Good afternoon, colleagues. Welcome back to the Chamber. Orders of the day. Ministers’ statements. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.

Mr. Speaker, preliminary data shows there were 365 secondary school graduates in the NWT in 2006-2007, which is one less than the total number for 2005-2006 when we had the highest number of graduates.

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Of these graduates, 164 are aboriginal…

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…98 are from small communities, 83 are from regional centres and 184 are from Yellowknife. Final graduation numbers will be available at the end of December 2007 and I look forward to sharing those with you.

Graduation from high school is a key step in a successful career and life plan. Northwest Territories graduates participate in the same curriculum and diploma exams as their Alberta peers. Our students have demonstrated the ability to excel in these courses. As an example, this year, three northern students tied for the Ministerial Award for Academic Excellence in Pure Mathematics, with a score of 100 percent.

There are different course levels that lead towards graduation and it is important for students to begin thinking about their career goals and aspirations as early as in junior high. Early planning is necessary so that students take the courses and course levels that match their post-secondary goals, whether planning to attend college or university, entering a trade or going right into the workforce.

We need to work together as family and community members to ensure our young people and our returning mature students are motivated, supported and prepared to graduate and succeed. We all need to encourage students to attend class. Attendance is a key to success. Parents and family should talk to their children about plans for the future and should be involved in the career planning and course selection process.

At the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, we are working to find ways to share information with the

public about what is involved in course and career planning. Together, we can ensure that northern students have planned and prepared for an exciting future and that we have the right supports in place to help them succeed. Mahsi.

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Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Ministers’ statements. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. November is National Adoption Awareness Month. It is an opportunity to recognize adoptive families in the Northwest Territories who have opened both their hearts and their homes to children in need of a family.

Adoption provides a child with permanence and security. All children need roots and a feeling that they belong to a family. This feeling of belonging affects a child’s sense of self-worth. It helps to determine how children see themselves in relation to others and to their communities.

The face of adoption has changed over the years and there are now children of all ages being adopted in the NWT, including children with special needs. Many hopeful adoptive parents believe that children will enrich their lives and they have found that the experience far exceed their expectations.

More importantly, children’s lives are positively changed forever when caring people commit to meeting their needs and accepting the rewards and challenges of parenting.

A department-lead adoption is when a child who in department custody of the director of child and family services is matched with a family seeking adoption. A private adoption occurs when the biological parent(s) and adopting parent(s) agree between themselves and, subject to the approval of the director of adoptions, go through a legal process to adopt a child. An aboriginal custom adoption occurs according to the custom of the local aboriginal group or band. The process includes the review and approval by Commissioners appointed by the Minister and the adoption is filed with the Supreme Court.

In 2006-2007, there were 44 adoptions; 35 were aboriginal custom adoptions and the remaining nine being department and private adoptions.

As we recognize National Adoption Awareness Month, let us celebrate adoptive families and the children who benefit from these adoptions each year in the NWT.

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Thank you, Ms. Lee. Ministers’ statements. The honourable Minister responsible for Youth, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to provide Members of the Legislative Assembly with information on a new youth program in the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs.

In August 2007, the Youth Centres Initiative was created to provide financial support to assist with operating costs of youth centres and community-based facilities offering positive youth programs in the Northwest Territories. This program was made possible by $250,000 in new funding that was included in the department’s budget through the last supplementary appropriation.

Through this initiative, the department will provide funding to 18 communities in 2007-2008 to assist them in operation of their youth centres. Each of these eligible youth centres will receive $13,800 towards their operating costs.

Over the years, community youth centres have offered a wide range of positive programming for youth in most communities. However, one of their greatest challenges has been finding stable ongoing funding sources to support core operations.

Youth, and the organizations who provide services to them, have been asking for help to offset operating and staff costs. They often comment that access to programming dollars is not always the issue. Many times it is finding the funding for their day-to-day operations that presents the biggest challenge.

As Members may recall, this issue was also raised by youth who participated in the 2007 Youth Forum held in Yellowknife.

The Youth Centres Initiative provides an effective response to this challenge by offering financial assistance that helps communities provide youth with positive and healthy lifestyle programs.

Today’s youth are entering adulthood in a rapidly changing world. Often they feel they need a place of their own where they can be themselves and seek support from their peers and mentors. The Youth Centres Initiative will help to ensure that these needs are met. Mahsi cho.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Ministers’ statements. The Members’ statements. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the highway systems that we have in the Northwest Territories are a critical component to connecting our communities, people, our programs and services that we deliver, and also to ensure that we are able to deliver government’s programs and services.

Mr. Speaker, we cannot lose sight of the conditions of our highway systems throughout the Northwest Territories,

especially in regards to Highway No. 8, the Dempster Highway, our ice roads that connect the communities of Tuk and Aklavik to Inuvik, but also, more importantly, not to lose sight that those road systems are the crucial part of our infrastructure that delivers our infrastructure by way of building materials, foods, goods and services and fuel products into our communities. But it’s important, Mr. Speaker, to note that we don’t lose sight of the condition of those roads and doing everything we can to connect all our communities to our highway systems and the communities of Aklavik, Tuk and elsewhere.

But, Mr. Speaker, I think, more importantly, we have to realize that we have a fundamental challenge by way of global warming, which is having a very detrimental effect on the condition of our roads; highways have been collapsing, roads have been collapsing, we have had accidents on our highway systems. I think, as a government, as the 16th Assembly, we do have to find a

better way of how we maintain our infrastructure by way of looking at alternative means, such as chipseal or even looking at the possibility of pavement. But yet, Mr. Speaker, we do have to find an alternative means of maintaining our most important asset that connects us to our communities, which are our road systems.

But again, Mr. Speaker, I think it’s crucial that we, as government, have to think outside the box and continue to put gravel on top of road systems and realizing that our road systems are critical to our system. But also we have to have a safe system for people to drive on. I think it’s important to look at statistics where we have seen a lot of accidents, especially on the Dempster Highway in the last couple of years. I know my colleague from Inuvik Twin Lakes helped raise this issue in the House during the previous Assembly and I’d like to thank him for that, because I do drive the highway a lot and I realize that the road conditions in the last year were probably the worst I’ve ever seen.

So I’d just like to, at the appropriate time, ask the Minister of Transportation some questions on the Dempster Highway. Thank you.

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Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have in my hand again today the technical evaluation of the Diamond Jenness Secondary School in Hay River and I could stand up here and make a nice speech and list off all the things that are wrong with that school but, you know, I am sick and tired of talking about the substandard school that we have in Hay River. There are so many things in this report that would indicate that we are expecting our teachers to work in a substandard building, we are expecting our students to be educated in a substandard building, and this is a shame. This should not be allowed to continue.

I have stood and talked about it in this House many times. We’ve had every Minister, we’ve had the Premier, we’ve had everybody go there and go through that school and see the things that are wrong, and I want to know why it’s

not in the capital budget to be replaced. Do we have to have somebody start a fire and fill the school with smoke, or do we have to have a roof cave in? What do we need to do to get in the line here for a proper school for our high school students in Hay River?

I mean, it’s very, very frustrating. This school was built in 1972. It’s had no major work done to it since. There are security and safety issues associated with this school and it needs to be addressed. Now we have a new Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, so, of course, I have hope. You can’t give up hope.

But I want to tell you that I am extremely frustrated. No other building, other than what’s owned by the Government of the Northwest Territories, would be allowed to operate in this kind of disrepair. There are code issues. Now, there are some things that are satisfactory and they have a 10 to 15-year life expectancy, so maybe it is just a renovation that we need, but we need something, Mr. Speaker. I will invite the new Minister of Education, Culture and Employment to come to Hay River to see this, but we’ve got to get in the line-up. This has to be a priority. This school is 35 years old; it is time for a retrofit. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. During the 15th Assembly, the Department of Health and Social Services committed to completing a comprehensive human resource plan for the Stanton Territorial Health Authority. The development of the human resource plan was intended to be inclusive and involve input from all staff. To do this, a comprehensive statistics-based recruitment and retention survey was conducted and completed by most of the staff within the Stanton Territorial Health Authority.

To build upon the findings of the first survey, a second, more detailed survey was conducted with a smaller number of staff selected at random. This second survey was conducted by way of individual interviews, usually 30 to 60 minutes long, where staff had an opportunity to identify all of their areas of concern as well as things that they, as an individual, believe are working.

It’s my understanding that both of these surveys were completed over the past summer. It’s also my understanding that these surveys, in addition to other statistical information such as national reports, statistical summaries on sick time, and other information provided by the Department of Human Resources, were to be used to help identify the real challenges to the recruitment and retention of health and social services professionals within the Stanton Territorial Health Authority.

The recently appointed Social Programs committee has discussed this matter and are advised that the comprehensive human resource plan for the authority was to be prepared and shared with the committee by the end of summer of 2007. That has not happened.

As a new member of the Social Programs committee and as a Member of this House who is concerned about the morale of hospital staff and the effectiveness of the public services in general, I wonder about the status of this human resource plan. Clearly, the challenges facing the recruitment and retention of health professionals and social service professionals are high, given the national and international shortages of these professionals.

I look forward to receiving this report in the near future and to discussing the resulting recommendations. I hope that it will be a tool that will help to stabilize the workforce at Stanton Territorial Health Authority and that it will demonstrate the respect and commitment that this government has for its employees. They are our most valuable resource. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Small business accounts for a large proportion of employment in both Canada and the North, but it could do much more for northerners. Mr. Speaker, we seem to focus on mega development by a few of the world’s largest corporations. The result is a raging but precarious economy that causes us to import workers from afar while local businesses suffer. The main benefit of money is pipelined to the South and local dollar gains are not embedded within a healthy society.

Small businesses provide a venue for self-sufficiency and self-reliance and ways for owners and operators to contribute to their family and community. They engage people in our society.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business reports that the biggest challenges are finding new customers in markets, dealing with paperwork and government regulation. In the North, adult literacy and, recently, availability of workers pose additional challenges. To develop small business, the GNWT needs to invest in research and pilot projects to continue building our adult Literacy Program and to provide relevant and effective training.

A focus on small businesses that deal with local and regional needs, such as food production and distribution, safe drinking water, tourism, energy efficiency and renewable energy and the arts, provides many benefits, including the strengthening of local communities. Value-added products, the manufacture or refining of products from raw materials, increase these benefits. Buckley’s is a good example in the Weledeh riding. They harvest fish in Great Slave Lake and sell to local Yellowknife markets, including restaurants such as Bullock’s Bistro, that advertise and benefit from access to fresh local fish.

We need focus on businesses that use and develop local expertise, that use renewable resources with value added, and that contribute to self-sufficiency. We need continued support for the project to produce heat from Yellowknife’s abandoned gold mines and to expand that to other locations, and we need support for local purchase and

provision of goods and services, including reduced taxes on NWT businesses and artists that help meet our basic needs of food and materials with local resources.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, we need to seek and involve the expertise of others from similar environments and societies, such as the Scandinavians, to leapfrog forward into progressive beneficial developments with proven technologies and approaches. I look forward to working with the government on this priority. Thank you.

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Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, like my colleague from the Mackenzie Delta, I, too, today would like to talk on the state of the transportation in the Mackenzie, or the Beaufort-Delta. As someone from McPherson tells you the road is the worst that he’s ever seen, then I think it’s our paying attention.

Mr. Speaker, it is extremely dusty and unsafe driving conditions. As a matter of fact, we had another death on the highway this summer. A father of three was killed while working on the highway. We had a culvert collapse at Caribou Creek. Why did the culvert collapse? Are these things not inspected? Again, luckily nobody was hurt or killed, because it was something that you couldn’t see if you were driving down the road. I got a phone call from a constituent who just happened to be at the scene and it was like 30 feet wide and 20 feet deep and luckily he wasn’t driving, otherwise he would have ended up at the bottom of that culvert. He called me because I had brought up the issue of the state of the road before and he thought I should know. I appreciated that.

We have, Mr. Speaker, an ice making machine that’s supposed to be flooding ice at Tsiigehtchic. It’s sitting at James Creek by the Yukon border. It’s 150 kilometres away. I’m sure they’re not going to be making any ice bridges up there.

Mr. Speaker, you’re getting the picture here that the right side of the brain doesn’t seem to be communicating with the left side of the brain, because we got a marine storage yard sitting right at Tsiigehtchic that this machine could be sitting in. We have industry that’s waiting on both sides of the ice bridge to get to work and the sooner that industry can get their materials up in the Beaufort-Delta and go to work, then the sooner our people can go to work and the sooner our shelves can be restocked again and the prices might start going down.

Industry has committed millions of dollars, Mr. Speaker, into the Beaufort-Delta and we can do our part by making sure that our infrastructure that we’re responsible for is looked after and ready to go. It’s called working together, Mr. Speaker, and maybe it’s a novelty that we’re going to have to try.

We shouldn’t let, Mr. Speaker, personality conflicts get in the way of our commitment to working for what’s good for the people that we represent. This continues to happen, Mr. Speaker. We may have to have a serious look at it

and if changes need to be made, then we have to make the changes because, first and foremost, our commitment is to the safety and well-being of the people we represent. Thank you.

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Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker…(English not provided)

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I will be speaking about the deplorable condition of Highway No. 6 and the serious safety issues affecting the residents of Fort Resolution.

Mr. Speaker, the road is very soft in some spots and which, as you know, may cause rollovers. The roadbed is below grade in many sections, which means the road does not drain freely and gets very slippery with a little bit of rain and a little bit of snow.

I want to make it clear that I know the highway workers do their best to keep the road in a passable state, but, in this day and age, just keeping the road passable is not acceptable. It is called Highway No. 6. That means it should be a highway, not a trail.

Mr. Speaker, the other area of concern to me is that if the Tamerlane project goes forward and the people and business that are employed at the mine site will be using the highway to a greater extent from Fort Resolution to the mine site, this makes it even more imperative that safety issues with Highway No. 6 be addressed as soon as possible.

We need to do more than band-aid fixes to just keep Highway No. 6 open. It is time to spend some serious money on the reconstruction. Perhaps now that the mine may be opening, the government may take a closer look at spending money as they did on Highway No. 4 when the diamond industry opened.

I will have questions for the Minister of Transportation at the appropriate time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.

Member’s Statement On Coordinated Approach For Government Support For The Northern Arts Sector

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I’d like to add to Mr. Hawkins’ Member’s statement made yesterday on the arts. Specifically, I’d like to talk about the disconnect I perceive between the support provided by the Department of Education, Culture and Employment to artists and the lack of follow-up with these artists, whether they are musicians, painters, writers, sculptors, or involved in crafts, by the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment, who may be able to partner with these artists to promote the NWT and strengthen tourism across

the Northwest Territories. If we give people a reason to come to the Northwest Territories, they will come. Arts and culture are certainly a draw which should not be ignored.

Currently, Education, Culture and Employment provides grants to northern artists through the NWT Arts Council. Although the support provided is significantly lower than other jurisdictions, such as the Yukon, and should be increased, they do help. A large number of northern artists have taken advantage of the program. There are books, there are CDs and other impressive projects that are completed that are available for public consumption. Once produced, the only requirement from Education, Culture and Employment is that the artist provide some sort of public showing. After that, there is no continued relationship between the artist and the GNWT.

Rather than miss this opportunity to provide continued support to the artists and to increase awareness of the NWT arts scene, which can certainly enhance tourism, I believe that the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment should work together and share information on these different artists. The two departments should break down their silos and work together for the mutual benefit, benefit for tourism, benefit for the arts, benefit for the North and all of its people.

I’ll be asking the Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment and the Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment questions on this topic during question period. It’s time that we worked together. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, back in October, my first speech concentrated on the issues that I heard during my campaign in the community of Paulatuk. Residents are very concerned with the fact that many public housing units are infested with black mould. Mr. Speaker, we all know there’s enough health problems associated with overcrowding in public housing. Units that have the presence of black mould will just compound these issues and the problems.

The children and the elders in particular are at risk as they are more likely to be unable to fight the infections. I have heard that black mould may be caused by design flaws or by contractors using shoddy construction practices in building the Housing Corporation housing packages. If this is the case, our government has a responsibility to deal with the issue quickly. It is not acceptable to do a study or to spend the next time trying to decide the party.

I’m not here to point any fingers and blame anybody, Mr. Speaker. The issue needs to be dealt with as soon as possible to protect my people of Paulatuk. Mr. Speaker, the first question I asked the Premier on October 19th were

the actions the government planned to take addressing the black mould issue in Paulatuk. He assured me that the NWT Housing Corporation would look into the problem.

I will be following up with that commitment with the Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation at the appropriate time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. Members’ statements. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will be speaking on transportation as well here today. I would like to talk about the beauty of the Deh Cho and the great opportunity that we have with the Deh Cho Tribal Connection. I am talking about the Deh Cho trail and portions of Highways No. 1 and 7 that make a perfectly round trip on the lower NWT for tourists coming from Alberta passing through Hay River, through several smaller Deh Cho communities providing a connection to Fort Simpson before winding down beside the Liard River and Fort Liard to British Columbia.

Mr. Speaker, this portion of our public highway system is what is promoted as the Deh Cho Tribal Connection to national and international visitors. There is a brochure and map about this trip on the ITI’s website. It is even translated into French and German. That is how important this road connection is for this government. The Deh Cho Tribal Connection is promoted as a drivable wilderness, which begs the question, Mr. Speaker, is this highway supposed to be drivable or wild? As we all know, after the turnoff to Yellowknife, it becomes less drivable and turns into a gravel road.

Mr. Speaker, our roads are not only used by tourists but residents of the Deh Cho and Nahendeh riding. They travel frequently within this region and to the larger centres. They use the highways year round and probably also enjoy the beautiful scenery along the road. They are very much concerned about the safety of the road. This brings me to the point that both residents and visiting users of the Deh Cho trail have in common. They are concerned about the road conditions of Highways No. 1 and 7 and they are concerned about their safety when driving through this drivable wilderness.

Mr. Speaker, for the sake of road safety and for the benefits of promoting highway tourism in the NWT, we need to make sure that our gravel road is at least properly maintained. Soft spots and potholes create road hazards for the drivers of these highways. An immediate action we need on Highways No. 1 and 7 is to be frequently and properly graded and compacted and maintained, as well. Mr. Speaker, I see I am running out of time. I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

The Member is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. You may conclude your statement, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. We also need to address the issue of the road deterioration beyond that immediate action. The Deh Cho connection needs to be improved and upgraded. A logical solution for a proper upgrade is to look at the chipsealing of all this Highway No. 1 and 7, then we could

truly speak of connecting the Mackenzie Highway and the Alaska Highway.

Mr. Speaker, I am looking forward to have road safety for Deh Cho residents improved and hope to see the improvements to Highways No. 1 and 7 identified as a priority and identified in any capital planning that this government may have. Mahsi cho.

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Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Members’ statements. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I would like to address an issue of growing concern in my constituency and the North. In the booming market of real estate, cars and telemarketing, it is obvious that the NWT legislative framework to protect consumers from scams does not go far enough. This leaves consumers vulnerable and allows for dishonest practices to go unchecked in the NWT. Consumers need to be fully protected. Current NWT laws do not require disclosure on the integrity of a house or used car and there are no regulations for telemarketing. Our protection laws are minimal and we are behind the times. We are putting residents at risk and some have already been stung by this lack of protection.

Other jurisdictions in Canada and the United States have comprehensive consumer protection laws covering a variety of disclosure requirements and spell out consumers’ rights and unfair practices. For example, Ontario’s law also addresses rights and obligations for Internet and remote purchase agreements and provides for a cooling off period when consumers enter into contracts. Consumers have rights and remedies should they find out that they bought a lemon car or they bought a house that has a leaking roof or a cracked foundation. There are serious consequences for previous owners who do not disclose this kind of information, Mr. Speaker, when they sold the song to that buyer.

It is nice to see the consumer affairs division within the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs offers consumer tip sheets. The information is so general that it can be used by the entire company so there is no reference to specific laws, rights or any type of remedies. The problem is that we have no laws that require disclosure and consequently there are no remedies because, as we all know, if the person did not receive the goods that they were promised, or bought the song that they were sold, it is their own tough luck. It falls on their own shoulders.

The Minister indicated to me that he and the department are aware of this increasing concern regarding lack of consumer protection and that he will look into it. We need to catch up to the times, Mr. Speaker. We need to catch up to the other Canadian jurisdictions as to what they have been doing for years. We need stronger comprehensive disclosure laws to protect our consumers. I urge the Minister to create a proper disclosure law as a priority in this government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Members’ statements. Reports of standing and special committees. Returns to oral questions. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for the Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize Paul Andrew, a resident of Tulita and also recipient of the national aboriginal award that is going to happen in Toronto in 2008.

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Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for the Deh Cho, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize a former constituent, Sarah Gargan, that used to live in Fort Providence. She is now living in Yellowknife, I believe. Thank you.

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Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. If we missed anyone in the gallery today, welcome to the House. I hope you are enjoying the proceedings. Acknowledgements. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this technical review that I am making reference to with respect to the Diamond Jenness Secondary School in Hay River was completed in August 2006. Might I compliment the Department of Public Works and Services for actually a very comprehensive and thorough review of the school. However, I don’t know what has been done with this information since. There aren’t too many pieces of infrastructure or buildings that would be allowed to go into this state of disrepair. There are health issues. There are safety issues. There are code issues. This is a piece of infrastructure and a building that is owned by this government. I would like to know from the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment or PWS, I guess whoever feels responsible, to tell me what has been done since this report was compiled to address the deficiencies that are identified here which are too long a list to even stand here and list. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Yes, the Member is right about the evaluation report that has been conducted in the community of Hay River. Based on the technical report, it is estimated that it will cost approximately $22 million plus in, of course, July 2006 dollars at that time, to upgrade the facility. But at the

same time, this does not take into account the relocation of the students and also the alternate location while the work is being done. Of course, there will be additional costs here. But, Mr. Speaker, I would just like to highlight that as we move forward in the 16th Assembly, we will be

discussing this as part of our capital projects among other projects for the Northwest Territories. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty.

Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have a way of assessing our priorities when it comes to capital planning in this government. It is the protection of people and the protection of assets. I would like to suggest that the people are not being well served by this building. I would suggest that this is an unhealthy building to go to school in and to work in. The asset is not being protected either, because it is being allowed to go further and further into disrepair. There are some basic, not-too-costly things that could be done to at least maintain the school until a major retrofit is done. I would like to ask the Minister, who is responsible for coordinating the maintenance of this facility? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the report again does highlight the deficiencies and also the work that needs to be done in Hay River, on the Diamond Jenness School. Also with moving forward we need to identify this as part of capital project planning. That will certainly be our discussion here with our government as we move forward and with the setting of priorities and planning which area should have the most priority for the Northwest Territories, because we do have quite a few capital projects that are in line. This will certainly be one of the issues that we will be tackling in the near future. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty.

Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, what I want to hear today is that this school is a priority on this government’s agenda. That is what I want to hear today: a priority. Now, I know there is a lot of competition for capital projects, but we have had an increase in our ability to borrow money. It has gone to $500 million now, I think. I would suggest that this is important enough that if there are competing projects, the government should borrow money to fix this problem as opposed to letting it languish. But in the meantime, will the Minister commit that the things that can be addressed will be addressed immediately? I am not talking about the major retrofit for $22 million, but the small things will be addressed immediately. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this report is in front of us. Our department will certainly look at it with the Cabinet and will be highlighting the key areas where there needs to be some renovations happening here and there. The major project, if that needs to take place, we will certainly look at that, as well. At this time, I cannot make a commitment to say we will move forward with this. We need to identify our priorities with the colleagues, as well, priorities for the 16th Assembly. Which capital projects should we pursue? At that time, we are open for discussion and moving forward with that. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Mr. Speaker, if I owned a building that had code deficiencies like those listed in this report, somebody who is an inspector in the government would be all over me. Who can I call to report the disrepair and the code deficiencies in this school? To whom shall I report it if it is a government building? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Lafferty.

Mr. Speaker, this is one area that we will certainly look into with our department. We will certainly be getting back to the colleague that is asking the question. These are technical areas that we will certainly look into, as well. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my statement earlier, I referenced the comprehensive human resources plan for Stanton Territorial Health Authority and the fact that it was supposed to be completed in the summer of 2007. My question is addressed to the Minister of Human Resources. I would want the Minister to please advise me as to the status of this particular human resource plan. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Minister of Human Resources, Mr. Bob McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to report that the preparation of the Stanton human resource plan is well underway. Two surveys have been conducted since the human resource committee was formed in February of 2007. Data from both surveys have been summarized and have been released to all Stanton employees as of October 4th . A

staffing working group has been formed. A staff forum

was held on November 9, 2007, in order to provide feedback on the results. We are taking that data and the feedback and are working on developing a human resource plan. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod.

Supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the information from the Minister. That is more than we had previously. But I would like to ask the Minister when the Standing Committee on Social Programs can expect to receive this report.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are working towards having a draft prepared by January 2008. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod.

Supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you again. I would like to ask the Minister, at this point now that the information from the surveys has been accumulated and drafted into some sort of an initial report, whether or not and when the Standing Committee on Social Programs can receive copies of the surveys which were sent out.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I understood that this information has been sent out to all Stanton employees. I am not sure whether that means it is public information. I think I will probably have to get some authorization from the HR committee and, once I get that, I am sure I can share it with the standing committee. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Ms. Bisaro. Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions surround my Member’s statement in regards to the maintenance and disrepair of our highway systems in the Northwest Territories. I think we do have to look at how we maintain the highway systems we have. The practice to date has been applying calcium, continue to grade and apply more crushed gravel to the surface and continue on trying to be able to maintain that system, but yet, Mr. Speaker, it is not working. We are realizing our climate is changing. We are seeing more rain. We are seeing more permafrost separation by way of roads

shifting and culverts collapsing. I think it is crucial that we look at an alternative. Mr. Speaker, I believe the alternative that we have to look at is chipseal or looking at eventually permanent pavement on our highway systems.

Mr. Speaker, there has been pavement in Inuvik for quite a few years. You drive the Alaska Highway; it is paved pretty well all the way to Whitehorse. You can drive from Whitehorse to Dawson City which is chipseal and even parts of the Dempster Highway in the Yukon is chipseal. I would like to ask the Minister, is he willing to consider looking at a different way of maintaining our highway systems by implementing a territorial-wide program that will chipseal all of our gravel highways so that we can bring our highway systems up to the standards of other jurisdictions in Canada? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister of Transportation, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Member for Mackenzie Delta for the question. Mr. Speaker, I had driven last year on the Dempster Highway. I know what the Minister is talking about first hand in terms of the conditions on the Dempster Highway. Mr. Speaker, our department’s first priority, of course, to all residents who are travelling our highway, is safety. Safety is number one in our books in terms of our transportation system. I would say that we didn’t do any work on the Dempster Highway in terms of putting calcium coating on the surface of the Dempster and the reconstruction of the Dempster to bring it up to some standards to where we can look at further investments into the Dempster Highway.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya.

Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I believe it is crucial that we do come up with a territorial change in regards to how we maintain our gravel highways in the Northwest Territories. I would like to ask the Minister again, would he ask his department to work with other departmental agencies? We have a chipseal program in regards to MACA that we’ve just piloted, and I believe it’s a good start but I think we have to expand that to include our roads throughout the Northwest Territories. So I’d like to ask the Minister, would he take an in-depth review of the maintenance program we presently follow and see if we can apply a chipseal program throughout our highway systems in the Northwest Territories?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, our staff and our contractors are doing an exceptional job in terms of maintaining our infrastructure, especially on the highways. Mr. Speaker, I welcome the suggestion from the Member here in terms of part of our

view in terms of priorities and infrastructure within the Department of Transportation is to look at areas where we can ensure and commit investment in terms of improving our highway systems like the Member is suggesting; looking at the chipsealing of the Dempster Highway. I would take that as a suggestion in terms of when we look at long-term priorities of our highway systems.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya.

Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, just to remind the Minister that there used to be a major undertaking by way of applying calcium to our highway systems. There was a major cutback over the last number of years where on very few sections of our highways calcium was being applied. Again, we talk about dust control. But right now that is the only option that we have in front of us to provide the public with safe driving conditions that they can drive under. But yet it’s not…

Do you have a question Mr. Krutko?

I’d like to ask the Minister, would he seriously look at the possibility of implementing a territorial program to chipseal our gravel highways in the Northwest Territories?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the suggestion that the Member has referred to is a huge task on all of us within government in terms of the limited amount of money that we have in terms of our infrastructure needs in the North here. It’s about balancing our funding to protect and also to fix up our existing facilities, like Highway No. 8, and even to respond to new needs of other areas that do not have a highway. I have other areas to look at also, so I would again take the Member’s suggestion very seriously in terms of looking at his suggestion as one of our areas for long-term infrastructure needs as part of our planning priority process. I would certainly like to have full discussions with the Member to that point.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have implemented the main street maintenance program through MACA. I believe it was a pilot project. Again, I believe it’s a good start, but we’re not going to be able to accomplish our communities. However, all I’m asking for the Minister to consider is a pilot project for our highway systems to look at, not any major capital dollars, but applying it on our different highway systems to see exactly how we can improve our highway systems for the

general public. So, again, I’m asking the Minister, we know we got $38 million of infrastructure funding, let’s use it. We got a raise in regards to the amount of borrowing limit we have, so let’s fill in that gap. I’d like to ask the Minister if he can act on this matter as soon as possible.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, what I can commit to the Member is that I would like to drive the Dempster Highway to see it first hand the issues and challenges into the issues here. Because, you know, safety of the travellers is our most important goal here with the department. I would take, again, his suggestion in terms of reviewing the Member’s suggestion. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today in my Member’s statement I spoke of the deplorable condition of Highway No. 6 and the fact that my constituents in Fort Resolution take their lives into their hands when they drive that road. Can the Minister tell this Assembly whether there is any plan to do any reconstruction on Highway No. 6 in the near future? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Minister responsible for Transportation, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the need for capital reconstruction of Highway No. 6 to Fort Resolution is identified in the department’s 20-year capital needs assessment. The first 32 kilometres of the old Pine Point townsite has chipsealed surface, Mr. Speaker. I will, again, look at this issue here with the Members, as I also indicated to the Member for the Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya.

Supplementary, Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We need to do something to that highway before it disappears into the muskeg or, worse, before a bad accident occurs on that highway. Can the Minister commit to having his officials look at the situation taking into account the potential impact of the Tamerlane project that is being considered right now on the other side of the area of the highway from Fort Resolution due to the potential for high volume traffic for employees at Tamerlane? Can the Minister advise if there will be anything moved up in the capital plan to cover the 56 miles of gravel highway leading into Fort Resolution?

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. A couple of questions there. The honourable Minister of Transportation, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to assure the Member for Tu Nedhe that my officials will continue monitoring all the infrastructure of highways, marinas, airport facilities in the North, and that Highway No. 6 is one of the areas that we are paying close attention to. The challenge, of course, is to find the funding to improve our existing highways and respond to the demands of all our needs in the Northwest Territories. I look forward to discussing transportation funding priorities with the committees when we have that time.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya.

Supplementary, Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Currently there is $34 million in the capital plan for chipseal and pavement overlay. Can the Minister tell me how much of the $34 million has been earmarked for Highway No. 6, if any?

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Mr. Yakeleya.

Mr. Speaker, chipseal and pavement overlays are only considered on sections of our highways that we have reconstructed and the road base and improved the alignment, otherwise we would lose the service of improvement. Mr. Speaker, I want to get back to the Member with more information on the planned future work of Highway No. 6 in terms of chipsealing in that area.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Final supplementary, Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister commit to taking a drive with me to the community during the summer months to see the highway first hand, Highway No. 6? Hopefully it will be raining then. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Mr. Yakeleya.

Mr. Speaker, I’m going to gladly take up the Member’s offer. I’m planning, actually, to see if I can drive all the highways in the Northwest Territories. I also plan to sit down with the Member and have a discussion about the future work that may happen in Pine Point. I look forward to working with committee on advancing some of the infrastructure needs with this government here. Certainly, the committee Members

would be most important to my department in these types of discussions we have on infrastructure.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this question is addressed to the Minister of MACA. Ms. Bisaro spoke earlier this week about the Arctic Winter Games and the benefit the 2008 games will provide to Yellowknife and the Northwest Territories. One of the biggest challenges for the games has been the need to raise enough funds to host the games as expected by the Arctic Winter Games International Committee. The budget for the games is $6.6 million. Of that, $2.6 million has been contributed through various other government organizations -- federal, territorial -- which leaves $3.1 million. Fundraising for $3.1 million has been done through businesses both in the Northwest Territories and Canada, which leaves a shortfall of $901,000. The host society is projected to raise an additional $476,000, which leaves us with a total shortfall of $425,000. Some months ago, in June, the host society submitted a request to MACA for an additional operational grant in the amount of $425,000. As of today, there’s been no response to this request. The host society has entered into a critical period of cash flow and needs the GNWT to respond to the request and provide a cash grant as soon as possible. So my question to the Minister is, will the 2008 host society receive approval for the necessary operational grant and when can they expect to receive the cheque? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Minister responsible for Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Michael McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the host society for the Arctic Winter Games has been doing a very good job and they’ve done a good job in raising a lot of the funding that’s been required. A request has come forward, as the Member has indicated, in the latter part of the summer. We are now bringing it forward to my Cabinet colleagues for discussion and we will be reporting back to the host society sometime in early December. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod.

Supplementary, Mr. Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Further, to the Minister, the host society is in a planning phase; they’re going to be delivering the games in March, which really isn’t that far away. If they could get some sort of commitment that they will be receiving the money, then they can continue with the planning. If they’re not going to be getting the money, they’re going to have to cut programs, which is going to affect the overall delivery of the games. So I would like a commitment from the

Minister to get some sort of response to the host society as soon as possible, as early in December as possible.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’ve had that discussion with the host society. We have indicated to them that we will respond early in December and we’re having those discussions ongoing right now as we speak, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod.

Supplementary, Mr. Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If it is approved, when do you think the money might be able to flow, or when does the Minister think the money might be able to flow to the host society? Because, as I said, they need the money; they need to get going and we want this to be the best games possible, so cutting the money would be a real disappointment. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. I don’t know if the Minister wants to give his thoughts on that. Mr. McLeod.

Mr. Speaker, that is a hypothetical situation and question, and a loaded one at that. Mr. Speaker, we’ve indicated to the host society that we’re dealing with the issue right now. Hopefully we’ll have an answer as soon as possible; early in December. They’ve conveyed that they need an answer and we hope that the results of our discussions is not going to result in them cutting back programs. But at this point I can’t confirm that we will be providing the money; we’re having those discussions. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. Robert McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in a lot of the statements I give, or some of the statements I give, I speak to the fact that, you know, we may have lost someone. I do that, Mr. Speaker, to put a human face on to some of the decisions, or lack of decisions, that we make, and the consequences. Sometimes, unfortunately, the consequences are not as we would like them to be. I use that just to point out the fact that we do have some problems with some of the programs that we deliver and there is a human cost to it. The reason I bring that up, Mr. Speaker, that being said, I’d like to ask the Minister of Transportation, earlier this summer there was a culvert collapse at Caribou Creek and luckily with that one there was no human cost to it; there may have been, there could have been, but there was none and that’s fortunate. I’d like to ask the Minister, has he received a report as to why this culvert collapsed? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister responsible for Transportation, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the collapse in the Caribou Creek -- it’s on the Dempster Highway -- is a culvert that has been put in some years and throughout the existence of our culverts and bridges, there’s a continuing lifecycle and inspections and this is one infrastructure that came…Time ran out, I guess, on the integrity of the structure and it's lucky that nobody was injured when we had the collapse of the culvert.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya.

Supplementary, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to ask the Minister if regular inspections are done on the condition and the age of these culverts. Thank you.