Debates of March 10, 2009 (day 26)

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I certainly hear the willingness of the Minister who wants to take charge of this issue and certainly solve some of the technical problems, which are stabilized funding. When can this side of the House, be it Social Programs or all Regular Members, see some work done on this issue that I’ve described as stabilizing the funding, perhaps through the method of a base-plus funding formula that would ensure that if an occasional student misses once in a while, it doesn’t fully disrupt the funding of that agency and put them into a tailspin of havoc and unable to pay their staff and certainly keep their lights on? When can we expect some type of paperwork and some decision and leadership through the department? I know the Minister wants to do that. I’m just curious from this point of view.

The Member can look at it as a technical problem, but I see some challenges there. Through challenges it creates opportunities to work with. Certainly we will be presenting to standing committee once we work out the logistics within our Department of ECE, because there is federal funding as well. We need to work with FMB as well. Once that has been developed, I am more than willing to commit to the standing committee to present to them.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I just want to follow up on my Member’s statement on sawmills, particularly Jean Marie River. Perhaps I’ll ask the Minister of ITI, as he had the Western Harvesters Fund. Are there existing sawmills that are funded within his department right now or is there a specific program to fund sawmills?

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Bob McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d just like to point out that the Western Harvesters Assistance Program was not intended for forestry operations; it was intended for people who live on the land.

There are no existing sawmills except for one in Hay River, mainly because of the difficulty in getting access to forest resources.

In terms of business programs, business programs are available to any business and it’s all based on feasibility. I’m very pleased to point out that in conjunction with the Minister of ENR, there is Biomass Strategy funding that’s available to the tune of $5 million over three years.

Indeed, the community of Jean Marie River is very excited for the Biomass Initiative because that is something that they are pursuing as well. The community is also concerned about their existing sawmill operations because the sawmill operations are good. It produces the fuel, the need for biomass co-generation, et cetera. Can we look at stand-alone or project-specific dollars within ITI or maybe…I think the Minister is also leading the energy committee. Can we look at something that can take up the stimulus needed for the forestry industry?

This is an area that government would really like to see developed. We would like to see pilot projects established, particularly in the area of wood pellets. But I think that my colleague the Minister of ENR, as members of the Ministerial Energy Coordinating Committee, we would certainly like to see that developed. As I said, part of our problem has been the difficulty in accessing forest resources. With our business programs and the Biomass Strategy funding, I’m sure that this is a good way to go forward.

Certainly everybody in the North and throughout the world is interested in following up on alternate energy supplies. I think the key industry for Jean Marie River is the forestry industry. Is there a fund for a sustainable forest harvesting study that the Minister is aware of?

Most of our funding in ITI is business related. We could assist with funding to establish a business plan or to do some market research along those lines.

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

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Certainly I think Jean Marie River is eligible to access that type of funding. I think the key message here is that right now our government is not concentrating on the forestry industry. I know we have some business planning coming up. I’d like to ask the Minister and even government on the other side of the House to ensure that it’s part of our strategy in the upcoming business planning cycle. It’s a complementary strategy to our Biomass Strategy.

As part of our planning, there’s been some considerable research done into the Biomass Strategy and part of that is looking at what would entail having a feasible and sustainable industry. That information is available to all communities.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to follow up as well on Mr. Bromley’s questions and some of the questions asked by Mr. Hawkins relative to funding for daycares in the NWT. I’ll go back. I spoke to this issue at least a year ago, I think. At that time, the Minister indicated that there was some possibility to look at different possibilities of funding for daycares. I’d like to ask the Minister now, and I apologize if it’s already been answered, but what is the basis for the funding that daycares currently get? He mentioned that they’re funded for O and M, that they’re funded for staffing, et cetera, but on what is that based? Is it per child or is that a lump sum payment contribution?

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. There are different pots of funding that we provide to daycare establishments, whether it be for profit or not-for-profit organization. I can certainly share that information with the Members on the criteria of the funding. I don’t have that information with me right now, but I can certainly provide the detailed information on the program, the criteria, the funding distribution to the organizations.

When I spoke to this issue last, I asked the Minister if there was a possibility to look at a different funding model. At that time I asked the Minister whether or not it was possible to look at a model similar to the way that we fund our schools, where schools are funded based on the population from the year previous. I’d like to ask the Minister, since I seem to remember at that time that he said they were going to look at that, whether or not any changes have been made to the way that daycares are funded in the last 12 or 13 months.

I did highlight the additional funding that’s included to provide for base rent and mortgage expenses. That’s new programming dollars that we’ve offered to the daycare establishments. I would reiterate that we are continuing to work with FMB to work with NGOs in the communities because we need to continue working with them in this respect. The Member has talked about similar funding or contributions we provide to the schools based on enrolment. Those are the types of discussions that we’re having currently with FMB. Although it’s taken some time, we want to have a good model that we can certainly continue to live with.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Short supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the answer from the Minister that they’re looking at this. I guess it goes to the question which I think Mr. Hawkins asked, but I didn’t really hear an answer. If the Minister is looking at alternative models, when might we be able to see some sort of proposal? If they’ve been working on these models since 13 months ago, is it going to take another 13 months before we get a proposal?

Certainly, as I stated, we are discussing this with various departments and within our own department and other departments as well, that we’re expecting to see some results based that we can certainly share with the standing committee after session. Probably, we’re hoping that before next session or springtime, or even at the earliest the summer, that we can certainly have a draft documentation saying that this is what we can probably pursue with and then share that with Members of the standing committee.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister. Summer, I guess if that’s what it is, that’s what it is. I wonder if the Minister could advise how much of a priority this change in funding model is for the department. I would appreciate an answer on that. I would also like to know, if it is a priority for the department, how many staff are working on this particular change to the funding for daycares.

We do have dedicated staff within the department that we have specifically for early childhood. Dealing with the daycares, whether they meet the funding criteria that’s based on, the contribution agreement, we need to relook at the whole mechanism for a number of past years and where we are today. How can we move forward on how we can improve in those areas? Certainly we don’t want to see any disruption in the operation of a daycare establishment in the Northwest Territories. We will continue to discuss the various models that we can certainly deliver. We’ll do that and provide that information to the standing committees on a going-forward basis.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The time for oral questions has expired. The honourable Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Bob McLeod.,

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to return to item 3, Members’ statements.

---Unanimous consent granted

Item 3, Members’ statements. The honourable Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Bob McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I’d like to take this opportunity to recognize an extraordinary constituent. In the past, she has received the Queen’s Jubilee Commemorative Medal for her tireless work on breast cancer awareness and health. I am speaking about Ruby Trudel, who is still very active on community issues.

---Applause

In March 2008 she attended a homelessness forum where various representatives expressed their difficulty in keeping up with increased costs, including food, which were eroding their grant funding. In her desire to help, she focused on providing food for the needy. She, along with her husband, Laurin, approached several local businesses for donations of food that were still edible but about to be thrown out for various reasons. Because of liability concerns, some of these businesses were hesitant to take part.

Her desire to help the homeless and the poor with donations of food led her to research on food wastage and how other jurisdictions were grappling with this issue. She pushed for legislation with the help of our colleague, Ms. Wendy Bisaro. This legislation, the Donation of Food Act, came into effect October 21st, 2008, and the Food Rescue Program was created. There was an explosion of donations from businesses. Food Rescue is a group of volunteers who retrieve food products from warehouses and stores that is considered unsalable by the commercial establishment. Product may be past its best before date or be in a condition that needs refreshing.

In its first 117 days of operation, Food Rescue received 26,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables. The recovery rate has been over 86 percent, meaning that more than 22,000 pounds of perfectly edible fruits and vegetables have been donated to some 15 organizations and saved from the landfill. This is an astounding success and the results are amazing.

In addition, Food Rescue also received more than 4,400 litres of dairy product, 1,000 litres of juice, and 2,300 pounds of meat. The Trudels, along with Grant Pryznyk, Werner and Michelle Klinger, Margaret Henderson, Lorne Schollar, Carol Givson, Toon Pronk spend a lot of their time collecting, sorting, cleaning, and chopping donated food. Chopped food made into applesauce and a number of other creative solutions are donated to shelters, drop-in centres, the Food Bank, and struggling persons identified through word of mouth.

I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

The benefits of Food Rescue are many. Besides saving the landfill from tonnes of waste, the vegetable trimmings are being composted and cardboard is recycled. Beneficiaries include the Salvation Army, Centre for Northern Families, YWCA Rockhill Apartments and the Alison McAteer House, Yellowknife Food Bank, the SideDoor, the John Howard Society, and the Weledeh School Lunch Program.

Food Rescue not only addresses food access issues of the homeless and the disadvantaged, but also addresses environmental issues by making the maximum use of food products shipped to the North.

This program is being run out of the Trudel home as they have yet to find a suitable location. The Food Rescue Program is an innovative solution that helps the homeless and those in need, and a testament to these volunteers’ continued dedication and commitment.

Please help me to congratulate Ms. Trudel and the Food Rescue Program volunteers on their success. This is a clear demonstration of how one person can make a difference.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Item 8, written questions. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to go back to Item 7.

---Unanimous consent granted

Return to item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister of infrastructure. Mr. Speaker, a constituent of mine from Aklavik who runs a plumbing and gas fitting business is having a tough time sustaining his business in Aklavik because of competition from Inuvik by way of contracts. Mr. Speaker, I received an e-mail from this individual this morning, which basically is a tender for the community of Aklavik is being put out in regards to a gas fitting service in Aklavik, with no consideration for local businesses that can basically provide the service and not have competition come from outside the community.

Mr. Speaker, this government has a Market Disruption Policy which calls on not disrupting businesses in communities by putting tenders out from other communities. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister of Public Works and Services exactly why is it that your department continues to put out tenders in communities without considering the local entrepreneurs or businesses that are already established there?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister of Public Works and Services, Mr. Michael McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would have to see the situation that the Member is raising. Is it an as and when tender? Is it an infrastructure tender? I am not familiar with the issue he is raising. We have an MOU that we are obligated to follow and our department is also involved in that. I would have to see more information, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, if the government was following the MOU, the contractor would have had an opportunity to see what tenders are available and have an opportunity to either consider negotiating contract, sole-source contracting or as and when services. I would like to ask the Minister, why is it that you are not using contractors who are established businessmen in our communities by way of as and when contracts than simply having people walk into your office in Inuvik?

Mr. Speaker, the government has an MOU with the Gwich’in and the MOU process clearly outlines some of the requirements. Our contracts and tenders are to be viewed and supplied to the Gwich’in government. That in return is supplied to all their different contractors. Mr. Speaker, if there is no tender request for negotiations, then the contract is tendered publicly, and in this case I am assuming that is the situation. I am not familiar with the actual document he is talking about. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, as we heard here in the House yesterday, the Premier clearly stated that the information for the existing contracts this government has out there has not even been sent to the Gwich’in or to the local business community so they can see what contracts are available. Mr. Speaker, we have a policy in the government by way of a Market Disruption Policy so that if the government is giving out any contracts that have an effect on a community, is that taken into consideration when contracts are being given by way of the cost to maintain a business in the small communities? If anything, we should be supporting these businesses to remain in these communities rather than competing against them and running them out of our communities.

Mr. Speaker, the responsibility for the MOU oversight falls under ITI. I am sure I could raise that for the Member if he requires. The budgets were passed in the fall, Mr. Speaker, for the capital. The budget for O and M has just been recently approved by this House. Mr. Speaker, the Member has requested from the Premier as to the status of the report that is required as part of the MOU. I believe that has been responded to by the Premier and he has indicated that it has been sent to the Gwich’in Tribal Council.

Mr. Speaker, provision of the projects is a different process. I don’t believe that is part of the project report that is being delivered. Mr. Speaker, I certainly can find out in greater detail if the Member is asking me to do that. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister can also assist me by way of the community businesses and also finding ways of why they are not being considered when it comes to tenders, which could be either sole sourced or basically as and when tenders, where these businesses are already existing. You don’t need somebody driving from Inuvik or flying from Inuvik to provide a plumbing job where you have a plumber in the community. Why is it that you are not considering local tenders? If you are not doing that, I would like to ask the Minister, can he talk to the people in the Inuvik office? Why are they not considering local contractors for those tenders to be given out locally in those communities for those tenders who are going to be providing that service?

Mr. Speaker, I am not sure the Member is making the assumption that we don’t support local contractors. We provide a lot of contracts to companies that indicate their interest. Failing any indication that we have come to our attention, those contracts are put to public tender. We have a process. It has been signed off. There has been extension to a Memorandum of Understanding. The information goes to the tribal council and that is dispersed. If there is somebody that has slipped through the cracks, I would be glad to hear about it. But I have not heard of the company that he is talking about that has requested negotiating contract and didn’t get it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.