Colleagues, it is my duty to inform you of the passing yesterday of former Commissioner of the Northwest Territories, Mr. John Havelock Parker.
Mr. Parker was born and raised in Alberta and came north in 1954. He worked in the mining and exploration industry in various capacities over the years. His first step into public office was his election as a town councillor of Yellowknife in 1958. In 1965, Mr. Parker was appointed to the Carrothers Commission on the Political Development of the Northwest Territories. Its recommendations became a draft for the development of a more responsible government.
Mr. Parker was appointed as the Deputy Commissioner of the Northwest Territories in March 1967, and retained that position until April 1979. He also served as member of the NWT council and chair of the executive council. He became Commissioner on April 15, 1979, succeeding Stuart Hodgson. John Parker was considered the last Commissioner acting as Chief Executive Officer. He retired on July 31, 1989.
John Havelock Parker contributed significantly to the social, economic, and political development of the Northwest Territories. In 1986, Mr. Parker devolved the responsibility from the Commissioner's Office to the Legislative Assembly. What we now know as the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly is a testament to his vision, hard work, and dedication.
On behalf of this House, I send our sincere condolences to his wife Helen, his children, and grandchildren. He will be greatly missed, and his contribution to the development of this territory can never be forgotten. We will now have a moment of silence for Mr. Parker.
Good afternoon, Members. I would like to first address the Member for Monfwi's point of privilege raised yesterday. I will then return to the rulings I made yesterday.
Yesterday, the Member for Monfwi rose on a point of privilege regarding his ability to meaningfully participate in the proceedings due to a lack of Tlicho interpretation. He indicated that his ability to fulfill his duties as a Member was interfered with due to the lack of translation.
As we now have Tlicho interpretation available, I will hear debate on this point of privilege and will ask the Member for Monfwi to begin the debate. Thank you, Member for Monfwi.
Masi, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] After yesterday's proceeding, I felt that I need to apologize, and I also would like to apologize to the people of the Northwest Territories. I apologize to all those who have ever had to go to court and have been unable to truly express themselves in their own language. I want to apologize to all my elders who have to go to the health clinic or hospital and are unable to describe their pains properly because they did not have proper interpretation or translation. [End of translation]
Mr. Speaker, I apologize to the people of the Northwest Territories. I apologize to all those who have ever gone through court proceedings and have been unable to truly express themselves in their own language. I apologize to the elders, to all the elders in the Northwest Territories, who have gone to the health clinic or hospital and been unable to describe their pains properly because they did not have proper interpretation or translation. I apologize to the committee Members who can speak English but still need their first language to truly advocate for themselves. I apologize for all the times anyone has felt compromised for needing to speak their language.
Yesterday, I left this House frustrated because I was unable to do my job as an elected official. I was frustrated because I was denied my right to speak my language in the House; a right to choose to be deemed worthy of notice; a right that was worthy of notice, but not of action.
Mr. Speaker, I choose to speak Tlicho, one of the 11 official languages, because this is my first language. I think in Tlicho, also. Tlicho is the heart of who I am. When I speak English, these are already translated words. Every speech I make in this House, every idea I bring forward, is translated once by me and then again interpreted by a translator. Furthermore, Mr. Speaker, it is condensed to fit into a time it would take the English language to say and rearranged to fit into an English way of doing and saying things. They're very different. My thoughts and ideas, my voice, is condensed every day I use my language in this system. I have been able to deal with that. Yesterday, though, was the first time I felt muzzled in this House.
For the past 16 years I have been able to serve in this government, both sides, and in your chair as well, Mr. Speaker, as MLA, Minister, Speaker, with a privilege of speaking the Tlicho language at every opportunity, because I have had my interpreters and translators available to serve me in this capacity. Throughout this time, I have also advocated for the language speakers to have the same privilege in this House.
Mr. Speaker, again, I apologize to all the speakers of the nine official languages for treating my language as a privilege. Our language is not a privilege. Our languages are a priority under a TRC Act call to actions and the UNDRIP. The NWT Language Act guarantees the right to speak our Indigenous languages and to receive the services as required.
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to be speaking Tlicho language, and I will continue to exercise my right to speak my language in the Legislative Assembly, in this House. Furthermore, I promise the people of the Northwest Territories that I will continue to advocate for what is right, and I will apologize only when I am wrong. I will continue to advocate for Indigenous languages. As you know, a lot of languages are depleting. Gwich'in is a prime example. I will continue to challenge this government to offer the resources and the services required to keep our languages strong. Our languages are our right. Masi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Are there any other Members who wish to speak to the point of privilege? Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to start off today by acknowledging the hard work done by the Legislative Assembly's public relations group, who have made sure that our interpreter booths are generally quite full. Interpreters are a huge part of our family here at the Legislative Assembly and are part of our day-to-day operations in the House. They are a very important part of the day-to-day operations in this House. Language preservation is important. Language allows us to see the world differently, to open up our interpretation of the world around us, and to re-evaluate the way we are working. Language is also a part of the beauty of our diversity in our group of MLAs who sit here today. Not only does language support language resurgence across the Northwest Territories, but it can also affect someone's ability to thrive or even survive. Our MLAs use question-and-answer period to draw out information about our programs and services from our Cabinet, about how they work, and about how maybe we can change them for the better. Without access to that information, we are doing a huge disservice to the people of the Northwest Territories. Lastly, I believe, Mr. Speaker, that we are leaders, and we need to be leaders when it comes to supporting Indigenous language. We need to put government dollars behind our intent to revitalize language, but our actions are stronger than our dollars. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Next, we have Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. I would like to say a few words in my language. Mr. Speaker, [English translation not available]. I am going to go back in English now. What I said there was: for me [microphone turned off] ...and that we should always respect that. I know that for our interpreters in Dene Zhatie, if they weren't here, I would request that the House be suspended. I think that on the flip side of that, if we all spoke Dene Zhatie, Tlicho, or French and we all spoke that primarily in here and we didn't have an English interpreter, if you could think of that in those terms, if we couldn't translate to that, the record would show nothing in English. We'd see nothing. That is how we'd go forward with that. To me, that's not right, so I support the Member for Monfwi from that standpoint. Those are my thoughts going forward. I am hoping that we can move forward now and have some sort of understanding now. If we ever encounter this in the future that we know how to deal with it. Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Next, we have Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. [Translation] There are instances I recall for French in this, like in August 2019, my statement was in French, and it was not interpreted, but I gave an English translation for the Hansard. [Translation ends] The honourable Member for Monfwi, his point of privilege, he has no reason to apologize. It's his right to speak any official language in this House. I support his point of privilege and the ability of any of our Members to speak in any of the official languages. At the same time, Mr. Speaker, I do want to acknowledge that there have been significant improvements in interpretation services in this Assembly since I started in 2015. I do want to recognize the hard work of the Assembly, all of us working together with our staff, the interpreters, to improve the availability of interpretation services, but I still think we have a long way to go. I remember the days when all of the official languages were available. There was a language bureau, numerous interpreters, and all of the official languages were used regularly in the House. I think we need to make better efforts to bring back a lot of that, which will mean extra costs for this Assembly, but I think, if we are serious about promoting all of our official languages, that is a cost that is well worth it. I do support the point of privilege. I want to thank the honourable Member for Monfwi for bringing it forward. I look forward to further discussion on this issue. Mahsi, Monsieur le President.
Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Member for Thebacha.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As a former chief of Salt River First Nation, I don't speak the native language because my father was a very strong leader within the Indigenous groups up in the Northwest Territories. He developed the first Aboriginal organization in the Northwest Territories in the early years and very, very strong and spoke the Chipewyan language. I never got the privilege of learning that because he always thought that he didn't want us to speak it so that, when we went to school, that we did very well in school because he always thought it would be a burden to us. I only wish that he did that and made each of us speak the language. I stand up today in support of the Member from Tlicho because it is an official language, and I only wish that I had the privilege of also knowing my official language. Therefore, I support his stand on the point of privilege. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our Indigenous languages are official languages here in the Northwest Territories. As such, each of us, if we are able to speak an Indigenous language, we have that right. It's a right. Also, if we can't speak it and we don't understand it, we also have a right. We have that right to be able to understand what another Member is saying in his own language or her own language. Most importantly, as well, is that the people of the NWT have a right to understand what's being said. We denied them that right. That should have never happened. In hindsight in what happened yesterday, what I should have done as a Member was to walk from this Chamber with the Member for Monfwi because that would have been the right thing to do. If we expect the people of the Northwest Territories to recognize that Aboriginal languages are important, then we have to make sure that we walk the talk when it comes to it. We have it as a priority to make sure that they are kept alive. It is up to us to lead the charge. In the point of privilege, I support the Member for Monfwi. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, want to talk in support of the Member for Monfwi. As I had mentioned a few times, I don't know my language. As I sit here, I am proud of who I am, but I don't know my language. I have Lillian, who is here to interpret in Inuvialuktun every day when we are here. We have been lucky. When I go back home, I think about my grandmother who sits and watches. She has the opportunity to watch in her language. Our elders back home have the opportunity to listen in their language where they don't have to translate, so for Member for Monfwi, if this first language and knowing what I know is coming out in English when your first language is another language, you don't always get the message across right. When he gets to speak it in his language or if we were able to speak it in our language, we might be able to get that message out how we mean. I think that it's very important that we make sure that the territory is able to get the right message. If the Member is able to speak their own language, they should be able to do that. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of the Member's point of privilege. Although this is not my birthplace, I've lived in the Northwest Territories long enough to have heard many awkward conversations between people who speak Indigenous languages fluently and people like me who only speak English. I have wondered in very important settings such as courts and health centres and the hospital whether, in fact, the two sides really understand one another. That really has impressed on me the importance of having interpretation services available and having people speak the language that is the one they know best. For that reason, I think it's important that this matter be taken up and investigated further. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife Centre. Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I rise in support of my colleague, Mr. Lafferty, in regard to our languages, the 11 official languages across the territory. Yesterday, I think if it was English, if we couldn't speak, they would have shut the House down. With our languages that we do have, I think we have to support them, not only just to have translators here but, when something like this does occur, it has to be dealt with properly. What Mr. Simpson said, we should have walked out with him yesterday, too, because of that. I am in full support of him. I am in full support of your judgment and what's going to happen, moving forward for the people of the Northwest Territories to get the business done in the day. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Nunakput. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would also like to rise in support of my colleague's point of privilege. I think, as a person who only speaks English, this is an issue I can never truly understand. I've worked in the courts, and I've seen people I struggled to understand, and I think the importance of interpreters in the Northwest Territories -- and this issue is so much bigger than us, and so much bigger than this House -- every step we take as leaders to support our Indigenous languages is the right step, Mr. Speaker.
Yesterday, the Member for Monfwi requested an adjournment of the House due to the lack of an interpreter in his first language, Tlicho. The Member suggested the lack of interpretation impeded or prevented him from performing his parliamentary functions as a Member of this Assembly.
As Speaker, I must determine three matters:
first, whether a matter of privilege has been raised at the earliest opportunity;
second, whether there has been a prima facie breach of privilege; in other words, that at first glance, the matter appears to be a breach of privilege and warrants immediate consideration by the House; and
third, the extent to which the matter has infringed upon any Member's ability to perform their duties or appears to be a contempt against the dignity of the House.
Yesterday, when I delivered a ruling on a point of order raised by the Government House Leader against the Member for Monfwi, I asked the Member to withdraw his remarks and apologize to the House. When the Member for Monfwi rose to speak, he noted that Tlicho interpretation was unavailable and raised this point of privilege.
Clearly, this point was raised at the earliest opportunity.
Next, I must consider whether a prima facie breach of privilege has occurred.
Colleagues, the use and preservation of all of our official languages are issues of great importance to the people of the Northwest Territories, to this Legislative Assembly, and to me as Speaker.
In fact, this issue is of such great importance, it is written in the preamble of our Official Languages Act, which states: "...preserving the use of official languages, and enhancing those languages, is a shared responsibility of language communities, the Legislative Assembly, and the Government of the Northwest Territories."
This responsibility is one I take seriously. We have increased our capacity to provide interpretation in all of our official languages. Our languages are an important part of our shared culture and heritage, and their use and preservation is vital to reconciliation.
Compared with our recent past, this Assembly has greatly increased our investment in, and commitment to our official languages. We have more interpreters, representing more of our official languages, working longer hours. We are making efforts to share our interpreted proceedings via our broadcasting and social media networks. Although it can be quite challenging to find qualified interpreters in some of our official languages, yesterday we were able to provide interpretation in seven official languages.
I also note that a Tlicho interpreter was scheduled to provide service yesterday. However, due to an illness, they were unable to attend. We were provided notice of this illness less than an hour before the start of our proceedings. It was unfortunate, but I feel it is important to note that the lack of Tlicho interpretation yesterday was an exceptional circumstance.
I would also like to comment on the timing of my rulings. Due to the absence of the Member for Monfwi late last week and the absence of the Premier for the rest of this week, I made the decision to deliver my rulings yesterday.
Colleagues, the improvements related to interpretation in our official languages made in this Assembly are a continuation of the work done in the previous Assembly. The work was begun under the direction and guidance of the Member for Monfwi when he served as Speaker. I understand that this is an issue of great importance, and I thank him for being a champion for our languages.
A similar situation occurred during our 11th Legislative Assembly. On October 26, 1989, day 7 of the 5th session of the 11th Legislative Assembly, the Member Rae Lac La Marte spoke in an official language for which interpretation was not available. Another Member rose on a point of order. Then Speaker Nerysoo adjourned the House until such a time as interpretation could be provided. In his decision to adjourn for the day, Speaker Nerysoo noted that the rules of the Legislative Assembly at that time expressly provided that a Member had the "right to speak and be understood in his own language."
Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River North, that the ruling regarding the point of privilege raised by the Member for Monfwi on March 10, 2020, be referred to the Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures for their consideration;
AND FURTHER, that the Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures provide a report to this House within 120 calendar days of this referral. Marsi cho.
Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. The motion is in order. To the motion. Government House Leader. Second.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm happy to second this motion. I was the deputy under the previous Speaker, who is now the Member for Monfwi, and I saw what he did in terms of expanding this Legislative Assembly's language capability. I think it's a point of pride for this territory. It's something that I talk about when I speak with legislators from other parts of the country. I think that this Legislative Assembly is the voice of the people, and the voice of the people needs to be understood. While we have made strides, clearly there is still a way to go. I believe that by referring to the Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures we can further develop our language capacity. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Government House Leader. To the motion. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I neglected to thank the honourable Member for Monfwi for his work as Speaker in the last Assembly, to promote the use of all the official languages. He often encouraged me to actually speak French in the House, and I want to thank him for that. I do support this motion and want to acknowledge the work that he did to increase the use of all the official languages in the last Assembly. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. To the motion. Motion has been called. All those in favour. All those opposed. And the abstentions. Motion is carried.
---Carried
Colleagues, I will now return to the rulings I provided yesterday. Yesterday, I ruled on the point of privilege raised by the Member for Monfwi and a point of order raised by the Member for Hay River North. Based on that ruling, I directed the Member for Monfwi to apologize and withdraw his remarks. Now that we have Tlicho interpretation available, is the Member prepared to do so? Member for Monfwi.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] What we're talking about for the last two weeks, each and every one of us that are in here, we know what had happened [translation ends].
[microphone turned off]… Monfwi that I have ruled on the point of order and have directed him to apologize to this House fully and withdraw his remarks. Thank you.
[Translation] Mr. Speaker, I am getting there. Whenever you're speaking your language, it's hard to get right to the point, but, if you're speaking English, it's totally different, but I will get there. The reason why I'm standing here is because I'm speaking my language. I will apologize now. I'll speak in English, Mr. Speaker [translation ends]. It was never my intention to scandalize this House. I am sorry if the word caused my fellow MLAs discomfort. Truth and integrity are important, however, than hurt feelings. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, for speaking the truth, I will not apologize this House.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise Members that the Honourable Caroline Cochrane will be absent from the House for remainder of the week to attend the First Ministers' meeting in Ottawa, Ontario. Also, the Honourable Katrina Nokleby and Honourable Diane Thom will be absent due to personal matters. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our 2020-2021 operations budget has excluded continued funding for the NWT friendship centres. I understand the funds had a sunset date, but, like everything else, times and circumstances change, and we have to adapt. We are dealing with increased negative social influences while we see employment opportunities disappearing within a faltering economy.
Mr. Speaker, the NWT friendship centres secure and administer approximately $6 million annually in funding by leveraging the small amounts they receive from territorial, federal, and Indigenous governments. The centres support approximately 13,000-plus community members, of which more than half are women and 5,000-plus being youth.
The NWT friendship centres have developed and facilitated over 100 programs, services, and activities and have invested over $60,000 in professional development last fiscal year. In addition, they employ 100-plus Northerners and have over 500-plus volunteers. With all this success, friendship centres in the North still struggle with such things as the high the cost of living, aging infrastructure, creating competitive employee salaries, funding delays, funding barriers, and a lack of sustainable funding for long-term planning.
Mr. Speaker, we all understand the fiscal position this government is in. We all understand this government has limited funds to work with. Therefore, it is important we allocate what funds we have to places we receive the greatest benefit. Allocation of a small portion of these funds to non-profits, such as the NWT friendship centres, will result in the most vulnerable being provided with cost-effective and timely programming services.
The reality is that the council of NWT friendship centres is more than an NGO. It is a home for First Nations, Metis and others to gather; it is a place that provides solace to those who need it; it is a place that works to empower our youth at the darkest of times; and, it provides our elders with a purpose as it is their wisdom we rely on.
We are all aware that the funding previously in place was only temporary, that it was intended to assist in developing long-term capacity. However, it would be to this government's benefit to provide the NWT friendship centres with an additional $250,000 contribution for this fiscal year because I know they will not only multiply what they receive but provide services this government is not capable of. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Members' statements. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm going to talk about Child and Family Services. Child and Family Services has been continuously criticized by the Indigenous families for years, by the Aboriginal groups, not just in NWT but throughout Canada, as well, by the past two Auditor General reports.
This system is broken. I have walked with people through this system, and what I have found is a system that says they are there for reunification, but, in reality, they are forced to check boxes by what is best practice instead of meeting people where they are at to assist them and support them.
Mr. Speaker, whose best practices are these? Because they're not Indigenous best practices.
I think of what happened long ago, if there were people or families who struggled with their children, it was the stronger people in their family who supported them, or other people of the community. They taught them, they encouraged them, and, only if everything else could not work for those family members, they would care for them; but, Mr. Speaker, they were always there to welcome them back and give them the opportunity to try again when they could.
Mr. Speaker, I know and understand there are those cases where it is in the best interest of the child to be in a safe space and with another family, and I do support this. I do know that the department is doing what they think is best. Knowing that there are around 1,000 kids in care in the NWT and that they are all Indigenous, how do we educate those who are new to our territory, non-Indigenous social workers who have never grown up in a small, isolated community and have not lived through the trauma that our people have lived through, even to begin to understand and meet people where they're at?
What I would like to suggest is that we need traditional support workers and/or advocates for family members to be present when meeting with the child and family services department to ensure that they are being heard and that they have support to know what their rights are and if and when they are not being provided with all the information, as well as to acknowledge when the visit goes well, and may be able to support the parent through the system to access what they need to work toward reunification with their child or children, and this does not become a "he said, she said" scenario, which we know who will be believed in this circumstances, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Members' statements. Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have talked about the challenges in Nunakput and the small communities across the territory for rental arrears. The housing clients who live in our communities, so many of them are struggling with rental arrears. Arrears can accumulate for reasons beyond the tenant's control. Illness, unemployment, seasonal employment, and rental charges that are too high based on the former T4 system; now the Minister fixed that for us last week. These things, or a combination of them, can put a person into arrears.
Once someone is in arrears, it is really hard to climb out of that hole. Many public housing residents are living paycheque to paycheque need every cent of every cheque on a daily basis, let alone finding money to pay off debt that we put them in. The higher arrears get, the lower the chances that the tenant is going to be able to pay them off. The consequences of being in arrears cause people a lot of worries and a lot of sleepless nights.
A recent housing study done by a researcher from the NWT found that "rental arrears with the Housing Corporation make it impossible to access public housing in the Northwest Territories, and affect one's references when trying to access private rental housing." Which we don't have in our communities, Mr. Speaker.
Still, many people do their best, but it can be discouraging in trying to get ahead. Some people give up, Mr. Speaker, because it feels like they will never be free from arrears, which puts them in a vicious cycle they can't get rid of.
To help these people, I would like to see the Housing Corporation put a rental arrears abatement program in place, modeled on the Department of Finance's Property Tax Arrears Program. This program would help someone who is doing their best to pay off their arrears by forgiving a portion of them, not the total arrears, but, every payment that they do, a portion comes off it, as well, in kind. This would provide an incentive to people who have arrears and are not making back payments, to start it off. It would give positive encouragement to those who are trying their best to pay off arrears, by enabling them to reach their goal more quickly. It would also demonstrate that the GNWT is not using arrears as a means to punish the ones who have not paid their rent.
