Debates of November 29, 2007 (day 5)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wrote the Minister of MACA some time ago about my concerns about our lack of disclosure laws and consumer protection laws. The Minister wrote me back yesterday and I want to first thank the Minister for agreeing with me, because it’s quite obvious that the Minister denial training program hasn’t taken full effect yet because he did agree with a Member without a big study of saying no, no, nothing’s wrong. I see the Premier looking now.

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Wait a minute; he’s going to recall the letter. But in the letter, Mr. Speaker, the Minister of MACA pointed out that they’re well aware of this concern about the lack of disclosure and consumer protection and they’re currently working on it, taking note of the fact that when someone buys a house or a car, they’re typically the largest purchase that a person will ever make in their lifetime, yet they seem to have the smallest amount of protection. So when the Minister says he’s working on this and they’re well aware of this problem, what do they know and what are they actually really doing by action? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister responsible for Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. McLeod.

Return To Question 68-16(1): Consumer Protection Laws

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m not sure if I was part of the Ministerial denial program that existed. I must have been bypassed by that. Mr. Speaker, there’s a number of areas that need to be improved in the area of consumer protection and we are looking at how we can provide better services, improve our services and improve our resources. The Real Estate Agents Licensing Act does have a statutory provision for disclosure that only applies to the salespeople and the agents. It doesn’t trickle down to the private sales. We need to improve in that area. We have to look at how we can do that. It’s going to require new legislation and will require new resources. We have to be able to identify that. That needs to be discussed with our colleagues here in the House as we set our priorities, if that’s an area we want to look at and invest in. We also need to look at the consumer mediation services. We also need to look at the additional demands being placed on us to increase our forms again. So there are a number of different areas and this is one of them that we have committed to looking at. We, however, have to see it as a priority from this government. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Supplementary To Question 68-16(1): Consumer Protection Laws

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, Mr. Speaker, again, if you buy a house, it’s probably the largest purchase you’ll ever make. But if you find out, later on, the foundation’s cracked, it’s full of mould, and you’ve been sold a song that it’s the best house in the world and all of a sudden you find out that, you know, no one will ever want to buy your house again and the fact that you can’t get insurance, you may run into trouble even getting a mortgage. Mr. Speaker, there’s no protection for these large purchases and that could break a hard-working family. So would the Minister agree that this is an important issue that could cripple a hard-working family, and would he tell me when they plan to move forward on this huge issue? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. McLeod.

Further Return To Question 68-16(1): Consumer Protection Laws

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all, we’ll have to have discussions on priorities of this new government. This is an issue that we’d like to see further discussion on. We’re not sure how much priority we can place on it. We haven’t received any complaints in this area about this full disclosure issue. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Supplementary To Question 68-16(1): Consumer Protection Laws

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, if the Minister would like, I could provide him, too, as soon as we go upstairs, my couple of constituents. But the fact is, it isn’t so much that as we should be making sure we’re protecting our constituents. If this isn’t a priority, I don’t know what one is, Mr. Speaker, especially when he knows how difficult it can be. So the fact is, can the Minister bring back, before February, some kind of discussion paper to correct this problem, this lack of protection that we have for our consumers out there? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. McLeod.

Further Return To Question 68-16(1): Consumer Protection Laws

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Obviously, this is a priority for the Member and I think we’ve heard the same radio, CBC Radio report and we can probably contact those people that spoke. Our office has not had any complaints along full disclosure. I’d certainly be willing to sit down and have more discussion with the Member. We need to hear from the Members of this House where the priorities are in terms of investment. This is going to require new legislation, new investment, new resources, and an ability to police it. So we need to have that all packaged so that the Members could understand it and see what it’s going to cost. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Supplementary To Question 68-16(1): Consumer Protection Laws

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, no one’s suggesting we have to reinvent the new wheel. This type of law exists all over Canada, all over the U.S., so I’m not sure what we’re going to sort of reinvent. The fact is, this Minister could agree to a discussion paper before February so that we can fully address this issue and build it into the priorities. So would the Minister agree to commit to building a discussion paper so that we can look at the fullness of the issue and how it can possibly be implemented in this term? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. McLeod.

Further Return To Question 68-16(1): Consumer Protection Laws

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think we already agreed that we need to have further discussions. Mr. Speaker, I should point out that we are having discussions with other jurisdictions. We are talking with our federal and provincial counterparts, discussions on some of the Canadian Motor Vehicle Arbitration Plan and the Consumer Measures Committee and others to see how we can move forward on this, to see what other jurisdictions are doing, and I’ll be glad to start looking and bringing something forward for committee to consider. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to continue to ask some more questions about the Diamond Jenness Secondary School in Hay River. Maybe this time I’ll direct my questions to the Minister responsible for Public Works. We have a lot of capital infrastructure as a government and there’s kind of an alarming trend I’m seeing here which I don’t like. When we have a building, we are the stewards of that building. We are required, like any homeowner or anybody who owns anything, to maintain that. Now, if we’re not going to be tearing down the Diamond Jenness Secondary School and we’re going to be renovating it, why are we letting it go so far into disrepair? I mean, the roof is leaking, the pipes are inappropriate, there’s rust in the water. I mean, there’s so many things wrong with it. Why are we letting it go so far? Some of these are not big ticket items to fix. Why can’t we do more maintenance on it? Do we have enough PWS tradespeople and resources in Hay River at the current time to maintain and keep in good repair the buildings that we have there? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister responsible for Public Works and Services, Mr. Michael McLeod.

Return To Question 69-16(1): Diamond Jenness Secondary School Retrofit

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we did do a technical review and identified a number of areas that there are deficiencies on this infrastructure piece in Hay River. We’ve scoped out the project; we’ve put a price tag in 2006 dollars at $22.5 million. That information has been passed on to the Department of Education. This is a fairly old building. It was built in 1972. There has been a number of renovations since then. The latest one was in 1995 where we replaced the roof and did some work in the student service area and home economics room and resource centre. So we’re doing ongoing maintenance of the facility; however, it needs a serious retrofit and we’ve made those recommendations to the department and are waiting for their response. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Supplementary To Question 69-16(1): Diamond Jenness Secondary School Retrofit

Mr. Speaker, my question is, do we have enough staff and enough resources in Hay River to try and maintain this building so that it does not deteriorate further and fall into further disrepair? If we’re going to do a retrofit on it, wouldn’t it make sense to try and stop damage from getting worse, from deterioration occurring? I mean, that’s kind of how I think. We’re supposed to be stewards of these resources that we have. That would make sense. Take the hospital, for example. They have a dedicated maintenance staff. There’s at least three or four people at the hospital who are dedicated to maintenance only. Who’s responsible for maintaining the high school and would it be worth looking at a dedicated maintenance person in that school? I mean, obviously the janitors can’t do the maintenance, the teachers can’t do it, so who’s going to do it? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. McLeod.

Further Return To Question 69-16(1): Diamond Jenness Secondary School Retrofit

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we’re not talking about minor repairs here for a facility. We’re talking about a major midlife retrofit for this facility. That has to go through the capital planning process and that’s what we’re proposing to do. We’re waiting for a response and would like to move forward on it. Until then, all we can do is the minor repairs as they are identified. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Supplementary To Question 69-16(1): Diamond Jenness Secondary School Retrofit

Okay. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know a little bit about building maintenance and let me tell you, some of the pictures in the review there, there is a penetration through the wall in the boiler room where pipes and where holes are that haven’t been filled and there’s nothing in the hole anymore. It’s just a breach of the firewall in the boiler room. Surely for the price of drywall and something to seal around a pipe we could do a little preventative maintenance, fill that in, so if there was a fire in the boiler room it wouldn’t spread to the whole school and burn it down. Those are the kind of things I’m talking about. Those are not expensive items. Those are basic…

Question, Mrs. Groenewegen.

…abandoned light fixtures. Let’s take them down. That is not big ticket stuff. Can we maintain the school, at least?

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. McLeod.

Further Return To Question 69-16(1): Diamond Jenness Secondary School Retrofit

Thank you. I would beg to differ that that stuff is not being done. I would also commit to having our staff going and looking at what the minor repairs that may be being neglected, as the Member has indicated. If there is anything that is minor repair that we can do through Public Works, we will do it. However, the major retrofit has to go through the capital plan and that’s what this facility needs, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final, short supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Supplementary To Question 69-16(1): Diamond Jenness Secondary School Retrofit

Mr. Speaker, my point is that if we take care of the minor things, the major retrofit will be less of a challenge. Would the Minister of Public Works and Services commit to forming a working group between perhaps the MLAs, the local school authority, somebody from Education, to take a look at this facility and see what kinds of things that we could identify that we could do now while we’re waiting to get a major retrofit done? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. McLeod.

Further Return To Question 69-16(1): Diamond Jenness Secondary School Retrofit

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’d be glad to look at the facility and see what could be done. If there’s other people that want to work with us on it, if the Member can identify who they are. The retrofit is still in the works. We’re not sure how far down the road it is and we’d be glad to sit down with whoever is interested in talking about doing some of the minor repair and how to do it. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment. As I discussed in my Member’s statement, Education, Culture and Employment is providing grants through the NWT Arts Council to northern artists. When people go out and provide their product or finish their CDs or do their paintings or whatnot, what is done by ECE is basically an e-mail saying congratulations, this has been done, we’ve gave the person a grant, it’s great, whoo-hoo. It seems to end there. This is sad. There’s an opportunity for ITI to work closely with ECE to get this information and learn about these artists and promote these artists. I’d like to hear from the Minister of industry and tourism today that they will work closely with Education, Culture and Employment. They will get these names, they will get copies of these products, and they will include them in their tourism and marketing campaigns as a way to promote and enhance the Arts Society and create a reason for people, another reason for people to come to the Northwest Territories. So I’m looking for that commitment from the Minister today. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. McLeod.

Return To Question 70-16(1): Coordinated Approach To Government Support For The Arts Sector

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m sure the Member will be pleased to hear that the Department of ITI and ECE have been working together very closely over the past several years. Both departments funded the development of an Arts Strategy in 2004. We have also funded a follow-up action plan two in 2007. I have listened very closely to what the Member is saying. I fully agree. I think it is a very good idea to support performing artists, especially if they record their work. I know that, in visiting other provinces and territories, other provinces and territories do that, as well. I will be working with my colleague from Education to update our action plan so that we can continue to support our performing artists. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Supplementary, Mr. Abernethy.

Supplementary To Question 70-16(1): Coordinated Approach To Government Support For The Arts Sector

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am aware of the document that you are talking about. To me, it didn’t address the artists that are out there being supported from the Arts Council. Like I said, there are a lot of musicians out there that have received money and are out there struggling to get their name known. It wouldn’t take very much for us to give them a little bit of a nudge through some of our marketing campaign to get their name out there and to utilize them, to ask them along when we are going out on tradeshows and whatnot as representatives of the North to say this is the type of music that is being produced. It is amazing the types of music that are out there. My question is obviously specifically related to those people that are getting the grants. Will you work with the Minister of Education to get those names, to get the product and to include the product in your marketing campaigns?

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Mr. McLeod.

Further Return To Question 70-16(1): Coordinated Approach To Government Support For The Arts Sector

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our department has been doing that to a certain extent. You may recall that last year at the Canada Winter Games in Whitehorse, we had a large cultural component and we also had an NWT House where we featured performing artists from the Northwest Territories. We are planning to do something similar at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. We also have been successful in utilizing performers in our various tradeshows over the years. You might recall with Team Canada when we went to Dallas and Russia and Berlin, we used performing artists. So this is something that we would really like to continue to support. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is addressed to the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs who well knows that we do not have a 911 service anywhere in the Northwest Territories. The Minister also knows that the chief coroner of the NWT, as early as 2001, has made recommendations that the GNWT should consider implementing a 911 service in our territory. The need is an issue of public safety and access to emergency services. Mr. Speaker, it is well known that a 911 service saves lives and the response time to accidents and tragic events is much shorter where a 911 service exists.

In May of 2007, the NWT Association of Communities passed a resolution at their annual general meeting that the GNWT formulate an implementation plan to provide 911 dispatch service to all households in the NWT. The Minister is aware that the City of Yellowknife has been working to get a 911 service off the ground for many years now, but it is hampered by a lack of GNWT support. Just this week, Mr. Speaker, the deputy minister of Municipal and Community Affairs made the following statements, and I quote, "The government is preparing to undertake some research. There has been a lot of interest from the coroner’s office, obviously from the City of Yellowknife and most recently through a resolution from the NWT Association of Communities in saying discussions on how we might get some kind of emergency services advanced." My question to the Minister is this: What research is the department about to undertake and when will it get started?

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Minister responsible for Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Michael McLeod.

Return To Question 71-16(1): Implementation Of A 911 Service

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are a number of things we would have to look at in order to start putting the plan on how to deliver 911 services to the Northwest Territories and also to even deliver it to one of the communities is probably closer to being ready than the rest, and that is the city of Yellowknife. Of course, that is looking at the technical challenges that are in front of us. NorthwesTel has been communicating with us. We can’t identify a system right now to support delivery to all of the communities. There are also a number of logistical challenges that we need to identify how we would deal with the system in our communities where they don’t have street addresses, and, of course, the biggest factor and the biggest challenge of all is the cost. We have agreed to work with the City of Yellowknife. We have put together a stakeholder committee. We are part of it. We will be working along with them to look at the different options and a plan to deliver 911 to the city of Yellowknife. We will continue to work on what it would take to apply that to the rest of the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.

Supplementary To Question 71-16(1): Implementation Of A 911 Service

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to hear the Minister say that they are ready to support the City of Yellowknife to get 911 implemented, if that is what I heard. I think that is wonderful. The Minister spoke also about the absence of infrastructure in all the communities in the NWT. That is absolutely accurate. Most of our communities can’t handle 911 service at this point in time due to technical problems with their telephone service, but I know there is at least one community that is ready for 911. In the absence of necessary infrastructure in every community, will the Minister commit to providing support to the implementation of 911 in at least the one community or more who are ready for the implementation of 911? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Mr. McLeod.

Further Return To Question 71-16(1): Implementation Of A 911 Service

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think we have already indicated to the city that we would be glad to work with them. We would be very happy to explore the different options that are available to us. Of course, we have to look at what type of system we are talking about. Are we talking about a basic 911 system that is available in the Yukon? Are we looking at a complete system like the southern cities have? All those things, of course, have different costs or price tags that come with it. We have to do a lot of work in this area. We have committed to work with the city on that. Thank you.