I thank the Minister for giving us that information. That is very helpful, and I will be able to utilize that in my office and when I go on tour. One question that does happen to me, in my riding, is: why does not the department factor in freight into these calculations, especially in my riding?
The income assistance program does not specifically subsidize freight. When we do the calculations, all the factors that I have mentioned before are what we use. Moving forward, however, the Nutrition North Canada Program offered by the Government of Canada provides vendors with a subsidy for freight costs.
Mahsi cho to the Minister for his answer. I am in a unique situation, and I think I am unique here in the 19 ridings, as I have two communities that do not have stores. They have to rely on going to another community. Does the department take into consideration this factor when they come up with the subsidy?
When we look at the Income Assistance Program, the benefit levels are determined on a few factors in partnership with the NWT Bureau of Statistics, using information from the Northern Market Basket Measure, the NWT Community Price Survey, and the living cost differential. These are measures of costs of living in the Northwest Territories. We also use the Consumer Price Index, the Food Price Index, and the lowincome measure scale, which are nationally recognized models for determining income assistance rates. Those are what we are using for each of the communities in the NWT.
Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for his answer. It is still a little confusing here, though. We don't have a store in two of my communities, so the food basket is in, I would assume, Hay River or Fort Simpson, which, depending on the community and depending on the season, is either an hourandahalf ride to Fort Simpson or a fourandahalfhour ride to Hay River, which adds on to the costs of my residents. Will the Minister make a commitment to get his department to look into this unique situation for these two communities and come up with a subsidy that would help them move forward? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We can take a look into the unique situation. Obviously, it is right across the Northwest Territories. We do have a lot of communities that don't have access by roads. However, all the factors, all the indicators that we do when we measure the benefits I believe take all that into consideration when we are looking at clients who are on income assistance. We can take a look at that unique situation. However, I think everything that I have said today takes every community, every individual and unique situation every community has and it is calculated to the best interests of the clients in that community.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Question 597-18(2):
Merci, Monsieur le President. [Translation] I have some questions for the Minister of Lands [Translation ends]. Again, the mandate commitment is complete land use plans for all areas, including regions without land and resource agreements in collaboration with Aboriginal governments. So I would like to ask the Minister, of the two regions without land and resource agreements, the Akaitcho and the Deh Cho, what is the status of those two land use plans? Thank you.
Masi. Minister of Lands.
Mr. Speaker, I can advise that, in the Deh Cho, a draft Deh Cho land use plan has been developed through the Deh Cho process. There are some remaining issues to be resolved, and the plan would then need to be approved by the parties involved, the Government of the Northwest Territories, Canada, and the Deh Cho. In all other areas, we are assisting Aboriginal governments in building capacity, and hopefully that will lead to resolution of these issues. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
On the Deh Cho process, my understanding is that the interim draft land use plan has been approved since 2005, so what has kept our government from signing off on that land use plan for over a decade?
There have certainly been delays. There are serious outstanding issues that the parties need to negotiate, implementation, for one; zoning around communities, pipelines, and so on. So, we are attempting to move ahead with this, but there are complicated outstanding issues.
The government has had 10 years to work out these issues. Is it going to take another 10?
Hopefully not.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Minister for being brief in his response. Mr. Speaker, does the Minister have any suggestions or new directions that he's going to take his department in getting this land use plan done and succeeding in his mandate, to his department and his own mandate, commitment to complete the land use plan? Thank you.
Yes, certainly going back to the mandate of this government, we do want to move ahead with all these types of negotiations. I can advise that a senior member of the government, the ADM of Environment and Natural Resources, is working very hard on this file.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I'd like to answer my question in English about the expansion of Ecole Allain St-Cyr. Can the Minister provide an update on the status of this project? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I appreciate the Member's interest in this program. It's been an ongoing issue in the Court of Appeal since January 2015. The most recent update is that we have finalized the schematic design that was approved by both the CFSTNO and the departments. It has gone out for an RFP with the standard gym as the basis for evaluation with the option price for the expanded regional-sized gym that can be selected solely based on the GNWT discretion.
The RFP will close March 10, 2017, and we're expecting to break ground spring of this year and hopefully have the work completed in the fall of 2018. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I appreciate the response from the Minister and, yes, this is something that's a passion of mine and it's certainly in my riding. My understanding, Mr. Speaker, is that there has been a submission to Heritage Canada, but there's still some discussions, I guess, going on about what the final design is going to look like, and I don’t believe that there's actually letters of support yet from the commission or the Francophone Parents Association. So is it the intention of the Minister to seek letters of support and come to an agreement on a final design?
The department did present and work with CFSTNO on a schematic design and finalized it based on what the Court of Appeal had brought forth and, in fact, the department has committed to assuming responsibility for funding of the project in its entirety based on the final design, which was more than what was recommended out of the NWT Court of Appeal, and that's the design that we are going with.
Can the Minister tell me then how does the department usually work with school boards when it comes to capital projects involving expansion of the school? Is there a representative on the Design Committee or an Oversight Committee? How will the department work with the commission on this case and how do they generally approach these matters?
Based on the enrolment and the size of the school as well community size and population, there are a lot of criteria that comes into play here and also standards within the school. When working with the school boards, obviously it varies from community to community. We have another situation such as Colville Lake where we're looking at building the school to a set standard. The community wants to make some changes, so they have to go and look for third-party funding as well. So it's working with the school boards and we just follow the standards that are set out in legislation.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Minister and thank him for his response, but I guess I didn't really get an answer. I want to know specifically what role will the commission have in this particular expansion project. Is there going to be a joint committee that can look at placement, design of the classrooms, make sure that the facility meets the needs of the commission, the francophone community? What exact involvement is the commission going to have as this project moves forward? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
As I mentioned earlier, the department has worked with CFSTNO to look at creating that final schematic design based on the Court of Appeal order, which was two years ago. There was agreement on that design to move forward with option, and the RFP did go out with an option of the expansion. I do understand that the CFSTNO was looking for third-party funding, and we did make a submission as well to Heritage Canada, but yet have not heard any commitment of funding moving forward.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Justice. Mr. Speaker, my first question about the recent protocol was mentioned. What community policing protocols are in place now across Northwest Territories to help achieve mutual respect between the RCMP and communities and prevent conflicts and respond effectively to crisis? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Justice.
Yes, Mr. Speaker. I think we were all encouraged to hear about the protocol referred to by the Member opposite between the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation and the RCMP. I can advise that in 2013 there was an agreement signed between the RCMP and the Dene Nation; a public safety protocol was signed. So hopefully these two types of protocols and agreements can be a template for other organizations and regions. Thank you.
Given the tenure of the RCMP members in our small communities, how often will crisis awareness training take place and how will it be fit into officers' workloads in small communities and remote detachments?
I can advise that all RCMP cadets receive problem-solving training based at depot and where cultural awareness is woven in with concept of human rights, harassment, discrimination, ethics, and bias-free policing and crisis management. Cultural awareness training comprises of 66 hours of depot training curriculum, of which 17 hours is dedicated to Aboriginal-specific training, and I can advise also that members transferred to G Division must complete a mandatory six-hour Aboriginal awareness online course through the RCMP's internal education system. So hopefully officers are well equipped to deal with cultural and crisis issues in our small communities.
I appreciate the response. Mr. Speaker, my final question to the Minister is: how are the provisions of the protocol different from what was currently in place in the Beaufort Delta?
All communities do have, of course, policing priorities and action plans with the RCMP; however, specifically dealing with the protocol, the protocol establishes in writing a trusting and reciprocal relationship between the IRC and the RCMP. These relationships of course already exist; however, the signing of the agreement helps to support the relationships that currently exist and hopefully build on them.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Hay River North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A couple of times now I've asked the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment about why the position manager of traditional economy, agriculture, and fisheries is located in Yellowknife as opposed to the centre of agriculture and fisheries which is Hay River. The position manages two employees. One is supposed to be positioned in Hay River. The role of this position is to set the direction for the sectors, design and deliver strategies, develop the terms of reference. It is centred on developing these sectors as future industries and opportunities in the territory.
Now, when I ask the Minister why this position is in Yellowknife, his answer is because it is pan-territorial. I would like to ask the Minister, what does he mean that it is pan-territorial that requires it to be in Yellowknife? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I've answered this question a number of times already, this is a pan-territorial position that represents all citizens of the Northwest Territories. We have reallocated the position in Hay River that was presently there, away from agriculture, to look after the fishing and agriculture industry to help facilitate that in the South Slave. The position that the Member opposite is referring to is based out of Yellowknife, and it needs to be here to look after the whole Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
As I also mentioned, I believe 1.2 million pounds of fish were caught in the South Slave, brought to the fish plant in Hay River. I think 68,000 pounds were caught in the North Slave, and I think 10,000 up in the Mackenzie Delta. Clearly, the vast majority of work is in Hay River. There is an agriculture strategy, which the most employment and industry is going to be created in Hay River. Same with the fishery strategy. When the Minister says "pan-territorial," everything I am saying, it seems to be in the South. The only thing that I can think of that is really pan-territorial is these community gardens that are in all the communities. Is that what the Minister is referring to, the community garden aspect of the agriculture?
There are a couple of things I want to say. First of all, Norman Wells grew 9,000 pounds of potatoes. That's not some small, little community garden we are talking about. There is a region at looking at extending their agriculture. I have had conversations with people in Fort Good Hope who want to do commercial agriculture in their region as well.
As much as the South Slave is maybe thinking they are the agricultural hub of the Northwest Territories, there are a number of communities that are already reaching out and doing it. Gameti is another good example, with what they have been able to accomplish there with the small amount of funds that we made available to them. We want to grow this industry to make people self-sufficient in the Northwest Territories, and I don't think the discussion should be about if there is a job in Hay River or Yellowknife. This is about growing the industry, and diversifying our economy in the Northwest Territories.
I am glad to hear that agriculture is sprouting out to all over the territory. I guess my issue is that I have seen that fish plant sitting in Hay River, no work being done to it for decades, and its industry sort of floating along there. Things are moving now, but I cannot help but think that if the person who is responsible for driving the sector had to drive by that fish plant every day, things might move a little faster. Will the Minister at least commit to looking into the idea of moving this? Can he commit to exploring the benefits that might come out of having this positon in Hay River?
I have made my position quite clear on this. I want to talk about fishing a little bit because he's talking about fishing. I had just happened to have the opportunity to go to the fish plant last week when I was home. One thing I can say, yes, fishing is a big part of Hay River industry, but the Member from the Beau-Del there, from Mr. Blake, has approached us about doing commercial fishing in Northwest Territories. This is going to have greater implications than just in Hay River, plus we also have money set aside, $1.4 million invested in the Hay River plant as we move forward, if we can make a deal with Freshwater and the federal government.
Masi. Again, I would like to remind Members to refer to Members in their riding, please. Thank you. Oral questions. Member for Hay River North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Minister's comments. I'd love to see that there is agriculture throughout the territory. There is commercial fishing growing throughout the territory, but if it is so important to have the position in Yellowknife because this is pan-territorial, how come the superintendent from the South Slave is going up to the Beaufort Delta to look into the fish plant? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
