Debates of March 15, 2018 (day 27)

[English translation not provided.]

Mr. Speaker, the expansion and growth of the Northwest Territories' manufacturing sector offers a means to diversify the economy and encourage greater economic development and investment.

For that reason, our government has committed to developing a northern Manufacturing Strategy in collaboration with industry and the Northwest Territories' Manufacturers' Association.

In this government's mandate, we have committed to developing a Northwest Territories Manufacturing Strategy that will expand our territory's manufacturing sector; identify areas of potential growth; promote and market NWT manufactured products; and aid in the professional and technological advancement of manufacturing in the Northwest Territories.

The development of this strategy is being guided by research and engagement with existing manufacturers, prospective manufacturers, key stakeholders, and the public.

The department investigated the market factors that point to what needs to be done. Dialogues, public engagement sessions, and industry meetings have given us an understanding of what stakeholders want to do, and facility tours and industry meetings have demonstrated what can be done.

Over the past few months, ITI's project team hosted 11 public sessions and an additional 60 stakeholder

engagements, talking face-to-face with as many as 174 individuals about manufacturing in the Northwest Territories.

A web-based engagement portal was also used to gather feedback from those who were unable to attend engagement opportunities in person. The website was accessed 262 times and follow-up communications were conducted by phone or email.

Mr. Speaker, the findings of our meetings and engagements will be formally captured in a "what we heard" report that we will release in April. It will offer an understanding of the challenges, ideas, and opportunities raised by NWT residents, manufacturers, and stakeholders.

Many of the discussions addressed the common challenges of working and operating a business in the North. Freight and utility costs, in particular, are impeaching on our manufacturers. Staff recruitment, training, and retention were also identified as challenges.

As expected, our government's procurement policies and practices were a topic of much discussion. We recognize that more communication and clarity will be needed in this area.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, we heard that we need to increase markets, outside government, for products manufactured in the NWT, and develop supports for NWT manufacturing beyond the existing Northern Manufacturers Policy.

Mr. Speaker, our engagement process will generally inform our strategy development. In addition to identifying the challenges, issues, and concerns of the Northwest Territories' manufacturing sector, our conversations and meetings have confirmed the opportunities and strengths on which we will now build and move forward.

I look forward to sharing a draft of the Northwest Territories' new NWT Manufacturing Strategy with Members in time for our May-June session. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Ministers' statements. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories has made a commitment in its mandate to support our seniors to live in their own homes for as long as possible while ensuring adequate supports when they can no longer do so. I would like to provide an update on our continued efforts to make this commitment a reality.

As Members know, the government put in place a strategic framework, Our Elders Our Communities, which supports a comprehensive approach to meeting the needs of our seniors.

Current work related to the seven priorities in this framework is ongoing and includes:

Planning for future long-term care beds in Yellowknife, Hay River, and Inuvik;

Planning for extended care beds in alignment with the timelines of the Stanton Renewal Project;

Supporting Health and Social Services Authorities with training on the Supportive Pathways approach;

Supporting authority staff to attend Elders in Motion training;

Collaborating with the authorities on policies to support implementation of the new Continuing Care Standards;

Planning to pilot tools developed with the NWT Seniors' Society to screen for elder abuse; and

Collaborating with the NWT Seniors' Society to validate tools and the approach to support early integration of palliative care.

We are also making progress on the activities outlined in our Continuing Care Services Action Plan. Research and analysis for a Paid Family/Community Caregiver Option Pilot is currently under way in order to identify the needs of seniors, adults with disabilities, and their caregivers. We want to empower our seniors by allowing them to decide who they want to assist them with their unmet care needs. This type of program will be of particular importance in our smaller Indigenous communities, where resources are limited, connection to family is strong, and aging in place is favoured. The federal investment of $890,000 to the program over the next four years will undoubtedly aid in its overall success.

Mr. Speaker, the department is advancing work on the Yellowknife Adult Day Program. A thorough review of the AVENS Elder's Day program was conducted in 2017, which informed the need for adult day programming in Yellowknife. A request for proposal was issued earlier this winter. The department is working closely with the Yellowknife Region of the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority to re-establish adult day services for seniors in the City of Yellowknife.

A few months ago, we released the sixth edition of our Seniors' Information Handbook. This resource provides a comprehensive list of programs and services that seniors and their caregivers can access to make informed decisions about their care. We distributed this handbook in a widespread mail-out across the territory and continue to receive requests for copies to this day. We are proud of this resource and are thankful to all of our partners who contributed to its completion.

I am also pleased that officials from government have begun working with the NWT Seniors' Society to develop a report card on GNWT programs and services for seniors. The report card is an opportunity to inventory and assess the effectiveness of GNWT programs and services either designed for or accessed by seniors, determine how well they are meeting seniors' needs, and identify areas for potential improvement or better coordination. The first steps are to draft terms of reference for the project, to start an inventory of all programs and services for seniors across government, and to begin an assessment of the effectiveness of these programs and services in order to identify areas for improvement.

Mr. Speaker, knowing that the number of adults over the age of 70 will nearly triple by 2034, we are making significant strides to ensure our elders can age safely in their homes with dignity while surrounded by family. This issue will remain at the forefront of GNWT priorities as we strive for our Best Care, Best Health, Better Future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Quyanainni, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with new money rolling in from Canadian Heritage to revitalize, preserve, and enhance official Indigenous languages, this funding is imperative to the survival of our languages and culture that have been undergoing a pattern of decline. It is my hope that the Northwest Territories will have a success story about the language revival and become an example for the rest of the country to follow.

Mr. Speaker, one of the reasons why linguistic heritage is often in danger of extinguishment is because of colonialism and the treatment of non-dominant languages and culture being rendered invisible. The fate of our languages can be drastically changed simply by the fact that children no longer learn them.

One way we can help language revival is to teach children from an early age. Who better to teach them than our elders, who are some of the greatest teachers of our society? An example is possibly having daycares in the same buildings or streets as homes for elders, and include elders and children's engagement in the daily schedules of activities.

Mr. Speaker, elders hold valuable knowledge and wisdom in all topics of life. They have valuable talents, skills, and expertise that are so relevant today. Elders are some of the most concerned when it comes to youth, children, and families. Mr. Speaker, elders are keen observers of their environment, offering us guidance and awareness that help our communities. Throughout various colonialization forces, our elders remained filled with hope, faith, and humour intact, which tell the rest of us something about the power and validity of traditional teachings, healings, and resilience. Mr. Speaker, we must take care of our elders, not only because they need us, but because we also need them.

Mr. Speaker, we must promote our elders, to socially include them with family, friends, and organizations in their communities. If we empower our elders in this way, elders are able to fulfill their intergenerational roles in transferring their knowledge and traditions to the next generation, which would help them be more active and effective in teaching and maintaining preserving our cultures, traditions, and way of life.

Mr. Speaker, it is crucial to involve our elders in all areas where they can meaningfully participate in intergenerational relationships, especially when it comes to children and the revival of their mother tongue. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Nahendeh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as you have heard, the Nahendeh region has dealt with a number of tragic deaths in the past year. We have had a lot of people working on helping the residents deal with this matter. Last June, the Deh Cho Divisional Education Council trustees directed the staff to plan a conference around the theme of mental health. This is one way to respond to the sixth suicide in the past six months, a young woman from the community of Fort Simpson. There was a concern that our youth needed more information on how to live healthy lives and make positive choices. A conference was determined to be one of the starting points for educating our youth and leading into substantial follow-up in the area of mental well-being.

The council staff worked with representatives from Municipal and Community Affairs, Health and Social Services, and First Nations to work on organizing the conference this past February in Fort Simpson. The theme, Living Well for Oneself, evolved in response to the student survey on what they would like to know and do, as well as incorporating some of the direction from youth we met over this past summer.

The two-day sessions were organized in a conference-like format with a focus on mental wellness. In the evening, there were various recreational activities, from sport and traditional games to yoga and meditation, as well as various arts. Quiet areas were set up in the school, including open studios for those wanting to decompress using an art medium. A MUCH Music dance on Wednesday night was followed by two MUCH Music motivation presentations on Thursday morning for conference participants and for the Bompas students.

The conference was attended by 189 students from grades 7 to 12 from all of the eight Deh Cho communities. They were able to provide strategies to support students to deal with mental health issues and to develop and maintain a healthy balanced life. Conference organizers felt that they had strong partnerships and buy-in from all organization and a stronger action to move forward. I would like to share a couple of comments from the youth who responded to the following question: "What one or two messages were important to you?"

Mental health is a serious topic.

Never be ashamed of what and who you are.

Believe in yourself; you are not alone.

They had 28 students complete this section, asking them to identify themselves if they needed to talk to anyone.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, the one saying, "It takes a community to raise a child," is so true. However, I would like to take it one step further and say it takes the region and territories to help our youth grow.

From the bottom of my heart, I would like to thank the organizations, the government, and the youth for an excellent first start. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Deh Cho.

Mr. Speaker, can you feel it? Can you hear it? Mr. Speaker, the Arctic Winter Games are fast approaching, and the opening ceremony of the 2018 South Slave Games is taking place this Sunday, March 18, in Hay River. Hay River is the traditional territory of the K'atlodeeche First Nations, along with the West Point First Nation and the Metis Nation.

While part of the games will also be held in Fort Smith, the Dene games will take place on the Hay River Reserve. I look forward to the cultural events, such as stick pull, snow snake, hand games, and drum dances.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to acknowledge some of the athletes and coaches from the Deh Cho riding:

Beth Hudson from Fort Providence is Team NWT's coach for table tennis;

Katherine Lenoire from Enterprise is a curler on the junior team; and finally

Shannon Bonnetrouge from Fort Providence is the territorial champion and will be competing as a junior table tennis athlete.

I would also like to recognize the many people who made this possible in the towns of Hay River and Fort Smith, the parents and the cheerleaders who will be cheering on their favourite team and players. Mr. Speaker, I am proud that the Deh Cho will be represented at the Arctic Winter Games, and we will be rooting for team NWT. Best of luck to our athletes. They are our future Olympians in the making. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Best of luck to all athletes for the Northwest Territories. Members' statements. Member for Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can you feel it? Mr. Speaker, I am very proud of the athletes who are excited to be travelling this weekend to participate in the Arctic Winter Games in Hay River and Fort Smith.

Mr. Speaker, athletes have worked countless hours preparing, training, and focusing on achieving in their sport to get to this level of competition. I wish to congratulate all athletes. These games are going to be memorable as they go out and compete, making the NWT proud of their accomplishments. They will make new friends, see different territories, provinces, and different countries participating and enjoying the extracurricular activities that Hay River and Fort Smith have to offer.

Mr. Speaker, I commend the community supporters, parents, and coaches who have helped get their athletes to the Arctic Winter Games. I also want to recognize athletes from the Mackenzie Delta riding who will be participating: Kendall Archie, Arctic sports; Keegan Arey, Dene games; Logan Arey, Dene games; Monica Arey, Dene games; Frank Elanik, Dene games; Annie Erigaktoak, Dene games; Maurice Blake, Dene games; Madison McLeod, snowshoeing; Ruth Hanthorn, snowshoeing; Jesse Hanthorn, snowshoeing; Darby Robert, snowshoeing; Joel Arey, snowshoeing; and A.J. Charlie, for hockey.

Good luck. Try your best. Be proud. Play fair. We will be cheering you on. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Frame Lake.

Merci, Monsieur le President. Our government is sponsoring a disturbing talk at the Association for Mineral Exploration Roundup Conference that took place in Vancouver in January. This talk is still available on the Internet. The event was billed as an "Indigenous partnership breakfast, an event celebrating Indigenous participation in mining and exploration." The speaker from BC said a number of things that I have tried to highlight word-for-word:

"People want to talk about negotiating treaties. We have been at it for 35 years [and] should be able to settle it now."

"Non-Canadian money and non-Canadian interests come into our Aboriginal communities and use First Nations to stop economic development without really looking at our issues. Instead, they promise eco-jobs, tourism, green-energy futures. Everyone is going to be working. Everyone is going to get lots of money, but as soon as they stop an economic development project, they leave town, and they are never coming back. These are well-funded organizations that have big offices in Vancouver, big offices in the US and all over the place, but they leave the minute that they stop your project. Your band members receive nothing. Maybe a few people get funded. Maybe a few of them get cash awards. Maybe some of your leaders get rich from some of these environmental organizations."

"These environmental organizations divide communities. They put Native against Native in terms of violence, in terms of vandalism, and they know this. They don't care about your community. I am seeing this all across BC."

"Also, what they do is set up your community to go to court either against their own people, against their own system, against the corporations, against the government, and then they will just sit by and intervene on a separate topic. It is all part of their plan to stop the growth of BC and Canada."

Those are the end of some quotes, Mr. Speaker. It was notable that our Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, in thanking the speaker, said that it is "important for us to push back on the naysayers."

While I and others in this House enjoy a healthy debate on the future of the NWT, for our government to sponsor such inaccurate, divisive, and hateful views is very disturbing.

I will have questions for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment on whether our government shares these views and whether there is any evidence of these non-Canadian environmental organizations in the Northwest Territories or the criminal activities that they are alleged to support or instigate. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as we wrap up this session and look outside, we see the longer days are returning and the temperatures are slowly warming. Late winter in the NWT is a magical time of year. It is a time of renewal and festivity. Here in Yellowknife, some special community events provide an opportunity for that celebration.

The Snowking's 23rd season is well under way, Mr. Speaker. The festival draws visitors from across Canada and other parts of the world. The amazing castle, under tutelage from Snowking himself, Tony Foliot, is built by hand by a hardy group of souls starting right after New Year's. With a courtyard and slide, a grand ballroom and various nooks and crannies, the Snow Castle has evolved into a masterful thing of beauty. It is a true community treasure.

I want to congratulate another group of dedicated people who are working hard to put another great event on. I am referring to the board and volunteers who are gearing up for the seventh annual Long John Jamboree.

The jamboree celebrates the best parts of being a winter city. Games on the snow stage, live music in the carnival tent, arts exhibitions, the heritage tent, la Cabane a Sucre, the Burn on the Bay, curling on the lake, and the international ice carving competition have made the Long John Jamboree another winter festival we can all be proud of.

In eight days, the jamboree will kick off. Organizers and volunteers have been working hard for months, dedicating hours of hard work and creativity to create a winter festival that is accessible, fun, and celebrates our northern traditions.

Along with the jamboree and Snowking, Yellowknife Bay has a never-ending stream of activity in the month of March. That includes one of Yellowknife's longest standing traditions, the Canadian Championship Dog Derby. There is hockey, kite skiing, ice fishing, and lots more, activity, fun, and celebration of the returning of light, great activities for Northerners and visitors alike to enjoy.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in expressing our congratulations to the many hard-working organizers and volunteers of all our territory's spectacular festivals and jamborees. Celebrations like these make our communities great, and they deserve our support and recognition. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I am going to give my elder constituents in my community a bit of an update on what I am going to be doing from now until we come back into the House again on May 24th. Today, I am going to attempt again, for the second time, to do the majority of my statement in my language. [English translation not provided.] Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One of the parts I found most rewarding about my time as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories has been my involvement with public accounts committees.

Public accounts committees have a long tradition stretching back hundreds of years and are a notable feature of the Westminster system, from which our unique form of consensus government borrows some of its practices. Public accounts are where the government's books are looked at after a given fiscal year and where you can drill down into the details to see how taxpayer money was spent, ensure value for money for taxpayer dollars, and also ensure programs and services are being delivered appropriately. Public accounts committees work closely with supreme audit institutions in Canada and the Northwest Territories, that is the Office of the Auditor General.

Mr. Speaker, there are many organizations that work to bring different public accounts committees and members together to have these discussions. In Canada, that is the Canadian Council of Public Accounts Committees, which the Northwest Territories hosted early on in this term. This provides a form for good practice sharing and knowledgeable exchange in effective public financial management. I had the pleasure, along with my colleague the honourable Member from Sahtu, of attending the 2017 Westminster workshop for public accounts, the CAPAC conference, from December 4th to December 7th of last year, where I learned, networked, and brought back a whole new skill set that I will retain and utilize for the rest of my career on the Standing Committee on Government Operations and as a Parliamentarian.

The aim for this workshop was to build skills and capacity of chairs, Members, and clerks in Commonwealth public accounts committees to fulfil their remit to scrutinize the value of money and public spending and to hold governments to account for the delivery of public services. The objectives were to deliver key skills and knowledge and provide peer support, and to grow the expertise of these committees in promoting tax transparency, preventing tax avoidance, and encouraging country-by-country reporting in all legislatures.

Mr. Speaker, this conference provided me with valuable information about how we can make our public accounts systems better in the Northwest Territories and key contacts with Parliamentarians on public accounts committees across the entire Commonwealth. Mr. Speaker, I think this is the exact type of professional development that Parliamentarians need to be able to engage in freely to develop their skills and deliver better value-for-money analysis for the people of the Northwest Territories. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

Colleagues, please allow me to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery today of Mr. Anthony W. J. Whitford. As many of you know, Mr. Whitford is a man of many roles; former Commissioner, former Speaker, former Minister, former Member, former Sergeant-at-Arms, honorary clerk at the table, and Member of the Order of the NWT. Please share with me in welcoming Mr. Whitford to the House this afternoon. It's always a pleasure to have you in the House.

Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, want to take this opportunity to recognize Mr. Tony Whitford, resident of the Yellowknife North riding and, of course, a man of many accolades and a good family friend. Welcome and thank you for being here on our final day.

Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to recognize my constituency assistant, Mr. Garett Cochrane. This is the last day of session, and he has been invaluable over the last several weeks in helping me prepare for the day's work and helping me keep in touch with my constituents. I want to take the opportunity to recognize his service. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Marci cho Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize the interpreters from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh, Mr. Tom Unka from Fort Resolution, and Rose Sundberg from Detah.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there has been some confusion about Commissioner's lands and territorial lands in my riding and across the territory when you talk to people, and my questions will be to Minister of Lands. My first question is: what is the difference between Commissioner's lands and territorial land? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister of Lands.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Commissioner's land is primarily land that is located in and around communities. It is managed through policy and regulation under the Commissioner's Land Act. Territorial land is most often the land that is in the more remote regions of the Northwest Territories. In some cases, there are some territorial lands located within communities. However, that is the exception. These lands are regulated by the Northwest Territories Lands Act and regulations.

I thank the Minister for that clarification. My next question: how does the government come up with an assessment for Commissioner's land and territorial land?

The assessed values of Commissioner's land parcels is determined by the assessors in MACA's assessment unit, which is a unit independent of the land managers in the Department of Lands. They use an approach that is consistent from community to community across the Northwest Territories to determine the assessed value of each parcel. If the occupant of the parcel disagrees with the assessed value, there are appeal mechanisms through MACA that can implemented to review the assessment.

Territorial land value is determined by an appraised value of land as required by the Northwest Territories land use regulations, which the government commissions from an independent certified appraiser. The appraised value is used because most territorial land is in very remote areas of the territory and does not require services such as water, power, and fuel delivery. It is not possible, of course, to assess each parcel, but an appraisal of raw land is completed by the representative across the NWT and applied consistently. So there are two manners in which the values are determined.

I thank the Minister for that answer. So my next question is: how are Commissioner's land and territorial land fees determined/calculated?

The department uses the assessed value which I have described to calculate the annual lease fee for each Commissioner's land parcel. This fee is based on the assessed value of the parcel each year. Some, such as seniors and non-profit organizations, may be eligible for a 50 per cent discount off the annual lease fee paid on Commissioner's land.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.