Masi. Minister of Transportation.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can get back to the Member with the exact details on it, but I can tell him right off the top between medical travel and business and relocation tickets that were out of Yellowknife, it comes to 3.7 per cent of total travel out of Yellowknife. It is roughly over 10,000 flights. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I thank the Minister for his commitment to get back. We are hearing different numbers out there, so it would be really nice to see what the percentage of this is. Mr. Speaker, with a percentage of this money going to the airlines, which we have heard in the news, how long did the department know about this, and why wasn't this part of the information package out to the public as they were promoting this new initiative?
We have known about this all along, that there was a fee charged by the airlines to implement this and a cost associated with them. It is customary right across Canada, as the article said in the newspaper yesterday. I don't believe we have presented it to standing committee or to the public in our presentations, just believing we were focusing on the costs of the airport improvement fee, which was important to get that out there so people know the cost of the southbound and northbound ticket. It was probably our oversight that this part wasn't included in it. That is my explanation on it.
I thank the Minister for that answer. I understand what they were trying to do. I just didn't know this fee existed, and I don't know a lot of people probably did know that. Mr. Speaker, as the honourable Member for Kam Lake spoke about the airline collecting these fees and charging administration fees, has the department agreed to a percentage that the government is going to accept the airlines to do it, or is this something that the airlines actually impose on the government for collecting these fees?
As we move forward, I believe this is something, like I said in the House yesterday, it is something we are keeping a close eye on across the country. If this bill passes in the House, we will definitely get back to committee on what is going on and keep everyone informed on where this process is going.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for his answer. I guess I am just a little concerned that we are not being proactive in looking at this at the very beginning. I understand that the department is trying to get these fees implemented, but there are these hidden costs that people are not aware of and that should be looked at. Is the department willing to look at capping this administration fee at 4 per cent, which is a standard administration fee? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As we were moving forward with this and learning more about the whole process, the airlines have argued that there is a financial burden put upon them by collecting this fee. It has been negotiated across the country to remit the airline improvement fee to them and give them a commission on this moving forward. We are well aware of the situation. It is a balancing act, just like anything, if we are going to impose this on the airlines, that they are reimbursed something that is sustainable for them as well moving forward. I wouldn't say it is a hidden fee. It is part of the $20 or the $10 moving south, but that is a fee that is included within that amount, so it is not an additional fee that goes to the customer. We will keep committee informed on that as this moves forward and where we end up on a commission.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier I spoke on the United Nations Declarations on the Rights of Indigenous People. My questions are to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs. In the past the GNWT has played the key role in terms of the national and international levels. I wanted to ask the Minister what ways, in his view, is the GNWT going to continue working to uphold the United Nations Declarations on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples? Mahsi.
Masi. The Honourable Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In response to previous questions, I indicated that we were waiting for the Government of Canada to determine how they would approach their endorsement of UNDRIP. As the Member stated, in the United Nations, Minister Bennett indicated that Canada was going to unequivocally endorse the UNDRIP provisions. Subsequent to that, the federal Minister of Justice qualified that statement because we all wondered exactly what the Government of Canada meant. The federal Minister of Justice qualified that to indicate that they endorse the UNDRIP, subject to the Constitution of Canada. That allows us to proceed on that basis. Certainly we will recognize and conduct ourselves accordingly when we work with UNDRIP. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
In light of the negotiations that are currently going on, or in terms of some of the outstanding regions that still have to get to the table, the observations from parties has been the land claim policy, which could be perhaps problematic from the parties' perspectives, it depends on what side of the table you are on, but basically the land claims model that the federal Government of Canada is upholding is based on the United States' model, which basically was following the first achievement of a land claim agreement with First Nation people in Alaska then. My question is, in the eyes of the international states, how does the GNWT view a fair and just settlement of land and resource rights for the people in the NWT?
As we have indicated, we have a ministerial special representative that is working on behalf of the federal government and our government to have in-depth review of the process that we have been using to negotiate the land claims. Some of these land claims, negotiations, have been long-standing, as long as 25 years. Our expectation is that the ministerial special representatives will identify or have been tasked with looking at what the major roadblocks and issues are that are preventing us from moving forward and to make some recommendations that will allow us to move forward.
Thank you to the Minister for answering the few questions that I had. It is true that the ministerial special reporter has met with all parties and will be more likely tabling the report to the parties, including the GNWT and the federal government. Could the Minister explain just the key steps of the go-forward work plan that he anticipates will follow once the reports have been received by the parties?
The way I see it is both the federal government and ourselves will receive the report from the ministerial special representatives. We expect to have it, we said, by the end of February. I expect that within the next couple of weeks we will have it. I will be meeting with Minister Bennett to determine a path forward, and once we determine the path forward we will take action. My expectation is that at some point we will work with our joint Cabinet and special committee. We will also work with the Aboriginal governments that are involved in the negotiations.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My final question is that it seems that, you know, there is a waiting game at this point in terms of when the reports will be received and then there is a contemplation of the next steps, and it seems very clear that, of course, within the framework of the federal government, including the GNWT or the Northwest Territories, it is almost that we have to wait for the lead of the federal government. One of the points that have been made by the parties is that there has to be a new mandate from the federal government including the GNWT. Is that the case, Mr. Speaker?
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is our expectation that the Ministerial Special Representatives Report will look at all of the challenges and issues that have prevented us from getting an agreement by now. So if that is part of the problem, I expect the ministerial special representatives will identify it and make some recommendations. Certainly before we went with the ministerial representative, we certainly felt or indicated that perhaps part of the problem was the mandates that we were working with.
So I am looking forward to receiving the report of ministerial special representatives, and I fully expect that they will make some reference to the mandate issues as well.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a follow-up to my Member's statement. I have a few questions for the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation. I would like to ask the Minister: will the Housing Corporation reclassify the modular units in Aklavik to add to the community's public housing stock and get more people into homes of their own? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As part of the program renewal that we are actually right in the process of doing now, all available housing units within every community are going to be looked at, and if they are not being utilized for the purpose that they were put there, they will be repurposed into a new use. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
That is good to hear. The housing survey closed on February 27th. What are the Minister's next steps to take action on what they have learned?
I am really excited that the housing survey is now finished, in all honesty. It means that we can get down to work. The department right at this moment, the corporation is compiling all the results and putting them into categories. For example, some are around home ownership, some are around homelessness, et cetera. They are also categorizing it by community. After that process, we will be going through them one by one and looking at, like I say, every program and every policy that we provide and revitalizing them to meet the needs of the community, to meet the needs of residents within the Northwest Territories.
Can the Minister provide a status update on the project that is introducing a singles four-plex into Aklavik?
I am sorry. At this moment, I do not know the answer of what the status is on the four-plex. I will have to get back to the MLA on that.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, is it safe to say that the project is on schedule? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As stated before, I do not know exactly what the status is today, so I will have to get back to the MLA on what the status is today.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Marci Cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a couple of questions today for the Minister of NWT Housing Corporation pertaining to the aging-in-place initiative that is in our mandate. I would like to ask the Minister if there has been any form of evaluation to determine what the cost savings of aging-in-place would be for the GNWT. Thank you.
Masi. Minister of NWT Housing Corporation.
Mr. Speaker, no, to my knowledge we have not done an evaluation of exactly what the cost savings are to do aging-in-place. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Can the Minister tell me if there have been any discussions with the possible impacts on the need for a long-term care as a result of the upcoming work that would be anticipated by the Housing Corporation on the aging-in-place project?
The Northwest Territories Housing Corporation is working in close partnership with the Department of Health and Social Services. The goal is to help people to be able to age in place within their communities as long as possible; however, we do recognize that at some point some people do need additional support that they may have to leave their communities and at that point they may have to go into long-term care.
Is the Minister of the Housing Corporation able to advise the House if there have been any standards developed for the renovation of the units where we hope the elders would age in place?
The Northwest Territories Housing Corporation abides by all the standards, building codes, et cetera within Canada. In fact, our standards are actually higher than some provinces and territories. The reality is, though, that each individual is different and so what determines what one person who is aging in their own home needs will not be the same right across the board. So we look at each case on an individual basis to determine what supports they need in there.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister if there has been any sort of evaluation on where the first projects will be rolling out on the aging-in-place. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Northwest Territories Housing Corporation has been working for many years, actually providing supports to seniors, to people so that they can stay in their communities. So the additional $500,000 that we put into the budget for this coming year is not a new program. It is new monies that we allocated to it, but we have been working for many years to provide supports to seniors so that they can age in place, putting mobility supports in. We have not done a formal evaluation, but there are a lot of evaluations out there that show that supports for seniors, rails, ramps, et cetera, are good, are really actually quite beneficial to keeping seniors in their homes.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the Finance Minister's address, he committed to restoring funding to Aurora College to deliver the social work and teacher education programs but made note that there will be no additional intake for these two programs, so I would like to ask the Minister of Education if he can explain how this process is going to work and what the students who were previously impacted by this change can expect now that this financial commitment has come forward from this government? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As previously noted throughout the course of the dialogue in session, we are going to continue to support the students who are currently in the program, support them through to completion for the years moving ahead. As I mentioned, as the Member mentioned and the Finance Minister, there will be no intakes for the upcoming year until these programs are reviewed and the college is reviewed, as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
