Please be seated. Mr. Clerk, would you ascertain whether the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories, the Honourable Anthony W.J. Whitford is prepared to enter the Chamber to open the Fourth Session of the 16th Legislative Assembly.

Good afternoon, colleagues. I would like to extend my thanks on behalf of all Members to the Honourable Anthony W.J. Whitford, Commissioner of the Northwest Territories, for opening this Fourth Session of the 16th Legislative Assembly.

I would also like to extend the Assembly’s thanks to Ms. Teale MacIntosh for her lovely rendition of O Canada and to Reverend Ron McLean, rector for the Holy Trinity Anglican Church, for assisting us today.

The appreciation of the House is also extended to our guests and visitors who have joined us in the gallery.

Members, please join me in welcoming our Pages for the next two sitting days: the Junior Canadian Rangers. The Junior Canadian Ranger Program offers a variety of skill developing activities to promote traditional cultures and lifestyles to youth

living in remote and isolated communities. With us here today are: Joseph Omilgoituk of Aklavik, Nadine Elleze of Fort Providence, Myranda Calumet of Fort Resolution, Issiac Elanik of Sachs Harbour, Kyle Wolki of Sachs Harbour, Allison Bernarde of Tulita, Bryan Kimiksana of Ulukhaktok, and Samantha Kataoyak of Ulukhaktok, Frederick Simpson of Whati. The Ranger supervisors are: Ranger Kim Lucas of Sachs Harbour, Ranger Jamie Kimiksana of Ulukhaktok, and Ranger Lucy Fabien of Fort Resolution. The Canadian Ranger Patrol Group staff: Captain Sharon Low, Lieutenant Diane Porter, Warrant Officer Teddy Hughson, Warrant Officer Glenn Whitten, Warrant Officer Danny Ring, and Sergeant Rob Stevens. Welcome to you all. It is an honour to have you with us here today, and especially to your Junior Canadian Rangers to have as Pages. I apologize if I have pronounced your names not as your mother would pronounce them.

Colleagues, you may have noticed that we are just past the midpoint of the 16th Legislative Assembly.

It is a time to reflect on what we have accomplished in the last two years and a time to determine what we wish to accomplish during the next two years. Surely I am not the only one to have noticed the swift passage of time, and before we know it, the Members of the 17th Legislative Assembly of the

Northwest Territories will be assuming the seats that we sit in today.

Colleagues, I would also like to extend the sympathy of the House to the family and communities among us who have lost loved ones since we last met. The North has lost several respected elders, and while we mourn their passing, we celebrate the wisdom and knowledge that they have left behind.

Colleagues, we have met many times outside of this Chamber during our summer recess. Caucus has met over several days to determine and discuss our various roles within consensus government. That work was, I hope, enlightening, and I trust that as we come together in this Chamber, we will all bring new commitment to our unique processes and procedures. I ask you all to enter into this session with respect for the House, for your colleagues and for your responsibilities to the people of the Northwest Territories. I will, as always, do my utmost to assist you in achieving your goals and applying your rules as fairly and as consistently as possible.

Thank you, colleagues. We will return to orders of the day. Item 3, Ministers’ statements. The honourable Premier, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is my pleasure to welcome all Members back to this Assembly.

As the fall season settles in, the month of October marks the halfway point of our 16th Assembly. It has

been almost two years since we first came together with individual mandates from the people of the Northwest Territories to govern and make decisions that would contribute to the betterment of our Territory as a whole and our future.

We identified then the vision, the goals and the priorities that are guiding our work today: strong individuals, families and communities sharing the benefits and responsibilities of a unified, environmentally sustainable and prosperous Northwest Territories.

We all agreed to work together as Northerners to realize a strong and independent North built on partnerships, an environment that will sustain present and future generations, healthy, educated people, a diversified economy that provides all communities and regions with opportunities and choices, sustainable, vibrant, safe communities, and effective and efficient government.

While the Assembly put forward this direction, Executive Council was tasked to develop and implement the vision that we had identified, and to be accountable to Members of this House and to the people of the NWT to get the job done.

To that end, we broke down our goals and priorities into specific actions, projects and investments and organized them into five strategic areas: Maximizing Opportunities, Reducing the Cost of Living, Building our Future, Managing this Land and Refocusing Government.

As I address you today, I am happy to report that this government has identified and implemented over 140 initiatives and investments dedicated to advancing the goals and priorities of the 16th Assembly.

These initiatives and investments, above and beyond our day-to-day work as government, recognize and reflect the importance of looking beyond the immediate and short-term needs of our Territory and people towards our vision and our future.

Investments and initiatives specific to the 16th Assembly shared vision of Northerners Working Together. They include:

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Funding to expand the implementation of our Healthy Choices Framework promoting active living and healthy foods.

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Enhanced family violence programming and

new resources to support aftercare programs for those wrestling with addictions.

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Investments to improve housing conditions

under the CARE program, and the addition of 500 units under the Affordable Housing Program.

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Substantial infrastructure investments in

highways, winter road and airports that are improving connections between communities that will help address one of the key factors in our high cost of living.

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We have undertaken an electricity review in the interest of examining and addressing our approach to the distribution, regulation and subsidization of power in the NWT.

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Policing services have been enhanced in

smaller communities through investments in new detachments and by expanding those detachments that serve multiple communities.

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Investments have also been made in school infrastructure, specifically in Inuvik, Fort Good Hope, Yellowknife and Ndilo, where new facilities are coming on stream. Further investments are planned for schools in Aklavik, Fort Simpson, Fort Smith, Gameti, Hay River, Tulita and Yellowknife.

•

Beyond that, we have provided funding to

schools to increase their teacher resources and to allow high schools to enhance their trade programs.

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The implementation of an income security

framework, including changes for the Income Support Program and Seniors Supplementary Income Benefit, has provided additional resources to those most in need.

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We have advanced wind, biomass and mini-hydro projects that will reduce the reliance on fossil fuels, reduce the cost of living and support our commitment to greenhouse gas reductions.

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Programs and resources have been introduced to promote and support local business and community economic development efforts -- many of them in tourism -- in our most rural and remote communities.

Meanwhile, we are also looking inward, conducting reviews of GNWT programs to ensure that programs are achieving their intended results in an effective and efficient manner.

In all of this, Mr. Speaker, we have implemented changes to our government’s capital planning process to improve the planning, acquisition and delivery of infrastructure, and this year will advance the largest single year capital budget in the history of the NWT.

We have committed and leveraged an unprecedented amount of federal economic stimulus investment.

We have advanced pivotal initiatives such as the Water Strategy, Land Use Framework and the Species at Risk Act. Work is underway to finalize a Wildlife Act, and we have articulated and, more importantly, renewed our commitment to the unique consensus-based system with which we govern.

During a period that has been challenged by the difficult and emotional task of putting our financial house in order, the economic realities of a global recession and the need to address critical issues such as H1N1 and the dramatic decline of the Bathurst caribou herd, we have initiated, implemented and completed an incredible amount of work.

As important as the work itself, however, is the manner in which we have addressed it.

The Strategic Initiatives committees that we established have allowed Members of the 16th Legislative Assembly to be directly involved in formulating and guiding the initiatives of government.

We have maintained a tight control on our costs. Spending growth has been held to 2 percent. Our budget process has been more controlled, planned and accountable. Supplementary appropriations have been cut by more than 50 percent.

Community governments are playing an increased role in targeting the priorities and investments in their communities.

Northern and aboriginal owned companies are providing increasingly key roles in the advancement of major infrastructure initiatives such as the Taltson hydro facility, the Kakisa Bridge, health centres, hospitals, schools and the many investments that we have made in the Mackenzie Valley Winter Road Bridges Program.

In fact, at a time when Canada’s economy has slowed due to the international recession, our capital plan has provided significant investment in the NWT and substantial employment and contract opportunities for our residents and contractors.

Meanwhile, through processes such as our regional aboriginal leaders’ forums, wildlife co-management boards, to round table on revenue options and the Ministerial Advisory Panel on the Economy, we are receiving input and guidance, forging stronger relationships with our aboriginal governments and engaging Northerners at all levels. In all of this -- the initiatives, the investments and the manner in which we have chosen to implement and advance our work -- we are building our future, our people, our leaders, our businesses and our communities.

Mr. Speaker, I was honoured two years ago to be selected as Premier, to lead and be accountable to

Members and to the people of the NWT in advancing our vision of Northerners Working Together. Despite the challenges we have faced, Members of this House and the people of the Northwest Territories can be assured that we have never once waivered from this direction or commitment.

As we approach the midway point of our Assembly, we have a foundation in place to empower our vision, the investments that we have identified, the processes that we have established and sometimes difficult decisions that we have made. I look forward to building on that foundation and to conclude the work that we began together.

In the long term, the Northwest Territories will play a crucial and growing role in filling the world’s demands for natural resources. Meeting this rising demand will provide our people and our Territory with opportunities and choices. It will also be good for Canada, and we will continue to make this case to Ottawa to encourage them to clear the last few hurdles associated with the Mackenzie Gas Project, to advance support for the development of the NWT hydro as well as other alternative energy sources.

We will continue to champion the need for federal investment in our transportation infrastructure to open the door for future development and to lower the cost of living and doing business in the NWT. We will build on our efforts to finalize a deal on devolution and resource revenue sharing.

These are important initiatives. They concern issues that will require northern leadership and a northern perspective.

In the coming months it is my hope that we can also advance and work towards a common vision for the political development of our Territory to ensure that in the future these key decisions about our issues and about our future are made here in the NWT.

I believe that the 16th Legislative Assembly is

uniquely placed to undertake and guide the work necessary to develop a common vision for the NWT, and to demonstrate that we have the capacity and the unity to govern ourselves effectively and with a view to our future.

I would like to commend my colleagues in this Assembly for their courage and foresight in identifying and supporting the sometimes difficult direction and initiatives that this government has taken.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, I would also like to recognize the men and women who work and serve as employees of our government across our Territory for their work to implement these initiatives while maintaining an ongoing delivery of government services that our Territory depends on. Thank you.

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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I will be tabling the government’s response to the Standing Committee on Government Operations Review of the Official Languages Act, Reality Check: Securing a Future for the Official Languages of the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, in reviewing the committee’s report, I was very pleased to see that generally we not only want to see the same things for our official languages, but have many areas of common thinking. I thank the committee for the commitment and diligence they apply to their work. This will be fundamental in forming the government’s strategic plans for languages as we move forward.

As well, Mr. Speaker, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, which leads work on languages on behalf of the government, is undertaking a series of other important reviews on which we base our language plans. These include a review of the aboriginal languages chapter of Canada and NWT funding agreement, a review of the current Aboriginal Languages Strategy, the establishment of a single-window service centre for aboriginal languages and the work we are doing with the Francophone TeNOise regarding the improvements we will make in the delivery of government services in French.

Mr. Speaker, as you will see from our response, stemming the loss of aboriginal languages is at the root of our plans. We will be adopting an inclusive, philosophical approach that allows language communities the opportunity to drive change in their own unique way. We recognize that what is important to one language community may not mirror the priorities of another. Our comprehensive strategic plan developed over the coming months will demonstrate the individual nature of language communities and will respect the goals and vision of each.

Mr. Speaker, one important piece of consultation work will be the Languages Symposium taking place in March 2010. As you know, March is Aboriginal Languages Month and we will undertake some exciting community events during the month, culminating in a language symposium. I am pleased that the chair of the Standing Committee on Government Operations, Mr. Kevin Menicoche, agreed to co-chair a symposium, making our work on language a truly collaborative piece of work of this Assembly.

Another critical initiative we are taking is a lobbying campaign with the federal government and national aboriginal organizations to shine a light on the plight of aboriginal languages and secure additional funding to support them. I hope the Members of this House will support and join us in our endeavours in this regard too.

Mr. Speaker, we will work with the language communities to determine individual priorities and assess demands. Once this work is undertaken, the comprehensive plans will be written, including implementation plans and timelines. This will be tabled in the Legislative Assembly and will be a document that we will be accountable to over the coming years.

Mr. Speaker, when I speak my own language, I reflect the values of my people. I connect to our past and secure our future. It is my wish, and the wish of this government, that all our people may do the same if they choose, that anyone who wants to learn their language is assisted to learn and that anyone who wishes or wants to teach their language is supported to do so.

Mr. Speaker, again I thank the members of the Standing Committee on Government Operations for their report and I look forward to tabling the response later on today. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to advise Members that the Honourable Bob McLeod will be absent from the House today and tomorrow to attend the Federal/Provincial/Territorial Committee on Internal Trade meeting and Northern Mines Ministers meeting in Whitehorse. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Item 4, Members’ statements. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It’s great to be back in the House after quite a long summer break.

Today I would like to talk about an area of concern that I have that developed over this fall with regard to support of the high school education in the Northwest Territories.

The Minister of Education, Culture and Employment acknowledges that this is the most fundamental role to enable the provision of kindergarten to Grade 12

education. The Minister has seen extension of high school to many communities and the subsequent increase in the number of graduates. Just last June the Minister was with me and we had the pleasure of attending graduation ceremonies for 20 students in my constituency. Some of these students are from smaller communities or home boarded or live at the regional residence in Fort Simpson. The Minister also acknowledges that it takes a community to educate a child, and a community can extend to a person’s region and First Nation.

I would like to bring attention to the occasional situation where our students live in another community and return home, but their parents continue to work down south. This is the case where a student is aboriginal, is from the NWT and her vision is to complete her education here. She has community and peer support and friends and extended family in her home community and at the regional centre. However, she is not able to get support from the Minister of Education to pay for home boarding.

Mr. Speaker, we have all heard about how not having to move to another school in another jurisdiction has knocked more than a few students off their track to high school graduation. There is a saying: the exception proves a rule. I think the Minister should examine the hard and fast application of policy in light of their departmental priorities.

The Minister must continue to support home boarding for a student who is completing high school in a familiar and supportive community, in spite of a relocation of family on the other side of the territorial border. I will have questions for the Minister at the appropriate time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to begin by welcoming all the Members back from their summer break. I hope they enjoyed their time with family, friends and constituents.

In my region, our culture focuses on respect of our elders, for the people who passed away. I would like to start by paying respect to the people who have passed away and our families and friends. The Nunakput communities may be large in geography but when it comes to closeness, we are a very tight-knit family. When one of the members passes away, every person is affected. We all have memories of them and their contributions. We are connected by families and friends that they leave behind.

Since the last sitting of the Assembly, there have been many deaths in my region, unfortunately. During the summer, the smallest community of Sachs Harbour has been affected by the passing of Martha Keogak, and in particular the Esau family experienced the passing of elder Shirley Esau and her son Andrew Esau.

Today I give my condolences to the family and friends in my home community of Tuktoyaktuk. I give condolences to the family and friends of William Gruben, to his wife, Gail, and family, and his mother, Helen Gruben, and family; Bobby Kimiksana and to his family; and one of my childhood buddies, Clifton Gruben has passed away. He was also my soccer coach and, really, he will be sadly missed.

I would like to quote Cliff, who was first… I walked into the airport and he said, Jack, I made history. I said, what did you do, Cliff? He said, I was the first one to dump a load of gravel on 177. Every time I am going to be on that road, I will be thinking of Cliff.

In Ulukhaktok, Melvin Pretty, Leonard Aleekuk, Shirley Oliktoak and respected elder Jimmy Kudlak who passed away, I give my sincere condolences to their family and friends.

Mr. Speaker, lastly, I wish to give my condolences to all of the people of the Northwest Territories who have lost loved ones in the past year or in the past few months. Our prayers are with them and their families. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to welcome everybody back.

Mr. Speaker, earlier this fall the people of the Northwest Territories received some bad news, news that many of us expected was coming but hoped that would never actually reach reality. Now it is official. A June 2009 calving survey, photo survey of the Bathurst caribou herd, shows a significant decline in the numbers of the Bathurst caribou, from over 100,000 in 2006 to a staggering 31,897 this summer. What is worse is that the number of breeding females has dropped to around 16,600.

These numbers are almost unbelievable and there are a large number of theories about how or what has caused this to happen. These range from hunting, or over hunting, to predation, to climate change. Honestly, all of these probably play some part of the factor, but I’m not sure how.

However, arguing about how the numbers dropped doesn’t help save those caribou that are still there. Now is not the time to debate the numbers, but to discuss and come up with concrete actions that would help restore healthy caribou numbers for future generations.

The loss in these herds have long-lasting and devastating effects on the people of the Northwest Territories, particularly the aboriginal people who have relied on the caribou as an essential source of protein for generations. The loss of this source of protein will have a significant effect on the health of aboriginal people and will likely increase the cost of living in small communities as residents seek out alternative sources for meat through grocery stores.

Another affected group will be the outfitters. This industry has traditionally taken a small number of caribou and brought in millions of new dollars into the northern economy. The majority of the operators are long-time Northerners with commitment and passion to the NWT that is unmistakable. These outfitters have invested significantly in the NWT and have some very impressive infrastructure on the land to support this industry. The loss of the caribou may force these outfitters to close their doors, driving long-term Northerners into unemployment or, worse, bankruptcy.

Mr. Speaker, these are clearly not the only people to be affected by the health of the Bathurst caribou herd. All of us as Northerners, and ultimately as Canadians, are affected.

So what is being done? I understand that ENR and the Wekeezhii Renewable Resources Board and others have been working to find some solutions. I believe that some meetings were held a couple of weeks ago with participation of affected and interested stakeholders to work towards this.

Mr. Speaker, later this afternoon I will be asking some questions on future direction, timelines and options available for the restoration of the Bathurst caribou.

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

---Unanimous consent granted.

I hope that the solutions have interim measures that help address the health and cost of living challenges of people in these small communities, and support local businesses affected by the decline of the caribou. I will be asking the Minister responsible for ENR some questions later today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to express my extreme disappointment and dismay at the message contained in a letter recently sent to the City of Yellowknife from this government’s Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. The Minister’s letter was in response to the letter from the City of Yellowknife in which Mayor Van Tighem asked the Government of the NWT to participate in the provision of 911 service for the NWT as recommended in the 911 analysis report, a report in which the GNWT was a full partner, I might add.

The answer in Minister McLeod’s letter is a resounding no. Apparently this government feels that if NWT communities cannot have 911 service all at the same time, then no one community should have it.

The Minister’s response is not only short-sighted but also shows a poor understanding of the study and the implementation report and its recommendations. It flies in the face of this Assembly’s stated goal of sustainable, vibrant, safe communities.

As well, one of this government’s strategic initiatives is Building our Future. Within that, an action item titled Increased Safety and Security. This action is further explained by the following statement: significant investments are also planned to improve people’s sense of safety and security in their homes and in their communities.

Some 77 percent of NWT residents live in our seven largest communities, Mr. Speaker. The 911 analysis report recommends implementation of that service for all NWT communities, but through a phased approach.

As with any large project, implementation must start somewhere, and the report recommends the phased 911 implementation should start with those seven largest communities: Behchoko, Fort Simpson, Fort Smith, Hay River, Inuvik, Norman Wells and Yellowknife. It’s a logical place to start and it would be a huge improvement to the safety and security of most of the NWT’s residents.

The 911 report also recommends that the implementation be cost-shared between these seven communities and the GNWT, not that the GNWT pay the whole shot, but that the cost be borne by all parties involved. But both the Minister of MACA and our government refuse to consider this plan. It seems we should wait until all communities have the necessary phone infrastructure before even considering implementation of 911 service. Realistically, that day is 10 years away and even then any implementation will still have to use a phased-in approach.

I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted.

Why must 77 percent of our residents wait for an essential service? How does this project not fit with this Assembly’s goals and objectives? Does the NWT coroner have to again tell us that this service is needed? Do more residents have to die because 911 is not available in an emergency situation? Just one more death is one too many, in my estimation.

The government is now developing the 2010-2011 operations budget and it’s time to allocate the funds required to start a phased implementation of 911 service. If safety really is a priority for this government, then the recommendations from the city’s 911 report must be enacted in the next year.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I’d like to speak also on the home boarding problem. Under the Education Act, section 118(1)(c), where a school program is not available in the home community, the district education council may operate student residences to provide home boarding.

I have received complaints from the parents of students from Tsiigehtchic who are attending high school in Inuvik. I think it’s important that the government does whatever it can to ensure that the education experience is a good one.

The challenges these parents face is they had to go out on their own to find home boarding for their children in Inuvik and also to acquire that educational experience. I think it’s critical that this government does everything it can to ensure that we have a good, healthy education environment for these children to partake in, especially the children from Tsiigehtchic who require home boarding, and as an important part of their educational experience we’re ensuring that adequate programs and services are available and also ensuring that home boarding is available.

Where high schools are not available, the Department of Education must do everything it can to ensure that the high school experience is provided to those communities that do not have high school, such as Tsiigehtchic, and that home boarding must be an integrated part of that education experience. We must ensure these students have a safe and good place to live, but, more importantly, to ensure that their education experience is a good one.

With that, I will be asking the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment questions on this matter, especially as they have been raised by my constituents and the parents of the students in Tsiigehtchic.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.