Merci, Monsieur le President. Earlier today I reviewed how the Minister of Finance did not provide the information requested in my written questions on resource royalties from October 31, 2018. Can the Minister explain why the information requested, a breakdown of resource royalties from 1999 to 2017 by commodity type, was not provided in his response? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you. Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The resource royalties for the period from 1999 to 2013 by commodity type were not provided because the information that is available combines the Northwest Territories information with data from the other three territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thanks to the Minister for that. So that explains some of the reasons, that the federal government combines it, and so on, but last week I tabled extracts from a privately published book by a former deputy minister and devolution negotiator that clearly showed the resource royalties paid to the federal government from 1980 to 2009. Can the Minister explain how such information was published, and yet he could not provide it in response to a written question from a Member of this House?
The excerpts from the book that the Member refers to are from the public accounts of Canada. The data represents the three territories combined until 2003, when Yukon went through their devolution, and combined the Northwest Territories and Nunavut as of 2003 until 2014, when the Northwest Territories went through devolution. The Member has requested Northwest Territories royalties only. We can provide this table to 2017, but it will not match the production value table, because the data is an aggregate for the three territories over the same years.
Thanks to the Minister for that. I spoke earlier today of the world-wide movement toward more transparent and open public reporting of government revenues from non-renewable resources. Even most of the diamond mining companies operating in the NWT support the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. Can the Minister of Finance tell us whether he and his staff have studied the standard developed by the initiative, and when we can expect it to be adopted or implemented by this government?
The Department of Finance, we are aware of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative standard for reporting. To date, the government has reported aggregate royalties rather than royalties by mine to respect the confidentiality of financial information of individual mines, as required per the Northwest Territories Lands Act.
Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. Now we get that it's restricted because of wording in the Lands Act, so I look forward to that being changed. Canada is a supporter of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and has provided funding to a variety of countries, such as Peru, Indonesia, Tanzania, and even Mongolia to fix up how they report revenues. This country has adopted the standard through the Extractive Sector Transparency Measures Act, so can the Minister tell us when our government will get on board and begin to report royalties paid by commodity type, or even by individual companies? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
I understand that the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment is reviewing the Mining Regulations and transparency and accountability principles, and that all will be taken into consideration as we move forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today I talked about fuel subsidy for seniors, and I talked about, in Fort Simpson, that $2,700, which works out to about 2,143 litres. Typically, when a fuel tank is filled to between 80 and 90 percent, that works out to be about 960 to 1,080 litres, or two tanks. Can the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment please advise why those changes were made to this program? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Education, Culture and Employment regularly reviews programs to make sure they are still meeting the needs of people; in this case, seniors in our communities. We recognize that there was a need to expand our program because we weren't subsidizing people who had rental accommodations; we were only subsidizing homeowners. In my personal opinion, oftentimes, not always, but oftentimes homeowners are often at a financial advantage to people who have to rent. Not always.
So we expanded it so that we could include renters, and we increased our income threshold so that we would reach more people. By doing this, actually, we have increased our intake. We have approximately 100 more seniors in the Northwest Territories who are actually accessing this program because of the changes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
It's great that we see this increase of 100 seniors getting through this program. It's of value. However, we went, in the Nahendeh riding which had 2,800 litres, to $2,700. Can the Minister please advise the amount of money allocated to each zone, so we get a bigger picture?
We tried to look at it more in a fairness and equitable manner, because I couldn't really justify how the funding was provided beforehand. We used a market basket figure to look at how the communities are, so looking at similar costs between communities of the cost of living to define how we would do it.
In zone 1, a person who is making $56,000 or less is entitled to an annual amount of $2,700 a year. In zone 2, someone who is making $64,000 or less is entitled to $3,600 a year in fuel subsidy. In zone 3, which is our most isolated communities, someone making an annual income of $73,000 or less is entitled to a subsidy of $4,200. Remembering this is a subsidy program, it is not meant to cover the full cost. If people fall under that and they are still struggling, though, they should consider other programs, such as income support. Come to us. We will see if we can help you.
The Minister talked about the number, a high number or less. A lot of elders are not even close to that threshold, and even when we see this subsidy provided, it still has a hindrance to these communities, and so our elders are having to make choices. My next question to the Minister is: can she please advise if the monetary allotment has a living index to it?
Currently, it doesn't have a cost of living index included into it. This is just the start of the program. We have increased the threshold. We have increased the amount. We have looked at it on more of an equitable basis, so based on communities that have a similar cost of living.
Once this season is over, this summer, then we will be doing a review of it again to make sure, but I cannot stress enough. I take heed of the Member from Nahendeh stating that many seniors do not even reach this. I mean, $56,000 for the lowest zone is quite a bit of money, although you can struggle on it. So if you are not making it, please, please come in and talk about accessing income support or other services. People need support, and we want to try to help them as a government. Reach out and ask.
Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Minister providing those answers to us right now today. I mean, it is great that we need to get in there right now, but will the Minister look at actually putting a cost to it? Previously, it was 2,800 litres, and each zone had litres and not a monetary value. It is great that some people are able to access monetary value, but for those elders who are under that, will they look at the ability to, instead of monetary value, actually put it in litres or the value of those litres that they were supposed to get? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
As stated earlier, we will be doing a full review of the program. This was the first year that we have implemented the changes, so we will be doing a full review in the summer coming up here. Yes, if it makes sense. We try to work closely with the Seniors' Society, recognizing we don't ask every single senior in the Northwest Territories, but we do try to work with the society that is in charge of representing them to do this. We will work closely with them and we will look at it.
One of the things that is noted, though, is, when we only moved litres, there are a lot of seniors in small communities, Mr. Speaker, who are only using a lot of wood heat. If we are only providing litres, we are neglecting a huge population of people who are still using wood heat. That is why we moved to a financial compensation versus litres, because under the litres, if you are using wood, you weren't always getting the amount of money. So, right now, it has moved to financial. You get the payout. It doesn't matter what you use it on, but we will review it in the summer. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the Minister responsible for the Workers' Compensation and Safety Commission's appointment of the Workers' Advisor, why was an expression of interest not issued to the public? Thank you.
Minister responsible for the Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Under Section 107 of the Workers' Compensation Act, the Minister responsible does have the authority to appoint a workers' advisor. Because, as some Members know, our last workers' advisor was retiring, we needed to fill the position, and the process of the Minister responsible appointing a workers' advisor is left up to the discretion of the Minister. That was what happened. I look forward to the new workers' advisor doing a great job working in this position and working for the safety and the well-being and the wellness and health of our employees. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I acknowledge that the Minister has the discretion. In fact, I said that earlier today. The Minister's predecessor made the last appointment with a public process. Why did the Minister not follow the same process that Northerners have come to expect surrounding this appointment?
I can't speak of my predecessor and the decisions that they made. I can speak for the decisions that I make in this House, and I just answered the question earlier, that it was my decision, discretion of the Minister, and I am very glad to have a long-time Northerner working in this area. Like I said, he is going to do a great job working on the health, the well-being, and ensuring the safety for our employees across the Northwest Territories.
Again, I am not questioning the merits of the person who was appointed, and I am sure they will do a good job, but the Minister knows quite well that this is a long-time political aide of the Minister. Can the Minister confirm whether or not he brought this issue up with his Cabinet colleagues or with the Conflict of Interest Commissioner to assess whether or not it was a conflict for him to make this decision?
This is legislated. I did mention in the Workers' Compensation Act under section 107, and I will say it again, section 107, so everyone can hear that. I, as the Minister, have the authority to appoint a workers' advisor. It is legislated. It was a decision that was made, and anybody who is in that position is very well-qualified to do that work.
Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am sure that everyone knows that the Minister is capable about making this appointment. It is the Minister's judgment around this appointment that is the issue. Will the Minister agree to re-assess this appointment with the advice of someone who is skilled in assessing conflict and make the appropriate decision after that time? Will he at least look into this from a conflict perspective? Thank you.
The decision was made, a legislated decision, and I stand by that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. In her response to the Aurora College foundational review, the Minister said that the transformation of the college will begin with the creation of an NWT-wide vision of post-secondary education. My question is: isn't the first thing to resolve the issue of where the headquarters and the main campus are going to be located? Masi.
Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No, I think that the first thing to do, actually, was to hire the person to actually become the associate deputy minister, would be the first priority, and that is what we focused on. Actually defining where the headquarters are, we spent a lot of time, Mr. Speaker. I went to the three communities, Inuvik, Yellowknife, and Fort Smith, a total of three times. I met with the community counsellors there. I met with public meetings. I spent a lot of time, and I heard clearly, I heard clearly, that students and staff see the benefits of all three communities, and I see the benefits of all three communities, so defining where the headquarters will be is something we need to look at down the road, once we have an implementation plan.
I have committed that the person who will be hired fairly soon, I will be announcing that fairly soon, as well, will be located in Yellowknife, because we have to work very closely together on the planning stage. After that is done, then we will be defining if and where we need a headquarters. At this time, Mr. Speaker, all three communities have stated very clearly both orally and in writing that they do not want one community over the other. They want, as my vision was, three strong communities and three strong campuses.
I have no quarrel with the idea of three strong campuses, but I don't understand how the Minister and her staff are going to create an implementation plan when there is not a vision for where the main campus is going to be. I get the idea of three, but I do not think they are going to be equal, so how can she go forward with an implementation plan without knowing where the headquarters is going to be?
Once that person is hired, which I will be announcing, again, later on, the implementation plan will take place at that time. Again, we have committed. I have said that we will take that person, they will located in Yellowknife so that we can work very closely with them over the next couple of years, but the question still remains, Mr. Speaker: do we need to move every single position out of Fort Smith, at this time, into Yellowknife? Do we need to move the finance? Do we need to move aspects of that? Those are questions we need to look at more in depth. Also, it cannot be about one community over another. I recognize I am an MLA for Yellowknife, but on top of that I am a Minister for all communities in the Northwest Territories. My commitment is to making sure that all communities are taken care of, and that is why I have said from the beginning and will say till the end: three strong communities, three strong campuses. I will not let one be detrimental to the others.
The Minister has been unable to answer my question. At some point, there is going to be a new campus built, and my understanding is it's going to be built in Yellowknife. There is going to be money needed for this, so where along this whole road does the decision get made that there will be a new campus in Yellowknife and that it will be the headquarters for the new polytechnic?
I am a little bit shocked. I am wondering if the MLA has more information than I do, because I didn't know that we were having a new campus in Yellowknife at this time. We are still working with the City of Yellowknife to define if that is a brick and mortar or if it actually is building on what they have already. So those decisions have not been made, and my commitment has been to work very closely with the municipal government to determine that need. Like I said, the first couple of years are around planning, and the definition of what headquarters looks like or where it will be will be future, down the road.
Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What I hear is the Minister is punting this decision down the road to the next Assembly so that she is not going to disappoint anyone, but I want to put on the record that this decision is going to have to be made. Whether we are talking about bricks and mortar, whether we are talking about distance learning, whatever it is we are talking about, this thing is going to exist somewhere and the Minister is going to have a make a decision about it, so at a what point is that going to come, if not some future Assembly and some hapless Minister of the day having to make somebody unhappy?
I think that I have been called many things since I have taken this position. However, I have not been called "easy" and I have not been called "lazy," so I am not looking for easy answers out. I am doing my job as a Minister, and that means protecting all people in the Northwest Territories, in all communities. As stated, I see benefits in all three communities. Climate change is affecting our northern communities more so than Yellowknife. Not to say it's not affecting Yellowknife, but it's affecting them more so. Would that not make sense to study there? If we are going to do ENR programs, does it make sense to do them in Yellowknife or does it make sense to do it outside the community? Those are questions we need to look at.
Before we even get to defining what the headquarters looks like, Mr. Speaker, we have to develop a vision. One of the recommendations says we try to do too much for everyone. We need to stop that. We need to look at what we are good at, what we should be specializing in, and what we should be leaving to other universities and polytechnics throughout Canada. So that is the first step, is defining what we need, what we are good at, what we should be focusing our energies on. After that, then we will be looking at the structures of how we support all three communities and all three campuses. Not only the campuses, but the 22 community learning centres also need to be in that picture, as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am going to continue, then, on down the road of questions with regard to the polytechnic, but I guarantee I will not ask any questions about: where shall it go? Mr. Speaker, I will go down this road, however. There are some people who are very excited about this transition. Obviously, Aurora College has served the Northwest Territories very well. The government has accepted a number of recommendations with regard to the review. That means we are going to transition into a polytechnic university, so I would like to start simply by asking the Minister if she can tell us what work has been done so far to prepare for the transition of Aurora College, that has served us well, into this polytechnic university? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
