Good afternoon, colleagues. Welcome back to the Chamber.

Colleagues, I will now provide my ruling on the point of privilege raised by the Member for Hay River South on Thursday, February 5, 2009. An unescorted visitor to the Legislative Assembly entered her office without permission and is alleged to have seen confidential documents about which that visitor allegedly spoke to the media. My role as Speaker is to determine whether a prima facie breach of privilege took place. I quote Mrs. Groenewegen from unedited Hansard from Thursday, February 5, 2009: “Unauthorized access to the private office space of any Member is a breach of that Member’s parliamentary privilege. Mr. Speaker, this is particularly so when confidential and sensitive information acquired as a result of such unauthorized access is released to the public. In fact, Mr. Speaker, I view the release of this type of sensitive information to be contempt of this House.”

Breaches of Members’ privileges are very serious. Privileges of Members include freedom of speech and freedom of obstruction and intimidation in relation to their duties as elected representatives. The question here is whether the Member’s ability to do her job was compromised by these events. I find that it was not, as these events did not prevent her from acting in the House as she had planned. A proven violation of the privacy of Members’ documents could be seen as a breach of privilege. However, there is no evidence that the visitor viewed the confidential documents or released information thus obtained to the media. Yes, he entered Mrs. Groenewegen’s office, but there is no proof that he saw any of her documents or spoke about them to anyone. In the absence of any evidence that the Member’s private documents were viewed, I find there was no prima facie breach of privilege.

However, there has been a breach of the Legislative Assembly’s security policies on visitors and on Members’ offices. In reference the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories Members’ Handbook, point 135(2), Visitors:

“Visitors, while in the Legislative Assembly Building, are required to display their visitor’s pass on their person at all times and be accompanied by the person or staff of the person they are visiting at all times”

I will also reference 135(4), Access to Offices: “Other than an emergency situation, access to any office by anyone other than the occupant is only permitted by invitation or prior permission of the occupant.”

This is a very serious matter and it is not to be dismissed lightly. I would like to remind all Members of the importance of adhering to the security policies of this Legislative Assembly. They are there for your own protection and for the protection of the workings of this House. This is a serious matter, but I rule there is not a prima facie breach of privilege. Thank you, colleagues.

Orders of the day. Item 2, Ministers’ statements. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.

Mr. Speaker, February is Drop the Pop Month in the NWT. Drop the Pop is a partnership that includes Health and Social Services, Education, Culture and Employment and Environment and Natural Resources. We have strong community partners including Northern Stores, the Yellowknife Co-op, the Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative and the Food First Society.

This is the fourth year that schools in the Northwest Territories have participated. The event, which raises awareness about the importance of making nutritious and healthy choices, has expanded from one week to two and now is celebrated for the entire month.

Drop the Pop raises awareness amongst students about the alternatives to sugary drinks. Sugary beverages provide no nutrition. A can of pop contains between 9 and 12 teaspoons of sugar. Drinking two cans of pop a day for one week provides about a pound of sugar a week. That's nearly 60 pounds of sugar from pop alone in a year. Drop the Pop is about a lot more than not drinking pop. It’s about helping our students figure out the best, healthiest foods to choose.

Last year, 35 schools participated, using Drop the Pop funding to host a range of fun and informative projects from healthy cooking classes to awareness videos done by the students themselves. Drop the Pop is a lot of fun, and for good reason. Students that receive proper nutrition have an easier time concentrating in school, and are better equipped to get through the day. Even further, if children and young adults can feel good about healthy eating, they aren’t just set for the day, they are set for a lifetime of healthy behaviour.

The reasons for making “real” food choices are provided directly on the Drop the Pop advertising. Good nutrition not only helps with concentration, as I have mentioned, but lowers the risk of diabetes, helps with bone and muscular development, is less wasteful for the environment, and keeps teeth healthy. Healthy food choices are also closer to a traditional lifestyle instead of processed foods.

This year Drop the Pop happens to fall during this session, and I invite other Members to join me in celebrating the spirit of the event, through making our own healthy choices while we work long hours through February. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Item 3, Members’ statements. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to speak today about the government’s move to entertain a proposal from ATCO to merge in some fashion with the NWT Power Corporation. Yesterday I had some questions for the Minister responsible for the Power Corporation about the high power rates residents are paying.

The fact is that because consumption is down as a result of residents implementing energy efficiency in their homes and businesses, and what were sky-high oil prices of $140 a barrel, that is why the rates

went up. Now oil is at $40 a barrel and residents want some answers.

According to the Premier yesterday, these rates will not be reviewed again for three years. This is too long to wait. People can’t afford these rates, even here in Yellowknife. That is why it is timely that the GNWT is at least exploring possibilities on the distribution and development of electricity here in the Northwest Territories. I believe we owe it to our residents to not just take the first proposal that comes through the door. We need to have an open and up-front process.

My fear is that in reviewing this one proposal, the GNWT’s working team is comprised solely of senior bureaucrats. I have a great deal of respect for those involved, but the reality is that ATCO will be putting forth their ‘A’ team, make no mistake about this, on this merger proposal.

We shouldn’t fool ourselves. We will be swimming in a pool full of sharks in these discussions. In order for the government to protect our residents, the corporation itself, and our interests, we should have at least two individuals assigned to our review team that have a background in power distribution, generation, and/or the sale of power, and are able to speak the same language as ATCO.

We also need to find out if there are other companies out there that may be able to put forward a proposal. Let’s throw the doors wide open and go to an open, transparent call for proposals. Let’s see what we can get back.

As for now, we need to protect our residents from high power rates, and we cannot afford to lose more of our residents and population to the South due strictly to the high cost of living. I agree that we should, at the very least, examine this proposal, but do so armed with some knowledgeable people who have a background in this very complex and specialized area. Mahsi.

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

Today on CBC I listened to our chief medical officer talking about the toll being taken amongst northern Canadians by the exorbitant cost of food as profiled in a National Heart and Stroke Foundation report.

Dr. Corriveau has been working on a project in the Beaufort-Delta called Healthy Foods North, which has found that in our isolated northern communities there are significant deficiencies and intake of basic nutrients of calcium, vitamin D, and other essential

nutrients. He mentioned that with the move away from traditional diets, we have turned to milk as the source of calcium and vitamin D for people.

Because of the prohibitive cost of milk in many communities, parents often provide their babies and young children with sugar water, like Tang and Kool-Aid, in place of milk. This occurs even using baby bottles, contributing to baby bottle mouth and other serious and expensive health problems. Ensuring that young children are provided with sufficient quantities of milk prevents large costs later in life in areas like health and education. Milk contributes to healthy brain development and physical activity.

At the risk of being repetitive, milk or equivalent substitutes in the case of allergies is known to be the single most important nutrient for children, essential for healthy and normal growth and development.

The Standing Committee on Social Programs, the Standing Committee on Priorities and Planning, and the people have spoken out clearly in support of a milk subsidy where it’s needed. This Assembly has passed a motion in support of this program. The absence of a milk subsidy in this budget is a hole that gapes widely in our small communities where, as my colleague from Nunakput says, people must decide whether to buy fuel or food this day.

Calcium is important for growing and keeping strong bones. Vitamin D has recently been found to play a key role in preventing cancer. While this government looks at it and considers how to improve the food basket, the nutrient deficit to children and all that this means to their health and our mutual long-term costs continues.

For a year I have tried to get this government to support a new subsidy for milk in those communities where the price is 10 percent or greater than in the city of Yellowknife. Subsidizing milk is actually an investment in the health of children and seniors will pay large dividends on modest costs.

For the sake of goodness, let’s get this done. Drop the Pop, yes, but where’s the milk?

---Laughter

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

In responding to oral questions from Mr. Hawkins last Thursday the Minister of Health

and Social Services stated, and I quote from page 25 of unedited Hansard for February 5, 2009, she said, “It is a regular practice in this Legislature that any policy changes go to the standing committee for review and consultation.” I was very pleased to hear that, but I was also very surprised. Because up to now, that’s not been my experience as a Member of the 16th Legislative Assembly. My

experience has been that policy changes, meaning government positions, changes affecting GNWT operations are discussed, debated, and decided by Cabinet or FMB in isolation without consulting or communicating with Regular Members. An example: The assets of the now famous, infamous perhaps, Opportunities Fund were until recently invested in low-risk accounts. Some time before the end of 2008, Cabinet sitting as FMB decided that the funds could be invested in high-risk ventures; ventures that are fully guaranteed by GNWT public funds; your tax dollars and mine. The only time this change was presented to standing committee was after the decision had been made. No chance for input then.

A second example: the Supplementary Health Benefits Program policy change that would go from full coverage to seniors to partial or no coverage. This change didn’t even make it through a 16th Assembly standing committee. Cabinet put into force a policy change decision made by the previous Assembly without ever discussing it with Regular Members.

I recognize that this Assembly has put Cabinet in place to manage our government departments and to carry out direction set by Caucus during our strategic planning sessions. I have no desire to micromanage and I’d agree that the Standing Committee on Priorities and Planning, consisting of Regular Members, can’t be consulted on every contemplated policy change. But substantial changes to policy, such as the Opportunities Fund policy change, which has the potential for a large, negative financial impact on this Territory’s finances, must be presented to Regular Members for their input before the decision is made, not after.

Members stated last week that there are communication problems between the two sides of this House. I trust advance communication of policy change is one of those problems that we can visit and correct.

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

Today I’d like to speak about a project that was worked on a couple of years ago in 2003 coming forward to 2008-2009. It was the Main Street Chipseal Program which was requested by the Special Committee on Rural and Remote Communities back in the 14th Assembly. Out of

that, one of the recommendations was to deal with dust control in all of our smaller communities and improve the quality of life, the health of our residents and, more importantly, finding a way to deal with an ongoing problem such as drainage, road conditions, and doing an overall assessment of those communities.

Part of that process included some 12 communities including Kakisa, Hay River Reserve, Fort Providence, Enterprise, Tsiigehtchic, Aklavik, Fort McPherson, Wrigley, Fort Liard, Rae-Edzo, Tuktoyaktuk, Tulita, Fort Good Hope, Fort Resolution, and Dettah. Yet today we still have communities asking for this government’s help with regard to this program.

I was totally alarmed to find out that there is $6 million going to be spent in regard to one of the larger centres to chipseal that community’s roads under the Building Canada Fund. Yet there’s no mention of community dust control to deal with chipseal programs for our rural and remote communities. I think it’s essential that this government seriously looks at reinstating this program for the benefit of all the smaller communities in the Northwest Territories and enhancing the program so that all communities can have a quality of life by way of improving the infrastructure in our communities, including moving the dust from our streets in the summer months and ensuring the health and well-being of our elders and people with chronic disease.

I think it’s important that this government reinstate this program. We do have the resources through the Building Canada Fund and there’s no reason that work has to take any time. The Department of Transportation has done a lot of the legwork. They’ve done a lot of the assessments. They’ve looked at the drainage systems in our communities. I’d like to ask the Minister of Transportation at the appropriate time, or even the Premier, if it is possible for this government to seriously look at implementing that program to benefit our small communities.

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

[English translation not provided.]

Over the past year I’ve talked about problems the Tu Nedhe communities are having with dust. I realize that dust is not an issue today, however, spring will soon be here and the snow will melt and there will be mud. The mud will dry and dust problems will take over.

In Fort Resolution dust will continue to be a big concern for residents until a permanent solution is found. There is about 10 kilometres of roads in the community and if we use the synergies and the reconstruction and chipsealing of Highway No. 6 we can have chipseal roads for the entire community of Fort Resolution for $2 million to $3 million.

For $2 million or $3 million, this government has an opportunity to see restored confidence in the government by the residents of Fort Resolution. In addition, chipseal roads have many benefits to the community, including better health for our children, adults, elders, and those with respiratory problems.

For various use activities, roads that are chipsealed have many advantages for things like skateboarding and rollerblading. All things go towards the betterment or self-esteem of our youth. I think we all know the huge benefits of youth with good self-esteem.

By expanding the Highway No. 6 project we can chipseal the community’s roads, which will benefit all residents of Lutselk’e, including immediate economic benefits by creating new jobs and long-term benefits for a permanent dust control solution. It’s an opportunity for the Department of Transportation and the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs to work with the community for building good relationships between communities and government.

Later I will have questions for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs on this project.

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

One long-standing issue facing the community of Wrigley has been the absence of RCMP officers and nurses who live in the community and provide regular daily services. After years of pushing the government to provide these services, the community has succeeded in

acquiring an RCMP station from the Minister of Justice. Community residents continue to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services to provide primary health care services to the community.

Wrigley has been without resident nursing services for many years. Community residents deserve some reassurance that they can access primary health care services in their community.

At the beginning of this Assembly we identified a commitment to help foster vibrant and healthy communities and their individuals. How can we possibly meet that goal if our smallest communities are denied reasonable access to primary health care services?

Small NWT communities like Wrigley have a higher percentage of elders than other communities. These people have chosen to live in their community for their entire lives. They deserve a community-based health care service.

The Minister knows that elders often approach me with their concerns about health care. Elders do not want to travel to Fort Simpson and wait in a line at the airport or at the regional health centre. They don’t want sporadic visits of non-resident health care providers. When elders come and talk to me about these problems, they are in pain and discomfort and I get frustrated at the current situation of primary health care services. Health care is the highest priority of this government. That priority needs to be reflected at the front line of the smallest communities. Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mr. Speaker, I, too, would like to join the discussions on the dust control in the Sahtu region. Several years ago, the community of Fort Good Hope, along with government, worked in partnership on how to put together a chipseal program in their community. At that time the government worked very closely with the communities in terms of what is the best, most efficient, economic way to put a chipseal program in our communities in the Sahtu. Once the Fort Good Hope project was underway and they were developing their programs, I understood from the then-Minister that the community of Tulita was going to be next in line in terms of the chipseal program. People there were very happy in terms of this initiative being led by the Government of the Northwest Territories. Later on, it was noted that this chipseal program will no longer be on the

books in terms of support to the communities. As a matter of fact, the government turned over the responsibilities to the communities in terms of if they want to chipseal or if they want to have another infrastructure in their communities, knowing from the small communities, there is so much need in terms of infrastructure in their communities. They had to make some big decisions. Because of the high cost of the various methods of how we control dust, it became apparent that there wasn’t going to be enough money in the pot to even do a proper job in terms of chipsealing the whole community.

Mr. Speaker, throughout my visits in the communities, I have been approached by a number of elders in terms of the chipsealing program and that it should be something the government should take a real serious look at and work with the various departments to see how creative they can be in terms of putting a program like this back into the system. That requires sitting down with the hamlets, the bands and the Metis organizations to come up with some solutions that would be beneficial to all.

Dust control continues to be an issue for my people, especially the older people who have to go out and buy filters to have clean air in their houses there. So, Mr. Speaker, I, too, will be joining my colleagues in terms of asking the Minister in terms of how something like this, the chipseal program, can be implemented back into the system where all the communities can work on a good solution to have chipseal in their communities. Thank you.

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

Mr. Speaker, one only has to turn on any news channel these days and much of the coverage is devoted to the fallout from the current global recession. While the statistics and employment figures and job losses speak for themselves, we also hear of what other jurisdictions, national and international, are doing to address this recession.

The numbers in terms of financial assistance and stimulus that countries and jurisdictions are committing to is a sign of the magnitude of this problem. Here in the North we will not be insulated from the repercussions of this recession and the effects are already beginning to be felt. I am concerned about what our government is doing in response. We constantly hear that small business is the backbone of the Canadian and our northern economy. Many of these businesses may find

themselves resorting to laying off staff, cancelling plans of expansion and experiencing credit challenges as mortgage payments come due and loans come up for renewals.

Although interest rates have fallen, the reluctance of the usual sources of loans and credit have, at the same time, tightened their lending criteria and policies. I realize that many jurisdictions are looking to capital infrastructure as a means of stimulating the economy during these difficult times. The good thing about this is that we have something tangible to show for the dollars invested, and in the process create jobs and economy.

I am aware of the various sources of infrastructure dollars to our government through federal programs, both for municipalities, housing and transportation infrastructure. This is welcome news and we look forward to the rollout of these projects and initiatives. But is there more that we can do with our own resources, programs and policies?

I want to ask the Minister for Industry, Tourism and Investment later today what our government is doing to be proactive, to collect feedback from businesses about their needs and challenges at this time. We have a government lending policy through the Business Development Investment Corporation; business support through the SEED program; Community Futures lending program; but the GNWT has the latitude, the same as other jurisdictions, to consider things like interest only or interest deferred loans. If we lack the capital to create a larger pool of funds for lending, as I’ve already suggested, can the government borrow from the Opportunities Fund to distribute loans to a broad number of small businesses?

It’s time to think outside of the box on our business support policies, but first of all we need a forum to collect feedback from our businesses that may be struggling at this time, and I would suggest our regional ITI offices are that point of contact. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

In recent years the government has seen an increased immigrant population. Over 100 cultural groups are represented in Yellowknife, but only three of these visible minorities have registered cultural organizations in the city.

Mr. Speaker, although the people from different ethnic communities may organize themselves

informally, they have common needs and areas of concern. The Centre for Northern Families has offered the services of a welcome centre for immigrants for two years, in an effort to help immigrants transition to a new country and community, and to ensure immigrants have access to services and the opportunity to achieve and maintain social and economic independence.

Mr. Speaker, in the short life of this program the centre has helped 157 individuals from 29 countries. The services available in the welcome centre focus on providing information, immigrant consultation, workplace orientation and job coaching, English language classes, computer classes and social networking programs to help new Canadians become part of their new community and the Northwest Territories.

The centre’s activity help people adjust to life in the North. The director herself is an immigrant, giving the program a distinct advantage of being supported by someone with firsthand experience of the needs and challenges experienced by new Canadians.

The centre is open from Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. to accommodate varied work and family schedules and strives to be as accessible as possible. The centre is open to all immigrants, with specific programs for youth and adults, both men and women.

The Centre for Northern Families is interested in providing outreach to regional hubs of Hay River and Inuvik to help those regions support immigrants there. Mr. Speaker, the Centre for Northern Families wants to work with the GNWT to build effective programs and services to welcome newcomers, and help them transition into life in the NWT and Canada and expand upon the services they currently provide. Unfortunately, the lease of the existing multicultural facility ends this month. If it’s not renewed, the centre will be forced to close its doors. They need government support. If they shut down, it will be a loss to our community, to the Northwest Territories and to the immigrants themselves.

Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time, I will have some questions for the Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment. Thank you.

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

Mr. Speaker, plans were moving forward with the Taltson Hydro expansion. The

investment of this project has been significant and the government has even identified a further $2.5 million in this upcoming budget.

For the most part, Northerners support the expansion of the hydro because of the environmental benefits of a cleaner source of power that will hopefully reduce our electric bills and, of course, Mr. Speaker, I fully support the advancement of the North’s hydro potential over diesel.

Mr. Speaker, the benefits of cheaper, cleaner electricity for residents in the NWT all depends on the route chosen for the Taltson expansion. The route favoured by the proponents of the project is constructed over land, power lines, around the East Arm of Great Slave Lake. This route supports the commercial sale of power to the diamond mines only, but does not move it closer to building a grid here in the North to help the other communities get off diesel-generated power.

Are we working for the corporations, Mr. Speaker, or the people? I question where the public interest is being sought after. Mr. Speaker, there are some good reasons to re-evaluate the route being chosen here. We need to start focussing in on the residents as opposed to just the diamond mines.

The two diamond mines have less than 20 years of production left before them and, of course, what isn’t known yet is the power purchasing agreements have yet to be signed. So without those energy corporation agreements signed, we don’t have a customer. So who is carrying the cost and the risk of this development so far? The northern taxpayer.

Mr. Speaker, we also have to keep in mind that the proposed route also crosses land set aside for a new national park. The construction of those power lines in that pristine wilderness will have some environmental consequences, and I certainly have no doubt there will be opposition.

Mr. Speaker, given all of these issues, it seems that the proposed route is very risky and perhaps even shortsighted. If the government is making this kind of investment, we need to ensure that the long-term needs are for northern residents first. Surely we can find a route that allows us to sell the power to our people as well as mines.

Mr. Speaker, we have all heard about the road to nowhere. We’ve all heard about the bridge to nowhere. But my fear is we may end up having a power line to nowhere, certainly if the economic climate continues the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, I urge this Cabinet to think carefully that if there are extra costs associated with putting a new power grid into play, that they should think

about the benefits associated with it and that alone will make it better for our Northerners altogether. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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