Mr. Speaker, the students have been saying this for years. The instructors at the college have been saying this for years. What will it take from the Minister to finally break through and realize how important this particular option and opportunity is? I’m willing to go get a survey. Does he want 100 names on a petition? Does he want 1,000 names? You tell us what we’ll do and we’ll help him do his job. That’s all I want. Frankly, what does the Minister need from us to help him realize how important this degree program is and we’ll go out and do it. Maybe he can tell us what will make the difference.
Mahsi. The program that we’re currently delivering, the Social Work Diploma Program, is working effectively and efficiently. We’re graduating students. Beyond that they’re going to southern institutions to get their degree programming and then they’re moving back to the North to work for us. We have internship programs where we’ve hired all these students as well.
So, it is a very successful diploma program. We’re doing really well with our college programming. There’s always room for improvement. This is an area that we are currently exploring. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short… No, you you’ve already had your questions, Mr. Hawkins. Nice try.
---Laughter
The Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a few questions for the Minister of Transportation. Earlier this session I did a statement on the need for funds to install a bridge at Willow River.
As we speak, the community is doing a gravel haul up to Willow River. It’s a perfect opportunity to put this bridge in place. Over the last couple of weeks we’ve had a chinook up in my riding and with this warm weather we’re expecting an early spring, so this work needs to be done before April.
Will the Minister work with the community to ensure that we can spend these funds before April and invoice later? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Blake. The Minister of Transportation, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are working with the community from our regional office in Inuvik. Our superintendent has had contact with the community that’s going to be installing the bridge, hauling the bridge from Inuvik and I think another piece of the bridge from the South. Also, this concept of them spending the money now and then requesting that it be preapproved from the following season is something that we’re looking at seriously. We have a budget now, one to do the entire bridge from them and then one for work that is immediate. So it looks very reasonable from what I can see and we’re moving forward on that. Thank you.
Thank you. That’s great news and I look forward to this bridge being hauled into Aklavik and later to the work site.
With these funds, the community can start putting this bridge in place, and also I mentioned they were doing a gravel haul. At this time of year, the departments usually are on a spending frenzy here.
Will the Minister work with his department to ensure that they stockpile gravel in the community of Aklavik in order to fuel projects this summer? Thank you.
The gravel is something we have worked on every year. I think last year we were okay. We had a bit of a surplus of gravel. If the gravel sources are down, then, we do have a granular program. I think probably the community has one and we would do one with the Department of Transportation as well. So we will continue to do that. We will also agree with the latest numbers that we have they’re reasonable and the DOT will reimburse the community if they spend the money to haul the bridge in from Inuvik and also from Nelson, I believe, because there’s still one piece of the bridge down there. Thank you.
We have just over a month of time to do this work. That’s not a lot of time, especially with the warm weather coming closer. As I mentioned, Housing actually is stockpiling gravel in the community, but the contractor is not planning to put this road in place due to the cost of the next couple of years. So I strongly encourage the Minister and the department to ensure that they stockpile enough for the next couple of years here. They will be making the road up to the bridge site, but it’s not planned up to the gravel source. Thank you.
We’re getting into the funding of this road because we’re hoping that the road is completed all the way to the gravel source. So we’ll continue to work with the community and fund what we can on the road annually. We have a limited amount of funds and we have quite a number of projects throughout the North under accessing this Access Road Program, but on this road here we’ve begun to fund it. We’re looking at it. The community is starting to see that we’re serious about getting that bridge in and start building the road to the gravel source at Willow River. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday I raised some questions in terms of the Dehcho Process negotiations. We seem to be at an important juncture between the negotiations with the federal government, GNWT and the DFN. What’s at stake is the fundamental divide seems to be getting greater daily, and yesterday the Minister of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations stated that the GNWT never left the table.
So I want to ask a question to the Minister of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations whether he can clarify whether his officials have cancelled negotiation sessions with the Dehcho First Nations or not. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The honourable Premier, Premier McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Dehcho First Nations has written, through legal counsel, to inform the Government of the Northwest Territories and Canada that the Dehcho First Nations is pursuing litigation against both governments. The correspondence accuses the Government of the Northwest Territories of negotiating in bad faith. The Government of the Northwest Territories does not negotiate in bad faith. The Government of the Northwest Territories understands that it is not bad faith to have officials work collaboratively for almost two years exploring creative solutions to land questions. It is not bad faith for a party to negotiate to offer the best land quantum deal ever offered in the Northwest Territories. It is not bad faith to honestly communicate that extent of flexibility and it is certainly not bad faith for a party to negotiations to acknowledge that the parties may be too far apart to warrant continuing negotiations.
The correspondence also accuses the Government of the Northwest Territories and Canada of breaching our duty to consult, which is baffling. No particulars of this have been provided. The GNWT takes its duties very seriously and we have been very open and transparent. I can’t imagine any basis for these claims.
While raising litigation may be an ill-advised negotiation tactic, we must take it seriously even if we see no merit to it. If this is simply a tactic, this is certainly not helpful. I believe respect is built on honest and frank discussions. Making baseless accusations and threats of litigation is not how you build relationships and move forward.
Thank you. The initial settlement boundary or the territory of the Dehcho First Nations is about 210,000 square kilometres, which is the southwestern part of the NWT. The negotiations between the federal government and Dehcho First Nations was bilateral for the longest time and the GNWT became a party to those negotiations recently. Now it’s a negotiations process that involves the federal government, the GNWT and the Dehcho First Nations.
Could the Minister of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs explain how he understands that, one, the federal offer to the Dehcho First Nations was a land quantum of 39,336 square kilometres and, two, that the GNWT offer of 37,500 square kilometres is more than the federal offer? Mahsi.
Certainly, Mr. Speaker, it is unfortunate that this type of behaviour from the Dehcho negotiators is not new. At this point it is getting even more difficult to see a path forward through negotiations.
To answer the Member’s questions, all you have to do is do the math. The federal government offered 39,000. That’s when the Dehcho included the Acho Dene Koe, the Fort Liard Metis Nation and the K’atlodeeche First Nation. So when you subtract those numbers, you come to 33,448 and we have offered 37,500 square kilometres of land, so it’s a substantial increase. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Previous efforts to bridge the gap. Right now the gap is getting wider as our discussions take place, or lack of discussions on the fundamental differences in terms of the jurisdiction, the ownership and also the sovereignty of the Dehcho First Nations asserted territory.
Previous efforts were to mandate a federal ministerial envoy to help facilitate that gap between the Dehcho First Nations and the federal government.
Does the Minister agree to a mediator as an option to help facilitate getting beyond the current impasse? Mahsi.
Today in the Deh Cho Drum, the grand chief is quoted as saying, “I’ve been in this business for a long time. Any time the Dehcho has taken these kind of extreme actions, we always come out ahead.” Extreme positions are not helpful or productive. All of this is unfortunate, and the people that are losing out because of this are the people of the Deh Cho.
The Dehcho Framework Agreement provides facilitation may be requested should the parties come to an impasse. We have, of course, been working on the impasse related to land for a long time. While facilitation might be an option to consider, it is not something that can be realistically entertained while one party is accusing the other of bad faith and stating that it intends to litigate. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Nadli.
Thank you. I’m going to be very brief. Can the Minister, once again, clarify whether the GNWT officials have suspended negotiations? Yes or no. Thank you.
As I said yesterday, we have not walked away from any meetings. We have not suspended anything. We have asked for a response to a very generous offer, the best offer this government has made in the Northwest Territories. We have increased the Government of Canada’s offer from 33,448 to 37,500, and as I said, there is a main table that’s there. That involves the Government of Canada, the Government of the Northwest Territories and Dehcho First Nation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My example of the plow truck is only one of many that I could bring up in this House. My next question is for the Minister of ITI responsible for BIP manufacturing and BIP.
My question is: With communication that we’ve had before these tenders for the plow truck went out, about the concern, about the value-added in the Northwest Territories, how can the Department of ITI improve this system? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We can improve the system by working with the manufacturers here in the Northwest Territories. I mentioned earlier, we were in Hay River recently, and just last week we had another meeting here in Yellowknife. We have to enable manufacturers to know what the process is to get items registered so that they can be included as items that are manufactured in the North, and we fully intend on continuing to work with manufacturers here in the Northwest Territories so that situations like the Member outlined for us earlier don’t happen again. Thank you.
I guess my frustration with this process is five days after the Department of ITI and several departments came to Hay River a tender was issued for the manufacturing of fire pits and it had to meet a southern manufacturer’s standard. Why couldn’t those fire pits be manufactured in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.
I want to thank the Member for his intervention in that, and I believe those are being manufactured in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.
As I indicated, there are many examples. I’m just wondering what the Department of ITI is doing to collaborate with all the departments to buy products and services to make sure that we’re supporting northern manufacturers?
We’re doing what we can and working with the other departments. PWS, Transportation and a number of other folks were involved in the meetings we had both in Hay River and here in Yellowknife. There is also now a Northern Manufacturing Association that’s going to be developed. They’re going to prove to be a single voice for manufacturers here in the Northwest Territories, and we believe that’s going to be a good conduit to working with government to ensure that products that are manufactured here in the Northwest Territories are purchased by our government here in the Northwest Territories, benefitting the economy here in the NWT. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bouchard.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m wondering if the Minister can indicate to me who in his department will be watching to make sure that departments are not tendering out for manufactured items, and making sure that items that can be built in the North will be built in the North. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
That would be at the highest level: assistant deputy minister, deputy minister. They would be the ones I would count on in ensuring we are following policy, that goods that are manufactured here in the Northwest Territories are on the list and that we are continuing to work with manufacturers here in the NWT. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for Minister Miltenberger, ENR, and I’d like to speak about the northern tools. The Minister has stated that the NWT Wildlife Act, the Territorial Parks Act and the Lands Act could be used to protect special areas of the NWT as northern tools, including Thaidene Nene. More specifically, the Minister has stated that Thaidene Nene will likely be protected through a combination of national park legislation and northern tools. This was in Hansard on February 19th. On public lands in the NWT, it’s important that all members of the public are meaningfully engaged in decisions about land use that impact their future.
My first question is: Given the current lack of transparency on what these northern tools actually are, can the Minister provide assurance that the public will be consulted on the exact nature of northern tools, some of which are in federal legislation, devolution legislation that we’ve mirrored without any review by the public, for protection and conservation of NWT lands? Mahsi.
Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When we are a little further down the road with the negotiations and have a much clearer idea of what exactly is going to be considered, the answer would be absolutely yes.
I assume that would be before those tools would be actually applied, so that there was understanding on the basis of…so the public could have real input there.
My second question: Can the Minister provide assurance that there will be a full and early consultation with the public about the concept of Thaidene Nene? Mahsi.
It’s our intent to have a public process and it’s our intent, as we indicated in committee, to structure a process similar to the stakeholders Wildlife Act Advisory Group that was put in place for the work done on the Wildlife Act. Thank you.
I appreciate the Minister’s comments there. I know the Minister is well aware that this is the biggest used recreational area in the Northwest Territories, tens of millions of dollars every year poured into the recreation in that area.
Can the Minister confirm that northern tools will provide for the permanent legislated protection of the surface and subsurface of NWT parks, meeting international and national standards for protected areas? Mahsi.
I can assure the Member and the folks who are listening that we’re going to come up with a plan that balances out our interests with those of Lutselk’e for the small federal footprint. We have some northern tools that the Member is articulating in this House that could be used; some will need to be amended. The ability for permanent withdrawals is not clearly stated in some of the legislation. But as we work towards the final determination of the configuration of what is going to be in place in the Thaidene Nene area with the federal footprint and whatever complement of northern tools are decided on, those factors will be looked at very carefully. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know there are multiple examples of parks in the Northwest Territories that allow the use of motors and hunting and so on.
Will the Minister assure NWT residents that any northern tools used in conjunction with national park legislation for Thaidene Nene will provide protection equivalent to a national park while reflecting the recreational interests of Northerners? Mahsi.
Since we are now post April 1st and we’re onto the path from devolve to evolve, clearly we’re going to design a system of land use and northern tools around Thaidene Nene around whatever federal footprint is there that are going to protect the interests of both the land and Northerners and respect third-party interests and will be designed in the North by Northerners for Northerners. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Time for oral questions has expired.
Colleagues, before we go on today, I just got a note from the wife of Mr. Yakeleya. It says, “I’d like to remind Norman that it’s his birthday tomorrow.” I’d like to wish happy birthday to Mr. Yakeleya for tomorrow. We’ll have cake on the plane.
