Debates of October 13, 2005 (day 9)

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.

Supplementary To Question 104-15(4): Fort Liard Ferry Service

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I would like to know what this government is going to do in terms of getting the ferry service back up and running, Mr. Speaker. We have got at least three weeks or at least another month worth of sailing time, as it were, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. McLeod.

Further Return To Question 104-15(4): Fort Liard Ferry Service

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I indicated earlier, the Department of Transportation plays no part in the negotiations. Our obligation lies with the contractor that is hired to provide a service and we are not planning to intervene in any form at this time. Thank you.

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

Supplementary To Question 104-15(4): Fort Liard Ferry Service

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I was just wondering, is it not our duty to the public as well as the traveling public, and I would like to know if the Minister is looking at a continuation of our services for the ferry in Nahendeh. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. McLeod.

Further Return To Question 104-15(4): Fort Liard Ferry Service

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Of course this government is very disappointed the two sides were not able to come to a settlement on this issue. The government will continue to monitor the situation and look at the options available. However, at this point we will just be monitoring the situation and not providing any other alternative service. Thank you.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I spoke of the dangers that the bison are posing for motorists on Highway No. 3. I strongly advocate for the need for a strategy to deal with this public safety issue. Public safety is a huge issue. Can the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources inform the Assembly whether his department has a strategy in place to deal with the bison on Highway No. 3? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.

Return To Question 105-15(4): Bison Hazard On Highway No. 3

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is an issue of concern to the Department of Transportation as well as Energy and Natural Resources. There is work being done in terms of public education, better signage, trying to determine exactly from a scientific point of view if there are specific things that attract the bison to the road right-of-way. Extra money has been requested and put into the budget to, in fact, start that work. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Supplementary To Question 105-15(4): Bison Hazard On Highway No. 3

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I understand that the department is working closely with the Department of Transportation. Can the Minister also commit on working with the local Behchoko community government to deal with the bison issue? Will there be a harvesting of them or putting florescent tags on them so they can be reflective; also, initiating rubber bullets for discouraging them from going onto the highway, Mr. Speaker? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Miltenberger.

Further Return To Question 105-15(4): Bison Hazard On Highway No. 3

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there are issues with the Mackenzie Bison Sanctuary, not only on Highway No. 3, but issues with the community of Fort Providence in terms of the buffalo in the community. We are very interested and will be taking steps to work with the local community governments to look at what options there are to try to deal with the issue of the bison, both on the road right-of-way and other areas of concern with this herd.

We have already tried rubber bullets in the past, I understand. It has a very short-term effect. The issue of some type of harvest is one we would have to look at and discuss, both with the department and the involved community governments, which we would be interested in and willing to do. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Supplementary To Question 105-15(4): Bison Hazard On Highway No. 3

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell me the timeline on the development of a strategy to deal with the bison on Highway No. 3, especially with respect to harvesting from the community’s perspective? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Miltenberger.

Further Return To Question 105-15(4): Bison Hazard On Highway No. 3

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would just like to quickly point out as I respond to this question that the issue of wildlife and road accidents is one that is an issue across the country. In Saskatchewan and Newfoundland, they estimate over $1 million in each of their jurisdictions as a result of collisions with wildlife; and the fundamental responsibility still is with the driver of the vehicle.

With regard to the Member’s specific question about when, we have already started work on a number of the areas we’ve already talked about and we are willing to sit down as soon as it can be arranged, both with the community governments and involved parties in Behchoko as well as Providence. Thank you.

Merci beaucoup, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions this afternoon are for the Minister of Justice, and they are in relation to community policing in Yellowknife. Mr. Speaker, the GNWT has a responsibility for contracting with the RCMP to deliver policing services across the Northwest Territories. The Yellowknife detachment has, for years, been recognized as chronically understaffed. The city has grown considerably and the complexity of crime and policing has also grown. I would like to ask the Minister, from his point of view, what progress has been made or what steps are underway right now to enhance police presence in the Yellowknife RCMP detachment. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Minister of Justice, Mr. Bell.

Return To Question 106-15(4): Community Policing In Yellowknife

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Member will recall, the G division of the RCMP provided this government, my department, with a business plan that speaks to the need for resources going forward and what they see as a shortfall in current resources. We are working very closely with them to try to address that. Of course, we have an upcoming budget session and we will have further discussions related to this, but I guess I can give my assurance that we are working closely with the RCMP to try to meet some of these staff and resources, not only in Yellowknife, Mr. Speaker, but right across the Northwest Territories. One of our main priorities, in fact, is to deal with those communities that don’t have detachments and talk about the provision of service in those communities as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Supplementary To Question 106-15(4): Community Policing In Yellowknife

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One of the aspects of enhanced policing -- and the Minister quite appropriately said we are looking for services across the NWT -- is the provision in the NWT of a specially trained dog in the area of drug detection that would be based in Yellowknife and would be available for increased enforcement. Can the Minister advise whether this is part of the business plan and part of the service we can expect to see on site here in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Bell.

Further Return To Question 106-15(4): Community Policing In Yellowknife

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe the drug dog the Member is speaking of, a full-profile German Shepard dog trained in drug detection, has already been deployed in the Northwest Territories. The Member is correct; it is based in Yellowknife, but that dog will be used right across the entire territory. I believe that is currently already in place. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Supplementary To Question 106-15(4): Community Policing In Yellowknife

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one of the welcome pieces of information that we got when we visited the RCMP detachment a few weeks ago was that there is going to be much more involvement of the Victims Services Program in the whole policing regime. Are we able to handle, through this Victims Services Program, our current workload, and what’s our capacity to handle what is likely to be an increased workload for the Victims Services Program? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Bell.

Further Return To Question 106-15(4): Community Policing In Yellowknife

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We do have victims assistance committees that we felt needed additional help. We brought on new members. I believe there are two new members appointed to the Victims Assistance Committee, and I believe that’s the committee the Member is speaking of. Now we are up to full membership. There have been a few meetings and proposals put forward that will speak to additional funding through the victims assistance fund. I know there is an amount of money that’s available through that fund. I don’t have the number in front of me, but I know that money is being accessed. We are also working on being able to deliver the latest annual report that should be out currently. I do agree that this is a priority that is becoming more and more important. We are recognizing the value of this committee and these efforts and valuing the entire system more. I think you can certainly look forward to more of a heightened profile for this aspect of the system. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Final supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Supplementary To Question 106-15(4): Community Policing In Yellowknife

Mr. Speaker, the RMCP is demonstrating quite a refreshing attitude toward being more connected with the community in the delivery of community priorities for policing. I wonder if the department has been looking at the Police Advisory Committee model that just started here as a way of potentially assisting other communities in the NWT to have a better connection with policing in their community. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Bell.

Further Return To Question 106-15(4): Community Policing In Yellowknife

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think the model the Member is referring is certainly a good one. It is something we are reviewing. I know the RCMP is very much in favour of having as much community involvement as possible and I think that enables them to do a much better job. The closer they are able to work with this community and all communities across the North, obviously the more effective they are going to be. So this is a direction that we are continuing to move toward. I think policing is getting much more progressive, in my opinion, and I think there are a number of good initiatives underway. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my statement, I talked about the students’ perspective and the whole thing going on with Samuel Hearne. One of the comments the students made was they were wondering if there was a backup plan or why there was no backup plan. So my question today is for the Minister of Education, Mr. Dent. I would like to ask Mr. Dent if there are backup plans in each community in case something happens to the school. If not, why not? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Dent.

Return To Question 107-15(4): Planning For Samuel Hearne Students’ Needs

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in fact there haven’t been formal backup plans for a school that burned down or ceased to be available to us for each community. We have relied on the local communities to respond, depending on what the situation is. For instance, often a problem with a school might be limited to a small section, so you may need to replace a classroom or two. It’s not often that a whole school is in need of replacement.

Having gone through the situation in Inuvik now a few times unexpectedly, we are going to work with our colleagues at the DECs to ensure that some thought is given to having backup plans in all communities. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. McLeod.

Supplementary To Question 107-15(4): Planning For Samuel Hearne Students’ Needs

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thanks to the Minister for that. So the Minister is saying that he is working with the DECs and he has instructed his department to come up with backup plans in each community. Is that correct? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mr. Dent.

Further Return To Question 107-15(4): Planning For Samuel Hearne Students’ Needs

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, we will be working with our colleagues at the DECs to make sure that there is some thought given to what would happen in the event that a school was not available, and so that there would be some form of backup planning in all communities.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d just like to follow up with my colleague Mr. McLeod’s statement yesterday regarding Samuel Hearne Secondary School. I’m speaking particularly about the collapse and repair of the foyer and the repairs that are going on right now on the pilings. Can the Minister of Public Works indicate to this side of the House whether there are any further deficiencies identified at Samuel Hearne Secondary School? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Pokiak. The honourable Minister of Public Works and Services, Mr. Roland.

Return To Question 108-15(4): Addressing Deficiencies At Samuel Hearne School

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have been doing the work necessary to bring this facility back online. We’ve had a structural engineer look at it. We have a plan together to repair the issues that have caused it to close this year. The concern was about lateral bracing. Because the foundation was in such poor shape, there was concern it would not withstand an earthquake event that may happen. Inuvik is considered to be in an active area or active zone for earthquakes, so that was one of the main considerations taken. The work has been ongoing and is almost complete in that section. One of the other areas we’re working on is also repairing some of the piles underneath the facility this year, and further repairs to the piling program will be done next summer. The other area is some of the structural issues around the gymnasium, and those are being looked at, and we feel that that work can be done again to meet the timelines we’ve set to have the school back in operation prior to the school returning after the Christmas break.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Supplementary, Mr. Pokiak.

Supplementary To Question 108-15(4): Addressing Deficiencies At Samuel Hearne School

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just a quick follow-up in that regard. With all of the repairs being conducted at Samuel Hearne right now, will that answer some of the promise for the next few years down the road for Samuel Hearne, or is the plan still to look forward to building a new high school in Inuvik? Thank you.