Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate that commitment from the Minister. I'm looking for another commitment, and that is that the Minister will direct the rental office in its annual reports to track this indicator, which is not only the waiting time for applications, but the lag between applications and court orders in future reports. Thank you.
The annual report covers the number of applications filed, the number of hearings held, and the elapsed time between filing and hearing. This information has been included as a performance measure in our departmental business plan for a number of years, and we'll continue to do that. We do recognize that justice delayed is justice denied. We do realize this is an important issue. We are taking measures to improve service to the public. Thank you.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Sahtu.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Earlier I had mentioned in my statement, here, the resources management strategy. My first question to the Minister of ENR is: is the strategy going to be coordinated with other departments? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.
Mr. Speaker, yes. We do work with other departments as we work on strategies because sometimes there are times when there is cross-over; it's inter-departmental. So all the departments will usually work together as we bring these strategies forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thanks to the Minister for that reply. Seeing that it's a multi-department, coordinated, cost-shared effort, would the communities be involved in their particular landfill as part of the engagement?
There is an opportunity through the engagement process with stakeholders. If there are concerns with landfills in the communities, I'm sure the community governments will bring those issues forward to the department when they're doing their consultations. There is also an opportunity for online comments, so all those factors are taken into consideration. If communities have a concern, then they have an opportunity to bring that concern to the department.
I'm glad to hear from the Minister that there is going to be some community consultation on describing the details of the scope for the clean-up. My next question is: when is this consultation going to occur in the Sahtu communities?
I do know that there was a regional meeting held in Norman Wells, the regional centre for Sahtu, in January of 2018, so there was an opportunity there for some community input. Then there will be some public engagement on the discussion paper, and we're looking for the draft strategy and implementation plan to be ready for review and comment in the fall of 2018.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Sahtu.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Will the Minister keep my office posted so that, if time permits, I might be able to attend these community consultations? Thank you.
I do commit to keeping the Member informed. As I said before, I do know that they have had a number of regional meetings taking place in January and February. Actually, I think the last one was on February 14th. There was one other community that wanted to have a meeting, so I think they are trying to fit that in there, but I will keep the Member informed as to any potential meetings that are happening in his riding. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I spoke about some of the challenges in my riding for carbon taxes and green gas and energy and that. My questions are to the Minister of Infrastructure.
My first question: has the government considered expanding the Taltson hydro dam system, and are they looking at expanding that to the Nahendeh riding as well? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Government of the Northwest Territories is actively considering the transmission expansion of the Taltson system into the communities of the South Slave in particular. This will be reflected in our 2030 Energy Strategy and Action Plan.
With that being said, we are looking at expanding into the Fort Providence and the Kakisa area. That is a 140 kilometre T-line expansion, and we are also looking at possibly expanding into the Whati off the snare system, which is a 65 kilometre expansion T-line section.
As for the Member's question around the Nahendeh riding, being part of the road system, the communities of Jean Marie, Fort Simpson, and Wrigley would be technically challenging at this time moving forward, given the link to the line and the system's stability concerns, but I think it is something that we are going to look at doing in the long-term. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I would like to thank the Minister for that answer. I greatly appreciate they are potentially looking at that. My next question is: what actions has the government taken to help Nahendeh communities reduce diesel usage, especially for the smaller communities?
First of all, I want to thank the Member for giving us a heads up on this question here. There are a bunch of things we have done in his riding. In Fort Simpson, we are looking at LNG. It was a commissioned study in 2016, a liquefied natural gas vaporization study. An LNG facility in Fort Simpson is being considered as part of the Energy Strategy and Action Plan, and that is in development right now.
We have biomass wood pellet in Fort Simpson. In 2012, it's a GNWT-owned biomass central heating system for the rec centre and the elementary school. Combined heat and power in Fort Simpson; the GNWT investigated a megawatt scale of combined heat and power. I know they ended up going to a smaller pilot project. They have had to redesign the electrical system, and that is hopefully going to be installed on that part of the project this spring.
There is significant solar power in the Member's riding. There are 224 kilowatts of installed solar in six communities in his region, and in the five remaining Nahendeh region candidate communities we are looking at and have talked about a number of times in this House, a Colville Lake project and the newly installed variable speed generator, which is in Aklavik, and we will have a look at these technologies going forward if they are viable to use in his region.
Those are a lot of projects. Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank the Ministers for ITI and Infrastructure and Finance for that great information. It is good to hear all of that stuff.
Mr. Speaker, my third question is: it's my understanding the estimated direct costs for carbon taxes starts with $10 per tonne in 2018. That increases $10 a year until it reaches a cap of $15,000 per tonne in 2022. It is estimated that high-use households will pay $880 to $1,015 per year. Will the government ensure that the Nahendeh residents are able to choose alternative fuel sources by that time?
As the Member knows, the Minister of Finance has been working closely with the federal government to understand the full impacts of carbon tax on the Northwest Territories and the cost of living and doing business here.
In addition to that, though, the federal government tends to reflect the unique circumstances in the NWT. The Premier has had that commitment from the Prime Minister on this specific topic. Regardless of the carbon tax, our department is moving forward with our energy strategy, which will help with alternative and renewable options for people in the Northwest Territories.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Minister for that answer. I realize it was kind of a unique crossover with Finance, and I appreciate the Minister working with the Minister of Finance to get this information out there. With the challenges of no alternative fuels in the short term, how will the government mediate cost-of-living increases being imposed on residents by this carbon tax? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
One of the key messages we heard coming out of the carbon tax public engagement was the concern over the cost of living, as we have said, and doing business in the Northwest Territories. The second part to considering a carbon tax is what will we do as a government with the revenue that is generated from a carbon tax.
I support using a portion of these revenues to offset the high cost of living in the Northwest Territories, for sure. The reality of the NWT is that we have a high demand and high prices already for fuel and electricity. While we want to continue to advance alternative energy projects, we will also want to mitigate the impacts on our residents and our businesses. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. In my statement earlier today I noted the extensive public engagement undertaken by Mary Simon as the Ministerial Special Representative on Arctic Leadership. I understand that she actually met with our Premier as well. I am wondering: can the Premier tell us what he talked about when he met with Ms. Simon in her work as Ministerial Special Representative on Arctic Leadership? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. The Honourable Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The MLA for Frame Lake is on record as stating he wants no mines, no oil and gas, and in his Minister's statement, I am not surprised at the line of his questioning.
I met with the Ministerial Special Representative on Arctic Leadership in February of 2016. I spoke to her about our shared interests in closing the gap to create meaningful outcomes for people living in the Arctic, working to better the lives of residents, and building productive and collaborative relationships. We discussed lowering the costs of living by building infrastructure, education, training and capacity development, community wellness, youth development, suicide prevention, and balancing efforts to grow and diversify the economy with environmental sustainability and climate change.
I emphasized the importance of Northerners making decisions about the North, and I believe that was reflected in her final report. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I am happy to take the promotion from the Premier inviting me over to that side of the House any day. What I would like to ask the Premier next, then, is if he could tell us whether GNWT prepared a written submission for the Ministerial Special Representative on Arctic Leadership, and if so, can he table it in the House?
There were two letters written to Ms. Simon during her engagement process, and I would be pleased to table them at the appropriate time.
I would like to thank the Premier for that commitment, and I look forward to reading the correspondence.
The Premier confirmed earlier in February that there was no public engagement in the development of the Pan-Territorial Framework for Sustainable Development. During my questioning earlier in this sitting, I made specific suggestions for improving our focus on the Arctic Policy Framework by taking a sustainability approach that includes environment, economy, culture, and social inclusion. Can the Minister explain whether the NWT chapter of the Arctic Policy Framework will take a balanced sustainability focus that is likely to include aspects of the environment, economy, culture, and social development?
That is the position we have always taken, and certainly my expectation is that the Arctic chapter or the Arctic Policy Framework will reflect that, recognizing that this will be a federal document.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I appreciate the commitment from the Minister to ensure that it is going to be a broader approach than the Pan-Territorial Vision for Sustainable Development that he developed. I think, all of us in this House, we can recognize and congratulate Dene Nahjo for their hard work on "We Are One Mind" that the Premier tabled last week in the House. That document is going to be a valuable contribution to the development of a Northwest Territories chapter of the Arctic Policy Framework. Can the Premier tell this House how he intends to engage Dene Nahjo in the development of the NWT chapter of the Arctic Policy Framework? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
We are very pleased with the initiative and leadership shown by Dene Nahjo, and our officials have been in contact with the principals. We have been asked and been given permission to incorporate parts or sections of their report into the draft Northwest Territories paper. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my Member's statement, I talked about early childhood development. I realize that we have programs, prenatal programs, and pediatricians, midwives, healthy families, other education programs, daycare, and so on. I would like to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment if he would agree to work with the Minister of Health and Social Services to look at other early childhood development initiatives to support the development of our children? Thank you.
Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Currently we are committed to working with the Minister of Health and Social Services and his department with the Right from the Start early childhood development action plan. There are 19 areas of action in there. I believe my department is focused on five of them, the Department of Health and Social Services on five, and then jointly we are working on nine of those areas of action. It is not only the Department of Health and Social Services. I think it is very important that, when we look at early childhood programming funding initiatives, that we also work with our Indigenous partners, our governments, working alongside Aboriginal Head Start and all of our partners and stakeholders who are interested and have an investment in early childhood. Yes, I am committed to working with the Minister and Department of Health and Social Services.
I would like to ask the Minister if he is aware of programs that provide financial support to parents to stay at home to facilitate the development of their children.
I know there are some programs out there, Moms and Tots, mothers and babies, that invite all families to participate in those programs. We have made increases and improvements to the Canada Child Benefit, the NWT Child Benefit. That puts more dollars into low- to modest-income families. We also provide daycares and funding for day homes through subsidies, where, if parents want to have a day home, we can work on helping them provide that, possibly having their kids participate in the program, as well. Obviously, there are still other options. The Member did mention one in his statement. We are not aware of any of those kinds of programs here in the NWT.
As the Minister just indicated, I am particularly aware of that one program that I spoke of. There are probably many all over the world. Can the Minister commit to looking at best practices from other jurisdictions in early childhood development?
Earlier I mentioned the "Right from the Start" early childhood development action plan that we have. That was based on best practices. We worked with our stakeholders, and we worked with the Department of Health and Social Services to develop that. When it comes to early childhood development and the importance of it, we are always looking at best practices throughout the country and other jurisdictions, but that action plan itself was based on best practices at the time.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
