Mr. Speaker, in fact, the people of the Northwest Territories have very little ability, except through conservation, to affect the rates that they are going to pay. I’m not really sure what the going and listening to people in all the communities...We know what they’re going to say. They’re going to say that the cost of energy in their community is too high and it’s our job as a government to figure out a way that we can offset that.
Maybe we need to look at our Territorial Power Subsidy Program. Maybe we need to look at energy conservation measures. But to have all of these reviews running concurrently, and a lot of the work that they’re proposing to do in the terms of reference has already been done. In the review to consider electricity rates have there not been previous reports done that have extensively canvassed that particular topic and are available to us without going back out and reinventing this?
The work that needs to be done in a number of areas, we have heard from the constituents and from this Assembly who said things have to be done. The status quo wasn’t good enough anymore, so the Ministerial Energy Coordinating Committee looked at the broad structure of rates and how they’re applied. So for example, yes, past Assemblies have talked about one-rate zones. Should we talk about a conservation zone or rate that would be applied equally across the Territory? How would that be taken by the people of the North? Should we in fact, as this government is looking at through this budget exercise, put in $60 million to look at alternative energies which would stabilize rates and maybe even affect some lower rates in our communities? The bigger piece then goes to the Power Corporation itself, which is, is it operating the most efficiently and effectively? How can it be done better? Is that structure the right structure? That’s the work that has to be done internally on that piece.
As the Member had pointed out, if we are looking at automobiles and we want to sell that automobile or if we want to keep it longer, first thing we have to do is get it in the shop and do an estimate of what needs to be repaired, how should it be fixed, should we tune it up, does it need new tires. There are those questions we need to ask ourselves and then we get to the point of how much money do I have in my pocket. Can I replace one or four tires? Should I do a tune-up at the same time to replace the spark plugs? That’s the work we’re doing right now.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. Final supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The analogy that the Premier goes on about extensively is a good analogy. That’s why I think there should be a sequence and order to these reviews. If the NTPC is a delivery vehicle for power to people in the Northwest Territories, let’s review that first before we put the ad in the bargain finder and start trying to figure out how much we’re going to sell the Power Corporation for.
There comes a point when we look at all things, and I’ll go back to my history as working in a shop. When we have a vehicle that’s been with us for quite some time and the maintenance side starts to catch up and we have to do some major replacements, and we’re trying to look to the future as to will this vehicle carry us where we need to go, we do need to do some repair on that piece. Before we make that final decision, can I hang onto this for another 10 years, five years, or should I polish this thing up and put it up for sale? That’s a decision we have yet to get to. There is an order and sequence, as I stated. The rates regulation piece will be looked at and reported back in June. The NTPC review will come back in the summer. And we’ll come back with our first phase review of the proposal that was put on our table. At that point we’ll have a decision of should we move to the next phase and how much effort will we put into it. If we’re going to move to that next phase, then we will have to come forward with a budget to this Assembly about taking a very serious look at our options.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, have questions regarding the Power Corporation. I’ll point out that the Premier quite lively created an analogy of a car. I’ll tell you, the problem with this car is it’s full of Bondo and it’s because the driver has driven it into the ground. It’s the driver that’s the problem. The fact is, there is no direction on this.
I’d like to hear from the Premier where the terms of reference are on these reviews and how they plug into each other. Because they seem to just go haphazardly into it and will converge eventually, and don’t worry, we’ll figure it out. Well, will the Premier explain how they work together and will he also offer to table those terms of reference in this House?
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Premier, Mr. Roland.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have, quite a number of times when we present ideas and information, met with Members sometimes in committees to try to give information on where we can go. I’m not sure where the Member is at different times, but he’s aware that we have talked about some of these things. We have laid out some of our processes and I have committed to come back to Members at the next stage. We have frameworks in place and we’re working on those final terms of reference. I committed to get back to committee with those pieces. The Member is aware of them. This talking about Bondo and so on and so forth, well, you can play on words, but the simple fact is here is an opportunity for the big picture. Whether it’s this government or the next government, people are calling for cheaper energy to be supplied. So we have to put the pieces in place. We have to plant the seed. We have to do the work so the right decisions can be made. This work is laying that foundation of what can come next and the possibilities of what can come next.
I finally understand it. We have Stevie Wonder over there driving the car. That’s why it’s so banged up. No one knows where they’re going. So I only mean it as someone blind is driving this car in the context of the analogy. The fact is, nobody knows where these plug in and are hoping like heck they are not going to be the solution. Would the Premier put a halt to this, come up with a terms of mandate and show where this plan is going, where this car is going, for better power, better solutions in northern hands?
If I could sing I might try to do something here. The simple fact is I don’t know what car the Member has jumped in. He’s obviously heading down the wrong road.
We have an opportunity through this work to set the course for ourselves and the future generations of the Northwest Territories. We talk about cleaner energy, cheaper energy, and the abundance in the Northwest Territories. We have a huge abundance in the Northwest Territories that can offer cheaper, cleaner energy. How do we get there? The work that is laid out here will help us get there. I believe that and I want to make sure that we investigate all opportunities, because the existing situation that we have today, if we continue to work around that existing framework, I can guarantee you an outcome and it won’t be much different from where we are today.
See, the Premier just doesn’t get it. The fact is, we have all been here for years and have been saying the power rates are too high. I’m not sure where he’s been. Maybe he’s going down the wrong road. The fact is, we’ve been saying the organization is the problem. Everything’s the problem. I’m not sure what information you’re going to get that we haven’t been saying here for years. We have honourable Members who have been struggling for years, including yourself when you were on this side of the House, to raise these issues. So if you’re going to create a discussion just to talk, I don’t see any use of it.
If your intent is to parcel off the NWT Power Corporation what work has been considered in the context of making it northern owned by approaching maybe the, an example like the APG? Approaching our northern development groups to say, look, if we want it northern owned, northern controlled, let’s work with Northerners to do this, rather than giving it to some multinational who’s out for the long run for themselves.
Even the Member said he’s not sure, so I think this work will help us to be sure of the next steps we need to take. In fact, if the Member went through Hansard he would know in some responses I’ve made already around the Power Corporation if there’s been other proposals. When I met with the regional aboriginal leaders I said, here’s an opportunity. If you want to put in a proposal we’re open to looking at that. The opportunity is there and we’re trying to create that environment so that we do have the best opportunity before us of supplying clean energy, cheap energy, and it makes living affordable in the Northwest Territories. Where we’re going, the work we’re doing, is all in place. If we’re going to stop because of some issues of misunderstanding or jumping in the wrong vehicle or facing the wrong direction on the horse, we’ll help set him straight.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If the work is done and the work is in place and the work is in gear, whatever analogy the Premier wants to use, then would the Premier table the terms of reference and the mandate of all these three entities and show how they converge for long-term better power to all Northerners?
As I committed to Members when I met with them last, as we develop those and get closer to them I’ll sit down with Members and go through that with them and show them where that work is.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to ask some questions to the Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation. This time of the year the NWT Housing Corporation has application deadlines for homeownership programs. Depending on which community, these deadlines may vary. In many cases residents are not fully aware of the deadlines. My question is in regard to a communication strategy. Can the Minister tell this House if the Housing Corporation has a communications strategy for its homeownership program in the application phase?
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Michael McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Communication of our programs is indeed an area that we have been trying to focus on in the last few months. We’ve really been working towards trying to set up a system where the people in the communities would be more aware of what our deadlines are, what’s really in our new Housing Choices programs. Currently we have embarked on informing the Members that the deadline is soon approaching, if not already in most communities, to put in their applications for the different programs. This has also been put in the newspapers so that the general public is aware. We plan to enhance that strategy come April 1st. We are currently working on a new system so that we’ll have our regional staff in the communities talking more about specific program information. I was made aware many times that the housing information is not getting to all the communities, so we are trying to step it up a bit and will be launching an intense program April 1st.
Many of my constituents speak aboriginal languages and aboriginal languages are their first language. They’re not familiar with some of the legal and technical terminology, even things like inspections, applications, leases. My question is, can the Minister tell me what extra efforts, if any, the NWT Housing Corporation staff do to address that very important component of the client relations?
This is a very important part of our being able to communicate with the clients and the people that come forward to apply for our programs. We certainly make notices given that if there is a requirement for an interpreter, we can certainly facilitate that. We try to ensure that our technical people at the community level and regional level are able to communicate and be able to provide information. We have new programs that can walk people through the different steps available through the budgeting process, through the banking, through the credit systems, all the different components that involve house purchases. And also to be able to live in our home rental houses.
Maybe that’s supported lease. I think an orientation program is very important when clients are signing documents. I know of a case recently where an elder did not sign documents and at the end of the day that person was one signature away from the family owning a house because the elder passed away without signing the document. However, my question for the Minister is when signing documents -- this is now just if the individuals get approval -- is there a guarantee that the individuals understand? Is there any way that the corporation guarantees that individuals understand what they’re signing?
We make every effort to ensure that the client is fully aware of the agreements that they are signing and any kind of arrangements that are done through the Housing Corporation. In terms of how do we guarantee that the elders understand or people understand is a difficult question to answer. The response, I guess, is we do ask the client if they do understand. If there are areas that they are struggling with in terms of comprehension of what it means, then we certainly take the time and effort to make sure it’s explained to them. We really, in the last while, incorporated programs that would explain every aspect of an agreement to our clients and we try to ensure they understand it fully before they make any further arrangements.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the Tu Nedhe communities, the need, the core need -- just going from memory here -- but probably 40 to 50 percent. In Tu Nedhe there are 300 households. So we’re talking about 120 households split between two regional offices: North Slave for Lutselk’e and South Slave for Hay River. My question is, can the Minister tell me if the program staff is able to go door to door for everybody in need in Tu Nedhe during the application phase?
I believe the question is if we have our staff go door to door to see if they’ve all applied. No, we don’t do that.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement I talked about the importance of language and learning the importance of the first language. I want to ask the Minister of Education, in terms of the language programs in the Northwest Territories, if there are plans underway to bridge the gap with language between the home and the school in terms of introducing a strong elders program into the schools where language can be taught with our teachers and the elders involved.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Certainly they are, for a number of years now, developing programs that meet the needs of the communities, whether it be the language, the programming, the cultural on-the-land program, taking students out on the land, and just immersion programs into the schools. Not only that, but we are developing some strategies to deal with our languages and eliminating the educational gaps within our schools in the Northwest Territories. So there are those two strategies in place. We’ve also just developed a strategy on literacy, 2008-2018, that deals specifically with the low literacy skills at the community level. We are in the process of developing those strategies pertaining to language and the educational gaps.
Recently the Minister indicated through his ministerial statement regarding the graduating rates in the Northwest Territories and the gaps between aboriginal and non-aboriginal people. In terms of our languages taught in our schools, can the Minister indicate to me if there is any type of commitment that would strengthen the aboriginal languages in our communities so that we will see this gap closed in terms of having our students graduate with a comfortable level of their first language?
Certainly we’ve heard from visitors in the communities in the regions and coming from the Dene Nation meeting just last week. We’ve heard over and over the importance of preserving and revitalizing our language and enhancing our language. That is certainly one of the prime focuses of our Department of Education and this government. We will certainly do what we can to deal with those strategies. That’s the key message that we’re receiving from the communities. It is our priority to promote that even more into the communities and schools. We’ve certainly talked about using the elders. We have used the elders in the past and will continue to do so. Because this is Aboriginal Languages Month, that is one of the key priorities.
In terms of the languages in our small schools, can the Minister advise me if there is any type of strategy within the next couple of months on how we start bridging the gap with our elders in our schools? I know there’s some discussion, but the elders are the ones who are the keepers of our language. Can the Minister let this House know what type of strategy he can bring forward within the next couple months on how to start implementing the elders into our schools?
Certainly those areas will be captured in the renewing of our Aboriginal Languages Strategy. We will be consulting with the aboriginal stakeholders, the leaders, the parents, the community organizations. Those are the experts at the community level. The 33 communities that we serve we certainly like to hear their input on the challenges. What are the gaps? What are the root causes of the challenges we’re faced with today? We like to hear them out, because we certainly don’t have, as a department, all the answers. So we’re reaching out to the communities to say give us solutions to work from within our department. Certainly that will involve the elders. Members have been persistently involving the elders through the transition and we will continue to do so, to utilize their expertise. We have the published textbook of the late George Blondin and Philip Zoe from Gameti. Those are the publications that we use as resource tools in the schools.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ll ask the Minister in terms of the importance of language in our schools and putting some dedicated dollars towards the language programs and having the elders involved. Can I ask the Minister about his strategy for bringing the elders in? Because right now if you bring the elders into the schools there are some complications in terms of their salary, because they would be penalized by the federal government or our own for having additional dollars. That’s where there are some major issues. Can the Minister indicate to me if there is any type of strategy within the next couple of months on how to get the elders without penalizing them when we bring them into our school system?
Clearly this has been a challenge for us within the school system. We’re trying to tackle that issue. I think out of this strategy certainly that will be one of the key topics of discussion on a going-forward basis. How can we get around hiring elders in the schools without penalizing their pension? Those are the areas. The Member also gave us some ideas on how to get around the system. We’re clearly looking for solutions from the communities on getting around the system. Certainly that will be one of the primary discussions that we’ll be having, so there are no impacts on the elders and seniors in the schools, because we need to utilize their services. They are the experts in the traditional way of life.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for either the Minister of Transportation or Housing, whichever Minister wants to take it. I’ve raised this issue before in the House. It’s about an elderly gentleman in Tsiigehtchic, Mr. George Niditchie, who is 73 years old and just got out of the hospital not that long ago from frostbite, suffered as a result of the problem he’s facing with flooding around his home. His home is across the river from Tsiigehtchic. The problem arises due to overflow coming along the Dempster Highway and down towards his place. I noticed that the overflow is now running over the Dempster Highway. They are now up there with equipment trying to dredge the thing using backhoes and whatnot to get the overflow to flow down the hill. The impact of this decision to reroute the overflow is directly affecting Mr. Niditchie’s home, which was built in 2009 through the Log Home Initiative by this government. It was built with the Housing Corporation’s assistance through this program.
I’d like to ask the Minister if he has an update on what exactly is being done to remedy the situation and also try to find a way around this problem so that Mr. Niditchie does not have to deal with this again this year. I brought this forward in the House last year and it has still not been resolved.
Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for Transportation, Mr. Michael McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member has raised this issue with me on several occasions. It is certainly a concern. We have a senior who has had a lot of problems with the runoff of water from one of the lakes in the area. We’ve directed our staff to look at the possible remedies and I have not heard back. My staff have been working through the Housing Corporation and the Department of Transportation to see what the options are and in what ways we can assist this senior. I have not heard back formally as of yet.
In my discussions with Mr. Niditchie and his family, the ideal solution they would like is to move him and relocate him to the opposite side of the highway, up the hill a bit so it’s off of where this problem is and thereby remedying the problem. The problem is only on one side of the highway. I’d just like to ask the Minister if he would seriously consider looking at that possible option.
Yes, it is one of the options we’re looking at. We also looked at the possibility of looking at a better drainage system or redirecting it and changing some of the culverts so the water would run through. It would be fairly expensive. It looks like, at this point, the easiest solution would be to be able to relocate the building. There are some land issues we need to sort out, but it’s a real possibility that this is the avenue we will go.
I’d like to ask the Minister if it’s possible for his staff either in Transportation or Housing to move on this matter as quickly as possible. I think with the warm weather coming, the problem is going to get worse and I think it’s already bad enough as it is right now. The elderly gentleman did freeze his foot. He has been unable to walk for the last two months. He’s housebound because of the frostbite to his feet because of the overflows. I’d like to ask the Minister if he can also keep myself and Mr. Niditchie in tune on exactly where we’re going with this and try to move on it as quickly as he can.
We certainly can commit to doing that. We also had other discussions with the senior involved, including the possibility of looking at temporary accommodations in a public unit. It sounds, by the Member’s comments, that this was not accepted, so I will commit to having some feedback for the Member as soon as I can get an update from my own staff and provide that to the Member.
