This is page numbers 301 - 340 of the Hansard for the 14th Assembly, 5th 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 Roger Allen, Honourable Jim Antoine, Mr. Bell, Mr. Braden, Mr. Delorey, Mr. Dent, Mrs. Groenewegen, Honourable Joe Handley, Honourable Stephen Kakfwi, Mr. Krutko, Mr. Lafferty, Ms. Lee, Mr. McLeod, Honourable Michael Miltenberger, Mr. Nitah, Honourable Jake Ootes, Mr. Roland, Honourable Vince Steen, Honourable Tony Whitford.

-- Prayer

Item 1: Prayer
Item 1: Prayer

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The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you. Please be seated. Good afternoon. Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Premier, Mr. Kakfwi.

Stephen Kakfwi

Stephen Kakfwi Sahtu

Mr. Speaker, a key objective of this budget is to demonstrate that we are committed to a balanced approach which also gives priority to improving the social fabric of our Territory and its residents. This commitment involves working in partnership with other governments and the non-governmental organization community on development of a social agenda.

On February 28th representatives from the Social Agenda Working Group and I provided the Standing Committee on Social Programs with a progress report on their work. Today I want to provide all Members with a brief summary of this progress report.

Mr. Speaker, last June over 250 front-line service workers and decision makers from across the Northwest Territories met on the Hay River Reserve to discuss the need for a vibrant and effective social agenda. In their discussions, they delivered a clear message that development and implementation of a social agenda must be done in collaboration and partnership involving representatives of governments, but equally important representatives of the front-line service workers and non-governmental organizations who deal directly with social issues on a daily basis.

To ensure that the next steps involved meaningful collaboration and partnership, the Social Agenda Working Group was formed. Their task has been to develop a social agenda which can be used by all stakeholders as a framework to guide future actions and decisions. As reported to the standing committee, the working group is committed to producing a limited number of key, achievable recommendations aimed at improving the overall system within which social policy decisions are made and social programs and services are delivered. From the government's perspective, we are especially pleased and interested in a framework that will contribute to more effective cross-departmental coordination of policies, decision making and program delivery.

Mr. Speaker, in addressing these challenges the working group has met five times since being formed in early October. They are working hard. They are working by consensus. They are working in partnership. They want their work to be relevant and workable. However, given the complexity of their task we have agreed that their reporting time frame needs to be extended to April. In providing this extension, I have been assured that all of their work will be completed in time for recommendations to be included in the next business planning cycle.

Mr. Speaker, a strong social fabric for our Territory is high on this government's list of priorities. You are seeing this commitment reflected in our overall budget and in program initiatives of individual Ministers and departments.

In closing, I speak for all Ministers in thanking the working group for the contribution they have been and will be making to an NWT social agenda. Thank you.

-- Applause

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Minister's Statement 24-14(5): Education Week 2002
Item 2: Ministers' Statements

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Jake Ootes

Jake Ootes Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, March 4th to 10th is Education Week in the Northwest Territories. It is an opportunity for all of us to celebrate the role that education plays in enriching and improving our lives.

The theme for Education Week 2002 is Changing Land... Changing Peoples. Communities are encouraged to celebrate Education Week by exploring the impact of change on the environment, lifestyles, cultures and languages of the peoples of the NWT.

Mr. Speaker, early childhood programs, schools, learning centres, Aurora College campuses and libraries across the NWT have been invited to participate in Education Week. Groups and individuals are encouraged to celebrate stories and share memories of the past and present by recording them on paper drums and building a community drum display. Some of the drums created are part of the territorial drum display in the Great Hall here at the Legislative Assembly. I encourage each of you to take time to visit the territorial drum display and read about some of the change that has occurred in the Northwest Territories over the years. These stories will help us to learn about the impact change has had on the land and the people of the NWT.

Mr. Speaker, it is no coincidence that Changing Land... Changing Peoples is also the theme of the Interchange on Canadian Studies 2002 conference to be hosted in Yellowknife in April. The interchange is a forum for young Canadians to travel, to meet other young Canadians, to hear from prominent speakers and to share experiences and ideas significant to Canada. The event is held in a different province or territory each year. The conference in the NWT this year is a unique opportunity to build on the theme, Changing Land... Changing Peoples.

Our annual celebration of Education Week is an excellent opportunity for each of us to reflect on the significant role education plays in our lives. As the Northwest Territories evolves into a self-reliant, economically viable territory, it is important that we acquire as much knowledge and information as we can, not only to understand the impact and significance of change but also to participate fully in that change. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Minister's Statement 24-14(5): Education Week 2002
Item 2: Ministers' Statements

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The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

Thank you. Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to be able to report to the House on significant progress that is being made in the implementation of the early childhood development initiatives.

Our vision is that the NWT will be a place where children are born healthy and raised in safe and respectful families and communities that support them in developing to their fullest potential. Initiatives that the Departments of Health and Social Services and Education, Culture and Employment are undertaking with our partners will go a long way in helping us achieve this vision.

A key element in a comprehensive early childhood development program is early and effective screening. The Nipissing screening tool is a tool that will be used to screen children until they enter school to detect developmental delays and permit the planning of effective interventions that will allow a child to reach their full potential. This screening tool was chosen because of its ease of use and adaptability to the communities and cultures across the NWT. Training health care providers on the use of the tool began on February 25th and will continue through March 2002. All regions will have received training by the first week of April. By this spring, the Nipissing screening tool will be used across the NWT.

Mr. Speaker, supporting parents and children in their own homes is another key element of the early childhood development initiative and is the basis of the family visitor-child development support program. This program focuses on promoting the interaction of the parent with their child by supporting and improving parenting skills in their home. Family visitor-child development workers will help families of children under the age of six access community resources. Their primary focus will be on helping parents with children who have developmental delays. They will be able to provide tools such as learning and coping strategies to aid in overcoming the delays. Three health authorities will begin hiring and training existing staff as family visitors early in the new year. By 2004, we anticipate that there will be at least one family visitor in every community in the Northwest Territories.

Healthy family kits and school readiness kits will be offered to every family in the NWT with pre-school age children. Kits will be appropriate to developmental milestones. Families will receive kits at five stages in their child's development. The first kit is scheduled for completion in April 2002 and will then be provided to every family of a newborn. Child development resource kits will be ready for distribution this spring for use by family visitors. The kits developed are based on age and developmental categories important to child development.

Training on the best use of these kits will take place during the next fiscal year. These kits will be especially helpful to those families with children who have developmental delays. Finished products or a multimedia campaign will be ready by this summer. Airtime for two video public service announcements created by the NWT Council for Persons with Disabilities has been purchased as part of the public awareness campaign and were aired in December and again in February and March. Our thanks go to the NWT Council for Persons with Disabilities for allowing us to use these.

Mr. Speaker, our children are central to the future of the North. The early childhood development initiatives are focused on helping every child get the best possible support during their early years. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Jake Ootes

Jake Ootes Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Early Childhood Development Action Plan, to which my honourable colleague, Mr. Miltenberger, referred, supports the work underway to develop a comprehensive social agenda aimed at improving the quality of life for all NWT residents. Early childhood is the foundation for healthy development. All children need support and nurturing.

Many children in the NWT receive that support and nurturing from their families. Efforts in the home are enhanced through a range of early childhood programs and services offered at the community level. This government's role is to support communities and families in their efforts to provide every child born with the best possible start in life. We have a responsibility, Mr. Speaker, to ensure support is provided efficiently and effectively, in partnership with other government departments, other levels of government and with non-governmental organizations.

In developing the early childhood action plan, Education, Culture and Employment and Health and Social Services recognized significant opportunity to work together building on successful programs and services already in place. Some programs will be enhanced. Other programs, like the ones outlined by Mr. Miltenberger, are in development. The government is committed to ensuring that a comprehensive range of programs, intended to support early childhood development, is available to all NWT residents through an integrated service delivery model.

Mr. Speaker, an integrated service delivery model breaks down barriers between program providers by encouraging discussion that identifies mutual goals. It promotes collaboration and reduces duplication of programs and services. Early childhood program providers from across the Northwest Territories have already begun reviewing the options available for integrating services at the community level. The goal of many communities is to establish child and family resource centres to deliver a range of complimentary programs and services.

Research shows that the most effective way of fostering early childhood development is through a multi-faceted continuum of programs ranging from health care to positive parenting and early literacy. Increased interaction between parents, children and other members of the community promotes social well-being, as well as the intergenerational transmission of language and culture.

Mr. Speaker, Northerners have long recognized the need for quality early childhood programs and services. It is a priority for our government to work together and with our partners to ensure that all NWT children get the best possible start in life. When our children grow up healthy and are able to realize their full potential, we will have developed our greatest resource -- our people. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Premier, Mr. Kakfwi.

Minister's Statement 27-14(5): Free Vote On Bill 7
Item 2: Ministers' Statements

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Stephen Kakfwi

Stephen Kakfwi Sahtu

Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday, February 26, 2002 Minister Steen, as Cabinet's representative on the Board of Management, gave notice of motion for first reading of Bill 7, An Act to Amend the Legislative Assembly Retiring Allowances Act and the Supplementary Retiring Allowances Act. As Members know, this bill is not a government initiative and, accordingly, the rules of Cabinet solidarity do not apply. Ministers will be allowed a free vote on this bill. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Minister's Statement 27-14(5): Free Vote On Bill 7
Item 2: Ministers' Statements

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The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for North Slave, Mr. Lafferty.

Passing Of Respected Dogrib Elder Moise Martin
Item 3: Members' Statements

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Leon Lafferty North Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today my statement is on elders. Over the weekend, the Dogrib Nation laid to rest one of their respected elders. His name was Moise Martin. The Dogrib Nation changed their negotiation updates, changed their plans out of respect for this elder.

One of his achievements was to put on his snowshoes in Rae-Edzo and lead the dogs on the dog-team trail, the dog-team caravan, you might call it, up to one lake past Lac de Gras. He did this with no one else substituting for him or helping him. That is a good achievement. Now, it is even hard to do it with a snowmobile, but in those days, he did it with a pair of snowshoes. Sometimes it is very hard to talk of things like this.

Passing Of Respected Dogrib Elder Moise Martin
Item 3: Members' Statements

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The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Hay River North, Mr. Delorey.

Senior Citizens' Home Repair Program
Item 3: Members' Statements

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Paul Delorey

Paul Delorey Hay River North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address an issue that is very pertinent to a large segment of the population in the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, the group that I am referring to is our seniors. Our seniors population is aging at a very accelerated rate and we can no longer afford to ignore this fact.

By the year 2018, Mr. Speaker, the total number of seniors aged 60 and over in the Northwest Territories is expected to increase to over 7,000. Our seniors population is expected to experience a 180 percent increase. The rate of increase among our seniors population far outweighs the rate of our total population.

Mr. Speaker, we as a government have to work collectively to ensure that there is no reduction in programs and services to seniors as a result of this population growth.

Mr. Speaker, our senior citizens have all worked very hard to be productive members of our society for many years. They have scrimped and saved for years in order to own their own homes. The sense of independence that maintaining their own home provides them is very important to our seniors.

Mr. Speaker, our government has put in place several programs over the last few years that have attempted to address a burgeoning seniors population. One such program, Mr. Speaker, is our Senior Citizens Home Repair Program, administered by Northwest Territories Housing Corporation. Under this program, Mr. Speaker, senior citizens can apply to the Housing Corporation for up to $20,000 in assistance to cover the cost of repairs for improving the condition of their homes.

Mr. Speaker, this aids in making the homes of our senior citizens safer and healthier to live in at the same time as assisting the seniors in maintaining an independent lifestyle.

Mr. Speaker, the financial help that our senior citizens receive from the Housing Corporation comes in the form of a forgivable loan. Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation criteria for eligibility states that in order for the senior citizens to qualify for the Senior Citizens Home Repair Program, they must be 60 years of age and older and have resided in the Northwest Territories for at least five years, one year of which must be continuous prior to their approval.

In addition, Mr. Speaker, the senior citizen must be in core housing need. The client household income cannot exceed the income threshold for their community and the house in which a senior citizen intends to undertake repairs must be owned by them outright.

Senior Citizens' Home Repair Program
Item 3: Members' Statements

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The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Delorey. Your time for your Member's statement is over. Mr. Delorey.

Senior Citizens' Home Repair Program
Item 3: Members' Statements

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Paul Delorey

Paul Delorey Hay River North

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

Senior Citizens' Home Repair Program
Item 3: Members' Statements

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The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Delorey. The honourable Member is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. You may continue, Mr. Delorey.

Senior Citizens' Home Repair Program
Item 3: Members' Statements

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Paul Delorey

Paul Delorey Hay River North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. This brings me to the point of home-ownership. Mr. Speaker, as I stated earlier, our senior citizens have worked diligently to retain their homes and the independent lifestyle that home-ownership affords is very comforting to our senior citizens.

Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation requires that the senior citizen sign over their mortgage to the Housing Corporation for a period of ten years, as the mortgage will be required for security against the home repair loan. Mr. Speaker, I have grave concerns about this government policy that requires a senior citizen to sign over the mortgage of their home that they have worked so hard to retain.

Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time I will have further questions for the Minister responsible. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Senior Citizens' Home Repair Program
Item 3: Members' Statements

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The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Delorey. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Jane Groenewegen

Jane Groenewegen Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to make my Member's statement today about some of the activities that took place in Hay River over the weekend. Friday night was the annual Hay River Chamber of Commerce banquet. I would like to say congratulations to President Doreen Farrants and their newly sworn in board of directors and executive.

It was billed as the 25th anniversary of the chamber in Hay River, but as newspaper stories from as far back as 1962 were shared, they clearly made reference to the activities of the Hay River Chamber, so the chamber is more like 40 years old, but only filed annual reports with the societies registry for the last 25 years.

I had the privilege of having been the Chamber of Commerce president for the years 1987, 1988 and 1990, and served on the board of directors in various capacities for a number of other years.

Past presidents Bob McMeekin, Barry Ashton and myself were asked to share our memories of the chamber. Bob reminisced about some of the amazing business community efforts in the early days of establishing the chamber, and Barry talked about the very proud history of the business community in Hay River.

As a chartered accountant and very active member of the business community, he was keenly aware of the number of businesses in Hay River which have seen the participation of two and many three generations, companies started by the parents, now owned, managed and operated by the children and even the grandchildren. Statistics indicate that only ten percent of family-owned businesses make it to the third generation, so Hay River must be some kind of anomaly.

My recollections of my years with the chamber mostly focused on the relationships and although we accomplished a lot of work, we had much fun in the process -- the weekly luncheons, the special initiatives, the celebrations, rallying the troops and even tackling the government on occasion, are all things that I was reminded of and realized how much I had missed in the last six years.

At the annual banquet each year, the chamber also recognizes the citizen of the year. This year's recipient for 2001 was Ron Cook. Ron is just about to retire as the town's recreation manager. What a deserving recognition this was of Ron's remarkable contribution to so many aspects of community service in Hay River. The bonus is that Ron and his wife Gail plan to continue living in Hay River in their retirement.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, when it comes to private sector activity per capita, Hay River is the business capital of the North. With the resource of our many business people dedicated to the economic well-being of Hay River and fair treatment of this government, we plan to hold onto that distinction for many years to come.

Also, Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the K'amba Carnival planning committee, who this year again, for the 19th year in a row, put on a wonderful K'amba Carnival. Mr. Speaker, I entered the axe-throwing contest. My colleagues will be relieved to know that I did not win. Thank you.

-- Laughter

-- Applause

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

What a shame. Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. McLeod.

Storage Of Ammonium Nitrate In Enterprise
Item 3: Members' Statements

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Michael McLeod

Michael McLeod Deh Cho

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to again address the issue of ammonium nitrate storage in Enterprise in response to Mr. Handley's comments of February 22nd, where he stated, "Ammonium nitrate is not as dangerous as some people think it is."

Let me begin by giving an example of an ammonium nitrate storage facility in the city of Toulouse in southwest France. On Friday, September 21, 2001, a huge explosion occurred in the outskirts of the city. The explosion occurred in a warehouse in which granular ammonium nitrate was stored. The amount stored in this warehouse is said to be between 200 to 300 tonnes of ammonium nitrate.

Let me describe the impact of the Toulouse explosion. The blast blew out windows in the city centre three kilometres away and created a 50-metre diameter crater more than ten metres deep. Experts said the explosion was equivalent to an earthquake measuring 3.4 on the Richter scale. More than 500 homes were lost and 11,000 students stayed at home after 85 schools and colleges were damaged. Twenty-two people were killed on site, six nearby, and one died in hospital according to the regional officials. An electrical goods store about 300 metres away from the storage facility collapsed about 45 minutes after the explosion.

Mr. Speaker, the exact cause of this terrible accident remains unknown to this day, although at the time a spokesman for the Interior Ministry in Paris attributes this accident to an "incident in the handling of products."

Mr. Speaker, you can therefore well appreciate the concern and anxiety that the residents of the settlement of Enterprise have, given that Polar Explosives have recently built a depot in the centre of the community to house ammonium nitrate. This facility was built with no consultation or discussion with the community leaders and seemingly little scrutiny from the territorial government officials.

Mr. Speaker, my information is that the disaster in Toulouse resulted in an explosion from a warehouse that housed 200 to 300 tonnes of ammonium nitrate. A report in News/North on Monday, February 25th states, "Polar Explosives built the depot to truck 23,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate this winter to diamond mines in one tonne bags."

Mr. Speaker, if only one percent of the amount of ammonium nitrate that is being shipped over the course of a year is stored...

Storage Of Ammonium Nitrate In Enterprise
Item 3: Members' Statements

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The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Your time for your Member's statement is over. Mr. McLeod.