Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Today marks the beginning of the NWT Crime Prevention Conference in Yellowknife, with participants from every community in the Territory. The theme of the conference is Together We’re Better: Preventing Crime in the NWT.
Supported by a grant from Public Safety Canada, this conference is bringing together people from across the Territory, giving them an opportunity to learn from each other and work together to make our communities safer places. We all have an important role in this. We need to work together to make it clear that we will not accept criminal and unwanted behaviour.
Our families need to be safe. This takes strong partnerships between the community, the police and other agencies. Our justice committees have been hard at work developing innovative programs that work well for the people who need them. Our Community Justice Program is one of the most successful in the country. It strengthens the role of local people in prevention and enforcement, and it focuses on promoting personal and family responsibility. It works because it’s community-based.
Jail must be the last resort. In the Northwest Territories, we work with our partners to support alternatives to the formal justice system. Justice committees deal with youth and adult cases using a restorative approach. They administer programs that help offenders address the harm they have caused and give back to their communities. They promote abuse-free, crime-free lifestyles and
activities that lead to healthier relationships and healthier communities overall.
Some of our committees are now also providing victim services. They support victims from the time of the offence for as long as they need help. Some committees are working closely with the local RCMP, probation services and youth agencies.
Mr. Speaker, starting today, representatives from all of our committees will sit down together and talk about what they’re doing. We want to help them to spread the word about what works, so other committees can benefit from their experiences. We want to prevent crime in every part of the Northwest Territories.
I’d like to welcome the participants to Yellowknife. I hope Members are able to take up my invitation to join us at the Explorer Hotel in the Katimavik meeting rooms on the first day of the conference.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Bob McLeod.
Mr. Speaker, today I am pleased to announce the sale of the Rae Lakes General Store Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Northwest Territories Business Development and Investment Corporation, better known as BDIC, to the Tlicho Investment Corporation.
This sale is a win-win situation for all. It is a win for the residents of Gameti as the sale represents significant progress in the evolution of the store by providing employment, economic opportunity and self-sufficiency to the community and its residents. Like other remote communities facing challenges induced by geography, infrastructure and local capacity, the store provides essential products year round. The sale is a win for the Tlicho Investment Corporation as it signifies a strong commitment by the Tlicho Government in investing in its people and communities.
The Tlicho Investment Corporation, an investment arm of the Tlicho Government, has the financial resources, expertise and experience needed in operating businesses. With the ownership of similar stores, the addition of the Rae Lakes General Store Ltd. creates an economy of scale in purchasing and thus allows the products to be affordable for Gameti residents.
Finally, the sale is a milestone for the BDIC in meeting its objective of encouraging economic development and employment opportunities in local communities. The event marks the first time a BDIC subsidiary has obtained self-sustainability. In addition to its business expertise and financial resources, the Tlicho Investment Corporation is committed to developing the human resource needs of the store and supporting the local economic base.
Over the years the BDIC and its predecessor, the Northwest Territories Development Corporation, have provided financial assistance and guidance to the Rae Lakes General Store, allowing it to grow and succeed. The Tlicho Investment Corporation, store management, and the BDIC saw an opportunity for the community to become self-reliant and they made it happen.
At this time I ask that my colleagues join me in congratulating the Rae Lakes General Store’s board of directors and staff, the Tlicho Investment Corporation and the BDIC on their achievement.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. March is National Nutrition Month. Although healthy eating is important all year, March is the month when healthy eating is emphasized and promoted across Canada.
A healthy eating survey was concluded at the end of February. In March, activities will include the promotion of healthy eating in schools through family nutrition fairs in communities. The department will also have nutrition tips posted daily on our website.
The national theme of Nutrition Month is “Celebrate Food...From Field to Table.” This gives us the opportunity to promote the inclusion of healthy traditional northern foods as a way to maintain good nutrition.
We will also be partnering with other organizations in April to promote healthy eating and homegrown foods.
A Foundation for Change Action Plan has a goal of wellness for our communities, families and individuals. It supports individuals to make the best possible choices for themselves and their families.
Healthy eating is a key component to preventing chronic disease and obesity, which has become a major public health concern. In 2008, Stats Canada reported that 51 percent of Canadians were overweight or obese. Obesity leads to chronic disease and poor health. Diabetes is also a concern in the North and it is linked with poor nutrition and lack of healthy lifestyle.
We want to ensure that all Northerners have every opportunity to be physically fit and to choose healthy foods. Our role is to provide proper, sound evidence so people can make healthy choices like fruits and vegetables, some of which can be grown locally in greenhouses or community gardens. Prevention through good nutrition is the key to overall good health. This is essential for the healthy development of our children.
Making healthy choices also empowers individuals and families to have the personal responsibility for self-care and lessening the burden on our health system.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, housing is essential infrastructure in our communities to house our families, our friends and, more importantly, to sustain our communities. But, Mr. Speaker, from the latest report from the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation, statistics on core needs shows that there is definitely a problem with the number of core units that are in core need, especially in my riding where 43 percent of the houses in Aklavik are in core need, 33 percent in Fort McPherson and 41 percent in Tsiigehtchic.
Mr. Speaker, this government provides programs and services to assist residents with housing programs to maintain, insure, upgrade their units, repair their homes to ensure that they are not in core need. Mr. Speaker, what this report shows compared to the last report, which was tabled in 2004, is that, if anything, the core needs have increased rather than decreased.
Mr. Speaker, with the aging infrastructure in our communities, especially in people’s homes, they do have to attract more attention by way of houses in core need. But, Mr. Speaker, programs and services that we have, have to be user friendly. They are not to be bringing barriers where people aren’t able to acquire these programs and make it so restrictive that people aren’t able to be eligible for a lot of these programs especially in small communities. Mr. Speaker, I think it’s essential that we, as government, revamp our programs to make them more user friendly and also make them available to all residents of the Northwest Territories and especially the homeowners that we depend on to stay in the North.
Mr. Speaker, we talk about people and the purpose of having an influx of migration so that people can live in the North, but we can’t forget the people that call the North their home, and one of the biggest investments they make in our communities is their household. I think, Mr. Speaker, it’s important that this government does everything it can to keep these people in our home communities, keep them in their homes, ensure that they have adequate programs and services. So, Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time I will be asking the Minister of Housing exactly why is the report showing that we have such a high number of core need. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the federal government has owned one-third of the Norman Wells oilfield since 1921. Since 1998, the federal government has collected approximately $1.069 billion in profits from Sahtu oil and $174 million in royalties. Imperial Oil profits are twice as much, Mr. Speaker. The federal government also collects taxes on this revenue.
Mr. Speaker, at the same time, the Sahtu region has the second highest percentage of households in core need. People are leaving their homes or people are not getting homes because they can’t find jobs or the cost of living is too high. I can’t imagine what life would be like in my region if those billions of dollars were not being sucked away; or, as we put it, we got the raw deal.
Mr. Speaker, a 1985 document called the NWT Oil and Gas Royalty Regime was tabled in the Legislative Assembly when the Norman Wells oilfield started to be developed. That documented stated: “if the GNWT may be soon receiving, collecting and even setting royalties...” I’d like to know the definition of “soon,” Mr. Speaker. Twice, Mr. Speaker, 25 years later, Mr. Speaker, we have no royalty regime, no revenue-sharing agreements, while the gas flows to Zama, Alberta. Really, the pipeline flows into the pockets of oil tycoons and coffers in Ottawa.
Mr. Speaker, 25 years later this government is preparing a response to recommendations of a report on another major oil and gas development, a development that makes the Norman Wells oilfield look tiny in comparison. Yes, we are negotiating impact agreements; yes, we have signed a socioeconomic agreement, but the benefits of the Mackenzie Gas Pipeline will be peanuts in comparison to the profits that are made by southern companies and the federal government.
The Minister has already said that the GNWT will not be negotiating an equity share. We are not making any visual progress on devolution. Mr. Speaker, once again the people of the Sahtu may be watching more profits and more opportunities go by. That’s $1.6 billion collected by the federal government since 1998 that could have been ours had the federal government been more assertive in negotiating a fair deal when the gas started to flow in 1998. If I had $125 million I would be the federal government walking away from the profits made from the oil in the Sahtu in a single year.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to speak plainly and seek a straightforward conversation about the Minister of Health’s program to develop a new Supplementary Health Benefits Program.
We left this issue over 12 months ago, because basic research had not been done to provide a basis for the government’s decision and approach. MLAs and the public asked that initial research be done and then a meaningful consultation be started. We naively anticipated that research would take a few months, information would come out, and then MLAs and the public could have a back-and-forth interaction with the department, posing questions that would be researched and brought back for further input. What happened?
Over a year passed and suddenly the Minister is desperate to release some research and move to an immediate public consultation before any input from MLAs. This after many had begun to assume supp health had maybe fallen off the Order Paper.
When the Minister released the supp health research, with that she included a surprise announcement of two weeks of public meetings in late March and early April centred on Easter weekend when people will be travelling and focused on family activities rather than going to meetings. At best this reflects a sorrowful lack of understanding about public dialogue.
The Minister is launching these consultations when there is still a checklist of elementary research that needs to be done. I will speak to that in my oral questions briefly. My major point on consultation is that it can only be made meaningful through two-way dialogue. Our best resources for a full and complete review are the smart, experienced members of the public, our seniors and clients with specified medical conditions who are appealing for a meaningful role in this work.
Let’s not repeat yet again the mistakes of the past. Let’s have a meaningful public interaction properly conducted. This would include a presentation and initial response to materials this spring, followed by refined discussions based on new research and insights in the fall, with implementation perhaps April 1, 2011.
After the Deh Cho Bridge, no single issue has excited as much debate as the supplementary health benefits proposals. The Minister should recognize this, act on the valid questions raised, reach out to the resource of public knowledge, and commit to a meaningful period of public engagement.
Mr. Bromley, your time for your Member’s statement has expired.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have community residents in my riding who are in a dire situation and seriously in need of assistance. A group of about 258 families, 800-plus residents, a number higher than the total residents in many NWT communities, live in an area which is essentially an accident waiting to happen; a potentially unsafe, unhealthy environment. I speak of the property owned by the Yellowknife Condominium Corporation No. 8, better known as Northland Trailer Park.
The sewer infrastructure that supplies these 258 homes is 40 years old and, by Canadian standards, should have been replaced 15 years ago. The replacement of these pipes must happen this year. Pipe failures have been occurring on a regular basis for at least 10 years and are now occurring more and more frequently. Just two weeks ago a section of sewer line which supplies 16 homes failed. They are now getting by with a temporary line until the land thaws in a few months and repairs can be made.
In 1990, when the condo was formed, NWT condominium legislation was out of date, weak, and ineffectual. The act did not protect condo owners, did not require either the seller or the buyer to have a reserve fund for large infrastructure replacements, and so none was established. It led to the situation that Condo Corp No. 8 is now in.
Many will say that the City of Yellowknife should take on this financial responsibility, but these pipes are not owned by the city. They are privately owned by the condo corporation. Condo owners can accept some financial responsibility, but the total replacement cost -- $15 million to $18 million -- is too cost prohibitive and totally unmanageable for these 258 homeowners. Who among us could afford an extra $500 per month for 15 years to pay for sewer pipes? Not me, and I imagine not many of you either. That’s what is facing these particular residents.
This area of Yellowknife, which is about 2 percent of our NWT population, really does need help. This really is an emergency situation for which the GNWT so far refuses to accept any responsibility. If it were any other NWT community in such dire straits, would our government continue to ignore the need?
Recently, as we discussed the Municipal and Community Affairs department budget, I asked if all NWT communities received water and sewer services funding. I quote the answer from Minister Robert C. McLeod in Hansard of February 15: “All communities but Yellowknife.” I replied to him that it didn’t seem very fair.
I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted.
The GNWT can correct this unfairness and assist Northland at the same time. We can redistribute the water and sewer funding to include the City of Yellowknife for the life of the replacement project, three to five years. That funding can be used to offset the $18 million project costs.
Northland owners are not looking for a free ride, just some funding help. Without that help these 258 families will in all likelihood walk away from their homes and at least half of them will leave the North because they have no place to live.
Low-cost housing is necessary in Yellowknife and is badly needed. I believe it’s incumbent on this government to provide the help necessary.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have always advocated for affordable power rates for our residents and businesses because energy costs have such an impact on the standard of living of families and the success of businesses. I know that the rates of community residents of Nahanni Butte, Jean Marie River and Wrigley are among the highest in the NWT. These rates hit hard.
This winter residents have told me about monthly rates as high as $600 for a family of four. That is a large part of a family’s disposable income and makes it hard for a family to make ends meet. Yesterday I spoke about a Fort Simpson business in operation for more than two decades that was forced to close down because the owners could not afford to pay the power bill.
Myself and my constituents have always advocated for a one-rate zone. Although this may not be possible at this time, it is still my vision for the future of the NWT.
The Legislative Assembly faces an important challenge as it deliberates over how to restructure our power rates fairly throughout the NWT. We have gathered information from community and stakeholder consultations and I look forward to working with all my colleagues to see how we can improve the situation throughout the North and in Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In Nunakput our elders have worked hard, have lived all their lives, and they’ve been quick to adapt their preliminary lifestyles into modern lifestyles during their time. They had to take care and protect us. Our elders truly lived amazing lives.
In every community in the Northwest Territories our elders deserve a place where they can go for entertainment, visiting, or just for healthy services. My office has received correspondence from the Minister responsible for Seniors in responding to a funding request for the facility in Ulukhaktok and I’d like to thank the Minister for it. However, the rationale indicated says that the needs of the community of Ulukhaktok does justify the expenditure commitment.
During my travels across the Territory I see other communities that are smaller and not so isolated that have received funding for seniors facilities of some sort. I asked the Minister why the discrepancy. Several years ago the community of Ulukhaktok initiated a petition to get this government committed to building a badly needed seniors facility. Today, 2010, only a year left in this government and there’s still nothing. What happened to promises made to the communities during the early years of this government?
Caring for our elders’ health and well-being must be a pillar of this government. The community of Ulukhaktok elders deserve this. We really have to get this done for the hamlet so we can have our elders taking care of them ourselves. I also expressed a growing concern with the trend of government with lack of services to communities and commitments in the future enhancement projects.
Mr. Speaker, even with this enormous difference, this government continues to use formulas such the per capita market conditions when evaluating the need. This is wrong. Ulukhaktok needs an elders facility just as much as Yellowknife, Inuvik and Hay River. As I mentioned in previous Member’s statements during my various leadership positions, I will continue to try to improve the life of my elders.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted.
I will continue to try to improve the lives of my elders.
Once again, I challenge this government to seriously review the needs of our elders to place necessary resources and implement real plans for real changes for our real problems. I will have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m going to speak today about diamonds. Mr. Speaker, my involvement in this file dates back to the beginning of 1998 when, as a newly-elected city councillor, I was appointed to the task force on the development of a secondary diamond industry here in the city of Yellowknife. This task force, in conjunction with the territorial government, was successful at getting a secondary industry established here in Yellowknife.
Over the years, Mr. Speaker, I’ve watched this industry suffer. Mr. Speaker, factories are closing down, the government is losing millions of dollars, has lost millions of dollars, and this, to me, could have been avoided. I hold the Government of the Northwest Territories responsible for letting the industry regress. The last government seemed intent on letting it die, dismantling our diamond division, ignoring a possible sale of the Sirius plant costing us $10 million and, Mr. Speaker, this government, of which we have less than 18 months remaining, continues to neglect the secondary industry.
The policy surrounding the secondary industry has been in existence since 1999. Why is it taking so long to have this policy updated? What is our vision and our direction for our secondary industry? We have people still interested in cutting and polishing diamonds here in the Northwest Territories; they’ve invested hundreds of thousands of dollars and are waiting and waiting some more to understand what the government’s policy is going to be and rules of engagement are going to be for the secondary industry here in the Northwest Territories. These investors can’t wait around forever, Mr. Speaker. Opportunities do exist in other jurisdictions. My fear is they will leave if we do not get our act together.
Mr. Speaker, I was reading an article recently about Botswana, the world’s largest producer of diamonds. Mr. Speaker, Botswana has mined diamonds for decades. They understand, as a government, that one day the mining will stop, that they must diversify their economy. Why is it that if Botswana can figure this out, why can’t our government understand this?
We need to grow our secondary industry. I still believe we should have a bourse here and not in Toronto. In Botswana they have established the Diamond Trading Company Botswana so that diamonds are sorted, mixed and traded in Botswana. Why doesn’t the Government of the Northwest Territories pursue this type of initiative?
Mr. Ramsay, your time for your Member’s statement has expired.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted.
In my years of following this saga, one thing I’ve grown to understand fully is that if you have rough diamonds, you have a captive audience. Seeing as our producing mines have committed 10 percent of their production to local cut and polish production, why don’t we create a Diamond Trading Company Northwest Territories and take control once and for all of our own destiny when it comes to the diamond industry?
Mr. Speaker, we can do so much more. I struggle to understand why we remain, as a government, so complacent, unwilling to unleash the great potential that we have. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I want to express my grave concerns about the actions of the Health Minister with her decision to release information to the public in the context of public consultation about the changes to supplementary health benefits.
Mr. Speaker, many of my constituents say it looks like it’s already a done deal. I have reviewed the material on the Health and Social Services website, and I’ve had feedback from my constituents. If anyone has read the documents, you would know there seems to be many assumptions and leading information that relates to the direction of the supplementary health benefits and which way it will be going. Some of the pretty obvious statements are the department will implement an income test program; that the implementation will happen September 2010; that many Northerners will be able to access their supplementary health benefits from third-party providers. Mr. Speaker, not to mention the sad fact that Regular Members only had information on what would be happening just the day before this release started.
As we all know, the Minister will hold town meetings and talk to regional centres throughout the NWT in March and April with her new vision of the rollout of the program, which is coming in September. But, Mr. Speaker, is this consultation just for consultation sake? Is this a process just to shoehorn our seniors into a direction that the department has already made clear that they’re going in? Why do we need an implementation date as opposed to just a consultation framework process, and then let that process drive the implementation date? Does the Minister believe that the appearance of this consultation will drive true feedback or just simply apathy from its public?
I urge the Minister to be open to new ideas through this process. I also encourage the Minister not to hack away at the few benefits that we provide our northern seniors. I insist to the Minister to find a way to stop driving up the cost of living here in the Northwest Territories.
Mr. Speaker, I had one constituent tell me the other day, it’s starting to look like our Health Minister is taking a page out of the Alberta health model, the third way. Mr. Speaker, in closing I’m going to quote a line from Hamlet. It says something is rotten in Denmark. Well, Mr. Speaker, I certainly think something is wrong and certainly rotten with our supplementary health consultation process and it’s only just begun. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.
[English translation not provided.]
Mr. Speaker, today I would like to speak on housing repairs in Tu Nedhe. First, I want to thank the Minister and the NWT Housing Corporation for increasing the budget from just under $800,000 in 2007 to over $8.5 million in 2010-11 for repairing and renovating homes.
Mr. Speaker, it is now in place and it’s now time for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation to get into the communities to go see the homeowners that need repairs. A good strategy on preventing private homes from falling into complete disrepair and getting to the stage where the houses are no longer economical to repair is needed. Mr. Speaker, once a unit falls beyond economical repair, it has to be replaced. In Tu Nedhe most of the privately owned homes can still be saved.
Mr. Speaker, the NWT Housing Corporation must begin to focus on certain core need issues in order to decrease the core need numbers across the NWT. The NWT Housing Corporation now has a golden opportunity to plan, organize and deliver repair programs for senior homeowners that will actively reduce core need for this group.
Mr. Speaker, there are about 150 homeownership units in Tu Nedhe. About 60 to 70 of those are senior households, and perhaps as high as 50 of them need repairs immediately. Mr. Speaker, even at an average cost of about $40,000 for each of the units, it’s around $2 million over the next couple of years where core need in Tu Nedhe can be reduced by 15 to 20 percent.
Hear! Hear!
Plus, Mr. Speaker, while waiting for the repairs, our oldest residents, each of the oldest residents in both Fort Resolution and Lutselk’e passed away before receiving the assistance they were requesting.
Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Minister on their plan to address core need issues in the area of adequacy for seniors’ households at the appropriate time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Member for Monfwi, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. [English translation not provided.]
Mr. Speaker, today in Gameti there’s a gathering of elders from the four Tlicho communities to share their ideas, wisdom, experience and planning for future generations. Mr. Speaker, there are approximately 80 elders selected to talk about the culture preservation, the language preservation for the Tlicho region and with respect to the wildlife as well. They talk about the respect of the wildlife as well.
Mr. Speaker, these are the professors of this great land. We must hear them out and they teach us about the wisdom, the stories, the respect of each other and pass on the stories to the future. I look forward to the outcome of their report. There is also a youth conference happening the following weekend. Even though I’m not there, I will be supporting them in their endeavours.
