Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to announce that the Government of the Northwest Territories has, for the third time, been selected as one of Canada’s Top Employers of Young People.
The Government of the Northwest Territories is committed to creating a public service that is inclusive of young people and values the meaningful contribution that young Northerners make in the public service. This prestigious designation recognizes employers that offer the nation’s best workplaces and programs for young people who are starting their careers. It is proof positive that the Government of the Northwest Territories is one of Canada’s leaders in attracting and retaining younger employees to their organizations.
Mr. Speaker, being named one of Canada’s Top Employers of Young People also reflects this government’s commitment to education, training and youth development. The Department of Human Resources manages numerous programs and initiatives aimed at creating employment opportunities for Northern students and helping to provide diverse work experiences for young people. This includes:
The Summer Student Employment Program, which provided valuable work experience to over 300 students last summer;
The Graduate Internship Program, which provided relevant work experience to 24 recent northern graduates last year and, in some cases, provided the work experience for interns to move into permanent placements with the public service;
Paid and unpaid educational leave benefits to pursue post-secondary studies; and
Providing meaningful work and an opportunity to shape the NWT’s future to young people in all our communities.
Mr. Speaker, young people are the future of our public service and the Northwest Territories. The Government of the Northwest Territories is committed to ensuring that young people are valued members of the public service by providing opportunities for growth and development throughout their careers. Our government will continue to build on these programs and opportunities for young people for which we were recognized.
Being chosen as one of Canada’s Top Employers of Young People for the third year is a testament to the importance the government places on making a place for young people in our public service. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Small Community Employment Support Program provides wage subsidies to employers in our small communities. Those employers can offer work and on-the-job training to unemployed youth and adults.
That means places like small businesses, schools, local governments, NGOs, and local housing authorities can apply through their local ECE service centre for financial support to train local people in the jobs small communities need.
Last year this program was funded just $339,000; this year, we're seeing a proposed increase of $3 million in the main estimates, plus a further commitment of $1 million.
Mr. Speaker, with this we can hope to see more people training and working, more small businesses thriving, and more families' incomes invested in their communities. We need to put this program to good use.
Mr. Speaker, we heard in the Budget Address that the government intends to develop a Small Community Employment Strategy to improve the way it spends program money.
I'd like to see that strategy lay out a clear, concise plan for improved community engagement and outreach, dedicated job creation, and enhance supports targeted at our young people.
With the new fiscal year rapidly approaching, time is short for preparation and for implementation, but I believe this program will be one to watch. Quyanainni, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to address the issue of elections. As elected representatives of the Assembly, we are all directly affected by how well our electoral system works. Certainly how Canadians vote and the mechanism for determining how that vote produces a representative Assembly is a pertinent topic right now on the national level.
For all of us as representatives, it's important that we have confidence in the electoral process. We need to know that the process is fair in order for us to represent those who voted for us. I want to know the level of support I have, and I need to know what work I need to do in order to represent those who didn't vote for me.
In the last territorial election the numbers of voters declined from the previous election in 2011. We are currently looking at modernizing the Elections Act, making changes to the process to get people more involved. Mr. Speaker, I think we must commit to making this happen well before the next election period. Having this discussion in the last year of our term leading up to the election will be far too late.
We need to consider new ways to inform voters and find ways of making voting easier and more efficient and fair. How can we make sure every qualified voter is registered? How can we make the process transparent and open to anyone who wants to volunteer? How can we streamline the rules and accountability around campaign contributions? We can make sure NWT electors and candidates have these answers before the next election if we get to work on this as a government and put some resources towards this now.
Engaged voters don't just vote; they talk over coffee, around the dinner table. They speak at government meetings and come out to constituency meetings. They write officials and the media and their MLAs to express their opinions. They start and sign petitions, and sometimes they gather in public and have marches.
Mr. Speaker, this Assembly is committed to openness and transparency as a government; this must extend to our electoral process, to make sure that democracy actually works for the will of the people. It's a vitally important conversation, and it's all about having your voice heard.
Mr. Speaker, I want to say thank you to my constituents and all citizens of the NWT who are out there voicing an opinion, stepping up, and getting involved. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Members' statements. Member for Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Naats'ihch'oh National Park is named after Naats'ihch'oh Mountain east-west of Tulita, an influential place for the people of Sahtu. It is near the NWT-Yukon border. The park is in the traditional lands of the Mountain Dene and home to many animals such grizzly bears, Dall sheep, mountain goats, and woodland caribou.
The Sahtu vision identified in the Sahtu Land Use Plan supports the concept of balance between management and development, and one of the Land Use Plan's goals is to increase the economic self-sufficiency of the region through sustainable development by addressing barriers to industry involvement and increasing non-renewable resource development in the region.
The Sahtu Land Use Plan's Zone 41 Proposed Conservation Initiatives designation notes the economic importance of the area for its mineral exploration development potential. An important consideration for the board is that access to high mineral potential areas, such as Zone 41, is essential to the future economic development and supports the mineral strategy under way.
Tourism development potential remains a strong possibility in the Zone 41 region and the area, and it is important that transportation corridors remain successful to encourage possible future tourism development initiatives and balance on realizing the Sahtu potential and being mindful of conservation and preservation. To me, Mr. Speaker, this is truly responsible development, consultation for a meaningful conclusion. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Members' statements. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about the cuts to Aurora College. I am simply confounded by how stubborn the Minister and the government is being with the cuts to the social work program and the Teacher Education Program. How much public backlash and criticism must they face before it becomes evident that this is not what the people of the Northwest Territories want? It is not about us, Mr. Speaker, about the Regular Members, but the people we serve. Their voice has been loud and clear on this issue. They have protested outside this legislature. They have written scores of letters. They have filed petitions. Mr. Speaker, what will it take to put the brakes on this cut and get these programs reinstated?
Mr. Speaker, the government's own Skills 4 Success plan presents the facts quite clearly. From 2015 to 2030, the NWT will need to recruit 777 elementary and kindergarten school teachers, 577 secondary school teachers, 448 early child educators and assistants, and 382 college and vocational instructors to meet replacement and expansion of existing programs.
Also from ECE, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment labour market information resources, we know that social and community service workers are forecasted to increase in demand throughout the next 15 years. The medium-term forecast increase is from 340 positions in 2014 to 410 positions by 2030. That is a 21 per cent increase in positions, and our students will not have an option of obtaining those opportunities here in the North.
What bold initiative is this government taking to ensure we can meet the demand? It seems, Mr. Speaker, that we are cutting the programs that allow these students to seek these opportunities and learn a trade that is in demand here in the Northwest Territories. I stand against that. I am asking this government to reinstate those programs, to reinstate the funding, at least until we get a strategic plan on the table that we can review, assess, and support. Without that support, I think we should stop this plan and get those students back in class where they belong. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Members' statements. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Marci cho, Mr. Speaker. [English translation not provided.]
Mr. Speaker, in 2012, the GNWT laid the groundwork for its anti-poverty plan. One press release described it as our "tattered social safety net." It was three more years before we got an action plan called, Working Together.
Now five years have passed. Forget the tattered social safety net; we are in fiscal restraint these days. Yet Northerners living in poverty still have not seen enduring improvements.
It is not for a lack of trying, but for the lack of coordination and new investment. NGOs, community groups, and public servants work hard, but often, it seems, at cross-purposes.
They are under-funded and limping along with annual roundtables and status quo anti-poverty funding of just $500,000 per year spread over 33 communities.
The problem is that there is no functional overarching government plan, no 14-department strategic attack on poverty. Prenatal work happens over here, with Right From the Start, but work with youth mental health happens over there, with an action plan under Mind and Spirit.
Who makes sure that these initiatives tie back to the anti-poverty goals? Working Together was supposed to coordinate efforts and evolve over time, but it is full of references to work that was already done and under way, not new work or new money. For example, the first plan prioritized better funding for grade school, but the government resists fully funding junior kindergarten.
The second plan said the rent supplement program should address unaffordable housing. Housing is still too expensive, while the budget in 2017 shrinks the program by $300,000.
Third, it recommended that the GNWT address barriers to jobs in small communities. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Regular MLAs are the ones who want to do just that, through increases in the Small Community Employment Support Program.
However, the government wants to try to deliver that program with no changes in the policy, which means they will continue to have problems getting the money out the door. The program is just not deliverable in its current form, Mr. Speaker.
At the end of the day, to truly tackle poverty, we need a well-funded, well-coordinated government-wide approach to guide investments and programs showing the best returns.
We must empower Northerners to take jobs we need in childcare, education, social work, land-based work, not take away from local opportunities. Take Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. If you were to employ two people in Fort Resolution, two in Lutselk'e, and two in Ndilo, that would be six more families bringing in income and getting off income support.
A rising tide can lift all boats, but only if our approach truly brings our people and our anti-poverty efforts together. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Colleagues, I would like to draw your attention to people in the gallery. I would like to recognize former NWT Commissioner, former Speaker, former Minister, former Member, honorary Table Clerk, Mr. Anthony W.J. Whitford. Welcome.
In addition, I am pleased to recognize and welcome a special guest to the Northwest Territories, Consul General of Switzerland, Mr. Pascal Bornoz. Masi for joining us here today.
With them, of course, Carmen Moore; thanks for being with us and doing a fantastic job. Masi.
---Applause
Members' statements. Member for Nahendeh.
Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to introduce all of you to an amazing young lady, Jessie Loutit. I had the pleasure of watching her succeed in sports such as hockey and soccer throughout her years in Fort Simpson.
After graduating from high school in Fort Simpson, she went on to university and decided after two years that she wanted to start rowing with the University of Calgary team. Instantly, she fell in love with the sport and two years later she decided to move to Auckland, New Zealand, to row during the winter months. The time on the water was extremely beneficial for her. Upon returning home, she won a silver medal in the Women's Pair in the 2010 Canada University Rowing Championship. This was the first and only medal won at these championships in the history of the University of Calgary's rowing club.
Mr. Speaker, after this competition she decided she was completely motivated to pursue her dreams of making the national team. Unfortunately, in the summer of 2011 at the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta she had a major road biking accident, which set her back on her rowing goals. Following the accident, she went through two surgeries on her knees and months of rehabilitation and was able to slowly start training again.
In 2013, she moved to London, Ontario, and attended the University of Western Ontario rowing team as well as working on her second degree. She made the varsity team during the 2013-14 season, winning a bronze medal in the 8+ and a national championship banner. To add to her success, she was named to Team Canada to attend the World University Rowing Championships in Korea, and they placed fourth overall.
To fast forward, she moved back to Calgary where she competed for the Calgary Rowing Club and won their Female Athlete of the Year award.
In 2016, she had more success with her teammates at various regattas and attended the National Rowing Championships, where they won a bronze medal only to be beat by two crews who just returned from the Rio Olympics and the world championships. Later that fall, her and her pair partner were named the Calgary Rowing Club Members of the Year. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to finish my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
Thank you, Mr. Speaker and thank you, colleagues. This past year, she won an award from the Provincial Rowing Association for her commitment to this sport.
This year, she will be moving to Victoria, BC, to try out for the national team. I would like all my colleagues to give her a big round of applause and wish her all the best of luck. Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker.
Applause
Masi. Members' statements. Member for Deh Cho.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the majority of the NWT is made up of small communities -- 26 small communities and seven regional centres and two of them in the capital of Yellowknife. Earlier this month, a report on CBC North stated that 2016 population statistics show a decline in small communities compared to the 2011 census. Overall growth of the NWT population remains flat. [English translation not provided.]
Mr. Speaker, economic activities of small communities include traditional activities such as fishing, hunting and trapping, tourism, and seasonal jobs. Governments and First Nations are the main employers in small communities. People leave for jobs and educational opportunities elsewhere.
The current GNWT budget of position reductions and amalgamations favours larger centres. For example, an economic developer officer position that was cut from my community is now serviced and will be delivered out of Hay River.
Decentralization efforts stop at regional centres. Jobs do not reach small communities. Young people do not have opportunities to come back to. The cost of living remains high and does not appeal to people who have gotten hooked on the material benefits and lifestyle that comes from a largerwage economy. [English translation not provided.]
Mr. Speaker, the people who have chosen to make our small communities a home want to see their community thrive. Mr. Speaker, I encourage the GNWT to strengthen our small communities in order to give them a vibrant future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi.
Masi. Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Member's Statement on
Mr. Speaker, the experiences of many single parents -- predominantly women -- who rely upon maintenance enforcement payments are generally not good. Our measures for collecting these vital family supports have improved over time, as have penalties such as lifting the driver's licences of deadbeat debtors, but, as a constituent of mine who is very familiar with these processes has pointed out to me, provisions for collecting and paying garnishees still leave a lot to be desired.
A major failing is that the thinly staffed maintenance enforcement office must track down people owing maintenance payments. Frequently, this means spouses who have fled abusive relationships must monitor the very people they are trying to stay away from. I asked the Minister's office if it would not be possible to require employers to report new hires to maintenance enforcement. I was told this can't be done, owing to privacy laws. Mr. Speaker, I don't accept this. Employers immediately file a TD1 tax form when they hire a new employee so taxes can be collected. If the tax collectors can get their money, so should the spouses owed money for children's food, clothing, and shelter.
Difficulty collecting payments from selfemployed persons is another shortcoming. When payments are made under service and supply contracts, there is often no trail for the money to the name of the person. The legislation needs to be reviewed to create increased enforcement powers.
I will give one other example. The Maintenance Orders and Enforcement Act and regulations say an employer must immediately begin collecting garnishees and remit them within 14 days, but they don't cover how employers process their payroll or how to remit payments. Cheques sent by mail can take a long time to arrive. People owing maintenance may change work frequently, so they are always catching up on long time frames. This needs to be improved.
Mr. Speaker, women are the majority of those relying on maintenance enforcement payments. Women are most frequently the partner fleeing domestic violence. In all fairness, we should build a maintenance enforcement system to serve the people who are owed the money. I will have questions for the Minister. Mahsi.
Masi. Members' statements. Member for Frame Lake.
Member's Statement on
Merci, Monsieur le President. In our mandate, there is a commitment to amend the Environment Protection Act, including the development of air quality regulations. Our government started the long-overdue process of developing air regulations in June of last year. The deadline for public submissions was September 16th. Five months have passed, and the only thing I can see is a statement on the ENR website that says, "An update on the anticipated timelines will be posted in early 2017."
Those of us who lived in Yellowknife before 1999 will remember that sour taste in the back of our throats from the air emissions from Giant Mine. That went on for decades without any regulation whatsoever, contaminating most of the soils around this community. At least one Dene child died from those emissions, and many more people were made sick.
Indigenous elders have raised concerns about fugitive dust from roads of the diamond mines for over 20 years. While the companies have made some effort to reduce dusts from the road, a lot more could and should be done. The correlation of dust from the diamond mines with the avoidance of the mine sites by female and young caribou remains untested. Successive environmental assessments have recommended that air quality regulations be developed by GNWT, and ENR Ministers have accepted that challenge.
Air quality regulations can also be the essential tool to allow us to set a price on carbon emissions to meet our national and international obligations to fight climate change.
The complete absence of enforceable air quality legislation and regulations in the NWT has been highlighted as a problem for many years. It was noted in all the NWT environmental audits from 2005, 2010, and 2015. With devolution now almost three years behind us, there is no longer any excuse for the lack of regulations.
There are serious issues at stake with the proposed air quality regulations proposed by the Minister. Very significant and broad discretion would be housed in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and its Minister. There are very few commitments or requirements to ensure that there is public access to documents, and no opportunities for public involvement.
This is not consistent with the comanagement approach currently in place for land and water, not consistent with the expectation of communities and the public, and not consistent with the mandate of the 18th Assembly towards open government.
I will have questions later today for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Members' statements. Member for Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have a great need for jobs in the Mackenzie Delta. I am really disappointed that very few jobs have been created in my region in recent years. Our government could make a huge difference.
The employment rate in Fort McPherson and Aklavik is barely over 40 per cent. Only one community in the Northwest Territories has an employment rate lower.
The lack of jobs is a big reason that incomes are so low, Mr. Speaker. In one of my communities, 42 per cent of the people who have filed tax returns make less than $15,000 a year. It is very, very hard to live on such a low income considering the high cost of living in our small communities.
When our high school students graduate, this is what they see. For some, it could take years to find a job in the region. Our young people are fighting against the odds, Mr. Speaker, but they are fighting just the same, and I am proud of them.
Even a few jobs can make a big difference, Mr. Speaker. In my riding, a total of 538 people had jobs in 2014. Our government could do incredible good if it found a way to add 10 jobs a year per community for the next three years of our Assembly. That is 90 jobs over three years, Mr. Speaker.
Ninety jobs would take 90 families out of poverty and benefit the government, as well as the people.
Mr. Speaker, one concern I have about the budget is its focus on combining departments and cutting positions to save money, taking work from our people and hurting local economies, for example cutting back the ferry services on the Peel and Mackenzie Rivers. The focus on the budget cuts has taken us away from improving local economies, creating jobs, and other goals of our Assembly.
We seem to forget about the savings and revenue to be gained and people who need work to support their families. I look forward to seeing some job creation by this government in the future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Members' statements. Member for Hay River North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment has received virtually all the blame for Members of this House and from the public for the cutting of Aurora College's Teacher Education Program.
I, too, blame the department, but not for cutting the program -- that was Aurora College’s decision. I blame ECE for allowing the college to operate in a manner that resulted in a teacher program that the college saw fit to cut. The Teacher Education Program costs two to three times more to deliver than similar programs in the South, has a 75 per cent dropout rate, and costs anywhere from $250,000 to $750,000 per graduate.
The worst part, Mr. Speaker, is that the graduates of the program, solely because of where their degrees are from, have a hard time finding teaching positions not only in the South but also in the territory. These are failures of the college, not the students. However, again, I put the blame on ECE for handing tens of millions of dollars over to the college without the oversight to ensure that the people of the NWT get what we pay for and that the graduates of the college get a world-class education and a degree that is respected throughout Canada.
Many of my colleagues have stressed that the decision to cut the Teacher Education Program should be informed by the college’s upcoming strategic plan. There have been strategic plans in the past; the last one was for 2006 to 2015, and arguably it left the program in worse shape. Besides, Aurora College has had 47 years to develop the Teacher Education Program. It should be the college’s crown jewel. Instead, it is the first program that Aurora College has ever cut.
If ECE did not reduce its contribution to the college, there is no doubt that the program would continue on. However, ECE did not tell the college to cut the Teacher Education Program -- the college made that call on its own. Much like what government does, the college found it impossible to find any savings in what many have commented is a bloated administration, and instead chose to cut a program that they knew they were failing to deliver appropriately.
Mr. Speaker, just so there is no confusion, I believe that we should be educating teachers in the Northwest Territories, but I believe that they should be receiving an education on par with anywhere else in Canada. So do we continue to fund the Teacher Education Program regardless of the program’s quality or success, essentially throwing good money after bad? Demanding that the Minister reinstate funding for the program and maintain the status quo might win me political points, but it will not do justice for the people of the Northwest Territories, and that is my concern. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. The first thing we have to do, obviously, is honour the commitment that was made to any of the students in the college’s access program who were assured that they would be able to enter the Teacher Education Program this fall, because I am sure the college knew this cut was coming.
Second, and most importantly, we need to change the way that Aurora College does business. For too long it has operated in a bubble, with this government demanding little from it in the way of financial accountability or educational outcomes. There is no need to wait for the next strategic plan to begin making changes. Strategies, action plans, strategic frameworks: these are too often excuses for inaction.
I would say that the cut of the Teacher Education Program is the canary in the coal mine, but for many years many people have been aware that changes need to be made of the state of the college. Hopefully, this cut is a wake-up call that will spur the government to begin making the foundational changes needed to give us the educational institution that the people of the Northwest Territories need and deserve. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and as you acknowledged earlier, one of the Yellowknife North residents joining us today is the former everything, but is a current resident of Yellowknife North, and that is Mr. Tony Whitford. Welcome.
Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Hay River North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to acknowledge my resident and constituency assistant, Ann Peters, for joining me here this week and appearing in the gallery. She is helping me with all the stuff that falls behind when we are in session. Thank you.
Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Inuvik Boot Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to take this opportunity to recognize a couple of former constituents of Inuvik, Mr. Alex White, as well as Ms. Danielle Deslauriers. Welcome, and I hope you enjoy the proceedings. As well, it is always great to see Mr. Tony Whitford in the gallery, and welcome. Thank you.
Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I am sure he is used to it every time he appears, but I would also like to recognize Mr. Tony Whitford, former Member for Kam Lake. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with the tragedies that have occurred recently in my riding, and this is questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services, can he please advise this House if there are any policies or procedures in place to address tragedies that occur in small communities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Health and Social Services.
