Good afternoon, colleagues. Welcome back to the House. Orders of the day. Item 2, Ministers’ statements. The honourable Minister of Finance, Mr. Miltenberger.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to inform the Legislative Assembly that at the appropriate time later today I will be tabling the Department of Finance’s Strategic Action Plan 2009-2012.

This document is the first strategic plan for the new Department of Finance, which was created on April 1st of this year by combining the previous

Department of Finance and the Financial Management Board Secretariat. It is a milestone in that it represents the first strategic plan for a central agency department in this government.

The new department’s role in this government is multi-faceted. As a central agency, it provides advice and support to other GNWT departments and the Financial Management Board. It plays a leadership role in ensuring that this government has the necessary resources to deliver required programs, services and infrastructure to residents of the Northwest Territories. It is responsible for ensuring that the government’s financial results are reported to the public, so that decision-makers can be held accountable. It provides services to the public through regulation of the NWT insurance industry, managing and regulating liquor distribution and sales in the NWT, and administering electricity rate subsidies.

Through Northerners Working Together, the 16th Legislative Assembly set out its goals and priorities. Achieving these goals will require significant resources, both human and financial. It is critical that the GNWT makes the right decisions, not only about allocating and managing the resources that we have, but also about how to increase the resources available to us, if we are to maximize our

progress toward achieving these goals. The Department of Finance will play a key role in helping us make those choices.

This strategic planning document will provide multi-year direction for the Department of Finance.

Progress against its objectives will be monitored and reported back to the Legislative Assembly. Public awareness, involvement, participation and feedback are critical factors in ensuring that the Department of Finance continues to operate in a transparent, accountable fashion.

The action plan lays out two strategic priorities:

1. achieving fiscal sustainability for the GNWT;

and

2. adopting a modern management approach to

financial management functions within the GNWT.

The Department of Finance will need to be in the forefront to develop and implement fiscal strategies that will enable the GNWT to achieve its goals. The strategic action plan describes the actions the department will be taking with respect to revenue, spending, borrowing and saving.

The strategic action plan also speaks to the GNWT’s adopt of a modern management approach. To this end, I am pleased to report specifically on a key activity that supports the department’s modern management priority and the GNWT’s information, analytical reporting and business needs.

Mr. Speaker, on September 1, 2009, the GNWT began a new era in its financial administration and management when its 25-year-old financial information system was replaced with SAM, the System for Accountability and Management. SAM is a modern financial and reporting system which is expandable into what is termed an Enterprise Resource Planning system, or ERP. An ERP enables organizations to more fully integrate activities such as purchasing, asset management, project management and other activities into a single information system.

This project is a significant accomplishment. It has gone through various planning stages since 2003, and work began in earnest last fall. A dedicated project team of 38 staff and contractors worked

hard to bring the system into production, on time and on budget.

In addition to the dedicated team, more than 100 subject matter experts from all departments contributed many hours helping to shape the design of the system to ensure it meets the business requirements of the GNWT.

Go-live on September 1st was not without some

bumps. However, this was to be expected for the implementation of such a large and complex information system. The project team continues to work hard to address issues as they arise and will continue to do so as they are fully committed to making the system a success.

Going forward, the biggest challenge we will face is to work with this new technology to exploit its potential to improve our financial management and reporting. Financial information is a cornerstone of effective management. The launch of SAM on September 1st was an important step on the path to

creating a modern management organization within the GNWT.

I encourage the Members of the Legislative Assembly and all residents of the NWT to read the strategic action plan and to work closely with the staff of the Department of Finance to assist to develop and articulate the financial and strategic priorities of this government. Thank you.

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

Mr. Speaker, I wish to extend our congratulations to Mr. Robert Alexie Sr. of Fort McPherson and Mr. Glen Guthrie of Norman Wells. These gentlemen were recently acknowledged by the Fur Institute of Canada for their commitment of effort, outstanding achievements and valued contributions in the areas of wildlife management, conservation and trapping in Canada.

Mr. Robert Alexie Sr. of Fort McPherson was presented the Jim Bourque Award for his devotion to the principles of sustainable use of wildlife resources, improved animal welfare, the furthering of indigenous people’s cultures and the vital stewardship role that trappers play in the conservation of our wildlife resources.

Mr. Glen Guthrie of Norman Wells was awarded the Lloyd Cook Award, recognizing his commitment to excellence in trapping, trapper education and public understanding of wildlife management. Mr. Guthrie facilitates and coordinates school projects with elders and trappers that focus on traditional wildlife economy, helping to ensure that young people

maintain ties to the region’s wildlife resources and to their Dene and Metis culture.

Mr. Speaker, it is the dedication of people such as Mr. Alexie and Mr. Guthrie that helps to ensure the future of our traditional economy in the Northwest Territories; that, and the hardiness and skill of the more than 800 people actively trapping in the Northwest Territories this past year.

Partnerships, such as our partnership with the Fur Institute of Canada, also help ensure the viability of the fur industry. A national non-profit organization, the Fur Institute of Canada has acted as a roundtable for fur trade, animal welfare and fur-bearer conservation issues since 1983. The Fur Institute of Canada is the coordinator for the overall implementation of the agreement on International Humane Trapping Standards in Canada. The Government of the Northwest Territories has been an active participant sitting on the board of directors and the executive of the institute for many years.

Harvesting of fur is an essential part of the Northwest Territories aboriginal culture and of our traditional economy. Having options like this allows us to weather economic storms. This has been important for this Territory’s economic health in the past year.

Mr. Speaker, it is a priority of the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment to provide all communities and regions with opportunities and choices. Our support to the trapping and fur industry is an important part of achieving this commitment.

The Government of the Northwest Territories is, in fact, one of the very few governments in the world that actively supports harvesting and marketing of wild fur as a fundamental component of a modern and thriving economy. Fur from the Northwest Territories is now recognized as some of the finest wild fur in North America.

Mr. Alexie Sr. and Mr. Guthrie have shown remarkable commitment and leadership in the support of the Canadian Fur Industry and the traditional lifestyle of aboriginal people in the Northwest Territories. We are thankful for their contributions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Deputy Premier, Mr. Miltenberger.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise Members that the Honourable Floyd Roland will be absent from the House today and tomorrow to attend a meeting of provincial and territorial Ministers of Aboriginal Affairs and leaders of national aboriginal organizations in Toronto, Ontario. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Item 3, Members’ statements. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the last week we’ve heard a number of Members express their disappointment in the refusal of this government to provide financial assistance to NWT senior athletes for the 2010 55-plus Games to be held next August. I want to add my voice to those of my colleagues to protest the action, or lack of action, on the part of our government.

That this government can’t afford $50,000 to support NWT seniors in their attendance at these games is inexcusable.

And to quote from an e-mail from an elder that I have recently received, she said, “To avoid funding the attendance of seniors at the Canada 55-plus Games could be interpreted as blatant age discrimination.”

On Monday I spoke about the value of recreation and physical activity in our daily life. Research shows that for seniors in particular, physical activity improves and maintains one’s health.

We’re fortunate to have many active seniors and elders in our communities. They’re active because they’re healthy.

And because they’re healthy, they’re active.

This government should be encouraging a trend of active seniors, but the recent refusal by the Minister responsible for Seniors to provide the necessary funding for the 2010 55-plus Games supports neither this trend of active seniors nor this Assembly’s goal of healthy, educated people.

Past actions indicate that the NWT is committed to participation in, and funding of, multisport games. The 55-plus Games is one more avenue for our residents to benefit from multisport games. We know that Sport North is willing to take on the job of administering these games and it’s only logical that they do so. They are a 35-year-old NGO that has, over the years, very successfully administered countless multisport games and trials.

As the Minister responsible for sport, maybe the Minister of MACA will realize that the multisport games buck stops with him. Will he be more receptive to the seniors’ funding request? I find it hard to believe that we can spend $2.5 million to

showcase the NWT at the 2010 Olympics but we can’t find a measly $50,000 to treat our elders with the respect they deserve.

NWT participant costs for the last 55-plus Games ran to $3,000 or $4,000 per person for some 100 participants. That is a total of over $300,000 of which only $50,000 was contributed by the GNWT.

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

---Unanimous consent granted.

I thank each of my colleagues. The rest of the $300,000 was garnered through fundraising and individual athletes’ personal contributions. I expect the Minister of MACA will follow the lead of the Minister of Health and Social Services and also refuse the request for funding from these athletes. If that is the case, and no one department can bear this huge burden, then maybe the Ministers of MACA, ITI, Health and Social Services plus the Minister responsible for Seniors and the Minister responsible for sport, these five can split the $50,000 and ante up $10,000 each.

Last week the Minister of ECE made a statement honouring elders in the NWT. He said elders hold a special place in our society. If that is so, the money will be found to assist our elders who are athletes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mr. Speaker, my Member’s statement today is in regards to helping the people in the Sahtu, especially the people in Colville Lake who have asked me on numerous occasions if they can build their own home, simple homes in the communities where these young families, older people that could build a simple log home, simple home in the communities that would help the GNWT with these resources. The benefits of these people in my communities in the Sahtu, again Colville Lake, is to harvest the logs and have some skill capacity development going on in the community, get people working. This would support the vision and the goals of this 16th Assembly in

terms of a vibrant, healthy, educated people in the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, the importance of this has many benefits to people who could build their own homes in terms of passing on tradition, looking at basic ways that they could build their homes in their communities by improving the economy in the communities.

Mr. Speaker, there are 16 percent of homes in the Sahtu that are considered overcrowded. There are

a lot of young families that want to build their own homes. However, they are looking forward to the initiatives under the Housing Corporation to see if this is a possibility where they can build some homes in the communities. I want to ask this government and this specific Crown corporation, the NWT Housing Corporation, if it is open to looking at ways that they can put more homes in the communities.

Mr. Speaker, the community of Colville Lake, again, expresses very strongly, the same with the people in Tulita and also in the other Sahtu communities, in terms of how do we get people into homeownership programs that would be basically having people feel that they have a home, something they can be proud of, something that they can pass on to the children, rather than living in public housing units from generation to generation.

At the appropriate time, I am going to ask the Minister of the NWT Housing Corporation what types of programs are there to help people to get into their own homes such as constructing simple log houses in their communities. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In our lives, most, if not all of us, will have some experiences with cancer. Some of us will get cancer ourselves, where others will have either family members or close friends who experience cancer. I myself recently had a member of my family diagnosed with cancer. I have to tell you that it is a really scary and stressful time both for the family and for the family member who has cancer.

In the Northwest Territories, we may give the Minister of Health and Social Services a hard time about our health care system, but going through that with my family member, I saw how strong our health care system is. There are challenges, but it is a strong system.

---Applause

I’d really like to thank those health professionals who help those patients, who have cancer, through the system: the doctors, the nurses, the X-ray technicians. These are great people doing great work and they deserve accolades upon accolades. I’d really like to thank them.

I’m really proud to be a resident of the Northwest Territories where people give so freely of both their time and their money to support and help raise funds and awareness for cancer research and support the residents of the Northwest Territories who have cancer. In Yellowknife alone, as in other

areas of the Northwest Territories, there are events such as the Run for the Cure, the Terry Fox Run, the NWT Cancer Society has Daffodil Days, Sunshine Festival, Relay for Life. I can’t even count the number of individuals who I’ve seen who have donated their hair or shaved their heads to raise money for cancer. We have a great Territory full of great people and I think those individuals who go out of their way to do these fundraising events also need to be applauded and congratulated for all of their hard work.

Soon, Thursday -- tomorrow -- there’s going to be another fundraising event; it’s Babes for Breasts. Babes for Breasts is a collective of female singer/songwriters taking on the human side of breast cancer one song at a time by volunteering their voices and skills to raise awareness and funds. Proceeds are donated to local and regional charities in each city, helping women and men who are living with breast cancer, from diagnosis to remission and beyond. This event tomorrow night includes artists such as Leela Gilday and Tanya Tagaq-Gillis as well as individuals from Ottawa, Ana Miura and Amanda Rheaume, as well as a wonderful artist from Edmonton, Ann Vriend.

There are two reasons that this is important and this is a great event. The first is that the money is going to go to cancer research. The second is great, great music. So I encourage everybody, if you have time, go out and enjoy the music and help raise money for cancer. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We continue to discuss options for new revenues, and in light of the recovering economy and full scaling up of production at our mines, it is timely, indeed, to be instituting new measures. Through consultations by the Department of Finance, many discussions by the public and comments by several Members, a clear consensus has emerged that more progressive tax measures are needed.

I believe a first priority is to implement a resource income tax to serve us until devolution of responsibilities is achieved. We have the capacity now to implement such a tax in a moderate way and to invest the funds raised into a long-term heritage fund, without any real effect on corporate profitability and investment. A resource income tax is a tax on windfall profits and doesn’t tax those not making profits. Our mineral and fossil fuels are being tapped at increasing rates and they won’t last forever.

Also, we need to take stronger actions to redistribute wealth and bridge the gap between low

and high income earners. Lower taxes for the lowest income earners will put money into the economy immediately and improve the lives of those most in need. Very small adjustments at the lowest levels of income earners can achieve this important goal.

Mr. Speaker, we are fully aware of the leakage of tax revenue out of the Territory through workers from out of the Territory and the need to plug it. Three hundred seventy-one million dollars, almost one-fifth of total labour income in 2008, left the Territories last year. Steps such as a payroll tax for high income earners, an airport departure tax, a hotel tax will help decrease revenue leakage. Though Northerners would also end up paying these taxes, people needing assistance would be compensated by the decreased income taxes. Cost of living credits need to more realistically take into account the differences in cost of living between communities. A scaled approach based on our statistics for cost differentials between communities would provide the necessary recognition here.

Finally, this government must wrestle with how the cost to society of greenhouse gas production becomes a cost of doing business. Only this has proven to be an effective incentive to adopt operating measures that reduce greenhouse gas production and, hence, vulnerability to taxes. Accompanying this must be an array of measures...

Mr. Bromley, your time for your Member’s statement has expired.

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

---Unanimous consent granted.

Only recognizing the carbon content of fuels has proven to be an effective incentive to adopt operating measures that reduce greenhouse gas production and enhance vulnerability to taxes. Accompanying this must be an array of measures to assist people and businesses to shift from fossil fuels to the viable proven renewable energy uses that provide enhanced local employment opportunities, lower living costs and reduce harm to our environment.

Mr. Speaker, these measures taken together yield benefits on all fronts. They complement each other and must be advanced together. Some can start at low levels and become fully engaged as our economy revives. Let’s get it done. Mahsi.

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