Mr. Speaker, as the Premier has indicated, the Minister of Climate Change and Energy indicated, the charettes in 2012 and 2014 were to set the path today to record the way the government plans to go. It brought people together, helped clarify the thinking of government, and set the path for renewable energy and getting off diesel.
Will the government, in consideration to the items that the Premier has requested essentially saying if we can provide more information and that can be done, will the Premier appoint a senior official to be part of this collaborative working group to this critical third charette?
As a result of working on a new climate change framework and a new energy strategy, we do have a team of people that are working together from the departments of ENR and Public Works, and they work on public engagement and the development of these strategies so that they align with our long-term objectives. These teams include senior officials of the Government of the Northwest Territories, and with our responsibilities to the development of these strategies we can certainly send somebody to attend or are open to participating in stakeholder-driven engagement sessions. As I said, we will be reviewing the proposal and will consider having staff attend once we have more information on the proposed sessions and topics.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Marci cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my understanding is there is a planning meeting of a working group working towards a charette here in Yellowknife on February 22nd and 23rd. I was wondering if the Premier could commit senior officials from that group or a senior official from that group to attend the working group meeting? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said, when we get the details we will certainly look seriously at doing it. I guess the main issue for me is, if we spend $190,000 on a charette, does that mean if that charette comes out with recommendations because we spent so much money that we are bound by whatever comes out of that charette? So I guess that's the main thing that we have to look at when we are evaluating this proposal.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a few questions for the Minister responsible for Education. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask the Minister: can the Minister provide a status update on work towards planning for renovations or replacement at Moose Kerr School site? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just a little bit of history. Between 2008 and 2016 a number of significant facility upgrades totalling the amount of $2.256 million were completed to repair and upgrade the building. The existing condition of the building will need to be assessed prior to a recommendation for renovation or replacement. Should the assessment determine that a renovation is required, a planning study will be launched in 2018-19 to begin this process. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Over the past five years in the Assembly I've noticed a lot of our buildings that are up for major repair or retrofit actually get replaced. A good example is our Stanton Territorial Hospital. We have other facilities in other communities as well, the Joe Greenland Centre.
Mr. Speaker, I just have another question for the Minister: when was the Moose Kerr School last assessed for asbestos risk? The school was built at the same time as Samuel Hearne, and in Samuel Hearne they actually found asbestos in that building. That was one of the reasons why that was replaced as well.
Public Works and Services is the facility maintainer. They do not typically undertake assessments specifically for asbestos; it is done as part of the routine preventative maintenance procedures. ECE is aware of asbestos in the crawl space and on the piping elbows, and it is contained and in good shape. The next annual inspection is scheduled for May-June 2017.
I'm looking forward to that assessment. Would the Minister please provide a report once that's available?
Yes, our department will work with Public Works and Services on that report and provide it to the Member.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, these are questions for the Minister of ITI about tourism. It's very important in my riding; it's a beautiful country and that. Can the Minister please advise this House what his department is doing for the smaller communities in helping promote tourism? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last year ITI invested over $5 million in direct grants and contributions to tourism-related business and initiatives in the NWT. Funding is available to qualified businesses under a number of programs, one of them being the Community Tourism Coordinator program, this one we've just announced that helps communities advance regional product development and packaging. We fund specific marketing arrangements with the NWT Tourism, which helps all the members of NWT Tourism and it allows the regions to market and promote products in their regions and operations. We're always investing in capacity of our regions and our operators to promote themselves and their businesses.
This year we've leveraged a partnership with CanNor to deliver regional workshops on transforming NWT communities through tourism, and regional tourism advisors exists in every regional office to work with operators directly. We continue to deliver the Community Tourism Infrastructure Contribution program to encourage the development of community tourism and infrastructure in all regions in the NWT. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
It's great to hear what the department's doing, but can the Minister provide a breakdown per regions and what ridings with the money that's being spent in these areas?
Yes, we can get that stuff together for the Member, as tourism is wide and broad in the Northwest Territories and each region is represented in different capacities. So we can pull that stuff together for the Member.
I thank the Minister for that answer. It will be very helpful. In my last constituency tour, some of the people were talking about utilizing their skiffs, their outboards. Not jet boats, because a lot of tourists come to my riding, they don’t want to go on a jet boat, but they would like to go on a skiff. The biggest challenge for my communities is about the insurance. So can the Minister please provide us what he's able to do for small businesses in regard to this insurance issue?
This is one of the things that was identified in the NWT Economic Strategy when they went around in the last Assembly, and it was identified as an issue. The insurance program was put in place in 2014 through NWT Tourism that leverages buying power of its membership, so they all tend to buy as a cooperative, I believe, and that's still in place. This year ITI is also supporting NWT operators with a number of workshops and initiatives that promote risk management and training safety for the tourism operators, and we are making safety plans as part of our application for tourism licences which this gives the opportunity to work with the tourism operators to mitigate risks and NWT Tourism products through effective safety planning. That's what we're doing for tourism for insurance right now.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Minister for his answer. That's some pretty exciting news, and safety is very important. When he talked about CanNor previously and bringing them in, and it's great, but some of the people in my riding are asking why are we bringing southern companies in to promote tourism when we could be looking at our successful tourism businesses in the North and getting these people to provide information and training that showed off their success. Could the Minister please advise this House how southern companies are brought in for tourism training and not northern companies? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm not quite clear what the Member's referring to as bringing in southern companies for tourism, but I do know that as a government as a whole we put a lot of emphasis on using NWT products and services and we follow our BIP policy and all that as much as we can to offer services. In the Department of ITI we have a Tourism Mentorship program, and maybe that's what the Member's referring to where operators can access this program. It's done through the Canadian Executive Service Organization, and they will match up any potential operators with a mentor and they will work with the mentee. Depending on the proposal, the mentee can go to the mentors or the mentor can come to the mentees' operation and help facilitate how they can make their operation a more profitable business for themselves and for a better tourism experience for all tourists.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have some questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment about instructional hours. Mr. Speaker, I'd like the Minister to answer this question: what discussions, if any, have been held with Alberta Education about delivering the Alberta curriculum in fewer hours than prescribed for the curriculum at the high school level? Mahsi.
Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don’t have that level of detail or the specifics at this moment, so I'll take the question as notice. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document entitled "Report of Special Warrants Issued – November 5, 2016 to January 30, 2017." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Tabling of documents. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document entitled "Follow-up Letter to Oral Question 343-18(2): Small Business Funding Supports." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Tabling of documents. Pursuant to Section 23 of the Official Language Act, I wish to table "Office of the Languages Commissioner for the Northwest Territories Annual Report 2015-2016," and I wish to draw your attention, Members, to the presence of the language commissioner, Ms. Shannon Gullberg, who is with us here in the gallery today. Welcome.
Pursuant to Section 99 of the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act, I hereby table the "Northwest Territories Conflict of Interest Commissioner Annual Report to the Legislative Assembly for 2016." Tabling of documents. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to table the following document entitled "The Path to Prosperity Report from the Advisory Council on Economic Growth, February 6, 2017."
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
First reading of bills. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Range Lake that Bill 16, An Act to Amend the Education Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi, Minister. Unfortunately, the seconder is not in the room. First reading of bills. Minister of Finance.
Bill 15:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River South, that Bill 15, An Act to Amend the Tobacco Tax Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. The motion is on the floor. To the motion.
