The Deputy Speaker David Krutko

Thank you. Before going to orders of the day, I would like to take this opportunity to recognize a new clerk at the Table today, Mr. Andrew Stewart.

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Andrew is taking up duties at the Table which will add to his experience as an assistant committee clerk as he has been working for the Special Committee on the Review of the Official Languages Act and on the Implementation of Self-Government and the Sunset Clause.

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For those Members who were with us at the community feast and dance in Fort McPherson this summer, this is not the Andrew Stewart from Fort McPherson, but the Andrew Stewart from Yellowknife.

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Join me in welcoming Mr. Stewart to the Clerk's Table.

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Item 2, Ministers' statements.

Roger Allen Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to speak to the matter of family violence legislation in the Northwest Territories.

This has been and is an issue of importance to each and every Member of this Legislature as evidenced most recently by our unanimous endorsement of the protocol agreement to support the development of an action plan on family violence in the NWT presented by the Status of Women. It is important to all of us in the House, and after hearing the Members' statements, I believe it is important to many, many people of the Northwest Territories.

As a government, we must act and we, as Members, must act together to develop and pass effective family violence legislation within the term of this Legislative Assembly. We must also strive to ensure that, within the limited time available to achieve this, the legislation is relevant to our jurisdiction, works for our people and communities and represents the input from important stakeholders dealing with and affected by this issue.

Mr. Speaker, Members of this House have referred to the legislation developed and relied upon in other Canadian jurisdictions and indicated their approval of that legislation on behalf of the people of the NWT. The legislation of and the experience in other jurisdictions can be very useful as a tool and will be relied upon in development of NWT legislation.

Mr. Speaker, there are a number of issues which must be addressed through timely consultations and policy development, and those include the definition of family violence, the remedies we include in such legislation, determining who can apply for relief under the legislation and the best delivery model for the NWT. The department plans to conduct its consultations and start its policy work immediately with a view to determining these questions. Our goal, Mr. Speaker, is to ensure that we develop legislation that works for all NWT residents, whether they live in large centres or small isolated communities, whether they have RCMP or not.

Mr. Speaker, this work will require the cooperation of all Members of this House to assist in ensuring that we produce an act and a process that most appropriately meets the needs of victims of family violence. We are committed to moving ahead with this legislation as soon as possible.

There will be costs associated with the development and the implementation of this legislation, the extent of which have not been fully determined. The proper delivery of this legislation will involve the RCMP, shelter workers, social workers, court staff, judges and justices of the peace. Additional staff may be required to properly implement and deliver the legislation.

The process is not a simple one, given the complexity of family violence and the diversity of our people and our jurisdictions. However, we can do it and we can do it well, Mr. Speaker, if we have the cooperation and assistance of all Members of this House. The overwhelming sense I have gathered over the past weeks in this House is that the government has your approval and can expect your assistance. What I have heard in this House, Mr. Speaker, is an overwhelming commitment to family violence legislation and on that basis I will commit to introducing a bill at the June sitting of the 14th Legislative Assembly.

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The Deputy Speaker David Krutko

Thank you. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Deh Cho.

Michael McLeod Deh Cho

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to, once again, voice my concerns over the harmonization strategy. This initiative was introduced and adopted by the 13th Assembly and I have watched with great interest as this program has been deferred, time and time again. It's been changed. It has been transferred from one Minister to another and, in the end, I was hoping it would go away. However, it's very evident that this government is determined to implement this program April 1st of this year.

Mr. Speaker, I question the intent of this initiative. It's certainly not intended to improve the health and conditions in our communities. It is not designed to raise revenues for this government. It is not part of the seniors' strategy. My understanding of this program is that it was to harmonize the income support program with the social housing program. If that was the goal, then why are the seniors and the students rolled into the mix? Most of the seniors and students live on a fixed monthly income, an income that is usually accounted for before they receive it. Mr. Speaker, I hear from the NWT housing staff that seniors across the North are welcoming and embracing this program. If that's the case, I ask why are seniors in the small communities complaining about this new initiative?

Mr. Speaker, the Minister promised in this House there would be a clear communication strategy and an implementation schedule. I have copies of letters sent out to the seniors in my riding as part of the communication strategy. The letter simply states that a new scale is being introduced April 1st. The new maximum rent is at a certain level and on April 1st, the rent would be calculated in a different manner and it gives another lump sum. It doesn't indicate the actual rent that will be charged. The Housing Corporation may have met the letter of the law by mailing out notices of intent of the potential rent increases, but they sure didn't meet the intent of the law.

I contacted every band and municipal council in the NWT, Mr. Speaker, and 87 percent have responded by saying they are not familiar with this program and they needed more information. Fifty-five percent have requested that this whole initiative be abandoned. Mr. Speaker, I was recently reminded that the NWT Housing Corporation was initially formed in the early 1970s under the name of the Mackenzie Valley...Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

The Deputy Speaker David Krutko

The Member is seeking unanimous consent. Do I hear any nays? You have unanimous consent, Mr. McLeod.

Michael McLeod Deh Cho

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and colleagues. Mr. Speaker, it was recently that the NWT Housing Corporation was initially formed in the early 1970s under the name Mackenzie Valley Housing and their mandate was to deliver housing to Aboriginal and low income families. We have certainly deviated from that mandate. Mr. Speaker, once again I ask that the Minister responsible table a copy of the harmonization strategy in order for us to debate this issue in this Assembly and publicly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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The Deputy Speaker David Krutko

Item 3, Members' statements. Member for Hay River North, Mr. Delorey.

Paul Delorey Hay River North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to recognize Education Week being held this week across the NWT. Mr. Speaker, I am particularly encouraged by the fact that this year, Education Week is an interdepartmental endeavor between the departments of Education, Culture and Employment, Health and Social Services, Municipal and Community Affairs, Sport North and the new Recreation and Parks Association. The theme for Education Week is "Choose to Move...Move for Health." This is an example for residents of all ages throughout the NWT that productive choices with regard to fitness can be made and how we can all benefit from the effects of being more physically active.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to commend the Honourable Jake Ootes for the various initiatives introduced by his department over the last year. However, Mr. Speaker, more work needs to be done. I would like to remind the Minister and his department officials of what should be their prime focus, that being our students. We should never lose sight of that fact, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, at this time, I would also like to pay tribute to the parent volunteers that spend countless hours in our classrooms. The parent volunteers contribute greatly to our schools and I don't know that we do enough to recognize their efforts.

Mr. Speaker, I was pleased to hear of the $2.8 million investment announced in our budget to lower pupil/teacher ratios and to raise student support services in the classroom where it is needed most. We need to be diligent and continue this path in order to provide our students with the quality of education they so deserve. While it is all nice and good, Mr. Speaker, to recognize Education Week once a year, we need to be diligent everyday to remember that we, as a government, need to focus our efforts in the classroom, so the students can directly benefit. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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The Deputy Speaker David Krutko

Item 3, Members' statements. The Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Roland.

Floyd Roland Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to rise and speak to the issue of children in the North. Mr. Speaker, that's not something that we go into great detail in the North with the problems we have with our families, or crime rates and what we sometimes find unfortunately in our communities in the North.

Mr. Speaker, today I want to raise the issue of what we are doing as a government or what we can be doing. Not only that, the government deals with programs and services trying to fix people from the outside. Mr. Speaker, a lot of times I have come to work with individuals in my community trying to help them through our programs and services, whether it's income support, health and social services, education, but a lot of times we are trying to fix people and work with people from the outside. There is little that is being done from the inside and many people, Mr. Speaker, would say that's an issue that's got to be separate. Government, state, as it can be called, and religion should be separate. Many people will say that.

Mr. Speaker, what I found with our programs and services in the social area, all we've done is tried to work with people from an outside perspective, not dealing with them from the inside or their spirit, Mr. Speaker. That's why today I would like to raise awareness from work done by Dr. Clair Schnupp, and Mrs. Clara Schnupp. Dr. Clair Schnupp has his doctorate of philosophy and Master of Arts. His wife has a bachelor's and master's degree. They are both members of the Association of Professional Christian Counsellors and they've traveled the Arctic for 42 years, Mr. Speaker, working with youth and family. In a stretch from Nuuk, Greenland, to Nome, Alaska, they have met with many families and individuals, dealing with the situations that they find themselves in. Dr. Schnupp had talked to me a few months back and asked if I would consider looking at some of the work he's done. It's come to a point now where he's put it forward in a final pamphlet and he's seeking to try to put it out there to raise awareness.

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

The Deputy Speaker David Krutko

The Member is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Do we have any nays? You have unanimous consent.

Floyd Roland Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. Mr. Speaker, the work that's been done in this pamphlet is the cold, stark reality of what happens from time to time in our communities. It's something that, as I have become aware, is difficult to try to deal with, to try to put a finger on because government deals with programs and services that deal with levels of education, with health care, things that we can try to fix from the outside and it's difficult, Mr. Speaker, to speak to these issues because a lot of us when we come through life have run into our own problems, but have difficulty reaching to the inside, and as I said earlier, to the spirit side of the person.

We've heard lots about traditional knowledge and trying to go back to some of those strengths. I agree, we must do more in that area. I think it has to start at a community or personal level. Hopefully this work that's done, which I will table later today, will raise awareness. It's difficult to deal with in some of the issues, but I think it needs to be done to try to raise the awareness of individuals in the North, to see how we can further deal with these issues. As we heard in the Minister's statement earlier about putting family violence legislation forward, that's a piece of the puzzle and an important piece. On those things we need to continue to work. With that, thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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The Deputy Speaker David Krutko

Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.