Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I must apologize. This reply to the Commissioner's address is going to be a bit all over the place, and I ask my colleagues for their patience.
Mr. Speaker, much has been said about the response to this year's unprecedented wildfire season. Many people across the NWT have recognized the dedication and hard work of everybody involved in protecting our communities, residents, and critical infrastructure, and many Members of this House have expressed their gratitude during the final session of the 19th Legislative Assembly. I want to begin by acknowledging that when emergencies happen, there will always be lessons to be learned. No response is perfect. That is why we began taking on an independent third-party review of challenging fires that impacted communities earlier this summer, as we do with major wildfires every year. We've also began planning an overarching independent review of this years' fire response with findings that will be made public. As usual, we take these lessons learned and apply them for the next year to help improve how we fight wildfires in the face of changing climate.
There have been some comments made during this Assembly that are simply incorrect, and I would like to set the record straight on some points. It is important to do because some of these statements have resulted in longterm firefighters contacting me to ask why should I do this again next year?
Mr. Speaker, first and foremost, I want to reiterate that every fire that threatened a community was actioned early and fought hard from the air and from the ground as conditions allowed. Wildfires are an important and natural part of the boreal forest, but we always work hard to protect our people, communities, and key infrastructure.
The Department of Environment and Climate Change brought additional fire crews, helicopters, air tankers this year, and started them early. We trained hundreds of extra firefighters from our communities to be ready for the season. This allowed us to action the first fire on May 4th, almost a month earlier than usual, and helped us respond to the record fire season. Saying we did not respond, or that we responded too late, is simply inaccurate. This disrespect the efforts of our firefighters and fire managers who battled hard all summer long during a wildfire season that lasted from May until now.
Most of our wildfire crews live in the same communities that they worked so hard to protect. They are our friends, family, and neighbours, and bring years of knowledge, training, and expertise in fighting fires in the boreal forest. Fire crews in our regions are 90 to 100 percent Indigenous, and they know our land and forests very well and know how to fight northern wildfires. Some have been fighting fire for 40 years and have a wealth of experience and Indigenous knowledge that help guide their work. Many of the crews from communities in the northern territory spent most of their summer in the South Slave, Deh Cho, and North Slave region, away from their families. Every day that conditions allowed, wildland firefighters went out on the land in blazing heat, and other fire personnel worked as hard as they could under extreme stress to protect the places they live and the people they care for.
Mr. Speaker, this summer some fires reached some of our communities, not because of failure in planning, preparation or action. They reached communities because of extreme fire behaviour driven by severe drought conditions, with rainfall levels in Hay River, Fort Smith and Yellowknife less than 8.6 percent of normal in some months this summer. In the hardest hit areas, record temperatures and wind events and builtup fuel in the forest from decades of fire suppression which primed those fires for explosive growth.
A drought code is an indicator of how hard it will be to put out a fire. A drought code of 300 is very high and over 425 is extreme. Maximum drought codes this summer were 1,124 in Fort Smith, 958 in Yellowknife, 902 in Behchoko, and 719 in Enterprise. Given these conditions, there was no amount of people, resources, or efforts that could have stopped some of these fires.
We heard from our most experienced firefighters, including many retired Indigenous wildfire experts from the NWT who came back to help, that these fires behaved differently than anything they have seen before. Wildfire experts who joined us from elsewhere said the same thing. It wasn't just the NWT that had a challenging fire season this year. More than 18 million hectares burned across Canada, with 5 million in Quebec.
Mr. Speaker, when we needed resources, we brought in more than 1,000 firefighters from almost every Canadian jurisdiction Parks Canada, the United States, South Africa, and New Zealand. Hundreds of type 3 firefighters from the Canadian Armed Forces came to help make firebreaks and mop up fires, allowing our firefighters to focus on direct attack fighting key fires.
Fighting wildfires is dangerous, and firefighters need specialized training to do this work as safely as possible. This is true every year but especially important this year with the extreme conditions and explosive fire behaviour. Even with specialized training, there were fire personnel injured this year and, as everybody knows in this House, is aware, one of our firefighters lost his life on the line. This is why we don't send out inexperienced untrained people to fight fires. We also bring in extra aircraft and other resources when we need them.
On a single day, there were 68 helicopters in the air, more than six times more than our regular territorial fleet. We had hundreds of pieces of heavy equipment, dozens of air tankers, and a range of structural protection equipment including sprinklers and specialized foam to protect homes and cabins.
This was the largest firefighting force ever dedicated to a wildfire response in the NWT and the most money ever spent fighting fires in the NWT. We fully used every possible resource available, and no one in the fire program let the territories burn.
We also communicated about fires more than ever before. There were 773 fire posts on this site, the fire website, from May until September, and updated daily on all fires and several times a day on major fires. The audience on NWT Fire grew from just over 8,000 followers to 20,000 today. Engagement increased ten-fold and messages reached every user online. ECC communicators gave well over 450 interviews in northern and southern media to ensure evacuees between July 15th and September 15th were informed about wildfire threats and status. I personally gave over 50 interviews, Mr. Speaker.
We further made an unprecedented investment in paid advertising across all media from social to print to radio meaning FireSmart and wildfire prevention messaging reached thousands of Northerners regularly throughout the wildfire season. The EMO provided updates to the public safety pages, issued public alerts via NWT Alert, held regular press conferences with the media to inform the public and provide a daily executive situational report on daily EMO activities, to provide only a small amount of the work these people did over the course of multiple months this summer.
Mr. Speaker, when wildfires threaten our communities, we quickly mobilized the GNWT's wellestablished emergency management system coordinated by the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs. These efforts are led by the Emergency Management Organization, or EMO, and a team of emergency management officials who are trained and dedicated to supporting an emergency response. They worked closely with wildfire officials, communities, Indigenous governments, and Indigenous organizations to provide coordinated response at a community, regional, and territorial level making decisions from there.
Mr. Speaker, the impact on people's lives and the loss of homes, cabins, and other important values in place like Enterprise, K'atlodeeche First Nation, Hay River, and Behchoko is heartbreaking, and we send our deepest condolences to all those who were impacted by these fires. As we work to help people rebuild and recover, we must also recognize how much worse things could have been if not for the tireless efforts of the brave firefighters, wildfire experts, and fire managers.
Thousands of homes and hundreds of cabins were saved. Countless pieces of infrastructure. There are multiple communities which could have been subject to similar fate without those efforts. It can be easy to look back and focus in on one fire and decide what should have been done, but it's important to look at the broader context.
For example, on June 28th there was multiple new wildfires starting in the North Slave region. The region was already initially attacking four fires close to values at risk including a fire located 2 kilometres from Wekweeti which resulted in the evacuation of the community. ZF015 was surrounded by a burn from 2014 with no fire values at risk in close proximity and was 50 kilometres away from Behchoko.
Usually young forests and previously burnt areas are barriers to spread. Fire personnel are constantly reassessing and prioritizing action plans on the fire environment over large areas. A wildfire management team actively responded to this fire as conditions allowed. This response included the use of multiple aircraft including air tankers and helicopters to attack the fire, ground suppression by multiple crews, and a number of ignition operations to prevent fire growth towards Behchoko. This response was overseen by an incident management team that included experts, an experienced and welltrained overhead team, wildfire experts, ignition experts, a structural protection specialist, and over 100 firefighters.
On that note, I would like to thank the many people and the organizations that stepped up to help protect communities across the NWT. I would like to recognize the NWT's fire management team that included dedicated and experienced firefighters, wildfire experts, technology and communication specialists, and a wide range of other supports and overhead staff.
This summer we had 34 fire crews of NWT residents, including 22 contracted from Indigenous businesses, and many extra firefighters. Buffalo Airway was a key partner in operating our air tanker fleet, and multiple aircraft companies, including Great Slave Helicopters and Acasta Heliflight, provided aircraft support to allow our fire personnel to do their work.
As this historical season progressed, a number of wildfire experts who had retired from the ECC came back to share their knowledge and experience to assist with fire operations.
I would also like to thank the many heavy equipment operators, contractors, camp workers, and others. There are too many to be named individually but I am very grateful for your contributions. I would like to thank the many individuals, companies, groups, communities, Indigenous governments and Indigenous organizations and agencies, that played critical roles in responding to wildfires threatening our communities, critical infrastructure, and other values at risk.
We are grateful for the support provided by the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, which coordinated in the sharing of resources between jurisdictions. Through this partnership, we received help from firefighters from Alberta, BC, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Yukon, Alaska, Washington State, New Zealand and South Africa.
At the community and territorial level, the Territorial Emergency Management Organization and regional EMO's were key in our response to this historic wildfire season. I would like to extend my gratitude to communities and Indigenous governments who played key roles in local emergency management efforts. Local fire departments from multiple NWT communities stayed to help protect their community, and many local and territorial businesses provided invaluable support. Specialized wildfire and structural firefighting companies also came from outside the NWT to help.
At the federal level, we appreciate the continued support of Natural Resources Canada and the Canadian Forest Service, key partners in our work year after year. The Canadian Armed Forces stepped up to help provide Type 3 firefighters to help with mopping up the fires, freeing up our homegrown Type 1 firefighters to focus on initial attack on high priority fires.
Mr. Speaker, without these collaborative efforts to protect our communities and residents, the NWT would be in a much more dire situation today. I hope that all Members of this House appreciate this effort and want to join me in thanking them all.
Mr. Speaker, I have listed the team, and I would like to have them deemed as read for this record.
Aaron Campbell
Adam Yeadon
Adele Naendzo
Aidan Blake
Aiden Kotchea
Albert Elleze
Alec Bertrand
Alex Skinner
ALEXI TAUREAU
Alexis McLeod
Alfred Antoine
Alfred Nande
Alicia Hancock
Alyssa Ross
Amanda Minoza
Amber Gale
Amy Gummesen
Andrew Martin
Angel Kondike
Angel Simon
Angus Smith
Anthony Ekenale
Arthur Nande
Atanda Kotchea
Bernice Bertrand
Bertha Gargan
Betty-Lynn Jumbo
Beverly Bouvier
Billy Lesage
Brad Lafferty
Bradley Kelly
Bradley McArthur
Brandon Norwegian
Brendan Tsetso
Brent Squirrel
Brent Starling
Brett Elkin
Brian Martineau
Briana Kotchea
Brittany Payou
Brock Sabourin
Bruce Bertrand
Bruce Sabourin
Bryson Rogers
Byron Bertrand
Caitlin Chambers
Caleb Brake
Caleb Rabesca
Calen Hardisty
Calvin Rose
Cameron Boniface
CARL ELLEZE
Carol Bonnetrouge
CARSON MINOZA
Cec Heron
Celine Edda
Charles Heron
Chelsea Hill
Chelsey Bjornson
Chloe Daniels
Chris Bugghins
Chris Jesche
Chris Larocque
Clarence Tonka
Clay Lennie
Cody Grandjambe
Colton Alexie
Cornella Lacorne
Crystal Collins
CTrevor Chrstopher
Dahetlea Antoine
Dale Diamond-C
Dale Timbre
Dallas Phillips
Daniel Allaire
Daniel Hudson
Danielle Takazo
Danita Dennis
Danny Chambers
Darion Antoine
Darlene Sibbeston
Darrell Cardinal
Darrell Gargon
Darren Klondike
Darwin Menacho
David Cardinal
David Heron
David John Drygeese
David Johnson
David Purchase
Dayne McMeekin
Dean Duntra
Debra Chambaud
Delores Deneyoua
Delores Downey
Denise Martineau
Dennis Marchiori
Derrick Kotchea
Desmond Goose
DESMOND SABOURIN
Devon Horassi
Devyn Dievert
DILLIAN CARDINAL
DOMINIC ABRAHAM
Donald Jensen
Donald Lomen
Donny Bertrand
Doraine Grenier
Doug Villeneuve
Drewan Germo
Duncan Burke
EARL DUROCHER
Earl Smallgeese
Edward Bugghins
Edwin Kay
Elaine Lamalice
Elizabeth Heron
Elsie Lacorne
Elvis Duntra
Elvis Duntra
Eric Beck
Eric Nadli
Ernest Lomen
Ernie Deneyoua
Ernie Francis
Etonda Lennie
Evan Tobac
Evangelina Huskey
FELIX BEAVER
Frank Jr. Kotchea
Frank McKay
GARRETT TSETTA
George Jumbo
GERALD CAUZA
Gerald Doucet
Geraldine Elleze
Gordon Seymour
Greg Lafferty
Griffin Matto
Harley Bourke
Heather Beck
Helen Kotchea
Henry Bonnetrouge
Holden Berreault
Hollis Dimion
Hunter Villeneuve
Ira Simon
Isaac Simon
Jackie Heron
JACOB GARGAN
Jada Lamalice
JADE BONNETROUGE
JAMES DIXON
James Matto
James P Bonnetrouge
James Sanderson
JAMES SIMON
Janice Ziemann
Jara Bird
Jared Blake
Jarod Tuckey
Jarret Hardisty
Jason Curie
JASON JOHNSON
Jay MacDonald
Jayden Bruno
Jeana Mackie
Jeff Canadian
Jeff WALKER
Jenni Watts
Jerry Alan Sabourin
Jim Deneron
Joachim Minoza
Jo-Ann Jensen
Jochim Klondike
Jodie Miersch
Joe Jr. Badger
JOHN LANDRY
Johnny Deneron
Jolan Kotchea
Jolene Lacorne
Jonas Duntra
Jonathan Duntra
Jordan Kenny
Jordan Nahanni
Jordan Stewart
Jordon Balanuik
Jordyn Siurko
Josh Bevan
Josh Coyen
Joshua Bourke
Joshua Buggins
Joshua Coyen
Joshua Duntra
Josson Boline
Jules Fournel
JULIAN ABRAHAM
Julian Sabourin
Jusoyo Allaire
Justin Abraham
JUSTIN LACORNE
Karlene Isaiah
Kathy Mouse
Kiah Vail
Kieron Takazo
Kobe Chalifoux
Kole Comin
Kole Melnyk
Kristien Blesse
Kristina Powder
Kura Jask
Kylan Antoine
Kyle Lachnit
Kylee Mckay
Laura Diamond-C
Laurent Tanche-Isaiah
Leanna Apples
Leeroy Jr. Andre
Leroy Landry
Liam Hardisty
Lionel Menacho
Lisa Smith
LLOYD JONES
Loretta Kotchea
Louie Beaulieu
Lucas Cli
Lucas Elleze
Lynden Desjarlais
Mackenzie Villeneuve
MALCOLM FARCY
Margaret Fantasque
Margaret Landry
Marie Pier Garant
Mark Betsedea
MARKUS CHALIFOUX
Marti Lys
Mary Blake-Moore
Matt Coyle
Matt Lavoie
Melvin Wanderingspirit
Michael Loutit
Michael Tsetso
Mike Gravel
Mike Krutko
Mitch Jenner
Mitchell Shea
Monique Graham
Naomi Antoine
Nathan Fabian
Nathaniel Tsetso
Neale Gladue
Nihtta Bezah
Noel Cockney
Norma Bertrand
Oleg Melnik
Olga Constant
Patricia Heaton
Patricia Lacroix
Patrick Abraham
Patrick Tourangeau
Phillip Betthale
Phillip Gargan
Phillip Gargon
Phillip Rabesca
Rachel Duntra
Raelene Lamalice
Rafe Smith
Ramsey Cook
Randy Betsidea
Randy Buggins
Randy Hetchinelle
Randy Nande
Randy Nande
Ray Edjericon
Raymond Bertrand
Richard Elleze
Richard Olsen
Ringo Elleze
River Norwegian
Robert Koe
Robert Lamalice
Robert Landry
Robert Nande
Roberto Bertrand
Ron Doctor
Ron Edda
Ruben Dale
Rudy Landry
Sahtu 1
Sahtu 2
Sahtu 3
Sahtu 4
Samuel Kodakin
Scott Atigikyoak
Scott King
Sean Drygeese
Shannon Jumbo
Shannon McPherson
Sharon Wanderingspirit
Shawn Maxwell
Shayne Fabian
Sheldon Minoza
Sheldon Saliga
Shyowa Kaskamin
Sidney Hudson
Skyler Constant
Skyler Wanderingspirit
Spencer Porter
Stanleigh Hunter
Steven Bertrand
Steven Lafleur
Stuart Beaulieu
Susan Salopree
Suzanne Chambers
TERRENCE BENWELL
Terrence Campbell
Terrence Klengenberg
Theodore Matto
Theron Karnes
Tia Hardisty
Timothy Melnyk
Tom Farcy
Tristen Neyelle
Troy Ellsworth
Troy Tatti
Tyler Auger
Tyler Jumbo
Tyler Minoza
Tyler Minoza
Tyrell Nadli
Vaughan Weniger
Victoria Gargan
Wanda Menacho
Wanda Sabourin
Wes Bourke
WESTLIN SABOURIN
Westly Steed
Willie Chonkolay
Wilma Gargan
Yvonne Meulenbroek
Yvonne Nande
Ron Doctor
Danielle Morin
Dennis Marchiori
Derie Rehm
Derise Rehm
Erin Kelly
Frank McKay
George Bailey
Jason Currie
Jason McNeil
Jeremy Straker
Jessica Davey-Quantick
Karine Gignac
Lisa Smith
Michele Culhane
Mike Westwick
Nathan Richea
Noni Paulette
Patricia Lacroix
Sally Card
Sara Dennis
Sherri Plante
Stefan Goodman
Tom Bradbury
Trista Haugland
Ramsey Cook
Terrence Campbell
Crystal Collins
Michael Krutko
Doug Villeneuve
Albert Bourque
David Johnson
Angus Smith
Josh Coyen
Caleb Brake
Dayne McMeekin
Sidney Hudson
Dallas Phillips
Doraine Grenier
Jenni Watts
Melvin Wanderingspirit
Louie Beaulieu
Heather Beck
Daniel Allaire
Abraham Kabba
Amanda Kanbari
Anna Krizova
Dwight Norn
Emma St. Amour
John MacDonald
Katy Pollock
Renee Saucier
Agata Gutkowska
Amber George
Amy Kennedy
Aurora Nind
Jacqueline McKinnon
Lemann Douleva
Lisa Giovanetto
Martin Goldney
Nicole Bonnell
Robert Tordiff
Sean Feretycki
Shawn McCann
Cheryl Desjarlais
Courtney Arychuk
Kelly Mahoney
Kyle Kefalas
Scott Jordison
Todd Sasaki
William MacKay
William Bennett
Eleanor Young
Franklin Carpenter
Heather Coakwell
Jamie Fulford
Lorraine Chikopera
Lorraine Chikopera
Renay Ristoff
Scott Reid
Erin Griffiths
Anna Bergen
Brittenie Jefferd-Moore
Cate Sills
Chloe LeTourneau
Danielle MacIntyre
Heather Warner
Horatio Sam-Aggrey
Inemesit Graham
Jeremy Bird
Jessica Dutton
Jo-Anne Cecchetto
Joseph Cameron
Kyla Kakfwi-Scott
Mabel Wong
Nina Larsson
Sara Chorostkowski
Soura Rosen
Claudio Ardilles
Connie Lee
Darren Campbell
David King Jr
Dennis Rajaseker
Dylan Harker
Francis Leprieur
Gaelen O'Hagen
Gary Brennan
Jamie Hynes
Jason Carroll
Jeffrey Edison
Kaylee Grant
Kelly Fischer
Leslie Campbell
Loretta Ransom
Lorne Browne
Mike Handley
Mukit Chowdrey
Nancy Guardado
Randy Straker
Rowan Zouboules
Scott Young
Simon McCrady
Sonia Idir
Steve Loutitt
Tami Johnson
Tracy St. Denis
Jennifer Thistle
Stephanie Hardisty
Marc Schmitz
Mike Maher
Craig Walter
Marty Ann Bayha
Alan Kopec
Angela Balsillie
Bill Sundberg
Camilla MacEachern
Darian Pedersen
Derrick Robinson
Diana Beck
Heidi Kane
Hugh Sutherland
Jason Clarke
Jennifer Dalman Sanders
Jhillian Adams
Jon Simpson
Josh Menard
Justin Powder
Karla Martel
Kelly Fischer
Kris Johnson
Kyle Winter
Lee Scarfe
Logan Powell
Louis Gaeton
Max Rousseau
Melissa Cyr
Menzie McEachern
Mick Avadluk
Mukit Chowdrey
Pamela Strand
Paul Hawthorn
Pete Mercredi
Robert Jenkins
Scott Gregory
Taylor Clarke
Ted Canning
Tim Young
Trevor Bourgeois
Trevor Thompson
Tyler Gould
Wesley Cook
Wyatt Brochu
Zaka Ullah
Saskia Van Mourik
Toko MacDonald
Don Mabbitt
Vince McKay
Adriana Zibolenova
Anthony Jones
Blair VanMetre
Caitlin Chambers
Charlene Doolittle
James Bancroft
Katie-Sue Derejko
Mandi Bolstad
Matthew Yap
Michelle Richards
Mike Martin
Rogine Olyvar
Kevin Menicoche
Melinda Lenoir
Shane Seaman
Arshad Khalafzai
Bobby Bourque
Gavin Olvera
Jean Soucy
Kyle Donovan
Oliver McSwain
Eileen Gour
Gwen Robak
Jeff Brockway
Dana Moran
Christina Gaudet
Alicia Korol
Alison Brown
Angela Littlefair
Ashley Gillis
Barb Watson
Beverly Pilgrim
Braden Redshaw
Carolyn Ridgley
Charles Poon
Chris Hewitt
Christopher Moore
Colin MacPherson
Colinda Blondin
Craig Halifax
Damon Crossman
Daniel Drimes
David Macmillan
Donna Woodland
Emily Collier
Emily King
Hannah Delaney
Ian Legaree
Ivan Russell
Jay Boast
Jennifer Young
Joe Acorn
John Ritchie
Justin Hazenberg
Kavitha Balaji
Laura Gareau
Lauri Leppanen
Leonardo Conde Fernandez
Lorie Fyfe
Lynn Huang
Michelle Pond
Mike Drake
Nadira Begg
Olivia Lee
Roger Mario
Ryan Semak
Sonya Saunders
Tara Naugler
Vincent Meslage
Wonderful Ndhlovu
Geoff Ray
Krista Ingram
Elske Canam
Ronald Melanson
Wilson Dimsdale
Alana Mcgrath
Alexandria Pedersen
Allan Mangrobang
Amy Johnson
Ann Pischinger
Carrie Prout
Cassidy Menezes
Clarisa Moore
Claudette Lalonde
Connie Moses
Delaney Poitras
Denis Katazbi
Donna Noble
Doreen Manuel
Elwood Chan
Euclid Nedd
Glenda Simon
Janice Jewell
Janice Jewell
Jeannie Shae
Katie Molzan
Kimberly Rousseaux
Lotis Lacar
Mae Castro
Maggie Jones
Mary Ann Gon
Melanie Larsen
Nadine Macdonald
Natalie Campbell
Nicole Dixon
Raphael Jeansonne Gelinas
Rina Dempsey
Roland Maier
Saara Salorinta
Sadreon Hutchinson
Shauna Wright
Shauna Wright
Sujata Ganguli
William Brommell
Sharon Sunrise
Roger Israel
Sally Garland
Rachel Abel
Mireille Gionet
Adrienne Fillatre
Alanna Hinchey
Alexander Keefe
Alietha McKay
Alisha Gori
Allen Stanzell
Amie Cullimore
Amy Chin
Amy Stipdonk
Andrea D'Addario
Andrea Donovan
Angelina Benisky
Anne-Marie Pegg
Annie Larochelle
Anyi Ehabe
Arlene Duclan
Arlene Jorgensen
Arlene Lavoie-Stobbs
Ashley Crump
Barra O'Briain
Bertha Harman
Bing Guthrie
Brittany Bruce
Candice Coston
Carole Trepanier
Catherine Dixon
Cathy Jo Doyle
Chris Bessey
Chris Rayner
Christian Norwick
Claudia Kraft
David Maguire
David Urqhuart
Debbie Meade
Delores Betsina
Diana Craig
Diana Ollerhead
Diane Jeethan
Dr Hannah Shoichet
Dr Kate Breen
Dustin Shupe
Edson Shava
Erica
Fia Russa
Fraser Lennie
Gayle Dyer
Geoff Bragg
Geraldine Macdonald
Hannah Bond
Holly Knutson
Holly Rein
Jackie Tan
Jacqueline Menagh
Jaihoon Amon
Jaime Young
James Bassett
Jan
Janell Dautel
Jayne Holden
Jeff Linadya
Jenna Haugen
Jenna Long
Jenna Scarfe
Jennifer Bond
Jennifer Grant
Jennifer Torode
JF Savage
Joanne Engram
June Bartlett
Karen Brown
Karen Cox
Karin Von Allmen
Katelyn Gibbons
Katelynn Gibbson
Katherine Kessler
Kathleen Batchelor
Kayla Peckford
Kelly Stevens
Kerry Heylar
Kerstin Helen
Kevin Grinsted
Kevin O'Connell
Kevin Taylor
Kimberly Minoza
Kimberly Riles
Kimberly Riles
Kirsten Berg
Krista March
Kristy Jones
Laura Francis
Laura Johnson
Lauren O'Keefe
Lena Schofield
Lindsay Dartnell
Lindsay Makenzie
Linsey Doucette
Lisa Balmer
Lisa Hall
Lisa Howie
Lisa Quinlan
Lisa Rayner
Lori MacMilan-Gallant
Lorie-Anne Danielson
Lorie-Anne Danielson
Lorne Martin
Mariana Silva
Marie Buchanan
Marissa Martin
Matthuschka Sheedy
Meg Casson
Megan
Megan Hobbs
Megan Lowry
Meghan Dewhirst
Melanie Kearley
Mia McGinnis
Michael Dalla Lana
Michael Kohle
Michele McKenna
Munyaradzi Mataruse
Nancy Falcunitin
Nancy Lee Othmer
Nicole Cousins
Patricia Fisher
Paula Martin
Paulette Larocque
Phil Breton
Rebecca Degner
Rebekah Friesen
Rejenne Noasco
Ryan Hewlett
Ryan Power
Sabrina Cabrera
Samantha Brissette
Samantha Pye
Sandy Little
Sandy Little
Sarah Cook
Scott Hamilton
Sean Marshall
Sean Whitcomb
Seena Peter
Seham Jarour
Shannon McLeod
Shannon Ploughman
Shashi Gurung
Shawna Gilmour
Shawna Tohm
Sheena Gagnon
Sheena Rowsell
Sheena Wasiuta
Sheila Cruz
Shireen Mansouri
Shoaib Khan
Siobhain Healy
Stephanie Gilbert
Stephanie Lewis
Stephen Kruger
Steve Kraus
Suraiya Naidoo
Susan Laramee
Tad Duquette
Tahreem Dogar
Tamara Burla
Tamara Holiday
Tara Ellsworth
Taylor Shepard
Thais Pouvesle
Thembinkoski Mpoko
Tim Van Overliw
Todd Engram
Tracey MacInnie
Tracey Pope
Traci Trip
Tracy Matesic
Tracy Taylor
Trisha Nauman
Tumah Antoine
Vincent Li
Violca Memedi
Vusi Bhetshwana
Wendy Ross
William Owens
Adeline Vital
Aedan Davis
Amanda Rabesca
Amony Simbeye
Amy Tinqui
Annette Marshall
Belinda Lusinga
Bernice Chaisson
Braj Tripathi
Brittany Hagerman
Catherine Larose
Cory Weyallon
Daley Oddy
Daniel Gunn
Dave Harnum
Denise Lazarre
Diana Lubansa
Dorothy Liske
Elizabeth Apples
Fissiha Belay
Frinalyn Belmonte
Georgina Dryneck
Glenda Apples
Gotsoka Beaulieu
Hazel Tomboc
Jennifer Macnab
Joseph Eyakfwo
Kady Tennant
Karen Lafferty
Kevin Armstrong
Leili Heidema
Mary Zoe-Chocolate
Michael Leonido
Monica Shultze
Monique Rabesca-Laing
Myza Gouthro
Nicole Pelley
Nora Gon
Patsi Rabesca
Paula Campbell
Poonam Poudel
Rebecca Nash
Regina Lafferty
Roshani Bista
Sandra Bishop
Sarah Hyden
Sarah Power
Seetal Patel
Serge Provencal
Shaelah Buckley
Sheryl Courtoreille
Sierra Apples
Sitheni Nkomo
Stacy Bouvier
Trina Miller
Tut Phot
Winnie Namugerwa
Alice Bouvier
Christina Bonnetrouge
Clifford Vandell
Dawson Landry
Eddie Gargon
Joseph Bond
Keith Squirrel
Kevin Wilson
Malcolm tosh
Mark Sabourin
Noel Bonnetrouge
Swight McLoud
Wayne Sabourin
Craig Sanderson
Dillian Brown
frank Lafferty
James Beaulieu
Jerry Sanderson
Lyndon Meirsch
terry Ross
Mickey Hempler
Adam Poitras
Albert Mercredi
Autumn Gervais
Bradley Bourque
Calvin Lizotte
Steven Flett
Allen Scaefer
Elizabeth Harder
Mike Gill
Ray Levesque
Robert Plamondon
Scott Farrell
Jason McNeill
Mr. Speaker, besides the communities I have many individuals, organizations, and governments to thank. The work to undertake and support 12 community evacuations throughout this spring, summer, and fall was truly a team effort. It would not have been possible without our partners who either formerly participated on the territorial or regional emergency management organization or supported their work.
My thanks to Northland Utilities, the Northwest Territories Power Corp, NorthwesTel, United Way NWT, Canada Task Force 2, the Government of Alberta, BC, Manitoba, and Yukon, the Ministers from across Canada that did reach out to offer support and the NWT Emergency Management Organization.
At the federal level, my thanks to Environment and Climate Change Canada, Public Safety Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Canadian Coast Guard, the Canadian Armed Forces, Joint Task Force North, and Minister Blair, Minister Wilkinson, Minister Guilbeault, and Minister Sajjan.
Thank you all, thanks to all GNWT departments and agencies for your significant contribution.
Last but not least, a tremendous thank you to the staff at Municipal and Community Affairs. The GNWT used an Incident Management Team, or IMT, to do the evacuation, provide evacuation supports, and repatriate residents. In total, the IMT had 79 GNWT employees on it. 37, or almost half were MACA employees. In addition, there were other MACA employees who supported the IMT work.
Mr. Speaker, I have a list of the team, and I would like to have them deemed as read for the record.
Alicia Korol
Alison Brown
Angela Littlefair
Arshad Khalafzai
Ashley Gillis
Barb Watson
Beverly Pilgrim
Bobby Bourque
Braden Redshaw
Carolyn Ridgley
Charles Poon
Chris Hewitt
Christina Gaudet
Colin MacPherson
Craig Halifax
Damon Crossman
Dana Moran
Daniel Drimes
Donna Woodland
Eileen Gour
Emily Collier
Emily King
Gavin Olvera
Gwen Robak
Ian Legaree
Ivan Russell
Jay Boast
Jean Soucy
Jeff Brockway
Jennifer Young
Joe Acorn
Justin Hazenberg
Kavitha Balaji
Kevin Menicoche
Leonardo Conde Fernandez
Lorie Fyfe
Lynn Huang
Melinda Lenoir
Michelle Pond
Mike Drake
Nadira Begg
Olivia Lee
Ryan Semak
Sonya Saunders
Tara Naugler
Now on to my thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Grace Berikoff for her support to my career as a MLA. Grace is my spouse, my partner, my best friend, and one of the biggest supporters in front of and behind closed doors. She's also been responsible for looking after our home and our four fur babies Bailey, Bandit, Blossom and Daisy as I do my job. She goes above and beyond to share the load of life's struggles and disappointments so I can focus on the Nahendeh residents and their issues. She makes time and space to be a sounding board and hear my ideas.
As for my children, they've always been and always will be huge supporters of mine, whether it is my decision to run for public office or looking for other career pathing. I can say that they are huge supporters of mine. Like Grace, we discuss various topics, whether it is world, political, sports, or family issues, but it is done with open mind and shared respect. Like a constituent once said to me, Children are there to be loved and supported even if they want to go a different direction than you wanted them to go. I think that's the same for them when it comes to me. I want to say thank you for the support and supporting me through these eight years.
To the residents of the Nahendeh, thank you for putting your faith in me for two terms. It has been a great honour to represent you but, most importantly, for opening your homes and your lives for me during these eight years.
Thank you to my team. As we come close to the end of the 19th Assembly, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Geoff, Krista, Kim, Deb, Allyson, and Ashley, for making these four years go smoother considering everything we had to dealt with. I greatly appreciate that we were able to support one another and pitched in where we needed to get the work done. I know you sacrificed your personal and family time for the sake of the job and have proven to me that there is no "I" in "Team."
Mr. Speaker, it is said that a team is only as strong as its weakest link but with these folks, we had an amazingly strong team. Because of heir unrelenting hard work, we had become a streamlined unit. I want to say thank you to every single one of them for making all our achievements over the past years possible.
Mr. Speaker, it has been a very challenging four years for the 19th Legislative Assembly with COVID, floods, wildfires, evacuation, and our daytoday business that we needed to do. I want to express my sincere gratitude for all your hard work during these four years. I bet when you campaigned for this job, you were not thinking it was going to be like this. However in saying this, we were very fortunate to have you all here for the residents of the NWT. Your hard work, generosity, and thoughtfulness have truly made a positive difference for the people of the NWT. I know that we did not always agree on the direction we needed to go but that is healthy for the development of the NWT. We need people with different opinions and ideas to move forward. If you come from places of kindness, compassion, and thoughtfulness, we're doing the right thing.
Mr. Speaker, I can say that I witnessed numerous colleagues go above and beyond to help improve bills, budgets, regulations, and the daytoday life of NWT residents. For those colleagues, I will always remember their hard work and contributions that they made. Just remember, you were able to make a difference for somebody's life. This person will be able to have the opportunity to pay it forward and make a difference in somebody else's life. Mr. Speaker, I wish everyone all the best on whatever adventure takes them in the years to come.
After being elected in the 19th Assembly, my colleagues gave me the honour to be elected to Cabinet, and the Premier had the trust and faith in me to hold several portfolios during these four years. I was very fortunate to work with outstanding deputy ministers Sylvia Haener (Lands), Jamie Koe (Lands), Joe Dragon (ENR), Pam Strand (ITI), Debbie Molloy (WSCC), Dr. Erin Kelly (ECC and ENR) and Laura Gareau (MACA). And all the department staff at headquarters and regional offices.
Mr. Speaker, it always been said that the Ministers get all the praise and the staff do all the hard work. Well, that's not fair. GNWT staff are the reason we achieve everything that we do. GNWT staff unselfishly work together to get results, and I want to thank you sincerely. I'm flattered and honoured to be the Minister of such staff. I wish I had the time to personally thank every staff person here today that I met and had discussions with. Unfortunately, I do not. I know this is not the same as in person, but I want to say that we have amazing people that work for the residents of the NWT. All I can say is thank you, thank you, and thank you for your service.
In reflecting back, I can say that it has been a very interesting 19th Legislative Assembly with COVID, the 2021 floods and the 2022 floods, and this past fire season which saw us evacuate 12 communities, with K'atlodeeche First Nation and Hay River being evacuated twice. We had some difficult decisions to make but we made them. Sometimes they were not popular decisions, but they were the right decisions.
Mr. Speaker, I was very fortunate to work with very dedicated, hardworking, and generous chiefs, mayors, councils, staff, and volunteers during these emergencies. I can tell you that none of those people signed up for these disasters, but their leadership throughout these times was greatly appreciated. They choose to serve their residents, and this is the most noble cause there is. Helping your fellow neighbours to both prepare for disasters and navigate the recovery when the skies clear. On top of this great leadership and work, we are very fortunate to have amazing private businesses help to protect their communities. The tireless hours they put in and the use of their equipment was greatly appreciated by all. From the bottom of my heart, I say thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank four of our colleagues who have decided that they will not be running for the next Assembly.
The Premier. I had the pleasure of being elected with her in the 18th Assembly. As we got to know one another, I came to realize that she was a very hard worker, a caring person, and would be willing to chat with you on any topic. As a Minister, she always had an opendoor policy. She wanted to work with the Regular MLAs. I felt she wanted to get things completed and help the residents of the Northwest Territories. I can tell you her passion was the housing portfolio, and she was very proud of the housing work that was completed during her time there. In the 19th Assembly, I had the pleasure of being part of her Cabinet. She had a unique way of doing things that changed things up a bit. She developed a team and encouraged us to have open and frank conversations. As well, she believed in true consensus and working with AOC. It was a bit more work but very helpful in how we did our business. She worked to get money into the NWT, and it didn't matter if it was Indigenous government or the GNWT.
Mr. Speaker, she had one rule and that was no surprises. She wanted to know what was going on so she could be prepared. I can tell you that I called her or emailed her late in the evening more than once, and she was always there to answer the call. I would like to thank her for her leadership and the leadership she showed during these four challenging years and wish her all the best in her next adventure.
Minister Green. Like the Premier and I, Minister Green was elected in the 18th Assembly. I had the pleasure of working with her on the social development committee where she had the honour of being elected as the deputy chair. As we worked together, we had some very good conversations and road trips during those four years. I still remember her being able to knit regardless of the road conditions or flights. As well, she always had boxes of knitting that she asked us to take back to our constituents. Those boxes were not small, but our residents truly enjoyed receiving them. During this Assembly I got to work with her as part of the child and family committee of Cabinet and on FMB and Cabinet. Like the 18th Assembly, she was prepared and knew her files. Like me, we had some interesting times with Indigenous Service Canada Minister but, as she said, it is about the residents of the NWT and we need to continue to work hard for them. I would like to wish her and her family all the best in her next adventure.
Mr. Speaker, Rylund Johnson. I had the pleasure meeting MLA Johnson for the first time at MLA orientation. He was always promoting the importance of transparency and being open as he could with me. It started out with him telling me the public who he was going to vote for, whether it was the Premier or Ministers. And I appreciate that about him. As I had the opportunity to work with him on various issues, he was still true to his way of doing business. He would ask why certain things could not be shared publicly. Approximately, six months into the 19th Assembly he came into my office with a small package. It was a small painting from a local artist. The painting was called A Road to Fort Simpson. He told me that he bought it and realized it was more appropriate if I had it, so he gave it to me. If you look at his constituency promotion items, it was often items made by local artists or businesses. This was Rylund.
Another aspect I enjoyed was his ability to make some of his Member statements or his replies be a bit more entertaining. He would always add a bit of his humour, and it seemed to go over well with our colleagues. I know he is going to enjoy his next adventure and do a good job at that too. I wish him all the best.
This is going to be the hard one. Kevin O'Reilly. I had the pleasure of sitting next to Kevin and working with him during the 18th Assembly. Somebody once asked me to describe him and after thinking about it for a few minutes, the following words came to my mind: One of the hardest working individuals I knew. He was very passionate about the work he does and is not shy about sharing his point of view. Sometimes he was the only person who would stand up to vote for or against a topic. He worked hard for the residents of the NWT. Does this mean that we always agreed? Heck no. There were times where we agreed to disagree and move forward. During the 18th Assembly, Kevin came to me and told me that he was going to do a Member's statement on a certain project in the Nahendeh region and asked if it was alright with me. I told him it was his Member's statement and I didn't want to stop him from doing it. However, I did tell him, three days later, I was going to do an opposing Member's statement on the same project. That was our relationship. I would describe MLA O'Reilly as a good friend, Somebody that you could reach out to and chat with anytime. He's always there for you.
To the four of you, all the best in the future.
Mr. Speaker, the next four years. The next part of this speech is going to be about what I believe the next Assembly needs to focus on.
First things. We need to realize if we don't fix we can't fix everything in the next four years. You are not going to change the world in the next four years, but you need a good start to better the life of NWT residents.
Government Renewal. With all the programs identified, the works needs to be finished in the 16 months of the next government. There is a huge number of unfunded positions within departments, and we need to see if those positions are needed. If they are, they need to be added to the budget. If not, they need to be removed.
In regards to municipal and community affairs, as I stated in my Minister's statement, municipal and community affairs needs to conduct an afteraction review using external contractors. The afteraction review will be extensive and will involve the public and all partners. However, the GNWT needs an updated NWT emergency plan that enhances GNWT and community government training, increased capacity for emergency response, and evacuations across all NWT communities. Organizational changes are needed but at a minimum, we need to build the regional capacity by five additional regional staff and three headquarter staff to deal with the recovery of these disasters.
Designate Authorities. There are nine designate authorities in the NWT. A designate authority refers to a community that is within the jurisdiction of the federal government's Indian Act whereas other municipal governments in the Northwest Territories are created under territorial legislation, such as the Charter Act, Hamlet Act or the Cities, Towns, and Villages Act.
Territorial legislation allows for boundary identification and provides the municipal governments with a range of powers as set out in legislation. The Indian Act does not contain the same powers as territorial legislation, and the authority to identify a set boundary is not identified in the federal legislation.
All designate authorities are approximately 95 percent Indigenous, but they are not treated the same as reserves in Canada or the NWT. The GNWT needs to work with Indigenous Service Canada to treat these communities properly and provide them with increased funding and land.
ECC. With a recordsetting fire season, I spoke to several elders from the Nahendeh region and we discussed things that need to be looked at. We spoke about combining a combination of firebreaks and prescribed burns around communities. We spoke about working with private business to cut the big trees for telephone poles, fence posts, and cabins and sheds, and use the smaller ones for firewood. A prescribed burn of the leftover would build bigger firebreaks. As an elder explained to me, this was done previously to protect communities or assets. As well, they need to look bringing fire crews and aircraft in earlier and keeping them later.
The IGC process. The Government of the Northwest Territories continues to advance land and natural resource legislative initiatives throughout implementation of the Intergovernmental Council Legislative Development Protocol.
The protocol and associated process convention are new to this Assembly and while there is always room for improvement, I feel that it is important to note the value of collaboration with Indigenous governments and organizations and other partners on land and natural resource legislation. I look forward to seeing this important work continue in the next Assembly.
Project Finance for Permanence. Mr. Speaker the Indigenousled Project Finance for Permanence, an initiative that seeks to bring together many funders to contribute to longterm conservation in the Northwest Territories while supporting healthy cultural, economic, and communities. This initiative should bring millions of dollars of longterm investment to the Northwest Territories. Parties to the NWT Project Finance for Permanence group include Indigenous and territorial, and federal governments, as well as private donors. The parties have reached a draft framework that is being considered for approval by the GNWT, Indigenous governments and Canada. The funding model, which supports Indigenous leadership in conservation and shared decisionmaking, would support the GNWT's Healthy Land Healthy People conservation work plan and provide sustainable economic and community development in the NWT. This work needs to be continued in the 20th Assembly.
Mr. Speaker, as you heard from Minister Green of her vision for NWTHSSA, I would encourage the GNWT to look at realigning the Department of Health and Social Services and the NWTHSSA. We need to look at how this structure is operating. The rationale was it was going to streamline the process and reduce operating costs. When NWTHSSA was created, it started with a deficit and continues to see their deficit increase. The reality is NWTHSSA is so busy with patient care that areas such as child protection does not get the attention it needs. I encourage the next Assembly to consider a department of health that focuses on providing health services and medical travel.
Speaking about medical travel, we need to work with Indigenous Services Canada to fix the shortfall that we are receiving for our Indigenous population. ISC only provides a small amount of reimbursement of the total costs. Canada needs to step up its support for Indigenous people in the NWT. For example, they don't supply certain things like dental and medical support for smaller communities. This needs to be addressed once and for all.
Mr. Speaker, another part of medical services is medivacs. We need to see an increase in service. Waiting for five to seven hours for a flight is not appropriate. We need to add an additional plane or, even better, work with regional airlines to provide this service so they can get patients to at least the regional health centre so they can get better support until we can get them to Yellowknife or Edmonton. This is about the people's lives.
The second part of the department I would also encourage the next Assembly to consider is a department of social services that would see a realignment of services child and family workers, adoption and foster care, income support, and other senior programs like fuel subsidies. The common denominator is poverty and by combining the supports that address poverty, you will help ensure families have better access to supports necessary to help their families prosper.
Infrastructure. The next Assembly needs to focus its efforts and budget on one major project. I think this needs to be the Mackenzie Valley Highway and have it constructed all the way to Tsiigehtchic, not stop in Norman Wells. This needs to include a bridge at Fort Simpson Liard River. There are many factors that makes this the perfect project. It helps with Canada's sovereignty in the North, connecting isolated communities (allseason access routes), economic diversification, increases tourism, small business potential, and promoting further development and exploration of the natural resource in the region.
In regards to education, Minister Simpson did a great job with part 1, but we need to get part 2 done. Education is an important part of our future and we need to have that completed.
Housing. This Assembly, we saw an improvement from the previous government. On top of the GNWT getting funding, we saw Indigneous governments get funding to build housing units. This needs to continue and should be a priority for the next government.
These are some of the ideas I have thought about for the past year. In closing, I would like to thank everybody and wish everybody the best.
