This is page numbers 233 - 265 of the Hansard for the 15th 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 going.

Topics

Members Present

Honourable Brendan Bell, Mr. Braden, Honourable Paul Delorey, Honourable Charles Dent, Mrs. Groenewegen, Honourable David Krutko, Mr. Lafferty, Ms. Lee, Mr. McLeod, Hon. Kevin Menicoche, Mr. Miltenberger, Mr. Pokiak, Mr. Ramsay, Honourable Floyd Roland, Mr. Villeneuve

---Prayer

Item 1: Prayer
Item 1: Prayer

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The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Good afternoon, colleagues. Welcome back to the House. A special welcome to all our visitors today in the gallery. It's nice to see a full gallery. Orders of the day. Ministers' statements. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Dent.

Charles Dent

Charles Dent Frame Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good afternoon. Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories is committed to supporting parents and caregivers in their efforts to nurture children's development from birth. A better start in learning leads to greater success in life. With that in mind, I would like to share with you some recent changes to the Early Childhood Program.

Our Early Childhood Program provides contribution funding for both the start-up and operation of licensed day homes and childcare facilities. As of April 1, 2007, our government has increased the amount of those contributions by 30 percent. What does that mean for caregivers? As an example, in Gameti, the daily contribution for preschool space was $11.20. As of April 1st, that contribution is now $14.60. The daily contribution for an infant has increased from $16.80 to $21.80. Contribution amounts vary from community to community and are based on the cost of living.

In addition to this increase, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment recently provided one-time funding, under the program enhancement grant, that makes it possible for licensed caregivers to upgrade equipment and play space.

Mr. Speaker, I am also pleased to announce that $125,000 will be available to assist licensed non-profit childcare facilities that are experiencing high rental costs. The funding will be made available on an application basis, taking into account the circumstances of those childcare facilities that are faced with comparatively higher costs than others. Details are being finalized and full information will be provided to each childcare facility in early June.

In addition to direct contributions to caregivers, ECE supports early childhood development in a variety of ways. For instance, we continue to invest in early and family literacy through the work of the NWT Literacy Council. The council has trained approximately 200 community people in the development and delivery of family literacy workshops.

The Language Nest initiative helps to support 20 community-based licensed early childhood programs that deliver aboriginal language and cultural immersion programs and thus contribute to the revitalization and retention of aboriginal languages and culture.

ECE also partners with Aurora College to deliver the Early Childhood Education Certificate Program that combines distance and on-site delivery of courses. The program delivers early childhood development training for those working in early learning and childcare programs. Aurora College is also researching the development of an aboriginal early childhood education course.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, the Healthy Children initiative, a partnership between the departments of Health and Social Services and Education, Culture and Employment, continues to support existing programs for preschool children. Funding is provided to community-based organizations to assist in the development of early childhood programs at the local level.

Mr. Speaker, early childhood education is an essential first step in the process of lifelong learning; one that we will continue to support, Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Ministers' statements. The honourable Minister of Public Works and Services, Mr. Krutko.

David Krutko

David Krutko Mackenzie Delta

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased today to give you a status report on the energy conservation initiatives undertaken by the Department of Public Works and Services. This work was initiated last year through the GNWT's energy conservation action plan and supports this government's action on climate change, as described in the NWT Greenhouse Gas Strategy, while upholding the principle of the NWT energy plan.

Earlier this year, I reported that PWS had been working with the Department of Justice to install a biomass heating system -- wood pellet boilers -- at North Slave Correctional facility. This has been in operation since December 1, 2006, and, to date, has realized heat savings of $18,000 with greenhouse gas emissions reduced by 760 tonnes and a heating oil displacement of approximately 260,000 litres.

Since February 2007, the efficiency in the combined wood pellet and oil-fired heating system was improved and we expect more savings than originally forecasted.

Mr. Speaker, later today, at the appropriate time, I will table a report on the biomass heating system.

Public Works and Services also approached energy conservation initiatives through construction projects using federal government incentive standards in designing schools in Ndilo, Gameti and Tulita to optimize fuel and power consumption over the life of the buildings. It is estimated the resulting energy savings will save the GNWT about $100,000 in operating costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 200 tonnes per year.

Public Works and Services completed infrared thermal scanning on 177 GNWT and community buildings to highlight areas with excessive heat loss including buildings in Fort Smith, Hay River, Hay River Reserve, Enterprise and Norman Wells. During this time, the department inspected mechanical and electrical systems in 145 GNWT buildings to identify opportunities for energy conservation with the results being analyzed for potential future energy reductions. This program is expected to continue into the fall of 2007.

PWS continues to work on the Fort Smith electrical heating project. The plan is to use excess hydroelectric power from the Taltson hydro dam to heat GNWT buildings currently heated by oil or propane. The most cost-effective option is to convert three buildings, which are the GNWT records storage warehouse, Breynat Hall, and JBT Elementary School in Fort Smith. The project is expected to be completed by the fall 2007. We expect greenhouse gas emission reductions of 805 tonnes per year as well as annual operations savings of about $214,000 subject to fuel oil prices.

PWS has worked with people in Yellowknife to provide upgrades to the mechanical and electrical systems in three GNWT leased buildings. In addition to saving lease money in the future, these upgrades are expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 270 tonnes every year. The department will be looking for similar opportunities for other leased spaces.

The PWS facility design standard, called Good Building Practice for Northern Facilities, is being updated to reflect recent technology advances and newly adopted energy saving strategies. The comprehensive new version of guidelines will be published this fiscal year and will include the requirement to apply the Commercial Building Incentive Program design protocol when designing new facilities.

Mr. Speaker, to date, the energy initiatives of PWS are expected to result in about $500,000 savings to the government each year, with annual greenhouse gas emission reduction of about 2,700 tonnes.

Public Works and Services will continue to work on existing and new conservation initiatives and on identifying new technologies to help reduce energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Ministers' statements. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Dent.

Charles Dent

Charles Dent Frame Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Disability Awareness Week takes place from May 27th to June 2nd. The purpose of this week is to recognize people with disabilities and to highlight their abilities and contributions to our communities across the Northwest Territories. The month of May is also Speech and Hearing Awareness Month.

This year's theme for Disability Awareness Week is Building Access One Block at a Time, focusing on education, technology, employment, recreation, transportation and housing. This theme fits in well with the disability framework and action plan for persons with disabilities. That framework established five priority areas: education, culture, income, disability supports and housing.

The social programs departments and their regional authorities work with many non-governmental organizations and together we strive to improve services for persons with disabilities.

The NWT Council of Persons with Disabilities has expanded its community outreach programs into the Sahtu region this past year. This program is now operating in Wekweeti, Gameti, Fort Simpson, Whati, Inuvik, Hay River, Behchoko and Fort Smith. Mr. Speaker, every indication points to success for these programs throughout the Northwest Territories. Because of this expansion, more people with disabilities are accessing assistance and services.

The Canadian National Institute for the Blind, the Yellowknife Association for Community Living, the YWCA, the Autism Society and the Learning Disability Association are also vital organizations dedicated to serving the needs of disabled persons. This government has also partnered with the Rick Hansen Foundation. The government will provide the foundation $20,000 annually for the next five years. This funding will be used to assist people living in the NWT with spinal cord injuries and other disabilities.

I encourage everyone to watch for activities that highlight Disability Awareness Week in their communities. I would also like to acknowledge the work of our NWT speech language pathologists, audiologists and the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association Yellowknife Branch during this week and applaud the help they provide throughout the year for those with speech and hearing challenges.

We honour and thank persons with disabilities throughout the NWT for their contributions and the strength they provide to our friends, families and communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Ministers' statements. The honourable Deputy Premier, Mr. Floyd Roland.

Floyd Roland

Floyd Roland Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise the House that the Honourable Joe Handley and the Honourable Michael McLeod will be

absent from the House today to attend the annual general meeting of the NWT Association of Communities in Norman Wells. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

Tribute To Hay River Teachers Bob And Susan White
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Jane Groenewegen

Jane Groenewegen Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I want to take this opportunity, with Mr. Bob White in our visitor's gallery, to pay tribute to Bob and his wife, Susan, for their many years of teaching in the North with just three years experience teaching in Ontario and has added 30 years to that record in the North. His wife, Susan, has also taught in the North for 30 years.

The Whites are a part of the numerous outstanding teaching husband/wife teams that we have had in Hay River. Bob has taught all three of my children, and Jillian had him one year and then when Bob changed grades to the next grade up, Jillian begged to have him as her teacher again the next year. I am not sure if her begging helped, but she did get her wish and she still talks about that.

The Whites are two of the most positive and encouraging people I have ever met. They are like that with everyone, student or neighbour, aspiring athlete at the track and field meet, at the cross-country ski trails or just with anyone they come in contact with.

If there is one thing our young people need today, it is teachers and role models who instil confidence, positive encouragement and positive thinking.

Regardless of social conditions or economic realities in the home, every child should have a dream, and I have watched with amazement as the Whites have tirelessly taken interest in their students and have followed their lives, with interest, through the good times and the challenging times.

Every child goes through stages of self-doubt and sometimes a lack of confidence. Who can really measure the impact of a caring teacher who motivates and celebrates their largest and smallest achievements? We need an education system with people like Bob and Susan White who choose to see the good and best in their students and who bring that out in them. When the Whites retire this year, the students of Hay River and the teaching community will greatly miss them.

There are those who have a job and those who have a gift and a calling to a career that reveals that gift to the fullest. They are the ones who enrich and change lives, and the Whites have gone above and beyond the call, as demonstrated by Bob's presence here today with 52 Grade 6 students. I don't know what new and exciting plans lay ahead for the Whites, but might I suggest that the Department of Education take a serious look at finding a way of engaging their extensive knowledge of teaching in the North.

Teaching is not easy. I have said many times that I could not do it. In the small and often remote communities of the North, our mostly young teachers might stay a little longer if they had a visit from a couple like Bob and Susan White.

For the record, Mr. Speaker, in these proceedings of the Legislature today, on behalf of my children and the many northern students who the Whites have taught over the years, I would like to...

Tribute To Hay River Teachers Bob And Susan White
Item 3: Members' Statements

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The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Mrs. Groenewegen, your time for your Member's statement has expired.

Tribute To Hay River Teachers Bob And Susan White
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Jane Groenewegen

Jane Groenewegen Hay River South

Thank you. I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement. Thank you.

Tribute To Hay River Teachers Bob And Susan White
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The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

The Member is seeking unanimous consent to conclude her statement. Are there any nays? You may conclude your statement, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Tribute To Hay River Teachers Bob And Susan White
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Jane Groenewegen

Jane Groenewegen Hay River South

Thank you. I didn't time that very well. I had one sentence left to say. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues.

I would like to tell the Whites today, on behalf of the many children who they have taught in the North, that they have earned our respect, our affection and our very, very heartfelt thanks. Thank you to them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Tribute To Hay River Teachers Bob And Susan White
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The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

Legislation For The Locksmithing Profession
Item 3: Members' Statements

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David Ramsay

David Ramsay Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to speak today about how the Government of the Northwest Territories is dragging its heels on legislation that directly impacts the lives and the livelihood of northerners. Mr. Speaker, I would equate the government's history on developing legislation is as slow as molasses going uphill. Examples are the Wildlife Act, the Species at Risk Act and the long-awaited Liquor Act. With large pieces of legislation taking as long as they do, I am left wondering where, oh where, on the government's radar is legislation on locksmithing and massage therapy.

Most other jurisdictions in this country have legislation on locksmithing and massage therapy. With the recent passage of the Pharmacy Act, could we not look at using that as a guide or template to help other professions seeking legislation to govern their operations? Numerous meetings, letters, e-mails and conversations have taken place regarding new legislation for locksmithing, Mr. Speaker. It has been 20-plus years since this issue was first brought up to the then-Justice Minister and it's been brought up with every Justice Minister since then, including the former Justice Minister, the current Justice Minister and here we are, Mr. Speaker, four months from the next government being formed, and still there is nothing; no movement towards legislation governing locksmithing. Mr. Speaker,

Mr. Speaker, section 353 of the Criminal Code requires all persons in possession of lock picking equipment to be licensed by the Solicitor General of the province in which they live. Currently, as I know it, there are not licensing requirements that have been set out in the Northwest Territories. That means, Mr. Speaker, that anyone can

order and possess lock picking equipment in the Northwest Territories to do whatever they wish with it and it's just not practical, Mr. Speaker. Is it just not good common sense that we should move forward and license and legislate the locksmithing profession?

The government needs to address these deficiencies in legislation and judging by the inability of many governments to act, the people out there in our communities, Mr. Speaker, are asking why. Why does it take so long for this government to move what would appear common sense, practical legislative solutions forward? Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Minister of Justice at the appropriate time. Mahsi.

---Applause

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The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Pokiak.

Driver's Licensing Services In Small Communities
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Calvin Pokiak

Calvin Pokiak Nunakput

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak on the issuance of driver's licences in smaller communities outside of larger regional centres. I raise this issue today because on a constituency tour on March 24, 2007, in Paulatuk, the hamlet foreman raised an issue with me regarding local residents having a difficult and hard time to take a written exam or take a road test or just upgrade their driver's licences. This makes it difficult for the hamlet to hire local people to operate the hamlet and municipal services vehicles.

We know that to operate a water or sewage truck would require at least a class 1, or to drive a bus would require a class 4 licence.

Mr. Speaker, in the smaller communities, except in the larger regional centres such as Inuvik, there are no driver examiners available to take written or road tests in Paulatuk and in the Nunakput communities. As an example, Mr. Speaker, for someone in Paulatuk to travel to Inuvik is very costly, especially if they want to write and take the road test to get their driver's licence. The cost associated to travel to Inuvik includes airfare, accommodation and meals. The local airline only travels to Paulatuk on certain scheduled days, and this means staying for a minimum of three days. The costs add up for the individuals and this is out-of-pocket expenses if they want to get their driver's licence. Mr. Speaker, will these people be able to be reimbursed for their expenses for having to travel to Inuvik to take the driver's examination?

Mr. Speaker, the smaller communities will need some kind of assurance that the driver's examiner can travel to these small communities so they can take both the written and road test. In closing, I will have questions for the Minister responsible for Transportation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

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The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Pokiak. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Villeneuve.

Driver's Licensing Services In Small Communities
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Robert Villeneuve

Robert Villeneuve Tu Nedhe

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I will use my Member's statement to talk about the proposed hydro development expansion project at the existing Taltson hydro facility.

Mr. Speaker, many people, myself included, are fully supportive of this project moving ahead as planned, not only because of the economic benefits and the impact benefits that will be realized by the people in my region but, more importantly, because they are...

Driver's Licensing Services In Small Communities
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The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Excuse me, Mr. Villeneuve. There's a piece on the Order Paper concerning this item. We should not be talking about it in the House right now. I rule your Member's statement out of order.

---Ruled Out of Order

Members' statements. The honourable Member for Monfwi, Mr. Lafferty.

Maintenance Of Highway No. 3 Access Roads
Item 3: Members' Statements

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Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty North Slave

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. (English not provided)

Mr. Speaker, for many years, Tlicho families have lived, and hunted, and trapped along the shores of Great Slave Lake. Many of these traditional camps were built near Highway No. 3 because it allowed families to maintain their traditional lifestyle while living in the town of Behchoko for part of the year. Still others maintained their traditional culture year round. When the Department of Transportation changed the structure of Highway No. 3, many traditional camps and homes were affected, Mr. Speaker. In the past, last fall, I raised that issue with the DOT servicing Highway No. 3 traditional cabin owners' access roads. Specifically I spoke about Charlo's camp, a camp that has been in a location for generations. Traditionally, families live at this site. Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, this family is not able to access their camp because the road is deteriorating dramatically. The access road is literally collapsing, Mr. Speaker. In the past, the road was maintained by the DOT.

Mr. Speaker, the department has the responsibility to clear these highway access roads. These families were there long before the highway was even built, the new highway. By preventing them access to their traditional camps, Mr. Speaker, we are preventing them from maintaining their traditional way of life on the land.

I will have questions for the Minister responsible for the Department of Transportation at the appropriate time. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

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The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Villeneuve.