Debates of February 1, 2017 (day 45)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to recognize a constituent of Yellowknife South, Magnolia Unka, daughter of Tommy Unka. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier I spoke about the Arctic drilling ban, and my questions are for the Premier. Mr. Speaker, my first question to the Premier is: when did the Northwest Territories last discuss the ban on Arctic oil and gas development with Canada? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Honourable Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I indicated publically, I was informed of the ban on drilling in Arctic waters by the Prime Minister two hours before he made the announcement in Vancouver. This was a couple weeks ago. At that time, I expressed my concerns and I have since written to the Prime Minister reiterating the Government of Northwest Territories' position that it is imperative that our government be involved in decisions that affect our people in the Northwest Territories. We must be able to give our residents hope for a brighter economic future.

The Prime Minister assured me that he knows this and I'll be following up with him at every opportunity to understand what investments the federal government will be making for the people of the Arctic in return. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I appreciate the response. Mr. Speaker, my second question is: if the US administration decided to overthrow the moratorium, is there any indication that Canada would do the same?

At this time, the federal government has given us no indication that they intend to reconsider their decision to ban offshore drilling in the Arctic. The federal government has committed to a five-year scientific review of this decision; however, they have not provided any information about what that review will entail. I'll be following up with Prime Minister Trudeau at every opportunity to ensure that the Government of the Northwest Territories is involved in any review and that traditional knowledge is a key feature of that review.

My third question is: economic activity in the Beaufort Delta was already in serious decline. Is the government working on a regional strategy to help diversify the economy and seek opportunities such as a fishery, scientific research, mining, even tourism?

This government is committed to economic diversification. Cabinet recently participated at the mineral exploration conference in Vancouver to promote opportunities for exploration and mining. During the last government there was a focus on promoting the Asian tourism market, and we continue to see positive results with an increase of 20,000 tourists from 2011 to 2016. The completion of the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk Highway in 2017 will be a milestone in the Northwest Territories helping to connect communities support a resilient transportation system in the face of climate change and capture economic opportunities.

The Government of the Northwest Territories recently announced our intention to work with Yukon and Northwest Territories on a planned Territorial Sustainable Development Strategy. We are in the concept stages now and we'll work collaboratively with NWT Aboriginal governments and industry partners, as well as this Assembly, to create a strategy that will help the Beaufort Delta and the Northwest Territories diversify and build new economies as well as strengthen our traditional economies.

As this was a federal decision, we expect the federal government to deliver on the new jobs and gross strategy in return for shutting down and putting in place a moratorium in the Beaufort Delta.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nunakput.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the response. After hearing all that, Mr. Speaker, my final question to the Premier is how often will the Government of the Northwest Territories engage both with the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation and Canada on this issue? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

All the Aboriginal governments in the Beaufort were unanimous in their condemnation at the lack of consultation with regard to a moratorium in the Beaufort Delta on oil and gas.

I had an opportunity to meet with the Inuvialuit Regional Council president in Vancouver. We agreed to meet on a regular basis, and we all agreed that the federal government must consult with both ourselves and the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation and the Gwich'in Tribal Council with regards to proposed development of any changes to oil and gas policies in the Beaufort.

Officials in our government and IRC are working together as well as working with federal officials through the Inuvialuit Settlement Regional Oil and Gas Coordination Committee, which provides a venue to facilitate informationsharing and coordination. Through the devolution agreement that we signed with the federal government, we had agreed to negotiate an agreement on the management of the oil and gas in the Beaufort, and we have written to the federal government to remind them of that commitment. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Sahtu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question today is to the Minister of MACA in relation to a study done on shoreline erosion or riverbank erosion.

In October of 2006, there was a study done by EBA Engineering referred to as the Review of Riverbank Stability in Fort Good Hope. My first question is: considering this is a liability zone, is the Minister willing to look at some relief on current taxes for the tenants in that zoned liability area? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Shoreline erosion is an issue that we face throughout the Northwest Territories, not only in Fort Good Hope but in many communities. It is not within my jurisdiction to actually say that I can give tax reliefs. We do assessment of properties, but we don't actually provide the tax bills; but we are willing to work with the community to look at doing another hazard analysis and to update their emergency plan. We are planning on updating most community emergency plans in this fiscal year. We can help them apply for funding if they would like to do a study such as what is happening in Tuktoyaktuk at this time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the Minister for that response. Considering this is a liability against this government through that department and as identified in the 2006 study, is the Minister willing to send, with the document, with the study  I have a copy here, and I'm willing to share that  and review with the tenants or the residents in the neighbourhood, I believe there are about 12, if the Minister's willing to have a discussion with the home tenants to review the liability and the situation there that is bearing against this government and entertain with the tenants on a resolution?

At the beginning of the 18th Legislative Assembly, our Premier made a commitment that he would try to get the Ministers into every community within the Northwest Territories. I am trying to fulfil my part in meeting that commitment by our Premier. I know that we haven't done a tour of the Sahtu at this point, so, yes, when we finalize the dates of the Sahtu tour, I would be more than willing to have a public meeting on the shoreline erosion and any other concerns that the communities may have.

I'll ask that question again. I'm not requesting a delegation of this Assembly or this Cabinet. I'm just asking the Minister if the regional office would also be accompanied by the ministerial office here to review with the 12 tenants that are affected in this liability zone and see if there are resolutions to their concerns and, if so, when.

The regional staff would be able to go in and meet with the community if that is the wish of the MLA. I was just extending that further because I also recognize that we haven't toured that community yet, so it was just another extension of an offer. If the MLA is satisfied with the regional worker or department going in, then we will make that happen. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Sahtu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is more of a comment. I'm willing to have discussions with the Minister's office here and share the document of 2006 so we can agree on a schedule and date as to when so the tenants could be notified, to ensure that they're at home during the scheduled time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I will take that as a comment. Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. After my Member's statement, I have a couple of questions for the Minister responsible for Youth. I'm sure he could work with the Minister of Justice on this as well, but I'd like to ask the Minister: what kind of programs or funds within the GNWT can organizations like the Odd Squad apply to for government support, financial or otherwise? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Minister responsible for Youth.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have various programs throughout all the departments that focus on youth within the GNWT. Justice has some funding, obviously, and the ECE and our schools have funding. MACA has sports and recreation and youth funding programs.

We can provide the Member with all the applicationtype funding that we give to youth programming, share it with him so that they can look at the appropriate ways to fill out an application should we want to bring the Odd Squad up to the NWT. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As I mentioned, this great opportunity here, a few of the Members have a responsibility to work with this sort of program here, a very good opportunity. I spoke to one of the organizers who is doing the planning. You know, they're putting in a proposal at the moment. They're planning to visit Fort McPherson and also bring students in from Tsiigehtchic, I believe, and also visiting other areas in the region and down the valley, as well.

So, once this application is brought forward, can the Minister assure me that some sort of funding will be put towards this initiative?

I am aware of the request that was made from community justice in Fort McPherson, and we will be bringing this attention forward to the departments responsible and seeing how we can look at reviewing that proposal and whether or not we can fund the program.

Obviously, our communities that are on the road system are ones where we find some of our biggest concerns with alcohol, with drugs, and I know that it's something that wants to be addressed. I guess we are in the process of reviewing that proposal right now, and, as soon as we come up with a solution, we'll get back to the Member.

That sounded like a yes.

Laughter

I look forward to working with the Minister, and, if we don't find a solution, I'm sure I'll bring it up again here during session. Thank you.

Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I asked the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs about the positions of the youth workers, and it was great to hear that she's made a commitment, as long as she stays as the Minister, that those positions won't be on the cutting block, which is really good to hear. However, again, we're looking at 15 months, 18 months, of these positions not being filled. When will these positions actually be filled? I understand they're going to classification, but how long do we have to wait until we get these positions filled? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am also anxious to get these positions filled. We are waiting for them to come back from the Department of Human Resources for classification. I can make a commitment that as soon as we do receive them back, that we will put a full effort into doing the recruitment and getting these ads out, and trying to fill the positions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the Minister for her answer. Still not a deadline. Are we looking at the new fiscal year? Are we looking at this fiscal year? I know when we're looking at things, even if it takes a month to get through classification, we're going to still be looking at the new fiscal year. What time will we be looking at in the new fiscal year so these positions can be filled?

It is actually impossible for me to set a deadline and say, by this date that these positions will be filled. I have made a commitment that we will put a serious effort into it as soon as we get the classification back. Filling a position isn't as easy as putting it out there, and getting it in. There's a process. There are applications. There's internal hiring practices. There's an appeal process to come through. I will stand by my commitment that, as soon as we get back from the classification, we will put all of our efforts into doing what we can to ensure that these positions are filled in a timely manner.

I guess I was asking for the impossible, and I apologize to the Minister for that. On my constituency tour, I heard from the youth. They're asking, what is this government doing? With these positions not being filled, can the Minister please advise this House what is happening in the youth area for our young people?

Currently, the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs provides about $3 million annually to support youth leadership programs and youth at risk programs. We are also working interdepartmentally with education, health and social services, and working intensively with our Minister responsible for Youth to keep him updated, and also to develop a comprehensive plan. We are looking at updating our Youth Leadership Strategy in partnership interdepartmentally, but also with the stakeholders that are involved within the communities. We will be putting a serious effort into updating that plan, and having more inclusive youth strategy moving forward.

Mahsi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Minister for her answer. Unfortunately, strategies don't do anything if we don't have anything for our youth, and that is a real concern, but that will be another day for other questions for that. Mr. Speaker, with the challenges of the Municipal and Community Affairs that they are facing through the Auditor General and that, will the Minister look at, potentially, moving the Sport and Recreation division to the Youth Secretariat, and call it Sport and Recreation Youth Secretariat, so that they're not the poor sisters on the block, and that we can focus on helping our youth become better citizens, and give them the skills that they need? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It actually saddens me to hear the Member talk about considering our youth as the poor cousin neighbor on the block. I do not take that personal opinion. I believe that every single program that we provide is critical to the residents of the Northwest Territories, and especially providing services to youth.

The question asking if I would consider taking it out of the department, that is not one that I am prepared to answer at this point because it will take consultation with the departments, and consultation with stakeholders as well because in recognizing that community governments are one of our biggest providers of youth programming, and I really don't want to lose the great work that community governments do to support youth within our communities, all communities in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have questions for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. In my Member's statement, I talked about both remediation and environmental assessment for Kam Lake. Can the Minister tell me if an environmental assessment has been done for Kam Lake? Thank you.

Masi. Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. ENR is not aware of any environmental assessment that was conducted on Kam Lake and Grace Lake. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Does the department have any awareness of arsenic levels in the waters of Kam Lake itself? I believe there was testing done on Grace Lake, so this would specifically be about Kam Lake, and any potential arsenic or contaminants in the water.