Mr. Speaker, to live in poverty in Canada is to live with insufficient and often poor quality food. It is to sleep in poor quality and/or unaffordable housing, in homeless shelters, or on city streets and parks. It means making difficult and painful decisions on a daily basis involving trade-offs, whether to pay the rent or feed the kids, pay the electric bill or go to the dentist, buy a new bus pass or forego socializing with friends. To live in poverty is also to be at greater risk of poor health, family or neighborhood violence, and a shorter lifespan. It is to be unable to participate fully in one’s community and greater society. It is to suffer great depths of anxiety and emotional pain.
When our government was elected, we set a goal of helping our residents become and stay healthy, educated people free from poverty. Since then, Ministers have stood in this House many times to talk about initiatives that will help us reach that goal. Our Premier and Finance Minister laid the groundwork. Early in our mandate they established a sustainable approach to making our territory prosperous in partnership with other northern governments. Minister Beaulieu has spoken of supports to people with mental health and addictions issues, including the desperate need for prevention and harm reduction. Minister McLeod has introduced a number of programs that address housing needs, especially the new fair and sustainable public housing rent scales and changes to home ownership programs. Minister Lafferty has spoken many times about our government’s support for early childhood development and for comprehensive education programs that get our residents ready to enter the workforce. Minister
Ramsay is leading the development of a socially responsible Economic Development Strategy that will provide all our residents with opportunities and choices. We have made sustainable, vibrant, and safe communities our goal.
Mr. Speaker, all of our goals and initiatives are related. Our government’s entire agenda is an Anti-Poverty Strategy. A strong, diversified economy increases employment opportunities where they are most needed. Those opportunities come from investments in education and early childhood development. All of this work has the goal of reducing and preventing poverty throughout the NWT.
This is, and will always be, a shared effort. Poverty is complex. Although there is a widening gap between those who are prospering and those who are just getting by, poverty is not just about money. It can mean a family does not have enough healthy food. It can mean they have poor quality or unaffordable housing. It always means they have to make difficult decisions about how to make ends meet. People who live in poverty are at greater risk of poor health and violence, and they often aren’t able to participate fully in their communities.
The budget that is before the House is the first step. It includes new investments of approximately $3.4 million in our Mental Health and Addictions Action Plan, in early childhood development, and in helping Northerners capture the benefits associated with exploration in the Sahtu. These are long-term investments, but Members know they start paying off immediately.
As we prepare for the opportunities that will come with devolution, self-government and increasing economic development, we commit to addressing inequalities that keep our people from succeeding in education and the workforce. In partnership with Aboriginal governments, community governments, non-government organizations and others, we are developing a framework that will set out how we will all work together to reduce poverty. This framework will play an influential role in our government’s social agenda and will be the basis for much of our work throughout this Assembly, setting the stage for real gains in the next five to 10 years. It will also include a mechanism to ensure long-term continuity of coordinated efforts to reduce poverty.
There is no place for poverty in the NWT. This is the shared belief of many Northerners as well as the individuals and organizations who came together to build this framework. Over the coming months my Cabinet colleagues and I will return to this House to discuss new investments and new ways to deliver programs to reduce poverty in the North. These investments will be part of an action plan based on the framework and developed with Members. We believe in strong individuals, families and communities sharing the benefits and responsibilities of a unified, environmentally sustainable and prosperous Northwest Territories. I look forward to talking to Members about ways to achieve this shared vision. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. McLeod.
Mr. Speaker, a lack of affordable, adequate and suitable housing creates challenges in recruiting staff for the GNWT, Aboriginal governments and for community governments. Staff need homes to live in if they are going to continue delivering the programs and services the people of the NWT rely on their governments for.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister of Transportation, Mr. Ramsay.
Mr. Speaker, we know that impaired driving leads to injuries, death, and millions of dollars in property damage across Canada every year. Statistics Canada recently reported the NWT and Yukon had the highest rates of impaired driving across the country in 2012. Ninety-four NWT residents were convicted for impaired driving last year. That number doesn’t include administrative suspensions where licences were removed temporarily for blowing over the legal limit in roadside breathalyser tests. The Department of Transportation is taking action to turn these dismal statistics around.
Today I’m pleased to announce the Alcohol Ignition Interlock Program in an effort to make our roads safer. An ignition interlock is an in-car breath screening device connected to the ignition and power systems of a vehicle. The device prevents the vehicle from starting if the driver’s blood alcohol concentration is over a pre-set limit.
Individuals who’ve lost their licences due to impaired driving convictions may be eligible for early reinstatement of their driving privileges in return for meeting specific requirements under the Ignition Interlock Program. If the registrar approves an application, participants may have an interlock device installed in their vehicle, at their own expense, at a cost of $125.00 per month.
Participants remain in the program until their driving prohibitions are lifted, unless removed by the registrar or they voluntarily withdraw. Participants must meet licensing conditions imposed by the registrar and show a clean record with no violations for the last three consecutive months to complete the program.
Mr. Speaker, the department is working with Canada’s leading provider of ignition interlock devices to deliver services to NWT residents using proven technology that effectively reduces the rate of impaired driving. All Canadian provinces and the Yukon administer interlock programs and report the devices work because they mechanically stop impaired driving before it begins.
The Department of Transportation has worked closely with jurisdictional partners, including Alberta, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Manitoba, to introduce this program. The department also consulted with the RCMP and municipal enforcement as well as with the NWT judiciary. The department continues to collaborate with the youth organization, SADD, through its Yellowknife Chapter, to combat drinking and driving in the NWT and increase public safety on our roads and highways. We appreciate the cooperation from our provincial partners, enforcement agencies, the judiciary and Students Against Drunk Driving, whose members are with us this afternoon as visitors in the gallery. They are key partners in combatting drinking and driving and increasing public safety on our roads and highways.
I invite residents to check the DOT website for more information on how to qualify for entry to the program. Our web address is www.dot.gov.nt.ca.
Mr. Speaker, the Ignition Interlock Program demonstrates the department’s continued commitment to reduce incidents of impaired driving in the Northwest Territories. Driving is a privilege, not a right, and every person must be sober when behind the wheel. Initiatives such as the Ignition Interlock Program advance the 17th Assembly goal of building sustainable, vibrant, and safe communities by focusing on prevention. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Electoral Boundaries Commission is touring the Northwest Territories to hear feedback on its proposals to change the number of MLAs in this Assembly and who they represent. I fear that most people do not know how important this is. It goes to the core of how NWT residents are represented and whether consensus government can work.
I have carefully reviewed the proposed electoral boundaries and they are very troubling. All would increase the very powerful influence on our government to an unacceptable level. It is so obvious that Yellowknife is already represented extremely well by its seven MLAs, and three of them Cabinet Ministers.
Our consensus system relies on a balance between the capital and the regions. All the commission’s proposals would distort that balance and exaggerate the divisions between rural and urban ridings that sometimes plague us even now.
The people of Alaska reduced this problem by choosing Juneau as the capital instead of the much larger Fairbanks, and British Columbia’s capital is Victoria, not Vancouver. I think maybe we should move our capital to Fort Simpson.
---Laughter
Seriously, Mr. Speaker. Besides boosting Yellowknife’s power, every proposal has fatal problems. They all ignore fundamental boundaries, deep historic rivalries, political realities, language and administrative efficiencies.
For example, the proposal for 18 ridings and one of the plans for 19 ridings create a new district made up of eight small Deh Cho, Monfwi and Tu Nedhe communities. Their first language is Slavey, Tlicho and Chipewyan. At least three Dene land claim regions are represented, plus Metis claims. Throw in the fact that transportation links between these communities are poor at best and you have a total nightmare for any MLA. It’s impossible to fully represent the people in this proposed riding. It appears that the potential for conflict of interest was completely ignored.
The final proposal for 19 ridings is similarly flawed, so is the one for 21 ridings.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
The final proposal for 19 ridings is similarly flawed and so is the one for 21 ridings. The latter actually includes nine ridings with constituents living in Yellowknife. That is beyond belief. I cannot support more MLAs for the capital, let alone two more.
In short, each proposal of the Electoral Boundaries Commission is a recipe for disaster. Adopting any one of them will compromise, not improve, representation of NWT residents. Adopting any one of them will erode or even destroy our consensus system. Until boundaries are proposed that are actually improved representation, I cannot support tampering with the current electoral system until, perhaps, next term. I urge the status quo. I also urge all constituents and/or NWT residents who care about consensus government to speak up during the remaining public sessions.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A couple of weeks ago the Premier told us yet again that the signing of the Devolution Agreement is just days away, but useful context is still missing in the information he provides. Yes, the public has had access to a very complicated agreement-in-principle, and we have seen media relations centred on milestones rather than content. There is a website people can go to for information, but it’s mostly information going out with no invitation for debate. Opportunities for public engagement have been limited or nil. The Land Use Sustainability Framework consultation came and went, I think; a profile that was so ephemeral that it scarcely bears mention.
When does the full public review and debate take place on the quality of the agreement being unveiled? What will the process for public comment be and how will the Premier ensure a meaningful way to take citizens’ concerns into account as we move to set up our own resource management apparatus? Will this House have an opportunity to vote on the agreement? Incredibly, this has never been made clear.
The Members’ general support for devolution has been pretty clear. Doesn’t the government want formal and democratic endorsement providing for debate and the imprint of consent and validation upon this historic step?
I’m hearing growing calls for a plebiscite. Support for devolution appears strong. The real benefit of a vote would be in the exploration of issues. Nothing would focus public interest and attention so much as an opportunity to take part in a historic decision. If the government really thinks this is a great deal, and it clearly does, a plebiscite would be an ultimate demonstration of that faith.
The devolution of resource management is the biggest last stage in political development short of provincehood. Although the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act, a substantial part of resource management, is apparently missing from the draft agreement, we still have here a monumental historic step. Government leads, but as we move to the next level of political responsibility, wouldn’t it be good to take our people along with us?
As we approach a draft final agreement, I will have questions for the Premier on the immediate plans for bringing devolution home.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My community was very excited to have participated in a community wellness planning session which I had the pleasure of attending in Hay River on January 23rd. Over 200 members of the Community Interagency Group and elders participated in this consultation activity and many important points of interest were raised. It was apparent, early in the session, that Hay River has a number of wonderful things going on, and communication between the agencies and partners needs to be a priority.
During the consultation sessions, various strategies were identified as immediate areas of actions such as community mentorship programs, more youth counselling, more sober family events, more prenatal parent activities, nutrition programs, and support for the existing Lights On Program for youth. Also identified was as an immediate area to address is the need for a community wellness worker to coordinate events, disseminate information, bring partners together, and help the community in cooperatively building partnerships. A community wellness project will not only help the community to access First Nations and Inuit Health Branch funding that Hay River has never accessed before, it will have a much greater impact on the community as groups have made strong commitments to partnership and to work on projects together for the future.
The community wellness plan should also give organizations a clearer direction of the needs of the residents of Hay River. Removing barriers to programs was a clear message heard at all levels of consultation.
Another common theme that became evident throughout the session was that priority needs to be given to reaching out to the most vulnerable members of the community and changing the way we do business. Community members made it very clear that they want to see their front-line workers leave their offices and go to those in need of their services, instead of living the theme you build it and they will come. We know this is not working. The community wants to see its workers out serving clients where the clients are, changing office hours so that government agencies that support these clients are available even after regular work hours. Many ideas and strategies for improving and focusing attention on wellness in the community were identified and the community looks forward to seeing action on these items.
I would like to extend a big thank you to Sabrina Broadhead and the Department of Health and Social Services for their vision and action on this topic. A special thank you to Jill Taylor, chair of the Wellness Planning Session, for her hard work and contribution of countless volunteer hours providing opportunities for our community, especially for the youth and the vulnerable residents who so often cannot represent themselves. This type of action, the community wellness project, helps in making it easier for communities to work together, access funding and move forward, and it is a great step in making our community and our territory a healthier place to live.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The Member for the Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are builders in the North. The North is building itself, and now we are living in interesting times. We just completed the Deh Cho Bridge and we’re nearing completion of the Devolution Agreement. Now our eyes are focused on the Mackenzie Valley Highway. I am pleased to be able to provide my support for the Mackenzie Valley Highway and also for the Tuk-Inuvik road.
I know that the leadership in the Mackenzie Beaufort region has worked hard for many years and worked with both governments to make this project a reality. I believe this project will benefit the residents of the region, but I also believe it will benefit all people in the Northwest Territories and Canada as a whole, most importantly for us in the Sahtu. We are confident that if this project is successful, then other highway projects in our own region will follow and also will be successful.
The Inuvik to Tuk highway will provide residents in the region with a year-round link to the South and help reduce the cost of living in the communities such as Tuktoyaktuk. It will also allow residents better access to health care, education, recreation and other government services. Very importantly, it will reduce the cost of providing such services in the region by our own government. We’re all aware that this region is depressed economically and this project will provide an important economic boost. It will establish infrastructure that will stimulate economic development in the region. We all know there are major discovered hydrocarbon resources in the Beaufort Sea, and that a year-round link by road to the Beaufort will greatly increase the likelihood of such projects to proceed.
Economic development in this region will benefit all of us in the Northwest Territories. Having grown up in a small, isolated Aboriginal community, I can acknowledge how costly and difficult it is to obtain the basic goods, supplies and services in our communities such as Tulita, Deline, Colville, Fort Good Hope and Norman Wells. This is why many of us in the Sahtu are extremely supportive of building the public infrastructure, and particularly would like to see the construction of the Bear River Bridge and the Mackenzie Highway.
The recent decision by the federal government to invest this amount of money into the North is unprecedented. It is a sign that Canada is willing to again build infrastructure in the North, and we in the Sahtu believe that if we are successful in working with the federal government to build the Inuvik-Tuk highway, then it will pave a way for Canada to work with us to follow with this project by constructing the Mackenzie Valley Highway.
I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
Completing the highway and connecting Canada from coast to coast to coast will be a big boost to all Canadians in establishing a year-round transportation link to our Arctic coastline. It will also be a major step to protect our Canadian sovereignty. We think it will lead to further investments in other regions such as the Sahtu.
I am very pleased to be able to support this project. Truly, we stand here and say the North was built by Northerners and will continue to be built by our own people in the future. We have a dream.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the last few weeks, Members have spoken a lot and asked many questions about the GNWT Medical Travel Policy, and I have another unique and special situation that I want to comment on today.
Apparently not, according to the recent experience of a Yellowknife constituent in the elder category. Her health condition required a trip out for treatment. Funding to cover the cost of an escort to travel with her was denied by GNWT health. My question is, should it have been?
Through this experience I’ve learned a whole new term: policy by commitment. MLAs regularly hear Ministers commit to things here in the House during oral questions and in Committee of the Whole. But what do these commitments mean? If it is a policy commitment, it is not written and recognized as a Cabinet officially sanctioned policy, but it should be considered a valid policy change.
In the case described here, there was a commitment in the House by two different Health Ministers to a policy that residents over 65 years old would always have an escort approved for medical travel for treatment outside their community. Those commitments were, one from February 14, 2007, Hansard, then Minister of Health Floyd Roland stated, “Also, our policy is for seniors 65 and over, a medical escort is looked at. It’s not a matter of English or if they are able to move and so on. That’s one of our policies. At 65 it’s not a question, then, of the condition you are in when you are flown. Just to be clear and on the record, our policy is anybody over 65 does get an escort, under 65 it’s case by case and we work with the doctor. We do have that in place, we won’t be changing that at this point.”
Again, in March 6, 2009, Hansard, then Minister of Health Sandy Lee stated…
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
In March 6, 2009, Hansard, then Minister of Health Sandy Lee stated, “Our program also provides for non-medical escorts where a patient needs assistance for physical support or even mental support for those who are in particular situations. Anyone over 65 is eligible for even non-medical escorts and for interpretation.” Yet, the GNWT Medical Travel Policy makes no reference to this provision, and my constituent was denied funding for something approved by two ministerial statements. So just what weight does the Minister’s word carry?
I will have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services at the appropriate time. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Buying your first home, or buying a home in general, will no doubt be the most expensive purchase you make in your lifetime. Many of us use the services of a real estate agent or broker, but because of the uniqueness of the North, and sometimes the limited number of agents available, it would be deemed reasonable for buyers or sellers to often be confused of the role of the real estate agent.
Who does the agent represent, the buyer or the seller? In some cases the agent would represent both and this is what we call dual agency.
Our Real Estate Agents’ Licensing Act came into force in 1991 and it provides the basic governance for real estate agents in the Northwest Territories and, in my humble opinion, has not kept pace with the developments in real estate practices. In my analysis, this act does not contain some of the basic provisions found in real estate law in other jurisdictions that respond to increasing trends in real estate practice in Canada.
More importantly, the dealing of dual agency concerns and the protection of owners and sellers under the right of representation disclaimers is entirely missing from the act.
The issue of dual agency can be a problematic practice. That is, how can a real estate agent advise and negotiate two parties in the same deal? Or how can an agent have two masters? This is a valid conflict of interest situation for sure, yet the middle ground to finding resolve within this dilemma can be as simple as the consumer being fully informed, hence the representation disclaimer.
This simple fix within the legislation can allow both clients the understanding and the appreciation of what they might be losing and what they might be gaining by adopting a dual agency environment. In legal terms, dual agents should not operate in a fiduciary relationship with either party, and must treat both buyers and sellers equally. They cannot share confidential information and they must not give confidential advice.
It is evident that we need to look a bit more closely at the Real Estate Agents’ Licensing Act so that these potential risks that are created by gaps in legislation can be dealt with in this changing environment.
I will have questions later today for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs who is responsible for this act. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When I awoke this morning I was listening to the news, and something that caught my attention – and I heard the report three times – and that was the national report on the Aboriginal prison population that has jumped in the last 10 years. In the report it says that Aboriginals are 4 percent of the Canadian population but 23 percent of all inmates in the correctional facilities. That’s very alarming. It also mentioned that 25 percent of them are males, one-third are females and then when you get into some of the western Canadian facilities that number goes up, in some cases over 65 percent.
There’s a lot of variables that I was thinking about and some of the presentations and discussions, briefings we had this week, specifically with Skills Canada they talked about low literacy rates that add to these things. Mental health and addictions, which we’ve discussed and has been mentioned in the Anti-Poverty Strategy, socio-economic factors, low employment rates, family violence, poverty and homelessness all contribute to putting our people into jails, and we can’t forget, either, the residential school system and some of our mental disorders that some people in the Northwest Territories have to live with. That kind of goes to something that we’ve been pushing on the side and the Minister responsible for Justice has actually been working on, is the mental health courts. How many of these individuals go through the system but come back out and continue to go through the system, not getting the appropriate help that they need, or ones that go into the system don’t get the appropriate judicial requirements that might get them treatment rather than being institutionalized. Literacy rates all go into effect in terms of looking at filling out forms or applications and possibly not understanding the conditions in which they were paroled. In some cases, that was mentioned in the report as well, that some of the parole conditions some of the Aboriginal people get picked up for are very minor and get sent back to jail.
So some of these things need to be addressed and I’d like to find the strategy, and I’ve been reviewing the 10-year strategy for the Department of Justice and some of those things are mentioned. So I will have questions today for the Minister of Justice on how we can bring those rates down and help our people in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. The Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Equally, like my colleague Alfred Moses here, I too woke up this morning to the national news where they were piping out this story with a shocking, if not shameful, reality. One story clearly said that Aboriginal people are so vastly overrepresented in Canada’s federal prison system that current policies are clearly failing them. I could not agree more with that.
It went on to talk about the gaps in the corrections system, how it’s failing Aboriginal people. This is a shame. This should be a call to action, if not a simple marquis of this federal government to say let’s correct this, let’s set strategies to fix this problem once and for all.
As my colleague Mr. Moses had said, when you represent 4 percent of the national population, it’s almost a shame to hear that they’re proving the facts that they’re representing 23 percent of the federal prison population. Something is wrong. Something, clearly, is terribly wrong.
These alarming facts must be addressed. As a Member of this Assembly I also have a bit of an experience, if not a unique experience, I have a former experience of being a territorial employee who worked for the Department of Justice and I worked in the corrections system. I have witnessed these outlandish numbers of unfair balance whereas Aboriginal people truly are over-representing themselves in the corrections system. Again, this should be a shocking reality that this government wants to wake up to and say, what are we going to do. Perhaps this reality should motivate the Department of Justice to examine itself, its current practices and policies. Again, as a former corrections employee, I can tell you that at least 75 percent of the inmates there were all there because of things that were all driven by substance abuse that led them down that garden path into terrible circumstances. They became victims themselves, not just the victimizers of others, that were punished.
There are numerous options before us and they avail themselves through the courts, but there are more options out there than just punishment and punishment. What about treatment, treatment, treatment?
So I hope this McLeod government realizes, as they continue to cuddle up to the Conservatives, that, yes, there are many options out there besides crime and punishment that just inflicts further punishment. There are other options that are necessary due to certain circumstances. There are treatment options and there are poverty solutions. They are always a factor to the long-term solution. Don’t let us miss yet another opportunity to solve this problem.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Before we go on, colleagues, I would like to welcome Ms. Emma Ouellette, the daughter of our own Darrin Ouellette. Welcome to the House, Emma. Can you stand up? There you go. Welcome.
Today I forgot, and I apologize to my mother-in-law and father-in-law, it’s their 43rd wedding anniversary today. Congratulations to Fred and Edith Bourke on their wedding anniversary. Thank you, colleagues, for taking the time for that.
Item 4, reports of standing and special committees. Mr. Nadli.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Standing Committee on Government Operations is pleased to provide its Report on the Review of the 2011-2012 Northwest Territories Human Rights Commission Annual Report and commends it to the House.
The Standing Committee on Government Operations has concluded its review of the 2011-2012 Northwest Territories Human Rights Commission Annual Report. The standing committee would like to thank Mr. Charles Dent, chair of the Northwest Territories Human Rights Commission, and Ms. Deborah McLeod, director of Human Rights, who appeared before the committee on February 14, 2013. The committee also wishes to express its appreciation for the long service of the outgoing chair, Ms. Mary Pat Short, and the outgoing director, Ms. Therese Boullard.
Mary Pat Short of Fort Smith, Rita Mueller from Behchoko, Roger Wah-Shee from Yellowknife, Yacub Adam from Yellowknife, and William Turner from Yellowknife were members of the commission during the 2011-2012 fiscal year.
In 2011-2012 the director of Human Rights received 367 inquiries, 57 percent of which originated in Yellowknife. There were 38 new complaints of discrimination on the grounds prohibited under the NWT Human Rights Act. Approximately 71 percent of the new complaints alleged discrimination in their employment. Disability was with by far the highest number of complaints, 21, as it has been for the past seven years. The standing committee remains deeply concerned by the high number of complaints of discrimination on grounds of disability.
The Northwest Territories Human Rights Commission has done excellent promotional work to inform citizens of their rights and responsibilities. The standing committee is pleased that the commission representatives visited eight communities over the year, and that workshops and audio conferences were offered in regional centres as well as in Yellowknife.
Last year the committee encouraged the commission to maintain and expand its presence in social media. The commission included a Facebook ad in its promotional campaigns this year and saw an increase of visitors to its website as a result. However, Members learned during the hearing that the commission, which uses GNWT technology services, has no access to social media. The committee encourages the commission to discuss access to social media with the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly in order to pursue its educational promotional mandate.
During fiscal years 2010-2011 and 2011-2012, the Human Rights Commission initiated a pilot project in which it became a party to all complaints referred to hearings to the separate and independent Northwest Territories Human Rights Adjudication Panel. The purpose of the pilot project was to ease the burden on self-represented parties by ensuring, through legal representation of the commission, that all relevant information was before the adjudicator. During the pilot project the commission became party to 17 complaints.
The standing committee strongly agrees that the public interest is served by ensuring there is a balance between parties to a complaint. The commission’s revenue was reduced in 2011-2012 by $13,000 from the previous year while legal expenses rose to nearly $82,000 from about $29,000. Members believe that the commission should continue to have the opportunity to become a party to complaints referred for hearings and that it should be corporately funded for this purpose.
The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Board of Management provide sufficient additional funding for legal expenses on an ongoing basis to permit the Northwest Territories Human Rights Commission to continue becoming a party to all complaints referred to hearings before the Northwest Territories Human Rights Adjudication Panel.
When the NWT Human Rights Act came into force in 2004, it was considered to be the most modern and up to date legislation of its kind in Canada. During the year the commission chair expressed the view that a review of the act’s 10-year anniversary would be appropriate. The standing committee reviewed all of the annual reports of the Human Rights Commission, all committee reports, and all the government’s responses in considering whether there may now be a need for an overall review of the legislation.
The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Board of Management provide sufficient additional funding for the Human Rights Commission to review the NWT Human Rights Act in the context of current Canadian human rights legislation and Northwest Territories realities and make recommendations in its next annual report.
The standing committee strongly supports the Northwest Territories Human Rights Commission plans for continuing community visits and employee outreach in 2012-2013. The standing committee again urges the commission to visit as many communities as possible each year and to expand its workshop offerings to smaller communities as well as regional centres. Visits to Wekweeti, Norman Wells, Fort Good Hope, Colville Lake, Inuvik, Tsiigehtchic, Aklavik, Fort Smith and Hay River, in addition to Yellowknife, were planned for 2012-2013 fiscal year.
As planned in the fall of 2012, the commission launched its on-line social studies curriculum guide the Teacher’s Toolkit. The standing committee looks forward with interest to hear more about the reception and the use of this resource for northern teachers in future years. Members were also very pleased to hear about the commissions’ plans to research and gather anti-bullying resources for Northwest Territories teachers.
The Human Rights Commission also planned to partner with the NWT Disabilities Council in 2012 to offer an award for improved accessibility to physical premises. The award was presented as planned in June, to the Yellowknife branch of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. The committee commends both the recipient and the Human Rights Commission for this important initiative.
This is a year of transition for the Northwest Territories Human Rights Commission. The standing committee offers its thanks for the work of the past commissioners and staff for making the Northwest Territories a better place to live for all of our citizens. Members look forward to working with the present commission and staff in ensuring human rights are respected and promoted in the Northwest Territories.
The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the government provide a response to this report within 120 days.
That concludes the report of the Standing Committee on Government Operations on the Review of the Northwest Territories Human Rights Commission’s 2011-2012 Annual Report.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are a number of people in the gallery today that I would like to recognize. I will begin with some staff members that we have from DOT’s road licensing and safety division. We have Steve Loutitt, Megan Welch and Michael Conway. I’d also like to recognize Kelley Merilees-Keppel. I’m not sure if she was up there earlier or is behind me.
Also, I mentioned in my Minister’s statement the Students Against Drunk Driving. I’d like to recognize all the good work those students do. We have a number of them in attendance today and I’d like to recognize them. Shania Clark, Shania Tymchatyn, Alyssa Carswell, Jaida Brunett, Bronson Dolynny, Erin Pirker, Courtney King, Taylor McCarson, Kate Hall, Danielle Wendehorst, Emma Ouellette – and she was recognized earlier, hi, Emma – Tommy Jorge, Michael Cook and Mallory Beland. Once again, thank you all very much for all the work you do on combatting drinking and driving here in the Northwest Territories, and thank you very much for being with us this afternoon.
Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to introduce to and through you, again, on behalf of all of the Yellowknife MLAs here – the Minister of Transportation kindly went through all the names – but I’d like to point out I have my youngest son, Bronson Dolynny, in the House today here. He doesn’t normally come see dad work, so welcome to the House.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Ms. Bisaro
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to welcome to the House a new arts group, just a fledgling arts group. Arts Alliance NWT is here. They are a new group that is starting to get going. I don’t believe Brian Collins is here, but I’d like to recognize Brenda Crerar-Lowen, Gerda Hazenberg, Shawna Lampi-Legaree and Constantina Tsetso. Best of luck with your new organization.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize visitors in the gallery representing an array of arts groups affiliated with the NWT Arts Council. Weledeh constituent Constantina Tsetso is here representing the Yellowknife Choral Society. With her are Gerda Hazenberg with the Kole Crook Fiddle Society, Shawna Lampi-Legaree with the Yellowknife Watercolor Society, and Brenda Crerar-Lowen, as we’ve heard, president of Music NWT. These groups and others are cooperating to create a unified voice to support and broaden awareness of not only the benefits of participating in the creation of arts, but also the benefits of interacting with the arts. Please join me in welcoming them to the House.
I’d also like to join my colleagues in welcoming the Students Against Drunk Driving, especially, of course, our own Bronson and Emma. I believe they’re all from Sir John Franklin. Great to see them here.
