Mr. Speaker, I’d like to ask the Minister if he has considered looking at or reviewing the total allocation system to put efforts where the needs are greatest, not by numbers but by percentage of core need.
Mr. Speaker, we do a version of that already. There is a needs survey going to be taking place in 2009. As I’ve indicated to the Members of this House, there are issues where we need to review how we do business. We have to keep allocating and growing our resources, which are becoming more and more scarce. We’re going to have to look at how we do that so we get to the areas of highest need.
That’s an issue, I think, that is going to bear discussion as we move forward with the business-planning process.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final supplementary, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is a housing industry. I would like to ask the Minister if the Minister is willing to work with the industry, where an industry is available, toward lowering the need across the Northwest Territories. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, we’re interested in working with all the components of the northern housing construction sector. We’re interested in building the most fuel-efficient, energy-efficient houses we can to cut our costs and to lower the cost of construction.
There are significant challenges before us, but very clearly, the more we can work with northern industry, the better. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my statement I mentioned the short-sighted policy of turning fish-bearing lakes into mine tailings dumps. I’m wondering if the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources is aware of this and, if he is, if he’s trying to influence the federal government on this policy. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Minister responsible for Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I watched a news article on CBC last night, where that issue came up, with some concern. They were talking about a lake, I believe, in northern B.C., right in the middle of some aboriginal land. They indicated that this is a practice across the North, so I have added that to my list of things that I want to check with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
Very clearly, for us as a government it’s not going to be a practice that we’re going to be supporting, given our concern with water. The water strategy that we’re going to be tabling in this House is going to, hopefully, allow us to better address those types of issues.
Mr. Speaker, this sort of policy is obviously short-sighted. It ignores the fact that we’re having a lot of problems with our food and water but especially with our water. How can we be treating pristine examples that we have here, these resources, in this manner?
I’m interested in what the holistic approach, the broad strategy, of this government is to address the whole way we are treating the environment and how we’re going to pull ourselves into the New Age.
We’re doing a number of very critical policy pieces. We’re working to bring into this House tomorrow a framework document that’s going to lay out a plan for a water strategy.
Very shortly thereafter we want to bring forward a land-use framework that’s going to, as well, allow us to better deal with the issue of resource development — how, where, when — for maximum benefit for Northerners.
We have also set up a joint committee on climate change that’s going to allow us to look at the Energy Strategy and the Greenhouse Gas Strategy to see what we can do better. We’re working with the Energy Committee to look at biomass and the Hydro Strategy.
We have a number of initiatives across the whole spectrum of this area that are going to allow us to move forward, we believe.
Mr. Speaker, clearly we have many governments in the North. If people have been following the water conferences that have been happening in Fort Smith and Fort St. John and so on, there is major interest and major concern, especially in the area of water.
How are we going to ensure that all these responsibilities...? It’s getting to be a complex system out there, where there are various mandates and so on. Who is going to play a lead role in getting all these people together and on one page to effect the systemic change that we need to address these issues?
Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories has made it clear from the start of this Assembly that while the federal government has a significant amount of legal authority, we believe we have a significant amount of political and moral authority to move to occupy the field. We’re doing things like Species at Risk. We are going to bring forward the water strategy framework and the land-use framework. We want to build a strong northern voice on those issues, and we want to be ready to make all these northern decisions in the North for Northerners.
I would suggest to you that at this point the work we’re doing is going to, hopefully, bring forward a position that will allow us to consolidate all those voices to make one strong northern voice.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final supplementary, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It all sounds delightful. I’m wondering how soon this can get off the ground and if there’s a way we can be sure that this side of the House will have lots of input into that process.
Mr. Bromley is eight months into his term, and he is already sounding somewhat jaded and cynical. We’ll have to work with him to make sure that that enthusiasm stays strong and that he will recognize that the work we’re doing — the climate change committee, of which he’s going to be a member; the water strategy framework coming forward in this House; the land-use planning framework; all the work that has to be done with the energy coordinating committee — are all pieces we’re all going to be engaged in. I believe Mr. Bromley will leave here in four years being able to point to some very proud accomplishments that he’s helped achieve in this Assembly.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are actually to the Premier. I would ask the Minister responsible for the Department of Justice or the Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, but I think my questions combine both of those departments.
Today I made a statement about equal and shared parenting. Within the GNWT I think it’s important that we support equal and shared parenting. It’s in the best interests of the children, which is a clear tie to our strategic plan. First, I’ll focus a little bit on justice and then focus on health.
First, on justice. Within the current court system around divorce of parents it’s very adversarial, very confrontational. It’s in our best interests as a territory to support mediation and avenues within the justice system to encourage parents to talk rather than go through the process.
I was wondering if I can get the Premier to commit to work with the Department of Justice and have the Department of Justice and the Department of Health work together on a process that supports equal and shared parenting, especially around the court system and the divorce process.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The Hon. Premier, Mr. Roland.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First and foremost, the best scenario would be that divorce didn’t happen and that families stayed together. Unfortunately, as the Member has pointed out, the realities are that there are divorces. The nature of divorce within families can be very difficult indeed and test all family members, especially the children. We have to recognize this first, I guess.
After that the recognition is with the judicial system. We as the Government of the Northwest Territories and Members of this Assembly will enact laws that become the practice, but it is the judicial branch that will in fact enforce and lay down the law, in that sense, and how it is interpreted. We feel, through the Department of Justice, that our legislation in place today doesn’t set a bias, but when you do hear most of the news out there, as the Member has pointed out, there is rarely discussion about men in family situations and what happens. We are prepared to sit down and look at avenues, as a Legislature, as to what can be done in light of trends in Canada. Just for the record, as we reviewed our family law statutes, there is no wording or anything that is slanted or genderbiased in any way.
Mr. Speaker, this is why I was asking the Premier. I agree with what he has said. At the same time, I think it would be important for this government to work on having parents who are going through crisis and divorce avoid the court system completely. This is where the justice system can actually come in by requiring that parents who are going through divorce go through mediation. This is why I suggested that the Premier provide the answer rather than Health and Social Services or Justice. I believe it’s going to take real collaboration and partnership for those two organizations to work together to offer parents mediation before they go into the court system, which is what the court system is today.
I was wondering, again, if I can get a commitment from the Premier to work with the Department of Health and Social Services and work with the Department of Justice to establish a clear mediation process that will encourage parents to find reasonable solutions and maintain equal and shared custody in the best interests of our youth.
Mr. Speaker, in light of the new direction we’ve been taking as the 16th Assembly to break down the barriers and stovepipes between departments and work together to try and enhance the family and the situations that families fall under, that is something we would support. Yes, I know the departments of Justice and Health and Social Services work together. This will be another area that they can, as they have in the past, look to see how they can continue to offer a service to all family members to ensure that we have a fair system.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My written questions today are for the Minister of Human Resources.
What number of transfer assignment opportunities existed within the GNWT over the past two years?
What number of aboriginal employees were transferred?
What number of aboriginal employees were transferred into management positions?
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Our Next Steps section of the January 2007 report Framework for the GNWT Response to Homelessness lists four items.
Will the department advise of its plan and the budget developed to support additional options in the housing continuum?
Will the Department of Health and Social Services and the NWT Housing Corporation release the results of the 2007 housing needs survey questionnaire?
In “Our Next Steps” of the Framework for the GNWT Response to Homelessness there was to be a territorial homelessness emergency funding advisory panel established. Was this panel indeed established? How many people were helped by this panel?
Can the Minister responsible for homelessness advise the action taken by the social programs departments to improve coordination and reduce program conflicts in relation to homelessness?
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
Mr. Speaker, my written questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services.
How many unfunded programs currently exist at Stanton Territorial Hospital? How much do these cost per year?
How many unfunded positions currently exist at Stanton Territorial Hospital? How much do these positions cost per year?
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Hon. Michael McLeod, Minister of the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs.
Can the Minister provide any information regarding any and all MACA Sport, Recreation and Youth staff travel outside of the NWT for the fiscal years 2005–2006, 2006–2007 and 2007–2008?
Also, please provide the following additional information:
purpose of the trips;
role of MACA on these travels;
names of staff who travelled and their positions;
cost of each of the trips; and
reports submitted to MACA as a result of the travels.
Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.
Mr. Speaker, thank you. Again to the Hon. Michael McLeod, Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.
What is the amount of MACA funding allocated in each of the following fiscal years 2006–2007, 2007–2008 and 2008–2009 to the following sport and recreation partners:
Sport North;
NWT Parks and Recreation Association;
Aboriginal Sport Circle of the Western Arctic;
Mackenzie Recreation Association; and
Beaufort-Delta Sport and Recreation Association?
Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document entitled Proposed Species at Risk Act, Consultation Document, June 2008.
Document 63-16(2), Proposed Species at Risk Act, Consultation Document, June 2008, tabled.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document entitled Government of the Northwest Territories Contracts Over $5,000 Report: Year to Date for the Fiscal Year Ending March 31, 2008.
Document 64-16(2), GNWT Contracts Over $5,000 Report: Year to Date for the Fiscal Year Ending March 31, 2008, tabled.
I’d like to table a letter. It is to the honourable Minister responsible for Education, Jackson Lafferty, dated May 14, 2008. It’s a letter sent by the chair of the Yellowknife Catholic Schools, Mary Vane, regarding their opposition to the deletion of the Alberta Achievement Testing Program.
Document 65-16(2), Letter to Minister of Education Opposing the Deletion of the Alberta Achievement Tests, tabled.
I give notice that on Thursday, June 19, 2008, I will move the following motion.
I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River South, that this Legislative Assembly strongly recommend that the government cease considering the elimination of the Business Incentive Policy, and further, that this Legislative Assembly strongly recommend that the government consider and undertake public discussion on options to revise the policy to better direct it to the benefit of businesses who file their taxes in the North.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
I give notice that on Thursday, June 19, 2008, I will move the following motion.
I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Great Slave, that this Assembly signify their support for amendments to the federal Divorce Act to protect the rights of both parents to be involved in parenting the children, and further, that the content and result of these proceedings be forwarded to the federal Minister of Justice and the Member of Parliament for Western Arctic for their consideration.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
