Please be seated. I'd like to thank Mary Jane Cazon for the opening prayer and reflections.
Colleagues, before I go into our day session, I have to do something that happens every February 10th. I get to embarrass two of my daughters, Debra and Nancy, who were born at actually 9:24 and 9:25 at night, but. We're a little bit early so I'd like to wish them a very happy birthday as well Edna and Deb Stipdonk, friends of mine.
Drin Gwiinzii, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to recognize the establishment of the hamlet of Tsiigehtchic. The new hamlet’s first mayor and council were sworn in on January 15, 2025, marking a significant milestone for the community of Tsiigehtchic and the Northwest Territories.
Tsiigehtchic is a community with rich cultural heritage, deeply connected to the Gwich’in people and their traditional lands. The journey to become a hamlet has been a long one, beginning in 2019 when the residents initiated a petition seeking a change from a chartered community status. This led to the consultation with local leadership, the Gwich’in Tribal Council, and other partners.
In May 2023, an impressive 74 percent of residents cast their votes with 76 percent expressing support for the transition. This remarkable level of engagement underscores not only the community’s strong investment in their decision but also the significance of the milestone for residents of their shared future.
In July 2024 the hamlet was established, and in December 2024 they had their first hamlet election.
I extend congratulations to the newly elected mayor and council --
Mayor Shawn James Roland VanLoon, and councillors:
James Andre;
Davina Benoit-Cardinal;
Charlene Blake;
Dinah Blake;
George Naditchie;
Peter Ross;
Shalene Shae; and,
Brian Smith
-- have stepped forward to lead their community in this new chapter.
Becoming a hamlet is a significant step forward for Tsiigehtchic. It separates band governance from community governance, granting greater autonomy, and enabling the newly elected council to better address local needs. This structure empowers the
community government to make decisions that directly improve the lives of residents. This achievement reflects the strong collaboration between the local leaders, the residents of Tsiigehtchic, and the Government of the Northwest Territories. Together, we have worked toward a shared vision of a thriving and sustainable community.
Mr. Speaker, this transition represents the leadership and determination of Tsiigehtchic residents and aligns with the Government of the Northwest Territories broader goals of supporting community development, fostering self-determination, and strengthening local leadership. It reaffirms the 20th Legislative Assembly’s commitment to good governance and collaboration with Indigenous governments, communities, and the public.
I would like to thank everyone involved in making this transition a reality. Their dedication and hard work have been instrumental in reaching this milestone. I also want to acknowledge Mr. Grant Scott, the municipal administrator, for his leadership throughout the transition process. His commitment has been invaluable, and we wish him all the best in his future endeavours.
Our government will continue to support the hamlet of Tsiigehtchic ensuring it has the resources to deliver quality programs and services to its residents. This includes a two-day orientation training program for the new councillors to guide them in their roles and responsibilities.
In closing, Mr. Speaker, I want to acknowledge the collective effort and vision of Tsiigehtchic residents and leaders whose commitment has been instrumental in achieving this transition. As we move forward, I am confident that Tsiigehtchic will continue to thrive and build on its many opportunities, fostering a future full of promise. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, on January 11th, 2025, at 12:45 p.m., the power went out 14 hours in the community of Fort Resolution and in minus 28 below weather. NTPC made no public announcement in the community on social media. An NTPC technician drove into town, and they were advised not to proceed by local leaders due to extreme cold weather at the time. NTPC ignored the cold weather advice and proceeded to replace one power generator unit. An NTPC technician replaced the generator and later found other issues related to power lines in the community. NTPC called for additional contractors' support from Yellowknife to help restore the power in the community, and the power was later restored around 4:30 a.m. on January 12th, 2025 - 14 hours later. There was some confusion about the warming centre, and NTPC posted on social media that afternoon that Deninu Kue School would be designated as a warming shelter, but the school was locked down when residents went there to the school to keep warm. It was later posted that the elders' facility in the community will be the new designated warming centre for the residents in the community.
Mr. Speaker, the community residents of Fort Resolution were very concerned about their homes freezing up in the minus 28 weather and causing significant damage to their homes with potential frozen toilets, frozen water lines, frozen tanks, pressure pumps, et cetera.
Mr. Speaker, the Taltson Hydro Dam has been offline for almost two years, and the community of Fort Resolution had no choice to rely on its backup diesel generator in the interim. NTPC confirmed that the Taltson hydro will be back online in mid-February 2025, and that's welcome news for the community of Fort Resolution. Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Minister at the appropriate time. Mahsi.
Thank you, Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Members' Statements. Member from Range Lake.
Mr. Speaker, well over a year ago we were elected to this Assembly to take drastic action to improve the state of our territory's health care. Shortly thereafter, Members convened and put together a list of urgent priorities in which access to health care took top billing. Now, a year later, meaningful progress on improving our health care services remains to be seen. Our constituents have made it clear they do not want to hear about the process and procedures that go on in this Assembly or in the authority any longer; they want action on health care. I don't blame them; I want action too.
When we learned that the Minister of Health and Social Services was dissolving the health leadership council to appoint a public administrator, it looked like serious action was finally being taken. Naturally, my constituents then want to know what new tools this public administrator brought to the table and to what effect those tools were going to be used to change their lives for the better. They see this Minister with a new toolbox. They want to see her pull out the policies right away to get their vital services back into shape. Yet now, we are asked -- left asking the same questions months after -- or two months after these changes were made, Mr. Speaker.
While we know the Minister has even more power to act divisively under the public administrator, we don't yet know what that administrator will do differently than the preceding health leadership council. We haven't seen the plan this public administrator's working on to fix the state of our health care system, and we don't know when the Minister intends to have this plan put into action. The Minister praised the work of the previous leadership council yet replaced them in favour of a public administrator. So what tools do the council not have at their disposal that the Minister is now able to wield through the administrator?
Mr. Speaker, drastic changes in leadership have taken place. Now we need to see a serious plan. My constituents can't wait any longer for family doctors and can't keep showing up at emergency rooms for basic care. Frontline workers meanwhile are sharing serious concerns of potential budget cuts that seem to confirm our fear that sustainability may be a code for austerity. I full confidence in the public administrator's resume but we need to see how the Minister intends to utilize his skills through a detailed strategy that is focused on improving access to quality health care that is the right of all Northerners. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Members' statements. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this weekend I had the opportunity to attend the curling Northwest Territories Rock the Rings 2025, and, Mr. Speaker, it was the biggest one yet. 65 youth curlers - 31 from Inuvik, 12 from Hay River, and 22 from Yellowknife - had attended this event this weekend over Saturday and Sunday.
Each year, Mr. Speaker, it's great to see the skill level of these curlers improving. In addition to the curling, the participants enjoyed bowling and pizza on Friday, swimming and teen time on Saturday and, most of all, Mr. Speaker, making new friends.
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to say that Inuvik swept all three divisions this year, and I would like to recognize the following teams:
The winners of U12 division were Tyler Bain, Emerson Steffer, and Evan Cockney, they were coached by Tamara Bain and Pearl Gillis;
The U15 division champions, Mr. Speaker, were Jacob Robertson, Adikas Wilcom, and Jett Etter, coached by Mark Robertson; and,
The U20 division winners were Reece Wainman, Brooke Smith, Jasper Wilcom, and Tamara Bain, and they were coached by Nick Saturnino.
Nick Saturnino was also the president of the Inuvik Curling Club and now the president of the Northwest Territories Curling Association. Nick works tirelessly, as some of you may know in this House, working with youth in not only curling but all sports to grow youth participation in sports across the territory.
Mr. Speaker, Yellowknife does an amazing job hosting this event. This is, I think, the -- I remember the 4th year in a row they put it down here, which has just been amazing. Many thanks to the Yellowknife Curling Club and their team of volunteers. Michelle White and Carla Skogi for entertaining, feeding, the athletes and chaperons, and taking care of the spectators upstairs. Ed Saddleburger for six great sheets of ice all weekend. And a thank you to Janey Hobart for officiating and keeping everyone organized and on time. And lastly, a big thank you to the Northwest Territories curling nation for making this into the event it's become today. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Inuvik Boot Lake. Members' statements. Member from Monfwi.
Masi, Mr. Speaker. Today I am going to be talking about promoting entrepreneurship in the NWT. Mr. Speaker, quote, the Indigenous economy is about to take off. Mr. Speaker, this is according to a MacLean article from December 2024.
It is estimated that the potential value of the Indigenous economy in Canada is more than $100 billion. This is great news for the Indigenous population and businesses who, for far too long, were isolated from financial opportunities and success.
Mr. Speaker, a strong economic foundation is a priority of this Assembly. The Government of the Northwest Territories should promote entrepreneurship in our communities. I would like to know what the government is doing to prepare our young people to be entrepreneurs and to run businesses.
There are many constituents in my riding with ideas for small businesses, but they encounter roadblocks or need help with startup. They need guidance. Mr. Speaker, I do not want to see these ideas waste away. I do not want to see these opportunities lost. I would like to be assured that the Indigenous economy is about to take off here in the NWT as well and ensure that we are not missing out on what is expected elsewhere in Canada. I will have questions for the Minister of ITI at the appropriate time. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Monfwi. Members' statements. Member from Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last year, on February 23rd, 2024, the Minister of ECE said that ECE is committed to providing sustainable funding to daycares and I am committed to the relationship with childcare providers in finding out what it is they need and how we can support one another. I do believe that statement is true. But there's another voice in the conversation which is that of the territory's largest childcare operator.
Mr. Speaker, last week I received a letter from the constituent who is also a board member of that operator. With their consent, I shared it with the Minister. They outline that this operator is not looking for money from the GNWT but rather a commitment to help them be sustainable. They want to provide a living wage and cost of living increases for their staff, not just for ELCC workers but also their cleaning and cooking staff. Under the current wage grid, they can't do this. Workers haven't received raises in years. They want to ensure that their building has a reserve fund to ensure that they have a cushion to replace the roof, window, or other capital needs throughout the life cycle of the building. Ultimately, they're struggling to cover basic costs because, for this operator, ECE's regulations have created financial pressures such that they can't take basic steps to be a fiscally responsible organization. They want to expand programming and offer more spaces because, as we all know, the Hunger Games for childcare spaces in Yellowknife is in full effect. May the odds ever be in our favour if you want to grow your family and work to pay your bills.
Mr. Speaker, I received a text this morning that this operator had to ask parents to keep kids home today due to staffing pressures. There's no slack when multiple staff are sick. Mr. Speaker, today I'll have questions for the Minister of ECE.
Thank you, Member from Great Slave. Members' statements. Member from Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The residents of the Northwest Territories as a whole has been hit hard with the recent announcements of closures of the community learning centres by the board of governors of Aurora College. Without any community consultation, we are experiencing cuts in smaller communities yet again. This decision shows that the smaller communities do not matter in the development of our territory's economy.
Mr. Speaker, I have been approached by many residents of the Beaufort Delta region, both in person and by social media, and asking why this decision was made without prior consultation. I explained that this decision was not made by the department of ECE but by the board of governors of Aurora College who is at arm's length away from the GNWT. The response that I received was it does not matter who made the decision, this wrong needs to be made right for the benefit of the smaller communities and its residents.
Mr. Speaker, I have heard stories from employees about the uncertainty of their immediate future for themselves, their families, and their respective communities, employees who have given their time and resources to better their communities and their fellow residents. Some of these employees have given 20 years of their lives to try and be part of the development of the Northwest Territories, and yet they do not know what the immediate future holds for them and their families. There is some employees who broke down in tears because of the uncertainty that was bestowed upon them without being consulted prior to this announcement.
Mr. Speaker, in every tough decision that is made in regards to the negative impacts of our smaller communities and its residents, we should see some opportunity - opportunity to give our residents hope. With this untimely decision, we must think of the bigger picture and consult with the employees, the communities, and the residents who are negatively impacted by this controversial decision and make things right for a brighter immediate future. I will have questions for the Minister of ECE. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Mackenzie Delta. Members' statements. Member from Yellowknife North.
Mr. Speaker, I want to join some of my colleagues today in highlighting the importance of adult education opportunities in NWT communities. What makes adult education different from early childhood education is that it needs to be more immediately practical and useful to folks to tie into an individual's life goals. We need to stop treating adult education as remedial, something people feel obliged to do because of a lack of failure, as if it's a punishment for somehow not passing school classes in the first place. Instead of being remedial, it should be something that's useful and even transformative.
Community members have been saying for years that enrollment would increase at community learning centres if the programs could lead directly to local employment opportunities and tie into local initiatives. For example, there's demand for pre-trades training in Fort Good Hope to get people ready to work at the upcoming housing construction centre, or maybe a local government or development corporation has a need to train office or business administrators. Instead of doing the same thing that hasn't been working well, or eliminating CLCs entirely, imagine if we had cohorts of students working towards a specific employment qualification with a mix of learning settings. So maybe a roving instructor visits the community for a few weeks at a time, a face-to-face learning, and maybe the cohort would visit a regional centre every so often for hands-on learning, and maybe the rest of the time local tutors could support students in remote learning that could be done in a group setting with the instructor on a large screen. And, ideally, periods of on the land learning could be mixed in there too.
The mobile trades trailers, such as the one established in the Beaufort Delta, are an innovative approach that could be done in more communities with proper resourcing. We need to overcome the destructive politics surrounding on campus programming. This shouldn't be a competition where only one community gets to offer trades programs. We need this kind of programming close to home in all communities.
Beyond preparing for a job or apprenticeship, another important motivator for adults to pursue education is to be better parents. Family literacy programs help train parents on how to support their baby's brain development and language development, even in multiple languages. Mr. Speaker, I ask for unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
Mr. Speaker, family literacy programs can give adults more confidence to engage with their kids' teachers and to support their kids' success in school. So for all these reasons, we can't lose sight of how important adult education is to building up our economic and social foundations. We just have to make it more focused and practical. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Members' statements. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I want to talk about the Denmark innovation towards public health care. Mr. Speaker, they do something really original. They put the patient before the system.
Mr. Speaker, did you know that in Denmark, the state assigns doctors to its people, Mr. Speaker. Can you imagine that? People being served by the state in a manner that's helpful and useful? They actually put their people ahead of the system, Mr. Speaker. It's quite innovative to think about it.
You know, they do other interesting things. No matter what, if you have a young person, a child who is sick, they find a way to get that person in to see a doctor. Why? Because their people matter more than the process, Mr. Speaker.
And speaking of process, without a system that takes care of you in that manner, me finding a doctor is almost like going to a job interview. You have to find an opening and then you have to sell yourself and explain to your doctor that you're not so complicated that they'll just say yeah, that works within their practice or scope, Mr. Speaker, and then you wait to find out if you're agreeable for their interest, Mr. Speaker. Now, that's assuming you can find a doctor who is taking an opening. And I remember there was a time there was a public phone number that people could call and find out who is taking them.
So why can't we do business different? Oh, wait a minute - it's us; we're the ones in charge of the system. That's why we can't.
Mr. Speaker, it's time to start putting the demands of the patient first. Now, keep in mind that doesn't necessarily mean we're putting the doctors' demands second. As a matter of fact, if we spent just a little time listening to the doctors and their recommendations, we'd probably be achieving the exact same goal with some minor tweaks.
Mr. Speaker, for example, the doctors will say, you know, when we write referrals we get tired of someone overwriting them, rewriting them, refusing them, sending them back and ignoring them. What can't of doctor wants to work in that kind of system, Mr. Speaker? I'm talking about the gatekeepers who no longer respect doctors' orders.
Mr. Speaker, you know, if we spent a little time listening to our doctors who say they are tired about the administrative focus of their job as opposed to the health care focus of their job, so if we could support them through an administration, we could per hour put some of the most expensive people we have on the payroll doing exactly what they're supposed to be doing.
Mr. Speaker, this isn't exciting innovative stuff. This is straightforward, help the doctors do what the doctors want to do.
Mr. Speaker, I end with the question of is the system designed for the patients, or is the system designed to help support, lock in, what is great about process in the system? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Members' statements.
Colleagues, on September 17th, 2024, Wallace Larry Watson, also known as Wally, passed away here in Yellowknife. Wally was born on April 7th, 1954, in Calgary.
Wally had a life-long love of music and was involved in many music related activities everywhere he lived beginning with participation in his high school choir. He loved playing his guitar and was particularly fond of 70's music. He was frequently in the chorus for the Victoria Operatic Society's productions.
Wally was raised in Victoria, where he met Teresa, his love of his life. Shortly after their marriage in June 1980, they moved to Prince George where Wally took a business administration program at College of New Caledonia. In 1984, they moved to Jean Marie River for Teresa's work where they lived for seven years. Wally worked with the band office as an administrator. He revelled in the new skills, hunting and hauling water, fishing and setting snares he learned from the wonderful and welcoming residents.
Upon moving to Fort Simpson in 1999, Wally became a member of both the Fort Simpson Darts Club and the Seven Spruce Golf Course. Some remember him for his Chanel's Choice dog biscuits. Wally got involved with fiddling by accompanying the youth fiddler group there and really enjoyed sharing his love of music with young people. I had the pleasure of working with him, as he was the secretary treasurer for the local DEA for a year. He was always upbeat and full of good ideas on who we could improve things for the schools in Fort Simpson.
In 2010 they moved to Yellowknife, where Wally enjoyed retirement and spending time with their dog, Chanel. He then became an active member of the Guitar Circle and the Aurora Fiddle Society, accompanying fiddlers on his guitar at performances, jams, and workshops. As well, he had a booth at the summer Farmers' Markets where he sold bake items for several years prior to COVID.
When people spoke about Wally, they remember him as friendly, kind and caring person. Throughout his life, he had a positive outlook and easygoing nature.
Teresa would like to express thanks for all the support she has received in the past few years, particularly with those attending Lunches with a Bunch who made sure he was comfortable; and all hospital staff and EMTs who responded with such compassion and professionalism.
He is survived by wife of 44 years, Teresa, and two and predeceased by brothers Hugh Taylor and Keith Watson. He will be sadly missed.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We're honoured to be joined by some folks from Hay River here today, both on the floor of the House and in the gallery. I want to recognize Sonya Campbell, who is joining us in the gallery as a chaperon. For our page from Hay River North this sitting, Molly Campbell. We're happy to have them and look forward to working with them. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Hay River North. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member from Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too would also like to recognize a couple guests here from Hay River. Adelle Russell, a page for Hay River South; Molly Campbell, the page from Hay River North; and Sonya Campbell who is up in the gallery there. She is chaperoning them here. And I'd like to welcome them to the Legislative Assembly and hope they enjoy their week here. Thank you.
Member from Hay River South. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I too recognize in the gallery my beautiful wife Aleda Edjericon, and also everybody in the gallery that's here, I just want to say welcome. Mahsi.
Thank you, Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. If we missed anyone in the gallery today, welcome to your chamber. I hope you're enjoying the proceedings. It's always nice to see people in the gallery and allowing us to represent the people of the Northwest Territories here.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank NTPC Minister and their technician staff and contractors for the swift reaction to get into Fort Resolution to restore the power and to keep their homes and community safe. However, my constituents are still wondering why NTPC made the decision to overhaul the generator in Fort Resolution on January 11th, 2025.
Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of NTPC. My question is why did the NTPC staff wait until January 2025 to do their planned generator replacement versus when the preventive maintenance work could have been done probably in the summer or fall time? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Minister responsible for NTPC.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, Mr. Speaker, it was certainly helpful to have lines of communication open when the event was ongoing, so I do thank the Member for being a part of that.
Mr. Speaker, the events that led to this outage were actually routine operations, so it was not related to any maintenance that as a result of the Taltson being offline. It was to switch over one of the units that was overheating. There was a backup unit there available, there were technicians available, and so they really were not anticipating circumstances to become what they were on that day and, certainly, as it again it was noted, were there and were making efforts to bring things back online as quickly as they could. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My second question is in the event of freezing up homes in my community if it was caused by NTPC's lengthy power outage, who is ultimately responsible to pay for the frozen home repairs if that ever happened? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is standard practice for utilities everywhere in the country that there's not any provisions whereby they would compensate customers who might find themselves in circumstances if they have some damages so there's no difference here with NTPC. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister responsible for NTPC. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Final supplementary.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My third question is in the future, can the NTPC look at maybe doing this type of work in the summer months when it's more appropriate versus when it's in January and February and March? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, Mr. Speaker, with respect to any major works, they certainly do try to consider timing and availability of backups and obviously certainly at some point extreme weather. Again, with routine maintenance, Mr. Speaker, there's a concern that they've been wanting to maintain reliability so not wanting to wait. At this point, we are expecting the Taltson to be back online I think later this month, subject to confirming that. But with that, that obviously provides a pretty significant source of primary power. So, you know, again, understand the concerns and do want to assure the community that we are expecting they'll be back to their usual source of power with diesel being the backup and this, therefore, should not -- they shouldn't be experiencing any similar problems hopefully for the rest of this year. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister responsible for NTPC. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
