Debates of October 17, 2006 (day 9)

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Premier, Mr. Handley.

Return To Question 107-15(5): Sessional Statement, Devolution And Resource Revenue Sharing

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are all frustrated with the amount of time it's taken to achieve an agreement on devolution and on resource revenue sharing. It becomes more critical as we have more resource development.

Mr. Speaker, our government has had to work through two federal elections over the past three years. That has certainly made it difficult for us to show substantial progress. Mr. Speaker, I have made it very clear with the Prime Minister that we want a deal on resource revenue sharing before the pipeline goes ahead. The Prime Minister has heard that, Mr. Speaker. If one were to check his speech that he made in this building, the Great Hall, then he also links those two together. He did it the opposite way. He said we won’t get resource revenue sharing without the pipeline, but I think the converse is true and it’s been our point as well. So now it’s how do we move ahead.

Mr. Speaker, we got the message to him. We have to figure out how we make progress on this. I think with the appointment of a negotiator that is a big piece. Hopefully we can move ahead. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Mr. Speaker, I think there is a huge distinction with somebody saying, a Prime Minister saying, you have to show us that you are ready for business. You do that by approving a pipeline when there is no mention there whatsoever that he is ready to come to us with a resource revenue sharing deal. There is no mention of that whatsoever. There is no indication of this in the statement, Mr. Speaker, and that should concern us all.

Mr. Speaker, I think Canadians have learned that the Prime Minister is quite clear on what he wants to do and what he doesn’t want to do. People like him for that, or people may not like him for what he does do.

I think we should be very concerned that he has shown no indication whatsoever because I think if he really wanted to, he could make that deal. I have a problem if the Premier starts interpreting…

Do you have a question, Ms. Lee?

Supplementary To Question 107-15(5): Sessional Statement, Devolution And Resource Revenue Sharing

Mr. Speaker, my question to the Premier is, how could he possibly think that the Prime Minister coming to our home saying you are not going to see anything until you approve the pipeline is a good deal for us? How does he interpret it that way? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Handley.

Further Return To Question 107-15(5): Sessional Statement, Devolution And Resource Revenue Sharing

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has always been very clear, as has Minister Prentice, that we have to work together on this thing. So when he says something, I take him at his word.

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has already moved this agenda ahead through Minister Prentice. As I said, Harvie Andre has been appointed as the new federal negotiator. They know that resource revenue sharing and devolution are together. That is moving ahead. As I said earlier, Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has already asked Minister Flaherty, Minister of Finance, to bring forward a proposal on financing in the Northwest Territories. Hopefully that is going to appear in December. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Supplementary To Question 107-15(5): Sessional Statement, Devolution And Resource Revenue Sharing

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If you listen to the answer just given by the Premier, I think one has to notice how passive that answer is. It speaks about what the Prime Minister did or did not do, what Mr. Flaherty did or Mr. Prentice did. I see nowhere there what actions precisely the Premier has to take that shows that he understands that time is running out for the GNWT. The pipeline is going to go and we are going to have no deal and we are going to be sitting there like a loser. I would like to know exactly, in concrete terms, what can he show us that gives him any comfort that Mr. Harper has our interest in mind and not the oil companies. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Handley.

Further Return To Question 107-15(5): Sessional Statement, Devolution And Resource Revenue Sharing

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Let me just say at this time that there is no assurance at this time that the pipeline will even move ahead. Imperial are doing their costing on that one. Mr. Speaker, in assurances, I can tell you that the federal government have indicated that they are going to respond to the fiscal imbalance situation. With regard to the Territories, they have said they will deal with territorial financing on a separate track. The Finance Minister of Canada has said he will put forward a proposal in December. Mr. Speaker, those are all commitments that the federal government have made. Mr. Speaker, we have made it known to them that we anticipate and we expect that it is possible to have an agreement-in-principle on devolution and resource revenue sharing within four months and certainly before a federal election. Mr. Speaker, that is going to be our biggest hammer to make sure the Prime Minister and the federal government follow through on the commitments that they have made so far. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Final, short supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Supplementary To Question 107-15(5): Sessional Statement, Devolution And Resource Revenue Sharing

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to say again that this federal government has been very quick in doing things that they want to do. They have been very quick and they are operating on the assumption that they have a very limited time. We should be concerned that they have shown nothing, they have done nothing, indicated nothing that shows us that they are going to have this deal. So I would like to know and I can’t go just by what the Premier is saying, so could he produce some evidence from the Premier, a transcript from the meeting, a letter from the Prime Minister, a letter from Prentice, somebody somewhere that shows that we are on the agenda, we are on the radar of this federal government on resource revenue sharing and devolution? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Handley.

Further Return To Question 107-15(5): Sessional Statement, Devolution And Resource Revenue Sharing

Mr. Speaker, I will take a look at my files. I don’t have a specific letter that comes to mind right now, but I will undertake to do what the Member is asking. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Premier, Mr. Handley. It gets back to my Member’s statement that I made earlier in terms of what the real state of the economy here is in the Northwest Territories. For a territory of 42,000 people with an economy that’s grown 71 percent in the last number of years, to be losing people is very, very concerning to me and concerning to a lot of residents here in the Northwest Territories.

I would like to ask the Premier if the government has a strategy to deal with the migrant worker issue. The reason I ask this question is we are losing $200 million. That’s just an estimate on my base of about 2,000 migrant workers that we have here. I would like to ask the Premier that question, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Premier, Mr. Handley.

Return To Question 108-15(5): Economic Development And Migrant Workers

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are a lot of different reasons why our population is dropping. We haven’t seen the analysis from Stats Canada, but I understand it’s something like we have 700 people less than we had at the last census. Part of it is people having smaller families. Part of it, Mr. Speaker, has to do with cost of living. Those are issues we have to deal with as well. Some of that is availability of land and that’s another issue we are dealing with. Mr. Speaker, there are a lot of reasons why. There are a number of initiatives our departments are undertaking to keep the cost of living within reason, assuming that is one of the main reasons why people are choosing to live outside of the Territories in many cases and rotate back and forth.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Supplementary To Question 108-15(5): Economic Development And Migrant Workers

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, is the government currently working with industry to try to find some ways to keep people here? There has been many of us on this side of the House over the past three years who have suggested ways and means to try to attract people and retain people here in the Northwest Territories. For instance, a tax-free zone north of 60 has been suggested, tax deductions have been suggested, we talked about putting the revenue from resource royalties in trust. That hasn’t gone anywhere either. I would like to ask the Premier that question. Where is that at, Mr. Speaker? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member’s question is with regard to what we are doing with industry and that falls within the responsibility of the Minister for ITI. I will refer it to him. I recognize that he also carried on with some discussion about fiscal issues as well. I will leave it to the Minister of ITI to respond. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. The honourable Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Bell.

Further Return To Question 108-15(5): Economic Development And Migrant Workers

Mr. Speaker, thank you and thank you to the Member for the question. Obviously, we are concerned about leakage from the economy. I have had a number of discussions with the chambers of commerce around the Northwest Territories. As the Members opposite know, we had a proposal we were taking to some stakeholders with regard to the elimination of the BIP and the reduction of corporate taxes. There are a number of goals here that we had set with the interest of becoming more and more competitive. We have recognized, Mr. Speaker, if we're going to develop macroeconomic policy and do it in a way that’s adequate, we're going to need some horsepower and some people on the ground who can do some of this work. The Minister of Finance is developing a unit. I think it’s this kind of work that needs to be done if we're going to set a policy framework that helps us stop this leakage and keep the business in the North. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Supplementary To Question 108-15(5): Economic Development And Migrant Workers

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is a question, a group of questions that is paramount to the government in its totality. That’s why I am asking the Premier those questions. I would expect that the Premier would be able to answer those questions that I am asking, Mr. Speaker. Again, my colleague, Ms. Lee, asked the Premier, produce some evidence that you have asked the federal government and the federal government has put us on the radar. Where is the proof? Where is the evidence? We have stood up here time and time again and asked the government to suggest things to the federal government. We never get any proof. Where is the proof that they have asked the federal government about a tax-free zone here, tax reductions? Where is the evidence of that, Mr. Speaker? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Premier, Mr. Handley.

Further Return To Question 108-15(5): Economic Development And Migrant Workers

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said, I will provide the evidence that I have in terms of the questions that we have put forward, the commitments made by the federal government and I will provide that to all of the Members. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Transportation. Hopefully he hears my question, Mr. Speaker. It’s with respect to the ferry situation in Fort Simpson. It has been on an hourly service for some time for a couple of years, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Minister if he can tell me why is the Fort Simpson ferry on an hourly service. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Minister of Transportation, Mr. McLeod.

Return To Question 109-15(5): Fort Simpson Ferry Hours Of Service

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member is correct; the ferry at Fort Simpson and other locations over the years have been put on a scheduled service. The intention was to see if it would result in some savings in terms of fuel. Over the last couple of months, I directed out staff to do an analysis of whether that is the case to see if there is any positive results of having scheduled service versus on-call and on-demand service. Thank you.

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

Supplementary To Question 109-15(5): Fort Simpson Ferry Hours Of Service

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just with respect to the scheduled service for the ferries, the Minister can probably correct me if I am wrong, but I think Fort Simpson is the only one on scheduled service, so I don’t know how the department is saving money on all the ferries when there is only one service being impacted here. So how much longer will the Minister keep Fort Simpson on a scheduled basis and keep us stranded on our island? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. McLeod.

Further Return To Question 109-15(5): Fort Simpson Ferry Hours Of Service

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I have indicated in my response earlier, I have directed the staff to see if there is any benefit of having scheduled services. We will have those results over the winter and we will take direction from the results and move forward for the next season. Thank you.

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

Supplementary To Question 109-15(5): Fort Simpson Ferry Hours Of Service

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Minister if he can provide me with current and ongoing analysis as it goes on and perhaps an indication of whether they are going to lift that scheduled service for Fort Simpson. Once again, I would like to stress that it’s the only ferry that’s on a scheduled service, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. McLeod.

Further Return To Question 109-15(5): Fort Simpson Ferry Hours Of Service

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We would be glad to share that information with the Member. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As you can tell by the number of questions today regarding the royalty agreement, it’s getting to be a big issue and something we have to work on very quickly. Along those lines, I would like to ask the Premier a couple of questions myself. In response to one of the questions, he mentioned six outstanding issues that they were dealing with. My question to the Premier is, who are these issues between? Is it between the territorial government and federal government, the territorial government and the aboriginal groups? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Premier, Mr. Handley.

Return To Question 110-15(5): Devolution And Resource Revenue Sharing

Mr. Speaker, all of the six questions are between the Government of Canada and the Government of the Northwest Territories. All of them are of interest to aboriginal organizations and governments as well, particularly the one that deals with how we will treat offshore resources. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Mr. McLeod.

Supplementary To Question 110-15(5): Devolution And Resource Revenue Sharing

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Premier for the response. Years ago the leaders used to sit and discuss issues amongst themselves, but nowadays it seems like too much of that responsibility is passed on to bureaucrats or negotiators. I would like to ask the Premier if he, as the Premier, and the leaders of the aboriginal groups in the Northwest Territories, the grand chiefs, the chairs, the presidents, just the leaders themselves, have you ever sat in a room and tried to iron out some of these details? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mr. Handley.

Further Return To Question 110-15(5): Devolution And Resource Revenue Sharing

Mr. Speaker, yes, in the last year and a half we have had regular meetings with myself and the regional leaders, the grand chiefs, the presidents and so on. Mr. Speaker, the last meeting we had was, I believe, in about June or so. At that meeting, the leaders agreed that they wanted to meet to decide who their membership was before we would get together again, and that meeting has been postponed a couple of times and I understand it’s now going to be held in November. So following that, I will have another meeting with the regional leaders as a team if they choose to do that. Thank you.