Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize a couple of Tu Nedhe residents here with us today. They are here for the Cultural and Heritage Awards from the Minister. Rene Fumoleau was awarded the Individual award. He’s from Lutselk’e. Representing the Deninu K’ue First Nation with the Minister’s Choice Award is my cousin Stanley Beck. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Mr. Blake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too would like to recognize Mr. Charlie Furlong, mayor of Aklavik, who has also been working on the Willow River project; and also Karen Wright-Fraser. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Blake. Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize the recipients of the cultural awards and especially the recipient from Deline, Ms. Tutcho, along with Miss Tina Tutcho. They are living cultures of the Sahtu, so I want to say congratulations to the staff who put this together.
I’d also like to recognize the mayor from Aklavik, and also a friend of my mine who I haven’t seen for a while, Mr. Stanley Beck. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize Karen Wright-Fraser and I’d also like to recognize all of the Culture and Heritage Award recipients and their guests. Good job, keep up the good work, and also Mr. Charlie Furlong. Welcome, everybody, to the House and I hope you enjoy the proceedings.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is also my pleasure to welcome certainly all of the Culture and Heritage Award recipients to the House, a very distinguished bunch of Northerners.
I’d like to in particular recognize a few people today: Weledeh constituent Pat Braden, and also Nicole Garbutt and her parents, John and Patti Garbutt of Weledeh.
I’d also like to recognize Janelle Nitsiza, who gave some very passionate words in response to her award today that touched many people, I know. I would like to recognize, in particular, her family who was there in support. Again, in particular, her grandmother, Dora Nitsiza, a friend of mine – I worked with her in the past with the Whati project – a very respected elder. Again, elder Rene Fumoleau from Lutselk’e. I was very pleased to have lunch with a number of the recipients and their families today, so I appreciated that opportunity. Welcome to the House. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too wish to recognize Karen Wright-Fraser. She’s certainly a well-known lady to all of us and I’ve known her for a long time. She deserves much credit for what she does as an artisan. She’s put many devoted hours into supporting her culture and demonstrating it through her beautiful designs. Now, I don’t know if she continues to practice the same amount – she used to have the store – but I know she’s busy on a personal level, and that is keeping the culture and history alive for the Gwich’in people. We’re lucky to have people like her, ensuring that it’s alive, it’s strong and it will be there forever. Thank you very much, Karen.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would also like to recognize Mayor Furlong today. We’ve listed off some of the things that he has served the North and in what capacity he has served the North for many years, but I particularly want to thank him today for the time he took to make his film to share his own journey with cancer and that they shared that with other Northerners so they would be aware.
One little funny story, when I first met the mayor and I was introduced, he said his name was Charlie, but Charles Furlong. So I’d like to welcome Charles Furlong in the gallery today. Thank you.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to introduce to you and through you, as we’ve heard today, we have a number of recipients for the cultural and heritage awards. Thank you for sharing your incredible stories. We heard a lot of that today in the House. Of course, Mayor Furlong, it’s always a pleasure to have you with us here. Again, congratulations on your long journey as a cancer survivor.
I have two other people here who I’d like to recognize, one who I worked with for a number of years, Ms. Nicole Garbutt. It was a pleasure working with you for many years in the business sector. Many times in this House I have the pleasure of wearing some very beautiful traditional clothing, my moose skin jacket and my vest, and that’s complimentary to the great artisan work, as we heard earlier, and beadwork of the lovely Karen Wright-Fraser.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. I too would like to welcome Mayor Furlong to the House. It’s always good to see you, Charlie. I would like to welcome my good friend Stanley Beck. We have good visits over at Grant’s house when we’re running dogs during the winter. Welcome to the House, everybody. Thank you for taking an interest in our proceedings.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I mentioned in my Member’s statement, over the last year the community received enough funds to purchase a bridge to put in place at Willow River.
Will the Minister work with the community to ensure funds are available and the bridge is in working order this year? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Blake. Minister of Transportation, Mr. Beaulieu.
Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Yes, we have been working with the community. We approved a substantial chunk of the Access Program money for the purchase of a bridge that will span the Willow River, and now we are reviewing a proposal for an ATV trail and also a proposal for the insulation of the bridge. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, a portion of the trail that’s being put forward is a route through the biggest road, which is the route to the Willow River. This road has been eroded over the last number of years and we need to haul in the material that’s required, which is RipWrap, to secure the stability of the road.
So, will the Minister provide funds to complete this work? Thank you.
Mahsi cho. We have supported the road recently and we, at one time, had requested infrastructure stimulus funding through the federal government. Unfortunately, that was denied. We recognize that the community needs that road. It’s got huge benefits to the community as it would ultimately run to a gravel source. The full cost of that road to make it accessible for hauling would be $90 million. It’s fairly substantial. So we recognize that we may have to go outside of just a simple Access Roads Program in order to continue to fund this and produce that road in a decent time.
So, as I indicated, we will continue to work with the community in an attempt to build that road. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
[Microphone turned off) …and I understand the needs assessment is completed.
I want to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, what are the priorities and what plans are there to implement the priorities within the Sahtu needs assessment that he found over the past year? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Yes, the needs assessment has been completed and there’s been a lot of work by the stakeholders providing input into the workforce environment that will be required in the Sahtu region.
At the same time, there are various stakeholders like industry and representatives of the college. That is some of the work that now we need to figure out, okay, how can we move forward developing action plans towards producing those talented individuals from the community perspective. Mahsi.
Certainly the Sahtu is looking for partnerships and is interested in the how’s and the action plan. So I’m asking the Minister, what is the department doing to enhance the findings of life skills? It was a top priority in the needs assessment and job readiness in the Sahtu.
What is the Minister doing to look at some of these priorities as indicated by the needs assessment in telling us this is what’s needed? What is he doing?
Mahsi. When the Member first introduced what’s required at the community level, that’s been identified, like heavy equipment operators. There are rock crushers, blasters, project management and various other trade positions as well. We are currently dealing with the college on the best way to deliver that at the regional level, even at the college campuses.
Those are just some of the areas that we are currently discussing, and based on that, we will be developing an action plan to deal with the implementation of the first year, second year, third year phased approach. Mahsi.
Thank you. The Minister has indicated that they’re developing and they’re going to be looking at ways they can implement these programs. I would like to ask the Minister for some time frames, knowing the limited time we have left in the 17th. So I’ll ask that question. The employers need people to get valid drivers’ licences. It’s something that’s been repeated in the needs assessment.
Will the department consider working with the Department of Transportation to assist people in the remote communities to go get drivers’ licences and other qualified drivers’ training programs?
Mahsi. Not only the Sahtu region but we’ve done that in other regions, as well, other communities where there’s a high demand of individuals that need to retain or even go after a driver’s licence, whether it be a Class 5, Class 3, Class 2, or Class 1. There is interest in the communities. Obviously, there will be a proposal submitted to DOT along with ourselves, Education, Culture and Employment, because we do have some funds to offset the costs, as well, working with the stakeholders, the steering committee that has been established. So, yes, I will be working very closely with the Department of Transportation when a need arises pertaining to drivers’ licences. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have an urgent and emergent need for drivers’ licences in the Sahtu. It is one of those issues right now facing us, but I will do that another time.
I want to ask the department what they are doing to make aware the career opportunities in the resource sector.
What type of career counselling is happening at the college, happening at the schools, happening in the communities? What is the department doing?
I’m glad the Member is raising the profile because it is very important to have a career development officer in the communities. They are our partners as well. They are there to make some community awareness of where individuals should be aspiring, whether it be very successful entrepreneurs, in the technician area, or other professional fields in their community. Those are the individuals that we will continue working with, and other support groups. The stakeholders are very key and also very interested and part of the solution as well. Those are some of the stakeholders that we will continue to work with in developing these action tools for the communities of the Sahtu region. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to use today’s question period opportunity to talk about the North Slave Corrections Centre. The information provided by the department said the position for the Aboriginal wellness coordinator has been empty since June 3rd. This is a vital position that provides much needed services and strengths and supports to those seeking rehabilitation.
I would like to get an update from the Minister today. Has this position been filled, and if it has been, when, and if it hasn’t been filled, what’s the plan for the department to ensure the rehabilitation efforts are being supported by those who want to help and certainly those who need the help? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Minister of Justice, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The position has been vacant since June of 2014. We had run a competition and offered an individual the position. They subsequently turned the position down. We are in the process of looking at filling that position now on a casual basis until we can find a permanent person to fill that position. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I actually know one person who had applied for this position and I certainly would have felt that they would be very qualified for it. My understanding is that they were either screened out or, for whatever reason, they weren’t interviewed, and of course, as the Minister says, the position is empty today.
This role is very vital to the health and certainly the well-being of these inmates who we want to be returned to the public with the best opportunities before them. Mental health and cultural health are all critical, important parts. We have invested approximately $200,000 into this area to ensure we can provide these opportunities.
Can the Minister explain to me: Have any of these opportunities for people getting this type of health and wellness been restricted by the lack of services that this government has been unable to provide people since June 3rd? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, the Member makes it sound like we are not offering any services at North Slave Correctional Centre when it comes to spiritual and cultural health. We have elders that come to the facility that do sharing circles with the inmates, and we do that. We just don’t have, on staff, a permanent position. The coordinator position has been vacant, as I mentioned, since June, but that’s not to say that the centre isn’t still providing those types of opportunities for inmates that are at North Slave Correctional Centre. Thank you.
Trust is a very difficult thing to build. It takes experience and it certainly takes a relationship. I am glad we have some elders coming in, but it’s not a permanent solution.
What efforts are being made to permanently fill this position, because it is critical for the well-being and rehabilitation of inmates who need this vital service. Thank you.
The department and the North Slave Correctional Centre are making every effort to fill this position. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Final, short supplementary. Mr. Hawkins.
Mr. Speaker, I’d hate to waste a question by asking, what does that mean?
Is the Minister running a competition right now? Is he looking for someone? Not personally, obviously. What are they doing in the context of finding someone on a permanent basis? If he wants, I can give him names of qualified individuals who could certainly fill this role. But it’s not my job to be a human resource officer; I’m an MLA.
So, the bottom line is, I want to know exactly what actions have been done to fill this position permanently. Thank you.
I’d be more than happy to go back to the department to get the Member an updated list of things we’ve done, what we’re doing to fill that position and when another competition to fill it permanently will take place. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Member for Weledeh. Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for Minister R.C. McLeod. I was pleased to hear, earlier in the session, that the Department of Lands has instituted a moratorium on new recreational leases until a new made-in-the-NWT lands framework is developed. However, this does not address the unauthorized structures and land occupancy that has sprung up in the intervening vacuum.
What plans does the Minister have to address the proliferation of illegal structures we see already built and continuing to be built on public Territorial land? Mahsi.
