Good afternoon, colleagues. Welcome back to the Chamber. Item 2, Ministers’ statements. The honourable Minister responsible for Finance, Mr. Miltenberger.

Mr. Speaker, the last year has seen more global economic turmoil than the world has experienced in many decades. We have seen stock market values collapse and international financial institutions fold. Industrial giants have needed government support to survive the crises. With the exception of gold, commodity prices are a fraction of their 2008 highs.

In the NWT, we have seen an 80 percent drop in mineral exploration spending and we expect diamond production to drop in 2009. The employment rate has fallen by 7 percentage points from last September to this, by far the biggest decline of any province or territory over this period.

However, the news is brightening. Diamond prices are showing some improvement. Diavik and DeBeers have both announced the cancellation of their planned December shutdowns. Avalon Rare Metals’ Nechalacho project is emerging as one of the largest undeveloped rare earth element resources in the world. High gold prices are buoying prospects for several gold projects in the NWT. On the traditional economy side, we are continuing to see both strong prices for our NWT furs as well as an increase in the number of people participating in this sector.

Although the global economic downturn appears to be slowing and the national economy is showing signs of recovery, most forecasters agree that the recovery, when it comes, will be slow and weak. Furthermore, we expect that employment, corporate profits, and government revenues will recover more slowly than other economic activity.

None of this comes as a surprise. We developed and implemented our fiscal plans in light of this economic downturn. Because we entered the downturn in relatively sound fiscal shape we were able to take measures in our 2009 budget that would support our economy and our residents through this period of economic uncertainty. We reduced our plans for spending cuts and deferred decisions about major tax increases.

Last May I advised Members that government revenues, corporate income tax collections in particular, would be negatively affected by the economic slowdown, but that we would not know the actual impact until this fall. Based on information from 2008 corporate tax assessments completed as of the end of August, the Department of Finance estimates that 2009-2010 corporate income tax revenues will be $50 million, $32 million less than projected in our February budget. In addition, we expect declines in other taxes of $3.7 million from our budget forecast. Although these numbers are subject to change as new assessment information is made available they give us a preliminary estimate of our tax revenues for 2009-2010.

Despite the prospect of lower corporate income tax revenues in 2009-2010, we made the decision early into the current fiscal year to stay the course on spending and investment. This fiscal year we will invest a record $484 million in infrastructure, including the stimulus funding received from Canada. This includes $426 million for government and community infrastructure projects and $58 million for housing projects. Approximately 75 percent of the projects in the 2009-10 Capital Plan are currently underway, with the Department of Public Works and Services leading the way, having awarded 95 percent of the projects they are managing. Our increased capital spending will be responsible for about 1,000 person-years of employment over this year and next.

This session we will be bringing forward a request for supplementary appropriations that will include $18 million to implement recently completed collective agreements. While compensation and benefits is a major portion of our expenditures and we need to manage this responsibly, the public service is critical to meeting the goals we have as the 16th Legislative Assembly.

Our revenue outlook for 2010 continues to be uncertain. We will not know the full extent of the impact of the 2009 downturn on our corporate income tax collections until this time next year. This means that we must continue to make budgeting decisions based on our best estimates of our revenues and be prepared to make adjustments should reality prove substantially different. However, we must also make these decisions based on what is in the best interests of NWT residents given that our fiscal situation is reasonably sound and that we have some latitude for risk.

This July, Moody’s Investors Services reviewed our fiscal plans, and last month they confirmed that there would be no change to our favourable AA1 credit rating. According to Moody’s, the rating reflects the GNWT’s prudent fiscal policies that have, over the past several years, limited our debt accumulation. They stated that adhering to our Fiscal Responsibility Policy should help to ensure that our debt burden remains low and affordable.

In fact, Mr. Speaker, despite lower forecast revenues for 2009-10, accelerated cash flows from Canada under the Economic Action Plan mean that we anticipate our short-term borrowing needs will be only $38 million this year, substantially less than the $81 million anticipated in February’s budget.

This session, Members will also review the government’s 2010-11 Capital Budget. Although smaller than this year’s record levels, the capital plan will continue to support our economy and our residents with investments in badly needed infrastructure.

Standing committees have concluded their reviews of the government’s 2010-11 Business Plans and we will now consider the advice that has been given and finalize our 2010-11 O and M Budget for presentation early in 2010. The budget will continue to advance initiatives that support this Assembly’s vision of strong individuals, families and communities sharing the benefits and responsibilities of a unified, environmentally sustainable and prosperous Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, last February I committed to convene a second roundtable to take a closer look at how we raise revenues in the NWT to see if there are changes to our tax system that might further our economic, social and environmental objectives, without necessarily increasing the total amount of revenue collected. In early October, therefore, I invited representatives from a number of key business, social, labour and environmental organizations to discuss these issues. The input I received was extremely useful and I want to thank those who participated for their work. I encourage NWT residents to review the discussion document and provide their comments. The document can be accessed on the Department of Finance website.

This work on our revenues looks beyond next year’s budget. We want to take a longer-term view of our tax policies that will help the GNWT align our tax structure with our vision and goals. Changing the tax mix can create winners and losers. We need to be sure we have done our research and discussed the options with NWT residents before making any changes. The Department of Finance will be undertaking more research, based on what we hear from this year’s consultations, with a view to developing more detailed options for NWT residents to consider.

The 2010-11 budget will also incorporate the second year of our four-year plan to invest $60 million in key energy initiatives. These continued investments in wind, hydro, and biomass generation will demonstrate both the technology and the fact that our government is serious about reducing the NWT’s reliance on diesel fuel. These investments, by providing infrastructure for communities currently dependent on fossil fuels, will make a critical difference in the cost of living and sustainability of our smaller communities and form a lasting legacy of the work of the 16th Legislative Assembly.

Mr. Speaker, as we develop our fiscal plans for 2010-11 and beyond, we will proceed with caution, but we will continue to move forward, advancing the goals and priorities we have set as the 16th Legislative Assembly. Thank you.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment has undertaken the Aboriginal Student Achievement Initiative to address the achievement gap between aboriginal and non-aboriginal students in the Northwest Territories. This initiative is a long-term commitment that will see a multi-layered plan developed and implemented with aboriginal, education, government and corporate partners. There is no magic solution to improving student achievement. The work ahead of us will be difficult and will take the commitment of many people.

Several things have been initiated this year, Mr. Speaker. To engage regions, Education, Culture and Employment is funding a pilot project in each education district that focuses on improving school attendance as a means to improve aboriginal student achievement. The department is providing $25,000 per region, with matching in-kind contributions from the education boards or their regional partners. The department has received a pilot project application from each education board

for projects such as after-school programming like arts and crafts classes and on-the-land activities, counselling and intervention services for parents and students, mentorship and community liaison worker, and student produced promotional videos on attendance.

Increasing literacy rates is a key ingredient in the success of aboriginal students. The department has instituted several initiatives to support literacy efforts in schools. Education, Culture and Employment has dedicated approximately $400,000 towards the purchase of reading materials for school libraries. To ensure equitable funding, the department allocated monies based on cost index and freight costs for outlying community schools. The reading material purchased will reach every school and will be grade level appropriate and culturally suitable.

Accessibility to the right tools and resources is another major part of academic success. Due to staffing or financial problems, small community schools are often limited in the optional courses they can offer high school students. To address this, the department is providing quality laptops for Grade 12 students in all small community high schools. Students will be allowed to take their laptops home to use for both academic and personal use. The laptops will be returned to the school when students complete their high school diploma or meet their individual education program objectives. The department and the school boards are working to make the laptops available to students as soon as possible.

An education system based on aboriginal languages and cultures leads to greater academic success for aboriginal students. The Aboriginal Student Achievement Working Group is currently working with the Northwest Territories Teachers’ Association to develop culturally sensitive orientation for all new teachers to help meet this goal. This orientation will be partially on the land and will be mandated beginning next year.

The Aboriginal Student Achievement Initiative also includes an extensive public awareness campaign that promotes the importance of school attendance and provides valuable information on the Northwest Territories education system and parental responsibilities within it. The public awareness campaign was kicked off this summer with staff passing out brochures and speaking to people on National Aboriginal Day in Yellowknife.

The aboriginal Student Achievement Initiative is an exciting groundbreaking project and the department looks forward to reporting on the long-term achievements of the pilot projects, literacy research, public campaign and culturally appropriate teacher orientation. I mentioned earlier that there is no magic solution. However, I believe that by working together with all our partners, our

communities, our students, and everyone interested in student achievement, we will be successful in achieving our goal of improving the education outcomes of our aboriginal students. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Item 3, Members’ statements. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the Sahtu our elders often tell us to go out on the land because the land will take care of you. I’ve often wondered what this meant. So this past spring and summer I paid extra close attention to this saying and noticed and realized how the land shows you how to live life. It does take care of you if you listen and are willing to learn.

Mr. Speaker, it’s little wonder that over the past six years I’ve been pushing for on-the-land treatment programs in the Sahtu, as instructed by our elders.

Mr. Speaker, aside from the Nats'ejee K'eh Treatment Centre, there are no other treatment centres in the Northwest Territories that treat alcohol and drug addiction. Addictions are the biggest causes of social breakdowns in the Northwest Territories and we spend millions of dollars every year treating addiction-related behaviours.

I understand the Department of Health and Social Services and the Department of Justice are reviewing their mental health and addictions programs. The territorial government spends close to $2 million every year on the Nats'ejee K'eh Treatment Centre, and we are soon to close the Arctic Tern facility and spend nearly $40 million to build new corrections centres in the South Slave. The Department of Justice spends $135,000 on wilderness camps in the South Slave.

A wilderness camp was piloted in the Sahtu some years ago and it was very successful. Mr. Speaker, I encourage the Minister of Health to look at this wilderness camp initiative, the one like with the Department of Justice, and do one in the Northwest Territories. We need to understand and implement our aboriginal values and beliefs in wellness and healing camps if we are to win this battle with addictions, and the successes are greater if we do it on the land.

On-the-land treatment programs support the department’s goal to promote healthy choices and responsible self care, and establish culturally appropriate treatment programs, and it supports the GNWT’s vision of healthy, educated people who

must act on what our elders keep telling us, as there is much wisdom in their saying as it might save our nation one day. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to follow up today on my colleague Mr. Bromley’s statement from Friday in regard to the involvement of Regular Members in the development of policy and/or government positions.

In his sessional statement last week, the Premier stated 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, and I agree with that, but there is a gap between what is allowed for and what actually occurs. Regular Members should have input, but that doesn’t seem to happen.

Regular Members are well aware, and the public may know, that MLAs spent most of September reviewing departmental business plans for next year. It became very evident to me, as we reviewed the plans, that departments and Ministers too, I suppose by association, have developed, are developing or will develop any number of policies, strategies and frameworks, most of which were unfamiliar to me, documents which guide departments’ program delivery in a particular budget year.

In answer to my question, I learned that many are not distributed or are not yet developed, but they do guide a department’s work. Would Regular Members be able to get copies or be involved in the development or be able to provide feedback on these policies, strategic strategies and frameworks, I asked? The answer was generally yes, but the situation points to the need for this Assembly to rethink how we develop our policies.

We must be proactive in our policy discussions and in policy development, instead of reacting when something leaks out. We need a mechanism that allows input by Regular Members early on in the process and allows for feedback at several points along the way.

Our policies, strategies and frameworks should underpin the whole of the government’s operation and should encompass the visions, goals and priorities of the 16th Assembly. I’m in total

agreement with the Member for Weledeh, that development of policy in isolation without the involvement of Regular Members contravenes one of our recently agreed upon principles of consensus government. The one that says, in part, the

opportunity for all Members to have meaningful input into important decisions is fundamental.

To me, policy decisions are important decisions. I hope that a desire to include Regular Members in policy development exists in the hearts and minds of the executive, that we as an Assembly can evaluate our current process and get the consultative, cooperative, consensual information sharing that we need. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today my Member’s statement is about a multi-purpose facility O and M funding in the community of Tuktoyaktuk.

Mr. Speaker, northern communities like Tuk suffer from overcrowding, limited housing units, very few places to interact socially. The winter season sees an increase in domestic disturbances and depression. In the recent spring, the NWT Housing Corporation transferred a building to the community so that it could be developed into a library. Since then the community has looked into funding sources for start-up operations and maintenance costs of the building, with very little success. Also, the community has expanded the function of the house from a library and where community members could go and get a hot meal or someplace where people can talk to a counsellor for a wide range of issues, especially during the winter.

Many people in our communities go from one business to another, usually hanging around the entrance ways or hanging around the storage shed just speaking to each other. These are not appropriate places to go, Mr. Speaker. We must do more. We must help our communities in initiatives such as these to develop a safe, comfortable and reliable place to go.

This multi-purpose facility would be used for a drug and alcohol resources centre for people who have recently finished a treatment program. Too many times after a person finishes substance abuse treatment programs they return to the community with little or no support structure, workshops, counselling sessions or just a place where people can go read a book, talk to a friend or get a warm meal. This facility would offer these services.

I have recently been made aware of the O and M funding for a counsellors facility in Inuvik, which is supposed to be servicing satellite communities. Wouldn’t the money be used best in the community for the community? Capacity building progress with serious social supports, this is very critical that the

government commits to deliver the support required, not just deliver the rhetoric.

Mr. Speaker, I’ll have questions for the Ministers of Health and Social Services and Public Works at the appropriate time. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When deciding today about which matter to raise in the House, one particular issue jumped off the page more than others. It’s one that I’d been informed about by a constituent who is very concerned about an issue that needs to be addressed by this House.

I would like to paint a picture. In the U.S., a year ago when the “Obamabuck” started to roll out to industry, government first failed to ensure that their stimulus was going to protect the machinery and jobs out there rather than the big, deep pockets of those in charge of those companies. They did manage to claw some of it back and then they worked very hard to ensure that they didn't make that mistake again.

Within the last year the government of New Brunswick backed ATCON with $50 million to ensure their business kept working, kept afloat, and certainly people in place in those jobs. One of the many conditions they attached was to ensure that ATCON, if they owed any money to any New Brunswick business, that they had to be paid first. In other words, if they had any large amounts of money, government money, going to support their company, they had to make sure it was going to protect the employees of those businesses and certainly the other companies that were working together in New Brunswick. A very clever position, I would say.

Which now brings me to the issue of today: what is the government doing for the North? Almost a year ago the Opportunities Fund was tapped into. As many will recall, it was $34 million accessed by Discovery Air. Which brings me even further. In recent days I have heard that there have been layoffs. One of their subsidiary companies, Great Slave Helicopters, has let a bunch of people go. I don’t know the details of the layoffs, because I’m an MLA; I don’t work within the company and I don’t know the details of those particular cases. What did the government do to protect and ensure these northern jobs would stay and be supported?

Other governments have shown wise choices about ensuring that when they’re giving out good money that it helps protect their local jobs. I think this is an important thing. Government money backed by this

government’s House needs to be ensured that it’s working for northern businesses. If we can’t protect our employees and our northern economy, who will? The issue really comes down to this: the Opportunities Fund needs to be working for all Northerners and there needs to be a clear message that says if we’re serious about stimulating our northern economy, we have to ensure that we’re protecting people.

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

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

Today I would like to talk about the need for industrial arts and home economics in the schools in Fort Resolution and Lutselk’e. We all know the benefits of these programs. I am sure many of us here had the opportunity to take one of these classes and learn the skills that we’re able to apply in situations today. Unfortunately, students and residents of Fort Resolution and Lutselk’e do not have this opportunity. If we were able to get these programs into the communities I think we could provide a service that could benefit the whole community, both young and old.

Both communities would like to see an industrial arts and home economics program that serves all members of the community. Not only will the students from each of the schools have these programs as part of their schooling, but community residents can also access these programs after school hours, which will benefit them as homeowners, to mention one benefit.

I have spoken with members in the communities and they have provided some creative solutions for this problem. One way of achieving this would take a collaborative effort between the community, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, and Public Works and Services, and possibly even the NWT Housing Corporation.

In smaller communities with limited resources and limited facilities, we need to look at all possible options for addressing needs of the communities and its residents, and this is one such option. I’ve even spoken to some elders who have indicated they would like to pursue some traditional practices such as food preparation and tanning hides. Even this may create an opportunity for youth in these communities and they will learn such traditions.

Later today I will have questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment on this matter.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’ve been talking a lot in this House about the cost of living. A big part of the cost of living is the cost of food. We have on our doorstep a huge renewable resource of very healthy food in the form of the fish in the Great Slave Lake. Every year there is a quota on that lake to harvest, and it is sustainable: 1.2 million pounds of fish. That’s way more than we need to feed all the people in the Northwest Territories. But we bring our fish that we eat most of the time, if we admit it, in some box with Captain Highliner on it from some faraway fish processing plant, maybe even on the East Coast. There is something seriously wrong with this picture.

As long as I have been an MLA I have been talking about the challenges of the commercial fishery on Great Slave Lake. Honestly, I am getting so tired of talking about it that after I’m finished as MLA I might just go buy a boat and go fish it myself, because I cannot seem to get this government’s attention on this.

We have been saddled with the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation for too long. This government has taken a sideline approach to that and said, well, if the fishermen want us to pull out of freshwater, we will. But the fact of the matter is the fishermen are very busy doing other things. The fishermen are called upon to be employers, they have to be accountants, they have to do payroll for their men, they have to be mechanics to maintain their boats, and they have to go out and do that very, very hard task of actually doing the commercial fishing. They are expected to do a lot of things and I don’t really think we can ask them to also go out and look for the market for their fish, although I take my hat off to those private vendors who park their trucks with fresh fish on the parking lots of our grocery stores in downtown Yellowknife and sell fish to us.

But when do I eat fish out of Great Slave Lake? Do you know when I eat it? When I have company and I want to show off. Put the beautiful white fish on the barbeque and show off. The rest of the time we don’t take advantage of this extremely high quality, nutritious food. So when we talk about the cost of living, I think it’s a win-win situation if we could do more as a government to come up with an NWT marketing corporation for the fish. The government should step in on this and go in on it whole hog. Wrong expression.

---Laughter

That’s another whole story. But the government needs to become more proactive in helping to create the jobs from this fishery, create the food, the access to good food, quality food for northern people. I’ll have questions for the Minister of ITI on this today.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m going to speak again today about Stanton Territorial Hospital. On Friday I had the opportunity to make a statement and ask questions to the Minister of Health and Social Services about the condition of the hospital. Today I’d like to follow up on that.

I believe that the government and Minister have some explaining to do. On Friday, page 17 of unedited Hansard, the Minister states that the 2004 technical assessment had a price tag of upwards of $250 million. If this was indeed correct, then why did subsequent capital plans every year peg the cost of the Stanton Master Development Plan at roughly $30 million?

The Stanton Master Development Plan, over the past five years, has gone from important enough to put in every capital plan up until 2008-2009. In the last year’s capital plan the project’s name had even changed from Stanton Master Development Plan to Stanton Territorial Hospital Technical Upgrades, at a total value of $28 million. Now it would appear that neither the Stanton Master Development Plan nor any substantial money for technical upgrades is included in the government’s most recent capital plan.

On Friday I spoke of the 2004 report, calling into question the state of several building components that had to be upgraded within five years to ensure the asset life of the facility. The report also identified areas of non-compliance with current codes and issues of health care delivery standards. Here we are five years later and where is the money and the Stanton Master Development Plan? According to the Minister, it’s still in the planning stages.

I believe that it is completely ridiculous that after the work began in 2002, the report came out in 2004, that all the Minister and department can say is sorry, it’s not in the capital plan, we’re still working on it. It’s no wonder the Department of Health and Social Services gets the label of the Department of Perpetual Planning, and now here we are on the verge of approving capital expenditures that again do not include Stanton Territorial Hospital, even though the department has had over seven years to

do it. If the Department of Health and Social Services can’t get the planning right, then, please, let’s get somebody in there who can.

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

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Once again I’m here to talk about the holdup of scheduled projects in Nahendeh. Last spring I spoke in the House about the delay of completion of renovations to homes in Nahanni Butte. Today I wish to speak about the delay of improvements to the Nahanni Butte winter road access.

The work was to be completed this summer; however, due to scheduling, the government waited until September to begin, which was particularly rainy and prevented any progress on the project. During a recent constituency visit to the community, residents told me the weather in the months of July and August were excellent, yet they waited until September to begin the work.

Timing on government projects do not make sense to them or to me. The government publicizes government projects to demonstrate what it’s doing for NWT residents, however, there are often problems with the follow-through. It must cause troubles for the Minister in terms of revisions to budgets and rescheduling that may, in turn, affect other projects.

My concern is for the communities. The delay of improvements on the Nahanni Butte access road is an inconvenience to those driving to Nahanni Butte this winter and may jeopardize their safety. However, this construction year for the road is done, with the onset of winter. Today I would urge the Minister of Transportation to advise his officials to ensure that the Nahanni Butte access road is completed early in the 2010 construction season.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to go on the record today and applaud BHP Billiton, the City of Yellowknife and the Department of Health and Social Services for their support of the homeless people in Yellowknife.

I and many others have expressed concerns about some of the challenges facing the homeless in Yellowknife, especially with the onset of winter. Some of these challenges include the lack of public washroom facilities and the lack of a warm, safe

place for the homeless people to utilize during daytime hours. Fortunately, BHP Billiton, the City of Yellowknife and the Department of Health and Social Services have recognized the severity of these problems in downtown Yellowknife and have partnered together to make a difference.

Through this partnership, the John Howard Society will be opening and operating a day shelter in Yellowknife starting in November. The John Howard Society, based in Yellowknife, is a volunteer organization that promotes just, effective and humane responses to the causes and consequences of crime. Homelessness and desperation are a leading cause of crime, so the John Howard Society is a logical choice for the operation of the new day shelter.

Initially this initiative was just a pilot scheduled to last three years. I believe the evidence will be there to suggest an ongoing need and I hope that the partners continue to work together with the John Howard Society to make this success ongoing.

Once again, in closing, I would like to applaud BHP Billiton, the City of Yellowknife, the Department of Health and Social Services and the John Howard Society for their vision and commitment to Yellowknife and the people of the Northwest Territories.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I raise some accountability issues with respect to contracting practices of Cabinet; specifically contracts issued to former Members of the Legislative Assembly.

After reviewing some of the contracts being let during our term and the legal but ethically questionable practices I’ve found, I believe the public would be outraged and would demand revision. My concerns here involve two Executive department contracts, which I will table, totalling almost a quarter million dollars that were let to previous Ministers of this government. Oddly, both contracts described identical work -- identical to the word -- the contracts completely overlapped in time and, finally, both were apparently sole sourced with identical justification. How can this be? The same work being done at the same time, independently sole sourced to two different parties, both described as uniquely able to do the work: former Ministers Mr. Brendan Bell and Mr. John Todd.

My second concern is with respect to financial accountability to the public. One contract let to the Northern Strategy Group was signed by the previous Minister of ITI only 59 days after Mr. Bell

left office. This contract, worth $1,500 per day and totalling $180,000 over two fiscal years, began during the very early part of Mr. Bell’s transition allowance generously provided by our public. This transition allowance, about $8,000 per month for eight months, is meant to cushion the Member’s departure from government.

Mr. Speaker, neither the current policy restricting prevention of contracts to only the prior Minister’s department is sufficient nor is the cooling off period after leaving government leadership acceptable. Revision is needed.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, while contracting departing Ministers seems uncomfortably common, I am concerned that it undermines our democratic process. While we begin a new Legislative Assembly after an election, there are new Ministers put in place through a leadership selection process. Yet when we quickly hire back departing Ministers to guide our political directions and policy development, we are usurping the decisions of our voting public. New Members are voted in for a reason and old Members leave or are voted out for other reasons. We have continuing Members in a bureaucracy to help us with continuity.

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

---Unanimous consent granted.

New Members are voted in for a reason and old Members leave or are voted out for other reasons. We have continuing Members in a bureaucracy to help us with continuity. The practice of early contracts to departing Ministers erodes the public’s main opportunity for input and policy change through an election every four years.

Mr. Speaker, I will be discussing further details of my concerns and subsequent statements in oral questions. Mahsi.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The H1N1 is sweeping across the Northwest Territories. The latest count says it has affected some 22 communities. Mr. Speaker, the concern I have is the affect it is going to have in small, remote communities where we don’t have health professions in those communities, such as Tsiigehtchic, Wrigley, Colville, Sachs and other communities that don’t have health care professionals on the ground.

I think it is critical to realize what we have seen in southern Canada, Manitoba, B.C. and other

provinces and the affect this has had on aboriginal communities. I don’t think we are immune to it in the Northwest Territories. If anything, the evidence is there that aboriginal communities are more resilient to this thing and, more importantly, need the assistance of government, the health professions and people on the ground.

Mr. Speaker, it is that time of year when it is basically freeze-up, in which these communities will be isolated for a period of time until the roads can be put in, where the airport is basically accessed. In the community of Tsiigehtchic, they don’t have an airport. Mr. Speaker, I think it is critical that this government clearly assures that the communities have the professions in those communities during this critical period.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to state again that the community of Tsiigehtchic does not have a health professional in the community by way of a nurse. I think it is critical that this government, if it has to bring in locums, bring them in. Mr. Speaker, I, for one, feel that we have to be proactive and not reactive and wait for someone to die before we do anything. I would like to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services at the appropriate time: what is this government doing to ensure that we have professionals on the ground to ensure that we can combat this epidemic and get the safeguard to the people in the small communities where we realize that they are most vulnerable during this period of time? Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to recognize a constituent from Tsiigehtchic, Mr. Billy Clark, who is here in the gallery. Welcome, Billy.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Item 6, acknowledgements. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for the Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement I talked about the wishes of the elders from Sahtu to have on-the-land treatment programs in our region. I want to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services, in her program review of treatment programs within the department, is this

included within the mental health and addiction services goals?

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank the Member for that question. As the Member knows, in our discussions in the community visit in Sahtu, we have talked about that. I have indicated that part of our review will include a lot more flexibility built in so that communities could come up with their own proposals and solutions that we can partner with. The Member was also there when the chief, Frank Andrew, thanked the department for the money that we provided for an on-the-land healing program at a camp, which name I can’t remember but it was off the river in Tulita. In fact, the Member, I believe, took part in that and he thought that was a very good program.

I believe we have approved about $30,000 to $40,000 for that. We already have programs that allow for that and the review of the Mental Health and Addictions Program is designed so that we could do more of that.

We are also working in Fort McPherson and Tuktoyaktuk in partnership with the Gwich’in Tribal Council and Inuvialuit Regional Council where they have agreed to work with us by providing more funding so that we could do community-based programs. We have had intense and detailed discussions with the Member as well as in the communities. I believe the Member knows that this is what I am interested in doing and that I would be pursuing it further. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, yes, the Minister is correct in terms of our visits in the Sahtu and our discussions with Chief Frank Andrew, the grand chief in the Sahtu. For the record, the Minister did allude to the programs, that they supported the Tulita Dene Band. It is the amount of $5,000, not $30,000 or $40,000 for an on-the-land healing program.

Mr. Speaker, I will ask the Minister in terms of within the life of this government, will the people in the Sahtu see an on-the-land treatment program similar to the one that they have with the Nats'ejee K'eh, in terms of the program, the staff, not the structures of it but the program that is put together to Nats'ejee K'eh?

Mr. Speaker, obviously, Nats’ejee K’eh is not an on-the-land program as the Member sees it. We provide about $2 million a year for Nats’ejee K’eh. It is an institutional-based treatment program.

I would like to thank the Member for correcting the amount of money that was given for that specific project. But while I was travelling with the Member,

the CEO of Sahtu had indicated that they are open and willing to approve proposals from the communities that speak to on-the-land healing programs, whether it is with elders or whether it is with youth or the community as a whole, or families, because we understand that healing has to come from the ground up and it has to involve all of the family members. We are already engaged in that and I fully support that sort of approach.

Now, the Mental Health Program, the way it is set up right now, it is PY; a person PY position based and not so program based. The review under Foundation for Change Action Plan is aimed at creating more flexibility there so that communities can make their own proposals and we can work in partnership with the communities and the local governments. Thank you very much.

Mr. Speaker, the Nats’ejee Treatment Program runs about $2 million a year. That is the type of support that we would require, not that amount but that type of money in terms of having a really effective on-the-land treatment program. The Minister has alluded to programs that are run for a week or two and not for another couple of months. I am looking for some consistency in terms of on-the-land treatment programs in the Sahtu region. Again, would the Minister look at ways that we could partnership with this department in terms of having some effective programs in the Sahtu? Is the Minister willing to ensure that there are sufficient resources to ensure that the people in the Sahtu have strong on-the-land treatment programs?

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, we are doing that already. We will look to do more. I would be willing to hear from the local leadership in the Sahtu about what proposals they have in mind. I am always willing to listen to the Member about what proposals that he is working on with his leadership. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Final supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Mr. Speaker, again I would invite her to come to the Sahtu to listen to the leadership and have some specific discussions on this specific request, because this request has come also from the community of Colville Lake where one of the elders asked about this program. It doesn’t seem to get very far within our border, within this department, in terms of her request over the last six years. Would the Minister again be willing to come into the Sahtu and make a special visit on this specific issue?

Mr. Speaker, I am not aware of any proposals from Colville in the last six years. If the Member wants to give me that information on some of the proposals that communities have forwarded, I would be happy to look into the detail.

Once again, Mr. Speaker, I want to let the Member know -- and I have spoken to him in my office and in our community visits -- we have had very good meetings in all of his communities of Tulita, Deline, Fort Good Hope and Colville Lake. Definitely, we are interested in looking at expanding the more traditional way of doing healing programs in partnership with the communities. We are doing our Mental Health and Addictions Program precisely to create more room to be able to do those. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister of Human Resources. Last May/June during session I spoke to an issue about the hiring of summer students and the process that we use to hire summer students. It raised a surprising number of concerns from constituents from all of our ridings, I think. I followed up with some questions to the Minister expressing my concerns and he advised that the Department of Human Resources would be looking into the matter, would be doing a review of the process and of the hiring actions that we have used. I would like to ask the Minister, at this point, whether or not the report is indeed done and when might it be available. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Minister of Human Resources, Mr. Bob McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am very pleased to report that this past summer was one of our most successful ever for hiring summer students. We were able to hire 347 summer students, which is an increase of 65 summer students over the previous year. I think this is close to one of our highest numbers on record. We have completed the review of our hiring practices for summer students. I will be looking to release a report sometime during this session. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the Minister for that update. I guess I would like to know, if the report is completed, whether or not there are any recommended actions within that report that he could tell us about. Thank you.

Despite our success in hiring this summer, we found that there are some areas that we can improve upon. We will be working much more closely with management in the different departments. We will start a lot earlier in terms of doing some training and making departmental managers aware on an annual basis

of the hiring procedures and practices for summer students. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thanks to the Minister. I guess if there were some suggestions for change or suggestions for actions, I wonder if the Minister could advise whether or not there is an intention to consult with the managers who actually do the summer student hiring and/or consult with the students who are actually hired, to determine whether or not the recommendations from the HR department are of as much value as the department thinks they are. Thank you.

We consult with our managers and also we do exit interviews with summer students. This year 115 summer students sat through an exit interview and I’m very pleased to say that 100 percent of the summer students reviewed indicated that the Government of the Northwest Territories is a very good place to work.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thanks to the Minister. I guess I would have to say that if there are changes being proposed, certainly summer students who are exiting at the end of August or early September of this year wouldn’t have been able to know what those changes are. So that was what I was referencing. I’d like to know from the Minister what plans are in place to communicate these changes, he’s mentioned that they’ll be dealing with managers and the managers that hire students and so on, but what kind of a communication plan is going to be in place to communicate these changes to the students? Thank you.

As of December 1st ,

students that are interested in working for the Government of the Northwest Territories can submit applications. I’d like to point out that all summer students want to work for the Government of the Northwest Territories, but certainly in working with Education and sending out material with regard to the hiring process, we can make that information available to summer students. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, off my Member’s statement was the multi-purpose facility and operating funding in Tuktoyaktuk. Questions to Minister Lee: will the government commit to providing assistance to the community of Tuktoyaktuk to the O and M funding for the multi-

purpose community house? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Without knowing what the exact plan is...I did listen to the Member’s statement very closely as to some of the desires he has for the community. The Department of Health and Social Services does not normally fund O and M for multi-purpose facilities, but it does do work on providing services in mental health and wellness. As I mentioned earlier, we are working to strengthen the after-care program in Tuktoyaktuk, and there were some vacancies with the mental health and wellness worker, but we have worked over the last three or four months to staff that and I believe that position has been filled. So, obviously, I’m open to work with the Member on what we can do to assist. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

You know, if we were doing our job...I mean, the people of Tuk wouldn’t try to take it on themselves to do this in regard to what they’re trying to do and the programs they’re trying to run if it was being provided already. Again, I’d like to ask the Northwest Territories or the people in the...to know all the substance abuse treatment programs and return to their communities, live there, no support after treatment care. Will the government commit to breaking the cycle of the program’s revolving door pattern and provide the necessary resources for the community?

Yes, I’d like to recognize the community of Tuktoyaktuk for taking the plebiscite vote and deciding to make the community dry. We have received a letter from the community with their ideas and I am willing to work with the community and travel to the community. I’ve been trying to get to Tuktoyaktuk for a while and I’d be happy to get there whenever the Member would like to see me do that.

An after-care program, Mr. Speaker, is not necessarily about building another building. The after-care program is about assisting people to handle their day-to-day life in dealing with their addiction issues. So the department is there to consider any proposals that the community may have to address that.

You know, the Minister goes on to say providing a service in regard to having a satellite person of...Might as well put them on a screen on the TV and let’s sit the person down, an individual down to try to provide a service. That’s not right. The communities are lacking infrastructure with regard to...It’s not like Yellowknife where you could go out and you could go bowling or go to a movie. The people need to be helped here with something this small. In a Member’s statement today, BHP and the City of

Yellowknife made a big donation in regard to try to do something good for the people. Why can’t we do the same thing from the government to the people of the Nunakput?

For the record, I’d like to advise the Member that I am doing that exact thing for Tuktoyaktuk, if he would hear it. I’ve said that in my answer to MLA Yakeleya. We have a million dollars to do wellness programming in the Beaufort-Delta. The Member has indicated that that is not enough. So I have been working with IRC to create an after-care program. IRC has agreed to provide $100,000 and we are going to provide $100,000 a year; that’s $200,000. That is $25,000 more than what we are providing to BHP for the centre in Yellowknife. I have said that. So, Mr. Speaker, I think it’s clear that I have heard the Member, who has been telling me a lot about a lot more things we need to do for Tuktoyaktuk. I’ve been trying to get in partnership with IRC, and we have done that and we are about to make an announcement on that.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Final supplementary, Mr. Jacobson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You know, the stuff that I’m bringing up, Ms. Minister, this is not only Tuk I’m talking about, I’m talking about all the communities I represent. The lack of infrastructure in the community and the lack of funding and the way the flow-through dollars are given to the community. So that’s one thing that should be looked at before we start throwing numbers around. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. I didn’t hear a question there. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The issue I raised today in my Member’s statement was talking about how government can do business wisely by stimulating the economy, but making sure that those dollars go out to do what they’re really intended to do.

Mr. Speaker, as I said, in the U.S. they saw loopholes, in New Brunswick they found and plugged some loopholes, and I just want to make sure that the Government of the Northwest Territories is plugging some loopholes.

Mr. Speaker, I’m going to ask my questions to the Minister of Finance because I think this rightly sits on his shoulders, although the Minister of ITI does manage the fund, but I think, really, the detailed work comes down to the Minister’s of Finance office and his people that would go through the due diligence of this type of lending practice.

So, Mr. Speaker, my question directly to the Minister of Finance is: what work is done to ensure that no layoffs and all Northwest Territories businesses are kept in good standing if we’re lending money to a corporation and making sure that our economy is healthy and, certainly, protected? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When we work to support business, we look at revenues, we look at the security for the money that we’re going to lend. We recognize that the business sector is in trouble in the Northwest Territories. I indicated in my statement there is a 7 percent unemployment drop from one year to the next. So when it comes to the business that the Member referred to, I mean, there was a good decision made, money was lent, money that’s being repaid, the headquarters are being transferred, they’ve continued to thrive in spite of the economic recession that we’re under and, in fact, if that loan hadn’t been made, the Opportunities Fund would be losing money. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to know from the Finance Minister what loopholes can be closed under his authority to ensure that if we’re going to lend money out to these companies through this type of fund, that we make sure that they do not lay off northern employees and we have to make sure that they are certainly paying any liabilities off to partner northern companies to make sure they’re not left on the hook. While we give a big pile of cash to one company, other people are suffering. So I want to make sure these loopholes are closed. Is the Finance Minister today prepared to explain how they’re going to do this? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, when the loan was made there was rigorous due diligence done by a third party. An extensive time, effort and money was spent to do that. We’ve committed to work with committee. We sent them the request in the winter. We just got feedback on the Opportunities Fund to look for options of how we move forward. There are other applications out there and we are very concerned about making sure that we manage the public purse properly, that we do have due diligence, that we take every step necessary to support business, but in a way that’s going to allow us not to be able to recover and protect the investment so that we’re not on the hook for it. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, this government’s on the hook if something happens to this loan. Mr. Speaker, all I’m asking for is if this government’s going to lend money through this flow-through Opportunities Fund, that it’s going to use due diligence to make sure that we put our finger down

and say, look, before you sign, you have to guarantee you’re not going to lay off employees as part of this recovery program, and you have to guarantee you’re ensuring that all liabilities are covered from Northwest Territories businesses’ point of view. So, Mr. Speaker, is the Finance Minister willing to take a look at the situation, to close those loopholes and, lastly, is he willing to call this company to make sure that they are not laying off northern employees, they’re considering, perhaps, southern employees or nobody, if that’s the case? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, if there are loopholes, of course, we’ll look at those. When you make a loan, that doesn’t mean you start running the business. We have conditions. There was due diligence, I think, very rigorous due diligence. In fact, I did talk to the folks in Discovery Air and, yes, there were some layoffs in the spring. Just about every business in the country has been struggling with the recession and the downturn. But in spite of that, the big indicators for us are the payments are being made, the other commitments that were agreed to are being followed through on, which is the moving of the headquarters and the staff from Ontario to Yellowknife. What we have is a thriving northern business with hundreds of employees of which, I would venture to say, without the support of the Opportunities Fund it would be debatable whether they’d be there in that form today. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m not speaking to the issue of the Opportunities Fund and debating whether they deserved the loan or not. That’s not my issue. I’m not here to do the due diligence. That’s not my job. My job is to worry about people being laid off, and I think that should be your job over there too. Mr. Speaker, my job is to make sure that northern companies are being paid if government’s giving northern good money to companies to make sure they stay afloat. So, Mr. Speaker, the fact remains is this: will the Minister make sure that conditions going forward on any of these types of loans ensure that northern employment is protected and northern businesses are protected in the way that I talked about today? Thank you.

I think we’ve demonstrated our commitment to northern employment, to supporting northern business by that very loan where we now have hundreds of jobs that are still there in existence where it was debatable that they would be able to survive if we hadn’t been able to work with them to give them a loan. So, yes. I mean, when we go forward, we want to make sure we have a healthy, thriving private sector and if there’s money going to be lent

out of the fund, we’ll make sure due diligence is done, that if there are loopholes, they’ll be closed and, at the same time, that we don’t tie the hands of business by a set of restrictions that don’t allow them to do business. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I spoke of the need to get an industrial arts and home economics program in Lutselk’e and Fort Resolution. I’d like to follow up my statement with questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Mr. Speaker, has the Minister had any internal discussions within the Department of Education, Culture and Employment about establishing an industrial arts and home economics program in the schools of Lutselk’e and Fort Resolution? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.First of all, I’d like to thank the Member for asking that question, because this is a matter of follow-up from our previous visit to Fort Res and Lutselk’e. Of course, this is the responsibility of the district education authority at the community level, but I did meet with Lutselk’e and Fort Res, their DEAs, and we did talk about industrial arts and home economics. Those are the areas that we’ve been discussing, and we’ll continue to discuss that and where we go with it. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Will the Minister commit to continue to work with myself, the DEAs, the communities and, if need be, other Ministers to get this important initiative underway again if it’s further along the process as opposed to if it’s underway already? Thank you.

I agree with the Member that this is an important piece of work that is before us. Not only that, but the importance of technology programs into the schools, especially the most isolated communities. So the commitment of supporting DECs and DEAs, certainly we wish to offer more programs in these areas we fully support.

Mr. Speaker, there’s been some increase over the last year, ‘07-08 or ‘08-09, contributions to the school boards, increase in the O and M costs of funding to study facility needs in Lutselk’e. So those are areas that we’ve invested and we continue to invest in those areas. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

With respect to the immediate school year and aside from O and M, will the Minister commit to working with the Department of Public Works Minister to replace the existing equipment that’s in place as soon as possible by using some of the deferred maintenance money that has been identified for these schools? Thank you.

Mahsi. Certainly the Public Works and Services Minister...I will certainly be in touch with the department to find out the improvement of the facility, not only that, but the commitment to finding out about how this money can be used in the community. So certainly I’ll work with Minister McLeod in this area. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Your final supplementary, Mr. Beaulieu.

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Will the Minister commit to identifying resources for this and get it into the capital plan as soon as possible within the GNWT’s infrastructure investment policies? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi. Since last month my Department of Education, Culture and Employment sent the school boards the document called NWT Career and Technology Student Success Initiative. This document is a ministerial handbook providing boards with information on how to apply for capital funding. So certainly this will be an area that the DEAs will work with and our Department of Education, Culture and Employment will certainly provide assistance in that area. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement today I talked about the commercial fishery. I speak about Hay River because I know it the best. I know there’s commercial fishery that goes on out of other areas too, including Yellowknife, but, Mr. Speaker, commercial fishing used to be a very big piece of a diversified economy in Hay River. It has dwindled down now to the point that I think we were talking this year about selling fishing licences, commercial fishing licences to people who are not even residents of the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, there are many challenges, no doubt, with the fishing industry, but with the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation I’m starting to agree with Mr. Alex Morin in Hay River: it was legislated poverty. With the costs of everything going up, diesel and labour and cost of equipment for the

fishermen, that those costs can go up, but the prices were low. No wonder the prices were low when we want to haul it all the way to Winnipeg, Manitoba, and store it in some deep freeze and then try and market it as a good and valuable product. We have an industry here which could be self-contained in the Northwest Territories but, like I said, the fishermen cannot be all things and I think that we should get away from the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation and this government should set up some kind of a cooperative that allows a fisherman to sell and even process their fish so that they can make a decent living on it and commercial fishing can once again become a viable industry in the Northwest Territories in its rightful place. What has the Minister of ITI got in mind to achieve that? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Great Slave Lake fisheries is a very phenomenal resource for the Northwest Territories and the Department of ITI has been working very closely with the Fishermen’s Federation to find ways to make them more competitive and to increase production. More recently we’ve been working with them to examine alternative options to see how we can go forward with this. We’ve hired a management firm to undertake a strategy session and to develop strategies that we can go forward with. So we’ve been working very closely with the federation. Ultimately it will have to be a decision by the federation, but whatever decisions they make, we’re prepared to work closely with them. Thank you.

I wish I can remember how many strategies we’ve actually compiled regarding the commercial fishery on Great Slave Lake, but it’s been a few. We’ve had even someone seconded; I believe Beatrice Lepine was seconded and even looked at creating it as a specially designated type of fish that was high quality and sustainable. I don’t know where all that work...That was a year or two of work. I don’t know where all that went.

Mr. Speaker, it’s difficult to explain why the Fishermen’s Federation has never wanted to break away from FFMC, but might I speculate and say it would be very hard to depart from the devil that they knew and bite the hand that fed them, because each year when it was time to start up their fishery, that’s where they went for the advance and the funding to go buy some new nets and a bit of credit to buy some gas. So they were beholden to them because they didn’t have any other option. We need a different marketing option which ensures the best prices for the best product to the end user and that could be achieved within the mandate of this

government. Is there anything you’re looking forward to in the strategy, Mr. Speaker, that would encompass that? Thank you.

I think it’s more than having the Member buy a fishing boat, but we are looking at different ways. Certainly one of the themes that we’ve been talking about is to not only buy locally, but produce locally, and certainly we’ll be coming forward with some proposals that will allow us to go forward with using Great Slave fish much more in the Northwest Territories. So that’s one option and certainly other jurisdictions like Saskatchewan, for example, has opted out of the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation model. So we are looking at all of those things and perhaps at the end of the day we may have to try to pursue all of those different avenues. I think the most important thing right now, though, is to find a way to increase the production of fish from Great Slave Lake. Thank you.

With all due respect, there’s no point in increasing the production or the harvesting of fish on Great Slave Lake if we don’t have a comprehensive plan to figure out how that translates into a good living for the people who are out there and engaged in this activity. That’s why I think the government needs to come up with a very comprehensive plan. Like I said, the fishermen cannot be the ones that are phoning up to a marketing desk and trying to find ways of processing and finding markets for that fish.

So to the issue of a comprehensive plan, and I applaud the Minister for undertaking another strategy, but the problem is that in the past every time the Fishermen’s Federation came to the government in despair, the government just threw them another bone. Oh, you want some new equipment? Oh here’s some new equipment. Oh, you want us to do another study on how to change the way we go about fishing? Oh, here is some money for a study. You want some money to subsidize your freight to market? Well, here’s a freight subsidy. And it’s never been comprehensive, it’s always been piecemeal; it’s always just throw them some quick answer. We need an in-house, made-in-the-Northwest Territories commercial fishing strategy that will allow us to have the product here, export the product and allow the fishermen to earn a good living. Does this strategy terms of reference include that? Thank you.

We’ve been working with the NWT Fishing Federation, we’ve developed a draft strategic plan. All the regional management people have met with the fishermen and have given direction to develop a final visioning and strategic plan that we would follow. There are certain steps that would have to be undertaken, like dealing with the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation. Certainly we would have to look at existing

business models. Certainly I’d expect that there would be additional resources that would be required where we would have to get the support of the Legislative Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Short supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Does the GNWT and does the Minister of ITI have the resources and will he commit the resources to see the revitalization of the commercial fishery on Great Slave Lake? Thank you.

We have developed the proposals and we are working to obtain the resources that will allow us to go ahead. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ve been a Member of this House since 2003. I’ve stood up in here time and time again asking questions about Stanton Territorial Hospital in the areas of staffing, space utilization, contracted services and that. I’ve been following this Stanton Master Development Plan for some time and I wanted to pick up where I left off on Friday. I want to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services if she can stand up in this House today and explain why it takes seven years to develop and plan a master development plan for that hospital. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all I have to say I was quite amused to hear the Member’s statement, because just last Thursday in his first statement he thanked the government for some of the good work that the government has done, which included the Dementia Centre in Yellowknife and, Mr. Speaker, that is a Health and Social Services project. If he doesn’t know that, there’s a huge sign with my name on it and the government department. I’m sure there’s a thank you or acknowledgement letter somewhere, and the last time I checked I was the Minister of Health and Social Services that has been putting that project forward.

That project is on time, on budget and we’re going to create 28 beds to open in the spring. We’ve done a day centre that Members have thanked in the House publicly and we have a primary care clinic in Yellowknife that the department and myself, as the Minister, have worked hard on.

Mr. Speaker, I’m sure in the Member’s statement he read I think he’s quite confused about the difference between master plan, technical upgrades and planning study and I’d be happy to educate the Member on that in supplementaries. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I don’t know if I need to be educated or the Minister needs to be educated. From the documents that I have, I think the Minister needs to be educated. She stood up here today and did not, Mr. Speaker, answer the question that I asked her. How come it takes seven years? She referred to a statement I made last week. Yes, the government is doing some good work, Mr. Speaker, that’s true, but we’re falling down in certain areas and, Mr. Speaker, the development of this master plan is one area that falls under that Minister’s responsibility that this government is falling down on. I’m asking her how come it takes seven years to develop that plan. Can she answer that question, Mr. Speaker? Thank you.

First of all, it does not take seven years to develop that master plan. I said, Mr. Speaker, on Friday, that the Master Development Plan was the work of the authority. They spent the money for two years and came up with a plan that was before ISDN, that’s before any other process that we had. That was not a government plan, it was the authority plan. When I took on as the Minister, I was aware that there was $65 million budgeted in the capital plan. I asked the authority to come back with specific issues that the Member for Kam Lake raised over and over and other Yellowknife Members and other Members here. There are seven critical areas at Stanton that needed to be addressed. I wanted that dealt with and that’s where we’re working.

Since then, the Member mentioned that the Department of Health and Social Services is a department of perpetual studies. That is so cliché. If the Member has been paying attention, planning studies is not a Department of Health term. That is our new capital plan process that all the Members on the other side have been working on. Planning study is a new way of doing capital plans. So perhaps Members should check the notes on how to do the capital budget process in this House. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I checked Hansard from Friday and, according to the Minister, she believes that the technical evaluation that was done in 2004 is part of the Master Development Plan. I have information here that would state otherwise.

Sorry; I mentioned the fact that this has taken seven years to get this together. They still haven’t got it together. I want to know why the Stanton Master Development Plan appeared in numerous capital estimates for four years in a row. Last year it

fell off; this year it’s nowhere to be found. I want to know why it’s not there. I want to know why that Minister is not defending that project at the Cabinet table as she should be.

Let me just re-inform the Member: the Master Development Plan was $65 million on the books. That’s not a plan that was there. That was money budgeted to work the plan. We have a new process, a capital planning process that all 19 Members accepted as of last year, which is that we have to do the planning study before a project gets into the capital process. The Member is not very clear about what this master plan is. We have a completely different process now.

The technical upgrades, the work on technical upgrading is still being done at Stanton and is separate from the master plan. The master plan is about what kind of a hospital and services will Stanton provide. The study that was done in 2002 to 2004 is a $250 million dream.

Members made it very clear here that I had to work on the seven specific areas and we’re working on that in planning study. As the Member knows, the new process is that you don’t get a capital amount in the capital budget until that planning study is done. Let me say again, that is not a health term or Health and Social Services term, that is our way of doing capital planning now in this government.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Could I request that Members keep their questions and answers a little bit shorter or we’re never going to get through all the Members for question period. Supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again on Friday -- and I’ll try to keep this short -- the Minister said this technical services evaluation that was done in 2004 was going to come in at $250 million, which is not correct.

I also want to ask the Minister, if this Master Development Plan is so important to the Department of Health and Social Services, how do they plan on funding the planning that’s going to be required to go into this? Where do we find how much that is?

As we speak, the department staff and the Stanton authority is working on the planning study for the Stanton Master Development Plan -- that’s what the governments do, that’s what departments do -- so that we can come up with a workable plan for Stanton Territorial Hospital that will deal with the critical areas of emergency, ICU, diagnostic imaging, and the other seven critical areas.

Also, I should state that the opening and construction of the Dementia Centre and consolidation of the Yellowknife primary clinics will drastically change the kind of services that Stanton

is providing, and that is part of the plan that Stanton is doing.

Technical upgrades are completely different from the master plan. The planning study, again, is a completely different thing.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the honourable Minister of Transportation. Hopefully I can get some equally spirited discussion going.

---Laughter

In my Member’s statement today I spoke about some delayed projects in my riding, particularly in Nahanni Butte, but there have also been some delayed projects on Highway No. 7 for the Fort Liard section. I just wanted to get some explanation from the Minister on why these projects were deferred this year.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Minister responsible for Transportation, Mr. Michael McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ll try to give a spirited response as best I can on the excitement of the projects in the Member’s riding.

---Laughter

The Member is aware that we worked quite hard to include a number of projects that have been highlighted by himself and others in his riding to receive some attention in terms of offsetting some of the safety issues that were coming forward. There were a number of issues that needed to be addressed on Highway No. 7, including Nahanni Butte, where we had expected to have the official opening to be done this year. Unfortunately, the weather wouldn’t cooperate with us and we had to defer some of these initiatives that we had on the books. We expect to follow up over the next construction season and have the official opening for Nahanni Butte to be done next year and some of the projects that were deferred for Highway No. 7 also completed for next year.

Ever since we approved the budget for 2009-2010 last fall I’ve been to Fort Liard many times to let them know that section from I think it’s kilometre 12 to 34 will have at least six or eight kilometres done this year and then nothing was done. So if the Minister could explain to me why those sections weren’t done, why there was no reconstruction work done on those areas.

There is still some work that will be done on Highway No. 7 that

includes some gravel overlay on stretches of road that we feel will benefit from it. The Member is correct; we had to defer some of the projects. They were processed through the capital plan. Unfortunately, again, the wet weather wouldn’t allow us to proceed and we felt that by proceeding, we would have to redo them next year. So we all agreed it would be more beneficial to defer the project until an appropriate time next year where we can do them properly.

They all agreed on that side, but I didn’t. In my Member’s statement, as well, I asked the Minister to advance these projects early in the construction year for 2010. What is the process to do that and will the Minister commit to that?

I apologize if nobody conveyed the information that the projects were going to be deferred. We certainly could have had the Member travel with some of our staff to show our concerns. We will commit to the Member that we will ensure that these projects are brought forward early in the construction season for next year. We all agree, I think, including the Member, that there are safety issues and we will continue to monitor that and try to alleviate some of those concerns. The reconstruction needs to go ahead and we’ll place priority on it.