This is page numbers 863 - 898 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 278-14(6): Proposals To Human Resources Development Canada
Question 278-14(6): Proposals To Human Resources Development Canada
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Jake Ootes

Jake Ootes Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, our proposal was for approximately $25 million over five years. Minister Stewart's funding is $25 million in total for Canada over two years. She said she can only commit for a two-year period and I spoke to her about that and asked, can you look at further funding for the other three years once we start showing some results? She said that she could not commit at that point, but she said the whole thrust of her funding will have to depend upon results. It will be results oriented, accountability for the funding and tracking for the funding and results at the end of the day. So that was of primary interest to Minister Stewart. As I say, I am optimistic that we will get some money. I do not know how much because she was not prepared at that particular table to say the exact amount. Thank you.

Further Return To Question 278-14(6): Proposals To Human Resources Development Canada
Question 278-14(6): Proposals To Human Resources Development Canada
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Minister Ootes. Your final supplementary, Mr. Nitah.

Supplementary To Question 278-14(6): Proposals To Human Resources Development Canada
Question 278-14(6): Proposals To Human Resources Development Canada
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Steven Nitah Tu Nedhe

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at this conference there are some priority points agreed to by the provinces and territories, the priorities at the national level that would be addressed with Canada. One of those priorities, Mr. Speaker, was aboriginal participation in employment. Can the Minister elaborate for us in the House if and how you will use any funding that is coming from these proposals on aboriginal employment initiatives in terms of training? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Supplementary To Question 278-14(6): Proposals To Human Resources Development Canada
Question 278-14(6): Proposals To Human Resources Development Canada
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Nitah. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Minister Ootes.

Further Return To Question 278-14(6): Proposals To Human Resources Development Canada
Question 278-14(6): Proposals To Human Resources Development Canada
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Jake Ootes

Jake Ootes Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the funding that will be provided will come from the aboriginal development fund that Minister Stewart has. We generally approach our programs on an inclusive basis, but I can reassure the Member that any funding that we have used so far, for example in the mine training area where we have contributed and the mine training committee has been very successful -- they have created 365 jobs over the past several years -- 90 percent of those have been aboriginal people that have found employment as a result. The Mine Training Committee reassures me that they are looking at the potential for 600 more Northerners to be employed through their particular programs of which the majority, and when I speak of majority the previous indication was 90 percent out of the 300, I expect that the majority again will be aboriginal Northerners. Thank you.

Further Return To Question 278-14(6): Proposals To Human Resources Development Canada
Question 278-14(6): Proposals To Human Resources Development Canada
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Minister Ootes. The honourable Member for North Slave, Mr. Lafferty.

Leon Lafferty North Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Finance, the Honourable Joe Handley. Mr. Speaker, the way the Cabinet chooses projects such as school renovations is unclear. Each Member lobbies hard for his or her riding and community members express their needs to various government officials. Despite this involvement, projects are chosen which do not reflect the input of community members or MLAs. I would like to ask the Minister, who makes the final decisions on capital projects? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister of Finance, Minister Handley.

Return To Question 279-14(6): Capital Project Decision Making
Question 279-14(6): Capital Project Decision Making
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Joe Handley

Joe Handley Weledeh

Mr. Speaker, the final decisions on capital projects, like the rest of our budget, are made in this House here. We all vote on the budget that includes those projects. Thank you.

Return To Question 279-14(6): Capital Project Decision Making
Question 279-14(6): Capital Project Decision Making
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Minister Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Return To Question 279-14(6): Capital Project Decision Making
Question 279-14(6): Capital Project Decision Making
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Leon Lafferty North Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I sort of like the answer you gave me, but it does not seem to have worked like that in the last three and a half years. I would like to ask the Minister if he can give me a couple of examples on some of the capital projects that he thinks that we may have worked on together. Thank you.

Return To Question 279-14(6): Capital Project Decision Making
Question 279-14(6): Capital Project Decision Making
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you. I am going to disallow the question, Mr. Lafferty, and give you the opportunity to rephrase your question. It is rhetorical. Rephrase your question, Mr. Lafferty.

Supplementary To Question 279-14(6): Capital Project Decision Making
Question 279-14(6): Capital Project Decision Making
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Leon Lafferty North Slave

Thank you. I would like to ask the Minister if he can give us some examples of some of the projects that we made decisions on in the House. Thank you.

Supplementary To Question 279-14(6): Capital Project Decision Making
Question 279-14(6): Capital Project Decision Making
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister of Finance, Minister Handley.

Further Return To Question 279-14(6): Capital Project Decision Making
Question 279-14(6): Capital Project Decision Making
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Joe Handley

Joe Handley Weledeh

Mr. Speaker, there are a lot of projects that were approved in the business plans and in the main estimates for the current fiscal year. I cannot get into all of them, but I could tell you that there are lots in transportation and education and all of the departments. All of those have been reviewed in committees and have been reviewed here in Committee of the Whole. So we have all had input or opportunity for input into every single capital project that this government has approved. Thank you.

Further Return To Question 279-14(6): Capital Project Decision Making
Question 279-14(6): Capital Project Decision Making
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Minister Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Supplementary To Question 279-14(6): Capital Project Decision Making
Question 279-14(6): Capital Project Decision Making
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Leon Lafferty North Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Not a very good answer.

---Laughter

I am unclear on how projects are cut. You say we have been working together on briefings and other meetings, but then I saw a capital project on my five-year plan for my riding in Gameti where a school was cut. No one told me about that, or I was never briefed on it. I would like to ask the Minister who makes these decisions to cut the projects? Thank you.

Supplementary To Question 279-14(6): Capital Project Decision Making
Question 279-14(6): Capital Project Decision Making
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister of Finance, Minister Handley.

Further Return To Question 279-14(6): Capital Project Decision Making
Question 279-14(6): Capital Project Decision Making
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Joe Handley

Joe Handley Weledeh

Mr. Speaker, I do not know of any school project or renovations in Gameti that appeared in the five-year capital plan, but we would have to find that information and take a look at it. It may have been in the 20-year needs assessment that Mr. Lafferty referred to earlier on.

Further Return To Question 279-14(6): Capital Project Decision Making
Question 279-14(6): Capital Project Decision Making
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Minister Handley. Your final supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Supplementary To Question 279-14(6): Capital Project Decision Making
Question 279-14(6): Capital Project Decision Making
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Leon Lafferty North Slave

Thank you. As I understand, sometimes we go through our business plans and we see projects that pop up. Sometimes we are using the 20-year cycle of a building, sometimes we use the 20-year assessment plan to justify some of the projects. I would like to ask the Minister if he can make sure that, whenever there is something on the 20-year plan and it is identified for a certain year and they are going to cut it, then they should tell the Member whose riding it is in. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Supplementary To Question 279-14(6): Capital Project Decision Making
Question 279-14(6): Capital Project Decision Making
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister of Finance, Minister Handley.

Further Return To Question 279-14(6): Capital Project Decision Making
Question 279-14(6): Capital Project Decision Making
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Joe Handley

Joe Handley Weledeh

Mr. Speaker, there seems to be some mixing up of the 20-year needs assessment with our capital plans. We do a five-year capital plan. We do a 20-year needs assessment. The 20-year needs assessment gives us an overview of projects that may be coming along in future years. We do not know for sure what we will need in 18 years or 20 years or 16 years, but that gives us an overview and that helps us build a plan. Everything that appears in a 20-year needs assessment does not necessarily happen. A lot of things can change over a 20-year period. I hope Members do not think the 20-year needs assessment is a 20-year capital plan, otherwise that is a complete error in terms of what that document is meant for. Thank you.

Further Return To Question 279-14(6): Capital Project Decision Making
Question 279-14(6): Capital Project Decision Making
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Minister Handley. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

David Krutko

David Krutko Mackenzie Delta

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Transportation. Mr. Speaker, it has come to my attention that there has been a cutback to the ferry services in the Mackenzie Delta regarding the time that the ferry is launched to the time that it is shut down for the evening. Mr. Speaker, I was under the understanding that we were not going to cut programs and services or services in general to the public, and the ferry service is essential to the people of the Mackenzie Delta and the Northwest Territories. So I would like to ask the Minister exactly why has there been a decline in ferry services in the Mackenzie Delta?