This is page numbers 1299 - 1354 of the Hansard for the 14th Assembly, 6th 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

Further Return To Question 401-14(6): Community Infrastructure Needs In Rae
Question 401-14(6): Community Infrastructure Needs In Rae
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1311

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Steen. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Mr. Dent.

Charles Dent

Charles Dent Frame Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, when I asked if the Government of the Northwest Territories was doing its part to make sure the Giant remediation process qualified for the second year of the contaminated sites accelerated action fund, according to page 2919 in unedited Hansard the Minister said, "I guess the funding is in place there." Mr. Speaker, this is too important an issue for NWT residents to worry about the safety of the water and the lake that feeds the Mackenzie River. Guessing is not good enough. Can the Minister confirm whether or not this government is working to ensure we see some of the money from that fund going to fix the situation at Giant?

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Dent. The chair is at a loss here to direct the question. However, I will direct the question to the Government House Leader, the honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Handley.

Return To Question 402-14(6): Giant Mine Remediation Funding
Question 402-14(6): Giant Mine Remediation Funding
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1311

Joe Handley

Joe Handley Weledeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I agree it is important that the Government of the Northwest Territories negotiate to make sure that the money is in place for the remediation work that is done. I'm not clear on exactly where those negotiations between RWED and the federal government are at this point. I can assure the Member that RWED has been working long and hard on this particular project. Thank you.

Return To Question 402-14(6): Giant Mine Remediation Funding
Question 402-14(6): Giant Mine Remediation Funding
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1311

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Supplementary To Question 402-14(6): Giant Mine Remediation Funding
Question 402-14(6): Giant Mine Remediation Funding
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1311

Charles Dent

Charles Dent Frame Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the people of Yellowknife and my constituents among them want to see action now. The Minister has said that RWED is working hard. I have to say that it appears that the GNWT is dragging its feet and the cleanup is being put off. We've now lost six months of time to get the plan approved and start the cleanup. Why is it taking so long for the Government of the Northwest Territories to review the report that they asked to be done as a second look at deep disposal? Why hasn't it been done already?

Supplementary To Question 402-14(6): Giant Mine Remediation Funding
Question 402-14(6): Giant Mine Remediation Funding
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1311

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Dent. The honourable Government House Leader, Mr. Handley.

Further Return To Question 402-14(6): Giant Mine Remediation Funding
Question 402-14(6): Giant Mine Remediation Funding
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1312

Joe Handley

Joe Handley Weledeh

Mr. Speaker, to my knowledge the people in environmental protection in RWED have taken a look at the report that was done and with regard to the underground work they have recommended that an alternate be looked at carefully. It's important that this work be done properly. We don't want to face the consequences of our government not having been absolutely sure it picked the right solution before proceeding. While it may be frustrating to see another six months, I think it's important that this be done properly and if the underground work can be done through deep disposal then that's the better way of doing it.

With regard to the overall project, this has been a long-standing debate between RWED and the federal government on whose responsibility it is. Again, we want to be careful with our money that we are not spending money that should rightfully be the responsibility of the federal government. Thank you.

Further Return To Question 402-14(6): Giant Mine Remediation Funding
Question 402-14(6): Giant Mine Remediation Funding
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1312

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Supplementary To Question 402-14(6): Giant Mine Remediation Funding
Question 402-14(6): Giant Mine Remediation Funding
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1312

Charles Dent

Charles Dent Frame Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm surprised to hear the Minister talk about deep disposal. RWED asked that a further study be done of that. It was done. The report was released on July 22nd and it confirmed that deep disposal will not work. The people in Yellowknife have been surveyed, they've been to public meetings and from that we know that they've had enough of meetings, workshops and studies. They're ready to take the advice of experts.

Supplementary To Question 402-14(6): Giant Mine Remediation Funding
Question 402-14(6): Giant Mine Remediation Funding
Item 6: Oral Questions

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An Hon. Member

Really? Hear, hear!

Supplementary To Question 402-14(6): Giant Mine Remediation Funding
Question 402-14(6): Giant Mine Remediation Funding
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1312

Charles Dent

Charles Dent Frame Lake

They want the governments to get on with the project. When will this government make a decision and push for action on the cleanup?

Supplementary To Question 402-14(6): Giant Mine Remediation Funding
Question 402-14(6): Giant Mine Remediation Funding
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1312

An Hon. Member

When?

Supplementary To Question 402-14(6): Giant Mine Remediation Funding
Question 402-14(6): Giant Mine Remediation Funding
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1312

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Dent. The honourable Government House Leader, Mr. Handley.

Further Return To Question 402-14(6): Giant Mine Remediation Funding
Question 402-14(6): Giant Mine Remediation Funding
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1312

Joe Handley

Joe Handley Weledeh

Mr. Speaker, I'm not sure that everyone is 100 percent convinced that deep disposal will not work. We do realize that there are some risks in just trying to freeze it in place where it is, and we want to ensure that those risks are assessed carefully. As I said, Mr. Speaker, if this is done wrong it could have very, very drastic repercussions on this area and on the people who live here. So we will be very careful, as far as our government is concerned, and we will move ahead with this when we are sure that the route and the method that we're following is the right one. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Further Return To Question 402-14(6): Giant Mine Remediation Funding
Question 402-14(6): Giant Mine Remediation Funding
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1312

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Your final supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Supplementary To Question 402-14(6): Giant Mine Remediation Funding
Question 402-14(6): Giant Mine Remediation Funding
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1312

Charles Dent

Charles Dent Frame Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am very concerned that the government feels they have more expertise than what is present on the peer review panel that has looked at the options proposed, because I don't think that's possible. These are qualified people and they've done not just one review, but they've done two and deep disposal has been found to be wanting. So again I'm going to ask, how long are we going to study options that don't make sense?

Supplementary To Question 402-14(6): Giant Mine Remediation Funding
Question 402-14(6): Giant Mine Remediation Funding
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1312

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Dent. The honourable Government House Leader, Mr. Handley.

Further Return To Question 402-14(6): Giant Mine Remediation Funding
Question 402-14(6): Giant Mine Remediation Funding
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1312

Joe Handley

Joe Handley Weledeh

Mr. Speaker, I'm not sure of Mr. Dent's opinion on this and so on, but I can tell you there is no 100 percent support for the notion of just freezing the material right where it is. I can tell you that there are people in my constituency, in Dettah and Ndilo, who don't believe in that. I'm not going to question their expertise either, but it is not 100 percent, we want to make sure it's the right answer and that we do this thing properly. So, Mr. Speaker, I respect the peer panel and realize that they're all experts, but I think there are still some outstanding questions that need to be resolved here. It is not 100 percent unanimous that there is only one way to do this and do it properly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Further Return To Question 402-14(6): Giant Mine Remediation Funding
Question 402-14(6): Giant Mine Remediation Funding
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1312

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Minister Handley. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

David Krutko

David Krutko Mackenzie Delta

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation and it's in regard to my Member's statement regarding the plight of single parents, especially single mothers with children who find themselves through separation or divorce that they become the provider for the family and also have to keep the home. One thing that I've found over the last couple of years is that there have been more and more single mothers approaching me on trying to access programs from the Government of the Northwest Territories through the Housing Corporation programs that are out there. In some cases they have been able to access those programs, but later have found that because they couldn't access a contractor to do the project and told that they were going to hold off until the following year, then after the year lapsed they would go back and find out that the dollars are not there. They reapplied and they found that they were not accepted. So I would like to ask the Minister, has anything within the Housing Corporation looked at some sort of a program to assist single mothers to help them through the process, ensuring that these programs that they are eligible for and that they do qualify for are able to conclude them by ensuring that that work is done and that they do the job that's needed?

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

The honourable Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation, Mr. Allen.

Return To Question 403-14(6): Housing Programs For Single Parents
Question 403-14(6): Housing Programs For Single Parents
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1312

Roger Allen

Roger Allen Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Member is well aware, the NWT Housing Corporation invested a lot of time doing community visitations the last four years to try to manifest change to best meet the needs of the local residents. We definitely have made a number of improvements in our programming and delivery of services, and we continue to do so. Yes, we recognize there are some hiccups in trying to address the most recent demands by single mothers who do not need the certain criteria. Certainly we want to address that, and I referred to that in my Minister's statement today. I'm sure that as time progresses we will be able to reconcile some of those questions through our administration. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Return To Question 403-14(6): Housing Programs For Single Parents
Question 403-14(6): Housing Programs For Single Parents
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1313

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Supplementary To Question 403-14(6): Housing Programs For Single Parents
Question 403-14(6): Housing Programs For Single Parents
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1313

David Krutko

David Krutko Mackenzie Delta

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have come forward to the Minister several times and to people at the regional office to try to find ways or solutions to assist these single mothers to deal with their housing crisis. So I would like to ask the Minister have you directed the department to look at some sort of a strategy or some sort of a scenario to assist with the increased number of applications we are receiving from single mothers and single parents?