I’d like to remind you to turn your cell phones off.
Good afternoon, colleagues, It’s my pleasure to welcome you back to the Chamber today as we continue the Third Session of the 17th Legislative Assembly.
I know our summer season in the North is very busy, as we try to take advantage of the long days and warm temperatures. Colleagues, I hope you were able to attend the Diamond Jubilee ceremonies taking place throughout the territory this past summer. I just came back the other day myself, and Minister Ramsay, from Paulatuk. We gave Edward Ruben his Diamond Jubilee Medal for what he’s done for the people of Paulatuk in my riding.
I also hope that you found time to enjoy spending time with your family and friends, and that you’re returning refreshed and eager to tackle the work that has to be done here in the Legislative Assembly for the people of the Northwest Territories.
On behalf of the Legislative Assembly, I’d like to congratulate all men and women who put their names forward in municipal elections that took place earlier this week. As MLAs we all know the time and personal commitment in running for office. I applaud everyone who was out there campaigning.
We look forward to working with the mayors, councils and other committees in communities. I especially want to thank those who aren’t returning, for their years of service to the people that they represented and the people across the Northwest Territories.
I’d like to advise you that some changes have taken place in the Legislative Assembly. First, the building of the 16th Legislative Assembly e-Petitions Pilot Project that this Assembly adopted in a motion during the last sitting and a permanent on-line e-petition site is up and running.
Petitions, whether paper or electronic, are a valuable way for all NWT residents to take an active part in their government. I welcome the opportunity the e-petition site provides for those residing in remote and isolated communities. The e-petition site can be found on the Assembly website. I invite all residents to check it out.
Work also took place this last summer to upgrade the audio/visual system in our committee rooms. This will allow the Assembly not only to record but also film public committee meetings now. These committee meetings will be rebroadcast throughout the territory. This is a great opportunity to provide more accountability and transparency to all NWT residents so they can stay tuned to watch the Legislative Assembly TV and the opportunity to see even more of their favourite MLAs.
This past summer Minister Lafferty says he was at the right place at the right time. His quick thinking averted what could have been an absolute tragedy in the life of a northern family. Please join me in commending Minister Lafferty in his actions and wishing a speedy recovery to Mr. Robin Imbeault. Minister Lafferty good job on your life saving.
---Applause
I couldn’t agree more when Minister Lafferty said, “We cared for this individual because he was part of us; he’s a part of the North.”
On a sadder note, colleagues, I’d like to send condolences to all communities in the NWT who lost their loved ones since last we met.
In the Nunakput riding our communities are close knit, and we all lose loved ones and the loss is felt by all. I’d like to take the time to give my heartfelt condolences and prayers to Brian Klengenberg, Tony Klengenberg and Shane Goeson on the passing of their mother Agnes Goeson; Sandra Mangelana-John and Earl John on the passing of their son, Gavin Mangelana; Denise Taylor and Desmond Norman on the passing of their baby, Kelson Norman-Taylor; Charles Pokiak, Robbie Pascal, James Lumsden, Marilyn Lumsden and Sheila Lumsden on the passing of their mother, Mabel Pokiak Lumsden. Mabel became the first Aboriginal person in Canada to become a registered nurse. Upon completion of her nurse training, Mabel worked at the Inuvik General Hospital as well as different locations, including Tuktoyaktuk; husband David Bustable and daughters Sandra Lucas and Lesa Dutka on the passing of his wife and their mother, Emily Elias; Chris Gruben and Sara McNabb on the passing of their baby, Helena Gruben; Nellie Gruben, Roger Gruben, Gayle Gruben, Lloyd Gruben, Robert Gruben, Patrick Gruben, Paula Hein and Desmond Gruben on the passing of their mother, Helen Gruben. Helen was respected in the community of Tuk, the Beaufort-Delta and beyond. She has served the Anglican Church for more than 50 years with much grace and strength; and, Lena Illisiak, Audrey Green, Marilyn Illisiak, Steve Illisiak, Joe Illisiak, Molly Ruben, Jean Ruben and Dwayne Illisiak on the passing of their mother, Annie Illisiak. Annie was well respected by the children and people of Paulatuk through her tradition, language and culture.
When our elders go to be with God, they take a piece of our history, values, stories and knowledge with them. May we allow our elders to live on through us.
It is that time of year when the ice is starting to freeze in the Northwest Territories and I would like to take this time to remind parents, grandparents and guardians to talk to your children about safety.
Colleagues, it is now my duty to advise the House that I have received the following message from the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories. It reads:
Dear Mr. Speaker: I wish to advise that I recommend to the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories, the passage of: Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures) 2013-2014; Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 2, 2012-2013; Supplementary Appropriation Act (Operations Expenditures), No. 2, 2012-2013, during the Third Session of the 17th Legislative Assembly. Yours truly, George Tuccaro, Commissioner.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to welcome Members back to the continuation of the Third Session of the 17th Legislative Assembly. I hope everybody was able to enjoy some time with family and friends this summer and has come back rested and ready to continue working on behalf of the people of the Northwest Territories. It has been almost one year since we took office. As we get started with this session, I would like to look back at some of the things we have accomplished together this past year.
Mr. Speaker, this Assembly has a vision of a strong and prosperous Northwest Territories that provides all our residents with opportunities in their regions and communities. Building effective working relationships with other northern governments, business, industry and social and environmental organizations is a critical factor in our success. This has been a major focus for us during the past year:
We continue to meet and engage with Aboriginal and other northern governments to find areas of agreement where we can work together to advance our mutual interests and the interests of the people of the Northwest Territories. Since we took office, members of Cabinet have had 45 meetings on a government-to-government basis with Aboriginal governments and leadership.
This past May we took an important step when the Sahtu Secretariat Incorporated signed the Devolution Agreement-in-Principle. Devolution has been a priority of this government and Aboriginal governments for years and we were pleased to have the Sahtu rejoin the process.
In June we released Respect, Recognition, Responsibility, our government’s commitment to working on a government-to-government basis with Aboriginal governments. A complementary guide for staff helps to ensure that we continue to build strong working relationships in all our engagements with Aboriginal governments.
In July we signed Working Together, an intergovernmental agreement with the Tlicho Government. The agreement acknowledges the unique and evolving relationship between the two governments and identifies areas of cooperation, including housing, income support, infrastructure and community governance.
Just last Friday I was in Aklavik, where the Gwich’in Tribal Council formally signed the Devolution Agreement-in-Principle. Devolution represents a major opportunity for this territory to become self-sufficient and prosperous, and I am pleased to have the Gwich’in return to the negotiating table with us.
We also signed an intergovernmental umbrella agreement and contracting MOU in Aklavik. These agreements underscore our commitment to maintaining government-to-government relations with Aboriginal governments and provide a means for ensuring the Gwich’in share in the benefits of a strong Northwest Territories economy.
A strong and sustainable territory starts with healthy, educated people. Over the past year, our government has worked to address the social needs of the people of the Northwest Territories:
We have created an Anti-Poverty Steering Committee that includes representation from all the federal, territorial and Aboriginal governments, business, the No Place for Poverty Coalition and a person who has experienced living in poverty. We held an anti-poverty roundtable with 28 participants in Hay River in June and another in Inuvik with 26 participants in early October as part of our work towards a comprehensive, broad-based Northwest Territories Anti-Poverty Strategy.
In April we began implementing Building for the Future, our strategic framework for housing delivery that includes a new, more equitable public housing rental scale and new supports to help renters make the transition to home-owning and to help people maintain the homes they own.
In May, with the input and recommendations of Regular Members, we allocated an additional $1 million to early childhood development programs and are continuing to work on plans for ensuring our children get a good start in life.
This past June we released A Shared Path Towards Wellness, our action plan on mental health and addictions that will involve and engage communities in solving the problem of mental health and addictions and includes the creation of the Minister’s Forum on Addictions.
Earlier this month we launched a new residential schools curriculum in partnership with the Government of Nunavut and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to help us address one of the major underlying causes of many of the problems in our homes and communities.
We are also working to help inmates in the North Slave correctional facility begin their own healing journey when the Truth and Reconciliation Commission takes statements from them at the end of this month. This will be the first time that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission will have entered any correctional facility in the country.
Social development and economic development go hand in hand, Mr. Speaker. We need a strong and diversified economy that uses resources wisely and provides economic opportunities for our people and financial resources to fund public programs and services. Over the past few months the Government of the Northwest Territories has continued to work on growing and diversifying a sustainable economy:
In March we received the project description report for the final portion of the Mackenzie Valley Highway, the K’asho Got’ine District. We are now combining all the PDRs into a single report that will be used for the preliminary environmental screening of the project. When completed, the Mackenzie Valley Highway will connect our people and resources to the south, creating economic opportunities for our businesses and people up and down the valley.
When it is completed, the Mackenzie Valley Highway will finally connect Canada by road from sea to sea to sea. We are already working on the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk highway, funding planning work and participating in environmental review hearings in September. With the environmental assessment wrapping up in December, we are hopeful that sound project decisions can be made and construction can begin in early 2013.
Along with the Norman Wells Land Corporation and industry partners, we held a Sahtu readiness exploration session in September, bringing together more than 100 people to look at how to take advantage of the world-class shale oil play in the region in a sustainable, responsible way. Our work to support the Sahtu includes renaming and refocusing the work of the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Office in Hay River. Our regional management committee is working with local businesses, land corporations and industry to foster good working relationships that will help us advance development at a sustainable and manageable pace. We are also working with industry and the federal government to promote an unbiased and informed understanding of shale oil development.
Also in September I took part in the successful trade mission to China, organized by the Council of the Federation. Promoting foreign trade and investment will be an important way to grow and diversify our economy. I am pleased to say that there was a lot of interest in our minerals, oil and gas and that Chinese investors wanted to learn more about developing our resources sustainably and responsibly. I spoke to Chinese tourism operators about our spectacular territory and saw Northwest Territories furs being used in some of the most fashion-forward garments in Beijing. We had excellent discussions about how diamonds from the Northwest Territories could meet growing Chinese demand in Hong Kong.
We continue to advance the Mackenzie Valley fibre optic line. Over the summer, Minister Miltenberger met with some Aboriginal government leaders to seek support for the project, including potential financial investment. We have submitted a business case to P3 Canada and issued an RFP for development of a project description report, which will let us move the project on to the environmental assessment phase.
We are also looking forward to the opening of the Deh Cho Bridge next month. This major piece of public infrastructure will connect the North Slave permanently to the South, supporting sustainable development of our resources and creating economic opportunities for Northerners.
The land and its resources are the source of our wealth, but they are also the source of our health and our life. While we need to develop our resources to grow our economy and meet the needs of Northerners, we also need to manage that development. Development needs to be sustainable, it needs to create benefits for all our residents, and it needs to reflect Northern priorities and values while maintaining ecosystem integrity and biological diversity. We continue to work towards that goal:
In June we released Land is Life, a discussion paper that will help us develop a land use and sustainability framework to guide how land use management decisions are made post-devolution. We are using the paper in ongoing consultations with the public, Aboriginal governments, land management organizations and other stakeholders.
We continue to work on transboundary water management agreements that will maintain the ecological integrity of the Mackenzie Basin and ensure coordination of water management between jurisdictions. Our work on a bilateral agreement with Alberta is moving forward and we hope to conclude an agreement in early 2013.
We continue to work towards a new Wildlife Act, consulting broadly with people across the Northwest Territories, including public meetings and open houses, meetings with Aboriginal governments and the creation of a Stakeholders Wildlife Act Advisory Group. We hope to introduce a modernized act with appropriate tools for effective wildlife management reflecting the input of all these groups shortly.
We continue to implement the government’s Greenhouse Gas Strategy to achieve emission targets, and leverage federal funding to take action to facilitate climate change adaptation.
Resources continue to be allocated to the research and development of renewable energy sources and helping communities take advantage of business opportunities while reducing their reliance on fossil fuels. We are working with communities to develop forest management agreements to help develop a viable forestry industry accessing timber, biomass and non-timber products, while maintaining and enhancing environmental stewardship.
Other successes from the past year include negotiating an increase to our borrowing limit with the federal government. This will help give us the ability to continue making strategic investments in the infrastructure we need to support economic development in our territory. During the spring we successfully negotiated new four-year collective agreements with the Union of Northern Workers, the Northwest Territories Medical Association and the Northwest Territories Teachers’ Association, providing certainty for our employees and stability for our ongoing operations.
We have also been recognized nationally for the quality of our work and our working environment. In August our government was recognized by the Institute of Public Administration of Canada for our innovative approach to involving Aboriginal governments in planning work for the Mackenzie Valley Highway. Last week our government was recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers for 2013. This recognition places us among a select group of Canadian employers who lead the nation in their commitment to their employees. We value our employees and respect the good work they do in implementing our direction and providing services to Northerners.
Mr. Speaker, we took office with a commitment to doing things differently and getting things done. This government has been living up to that commitment. We still have plenty of work ahead of us. We continue to address the high cost of living, through investments in transportation infrastructure, alternative energy projects like the Fort Simpson solar installation, our anti-poverty work, and new and enhanced programs to help homeowners.
Devolution remains a priority. We hope to conclude negotiations before the end of 2012, and it will take 18 months after signing to fully implement the agreement. We are working on a plan to address decentralization to help increase employment opportunities in our communities. We are looking for northern Premiers to take a more active role in the Arctic Council when Canada begins to chair it in 2013.
We are almost a year into our mandate, Mr. Speaker. We are making progress on our goals and priorities as an Assembly and I would like to thank Members for their efforts to help us move forward. I look forward to working with them in this session and over the next three years. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Premier. Colleagues, before we go on, I`d like to recognize in the gallery here today, we have former Premier Jim Antoine and his wife, Celine. Welcome to the House.
---Applause
We have former Commissioner, Speaker, Minister, Member, Sergeant-at-Arms, Honourary Clerk, Royal Canadian Navy Captain, Mr. Anthony W.J. Whitford. Welcome back to the House, Tony.
---Applause
The honourable Minister responsible for culture and heritage, Minister Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one of the priorities for this Assembly is to strengthen awareness of our northern identity and uniqueness by promoting our many diverse cultures. I am very pleased to advise this House that the Department of Education, Culture and Employment held a ceremony today to celebrate the tremendous contributions that people from all across this territory have made to keep our cultures vibrant and alive.
The Minister’s Cultural Circle was created in 2011 to celebrate Northerners who contribute to the preservation and promotion of the various cultures and where we come from in the Northwest Territories. The department began requesting nominations in May and they poured in. An independent panel of judges selected five recipients from the many submissions we received from across the territory.
The Cultural Circle helps build awareness amongst Northerners about the importance of promoting, protecting, preserving and celebrating our unique culture and heritage. We received nominations in four categories:
Youth, 25 years of age and under;
Individual;
Elder, 50 years of age and older; and
Group.
As well, there is a Minister’s Choice Award chosen from all the nominations, which is selected by the Minister for an individual or group that embodies the principles of the Minister’s Cultural Circle. The 2012 award recipients exemplify the commitment, diligence, creativity and passion we want culture and heritage to inspire in us all. I was honoured to welcome our recipients into the Cultural Circle this morning:
Doris Taniton of Deline, our youth recipient;
Lillian Elias of Inuvik, our elder recipient;
Melaw Nakehk’o of Fort Simpson, our individual recipient; and
the Tlicho Imbe Program, our group recipient.
The 2012 Minister’s Choice Award recipient is Jean Harry of Sachs Harbour.
I hope all Members of this Assembly will join me in honouring the Cultural Circle recipients and thank them for their work of preserving, promoting, protecting and celebrating our unique cultures and heritage.
In addition to the Cultural Circle awards ceremony today, this week marks an important gathering of more than 50 community representatives from arts, business, government and cultural organizations across all regions of the NWT, as well as representatives from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Department of Canadian Heritage, as they meet to share common goals and learn new skills. I want to acknowledge and commend all of the people, artists, cultural organizations and community museums for their dedication and valuable work they do in our communities to preserve and promote our northern cultures and heritage.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 36(6) so that all Ministers’ statements filed with the Clerk can be delivered today. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
---Unanimous consent granted
The honourable Minister of HR, Mr. Abernethy.
Mr. Speaker, on October 10th the Government of the Northwest Territories was recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers for 2013. This places the GNWT among an exclusive group of Canadian employers who lead their industries in their commitment to employees and their ability to recruit and retain a committed and engaged workforce.
We are in good company Mr. Speaker. Other employers recognized include 3M, CIBC, WestJet, Enbridge, Proctor and Gamble and Manulife Financial. Employers being recognized for the first time along with GNWT include Aboriginal Peoples’ Television Network and Shoppers Drug Mart nationally. I would also like to recognize Diavik Diamond Mines as the only other NWT-headquartered employer receiving this prestigious recognition.
It is very satisfying to know that the GNWT is being recognized nationally as one of the best employers to work for in Canada. Recipients of this award are chosen by a blue-ribbon Academic Advisory Board of management experts drawn from universities across Canada.
The GNWT was selected based on the evaluation of eight criteria: physical workplace; work atmosphere; health, financial and family benefits; vacation and time off; employee communications; performance management; training and skills development; and community involvement.
Effective and efficient government is one of the goals of the 17th Legislative Assembly, Mr. Speaker. The key to providing effective services to the people of the Northwest Territories is a committed and competent public service. Being able to promote the GNWT as one of Canada’s top 100 employers enhances our ability to attract talented individuals who are deeply engaged by their work and committed to their professions, their communities and the people they serve.
The GNWT is a great place to work. We offer excellent compensation and benefits; generous leave allowances; opportunities for a varied career; support for education, training and development; and a family-friendly work environment that permits flexible work hours where operationally possible. We are an inclusive employer that values the skills and contributions of all employees, and are respectful of the diversity of our workforce. Working for the GNWT is challenging and exciting, and employees have the ability to contribute to a vibrant North and to be part of an organization that respects and honours cross-cultural context. Due to our small size, employees have the opportunity to make a difference and are able to see the direct impact their work has on residents of the NWT. There are great opportunities for career growth, development and advancement and, last but not least, the chance to work in beautiful, pristine locations and experience the richness of different cultures and traditions.
There are many people responsible for making the GNWT one of Canada’s top 100 employers. I would like to extend my congratulations to all GNWT employees for their hard work and commitment which contributed to our national recognition as a top employer. I would also like to thank the Members of the 17th Legislative Assembly and our union partners for making this possible. All of us play a role in establishing the high standards of our workplaces and we can all take great pride in this achievement. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Premier.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise Members that the Honourable David Ramsay will be absent from the House today and tomorrow to attend the Council of Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety meeting in Fredericton, New Brunswick.
I wish to advise Members that the Honourable Robert C. McLeod will be absent from the House today to attend a meeting with the Arctic Winter Games International Committee and his territorial counterparts in Fairbanks, Alaska. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good afternoon, Mr. Speaker, Premier and colleagues. I would like to welcome all Members back to the Assembly. It’s been a very busy summer for each of us. We’ve had time to spend with our family and time to visit our communities with our constituents. Today we are here to contribute towards making our territory a better place to live, to build relationships with governing bodies and provide positive comments to the people that we represent.
We need to be more mindful of others when making decisions that affect their territory. With that in mind, I’d like to welcome everyone back and look forward to the next few weeks as we get down to business.
As you may be aware, the Gwich’in Tribal Council held its election for president and vice-president in June. I want to take this time to acknowledge and congratulate Mr. Albert Alexie Jr. on being elected president and Mr. Norman Snowshoe on being elected vice-president. Both Albert and Norman will represent the Gwich’in Tribal Council for the next four years. I look forward to a positive working relationship with the Gwich’in Tribal Council.
I also want to acknowledge former President Richard Nerysoo and former Vice-President Mary Ann Ross for the tremendous amount of work and commitment that they both gave to the Gwich’in Tribal Council. Mahsi cho.
Thank you, Mr. Blake. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to congratulate all the elected councillors and mayors that just recently had their elections. I take my hat off to the people who put their names forward to serve their people.
The Premier talked about the year now that we’ve been elected, and we are elected by our people to fight for our people when we come to the capital in Yellowknife here to look at the conditions that we live in in our communities. We know the conditions because we come from these small communities.
When we come into a larger centre, we start to see some of the equalities that happen. We even look at our school system, where it took almost nine years to have the Government of the Northwest Territories put proper washroom facilities in a school in Colville Lake. We wonder and I wonder why it took so long, nine years, to even have washroom facilities in the health centre in Colville Lake. When we come down here, we look at other facilities where they take it for granted.
Our people ask us to come forward and fight for them, to have the same type of facilities that the other institutions have around the Northwest Territories. When we get down here, we get to see how the system works and sometimes it’s very frustrating. Sometimes it’s okay because we win some and we lose some. The system sometimes works not for the people but for the system itself, and that’s frustrating.
One of the huge costs of this government is our health care. The majority of our budget is spent on health care. On the weekend I was reading the Globe and Mail. We have a dangerous infection, a superbug, that’s continuing to rise in the Northwest Territories. It’s MRSA and this is a very dangerous infectious disease that we have here. It’s on the rise and we need to start tracking the superbug. One of the contributing factors of this superbug is the overcrowding of housing.
I have a lot of issues I want to talk about. I don’t have the time right now so I would just like to say, stay tuned.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I’d like to follow your lead and remember some of the people across the Northwest Territories that are no longer with us. Today I’d specifically like to recognize the passing of a remarkable northern pioneer and long-time Weledeh resident, Adolph Duesterhus.
Adolph came to Canada from Germany after enduring the terrible experiences of war on the Russian front and internment in a Soviet prisoner of war camp. He arrived in Canada April 25, 1953, with eight dollars and a train ticket to Edmonton. Arriving in Edmonton, he answered a Giant Mine job ad, and was in Yellowknife drawing a paycheque within two weeks of stepping off the boat. After a year at Giant, Adolph moved to Curry Construction, where he stayed many years running equipment and supplies across the territory; an original ice road catskinner long before the truckers. His experiences are chronicled in the unpublished memoire, Driving Northern Byways: Memories of Northern Ground Transport in the ‘50s and ‘60s. Adolph was a family neighbour and I personally heard many of his hair-raising tales of too-heavy equipment on too-thin ice.
Perhaps less well known but equally remarkable was Adolph’s scholarly passion for advanced physics. Self-taught in one of the most intellectually challenging disciplines, Adolph was also a pioneer in the mindscapes of complex mathematics and theory. He was a contributor to scholarly journals and always at work on explanations of phenomena few of us are aware of, let alone understand.
Though a private and perhaps even eccentric man, Adolph was a willing contributor to community projects and a reliable helper to his friends and neighbours. In the closing passage of his book, Adolph pays tribute to the people who welcomed him and worked with him to build a better community. He said, “All of the good people helped make Yellowknife what it is today. I salute them all.”
Adolph Duesterhus, a friend of the Yellowknife Community Foundation, passed away on Friday, September 28th, and is survived by two nephews living in Germany. Mr. Speaker, I will miss his unique character and northern wisdom. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Over the time that I had off over the summer, I got a lot of constituency concerns, and we’re just finishing up our first year – my first year as a Member of the Legislative Assembly – and every time that somebody comes to my office, I always get to learn a little bit more about the issues and the problems that our people are going through today.
One that came up that grabbed my attention was with medical travel. I had a constituent who had had an appointment cancelled because she couldn’t make the flight when the department had booked her medical travel and gave her the notice about two hours before the flight was going to take off. She couldn’t make her appointment, and as a result, she had to wait a whole year to fill that appointment.
Speaking with other people in the community, this is an ongoing problem within the government, and it needs to be addressed in terms of having our people be able to go and get the treatment that they need for issues that they are dealing with. Specifically, when it comes to speciality appointments and they can’t get those appointments rescheduled again, maybe three months, six months and, in this case, a full year.
The government really needs to develop a better process to ensure that people in the Northwest Territories get the proper care and treatment that they deserve and help save the government some money on some patients that go to either Yellowknife, to the region, even down south to Edmonton, and sometimes they find out that they’ve missed their appointments, or sometimes the appointments have been cancelled on them. The Department of Health and Social Services and medical travel needs to find a better process to ensure that our people do get to their appointments, that we’re not having any more no-shows, and that the government starts saving money and that our people get the treatment that they need.
I’ll have questions for the Minister later on today.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. The Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Recently, I was shocked and appalled to learn that this government has begun clawing back the Child Tax Benefit. The Child Tax Benefit is a federal subsidy that was put in place to help Canadian families with the challenges of meeting the cost of raising children.
This summer the NWT Housing Corporation began including the Child Tax Benefit in its income assessments for public housing rents. As a result, some people who received the benefit have had their rents go up. This change makes no sense to the average person.
I know that we are dealing with two different programs and two different governments, one federal and one territorial, but from the perspective of parents and single parents trying to make ends meet in our small communities, it seems like this government is giving with one hand and taking with the other. What is the point of that, Mr. Speaker? As one of my constituents said, the money from the Child Tax Benefit is meant for milk and Pampers, not rent.
I cannot imagine that the savings to the GNWT of clawing back the Child Tax Benefit amounts to very much. However, for the families who are affected by this change, it means less money every month for groceries, diapers, kids’ clothing and shoes.
I will be asking our government, through the Premier, when they will put an end to this outrageous clawback. Leave the Child Tax Benefit alone. Leave it with our low-income parents that need it. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With 1,082 days and approximately 18 hours left in our term, there is still time for the Minister of Health to finally do the right thing. What is the right thing, you might want to ask. Well, it is still time to address the need for a treatment centre for people who are addicted to hard drugs such as crack, crystal meth and even prescription drug abuse. I am confident that I have raised this issue alone at least six or seven times in this term alone. I have mentioned this particular problem countless times in the last term of the 16th and even in the 15th Assembly, and still this issue continues to be ignored by this government.
Right now people are addicted to these drugs as well as other types of hard drugs, but there is no true treatment for them in the NWT, away from friends, family and community support. Every month goes by and more citizens complain about the lack of opportunities and services provided here in the North. If the Minister hasn’t heard the call from me, during the last six weeks in the municipal election I have heard countless candidates and citizens calling for more options to address treatment problems here.
What message does this Minister need to hear before he finally addresses this lack of treatment centre problem with a targeted response? I agree with the direction the new Mental Health and Addictions Strategy is going, but it lacks the option of a treatment centre for people who need to break free from chronic hard drug usage.
I continue to call for a detox centre here in the Northwest Territories, but we cannot mix the two. There is room for both options. I am willing to take one. I am willing to take any option if this Minister is finally willing to act. Quite frankly, I am sure the Minister is tired that I keep raising this particular subject. I am sure, as well, at the same time, he is frustrated that the impacts this problem is having on our health system.
We need a targeted solution to help all Northerners and our communities from being burdened by this big city problem. Undoubtedly, there are examples in other jurisdictions that have worked. Why don’t we have a northern solution to what is not a northern problem? What message does this Minister send to our youth – our future – by ignoring the seriousness of this particular problem? If we keep avoiding this problem, we will never solve it. I ask the Minister to stop saying no and finally say yes to a problem that we need addressed for the people of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to extend warm greetings to everyone here today and to those listening from across the Northwest Territories. The fall 2012 session marks a full year since Members were elected to this Assembly.
This year has been significant for the Northwest Territories and for the Deh Cho riding. This past summer an anthrax outbreak decimated the Mackenzie bison herd, killing over 400 animals. I acknowledge that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources rapidly forwarded a response to this devastating situation. The active infection phase of this disease is now over forever. Among the impacts of the outbreak are reduced hunting quotas for all harvesters.
The Deh Cho residents are eagerly waiting for the opening of the Deh Cho Bridge in November. The Deh Gah Bridge Society is proud of this tremendous project and hopes to work with the GNWT to maximize the opportunities the bridge will provide to our region.
The bridge opening marks the end of an era for the Fort Providence ice crossing and ferry service. I would like to commend the hard work and dedication of those who have maintained these key pieces of infrastructure over the many decades of travelling across the Mackenzie River.
A highlight in this coming new capital plan is the commitment to build a much needed new health centre in Fort Providence. The community and staff will look forward to the improvements the health centre will bring.
Although we are making progress, many challenges still lay ahead. Enterprise and Kakisa have yet to establish their own water treatment plants. The Hay River Reserve continues to struggle with jurisdictional matters regarding reserve status, levels of government obligation, housing and other programs and services. The Deh Cho riding does not have mobile phone service, and in the interest of public safety and improved communications, I will soon table a petition requesting cellular service in Fort Providence and the surrounding area before the opening of the Deh Cho Bridge.
Unemployment is as high as 30 percent in some of the Deh Cho communities. That takes a toll on families as well as programs that offer government support. The Deh Cho and NWT as a whole must tackle such issues as land claim and self-government negotiations, devolution and resource revenue sharing, pressures of increased energy costs and major infrastructure decisions.
In spite of these challenges, we have to look forward to over the next two years and beyond the life of the 17th Assembly. Meaningful advances and development of biomass industry in the Deh Cho, increased tourism as a result of the monumental 1,000 metre long Deh Cho Bridge, and more opportunities to work together to build the future of the Northwest Territories. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. Colleagues, before we go on I would like to recognize in the House former Member for Deh Cho and honourable Minister, Mr. Michael McLeod. Welcome back to the House. The Member for Range Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The United Nations has declared today, October 17th, as International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. I think this day is timely because here in the Northwest Territories we’ve just concluded a second series of meetings of the Anti-Poverty Working Group, as mentioned by the Minister. We are moving forward with the development of an Anti-Poverty Strategy.
The International Day for Eradication of Poverty has been observed every year since 1993, but unfortunately, we still have very little to show for it. Millions across our world still live in abject poverty. Progress on the goal to reduce poverty has been agonizingly slow. Here in Canada, some parts of the country are ahead of others, and thankfully for us, the NWT is not the last to begin development of an Anti-Poverty Strategy. Our work on it can come none too soon.
At the end of July, the national organization Campaign 2000, an organization whose slogan is End Child and Family Poverty in Canada, issued a media release following the Council of the Federation meetings. Part of that release quoted Sid Frankel, an associate professor, University of Manitoba’s School of Social Work. Professor Frankel said: “The provinces need to strengthen their poverty reduction strategies and the federal government needs to adopt its own comprehensive and coordinated plan. Income is a key determinant of a person’s health. The higher one’s position on the income ladder, the more likely one is to live in good health. Income equality, on the other hand, impairs health and increases premature mortality. Simply, all Canadians will benefit from less poverty and inequality.”
Also, Dr. Michael Rachlis, health care analyst and associate professor at the University of Toronto was quoted: “Poverty accounts for at least 20 percent of our health care costs. If we can reduce poverty substantially and increase the quality of life for more people, we will reduce health care expenditures and prevent new costs in the future.”
The GNWT and this Assembly must not lose sight of the importance of reducing and eradicating poverty. We’ve made a commitment to develop a strategy and we are acting on it. Now we must ensure a comprehensive, workable, coordinated response to poverty from that commitment. Reorganizing how we provide GNWT programs and services and revamping our policies…
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
Reorganizing how we provide GNWT programs and services and revamping our policies to enable people to rise out of poverty would achieve such a coordinated result. I look forward to seeing the result of the work of the Anti-Poverty Working Group. I would like to thank all of them for their efforts to date and for the work that they will do in the coming months. This working group is a great example of the benefits of collaboration, working together for the betterment of all NWT residents. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Welcome back, Mr. Speaker and my fellow colleagues from across this great territory, as we roll up our sleeves for a very energetic and hopefully productive couple of weeks.
With all the recent municipal elections and school board action in the past month, I am really looking forward to harnessing all the new focus and new ideas that were shared amongst so many great civic leaders. From Iqaluit to Whitehorse, from Fort Smith to Inuvik, the North was a myriad of topics that were all designed to improve our everyday lives.
We wish to take this time to thank the many brave candidates that sacrificed so much – and I say brave because it takes a special person to let their name stand for public office – put their lives on hold, and to stand with conviction on topics that affect us. Sometimes you get those who oppose you, and most time you get those people who support you and in the end you hope that your principles are supported enough to generate that special gesture we call a vote.
To those who came up on top with the votes required to win, on behalf of the Members of the Legislative Assembly, congratulations to you, your families and your communities.
For those who didn’t get elected, we want to personally thank you for your efforts. We know losing is a painful and heartbreaking experience but it teaches us dignity. We know that many of you will get back on your feet really quickly. Your efforts, your words and your actions did not go unnoticed. Just because you lost doesn’t mean that your advocacies, whether it be on poverty, education, health, or economy, went to the wayside. Your pledges and your promises will be championed by others and you will enjoy knowing that you played a part in our territory’s well-being.
Finally, to all of those who took the time to exercise their democratic right, we thank you, the voter, for your time and your support. I was pleased to see that the municipal election voter turnout was as strong as it was in 2009, with a strong showing of 49 percent in Yellowknife, and many other jurisdictions reporting over 40 percent turnout. This makes me wonder how it is that our very territorial elections cannot muster the same achievements that we see across the board. This is something that the Assembly needs to discuss in the next couple of years.
Speaking of years, I am happy to say that the voters will now enjoy a bit of peace and quiet and a break from candidates knocking on their door, especially for the next three years as there should be no elections to speak of. Rest up, voters, because in 2015 will emerge the perfect storm as all three levels of governments and school boards will have elections within the same time period. To all you potential candidates across the North, time to reserve your lawns now as space will be limited.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to offer my congratulations to the successful candidates in Monday’s municipal election in Hay River. I look forward to working closely with Mayor-elect Andrew Cassidy and councillors Brad Mapes, Kandis Jameson, Keith Dohey, Donna Lee Jungkind, Vince McKay, Roger Candow, Jason Coakwell and Michael Maher. While Mayor Cassidy and councillors McKay and Maher bring the wisdom of municipal experience to this group, others bring fresh ideas and new perspectives.
We have the voice for youth in Councillor Dohey, a fourth-generation Hay Riverite, and might I say that Mr. Dohey was six years old when I first got elected and he was interested in politics even back then. I predict we will see him in this House someday.
We also have a very active retired person, Councillor Candow, who will have less time for the golf course now. We have two women councillors: Councillor Jungkind and Councillor Jameson. We have two public servants: Councillor Maher and Councillor McKay. We have two business managers in Councillor Jungkind and Councillor Coakwell and two business owners in Councillor Jameson and Councillor Mapes. So you see we have a very diverse group representing Hay River.
I wish this dynamic group every success in becoming an effective team and tackling major issues, such as Hay River’s aging infrastructure and our sputtering economy, with the full confidence of our community. The new council can count on my support and assistance.
Hay River also elected its district education authority on Monday. The DEA makes important and often difficult decisions on planning, operations and staffing our community schools. Congratulations to DEA members Kirk Carston, Melanie Carter, Terence Courtoreille, Kandis Jameson, Melvin Larocque and Louise Schuman, all of whom were elected by acclamation. I’d like to thank them for stepping forward to serve.
I would also like to say a sincere thank you to all of the candidates who ran for municipal office in Hay River and throughout the Northwest Territories, including those who weren’t elected. It’s never easy putting your name forward for public office. Campaigning takes time, money, support and very patient family and friends. It takes courage, sacrifice and commitment. Everyone who ran successfully or not in being elected, contributed to the democratic process and to the public debate on important issues in our communities and they all have my deepest respect and gratitude.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have been blessed this year with one of the best summers on record and I hope that everybody, although you’re really busy, had an opportunity to get out and enjoy it.
As usual, over extended periods of time there have definitely been some high points and some low points. On the low side, over the last couple of months we have lost some great northern residents. As such, I would like to take this opportunity to offer my condolences to the family of Theresa Crane. Theresa passed away this summer. I’ve known Theresa for a number of years and she was a fantastic lady. I enjoyed receiving phone calls from Theresa and having her ask me to come down for tea and politics, where we would discuss and discuss and discuss issues important to her and the Northwest Territories. She was a long-time resident of Yellowknife and the Great Slave riding, and through discussions it was clear that she truly loved Yellowknife and the Northwest Territories. She was an active volunteer and she cared passionately about everyone that she came into contact with. She’ll definitely be missed.
In addition to the sad events, though, we also witnessed some amazing milestones over the last couple of months. By way of an example, on September 25th a constituent of mine in the Great Slave riding and a long-time Northerner, Ms. Annette Lemay, celebrated her 90th birthday. I recently communicated with John and Joan Snuverink and their friend Phyliss LaFleur, who were long-time friends of Annette. They shared some stories and highlights of Annette’s life. They all wish Annette a happy birthday.
Annette was born on September 25, 1922. She and her husband Aurel moved to Yellowknife shortly after they were married on May 17, 1952. She was 30 at the time. They celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in Yellowknife this year. Annette has tirelessly volunteered with the community at the Roman Catholic Church for the past 60 years. She volunteered on a regular basis until last year, 2011. Her friends have commonly referred to her as remarkable. As a note, Lemay Drive in Yellowknife was named after Annette’s husband, Aurel, for his long-time contribution and career at Yellowknife Giant Mine. I would like to take this opportunity to wish Annette a happy 90th birthday and wish both Aurel and Annette a belated happy 60th anniversary. It’s people like Annette and Aurel who help make Yellowknife the great city that it is.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.
