I was copied a letter from the mayor of Sachs Harbour to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment outlining the community’s concerns about the lack of availability of housing for teachers, and how some government policies have a negative impact on newly hired employees.
It is simple, Mr. Speaker. There is a limited rental market in Sachs Harbour. Newly hired teachers have been forced to double up to share a public housing unit because there is nowhere else for them to go. In addition, when the rent was calculated on the unit last year, they ended up having to pay 50 per cent out of their take-home pay towards their rent, and pay utilities.
Mr. Speaker, this is a 100 per cent increase in rent charged for the same unit just a year ago.
There are also issues of freight allowances for new hires. One of the latest hires had to bring a bed into the community for a bad back. The other had to bring a washer and dryer for their rental accommodations. As you can imagine, this severely impacted the availability of food shipped up at the same time, meaning they were forced to pay the significantly higher costs of buying locally. This needs to be addressed, Mr. Speaker.
The children in the small communities have the right to quality education. We need to create a working and living environment for teachers so they will stay and become a part of the community. If they have to spend all of their wages on keeping a roof over their heads and food in their stomachs, there is no incentive for them to stay, beyond their love of teaching and the joy they get out of seeing the children succeed.
We need to address these issues and move forward in ensuring the success of our children.
MEMBER’S STATEMENT ON
On several occasions since I was elected, I have gone on record talking about morale in the public service. The staff of the G.N.W.T. are our most valuable resource. They’re the people who provide the essential services to all the residents in the Northwest Territories. Without a happy and motivated public service, we fail in the delivery of these essential services we are expected to deliver as a government.
Now, with this Premier’s announcement of $135 million in reductions over two years, there are waves of terror running through the public service. The continued reference from the Premier to job cuts does nothing but radically reduce already poor morale. It seems to me that focusing on job cuts is exactly the wrong way to pursue a course correction with respect to the government’s spending patterns.
Yesterday in the House we heard many suggestions on ways to improve our financial situation without cutting staff — things like reviewing and improving our energy use and consumption within the government itself, eliminating long-term non-essential vacant positions in headquarters where government departments use salary dollars for other purposes, and increasing co-operation between departments in order to reduce duplicate spending.
Once every reasonable effort has been made to reduce our overall spending through streamlining as well as creative and innovative thinking and planning, we may still be faced with some job cuts. These job cuts should be a last resort; they shouldn’t be the government’s first solution to our financial difficulties.
In 1996 the government made the mistake of implementing short-sighted job cuts with an intent to reduce spending. It failed. It did not result in a fundamental change in how the public service does business, which is what is truly required. In the end, people of the N.W.T. left, which affected the amount of money we received from the federal government. All the structural changes, such as the elimination of personnel and the consolidation of Renewable Resources and Economic Development and Tourism, have reversed themselves at a greater cost to the G.N.W.T.
Let’s not re-live the same mistakes. Let’s get it right. To this end, I encourage the Premier and his cabinet to engage staff, the public, as well as the 11 Members on this side of the House to find creative solutions which improve our financial situation without cutting public service jobs. We must support our most valuable resource: our dedicated and committed staff. They deserve better than the message they are currently receiving.
Mr. Speaker, later today I’ll be asking the Premier questions regarding staff and finding ways to reduce spending without destroying morale. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
MEMBER’S STATEMENT ON
LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY CONTROLS
Mr. Speaker, as incredible as it may seem in this day and age, this government still does not have a specific legislative or regulative mechanism for requiring financial security for mining lessors of Commissioner’s Land. Has this cost the taxpayer and the environment? You betcha — in spades — and I suspect with more costs to come.
Mr. Speaker, in his Budget Address in February 2006, the Minister of Finance noted that the operating surplus had actually changed to a deficit, due in part to the accrual of a $23 million liability for the Giant Mine Remediation. As party to an agreement with Canada on this project, the N.W.T. is also committed to a contribution of $1 million per year to this cleanup for the foreseeable future.
And yet, Mr. Speaker, as owners and land managers, we continue to issue leases to mining companies without any financial security whatsoever. In fact, in June 2002 this government issued a land lease to Miramar Con Mine Ltd., stipulating that a security deposit would be required when the legislation requiring it came into force.
Mr. Speaker, despite the minor change required to enable this condition to be fulfilled, we still do not have the legislation requiring such financial security. Thus, our government and our people remain vulnerable at a time when we clearly cannot afford such exceptional costs.
On January 15 of this year, at a public hearing of the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board for Miramar Con Mine Ltd.’s A-water licence — a meeting where G.N.W.T. chose to not even appear — it became painfully clear that our government has not only insufficient financial security with mine leases, it maintains none whatsoever. This, despite the fact that concerned members of the public have repeatedly raised this issue with the Minister of Finance over a period of years.
Mr. Speaker, this Assembly is supposed to be all about prevention. Well, here is an opportunity for this government to avoid additional financial burdens from downloaded mine cleanups, prevent needless tax burdens for our taxpayers, and prevent further damage to our reputation as land managers, not to mention provide an extra incentive for environmentally sound development. It’s not a large task, but it is important and it’s overdue. Let’s plug this hole and make the legislative change that will give us the ability to require financial security on leases of Commissioner’s Land.
There will be questions on this. Mahsi.
