Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I had the opportunity just recently to read a press release put out by Premier Jim Prentice, and of course, that is the Premier of Alberta. He had met our Premier Bob McLeod, it looks like, over the weekend. This has drawn my attention to the statement which is where I am going to focus my question. It says the Premier, and it talks about the long history between Alberta and the Northwest Territories, to set a path forward to strengthen our economies. I’m going to focus my area directly to that, as I mentioned.
I would like to know the nature of the discussion that they had, what is being discussed in relation to topics that fall under, sort of, the energy development relationship between Alberta and the Northwest Territories that he has been discussing with the Premier. To my knowledge, the Premier hasn’t had a mandate, so I’m curious about what he has been talking about or developing on our behalf. I think it would be a good time to talk about these types of relationships. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. NWT and Alberta has a very long, collaborative history. As a matter of fact, Alberta and Saskatchewan were carved out of the Northwest Territories in 1905. We have had an MOU on cooperation and development with Alberta for about 18 years and it’s been renewed twice and recently expired in 2013. We have been having discussions on entering into a new, renewed MOU. A lot of our discussions are on energy. I believe that at the start of this session, when we all met as Caucus, that was something that we all agreed, was we had to do some work in this area. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I appreciate the history lesson for the Premier about how Alberta and Saskatchewan came about, although I happen to already know that, just so you know, but I appreciate that all the same. But that said, energy is a very big topic, as we all know, and that’s kind of what some of us are talking about here today.
I’d like to maybe drill down just a little bit as to what type of energy cooperation relationship is the Premier talking about developing with the province of Alberta with the Northwest Territories. I think this is an important topic and we need to be talking about it, how in some ways we will be working together, in some ways we may not be able to find a path together.
So with that said, what specific energy initiatives and relationship building is the Premier working on with the other Premier, and can you give us some clear examples so Northerners know what we’re talking about? Thank you.
What we’ve been discussing is the need for an energy cooperation agreement. There are significant numbers of transboundary issues involved with energy. Not only energy, but water, transportation, tourism, medical health care, what have you, and in almost every instance we are very intertwined with Alberta.
When it comes to energy specifically, we are all part of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, and I don’t know if you need another history lesson in that regard or not, but we have very similar issues when it comes to developing our stranded resources. If we don’t have transportation routes or pipelines or other ways to develop our significant oil and gas potential, then we are stuck in a situation where our population is declining, our economy is headed south. So this is an area where we feel it is very important to work together on. Thank you.
Well, it’s well known to most Northerners that Alberta has been looking north to ship their bitumen to the world, and when I say north, I mean through the Northwest Territories. I’ve always believed the old saying, if you’re not part of the solution, you’re certainly part of the problem.
So I want to know what type of role our government and certainly our territory, be it its people, its Aboriginal governments, everybody, will be playing in the development of any potential pipeline that’s being pitched behind the scenes. So, maybe that’s really the question.
What type of work has been done on that type of discussion with Alberta, because I know they’re eyeing the Northwest Territories after being refused Gateway. Is this government working on a deal behind the scenes to develop it and then present it to the people of the North, because I think this an important discussion we need to be having. Thank you.
I wouldn’t say we’ve been working behind the scenes. I think we’ve been very open and transparent about it. We’ve been working with Alberta. Alberta recently released a report that indicated it was technically feasible to go north, to ship oil through what some people are calling an Arctic gateway, that it’s technically feasible, and we would like to explore that much further.
The Mackenzie Gas Pipeline Project that was reviewed and was approved through the regulatory process and a certificate of public conveyance and necessity was approved, which would provide for one-third Aboriginal ownership, is a model that we think will work. We are very interested in working not only with Alberta but also the federal government because we think that is the way that we can develop our northern resources, to develop our oil and gas so that it doesn’t sit stranded for another 40 years. We need the jobs. We need the business opportunities and our people want to work. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was certainly, and still have been, a supporter of the Mackenzie Gas Project, but that’s actually gas. It’s not the heavy bitumen provided by the Alberta economy that they want to get, which is stranded. I recognize what the Premier says, they have stranded resources, we have resources. I fully understand that point, but gas is not the same as the heavy bitumen that’s out of Alberta. Other regions are refusing it and it causes the question, do we want to take on this environmental burden in some process? We should be putting this question upfront before too much development happens on this file, and ultimately that’s the next question.
When will this type of discussion happen as a policy initiative for our northern government? Citizens need to weigh in on this type of decision before our government makes a choice for us that citizens don’t get a role in, and that’s important. So that really is the question, because I think citizens of the Northwest Territories will be concerned knowing that we would be playing a role in shipping Alberta bitumen through the Northwest Territories without at least a say well in advance of this deal being struck. Thank you.
Thank you. You can rest assured that any project, if it were ever to come to fruition, would have to go through a very rigorous regulatory process that we have in the Northwest Territories, that would identify issues or conditions that would have to be approved. We’re very interested in moving to the next step to determine the economics of such a possibility and whether it is not only technically feasible or technically possible but that it’s economically feasible. So that’s where we’re looking to move to, is move on to the next step. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to continue on with my questioning in regard to the cost of gasoline, fuel in our small communities. I want to ask the Minister of ITI. I understand through the ITI department they have the Community Harvesters Assistance Program, or known as CHAP. This is a well-subscribed program that’s very popular in our small communities, especially for hunters, trappers and gatherers of country food. These are the people that help and continue with tradition.
So with this program, is there enough in the program to help reduce the cost of the fuel that the trappers need to go on the land to support their families?
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, the Community Harvesters Assistance Program is a very valuable assistance program. Currently, we’re at just over $1 million in support. It provides funds that are distributed by the local committees to community harvesters in support of harvesting activities in the communities. Additional funding was secured from Canada-NWT Growing Forward 2. The agreement helped offset a portion of the cost to communities on community hunts. LWCs can apply for a maximum of up to 60 percent of the cost of a community hunt or harvest to a maximum of $4,000. Additional funding is also available for the purchase of small tools and related equipment required to store, process and preserve foods from community hunts or harvest. Also, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources delivers CHAP to clients who are not members of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation in Yellowknife. Thank you.
The Minister of Public Works gave me a very interesting fact sheet. The last paragraph in the fact sheet talks about the CHAP program. Through the CHAP program with the registered hunters and trappers in the communities, can they take this fund, walk down the street with their jerry can, go to the gas station, would they be able to, through this program, pay for the fuel that the petroleum products sells through their community government clients? They pay a lower price than the regular clients. Can that happen?
Thank you. Where the funds are administered and handled by local organizations at the community level, the money would be given to communities and it would be up to the community, in my estimation, on what they spend that money on, and if it’s fuel to get out for a community hunt or a community harvest, that’s what that fund could be used for and that’s what communities could be putting that money toward. Thank you.
So my understanding is each type of customer that purchases fuel through the petroleum products division has its own pricelist. There are 10 types of customers, including the general public who pays whatever price they have now, the GNWT, boards and agencies, community governments, federal governments and others.
Can the community harvesters, registered trappers and hunters, be deemed as one of these 10 types of customers that could go to the gas station and under the community government clients pay a lower price than the regular customers? That’s what I’m asking.
Yes, I understand the Member’s concern and the Member’s question. That is something that we’ll look into and I can supply the Member with a response. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I look forward to the response from the Minister. Certainly this would help the trappers all down the Mackenzie Valley up to the Beaufort Sea. If the trappers can get some relief, get some support, because the fuel is something that is detrimental to their way of life, unless there’s a program to get the dog teams back in place so they can be used in the communities again. So can the Minister do this within the next three months?
Thank you. I know last week I made a statement in this House about how our government supports trappers in the Northwest Territories. We’ve just handed out a number of awards again this year. The fact that we’ve put 1,700 children in the Northwest Territories through the Take a Kid Hunting and Take a Kid Harvesting trapping programs that we have, it’s very important to the Government of the Northwest Territories to continue to support trappers.
Again, I understand the Member’s concern about gas prices and the fact that trappers are spending a lot of their help and their funds on getting gas for their snow machines or their ATVS or their boats. If there’s a way that the Government of the Northwest Territories can continue to support trappers in their pursuit, that’s something that we’re very much interested in doing.
I just wanted to, if I could, just thank the Member and all the trappers across the Northwest Territories for the work that they do. We also have a new reality show, NWT Fur Harvesters, that is a very worthwhile show, and if Members get a chance to watch that show, I certainly would encourage them to view that show and see exactly what it’s like living on a trapline and collecting fur. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
The Department of Education, Culture and Employment indicated that it will cost $1.8 million to implement the first year of Junior Kindergarten in 23 communities in 2014-2015. How much is being allocated to each education authority to deliver Junior Kindergarten in 2014-2015, excluding one-time or infrastructure funding? Please provide the following:
total amount for the 2014-2015 school year;
total amount for the period September 1, 2014, to March 31, 2015; and
total amount for the period April 1, 2015, to June 30, 2015.
In 2014-2015 how much funding will be deducted from each education authority to implement Junior Kindergarten, and how will these amounts be determined? Please include a breakdown of any reductions to education authorities if these reductions involve multiple sources; for example, PTR adjustments or inclusive schooling adjustments.
In 2015-2016 how much funding will be deducted from each education authority to implement Junior Kindergarten, and how will these amounts be determined? Please include a breakdown of any reductions to education authorities if these reductions involve multiple sources; for example, PTR adjustments and inclusive schooling adjustments.
In 2015-2016 what amount of funding will be provided to each education authority to implement Junior Kindergarten, excluding one-time or infrastructure funding?
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to go back to item 5 on the Order Paper.
---Unanimous consent granted
I’d just like to recognize a couple of visitors in our gallery today, Mary Lou Cherwaty and Steve Peterson, both well-known representatives for employees and well-regarded activists for strong social and labour standards within the Northwest Territories.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too want to recognize Mary Lou Cherwaty, a constituent of Kam Lake; and I know Steve Peterson. I’ve known Steve for a long time. Welcome to the House.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to present a petition dealing with the matter of Occupational Health and Safety Regulations.
The petition contains 123 signatures of Northwest Territories residents, and the petitioners request that the Government of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut adopt the proposed Occupational Health and Safety Regulations as drafted in 2011 by the Safety Advisory Committee of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document, entitled “Northwest Territories Community Futures Program 2012-2013 Annual Report.”
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table a letter and an attachment from the NWT Association of Communities to the Honourable Robert C. McLeod, Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation, in regard to a resolution on homelessness.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. I would like to remind everybody about electronics in the House. It’s not allowed.
Item 15, notices of motion. Item 16, notices of motion for first reading of bills. Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Wednesday, November 5, 2014, I will move that Bill 41, An Act to Amend the Partnership Act, be read for the first time.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Wednesday, November 5, 2014, I will move that Bill 42, An Act to Amend the Residential Tenancies Act, be read for the first time.
