Mr. Speaker, today I would like to speak about an exciting initiative being carried out by the Petroleum Products Division of the Department of Public Works.
The Petroleum Products Division provides fuel sales, dispensing and delivery services in 16 NWT communities not served by the private sector and in 20 communities of the Northwest Territories Power Corporation. For many years petroleum products destined for Beaufort-Delta communities have been purchased solely from northern Alberta sources, transported via rail car to Hay River and then loaded onto barges for transportation down the Mackenzie River.
In 2005 the Petroleum Products Division began pursuing an alternative model designed to reduce the cost of delivering fuel to communities in the Beaufort-Delta. Instead of delivering fuel via the traditional route, this new Over-the-Top route saw diesel fuel and Jet A-1 aviation fuel purchased from North American west coast or offshore refineries and then transported along the Alaskan north shore by larger vessels and delivered to facilities in Ulukhaktok, Paulatuk, Sachs Harbour, Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk.
The resupply routes for the community of Tsiigehtchic and for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation in Fort McPherson will also change as a result of this new delivery route. In recent years diesel fuel has been resupplied via the Dempster Highway. This year the diesel fuel required for these two locations was delivered via the Over-the-Top route and is staged in Inuvik. The diesel fuel will then be trucked as required to the community of Tsiigehtchic and for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation in Fort McPherson.
The use of this new delivery route during the 2008 shipping season for diesel fuel and Jet A-1 aviation fuel has resulted in freight cost savings of more than $2 million — savings that will be passed directly to consumers in Beaufort-Delta communities served by the Petroleum Products Division.
While it is true that the cost to purchase fuel has increased and the price of fuel has risen, the price of diesel fuel landed in the Beaufort-Delta communities is between 12 and 24 cents less expensive for consumers than it would have been had the fuel been transported via the traditional Mackenzie River route.
Because of our relatively small volumes and in order to meet GNWT specifications, it was necessary to purchase gasoline from Alberta sources and transport that gasoline via the traditional route. Because of that the freight cost savings achieved for diesel fuel and Jet A-1 fuel could not be duplicated for gasoline. The Petroleum Products Division will pursue this in coming years in an effort to achieve similar savings for consumers of gasoline.
This initiative is an excellent example of the kind of creative thinking that is happening within the Department of Public Works and Services. Through the pursuit of new initiatives, the Petroleum Products Division was able to make a small change that resulted in big savings for residents of the Beaufort-Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On this day, the last day of the fall session, I’d like to reconfirm why we are elected to represent our people in the Legislative Assembly, what we believe in and what we must produce as meaningful results for those whom we are elected by.
Like all northern leaders, our people elected us to listen to their concerns, work together, find solutions and lead by example. As MLAs we have a responsibility to best understand the challenges faced by our constituents to find the best solutions to address these concerns. We are expected to bring issues to individual Ministers, to the Assembly and to our standing committees to work together to produce results.
Mr. Speaker, I want to confirm the main issues I have been hearing from my residents of Nunakput from my time as the mayor and since I put my name forward and was elected to represent Nunakput as an MLA.
My constituents want economic opportunities. They want to participate in the NWT economy, support their families and provide future employment and business opportunities for their children and grandchildren.
My people want assistance to deal with the increasing cost of living in our region. Communities are at the end of the road. Air and marine transportation systems…. We lack access to reasonably priced goods and services compared to the rest of the residents in the other regions of the NWT. The skyrocketing prices we pay for energy, food and all life’s basic necessities are impacting negatively on the health and well-being of our families.
My people are also looking for us to provide them with the best possible education and health services. We all know that quality education and healthy communities are key to a brighter future.
As Members of the Legislative Assembly I believe we all clearly heard these messages from our constituents. We got together to frame our priorities and terms of office. We are now expected to focus our undivided attention on finding reasonable solutions to deliver real improvements for our people. Our people want to have the tools to succeed. This should be our focus.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
Unanimous consent granted.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. In my opinion, there is a giant step we must all make to produce the best results for the people of the Northwest Territories. We must find the means to work together, to work with the federal government and our MP, to work with our community leaders. We must find a way to work more closely with aboriginal leaders across the NWT.
A few months ago Nunakput was honoured with a visit from the Prime Minister, Mr. Harper. I want to repeat his statements while visiting Tuktoyaktuk:
“Our government has launched an ambitious northern agenda based on the timeless responsibility imposed by our national anthem, to keep the True North strong and free. To this end, we will encourage responsible development of the North’s bountiful economic resources. We will ensure jobs and opportunities and the health and good governance of northern communities. We will protect the unique and fragile Arctic ecosystem for the generations yet to come. Of course, we will assert and defend Canada’s sovereignty and security in our Arctic.”
We have the attention of the federal government, and now we have to ensure Canada’s priorities in the North reflect our priorities. Politics is the art of compromise. It means listening to each other — meaning respecting the different perspectives. But it also means finding common ground and working together to produce results.
I urge the Premier and the Cabinet to reach Regular Members, to reach northern leaders, to build consensus required to advance the northern agenda to the benefit of all Northerners. We share a vision and must now represent the clear and supported vision of Canada and guide critical decisions on transfer revenues and responsibilities. Decades of pondering and positioning have taken place. Northerners are getting impatient. We want leaders who lead.
Mr. Speaker, our elders have made an important decision by listening to each other, discussing solutions, making informed decisions on behalf of our people. That’s how we’ve survived. Actions always speak louder than words.
The clock is ticking. We have 35 months to go until the territorial elections. Our sleeves are rolled up, and we know the challenges, so let’s get the job done.
I’ll have to remind Members that Members’ statements are two and a half minutes long. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I recently attended an open house for the Yellowknife Health and Social Services Authority’s midwifery program. The event was well attended and highlighted the value of midwives in the Northwest Territories. There are currently three midwives practising in the Northwest Territories: two in Fort Smith and one here in Yellowknife, Ndilo and Dettah.
The Midwifery Profession Act, proclaimed in 2005, provides for the licensing, registration and regulation of registered midwives in the Northwest Territories. Midwives have been active intermittently in Yellowknife since 2006 and in Fort Smith for over ten years.
Midwives are health care professionals who provide low risk women with necessary support, care and advice during their pregnancies, labour and delivery and after the births. Their care includes preventative measures, detection of complications in a mother and child and accessing further medical assistance if there is a need. The midwife also has an important role as a health counsellor and educator, not only for the mother but also her family and community.
Midwives may practise in any setting, such as homes, clinics or hospitals. Women in midwives’ care do not normally see a physician unless complications arise. That reduces the workload on general practitioners currently performing routine examinations on expectant mothers. Obstetricians and gynecologists are open to the partnerships with midwives to make sure that mother and child receive quality care.
Mr. Speaker, midwifery is publicly funded in five jurisdictions, including the NWT. The province of Alberta has recently allowed insurance coverage to midwife services. In Holland, England and New Zealand midwives manage 70 per cent or more of the births compared to only 3 per cent in Canada. There is a growing popularity of midwives here, and an increasing number of expectant mothers are being turned away due to limited funding for midwifery programs. Since January 2008, 16 Yellowknife women have been declined midwifery services due to lack of space.
Yellowknife Health and Social Services has funding for only one midwife position, although there is clear public support for more. Yellowknife Health and Social Services is committed to the success of a sustainable midwifery program. The midwife works closely with an obstetrician, family physician and nurses and has regular contact with midwives in Fort Smith. Clients can call upon the midwife 24 hours a day, seven days a week, unless she is off on call or annual vacation leave. The midwife is presently responsible for 26 women requiring various types of care and fills her quota of new clients every month.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
Unanimous consent granted.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I’ll be fast. A detailed list of her responsibilities demonstrates a wide range of services provided by midwives and helps us understand how highly women in the community value her care.
At the appropriate time I’ll be asking the Minister of Health and Social Services about midwifery programs in Yellowknife.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On this last day for Members’ statements for a while I would like to give voice to comments I have received in response to the revenue options paper put out by the Finance Department. The comments were many, and they were thoughtful and included questions such as: “Where is the analysis of the impact of cutting jobs on the GNWT finances? Why are suggestions from knowledgeable people being ignored, and why is critical research absent? Why are cost reduction mechanisms nonexistent?”
But to the suggestions, Mr. Speaker. First and foremost, I received a consistent message that an increase in taxes is the wrong way to go. To quote one writer, “A focus on taxes is completely missing the boat.”
Having said that, there is support for certain taxes, such as applying a surtax to companies that fly their employees in and out of the Territories for work; increasing the payroll tax while at the same time increasing the northern residents tax deduction as an offset; creating a road tax for resource development companies; raising corporate taxes, particularly for the mining industry; increasing the so-called sin taxes and make liquor and cigarettes very expensive; and lastly, instituting a 6 per cent hotel tax.
In addition, I heard concern about the cuts that residents expect will be part of the 2009–10 operations budget. Two more quotes for you: “Take a planned, comprehensive approach to cutting the public service” and “The last effort was inadequately considered and prepared.”
We need to reduce our expenditures, no question, and our residents accept that, but they feel there are other actions besides job cuts that will accomplish the objectives. Their ideas: cut out wasteful government spending; decrease or eliminate print ads in newspapers and magazines; file annual or other reports electronically instead of by hard copy; eliminate non-critical jobs as they become vacant; establish a committee of frontline GNWT staff to identify cost savings; put in place the necessary agreement with the Government of Canada to allow us to nominate new immigrants, especially in the areas of medicine — doctors and nurses — and skilled tradespeople; establish an employee incentive program to reward staff who identify significant operational savings.
I will finish with one last quote, Mr. Speaker, which we would be well advised to heed: “In budgeting, reduce harm and improve services for the needy. Make this your one rule, and you will achieve social justice.”
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to address the conditions and opportunities this government needs to consider to become, once again, an employer of choice.
The job market in Canada is changing rapidly. This government needs to make some progressive changes if it intends to remain competitive in attracting and retaining well educated and motivated individuals. Over the next ten years a large percentage of Canada’s workforce is going into retirement, and this is driving up wages for educated and skilled entry level employees. We cannot simply rely on higher wages to attract employees anymore. Our graduates are increasingly finding equal or better paying jobs down south.
Mr. Speaker, attracting employees in today’s workforce means embracing progressive policies that recognize peoples’ need for recognition and appreciation, for feeling that the work done is of some worth and that the employee is a member of a team with full awareness of the goals and objectives being pursued.
Mr. Speaker, I have visited with several employees over the last few months, including summer students, casual employees and term employees. Their comments are disturbingly similar. “It’s a waste” is a common expression among them. They are referring to entire positions they have held; office resources such as energy, time and dollars; and finally, talent and potential. There are many and convincing examples here, and the costs are clear.
What is needed, Mr. Speaker? These people suggest good communication with supervisors is essential, ensuring employees understand their jobs and, critically, why their job is important. They suggested an orientation that shows the new employee more than where the coffee room is. A teamwork approach is needed, and this requires explicit effort and development, with some clear idea of how the employee’s position fits within the team.
Give the employees a small project that is their own or for which they are the lead. If the employee’s job is inherently boring, such as filing, this is even more important. Summer students often complete their assignments in a very short time and spend the rest of their time surfing the Net. Supervisors should begin lining up tasks for them in the months before they arrive so they are engaged and challenged.
Finally, supervisors should become aware of new employees’ particular interests, motivations and skills and ensure that their job engages these interests to the fullest extent possible.
Mr. Speaker, I request unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
Unanimous consent granted.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. In the area of wastage of resources, these people suggest we encourage carpooling within divisions, creating a GNWT blog where employees can make suggestions for savings, and assigning a roving resource monitor for ensuring efficiency. This assignment could rotate among staff so that everyone is involved. Many employees who have suggestions for improvement in their department do not speak out for fear of retribution. We need to give these people a vessel through which they can anonymously express their concerns.
In summary, Mr. Speaker, our employees know the answer to this situation. Let’s listen to them and make progressive moves to improve their workplace engagement. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
In May of 2008 a Senator, Aurélien Gill, an elder and former chief of the Montagnais, introduced a private Member’s bill in the Senate. This bill proposed to introduce a third House, an assembly for aboriginal people, into the parliamentary system of Canada.
Senator Gill believed that such a third Chamber would give the aboriginal people of Canada a voice in political decision-making. This idea has history. The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples recommends the introduction of an aboriginal parliamentary act. The concept of an Assembly for aboriginal people was also discussed in the Constitution negotiations in the Charlottetown Accord.
Mr. Speaker, the intent of these recommendations, the intention of a private Member’s bill, is to involve aboriginal people in the country’s affairs and particularly in affairs that affect the aboriginal people themselves.
Please allow me to make this connection to the North. Over the life of the 16th Assembly I have repeatedly promoted the need for an elders’ council. I have spoken to the need for the federal government to get out of the Big Brother role and allow us, as Northern people, to make our own decisions where our lives and our livelihoods are concerned.
I spoke about the model that Nunavut has adopted by establishing a permanent advisory council to get input from elders on traditional knowledge. This concerns the business we have in the Northwest Territories. We need to make connections between the past, with our traditions, and the future, by younger generations. We need a vision on how to deal with the land and the animals and how we make our living in our communities in the Northwest Territories. We need the full participation of aboriginal people and elders in the decision-making process that will shape our future.
Setting up an advisory council will ensure that traditional culture and the values of our people are reflected in government business. We need to ensure that the evolution of the Northwest Territories has a strong base in traditional knowledge and values and the wisdom of our elders is carried on through our policies and regulations.
Mr. Speaker, recently in the Sahtu we lost more elders to death due to natural causes. Each time we bury our elders, we lose our culture, our values and our history, and sadly, we’re not putting that into our decision-making in this government for us to carry through.
Mr. Speaker, I will be asking questions of the appropriate Minister at the appropriate time. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.
Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. [English translation not provided.]
Today I want to talk about hunting buffalo. For years the Dene elders have hunted buffalo for subsistence purposes. However, today they are telling elders that you can’t hunt unless you have a tag. At the same time, some non-native persons, southerners, are allowed to hunt bison — hunt for sport — because they’ve got tags.
Elders are confused by this. Traditional harvesting of bison by our Dene people has been going on for years. These elders are expert hunters who have traditional knowledge for hunting bison. Mr. Speaker, with caribou numbers down across the Northwest Territories, elders are once again looking to the traditional practice of hunting bison for food.
In the South Slave region this practice is allowed. If a bison wanders outside the Wood Buffalo National Park, elders can harvest them without repercussion. However, if an elder wishes to harvest bison in the North Slave outside the wood bison sanctuary, they are told they cannot do it.
Traditional harvesting of bison is already going on and has been going on outside the Wood Buffalo National Park for years. This should be allowed outside the wood bison sanctuary. Mr. Speaker, let me make it very clear. I’m not talking about harvesting bison by just anybody. I’m talking about traditional harvesting by Dene elders — elders who have been raised on buffalo meat, elders who are expert hunters and can tell what kind of animal they are looking for and know how to shoot them. When these elders kill and skin their buffalo, there is nothing left; every part of the bison is used.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
Unanimous consent granted.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. Giving an elder a sample kit of the killed bison is totally disrespectful to the elder and to the value of the traditional knowledge they possess.
I understand the importance of conservation. I also understand the importance of preserving the value of traditional harvesting practices. Consulting with and allowing these Dene elders who have hunted bison all their lives to hunt bison for subsistence purposes only addresses and satisfies those two important values.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Policing in northern communities is a very essential service that a lot take for granted. There are a lot of small communities — I believe there are some eight communities — that don’t have policing services in the Northwest Territories.
I think it is paramount on this government that we do whatever we can to provide some service, regardless if it’s scheduled service or, in most cases, ensuring that we have a process where the community feels that they can see the RCMP once in a while in the communities, either once or twice a week in every month, if possible.
Mr. Speaker, policing in Tsiigehtchic has always been an outstanding issue. We held a meeting this summer along with the Minister of Justice to talk about policing issues. The community has made an attempt to assist the RCMP by working along with the RCMP through the community justice committee to try to find accommodation for the RCMP to overnight in that community. But we’re being told by the RCMP: well, the accommodation was great, but it doesn’t have a phone, and we don’t have communication access. As we all know, in this day and age we have cellphones; we have satphones. Communication should not be a reason to not overnight in that community.
The communities have tried everything they can to reduce the amount of liquor consumption in communities. Tsiigehtchic was one of the few communities that stepped forward to implement regulations under the Liquor Act to ask for prohibition in that community. For several years now the prohibition order has been in place, but without enforcement the legislation doesn’t mean anything.
Mr. Speaker, the community has been working through the community justice committee to find ways to deal with crime, breaches of legislation, such as the Liquor Act. But without a secure police force and also ensuring the community feels safe, the community has found itself dealing with and responding to emergencies more and more.
I will be asking the Minister in regard to some of the actions that he committed to in that public meeting in Tsiigehtchic at the appropriate time.
Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to use my Member’s statement today to draw attention to what I think may be a gap in our social safety net here in the Northwest Territories.
We probably have a disproportionately high rate of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder in the Northwest Territories. I think there need to be options that are made available to young women who are pregnant. Certainly, there is the legal option of having an abortion, but for those young women who wish to carry a pregnancy to term and who wish to give birth to a healthy child but find themselves in situations where they may be at risk and there are social pressures on them for either alcohol or substance abuse, I think we have a duty to provide them with an option.
Rather than building an institution around this need, I believe there could be caring homes and families in our territory and our communities that would provide a home for a young woman, to create a supportive caring environment. This would be something that would be available on a referral basis for a young woman who would choose such an option. During that time it would, in a healthy home, remove some of the social pressures on that young person and also provide a wonderful opportunity for the transfer of some knowledge and some guidance.
I view this as a potential gap in our social safety network. I believe that when we consider the costs, both monetary and human, the cost is in lives that would often be supported by this government by institutional or supported living for children and adults going forward in life who are affected by fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. When we compare the cost of that support to what it might cost to provide what really is the equivalent of room and board on maybe a foster family type model…. When you consider those costs, both the human and monetary costs, I think that we the government could do more and should do something.
Like I said, I’m not talking about building an institution around this, and I’m not talking about exorbitant costs, but I believe we need to create options for young women who are pregnant and at risk. I’ll have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services later today.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This being the last day of the fall session, I wanted to speak again about where our focus needs to be as a government.
I recently had a constituency meeting where I heard from many constituents that are adamantly opposed to tax increases that will increase the cost of living. Apparently, Mr. Speaker, this is the biggest issue facing our residents. Obviously, I share their concern, and I’m interested in trying to find ways to make it less expensive for people to live here. That is why I will fight any proposed tax that increases the cost of living, whether directly or indirectly.
This government seems completely out to lunch when it comes to planning for the future. The government comes nowhere close to reduction targets it sets for itself. Then they reinvest almost as much as they reduce spending by. This is a very haphazard and dangerous pursuit. As a government we are living way beyond our means: $170 million for a new bridge, $115 million for a new school, $22 million for a new garage, $26 million for new office buildings, and numerous other niceties. In case Cabinet has not noticed, there is the very real and pressing issue of the global economic meltdown currently underway.
Just yesterday the Bank of Canada stated that Canada was on the brink of a recession. On paper, many people here in the Northwest Territories and around Canada have lost thousands and thousands of dollars in savings and RRSPs. The credit crunch will come. Commodity prices are sinking. The loonie has lost nearly 20 per cent of its value in the last month. All levels of the government will be facing tough times ahead, yet we walk aimlessly along, oblivious to what is going on around us.
I question why our Premier was not at the First Ministers meeting held in Montreal on Monday. That discussion centred around the growing fear and realization that governments are going to be faced with possible deficits. The federal government may have no choice but to cut equalization payments. This will severely impact our operations and our ability to look after our people. Why is it that we continue to spend like drunken sailors, Mr. Speaker? We all play a part in this, and demands in our constituencies often call upon us to ask government for program enhancements, capital projects and funding.
Mr. Speaker, I just wanted to put out the caution flag to government today and to the Members that we always need to keep in mind our need to live within our means.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
[English translation not provided.]
Mr. Speaker, I wish to speak again about the initiatives and the needs of our small communities and convey the needs of my constituency. My constituency has expressed over the past four weeks the frustration of getting services to our communities and frustration about the interruption of ministerial portfolios that has impacted delivery of programs and delayed and deferred initiatives. That’s never popular with people who are waiting on programming.
However, I do want to say that I am a realist and that bringing up these issues doesn’t…. The main thing, I think, is that we continue to raise these issues in the House and give government a heads-up that they do need to accept and evaluate our needs, ensure that they fit into our existing guidelines and procedures and, if not, take the time to see if they can make it work.
Overall, I just want to say that the government’s got to be aware that their decisions impact my communities tenfold, I would say. A reduction of one job is huge in a community that only has two community government jobs. Reducing programming has taken away job opportunities and contracting opportunities for our communities that have limited resources, Mr. Speaker.
So I would like to key in on that when allocating resources to our communities. Government’s got to be aware and take in all the regional balances and the different impacts that it would have. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I continue to remind this government about the need for a zero based review before any tax increases.
I started this session several weeks ago raising the concerns of many of my constituents in this city regarding the way the government potentially wants to tax-monger these new ideas through our next budget process. Mr. Speaker, 23 days ago I raised this issue, and I would continue to raise this issue. The fact is the Finance Minister must listen to the people. They cannot bear being punished with further taxes. Good fiscal management needs to be the philosophy.
Again I say that we do not have a revenue problem; we have a spending problem, Mr. Speaker. I hope the Finance Minister is listening to all the feedback he has heard from this side of the House and certainly from constituents, as I have.
The fact is the knife cuts both ways. Yes, we might get a short term increase in taxes, but in the long term we’ll erode our tax base. Think carefully, I say to the Finance Minister; think carefully. I stand firmly here today reminding the Finance Minister that almost every one of those should be dropped, if not every one of those. They should have had the red pen treatment and fallen onto the floor and been struck off long before public consultation was considered.
Mr. Speaker, the public at large can no longer bear unnecessary costs to a regular cost of living. This government has not proven to any degree that it is working as hard as it can with the sharpest pencils and doing government in the best and the most efficient way.
Mr. Speaker, they cannot take it, nor will I. I say to the Finance Minister: heed the warning of the public, because I can use the drumming of restless constituents who will demand responses — and measured responses. That discussion paper released by the Department of Finance has caused serious ripples in our North. People in industry are starting to second-guess this investment climate. Individuals are concerned about covering day to day costs. The tone of the economic environment in our North is struck and rung clearly by the Finance Minister.
I have a message for that Finance Minister: before you run out into that dark room and draw up the next budget, be careful which tax bell you ring and how hard it is rung. You cannot unring a tax bell that scares the investment climate and destroys the tax base. Be careful, Mr. Finance Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. Robert McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m pleased to welcome my wife, Judy, and my son Ryan to the Assembly.
Mr. Speaker, I would just like to recognize and acknowledge the two pages we’ve had from P.W. Kaeser High School in Fort Smith: Mr. Carson Roach and Adam Gruner, chaperoned by Judy Vendorver.
[Statement delivered in aboriginal language and then in English]. Mr. Speaker, I would just like to recognize two pages who are working here: Alicia Mata and Patricia Wederwen from Gametì. I would just like to recognize their fine work here in the Legislative Assembly. Mahsi.
Mr. Speaker, today I would also like to recognize two hardworking young ladies from Katlodeeche First Nation. I was very proud to have two students here from my riding joining us this week, working as pages. I would like to recognize Miss Dawn Nessell and Miss Brandy Buggins and also their chaperone, who is Brandy’s mother, Betty Buggins. Both these students are from the Chief Sunrise school and are avid readers who also enjoy sports and can often be found volunteering in their community. They both have plans to enter the field of education. I also wanted to thank the Legislative Assembly staff for their support and for the help they’ve provided this week, and I wish these two young ladies the best of luck and safe travels home.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement today I talked about the issue of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder in the Northwest Territories. I don’t know the exact statistics, but I daresay we are still among the jurisdictions that are the most affected by this.
Mr. Speaker, I’d like to create a scenario. In a community a young woman comes into a clinic or a nursing station and finds out that she is pregnant. The workers in that community are concerned about social pressures and lifestyle issues that may not result in a healthy child being born as a result of that pregnancy. The young expectant mother does not want to pursue the option of an abortion. What do we have in our network of health and social services that would allow that care provider or that community health worker or that nurse practitioner to refer that young person to a safe environment for the duration of that pregnancy if that was their choice?
