Debates of October 24, 2006 (day 14)

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

Supplementary To Question 169-15(5): Workers’ Compensation Board Policy On Chronic Pain

Mr. Speaker, I have to tell you that this government, this council and this Minister is on the verge of being negligent. It’s illegal not to have that policy. Now, how could they use the power of the office of the Auditor General to dither? Mr. Speaker, that didn’t apply to cases where there is a Supreme Court of Canada decision and a Supreme Court of the NWT decision that says what you are doing is discriminatory. This is outrageous, Mr. Speaker. He said, on page 884, and I quote: “The current policy, 3.10, does not specifically list permanent partial disability...”. That’s a problem. You don’t need to consult, you don’t need to dither, you don’t have to revisit. Change the policy. Why don’t you do that right now? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Dent.

Further Return To Question 169-15(5): Workers’ Compensation Board Policy On Chronic Pain

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s also important to remember that the Auditor General’s report pointed out that the Minister does not make policy. It’s the board or the Governance Council that makes policy. So the Governance Council has agreed that they are going to look at their policy. They are prepared to consult and make the changes and they have a policy in place that allows for a lifetime disability pension right now. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess nobody has the power to make the policy. I wish I could be in there and make that policy, Mr. Speaker. The Minister has the power to make the policy. WCB law allows him to send a directive and he said yesterday that the council is going to make the policy but they want to consult more. I am telling you it’s a good thing that the WCB did not go to the Supreme Court because they would have had their wrists slapped again and they should change their legal advisor and do the thing now…

Do you have a question, Ms. Lee?

…or he should resign.

I didn’t hear a question there, Ms. Lee. Do you want to rephrase your question, Ms. Lee?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Let me just be clear again. The law of the Territories is…

Do you have a question, Mr. Lee?

Supplementary To Question 169-15(5): Workers’ Compensation Board Policy On Chronic Pain

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Minister, will the Premier, will the council, get legal on chronic pain policy, change the policy to meet with the Valic decision? They cannot be illegal any longer, and I apply that to the Minister of Justice, too.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Dent.

Further Return To Question 169-15(5): Workers’ Compensation Board Policy On Chronic Pain

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Governance Council has agreed that they are going to examine the policy. They are going to change it if it needs to be changed. They are quite prepared to move on looking at that. That commitment has been made. I have made it publicly. The issue is one that they have said they are going to move on. I will talk again to the chair of the Governance Council and make sure that they look at it very quickly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Final, short supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Supplementary To Question 169-15(5): Workers’ Compensation Board Policy On Chronic Pain

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What is it exactly stopping the Minister to write that directive?

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Dent.

Further Return To Question 169-15(5): Workers’ Compensation Board Policy On Chronic Pain

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I understand it, the Financial Administration Act prohibits the Minister from providing any direction to the WCB that will impact on the accident fund. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. (English not provided)

Mr. Speaker, with my previous Member’s statement on the 182 public units in Behchoko that owe outrageous rental arrears, I would like to ask the Minister of the Housing Corporation, can the Minister explain to this Assembly how we, the GNWT, Government of the Northwest Territories, allow one public unit, as an example in Behchoko, to accumulate $76,413 in rental arrears which is still increasing? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation, Mr. Krutko.

Return To Question 170-15(5): Behchoko Public Housing Rental Arrears

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the objective we set for our local authorities is that they do have to collect in the range of 90 percent of the revenues from rents that are charged to the tenants. We also have the Rent Supp Program, which offers those tenants a subsidy on the amount of rent that is being paid either through a subsidy, do an evaluation of the tenant to determine how much they are supposed to pay. As the Member states, these go back for some time. In order for someone to end up with $76,000 in arrears, they have to either have a high, high income or haven’t paid their rent for a number of years. I think that is the problem we are having in collections and we, as a government, and as an organization, are trying to resolve this issue by ensuring that those people have options that they can look at. They can go into a payment plan, they can get into homeownership, but the important thing is they have to make the attempt to pay. It has been an issue with regard to Behchoko.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Supplementary To Question 170-15(5): Behchoko Public Housing Rental Arrears

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as the Minister stated, this has been an ongoing issue for quite some time now. That’s quite true. The LHO is under the umbrella of the NWT Housing Corporation. We do have the accountability there, Mr. Speaker, as the NWT government. Mr. Speaker, my next question leads to what the Minister indicated on unemployment or high employment. There is something wrong with this system, Mr. Speaker. How can people who are not employed incur debts such as $76,000 or owing an average of $11,000 when this government has a system in place such as the Housing Subsidy Program? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Krutko.

Further Return To Question 170-15(5): Behchoko Public Housing Rental Arrears

Mr. Speaker, we are aware that this is an issue with regard to Behchoko by way of how their rents were collected. It was managed and administered by a community organization. We had to take this back a number of years ago. I think there is a system in place where we do have the ability to backtrack the accounts as they are on our records. But they were under a different management agreement a number of years ago, in which we realized we do have some problems with that. Again, Mr. Speaker, the principle through that local housing authority is that they do have to ensure that they do work with the clients to make sure that they either pay their rent or work through a payment plan to bring those rents down. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Supplementary To Question 170-15(5): Behchoko Public Housing Rental Arrears

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again, the system is simply not working. It just goes to show here, Mr. Speaker, that what we are doing here, we are not doing anything about the arrears. It is a huge issue in the community. As the Minister has explained, the renter arrears continue to accumulate over the years without any investigations or suggestion of a solution to this problem. How is this government being accountable for the debts incurred by numerous renters continuously accumulating more and more arrears against their rent? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Krutko.

Further Return To Question 170-15(5): Behchoko Public Housing Rental Arrears

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have put a call out to the tenants of the authority in Behchoko to come forward and show us exactly how the rents were calculated, give us the information that they have so that we can assess it and try to find a solution on exactly how we came up with that number. I know a number of years ago, one of my predecessors looked at the possibility of working out an arrangement with Behchoko because of this particular problem. It is a problem. We are trying to work with the Member and the community to find a solution to the problem. Again, we cannot set a precedent in one community realizing that this also has effects in other communities. So we are trying to find solutions to this problem. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Your final supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Supplementary To Question 170-15(5): Behchoko Public Housing Rental Arrears

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is my final question for the Minister. If the Minister is serious about remaining accountable as a government, he will see the urgency of the situation and investigate it immediately, Mr. Speaker. Is the Minister prepared to conduct such an investigation and get to the bottom of these things once and for all? We cannot continue with this. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Krutko.

Further Return To Question 170-15(5): Behchoko Public Housing Rental Arrears

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are willing to send people into the community, sit down with each of the tenants and do an assessment tenant by tenant to see if we can come to the bottom of this problem. So I commit to the Member that I will direct my department to go into Behchoko and basically do just that by sitting down with the tenants and go with each one of them to ensure that we are being fair but also ensuring we try to find a way out of this problem. Thank you.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister responsible for the Environment and Natural Resources just with what I was talking about earlier in my statement on addressing the hardships that people are going to start feeling here. The winter is coming and cost of living is going up. Rent is going up. Arrears are going up. Their main meat source is getting scarce. I am wondering if there have been any recommendations brought forward or any plans on how this government and how much it is going to cost this government to start addressing some of these hardships that local hunters and providers in all of our small communities are going to start feeling the brunt of with our declining caribou numbers. Is there anything that is coming out of the department? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. The honourable Minister responsible for Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Handley.

Return To Question 171-15(5): Barren Land Caribou Management Practices

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No, we don’t have any exact numbers of what resources would be necessary and what special efforts would have to be made. We are looking for information from all of the regional management bodies. Hopefully, we can deal with it with their advice. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Villeneuve.

Supplementary To Question 171-15(5): Barren Land Caribou Management Practices

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think there has to be some sense of urgency with the government on moving on some action to kind of mitigate the real impact that the dwindling numbers of caribou are going to have on people that rely heavily on caribou as their main meat source. Is there going to be any interim changes happening; maybe an increase in income support or what avenues do we have? I know that the advice from the Wek'eezhii Renewable Resources Board was made to the government in how they are going to address this issue. What are we going to do about it in the short term over the course of the next six months, Mr. Speaker? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. Mr. Handley.

Further Return To Question 171-15(5): Barren Land Caribou Management Practices

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are always aware of the difficulty people have in accessing caribou meat, where they depend on it. The most immediate thing we can do in the short term, of course, is to ensure that our income support offices are aware of the situation, are able to take that into consideration when they make allocations to people. Mr. Speaker, I know that it is difficult. It is more than just an income issue. It is also an issue of wanting to have the wild meat that people have a desire for. Mr. Speaker, over time we will work it out, but in the short term, in terms of emergency efforts, it would be largely through income support. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Villeneuve.

Supplementary To Question 171-15(5): Barren Land Caribou Management Practices

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can I get some commitment from the Minister that he will instruct the Department of ECE that provides income support that, perhaps, they should start broadening the eligibility requirements to specific cases of why people need income support; i.e. gas money, food, money to buy shells, hunting materials and stuff like that? Can that be included in income support in the short term, Mr. Speaker? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. Mr. Handley.

Further Return To Question 171-15(5): Barren Land Caribou Management Practices

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Member’s advice. Mr. Speaker, we will have to talk with ECE. Our people are already doing that. We will be talking with ITI with regard to meat replacement. We will be talking with other departments as well because it does involve, in fact, departments like Health and Social Services. Mr. Speaker, we are hosting a caribou summit this winter. We are hosting workshops I think as early as November on hardships associated with the declining number of caribou. So those are all efforts that are being made. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Villeneuve.

Supplementary To Question 171-15(5): Barren Land Caribou Management Practices

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just with respect to the caribou conference that is coming up early this winter, can the Minister provide a brief outline of who is going to be included in this workshop? We just can’t have a caribou management workshop to address these caribou management issues that is solely going to include just the NWT. It has to be even more circumpolar almost to come up with a good plan to address the declining caribou, because caribou don’t recognize any borders. Can the Minister commit to the House and to the people that he will include everybody in the circumpolar regions that do have caribou or reindeer that they will be included or invited to this conference? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. Mr. Handley.

Further Return To Question 171-15(5): Barren Land Caribou Management Practices

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Certainly, the proposed conference includes participants far broader than just the GNWT. Mr. Speaker, it will include co-management boards, aboriginal governments, outfitters, resident hunting organizations, Nunavut, Yukon, Saskatchewan, Dene Nation, regulatory boards, of course GNWT departments, people from ITI, Education, Social Services and so on, industry people and NGOs, caribou management boards, and Members of the Legislative Assembly will be invited. So we are keeping it as broad as we can. We are probably looking at 100 to 150 delegates and our intention is to get as much good information as possible and also to develop more understanding of the management plan as well as what is happening to our caribou herds.

Mr. Speaker, as far as going broader internationally on circumpolar, that is something that I will talk to the department about. But we hadn’t contemplated going to countries with reindeer, for example. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.