Good afternoon, colleagues. Welcome back to the Chamber. Before we begin I would like to draw your attention to the visitor’s gallery to a face that’s probably familiar to many of you. Mr. David Hamilton is in the House today, former Clerk of the Assembly.
---Applause
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to advise Members of the Legislative Assembly that His Royal Highness Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton will visit the Northwest Territories this coming July as part of their royal tour of Canada.
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Yesterday, officials from the Department of Canadian Heritage contacted the Government of the Northwest Territories to advise us that the royal couple was specifically interested in visiting our Territory while they are in Canada. We were delighted to hear of their interest in the NWT and certainly look forward to welcoming them this summer.
Details of the visit have not yet been determined. The GNWT will be working closely with Canadian Heritage in the coming weeks to plan the NWT portion of the trip and ensure the royal couple have the experience of a lifetime while they are here.
Mr. Speaker, strengthening awareness of our northern identity and uniqueness by promoting our successes, our culture, our arts and our languages with a proud and unified voice is one of the priorities of this Assembly. Our experience with the Northern House at the Vancouver Olympic Winter
Games last year proved that people have a great interest in the North. The people of the Northwest Territories know we live in one of the most remarkable places on earth. The upcoming royal visit presents us with an opportunity to share that with the rest of the world.
We know that there is already intense interest in the Prince’s upcoming wedding and that the royal visit will receive extensive national and international media coverage. A visit to the NWT this summer will allow us to showcase the best our Territory has to offer, including our world-class tourism opportunities, our diverse cultures, traditional and contemporary arts and crafts, and the huge economic and investment potential represented by our mineral, energy and other resources.
We are honoured to know that of the many places in the Commonwealth that the royal couple could visit, the Northwest Territories is near the top of their list. We are looking forward to hosting them in July and having the opportunity to introduce them and the world to what the Northwest Territories has to offer. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation, Mr. Robert McLeod.
Mr. Speaker, the government recognizes that improving the quality and cost of housing will reduce the cost of living in communities across the Northwest Territories. Today I would like to update Members and the public on the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation’s -- NWTHC -- Vacant Housing Unit Strategy.
Concerns have been raised with the number of vacant units the NWT Housing Corp has in its portfolio in certain communities. Primarily, these vacant units resulted from our aggressive capital infrastructure construction and repair program to deliver housing within the time frames set out under the Affordable Housing Initiative and Canada’s Economic Action Plan.
The NWT Housing Corp has taken action to address these concerns. As a first step, the NWT Housing Corp’s 2011-12 program intake has been completed. While we continue to work with potential successful clients, we are projecting that 82 vacant units will be allocated to prospective homeowners in the coming months through primary and secondary intakes of Housing Choices, as well as through the identification of gaps in our programs.
Second, the NWT Housing Corp has identified other solutions to fill vacant housing. The NWT Housing Corp has considered options and projected the potential allocations of units, on a community-by-community basis, looking at broader community needs and utilizing a number of options that will facilitate a reduction in the overall vacancy rate.
Mr. Speaker, perhaps the most significant of these options is the potential conversion of units to public housing. Demand for public housing across the Northwest Territories remains strong, and the need for public housing is particularly evident in these rural and remote communities where no current public housing exists. The best housing option for many residents in need in the NWT is public housing. Therefore, we are projecting the conversion of 37 of our vacant housing units to public housing before August 30, 2011, with an additional 12 units being used to replace existing public housing. Remaining units will be utilized based on community input for purposes such as RCMP housing, housing for staff, or sale to community groups.
We recognize that many communities have less public housing than they need, and in some specific communities there is no public housing program. Therefore, the addition of public housing units to our portfolio is not merely an option to fill vacant units, but is part of an overall GNWT approach to providing affordable housing now and into the future.
Mr. Speaker, our work to expand our portfolio of public housing must take into consideration that federal funding for the operation and maintenance of social housing is declining. We continue to work with our provincial and territorial colleagues to convince the federal government to address the long-term sustainability of social housing in our Territory and across the country. In addition, the Housing Corporation continues to improve its housing designs, improve energy efficiency, examine areas of program gaps as well as analyse maintenance requirements to lower operating costs and ensure the most effective use of resources.
Mr. Speaker, the past five years of housing construction has left an important legacy in our communities: adequate, suitable and affordable housing that can meet the housing needs of our residents for years to come and substantive progress on the Assembly’s goal of sustainable, vibrant, safe communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Most Northerners are already aware of the cost of maintaining heaters and transporting fuel especially to small and remote communities is incredibly costly. Sachs Harbour in particular experience the largest cost of producing heat. This is why I am continuously surprised at why places such as Sachs Harbour do not have an excess heat recovery system in place.
In the past, the community of Sachs Harbour tried to maximize the waste energy such as used oil to generate heat. Unfortunately these initiatives have not been implemented well for a number of reasons.
When it comes to extracting heat from currently existing systems and technologies such as the community power generation facility, there should be no obstacles. If this government is seriously thinking about reducing greenhouse gases and implementing long-term plans to reduce our dependency on fossil fuel to generate heat, this government has no choice but to implement measures such as these.
Sachs Harbour can use thousands of dollars’ worth of fuel in one winter month to heat the facility. Due to the numbers, I cannot see this project not being economically feasible. Other communities that have had residual heat programs have for years had thousands of dollars per year savings. This technology has been around for decades in many NWT communities, so why not Nunakput communities? They have the highest operating costs. If the excess heat can provide heating for more than one facility then the cost of recovery for heat equalizes quickly.
Places such as Whati, Fort McPherson and Inuvik already have buildings near the Power Corporation with residual heat. Tsiigehtchic, Fort Simpson, Fort Liard are evaluating similar systems. The previous president and CEO of the NWT Power Corporation assured the government that it’s a proven technology. This government must place these alternate energy resources to places that make the most economic sense and not places that have the least amount of administration and logistical coordinating. Small and remote communities deserve their fair share as well.
I will have questions for the Minister at the appropriate time.
Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.
Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. [English translation not provided.]
I am pleased to inform the House that next month a career and technologies services shop in Deninu K’ue School will officially be opened for the first time in 16 years. Thanks to initiatives set out by the Career and Technology Services Program, the industrial arts shop will reopen with all brand new equipment for the students to use for years to come, thus supporting the demand for skilled tradespeople in the North.
I would like to commend the principal and teachers of the Deninu K’ue School in Fort Resolution for all their hard work in making this all possible. Of course, credit should go to the Department of Education, Culture and Employment and the local district authority.
However, all is not well in this area. We still have students in Tu Nedhe that have yet to access career and technology services. More specifically, I’m referring to the Lutselk’e Dene School. The staff of the Lutselk’e Dene School were able to secure funding necessary to purchase equipment needed for the Career and Technology Services Program but do not have a building to house that equipment. Although there exists a building in Lutselk’e that can be turned into a shop to house this equipment, that building is the current community learning centre. The holdup of the provision of the career and technology services programming for students in Lutselk’e is not due to the lack of money for equipment and operations but due to a lack of space.
In Lutselk’e there is a new community learning centre currently under construction and the old community learning centre could be ready for use for a shop at the beginning of the 2011-2012 school year.
Previously the Minister advised the GNWT would be decommissioning the old community learning centre rather than using it as a temporary shop. Mr. Speaker, the holdup on the decision to turn the old community learning centre into a shop is money to operate, maintain and provide custodial services for the building.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
The bottom line is that this building can still serve a vital purpose in the community of Lutselk'e.
Mr. Speaker, I will be asking the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment questions on this at the appropriate time. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With an increasing number of professionals and tradespeople reaching the age of retirement, there has been a great demand for skilled workers and tradespeople in the North and, in fact, throughout the world. The Government of the Northwest Territories offers one of the best apprenticeship programs in the country and the number of students enrolling in these programs has reached a record high.
Mr. Speaker, today I would like to recognize Hay River’s recipients of the apprenticeship and occupations honour roll and top mark awards for 2009-2010. The following students have received the honour roll award: Robert Bateman, 4th Level Automotive Service Technician; Jesse Duford, 1st Level Carpenter; Chad Carrington, 3rd and 4th Level Carpenter; Seth Barnaby, 1st Level Electrician; Trenton Daniels, 1st Level Electrician; Robby Thompson, 1st Level Electrician.
Mr. Speaker, this next group of students has received both the honour roll and top marks awards: Kjell Hunter for 3rd Level Carpenter; Sheldon Henderson, 2nd Level Cook; Darryl Buhler, 2nd Level Heavy Duty Equipment Technician; Gordon Elliott, 3rd Level Partsperson; William Bandura, 3rd Level Plumber/Gasfitter; Kim Tybring, Recreation Facility Operator and Aquatic Facilities.
Mr. Speaker, I extend my congratulations to all of these students for their outstanding achievements and wish them much continued success in their future. Thank you.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I wish to speak about the issue of the northern grad nurses and the Minister’s lead statement from last week.
Nahendeh has produced many nursing professionals over the course of time, and I’m very proud of each and every one of them. Last week, Mr. Speaker, my constituent who is from a small community in my riding and is graduating this year from the Bachelor of Science in the Nursing Program was very dismayed by the Minister of Health and Social Services’ remark last week who implied that they need more training in different situations before they can practice and get jobs in our health care system. Outrageous!
The chief of that community called me, as well, to voice his deep concern that we say we will support our youth and students, yet in practice this may not occur. In jurisdictions all across our country, nurses that write the CRNE, the Canadian Registered Nurses Exam, are qualified to be registered nurses. Do we now have a policy that new grads in our system have to go to a Graduate Employment Program to be employed?
My colleague Mr. Ramsay brought up the fact that there are no or very little RN postings due to locum nurses. It is like they are permanent and there no opportunities for our new registered nurses as they graduate. What kind of policy is this? The policy should be that the locums are temporary until we have ready and willing northern trained nurses to fill these positions. Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I’d like to once again talk about the Food Rescue Program and highlight some of what was accomplished within the last three years.
The Donation of Food Act, which was put forward by my colleague Wendy Bisaro, was passed in 2008. This act ensures that those who donate food or who distribute donated food are not liable for possible harm unless it was a result of intent to harm or reckless behaviour. This act has allowed the Food Rescue Program to increase as it serves a pressing need within our community.
From the end of 2008 until December 31, 2011, the Food Rescue Program has rescued 390,000 pounds of food.
Of that, 225,000 pounds was received in 2010 alone. In 2010, Food Rescue donated 222,000 pounds of various food products. A breakdown of this includes some 6,600 pounds of meat, 22,000 litres of dairy products, 3,600 litres of juice, 950 dozen eggs and 2,900 sandwiches. Food banks across North America value each pound of food at about $2. This means in 2010, Food Rescue, along with those people and companies supporting it, has donated and delivered around $440,000 worth of food in the community that would have otherwise been unavailable or ended up in landfills. In addition, approximately 3,500 pounds of compost was produced.
I would like to highlight the work and thank all of the volunteers who have helped this organization be successful. They have all done a lot of work and are a great resource for individuals and other communities who are interested in doing the same kind of thing. I would also like to acknowledge the partners who have helped make this success possible: Central Mechanical, Matrix Aviation, Ryfan Electric, BHP Billiton, the City of Yellowknife, Diavik Rio Tinto, the Yellowknife Liquor Store and Bassett Petroleum, and I apologize to any that I’ve missed.
Mr. Speaker, the Food Rescue Program is performing a valuable service to the community and is seeking to expand further. Last year the program moved into a larger, but temporary, facility on Old Airport Road and the facility is already proving to be too small. Currently the board is exploring opportunities to expand.
Ultimately, Food Rescue has a long-term goal to establish itself somewhere on a permanent basis in a larger facility. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last week I addressed the issue of light sentences being handed out in cases of heinous acts of violence where, Mr. Speaker, the prosecutors and judges were well aware of an individual’s prior convictions. I also spoke about the inadequacy of treatment and programs for inmates in our corrections system.
Mr. Speaker, I’ve spoken to many inmates both while incarcerated and after their release that state the same thing: there is a lack of services available for them while they are incarcerated.
Just last week it was reported that we now have convicted criminals of violent crime asking judges to serve more time, and to serve that time in Alberta so that they can access better programs and services.
Mr. Speaker, something has got to be done to ensure we rehabilitate those that can be rehabilitated, which leads me, Mr. Speaker, to those violent offenders that have repeatedly been convicted of violent crimes in our Territory.
Mr. Speaker, we have a duty to protect public safety. Why are we not pursuing dangerous offender status for individuals who continually use violence against our residents? The predominant purpose of the dangerous offender provisions in the Criminal Code is public protection, and without a doubt our communities would be safer if this government would pursue dangerous offender status for those who it was intended for: dangerous offenders.
Mr. Speaker, in order to pursue dangerous offender status, the prosecution must establish two main matters beyond a reasonable doubt. First, the conviction be a serious personal injury offense, an offense with a maximum sentence of 10 years. Secondly, the offender must be dangerous to public safety, which is evidenced by repetitive behaviour and showing a pattern of persistent, aggressive behaviour towards others.
Mr. Speaker, with this available to us, why are we not pursuing dangerous offender status for those with a long history of violent crimes against our people?
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I’ll have questions for the Minister of Justice at the appropriate time.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the people of the Sahtu for standing up and telling the government when we’re ready to sign the devolution AIP we will decide as a people to move on this agreement. More importantly, we will decide how we want to work and live with each other in the future.
Mr. Speaker, the Sahtu people from Deline, Tulita and Norman Wells met a few days ago in Deline to talk about the devolution table. Actually, Mr. Speaker, a leader and elder from one of our communities made a statement saying that will this be our Custer’s last stand with the governments. Only time will tell, Mr. Speaker.
The Sahtu people came to the table, saw what was on the table and said we’re not ready to sit at this table, we will not sign this agreement today. There is more work before we will sit down with the government.
Mr. Speaker, both the Premier and I heard the Sahtu people speak about their concerns. Not all communities were at the meeting. Fort Good Hope and Colville Lake chose to stay at home and take care of their own houses.
Mr. Speaker, this devolution agreement does impact the Sahtu Land Claim. For example, it clearly states in our Sahtu Land Claim under chapter 22.2: will no longer be in force, if this devolution comes into effect. We want to know who will look after our interests. Already this agreement is making changes to our land claims. There are some obligations that will be transferred from the federal government to the Government of the Northwest Territories. This has caused some serious concerns for the Sahtu elders. Mr. Speaker, especially when a promise is a promise, why do promises keep changing?
Mr. Speaker, the Sahtu do not support any establishment of any super boards. We’re okay with the regulatory process that was set up by the advice of our elders. Most of those elders are buried today, Mr. Speaker. It is Ottawa who has the problem with this process here; they wouldn’t work with our board. Days of issuing permits are long gone. When will Ottawa recognize our Aboriginal rights and our Aboriginal title?
Mr. Speaker, I’ll have questions of the Premier at the appropriate time.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I’d like to speak on the Aboriginal Court Challenges Program that’s in place in this government that we seem to hear very little about. Mr. Speaker, in light of the situation we find ourselves in here in the Northwest Territories in trying to define and challenge who has what rights, I think this fund has been put to use.
Mr. Speaker, the fund provides for an application to apply to receive funds to pay for legal expenses by way of individuals, non-government organizations, in regards to seeking application before the court in regards to the protection and definition of Aboriginal and treaty rights for Aboriginal people in the Northwest Territories.
Mr. Speaker, I for one feel that these dollars have to be allocated to the appropriate organizations so that they can fight for their rights. More importantly, defend themselves in a court of law so that we can clearly identify what those rights really mean, than having just someone stipulate, don’t worry, we’ll take care of your interests, your rights are being protected. At the end of the day, Mr. Speaker, the fund provides for an applicant to apply to receive funds to pay for legal expenses. Mr. Speaker, we have learned from history since 1921, whether it’s Treaty 11 or looking at the Norman Wells Pipeline. People have learned from these treaty experiences, which was because of government and non-Aboriginal people wanting to have access to lands and resources in the provinces in northern Canada that they signed these so-called treaties. Yet, Mr. Speaker, as soon as the ink is dry, their commitments and obligations under those treaty applications are being rescinded, or worse, told sorry, that’s not what the intention was or that’s not what that means.
Mr. Speaker, that is definitely the situation we find ourselves in here today with regard to the devolution agreement that’s been presented before this House and signed by the Government of the Northwest Territories.
Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time I will be asking the Minister of Justice exactly what is the status of this fund, but more importantly, what it is going to take for Aboriginal organizations to access these funds to have their rights adhered to and upheld. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I will speak to the recently awarded GNWT medical travel contract. Apart from the slap in the face that our local travel companies received as the contract was moved south, the decision has had a negative effect on our economy. A local northern small business will close its doors and three employees will be left without a job.
Mr. Speaker, as a government, we should be doing everything we can to encourage and increase our economy, not reduce it. In all likelihood, Mr. Speaker, as a direct result of this contract award, the NWT government will be losing revenue; from lost business and income taxes and from lost federal transfer payments as some of the employees and their families move out. We’ll be increasing expenditures as we pay income support for the others.
I need to express some of the concerns that I have with this contract award. Firstly, I was appalled to learn that it was let as a tender, not as a request for proposal. A tender does not allow for any creativity on the part of the supplier. It is low price no matter what. I was under the apparently mistaken impression that this government is trying to reduce our medical travel costs. If that’s the case, why would we not tap into the creativity and knowledge of travel professionals? Give them the opportunity to present a proposal, to think outside the box, to help us find solutions to reduce our costs?
Secondly, through the tender process, bidders struggled to get timely responses to questions, had to resubmit bids because of an error in the first request for tender document, and had to deal with numerous addendums to the tender. At every step, the changes indicated that Stanton was opening things up to accommodate southern bidders; unknown southern companies and an unknown system change.
I think it highly unlikely that Stanton considered the effects that using an out-of-territory agency would have on medical travel operations. There are unanticipated costs that will be borne by the medical travel office under this new system: the cost to get authorizations to the South by fax or scanning and e-mailing; the cost to print invoices, itineraries, and other documents that come back from the South; and the cost in staff time to educate southern agents about our northern carriers and our unusual routings.
I’m no stranger to the travel industry. Booking northern travel is not like the South. Travel from many of our communities requires much more than point-to-point computer bookings, knowledge a Toronto-based agency would certainly not have.
I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
The medical travel contract is a service and people-oriented agreement. The buyer -- that would be Stanton Hospital -- should take that into consideration when evaluating bids. A tender can’t do that because the tender has only one criterion: the price. On the other hand, a proposal is judged on many things: service, track record and competent staff being three of them. I suspect that we will soon be hearing of difficulties in the medical travel office: inefficiencies, delays, extra workload for staff. I don’t wish for it but when it happens, I will try not to say I told you so.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Notwithstanding the Minister’s good catch-up work described in his statement today, inadequate housing and the delivery of our housing programs remains a huge issue today. For everyone -- workers, parents, children, elders -- the home is the foundation of health. No one can participate fully in society without a place to store and cook food, to sleep, bathe, do laundry, homework, and host friends.
Adequate, accessible and affordable. The latest core needs survey tells us that things continue to grow worse in all these areas. Just having a house isn’t enough. Issues of overcrowding, poor condition and high cost are almost as crippling as the lack of a home.
The affordability figures are startling. Recent figures indicate you must have household incomes of $74,000 to $107,000 to rent privately or own and operate a residence in communities such as Ulukhaktok, Fort Liard, Wekweeti, Fort Resolution and Norman Wells, and even Yellowknifers face high costs as well.
What does this mean? It means many people must live in public housing. It means that, no less than health care, housing must be viewed as a social program with government supplementing costs because real costs are simply beyond many people’s means.
This brings in the administrative side of meeting social needs. While we see progress on rental arrears, local housing authorities continue to suffer budget penalties because of gaps between rents they are expected to collect and those they can realistically collect. For example, one LHO with improved collections of outstanding rents is still being penalized $300,000 per year for uncollected rents. The uncollected amount comes off the next year’s funding. How does that work for bookkeeping and sustainable programs?
No matter how much money LHOs collect, their costs don’t go down and the need for housing only grows. Viewed as a social program, rent collection has nothing to do with an LHO’s responsibility to deliver programs. Removing funding from the next year’s budget does nothing but worsen the situation. When delivering a social program, negative bookkeeping helps nothing. These are difficult issues and I’ll be asking the Minister questions, time permitting, today.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The NWT Seniors’ Society has worked with the Department of Health and Social Services for over 15 years to ensure dignity, independence, participation, security and fairness for seniors across the NWT. As the population of the Northwest Territories ages, the NWT Seniors’ Society is an increasingly important resource for elders across the NWT. It is the only volunteer agency representing the individual and collective interest of all seniors in the NWT.
Its first multi-year funding agreement with Health and Social Services was in 2006 to 2010 and helped the NWT Seniors’ Society fulfill its mandate and offered some stability to their organization. To get that, I can tell you that I, at the time, relentlessly lobbied then-Minister Michael Miltenberger to consider that option, which he finally did. Multi-year funding is beneficial to the Seniors’ Society and, of course, to all NGOs. It allows them to play the delivery role of programs and get the most mileage out of our short territorial resources.
Past governments have supported the Seniors’ Society. Ten years ago documents were tabled in this House recommending some of the actions that the NWT Seniors’ Society works to implement today. These actions include strategies to prevent elder abuse, promote volunteerism, improve income support, coordinate services for seniors and improve housing. These things are among the many factors that contribute to seniors’ health and well-being.
The NWT Seniors’ Society is instrumental in connecting seniors and the support that they definitely need. They have a proven track record of getting things done for the right people who need help the most. Let’s recognize their important role in improving the quality of life for our seniors and reinstate the resources that are needed.
Later today I will be raising the issue with the Minister of Health and Social Services to act swiftly on reinstating a multi-year funding agreement with the NWT Seniors’ Society which has been the hallmark of the last Assembly. I think that issue needs to continue to go forward and recognize the respect and dignity the society needs by our government’s direct and honest support.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m pleased to recognize three members of the National Energy Board: the chairman and CEO, Gaetan Caron; board member, Georgette Habib; and to show there’s life after being a clerk of the Legislative Assembly, Mr. David Hamilton, board member.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Michael McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize today Mr. Patrick Chicot from Kakisa. Patrick’s here with our Pages that are working very hard for us from Kakisa and will be returning home on Friday. I will be recognizing the Pages tomorrow.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Welcome everyone in the gallery today. I hope you’re enjoying the proceedings.
