Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will have to get that information and I will provide it to the Member. Thank you.
I attended both Prospects North and the Anti-Poverty Summit the week before session, and what became really interesting and obvious to me is that for an Anti-Poverty Strategy to work and to be effective in the Northwest Territories, you’re going to need to engage business. Business is going to need to be involved. I don’t believe that Industry, Tourism and Investment is currently one of the members on our internal working group, and I’m just wondering, if they’re not one of the groups on our internal working group, could the Premier commit to getting a representative from ITI onto that working group to represent business so that we stand a chance of succeeding at our Anti-Poverty Strategy. Thank you.
I am prepared to have that discussion and see how we can add and strengthen this process. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my previous history in the land claims process, before getting into politics, was with the Dene Metis claim and then also being involved in the regional land claims of the Gwich’in and the Sahtu. I also took part in one of the devolution negotiations back in 1995 in which we were all at the table, we had our own legal counsel, each group was basically represented around the table for negotiating a northern accord on behalf of the people of the Northwest Territories along with the Government of the Northwest Territories. Back then Mr. John Todd was the Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources, which we actually sat at a table to negotiate. So again, I’d like to ask the Minister in regard to the process. Were the aboriginal groups physically at the negotiating table when this agreement was being signed between the federal government and ourselves?
Thank you, Mr. Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations, Mr. Roland.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The process now is we have a draft AIP that has been sent back by the negotiators to the principals. An additional letter has gone out to the aboriginal organizations seeking their input if they want to continue on with the process of being involved in the final set of negotiations. We are going to await that response. In the work that’s gone on before, as I stated earlier, if we go to the previous Assembly, in fact four of the aboriginal groups signed on to a draft agreement at that point and had sent it in. So throughout the years many have been involved in the negotiations.
Up until this point, this Assembly has not signed any agreement. We are going to take in the comments, wait for the response from the aboriginal organizations. As I said to Members of this Assembly earlier, we will seek input from Members before a decision is made on how we proceed. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, the concern from the aboriginal groups that I’ve been talking to is that under the land claim agreements we have water rights provisions; we have, basically, land and water provisions; we have the surface rights provisions; we have land use planning provisions. All those provisions are basically supposed to be part of the devolution process so that when the devolution process will be concluded, you will have a working relationship with landowners throughout the Northwest Territories from the aboriginal landowners to the Crown holders and making sure that all the parameters of those agreements are basically intact and they’re working in regard to a new land and water regime in the Northwest Territories.
So again I’d like to ask the Premier, because I think a lot of the discussion has been around royalties, royalties, royalties. Everybody sees dollar signs. But this agreement is more than dollar signs; it’s dealing with lands, waters, and the management of resources in the Northwest Territories. So again, I’d like to ask the Premier why is it that the government is refusing to allow aboriginal groups to sit at the table and negotiate those elements of the agreements, which is very much a part of this devolution process to ensure that those elements are in the agreement going forward.
Mr. Speaker, the fact is we have not refused anybody to the table. We have invited all groups to the table, and, in fact, between INAC and ourselves, have supplied up to in the neighbourhood of $400,000 for groups to come to the table and participate. We’ve been welcoming, we’ve been open and invited all groups to the table, and throughout this process groups have been at the table and some have not been at certain meetings until April where it was the Gwich’in who said that they were not going to be formally a part of the negotiation process. Previous to that, they were involved.
Mr. Speaker, there have been court cases across the country looking at the whole involvement of aboriginal people, governments, to ensure that consultation is more than just getting a notification to take part. Negotiations means you actually sit at a table like this and you basically negotiate back and forth. So I’d like to ask the Premier again, were the aboriginal groups at the physical table where these negotiations were being negotiated between the Government of the Northwest Territories and the federal government.
Mr. Speaker, I can’t speak for the previous government. I know that the groups that did sign on at that point and were also at the table at the start of this process when we re-engaged with the federal government. At that point, one group has chosen not to be there. Again, others were at different parts of the discussion tables and briefings and negotiations. I am not going to get into the actual workings of those groups.
There is a process in place. As I said, I will honour that process and we are going to wait for a response from the aboriginal organizations if they are going to continue to be a part of the next phase of these discussions. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. Your final, short supplementary, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I will try to simplify my question. During the negotiations between the Government of the Northwest Territories and the federal government at those negotiating tables... I mean, you keep talking about a past tense of what aboriginal groups did or who signed on or who didn’t. I want to know, physically, were the aboriginal groups at the negotiations between the federal government and the Government of the Northwest Territories to come up with this latest agreement-in-principle for devolution for the Northwest Territories? Yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, the aboriginal organizations that have a joint letter from the chief negotiators talking about the process they reached and the continued involvement of the aboriginal organizations to this next process and we are waiting to see if they will be continue to be a part of this process or come back to the table, in some cases. We have included and we have sat down with Members to provide them information on those that have been involved until we had the official response of the Gwich’in in April. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to follow up with some of the questions I had earlier for the Minister of Transportation in regard to the Deh Cho Bridge Project. I would like to just ask the Minister, the remaining balance on the work to be concluded on that project is roughly $90 million. I am just wondering, given the fact that the steel still hasn’t shown up in Fort Providence, is there any indication that the cost of building this superstructure on that bridge in the coming year or 18 months or whatever it is going to take, is going to cost more than the $90 million, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Minister of Transportation, Mr. Michael McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No, there is no indication that we are going to see an increase in costs. I think the budget remaining for the bridge is around $60 million. Thank you
Mr. Speaker, if it does cost more than $90 million, obviously given winter construction on a project of that size and nature, and given the fact that it is steel that is going to be erected on that bridge, it would seem to me that, given the delays in the project, costs are going to be incurred. If they are incurred, is it the responsibility of the contractor or the Government of the Northwest Territories to pay any additional costs over $90 million? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, that is a hypothetical question at this point. We don’t anticipate that there is going to be any delay in the construction schedule. Right now there are 100 trainloads of steel coming from the south and will be unloaded on site. We expect to have a superstructure in by March. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, in regards to the debt servicing on the bridge, at what point in time is the government liable for the almost $8 million in debt servicing if that project isn’t completed by November of next year? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, the Member is aware that there is a plan to service the debt. We need an average of at least 6,400 trucks to cross the bridge through the toll system and that would allow us to break even. Anything over that would allow us to have revenue or a profit. Anything under that would force us into a deficit situation.
There’s going to be years when the traffic volumes are up, there’s going to be years when the traffic volumes are down. For this coming year, we expect the traffic volume is going to be around 7,500 trucks or 8,000 and that’s not counting any other new developments such as the Gahcho Kue mine project, there’s also Seabridge, there’s also MGM Minerals and there are other initiatives that are out there that we haven’t factored in here. But our information from the mine industry tells us it’s going to be around 7,500 trucks up to 8,000. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Your final, short supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m just having trouble trying to understand the numbers. Previously the number that I had was a projected toll revenue of $5.1 million and the most recent the department has provided us was $3.2 million. They also said an increase to 7,100 trucks would result in another $650,000, which would put you at $3.8 million on annual revenue. So how did the numbers drop from the projected $5.1 million to a projected $3.2 million in annual tolls? Thank you.
The information the Member is referring to is information we are obligated to provide to committee as per the Bridge Act, where we have to provide a statement of funding sources and costs based on traffic volumes for that year. At this point, of course, everybody knows we’re not collecting tolls, so this is for information purposes only. Last year, if the information that was provided to committee showed that there were 4,000 trucks that crossed the bridge we had anticipated, we would have seen a small deficit. However, we know that’s not going to be the case. This coming year the traffic volumes are going up. The first information that came to us was 7,100 trucks. We’re up to now where we expect it would be up to 7,500 and maybe even further than that. The numbers are not firm, these are all estimates. Of course, we haven’t factored in all the unknowns as to the other projects that I referenced in my answer to the last question.
So this is all information that we’re obligated to provide at the end of every year and we’ll continue to do so. As we move forward, we’ll commit to doing that. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Further to my Member’s statement and questions earlier today, I wish to table an article from the September 2, 2010, edition of the Deh Cho Drum entitled State of School Playground Sparks Parent’s Concern. Mr. Speaker, the article describes the hazardous conditions of the Bompas Elementary School’s playground in Fort Simpson and calls upon school, government and community groups to pull together to solve the problems being experienced at the playground. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Wednesday, October 20, 2010, I’ll move the following motion: Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Monfwi, that the following individuals be appointed by the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories to the Human Rights Commission for the Northwest Territories effective November 1, 2010: Mr. Roger Wah-Shee of the city of Yellowknife for a term of four years, and Mr. William Turner of the city of Yellowknife for a term of four years,
Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.
Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Wednesday, October 20, 2010, I will move the following motion: Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Monfwi, that pursuant to Section 61 of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, that Elaine Keenan-Bengts be appointed as Information and Privacy Commissioner;
And further, that the appointment be effective November 1, 2010.
Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Wednesday, October 20, 2010, I will move the following motion: Now therefore I moved, seconded by the honourable Member for Great Slave, that Tabled Document 75-16(5), Response of the Joint Review Panel for the Mackenzie Gas Project on the Federal and Territorial Governments’ Interim Response to “Foundation for a Sustainable Northern Future” be referred to Committee of the Whole for consideration.
Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Deh Cho, that Bill 12, An Act to Amend the Liquor Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Bill 12 has had first reading.
---Carried
Item 19, second reading of bills. Item 20, consideration in Committee of the Whole of bills and other matters: Tabled Document 4-16(5), Executive Summary of the Report of the Joint Review Panel for the Mackenzie Gas Project; Tabled Document 30-16(5), 2010 Review of Members’ Compensation and Benefits; Tabled Document 38-16(5), Supplementary Health Benefits – What We Heard; Tabled Document 62-16(5), Northwest Territories Water Stewardship Strategy; Tabled Document 66-16(5), NWT Capital Estimates 2011-2012; Bill 4, An Act to Amend the Social Assistance Act; Bill 8, Social Work Profession Act; and Bill 9, An Act to Amend the Tourism Act, with Mr. Abernethy in the chair.
We’ll call Committee of the Whole to order. We’re reviewing today: Tabled Document 4-16(5), Tabled Document 30-16(5), Tabled Document 38-16(5), Tabled Document 62-16(5), Tabled Document 66-16(5), Bills 4, 8 and 9. What’s the wish of the committee? Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The committee would like to continue with Tabled 66-16(5), NWT Capital Estimates 2011-2012, and proceed with the Department of Transportation. Thank you.
Is committee agreed?
Agreed.
Alright. With that, we’ll take a short break and come back with Tabled Document 66-16(5) and Transportation. Thank you.
---SHORT RECESS
I’d like to call Committee of the Whole back to order. Does committee agree that we’ll be considering Tabled Document 66-16(5), NWT Capital Estimates 2011-2012? Committee’s preference was to start with the Department of Transportation, so that’s what we’ll do, if committee agrees. Does committee agree?
