This is page numbers 943 - 976 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 chairman.

Topics

Members Present

Mr. Allooloo, Mr. Antoine, Hon. Silas Arngna'naaq, Mr. Ballantyne, Hon. Nellie Cournoyea, Mr. Dent, Hon. Samuel Gargan, Hon. Stephen Kakfwi, Mr. Koe, Mr. Lewis, Mrs. Marie-Jewell, Ms. Mike, Hon. Don Morin, Hon. Richard Nerysoo, Hon. Kelvin Ng, Mr. Ningark, Mr. Patterson, Hon. John Pollard, Mr. Pudlat, Mr. Pudluk, Hon. John Todd, Mr. Whitford, Mr. Zoe

Members Present
Members Present

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

I would request that after our prayer today, Members remain standing for a minute of silence in remembrance of the people who so tragically lost their lives in a fire in the community of Tuktoyaktuk. Our prayers are with their families and friends.

Item 1: Prayer
Item 1: Prayer

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

---Prayer

---Minute of Silence

Item 1: Prayer
Item 1: Prayer

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Thank you, Mr. Koe. Thank you, Members. Good afternoon. Orders of the day. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Mr. Ng.

Kelvin Ng Kitikmeot

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yesterday municipal voters in the 25 communities of the Nunavut settlement area cast their ballots in the Nunavut municipal lands referenda.

The referenda, which were held pursuant to article 14 of the Nunavut final agreement, allowed municipal voters to decide, on a community-by-community basis, whether or not they are in favour of restricting the sale of municipal lands now being transferred to the communities. Voters were asked: "Do you want your hamlet or town council to be able to sell municipal lands?" A simple majority of eligible voters who cast votes in each community determined the outcome.

Voters in all 25 communities voted in the majority "no." Therefore, all community governments in the Nunavut settlements area Nunavut settlement area will continue to lease lands. Each community government will adopt a land administration by-law which reflects the majority wishes of community residents to lease land.

Mr. Speaker, the department conducted a public awareness campaign in the period leading up to the referenda. This public awareness campaign was developed in partnership with Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, and the municipal councils, and involved visits by MACA staff, in most cases accompanied by an NTI representative, to each community of Nunavut.

While in communities, these "information delivery teams" provided briefings for the municipal councils, conducted local radio shows and held public meetings. These community visits were augmented by the production of an information kit in four languages, posters, radio and television announcements and a television phone-in show designed to encourage continued discussion and meetings at the community level.

The voter turnout averaged 46 per cent of voters and ranged from a high of 62 per cent to a low of 32 per cent. Mr. Speaker, I look forward to providing a detailed summary of the referenda results to Members later today.

The completed referenda are a milestone in the devolution of authority over lands to municipal councils. The department will now be working with municipal councils to assist them in taking over responsibility for the municipal lands being transferred to their ownership by July 1996. Our focus will include assisting the communities to develop land administration by-laws, and provide training to staff through the community lands administration certificate program at Nunavut Arctic College. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Item 2, Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Whitford.

Support For Retaining The Name "stanton Hospital"
Item 3: Members' Statements

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Tony Whitford

Tony Whitford Yellowknife South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in Yellowknife and the Mackenzie Valley, the name Stanton dates back to 1937 and has remained synonymous with northerners' medical history since then. Dr. Ollie Stanton and his wife Ruth moved to Yellowknife in the late 1930s to work at the small hospital run by CM&S, later to be Con Mine, and also served as a medical health officer for the Northwest Territories for a few years.

The Stantons worked in the medical field and within the growing community of Yellowknife. The work, of course, is now legendary. It was seen as an appropriate honour when the previous hospital was named after Dr. Stanton because the couple were early pioneers in medical service in this area. When the new hospital was completed in 1988, it was to bear the name Stanton Yellowknife Hospital. In fact, Dr. Stanton's widow, Ruth, was present at the time to make this dedication.

Mr. Speaker, it is fitting, in recognition of our early pioneers, to dedicate places or buildings of importance in their memory, thereby acknowledging their contribution towards society.

Recently, we have heard that members of the hospital board have suggested renaming Stanton Yellowknife Hospital in order to better reflect the broad spectrum of people that it serves. This suggestion has saddened many oldtimers and many local people here in Yellowknife and other places. Many have called to express their concern that although Dr. Stanton has passed away, there is no reason to change the hospital's name.

If I may offer a suggestion, Mr. Speaker, on behalf of many of my constituents, it would be that we change part of the name Stanton Yellowknife Hospital to Stanton Territorial, Stanton Regional or even Stanton Health Centre. This, Mr. Speaker, would reflect the fact that the hospital services extend to patients well beyond Yellowknife and includes those from the Deh Cho, the Sahtu, the Kitikmeot and the Dogrib Nations. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Support For Retaining The Name "stanton Hospital"
Item 3: Members' Statements

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

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

Impact Of Last Federal Election On Former Mps
Item 3: Members' Statements

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Brian Lewis Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I listened to a program called "As It Happens" last night. It deals with current events right across the country and there was an interview with a man called Peter Dobell who runs the Parliamentary Centre in Ottawa.

Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Centre did a survey of Members of Parliament who served in the last federal Parliament. They waited a year after the defeat of the Tory government of Mr. Mulroney before contacting Members because they wanted to measure the impact of the federal election on Members of Parliament a year after the event. Some interesting facts have emerged from surveying all of these Members.

The first one, Mr. Speaker, is those Members who retired and did not seek re-election were, for the most part, happy, contented and had adjusted to life outside of politics. Many decided to pursue other options, people like Mr. Clark, for example; Mr. Don Mazankowski; and, John Crosby, who is now the chancellor of Memorial University. The second point is that of those who ran but were defeated, only 50 per cent after one year have found employment. They were not very happy people because they had not been able to adjust to life outside of politics.

Many of the people who were surveyed noted that in the rejection letters they received for employment, the fact that they had been in politics had been given as a major reason for turning them down for employment. It was no longer seen as an advantage of having served the public because the public no longer felt, at least employers no longer felt, that whatever had been learned there had any relevance to the kind of work they were seeking to do. This particularly applied, Mr. Speaker, to Tory and NDP Members whose parties had been rejected quite thoroughly by the electorate in quite large numbers.

Mr. Speaker, those who did find work, examples like Mr. Perrin Beatty, were very rare. His appointment as the head of CBC was an exception. The vast majority of defeated Members who had served as backbenchers, and these were the vast majority of people in that Parliament, were now living on their pensions with little prospect of entering the workforce.

Impact Of Last Federal Election On Former Mps
Item 3: Members' Statements

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Mr. Lewis, your time is up. Mr. Lewis.

Impact Of Last Federal Election On Former Mps
Item 3: Members' Statements

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Brian Lewis Yellowknife Centre

I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement, Mr. Speaker.

Impact Of Last Federal Election On Former Mps
Item 3: Members' Statements

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

The Member for Yellowknife Centre is seeking unanimous consent. Are there any nays? There are no nays. Please proceed, Mr. Lewis.

Impact Of Last Federal Election On Former Mps
Item 3: Members' Statements

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Brian Lewis Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, colleagues and thank you, Mr. Speaker. The survey noted, Mr. Speaker, that those Members with between six and 10 years of service were now living on between $25,000 and $30,000 a year. Many of them were in their 30s and 40s and, although to many people that's a good salary, the fact that after one year they were still desperately trying to find something to do didn't give them much prospect of finding a meaningful place in the workforce.

Mr. Dobell noted that politicians are no longer considered to have the marketable skills that for many, many years it was assumed they had. They are no longer viewed positively by employers as they had once been. The lesson from the survey, Mr. Speaker, is that the most contented politicians were those who had left of their own accord and had not risked being rejected by their voters. That is a lesson that all of us, I'm sure, are going to have to consider over the next six months or so. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Impact Of Last Federal Election On Former Mps
Item 3: Members' Statements

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Pudlat.

Kenoayoak Pudlat Baffin South

(Translation) Mr. Speaker, I stand today to make a Member's statement and I would like to thank Kenojuak Ashevak who is my constituent. She got an award and I congratulate her for that. When I was a small child, she started making drawings. I know this isn't the first time she has been given an award but, Mr. Speaker, she was given an aboriginal achievement award and I know that she was called Kenoayoak Pudlat on CBC and I just want to clarify that she is not me. She is someone else. They made a mistake. They always make a mistake with my name. I would just like to thank my constituents and to congratulate this woman for getting an award. Thank you.

---Applause

The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Thank you. Item 3, Members' statements. Mrs. Marie-Jewell.

Altering Of Liquor Prices
Item 3: Members' Statements

April 10th, 1995

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Jeannie Marie-Jewell Thebacha

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm sure Members are already aware of the Liquor Commission's recent decision to alter liquor prices in the Northwest Territories, which came into effect April 1st of this year. The new liquor pricing system lowers the cost of many speciality items, while drastically increasing the amounts charged for several of the more popular brands. The brands I'm referring to are the Canadian brands, known as domestic products, such as Calona Wine, Private Stock, and Club Sherry.

For example, Mr. Speaker, Calona Wine went from $8.50 to $10.60 a bottle, Private Stock went from $6.45 to $8.00 and Club Sherry went from $16.45 to $20.75. At the same time, champagne and imported products were priced as follows: you can purchase a bottle of French Cordon Rouge, which went from $59.90 to $25.10 and Asti Spumante went from $17.30 to $11.45. Champagne such as Dom Perignon went from $180.60 to $63.80.

Altering Of Liquor Prices
Item 3: Members' Statements

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Some Hon. Members

Shame.

Altering Of Liquor Prices
Item 3: Members' Statements

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Jeannie Marie-Jewell Thebacha

Mr. Speaker, I certainly don't agree with the direction that the Liquor Commission is taking on this issue, for a number of reasons, and I really think it should be re-evaluated. It's fairly clear to anyone looking at the new price list, that almost all the wines that have been decreased in price are imported products. The domestic wines that many of my constituents like to buy have all increased in price. Mr. Speaker, one would think that this government, especially, would be supporting a Canadian wine industry, not the Europeans. In fact, many of the wine-producing countries in Europe are the very same ones that are leading the so-called animal rights campaign, against our traditional hunting and trapping industry in the Northwest Territories. I seek unanimous consent to continue.

Altering Of Liquor Prices
Item 3: Members' Statements

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

The Member for Thebacha is seeking unanimous consent. Are there any nays? There are no nays. Please proceed, Mrs. Marie-Jewell.

Altering Of Liquor Prices
Item 3: Members' Statements

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Jeannie Marie-Jewell Thebacha

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and honourable Members. It is also very clear that many of the brands that have gone up in price are the ones that had been favoured by low-income individuals, who just cannot afford and who don't want to spend their money on French champagne or products like Drambuie, which also went from $44.20 a bottle to $31.85.

It seems to my constituents that this new pricing is catering to the tastes of the elite and people who can afford it. Once again, the poor people, who are too often of aboriginal descent, are taking the inflated brunt of the price change. There is no doubt that everyone realizes this government has to generate more revenue to deal with its current financial crisis. Everyone knows that the sale of liquor is one way that can be accomplished. However, it is very unfair that these revenue-generating initiatives always have to be carried on the backs of the lower-income people in the north.

Mr. Speaker, there is another reason why I feel this ill-considered price policy should be evaluated. Most Members are aware that there is a considerable problem in many of our communities with chronic alcohol abuse, particularly of the "street people." Many of the products that this group tends to purchase, like Calona and Private Stock, have been priced quite high. I think so high that it encourages them to consider purchasing more dangerous products that contain alcohol.

Altering Of Liquor Prices
Item 3: Members' Statements

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An Hon. Member

Shame, shame.

Altering Of Liquor Prices
Item 3: Members' Statements

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Jeannie Marie-Jewell Thebacha

Certainly, Mr. Speaker, I am not one to encourage individuals to consume alcohol and I would certainly hate to see individuals turn to the idea of purchasing Lysol products or aftershave.

I sometimes wonder if the Minister has evaluated the economic impact of this pricing policy on the operators of privatized liquor stores. I wonder if he has considered, by raising the price of favourite brands, that he is actually encouraging the people in communities -- in a community such as Fort Smith, which is fairly close to the border -- to buy their liquor in another province. However, whatever the purpose is, I think this new pricing policy should be re-evaluated and redesigned. That should happen now before we lose a lot of costs through increased health care costs.

I would encourage this Minister to look at the re-evaluation of the new pricing which has been in place since April 1st of this year. Thank you.

---Applause

Altering Of Liquor Prices
Item 3: Members' Statements

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Thank you. Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Patterson.

Dennis Patterson Iqaluit

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to inform Members of the good work which has been accomplished by the parish hall fund-raising committee in Iqaluit. Last Friday, thanks to all the organizing costs being covered by the Royal Canadian Legion from branch number four, a packed concert featuring Susan Aglukark and other northern entertainers raised a magnificent sum of $9,500 towards the new parish hall.

Mr. Speaker, Iqaluit desperately needs a new parish hall. The present building came from the United States Airforce and was built in 1943. There has been overwhelming support from all segments of the community for a new parish hall. As Canon Mike Gardener, our local pastor put it, many people, churchgoers or not, have put their hearts into supporting a new community hall. The community has, once again, pulled together behind this project, which was advocated and supported by the late Simonie Alainga. Although the parish hall fund raising committee has not even been in existence for two years, they have raised $121,000 to date towards a new parish hall. A lot of these funds were raised in nickels and dimes, collection boxes in Northern Stores and Arctic Ventures, which meant about $500 every two weeks and personal donations.

The local committee's fund-raising efforts were also given a great boost by the approval of a $400,000 NWT infrastructure funding contribution on April 6th. I would like to thank the Honourable Art Eggleton and particularly the Honourable Richard Nerysoo, Minister responsible for the funding in the Northwest Territories, for their swift approval of the community's application in time to be announced to the community at the fund-raising concert last Friday. This was a great boost and encouragement to the sell-out crowd in attendance.

Mr. Chris Groves, chair of the fund-raising committee tells me that the fund raising will continue to meet the target of $550,000 set for the new hall. Construction will begin this summer. I would like to thank Mr. Groves and the other members of the fund-raising committee: Peter Scott, Mary Ellen Thomas, Diane Smith, Mathusalah Kunuk, Pauloosie Kilabuk, Paul Taylor and the good people of Iqaluit on their good work on this very worthwhile project. Qujannamiik.