Good afternoon, colleagues. I will now provide my ruling on the point of order raised by Mr. Lafferty in the House yesterday.
This is a sensitive issue involving real people with real life problems and responsibilities. Mr. Bromley did seek my advice before reading his constituent’s poem, but only in regard to the use of offensive language.
Upon review of the entire text, I feel that the poem made clear reference to an individual who is not a Member of the House and, thus, not able to defend herself publicly.
Colleagues, there are two sides to every story. It is against our rules to use our privileges in this House to make insulting or damaging remarks about people who cannot respond. Although Mr. Bromley was reading something written by a constituent, Members are not allowed to do indirectly what they are prevented from doing directly.
Members, there have been several times during this session when negative things have been said about individuals who are not Members of this House. We are here to debate issues, not to use our positions to criticize the work of people who can’t defend themselves. There are more appropriate ways to do that if a Member feels the need. As your Speaker, I will take a hard line on issues like this from now on.
I rule that the Member for Monfwi has a point or order. I direct that all references to the individual in question be deleted from Hansard.
I will now call upon Mr. Bromley to retract his remarks and apologize to the House.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On the day in question, I read into the House a poem, a piece of art, social art, if you will…
The debate is over. I am seeking an apology to the House. Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I recognize that. The poem contained a person’s first name. I should have caught this and questioned it, but I did not. If in so doing I caused unintended offence to anyone, I apologize to both them and this House. Further, Mr. Speaker, I will be on guard to make sure that I will not do this again. Mahsi.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to update Members on the renovations recently completed by the Department of Public Works and Services at the Diamond Jenness Secondary School in Hay River.
Diamond Jenness Secondary School was originally designed by
well-known Canadian architect Douglas Cardinal and has supported the delivery of education programs in the town of Hay River for over 37 years. Public Works and Services, working with the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, recently completed a major midlife retrofit designed to extend the life of the facility while reducing operations and maintenance costs through improved energy efficiency.
In the successful delivery of this project, we are pleased that much of the original character of the building has been preserved in the upgrading of the school including the original exterior colour.
In addition to a complete retrofit of the original school, this project also included a new trades shop to provide opportunities for students to consider apprenticeship and career development in areas such as automotive mechanics, welding and carpentry which are much needed skill sets in our northern workforce.
In extending the life of the school, this retrofit included a number of technical enhancements to conserve energy and improve its performance including:
energy-saving lighting controls with occupancy sensors;
the introduction of efficient, long lasting, low maintenance LED lighting fixtures throughout the concourse of the school, a first for Government of the Northwest Territories public infrastructure anywhere in the North;
improved roof, windows and building envelope with higher insulation levels and an improved air barrier to enhance comfort while saving energy;
a complete energy-efficient ventilation system upgrade with heat recovery to improve the overall environment and performance of the school;
a modern building control system operating in conjunction with the biomass district heating system to improve operational efficiency and overall energy management; and
improved access and security for after-hours community programs.
In line with our government’s commitments to pursue energy efficiency and sustainability, Diamond Jenness Secondary School is now more energy efficient than ever before thanks to significant improvements to the building envelope and the installation of these energy-saving technologies and heat recovery systems.
Mr. Speaker, these energy improvements are expected to decrease the school’s annual electricity consumption by 235 megawatt hours each year; a reduction of approximately 40 percent. Additionally, heating requirements will also decrease by 1700 gigajoules annually, equivalent to displacing 66,000 litres of propane or 44,000 litres of heating fuel each year. Thanks to innovative design, technology use and energy improvements, the renovated Diamond Jenness Secondary School is expected to perform approximately 40 percent better than the 1997 Model Energy Code for Buildings.
Mr. Speaker, in delivering high quality energy-efficient building projects on behalf of the GNWT, Public Works and Services recognizes that local and northern involvement in our construction industry is an important part of the northern economy. I am pleased to confirm that:
78 percent of the funds spent on goods and services for this project went to local and northern businesses, and
73 percent of the labour force was northern and 57 percent of these northern workers were local from Hay River.
Mr. Speaker, the midlife retrofit of Diamond Jenness Secondary School was successfully completed on budget with a construction cost of $28.2 million. With 78 percent of the goods and services provided by northern businesses and 73 percent of the labour by northern residents, this project demonstrates the significant economic benefits that can be achieved through the GNWT’s infrastructure program.
Throughout the life of this project, there were 12 local and northern workers who participated as apprentices, four of whom have since received journeyman certification, fostering the skill development of our residents and strengthening our northern workforce.
Mr. Speaker, midlife retrofits such as those completed at the Diamond Jenness Secondary School are allowing the GNWT to preserve and enhance our existing infrastructure, improve program delivery, reduce energy consumption and prolong the life of our facilities. The GNWT’s investment in this midlife retrofit has extended the service life of this facility for another 20 to 30 years and has reduced the GNWT’s deferred maintenance deficit by $20,072,547.
Mr. Speaker, throughout this project the project team worked closely with school administration to create a schedule that minimized disruptions to the school’s day-to-day operations. Flexibility and cooperation by all stakeholders throughout the delivery of the project was key to its success and is a model for future projects.
PWS is pleased to have been a partner in the delivery of this important project for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment and the residents of Hay River, and I hope that the community and students will enjoy and make the most of the new school for years to come. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. McLeod.
Mr. Speaker, addressing housing needs is a priority of the 17th Legislative Assembly, and the NWT Housing Corporation offers a range of programs along the housing continuum to help residents meet their shelter needs. Public housing, supports to third-party organizations that provide low-cost housing, rent supplements, home ownership repair programs, and subsidies to help low and modest income purchase homes all help residents depending on their needs. But there is more work to do and homelessness is another of the important housing issues in the Northwest Territories.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to update the people of the Northwest Territories and our Protected Areas Strategy partners on the implementation of the NWT Protected Areas Strategy.
The Protected Areas Strategy was established in 1999 as an overall framework to guide the work of identifying and establishing protected areas in the Northwest Territories. It was developed in partnership by regional Aboriginal organizations, the federal and territorial governments, environmental non-governmental organizations and industry.
A substantial amount of work has been done under the Strategy. Saoyú-ʔehdacho (Deline) was established as a National Historic Site in April 2009 and several other areas have been advanced for protection. These include Edehzhie, or the Horn Plateau, and Ts'ude niline Tu'eyeta as candidate National Wildlife Areas.
We recognize and appreciate the significant work undertaken during the past 13 years by all PAS partners, including communities, Aboriginal organizations, working groups, the steering committee and the secretariat. Work conducted through the Protected Areas Strategy has contributed to a greater understanding of the ecological, cultural and potential economic values of lands across the NWT.
The Protected Areas Strategy has provided our government and Aboriginal governments with a strong foundation for the management and conservation of lands as we prepare to take on the administration of lands in 2014.
Mr. Speaker, the work is not done. As we move forward we will need to continue to work with our Protected Areas Strategy partners to ensure we can make informed decisions on the establishment of protected areas. We will continue to support the completion of working group reports and the extension of interim land withdrawals for candidate areas to ensure this level of certainty remains until final decisions are made after devolution. We will also continue to advance the establishment of core representative areas within each ecoregion of the Northwest Territories.
The NWT Land Use and Sustainability Framework will set out the principles guiding future GNWT policy direction on land matters. Land use planning and the development of new, and use of existing, northern tools for protected areas are key features of this framework, which will be completed on a priority basis.
Mr. Speaker, working with our partners will ensure sustainability and stewardship of our land and resources. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I’d like to speak about the budget process. Last year at this time, I was very discouraged about the budget process mainly because it was already set. This year I’m very happy about the process that we’ve undergone over the last six weeks. A lot of progress has been made in the Northwest Territories. I’d like to thank my colleagues here for their support on the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk highway, also the initialing of the Devolution Agreement, Mr. Speaker.
This government is slowly checking off the priorities that we have set as the 17th Legislative Assembly and I’d like to thank everybody for working together. We do have a long way to go, but if we keep this up, we’ll make it through the priorities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Blake. The honourable Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To begin my Member’s statement today, I’d like to quote a great poet and musician, Stompin’ Tom Connors.
“Hello out there, we’re on the air, it’s hockey night tonight. Tension grows, the whistle blows, the puck goes down the ice. The goalie jumps, the players bump, the fans all go insane, someone roars, Bobby scores, at the good old hockey game.”
“Oh, the good old hockey game, is the best game you can name. The best name you can name, is the good old hockey game.”
I started this because I’ve got a couple of hockey issues that are going on in Hay River over the next couple of weeks. This weekend we have our 5th Annual Pond Hockey Tournament that’s going to have over 30 teams participating in Hay River. We’re looking forward to going out on the river and skating on the river like the good old days. I’d like to thank everybody who organizes that event, for putting up the large tent as we speak. It should be a great event.
The other event that’s going on next weekend starts back here, and that’s the Northern Hockey Challenge, where Yellowknife, Hay River and Inuvik have been participating. Hay River and Yellowknife are now going to go on a five-game series. I’m sorry to hear from my colleague Mr. Moses, who is probably going to have to wear one of our jerseys, either a Huskies or a Flyers jersey. I sure hope it’s a Huskies jersey.
I’d like to encourage everybody next weekend to come out to those hockey games. Go, Huskies, go!
Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What a session, and it’s not over yet. Our second budget, devolution, big infrastructure bucks, Boundaries Commission… It’s kept us busy and consumed our energy and attention. As we reach the pause button and time permits, it may be time to sit back and consider things in a bit more depth.
It’s two out of two. Regular MLAs, through considerable solidarity and belief in priorities, modified the proposed budget once again. True, the modification is slight at half a percent of the budget, but as we all know, the dollars actually available for new initiatives are modest. What to make of this? Is this system working? Again, for context, Regular MLAs supported 99.5 percent of the budget. Debates were extensive, there was much back and forth, decisions were made. This sounds to me like a reasonable and responsible compromise and a good basis to go forward on.
Due to the good work of our Premier and his very capable negotiating team, and that of the 16th, we now embark on the heavy work of implementing devolution. Many still wonder if the GNWT has the maturity for the task, but who wouldn’t want the power? As I’ve asked before, will we really bring the people along with us as we embark on this new focus? To some degree the response to the latter question will answer the first. If we have the confidence and maturity to do meaningful consultation and engagement on the Devolution Agreement and a plan for its implementation, things bode well.
The Inuvik-Tuk highway attracted vigorous debate, and decisions were made that will influence the availability of infrastructure dollars for priority projects for years to come. Regardless of positions, everyone had in mind the best outcome for the people of the region and of the Northwest Territories. Time will tell the wisdom we had.
The Boundaries Commission ends its mandate soon. Their critical work in upholding the principles of democracy will only be exceeded by this Assembly when we discuss their report.
With the super-storm of high oil prices, climate changes, and a permanently depressed global economy related to the first two factors, we, as every jurisdiction, must adapt to new realities. Doing the same thing harder will no longer serve. Our stable population, our high economic activity, our hugely disparate incomes provide both opportunity and challenge. As we move forward I will be looking for signs that I can be optimistic in my expectations.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It has indeed been an amazing six weeks here in the House and in the Legislature. I am very proud and glad to say in the House today that what we’ve done and the decisions that we’ve made over the past six weeks, and all the discussions that we’ve had, we are going to be changing lives within the next fiscal year. We are going to be changing lives for the better for residents of the Northwest Territories and in years to come.
In the six weeks that we’ve been here, there have been a lot of emotions, a lot of debates, and what residents of the Northwest Territories don’t see is everything that happens sometimes right from 7:30 in the morning until late at night, and some meetings that go on beyond the rise of the House.
When we did start this session off and we had the opening budget address, Members on this side of the House were very happy to see that we did have a footprint in that budget address in terms of the deliberations that we’ve had. I have to say that even though we like to call it our footprint, and over the last six weeks and all the discussions that we had, I’d like to call it our footprints; committee members and Cabinet working together for the betterment of the residents of the Northwest Territories. And this I was very happy to see. In the 16 months that I’ve been here, the frustrations that I had in my first few months sitting in this House and seeing that we can actually make things work, change some policies, legislation, and the way we do business, and that we’re actually listening to people.
I remember last year when we finished up here, I thanked all the staff for all of their hard work. It is amazing the hard work that goes on in this building when we’re in session. But there are a lot of other people that we have to thank. We have to thank the families that sacrifice for us to be here and support us while we are here. But we also have to thank our residents, the front-line workers, the nongovernment organizations, the volunteers that sometimes lobby outside this building, that send us e-mails, that continually contact us and ask us to bring things forward into this House. The people that see the groundwork and see the actual work, that do the work that we are making decisions on. We listen to them and we want to let them know that for the next two and a half years, we’re going to continue to listen to them and we’re going to slowly make those changes so that the next budget round we’re going to have more things to offer and more great decisions that are made. I thank all my colleagues here in the House today, and the staff.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. The Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Over the course of the last six weeks I’ve tried to raise issues from every one of my communities, and I’d like to raise another one for the community of Nahanni Butte.
Ever since the flood, the radio station has not been replaced at all. I know most particularly was the CKLB infrastructure that’s there has been damaged. CKLB has several other communities, and they’ve been trying to repair those communities, as well, but they’ve been running into funding difficulties. But most particularly, with the Nahanni Butte, I think the total comes to about almost $7,000 to replace that radio infrastructure there. I think it’s really important. Especially when it comes to emergencies, you do need those community radio stations up and running. You have to advise the residents of those particular communities how and when to do things.
Later on today I’d like to ask questions of the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs about how we ensure that the community radio stations locally are funded and how we ensure that they’re there running for the people and for the safety of all residents.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Later today I will have questions for the Minister of ITI regarding diamonds.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If our Electoral Boundaries Commission has its way, my Deh Cho riding will not exist in the next election. It will be folded into a large group of far-off communities. This is true of every proposal made by the Boundaries Commission.
This is unjust. It may comply with the cold, hard numbers a court suggested as standards for the composition of a riding, but this is a classic example of how the numbers do not tell the true story.
Even now, Members who live in Yellowknife are fairly quickly available to their constituents most of the time. But an MLA with many isolated communities in his or her riding has little time to visit them all. We spend half the year in Yellowknife away from home. For example, we’ve been here for about five weeks, in addition to our other business travel.
The proposal for 18 ridings would shift the Hay River Reserve into the Hay River North district. It also eliminates the Tu Nedhe riding. The result would leave the rest of the communities now in the Deh Cho riding with Lutselk'e, Fort Resolution, Whati, Gameti and Wekweeti.
I am pleased to say that many people in these small communities only speak their first language. However, there are three Dene languages in the proposed riding. It is very unlikely that any MLA would speak them all. There are also three Dene land claims covering this riding, and Metis claims as well. There are also competing interests in claims among these groups. The MLA’s ability to represent them all would be seriously impaired.
That same riding as is proposed, if there are 19 seats in the Assembly as there are now, once the lines are moved, most of the people of the Deh Cho would end up in the riding with three Monfwi and Tu Nedhe communities. However, the Hay River Reserve would still be moving to the Hay River North. Cultural difference seems to have been ignored.
The Boundaries Commission has also suggested adding two seats, for a total of 21 ridings. That is near the Deh Cho communities, including the Hay River Reserve, will be linked up with the three small Monfwi communities. People in my riding do not see wisdom in this. The Tu Nedhe communities would be combined in a riding with Detah, Ndilo and residents of the Ingraham Trail beyond Yellowknife’s boundaries. These proposals technically give every vote something we might call equal power, but votes are not the only source of power, and day to day with any of the people in the affected ridings would actually be better represented.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement. Mahsi.
---Unanimous consent granted
The Tu Nedhe communities would be combined in a riding with Detah, Ndilo and residents of the Ingraham Trail beyond Yellowknife’s boundaries. These proposals technically give every vote something we might call equal power, but these votes are not the only source of power, and day to day with any of the people in the affected ridings would actually be better represented. I think anyone who knows NWT would say no, and emphatically no at that.
I don’t know if there are any ways to improve on these proposals, but I cannot support the choices offered by the Boundaries Commission. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I want to share my comments on the report of the Auditor General on the NWT income security programs, a report released last week.
Income support is supposed to help people who have no other way to pay for basics such as food, shelter and clothing. The core shelter benefit is for rent or mortgage, utilities, damage deposit, home insurance and so on. The core essential benefit is for food, clothing, personal needs, transportation, telephone and household supplies. This audit looked at four income security programs, the Income Assistance Program, the Student Financial Assistance program, the senior home heating subsidy and the Child Care User Subsidy. For anyone remotely associated with income security, it was no surprise that the report was scathing.
A quick perusal of the report’s table of contents shows the following problems with these programs, problems which have long been recognized and suffered through by income security clients and the organizations who help them. They are:
inconsistent processing of client applications;
payments not made on time and incorrect payments, either too much or too little;
forms and back-up paperwork lost or misplaced;
inadequately trained staff and insufficient opportunities for staff training;
not enough staff to handle the workload;
staff overburdened with work, handling too many files;
inconsistencies with how different officials apply the rules to applications;
management not adequately monitoring staff performance;
a lack of clear processes to support program delivery and manage the work; and
limited assessment of program performance.
All of these deficiencies indicate a division at Education, Culture and Employment that is not operating as it should. It results in clients who suffer the consequences, a reduced quality of life and a lack of self-respect, both of which the Income Security Program is supposed to avoid.
I would like to quote a constituent I recently met with to discuss consistently late support payments. This is her assessment of the current situation: Over the years, there have been numerous problems with income support. It has been bounced from Health and Social Services, where social workers worked with families and knew all the issues, to Education, Culture and Employment where families are falling through the cracks because there is no one department looking at the whole picture.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
My constituent went on to say: Since ECE has taken over, that department has become the enforcer and the two departments, Health and Social Services and Education, Culture and Employment, do not talk to each other. They are in conflicting roles.
The Auditor General’s report didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know but it does quantify the deficiencies for MLAs, the department and the public. Now as the department formulates its action plan in response to the Auditor General’s report, I hope that the department has the blinders off, and I hope they remain objective and honest about their performance and about the Auditor General’s findings.
There’s an opportunity here for ECE to make some major adjustments to its Income Security Program delivery, to revise it for the better, and revise it to benefit the clients it’s intended to serve. I’m happy to see that the department accepts the Auditor General’s recommendations. The proof of their commitment will be in the actions they take to fix the problems. I’ll be watching for that. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The review of public accounts is the cornerstone of financial accountability and governance in the public sector. In the NWT Legislative Assembly, this oversight is performed by the Standing Committee on Government Operations or, as we like to call it, Gov Ops for short. Our Gov Ops committee works in tandem with the Auditor General of Canada to hold the government to account for its use of public funds and resources. Generally, in overseeing government’s expenditures, we examine the financial accounts; we examine whether the government has spent funds for the purposes intended by the Legislature; we examine whether funds spent were with due regard to economy and efficiencies; and we evaluate governance means to measure its own effectiveness.
In our modified Westminster system of politics, the Auditor General of Canada has the power to report the findings to the Legislature but does not have the sanctioning power. That is, they cannot force departments or agencies to correct deficiencies. Therefore, the Gov Ops committee plays an essential role in bringing about corrective action by endorsing the Auditor General’s findings and recommends corrective action.
Sadly, during the 15th and 16th Assemblies, the standing committee chose not to address public accounts as part of its mandate. As a result, there was no standing committee review for public accounts until last year’s closed-door review, which was eight years in waiting.
Excitingly, we have turned a new corner and I’m pleased to report that this Friday at 11:30 a.m. the present Standing Committee of Government Operations will, for the first time in the history of the NWT, publicly broadcast our review of the public accounts for the 2011-2012 fiscal year. Our Gov Ops committee, chaired by Mr. Nadli, comprises of Ms. Bisaro, Mr. Yakeleya, Mr. Moses and myself, and we look forward to shedding transparency and clarity to our public purse. We want the people of the NWT to know that this committee has fought hard to bring back the proper oversight expected by their elected officials and we look forward to tabling our findings later this spring. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to thank the Minister of Public Works and Services for his very comprehensive Minister’s statement today: Diamond Jenness Secondary School Renovations.
It just seems like yesterday that I was standing up in this House waving that thick volume of material that was the technical review of the Diamond Jenness Secondary School and I guess lobbying hard on the government to get that midlife update done on it, and I’m happy to celebrate with the citizens of Hay River on June 29th when we have the unveiling, the reopening of the new and improved Diamond Jenness Secondary School. This event will take place on June 29th and it will coincide with probably the biggest ever homecoming hosted by Hay River. Many, many former graduates of Diamond Jenness Secondary School will be there to celebrate with us, and we have a graduate of that school with us here in the Chamber today, a fine specimen of the GNWT education system, my colleague from Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.
I’d also like to say that maybe we can televise the grand reopening of the high school on our new Bell Vu channel. I would like to thank again the GNWT, the contractors, the staff at Diamond Jenness, the teachers. About midway through the renovation the Minister was down and we did a tour, and we saw boxes and incoming supplies and everything all over the place. So although it’s a happy thing to get your school renovated, it does take a lot of patience for the staff and the teachers who work around a major renovation like that all the while keeping the school open, and for the students as well, I’d like to thank them.
So now we have the Purple People Eater, as it is fondly known, that will remain on Hay River’s landscape as a landmark, as a tourist attraction and probably the most remarkable purple school anywhere. Now with this new improved school, with decentralization, we just need more government jobs so more people can fill it up. Thank you.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d just like to take this very brief opportunity to thank the Pages for all their work here. In particular, I’d like to recognize two Pages from P.W. Kaeser High School in Fort Smith, Anna Gervais and Aurora Vassal in the corner over there. I want to thank them for their hard work. They came here during a good week. They got to see the Prime Minister and were here during some very, very important proceedings.
I’d also like to thank Anna’s hardworking grandmother, who has been chaperoning them for the week.
