This is page numbers 515 - 547 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 chairman.

Topics

Members Present

Mr. Antoine, Hon. Silas Arngna'naaq, Mr. Arvaluk, Mr. Ballantyne, Hon. Nellie Cournoyea, Mr. Dent, Mr. Gargan, Hon. Stephen Kakfwi, Mr. Koe, Mr. Lewis, Hon. Jeannie Marie-Jewell, Hon. Rebecca Mike, Hon. Don Morin, Hon. Richard Nerysoo, Mr. Ng, Mr. Ningark, Hon. John Pollard, Mr. Pudlat, Mr. Pudluk, Mr. Whitford, Mr. Zoe

---Prayer

Item 1: Prayer
Item 1: Prayer

Page 515

The Speaker Jeannie Marie-Jewell

Good afternoon. Item 2, Minsters' statements. The honourable Member for Baffin Central, Ms. Mike.

Minister's Statement 41-12(6): NWT Search And Rescue Training Funding
Item 2: Ministers' Statements

October 25th, 1994

Page 515

Rebecca Mike Baffin Central

(Translation) Thank you, Madam Speaker. I am pleased to inform the House that we have been successful in accessing federal government funding for a two-year search and rescue training program.

The National Search and Rescue Secretariat's new initiatives program will provide $165,500 in the current fiscal year and $189,000 in 1995-96 for training in ground and marine search and rescue and search management. (Translation ends)

Access to this program is generally restricted to federal government departments and our success in working with the RCMP "G" division proves our two governments can work cooperatively and collaboratively. I wish to recognize and offer appreciation to the RCMP for working on the training program with the department and sponsoring the program for funding.

I would also like to acknowledge and thank the Minister of Justice for his department's support in this endeavour. The success we have had in establishing this training initiative can be attributed to our interdepartmental cooperation and the community involvement ensured throughout the process.

The training provided under this program will be available to RCMP members as well as community search volunteers. Search management training for search coordinators will position us to mount well-organized, effective searches whenever a missing persons situation arises.

The department will work closely with the RCMP in planning and offering training opportunities under this initiative and community volunteers will be encouraged to take advantage of the events in their regions. Thank you.

The Speaker Jeannie Marie-Jewell

Thank you. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Item 3, Member's statements. The honourable Member for Inuvik, Mr. Koe.

1998 Arctic Winter Games Site Selection
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 515

Fred Koe Inuvik

Mahsi, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, today I rise with a heavy heart to make this statement. Yesterday, a spokesperson for the Arctic Winter Games bid committee announced from Whitehorse that the city of Yellowknife will be awarded the 1998 Arctic Winter Games.

Apparently, there was supposed to be a bid process where the communities which were interested in hosting the Arctic Winter Games would prepare a bid, which would be properly evaluated and the best proposal would be accepted. To me, this is a fair process. However, I must contest and state that the whole bid process for selecting a location for the 1998 Arctic Winter Games was not fair. Apparently, the bid which was submitted by the bid committee in Inuvik, was not given a fair evaluation. I am led to believe that the decision to award the games to Yellowknife was already made before the process began.

Madam Speaker, if this was the case, then why didn't the international committee members make this known before proceeding with their charade? Madam Speaker, this government, the town of Inuvik, and the Delta-Beaufort communities were led down the garden path. I know that many of the Members of the Inuvik Arctic Winter Game bid committee now feel betrayed. I think that the international committee should have had the courage to define the minimum requirements and scope required to host the games before requesting bids. If the size of Inuvik was questionable, that should have been indicated at the outset of the process, before letting the people of the region think they had a chance in this bid.

The town of Inuvik prepared an excellent bid package and rolled out the red carpet when members of the international committee came to visit and investigate the town, look at the facilities, meet with the host committee and enjoy the hospitality shown by all residents of Inuvik and the region.

Madam Speaker, I request unanimous consent to continue with my statement.

1998 Arctic Winter Games Site Selection
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 515

The Speaker Jeannie Marie-Jewell

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

1998 Arctic Winter Games Site Selection
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 515

Fred Koe Inuvik

Mahsi, my honourable colleagues and Madam Speaker. I have to admit that the town of Inuvik did a bang-up

job and I want to congratulate all the people on the bid committee, all the volunteers, all the residents of Inuvik, all the leaders and residents of the Delta and Beaufort communities, all the businesses and the Government of the Northwest Territories for their support.

Madam Speaker, if the intentions of the Arctic Winter Games International Committee were known before hand, then the Delta and Beaufort communities would probably have not put out the effort which they did. They probably would have done the same amount of work that the city of Yellowknife did to secure this bid. From the information which I have, approximately $70,000 cash and in-kind contributions were expended in preparing Inuvik's bid.

I would like to say that the direction and support which prompted the town of Inuvik to submit a bid came from all the communities in the region. It was several years ago that a motion was passed by the leaders of the Beaufort and Delta communities to prepare to host the 1998 Arctic Winter Games.

Madam Speaker, one had to experience the enthusiasm and support shown by the people of the Beaufort and Delta communities when they hosted the Arctic Winter Games International Committee during the bid days: the young children who sang and danced and paraded; all the school children and teachers; the elders who sang and danced; the Arctic sports athletes who demonstrated their skills; the cooks who prepared the feast; the residents of the long-term care ward of the Inuvik General Hospital; and, just about everyone in Inuvik showed their support. They all made us proud.

Madam Speaker, this government must take a very serious look at what happened during this whole process and, more importantly, must take a long, hard look at the future of the Arctic Winter Games. Not awarding these games to Inuvik means that no small or medium-sized community can ever hope to host future games.

Incidentally, if Inuvik was chosen as a site for the 1998 Arctic Winter Games, this would have been the first time that the games would have been held north of 60.

By the way, I wish to congratulate Yellowknife. Mahsi.

---Applause

1998 Arctic Winter Games Site Selection
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 516

The Speaker Jeannie Marie-Jewell

Thank you. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Aivilik, Mr. Arvaluk.

1998 Arctic Winter Games Site Selection
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 516

James Arvaluk Aivilik

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, this morning I heard the announcement of Yellowknife as the site for the 1998 Arctic Winter Games. While I'm sure the city of Yellowknife will do a fine job of hosting the games, the selection of Yellowknife over Inuvik disturbed me.

Madam Speaker, no one can deny the tremendous effort put forth by the people of Inuvik in trying to prepare a viable bid for the games. They lobbied long and hard, showing great community enthusiasm. They came up with an innovative approach of a split week format which would allow the community to host, even though it doesn't have as many facilities as a larger centre. I'm sure there were many reasons for the decision, but it seems to demonstrate that only the largest northern communities can hold the games.

As I look down the road to Nunavut, this causes me concern. The people of Nunavut have always been proud participants in the games and we would want to take our turn hosting this event. However, the largest community in Nunavut is similar in size to Inuvik. If Inuvik couldn't host the games, is there any hope that Nunavut will be able to some day?

Madam Speaker, I would urge the government, through the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, to pursue this decision with the Arctic Winter Games International Committee. If indeed community size was a major factor in Inuvik not being chosen, I would ask that the international committee review its policies and consider options which would allow smaller communities to host the games.

As Inuvik showed us, these communities are interested and excited about the chance to host the games; let us make sure they have that chance. Thank you.

1998 Arctic Winter Games Site Selection
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 516

The Speaker Jeannie Marie-Jewell

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

Construction Of Highway Near Jean Marie River
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 516

Jim Antoine Nahendeh

Mahsi, Madam Speaker. Today I rise to offer my thanks on behalf of my constituents on the Department of Transportation's work on the road into Jean Marie River over the past summer construction season. Madam Speaker, only the foreman and the heavy duty mechanic were from outside the community of Jean Marie River. All the rest of the people working on the project were residents of Jean Marie River.

Madam Speaker, the training of the heavy equipment operators involved in this project is being done by a couple of residents of this community. So as you see, Madam Speaker, this construction is not only providing economic opportunities for the residents of this community -- Jean Marie River -- it's also providing training with many results of employment on other projects in the area.

Seven kilometres of the 27 kilometres needed to connect Jean Marie River to the NWT highway systems were completed this past summer. Under the Department of Transportation's community access road program, the highway will be upgraded to a fair weather road over the course of the next four years.

I would like again to thank the Department of Transportation for its commitment to the community of Jean Marie River, and congratulations to the residents of Jean Marie in being involved in the construction, and for their hard work and dedication. Mahsi cho.

---Applause

Construction Of Highway Near Jean Marie River
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 517

The Speaker Jeannie Marie-Jewell

Thank you. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Baffin South, Mr. Pudlat.

Sanikiluaq Community Hall
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 517

Kenoayoak Pudlat Baffin South

(Translation) Thank you, Madam Speaker. I would like to express the concerns of the residents of Sanikiluaq. I have expressed this concern before. They had requested funding for a community hall. The present community hall is quite small and it was built in 1973, so it's pretty old now. It's getting too small for their population. The population of Sanikiluaq is around 500 now.

Madam Speaker, they have made an application for funding to the government and they have already made a commitment in the community to put aside funding for a community hall, and they would like to have this priority set for capital funding.

They are requesting funding on behalf of Sanikiluaq to get funding for a community hall. They had gotten an arena; now we're requesting that a funding priority is set for a community hall for Sanikiluaq. Thank you.

---Applause

Sanikiluaq Community Hall
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 517

The Speaker Jeannie Marie-Jewell

Thank you. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Baffin South. Or, Yellowknife South, I'm sorry, Mr. Whitford.

Business Incentive Policy
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 517

Tony Whitford

Tony Whitford Yellowknife South

Oh, that's ominous. Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, a number of years ago the Government of the Northwest Territories introduced the business incentive policy, better known as BIP. The government's intention was to encourage greater government spending in the north by making northern bids on government contracts more attractive. However, since this policy was introduced, there has been a constant struggle over the exact definition of a northern company. It seems that the initial policy laid down some criteria which would define a northern company. Then some companies, which many think of as southern, found ways to meet these criteria and qualified for preference under the policy. So the government added more criteria and some southern companies found new ways to jump through those hoops as well, and so on and so on.

Now we have a complicated policy that frustrates northern business people twice: once, when they have to fill out all the forms and once again, when a contract goes to someone who is just going to have a bunch of southerners doing the jobs anyway.

I would encourage the government to strongly consider starting from scratch, start from the ground up and make a new policy that will be simple and effective, because if the current complicated and probably ineffective policy is all we have, we might as well just get rid of it and forget about the whole thing. Madam Speaker, thank you.

Business Incentive Policy
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 517

The Speaker Jeannie Marie-Jewell

Thank you. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Gargan.

Self-government For The People Of Deh Cho
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 517

Samuel Gargan Deh Cho

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, just about 30 years ago, the forerunner to today's Dene Nation, the Indian Brotherhood, was formed. The brotherhood was created to negotiate with the federal government the issue of land ownership and native self-government. Over the course of the next few years, position papers were developed, and in the early 1970s, a formal position paper was presented to the Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs; at that time, the Honourable Warren Allmand. Mr. Allmand agreed with most of the positions that the Dene Nation had taken, especially with regard to native self-government consideration. Mr. Allmand was switched to another portfolio in the next Cabinet shuffle, and the Dene Nation had to start all over again.

The process continued through the rest of the 1970s and 1980s, until finally the Dene Nation had signed an agreement with the federal government in April of 1990.

Madam Speaker, during the ratification vote held in Dettah during the Dene National Assembly in July of 1990, the Deh Cho delegates felt they had no option but to reject the proposed final agreement. The major reasons, Madam Speaker, that the Deh Cho delegates rejected the proposed agreement was the federal government's insistence to tie the final agreement to the extinguishment of treaties and aboriginal rights previously negotiated.

Madam Speaker, the elders and leaders from the Deh Cho felt that the right to self-government was not something that could be left at the table. It is the basis for the goals and aspirations of the Dene in the Deh Cho region. Naturally, Madam Speaker, this left the doors open for each of the regions in the western territories to negotiate their own separate, comprehensive land claim agreements; something that nobody objected to.

The political reality of 1990 meant that there was no hope of the Conservative government changing its position on the extinguishment of treaty rights as a precondition of negotiating land claim settlements. It was decided, Madam Speaker, to await the results of the next federal election before the Deh Cho entered into a land selection process. It must be remembered, Madam Speaker, that self-government is not up for negotiation, as it is already a right under Treaty 11 and has been recognized by the federal government by virtue of the negotiated agreements...

Self-government For The People Of Deh Cho
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 518

The Speaker Jeannie Marie-Jewell

Mr. Gargan, your time has lapsed. Mr. Gargan.

Self-government For The People Of Deh Cho
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 518

Samuel Gargan Deh Cho

I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

Self-government For The People Of Deh Cho
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 518

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. Please proceed, Mr. Gargan.

Self-government For The People Of Deh Cho
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 518

Samuel Gargan Deh Cho

Thank you, Madam Speaker, honourable Members. Treaties were agreements between two sovereign nations. Madam Speaker, yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of the Liberals taking over the governing of Canada. The platform of the Liberals, as outlined in the red book, recognizes natives' inherent right to self-government. I can only hope that, when the Minister comes north to speak to this Assembly, he has positive news for the people of Deh Cho with regard to their right to self-government. Mahsi cho.

---Applause

Self-government For The People Of Deh Cho
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 518

The Speaker Jeannie Marie-Jewell

Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. The honourable Member for Baffin Central, Ms. Mike.

Return To Question 206-12(6): Status Of Revision Of GNWT Staff Housing Strategy
Item 4: Returns To Oral Questions
Item 4: Returns To Oral Questions

Page 518

Rebecca Mike Baffin Central

Thank you, Madam Speaker. This is in response to Mr. Ng's question on October 20, 1994 about the status of revisions to the GNWT long-term staff housing strategy. It appears that my use of the word "review" during the last session has created some misunderstanding. When I indicated on February 15th that I would like to get the input of each MLA as part of the review, I was referring to a review of the staff housing situation in each community. I did not intend that I would be reviewing the whole strategy.

As I previously indicated in letter to each MLA, once the current round of sales is complete, we need to determine if there are any surplus housing units in any community. If there are any surplus units, then I plan to meet with individual MLAs to discuss various options by which we can dispose of them.

I have also considered the special needs of some employees who were unable to take advantage of the current sales program because of circumstances beyond their control. With advice and input from individual MLAs, I reviewed each of these circumstances and, where appropriate, recommended to Cabinet that exceptions to the sales criteria be approved.

Madam Speaker, while I have no plans to sponsor any revisions to the strategy, I am willing to review concerns over the implementation and impact of the strategy. Thank you.

Return To Question 206-12(6): Status Of Revision Of GNWT Staff Housing Strategy
Item 4: Returns To Oral Questions
Item 4: Returns To Oral Questions

Page 518

The Speaker Jeannie Marie-Jewell

Thank you. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Inuvik, Mr. Koe.