Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s always a great day when we get students visiting us here at the Legislative Assembly. I have two great schools in my riding. One of those schools is St. Joseph School. I was mentioning to the kids out in the Great Hall earlier that I was a student at St. Joseph in Grade 6. So, it’s great to see them here visiting the Assembly today. This is a Grade 6 class. The teacher’s name is Amanda Delaurier. I’ll go through the students’ names: Jasmine Balsillie, Nolan Elliot, Aron Nathaniel Gomes, Avery Hacala, Tori Hamm, Keegan Head, Makayla Lane, Landon Lavers, Julia Leonardis, Elijah Loos, James MacCara, Lennie Mager, Juliet Mcguire, Raven Mutford, Madison Penney, Marianne Richard, Kyle Rogers, Katie Schauerte, Olivia Talen, Ellie Mia Taylor and also Alyssa Vornbrock-Jaeb. Now, we had another class. I’m not sure if they’re up there, Ms. Booth’s class. If they’re up there, it looks like they’re gone, but I also want to thank Ms. Booth and her Grade 5/6 students who were here earlier visiting the Assembly. Thanks.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’m happy to have another student from Bompas Elementary join us here today and it’s my very own stepdaughter, Ms. Brittany Jewel Kendo. Welcome to the gallery. I just want to say she has been training hard to attend the track and field meet in Hay River as well. So, good luck with that.
Thank you. Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize our Pages today, particularly Emma Willoughby. I’m not sure if she’s in the House at this moment, but she’s around somewhere. Also, of course, I’d like to recognize her mother, Catherine Boyd, in the gallery with us today. Thanks very much for all of the things you do on behalf of the MLAs.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I missed the name of the young man for whom we applauded, but I just want to say there is a leader. As soon as Minister Ramsay started calling out the names, he pointed at every single person that was being introduced. They maybe were shy to introduce themselves, but he did that. Hey, you need one in every crowd. Way to go. Welcome.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In response to Minister Ramsay’s statement today on morel mushrooms, I have a few questions. We have seen the morel mushroom pickers converge on Hay River. It’s an interesting group, the ones who are from outside of the Northwest Territories. You can recognize them readily. “Hi. You must be here to pick mushrooms.” That’s what I usually say to them. I can’t tell you why I recognize them, but anyway, they are coming in and the Minister has indicated that this is an industry that could result in millions of dollars for harvesters. They say the department has offered on-site workshops.
I guess I have some concerns. It sounds like even from the Minister’s statement it’s creating a little tourism because there’s no rain, so there are no mushrooms to pick. So we’ve got all these people hanging around. So, good on Kakisa for taking an opportunity to do a little cultural awareness. That’s really great.
But anybody coming into the Northwest Territories who wants to fish, harvest firewood, transport goods into our territory, be a vendor in our territory, or even wants to go on a trip on the land, they generally have to check in with somebody. So here’s my concern. You have a lot of people from down south. No doubt the Northerners may be aware of some of the dangers of being in the bush, but these people say they’ve got camps set up all over the place. I say, “Where’s your camp?” “Oh, it’s 150 miles down, you know, the Kakisa River, or wherever.” I’m concerned that, yes, this may generate a lot of money, but how much is it going to cost us when one campfire or one cigarette butt goes into our extremely dry forest and burns the Northwest Territories down? Thank you.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With all the authorities in the Northwest Territories we continue to work with, of course, the RCMP, ENR monitoring these camps and where people are. There is no requirement for them to check in. Many of them are working for somebody else who would know where they’re at. The Member has a valid point and that’s something I’ll discuss with the department, and because we have had a lack of rain, although there is some rain in the forecast for next week, we’re hoping to get rain on Tuesday and possibly Thursday, which will help the harvest and help with potential forest fire danger here in the territory. We’ll get a more thorough response for the Member on monitoring the pickers who are here, where they’re at, and that is a very important issue. Thank you.
I would like to ask the Minister of ITI to share with the Assembly the risk-benefit analysis that the department has undertaken to determine how this territory would gain from allowing hundreds of non-resident harvesters to pick mushrooms on the land who will not pay income tax to the GNWT and, at the same time, will put the territory at great risk either for rescuing them or dealing with their emergencies or, as I said, starting fires that we know costs millions of dollars to suppress. What is the cost-benefit analysis of that being done? It’s a great idea. Come on up here and pick mushrooms, but it’s worrisome. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Not only are we seeing an influx of pickers from western Canada who are showing up in the Northwest Territories, but through the work of the department we are trying to get local people interested in this harvest. That’s why we’re putting on the workshops. That’s why we’re doing the walking tours. It is going to have an economic impact. The pickers who do show up here are going to eat at restaurants, they are going to stay in our parks and campgrounds, they are going to buy gas and supplies from local stores. There is going to be an economic benefit to having them here, but we are trying our best to ensure that the benefits of the morel harvest this summer accrue to people in the Northwest Territories, pickers here in the Northwest Territories.
We’ve had a great deal of interest. I mentioned in my Minister’s statement that 1,200 residents attended the workshops here in the NWT. Our belief here is there is going to be a very good harvest once the rain hits next week and we will see some economic benefit. We haven’t, to my knowledge, done a complete cost-benefit analysis on what it would be. We don’t really know, as I mentioned in my Minister’s statement, and there are a lot of variables. Things like weather, supply and demand, a number of variables there. We haven’t done that, but once this morel season is over, perhaps we could take a look and try to quantify what the economic uptake was on the harvest this summer. The most important thing is we are trying to get local people out to harvest the morels.
Last March we had second reading given to a proposed amendment to the Forest Management Act, which would allow the Minister of ENR to make regulations in respect to the harvest of timber forest products, which would include mushrooms. This is moving forward as well. We have to concentrate on the local economic uptake on this. That’s local people picking morel mushrooms. Thank you.
I agree with all that. Thank you to the department for all of the workshops and all the awareness they’ve brought to this potential remarkable industry for the Northwest Territories, renewable resource industry. But the fact is, we have many, many non-residents who have come to the Northwest Territories. It’s like a mushroom rush out there. There is no registry. There is no place to sign in. We don’t know their names. We don’t know where they’re from. We don’t know who their next of kin are. There are all kinds of dangers in the bush and that’s where these people are going to be operating and hanging out and camping.
You can’t come into the Northwest Territories and take one fish out of our rivers or lakes without a non-resident fishing licence. You can’t hunt, you can’t kill an animal, yet you can come in here and be part of what is being touted as come and make $500 or $1,000 a day.
Why can’t there be a registry of some kind set up at the border where they are all coming in on rubber tire traffic? Why can’t there be some kind of a registry that the RCMP could have access to, to see who these folks are? So we could contact families if they went missing, just like you do when you are going on a canoe trip somewhere. You register with somebody, at least. It would be really nice to know who they are and where they are.
I mentioned the regulatory change that’s going to be required. That is being conducted through the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. For us, if you are going to be conducting business in the Northwest Territories, we have a Business Licence Act here in the NWT. It’s administered through Municipal and Community Affairs. It requires businesses operating in the Northwest Territories to obtain a business licence, which may provide ENR the means to measure the extent of the industry at this time.
We also have a requirement that employers must be registered with the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission to conduct business where there are employees or employers. In the Northwest Territories, we also do not have trespass laws, which challenge the ability to restrain activities on private land. Again, there is going to be some regulatory changes coming. They won’t, however, impact the 2015 morel harvesting season. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As a follow-up to my Member’s statement earlier today, I referenced that the GNWT received a failing D-plus grade in its financial reporting from the esteemed C.D. Howe Institute.
Can the Minister indicate if his department reviewed the C.D. Howe findings? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Minister of Finance, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to point out the report the Member talked about has good information in it. I do want to make a distinction, though. It doesn’t talk about how well we are run financially, our Aa1 credit rating and that we are well situated in terms of managing ourselves, one of the best jurisdictions in the country, but that is how we present that information through our public processes that need work.
We are looking at it. I hadn’t looked at it until the Member kindly gave me the indication that he is going to raise this today. I have gone online to take a look and we will look forward to the rest of the Member’s questions. Thank you.
I do appreciate the Minister’s response. When a Canadian research institute gives you not only an outright failing grade of D-plus but also tells you your financial reporting would bewilder the average person, I believe you have a problem.
Does the Minister at least agree with these findings? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I will indicate that I’m going to read that report and we are going to look closely at where the shortfalls are. I have looked at the chart. There are some things we are doing, some things that need improvement and other jurisdictions that had very good grades. Of course, we will check to see how they format their financial information to see what the best way to move forward would be. We would look at doing that in consultation and collaboration with the Special Committee on Priorities and Planning as we look forward to a potential upgrade and improvement to the financial information presentation of the Government of the Northwest Territories. Thank you.
Earlier this year the CFIB, or the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, gave this same government an F for red tape. Coupled with this information we are hearing from the C.D. Howe Institute, it does create some concern in terms of our financial reporting as well as the amount of red tape we make our residents endure.
So, with that, does the Minister agree that his department has much work to do to improve both financial reporting and our red tape burden? Thank you.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business report is marginally helpful. In my mind, they have a very narrow list of things that they consider when they make their grades. They don’t look at the tons of work we’ve done with online reporting, the improving of our procedures, the accountability issues, the investment we’re making to speed up to be able to do things like online buying of registrations, doing all the things the government requires when going online.
But, yes, we recognize that as a system we need to constantly look at improving how we do our business. I acknowledge that we are interested in that kind of ongoing, continuous quality of improvement. I’ve already indicated how we would be intending to proceed. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am encouraged to hear that we are improving.
With that, can the Minister indicate what work is underway in the Finance department right now that will ensure the GNWT receives a better grade next year when C.D. Howe does its work, especially in the area of transparent financial reporting? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’re already in the process of planning for the capital plan for next year as well as the initial business planning process. So we are going to be looking at the format. We’ll see if there are any things that come out right away that could be done in the short term, mid-term, long term. We don’t want to run holus-bolus here. We have to understand what’s in the report, the detail, and we have to look at other jurisdictions, check the landscape, not try to reinvent the wheel. So, we will take careful, measured steps as we continue to provide a very, very well-run financial system for the people of the Northwest Territories. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will have some questions for the Minister of ITI, as well, about the morel mushroom industry and the gold rush, or the mushroom rush that we have going on.
My question that I have: Is the department and other departments in the GNWT, is there some sort of joint task force that’s discussing the issues that are coming from this? I would see maybe RCMP, ENR, ITI, MACA, Lands being all issues to deal with this issue. Is there a joint task force? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Ramsay.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know the department continues to work with our partners at ENR, at MACA, through the Department of Justice with the RCMP and other departments as we continue to try to get as much out of this morel opportunity as we possibly can. We can’t do this alone. There’s a number of agencies and other departments that are involved. Thank you.
Yes, I do see a couple things that ITI does, and maybe we can get more information on this this season. I know the department does some parks surveys. Are we doing surveys maybe of pickers, whether they’re local or southern? Are we getting some sort of information of how many Northerners are actually going out and doing picking? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Judging by the success of the workshops that we’ve put on with 1,200 residents taking part, we’re going to see a much greater number of local people in the Northwest Territories participating in the harvest this coming summer. You know, good ideas. I heard a good idea from Mrs. Groenewegen, another good idea with the surveys from Mr. Bouchard. We’re just moving into this. I think ideas like that, we can hopefully take those and incorporate them in our planning.
As far as whether or not we are planning a survey, I’d have to go back and see if the department has any plans to survey pickers on whether they’re local or they’re coming from the South, and I will get that information back to the Member. That is something that we will take into consideration. Thank you.
I think the Department of ITI also does exit surveys of tourists and I would see these as being… Maybe look at them as well as tourists coming into the North.
Is there a way that we could do a survey of them, even maybe, like Mrs. Groenewegen mentioned, a registration, a voluntary registration that, you know, I’ve come to the Northwest Territories to do picking? You know, I’m expected to be in the Kakisa area, that type of stuff. Maybe a registration and an exit survey of those people who are here for morel mushrooms. Thank you.
That could work if it was done at the entry to the Northwest Territories south of Fort Liard and also the 60th parallel. Most of the pickers that would come to the Northwest Territories from the South would, of course, come by vehicle, so we probably could get a good indication on numbers with a survey at those two locations. Some may come by plane. As far as surveying local pickers, that shouldn’t be too difficult to do either. So, again, it’s a fair idea and a good idea, and we will take that into consideration. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bouchard.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know some of these people are from different jurisdictions, but obviously they’re coming to the Northwest Territories. We know that we’re in a drought situation. They may want to live in the Northwest Territories permanently, so we should probably promote that as well.
I know already in the process that we’re seeing pressure under our ITI facilities, our parks facilities. Is there a plan for the Department of ITI to look at how they’re going to use those facilities? I know there are people who are not actually staying in those facilities but using the showers and washrooms in those types of facilities. What are we doing to deal with that type of pressure? Thanks, Mr. Speaker.
Where there’s access to a campground with facilities, contractors can charge a fee to use the facilities in the campground. I think that’s up to the contractor. The services are there. People need to pay for those services. Pickers who are in the area can utilize those services, and the contractor is going to be making more revenue as a result of that. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement today I talked about how necessary good and vital communications are. Rather than stressing and saying this is sort of a bad situation of how communication didn’t work, I actually would rather look at it as here we have a fantastic opportunity to do things well and to certainly build on the lessons we learned from last summer.
We have many vital industries out there such as the folks who carry and stock groceries on our shelves day to day. That’s not just all of them, that’s just one area. There are many other areas.
I would like to ask the Minister of Transportation, what can he do to ensure that his communication folks will start to work in tandem with folks like the grocery industry and allow them to identify other areas that are absolutely vital, critical in this particular case, of keeping our shelves stocked with good food and priority items that are necessary?
The last point I’m saying, there may even be medical issues such as industries that need timely delivery of medical goods, et cetera, that need to be included in this list. There’s a huge opportunity.
What can the Minister do to start to sort this out so that they’re on a priority call list? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Minister of Transportation, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The department has been advised that we had done an excellent job in communicating with the folks last year during the fire season. We’re going to continue and, in fact, maybe enhance some of the areas that we had communicated to the people and to industry from last year. We have Twitter. We have a website. We also have a toll-free website and also the toll-free telephone, so we’re able to communicate with people, and people are able to communicate with us.
On contacting the actual people like the grocery stores or the hospitals and so on, we’re afraid that if we reach out to them, then we may miss somebody, and that could become a bit of an issue. So, we’re asking individuals to contact us through those media methods, and we try to do our best to try to accommodate everyone who needs accommodation for the highway closures. Thank you.
Well, not contacting anybody misses everybody. Hoping that they’re on Twitter, we don’t know who we’re contacting and there’s no guarantee that they’re following that up. Heck, I’ve been informing schools like, for example, St. Pat’s, have things that’s called the Phone Tree and they build networks so they know to whom they communicate. What better way to develop a phone or e-mail tree that we communicate with this? It’s not foreign technology; it’s darn good customer service who we should be serving as the public, namely in this particular case, grocery stores, medical supply, whatever makes sense. If we miss anybody, I’ll assure you, they’ll contact you right away and say we want to be on this list, and the department could evaluate it.
So, under that circumstance as I’ve described it, would the Minister go back and re-evaluate this concept? It seemed like a good idea when the Minister and I talked about this on Tuesday. I don’t know what happened between Tuesday and today.
I think maybe I didn’t want to be misunderstood who we are… We’ll reach out to some of the key grocery stores, for sure, and then some of the other things will be expanded upon and we can reach out. But there’s always that fear that we will miss someone and that may become an issue.
What we’re asking for, if we made contact, is maybe to provide them for…because we would like to have regular contact beyond just the one contact, to let them know that the highway is going to close. But to try to set up a system where, if there’s going to be anticipation that the highway may close, maybe to provide them information how they could contact us, because we don’t know what their needs are and what needs to be brought into the city by highway. So, it would be a good system, we believe, that has worked last year. Aside from everybody being shut down for 39 days out of the 25 different times that we shut down the highway, no one was actually cut off and prevented…(inaudible)…outside of the times when we were shut down for everyone.
We will try to improve the communication on what we’ve done, but our priority is safety, and people will travel the highway when it’s safe to do so. Thank you.
There’s very little I can disagree with in the last statement made by the Minister, but the fact is he’s missing a point about vital communications. There’s the general information, which I think the Minister gets and he just spoke very well on it, but there’s also the vital information that needs to be carried forward, and I’m not talking about emergency.
As I said in my Member’s statement, if we gave about four days’ notice, the grocery stores can fully stock up for the long haul. If we gave them two days’ notice, they could get the bread, the eggs, whatever the case may be, milk, here in this community or any community along the road that could be in a part ban or closure situation. That’s the type of list I’m talking about. We’re not talking about thousands of people on the phone or e-mail list; we’re talking probably less than a dozen people, half a dozen people.
If the Minister isn’t willing to do it himself, frankly the question is this: If I go make a list and find key contacts in those industries, would the Minister be willing to use that list as a priority contact list so we can give the people the critical kind of notice that they would need to ensure that their industries are serving the public, which we should be doing as well?
We will do everything we can to try to keep the traffic flowing on the highway, so if there is a list… It becomes a difficulty to try to anticipate when the road will be shut down. Last year we found that to be difficult to anticipate. But if there are fires near the highway, communications and Environment and Natural Resources will stay in touch with them. If we’re able to determine that we might have to shut the road down two days out, four days out, whatever, I will be prepared to accept a list from the Member and provide that to the departments, and the departments can touch base with those organizations that need to know in advance if there’s going to be a highway closure.
