Good afternoon, colleagues. Welcome back to the Chamber. Item 2, Ministers’ statements. The honourable Minister responsible for the Cabinet Subcommittee for Infrastructure, Mr. Michael McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Government of the Northwest Territories is facing a difficult challenge in providing the programs and services residents require, given the fiscal resources available. Delivering and maintaining the infrastructure from which to deliver these programs and services also faces the same challenges.

The Western Canadian economy, and in particular Alberta, is heated. The Northwest Territories competes in this economy and faces the same challenges as other governments and the private sector in delivering infrastructure projects on time and on budget.

Decisions about capital investments affect the availability and quality of government services. Capital investments are the physical foundation of government service delivery that includes transportation infrastructure, water and sewer systems, and buildings that house government services such as courts, parks and recreation, health, social services and other important community programs. The quality of this infrastructure has implications for health, safety and quality of life. The government’s physical infrastructure is what permits economic activity to efficiently take place. It allows people and goods to move, provides reliable water, and it’s where children are educated and elders are cared for. In many cases it is a determining factor that makes

NWT communities a place where people choose to live.

The fiscal reality, Mr.

Speaker, is that the

government’s infrastructure needs exceed by a wide margin our financial ability to address them. Therefore, we need to explore broad and innovative approaches to infrastructure planning, acquisition, usage and maintenance.

This approach needs to take into account funding limits as well as changing priorities, demographics and service initiatives. The Government of the Northwest Territories needs to find ways to optimize opportunities for shared and flexible approaches to infrastructure management and should seek to optimize opportunities for leveraging infrastructure funding, creative partnerships and alternative means of accessing infrastructure for programs and service delivery.

Mr. Speaker, this Assembly has also recognized the importance of providing affordable housing in our communities. The Northwest Territories Housing Corporation will continue to be a participant in our capital-planning process. However, we must ensure that housing remains a top infrastructure priority while recognizing the differences between how we build government facilities and how we deliver housing. Therefore, we will continue to allocate and budget our housing delivery using a parallel process that recognizes the need for different planning parameters for housing but does not lose sight of the value and economic benefits that result from a coordinated planning and delivery process.

In recognizing these challenges, Mr. Speaker, the Premier established the Ministerial Subcommittee for Infrastructure to review, advise and provide recommendations on how best to plan for, acquire and deliver infrastructure required for GNWT programs and services.

Based on the analysis of current GNWT practices, the subcommittee developed a list of recommendations for improving the GNWT’s capital-planning and delivery processes. These recommendations were presented for consideration in detail to the Standing Committee on Priorities and Planning and were also considered and

approved by Cabinet and FMB with a view to improving the planning, acquisition and delivery of infrastructure projects to help control costs and take preventative measures to avoid higher future costs.

Some of the more important changes we’ll be implementing are: more rigour and discipline will be imposed on the capital-planning process by developing large building projects to a class C or schematic design stage and subjecting these projects to a peer review to ensure that the proposed infrastructure solution appropriately matches the defined program/service needs. Projects must advance to the class C stage and have undergone a peer review prior to proceeding to the consultation stage.

PWS, in consultation with departments, will develop standardized designs for like buildings — examples are schools, health centres, parks infrastructure — and these standardized designs, once developed, will be used for all future infrastructure projects.

Departments will attend to their deferred maintenance projects as a priority over new or incremental infrastructure projects.

Obtaining bids from contractors through public tender and negotiations requires careful scheduling, and tenders must be scheduled to allow enough time for contractors to purchase, fabricate and expedite materials. Winter road and barge schedules present additional constraints. Problems with schedules can increase the risks to the contractor and to the Government of the Northwest Territories and add costs to the project. Tendering in April and May for summer construction is not ideal as contractors are already committed to other projects. Therefore, we’ll ensure that the appropriate consultation with standing committees takes place with a view to obtaining approval for the Legislative Assembly to consider the infrastructure acquisition plan along with the required budget allocations in the fall session.

Approval of the capital-planning process well in advance of the beginning of the fiscal year will allow for opportunities for better schedules and cost savings through the ordering of materials earlier and the logistical planning for transportation being confirmed earlier in the season.

A value analysis will be performed on every major project. These reviews will provide a mechanism for audit and accountability to ensure that projects have met the conditions of their approval. It is also important to ensure that lessons learned are incorporated into the capital-planning and project delivery process.

The Business Incentive Policy was established in 1984 to provide a level playing field for NWT-owned businesses to compete with businesses from southern Canada on GNWT contracts. At that time

the NWT economy was still in the developmental stages. The economy was not mature or diverse, and GNWT procurement and contracting — construction and leasing in particular — were the major underpinning of the NWT economy. The current Business Incentive Policy, or the BIP, provides a preference to NWT-owned firms by providing a bidding advantage of 15 per cent for northern content and 5 per cent for local content when these businesses bid on GNWT and community government projects.

Some 24 years later, in 2008, the maturity and scope of the NWT economy have vastly changed. In the mid-1990s diamond mining, oil and gas exploration, and related industrial services became the dominant players in the NWT economy and offer steady and secure income to many contractors. The reality is that there is more interest in mining and oil and gas construction and maintenance contracts than there is in GNWT contracts, and as a result, the GNWT’s influence over the economy through the use of construction contracts is minimal.

In addition to the diversification and maturation of the NWT economy, the Western Canadian economy, in particular Alberta, is booming. This has resulted in major construction contractors either leaving the NWT altogether or becoming more interested in seeking contracts in Alberta rather than in the NWT. Outside of Yellowknife only one major contractor has consistently bid on large GNWT/community government building projects. Coupled with the annual cost of inflation, estimated at 20 per cent per annum, this lack of competition or interest in GNWT construction contracts is making it extremely difficult to complete projects on time and on budget.

Mr.

Speaker, requiring community government

compliance with BIP is not consistent with the spirit and intent of the New Deal for NWT Community Governments, the intent of which is to recognize community government authority and autonomy and provide communities with the tools to make decisions and implement them effectively.

The solution to the above problem is to create more competition for GNWT/community government construction projects. In order to facilitate competition, one needs to create more interest in these contracts. In order to generate the required interest, we need to consider removing the application of the BIP from these projects and contracts.

The subcommittee has recommended eliminating the application of the BIP from the GNWT and community government infrastructure projects. Cabinet has requested my colleague the Hon. Robert McLeod, Minister of Industry, Tourism

and Investment, to develop options on how best to implement this recommendation.

In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, the subcommittee will develop an implementation plan for this revised approach to the planning, acquiring and delivering infrastructure, and I will be seeking an opportunity to advise the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Infrastructure of this revised approach and how it will be implemented.

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, I would like to take this moment to celebrate the opening of the new Chief Albert Wright School in Tulita. The new school has opened for classes and will be having a grand opening in September or October.

Thanks to the many partners involved in this project, the new school is a top-of-the-line facility. The building is 25 per cent larger. It includes a gym, a community library, computer areas, wireless networking, a large science room and a great view of Bear Rock.

Thanks are due to the district education authority, the Sahtu Divisional Education Council, Pin-Taylor Architects, Dowland Construction, the school staff and the community for their hard work that has been put into this new facility. I especially would like to recognize the efforts of the community, the district education authority, the staff and the students for setting up and running school programs out of various buildings following the fire.

The building of the new school probably seemed to take forever, but students are overjoyed to be back in their own building. The opening is a cause for celebration.

Special thanks are also due to Tulita’s Yamoria Community Secretariat, which provided funding for the gymnasium expansion, which is a beautiful facility for both the school and the community. This is yet another example of northern government and agencies working together to maximize facilities for our people.

I would like to particularly recognize the principal, Wayne Dawe, and the superintendent, Seamus Quigg, for their efforts to make sure studies were minimally disrupted during the given situation. Thanks to all the Government of Northwest

Territories’ partners, it is now possible for Tulita’s 153 students to begin the coming school year in a wonderful facility that will help them reach their full potential.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Ministers’ statements. The honourable Minister Responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Miltenberger.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to announce that the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation has reached an agreement for the utilization of the former Somba K’e Healing Lodge near Dettah. Effective June 2008 the corporation will be leasing this facility to the Deton’Cho Corporation, which is owned by the Yellowknives Dene First Nation. They will operate the facility as a training centre in partnership with the Mine Training Society and Aurora College for three years.

Under this partnership Aurora College will be offering the Underground Miner Training Program at the facility and will offer accommodations to all students in the program on-site to introduce trainees to a camp-like setting. The Deton’Cho Corporation has committed $150,000 over three years to purchase equipment, furniture and other supplies to convert this facility into an educational facility. Mining companies currently operating in the territory will also serve as partners in this initiative. Together, this partnership between the government and the private sector will allow for the development of programs and services that will assist our residents in gaining sustainable employment opportunities.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that an appropriate use has been found for this facility. Since taking ownership of this facility in 2003, the Housing Corporation has incurred operating and maintenance costs related to this facility totalling approximately $1 million. It is important that we expend funds in the most appropriate and beneficial way possible. In this case not only does the lease allow us to redirect funds to other areas; the intended use for the facility will be beneficial to residents wishing to gain employment in the mining industry. The shelter component of this agreement will also make it easier for residents from outside Yellowknife to learn at their facility and have access to housing during their training.

This agreement is evidence of the successes that can be realized when we work in partnership with community organizations, other departments and development corporations. I’d like to extend my

congratulations and best wishes to the partners as they pursue their efforts to train residents to take advantage of the many opportunities stemming from resource development.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Item 3, Members’ statements. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

[English translation not provided.]

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I want to speak on the need to ensure that access to NWT Housing Corporation programs is done fairly and that the program requirements do not put up any systemic barriers for Northerners. I can tell you that some days I wonder whether I ran for the position of housing relations officer instead of MLA.

Mr. Speaker, I have some constituents who have been denied access to Housing Corporation funding because of their arrears with them. These arrears are related to a loan these constituents received for work that was done to their house. These constituents have disputed these loans, because the work was never completed and the required repairs remain outstanding. So these constituents are in a fix.

The Housing Corporation is following their rules that clearly state that if you are in arrears to the corporation, you are not eligible for funding under any Housing Corporation program. The required outstanding repairs and any additional repairs my constituents need done to their homes will not happen until they can deal with these arrears.

The one way I can see for this issue to be dealt with is if we had an appeal board and a formalized complaint process. If the original issue of the incomplete repairs had been dealt with in an appropriate manner through a formalized complaints process, there probably wouldn’t be an issue today. However, Mr. Speaker, we are left with a situation that clearly points out the need for an appeal board with the power to make decisions that can take into account the client’s history.

There clearly needs to be some flexibility in how the “outstanding arrears means no access to funding” policy is applied. If the NWT Housing Corporation can come to an understanding with the client that addresses outstanding arrears and the new funding

requirement, I can see no reason that another loan could not be processed.

Another issue needs to be reviewed. When the Minister examines the role of an appeal board and the application of the no-outstanding-arrears policy, there’s an income threshold eligibility for each community, especially those that are off all-weather roads.

Mr. Menicoche, 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. Thank you, colleagues.

I know that the Minister is working on rolling out an appeal board process in the near future, but we need it now. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

Mr. Speaker, today I’m going to pick up again on the discussions regarding debt and deficit at Stanton Territorial Hospital.

The Minister stated in the local media last week that the overall debt to pay back FMBS for covering the payroll for the past 13 pay periods, or six and a half months, is over $26 million. If you add that to the $11.5 million of accrued deficit, it gives you a total of $37.5 million. Given the reduction exercise the government is currently conducting and the scarcity of dollars to go around, I’d like to know where on God’s green earth are we going to come up with $37 million extra.

Mr. Speaker, in the same article I spoke of earlier, Minister Lee also said that there would be a supplementary appropriation bill coming forward during this session to deal with the payroll issue. I

am left wondering whether or not that

supplementary appropriation is going to be for $11.5 million, which is the accrued deficit, $26 million for the payroll crisis or $37.5 million to address both issues.

I still have a difficult time understanding why this has been happening for six and a half months and how long the government anticipates it to continue. If the authority is not paying the $2 million in payroll back to FMBS, then where exactly are they spending the money?

Are operations and cash flow so far off track at that hospital that this has had to be the case for the past six and a half months? I could understand one or two pay periods, but how can you explain 13 consecutive pay periods totalling $26 million?

The department conducted a zero-base review at Stanton that began early in the spring of 2007. This was supposed to be a tool by which management at Stanton could make decisions and assist in the development of a balanced budget for 2008–2009. What kind of balanced budget can you get when you owe FMBS $26 million to start off with, and another $11.5 million deficit is staring you squarely in the face?

Mr. Speaker, I will again today have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services on this issue at Stanton. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. During the week of July 18–20, Folk on the Rocks will be hosting their annual summer music festival. This year’s theme is Global Fusion, and it is an exploration of what multicultural means in Canada today.

For 28 years Folk on the Rocks has been bringing music to the shores of Long Lake. The festival is one of the NWT’s premier musical events. It is known as a culturally diverse event, which includes a 50-50 split between northern and southern performers.

The festival has always supported northern performers and has been a great opportunity for these northern performers to play alongside and collaborate with established southern performers. This exposure is incredibly valuable to these northern performers and helps them enhance their current skills.

Folk on the Rocks should be very proud of their contribution to the northern music scene. They’ve made a real difference in the lives of many northern performers.

This year’s line-up is spectacular, both from a southern and a northern point of view. Artists include Juno-nominated Jill Barber, one of Canada’s most renowned singer-songwriters; Toronto-based Elliott Brood, who plays dark, gritty folk music and howling bluegrass; B.C.-born and Toronto-based Ndidi Onukwulu, who has a voice you just won’t forget; Malajube, with their rock punk and bubblegum pop sounds for everyone to enjoy; the Mushfiq Ensemble, singing in a dozen different languages; Shane Philip, with a musical tapestry including reggae, ska, folk, funk and rock; from Fort Smith, State of the Art, a hard-rocking band with

raw grit and intensity; Four Leaf Clover, St. Patrick High School’s own jazz band, well worth a listen; Shea Alain, a local singer-songwriter and winner of last season’s Rock the Folk contest; Santa Lucia LFR, Latin, funk and rock; Plants and Animals from Montreal with classic rock and folk progressive; Uzume Taiko, the dynamic fusion of old Japanese and new styles of drumming; Tambura Rasa, upbeat sounds and songs from around the world; Taqralik Partridge with spoken-word performances from Nunavik; Aaju Peter from Greenland; Juno-nominated Mike Ford, previously from Moxy Fruvous; Alex Mahe on guitar in both French and English; Mathew Noqingaq, a drummer from Iqaluit; The Green Fools, Calgary-based comedians; the songs of Stephen Kakfwi — some of you might remember him; I think he’s been in here once or twice — Tony Foliot, the Snow King; the Dawgwoods, Yellowknife’s newest folk-rock band, with great sounds; Bryce Young; and Yellowknife’s own The Skinnys, who are pure entertainment.

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

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

Unanimous consent granted.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I had one line to go.

I encourage everyone in Yellowknife over the weekend to come out and enjoy the performances. You won’t be disappointed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.

Mahsi. Mr. Speaker, I’d like to talk on the provision of midwife services in the NWT. There are currently only three midwives working for Health and Social Services in the Northwest Territories — one in Yellowknife and two in Fort Smith — with only one of the midwife positions in Fort Smith receiving core funding. The other midwife there currently has only short-term funding.

Although there are other registered midwives interested, there is no funding for other positions here in Yellowknife, where there is increasing demand. An expert in the field estimates there is probably already enough demand for an additional three or even four midwives in Yellowknife alone.

I have several constituents who rely on a midwife in helping with the births of their children, but many other constituents are lamenting the lack of service available. The midwife here is unable to take

additional clients due to her limited capacity as the sole midwife in town and a sole program staff/manager/advocate in the territory.

Currently there are no midwife training programs in the NWT, and although there is some interest in Fort Smith to collaborate with programs down south, there is no funding. Even if there was a program to train midwives, there is, at the moment, not enough money and no vacant positions for the graduates. Having the capacity to train midwives here would bring long-term sustainability and promote their retention in the North. Funding is required for this support.

Mr.

Speaker, following the Territorial Midwifery

Profession Act of 2003, it is unfortunate we are not able to fully implement a midwife program, even in the capital. Encouraging the training of local women to become midwives and to practise to the extent possible in their home communities would be, in the long term, an effective use of resources. Our highly appreciated medical doctors are both busy and expensive, and it only makes common sense to invest in strategies that can relieve demand for doctors while lowering the costs of birthing.

Mr. Speaker, this service is regarded as both a quality-of-life factor and an effective use of government dollars. I encourage our Department of Health and Social Services to consider this and make midwife services widely available to our communities. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.