Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Minister of Transportation, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It would be generally a maintenance program. Safety is a priority for the department, and there were issues with some corners that were dark and we were able to put up some lights. I know the Member is concerned about a road that runs off the main road that’s been maintained by the department that doesn’t have adequate street lighting. So we are going to be working with, most likely, the Power Corporation for poles and lighting on that access road the Member had asked me about earlier. Thank you.
To be specific, yes I’ve been asking the Minister about installing some street lighting on the access road that goes from our 6 kilometre, the Wild Rose subdivision, down onto the Four Mile subdivision, and that’s been a safety concern raised by the residents, most particularly in the last couple of years, with more and more bears being in the community and it being very dark at night.
I’d just like to ask the Minister, has he been contacted by the Village of Fort Simpson with regard to identifying exactly where street lighting should go? Thank you.
I personally have not been in contact with the municipality, but the information was passed on to the department and it’s possible the department has initiated some discussion with the municipality on this issue. Thank you.
It’s probably correct that the Village of Fort Simpson contacted the department officials to identify certain locations and I’m up here in the House today to ensure that we move forward with those. I think there are about three sites there, so if the Minister can confirm that the department is working with the Village of Fort Simpson to install at least three new LED street lightings on that access road. Thank you.
Certainly the department will not be ignoring the request from the community, so I think it’s just a matter of having the department regional staff from DOT get in touch with the community at a time convenient for both of them to be able to work together to resolve the issue. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Certainly the priority areas for this access road have some residential houses, but the longer access towards the Four Mile subdivision, maybe they can look at that as well, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.
Certainly the people down by the riverbank at Four Mile have been there for many, many years, so it would be nice to be able to light up the roadway, as well, going down to Four Mile. So we’ll have the department look at that area as well. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We only need to listen to the media these days and we hear that there is a great deal of interest in the public in how people in elected office spend the taxpayers’ money when it comes to claims for travel and other expenses. We’re very fortunate in this Assembly that we have very good staff who take some time and due diligence to ensure that the claims that are being made are correct, and when they are not, as we’ve heard today, these things are remedied very quickly.
I’d like to ask the Minister of Finance; today my colleague spoke about the monitoring of expense claims and travel claims on behalf of Ministers, and I think that when the public looks at us they see all of us as one group, as government. I also think that there are probably committee chairs and some Regular MLAs who travel just about as much as Ministers do, so I would just like to know, in fairness to the public and to this effort for transparency, I’d like to ask Minister Miltenberger if it would be the government’s intention to also monitor closely the expenses of Regular Members.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The Minister of Finance, Mr. Miltenberger.
We do have a policy. We quite rigorously police ourselves. As was raised in the House earlier, the issue with Minister Ramsay has been dealt with and the file is closed for a very, very small discrepancy. Things have been tightened up. Yes, we believe that we should have an even hand when we apply overdue travel claims since there are cases where MLAs accompany Ministers on foreign travel. There are some outstanding claims and we are encouraging those outstanding claims to be completed.
I’d ask the Minister, then, if the same rigorous and strenuous monitoring and checking of expense claims for the Ministers that Minister Miltenberger has spoken of, if that would also apply to Regular Members, because, as I said, I think the public is very interested in being assured of that and knowing that that is the case.
Our specific involvement comes when MLAs travel with Ministers on trips, usually abroad, and there have been a number of those and there are outstanding claims that we’re still waiting for from an MLA that we hope will get cleared off so that we can end this session and the mandate of the 17th Assembly on a clear note.
That raises another interesting question. Why would there be a delay in the filing of expense claims when a Member would travel with a Cabinet Minister or the Premier, whether it be to a federal, provincial, territorial or on foreign travel or as a committee member of a committee designated member or a committee chair? Why would there be a delay in the filing of those expense claims?
What I can indicate is that we have been pursuing and made repeated requests to in fact have all the necessary travel claims submitted so that we can in fact close the file on the various trips. We have been using the power of persuasion. We don’t have a lot of direct authority over MLAs. They have travelled with us and we’re trying to make sure that we close the books, and we’re going to continue to pursue that and hopefully conclude it.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final, short supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have watched government for a long time and I know that there have been instances in the quite far past now of Ministers that were travelling with Regular Members and that there became a question after the fact about whether the people who were sponsored with taxpayers’ dollars to go to some of these events actually ever did attend them. Do we have any mechanism in place to ensure that when people do travel on government business that they do indeed attend the functions that they are travelling for?
We tend to travel on the honour system but there is an implicit understanding that MLAs would be reporting back, because they’re usually there representing a committee that they would be reporting back to the events that they attended, the meetings they attended, and the important affairs that they dealt with and discussed while on those travels. At this point, that’s basically the extent in terms of compliance or reporting back as to exactly what events were attended. The Ministers, of course, have more accountability and are prepared and will disclose all the meetings they’ve had and all the functions they have attended and have their expense claims, I can assure you, scrupulously reviewed by a whole number of folks to make sure that everything is appropriate.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday I was speaking of business and some of the issues that I have had with the GNWT over the last four years. My questions today are for the Minister of ITI. I’m dealing with a client for the Business Incentive Policy and getting them BIP’d, and it’s specific to the plow trucks that Transportation continues to buy and we’ve tried to get King Manufacturing BIP’d for that project.
Can the Minister indicate to me why the application for King Manufacturing for plow trucks was denied this year?
Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is in everyone’s best interest that we see the benefit accrue to northern businesses when we do look at procuring, whether it’s plow trucks or anything else the government buys, that if it can be manufactured here in the Northwest Territories it’s purchased by our government. That’s why we have a manufactured products list. Of the eight items that King Manufacturing has wished for us to put on that list, we have approved six of those items. There are two other items that I know the Members had denied. They’re under review and we want to continue to work with King Manufacturing and the manufacturing community here in the Northwest Territories to ensure that products that can be manufactured here in the Northwest Territories get on that approved list for procurement.
I understand that’s coming from the Department of ITI. I’m just wondering how the department works with Transportation and Public Works and Services who does the procurement of these assets. I guess I’m having difficulty and with the fact that I’m having to deal with three different departments to deal with one issue on plow trucks.
How can we simplify this process? Can the Minister indicate to me whether Public Works and Services shared services and BIP should be merged together?
Obviously, with a day and a half left of this sitting and a couple weeks left in the life of this government, that is a decision that the 18th Legislative Assembly would have to take into consideration. I can say that we do continuously discuss these types of items with Public Works and Services. We need to all be on the same page when it comes to advancing manufacturing here in the Northwest Territories and ensuring that the government dollars that are used on procuring products are spent here in the Northwest Territories wherever possible.
We’re not being unreasonable here. We know there are several companies that supply trucks to the Northwest Territories. We have no problem with other companies bidding truck versus truck, but we need that work done in the Northwest Territories. Currently, some of the bids that are going forward are 51 percent over a $200,000 project; 51 percent is labour, construction, welding in the Northwest Territories, with the one contractor. With the other contractor, that work is being done in Ontario and in Quebec.
Is the Minister committed to making companies required to do the work in the North?
Currently, plow trucks are not included as manufactured products under the northern manufacturing directive. Unlike fuel trucks, there are no major components of plow trucks manufactured in the Northwest Territories. We have gone back to King Manufacturing. We’re waiting to get some more information from them. Again, this has not been denied. It is under review and we’ll have to see where that review takes us and the discussion about where it all falls out will lie with the 18th Legislative Assembly. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bouchard.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Like I indicated, it seems like we’re trying to find ways to support southern businesses. We need to find, and my question is, how can a company provide 51 percent labour welding services and still not be BIP’d. Why is that BIP being delayed? Thank you.
Thank you. Under the current rules of BIP, it’s being applied fairly by all vendors, and on the current tender, as it hasn’t been awarded yet, I couldn’t speak to that. All I can say is that we are ready, willing and able to continue to work with the manufacturing sector here in the Northwest Territories to ensure that products that can be manufactured here in the Northwest Territories are on the approved list of manufactured products. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.
QUESTION 947-17(5):
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I have questions on a report that was tabled in our spring sitting, the feasibility study of the universal affordable daycare in the Northwest Territories. Coincidentally it was tabled on June 4, 2015, which is also the last sitting of our spring session. So, very little debate on it, even though it was something that was highly sought after by committee members as well as residents of the Northwest Territories.
In the report itself there are a lot of recommendations and I’d like to ask the Minister responsible, the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, obviously we can’t go through all the recommendations and he did mention earlier in the week that this report will be addressed by the 18th Assembly. However, one of the things that stood out to me in terms of program funding, the program contribution grant is the major source of public funding paying a regional base per diem according to attendance. However, the amounts have not changed since 2007.
I’d like to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment whether a review will be done in the life of the rest of this government on this program contribution grant and whether or not it will increase, because since 2007 we have had a lot more private and public daycares in the Northwest Territories. I’d like to ask him, will that be reviewed and will an increase be forthcoming before the 18th Assembly? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. The Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The universal affordable daycare feasibility study that’s been requested by this House has been undertaken and has been tabled in May-June 2015. The Member is correct on that. There is a lot of information as part of the package. It’s a comprehensive review of the analysis of universal child care.
With any changes that are forthcoming, recommendations that have been brought forward, obviously the 18th Assembly government will have to deal with it. We only have another day of session.
This is an area that has been brought to our attention, the cost factor, the ripple effects across the Northwest Territories, whether it comes to infrastructure or the program accessibility and the contribution agreement that the Member is just alluding to. So those are the discussions that will probably be had with the 18th Assembly government once they’re in full force. Mahsi.
Thank you. I did have a series of questions here, but in response to the Minister’s statement, he mentioned that the issue was raised in the tabled document. However, I know Members on this side of the House, prior to us putting the motion forward, have raised concerns and issues on the amounts for this contribution grant to the regional centres on more than one occasion.
Why is he saying now that we can’t do it before this government is done when even before today it’s been raised by Members almost every year? Can the Minister, as he’s still in his role as Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, now see it in a document and make those changes before the 18th Assembly? He still has that option. Thank you.
Mahsi. With any changes that we make to contribution agreements, obviously it increases the cost factor as well. So that needs to be seriously taken into consideration. We’ve gone through the capital infrastructure just last week and this week and now we’re at the final stages of our session. Again, the recommendations fall to our attention. They will be laid out for the 18th Assembly government. They will be a full force government for the next four years. They’ll decide what to do if there are going to be any changes to the contribution agreement or moving forward on this affordable universal child care programming. Mahsi.
I know we always have discussions in this House about the cost of social programs, our high costs within governments and we go and look into our debt, this is a great investment and by all more places to have child care facilities and more people to access them, it’s only going to benefit us. I think the same goes for every dollar invested in child care or early childhood development is a $7 return. I mean why do we have to wait until the 18th Assembly to recognize that? It’s kind of concerning to me.
Another question I had in regard to the report as I’m discussing this is income assistant child care benefit funding. I’d like to ask the Minister whether or not he’ll be looking at aligning the child care benefit payments with the actual costs of daycare and if he can look at trying to do that also as his term of Minister, six weeks left, if he would be looking into putting that forward as aligning the child care benefits with the actual cost of daycare. It would allow more people, especially in social assistance programs, to access daycare so that the single parents can actually go out and possibly find some work. Thank you.
Mahsi. I believe in early investment. That’s why we’ve invested tremendously in early childhood development over the years and we’ll continue to do so. When it comes to the child care benefits versus the daycare, the subsidy that we currently provide has been working over a number of years. There’s always room for improvement as well. These are discussions that obviously we need to have with the child care operators, with the organizations that we work with across the Northwest Territories and also interdepartmental. The Income Support Program obviously provides those subsidies and we’ve made some drastic changes since 2007, 2011, 2015 as well. So we’ll continue to make those improvements. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, the feasibility study was made in 2015 and it addressed the child care benefit. So, even though the improvements were made, it’s still an issue and needs to be dealt with. In a CBC report that was talked about, the study itself had mentioned that about 250 workers need to be trained and hired to address some of the offsets for this study.
I’d like to ask the Minister what steps is he taking to create an early childhood education certificate program and whether or not that certificate program can be put in one of our three Aurora College campuses. Thank you.
Mahsi. The Member alluded to the universal affordable daycare, the feasibility study that we’ve initiated, and obviously some of the obstacles and the challenges in a way where in order to meet the demands of the NWT we need to double the size of our manpower, the resource people that we have. So we’re working with the college to identify those needs in the communities. So the college does provide those opportunities and we’ll continue to push that forward.
Again, we have to work with organizations on what their demands are, what their needs are and provide that information. Now we’re working with the college to make that happen. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Today I have questions for the Minister of Environmental and Natural Resources. I’d like to ask questions about the Greenhouse Gas Strategy 2011. Our 2011 Greenhouse Gas Strategy noted the substantial warming temperatures in the NWT compared to globally and the rapid loss and thinning of sea ice and glaciers in the Arctic. The document noted that in 60 years Inuvik might have a climate similar to Peace River, Alberta.
Can the Minister update the House on what the updated trends are for temperature, sea ice extent and thickness, and permafrost melting? Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. From everything I’ve read, and I would recommend in this House, I read a book called, “Future Arctic” by Ed Struzik. It was very, very compelling reading. But the trends are still on the rise in terms of temperatures going up and the resulting impacts on permafrost, sea ice, with resulting impacts again on the type of weather, the reaction of the ocean, types of storms, the rising sea levels and those types of things. Thank you.
That’s in line with the things I’m hearing. Thanks to the Minister for that.
Eight years ago Natural Resources Canada concluded 40 to 75 percent of the Inuvik buildings alone will suffer $60 million in foundation damage during the building’s lifetime from permafrost loss. Shortly after that we wrote off a $14 million brand new young offenders facility in Inuvik. Today, estimates of costs to public and NWT infrastructure are coming in at billions of dollars over the next 15 years with similar costs expected for private, commercial and institutional infrastructure.
I’m wondering – I’m recognizing that this is already happening more each year – how is the government planning to mitigate this threat to our infrastructure and our economy? Mahsi.
