Debates of October 12, 2005 (day 8)

Good afternoon, Members, and welcome back to the Chamber for the continuation of the Fourth Session of the 15th Legislative Assembly and to the capital from your busy summer schedules in your constituencies. Hopefully you were each able to fit in a bit of quality time with your loved ones over the past few months.

On behalf of all Members here in the House, I would like to extend a warm welcome to our newest colleague, the Member for Monfwi, Mr. Jackson Lafferty.

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Also on behalf of all Members, I must also extend the Assembly’s congratulations to the Tlicho people who this summer saw their dream become a reality with the election of their first ever Tlicho Government.

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I look forward, as the Tlicho people do, to a promising and prosperous future and to working cooperatively towards a better life for all northern people.

Before we get down to the business of the House, I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of all Members to congratulate the Honourable Margaret Thom on her appointment as Deputy Commissioner for the Northwest Territories.

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Ms. Thom has had a distinguished history of service to the public and volunteerism and I know that she will serve our people well as Deputy Commissioner.

Colleagues, I would also like to acknowledge our Pages who will be serving us in the House this week. They are from Yellowknife, Lutselk’e and Whati.

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Finally, Members, before we begin, I know some of you have experienced the loss of constituents and family and friends over the past few months and I would like to pass on the condolences of the House to the families and friends of those who have lost loved ones.

Thank you, Members. Before we begin, I would like to acknowledge the presence of a former Member of the House, Mr. Leon Lafferty.

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Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you and all Members back to this Assembly after a busy and productive summer. I would also like to welcome Mr. Jackson Lafferty to this Legislative Assembly and wish him the very best as he represents the newly named constituency of Monfwi.

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Many Members of this Legislative Assembly spent the summer in our communities meeting with local councils, organizations and residents or attending summer assemblies and meetings. Of course, the highlight of the summer was the ceremony held in Behchoko on August 4th establishing the Tlicho Government and the community governments of the four Tlicho communities: Wekweeti, Gameti, Whati and Behchoko.

Mr. Speaker, the Tlicho agreement sets the benchmark for aboriginal rights agreements in the North and will fundamentally realign our relationship with the Tlicho people. The new intergovernmental relationship that is evolving with aboriginal governments means we must consider how government and this Legislature are structured to manage this new relationship.

Another important assembly held this summer in the Northwest Territories was the 26th Annual General Assembly of the Assembly of First Nations. This assembly brought together over 1,000 chiefs and other delegates, elders and interested observers from public and non-profit sector organizations, as well as First Nations citizens and the general public from across Canada.

Putting on an assembly of this size is an incredible logistical challenge. Credit must go to the regional vice-chief of AFN, Bill Erasmus, and his team, as well as the Yellowknives Dene First Nations for all of their efforts in putting on a great assembly.

Mr. Speaker, this Legislative Assembly began its term by establishing a vision and set of goals, and the government developed its strategic plan on the basis of this vision shortly thereafter. The strategic plan continues to guide the work we do as a government so we can take advantage of the opportunities presented to us while responding to challenges that emerge.

The Members of this Legislative Assembly have accomplished a great deal during our first two years of office. Later this session, Mr. Speaker, I will be tabling a progress report that details the progress we have made over the past two years on the specific goals contained in the strategic plan.

With just two more years remaining in the term of the 15th Legislative Assembly, it is important that we focus our limited time on the most critical issues facing the Northwest Territories. Today I want to speak to a number of those issues.

Mr. Speaker, one of the key goals of our strategic plan is to ensure well-governed, sustainable communities and regions able to fulfill their potential. This is also a consistent theme we have heard from the Members of this Legislative Assembly, at both Circle of Northern Leaders meetings, and from our communities and our residents as we traveled the territory over the past two years. To accomplish this we must provide communities with the tools and decision-making authority to address their most critical priorities. Top down decision-making no longer works in a territory as diverse and complex as the Northwest Territories.

In response to this, the Government of the Northwest Territories will propose during this session to establish a $35 million community capacity building fund that would provide communities with financial support to address their priorities. This funding flows from the $40 million provided by the federal government at the launch of the Northern Strategy framework. Of the remaining $5 million, $4 million will be used to address the serious housing needs in our communities and $1 million will be spent on youth and healthy living initiatives.

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The government recognizes that each community, no matter the size, requires a certain base level of funding to begin to address priorities in their communities. For that reason, we are proposing the community capacity building fund be allocated on a formula blending base funding needs and population pressures. This will ensure that all communities receive a meaningful level of funding to address community priorities.

Mr. Speaker, eligibility criteria are designed to create an incentive for all governments, whether public or aboriginal, within a community to collaborate in developing and subsequently endorsing a community plan that benefits the community at large.

The proposed community capacity building fund is a one-time-only allocation. Once the community has agreed on how the funds would be used, the money can be drawn down anytime over the next three years, beginning November 1, 2005.

Mr. Speaker, during the past few weeks we have been witness to the impacts on the North American and global economies as a result of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Key oil producing and refining industries located on the southern coast of the United States were not immune to the devastation, and the disruptions to these industries have reached us here at home in the form of increased costs to fuel and, in turn, to other goods and services.

The steady increase in the price of oil and natural gas in the last few months has required all governments across the country to assess how these increased prices will impact on our communities, businesses, government institutions and most vulnerable citizens.

Fortunately, Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories has a number of programs or measures in place that will help protect those in our communities who can least afford these increases. People in public housing will not see a change in their rent as a result of higher prices in home heating fuel, and the seniors’ fuel subsidy provides an important subsidy that allows seniors to help offset these costs. The Territorial Power Subsidy Program is a program designed to provide equitable power rates throughout the Territories.

It is clear, however, that higher energy costs mean all goods and services will be more expensive. The NWT economy must be resilient enough to weather these global fluctuations in energy availability and price increases. To do this, we must have our own energy plan that will ensure our communities and residents are able to deal with increased costs this winter.

In the short term, the most effective way to deal with these increased costs is by simply reducing the amount of energy we use; simple conservation measures we can take at home and at work that can add up to considerable savings.

In the long term, this plan must set a course to develop our own sources of long-term, affordable and clean energy. By doing this, we achieve a greater level of self-sufficiency for our energy needs.

Mr. Speaker, during the current session we will be discussing with the Members of this House various initiatives related to energy consumption and conservation. We look forward to the debate on these initiatives and the input from all Members.

Mr. Speaker, there can be little doubt that the effects of hurricanes Katrina and Rita will be felt for many years to come. Not only is there the human element to this disaster but, as I stated earlier, it also points to the very real need for dependable and secure sources of energy to power our lives and economies.

While foreign sources are increasingly unreliable and conventional basins are depleting, energy consumption in North America continues to rise significantly. It is now certain that diversified continental supplies, particularly arctic hydrocarbons, will be critical to a long-term continental energy solution. This is yet another reason we must push ahead with the Mackenzie gas project so we can begin to see natural gas flowing from the Northwest Territories as early as 2010.

Today I want to bring this House up to date on the progress we have made over the summer to move the Mackenzie gas project forward and the work we need to do to resolve the challenges that remain.

Mr. Speaker, in my sessional statement last May, I made note of the important work undertaken by the Members of this Legislative Assembly in partnership with representatives of the business coalition and aboriginal governments during NWT Day in Ottawa last spring. Our purpose was to convince the federal government to work in partnership with the Northwest Territories to provide interim funding to deal with the serious challenges our communities and residents face as they prepare for and deal with the development of this important project.

This work has started to pay impressive dividends. The most significant development over the past several months was the announcement by the Government of Canada this past July to establish a $500 million fund to help address the socioeconomic impacts from this project for all residents along the pipeline route.

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To put the magnitude of this fund into perspective, more money will flow to some regions as a result of this agreement than was received by land claimant organizations in their comprehensive land claim agreements.

Mr. Speaker, this funding will be disbursed over the next 10 years in the regions directly affected by the project. We expect the federal government to proceed with legislation to establish this fund during the current sitting of the Parliament this fall so this funding can begin to flow shortly.

This fund will provide critically needed funding in the interim of a resource revenue sharing agreement to allow each impacted region to prepare for and mitigate the socioeconomic impacts of pipeline development in areas such as training, social support programs, treatment programs and counselling.

We are very pleased that the federal government has responded to this request from northern leaders in such a comprehensive and constructive manner. Credit for this response must go to Prime Minister Martin and Deputy Prime Minister McLellan, along with our Member of Parliament, Ethel Blondin-Andrew.

Mr. Speaker, while this commitment by the Government of Canada was an important step in resolving a number of obstacles facing the project, much remains to be done before this project moves into the regulatory phase. We have now reached a critical decision point for this project with a number of important agreements required over the next four or five weeks.

Last month, the Mackenzie Valley Producers Group wrote to the National Energy Board and Joint Review Panel describing the progress made over past months. The producers group also outlined the challenges that remained to be resolved prior to beginning formal hearings for the proposed natural gas pipeline. In particular, they noted the need to make further progress on two issues: access and benefit agreements with aboriginal organizations and an agreement with governments on the fiscal framework for the project.

Our collective goal must now be to address these issues in a manner that meets the interests of all parties to allow the project to go forward to public hearings in early 2006. We remain confident that the basis is there to resolve the outstanding issues if all parties come to the table with realistic expectations.

Mr. Speaker, at this critical point in time, it is important we step back and look at what this project can provide to the Northwest Territories.

I have already spoken about the $500 million in funding that will flow to communities along the pipeline route over the next 10 years should this project go ahead. As well:

This project will result in increased investment and job creation that will benefit the residents of the Northwest Territories and all of Canada. The numbers are impressive: $7.7 billion in total labour income and 157,000 person years of employment. This will create unprecedented employment and business opportunities for all residents of the Northwest Territories.

We are in discussions with the proponents and the federal government to convert workforce housing used in the construction of this project into critically needed housing in our communities.

As well, aboriginal communities will see a substantive return from the equity position they have in this project through the Aboriginal Pipeline Group; and,

Aboriginal groups will also realize benefits in the form of access fees and specific procurement, employment and contracting requirements.

Another important long-term benefit from the Mackenzie gas project is the opportunity it can provide to diversify our economy. This project and other large-scale development in the oil and gas industry can provide this opportunity if we take the necessary steps to ensure this development helps build our local and regional economies in healthy and sustainable ways. For example, we are talking to the proponents of this project about the potential for powering their compressor stations and hydropower from the Bear River.

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Mr. Speaker, if we do it right, this project can offer substantial benefits to all parties: to industry, to government, to aboriginal organizations and to the people of the Northwest Territories. This government is committed to working with the other parties to resolve the remaining issues so this project can move forward.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, I want to speak about the long-term potential benefit that can flow to all governments in the Northwest Territories, both public and aboriginal, from the negotiation of a devolution and resource revenue sharing agreement. While the socioeconomic impact fund provides a short-term solution to dealing with the social impacts resulting from the Mackenzie gas pipeline, the long-term solution remains the negotiation of a fair agreement that returns a fair share of revenues to the North, funding that can be reinvested into critically needed programming.

Restructuring our fiscal relationship and funding arrangements with the federal government is pivotal to our ability to create a territory that can meet its own energy requirements, improve its infrastructure and create vibrant, sustainable economies in our communities. Adequate funding is essential for the territorial government to deliver programs and services. There are too many examples of where the current arrangement simply does not work for the Northwest Territories.

For these reasons, the government has worked hard this summer to ensure the federal government’s Expert Panel on Equalization and Territorial Formula Financing and the Panel on Fiscal Imbalance established by the Council of the Federation fully understand our views on the fiscal issues facing the Northwest Territories.

Both panels will make recommendations that will significantly impact on decisions the federal government will make on the structure of equalization and territorial formula financing. We anticipate that both panels will make recommendations on the treatment of resource revenues for provinces and territories, recommendations that will profoundly impact on devolution negotiations. It is, therefore, critical that we continue to press our case for the fundamental reform that we believe is required for the financing of this territory.

Mr. Speaker, I have spoken today about a number of the critical challenges we must address over the next several months, challenges critical to the long-term future of the Northwest Territories. I look forward to working with all Members of this Legislative Assembly and our other partners in meeting these challenges. Mahsi cho.

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Thank you, Mr. Handley. Item 2, Ministers’ statements. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Motion To Move Minister’s Statement 24-15(4) Into Committee Of The Whole, Carried

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the Member for Great Slave, that Minister’s Statement 24-15(4) be moved into Committee of the Whole.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. A motion is on the floor. The motion is in order and is not debatable. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.

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(Translation) Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. In the short time that I have been a Member of this Assembly -- it has been two or three months -- there have been significant activities happening in the community.

This summer, on June 13th, there was an election for the Tlicho chiefs. The chiefs that have been elected -- some of them are here -- are Chief Leon Lafferty from Behchoko/Rae, Chief Charlie Jim Nitsiza from Whati, Chief Henry Gon from Gameti and also Chief Charlie Football from Wekweeti/Snare Lake. These are the four chiefs that have been elected.

On August 4th, we had a big celebration in Rae-Edzo. Almost 3,000 people were in Rae-Edzo/Behchoko for the first sitting of the new government. On September 1, 2005, the first grand chief was elected. The new grand chief is George Mackenzie.

Mr. Speaker, when we talk about the Tlicho Government, Chief Monfwi was the first one that put the wording there, and we are still holding onto the words that he said at that time.

Mr. Speaker, there are 39,000 square miles of land in the control of the Tlicho agreement, when we signed the agreement. Many people have worked on this agreement. People like the negotiators, the chief, the elders, and many others have worked on this and that is what we celebrated. We know that many people have worked on this agreement; for example, Tlicho Grand Chief Joe Rabesca, and we are very grateful for him. Also the negotiating team: John B. Zoe, Eddie Erasmus, James Erasmus and Ted Blondin, and also many elders that are not present with us today. They have worked on this and this is now visible.

Mr. Speaker, when we look at this important date…Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask for consent to conclude my statement.

The honourable Member is seeking consent to conclude his statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays, Mr. Lafferty. You may conclude your statement.

(Translation) Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Recently we have just come to our new job, and sometimes when we have to make implementation of that land, we want to work really well with the territorial government and also with the federal government. Many elders have mentioned this in the past and this is true. When we look at it, when we talk about this and we talk about the long-term vision, we have to look at how we are going to work with each other, how we are going to work with people in the community, especially for people that are still negotiating their land claims and self-government.

When you look at the vision, as a Tlicho Government, we are working really well with the territorial government and also the federal government. We are hoping that things will go peacefully and later on I will ask questions and keep the House up to date.

On behalf of the Tlicho region of Monfwi, I just thought I would bring that up and I just wanted to say that in my statement. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. My apologies, I referred to you as Mr. Jackson instead of Mr. Lafferty.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to welcome Mr. Lafferty to this Assembly and thank him, because now I will finally get to have my group photo.

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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about an issue of great concern to Inuvik residents. This is the ongoing problem with Samuel Hearne Secondary School.

First, Mr. Speaker, the foyer collapsed because of the snow load. It is only by the grace of God that no one was injured or killed. Here we are in October and the school has yet to reopen, because it has been declared unsafe due to problems with the pilings.

Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the people of Inuvik for the way they have pulled together to make the best of an unfortunate situation. As just one example, the curling club has given up its ice surface for classrooms so that the hockey ice could stay in and the kids do not have to take a double hit by losing their arena too. While this is evidence of our town's strong community spirit, it also reflects the sad fact that Inuvik has had good training over the last few years in coming up with alternate plans for classes.

Mr. Speaker, as a parent, I understand how important it is to know that your children have a safe school environment where they can concentrate on their learning. I certainly understand the frustration and anger I heard in people's voices at a recent public meeting in Inuvik. I have known some of these people for years and I have never seen them get so angry before.

The frustration is not only with the condition of the school, but with the apparent lack of accountability. Somebody along the way has made some bad decisions, Mr. Speaker. Does it take an injury or a death for the government to hold its workers responsible for their actions, or lack of actions?

Inuvik is familiar with private industries like oil and gas, where if you make a decision that costs your company a few million dollars, you won't last very long. I understand that employees needed to be treated fairly, but we cannot tolerate incompetence that not only costs taxpayers but puts our children's safety and education at risk. How can we be sure that there are not other government buildings in our communities around the Territories that are ready to collapse because of improper construction and/or maintenance?

We can't let this happen again. Somebody has to be accountable. Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Minister of Public Works and Services at the appropriate time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Hear! Hear!

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Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. (English not provided)

Mr. Speaker, I, too, welcome the new Member for Monfwi, Mr. Jackson Lafferty. Welcome.

Mr. Speaker, I am saddened to report that in the early summer, the community of Fort Simpson had two elders go missing and consequently lost their lives. Many residents, family and friends have expressed their enormous disappointment and frustration with the RCMP's weak search and rescue efforts.

Search and rescue should always involve the Canadian Rangers and other organizations with specific expertise in grid patterns, search abilities, mapping and local knowledge of the land. Their involvement would have been of great assistance.

The RCMP called off their search, Mr. Speaker. A search and rescue has to begin to be called off. It was left up to the local First Nations group to pick up the ball. The Liidlii Kue First Nation must be commended for their organization and dedication to the exhaustive search and rescue they coordinated and volunteered with.

All of the signs were that the men were lost and needed immediate assistance. When the RCMP arrived at the camp, they did not treat the site as evidence. They slept in the facility and disregarded evidence lying around, Mr. Speaker.

Another concern is that this is not an isolated incident in Nahendeh. A couple of years ago, the RCMP regarding concern about a missing woman raised criticism and complaints. Fortunately, the end result was positive and she was still alive when found some 24 hours later. Search and rescues must never be decided on monetary criteria; they must always be considered serious.

These elders have been valuable members of the community and will never be forgotten. The two men involved from the Nahendeh were well respected and very knowledgeable in the bush, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I just noticed the time. I’d like to seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The Member is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. You may conclude your statement, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, colleagues. The residents of Fort Simpson have questioned the official slow response and limited resources during the first 48 hours of this search, which is the most critical time. The comprehensive coordination and initiation of resources and expertise within the community would have dramatically assisted with the efficiency and effectiveness of this operation.

What improvements are the RCMP making to their search and rescue approaches for the next time this happens? The community needs to know, Mr. Speaker, that something is being done and changes are being made about how search and rescue operations will be conducted, not only in the Nahendeh but throughout the NWT. I am also aware of an investigation that the RCMP is conducting regarding the concerns of the community, and we are anxiously awaiting the results of this investigation. As well, Mr. Speaker, appropriate questions will be forthcoming to the Minister of Justice. Mahsi.

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Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to welcome Mr. Lafferty to the Assembly and express the pleasure that I shared in joining the Tlicho people at their celebration this summer.

Mr. Speaker, just when we thought we were getting back to normal with critical things like the CBC getting back to work and NHL hockey getting back on the ice, we get clobbered in the pocketbook by energy prices that are back on the increase. A litre of gas in Inuvik earlier this summer, my colleague was just telling me, was $1.44; $1.19 here in Yellowknife; a litre of heating oil in Yellowknife just over a buck. Thankfully, it seems those prices are on the way down. But the signal we’re getting, Mr. Speaker, is we better get used to these prices staying about 30 percent higher than they were a year ago.

For my household, that means that I’m going to be spending about an extra $700 to heat my house and I think about an extra $400 for my car expenses. That’s $1,100 this winter in direct expenses. But what is the ripple effect going to be on all of us when we start to see the airlines kick in with higher ticket prices, power cost increases, and I think the one that’s going to impact most northerners is the rental rates where landlords have to start covering their costs as well? It was $1.50 per litre in Colville Lake this summer for gasoline. Where is the relief?

Mr. Speaker, the average yearly temperature in Inuvik is minus 8.8 degrees; in Yellowknife it’s minus 4.6; in Hay River, minus 2.9; in Edmonton it’s a very balmy 3.9 on the plus side. That’s a spread of between seven and 12 degrees every day of the year between here and that tropical paradise of Edmonton. And believe me, I know something about tropical paradises.

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So what can we do? To some extent we have control over our own lifestyle, how warm we keep our houses and how much we drive our cars. But it’s the governments that have the greatest ability to make a difference in tax reductions and rebates, Mr. Speaker. The federal government has just announced it’s ready to do this, and I applaud this, Mr. Speaker.

I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The Member is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. You may conclude your statement, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, colleagues and Mr. Speaker. You know, along with the much welcome rebates that the federal government is proposing, I must make the case further that northerners bear the brunt of the weather and the cold climate more than most Canadians. Remember that 12 degree difference between Edmonton and Inuvik. I call on the federal government to take a real, good, hard look, a dollar and cents look, Mr. Speaker, at the true cost of living north of 60. This is not an original idea, but I think it’s one that we should bring forward, and we have a seven percent answer right now before us, that’s the GST on fuels. Can we start there, Mr. Speaker? Thank you very much.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, want to thank the Tlicho people for making a contribution to this Assembly through Mr. Lafferty here. The history of the North is filled with stories of contributions that the RCMP special constables have made to the administration of justice. In the early days, many RCMP would have died out on the land if it weren’t for the knowledge and the skills of these special constables that would accompany them on their patrols. The constables were also invaluable in providing interpreting services and helping out the RCMP officers in terms of interacting with the local aboriginal people.

The new focus on only recruiting aboriginal people as regular members does not necessarily meet the needs of the North at the community level. It is a reality that some of these new aboriginal RCMP are reluctant to return to the North and work amongst their families and friends. I cannot blame them for this. Everyone has the right to pursue their chosen career in a manner that best suits them. However, people in the small communities still deserve to have the law delivered by the people who speak their language and understand the local cultures and customs and the family relationships. The role that used to be accomplished by the special constables is not being met by hiring full-time regular aboriginal RCMP officers. We need to bring back the Special Constable Program and adapt it to the new realities of the 21st century. Local people helping the RCMP at the community level would reduce friction in some of the communities and would be a valuable resource in tandem with an effective community justice committee.

George Washington said, "The administration of justice is the firmest pillar of government." Sometimes I think this government has taken that to mean that we need to build a new courthouse in Yellowknife. I think it needs to be explained to the administration of justice at all levels. Special constables would be an important step in improving the administration of justice at the community level.

Hear! Hear!

I will have questions for the appropriate Minister at the appropriate time.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is indeed good to be back here and I also would like to welcome the new Member for Monfwi. It’s a real pleasure to have him, and I look forward to working with him in years to come.

Mr. Speaker, in the last six years that I’ve been here I’m very proud of the little part that I played in increasing the funding for our schools in general, especially in special needs funding. We tout the fact that we have reduced the PTR from 18 to one to 16 to one. We repeatedly talk about the fact that we increased the special needs funding from eight percent of the total school budget to 15 percent, and I know the Minister is working towards more. We could say this is a 100 percent increase in special needs funding over six years and we’re talking about $10 million extra money. We could sit back as we do and congratulate ourselves and pat ourselves on the back, but I have to tell you, Mr. Speaker, none of this really seems to be making any difference in our schools.

As I think about this, I look around this room, Mr. Speaker, and I count at least 10 MLAs who need glasses. We would never think of telling this group of people because we don’t have enough money only 15 percent of you will wear glasses. I’m telling you, this is what we’re doing with special needs funding. We say we are going from eight percent to 15 percent, we’re increasing the funding by 100 percent, you should all be happy with that, and in the meantime there are so many kids in our school system who are going without special needs assistance and resources. The situation is not getting any better.

Hear! Hear!

Mr. Speaker, I have to tell you that there are a lot of problems that we deal with in this hall that are not just about money. As we speak, I don’t believe the Minister and the Department of ECE knows exactly how the priorities are set. They have no idea what the real needs are for special needs students in our schools and our board in our areas. They’re just saying, okay, we’ll just give you a part of school funding and you do with it what you can. I’m telling you, as I walk through the halls of Range Lake North School, in the six years, even if the budget went up by 100 percent, there is more need, and the situation is not getting any better; and I have to ask the Minister and this government to do a better job in designing and analyzing special needs funding to say what is it exactly that the needs are and what do we have to meet them so that 100 percent of the kids with special needs get funding, not just 15 percent or 10 percent or whatever arbitrary number we come up with. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Hear! Hear!

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would also like to welcome Mr. Jackson Lafferty here as the Member for Monfwi. It’s wonderful to be up to full complement on this side of the House because we need all the help we can get to stay ahead of our friends on the other side of the House.

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Mr. Speaker, October 9th to 15th, 2005, is National Fire Prevention Week. I would like to take this time to acknowledge those who contribute their time and energy to help promote fire safety and fire prevention in our communities. To that end, I particularly would like to thank the courageous and dedicated efforts of the firefighters in our community of Hay River.

The Hay River Fire Department is a volunteer fire department and that in and of itself reveals the absolute dedication of these men and women to make and keep our community safe. Mr. Speaker, we are constantly reminded of the daily heroics of firefighters, whether in Hay River, any part of this territory or even worldwide, in being ready and prepared to help, in risking their lives all in the interest of protecting the public.

Not only do the Hay River volunteers serve their own community, they also provide ambulance services to a very large area on the highway extending to Fort Providence, Fort Resolution, Fort Smith and the Alberta border. The GNWT funds $25,000 per year for this service and that does not even cover the costs of operating the ambulances. The age of both Hay River ambulances is also a critical issue when we are talking about adequate services in a life and death situation. The two ambulances they presently have are a 1986 and a 1995 model, and these need to be replaced. Given the large area that these ambulances serve, I think it’s unrealistic to expect the Town of Hay River to provide this service with support of only $25,000 per year.

There are also liability issues that need to be addressed, and a more appropriate level of financial support for these services might assist Hay River in realizing their desire for a full-time, paid fire chief. I would urge this government, Health and Social Services, MACA and Transportation to take a serious look at whether we are properly supporting our volunteer crews by providing them with adequate resources and equipment to do their jobs.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I would like to once again ask all Members of this Assembly to keep in mind the commitment and dedication of all of our firefighters who keep our community safe during this National Fire Prevention Week. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Once again I am very happy to be here in the Legislative Assembly representing the constituents of Kam Lake, and I would like to, as well, welcome the newest Member, the Member for Monfwi, Mr. Jackson Lafferty. I’m glad to see that there’s some leadership from the Tlicho region here in the Legislative Assembly today and I look forward to working with Mr. Lafferty and the leadership in implementing the self-government agreement that they have in the Tlicho region.

The issue I want to highlight today is why a local construction company, who happen to be my constituents, were and are being treated unfairly by the Housing Corporation. They were the low bidder on a tender to construct two housing units in Rae. My constituents were the only respondent bidder on that tender. The work should have been awarded to them, but something happened along the way to the award being granted.

The Rae Band Construction was concerned that they did not get the work and subsequently went to the Housing Corporation to cancel the contract and negotiate with them on doing the work. The Housing Corporation even tried, Mr. Speaker, to negotiate with both parties on sharing the work and this was done in vain. The Housing Corporation cancelled that tender on September 14th and is in the process of negotiating with the Dogrib Rae Band Construction.

The last time I checked on the public tendering process here in the Northwest Territories, it stated quite clearly that a tender cannot be cancelled without just cause. I’ve been trying to find out from the Housing Corporation for the past three weeks what their definition of just cause is and I’ve not received any official response back from the Housing Corporation. The Minister would have had to have made the call on cancelling the tender and today I hope to get some answers from him.

Is there only one company in Rae that the Housing Corporation can do business with? What will this do to the Housing Corporation’s ability to construct houses in Rae? Am I to believe that there is no public tendering process in the new Tlicho region? The Minister and government must pay close attention to this situation to ensure that there is integrity and fairness when we’re applying public dollars being spent. I look forward to the Minister’s response. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I also would like to say welcome to all the other MLAs, yourself included, Mr. Speaker, back into the House for this Fourth Session. I would like to extend an especially warm welcome to our new Member for Monfwi, Jackson Lafferty. I’d also like to say welcome to the Legislative Assembly staff, the new Pages, and all our special guests and the general public to the fourth sitting of this 15th Legislative Assembly.

Mr. Speaker, I’ll be brief in my Member’s statement today as I’m not really feeling too vocal today. That being said, I would just like to briefly express my enthusiasm and support of this government’s latest actions toward restructuring and revamping of many government programs and services over the past two years, which I feel are better suited to meeting the many core needs of northerners today. I commend this government for this and I look forward to moving ahead with many other improvements that are currently being considered and reviewed by this government today.

Mr. Speaker, although there is a lot of work that we have to do over the next two years in order to address many other fundamental flaws and inconsistencies in a lot of other areas of government programs and services, I am confidently optimistic that we can soon realize more tangible and basic improvements in many important areas such as education, youth, housing, health, economic development and community and regional capacity building; if we continue to strive to keep all northerners abreast of all our intentions and continue to build on all our working relationships, especially with the smaller 27 communities, their leaders, and all the aboriginal governments on all our fronts. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, am pleased to be back in this House today after a long break doing constituency work, et cetera. Mr. Speaker, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention a warm welcome to Mr. Lafferty from Monfwi. I’ve known him a long time, since our Akaitcho Hall days, and I can say truly that he’ll be a great contribution to this House and to the Tlicho people. I can say that with a full heart.

Mr. Speaker, I’m going to bring up the fact that almost a year ago today I rose on a statement to express deep concern about world oil prices and the effects that can cause crises elsewhere in the world. I was concerned about how this government was dealing with this situation. I was worried whether or not this government was monitoring that crisis or if we were just going to wait for the bills to arrive and just pay them as if nothing happened.

Mr. Speaker, I encouraged this government to be proactive, implement energy cost-saving plans right then and there. I asked, what are we doing about this problem? Reducing our usage? Looking at dialling back those heat registers? Are we looking at turning off the lights at the end of the day? However, Mr. Speaker, my kind and well-meant concerns and advice were met by laughter from this government.

Mr. Speaker, the Finance Minister responded by saying that maybe the government could issue a directive saying that no light bulbs should be brighter than 40 watts. That was horrible. I’m surprised they didn’t issue candles, for goodness sake.

Mr. Speaker, instead of being proactive, this government actually cut the funding contribution to the Arctic Energy Alliance by $70,000. I think they lost more than their fair share of a pound of flesh. That really hurt that organization.

Mr. Speaker, at that time a barrel of oil went for $50 U.S., but today that same barrel of oil is going for $64.30; quite a significant increase.

Mr. Speaker, today I hope no one is laughing because I certainly am not laughing, least of all the public of our Northwest Territories, because we’re ramping up for a seven-month long, hard, cold winter. It’s the worst time oil prices could be where they are. Everyone is going to have to be careful this winter, Mr. Speaker, and I’m going to tell you that the public is keeping their eye on this government and I have concerns that we need to be on top of this issue. It’s about smart energy usage.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, the Minister of FMBS, the Honourable Floyd Roland, will have the pleasure of my energy questions today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to welcome back my colleagues to this session. First of all, Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate our new colleague, Mr. Jackson Lafferty, on his successful campaign to represent the constituency of Monfwi. We all know that he will do a very good job on behalf of his constituents. Congratulations, Mr. Jackson. Or Mr. Lafferty.

---Laughter

Secondly, Mr. Speaker, it is with sadness that I must inform this Assembly that the people of Tuktoyaktuk have lost another well-respected elder. Mr. Frank Cockney passed away on Saturday, October 8, 2005. Mr. Cockney was a businessman, most importantly a father, and a well-renowned Beaufort-Delta fiddler. He was instrumental in teaching students and, in particular, the Strings Across the Sky students the basics of Delta fiddling. I received word this afternoon that Mr. Cockney’s funeral will be held on Friday, October 14, 2005, in Tuktoyaktuk. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the people of Tuktoyaktuk, I would like to offer condolences to the family of the late Frank Cockney. Our thoughts and prayers are with them at their time of sorrow. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Mr. Speaker, I have a return to oral questions asked by Mr. Hawkins on May 26th and May 31st, 2005, regarding the Expanded Downpayment Assistance Program. Subsequently Mr. Hawkins inquired a level of assistance provided to clients in the city of Yellowknife under EDAP and whether applications had been turned away due to the lack of resources.

As of the date of Mr. Hawkins’ questions, 31 applicants for EDAP had been declined because they were not eligible for assistance. All declined applications were a result of an applicant’s ineligibility for assistance. At any given time there may be a number of EDAP applications that are considered and processed and require additional information from the client prior to final decision.

Mr. Hawkins expressed concerns about the level of assistance being provided to individual clients and I would like to inform the House that some of the numbers that caused concerns for Members resulted in a coding error that gave incorrect information in the response to the prior question. As requested, updated information on the EDAP in the Yellowknife area has been provided to the Member.

In regards to general concerns over specific numbers, the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act prevents us from providing detailed cases that could be used to identify clients. The Housing Corporation is extremely concerned about the protection and the privacy of personal information of our clients.

I would, however, like to take the time to express to Members why it sometimes is necessary for higher award amounts for clients in need. In order to calculate the subsidy levels of EDAP, a sliding scale is used. House pricing includes land costs, monthly shelter costs such as taxes, power, heat, water, insurance premium, maintenance costs, and insurance costs. The national affordable standard is 30 percent. Once the applicant’s income is factored, the calculations will result in assistance ranging from five percent to 40 percent and in order to meet eligibility for larger families, the NWT Housing Corporation came up with another sliding scale in 1993-94 to recognize the size of the bedroom count based on two, three, and four-bedroom units. This allowed the corporation to assist applicants more fairly, based on the size of their families compared to the national operations standard set by CMHC.

The level of funding provided to clients under EDAP has exceeded 40 percent of a home’s value. A prospective client must be able to afford the operation and the maintenance of their homes without spending more than 30 percent of their gross income on shelter. The funding takes a formula on a forgivable loan, which is paid out over a 15-year period. The client must be able to obtain the balance of their mortgage through conventional financing. In the case of a higher subsidy level, which is reflected in the higher need of the client, the client receives an amount in excess of $50,000. In most cases clients would have difficulty qualifying for public housing due to their income levels, but do not have the means of accessing conventional financing from a bank. Often those clients have large families, require more bedrooms and a larger sized house.

Assistance through EDAP is better used by the corporation’s limited resources, taking clients out of public housing to assist them in getting into homeownership. This creates specific savings to the government over the long term. The funding required to maintain public housing units exceeds the level of subsidy provided under EDAP.

Large EDAP amounts such as those that cause concern for the Member allows the Housing Corporation to provide affordable housing to large families for whom assisted homeownership is the only affordable shelter to them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. (Translation) Today, first of all, we have one Page who’s from Whati. That’s Page Sarah Coey-Simpson from Whati. She’s going to be working here until Friday. The girl is attending Whati school and is in Grade 8. How she was selected is the principal, Bill Hurley, selected her as a Page. She was there as a role model for the students in that school, which is why she was selected. I wanted to thank her parents on her behalf.

Also, I was talking about the celebration in Behchoko in the Tlicho Nation. We have leadership from the Tlicho Government, and I would like to introduce Chief Leon Lafferty from Fort Rae, Chief Henry Gon from Gameti, Chief Charlie Joe Nitsiza from Whati, and beside him is Dan Marion. Dan is the…(inaudible)…person. Most of all my mother and father, my parents, are here in the House and I would like to thank them.

This is the opening of the fall session and this is my first time. I want to thank all the visitors for coming into the House to listen to this session. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’d like to recognize former constituents from Tsiigehtchic, Tina Norwegian, who works with the Status of Women Council, and a former colleague of mine in the House, Mr. Leon Lafferty, now a chief in Rae. Welcome to the House.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’d like to recognize a constituent who is often here with us in the House, Ms. Barb Wyness with the UNW, and a couple of folks that it’s really nice to see, Bishop John Sperry and Ed Jeske. I’d like to welcome them back.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Handley.