Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In follow-up to my Member’s statement, I have two questions for the Minister of Housing. As the Minister recalls from his visits to the community of Aklavik, when we had the old Joe Greenland Centre we’d have a place set out in front, a small deck where elders usually sat, whether it was during the spring, summer, fall. With this new facility, a great facility, as I mentioned, but one thing, I’m not sure if it was due to our budget, but they didn’t build much of a deck on each side of the Joe Greenland Centre.
I’d like to ask the Minister, will the department build a deck on each side of the Joe Greenland Centre where elders can gather?
Thank you, Mr. Blake. The Minister of Housing, Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is a great facility in Aklavik and I was glad to be part of the opening. We still have a bit of work to do in the front of the building. We have some landscaping and that to do. I think that’s going to be taken care of next summer, I believe. I’m not sure about the deck. I would have to check to see if there is an opportunity in the future to put a larger deck on there.
I thank the Minister. My next questions are on the new facility in Fort McPherson. I’d like to ask the Minister, how was the location of the elders home in Fort McPherson selected? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, we had some land that was available. I believe we did some consultation with the community. There were no issues raised at the time, so we determined the location of the new seniors centre.
My next question is: Why was the project on hold this summer for over a month? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I’ll have to follow up on that. I understand there may have been some issues there. I’m not quite sure what the issues were, but I will follow up and share with the Member some of the information that I receive. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Blake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I drove by the location, I noticed there hasn’t really been very much work done there. There are no supplies on the site that are ready to start building.
I’d like to ask the Minister, will the Minister direct his department to work with the elders in the community to select a location for the new elders facility? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The piles are already in. We did some consultation with the community. We didn’t get any feedback, so we determined that that would be the location.
As far as the number of piles go, again, I will ask for an update and find out where we’re at with that. But it will be awfully expensive now to change the location. They’d have to wait a little longer for their facility. But I will get all the information and share it with the Member for Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. About I think three weeks ago now, ENR had put out a draft Conservation Plan and it was done in conjunction…
---Interjection
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It was done in conjunction with the Protected Areas Strategy, which has been in the process, in development since 1999, so that’s a very long process. It’s been many years of work and also many partners involved in the Protected Areas Strategy. I’d like to ask the Minister some questions about this draft Conservation Plan which came out, what some of the changes are, what it is intending for our territory, in terms of conservation.
I’d like to know first of all from the Minister, I know that we have lands right now which currently prohibit any and all forms of industrial development. I’d like to know from the Minister if he can give what percentage of our total lands area are currently prohibited from development. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can give the Member a number for all the land that is current and proposed, including Thaidene Nene and areas that have been worked on since 1999, keeping in mind that the proposed areas in all probability will end up shrinking as the final footprint is determined, but that percentage is 14 percent of the land mass. Thank you.
Thanks to the Minister. I need to ask the Minister, there was a press release from the NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines just yesterday, actually. It states: “According to the mine recorder’s office, 32 percent of the NWT is off limits to staking and exploration. That figure includes lands for parks, interim land claim withdrawals and protected areas.”
Can the Minister explain the difference between the 32 percent that the Chamber of Mines is talking about and the 14 percent that he just quoted? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, the core protected or protected areas are those areas that would be permanently withdrawn from industrial commercial development, like the proposed Thaidene Nene area for the federal and territorial footprints of Nahanni Park, part of Wood Buffalo that’s there, Edaezhe and the Ramparts and those types of things. That number all in is at 14 percent.
The other lands where there’s conservation designation, we have a Parks Act, for example, that has six levels of park. Five of those levels of park permit activity, commercial activity, permanent activity, so could include industrial development. That would account for the relating percentages. Thank you.
Thanks again to the Minister. So, we’re talking 14 percent that is going to be totally prohibited, but there’s another percentage which is going to allow some development. I’m wondering if the Minister could try to advise me and the public what’s going to be allowed in this other percentage. I think it’s 20 percent, is what I’m advised, another 20 percent that is going to allow development.
What sort of developments or lack of developments will be allowed? What kind of conservation are we imposing on this other 20 percent of our lands? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, what is permanent will depend on the circumstances of the particular area. It has to be appropriate, depending on what kind of conservation designation there is outside of the protected area designation. But it does include all the areas on the map.
The Member stated, for example, 1999 Protected Areas Strategy. All the land that’s on that map that is designated to be protected is all the land that is projected to have any kind of conservation designation far into the future. There’s no new land on there. There’s land that’s been identified now since 1999. Some of it is yet to be determined, the final designation, but we know some, like the Ramparts or Edhzhie, the request is that there be a park there, a protected area. The others will have a range of different kinds of designations. It could be a cultural area; it could be a wildlife area; it could be just an area of some significance that has some designation. If there is some activity that’s found within that area, then we will collectively look at what it is and how does it fit, what kind of community support there is, but the door would be open to have that kind of discussion. Unlike Nahanni National Park or Edaezhe, once it’s fully withdrawn, or the Thaidene Nene footprint area.
I would also point out, as we talk about this land, we have a very, very significant piece of land – 44,000 square kilometres of land – that has been under interim protection for decades, tied up in land claims. As we commit ourselves to concluding land claims, when we do that will free up very, very high potential areas for potential development that could be contemplated by Aboriginal governments, industry and the territorial government. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final, short supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the Minister, as well, for his explanation. As we go forward, the Protected Areas Strategy has been in place for a very long time. As the Minister says, the areas in that Protected Areas Strategy will continue to go forward. But this draft Conservation Strategy I gather takes the place of the Protected Areas Strategy. It’s got a new name.
Who’s going to be involved in dealing with this draft Conservation Strategy as we go forward? I presume there are partners. Could the Minister advise us who they are? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, we’ve put this document forward for consultation and we’ve extended the consultation period to, I believe, October 19th, at which time we will put it in a box, basically, and we’ll include it with the transition document for consideration in the 18th Assembly, which will include all the feedback we get.
This document is basically post-devolution. The Northwest Territories has taken over the Protected Areas Strategy and has rebranded it and packaged it and is putting is out as a Northern Conservation Action Plan. There is a process that we’re going to continue on with from the Protected Areas Strategy, and has been since 1999, a working group that includes representatives from all the different sectors of the economy and the territory, industry and business and communities, environmental groups, that type of thing that are part of the process and will continue to be part of that process as we move forward to provide oversight and work on the various areas that have been designated, some of them for literally decades now. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I just want to ask some questions of the Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation. Earlier today I spoke in my Member’s statement about the repair and renovation programs that are available to all residents of the NWT, but most particularly my concern is about our seniors, those on pensions, and our disabled. There’s the co-pay component on the majority of our programming, and in my experience I’ve seen that in the small and remote communities people don’t have access to $500 that they’re required to co-pay on.
I’d like to ask the Minister responsible, has his department looked at this? Have these concerns been raised to his department with respect to reducing or, if not, eliminating and taking care of our seniors and those who are disabled with this housing program? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation, Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We do have the new co-pay program and a lot of folks have done very well with it. However, we do recognize the Member’s concern with some of the challenges that are faced with our seniors and those with disabilities. So I will commit to the Member that we will go back and do an assessment and revisit and maybe make some adjustments to the seniors and those who are disabled, people who are living on fixed incomes. Thank you.
Thank you very much. I know that when I first began in the Assembly with the 15th Assembly, we did have a specific seniors or elders housing program which spoke to giving relief for those kind of things. I’m wondering if the Minister is willing to look at it in that perspective in identifying specific seniors or elders repair programs. Thank you.
We have a number of programs within the NWT Housing Corporation that the uptake in the programs is from the seniors themselves. We have the Mobility Policy now where we work with those who have mobility issues and we have a number of programs designed for seniors. We have the Preventative Maintenance Program. So, we have a number of programs. A couple of them are designed specifically for seniors and those with mobility issues, and we also have, as far as our CARE program goes, the greater percentage is taken by seniors. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Yes, just with the co-pay component, I’m just wondering what kind of timing does the Minister expect in looking at and reviewing that particular guideline that’s in our programming currently. Thank you.
Thank you. We will start looking at it immediately and the work has already begun. We do recognize there are some challenges that the disabled and seniors are facing, those who are on fixed income, with the co-pay portion of it. So we have begun looking at that and we will see how soon we can get that work completed. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’m pleased that they’ll look at it here right away. Like I said in my Member’s statement, a particular case is an elder needs his water tank replaced and in that case he cannot come up with the $1,200, but it’s a need for that elder and his family. Water and cleanliness is one of our basic needs. So, I appreciate the Minister looking at that immediately and if he can, once again, to look at it and review certain situations. Thank you.
Yes, as I committed before and I’ll commit again, we will have a look at it and continue to try and improve our programs as we have done for the last number of years with the help of this Legislative Assembly. So, we will continue to try, not try, we will continue to improve our programs and help those seniors, those with mobility issues, the disabled and all those who are in need the best we can. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As a follow-up to my statement on the fishery, I’ll have questions for the Minister of ITI.
I guess my first question will be: I know we’ve had a successful summer, but does the Minister have the actual production numbers and some of the update on where we are with the current fish plant? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. The Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A vitalization strategy and business plan have been developed to help ensure the longevity and the health of the fishery, the commercial fishery on Great Slave Lake. The Member highlighted a number of areas where the government has worked very hard at the revitalization of the commercial fishery. We continue to push forward. There’s a new fishing cooperative in Hay River. We’ve approached the federal government on a number of occasions, both the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Ms. Shea, and also CanNor. We haven’t had any success on getting a response from the federal government on our request.
As the Member mentioned, and others have mentioned, there’s an election coming up soon. We will have a better understanding of the government in Ottawa after that election takes place.
I can let the Member and Members know that the $1.5 million we have earmarked for the fish plant in Hay River is something we feel very strongly about. If we can’t get investment from the federal government on moving forward with the development of that export grade fish plant, we will be seeking some type of private equity, private investment in that facility so it can move ahead. We can’t wait forever for the federal government. Thank you.
Thank you. My next question would be about that federal government influence. Have we been talking to our current MP candidates going forward to make sure that they know it’s on their priorities? I know I’ve written a letter, but has the Minister, has Cabinet made that a priority to those candidates? Thank you.
We continue to talk about the importance of the commercial fishery to the Northwest Territories economy. It is a shadow of its former self. The numbers are better this year and I will commit to the Member and Members of the House to get the most recent numbers to them. The Member cited between 30 and 40 percent increase in production. We’ve seen some new fishermen get out on the lake taking part in the fishery.
As I mentioned in my previous response, we can’t wait forever for the federal government. If they don’t make a move and support us on moving forward with the fish plant in Hay River, there are other ways to get that investment into Hay River and make this a reality. Thank you.
My next question is: Is the Minister committed to that continuing? We know that increase is seen and we equate it to that subsidy that was provided to the fishermen this year. Is that a commitment that will carry on in the business plan until that fish plant is completed? Thank you.
We’ve got a number of programs that we have in place to help fishermen on Great Slave Lake. We have a Fish Harvesters Support Program, Commercial Fish Harvesters Support Program, Fish Harvesters Expansion Program, Fish Harvesters New Entrance Support Program and also some core funding that’s available to fishermen on Great Slave Lake. Our intent is to see this funding and support carried forward so we can continue to move toward getting that export grade fish facility constructed and in operation in Hay River. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bouchard.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We all know that the Hay River harbour is important to the fishing industry. Obviously, my question is: Has the Minister talked to his counterpart in Transportation as well as some of the people he has contacts with in Ottawa about the dredging of the Hay River? We need this for the fishing industry of Hay River. Thank you.
Thank you. I’m very well aware of the situation in the port of Hay River, being a former Minister of Transportation, and yes, we do talk extensively about dredging. Not just in Hay River, but there are other areas in the Northwest Territories that require dredging, and I’m fully aware of the situation in Hay River, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.
