Debates of June 8, 2006 (day 8)

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it’s great to hear that the community of Wekweeti has been looked after in the capital plans and that a portion of the dump will be moved and is still in the work plan.

Gameti, yes, it’s true, the SAO recently resigned, but I must remind the Minister that a new SAO has been hired and I would like to get a commitment from the Minister that the department can go into the community and analyze the situation. Mr. Speaker, finding suitable equipment in the community has always been a problem. I am glad the Minister of MACA is identifying the problem, but that’s another story.

Mr. Speaker, when can the Minister come out to the community and talk with the Tlicho leadership about the specific dump relocation? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. McLeod.

Further Return To Question 93-15(5): Risks Associated With Location Of Landfills Near Tlicho Communities

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We can have our staff visit the community and carry on this discussion. I believe there’s been an ongoing discussion on these projects. So I think that it wouldn’t take a lot of effort. If there is a new SAO in Gameti, then we’ll carry on their discussions there. There has been requests for the community to take over full project authority on this project. That’s something we want to discuss further. As for myself personally going into the community, I believe I made that commitment already to go into some of the Tlicho communities with the Member. Of course, as the Minister of MACA, the first places I visit usually is the sewer lagoon and the waste site facilities. So we will certainly commit to doing that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Supplementary To Question 93-15(5): Risks Associated With Location Of Landfills Near Tlicho Communities

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Yes, the Minister will be coming to our region and we’ll be dealing with that particular issue. Mr. Speaker, the next issue I’d like to address is the community of Behchoko. The Minister highlighted that his department is working with the Behchoko community government. Mr. Speaker, I’m just wondering if the Minister can outline how far they are with the planning process, because they’ve identified two locations. I’m just wondering where they’re at with the planning process. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. McLeod.

Further Return To Question 93-15(5): Risks Associated With Location Of Landfills Near Tlicho Communities

Mr. Speaker, we’ve been working at the waste site facility with the community of Behchoko for I think over a year now. We’ve carried it over from last year and we’ve identified several sites over this past year and the community has come forward with a recommendation for a site also and we’ve done some analysis on these sites. We will continue to have those discussions and then as soon as we can narrow it down to a site that everybody agrees with, we’ll start doing the actual design and planning around that and move forward with the project. But that’s been a problem up to now, is to identify a site that everybody is satisfied with. We had some sites identified that’s along the highway and of course that causes problems as it is visible from Highway No. 3 and that’s not acceptable. So we’ll have to sit down and have further discussion. My staff will do that and hopefully we’ll have a site location firmed up fairly quick and we can move forward with doing the actual project. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Supplementary To Question 93-15(5): Risks Associated With Location Of Landfills Near Tlicho Communities

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. My final question to the Minister will be upon completion of the planning process and analyzing the relocation of the dump with the community of Gameti and Behchoko, could the Minister highlight if the capital plans can be part of the business plan this fall? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. McLeod.

Further Return To Question 93-15(5): Risks Associated With Location Of Landfills Near Tlicho Communities

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The solid waste sites that we are discussing here today are already in the capital plan. They have already been approved and the budgets are already allocated for these three communities. So they’re already in the capital plan. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, after we leave this House today I would like to get somebody to go back and do a word check and see how many times we heard the words "under review" during the last eight days, because it was quite significant.

But, Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of Health and Social Services, the Minister responsible for perpetual planning. That’s his own phrase that I’ve stolen from him there. Mr. Speaker, the emergency response services in our communities, I raised this last time in the House, I asked for a measly $10,000 to give to our local emergency response volunteer group in Hay River so that they could come up with a proposal for what they need so that they could engage the support of industry, and the government, and the municipality and different departments, and this request was denied and yet we have hundreds of thousands of dollars to study other things. Apparently a comprehensive report has come out. I believe the Minister has briefed the mayor of Hay River on this particular subject, but I still don’t know exactly what the Minister is going to do to address these issues about emergency response volunteers. I don’t know what he’s going to do about liability. I don’t know what he’s going to do about compensation. These are all outstanding questions and I’d like some answers from the Minister today before we leave for the summer. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we’ve committed to come back to this House in the fall with a plan that’s going to lay out how we want to rationalize, as a government, this particular service and coordinate the efforts across the departments that are impacted; as well, be able to work with the communities on the best way to move forward both with the emergency response, the ambulance service, as well as the medical transport fees. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Supplementary To Question 94-15(5): Community Emergency Response Services

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a very comprehensive and thick report on this subject has already come out. Why is it going to take to the fall for this government to respond? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Miltenberger.

Further Return To Question 94-15(5): Community Emergency Response Services

Mr. Speaker, we have to sort out a number of fairly complex issues, service provision, there’s a whole host of different models of what’s already in existence in the North and across different communities. There’s liability issues, there’s legislative issues that have to be addressed and there’s no one clear model to do this. So those are the type of issues we’re trying to come to grips with here in the next few months as we finalize that work. Thank you.

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

Supplementary To Question 94-15(5): Community Emergency Response Services

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the meantime, there are people who are resigning from positions. There’s not a lot of clarity around liability, there’s been lawsuits that have been filed by the Workers’ Compensation Board. There’s just a lot of outstanding questions and I think the time is of the essence. What is the Minister going to have in hand by the fall that is going to actually not just see more review and more study, but something tangible in the hands of these folks who are offering these volunteer, but very, very important services to our communities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Miltenberger.

Further Return To Question 94-15(5): Community Emergency Response Services

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We intend to be able to come forward with some clear options of a layout and answer some of the questions as we see them as a government in terms of the liability, the role of Health and Social Services, which is the ultimate end user, what role MACA plays if any, the type of legislation we’re going to need, how do we address the liability issues. As we, for the first time, will be formally acknowledging that this is a service that we have a vested interest in, we have to be able to speak to the resource requirements, how do we support communities that are doing this through their town councils and community councils. We have some that are done on contract. So there’s a number of complex issues to sort out. We have to, as a government, have those answers or some options to those answers by the fall. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final, short supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Supplementary To Question 94-15(5): Community Emergency Response Services

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that sounds like we’re going to be ready to examine options by the fall; we’re not going to be ready to implement any solutions. So could the Minister at least confirm that he thinks these issues will be resolved and addressed and a clear framework laid out during the life of this Assembly at least? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Miltenberger.

Further Return To Question 94-15(5): Community Emergency Response Services

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this issue has been on my agenda now for the last year or so and I’m very committed to try to have these issues resolved in the life of this Assembly and a process initiated that’s going to allow us to lay out a plan of how we’re going to move to a more rational funded kind of arrangement where we recognize the costs and we work with the communities to come up with a service delivery model that is effective for different communities across the North. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Before I go on I’d like to recognize in the gallery Mr. Ray Anderson from Matco.

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I understand that they’re having a 40th anniversary celebrations, being in the North for 40 years, tonight actually. Also with him is his daughter Kelly and son Damon.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there’s been much discussion about seniors’ housing the last two weeks during our session. Much of that discussion has been centred around a lack of a means test for seniors getting into public housing and, in fact, in some cases a lack of clients that may take up residence in some of these projects the Minister has talked about here the past couple of weeks. I’d like to ask the Minister what assurances can he provide to us that he’s not going to rush into any projects over the summer with building any further seniors’ housing without first informing the Members about exactly what the plans are to do that? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation, Mr. Krutko.

Return To Question 95-15(5): Seniors' Housing Consultation Process

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, right now the process we are using is we’re consulting the NWT Seniors’ Society, local senior committees and councils in the communities. We were working with those organizations. So for the Member to tell us not to proceed, we are already consulting seniors who these houses are earmarked for. So I would just like to make the Member aware we are consulting. The Members of this House, they basically know what the strategy is for affordable housing that’s going to be left this summer, we already know where those units are going to go, but the projects we’re working in regards to the Yellowknife Seniors’ Society are basically the Hay River Seniors’ Society is a process that we are inclusive of making sure seniors are involved in those decisions, and we’ll keep the Members informed and the constituents where these facilities are taking place. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Supplementary To Question 95-15(5): Seniors' Housing Consultation Process

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, after having listened to the responses from the Minister -- and I know he’s working with another department, ECE on this -- I’m not at all confident that they will arrive at the solutions I think they need to arrive at sooner rather than later. I’d like to ask the Minister specifically what is going to take place in the Housing Corporation. What projects have they got underway and where exactly is the means test that you’re developing with ECE and will we see that developed over the summer between now and September, Mr. Speaker? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Krutko.

Further Return To Question 95-15(5): Seniors' Housing Consultation Process

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the responsibility that we have, which basically has been shifted in regards to the subsidy that we now provide to the Department of Education, Culture and Employment to cover off the O and M costs of those seniors' facilities. So right now we’re basically charging Education, Culture and Employment for the cost of those seniors’ facilities for units, but before we used to be covered off by way of a subsidy. So the cost of that subsidy, basically the arrangement has changed, as everybody knows, that basically the Department of Education, Culture and Employment is now responsible to review the amount of subsidies that individuals get by way of their income support and security system that they have. So there is that review taking place and, again, that we are keeping the social committee informed in this House in regards to how that transition was taking place and how we’re basically rolling that out. So that’s the process we’re presently using. Again, because of our mandate changes, it is a system that is changing. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Supplementary To Question 95-15(5): Seniors' Housing Consultation Process

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if indeed, and I would suggest that the work on the review that needs to happen for a means test for folks to access seniors’ housing and public housing needs to happen yesterday and I don’t think we can afford to wait the four months over the summer period for that to happen. I’d like to ask the Minister, can we get a means test for the seniors looking for housing over the summer, and I know the Minister said he’s going to consult with the committee, but is he going to enter into any projects over the summer? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Krutko.

Further Return To Question 95-15(5): Seniors' Housing Consultation Process

Mr. Speaker, we are, in the questions asked yesterday by the Member from Hay River, we are looking at putting out a request for proposals on the Hay River project. In regards to the other seniors’ independent housing units, those are laid out in regards to the proposal we put forth for the 185 units we’re going to be putting in communities. There are seniors’ independent housing units going to be delivered this summer. But in regards to facilities to provide seniors accommodation by way of large facilities, those decisions haven’t been made yet. We are talking with YACCS and other groups here in Yellowknife to look at units for Yellowknife to do the expansion at the Avens Centre and groups like that. So we are working again with those. But at this time, if the Member would like, I can get him a list of exactly where these units are going to go and exactly what type of unit are going to be used for. Thank you.

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

Supplementary To Question 95-15(5): Seniors' Housing Consultation Process

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it’s debatable and I don’t think anybody has really seen a waiting list for these units. But I would like to ask the Minister if indeed they are built, will there be a means test available for people trying to occupy these units? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Krutko.

Further Return To Question 95-15(5): Seniors' Housing Consultation Process

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, under the existing process we’re going through now, the Housing Corporation is now responsible for basically collecting rent for the units based on a cost recovery basis. The subsidy portion now comes to Education, Culture and Employment in regards to how people will be subsidized for the portion of those rents that they will have to either pay themselves or receive a subsidy to top off what that rent is going to be. Now it’s our responsibility, as a corporation, to get full cost recovery for the cost to operate those units from the clients that basically occupy those units, and that includes our seniors. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the past week or so I read in the papers and I also received the information from the Minister of Justice, the Honourable Brendan Bell, on this wood pellet initiative that the department is doing in terms of reducing or looking at energy, effective methods to use in the government institutions. I wanted to ask the Minister in terms of what are the long-term goals, I guess, of this wood pellet initiative that’s being used at the facility by the Department of Justice? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister responsible for Justice, Mr. Bell.

Return To Question 96-15(5): Wood Pellet Boiler System Pilot Project For North Slave Correctional Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When the facility was originally conceived and constructed, the plans called for three oil-fired boilers. We only installed two at that time and there’s been a need for a backup since. In order to address this, we’ve been working with Public Works and we came up with a cost estimate of $225,000, which was in the capital plan. We found another way around that, Mr. Speaker, and that was to enter into a contract with Arctic Green Energy and to provide heat to the facility using a wood pellet boiler system. So we’re testing this out. It is a bit of a pilot. It’s not going to cost us money in terms of upfront capital. We will be charged by the amount of energy used and if this pilot is successful, I think it’s probably something that we’ll want to look at using in other facilities. Obviously, it cuts down on our emissions, it’s great for the environment and we think we can save money using it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Supplementary To Question 96-15(5): Wood Pellet Boiler System Pilot Project For North Slave Correctional Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I look forward to the final results and how much energy we, as a government, are going to save in this facility and what other facilities in the Northwest Territories, and maybe under the government as a whole that’s going to implement such a system if it’s beneficial to the people. I’d like to ask the Minister in terms of supplying this new device here or this device that they’re using to the correctional facility, these wood pellets, can they make these in the Northwest Territories so we could have northern suppliers maybe south of the lake or around the lake here that has some forestry product industries that could use it at the facility? Staying north here. So I’d like to ask the Minister on that. Thank you.