Mr. Speaker, I’m pleased to recognize that the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk Highway Project reached another milestone earlier this week when the Prime Minister confirmed that Canada will contribute $200 million to the construction.
Constructing the northernmost segment of the Mackenzie Valley Highway to Tuktoyaktuk requires a federal and territorial partnership strengthened by a common vision. Monday’s commitment confirms that Canada views the all-weather highway to the Arctic Coast as a vital component in our long-term plans to develop our economy. The commitment also highlights Canada’s confidence in the NWT as a significant contributor to the future economic prosperity and security of Northerners and all Canadians.
It’s important to note that Canada’s decision to increase funding to this nationally significant project comes at a time of continued fiscal restraint anticipated in the next federal budget.
Mr. Speaker, the issuance in January of the Environmental Impact Review Board’s Panel report was a significant step toward bringing together this important infrastructure venture. The panel’s report recommends the project move forward, subject to conditions. The GNWT has responded to the panel’s 51 recommendations in a submission to Canada seeking formal project approval. We anticipate a response from the federal Minister of the Environment shortly, with recommendations that reflect the GNWT’s role as a responsible government.
The Prime Minister’s confirmation of funding support provides another significant piece of the
tapestry we must create as we move forward with this construction project. The Department of Transportation plans to begin this project by upgrading the access road from Tuktoyaktuk to Gravel Source 177 and conducting additional geotechnical work. Much work also remains to obtain regulatory permits, finalize the highway design and determine an approach to procurement.
Constructing the first all-weather highway to the Arctic Ocean will produce substantial benefits at the national, regional and local levels. It is the foundation for economic development enabling natural resource exploration and while reinforcing Canadian sovereignty objectives. We fully anticipate receiving returns by way of regional development, training, jobs, and greater economic prosperity through more cost-effective access to communities and resource development opportunities in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
MINISTER'S STATEMENT 51-17(4):
Mr. Speaker, our income security programs provide support for those residents over the age of 19 and their families. It covers basic food, shelter and clothing needs, child care benefits, heating subsidies, income support and student financial assistance. It also provides supports for disabled residents.
Mr. Speaker, we recognize that not one formula fits all needs. This is why our client service officers have a difficult job, one that few people can do. They do their best to meet the unique needs of their diverse clients, while at the same time adhering to the general guidelines and requirements set out by our acts and regulations in the Northwest Territories. No one client’s needs are the same as another’s, so these are all complex cases and our CSOs do a tremendous job given their often huge caseloads. Annually, we have approximately 3,300 unique income assistance cases in the NWT. With economic circumstances and opportunities varying in some communities, some of the client services officers manage extremely high volumes of caseloads.
We know that the challenges faced by disabled residents and seniors are significantly different than those of other income assistance clients, and this has already been identified in the draft action plan the Department is developing in response to last week’s tabled report by the Auditor General. A streamlined application process will be implemented for both disabled residents and seniors, with a dedicated staff position to provide information and support for only those clients. This will ensure their unique challenges are met while balancing requirements to verify our processes to fulfill the recommendations of the Auditor General.
Mr. Speaker, this remains one of our challenges: to verify clients’ information per our requirements and guidelines, and serve our clients according to their needs. They are the people on the ground, who meet with clients daily and see the hardship of broken families, mental illness, disability, infirmity and hopelessness, and they deserve our collective respect.
That said, I have directed the department’s deputy minister to contact the client that Mr. Bromley spoke on behalf of yesterday, and senior staff will meet with her to discuss her challenges and work on a solution.
Mr. Speaker, as we go through the process of improving and identifying the gaps in our income security programs, our CSOs will continue to serve our clients with the best advice, support and commitment that they have provided so far, with the hope that with every case we review, we get closer to an effective and efficient program. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Power Corporation, Mr. Miltenberger.
Mr. Speaker, I stand in the House today, to inform Members on the work the Northwest Territories Power Corporation is doing to provide a safe and reliable source of electricity at the lowest cost, while pursuing opportunities to increase the mix of clean, renewable energy sources.
NTPC has been working to control its costs in order to lessen the impact on electricity rates for Northwest Territories residents and businesses. A renewed sense of focus at NTPC has led to new levels of cost control and efficiency gains. The corporation has implemented a strategic plan that focuses on areas which matter most to customers: service reliability, the price of electricity and meeting external commitments.
Mr. Speaker, results to date are encouraging, but there is still more work to do to ensure NTPC continues to provide best value to ratepayers.
The corporation remains at the forefront in supporting and implementing this government’s strategies to move the territory’s energy supply away from fossil fuels as much as possible and on to renewable energy sources that are both cleaner and less subject to price fluctuations.
In that regard, Mr. Speaker, NTPC, with funding from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, recently expanded what was already the North’s largest solar energy project in Fort Simpson. The project added over 40 kilowatts to the existing 60 kilowatt generating capacity of the site.
All told the site is now able to convert sunlight into enough electricity to supply 17 houses in the community, at peak. The project will displace approximately 100,000 kilowatt hours of diesel generation and remove 76.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the air.
As part of upgrades to Colville Lake’s power system over the next two years, the corporation is investigating using smart grid technology that consists of a 50 kilowatt solar system and a battery arrangement which can supply the community’s full needs.
NTPC, in partnership with the Community Government of Gameti, recently completed a pilot project to convert the community’s thirty-one 100 watt high pressure sodium streetlights into 50 watt high efficiency LED streetlights. Information gained as part of that project will guide plans to roll out this greener technology across the territory. While NTPC will be assessing the performance of the new lights for some time, initial feedback has been very positive from residents who like the new lights.
There are areas within the NWT that offer significant potential to harness wind power to produce electricity. NT Energy has received $100,000 from ENR to conduct a pilot project in a community along the Arctic Coast and is in the process of confirming where the project will be located. Lessons learned from a previous wind project in Tuktoyaktuk will be applied to this new project.
Northerners care about the environment and many have already taken steps on their own to replace fossil fuel sources with greener energy solutions for generating electricity. We encourage those self-generation initiatives and want to ensure there are policies and processes in place that support that goal.
With that view in mind, NTPC is conducting a policy review to consider the option to replace net billing with a net metering program. Under net billing, a customer who qualified for the program received a credit on their bill for self-generated power put back into the grid. The rate paid is equal to the cost of the diesel displaced and other variable costs. Under net metering, that customer would receive the higher retail rate instead.
Doing away with the standby charge that currently applies to customers who generate more than five kilowatts of solar or wind power and feed power back into the grid is another incentive we will undertake.
Mr. Speaker, this government recognizes the need to quickly press forward with other initiatives that will support that goal of reducing costs and reliance on diesel. Nowhere is that more critically important than in Inuvik. NTPC has signed agreements to secure a supply of liquefied natural gas that will address the community’s power requirements in the short term, while leaving the door open for local suppliers to develop solutions for the longer term. The corporation is working toward an initial goal of having a partial supply of liquid natural gas in place as early as this fall and ramping up its supply of that less costly fuel next year as additional LNG sources are scheduled to come on-line.
Such a positive development will also mean that NTPC will avoid approximately $2 million in capital costs to convert its gas engines to diesel in response to the town’s decreasing gas supply and displace a significant amount of diesel it would have otherwise burned.
Furthermore, success in securing a supply of LNG for Inuvik’s short-term requirements could also prove to be a viable option to replace diesel and reduce power costs in other thermal communities across the territory. NTPC is actively pursuing that option.
LNG can also be used as a heating fuel. With that option in mind, NTPC is working with the Town of Inuvik and the Inuvik Joint Venture to see if it is feasible to use LNG for this purpose in that community.
Mr. Speaker, one of the inherent weaknesses in our power system is that, unlike southern Canada, it is an isolated system without an integrated transmission grid. As a result, our ability to fully exploit our existing and future hydro potential and other economies of scale is limited. In that regard, NTPC is actively pursuing opportunities to expand transmission capabilities within the NWT that would stabilize rates and foster economic development.
What we envision is a transmission grid along the west side of Great Slave Lake that would connect the Taltson hydro system in the South Slave to the Snare system in the North Slave region. The grid would also extend northeast from Yellowknife, promoting economic development by providing a means for existing and future mines in that area to connect to hydro. We also envision being able to connect the grid to communities such as Kakisa, Fort Providence and Whati.
Such a grid would change our power system and become an instrument for economic development by stabilizing rates, increasing reliability and extending cleaner hydro supply to more and new areas.
At the same time, NTPC is attending to matters at hand that affect our existing power system. Mr. Speaker, the corporation is making measureable progress to implement a comprehensive reliability improvement plan for its Snare hydro system that provides power for Yellowknife, Detah and Behchoko. The initiatives the corporation has put in place seem to be having the desired effect, judging by the number of outages in recent months.
However, as much as the signs are promising to this point, it is too soon to declare success. I will continue to monitor this issue to ensure that the corporation meets its commitment to reduce outages on that system by 70 percent over three years.
NTPC must also overcome other important challenges. It, like many northern organizations, continues to face a critical demand for skilled labour. To meet that challenge, the corporation has developed and implemented a strategy to refocus recruitment and retention efforts on northern hires through initiatives such as a scholarship program, apprenticeship program, a careers website and increased presence at career fairs. These efforts are showing results, but it is a challenge competing with growth regions such as Alberta and Saskatchewan. Two of four apprenticeships available in 2012-13 have already been filled and four more apprenticeships will be available in 2013-14. NTPC remains committed to the apprenticeship program, and will seek two more apprentices in 2014-15 and ongoing.
Mr. Speaker, NTPC has much work ahead in the years to come to ensure that Northerners receive an environmentally friendly, secure and reliable source of electricity at the lowest cost possible. It is worth noting that this year the corporation has been serving Northerners for 25 years. In 1988 the GNWT acquired the Northern Canada Power Commission from the federal government and established it as a territorial Crown corporation. Coincidentally, this year also marks 65 years since the original Northwest Territories Power Commission was set up.
Mr. Speaker, I look forward to continuing to update this House on the progress and the contribution that NTPC is making to the energy future of this territory. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Education is in the process of improving student financial assistance. That is a good thing. I have not heard anything about improving support for students with disabilities. These students, especially those with learning disabilities, cannot compete with high school graduates to get into many colleges or universities. Students with disabilities often have to attend specialized schools that are oriented toward developing their specific gift, art, carving, writing, whatever it may be. Tuition fees are usually higher than they would be at other schools. Private schools are another option. Classes are smaller and students can get one-on-one attention, but that comes at a price that they often cannot afford.
Maybe we ignore the situation that adults with learning disabilities often face. Most, if not all, live on income support and have no way to earn and save the money they need to even attempt going to a school after high school. The luckiest ones have families that support them, but even so, adult students with disabilities face challenges most of us can’t even imagine. For most, a part-time job to help get through school is just a dream.
Our Student Financial Assistance Program does include a disability grant. It is ironic that despite our system being more generous than most for all students, other jurisdictions offer more flexible support for students with disabilities. A typical student with a disability would look at the funding options here and quickly realize that schooling down south is out of reach. Instead some stay here and rely on income support that probably costs this government $25,000 a year.
Instead we should increase student financial assistance for students with permanent disabilities. In the past three years, SFA has funded four, five, and eight of these students per year. I wonder how many do not bother applying. This issue was raised to our constituency office through Lillian Crook, who is an avid and tireless activist on behalf of persons with disabilities. I believe it is a real concern and that we do fail our young people who have disabilities by not providing more incentive for them to achieve whatever potential they can through additional education.
I believe that when ECE is looking at student financial assistance, this is an area that needs to be looked at separately from SFA in general and it needs to be stepped up. I think the long term will prove that the more that we invest in these young people, the less they will rely on us in the future.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Greg Loftus of Yellowknife has been interested in organ donation programs for decades. For over 30 years he’s been signed up as an organ donor and had a double kidney transplant in 1997.
Mr. Loftus became instrumental in starting up Paddlers for Parts and is still active in its operation. Paddlers for Parts is an NWT non-profit organization established in Yellowknife in 2001. Its mission is the promotion of organ and tissue donation and support of the Kidney Foundation of Canada by promoting kayaking and canoeing as healthy lifestyle choices. Through its fundraising events and in conjunction with Northern Alberta and Territories Kidney Foundation of Canada, it provides educational financial assistance to persons with kidney problems through its Assisted Paddlers Bursary Fund.
Mr. Loftus also started a petition with the objective of asking northern residents to help establish an NWT organ donor registry. The fruits of his labour were tabled, with just under 500 signatures, last week in our NWT Legislative Assembly.
World Kidney Day is tomorrow, March 14th. While we want to thank the continued community awareness and work of Mr. Loftus, we are reminded that our lack of a formalized organ donor registry in the NWT is truly hampering our ability to help those who desperately need organ transplants.
Once again, we need to make sure that all Northerners have the ability to participate in organ and tissue donation, and we need to develop a long-term plan to improve NWT participation in the donation process. We ask once again that residents of the NWT talk to their MLAs about using space on our NWT health care cards or drivers’ licences to allow for and facilitate organ donation. Through everyone’s commitment, and with the help of difference makers like Mr. Loftus, collectively, we can create the much needed organ donor registry for the Northwest Territories and our residents.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to carry on today from my Member’s statement of yesterday and further discuss the Devolution Final Agreement and the upcoming engagement process.
Constituents have expressed their concerns to me about the lack of information and the lack of opportunity to discuss how the Devolution Agreement will be implemented. In a post-devolution NWT, after federal employees and jobs have been transferred to the GNWT, what guarantees do we have that services will remain as they are today? What have we heard from the NWT government to date to reassure residents that a post-devolution GNWT will carry on with all the activities currently done on our behalf by federal government staff? What have we heard to give us comfort that the standards of service and programs that we take over will be maintained at the same level as they are now, as delivered by Canada, when they are delivered by the GNWT?
So little has been said about a post-devolution government, with the exception of how much more money we’ll have. The residents are, rightly, nervous. Will we maintain the same level of environmental monitoring and assessment? Will we continue the same land functions that the Government of Canada now performs? I sure hope so. Federal employees do a huge number of things on behalf of the NWT. Will all of these activities be continuing? What plans does the government have to incorporate those activities and departments into the GNWT public service? How will the new GNWT public service be structured? Can residents have input into the proposed structure?
All of these questions should be part of the public engagement process that was outlined by the Premier yesterday during oral questions. Not only do our residents need to understand the Devolution Final Agreement, but they need and want to understand how things will work in a post-devolution NWT. How the agreement will be implemented must be discussed with the general public, and the general public must have an opportunity for input.
The Premier’s been immersed in getting to devolution for years, but now is the time to lift up our heads and take a good, objective look around, to take stock of where we are, take stock of what people know and want to know, and to provide opportunities for residents to speak and be heard.
I’ll have questions for the Premier at a later time.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] Here in Denendeh and since the treaty for Dene lands, we are living our traditional way of hunting and trapping, and also there are Metis and Inuit, and it’s to the point where they are governing their own lands. [Translation ends]
…has not yet signed their land claims agreement but has reached a number of interim arrangements. There are six candidate protected areas in the Dehcho in various stages of the Protected Areas Strategy process. The land is protected under a land withdrawal interim measures agreement that expires this year. The Government of the NWT has agreed to sponsor protected areas in the Deh Cho but has stepped back from the process.
The federal government has allocated funds for this year that will lapse if we do not move ahead as planned with candidate sites under the Protected Areas Strategy. Over the long term, we are concerned that if areas are not protected, funding will be withdrawn completely.
In 1977 Justice Thomas Berger completed a year and a half of hearings on the Mackenzie Gas Project. Justice Berger recommended that land claim agreements be settled and measures taken to protect the environment before such development took place. He felt strongly that development decisions belonged to the people. The Dehcho First Nations is fiercely determined to protect their land and become the responsible owners of its resources. The settlement of land claims, and successful land use plans and protected areas rely on the engagement of all parties.
[Translation] In order to subsist in their traditional way, they need land to live by the traditional ways of living, and along with that comes the language. This is how the Dene lived in the bush. If there’s going to be progress, they are going to have to have the environmental process in place. We have to keep in mind of the protected lands that has been arranged with the Dene people and… [Translation ends]
…is available. We must move ahead on this important initiative. Through the cooperation of all parties, we must reach an agreement on comprehensive land use planning. My people insist that the Government of the Northwest Territories re-engage in this important process. Land use planning in the establishment of protected areas in the region is the opportunity to map our future. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. Member for Yellowknife, Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said yesterday, in 2003 there was a fatal accident in the Chan Lake area. What that did was it caused the government to review some of its policies. In 2003 they came forward with a response which further developed in recommendations in 2004 and, of course, a follow-up report on ground ambulance services in 2006.
MACA does do policy development and certainly protocols call upon a measure called Highway Emergency Alerting Protocols.
I will be asking the Minister of MACA questions later today. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Firstly, I just wanted to say a big congratulation to the Catholics of this world and their new pope. However, locally my constituents continue to await the symbolic puff of white smoke which will signal new investment into Highway No. 7 and my highways.
Seriously, though, if we imagine NWT highways as a videogame, what would the Department of Transportation be in relation to all the other players? Would it be with the leaders out ahead of the pack or would it be like a car that constantly gets out-maneuvered, stuck in the mud and ruts, and shoved off the road?
One of my goals as MLA has been to get Highways No. 1 and 7 to the next level. To do that, we need good chipsealing. Highway No. 1 and 7 are good investments. They are well established transportation corridors connecting communities and connecting people with opportunities.
The Nahendeh riding has a lot to offer, and encourages more exchange throughout my communities, the capital and other communities in the NWT. Why can’t Fort Simpson host tournaments, championships and other events like Fort Smith or Hay River do? We are encouraging industries to invest in the North more than ever before, but to keep pace with this, the game, we need good highways.
Chipsealing work is needed on several major sections of the highway from the junctions of Highways No. 1 and 3 near Fort Providence towards Fort Simpson, from Fort Simpson towards Jean Marie River, and from the BC border to Fort Liard.
My constituents look forward to the work planned for this summer. I urge, once again to the Minister, to direct an early project start date and avoid the freezing conditions in the fall when the quality of that work suffers.
As technology advances, there are better paving options and road building techniques. Like players in a road race game, we need to be out ahead of the pack, skillfully maneuvering through challenging terrain and weather conditions. We can win by making improvements in our road system, encouraging development to taking our communities to the next level. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Further to some of my written questions that I received from the Minister of Health and Social Services on people that are leaving the hospital after being taken there for self-harming as well as being intoxicated, or under some type of substance issue and concern, I have been doing a lot of research and a lot of efforts in communicating with the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse that’s based out of Ottawa and finding what’s the best research that we can have up in the Northwest Territories and in the North with our unique situation with all the isolated communities, and they gave me a lot of really good information. I just want to let them know that I appreciate the hard work, and the efforts and the support that they’ve given me in this battle and all the stuff that they showed us and I’ve been bringing to the table, got me to look at the Mental Health Act, start asking questions, written questions. It is a big issue here, especially the detoxification.
With the discussions that I had with the staff at the CCSA, they mentioned that detoxification is a fundamental component of any treatment continuum. In fact, it’s actually recommended that detox before treatment, and the reason you go through detox and the reason I fought so hard to get the beds, was during detoxification you can evaluate the person, you can look at the person’s unique health needs and life situations and look at their culture to see what kind of cultural needs they’ll have. Then you can look at the community resources and do the best plan of action for the treatment that they might need.
I also talked about whether or not RCMP were trained in terms of the Mental Health Act, detoxification, all these questions and a lot of gaps that we have in our system, both, I believe, in the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Social Services. Speaking with some RCMP officers over the last week, some of them did say that there is not a big training component on the Mental Health Act and that they would like to know what provisions they could fall under to make sure that they give these people the right support. The partnerships that they have with the hospitals is that they take the patient to the hospital and once the patient gets any kind of treatment, then they go back in the cells. There’s no nursing care and no follow-up during that time. A lot of gaps and I will continue to follow up. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. The Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Electoral Boundaries Commission wraps up its public hearings tonight with a meeting at the Chief Drygeese Centre in Detah. Because of the importance of this work and to the health of our democracy, I’ll speak on this topic again this session.
Commission guidelines say that “in keeping with the Canadian Constitution on the notion of effective representation, the commission shall make recommendations to achieve relative parody between electoral districts while balancing community of interest considerations.” The discussion paper lists “one major factor” that “no electoral district should be over or underrepresented by more than 25 percent from the average population.”
The commission indicates that in my riding in Weledeh, there are four times as many citizens as in the least populous riding. The commission’s paper explains that ridings with populations above the mean for all are underrepresented. By this standard, Weledeh citizens are underrepresented big time at 42 percent above the average. So while 2,200 Weledeh voters get one Member, only 800 voters in another riding get the same representation.
Why is this important? The commission explains the needs for approximate equality of riding populations, saying parody is needed to “ensure that everyone has a relatively equal say in our government.” What about citizens of Yellowknife ridings? Do they think it’s important? Does it matter to them that when it comes to votes on substantial matters and large amounts of taxpayer dollars, their Member’s vote is only a quarter as powerful? When it comes to constituency work, does it matter that their Member has up to four times as many people who maybe need his help? People are saying the last time around it took Friends of Democracy going to a court to achieve parody and wondering will it take this again. That’s what the commission’s work is all about; to find out whether citizens from across the territory think the distribution of electoral seats provides a fair and approximately equal voice in the proceedings of this Assembly. The commission is faced with a very difficult task to recommend a distribution for the public government established to represent all citizens equally.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A terrible tragedy affected Tulita this past summer. As many may be aware, this past June a young woman named Nicole Horassi went missing. Nicole’s remains were discovered by a search and rescue volunteer the following month. On Friday, July 13th, Nicole’s body was found floating in the Mackenzie River.
Nicole’s death was heartbreaking for everyone that knew her. Nicole was a beautiful, bright young woman that died far too young. Nicole’s passing showed us that tragedy can, and does, strike at any moment. In many instances it happens suddenly, without any warning.
I’m extremely proud of the Tulita response to the tragedy. The search and rescue team was formed entirely of volunteers from the community and from the other Sahtu communities. People donated their time, money and labour to help search efforts. Volunteers searched the Mackenzie and Great Bear rivers and scoured the land. Tulita residents opened up their homes to outsiders that came there to help them. Oil companies donated to help with the gas. Private and other organizations helped with the money and the food, and almost every community in the North came with donations and support. It was unbelievable the support we received.
People throughout the Sahtu arrived in Tulita to help with the search efforts. We even had volunteers from Ontario and as far away as America. These volunteers did a wonderful job and I would like to take the opportunity to thank them. Thank you for your hard work and dedication. Thank you for bringing Nicole back to her family. Thank you to the Yellowknife family and the mining company that loaned us these couples from America.
The volunteer search and rescue mission did perform well; however, we cannot wait until another crisis occurs before acting. We must remain vigilant and prepared. The only way to ensure the Sahtu responds swiftly and correctly to future emergencies is to have some funding available to us. The goal is to keep our communities protected and, most of all, safe.
The people and families in Tulita thank the people in the Northwest Territories from the bottom of their hearts. They couldn’t believe the support that was out there. To everybody in the Northwest Territories, on behalf of Tulita, thank you very much.
Mr. Speaker, I have a return to oral question asked by Mr. Hawkins on Wednesday, March 6, 2013, regarding the Tlicho winter road to the Fortune Minerals site.
The Department of Transportation is working with the Tlicho Government to develop a project description report for the realignment of the public winter road to an overland winter route between Behchoko, Whati and Gameti An MOU between DOT and the Tlicho Government, signed in fall 2011, re-established a steering committee to guide the development of a project description report (PDR) for the winter road realignment. PDR work includes terrain, flora and fauna, archaeological and socio-economic baseline data collection, consultation and the development of environmental mitigation options.
The working group, comprised of officials from DOT and the Tlicho Government, have met regularly since December 2011. The working group expects to complete the PDR in fall of 2013. Traditional knowledge, socio-economic and consultation aspects of the PDR will be managed by the Tlicho while environmental baseline and engineering aspects will be managed by DOT. Field engineering, environment and traditional knowledge data collection is underway. Significant progress has been made in the development of the PDR specifically with respect to a new alignment, borrow sites, and in establishing a timeline for future work.
The department is currently only studying the realignment of the winter road, not an all-weather road as would be required by Fortune Minerals for its NICO Project.
The department has a capital budget in place to complete the project description report and associated planning studies to move the project toward environmental approval.
The department does not have any capital funding to proceed with the realignment work. It is expected that construction of a realignment winter road from Behchoko, Whati and Gameti would cost approximately $30 million.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to take this opportunity to recognize a couple of Pages from the Great Slave riding and thank them and all the other Pages for all the hard work that they’ve done for us over the last couple of weeks. I’d like to recognize Muhammad Awan and Linda Charlie from the Great Slave riding.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize a Weledeh resident, Mr. Steve Matthews. He’s a long-term resident, spent his whole career with GNWT and is semi-retired now, I believe. Also with him is Mr. John Lee, a renowned bear biologist many of you may know. Both long-term residents with their families of Yellowknife.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. I’d like to welcome the visitors here in the public gallery today. Thank you for taking an interest in our proceedings.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In follow-up to my Member’s statement, my questions today are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. I’d like to ask the Minister if he is aware of how our student financial assistance for students with disabilities compares to what is offered as support to students with disabilities in other jurisdictions in Canada.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. With respect to subsidizing students in the Northwest Territories, we do have one of the attractive benefits packages compared to other jurisdictions. However, we have done our research, as well, on what other jurisdictions offer with respect to disabilities area. We have come out with various options within our department. We also heard, through the review of SFA, how we should be addressing or increasing our funding towards disability. We have done that through this budget planning process, where disability grant amounts from $8,000 to $10,000 per academic year. That’s just a start. I’m sure there will be others. There are all these different recommendations that were brought to our attention. We will definitely follow through with those.
So just to be clear for people who will be listening to this, when will the improved, enhanced student financial assistance for students with disabilities go into effect? When can people become eligible for that?
The Member is referring to the increase that should be taking effect, because we just went through the budget process, April 1st. That’s the information that I have, from $8,000 to $10,000.
Again, we are doing more groundwork with respect to other jurisdictions, what kind of programs they offer. If it’s better or even more than what we offer, then seriously we’ll take those into consideration, as well, and make some changes to our programming as we move forward.
