This is page numbers 645 - 700 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

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

Page 645

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Before we begin today, I would like to remind Members, and caution Members and Ministers, prior to statements and question period that any statements or questions by Members or replies by Ministers dealing with the harmonization strategy will be ruled out of order by the Chair. The strategy for harmonization of income is on the orders paper for today and Members will have ample time and opportunity to deal with that issue at the appropriate time. Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Steen.

Vince Steen

Vince Steen Nunakput

Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to advise Members of a new approach to governance training for northern communities.

Mr. Speaker, this government has spent much time discussing the many challenges facing community governments and non-government organizations in the North. We have all recognized the need to strengthen and develop individual and community capacity. A key element in building community capacity is ensuring that elected and appointed leaders have the skills they need to carry out their responsibilities.

Just over a year ago, Municipal and Community Affairs joined forces with the departments of Health and Social Services, Education, Culture and Employment and the federal Department of Indian and Northern Affairs to develop a generic workshop series on governance. The goal of the workshops is to improve community capacity and local decision-making. The workshops focus on the elements of governance that are common to all elected and appointed governing bodies, including municipal councils, band councils and health and education boards. The workshops, which are offered through the department's School of Community Government, will enable councillors to enhance their knowledge and skills in governance, focusing on the following key areas: roles and responsibilities; leadership; planning; programs and services; community constitutions; financial awareness; governance and the law; the senior administrator; effective meetings; teamwork; exercising authority; and, emerging governance.

Four regional pilot project workshops using the new resources were recently delivered in Rae-Edzo, Fort Simpson, Fort Smith and Inuvik. Participants included municipal council members and staff, band councillors and representatives of health authorities. The sessions were well-received. Participants identified additional areas where training modules should be developed and several requests have been received to take the training into other communities.

Mr. Speaker, training in the aboriginal languages is also a critical component of the workshop series. In partnership with the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, the School of Community Governance is prepared to make this training available to any region or community in their aboriginal language. Workshops have recently been provided in the North Slavey and Dogrib languages. Upcoming governance workshops are scheduled in Gameti and Wekweti in the Dogrib language and we hope to offer a workshop in Inuvialuktun in the near future.

Mr. Speaker, the training provided by MACA's School of Community Government and its partners represents a great opportunity to work together to build community capacity in governance, which is essential to effective community operations, programs and services delivery. Developing leadership skills in our communities will also support implementation of aboriginal self-government agreements.

I am proud to work together in partnerships with the Department of Health and Social Services, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment and the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada to contribute to the building of northern community capacity. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. Allen.

Roger Allen

Roger Allen Inuvik Twin Lakes

Mr. Speaker, good afternoon to all Members of this House. Today I rise to update you on the progress the NWT Housing Corporation is making in support of the occupational trades training and certification program.

I am pleased to announce that the Fort Resolution Housing Authority has two apprentices who have successfully completed their trade, which includes their inter-provincial red seal. I would like to take this opportunity to express my congratulations to Dean McKay, who obtained his carpentry certification and Tyrone Fordy, who obtained certification as an oil burner mechanic. Thanks to their hard work and dedication to the program and to the support of the Fort Resolution Housing Authority and the NWT Housing Corporation, the community of Fort Resolution has just increased its capacity in terms of successfully developing its people.

Mr. Speaker, the Housing Corporation has met with officials from the Department of Education, Culture and Employment as well as community partners and, based on the success of the apprenticeship program, the corporation is expanding its commitment to this valuable program where possible.

It is clear that the occupational trades training and certification is working to help build our territory and strengthen our people. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Premier, Mr. Kakfwi. Item 3, Members' statements.

Success Of The United Way In Yellowknife
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 646

Brendan Bell

Brendan Bell Yellowknife South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to take the opportunity today to update my colleagues and the public on the Yellowknife United Way campaign. We all know intuitively that the Northwest Territories is very generous and there are many, many fund raising events held every year and most of them are very successful. Think back to the Run for the Cure and the kinds of fund-raising efforts that happened and the numbers that were coming out of a campaign like that compared us to cities like Halifax, much bigger cities, Mr. Speaker. I think that is something we often see in the NWT.

If you remember about a year ago, there was a newly formed chapter of the United Way in Yellowknife. It's first ever fundraising campaign began last October and to date, I am pleased to say, Mr. Speaker, they have been successful in raising about $63,000, both through payroll deductions and through donations. I think this is great news. We know the United Way is an international charity committed to building strong and healthy communities and they support many worthwhile programs and services. How this money will be spent will be determined this spring. It will be an RFP process and community organizations can put in proposals and I think the United Way is doing something very good here. They are recognizing that they want to try to fund programs that are going to have timelines of two to three years. We know many NGOs are telling us they don't have the manpower, the resources or capacity to be continuing reapplying for funds. I think this is a great approach as to how the money might be spent. Also, Mr. Speaker, much of the money can be donated to specific Canadian charities registered in the NWT. For instance, if you have payroll deductions coming off your paycheque, you can decide where your money will go.

I have had a chance to take a look at the registered charities in the NWT that are signed up with the United Way. There are well over 100 of them and I think my colleagues will be interested to know that many of them are not in Yellowknife. I know that was a concern when this was being discussed, that this would help Yellowknife and it wasn't going to do much for outlying communities. It looks like there are about 15 Hay River organizations on here, 10 to 15 from Fort Smith, some from Providence, Resolution, McPherson, Good Hope. I think this is a great start, Mr. Speaker, and I am sure we will see more and more organizations join the list. If you are curious or interested to see the list of organizations, you can go to www.yellowknife.unitedway.ca. I think this is a great program. Mr. Speaker, I think we should also thank the Minister of Finance who allowed the payroll deduction to take place. I hope my colleagues will join me in thanking this new organization for their hard work. Thank you.

---Applause

Success Of The United Way In Yellowknife
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 646

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. McLeod.

Access To Legal Aid For Family Law Matters
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 646

Michael McLeod

Michael McLeod Deh Cho

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to raise an issue that many of us have brought up in this House and that's the issue of access to legal aid for family matters, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, it's been brought to my attention by a number of my constituents that a problem continues to exist and is becoming worse with respect to access to legal aid and more specifically to legal aid involving family law matters. It's my understanding that only the most urgent family law such as custody matters are being dealt with in a somewhat timely manner. Other matters considered less than urgent await assignment to a legal aid lawyer, in some cases for up to a year.

People waiting for legal aid support are being frustrated and are forced to make decisions that sometimes jeopardize their position when their matter reaches the courts. We have people living in fear for their life and who are forced to continue living in abusive relationships, who are living in poverty and who are living in fear of losing their children. All of this is real and severely impacts the emotional state of those who have to live in this environment.

Mr. Speaker, one of the effects of increased development is increased social problems. If our legal aid system is unable to meet our current needs now, the matter will only worsen. There is a shortage of lawyers practicing in this field when the government has to look at recruiting additional lawyers in addition to actively seeking alternative methods of mediation to deal with specific matters that could be settled without litigation. The honourable Minister of Justice, Mr. Allen, in questions posed to him in previous sitting of this House by my colleague, Ms. Lee, confirmed that this department is planning to introduce more collaborative law rather than litigation to solve family law matters. I will be asking the honourable Member to share with us what, if any, progress has been made in this area when he plans to introduce solutions that can result in the backlogs of these cases being reduced. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Access To Legal Aid For Family Law Matters
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 646

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Nitah.

Support For Community Summer Student Employment
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 646

Steven Nitah Tu Nedhe

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are finishing off our session here. Spring is coming up and our summer is coming down. Students will be leaving school and wanting to enter the workforce. Mr. Speaker, we, as a government, introduce employment opportunities for university students and we've made a budget available.

Unfortunately, we've determined through statistical information that most of those students are working for government departments and hardly any are working for industry. Very few work for chiefs and councils, municipal councils, Metis councils and NGOs in our communities. So this program does not seem to have an effect outside of government.

One of the reasons for introducing this program was to give students an opportunity to gain experience. Mr. Speaker, we need experience outside of government as well. I would like to encourage this government to see what they can do to communicate this program to communities, consult with communities so they can take advantage of this program, so that the chief and council, the Metis council in each of our communities can take advantage of these dollars so they can hire the students in our communities. It may make a difference in the communities for high school students. Sidewalks in our communities are something badly needed. Mud is a problem. We are trying to address it with chipsealing, but we could do with short-term solutions for the time-being, Mr. Speaker. Those kinds of things I would like to see this government do to address the employment issues in our communities. I will be asking the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment to see if he is willing to go down that road with me. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Support For Community Summer Student Employment
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 647

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

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

Electronic Health Care Record System
Item 3: Members' Statements

March 10th, 2003

Page 647

Paul Delorey

Paul Delorey Hay River North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I believe the residents of the NWT have a fundamental right to quality health care. I also believe we must continually upgrade and improve our equipment and information systems, so that our health care providers are equipped with the tools necessary to provide quality health care.

To that end, Mr. Speaker, it is imperative and absolutely vital that an electronic health record system be implemented in the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, I believe our government's current use of health care resources does not directly correspond to the values of efficiency and accountability for the people we serve, the residents of the NWT.

Without an electronic health record system in place, Mr. Speaker, our health care system in the North is extremely vulnerable and the health of our residents is at great risk. Mr. Speaker, medical error is the eighth most likely cause of death for Canadians. It costs an estimated 10,000 lives per year. We can no longer, as a government, afford to ignore these pictures. Mr. Speaker, these figures beg the question of how many people have to die without an electronic health record system being implemented in the NWT. You cannot put a price on what saving even one life would mean. If we continue without an electronic health record system in the NWT, Mr. Speaker, there are increased risks to our residents from physicians being unable to access a patient's past medical history. Mr. Speaker, due to the absence of an electronic health records system and given our transient population in the NWT, it is currently impossible for a physician practicing anywhere in the North to access a patient's medical history if they were seen anywhere else previously in the NWT. In this day and age, that is unacceptable.

Mr. Speaker, in the recently released Romanow report on the state of health care in Canada, the electronic health record was a key recommendation. Mr. Speaker, our doctors cannot practice safe and comprehensive primary care without an electronic health record system being implemented. We need to provide our doctors with the tools that they require to do their job for the sake of all residents of the NWT. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Electronic Health Care Record System
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 647

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Delorey. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

David Krutko

David Krutko Mackenzie Delta

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we've heard a lot about the pipelines and major developments that are going to take place in the North in the next while and I think we can't lose focus. We can continue to point our fingers at the federal government, but I think we have to turn the finger around to say we are also responsible for these developments that are going to take place in the North. I believe this government has a fundamental responsibility when it comes to the management of our wildlife to ensure we not only protect it, but also the traditional way of life for our hunters and trappers to ensure that any major impacts on them, or the areas they harvest, are going to be considered for compensation. We have a responsibility for management of our forests to ensure that we have protection in place, and also so we can develop our forest products in the Northwest Territories to benefit from these major developments.

Mr. Speaker, I think it is time that this government realized that we cannot continue to blame the federal government for the lack of capacity in our communities. It is this government's responsibility to build that capacity, ensuring that the people in our communities are prepared, have the resources and the human resources to deal with the environmental assessment process to deal with the whole pipeline application process, and to ensure that we, as a territory, have the infrastructure and resources in the communities.

I think it is great to have the resources at headquarters, but that's not where the development and impact is going to be felt. It is going to be felt in our communities. It is going to be felt by the residents in our communities and we have to ensure that we minimize that impact through our responsibility as government. We have to ensure that these developments don't have a major impact on our health care system and our education systems, and prepare ourselves to be ready for those developments when they happen.

I think we have learned from the Norman Wells experience. We've learned from the diamond mine experience where we've had to work with industries to develop social and economic agreements and develop training programs to develop the capacity so that we could benefit through the secondary industry of diamonds. We have to do similar things for oil and gas and I think this government has to start developing its own scenarios on how we, as government, are going to be prepared for the pipeline development. Are we prepared or will we continue to blame the federal government for all our errors and problems that we have? I will be asking the Premier questions on this matter later. Thank you.

---Applause

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

GNWT Procurement Policies
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 648

Sandy Lee

Sandy Lee Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about something that has been brought to my attention and that of other Members in the House. It has to do with the government's procurement and contracting process. In the latest case, Mr. Speaker, it involved upwards of $1 million for purchasing computer equipment and services. As more and more information is being made known, it may prove to be the case that the government had no other option but to go to a large southern supplier, Mr. Speaker. It could be that the materials and services being bought were such that it was too sophisticated or required types of warranties and services that could not otherwise be had in the North.

But the main problem here is that the northern suppliers were not given an opportunity to have a say, yea or nay, as to whether they could partake in it or not. Mr. Speaker, the problem I'm having is that we have heard this type of argument before. Not too long ago, this government deliberately bypassed its own BIP policy because we believed the premium was too high. That resulted in a long-term northern business losing out on a contract by a very small margin. In the latest case, Mr. Speaker, the Minister has argued that this contract went through the sole source contract process and all the rules were followed. Once again, Mr. Speaker, we have the government making decisions without thinking through the implications of what they are doing and the messages they are sending out in doing it.

Mr. Speaker, I submit to you that there is a good broad philosophical principle to uphold in policies such as the Business Incentive Policy, and that is that we, as a government, are more than a mere consumer of products like computers or a builder of a facility. We have to understand that we cannot go about making purchasing deals that only look at what is the best value for the buck right here, right now. This has to be factored in along with a number of other factors that contribute to the public good that the government is supposed to fulfill. The government should know that there is an additional value called a multiplier on every dollar that is spent. Every government dollar spent in the community multiplies three to fourfold in jobs created, local businesses maintained and new industry fostered.

This is how we build community capacity, and if these projects continue to be too big and too sophisticated for the local IT suppliers to bid on, then those businesses will continue to stay too small and too unsophisticated in the government's books. That is not fair, Mr. Speaker, and that is not right. Mr. Speaker, I believe that we have to do better and we can do better only if the government and the Ministers' departments will just think through their choices, and I ask for that sort of action now. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

GNWT Procurement Policies
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 648

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for North Slave, Mr. Lafferty.

Bathurst Inlet Port And Road Project
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 648

Leon Lafferty North Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to focus on an issue that has not received much attention from this government that will have a huge impact on the Tlicho and Akaitcho regions, as well as Yellowknife, the Northwest Territories and Canada. This issue is the proposed development of the Bathurst Inlet port and road project in Nunavut. Because this project runs through the Slave Geological Province, which is in both our territories, any activity there has significant implications. This area includes all of the mining developments to date between Yellowknife and the Arctic coast and has the greatest resource deposits in both of the territories.

If this Bathurst road proceeds, it will likely become the main supply route for the mines and communities in the area. This will disrupt the existing resupply business from the Northwest Territories and the southern provinces. This area is also home to a variety of muskoxen, moose, bears and the Bathurst caribou herd. This herd has its calving ground north of the proposed routes. I am concerned about the impact this road will have on the caribou. My people rely extensively on the caribou as food.

Mr. Speaker, within the next month the Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs is expected to decide which type of environmental review the proposed supply road will undergo. The two options are to do either a part 5 or a part 6 environment review. A part 5 review involves only the Nunavut Environmental Review Board; the part 6 review includes input from all affected parties and participation is funded.

Mr. Speaker, this project involves transboundary issues. It has the potential to shift the transportation and economic focus from the Northwest Territories and could severely affect our caribou herd. I think it is really important that we ensure that a part 6 federal environmental review of this project is undertaken and that a spokesperson from the Northwest Territories is appointed to represent the Western Arctic interests. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Bathurst Inlet Port And Road Project
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 648

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Roland.

Capacity Building For Oil And Gas Development
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 648

Floyd Roland

Floyd Roland Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to follow up on my colleague from Mackenzie Delta's comments about capacity building, more in the area of oil and gas, Mr. Speaker. Previous to this day, earlier in the session I raised a question and concerns about the establishment of DIAND's oil and gas office in Yellowknife, and said that they should be building an office and moving people to where the activity is, Mr. Speaker. That would go a long way towards building capacity in the Northwest Territories. I can understand the need for bodies around the capital city but, Mr. Speaker, we have electronics, we have systems in place so that people can communicate on a daily basis without having to be in a central location.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to find out later on in question period if we know where, in fact, is this going to happen and how many bodies would be moving to the North and if that has all been decided or is that still up in the air? So I will be asking the Premier those questions later on. Thank you.

---Applause

Capacity Building For Oil And Gas Development
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 649

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.

Weekend Activities In Thebacha
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 649

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would just like to briefly, in this House, highlight some of the activities that are going to be taking place in Thebacha this weekend. Mr. Speaker, starting late Friday morning, we are going to be opening the first of 12 seniors' independent housing units, along with my colleague, Mr. Allen, who is coming to town to do the official ribbon cutting. I would like to thank the committee led by Leon Peterson that worked so hard at housing and the local authority to make this happen.

This weekend, as well, is going to be Wood Buffalo Frolics so we hope there is a break in the weather. As part of the Wood Buffalo Frolics, the PWK grad committee is putting on an auction, and that auction is going to be done by the Speaker whose legendary golden, dulcet tones are going to raise scads of money for the graduation committee in Fort Smith. So it's going to be a very busy weekend in the community and I would like to commend all the volunteers and people who have made this possible. I would like to thank Minister Allen and the Speaker for coming to the community to help us with these festivities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Weekend Activities In Thebacha
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 649

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Ootes.