Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Premier and the Minister responsible for the Executive. I wish to follow up on some of the questions that were asked previously. In answer to one of my colleagues, the Premier mentioned that, he gave us quite a list of activities that the previous government has undertaken. I can’t say that I totally agree with the list that he put out there. Some of the work, I think, that was listed was done by our wonderful NGOs. My first question to the Premier is to ask about a consultation that was done sometime within the year of 2011. Members were given a report at the very end of the 16th Legislative Assembly. I’d like to ask the Premier when that consultation that was done in 2011, prior to the beginning of this Assembly, when will that be shared with the public.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The report that was prepared was called “What We Heard” from Northerners About Poverty and this report was provided to Standing Committee on Social Programs in August 2011.
I don’t like to correct my colleagues but I think the Premier should well know that reports going to standing committee are not public. This report, in my mind, has never been to the public and there are many interested people in the gallery and elsewhere in our territory who want to know what was in that paper. I think I have to express some of the disappointment, as well, that some of the people in the gallery I suspect are feeling at the moment. The Premier mentioned by mid-2012 he expects that we will have a draft Anti-Poverty Strategy. Really, in the previous Assembly there was a commitment to a discussion paper. The Premier mentioned it when he did his list of activities. I would like to know from the Premier who is involved in the preparation of this draft Anti-Poverty Strategy.
As I indicated in response to a number of questions, we have had in place an advisory committee on poverty. We have an intergovernmental working group. We have held consultations from January to April 2011. We have been to every region in the Northwest Territories. We’ve had 30 focus group sessions in 13 communities and we are looking at a strategy that would apply NWT-wide. We have developed a broad discussion paper that was based on What We Heard in the communities. We are now having a group of deputies that are taking the discussion paper and taking what we heard in the community consultations, and also taking into account the priorities set by this 17th Legislative Assembly, and on that basis they will be developing a draft, recognizing the business planning schedule for this government for the fiscal year 2012-2013.
I have to say now that I’m even more dismayed than I was before, that the paper that was given to standing committee at the end of the 16th Assembly can be considered a discussion paper. This is absolutely incorrect, in my mind. That was a report of what people had said across the territory; it was not a paper which is able to go out and be discussed by Members and by the general public. I’m also totally dismayed that we are going to have a draft strategy produced by a working group of bureaucrats. I have no fault with the skills of our bureaucrats, but it’s been well documented that any draft strategy has to involve other people. It has to involve those in the public, it has to involve those in poverty, it has to involve NGOs, it has to involve business. I’d like to ask the Minister is there any opportunity in the development of this draft strategy by our bureaucrats, is there an opportunity for all those people that I’ve mentioned, to also have input into this strategy.
I should clarify, it appears the honourable Member misunderstood me when I said the report that I was referring to was based on What We Heard. We subsequently have developed a broad discussion paper. So there are two separate papers. Secondly, we are looking at an NWT-wide strategy and the advisory group on poverty that has been advising us has people from across the Territories that are advising us.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can be really short. I’d like to ask the Premier where is the discussion paper to which he refers.
The broad-based discussion paper is one of the documents, as well as What We Heard through community consultations, and as well as the priorities of this 17th Legislative Assembly; all are information that are being used to help draft a broad Anti-Poverty Strategy for all of the Northwest Territories.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.
