Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation. Long-range energy plans, community land use, and community wellness plans are completed independently, as are economic development and resource management strategies. Will the Minister commit to working with her colleagues to bring these planning exercises together and complete all communities within the 19th Legislative Assembly? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can work with my Cabinet colleagues to have the discussion, but I cannot commit that all 33 community plans will be completed within the four years. Also, I will continue the conversation with Cabinet going forward, because, looking at those community plans, Indigenous partnership is my priority going forward, to offer adequate housing throughout the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I appreciate the Minister's commitment to have the discussion. My next question is: do the long-range housing plans currently done by the Housing Corporation account for the changing demographics of an aging population in each community in the NWT, especially as it relates to women, women with children, people with disabilities, and elders?
Can the Member please repeat her question?
I'm wondering if the current housing plans for the NWT Housing Corporation include the changing demographics of our population, particularly age, and also as it relates to women, women with children, people with disabilities, and elders?
The Northwest Territories does recognize there is an increase of population throughout the territory. We have identified programs to deal with the increase of population and the unique scenarios that we acquire throughout the Northwest Territories, and wanting to look at seniors aging in place and a safe program that provides renovations to clients who are homeowners, private homeowners, and looking at replacement of fuel tanks. I would also like to include that we do have a rent subsidy program that is used throughout Yellowknife, throughout this area, because of the lack of public housing units that we do have currently.
Going forward, I would like to work with the Member to look at initiatives for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation. We can elaborate on program improvement.
I am always ready to have a conversation about housing, so I appreciate that. Is the Minister prepared to work with communities and Indigenous governments to re-examine the definition of core housing and develop metrics of success appropriate to the challenges that we face in the 21st century?
Housing throughout the Northwest Territories is something that I am very passionate about, and throughout the term and the time being within the portfolio, I was really excited to hear that one of my communities in the Sahtu, Fort Good Hope, has entered into an agreement, and they were able to establish housing programs independently accessing federal dollars.
Going forward, I will be looking at the housing initiative programs that are currently offered, and one of the things that I would like to do is elaborate on them. Advertisement is a key for me and for the Housing Corporation, so that we are able to meet the needs of the people of the Northwest Territories.
Also, reflecting and looking at the housing plans, I am quite excited for those to be completed. We do have 33 communities, but those community plans, housing strategic plans, will be able to identify the housing needs throughout the Northwest Territories. It is community-based information where the community is telling us what it is that they need. We, as a government, can provide the assistance and work in partnership with the Indigenous groups and with the communities.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yellowknife housing is becoming ever less affordable. How will the Minister improve the affordability of housing in Yellowknife over the course of the 19th Legislative Assembly? Thank you.
I would like to elaborate on the housing programs that are offered currently. For the Yellowknife area, I would look at the rent subsidy program that is offered. There is a name change to that. We will continue to be offering it after April 1st. I would like to work with a colleague and just elaborate a little bit more on the programs that are offered for Yellowknife. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Previously in this Assembly, I tabled a letter from the chief of Colville Lake, once again asking the GNWT to leave the negotiating table so that Canada and that nation can reach a bilateral self-government agreement. My question is to the honourable Premier. Have our negotiators been provided updated mandates at the negotiating table?
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Honourable Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mandate direction on negotiating tables change quite often. They are based on what we think will happen. Anything that has a change, if it is going to impact finances or land or anything, it has to come through Cabinet. It's not a decision that negotiators can make at the table. I know that a lot of people think that it should be, but the reality is that, if it costs money, it has to come through Cabinet table. They are constantly being updated on a regular basis. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
We have consistently heard from a number of Indigenous governments that the unilateral imposition of our government's core principles and objectives in regard to self-government negotiations has become a barrier. My question is for the honourable Premier. Have we updated our core principles and objectives in regard to self-government?
No, it has been quite a while, actually, since we updated our core principles and objectives. They actually arose from an obligation from the Tlicho agreement, is where they came from. They are actually very simple. They are very simple principles, and our issue is that there has to be some kind of standard of care or principles that go across. It's not as easy as just changing them to meet the whim. We also have to take Canada's legislation, as well. For example, the Canada Health Act has principles that need to be taken into account. The new Canada legislation that is coming out with Child and Family Services has principles and standards that have to be taken into consideration. Although we want to work closely with our Indigenous governments, and we are looking at a new way of doing business, we can't forget that there are three parties at this table, often, with the negotiations: the Northwest Territories, the Indigenous government, and Canada.
I am well-aware that there are three parties at the table, and to not update our core principles and objectives because there are federal government issues seems to miss the point, and that is the federal government's whole purpose being at the table. My question is for the honourable Premier. Are we willing to reopen our core principles and objectives and negotiate them with Indigenous governments, considering our commitment to implement UNDRIP?
During the Member's opening speech, I heard him say -- and I might misquote him, so correct me if I do -- that there are two kinds of workers; one that works for the government, government workers who get a lot of CCs. Now that I'm Premier, I get a lot of CCs, in all honesty. I wish I didn't get as many. Then there's ones who work for the goals of the government.
I came in here four years ago to actually make change, and it shows that I make changes. These wrinkles that I have on my face did not come honestly; they came from hard work at this table. I have already met with Indigenous governments. I am changing the way that I do practice. I called them all when I first started. I am meeting with them. We are switching up even the way we seat. It used to be them against us, and now we're sitting as a group. I have changed up our bilaterals. I have scared them all. I've said, "After our bilaterals are done, let's, the chief and I, sit together and talk about the negotiations, what's going on, what's happening." It's scary for them as well. They don't know where this Premier is coming from.
The point is, is that this Premier is looking for change. We have been going on some of these negotiations 30-some years, and government-to-government does not mean, to me, federal government, territorial government, and, at the bottom, Indigenous government. Government-to-government, to me, means, federal government, NWT, and Indigenous government all working together at the same level.
Yes, I am totally open to changing whatever we need to do to work better with Indigenous governments and to work towards self-government and land claims agreements. That is my ultimate goal, and I will forgive the House for any extra wrinkles that I get because of trying to achieve my goal. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, honourable Premier. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, monsieur le President. Forgive me if I look like a prune today, but I want to go back to the issue of the Cantung Mine and Mactung that I raised yesterday. My questions are for the Minister of Lands today, though. GNWT had a surface lease covering the Cantung Mine as a result of devolution. I would like to know whether we have turned that back to the federal government now. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Minister of Lands.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Canada is fully responsible for the administration of all surface leases and reserves that exist on the Cantung site, including inspections. Administrative arrangements at Cantung are now consistent with other federally managed waste sites under the devolution agreement. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I would like to thank the Minister for that, because I asked many times in the last Assembly about whether that surface lease had been turned back. It sounds like it has; that's good news. I want to know if there are any residual liabilities that accrue to this government as a result of the Cantung Mine, and that includes environmental liabilities.
The Government of Canada is responsible for the management of the Cantung Mine, including care and maintenance and remediation. The Cantung Mine is a federal area under the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act. This means that the GNWT does not have designated authority or hold security for licences and permits.
I want to thank the Minister for that. I think that the shorter version of that is that we have no liability for the Cantung site, but I will deal with that offline. I would like to know from the Minister, if I can, why this government, GNWT, accepted the Mactung property as part of the financial security for the Cantung mine when it was in operation.
The business assets for Mactung tungsten deposits were purchased by the Government of the Northwest Territories in order to recover debts owed to the GNWT under the Cantung reclamation security agreement. The Government of the Northwest Territories took this approach to preserve the security originally accepted by Canada and to maximize its value.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that response. I don't think he really answered my question, though. I want to know why we accepted Mactung as part of the security arrangement for the Cantung Mine. The previous Minister had full discretion to accept any form of financial security. Why did this government accept the Mactung Mine as part of this financial security? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
It is my understanding that the two properties were there to make sure that the federal government fulfilled their commitment. Part of the devolution agreement that we purchase these two properties to do that. I will make a commitment to the Member to go out and get further information on this because that is my understanding presently. If there is further information, I will get that to him. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following two documents, “Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 3, 2019-2020,” and “Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 4, 2019-2020.” Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Finance. Tabling of documents. Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document: “NWT Cumulative Impact Monitoring Program 2018-2019 Project Results.” Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Tabling of documents. Member for Thebacha.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table three documents: an email from the Thebacha constituency regarding medical travel escort denial; two, reply for the EA on behalf of the Minister Thom regarding the above constituent; and three, the Ministerial policy on medical travel escort criteria, exceptions, and the appeal process. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that, on Thursday, February 13, 2020, I will move the following motion: Now therefore I move, seconded by the Member for Hay River North, that Tabled Document 12-19(2), 2019-2023 Mandate of the Government of the Northwest Territories be referred to Committee of the Whole for consideration. And, Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time, I will be seeking unanimous consent to deal with this motion today. Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker
