Mr. Speaker, we have to just continue with developing industry best practices when it comes to developing the resources that we have here in the Northwest Territories. I think that will bode well for us.
There has been a lot of research done on the integrity of wells that have been drilled and fracked. Again, I think it all comes down to putting the facts on the table. I know the United States government has done a great deal of work in that regard in trying to identify any contamination of groundwater from the drilling and fracturing of wells. I don’t believe in a million wells that were looked at that they found one instance of groundwater contamination.
I think the facts really do have to get out there. We will try to get the facts on the table so that the people of the Sahtu, the people of the Northwest Territories can make these decisions as we move forward. Thank you.
Certainly when we were in the east part of the east corner of Saskatchewan, we were actually at a frack site. We were actually in the operation and actually we were fracking. There was no earth shattering water spewing out of the hole. It is actually quite safe. I would like to point to the Minister in terms of having the information out there. Clearly, the facts need to be looked at.
I want to ask the Minister in regards to the employment for our people. In 2010-11 $976,000 was paid to income support clients in the Sahtu. We want to reduce that. How is the Minister going to address the needs in our communities in regards to the employment and the exploration activities in the Sahtu so that we can reduce the income support payments to our members in the Sahtu?
Mr. Speaker, through education and training programs, and opportunities through industry, through government and working in partnership with land corps in the Sahtu, I think that’s how we are going to realize people taking control of their lives and getting opportunities to get jobs and provide for their families. I mentioned it in my Minister’s statement earlier today. We need to do something about the fact that people are on income assistance, and this opportunity that we have in front of us in the Sahtu is a great opportunity, something that if we go about it the right way and we plan for it, I think that the Member and Members of this House will be really impressed with how we can turn this into a real positive story and get people to work in the Sahtu, not only people from the Sahtu but also people from other regions of this territory. They will have work available to them in our territory. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In regards to equality in the Northwest Territories, we see and I’ve read in the newspaper – the Yellowknifer – this morning, that the federal government approved another mine for the Yellowknife area, another diamond mine. So all its benefits, once this mine is approved, this region will see it.
I’m asking the Minister why we don’t have the same type of benefits in the Sahtu region that we know the hydraulic fracking can bring to us. I ask the Minister, would he then seek the guidance of the EDI, maybe working with the EDI committee members to go into the communities and go and look at some of the guidelines to move on the hydraulic fracking.
We need the same opportunity as down here in the Yellowknife area up in the Sahtu. You don’t see our Members talking about the diamond mines in this area.
I ask the Minister, would he look at working with the EDI committee on how to involve people through the education process, in supporting the issue of hydraulic fracking.
Mr. Speaker, fundamental to all this is a diversified economy here in the Northwest Territories. It’s great news that the federal government has approved Gahcho Kue, and that will be very beneficial for the territory and the North Slave region.
There are opportunities elsewhere in this territory. The government has done a lot of work in advancing the Economic Opportunities Strategy where we’re going to talk about how we’re going to diversify the economy with agriculture, forestry, fishing and also tourism. This is an opportunity that’s before us, it’s something we can plan for, it’s something we can work toward, and it’s a very exciting opportunity.
It’s been a good last week here. We also have talk by Imperial about revamping the Mackenzie Gas Project. The prospect of that would have a profound impact on this territory, and certainly the development happening in the Sahtu, the exploration and development, because they’re after the oil that’s in the ground in the Sahtu, but a big by-product of the extraction of that oil is gas. So I think if this gets some legs, the talk again about the Mackenzie Gas Project, it could be very, very big news for this territory. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Earlier in my Member’s statement I spoke about the Alberta achievement tests and some of the failings in our teaching in our small schools, in achievements, and concern of parents. When the Minister talks about education renewal, what exactly is he renewing and is he aware that what’s being taught is not what’s expected to be learned with that type of approach? Concerned parents have come to me time and time again. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Minister of Education, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Part of the education renewal is to look further into our educational system, how we can improve the programming and the courses that are being delivered, especially in the small, isolated communities. It has been brought to our attention in this House and by Assembly Members, as well, that we need to improve our education system. That’s where we’re at.
We have reached out and gauged the general public, the parents and educators, to hear their views about where we should improve. Some of the highlights that they’ve come across are: system accountability; professional capacity, with respect to teachers and also the support staff; assessment practices in the small community schools, which has been a priority topic within the small community schools; and also the Early Childhood Development Framework that’s before us in this House, and now we’re going to be developing action plans towards that inter-departmentally between Health and Social Services and my department. There is also an inter-departmental approach with respect to all the different departments that need to work together. These are some of the areas of focus within the Education Renewal Initiative that we are moving forward on. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
The Minister said something interesting about getting out to the communities and that’s what I’ve also heard is that parents want to be engaged. So I look forward to the rollout of that plan, but more specifically to my issue, what alternatives are Education, Culture and Employment considering to the Alberta achievement test and why is the department thinking about changing the way it measures student performance? Thank you.
Mahsi. We are closely monitoring Alberta education changes. There are changes that are coming and we’re monitoring very closely. The Alberta achievement test, it’s also changing in their jurisdiction. So how it’s going to look, we’re not sure at this point, but we are working closely with them and there are various assessment tools that we use within the schools within the Northwest Territories as well. Assessing students will continue to be a priority of this government, this department. The education system will not change as a result of the Education Renewal and Innovation Initiative that’s before us.
So assessment is part of the whole Education Renewal Initiative and again, Alberta is changing their overall educational system. They’re changing their Education Act and we are following their curriculum, as well, the Grade 12 examination and so forth. So if there are any changes that are coming then we need to be prepared for it.
So within our Education Renewal Initiative within the Northwest Territories, we are making changes that will benefit the students, benefit the communities of the Northwest Territories. Mahsi.
In my research from the past six years, our students have not improved when they’re taking the Alberta achievement test. So do we actually understand why our students are failing the Alberta achievement test and can the Minister explain this phenomenon? What factors are involved here and why are we consistently failing these Alberta achievement tests in our grades? Thank you.
Mahsi. We’ve also done our research, as well, throughout Canada, national and also international research. We also sought out some information and ideas from positions from the northern people and provided direction for the changes that we need.
The Education Renewal Initiative is based on the fact that we need to change our educational system and share in the feedback of the general public, the parents, the grandparents, our educators, who feel that we need to change our educational system. We’ve heard over and over from Regular Members on can we improve in those areas so our Grade 12 students can go directly to post-secondary. We are working on that with the Education Renewal Initiative.
The Early Childhood Development Framework is another area where we’re focusing on the early ages so they can be prepared when they graduate from Grade 12 and go directly to post-secondary, university.
The Education Renewal Initiative will also address these issues through the development of a comprehensive K to 12 Literacy Strategy that’s based on the input of the general public as well. So these are just some of the key initiatives we are pursuing as a department and we’ll continue to push that further. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’m glad the department wants to see improvements. My constituents and my parents want to see improvements, too, but dropping the Alberta achievement test, I’m just not convinced that’s the right thing to do right now. You’ve got to have some other baseline to measure student performance if we are going to improve it.
As I indicated, Alberta is changing their Education Act as well. The Alberta achievement test may be in a different format, some sort of an assessment that we need to follow as a guideline. We’ve done that for the past how many years now and with this whole Education Renewal Initiative and the Early Childhood Development Framework, that will definitely improve our education system throughout the Northwest Territories, K to 12, even at that early age. At that point in time, those individuals that are doing their 3, 6 and 9 assessment tests, we’re hoping that it will improve over the years.
So those are our goals and objectives and we are reaching out to the general public to seek their input and we’ve sought that and we’ve got that already. So we are moving forward on this on the right path. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Following up on my Member’s statement earlier, I’d like to ask the Minister of Transportation what training opportunities are available for residents of Aklavik in connection with the Willow River access road and other roadwork going on in the region? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Blake. The Minister of Transportation, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In respect to training opportunities for communities in the Mackenzie Delta, I would expect there would be training opportunities as a result of the Inuvik-Tuk highway.
In regard to the Willow River access road, we still haven’t got the funds earmarked for the Willow River access road. So without any funding for the construction of that road or advancing that road project, there would be no training opportunities. Thank you.
Is the Minister willing to work with the leadership in Aklavik on next steps in the implementation of their feasibility and planning studies? Thank you.
Yes, I would like to, at the earliest opportunity, get a chance to meet with community leaders in regard to the Willow River access road in Aklavik, and going forward we do have to find a way to get some further funding into Willow River access road program. The community can avail itself of accessing the Community Access Road Program that they have in the past. So that opportunity is still available to the community. We’re also hoping with the new Building Canada Plan that communities across the Northwest Territories will have opportunities for additional funding programs to look at programs like the Willow River access road, also communities have access to gas tax funding as well that they could earmark for projects like the access to the Willow River. Thank you.
I’d just like to ask the Minister, will he accept my invitation to visit my riding? Thank you.
Yes, at the earliest opportunity in the schedule, we can work out the schedule, but as soon as my schedule permits, I’d be more than happy to visit the communities in the Mackenzie Delta. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. I would like to ask the Minister some questions as a bit of a follow-up to the motion that this House passed the other day with regard to the Giant Mine Remediation Project. I think the Minister is well aware that Members on this side of the House, particularly Yellowknife Members, are very interested in the recommendations from that report and are very interested in knowing what the GNWT is going to say about that report.
So my first question to the Minister is to know from him how Regular Members, particularly Yellowknife Members, can have input into the GNWT response into the Giant Mine Environmental Assessment Report. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With the federal process that we’re engaged in as one of the responsible Ministers, there is no real opportunity for input into a separate government, into our position as we work at the table with the other responsible Ministers from AANDC, NRCan and Environment Canada. Thank you.
Thanks to the Minister. That’s unfortunately what I was expecting. I appreciate this is a federal response, but I also know that we as a government are sitting at a table and we are presenting a position. I think it is a responsibility of this government to allow Members to have some input into that position.
So I would like to know from the Minister, my question is whether or not I, as a Yellowknife Member, other Yellowknife Members, other Regular Members who want to, why can we not, or can we not have an opportunity to sit down with yourself, as Minister, or with other Members or staff of the government to know what the GNWT position is and to have some input on to the GNWT position, not the federal position, but what we’re saying at the table with the feds. Thank you.
There are officials from all the responsible Ministers’ departments working collaboratively on a response to the recommendations of the review panel, and that process precludes the ability to sit down with us specifically to lay out what the Members would like to see. If the Member wants to have a discussion with myself and with officials from ENR about the report, we’d be happy to do that, but there is no door or no table where the MLAs can come to the seat, come to the table with all the other officials as we collectively work on the response. Thank you.
That is what I’m asking. I’m asking for an opportunity for Members who want to hear from you as Minister and from staff, what we are putting forward in this joint group that is developing a response, a federal response. We get briefings all the time, and what I’m asking is for a briefing on what the GNWT is saying at the table where this federal response is being developed.
Will the Minister commit to a briefing to myself, in particular, but to any other Members who wish to attend to know what we are saying at the table with the feds?
I will make a commitment to sit down and provide a briefing of what is possible, given the constraints that we function under, and it may not be the full detail that the Member is requesting. This is a process that is defined under the federal process and it’s not one where there’s an opportunity for that type of debate, but I will commit to check to see what is possible, given the Member’s request.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final, short supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thanks to the Minister for the commitment to look into it. I would certainly hope that there would not be anything except perhaps a legal requirement that stands in the way of this kind of consultation. We are a consensus government. We share the responsibility with the federal government and we as Members share the responsibility with our Minister on this particular response. I think it is imperative that the Minister do everything he can to allow Members on this side of the House to have some input into what we’re saying to the feds. I’d like to know from the Minister when I might expect a response on his commitment.
Before we prorogue at the end of next week.
Thank you, Michael Miltenberger. The Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Premier, Mr. McLeod. I just wanted to highlight I reference several elders and I just wanted to mention the elders like Leo Norwegian, the late Leo Norwegian, Gabe and Mary Cazon, George Boots, the late Paul Wright. Just a few elders that were at the meeting with Mr. Martinez back in 1999, and a lot of them have passed on. It’s unfortunate that a lot of the promises that were made in the treaties remain unfulfilled.
What recourse do First Nations have at this point to address especially the unsettled land claim areas? Now, we take the view that those regions that don’t have settled land claims are basically called historical treaties and First Nations are encouraged to negotiate at the table. Sometimes there are conflicts and what recourse do First Nations have? My question is to the Premier. What recourse do First Nations have when governments ignore and do not address their concerns?
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The honourable Premier.
Governments have a historical and special relationship with Aboriginal, specifically treaty, people. Here in the Northwest Territories, we have an opportunity to show the rest of Canada and the world how to improve and do things better in the area of negotiations, settling land claims and working together, having a good relationship with Aboriginal governments, and I think we’re making a lot of progress in that area.
I’ve said many times that in the historical treaty areas that the Member is talking about, the difference is that those Aboriginal governments believe in the oral version of the treaties. They don’t believe in the written version of the treaties. The Constitution of Canada refers to the written versions and modern land claims and self-government, so I think that’s a decision that Aboriginal governments have to make.
We as a government are working. We have the process with the Dehcho First Nation to try to find a way to move forward, and I think we’ve been having some good discussions. We’re hoping to establish a similar arrangement with the Akaitcho at some point and I think that’s been happening. As everybody knows, it started out as a Dene and Metis comprehensive land claim, but because of their differences and development, it split out into a number of regional land claims and even to community land claims and self-government, so for those that feel they want to make progress, they’ve looked at those other options as well.
I think the NWT prides itself in providing leadership in terms of First Nation issues and leading the way in terms of coming up with key agreements. The unfortunate reality is that if you negotiate and if you don’t agree with governments, governments have the power of withdrawing funding and basically walking away from the table, which leaves the option of First Nations to seek perhaps a remedy through the courts. Other parts of Canada do have systems in place, and I’m encouraged that the Minister has indicated that we want to show the other parts of Canada how to improve the system of working with First Nations.
Would the Premier agree in principle to the idea of having a commission that could be struck up between the First Nations and governments to oversee disputes that go unabated, that are not addressed, and to try to perhaps speed up the unresolved land claims process?
I think we have taken the lead in that area once again. Once devolution is implemented, we will have an intergovernmental council; we will be working with all of the Aboriginal governments that sign on to devolution, working together, and I think that in that way that’s the best way to resolve disputes. For those that haven’t signed on yet, we’re still very optimistic that we’ll hopefully see that happen within the next year or so.
Does the GNWT support the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission extending beyond July 1, 2014? If so, how has that support been expressed to the federal government?
Mr. Nadli, I’ll allow the question if the Premier will take it, but it’s two different topics. If you want to redo your question, Mr. Nadli.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Could the Premier update us in terms of how it is that this government is working with the federal government in terms of ensuring that work with truth and reconciliation continues? Mahsi.
Same question. Mr. Premier.
