Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Transportation with regard to the recent ongoing trials and tribulations of the mud areas of Highway No. 7. The road has closed again just recently, and I’d like to know the status of it.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Minister responsible for Transportation, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The springtime has the highest risk to the vulnerability of our road systems in the North. And to update the Member, as of 11 o’clock this morning, the Liard Highway is open to light traffic and closed to commercial traffic.
Mr. Speaker, I am glad to hear it’s open again. The residents of Fort Liard are really, really quite frustrated with the highway system. To refresh the Minister’s memory, the word “goat” is part of the phrases they have been using.
We had spoken in the House last week about Highway No. 7 and had asked the Minister about the commitment level of getting those mud sections rebased and reconstructed this fiscal year. It has been like that for 20 years. Residents and our traveling public do not want to see it set aside as soon as it dries up. They want to see it rebuilt and reconstructed.
I appreciate the Member’s referring to the word “goat”; it’s a virtue. In our region we don’t have a highway.
However, Mr. Speaker, I would like to let the Minister know, let the people in Fort Liard and Fort Simpson know, that the department has taken a considerable amount of resources at this time of the season. We have indicated in our plans that this road desperately needs attention. Reconstruction is a high priority of our department, and we are concentrating on this section of the highway through our Main Estimates. When we get to our Main Estimates, I will show what type of investments we would like to make in this section of the road. I hope we can fix these problems, these soft spots in the highway, once and for all.
That is certainly something I will pay attention to when we get to the department and Committee of the Whole, line by line. Once again, I just wanted to reiterate to the Minister the importance of Highway No. 7, which is part of our national highway system, too, and shouldn’t be in this state of disrepair. I just wanted to say once again, Mr. Speaker, I’d like to get a commitment from the Minister’s office that they will look at some serious repairs to these sections.
The problem is in the silt down the Mackenzie Valley into the different roads and our airports. We have noticed through our assessments that the Liard Highway needs some serious work done. It has been known for years. We want to do a proper job. We are going to commit millions into the Liard Highway to fix the road, Mr. Speaker. Right across the Northwest Territories, in terms of value on our investments.... I look forward to when we can get up there to talk about our Main Estimates and let the people know in Fort Liard that this highway has been looked at very seriously by the department. I also want to thank the contractor on Highway No. 7, our staff and the people in Fort Liard for their patience on fixing this muddy road once and for all.
Applause.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to follow up on one of the questions asked by Mr. Robert McLeod from Twin Lakes, and it has to do with the fairness of the support we offer to seniors when it comes to housing generally. My questions are for the Minister Responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation.
Mr. Speaker, we know to live in public housing as a senior over 60 there is no rent charged. With the changing demographics, the aging demographic in the Northwest Territories, is that offering on a universal basis sustainable?
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Sorry, I missed the Minister here. The honourable Minister, Mr. Miltenberger.
It will be a challenge.
Mr. Speaker, on the other hand, we know that we have many seniors who are over the age of 60 who live in their own accommodation independently and who would benefit greatly from some greater support. Is there a plan in the NWT Housing Corporation or a way that somehow we could close the gap between giving one segment everything and giving others such a small amount that it really isn’t going to make the difference for them with the rising cost of utilities?
Mr. Speaker, like many things we do as a government, there are things scattered across different departments. We talked about some of them here today. There’s the tax relief from MACA; there’s a fuel subsidy from Income Support. For the Housing Corp, it’s people paying no rent.
Clearly, the issue of aging in place and working to keep people in their own homes as long as we can is, in the long run, the most beneficial for us. While the Housing Corp has no specific plan, it’s clear, as we move into a business-planning process, that it’s an area that does need attention. There are things I hear constantly in my own constituency; people talk to you about the fuel subsidy, where they’re short by $10 or they’re just a little bit over the limit and they’re struggling to make ends meet with all the other high costs.
So I believe there are a number of things we could do — we do have a Minister for seniors — but I think there’s a need for us to look at aging in place and keeping people in their own homes as long as possible. We have some supports, but are we as coordinated as possible? I would say we could probably do better.
I appreciate the fact the Minister agrees we could do better, and I think time is of the essence in trying to come up with something. I believe, as I said in my comments yesterday, that with the increased cost of fuel and electricity, this is going to become an urgent matter for seniors. You’re going to see many seniors unable to cope with these costs as they come upon us this winter.
Mr. Speaker, another anomaly within the support to seniors is the fact that some of the support is means-tested, some is not. For example, if you are living in public housing, it does not matter how much money you make — some people are even working — or how much money you have in the bank. However, if you want to do a home repair program through the Housing Corporation in order to make your home more energy efficient or just to maintain it, that particular program is means-tested. In fact, seniors would then be called upon to offer up a mortgage on their house.
I’m just trying to think again about the equality. Some are means-tested; some are not. Is that something the Minister’s department or the Corporation is going to look into?
Mr. Speaker, these are all political decisions that can be made, have been made: the issues for no rent.... There is a contradiction or a discrepancy with, as the Member’s indicated, meanstesting on one hand and not on the other.
The whole definition of a safety net — which is what we’re trying to provide for all our citizens — does not imply universality. It implies that if you hit the safety net, we should be able to help you so you don’t fall through into poverty. If you have the good fortune to have enough income to live on your own, then that’s a credit to you, and it’s a credit to us as a system that you don’t require our services as a last resort.
But clearly, the issue of public housing and the issue of seniors paying rent in public housing is an issue that’s been discussed a number of times in the Assemblies I’ve been in. There’s been no resolution. The issue has stayed the same. I know the NWT Seniors’ Society is also on the record, year after year, suggesting there should be some rent, however modest, charged to all inhabitants of public housing. That, once again, is a policy issue and it’s a political decision.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister is right in saying there is no resolution. It gets talked about year after year. And in support of, and in fairness to, all seniors of the Northwest Territories, what is it going to take to arrive at that political direction? I believe it is an urgent matter of this government. It should be a very high priority.
Mr. Speaker, as soon as we conclude this budget, we’re going to roll over into the full and first opportunity as this Legislature to have a look at the full development of the business plans for the rest of this term.
I would suggest that if the political will and appetite is there, the government stands ready, as well, to engage in that discussion. It is going to be one, like most things we do, where we tackle issues in our programs that are long-standing. There’s going to be a lot of concern. But clearly, politically, we’re ready to have that discussion and work with the committees. If there is an improvement we can come up with in terms of services and programs for seniors, we’re prepared to work with the committees to do that.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a question for the Premier. We had the opportunity last Sunday to meet with the Senate committee on natural resources. They’re travelling through the North. They’re going to be here in Yellowknife, Norman Wells, Inuvik and, I believe, up in Tuk.
We had an opportunity, along with my colleagues Mr. Bromley and Mr. Menicoche.... The issues that they touched on were very informative. They talked about global warming; they talked about devolution; they talked about resource development.
One thing they really seemed to have a lot of questions on was devolution and resource-revenue sharing. I think the realization that we have wealth yet we don’t have devolution is something they found very surprising.
So I’d like to ask the Premier: did anyone from his Executive Council, or somebody from the Executive, have an opportunity to meet with this Senate committee and talk about resource-revenue sharing?
The Hon. Premier, Mr. Roland.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In fact, we had correspondence with the Senate committee and had the Deputy Premier sit down with them and have some discussion, as well as one of our staff members.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. Time for question period has expired; however, I will allow the Member a supplementary question. Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I think it’s an opportunity we have to use whatever means of achieving devolution. I think the Senate is probably the second-most powerful legislative authority we have in Canada, next to the House of Commons. I’d like to ensure that we continue to keep them involved in the issues in the Northwest Territories. It seemed like they’re focusing a lot of attention in the North, which is great.
I’d just like to ask the Premier: exactly what are we doing to lobby other Senators and other MPs in Ottawa to make them aware of our issues, especially in the area of devolution?
Mr. Speaker, as the Deputy Premier has informed me, there’s going to be some correspondence between the Senate committee and ourselves to share more information.
First and foremost, though, we have to realize that the federal government is ready to move on this file. We just have to make sure we get the proper deal. One of those things is to work up north first and get agreement to proceed forward or, if we decide there are just too many differences here, to look at what other approaches are available to us. But we are corresponding with the Senate committee, looking at options and sharing more information.
Mr. Speaker, again I’d like to ask the Premier if he also can keep Members on this side involved in that process. By working together and also having a strong enough focus on this, I think we can make a difference. I think by lobbying efforts and doing whatever we can as Members and also as Ministers to keep this at the top of the agenda, it will move a little bit.
I’d like to ask the Premier: are there any intentions of developing some sort of kit or package we can hand out to promote this issue? As Members on this side of the House, it will help us to understand the issue and, more importantly, promote it also.
We would be prepared to put that kit together, an information package, and share it with Members. I do believe Members can help us in getting the message up north. The simple fact that we’re looking at tightening our belts as a government shows everybody in the North that we need to get more revenues in the North. One of those packages is a revenue source flowing south right now. We need to bring that north so we can enhance our programs and not have to tighten our belts.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Senate committee was also pretty interested in a lot of our infrastructure projects. We’re talking about the Mackenzie Highway; we’re talking about Taltson; we’re talking about hydro development. Again, the problem we have is our borrowing limit. That’s something they also found pretty interesting: why is it that we’re limited on the amount of capital we can invest, which is going to promote…?
Do you have a question, Mr. Krutko?
I’d like to ask the Premier: are we looking at also promoting other aspects of this government to get capital invested in the North from the federal government, more than the devolution?
Mr. Speaker, absolutely. As I stated in the Budget Address, my focus will now be on getting the message out to the people who need to hear it: about our opportunity, what’s available and what we can do. It’s about getting the tools in the North to make those decisions in the North, and get on with where we think we should be going as a territory and as a people in the Northwest Territories.
Part of the next process is getting that information out there, and getting the message out about the Northwest Territories.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When we discussed the Department of Human Resources, we had conversations and discussions at length about affected employees. At that time some Members referenced aboriginal employees.
I have a question for the Minister of Human Resources in regard to some other employees. Of the employees designated as “affected” in the 2008–2009 budget reductions:
How many of these employees are women?
What percentage are women of the total number of affected employees?
How many of the affected employees are single women?
What percentage are single women of the total number of affected employees?
How many of the affected employees are single men?
What percentage are single men of the total affected number of employees?
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Item 9, returns to written questions. Item 10, replies to opening address. Item 11, petitions. Item 12, reports of standing and special committees. Item 13, reports of committees on the review of bills. Item 14, tabling of documents. Item 15, notices of motion. Item 16, notices of motion for first reading of bills. The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Friday, June 6, 2008, I will move that Bill 11, An Act to Amend the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act, be read for the first time.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Monfwi that Bill 10, An Act to Amend the Pharmacy Act, be read for the second time.
Mr. Speaker, this bill amends the Pharmacy Act to allow pharmacists to prescribe a limited quantity of certain drugs for the continued care of a patient. Pharmacists are required to notify the initial prescribing practitioner of the continued-care prescriptions.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. Bill 10 has had second reading and stands referred to standing committee.
Motion carried; Bill 10, An Act to Amend the Pharmacy Act, read a second time and referred to a committee.
Item 20, consideration in Committee of the Whole of bills and other matters. Bill 8, Tabled Document 37-16(2), Committee Reports 6-16(2), 7-16(2).
By the authority given to me as Speaker by Motion 1016(2), I hereby authorize the House to sit beyond the daily hour of adjournment to consider the business before the House, with Mr. Krutko in the chair.
I’d like to call the Committee of the Whole to order.
Committee of the Whole, in consideration of bills and other matters: Bill 8, Committee Report 2-16(2), Committee Report 3-16(2), Committee Report 4-16(2), Committee Report 5-16(2), Committee Report 6-16(2), Committee Report 7-16(2), Tabled Document 37-16(2).
What’s the wish of the committee? Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The wish of the committee is to continue with the Main Estimates for the Department of Health and Social Services today.
Does committee agree?
