Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Mr. Beaulieu.
Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Today we celebrate the 5th Annual Minister’s Culture and Heritage Circle. In Minister Lafferty’s absence, I would like to recognize the recipients of this year’s awards. In the Youth category: the 2015 Pan Am and Parapan Am NWT Youth Ambassadors. Of the 32 youth ambassadors from across the NWT, there are four here today representing the group: Stacie Bengts of Yellowknife, Ryan Tourangeau of Fort Smith, Jacob Peffer of Inuvik, Karl Gardlund of Yellowknife. In the Elder category: Jeanna Graham from the Hay River Reserve. Individual category: Berna Beaulieu from Behchoko. Group category: Yellowknife Ukrainian Association. The award was accepted today by Donna Marie Ouellette and Trisha Graham Minister’s Choice category: Vivian Edgi-Manuel of Fort Good Hope. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, through you and to you, I’d like to introduce one of our recipients, we’ve heard earlier today, for the Ukrainian award, and that is a member of Range Lake, Trisha Graham. Thank you for joining us today.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would also like to congratulate Ms. Vivian Edgi-Manuel for her prestigious award on the Minister’s Choice for Culture. She has done a wonderful job.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize Jasmine Hardisty, my constituency assistant from Fort Simpson who is chaperoning the Fort Simpson Pages this week. Welcome to the gallery.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It gives me great pleasure to recognize a couple of people quickly. First off, I’d like to recognize a constituent of mine, Ms. Karen Wright-Fraser. I’ve know her for a very long time. We all know Karen is a wonderful woman who is a timeless talent of the ages in the art of Gwich’in traditional arts and crafts, so she is certainly a hero to her community and women alike in her amazing talents. To that, I give a great nod.
The other person I’d like to quickly recognize is Denise McKee. She is up in the gallery here today and I suspect she is here for the motion that will be on the floor later today. She is the executive director of the NWT Disabilities Council. If Denise doesn’t pull you aside, I’ll remind you that the 2015 Annual Benefit Auction is November 20th at the YK Inn. See you soon.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Nadli.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize Ms. Jeanna Graham from the K’atlodeeche First Nation. Jeanna is an elder who was recognized in the Minister’s culture awards. At the same time, Jeanna serves on the band council, as well, on the K’atlodeeche First Nation. As well, to all the recipients of the Minister’s culture awards, I’d like to extend congratulations.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. Mr. Bouchard.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to acknowledge Elsie Bouvier, one of my constituents, who is proud to be with her friend Jeanna, who won an award today at the Culture and Heritage Circle Awards.
Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize Weledeh constituent Dawn Moses. Dawn I don’t think is the sister of my colleague here. Dawn is actually a Jane Glassco Northern Fellow of the Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation in policy and leadership development, so I am very proud to have her as a constituent.
I’d also like to recognize any other Weledeh constituents I’m not aware of in the audience and also, of course, congratulate all those who are winners of the Culture and Heritage Awards.
I’d also like to recognize Denise McKee and all her work on behalf of the people with disabilities. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are a few people I’d like to recognize here today. First, a young gentleman who has really come a long way and is a good role model in the community of Inuvik, Mr. Jacob Peffer, as well as all the other youth ambassadors receiving the Minister’s Culture and Heritage Circle Awards today. Obviously, that program could not have been done without great leadership. I’d like to recognize Ms. Colinda Blondin and Dawn Moses for all the work that they do. In a previous job, I know the hard work that goes into making the program successful.
I’d also like to recognize Ms. Jeanna Graham. In another job that I had as a CHR and tobacco coordinator for the territory, we did a lot of work together, and she was a very strong advocate for the people of Hay River and Hay River Reserve.
As well, a couple of relatives of mine, Ms. Jeannie Snowshoe and Ms. Karen Wright-Fraser. Welcome to the proceedings and congratulations to all the award winners here today.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. The honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize Ted Blondin, the chair of the Tlicho Community Services Agency. Welcome to the Assembly.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Also, I’d like to welcome Mr. Jacob Peffer, my friend and ordering all my skidoo parts every year. Thank you for all the hard work. Then my daughter Kirstin Jacobson here in the House today.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to follow up on questions I started last week with the Minister of Public Works and Services on the Energy Efficiency Act and discussion paper. The other day the Minister outlined some of things we have done to reduce energy consumption. I was pleased to hear of that progress. However, we’ve got a long overdue Energy Efficiency Act and a commitment to getting that in place. Since we didn’t do that, we committed to at least doing a discussion paper. Where is that promised document for our review? Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The Minister for the Department of Public Works, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you. The discussion paper on the Energy Efficiency Act has been drafted. The Department of Public Works is now consulting with the other departments that are impacted by the act. After that they will then be discussing that more broadly. I think that by the time the department finishes looking at the discussion paper it will probably be in the next Assembly, but the discussion paper has definitely been drafted. Thank you.
Another commitment not made and this is what’s slowing us down on our work to deal with the cost of living, environmental issues and so on and causing people to leave or not come to the North. So, very disappointing.
I’m wondering: will the paper, should it be done soon, as the Minister indicates it might be, actually prepare the 18th Assembly to efficiently do what we have not done, and that is put an effective and timely act into place.
So, will the promised discussion paper be comprehensive, ready and waiting and enabling for the 18th Assembly as they begin their work? Mahsi.
That is the plan, that we do present a discussion paper that’s thorough to the next Assembly and that a lot of the legwork will be completed in the discussion paper. Hopefully, once that is done, soon after the next government they will start to move forward with the act. Thank you.
Given that the whole government can see this except this side of the House, I’m wondering if the Minister could share with us what are the major elements that the paper will address when finally delivered. Mahsi.
I don’t have that information with me, but I am prepared to have the department share the major elements. I can provide a briefing in written form to the committee that will highlight all of the major elements that we’re looking at in this Energy Efficiency Act.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister has indicated he was prepared to answer my questions, so I’m wondering how the Minister sees this legislation helping us to reduce our cost of living, our energy and electricity bills and our energy consumption. Mahsi.
As a result of the act, the department will be able to develop a lot of the policies that would be directed to corporations, to be directed to the government, directed to the public on ways that they can reduce energy costs right across the territory and all aspects of our business. I’m hopeful that this act will allow government to work with the public and with industry in all areas to allow everybody to become more efficient energy-wise. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know that there is a pre-set method by which capital assets are disposed of by this government. To the fact that the hospital in Hay River, the old hospital, at some point in the next two to three years, two years perhaps, will no longer be used by this government, I would like to ask the Minister of Public Works and Services if this government would entertain an unsolicited proposal from a community partnership coalition in Hay River for the acquisition of that building and land. Thank you.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Minister of Public Works, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I didn’t believe that would be part of the regular disposition process. That would be first released by the Department of Health and Social Services, the building, then the second part would be to see if any departments in the government have any use for it, then after that it would be available for NGOs. Thank you.
We also know that there’s been a precedent set many times whereby the government has made a contribution to create a proposal for a program or activity, and a proposal would have to identify revenue sources, potential sources of grants and contributions to run a program.
Would the government also entertain, please, a contribution agreement to such a coalition or partnership in Hay River to develop this property? Thank you.
I can’t make a commitment from the Legislative Assembly today to contribute to a proposal, but we would be pleased to look at your proposal. If there’s a proposal coming forward, the government would be pleased to look at the proposal. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My first question will be to the Minister responsible for disabilities. In 2012 the NWT Disabilities Council asked for an update on the NWT Action Plan for Disabilities. Part of their launch of the action plan originally identified a hundred concerns and they were further refined down to five particular themes. Of course, things like education, employment, income, and disability supportive housing were the themes that they had refined them down to.
The question to the Minister is: When will there be a progress report on the success of that action plan and when will we see it either tabled in this House or tabled publicly for us to move forward on this initiative? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins, Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The departments have taken a number of actions to address a number of recommendations that were in that report. The Department of Health and Social Services, as an example, has included a number of the recommendations in many of the different strategies were dealing with, like early childhood development. But I’d be happy to pull together a summary of what we’ve done with respect to each of the action items in the different areas within the department and I will certainly work with the other departments to pull that together.
We probably won’t be able to get that done in the next four days, but I will commit to having that available for the future government and the new Members coming in early in the life of the next Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I certainly appreciate that answer. In 2014 the NWT Disabilities Council decided on their own initiative to conduct their own territory-wide survey. So, they reached out to clients, caregivers and certainly professionals obviously connected to disabilities. Their survey reached out to more than 320 people in all communities but one.
My question for the Minister of Health and Social Services is: What is the Department of Health doing with that valuable survey information gathered by the NWT Disabilities Council, and are they able to put it into some type of use and action, because it is incredibly important information. Thank you.
I’ve reviewed that, as well, and it is an incredibly good document. I do want to applaud the NWT Disabilities Council for their initiative and incredibly hard work.
As I’ve indicated, we’ve taken action on a number of items that were in the initial action plan that was provided and they’ve been included in a different strategies or different action items that we’ve been moving forward, like the early childhood development. We’ve done a significant amount of work around respite. Moving forward, the type of information that was provided to us is going to help us inform these different program areas so that we’re meeting the needs of persons with disabilities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
As my colleague had said, this is a multi-disciplinary issue. So, in other words, what that really is, is government jargon that’s spread across multiple departments and it’s difficult to nail one person as responsible.
The initial action plan identified five key areas. I won’t go through them again, but maybe the Minister can talk about how the department has helped facilitate better housing for people with disabilities and found ways to help them work through poverty to ensure we can get them back into the workforce to do better things, because they want to be in a meaningful role in society and we should be facilitating that. So let’s target the area of housing and how we’ve made their lives better.
We are always working with the other departments, sharing technical expertise and information.
With respect to housing, we have occupational therapists who are available to do some assessments for individuals to determine what, if anything, they need in their individual homes, grab bars, ramps, many other things. So we do work with that. The Housing Corp has put in a program – I believe it’s called CARE, but I’m not 100 percent sure and I will confirm that later – where people can actually apply for money to do those ramps. We have occupational therapists and others who can come in and do assessments to determine what is needed in those homes.
Mr. Speaker, the Member may want to ask the Minister responsible for the Housing Corp a couple of these questions, but they are also putting in housing throughout the Northwest Territories and much of it is accessible so that individuals who are living with disabilities can have homes and access to living units. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.
