Good afternoon, colleagues. Welcome back to the House. Before we begin the business of the day, I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the passing of a former member of our Legislature, Mr. Arnold McCallum. Mr. McCallum was first elected in 1975 during the 8th Council/Assembly and served in this

House until 1987 for the riding then named Slave River.

Mr. McCallum passed away Sunday, May 25, 2008, in Digby, Nova Scotia. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his friends and family.

Orders of the Day. Item 2, Ministers’ statements. The Minister of Justice, Mr. Lafferty.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to announce that the new RCMP detachment is now open in Sachs Harbour. This has been a priority of both this and previous governments for many years and has finally become a reality. A corporal and constable are now in the community providing full-time policing services. They will be able to respond immediately to any situations that arise and will work on crime prevention activities with community members.

The detachment in Sachs Harbour was closed in 1992 due to resource issues. Since then officers from Inuvik

have provided regular patrols and

responded to emergencies. The community has been very successful in keeping the crime rate low, but this government felt a full-time police presence was required because of the logistics of responding to urgent situations.

Simply put, it can take several hours to get to Sachs Harbour in an emergency, because a plane has to charter in from Inuvik. This government felt this response time was simply not good enough and committed to re-establishing the detachment. As Members know, this was not an easy task.

First, the federal government had to agree that infrastructure for new detachments was a priority on the long list of national policing priorities. I want to thank the former Minister of Justice, Brendan Bell, for his successful work to lobby the federal minister of this issue.

Then the RCMP had to work through the logistics of repairing the detachment and hiring officers. This is a special posting. They wanted to make sure they had the right people for the job.

I am pleased to announce that Corporal Eric McKenzie is one of our former G Division officers who used to police Sachs Harbour when he worked at the Inuvik detachment. We are always happy to welcome officers back to our community. Their experience is crucial to our policing efforts. I would also like to extend a welcome to Constable Todd Midgett. I am looking forward to meeting both officers in person at the detachment’s formal opening scheduled for July 10, 2008.

This detachment will make a real difference in the lives of people in Sachs Harbour. I am proud to be able to make this announcement today. Community safety is a priority for this government, and this new detachment is a huge step toward our goal of increasing police presence in all the small communities.

I would like to congratulate RCMP G Division for all their work in making the detachment a reality. Thanks must go out to MLA Jacobson, Mayor Eldridge and the people of Sachs Harbour for their advocacy and support for the project. It is through the combined efforts of government, the community and the police themselves that we can truly progress towards making a community that is safer for everyone. This is a tremendous achievement for the community of Sachs Harbour.

The honourable Minister Responsible for the Workers’ Compensation Board, Mr. Miltenberger.

Mr. Speaker, every year we join together to celebrate North American Occupational Safety and Health, or NAOSH, week. This year NAOSH week was May 4 to 10. First marked by an agreement between Canada, Mexico and the United States in 1997, NAOSH week focuses on creating safety cultures at home, at work and at play. It reminds us of the importance of preventing injury and illness.

This year’s theme, “Start Today, Live it Every Day!” expands on last year’s theme of making a lifetime commitment to safety and health. It is never too early or too late to start learning about and practising safety.

As part of this year’s activities, the organizing committee planned several exciting safety and health-related events. Over 80 students from Yellowknife schools explored the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission’s trail map to safety. The trail map to safety, held May 9, featured safety demonstrations and activities facilitated by the commission and Life Care Planning. The commission also visited local Yellowknife classrooms throughout the week to deliver safety talks and play the safety trivia game “Are You the Safest Link?” CJCD hosted the “Are You the Safest Link?” radio trivia game three times a day from Monday to Thursday. Listeners called in and answered a series of safety-related trivia questions to win prizes provided by the commission and BHP Billiton Diamonds. The Department of Transportation hosted video lunches in Inuvik, Fort Simpson and Hay River to help raise northern safety awareness.

NAOSH week culminated with a well-attended Yellowknife community event in the Centre Square Mall parking lot from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on May 9. In addition to the Northern Territories Federation of Labour free barbeque and Arctic Response safety demonstration, the commission held its second annual “Ready, Set, Go Safe!” team challenge where local area teams participated in the safety trivia showdown “Are You the Safest Link?”

NAOSH week event participation grows every year. This year a total of 16 teams of four members each, representing a wide range of employer groups, took part in the challenge.

In closing, I would like to thank everyone who helped make this year’s NAOSH week activities a

success. The Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission continues its commitment to build on the successes of these events to develop northern safety cultures for which we can all be proud. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Before we go on, colleagues, I would like to draw your attention to the presence in the visitors’ gallery of the Consul General for the Republic of Indonesia, Mr. Saptomo. Accompanying him is the Consul for Protocol and Consular Affairs, Ms. Bakrie. Welcome to Yellowknife again, and welcome to the Assembly.

Item 3, Members’ statements. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Mr. Speaker, as a Member of the 13th Assembly since 1995, I came into office with a $150 million deficit with the government at the time. We had to make some tough decisions and had to make some tough choices in regard to how we were going to do to deal with the deficit situation we were in.

Back then the Government of the Northwest Territories provided staff housing to staff throughout the Northwest Territories, and the government of the day decided to sell off that staff housing to deal with the deficit situation we were in with regard to trying to recoup some $75 million to pay down the $150 million debt that we incurred.

We also had to make tough decisions in regard to programs and services, and also amalgamating departments by moving department personnel, eliminating the Department of Energy, Mines and Resources, and also amalgamating departments into Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development.

The loss of programs and services through the Northwest Territories, especially in small communities.... We have not been able to recuperate from that decision. Today we have some major problems simply in recruiting and retaining professionals in our communities. One of the main drivers of that is the lack of housing for staff.

Our communities are still recuperating from those decisions and yet have never been able to get back what they lost. The simple things we take for granted, such as programs and services like being able to see a doctor, dentist, the nursing professions in the communities, are being limited because of not being able to recruit and retain

nurses and teachers in our communities. That decision is still affecting us today.

What do we do from here on in and going forward? We have to ensure our decisions, the impacts....

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

Unanimous consent granted.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues.

Whatever decision we make going forward has to be one that’s seen over the long term — not just four years ahead, eight years ahead or, as in my case, 12 years ahead, but 20 years ahead, to ensure that whatever we do here…the implications and impacts will be minimized and the long-term effects resolved, so that we’re able to find ways of filling those gaps and don’t have to live with them long into the future.

With that, I will be asking questions to the Premier on this matter.

The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to talk to you, our Premier, MLAs and all people of the Northwest Territories. I am gravely concerned that this budget does not address some crucial issues.

As the Premier said on CBC this morning, we have to start taking actions to secure the future. Unfortunately, this government does not appear to have a good grasp of the key issues we face today. In a nutshell, government planning and budgeting must recognize and respond to the full implications of climate change and the rising costs and uncertain availability of oil. Almost daily, between reports of catastrophic weather events, scientific reports reveal that we have woefully underestimated both the magnitude and speed of climate change. Impacts include the loss of species, decreases in food production, increasing disease and transportation issues, loss of cultures, landscape change and so on. We feel impacts in every aspect of our lives, our business and our government.

As Rajendra Pachauri said when he accepted the Nobel Prize on behalf of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: “If there’s no action before 2012, that’s too late. What we do in the next two to three years will determine our future. This is the defining moment.” Mr. Pachauri said this last year.

The Minister of Finance proposes to spend one-third of 1 per cent of the budget on mitigation and adaptation to climate change. Worse than this, Mr. Speaker, is the absence of a comprehensive, government-wide program to aggressively reduce the cause of climate change and to change how we do business in the NWT. We need a workable relationship with the natural world; we identified this need in our vision, goals and priorities. Time is running out. We need action to secure our future.

The second crucial issue to residents of the NWT is the declining availability of oil as we pass peak oil — the point where 50 per cent of our global resources have been used up, and thus the high cost of oil today and in the future. Mr. Speaker, we have used up the cheap oil, the price is soaring, there is no ready economic alternative, and availability of oil is increasingly uncertain. We in the North are currently totally dependent on oil; it’s the foundation for our heating, our food, our shelter, our health….

Mr. Bromley, your time for your Member’s statement has expired.

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

Unanimous consent granted.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This shortage of oil was forecast, but it’s happening now.

Mr. Speaker, both of these issues are upon us. The 16th Legislative Assembly of the Northwest

Territories will decide our future. The opportunity, the responsibility, the requirement for immediate, comprehensive and effective action is ours. In light of the facts and today’s communications, we cannot deny that we are fully aware of these issues. History will record our response to these critical challenges. The time for action is now. Mahsi.

The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.

A lot of Members have already gone on record discussing the proposed budget and the process that has been undertaken today. Given that today we may be voting on the first and second readings of the budget, I thought it would be timely for me to talk about the process as well.

It has been suggested by Cabinet that the 11 Members on this side of the House have been adequately briefed and involved throughout the entire budget process, including the cuts themselves. When it comes to reductions, the 11 Members prepared a list of potential reductions, not focused on job cuts, and provided them to Cabinet

for consideration. We were told that there were some good ideas but they would need research before they could be implemented. That makes sense. However, if research into our ideas is required, I would suggest that research into the changes put forward by Cabinet would also need to be reviewed and researched as well. Instead, they put their ideas forward as part of the budget.

To me, they don’t appear to be the most logical and appropriate cuts given Cabinet’s commitment that job cuts would only be as a last resort. Some departments made no attempt to reduce other than by cutting jobs themselves, which is contrary to the original message. With respect to the job cuts, we’ve also been ignored. During the last session, we asked that job cuts be a last resort. We were also given the understanding that we, as Regular MLAs, would be notified before potentially affected staff.

On February 28, 2008, we received a letter from the Minister responsible for Human Resources indicating that jobs are being cut. Unfortunately, staff were being notified at exactly the same time. That hardly gave us an opportunity to discuss the potential cuts with Cabinet and offer alternative solutions. Further, the package we did receive did not include a list of potentially affected positions; rather, it just said staff were being notified. We didn’t receive a list of potentially affected employees until three weeks later, long after staff had been told.

The worst part about this whole situation is that the Minister of Human Resources went on record in the March 3, 2008, issue of News/North indicating that MLAs had been told about the notification in a briefing and a letter. I don't personally recall the briefing.

As a Regular Member I don't personally feel that I've been adequately briefed and/or involved in setting the priorities for the proposed reinvestment either.

When it comes to the reinvestment, Regular Members have continually asked to participate in the setting of priorities. We have continually been denied that opportunity and been told that we won't be invited to participate in the strategic reinvestment committee

. The entire process has

been lacking, and the net result is, in my opinion, not in the best interests of the people of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Mr. Speaker, the Deh Cho Drum

took the recent contamination of the Trout Lake oil

spill so seriously that they called it the Exxon Valdez of Trout Lake.

Trout Lake is a small, fly-in-only community in the Nahendeh riding. People take pride in their traditions, their pristine surroundings and still live off the land. They use the lake for drinking water and to fish and to provide sustenance. They have protected their environment for a long time and are proud for the food it provides to them.

At this time people in my constituency are still very concerned about what was allowed to happen: 9,500 litres of diesel fuel escaped from a seeping pipe at a Northland Utilities power station tank. Nine thousand five hundred litres in one 45-gallon drum is 200 litres, Mr. Speaker. That's 50 drums of diesel fuel that spilled onto the land, and some it made its way onto the lake. The diesel fuel soaked through the soil and into drainage ditches and, like I said, made its way onto the frozen lake.

This contamination was avoidable. How could it happen? Once again, this was a preventable accident. The community of Trout Lake wants answers. I want answers. The people want to make sure that nothing similar can happen again.

Since the spill occurred at the beginning of May, most of the fuel has been cleaned up, and everybody tells the people of Trout Lake not to worry, but worry they do. Now their precious water is being monitored, and specialists are planning for decontaminating the poisoned soil. Northland Utilities has installed new flexible piping and has looked into changing the fuel pipes from the bottom to the top of their tanks.

To make sure that all is done right, the environmental protection unit of Environment and Natural Resources is monitoring all of the damage control and cleanup.

Once again, this did not have to happen. I want to know: what had they done before the spill occurred to protect Trout Lake? I will have questions for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources at the appropriate time. Mahsi cho.

The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

Mr. Speaker, I'd like to use my Member's statement today to discuss recent events and decisions made in regard to park operations here in the North Slave region.

Three weeks before the parks and campgrounds were set to open on May 15,

,

it appeared that ITI

was going to implement a new set of rules for

seasonal campsites. The allotment was going to change at both Prelude Lake and Reid Lake. The available duration was set to change, as was the pricing.

All of these proposed changes were developed in isolation by ITI. There was no public consultation. There was no consultation with Regular Members or Members who would be hearing complaints from the public.

How is it possible that ITI could have eight months since the end of last park season to come up with a plan and consult, and the best they could do was to cause a public uproar by proposing to change operations just weeks before the parks were set to open? It was only after considerable outrage by the public and Members of this House that ITI decided to stay with the status quo for this year, and I do thank them for that.

To me, all of this was completely avoidable had the department consulted with the public. I believe and hope that the Minister and the department got the message. I also believe we need to be doing more to get additional seasonal sites in our parks so that as many residents and tourists as possible can have access to sites to camp in.

I worked as a parks officer in the North Slave region for eight years, and I learned very quickly that campers are a very passionate and vocal group. Certainly before any changes are contemplated or made, the public is going to have to have an opportunity for meaningful input into the process.

I also want to say how completely ridiculous the reservation fees are for the public booking campsites. They've been lowered this year, and I guess we should be thankful for that. However, I just do not understand why money paid to reserve a campsite is not offset against actual camping fees. It costs enough for families to go camping in the North Slave region as it is, and to add cost to the reservation is absurd.

I'll have questions for the Minister of ITI at the appropriate time. Mahsi.

The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Mr. Speaker, I think that as elected leaders and politicians, it's very important that we have the ability to make decisions and be able and prepared to back those decisions up with clear communication and a rationale for those decisions.

I have tried to be very transparent and clear when I raise my voice in this House to speak out on issues.

I have expressed that I have concerns with the budget that has been presented. I've spoken in the House and in the media interviews about why I have those concerns. I make no apologies for that. I have the right, in fact the obligation, as an elected Member to hear my constituents, weigh the evidence and the information before me, and act accordingly.

So I was disappointed when I heard the Premier on the radio phone-in show on CBC this morning say that he is not good at political gamesmanship. I'm not sure what the insinuation is here, but I want to assure you that there is no political gamesmanship here. I'm not good at it either, and I have absolutely no interest in it. I am committed to good government, consensus government, clear vision and direction, and our ability to communicate that vision and direction to the people of the Northwest Territories.

In the same interview the Premier, in response to a question about whether Members were sufficiently consulted, said that new Members he could understand. I don't know why the Premier would differentiate between new Members and returning Members.

The fact is that we had a compressed process. Maybe a better product would have come forward in the fall, or maybe it wouldn't have. But when the opportunity to include Regular Members presented itself, our requests were denied. We asked for participation in the capital planning priorities. We asked to have membership on the strategic initiatives committee. We asked to be at the table when new projects were identified under the Building Canada Fund. Our written requests were denied. We submitted a report to the Premier on cost-saving ideas. They were set aside for future consideration.

After all this, a budget comes forward, and many Members now say that this is not our budget. Regular Members do participate through standing committees. We responded to the Main Estimates. Most of our recommendations were not accepted by Cabinet. Is it any wonder that we say that this is not our budget?

Later today, at second reading, I will elaborate further about why I feel that the month of June would be better devoted to taking this budget back to the drawing board and why I cannot support this budget.

The limited ability to further delete items cannot fix this budget for me. The Premier has already clearly stated in the House, on Friday, that they are not prepared to move on the budget reductions or the reinvestments. I asked the Premier, and I quote, "Would the Premier agree to return to an interim status quo budget until such time as we can come

together and not take these very, very drastic measures that are proposed in this budget?" and the Premier's response was no.

The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. Robert McLeod.

Mr. Speaker, the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline has faced one delay after another in the past few years, and reading the paper this morning, I see where the Joint Review Panel's report has been delayed again. First we expected it in 2008, and now I hear 2009. I'm not sure when in 2009 that it's coming. First they extended it; they added another seven months on to their hearings. You know, it could be December of next year for all we know. That's going to add almost another year and a half on to the whole process.

The reason I keep speaking to this is I represent an area that's invested quite heavily into being ready for the pipeline, and the longer the delays continue to go on, the more it affects them and their businesses. The price went from $4 billion to $16 billion, and who knows what it's going to be a year and a half, two years from now.

This panel has had 21 months of hearings, 630 days. The paper said they had 115 days of hearings. At least 525 days where they could have been working on their report.

I understand that this is an independent board. I think sometimes we may have given them a little too much independence — giving them independence to the point where they're extending as long as they like. I'm not sure if this government had input into any terms of reference that may have been set aside for this board.

The pipeline is important to the residents of the Beaufort-Delta. You know, I believe that the pipeline will go through. It’ll be controlled development. We’re not going to just push this through, and I appreciate the fact that we have to have due process and look at all the different effects this might have on the land and the environment, but I do think that too many delays have affected this project.

I have a habit of sometimes saying what I really think, and I have a habit of saying what other people think. I am just wondering — and I have people asking me — if an honorarium had a large part to play in the delays.

The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The government has put an increased emphasis on support for trades training and apprenticeship opportunities over the past few years. What hasn’t been discussed enough, as far as I’m concerned, is the fact that the trades training programs, in my mind, still have a number of gaps.

One area in the trades that is definitely needed in the North is cooking trades, a Red Seal Program. There’s a high demand for certified cooks in our diamond mines, exploration camps and in the food service industry in our North. The demand for skilled cooks will only increase when the Mackenzie Gas Pipeline Project eventually moves forward.

There is a camp cook program offered through Aurora College, but this is an entry-level program that does not provide the necessary training for work as a fully licensed cook, a Red Seal tradesperson.

I believe we need to expand the cook training program opportunities in the North. I believe that it’s something we could do, and I believe it’s something that’s direly needed. People should not have to travel south — whether it’s to Edmonton, Calgary or beyond — to receive this training. We have facilities here in the North. We even have facilities here, potentially, in Yellowknife. I’ve had the opportunity to take the Education Minister down to see what a good program could look like.

Later today I will be urging the Department of Education, Culture and Employment to take a serious look at this, to fully implement a fully accredited Red Seal cooking trades program here in the North so that all our northern students can get true training here in the North, exactly where we want them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.

Mahsi. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to talk about the concern for residents in Lutselk’e and the lack of culturally sensitive professional counselling services.

Currently there are no professional counselling services readily accessible in the community, and there haven’t been since 2006. The agency responsible for providing these and other health and social services is the Yellowknife Health and Social Services Authority.

The Yellowknife Health and Social Services Authority is doing a good job providing these important services, particularly when there is staff turnover, and that is a constant problem. However, when residents are in need of professional mental health services, there have been some problems in accessing those specialized services. This is due in part to another problem dealing with professionals.

Mr. Speaker, because many of these positions require some kind of professional designation and are highly technical in nature, these individuals are highly educated, non-native people from the south. Residents have complained that when they need these mental health professionals, they are not able to effectively communicate with them because of what they refer to as cultural insensitivity on behalf of the professionals.

The residents are trying to express important family social information for the professional, but with limited education. In many cases even with limited knowledge of the English language it is difficult to accurately convey their concerns and their needs. More often than not, they feel they are being dismissed as having a bad day, and they are left at the end of the day not getting the needed professional counselling they desire. As a result of this, they get frustrated and stop seeking assistance from these individuals.

Unfortunately Mr. Speaker, there have been three suicides in the community of Lutselk’e within the last 24 months, the most recent a couple of weeks ago. These incidents are a tragedy to the whole community. Recently a constituent told me....

Mr. Beaulieu, your time for your Member’s statement is expired.

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

Unanimous consent granted.

Recently a constituent told me that there are many other young people in the community that are in desperate need of proper counselling. This is a very serious concern for the community of Lutselk’e. I can understand the challenges our government is facing, working in these times of fiscal restraint, but when you have three suicides in the span of 24 months in a community of under 400, we need to review the programs and services that are being delivered, in areas such as effective cross-cultural training for our front-line staff in these communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.

Mr. Speaker, I’ve had the chance to do a small review of the Budget Address heard last week, and a number of statements in the address made me go, “Huh?” I’d like to discuss a few of those and the questions they raised in my mind.

We had some communication last week about how the government is accommodating employees who have been affected by budget reductions. There seems to be a genuine desire on the part of the government to make the transition as easy as possible, but where are the actions that show us that desire? I haven’t seen anything.

The Minister of Human Resources said that GNWT policies don’t allow certain actions that could better accommodate staff whose positions are being reduced — early retirement, for example. I would think that if the government is serious about needing to reduce positions, we would be looking at every available possibility to smooth the way. Surely we can amend policies or, at the very least, agree to waive them for a specified period of time to accomplish the easy accommodation of our affected employees. After all, it seems the government writes the policies.

The Budget Address indicated that there are plans for approximately $500 million of capital investments over the next four years but that we will only incur $17 million in debt in doing so. I suggest that we would be better off retaining the 111 affected positions set to be reduced and use more of our borrowing power to pay for the capital investments.

Page B2 of the address document includes a graph titled Revenue and Expenditure Growth. It shows revenues increasing faster than expenditures, at least to my eye, and contradicts the Finance Minister’s statement that expenses are outgrowing our revenues. I am unable to reconcile the words and the picture.

In summary, Mr. Speaker, I am particularly disappointed in three aspects of this budget: that there is no new revenue source; that budget reductions seem to target jobs first, not as a last resort; that there is no coordinated approach from the government for the consideration of saving the environment — reducing greenhouse gas emissions, for example; energy planning; and minimizing climate change through all of our programs and services. Energy conservation, climate change prevention and mitigation should be at the front of and integral to everything that we do as a government: new buildings, roads, bridges, economic development, utility costs — everything.

As I mentioned in my statement last week, few departmental budget briefings presented a good

rationale or justification for the content of their budget. I hope to see that information during budget debate. I need convincing that the various departments’ proposals are the right ones. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The honourable Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.

Mr. Speaker,

yesterday I had the opportunity in Fort Smith to attend the installation of the new bishop for the Mackenzie–Fort Smith diocese, Bishop Murray Chatlain.

We also at the same time celebrated the retirement and dedication of years of service of now Bishop Emeritus Denis Croteau. Bishop Croteau will be staying in the North. He will be working in communities in the North as well. He is going to take his vast experience in compassion and caring to the fields of the Lord outside of Canada.

I’d like to take this opportunity to recognize and welcome Bishop Murray Chatlain into his new role. He has a huge area to cover. He has many challenges. He is very young and enthusiastic, and clearly the Pope made a wise decision in picking the new bishop, and I welcome him to this new diocese. Thank you.

The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

[Translation.]

I rise today in the House to speak on behalf of my people of the Sahtu. On May 15, 2008, the Prime Minister of Canada announced the names of the 2007–2008 recipients of the Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Early Childhood Education. On behalf of the people of the Sahtu, I’m proud to extend my great wishes and congratulations to one of my constituents who’s visiting, Sister Celeste Goulet. I’m so proud to say “Mahsi cho.” Mahsi for believing and supporting our children’s development and realizing their potential. Mahsi for guiding my people to make better choices for themselves. Good job, Sister. You have truly demonstrated your love and meaningful caring for our children in Tulita and Sahtu.

Sister Celeste Goulet was recognized for the Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Early Childhood Education for running the Child Development Centre in Tulita. She was recognized for embracing

the community’s history and traditions to put children in a learning environment that will be a strong foundation to build their education and learning. She started the Tulita preschool program back in 1981 and has since helped start the drop-in centre in 1983. Today the preschool cares for several children. Her doors are always open for the community, the coffee’s always hot and everyone is welcome to drop in to chat and visit with her.

Sister Celeste’s countless years extend beyond the people of Tulita. She provides a safe place for women and children to go if there are problems in the home. She does volunteer work in the community schools on a regular basis and helps our women and children with their applications, resumes and legal forms. She has been instrumental in serving on various boards as part of the local education community and justice circle community. Sister Celeste was also a nominee, twice, of the Wise Woman Award and a winner in 1999.

Sister Celeste has lived with the people in Tulita since 1979. Amongst the people in Tulita, she is considered to be one of the people from Tulita. I look forward to working with Sister Celeste in the future as she brings more history to the people of Tulita. Mahsi. [Translation ends.]

Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize Ms. Candy Brown

in

the gallery today. Welcome.

I’d like to recognize Ms. Amanda Mallon, outgoing president of the NWT Teachers’ Association, and Mr. Jean-Francois Des Lauriers of the Public Service Alliance of Canada.

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to recognize Donna Pick and Gayla Wick, Yellowknife South constituents.

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to recognize my sister in the gallery today, Judy Payne.

If we’ve missed anyone in the gallery today, welcome to the House. Hope you’re enjoying the proceedings. Always a pleasure to have an audience in here. Item 6, acknowledgements. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Premier, in light of my Member’s statement and the practice that was seen in the 13th Assembly, which

still originates in our communities, especially in the areas of programs and services, in regard to services in general, from health care services, education services, and having the ability to access professions in our communities.

In regard to the biggest challenge, we hear from a lot of our professions in the area of housing. I think as a government we have to try something different, so I’d like to ask the Premier: have you considered looking at an alternative for retention and recruitment in communities outside the regional centres by way of some sort of housing initiative? I’ll use an example: in most communities we have accommodations in the health centres for the nurses, but we don’t have accommodations in our communities for teachers. Is it a possibility of looking at that, by way of precedence, and working with the private sector and working with the local education boards to see if there’s a possibility of implementing that type of program?

The Hon. Premier, Mr. Roland.

We all are aware of the reductions that happened in 1995–1996. For the record, back then the government of the day looked at $150 million worth of reductions, and those were peer reductions. I believe the numbers back then for employees affected were in the neighbourhood of 700 to 800. Our scenario at this stage: we’ve minimized that to the largest extent possible.

The housing piece is something we’re still affected with, as the Member has pointed out. We have looked at.... For example, in the last Assembly there was the Market Housing Initiative to try to get units into communities for professionals. This government, the Minister of the Housing Corporation along with the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment have been working on, for example, the guaranteed program for development corporations to get into that market and provide housing at that level.

Again, the problem seems to be around the area of collective bargaining in regard to the northern allowance that’s offered and with regard to a housing subsidy. I think we have to work around that. Like I say, through the nursing staff that we have in our communities who worry about the work — that’s through the precedence that’s there. Can we work either through the collective bargaining agreement or with the different professions to have some sort of universal program

in isolated communities outside regional centres where there is no real housing market? It is having a major effect on delivering programs and services in our communities. Will the Premier consider looking at...? I know we’ve gone through discussions with the unions, but again, we have to find ways of working out this problem. I’d like to ask the Premier: is he open to those type of suggestions?

Back in 1995–1996, the housing package, along with the VTAs that were in place, at that time tallied close to $30 million. In today’s environment I wouldn’t even speculate as to how high it’s gone from that area. We are looking at ways of trying to have development corporations, the private sector, get involved in the housing in those communities. We’re trying to find that option.

When it comes to collective agreements, if the roles participating, the negotiators for the unions, ask to discuss it, there’s no stopping us from having the discussion. The fact will come in as: can we afford anything of that nature?

We also have to also recognize the northern allowance was put in place to make up the difference and each community has different rates. Some communities have a substantial northern allowance rate to try to mitigate those higher costs.

Again, working with the private sector with regard to housing we have the development corporations, community corporations, and also a few individuals who are looking at that by way of business opportunities. It is a major capital investment in a lot of our communities. You’re talking about a very high cost to construct in a lot of these communities. If anyone wants to take on this endeavour, they are going to be on a long term, being able to recoup their investments.

I’d like to ask the Premier: are there any programs that we may have where we can invest in these type of projects where the corporations could maybe look at it, knowing they’re going to have to probably wait a while before they get paid back for their investment within a long-term lease or long-term financial commitment, either by this government or the divisional boards to help their education?

Much like we did during the Market Housing strategy, the two-year pilot program that started bringing modular units into communities for the professionals, that was done on a cost-mutual basis in the sense that full recovery of having that unit there, utilities and so on, had to be a part of the package. That actually worked out fairly well for the most part. Some of those units came in at a lower cost than what we were having paid to rent for those in our communities living in standard public housing units.

So that was an initiative. It’s something we can look at again.

The Housing Corporation in today’s environment has a loan guarantee program that would help development corporations get involved in that area, but we’d expect part of that solution would have to be made up from their rent structure.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Final supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Can the Premier commit to come back to this House with some of those types of initiatives, so that we can also take them back to our constituencies and meet with the district education boards and health boards to find solutions to these problems we’re having with recruiting?

We’re willing to sit down and look at those types of options with the Members and committees to see what avenues we can look at. We realize there are pressures there and we’re trying to find ways to mitigate that.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to follow up on my Member’s statement this afternoon and ask the Minister of ENR, who I believe is responsible for a response to climate change, what exactly he is doing to address climate change given that we are recognizing increasingly that there is a strong element of time and the need for immediate and comprehensive response.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’re doing a number of things. We’re looking at, hopefully in the next number of weeks before the end of session, being able to come forward with a framework for a water strategy that is going to allow us to deal with a very crucial issue that’s directly impacted by climate changes and global warming in addition to the huge development pressures.

We’re also going to be working on a land use framework that will give us a clear base to look at issues such as the pace of development, where we develop, how fast we develop, is it in our best interest, and how does it fit with all the other demands and needs to protect the land.

We have our own Greenhouse Gas Strategy. Granted, it is somewhat inward-looking.

We’re going to be looking at a biomass strategy that’s going to look seriously at the opportunity to replace those diesel generators in communities that are now providing electricity with wood pellet generators.

We want to look at the hydro expansion in small communities, but we also want to take a look at the opportunity to redirect the transmission line that’s currently being planned to go around the East Arm. We want to consider the benefit of moving that closer to Yellowknife, which burned 18 per cent last year on diesel, to provide the electricity for the community.

We’re shifting over to electric heat in some of the communities. In the South Slave we’re switching over to electric heat to see how that works. In Behchoko we’re working, and in the North Slave Correctional Centre we put in wood pellet boilers.

So we have a number of initiatives. We’re committed. We have a wind strategy up in Nunakput. We’re committed to looking at the opportunity there to do a pilot project in conjunction with other alternatives to see what’s possible there.

So we have a whole array of things that we’re doing.

Thank you for those remarks. I acknowledge that we have a number of programs that are getting off the ground, and I’m encouraged that we are going to be learning from that and that we’re starting to pay attention to the public here and the evidence that is strongly before us. Our Greenhouse Gas Strategy, if you would call it that, which commits itself to a 10 per cent reduction from 2001 levels by a certain date, is hardly significant when we are well on our way to or past doubling and are now on our way to tripling our greenhouse gas emissions. What we need is an absolute decrease in that. There are many jurisdictions, such as the Western Climate Initiative states and provinces, that are moving on this.

What are we doing to get real and move in a very comprehensive way to reducing absolute amounts of greenhouse gas emissions in the Northwest Territories that are currently doing us in?

We’re in the process of working with Priorities and Planning to set up a joint climate change committee. One of the things that will be on there is the work plan. We have existing strategies, like the Energy Plan, the Greenhouse Gas Strategy, that are going to be there for review. Clearly, that was done in a different time; it was done along with the energy strategy to access funds for other projects like mini-hydro and the Taltson

project. Collectively, working

together, we’re going to have an opportunity here, early on in the life of this Assembly, to revisit some

of those policies and those programs and look at how we can improve them.

Again, thank you for those remarks, and I appreciate hearing those things are happening. Again, we need a really comprehensive response. What authority does the Minister have? As Ms. Bisaro pointed out, this response is required from every department and agency in the Northwest Territories, and in fact, we need the help of industry and residents as well. What authority does this Minister have, over at least those other government departments, to get some mandatory action on this issue, for a net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions?

Mr. Speaker, I’m a Member of this Legislature, I’m a member of Cabinet. Clearly we have to…. There’s a process. We want to engage with the Members, with the Climate Change Committee. We want to identify some of the priorities. We’re continuing to look at some of these other issues, as well, and to the Energy Coordinating Committee and other committees. Some of the things I’m talking about, for example, biomass, I believe, would have a direct impact on the cost of living in communities, both to individuals and businesses. So the initial point of call will be the structuring of this committee so we can get up and running and operational as soon as possible to lay out the issues we want to pursue.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final supplementary, Mr. Bromley.

I’d like the Minister to commit to requiring every department to come up with its own plan — and this is on both the climate change and the cost of fuel end of things. As a responsible government, we really need to respond to the cost of fuel as well as the climate change issue, which are closely related. So will this Minister commit to get each department to aggressively develop, in the very short term here, plans to deal with those issues that are concrete — again, that result in net reductions in greenhouse gas emissions of a significant level?

I will commit to put that on item number one at the top of the agenda for our committee so that we can, in fact, do the proper groundwork to have a coherent clear message we want to bring forward as a Legislature and as a government. As we move into the business planning process, we can give the government a chance to gear up and give a chance for full input from the members as well as, of course, my Cabinet colleagues.

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

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Earlier in my Member’s statement, I talked about the diesel fuel spill in Trout Lake. In my opinion, this contamination was avoidable. Northland Utilities knew that the tank was sitting on unstable ground. Why was there no berm in place and why wasn’t a flexible feeding pipe used from the beginning? The community of Trout Lake is most concerned about avoiding anything similar happening again.

My question to the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources concerns the planning and preparedness of such emergency situations, where the goal is to prevent situations like this from happening again. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister explain what safety features, like shut-off valves, are currently required for fuel tanks and for feeding pipes, to prevent fuel spills, and what other features like berms are required to control contamination, should there be a release of fuel? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr.

Menicoche. The

honourable Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My understanding was that the fuel tank in question was a double-walled tank, which is supposed to preclude the need for a berm. Clearly, there was a failure not with the tank itself but the connection from the valve to the tank and from that valve to the hose.

Clearly, the Member has raised some good points. Environment and Natural Resources is dealing with the cleanup, but we’re going to be working as the government, with ENR as the lead agency, to do a debriefing and review to make sure, in this circumstance, what happened and why, to preclude that it ever happens again — and to make sure that we check our other facilities so that we don’t have any other of these types of circumstances just waiting to happen.

Mr. Speaker, it’s been my experience that double-walled tanks…. There are certainly reasons for having double-walled tanks — they’re meant for temporary installations. Maybe the Minister can clarify this for me: I think that double-walled tanks, if they’re intended to be permanent, that there indeed be a berm attached. As well, with any tanks there, we’ve got lots of unstable ground, and all the tanks should have at least the minimal flexible coupling. Can the Minister advise me of the current regulations? Mahsi.

Mr. Speaker, I’ll check on those specific details and provide that information to the Member.

The NWT has an Environmental Protection Act. Under this act, we also have a consolidation of spill contingency planning and reporting regulations. Anyone who stores more than 20,000 litres of contaminants above ground needs to file a spill contingency plan with the department. Can the Minister confirm that Northland Utilities had filed a spill contingency plan for the Trout Lake power station operation that accounts sufficiently for the circumstances and remoteness of that community? Mahsi.

Mr. Speaker, clearly, once this spill was discovered and the notification was made, there was a full response from ATCO, Northland Utilities, ENR, and all the other involved government agencies, to make sure that it was handled in the most appropriate way. There will be a debriefing and review of this whole incident once remediation has been dealt with, and all those issues and items raised by the Member will be addressed.

I’m very glad to hear that the situation will be adequately assessed and a determination to review the regulations. I’m looking for that as well. Small and remote communities, even more so, need adequate protection measures, and I’d like to see our current existing legislation certainly accommodate that, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi.

I will commit to sharing that information, as it comes ready, with the Member and with the appropriate committee, so that we can all have our input into this particular situation.

The Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of ITI. It gets back to my Member’s statement from earlier today, where I talked of the proposed changes to the allotment, the duration and the pricing for seasonal sites here in the North Slave region.

Most of us are well-aware of the firestorm that built up a month ago regarding these proposed changes. Again, I wanted to thank the Minister for maintaining the status quo in the campgrounds. What I’d like to ask the Minister today is: why did the department take eight months to come up with some proposed changes and try to implement them three weeks before the park season opened?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Member knows, we had an election in October and this resulted in a change. As well, in the North Slave region we had a wholesale changeover of regional managers.

I don’t know if the territorial election had much to do with the operational requirements inside a department — that should be a day-to-day operational thing. And they should be covered off by somebody whether there are changes to personnel or not. What I’d like to ask the Minister is: what is the game plan going forward in terms of consulting the campers in the North Slave region? Has he got a plan for this summer?

I did write to the Member, as the chair of the Economic Development Committee, advising him of what we were looking at. So I was pleased with his response and suggestions.

As I’ve committed publicly and I’ve committed to the committee, we will be undergoing full consultation with the campers, the aboriginal governments, and all of the public before we make any changes.

I think it’s important in this that the department gets out into the campgrounds in the North Slave region and talks to both the seasonal campers and the recreational campers that are out there, and develop some type of survey or questionnaire or something to that effect before waiting until the fall when everybody goes and packs it in for the winter.

I’d like to ask the Minister: are there plans in the works to get out there and talk to people while they’re actually camping?

Certainly that is our intention, and we’ve been getting a lot of feedback from the campers. I’m also pleased that the Member supports the fact and the recognition that we need as many new sites as possible.

Final supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In relation to the issues in the North Slave campgrounds, I wanted to ask a final question on the reservation system and how it is that the public has to pay to reserve a campsite. I can understand that they pay and they get that offset against their actual camping fees, but from what I see and from what I hear from my constituents, somebody is taking that money, and it’s not going in to offset the camping fees. So I think that’s a cost the department should be incurring.

I’d like to ask the Minister: is there any appetite to phase that type of reservation system out so that the general public doesn’t have to pay to reserve a campsite?

That concern has been raised by many people, so we’re reviewing the whole reservation system. We’ve already made a commitment that we weren’t changing anything this summer, so we’ll look at changing it as part of our overall consultations, unless we can find a better approach quickly.

The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. Robert McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to direct my questions today to the Minister of ITI, and it goes back to my Member’s statement on the delays in the Joint Review Panel public hearings and their final report. I’d like to ask the Minister of ITI if this government had any input into the terms of reference for the Joint Review Panel.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our previous Minister — I think it’s two governments ago — was at the forefront in advocating that we take a joint review panel approach. It was felt that going through regulatory review involving 13 boards and agencies would take too long, and as such, we advocated a joint review panel approach.

I appreciate the Minister’s comments about taking too long. I can’t imagine how much longer it would have taken had we gone through 13. It seems even with the one, we’re still taking a long time.

I did ask the Minister and he did give me a response to my question, but I don’t think it was an answer. I asked him if this government had any input into the terms of reference for the Joint Review Panel.

We did review the terms of reference and we did have input. For those areas that are under the Government of the Northwest Territories’ responsibilities, we specifically dealt with those as well.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the Minister for that. I found that was an answer to the question that I had posed.

I would also like to ask the Minister: do we contribute any funding to the Joint Review Panel?

The Government of the Northwest Territories doesn’t specifically contribute to the operations of the Joint Review Panel. Where we spend money is in making sure that we have the

people and the resources to develop the positions that are taken by the Government of the Northwest Territories in any interventions, also in reviewing the interventions of other groups and agencies that appear in front of the Joint Review Panel.

Final supplementary, Mr. Robert McLeod.

I thank the Minister for that. I’d like to ask the Minister if the Minister’s office is made aware of any delays or extensions to the hearing process, and has he communicated to the Joint Review Panel our displeasure at the extensions and delays? Thank you.

We have been in discussions on a number of occasions with Mr. Neil McCrank, who is reviewing the regulatory process on behalf of the federal government. We’ve also had discussions with Minister Prentice and his point man on oil and gas for the Northwest Territories, Mr. David Hudson.

We recognized early on that the writing of the report of the panel could be facing delays, because there was only a four-month window for the report to be written. We expected that the April report would likely be pushed back, and that has come to pass.

But the main issue was how do you try to speed up a panel that has held hearings and has had input. How do you speed it up without being seen to interfere with the proceedings of the panel? So that was the dilemma. Certainly, our Premier has made comments that he would like to see the process speed up, and certainly we would like to see that happen as well. Thank you.

The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Today my questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services.

Today I spoke about counselling services in Lutselk’e and the serious concern for the community. Unfortunately, the community has had to endure the untimely passing of three community youth because of suicides within the last 24 months. Can the Minister tell me what the current situation is with respect to providing counselling services in Lutselk’e?

The honourable Minister of Health, Ms. Lee.

Currently in Lutselk’e there has been a vacancy of the mental health addictions

worker there for about a year. In that period of time the services have been provided by Yellowknife Health and Social Services Authority, which is in charge of those services. So there have been three workers travel to Lutselk’e on a periodic basis to provide services, one of them specializing in youth counselling.

I’d like to advise the Member the latest is we have been able to hire somebody, and we have had verbal commitment from a mental health specialist, and we hope we’ll be able to fill that position on a permanent basis for the community.

I thank the Minister for that answer. The higher-than-usual frequency of suicides in a small community: what has the department done to specifically address that issue?

Mr. Speaker, obviously that’s a very complicated issue, and it’s one that has to be addressed in multi-faceted ways. The government and the Department of Health work with other organizations on suicide prevention, working with youth. The government funds various programs to support youth. I think over the last two, three years, we have made some progress in that area.

Specifically to mental health and addictions issues in small communities, it is a constant challenge to be able to provide a community-based program. We do fund about $7 million for 75 positions. But in the last three, four, five years, we’ve had a constant level of vacancies with community wellness workers positions. It’s up to about 25 per cent. But we’re making steady progress in that area. And I look forward to working on that more with the Member.

Mr. Speaker, would the Minister tell me what role the Lutselk’e Indian Band has had in the delivery of counselling services at the community level?

Mr. Speaker, as far as I understand, all of the programs for mental health counselling and community support work in that area are delivered by Yellowknife Health and Social Services Authority, which oversees that community.

Final supplementary, Mr. Beaulieu.

Mr. Speaker, will the Minister commit to working with myself and the community, specifically the Lutselk’e Indian Band, to explore options for actively engaging the community for delivery of effective community-based counselling services in Lutselk’e?

Absolutely, I am willing to do that and prepared to do that, Mr. Speaker.

I’d like to just give notice to the Members that I’m in the process of having the department review our entire mental health and addictions strategy. The

current plan that we have in place has been in the works for about four or five years.

But I think there’s room for a change and room for revising and re-profiling, specifically giving more multi-dimensional roles to our community workers, social workers, mental health workers, so that we have a holistic approach towards those who walk into the office and need help. Right now, I think the way it’s being done is way too many stovepipes, and one may not be working as efficiently and effectively as we could.

So I look forward to working on that process with the Member in the coming months. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.

In my Member’s statement I mentioned that I sensed a genuine desire on the part of the Department of Human Resources — I should say my questions are addressed to the Minister of Human Resources — to make transition as easy as possible for those employees who have been targeted for reduction. I’d like to give the Minister an opportunity to publicly state and answer the question: is it the department’s goal to make the accommodation of employees as easy as possible?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That is certainly our intention. As has been mentioned, we do have 118 potentially affected employees, depending on whether the budget gets passed or not. There are a number of these employees that are approaching some significant milestones with regard to retirement. So this is an area that we’re looking at.

I thank you, Minister, for that answer. Particularly in regard to those who are approaching retirement or those who are requesting voluntary separation, there are policies which are in place. I wonder if the Minister could advise whether or not the department is open to actions for these particular employees that are outside the current policy.

We are open to looking at all possible options and with the individuals that are potentially affected.

I’m glad to hear that. Thank you, Minister.

I’d like to know whether or not the Minister can advise what kind of a time frame is involved. I presume there has to be Cabinet approval of any changes to these policies. Can he advise when these policies will be going forward to Cabinet and when we might expect some kind of a response in that regard?