Good afternoon, colleagues. I wish to give my ruling on the point of order raised by Mr. Miltenberger on October 24, 2013, with respect to comments made by Mr. Hawkins on the previous day. I would like to thank all Members who spoke to the point of order.
Mr. Miltenberger’s point of order was on the content, volume and tone of Mr. Hawkins’ comments in his oral questions to Mr. Beaulieu on October 23rd violated Rule 23(k) as insulting and abusive language, and 23(l) as speaking disrespectfully of any Member.
Mrs. Groenewegen, in speaking to the point of order, said, at page 3 of unedited Hansard, she also found Mr. Hawkins' comments “to be offensive and it did, in my opinion, reduce the demeanour of our House.”
In responding to the point of order, Mr. Hawkins said, at page 3 of unedited Hansard, “I’m here to do my job and demand results, Mr. Speaker, and sometimes that does cause one to raise the energy in the debate.”
I am guided by the second edition of House of Commons Procedure and Practice, 2009, which states at page 619, “In dealing with unparliamentary language, the Speaker takes into account the tone, manner and intention of the Member speaking; the person to whom the words at issue were directed, the degree of provocation; and most importantly, whether or not the remarks created disorder in the Chamber.”
I have reviewed Mr. Hawkins’ comments from October 23rd and, taken with the volume and tone in which he made them, I consider they did cross the line of being insulting, abusive and disrespectful. The specific remarks are those quoted by Minister Miltenberger in his point of order, which I don’t want to repeat here because we have already spent enough time on this.
I can appreciate that Members do sometimes need to speak with “energy” to make their points and represent their constituents; however, this went too far.
We are a consensus system of government and we have our own standards. A style of debate that might be business as usual in other Legislatures is not necessarily acceptable to this House. As Mr. Miltenberger stated, at page 2 of the unedited Hansard, “We pride ourselves on the decorum of this House, the propriety of the way we do business.”
Members, given the events of that day, I also want to take the opportunity to remind you of a few things:
Members must speak through the Chair. Speaking directly to other Members as “you” is not acceptable.
Members must not interrupt the Chair. When the Chair calls a Member’s name to caution him or her about continuing to speak when another Member has the floor, that Member needs to stop speaking right away.
These are not my personal rules. They are your rules, Members, and they are there to keep order and decorum in this House.
Let me also remind Members, for the third or fourth time during this sitting, that we are here to work for the people of the Northwest Territories. Be respectful of each other and this House, thicken your skins if you have to and let’s get the work done for the people.
There is a point of order. I will now go to Mr. Hawkins and ask him to withdraw his remarks. Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Actually, I thought about this over the weekend and wondered how you would rule on this particular item. Obviously, I was hoping you would rule on my area, but your wisdom and guidance of the documentation before you has led you to your decision today and that I will respect.
Mr. Speaker, in short, I find it unimaginable how to take back…
Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What I was going to say, in a roundabout way, was I find it difficult to take back passion and energy, but with that said, what I will do is I will respect the ruling and I will apologize for any concerns that I may have inflicted on Cabinet. What I will say, in short and in final, Mr. Speaker, it will not temper my passion to get the job done. Thank you.
Mr. Hawkins, I asked you to withdraw your remarks. Mr. Hawkins, will you withdraw your remarks to the House and apologize to the House?
Sorry, Mr. Speaker. It’s hard to hear you over Mrs. Groenewegen, who keeps talking. I missed what you said.
Mr. Hawkins, I’m asking you to withdraw your remarks and to apologize to the House.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I could hear you that time. I apologize to the House in full. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Hawkins, you’re wasting more time of this House. I’m going to ask you once again to withdraw your remarks and apologize to the House.
My apologies, Mr. Speaker. That was my intent when I said I apologize to this House sincerely and fully, and with that, I withdraw my remarks. My apologies for missing that last piece. It was not intended in any other manner.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The second time I had you do that, the first time was making comments to Mrs. Groenewegen. So you apologize for that and you apologize for what’s been said. Thank you for the apology. We’ll proceed.
Mr. Speaker, the GNWT is recognized as one of Canada's top Diversity Employers in 2013 for the initiatives we've undertaken to enhance opportunities for Aboriginal people, persons with disabilities and other under-represented groups. The GNWT is committed to developing and maintaining a public service representative of the people we serve across the NWT.
The Department of Human Resources, in conjunction with the Aboriginal Human Resource Council, is conducting an Aboriginal Inclusion Survey among GNWT employees, focusing on recruitment and retention of Aboriginal persons. The survey will gather information about all of our employees’ attitudes and opinions regarding Aboriginal inclusion, and determine if there are systemic barriers that contribute to perceived low rates of Aboriginal recruitment and retention.
Human Resources, working with the Aboriginal Employees Advisory Committee, has engaged the Aboriginal Human Resources Council so we can identify the GNWT’s strengths, weaknesses, strategies, practises and behaviours related to Aboriginal inclusion. We share the council’s goal of advancing the full labour market participation of Aboriginal peoples. The Aboriginal Human Resources Council has collaborated with us to develop the survey questions, is administering the survey and receiving the responses, and will prepare a final report and recommendations based on the survey results.
Aboriginal culture, values and experience inform program and policy development as well as front-line service delivery, and we are providing training in Aboriginal cultural awareness through our new Aboriginal Cultural Awareness Training program. It is imperative that our public servants appreciate and respect NWT Aboriginal cultures. These training modules are accessible on-line for our staff and for any member of the public to view, and we are rolling out facilitated training sessions for our staff across the NWT this month. The training has been recognized internationally as a Top Ten Innovation in Diversity, putting us in the company of other progressive employers like RBC, Sodexo and American Airlines.
Mr. Speaker, the GNWT is committed to creating a representative public service that reflects the diverse cultures of the NWT and promotes the development and advancement of Aboriginal people. We are making progress in attracting, advancing and retaining Aboriginal employees. Statistics show movement in the right direction:
During the 17th Legislative Assembly, indigenous Aboriginal persons have filled 19 of 59 senior-management staffing opportunities.
Almost 20 percent of senior managers are indigenous Aboriginal. This has been increasing over the years, up from 15 percent in 2009.
Since 1999, the rate of Aboriginal employee growth has been larger than that for non-Aboriginal employee growth and for the rate of GNWT workforce growth overall.
The biggest increases in rates of Aboriginal employee growth have occurred in the management and health occupational areas.
Mr. Speaker, we do not rest on our laurels; more needs to be done. We are committed to continuing this momentum in order to champion diversity, inclusion and cultural awareness, and to see more Aboriginal people represented at all levels of the public service. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Minister of Health, Mr. Beaulieu.
Mr. Speaker, this Assembly is committed to investing in prevention to keep our health system sustainable. Vaccines are a cornerstone of preventative medicine and I would like to encourage all Northwest Territories residents to get their free flu shots this fall.
Immunization prevents influenza and its serious complications. It protects individuals and families from severe illness. It contributes to the health of the population, by preventing time-loss at work and keeping children at school.
You need the flu shot every year. The influenza viruses change continuously and each year’s vaccine has been updated. Last year’s shot won’t protect you this year.
Get the flu shot to protect yourself and your loved ones from getting sick. This is especially important for children, elders, people with chronic health conditions and their families. The vaccine is available in all communities and a complete schedule of flu clinics is available on the Department of Health and Social Services website. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories strengthens awareness of our northern identity and uniqueness by promoting our many cultural backgrounds and revitalizing our languages. I am very pleased to advise this House that the Department of Education, Culture and Employment held the third annual Minister’s Culture and Heritage Circle to celebrate the tremendous contributions that people across this territory have made.
I am proud to honour the efforts of residents who work to strengthen the arts, cultures and heritage of the Northwest Territories. The Minister’s Culture and Heritage Circle was established in 2011 to celebrate Northerners who contribute to the preservation and promotion of culture and heritage in the Northwest Territories. Five recipients were selected from across the territory by an independent panel of judges. Our judges were William Greenland, Diane Boudreau and Mike Vaydik, and I thank them for their service. Our recipients this year were David Gon, for the Individual category; Justin Memogana, for the Youth category; Emily Kudlak, for the Elders category; and Gwich’in Social and Cultural Institute for the Group category. I awarded the Yellowknife Choral Society the Minister’s Choice Award for sharing their passion for choral music in their community and territory. I am pleased to welcome them all here today.
I hope all Members of this Assembly will join me in honouring the Culture and Heritage Circle recipients and thank them for their work preserving, promoting and celebrating our unique cultures and heritage.
Mr. Speaker, languages and culture strengthen our greater NWT community, underpin many of the priorities of this Assembly and create an identity for all of us. They are a priority for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, and we will continue to work with our cultural communities to ensure our territory retains the vibrant and unique identities we have worked to preserve. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s good to be back. I’m happy to report that I’m feeling much better and some people are even saying I’m looking better.
---Laughter
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank my friends and family for the support the last couple of weeks. I feel rich for the support I received over these last two weeks. Mr. Speaker, I’d also like to thank you and Members here, as well as the Legislative Assembly staff and obviously my constituents for all the support during the last couple of weeks feeling under the weather. I am looking forward to the next couple of weeks of session to complete the work that we have, the Wildlife Act, the capital budget, as well as several other supplementary appropriations and many acts. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is great to be back.
Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today in my Member’s statement I’d like to talk about the idea of regional high schools.
Historically, we know that students from Lutselk’e, a small community, went to Fort Smith; students from Res went to Hay River; and many students from across the North went to Akaitcho Hall. I was not directly involved in any of these, but at the time it seemed like not a bad idea. However, as government changes and as ideas change, the idea of grade extensions in the small communities became the best practise, the wisdom of the day, and that was what was undertaken.
I think it is time to once again have a dialogue and talk to people about what is the best opportunity for a good, comprehensive high school education for students from small communities. We had the Western Arctic Leadership Program which was in Fort Smith for a number of years and is not available anymore, and that did see students from across the North going to Fort Smith and being involved in different programs there.
Schools in regional centres do have a wider course selection available. They have part-time employment opportunities which may not be available in smaller communities. They certainly have more opportunities for competition and honing schools in the area of competitive sports, and although there are downsides for high school students to be away from their home community, I think some of those things I just listed are some of the positive points.
The argument can be made that by taking some high school students out of the small communities that we would then be watering down the great extension programs for those who may not want to go to a regional centre, for those who would want to stay in their home community. I think that with the advent of so much on-line and distance learning, which the grade extensions must have already to rely upon, I think we could offer students the option of remaining in their community and continuing on with that program, but also allowing opportunities for students who would like to go to a regional centre to go to high school to do so.
A lot of good came from the attendance of students in regional centres in high school. Everything is relative. If you live in Hay River and come to Yellowknife, as my children all did for a portion of their high school, that broadens your horizons. So when you’re in a small community and you come to a regional centre like Hay River, that again broadens peoples’ horizons and I think that we did see a lot of lifelong relationships, a lot of lifelong friendships that were developed as a result of students getting together at that age.
By the time young people reach the age of high school…
Mr. Speaker, could I please seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement?
---Unanimous consent granted
By the time young people reach the age of high school, maybe it is an opportunity and it is time for them to spread their wings and experience some new things and perhaps living in a new community as long as – and I have to really stress this – there is safe, supervised and supported living accommodations for them in those regional centres.
So I for one would be in favour of having this dialogue on revisiting the idea of regional high schools. Thank you.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We seem to be living in the age of the whistleblower, and you notice I didn’t say noisemaker, because all too often we have some of those people too. But the true whistleblowers, people who uncover fraud, mismanagement, government surveillance, you name it, are making waves worldwide. Some publish their findings on WikiLeaks, YouTube, or even use their own blogs.
So far we don’t have any Edward Snowdens in the Northwest Territories, but maybe we should consider that it could happen. Do we want to have an environment where whistleblowers in the Territories are treated like criminals on the run for courageously informing the public? I hope not.
Many people see whistleblowers as heroes who go against the grain, taking great personal risk to protect public safety, stop corruption or safeguard peoples’ rights. To some extent, our government has taken a step towards protecting potential whistleblowers from within and avoid media attention itself. I am referring to the 22-page agreement of the Union of Northern Workers on Safe Disclosure of Information.
For those of you who are not familiar, this agreement sets up a process employees can use if they see wrongdoing that goes unchecked. If all goes well, problems are corrected and employees are protected from reprisals. But the agreement does not cover releases of information directly to the media or to the public.
It appears that the UNW agreement and the discussion paper tabled in 2007 was merely a stopgap measure instead of introducing full-blown legislation to protect whistleblowers. Even then, provinces like Manitoba and Saskatchewan had laws protecting whistleblowers in both public and private sectors.
I am wondering if we are falling behind the times. Information is sometimes so hard to come by, as I illustrated many times with MLAs having limited access to information in this Chamber, and some days I wake up half expecting an enterprising hacker or a researcher to have set up NWTLeaks to deal with our problems. If they do, I hope we have a law protecting legitimate whistleblowers.
It is clear more is needed to be done in this area than the mere UNW Safe Disclosure Program. Whistleblowers need the protection to report legitimate wrongdoings, and noisemakers need to be filtered from doing wrong unto others.
At the appropriate time I will have questions for the Minister of Justice on this topic. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. People across the NWT are concerned about this government’s direction. I can’t help but agree. Many have observed a distressing alignment with the approach of our federal government under its present leadership. Government communications clearly reveal it doesn’t care what Members think or what the public thinks. A recent example is the surprising revelation that despite a 60 percent increase in our debt limit last year, our Finance Minister has initiated actions to seek an even higher debt limit. Not only no debate, but not even bothering to tell the elected representatives of a supposedly consensus government. To hear a Finance Minister say in this House that schools and medical infrastructure are not investments in economic development whereas highways are, shows a dysfunctional understanding of economic development. Sound economic development comes from healthy people, not from healthy roads.
Such thinking is all too common in this government’s policies and pronouncements and these policies yield economic development that tends to benefit non-residents, leaving net costs to Northerners. Later I will be speaking to the government’s plans for big subsidies to the richest companies in the world. Such activity will pull workers in from across the country, people who will not live here and will not pay taxes here, but will leave costs for us to pay.
Each of our current diamond mines have had to hire greater numbers of workers from outside the NWT. We now lose $300 million in wages per year just from diamond mines, not oil and gas included yet. In North Dakota we learned that workers making a dollar in that state pay income tax on that dollar in that state regardless of where they reside, yet I hear no plan to tackle this issue or any of the others associated with the government’s development approach that will, again, largely benefit non-residents.
Last week the Premier said we will spend up to $700 million on a transmission line to export power to Saskatchewan. Power in Saskatchewan costs one-quarter of that in Fort Smith, so we will sell our power at a steep loss. This even without considering the half billion cost of the power line. Are we exporting or are we actually planning to import coal-generated power through this line to replace our local clean hydro power or even diesel with the dirtiest power in the world? Either way, it is another example of the wasting of public funding on infrastructure for industry, while our community infrastructure and sustainable approach and local benefits falls apart.
I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
This and more, despite public input, considerable public input that has called for economic focus and diversification towards smaller scale and renewable resources, development that provides real benefits and healthy communities. We heard this with the economic opportunities consultation, a comprehensive consultation. Perhaps it’s devolution on the brain, but whatever it is, it’s reason for concern and a re-examination of this government’s direction. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As we rocket our way towards devolution on April 1, 2014, and towards the millions of dollars of resource revenue which will be our reward, and if we’re to believe Cabinet, the panacea for everything that ails us from roads to rents, I’m very grateful that the 16th Assembly had the foresight and gumption to establish a Heritage Fund before it dissolved. That fund was established to capture and hold for our children’s children and their children’s children the revenue from the NWT’s non-renewable resources. But how much of those resource revenues will actually make it into the Heritage Fund? That is yet to be determined by Regular Members and the public. But from government statements made recently, it’s already been decided, and I have to say that I don’t much like the decision.
In the government response to Motion 20-17(4), tabled in the House on October 17th, it says: “As a balance between long-term savings and addressing immediate infrastructure needs, the GNWT is proposing an annual contribution of 5 percent of resource revenues to the NWT Heritage Fund.” And further down in the same response: “Consequently, the GNWT proposes retaining flexibility over the majority of the new resource revenues to invest in infrastructure and pay down debt.”
The government response does also state that there is no intention to use resource revenues for operational requirements, and of that I am very glad. What saddens me is the miniscule amount proposed for the Heritage Fund: 5 percent of our resource revenues until such time as we have eliminated our infrastructure deficits and paid down our debt. Lofty as that goal is, has any government ever attained those two objectives? I doubt it.
In my view, we should be placing a minimum of 25 percent of our anticipated resource revenues into the Heritage Fund, and it should be so stated in legislation, not in regulations which are easily changed by government without any discussion with, or input from, the public.
As promised in the tabled response to Mr. Hawkins’ June motion, the Minister of Finance is currently travelling the territory, engaging residents in the discussions about the budget and about how we should use our newfound riches, our resource revenues.
The Yellowknife public meeting with Minister and staff is tonight. They are looking for residents’ views on both the budget and the Heritage Fund. Tonight, Explorer Hotel, 7:30 p.m. If you have an opinion on how much we should put into the Heritage Fund, make sure you show up and share it.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
The government has already made up its mind. Without any contradictions voiced, their decision will be the one that is put into place. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This government provides a very critical service to residents of the Northwest Territories and that service is medical travel. In my short time being an MLA and listening to a lot of the concerns that residents of the Northwest Territories have, especially in my region of the Inuvik region and constituents of mine that travel to either Edmonton or to Yellowknife, there are still concerns with this medical travel. I wanted to bring the point to order today on what is all provided in this medical travel. One of the things that were brought to my attention is return airfare, but also things such as accommodation and, specifically, ground transportation.
I am bringing this up today, because on Saturday in Inuvik, we had, I believe, about six medical clients who returned back to Inuvik after going out for some treatment or going out for medical appointments and who got stranded at the airport. Obviously, it is on the weekend, so the government only usually runs from Monday to Friday, government workers, but this does bring to attention that when we do send patients and clients out for medical service and appointments that there has to be somebody there coordinating to ensure that this individual gets back to their point of origin in a safe manner.
In one case I heard that one of the clients that did return on Saturday, who was also an income assistance client, was even thinking of walking into the community of Inuvik. In this temperature, about 11 kilometres, that’s uncalled for.
Later on today I will have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services on what actions are going to be taken to rectify the situation and also deal with some of these matters at hand such as escorts as well as people who travel to Yellowknife and need that transportation to get either to the boarding homes or to their appointments. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is with great honour and much excitement today that I congratulate the Gwich’in Social and Cultural Institute on their most recent Group Category Award presented by the Honourable Jackson Lafferty, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
The GSCI displays a fine role in developing and supporting cultural heritage. I am proud that such a group can celebrate, promote and preserve the arts, culture and heritage as defined in the eligibility for this award.
What great timing as the GSCI celebrates its 20th anniversary this fall, such an honourable way to recognize this organization with 20 years of researching and recording over 100 projects for our future use. Also, 414 official place names have now been approved and the geographical map has been developed showing over 900 Gwich’in place names.
I would also like to acknowledge the people behind the work: the staff and the board of directors, past and present, for making such a huge commitment and being proud of their accomplishments.
Many of the elders who started this project have now passed on. Their participation in this project, in identifying place names with their stories, will be an educational tool for years to come. Congratulations, once again, to the Gwich’in Social and Cultural Institute on your hard work and dedication. Also, congratulations to the rest of the recipients of the Ministers’ Culture and Heritage Circle. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Blake. Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We need a pilot car to drive home the idea of having a driver education program in our school communities, small schools. Mr. Daryl Dolynny, Member for Range Lake, last week spoke about this. He actually made a suggestion. Minister Ramsay, Minister of Transportation, talked about how the Department of Education and Department of Transportation are working together in regards to driver education programs in our schools. I think it’s time we have a pilot project by next year. When it makes sense, such as our need to invest in our children and into our future, give our youth a challenge to take the opportunities on the road to success.
The 17th Assembly Caucus priority states, “believing in people” and I believe this is a doable project for the reasons I will state. Creating a pilot project in the schools, in the small communities especially, we have regional disparity. Sixty-seven percent of young drivers, aged 15 to 24 years, in Yellowknife, Fort Smith and Hay River have their licence, compared to 33 percent in the small communities aged 15 to 24. That’s regional disparity.
Now, the Minister goes on to talk about the Project Gearshift. So I tell the Minister, it’s about time we get a high school that will give them incentives to get to school and to have an actual driver education training program. Will Project Gearshift actually give the youth a driver’s licence? What services and programs do we have to wait for? How long will a qualified driver instructor come to our communities and to our school? Where do they get their Class 5 driver’s licence? Well, that can change. Go to school.
I seek unanimous consent to conclude my Member’s statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
I say to the Minister, initiate a pilot project now. Start to introduce one next year, with a target date of September. The message is: education pays. Drive home this pilot project.
I call upon this government to bring forward a proposal to have a driver’s education training program in one of our Sahtu communities or any other small communities in the North.
