Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Following up on my questions to the Minister of the Housing Corporation, it was really gratifying for myself to attend the discussions held in Deline with the Deline Got'ine Government and the NWT Housing Corporation staff as well as the invited representative of the CMHC. Discussions were held comparing programs available and the needs of the communities, concluding with action plans. My first question: with the winter road affordable travel season upon us in the Sahtu, is the NWT Housing Corporation planning similar community planning sessions in other Sahtu communities compared to sessions we had in Deline in October? Mahsi.
Masi. Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Currently, we want to work with the Member and the leadership within the Sahtu region to identify some of these core needs. As I mentioned, I did table a document yesterday that shows that we are doing a variety of initiatives and programs throughout the Northwest Territories to address our core needs right across the Northwest Territories. We did send staff in to Deline. We are working with Deline right now on a community housing plan that will help identify the priorities that are needed for that community. We are more than willing to work with all of our Indigenous governments and communities across the Northwest Territories so that, at the end of the day, we do have community housing plans for every community in the Northwest Territories. I am committed and willing to work with the Member and the leadership from the Sahtu. I know we are looking at having some meetings in early April, and I am committed to looking to see if we can do a little tour, give a little information.
As I have said in this House, as well, we are looking at doing an Indigenous housing summit here in Yellowknife, and we will be inviting leadership as well as administration to come attend that meeting so that we can give the information out but to also hear some of the concerns from our leaders and our community members as we move forward in our housing strategy. I look forward to working with the Member to address those.
Thanks to the Minister for that reply and that commitment. That is very gratifying to hear. When I review some of the programs available in designing a home, I come to realize that there are many options of energy-efficient programs. Will the Minister commit to providing some information on, say for example, showcasing a home with the energy-efficient programs offered by the Arctic Energy Alliance, as well as the programs designed for the Housing Corporation, so that the end result would be a nice product that is low in energy cost and designing that home with the local corporations?
Definitely. That is one of our priorities and one of the things that we do want to address. With public housing units, obviously, the NWT Housing Corporation also takes care of some of the utility costs, and anything that can help us reduce the costs in terms of energy efficiency, that money will go into more programs and services within the NWT Housing Corporation.
We want to work with our leadership. A good example is with the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, and this is something that we will highlight. Any programs that we do have within the NWT Housing Corporation, we will be addressing them. We will be sharing them. We will be educating our leaders and our communities during that Indigenous Housing Summit, and we will make sure that all of that information is given out to our leaders and our partners and stakeholders.
Thanks to the Minister for that reply. My next question is: the Housing Corporation has a secured 10-year strategy. As part of that discussion on taking that strategy and applying it to some of the Sahtu communities or all of the Sahtu communities, and the other communities, for that matter, will that strategy be passed on to the other communities over the territory?
As the Member knows, and it has been said in this House, it was said in the sessional speech, we do have a national housing strategy, and the funding that we did receive in that, collectively within the federal and territorial government, is going to be $140 million over the next 10 years.
On top of that, as we mentioned, we also did make an announcement of the co-investment fund where we did get a carve-out of $60 million. That is very flexible in how we run that program. That program, in particular, we have been really sharing with our leadership and our partners. We are trying to get that funding out to all of our partners across the Northwest Territories, and we will continue to share that. That is something that we will highlight during our summit as well. If we do get into the Sahtu region, if we do a tour, we will share that information.
We are working with CMHC, as well, with their SEED funding to address getting some proposals brought forward, but I am willing to work with the Member and his region, as well as the leadership, on getting this information out to all communities across the Northwest Territories.
I thank the Member for bringing up these very informative programs that we need to address. We have about eight months left in this government, and the more contribution agreements that we can get signed, the more deals that we can get signed in terms of working with the partners to address the housing need, I am definitely in strong support.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In conclusion here, I will just point out to the Minister some of the logistic arrangements in preparation for our discussion and tour coming up here. Two of the Sahtu communities are only accessible during the winter road season, and the other ones that live along the river bank are resupplied biannually. That helps with the logistics and mobilization of materials and planning. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. That was more of a statement to the government. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. My question is for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources on the crisis of the Bathurst caribou herd.
I want to again thank the Minister for taking me along on the community visits. I thought that the community visits were a very good idea. I just wish that they had happened before the submission with the joint proposal, the management proposals for the two herds. I would like the Minister to explain why there was no consultation on the joint management proposals, before they were submitted, with the Tlicho communities, Yellowknives Dene First Nation, and even the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I was glad that the Member was able to attend these sessions with me, and as I said in the sessions, I thought that it was very important that Regular Members come and listen to some of the concerns that the communities have firsthand. Again, I appreciate the Member taking the time to visit the communities with us, and also the Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh on our trip out to Detah. They had an opportunity to hear firsthand some of the concerns that the community was sharing.
We had a lot of community membership show up, we met with the community leaders, and my understanding is that we were taking a lot of this information, and then we had representatives there from the Wek'eezhii Land and Resource Board, as well. My understanding was that we were going to make these rounds and then make our submission. If that wasn't the case, I will confirm that, and I will follow up on that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I want to thank the Minister for that. I can give him my assurance that those joint management proposals were sent in, in some cases, before we met with the communities. They were good meetings. I just wish that they had happened sooner, and I understand there is some urgency with this issue.
I have looked at these joint management proposals, and there doesn't seem to be any specific measures or actions related to habitat protection. There are just some further measures or restrictions on harvesting. I wonder: can the Minister explain why the joint management proposal for the Bathurst caribou herd does not contain any specific measures or actions for habitat protection, things like mobile caribou conservation measures, offsetting and compensatory mitigation, or even land use planning?
The Bathurst joint management proposal includes a clear recommendation that the collaboratively developed Bathurst Caribou Range Plan be finalized and implemented, and work to develop the plan was initiated by ENR in 2013. The Bathurst Caribou Range Plan includes the measures you have mentioned, including the mobile conservation measures, offsetting and participation in environmental assessment, and land use planning throughout the herd's range in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
Thanks to the Minister for that. Yes, the joint management proposal does reference the range planning exercise and the plan itself, but it doesn't actually contain any of the measures from the plan. The problem seems to be with the plan itself. The plan, which I think is a good one, contains specific recommendations for community guardianship, habitat conservation, mobile caribou conservation measures, road planning and management, and so on, but the problem is that that plan doesn't seem to carry much weight yet.
Can the Minister explain what the status of the range plan is and why almost none of it was incorporated into the joint management proposal?
I will follow up on the status of the range plan. I will share it with this House, or I will share it with the Member.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. Thanks to the Minister for that commitment. I look forward to an update on the range plan, and if I don't hear back before the end of the sitting, I might ask again, but maybe the Minister won't ever want to drive with me anywhere again.
Seriously, Mr. Speaker, lastly, there doesn't seem to be any new funds identified for the caribou crisis in the budget address earlier today. Can the Minister tell me whether there is any new funding for caribou in the 2019-2020 budget? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
The GNWT has committed considerable resources to the management of barren-ground caribou, and as the Member heard in our presentations to the communities that we visited, there are a number of other initiatives that we are working on. I have directed the department to put the plan together to come up with identifying the resources, the amount of resources, that we might need to implement some of these. One of them I think was expanding the Boots on the Ground program. I think there was the predator initiative that we are working on. So I have directed the Department of ENR to identify the places where we could get the funding and the amount of money that we might need so that we can implement these initiatives. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the concern around a strike action is that, if the mediation process on the weekend does not go well, it will be a strike come Monday. We have an opportunity to stop that from happening by agreeing to binding arbitration before they get to the table. Is the Minister willing to consider that to prevent any potential for a strike, to cut it off from happening at all? Thank you.
Masi. Minister of Finance.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I responded to the Member for Yellowknife Centre before, we are going into mediation this weekend, and we are going there with an attitude that we would like to see an agreement reached that benefits both the UNW, GNWT, and the people who we have been elected to serve from across the Northwest Territories. So I am not going to commit to anything until we get past this process of mediation, and I would like to see an agreement reached through that process.
I appreciate the Minister's optimism. I have been optimistic for three years, and now we are at a really very dangerous situation for bringing additional division into our communities. Mr. Speaker, I asked about information the government is providing. The Minister spoke of an email he sent out earlier in question period, and he said that he'd read the email and it did not seem to inflame tempers. I have the text of the email, and it says "unionized employees who are considering coming to work during job action are encouraged to discuss their choice with their union representative," and then further, "If you would like to come to work during job action, you must contact your immediate non-unionized supervisor." Mr. Speaker, "encouragement" is different than contacting "your non-unionized supervisor." Is the Minister sure that he has read this email and that the message sent to employees is clear?
The Member said in his Member's statement before and he apologized for missing the boat for the last three years, and now he is telling us he has been optimistic for the last three years. Which one is it? I did read the email correctly. It is encouraging them to speak to their union representative, and, once they speak to their union representative, then they can speak to their supervisor if they think they would like to come to work. Mr. Speaker, it's quite simple there, in the text, and I am sure most people out there understand it.
What I meant in my Member's statement is that I should have been asking these questions three years earlier because the Minister has not led this process to a successful resolution. The Minister has led this process to a potential strike. So what is he doing, what actions, how is he approaching this differently, to result in a fair deal for northern workers?
What I am doing is I am leaving it to those whom we have tasked to negotiate on our behalf and those who are tasked to negotiate on the union's behalf, with the understanding that I would like to see them come to a resolution through mediation this weekend, and, failing that, then we will take the next steps then.
Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Mr. Speaker, does the Minister believe that, at this point, new direction is required, either a new strategy, either a new leader for that team? It just seems like things are at an impasse, and I am fearful to gamble on optimism at this point.
Much like the Member for Hay River North, I am optimistic. I have been optimistic in the 14 years that I have been in here, and I would like to see them come to an agreement this weekend that is beneficial to all. Failing that, again, we will have to decide on the next step. There is some back and forth that needs to be had yet, so let's let the people who we have tasked do that, and then, failing that, let's go political with it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my Member's statement today, I talked about a road to Nechalacho, the Avalon mine. I would like to ask the Minister if he agrees that an all-season road to any potential mine increases investor comfort. Thank you.
Masi. Minister of Infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I have spoken in this House many times, the lack of infrastructure is holding back some of the economic opportunities for the Northwest Territories. This particular road that the Member is talking about is an interesting concept, but this government has identified three strategic corridors in our mandate, and that's what we continue to keep our priorities on.
On the viability of continuing to put a road in to the diamond mines, that is not something I am opposed to, but I think that this road might have more benefits to a complete road all the way up the Slave Geological at this time, although I am not in here prepared to talk against a road into the Slave Geological, but it is my opinion that the road into the Thor Lake would be something that is viable. I would like to ask the Minister if the Minister would take the step of consulting with the company to see what their feeling is on an all-season road that will run down from Ingraham Trail to Thor Lake.
I meet with industry stakeholders all the time, and I am sure everyone that I even met at roundup would love to have a road to their project. The reality on the ground is this government has a mandate commitment, as I have said in my previous statement, and we will continue to focus on those. If Avalon would like to pursue a road, I am sure that they would like to have a conversation with myself and Indigenous governments that would be affected in that region, and I could sit down and have a conversation with them, but where that project would go from there would be dependent on a number of things.
So the Minister is telling me that, if Avalon or the company that would be building the mine at Thor Lake would like to discuss possibility of having an all-season road built to their mine site, then they should come to the Minister to have that discussion and also that they should be prepared to do consultation with the YK Dene? Is that correct?
Yes. As I have said, I would be willing to have a discussion with any mining proponent in the Northwest Territories that is looking to do investments in the NWT. What we can clearly do is have an open dialogue, conversation, about what they are thinking. If they are proposing a road in that region, we can clearly lay out what would need to take place to do that. I am not saying that this government or that future governments would support building a road strictly to one mine. That is not what I am saying. I am just saying we are open to having a conversation with them and clearly lay out a path that they would need to take.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the reason I am not asking the Minister of ITI questions, I am asking the Minister of Infrastructure, is because I am interested in the road. I think the road would have benefits to Thor Lake. We are not building a road to Whati to accommodate NICO mines, but we are building a road to Whati because we are building a road to Whati, and what happens from there would be beneficial to the mining operation over there. This is the same type of concept I am talking about. Build a road to the shore by Thor Lake that will benefit the community of Lutselk'e and other people who wish to travel from that area. It's a fairly strategic point when you are trying to travel on the Great Slave Lake. So my question, I guess, is: will the Minister have discussions maybe with the communities, like first consultation with the YK Dene and maybe further consultation with Lutselk'e to see if it would be viable? I am sure, like the Minister said, the road would be very acceptable to the mining company, but why bother having that discussion if no one agrees with it? Would the Minister of Infrastructure agree to have a discussion with the YK Dene and Lutselk'e on the viability of a road from Ingraham Trail to Thor Lake? Thank you.
As the Member clearly laid out a scenario that could possibly work, it is something very similar to the Whati road, where we did a joint proposal or joint exploratory work with the Tlicho government on the road to Whati. That ended up resulting in a road that is going to get built here in the next couple of years. If that is something that the YK Denes communities and Lutselk'e want to consider, I would strongly suggest that they request a meeting, and we can sit down and have those discussions, how we can figure out if there is an opportunity there that we can maybe work into our strategy going forward.
As I have said in this House, we have three strategic transportation corridors that are reflected in the mandate of this government. There is the Department of Infrastructure's transportation strategy, Connecting Us. I believe that has been clearly laid out for the next 20 years, but that is a discussion that we could have with the communities. Thank you.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are in follow-up to my statement on the Fort Providence Youth Centre, and my questions are to the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. Mr. Speaker, Mandate Commitment 2.5.3 says, "We will support opportunities for youth by ensuring effective youth programming, such as the Youth Corps, Youth Contributors, Youth Ambassador Programs, Youth Centres, and Youth Tours." Can the Minister give us a general update on the work his department has done to fulfill this commitment, including the work still yet to come in 2019-2020? Mahsi.
Masi. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In a previous position I held within the public service, I did work as a regional youth and volunteer officer. These programs have always been very well-utilized throughout the Northwest Territories. They continue to be utilized, and we continue to support these programs in all of our regions and all of our communities. We have some very great employees who promote these programs, and I know that the Member did bring up the youth who wanted to do the Youth Centres Initiative. I really appreciate that leadership within the Member's community of Fort Providence when we went through the Detah or Deh Cho tour, our last one. The programs are always utilized to the maximum of their dollars.
Any information that the Member or any Members in the legislative would like to find out about the programs that we have within MACA, we have some very good details on our website, and we would be more than willing to continue to move that forward, as well as looking at our strategy that we are working on, renewing our youth strategy, and sharing that information with all Members. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
