This is page numbers 495 - 544 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.

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'water Is Life' Conference In Fort Smith
Item 3: Members' Statements

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Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I just spent the last couple of days attending the Water is Life Conference in Fort Smith. There were 400 delegates that registered for this conference. They came from across the Mackenzie River basin. We had representatives from the Sahtu, the Deh Cho, Akaitcho, South Slave, North Slave, all across northern Alberta and Saskatchewan. We had the grand chief from the Deh Cho, the grand chief from the Sahtu, the grand chief as well from the Tlicho. The issue is very clear that there is an abiding interest in what is happening with the water, and fear that things are not all and well when it comes to that particular resource, the resource that gives us life.

Mr. Speaker, the elders have met. The general registrants were meeting today, but the message has come from every corridor that there is concern, that there are things happening to the water, that there are resource development projects especially in Alberta that are having enormous impacts downstream in the Northwest Territories, and the need and the call to aboriginal governments and the concerned stakeholders as well as the territorial government to take the steps necessary to better protect the water and the land. We cannot sustain the kind of development, the untrampled development. We have no idea of cumulative impact either in Alberta or in the Northwest Territories in terms of all the resource development that is on the drawing board or are currently in place.

The fundamental concern is for the future generations, the ability to actually drink the water out of the lakes and rivers, that there is going to be wildlife available for the children and the future, that the communities will, in fact, be able to continue to live on the water.

There are going to be recommendations coming out of this conference. I hope they are very clear and strong. I carried the message that there is going to be a new government that is going to be in place here in six weeks and that the issue of the environment is going to become centre stage and have to be tied very closely to any economic strategy. We need that balance. People want to see that balance. That is going to be what the people tell us, I believe, from what I have heard so far at this conference. I look forward to those recommendations. I would like to thank the Akaitcho chiefs for organizing this and all the organizers that made this possible. Thank you.

---Applause

'water Is Life' Conference In Fort Smith
Item 3: Members' Statements

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The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

Renovations To The Ulukhaktok Arts And Craft Shop
Item 3: Members' Statements

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Calvin Pokiak

Calvin Pokiak Nunakput

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Ulukhaktok is a picturesque Inuvialuit community located on the western part of Victoria Island. To the east lies Cambridge Bay and Nunavut.

During the COPE land claim negotiation, as a member of COPE I recall landing on the main street of a community for intense land claim discussions. But, more importantly, I remember the community rushing out of their homes to meet the plane with smiles and open hands ready to shake and hug the delegates as they arrived.

Mr. Speaker, the people of Ulukhaktok have depended on their traditional skills for many years. Today they continue to enjoy their traditional pursuits of hunting for caribou, muskox, seals, polar bears, and fishing for the most coveted prize of all, the Arctic char. I say coveted Arctic char because the people of Tuktoyaktuk rely on our families and friends from Ulukhaktok, Paulatuk and Sachs Harbour for this fish delicacy.

Mr. Speaker, today the people of Ulukhaktok depend on the jobs created by the hamlet, territorial and federal governments and recently the importance of recreational sports hunting and carving. There is one activity that the people of Ulukhaktok would like to continue and pursue, is the...(inaudible)...and printmaking.

A few years ago, the people of Ulukhaktok, especially the elders, were renowned for their printmaking all over the world. Mr. Speaker, in May, a report and update that repairs were done for the building related to the water and sewer repairs and the heating system of the Ulukhaktok Co-operative arts and crafts shop. These repairs were paid for by BDIC. The people working in the arts and crafts shop were very happy about these minor repairs. Mr. Speaker, in order to make the people of Ulukhaktok try and become self-reliant, this government must invest more funding to complete the repairs of the building. The Minister of ITI visited and saw first hand the arts and crafts shop, and he knows very well what needs to be done to repair the building, most specifically the printmaking and carving shop. I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to the economic development officer for the Inuvik region for his dedication to this project. He continues to work with the department and the people in Ulukhaktok, the chair and CEO of IRC and the MLA, for their support.

Mr. Speaker, as MLA for Ulukhaktok, I fully support the project for the repairs so that the people of Ulukhaktok can once again show their artistic talent...

Renovations To The Ulukhaktok Arts And Craft Shop
Item 3: Members' Statements

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The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Mr. Pokiak, your time for Member's statement has expired.

Renovations To The Ulukhaktok Arts And Craft Shop
Item 3: Members' Statements

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Calvin Pokiak

Calvin Pokiak Nunakput

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to complete my statement. Thank you.

Renovations To The Ulukhaktok Arts And Craft Shop
Item 3: Members' Statements

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The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

Renovations To The Ulukhaktok Arts And Craft Shop
Item 3: Members' Statements

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Calvin Pokiak

Calvin Pokiak Nunakput

Thank you, colleagues. Mr. Speaker, as the MLA for Ulukhaktok, I fully support the project for the repairs so the people of Ulukhaktok can once again show their artistic talent to the people of the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Canada and the international scene. In closing, Mr. Speaker, I am requesting, in confidence, that this government support the artistic talent of Ulukhaktok residents and will find the necessary funding to complete the Ulukhaktok arts and crafts shop so the residents can become self-reliant and eventually display the printmaking and artwork around the world. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Renovations To The Ulukhaktok Arts And Craft Shop
Item 3: Members' Statements

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The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

Jane Groenewegen

Jane Groenewegen Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in his Member's statement, Mr. Miltenberger said that water is life. That is true. Hay River gets its drinking water or potable water for our residents from Great Slave Lake. This has been the case for many years. There is a water intake line that goes into Great Slave Lake and brings water into Hay River.

Mr. Speaker, this spring, from May 16th to June 9th, there was a boil water order issued by the environmental health officer in Hay River. This is a big problem. This was during the time that we had about 1,000 or 1,100 extra people in town for the track and field meet. If there is a time that you need a drink of water, it is going to be the same things those kids were doing: racing down the track. This is a big challenge for our municipality because the Hay River isn't called the Hay River for nothing. It picks up a lot of silt or something along the way before it gets to Hay River, so normally in the spring it comes down. Traditionally, the water is kind of murky for a few days and then things settle down. We continue to enjoy the wonderful water from Great Slave Lake, but we have a problem now in that this system is not satisfying the current Canadian drinking water guidelines. In order to retain a water licence, this is something that needs to be dealt with. For the second largest community in the Northwest Territories to have a boil water order for almost a month is completely unsatisfactory. However, the solutions to this problem are not going to be cheap and they are not going to be easy to find.

Another complicating factor, of course, is the fact that a lot of residents of Hay River have trucked water so they have tanks. So the sludge actually builds up in the bottom of those tanks and needs to be cleaned. That is not an easy thing for people to do. That is not an easy thing for homeowners to undertake. So this is a very big challenge that is facing our town, complicated by the fact that, of course, as you all know, the water sewer subsidy from MACA for Hay River was reduced by $200,000 this fiscal year. We not only have an ongoing problem, we also have a capital challenge now. I will be looking to this government to support my community to ensure we can provide good quality drinking water in the future going forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Members' statements. The honourable Member for the Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Social Housing Rental Assessments
Item 3: Members' Statements

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Norman Yakeleya

Norman Yakeleya Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I listened, with interest, to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment talk about helping northerners achieve self-reliance. That is the point I want to talk about this afternoon.

Mr. Speaker, there are families in my communities in the Sahtu that are starting out to be self-reliant. They have jobs. There is a lot of activity going on there. As soon as they either enter the social housing or have a job and enter into a social housing unit, their rates of rent increase from nothing to $1,100 for one month. It leaves them very little in terms of helping their families and children. These are young people who we encourage to go to school, get a job, but it seems like nothing has changed for them.

Mr. Speaker, my people are asking, is there a process here where we could help them through self-reliance? This was once a very self-reliant nation of people. Throughout the years, we have become very dependent on government. So much now, we are trying to help them become self-reliant again. In this process, they want to pay for their own roof over their head. They want to pay for things for their children. They want to learn how to be self-reliant. But through the system, we engage and had them enforced by our housing associations and the local Income Support Program. It doesn't pay, they say. It actually discourages people to get into social housing. Is there a way that we can phase in this approach where they could have ownership? They want their own homes. Can we phase in a process like that where it would help the families build up the process where they would feel that they are making a contribution? Maybe one day they could own their own home. Right now, a lot of them are saying that the health program is a good program but it doesn't do enough for them. It doesn't secure them not to say, yes, we want a career, we want to advance our education. They say, as soon as we get our cheque, it goes right back to the government and just stops them from building and owning their own home.

Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. The big question is, how can we help our people be more self-reliant? Have them get into a place where they feel confident that they are making a contribution to their own people and have a

house that they can proudly say this home is my home. They can probably say welcome to our house. Thank you.

---Applause

Social Housing Rental Assessments
Item 3: Members' Statements

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The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

Recognition Of Tlicho Soccer Players
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 501

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty North Slave

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. (Translation) Mr. Speaker, I will make a statement regarding the youth. In our Tlicho land, we have youth that play soccer. They have been in this sport for many years. They are recognized across our country not only here, but also in the United States. They also went to Europe for a tournament.

As a government, I have mentioned this many times in the past. So we are very happy that they win their tournaments. They went to the United States for a tournament and they came back in second place. As their families, parents, brothers and sisters, we are very happy. We want to thank them for their accomplishments. They are representing our country, so we are really happy about that.

I will mention their names: Marvin Migwi, Rusty Mantla, Kyler Apples, Tyler Sage, Gregory Black, Aaron Bekale, Marty Bouvier and also their coach, Michael Botermans. (Translation ends)

...future talented Tlicho soccer players. They have proven over and over that they can represent NWT and Canada at the provincial, national and international levels. Throughout their travels and tournaments, they have always prevailed, never let us down, Mr. Speaker. This is a testament not only to the commitment and talent of these young men and women, but even more important of the sport and recreation in our youth's lives.

Mr. Speaker, we are proud to highlight our talented and gifted young Tlicho athletes who participated at the 2007 Indigenous Soccer Cup in Albuquerque, New Mexico, earlier this month. Mr. Speaker, these are the same teams that received the NWT Team of the Year Award 2007, three that were awarded soccer scholarships. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to congratulate our 19 and under soccer team who won silver at the 2007 Indigenous Soccer Cup in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The tournament was hosted at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. After beating Arizona in the semi-finals 10-0, we lost to the host team from New Mexico in a championship final, 1-0. So close, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement. Mahsi.

Recognition Of Tlicho Soccer Players
Item 3: Members' Statements

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The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

Recognition Of Tlicho Soccer Players
Item 3: Members' Statements

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Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty North Slave

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi, colleagues. They were very close.

---Laughter

Mr. Speaker, I'd like to have congratulations go out to Marvin Migwi, Rusty Mantla, both who are mentor coaches, and Kyler Apples, Tyler Sage, Gregory Black, Aaron Bekale, Marty Bouvier and Cordelia Bouvier and also their hard, dedicated coach, also like a father-figure for them, Michael Botermans. Mr. Speaker, it's always, always an honour to recognize these fine, talented Tlicho athletes and we will continue to do so. Mahsi.

---Applause

Recognition Of Tlicho Soccer Players
Item 3: Members' Statements

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The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

Recognition Of Deninu High School Graduates
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 501

Robert Villeneuve

Robert Villeneuve Tu Nedhe

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd also like to use my Member's statement today to recognize and congratulate seven students from Deninu Kue who have successfully completed high school and will be celebrating their graduation next month in Deninu Kue. The reason why they hold the graduation ceremonies in September, Mr. Speaker, is that the community and the school wants to ensure that all those who are marching down the aisle in the graduation ceremony have received notice that they have successfully passed all necessary courses required to graduate without any doubt. Mr. Speaker, I would be remiss if I did not mention the fact that this is the largest graduating class that has come out of the Deninu School ever since it has been built.

---Applause

I look to the future with optimism and excitement seeing more high numbers of grads coming out of our school system at the local levels thus having even more students from smaller communities with an opportunity to continue on with their higher education. That being said, Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to congratulate Jessica Sanderson, Stacy Lafferty, Destiny Lafferty, April Lizotte, Alma Mandeville, David Cardinal and Calvin Lizotte, Jr. on their graduation from Deninu School.

---Applause

I wish them all the best in their future endeavours and encourage all to become the best that they can be. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Recognition Of Deninu High School Graduates
Item 3: Members' Statements

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The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Deh Cho Bridge Project
Item 3: Members' Statements

Page 501

Bill Braden

Bill Braden Great Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Two days from now, a major event, an historic event, will take place on the banks of the Deh Cho River and the community of Fort Providence. The event will mark the start of construction of the long anticipated, much beleaguered Deh Cho Bridge.

---Applause

Mr. Speaker, I am old enough...

---Laughter

...seasoned enough to remember the pro-bridge campaign of the 1970s when enterprising business owners here championed the building of a bridge, then estimated to cost in the single million dollar digits.

It has been a pledge of mine, and I think every other MLA for Yellowknife since then, to finally see a permanent, affordable link between Yellowknife and the Tlicho region with the rest of Canada. So I wish I could stand and endorse the Premier and the Deh Cho Corporation this Friday, but I cannot, Mr. Speaker. This is because the people and the businesses who will be paying for this project for the next 35 years have been kept in the dark about the costs and the impacts and the other options we have. There are substantive benefits, too, to this project but, likewise, we don't know what they will be.

Mr. Speaker, this is in stark contrast with the excellent job of public disclosure and debate that the government provided us in 2003. But now as the costs have mushroomed to more than double the estimate that we started with then and we face sustained crunches in future costs of materials and labour, the Premier continues to insist that everything is the same. It's not. The government has decided to kick in $2 million every year of new money; money that this government will need to finance other more vital projects. The Premier insists the toll will be the same as in 2002: $6. Technically that's correct, but let's remember that cost is indexed and at the rate of about 4 percent a year that means that by 2012, when this facility will be transporting traffic, the toll in real dollars is actually going to be $8.21 per tonne. Do the math, the real new math, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask for unanimous consent, Mr. Speaker, to conclude my statement.

Deh Cho Bridge Project
Item 3: Members' Statements

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The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

Deh Cho Bridge Project
Item 3: Members' Statements

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Bill Braden

Bill Braden Great Slave

Thank you, colleagues and Mr. Speaker. One thing is the same and that is the federal government's silence on whether to come in with a serious contribution and do its part...

Deh Cho Bridge Project
Item 3: Members' Statements

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An Hon. Member

Shame!

Deh Cho Bridge Project
Item 3: Members' Statements

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Bill Braden

Bill Braden Great Slave

...to help build this important piece of infrastructure. Mr. Speaker, if Canada were to come in with $50 million, that's roughly the equivalent of only 66 days, barely three months, of the taxes and royalties they are now collecting from our resources.

Deh Cho Bridge Project
Item 3: Members' Statements

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An Hon. Member

Shame on them!

Deh Cho Bridge Project
Item 3: Members' Statements

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Bill Braden

Bill Braden Great Slave

What a difference that would make. Disclosure is what we really need to know and Canada's commitment. Those are what remain the barriers to public confidence and the affordability of this project and I sincerely hope that both will be delivered soon, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

---Applause