This is page numbers 1567 to 1592 of the Hansard for the 16th Assembly, 2nd Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was community.

Topics

The House met at 1:32 p.m.

Prayer.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Mr. Clerk, I understand that the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories, the Hon. Anthony W.J. Whitford, is prepared to enter the Chamber to assent to bills. Would you please attend to the Commissioner.

Assent to Bills
Assent to Bills

Tony Whitford Commissioner Of The Northwest Territories

Pleased be seated. Monsieur le président and Members of the Legislative Assembly, as Commissioner of the Northwest Territories I am pleased to assent to the following bill:

Bill 20, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 2, 2008-2009

Merci beaucoup, merci and quyanainni.

Assent to Bills
Assent to Bills

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Good afternoon, colleagues. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Point of Order
Point of Order

Jane Groenewegen

Jane Groenewegen Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise to make a point of order in relation to an answer provided by the Premier, the Hon. Floyd Roland, in response to Oral Question 428-16(2) on October 6, 2008.

Mr. Speaker, I refer to Rule 23(m), which states that a Member will be called to order if the Member “introduces any matter in debate that offends the practices and precedents of the Assembly.”

Page 30 of the unedited Hansard from October 6, 2008, reads: “I offered some opportunities for improvement from the last bit of criticism I had about strategic initiative committees. I got a response from the Chair of P&P on that. I guess that offer wasn’t good enough either.”

In his response Mr. Roland, the Premier, referred to matters pertaining to a confidential exchange of information that he had with members of the Standing Committee on Priorities and Planning. The Premier’s reference to these matters and discussions offends the long standing convention of committee and Cabinet confidentiality, which extends to committee documents, transcripts and correspondence.

Point of Order
Point of Order

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. I will allow a bit of debate on the point of order. If you want to speak to the point of order, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Point of Order
Point of Order

Jane Groenewegen

Jane Groenewegen Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We were having a discussion in the House yesterday about the Members’ desire to be more involved in the activities and actions of this government that are initiated by the Cabinet and by the Premier. In response to that — I suppose in an effort to defend the government’s record — the Premier made reference to an offer that was for Regular Members to participate on certain committees.

As Chair of P and P I was tasked to respond to the government, the Premier and Cabinet that we did not wish to participate on those committees. I think that particular bit of information was not in any way otherwise in the public realm. With our style of government I think it’s very important that we draw a distinction between those matters that are tabled public documents before the House and those pieces of correspondence and communication that take place in relation to our committee work and our interaction with the government through our committee work.

I do believe that the Premier erred in making reference to that. As a Member asking a question, I was not in a good position to defend the reasons that decision was made. I don’t think it should have been divulged in the way it was. I think this could lead to a blurring of the lines with respect to this type of communication, which should remain confidential.

Point of Order
Point of Order

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. To the point of order, the Hon. Premier, Mr. Roland.

Point of Order
Point of Order

Inuvik Boot Lake

Floyd Roland

Floyd Roland Premier

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The response I gave in question period yesterday that the Member has chosen to raise as a point of order…. In fact, when you look at the way we do our business as the Government of the Northwest Territories, in this forum there are many times there is reference to the direction the government or myself as Premier or one of the Ministers takes. In trying to defend our positions, we have to at times reference and let the people of the Territories know more of what’s happening.

I think it’s fair debate to respond to issues raised in this House that Members make a point of or raise. Maybe I wasn’t crafty enough to not reference a letter from the Chair of P and P. I didn’t go into detail about what that was. The simple fact is there are times in this House when we make reference to ongoing discussions or try to respond to Members on issues that do come up that need, I guess, weight on both sides of the issue being raised.

In this case, Mr. Speaker, I was referencing some correspondence I had received and on that basis responded. As people see this debate, and they only do see a small part of the debate of this House, they need to see both sides of the equation. I used that as information. If I’ve offended the Member in that area, I would apologize.

The simple fact is that Members have as well at times made reference to correspondence we’ve given to them, and we haven’t stood up and said you can’t speak to that issue. The fact is that our correspondence between us, at times, is the centre of that discussion. It would be pretty hard to have any form of debate or discussion or even responses to Members if we weren’t from time to time able to respond to correspondence we did receive from Members.

I would say, Mr. Speaker, that in trying to respond to the Member, all I did was put more information out there that all Members are aware of in this House.

Point of Order
Point of Order

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Roland. To the point of order. Seeing there is no further debate on the point of order, I will take it under advisement and return at a later date with my ruling.

Orders of the Day. Item 2, Ministers’ statements. The honourable Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Bob McLeod.

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Yellowknife South

Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time this afternoon, as the Chair of the

Ministerial Energy Coordinating Committee, I will table this government’s Energy Priorities Framework.

This document outlines the priority actions that we need to undertake to address our short and long term energy needs. Our initiatives are presented in five key action areas as set out in the 2007 NWT Energy Plan:

energy conservation and efficiency;

alternative energy and emerging technologies;

energy development and supply;

energy policy and planning; and

reducing the Government of the Northwest

Territories’ own energy use.

Heading into the winter season, NWT residents are facing higher costs for energy. The immediate and most effective response we have to addressing this challenge is to conserve and to improve the energy efficiency of our homes, businesses and public buildings.

Since the release of the NWT Energy Plan the GNWT has invested over $1 million, largely through the Arctic Energy Alliance, to ensure NWT residents have the tools and information they need to manage their energy use. We have also invested significantly in finding ways to cut our own energy costs and in putting alternative energy technologies in the hands of our residents and communities.

However, as a government, Mr. Speaker, our approach to high energy costs must be balanced between these types of short term actions and the development of long term solutions to our energy challenges. We must invest in ways to reduce our reliance on imported diesel and develop our own local energy sources.

For this reason the priorities framework that I am presenting today also outlines initiatives such as:

the development of our hydro potential;

expanding the use of biomass;

developing

wind

energy;

investigating our geothermal potential; and

pursuing the use of Northwest Territories

natural gas to heat and power our communities.

The upcoming 2009–2010 business planning process will provide all Members an opportunity to discuss the potential for significant investments in these alternative energy sources.

In the coming weeks we will be releasing two additional documents for public discussion in support of our energy priorities framework. The draft NWT hydro strategy proposes a number of actions to support the long term development of our world class hydro potential, and a discussion paper on the review of electricity regulation, generation and distribution will engage residents and communities in a broad discussion on the principles upon which our electricity system is based.

Mr. Speaker, these documents are part of the broad and coordinated approach to meet the stated priorities of the 16th Legislative Assembly:

to pursue initiatives that will reduce the cost of living and, in particular, rising energy costs;

to work proactively with residents, communities and industry on means to address and mitigate climate change; and

to advance alternative energy initiatives.

I look forward to receiving the continued input of all Members of the Legislative Assembly on these initiatives and to working together to advance our government’s important work towards a sustainable energy future for all residents of the Northwest Territories.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister of Finance, Mr. Miltenberger.

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Minister of Finance

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last week a number of concerns and questions were raised by Members about the pricing of fuel in the Northwest Territories and the degree of competition in the Yellowknife retail fuel market.

The first step in assessing a situation should be to review the available information. The Department of Finance has compiled information on gasoline and diesel fuel prices in Yellowknife and other major cities in Canada from its own database and from outside sources. Unfortunately, these numbers are not available for heating oil.

The department conducts quarterly price surveys of Yellowknife gasoline retailers as part of its administration of the Petroleum Products Tax Act. These surveys show frequent differences in gasoline prices. In fact, every survey since 1995 has shown price variation among Yellowknife retailers.

Information published by MJ Ervin, an independent company reporting weekly fuel prices across Canada, shows that the difference between Yellowknife prices and Edmonton prices has been

shrinking over the past nine years. For the past year the difference has averaged just over 20 cents a litre.

Although transportation is a major reason for the difference, taxes, labour costs, utilities and construction costs all contribute to the difference. These numbers also show that prices in Yellowknife are much less volatile than those in other Canadian locations.

Mr. Speaker, this government is concerned about the cost of living in the North. The cost of energy, including gasoline and heating oil, is an important part of the cost of living. Government regulation of prices makes sense where there is a monopoly, as in the case of electricity, but there is no evidence of lack of competition in the case of gasoline, particularly in Yellowknife.

Later today, at the appropriate time, I will be tabling a document that summarizes this information.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.

Sandy Lee

Sandy Lee Minister of Health and Social Services

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Being healthy begins with having a healthy start as a baby. It is now proven beyond any doubt that babies who are breastfed have a head start on maintaining good health throughout their lives.

In the Northwest Territories we are making exceptional progress at promoting breastfeeding as a better way to nourish infants. Annually we join other countries in recognizing World Breastfeeding Week from October 1 to 7 as a way to promote a sense of well-being and to keep breastfeeding a traditional practice and socially accepted norm when it comes to feeding babies.

This year on October 11 the Department of Health and Social Services will partner with community Canadian prenatal nutrition programs, nutritionists, community workers, public health units and Moms, Boobs and Babies in Yellowknife to join the rest of the world by participating in the eighth annual Quintessence Foundation Breastfeeding Challenge.

Breastfeeding mothers will globally unite at 11 a.m. on that day. One aspect of the challenge is for a region like the Territories to be able to say it has the most babies breastfeeding at one site at one time.

In the NWT last year a total of 35 babies from Yellowknife and Fort Smith were part of the challenge. This year we hope to have ten communities registered for the challenge, with numerous mothers and babies signing up to join in.

As of September 30, six NWT communities have registered. I would like to thank the organizers for taking the time to register their communities.

Mr. Speaker, this challenge provides an opportunity to globally celebrate breastfeeding and demonstrate promotion, protection and support for breastfeeding women and their families. It recognizes breastfeeding as the gold standard in terms of nourishment. Its benefits include the lower risk of many diseases as well. Breastfeeding helps healthy brains develop.

Later this year I’d like to ask the public to look out for our NWT campaign posters and T-shirts on which are photos of well known, successful Northerners who all have one thing in common: they each were breastfed. Mr. Speaker, I will be one of them.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Bob McLeod.

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Yellowknife South

Mr. Speaker, our government’s new Support to Entrepreneurs and Economic Development Policy officially took effect on September 2, 2008. This policy, which is known as the SEED policy, was developed in response to a major review of the department’s business programs completed in 2006.

One of the key themes that emerged from our review was that GNWT business programs should provide a chance for growth, employment and self-sufficiency to a wider scope of businesses outside of the Northwest Territories’ major centres.

We heard that our programs should focus on the needs of our clients, work more effectively with banks and other partners, and incorporate a streamlined and simple approach. I can assure you today, Mr. Speaker, that the SEED policy meets all these challenges.

This program will better serve the needs of prospective businesses in smaller communities where funding contributions are often difficult to attain through normal banking channels. It allows for support in specific sectors and continues to provide support to those self-employed in the traditional economy, arts and film sectors. It also provides for economic development on an individual community level and includes support for related activities and initiatives such as arts festivals or community economic promotions.

I would like to take a moment to thank the Standing Committee on Economic Development and

Infrastructure for the guidance they have provided through our extensive review and consultation process.

Mr. Speaker, the SEED policy, which replaces the Business Development Fund and Grants to Small Business programs, reflects our Assembly’s goal to promote a diversified economy that provides all communities and regions with opportunities and choices. In particular, it responds to our stated priorities: to promote development that reduces regional and community disparities and to support the development of sustainable local economies through small business and community based sectors.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Minister McLeod. The Hon. Premier, Minister Roland.

Floyd Roland

Floyd Roland Premier

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to advise Members that the Hon. Michael McLeod will be absent from the House today, tomorrow and Thursday to attend the Provincial and Territorial Ministers responsible for Housing meeting in Ottawa.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Item 3, Members’ statements. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Jane Groenewegen

Jane Groenewegen Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Maybe I’m going to take a page out of Mr. Menicoche’s book and stand up every day and talk about the Diamond Jenness Secondary School, like he did about the gymnasium in Nahanni Butte until he finally got a response.

Mr. Speaker, I’ve had students talk in this House many times about the Diamond Jenness Secondary School. I’m sure Members are all too familiar with the problems that face that school.

Mr. Speaker, for the record, one more time, this is a school that is more than 35 years old, and it has had no significant upgrades done to it. It is too cold in the winter. It is too hot in the summer. It has air quality issues. It had asbestos wrap on the heating pipes, which resulted in the school having to be closed down; this kept being done.

Mr. Speaker, to this day I myself have never actually laid eyes on those air quality reports that were conducted and reported on. I would like to see those air quality reports. I would like to ask if the

Minister of Public Works will table those in the House.

Mr. Speaker, there has been way too much deferred maintenance on this building. There are issues with the foundation. It continues to get worse when it is not attended to. I don’t know what it’s going to take to get some action on this school. We’ve had Ministers down. We’ve gone on tours. We’ve pointed out all the problems. We’ve had the renovation or replacement of the school red flagged — whatever that means. I won’t be raising any white flags on this one. There’s going to be no surrender. I want something done about Diamond Jenness.

We’ve got money for all kinds of other things. The students and the educators in Hay River deserve better than what we try to educate our students in at Hay River. We already have other school students in Hay River taking up the classroom space in the boardroom of one of our local hotels. I mean, we have some serious issues. Like I said, we seem to have a lot of money for other things.

Mr. Speaker, I’m not trying to prescribe the solution. I’m not saying it’s the replacement of the school. Perhaps it is a major mechanical upgrade. That is a formula that has to be worked out and planned to be worked out by PWS. What we do have in hand is a functional review of this building that says this building is in serious need of attention.

Later today I am going to have questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment to find out what he is going to do about the conditions that exist at the Diamond Jenness Secondary School in Hay River.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Board Reform Exercise
Members’ Statements

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

The die has been cast, Mr. Speaker, and this government seems to have set in motion the decision to implement the regional services board model as a quintessential advantage of board reform. I agree there are too many boards out there, and we should examine their mandates and strive for efficiencies where we can find them, especially during times of fiscal crisis and restraint.

What’s odd about the situation is that it’s no different from the repeated request made by me and many other Members for program review before slicing and dicing. What is interesting here, as usual, is that any decision that requires a soft glove approach becomes one of urgency and is greased through the system. I want to highlight my official concern and caution, as I can hear the Finance Minister resharpening his boning knives,

which have only recently become dull on our public service because of the lack of direction.

The intent behind consolidating health and social services, education and housing boards may not be bad in principle by itself, but when considering all of those mandates under one regional board, the problems start to surface on their own. I fear that this government has come up with an implementation model and put into motion an implementation process without costing this issue by realizing at what cost.

Can anyone provide any analysis of the costs of this change? I doubt it. Can anyone provide any analysis of the efficiency of this change? I doubt that too. The Finance Minister, as always, seems convinced of the virtues of his direction and is full of wishful thinking about the implementation of this task facing him.

I look forward to hearing about what he has identified as a proposal here in Yellowknife for three school boards, a local health authority and, of course, the Stanton Territorial Hospital. I also look forward to the engagement of our public stakeholders in an open and transparent manner about the problems we face with this approach and how they plan to solve these problems with their approach.

Mr. Speaker, I only hope that board reform or government policy isn’t mandated by either wishful thinking or any magic eight ball. I prefer community based boards that respond to community based needs on their structures. I’m concerned that people will lose faith, local control and input if everything is rolled up into a regional board.

Mr. Speaker, I suggest a caring and a modest approach, one the Finance Minister is characteristically not familiar with. I support board reform and efficiency, but don’t take the community relationship out of the factor just to save a few dollars.

Board Reform Exercise
Members’ Statements

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.