This is page numbers 693 - 720 of the Hansard for the 13th 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 aboriginal.

Topics

The Speaker Samuel Gargan

The Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Mr. Kakfwi.

Return To Question 254-13(7): Community Market Garden Development Program
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Stephen Kakfwi

Stephen Kakfwi Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Member for the compliment. I have not heard anything positive for a couple of days, so I am relieved to know there is something positive on the horizon from him. The Market Garden Development Program was announced in June, perhaps much too late for most of our communities to take advantage of, but as under-resourced as it is, as late as it was introduced, it is still, as the Member recognizes, a good initiative. With dwindling resources, with limited , I as the Minister and the department have chosen to initiate the program anyway. What we have said is that we are trying to provide at least $5,000 to at least one initiative per community so that anyone who wants to get into market gardening to sell their products will be eligible to receive this assistance. I agree that there is not anywhere near the kind of resources that should be allocated to this, but with more positive comments from the other side, we may be moved to look at increasing it next year, if we can. I want to encourage Members to be very positive in the way they perceive the hard work of Ministers on this side and to know that there are good things happening in spite of recent perceptions and the rhetoric. Thank you.

Return To Question 254-13(7): Community Market Garden Development Program
Question 254-13(7): Community Market Garden Development Program
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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Erasmus.

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Roy Erasmus Yellowknife North

Thank you. Mr. Speaker, after all that, I still do not know what the committed support is from the government. However, I guess that could mean $5,000 every year. I am glad to hear the Minister indicate that he might consider increasing the amount of money that is available because as of a week or so ago in this region alone, 600 people showed their interest by picking up application forms. I would like to ask the Minister if he could seriously consider increasing the amount of that $5,000 for next growing season. Thank you.

Supplementary To Question 254-13(7): Community Market Garden Development Program
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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Mr. Kakfwi.

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Question 254-13(7): Community Market Garden Development Program
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Stephen Kakfwi

Stephen Kakfwi Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will consider the suggestion, the advice, or the recommendation by the Member. I am serious about that. I think it is a good initiative. If there is any possible way to increase the allocation of resources to this particular program, I will most definitely do it. Thank you.

Further Return To Question 254-13(7): Community Market Garden Development Program
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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Erasmus.

Supplementary To Question 254-13(7): Community Market Garden Development Program
Question 254-13(7): Community Market Garden Development Program
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Roy Erasmus Yellowknife North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One of the stipulations is that in larger centres like Yellowknife, you have to have a minimum of three acres of land that you are using to plant food and that type of stuff in. It is pretty hard to find three solid acres around Yellowknife here. In Europe, where land is hard to come by, there are many successful market gardens which sustain a full-time market gardener on less than one hectare. The community market garden here in town is 50 feet by 300 feet, set up to feed 48 people minimally, and three acres is 362 feet by 362 feet, which is roughly six times as large as that. I wonder if the Minister could also possibly reconsider this qualification that there has to be a minimum of three acres. Thank you.

Supplementary To Question 254-13(7): Community Market Garden Development Program
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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Mr. Kakfwi.

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Stephen Kakfwi

Stephen Kakfwi Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will do that. Thank you.

Further Return To Question 254-13(7): Community Market Garden Development Program
Question 254-13(7): Community Market Garden Development Program
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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Oral questions. Final supplementary, Mr. Erasmus.

Supplementary To Question 254-13(7): Community Market Garden Development Program
Question 254-13(7): Community Market Garden Development Program
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Roy Erasmus Yellowknife North

Thank you. Mr. Speaker, I have one final question out of the Minister's statement. He had indicated that this was announced in June. The documents here indicate that your application for this year had to be in by the end of May. I was just wondering why they bothered to announce this initiative this year if it is already too late to apply. Thank you.

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Mr. Kakfwi.

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Stephen Kakfwi

Stephen Kakfwi Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have no idea why that happened, but I will ask the department to clarify that for me.

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Oral questions. Mr. Henry.

Seamus Henry Yellowknife South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have some questions for the Premier on statements that were made in the House today in regard to the Dogrib Agreement-In-Principle. Also, the Minister of Finance made a statement on the same topic as regards funding for that agreement-in-principle. My first question, Mr. Speaker, is to the Premier. He noted in his statement today, and I quote, that the Dogrib Agreement-in-Principle will become a public document after it is initialled on August 9. I encourage Members of this House and all citizens of the Northwest Territories with an interest in this matter to take some time to review it.

My question to the Premier is, what process will be used to receive the response from the public of the Northwest Territories to this document? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker Samuel Gargan

The Premier.

Return To Question 255-13(7): Dogrib Agreement-in-principle
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Jim Antoine Nahendeh

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Dogrib Agreement-In-Principle will be initialled at their Assembly on August 9, and up to then these documents are private kinds of documents. Once this is initialled, that is when everybody in the North and anybody that is interested have it available to them. At that point in time, once this gets out, there will be reaction, I guess, through the MLAs. We do not have any formal mechanism set up now, but we do have a Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs here, which I am the Minister of as well as being Premier, and we will have a system in place hopefully to get the comments at that point. I think MLAs will probably be inundated with the concerns and so forth. I think this is the way it is right now. If it is necessary to come up with some sort of a formal clearing house to get information, then perhaps we should consider that as well. Thank you.

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Henry.

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Seamus Henry Yellowknife South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am glad to hear that from the Minister, and I encourage the Premier to advise the House and the people of the territories of whatever mechanism is put in place to receive that input. My second question, Mr. Speaker, to the Premier is, is there a timetable set for the continuation of trying to reach a final agreement on this claim? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Mr. Antoine.

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Jim Antoine Nahendeh

Thank you. Before I answer that question, I want to qualify the previous question by saying that the ministry is developing a communications strategy on how to approach this initiative. In regard to the process, the chief negotiators have the authority now to go and initial this document to kick off the formal process, and the next stage after that would be the signing of the agreement-in-principle. There are some concerns that we have that we would like to see addressed prior to the signing of the agreement-in-principle, so the time frame between the initialling and the signing is not specified at this point in time by us. In order to allow for our concerns to be met, especially the boundary issues, it may take some time. We are not too sure at this time how long this time frame is going to be. Thank you.

Further Return To Question 255-13(7): Dogrib Agreement-in-principle
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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Oral questions. Final supplementary, Mr. Henry.

Supplementary To Question 255-13(7): Dogrib Agreement-in-principle
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Seamus Henry Yellowknife South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on the cost to implement this agreement, at whatever time it is finalized, it has been communicated by this government that it is the responsibility of the federal government. Has this government had any feedback on that comment that it is their fiduciary responsibility to fund the implementation of these agreements and not a GNWT cost? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Supplementary To Question 255-13(7): Dogrib Agreement-in-principle
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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Mr. Antoine.