Thanks to the Minister for that response. Several of the Indigenous governments have actually asked that the project be stopped or delayed given the condition of the Bathurst caribou herd, but our government is prepared to support it. This project is going to involve use of winter roads on our side of the boundary, and as the Minister said there are going to be transboundary, environmental, and socioeconomic impacts. I would like the Minister to explain why our government did not call for a full federal panel review under Part 6 of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement for the Grays Bay Port and Road Project, which would have included participant funding. It is required under the federal legislation and it could have included representation on the panel from this side of the border, so why did our government not ask for a Part 6 review under the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement for the Grays Bay Port and Road Project?
The Government of the Northwest Territories believes that Northerners should make decisions that affect Northerners and that the Nunavut Impact Review Board is fully capable of assessing the impacts of this project. We are satisfied that the board has fully considered NWT concerns in previous Part 5 reviews. I think it is under their legislation. We are confident that this project will be fully considered by the Nunavut board, and therefore we are not seeking intervention by the federal government.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister for that. We're not asking for federal intervention. Part 6 is about being sure it's a full federal panel. They're appointed by the federal government and it could have included representation from this side of the border, but we cut off our nose to spite our face.
Clearly, the routing for the Slave Geological Province road was chosen by our government without any regard for caribou as stated by the Minister of Transportation in this House. Can the Minister of Lands tell us what kind of credibility our government can possibly have in any review of the Grays Bay Port and Road Project when we continue to push for a road on our side of the border without any regard to its impacts on the Bathurst caribou herd? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
The Department of Infrastructure is working with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to identify gaps in knowledge and opportunities with respect to caribou population along the proposed corridor, so it's not as though we are in any way ignoring this very important issue; and I realize that this is a complex issue.
I want to repeat, however, that we are concerned about the issue of this caribou herd and that any of our planning will take into account the grave concerns that we've heard about the diminution of the numbers of this caribou herd that travels between Nunavut and ourselves. We are confident, however, in Nunavut's and our processes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Marci cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I have questions for the Premier. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to say happy birthday to our Premier first.
Mr. Speaker, just about 19 years ago now there was a memorandum of understanding signed between Alberta and the Northwest Territories. Recently, the Premier announced that that was renewed; last week, in fact. I'd like to ask the Premier some questions on that: what positive impacts will this MOU have on small communities in the NWT, specifically small communities that are within Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. The Honourable Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the honourable Member for his birthday present.
I believe, and it's been proven, that the renewal of the Alberta/NWT Memorandum of Understanding for Cooperation and Development has benefited all people in the North. Specifically the communities in that riding I think have benefited as well, because it sets out how our two jurisdictions will work together. It has quite a wide range of areas that we share information on; specifically I look at trade, transportation, tourism, health and social services, fire cooperation, education, training, resource development, energy and environment, and, of course, water.
This agreement/MOU serves as an umbrella for quite a wide-ranging area of intergovernmental agreements and it allows us to work more closely together if there are any problem areas that develop and also facilitate solutions. Detah Ndilo that's okay, Fort Resolution undoubtedly will benefit from this. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
My favourite topic is always employment/labour for small communities. Would the MOU support and provide a benefit to the small communities insofar as employment goes?
The basis for the agreement is that there's significant potential for community and economic development in the region and in those communities. Certainly the MOU identifies education, training, skills development, and regional and community development as a priority, and the MOU will reduce barriers to employment and also increase labour mobility between our jurisdictions. We've seen in the past, where there's been substantial development in Alberta and we've been able to have people in the North go and work there, and certainly we'll make sure that the credentials and so on will not be a barrier.
We have very high energy costs in many of our communities. I'd like to ask the Premier if there was any discussion about reducing energy costs as a result of this new memorandum of understanding or the renewed memorandum of understanding.
Energy and high energy costs is probably one of the biggest areas which we share, and there is a very high degree of cooperation. Both Alberta and the NWT are committed to reducing community reliance on expensive carbon-intensive diesel. Certainly one of the areas that we are all very interested in is hydro development, and we see opportunities certainly with possibly the expansion of Taltson. We think that Alberta, like ourselves, is participating in the western Canada review of the potential for hydroelectricity throughout western Canada. We think we can be part of the solution and work with Alberta where we can provide hydroelectricity, and we can use the benefits of that to invest in other areas. This is something that we are very interested in, and this is something that we expect there will be further discussion about, more specific to Alberta and the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, clean, safe drinking water is important to residents of the NWT. The Alberta oil sands are a great concern for people as the water flows through the Slave River, which provides most of the source for the Great Slave Lake. I was wondering if, as a result of this MOU, there would be an opportunity for individuals who are concerned about their safe drinking water as a result of Alberta's tar sands to speak to this government on this MOU concerning safe drinking water. Thank you.
I am very pleased to report that, under this MOU, we will continue to work together with Alberta to fully implement the Alberta-Northwest Territories Mackenzie River Basin Bilateral Water Management Agreement, which was signed on March 18, 2015. These trans-boundary water agreements are seen as the most comprehensive of their kind, not only in North America, but possibly in the world. This is an example of what can be achieved when our two jurisdictions work together. I think, with safe drinking water, 80 per cent of the water of the Mackenzie River Basin comes through Fort Smith, so it affects all of those communities that the Member is responsible for.
Also, I am very pleased to report that the Alberta-NWT Water Management Agreement was not only negotiated, but is also being implemented with the assistance of the Aboriginal Steering Committee, which includes representatives from the Akaitcho Territory Government, along with representation from every other region in the Northwest Territories. With the reduced production in the Fort McMurray area and the oil sands, obviously, this has had a positive impact on water quality. We will certainly continue to work with Alberta. Any issues or concerns that any of your constituents may have, they can bring them to our attention, and we can also follow up with the contacts that we have and also with the regular processes that have been established through the Alberta-NWT MOU. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I talked about realizing the dream of ending poverty in the Northwest Territories through a guaranteed income pilot. These programs are not just about alleviating poverty, but reducing government expense by cutting costly social security programs and rolling the costs back into this program, empowering Northerners and people with a guaranteed income that will allow them to take ownership over their decision-making. Does the Minister responsible for our social security system, the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, support guaranteed income as a policy position? Thank you.
Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can assure Members of this House that our department is closely monitoring the three-year Ontario pilot project that the Member talked about in his opening statement. We are looking at the implementation, and we do look forward to seeing those results. In the meantime, we have done initiatives. We have created action plans. Just recently this past year we made changes to the Canada Child Benefit, as well as the NWT Child Benefit, to try to give every family in the Northwest Territories the opportunity to be part of their communities, the economy, as well as to meet their basic needs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
It is good to know the government is paying attention to that project. As the Minister knows, I am a big fan of putting more money into the pockets of Northerners. At this point, is the department considering developing a pilot project for one of our small northern communities? I am thinking about those non-tax-based communities, where people do not have market conditions to support them. We could really make a big difference by raising them to the level that our tax-based communities enjoy. Is the Minister willing to the look into developing a pilot for one of those communities?
Currently, we are not looking at a pilot project of guaranteed basic income, but as I have mentioned, we are looking to see what the results are coming out of the Ontario pilot project.
I appreciate where the Minister is coming from, and we want to make evidence-based decisions, but we have that example of what happened in Dauphin, Manitoba. It was an astounding success for projects like this. That was a $17 million project, and the federal government funded 75 per cent of that. It is well within the reach of our government to ask to pilot something like that, and it would be a much smaller scale. Instead of waiting, you know, a couple years until we see what happens in Ontario, why not break some ground on this and move forward? It seems like it is the way of the future.
I think the dollar back in the seventies was a lot different from the dollar of today, and also the fact that we have made increases as well, such as the Small Community Employment Support Program. That is one where we were trying to address some of these areas to help families, to help people get working, become part of the workforce. We continue to make changes to policies so that more families get more money in their pockets at the end of the day as well. We are still continuing to work to address those issues through strategies, initiatives, the Anti-Poverty Strategy, for one, and the Small Community Employment initiatives that we have initiated over this past year.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I applaud the government for moving forward on all those projects. They are crucially important, but with things like the Small Community Employment Support program, it is a wage subsidy. This dispenses with subsidies. It dispenses with payments that are monitored. You will not get any income clawed back. This is a revolutionary policy that could transform how we address poverty in our society. Again, I urge the Minister to commit to taking real action on this by working to develop a pilot project. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
We are committed to continuing to work with families across the Northwest Territories to make sure that they have enough funds to meet their basic needs. What I cannot commit to at this moment is looking at a pilot project in one of the communities. We will continue to work with our partners, our non-government organizations, other departments within the government, to ensure that families have the resources to meet their basic needs, but at this moment I am not committed to looking at a pilot. Thank you.
Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. When he announced the foundational review of Aurora College in May, he said it would take six to eight months. The contract for this review was awarded about two weeks ago. Can the Minister update us of when the review will be complete and in the government's hands? Thank you.
Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are at a point right now where it is a very opportune time for the government to make sure that we do this right and that we do get a product and get the results and hear from our partners across the Northwest Territories, and get that information we need so that we can make those evidence-based decisions, and wait for those results. Right now, that contract was awarded. I think Members of this House should be patient and ensure that we do this right, and make sure that we get a really good product at the end of the day, and let our contractors do their job and make sure that we get the results that we need. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I am very familiar with the "we need time to do it right route" here. We have been through that before. What does the contract say about the delivery for the final report?
I will have to get that information from the department, and then I will get it back to the Member.
As the Minister is aware, business plans are being developed for a presentation to Regular Members in the middle of November, so will there be any results from this review that will inform the business plans for the next fiscal year?
As we get updates from the contractor and the work that they are doing, I will just ask Members to be patient and wait until we get those results, and we will continue to try and update Members on the progress that is being made.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, is the Minister also asking the students and instructors in the teaching and social work program to be patient for an additional year? They are, of course, not taking new students pending the results of the foundational review. Is that still going to be the case? Thank you.
We do want to get information from our partners, or non-government organizations, people who have a vested interest into getting our students into the NWT work force, and making sure that NWT students do succeed and have every opportunity through program services that we do provide, whether it is in the school system or the post-secondary institutions. We're going to make sure that we look at some of the information that we have. Now, this is the first time that the NWT ever had specific labour market information. We are going to use that to make sure that we give our students every opportunity to get an education, for one, and also become part of the NWT work force and offer those program services so that they can succeed. It is all about the students and making sure that, at the end of the day, they succeed and be part of their communities and a vibrant Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I have a return to the written question asked by Ms. Green on June 1, 2017, regarding unfounded sexual assault cases.
Mr. Speaker, senior members at "G" Division conducted a review of all unfounded sexual assault cases from 2010 to 2016, including the evidence in each case file. As I've reported to this Legislative Assembly previously, the review indicated that a number of cases were miscoded as unfounded in the last step of closing the file. This seems to have been a common issue across the country and data quality concerns about the imprecise use of this code instead of other options such as not cleared or unsubstantiated led Statistics Canada to stop analyzing its use several years ago.
The code is intended to indicate that a report has been fully investigated and that a crime did not occur or was not attempted. It does not indicate the way the case was investigated, only the way it was classified in the RCMP's internal computer system at the end of the investigation. The proportion of sexual assault complaints in the NWT deemed as unfounded after this review was reduced to 18.7 per cent. Of these, 42 per cent had been reported by a third party, meaning the report came from someone who had seen or been told something that led them to believe someone else had been sexually assaulted. Police would typically not contact a third-party complainant to explain the reasons a case was coded in a particular way after the investigation concluded. A victim who reports an assault should always be kept aware of the progress and results of the investigation, and can contact the detachment at any time to speak with the member in charge of the file or the member's supervisor. During the file review initiated by "G" Division, there may have been instances where complainants were contacted by the investigating officer.
The significance of reporting that 42 per cent of the unfounded sexual assault complaints were third-party complaints is only to provide some context to the statistics. These complaints are not first-hand from a victim of sexual assault, but by someone else who had seen or been told something that led them to believe a sexual assault has occurred.
The information from the review has been sent to National Headquarters, Ottawa, in order to help the RCMP to develop a force-wide response to the issue. At this time, I do not have any additional details on the review, including the results of the review in specific communities.
The RCMP has consulted with national and international law enforcement agencies, as well as non-governmental organizations and government partners regarding sexual assault investigational practices, policy, training, and public engagement. I have been informed that the RCMP will make clear recommendations to address gaps identified by the review and external consultations, in a report that will be made public.
Given the RCMP's unique jurisdictional mandate providing police services to provincial/territorial and municipal contracting partners, they must ensure that an appropriate, coordinated national response is put in place, and I've been informed that this response is currently in the final stages of quality assurance.
I look forward to the RCMP's national response to this important issue, and to the recommendations regarding the organization's sexual assault investigational practices, policy, training, and public engagement, and how that will impact policing in the NWT. In the meantime, Chief Superintendent Zettler has assured me that the RCMP have taken steps to ensure RCMP members are provided with everything they need to fully and properly investigate allegations of sexual assault, while remaining considerate and sensitive to the experience of the person coming forward. We all recognize that it is critical that everyone has confidence that when sexual assaults are reported, that they will be thoroughly investigated, with victims treated with care. The recent attention to how these investigations have been previously classified has highlighted and reinforced this concern. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I have a return to the written question asked by Mr. O'Reilly on June 2, 2017, regarding the School Funding Framework.
In the 2016-2017 school year, there were 86.5 full-time equivalent students enrolled in junior kindergarten and 7, 701 FTE students in kindergarten to grade 12.
Junior kindergarten was offered in the following 20 communities: Aklavik, Fort McPherson, Ulukhaktok, Tsiigehtchic, Tuktoyaktuk, Fort Simpson, Fort Liard, Wrigley, Kakisa, Jean Marie River, Colville Lake, Deline, Fort Good Hope, Normal Wells, Tulita, Lutselke, Ndilo, Detah, Sachs Harbour, and Nahanni Butte.
For the 2017-2018 school year, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment projects 475.3 FTE students to be enrolled in JK and 8,107 FTE students in K-12, for a total of 8,582.3 FTE.
Later today at the appropriate time I will table the calculations made using the 2017-2018 School Funding Framework that show the incremental amount under each funding category comparing K-12 funding and JK-12 funding. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I have a return to the written question asked by Mr. O'Reilly on June 2, 2017, regarding the consultancy contract with Earnscliffe Strategy Group.
Earnscliffe Strategy Group (Earnscliffe) was contracted by Executive and Indigenous Affairs to provide as and when requested:
Intelligence on government policy and legislative agendas at the international, national, provincial, and municipal level;
Ongoing monitoring of key developments on files of interest to clients;
Design of core narratives for the purpose of building or reinforcing clients' public branding;
Developing of unique communications programs to build awareness and exposure of clients and their interests;
Development of key messages for meetings, interviews, and editorial board meetings;
Facilitation of media opportunities, promotional initiatives, and awareness-building events to promote clients, their brands, and interests;
Identification of the appropriate decision-makers/contacts in the Prime Ministers' Office and in key Ministers' offices and departments of government, as well as intelligence on their priorities and views;
Design of core narratives for client issues that navigate political, bureaucratic and private-sector dynamics;
Identification of alignment opportunities between clients' objectives and federal government priorities, initiatives and the legislative process;
Insights into Cabinet, Caucus and Standing Committee processes and reviews and their roles in effective political, policy and regulatory strategies;
Road mapping stakeholders and engagement plans to help clients approach government at all levels; and
Development of government and parliamentary submissions.
Mr. Speaker, you will note from the list above that Earnscliffe was not hired to plan and coordinate GNWT trips to Ottawa.
Mr. O'Reilly asked me if any of the seven Cabinet Ministers and 15 staff members participating in the trip to Ottawa meet with any representative of Earnscliffe during the November 2016 trip to Ottawa, and I can advise the House that representatives of Earnscliffe met with Ministers to provide a briefing on federal legislative and policy priorities. Ministers also participated in group and individual media training provided by Earnscliffe during the November 2016 trip to Ottawa.
In response to the Member's question about why the Earnscliffe Strategy Group invoiced the GNWT for a total of $30,450 for October, November, and December 2016, I can confirm that Earnscliffe, as is common for contracts of this nature, Earnscliffe bills on the basis of a monthly retainer covering the range of services listed above.
The Member from Frame Lake also noted that the Federal Lobbyist Registry describing the activity of Earnscliffe on behalf of the GNWT says Earnscliffe, arranges meetings with the federal representatives and asked why the GNWT did not take advantage of those services while in Ottawa. Mr. Speaker, Earnscliffe's registration pre-dates this government and was done in case there was a need for them to undertake activities on behalf of the GNWT that would have to be reported on the Lobbyist Registry. Three communications on the GNWT's behalf were reported on the Registry in January and February 2015. No lobbying has been undertaken by Earnscliffe during this 18th Legislative Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to section 77(1) of the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act, I wish to advise the House that I have a conflict of interest in Bill 30: Health Statutes Law Amendment Act. This bill amends the Public Health Act to clarify that the Commissioner may make regulations respecting cremations and crematoria. Mr. Speaker, my spouse is a funeral planner and, as such, has a private interest in this bill. I will excuse myself from the Chamber during consideration of this matter. Masi, Mr. Speaker.
