Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories has a very bright future. The economic opportunities our Territory possesses in tourism, mining, oil and gas and more are significant.
Mr. Speaker, one of the key priorities of the Government of the Northwest Territories is training and employing our people. But we also know that our population is not large enough to fill all the positions that will be available in the future. That is why in April, the Government of the Northwest Territories launched a major initiative to address that challenge, the Come Make Your Mark Campaign.
This innovative multi-year campaign is designed to increase awareness across Canada of the tremendous career opportunities available in the Northwest Territories in an effort to get Canadians to live and work here long term.
Since it was launched in northern and central Ontario in April, Come Make Your Mark has generated almost 30,000 inquiries, three times as many as expected.
This campaign includes several phases, and phase two was launched on October 6th. In phase two we are targeting post-secondary students across Canada and promoting the job opportunities and the high quality of life the Northwest Territories offers. This phase will run in over 60 universities, colleges and trade schools across Canada.
We are reaching out to post-secondary students in unique ways so our message will have the greatest
impact. We are asking Northwest Territories post-secondary students to talk with their peers about the opportunities the Northwest Territories has to offer. We are also inviting Northwest Territories post-secondary students to be ambassadors for the campaign. As ambassadors they would assist us in promoting the Northwest Territories at the job fairs we are attending to promote our Territory.
Other promotional efforts include advertising in campus newspapers and through posters. We will also continue to provide information about the campaign on the Come Make Your Mark website, Facebook page, and Twitter.
One of the innovative aspects of this phase of the campaign is the introduction of Mark. Mark is planning regional visits throughout the Northwest Territories over a four-week period, which started in early October. Mark has been to Hay River and will be travelling to Fort Smith, Fort Simpson, Inuvik, Tuktoyaktuk, Ulukhaktok and Norman Wells.
During Mark’s travels he will discover job opportunities, experience the lifestyle and mingle with his peers who have made the move to the Northwest Territories. Mark will Twitter, blog, and relate his experiences on his Facebook page and on the campaign website. By using these social media tools, we hope to continue to spread the word amongst post-secondary students about all the Northwest Territories has to offer.
The government understands the labour force challenges our businesses are facing. Through initiatives like the Come Make Your Mark Campaign we are taking important steps to address this challenge.
We all want an economy that is diversified and one that provides all communities and regions with opportunities and choices. This campaign is an important way for the Northwest Territories to make its mark amongst Canadians and to let them know how they can be a part of the prosperous, vibrant future that we envision for this Territory.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. One of the key priorities of the 16th Legislative Assembly is a diversified economy that provides all communities and regions with opportunities and choices.
Labour force development, career counselling and employment supports are ways in which the Department of Education, Culture and Employment works toward achieving this priority. Today I wish to inform Members of some recent and new initiatives in this regard.
The department is working on an NWT Labour Force Development Framework that looks ahead to the next 10 years. This framework is for all labour market stakeholders in the Northwest Territories: business, industry in all levels of government, non-government organizations, employees, the unemployed and underrepresented in the workforce.
Over the past three months, the department has been consulting with our partners across the Northwest Territories to come up with a shared vision and common goals and objectives.
The framework is a guide for all labour market stakeholders. It is a tool for working in partnership and a guide to making decisions and coordinating limited resources.
As well, the framework builds a structure of monitoring and reporting so partners can measure successes and respond collectively to emerging labour market trends and key labour force challenges throughout the Territory.
The framework will guide regional labour force activities to help the Northwest Territories respond to economic opportunities through 2020 and beyond.
One initiative to support labour force development is the Small Community Employment Supports Program, which began in April 2010.
The committee on Sustainability of Rural and Remote Communities developed the Small Community Employment Supports Program. This is a $350,000 employment incentive program for employers in small and remote communities to provide employment opportunities for youth ages 15 to 29 during the summer season. The program provides youth an opportunity to gain work experience and acquire skills that lead to greater independence. Wage and training subsidies are available to employers offering essential employment skill development.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to announce that 27 employers in 19 communities accessed the program, helping 98 youth. Strong communication between regional ECE service centre staff and local community members built the success of this program.
In the fall and winter, funds will be available for youth who are out of school. This allows eligible employers to take full advantage of the program year round.
Mr. Speaker, the nature of the Small Community Employment Supports Program allows meaningful partnerships with private sector employers and non-government organizations. It is one example of how this government is preparing and developing for our future labour force. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I recently became aware of a growing problem in our health care system in my community here in Yellowknife, and in the NWT in general, and it’s important enough that I need to bring it to the attention of this House and the public.
I have constituents in my riding who are a family with a disabled adult child, one who needs supervision 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The parents are aging -- something we all do, unfortunately -- and they realize that at some point they will not long be able to care for their child at home.
In an effort to be proactive, to plan for the future, to establish some peace of mind for themselves in regard to their child’s welfare, about four years ago now they began to look for alternative accommodation for their child outside of their home. What is needed is assisted living, independent living with 24/7 supervision, and there are assisted living accommodations here in Yellowknife as well as in other NWT communities, but they are few and far between. From what I can gather, there are only about 12 or so places in Yellowknife that would suit this family’s needs, and all of these spaces are filled and will remain filled for the foreseeable future.
You can imagine the surprise, the consternation and the frustration of these parents when they learned after four years of being patient, of asking questions, investigating and following the protocols, when they learned that there is no assisted living space available for their child to move into in their home community, not now and not in the future.
The parents have been working cooperatively with the Yellowknife Health and Social Services Authority for the past four years, and now the authority has done all that it can to assist the family. But with no available housing, Yellowknife Health and Social Services can only leave the child on a wait-list.
This is an unacceptable situation, Mr. Speaker, for my constituents and for all adult disabled children living with aging parents. We cannot expect families to continue looking after their disabled children into old age. That’s not good for either the parents or the child.
The Department of Health and Social Services must show some initiative and get out ahead of this problem. The number of adult disabled children here in Yellowknife currently being cared for at home by aging parents, those children who need to transition to independent living, will only increase in the next 10 to 15 years. To avoid a crisis -- and I call placing these children in southern institutions a crisis -- the department must begin to work now to find appropriate housing for them.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
The Department of Health and Social Services, working with the NWT Housing Corporation, can develop the necessary assisted living facilities for these vulnerable residents of our NWT society before it is too late.
I will have some questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services at the appropriate time. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Small and medium businesses are truly the breadbasket of our territorial economy. They are willing and able, and if I may say, resilient in their ways of finding just the right way of contributing to our North, whether it’s through their volunteerism or through their donations to the communities. But first and foremost, they are certainly one of the employers that are the building blocks of our North.
Mr. Speaker, outside of the government, without the small and medium businesses, our economy would be quite fledgling, and certainly the cost of living needs to be competitive. As such, they are always concerned when a new cost of doing business is being imposed on them without really good feedback and a chance to be involved.
Mr. Speaker, as many people will know, and certainly businesses will know, that WSCC is presenting rewriting their regulations and a number of businesses are certainly concerned about what is being proposed in these regulation changes. With approximately 400 pages in updated regulations, this is causing serious concern regarding those potential impacts, and are they being sourced out and considered.
Mr. Speaker, business has expressed serious concern. To name just a few: the new levels of potential required paperwork; remote access problems required and with notice and certainly continual notice when you are off-site – sorry; traditional site, maybe your business place, you have to go to a region, that is -- the new and expanded list of requirements that they are now paid to do day to day business as well as where are they going to get the staff to do these new things that the WSCC regulations keep dreaming up? Again, I shouldn’t forget the ever-increasing costs in the administration of the WSCC, certainly to these employers.
Mr. Speaker, the employers want to be part of an open and free dialogue when the consideration on these regulations is going forward. As I understand it, the extension period has been granted to them to allow some feedback, but the big concern, of course, with this, is the fact that are these regulation updates being thought through in a way that makes sense, or are they just a new administrative burden to small and medium business, which has a serious effect on things like our tax dollars and the people that they employ, which are certainly our voters.
Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Minister of WSCC today, highlighting some of those concerns to ensure that we have some good, clear feedback and dialogue with everyone. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.
Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. [English translation not provided.]
Caring for our seniors is an important activity in all of our communities, particularly in our smaller communities such as Lutselk’e and Fort Resolution.
Many families in these communities are already over-burdened with limited income and the high cost of living, so caring for senior family members on top of all of this can be tremendously challenging.
In Fort Resolution, the community has Our Great Elders Facility that can accommodate four seniors. However, Mr. Speaker, this facility is not being utilized for residential use. This facility has been shut down for residential use and used by the Department of Health and Social Services to deliver home care.
However, I do feel the residents and the home care can coexist. This worked well in the past.
Mr. Speaker, last week I spoke about the government putting its needs before the needs of the communities. Here is another example. This facility was built under the social housing portfolio to house seniors. That is not what it is being used for today.
Mr. Speaker, in the past, Our Great Elders Facility was used for long-term care and then it was closed down due to policy changes by the Department of Health and Social Services.
Mr. Speaker, in Lutselk’e, the community has a four-unit building that houses four seniors. Although it is a great place for seniors to gather on a regular basis, the seniors have advised me that the community does not have enough adequate, suitable housing for the elders. The seniors have requested another four-unit facility be built as soon as possible.
Mr. Speaker, I recognize the seniors public housing is built by the NWT Housing Corporation in consultation with the Department of Health and Social Services. However, this would not be necessary in this case. The community is simply asking for another four residential units under the Public Housing Program to house seniors.
Mr. Speaker, in both communities of Tu Nedhe, the people want to see their seniors remain in the community as long as possible. The construction of a new senior citizens home in Lutselk’e and the repatriation of the four units in Our Great Elders Facility will go a long way to achieving this goal.
Later today I will have questions for the Minister of the NWT Housing Corporation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to talk about the viability of a pellet mill in the Northwest Territories to manufacture pellets for wood-burning stoves and boilers.
Mr. Speaker, we have the trees. We have the sustainable inventory of trees. We have an increasing demand for pellets. We started off with a lot of residential pellet stoves and it was at that time somewhat more practical to bring in bags of pellets to have them imported from Alberta and British Columbia. But, Mr. Speaker, as we all know, this government has undertaken numerous initiatives to convert buildings owned by the Government of the Northwest Territories to pellet burning boilers; this building being one of them, the schools in Hay River being another example, the North Slave Correctional Centre being another example.
Mr. Speaker, as this demand grows for pellets in the Northwest Territories, with our vast forest and our need for employment opportunities and economic ventures for our people, it is time that we get ahead of this demand and start working now to develop a pellet manufacturing business, and by doing so, not requiring us to import pellets for burning in the Northwest Territories.
As I said, the demand is increasing. Perhaps it’s not at a level yet today where the viability is all there for having a manufacturing facility in the Northwest Territories, but it would take a few months, years, to get something like this off the ground. So we need to be proactive, we need to think ahead, we need to put our money where our mouth is in terms of our commitment to green energy initiatives and get to work on this.
Later today, in question period, I’ll have questions for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources on where the research is within his department to ensure that we get a facility to manufacture pellets for the people of the Northwest Territories as soon as reasonably possible. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I’d like to speak about health care costs and the large deficits that are occurring across the various health authorities in the Northwest Territories.
Mr. Speaker, I know full well that Stanton provides service and backup to other authorities. It only stands to reason that the deficit there would be the largest.
Mr. Speaker, since 2007, we have approved appropriations in this House earmarked for the deficit at Stanton to the tune of $18 million. The deficit at Stanton for ‘09-10 alone is $7 million. Mr. Speaker, at the end of this current fiscal year, in March of 2011, this deficit is proposed to come in near a number that I hope to get out of the Minister later in today’s proceedings.
The Minister likes to pull at the heartstrings of the Regular Members and the public by saying, well, we can’t cut services. Health care costs are rising all over the country and it’s as if the Minister and the department are saying, how dare you question us, we’re looking after the health and well-being of the public.
Mr. Speaker, I understand and appreciate the challenges that the department and the Minister have, but my belief is that if we do not fix the system, the ongoing red ink is just not going to be sustainable, and it will ultimately force future governments into cutting valuable programs and services to the public. We will undoubtedly jeopardize our ability to look after the public if we do not take action now.
Since 2003 nothing has changed and no one seems to be listening. I’m not pointing my finger, Mr. Speaker, at Stanton alone; I’m pointing my finger at the Minister, who has failed in her three years at the helm to do anything about it.
Mr. Speaker, given what is at stake, the very well-being of the health of the public and residents here in the Northwest Territories, we need to ensure that we fund health authorities appropriately. We have to have a system in place that will best allow us to manage increasing health care costs. Mr. Speaker, we must collect on outstanding debts. Accounts receivable cannot continue to be a foreign concept to the Minister, the department and this government. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker... [English translation not provided.]
Mr. Speaker, once again, I raise the issue of a stand-alone school for the community of Trout Lake. During my recent visit in August, this item was a priority for the community. The education for children of Trout Lake is needed.
Over the past seven years as the MLA for Nahendeh, I have supported capital projects for schools and superschools. I believe now it is time to invest in our small communities and their educational needs. The old Charles Tetcho School burnt down many years ago. Currently, the existing Charles Tetcho School is located in the community recreation centre.
Government did promise a new school and this was to be a temporary measure. School-aged students in Trout Lake need a building where there can be more separation of grade levels to allow for different activities. I should also add, then, that a gymnasium attached to the school would benefit the students as they learn.
Learning starts in the home community and children need a safe and enjoyable place to learn. Thus, I continue to support the community in their request for a new stand-alone school in Trout Lake and I will ask the Minister of Education questions on this matter later on in the proceeding.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This past September I attended a number of events during NWT Arts Week here in Yellowknife. I have to say there were a lot of great events and a lot of great presentations.
As Northerners, I think we should be proud of the musicians, and the painters, and the authors, and the actors, and the craftspeople, and the carvers of the Northwest Territories. Quite frankly, the quality, and quantity, and diversity of the products that are out there are amazing. It’s simply amazing.
During the last week, a number of working sessions were facilitated by the Aurora Arts Society to discuss issues that are important to local and territorial artists.
One of the topics that was discussed at some of these focus group meetings was the need for artists to have their own work displayed in a curated show.
A curated show is usually one where a collection of items such as paintings are pulled together by professional bodies who are interested in displaying a certain style of body of work to highlight the cultural and/or historic significance or value. The body of work is usually researched and its significance is outlined as part of the presentation of the collection. This is not something done by a retail outfit; this is usually something done by a museum or professional fine arts gallery or curator.
There are significant advantages to both an artist that’s being displayed in the collection and the Northwest Territories as a whole, if curated shows were to be facilitated.
For example, although not a curated show, the Northern House was the closest thing that this government has done to facilitate a curated show for NWT artists. The benefits were obvious to the artists who received significant exposure. In addition, they were also significant to the NWT, as the interest in the arts and cultural activities were significant, resulting in high levels of attendance at the Northern House. This should translate over time into a greater number of visitors into the Northwest Territories.
Unfortunately, the GNWT does not currently facilitate any curated shows here in the Northwest Territories. There is significant mutually beneficial opportunity here that this government should be taking advantage of. If this government were to facilitate some local curated shows, they could be circulated through a number of NWT communities. This would demonstrate the talent levels of the NWT and hopefully encourage more residents to participate. Further, the same curated shows could be sent to southern institutions, creating future interest in the Northwest Territories.
For the artists themselves, there are significant advantages. For example, currently the majority of NWT artists that are able to apply aren’t able to apply for support from Canada Council.
I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
Currently the majority of NWT artists are unable to apply for support from Canada Council. One of the primary criteria for them is that an individual must have been involved in a curated show. By supporting curated shows here in the Northwest Territories, we are opening our local artists to significant opportunities on a national level through the Canada Council sponsored shows, training opportunities and international events. These, by default, increase the national and international awareness of the Northwest Territories, which is good for tourism. Support of our artists is a win-win scenario.
I’ll be asking the Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment some questions on this topic later today.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We need to compliment the Premier’s action towards an Anti-Poverty Strategy in a comprehensive and inclusive way. I attended the recent two-day No Place for Poverty Summit, working with 80 participants from 20 communities, municipal and territorial governments, service providers and the NWT’s foremost social justice advocates. I could not have been more impressed with the quality and breadth of participation and with the resulting unanimous recommendations.
Lessons shared at the workshop gave solid advice towards achieving best results. We learned that the most successful provincial efforts to develop anti-poverty strategies were those launched with the broadest participation of essential partners: government, business, civil society, and those in poverty. Most critically, bring together everyone to create buy-in and a common vision of the work ahead.
The workshop’s concluding messages were clear and I’ll repeat them here.
Eliminating poverty must be of the highest priority and the solutions must come from the community level, with full participation and inclusion. The Premier has created an internal steering committee to work with a small selection of advocates towards a framework.
Government will indeed need internal coordination and I am glad to hear that work is underway. Yet it’s clear from recent statements that the Premier will need to consider the summit conclusions and plan for an arm’s-length steering committee involved from the start for real success.
The other essential half of the fully cooperative process is ensuring that all those who come forward have a place in the first steps of design and that they have the resources they need to continue the process as full partners. As a government, we must ensure all partners are involved and that the coordination role is clearly recognized and funded by us to fuel their capacity.
An important and essential element recognized at the summit is business participation. Elimination of poverty will unleash the huge potential of citizens finally enabled to take part in building a prosperous economy both as consumers and as workers. Provincial lessons emphasize that the business community has the will and the inspiration to help this work succeed. We must ensure business is at the table.
I’ll be asking the Premier questions today on how to ensure we develop the best Anti-Poverty Strategy in Canada.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our public infrastructure includes our airports, highways and ferry operations in the movement of people and goods. The economic driver of our northern Territory is ensuring that these systems all work in conjunction with each other.
Time is money, from the time it takes a person to leave a community to go to a doctor’s appointment or travel to southern Canada. What we are finding with the ferry operations in the Inuvik region is that it’s having an impact and effect on the travelling public and their ability to make their connections at the Inuvik Airport to southern Canada for medical appointments, or for the overall travel of the public.
The time that the ferry operates for the travelling public on the Dempster Highway is... It leaves the Inuvik side at 9:30. It gets to Fort McPherson and leaves there at 9:45. It travels to Tsiigehtchic, leaving there at 10:00. Then it’s back to Inuvik at 10:15. That doesn’t give you much time to make your connections out of Inuvik, which leave at 12:30. What we are finding is the travelling public has missed their international travel simply because of not making their connections out of the Inuvik Airport. This has a very important implication on the travellers to southern Canada and the cost associated with rebooking flights, having to overnight in Inuvik to catch the flight the following day.
I think it’s important that this government seriously looks at the overall ferry operations and the times that our ferry operates in the Northwest Territories. The ferry operations in the Northwest Territories start operations in Fort Providence at 6:00 a.m; Fort Liard at 8:00 a.m. I think it’s important that we do a better job to ensure the travelling public, when they do have travels, are able to coordinate their travel arrangements to make their connections to southern Canada, or their appointments at the doctor’s office, or to simply do their shopping and get home that evening.
I think it’s important that this government does everything it can to ensure we have a system that is coordinated and that people are able to make their arrangements.
At the appropriate time I have questions for the Minister of Transportation.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It gives me great pleasure to be able to recognize Mr. Sonny McDonald, esteemed elder, one of the greatest carvers that we’ve had in the North, and a friend and constituent from the mighty constituency of Thebacha.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With regard to my Member’s statement, I know I’ve had this discussion with the Minister and he has heard it from the people in the Mackenzie Delta. It was an issue at the Gwich’in Assembly. I’d like to ask the Minister if there is a possibility of ensuring that we have a realistic starting time for ferry operations in the Inuvik region, say 8:00. Right now it runs from 9:30 until 12:30 in the evening. Is there a possibility of moving that clock back to start at 8:00 in the morning and concluding ferry operations, say, at 11:30?
Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for Transportation, Mr. Michael McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Of course it is possible. We could have that discussion.
Again, it’s too late for this ferry season to implement such an idea, but I’d like to ask the Minister if it’s possible for us to see the ferry operations for 2010-2011 taken into consideration so that we do bring our times in line with other ferry operations in the Northwest Territories similar to the ferry operation on the Liard River system, to coordinate it so that people know this is the time our ferries operate in the Northwest Territories. When we post it, people will know that they can have a reasonable time to travel and make their connections, and not put a barrier to the travelling public.
We have our ferry program to ease the barriers that are caused by our waterways and other obstacles that challenge us. Of course, there are certain times of year that address this. We have worked with other communities. We recently worked with the community of Wrigley on the Ndulee ferry to change time schedules. It was important for the community to have the ferry operating during daylight hours and it was also a safety issue for our workers, and we came to an agreement on that ferry program. We can certainly talk to the MLA and community members if there is a desire to see the ferry schedule changed.
We are working on trying to change our ferry investment for next year so that the ferry will continue to operate longer into the season, and try to get the ice road up and running while we have a channel allowing our ferry to run. That’s something we’re still working towards.
I believe that we also have to coordinate our efforts with the airport operations and the air carriers. I think that was the problem we ran into in Inuvik. The airlines did move their schedules back, especially First Air and Canadian North. A lot of people fly out on them and a lot of people depend on that connection. Because they changed their schedule halfway through the summer season, it had an effect on the ferry travelling public.
I’d like to ask the Minister if he could somehow work with his department, work with the air carriers and the different communities to ensure we are giving them enough time to get to their connections out of the important regional airports, whether it’s in the North or the South. I’d like to ask the Minister to also take that into consideration when he makes his decision.
There are a couple things, of course, that really challenge us. One is the weather. We don’t have control over that. The other issue, of course, is the carriers are allowed to decide what schedules they want. We can relay the concern that the Member is raising, but outside of that, there’s really little we can do to change flight schedules and things of that nature. However, if there are any concerns, we can certainly pass those on to the carriers.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One thing the Minister does have control over is the time schedule of the ferry operations. I’d like him to seriously consider moving the ferry operations to 8:00 a.m. so that people will have the opportunity to do their work during the day, travel to Inuvik, make their appointment, get back home or even make their appointments to fly into southern Canada. You do have the power, you do have the means; all I ask is that you start the ferry operations in the Inuvik region at 8:00 a.m. starting next season.
We will incorporate the Daylight Savings Time schedule for the ferries. We have already started working on other ferry services to change the hours so that they can take advantage of the daylight that we have, and that, of course, is becoming shorter every day. We also have to take into consideration that there are safety issues. We have to be mindful of ice buildup and we have to be able to have clear visibility at all times. Those things we’ll take into consideration, we’ll talk to the community leaders in the Member’s area and also have an opportunity to connect with the Member himself. Thank you.
