Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you to the Minister for his reply. Mr. Speaker, finally, can the Minister tell us, Tourism 2020 recommends developing a large number of programs and resources like a welcoming program, an elders-in-residence program, and tourism guide books, to name a few. What progress are we making on these initiatives? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe, on Tourism 2020, we are making quite a bit of progress on a lot of different initiatives. We have just announced the new community tourism coordinator program to advance regional product development and packaging. We are focusing on risk management training, like I just mentioned, in the NWT for tourism operators. We continue to deliver community tours and infrastructure contributions to encourage development of community tourism infrastructure across the Northwest Territories. There are many initiatives under the Tourism 2020 plan, which was there to replace the previous two five-year plans. These things are moving ahead. As everyone knows in this House, tourism is the highlight of our economy moving forward. There is great expansive growth there. We will continue to support it.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Earlier I spoke about the Aboriginal Head Start program and its establishment in the Northwest Territories since 1995. So my question is to the Minister. Can the Minister indicate when Regular Members can expect the government's response to Motion 26-18(2)? Mahsi.
Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. From the Member's statement earlier, we did contact the department and ask them to give us an update. I don’t have a firm date right now, but as soon as soon as we get it we will share it with the Members. Thank you.
I'd like to thank the Minister for his reply. How is the department working to address the questions and concerns of parents and educators who do not wish to change from the Aboriginal Head Start program to junior kindergarten?
As I said in the House yesterday, we're sending out packages to all the parents across the Northwest Territories. With the Aboriginal Head Start staff, our department has already been engaging with the staff. We made trips to Fort McPherson, Fort Providence, K’atlodeeche First Nations, and had those initial discussions and talks about implementing junior kindergarten for the 2017-18 school year.
My question relates to, of course, the optional head start program. So how will the introduction of junior kindergarten impact the funding granted to Aboriginal Head Start program's sites for the GNWT?
There will be no impact on the funds. We will still continue to fund the eight Aboriginal Head Start programs. In 2015-16 we funded them to the tune of $260,000. We're expecting, at the end of this year, the funds that we've given to all eight organizations would be in the area of around $285,000.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my final question is, there continue to be some anxiety concerning the fate of the Aboriginal Head Start program in light of the roll into the junior kindergarten. Has the Minister engaged his federal colleague who is mandated to oversee the Aboriginal Head Start programs here in the NWT and also the funding in terms of committing the dollars to these eight sites in the NWT? Has the Minister engaged his federal colleague to see if, you know, the two programs could exist in parallel to each other? Mahsi.
I personally have not engaged in that meeting. We did have staff meet with the Canadian Public Health Association of Canada. We invited Aboriginal Head Start staff in on that meeting to talk about the federal funding, and that wouldn't be affected. Currently, we do a joint junior kindergarten/Aboriginal Head Start program coexisting in some of our communities where they're both providing half-day services so families have that opportunity to have full daycare, quality early childhood programming for their kids.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister for Transportation spoke about the Mackenzie Valley Highway from Wrigley to Norman Wells, and he provided, you know, the importance of this road being granted resources and traditional lands that gives opportunity for recreation and tourism. It will create jobs, general training opportunities, and heavy equipment opportunities for training. So can the Minister please -- or yourself, Mr. Speaker -- when can we expect to see funding for other access roads projects, or is it focused entirely on the Mackenzie Valley Highway, the $700 million? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Minister of Transportation.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all, the Mackenzie Valley Highway, as I said in my Member's statement yesterday, has been suspended by the federal government while they consider new infrastructure programs. So we're waiting to hear on the details on the infrastructure programs, hopefully when the federal budget comes out here in the next month or so, but there's a significant amount of work that is still going on with the highway. Our environmental assessment has started for the Wrigley to Norman Wells' section. Community consultations have been undertaken by the Review Board and the terms of reference for a developer's assessment report.
So additional work is currently on hold due to funds, and we're also working with ENR on this right now to prepare plans on how to manage caribou and how can that occur together when we build a highway. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I thank the Minister for his answer. I guess the big challenge is that this whole project from the Deh Cho from Wrigley up for 100 kilometres would have a huge impact not just on my riding but in the Member from the other side's riding and the Member from Hay River North's riding, as well. My colleague from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh and my Member from Deh Cho at least have the potential for these great things. So I understand that the Canyon Creek access road is the first step for the Sahtu segment, and it's important to get the gravel there. Is the department doing any work of similar access roads in the Deh Cho from Wrigley moving north?
First of all, the Canyon Creek access road that we just announced was initiated by the Sahtu region. This was brought forward a long time ago by the people of Sahtu and the Aboriginal governments. They spend a significant amount of time and energy on this project to advance it. It speaks to the benefits like the Member just stated of jobs and employment opportunities and training. Federal opportunities came along at the right time for this project and allowed this project to move forward, and it has.
If the Member's community of Wrigley and the Deh Cho wanted to have an interest in promoting a project similar to this in their region, they would have to identify something similar to their project and they would have to contribute to the long-term objective of the Mackenzie Valley Highway, meaning we would like it to probably line up significantly with the project so it wouldn't take away from the project. If they were to do something like that we would certainly sit down with them to look at opportunities and how we would support it and seek opportunities for federal funding for such a project.
I thank the Minister for his answer. That kind of led into my other question I was going to ask anyway, but I'll, you know, modify it a little bit here. So when can I expect the Minister to come work with us and maybe bring the Minister of Lands to come along and meet with these communities and do a community regional tour? So when can we look at this? Is it going to be sooner or later?
Like I said, first of all, it would have to be something driven by the community and the region. They would have to all work together to say this is a project that they would all be supportive of and want to bring forward to the Government of the Northwest Territories. That would be the first step. So as long as we have consensus on stuff, we could sit down and look at the proposal. As far as doing a tour of the region, I think we've been asked twice already and due to timing I couldn't make it to the region, but at some point we're going to have to get out there and just talk to the region, especially the Deh Cho and all the communities that the Member has.
Like I said, any new project like this would still require a new source of funding, and that would be something we would have to move onto, but the first step is to get regional support from the community and the region to bring this forward. The community of Wrigley was involved in the application of the Mackenzie Valley Highway, so they have a lot of knowledge and probably some paperwork on how that project was advanced, and that would be probably some supportive documents they would need to do, some type of project similar to Canyon Creek.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Minister for his answer. Don’t get me wrong. I think it's very important, the work that this government has been able to for the Sahtu in that one section of the road. The completion of Mackenzie Valley Highway is important for the residents of Nahendeh and Sahtu, but the whole NWT. The environment or the economic opportunities it will bring by lowering the cost of living and bringing the needed opportunities for future development is there.
I'm pleased to see that the Canyon Creek access project, as I said again, it's happened. What else is being done by this government to ensure this advancement of the Mackenzie Valley Highway? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Like I've said, we've already submitted the proposal to the federal government. It is on hold right now based on what they're going to do with their infrastructure needs. Hopefully the federal government addresses this project and many other projects that we've submitted under infrastructure for this territorial government in the federal budget coming out in the next couple of weeks. We have done pretty much everything we can do to advance this project until we hear back from them.
Like I said, we're working with ENR on preparing plans for management of caribou, we have the environmental assessment to complete, but all that stuff is tied to funding and we are going to be dependent on the federal government to how we advance the Mackenzie Valley Highway as a project and as a complete package moving forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Justice. In response to my questions on the topic of records of non-conviction in November, the Minister said that criminal records checks are intended to protect vulnerable groups and "essential in certain circumstances dealing with vulnerable populations or children." To be clear, does the Minister really believe that the police should be making any records public which do not deal with a conviction for a criminal offence but disclose only that a person has been in contact with the police or justice system? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Justice.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's important to remember that there are two types of criminal record checks. There's the standard criminal record check and a vulnerable sector check. A criminal record check verifies whether an individual has a criminal record. That's the standard record we often see in court with convictions. A vulnerable sector check verifies whether someone has a criminal record as well as any record suspensions, which means pardons, for sexual offences and includes local police records for information relevant to the situation.
Now if a vulnerable sector check is requested, there's a procedure. They simply cannot be asked for arbitrarily. The initial decision to request is made by the hiring organization. If they determine the position is one of trust or authority over children or vulnerable persons, they can request that an applicant for the position obtain a vulnerable sector check. The applicant then applies to the local police service where they live. The applicant will have to provide certain information, including the description of the position, the name of the organization, and details regarding children or vulnerable persons. The police then will use this information to determine if the position meets the legal requirement to conduct a vulnerable sector check.
So only in those circumstances will a vulnerable sector check be provided to the applicant, who will then have the option of providing that to the potential employer. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thanks to the Minister for that answer. The Canadian Civil Liberties Association research says that there's no evidence that these checks reduce the risk of crime or violent offences. So 17 years on, perhaps it's time to test the assumptions behind them. Will the Minister agree that an evaluation of the effectiveness of these checks should now take place?
Yes, I understand that the Ontario Civil Liberties Association has produced a paper and I have had the opportunity of reading that paper. It may be time to look at these vulnerable record checks; however, I still think they have considerable value.
Thanks to the Minister for that response. I'm going to ask a follow-up question. In what circumstances are they valuable if they are revealing information that is not a conviction but only that a person has had some kind of contact with the justice system or the police?
When the relevant legislation came into effect in the year 2000 it was thought some additional protection was needed for vulnerable groups and children, and that was the reason that vulnerable record checks are permitted. As I say, it must be established that the position is one of trust over children or a vulnerable group; therefore, I suggest that the number of vulnerable record checks should be very limited and limited only to those occasions where required.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Finally, Mr. Speaker, I asked the Minister whether he would consult with his federal and provincial counterparts and he said, and I quote, "I'm always willing to consult." So can the Minister state his commitment to suggest that an evaluation of the application of the Criminal Records Act be placed on the agenda of the next FPT Justice Ministers' meeting? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
No, Mr. Speaker, I'm not going to make that kind of commitment. I do realize this is a live issue. As I say, I did take the time of reading the excellent paper provided or prepared by the Ontario Civil Liberties Association and I understand that discussions regarding this matter are taking place in the Justice Departments of Ontario and federally. I will not put it on the next FTP. I don't know if I would have the power to do so unilaterally in any case; however, I will discuss this matter with my federal and provincial counterparts.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Hay River North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier I spoke about open government and the public consultation meeting that the Minister of Public Engagement and Transparency will be holding in Hay River this Monday at 7:00 p.m. at the Ptarmigan Inn. I've been advertising this on Facebook, on my website, and my CA has printed posters, put them up around town. I'm working hard to get the word out so we can get some people there because I think this is an important issue. Now I'll give the Minister a chance to put in some work and sell this to the residents of Hay River.
So my first question is: why should anyone care about open government? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister responsible for Public Engagement and Transparency.
Well, I think that anyone and everyone should be concerned about open government. When we discussed the mandate early on in the -- about a year and a half ago now almost, it was one of the essential items that we did discuss. In my mandate letter it was made clear that this is an important project for this government and for all of the Members of this House. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I was hoping for a bit more razzle-dazzle to really sell this.
---Laughter
Maybe if the Minister could be a little bit more descriptive. What can the public expect to discuss at this meeting?
This will be the second public meeting we've had. We had a meeting in December in Fort Smith and people raised a wide variety of matters, including engagement with the government, access to data, so I expect that those types of issues will be brought up in Hay River. I can advise that we will be visiting many of the other communities in the next month or two, so I expect a wide variety of matters to be discussed, open government, engagement, access to information being only three.
I know that the policy is still in development, hence the public engagement, but how does the Minister envision this policy rolling out? How will it look when it's on the ground and it is being used by the departments?
I am sure it will look great. I don't think we went into this with any preconceptions as to what the ultimate policy would look like. We looked at policies from other jurisdictions, but we really are engaging with the public, seeking their input, which will make the policy as good as possible.
Oral questions. Member for Hay River North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister has sold me. I will be there at the meeting on Monday night. My question is: when can we expect the policy to be completed, but, more importantly, when can we expect this to be implemented? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
It is in due course. Mr. Speaker, I am very glad that the Member opposite will be there on Monday. This may not be an item that engages the general public, so I am looking forward to informed information both from the Member opposite and for the people of Hay River. We have heard from some. We are expecting perhaps a dozen at least. As I said, we are going on quite a road show for this project. We are visiting a large number of communities. I would hope that we would have the policy completed by mid-year and shortly after were it implemented. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
