Earlier this summer the ferry in Tsiigehtchic started waiting on each side for 10 minutes, and the explanation that was given to my constituents was that the department was trying to save on fuel.
Will the Minister direct his department to ensure the Louis Cardinal Ferry is not waiting on each landing for 10 minutes to save on fuel?
The ferry sits for 10 minutes. That’s the call of the captain. The captain makes that call. The captain makes the call, but he’s given little opportunity to potential oncoming traffic. So just coming there and picking up vehicles and going back immediately, they sometimes are just missing vehicles by a little bit. If they have room on their ferry, they wait for 10 minutes to ensure that nobody is coming, and if no one comes then they will proceed, and if someone comes they will have benefitted from the ferry captain making the decision to wait for the time period that they do wait, which is 10 minutes, as the Member had indicated. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Blake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It seems that the captain makes up his own mind in many cases, because many times he picks up someone and leaves right away.
Will the Minister ensure that we have the same practice as we did in the past, which is whenever we had a full load they’d go to the other side? It was on demand in the past and many of my constituents would like that to be in place once again. Thank you.
We can talk to the ferry operator. The ferry operator and the department do discuss how the ferry should be running back and forth on a regular basis if it’s deemed that the best way to continue to move back and forth was just based on demand by viewing the vehicles across or viewing vehicles at Tsiigehtchic, and that’s the way the ferry is going to operate and that’s something that we can discuss with the captain. So, with that, even when they do come across and they see that there are vehicles there, they still would be beneficial, and it’s not, say, few, but beneficial to the travelling public for them to wait a while. But we can have those discussions with the ferry operator if the Member deems that that’s what should happen. We will do that.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I just want to ask some questions on my Member’s statement on the Inuvik-Tuk Highway. I know that they’re sensitive negotiations, so my experience will tell me that I’ve got to be pretty general about my questions, so I will proceed that way.
Just in terms of why did the Minister of Transportation not advise Regular Members of the claims of the Inuvik-Tuk Highway in an expedient and timely manner? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The Minister of Transportation, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have a legal contract with the operator. The operator has a process in the contract to make a claim. We then have to determine whether or not we think that is a valid claim, and we are going through the process. We were advised on August 19th that they had run into some issues and had indicated that they would be making a claim on the contract, and we started working with the contractor to see if they had a legitimate claim and how the claim would be broken down from year to year. Thank you.
Thank you very much. He didn’t really speak to why he chose to not inform Regular Members for at least a couple of weeks afterwards. Nevertheless, how long does the Minister expect this process to take? Thank you.
We are working with the contractor right now and we’ve hired consultants to look at the contract, look at the claim, look at all of the cash flow, and it’s going to take at least a couple more weeks from this point before we have all the information, all the facts in order for us to make a decision. I would say it’s at least two weeks before we gather the data. How long we take to evaluate that depends on how much data we gather. Thank you.
I’d like to ask the Minister, will he commit to providing regular updates to Members of this House and our Priorities and Planning committee as the claims are evaluated over the next couple of weeks? Mahsi.
Yesterday when we were meeting with Priorities and Planning, we committed that we would give the Regular Members updates on a weekly basis as we move through this process. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Of course, timing is an issue because we’ll be heading to dissolution pretty soon. In fact, our sitting of this House ends, I believe, next Thursday.
I’d just like to ask the Minister, perhaps, how they will be proceeding should there be an acceptable claim. Because I believe, and I’m sure my colleagues will concur, that you need the consent of the Assembly. So, I’d like to ask him, how will he proceed? Can the ministry and the Cabinet defer any decision until the first sitting of the 18th Assembly? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Of course, we wish to evaluate the validity of the claim prior to dissolution of this Assembly; however, if that was to not happen, we’d have to follow the contract to see what provisions are in the contract right now and how much latitude we would have to be able to move forward with a claim and make sure that the work on the Inuvik-Tuk Highway would continue. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister Beaulieu. Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. In my Member’s statement I talked about a community that has to deal with grief and loss.
I want to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment how many of our GNWT employees in our regions know about the protocol when there’s an elder, a respective loved one or someone in our communities has passed away.
Do our employees know what is to be expected when something terrible like this has happened in our communities?
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. There is a protocol in place, a process that we obviously respect at the community level. We involve the elders whenever there’s a grieving process. We work very closely, whether it be the school board, the agencies that deliver educational programs to our schools or to our community. There is an orientation for all staff to go through and how we can access the elders, the contacts in the community who are the experts in the community. So, that is information that is easily accessible for these personnel, the professionals that we employ to work with the community members, to work with the leadership and also the elders. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Then I would ask the Minister if he would do a survey, conduct a test to see how well our employees respect our culture such as this type of situation, because I beg to differ from the Minister’s experience or opinion as to how our employees are respecting our culture when something like this has happened in our communities.
I want to ask the Minister if he’s willing to look at that in his department with all government employees, because I do not see that picture as the Minister has painted in the Northwest Territories.
I can only speak to Education, Culture and Employment programs that we deliver. What the Member is referring to is GNWT professionals in the communities, and that could touch on various departments, more specifically with the Human Resources department.
Within my department, as I stated, there is ongoing dialogue with the school boards to deliver these orientations. So the teachers, the professionals, the support staff are fully engaged, fully aware of programs that are available to them such as the elders contact. This will be brought back to the school boards and also the support staff and the resource people at the community level that we have to seek if they are fully aware of the programs that exist. Those are areas where we heavily depend on community experts. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
I appreciate the Minister’s willingness to look at school boards and school jurisdictions, but he’s the Minister of Culture and I’m talking about culture in a general sense. Of all the Ministers here and the departments they hold, all government employees need to know. I’m looking at the focal point of the Minister of Culture to look at all this within our region, within our communities and within our culture. All employees should know about the protocol. When something like this, a respected elder has passed or something has happened in our community, all employees should know. This is not about programs and services. This is about building our relationships with the people we work with so they understand our culture and what needs to be looked upon, respected and honoured.
Again, I beg to differ from this government. When something like this happens in our community, there are some people who respect this and there are some people who are very ignorant of this.
I want to ask the Minister, how is this government, through the department of culture, going to respect our cultural ways in our communities?
Part of the cultural development and also supporting those areas obviously falls within the community and working with the community, especially the elders and how they can provide wisdom and knowledge. When it comes to a grieving process, obviously we are going through that process as well. We’ve gone through so many of them already in the communities. We have our staff working with the community leaders and community elders, counsellors.
Obviously, there is a respect for culture. At the end of the day, if there is a lack of awareness of the cultural perspective, a lack of respect, then we need to resolve that issue.
I’m glad the Member is raising the profile and I will be bringing that back to my department and working with the organizations that we work with. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I certainly would endorse the Minister’s commitment to bring this back to the region.
Would the Minister consider a strong cultural elders advisory group in the region to help our employees, help our people understand the reasons why we have these certain protocols and reasons why we do different ceremonies such as the grieving ceremony? It’s a very powerful one. If we don’t understand it, we become ignorant about it.
Would the Minister consider, through the department of culture, formulating an elders council in our region, like the Sahtu, to guide us in our daily work and situations we are facing from time to time?
This is an area I need to discuss with my counterpart, Human Resources. We are dealing with personnel at the community level. It’s not just the cultural values, cultural programs as the Member indicated, but we also deal with the personnel. Those are discussions we should be having with the two departments.
I will commit to the Member that I will be speaking to the HR department to see what could be done to improve our relationship we have with the current leadership and also the elders in the communities to make them more accessible and aware as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to keep the Minister of ECE hopping today. On June 4, 2015, a feasibility study of universal affordable daycare was tabled in this House, and early childhood education and care provides multiple benefits to children, families and societies. Its documented outcomes have led rich jurisdictions and poor to enhance programming opportunities for young children. The NWT’s Early Childhood Development Framework and associated action plan reflect global trends aimed at improving access to quality early childhood programs.
I would like to ask the Minister, does he feel now, given this feasibility study and action plan, that an affordable universal daycare system for the NWT is indeed feasible? Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The tabling of the document, Universal Affordable Daycare Feasibility Study, in May and June 2015, is a comprehensive package that has been delivered to us. We had an outside consultant give us some feedback of an affordability nature. Obviously, this area does create some challenges within my department within GNWT. When we talk about existing licenced child care spaces, obviously we would have to double that in the communities. This is information that was shared to us by consultants as well. Many communities are lacking infrastructure, as well, so we have to build on infrastructure and also double the training of early childhood educators in the communities. These are just some areas that are part of the feasibility report.
Also, the cost factor is upwards of an estimated $17.4 million to initiate the feasibility of affordable daycare in the Northwest Territories. That is some information and feedback that we received from the consultants during the engagement. Mahsi.
Indeed, those are important factors that some of us have been speaking about for at least eight years. It’s disappointing that more progress has not been made in this area as the benefits at all levels of family and society of a comprehensive universal affordable daycare system in the NWT would be far reaching. According to the study, the NWT’s child care system is immature, more closely resembling a cottage industry than a universal service.
I am wondering: what are the barriers of moving forward with an affordable comprehensive universal daycare system for people of the NWT, recognizing that it may be costly but beneficial.
It would all depend on the financial situation we are faced with today and also the 18th Assembly. If the 18th Assembly government, depending on their financial situation, feel that this is a priority for them, by all means.
We’ve done our homework. As Members passed a motion in the House, we’ve done our due diligence. We have the information. That will be part of a document for the 18th Assembly to consider if they wish to proceed with that. My department was tasked with doing a feasibility study and we’ve done that. We’ve provided that information. Now in the 18th Assembly the…(inaudible)…will be laid out for them. Mahsi.
I think Members of the House greatly appreciate the department and Mr. Lafferty taking on this study. It was a comprehensive piece of work. The conclusions note in the report that kindergarten assessments indicate that two out of five children are entering school with delays that will likely compromise their academic chances. No society can prosper when such a huge portion of its youngsters are left behind.
We’ve done the work, as the Minister says. It’s apparent that the benefits of a universal daycare are huge. We have a study and an action plan. All we need now is some commitment on the part of government.
Just what are this government’s plans to move this much needed program forward? How will they do that?
It is the will of this Assembly to move that forward. The feasibility has been done. All the information has been provided. The 18th Assembly is the new government that is coming into play within the next couple of months. If it is seen as a priority for the 18th Assembly, then the groundwork has already been done, all the information. The fiscal situation, depending on the 18th Assembly, how they want to proceed with it.
This information, the feasibility study, all the groundwork that we’ve done will be laid, again, for the new Assembly coming into force within the next couple of months.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister. So, how is the pursuit of a system of universal affordable daycare being advanced in the transition reports being prepared for the 18th Assembly to assure that this opportunity is realized?
As I stated earlier, if it’s the wish of this Assembly to move this as far as the transition document, then it will be laid out for the 18th Assembly.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In follow-up to my Member’s statement earlier today in regard to some of our other industries that do provide revenues to our economy but have never been really given the strong support that they’ve needed up until, I guess, this government has really made some significant impacts into the marketing area.
I’d like to ask the Minister of Tourism, now that we’ve come to the end of the summer and we usually get an influx of tourists in the Northwest Territories, and winter is coming around the corner and we have our northern lights as a big factor, what kind of support is he giving to our regional centres to continue to promote tourism into the regional communities?
Thank you, Mr. Moses. The Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have a very strong and capable team at Northwest Territories Tourism. We have dedicated staff at the regional level through ITI who provide support to tourism operators and the licensing aspect. We have seen numbers continue to increase, and the Member is correct; when we came into office almost four years ago, we increased the marketing budget for tourism, and I believe that those efforts back then are now starting to pay dividends with the increased number of visitors from Asia, from the United States and domestically from here in Canada.
I know the Member spoke during his Member’s statement about increased visitation in the Inuvik region. We’re happy to see that. We have to continue to try to get funding out to the regions, and we have earmarked funding for the regions across the territory. We have the Northwest Territories Tourism annual general meeting coming up in November, and I think we’re looking at this very positively, and our efforts also in Asia are paying tremendous dividends. If you look around here in Yellowknife, it’s very evident the amount of tourists that you see on airplanes, at the airport, on the streets and in hotels. We’re seeing a new hotel being constructed across the street from the Legislature, a couple of new restaurants, and expansion to the Explorer Hotel. All the signs are there that that investment four years ago is paying huge dividends for us here.
I know here in Yellowknife we always see a really high increase of tourism and a lot of the dollars, as the Minister mentioned, some of the new restaurants and hotels going up here in Yellowknife. However, when you take it to the regions, you see there are a lot of vacancies in some of the hotels, and the hotels not doing as good a business as the capital here.
I know we did give funding and marketing dollars out to all the ITI regional offices. Can I ask the Minister, did all the regional offices use up all those extra funds? I think it was in the amount of maybe about $50,000 extra for each regional office. Did they all use up those marketing funds, and if not, would those funds be possibly used to create some kind of marketing strategy for the winter months?
I can get the information for the Member on the $50,000 and how it was spent in each of our regions and where it went. I can provide that to him. We have to look back at the Economic Opportunities Strategy and our focus on diversifying the economy here in the Northwest Territories. Certainly, tourism is one area last year, I believe, it was somewhere near $120 million to our economy here in the Northwest Territories. It has the opportunity, and I’ve said before in the House, to have an impact in every one of our communities across the territory, so it’s important that we have the requisite funding.
We’ve seen some big successes, as well, in Aboriginal tourism, the cultural component. The Destination Deline is a good example of that effort. Our Aboriginal Tourism Champions Advisory Council was formed. These are folks who have experience in the cultural component and are helping us build the Aboriginal tourism product here in the Northwest Territories that we believe is going to bring in even more visitors to the Northwest Territories.
I understand with the Minister mentioning that in November we’re going to be having our tourism AGM and we’ll possibly be bringing in some of our regional community members who work in the tourism industry.
I wonder if the Minister would be looking at the projects that have been going on by the regions and looking at whether or not we will be increasing our marketing or our operation dollars for some of these tourism operators moving into the next fiscal year, if that’s something that he’d be looking into at this AGM.
I believe we need to back what is working, and for the Northwest Territories, certainly Aurora is working, our Aboriginal tourism product is growing, and we believe that’s going to work as well. So we have to continue to back what is being successful. I believe we have tremendous opportunity here in the Northwest Territories to market the products that we have to audiences around the world. The next government hopefully will continue on the same path this government has had, and that is to invest in marketing our tourism, our products. These things have to be marketed and nobody’s going to do that for us. We have to get out there and look for partnerships. We’ve worked with Destination Canada, we’ve worked with TIAC, and we’ll continue to seek out partnerships to promote the Northwest Territories both nationally and internationally.
