This is page numbers 429 - 457 of the Hansard for the 12th Assembly, 6th Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was ---agreed.

Topics

Timing Of Municipal Elections In Nwt
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 431

The Speaker Jeannie Marie-Jewell

Thank you. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Whitford.

Uniqueness Of NWT Legislative Assembly
Item 3: Members' Statements

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Tony Whitford

Tony Whitford Yellowknife South

Merci, Madame la presidente, bonjour. Madam Speaker, this past summer...

---Laughter

Uniqueness Of NWT Legislative Assembly
Item 3: Members' Statements

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Some Hon. Members

Keep on going.

Uniqueness Of NWT Legislative Assembly
Item 3: Members' Statements

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Tony Whitford

Tony Whitford Yellowknife South

Madam Speaker, I am working myself towards a full statement in French one of these days and with all due respect to my Francophone constituents, I won't do it quite yet.

As I started to say, this past summer I had the pleasure of touring quite a number of delegations through this building. For some reason or other, I happened to be at the right place at the right time. I am asked to do it on very short notice and, believe me, I thoroughly enjoy it. I have had the pleasure of taking people through this building and showing them every nook and cranny while the Members were away and were able to get into the areas that probably are inaccessible during the normal sitting times.

It gives me great pleasure to do that because we do have a very unique system of government and a very proud building. It represents the people of the north, which I keep referring to when I tell them about the animal pelts, the shape of the building, the languages that are written on our direction boards, et cetera. They all prove to be of interest to visitors. I have met the ambassador from India, Switzerland, Indonesia, the Consul General from the Netherlands, et cetera.

Just today, Madam Speaker, I have had the pleasure of touring through the building with a delegation from Yakutia in Russia. They are here in the city on an exchange basis with the Department of Public Works to learn northern ways of doing things in northern climates.

Madam Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to continue.

Uniqueness Of NWT Legislative Assembly
Item 3: Members' Statements

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The Speaker Jeannie Marie-Jewell

The honourable Member is seeking unanimous consent. Are there any nays? There are no nays. Please proceed, Mr. Whitford.

Uniqueness Of NWT Legislative Assembly
Item 3: Members' Statements

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Tony Whitford

Tony Whitford Yellowknife South

Thank you, Madam Speaker and colleagues. It is always an important part of our culture to be able to show other people how we do things. We do have a uniqueness and I always take great pride in pointing out what the little windows on the outside of our chamber mean. It is the fact that we do translate, at any time, in this Legislative Assembly, eight languages; soon to be nine when we introduce Michif.

---Laughter

So all people of the territories are represented in their official languages, which is unique. In some countries, there are a lot of languages spoken by the people in their Parliaments. Unfortunately, for them, there are only one or two official languages spoken with the Parliament and those people must comply with that, as used to be in this Assembly many years ago, as Members will recollect. It was either English or French, and mostly English. Our unilingual colleagues had much difficulty in communicating the business of the House with the people who they represent.

With that, I just wanted to tell you how pleased I was this past summer to have the pleasure of introducing our own unique way of government to many people from around the world. I will introduce this delegation later on, Madam Speaker. I would like to say to them welcome to our Legislative Assembly.

---Applause

Uniqueness Of NWT Legislative Assembly
Item 3: Members' Statements

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The Speaker Jeannie Marie-Jewell

Thank you. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Yellowknife North, Mr. Ballantyne.

Award To Mr. Raymond Tuccaro
Item 3: Members' Statements

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Michael Ballantyne Yellowknife North

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, this week, a number of Members attended a special ceremony here in the great hall, where Mr. Kakfwi, our Minister of Justice, presented the corrections exemplary service medal to Mr. Raymond Tuccaro, one of my constituents, on behalf of the Governor General of Canada.

The corrections exemplary service medal recognizes the special obligations and hazardous conditions of services of those peace officers, whose duties bring them into daily contact with offenders in the Canadian corrections program. It is a tremendous honour for Mr. Tuccaro and a tremendous honour for our government. I am sure all Members will join me in congratulating Mr. Tuccaro for a very well-deserved honour.

---Applause

Award To Mr. Raymond Tuccaro
Item 3: Members' Statements

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The Speaker Jeannie Marie-Jewell

Thank you. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Iqaluit, Mr. Patterson.

Phrases Of The English Language
Item 3: Members' Statements

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Dennis Patterson Iqaluit

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, a lot of attention is appropriately paid, in this Assembly and elsewhere, to the aboriginal people, their cultures and language. Today I would like to talk a little bit about the language and culture of the qallunaaq, the non-native people, especially certain phrases used in our language. Today I want to talk about the English language. I was once a student of English, you may have noticed.

---Laughter

And I've been observing the influence of our language on the proceedings of this Assembly. What you should know about our culture, the qallunaaq culture, is that sometimes, or maybe I should say very often, we qallunaaqs say the exact opposite of what we really mean.

I'll give a few examples. In court, when lawyers want to ridicule their opponent's argument, they refer to the other lawyer as "my learned friend," or where the other is really off the wall, "my esteemed learned friend."

An equivalent has developed in this House, Madam Speaker. When a Member wishes to disagree with an honourable Member, especially when it is an ordinary Member who has the gall to criticize the Minister, you will sometimes hear the phrase -- and sometimes I use this phrase myself, but quite rarely -- "with respect." If the Minister has said something really ridiculous...

Phrases Of The English Language
Item 3: Members' Statements

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An Hon. Member

(Microphone turned off)

Phrases Of The English Language
Item 3: Members' Statements

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Dennis Patterson Iqaluit

You wait. If the Minister has said something really ridiculous, you will sometimes hear the reply prefaced with "with all due respect." This means you get as much respect from me as you deserve, which isn't very much.

---Laughter

When the Minister is really out to lunch -- and of course, that happens very rarely in our House -- you will hear the phrase "with the greatest respect." This means that the Minister deserves hardly any respect at all.

---Laughter

Now, I'm going to have to ask for some more time to complete my Member's statement, with the greatest of respect.

Phrases Of The English Language
Item 3: Members' Statements

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The Speaker Jeannie Marie-Jewell

The honourable Member is seeking unanimous consent to continue with his statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. Proceed, Mr. Patterson.

Phrases Of The English Language
Item 3: Members' Statements

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Dennis Patterson Iqaluit

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I'm glad I'm allowed to conclude this because now I'm going to turn to Ministers.

Madam Speaker, ordinary Members are not the only ones who use this kind of language. How do we know when Ministers are showing their true feelings about ordinary Members? Ministers are a little bit more subtle, but there are ways of telling what they really think. For example, when I had the pleasure of serving in Cabinet with Mr. Ballantyne, I always thought he was a master of fending off what he thought was a totally useless question. You could always tell when he thought the question was absolutely silly by his response; after a long, pregnant pause, he would say, "The Member has raised a very good question."

---Laughter

Then he would say, "however," or -- long pause -- "the Member makes a very valid point, but..."

In the current Cabinet, I have made one clear observation; it has to do with Mr. Nerysoo. I have, with careful analysis, figured out that you can calculate exactly how much Mr. Nerysoo disagrees with a Member's point of view very easily. All you have to do to determine how much Mr. Nerysoo disagrees with you is count the number of times he uses the phrase "the honourable Member" in answering the Member's point. It's a very simple formula.

So, Madam Speaker, if Members have been wondering about some of these strange phrases, if they've been hearing qallunaaq people talking this way, I hope this little explanation will help you understand better what is really meant. If you're interested in analysing this further, or describing it further, you should know that when English speakers talk this way, saying the opposite of what is really meant, we are being either ironic or worse, sardonic or sarcastic. I hope this little discussion of the qallunaaq culture has been edifying this morning, Madam Speaker. Thank you.

---Applause

Phrases Of The English Language
Item 3: Members' Statements

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The Speaker Jeannie Marie-Jewell

Thank you. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Antoine.

Lack Of Fire Protection In Small Communities
Item 3: Members' Statements

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Jim Antoine Nahendeh

Mahsi, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, today I would like to talk about a concern that I've had over the years with regard to fire protection and fire insurance coverage that is lacking in a lot of the smaller communities, including the communities that I represent: Jean Marie River, Nahanni Butte, Trout Lake and other communities.

I say this because the government here is building infrastructures in the communities such as homes that cost over $100,000 a piece, and we are building new buildings, as well, such as schools, community centres, and two and three-bay garages that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Yet, the fire protection is lacking in these communities. I say this because in some of my communities there have been fires. For example, in Jean Marie River over the last five years, there were seven fires that took out some homes and three-bay garages. Nahanni Butte band office burned down some time ago. In Trout Lake there were a number of fires, including a fire that took out the chicken coop last year and destroyed the chickens there and their program. The fire protection that is there is not adequate.

One of the ideas I've been trying to push with the department is to put some pumps, the type of pumps that are used in fighting forest fires, with enough hose to reach the furthest house away from the water source. If you have this type of protection there, along with what they have -- chemicals -- I think that would help because some of these communities are too small to warrant fire trucks and they don't have water systems, as well. So this type of protection would certainly help them.

With fire insurance coverage, I think these communities, because they don't have fire protection, are not eligible for fire insurance coverage. So we are building expensive infrastructures in small communities, yet we cannot protect them with fire insurance, and I have a concern about that. So I would just like to express that the government do something about that. Thank you.

Lack Of Fire Protection In Small Communities
Item 3: Members' Statements

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The Speaker Jeannie Marie-Jewell

Thank you. Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Nerysoo.

Further Return To Question 205-12(6): Planned Use Of Akaitcho In Arctic College Plans
Item 4: Returns To Oral Questions
Item 4: Returns To Oral Questions

October 20th, 1994

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Richard Nerysoo Mackenzie Delta

Thank you, Madam Speaker. This is an oral question that was asked by the honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Lewis, on October 20, 1994, with regard to planned use of Akaitcho in Arctic College plans.

The college system in the Northwest Territories, as you know, is decentralized. It includes campuses and community learning centres across the north which offer programs and services designed to meet local and territorial education and training needs.

The college's head office in the west is located in Fort Smith. College programs are offered in Yellowknife and at the Thebacha and Aurora campuses.

We are currently examining the potential use of Akaitcho Hall to house both the administration and delivery of some of the college programs offered in Yellowknife. The college's Yellowknife activities are offered widely throughout the community and consolidating them in fewer locations would result in a more efficient and effective operation. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Further Return To Question 205-12(6): Planned Use Of Akaitcho In Arctic College Plans
Item 4: Returns To Oral Questions
Item 4: Returns To Oral Questions

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The Speaker Jeannie Marie-Jewell

Thank you. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. I'm sorry, I didn't see your hand up, Mr. Arngna'naaq, for returns to oral questions.

I'll go back to item 4, returns to oral questions. The honourable Member for Kivallivik, Mr. Arngna'naaq.

Silas Arngna'naaq Kivallivik

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I have a return to oral question asked by Mr. Pudluk on October 17, 1994 on the use of radio collars on polar bears. The particular study the honourable Member is referring to is being conducted in the Alaskan part of the Arctic Ocean. Canadian and American biologists worked from two ice breakers that were travelling to the North Pole from Alaska. Two adult female bears were captured and fitted with satellite radio collars. The bears are being monitored by Alaskan researchers.

Madam Speaker, radio collars are an important tool used in polar bear management. They are used to track polar bear movements and to determine population boundaries. Once this is known, other studies are done to estimate population size in order to ensure that a population is not over harvested. The Department of Renewable Resources will continue to use radio collars whenever they are the best method of obtaining information for managing polar bears. Communities are always consulted before a study using radio collars can begin within the Northwest Territories.

During the last two years in the Northwest Territories, polar bear research and management studies have been focused from McLure Strait east to Baffin Bay. Last fall, radio collars were attached to polar bears in this area. Good information on polar bear movements was collected and biologists began removing collars this fall. The remaining radio collars will be removed next spring. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

The Speaker Jeannie Marie-Jewell

Thank you. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Whitford.

Item 5: Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery
Item 5: Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery

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Tony Whitford

Tony Whitford Yellowknife South

Thank you, Madam Speaker and colleagues. I have the pleasure today of introducing to you the delegation from Yakutia in Russia. The four gentlemen and two ladies who are in the gallery are on a business exchange program with the Department of Public Works and Services under the

Honourable Don Morin, to learn Canadian ways of doing business, particularly with regard to project management.

As you well aware, there are a lot of exchanges between Canadians and the Russians in the northern parts to develop ways and means of building and managing buildings. They will be here until December 19th, then they will be going back to Yakutia for Christmas. But, to our pleasure, they will be coming back to Yellowknife again in January to complete their experience. I would like to welcome them to our Legislative Assembly.

---Applause

Item 5: Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery
Item 5: Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery

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The Speaker Jeannie Marie-Jewell

Thank you. May I remind honourable colleagues that, when they recognize visitors in the gallery, they do have a 30 second time limit. I would like to caution you on that for the future. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Prior to going to oral questions, there are a couple of rulings that I would like to advise Members about.

Speaker's Rulings

Yesterday, the honourable Member for Kitikmeot, Mr. Ng, raised a point of order respecting the chair, redirecting a question asked by him to another Minister other than the Minister he had addressed it to. Firstly, I should state that no one can raise a point of order against the Speaker.

Item 5: Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery
Item 5: Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery

Page 434

Some Hon. Members

Ohh.

Item 5: Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery
Item 5: Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery

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The Speaker Jeannie Marie-Jewell

As Speaker, it is my role to adjudicate between Members on points of order. Rule 12(2) provides that when I have decided points of orders or privileges, my decision is not the subject of debate or appeal.

In reviewing unedited Hansard, page 1005, I note that Mr. Ng asked a question relating to the protection of by-law officers. As Members are aware, by-law areas fall within the jurisdiction of municipalities. Therefore, normally this question would be within the realm of responsibility of the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. In an effort to assist the Member for Kitikmeot in getting his question answered, I felt the Minister responsible for the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs would be able to respond to the Member's question. I note also that on page 1005 of the unedited Hansard that the Minister did, in fact, answer the question.

However, on more detailed examination of the question in Hansard, it appeared that the Member was seeking information relating to the legal status of by-law officers, as that legal status pertains to peace officers under the Criminal Code of Canada. As Members are aware, the Criminal Code is a federal statute and, technically speaking, our Minister of Justice has no authority or jurisdiction over it. The issue is one that may cross two Ministers' responsibility.

However, since the Minister of Justice cannot be asked questions that are not a matter he has direct responsibility for, the Member could ask a written question to the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs because this issue could require a detailed technical and legal response.

The enabling legislation dealing with the appointment of by-law officers falls clearly under the responsibility of the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. Therefore, I rule that the Member does not have a point of order.

In addition, yesterday, the honourable Member for Yellowknife North, Mr. Ballantyne, during question period, asked the Minister responsible for the Power Corporation if the Cabinet had approved the 22 per cent low-water surcharge. The Minister answered Mr. Ballantyne's initial question and the Member for Yellowknife North then asked a supplementary question, if the Minister had approved the proposed 22 per cent low-water surcharge.

At that point, I only cautioned the Member on this particular issue and the Member then raised a point of order. I advised the Member that I would take the issue under advisement and review the unedited Hansard. I have now had an opportunity to review the unedited Hansard, page 988 and 989, and am prepared to comment on this matter to the House.

From reviewing Hansard, it is evident that I did not rule the Member's question out of order and, in fact, the Member was able to ask his initial question and three supplementaries. I merely cautioned the Member that this particular issue was before the Public Utilities Board. As Members are well aware, rule 23(g) prohibits reference to any matter before a quasi-judicial or administrative body where any person may be prejudiced in such matter by the reference.

It is the role of the chair to alert Members to the possible application of the sub judice rule so as to ensure that the Members do not cross the boundaries of what is an acceptable question. In making my comments yesterday, I was merely carrying out my responsibility as Speaker, so as to ensure that there is no violation of our rules, intentional or inadvertent. As stated in my earlier ruling on Mr. Ng's point of order, points of orders cannot be raised against a decision of the Speaker. Therefore, the Member for Yellowknife North does not have a point of order.

Item 6, oral questions.