I welcome comments and they do give good ideas on the other side. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, plus the Minister of Finance. I know we’re kind of in budget mode right now and we live in a very unique part of Canada, of course, called the Northwest Territories, and on a scale of advancing the economies, perhaps communities that live in a have-not kind of a domain as part of the Northwest Territories are kind of described as traditional economies. At the very high end we have a booming industrial-based resource economy. For the large part, these smaller communities and people are reliant on the traditional activities like fishing, hunting and trapping just to sustain and supplement their high cost of living. For that matter, in small communities as well there’s an absence of opportunities in terms of jobs, business advancement, growth. What I would like to ask the Minister of Finance is: What unique approaches would the Minister apply or employ in efforts to invigorate traditional economies in communities? Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The honourable Minister responsible for Finance, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is a range of existing initiatives across government. The Minister of ITI is looking at an Economic Development Strategy. We’re talking about, as well, and I reference in my address, the fur and trapping programs that we’re trying to encourage people to put money into the hands of trappers to get kids, young people on the land. We have the seed funding that is available through ITI. There’s a range across government.
More importantly, I would ask the Member – even though it’s not my position to ask questions in this House – if the Member has specific suggestions that we could look at that would inform our decision-making. There’s a budget process underway, as he said, but if he has specific suggestions, then we – if I can speak on behalf of Cabinet – would be very happy to hear what those are to see how we, as we have just done with Mrs. Groenewegen, collectively accommodate good ideas.
I’d like to thank the Minister for his response. One of the suggestions that I’ve made is examining in terms of how unique communities are in their circumstances. I think I’ve floated the idea of perhaps a community economic model that could be perhaps profiled and maybe generically considered in terms of development strategies to try and help local economies be invigorated.
My follow-up question is: I know, I mean it’s a fact, that up here in the Northwest Territories we have a high cost of living. Fuel is expensive. Of course groceries are expensive, too, in small communities. Therefore, our people that try to survive in the have-not communities supplement their existence by going out on the land and harvesting food. My question to the Minister is: Is the department or this government considering perhaps an initiative to try and curb the cost of goods that are transported up here in terms of examining maybe the concept of a food subsidy program so that at least we improve to try and help the people that are living at ground level in the communities?
There’s no food subsidy program being contemplated other than we are peripherally involved in the existing Food Mail Program that is run by the federal government.
I would point out, as a Legislature and government we want to proceed and continue on with the Rural and Remote Communities committee which will provide a table for the MLAs from the small communities, like the Member himself, to gather around a table to have discussions about this business planning process that’s starting up for 2013-2014 in June. The benefit of having the committee gather and get mobilized would provide a venue to have that kind of a discussion in a more thorough way to provide advice and feedback into that process.
It seems that the Minister of Finance might be suggesting that at some point there could be some form of an economic conference to involve small communities to ensure that at least they have a hand and input in terms of how it is that we could all help each other and work in unity to ensure that the economy is sustainable here in the Northwest Territories.
My final question is: Has there been consideration across perhaps each sector of the economy in terms of whether it’s manufacturing or transportation or tourism, but for the most part to try and ensure that at the receiving end the consumers, the people that live in communities could be perhaps assisted in terms of trying to curb the high cost of living? Has the Department of Finance considered further subsidies? For example, subsidies to businesses to transport goods up here.
As the Minister of ITI proceeds with the work on his Economic Development Strategy, there will be a consultation of the nature that the Member has raised.
I would also point out that I referenced the suite of programs and opportunities that are there related to traditional pursuits. There are programs that deal with the northern fishery, there are processing opportunities, we have a Manufacturing Policy, we have a Business Incentive Policy.
The work we’re doing long-term with all the energy initiatives are all geared towards trying to lower the cost of living in communities. One of the biggest costs, of course, is with energy. We’re going to continue that. There are no additional food subsidies or there are no food subsidies contemplated. We’re focusing more on trying to design the system to make it as efficient and effective as possible.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final supplementary, Mr. Nadli. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question today is for the Minister of Justice with regard to his Minister’s statement today. He mentioned there are two programs; and just before I begin I want to recognize that it is a great program. We have a lot of outstanding RCMP officers in the Northwest Territories who’ve taken this program and who have succeeded and become strong role models for other members and our youth.
The first question I wanted to ask him is: In selecting for the first program the two candidates that would go through this program, would he look at making it a priority if he can look at the smaller communities and take some of the youth through the small communities in terms of some of our small communities needing RCMP officers and also having a presence in the small communities? It would provide jobs, as well, outside of the regions and the capital, so it would be providing jobs and a presence in the smaller communities.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. The honourable Minister responsible for Justice, Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Aboriginal Community Constable Program is a fantastic program and it’s in its second year of piloting. I have had an opportunity to speak to the commanding officer of “G” Division and we all agree that we really would like to see somebody coming out of a small community going into this program. There are communities that would be able to facilitate an officer upon their return and this is the direction we would like to go. Ultimately it would be up to the RCMP who the final candidates are, and I encourage you and all the Members to get out and talk to the residents of your community and encourage them to approach the RCMP well before June 1st and submit their application if they’re interested.
I know it takes the responsibility of our Members and especially the ones in the small communities to bring this up and will be looking at youth who might be interested, especially the ones that are going through the Cadets Program. However, since this is an initiative through the Department of Justice, what type of marketing and recruitment has the Minister done in the small communities on his own, working with the RCMP?
Ultimately this is an RCMP pilot and it is the RCMP’s advertising. They are aggressively, actively advertising both the Pre-Cadet Program as well as the Aboriginal Constable Program. Recently I’ve had an opportunity to travel to some of the communities throughout the Northwest Territories, and every community I’ve went to I’ve mentioned that this program exists and I’ve encouraged people to apply. I’ve talked to the community justice committees in a number of communities, as well, and encouraged them to have people apply. The RCMP is actively marketing this program. It’s a good program and I hope to get individuals from the small communities. I hope they apply and I hope they get selected.
Would the Minister be willing to, once the youth go through this program, have this youth be working in a regional centre and taking one of the regular members and putting him into a community where there is no RCMP officer presence right now? Would the Minister be willing to bring that suggestion forward to the “G” Division to see if that’s a possible plan so that these small communities do have a presence, qualified presence in the communities?
Obviously it really, truly depends on who the candidates are and whether they’re successful through the program. We are willing to work with the RCMP and we are willing to try to find the appropriate location for the candidates when they do successfully complete. Whether that’s in a community with a large regional centre or whether it’s a smaller community with a detachment, that needs to be determined based on where the candidate comes from, what their interest is and what capacity they have. We will be working with “G” Division on this.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Final supplementary, Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister mentioned that there is a second program here for those aged 19 to 29 to see if they would be willing to enter this program. Should he not get any response in that second program, would the Minister be willing to use that funding to offset any costs for further applications to the first program, and would he be willing to use the funding for that second program to make more people go through the first program if there is a waiting list and more applications were on there?
These are two separate programs. They are facilitated through the RCMP. The first program, the Aboriginal Community Constable Program, is in its second year pilot. We don’t know if that program is going to continue to exist after this second delivery. We would like it to and we continue to work with the RCMP and encourage them to continue this program because we see it as valuable.
The second program, the Aboriginal Pre-Cadet Program, that’s an ongoing program and the intake is actually completed for this fiscal year, but it’s an ongoing program so there will be intake in future years. We already have candidates in it during this May to August session. In fact, there is one candidate in Inuvik. We have had uptake on this program on a fairly regular basis over time. We hope that it will again and I will continue to promote the program, I will continue to work with the RCMP to promote the program, and I would like it if Members could work with us to promote the program as well. We want northern youth and we want Northerners to get involved in the RCMP. We see a significant opportunity here and we don’t want to miss it.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the lead Minister on the Anti-Poverty Strategy, Mr. Abernethy, and I want to note that there are good things happening on the Anti-Poverty Strategy development. I’m told by my people, constituents and acquaintances, that good collaborative basis has been established in carrying the work forward. I’m also encouraged that there’s at least one roundtable, maybe a couple established to get together and discuss this as it develops.
The one thing that I am concerned about is that there is an inexplicable attachment to a December 2012 deadline. A pretty tight time frame, but seemingly to be achieved at almost any cost. Now, there’s plenty of time for Mr. Abernethy to consider business plans in September, so there’s lots of time for planning there. Given that perhaps another month or two would add to the value of it, can the Minister explain why there is such a tight adherence to this bizarre deadline for an integrative process that has been set and whether or not he will commit to ensuring the process is given the time needed, regardless of the end of the calendar year?
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. I just want to remind Ministers and Members that preamble on your answers and your questions, shorten them up a little bit. I still have four more Members to go and we have 12 minutes. Fourteen minutes. Thank you. Lead Minister responsible for the Anti-Poverty Strategy, Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is a lot of work being done on the Anti-Poverty Strategy. We are happy with the progress that has been done to date and we are looking forward to continue working with committee and the public on the completion of an Anti-Poverty Strategy.
Ultimately what we want is the right Anti-Poverty Strategy as opposed to right now. We think we can get it done by the end of the calendar year but we are open to input from those involved, including the committee and Members, and if it doesn’t look like we’re going to have the right policy at the end of the calendar year, we’re open to further discussion.
I appreciate the Minister’s flexibility there. It sounds good. Even the best Anti-Poverty Strategy could fail to produce strong results without concrete action to carry it out.
Because the solutions to poverty lie at the community level, we will need to work out our partnerships, roles and programs to ensure success. As the lead Minister begins the work to create an Anti-Poverty Strategy, recognizing that he’s already drawing upon work done as he mentioned and so on, will he also commit to creating an implementation and action plan as an integral part of that strategy?
The first part is obviously to get the framework done and the strategy done. We will be working with our partners. This has to be done with partners. For anti-poverty to be successful, we do need to work with organizations and agencies outside of government. Once we have the framework, then we will be able to have the discussions on next steps, which would include action plans. Those action plans will involve actions from individuals outside of government, so we will have to work with them to come up with that.
Thanks for the Minister’s remarks there. Nunavut has obviously been very successful in developing an Anti-Poverty Strategy thanks to their approach of community participation. One big lesson was that community events such as the community-based review of a draft plan must be carried out with the support of locally hired conveners.
As plans are put in place to create the draft strategy and take it out for community review and NGO review, will the Minister assure us that wherever possible community members will be hired to help carry out the community participation?
Right from the beginning when the Premier announced this, he indicated that this would be a collaborative process and that’s the model that we’re following. We have engaged a large working group, which consists of a significant number of NGOs, Aboriginal governments and industry, and we will continue to engage that. That group has identified a steering committee which is chaired by the Government of the Northwest Territories but includes Aboriginal representation, NGO representations, as well, and this is one that I’m really excited about, an individual who has actually lived in poverty and is contributing first-hand knowledge. That group will be steering everything. There will be a meeting in Hay River in late June to bring the working group together to start looking at everything that’s been pulled together to date, look at other jurisdictions that have done things, like Nunavut, Manitoba and Newfoundland, where positive work has been done, and to engage any other stakeholders that might be interested. Then there will be a validation project after that.
As we move forward we are collaborating with people. We will be bringing people in from communities. It’s not just Yellowknife. It’s not just government. It’s the Northwest Territories.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Your final, short supplementary, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks again to the Minister. I’m assuming that that will include hiring local people to help with those local meetings.
The other aspect of this, of course, is that this is a very cross-departmental approach, and the Minister is leading this cross-departmental approach. Ultimately, the delivery of the program will depend on our public service across departments, again, delivering it. This is stepping out from the normal course of events. It will require an unusual degree of cooperation. What is the Minister doing to ensure that those mechanisms are in place and that our public service is able to work effectively across departments to deliver this?
We recognize that although this needs to be beyond just government, there is going to be some government responsibility and action required at some point. We have pulled together a committee of the deputies of the social programs departments who will be working on this file on behalf of government. But also, I happen to be the chair of the Social Envelope Committee which consists of the responsible Ministers and we are talking about this, monitoring the progress and providing direction with support of committee and committee’s input as well. We are working across departments as well.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I just want to follow up with my question with regard to the seasonality of operations at Parks Canada and how they impact the operation of Nahanni National Park. I’d like to ask the Premier: Has this government been updated on the reductions and the cutbacks that will be affecting those operations? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Like everybody else, and listening to the federal budget of 2012-13 where we learned that 19,689 jobs will be eliminated from the federal civil service, I have not been apprised of the specifics of where the cuts are or what departments and how we will be affected here in the Northwest Territories as of yet other than media reports that we hear occasionally.
The concern is being raised from the communities that I represent, Nahanni Butte, Fort Simpson, the leadership that’s there, only because we just recently created this new national park reserve. There were increased operation expenses. As well as they’re looking at some capital expenditures in Nahanni Butte and Fort Simpson, and the increase in jobs. I was very pleased to see that lots of local people did get hired there. But for this season alone they’re saying it’s a very limited impact. But my concern there is that our government hasn’t taken a position. Because I believe that they’re decentralizing some jobs perhaps in the future, and I don’t want to see Fort Simpson lose any jobs because we’re a have-not region and any job loss – you know the story of the marvelous bouncing buck and the impacts – for every job we lose it impacts the community. I’d like to get the government to take a position on the reductions and possible job reallocation with the Nahanni National Park Reserve office in Fort Simpson.
As a government we’re very concerned about any reductions in any kinds of jobs in the Northwest Territories. As a matter of fact, it is a priority for us to focus on getting more people to live and work in the Northwest Territories. We certainly want to make sure that we keep the jobs that we have, and as a matter of fact, even increase it.
I have already written to the Government of Canada, asking for specific information as to quantify the cuts and also how the Northwest Territories will be affected.
I’m pleased that our government is taking action on this. I believe that if the Premier can raise more specifically the Nahanni National Park Reserve, the operations, the future plans. Like I said, as far as I know right now they’re just affecting seasonal operations, but long-term plans, I’m concerned because we have lots of young people that have been hired by our parks system in Fort Simpson, and hopefully they’ll stay in that system and stay in the communities.
I might add that as soon as I read the Member’s press release we did the letter to the Government of Canada. But we will approach the Environment Minister to get some more specific information as to how the amount of cuts and also how they’re affecting the operation of the federal park system in the Northwest Territories.
Thank you, Mr. Premier. The Member for the Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Mr. Speaker, I’d like to ask some questions to the Minister of Finance. This morning I heard the Minister of Finance on CBC talk about the budget, and one part that he mentioned was about the Inuvik gas situation and he also added in a couple comments on the Norman Wells gas situation.
I want to ask the Minister what type of support will he be giving to the residents and to the businesses of Norman Wells once they make a decision as to what types of options they have to convert household supplies and appliances and also for the businesses to also convert to either propane, diesel or any other options that we see viable.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister of Finance, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In regard to Norman Wells, we have assurances from Imperial Oil, and NTPC will still be able to operate on gas, which takes a huge pressure off of the community, unlike Inuvik where we have had to switch NTPC to full diesel to protect and extend the gas reserves for the citizens of Inuvik. We also have ongoing work with consultants, and folks at ENR are looking at other options in terms of the biomass, in terms of some people wanting to switch to diesel and looking at, with consultants, what would be the best plan and the most feasible alternative for when the day comes when there is not gas available to the people of Norman Wells. As that work progresses and it becomes clear what the options are, we will continue to work with the community, with the MLA trying to sort out the best way forward. A lot of individuals are also making their own determination that they are going to switch already. Thank you.
The government has supported the thinking with the Town of Norman Wells as how to best utilize their time, because Imperial Oil for 2013-14 will turn the gas off to the town, and the residents and businesses. We need to help them with their conversion of appliances. They are looking at options such as propane, diesel and biomass. It’s going to be a mixture. Hopefully one day they’ll have an easy conversion back to the natural gas situation.
I am asking this government, once the dust has settled, is this government going to be in their capacity to help the people and businesses to convert their appliances to whatever they choose to do to use that sort of energy, whether it is biomass, propane or diesel? Will the government have some financial support to help them offset their cost to conversion?
The Government of the Northwest Territories has been involved in this process, a party to the work that is underway. We have a commitment and an obligation, as we have assisted in the past in Inuvik when they converted from the high temperature system to natural gas, to work through the process with the community and to make sure that we are there to assist so that there is not an undue burden placed on individual citizens of Norman Wells. Thank you.
