Please be seated. Madam Speaker, honoured guests and Members of the Legislative Assembly, it is my pleasure to welcome you to the Seventh Session of the 12th Legislative Assembly. This is the start of the 12th Assembly's final budget session. The session will be recessed later this week until February, when the Minister of Finance will present the government's operation and maintenance budget for 1995-96.
During this session, your government will also be presenting documents dealing with matters that must be addressed in order for the Northwest Territories to take advantage of its human and economic potential. Of particular importance are proposals designed to help restore human values, dignity and a sense of community wellness.
Madam Speaker, during the past few years, your government has changed the way it is organized and does business so that people at the community level have more control. It has also taken steps to make sure capital projects maximize northern jobs, training and business opportunities. Change has been difficult in many areas because of the impact on our budget of federal cutbacks and the threat of further reductions in the new year. In addition, we have a financing agreement with Ottawa that does not provide the territories with the tools to achieve a greater degree of self-sufficiency. Regardless, we have made considerable progress and we still have many economic opportunities, particularly in the area of the non-renewable resource sector.
But, all the efforts we are making in order to reach our economic potential won't mean anything unless we develop a consensus on how we want to see these resources controlled, managed and developed. The money and the jobs have to stay in the north and benefit our economy.
Madam Speaker, the population of the Northwest Territories is very small, compared to other parts of Canada, and we cannot afford to be fragmented in our approach or in the direction we are heading. Leadership in the territories must demonstrate a strong commitment towards working together to prepare for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead, as this is a time for partnerships, trust and certainty. Individual interests are important, but they must be advanced in a manner that serves a common goal.
Madam Speaker, your government knows that it cannot afford to have a single focus in its approach to improving the economic well being of the Northwest Territories. Serious social problems have to be resolved in order to end the cycle of wasted potential and missed opportunity. The status quo is not an option. As a result, your government has an ambitious social agenda.
It includes income support reform; family law reform; a strategy to promote zero tolerance for violence and community wellness; steps to improve the delivery of child care and health services; and, initiatives to make sure communities can have greater control over government programs and services so they can solve the problems that are most important to them.
In addition, your government is mindful of the terrible impact of liquor abuse in the Northwest Territories and the need to replace an outdated liquor law that was created 25 years ago, and is difficult to understand and complex to administer.
As a result, a legislative action paper on rewriting liquor laws in the Northwest Territories has been prepared. The document is a result of a liquor law review that has involved extensive consultation in all regions of the territories. The review has listened carefully to northern residents, organizations and interest groups on how government legislation can be improved to help end the abuse and the resulting tragedies that are becoming far too frequent in the Northwest Territories.
Madam Speaker, social problems in the Northwest Territories are not being tackled in isolation of each other.
The community wellness strategy is an unprecedented partnership in the territories that is being developed by a broad coalition of 30 social agencies, aboriginal and cultural organizations, women's groups, mental health services providers and government departments.
The departments of Health and Social Services; Justice; Education, Culture and Employment; Municipal and Community Affairs; Intergovernmental and Aboriginal Affairs; and, the NWT Housing Corporation are working closely together in this process with the overall direction provided by the coalition.
These groups, despite their various mandates, share a common understanding about the seriousness of the problems faced by individuals, families and communities in the Northwest Territories. There is a shared vision of the direction in which we all would like to go in moving towards achieving healthier communities. One of those visions is the reform of our income support system.
Madam Speaker, income support reform is a complex issue that is being driven at a national level by a federal government that is determined to reduce expenditures and introduce efficiencies. The systems that are in place need to be reformed in order to end waste and to make sure they no longer create barriers to work and training opportunities.
Our system must give people the help they need to get back to work or into the workforce for the first time.
To make sure that this reform develops in a way that respects the priorities and needs of northerners, your government has established a number of principles to guide reform in the Northwest Territories.
Income support reform must link jobs and training, and encourage people to make responsible choices. It must respect northern culture, community direction and the integrity of families. And the reform must make the best use of available money, federal cost-sharing opportunities, and be fair and easy to access by people in communities.
Part of the work in the area of income support reform is in response to recommendations from the Special Committee on Health and Social Services. The next step is creation of a Ministers' forum on income support reform.
The forum will include representatives from business, labour and individuals involved in social reform. It will lead focus groups in the five regional centres to provide information, involve community people in discussions, and get public opinion and advice on the issues. It will conclude by providing its findings and recommendations to the Assembly at its February sitting.
Madam Speaker, social reform and making sure that residents can take the opportunities that are available to them requires an education system that opens the doors to opportunities.
A discussion paper that outlines a strategy to guide the development and delivery of education, culture and employment programs to the year 2010 and another paper seeking public input into creation of a new Education Act have already been tabled in the House.
In addition, the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment will table a legislative discussion paper on the draft of a new Education Act this week. The paper will be used for further consultation and be followed by the presentation of a new Education Act.
Madam Speaker, all of these initiatives will have an impact on addressing many of the social problems that must be resolved in order to move towards a greater sense of self-sufficiency.
No single individual or organization can solve the problems of today's society. The challenge is to work together in a positive fashion to make sure the potential of our human resources is realized and contributes to a sense of community wellness, dignity and personal accomplishment.
That is why your government's social agenda is based on a process of partnership -- a process of listening, learning and leadership.
On a personal note, Madam Speaker, over 20 years ago the Commissioner's Award for Bravery was established to recognize the sacrifices and heroic efforts of people who voluntarily place themselves in danger to help others.
I would like to take the opportunity to announce the names of 10 residents who have been recognized for acts of bravery in the Northwest Territories.
- Moses Aliyak of Rankin Inlet received the Commissioner's Award for Bravery at the Highest Level for rescuing his wife and nephew from a polar bear attack near their summer camp in July 1994;
- Three Cambridge Bay residents, Peter Evalik, Richard Evalik and Grant Corey, received the Commissioner's Award for Bravery at the Highest Level for saving Theresa Keadjuk and Mary Kilaodluk on January 1, 1993. The three men crawled through a smoke-filled house to find the women and drag them to safety;
- Peter Moosenose and Frankie Nitsiza of Wha Ti received the Commissioner's Award for Bravery at the Second Level for saving 11-year-old Larry Flunkie from drowning in Lac La Martre on August 12, 1993;
- Alfred Nitsiza and Lloyd Bishop received letters of commendation for their part in the rescue of Larry Flunkie. Mr. Nitsiza and Mr. Bishop performed two-man CPR on the boy when he was brought to shore; and,
- Dennis Klengenberg and Kevin Niptanatiak of Coppermine received letters of commendation for rescuing each other after their snow machine broke through the ice near the mouth of the Coppermine River on November 7, 1993.
Finally, Madam Speaker, during this session, a legislative program including the following bills will be introduced for your consideration. Amendments to the following acts will be advanced: the Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Act; the Co-operative Associations Act; the Dental Mechanics Act; the Elections Act; the Fair Practices Act; the Income Tax Act; the Judicature Act; the Legal Profession Act; the Limitation of Actions Act; the Liquor Act; the Maintenance Act; and, the Petroleum Products Tax Act.
New bills include Appropriation Act, No. 2, 1995-96 and the Miscellaneous Statutes Amending Act. Your government considers these bills essential to the good conduct of government business and I recommend passage of each of these acts.
Madam Speaker, I would now like to commend to you for your earnest consideration and wise judgement, the business of this House as I declare open the Seventh Session of the 12th Assembly of the Northwest Territories. Thank you.
---Applause