Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Where is the replacement for the Trout Lake school identified in the capital plan?
Given the number of children attending the school, what are the department’s long-term attendance estimates for Trout Lake?
What are the parameters and guidelines required to ensure a planning study for a new school in Trout Lake is undertaken?
Is there a portable school in our education or government system that can be used in Trout Lake?
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Human Resources.
Please provide:
a list of senior management positions for fiscal year 2011-2012 for all GNWT departments, boards, agencies, commissions and corporations that identifies the:
i)
department;
ii)
manager-type position title;
iii)
senior management pay band number or deputy head level attached to the position; and
iv)
annual dollar minimums and maximums for the band level; and
b) a table showing the numbers in fiscal year 2011-2012 of all managers and management-type positions in the GNWT for which annual salaries were:
i)
less than $100,000;
ii)
$100,000 to $124,000;
iii)
$125,000 to $149,000;
iv)
$150,000 to $174,000;
v)
$175,000 to $199,000; and
vi)
$200,000 and above.
2.
What was the total number of positions receiving senior management or deputy head remuneration in 2011-2012, and the total amount of senior management or deputy head remuneration paid in that year, by department, board, agency, commission and corporation?
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation.
How many NWT communities have a person hired as a “housing maintainer” for repairs and maintenance on public housing, and in which communities are they located?
How many apprentices currently work within the NWT Housing Corporation, and in which communities?
How many apprentices has the NWT Housing Corporation trained to certification since fiscal year 2007-2008?
How many of the trained apprentices are currently employed by the NWT Housing Corporation, and in which communities?
Who handles repairs and maintenance for public housing in communities where there is no housing maintainer or local housing authority?
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Mr. Hawkins.
I once again request unanimous consent to return to item 7 on the orders of the day, oral questions. Thank you.
---Unanimous consent denied
Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. Item 9, returns to written questions. Item 10, replies to opening address. Item 11, petitions. Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I once again seek unanimous consent to return to item 7, oral questions, on the orders of the day.
---Unanimous consent denied
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a document to table. I would like to table the Hospital and Boards Public Disclosure on Public Service Employees, and of course, as I mentioned earlier in my Member’s statement today, it is authorized and empowered under the Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act of 1996. This is from Ontario. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Thursday, October 25, 2012, I will move the following motion: I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that, notwithstanding Rule 4, when this House adjourns on October 25, 2012, it shall be adjourned until Monday, October 29, 2012;
And further, that any time prior to October 29, 2012, if the Speaker is satisfied, after consultation with the Executive Council and Members of the Legislative Assembly, that the public interest requires that the House should meet at an earlier time during the adjournment, the Speaker may give notice and thereupon the House shall meet at a time stated in such notice and shall transact its business as it has been duly adjourned at that time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Item 16, notices of motion for first reading of bills. Item 17, motions. Item 18, first reading of bills. Item 19, second reading of bills. Item 20, consideration in Committee of the Whole of bills and other matters: Tabled Document 64-17(3), Northwest Territories Capital Estimates 2013-2014; Bill 2, Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2012; and Bill 8, An Act to Amend the Securities Act, with Ms. Bisaro in the chair.
I call Committee of the Whole to order. We have before us Tabled Document 64-17(3), Northwest Territories Capital Estimates 2013-2014; Bill 2, Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2012; and Bill 8, An Act to Amend the Securities Act. What is the wish of the committee? Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you, Madam Chair. The committee wishes to consider Tabled Document 64-17(3), Northwest Territories Capital Estimates 2013-2014. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. We will resume after a break. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
We will resume after a short break. Thank you.
---SHORT RECESS
Committee, we will come back to order. We are starting the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, page 8-2. We will leave the department summary until we have completed the rest of the sections of the department. We will move to page 8-4. Before we do that, Minister Lafferty, do you have witnesses you wish to bring into the Chamber?
Yes, Madam Chair.
Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Sergeant-at-Arms, would you please escort the witnesses into the Chamber? Thank you.
Mr. Lafferty, if you could introduce your witnesses for the record, please. Thank you.
Mahsi, Madam Chair. I have with me to my left, deputy minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Gabriela Eggenhofer and also with me to my right is Paul Devitt, director of strategic and business services with the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Committee, we are on page 8-4, Education, Culture and Employment, activity summary, advanced education, infrastructure investment summary, total infrastructure investment summary, $876,000. Any questions, committee? Is committee agreed we can move to the next section?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. We’ll move onto pages 8-6 and 8-7, Education, Culture and Employment, activity summary, education and culture, infrastructure investment summary, total infrastructure investment summary, $2.329 million. Any questions, committee? Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I’m going to commence my discussions with respect to the project listing on page 8-8, the Children First Centre, the early childhood development facility in Inuvik. I do want to go on record that I’ve had substantial dialogue with a number of NGOs throughout the Northwest Territories, spoken at length with some of the Members here, knowing full well that this is precedent setting that we see before us here today. I want to make sure that the people of Range Lake know that I’ve gone through a great deal of investigation, knowing full well that with precedent setting also comes risks and also reward.
That said, it’s hard to look back in the rear-view mirror on something that truly is a great deal of a success story for the people of Inuvik, raising the amount of money that was raised to come to this point and having the balance come forward to the government.
So the first question I have for the Minister is: Because this is precedent setting, is the department looking at creating a new policy with respect to how this government will fund or continue to fund, moving forward, NGOs and infrastructure?
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Minister Lafferty.
Mahsi, Madam Chair. As the Member of this House clearly stated, early childhood development is very critical, an important piece of work that’s before us and an important matter for the entire community to adopt as a priority. As you are aware, the responsibility for proper care for children not only falls on government but also the entire community. It’s a shared responsibility. It is, therefore, very encouraging to see this principle and collaboration of action with the town of Inuvik, where the entire community rallied for the costs and came out with 80 percent of the costs for building a place for the children of Inuvik.
The Children First Society, with the help of the Town of Inuvik, private sector and residents of Inuvik, were able to raise a significant portion of 80 percent of the required capital funding. The contribution from the GNWT will allow this facility to be constructed and the society will fund the O and M costs, as well, through user fees.
I understand that some of you are troubled by what looks like a one-off, providing funding to an NGO for this type of facility in the absence of a broader policy, as the Member alluded to. It is precedent setting, and I agree with you that such a policy framework needs to be devolved and we will definitely work toward that, but we have to keep in mind that early childhood development is a priority that we all share, and the government is committed to developing the updated Early Childhood Development Framework.
Funding policies for daycares and the like, however, should not be developed ahead of time or in isolation of the framework initiative but, rather, reflect on the intent and objectives of the overall Early Childhood Development Framework. So we are committed to work towards that. That’s what I wanted to share with the Members. I know Members have raised this issue in the past and we’ll continue to work towards the policy.
Thank you. I appreciate the Minister’s candor on the subject. Again, our congratulations go out to the town of Inuvik and the Children First organization for 80 percent of fundraising. That’s incredible.
As the Minister alluded, this is precedent setting and because the commitment from the government clearly indicates that policy will be forthcoming as a result of this precedent setting, it’s very, very difficult for us to look in our rear-view mirrors at where government may have not come forward. It is for those reasons, and those reasons alone, that this is precedent setting with new policy that we need to move forward. With that, I will be supporting this project. No further questions.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. I didn’t hear a question there. Minister, did you feel the need to respond?
Mahsi, Madam Chair. I would just like to say thank you to the Member for his support. This has been a huge undertaking by the community of Inuvik and the town council. So we have worked with them and we will continue to work with other communities as well. Mahsi.
Thank you, Minister Lafferty. Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I, too, just want to make a couple of comments in regard to the Children First Centre and knowing that is precedent setting and that coming out of this, if government is able to create a policy in which it tops up funding for registered NGOs in the Territories to be able to run their programs and to create capital projects, such as the hard work of the dedicated people of the community of Inuvik, I think this government should be supporting those kind of programs seeing as how we’re in a fiscal restraint. When a community can work hard and help find funding for 80 percent of a project, a big project at that, that’s going to be able to house up to 120 students that will be both projects indoors and outdoors, as well, having all the donations, in-kind donations, the fundraising that went on, I think that it’s a positive project. It’s a big win for the government and people of the Northwest Territories.
I do thank all committee members. I know we’ve had a lot of discussion on this item since we got back into the House here and the first time that we saw it on the capital budget. There have been a lot of concerns, and I appreciate that we had some good dialogue on this and that some Members on this side of the House are in favour of supporting the program. Anything that comes out if it, I think that a policy should be developed where we can look at topping up NGOs that do a lot of work in the Northwest Territories.
I commend the Minister and his staff for looking at ways to get this project on the books, and I appreciate the hard work, and the community of Inuvik appreciates your commitment and support to not only early childhood development but to the future of our community and the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. I didn’t hear a question there either. Minister, did you wish to comment?
Mahsi, Madam Chair. I’ll just, again, thank the Member and also thank the community of Inuvik for their commitment and dedication towards this project. So, mahsi.
Thank you, Minister Lafferty. I have nobody else on the list. Are there any other questions? Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I wanted to just first maybe get an update on what the situation is with the renovations to the museum. I know there have been a few kerfuffles lately, and I know that the work is being done by Public Works and Services perhaps, or they’re involved. I know there were some toxic materials found and I think the situation there is now under control, but I don’t see it in this budget. So I think the hope is that we’re going to get that addressed this fiscal year. So could I just get that confirmed?
I know a lot of people would like to see the museum fully functional again, especially with the cafe there. It draws in visitors and makes better use of the facility. So if I could just get an update on that situation at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre with regard to the fire-related renovations. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Minister Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Chairman. There has been a lot of work in the Yellowknife Prince of Wales Museum. There’s been a tender for kitchen work that has been advertised and a revised schedule for construction to start in November and to be completed by March 2013. As the Member indicated, there is construction happening with the chimney repair starting in mid-September that should be completed by the end of October. There have been little hiccups that have been encountered, but that have been resolved as well.
With respect to the asbestos material, that’s been clearly resolved as well. It has been in the works, and we’re in the final stages of going through the process of completing the actual work itself. We are expecting that at the end of October, the repair of the chimney will be completed. By March the kitchen area should be completed as well.
Thanks to the Minister for those remarks. I’m sure he, as well as myself and the public, will be very interested in seeing that work completed.
I have to comment on the Inuvik children’s facility, the Children First Centre. As I believe the House knows, I’m a huge supporter of early childhood development programs and so on. Child care programs are not necessarily child development programs, and that distinction needs to be well understood by our decision-makers.
I have a major disappointment that this decision was made without a policy in place. As the Minister alluded to, that was pointed out in discussions with the Minister from committee and, again, a huge disappointment that there doesn’t seem to be understanding of the need for a policy on which to base these decisions. That’s so important to me because there have been many organizations, possibly equally motivated, who have been turned down for support. Ultimately, it becomes a question of fairness and particularly during a time when infrastructure funds are very tight. On that basis and with the failure to establish a policy, I’m not sure that I will support that expenditure.
I understand, too, that we have not worked to have any influence on the programs offered by declaring an interest in investing a million or a good amount of money into this piece of infrastructure. There is that concern too. I think, when we’re investing infrastructure, we want to be sure and have a policy role as well.
I guess I’ll leave it at that for now and ask the Minister if he has any comments.
This position or project came into play and has been very unique the way it’s been approached by the Children First Society. It has been in the works for the last four or five years now, or even longer before that, with the committee. They’ve initiated their discussion with the community and the leadership got involved.
It’s similar to what we’ve done here in Yellowknife area with Betty House and the dementia centre, just to name a few. We were in a position to make a decision for 90-plus children in a centre and this should be a good-news item for the Northwest Territories, with a contribution of the town council of just over $2 million. Our contribution is just under 20 percent. It is a very unique position to be in and we are investing in our children, as the Member alluded to. That’s always been the case of this government, we need to invest in our children. Yes, it is precedent setting.
I did commit that we will be drafting a policy pertaining to the Early Childhood Development Framework. It is in the works. There will be consultation as well. We were caught in a position where we had to make a decision for one of our communities. We did that. It wasn’t just GNWT money, it was various sectors involved, the leadership of the community of Inuvik and our department as well. I must also commend the committee, the Children First Society, for their tremendous work and dedication. Without their effort, we wouldn’t be sitting here discussing this particular important piece of work. Then again, the policy will be in the works and, yes, it is precedent setting, but we have done that in the past, as well, in other projects, as I’ve just named a few.
