division. Although prices rise and fall in the major centres, the prices in the 15 communities serviced by petroleum products seem to remain constant, with little or no price reduction.

In addition, petroleum products division purchases their fuel years in advance. Then why is it that current market conditions are affecting prices? As many residents have stated, that with escalating costs of living in small and remote communities, healthy living is quickly becoming a lifestyle for the privileged.

As an MLA, I strive to see communities where families do not have to decide between heating fuel and groceries and to see a territory where living standards are equal. Every year, the communities in the North are rapidly changing and residents’ concerns with the heating and fuel costs are becoming more and more frequent. This increase in necessary fuel costs will place hard-working families in additional financial hardship.

Currently, this government offers home heating subsidies and, although very needed, this is only offered to our seniors. Without very important programs such as these, the extraordinary heating costs experienced in the North would be overwhelming for elders and others with limited incomes.

On behalf of the small communities in my riding and throughout the North, Mr. Speaker, I ask that this government place energy costs a priority when deliberating how best to serve our constituencies. Mahsi cho.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to honour one of our constituents in the Sahtu region from Tulita. Her name is Stella Bayha-Yallee. She has 25 years of service as a housing manager in Tulita. I wanted to say that to the House, that she is one of the longest-serving members of the local housing authorities in the Northwest Territories. In light of all the stress, heartaches and bellyaches, she hung in there and stayed with us. She is a valuable member to the community, but also, more importantly, a valuable member to the Housing Corporation in terms of changes that we are going through. I wanted to say that the true test of her commitment to her job and to her people and to hang in there for 25 years.

Stella was born in Deline and moved to Tulita. She was advised to take this job as a housing manager in the community. She was successful in getting the job in 1981. Then she began working as a manager. She had one maintenance staff and 35 units to take care of. Although she learned then on the job and got training, today Stella manages over 75 units and has five staff members. Stella is a very strong and caring individual and highly respected in the community and in the region. She is married to Rodnick Yallee and has three daughters and two grandchildren. She volunteers much of her work in the community of Tulita. On behalf of the Sahtu region, I would like to congratulate Stella for her dedication and for her commitment and dedication, mostly for her 25 years of being in the housing office as a manager for the people. Mahsi cho.

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Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I know that, later on today, we will be reviewing the NWT Housing Corporation’s budget in detail. I would just like to make a few comments about the housing situation and, in particular, my constituency of Tu Nedhe. In general, many of my constituents still have some long-outstanding housing issues that they simply refused to let this department sweep under the rug. These situations and predicaments have hindered improvements to lifestyles, cause undo hardship and resulted in many family breakdowns within my constituency.

Mr. Speaker, these things the Housing department seems to be used to hearing and, therefore, seems to have addressed these problems with displeasure and apathy. But because of this lack of service and the persistence of many of the community members to see some favourable and tangible improvements, these issues will not be swept under the carpet. I urge all of my constituents, and the others in the NWT with housing issues, to continue to fight with this government to get their housing needs addressed.

Mr. Speaker, I feel that we can change this government’s priorities and practices, but we all have to work collectively and make it known that these priorities and practices are not practical and do not improve or solve many of the housing conundrums that we northerners have been raising, be it through the media or through this House and, sadly, throughout many years of our own natural lives only to find that, at the end of the day, there is never any serious consideration or government housing policy development which incorporates small community ideas and approaches resulting in our real needs are never being met.

Mr. Speaker, this has to change. Thank you.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to speak about the diamond cutting and polishing industry which provides 155 jobs here in the NWT. By the government’s estimates, the current cutting and polishing facilities contribute $9 million to the GNWT’s GDP. When they are in full production, it will be $20 million some day.

In order to attract and support value added industry, this government, in the past, created an MOU with the diamond mines to supply rough. However, the system is not working, Mr. Speaker, as it was originally envisioned. I have been told by one Yellowknife company that runs two plants that they are buying Canadian diamonds in Antwerp cheaper than they can buy them directly from our NWT mines. That is right, Mr. Speaker. It costs them less money to buy these diamonds from Antwerp and fly them back all the way across the ocean and cut them here. Mr. Speaker, I have seen the numbers and it is horrible.

Mr. Speaker, this government needs to do whatever it needs to do in order to ensure the spirit and the intent of that MOU is followed through and lived up to. At the very least, we have ethical questions here of what is going on. The NWT is not the only game in town, Mr. Speaker. Other territories and provinces are currently looking at diamond cutting industries and trying to lure their companies into their provinces with incentives. If you would like to know who; well, Mr. Speaker, Quebec is willing to pay workers’ wages for up to two years to attract industry into their province. Nunavut’s first diamond mine will soon be in production. Who knows what might happen once they get going? Will they try to attract our diamond cutting industry in Yellowknife over to Iqaluit or Cambridge Bay? I don’t know. If we want to keep our fledgling diamond industry alive, Mr. Speaker, we need to show it support. Rough diamonds need to be sold at a fair and reasonable price to our local cutters. It is horrible what is being done. That is it. That is all they are asking for is fair and reasonable price.

A former Member of this House once said -- and his name was John Todd -- they don’t listen. Then we should be taxing them and we should be choking them like a mule to make them listen if that is what is required. Well, Mr. Speaker, it may be time to give that chain a choke and a jerk so those diamond mines stop holding our cutting industry as a hostage. I hope this government is willing and ready to provide the leadership to the cutting industry and show them that they are there for them, that they support them long before it is too late. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, over the weekend, I got thinking about this government’s negotiating tactics and strategies with the federal government. When I saw the headline going across the television screen that read something like, NWT and Newfoundland support or like the vision of the new Harper government, Mr. Speaker, I am not sure if the national viewers would appreciate the intricacies of the NWT consensus government in the North. For certainty, I don’t believe there is, or has been, such a generalized consensus on the NWT position.

Mr. Speaker, I, for one, have stated that I am willing to give the new Harper government a chance to show its stuff when it comes to what it can do for our devolution and resource revenue sharing talks. But as to supporting or liking their vision, I am not certain about that, Mr. Speaker, because I am not sure what it is yet. If their vision is an unfettered decentralized Canada where the central government is nothing more than a tax collector and a distributor of that cash to provinces, I do not believe that is the vision of Canada that I can support.

Mr. Speaker, I don’t believe that is a good vision for a far-flung and small population jurisdiction like us, and for us a good, strong national equalization formula with fair share of resource revenue sharing should be our priority.

Mr. Speaker, I also got thinking about the pros and cons of wrapping ourselves in with the other provincial Premiers who speak to dealing with "fiscal imbalance" by taking on more powers and share of federal revenue. Mr. Speaker, because the issue of addressing fiscal imbalances and what it means has yet to be made clear, I don’t know what the Premiers of big provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, and not as big province of Newfoundland have in mind. But the last thing we need in this possibly unstable and short-lived minority government is to be mired in a power struggle or constitutional chaos with provinces while the NWT file gets pushed back to the back burner.

Mr. Speaker, we are not a province, but we are one with very unique circumstances to argue on all fronts. I believe we should keep our collective eye on that ball. Finally, Mr. Speaker, I believe the Premier has given enough indication of fuzzy and warm stuff to Harper. Now it is time for us to get the Prime Minister’s attention, and respect, and deep comprehension of the NWT file that is quite different and separate from the rhetoric of the provincial Premiers. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, along with my colleague, Mr. McLeod, from Inuvik Twin Lakes, would like to notify this House and send condolences to the Rodgers family up in Inuvik. They just lost their wife and mother, Mrs. Leana Rodgers. We were just informed of that late yesterday evening and want to send our condolences and prayers to the family. Thank you.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. It gets back to my Member’s statement earlier today where I questioned how the Government of the Northwest Territories is recruiting nurses to work specifically at Stanton hospital. How many locum nurses is the territory bringing in to work in our hospitals? The second part to that question is, at what cost, Mr. Speaker? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Return To Question 338-15(4): Recruitment, Hiring And Retention Of Nurses

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we bring in locum nurses on an as-required basis with the various authorities in the different facilities. I can indicate to the Member that the largest amount or use of locum nurses is in the Inuvik region, followed by the Sahtu. We do pay a very stiff premium. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Supplementary To Question 338-15(4): Recruitment, Hiring And Retention Of Nurses

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I didn’t hear the Minister mention how many nurses are we talking and at what price. I want a specific price from the Minister on what it is costing the government to bring in locum nurses here in the Northwest Territories. I also want to know if the Minister has a strategy to try to mitigate the amount of money that we are spending on bringing nurses into this territory. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Miltenberger.

Further Return To Question 338-15(4): Recruitment, Hiring And Retention Of Nurses

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we spend in the neighbourhood of $1 million a year on agency nurses. We do have plans to mitigate that. We have invested millions of dollars in the Northern Nursing Program at the Aurora College. We have been in a state of transition for the last 18 months. This coming spring, we anticipate, are planning, and are very glad to see about 24 nurse graduates that are going to be graduating with their four-year degree and nursing certification that we are going to be making job offers to. As well, we are looking seriously at ways to set up permanent float pools in Yellowknife, the Inuvik region and possibly the Sahtu where we would have nurses whose job it is to go and cover off and rotate through with the employees of the various authorities, but that would be in the North where we wouldn’t have to pay that very dear fee that we feed to the agencies right now. Thank you.

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

Supplementary To Question 338-15(4): Recruitment, Hiring And Retention Of Nurses

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would be interested in knowing if that $1 million went directly to the agency, or if it actually included the wages that were paid to these nurses. That would be an interesting thing to find out. I think that $1 million probably went directly to the agency. I would like to finally ask the Minister, does he see a correlation between the amalgamation of human resources and the inability in his health care system to get nurses on the ground and working here in the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Miltenberger.

Further Return To Question 338-15(4): Recruitment, Hiring And Retention Of Nurses

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In fact, we anticipate, and we are starting to see, an improvement in our HR services now that we are consolidating, being more efficient and coordinating our efforts. The problems with nurses have long preceded the fact that we have consolidated HR. We continue to struggle nationally and internationally with a shortage of nurses. We have spent millions, as I have said, beefing up and coming up with a very good nursing program in the Northwest Territories. As well, we are also going to be developing an improved program for licensed practical nurses which will allow them to improve their scope of practice and bring in the two-year certificate program where they will be able to provide more support on the floor, two nurses in homecare and dialysis on the wards to help us offset and take off some of the pressures that are currently there on the nurses. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Honourable Charles Dent, Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment. Many parents send their children off to school in the Northwest Territories everyday hoping and praying that if their child has an allergy to certain substances, that that child will not come into contact with that substance in their school day. Right now, it’s difficult to offer those parents any assurances that their child will not be exposed to things that might be life threatening to them. I would like to ask the Minister of Education what his department has done to ensure that these children are protected in the school environment. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Dent.

Return To Question 339-15(4): Life-Threatening Allergens In Schools

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am aware of the urgency of dealing with this situation, and the Member raised the issue with us last fall. Since that time, the assistant deputy minister has written to all superintendents, urging the superintendents to ensure that they have a clear policy developed to deal with issues around anaphylaxis and to make sure that there is a policy in place at all of our schools. So we don’t have policies in place at this point, but schools have been asked to develop those now. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Supplementary To Question 339-15(4): Life-Threatening Allergens In Schools

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Quite often when we lack policies or legislation in certain areas, we like to look at what is being done in other jurisdictions, so that we can borrow best practices from already established practices. I would like to ask the Minister if he is aware of what other jurisdictions in Canada do to respond to this growing issue of allergies. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Dent.

Further Return To Question 339-15(4): Life-Threatening Allergens In Schools

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am not particularly aware of what all other jurisdictions do. I know the department has looked at what is done in some jurisdictions. I know that included with the letter that was sent out by the assistant deputy minister was a pamphlet that was provided by Health Canada around the issue of anaphylaxis and preparing policies. So we have been doing some research to find out from the federal government and other areas what is being done. We will continue to do that and watch for best practices. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Final supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Supplementary To Question 339-15(4): Life-Threatening Allergens In Schools

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One last question. Would the Minister be prepared to not only put in place a policy that would try to restrict the bringing of things that children are particularly allergic to into the schools, but also some type of a medical emergency response awareness within the school itself, because quite often these situations require immediate attention. It would not hurt for the educators to be aware of such responses. Would he go as far as to commit to doing that? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Dent.

Further Return To Question 339-15(4): Life-Threatening Allergens In Schools

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would be happy to say that we would follow up on that recommendation. We already provide schools with some direction for emergency response in a whole range of situations. It is my intention to share that with Members of this Assembly, so you can see how we are doing that currently. We are looking at expanding it to include specific references to anaphylaxis and how to deal with those instances. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the owners of Arslanian Diamonds were in town last week and they had a chance to meet with the Ministers of ITI and Finance. My question for the Minister of Finance is now that they have seen the number and the proof that this company can buy diamonds from Antwerp cheaper than they can buy them 300 kilometres north of Yellowknife, what is the Minister planning to specifically do with this challenge? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.