So, Mr. Speaker, what I’m hearing the Minister say is the government would rather just wait until a potential disaster happens and these pipes fail, these residents are left homeless, and we have the health issues and the social issues that will be certainly a burden on this government. Are we waiting for that to happen and how come we aren’t being proactive, Mr. Speaker, in dealing with this situation? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I think nowhere in my answer did I say we’d rather wait until something happens before we act on it. This is a private corporation within a municipal boundary. We will work with the city if we have to try and find some solutions to ask MACA to fund it. I think with our $168,000 in extraordinary funding, I don’t think that will get us very far. Thank you.
When we need to find money, obviously, the government’s quick. We just approved $15 million in a supp for the Deh Cho Bridge last week. I find it kind of ironic that we have a potential situation here that could impact close to 1,000 people. I’d like to ask the Minister what mechanisms does the department have at its disposal to address an emergency situation like the one that could present itself very near in the future with Northland Trailer Park. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, again, I say this is a private corporation within municipal boundaries and if it ever came to an emergency such as that the Member’s describing, then I think we’d be working with the city to see how we can take care of the problem in conjunction with the city. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Your final supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I didn’t hear the Minister close the door to looking at some possible solutions and working with the residents and the City of Yellowknife. I’d like to ask the Minister if he could perhaps designate somebody in his department to spearhead those efforts with the City of Yellowknife and the residents of Northland Trailer Park so that the government is up to date and up to speed on what exactly is happening there in finding potential solutions. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, we continue to monitor the situation because we know it’s a concern to Members across. We will monitor it if we have to work with the city to find some alternative funding arrangements, whether it be, you know, there’s the gas tax money that the city receives, there’s the capital formula money that the city receives. This is a private corporation and if we were to start that process for one, who’s to say that in a small community if you own an apartment and the water and sewer goes, that the government will pay for it. This is privately held land within a municipal boundary. Like the Member said, we’ll continue to monitor the situation and see what advice and any part we can play in it. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to follow up on my Member’s statement earlier today. With the money being spent on Taltson, we could have built Lutselk’e and Whati mini-hydros, had them half paid for and started community residents on 50 years of reduced power costs. Instead, we have a plan for building the world’s longest extension cord to a dead end with a one-industry client base. This is the kind of sound management that put us on a $180 million hook for a bridge. Why has the shareholder -- that’s us -- permitted the Hydro Corporation to pursue any system development without an electrical grid analysis and long-term plan completed? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Power Corporation, Mr. Roland.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the NWT Hydro Strategy, we’ve put that in front of this House. It’s a public document. We know we’ve got to continue to do some work. There are future plans for having the interconnectivity as the Member discussed.
Specifically on this project, as the Member is aware from his own past work in a government department, it takes a lot of preparation that goes into getting to a point where you have a project that you can bring to the environmental phase and that process. Before you can sign agreements, you need to know what that final environmental piece would be so if there are changes required to a project, that will potentially change the outcome. The Member is right; it’s in the neighbourhood of $13 million that we’ve done this work on the Taltson and we’ll continue to look at that and negotiation is underway on that piece.
We looked at options of running the lines alternate routes for the Taltson Hydro Facility, but doing that added more money to the project and this project has always been one where it’s going to be the power purchase agreement that makes it happen or not happen. Thank you.
There is still no real plan in place and what have we got to show for the work that’s been done so far? The Hydro Corporation has promised feasibility, analysis and design for a potential electrical grid. Where is that? What is the status of its development? Why is this majority shareholder permitting its corporation to concoct multimillion dollar schemes without a business plan for the development of our electrical system?
So, Mr. Speaker, we’ve talked about hydro strategies and so on, but we have never seen any work come forward. When we have asked questions, it’s been written off out of hand. We’ve asked for prices on alternatives and it’s treated leisurely as if we are in left field. So where is the real work that’s been done here, Mr. Speaker?
The Member is aware we have shared the information about alternate routes on the Taltson Hydro Project. We have shared the information about where the breakdown is. For example, out of that $13 million, $2.2 million, or 17 percent, went to engineering; $3.1 million, or 24 percent, when to environmental; $4.6 million, or 35 percent, of that funding went to the regulatory process and the partnership agreement; $1.3 million, or 10 percent, has been spent in that area, and legal and finance makes up the rest of that area. We’ve shared the updates on this project, where it’s gone. We’ve pushed to see if the alternate routes are more feasible. Again, it comes to the ability to make this project finance itself on the sale of electricity. If we want to, as a government, go alternate routes, then let’s take a look at that. Thank you.
I am talking about public interest. I’m talking about this government representing the public and getting a deal that will support our economy. Yes, we’ve done good work on that project. The problem is the front-end thinking is missing. Where is the public interest? I have a feeling there are all kinds of organizations lining up to partner with the Government of the Northwest Territories. I mean, how could they not enjoy the millions? Everybody else seems to be. So I’m saying where is the front-end thinking, Mr. Speaker? Where is the vision?
We’re talking hydro, we’re talking a 50-year time frame and I want to know where the thinking is to make sure the public interest is... When we get in bed with these partners, we seem to be ensuring them big returns. Where is the public interest being looked after in this equation? Thank you.
The thinking on this is thinking about building capacity with our aboriginal partners across the Northwest Territories. Unfortunately, the Member doesn’t put more weight and bearing on that piece of it. We do, as the Government of the Northwest Territories. We will continue to do that.
We have looked at this project and this project has been built on a pure case of a business model. If we want to establish more to it, then we can do that.
Members of this Assembly have the Hydro Strategy. If we want to take particular pieces of that and put the emphasis on that, then let’s sit down and work that process out. We know it’s got to change as we go forward, but this one project has been designed on a business case of having a client to sell the product to. On that basis, it’s gone forward. It’s been laid out. It’s been through Members’ updates and briefings and we’ll continue to do that.
Ultimately, a decision on this project is going to be based on agreements in place that make it profitable. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. Final supplementary, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m sure it will be profitable to our partners. What I’m talking about is public interest. So, yes, I would like the Premier to commit to a re-examination of the more costly alternatives, but the one that actually goes forward with the public interest addresses multiple goals rather than services a single provider that we hope is going to be there long enough to help pay for the system and put it around the west side where we know there are permanent customers waiting to use that power in a responsible way over the long haul. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
To get the key pieces in place and make the final connections, we need to have a client to sell this to. This project is about building the economy of the Northwest Territories. It is about reducing our greenhouse gas emissions across the Northwest Territories. This potential project, if it were to go ahead and be completed, we’re talking 700 direct jobs during this phase, 230 indirect jobs, building a shareholder base and building capacity within our aboriginal corporations in the Northwest Territories. That’s the forward thinking. That is building the economy and spreading it out across the Northwest Territories, in fact, by limiting our own impact on greenhouse gas in the Northwest Territories. So if this project goes, and it will go only by the fact that it’s a business case model, if we add more to it, then we lose the business case and there is no project. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are addressed to the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. I want to follow up on some of the questions that were asked and answered yesterday with regard to Northland Trailer Park. The Premier yesterday, when I asked him a question about what existed out there to assist the Northland group, stated, and I quote from Hansard: “There are a number of emergency funds that are out there.” So I’d like to ask the Minister if he could elaborate and list those funds for me. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Robert McLeod.
Mr. Speaker, I’ll take that question as notice.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement today I was raising the issue of finding ways to attract businesses to the North, to create investment opportunities for all. My questions will be directed to the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment. Today I’d like to ask him, as my first question, what programs and services does his department offer that target specifically to attracting businesses to relocate in the North, to be established in the North. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Bob McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This Member seems to want us to take on the provinces and he seems to think that the provinces are doing a great job. I agree that the provinces are doing a great job, but they have significantly more resources to work with.
The Province of Alberta, for example, has trade missions around the world. They have their own aircraft fleets that they can fly around to attract businesses. They have tax credit programs and tax initiatives. They have funding so that they can subsidize businesses to locate into their provinces.
The Member also mentioned Saskatchewan, where the Government of Saskatchewan is subsidizing student loans. I think what he’s suggesting is an approach that would wreck all of the programs that we’ve worked so hard to develop. I think he’s suggesting that we should get rid of the Business Incentive Program and I think that he’s suggesting that we should be funding Southerners to come and move up here.
Well, I’m really sorry that the Minister of ITI only heard that, because that’s not what I said. I suggested perhaps taxation is the right approach. I’m not necessarily sure. This government has foregone many taxes on the diamond mines as they were established and started producing. It’s not unusual for this government to find creative ways. What I’m really asking the Minister is if he can show me and explain to this House what programs we offer to attract business and investment in the Northwest Territories. If we don’t have a specific program targeted at that focus, would he consider establishing a program in a process that works for the Northwest Territories but doesn’t necessarily try to compete or look like Alberta in the sense of size?
Our focus has been mainly to invest in and help develop northern businesses and northern entrepreneurs. We also have funding to promote the Northwest Territories as a great place to invest in. We have limited resources, so as much as we can, we use the media to multiply the effects of the money that we spend in that regard. We do work with businesses that are interested in moving up here and I think that our predominant approach is to develop our northern workforce and our northern businesses.
The Minister knows I respect him very much, but I think he’s missing the point that I’m after. I don’t mean this in a mean way, but the reality of our funding agreements and our budget are tied around federal grants. Those federal grants are tied specifically to population and growth. So 75 percent of our budget plus or minus is based on federal grants. At $22,000 per person, that’s a lot of money. A hundred people in the Northwest Territories could mean over $2 million of just federal money, not talking about tax, not talking about what they bring. I’m only asking the Minister if he would consider the approach of starting a program that could look at attracting new businesses to the Northwest Territories and that will bring new people as well.
If the Member is wanting to know what we were doing to attract people to move to the Northwest Territories, he should have asked that. The Minister of Finance did announce in the previous budget that we are undertaking a program to attract more people to come and work and live in the Northwest Territories. So we are working and signed an MOU with diamond mines, we have set targets to increase the number of workers that live in the South and getting them to move north. We have also signed on to immigrant nominee programs so we can get people who are moving to Canada to come and work in the Northwest Territories, recognizing what the Member has said, that for every person that moves to the Northwest Territories, that results in significant increases to our territorial formula financing.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Minister straying from the real point of the whole discussion here, which is the fact that we need a program to help attract business to invest in the Northwest Territories. That is where our population is sort of sprung off or where the opportunity lies. Would the Minister consider establishing some sort of task force program that reaches out into industry to bring industry here in the Northwest Territories as I talked about in my Member’s statement? Whether it’s call centres or attracting new business and whatnot, there are so many opportunities I don’t have the time here today to say them all. It’s about a program that reaches out and attracts business to the Northwest Territories. I think that really needs to be looked at. Would he commit to looking into that process?
The Member will be pleased to know that I do have a ministerial advisory panel made up of the leading figures of business and the leading associations in the Northwest Territories. I will pose that question to them.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today my Member’s statement was regarding medical travel from the communities of Ulukhaktok and the surrounding communities that I represent. Will the Minister commit to working with the various departments and agencies and programs to implement changes to provide to the communities an improvement in the administration of medical travel to prevent future patients from having to wait in their communities or transient centres while in pain?
Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That is the first time that I’ve heard the specific facts that the Member has stated. I will be happy to work with the Member and see how we can improve that.
This is the second time I’ve brought it up. We can look at Hansard from last year. When a patient is in pain in our communities, they must be flown out on the next flight no questions asked and to the nearest hospital. There is no reason that is good enough to have patients suffer needlessly, especially when it is due to overbooked planes. How does the Minister expect people to wait in their home communities in severe pain before a medevac is warranted?
The Member is right; I am aware of the situation where the patients waiting were bumped off, but I was not aware that there are only two seats assigned. I was not aware that there were seat assignment situations. By and large we do move a lot of our residents around to receive the care that they need and obviously we can always do better, so I will undertake to review how we deliver that and where we can improve it, we will do that.
In the community of Ulukhaktok they have two airlines that fly in there: Aklak Air going into Inuvik and First Air that flies here into Yellowknife. Would the Minister let the patient have a choice regarding where they go for their hospitalization or checkups? A constituent told me a similar situation that at the time they had to wait due to cancellation because of lack of passengers. Will the Minister take the initiative to make coordinated alternative arrangements for scheduled medical travel flights had been cancelled?
Yes, if services can be provided either in Inuvik or Stanton, I will ask the staff to make sure that they consider both options. Also, yes, I agree with the Member that we do need to do more and better to have a more smooth transition of patients, that we need to keep better track of what’s being cancelled. Just better coordination. That is something that my deputy minister and I are focusing on, because we are reviewing the Medical Travel Program. I hope to report back to the Member on how we can improve that.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to speak regarding the Supplementary Health Program. I have to agree with my colleague from the Sahtu that we do have to have some limitations on what we provide here. I know a lot of people talk about the different programs, but I think we have to have programs that are consistent across the board. We have the NIHB for aboriginal health care and we have the Metis Health Benefits Program. But I think we have to ensure that whatever they’re prescribed for in those different programs, we have consistency in how it’s being delivered.
I would like to ask the Minister if we are going to also look at those other programs to ensure they are compatible for each other and we don’t have one program that’s a Cadillac versus something that’s a Volkswagen. I’d like to get some assurance from the Minister that we will look at the programs and that they are fair right across the board and that those programs are compatible with each other.
Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The NIHB programs are set up and administered by the federal government. I understand they have a panel of people who review the program. I think some people might not be aware that their program guidelines are quite strict. There are lots of things that they do not cover and that we hear from all the time. If we were to consider any changes to that, it’s a completely different process and we would not have much say in that anyway.
I’m willing to convey and communicate any concerns that the Member might have. Any changes to the Metis health benefits are something that would have to be dealt with between our aboriginal and Metis governments.
I think what’s important for us to focus on is that we have the Extended Health Benefits Program for non-aboriginal residents of the Northwest Territories. I’m not sure if it is a Cadillac, but it is very generous, because we understand that it is an important program and we do want to make sure that people who need it receive that.
The way it’s set up right now, there’s absolutely no regard for one’s capacity to pay. So we have a very strange situation where somebody making $150,000 with a private insurance coverage gets a top-up or dental plan and eye care plan and 20 percent covered, whereas we could have a situation of a 30-year-old mother with two kids just making enough money to not qualify for income support, no private insurance, and they have to struggle to pay for dental care and eye care for their children. What we are saying is let’s have a dialogue about this, keeping the benefits we have, but can we be more fair about the access that people could have to this program.
