Good day. Welcome to the House. At this time I would like to recognize a former Speaker of the House and also Premier, Minister, Mr. Richard Nerysoo. Welcome to the House.
---Applause
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Two weeks from today the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games will begin and Canada will be front and centre on the world stage. Shortly after that, Vancouver will play host to the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games. More than 80 countries will be participating in these games and they will attract over 10,000 journalists and three billion television viewers from around the world. With so many visitors coming to Vancouver and so much attention focussed on Canada, the 2010 Olympic Winter Games represent an ideal opportunity to let the world know about the tremendous potential that exists in the Northwest Territories. An opportunity like this doesn’t happen very often. Mr. Speaker, it has been 22 years since Canada last hosted the games and it makes it all the more important that the NWT is represented in Vancouver.
Our priorities as a Legislative Assembly include promoting a strong and diversified economy and increasing awareness of our unique northern identity. NWT residents know that our Territory is rich in resources and economic opportunity. We know that the NWT has some of the finest tourist attractions in the world. We also know that our Territory is home to a diverse mixture of cultures and many talented artists and performers. Our plan is to make sure that the rest of the world knows about it too, and we are taking full advantage of the profile created by the games to promote the NWT as a place to live, visit and invest.
Members may have already heard some of the activities the Government of the Northwest Territories is undertaking to promote the NWT and showcase our art and culture at the Olympic Games. We have already begun a northern marketing campaign in partnership with the governments of the Yukon and Nunavut to attract attention to Canada’s North. Members will also probably be aware of Canada’s Northern House, another joint initiative of the governments of the NWT, Nunavut and with participation of the Government of Yukon. By working together, the GNWT has been able to leverage its investment in promoting the NWT and will be able to extend the reach of our marketing campaign beyond what each territory could have done on their own.
The Government of the Northwest Territories will also be actively promoting our northern art and culture at the games. We have assembled delegations of traditional and contemporary performers and artists who will be travelling to Vancouver to showcase northern talent. A team of Dene and Inuit games athletes will be on hand to show off our traditional games and activities to southern and international audiences.
From the beginning, the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee, VANOC, has worked hard to make these Canada’s games. Part of that effort has been a commitment to showcase each province and territory. NWT Day on February 19th will be the highlight of the GNWT’s effort to promote the NWT at the games. On that night, performers will take the stage at the B.C. Place stadium to deliver a performance that will showcase the best of NWT culture, including traditional drumming, dancing and fiddling as well as contemporary performances.
We are also taking advantage of the opportunity presented by the games to promote leadership development of our youth of the NWT. We have selected a group of 34 youth ambassadors from across the NWT who will be in Vancouver promoting the NWT to visitors and media as they work at Northern House and venues around the city. Similar programs the GNWT has offered in the past have shown that an experience like this can have a major influence on the lives of our youth and help them develop important leadership skills.
Taking advantage of the high profile of the winter Olympic Games to encourage our children and youth to lead healthy, active lives is another part of our Olympic effort. We are doing this through our Right to Dream Program, which is being delivered on our behalf by the Aboriginal Sports Circle of the NWT. Through the Right to Dream, Olympic-related activities and events held in communities across the NWT will help teach our youth about the benefits of participation in sport.
Mr. Speaker, these are the highlights of some of the activities the Government of the Northwest Territories has undertaken as part of our involvement in the 2010 Winter Games. The departments of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Municipal and Community Affairs, Education, Culture and Employment and Executive have been working together for more than a year to make sure that we are prepared to take full advantage of the opportunities the games present to us. Over the next few weeks, I’m sure you’ll hear more about our plans and activities from the individual Ministers as they highlight the activities of their own departments. We are confident that our efforts will help create investment and economic development in the NWT, encourage tourism and open up new markets for our artists and performers.
In closing, Mr. Speaker, Members may have heard yesterday that Hay River athlete Brendan Green was named to Canada’s Olympic Biathlon Team.
---Applause
Brendan continues a tradition of representing the NWT that began in the 1972 Olympics in Sapporo, Japan. He is one of several talented NWT athletes poised to make their mark on the international scene. We should be proud of all our NWT athletes and I would like to invite Members to join me in wishing Brendan the best of luck on behalf of all the people in the Northwest Territories as he competes during the Olympics. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
---Applause
The honourable Minister of Education, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Literacy skills are the foundation of a happy and successful life. On Wednesday, January 27th, families from across the Northwest Territories celebrated Family Literacy Day.
Throughout the Territory, there are many people who are dedicated to helping others in all areas of literacy from numeracy to computer skills. I want to thank the NWT Literacy Council and all the literacy coordinators, aboriginal language instructors, teachers, mentors across the Territory for their commitment. These people make every day a literacy day and I encourage all Northerners to follow their example.
Mr. Speaker, literacy is an essential life skill. People who can read and write are better prepared to live fulfilled lives and contribute to society as a whole. Literacy opens all kinds of doors for a range of opportunities in all aspects of life and connects people with each other. Whatever makes up your family, Family Literacy Day is a perfect opportunity to lead by example and engage the people closest to you in a great activity. You are spending quality time with loves ones and bettering yourself in the process.
Mr. Speaker, one of the best things about literacy is that people do not only have to go to textbooks to improve their skills. There are many simple things everybody can do each day. A parent can read to their kids a bedtime story, which helps both parents and kids improve their skills and develop a love for reading. Sharing traditional stories is another good activity, which not only supports good literacy but also helps us to connect to our culture and heritage. If you are looking for something to do on a weekend, consider taking a trip to the library where books are free if you have a library card.
In closing, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank everybody who participated in National Family Literacy Day activities. We are lucky. There are so many people committed to improving literacy in our Territory and I encourage all Northerners to make family literacy a priority every day. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I will offer general remarks outlining the approach I will take to our debate on the report of the Joint Review Panel. First I want to thank and congratulate the members of the panel for their thorough and dedicated work and thoughtful reflection of the mass of information and views presented.
Mr. Speaker, this huge report and its 176 recommendations reflect the many economic, social, cultural and environmental elements of this massive project. But for all its complexities, the result can really be summarized very simply. The report recommendations are summed up with a straightforward statement that if the project is to proceed on a basis of sustainable development, all of the 176 recommendations must be carried out. Put another way, Mr. Speaker, the panel has said that unless all the recommendations are met, the project shouldn’t be done.
We are now at the point where governments and interveners are reviewing those recommendations and will offer individual views on their merits to the National Energy Board. The regulatory approach of a Joint Review Panel is unique and, at this point in the process, prompts a very major concern for me. Interveners must make their final comments and make them before the major comments of governments are known. Furthermore, the process does not now require that the comments of governments be made public before they are forwarded to the NEB.
In order for the process to proceed in a transparent and public manner, the comments of governments must be made public as soon as they are ready so that all interested people will have an opportunity to comment on the positions of government.
My other major concern is costs. Of the 176 recommendations, 52 involved huge responsibility to fall upon this government. In order to comment on the recommendations, the huge costs of meeting these recommendations must be known. The cost of meeting these responsibilities will be huge and it is certain that this government will not be able to carry out recommendations without major new resources. This puts the issues of increased resource revenues, increased territorial government revenues and a very large increase in territorial government capacity at the forefront. Without the money and capacity, we will never be able to do the work involved. It is essential that our Minister now begin getting confirmed commitments from the federal government for the revenues needed to meet these responsibilities.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted.
As the panel said, if you can’t do it all, don’t do it. Without the money, we can’t do it. I am calling on the government to ensure that if this project is to go ahead, we are able to meet the key recommendations and we must meet all of the responsibilities and get the revenue deal we need to do it. As I have said, we must carry out on the process in an open and transparent manner to involve our public and share in their ideas. I will be asking the Minister of ENR questions as the lead agency. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to start off by thanking Premier Roland and Minister Bob McLeod in particular for all their work on Canada’s Northern House and the work that they have put into that. I had an opportunity to attend the grand opening of Canada’s Northern House on Thursday, January 14th. I would like to advise my colleagues here in the House how impressed I was with this effort. It certainly goes to show how working with our neighbours in the Yukon and Nunavut can lead to many great things. Certainly if medals were handed out for entertainment that day, our own Ms. Leela Gilday certainly would have won the gold medal for her great performance.
Canada’s Northern House is located at 602 West Hastings, a prime location in downtown Vancouver. It houses an interactive northern experience that people can come and enjoy. Mr. Speaker, I don’t want to steal all of the Minister’s of ITI thunder, but the NWT team that is involved in this project should be commended. I was very impressed by the work done by Lynn Feasey from Yellowknife, who is the creative director, curator and gallery retail manager. Whether it is arts and crafts, information about our tourism products, oil, gas or diamonds, or the ability to look at an on-line job bank to find work in the NWT, Canada’s Northern House is, quite frankly, spectacular.
One of the other highlights in Canada’s Northern House is the interactive video where people can send video postcards of themselves to family and friends from around the world. This was extremely popular with the visitors that I saw when I was there. I believe Canada’s Northern House will really attract thousands of tourists, media and athletes that are going to be in Vancouver for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Mr. Speaker, I also wanted to thank the team working, greeting and educating visitors to Canada’s Northern House. I’d like to thank Michelle Smith who is handling the day-to-day operations at Canada’s Northern House on behalf of the three territories, and the staff from the NWT who are helping out: Judy Nadon, Abbey Boyd, Marty Brown, Brenda Dragon, Jackie Challis, as well as Joanna Thiemmesen, who worked with Lynn Feasey on the exhibits and their content. Mr. Speaker, if I missed anybody, I’d like to apologize.
Mr. Speaker, It was great to hear the news that officially our own Brendan Green from…
Sorry, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted.
Once again, I just wanted to say how great it was to hear the news that our own Brendan Green from Hay River was selected to the Olympic team yesterday. Again, I just wanted to share how impressive Canada’s Northern House is, and I urge any Member, member of the public or anybody that happens to be in Vancouver, to check out Canada’s Northern House, or check it out on the Facebook page, Twitter or the website at Canadasnorth.ca. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I stand today probably as the only voice for common sense to express my concern and opposition for the administration of the public housing where they’re going to switch it back from income support to the LHOs.
As we all know, there are challenges with any program, and when the government decided to switch the program over, the administration from Housing to ECE, it caused quite an uproar. Mr. Speaker, it also cost in the range of $1.5 million at that date to undertake that project. Mr. Speaker, now the government has announced, on page 14 of the budget address, that it will now be switching that back.
Amen.
I can only imagine what that will now cost.
---Applause
As you can see, the confusion continues. Mr. Speaker, we don’t have an endless pot of money, and I still think that the program initiative had foresight for the future as to what should really be going on. Mr. Speaker, ultimately our government should be supporting self-sufficiency and self-reliance, and having people go to one centre, a service centre of excellence to help people move forward on the initiatives that they need to get on their own feet was the best idea possible. It’s unusual for government to come up with a clear and simple idea that makes sense, and now they’re reversing it. That’s probably what happens here.
Mr. Speaker, communication, implementation and policy and programs became a confusing factor during this process, Mr. Speaker, I’ll tell you that happens in any program delivery of our system. Mr. Speaker, I can’t tell you about how much biasness I had heard at the start when people said that if they go to income support they’re getting welfare, but if they go to housing programs, it’s just assistance.
Mr. Speaker, a social subsidy program is simply a social subsidy program. It’s the label people chose to put on it, so there was a negative stigma at the very start. Mr. Speaker, I can appreciate the pain that it probably caused a lot of people by filling out one extra form and stopping in the program office to get their help but, Mr. Speaker, that wasn’t confusing. A one-stop-shop centre was the right way to go.
Mr. Speaker, as you can tell from the enthusiasm on this side of the House, that I’m the one voice in this regard, but, Mr. Speaker, I think this is a step backward and it’s going to cost this government more money wasted by switching it back. It had the right vision and the right direction at the time when they did this back in the last government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The Member from Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Mr. Speaker, I wasn’t ready to make a Member’s statement before until I heard Mr. Hawkins Member’s statement. Now I’m ready to make a Member’s statement.
---Laughter
I’m sure he was deafened by the sound of his own applause there, but…
---Laughter
...Mr. Speaker, he was the only one applauding, because I would like to thank the government for responding to the many requests…
Oooh!
...that were put forth by the Members on this side of the House in response to our constituents who told us of their concerns and their problems when this new practice came into place of having ECE manage the housing subsidy. There were problems. They were logistical problems, in some instances, where ECE and the housing authorities were not co-located and information needed to pass back and forth. We caused some great stress to seniors who were living in subsidized accommodation who, all of a sudden, got letters saying what the economic rent was going to be for their unit and they didn’t understand that they would continue to receive the subsidy. But I think we did the right thing as announced in the budget yesterday by Minister Miltenberger. I applaud the government for that, but we did do the wrong thing in transferring it over and I hope that any of the harm that was caused can be now reversed and mitigated by this decision to go back to the way that things were being done. I think that the LHOs did an excellent job of managing the housing subsidy.
When you have small northern communities where there is no market, people don’t have a choice to just go down the street like they would in Yellowknife or Hay River or Fort Smith and rent a place on the private market; it is not available. So, therefore, people are compelled to rent government units and their rent is assessed based on their income, and that is a very useful role that this government plays in those communities where we still do not have a private housing market. So to take all of those people who had no choice but to rent from the government and put them all, essentially, on income support and have their housing subsidy, which has been a traditional way of finding accommodation for them, putting them in that situation I think was not, I don’t want to overplay it, but I do not think it was a good way to approach things.
The realities in the North are different. The housing authorities, the NWT Housing Corporation did a very good job of managing that money. I know that Minister Dent at the time went off to some conference and thought this was a great idea to harmonize subsidies. However, it was not -- sorry, Mr. Dent, still talking about you – but, anyway, congratulations to the government, a good move. Thank you.
Oooh!
---Applause
The Member from Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.
Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday in the House the Minister of Finance announced a transfer of public housing back to the NWT Housing Corporation and ultimately back to the local housing organizations. I feel this was an excellent move. However, Mr. Speaker, the Income Support Program being administered by ECE still has its challenges.
In one of the two communities I represent, we do not have a community services officer. This makes it difficult for people to get assistance in a timely manner, but timely response is not the only issue, Mr. Speaker. The program is a computer program that has no creativity, no feeling and it’s being delivered in communities where employment rates are about 40 percent.
Mr. Speaker, I want to talk about how clients were assessed, are assessed and how decisions are made with respect to their situation. At one time, many of these decisions were made by social workers and in many of these communities these social workers were well known, well liked and they knew the people and the community knew them and in many cases they knew the circumstances behind why the individual or the family was coming for assistance. The system seemed to work well.
Then things changed. The Income Support Program went through a number of changes. Today the program starts off with a six-page application form and we have a program that many of our constituents in smaller isolated communities, the community service officer only comes in once a month or so and the program is very computer-based and decisions on people’s lives are beside it on the computer screen. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Shame.
The honourable Member from Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.
MEMBER’S STATEMENT ON
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, recently I’ve spoken with constituents of mine who are paying over $1,000 a month per bedroom in their respective communities. Mr. Speaker, that’s unacceptable. I cannot imagine a family of four, how can they afford a housing unit like that or having to provide healthy foods for their family; another contentious issue on how the NWT Housing Corporation and the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment calculate the tenant’s income when determining rent.
Even though the settlement allowance and northern living allowance may seem the same, Mr. Speaker, they are not. They are very different. Northern living allowance is exempt on the Public Housing Rental Subsidy from ECE. According to my constituents, Public Housing Rental Subsidy, some people in the same housing unit are assessed differently. In fact, there have even been assessments made on the same person, Mr. Speaker.
Settlement allowances are provided by community governments and northern allowances provided by territorial and federal governments. Constituents are getting penalized for who they work for, Mr. Speaker. Constituents who work for the hamlets should be equal to those that work for the GNWT.
When you work in small communities, there are many challenges such as little or no room for advancement. This is unfair and is another unnecessary challenge to people who are committed to their jobs, but aren’t even given equal rights as employees.
As I expressed in previous sessions, I have been receiving a lot of comments in the Nunakput communities regarding this issue. Many people in small, isolated communities live in NWT housing units because there’s no other option.
Mr. Speaker, although northern allowances and settlement allowances are non-assessable income, evaluation is a complicated formula. There is an enormous inconsistency in these policies in how the staff in regions are expected to use them.
All tenants under the Public Housing Rental Policy, regardless of employment or circumstances, should be treated with consistency, unless for reasonable circumstances such as our elders.
Northern allowance and settlement allowance is given to people in small, remote communities all over this great Territory.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted.
Northern allowance and settlement allowance is given to people in small, remote communities all over this great Territory because of the high cost of living. Even with those allowances, people in my riding are paying 80 percent more for basic necessities than people living in the major centres.
Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the appropriate Minister in question period. Thank you.
The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, we’ve heard the Minister’s 2010 budget address and the main estimates have been tabled in the House. As I listened yesterday, I was struck by a particular statement in the Finance Minister’s address. He said that we’ll have to return to, “a sustainable path,” and, “maintain a tight rein on spending in the fiscal year following this new budget.”
I support our current level of spending and I support the same level of spending for the 2010-11 year as it’s laid out in the budget. But I recognize, as does the Minister, that we will have to reduce or cut back our spending in the fiscal year 2011-12.
It might be a bit premature, but I am already concerned about two things in regards to that 2011-12 budget. First of all, how will we reduce our expenditures and, secondly, what will we do in anticipation of shrinking revenues? The Minister stated yesterday that expenditures will be capped at a 3 percent growth for 2011-12. It’s likely to be a difficult target considering that this proposed budget for 2010-11 is 7.5 percent bigger than the current budget year we are in now.
But there is a knight in shining armour, so to speak, to solve our expenditure dilemma. Two years ago, we established, under the Department of Executive, a new entity called the program review office. It exists to evaluate the business of government to find efficiencies within our bureaucracy and presumably savings, but we’ve heard little about the workings of this office. Granted the program review office did undertake a study of GNWT office space requirements and produced a very comprehensive and useful report, but what else has the office done? Members know about a couple of projects, but are not privy to the results of those projects. It’s quite likely that the results of these projects, undertaken since the office was established, helped to shape the main estimates that we are about to debate. Members have no report to consider and have not been briefed on most of the program review office projects.
I, for one, would like to be able to review the work of this office and be able to know if any savings were realized and I think the public deserves access to these results as well. If we really mean it when we say we are a transparent, accountable government, as we so often hear, then this kind of information must be shared.
Looking ahead a year, what of the 2011-12 budget and the impending cap on our expenditures? What will the program review office be doing over the next fiscal year? Does the Minister of the Executive already know these areas that will be targeted?
Mr. Speaker, I request unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
----Unanimous consent granted.
Does the Minister of the Executive already know the areas that will be targeted for the 2011 budget? If so, will he let Regular Members and the public know? I say again, for the sake of transparency, this kind of information must be shared and I will have some of these questions for the Minister of the Executive at the appropriate time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this morning I was thinking about the issue of the caribou and how important that issue is going to be in the coming months or days in terms of our relationship, this government’s relationship with the aboriginal governments down the Mackenzie Valley. Mr. Speaker, this type of issue has been heard in court, decisions have been made across Canada. There are several cases that can be cited in terms of aboriginal rights to hunt, fish and trap; treaty rights to hunt, fish and trap. Even the Constitution of 1982 has affirmed the aboriginal rights in terms of their way of life.
Mr. Speaker, we even had a court case here about a duck, a famous duck that was shot out of season. We had another issue on hunting caribou in the corridor here in Yellowknife was heard in terms of these type of issues that have a direct impact on an aboriginal nation, people who demonstrate and practice their way of life.
Mr. Speaker, I, for one, wanted to look at this issue. I have not yet concluded my assessment, but I believe that this process here will be a legal process. I believe that our legal beagles around the Northwest Territories and probably Canada have started doing some research as to what rights have been infringed upon, what rights have been violated. Has there been a process of consultation by this government with the affected parties in terms of this issue of banning specific hunts in specific areas in the Northwest Territories?
I believe that politics has greatly played into it, Mr. Speaker. When we heard it in the communities in terms of the interpretation of consultation and telling a nation of people that that is something they aren’t able to do, that doesn’t sit right with a lot of people in the communities.
Mr. Speaker, I believe that issue will have a great impact on our future relationships with aboriginal governments in terms of going forward as a nation on resource development and devolution. I believe we really need to do our work on how we protect our people, but at the same time work with them. Thank you.
The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
[English translation not provided.]
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to convey my deepest condolences to my elder and my friend, Mr. Joe Punch, who lost his wife, Mrs. Julie Punch, this week. I extend, also, my prayers and my heartfelt sympathies to the whole family for the sudden loss of their mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. Her passing is also a loss to the community of Trout Lake and to the communities in my riding. Joe Punch and his late wife were married for 40 years, had 11 children, 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
On behalf of myself, and if I may, Mr. Speaker, express our deepest condolences to Mr. Joe Punch and his family on behalf of the whole of this Assembly. Mahsi cho.
The honourable Member for Monfwi, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. [English translation not provided.]
With the recent tragedy in Haiti, the country that is in great need of help and assistance, to start developing their country over again, a small community in the Northwest Territories has the intention to help. The community of Behchoko, under the spearhead of Michael Botermans and the youth, came up with an idea of how to fully utilize a penny to start developing the country of Haiti over again.
The community initiated a penny drive where kids, community members, elders, leaders, and everyone picked pennies up from the ground, dug into their treasure chests, savings, and their homes. The community pitched in and gave pennies to the worthwhile cause. They saved approximately $2,585 in pennies for Haiti relief and donated it to the Development of Peace, a Canadian non-profit organization.
A penny will certainly go a long way to put food on the table, shelter, put clothes on their backs, rebuild the country, nation, and change the world forever.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s an honour today to introduce His Worship, Mayor of Tuktoyaktuk, Mr. Mervin Gruben in the gallery today.
Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. Robert McLeod.
I would like to recognize His Worship, the newly elected mayor of Inuvik, Mr. Denny Rogers. Welcome to the Assembly, Denny.
