Masi. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The availability of the training online is one method of reaching people to access their training needs. The reality is that online training does not work for all residents in the Northwest Territories. We also want to make sure that we can also provide face-to-face training and community group-based training as required, so that we meet all of the different learning styles that people have. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
That kind of leads into my second question with limited access and the ability of councillors to actually access the internet program in order to take this training. In regards to the face-to-face training, are we going to actually bring the MACA staff into the communities, or is it going to be like the School of Community Government's other courses, where they hold a regional one and people have to come in there?
At this point, we are just negotiating with the federal government to see if they will provide funding for the delivery of this support, so it is a little bit premature to report on what exactly this delivery would look like. Once we have the information and a partnership, then we can look at how we deliver it.
I thank the Minister for her answer. I am pretty disappointed that we do not have a plan in place. We have built the program, done a pilot project, and now we still do not know if we will be able to implement it right away besides the internet access. In regards to the courses that were developed, what is the difference between the courses that they provide to other organizations? I am looking at the list, and this is the same thing that you go to councils with before, so what are the differences that is going to make this unique to designated authorities that happen to normal hamlets, towns, facilities, and villages?
They are a little bit different from the municipal government courses that we provide through the School of Community Governments. There are two types of community governments. They are governed by different legislation, they have different authorities, and the reporting arrangements, as well, are different to deliver their programs and services.
Bands generally perform services in the areas of governance, culture, language, membership services, and areas in health, social services, and justice. Municipal governments, on the other hand, generally perform services in water distribution, waste collection, road maintenance, capital infrastructure, land use planning, and recreation. Although sometimes the bands do municipal-like services, they also have a distinct difference in their services and supports that they provide to the residents in their communities.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, and I thank the Minister for her answer. Four of my communities are designated authorities, and four of these communities actually provide all of the municipal services. Again, when we are talking about this, this is a concern for me. Again, when we look at job descriptions, a band manager is the same thing as an SAO. What is the difference between these job descriptions? Are they similar? Are we utilizing existing resources to modify these resources that they are going to provide to the designated authorities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Respectfully, a lot of the bands and designated authorities actually do provide municipal services. Not all of them do. We do have 33 communities within the Northwest Territories. However, municipal governments are different, as stated before. Although job descriptions will have similarities, municipal governments are not responsible for promoting the language or the culture within their communities, and so job descriptions will have to be changed. They also are not responsible for some of the health and social services and the justice supports that designated authorities get access to. There will be similarities, but there will also be differences within the job descriptions.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, in follow-up to my Member's statement, I have a few questions for the Minister of MACA. I would like to ask the Minister: what role does the department play in determining the location of sport development camps and other tryout locations? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs actually supports the various sports organizations throughout the Northwest Territories to provide services to the residents. The territorial sports organizations themselves decide where the selection of camps will be. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Does the Minister know how many of these events have been held in Yellowknife in the past four years compared to other communities throughout the territory?
Due to our working relationship, our partnerships with the five sports and recreational associations throughout the Northwest Territories, the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs does not currently track the information on the location of the selected camps. As so, we do not have that information, what specifically is provided in Yellowknife as to other communities.
What programs for youth under sport and recreation currently exist to help youth athletes from remote communities access tryout and sport development opportunities outside of their home communities?
Sport North right now has the Kids Sport program, and they provide support to families that have a demonstrated economic need, so lower income families can apply for that to access sports and recreation facilities. We also have the two regional recreation associations that will take applications to address accessibility, and the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs is willing to provide the information to any families that need support in not knowing where to get the applications for these supports provided.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my last but most important question is: how will the Minister act to improve the accessibility of these events, for instance, ensuring that some are held in the Beaufort Delta region? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Municipal and Community Affairs recently met with the five sports and recreation associations, and I may be incorrect, but I believe it was around about a month ago. We are in the process just currently of identifying all of the gaps, overlaps, and areas of need, so I will commit to bringing forward the need to look at providing events, not only in the capital cities or the market communities, but in smaller communities. I will bring that to the table as an identified gap. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. [English translation not provided.] It is just as clear that the presence of a cannabis working group means the government knew the regulations would be needed. I ask today if the Minister could provide the terms of reference of the cannabis working group, including the date the working group was established? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Minister of Justice.
Yes, Mr. Speaker, the working group has been working on a series of principles, and these will be taken out on the road for public consultation in the regional centres, and also at least several of the smaller communities. There are certain principles that we are acting upon, as follows: restricting youth access to cannabis and the protection of young people from promotion and enticements to use cannabis; legislation to allow adults to possess and access regulated quality controlled legal cannabis; to discourage drug impaired driving; to protect workers and the public from drug impairment in the workplace; to protect public health by controlling the public smoking of cannabis; to enhance public awareness of the health risks associated with cannabis; to provide a safe and secure retail regime for the adult purchase of cannabis and provide for local options; to establish cannabis distribution and consumption restrictions and prohibition. As I have mentioned, we will be seeking the advice and information of the public. There will be public engagement sessions during the summer in the regional centres and also in several small communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
[English translation not provided.] He has laid out clearly what the group has produced to date. How long did it take them to come up with these principles, principles which have basically been around since the 2015 Liberal party platform announcement? There might have been crib from that platform, but I will leave to the Minister to answer. How many times has the working group met? These are well established principles behind this. I'm wondering if they have done anything else. How many times have they met?
I don't have those exact figures before me. I believe they did meet a large number of times, and I will attempt to obtain those figures and provide them to the Member opposite.
I guess what I am getting at, Mr. Speaker, is that beyond those principles, there are a number of extremely technical issues. I will ask the Minister this: what is the department's approach to communities that wish to prohibit the sale and use of marijuana products in their communities? How has the working group addressed that issue, and have they made any recommendations to the Minister?
Certainly, Mr. Speaker, this is a complex issue. Of course, the federal government deals with criminal law, and marijuana will be decriminalized July 1, 2018. We will be soliciting advice, as I mentioned, from the various communities. There are communities that are self-governing, and it is going to be very interesting to hear their input which we are seeking and will reflect, likely in our legislation, as it may be, that certain self-governing bodies, local laws, may actually override our own. These are important issues. We will be discussing those with the various communities and governments.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. What I hear from the Minister is he has not yet taken a position on that, and I think it is important we get out to the communities. Those discussions have to be carefully crafted so we get good results, and the question we put to our citizens is clear. Apart from those principles, does the Minister have a set of discussion paper around this that he can share with Honourable Members on this side of the House that makes it clear what those questions are going to be that we put to our residents around the important subject of cannabis regulation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, we are going out to the communities and seeking their engagements. We really want to hear from them. We do not have any preconceptions as to how this legislation should be crafted. We are hoping to hear from various interested parties, in particular those small communities where this issue is certainly to be of great concern.
Masi. Tabling of documents. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document entitled "NWT Apprenticeship, Trades and Occupational Certification Strategy, 2017-2022." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Tabling of documents. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document entitled "Annual Report 2016-2017 NWT Office of the Regulator of Oil and Gas Operations." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Tabling of documents. Member for Hay River North.
Tabled Document 387-18(2):
2017 Spring Reports Of The Auditor General Of Canada To The Parliament Of Canada - Independent Audit Report: Report of the Auditor General of Canada to the Board of Directors of the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation - Special Examination - 2017
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to table the document entitled "2017 Spring Reports of the Auditor General of Canada to the Parliament of Canada - Independent Audit Report: Report of the Auditor General of Canada to the Board of Directors of the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation - Special Examination - 2017." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Tabling of documents. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to table the following two-page document entitled "Timeline of Cannabis-Related Issues in Canada from 2015 to 2017." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Friday, June 2, 2017, I will move the following motion: I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Great Slave, that, notwithstanding Rule 4, when this House adjourns on June 2, 2017, it shall be adjourned until Tuesday, September 19, 2017; and further, that at any time prior to September 19, 2017, if the Speaker is satisfied, after consultation with the Executive Council and Members of the Legislative Assembly, that the public interest requires that the House should meet at an earlier time during the adjournment, the Speaker may give notice and thereupon the House shall meet at the time stated in such notice and shall transact its business as it has been duly adjourned to that time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
