That is our goal. This was a gap in the housing programs that I’ve referred to in the past. We do have some people that are in the public housing system that are paying fairly significant rent. It is our desire to get them in. We have some options that we’re exploring for that right now. It is something that’s out there.
As far as the housing for staff goes, we have had real good uptake from a lot of the community groups that are looking at providing housing for staff. There is an incentive that we provide to them if they want to see that come about. They would be the ones that would be the landlord and they would be providing the housing for staff. I think we have about 64 units across the Northwest Territories that have been identified by these community groups as possible housing for staff.
I’d like to ask the Minister if it’s possible for his department to come forward with quarterly reporting to this House regarding the vacancies of these units, where they are, and what efforts are being made to fill out those vacancies so that we have houses in the communities that are being occupied.
I can commit to the Member and the Members of this House that I’ll provide some statistics every three or four months as to the status of the vacant units.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d also like to ask the Minister regarding the Housing Needs Survey that was completed, if the Minister can also report back to this House on exactly what action is going to be taken by the department in light of the report on housing needs showing that we do have a major problem in the Northwest Territories with housing.
I will commit to providing regular updates on our plans to deal with the Housing Needs Survey. We do have a couple of things that we’re working on right now. The investment that’s being made on housing repairs I think will bring the core need down, because adequacy is one of the conditions of the needs survey. I’ll make a commitment to the Members that I’ll provide regular updates on how we’re addressing the needs survey.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have questions today for the Minister of Health and Social Services going back to my Member’s statement where I talked about a thousand medevac or ambulance flights that originate in the Northwest Territories that head for Edmonton and use the City Centre Airport in Edmonton, Alberta. There’s talk now of closure of that airport and I’m wondering if the Minister of Health could let us know what the closure of the City Centre Airport in Edmonton will mean to our health care expenditures here in the Northwest Territories.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is not a new issue to us. There have been two referendums passed by the people of the municipality of Edmonton going back to 2007. The final report was in 2009. So the department has been working very closely with those involved on the ground to make sure that our medical transportation issues are taken care of. I think we’re fortunate that we have somebody within the department who is very familiar with the workings of the Alberta government as well as the municipality of Edmonton. We are deeply involved in making sure that the needs of the NWT with regard to transferring our patients are taken care of.
The patients will be looked after once they arrive in Edmonton, that’s not the case. The case is with the City Centre Airport closing down. The international airport, as everybody knows, is about a 40-minute ride into the city of Edmonton, and if you require STARS air escort into a major hospital in Edmonton, that’s 30 minutes and at a cost of $2,500.
The Minister didn’t answer my question. What is it going to cost the Department of Health and Social Services should the City Centre Airport close in Edmonton? I’m talking about ground ambulance and STARS service into a major hospital in Edmonton. Thank you.
I’m not sure… The Member mentioned different numbers than what we anticipate. Obviously in terms of air flight, flying to the municipal airport or the international airport, the cost would not be that much different, whether you’re flying from the Yellowknife municipal airport, well, from the NWT to municipal or international, because air distance is not that large.
The issue in the health field is we provide medical and medevac services as required, and obviously if there’s extra costs involved we would have to absorb those. What we are concentrating on is working with the people involved in working on medevac issues, because we have to prepare for the closure of the municipal airport, and we’re working closely with the people who are designing the plan to make sure that NWT patients are part of the equation. There are various options being considered: faster on-the-ground transportation, as well as helicopter service. So, Mr. Speaker, we are deeply involved in making sure that we minimize the impact of the possible closure of the municipal airport.
With people’s lives hanging in the balance on a medevac or an air ambulance flight from the Northwest Territories into Edmonton, you would think that the Government of the Northwest Territories would have a position on the closure of the City Centre Airport in Edmonton. I’m wondering why the Minister and why the government hasn’t taken a position on that closure. I think that’s very strange, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.
As I indicated already, we have been involved. We have put our input into the review process. This closure comes as a result of two referendums over 10 years. This is not a new issue. I know it’s coming to the attention of some people as a new issue, but this has been in the works for a long time. The NWT is not the only one who flies into the municipal airport for medical services; people from all over Alberta, B.C. and Saskatchewan are landing at that airport. So we are all involved in working together to come up with a plan, because we do respect the fact that the people of Edmonton have passed two referendums wanting this airport to be closed so that they can use the real estate for different reasons. That’s a democratic process. My job as Minister of Health and Social Services is to make sure that we are at the table and put forward our concerns and our needs, and we are doing that. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. Your final supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’ve been here for almost seven years and I’ve never heard this Minister or a previous Minister talk about this issue publicly. I’ve never seen a Minister of Health and Social Services come before standing committee and share the concerns of the Government of the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, I believe the Minister of Health and Social Services has an obligation to the people of the Northwest Territories to protect them, to make sure that they have access to the services available in Edmonton and that is at the City Centre Airport, Mr. Speaker.
I’d like to ask the Minister if she could share with us any correspondence that the Minister’s had with, let’s say, the mayor of Edmonton or, let’s say, the Premier or Health Minister in Alberta, to show that the Government of the Northwest Territories actually cared and actually had a position on this. Thank you.
We have communicated in this regard and I believe I have given a copy of that previously. I would be happy to share that with the Member. That’s not a problem. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, let me just first say that I did fail to mention that not only Minister Bob McLeod was in Hay River on the weekend, but, in fact, all of the McLeods were there, including Ms. Lee and Minister Miltenberger. So I do thank them for their trip down there.
I’d like to address my questions today, Mr. Speaker, to the Minister responsible for Environment and Natural Resources and a Minister who sits on the Ministerial Energy Coordinating Committee. I’m getting my initiatives mixed up here.
Mr. Speaker, we have, as a government, been trying to convert government buildings, where possible, from burning fuel heating oil to having pellet boilers to heat them. This has required a considerable amount of investment, but it is something that is visionary in terms of looking forward in trying to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions here in the North and contributing and doing our part to protect the environment. Mr. Speaker, I’d like to ask the Minister if having a pellet mill in the Northwest Territories is part of a strategy on the part of the government for manufacturing the pellets here in the North. Thank you.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister responsible for Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is a two-stage process that we are interested in and investing in. First, of course, is building the market, doing the retrofits, encouraging people to use alternative forms of energy, which is well underway, and through that process build a market so that we can, in fact, sustain our own value-added industry in the Northwest Territories. There are two basic approaches: the one is to have a fixed site where we invest in a fairly large production facility similar to what’s there in High Level, but there’s also significant interest that has been expressed almost everywhere we’ve been in the Boreal forest area for a regional or small community-sized wood pellet plants or woodchip plants. So we’re looking at those two approaches. But the key is we do really want to push for a value-added industry that will allow us to provide our own energy. Thank you.
Where are we at in terms of determining whether or not the inventories for the harvest of product that could be made into pellets is available and sustainable in the Northwest Territories?
We have done some broad inventories. Very specifically, in the South Slave we’ve worked with the mill down there and we’ve brought a consultant in to look at both the market and the inventory that would be available. And that work has been concluded, I believe.
Mr. Speaker, if the Minister could be so kind as to share with us and with the public the summary or a quick conclusion of that process of that study. What would it have determined would be the viability of making pellets in the Northwest Territories?
Mr. Speaker, there are two key issues. At present, the market is still in its infancy in terms of what’s needed in terms of supply. Then the other one, especially in the South Slave, given it’s an unsettled claims area, is the issue of access to appropriate amounts of timber that would allow us to, in fact, have an ongoing supply. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Your final supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The issue of the interim measures agreement and the unsettled claims and access to inventories, what does the government see as their role in persuading or creating agreements with First Nations that would make it financially viable for them and for the users of this product that could be developed here in the Northwest Territories? What does he see is the government’s role in that process?
We see this is a significant economic opportunity in the Northwest Territories. We’re spending millions of dollars building the market with our own buildings and facilities, as well as encouraging private individuals to convert. We support the whole issue of partnerships with the private sector and aboriginal governments as a way forward. The other issue, of course, is the size of the plant and the current volume that’s necessary or that’s available to justify the expense. Indications are that a plant that size is bigger considerably than we would need in the foreseeable future. But there are opportunities, we believe, with aboriginal governments and businesses to partner up with the private sector to see what may be possible. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Mr. Speaker, I have made mention in my Member’s statement about the gouging that is happening in Fort Good Hope, especially with the co-op store and the situation that elders and people have to be put under in terms of cashing a basic government cheque. I want to ask the Premier what steps this government can do to help the people in Fort Good Hope and situations like that, unforeseen circumstances that happened to them and that they are put in this situation. What steps can this government do to protect the people in Fort Good Hope are living under these types of conditions? I believe that they are being held ransom.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Premier, Mr. Roland.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On the area of the cost of living in our communities, there are a number of initiatives that we are undertaking. Some of it has been highlighted today in Members’ statements; the electricity review, for example. The effects on the commercial rates would then be passed down to the customers in many of our communities. That is one of the biggest things we are looking at doing.
The other area, as the Member has highlighted in his Member’s statement, would be a little more difficult to deal with in a sense that how a business operates when someone wants to go in and cash their cheque, for example, that would be a little more difficult. I would have to talk with my colleagues here to see if there are any initiatives that could be about that. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, the Premier is correct; there are some initiatives that I could list off, actually provide in terms of how we are working with our small communities to subsidize or to lower the cost of living in our communities. The point, Mr. Speaker, I wanted to ask the Premier, is would he exercise some of his muscle or his authority in terms of how do we help communities like Fort Good Hope that are dealing with situations that I pointed out now? They are living as right today as we speak in terms of what can he and his Cabinet come together and present something on the floor that would protect future incidents like this in the Northwest Territories?
Mr. Speaker, some of these incidents may have increased since the burning of the Northern Store in that community, therefore creating one outlet there in the community, the Co-operative’s initiative. That becomes part of the challenge. A number of our communities that have only one place to shop is a challenge as everyone has to go through that store. It is a challenge. I would again have to commit to getting back with my colleagues to see if there are any initiatives under consumer protection, for example, to see what may be taken under that area. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I look forward to the Premier getting back to me on this initiative. I want to ask the Premier in terms of the types of protection that could give people in Fort Good Hope from the co-op, for example, that they feel that they are getting gouged at the co-op store in terms of how can this government here... When will the Premier report back to me in terms of this is what they could do in terms of helping the people of Fort Good Hope to at least reduce their cost at the co-op store in terms of lowering their cost of foods?
Mr. Speaker, one of the other initiatives that has been undertaken not necessarily by our government but the federal government on the Food Mail Program, we are expecting to hear some news on that. I know Minister Strahl has been working under that initiative, so we are waiting to see what the final outcome of those discussions would be and what that might do for the constituents of the Northwest Territories that use that program.
The other area, again, is within our own initiatives. The cost of energy in our communities is something that we are undergoing and could have a direct impact as early as this upcoming fall and winter season.
As by responding to the question here in the House, I will be speaking with the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs which I believe is the consumer protection area within that department. We will have a discussion and see how soon we can get back. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. Final supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do applaud Minister Bob McLeod in terms of his announcement of lowering the cost of living in our small communities. I want to ask the Premier what tools would he be using in terms of monitoring the reduced cost of living in our small communities. What tools would he be using and how soon can he get back to me in terms of saying this is what we can do in Fort Good Hope in terms of protection from the high cost of foods in the co-op store?
Mr. Speaker, the questions that the Member is asking will require us to look at it as to what we have available within our authority. Some of it falls outside of our authority and goes back to the private sector and how they carry on their business. We may have to… It depends if Members of this Assembly feel that we need to initiate some action on the legislative side to be looked at, but at this point all I can commit to the Member is sitting down with my colleagues to go through what we have available outside of the initiatives we are undertaking, like I responded earlier, to the electricity rate review, the Food Mail Program as we will hear from the federal government on, those types of initiatives and get back to the Member on a number of those. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Premier and they are related to a Member’s statement I made last week about a process convention that was agreed to by Caucus in Fort Smith and reconfirmed later at Blachford Lake, I think.
I don’t think it would be any surprise to any of the Members on Cabinet or on this side, we have had some communication problems in this building. As a result of those communication problems, we ended up being faced with a motion of non-confidence against all the Ministers. As a result of that, we got together as a Caucus and we talked about some of the communication challenges that we had. We came up with some process conventions that allow us or place procedures on how we are going to work together. I believe these process conventions are valuable.
I am curious if the Premier could tell me, is Cabinet still committed to these process conventions that we agreed to, specifically the process convention on the Standing Committee review of proposed policy initiatives and implementation plans. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Premier, Mr. Roland.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have, in fact, held by our conventions that we have put in place, the conventions when this policy was first put into the system in the 15th Assembly. Since the 16th Assembly and our initiatives -- and I must say I thank the Member for being kind, because when I came up to that vote, there was a little more to it than just communications and we all know that. The other area of the work and the policy since coming together as Members and renewing our relationship and working together, we hold to that. We continue to work with that. In fact, the supplementary health policy has been to committee now from the earliest days of this Assembly, was taken back and reviewed, come back to committee and another set of reviews were done and coming forward now for implementation in the fall. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the Premier for his response. I’m glad that he brought up supplemental health. That is obviously what I was concerned about. Yes, supplemental health has come to committee and we have been informed time and time again on what the department intends to do. I don’t believe that it is consistent with the intent of the process convention. I believe the process convention is about working together to find reasonable solutions and listening. Coming to us and telling us what you are going to do is a radically different thing. I am wondering if the Premier can help me understand exactly how this process that they are moving forward with complies with the process convention that talks about specifically under clause 8 that the standing committee and the Cabinet must be briefed and have all the significant implementation tools such as things as ministerial policies, eligibility criteria, program guidelines presented and discussed with us when in fact there are no program guidelines at this point, yet they plan to put a program in place in June and implement in September, which pretty much kills all opportunity for public discussion and debate. How does that comply with the process convention that we have today? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The process convention provides standing committees with the opportunities to influence the policy development and implementation, but ultimately that decision still remains with the Cabinet. After seeking the input and redesigning or altering what was initially put forward, and I’d say in this case that has happened, in fact ongoing discussions are going on to look at what that final piece may be as we get through this stage.
So we continue to work with that convention around all the policies that the Government of the Northwest Territories is looking at and developing. In fact, again, this particular policy has been discussed through this session and has been into committee quite some time ago. It was pulled back, it was launched again earlier in the year, and pulled back again to go around again and have more input on that, and that’s been done. We are now at the stage, feel that we have the best of what we have to put forward. Now there’s a number of things that do need to be looked at before implementation, and we’ll be going to committee with that as we progress. Thank you.
Thank you. In I believe it was the Yellowknifer on May 12th, the Minister of Health indicated that the changes are going ahead this year regardless. So I’m curious how we can apply these process conventions fairly and consistently if it’s clear that the Minister is going to be proceeding this year regardless. I agree there are some things that need to be looked at. I’ll agree that there are some changes that are required, but I’m curious, once again to the Premier, how can we apply this process convention when the Minister is so clearly moving ahead regardless. Thank you.
