Good afternoon, colleagues. Before our proceedings start this afternoon, it is my pleasure to recognize some folks visiting in the visitors gallery this afternoon. I’d like to recognize the following members of the Conservative Party’s Northern Caucus who are meeting in the NWT this week. First of all, former leader of this government, Government of the Northwest Territories, and now Senator for Nunavut, the Honourable Dennis Patterson. Welcome.
---Applause
Nunavut Member of Parliament, Minister of Health and Minister for the North, the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq…
---Applause
…who I understand was once a Page in this Assembly.
---Laughter
See? It all started here. The Yukon Member of Parliament Ryan Leef.
---Applause
Yukon Senator, the Honourable Dan Lang.
---Applause
Also with the Northern Caucus today are Sandy Lee, Minister Aglukkaq’s regional director of NWT, and former Minister and Member of this House.
---Applause
Donna Richardson, executive assistant to Senator Lang.
---Applause
This is something that the Clerk’s office didn’t prepare me for. I don’t know how to pronounce this name. I’m really sorry. Minister Aglukkaq‘s regional director for Nunavut, Elisapee Sheutiapik. Thank you.
---Applause
I apologize if I did not get that correct. A very warm welcome to the Assembly here today.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. In support of this government’s vision of an environmentally sustainable and prosperous Northwest Territories, the Department of Public Works and Services recently installed four more biomass heating systems in Fort Providence, Yellowknife, Behchoko and Fort Simpson.
In November Public Works and Services installed a new wood pellet boiler at the Combined Services Building at the Yellowknife Airport. This is the fifth such system the department has installed in Yellowknife, and it is expected to save the GNWT approximately 256,000 litres of fuel oil a year for an estimated annual savings of $130,000.
Elizabeth Mackenzie Elementary School in Behchoko and Deh Gah School in Fort Providence are also benefitting from this technology. Together the wood pellet boilers installed at these schools will eliminate the need for over 170,000 litres of fuel oil a year and will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 474 tonnes annually. The savings achieved by using biomass systems at these schools is expected to surpass $117,000 annually.
Earlier this year Fort Simpson’s central heating system started to operate full time on a new wood pellet boiler. This system links the community recreation complex, Bompass Elementary School and Thomas Simpson School to one boiler system. It will be able to accommodate expansion tie-ins to help heat other nearby buildings like the GNWT office building over time. Once fully operational, the system has the ability to displace up to 356,000 litres of fuel oil a year and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an additional 971 tonnes per year.
Like the Fort Simpson system, the wood pellet boiler installation at Elizabeth Mackenzie School in Behchoko was also designed to serve multiple buildings. This installation will be able to provide heat to the community’s sports complex and a future NWT Housing Corporation project.
Madam Speaker, these projects mark an important development in our approach to biomass technology. By designing systems that can serve multiple buildings, our government is better positioned to maximize our investment in energy efficient technologies like biomass.
These four newest wood pellet boilers are expected to save over $400,000 annually, savings that will grow should they be expanded. There are currently 20 government buildings benefitting from this technology, including our very own Legislative Assembly Building, which has contributed to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 25,000 tonnes since 2007-08, saving the GNWT an estimated $3.9 million total through the Capital Asset Retrofit Fund. This is effective, efficient use of public infrastructure that maximizes value while being environmentally sustainable.
Next, biomass projects are planned for the new health centres in Fort Providence and Hay River, the new office building in Yellowknife, and five buildings in Norman Wells: the new health centre, the long-term care facility, Mackenzie Mountain School, the airport terminal and the Combined Services Building.
The benefits of investing in biomass and other alternative energy technologies continue to speak for themselves, and I look forward to providing Members with updates on these projects as they progress. Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Shale oil resources promised to secure our energy future and has the potential to change the North forever as the Northwest Territories grapples with the applications for horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracking required to tap in to these resources.
We have to weigh the pros and the cons of this technology. The basic drilling and fracturing process has a long history in the oil and gas industry. Experienced drillers and engineers can’t predict a well’s requirements and impacts. Technology is constantly improving. Industry has demonstrated an improvement in using less water and fewer harmful chemicals. Canadian producers are moving towards full disclosure of fracking fluid. Proper well casing and cementing prevents groundwater contamination. Once a well is drilled, crude oil can flow up to 20 years. The economic benefits we could achieve through hydraulic fracking and development of the northern shale resources under careful regulations and controlling pace and scale could outweigh many of the risks, as the risks are huge, Madam Speaker.
In central Mackenzie Valley, shale play is considered a frontier development because previous oil and gas production is so limited here. The Northwest Territories has an abundance of water resources. We are the stewards of these resources. Our elders have always told us if we take care of the land, it will take care of us. Currently, we don’t have the capacity to deal with the wastewater from drilling and the long-term impacts of disposable wells are unknown.
If gas was to flow, even in the early stages, the existing Enbridge pipeline would have to be twined. There’s still no all-weather road into the Sahtu region. We can guess the impacts of hydraulic fracturing based on what we see in other places, but we cannot predict the real long-term impacts on the land, the animals, the lakes and rivers of the Sahtu.
We don’t have to look any further than boom towns like Fort McMurray, Alberta, or Fort Nelson, BC, to see some of the social effects of fast-paced development. This winter we have seen how exploration alone stretches the capacity in our communities. Mental health and addiction issues are the barriers to local Sahtu people in benefitting from development. Successful and responsible development of the Mackenzie Valley shale oil play will require focusing on the Mackenzie Gas Project in terms of government resources.
Mr. Yakeleya. Your time for your Member’s statement has expired.
[Microphone turned off.]
Mr. Yakeleya, could you please make that request again on the record.
Madam Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
The Government of the Northwest Territories has been called upon to develop a policy on hydraulic fracking that recognizes the pros and cons of this technology. We must move forward on this important work to guide responsible decision-making in the future. The people of the Northwest Territories and the people of the Sahtu deserve nothing less. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. I just wanted to speak about community wellness plans in the riding of Nahendeh today.
I was pleased to see each of the communities I visited on my January tour were telling me about the communities’ wellness plans, and the communities have done a lot of work getting it together, but I think it’s now time for government to do theirs.
They spoke to me about the continuous need for funding resources, most particularly when it comes to travel. The small, remote communities have additional costs of air charters and utilizing the local hotels.
In larger communities, programs like the $500,000 Wellness Program will go a lot further in Yellowknife than a community like Trout Lake or Fort Liard or Nahanni Butte. I just wanted to let my colleagues on the other side of the House know, as we move forward and start to fund our community wellness plans, we’re going to have to make special arrangements to ensure that travel costs are taken into account.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I must revisit a service need that this government has been ignoring for too long. The NWT needs 911 phone service.
In a 2009 City of Yellowknife feasibility study, a study in which the GNWT was a full participating member, the recommendation was that 911 service should be established in seven of our 33 communities to start and that it be expanded to the other 26 communities as soon as possible. Now, more than three years later, there’s been no action on this issue and it is crucial that this government recognize and accept our duty to assist the City of Yellowknife in the establishment of this service.
The need for 911 has been talked about for over 15 years. The City of Yellowknife has completed not one but two studies as they try to solve the implementation riddle. As far back as 2001, the NWT chief coroner articulated the need for 911 service and attributed a death in 2000 to the lack of 911 service.
When I brought this up in the House in 2009, I heard the MACA Minister of the day advise that the government would only be involved in the implementation of 911 service if the service was provided to all communities in the NWT at the same time. Well, that argument will soon be invalid.
Since 2005, thanks to the NWT Broadband Project, 19 NWT communities have received enhanced broadband Internet services, and over the next two years a partnership between Infrastructure Canada, NorthwesTel and Falcon Communications will bring 3G mobile Internet services to 25 communities in our territory. Eighty-five to 90 percent of NWT residents will have cell phone service in their community in two years’ time.
A stated goal of this Assembly is sustainable, vibrant, safe communities. The best way for this Assembly to accomplish that goal is to plan for and fund the implementation of 911 service in the recommended seven communities. A phased-in approach still makes the most sense. With financial assistance from the GNWT, we can start now in those communities that already have the appropriate infrastructure and not deny the majority of NWT residents a much needed public safety service.
We have to bite the bullet and do the right thing. The City of Yellowknife is still willing to take the lead. The GNWT must partner with the city and get the implementation of 911 service on its way.
I will have questions for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs at the appropriate time.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. It is again an honour to say the word “Madam” Speaker today. I just want to say that on the record.
Today I would like to say thank you to the organizers, stakeholders, governments and participants of this year’s NWT Wellness Conference that happened this past weekend in Yellowknife. I had the pleasure of spending a large part of my Saturday morning going from booth to booth and talking to the various exhibitors and experts. I also managed to listen in on one or more of the many panel forums that were offered throughout the weekend.
I consider myself a traditional primary care stakeholder because of my pharmaceutical background, but I must give credit to the many other alternative healers there are in the NWT. There were too many wellness opportunities to mention today in my statement, so I wish to touch base on only a couple of the opportunities the public had to witness, such as naturopathic doctors, fitness, internal health, chiropractic, massage therapy, life coaching, yoga, prenatal and birthing, breast health, meditation, foot reflexology, homeopathic treatments, Aboriginal healing and holistic coaching.
[English translation not provided.]
Other stakeholders, such as our Public Service Alliance of Canada, were there to advocate for health and safety. We had the NWT Native Women’s Association in attendance to help empower and support Aboriginal women in the NWT. The Healing Drum Society was there to explain their services for residential school survivors, and not to mention our Yellowknife artist-run community centre that provides a vessel of creativity would be amiss on my part.
I wish to also mention that we had a number of hardworking GNWT agencies in attendance, and I was taken aback by the incredible talent we have at the helm of many of our services, such as our Healthy Choices for Healthy Communities and our Sport North Federation, who assist in the promotion and development of our amateur sport in the NWT.
Once again, I thank the organizers of the NWT Wellness Conference and participants for a job well done for our northern residents. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Today I want to salute the City of Yellowknife and Ecology North as the co-winners of the 2013 Federation of Canadian Municipalities Sustainable Communities Award in the waste category. The award recognizes the impressive achievement of piloting and then implementing the first phase of an organic waste composting project.
From 2009 to 2012, the city partnered with Ecology North on a centralizing composting pilot project to learn about and test the process and to evaluate the feasibility of a full-scale operation. The three-year project looked to composting in cold climates and whether the city could do more in this area.
Twenty businesses and institutions participated, including two multi-family buildings, restaurants, grocery stores, the correctional facility, schools and the hospital. Seven hundred sixty-five tonnes of organics were collected, about 9 percent of Yellowknife’s organic waste stream. After two summers of processing at the landfill site, two batches of Yellowknife Black Gold Compost passed laboratory tests as high-quality Category A compost which can be used for any application, including for residential gardens, landscaping or agriculture.
The first sale of Yellowknife Black Gold Compost occurred in September 2012. Organics and diversions saved 960 cubic metres of landfill space, avoided about 870 metric tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, saved $144,000 in landfill space and generated $7,000 in revenue.
Throughout these efforts a vigorous program of public education and involvement has promoted the benefits of reducing the environmental and budget costs of waste. It’s working, because people, businesses and institutions got on board. As a result, this year the city will begin construction of a full composting facility, expand commercial and institution organics collection and plan for residential curbside collection.
The Canadian Association of Municipalities and the Federation of Municipalities have recognized the success with their prestigious national award. Special recognition goes to the City of Yellowknife’s public works director Denis Kefalas, solid waste facility supervisor Carl Grabke, and Ecology North’s program coordinators Shannon Ripley, Dawn Tremblay, and assistant director Kim Rapati. I invite this House to add its congratulations to that success. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I had the opportunity to travel home to Inuvik this weekend and it was a really great visit. It was a very busy weekend, actually. I had a lot of meetings with a few organizations as well as many constituents regarding a whole bunch of different issues.
The one issue that I wanted to bring forth today that I’ve been fighting for, and a lot of Members have been fighting for here over the last 16 months, deals with mental health and education; two of our biggest components for government and probably some of our biggest cost-drivers for the budget here within the government. I heard that again when I went home this weekend. In fact, I heard that the Department of Health and the Department of Education have to do a more collaborative role of working together to address these issues. They have to address the mental health and addictions issues that are happening in the schools, but at the same time, our Health and Social Services department needs to also be proactive in educating our community.
It is Education Week and, although it is still Education Week, it doesn’t have to fall upon one department. All departments have a role in educating our residents of the Northwest Territories into how we can better serve our residents with programs and services, and how we can better spend these dollars or help our residents through some of the programs that we have.
Further to the discussions that I had with my constituents back home, and other organizations, we talked about the funding formula. As you all know, the Beaufort-Delta region has a really high cost of living. Anywhere you travel in the Beaufort-Delta, whether it’s to Sachs Harbour, Paulatuk, over to Aklavik, Tuktoyaktuk, there is a really high cost to go and deliver services or programs. When we go through our funding formula, whether it is for health and social services, education or any other programs that we offer, it’s based on a territorial mechanism. We have to look specifically at the Beaufort-Delta region and the high cost of living and the travel that has to go in to providing those services.
When I talked to my constituents this past weekend, they re-emphasized two things: the mental health and addictions need to be addressed, and education in the schools needs to be addressed. The funding formula of how we spend dollars in the territory, the Beaufort-Delta needs to be looked at, and it needs to be addressed as well. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I would like to start with this: The Access to Information and Protection Policy that governs the Northwest Territories has a particular section, called Section 5, that a person who makes a request for information pursuant to the act has a right to access any record in custody under the control of a public body.
There are some provisos, and of course, the proviso is that we cannot reveal trade secrets to third parties without prejudice of their competitive position of the third party. However, I would like to further say there is Section 5(2) of the act that states that exemptions are reasonably provided when you can sever that particular information requested without, of course, offending the person of the request. You are probably asking what am I talking about, as many other people are wondering as well.
Recently, I had asked for information regarding the Deh Cho Bridge electrical works contract, and that particular contract was issued and, of course, has been closed. The person that won the particular contract demonstrated that they had no northern content. A constituent of mine came forward with a particular concern, and they sent information that showed and further demonstrated that they had northern content but they also showed that the winning bidder had no northern content. If you look closely at the tender documents, you will note the fact that it required northern content.
What is an MLA to do? I e-mailed the department and asked for information, and my request was simply, in summary, asking for, can I have proof that they had met the requirements under what is called section B which would have shown northern content. Of course, I stressed that if there was confidential information that cannot be shared I did not ask for that, but what I asked for was information that would be kept confined in a manner for the public trust. Of course, if it was sent to me, I assured them that I would keep it under that context.
The issue is, was there northern content in this particular project. The winner of the bid is from down south, so are we letting our contract go, perhaps in this case, to the lowest bid but to someone who did not comply with the actual tendering document requirements?
The response from the Minister’s office is basically saying no, we are not sharing this information. It is confidential the way they see it under their disclosure issues. I am going to end with this: There is no way to prove that they complied because the department won’t share it. There is no reason for me to say they didn’t comply. The fact is I am only asking for transparency, which every single Northerner deserves in this particular regard. I will be asking questions. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I would like to recognize guests from the National Energy Board: Gaeton Caron, chair and CEO of the National Energy Board; Lyne Mercier, board member of the National Energy Board; Bob Vergette, board member, National Energy Board; Jamie Ballem, board member, National Energy Board; Brian Chambers, professional leader, northern engagement, National Energy Board; Celine Sirois, technical leader, environment, National Energy Board; Susan Gudgeon, leader, paralegals, National Energy Board. Welcome.
Thank you, Premier McLeod. Welcome to the visitors. Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I would also like to recognize Mr. Brian Chambers. He’s been an acquaintance for a long time, and a colleague. We worked together on municipal issues when I was on city council. Welcome to the House, Brian.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I’d like to also recognize the National Energy Board team, specifically Mr. Brian Chambers – I’ve also done some work with him – and also Chairman Caron.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I’d like to introduce to you and through you my newest member of the Range Lake constituency office, Mr. Grant Pryznk.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment. I understand that ITI and ENR are working on guidelines for hydraulic fracturing. What will these guidelines include?
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Minister Ramsay.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. We continue our work on developing guidelines for hydraulic fracturing here in the Northwest Territories and we are going to make sure that we get it right. We’ve engaged a number of experts in the area and, in fact, even today had a meeting with the National Energy Board here in our Legislature. Also, last week we were speaking to the Government of Alberta through Minister Ken Hughes, the Minister of Energy in Alberta.
There are a lot of folks out there that want to help make sure that the Northwest Territories gets this right. We’re also following developments out east in New Brunswick with their guidelines. We’ll ensure that we do get it right and we hope to have a reply to EDI’s report on fracking sometime during the life of this current sitting. Thank you.
What is the Government of the Northwest Territories doing to address the capacity needs in the communities in connection with the exploration activities?
As evidenced through this budget that was just presented to the House, we are taking very seriously what is happening in the Sahtu, not just on the economic side but also the social side of policing, education, things like that. In my department we’re looking at adding a business development officer in Norman Wells to help address the issues surrounding business development and opportunities for people to get into business in the Sahtu. So we are answering the call when it comes to what is happening in the Sahtu. Thank you.
Thank you. I want to ask the Minister how often he meets with federal or industry representatives to discuss the needs of the development in the Sahtu region.
Thank you. Any chance I get. Today it was at least three times. Any opportunity we get to let our federal colleagues know about what is happening in the Sahtu. Again, we have the National Energy Board here today. I met earlier today with the BDIC through my department at ITI. We really are getting the word out about what is happening there.
There’s going to be close to $700 million spent in the Sahtu in the coming few years. So we need to ensure that we are answering that call and we intend to do just that.
Thank you, Minister Ramsay. Final supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. The vault is slowly opening up so that the needs of the Sahtu can be met.
I want to ask the Minister about hydraulic fracturing. What is the Minister doing with the National Energy Board, federal government and this government to give the people a very clear-cut educational opportunity to know about this technology that would help the industry or harm our environment? What is the Minister doing to make sure the people know what hydraulic fracturing is all about?
