Transcript of meeting #1 for Territorial Leadership Committee in the 17th Assembly.
The winning word was work.
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Bob McLeod Yellowknife South
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My understanding is there’s presently a treatment centre in Hay River Reserve that deals with alcohol treatment and addictions. As far as an addictions treatment centre here in Yellowknife, this would be
something that we would look at, and we would determine the extent of the problem and whether it is better to provide for treatment outside of the communities.
I believe a better approach would be to deal with it closer to the communities. I believe that every community has mental health workers and I would look at that approach first to see why it’s not working. If it’s not working, is it better to deal with it on a regional basis or at a territory-wide basis, recognizing that there are addictions out there and we’re hearing that it’s becoming more and more of a problem not only in Yellowknife but in most of the communities across the Northwest Territories.
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. We know that our government is faced with our operating budget is okay, but our infrastructure budget will be challenged. So for a Premier candidate to commit to some type of new facility of any type will be very hard to do at this point.
I do agree that addictions in the Northwest Territories have to be further resourced. I hear from my smaller communities that we’re providing I think $5,000 a year to a community like Trout Lake. Most of those dollars get eaten up by travel alone. In the communities we would really have to look at that. I would certainly be supportive of more resources in our regions and communities.
In terms of a new facility, certainly government can always look and plan around a new facility and the need for it.
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Michael Miltenberger Thebacha
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. About 10 years ago or so there was a report done, the Chalmers Report, called the “State of Emergency,” that did a scathing indictment of the current status of the addictions and mental health services of the day in the Northwest Territories. Based on that report there was literally tens of millions of dollars put into addictions and mental health, bringing them into the civil service, making them addictions workers and community wellness workers and mental health workers. There was a report done about four or five years after that, called “Stay the Course,” that recommended there be some changes, but for the most part the decision that was made way back was the right one. At the tail end of this Assembly there was another report that was done, given all the concerns and some of the issues being raised in the communities about how things are run. That report that’s been done in conjunction with communities and health boards has been built into
the transition plan and will be coming onto the table of the Cabinet and this Assembly with recommendations on how to move forward. If one of the recommendations is that there be an addictions centre built in the Northwest Territories, and of course that would be seriously considered by all of us, and then there would of course be the capital planning process that would kick into gear if that decision was made to see how and when we would be able to meet that particular need.
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Frederick Blake Jr. Mackenzie Delta
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My question is this: as you all know, the small communities are faced with a low employment rate; if elected as Premier, how would you deal with the low employment rate in the small communities of the Northwest Territories?
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Michael Miltenberger Thebacha
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. There’s a number of things that have been done that I think we should continue to look at. As has been mentioned by some of my colleagues, education first and foremost is the best way to guarantee that you’re going to have a good chance at employment. At the community level where there are issues in terms of a lot of work is seasonal part time, we have to continue the support to the Harvesters Fund. We set up a program where we put workers in to help with employment. We put money to the small communities, to the Rural and Remote Communities committee that was set up. We have to look at continuing that. There are ways to look, I believe, for example, if I can use the example, in communities I have had discussions with my colleague from Tu Nedhe about if we brought all the maintenance money and O and M money that was there in the communities to look after all the infrastructure for the territorial government, schools, health centres, housing, and the housing program, and even the community, if we pooled that money together and we had a collective, coordinated way to deliver maintenance services in the community, that I believe with some support from education you’d have a critical mass to have apprentices in the communities along with tradesmen to maintain the very many, the tens of millions of dollars of infrastructure that we have in communities at all levels of community government. Those type of things I believe should be looked at. As well, we want to look at, of course, maximizing and continuing to be as supportive as possible to student employment.
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Bob McLeod Yellowknife South
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think there are a number of things that can be done. As a government we have committed to providing for development in every community in the Territories. Every one of our 33 communities we’re endeavouring to have some form of development. With regard to Tsiigehtchic I think that we can help develop a local economy. There are some forestry resources and natural resources, there are tourism opportunities, there’s a highway that goes by there. There are some opportunities there. On a larger scale I think that there’s also the need to look at education, training. There are some very large projects on the horizon that I think we need to start training people for so that they can take advantage of the jobs that will be available.
In my view, very soon, looking at the Conference Board at Canada projections that the GDP will double by 2020, there’s going to be some significant opportunities and I think that we need to start early to provide for training to make sure our kids stay in school and get educated so that they can take advantage of these opportunities.
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I think one of the first things I would do as Premier is continue to support the Small Community Employment Program that currently exists. I certainly won’t be supportive of cuts to jobs in the smaller communities in any of our departments. That’s not very conducive to the creation of those communities. One job in a small community of $60,000 to $80,000 has a huge impact. Every job in a small community is needed. I believe by supporting programs and services for the smaller communities and improving them, that we will create employment opportunities, because we will need people in those communities to run those programs and services.
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. A question on youth spending. I consider that over the last four years the youth spending that has occurred in this government was a tremendous increase over what happened before; however, it’s not enough. I’d like to ask the candidates today what they would do to increase youth spending across the Territories.
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Bob McLeod Yellowknife South
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would continue with having a Minister responsible for Youth. I think that the programs that we have done for youth have been very helpful to expand their horizons. I think a lot of the programs that we have
done in conjunction with the Olympics and in conjunction with the Canada Games, Winter Games, Arctic Winter Games have been very helpful, have expanded their horizons to make them realize that there’s a whole world out there, and certainly I would look at the budget and I would certainly want to find a way to find more funding for youth programs, especially in the smaller communities. It’s very difficult to do fundraising and for teams or groups of students to travel. So I think that’s something that we need to seriously look at and find a way to make funding available so that we can support the youth and help them travel. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Michael Miltenberger Thebacha
If in fact there is an agreement and we as a government and an Assembly move to a 2 percent target for prevention, then there would be money, I believe, that would go into prevention that would flow into activities that relate to youth. Of course, through the business planning process, which we are going to be into very, very soon, if youth spending is identified as a priority by the committees and by the Legislature and we decide we’re going to move money and we can agree on where that money will be moved from, then our function would be as a government to work with committees to make that direction happen. Thank you.
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh
Thank you very much. I believe that the youth spending was increased in the last Assembly because there was an agreed to goal and objective by the Caucus. I believe that should it become a priority again to look at increasing expenditures, that certainly the Cabinet will support that and find the resources for it.
That being said, often we look to our government for increases to everything, and the reality of the situation is that in this Assembly we have to just focus on four or five areas and make those a priority because that’s all the room we’ve got. It would be nice to make everything a priority and increase spending in all areas, Mr. Chair, but we have to choose the right priorities and we’ve got to choose the right goals and objectives in the 17th Assembly and all of us will have to do that. Thank you.
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
October 25th, 2011
Michael Nadli Deh Cho
Mr. Chair, mahsi. I’d like to congratulate all of my colleagues here for being elected to the 17th Assembly. My question to all
three candidates. The Northwest Territories is the coldest part of Canada. Housing is a basic need for
people to live in and live a life of wellness and also raise families. Housing is a concern when people are in arrears and face evictions. What are some possible solutions that candidates will consider as Premier in reversing the rates of evictions? Mahsi.
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
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