Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. This past January 6-8, 2017, the Kole Crook Fiddle Association held its 14th Annual Jamboree in Fort Simpson. They've held the Jamboree in Fort Smith, Fort Providence, Hay River, and Fort Simpson over the last 14 years.
Mr. Speaker, Kole Crook was a Metis fiddler from Hay River who passed away at the age of 27 on December 31, 2001. He was flying from Fort Good Hope to perform at the New Year's Eve dance in Tulita when the plane he was on crashed. For the people who had the opportunity to know Kole Crook, they would describe him as an individual who would go into the community, introduce himself, and ask if there was anything he could help them with. He was a very spiritual person who had a lot of respect for tradition and elders.
In February 2002, Lewis Beck and Stella Pellissey decided to start teaching interested students in Wrigley how to fiddle so Kole Crook's fiddle legacy could live on. In March, they were able to bring an instructor, Andrea Hanson, to help, and that winter they played at the Beavertail Jamboree in Fort Simpson. This led to a request for assistance to help set up a club in Fort Simpson. From there, a series of workshops were held in the villages of Fort Providence, Kakisa, Hay River, and Wrigley during the summer of 2002. The Kole Crook Fiddle Association was incorporated as a society in January 2003, with five board members. The first act was holding a camp in March 2003. Volunteers with little or no fiddle experience kept the resulting fledgling fiddle chapters alive.
Mr. Speaker, we fastforward to this past January, where there were 75 students attending the workshop, with only seven firsttimers. Ms. Gerda Hazenberg, who is the president and has been involved with the association for at least 14 years, said this year's event was unusual due to the large amount of intermediate and advanced fiddlers who attended the jamboree. According to the Deh Cho Drum, instructor Calvin Cairns stated that the success of fiddlers in the North and their willingness to keep fiddling is one of the things he loves about the Kole Crook Fiddle Association.
At this time, I'd like to seek unanimous consent to finish my statement.
Unanimous consent granted
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank my colleagues. I would like to thank the volunteers, instructors, and organizers for their hard work to keep the Kole Crook story and the love of the fiddle alive for future generations to come. In closing, Mr. Speaker, I'd like to thank the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs for working with the association so they can access funds. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Health and Social Services budget is the largest in the GNWT, at $414 million for this fiscal year, and, incredibly, it's not enough to meet existing or future healthcare needs. The new healthcare funding deal announced last month isn't going to make a huge difference to the bottom line. Thanks to a decision by the Conservative government, beginning April 1st this year, the Canada health transfer was scheduled to drop to 3 per cent a year.
When the Premiers met in December, they wanted a 5.2 per cent increase, but, in a bilateral deal reached last month the Premier walked away from the coalition and settled for a 3 per cent annual increase for the next 10 years. That's half of what we get today, and it's important to note this is a 10year deal. Ottawa is offering a continuation of the medical travel and healthcare money, as well as $7.4 million in targeted money for healthcare infrastructure and $6.1 million for mental health initiatives for youth. That still leaves a significant shortfall.
Almost a year ago, the Minister of Health and Social Services released the longterm care study. It revealed an additional 259 beds will be needed in the next 10 years. He estimated that it would cost $200 million to build or provide these beds, and an additional $33.5 million annually to provide services to those clients.
Mr. Speaker, a $7.4 million contribution by the feds over the next ten years is literally a drop in the ocean, and spending to meet these longterm care bed needs should be under way already. Where is the money going to come from? Not from Canada, under the terms of the current deal, so that means that GNWT will have to find the money from other sources. That means making cuts or increasing revenue. Anxious Northerners want to know.
Healthcare is a hotbutton issue with voters, and rightly so, but information is hard to find. The GNWT hasn't even issued its own media release on the deal. Contrast this approach to the hoopla that accompanied the announced federal funding for the road to Whati. Is the Premier not proud of deciding to walk back his commitment to negotiate with his colleagues on a national health deal rather than participate in a bilateral agreement? Is he not proud of the money he's bringing to the Territories for healthcare?
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement. Mahsi.
Unanimous consent granted
Thank you, colleagues. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Premier told CBC's Power and Politics of the negotiations with Ottawa that "we got what we needed and wanted." If that's the case, Mr. Premier, tell us how this healthcare deal is going to accomplish those goals, because the math that we have now doesn't add up. I will have questions. Mahsi.
Masi. Members' statements. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. In my Frame Lake riding lies the heart of tourism service in our capital. The Northern Frontier Visitors Centre is a physical presence and is an online and on-call resource for tourism. The centre is the heartbeat of tourism for Yellowknife.
Just look at the numbers. In 2016, 55,233 people visited the centre. This is a visitation increase of more than 400 per cent from 12,230 visits recorded in 2015. The centre mailed out information packages to 7,402 customers last year. Website visits totalled 155,000 hits. The airport gift shop run by the Northern Frontier Visitors' Association was visited by 35,521 customers, and information requests increased from 3,000 in 2012 to more than 8,600 last year. Canadian visitors account for about a third of the centre's business.
The results, thanks in large part to the centre's information promotion activities, for prospective visitors and walk-in guests tourism is a major economic success story here in Yellowknife. Consider aurora tourism alone: since 2008-2009, aurora viewing visitation in the Northwest Territories centred almost exclusively in Yellowknife has jumped 440 per cent, from 5,500 visitations to 24,300 last year. Spending has soared right along, rising from $10.2 million in 2011-12 to $40 million last year; a 390 per cent increase. As anyone watching the new parkas knows, visiting the Northern Frontier Visitors Centre is a must for most of these tourists.
As anyone who has visited the centre knows, the building is falling apart. The rear portion of the building has been closed, eliminating display space for visitors. Major renovations or a total replacement is inevitable.
A structural engineering study is under way now, co-funded by CanNor and the GNWT. The study will examine key questions. Is there a long-term permanent fix to the structural instability of the building besides a levelling or other system that requires continual monitoring and adjustment? Can the damaged rear portion of the building be removed and an addition be reconstructed? Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi to my colleagues.
Does the entire Visitors Centre -- is it unsalvageable and is a new facility required? A parallel study is also under way to evaluate and quantify the importance of the centre for Yellowknife tourism, economy, and scoping possible sources of funding for either renovation or replacement.
With numbers like the ones I've cited today, it's hard to imagine how any study could fail to establish that the centre is an essential piece of Yellowknife tourism infrastructure. I'm raising these accomplishments today to salute the contribution of the centre and its staff to the vitality of the Yellowknife economy. I'm raising the centre's needs to reinforce how continued support and assistance from this government must ensure this economic locus doesn't suffer from a lack of wisely invested new resources. I'm sure all the Yellowknife MLAs are going to be watching closely for the results of the engineering and economic studies as well. I'll have some questions later today for the Minister of Tourism. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Members' statements. Member for Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today my Member's statement is on the Esso Norman Wells reclamation. Mr. Speaker, I produced a discussion paper on this industrial land remediation and reclamation issue last September, and the intent of stewardship responsibilities under devolution.
Mr. Speaker, being responsible and proactive would mean setting up an oversight committee and only show to the federal government, a one third shareholder of the oilfield, and the operator that we take these responsibilities very seriously, but also demonstrate to the rest of the NWT residents.
Mr. Speaker, this reclamation has seen approval of the closure and reclamation permit approved by the Sahtu Land and Water Board issued prior to Christmas. One particular example of oversight is an old, abandoned landfill outside the proven area boundary. This contamination was a disposal site for many different types of industrial waste and containers. I know, because I was paid to put it there.
---Laughter
Mr. Speaker, later I will have questions for the Minister of Lands and see if I can get paid again. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Members' statements. Member for Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, during the last sitting in October I had a few questions for the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation about the heating of the Joe Greenland Centre, a home for elders in Aklavik.
We've been through a few ups and downs with the Joe Greenland Centre. Back in 2012 it had closed down, but thanks to the work of Members and government at the time, it reopened in the fall of 2015. The Department of Health and Social Services teamed up with the Housing Corporation on the design. The new facility has many different modern features; all the things that help seniors age in place and maintain their independence, like wide doorways, no step entrances and a main floor bathroom.
Last year, though, there were a few hiccups. I learned that elders were too cold in their new home. They ended up using space heaters to stay warm. Four units and a cost of $1,440 in the winter of 2015-16.
Still, the Housing Corporation did take action. A contract to install additional radiators was awarded and they planned to finish the work by the end of October 2016. Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, my constituents are still advising me that high heating costs are being passed on to the residents, Aklavik elders. Mr. Speaker, I hope the Minister and I can get to the bottom of this today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I'll have questions later today.
Masi. Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I guess it's my turn to weigh in on the issue of junior kindergarten. Sadly, I'm not sure if discussions this week following the Budget Address have cleared up the many questions people have.
For the record, I've been a supporter of JK through the election campaign and since. I remain a strong advocate of the program. I recognize that families and communities are different, having different needs and resources to apply to their children's education. Many parents have come to me to say that JK must be fully funded. They say it must not diminish other programs or interfere with other successful early childhood education initiatives.
I have urged the Minister and department officials to work closely with those grade education providers, making sure we offer the best possible education programs for all four-year-olds. Adding JK to our education system must not mean that we lose teachers or resources from some other part of the system.
It's also important that we clarify our commitment to inclusive schooling. Our mandate states our commitment to inclusive schooling in grades K through 12. Mr. Speaker, inclusive schooling must be a part of JK as well.
It is a very complex issue, and it is obviously an emotional one. Parents care deeply about the programs and opportunities that will shape their children's lives and future, and JK will not only have an important impact on four-year-olds, it will also affect families. JK may mean that a single mother or father can continue their education sooner, or a young family may be able to add an additional income. Because of these broad implications, let's consider junior kindergarten in its overall role in the education system.
Our goal is to graduate young people from our system prepared to move on to their next chosen level. They must be ready to move on to their next goal, be it post-secondary education, a trade, or a start in a career. Junior kindergarten will become an important first step in the system. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement. Thank you.
---Unanimous consent granted
Thank you, colleagues. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. From what I am hearing, we need to get better at sharing information and collaborating on solutions. We have to engage with parents, students and teachers to build trust. We need to work together for our future. We must avoid the trap of divisive politics: communities against Yellowknife, region against region. We must build trust on this issue to make sure we do it right for our children, and for their children. We cannot lose sight of the ultimate goals, Mr. Speaker. We must commit to fully funding junior kindergarten. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Members' statements. Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the Nunakput region, an average of 37 per cent of households had housing programs, while an average of 20 per cent of households were in core need.
That means it falls below at least one of the acceptable standards for adequacy, affordability, and suitability, and the household would have to spend more than 30 per cent of its income to achieve suitable housing. While these rates are still too high, I do congratulate the Housing Corporation because both the rates have largely gone down since the last community housing survey in 2009, but separate from quality of existing housing, we also know there's a big availability gap.
Mr. Speaker, we've heard from the Minister that, in the Northwest Territories overall, there are likely approximately 600 families on the public housing waiting list. That's roughly one third of the number of households already using public housing. We all know that we are staring down the barrel of this huge challenge, Mr. Speaker.
In fact, here in the House I talked about how availability affects Nunakput residents, homes for singles and single-parent families, and housing for emergencies like women seeking shelter from male violence and Northerners seeking respite from homelessness.
Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Minister of Housing later on. Quyanainni, Mr. Speaker.
Mahsi. Members' statements. Member for Hay River North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today, I want to recognize the accomplishments of four outstanding women from Hay River, and to thank them for going above and beyond to serve their community.
Carolyn Carroll is the principal of Harry Camsell Elementary and Princess Alexandra Middle School in Hay River. This week, she was recognized as one of Canada's outstanding principals along with 39 other principals from across the country by the Learning Partnership, a national organization dedicated to publicly funded education in Canada. She's been teaching in the NWT for 30 years, and the last 20 in Hay River. Mr. Speaker, I've seen her passion for what she does, and how much she cares about children. I hope we can hold onto her for another 20 years.
Laura Rose is the driving force behind, and really the heart and soul of, the Hay River Soup Kitchen. For her work with the Soup Kitchen, she was recently awarded the Sovereign's Medal for Volunteers from the Governor General of Canada. This official Canadian honour recognizes exceptional volunteerism and is awarded to those who have made significant, sustained, and unpaid contributions to their community. She's been managing the soup kitchen for 21 years, almost from its very beginning, and the enormity of her contribution to Hay River can't be quantified. Our community is truly blessed to have her.
Jackie Milne is the president of the Northern Farm Training Institute in Hay River. She was recently awarded the Meritorious Service Medal by the Governor General of Canada. This award highlights remarkable achievements for exceptional deeds that bring honour to our country. She has dedicated her life to restoring food independence in the North by working to develop food production systems for our unique environment and by training citizens from across the North not only to farm, but to turn their farms into viable commercial enterprises that create local, sustainable employment. What she's created has the potential to change how we think about food in the North.
Finally, Mr. Speaker, I'd like to recognize the other principal from Hay River, Lynne Beck. She recently received the Ministerial Restorative Justice Award from our own Minister Sebert for her significant contributions to establishing restorative justice practices in her school as an alternative form of discipline. She was nominated by her peers to acknowledge the positive difference and change for the better within the school that she's made. She recognizes that punishment does not work, so her policies focus on mediated conversations that result in concrete plans to move forward and restore the dignity of both sides in the conflict, and it's been working. In the last two years, there have been zero suspensions.
Mr. Speaker, I hope this Assembly will join me in recognizing these accomplishments, and thanking these women for their service to the community.
Masi. Members' statements. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today, I want to talk about a program that is a very good program for the community, called the Community Access Program.
Mr. Speaker, that program at this point has about $1 million in it, and that's distributed to the communities. It seems like a small program, which it is a small program, but I found benefits to that program to be very big, actually. The benefits of being able to access gravel, as an example, is just one benefit that the Community Access Program, I found was something that was very positive for the community.
Some of the communities right now actually bring in a contractor that can come into the community with a crusher, crush gravel, and then they use that gravel around the community for foundations or roads, and so on.
One of the things that I thought ongoing funding for a program like the Community Access Program would provide would be the flow of money each year through that program that will allow a community say, for example, like Lutselk'e to buy themselves a small crusher, something they would need. By using that crusher to continue to build a road to Austin Lake is one of the places the elders thought would be very beneficial to opening up traditional area that, right now, people are accessing in the wintertime by snowmobile, and the summertime by four-wheeler. It's very difficult to get a boat into that area of their territory. One of the things they had asked is that a road be built out that way, and this is an access road program that can do that. It puts people to work. It trains people. Aurora College is putting a shop up for HEOs, heavy equipment operators, and this program can do that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Members' statements. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, post-secondary education in the Northwest Territories is very important to me. I believe it is a way we can bring transformational change to the Northwest Territories and give a real future for our residents, and invest in our young people, allowing them to pursue opportunities here at home in the North and not have to leave to the South.
I've been quite dismayed to learn from constituents and students at the college that they were abruptly told the Social Work Diploma program has been cut from Aurora College and will be phased out by 2019. This has caused a great deal of upset amongst the current students and people who were looking forward to this opportunity.
Social work is, of course, a very important way to support northern communities. It is often difficult to bring a Northern perspective to that work when you learn to do it in a southern institution. The realities of working in a northern jurisdiction, in isolated and remote communities and, of course, with many Indigenous nations here in the North, require a specialized and focused training, something that Aurora College was offering.
This change comes at a time when we have not yet seen the new strategic plan for Aurora College that the Minister has committed to revealing this year. Yet we've seen several other strategic decisions seemingly made ahead of this strategy, a new multi-million-dollar heavy equipment operators' training facility at Fort Smith, and reorganizing the college under labour development, which ties into the Skills 4 Success Plan. We are making strategic decisions, Mr. Speaker, and the Minister is making those strategic decisions and giving more direction to the college, yet we still do not have this plan.
When these decisions are rolled out, seemingly as and when suits the college or the department, it causes a great deal of consternation for students. We owe it to them to give them certainty about their future and so they clearly understand why these decisions are being made. I implore the Minister to speed up this work and ensure that the strategic plan and the future of Aurora College is known well ahead in advance for Northerners so they can start investing and preparing their future opportunities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to take the opportunity today to recognize one of Yellowknife's very strong social community advocates and also a Yellowknife North resident, Arlene Hache. I also want to take this opportunity to recognize a couple of pages from my riding. I would like to recognize Simone Hipfner from Sir John Franklin School, as well as Riley Menard from Sir John Franklin School, both residents of Yellowknife North, and I certainly want to thank all of the pages for what they do for us. We can't do our job without them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also want to take a moment to recognize Arlene Hache, who is a strong social advocate not only for the community of Yellowknife but for community members throughout the Northwest Territories. Arlene Hache is also a strong mentor of mine. I've known her as a personal friend over 20 years, and if anyone blames me for tenacity it's partly her fault. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Hay River North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to recognize Rocky Simpson, a Hay River resident, my former employer, my landlord, and my father. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Frame Lake.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to recognize Tyler Dempsey. He's the assistant manager of the Northern Frontier Visitor Centre. Staff there are very helpful. They offer a fantastic service. I'm not sure if she's there or not. I think Tracy Therrien might be up there. I can't see her. She's the manager, and I want to salute and congratulate them on all the fantastic work that they do. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd also like to recognize Ms. Arlene Hache, a tenacious advocate for those in need in society and also a member of the Order of Canada. She's brought great distinction to the Northwest Territories for her years of work and great distinction to our House for being here today. Thank you.
Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would also like to recognize Rocky Simpson, a business person there from Hay River working hard to provide some homes for my constituents. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday I was asking the Minister of ECE a number of questions trying to clarify what's happening with junior kindergarten. In my role as the Chair of Social Development and in my travels in the communities, we've been hearing a number of concerns raised. So has the department looked at other options in communities with existing options instead of implementing junior kindergarten? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
