Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to recognize the current Pages and the previous Pages who assisted us during the session, and the staff in behind the scenes, as well as the interpreters and writers of the Hansard who help us during the session. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise to today to acknowledge my constituent Lydia Bardak. Ms. Bardak is the North Slave region Wise Woman award winner for 2017. Ms. Bardak came north to work with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. Work with a blind prisoner led her into the career she is best known for, executive director of the John Howard Society. Ms. Bardak made a strong connection with the street population and remains an effective advocate for them in the justice system. Congratulations to Lydia Bardak for this well-deserved award. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Marci cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have questions for the Premier. Mr. Speaker, yesterday at the rise of the House we had a presentation on the Taltson Hydro Expansion. I asked the Minister if they were going to do any consultation with Aboriginal groups that are affected by the Taltson River Expansion and he said no. So I would like to ask the Premier if that's the policy of this government not to consult with people on potentially the biggest project that this government is going to be taking on?
Masi. The Honourable Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can assure the Member that as soon as we have a project where we have a customer and where we have secured federal funding and support, we will be out there consulting. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Several other organizations, including the Saskatchewan government, are aware of what is happening obviously because they're going to be the main customer. What would be the issue with engaging Aboriginal governments now rather than later?
We've been down this road before. Previously we spent $13 million in the hopes of finding a customer. That project did not materialize and we do not intend to go forward without a customer or without an indication of federal support.
That project that moved forward previously was Deze; that had Aboriginal partners. Aboriginal people were instrumental in moving it forward and supporting it so that the diamond industry could become a customer. Because of the life of the diamond mines we were unable to make a deal, this is a little different scenario. If they were involved in Deze, are we just living off the consultation from back then or are we planning on engaging Aboriginal governments sooner than later?
The Taltson River has 18 megawatts of installed hydro capacity but has 200 megawatts of hydro potential which could be developed over the next decade. The Taltson Hydro Expansion combined with a southern transmission link, could provide a green energy corridor that would stabilize power costs in the North, displace coal generation in the South and remove economic barriers to remote resource development. The first phase, if we go down that route, would leverage past work to build a 60-megawatt hydro expansion within five years that would double the Northwest Territories hydro capacity and eliminate 360,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually.
The Government of the Northwest Territories has engaged the Saskatchewan government and SaskPower to explore the costs and market conditions for a project linked with their jurisdiction. Alberta is also an area of interest. Our government has signed on to the pan-Canadian climate framework. We have identified this as a priority with the Government of Canada. We have no indication whether they are committed to that. We are hopeful that we have a positive signal from the federal budget that will be out on March 22nd, and we have been criticized for advancing the House in projects. Until we have customers and until we have an indication of federal support, we do not think we have a project. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the mid-1960s, the Taltson Hydro Project was brought in without consultation at all with Aboriginal organizations. This is an expansion that is going to increase the size of that at least threefold. The first time it was done without consultation, I asked a previous Minister before: what would happen if the Talston project started today? He said there would be an EA. During an EA process, there is consultation, usually consultation with the people who are affected. What would be wrong with consulting the Aboriginal people now? Is it because they are in the way, or what is the issue that we can’t consult with them now? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all, we do not want to raise false expectations. We do not want to suggest that there is a project, when there is no project. Like I said, I can reassure the Member that as soon as we get an indication of federal support, and as soon as we have a power customer, we will be very pleased to consult. We have a duty to consult, which is a legal requirement.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment. Can the Minister tell us why there was no consultation with the standing committee on the extension of the Work Credit Program for another two years? Merci, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The extension was a procedural one. We have moved forward with that. It was based on recommendations from the Mine Advisory Board, consultation with the Chamber of Mines, and numerous companies that are involved in the mineral industry, and it is consistent with our mandate. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thanks to the Minister for that. How we learned about it has become a pattern through news releases, but the news release boasts about the 2015-17 implementation period for the Work Credit Program, how it is going to save exploration companies $725,000. That is money that should have been spent in the Northwest Territories to generate more activity. Why would the Minister extend this program that saves companies money that should have been spent in the Northwest Territories, to the benefit of our citizens?
The rationale for the extension is, in fact, the overall state of the financing and exploration sector remains the same. As we all know, the market conditions are tight, and we are trying to attract new mining people to the Northwest Territories to spend their money. We still need to overcome the perception of the Northwest Territories being a difficult place to do business, and this is one of the avenues that we see that can attract investments.
There is a potential for a conflict of interest when the mineral industry advisory board provides advice to the Minister generally, and in this specific case of the Work Credit Program, what is the Minister prepared to do to deal with this issue of potential for a conflict of interest and to improve transparency around the recommendations he gets from this board?
Actually, I have met with the Mineral Advisory Board and one of the first things I had done is I have actually put a pause and disbanded the board for now. I have met with them since then, but not as a board but as individuals, moving forward and getting their advice. I will continue to have a look at how this board operates and how it suits the Mineral Development Strategy of the Northwest Territories moving forward.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Mr. Speaker. Well, that certainly comes as a surprise. I look forward to trying to work with the Minister moving forward on this, and hopefully he will work with the standing committee, as well. We do have another model at hand in the Yukon, where there is a more transparent and accountable way of receiving advice from the mining industry. Is the Minister prepared to review how this happens in the Yukon and elsewhere, to ensure that the advice he may receive from such a board is more inclusive of other interests, free of potential conflicts of interest, and publicly report it? Merci, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Like I said, I have disbanded the board, and have been having a look at how this thing works and how it is going to best suit the residents in the Northwest Territories. I would love to sit down and have a conversation with the Member on some advice, moving forward.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today, we have heard from the Minister of Human Resources about success in retraining GNWT public servants. I have some questions for him here. Mr. Speaker, when there are no vacancies in the community where the position is cut, does the government offer the affected employee the opportunity to move to another job in another community? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Human Resources.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the short answer is, yes, there is an opportunity to move into another community, and it is my understanding that that has been done in the past. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I thank the Minister for his answer. That is great to hear. Does this government offer removal assistance to affected employees who do not get offered a new position within this government?
Mr. Speaker, that depends on when they were hired, how long they have been employed, and where they were hired from.
I kind of didn’t get an answer, but I got sort of an answer, so I will move on to my next question. Does the affected employee have to go through the standard probation period with the new job offer?
I don’t recall that exact detail. I can find out and share it with the Member.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Minister for his commitment to finding out and making sure that people are well informed. From my last question, Mr. Speaker: should the affected employees be offered another employment opportunity within this government and they take it, but during this time, something else in the government comes up that is more suited to them, are they able to apply for that position? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am looking forward to some “Shane” days at the end of this session.
---Laughter
Mr. Speaker, the quick answer is that affected employees have priority on all new hires, so if there was an opportunity in their home community, again, they do have priority, and that could be taken into consideration.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations. In my statement, I made reference to the UN Rapporteur visiting the Deh Cho and, shortly after that, there was a measure that all parties agreed to the appointment of Peter Russell, and he helped bridge the mediation and facilitation of a dialogue that became part of the Common Ground Principles, in terms of trying to bridge the log jam that existed then. The Common Ground Principles, which the GNWT was part of, identifies the fundamentals that the parties understand, that the ownership jurisdiction and sovereignty of the Dehcho First Nations process, as an essential tenet of the Deh Cho process. My question to the Minister is: why do most First Nations lands and resources negotiations take so long, and how could this government help speed up the process? Mahsi.
Masi. The Honourable Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My understanding is it goes back to the signing treaties. At the time treaties were signed, there was the oral version and the written version, and, from what I understand, the oral version is interpreted differently than the written version by a number of Aboriginal governments. That is possibly one of the reasons for the long time.
I think one of the benefits of ministerial special representatives is we ask them to outline and find out what some of the reasons for the delays, what are the challenges, what are the road blocks. I think, in my view, some of them have been mandates, and I think that we need to take a new approach to negotiating so that we do not wait until somebody blinks before we make progress. So I am hopeful and optimistic that the report of the ministerial special representatives will allow us to find a way to move forward on these long-standing claims, some of them that have been negotiating for over 25 years. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I think I saw the Minister wink, so there is a possibility. It's encouraging. Treaties as far back as the Royal Proclamation of 1763 were bilateral in nature between the First Nations and the Crown. Will the GNWT accept the lead role of Canada in the negotiations of lands and resources?
That is something that the federal government has indicated that, with devolution, we should be at the table, and that we have programs and services, and we have responsibilities as a public Government of the Northwest Territories.
For people that follow First Nations history and the evolution of land claims and negotiations of lands and resources, the incident at Ipperwash opened up everybody's eyes that these long-standing lands and resource negotiations have been far too long and that there has to be an agreement that is just and fair for First Nations in terms of having a role in the Canadian society. The MSR report is complete. What are the possibilities that the Minister is considering and different approaches to help speed up negotiations?
Our expectation is that the MSRs will identify a number of options that would allow us to take different approaches and approaches that will allow us to move forward. I look forward to having the opportunity to review those recommendations and to also discuss it with the federal Minister and, also, as we determine the path forward, with the appropriate parties and governments.
