Debates of May 29, 2018 (day 31)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to clarify something. I think the Member said that I sent the letter. I didn't send the letter; the regional superintendent sent the letter on behalf of the Department of Infrastructure. This was done as a formal correspondence on this file. It was a required course of business through the environmental process, and the letter was sent respecting the firewall. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I think the Minister is a little bit confused here, because I am talking about an April 30th letter that his own regional superintendent sent to the Minister of Lands saying that, if the recommendations from the review board were accepted, they might not have a project. I see that as a way of interfering with the review board's work.

Can the Minister tell me whether he was aware of his regional superintendent's letter of April 30th and why it was sent when there is supposed to be some kind of a firewall set up?

Let me clarify something here. I said that the letter was sent respecting the firewall, and it was on behalf of the department through our North Slave regional superintendent. We believe all protocols were followed with respect to the environmental assessment. The only thing that I am aware of is that I had a discussion with my deputy about the environmental assessment, about the buffer size. Besides that, I didn't know much more about the environmental assessment process, and the department is handling that with respect to how the process is set up.

I want to thank the Minister for that. I am going to be tabling these letters later today, but that letter from his regional superintendent makes no mention of the firewall. In fact, it seems to be in breach of this apparent firewall that was set up.

I want to move on to the review board. They criticized this so-called "whole of government" approach that is required by Cabinet's Project Assessment Policy because it limits the availability of evidence and expertise and does not serve the public interest.

Does the Minister accept that criticism, and will the Minister work to change the Project Assessment Policy to allow for the full participation of all government departments and their staff?

One other thing I want to clarify around this letter is that it is posted on the web site. It is a clear, open document. It is available for everybody to read. As far as the Project Assessment Policy goes, that is the Department of Lands' responsibility. It is not my responsibility, and I am not aware of any criticism around the environmental assessment towards our department. I can look into that, but I am not aware of any criticism towards us, and I am going to remind all Members that Lands is the lead on the policy.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the Minister for that. I am a bit surprised that he is not a little bit more on top of this as the lead Minister for the project, especially after I gave him a heads-up about what I was going to talk about today.

In my Member's statement, I raised this April 30th letter, and I believe it casts a long and dark shadow of interference with procedural fairness and legal uncertainty over any decision on the Tlicho all-season road, the GNWT's role in future EAs, and protection of the threatened boreal caribou. What lessons, if any, have the Minister and his Cabinet colleagues taken away from all of this? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

I want to comment that I know what is going on with this file. We know what is going on. I am staying away from the firewall side of things. I don't need to be involved in that. That is Lands' role. We are the proponent. We are proposing the road. We are going through the environmental process. The environmental process allows us, as the proponent, to ask questions, and that is what we are doing. That question has been posted on the web site.

This Cabinet is committed to a fair and open and comprehensive process. We believe that has been followed through the environmental process that is laid out before us, and that is what we will continue to do. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my Member's statement I talked about a project that was being performed by the homeless people of Yellowknife. I have questions for the Minister of Homelessness. Leading up to the launch of this new program, was the Minister of Homelessness ever approached by the city to get funding for this project, and if so, what was the answer? Thank you.

Masi. Minister responsible for Addressing Homelessness.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No, there were no requests for funding from the City of Yellowknife. We couldn't even give an answer, because there were no requests for this program. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am hoping that the government was aware of the project. I was wondering if the government would consider, or this Minister of Homelessness would consider, funding similar types of programs in all of the other communities across the territory where homeless people are looking for some form of employment.

Across all departments, we have certain programs. We are willing to work with NGOs, communities, and I think the City of Yellowknife has a really great program that can model to other communities across the Northwest Territories that are dealing with homelessness. I encourage other communities to speak with other departments, such as ECE. I can mediate those kinds of discussions as Minister of Homelessness.

I encourage communities to look at the model that the City of Yellowknife has done and try something in their municipalities. I think it is a really great story throughout the Northwest Territories, and Yellowknife should be very proud of what they have initiated here.

Using this model as the Minister indicated, would the Minister of Homelessness reach out to other non-government organizations, or even the Indigenous governments in the communities, to run a similar type of initiative in other areas or in other communities?

As I have just mentioned in my previous response, I would be willing to mediate that as Minister of Homelessness. We have had some great programs in the past. Inuvik Works did something very similar working on seniors' homes, community projects done in the community. I think that is something we can look at and get developed in some of our regional centres, and even small communities. Working with either ECE, also through NWT Housing Corporation, we do have a small community homelessness fund which provides funding for community proponents to deliver homelessness programs and supports for their own design. That's one option as well. We are willing to work with non-government organizations, municipalities, community governments, Indigenous governments, to look at how we address homelessness, but also develop training, skill development, life skills for people who really need that. We want to be there to support all departments here in this government.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister answered my upcoming question, so I would just like to change it up a bit. I would like to ask the Minister if the Minister can work with other departments, but mainly with the Housing Corporation, of which he's also the Minister, of course, to determine what level of homelessness, whether it would be absolute homelessness where individuals are living on the streets, or relative homelessness where individuals are couch surfing and living in unwelcome environments across the territory, across all the communities? I would like to ask the Minister if he is prepared to make a commitment using Housing Corporation staff to determine how many people fit into those two homelessness categories across the territory?

As Members know, we have created a homelessness coordinator position in the previous government. To find out the exact number of homeless people we have in the territory would be tough, because we do have a lot of people who also do couch surfing. I will commit that we will try to address the issue; look at the model that the City of Yellowknife has done with this program. It is a great program, and I applaud the City of Yellowknife for taking that on and working with the NWT Housing Corporation and the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. We will look at continuing to support these types of programs. Finding out the exact number of people who are homeless in the territory will be tough, as I mentioned, because we do have a lot of people who do couch surf who wouldn't be identified, and we just need to work together with our NGO's, our Indigenous governments, and across departments to address the issue. I am glad the Member has brought this up today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as a follow-up to my Member's statement, I have a couple of questions for the Minister of Infrastructure. Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, the department is doing a great job brush cutting on the sides of the highway. As I mentioned, they completed about 10 to 15 kilometres from Tsiigehtchic toward Inuvik, also all the blind spots from the Peel Ferry right to Inuvik, actually, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Minister: when will the department be doing more brushing along the highway to complete the whole Dempster? Hopefully, we get that far. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Minister of Infrastructure.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Looking back in my notes, we have done a significant amount of brushing over the last few years through the Building Canada Innovation Program money, through the provincial-territorial infrastructure component of our allocation. We are continuing to forecast brushing for this fiscal year of kilometres 161 to 168, and in the future 2020, we are looking at 168 to 175. What I can also say on that is, we also have the new bundle three approved for the new Building Canada plan, and we are looking at spending another $22.5 million on the Dempster. I suspect, going through our reviews of conducting surveys or what needs to be done going forward, to determine what needs to be done, brushing will be continued going forward.

That is great news. As I mentioned earlier, we do have brushing that has been done from the Peel River to Tsiigehtchic, but my constituents would like to see the whole highway completed, not only the blind spots, which makes a great difference, Mr. Speaker. As I mentioned, I thank the department for starting with the blind spots, but my constituents would like to see the whole highway brush cut along that stretch.

As I have stated, I know the two sections going forward between now and 2020, with Bundle 3 approved now, we will have to have a look at, as I say, conducting the surveys with our crews going forward, and I suspect, I've been up there. I've lived in that region. I know what the willows are like on the side of the highway, and I'm almost certain that brush cutting is going to be part of our reconstruction going forward until the end of 2024 until our fiscal funding runs out with the federal government.

Oral questions. Member for Nunakput.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am following up on the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs' statement earlier on the Tuktoyaktuk shoreline relocation project. Mr. Speaker, could the Minister please go more into detail on the Tuktoyaktuk shoreline relocation? Mr. Speaker, my question is: can the Minister provide additional status on the work to address longstanding shoreline erosion challenges in Tuktoyaktuk in the short and long term? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. MACA did receive $250,000 through the Federal National Disaster Mitigation Program to complete a disaster mitigation plan for the community of Tuktoyaktuk. This effort was combined with a similar project involving the community of Aklavik. A request for proposal is complete, and a contractor will begin work with the hamlet this spring. The first stage of this project includes community consultations and finalizing a detailed work plan. This project is expected to be complete in the winter of 2018, and the plan will identify various adaptation measures that can be implemented to address the climate change issues that are impacting the community, including the shoreline erosion.

I appreciate the response. My second question: is there any work that can be completed while the community is waiting for this mitigation plan to be completed?

Yes. In early 2018, MACA did some work with ENR to obtain $800,000 through the federal Climate Change Preparedness Program. The goal is to implement adaptation measures identified through the mitigation plan to work in the community of Tuktoyaktuk, including relocation of private homes from areas most affected by the erosion.

I appreciate the response from the Minister and the updates. Mr. Speaker, my third question is: what is the status of the relocation project, and will the work be completed during this Assembly?

The department did meet with the Tuktoyaktuk Hamlet Council in April to start the project and to develop a project plan. Hamlet Council met with private homeowners to explain the projects, and ultimately, eligible homeowners will need to decide if they want to be part of that relocation plan as well.

Structural assessments on homes, as well as geotechnical investigations on the new lots, will be completed this summer, as well as fall of this year. Obtaining gravel, lot development, and the movement of houses will be scheduled based on the ideal time to get this work completed. We are hoping that will get done during this Legislative Assembly.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nunakput.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the response. Mr. Speaker, earlier in the statement, there were eight other communities mentioned with hazards related to climate change. Mr. Speaker, Sachs Harbour should be added to the list, as the infrastructure in the community is affected by erosion. Mr. Speaker, my final question to the Minister is: will funding be available in the future to complete additional mitigation work? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Currently, the Government of Canada has made disaster mitigation funding available for five years only. However, there remains great interest among the provinces and territories to continue extend it beyond that period. For the community of Sachs Harbour, we are willing to sit down and talk to the hamlet, as well as the leadership, to look at future projects in that area. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last winter the Department of Executive and Indigenous Affairs offered two campaign schools for women. During our last session, the Minister responsible for the Status of Women said the move was temporary, but according to the mandate letter provided to her at the end of April, she will "collaborate with the Department of Executive and Indigenous Affairs and MACA to support delivery of the workshops." On what basis is the Minister making this change? Thank you.

Masi. Minister responsible for the Status of Women.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Status of Women Council actually was doing campaign schools within the communities for a couple of years. I am not sure how long, in all honesty, but we found that they were only working at getting women into the Legislative Assembly. Not that we don't need to get women into the Assembly, but we do need to branch out into other directions; so we looked at their model, and we looked at designing it to meet better needs.

We took it internally in the short term to be able to address the issues, such as getting more women into municipal or Aboriginal governments or school boards, et cetera, because we recognized very quickly that we needed to expand it; that a lot of women, because of various reasons, childcare being one of them, not wanting to travel, leaving their children, was a huge detriment to actually putting their name forward here. In the last campaign that we did, women were talking about a support group. We are looking at that, too, and trying to figure out how we can do it online.

This is not meant to be a long-term solution. I don't have the resources. We don't know if there will be any women elected next time, and it would be inappropriate, then, to do it. I think what we are looking at is just developing a strong campaign school that will reach all of the areas of politics, that will address all of the issues that women want, and when that is done, at that point, then we will look at turning it over to whoever is the best candidate for that, not saying who that may be at this point. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Status of Women Council has been running the campaign schools since their inception, and the campaign schools have always included women who are interested in elected positions in their communities, not only in the territorial government. I don't understand why this is a driving factor to yank this program away from the Status of Women Council. Can the Minister tell me why they can't be in charge of redeveloping the curriculum?

I am hoping that the Status of Women Council actually will, and I do know that they are trying to do some issues, working with women in getting them into leadership as well.

When I was first elected in this position, my budget wasn't as generous as it is now, although I am not saying it is that generous, but the Status of Women Council put forward a proposal, and they asked for $15,000 just to do one workshop. I believe, at that point, I may be wrong, I think my budget was only $20,000 to do two, which meant I was in a deficit. We had to look at it and see if there was a more cost-effective way.

We are looking at just the development. At that time, like I say, there may have been other women who were interested in going into other leadership roles, other government bodies, but the campaign school, through the Status of Women Council, focused on women in the Legislative Assembly, and we need to branch that out to address Aboriginal governments, municipal governments, and school boards. If the Status of Women Council can do that within the close to half a million dollars that I fund them already, I would be more than happy to allow them to do that work.

The Status of Women Council is not being given this opportunity. The campaign schools have been arbitrarily taken into the Department of Executive and Indigenous Affairs, and we have been given various reasons. They are overspending, and they are not capable of reaching women who are not in the territorial government campaigns. In fact, the Minister has had the campaign schools evaluated at least once and possibly twice. I have never seen any evidence of this evaluation. Is she now ready to share it?

The first time we tried to do an evaluation was in the Inuvik campaign school, and that time, it was actually just another woman in another department who was willing to do that work. Sad to say, that woman was an affected employee, and that kind of stopped the work before it was done.

We did have a draft, though, and I do apologize to the MLA from Yellowknife Centre. I thought I had shared that with her in confidence, and if I haven't, then I am more than willing. If she would let me know, then I will share that draft in confidence with her, because it never got finished, but I apologize because I did think I had shared that.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I haven't seen the evaluation that was completed last year. There was also supposed to be an evaluation of the winter campaign schools. I haven't seen that either.

I want to point the Minister towards a huge and obvious conflict of interest arising from the fact that she is having the public service train the politicians of the future. Mr. Speaker, this is not the job of government. It is the job of an arm's-length agency, and we have one with experience in this area: the Status of Women Council. Can the Minister explain to us why she thinks it is proper for the government to take on this function? Thank you.