Debates of March 2, 2005 (day 47)

I call Committee of the Whole to order. We have a number of things on our agenda for Committee of the Whole. What is the wish of the committee for today? Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The committee wishes to consider Minister’s Statement 86-15(3), Minister’s Statement 88-15(3), Minister’s Statement 89-15(3), Minister’s Statement 91-15(3), Tabled Document 108-15(3) and then consider Bill 19, Appropriation Act, 2005-2006, particularly with the NWT Housing Corporation.

Is the committee agreed?

Agreed.

Then we will proceed with that after a break.

---SHORT RECESS

Okay, committee, I am going to call us back to order. The next item on our agenda is the discussion on the Northern Strategy. To start things off, I am going to ask the Premier if he will please provide some background and some opening remarks on the Northern Strategy. Mr. Premier.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I would like to take some time this afternoon to set the context for the debate on the Northern Strategy. Then the Minister of Finance will speak on some of the specific financial issues we face. I want to say that, while one of the most important tasks that we have as MLAs is to deal with our constituents and with specific issues that are of importance to them, we cannot ever forget that we also have a responsibility to take a lead on charting the course of the Northwest Territories over the next number of generations.

I believe the impact of decisions that we make as a government over the next couple of years is huge, because they will determine like never before in our history the direction that we take. The Northern Strategy provides a unique opportunity for northerners to involve themselves in discussion of the policy issues that shape the future of this territory; not just the next three or four years, but for generations. The potential of our territory is unlimited. I believe, and this government believes, that if we do it right, the Northwest Territories has the potential to be a have territory. The Northern Strategy can provide us with even more tools to allow our territory to grow politically, economically and socially.

To achieve this, devolution and resource revenue sharing must be at the heart of the Northern Strategy. We have an opportunity, through the management of our resources, to find that balance between economic development and environmental protection, to ensure northerners are primary beneficiaries of the development of northern resources, to diversify our economy in a way that limits the boom-and-bust cycle resulting from resource development, and to become a contributing member of the federation. It has been noted many times in the Legislative Assembly that our government has limited fiscal flexibility. Although we are doing what we can to mitigate the negative impacts associated with development, we cannot do it alone, especially for projects such as the Mackenzie gas project.

Madam Chair, I want to be absolutely clear that this government fully supports the Mackenzie Valley project. We support the Aboriginal Pipeline Group in negotiating taking an equity position in this project; something that would have been unheard of in the past projects of this magnitude. We support the work that is being done by the Producers’ Group to negotiate access and benefit agreements. We support the Joint Review Panel process in reviewing this project. The piece that remains to be completed, and I repeat, is a fair devolution through a resource revenue sharing agreement. To accomplish this to ensure that northerners are primary beneficiaries of their resources, the federal government must step up to the plate. This means delivering on the Prime Minister’s commitment to make substantial progress on this file by spring and a final agreement in 2006. We are concerned that without this commitment from the federal government, support for the pipeline in the territory will fade. That is why we need to stand united and continue to make the case that federal investments in the North are in the national interest.

We don’t have much time for the North to compete with many other priorities in Ottawa. Nevertheless, we want to be as inclusive as possible in the development of the Northern Strategy. We have and will continue to engage northern leaders and key stakeholders over the next few months, respecting the vision, priorities and actions contemplated in the context of the Northern Strategy. Today, we look to you to hear the views of the Members on how to proceed. Guided by the seven goals proposed in the Northern Strategy framework document, my colleagues and I would like to share some ideas of types of actions and initiatives we might want to pursue under each of the categories. I want to ensure that any initiative or action we pursue in the Northern Strategy are consistent with and built on the hard work we have done together in developing the strategic plan.

For example, under the Northern Strategy framework goal titled Strengthening Governance, Partnerships and Institutions, we must have a completed AIP on devolution and resource revenue sharing by spring 2005 for the Northern Strategy to have any relevance to the Northwest Territories. What this means specifically is obtaining the administration and control of public lands and waters and related jurisdictions and authorities normally held by a province, which are currently administered by the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Northern Developments, Northern Affairs Program and the National Energy Board.

It means creating an effective, efficient coordinated resource management regime in the Northwest Territories that fosters sustainable development and provides certainty of process and outcomes. It also means receiving an adequate net fiscal benefit from resource revenue to provide for the provisions of necessary programs and services by Northwest Territories governments, and incentive for continued development.

In the Northern Strategy, devolution of resource revenue sharing is about nation building, about making the Northwest Territories self-sufficient and self-determined. However, a key component of any nation building in the Northwest Territories must include aboriginal people’s desire to be self-determining. Emerging aboriginal self-governments will also need the resources to implement their self-government agreements. They will require the fiscal resources to provide programs and services, invest in infrastructure and maintain flexibility to address their own priorities; similar to other governments. This will be critical as you move away from the negotiation-type relationship with aboriginal governments, to a mutually-respectful intergovernmental relationship. Ultimately, it will be up to the Government of the Northwest Territories and aboriginal governments, in partnership, to fully realize the vision of a strong, unified self-reliant Northwest Territories.

Under the goal of establishing strong foundations for economic development, I want us to think about what inputs are critical to building a strong economy and what actions could help us diversify our economy. The NWT is facing an unprecedented rate of economic growth, but often the benefits of resource development are not felt equitably throughout the Northwest Territories, so we need to diversify our economy and level the playing field. Appropriate infrastructures such as transportation and communication are needed to support economic development and provide access to resources. Research and baseline data related to resources will assist in identifying opportunities for growth in various sectors. Tourism is a major opportunity to diversify our economy, particularly in our smaller communities. Tourism requires sustainable development for product development and marketing and a Northern Strategy can be a vehicle to advance this.

For example, while we have been successful in getting development in our non-renewable resource sector, we also need to focus attention on our renewable resources; one of the biggest ones is hydro energy. As Members are aware, the NWT is at a critical stage with respect to development of NWT hydroelectric resources. We have made the required investments up to this point, but now require additional resources for detailed engineering and environmental feasibility studies. Federal investments in hydro development appear to be ideally suited for inclusion in the strategy. There is a level of awareness of our potential within the federal government in Ottawa as well. The response has been very positive. Investments in hydro development can fit many federal programs, from Kyoto implementation and environmental funding, to infrastructure and economic development funding.

Under the goal of protecting the environment, there are opportunities for both the Territories and federal government to work together on various environmental issues, such as climate change and contaminant cleanup programs. There is a need to establish a monitoring and mitigation regime for the biophysical environment. Past environmental management practices have left an undesirable legacy of a number of contaminant sites in the Northwest Territories which must be addressed.

Under the goal of building healthy and safe communities, we need to work on priority issues such as healthy lifestyles, building community infrastructure and improving housing for our residents. Our government has re-affirmed its commitment to support a healthy lifestyle. Together with other social program departments, we are working to engage our federal counterparts to proceed with active living and healthy choices programming for all northerners.

We were pleased with the recent announcement of the federal government on MRIF and the new federal deal which will provide full GST rebate and a portion of federal gas tax revenues to communities. Both of these are welcome. Together with the commitment made by our government in the budget on additional funding for community infrastructure, we believe we are beginning to address the infrastructure deficit we have in many of our communities.

Under the goal of reinforcing sovereignty, national security and circumpolar cooperation, we are looking to engage the federal government on issues such as security and surveillance in the North, reinforcing Canada’s sovereignty in the North, effective northern-based search and rescue capacity and leadership in matters of circumpolar cooperation.

Under the goal of preserving, revitalizing and promoting culture and identity, we can discuss issues of critical importance to northerners; issues such as the preservation and promotion of aboriginal languages for present and future generations; recognition and promotion of linguistic and cultural diversity of people in the North; promotion of the use of traditional knowledge and practices in northern decision-making; and, preservation and promotion of our unique northern history and culture.

Under the goal of developing northern science and research, there are opportunities for better coordination to set pan-territorial research and management agendas using a more collaborative ecosystem-based and integrated approach. Northern boreal forests are a unique NWT resource. Knowledge of our forest, lands and environment is incomplete, and we need assistance to understand the impact on our wildlife habitat.

Large-scale development projects, in the past, have identified gaps and have promoted considerable research. Land-use planning efforts often identify further research needs. Programming specific to vegetation inventories, forest productivity, and ecological land classification require greater support. A cooperative approach is required to gather all of the baseline data prior to any major development.

I have only touched on the surface of the issues that can be addressed through a Northern Strategy process. There are many critical issues that I have not addressed due to the time constraints today. I know that Members of the Legislative Assembly will raise many of these issues. I look forward to hearing your views on the issues that we should consider in the development of a Northern Strategy.

I also want to take this opportunity to encourage fellow MLAs to seek input from their constituents and from other stakeholders in their communities. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Next, I have Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The vision adopted by the Assembly last May begins with the word self-reliant. The vision that leads off the Northern Strategy framework uses this phrase in its first sentence. Self-reliance means that we look to ourselves first to tackle our challenges and to improve our lives and our communities. If the NWT is truly to achieve our vision of self-reliance for individuals, families, communities and as a territory, we need the right tools and we need the resources.

There is much work to be done. With adequate financial resources, our job will be made easier and our chances of success enhanced. Governments in the NWT, territorial and aboriginal, need to ensure that fiscal arrangements meet the needs of our residents. These arrangements must provide adequate funding. They must include appropriate incentives to encourage economic development and growth. They must allow the territorial and aboriginal governments to work together to effectively and efficiently provide programs and services to the people of the NWT.

The Northern Strategy framework sets as a goal the strengthening of governments and institutions, in order to provide northerners with effective governance and greater control over decisions central to our future.

If this is to be achieved, the strategy must address the need for a fair resource revenue sharing agreement between Canada and the NWT governments. It must include adequate and responsive funding under both formula financing and aboriginal self-government financing arrangements. As a territory, we rely on the federal government for about 70 percent of our revenues. This large percentage recognizes that the cost of providing public services in the North is very high compared to the capacity of the NWT’s 42,000 residents to finance those services.

In 2005-06, NWT residents and businesses will contribute over $240 million in territorial taxes and other own-source revenues. Furthermore, on average, for every dollar of expenditure made by the federal government in the NWT, more than 50 cents of federal revenue, or almost $500 million per year, is generated in the NWT for the federal government in the form of taxes and other payments. It is estimated that, between the diamond mines and the Mackenzie Valley pipeline, government revenues from resource development over the next 20 years will approach $20 billion. However, the federal government currently receives virtually 100 percent of royalties from resource activities in the NWT.

Although the GNWT does receive some tax revenue from development, under recent arrangements, much of this tax revenue is clawed back through a lower grant from Canada. Until we negotiate new arrangements with the federal government, Canada will continue to receive more than 90 percent of the total royalty and tax revenues from non-renewable resource development.

This is not sustainable. Given that it is northern governments, the GNWT and aboriginal self-governments will bear the brunt of the expenditure impacts created by development. It is northern governments that will face expenditure demands for job training, for counselling and for addition programs, for policing, for infrastructure repair and upgrading, and for environmental protection, to name just a few. We must ensure the that NWT governments have the fiscal resources to provide our residents with levels of public services comparable to those anywhere else in Canada.

The federal government has recognized that recent agreements with the governments of both Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia are a step towards self-reliance for those provinces. Clearly the negotiation of a resource revenue sharing agreement that ensures that northern governments receive a fair share of resource revenues is a critical requirement for continued development in the NWT. A major component of the Northern Strategy is the federal commitment that the conclusion of a devolution and revenue sharing agreement is a priority and that we will see significant progress in the negotiations by this spring.

Last October the federal government announced significant changes to our formula financing arrangement. The previously separate although similar arrangements between the federal government and the NWT, Nunavut and the Yukon have now been amalgamated. There will now be a fixed amount of funding for formula financing for all three territories: $1.9 billion for 2004-05; $2 billion in 2005-06; and, after that, the funding will grow at a rate of 3.5 percent a year. Canada will establish an expert panel to provide recommendations on the allocation of these fixed amounts among the three territories. These recommendations are expected before the end of 2005.

It is critical that new arrangements respect the fundamental principles that have guided formula financing since it was first implemented 20 years ago. They must ensure that each territorial government has adequate funding to provide public services in a high-cost environment. Arrangements must recognize that the territories provide programs and services to small populations in remote locations, often with health and social indicators well below national averages, with limited infrastructure and in the harshest climate in Canada.

New arrangements must also be responsive to changing circumstances within the territories. Territorial governments must be able to respond to changes in program and service needs brought about by population change, or economic changes affecting their jurisdictions. Arrangements must provide the territorial governments with the incentives to become as fiscally independent as possible. The territories should be encouraged to develop their economies and growing their tax bases and excessive clawbacks should be removed.

Finally, the new arrangements must not pit the territories against each other in order to meet our fiscal needs. The expert panel is tasked with making recommendations on territorial financing, and its work must reflect the vision articulated in the Northern Strategy framework; strong, responsive government working together to build a prosperous and vibrant future. This vision, however, does not apply only to territorial governments nor to the GNWT in particular. In the future, the GNWT will not be the only government in this territory delivering government services.

Aboriginal governments, as they conclude self-government agreements and draw down their jurisdictions, will assume some of these responsibilities for their citizens. Aboriginal governments must have the capacity to be self-governing. The establishment of aboriginal self-governments will lead to additional costs to run new self-government institutions and to build capacity in those institutions.

The GNWT, given its limited fiscal capacity, cannot fund incremental costs without reducing funding available for other programs and services. It is incumbent on the federal government to fully fund these incremental costs. Fiscal agreements on funding arrangements, including tax sharing, will need to be negotiated between each aboriginal government, the federal government and the GNWT. The primary objective of these arrangements should be to ensure that aboriginal governments have adequate funding over the long term to deliver programs and to run their government structures.

Fiscal arrangements between aboriginal governments, the GNWT and Canada must be structured so that all governments can operate effectively and efficiently. The arrangement must be workable, sustainable and consistent. They must adhere to the same principles that we expect in our formula financing arrangements with Canada. They must be adequate, sustainable and responsive.

The GNWT and the Aboriginal Summit have had very successful discussions over the years on how self-government fiscal arrangements could look and how they could be integrated into formula financing, resource revenue sharing and tax sharing. These discussions would even be more productive if the federal government were to participate as well. The Northwest Territories wants to be more self-reliant and, to accomplish this, we must have the right tools. Thank you, Madam Chairperson.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Next on the list, I have Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I thank both the Premier and the Minister of Finance for their brief overview of the Northern Strategy. It does cover a tremendous amount of ground. I know I have 10 minutes here; I am going to try to cover the points that I feel I need to cover and then I will pass it on to some of my colleagues here.

The first thing is that I am still not 100 percent convinced of the Northern Strategy and how the Northwest Territories is going to be seen by the rest of the country as being different than Nunavut or being different than the Yukon. I know that both the Yukon and Nunavut have a lot to offer Canada as well but, in terms of being an economic engine for the country, the Northwest Territories is by far a much better vehicle for that. I know our economy grew 21 percent last year, whereas Nunavut’s actually shrank and the Yukon’s was stagnant. I see it as being more pan-territorial in nature, rather than specific what it can do for us. That does cause me some concern; and I know that the Premier has talked about it, that the Northwest Territories is going to get it’s say, is going to have it’s specific needs addressed, but I have yet to really see how that is going to work out or be played out.

What I see is a bunch of lofty goals and objects how we are going to fit our own specific needs into those but, for what it is worth, I am going to try to do some of that. The fact that the federal government has actually figured out that there is life north of 60, after being in power in Ottawa for over 12 years, is something that I am really glad to see. Finally somebody woke them up in Ottawa and they realize that there is life north of 60 and this Northern Strategy, in my mind, is years overdue, it is about time. That is all I have to say and I do look forward to hopefully some good things coming out of it.

In the Premier's opening remarks, he was mentioning the fact that we have to ensure that northerners are primary beneficiaries of development and northern resources. I know that the Premier and Cabinet and the rest of my colleagues here have known for some time that I have been interested in developing a resource trust fund for the residents of the Northwest Territories. I am a believer that the federal government should have some time ago, perhaps even before diamonds were discovered here, maybe even when oil was discovered at Norman Wells, started to put some money aside for the residents who live here. They haven’t done that and we are here, we have been talking about devolution and resource revenue sharing for almost 20 years and I really do hope -- and I do put a great deal of faith in the Premier and the Finance Minister -- that this government, after many governments before it, can finally deliver the goods on devolution and resource revenue sharing because it is long overdue.

I know the concept of a trust fund is something that, unless you had money to put into it, you don’t have one. So the money that is leaving our territory today, I don’t understand why and I know it is a complicated subject, but why couldn’t Ottawa just look at putting some of this money aside? Both sides agree that there is an obvious dispute over who gets what and are we getting our fair share, and until such time as that dispute is resolved, I believe that Ottawa should be putting the money aside. Maybe not necessarily to us right away, but put it aside so that when that money starts to build up, we know the type of magnitude that we are talking about.

One of the things, and I know it comes up in the Northern Strategy, that I think needs to have some attention brought to it is the fact that Canada has long sovereignty in the Arctic and in the North and we have to try to find ways of attracting people here to the Northwest Territories and to the Yukon and Nunavut, as well, but specifically the Northwest Territories. Ways in which we can do that have to be fully explored. I talked the other day about perhaps looking at making interest you pay on your mortgage as a tax credit, some things like that. We have to start thinking about these things and we have to start putting it back.

If the federal government is indeed interested in the Northern Strategy, in trying to develop the Northwest Territories, then I think they should be looking at helping us pay the price by instituting some kind of tax break or a beneficial tax regime. It's already somewhat beneficial to live here, but we have to make every effort to make it as advantageous for people to live here as possible. I think that will certainly go a long way towards giving us more of a population base, more of a workforce. We will hopefully get some type of market housing economy, even in some smaller communities, if we start looking at this; trying to get people into homeownership and thinking about owning their own home, putting down roots in the Northwest Territories. I think those types of things are things that I believe should be in a Northern Strategy.

The federal government has to understand that we are different; has to understand that the cost of living here is phenomenal. If you filled your fuel tank in your home lately you know what that is all about, or put gas in your car, or bought groceries at the store. It is more expensive to live here. We have had a difficult time in trying to attract professionals, especially teachers, doctors, nurses, and we need to look at ways that we can keep people here; get them here, keep them here and keep them happy.

That is something that I would like to see contained in here somewhere, is the federal government to make some kind of effort to give us that ability or to help us pay for tax breaks for people to live here. That just hasn’t happened, for whatever reason. Again, I know the Premier and the Finance Minister and the rest of Cabinet have done a great deal of work. Actually, we have come a long way in the short time I’ve been here. The Premier has done a heck of a lot of work in this regard and I think he is on the right track.

One of the things that does concern me, however, is the recent deal with Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and the fact that now some of the other provinces are crying foul about that deal. I wouldn’t want to see a potential deal with the Northwest Territories being sidetracked now because some of the other provinces are upset. We are in a different position here, we are different than Ontario, we are different than Saskatchewan and I just hope that we don’t get lost in the shuffle in Ottawa again and get pushed to the back of the bus.

I do certainly appreciate all the hard work that the Premier has put in on this and look forward to supporting him on it and moving forward and finally one day getting what we deserve here, and that is devolution and resource revenue sharing. Thank you, Madam Chairperson.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Next on the list, I have Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you, Madam Chairperson. I, too, have some grave concerns over the exploitation, I would say, of our natural resources and who gets the true benefits here. Our struggle and our goal and our objectives for gaining province-like powers or province-like stature or, indeed, even provincehood as an eventuality. I hope that everybody shares that dream along with me. It has been with us a very long time. It’s about a 125-year-old dream. As soon as they labelled us a territory, then we wanted to break free.

I come from a riding that is predominantly aboriginal. The majority there are aboriginal and during my campaigning period, Madam Chairperson, when I talked about resource revenue sharing and keeping our resources, self-reliance, self-government; everybody knows what that means, because that is something that we want to achieve as aboriginal people as well. Everybody knows what those mean and when I came to the Legislature, we are talking about the same thing.

It is a consistent dream throughout the North, with all the aboriginal claimant groups and ourselves, so when I look at it I say, okay, we do have something in common; we have a common thread that runs through us all, throughout the whole North now, it’s just a matter of getting there.

Everybody has different ways of doing things, of seeing things. Their realities are different, but I know that we are dialoguing, we are talking with each other. We may be at an impasse or a standstill at some points, but I think that eventually we will stand together and we are working towards that aspiration, that goal of being free. In fact, it is like our opening prayer every morning at this Legislature, it’s up to us to take care of the aspirations of those we serve, and I truly believe the aspirations are to be free to control our own destiny. I believe we are going to achieve that.

I think one of the ways to do it, is that a lot of the barriers that are standing in our way are many of our own imbalances up here in the North. That gets in the way of many things. I am going to say disparities that are between the communities and power rates are one way of doing it. Everybody is asking why are we all different. If we are all the same, why are we doing things differently? It is the little things, it’s the little victories, the little things that are making life easier in the communities that can bind us and, I really believe, lay a path for us to be marching to Ottawa with one voice.

Our base needs must be addressed and that is all that is ever asked of me and that is all that I am asking of this government too, on a daily basis. Let’s just take care of the real needs of our people and we will move forward from there. A lot of it is having to hear people and that is all it is. When I talk about base needs, it’s something that I have been pursuing, too, for a long time. Ever since I have been elected, I have been talking about a base need in Nahanni Butte, like the gymnasium and that is all it is.

---Applause

---Laughter

That is my vision. That is all it is, is listening to our communities and making it a priority. On a territorial-wide scale, too, like I mentioned, we have been trying to do this for 125 years and finally, Madam Chairperson -- the federal government calls us a frontier, they have been investing into us for like 125 years and we have been like a transfer for the federal government -- finally now we are like a net contributor to Canada. The Treasury Board has a long memory and, I don’t know how they do it but, over 125 years they are saying, now the NWT is going to have to pay until it balances out and we’re all even. But I don’t think it has to be that way, Madam Chair. I believe that there must be a way for us to keep the benefits of our resources, but Ottawa is continuing to treat it as a boon to their coffers. It’s simple. People are studying colonialism and there’s only one way to subjugate your people, and that’s to make them dependent on you and don’t give them the resources to be independent. It’s textbook. I believe that.

In order to break out of that, one of the biggest barriers we have is the current royalty regime. We’re talking about we want resource revenue sharing, but we’re just going to get a percentage of the three percent royalties that they’re getting from our coffers. I have some friends who are saying, look, Kevin, you guys want to run your billion-dollar government on resource revenue sharing, but if it’s true resource revenue sharing, you guys are only making $120 million a year. How the heck are you going to run your government on $120 million a year as it currently exists? So the royalty regime has to be changed too.

So I kind of look at that and say we have a long ways to go, but it begins today and our predecessors in the 14th, 13th and 12th Assemblies all made little major steps. I’m looking forward to this NWT Day that's going to happen in Ottawa, because that’s going to make a huge impact. I think we did that in the 12th Assembly when we brought more power and ability to our job back here in the Northwest Territories.

So that’s the way I see it, because the only ones who are benefiting are the multinational corporations and we’re the ones who should be benefiting. Because when I go home, that’s what people are saying. They’re truly saying that. Hey, if I’m not going to benefit from this pipeline, then I don’t want it.

Hear! Hear!

Then I think about what they’re saying and I say no, but the business is wanted. Then I think about it and the businesses are kind of leaning that way too. If my business is not going to grow or get opportunities, then there’s no benefit for me supporting it; therefore, I’ve got nothing to gain. Go around me; I don’t want it. So we do have to let Ottawa know that, hey, taking care -- like the Premier says in his statement and the Finance Minister in his -- take care of our people, our communities and then people will see there’s a benefit here. Then they’ll support it.

Today, at first face, it doesn’t appear that it will benefit us because I look at these multinational corporations and that’s their job. That’s their sole existence; to rape and pillage. They’re coming and taking everything they can for free. It’s like that first pipeline. They built that first 12-inch oil pipeline in 1985 and they got it for free. They’re sitting there laughing, and I keep saying we can still go after these guys. We can’t go backwards, but we could tell them today, look, you guys are contributing to our communities, our infrastructure and our people. We can and I believe we have the power to do that. What we’re still learning, people have memories, too, Madam Chair. They see this pipeline, they got it for free and what’s going on is that we have this new mega-development, another pipeline, and industry is not doing anything. They are saying it’s between the First Nations groups and Ottawa. They’re just sitting there laughing because they know if worst comes to worst and Ottawa has to draft a national interest legislation to get that pipe installed, based on the Continental Energy Strategy, they’ll put it in and then they have no obligations like they did the last time. That’s what happened, is that they used the old technique of divide and conquer again.

We’re so busy fighting that we’re not spending our energy and resources training and developing our people, developing capacity, because we’ve been talking about it for two years and we have no foundation on which to base it on. It’s just around the corner, Madam Chair. They’re talking finishing and completing the application in 2006. If you think about it, that’s 12 months from now. Then they’ll get their permits and then construction starts in late 2007. This is mind boggling. People said it’s going to move quick, and it is, and people don’t see that.

Perhaps, Madam Chair, I’ll just stop with that point. But I believe that if we did get more province-like powers, because I know they’re not going to give us provincehood today from Ottawa, control over the lands and resources and water then, yes, we’ll be able to do a heck of a lot more than we’re able to do now. So just bringing little bits and pieces home. I’m a patient type and I don’t mind bits and pieces because I’m also logical and know they’re not going to give it all to us on a platter. We’re going to work hard and show them that we have structures and we have things in place to handle these extra responsibilities because the time is right. I’ll just stop there, Madam Chair. Mahsi cho.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Next I have Ms. Lee.

Thank you. I didn’t know I was up next. I’m happy to make some comments about the Northern Strategy. Certainly the documents we received, especially the Framework for a Northern Strategy, provides such a large scope of issues to discuss. It really covers everything under the sun. We’re not only just talking about the issues involving the NWT, but now we’re talking pan-territorial. I must say, I’m not conversant on various specific issues of Yukon and Nunavut to argue or make statements from that point of view. I will focus my thoughts on the Northern Strategy from the Northwest Territories' angle.

I think I share with the Premier in saying that we are certainly at a very exciting time. There is so much going on and I think this Northern Strategy is just another layer of process accompanying what’s going on at the tables for devolution negotiation and resource revenue sharing. We have so many economic and resource development projects happening. So economically, politically and in many different areas, we are certainly living a very exciting time. I think that we are very well placed in terms of getting our voice heard in Ottawa, as well. I think we need to recognize that. I think it benefits us that our current Prime Minister took the time…While he was waiting to be Primer Minister and while he was Minister of Finance for 10 years he crisscrossed the country a lot. He came up North a lot. I do believe he has firsthand knowledge about the issues and challenges and opportunities of the North and I think that’s reflected in the federal agenda.

I think that also helps in that we have an MP in Ottawa who is responsible for this file who has been in that office for over a decade. I think that has to be helpful in getting our challenges and our issues and our uniqueness to the table not only for the NWT, but all of the North. I think Premier Handley and this Cabinet is really well placed to capitalize on that and fast forward this file that has been going on for a long time. As Mr. Menicoche mentioned, we are building on the works of all the previous assemblies. It has only been about 20 years since we had first elected a Government Leader, in the name of another Mr. Braden, and a lot of these issues have been on the agenda for the whole time. I remember reading a former MLA here, Mr. Ballantyne’s pamphlet and I could not believe how many items on his platform included all the things that we’re talking about. But I’d like to think that while a lot of things seem to remain the same, we have made a lot of progress and I really believe that we are fortunate enough to live in a political era within the next two, three, four, five years where if we are fortunate enough to make that leap into the next world where all the things that we have been working on and our predecessors have worked on are going to result into something real.

Having said that, I want to make a general comment about what I’d like to see. Let me just say, on the governance side I think what I’d like to see from northern strategies is, we have to figure out…The devolution and resource revenue sharing and all that, I agree with. But we also know that we have various aboriginal and land claim settlements and negotiations going on and I would like to see them all settled, of course. But I think, given what’s going on, we need to set up a process more clearly that would determine how everybody, all the governments, work together. Because I believe truly that none of this separates us or gets us onto our independent road where we don’t need you anymore, we’re going to do it on our own. I think it is really about creating a different relationship for the federal government, territorial government and all the aboriginal governments. As we get more agreements settled, it’s more important that we have that understanding. If we had devolution from the federal government for many of the province-like responsibilities, for example, there has to be a redefining of the role about the presence of DIAND in the North and exactly what they’re supposed to do. The same for the territorial government. We will have to have a redefining of roles in that. Whatever happens, I think it’s really important and I think it’s something we have not done enough of, is getting a clearer picture of how we’re all going to fit together. I have so many little things I wanted to add.

An agreement on intergovernmental affairs relationships would be an issue I would like to see the Northern Strategy deal with. Another thing is related to that, the financing, taxation and sharing of revenue. I think we all agree, and I think all the aboriginal governments agree, that we need to get a bigger share of our revenue. I think something that has to be dealt with is how we’re going to share that revenue. This morning I heard on the radio that as of August 4th, once the relevant laws are passed in Tlicho, the people who live on Tlicho land, their federal tax will go to the Tlicho government and that’s a reality that’s happening. That’s what it means for that government to be there. I think things that have to go with these political developments is an understanding and framework for the people to understand this is what it means. We’re going to have four levels of government and people are going to pay taxes to this or that, and who’s going to provide services? I think if we’re going to succeed in having all of these aboriginal governments settling their claims and having a new relationship and a new world, there is more room and need for information and understanding and education to all the people that are here and living together.

I think that can be said about so many different things we’re doing in the framework for the Northern Strategy. There is an issue of circumpolar cooperation and preserving, revitalizing and promoting culture and identity, developing northern science and research. These are all the things that you just have to get really excited about. I really do believe that we are placed in a very unique situation. We are doing really exciting things politically, in terms of resource development. But there are lots of things, I think, we can do in a different way in terms of promoting culture and identity. We have the most powerful aboriginal people in the country. We can show the rest of the country about how we preserve our language, how we preserve our culture. How do we have eight or nine strong aboriginal governments and their people living together? How do we do governing differently? All those things are not clear yet, I don’t believe.

I think there is so much going on that we cannot do enough to get the people that we represent to understand what we are doing. Because the more information and buy-in you have, the better. I speak not just for non-aboriginal people, I’m just talking about regular people up and down the valley, up and down the river who want to know what all this means to us and how that affects us and who’s going to look after us and what’s going to happen to our culture, our identity. I do believe, also, we could be a leader. We could be right out there in northern science and research and even political development. We could have a school on aboriginal self-government negotiations for all the people around the world to come and study.

I just ran out of time, but I think I can get another chance to speak. So I’m very excited about that, but we need a clearer framework understanding, much more dialogue and a clearer vision at all levels of government to be able to tell the people that we all serve this is where we’re heading, this is what it’s going to look like, this is why it’s going to be better for all of us, and this is how we can show it to the rest of the country and the rest of the world. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Next I have Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you for recognizing me, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, when I think of this, it’s about making tracks again. I stress the word "again" because I was reading one of Marleau Montpetit's books, and I was perusing one of the pages, and in 1881 the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly was fully elected. If you really wonder what that means out there, that’s what Mr. Menicoche was referring to: 125 years ago we were a government. We were a big region, but that government was dissolved and in 1905 the Northwest Territories was elected. It was dissolved and it was replaced by an appointed council. But it wasn’t until 1975 that we then proceeded forward and became a Legislative Council and then proceeded again to be known as the Legislative Assembly in 1976.

The reason I’m saying this is because there was a Premier of the Northwest Territories many years ago. His name was Premier Haultain and his phenomenon, at the day before the creation of Saskatchewan and Alberta in 1905, his fundamental principal belief for western Canada was to think big. It’s time we made tracks again and it’s time that we think big. We shouldn’t be selling ourselves short on what we do in Canada. I think we can prove that over and over again. I think it’s time we take our rightful place.

When I watch television and I see people like David Peterson, who is a former Premier in Canada from Ontario, and he questions the ability of the Northwest Territories for being a full participant at the table, a full partner in Canada, it really bothers me. Because he even questions the right for P.E.I. to be involved at that level. So I really wonder if we’re thinking big enough. Canada recognizes us only when it’s called to their attention that we’ve gotten up from the kid’s table, for goodness sake. I’m tired of that type of attitude that they have in Ottawa about this.

There has been endless discussion about moving Indian and Northern Affairs jobs to the Northwest Territories, at least being governed on the ground in the Northwest Territories by our colonial department called DIAND. But their refusal to do that is still there. I think the Government of Canada is completely out of touch with the Northwest Territories, as well as the Yukon government and the Nunavut government. At least this Northern Strategy, if I may say, is starting to think big, as I’ve said earlier.

Madam Chair, I’m really looking forward personally, as well as other Members are, to NWT Day in Ottawa. I had my sandwich bag packed, as I’ve told the Premier I would. I’m serious, we need to go in with a big bang and let them know that we’re very serious. I can appreciate we’ve got a Member in Parliament who’s going to try and open up the doors for us to talk to the right people. I appreciate that the Premier has been talking to the Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs about the right timing but, again, we have to ensure we think big and respect is drawn to the attention of our needs.

I have to express my concern, though, by continually being linked at the hip with the other two territories. The Northwest Territories, as everyone knows in Canada, is such a net producer. We’re trying hard, we’re going forward, I think we’re a progressive area. Yet we’re being held back in conjunction with the other two territories and I think what we’re being told is just because you can win the race, you can’t run ahead of the others. So I’m concerned that we’re being held back from our potential. With thinkers like David Peterson and who else knows who is out there who wants to hold us back, I’m not even sure. I honestly cannot fathom a reason why the Government of Canada does not have respect for our Legislative Assembly to put us on a level playing field at the full table of discussion on any matter. Madam Chair, they still call our Premier a Government Leader.

Now there are a lot of inroads that have been made by many governments that have come before this Assembly and I think we’re starting to get that attention. But this government needs to get the acknowledgement I think it deserves. Someday they will change that NWT legislation and call our Premier a Premier, rather than referring to him as the Government Leader, as I’ve seen in the correspondence from the Prime Minister’s office.

As far as negotiations go, I see the vision here and I really can’t say much about it. I can support it, absolutely. I mean, everything here is something that I want and I’m sure it’s something everyone around this room wants. It’s still about independence and taking control and governing the people that we’re elected for. I’m still concerned about the fact that we should be in a situation here where we’re kept at bay, when eventually, back in 1881 when we were a Legislative Assembly fully elected back in those days, it’s like our powers and responsibilities were dissolved forever. I honestly cannot come up with a reason for why we are being held back and, like I said earlier, at bay.

The Premier has told us himself that to deal with the Government of Canada we had to deal with Finance Canada on one side and Indian and Northern Affairs on the other and get the attention of everybody. I really wish the Prime Minister himself would take this file and say, okay, if we’re going to deal with the Territories finally, let’s deal with them with one lead Minister only, where one lead Minister can deal with all related items. If it’s Finance, it doesn’t matter; if it’s Indian and Northern Affairs, it doesn’t matter to me. But I think to be progressive, we need to again think big.

Madam Chair, I don’t really have much more to add other than the fact that I’m an advocate for bold moves because bold moves are important. I want to recognize, other than obviously the flag lowering of Newfoundland’s Premier, but Danny Williams I really think was thinking big. He stood his ground, he pled his case and told Canada that Newfoundland needed a better deal. It’s being held back from its rightful place.

I think our Premier -- and I would give him my support -- if he needed to think big along those lines to get out there and beat the drums and say we’re thinking big, we’re here, we’re loud and we need to be treated with respect. So whatever the Premier needs from me, I am more than willing to support that. Again, we have to think big. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. That’s all I have to say right now. I may come back later, but at this time that’s all. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. I have Mr. Yakeleya next.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I was at a negotiation session one time and I read where it says in order to get to the Promised Land you have to negotiate your way out of the wilderness. I think that’s what we’re doing here. I think the Northwest Territories has a lot of promise and things could happen in the Northwest Territories. I think right now with this Northern Strategy, that the Premier is giving us an opportunity to look for vision in the Northwest Territories; things that we’d like to see in the North.

Within the 15th Legislative Assembly we have only a short period of time, four years. We do the best we can in four years, Mr. Chairman, in laying the vision, in this statement it says, for generations to come. This is a long process we’re entering. As far as our vision for the North is, we know the North is full of riches in resources and tradition in our land, and that we’re laying the foundation for our children. Hopefully one day we will see it. Just like we negotiate our land claims. I told this to our people when we were negotiating our land claims, that we’re negotiating the tools. God willing, we’ll see some of the things come to fruition. However, this is not for us. We’re just laying the foundation and maintaining that foundation that maybe one day our children’s children will benefit from what we negotiate between the territorial government and the federal government.

I think, Mr. Chairman, the Premier has given us an opportunity to look at the vision for the Northwest Territories. Hopefully that vision will be that one day we would have a discussion on provincehood, in terms of becoming a true provincial partner in the Confederation of Canada.

Mr. Chairman, the heart of the Northern Strategy, as Mr. Premier talked about, is devolution and a resource revenue sharing agreement. Devolution, I understand, started happening in the 1870s. That’s when they started developing into the Northwest Territories, the transfer of responsibilities from Ottawa to the Northwest Territories. Now we’re just talking about it in terms of seeing some benefits and as to manage it; the economics and the environments and seeing the benefits in the finances that would reflect our uniqueness in the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Chairman, the Premier also talked about the Northern Strategy being a living document. I see that living document as evolving, as something that we hold sacred to us. Mr. Chairman, the living document that some of our people talk to in the smaller communities are the treaties that they have negotiated with the federal government. This Northern Strategy could be in the similar spirit and intent with the Government of the Northwest Territories. We’re laying the foundation for our people.

I see this Northern Strategy as getting some of the basic needs to our people in the communities. We’re encouraging our people to have healthy lifestyles, healthy choices, but when you pay $16 for a 10-pound bag of potatoes in Norman Wells, it’s pretty hard to have a really healthy lifestyle. So the high cost of living in our small communities is really hurting us. Shelters and homes in our communities; the basic needs to have decent homes and decent living shelters for our people is the number one priority.

I’m happy to hear Mr. Premier talk about the hydroelectricity for people to cut down our power and the damage it’s doing to our environment by using diesel-powered generators in our communities. We could benefit from the hydro dam. That will certainly help us in our communities. Also, the services that we want to evolve from Ottawa to the Northwest Territories in terms of programs and services with regard to devolution would improve the quality of living in our communities.

I guess, Mr. Chairman, when I look at the Northern Strategy, I see it as a long-term, sustainable vision developing for our people in the North. I look forward to developing this with our people in the communities, in our larger centres. We look forward to the leadership on the Premier’s side, in terms of his Ministers going after what is possible for us. We’re looking for them because they have that capability right now. They’re our leaders right now. It’s like us on this side here. As Ministers, you have that responsibility to work on our behalf and this is an important piece of work that is coming up and I think it’s about time that the Northwest Territories starts thinking about powers. We want to call it a policy, but I don’t know if we really want to right now. I don’t know if we have the capacity to have that discussion, but that’s something that our people are looking forward to in our small communities. They’re looking for direction from this government to step it up a bit. So I look forward to further discussions on this in the coming years, Mr. Chairman. I think that’s all I have to say. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you very much, Mr. Yakeleya. I have Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. These comments from my colleagues have been very interesting here today. When I look at this document and the document that was introduced by the government with respect to the Northern Strategy, I have to ask myself what is new in this. What’s different about this strategy as compared to any other strategy that’s been developed over the last 20 years? I hate to be the pragmatic voice here, but I think we need to ask ourselves what’s the key point. What are we trying to achieve here? Look at the devolution and the resource revenue sharing; if it’s a new deal with Ottawa, why not just say that? I’m reluctant to overcomplicate the issue by again reciting all of our positions on everything, which are kind of not all that unique. It’s kind of a given, like healthy people, self-reliance. You can take and transpose that onto any people anywhere in the world and those would be aspirations of anyone there. We certainly want to stand apart and make us unique. So I think that the Northern Strategy shouldn’t be overly complex and complicated, because I think the danger in making it too complicated is that we end up identifying so many priorities and, in fact, there is no priority and then what do we accomplish.

I have been around for a little while and sometimes when we talk about these things, I just feel like we’re stating things in kind of like platitudes that don’t really translate into something real. We talk about a lot of concepts having to do with how we govern ourselves. We talk about self-government. All it really comes down to is how we organize ourselves as people in society, to ensure that people can interact with each other. I mean, what does anybody really need in life? We need food, we have basic needs, shelter, and we hope for something purposeful to do to be able to support ourselves. We’d like to have a few friends, family. I mean the needs of human beings are pretty standard. How we need to organize ourselves as a society to ensure that our children are educated and that we have health care services, we spend a lot of time talking about who is going to do those things. I guess the whole point of devolution is we say we know better, we can do better. So in order to do that, we need the resources to do that and that’s just about how simple it is to me and the same applies to self-government.

I think self-government and claimant groups are saying we know what’s best for us. We’re unique in ways that have to do with culture and language and location and geography, and we know better than anybody else how to organize ourselves to meet the basic needs of the people that we are.

So I know I’m probably oversimplifying it, but I think I’ve sat on every constitutional forum that has discussed how we’re going to organize ourselves in the last 20 years, and sometimes I just wish we could take one small piece out of some of these plans and actually just do it. I know it’s easier said than done, but, man, we’ve been talking about devolution and resource revenue sharing for an awfully long time. I’m glad that some people think that there’s something on the horizon and I would like to believe that too, but somehow the partners, the people that are going to come to the table are going to have this dialogue and are going to discuss with us, have a different agenda. I’d like to believe that, but when we get to this point of more autonomy and more resources, in order to serve the needs of our people better I don’t want people to get the idea that that’s some kind of utopia either. It’s not going to be some new world. It’s just going to be us organized in a slightly different way with the same challenges, the same issues and again saying we think we know what’s best to bring to the table to address those needs and to really facilitate the aspirations of the people that we represent.

So I guess if I could offer some encouragement to our leaders who will be having this discussion, it would be to be very precise and focused and try not to complicate things. Sometimes I think we should take what we’ve accomplished and put things on a line, on a timeline, on some kind of a continuum so we can see where we were, where we’ve come from, where we are right now and where we think we’re going just to keep things in some kind of a perspective.

I have heard some new things today like the idea of a trust fund. That’s a very tangible, specific thing, which we could say okay, let’s try and achieve that if that’s something that we agree to. The new time frame is something I see new in this strategy. There have been some time frames put around some of these things we want to accomplish and if we realize them, then that is something new and that is something to work towards.

So I guess pretty much that’s all I have to say. I just hope this isn’t yet another strategy. I hope that we can kind of weed out the things that have been said before and look at what’s new, what’s different. I think just the more concise and focused we are, the more likely we are to actually see something tangible. That is the advice I would give to our leaders and the people who will be having this discussion with us. Let's advance the agenda, but let's not get it weighted down with too many priorities, which will, I think, at the end of the day, kind of distract from actually getting things done. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

---Applause

Thank you, Madam Groenewegen. Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. To set a course for the future, whether it’s a short or a medium or a long-term one, it really helps me to get a sense of where we could be if I’m able to see the future and then know that I’ll be able to take action on the future. This is the opportunity that I think we’ve been given here. It’s a huge opportunity for ourselves and for our sister territories to really be able to envision and shape and set our sights on who we want to be, where we want to go, how we want to work and understand each other, and how we’re going to set our relationships up with the rest of Canada and the rest of the world. So it really is a great opportunity. Probably a better than once-in-a-lifetime chance for a part of Canada to say here is where we want to go and to have the attention of the senior level of government and I think, along with that, of our partners in the other provinces.

So I embrace this but, at the same time, I don’t want to oversell it either, to myself or anybody else. This isn’t as if we’re getting a blank cheque and we can write it ourselves. In outlining these objectives and these visions and the dreams along with that, we’ve got to realize that we’ll have to take responsibility and accountability for what we do in order to get there. Not attaining the kind of things we might want to do is going to be as much our fault or our problem as anybody else’s. Really this is an exercise for us to leave the nest, if you will, leave the den, go out into the real world, if you will. In so many ways for the time that we’ve been the Northwest Territories, we have not been living the same style or have the same kind of conditions or opportunities placed on us that the rest of Canada does. We really have a lot of artificiality here. I would really like to get away and get out from underneath it and this is a chance to say to ourselves and the rest of Canada, here’s how we’d like to do it.

Mr. Chairman, seeing the future and being the future is my way of positioning this. What I’d like to do for the next few minutes is give you some snapshots of where I would like to be if I was writing a report on the Northwest Territories 10 years from now.

So here’s a report from the year 2015. The Northwest Territories today is a part of Canada that is free of the Northern Affairs Program…

All right.

---Applause

Back to the future.

...and the old-fashioned, patronizing, colonial mandarins. There are a few of them in Ottawa who I think are the real barriers to us moving along. We’ve had decades of long-distance rule, Mr. Chairman, and on one hand I tend to think if I was in their shoes I’d say, my gosh, after all these years of paying money into that big pink part of the map we’re finally getting a return, do you think I’m going to let any of it go? No. I want to see the coffers of Canada finally repaid by that northern sinkhole up there. But now we’re on the verge of becoming an enormously rich contributor to the rest of Canada. Is either side fair to the other? I don’t think so and that is why we need to cut that connection, get rid of that connection, this Northern Affairs Program. Locate those jobs, not only those jobs, that’s really, Mr. Chairman, a rather technical part of the whole process, but take the mandate and locate it in the hands of the governments in the Territories and the communities and the First Nations in the regions. So that’s one way that I would like to describe what we’d look like 10 years from now.

Mr. Chairman, we’re going to be able to report on the Northwest Territories where individuals and families and communities are back in control of their lives. We are still going to have to deal with the alcoholism and the substance and drug abuse and the temptations of the material world. They’ll all be here with us. This is human nature, but, Mr. Chairman, they’re going to be things that we can manage as a government because we have good systems in place. We have people who are prepared to take responsibility for their actions and we will not have these things crashing and ruining so many of the lives in the communities of the Northwest Territories, which I think is what is happening today.

We will see in 2015, Mr. Chairman, I fervently hope, that we will be able to put the shameful legacy of residential schools behind us. I think this is one of the major contributors to the ills of so many people and communities in the Northwest Territories. We are trying to grapple with that and we’re going to deal with it. Time will be a large factor in how that is healed and not the only one, but I hope that 10 years from now we can say that we really have left most of this behind us and we are able to get on with building our lives.

I hope that 10 years from now, Mr. Chairman, this Assembly, this room, is going to have value and purpose and relevance to the people of the NWT and is seen as a place where we are making a difference in people's lives so that we are respected, we are looked up to, we are a desirable place to come and work. We’re not there right now, Mr. Speaker. This institution has got some room to grow and improve.

I hope that along with that we will see a workforce that gets satisfaction and rewards from being in our employ and being at the service of the public for the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Chairman, I hope our lakes and our lands and our waters are cleaner than they are today because the legacies of a lot of old bad practices are with us today. We have the tools at our disposal now to engage in really cleaning them up. I certainly hope we can make that happen and that 10 years from now we can say this is a cleaner land than it is even today.

Mr. Chairman, I hope that, among the regions and the communities and the peoples of the NWT, we aren’t looking at each other as much anymore as being richer or poorer or bigger or smaller or more or less advantaged or disadvantaged than each other. This is a dynamic that occurs in any jurisdiction, but I do hope that we can overcome that. We are all different, we will always be different. We can recognize and even, in a lot of areas, celebrate those differences, use them to our advantage, Mr. Chairman. I really hope that we can avoid the temptation to dominate one or another because of our geography or our size or our mass or our wealth and that we will be good neighbours and we won’t be competing so much.

I’d like to see, Mr. Chairman, that the NWT and Nunavut and the Yukon will emerge as truly contributing parts of Canada and not just in a physical way, but as part of the fabric and colour and the grit and the texture of what Canada has become and has the potential to be. Not, as I said earlier, just as this big pink part of the map that sucks up so much southern texture and money. I believe there’s an awe and a pride in this land and I think we have a requirement, Mr. Chairman, to live up to that.

I see the NWT in 10 years, Mr. Chairman, as a place that has a new name and an identity that really does reflect who we are and what we want to be that projects our image to ourselves certainly, but also to the rest of Canada and the world. I am not going to get into what the new name should be right now. I’m not going to bite on that one. But, in 2015, Mr. Chair, we are going to have a new name. My colleagues, Mr. Chair, are suggesting that we call it Bill. Why don’t we call it William? Mr. Chair, I hope that our cultures, artisans and creators can live in a place where they can flourish and grow. The health of any society, I believe, can quite quickly and accurately be gauged by the health and state of its arts and artisans. Our languages, music, traditions, both traditional and aboriginal, and those of other Canadians who live here now in Yellowknife boasts more than 100 nationalities living in the city. Is it 107? There are 117 languages I am hearing, Mr. Chair! That is extraordinary. Among our population, we count one-third our aboriginal people. Yellowknife is the biggest aboriginal community of the NWT.

I am getting all sorts of suggestions here, Mr. Chair. But the point is that when we create an environment where our arts, cultures and traditions are strong and they flourish, the rest of our society is probably very healthy as well.

Finally, Mr. Chair, the world hungers today for our oil and gas. Let’s do the best we can to gain from it. But let’s be ready, Mr. Chair, to take up a much bigger challenge. That would be when the world starts to hunger for our vast resources of fresh water. That, Mr. Chair, I am convinced will be struggle, a battle we must start to prepare for right away because it would be the biggest test of all of our unity, resolve and commitment to ourselves, to our environment and to the rest of Canada. That is the report from 2015. Thank you, Madam Chair.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Braden. We have Mr. Zoe next.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, on the issue of the Northern Strategy that we are anticipating to develop, I echo a lot of stuff that is in the Premier’s Minister’s Statement 86-15(3) that was given in the House, but I think the framework that he made reference to has a number of visions, principles, goals and objectives. It is for the three territories to develop. I am not sure, even if we do develop this Northern Strategy, the three governments at the end of the day will have to agree to the final document.

Now, in terms of priorities for the pan-territorial stuff, I am not sure if the other two governments would have the same priority as us. We may differ. I don’t know how it is going to turn out at the end of the day, if we are going to agree on these pan-territorial issues. That is one concern I have. Nevertheless, with these goals and objectives that are in the framework, I agree. But I think, we, as the Territories, have to identify our own priorities versus Nunavut and the Yukon because we are all different. There might even be subheadings for different regions; for instance, gas and oil, diamonds or whatever we come up with. So there has to be a specific category for each of the territories and their priorities. There are a lot of these headings that are the goals and objectives that are in the framework I agree with. But there are going to be more subheadings within those areas.

I know that we are moving in the right direction. It is going to take us a lot of work. I don’t know if we are going to conclude what the Prime Minister said hopefully by 2006. We are starting now. The funding that was given to us when they launched the strategy, this initiative, is not going to be in place until some time in June I believe. Our portion of it is around $40 million. We still haven’t decided how we are going to utilize that. Are we going to support all the stakeholders? Are we going to use some of this money to get input from the stakeholders, the municipal and band councils, or the Aboriginal Summit? I am not sure. These are questions that need to be answered. There are a lot of issues pertaining to developing this Northern Strategy. It has to be a comprehensive one because this is for the medium and long-term plan for the three territories as it stands now under that framework agreement that has been submitted here. I think our government has to take the initiative right now to start putting discussion papers or the first document out for further discussion with our northern leaders.

The direction that is being anticipated now is that we are going to do that as our government. We want to make sure that the stakeholders have enough time to look at whatever document we come up with ahead of time, but they need resources. I am not sure if our government has considered how we are going to help the stakeholders, because they need people to take a look at it. They are going to develop their own priorities based on the framework that is out there and what we give them as we see as the government. So they have to analyze all those, and they have to come up with their own document for their own organization, region or plan on these priorities for them. So we need resources. I am just wondering, Mr. Chair, if our government is going to be providing those types of resources to the stakeholders. That is one thing that has to be determined now before we start getting into asking our organizations and stakeholders to have their input. A lot of these stakeholders don’t have the money to undertake this type of initiative on their own. Money is always tight in that respect.

The priorities for our government, like gas and oil, I agree with. Also revenue sharing, devolution and working with our northern aboriginal governments which is going to be key for us to develop our comprehensive strategy for us here in the Territories. It is going to take a lot of people, consultation and work put into this strategy. It might not be done within a year. I think it might take a little longer if we are going to do a thorough, comprehensive Northern Strategy only for us here in the Territories. I am not sure how quickly for the other two territories, but, at the end of the day, the three governments would have to sit down and agree to what is in that particular strategy. Hopefully the Government of Canada would look at this strategy and say this is what the people of the North, the three northern governments want and let’s see how we can help them with their aspirations. It is going to take us a lot of time, effort and resources.

I agree with all of the other comments that Members made. It is going to be individual people who want to have comments and input. It is going to be a challenge, not only for us but for the three territories that will put this comprehensive Northern Strategy in place. We have to do a thorough work to make it very comprehensive because it is not only for today or next year or the year after, it is for the long term. It is for our generations to come, so we have to do as much as we can to make sure that we cover everything within this strategy. Mahsi.

---Applause

Mahsi, Mr. Zoe. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will add a few comments onto this. I like what I see in a lot of this. I kind of look at everything in black and white. I think things are usually pretty simple, like Mrs. Groenewegen has said. One of the things that I like here is this resource revenue sharing. I am reading here where 100 percent of the royalties go back to Ottawa. I don’t agree with them. This is our territory. These are our resources. The benefits from these resources should stay here. I think this government has actually taken it upon themselves to try and make sure that the resources stop here and people of the Northwest Territories benefit. I commend them for that. I think that they will be able to accomplish that. I read in here with interest where it says the lands are administered by the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs. We don’t use that the word anymore. That is an old word. It is just a lot of things in here that I see. Like I said, I see everything in black and white. I don’t like the fact that we are continually being tied in with the other two territories. I like to think that we are the Northwest Territories; we are not the pan-territories. However, other than that, most of the things that I see in here I like. This is something that will be getting looked at by the leaders throughout the Northwest Territories. With the leadership that we have in the Beaufort-Delta, I am sure they are going to be more than happy to give us their point of view. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you. I have just a few comments. For the vision of the Northwest Territories, I was really curious in terms of seeing if our government will ask some of our elders. Now, I can see clearly the vision. Now, I see. Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger…

---Laughter

…to ask our elders to ask about the visions for the Northwest Territories. Our elders have always given us visions and stories about our land and people. They have a vision about the Mackenzie River. They have a vision, believe it or not, about the pipeline. My grandmother talked about the cruise missiles coming through the Mackenzie Valley way before it came down the Mackenzie Valley. They had stories. It would be very interesting in this government here to ask our elders, who have some special knowledge about this land -- we’ve been here for thousands of years -- to ask them what their thoughts are on the vision for the North. They surely can help us about the land, especially about how we take care of it and how we are supposed to take care of the land in light of the development that is going to come down here. I guess I would like to see if this Northern Strategy process would incorporate some of our elders, a special room that would give us some stories to help us. I think that is one of our keys here, is to get the elders involved in this process here. Right down the Mackenzie Valley, we have wonderful old people who have stories, visions and prophets, things that would happen for the Northwest Territories.

What are we to expect in the life of this government? I certainly would like to see some development happening in our region in terms of possibly a two-lane highway in the Sahtu to Tuktoyaktuk in terms of infrastructure. Health services for our people in the small community, maybe our vision is in Colville Lake, we can see the doctor more than what happens now. We see a dentist twice a year in Colville Lake. Maybe we can see them longer. Those old people there really look forward to the vision of the North. Mr. McLeod said that there are lots of resources here. How come some of our communities don’t see some of the services that other regions take for granted? That puzzles them. Those things that we look forward to, in terms of some of the basic needs in our communities, that the other centres take for granted. That is just the way it is. But, hopefully, we could change that around, that our old people could stay in the region rather than fly out. So those are the things that mean a lot.

That is why I say, Mr. Chair, that when we look towards our leaders and Ministers, people back home say those are our leaders. We have to support them. You ask us, we give you words. That is what they told me back home. You are our leaders, so we give you words. The same thing goes back to our Ministers. They are our leaders. They are the ones that are working on our behalf. So I am glad that Mr. Handley had this discussion here in terms of a strategy for the vision of the Northwest Territories. They are asking us what the vision is for the Northwest Territories. What are you guys doing? What is our vision? They have all these resource developments. We have all of these things going in the Northwest Territories. Give us something to look forward to. We can say with pride, maybe down in Ottawa, maybe down in our communities, we can say this is what we plan for the Northwest Territories. What do you think about this? They have to look for something to keep going. We have the Mackenzie gas project possibly coming through. We are not too sure if it is certain yet, but there are lots of good talks of it coming through. People want to see something of benefit from that project. I am more interested to see what kind of results you get from the discussions from the communities and from my elders. You have to get to the elders. I don’t know how you are going to do it, to listen to them. There are not many of us in the Northwest Territories. We are very close in terms of our families. But the smaller communities really want to see the basic needs at least being met. That is what I want to say, Mr. Chair. Thank you.

---Applause

Mahsi, Mr. Yakeleya. Does the committee agree that consideration of Ministers’ statements…Oh, Mr. Premier. Sorry.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just wanted to make some closing comments on this discussion we had this afternoon. I want to say, first of all, that I really do listen carefully and will read Hansard very carefully on the good comments that were made today. I think that was a good discussion, the kind of discussion that I hope we can have more often because there are many things going on in this territory and in the North that we have no control over, whether it is by big multinationals or whether it is by other governments or whatever there may be. We are not in control of it. I don’t feel that we have to control everything, but we have to be part of everything. We have to understand what is going on. It makes me very uneasy if we are just drifting along with the development. It used to be that development just happened incrementally. You found another patch of good land, farmers moved there and then they moved further north and further west. In our territory, it was we would find another mine or another pool of gas and you would have development that way. I believe we have an opportunity to manage that.

There are a few people who talked about some good practical suggestions that stood out, like the trust fund. Many of you mentioned the cost of living, a common thread we have here as northerners.

When we first began to look at the strategy, I thought we did, as a Legislative Assembly, work on our own NWT strategy as our guidance for the life of our government. I believe that’s a good document. When we started to look at the North, and I had discussions with the Prime Minister going back over a year ago, we realized that the North is not just the Northwest Territories, just Yukon or Nunavut or just a combination of those three. There are many issues that affect all of us, so it was necessary to look at some things that were pan-territorial and say we can’t talk about a climate change strategy or an energy strategy or sovereignty or security as just being Northwest Territories. We need to look at some of those things pan-territorial, but there are some things that are specific to our territory.

I see this document we will develop this spring as a first cut of a strategy as being one that will have a chapter or chapters on pan-territorial issues, but there will, very clearly, be a chapter on the Northwest Territories. As Members have said, we are quite different than Nunavut or Yukon. So there would be a chapter on the Northwest Territories, a chapter on Nunavut and a chapter on the Yukon.

Why include the other territories into the strategy? Well, it is because of the pan-territorial vision we need to have, a northern or arctic vision. Also because as one territory talking about its own issues, we may feel it’s really big but when we look at all the priorities the federal government has, we are just a small piece of the whole agenda. So how do we make our issues into a major force in Ottawa? That is to talk about the North as a northern unit, because that’s how the Prime Minister sees it. I am very happy with the extent to which the Prime Minister has bought into this and the extent to which he understands the pan-territorial issue, but he also understands the individual territories are very, very different and that one size doesn’t fit all. We are going to have to do things different for us than the way you do it in the Yukon or Nunavut.

The other one is we look forward. We are very lucky because today it’s us. We are riding the top of the wave in terms of economic development and lots of exciting things on the political front. Tomorrow it might be the Yukon, it could be Nunavut. So we will go through these things, but I think we have to work together with our northern partners on it.

Not only do we work with northerners, we also work with the Council of the Federation, that’s with all the Premiers across the country. A few years ago, we moved from the kids’ table to the big table. Other Premiers don’t talk about the Premier of the Northwest Territories or Yukon as government leaders anymore. They talk about us as Premiers. We get exactly the same rights at the table as they do. They support us on our issues. We support them on their issues. I think by working together, that common thread we talked about goes further than just in the Northwest Territories. It’s a common threat right across the North. I believe we have more clout nationally and globally if we talk about the North as a place that we all live and we can all work together at.

Hear! Hear!

So we will put together a strategy this spring. I am determined that we have something that we can take back. I like Mr. Yakeleya’s comments about the elders, that they have vision. I don’t know if it’s something that comes from age. When you are young, you think you are invincible and life goes on forever, and as you get older you start thinking about what purpose you have served. How do I make a lasting difference that’s going to go on? Maybe it’s partly my age that lends me to want to have our government leave a vision that has some impact over the longer term. We are only here for four years and then somebody else comes along and we don’t want to be just moving all over the place. We need a plan where we are going. Part of that has to be with other territories. Part of it has to be on our own.

It is about getting food and shelter and protection, but a strategy goes a lot further than that. Those are the basics. What we are talking about as we develop the strategy is the right of our people in the Northwest Territories, and in the North generally, to have equality with all Canadians. For us, as a government, to have the resources to be able to deliver the same kind of quality of programs and services as Canadians get anywhere else, that’s what people want. That often goes beyond the basics. We all, as Canadians, have an equal right to benefit from the wealth in this country and the rights we enjoy in this country. We will do it a little differently in Quebec than we do in the Northwest Territories or Newfoundland, but we all have a right to that. You shouldn’t have to live a second-class life just because you live in the North or you live in a small community or you live in a community where it isn’t right on a mine site or next door to a mine or a pipeline or something. That is what we should strive for in our Northern Strategy.

Environment is important, in my mind. That’s critical. That lasts forever, but we sure change it a lot. We need to manage how development happens and we need to clean up the messes that have been there and we need to manage how that environment is going to be managed in the long term. You know non-renewable resources don’t come back, but we don’t want to live in a wasteland.

Sovereignty issues are important and we need to look at that. That’s a pan-territory one, as is environment, in my view, because both of them go beyond any borders. None of us want to see somebody else having the right to just go in and occupy a piece of land because they want to get the resources off it, nor should they have the right to have missiles whizzing down the valley or going over our territory, nor should we be having ships travelling through the Northwest Passage without ever asking or having regulations. Those are things that are important to us too, on environment and sovereignty.

Another one that’s very important, in my mind, is climate change and energy. When I met with the western Premiers last June or July, one of the things that I was very happy that we achieved was having an agreement among all the western Premiers on a Western Energy Alliance. I think it was Mr. Braden who gave me a copy of the Globe and Mail where the Yukon called for an arctic energy strategy. We are doing things, but we are doing it a little bit piecemeal here. So we need to bring this together as territories.

I think we have been sort of, to some extent, used by some people in the South. Not intentionally in an abusive way, but we have been on things like health research, as an example. Why aren’t we leaders on health research? Why aren’t we doing northern health research ourselves? Aboriginal people have lived here for a long time with traditional medicine, but you don’t see it in our health system. It’s all southern pills. Why aren’t we doing research. Why do have people come here for the summer and do fieldwork on us and then go home and write their papers? We should be taking control of issues like that. Maybe not just us as the Northwest Territories, but maybe in cooperation with other territories.

There are a lot of areas where we need not just food and shelter, but we need control of our own lives. We need to control what’s going on around us. We certainly need the support of the big industry and their development and ability to generate an economy. We need the federal government, as well, with their role in this country of ours and their ability to move things. We need the Prime Minister. So this document I see is one that is a combination of putting together a strategy for us in the Northwest Territories and for each of the other northern jurisdictions to do the same, and also to deal with some of these pan-territorial issues, and then to develop action plans that will say here's how we're going to clean up these environmental sites, here's how we're going to take control on the health side, here's how we're going to manage our economic development, our regulatory business. But that's the kind of document I see.

I very much see this, as well, Mr. Chairman, as a living document. I don't think we plan to prepare a strategy this spring and it comes out in a nice, fancy bound copy and then that's the end of it and it's the strategy. I think this will change, and it's a document that we should be talking about and elders should be talking about and school children should be talking about, about where it's taking us.

As I said in my introductory comments, we have an obligation for those very specific things that our constituents need right now, but we are the leaders who are going to have to take charge of the big vision of where we're going. We're the ones who present the whole territory and we need to do it, of course, with the regional and community people, but it's us who have that responsibility.

I want to say, Mr. Chairman, I really appreciate the comments today. I think it's a good beginning of discussions on our strategy. Like everyone else, I look forward to moving ahead with this, moving ahead with some of the stuff we've started like the plan to move on the April 6th Ottawa trip. I think when we do the briefing on devolution, you will find that it's moving. These are not things we've been talking about for a long time with no progress. I think we are, as a government, making some good progress on these things, and I'll be pleased to share that with you as we continue on. I'm determined that we will keep the Prime Minister to his word, and I know he's determined to keep to his word too, so here's our opportunity. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

---Applause

Thank you very much, Mr. Premier. Does the committee agree that consideration of Ministers' statements 86-15(3), 88-15(3), 89-15(3), 90-15(3) and 91-15(3), and Tabled Document 108-15(3) are concluded?

Agreed.

Agreed. I would like to thank you very much. Consideration of these documents is concluded and we will call for a short recess. Thank you.

---SHORT RECESS

Welcome back, committee. I will call Committee of the Whole back to order. We are on the NWT Housing Corporation. I will ask Minister Krutko if he would like to bring in his officials. Is the committee agreed?

Agreed.

Thank you. Then I will ask the Sergeant-at-Arms, if he would please escort the witnesses to the table. We are on general comments.

Mr. Minister, would you please introduce your witnesses, for the record? Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Madam Chair. To my left is Mr. Jeff Anderson, chief financial officer; on my right is the president of the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Fred Koe.

Thank you. First on the list for general comments, I have Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you, Madam Chair. When I was first elected, they said housing would be one of my biggest files and it certainly has been and continues to be to this day. In fact, I just got another letter today that I would like to table.

---Laughter

There is a young family making a low income. They are living in an old house and want some help, but we can’t help them. I don’t know what happened to our program to help young families who want to do things by themselves, Madam Chair. That’s kind of touchy when I get a letter like that.

So somehow our programs have gravitated away from social housing and it’s something that I have been pressing, especially in this sitting of the Legislature. I don’t know when or where it was that government decided to get away from social housing. I don’t know how it came to be, but the fact remains that the people in the communities expect it and want it. If we are going to be a consensus government and listen to the people, then we are going to have to listen to them. They want social housing. They want programs like this to help out young families who want to renovate or get into new housing who have low income. That’s the reality that’s out there. Not everyone is making a good income and we gear all the programs towards them. We have EDAP and the rest of them. Not everyone can afford to buy a house in the communities. I don’t know if they will be able to for a long time to come, Madam Chair.

I would like to urge the Minister to look at this and to seriously consider it. In fact, people are saying I am building a half house too. They come from the era when we had the HAP program, the Housing Assistance Program. People are just looking for help for their electrical, or for the plumbing or shingles, or the windows and doors which are very expensive nowadays. They are just looking for assistance to help them build the rest of their house, Madam Chair. Yet we don’t have a program for that anymore. I believe it’s detrimental to our communities, our people and the young people in the smaller communities. In larger communities, it's not that noticeable, but in smaller communities it certainly is.

I don’t know how we are going to do it, but I will continue to urge this government towards social housing. At least in my riding, they are asking for social housing and I think we should listen to that and design something around that and use some of our resources. We have a bit of a window, so maybe we could do it for them.

Right now, the core needs are so high we are going to have to alleviate what we can right off the bat, just like for the community of Trout Lake. We are scheduling one house a year because they are a very small population. This year alone, we have three or maybe four young families who want their own accommodations and want to take on the responsibility of owning a house. We just cannot do it. If we are able to design a program right off the bat and put in four-plexes or six-plexes into communities and alleviate those core needs right off the bat and address four needs at once would be a very good use of our resources, Madam Chair. I would like the corporation to look at that because it would alleviate four families in Trout Lake and that takes care of everybody’s needs. If you don’t today, then it makes the need look that much more dire. So that’s how much of a big impact we can have in a small community like that.

It’s the same in Fort Simpson. The needs are high there. I noticed that in the capital plan, I think they want to do four units in a couple of years from now and six units three years from now. If there is a way, Madam Chair, that we can switch those long-term plans around and get those six units this fiscal year or the next fiscal year, we will get a bit of a jump on it. The way that inflation is, even though inflation looks low, every year that we put things off, things are costing more and more and has a big impact on the way we do business. In fact, just in Fort Liard alone the plan is to spend $2 million there and I am glad that we are going to do it all at once instead of waiting, because it is going to cost us that much more. To do a frame house nowadays is really expensive. I think we are being charged about $200,000. It never used to be that way. We used to build a frame house for $100,000, but for whatever reason the market is depressed so it is costing much more to build these same houses. If we can address those needs right away, that is one way of getting a jump on the forced growth that is happening.

Speaking of Fort Liard, Madam Chairperson, I mentioned we have a $2 million program going in there and the Minister is well aware and has been working with the community of Fort Liard. We do have to design the program, we have to get a competent manager in there and we need lots of inspections, we need adequate inspections to go in there as we are retrofitting, as we are building, as we are catching up to Fort Liard again. Because with $2 million, it would be a shame not to do it properly and waste all that money and resources that Fort Liard has an opportunity to rebuild or rebase their community in terms of homes and housing.

There again, I would throw that out as well. Let’s catch up to them. Liard has got a great need, let’s do four-plexes or six-plexes. Let’s get them in there. Let’s use economies of scale so that as we are building, we can address as many needs as we can right off the bat.

I was thinking today, it’s been a while since I spoke about mould.

---Laughter

That is a huge impact that Fort Liard has and the reason why we are spending so many resources there is that we have to address it. I am not too sure what the department is doing there, but I was talking to a fellow back in Fort Simpson during my last visit and he said, look I’ve got this machine that helps kill the mould dead cold, it actually kills them and you can paint on it. What we have been doing in the past is that we have been painting over the mould and not seeing it, but it is still alive. This guy says that he has got a machine that actually kills the mould. I said that’s nice, I wonder if the corporation is aware of it. But it’s just taking little unique ideas like that and actually exploring them and seeing if there are some facts behind what he is talking about and test it. Where to better test it than Fort Liard? I would urge the department to at least look at that because if that is true, then they are going to save a lot of money because the mould is into a lot of wood and a lot of drywall. We are talking about actually tearing it out and if there is a way to save it and not actually have to tear walls out, Madam Chairperson, then I am certain that it is going to reduce the cost.

That is one way, especially in Fort Liard, that I see it happening. I have been working with the department too, to set up a project interim manager for a couple years to oversee this project. It’s $2 million but, I’m not too certain about the plan of attack. Perhaps the Minister can address that for me. As well, I know a lot of it is into repairs, some may in fact be new units as well as some suggestions like let’s do a four-plex or six-plex. I know that having a housing authority or a housing society is an important aspect of the department being able to assist the community. I’m not sure what stage that is at, if they are able to negotiate this contract for Fort Liard.

Even though we are building all these houses, Madam Chairperson, another thing that concerns me is that we are taking people that have been in low rental or rental units for so long, that when they do finally move into houses of their own, they do not have the skill set to take care of their own homes. For whatever reason -- and I don’t want to belittle these people -- they get caught up in having others take care of their plumbing needs or their repair needs. I spoke to the Minister about actually doing a home maintenance program before we transfer these people over. Some people love that kind of stuff, they have been in the maintenance field or they’ve had a home before and this is a new home so they know how to take care of a home, but for the most part we see lots of homes getting destroyed quickly and I think that is part of it. The little holes that are happening are not being patched right away, they are just letting it add up and then the home gets damaged rather quickly and it’s just hole after hole and then that whole room or that whole wall looks horrible.

It’s just teaching them the basics and I know it’s not going to be one time only, it will have to be an annual event. Perhaps I will just stop here now, Madam Chairperson, and let other committee members refer to the opening comments of the Minister. In fact, if the Minister can address some of the concerns that I did bring up. Thank you.