Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A couple of weeks ago, we had Youth Parliament here at the Legislative Assembly, and my daughter, Marie Carpenter, was the member for Nunakput. Out of all the topics, the discussion talked about the costs of living in the North. Mr. Speaker, I will read her statement today:
"Mr. Speaker, the cost of living in Nunakput is the highest in the Northwest Territories. Increased fuel prices have affected the cost for food, whether from a grocery store or traditional food harvested on the land.
"Mr. Speaker, the rising cost has been hard on hunters living in Nunakput. Harvesting food from the land, lakes, and ocean is essential to our Inuvialuit way of life and the well-being of our communities. When families cannot hunt, they have to purchase all food from the store. Families simply cannot afford the price increases of fuel, food, supplies, and equipment.
"According to the bureau of statistics, the average personal income in Nunakput communities is not much more than $35,000 a year, compared to the $60,000 average for the Northwest Territories. It is very difficult, if not impossible, for many of my constituents to afford basic food from the grocery stores with such high costs.
"Mr. Speaker, data published by PROOF on food insecurity policy research showed that 17.6 percent households in the Northwest Territories are food insecure, and over the 30 percent of the territory's children live in food insecure homes. Recent studies and news articles across the North have shown that we cannot rely on the federal government's program, Nutrition North, to fix food security issues. We can see the proof of this data each time we go to homes, schools, and health centres in Nunakput.
"Mr. Speaker, focusing on improving these statistics will benefit the mental and physical well-being of families, especially children, in Nunakput. It will overall reduce our government spending in areas such as health, education, and social services. The mandate of this government has called for action to reduce the cost of living and poverty, not to increase it. The mandate also called upon the government to promote the consumption of traditional foods, such as fish and wildlife, to improve nutrition, and to improve wellness and the way of life of Indigenous peoples in the territory.
"Mr. Speaker, food security needs to be the focus of our government, now and into the future. As leaders, we must align our policies with other levels of governments to ensure that our families, elders, children, and youth can be strong and sustain an Inuvialuit way of life by having healthy food options harvested from our land and in Nunakput communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker."
Masi. Members' statements. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Tim Brown came into this world, August 5, 1966, and left on May 5, 2019.
Tim possessed wisdom far beyond most people, a rare way with words, and an ability to explain things that never came across as condescending, but, rather, as enlightening. During or after a conversation with Tim, you may not always have felt smarter or necessarily agreed. You would, however, more often than not, feel better about whatever it was that you were talking about. If you were brave enough to debate with him, rest assured you would know where he stood on a subject in no uncertain terms by the end of the conversation.
Over the years of people knowing Tim, through their most difficult times and struggles through life, Tim was there for them, offering an ear to listen, advice or encouragement when needed, or a kick in the butt or a hard truth, if that was what was required.
To borrow a phrase Tim would often use, "the reality is," Tim was by no means perfect. He would say so himself. Some people might say that he was, at times, not nice, and they would be correct. Others might say he was an amazing and kind person. They, too, would be correct. The reason for this is quite simple. Tim did not treat people poorly; he treated them accordingly, meaning he treated people how they treated him. If you were nice, he was nice in return.
Tim was a great storyteller, and as such, people enjoyed Tim's time, especially if it was about fishing or his family.
To Tim's family, especially Melinda, Finn, Coleman, and Rebecca, I will tell you this: Tim would be the first to admit he was not perfect. What you may not know is that, in conversations with Tim, he would say that he may not have been perfect, but when he looked at his wife and children, he knew that he had gotten something in his life perfectly right. To borrow another phrase Tim would often say, "make no mistake about it," Tim loved his family, his wife and children.
Tim is survived by his wife Melinda, his children Rebecca, Finn, and Coleman, grandchildren Davin Swallow and Sebia Nessel, and numerous nephews, nieces, and friends.
Mr. Speaker, it was fitting to see the local airline and helicopter companies do one last flyby at the airport as Tim's body was being flown to Yellowknife to be cremated after his service. This was a very classy action and greatly appreciated by his family and friends.
The Brown family would like to thank everybody for their support and prayers during their time of sorrow. Mr. Speaker, Tim is sadly missed and will never be forgotten.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of ENR, responsible for the climate file. In my statement earlier today, I outlined some of the important points being raised by students bringing their climate action to the legislature today, so I would like to ask the Minister: does the government accept the need for some sort of environmental cost planning and accounting process so that the full cost of any program or project takes into account its environmental impacts and the need for any mitigation? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and we appreciate the fact that the students are here voicing their concerns about climate change. It is something that we in the North have faced for a long time before the rest of the country. Before it became flavour of the day, we were feeling the effects of climate change, particularly in the Mackenzie Delta, where I am from. We see banks falling into the river. I would hate to come to a point someday where we walk across the river because there is so much sediment in the water.
I appreciate the work that they are doing. They are obviously very passionate about it, and that is something that I would like to see them continue. Being the grandfather of six, I have a personal interest in this, because I do want to see the day where my grandchildren don't have to worry about the effects of climate change, and this is something that, as a government, we are making attempts to deal with. Like I said, the North felt the effects of climate change long before it was flavour of the day. Now, to the rest of the country and the rest of the world, welcome to the file.
Mr. Speaker, as we feel the effects of climate change, in our planning to do infrastructure, we have seen what it could do to some of the infrastructure that is already there, with the ground sliding into the river and some of the other effects that it is having on some of the local infrastructure. We have seen that. As we go forward, we will take into consideration all of that as we plan projects, and I think that it is already happening. As I said, we felt the effects of climate change long before the rest of the country. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you to the Minister for that reply and his acknowledgement of the effects that climate change is having on the north and that it is more dire than most other regions and that, for sure, in planning our infrastructure that we currently own and going forward, we have to take into account the fiscal and financial accounting aspects in order to overcome those.
Mr. Speaker, I would also like to ask the Minister: what steps is the government taking to make sure that our young people are equipped to make contributions on climate action, by introducing climate change impacts, adaptation, mitigation, and innovation to the NWT education system? Is the Minister working with the Minister of Education to develop curriculum on climate change?
Again, recognizing the importance of the voices of the youth in the Northwest Territories, I believe it was in the Assembly before that we actually had a youth forum that the Premier of the day had implemented, and we got feedback from a lot of youth across the Northwest Territories. I think that there is some merit in the Member's suggestion. It is something that we could talk with the young people of the Northwest Territories about as potentially having, working with Education, some type of a climate change symposium, where we could get their opinion on what they would like to see taught in schools.
It is a serious issue, Mr. Speaker, and it is one that, the more we educate our youth as they are coming through the educational system, I think, the greater effect that it will have on the future of the Northwest Territories and our ability to deal with climate change.
I appreciate the Minister's response, and he did indicate the idea, potentially, of a symposium. Clearly, our young people have the most at stake. Maybe what I will ask the Minister is if he will, in fact, commit the government to at least consider establishing an ongoing forum or a symposium that can have regular constructive dialogue and that would seek advice from the NWT's youth on climate change?
We recognize that there are a number of other governments and organizations in the NWT with climate change roles. It would be difficult for me, at this stage of this Assembly, to commit the government to a symposium. Through the transition committee and providing some advice to the incoming 19th, I think that we will hear it during the election period that is coming up; the election is on October 1st. I think that we will hear a lot of concerns about climate change, and I am sure that potential candidates who are running will be telling the constituents their plans for how to deal with this ongoing issue. Let's make sure that it's a plan that they're passionate about, and not one that they're just saying to get the public's vote.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I agree with the Minister. We absolutely have to encourage our forthcoming leaders and we have to engage, actively engage our youth in getting to the table and having the conversation, but I also don't like the idea that we are pushing these sorts of things off. There is never a time where we can't keep the discussion going about climate change. I would also like to ask the Minister: has the government considered convening call it a client action group that would include youth, elders, scientists, even economists, traditional harvesters, et cetera, industry even, to discuss and seek innovative ways to achieve responsible development and a sustainable society?
Through a number of the initiatives and strategies that we come forward with, we go out and seek public opinion, consultation with affected stakeholders, and I think it's through that process that they are able to get their input. We have three months left in this Assembly. Again, I can commit to this Chamber that we'll explore the idea of doing something such as that and work with stakeholders. Again, we can make the suggestions, and as we've seen at the beginning of the 18th, it will be upon the Members of the 19th to determine at that time whether this is something that they want to implement, and I believe it is. I believe it's a serious enough issue, and again, I've said it two or three times now, we've felt the effects long before everybody else so we have taken steps to mitigate some of the effects it has.
There is a lot of merit in the Member's suggestion, and we've heard, and I'm sure everybody else has heard, the young people have heard. It's a commitment that I think this Assembly in this building, this institution, has to follow up on. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I had a Member's statement about Tim Brown. Previously, before he passed away, I was at the airport and we talked about a situation that happened where a piece of equipment ended up falling through the permafrost in Fort Simpson, of all places. We were talking about it. It wasn't an operator. He did this job 20 years. It wasn't the equipment. What changed? The environment. I have some questions for the Minister of Infrastructure today, Mr. Speaker, and first of all, I'd like to thank Tim for bringing this forward. Can the Minister advise the House: what has the department done to prepare for climate change, especially with the issue on the southern part of NWT? I know we've done some good stuff in the north, and I've seen the work, the research done there. What about the southern part, and especially when it comes to airports and highways in the southern part of the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you for attending today. I am going to take this opportunity to actually speak to a number of initiatives that the Government of the Northwest Territories is doing, because some Members in this House say they don't think we're doing enough. I want these young people to hear exactly what we're doing as the Government of the Northwest Territories, because I believe the actions that we are taking go beyond. A small jurisdiction like we are, we are punching above our weight, so I'm going to read every word on these questions.
He wants to know what we're doing in the southern part for climate change around airports and highways. The Northwest Territories infrastructure network is vulnerable to the effects of climate change due to a reliance on ice roads and infrastructure built on permafrost. Changes in climate, including temperature, precipitation, or water levels, result in increased variability and could affect the reliability of our system. We rely on the stability of permafrost to maintain our highway and runway surfaces, and need sufficient water levels to operate the ferry and barge resupply.
To address and mitigate the future risk and changes, the department developed a comprehensive Climate Change Adaptation Plan which covers all aspects of transportation system. The department has been actively implementing the Climate Change Adaptation Plan for over five years now. We have invested in research and development, including installing and monitoring test sections all across the system. We are working with world-class research institutes such as University of Calgary, Carlton University, McGill, Laurier, and the National Research Council of Canada to undertake research development on the modelling of the future and developing mitigation and adaptation measures for our assets.
We have completed climate change vulnerability assessments across the system. We have been improving poor surface and drainage conditions on our highways and runways. We are working to realign winter roads to overland alignments, and we have been building permanent bridges at former ice crossings to stabilize the highway system.
We have also worked with other government departments on the overall Northwest Territories Climate Change Strategic Framework. We are leading the national-level Task Force for Northern Infrastructure, along with our counterpart territories and provinces, to ensure our infrastructure design, construction, and maintenance practices are climate change-resilient.
We have developed best practices in buildings for northern infrastructure, building in permafrost regions, building in winter ice roads, and we have recently been audited by the Auditor General in our plans and did receive positive feedback from the review of our work.
I think the Minister kind of answered my next question, but I'm going to actually ask it anyway: what mitigation adaptation has the department done to address the issues about low water levels, and specifically in the riding of Nahendeh?
I foresee some written questions are coming soon enough. Minister of Infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are tracking the water levels carefully and monitoring changes. We have been in contact with the federal government about dredging to maintain navigational channels, which I talked about yesterday. For ice and ferry crossings, we have already converted some permanent bridges, and over the long term will continue to work toward converting them to permanent crossings. In the meantime, we have looked at alternative landing and crossing roads which may extend or stabilize the seasons.
Can the Minister advise us: has the department developed policies and procedures for staff and contractors in dealing with climate change issues?
Understanding climate and adjusting accordingly is inherent in all our operations of the transportation system. Climate change has been incorporated into our best practice documents and construction procedures and specifications. We keep involved at the national level to influence and incorporate research into updated national standards and promote professional development.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to thank the Minister for his answers as we move forward on this issue here. Has the department developed training programs for staff to help them to identify potential issues when it comes to climate change?
All engineers and technicians within the department have a professional obligation to keep track of the latest developments in their fields of expertise. We sponsor regular training and host a major conference to address current issues, including climate change. We also send our experts to conferences and working groups with their counterparts to review climate change issues at the national and regional levels, and we undertake risk analysis on all our major projects to ensure climate change resilience is addressed and also incorporated into climate consideration into all our operational activity.
As you can see, Mr. Speaker, we've done a lot of work around climate change, and we will continue to do so in the future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I just want to set this up. Cabinet's climate change plan or approach is really made up of the energy strategy, the Climate Change Strategic Framework, and the carbon tax. My questions are to the Premier as Minister of the Executive and intergovernmental affairs. I'd like to know: how can the NWT possibly achieve the Pan-Canadian Greenhouse Gas Reduction targets when 44 percent of those reductions are to come from the mega-project Taltson expansion, and there's no money to build it; no confirmed buyers either north of the lake or into the provinces? How can we achieve that target, Mr. Speaker? Mahsi.
Masi. The Honourable Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Taltson project is important for many reasons and, as the Member knows, we received considerable support from the federal government to help with the development of this project and the overall business case. As we told the Prime Minister, we want to be part of the overall solution in dealing with climate change. I think that the federal government recognizes, as does our government, the potential of the project as part of the overall climate change efforts.
The reality is that remote mines make up 50 percent of our emissions profile and need to be part of the solution now and in the future. Taltson is best positioned to reduce industrial emissions and stabilize the costs of energy, north and south of Great Slave Lake. If the project proceeds, we can certainly achieve our greenhouse gas emission targets and provide clean energy to resource development for the next 50 years. This is a major project, however, and we are in the early stages. The Minister of Infrastructure is leading the development of the business case, and several discussions have already taken place with the Canada Infrastructure Bank. I think that it is fair to say that they have considerable interest. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I want to thank the Premier for raising the diamond mines, which is really my next question. Cabinet's carbon tax proposal, released in July 2018, is really unfair, as the largest emitters, the diamond mines, will get everything back. Individuals, families, and small businesses will subsidize the required GNWT contributions, the Taltson expansion, and the limited investments into renewables. Can the Premier tell us why the diamond mines will get all of the carbon tax that they pay back as rebates and grants from individualized accounts?
I just want to correct the Member, as what he stated isn't quite accurate. The approach announced in July 2018 only applied to non-motive fuel, not the carbon tax that the large emitters would pay on motive fuels. I wouldn't want the public to be under the impression that the large emitters wouldn't be paying carbon tax. However, as the Member would be aware, the approach to carbon tax that we developed needs to be consistent with the federal backstop. The federal backstop has an approach to large emitters that charges the carbon price on their output. I think that we would want to make sure that our approach aligns generally with the approach that Canada has taken, but reflects our northern realities.
We have always said that we want to mitigate the impact of the carbon tax on the cost of living. That is why we are exempting aviation fuel, rebating the carbon tax on heating fuel, and introducing the cost-of-living offset benefit when we implement the carbon tax. Our made-in-the-Northwest-Territories approach will help mitigate the impacts of the carbon tax on residents, on small business, and on those larger industries that are classified as large emitters.
I would like to thank the Premier for that announcement of changes to the carbon tax proposal on the floor of the House. The Auditor General's finding on our failed climate change leadership has not really been addressed. Cabinet has made no changes to provide the required leadership and authority to take real action on the climate change crisis. Can the Premier tell us why Cabinet has rejected the calls for a climate change act, mandatory consideration of climate change implications in all of our spending, and infrastructure submissions that prioritize projects that show the greatest GHG reductions as part of the efforts to deal with the climate change crisis?
Our government went through a very long consultative process and responded to what we heard. Through a review of climate change programs in Canadian jurisdictions, it was evident that the most important factors in the success of these programs were leadership and the authority to act.
Addressing climate change is a priority of this government. We have developed both a Climate Change Strategic Framework and Action Plan, which is linked to our work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the energy plan. Further, we have organized ourselves so that climate change is considered in all programs and at all levels of authority; director-level, ADM, deputy minister, and ministerial committees have been established. This leadership structure will focus government efforts as we move into the implementation phase of these strategies and plans.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Premier for that response. I don't think that committees are going to cut it. There has been one new committee established. The standing committee that reviewed the Climate Change Strategic Framework asked for a climate change act, some real action. That is not what we have.
While we have the students here in the gallery, we need some new leadership, vision, and action to deal with the climate change crisis. What would the Premier like to say to our youth to instil hope and confidence that the NWT is doing its part to meet the climate change crisis? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Addressing climate change is a priority of the 18th Legislative Assembly. Within the life of this government, we have developed both a Climate Change Strategic Framework and Action Plan, which is linked to our work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the energy plan. The Government of the Northwest Territories is now poised to take real action over the next five years and make progress on our transition to a lower-carbon economy, improving our knowledge of climate change impacts, and building resilience in adapting to climate change. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are also on the climate, and they are addressed to the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. Given the recent scientific studies about the rate of change, the accelerated change of the climate, it is now being referred to as a crisis. Does the Minister consider the current state of affairs, with the warming of the planet, a crisis? Thank you.
Masi. Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I stated before, we have seen the effects of climate change, especially up in the Beau-Del, long before the rest of the country, and I do believe that we are getting to the point where it is becoming a crisis. We see that. I have said before that, in the Delta, we see ground falling into the water. You look around in the Beaufort and Tuktoyaktuk at the erosion on the shore there; that demonstrates the effect that climate change is having on the North. We recognize that.
The short answer to the Member's question is: yes, I do believe that this is serious enough to be considered a crisis. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you to the Minister for that response. During the consultation on the 2030 NWT Climate Change Strategic Framework, some people suggested that the GNWT create a climate change secretariat, such as exists in both Yukon and Nunavut, to oversee all climate crisis-related work, rather than compartmentalizing responsibilities in one department. Why did government decide to not take this advice?
Through a jurisdictional review of the climate change programs in Canadian jurisdictions, ENR found that, regardless of the organizational structure, the most important factors in their success were leadership and the authority to act. The GNWT, we believe, has accordingly taken a leadership role on climate change in the territories and organized itself so that climate change is considered at all levels of authority. As the Premier has stated before, at the director level, the ADM, DM, and ministerial committees have been established, and the leadership structure will focus government efforts to implement and report on the Climate Change Strategic Framework and to assist with the development and implementation of the 2019-2023 action plan. We also recognize the importance of working with our partners as we move to the implementation phase of the Climate Change Strategic Framework. To this end, ENR, we are actually exploring opportunities, approaches to coordinate the guidance work, such as through the establishment of a climate change advisory body.
I appreciate the answer. I guess I would prefer to see a somewhat independent office looking out for climate change rather than having the government do this directly. I feel that the results may be more credible, but it is what it is, I guess, at this point. I mentioned in my statement about taking a whole-of-government approach to procurement, screening it for how it is mitigating or making worse the issue of climate crisis, and I am wondering if the government is prepared to institute a whole-of-government procurement policy that takes this full-cost accounting into account.
