Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to congratulation Ms. Phebie Kenny of Deline, along with her team at the NWT Housing Corporation, on receiving the Premier’s Collaboration Award today. On behalf of the Sahtu region, I would like to congratulate Ms. Kenny on her continuous efforts and contributions toward her community.
Ms. Kenny is known for her hard work and her constant teamwork. The community of Deline is fortunate to have such an exceptional individual. I encourage the Sahtu to continue much of the appreciated work with their communities and members.
Wow. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement today I was referring to the fact that territorial laws often create statutory officers. They become decision-makers. These are individuals who are responsible for the administration of very important pieces of legislation, and they have far-reaching decision-making authorities such as employment standards, I pointed out, and in particular, we have other things such as the Legal Services Act creates the legal services board, and it goes on and on and on.
My question, though, is around ECE and, of course, the employment standards officer, so I’ll be directing my questions to the Minister of ECE. My first question for him today is: Are these appointments that we make under the Employment Standards Act to establish the employment standards officers to make these decisions, do we provide them with basic law training prior to them sitting in a decision-making capacity to write rulings? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The principle function of the employment standards officer is to administer the Employment Standards Act. The act sets out general rights and responsibilities and minimal requirements, fundamental principles of employment standards. The act also covers such areas of work, minimum wage, termination of employment, annual vacation, statutory holidays, pregnancy and parental leave. Those fall under the act, so it’s up to the officer to follow through according to the act. Mahsi.
I appreciate the Minister providing a bit of an outline where they do their business, but it’s a matter of them being able to do their business is really what I’m after. Back to the training question, do we provide any training or mentoring for them as they make these very important decisions? Do we get behind them with special reference material to help them guide and make clear and honourable decisions in their process? Thank you.
I don’t have the specifics of the duty outline and what the Member is referring to on the training aspects, but I can definitely provide that information in detail to the Members. Mahsi.
Part of the training question that I’d like to ask at the same time, is does his department offer any ongoing training. As many people know, there are types of mediation training such as decision-writing training and these are the types of the capacities. Does his department support these statutory officers with that type of support mechanism, again, to ensure they’re making clear and good decisions? Thank you.
Yes, we definitely support those individuals in those kinds of capacity to have up-to-date experience and training requirements. We continue to provide that training, whether it be the statutory officers, or whether it be the employment standards officers, and provide them as up-to-date information as we possibly can through the training. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Your final, short supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Quite often I only hear from people who are unhappy with a particular decision or, certainly, the guidance provided by this specific office, and I’ve heard about many offices, I just had to pick one because we don’t have all day. When decisions are appealed, taken to court, it’s quite expensive and it’s a very painful process. What type of monitoring does the Department of ECE do on both the decisions made, reaffirmed by the court, and the subjects why people have taken them to the process of appeal? Does the Department of ECE ever examine and consider some of the issues raised when people are appealing decisions? Thank you.
We do work closely with the employment standards officers. We have to make sure that they’re following the act. If an individual or a party is not satisfied with the decisions that are being made, there is an appeal process, as the Member alluded to. The employment standards appeal, adjudicators hear appeals by employers or employees who are not satisfied with the decision of the employment standards officers. There is a process that’s been established and we continue to work with that as well. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Finance. I would like to ask the Minister when is the last time the northern residents’ tax deduction was increased and when was the last time our government made a formal appeal to the federal government for this kind of cost-of-living relief for the residents of the Northwest Territories. Thank you.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The Minister responsible for Finance, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In regard to the first question, I can just indicate to the Member that in my time as Finance Minister, it’s not been an issue that I have broached with the Minister of Finance with the federal government, and it’s been, I think, probably three or four years since there has been any adjustment. Thank you.
As a government we have talked extensively about the cost of living in the Northwest Territories. When the GST was first introduced, we tried to have the GST exempted in the Northwest Territories. That did not work. That would have been an administratively burdensome thing for the federal government. The Minister regularly meets with his federal and territorial counterparts and, in fact, there’s a pan-territorial meeting on issues as well. Is this something, as a cost of living relief measure, that could be put on the agenda of the next meeting he attends with Finance Ministers or other Finance Ministers in the North particularly? Thank you.
In fact, the Premier is meeting with the northern Premiers in the next couple of weeks and has indicated that he will have that item on the agenda to have an initial discussion with his colleagues. Thank you.
Thank you very much for agreeing to have that on the agenda. In lead up to that discussion, would it be possible to do some research to see what kind of tax, by way of duty, the federal government, in fact, walked away from or left on the table by increasing the duty-free limits? In preparation for that it would be a good argument, I believe, to be made, that this is the least they could do, given what they have just given southern Canadians. Thank you.
I appreciate the Member’s advice and will ensure that the Premier is fully briefed with all the information he needs to make a compelling argument in discussion with his colleagues in Iqaluit. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final, short supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Listening to the news, I also realized that MPs, some MPs, I’m not so sure about our MP, but some northern MP representing a northern region has also raised this in the House of Commons recently as well. I think that we need as large of a voice as possible on this particular issue, and so I would appreciate if our government could also engage those who are elected who are also trying to achieve this goal as well, to reinforce our case. Thank you.
Once again, I appreciate the Member’s comments. I know the Member of Parliament has been a strong advocate of having increases in this area as well. There are three territories and, I believe, six provincial jurisdictions as well that have access to this deduction. We will start with the northern territories and have that discussion and will make sure that we include the Member of Parliament as well. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister for Education, Culture and Employment. I’d like to follow up on my Member’s statement.
I’d like to first ask the Minister, with regard to the Student Financial Assistance review, I believe it was started in the 16th Assembly, and Members from the 16th who have returned to the 17th are waiting for the results from that review. There have been many suggestions from Members over the years as to how the SFA program could be amended, could be made for the better. Certainly, as I mentioned in my statement, there are certain courses which are ineligible for SFA funding. Students’ upgrading courses out of high school, for instance, and the vocational training courses, which I mentioned. I’d like to know from the Minister whether or not the Student Financial Assistance review has considered any change in policy that would allow transitional vocational programs to be funded through the SFA program. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The specifics of it, I don’t have in front of me, but an area that has been raised in this House will definitely be taken into consideration. This is an area that hasn’t been highlighted as part of other jurisdictions, as well, through post-secondary program. Of course, it doesn’t qualify as SFA programming, but there are other sources of funding that individuals can access. That is the Labour Market Agreement through the federal government that we have within the GNWT, within the ECE department. We are willing to assist in that area.
I would encourage the individual to apply through that venue. We would be more than happy to look at the application, as well, through that Labour Market Agreement. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, thanks to the Minister. I’m not sure the Minister understands. This particular individual is a challenged individual. They are not looking for a job. They are looking, at this point in time, for skills which will enable them to become an independent person able to live on their own, and they need certain life skills which they don’t currently have because they have been living from home.
Apart from the Labour Market Agreement possibility, we have funding for academic programs through SFA. We certainly have funding for apprenticeships in another area of Education, Culture and Employment, but I would like to know what programs other than the Labour Market Agreement are available for a challenged student who wants to go on to further training in order to become an independent person. What programs are available to them? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, this particular program, transitional vocational through Grande Prairie College, is not a post-secondary program. As you know and Members know, SFA qualifies for post-secondary programming, but there are other sources of funding that is the Labour Market Agreement. It is not only for on-the-job training. There are other ways to work around the system where we have the funding through the federal government. That is one example.
Income assistance is another example. Employment Insurance, Aboriginal Skills and Training Strategy is another funding that is available, UCEP, University and College Entrance Program, and Labour Market Agreement. Those are some of the venues that we have access to and, more specifically, Labour Market Agreement. We have assisted those students that want to pursue an area of interest, whether it be post-secondary area. That is an area that we can definitely look into, to sponsor the individual. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to suggest to the Minister that not all of those options are available to individuals. He first of all identified that SFA is only for post-secondary. We have students who are graduating from high school who do need extra training in order to be contributing members to society. Income support is not available to students who are not going to school in the territory. If this student were to go to Grande Prairie College, income support would be denied. I thank the Minister for the list, but some of them don’t totally apply.
The example that I used probably will not be able to receive any help for the next school year. I would like to know from the Minister whether or not he will consider revising the policy to assist challenged students to get some financial assistance for further schooling beyond high school. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I did already commit to that. We will be considering those recommendations brought forward to our attention by the students, parents and general public on SFA overall review. We are going to make those changes. We will definitely come back to the standing committee and highlight what we are going to pursue. This is an area that has been brought to our attention today. I will definitely look at that as well. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to follow up with my Member’s statement with questions to the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. In grappling with downstream water quality issues resulting from the tar sands, our Minister of Environment confronts the legacy of insufficient public oversight. In contrast, the development of our diamond mines has included independent monitoring mechanisms under legally binding agreements. This government’s officials have participated in work aimed at creating an independent oversight body and, this week, co-signed a letter to the board calling for a working group to be set up. Could the Minister comment on this government’s commitment to independent oversight and what his department is doing to ensure it comes about? Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I as Minister attended the meeting in March where this issue was at the tail end of the workshop. We committed to the process. We have been involved since then. We are still part of the process. We are committed to coming up with, hopefully, a consensus on the way forward in terms of oversight and mediation through the process. The Member’s comment about needing to do it long into the future is a recognized fact as well. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, thanks to the Minister for those comments. I know his presence at that workshop was greatly appreciated. The government has said that the Devolution Agreement will ensure cleaning up of contaminated sites, and Giant is the epitome of such sites, but to date the federal government has made no commitment to ensure funding of perpetual care and maintenance or to fund continuing research into alternative technologies that could ultimately eliminate the environmental threat.
Will the Minister commit to ensuring that the Devolution Agreement contains provisions committing the federal government to identify and supply long-term funding for perpetual care including continuing research towards complete elimination of existing toxins? Mahsi.
Mr. Speaker, the Giant Mine Remediation Project remains one of the biggest environmental clean-up sites in the country; the largest in terms of magnitude and cost. It receives its own separate mention in the agreement-in-principle. It is a site that will be maintained in the inventory of the federal government. Of course, we will be working closely, as we have been and continue to do, with all the interested and affected parties to ensure that the federal government complies with their obligations. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, thanks for that commitment by the Minister. There is very little evidence of planning or clear thinking on creation of a perpetual care plan for this site today. Concerns include a lack of plan to preserve current records, document remediation, long-term care activities, continuing consideration of remediation options and fulsome public reporting and information disclosure. However, options to meet these needs have been creatively examined through the work of the YKDFN, Yellowknives Dene First Nations, Alternatives North and the Pembina Institute, and are contained in documents to be tabled later today. Does the Minister agree that our responsibilities and those of the federal government will not be met until a perpetual care plan has been consultatively created? Will he influence and work with the federal government and public to create such a plan? Mahsi.
Mr. Speaker, this is one of the largest environmental sites that require cleanup in the entire country of Canada. We are fully committed to the process to make sure that remediation plan is developed and agreed to, and the oversight plan is being worked on and hopefully is finally agreed to.
We recognize that this site and the responsibilities will be with us long into the future. We are here for the long haul, as are all of the people of the North, and our commitment is to make sure that that site meets the standard today and tomorrow and far into the future in terms of what is required for remediation. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Minister’s perspective again. I spoke today about the creation of an independent oversight body, but that is still down the road. As public reaction in March demonstrated, people are not satisfied with thecurrent flow of information from the project team. A meeting to explain major demolition already underway at the site was given on three days’ notice and was poorly advertised. There was no proactive exposure last year of information on a dam failure and later a sinkhole. As a co-proponent of this project, this government has a responsibility and can exert influence to do better. There is a real opportunity and a need for leadership, so this Minister has a real opportunity. Will this government urge the federal government to beef up its public information efforts? Mahsi.
Thank you. Communication is a critical component of just about everything we do. In this case, the Member has highlighted a number of areas where communication hasn’t been as proper, and thorough, and laid out in advance as it should be. Of course, I’ll commit to make sure that in our discussions, both ourselves as a territorial government and the federal government, do a better job in making sure that information flows properly and that the issue of transparency is addressed, as has been attempted to do through this oversight committee. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
