Good afternoon, colleagues. Welcome back to the Chamber. Orders of the day. Item 2, Ministers’ statements. The honourable Minister, the lead Minister on Strategic Initiative committee.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take the opportunity today as the lead Minister for the Refocusing Government Strategic Initiative Committee to provide an update on the activities related to the Board Reform Initiative.

We need to take a moment to take stock of the whole board reform idea and where it has come from. It is important to remember that the question of how the GNWT approaches boards and agencies has been discussed by the Legislative Assembly for more than a decade. This is not an idea that has just occurred during this Assembly. During the 15th Assembly, Members were involved

in an extensive boards and agency review that considered many of the same issues on the table for discussion now. With our renewed focus on effective and efficient government in the 16th Assembly, the time is right to move forward with changes. We can take steps now that will allow us to offer improved services to our residents and help us resolve some long outstanding issues.

Board reform is not about suggesting that the boards aren’t working hard to deliver programs and services. However, it is about recognizing that a large part of the client base for each of these boards is the same people and that the issues in one area cross over into another. It is also about ensuring that what funding we do have is spent as much as possible on direct delivery of programs.

The Northwest Territories is relatively small in terms of its population. At the moment, there are more than 70 different education, health and housing boards at the local and regional level. Each of these boards has a dedicated group of individuals who represent community or regional interests, an administration, and programs that it delivers. This wasn’t necessarily a situation the government set out to create. The current structure emerged over many years as individual boards were created, sometimes in response to specific circumstances or needs. While some boards may function well individually, they were not necessarily designed to function as a system. We need to ask ourselves if this is the approach we need now, or if we want to have a system specifically designed to deliver integrated, comprehensive services to our people.

Mr. Speaker, when we got together at the start of the 16th Legislative Assembly a key message from

Members was that we needed to get on with board reform. Work had been done in the past on various elements of the system and the call was for us to act. In trying to determine the most appropriate approach, there were three factors that drove our thinking.

First was that regional input into service delivery mattered and should be preserved. We have a long history of having local input into program delivery. While some might prefer to see all services delivered at a territorial level, we believe that regional priority setting is an important feature of our approach to boards that must be retained during this reform.

The second element was that a case management approach was needed. Our services should focus on our clients and their needs, which is aided by removing barriers to people working together and integrating service delivery wherever possible.

Board reform is not about fixing particular problems with education boards or health boards, but it is about finding better ways to serve the needs of our residents. This is not to suggest that many of our regional staff aren’t already trying to find ways to work together, but often these efforts are done in spite of, rather than because of, the organizational structures we have in place.

The third element of our thinking was related to the management and administrative duplication that occurs when 70 boards are involved in governance for health, social services, education and housing programs. While board reform isn’t about saving money, it only makes sense that we don’t need separate administrative structures for every single business line when these resources could more effectively be directed at front-line delivery in services our residents need.

Mr. Speaker, we have heard concerns from Members, stakeholders and the public about the amount of information the government has provided on the Board Reform Initiative. I understand that people are concerned about what this initiative might mean for them and are anxious to hear some details. We intend to provide those details as work on this initiative progresses. Board reform is a significant undertaking and we did not want to finalize our plans behind closed doors without input from the people it will affect. Our strategy was to get some initial ideas and concepts on the table for discussion, rather than to try to work out all the details before letting the public know what was going on.

In late January, we released a document that provided a description of the general approach to the proposed regional services boards. This document was not intended to answer every question or provide specific implementation plans, but rather to support continued discussion on elements of the proposed approach. We have been consulting with boards and staff on this general approach and also want to hear from the public and other stakeholders. We have posted the consultation package already distributed to boards on the Department of Executive website. The package includes an overview of the issues we are looking at as we develop our plans, and asks specific questions about elements in our approach. I encourage anybody with an interest in board reform to download and read the package and give us their thoughts on the issues we have brought forward at this time.

To those who are merely standing to say “no” to a change to how boards operate in the NWT, we would ask that you give some thought to the goal we are trying to achieve. We want to provide better and more effective services for our residents. We encourage you to come to the table not with a no, but with a list of what is most important to you and your ideas about opportunities to work better together within communities and regions.

Board reform is a work in progress. The issues are complex and it will take time to develop our plans and implement any changes. We have stated in the past that this may end up taking on different forms in different regions. There may also be a

different time frame for implementation in different regions and it is possible that a phased approach will be most effective.

Much has been made of the milestone set for this coming April. Let us be clear that this is only one such point on a much longer path. In April, the first round of consultations on our general approach will be done and we will have completed some of the more detailed costing associated with board reform. We will then be in a position to work with Regular Members and make decisions on how we want to proceed with this initiative. No one has suggested that regional services boards would be established this April or that all final decisions will be made.

Mr. Speaker, I want to state for the record that boards are an important and vital part of how the GNWT manages and delivers services to the people of the Northwest Territories. Boards are a critical link between the government and the people we serve. We depend on the boards to ensure that services are meeting community and regional needs and we do not see that role changing. Boards do good work and this initiative is not because we think they don’t. But where we are doing a good job now, we believe we can do an even better job in the future.

I encourage all Members to continue to engage in a dialogue on the best path forward. There are some that may prefer that we do nothing. I believe that if we are true to our goals and priorities for the 16th Legislative Assembly we will all work together to make the changes needed. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Mr. Speaker, this week we are celebrating Aurora College Week. Our northern college provides many opportunities for NWT adults to develop new skills and engage in lifelong learning.

Twenty or thirty years ago, people could graduate from high school, take a few years of training and be set for life. Those days, Mr. Speaker, are gone.

Technology is always changing, knowledge is expanding and skill demands are continually evolving. What was considered an adequate level of skill 10 years ago might not be adequate today. Ten years from now, we expect that NWT adults will need additional skills to those required today.

In the 21st century, adults from all walks of life must

be lifelong learners to keep up with the pace of change. Lifelong learning happens in the classroom, the workplace, the community and at home. The Department of Education, Culture and Employment encourages NWT residents of all ages to keep learning and developing new skills. The global and national economic recession is a concern for all of us. Every night on the news there are stories of Canadians losing their jobs and falling on hard times. However, even in this economic recession, some employers are having a hard time recruiting employees with the skills needed to do specific jobs. The jobs that are the most resilient to economic ups and downs are high-skill and knowledge-intensive jobs. One of the best things Northerners can do to protect themselves from economic hardship is to continuously upgrade their skills.

Aurora College offers a wide variety of programs, ranging from academic upgrading to degree programs. Aurora College also offers many evening continuing education courses, so NWT residents can upgrade their skills without taking time off work.

I encourage NWT adults to explore the many opportunities Aurora College provides for them. I encourage all NWT residents to become lifelong learners. During Aurora College Week and every week, learning is for life.

Mr. Speaker, by tradition, the third week in February is celebrated across Canada as Heritage Week. This year in the Northwest Territories, many organizations are celebrating the importance of heritage.

I would like to highlight some of the Heritage Week events that will be taking place in the Northwest Territories this week.

On February 16 and 17, several organizations are promoting heritage and culture-based education resources at the NWT Teachers Conference in Yellowknife. Representatives from the NWT Heritage Fairs Society are giving out pieces of a “heritage” cake February 16 to mark the significance of National Heritage Day.

The Norman Wells Historical Centre has organized a storytelling event today aimed at local family participation. Long-term resident Ed Hodgson is sharing some of his favourite stories of life on the land. The Historical Centre continues to feature many exhibits of history, art and cultural heritage of the Sahtu region. For example, moosehide craftwork by Sahtu Dene artisan Myrtle Harrison is on exhibit along with artifacts and natural history

specimens that portray the beauty of the land and tell the story of the CANOL Trail, exploration and aviation history of the region.

The City of Yellowknife Heritage Committee kicked off its celebration of Heritage Week yesterday with an afternoon of storytelling and a heritage art show at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre. They also announced the winners of the 2008 Heritage Award to the Mildred Hall School heritage mappers.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to invite Members to the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre to view the various new displays and exhibitions including Pihuaqtiuyugit – We are the Long Distance Walkers. The exhibit features traditional place names near Ulukhaktok and the literacy skills used by Kangiryuarmiut to travel from ancient routes from the sea ice inland to caribou calving grounds.

Awareness, appreciation and promotion of our northern heritage is important because it helps strengthen our cultural identity as individuals, families and communities.

I would like to recognize the efforts of all cultural and heritage organizations and individuals across the NWT who work to promote, preserve and revitalize our unique northern heritage throughout the year. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to speak today about diamonds and our local cut and polish industry. I spoke numerous times about the Government of the Northwest Territories’ inability or lack of desire to pursue new directions and a commitment to the secondary diamond industry here in the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, earlier this year, Laurelton diamond factory closed its doors and with it 40 jobs were eliminated. I have constituents with young families who worked at Laurelton who have come to me and said could this have been avoided? Where was the Government of the Northwest Territories when it came to protecting the jobs at Laurelton and the cut and polish industry? Mr. Speaker, an industry that we have worked so hard to establish is being left to die on its own and my belief is that it’s not too late. The Government of the Northwest Territories must

look at ways to be flexible and accommodating during these rough economic times. We need to sit down with the existing cut and polish factories and find some creative ways to keep their doors open and retain the 65 jobs that remain in these factories. What good is a new diamond policy going to be if we don’t have any factories left?

The Arslanian and polar bear factories are shut down all of this week and already five employees have been laid off. The factories are closed so that management can come up with a plan as to how to survive in this worldwide recession and their plan may be to close the factories for good. This would be an outright shame.

I believe the Government of the Northwest Territories should be trying to sort out some interim rules or policy to allow the remaining factories to function. According to industry experts, the turnaround in the diamond industry will not happen until the last quarter of 2010. The next two years will be extremely difficult for existing cut and polish factories. We need to ensure that we do everything in our power to help these factories and the cut and polish industry survive until the market turns around.

Do we not care about the remaining 65 jobs and families involved? Can’t we show this industry and the diamond world that we actually care about the cut and polish industry here in the Northwest Territories?

I will have questions for the Minister of ITI at the appropriate time.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Spring will soon arrive in Fort Liard. Spring, as Liard residents know, brings the bison into their town. Some communities in the Northwest Territories may have dogs roaming around in town. Other communities may have unsupervised youth or children looking for trouble. In Fort Liard there are bison. They can ruin the trees, dig up gardens, damage properties, and are a significant hazard to the residents.

The Minister of Environment and Natural Resources committed to the development of a Bison Management Plan. A draft Bison Management Strategy is now out for public comment; a plan that suggests that it will take another two years to prepare a plan specifically for the Nahanni herd. The unwelcome visitors in Fort Liard belong to the Nahanni herd.

The Bison Management Strategy also states that ENR will immediately increase its efforts to keep bison out of the communities, including the increasing availability of public education materials.

Last spring the Minister advised me that the department was considering increasing the quota for the community from one to six animals and was working with the Department of Transportation on fencing options, including testing electrified fencing.

I recognize the Minister is getting started on the task. I suggest to the Minister that, to the best of my knowledge, new public education materials are not going to keep the bison out of Fort Liard. Nahendeh residents continue to expect more substantial action from the Minister to help us with this serious problem.

I’ll be asking the Minister questions during question period.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to talk about the Salvation Army and highlight the wide range of services it offers to the people of the Northwest Territories.

As Members of this House and the general public are aware, there are serious issues of homelessness and substance abuse in the North. Since 1981 the Salvation Army has been one group of many who attempt to address these issues in our community. They provide a noon hour soup line and an evening supper at the entrance of their shelter. Free bread is distributed during office hours. The emergency shelter provides a secure sleeping place for people who would otherwise be left in hazardous situations. Activities and an evening snack are available to clients who are sober or who are involved in transitional programs.

As we know, people will not change their lifestyles until they make personal decisions to do so. Fortunately, when someone decides to make a positive change, the Salvation Army is prepared to help. Case workers support clients with withdrawal management services followed by Life Recovery and Making Productive Choices programs that deal with life skills, emotional stability, and relapse prevention. Staff and volunteers also provide assistance with resume writing, as well as with job and apartment searches. They help address education and literacy needs. The Salvation Army also offers budget counselling, emergency clothing

vouchers to be redeemed at their Thrift Store, and family housing assistance.

The Salvation Army staff are extremely busy. Volunteer opportunities are available in many areas. Members of the public make donations to the food bank or participate in Christmas Food Hamper and Adopt-a-Family programs, and all is coordinated through the Salvation Army.

Services are not exclusively for the homeless. They are available for any community members who are at serious risk. They do, however, offer some programs targeted at specific groups. For instance, accommodation and life recovery programs are available for men only. With the opening of the Bailey House, the Salvation Army hopes to better support men in transitional circumstances.

If we ignore the issues of addictions and homelessness, more people will be victimized on the streets and we will experience more poverty and crime in the North. The Salvation Army reaches out to the individuals, addressing a great need in our community.

I would like to recognize and applaud all of the staff and the volunteers of the Salvation Army and thank them for their dedication to the Northwest Territories. Let’s remember their contributions and pledge our continued support.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I want to speak about the need to develop and expand our research capacity and knowledge on northern climate change. The Northwest Territories is on the front lines of climate change and if Northerners are to successfully adapt to these changes, we need to understand it and how to apply this knowledge to our everyday lives.

The Yukon government has taken a proactive approach to better understanding these changes and impacts. It was recently announced that it will fund the Yukon Research of Excellence. The mandate of the research centre is to develop, coordinate, and support leading edge research on climate change adaptation for the Yukon. It is also supporting the Yukon Cold Climate Innovation Centre, which will focus on the development of viable business opportunities related to cold climate technologies.

I believe we need to make similar investments in this type of research and take a proactive approach

to climate change adaptations and innovative technologies in the NWT. It will help us better understand what changes are occurring as a result of climate change. What can be done to adapt to these changes and potentially develop made-in-the-North, made-in-the-NWT solutions?

We have a number of organizations that are committed to climate change work in the NWT. They include the Arctic Energy Alliance, Ecology North, and the Aurora Research Institute. An investment in these types of research moves us closer to our goals of a greener, more sufficient Territory.

The old saying used to be that climate change was on our doorstep. I’m going to say that story is no longer. Climate change is like an unwanted visitor who is on my couch and not going away.

I would have to say the world is hungry for this type of urgent information. I encourage the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources to reach out to the federal government and our many partners to help create and establish a centre of excellence here in the Northwest Territories, a climate change research centre. This is an institute that could be good for all.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The federal Environment Minister Jim Prentice announced recently that the government would be committing an undisclosed amount of money to subsidize Imperial Oil and its partners for costs associated with the Mackenzie Gas Project. Given that the environmental and national review process is not completed yet, this is a serious breach of the government’s responsibility to the people and an insult to many of those who participated in the review.

Rather unbelievably, our own Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment said that he was very pleased with the announcement. By backing the project financially, the federal government has not just gone against their word, they have severely undermined their ability to make fair and objective decisions about the MGP.

Despite the review process not being complete, the government has clearly made its decision. Minister Prentice speaks of the project as a done deal, ensuring that once the review process has been completed the project would proceed quickly.

We know something about conflict of interest, and in my mind the federal government’s decision is unequivocally a clear breach of ethics on conflict of interest. It’s bad enough that the feds are undermining the voice of our people by essentially bypassing the review process, but to have our Cabinet publicly support such a move is outrageous.

Esso is one of the richest companies on earth, regularly announcing unbelievable levels of profit while crying for subsidies. Whose side are we on, the people’s or the multi-national oil companies? It’s a question worth asking, Mr. Speaker, because as it stands, the pipeline is going to benefit the oil companies far more than it will benefit Northerners. At the very least, where is our use of this project to leverage devolution so we can actually ensure meaningful benefits? Where is this government’s demand that this gas be directed to replacing dirty fuel or the transparent process to ensure our public that this will occur? Where is the demand that this gas not be used to fuel an industry that is currently threatening our water quality for the length of the Mackenzie River?

At a time when our economy is in serious trouble, thousands of Canadians are losing jobs and our environment is threatened as never before. Our federal government is handing out money behind closed doors and ignoring due process. How about diversifying our economy and creating jobs in alternative energies and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and our escalating vulnerability to climate change?

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

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and colleagues. Here, Mr. Speaker, in the Northwest Territories, we are completely unprepared tax wise or regulatory wise to ensure maximum benefits within a narrow window of authority we do have. Trying to do the same old things the same old way does not serve our people and sometimes it is downright shameful. Mahsi.

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

Today I want to highlight the Akaitcho Business Development Corporation and their 2008 award winners. The Akaitcho Business Development Corporation works to advance economic development in Ndilo, Dettah and

Yellowknife through assistance to small businesses. Last year the corporation assisted over 56 businesses with loans, loan guarantees and business advice and that resulted in the creation of more than 75 full-time jobs.

In December of 2008 the Akaitcho BDC held their annual general meeting and awards luncheon and five Yellowknife area businesses received awards in recognition of their success. They were the Bella Dance Academy, business of the year. Ms. Lina Ball is the owner of the academy and received the Excellence of the Year award previously. S.L. Painting, Youth Business of the Year. Mr. Sebastien Lévesque began his business in 2007 to fill an expanding need in the Yellowknife market. Didehcho Gas and Diesel Services, Aboriginal Business of the Year. This business is owned by Grant Blondin and has become well known for quality repairs and services on machines run by gas and diesel. YK Glass Recyclers, Environmental Business of the Year. Matthew Grogono started recycling glass in 1994 and converted YK Glass Recyclers to a co-op in 1997. Sam’s Monkey Tree and Diamante Restaurant, Excellence of the Year award. Harvey Bourgeois and Steve Dinham credit the success of their business to concentration on service and the quality of the food.

Mr. Speaker, the success of these businesses is impressive. Owning and operating a small business is a daunting and all-consuming task. Most new businesses struggle and some of them do not survive. I would like to congratulate all of the award winners and make special mention of the following 13 businesses who have each achieved the five year mark in the life of their business and that is a very significant mark. They are: DJ’s Towing, Donald Clark; Euphora Hair Spa, Samantha Kidston; Birchwood Gallery, Tony Watier; Behind the Scenes, Pat Thagard; Certified Refrigeration and Burner Services, Ellison Watkins; Aurora Telecom Services Ltd., Mark Rocher; Millenium Technology Solutions, Norm Fillion; McKay Electric, John McKay; J&A Fire Protection, Jim and Angie Mernickle; Yellowknife Funeral Services, Bill Skentos.

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

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and colleagues, for allowing me to finish this great list. JMS Services, Dave Hysert; DW Maintenance, Darrell Peddle; Quarter Pound Fries, Dave Lantz.

I think everybody has had some of those great fries. They each deserve our congratulations and best wishes for another successful five years in their business. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mr. Speaker, being the former vice-president of the Northwest Territories Metis Association is an honour by way of wearing my Metis sash today in recognition of the father of the Metis revolution, Louis Riel.

This day in 1885 Louis Riel was hung for the Red River Rebellion. He was a leader and a man with foresight in regards to the battle of First Nation and Metis rights in western Canada. Louis started the First Nation rights as we know them today. The battle for settling treaties has crossed western Canada, the settling of land claims and the battle for constitutional protection and recognition for First Nations and Metis people in Canada.

Looking back 124 years, aboriginal people have come a long way. The challenges and the recognition of their rights in Canada are still a struggle today. It is still with us today with the leaders of today and the aboriginal people that basically strive for those rights can look back in regards to 124 years and realize that Louis Riel was a hero. His struggle and this battle for recognition of indigenous people’s rights in Canada wasn’t lost for all. He is a leader that has taken the sacrifice for what we have today as native people in Canada. The Metis people in Canada should celebrate that 124 years ago the struggle began with the death of Louis Riel. Native people, Metis rights, constitutional protection is something that is a result of the protection of section 35 of our Constitution, which means something to First Nations people. But yet today, people still do not recognize aboriginal land claims, aboriginal treaties and aboriginal rights when it comes to health care, education, dental care. Yet, Mr. Speaker, the struggle goes on.

Again, with that, I would like to say, mahsi, Louis. Thank you for the struggle. Without you, we wouldn’t be here where we are today. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Member for the Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Mr. Speaker, today I listened to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment talk about the lifelong learning specifically in the Aurora College initiative that is happening down the

Mackenzie Valley in the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, I, too, would like to congratulate the people who are making a difference in the small communities and large centres in terms of entering into college or university or learning the new technology of the workplace.

Mr. Speaker, my concern with the smaller communities is that a tracking of our education system. Mr. Speaker, we have lots of young people who are graduating from school who are finishing Grade 12 but have a very difficult time entering into college or university because sometimes they have to do a couple of years of upgrading to prove their standards to enter into a qualified program at either a college or university. Sometimes the support isn’t there and so these students are left out in the cold, so to speak.

As a case in point, I have several constituents in the Sahtu that have finished Grade 12. We celebrated and graduated them, and yet when they try to enter into a college program of their choice, or university, they are told that they have to upgrade their skills in order to enter into that college. That is where I feel that the education system is somewhat needing to be improved with our students here.

I want to look at these gaps here in terms of where this department is focusing their energy to help these young students to get into colleges and to support them through the college system, even though it means that we have to look at different areas where we can support them through a preparation for college or a university either here in the Northwest Territories or somewhere in universities. Sometimes we seem to not have enough resources to support them. I would want to question the Minister later on in the House in terms of what ways we can look at supporting these young students into colleges or universities and not let them fall between the cracks in terms of the education system. I will be asking questions to the Minister at the appropriate time. Thank you.

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

Mr. Speaker, even after hearing Minister Miltenberger’s Minister’s statement today on the Board Reform Initiative -- I’ve been around here a long time -- I still am at a loss to understand what the government is trying to get at by taking such a wholesale and wide-sweeping approach to board reform.

Why can’t we take some small steps? Why can’t we look at the Health and Social Services department,

for example, and look at the governance structures that fall within that department and think of ways of creating efficiencies? Health is a good one because it is fairly integrated across the Territory. Mr. Speaker, to take all the education councils and local authorities; to take all of those local housing boards that get elected every year and mostly just volunteer to do their work; to take all of those...Let’s see, what am I missing here? Education, housing, health and social services...Like I said, health and social services is a different creature unto itself. Mr. Speaker, this is not a game we’re playing here. This isn’t some one person, you know, sitting up in some control tower trying to figure out how to move governance around on the map. These are people’s lives we’re talking about. This isn’t a game of I’m the king of the castle and this is how it’s going to be. I get the impression that this is some kind of a play on some kind of an organizational chart.

I still cannot hear coming through in the communication what the real reason is for the push behind this. Of course, we all want efficiencies. Of course, we want to make sure we have maximum resources at the front-line to deliver programs and services to our people. But how can we show such disrespect for the people at the community and regional levels that are bringing their good thought and their good expertise and experience to serve on these boards? How can we disrespect it? I would dare say that many of them have more knowledge and experience and more dedication -- because many of them do it on a voluntary basis -- than what we see sitting around this table here. Yet we think we’re in a position to dictate top-down to these people and criticize what they are doing by taking this absolutely sweeping approach to changing the way we do government.

There are so many other important things we should be focusing on right now and this is a misplacement of our energy and our resources. After hearing the Minister’s statement today, I would like to ask him to cease and desist. Let’s get on with the important stuff. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’d like to recognize the chief from Inuvik, Mr. Herbert Blake. Welcome to the House, Herb.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Item 6, acknowledgements. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today in my Member’s statement I talked about the importance of creating a climate change research institute here in the Northwest Territories. My question to the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources is would he reach out to his federal counterparts to see if they would be interested in establishing a research centre of excellence here in the Northwest Territories to do climate change study? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Premier, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the issue the Member has raised today is one that we intend to follow up on. As pointed out here, there have been quite a number of concerns around climate change in the Northwest Territories. I know Minister Miltenberger is looking at our existing facilities to try and work with those in the field to see what we can do to improve in that area. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, would the Premier be willing to put this on the next type of discussions they have with the Prime Minister and potentially the Environment Minister at the earliest opportunity that we can have on this subject? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, we’re going to have to come up with our own approach here. I know Minister Miltenberger has been doing some work in there and I’ll have to get back to him to find out what work has been done, what connection has been made with other jurisdictions, and follow up from there. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment. It gets back to my Member’s statement where I was talking about the secondary diamond industry here in the Northwest Territories and the fact that the Laurelton plant recently closed down, with 40 jobs being lost. I have constituents who have come to me and said, well, what is the Government of the Northwest Territories doing to protect jobs in this secondary industry. That’s the first question I’ve got for the Minister. What is the

Government of the Northwest Territories doing to protect jobs in the secondary diamond industry?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m pleased to hear that the Member agrees that we should be protecting secondary diamond polishing jobs in Yellowknife. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I didn’t hear anything specific there. I’d like to ask the Minister -- and it hasn’t come through our committee, the EDI committee. I’d like to ask the Minister if he’d be willing to take his departmental officials and if I could offer up my services to help facilitate any of those types of meetings with the secondary diamond industry, the cut and polish factories that are in existence. I think we need to sit down with them and find a way that we can keep their doors open and protect the 65 or so jobs that are out there. Will the Minister commit to meeting with the existing factories? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, we have briefed standing committee. We have offered, and the committee has agreed, to work together as we review a diamond policy. I know that the situation is getting very serious with regard to diamonds. Certainly, we’d be willing to meet with the diamond polishers and manufacturers here in Yellowknife. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the fact is, what good is a diamond policy if we don’t have any factories left? I think time is of the essence here. I’d like to ask the Minister if the government had sat down with Laurelton prior to them shutting their doors. Because my fear is in the next couple of weeks there’s a real fear that Arslanian and the polar bear factory will indeed shut down as well. Time is of the essence. Can the Minister agree today to sit down as soon as possible with those factories, the ones that are remaining, Mr. Speaker? Thank you.

We’re quite prepared to do that. Arslanian and ACW are restructuring and have been restructuring for some time, but we’re quite prepared to sit down and meet with them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Mr. Speaker, in trying to keep the factories open, would the government entertain some type of interim measure on these policies which would allow the factories to remain open? I want to get a better understanding that the government will be flexible in these discussions. Thank you.

We are prepared to be flexible and work with the committee to see how we can protect these very important jobs. We’ve looked at a number of approaches and some of them haven’t worked; loan guarantees haven’t worked and we’ve also looked at other ways to help the diamond manufacturers. We’re quite prepared to work with the committee to see if we can find ways to protect these jobs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are also addressed to the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment. I spoke in my statement about small businesses and the importance of small business in our community. I mentioned that businesses have difficulties, small business especially, when they are new and growing. I want to ask the Minister how our government provides assistance to new, fledgling businesses in our communities. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have quite a number of programs and resources to help people get established in business. We have economic development officers that are available and can work with interested people. We have funding programs. We have grants and contribution programs to help people get established to develop business plans. We also have a wide variety of loan programs, either through Community Futures or through BDIC, through our partners such as Aboriginal Business Canada, and so on. We have a number of resources that are dedicated to this.

Thank you to the Minister for that answer. I appreciate that there are programs out there. But it’s been said many times lately, and it’s not going to get any better, our current economy is weighing hard on NWT businesses. I’d like to know from the Minister what our government is doing now. What concrete actions are being taken, apart from the programs that are available, and what we are doing in addition to those to assist NWT small business owners in their struggle to stay afloat?

I guess the primary actions that we’ve taken is to work with the federal government to develop programs that have been announced and extended in the last budget. We are also seeing our loan rates being reduced through

the BDIC. They have been reduced to the Bank of Canada prime rate plus 2 percent. So the rates right now are 3 percent, 4 percent, and 5 percent to the different categories of loans. That’s the lowest they’ve been in a long time. Certainly we are working with BDIC and we’ll be meeting with the Ministerial Advisory Committee in a couple weeks to see more input on what kinds of things this government could be doing to assist small business.

I appreciate the answer. I guess I would like to know from the Minister...What he’s suggested are all good things and I’m glad to hear that there is something that is happening, but I guess an owner or operator of a small business is going to be struggling and is going to need assistance not now, but right now. What is being provided to individuals as operators, as owners of business, not necessarily financially, but that can assist them in their day-to-day operation as they try to manage their business? More management assistance than financial.

We do have a number of programs, through our business programs we can work with individual businesses so that they can apply for funding to allow them to restructure or re-profile their business, perhaps even go as far as refinancing their operations in this difficult period.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you to the Minister. I guess I would like to ask the Minister, relative to all these programs and all these things which he says are out there and are available, it’s well known that our small communities have businesses that suffer more so than in the larger communities. What specific programs are available to small community business owners?

We are looking at trying to do something more definitive with small business owners and after I’ve had input from the board of the BDIC and my meeting with the Ministerial Advisory Panel, I’ll be looking to meet with the Minister of Finance and see if we can do something more definitive for the small business owners in the Northwest Territories.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ll ask my questions to the Premier. They are on

board reform. It seems like the initiatives that this government has undertaken during the life of the 16th Assembly have not gone very far. You would

think that by now the leadership in our government here, the Cabinet, would start to get a picture here; they would start to get a message. At the very outset we demoralized our public service by coming out with a half-hatched plan on reductions. Next we took aim at our seniors, which didn’t go very far and as long as sentiments on this side of the House stay the way they are, we won’t be going anywhere with that either. Now we’re going to take all those good and contributing people in the Northwest Territories who serve on school boards, who serve on housing boards, who serve on health boards. We’re going to take aim at them and we’re going to tell them that we know better and we’re going to form super boards. If you listen to Mr. Miltenberger’s comments in the media, oh, in his Ministerial statement today he talks about consultations, but in his media interviews going back a few months he said there were 70 boards and now there will be seven. I don’t consider that a very consultative approach.

I would like to ask the Premier or whoever wants to answer the question now I guess, who does support board reform? Why is the government pushing on down this road when we have so many other pressing issues that we could be turning our time and energy to? Who does support board reform?

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister responsible for Finance, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The issue of board reform is one that has been identified now for a couple of Assemblies as an area that needs to be dealt with. It’s probably the single most significant piece of restructuring of government program delivery that will be before an Assembly now or into the 17th Assembly. There are

efficiencies to be gained as we move into increasingly tight fiscal realities as well. We’re going to be having to look at every way possible to be as efficient as possible. We think we can improve the system, even from the policy and legislative point of view. We recognize there are a lot of questions about the 70 to seven, but we’ve also indicated April is a milestone date for this Assembly to have a review of all the work that’s been done and map out next steps.

Just because we looked at it in the 15th Assembly doesn’t mean we need to

carry on with it in the 16th Assembly. Times have

changed. There are some very unusual realities out there right now for our people and for our economy. Just to say, well, we’re going to do it because we said we were going to do it and we’re going to

press on no matter what, come hell or high water, doesn’t sound like very good reasons. As for the efficiencies, let me get to my question. As for the efficiencies this is going to create, why can’t those efficiencies be created with the governance structures that we have now, within the departments that we have now? Why can’t those efficiencies be looked at within the context of what we have right now for governance?

We’ve been working with the system that we have now since 1967. We have identified in this House numerous times, for example, issues about board structures in health, deficits, problems to get decisions made, communities not being able to get responded to. We’ve had many, many discussions about rental arrears, LHOs struggling to deliver the program areas, concerns at different times about deficits in education or some other problems related to graduation rates, quality of education in small communities. I suggest that we’ve been doing this for 40-some years. It’s probably time to look at this. Seventy boards have evolved with no real clear plan and we want to take a look at how to rationalize that and is there a way forward. We believe there is.

I hardly think that we can blame all the health authorities or boards for any deficits that have occurred. To suggest that taking the local input and involvement out of these key areas that the Minister is talking about is somehow going to be better, is he suggesting that we know better than those people in the front lines, in the communities, in the regions? Does this government know better? How is that going to change?

The regional structure exists in every region. Every region has at least one regional board. We’re talking about expanded scope and mandate for a regional structure that has been there for many, many years and the creation of a community service agency kind of model at the community level to make sure that there’s input on case management and program issues at the community level. What we are proposing is, we believe, a way to enhance the ability for regions and communities to be able to have a say. For example, there is no regional board right now for housing in any region. That board and that particular service would then, for the first time, come under a regional structure. So there is opportunity there, but come April we’ll have the discussion about steps going forward.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I hear from almost every Member of this Legislature that local housing authorities have been doing a

very good job. What went wrong is when this government stepped in and took away certain things and tried to move things over to ECE, again doing their master plan which usually ends up just messing things up worse than they are.

I would like to ask the Minister what he believes is wrong with the idea of trying to create efficiencies by perhaps reinforcing the mandate of some of these boards by doing small changes. Why does it have to be the wholesale change to these super amalgamated boards?

As I indicated in my comments, we are moving forward to April. We recognize that a phased-in approach, there are going to be different configurations in different regions given the unique complexities that most regions have that make them separate. There is a two-track process between here and Yellowknife. I mean, here and the North Slave and the rest of the North given some of the complexities in Yellowknife. We fully recognize that while we have come forward with 70 to seven as we have the discussion in April about how do we move forward on board reform that we’re going to be looking at options other than that one.

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

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to ask the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources questions regarding my Member’s statement in which I raised the Bison Management Strategy and the concern of the residents of Fort Liard. As a result of the Member’s statement, he had committed to a public meeting in Fort Liard. I would like to know how soon that will be conducted.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Minister responsible for Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ll commit to having it, with the Member’s concurrence, within the next two weeks.

I’d like to thank the Minister for that. I’d like to ask his staff to ensure that it’s well advertised.

Another question is, has the department worked with Department of Transportation on the options of fencing at the airport?

There has been some work done, I understand, on electrified

fencing that had some problems with it. So it hasn’t been brought forward as a solution at this point.

Another solution was to increase the quota for hunts of bison. Has the Minister taken any steps in that regard?

The intent was to look at moving from the one tag that is currently there up to six. Consultation is now being undertaken with the community about that suggestion and how the tags would be allocated.

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

Thank you very much. Has the Minister’s department been working on the new public education materials and will that be ready for the public meeting as well?

We’ll make sure the staff go to the meeting as fully prepared as possible with all the information that is available in addition to the draft strategy and an open mind, and sit down with the community to talk about this particular issue that I know has been a matter for this Member for some time.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question today is for the Minister of ITI. The Gwich’in signed a land claim agreement in 1992. In that agreement there are several elements regarding the economic measures chapter, protected areas chapter, establishment of the Gwich’in Territorial Park just outside of Inuvik. There’s a lot of protection agreements that we’ve put in place that were supposed to establish a park management plan regarding how that park was going to be managed with respect to the Gwich’in Territorial Park. There was establishment of a park committee to oversee the implementation of the park and ongoing economic social programs that could be run to enhance the Gwich’in’s involvement in managing that park.

Today there is still, regardless of the park plan in place, contracts being let publicly without consulting the Gwich’in regarding those economic opportunities. I would like to ask the Minister of ITI how seriously this government takes the Gwich’in Territorial Park and the park management agreement that was signed between the

Government of the Northwest Territories and the Gwich’in Tribal Council to implement that park.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Bob McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Government of the Northwest Territories takes any agreement it enters into very seriously and certainly if we have entered into an agreement with regard to parks, we would honour it.

Just on that, why is the Government of the Northwest Territories allowing public tenders for work in the Gwich’in Territorial Park?

The Government of the Northwest Territories has a memorandum of understanding with the Gwich’in Tribal Council and the purpose of the MOU is to give first opportunity to the Gwich’in Tribal Council for any contracts that the government plans to enter into, whether as a sole-sourced or negotiated contract basis. My expectation, if we went to a tendered contract, would have been that we couldn’t reach agreement on price and it became cost prohibitive, so we had no choice but to go to tender. Without knowing the specifics it would be difficult for me to conclude that.

The whole reason that we established a park management plan for the Gwich’in Territorial Park in Inuvik was for the plan to clearly spell out how it’s going to be implemented, what economic opportunities would flow to the Gwich’in, and through the park committee they oversee the operation and expenditure of that park. Yet this government, with regard to ITI, has totally neglected its obligations under the park management plan for the Gwich’in Territorial Park. There were not supposed to be public tenders on this park. It was supposed to flow through the park management committee for this park. So why have you not used the park management committee in implementing the Gwich’in Territorial Park with respect to that agreement?

I realize there are a number of parks in the Beaufort and Gwich’in areas. Perhaps the Member could be more specific as to which park he’s referring to.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There’s only one Gwich’in Territorial Park in the Inuvik region. It is just outside of Inuvik. It is a large area around Campbell Lake designed as a territorial park under the Gwich’in Land Claim. Because the park

was established under the land claim and our protected areas agreement it has special significance. I’d like to ask the Minister why the contracts and tenders of this government have not been allowed to go through the land claim agreements under the establishment of that park under the land claim agreement.

If we had entered into a management plan -- and we have entered into a management plan -- I expect that it would have laid out the conditions under which we would go out to tender and I will endeavour to find out what those conditions were and advise the Member accordingly.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement I talked about the high school students and the career path they want to take. There seems to be some missing gaps in the education system. I want to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment if his department has been looking at this issue in terms of some of the missing gaps, in terms of tracking students who have graduated from our small communities, in terms of trying to enter into a post-secondary institution and failing to meet certain requirements such that they need to receive more education curriculum to get into those schools. Has this department been tracking students, specifically in the Sahtu, who would like to get into colleges or universities and fail to meet certain requirements?

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Certainly addressing the community graduation is high on our radar within our department. We are proud to say there has been some real success to date with aboriginal students in the aboriginal communities. I’ll just give you an example. From 2003 to today there has been an increase in aboriginal graduates from 119 to 206. That’s a huge increase. Also, by small communities from 53 to 100 within a five-year period. We identify those as key successes. We do continue with some challenges, as the Member has alluded to. We continue to work with the regional groups and the superintendents and the DEAs and DECs to identify those gaps.

The issue I would like to again ask the Minister of Education, Culture and

Employment about is with regard to the huge increase of graduates in smaller communities, especially with the aboriginal students. Is the Minister dedicating some of the personnel within the region to work with the education board to track students who fall between the cracks with respect to trying to get into a post-secondary institution? I understand there are some students falling in the cracks and not being supported by this government with respect to getting into a recognized institution to begin their career path.

Certainly we do support all students who apply through our education system. At the same time, stressing that we are working with the leadership in the regions and communities, the DEAs and DECs, and the parents on the Aboriginal Student Achievement Initiative. That’s a new initiative that we’re working with. We have dedicated staff working in the regions. Specific to the Sahtu region we have resource staff that are working with our department on identifying the root causes of these challenges and trying to figure out solutions to that. Not only that, we just launched an NWT Literacy Strategy 2008-2018 that will clearly highlight those areas that need support improvement.

Can the Minister inform this House that he will be or is going to work with the federal government, the other governments in the Northwest Territories and this government to look at how successfully we can track the students that finish grade 12, are able to get into a post-secondary institution or college, if that person is not able to get into college or university, and if there are support mechanisms in the small communities to allow him or her to get to a place where she or he is able to enter into a program? In the Sahtu alone with high school diplomas or more there’s 52 percent of young students who receive high school diplomas. In Yellowknife it’s 82 percent. In Hay River, Fort Smith, and Inuvik it’s 72 percent. There are gaps that really need to be closed. I’m asking the Minister if he will consider working with other governments to see that these young students do have a chance at college or university courses.

Certainly the work is underway to find those gaps between non-aboriginal and aboriginal students, the success to date and some struggling and the challenges that we’re faced with. Certainly we’ll continue to work with various organizations, government, universities, and colleges. Not only that, the learning starts at home as well. Taking early childhood into consideration, the schooling, the students choosing the career path with the support of their parents, their guidance and the teacher’s. We need to work within our system, as well, and identify a certain path that students want to go on. Certainly we will continue to work with the federal

government. We’re meeting next week on aboriginal education specifically, so I will be addressing those issues as well.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Your final, short supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At one time I went to visit the Chief Jimmy Bruneau School in Behchoko. I understand they, along with the other governments who are involved, had one person dedicated to helping students in colleges and universities. I understand this program is very successful. I understand also that there is the possibility this Minister will sit down with the federal government to have a dedicated person in these small schools to track the students and support them through the system so they can get into college or university.

Will the Minister look very strongly and seriously at working with the aboriginal governments, the federal government, and his department to all who say they want to put a dedicated person in these small schools to help Grade 12 students move on to college or university if they choose? Will the Minister be able to do that?

Certainly we do have a dedicated departmental staff working with the region. Out of the discussion we’ll be having on the Aboriginal Student Achievement Initiative there will certainly be a discussion on a moving-forward basis. If the group and committee have identified that a dedicated resource person is needed within the communities, then that will be up for discussion as well on a moving-forward basis. I’m looking forward to the update on the strategy and I will be informing the standing committee on the progress to date.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Like my colleague here in the House, I’d like to ask the Minister of ITI some questions regarding the GNWT’s support of the secondary diamond industry. Earlier he gave a commitment to the House that he would meet with them, but as this Minister seems to be well aware with full understanding that this diamond cutting industry is day by day, does the Minister of ITI have an action plan that includes financial resources to help support the secondary diamond industry? If he does, could he give this House some details on what that actually means?

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Bob McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The issues with the secondary diamond industry have just come up recently and, as the Member knows, we have committed to working with the standing committees in developing any solutions.

“Any” is a big word, so I wouldn’t mind the Minister of ITI narrowing it down here, not just for my benefit but for the official record. Does any solution mean financial support in this particular case?

We do have a diamond policy which outlines how we would promote and develop secondary manufacturing. As I responded earlier, we’ve also looked at providing loan guarantees and other means of support, which has not met with favour. If the Member has any other suggestions I’d be pleased to undertake them. But we will be working with the committee to find a solution that will help save jobs.

I understand that we have a policy to help promote the secondary diamond industry, but one of the problems is outside of the reach of the normal hand of the Minister, which is the fact that if people aren’t buying diamonds it puts our cutting industry completely at risk. Mr. Speaker, I don’t have to lecture the Minister that Quebec supports industry. They will help move an industry to their area by helping them with establishment costs as well as labour costs. Mr. Speaker, the market out there wants Canadian diamonds. What is the Minister doing to make sure they buy northern diamonds? Mr. Speaker, is this government completely committed to the secondary diamond industry here in the North and are they willing to go to the wall for them? Thank you.

We are committed to working to help maintain and conserve the secondary diamond industry, but they will have to be on our terms. We are not going to cut our policies without making sure that the North continues to receive benefits. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said earlier, the fear is that the diamond cutting industry we have here is really operating day by day. I appreciate the motherhood statements from the Minister but I want to hear that the Minister is going to be aggressive on this file to make sure we don’t lose it because, I have to be honest, once they pack up, they could go anywhere in the world to cut

northern diamonds. They will be seen as northern diamonds. They won’t really care. What is the Minister going to do to be aggressive on this file to make sure it doesn’t slip through our fingers and it is lost forever? Thank you.

I have already indicated we are prepared to meet with the diamond manufacturers. We are reviewing our diamond policy. We are quite prepared to put forward a proposed solution to the standing committee to see if we can move quickly on this. Thank you.

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

I want to question the Minister of ENR with regard to several news reports with regard to the moose in the southern Deh Cho which was reported in the Deh Cho Drum and the radio this morning. The concern was that they were reporting some pollutants in the moose. I just wanted to get some clarification on that. It is raising some concern with some Nahendeh residents. Thank you.

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