Good afternoon, colleagues. Welcome back to the Chamber. Orders of the day. Item 2, Ministers’ statements. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to formally advise this House that yesterday the Department of Health and Social Services was able to publicly release its plans to vaccinate the residents of the Northwest Territories against the H1N1 influenza virus. As Members are likely aware from media reporting, provincial and territorial health officials have been awaiting final approval of the vaccine from Health Canada before moving forward with immunization programs. That we were able to announce the plan for the Northwest Territories just hours after final approval was received is a testament to the extensive planning and preparing my department has undertaken.

We all have a responsibility to protect ourselves and each other and, in doing so, to do everything we can to prevent the spread of H1N1 in our communities. Getting immunized against H1N1 is a key part of that. On Monday, October 26th , the

Department of Health and Social Services will begin delivering the biggest immunization program in NWT history. The department has been working hard behind the scenes over the past weeks to make sure we were ready to initiate that program as soon as the vaccine was approved.

Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories has ordered enough vaccine to immunize every NWT resident who wants to be immunized. Our plan is to have completed our immunization program by November 21st . The

vaccine has already been shipped to communities to facilitate its timely delivery. Larger communities will start holding mass immunization clinics this coming Monday. To ensure coverage in smaller communities, the department has hired more staff

and established mobile H1N1 action teams that will travel throughout the Northwest Territories administering the vaccine.

Our goal is to vaccinate as many NWT residents as we can as soon as we can. We will be assisted in our efforts by fourth-year nursing students from Aurora College. The Registered Nurses Association has engaged to ensure our teams are licensed and ready to go.

We know that remote northern communities are at greater risk for H1N1 outbreaks. To combat this, Dr. Kami Kandola, the NWT’s chief public health officer, is recommending that all NWT residents get the flu shot. I would like to echo this recommendation and invite Members to join me in assuring their constituents that the vaccine has been thoroughly tested and is safe and effective.

Mr. Speaker, in order to ensure that our upcoming vaccination program is successful, we recognize that NWT residents must have a clear and common understanding of the situation we are facing. We have a proactive awareness campaign underway to help inform residents about the H1N1. The Department of Health and Social Services has distributed posters to all communities in the NWT, arranged ads running on local radio and TV stations, and hosted press conferences for members of the media. Most of this information has been translated into aboriginal languages and aired on community radio and displayed in health centres. And, as I have done throughout this situation, I will continue to provide Members of this Assembly with regular updates on the latest status of H1N1 activity.

Along with the vaccine and communication products, the department’s efforts to fight the flu have focused on four main areas:

•

Slow the spread - through good public

messaging on hand washing, covering coughs and sneezes, healthy lifestyles sand self-isolation.

•

Treatment - providing all health care providers with guidance on the appropriate use of anti-virals and guidelines for the management of residents with the flu, providing the public with information on self-care and establishing the Flu Hotline to offer advice on self-care and when to see a health care provider.

•

Surveillance - carefully tracking flu activity in the NWT to quickly respond where clusters of influenza-like illness are seen.

•

Vaccination - taking advantage of the

opportunity to be vaccinated is the best way for NWT residents to protect themselves and others and shorten the pandemic period in the NWT.

I would like to encourage residents to call our Flu Hotline number if they do fall ill or have questions about the flu. The Flu Hotline is staffed by trained nurses and they can determine whether or not you need to visit your health centre or emergency department. Calling the Flu Line first will help to avoid unnecessary congestion at these areas. The Flu Hotline can be reached at 1-888-920-3026. The NWT Healthline is also available 365 days per year and can be reached at 1-888-255-1010.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff at the department as well as the frontline health care workers in our health authorities. During this pandemic they have once again stepped up to the plate and demonstrated their professionalism and dedication to the delivery of quality health care services to residents of the NWT.

We all have a role to play in working to minimize the impact of H1N1 in our communities. I would like to thank other GNWT departments that have been working hard on this issue, members of the media for helping us get clear and accurate information about H1N1 out to the public, and the public and Members of this House for working with us to prepare for and address this serious public health issue. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Robert McLeod.

Mr. Speaker, we are all well aware that the H1N1 virus has appeared throughout the Northwest Territories and that the second wave of this virus is impacting many of our people. In addition to the excellent primary health and clinical response efforts being undertaken by the Department of Health and Social Services, a lot of work is underway across the GNWT to support prevention and to respond to the potential impacts of this illness on service delivery.

Municipal and Community Affairs is playing a key role in both coordinating the efforts of the Territorial Emergency Response Committee and in supporting community governments in being prepared to maintain essential services in the face of temporary increased absenteeism.

The Territorial Emergency Response Committee, or TERC, is the primary planning and response forum for emergency preparedness in the NWT. Through TERC, MACA works with other departments, governments and agencies to identify their essential services, coordinate effectively and prepare contingency arrangements on how best to mitigate potential gaps in service delivery if adversely affected by an H1N1 outbreak. Mr. Speaker, TERC members have been proactively working to take actions within their respective areas of responsibility and are working together on NWT-wide prevention and response initiatives. For example, Education, Culture and Employment is working with all schools to develop operations plans. The Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment is communicating with major suppliers of essential goods and services to determine if emergency plans and contingency arrangements are in place and if not, how TERC can assist. The Department of Public Works and Services, as well as the Department of Transportation, is working to ensure that key contractors dealing with issues such as fuel supply delivery and road maintenance have business continuity plans in place.

The Northwest Territories Housing Corporation is working with local housing organizations to ensure that public housing maintenance continues and that other business continuity needs are addressed. Other departments such as Environment and Natural Resources, Justice, and Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations, are working to finalize and implement their departmental contingency plans, while the Department of Human Resources is preparing GNWT staff to deal with issues affecting employees in the workplace. In addition, the Department of Executive is coordinating overall messaging to residents across the NWT.

Given the current need to prepare for potential impacts of H1N1 on core services, TERC has been meeting biweekly since August and is preparing to be able to maintain the provision of essential services across the NWT. TERC has also engaged with the five regional emergency response committees, which are also meeting regularly, to confirm resources at the regional level and the status of community government essential services plans.

As well as chairing the regional emergency response committees, MACA regional superintendents are supporting community governments in identifying local essential services, the resources required to deliver these services, and gaps in capacity that may arise with an H1N1 outbreak. This knowledge will assist community governments in developing responsive H1N1 contingency plans. As of mid-October, 28 out of 33 communities have completed considerable work on their essential services plans.

Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt that H1N1 is impacting the Northwest Territories, but by placing an emphasis on prevention and planning, I am confident that the GNWT and its territorial emergency planning partners, including community governments, will be positioned to respond to this second wave of H1N1 successfully without serious interruption of key services. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Before I proceed, I’d like to draw the Members’ attention to the visitor’s gallery to the presence of a former Member of the House, Ms. Lena Pedersen with us here today.

---Applause

The honourable Minister of Justice, Mr. Lafferty.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to announce the beginning of the community justice review.

This program has been running since 1994 and it continues to be very successful. Last year there were almost 2,000 activities with 6,800 participants. The NWT is one of the leaders in the area of community justice, and we are often a resource for other jurisdictions that want to improve their own systems. We are pleased to provide expertise in this area to those in both the North and the South.

An effective justice system truly serves its communities. What works in one place might not work in another. Our justice committees perform a valuable public service by making decisions that affect their own people For example, a committee might decide that an offender should pay restitution to the victim, or do community service work, or go out on the land with an elder. Justice committees have many different options for innovative solutions at the community level. They deal with youth and adult cases using a restorative approach to justice. They administer programs that help offenders reintegrate and give back to their communities. And they promote abuse-free, crime-free lifestyles and activities that lead to healthier relationships and healthier communities overall.

The program review has already begun. We will be gathering information from every community and plan to visit at least two communities in each region to hear directly about their local justice programming. We have big communities and small communities, places with lots of community justice activity and places without much activity, committees that are working well on their own and committees that need a little extra help. We can learn from them all.

In the coming months I look forward to sharing the results of this review with Members and with the communities. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Item 3, Members’ statements. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the Nunakput communities and the Northwest Territories at this time of the year, ice safety becomes more of a concern for hunters and community residents. In 2007, the NWT coroner’s report stated that 18 percent of all accidental deaths were drowning.

Mr. Speaker, responsible federal and NWT agencies report that aboriginal and First Nation communities are more likely to have higher rates of accidental drowning because of living near bodies of water, on-the-land harvesting activities that take them into bodies of water, and retail stores, offices and health centres that are located across bodies of water.

I would like to remind community leadership that prevention is our greatest responsibility, Mr. Speaker. Hunters should notify the RCMP or family members of where they are going on their hunt, or should advise government staff of their travel plans and always go with the buddy system. As well, parents should speak to their children about how dangerous ice conditions are due to the weather. Our freeze-up is late this year due to the rainy weather and it’s just not cooperating. That’s global warming for you.

We continue to be concerned about how many small children are often driving snowmobiles, sometimes with three or four riders on the machine and many others on the sled behind. This is an accident waiting to happen. So please tell your children to be safe.

So, Mr. Speaker, to all residents of the NWT, please be safe on these ice conditions due to late freeze-up. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, two weeks ago, October 5th to 9th , was

Family Violence Awareness Week. Family violence is all too prevalent in the NWT. Our territory ranks number two in Canada for incidences of family violence per capita, second only to Nunavut. This is

not a statistic where we want to be in the top 10, Mr. Speaker.

Thankfully, we have dedicated organizations and individuals who help those of us who are touched by family violence. The Coalition Against Family Violence is one such organization. The coalition is comprised of 17 different non-government organizations and government departments, and it was established in 1999 to help residents affected by family violence and to increase the awareness of family violence in the NWT.

One of the core members of the coalition is the Yellowknife YWCA. Amongst its many programs, the Y offers shelter to victims of family violence through Alison McAteer House, the only shelter facility in Yellowknife for victims of family violence.

The GNWT does its part to further the work of the coalition. Funding and staff support is provided by four of our departments: the Executive; Health and Social Services; Education, Culture and Employment; and Justice.

A major accomplishment of the coalition was the development of the Protection Against Family Violence Act, which came into force on April 1, 2005. A year and a half after that act was first introduced, there were 222 emergency protection orders requested and those came from 22 NWT communities. As well, other provinces in Canada have used the NWT Act as a blueprint to help develop their own acts.

The NWT Action Plan on Family Violence, titled A Framework for Action, was developed by the coalition in 2004 and in June of 2007, the GNWT introduced funding for the NWT Action Plan on Family Violence, phase two. Initial activities for phase two were programs for children who witnessed violence, enhanced training for shelter workers, and the hosting of a territorial conference to identify best approaches in implementing family violence protection.

Implementation of phase two of the action plan is ongoing. An updated list of actions is scheduled for implementation beginning this year, I think. I expect the coalition will again produce great results as they did with phase one.

Although we have organizations like the Coalition Against Family Violence who work hard on our behalf, responsibility for the reduction and elimination of family violence rests with every one of us as NWT residents. We must each accept that responsibility and ensure that our actions show that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am going to take a little pause in the bit of a theme about renewable resources and how Northerners can benefit more from them. Today I want to comment on the quality of the answers that I have been hearing during this session.

As we are reminded, it is question period and not answer period. I am not standing in this House to hear myself talk. I have been bringing forward very good ideas, asking questions in the hope of turning the government’s attention to the issue of renewable resources and how the abundance of these resources can be used in a sustainable way to offset the cost of living and create economy in the North.

I went to Mr. Miltenberger’s office to give him a heads-up that I wanted to discuss the harvesting of bison. In response to my questions I got answers like, “I don’t really know how many there are in the Mackenzie sanctuary. I don’t really know how many tags are issued each year,” and this is just one example of less than quality answers.

Mr. Speaker, for the love of all that is pure and simple, once in a while it would be nice to raise an issue or an idea and hear from the other side of the House, “that is an idea worth pursuing; that is an idea that has merit; let’s work on that together.” I would like to hear that more often.

It is just not me and my ideas. Mr. Krutko has been raising the issue of a mental health worker in Fort McPherson and a nurse for Tsiigehtchic for so long I am even getting tired of hearing about it. But we could have put people through college in the amount of time it has taken the government and the Department of Health and Social Services and the Minister to respond to that particular issue.

Mr. Speaker, how about the issue the other day about mould at Stanton Hospital? That was a dandy. How many ways can you ask if there is an issue? The Minister doesn’t have to be defensive. It is not her fault there is mould in there, but she could have just said, yes, we had mould at Stanton and, yes, we have taken measures to address it. It is a department and a facility she oversees, but we don’t need to be defensive about it. We just want to hear what you are doing about it.

Mr. Speaker, we are on the same side. We are not the enemy over here. There is no need to be defensive. How do we get into this adversarial mindset?

I am going to continue putting forward ideas and asking questions. We are all here for the same reason, Mr. Speaker. I look forward to some answers. I am going to ask Mr. Miltenberger yet

again today about the bison. I hope he has some answers today. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I want to use my Member’s statement in terms of an issue that has been in the North for many, many years. It is regarding the residential school experience.

Mr. Speaker, lately I am seeing on TV and witnessing the ceremony in Ottawa of the honourable Governor General of Canada and the honourable aboriginal leaders across Canada and residential school survivors in Canada.

Mr. Speaker, the residential school experience has been an issue forefront in my community and it also has been an issue in my family in terms of how this whole experience has affected us. Mr. Speaker, in my research, thousands of students in the Northwest Territories attended residential schools. As a matter of fact, when I did my research, the Roman Catholic Diocese estimated about 10,000 students went to Roman Catholic residential schools, not counting the Anglican residential schools or the federal day residential schools.

Mr. Speaker, when I saw this and looked at the amount of the effects on parents in terms of residential schools, I took it back to the concept of living in one of our traditional bush camps and having three or four cabins there and having children play in those camps there, then one day a plane comes in, puts all the little children on the aircraft and flies them off somewhere and you don’t see those students for nine or 10 months, even years. Back in the small camps or even back in the families where they are sitting there with no children playing in the yards or there are no children at all. They don’t see their children. Some of these children have not come back to the communities as they are in other locations.

I want to acknowledge the parents who really missed out on this one and that we should be working with our parents to say how sorry the governments are for the type of thing they did by having their children taken away. We should really do something for the parents. The parents are left alone in terms of what to do.

I will be asking questions later on to the Minister as to how we’re going to make amends with our parents in the communities with regard to the residential school impacts.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Over the last couple of years there have been an increasing number of large conference meetings in the Northwest Territories. This summer, Yellowknife hosted the International Congress on Circumpolar Health, which was a huge success. It brought in hundreds of visitors to Yellowknife and the Northwest Territories; new visitors injecting new money into this economy.

This is clear evidence that events of this magnitude can successfully be facilitated within the Northwest Territories. Yellowknife, as an example, has the capacity to facilitate large conferences. Without including billeting and bed-and-breakfast, Yellowknife has over 695 sleeping rooms available, as well as large meeting locations including school gyms and other commercial rooms to handle large groups. The capacity does exist.

For years different groups throughout Yellowknife have been discussing the construction of a conference centre. Many feel that a conference centre would be a draw and support the tourism industry in Yellowknife and the Northwest Territories. Many want government funds for the construction of a facility.

While there is value in building a conference centre, I’m not convinced the GNWT should be involved in paying for its construction. I am, however, convinced that the GNWT does have a role in helping promote the Northwest Territories as a great location for organizations to hold conferences.

To take advantage of this opportunity, I’d like to bring forward an idea that was recently brought to me from a constituent, which I believe has a significant amount of merit. Throughout the NWT there are a large number of associations with large numbers of members. Associations like the NWT Medical Association, the Registered Nurses’ Association of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, Certified General Accountants Association, the NWT Chamber of Commerce, the NWT Chamber of Mines, and so on. The majority of these associations have a national counterpart, some even have an international counterpart. My constituent’s suggestion was to provide some moderate financial reward to NWT-based associations when they convince their national or international counterparts to come to the NWT for their annual conferences or AGMs. This could be a great opportunity for both local associations and the Northwest Territories as a whole.

SEED funding currently exists to help promote diversity in our economy throughout the NWT. I believe with some minor amendments to this program, we could easily utilize it to support a

conference incentive to local northern associations. With this incentive in place, I believe that many local associations would be happy and willing to begin campaigning their national and international bodies to come to the NWT for their annual meetings and conferences.

I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted.

If successful, this incentive could demonstrate the demand for an official conference centre in the NWT. If there is a business case, interested parties might be able to build a case and obtain money without relying on the GNWT. There are huge opportunities here.

Later this afternoon I will be asking the Minister of ITI some questions on this topic and seeking commitment from this government to find ways to promote the NWT as a suitable place for conferences by way of providing incentives to northern groups who have a desire to encourage their national and international counterparts to come to the NWT for their meetings.

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

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

One of the outstanding issues for the communities of Tu Nedhe is dust and mud in and around both of those communities. Every spring and summer residents in Fort Resolution and Lutselk’e have to endure both dust and mud issues. When it’s hot and dry, dust is everywhere. When the municipal workers apply water on the roads to suppress the dust, by doing so they have created another problem with mud. It also becomes very muddy when it rains in both those communities. For residents in both Fort Resolution and Lutselk’e, the issue is a problem even in the homes. Dust finds itself everywhere into the homes: on furniture, pictures, TV, and so on. Dust is everywhere all summer long in the homes. You can imagine the impact on personal health.

I’ve been approached by elders in both communities, elders with various respiratory problems, and they have asked that we do something as a government to provide some sort of relief from the dust problems. Parents with newborn and young children are also concerned. This is not only a municipal issue, it’s become a health issue.

As I said in the past, there is no reason in this day and age that the roads in our communities have to be in this condition. Again, I realize this is a

community responsibility; however, I feel that MACA must play a more prominent role in resolving the issue. I feel that MACA must be more proactive with the communities on these kind of municipal issues, particularly with small communities whose community capacity and capital allocations are limited. They must ensure enough resources are provided. They must ensure that technical and administrative support is provided where necessary to address this issue once and for all.

Another summer has just ended. There is no reason why we are unable to have something in place for this coming spring. Later today I will have questions for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. Mahsi cho.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like today to bring transparency to a series of issues related to the expensive practice of continued involvement of former Ministers in setting government policy through their work. The Northern Strategy Group includes the previous Minister of ITI, Brendan Bell; the previous principal secretary, Rick Bargery; the previous regional director of DIAND, Bob Overvold; and the previous Minister of INAC, Robert Nault.

While we were paying the Northern Strategy Group $1,500 per day plus expenses to work for the Premier liaising with federal Ministers, I have been told that Mr. Bell, and perhaps others, were also working for the federal government. I will be asking if this is true and whether the Premier was aware of this.

It’s come to my attention that Mr. Bell is a registered lobbyist for northern corporations such as Discovery Air, Norterra, Mackenzie Aboriginal Corporation and Harry Winston Diamonds. During late fall/early winter 2008 and later, two of these corporations -- one successfully -- applied for substantial government loans from the GNWT’s Opportunities Fund.

This fall the Northern Strategy Group staged a two-day, $2,000-per-seat infrastructure conference bringing together, among others, the current and former Ministers of DIAND and leaders of northern business and industry, including those for which Mr. Bell is a lobbyist, raising the question: have we been paying lobbyists to organize industry to lobby ourselves? This during a year when we are already spending a record $426 million on northern infrastructure.

The Northern Strategy Group got a GNWT contribution for the conference, plus $2,000

registration fees for registrants, I’m told, totalling about $31,000 in support. When you also consider that our previous Premier, Mr. Handley, began working for ATCON six months after his term ended, this after granting a negotiated contract worth $160 million just before leaving office to that firm, and that Mr. Todd has been a registered lobbyist for ATCO, a company proposing to buy into our publicly owned Power Corporation, it is clear that there are questions to be asked of Cabinet and the due diligence employed in granting sole-sourced contracts.

Yesterday I tabled a written question asking for the details of just what our contract money bought us and with whom.

I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted.

I will be asking the Premier today if he can clear up when the former Minister stopped being a Minister, when the government decided it could make its own phone calls, and when our contractors stopped lobbying for us and started lobbying us for himself and his other clients. Mahsi.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I want to discuss an issue that has been discussed numerous times on the floor of this House in numerous statements, oral questions, motions, and even a theme day. It’s been three years since the last government pulled off what was one of the worst decisions I have been witness to as a Member of this House. That was to take $30 million in Social Housing Policy money from the Housing Corporation and give it to ECE to administer.

The program was being delivered by LHOs, and by transferring the responsibility, ECE had to hire 14 additional staff to handle the program. These 14 additional staff and the $1.5 million annual cost was an expense the government just did not have to incur. It absolutely continues to defy logic as to why this was done.

In 2006, Members passed a motion calling on the government to reconsider the transfer. The last government failed to listen to Members, which by extension means they did not listen to the people of our territory.

There are currently three Cabinet Ministers -- Ms. Lee; and, I suppose somewhat ironically, Mr. Lafferty, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment; and Mr. Robert C. McLeod, the

Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation -- that were here in 2006 when all three of them, as Regular Members, spoke in favour of Housing taking back the responsibility for social housing and assessments. I’d like to even quote the new Housing Corporation Minister from Hansard, page 633 from November 1, 2006, “Mr. Speaker, this government has to be big and admit to themselves and everyone that this program is not working. They have to be big enough to admit they made a mistake and maybe it’s time to go back to the way it was before, which was working for everyone.”

I do hope the Minister still harbours these sentiments. Just this past March the Members passed a very similar motion to the one we passed in 2006 and just this past summer the Dene National Assembly passed a resolution calling on the Government of the Northwest Territories to transfer the program back to Housing from ECE.

It’s almost three years later and all the government is saying is they’ve hired four consultants to review it. How about listening to the Members? Our advice comes free.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. After raising the issue of a cell phone ban while people are driving, on Tuesday, I’ve received a considerable amount of feedback from both the community of Yellowknife as well as the riding of Yellowknife Centre. Many people are speaking out towards their support of this type of issue. Equally, they are stressing their concern about the lack of interest from the Minister of Transportation and his lacklustre answers when he was told to address the issue.

People in Canada are concerned about this issue and, I’ll tell you, people in Yellowknife and the Territory are starting to register their concerns. The New England Journal of Medicine might not have been good enough for the Minister of Transportation to hear. Why wasn’t the Canadian Medical Association not good enough for the Minister of Transportation to hear? Now we have, potentially, the Students Against Drunk Driving taking on this issue, as well as many other people concerned in the city about this. I’ve recently talked to one of our city councillors, Paul Falvo, who says maybe we can start a Facebook page to start drawing out the support.

The Minister of Transportation asking for the name of the person who raised this issue from my

constituency is highly irregular, but the fact is, it’s a safety issue, so it really doesn’t matter where it comes from. I’d like to know where the Minister is on this issue. Ultimately I think people demand a clear answer. If the Minister is finally listening to this issue, no matter where he is, I certainly hope he’s not driving in a big fancy truck tempted to grab his cell phone and say, hey, wait a minute, I feel differently. The fact is this needs to be driven home; there needs to be clear calls to this Minister to say stop, think about it.

I’m encouraging everyone who can listen to this statement, everyone who is going to take the time to read this statement, to e-mail the Minister at [email protected] and express their concerns about this issue and say action must be taken, because it is elsewhere in Canada and the world.

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

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I would like to raise the important issue of home insurance in Nahendeh. Many homeowners across the NWT have installed wood or pellet stoves in their homes to reduce costs and their reliance on fossil fuels. Individuals and families require insurance on their homes to protect themselves from loss and also in order to get a mortgage. In order for a homeowner to get insurance or renew insurance on a home, wood burning stoves must be inspected and certified. Another even more important reason for inspection is to to ensure that the stove is operating properly, with no risk to the resident.

Homeowners in Nahendeh and throughout the North in our small and remote communities have problems getting a qualified person to inspect and certify their stoves. They are also having problems with the insurance industry, who are cancelling existing insurances due to the lack of these inspections. The only existing option is to get someone to come in from Hay River, and the costs are extremely high as travel costs would be the responsibility of the homeowner.

I have raised this issue before and government was responsive. They assisted in training two people from Fort Simpson, with the intention that they would be able to inspect stoves in the region. However, although two people took the training, it turns out that they have to be certified. They have to be supervised for 150 hours before they can be certified. The certifier does not live in the region and makes this almost impossible, thus we are no better off than before.

Mr. Speaker, we need help with this. I have a couple of suggestions. Firstly, I would like to see the Department of MACA arrange for the persons who took the training to work under a qualified inspector so that they can provide the service in our region and make an income. Secondly, Mr. Speaker, our government provides a number of inspection services.

Would the NWT Housing Corporation be prepared to offer this service to our region and communities? This is an important issue -- wood stove inspections -- that is difficult to do in our remote areas and communities. I believe that our government must continue to support our homeowners and find a unique solution for this issue. Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is our duty as MLAs to listen to our constituents who elect us. We all have been hearing issues from this side of the House with regard to transfer of administration of the housing assessment of the Housing Corporation to ECE. Mr. Speaker, it is pretty clear that the system is not working, from our constituents and also talking to the LHOs in my riding. They are also having difficulties in regard to receiving the payment from ECE regarding the rent supp.

Mr. Speaker, I’m sure that ECE, with other programs and services that they prescribe, can also be provided and also not have to put as much attention and assessment to housing tenants.

Mr. Speaker, we do have to admit we made a mistake, and I admit here today, as a former Minister of the House.

But again, Mr. Speaker, in my visit to Tsiigehtchic a number of weeks ago, meeting with the housing operators and authorities and the tenants, this is still an issue, because once a month, basically, an income support worker either comes from McPherson or Inuvik and they have to wait for that individual to come to the community to get the assessments done. In the case of the housing authority, they are one month behind in regard to their payments. But again, if the individuals are not in the home community at that particular day, they are basically assessed on an economic rate.

Again, Mr. Speaker, I think it’s crucial that this government does everything it can to return to the

existing system prior to the switchover, back to the housing authorities so that the $30 million could go to where it was supposed to be spent in the first place and, more importantly, Mr. Speaker, working with the local housing authorities and also assisting the tenants so that they cannot have a record by way of arrears or being evicted from public housing simply because they missed the meeting.

So, Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time I will be asking the Minister of the Housing Corporation questions on this matter. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Item 4, reports of standing and special committees. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Standing Committee on Government Operations is pleased to provide its Report on the Review of the Information and Privacy Commissioner’s 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 Annual Reports and commends it to the House.

Introduction

The Standing Committee on Government Operations reviewed the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 Annual Reports of the Information and Privacy Commissioner at a meeting on September 23, 2009. The committee would like to thank Ms. Elaine Keenan Bengts for her reports and for her appearance before the committee.

The purpose of the NWT’s Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (ATIPP) is to make public bodies accountable and protect personal privacy. The Information and Privacy Commissioner is an independent officer of the Legislative Assembly. Her primary role is to review and make recommendations on public bodies’ decisions under the act. In her comments on the annual reports at the review, Ms. Keenan Bengts expressed the opinion that, for the most part, the system created by ATIPP is working well.

The committee has seen progress. On its review of the complaints made to the Information and Privacy Commissioner in 2007-2008, the committee observed fewer incidents where ATIPP or its intent was not followed by departments and agencies than in previous years. The committee is pleased to observe many departments are providing active disclosure of records on a regular basis. The Department of Justice is developing training in the form of web-based tutorials on access and privacy

for all public body representatives, including board officials. In addition, in June of 2009, the Motor Vehicles Act was amended to address the committee’s concerns with unreasonable restrictions on disclosure of personal contact information.

Progress is being noted on other fronts. In an effort to raise awareness about the public’s right to access information, the Information and Privacy Commissioner plans to promote the “Right to Know” week that is held the last week in September each year in Canada and throughout the world. The committee is pleased to support this initiative which will highlight the importance of the concept of open government.

The Standing Committee on Government Operations is pleased to bring forward the following recommendations with regard to access to information and protection of privacy issues identified in the Commissioner’s 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 Annual Reports.

2007-2007 Annual Report

In the 2006-2007 Annual Report, the Information and Privacy Commissioner continues to advise that the interests of the ATIPP regime will be best addressed if a leadership role is taken by government Ministers and deputy ministers. Ms. Keenan Bengts recommends developing and maintaining a corporate culture of openness. She supports providing routine and active disclosure of public records. If records are withheld, a full explanation is warranted.

Recommendation 1

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the GNWT establish policies on routine and active disclosure of public records, following best practices in other parts of Canada.

Furthermore, even though discretionary exemptions exist that allow public bodies to withhold information, in situations where information is withheld a full explanation of the rationale for that decision should be provided as a matter of course.

In her report, the Information and Privacy Commissioner advised that she had been unable to find any Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) policies specifically relating to the secure storage and subsequent deletion of confidential information on portable electronic devices -- that is cell phones and BlackBerrys -- or the proper management of communication records that are created from the use of such devices.

Recommendation 2

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the GNWT enhance its policies and guidelines on the use

of portable electronic devices and the access and privacy issues that arise through the use of such devices.

The Information and Privacy Commissioner continues to hold the view that the Government of the Northwest Territories should not rely on the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act to govern private sector obligations to protect the personal information of NWT residents. The GNWT previously committed to reviewing this issue again once the statutorily mandated five-year review of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act was completed in July of 2007.

Recommendation 3

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the GNWT undertake a comprehensive analysis of the review of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act to determine the need for GNWT legislation to protect the personal information of the people of the Northwest Territories held by the private sector.

Mr. Speaker, I would now like to pass the floor over to my deputy chair, Mr. Hawkins, for the completion of reading this report. Mahsi cho.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, Mr. Menicoche.

2007-2008 Annual Report

The Information and Privacy Commissioner reiterated recommendations made in previous annual reports calling on Cabinet and deputy ministers to lead in creating a more open corporate culture. The Commissioner also recommended a legislative change: the present wording of ATIPP is such that it allows an applicant only 30 days after receiving a response to a request for information to ask the Commissioner to review that decision. In many cases the public bodies will allow applicants extra time, especially in cases where paper records and conventional mail are used, but they do not always consent and they are within their rights to refuse. The Commissioner thinks 30 days is a short time frame and she feels that refusing to respond to applicants who ask her to review decisions is contrary to the spirit and intent of the legislation.

Recommendation 4

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act be amended to extend the period of time in which applicants may ask that a decision on a

request for information be reviewed by the Information and Privacy Commissioner.

The Information and Privacy Commissioner wants to ensure that all GNWT staff know the intent of ATIPP as it relates to electronic media. It is estimated that 90 percent of all records being created today are electronic and the advantages of electronic storage are numerous.

Recommendation 5

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the GNWT develop policies to address electronic records and their relationship to ATIPP, and that the GNWT provide training to employees on this issue.

For a number of years, the Information and Privacy Commissioner has recommended that the NWT enact legislation that would make municipalities subject to access and privacy legislation, just as they are in eight provinces. In the 15th Assembly, the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight supported the Commissioner’s recommendation and “encouraged the GNWT to conclude the work started between the departments of Municipal and Community Affairs and Justice in consultation with the Northwest Territories Association of Communities to allow for consideration of a bill by the 16th Assembly.” In response, in 2007, the departments of Justice and Municipal and Community Affairs developed a range of options, and preliminary discussion has taken place with the NWT Association of Communities and local government administrators. All parties agreed to pursue broader consultation. The committee has been informed that the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs will present a discussion paper to various territorial associations, municipal governments, and the general public in the next two to three years. The committee continues to support working toward this legislative initiative in a timely fashion and will monitor progress over the coming months.

Conclusion

The committee commends the continuing efforts of the Information and Privacy Commissioner and looks forward to monitoring her continued activities.

Recommendation 6

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends the government provide a comprehensive response to this report within 120 days.

Mr. Speaker, that concludes the Report of the Standing Committee on Government Operations on the Review of the Information and Privacy Commissioner’s 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 Annual Reports.

Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Nahendeh, that Committee Report 1-16(4) be received by the Assembly and moved into Committee of the Whole for consideration.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Motion is on the floor. Motion is in order. To the motion.

Question is being called.

---Carried

Committee Report 1-16(4) is received by the Assembly and will be moved into Committee of the Whole for consideration.

The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Standing Committee on Government Operations held its public review of the Report of the Auditor General on Contracting for Goods and Services in the Northwest Territories and commends it to the House.

The Standing Committee on Government Operations held its public review of the Report of the Auditor General on Contracting for Goods and Services on August 17, 18, and 19, 2009. The committee would like to thank the Auditor General, Ms. Sheila Fraser, and her staff for their work in preparing the report and in assisting the committee with its review. The committee would also like to thank the deputy ministers and staff from the departments of Finance, Health and Social Services, and Public Works and Services; and the assistant deputy minister of Transportation and staff for their presentations.

General Comments

The committee’s mandate includes the examination of the annual financial statements and Public Accounts of the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) and the reports of the Auditor General. The committee wants to ensure that the GNWT demonstrates its accountability to the public. With regard to procurement and contract administration, the committee is pleased to report that the Auditor General’s review is favourable. Nonetheless, the Auditor General identified some errors and omissions and provided departmental

management with very useful information to inform future actions related to procurement and contract administration. This is an opportune time to improve systems given the implementation of a new System for Accountability and Management (SAM).

The Auditor General’s Report on Contracting for Goods and Services is based on a review of the fiscal year 2007-2008. It was tabled on June 2, 2009, during the Third Session of the 16th Legislative Assembly.

The Office of the Auditor General reviewed the GNWT’s process of awarding and administering contracts. The Auditor General assessed a sample of 120 contracts for goods and services, 40 from each of three departments -- Public Works and Services, Health and Social Services, and Transportation. These departments account for 77 percent of the total dollar value and 44 percent of the total number of all contracts the GNWT issued that are over $5000.

The Auditor General found some shortcomings in the administration of contracts and made five recommendations addressing contracting policy and the legislative framework, and performance and quality assurance. The government agreed to all of the audit recommendations and prepared an action plan to address the recommendations.

The committee was pleased with the government’s action plan but found that some of the management responses were vague. The committee anticipates more details in future action plans provided to the committee. The committee wants to ensure that the intent of the recommendations in the report is addressed.

Mr. Speaker, I would now like to pass the floor over to my colleague, Mr. Abernethy.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, Mr. Menicoche.

Contracting Policy Framework

The Auditor General found that the contracting policy and legislative framework provides appropriate direction and guidance with one exception.

The GNWT has not established an independent contract dispute resolution mechanism as required by the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT). This mechanism would provide all vendors of goods and services, including construction contractors, a means to address complaints not resolved through existing departmental processes. The government has responded that it will modify procurement documents to include a contact point for filing disputes related to the application of the AIT. The committee believes a clearly delineated review

mechanism that includes a qualified, independent adjudicator will build more confidence in the GNWT procurement system within the private sector.

Recommendation 1

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Department of Finance:

•

establish an independent dispute

resolution mechanism to be integrated with the existing in-house process; and further

•

ensure that an explanation of this process be provided to potential suppliers and contractors not only in procurement documents but also in promotional materials such as press releases.

The Auditor General also expressed concern about the cumbersome nature of the GNWT policy framework. Directions for procurement and contracting officers are dispersed throughout six or more legislative and policy documents which can lead to confusion.

The Auditor General recommended: “…that the government update and improve the accessibility and availability of its policy and guidance on contracting to make it easier for GNWT staff to use.”

In its response to the Auditor General, the government reported that revision of the Financial Administration Manual section on procurement is in its final stages and a procedural guideline will be developed and issued as an appendix. All departments audited indicated that their staff were provided training. In addition, the Department of Public Works and Services leads a Procurement Council with representatives from GNWT departments that focuses on sharing procurement ideas and best practices, building capacity, clarifying training needs and establishing procurement standards.

The committee supports these measures and encourages the GNWT to develop a single-source operational manual that includes all information necessary to award and administer contracts including incentive and preference agreements.

Recommendation 2

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories:

•

consolidate its policy and guidance on

contracting into one easily accessible document that links all information necessary to award and administer contracts including incentive and preference agreements;

•

foster the activities of the Procurement

Council; and

•

provide procurement and contract

administration-specific training

Performance and Quality Assurance

In the Auditor General’s review of the government’s application of procurement and contracting policies, regulations and legislation, the majority of the operational issues identified were in contract administration rather than in the awarding of contracts.

The Auditor General applied at least eight compliance tests, and if one or more elements were not documented, the administration of the contract was deemed improper. The review of contract administration revealed that the required segregation of procurement and contract duties was followed. However, 57 percent of the sampling failed to meet one or more compliance tests. A variety of errors occurred, including: goods and services that were received before a contract had been issued; contract changes that were not issued in accordance with government policy; payments that were made before they were approved; and payments that were made in excess of spending authority limits. The Auditor General recommended that departments should strengthen their processes and practices.

The authority to initiate, confirm performance, or approve payment is a delegated authority. The Auditor General observed that in the departments that were reviewed, various elements of this delegation were not undertaken and/or not documented properly. Departments reported that this situation has been remedied.

In order to reduce the number of errors, the Auditor General recommended that the Comptroller General and the departments of Public Works and Services, Health and Social Services, and Transportation should strengthen their monitoring and quality assurance processes. The GNWT agreed and intends to review authorities and responsibilities and assess the resource requirements necessary. The capacity to audit and monitor contracts is an issue. The deputy minister of Finance noted that this and other issues may be addressed in concert with the proposed restructuring of how government provides and manages procurement activities. This restructuring is being proposed as part of the upcoming business planning process, with planning scheduled in 2010-2011.

The recommendations also included the establishment of risk tolerances against which actual performance could be measured. The committee supports an objective of 100 percent compliance to rules but recognizes that acceptable standards might vary based on the type of contract.

Recommendation 3

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Department of Finance improve quality assurance processes by:

•

developing innovative, cost-effective

means to review procurement and contract administration practices against established risk tolerances;

•

considering including tolerance standards and performance in the Business Plan; and

•

persisting in recruitment to fully staff the audit division.

Conclusion

The committee recognizes the good work that has been done in contracting for goods and services. Having completed their review of the Report of the Auditor General on Contracting for Goods and Services, committee members are confident that the matters of concern identified by the Auditor General will be rectified.

Recommendation 4

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends the government provide a comprehensive response to this report within 120 days.

Mr. Speaker, that concludes the Report of the Standing Committee on Government Operations on the Review of the Report of the Auditor General on Contracting for Goods and Services in the Northwest Territories.

Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Nahendeh, that Committee Report 2-16(4) be received by the Assembly and moved into Committee of the Whole for consideration.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Motion is on the floor. Motion is in order. To the motion.

Question is being called.

---Carried

Committee Report 2-16(4) is received by the Assembly and will be moved into Committee of the Whole for consideration.

Item 5, returns to oral questions. Item 6, recognition of visitors in the gallery.

I’d like to recognize a constituent of Hay River North in the gallery. Mr. Alex Morin is with us today. Welcome to the Assembly.

The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

It is with great pleasure I’d like to recognize a constituent who is a Page here, Mr. Henry Kruse. I went to school with his mom and dad years ago. I’d like to welcome him to the House, as well as the rest of the Pages that are providing Members such a valuable service here.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize a constituent and former Member of this Legislative Assembly, Ms. Lena Pedersen.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is a pleasure to recognize someone in our gallery, it would be Loretta Elias, who is the mother to a Page here that’s come down from Inuvik. We have two Pages from Inuvik: Ms. Hailey Verbonac and Ms. Brandi Larocque.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize today, Ms. Donna Ruben, Ms. Karlene Green and Kynwill Gordon-Ruben that helped us this week with our Page Program. I’d like to thank them again for coming. Also I’d like to recognize Loretta Elias, formerly from Tuk, now living in Inuvik, and her daughter Brandi, and also Hailey as well. Welcome. Also my daughter Chelsey Jacobson somewhere up there, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d also like to take this opportunity to recognize Lena Pedersen, one of the trailbreakers and first women elected to this Legislature and one of only approximately 10 in the entire history of the Legislature. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. If we’ve missed anyone in the gallery today, welcome to the House. I hope you’re enjoying the proceedings.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I wish to acknowledge a student in the Bachelor of Management program at University of Lethbridge in Alberta. Shermayne Menicoche has recently received a $2,500 scholarship from the NWT Chamber of Commerce. Shermayne was chosen out of 17 entries because the judges were impressed with the volunteer work that she did as a student. She has been an enthusiastic community volunteer and at Aurora College, where she also held student leadership positions. In addition, Shermayne also received a Dehcho First Nations scholarship that provides $1,000 a semester for one year.

Shermayne is a graduate of Thomas Simpson School in Fort Simpson and while working in Yellowknife, started taking evening courses at Aurora College. She completed her diploma in Management Studies in Fort Smith in April.

I am honoured to acknowledge my niece Shermayne Menicoche and wish her the best in her studies to complete her Bachelor of Management at the University of Lethbridge. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Item 8, oral questions. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. An issue keeps coming across my desk and I keep raising it with the Minister and it’s about being able to be reimbursed while on medical travel for a rental car. Mr. Speaker, when medical travel sends somebody out, they’re only allowed to use a taxi, but in many cases we’re able to prove that the taxi cab fares are way more expensive than using a rental car.

So, Mr. Speaker, my question to the Minister of Health and Social Services is: would she be willing to amend the Medical Travel Policy to recognize that there are cheaper ways to get around on medical travel business and one way is to use a car rental? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is currently a ministerial directive that states that rental vehicles are not allowed and NIHB Metis, seniors and individuals making under $80,000 per year without third-party insurance coverage are all eligible to stay at LARGA Boarding House in

Edmonton. LARGA Boarding House provides that ground transportation under the contract and if the LARGA is full, patients placed in other commercial accommodations will be given transportation service. We have nothing to do with those who are being covered under third-party insurance. Now those residents who make more than $80,000 a year who are not NIHB, who are not Metis eligible, are reimbursed for the transportation costs. So, Mr. Speaker, the department is in the process of reviewing how many clients actually would even be part of the exclusion where they would not be eligible under NIHB, Metis health benefits or seniors’ health benefits and then that would have to be taken into consideration to see how this could be changed. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I didn’t understand that answer at all, actually. I have to say that that was one of the most confusing answers I’ve heard in a long time. Mr. Speaker, the issue is about adjusting the policy of medical travel so the option of renting a car where it’s applicable can be a reimbursable expense as opposed to just have to take a cab and submitting your receipts. Mr. Speaker, what is the issue or policy problem with having that as an option today? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I’m going to take the question as a notice and I’ll get back to the Member in writing of exactly what I said. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement I talked about the residential schools and the impact on parents in our small communities. Mr. Speaker, in 1850 it was mandatory, compulsory that all children aged six to 15 be in school, so it just had a huge impact. This compulsory, mandatory act ended in 1948.

Mr. Speaker, in terms of that amount of time, I want to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment in terms of his work with the Residential School Committee of the Northwest Territories, are we doing some work in terms of specific work being done towards working with our parents in terms of the devastating effect it had on their life and on all the children that attended these residential schools under these conditions?

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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Yes, we do have dedicated staff that deal directly with application-based process when they have to file a claim. So we do our part to deal with

those recipients. Not only that, Mr. Speaker, we try to assist those individual clientele that if there’s a need to assess them in the various areas, we do have some staff that can look after those areas. It is under federal jurisdiction and we continue to work with the federal government. We, as GNWT, have a small play in this area, but we continue to provide those services to those individuals from the communities. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister has alluded to some of the services they provide to the Northwest Territories residential school survivors. I’m more specifically focusing on the parents themselves that had to endure this hardship from having their children torn away from their homes, threatened if they do not send their children to schools, threatened with jail time or cut off from rations. The parents endured very, very horrendous impacts in terms of not having their children attend these schools. I know there’s a reconciliation process going on. I know the territorial government has a small role and it has a significant role. I would ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, through his education committee, is there some specific work being done to work with the parents in the Northwest Territories in regard to the residential school issues?

Mr. Speaker, this is one area that we continue to work with since the announcement came out a couple years back. We did attend a forum in Fort Providence when there was a circle meeting with the Dene Nation -- it was organizing that meeting -- so I did attend on behalf of my department, on behalf of the GNWT. It was a very successful meeting where all the groups gathered. I think those are the groups that are the decision-makers, the people that can approach them. So we continue to work with those groups and we do have our staff representatives that are involved with those groups, the meetings and whatnot.

Mr. Speaker, we’ll continue to support those areas and attend the future meetings if there’s the Dene Nation organizing such meetings as we had successfully in Fort Providence. Mahsi.

I certainly support the Minister’s continued attendance at these very important community meetings regarding this issue. Again, I would ask the Minister, in terms of his leadership role, in terms of working with this issue here, the Prime Minister has apologized, the Roman Catholic Church has apologized, even the Northwest Territories government has apologized. I would ask if the Minister would look at, with his colleagues, some type of statement to the parents of the children who went to residential schools. Specifically, to the parents in terms of the devastating impact that these parents have to go through in terms of sending their children off to

residential schools, and also noting that some children did not return back home to their parents. This is a longstanding issue that people in our communities would like to look at. Will the Minister look at something in terms of doing some work with the parents, again, in this specific request?

Mr. Speaker, those are the areas that will probably be discussed within the groups that we’re involved in. So we’ll continue to work with the various groups, because they are the head of the organizations, along with the federal government and territorial governments. So we’ll continue to work with that. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Maybe there’s an idea here that we have some very well-structured buildings in some of the regions in terms of treatment centres. Can the Minister, again, work with his Cabinet colleagues in terms of seeing if there’s the possibility of having some of the residential school parent survivors attend some of these...have an opportunity of going to some of these camps such as Tl'oondih up in Inuvik, even Nats'ejee K'eh in terms of having parents go into these type of treatment centres so they can do some of their own healing? Thank you.

Certainly I’ll work with my colleagues, if the need arises. In the past there have been some individuals that have been through the system, have gone to treatment centres in the past. So we’ll continue to support those individuals as much as we can from our GNWT perspective. We’ll do what we can to support those individuals. Mahsi.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment and are in follow-up to my Member’s statement from earlier today. Could the Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment please tell me what ITI is currently doing to promote the Northwest Territories as a suitable and desirable location for national and international conferences? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That’s the best idea I’ve heard today.

---Laughter

We certainly recognize the importance of business travellers to the Northwest Territories and, as a matter of fact, business travellers are the largest and fastest growing segment of all of the visitors to the Northwest Territories. It’s an area that we will continue to support.

Last year ITI supported conferences at a number of centres including Inuvik, Deline, Fort Simpson and, as mentioned earlier, even here in Yellowknife. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I’m happy to hear that. Can I get the Minister to go into a bit more detail? Were those national and international conferences that they supported, and how and in what capacity did they support these conferences?

The ones that I referred to were mainly national conferences. The international ones usually can’t afford to pay for all of their own expenses.

I’m still trying to get a little bit more detail on what they mean by support. I know that a lot of the departments have gone a long way to actually provide some money to conferences when they come up, but what I’m talking about more specifically is promoting the Northwest Territories and having the associations that are in the Northwest Territories go out and work their national and international bodies to try and come up here.

In my Member’s statement I talked about a support mechanism that the government could put into place to encourage local associations to convince their national or international counterparts to hold their national or international conferences here in the Northwest Territories; specifically, a financial incentive that should a local group successfully lobby these organizations and hold their meetings here,. I believe with minor modifications to the SEED program, this might be an appropriate funding source. What is the SEED budget today and how much is actually being expended? Are we surplusing any of the SEED budget?

The SEED program is one of the best programs ever introduced in this government and it’s oversubscribed every year. For 2009-10 it was increased by $750,000. The budget for this year is $3.2 million.

I certainly appreciate the Member’s comments with working with local associations. Generally the way we work is somebody approaches us for some assistance, like, for example, we contribute to the Inuvik Petroleum Show, we contribute to infrastructure conferences, business conferences, and all of us are members of a number of FPT -- federal/provincial/territorial Ministers -- that meet on a regular basis. I, myself, am invited to about eight or nine of these FPTs every year. We’re all on a rotation for hosting, so every 13 years we get the

opportunity to host a conference in your home province. A lot of them are so big that we haven’t been able to host them here, but certainly we help in that regard.

Otherwise, it’s very difficult for us to pay for non-residents to travel to the Northwest Territories. So generally it’s in the form of assisting with the organizing and planning.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Your final supplementary, Mr. Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Although the Minister said he thought it was a great idea at the beginning, it still sounds like he’s kind of saying no. I think this is a great opportunity, and I’m not talking about paying people’s way, I’m talking about providing a financial reward to those associations when they actually convince a national group to come up. I think there’s a significant amount of value here and I think some research would be valuable. So I’d like to get the Minister’s commitment to actually conduct some research into this area to find out if there are opportunities for us to expand our ability to convince local associations to convince national and international bodies to come to the Northwest Territories to hold conferences. Let’s bring in some new money. Let’s get it spread around the Northwest Territories, Mr. Speaker.

Certainly, Mr. Speaker, we’re prepared to do that. We are working with the NWT Tourism Association. They are introducing a conference planner that should be ready by mid-November in preparation for the Canadian Society of Association Society Executive show in Toronto, which we can use that to attract conferences. Certainly we are quite prepared to look at ways to attract more conferences to the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a choice today of addressing my questions to one of four departments. I’m following up on my statement about the Coalition Against Family Violence. I’ve chosen to address my questions to the Minister of Health and Social Services and if she needs to refer, then that’s all well and good.

The Action Plan on Family Violence, phase two was announced in June of 2007 by the Premier of the 15th Assembly. I’d like to ask the Minister what

actions have been completed or taken and completed since June of 2007 when the plan was first announced. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to thank the Member for the question. Mr. Speaker, this 2009 and 2010 is year three of phase two of the action plan that the Member has spoken of. Thus far we have spent $800,000 under this action plan. Some of the monies have gone for shelter stabilization enhancement funds for $340,000, non-shelter regional funding which is to support communities that do not have shelters for $304,000. We have provided funding to YWCA to do an evaluation of the program and also about $45,000 has gone to support children who witness abuse. As well, $100,750 for protocol implementation and development, which the Member has spoken about in her statement. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thanks to the Minister for that information. I guess I would like to know we are in year three. We are looking at two more years. I think the Minister is well aware, and I think she probably agrees with me, that family violence is a huge issue in our Territory and we need to do everything we can to minimize it. There is presumably an update on the family violence, the Action Plan Against Family Violence, Phase Two. When will we be able to see what is going to happen beyond year three? When are we going to get an indication of what is going to happen in years four and five? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We plan to continue to invest for year four and five. I believe in the last business plan process we have just gone through, we have shown the increase of funding in both years. I don’t think I could reveal the details of that, because that is going to be debated in the House in the next spring.

Mr. Speaker, I do want to let the Member know that the Family Violence Action Plan is, and continues to be, one of the priorities of this government. It received continuous funding under the Strategic Initiatives committee, Building our Future committee work that we have been doing. As well, increasing support and services in this area is a part of the Foundation for Change Action Plan that I have reviewed with the committee and that we will be releasing next week. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thanks to the Minister. It is good to hear that it sounds as though the funding is going to remain. I am hoping that that funding would be increased, because, again, as I said, family violence is a huge issue for us.

The Coalition Against Family Violence is a really effective organization. I would like to ask the Minister the proposals, the strategic initiatives that this government is funding and supporting, have those been discussed with the coalition? Is the

coalition in agreement with putting the funding into the particular areas that the Minister is suggesting will be coming that we can’t talk about yet? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, there are answers to two questions the Member asked. Mr. Speaker, there will be an increase in funding for the next two years. For 2010-11 I can tell the Member that the funding will be increased by $220,000 -- that is from what it was last year -- and then the year five, it will be increased further from next year, which would be increased from last year. My point being, the funding will continue to increase. We are making increasing investment. I just don’t want to reveal the numbers.

Secondly, Mr. Speaker, I think, as the Member has stated, this Family Violence Action Plan is a government plan, but it has been prepared in collaboration of the Coalition Against Family Violence. Our GNWT is part of that partner of the coalition. A large part of the coalition’s work is reflected in the plan. There are certain tasks that they have asked us to do and that is reflected in the funding that the money we have spent that I have already indicated in the House today. Yes, we work very closely with the coalition. We support the work of the coalition. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Final supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.

Thanks to the Minister. I appreciate that the funding is going to go up. I appreciate that the coalition is being listened to.

One of the things that I found, in looking at the information that was available on the action plan, is that it is referenced in a number of GNWT websites. I guess if we don’t have specific information to reference, there needs to be a little bit more indication that this is year three, the activity through years four and five are coming and the site is going to be updated. I found it a little confusing. I would like to ask the Minister if that is something that she and the other departments could consider. Thank you.

Absolutely. I will ask the officials to update the information so that it is more transparent and more detailed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

I, too, could ask my questions of one of two Ministers. I am going to choose to ask questions to the Minister who now is responsible for

the Social Housing Policy, and that is Minister Lafferty.

It has been just over three years since what I would consider one of the most mindboggling decisions was made by the previous government. That was to take something that, for all intents and purposes, was working with the Social Housing Policy being delivered by LHOs. It wasn’t broken, and to absolutely break it and in the process spend another $1.5 million and hire 14 people to administer the program, it continues, again, Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, to defy any logic. I would like to ask the Minister of ECE how much the four consultants that the government has hired to review this program are costing the taxpayers of the Northwest Territories, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. We did hire consultants to review the Public Housing Rental Subsidy that has been transferred from Housing to ECE. They are in the final stages of conducting their review. We should have an internal report next month, in November. I don’t have the exact figures of how much the cost will be, but it is from internal Education department that is covering the costs. Mahsi.

About 18 months ago, I believe, I was at a briefing where the Minister and his staff brought forward an internal review that the department had done on the transfer. I am just wondering how the work that these consultants are conducting is any different than the internal review that was conducted by the department themselves, and that was about 18 months ago, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, this review is between ourselves, as Education, Culture and Employment and the NWT Housing Corporation, conducting reviews in various communities such as Behchoko, Inuvik, Tsiigehtchic, Norman Wells, Deline, Fort Simpson, Fort Providence, Fort Smith, Hay River, Hay River Reserve. Those are the communities that have been undertaken. We have had an internal ECE review done in the past, but this is more going out to the communities, those communities that we may not have touched before. It is more widespread than the previous assessment that we did. Mahsi.

Mr. Speaker, the previous government didn’t go out to the communities and didn’t ask anybody what they thought. They just took the $30 million and put it in ECE and hired 14 people to deliver the program, Mr. Speaker. I think that is the problem. The previous government didn’t do its homework when it comes to the LHO and the delivery of the Social Housing Policy. I would like to ask the Minister, are these four consultants all

working for the same firm or are they all independent consultants, Mr. Speaker? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, as Members would know, this process has been approved by this House. At the same time, these Members asking about the individuals that are on this review team, they are independent consultants with their various expertise in different areas. That is part of the reason why we chose these individuals. They have a variety of backgrounds that can certainly ask those questions at the community level. Mahsi.

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

I was critical of the government not listening. The previous government didn’t listen to Regular Members when we passed a motion. This government hasn’t, obviously, listened when we passed a motion back in March of 2009. The Dene National Assembly made a resolution at their summer assembly. The government hasn’t listened. We hired four consultants to review it.

Like I said earlier, Mr. Speaker, our advice comes for free. When is the government going to actually listen to the Members of this House and the residents in the Northwest Territories that this was a wrong move? Why are we continuing to study it three years later, Mr. Speaker? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, this is, as you know, a huge undertaking. In order to transfer back, we need to have detailed information that we are exploring right now. Once we see the internal report next month, in November, and the final report in December, that is when we will decide what we should do next. At this time, we are gathering all the facts, what is working and what is not working, the root causes of issues that we may be faced with, and the challenges. At that point in time, myself and my colleague, NWT Housing Corporation, will certainly sit down and deal with the matter on a going forward basis. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

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