Debates of October 18, 2006 (day 10)

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Premier, Mr. Handley.

Return To Question 123-15(5): Redistribution Of Ministerial Portfolio Assignments

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The assessment of workload is something that is complicated. My assessment is that people are busy. I can tell you personally I don’t end up with a clean desk very often in terms of my role as Premier, as well as Minister for the two departments and the work I do in supporting other Ministers on various projects, whether it’s on some of the hydro initiatives or other projects. Very often I am the one that has to take that final step in terms of pushing something with Ottawa, or with aboriginal governments, or wherever it may be.

Mr. Speaker, I'll continually be looking at Ministers' workloads and if there's a better way of redistributing it, then I'm open to that. We are late in our government and we have to recognize if we start doing that in the final year with a lot of learning that goes on and a lot of catching up to the issues within a department. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Supplementary To Question 123-15(5): Redistribution Of Ministerial Portfolio Assignments

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, perhaps there's more to the workload than meets the eye, and I can see that that may be the case. However, I have heard a rumour, I don't know if it's true, but I've heard that Mr. Krutko has gone to Calgary 72 times in his tenure as Housing Minister and I don't know if that's true or not. But if that is true, I would suggest that Mr. Krutko doesn't have enough to do and I don't know what you could do to address that, but I have a concern with that. I do think there is not an even distribution of the workload and I would like to see the Premier come forward with something. One year left in our term is 25 percent. That's one-quarter of our term in office and it's a long time, and if the Premier can't see fit to do that, well, then maybe we need to offer some assistance from this side of the House. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. I don't know if I heard a question there, but I will allow the Premier to respond.

Further Return To Question 123-15(5): Redistribution Of Ministerial Portfolio Assignments

Mr. Speaker, I didn't hear a question either, but one comment I'll make is that a Minister's travel is distributed. It's on the website, I believe. So we can make it available, and certainly I will check into whether it was 72. That is an awful lot of business done in Calgary. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Supplementary To Question 123-15(5): Redistribution Of Ministerial Portfolio Assignments

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That was one of the questions I was going to ask. There used to be a practice of tabling Ministers' travel in this House and it helped us gauge the kind of work that was being undertaken by the Ministers, and it was informative material. So what happened to that practice and is that still done? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Handley.

Further Return To Question 123-15(5): Redistribution Of Ministerial Portfolio Assignments

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That information is still posted four times a year on the website. I don't think we distribute a paper document anymore, but it is on the website; it's done quarterly. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to address my questions to the Minister of Health and Social Services again. I'd like to just state that in listening to the workers, I just feel that there are so many issues wrapped up in this about the hospital, at the Stanton Hospital, and various issues that are coming out of that. It involves many different units, many different professions, and whatever it is that's happening there is causing an exodus of very valuable, long-term not only health care professionals but hospital staff in general. Now, I understand this is a very sensitive issue and I don't think it's to the benefit of all of us if I get all the details in the House here. What I am interested in though, and the feeling I get, is that those workers need to be able to express what is going on without fear of being reprimanded or without feeling in jeopardy of their jobs. They have gone through all the procedures. They have gone to the union, they have gone to the management, and I don't think enough is happening in that regard and it shouldn't be. The Minister, of course, has to listen to his staff and he listens to us, but how is he listening to what's happening at the ground level? I'd like to know if the Minister would be willing to then ask the deputy minister and who's sending that, whatever they do, that they must prove or they must have a mechanism there that they're talking to the front-line workers. I want to know, I want to get assurance from him that he will make sure that he'll get a direct report from the front-line workers at the hospital, every one of them, every group anyway. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Return To Question 124-15(5): Dialogue With Employees Of The Stanton Territorial Hospital

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'll commit to the Member that I'll work with the deputy and we'll ensure that steps are taken so there is consultation in a free and open environment with not only the management but the staff; as she indicated, unit by unit. We will compile that information and we will look at what comes out of that and how best to respond to that particular feedback. Thank you.

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

Supplementary To Question 124-15(5): Dialogue With Employees Of The Stanton Territorial Hospital

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I could tell you that these issues have been going on for quite a while. I have been listening to it for about a year and a half and, you know, it's just building and building and I don't think it's in the interest, actually, of the operation of the hospital and delivery of the health care services that this be continued any longer. I understand the extra impetus that the Minister and the department put on when session is on. It's nice. We could use this productively to shed light on issues that have been going on for a long time. So I want to set some time frames to the tasks that the Minister has undertaken. Could I get a commitment from the Minister that he would provide to us preliminary findings within the next two weeks? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Miltenberger.

Further Return To Question 124-15(5): Dialogue With Employees Of The Stanton Territorial Hospital

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we will provide our preliminary findings within two weeks.

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

Supplementary To Question 124-15(5): Dialogue With Employees Of The Stanton Territorial Hospital

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just to add one more thing to that, Mr. Speaker, I do appreciate the Minister's willingness to work on this. I need to mention the fact that there are some employees, and it's the case anywhere, where they are scared of bringing points forward. If consultation is to take place in an effective manner, and a substantive manner, in a positive manner, all efforts have to be made to make sure that people feel free to talk and that they are part of the building process and not fingering or blaming. So could I ask the Minister for a commitment to work with the DM and the senior management, that they will take the necessary steps to make sure the workers feel not intimidated and that they're free to put their input into what they think is wrong with the operation of the hospital, or what their working environment is like? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Miltenberger.

Further Return To Question 124-15(5): Dialogue With Employees Of The Stanton Territorial Hospital

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Clearly the Member must have been a negotiator at one time. I/m not sure how many questions she has left, but, yes, I'll commit to that as well. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Supplementary To Question 124-15(5): Dialogue With Employees Of The Stanton Territorial Hospital

Thank you. I'm going to go by very good…You know, sometimes we succeed here and sometimes not, and I have to tell you that the survey or whatever the HR department did in working out the questions to get at the concerns of the correctional services I thought were excellent. So I'd like to ask the Minister if he could review with us about sort of detailed methodology about how…He should talk with the senior management, whether it's by survey, or by interview, or by meeting; if he could work with us, from the Members on this side, as to what the plan is so that we could have some input into that process. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Miltenberger.

Further Return To Question 124-15(5): Dialogue With Employees Of The Stanton Territorial Hospital

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we're going to be compressing a lot of activity here in a relatively short time frame, but as soon as we have an outline of how we intend to proceed, I will share that with the Member as the chair of Social Programs for her use and to be able to disburse to share with the other Members and for their feedback. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, recently I received a call from Nahanni Butte and the topic, of course, is power and continues to be a concern over there, the power rates. Absolutely, the single biggest impact for granny from Nahanni is the high cost of power. I'm not too sure who to ask this to there, Mr. Speaker. I know that we have a territorial power support. Is there anything in the plan, are we going to augment it, add to it to help our people in our communities, especially another way of helping out the elders in there? With that, Mr. Speaker, I'll pass it over to the Minister of Finance. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Minister of Finance, Mr. Roland.

Return To Question 125-15(5): Territorial Power Support Program And Community Power Rates

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the area of the Territorial Power Support Program, that program continues to grow just by the fact of volume of people in their own homes and the subsidy we provide to residents outside of the capital. We have no plans of changing that program. It is set at 700 kilowatt hours at the Yellowknife rate, and then the rate zone is charged per community. That's the best we can do at this point and that program has now crept over the $8 million mark. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.

Supplementary To Question 125-15(5): Territorial Power Support Program And Community Power Rates

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess one of the other ways that I have been trying to address this issue is the one-rate power zone and it's typically done through the general rate application. I don't know if the Minister of Finance has the information before him, but is there a general rate application going into the PUB shortly or this fall? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. Roland.

Further Return To Question 125-15(5): Territorial Power Support Program And Community Power Rates

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the past the government has worked through that and I am aware, from the Minister of the Power Corporation, that, indeed, there is a general rate application going forward in November. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.

Supplementary To Question 125-15(5): Territorial Power Support Program And Community Power Rates

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just with ways of reducing heat and power rates in the communities, again I'm not too sure if I'm asking the right Minister here, but converting the heat from power plants is a possibility but they're saying the cost is borne on the communities. So is there assistance that our government can help the communities convert the energy that's lost in the power plants? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. Roland. Honourable Premier, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, that is really a question that should be directed to the Minister for the Power Corporation, so, if I can, I would refer it to him.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Honourable Minister responsible for the Power Corporation, Mr. Krutko.

Further Return To Question 125-15(5): Territorial Power Support Program And Community Power Rates

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we do have a program that we have joint ventures, of partnerships, through the residual heat concept. Again, it's all based on the costs and it is burdened by the community by way of the way that we bill our communities. It's based on the actual cost to produce that power, but it's also charged on the number of residents in those communities. But we are looking at communities and looking at new initiatives such as residual heat, but also through the new technologies that are out there we are looking at that and we are open to the possibility of seeing exactly what's the economic costs associated with doing these. Again, because of the size of a lot of the small communities, it's just not economically viable to do it; but in the larger communities, it possibly is. Again, we are open to looking at these different possibilities. Thank you.

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

Supplementary To Question 125-15(5): Territorial Power Support Program And Community Power Rates

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe this will be back to the Minister of Finance, it's just with the territorial power subsidy. Maybe just for clarification, does that include the commercial power rates in the Territorial Power Subsidy Program? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. Krutko.

Sorry, Mr. Speaker. That question, again as the Member pointed out, should be redirected to the Minister of Finance. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Mr. Roland.

Further Return To Question 125-15(5): Territorial Power Support Program And Community Power Rates

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Territorial Power Support Program is aimed at residences, so 700 kilowatt hours per month. I might say, Mr. Speaker, my home in Inuvik with my family, I worked hard at keeping consumption below that because once you get above it you start paying your community rate and that can go up significantly. We do have a commercial portion of it. It is very small and it is application based. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to direct my questions to the Minister of Justice, the Honourable Brendan Bell, about the policing situations in the communities that do not have a police station there, don't have police officers, which they visit from time to time. I want to ask the Minister, can he give me a brief description or a brief update as to how many communities do not have a police officer in the community, how safe it is in those communities, what's the process of them reporting crimes -- you know, some of them may, may not -- and what type of services are they receiving? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. I think the Member has asked all four of his questions, but I'll let the Minister answer one or more. The honourable Minister of Justice, Mr. Bell.

Return To Question 126-15(5): Policing Services In Small Communities

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's a dangerous answer for me to give a comprehensive one. I'll try to be brief and concise. I think as Members know by now, there's a CBC contest running on the radio that seeks to interpret an answer I might have given to Mr. Ramsay yesterday. I think they've decided it was the most obtuse and confusing answer they've ever seen, so hopefully I can do a little better here. We are meeting with the RCMP and communities to come up with strategies for policing in small communities. We're doing a number of things. The old Special Constable Program that used to be very effective in the North is no longer. They are talking about a next generation program of community safety officers. We're optimistic that that will work in the North, but we want to make sure that it's relevant for our smaller communities. The RCMP are also increasing their patrols and tours to our smallest communities, recognizing that they need help especially when they don't have detachments. So we're doing a number of things; we're consulting, and we'll continue to talk to Members about them. But, yes, we believe that the communities are safe, but we will work as diligently as possible to improve safety. Thank you.