Mr. Speaker, the Department of Justice is committed to this Assembly’s goals of healthy, educated people and vibrant, safe communities. We contribute to achieving these goals by offering a range of programs and services that give individuals the tools and support they need to address the challenges and poor choices that often result in criminal charges and incarceration. As with any organization, we are always looking for ways, big and small, to improve our programs and services to better help people make healthy choices. Given that commitment, we welcome the report and recommendations of the Auditor General tabled in this House last week.
This performance audit provides us with valuable feedback on our programs and services, many of which are consistent with our own recent observations and the continuing evolution of corrections across Canada. I have accepted all of the recommendations in the Auditor General’s report. I can assure everyone we will address the issues raised. The OAG recommendations allow us to refine and focus our ongoing work to modernize and continue to improve support for inmates and to ensure public safety.
Earlier this session I spoke about the Performance Assurance and Accountability Framework the department is advancing. This framework will be fully implemented by 2016 and will address how we support our staff as they carry out their duties. It will address the ethics and values they bring to their work, inject accountability into the processes in our
system, and allow us to apply policies and directives efficiently and effectively using best correctional practices.
We have a strong commitment to do whatever we can to prepare those who enter Northwest Territories correctional facilities to come back to live in our communities. We believe that people want to live full and productive lives and we will fulfill our role to offer every opportunity for that to happen. We also know we cannot support change by ourselves. It takes the support of you as leaders, our communities and many other service providers.
One of the reasons we work so hard to keep NWT residents here in the North is so they can get support from their families, their communities and ourselves as they work to change their lives. Keeping inmates in the NWT means they can continue to access cultural land activities, traditional and elder counsellors, healing and spiritual ceremonies that are effective and speak to the healing that NWT residents need to advance their rehabilitation.
I look forward to discussing the Auditor General’s report and the work that we are doing in corrections in more detail with the Standing Committee on Government Operations during the hearings in May.
Corrections is only one part of the equation, Mr. Speaker. Helping people make better choices that keep them out of trouble with the law is another critical aspect of our work. I would like to tell Members today about some of the other actions the department is taking to find solutions for our residents besides entering a correctional facility.
As Members know, the Wellness Court began sitting in Yellowknife last year, with the support of partners in the Public Prosecution Service and the judiciary. This alternative court focuses on the offender rather than the offence. It addresses people’s underlying issues, such as drug and alcohol addiction, mental illness and cognitive challenges. Through this program, individuals receive help to address their specific needs in the community rather than in a correctional environment.
The first sitting of the Wellness Court occurred on October 2, 2014, and it continues to sit every second Thursday. As of late February there are five people participating in the program and 13 individuals have been referred. The department continues to refine the program with the judiciary as well as with other GNWT departments and community stakeholders.
I also want Members to know of a new development with another specialized court, the Domestic Violence Treatment Court. The eight-week program to support this court has been running in Yellowknife since 2011. It provides low-risk offenders who have accepted responsibility for their actions peaceful alternatives to violence in their domestic relationships. Training sessions for staff are scheduled to start this month, and by the end of April, this valuable program will be offered to residents of Hay River, the K’atlodeeche First Nation and Enterprise.
Members will also want to know that we have established an agreement with the Tree of Peace Friendship Centre in Yellowknife to once again provide a healing program for men who use violence in their intimate relationships. A New Day healing program is a part of larger system of accountability and safety to provide men with an alternative way of behaving with their partners and children. It was developed specifically for NWT residents with input and support from the Coalition Against Family Violence. To date, we have 12 clients who are attending individualized counselling sessions and 20 men who have been referred to the program.
Mr. Speaker, I remain committed to supporting the people of this territory and ensuring the Department of Justice is providing the best programs and services possible, delivered by our dedicated and professional staff. This recent report of the Auditor General was timely and will help further focus the work we were already doing to improve our offerings. We are confident this work will be done and I look forward to providing updates to Members as we proceed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, like my good colleague Mr. Ramsay, am happy to be back to work as well. I’m losing time on the clock, so I’d better get going.
The overreaching goal of the Conference Board of Canada is to benchmark the quality of life in Canada relative to its 15 peer countries. Most people agree that without good health care, quality of life is severely compromised. On February 12th of this year, the Conference Board of Canada published results on the status of Canadians and their health with their 15 peer countries.
The report is known as How Canada Performs and zeroes in on key health care indicators, and the results are compared across Canada’s provinces and territories as well as other countries such as, for example, the United States, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, Japan and Australia. The Conference Board is not intending to rank Canada’s health care, although the health care system has an impact on population health. The goal of the report is to evaluate health care status of Canadians and its peer countries.
The report tracks many indicators such as life expectancy, premature mortality, infant mortality, self-reported health status, mortality due to cancer, heart disease, respiratory disease, diabetes and suicides.
Overall, Canada earned a B grade on the health care report card, ranking eighth amongst these 16 peer countries. While the overall B grade is good, there is definitely room for improvement. Unfortunately, the Northwest Territories has some of the worst health care outcomes in Canada.
Four jurisdictions in Canada, the three territories plus Newfoundland and Labrador, received the lowest grade of D minus. In fact, the territories scored worst of all compared to other jurisdictions in Canada and the 15 peer countries. Poor health care outcomes among Aboriginal people may be affecting the overall results in the North because of our high population of Aboriginal people.
The Northwest Territories received a D minus in four indicators, ranking worse than the poorest performing peer countries on life expectancy, premature mortality, infant mortality and mortality due to cancer. The NWT also performed poorly on mortality due to respiratory disease, ranking third from the bottom and scoring a D. We only received a C grade when it came to suicide mortality and heart disease and stroke.
There is much more to talk about, but I will have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services about this terrible, if not dismal report on the state of health care in the Northwest Territories and what we are going to do about it. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In 1993 the Government of the Northwest Territories established the NWT Payroll Tax at 1 percent. In 2005 we upped that percentage to 2 percent. Currently our government collects $42.7 million in payroll tax.
This tax was originally created to tax everybody who worked in the Northwest Territories and then rebate the residents of the Northwest Territories their 2 percent. Since that time, the GNWT has begun to keep that tax from some of the higher paid individuals, higher income earners. We are collecting taxes from out of province, but now were taxing our residents.
In this time that we talk about cost of living, this is a factor. This is a major factor. We’re not talking about exorbitant amounts of people; we’re talking about people who make a certain amount of money who get their money back. That number of people is getting less and less. The average earner in the Northwest Territories now gets taxed that 2 percent and doesn’t get the rebate back.
We need to improve this. This needs to be changed. We’ve had lots of people talk about the fly-in/fly-out workers and that we need to increase this payroll tax to 5 percent and give the payroll tax back to the residents of the Northwest Territories so that they can invest back into the Northwest Territories and help their cost of living in the Northwest Territories.
Mr. Speaker, we need this government to give the residents of the Northwest Territories a break, a tax break. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the end of this sitting nears, we are only six to eight months away from a territorial election and with it an opportunity for concerned citizens to take a leadership role in the governance of our people, lands and resources. We have all heard criticisms, frustrations and suggestions from residents and constituents. Now is the time for individuals to consider stepping forward to provide leadership and to put their ideas into action.
As John Todd, an alumnus of this House, was fond of saying, “If you don’t like the government policies, get elected.” Politics is not a career choice; it’s a calling, a vocation. It’s an opportunity to participate in setting standards for government services.
The Legislature used to travel throughout the NWT for session, setting up shop in school gymnasiums and community halls, bringing government to the people where they lived. With the birth of this amazing building, we no longer do this, but outreach remains an essential part of our work to attract people to the political process and give them the skills to succeed.
Democracy depends on a cross-section of our society’s voices being heard. Looking around the House today, I see an uneven ratio of men and women in this Chamber. Women make up to 50 percent of our population, and as Premier McLeod says, we need more female political leaders to participate in our democratic process. Their perspective adds benefit to our governance and they must be encouraged to use their voices. Supports exist with the Status of Women, who recently hosted a well-attended forum for women interested in running for political office, and some unions provide courses on campaigning. Such supports need expansion and enhancement.
Today’s newspaper has an article highlighting a visit to the Legislative Assembly by high school students from Wekweeti and the inspiration they drew from it to enter politics. More opportunities to interact with politicians and school programs specifically aimed at encouraging political involvement are needed. I encourage families to have dinner conversations on political leadership and democracy.
Finally, I and, I’m sure, my colleagues are approachable and willing to discuss the experience of being a Member of the Legislative Assembly. We need experienced, thoughtful, dedicated, diverse and representative leadership to take our territory forward on a sound, evidence-based foundation. I encourage residents to give serious consideration to running in the upcoming territorial election this fall. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. How many times do we need to hear Ministers say, “Our staff are our most valuable resource,” or better yet, “We are committed to health and safety,” or finally, “We are developing a robust Occupational Health and Safety Program that meets legislative requirements”?
Every one of our Ministers at one time or another spews these paid political announcements about as freely as the falling snow. Yet the courts have clearly told us our failure of the safety promise. Territorial Supreme Court judge Garth Malakoe on Action 2013-000272 said, “The ultimate goal of workers safety legislation is to create a culture of safety within the organization. Those organizations which incorporate such a culture will avoid breaches of such legislation and the accompanying monetary penalty.”
This was read in just as the GNWT pleaded guilty – and I repeat guilty – of failing to live up to our obligation as a principal contractor. This guilty plea cost the taxpayers a severe fine and, of course, unnecessary injury to an NWT worker.
When the GNWT doesn’t respect our own laws, how can industry be expected to abide by the same laws? Clearly, the GNWT owes no less than for us to be held to a higher standard than that of industry.
This lack of a heightened responsibility took a different twist on Friday, March 6, 2015, in the House during Committee of the Whole when the Public Works and Services Minister was asked by the Member for Range Lake about the lack of a contractor management system in our shared procurement service model. When asked why basic safety procurement is not used, the reply is, “We would be eliminating the majority of our contractors in the small communities.”
I couldn’t believe my ears it was such a bold statement. Would we really be, as the Minister indicated in his words, leaving people out in the cold, or was this just a means to deflect responsibility and the apparent laziness of the department?
The Safety Act and its regulations are deemed the law that governs the safety and well-being of all Northerners. Again, the courts have reminded us of this, and with the multiple court cases still pending, one would think this wake-up call would resonate at our highest leadership.
Mr. Speaker, I am appalled and dismayed that a Minister would even hint that a responsibility would be excused on the deceptive pitfall of a small community punch line.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
I know that many small community businesses agree with me and are feverishly working on the right path to a safety culture. They want to have contracts. They work very hard to meet the demands of a more robust safety environment, and they want to compete at a territorial and a national level. Clearly, we owe them the respect of having more clairvoyance on our own government. But more importantly, the GNWT owes all businesses and the workers of the NWT a real safety culture that lives up to the rigour of best practice that is in tune with the rest of Canada and one that is not still living in the 1980s. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to speak on a very successful program that this government has initiated over the last few years and that’s the NWT Youth Ambassador Program.
For those who don’t really know about the program, it’s just a guided and structural volunteer experience for NWT youth that provides the opportunity to develop significant life and job skills. Two programs that they’ve developed – and I believe the second one came out after running the first program successfully – is, first of all, just the Youth Ambassador Program. But what I’ve seen that was more evident – over this past weekend I went and checked out some of the training with the Minister and looked at our youth ambassadors getting prepared for this summer’s Pan Am Games and Parapan Am Games – was the Youth Ambassador mentorship program, where our youth ambassadors who have gone through the program are actually mentors and actually instructing and leading this program now. So, we are getting young leaders teaching young leaders on all these great life and job skills, and how to go out and promote the Northwest Territories and all that the NWT has to offer, be great ambassadors, but also show our culture and our traditions and the great hospitality that Northerners do have.
Last night I was at the Traditional Games component in Inuvik, and it was great watching the youth ambassadors helping their peers develop and understand some of these cultural games. These are just young leaders, as I said, promoting our culture and our traditions to other Northerners and also people across Canada as they participate in many, many events: NWT Days, for one; the royal visit, Olympics. This summer they’ll be at the Pan Am Games and the Parapan Am Games, as I mentioned.
One thing that was brought to my attention is where are the youth ambassadors who initially started this up? We hear things that they’re counsellors, they’re community leaders, they’re professionals now who have gone through education and volunteering. It was really great to see some of these youth who I, in my previous job, worked with and seeing them take it to an extra level.
We have a lot of youth in the NWT who excel in arts, sports, academics, hunting, trapping. This program takes it one step further. It takes all of their strong characteristics and helps build the life skills that they need to succeed in life.
I will have questions for the Minister later on today.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. The Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The negotiations process is a path that is taken when the parties believe they can make an agreement. My hope is that the Government of the Northwest Territories and the Dehcho First Nations still believe they can work together.
Recently, the GNWT made an offer to the Dehcho First Nations in its efforts to move negotiations forward. However, as well intended the offer is, accusations of a “take it or leave it approach “and terse name calling has taken an unfortunate turn rather than examining the full merits of the offer and contemplating a counter offer.
It is my belief that the negotiations process is about working out issues and arriving at a common point of mutual interests. Before abandoning the negotiations, all options should be explored in the best interests of moving negotiations forward.
I will have questions for the Minister of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations later when I am given the opportunity.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
Good afternoon, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to support the Dehcho First Nations’ aspirations for a settled claim and a fair and reasonable deal. The talks have indeed stalled and I hope not staled. There must be a way to sit down and find common ground once again.
Our government, Canada and the Dehcho First Nations has spent over 30 years of hard work on negotiations. It will be a shame not to evaluate the situation and to find a political solution.
Our Premier is an excellent negotiator and strong administrator. He will be remembered as the Premier that brought devolution home. I hope he can use that same strength to negotiate a land deal with the Dehcho First Nations, and I believe we are about 15 percent apart.
Mediation, while never popular, must be considered in this situation. Once again, we need the common ground, not a wedge that is driving us apart.
I will have questions for the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs during question period.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This week in the Assembly I will focus on economic and sustainable development in the Sahtu. In the North in all our regions we are rich with renewable resources, also with non-renewable resources and with our people, our own people. We will continue to recognize our people with their awesome creativity.
If you ask for a comprehensive assessment of all the data on the potential of the great wealth with our renewable resources, it will be incredible. As an example, look at our good trappers and all the well-sought-after Mackenzie Valley furs, or the ever-empowering Great Bear River hydro.
Our non-renewable resources are in the billions, and that is still yet to be tapped. We can be energy independent. We have beautiful works of our designers, makers and shakers in the world of artists. In the olden days our fancy clothing was done because our mothers and sisters and aunties and grandmothers wanted us to dress up well and demonstrate that the makers were well taught and, more importantly, took the teachings of their elders seriously.
Today our way of life is now promoted as these designs are to be fashionable to wear, and we appreciate all people. We have good taste in Aboriginal art. For example, I say to this government, let’s look at an international beading conference in the North in, let’s say, Deline. Let’s bring the world to the North through beading. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, the day after International Women’s Day, many, many women are still far from equal with men. Here in Canada some women are achieving their dreams, but many are not and this is particularly true for non-white Canadian women. There have been some advances recently and today I want to highlight one.
This past January our government joined eight other provinces and territories when it announced changes to our securities rules. Following the lead of Canadian securities regulators, we’ve adopted voluntary disclosure rules for publicly traded companies. They will now be required to report on their strategies to recruit more women to their boards and senior management. They’ll be required to disclose the following: the number of women on the board and in executive officer positions; policies regarding the representation of women on the board; targets related to the representation of women on the board and in executive officer positions; any consideration of the representation of women in the director identification and selection process; and any consideration of the representation of women in executive officer positions when making executive officer appointments.
Rather than imposing quotas, which some women see as tokenism and which businesses often view as interference, this “comply or explain” approach is designed to increase pressure by government, investors, media and the public on big firms to make them take steps towards gender equality. A company is not required to have any particular gender diversity policies, practices or targets in place as part of its corporate governance practices, but if it does not it must disclose why it has not done so.
The voluntary disclosure approach contradicts a recent action by Germany. They just passed a law which requires that 30 percent of a company’s director seats be given to women, but a recent study from the United Kingdom states, “voluntary targets are the way forward,” and that “legislating to ensure that a certain number of women are appointed to board positions will not solve the underlying reasons for failures in the boardroom gender diversity.”
So how is the North doing in this area? Well, not well. In 2013 in the three territories, an inventory of northern co-management boards identified a total of 34 boards with a total of 210 members. One hundred seventy-six, 84 percent, were males and 34, 16 percent, were females.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
Nine boards were composed exclusively of men and 18 boards had only a single female representative. The land and resource management regimes created through the settlement of our comprehensive land claims have given Aboriginal governments equitable representation and co-management, but have not promoted gender equity and board membership.
A strong case can be made for regulators and government nudging corporations and boards towards greater diversity at the highest levels. There’s ample evidence that companies and boards with women in decision-making positions are more profitable, better governed, more internationally competitive and more responsive to financial crises. In fact, the data suggests the more women, the better the performance. Recent studies in the United States have shown women perform better than men when forced to make decisions under stressful situations. In fact, one study showed that when the stress level was higher, men took greater risks compared to the routes women chose.
I truly appreciated the support from my colleagues on Friday for women and International Women’s Day, but without more women in decision-making positions we are only paying lip service to women’s equality. Thank you.
Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to recognize a good friend of mine. He’s a true Tu Nedhe resident, Tony Buggins. Tony was born in Reliance and was raised in Fort Resolution. Tony is a long-term Chipewyan radio broadcaster, musician and interpreter/translator. So, I’d like to welcome Tony to the House today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize a Page who’s a resident of Weledeh, Linnea Stephenson. I’d like to thank her for all her service to the House the past couple weeks, and also Jacob Schubert, who I don’t know whether he’s working today or not, but thanks to all of our Pages. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Welcome, Mr. Buggins, to the gallery. Thank you for taking an interest in our proceedings here today.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I want to honour Mrs. Judy Lafferty of Fort Good Hope, who was chosen as the Sahtu recipient at the annual Wise Woman Awards yesterday.
Mrs. Lafferty is a traditional woman who has many skills. Her beadwork is remarkable. Her ability to prepare meat and make dry fish is impeccable, and her care in raising a family is priceless.
Mr. Speaker, Mrs. Lafferty has always mentioned that her learning came from her late mother, Mrs. Mary Barnaby, who is no stranger to the Sahtu region.
On behalf of the Sahtu, congratulations to Mrs. Lafferty and the other well-deserved recipients of the Wise Woman Awards. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question today is for the Minister of ITI. I want to ask the Minister of ITI, has his department been investigating or looking at a concept where international beading or design-making or makers come together in the North to share their experience with other designers around the world?
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Not to my knowledge, I don’t believe that’s happened yet. I know the department has initiated some jewellery workshops across the territory, and we’re looking forward to doing more things like that.
The issue with beading and, of course, the beadwork here in the Northwest Territories is it’s probably some of the best in the world. If the Member has somebody in one of his communities in the Sahtu who’s interested in trying to put a program like that together, that’s something that we’d be interested in hearing about and helping support. Thank you.
People in the North are the best source as bead makers and Members around the Assembly here certainly demonstrate the fine work that our people have done in the Northwest Territories.
I would like to ask the Minister if he would maybe instruct his staff to look in the North and see if we could somehow formulate a discussion around having an international forum on beading and making vests or making jackets, right across. It would bring our people together with other international groups so that we could demonstrate our high quality of professionals.
Yes, I can ask the staff at ITI about the concept. The other thing I’ll mention to the Member, if he has someone who can spearhead putting together a proposal, a plan at the community level and advancing that to the regional office in Norman Wells, then we can take things from there. But I will commit to go back to the department and ask them their thoughts on this issue. Thank you.
Has the department initiated some policies or regulations to protect our…(inaudible)…from any type of abuse or any type of stealing of our designs or our beadwork?
That’s something I’ll have to go back to the department and ask them about. I’m not aware of any patents or copyrights on anything like that. That’s not to say that it may be worth something the department wants to look at, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.
