Madam Speaker, I'd like to recognize a constituent of Thebacha, Ms. Sheila Sharp, who has come to Yellowknife today to accept an award that she will be receiving tonight. I will share more about that during acknowledgements. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Today I'd like to welcome CEO of Arctic Research Foundation, Mr. Adrian Schimnowski, in the House. And then we have my CA Vince Teddy. Thank you, and welcome to the House.
Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Tu NedheWiilideh.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I'd just like to welcome everybody in the gallery into the House. I also want to recognize our translators that are here today. I want to say mahsi to you all. In particular, I want to recognize Dennis Drygeese, Tom Unka, Mary Rose Sundberg. Lena Drygeese, she was here at the beginning of the session; I just want to recognize her as well. And Jonas Lafferty. Again, all to the translators, mahsi.
Thank you. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I'd just like to recognize two of our Yellowknife North pages who are here this week Willem Kanigan and Cole Avery. Thank you, guys.
Thank you. I'd like to welcome if we have missed anyone in the gallery today, welcome to the chamber and I hope you're enjoying the proceedings. It's always nice to have an audience.
Madam Speaker, I would like to acknowledge Thebacha constituent Sheila Sharp, who received a life saving award from the Order of St. John. Sheila was recognized for her heroic efforts in saving three individuals from a fatal car crash in 2018 along the Fort Smith Highway.
The mission of the order of St. John is to prevent and relieve sickness and injury and to act to enhance the health and wellbeing of people anywhere in the world. Congratulations, Sheila.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, can the Minister responsible for MACA confirm if his department has or is considering funding the Kole Crook Fiddle Association proposal to host a fiddle jamboree in his home community coming this January in Fort Simpson? Thank you.
Thank you. Minister of MACA.
Thank you. I'm going to embarrass the a Member a bit here. I'd like to thank him very much for his advocacy for the youth, especially when it comes to something as important as recreation opportunities for our youth. He's been very good at getting across the message, whether it's with his riding or other ridings, so I'd like to thank him for that.
What I can do is I can confirm the department is working closely with the Kole Crook Fiddle Association to support their upcoming fiddle jamboree in January and MACA and Kole Crook Fiddle Association has entered into a oneyear funding agreement to support the fiddle jamboree this year. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, this is a little more personal I guess. Will the Minister let us know how proficient he is in the art of playing the fiddle and if he will be taking part in the fiddle jamboree? Thank you.
Thank you, and I thank the Member for that. I'm really good at TV control, the stereo. I can play the fiddle perfectly that way. I can actually find it on YouTube. I started out very young trying the fiddle, and I was told to go play sports. So I enjoy it. I enjoy the fiddle, but yeah, that's all I can say. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, will the Minister confirm if his department is aware of all the excellent work the Kole Crook Fiddle Association provides to youth throughout the NWT, which includes
Fiddling music lessons for children and youth of all ages;
Having young advanced fiddlers teach the beginners;
Lending and gifting instruments to those that may not be able to afford them;
Conducting work shops in communities throughout the NWT; and,
Providing students an opportunity to participate in music and music festival and events.
Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I get to proudly say I was part of the first Kole Crook Fiddle organization when one of the cofounders, Lewis Beck, reached out to the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs and said hey, I got this great idea, we'd like to recognize Kole Crook for all his great work and this is what we're trying to do. So the Member explained perfectly what the Kole Crook Fiddle Association does. But I think the most important thing it's the love that they're able to provide our youth. This has made a huge impact on a number of youth across the Northwest Territories. So I can again say that the department is well aware of the work that this organization is doing, and we're very happy to be coworkers working with them moving forward. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you. Final supplementary. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, the Kole Crook Fiddle Association is committed to teaching not only youth but people of all ages the art of playing the fiddle and other musical instruments. It is important that this government support not only sports but the arts as well.
Therefore, Madam Speaker, will the Minister commit to considering a proposal from the Kole Crook Fiddle Association for a threeyear funding agreement that would provide longevity and support for the excellent work they do for our youth in the NWT? Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, again, it just reverts to the first question. When the Member reached out to me, we had a conversation and we looked at their oneyear proposal. And one of the things we talked about was we need to expand it. We can expand it for up to three years. So I guess I can commit to a new multithreeyear agreement with the Kole Crook Fiddle Association on top of the one year we already got right now. The association submitted a proposal. We're going back and forth to fix up the second and third year again. So again, I would like to confirm that we are working on a multiyear agreement with them. And, again, I thank the Member for keeping us on our toes and advocating for this organization moving forward. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Monfwi.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. On October 25th, 2022, the Minister brought her assistant deputy minister for energy into the House to talk about prefeasibility work in June of this year for hydro projects such as the one in Gameti. They said they would be working with the Tlicho government on technical studies in next fiscal year.
Can the Minister commit to completing a feasibility study to see what the cost would be to connect residents along Highway No. 3 to the new electrical grid? Thank you.
Thank you, Member. Minister for Infrastructure.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, the Member is correct. We did have a meeting with the Tlicho government to advance the project. The phase that we're working on right now is to be advanced, which includes some of the preliminary planning. There is design, consultation, engagement activities, environmental baseline studies, and also development of a refined capital costs estimate. And I think that's really important, Madam Speaker, as we advance these projects. We need to ensure that the cost estimates are correct so when we go to the federal government looking for some support, that we have uptodate cost estimates. And, yes, I will work with the government and continue to work with the government as I believe that's what we're doing now. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you. On October 31st, I asked the Minister of Finance about the charging station for electrical vehicles coming to Behchoko in 2024. Who are these charging stations for? Is the government more concerned with seeing electrical vehicles on the road along Highway No. 3 over hydro lines connecting Highway No. 3 homes and cabins to the grid? Tlicho residents do not drive electric vehicles because many of us are still using diesel to power our homes. Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I'm not sure if I heard a question in there. But I will respond to the Member's comments in saying that, yes, the Minister of Finance did talk about the budget and the electrical vehicles. This is part of our 2030 Energy Strategy, Madam Speaker. These are some of the projects that we need to start doing now to be able to meet targets, meet federal targets. So, I mean, yes, the electrical vehicles will be situated in Behchoko, and our hope is that it would be used for anybody that needs to connect to the corridor to Alberta. So those are our plans right now. Thank you.
Yeah, I did ask who are these charging stations for, but I'll go on to next questions.
The Minister previously told the House in June her department would finalize the routing corridor for the Whati Transmission Line by fall 2022. Did the department meet this target? Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, that was our hope. We did look at some of the options on the routing. We're trying to connect the Whati to the North Slave hydro system, to go along the existing winter road roughly about the east to the west side to be able to connect to our current hydro facility directly. So I can get back to the Member in terms of timeline for when we will have it done. Thanks.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Monfwi.
Thank you. The Minister said the Department of Infrastructure would collaborate with the Tlicho government on the routing corridor. Can the Minister explain in detail what input the Tlicho government have on the project and how they participated? Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, how much time do we have? Because we've been doing a lot of having a lot of conversation and if she wants me to go in detail, I can. It'll take some time but I won't. Actually, I will speak a little more about some of the meetings we had the Tlicho government to be able to discuss this project, including the Tlicho government's suggested use of a progressive design build approach. We also which consisted with the GNWT, Tlicho government, Infrastructure cooperation agreement. So we have that agreement in place so that we can work with the Tlicho government and, you know, be able to determine who should lead the different aspects of this project, and I think that's important to involve Tlicho government in this. They provided the GNWT with the proposal to initiate some of the technical refresh study to identify an acceptable routing corridor for the project, also update the cost estimate as I mentioned. So the GNWT and Tlicho are working together in a partnership to do this study, which started in May. And fall is not over. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Thebacha.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, yesterday I received a very negative response from the housing Minister on behalf of some constituents. In short, there is now an Indigenous elderly woman, along with her daughter, who are now homeless and couch surfing. It is moments like these that I feel demoralized, defeated, and disgusted at the system.
Can the Minister explain if her department supports reconciliation despite putting more vulnerable Indigenous people onto the street with some of her decisions? Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Member. Minister of Housing NWT.
Thank you, Madam Speaker, and thank you to the Member for her question. And just commenting on this specific file, we have seen a lot of situations like this occur throughout the Northwest Territories. We are currently under a policy review. We are looking at establishing and working with the renewal document that we have completed this year. Throughout the success of Housing NWT, we are concentrated on putting units on the ground, working with people productively, and looking for positive outcomes. We have a number of programs that are suitable for each of the residents of the Northwest Territories, and Housing NWT does work diligently with each of the clients throughout the Northwest Territories. We do support our local housing authorities in them establishing work on our behalf. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Madam Speaker, defeating a person who is trying to make things right is not okay. My constituent is correcting herself and is trying to better her life. Rather than working with other departments in an integrated case management approach to support this person, the housing Minister is choosing instead to shut the door on her and have her to be homeless. Is the Minister okay with that? Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. And I want to correct that Housing is not here to completely say "no" to each of our clients and we do find problematic situations with our tenants. We are here to work with them fairly throughout the Northwest Territories. I have identified a number of programming that is available to the individual, and we are there to support each of our tenants fairly throughout the Northwest Territories and through a collaboration with the Indigenous governments as well. We look forward to successes in each of our communities. Mahsi, Madam Speaker.
Madam Speaker, since the Minister is also the Minister of Homelessness, the unfairness of another constituent case is not okay either. Defending staff who make wrong decisions is not okay. My constituent who lost his house to a tornado has to crawl onto an airplane every time he flies because of his mobility issues. This is a man who worked 35 years for the Government of the Northwest Territories and trusted the system to be fair with him but was failed. Is the Minister okay with that? Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I know it is inappropriate to be speaking about individual client files on the floor of this House, but I do want to remind the Member as well that housing does react and does provide adequate services when we are looking at residents that have extreme conditions that have suffered extraordinary circumstances fires, evacuations, floods. We have been there to provide assistance to the people of the Northwest Territories in trying to accommodate them as quickly as possible. Some of these residents did not have to wait on the waitlist. Some of them did not even have an application, and we were there to provide fair and adequate client service to each of these individuals. Mahsi, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Thebacha.
Madam Speaker, will the Minister admit that her department made a mistake and also commit to compensate my constituent for lost funds that he should have never spent on market rental housing because he should have been moved to public housing? Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Housing NWT is currently in the role right now of looking at our policy changes. We are speaking with the Indigenous groups, stakeholders at the ground level. When we're providing adequate services, we're looking at the threshold that is provided. Unfortunately, at this time, the individual was only able to access market housing. But we were able to efficiently provide housing in such an unusual circumstance and in such an emergency. Housing and the local housing authority as well did provide that adequate assistance. And right now, Madam Speaker, we are looking at putting more houses on the ground in each of these communities. And I want to just confirm right now that Housing is going to be constructing two units under our coinvestment fund and also through our CIRNAC allocation of federal funding, we're putting in additional four units in the Member's riding, Madam Speaker. I feel that Housing has done a fair and adequate client service throughout the Northwest Territories, and I continue to support my department. Mahsi, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, before I ask my questions, it's been a very long session and I appear to have mixed up two very strong men in my Member's statement, Chief Vital Abel and Vital Manuel. So I would like to apologize to Mr. Manuel's parents. I did mix that up, and it has been a really long session. So my apologies there.
My questions are for the Minister of Housing. As I mentioned yesterday, there were issues with accessibility for some of the residents in the Lanky Court Apartments. Can the Minister speak to whether or not the snow clearing of the boardwalk has been done? Thank you, Madam Speaker.
