[Translation.]
Sister Celeste Goulet was recognized for the Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Early Childhood Education for running the Child Development Centre in Tulita. She was recognized for embracing the community’s history and traditions to put children in a learning environment that will be a strong foundation to build their education and learning. She started the Tulita preschool program back in 1981 and has since helped start the drop-in centre in 1983. Today the preschool cares for several children. Her doors are always open for the community, the coffee’s always hot and everyone is welcome to drop in to chat and visit with her.
Sister Celeste’s countless years extend beyond the people of Tulita. She provides a safe place for women and children to go if there are problems in the home. She does volunteer work in the community schools on a regular basis and helps our women and children with their applications, resumes and legal forms. She has been instrumental in serving on various boards as part of the local education community and justice circle community. Sister Celeste was also a nominee, twice, of the Wise Woman Award and a winner in 1999.
Sister Celeste has lived with the people in Tulita since 1979. Amongst the people in Tulita, she is considered to be one of the people from Tulita. I look forward to working with Sister Celeste in the future as she brings more history to the people of Tulita. Mahsi. [Translation ends.]
Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize Ms. Candy Brown in the gallery today. Welcome.
I’d like to recognize Ms. Amanda Mallon, outgoing president of the NWT Teachers’ Association, and Mr. Jean-Francois Des Lauriers of the Public Service Alliance of Canada.
Mr. Speaker, I’d like to recognize Donna Pick and Gayla Wick, Yellowknife South constituents.
Mr. Speaker, I’d like to recognize my sister in the gallery today, Judy Payne.
Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Premier, in light of my Member’s statement and the practice that was seen in the 13th Assembly, which still originates in our communities, especially in the areas of programs and services, in regard to services in general, from health care services, education services, and having the ability to access professions in our communities.
In regard to the biggest challenge, we hear from a lot of our professions in the area of housing. I think as a government we have to try something different, so I’d like to ask the Premier: have you considered looking at an alternative for retention and recruitment in communities outside the regional centres by way of some sort of housing initiative? I’ll use an example: in most communities we have accommodations in the health centres for the nurses, but we don’t have accommodations in our communities for teachers. Is it a possibility of looking at that, by way of precedence, and working with the private sector and working with the local education boards to see if there’s a possibility of implementing that type of program?
The Hon. Premier, Mr. Roland.
We all are aware of the reductions that happened in 1995–1996. For the record, back then the government of the day looked at $150 million worth of reductions, and those were peer reductions. I believe the numbers back then for employees affected were in the neighbourhood of 700 to 800. Our scenario at this stage: we’ve minimized that to the largest extent possible.
The housing piece is something we’re still affected with, as the Member has pointed out. We have looked at.... For example, in the last Assembly there was the Market Housing Initiative to try to get units into communities for professionals. This government, the Minister of the Housing Corporation along with the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment have been working on, for example, the guaranteed program for development corporations to get into that market and provide housing at that level.
Again, the problem seems to be around the area of collective bargaining in regard to the northern allowance that’s offered and with regard to a housing subsidy. I think we have to work around that. Like I say, through the nursing staff that we have in our communities who worry about the work — that’s through the precedence that’s there. Can we work either through the collective bargaining agreement or with the different professions to have some sort of universal program in isolated communities outside regional centres where there is no real housing market? It is having a major effect on delivering programs and services in our communities. Will the Premier consider looking at...? I know we’ve gone through discussions with the unions, but again, we have to find ways of working out this problem. I’d like to ask the Premier: is he open to those type of suggestions?
Back in 1995–1996, the housing package, along with the VTAs that were in place, at that time tallied close to $30 million. In today’s environment I wouldn’t even speculate as to how high it’s gone from that area. We are looking at ways of trying to have development corporations, the private sector, get involved in the housing in those communities. We’re trying to find that option.
When it comes to collective agreements, if the roles participating, the negotiators for the unions, ask to discuss it, there’s no stopping us from having the discussion. The fact will come in as: can we afford anything of that nature?
We also have to also recognize the northern allowance was put in place to make up the difference and each community has different rates. Some communities have a substantial northern allowance rate to try to mitigate those higher costs.
Again, working with the private sector with regard to housing we have the development corporations, community corporations, and also a few individuals who are looking at that by way of business opportunities. It is a major capital investment in a lot of our communities. You’re talking about a very high cost to construct in a lot of these communities. If anyone wants to take on this endeavour, they are going to be on a long term, being able to recoup their investments.
I’d like to ask the Premier: are there any programs that we may have where we can invest in these type of projects where the corporations could maybe look at it, knowing they’re going to have to probably wait a while before they get paid back for their investment within a long-term lease or long-term financial commitment, either by this government or the divisional boards to help their education?
Much like we did during the Market Housing strategy, the two-year pilot program that started bringing modular units into communities for the professionals, that was done on a cost-mutual basis in the sense that full recovery of having that unit there, utilities and so on, had to be a part of the package. That actually worked out fairly well for the most part. Some of those units came in at a lower cost than what we were having paid to rent for those in our communities living in standard public housing units. So that was an initiative. It’s something we can look at again.
The Housing Corporation in today’s environment has a loan guarantee program that would help development corporations get involved in that area, but we’d expect part of that solution would have to be made up from their rent structure.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. Final supplementary, Mr. Krutko.
Can the Premier commit to come back to this House with some of those types of initiatives, so that we can also take them back to our constituencies and meet with the district education boards and health boards to find solutions to these problems we’re having with recruiting?
We’re willing to sit down and look at those types of options with the Members and committees to see what avenues we can look at. We realize there are pressures there and we’re trying to find ways to mitigate that.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to follow up on my Member’s statement this afternoon and ask the Minister of ENR, who I believe is responsible for a response to climate change, what exactly he is doing to address climate change given that we are recognizing increasingly that there is a strong element of time and the need for immediate and comprehensive response.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’re doing a number of things. We’re looking at, hopefully in the next number of weeks before the end of session, being able to come forward with a framework for a water strategy that is going to allow us to deal with a very crucial issue that’s directly impacted by climate changes and global warming in addition to the huge development pressures.
We’re also going to be working on a land use framework that will give us a clear base to look at issues such as the pace of development, where we develop, how fast we develop, is it in our best interest, and how does it fit with all the other demands and needs to protect the land.
We have our own Greenhouse Gas Strategy. Granted, it is somewhat inward-looking.
We’re going to be looking at a biomass strategy that’s going to look seriously at the opportunity to replace those diesel generators in communities that are now providing electricity with wood pellet generators.
We want to look at the hydro expansion in small communities, but we also want to take a look at the opportunity to redirect the transmission line that’s currently being planned to go around the East Arm. We want to consider the benefit of moving that closer to Yellowknife, which burned 18 per cent last year on diesel, to provide the electricity for the community.
We’re shifting over to electric heat in some of the communities. In the South Slave we’re switching over to electric heat to see how that works. In Behchoko we’re working, and in the North Slave Correctional Centre we put in wood pellet boilers.
So we have a number of initiatives. We’re committed. We have a wind strategy up in Nunakput. We’re committed to looking at the opportunity there to do a pilot project in conjunction with other alternatives to see what’s possible there.
So we have a whole array of things that we’re doing.
Thank you for those remarks. I acknowledge that we have a number of programs that are getting off the ground, and I’m encouraged that we are going to be learning from that and that we’re starting to pay attention to the public here and the evidence that is strongly before us. Our Greenhouse Gas Strategy, if you would call it that, which commits itself to a 10 per cent reduction from 2001 levels by a certain date, is hardly significant when we are well on our way to or past doubling and are now on our way to tripling our greenhouse gas emissions. What we need is an absolute decrease in that. There are many jurisdictions, such as the Western Climate Initiative states and provinces, that are moving on this.
What are we doing to get real and move in a very comprehensive way to reducing absolute amounts of greenhouse gas emissions in the Northwest Territories that are currently doing us in?
We’re in the process of working with Priorities and Planning to set up a joint climate change committee. One of the things that will be on there is the work plan. We have existing strategies, like the Energy Plan, the Greenhouse Gas Strategy, that are going to be there for review. Clearly, that was done in a different time; it was done along with the energy strategy to access funds for other projects like mini-hydro and the Taltson project. Collectively, working together, we’re going to have an opportunity here, early on in the life of this Assembly, to revisit some of those policies and those programs and look at how we can improve them.
Again, thank you for those remarks, and I appreciate hearing those things are happening. Again, we need a really comprehensive response. What authority does the Minister have? As Ms. Bisaro pointed out, this response is required from every department and agency in the Northwest Territories, and in fact, we need the help of industry and residents as well. What authority does this Minister have, over at least those other government departments, to get some mandatory action on this issue, for a net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions?
Mr. Speaker, I’m a Member of this Legislature, I’m a member of Cabinet. Clearly we have to…. There’s a process. We want to engage with the Members, with the Climate Change Committee. We want to identify some of the priorities. We’re continuing to look at some of these other issues, as well, and to the Energy Coordinating Committee and other committees. Some of the things I’m talking about, for example, biomass, I believe, would have a direct impact on the cost of living in communities, both to individuals and businesses. So the initial point of call will be the structuring of this committee so we can get up and running and operational as soon as possible to lay out the issues we want to pursue.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final supplementary, Mr. Bromley.
I’d like the Minister to commit to requiring every department to come up with its own plan — and this is on both the climate change and the cost of fuel end of things. As a responsible government, we really need to respond to the cost of fuel as well as the climate change issue, which are closely related. So will this Minister commit to get each department to aggressively develop, in the very short term here, plans to deal with those issues that are concrete — again, that result in net reductions in greenhouse gas emissions of a significant level?
I will commit to put that on item number one at the top of the agenda for our committee so that we can, in fact, do the proper groundwork to have a coherent clear message we want to bring forward as a Legislature and as a government. As we move into the business planning process, we can give the government a chance to gear up and give a chance for full input from the members as well as, of course, my Cabinet colleagues.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Earlier in my Member’s statement, I talked about the diesel fuel spill in Trout Lake. In my opinion, this contamination was avoidable. Northland Utilities knew that the tank was sitting on unstable ground. Why was there no berm in place and why wasn’t a flexible feeding pipe used from the beginning? The community of Trout Lake is most concerned about avoiding anything similar happening again.
My question to the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources concerns the planning and preparedness of such emergency situations, where the goal is to prevent situations like this from happening again. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister explain what safety features, like shut-off valves, are currently required for fuel tanks and for feeding pipes, to prevent fuel spills, and what other features like berms are required to control contamination, should there be a release of fuel? Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My understanding was that the fuel tank in question was a double-walled tank, which is supposed to preclude the need for a berm. Clearly, there was a failure not with the tank itself but the connection from the valve to the tank and from that valve to the hose.
Clearly, the Member has raised some good points. Environment and Natural Resources is dealing with the cleanup, but we’re going to be working as the government, with ENR as the lead agency, to do a debriefing and review to make sure, in this circumstance, what happened and why, to preclude that it ever happens again — and to make sure that we check our other facilities so that we don’t have any other of these types of circumstances just waiting to happen.
Mr. Speaker, it’s been my experience that double-walled tanks…. There are certainly reasons for having double-walled tanks — they’re meant for temporary installations. Maybe the Minister can clarify this for me: I think that double-walled tanks, if they’re intended to be permanent, that there indeed be a berm attached. As well, with any tanks there, we’ve got lots of unstable ground, and all the tanks should have at least the minimal flexible coupling. Can the Minister advise me of the current regulations? Mahsi.
Mr. Speaker, I’ll check on those specific details and provide that information to the Member.
The NWT has an Environmental Protection Act. Under this act, we also have a consolidation of spill contingency planning and reporting regulations. Anyone who stores more than 20,000 litres of contaminants above ground needs to file a spill contingency plan with the department. Can the Minister confirm that Northland Utilities had filed a spill contingency plan for the Trout Lake power station operation that accounts sufficiently for the circumstances and remoteness of that community? Mahsi.
Mr. Speaker, clearly, once this spill was discovered and the notification was made, there was a full response from ATCO, Northland Utilities, ENR, and all the other involved government agencies, to make sure that it was handled in the most appropriate way. There will be a debriefing and review of this whole incident once remediation has been dealt with, and all those issues and items raised by the Member will be addressed.
I’m very glad to hear that the situation will be adequately assessed and a determination to review the regulations. I’m looking for that as well. Small and remote communities, even more so, need adequate protection measures, and I’d like to see our current existing legislation certainly accommodate that, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi.
I will commit to sharing that information, as it comes ready, with the Member and with the appropriate committee, so that we can all have our input into this particular situation.
The Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of ITI. It gets back to my Member’s statement from earlier today, where I talked of the proposed changes to the allotment, the duration and the pricing for seasonal sites here in the North Slave region.
Most of us are well-aware of the firestorm that built up a month ago regarding these proposed changes. Again, I wanted to thank the Minister for maintaining the status quo in the campgrounds. What I’d like to ask the Minister today is: why did the department take eight months to come up with some proposed changes and try to implement them three weeks before the park season opened?
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Bob McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Member knows, we had an election in October and this resulted in a change. As well, in the North Slave region we had a wholesale changeover of regional managers.
I don’t know if the territorial election had much to do with the operational requirements inside a department — that should be a day-to-day operational thing. And they should be covered off by somebody whether there are changes to personnel or not. What I’d like to ask the Minister is: what is the game plan going forward in terms of consulting the campers in the North Slave region? Has he got a plan for this summer?
I did write to the Member, as the chair of the Economic Development Committee, advising him of what we were looking at. So I was pleased with his response and suggestions.
As I’ve committed publicly and I’ve committed to the committee, we will be undergoing full consultation with the campers, the aboriginal governments, and all of the public before we make any changes.
