Masi. Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as follow-up to my Member's statement, I have a few questions for the Minister of Infrastructure. As I stated in my statement, Mr. Speaker, we are taking a lot of employment away from the community of Tsiigehtchic, not to mention Fort McPherson. At times, we even hired a number of people from the community there when we didn't have enough. I would like to ask the Minister: why did the department decide to bring in their equipment to be used at the Mackenzie River crossing? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will have to get back to the Member on what exact piece of equipment, why we brought it in, and why we brought it there. I do know that we have a labour and equipment contract, an as-and-when one with Tsiigehtchic with Arctic Red River Development Corporation. I can look into that matter, what specific piece of equipment the Member is talking about.
I can just answer that right now because I have come from Tsiigehtchic. I know what is there. We have a Sno-Cat, Bombardiers, which I think they brought out of the museum. They are so old, you know, this equipment, that they are barely running. I think that is where all the cost is coming from, is because to find these parts, you know, price must double or triple or something. What cost savings is the department making by using their own equipment compared to past years?
I am going to look into this as the Member has stated. The one thing that people know in this House is we have escalated our time of putting in the snow crossing. The big controversy in this Assembly two years ago was us shutting down the winter road ferry program. When we did that, the department made the commitment that we would put in the crossing as fast as possible, which we have. It is from freeze-up to actually having 5,000 kg capability has been very minimal days now, I believe, less than two weeks for both crossings.
We have involved new technologies and lighter pieces of equipment, which might influence which pieces of equipment that we are actually trying to rent from the Red River Development Corporation. I will work with the Member and get the answers that he wants on these specific questions.
Bringing in this equipment actually didn't save us any time. We actually just finished the ice bridge, like, two weeks ago. If I didn't say anything, they would probably still be working on it now. You know, I know the department is trying to do the best they could, but will the Minister ensure that next year the community is given support to providing employment for their workforce?
As I said, we are putting this thing in as efficiently and as fast as we can. The workforce is contracted out with Little Red River. I will have to see how long that contract is good for and work with the Member to be able to maximize the most employment I can for his particular riding. We have not reduced the capital cost or the budgetary process for putting this road in. We realize the pressure that is on these communities the longer it takes to put in these ice crossings across the Northwest Territories. The Member continually raises it in this Assembly, and we will continually try to work with him and his communities to put it in as fast as possible and work with his communities where they can benefit from these projects that are right in their back door. I will continue to work with the Member.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it sounds promising. You know, in the past, I have even worked on that ice road when I first started working. You know, the workforce they have set up in the community, they work pretty hard all through November until mid-December. Usually, by the 20th, they have everything opened to 50,000 kilograms, which is required, and then they let Mother Nature do her part.
Mr. Speaker, it seems to me the department doesn't seem to support providing labour employment but would rather bring in equipment that actually took longer and at a higher cost. I would like to ask the Minister if this is the case.
No, that is not the case. As I said, we are trying to put this thing as efficiently and as fast as we can for the residents, particularly in his home community. We have made the unprecedented step where we put the Arctic Red River in first now so the community can actually get out of there sooner and cross over to go to McPherson. We can actually pull that, maybe, and put that money towards the main crossing if the Member wants us to spend in his community. That is going to mean that they are going to have to wait a lot longer to get out of there. I have committed in this House that I will work with the Member closely to try to maximize the benefits for his residents and what we can do in next year's winter season. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my Member's statement, I talked about, I guess, perhaps a redevelopment of the Taltson hydro dam. I would like to ask the Minister of ITI, I suppose, questions on the Taltson hydro dam. I would like to ask the Minister if he is aware that there is an organized community on the Taltson River larger than some of the current communities that we have. Thank you.
Masi. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am not quite clear on the question. What I said in the House last week here, when we talked about the Taltson project, was we are involving the three Indigenous governments that are affected in the region, the Northwest Territories Metis Nation, the Salt River First Nation, and the Akaitcho. I have met with all three of them from their leadership point of view and given them the heads-up about the announcement on this funding. As I have said in the House last week, there seems to be a willingness to work towards supporting this project. That is what this Aboriginal engagement money is going to be for. It will clearly lay out what needs to be done with the work going forward. There are a number of things that have to be done, but one of the best things I think about this project is the far-reaching reconciliation around economic development with Indigenous governments on a project like this. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, my question was if the Minister was aware that there was an organized community on the Taltson River, but I will move on. I would like to ask the Minister, if he is aware that there was a community called Rocher River, an organized community, complete with surveyed lots, if the Minister would find a way to consult with the people that actually lived in Rocher River prior to construction of the dam?
At this point, right now, as I've said, I've clearly laid out the three Indigenous governments that the government is willing to engage with. I am willing to go into the communities to have a discussion with the local communities of Fort Resolution, Fort Smith, and Lutselk'e, in particular. At that point, maybe that's when there will be an opportunity for some questions from the Regular Members.
It appears as though the Minister is not fully aware of who was impacted, and that's what I'm trying to get at here. The greatest impact of the Taltson dam was upon the people that lived in a place called Rocher River. I am a person that is from Rocher River. What happened there was the school burned down a few years before the Taltson dam was constructed. Many people felt that was deliberate, but the bottom line is, there was a group of people living there in an organized community. It had stores, two stores. They had a school, and they were a regular functioning community, and suddenly, after the school burned down, the people started moving. The people moved to the river to trap, trap on the rivers, continued to use Taltson as basically a lifeline for all the people there, and then, the dam was ---
Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh, what's your line of questioning?
Can the GNWT start working now with the elders, the remaining elders, that were from Rocher River to start developing a list of the families that were impacted as a result of the Taltson dam?
As I've said, I'm willing to have a discussion with all impacted residents on this project. If we're going to sit down and have a discussion about the Taltson back when it was built, in the '60's, I think, if that's a discussion that some of the Member's riding wants to take place, we're going to have to have all parties at the table for that discussion. That's something that took place prior to devolution. That was under the federal government's watch, and that's probably a discussion that should be taking place with the federal government or maybe even at the Akaitcho main table. I'm willing to sit down with all residents in the South Slave who are impacted by us, who want to move this project forward and have those discussions.
Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when people are relocated, they are scattered all over the place because they don't have a home. They ended up, yes, in Fort Resolution, yes, in Yellowknife, some in Lutselk'e, some in Edmonton, Hay River. They're all over the place. There is no home. They are scattered around. These were the people that were greatly affected. I'm asking the Minister: I agree that Fort Resolution, Fort Smith, Lutselk'e, that will capture the majority of the people; however, there is a group that is going to be missed unless we pull that list together, so I'd like to ask the Minister again if he is prepared to work with, if it's the Aboriginal government that he needs to work with, then if he would develop a list of see who was originally impacted and include them in the discussions moving forward for the redevelopment of the Taltson dam?
As I've said, I'm willing to have a conversation with anybody, but this is a conversation that has to include more than just me. As I said, this is something that happened, not under our watch, under the federal government's watch. There are other opportunities for those people to have those discussions at different venues, as I've said. I'm willing to have those discussions, and I suspect through more consultation with Indigenous governments and their leadership on moving this project forward, I can raise this question of around the impacted residents, and we'll see what the leadership wants to do in that regard. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today my questions are for the Minister of Lands. Some time ago, the Department of Lands started some really good work and some consultation with regard to the Yellowknife area recreational land use framework, I suppose. It went great guns for the first couple of years, and now, it seems as though it's been put on pause. It might have gone back into the archives or onto the shelf. I would like to ask the Minister if he can let us know what is underway with regard to the recreational land use planning and maybe even explain for folks what a recreational land use plan consists of? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Lands.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Of course, several years ago, we looked into this matter and have our recreational leasing management framework to guide us in this area. With respect to the Yellowknife periphery area, much of the work has been done. It is of course a commitment of this government to advance this process. We did recognize in the framework that there would be certain areas that are of priority, and, clearly, the Yellowknife area is a priority because of the heavy recreational use. I can advise that we are continuing to attempt to engage with our Aboriginal partners in that matter.
Thank you to the Minister for his reply. Can the Minister maybe elaborate a little bit more on what is the reasoning for a recreational land use plan? My understanding is that they're not very well-used throughout the territory, if at all, that this version might be a pilot to some degree. Why a recreational land use plan? Why can't we just have recreational land use included in the comprehensive land use plans?
Of course, we are attempting to make progress in land use planning generally, but, if looked at from another point of view, recreational land use planning is kind of a subset of the larger issue of dealing with land management. We thought that, because of the heavy pressure in the Yellowknife area in particular, we would attempt to move forward on that project, which is a mandate commitment.
I appreciate the Minister's answer. It seems to be a little bit lacking in some detail, but he did refer earlier to the recreational lease management framework, which, I guess, supports the recreational land use plan. I would like to ask the Minister: can the Minister provide maybe a little bit more insight on what the recreational lease management framework consists of?
The framework deals with many issues, such as application of the framework, the development of the framework, and also identifying priority areas. As I mentioned earlier, a priority area is clearly that area around Yellowknife. The point of the framework was to encourage compliance, strengthen, enforcement and to give residents of the Northwest Territories certainty, or as much certainty as we could, in this area.
Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Minister's reply, and, yes, definitely as it relates to those who have leases, in particular on the Ingraham Trail around Yellowknife, I would like to ask the Minister, under the forthcoming recreational lease management framework, will there be an opportunity at some point in time where leaseholders will actually have the opportunity to have ownership of this land, fee simple title?
That is an interesting question, and I can see I can get some help from my fellow Cabinet Ministers on this issue. However, Members will recall the difficulties that we have been facing with the issue of equity leases, which is a much smaller issue than this. I certainly will take the question seriously, and it seems to me that we are not yet ready to make the kind of commitment requested by the Member opposite. Thank you.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I was very pleased, when I attended the opening of the Dene Wellness Centre on the K'atlodeeche First Nations Reserve in January, in the old building of the Nats’ejee K’eh Treatment Centre, with people being very familiar with it. The centre then was a treatment centre for the whole NWT. Now things have changed. The Minister of Health and Social Services stated its ongoing initiatives on land-based mobile addiction treatment and also aftercare for patients who are seeking to sober up in the NWT. My question is to the Minister of Health and Social Services.
The last agreement that the Dene Wellness Centre was operating on is from 2017. Then, the purpose and use of the wellness centre were being discussed. Now that the wellness centre is operating and serving its purpose, does the Minister see a need in terms of updating the contribution agreement that it has with KFN? Mahsi.
Masi. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Mr. Speaker, with respect to the Nats'ejee K'eh facility, we have had a lot of discussion with KFN on that building. Currently the Department of Health and Social Services is covering the lease costs on that building for KFN, which equates to about $6,000 a month. The owner of the building is currently working with KFN to see about transferring actual ownership of that building over to them. I know that there are some issues that they still need to work on, on that.
With respect to the programming that KFN had intended and delivering those services, they talked about wellness programs and other types of things. We are happy to work with them on those programs, and we are happy to help utilize that facility on a case-by-case basis.
As far as the wellness money that they get, that is a set allocated amount based on population and other things that all Indigenous communities in the Northwest Territories get. That is federal money that flows through us to them, so we don't have the ability to increase those funds at this time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The Minister, obviously, and his department are engaging with the K'atlodeeche First Nations. I am trying to determine the whole role of the Nats'ejee K'eh Treatment Centre. What are the key steps that the Minister has undertaken to ensure that, eventually, the transfer of the building is given to the K'atlodeeche First Nations?
In the last government, we made a commitment to K'atlodeeche that we would work with them so that they could obtain ownership of that building. The building is not a Health and Social Services asset. Once the facility ceased being an addictions treatment centre, the ownership of that building was transferred back to infrastructure, and they are working closely with K'atlodeeche to work out the issues around turning that building over to them. In the last government, we committed to providing the O and M funds necessary to keep that building in operation -- not programs, but the building itself -- and we still live by that commitment.
Addictions, of course, is a big concern in the NWT. As people contemplate taking steps in terms of bettering their lives and getting away from the whole cycle of addiction abuse, you sometimes come across the fact that it is deep-rooted, and this government needs to be in a position of supporting communities and giving back control to communities.
My question is: have the K'atlodeeche asked GNWT Health and Social Services if they would work with the wellness centre on developing an NWT trauma treatment centre on the reserve?
We have been trying to work closely with K'atlodeeche. In 2015, we gave them $44,000 so that they could hold a roundtable to help come up with some ideas and plans for how that building would be utilized. The report that I saw from them was about turning it into more of a wellness centre to provide a wide range of programs and not be dedicated to just one type of program. At that time, we indicated that we would like to keep working with them. If there was some opportunity for us to deliver some workshops or other things, wellness programs, out of that facility on a one-off basis, we were hoping to have the opportunity to have those discussions with them so that we could do that.
As far as any other specific purpose that for building, our commitment to provide the O and M funds to keep that building operational were consistent with them continuing to run that building as a wellness centre, providing programs focused on healing and wellness, not necessarily on addictions, but it would be a great facility that we could certainly have some discussions on about using it for mobile treatment options in partnership with K'atlodeeche.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, just from my observations, this department and the GNWT and the community of K'atlodeeche First Nations are taking great, positive steps, and it was the sense of optimism back in the beginning of a new year, 2019, that the building was reopened.
My last question is to the Minister of Health and Social Services. What, in his mind, is the key critical next step to ensuring that the Dene Wellness Centre is fully supported by this government and fully operational? Mahsi.
There are many things, and I think we obviously need to keep working together on this, but I think one of the key things is working with K'atlodeeche to actually get ownership of the building figured out and solidified. There are some issues, I think, on both sides that we are trying to address. We want to make sure that the building is in good shape when it is turned over to them and that we understood the magnitude of O and M costs for keeping that building running. I think that is one thing that we need to continue to work with them to get on. From Health and Social Services, on the program side, we want to keep having a relationship with them and focus on the opportunities to do things like wellness programming and other things that we could partner on a one-off application-based kind of approach. I think there are lots of opportunities here. It is a great building. The community wants to do proactive things, and we would like to keep having that relationship with them. Thank you.
