This is page numbers 1769 - 1796 of the Hansard for the 15th Assembly, 3rd 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 community.

Condolences To Families Of Slain Rcmp Officers
Item 3: Members' Statements

March 3rd, 2005

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Henry Zoe

Henry Zoe North Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In light of the news that we heard yesterday about the senseless killing of the four RCMP officers in Northern Alberta, I just want to offer my condolences, and also from my constituents, to the families, friends and co-workers of these four brave men who were killed in the line of duty.

Mr. Speaker, we have said a lot of things in this House over the last couple of days about the services offered to us by the RCMP. I am sure that my colleagues would join me in saying that we support and appreciate the work that they do and I hope that they do their jobs under the safest circumstances possible.

We do a lot of complaining about the safety of our communities. It is not only in the hands of the police, Mr. Speaker, it is also in the hands of the community and our community leaders to help the RCMP to make sure that our communities remain crime-free so that we can avoid the tragedy like the one in Northern Alberta.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I hope we can all learn something from this tragedy and volunteer to help our RCMP and our local police when our help is asked for. Mahsi.

---Applause

Condolences To Families Of Slain Rcmp Officers
Item 3: Members' Statements

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The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Zoe. Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery.

Item 5: Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery
Item 5: Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery

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The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

I would like to take this opportunity to recognize my executive assistant, Sue Tkachuk, in the gallery and with her, it gives me great pleasure to introduce two special guests, my grandsons, Logan and Cordell Gagnier.

---Applause

Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Kevin A. Menicoche

Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are to the Honourable Brendan Bell, the Minister of RWED, just with respect to the new trapping initiatives that he mentioned earlier this week in a Minister's statement of support to the traditional economy. I am just not too familiar with how it is going to be rolled out. Is that new initiative beginning April 1st? Perhaps the Minister can detail that for me, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Mr. Bell.

Return To Question 540-15(3): Support For Trapping Activities
Question 540-15(3): Support For Trapping Activities
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Brendan Bell

Brendan Bell Yellowknife South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. These programs that we set up some couple of years back, I believe two years now running, continue on. What we are seeing is an increased uptake and an increase in the level of trapping. I think that much of it has to do with the prices that these furs are fetching at auction. The market has been particularly good. The Asia Pacific market is opening up for our furs, along with the traditional interest we have seen from the European trading area. So this is all good news for our trappers. I think in addition, anecdotally, we have noticed that people who are working in mines and have two weeks on and two weeks off are able in their down time to pursue these traditional activities, and that's certainly something we support. But our programs are ongoing and we do facilitate and help trappers get their furs to market and we also provide them with a grubstake amount the beginning of the season to get them back in action for the next year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Return To Question 540-15(3): Support For Trapping Activities
Question 540-15(3): Support For Trapping Activities
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.

Supplementary To Question 540-15(3): Support For Trapping Activities
Question 540-15(3): Support For Trapping Activities
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Kevin A. Menicoche

Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I'm totally in support of initiatives put forward by RWED with respect to this, because on my last trip home to Fort Simpson there were lot of young trappers who were out there and they are doing it on their own. So is there a contact person in Fort Simpson or even in Fort Liard that this program will be rolled out with, or a contact person to talk to? Thank you.

Supplementary To Question 540-15(3): Support For Trapping Activities
Question 540-15(3): Support For Trapping Activities
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. Bell.

Further Return To Question 540-15(3): Support For Trapping Activities
Question 540-15(3): Support For Trapping Activities
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Brendan Bell

Brendan Bell Yellowknife South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The renewable resource officers in each community are responsible for the administration of the program. They work with local trappers to ensure that they're there to take in furs as trappers come off the traplines and then get the furs to market for those trappers, and also providing them with their advances and their bonus if the fur comes in at a level that warrants a bonus and we're fairly certain that it will fetch a high price at market. So it's the renewable resource officers. I'll certainly provide contact information for the Member, but I know that at the beginning of each season one of the tasks and one of the roles for the RRO is to go out and meet with various community organizations and ensure that we advertise the program and talk about the program so that everybody knows about it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Further Return To Question 540-15(3): Support For Trapping Activities
Question 540-15(3): Support For Trapping Activities
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.

Supplementary To Question 540-15(3): Support For Trapping Activities
Question 540-15(3): Support For Trapping Activities
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Kevin A. Menicoche

Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Perhaps the Minister can detail for me if there is assistance in terms of purchasing trapping products or equipment such as snowmobiles and traps. Is that part of the new program that is going to be rolled out? Thank you.

Supplementary To Question 540-15(3): Support For Trapping Activities
Question 540-15(3): Support For Trapping Activities
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. Bell.

Further Return To Question 540-15(3): Support For Trapping Activities
Question 540-15(3): Support For Trapping Activities
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Brendan Bell

Brendan Bell Yellowknife South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The grubstake program that's available at the beginning of the season for trappers who harvested a certain number of pelts the previous year -- I can't remember exactly what the number is, but I think it's around 20 -- those who have met that threshold are eligible for the grubstake amount of money and I think it's in the neighbourhood of $5,000 to help them get their equipment up and ready for the season. So if they want to do repairs to their snow machine or purchase additional traps, that's what that money can be used for. We have had a program in past years in order to comply with the agreement on humane trapping, that we signed with a number of countries. We had provided replacement traps for those who brought in traps that were no longer considered humane and I can certainly check and see if that is ongoing, but I think most of those traps are out of commission now. We've done that replacement. I'm sure we've spent over $1 million replacing traps across the Northwest Territories for people. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Further Return To Question 540-15(3): Support For Trapping Activities
Question 540-15(3): Support For Trapping Activities
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Final supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.

Supplementary To Question 540-15(3): Support For Trapping Activities
Question 540-15(3): Support For Trapping Activities
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Kevin A. Menicoche

Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Does the support to the traditional economy have room for something like getting that certain age group between 50 and 65 out there assisting the young people learning how to trap? Was that program designed with that thought in mind, or is there a way we can do that, Mr. Speaker? Thank you.

Supplementary To Question 540-15(3): Support For Trapping Activities
Question 540-15(3): Support For Trapping Activities
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. Bell.

Further Return To Question 540-15(3): Support For Trapping Activities
Question 540-15(3): Support For Trapping Activities
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Brendan Bell

Brendan Bell Yellowknife South

I certainly think that that's a great idea and it's one that we have used in the past to take an on-the-land program where we've had elders work

with youth in the community, usually through the schools and usually through support from the RWED office, to take young people out trapping and make sure that they understand and learn the skills so that there's some transfer of that traditional knowledge down to the next generation. I think that that's certainly the way forward for this program. I think the positive sign is that there seems to be more interest in trapping. It is becoming more lucrative. I think that bodes well for the future. We'll continue to work with youth in communities to ensure that this kind of programming is available. I think it's certainly a good idea. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Further Return To Question 540-15(3): Support For Trapping Activities
Question 540-15(3): Support For Trapping Activities
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Groenewgen

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't want to offend the Minister of Justice today, but I have no questions for him at this time.

---Laughter

---Applause

My questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Mr. Speaker, I spoke in my Member's statement about FASD. I think that the Minister is probably aware that we have some fairly major issues with FASD on a fairly broad-ranging scale of severity and of disability. I don't believe though we have really quantified the problems sufficiently in the Northwest Territories and I do think that a lot of the people who are having difficulty with our education system and with our justice system are people who are undiagnosed as having FASD. I'd like to ask the Minister what is available right now in the Northwest Territories in terms of a screening tool and team with the qualifications necessary to identify this very pervasive condition. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Return To Question 541-15(3): Availability Of Screening Tools For Fasd
Question 541-15(3): Availability Of Screening Tools For Fasd
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member has raised a very key issue as we talk about FASD. If you accept, as we do, the Health Canada statistics that nine out of every 1,000 children born is affected with FASD and if you extrapolate that back a number of decades, then it is very clear to see that FASD is not a child's disease. It's a lifelong issue and that the population in the society we have, there are, by those statistical estimates, hundreds if not thousands of undiagnosed people in our society. Not only here, but in every jurisdiction.

We are members of the Canada Northwest Partnership. We're setting up a new research centre out of UBC with a satellite office in Calgary. There are screening capacities available, but screening is just a very preliminary first step. The actual assessment needs very specialized skills like a pediatric dysmorphologist, a psychiatric neurologist or neuro psychiatrist; sorry, or is it neuro psychologist? ...it's a neuro psychologist, I believe, among other things. So it is a team effort, as the Member said. It requires a family assessment and not just an individual assessment. We have some capacity on the screening side for any kind of assessments that are basically done on a case-by-case basis at this point, and I agree with the Member that the whole area of the diagnosis and service to adults is, as of yet, an unaddressed area. Thank you.

Return To Question 541-15(3): Availability Of Screening Tools For Fasd
Question 541-15(3): Availability Of Screening Tools For Fasd
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Supplementary To Question 541-15(3): Availability Of Screening Tools For Fasd
Question 541-15(3): Availability Of Screening Tools For Fasd
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Groenewgen

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know it's difficult to diagnose, but if it can be shown that an adult does suffer from FASD, are there any specific supports or is it recognized as a disability for the accompanying supports in the Northwest Territories?

Supplementary To Question 541-15(3): Availability Of Screening Tools For Fasd
Question 541-15(3): Availability Of Screening Tools For Fasd
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Miltenberger.