This is page numbers 993 to 1058 of the Hansard for the 16th Assembly, 2nd Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was education.

Topics

The House met at 1:30 p.m.

Prayer.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Good afternoon, colleagues. Welcome back to the Chamber. Orders of the day. Item 2, Ministers’ statements. The lead Minister on Maximizing Opportunities Strategic Initiative Committee, the Hon. Mr. Lafferty.

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Mahsi, Mr.

Speaker. I

would like to take this opportunity today, as the lead minister, to provide an update on the activities that are being undertaken and planned under the Maximizing Opportunities Strategic Initiative.

Maximizing Opportunities is one of the five initiatives that form the backbone of our government’s strategic approach and which are the basis of the investments announced in the recent budget. These five strategic initiatives have their foundation in the vision, goals and priorities developed by all Members.

The actions associated with Maximizing Opportunities advance the goal of a diversified economy that provides all communities and regions with opportunities and choices and supports other goals of the Assembly.

The NWT is rich in both resources and economic opportunities. The activities under this initiative are all aimed at positioning NWT residents to take advantage of these opportunities. Four broad actions are planned under Maximizing Opportunities:

Improving Skills for Living and Working

Maximizing Benefits from Resource Development

Supporting

Diversification

Promoting the NWT as a Place to Visit and Live

First, many NWT residents are not achieving the skills they need to enter and advance in the labour market or take advantage of existing and emerging opportunities. To address this fact, Improving Skills for Living and Working aims to build the skills we need in the Northwest Territories, especially trades and entrepreneurial skills.

We have proposed over $4.4 million in investments starting in 2008–2009, including funding and supports for trades in high schools; additional support for trades and apprentices through marketing and promotion of trades, including efforts targeted at women and aboriginal people, as well as ongoing support throughout apprenticeship and occupational certification programs; and enhanced mobile trades training that will expand trades training to include Aurora Campus in Inuvik and outlying communities.

Second, Maximizing Benefits from Resource Development will include facilitating the GNWT’s participation in preparing for the construction of the Mackenzie Gas Project. Specifically, the GNWT will make the necessary investments to complete our participation in the National Energy Board review, to begin implementation of our arrangements with the project proponents and fulfill our responsibilities in the regulatory phase of the project.

The Mackenzie Gas Project represents an important opportunity for our territory to advance towards the vision of a balanced, diversified and sustainable economy. The project holds the promise of significant ongoing investments in the oil and gas sector and substantial business employment opportunities providing both direct and indirect support to the sector.

Investment has also been planned to take the Taltson Hydro Expansion Project through the environmental assessment process and complete a project development agreement. This project has significant economic impacts and could significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the diamond sector.

Third, resource development is spurring the NWT’s economy, but it alone cannot provide a sustainable, balanced and diversified economy. We are proposing investments of $3.1 million for Supporting Diversification in 2008–2009 that focuses on efforts to support small business development and tourism in the Northwest Territories. Activities include a new Support for Entrepreneurs and Economic Development, or SEED, policy and funding for refurbishment and expansion of the territorial parks system and for cultural interpretations at parks in all five regions.

Fourth, the NWT is rich in culture as well as natural resources and has enormous future potential. Promoting the NWT as a Place to Visit and Live is aimed at marketing and promoting the NWT and supporting its arts and crafts.

A critical element of this action is our increased support for the arts. This vital sector makes important economic contributions, and this support will allow us to implement aspects of the Arts Strategy.

The activities aimed at promoting the NWT at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver starting in 2008–2009 are to plan our involvement at the Olympics. These games are being dubbed Canada’s Games, and as we plan our involvement, we need to consider our priorities of economic diversification and youth. We want to use this opportunity to promote our territory and to showcase our northern artists, performers and culture. The Olympics may also provide an opportunity for youth to take part as ambassadors to our territory and get a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

These four actions all contribute to achieving a balanced, diversified and sustainable economy. They will promote development that reduces regional and community disparities, will help identify new economic opportunities, will support the development of sustainable local economies through small businesses and community-based sectors, and will help build community human resource capacity with an emphasis on trades and entrepreneurial skills.

The recently adopted GNWT Macroeconomic Policy Framework guides the GNWT’s investment in the NWT economy. The Maximizing Opportunities Committee will be overseeing the next step in setting out the GNWT’s economic road map — the development of a long-range economic investment plan that uses the criteria set out in the framework to evaluate the potential impacts of investments in the various sectors of our economy. This work will also guide investment decisions regarding the $4.2 million in the Community Development Trust funding received from Canada earlier this year.

The planned actions as part of the Maximizing Opportunities initiative will help us achieve our goals and vision of a strong, sustainable and prosperous NWT.

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Ministers’ statements. The honourable Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr.

Bob

McLeod.

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Yellowknife South

Mr.

Speaker, today is the

beginning of Mining Week, an opportunity to highlight the significance of this sector to our economy and our future.

From our humble beginnings driven by the rush for gold to our prominent status as the world’s third largest producer of diamonds, mining in the Northwest Territories has been the mainstay of our resource economy. Since 1991 investment in mineral production, specifically diamond mining and exploration, has been the driving force behind a decade of record-setting economic statistics for the Northwest Territories.

In this time the growth of mining has done much more than just stimulating the NWT economy. It has changed the way we do business. Our residents, businesses and corporations now take a direct role in our region’s economic growth as business owners, operators and investors.

Beneficiaries of our mining sector include aboriginally and regionally owned airlines, hotels, restaurants, construction firms and telecommunications and logistics companies, as well as service and supply industries. These northern investors and entrepreneurs have succeeded by meeting the needs of our rapidly expanding mining sector. Their success, in turn, is presenting us with an unprecedented opportunity to build a future. This is the true value of mining in our territory.

The mining sector has and can continue to offer tremendous opportunities for NWT residents under the right conditions. It is critical that we strike the right balance between our support of this sector and its impact on our residents, our communities and our environment.

As a government we have supported environmentally responsible and sustainable mining developments on the condition that the benefits of these operations can be maximized for NWT residents, businesses and communities. This can be seen in our growing secondary diamond industry. We have been very careful to follow up

and confirm the commitments made by our major mining companies in our socioeconomic agreements. Mining has been the impetus and test case for this made-in-the-NWT approach to resource development, and thanks to the commitment of the industry itself, these agreements are bearing positive results.

Since the establishment of our first socioeconomic agreement with BHP in 1996, the combined operations of Ekati, Diavik, and Snap Lake have spent over $5 billion with northern and aboriginal businesses. In that same time these three mines have provided in excess of 10,000 person-years of employment to Northerners. This includes over 5,000 person-years of employment for aboriginal people of the NWT.

The mining industry in the NWT continues to show great promise. Exploration and mining are not without challenges, but this sector, driven by the demand for our abundant resources, will continue to be the economic cornerstone of our future.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Item 3, Members’ statements. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

David Ramsay

David Ramsay Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I’d like to discuss affirmative action and the involvement of aboriginal persons in senior management. The Affirmative Action Policy has been around for nearly 20 years, since 1989, and it has certainly had an impact on the GNWT’s hiring decisions over that period of time.

What I want to point out today is that even though the policy has been with us for nearly 20 years, we’re still failing as a government to have a workforce representative of the population. The percentage of aboriginal employees has been hovering in and around the 30 per cent mark over the past dozen years. There does not seem to be a concerted effort on behalf of government to improve on the statistics.

Even more troubling, Mr. Speaker, is the fact that even though the policy itself has been with us for almost 20 years, we have not been successful at succession planning for aboriginal employees. Currently we have just 15 per cent of the GNWT’s senior management listed as aboriginal. Even after having affirmative action for 20 years, we are not doing well in this area.

The Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations has only one employee that is aboriginal in senior management. ITI, arguably the most top-heavy department in government today, has 21 senior management positions of which only one is staffed by an aboriginal person. Some of the other areas of our operations also need to do a better job acquiring aboriginal senior managers. These include Justice, Aurora College, Finance and the Department of Executive. I also point out that the Department of Education, Culture and Employment has the best percentage government-wide with six out of 15 senior managers being aboriginal for a percentage of 40 per cent.

Mr. Speaker, what the GNWT needs to do is have a plan, and it needs to be able to identify aboriginal employees for mentoring and succession planning. What is happening is that aboriginal employees are getting frustrated and taking their skills with them outside the Northwest Territories, and this is a shame. We need to keep our people and their skills here in the NWT. We need to find out why there is always a huge discrepancy between the percentage of aboriginal employees in government and those in management.

Mr. Speaker, I’ll have questions for the Minister of Human Resources at the appropriate time. Mahsi.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

Jane Groenewegen

Jane Groenewegen Hay River South

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

Today I would like to talk about the proposed women’s correctional facility in Fort Smith.

I don’t know how many more mistakes we’re going to make in terms of Justice and infrastructure related to Justice than we already have. I remember when we went through the battle in this House over the closure of the Dene K’onia Young Offender Facility in Hay River, which just had to move to Yellowknife and be added on to the new North Slave Correctional Centre. I was here when we talked about the millions and millions of dollars of cost overruns on the North Slave Correctional Centre, which I’m sure came in at around $50 million. We’ve been through a debate on the establishment and construction of a new court facility here in Yellowknife, which is probably another $50 or $60 million. We keep making mistake after mistake with respect to corrections facilities, and I think that we had better take a very serious long look before we invest any more millions of dollars in capital infrastructure for corrections facilities.

Mr. Speaker, I don’t know what’s wrong with the facility that’s existing in Fort Smith. I hear it’s old. I say: “So what? If it works, who cares if it’s old?” Why would we need a $6 million facility for a minimum security facility in the Northwest Territories? I don’t know how many women are incarcerated in the Northwest Territories, but I would suggest that it’s not very many.

We need to get our priorities straight as a government. We need more money. At a time when we’re in a reduction mode and trying to find $135 million in reductions over the next two years, we need to look at priorities like front-line resources for children with special needs in our classrooms, treatment for young people who are suffering with addictions, daycare facilities, youth centres and programs for our young people. We need to get our priorities straight as a government, and I would suggest that spending $6 million on a corrections facility should not be a priority spending item for this government.

Mr. Speaker, I could swear, after we had this debate in the House about voting that planning money down for that facility, that I heard the Minister of Justice on the radio saying that they were going to find the planning money from someplace else. Later today I’ll have questions for the Minister of Justice whether or not, in fact, he did make that statement, and if he did, then we’ll have to ask ourselves what is the purpose of what we’ve been doing here for the last several weeks.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Members’ statements. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Kevin A. Menicoche

Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh

[English translation not provided.]

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It seems like ever since I was first elected to this Assembly in 2003, I have been hearing about the infamous gravel-source 177 outside of Tuktoyaktuk. Now it seems the government has found a way to move this important project.

In my riding the community of Trout Lake has source 15, which they need access to. Source 15 is located approximately 20 kilometres from Trout Lake and supplies the gravel for that community. Up until two years ago it was more efficient to haul gravel across the lake during the winter, so the lack of an all-weather access road did not present a problem. However, for the last two winters the lake ice has not been thick enough to allow for the gravel haul, and the situation is becoming critical. The time has come when we need to build an

access road, and this needs to happen soon. With climate change we clearly can no longer count on having enough ice to use the lake for the winter haul.

Mr. Speaker, it is my hope that the government will see fit to make the access road to source 15 a priority. Small communities like Trout Lake have to live without many of the services and infrastructure that those in larger centres take for granted, but gravel is very basic for our small communities. I think that this government does need to ensure that that need is met.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr.

Menicoche.

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

David Krutko

David Krutko Mackenzie Delta

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d just like to know: what do the people of Mackenzie Delta have to do to bring attention to the road conditions of the Dempster Highway and the condition of roads in our communities — set up roadblocks and ask the travelling public to pay for these repairs? The road conditions of the Dempster Highway have to be pretty bad for someone from the Inuvik region to complain that the road is bad.

Again, I’m standing up in this House talking about the condition of the Dempster Highway. We hear complaints in regard to Highway No. 7, closure of that highway, complaints in regard to Highway No. 6.... And yet again, another gravel highway is being brought to the situation of being a public debate issue in this House. Yet we have other highways where we’re basically talking about chipseal, from Highway No. 3 to Highway No. 4 and now Highway No. 5.

We have to realize that the travelling public has to be our first priority, and the public safety, as the Minister states, is his number one priority. Yet people have died on our highways because of road conditions. We have to do everything we can to improve our highway systems.

In light of this being the 50th anniversary for Inuvik,

the Dempster Highway is an important link for those people travelling our road systems, and I think it’s important that we do everything we can. The Inuvik celebrations are just a couple of weeks down the road, and I think we have to do everything we can to get that road in place.

Mr. Speaker, I believe the last time a Minister drove on that highway we spotted five graders on the road system between Inuvik and the border. I’m wondering if that’s what it takes for this government to act: to have a Minister drive the highway, and then you see some action.

I’d like to ask the Minister at the appropriate time: exactly what does it take to maintain the Dempster Highway?

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr.

Krutko. The

honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Previously I talked about counselling services in Lutselk’e. Unfortunately, the services currently being offered to the residents of Lutselk’e are not meeting the needs of the people.

With the recent suicides that the community has had to deal with, the department needs to conduct an immediate review of these services. I understand the department is in the process of reviewing the entire Mental Health and Addictions Strategy, and that’s good to hear. But I need to know, in addition to this review, what action is being taken specifically to address the situation in Lutselk’e.

Lutselk’e is a small, isolated community with a population of

400. Of that 400, 96

per

cent is

aboriginal. Also, of that 400, almost half of the population is 25 years or younger.

Lutselk’e is a traditional community, with many residents still hunting, trapping and fishing. Over 80

per cent of the community still speaks the

traditional language of Chipewyan.

With Lutselk’e being an aboriginal community, it is critical that the government’s programs and services properly recognize and effectively incorporate cultural sensitivity into the design, and more importantly, the delivery of programs and services. This includes actively engaging the community. This is not happening in Lutselk’e, and it is a significant factor in why the mental health and addictions counselling service is not meeting the needs of its residents.

Mr. Speaker, I understand this is a very complex issue, and many factors are to be taken into consideration when designing programs and the delivery mechanisms. But one of these factors that has to be included is the full, unconditional participation of the community; in this case, the Lutselk’e Dene Band. The community has been requesting this for some time now.

I view the situation in Lutselk’e as critical, and I feel that we have to do all we can to provide the necessary support, including incorporating the unique cultural perspectives of the aboriginal people.

The reality is Lutselk’e is an isolated, traditional aboriginal community, and the mental health and

addictions programs and services currently delivered are not meeting the needs of the people.

Today I will have questions for the Minister.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr.

Beaulieu. The

honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.

Mining Week 2008
Members’ Statements

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. June 9 to 14 is Mining Week, a promotional event sponsored by the NWT & Nunavut Chamber of Mines. It’s an opportunity for the Chamber to show the public what miners do and how the mining industry benefits Northerners and Canadians in general.

The North has a long history of mining as a driver of our economy. Yellowknife in particular has been and still is dependent on mining. Since 1937, when the first gold mining camp was established here, the mining industry has been the foundation of Yellowknife’s economy.

Some of the gold mines established over the years were Burwash Mine, Con Mine, Negus Mine, Giant Mine, Ptarmigan Mine and Colomac Mine. All are now closed, with the two biggest mines –– Con and Giant –– shut down in 2003 and 2005, respectively.

A community’s character is often set by its history. For Yellowknife, the influence the gold mines have had on this city will likely never be forgotten. Since the closure of the two major gold mines, Yellowknife has managed to maintain its vibrant economy due to the opening of three diamond mines north of here. The economy is now closely linked to diamond mining instead of gold mining, and Yellowknife’s trademark is now Diamond Capital of North America.

Mining Week celebrates our mining heritage, our mining industry, both past and present, and mine rescue competitions, hotly contested by teams from our northern mines. The activities get underway today. Residents can check out the new diamond displays at the Northern Frontier Visitors Centre. Today through Thursday they can tour mine training simulators at Aurora College, and learn how to operate a loader, a haul truck, or a tunnel bolter. Wednesday they can take in the NWT Mining Heritage Society annual general meeting. It’s a barbecue, picnic and tours of Giant Mine. Friday and Saturday they can observe the annual Mine Rescue Competition. And last but not least, they can attend the Miner’s Picnic on Saturday. Yellowknife Community Arena will be the place to be on June 14.

I urge Members and Yellowknife residents to take advantage of these Mining Week festivities. Northern mining brought us to where we are today and will take us forward as the NWT moves into the

future. Your attendance at events will show miners that you respect their contributions to our society, both past and present.

Mining Week 2008
Members’ Statements

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Ms.

Bisaro. The

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

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Yellowknife South

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker. This

weekend, on Saturday, I

had the privilege of

attending and speaking at the grad ceremonies held in Inuvik for the Samuel Hearne graduates. We had 40 grads this year, and it was the 40th year of

Samuel Hearne Secondary School.

The valedictorian who spoke to the students made a couple of comments that caused me to think about and appreciate the system that we have up here. The first comment he made, he was talking about doing his grade 11 in Ottawa just last year, and he kind of disputed the fact that everybody says the quality of education is better down south, and I thought that was a very good remark. This was coming from a young man who had done all his schooling in the North, through our educational system, from kindergarten. The second remark that he made, he encouraged his fellow grads to take advantage of the best post-secondary support system in the country. I thought these were very wise words coming from such a young man.

And that’s where I’d like to go today, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to speak on the training opportunities for youth. Not all of our students are going to go on to university or college. There are a lot of them that are going to go into the trades, and that’s something we have to promote, and promote vigorously, starting in Inuvik, with the trades trailers that they have there. A couple of my colleagues and I had an opportunity to tour the facility, and it’s something that’s going to have a lot of positive influence, I think, in the coming years.

This government, in my opinion, has to be proactive. They have to be leading the way, leading the push for training Northerners, and not following. Some of the aboriginal governments –– in particular, the Inuvialuit and Gwich’in –– are doing what they can to try to set themselves and the young people up to take advantage of the training opportunities. The recent announcement –– I think, this past weekend –– of $1.2 billion in exploration rights for the Beaufort-Delta really points to the need that we have to get our young people out there. We have to get them trained. We have to accelerate the training, because development will come and go, and if we’re not proactive in this, then we’re going to miss the boat on this one. It’s something that we should be setting up for right

now. This government has to take the leading role in this.

Mr.

Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to

conclude my statement.

Unanimous consent granted.

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Yellowknife South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, colleagues. I was saying that this government has to be in the forefront on this one. We have to let industry know that our young people need to be trained, and work with the aboriginal governments. But it has to be a cooperative, collaborative effort. It’s very important. I don’t want to see this territory ten years from now with all the work come and gone, and our people still not trained. It’s not acceptable, and I think we have to see what we can do about it. Young people are the future of the Northwest Territories, and we have to make sure they’re the ones that are the major beneficiaries of all the work that’s going to be going on.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr.

McLeod. The

honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

Mr. Speaker, I’d like today to urge this government to hire more people who are persons with disabilities.

Persons with disabilities have priority status under our Affirmative Action Program and Policy. With that in mind, Mr.

Speaker, I’d like some

explanations for the low numbers for persons with disabilities in our public service. It’s hard to believe that of the 4,725 employees within the GNWT we only have 19 people, or 0.4 per cent, who are persons with disabilities.

For me, this raises two issues. For one, the Affirmative Action Policy does not work; and secondly, this government is not committed to integrating this group into our workforce.

The GNWT needs to starts hiring more persons with disabilities. They need to make true accommodations to integrate them into our casual pool. It is time for this government to realize that fostering diversity is a strength in our organization, not a weakness. To help this disadvantaged group get a little help and get forward in this life, we have community-based organizations like the EmployABILITY program of the Yellowknife Association for Community Living that has the expertise in this field. I’m sure they’d be more than happy to get out there and work with the Department of Human Resources to make sure some initiatives get off the ground.

Supporting persons with disabilities as they work towards achieving their skills, development and employment goals must become a priority of this government. Priorities also mean strategic investment, Mr. Speaker. This government needs to set up a pool of money and set aside something in the range of $50,000 that could achieve these goals. That’s not asking for an incredible sum; it’s something that could go a long way. This government needs to recognize that individuals such as I’ve talked about can make valuable contributions in our public service.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I want to say that whenever someone’s hired, you see that they bring a new hope and a new light to their life — you can see the excitement in their eyes — and the chance of moving forward with some dreams. Let’s make sure that we bring some dreams and hope back to this group. Let’s hope that we bring some quality of life back to this group, such as persons with disabilities. I think we could go a long way by recognizing the opportunities, not the walls.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

I’d like to recognize Stephen Dunbar, a graduate student of Carleton University. He’s doing his thesis on consensus government. Most of you will recognize him from a while back. Welcome, Steven.

Item 6, acknowledgements. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.