This is page numbers 721 - 753 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 housing.

Topics

Members Present

Honourable Jim Antoine, Honourable Charles Dent, Mr. Erasmus, Honourable Sam Gargan, Mrs. Groenewegen, Mr. Henry, Honourable Stephen Kakfwi, Mr. Krutko, Honourable Michael Miltenberger, Mr. Morin, Mr. Ootes, Mr. Rabesca, Honourable Floyd Roland, Honourable Vince Steen.

Oh, God, may your spirit and guidance be in us as we work for the benefit of all our people, for peace and justice in our land and for the constant recognition of the dignity and aspirations of those whom we serve. Amen.

Item 1: Prayer
Item 1: Prayer

Page 721

Samuel Gargan Deh Cho

Thank you, Mr. Rabesca. Good morning. Mr. Antoine, your point of order.

Point of Order

Item 1: Prayer
Item 1: Prayer

Page 721

Jim Antoine Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in reviewing unedited Hansard, I noticed yesterday in his Member's statement, the honourable Member from Yellowknife North used the phrase "proverbial wooden Indian" in regards to Members of this House attending committee hearings this summer. Mr. Speaker, I am not quite sure from reading the unedited Hansard which Member the honourable Member was referring to.

I find the reference itself quite offensive and unparliamentary. I would like to ask the honourable Member if he would withdraw the remarks so that it does not remain as part of our public records. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Item 1: Prayer
Item 1: Prayer

Page 721

The Speaker

Proverbial - proverb - the word itself is not unparliamentary. The Members of the Executive can take offence in the context in which the word has been used and I will allow debate on the point. Mr. Erasmus.

Item 1: Prayer
Item 1: Prayer

Page 721

Roy Erasmus Yellowknife North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I do not believe there is a point of order there. Mr. Speaker, I have no problem with removing that. What would the Premier wish to replace those words with? The sentence is still there. There has to be something, we cannot just leave it blank.

Item 1: Prayer
Item 1: Prayer

Page 721

The Speaker

I think if the Members would look at the Hansard, page 1170, you look at the first sentence before the point of order was raised, following the sentence after that, that it does not affect the reading. "It is obvious that the Ministers present at the community hearings did not listen to their constituents' presentations. They did not hear the constituents saying we are afraid". So removing that is what the Minister is requesting. The sentence still makes sense. Mr. Erasmus.

Item 1: Prayer
Item 1: Prayer

Page 721

Roy Erasmus Yellowknife North

Mr. Speaker, it loses some of the meaning. I do not mind taking out those three words. If he wants to tell me what else he wants to have sit there like I do not mind. I will take out the proverbial wooden Indian. He can put whatever else he wants to sit there like. Thank you.

Item 1: Prayer
Item 1: Prayer

Page 721

The Speaker

It is not up to the Premier to make suggestions on what should replace those three words. Eventually, it is still the Speaker who will decide whether or not the Premier does have a point of order. Mr. Kakfwi.

Item 1: Prayer
Item 1: Prayer

Page 721

Stephen Kakfwi

Stephen Kakfwi Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There have been a lot of remarks made in the course of this Assembly in the session this week. There have been many remarks made about the rift that is existing or going to be created between the non-aboriginal and the aboriginal people of the North if this government does not take decisive action and provide leadership and whatever other remarks were made. I believe that the remark "wooden Indian" is stereotyping with racial overtones. It is a racial slight on those of us that sit in this House that of are aboriginal decent. I do not believe that the point is to get into grammatical discussion about what should replace those remarks. The point is an apology and a withdrawal of those remarks will correct the record that they were said, they are not acceptable, and there should be an apology and an acknowledgement that they should not have been said. That would, I believe, help to correct the record and the perception of the public about how we do business in this House. Thank you.

Item 1: Prayer
Item 1: Prayer

Page 721

The Speaker

Thank you. To the point of order. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Item 1: Prayer
Item 1: Prayer

Page 721

Jane Groenewegen

Jane Groenewegen Hay River

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to indicate that those words, in reference to our Premier, as a Member of this House, I find offensive and insulting. I agree they were made by an aboriginal person. Just to put them in context, if they had come from one of the non-aboriginal Members, I think that there would have been a huge uproar. I think just because Mr. Erasmus is also a First Nations person does not excuse that, and I take offence as an insult against our Premier. Thank you.

Item 1: Prayer
Item 1: Prayer

Page 721

The Speaker

Thank you. To the point of order. Mr. Dent.

Item 1: Prayer
Item 1: Prayer

Page 721

Charles Dent

Charles Dent Yellowknife Frame Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would argue that the Premier does have a point of order under either section 23(k) or perhaps 23(h) of our rules. I believe that the Premier, in raising the point of order, indicated that he was not certain that it was to him that the words were referring, but if I correctly heard the Member from Yellowknife North in his initial response to this, he asked "What would the Premier like me to replace those words with, what did he sit there like?", which makes it very clear to me that this sentence does, in fact, refer to the Premier and, therefore, if the Premier believes that he has been slighted under rule 23(k), I believe that there is a point of order.

Item 1: Prayer
Item 1: Prayer

Page 721

The Speaker

Thank you. On the point of order. Mr. Erasmus.

Item 1: Prayer
Item 1: Prayer

Page 722

Roy Erasmus Yellowknife North

Mr. Speaker, I do not see any reasoning in Mr. Dent's words. Just because a person feels he has a point of order, it does not mean he has a point of order. He actually has to have one. I have not heard any actual reasoning why it is a point of order, but I have agreed I will take it out. I will say bump on the log then, okay. My whole point was not a racial slur. It could have been anything that could not listen. A wooden Indian cannot listen because it is a piece of wood. That is all I said. If you read my words, that is what it means, so I will say a bump on the log.

Item 1: Prayer
Item 1: Prayer

Page 722

The Speaker

Thank you. To the point of order. I will make a ruling on that point of order as soon as we have copies of the Hansard on this short debate. I would like to have it done before we go too far into the business of the House, so I will make my ruling as soon as possible. Orders of the day, item 2, Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements, Mr. Krutko.

David Krutko

David Krutko Mackenzie Delta

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I would like to thank the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs for his Minister's statement yesterday in regards to an Aboriginal Sports Circle being established. I find it is long overdue that we have come to a point where we have established an organization to develop the youth in our communities. Mr. Speaker, almost 32 percent of our population is under the age of 14. Mr. Speaker, one of the biggest problems we have in our communities is the self-esteem of our youth and the younger people not having the resources to partake in sporting events, or not being able to have the opportunities that you have in the larger centres by way of having resources to basically compete at the territorial and national levels. Also not having the resources to have coaches and resource people in the communities to assist them to develop that self-esteem and move on in regards to themselves, to be competitive, to develop their emotions, their mental state, and also their physical state.

Mr. Speaker, I think it is more than just establishing an organization. We have to be able to have the resources for these organizations to do the work and to ensure that they are funded to be able to carry out their responsibilities. I, for one, fully support this initiative. For myself, I have been involved in cross-country skiing, I was on the NWT ski team for five years at which it was probably one of the best times of my life development from the small community of Fort MacPherson and travelling to national events in Alaska, Quebec, Ontario and also the northern part of the United States. With that I would like to thank the Minister for his efforts and to continue to strive to work along with the Aboriginal Sporting Circle for them to develop and find the adequate resources to move on and be successful in what he is trying to do. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--Applause

The Speaker

Members' statements. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Jane Groenewegen

Jane Groenewegen Hay River

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one of the greatest challenges facing our government today is how to preserve what is right and to fix what is wrong with our health care system. This government has spent vast sums of money on studies on how to improve our health care system. Study after study, hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent on consultants. In fact, in the last two Assemblies it is in the millions of dollars.

Mr. Speaker, we have seen a plan to address critical needs shaping our future. A strategic plan for health and wellness, community wellness, working together for community wellness, a directions document, the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services strategic plan or otherwise referred to as Med-Emerg Study. The Med-Emerg Study alone cost this government $780,000. Now I understand that there is another initiative underway, the Forum on Health and Social Services. In the last government, we also had a similar forum coordinated by a special committee on Health and Social Services. People all over the Northwest Territories were able to add their input through over 200 workshops, meetings, and other public events. We should, by now, know what we want.

Mr. Speaker, every dollar that we spend on consultants' workshops, meetings, travel and committees is another dollar that we take away from our health services. After all these studies, I think we know what we need and what we want to do. Mr. Speaker, I know that we can work together to solve this problem and find a northern answer to this very northern challenge. I ask both sides of this House to proactively work on this problem. I suggest that we start by using the data that we have already gathered and spend proposed funding for further studies on taking care of our people. Study time is over, Mr. Speaker, and it is time to get down to work. It is good to seek input from other people, but, as leaders, I think that the people expect us to stop asking questions at some point and start answering them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--Applause

The Speaker

Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. Ootes.

Jake Ootes

Jake Ootes Yellowknife Centre

Good morning, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, over the last couple of days, I have spoken about economic issues, specifically those sectors where good potential exists for increased revenue generation. Forestry is one economic sector that deserves more attention. When most people think of lumber resources in western Canada, they think of the softwood forests of BC or the hardwoods of northern Alberta. Few people realize the potential in the Northwest Territories. NWT spruce and aspen, as well as Jack pine and birch cover 61 million hectares in the NWT. The commercial harvest of sawlogs in 1996-97 was about 190,000 cubic metres with a value of $21 million. It is estimated that a sustainable annual harvest of 500,000 cubic metres of spruce and pine saw logs is possible. That translates into a potential commercial value of $55 million. In other words, we could easily double the annual harvest in sawlogs. Then there is still the commercial potential of lumber, finished woods, and furniture products. In 1995, the housing sector investment in the NWT was over $60 million. With such a strong demand

for building materials, there is a strong market potential for locally produced lumber. Almost 70 percent of the NWT forest products sold in 1996 went to southern markets, and the majority of this was in the form of raw logs and rough lumber. Raw log harvests and exports may be economical, but it produces only limited northern benefits. What we need to realize is that the NWT forest industry has the potential for more than just rough lumber.

Value-added industries can be developed in veneer and particle board manufacturing and furniture-making, to give several examples. Demand for NWT forest products is high and is expected to remain so. What we need is better inventory and a strategy for value-added industry and support for private enterprise in this area. More extensive and better detailed forest inventories would provide the information investors need in order to build on the economic potential of the NWT forest sector. Sustainable development of the NWT forest sector is dependent upon industry, community and government working together. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Members' statements. Mr. Antoine.

Member's Statement 203-13(7): Comparison Between Politics And Hockey
Item 3: Members' Statements

July 29th, 1999

Page 723

Jim Antoine Nahendeh

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, since it is Friday and I am trying to make sense of what has been happening to me here in this House in the last few days, again in the House as MLA for the last eight years and holding different offices and coming from being a chief formerly and coming from the Dene politics side of life, I just wanted to try to make some sense of what has been going on here in the House. As well as having played a lot of hockey in my young days and still occasionally lace it up for a few old-timer games, and some charity games, I start comparing politics to full contact hockey, knowing that when you get into the game, you know you are going to get hit and you know that you have to keep your head up and that you have to make sure that when you go into the corners, you watch out for elbows and but-ins and so forth. I think that has been happening here in the last few days.

There are some in this House who refer to this team here as, somebody was making reference to a duck. I would like to say that I would prefer to be known as the Mighty Duck Team rather than the Lame Duck Team. I am confident that there is the name that some of the Members are referring to in their remarks. As well, I looked at the opposing team and just recently an old pro from this team got traded to that team, so he has a lot of tricks and a lot of talent, and he seems to fit pretty well with a couple of the players on the other side, and they have been playing pretty good together. However, we have to keep on going here. We still have this day left, and I just wanted to say that we will keep our heads up and the other side keep their heads us. I would also like to thank you, Mr. Speaker, since you are the referee, you know all the rules and all the old tricks that players often use, as well as the skates in the crease when you score, that sort of stuff. I would like to thank you for making sure that not much gets by you. With that, I would like to thank you. Mahsi.

--Applause

The Speaker

Thank you, and thank you for the compliment. Yes, I am old, so I should know all the old tricks. Members' statements. Mr. Rabesca.