It is evident that this review of the design did not happen prior to the Government of the Northwest Territories entering into the Concession Agreement. Even the current Minister of Transportation got into the mix on February 28th ,

2005, page 1612 of Hansard, “The design has been worked on for some time now. It’s down to a couple

of small issues.” Well, obviously there are more than just a couple of small issues outstanding as there still remains no design on a $165 million bridge that this government signed up on.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to talk about making sure that good energy saving ideas are turned into action. The Arctic Energy Alliance is a not-for-profit society with the goal to help communities, consumers, producers, regulators, and policymakers to work together to reduce the costs and environmental impacts of energy and the utility services in the Northwest Territories.

We all know far too well about the high energy costs and the concerns around the world regarding climate change which have made reducing energy a top priority for many. My concerns today are that everyday people who need assistance to turn energy saving ideas into reality, hit a wall because there seems to be a gap in the system that is unfunded that turns ideas into action.

Any Northerner can pick up a brochure and learn about solar water heaters that could reduce their energy costs at home. To make the ideas real, that person likely needs some practical assistance with those changes. The Arctic Energy Alliance is funded to provide those ideas and they do that very well. But that’s where the funding ends. With that, their goal of translating that into action seems to hit a brick wall. They need the resources to do this.

Another hurdle some of our consumers have is the fact that some of our NWT trades contractors may not have enough experience in helping them bridge those ideas of technology into action. Therefore, people are unsure, and certainly and understandably nervous, that are these good ideas going to translate into results.

If you’re a business, there are no programs to be able to turn these ideas into results. Yet, again, a funding gap and a brick wall.

I don’t think all is lost because we could fill those funding gaps if our partners such as Environment, Housing Corporation, Public Works, MACA, as well as others could come together to find a way to bridge those gaps by giving them resources to provide that practical experience and translate them into results.

Whether you’re an everyday person or a small business, progressive changes need to be addressed through their funding source and delivery mechanisms. All the best energy efficiency

ideas do nothing without the support to translate them into real results.

I’ll have questions for the environment Minister later today.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Spring is here and again this year the Territorial Track and Field Championships will take place in Hay River. I just wanted to use my Member’s statement today to once again recognize all of the workers, volunteers in Hay River, who every year put so much effort into preparing the grounds and welcoming these young people into our community for this exciting event.

I have heard, and I’m not positive, but the number of participants grows every year. This year I heard that it’s up to 1,300.

---Applause

For a small town like Hay River to host an event like this is remarkable. Of course, we couldn’t do it without the folks who put the effort into getting their students there. It will be amazing tonight again as the teams from schools large and small parade into the arena for the opening ceremonies. It’s an exciting time. I wish them good weather and good luck, and I hope they have a lot of fun.

Again, thank you so much to the volunteers. This year noted in absence, of course, will be someone who was such a huge proponent and supporter of the NWT Track and Field Championships who recently was recognized as Citizen of the Year and has since passed away, and that is John Ashcroft. I wanted to mention that because this will be the first Track and Field Championship without his assistance and I’m sure he will be absolutely sorely missed.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Member for Monfwi, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. [English translation not provided.]

Mr. Speaker, today I would like to highlight just some of the outstanding Tlicho citizens from the Monfwi riding. They are true examples of the kind of role models that we must recognize and support so others will follow.

Adolphus Nitsiza from Behchoko, one of the 14 minor hockey volunteers across Canada named as

RBC Local Hockey Hero on May 11

th,

2009. This

award is based on behind the scenes work to make hockey better across the country for people in the communities. Adolphus has always gone out of his way to strengthen the community recreation spirit. Ever since the sportsplex shut down in Behchoko, he has taken it upon himself to organize the junior hockey opportunities. He drove the kids to Yellowknife on a weekly basis, even on weekends, so they could have the opportunity to play hockey and other sports that the community does not have. As a result of this award, RBC will donate funding towards a Behchoko hockey program and give Adolphus and 20 others opportunities to carry the Olympic Torch for the 2010 Olympics.

Another individual that’s worth mentioning is Corporal John Paul Rabesca. Now here is a true soldier, Tlicho soldier, honoured to serve his community and country. John Paul recently completed his military training as an armoured crewman and is stationed in Edmonton.

These two individuals clearly show what it’s like to achieve a goal.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I’d like to recognize my cousins Linda Wood and Hazel Lyttle, and their friend Carol Prouse.

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

I’m pleased to recognize my constituency assistant from Fort Simpson, Ms. Pearl Norwegian, who is in the gallery this afternoon. She’s assisting me in Yellowknife this week and a very warm welcome to her in the Leg. this week.

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

I’d like to welcome Mr. Saturday Night Request Show, Mr. Les Carpenter, to the gallery.

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

I’d like to recognize a constituent, Ms. Linda Wood, her sister Hazel Lyttle, and their friend Carol Prouse, as well, that are in the House today.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. It gives me great pleasure to recognize in the gallery today my new constituency assistant, Ms. Stephanie Fischer, who is with us today. She’s over here chaperoning two Pages from Hay River North, Mr.

Dylan Studney and Ryan Shank. They are paging here and I want to welcome them to the Leg. They’ve been doing a great job all year. All week.

If we’ve missed anyone in the gallery today, welcome to the House. It’s always a pleasure to have an audience in here. I hope you’re enjoying the proceedings.

Item 6, acknowledgements. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Homeless youth between the ages of 16 and 19 often fall through the cracks of our existing programs. Too old for non-voluntary support under the Child and Family Services Act and too young for income support, they have to rely on themselves to get a roof over their heads. Fortunately there are committed NGOs who try to help. Unfortunately, they can only go so far with limited funds. My question for the Minister is: What is being done to address this gap in these services? What is being done to support these youth?

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are a number of things that the government does do to provide support to these youth. I’ve visited the NGOs that the Member referred to. The Department of Health and Social Services funds a lot of their funding.

I think it’s important to know that those older youth between 16 and 19, if they do work with social workers, they have the option of continuing on with the plan that they might have had in foster care. A lot of it involves independent living. They can choose a family that they would like to live with, especially if they want to continue to live with the family that they had before. They can also choose to speak with social workers about getting access to treatment.

As the Member knows, the government has made a number of steps over the last couple of years to expand our youth shelter programs outside of Yellowknife because…and we are providing youth cafes and all kinds of gathering opportunities in communities like Providence, Behchoko...I can’t remember all the names. I think we’ve announced that. We are expanding those programs.

I’d really like to thank the Minister for that response. I know there is an awful

lot going on and I’m happy to see that. With respect to my question I was talking more about the non-voluntary support. Those individuals who, for any number of reasons, don’t feel comfortable, are still out there on the streets. Yes, there are NGOs that are doing an awful lot of work. I still think there is room for this government to try and fill those gaps for those non-voluntary people a bit more. I don’t think it’s just a Department of Health and Social Services’ issue. I think it does need to be a partnership between Education and Health and Social Services. My question to the Minister is: Can the Minister give me a bit of an outline of the types of things that the two departments are doing in cooperation and collaboration to fill this gap?

I do agree with the Member that this is a gap that needs to be addressed. This is something that has been under discussion in this House, as well as the fact that it is a national issue, because nationally it is recognized as a gap that needs to be addressed. I can advise the Member that in the Minister’s Action Plan for Health and Social Services, which we are consulting with the committee and outside, we are looking at coming out with transition measures where we can strengthen mentoring and more support work to work with these older youth, understanding that youth between the age of 16 and 19 we need to be giving them options and have them have more say about their environment and living arrangements. But we do recognize that there is more the government can do to support that. We’ll be working to strengthen that program and probably do additional funding.

Once again thanks to the Minister for that. I’m very pleased to hear all the types of things that the Department of Health and Social Services is doing with respect to this issue. Going back to my question, this government from time to time creates silos and we work within those silos. This particular issue I think there would be a lot of advantage for education and health to work together to try and address these problems because they’d both have a role. Could the Minister tell me what types of things the departments are doing in collaboration with each other to break down those silos in the best interest of youth 16 to 19?

The action plan understands, and the work of the Department of Health and Social Services involves often working with other departments. Aurora Oxford House, for example, having the women stay there, that’s in collaboration with income security. So wherever we can use the assistance of other government to help, I mean, other departments to help these older youth, make choices for them, their living arrangements, whether it’s housing or income security or mentoring. We are looking at strengthening programs to increase programs to teach them life skills. What we want to

do is help them make independent choices as they work toward being 19. I can commit to working with other departments as we move forward on this plan.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.