This is page numbers 743 - 763 of the Hansard for the 12th Assembly, 7th 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 housing.

Canadian Championship Dog Derby
Item 3: Members' Statements

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Tony Whitford

Tony Whitford Yellowknife South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today will mark the 40th anniversary of the dog races in Yellowknife. First called the dog derby in 1955, the race then was 50 miles long and ran for only one day. That race was won by Yellowknife trapper Alfred Drygeese using the old toboggans and his regular team. His first prize winnings for that day was $50.

Over the next eight years, the Yellowknife dog derby evolved from 50 to 100 to 150 miles and became known as the Canadian Championship Dog Derby in 1962. Ray Beck Sr. won that race after having mushed all the way across Great Slave Lake from Fort Resolution, then back again after the race. This indicates the stamina of both the racing dogs and the mushers of the time. Incidently, Mr. Beck was here last year, and this year he's here as a spectator.

From 1968 to 1972, the derby fell into decline mainly from a lack of sponsorship and committee organization. But in 1972, the newly-formed Yellowknife Rotary Club undertook the running of this derby. This year will mark the 24th year of that undertaking.

In those past 23 years, we in the Rotary Club have seen many more improvements to this major racing event. Prize money has gone from bags of dog food and small cash awards to a total of some $32,000 in prize money, plus subsidiary prizes such as gas, dog food, trophy and other mementoes. This year's first prize will be $10,000.

The racing dogs, the sled and public interest have all changed. Dogs have become smaller now and bred for racing, not pulling the heavy loads they used to with the trappers. Mushers no longer use toboggans, they use specially designed racing sleds with teflon runners. But the biggest change is the amount of public interest shown in these races. Mushers from all over the Canada and the United States congregate here to race. Last year, we had a musher who originally was from Europe. This year, we have a lady from France who is the first really true European racer. She will be racing here using some sled dogs of one of the Beck racers.

In Europe, sled dog racing is a growing sport in the European Alps. There are even races now being held in the Andes Mountains of South America, all of which indicates the general...Sorry...

Canadian Championship Dog Derby
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 746

The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Mr. Whitford, your time is up.

Canadian Championship Dog Derby
Item 3: Members' Statements

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Tony Whitford

Tony Whitford Yellowknife South

I seek consent to continue.

Canadian Championship Dog Derby
Item 3: Members' Statements

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

The Member for Yellowknife South is seeking unanimous consent. Are there any nays? There are no nays. Conclude your statement, Mr. Whitford.

Canadian Championship Dog Derby
Item 3: Members' Statements

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Tony Whitford

Tony Whitford Yellowknife South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. Mushers from all over Canada and the United States...Last year, we had a musher from Europe. This year, we have a lady musher from France who will be racing for the first time in Canada. She is going to be racing further...This is kind of a training run for her. She will be going to South America. There are even races being held in the Andes Mountains of South America, all of which indicates the general increase in both sponsorship and sled dog racing as a spectator sport.

We have 12 teams racing that start off at 12:30 today and they will run this 50-mile course for the next three days. It's nice to see, Mr. Speaker, that this tradition continues. Although dogs are not used on the trapline as they once were, dogs still play an important part in our northern culture and I want to take this opportunity to wish all of the visitors, both from the United States and from Europe, and certainly our Yellowknife people, and we have people from Fort Smith racing, all the best and a safe competition over the next three days.

---Applause

Canadian Championship Dog Derby
Item 3: Members' Statements

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Thank you, Mr. Whitford. Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Pudlat.

Implementation Of New Rent Scale
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 746

Kenoayoak Pudlat Baffin South

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will talk about something that isn't too "Friday." Today is the 31st of the month and tomorrow is the beginning of the new rental scale implementation. As we all know, it was to be April 1st and that is tomorrow. This is something that people are sort of dreading. Although tomorrow will be Saturday, it is going to put a lot of pressure on a lot of our people with this new rent scale.

Mr. Speaker, in my constituency, there are a lot of people. They are small communities, 28 of them will have rental hikes, 14 will stay the same and five will decrease. However, there are very few people in the community who will see decreased rent, and some rent will stay the same. But, as a small community, the majority of the tenants will see rental increases. This is unfortunate and I'm sure this will put a lot of strain on them.

Mr. Speaker, there was a question put forth by one of the MLAs from the east about evictions; I'm sure this is something that we will see and it's a reality that we will have to face. So, during question period, I will pursue this matter about the rental scale that is being implemented tomorrow. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Implementation Of New Rent Scale
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 746

The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Thank you. Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Mr. Kakfwi.

Return To Question 308-12(7): Progress On Responsibility For Police Service
Item 4: Returns To Oral Questions
Item 4: Returns To Oral Questions

March 30th, 1995

Page 747

Stephen Kakfwi

Stephen Kakfwi Sahtu

Mr. Speaker, this is in response to a question asked by Mr. Koe on the 10th of March of this year.

Mr. Koe asked an oral question concerning the cost of policing services related to the strike at Giant Mine. The total strike-related costs are $2,076,289. Thank you.

Return To Question 308-12(7): Progress On Responsibility For Police Service
Item 4: Returns To Oral Questions
Item 4: Returns To Oral Questions

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Thank you. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Dent.

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

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Charles Dent

Charles Dent Yellowknife Frame Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize a group of young people in the gallery who are part of the Rotary Northern Experience Program. These young people have been sent to Yellowknife by their local Rotary Club and are hosted by the Yellowknife Rotary Club.

Mr. Speaker, this is a program intended to give more Canadians and others a chance to experience a bit of the north and some of our lifestyle. The 19 members in the group -- from places like Alberta, Saskatchewan, B.C., even three exchange students who come from Germany, South Africa, and Finland -- Mr. Speaker, I would like to welcome this group to our House.

---Applause

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

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Pudlat.

Kenoayoak Pudlat Baffin South

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I stated in my Member's statement, my question is to the Minister of the Housing Corporation. He responded to Dennis Patterson's question, as I understood it, that there would be no evictions without further investigation. For instance, if they have more than one person making an income in a family and an elder living in the house, how would they go about reviewing as to who in the house is not paying. Because he said that there would be no evictions at all if just one of the people in the house would be evicted, what about for that one person who is not paying? How would you deal with that person individually? Will they be evicted? Or, could you further clarify as to what you would do with this one person? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker Samuel Gargan

The Minister of Housing, Mr. Morin.

Return To Question 368-12(7): Multi-income Residences Under New Social Housing Rent Scale
Question 368-12(7): Multi-income Residences Under New Social Housing Rent Scale
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Don Morin Tu Nedhe

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The new rent scale is based on a certain amount of trust of the tenants to be reasonable and responsible in paying their rent. For example, in a unit if any individual is not paying their rent, the local housing authority would consult with that person and try to set up -- if they fell behind in their rent -- a repayment schedule with that individual. And than if all else fails, the very last resort would be an eviction notice would go to that person. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Return To Question 368-12(7): Multi-income Residences Under New Social Housing Rent Scale
Question 368-12(7): Multi-income Residences Under New Social Housing Rent Scale
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 747

The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Patterson.

Question 369-12(7): Status Of Bip Review
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Dennis Patterson Iqaluit

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, tenders are about to go out for major capital projects in the Northwest Territories and I would like to ask the Minister of Public Works and Services, what is the status of the review of the business incentive policy that has been undertaken by his department? Thank you.

Question 369-12(7): Status Of Bip Review
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

The Minister responsible for Public Works and Service, Mr. Morin.

Return To Question 369-12(7): Status Of Bip Review
Question 369-12(7): Status Of Bip Review
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Don Morin Tu Nedhe

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the fall of last year, we had Cabinet approval for a draft -- and I must emphasize "draft" -- business incentive policy. We also submitted that to the Standing Committee on Finance in order for this to go to a consultation process. I believe that we are still getting letters. As a matter of fact, today, going through my files, we have received letters from business people in the north that want their concerns addressed when we finish rewriting this policy.

Once the policy and the first round of consultation is done, then we will rewrite it as best we can. Then we are going to go back to the business community to see what they think of it and hopefully this will be in place this year. Thank you.

Return To Question 369-12(7): Status Of Bip Review
Question 369-12(7): Status Of Bip Review
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Patterson.

Supplementary To Question 369-12(7): Status Of Bip Review
Question 369-12(7): Status Of Bip Review
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Dennis Patterson Iqaluit

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That is my concern, Mr. Speaker, that we are about to tender well over $100 million worth of capital projects in the Northwest Territories. Will the BIP be modified, improved, strengthened in time to be applied in the awarding of tenders for the coming construction season? Thank you.

Supplementary To Question 369-12(7): Status Of Bip Review
Question 369-12(7): Status Of Bip Review
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Mr. Morin.

Further Return To Question 369-12(7): Status Of Bip Review
Question 369-12(7): Status Of Bip Review
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Don Morin Tu Nedhe

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Members, last fall, in the Legislative Assembly, raised many concerns about southerners or outsiders coming into the communities working when northern businesses had reflected in their tenders that they would hire local people. Very few, but some turned around and hired southern people and brought them in. We didn't have a hammer or a penalty in place that was large enough to stop this from happening. We have already made changes to the tender documents so that if a northern

contractor puts in his tender document that he is going to spend $100,000 in Iqaluit on local labour, he had better spend it, because if he doesn't he will be subject to penalties. For example, we can lift the contract from him or we can remove his business incentive policy and remove the contract as well. Thank you.

Further Return To Question 369-12(7): Status Of Bip Review
Question 369-12(7): Status Of Bip Review
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Patterson.

Supplementary To Question 369-12(7): Status Of Bip Review
Question 369-12(7): Status Of Bip Review
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Dennis Patterson Iqaluit

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to hear that the Minister has put in those kind of measures, even in advance of a revised BIP. I would like to ask the Minister, since the days and months of this government are now numbered, whether it is the Minister's determination to have in place a new and improved business incentive policy during the life of this government. Thank you.