Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said in my Member’s statement today, I want to talk about viability of a pellet mill for the Northwest Territories, and my questions will be directed to the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.
Mr. Speaker, a certain amount of the viability of a pellet mill would depend on the sustainable availability of product to harvest to bring to make pellets with. I would like to ask the Minister if he could update this House on what is being done within his department to determine that there are sufficient inventories to make a project such as this viable within our borders. Thank you.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister responsible for Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have been doing a number of things. As we look at the biomass sector, we have a fledgling market being built and we are looking at value-added down the road. We’ve proceeded with and continue to do inventories in the South Slave and the Deh Cho. Up the Valley we’ve been looking at areas such as fast-growing willows in terms of potential supply for biomass. We’ve brought in consultants to look at, in fact, the viability of setting up our own industry to create the pellets. As well, we have this concept of a wood marshalling yard that we’re looking at for certain parts of the Territory where we may be able to form a hub with access to supply and a market nearby where we could build up, in fact, a sufficient quantity to make a pellet industry viable. Thank you.
Being from Hay River where we have had a functioning, operating sawmill for many, many years, one of the problems we know that was often encountered, an obstacle that made it difficult to keep enough product coming in and harvested to keep that sawmill going was the whole issue of access because of unresolved land use plans, unresolved land claims, that a lot of this material would need to be harvested is in areas where claims are not settled and there was often opposition raised to harvesting the product. What has the Minister done or researched to assure himself that access issues would not continue to be an obstacle or preclude such a thing from happening in the Territories? Thank you.
The Member points out a key challenge and that is the issue of access to a sustainable supply. We’ve been working at concepts that would allow partnerships with aboriginal governments, with the landholders of the area, possibly with the concept of the wood marshalling yard, for example, but that’s one of the challenges. The other one is you want to make sure you’re located close to the supply. Some of the best timber that we do have and best forests for a viable pellet industry, for example, would be in the Deh Cho. There is a market right here in Yellowknife, and in the South Slave it is very significant. As well, there are forest products here in the Providence area, the Hay River South Slave area. We have a number of challenges, but most of the boreal forest tends to be in unsettled claims areas, so it is a factor that has to be resolved. Thank you.
I am glad to hear that the government is looking for ways to create partnerships and secure buy-in from different governments from different areas of the South Slave.
Mr. Speaker, is the government looking for a proponent so that such an operation would be honed and managed and operated by a private enterprise, or is the government thinking about getting into the pellet manufacturing business themselves? Thank you.
The government is not contemplating now or I don’t anticipate in the future getting into the pellet manufacturing business, but what we would see doing is what we have done and continue to do through ITI and economic development support programs we have is to hopefully get a proponent that would be able to partner up with an aboriginal government that has access to supply and be able to have a business venture that would be viable and stand-alone when it comes to looking at the pellet industry. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister kind of already went into the last part of my question. That would be the collaboration, cooperation with ITI so that when the information is available about the availability of the biomass of the product of the harvest and the sustainability of that, which would be under the Minister of ENR’s purview, then to work with ITI to look at the viability from the economic side, the size of the market, what we’d have to sell the product for in order to make it competitive with importing it from other jurisdictions and all those sorts of things. Perhaps the Minister could tell me how closely, what kind of communications, what kind of work has been done with ITI to identify where there would be sufficient resources. This is a very capital-intensive operation to get this going and, obviously, nobody in the private sector is going to have the resources to take a risk on something that will not be supported and ongoing for quite a number of years.
The Minister of ITI is also the chair of the Ministerial Energy Coordinating Committee which provides oversight to this area as well as all the other energy initiatives that we have underway. As well, we have spent a lot of time trying to build a market with our investments in biomass with the schools, the jails, the health centres that are all going onto biomass. The encouragement with communities to do energy plans as well as individuals to switch to pellet stoves. Those combined factors and the Minister of ITI wearing two hats. I as well, as the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, sit on that Energy Coordinating Committee. We’re having ongoing discussions as we look at the aspect of building a supply so we can have that value-added in the Northwest Territories.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I spoke about the need to provide adequate and suitable seniors’ housing in Fort Resolution and Lutselk’e. I have questions for the Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation.
The understanding of the difference in market communities for seniors when they’re finished utilizing their home can sell it and make hundreds of thousands of dollars in small communities, the unit is usually transferred to one of the family members that doesn’t have accommodation. Can the Minister tell me if the NWT Housing Corporation has a plan to address seniors’ housing and senior citizens’ homes in non-market communities?
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Robert McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Part of it is related to the needs survey. We would try to allocate funding according to the most need. I can assure the Member that the Housing Corporation is doing, and will continue to do, whatever it can to ensure that seniors across the Northwest Territories are well cared for.
Will the Minister commit to discussing the usage of Our Great Elders Facility in Fort Resolution with the Department of Health and Social Services to accommodate both the Home Care Program and for potential seniors tenants?
It was an interesting meeting we had in Fort Resolution, a very good meeting we had with the seniors in Our Great Elders Facility. They did raise the concern about the usage of that facility. I had a preliminary discussion with the Minister of Health and Social Services upon my return. The Housing Corporation do own the infrastructure and there is some concern in the community that this infrastructure is not being used as well as it should be. I’ve had some discussions to talk to the appropriate parties about how we can best make use of the whole facility. If that includes the four seniors units that are in there, then we’d be more than willing to have that discussion and possibly fill the four units.
Will the Minister review the needs in Lutselk’e with the aim of providing four additional seniors units to house the seniors in Lutselk’e?
We’re all reviewing the needs of tenants and residents across the Northwest Territories. I will commit to the Member, and I’m actually going into the community of Lutselk’e with the Member and have an opportunity to meet with the leadership there. I’m sure they’ll share a lot of the same concerns. With that in mind, we’re always reviewing how we put units on the ground and this is going to be another opportunity to do that.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Prior to the Minister and I travelling into Lutselk’e -- and we also went to Fort Resolution -- will the Minister commit to having his staff begin an immediate dialogue with the Lutselk’e Housing Authority and the Fort Resolution Housing Authority to provide more appropriate seniors’ housing in both communities?
Before I do that I would like to commit to the Member that I will start the dialogue with the leadership in Lutselk’e and then have discussions with the housing authority and the Lutselk’e Dene First Nation on some of the talks that we’ve had. Then once that’s completed, we’ll see where we go from there. If there’s a need for staff to have further discussion, then I’ll commit to the Member that I’d be willing to direct them to do that.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement today I talked about the WSCC regulations and the concerns that the regulations won’t take into consideration the feelings and worries of industry, both small and medium. As I highlighted continually, that small and medium industry certainly is our breadbasket in our economy and if we don’t do everything we can to keep them competitive, it makes it very challenging for them to keep up and running.
My question to the Minister is: I understand that the WSCC has extended its feedback deadline, which certainly has been received positively. However, the key to feedback is the WSCC’s willingness to discuss or even accept observation and comments from industry. What assurance is the Minister able to give to industry, business and employers that their feedback will be considered and won’t be a waste of their time?
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister responsible for the Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission, Mr. Robert McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can assure the Member that any feedback is not a waste of time. I can assure him that in the February meeting of the committee they will take all correspondence that they’ve had, all consultation, all feedback that they’ve had and do a summary and provide written correspondence to those that submitted the recommendations. Then they will continue to consult with them and make sure that all their input is taken. I can assure the Member that the input is taken quite seriously.
I want to thank the Minister for that answer. That’s the type of answer they’re certainly looking for, is that the WSCC will listen and certainly evaluate, if not consider their response.
The other problem with changes to the regulations is the reality that changes mean money. One of the big fears is the cost of any of these potential regulations that will be happening. May I remind this House, and the Minister knows this, that there are almost 400 pages of regulations being updated. What is the WSCC doing to ensure that the administrative burden is not being ploughed down onto industry when they’re able to afford it least? What are they doing to ensure that we’re looking at stabilizing and ensuring that costs will remain the same for industry through this regulatory update?
I’d like to remind the Member that this is still a draft. We’re still consulting. As far as costs, we won’t have an idea of what the costs may be until after the whole consultation process is done and the report is then brought to the Minister for his review, my review, then to see if any further consultation is required. We’ll take the necessary steps to ensure that all the voices are heard, as far as this goes. I can assure the Member that we’re in a draft process right now and we don’t have an idea of what the potential costs might be.
I appreciate the Minister’s answer. As I’ve highlighted a few times in this House this term and certainly the last term, my concern about red tape and a red-tape bureaucracy, and B.C. has a red-tape Minister. If they bring in a new regulation, they have to take away two. The point being is they don’t want to continue burdening industry as well as the everyday person with more rules and unnecessary regulations.
The Minister had said this is a draft and I’ll accept his statement that it is a draft. My concern is the draft will roll into this is the way it will be before costing out these regulations. Will the Minister be able to commit to this House or provide direction or guidance on this issue, which is there will be costing out of these regulations before an implementation is put into place and allow some discussions so that people have a good idea of what may or may not be happening and be able to provide some feedback before anything does get locked down for who knows how long before the next review?
I can assure the Member and ministry out there that it would not be my intent as Minister of WSCC to proceed with the regulations until all stakeholders have had an opportunity to have one last comment on it. Then as far as the financial part of it, those would need to be worked out. I can assure the Member that this is not something we will just implement without seeking feedback.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister of Health and Social Services. I spoke in my statement about the lack of facilities for adult disabled children who need to move out of their parents’ home and into assisted living or independent living. The impact of the situation on families is huge when they have no space that they can move into. For this family of constituents of mine, this is their home community. Yellowknife is where they’ve been for some 30-plus years. They want to stay in their community. They want their child to be able to stay in the community that is their home. They live and work here. If their child happens to go someplace else, they really don’t have an option to move because they are living and working here.
I would like to ask the Minister a couple of questions in regards to facilities or the lack thereof. Does the Minister or will the Minister acknowledge that there is a space problem for adult disabled children needing assisted living? What is the responsibility of the government to provide assisted living for our vulnerable peoples?
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think we should not forget that this Assembly and this government is the first to invest into a built-for and custom-designed assisted living facility for persons with disabilities. In this year’s budget we’re spending $2.5 million for a complex in Hay River. That’s a territorial facility and that was one of the largest capital investments that we had on the books for the Department of Health and Social Services.
We also spent a sizeable budget in Yellowknife and other areas, to help families with persons with disabilities. I do appreciate that, as is the case with many things in Health and Social Services, the demand exceeds the supply, but I do take a bit of exception when the Member says the department is not doing anything. We have gone further than I’ve seen in 10 years in this area.
Thanks to the Minister. I have to say that I don’t believe those were my words, but that may have been how they were interpreted.
I do commend the government for the work that has been done to provide assisted living facilities, but there is an evident need, particularly in the city of Yellowknife where about 50 percent of our population lives. We do have an expanding population of adult disabled children who need supervision and need assisted living. I’d like to ask the Minister what the department’s plans are for the future. How will the department accommodate those adult disabled children who need assisted living in Yellowknife? How will that happen in five years from now or, actually, how about next year? Thank you.
Two points to that, one is that Yellowknife has more assisted living beds than any community in the Territories. The second is that, Mr. Speaker, the Member knows that we do our budgets together. It’s not the department alone that sets out this budget.
I agree with the Member that this is an issue that we need to plan for. That’s one of the reasons why the department has worked to finish the long-term care facilities plan for the next 20 years, which has not been done before. The long-term care unit is not just for seniors, it’s for anybody who needs long-term care. I agree with the Member, this is an issue for every jurisdiction in Canada. Every government has to do future planning. This government and this department have done enormous work in the last year and we need to work together on that. She sits on the Standing Committee on Social Programs, and we need to plan. It’s a huge issue, but we have gone quite a length in the last two budget cycles to move this ahead. Thank you.
Thanks to the Minister. I have to say I agree we have more spaces here in Yellowknife than any other community, but we happen to have more people in Yellowknife than we do in any other community. So, you know, I think that probably goes hand in hand.
The Minister says that we need to plan. Absolutely, I agree, we need a plan, and this is my point. I would like to know from the Minister, I did ask what that plan is. We have an increasing number of adult disabled children who are going to need accommodation. I’d like to ask the Minister when we can expect to see a plan or when can we expect to begin working on a plan, since she says that she’s working with the committee. Thank you.
We are working on that right now. That’s what a capital budget review is. The long-term care facilities review has done work on that. It talks about how many bed spaces we need for long-term care territory-wide. That’s a 20-year plan reviewable every five years.
Mr. Speaker, we have to recognize that not everybody in the Territories gets to stay exactly where they want to be. We would like to have people stay in their communities as much as possible, but the assisted living facility in Hay River was built for everybody in the Territories. We do have services in Yellowknife, but whenever there is a resident in the Territories who needs assisted living or a facility living arrangement, they go through the Territorial Admissions Committee and we place them as best as we can to places that are available. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. Your final supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker I need to ask the Minister, if there is a plan in the works, then that plan presumably has some detail in it. I’d like to know what the detail is in that plan relative to beds. When can the Minister tell me that there will be more beds for assisted living adult children needing assisted living in Yellowknife? When can I expect to see more beds? Thank you.
We are a territorial government, a territorial Assembly. We do territorial planning and we are reviewing the capital budget for the Department of Health this afternoon. Mr. Speaker, it’s all before us. For any additional spaces, we put them in as the funding becomes available. We have done a lot of work in building through planning studies and prototype designs, so that we can move these projects on the books as quickly as possible.
With respect to Yellowknife, there are ways to support these families that are not based out of a facility. Specific to the Member’s constituent, her situation is being addressed separately, not separately but within the system, as expeditiously as possible. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a question for the Minister of Health and Social Services. At the start of the term I raised the issue of the lack of legislation regulations for massage therapy and still we have seen nothing to date, that I’m aware of. The reason I raise that is because recently someone had brought to my attention that there is no legislation or regulations set up for chiropractors in the services in the Northwest Territories. With some looking in the issue, I found that we do not have anything, although it’s considered a normal type of legislation throughout Canada.
Mr. Speaker, I made note of the lack of a massage therapy act, because I’d like to suggest to the Minister of Health and Social Services, due to the fact that we don’t have either, is there a possibility of looking at this and addressing this particular issue in a combined effect going forward to ensure that we have the protection of our public citizens in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Legislation for the professions that the Member mentions are in the line-up. The legislation for various health care professions have been lacking for a number of years, so we have had to update the Medical Professions Act, the Pharmacists Act, we’re just going through the Social Worker Profession Act. There are a number of professions that are more numerous in numbers that we have had to update, and the ones that the Member is talking about are in the pipe, so to speak, in the legislative writing line-up. There is a long list of legislation that needs to be updated, but we’re hoping to do it as an umbrella legislation. Thank you.
