Even if it was not a specified program or something that’s already structured. I’m just asking the Minister, would it not make sense to have people that are in remote northern communities who are enduring stress and mood disorders on a frequent basis where they are often in crisis, if they had a professional contact of someone they’d already developed a relationship with to be able to get counselling over the phone, because we know we’re not going to have them in person in our communities?
It might be an interesting opportunity in the short term, but I think our priority needs to be to continue to staff the positions in the communities to make sure that people have somebody they can talk to face to face and eye to eye. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Final, short supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, in an ideal world we would have people with those specialized skills in every community, but at this time we do not. I think there are things we can do in the interim, because people are under duress and stress and when they are in that situation have no one to turn to, they self-medicate, they use drugs, they use alcohol, all kinds of things to escape those feelings that they have of extreme stress and I think we need to do more as a government. Thank you.
Yes, understood.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This House, in November, passed a motion and it was regarding missing and murdered Aboriginal women. That was passed on November 4th. It was a motion that I’m very appreciative that we had great support from this House. The reason I’m calling upon it today is I’m going to ask the Premier about the final clause in the motion. It reads as follows: And furthermore, that the Premier of the Northwest Territories transmit a copy of this motion to all of his provincial and territorial counterparts with a request for their consideration for support of a similar House motion.
My question for the Premier is: Has he had a chance to do that, and if he has, what type of feedback has he received from his provincial/territorial Premier-type colleagues? I’m curious on where the development of this initiative may have stepped forward and what journey it has taken. Thank you
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m pleased to say that all Premiers of all provinces and territories are very supportive of holding a roundtable on missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls and planning is well underway. The roundtable date is set at February 27, 2015. Thank you.
Now to the part about the motion being forwarded to all of his provincial and territorial Premier colleagues, waiting for that particular answer as to has he had a chance to forward it to them or speak to them about it and are we aware of any sort of initiatives being developed or considered. Thank you.
I always understood that holding a roundtable was the whole purpose of the motion. The Member is indicating that just conveying it to other provinces and territories was all that was required and I’ll confirm that it has gone forward and I’ll provide the Member with copies. Thank you.
There will be no necessity to read the whole motion, by all means, but this Assembly did fully support a national roundtable being led by our Premier. No change in my feelings on that at all. I don’t think anyone has changed their feelings on our support for the Premier on that aspect of the initiative, none whatsoever. The only aspect that I’m asking about is the final portion of the motion, which asks the Premier to transmit a copy of the motion to his provincial and territorial counterparts and request that they consider support with a similar type of motion in their House. That’s the aspect I’m curious about. If the Premier hasn’t had the chance to do that, that’s fine. I just would kind of like to get an update as to what he either has done or what he’s planning to do. Thank you.
Thank you. My office always acts immediately on motions that are passed in this House. So I’ll just have to go back. I’m pretty sure that the letters have gone out and I’ll go back and dig those letters out and provide copies to the Member. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don’t need copies of all the letters. I think if the Premier just sends a note and says he’s sent them all out I’ll take him at his word. He’s an honourable fellow.
Is the Premier aware of anyone proceeding in a similar manner? A couple of weeks ago, Premier Kathleen Wynne talked about her strong support for a national inquiry into missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls and the important issue is that other Premiers consider this an important issue. My question really is down to is he aware of any other provincial or territorial Legislative Assembly considering a similar motion to demonstrate their support to this cause that is very important. Thank you.
I’m not aware of any other Legislature that has passed this motion, but I’m sure that once we have the actual roundtable that the majority of them will do the same. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This morning I was listening to the news and listening particularly to the sports section. As I listened to the sports section of the news about Don Cherry’s remarks about people eating seal meat and the racist and derogatory words that he used. This is a national hockey personality on CBC and we’re trying to attract people to the Northwest Territories and half of our population is up above the Arctic Circle, people who live off the land and depend on the land, especially people who are around the Beaufort Sea.
Has the Premier given any thought with his colleagues to invite the CBC to ask for an official apology like the Premier from Nunavut has asked Don Cherry? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think the piece that the Member heard on the radio this morning shows that we have to be very vigilant in protecting our way of life. The fact that people in the Northwest Territories, and not only northern Canada but other places in Canada practice a way of life where they harvest animals and use it for food and clothing. So every opportunity we have to make sure people and the public are educated on these matters, we will do. I heard that the Environment Minister called for an apology, so we are prepared to do something similar. Thank you.
I’m not too sure if it’s a small percentage of the indication of southern people in Canada as to their views on Aboriginal people and our way of life. We’ve battled through the fur industry, the seal industry and now we know even in today’s world, 2015, we have a sports person of his magnitude with his views on Aboriginal people, especially people in the High Arctic.
So I want to ask again if the Premier can officially write a letter that’s required from our government to ask Mr. Cherry to apologize. We probably want our process to start educating people in that category to the way of life up in the Northwest Territories.
I heard part of what he said and he was referring to baby seals. Obviously, that’s not a big issue with baby seals up here. It’s a different way of harvesting, but it would probably be more effective.
Mr. Cherry, when he was asked about it, didn’t apologize. He just said that he was thinking out loud or something to that effect and it’s probably better if we wrote to the guys that pay his salary to complain about it. Every time he comes on, turn your TV off. Thank you.
---Laughter
Really good suggestion by the Premier. Every time Don Cherry gets on, turn the TV off for about 30 seconds or so. That sends a strong signal.
This is an indication of people in southern Canada, how they look possibly at the views of Aboriginal people, a small segment possibly of that, but it still tells you in today’s world of the educating of our way of life, why it sometimes doesn’t quite fit the southern mentality of how we live.
So, again, I would ask if the Premier would be able to look at the possibility of writing to the people who sign his paycheque, if he could look at issuing an apology to the people that he offended.
I’ll be in contact with others in the fur industry that we interact with and we’ll take appropriate action. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Item 8, written questions. Item 9, returns to written questions. Item 10, replies to opening address. Colleagues, I’m going to call a 15-minute recess.
---SHORT RECESS
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to thank the many fine folks we have working for our public service who have dedicated many hours of effort to bring forth our last budget of the 17th Legislative Assembly. Your hard work is definitely a reflection of the polished product we have before the House and it is important that this House respects this. So, thank you from all of us from the Assembly.
Sometimes we forget, and it is worth noting, the budget is not just an expression of numbers but an expression of our values and unique culture, a culture that everyone in this room cherishes and holds true. For the past few days, many of my colleagues have offered their initial observations to the budget and the opening address of our Minister of Finance. It is clear, even in these early days, there are obstacles before us, there are doubters among us, there will be mistakes uncovered, but I am confident, when the dust settles, there is no limit to what we can achieve if we work together.
So for today, when addressing the budget address at a high level, I believe simplicity is the key. Keeping this theme in mind, I decided that it is only right that I identify the top 10 highlights that describe the last budget of the 17th Legislative Assembly and how historians may judge us. With that, here are those top 10 highlights from the office of Range Lake.
10.
If one is approaching the fiscal edge of a cliff, check for flat tires.
9.
Don’t tell me; show me you can handle more debt.
8.
A plan or strategy without an investment is merely a fairy tale, so please stop with the perpetual planning and frameworks of inaction.
7.
Our number one control of expenses is wage dollars, then right size, not downsize, your GNWT workforce.
6.
The plan was devolution then evolution. So what is the plan when there is a revolution?
5.
If one says we need to make sure our expenditures grow in line with our revenues, please check your math, because four-to-one is not one-to-one unless you are the graduate of our ECE Discover Math Program.
4.
If we borrow, we must repay. Then please specify who is co-signing your credit card application forms when you leave.
3.
If we rolled up 5,000 kilometres of red tape 310 days ago, then why the spray painted ‘F’ on our 2015 report card? You can table your response in the House when completing the following 12 department questionnaires.
2.
We have the only Finance Minister in Canada that can crosshair caribou herd management and people management with the same “ready, aim, fire” trigger analogy.
1.
The number one highlight that describes the last budget of the 17th Legislative Assembly, the Finance Minister is always quick to count the days we have left. We say, just don’t count the days, be a good Minister and make them count.
Mr. Speaker and colleagues, thanks for allowing me to bring my top 10 list today before the House. It is utterly important that we start to make sure that the taxpayer is getting value for their budget dollar. We owe them no less. The world is living in economic fear and the North is not immune. We need to break the cycle of fear for our residents and businesses, and this can only be achieved with calculated vision and good economic medicine.
Now, Mr. Speaker, through you, I turn my attention to the Minister of Finance and, in the spirit of Mr. DiCaprio, I say, Mr. Minister, sell me this budget. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that Bill 44, An Act to Amend the Hospital Insurance and Health and Social Services Administration Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Bill 44 has had first reading.
---Carried
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife South, that Bill 43, An Act to Amend the Borrowing Authorization Act, be read for the second time.
Mr. Speaker, this bill increases the amounts that may be borrowed by the Commissioner to ensure the Consolidated Revenue Fund is sufficient to meet lawful disbursements. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The motion is in order. To the principle of the bill.
Question.
Question has been called. Bill 43 has had second reading and is referred to a standing committee.
---Carried
I would like to call Committee of the Whole to order. What is the wish of committee today? Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Madam Chair. We would like to continue with consideration of Tabled Document 188-17(5). We would like consider and conclude general comments and then get on to the departments of Human Resources and Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations, time permitting. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Agreed. We will resume with general comments on the whole budget. Oh, I’m sorry. Mr. Miltenberger would you like to bring the witnesses into the Chamber?
Yes, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Agreed. I will ask the Sergeant-at-Arms to please escort the witnesses to the table.
Mr. Miltenberger, for the record, would you please introduce your witness.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I have with me today Mr. Mike Aumond, deputy minister of Finance.
