Good morning, colleagues. Before we get started today, I’d like to start by saying the Beaufort-Delta has had a very difficult time in the past week and a half. I’d like to give condolences to our former Premier, Nellie Cournoyea; Gayle, Hershel, Lillian, Weddel and Dale Hvatum on the loss of their mother, Maggie Hvatum, who passed away.
I’d like to give condolences to Kathy Paul’s children of Aklavik, Savannah and Lance Paul.
Adam Ruben of Paulatuk, condolences to his sister Mary Ruben-Green and brothers Charlie and Alex Ruben.
Natalie Simpson of Aklavik, condolences to mother Liz Simpson and sisters Kathy Conley, Louise McLeod and Cora Simpson.
And one of my good friends growing up, the loss of a good friend, Stanford Harry of Inuvik, condolences to his partner Clara Day and to his family.
To the family of Winnie Elanik of Aklavik, condolences to Margaret and Marjorie Elanik, Sadie Whitbread, Frank, Archie, Tom and Sandy Elanik, Sally Kasook and Beverly Elanik. Sorry for the loss of your mother.
Paulousie Ittungna of Inuvik, condolences to Brenda Samson and Kyle Ittungna. Paulou had just graduated from SHSS in Inuvik and went back to upgrade to an academic level to enter university, where he wanted to play volleyball with hopes of joining Team Canada. He was the captain of the volleyball team at SHSS. The community of Inuvik, especially the youth, have shown much strength and will attend the volleyball tournament in Yellowknife this weekend in Paulou’s honour. He was kind and an exceptional athlete with great ambitions. Paulou was respected and loved by all his peers and elders alike. He will be sadly missed, not only in the community of Inuvik but here in Yellowknife as well. He has a lot of friends all over the territory.
Across the North we lose loved ones in the Beaufort-Delta and we all feel sorrow. It’s not easy, but we may find comfort and strength in each other. My thoughts and prayers go out to all the families who lost loved ones in the territory over the past two weeks. Our thoughts and prayers are with you from the Legislative Assembly.
Mr. Speaker, later today at the appropriate time, I will table a public discussion paper, entitled A Vision for Energy in the Northwest Territories: Developing the 2013 Northwest Territories Energy Plan. This paper is the first component of a multi-step process that will lead to the development of the 2013 Energy Plan. Residents, business, municipal governments, Aboriginal organizations and community groups are all invited to read this document and submit their comments to the government. The paper lays out five key questions on which the Government of the Northwest Territories is asking the public for their input.
We have been working with the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Infrastructure throughout this process and appreciate their input and advice. We look forward to your continued involvement as we move forward with the development of the Energy Plan.
As part of the feedback process, we are also asking the public to fill out a brief survey on what government should prioritize in the maintenance and future development of our energy systems. The survey is available on the Industry, Tourism and Investment website.
As a key part of our engagement and feedback process, the GNWT will host the 2012 Northwest Territories Energy Charrette on November 20, 2012, in Yellowknife. This stakeholder engagement and policy development event will include two open sessions, which will allow the public the opportunity to interact with energy experts, energy utility representatives, public servants and other charrette delegates. MLAs Mr. Bob Bromley and Mr. Michael Nadli have been invited to this event and we are looking forward to their participation and input.
Outside of the open sessions, delegates from various levels of government, Aboriginal development corporations, energy utilities, non-government organizations, as well as energy experts will all collaborate to help the GNWT create its energy agenda for the 17th Legislative Assembly and beyond. The delegates will share ideas, suggest investment criteria, and map out an implementation plan for the GNWT’s consideration. All of this work will be summarized in the charrette final report, which will be publicly released in mid-December 2012.
After this important stakeholder engagement process is finished, the GNWT will use the results of the energy charrette to finalize the Energy Plan, which will be released in March 2013. The Energy Plan will firmly lay out the energy vision and policies of the GNWT, as well as provide details on spending initiatives and government priorities.
Mr. Speaker, this government has invested heavily and made a great deal of progress in the past four years to increase the availability of local and renewable energy options for the residents and businesses of the Northwest Territories, while diminishing the role that imported, expensive diesel fuel plays in our energy supply mix.
I am confident that the government’s collaborative approach, which focuses on stakeholder engagement and a transparent policy development process, will reinvigorate this vital sector of the NWT’s economy, and continue to create sustainable and reliable energy systems for all of the territory’s 33 communities.
Working together, we can, and will, develop an Energy Plan aimed at stabilizing the costs of energy for our communities and reducing our carbon footprint. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Minister of Public Works and Services, Mr. Abernethy.
Mr. Speaker, when we meet here in the Legislative Assembly, we often talk about the opportunities for our communities and residents provided through the GNWT’s infrastructure programs. However, today I would like to bring your attention to work that the Department of Public Works and Services is doing as part of the GNWT’s Environmental Remediation Program, and the opportunities that this work is creating for our smaller communities.
In support of the 17th Legislative Assembly’s goal of ensuring that our environment will sustain present and future generations, Public Works and Services chairs the GNWT’s Interdepartmental Granular and Environmental Remediation Committee whose members include representatives from the departments of Municipal and Community Affairs, Transportation, Environment and Natural Resources and the NWT Housing Corporation.
For its part, Mr. Speaker, Public Works and Services has been busy remediating current and former fuel storage and distribution facilities, as well as contaminated sites on behalf of other departments in communities across the NWT.
To date, PWS has completed 32 environmental site assessments in 18 communities where the GNWT provided fuel storage and distribution.
Major environmental remediation projects have now been completed in Sachs Harbour, Gameti, Deline, Lutselk’e and Tulita, with work continuing in Tuktoyaktuk and planned for Trout Lake next summer.
At the community level, coordination and cooperation between departments makes it possible for multiple sites to be remediated in a single community. This creates more local and northern business and employment opportunities while improving the efficiency of delivering the Environmental Remediation Program. A win-win for communities and government.
Other benefits being achieved through these important remediation projects include:
the restoration of land for government and community use such as municipal infrastructure and recreation;
new more cost-effective remediation technologies are being piloted in the NWT to demonstrate their effectiveness and ability to reduce costs;
job creation and training opportunities as well as economic stimulus at the community level by using local and northern contractors and consultants to carry out projects;
developing local skills for future remediation projects in our smaller communities; and
wherever possible, the return of remediated granular material to communities so that it can be recycled and used for other community projects.
Concrete examples of how these benefits are being enjoyed by our communities can be seen by looking at just a few of the department’s recently completed remediation projects, including:
the removal and treatment of 5,000 cubic metres of contaminated soil from the old tank farm site in Tulita using local labour and contractors. The remediated soil from this project was recycled back to the community.
the removal of 2,500 cubic metres of contaminated soil from the old tank farm site in Gameti using local equipment and labour to complete the work and to maintain the bio pile. The old contaminated tank farm site was located in the middle of the community and has now been backfilled and landscaped. We understand that the community is now proposing to develop a baseball field in this location.
Mr. Speaker, through the Interdepartmental Granular and Environmental Remediation Committee, Public Works and Services is helping to ensure that our communities and land are safe and sustainable. Using local and northern contractors, labour and consultants not only engages communities in restoring our environment, but helps build capacity and strengthen the partnerships which will help define our government’s environmental stewardship legacy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Beaulieu.
Mr. Speaker, in 2011 the Auditor General of Canada recommended improvements to the department’s ability to evaluate and report on performance. Specifically, the Auditor General recommended that we implement system-wide indicators, develop a program evaluation plan for the health and social services system, and regularly inform this Assembly about the performance of the system. Mr. Speaker, later today I will table the first annual report on the strategic plan.
Mr. Speaker, we take recommendations from the Auditor General very seriously. Last year we published an updated strategic plan for the health and social services system, Building on Our Foundation. It contains specific activity targets for each of the next five years, and includes a commitment to annual reporting on broader health and social services system outcomes. Reporting progress on the activities that will lead to change demonstrates movement towards our long-term goals, while reporting on outcomes provides the baseline against which we can measure long-term meaningful change in the health and well-being of our residents.
The department is working in partnership with the health and social services authorities to develop a system-wide accountability framework. It will include indicators and an evaluation planning framework, and will be complete early next year.
Enhanced reporting on performance indicators will allow for timely informed decision-making across our system and will help to ensure efficiency and value. But most importantly, it will help us to monitor the health and well-being of our residents, to know where our programs and services are having a positive impact and where we need to do more.
Mr. Speaker, providing for the health and well-being of all NWT residents is a priority for this government. We remain committed to reporting to this Assembly and to the public about how well we are doing. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I rise to acknowledge the accomplishment of a young man from Fort Simpson, Mr. Wesley Hardisty. Wes is only 18 years old. He took up the fiddle just five years ago through the outreach work of the Kole Crook Fiddle Association. His talent was obvious. As a young teenager he moved to Salt Spring Island, BC, to develop that talent at the Gulf Islands School of Performing Arts.
He has since performed at fiddle camps and festivals all across Canada, billed as a fiddling sensation. In 2011 he played for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on their northern tour, and made his first CD called 12:12, meaning life is good, appreciate it and enjoy it. He continues to return home to Fort Simpson to perform at our own Open Sky Festival. Northerners have also been treated to his music at Folk on the Rocks in Yellowknife and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings in Inuvik.
Last night Wesley Hardisty received national recognition by winning the Aboriginal People’s Choice Award for Best Fiddle CD at the RBC Ohshkii Awards Night. Congratulations. For these awards, the music industry nominates the performers, but hundreds of ordinary people vote on-line for the winners.
The communities of the Deh Cho region, with their Dene and Metis heritage, have always been known for their excellent fiddlers. Now I can boast the best fiddler in the country comes from my riding.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to congratulate the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority for going entirely smoke-free. Of course, smoking has only been allowed outside the Hay River hospital for quite a while now, but it was time to take the next step. Let’s not forget that the main goal here is to help people quit smoking altogether and greatly reduce the risk of cancer, lung disease and heart disease.
There is a lot of help and support available to anyone who wants to quit smoking or kick their tobacco addictions. For starters, telephone counselling and personal support is available through the NWT Quitline. Doctors and nurses can help you get a prescription for anti-smoking aids of various types: the nicotine patch, gum, and even two medications, Zyban and Champix. The cost is covered for these prescriptions for all NWT residents.
I highly encourage anyone who’s thinking about quitting, to take the big step. Don’t forget, it’s also a step for all the young people who look up to you. It is the most important thing you can do to prevent our youth from taking up this terrible and addictive habit.
I welcome the news that the Health department is re-launching the Don’t Be a Butthead Campaign after Christmas. I hope that all of our young people will pledge to go smoke-free each year. There is strength in numbers and I have often marvelled at the strength of our next generation.
We have a long way to go and we have to keep our efforts and awareness of tobacco addiction high. The smoking rate in the Northwest Territories is more than twice the national average, and as of three years ago, 36 percent of our entire population over the age of 15 was a smoker. We have to kick the habit. I hope the next numbers we see and the next generation will be healthier.
Since I have a few minutes left on the clock, I would also like to just mention some of my own observations about smoking.
Have you ever sat outside a department store or Canadian Tire or someplace and watched the smokers walking in there, flicking their cigarettes on the ground? It’s just something that’s curious to me. If smokers think their butts are invisible, if they think someone else is going to pick them up, if they think they’re biodegradable, if they think it’s okay to take their ashtray and dump it on a parking lot while they’re sitting in their car waiting for somebody, so you come and you see these little mountains of cigarette butts everywhere; it’s just curious to me. It’s littering. It’s disgusting. I’ve always been puzzled by that.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. By now if your son or daughter hasn’t talked about the new PowerSchool student information system, with report cards already done or coming next week, you’ll soon be seeing what this new technology is all about.
This new school technology has been used all over North America and is now making its debut in NWT school systems. In essence, this multi-faceted data management tool will allow school boards and schools to manage student data and create reports to monitor and plan for student success.
PowerSchool will do the following: attendance, emergency medical data, scheduling, timetables, grading and report cards, just to name a few of its functions. As well, the new PowerTeacher tools will be able to link assignments to grades, track students’ progress, link grades to calculations directly to report cards and monitor on-line attendance. There will also be a parent portal for PowerSchool made available as soon as the pilot is done. I am sure many parents are eagerly awaiting to find out what options will be at their disposal in real time and accessible with their mobile devices. So be careful kids, as mom and dad will now be plugged into your performance.
Training started in May of 2012 with a webinar orientation with only formal training a couple weeks ago for over 900 educators throughout the Northwest Territories. Training was either face to face with a PowerSchool trainer or, in some cases, through web-based options.
Although change is always difficult, these data management systems will ultimately provide a much needed source of information and robust reporting options in the education system, and will no doubt improve student success in academic achievement.
How did we do with getting this new technology into the hands of educators? How was this transition overall? I had the pleasure of speaking to a number of teachers and school board officials and I have to say, for the most part, the Department of ECE did not a bad job. However, there were some common issues that arose and which I will be addressing later today with the Minister of Education.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. November is Diabetes Month, but every month is Diabetes Month for 2,000 or 3,000 of our residents. Most of us, maybe all of us, know someone who struggles to manage their diabetes. People with this disease do not properly absorb sugars and starches from their blood. They typically suffer from severe thirst and produce a lot of urine. It is really important to detect diabetes early on because it is much easier to manage with exercise and a healthy diet. If diabetes is not managed, blindness and even death can result.
Diabetes is a relatively new disease among Aboriginal peoples of the NWT. A few decades ago it was almost unheard of among us, but changes in our lifestyle and diet have led to the rise of diabetes rates. These are all reasons that we must raise awareness of diabetes and what to do about it in our small communities.
Yesterday I was glad to hear the Health Minister talk about pilot project to manage diabetes in Deline and a couple other communities. However, none are in my riding and I urge the Minister to expand the program into the Deh Cho region.
Right now diabetes patients in Fort Providence are sent to Yellowknife for support services, counselling, or to see a nutritionist even though Hay River is much closer. It would be much more convenient and probably less expensive to send diabetes patients from my home communities to Hay River. Surely the Health Department can at least give them that option.
The closer health services are to a community, the better people will understand their conditions and the more involved they will be in their own care. In the case of diabetes, it is important for the patients’ families to understand the disease and how they can help. I hope our Health department and authorities will expand services in this way.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. October was a tough month for Yellowknifers on income support. It seems that the income support division at Education, Culture and Employment in late September and early October had a staff shortage, computer problems, who knows what other problems, and they got more than a little behind in the processing of income support payments. One of my constituents dutifully sent in all the necessary documents early in September, the usual time, expecting a bank deposit at the usual time. A week into October the bank deposit had not appeared. There was a polite but cryptic e-mail from a client service officer advising that they were “currently experiencing a staff shortage and processing times for applications were taking longer than usual.”
Income support clients have bills just like the rest of us – rent, phone and so on – and I don’t know many landlords who will wait for their rent cheques, or phone companies who will extend credit for months at a time. Income support clients also need to buy food, and generally have a very small margin of error in their monthly cash flow. A late income cheque means payments will be in arrears and the fridge and the cupboards will be empty.
How does the Department of Education, Culture and Employment expect people to survive any month without their anticipated revenue? My constituent waited patiently. This was not the first time he had encountered this problem. Yet a week later, halfway through the month, he still had not received his payment.
This is totally unacceptable. We can be sure that if GNWT staff paycheques were two weeks late, the problem would have been rapidly fixed much earlier. Why then can’t we do the same for our residents, our NWT clients? I can appreciate that departments run into staffing problems periodically, unforeseen circumstances and all that. But when the work is time sensitive, when people are relying on the end result of the work, a payment to manage their lives, surely we can find temporary workers or supervisors or managers, someone from another area to fill in and meet the deadline that looms.
I have said it before and I am sure I will have to say it again, the GNWT must develop a better customer service attitude and mentality. Our staff have internal and external clients. All clients deserve proper treatment. We are, after all, a public service. Good service from government has to become priority one across the board. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to salute the work done last week at Made in the North, a three-day forum on adult learning, literacy and skills development organized by the NWT, Yukon and Nunavut literacy councils. More than 150 participants representing the three territories, Newfoundland and Labrador and other provinces, and the Government of Canada attended. Minister Lafferty welcomed the forum members and gave much appreciated remarks on the importance of literacy and skill development.
Forum attendees shared innovations in adult learning practices, policies and programs through four moderated discussions including workforce and workplace skills development, non-formal community-based skills and development programs, literacy and essential skills in our multi-cultural and multi-lingual regions, and the challenges of formal adult education programs. General discussions and detailed break-out sessions allowed participants to pool knowledge and creativity towards partnerships and innovative suggestions for action.
Participants learned about programs in such areas as culinary skills, sewing courses and greenhouse building where educators achieved the greatest success by taking inventive literacy and overall skills development as the basis of program design. They shared the lessons of building student achievements into early parts of course delivery, making people feel successful and motivated to continue learning.
The need for flexibility in the development and delivery of programming and the need to seize local opportunities with a practical focus were major conclusions agreed upon at the event. The range of needs and opportunities considered at the forum emphasized the idea that adult learners are often the most marginalized clients of education programming. Well educated people are already well able to learn, but it is the people who need basic learning to unlock their potential that often represent the greatest challenges to the formal systems we currently use to deliver education.
Adult learners’ ineligibility under the Student Financial Assistance Program is a problem that must be addressed. I will be looking for innovative solutions such as those developed by Yukon College as part of our Student Financial Assistance review.
Congratulations to our NWT Literacy Council for hosting this success story and to all organizing partners for the quality and success of this ground-breaking event. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to acknowledge the hardworking trappers that are in the Northwest Territories. I was in Fort Good Hope and the people there are happy that winter is finally coming. They were quite concerned because of the late snowfall and the warm weather they have been having around the Sahtu region. Now that they are out there trapping, they noticed that the fuel prices have increased almost to $40 per gallon of gasoline. The trappers are saying that the way of life is very hard. They need close to $1,000 now to check their traplines. Some of them have 700 traps out there, 200 to 400 miles that they run their lines every trapping season. Even skidoos now, the trappers are saying about $10,000. People are having a hard time.
We also know from the Minister of ITI in his reports, that international countries such as China and Russia look to the Northwest Territories for the fine quality of furs that they can get, and they go at a very high premium price to get these furs from the Northwest Territories.
I want to ask the Minister what other types of support – I have a binder full of information – provides support for the trappers, as there’s nothing that supports for the fuel subsidy for the trappers that they can go out and make their way of life and train their children and do their business.
The trappers need our help. This is a dying art, it’s a fine art and it’s a lot of hard work and they teach their youngsters. There’s actually one young man in Colville Lake and we asked him a couple of years ago what he wanted to be when he grew up, and his eyes were smiling and his face was pumped up and he said, I want to be a trapper. So we need to support kids who want to be trappers.
I’ll have questions for the Minister of ITI later on. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As you know, in the North we have a lot of respect for our seniors and elders, but in Hay River I often get the opportunity to visit with a lot of seniors and many of them live in their own homes. They are proud that they live in their own homes; however, the increasing cost of living in those homes is making it more and more difficult to stay there. Some are considering moving south, which I think is shameful. I think we need to keep all Northerners in the North. Some are looking to sell their homes and apply for seniors housing and to use seniors facilities.
I have many seniors that are fighting to keep their homes as long as they possibly can, for financial reasons or for health reasons. They want to stay there as long as they can. I believe that we need to help those people stay in their homes. I would like to see the government assist with increased costs of living for seniors in their own homes.
Our population is getting older, our demand on senior facilities is naturally increasing and we need to find more ways to help those seniors. The issues of seniors span across many government departments. Health is an obvious one, but Health is also involved in continual care at their homes. Education, Culture and Employment monitors the Fuel Subsidy Program. Housing obviously controls housing issues. MACA controls tax breaks for those seniors that are in their own homes.
I believe that this government needs to increase their support to seniors that are in their own homes.
I will have questions for the Minister responsible for Seniors to see where they are choreographing all of the GNWT departments in this area. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. The Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the Mackenzie Delta we have 300 kilometres of highways with only one ambulance service in Inuvik. Many times we have had major accidents on the highway, at which time members of the public have had to act to save lives.
In this day and age, we should have trained personnel in our communities. For example, Fort McPherson and Tsiigehtchic could provide ambulance services. This would help keep our communities and our highway system safe and also provide many jobs in our communities.
I’ll have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services later today. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Blake. The Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to recognize and congratulate the Fort Resolution Road Runners Boys 12 and Under Soccer Team who won a gold medal in Grande Prairie, Alberta, back in May of 2012. Although belated, I would like to acknowledge this team since I am proud of the team’s achievements.
The Fort Resolution Road Runners Boys 12 and Under Soccer Team also included a couple of girls 12 and under since there were not enough boys to complete the team. The team travelled to Grande Prairie, Alberta, for an annual children’s soccer tournament from May 27th to June 1, 2012. The team travelled under the supervision of their coach and chaperone, Wilfred Simon, also known as Rabbit.
The Fort Resolution Road Runners boys under 12 soccer team are no strangers to the children’s soccer tournament in Grande Prairie. The first year they travelled to Grande Prairie, Alberta, the Fort Res Road Runners won a bronze medal. The second year they won a silver medal. This year they won the gold medal.
I would like to individually acknowledge and congratulate the team members. They are: Isaac Simon, Darryl Balsillie, Ethan McKay, Johnny Bailey, Brendan Bourke, Jlyn Boucher, Samantha King, Chaslyn McKay, Kayliegh Hunter, and Bailey Chaplin.
I believe since the community of Fort Resolution gained a recreation centre, the children and community members alike have been very involved and active in sports. The recreation centre and the above is just an example of many more future achievements to be recognized.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Member for Monfwi, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. [Statement delivered in an Aboriginal language and then in English.]
I’d just like to, first of all, congratulate Ms. Rosa Mantla of Behchoko for receiving one of the prestigious awards, I would call it Cultural Award, last night at the Aboriginal Sports Circle event. I’d just like to say 30-plus years of experience, contribution, commitment and dedication goes a long way. She continues her commitment towards these important matters for the Tlicho region. My congratulations to her for her continued interest and commitment, and for making us proud.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. It gives me great pleasure to recognize some of the visitors in the gallery here. I would like to recognize, first of all, Mr. David Mitchell, the president and CEO of the Public Policy Forum. With him is Vice-President Jill Baker, and also project coordinator Ryan Conway. Our visitors are from Ottawa. Accompanying them is David Brock, Chief Electoral Officer.
I would also just like to recognize the students that are here with us, along with Arthur Osborne, an instructor with Aurora College, as part of the Business Administration Program. He has brought his Introduction to Government class to view today’s session. I would like to welcome him.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. Robert McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is a great honour to recognize my wife of 33 years, Judy, who is with us in the gallery today. It’s nice to have you here.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It gives me great pleasure and honour to introduce to the House the newest and hardest working person to join me in the office of Range Lake, the lovely Ms. Norma Giovanetto.
