Good afternoon,

colleagues. Welcome back to the House. Members, this week we have included an additional audio component as part of the Assembly’s new broadcasting system. To assist us, we have interpreters in the House all week. Yesterday and today we have interpretation in Chipewyan. Wednesday and Thursday we will have North Slavey interpretation and on Friday, Inuktitut.

We are rebroadcasting our proceedings throughout the Territories, and this week we’ll include the audio tracks in the three aboriginal languages translations to the communities currently receiving our feed. This is part of the preparation being made to offer our proceedings in all of our official languages to viewers across the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Members.

Item 2, Ministers’ statements. The honourable Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Bob McLeod.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the

Ministers’ Energy Coordinating Committee I would like to provide Members of this Assembly with an update on a number of the programs and initiatives that have been identified to address the energy challenges that we face in our territory.

Our efforts in this regard continue to be guided by the Energy Plan and Greenhouse Gas Strategy released in 2007, which introduced a wide range of tools and incentives to address the rising costs of energy and the growing impact of our energy use on the environment. To this end, our work has included the following key initiatives: investment and development in wind energy, highlighted this past year by the very successful Tuk Wind Conference, the creation and introduction of the

Alternative Energy Technologies and the Energy Efficiency Incentive programs, an increasing number of home energy audits and retrofits, and continued investment in the Taltson hydroelectric expansion that will enable our diamond mines to replace their use of diesel and contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

Mr. Speaker, the Arctic Energy Alliance plays a key role in our ongoing efforts to deliver energy programs and promote energy awareness and information. I am pleased to say that our increased support over the past year has allowed the alliance to enhance their presence and programming in our communities. As a result, NWT residents in communities are playing an ever-increasing role in the management of their energy use and participating in global efforts to address climate change.

Energy conservation and efficiency are immediate and effective responses to our energy challenges. In the long term, however, we must also identify renewable and alternative energy solutions to reduce our fundamental dependency on diesel for heating and electricity generation in our communities.

A key initiative in the coming year will be the development of the NWT Hydro Strategy to ensure a lasting legacy of clean, affordable power for future generations. We will also build on the success we have seen in the use of wood pellets by examining the potential use of biomass for both heating and electricity generation.

In the coming year we will be working with Members of this Assembly and NWT residents to advance the Review of Electricity Rates, Regulation and Subsidy Programs. This review will include an examination of the capital costs that contribute to higher power rates in our communities. We will also consider changes that might be made with the NWT Power Corporation as a result of the electricity review.

The energy initiatives being advanced by the Ministers’ Energy Coordinating Committee directly support the overall efforts of the Reducing Cost of Living Strategic Initiative Committee, and I will continue to work closely with the Hon. Sandy Lee,

the chair of that initiative committee, as we advance efforts to manage the cost of living in the Northwest Territories. I would ask all Members of this Legislature to support the actions and investments towards a sustainable energy future for all residents of the Northwest Territories.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Ministers’

statements. The honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr.

Speaker.

[English translation not provided.]

Mr. Speaker, almost five years ago the National Museum of Scotland, the Tlicho government and the University of Dundee, in partnership with the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, developed an exhibition of Dene artifacts from the collections of the National Museum of Scotland. These artifacts were collected from locations in the Northwest Territories in the mid-1800s and are regarded as one of the world’s best collections from this time period. This exhibition, titled De T’a Hoti Tseeda: We Live Securely from the Land, opened at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre in 2006, with pieces selected from the exhibition touring schools in the Tlicho region.

The exhibition was also displayed at the Carleton art gallery in Ottawa for several months before being returned to Scotland, where it was revised. On May 15, 2008, it reopened at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh under the title Extremes: Life in Subarctic Canada. This project and the partnerships developed are an example of how organizations can work together to preserve and share important pieces of our heritage not only with Northerners but with a wider global audience.

Building on the success of this partnership, the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre is seeking opportunities to work with museums in other parts of the world to bring artifacts back to the Northwest Territories so that we can exhibit them in our museums. Projects of this nature enable us to showcase and honour the rich heritage of the North.

Mashi cho, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Ministers’

statements. The honourable Minister Responsible for the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you,

Mr. Speaker. Every June the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission proudly sponsors the annual Mine Rescue Competition in celebration of Mining Week, June 9 to 14. This week celebrates the rich culture of the North’s leading industry. The commission will host the 42nd Mine Rescue

Competition on Friday, June 13, and Saturday, June 14, in Yellowknife.

The Mine Rescue Competition evaluates and compares the quality and effectiveness of mine rescue training programs across the North. All NWT and Nunavut mines are invited to compete for the surface and underground commissioner’s trophies. The winners from each category then compete in the Western Regional Mine Rescue Competition, which challenges teams from all western provinces, the three territories and the northwestern United States.

Friday’s closed competition events will be held at the Giant mine site, and Saturday’s competition and the Miner’s Picnic, a community barbecue hosted by the NWT & Nunavut Chamber of Mines, will be at the Yellowknife Community Arena.

The Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission will also host a continuing medical education session on Friday, June 13. All northern physicians and allied health care professionals are invited to participate in the Focus on Psychiatric and Psychological Disability course. Accredited by the College of Family Physicians of Canada, the course explores the unique opportunity presented to physicians and front-line health care workers to identify and intervene in psychiatric and psychological disabilities as it impacts a patient’s employment and employability.

In closing, I encourage everyone to attend Saturday, June 14

,

at the Mine Rescue Competition

and the Miner’s Picnic. Your attendance encourages the development of a positive safety culture in the Northwest Territories. The Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission remains committed to working with northern workers, employers and health care workers to return Northerners home safe every day.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Item 3,

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The people

of Beaufort-Delta have been waiting a long time to hear news of land sales in the Beaufort Sea. As we all heard, the record sale of $1.2 billion to British Petroleum is good news — opportunities for employment, business for the people of Beaufort-Delta. This has been a long time coming.

I had an opportunity to work in the Beaufort Sea during the ’70s and ’80s, when I worked on a drill ship, a manmade island. I had an opportunity to see the expertise that we had in the Beaufort Sea, by way of icebreaker technology, manmade islands, caissons, drill ship technology. All this expertise was developed in Canada, yet we lost that opportunity because of the downturn in the oil and gas industry in the Beaufort in the mid-’80s.

Mr. Speaker, through these opportunities came vast expertise by way of ice conditions, to environmental reviews, to wildlife monitoring — to a lot of initiatives that we have in place today by way of environmental regulations and also by how we monitor our environment, monitor the wildlife to ensure compliance with the regulatory systems we have in place. Canada was a world leader in Arctic exploration and development by way of drilling in the Arctic Ocean back in the ’70s and ’80s.

Mr. Speaker, this land sale will give Canada a footing to bring back that expertise and be able to expand that expertise not only for Canadians but for the rest of the world. In light of global warming, in light of what’s happened by way of exploration and development, we have to take hold of something that has already happened. This is nothing new to people of the Beaufort Sea. We had the opportunity of seeing it firsthand back in the ’70s and ’80s. People were able to take advantage of those developments back in the ’70s and ’80s. We are asking for nothing less than the rest of Canadians who would like to have that opportunity again.

Mr. Speaker, the final saying that I would like to leave with the rest of the Members here is that people of Beaufort-Delta have been true to the land for thousands of years. We will not jeopardize our environment for the sake of a development, but we realize that development is just as important as our environment. They do have to work hand in hand.

Mr. Speaker, I will be asking questions to the Minister of ITI on this matter later. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Members’

statements. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to

just mention that I enjoyed the presentation on the energy programs and initiatives. Thanks for that.

Mr. Speaker, about two-thirds of our greenhouse gas emissions are derived from transportation. I want to acknowledge the singular efforts of City of Yellowknife councillor Kevin Kennedy for his recent bus trip, for example, to Quebec. He is certainly walking the talk, or should we say riding the talk? Here’s an individual who for his holidays took three weeks hiking in Wood Buffalo Park and the next year took the same amount of time and rode by bicycle from Yellowknife to Vancouver with his 15-year-old daughter.

Instead of being congratulated for actually taking a stand on climate-related issues and doing something about it, he’s more often ridiculed in the media and blamed for wasting time — implying that reading during his travels or learning about Canada while travelling is a waste of time. Last year when he took the bus south, the newspaper article focused on the fact that he didn’t actually save money, as the other councillors managed to get seat sales.

Mr. Speaker, it seems to me that people are missing the point here — perhaps deliberately, not many people want to take the bus for 80 hours — and maybe it needs to be made explicitly. You could say that we all make choices and that this is Mr.

Kennedy’s way to reduce his own

environmental footprint and to demonstrate possibilities. There are many other ways. This government should at least follow his example of doing something about it in a significant way.

On behalf of my constituents, Yellowknifers and tourists visiting our capital city, I would like to suggest that this government demonstrate its commitment by constructing a bicycle/walking path along the Ingraham

Trail to Prelude Lake and to

Dettah. Such a path would increase the quality of life of residents by encouraging healthy, active living while increasing the safety of our people. With the creation of a bicycle path and with people making healthy choices, we could expect to see traffic and road maintenance on these highways reduced with a lowering of greenhouse gas emissions. All of these benefits have been highlighted in the visions, goals and priorities of this Assembly. Mr. Speaker, let’s get a bicycle and walking path built along the Ingraham Trail and enjoy the benefits.

Finally, I note that in the Northern Connections Transportation Strategy,

just co-published by our

Department of Transportation, I saw the mention of

ALCAN RaiLink Inc. and mention of the role of railroads as a cheaper and more environmentally sound mode of transportation.

Mr. Bromley, your time for the

Member’s statement has expired.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous

consent to conclude my statement.

Unanimous consent granted.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On the

issue of rail, here lies some real potential for connecting communities in ways that present wins for all our concerns: economic, social and environmental sustainability. Let’s not ignore this opportunity to think progressively. Let’s show our ability to adapt and react with intelligence and foresight. Rail on! Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Members’

statements. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As part

of our Strategic Plan we talk a lot about maximizing northern employment, encouraging northern youth to go out, get educated and come back to the Northwest Territories.

I’d like to applaud both the Department of Human Resources and the Department of Health and Social Services, who have combined to create a bursary program for nurses, doctors and allied health professionals — a Return of Service bursary program which provides students in these studies with money with the expectation that upon successful graduation and their completion, they’ll return to the North and work in their field of study.

A lot of students from the Northwest Territories have received these dollars, and it has helped them complete their studies successfully. All good. All great. The problem is not all of the students return to the Northwest Territories. Many students, once they’ve completed their studies, especially students in medicine and some of the more advanced health and allied professions, choose to remain in the south. This is after the government has given them up to $70,000 during the duration of their studies.

Unfortunately, the government hasn’t been that active in collecting those dollars back, and as a result, we have students out there who have received large sums of money who have no intention of returning to the Northwest Territories who also are keeping the money that they are provided. Now, I understand that some have

volunteered to pay it back, but others have remained silent and have left the Territories and have not been charged back.

I would like to see this government, the Department of Health and Social Services and the Department of Human Resources, track down these individuals who have taken this money in good faith and have not returned their service. I would like to see the government track these individuals down and encourage them to return to the North to meet the Return of Service obligation and/or collect the dollars from these individuals. We gave the money to them in good faith; I think it’s time that we turned around and collected those dollars from those individuals who have not met their obligation and have no intention of returning to the Northwest Territories. We’re talking possibly hundreds of thousands of dollars, and in time of fiscal restraint every penny counts. I think it’s time to go get those monies.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr.

Abernethy.

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

Thank you very much,

Mr. Speaker. I would like to add my voice to the maintenance and continuation of our Business Incentive Program. I know that the contracts that have very high costs, such buildings and big projects — there is a premium cost to those. In the communities in my riding these projects are few and far between, and when we do get them, like a new ECE building, we want the opportunity to be competitive. The Business Incentive Program allows this: the people and businesses with home bases to be able to compete with southern and/or outside contractors.

There are many success stories when we apply the rules, guidelines and procedures of our BIP to our contracts. The biggest success is the small contracts that allow the small businesses to compete for contracts and opportunities. The way that this happens is that local contractors can buy local. Sure, we will pay a premium, but we share what we have in our communities. That, right there, Mr. Speaker, is something that a southern or outside company cannot do.

Once again, I am in support of keeping our Business Incentive Program. I know that the premium cost is an issue, but not for me. If we have local jobs and local investments, then it's a cost that I am willing to support. Mahsi cho.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The

honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I

want to speak about equal shared parenting.

Statistics show that nearly 50 per cent of all marriages are ending in divorce. In some cases the consequences can be financial and emotional. However, the majority of marriage breakups involve children and the custody of those children, for which the consequences of parental alienation and the justice system can impact on the lives of those children for their entire lives.

When a marriage or relationship breaks down, the issues that led to the breakup far too often supersede what should be the primary focus of any proceeding: the welfare and the well-being of the children of the relationship. The needs of the child often get overlooked by the need to punish former partners. All too often their punishment takes the form of trying to restrict access to children. The children don't understand this. They want and need both parents in their lives.

The adversarial approach that exists under current divorce legislation can, through the awarding of sole custody to the mother, deny fathers any meaningful role in the upbringing of the child and lead to these children being brought up in what is essentially a single-parent household. Statistics show that children brought up in single-parent homes are more likely to come into contact with the law, abuse drugs and alcohol, and do poorly in school. Statistics also prove that conflicts between joint custody parents diminish over time, whereas in the case of sole custody, court battles can and do rage on for years.

This adversarial approach serves no one, except maybe the lawyers. The best interests of the children take a back seat, and this is just not fair. The only role the courts should have in determining custody should be in those cases where violence or abuse has been proven against one of the parental parties and it would be in the best interests of the child to restrict access to that parent. This would reduce the number of false accusations of abuse that are often made in the heat of battle in our current adversarial process.

Our children deserve to have both parents in their lives. Currently the Member of Parliament for Saskatoon-Wanuskewin, Mr. Maurice Vellacott, has prepared an equal shared parenting motion, M-483. Many Members of Parliament have signed on to second Mr. Vellacott's motion, and I hope that our MP, Mr. Dennis Bevington, will do the right thing

and, for the sake of our children and their future, support that motion.

Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr.

Ramsay. The

honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It

was good to hear Minister Lafferty's recent statement in this House on homelessness initiatives in small communities. Homelessness can affect those who are hard to house for various reasons, those who require emergency shelter, and we do seem to be making some progress on that front.

But today I want to talk about what is available for those without accommodations that show up on a transient basis. It is a fact — and will probably continue to be — that some people unknown to the community will show up unannounced and expect that some sort of social net will accommodate them. These people can appear as they just wander about the country. Some may choose the North under the impression that the northern frontier may offer employment opportunities. Some may have problems with mental illness or addiction, or some may have just worn out their welcome in other jurisdictions and be looking for a fresh start.

For whatever reason, people not known to our residents or our community show up with the expectation that they won't be left on the street. The people are often referred to our local churches. This poses problems in that many churches have their own financial challenges, not to mention being ill equipped to deal with these strangers who show up at their church or even at their homes.

The transient person may have behavioural issues that could affect the safety of our clergy. So although it is a well-known Christian principle to extend a hand of hospitality to strangers, in fact this can sometimes be a real problem.

We need a well-prepared plan of response when these people arrive in our town. We need financial and logistical resources to deal with them. We can't just react on an ad hoc basis or wish them away or have them wandering around our community.

Later today I will have questions for Minister Lafferty on how the issue of transients can be dealt with, and perhaps he can help us with who we are going to call. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to

use my Member's statement today to speak of the highway infrastructure across the Northwest Territories, especially the lack of highway infrastructure in the northern part of the Northwest Territories.

I'll go back to the condition of Highway No. 8. I've spoken to it a few times. My colleague Mr. Krutko has spoken to it a few times. We continue to say the highway is dusty. It just kind of boggles us sometimes when we hear people down here complaining about their paved, chipsealed roads, and we have to drive the Dempster. Go for a ride on the Dempster and you'll appreciate whatever we have down here.

I'm glad to see that the department is budgeting for opening the icebridges a little quicker. That's going to help with the cost of food. One of the concerns we have from constituents back home is that during breakup and freeze-up, the price of food automatically goes up, and they feel like they're being gouged. So hopefully this will help alleviate some of that concern.

I was asked a question yesterday outside. Somebody asked me who I thought was the most influential Canadian politician. It took me a few minutes, but the man that I thought of was John Diefenbaker, because he had the vision to build a highway to the Arctic. It took a good 50 years for that vision to come true, but the highway is there.

We need to take that a little bit further and have a highway go from Wrigley to Tuktoyaktuk. It's been spoken to a few times in this House, and there's no need to always state the obvious about the price of food going down and opening up the communities along the way and the economic benefits that it will bring. And for Mr. Bromley's sake, we'll build a highway. We'll put a train rail on one side and a bike path on the other, and we'll all be happy.

But this is something that's quite visionary, and it's something that we have to quit talking about. People across the Northwest Territories are tired of talk of a highway. If we ever happen to get this highway through, I hope it's not after I'm gone and not able to drive it. If we ever get that highway through, then I may change my opinion on who's the most influential Canadian politician –– from John Diefenbaker to Stephen Harper.

Thank you.