Colleagues, before we begin, I would like to welcome you back to the Chamber today as we resume the Third Session of the 16th Legislative Assembly. A special

welcome to all the guests in the gallery today and, for your information, we have two interpreters in the House today. South Slavey is on channel two and North Slavey is on channel three.

Colleagues, I trust that you have all enjoyed the winter recess and the opportunity to enjoy some well-earned time with family, friends and constituents. I hope that you returned today filled with energy and a renewed dedication for the work that we do for the people of the Northwest Territories. These are challenging times everywhere and I expect that your commitment will be tested as this House deals with issues that affect all Northerners.

I also expect that you will approach the session with the usual respect and consideration for your colleagues and for the institution that we serve. Let this Assembly be known for the quality of our debate, the respect Members show for each other and the dedication to the public good.

Before we begin, I would like to take this opportunity to mark the passing of a respected elder and former Commissioner of the Northwest Territories. I extend the condolences of this House to the family and friends of Helen M. Maksagak. Ms. Maksagak played a significant role in the history of the Northwest Territories and our neighbour Nunavut. She held the office of the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories from 1995 to 1999, the first woman and the first Inuit to do so. Ms. Maksagak then went on to become the first Commissioner of Nunavut. Ms. Maksagak was appointed as a member of the Order of Canada for her contribution to the history of both territories.

I would also like to extend the condolences to the House to all those families, friends and

communities that have lost loved ones since we last met. We are a very large Territory and a small interconnected population and we all share such losses. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

Colleagues, it is now my duty to advise the House that I have received the following message from the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories, and it reads:

“Dear Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise that I recommend to the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories the passage of: Appropriation Act, (Operations Expenditures), 2009-2010, An Act to Amend the Appropriation Act, (Infrastructure Expenditures) 2009-2010, Supplementary Appropriation Act, (Infrastructure Expenditures) No. 1, 2009-2010, and Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 3, 2008-2009 during the Third Session of the 16th Legislative Assembly. Yours truly, Anthony W. J. Whitford, Commissioner.”

Thank you, colleagues. With that, we will proceed to orders of the day. Item 2, Ministers’ statements. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Members and the public for their interest in the Supplementary Health Benefits Program and Catastrophic Drug Costs Program. Mr. Speaker, since the details of the changes were announced last December, we have received numerous calls and questions regarding the programs. Comments were at times supportive of the direction we are taking with this new program, as a number of people will benefit from this new program.

The principle of providing benefits to those most vulnerable and who have no coverage has been well received. The implementation of a Catastrophic

Drug Costs Program has also been widely praised and will ensure that no Northerner has to bear the full burden of catastrophic expenses of prescription drugs.

However, during the implementation of the new program, gaps were identified. These gaps may create undue hardship for some Northerners who still need assistance with their medical costs. To ensure that the program meets the intent of this policy, the program design will be reviewed. As a result, we have postponed the implementation of the new program until September 1, 2009. This will provide the time needed to respond to the gaps and engage stakeholders in making the changes. We will do this by holding public meetings with stakeholders and the general public.

Let me be clear; the objectives of this policy are sound and will be respected.

The GNWT is committed to providing supplementary health benefits to eligible residents and families who do not have access to another supplementary health benefits plan.

The GNWT believes that:

•

Government should make the best possible

use of program resources by making a contribution towards a portion of the costs of certain supplementary health services and costs of drugs for eligible persons, recognizing that a limited budget means even eligible persons will likely have to assume some personal responsibility and incur some supplementary health costs.

•

Territorial supplementary health benefits

program should respect the Government of Canada’s fiduciary responsibility to Aboriginal people.

•

Territorial supplementary health benefits

program should focus on providing benefits to those residents who are not already covered by an existing employer supplementary health benefits program or who are not eligible under any government-sponsored supplementary health benefits program (for example, Non-insured Health Benefits Program and Métis Health Benefits Program).

•

Territorial supplementary health benefits

program should emphasize coverage of preventative services.

•

Eligibility for supplementary health benefits and catastrophic drug costs should be determined fairly through income testing.

•

Territorial supplementary health benefits

program should be designed in a manner that

does not cause employers to reduce supplementary health benefit programs for their employees or provide incentives to opt out of third-party insurance programs.

I would like to again thank Regular Members for the comments and the public for their interest in this policy. In closing, Mr. Speaker the gaps identified will be responded to and I look forward to the implementation of this policy and providing coverage to those most vulnerable and ensuring that no Northerner is exposed to catastrophic drug costs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister of Finance, Mr. Miltenberger.

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that I will deliver the Budget Address on Thursday, February 5th, 2009.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Item 3, Members’ statements. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to speak about the current closing of the Deh Cho Hall in Fort Simpson. This building will soon be decommissioned. Government offices have been relocated to a new building. The last remaining tenant is the John Tetso Memorial Library and they have yet to find a new home.

This is cause of concern among community residents. The library is an important part of the community that provides a range of popular programs and services that promote literacy and ensures the community members have access to quality reading materials and information sources that would otherwise be unavailable.

I believe the government has the responsibility to assist the community in finding a new space for our library. We need a long-term solution to ensure that the library has a permanent home. One solution may be to renovate and expand the school library to accommodate public access. This has been done successfully in other NWT communities. This approach makes use of existing resources and encourages broader partnerships in the delivery of community services.

Reading and access to information is at the foundation of northern growth and development. Libraries play an essential role in supporting people of all ages to build their skills and knowledge. I urge the Minister responsible to work with the community to find a permanent home for this important part of our community.

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

Thank you. I, too, would like to say welcome back to all Members of this House. It’s good to be back.

I’m going to speak today about a contentious issue; one dear to the hearts of those assembled in the gallery and dear to us on this side of the House as well. I refer to the proposed changes to the NWT Supplementary Health Benefits Program.

I can’t say it often enough or loudly enough. This program has been poorly thought out, poorly presented and is based on a poor policy. Cabinet had lofty goals and, I hope, good intentions when they decided to go forward with this new program and policy. We should be providing health benefits to those who currently are left unprotected. I agree with that premise, but Cabinet didn’t do their homework.

By using this policy change to fix one problem, that of a lack of health coverage for lower income workers and their families, they effectively created a bunch of new problems. Some examples: some disabled persons and people with families dealing with chronic conditions now face huge medical costs. Some of our residents aged 60 to 64 suddenly have no coverage at all. Our seniors, many on a fixed income, face a means test to determine if they will be able to continue to receive coverage.

This program is wrong on so many levels it’s hard to know where to start to identify the wrongs. The means test tables show income levels which are unworkable because they’re too low and require a health department expert to understand them. The Catastrophic Drug Program covers all drug costs except, oh right, you have to spend 5 percent of your income first before the program kicks in.

This policy change will cost people money. For many it’s money they don’t have. How does that fit with this Assembly’s stated objective to reduce the cost of living for our residents? It doesn’t. How does it fit with Cabinet’s goal to increase the population of the NWT in order to increase our revenues? It

doesn’t. This proposed new Supplementary Health Benefits Program will drive our residents out of the Territory and I, for one, do not want that.

I recently heard someone say that we have a government without a conscience when it comes to the implementation of this program. I can only agree and will have questions for the Minister of Health at the appropriate time.

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

Thank you. I, too, would like to speak to the proposed and ill-conceived changes to the Supplementary Health Benefits Program here in the Northwest Territories.

Probably in my 13 years as MLA this is the most public feedback I’ve received on something the government proposed to do. I do appreciate the Minister’s statement today, that in fact the government is willing to put this on hold -- the implementation -- and look at revising these changes so that they will be more thought out and will close those gaps as the Health Minister referred to them.

As my colleague Ms. Bisaro said, the problems with what the government proposed is wrong on so many levels and really dangerous on so many levels that it’s hard to know where to start in a two and a half minute statement. As mentioned by Ms. Bisaro, thresholds were not thought out. They are far too low for people living in the North. This really affects quite a small number of people and I don’t know if the government took into account what the losses and cost to our Territory would be in relation to what it costs for the supplementary health benefits for our seniors. I don’t think they thought that through. That’s the kind of information that we did not have access to. We had many questions. We did not get many answers. I do appreciate the work of the seniors who put so much thought into proposing good questions, which were then sent on to the department and we’ve been trying to get to the bottom of those questions.

We talk about attracting people to the Northwest Territories and all the things that we would do and all the incentives we would offer to get people to move here. Yet, for the relatively little cost that it takes to support our seniors living here in the Northwest Territories, it’s unthinkable that we would drive seniors out of the Northwest Territories when they contribute so much to our economies. They

have worked and contributed to building our communities and our Northwest Territories.

I have very serious concerns about this. I don’t like the timing of the implementation amounts that are going to wait until September 1st , because everyone

knows that we all are going to be gone and summertime is not a good time to get in touch with a lot of people and a lot of stakeholders. I think the government should do more than postpone and defer the implementation of this. I think they should take it right back to the drawing board. I don’t think that this should negatively impact any senior living in the Northwest Territories. The program is flawed. It’s not good enough to say that those who can pay should pay. That is not a good premise for what they’re doing.

Times are very difficult for everyone, including seniors. This is not a time to be stressing them out with these kinds of changes.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.

Greetings. Once again we gather to address people’s priorities. The world is a different place since we last saw it in October, 2008. While the current recession brings hard times, the financial world will rebuild in just a few years. In contrast, the environmental and social deficits we are accumulating will last generations and can take hundreds of years to rebuild. Mr. Speaker, we have the opportunity to begin to do things differently. To do so, we need good leadership and a new approach that will communicate and serve the best of our basic human values.

Mr. Speaker, a good government and good leadership begin with good communication. Unfortunately, this government’s communication record is a crime against our people. It has become so atrocious that it now begs some kind of final resolution. From the vast upheaval over planned reductions that we failed to implement, the program reviews we have yet to see, the multi-year notice to affected employees, and now to the fiascos on supplementary health benefits, the reform of boards and agencies, and the Opportunities Fund, we have put our people through unnecessary and painful angst, fear and frustration.

The lack of good communication can be caused by a variety of factors: a lack of regard for the public and Regular MLAs, a lack of vision on which to provide context and direction for action, a lack of in-depth information and analysis and a lack of

appreciation for the simple need to communicate. All of these unfortunate reasons may have been a plague during the past 14 months, but I can assure Mr. Speaker and the public, these reasons are both often and precisely pointed out by Members on this side of the House and, of course, the public.

Northerners are not adverse to change. In fact, they want to get things done and they want us to act on the critical issues before us. However, we want to see that their government is operating on the basis of well-researched and well-conveyed communication and with real opportunities to participate in meaningful ways. When we sweep away universal coverage of our senior supplementary health benefits, then we move to a fully income tested system of determining benefits without giving people a voice, we fail in our work.

This government needs renewal. We need to gel. We need good leadership. Mr. Speaker, let’s get it together and begin to meet the expectations of our people. Mahsi.

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

Thank you. I would like to welcome everyone back to the House and also the visitors we have in the gallery. I would like to speak today about the proposed changes to supplementary health benefits in the Northwest Territories. I would like to begin by thanking all of those who I have spoken to in person and those of you who have e-mailed, phoned and faxed your concerns to me over these proposed changes. I have received more and more calls and concerns over this issue than any other single issue in the five years that I have been a Member of this House. I am very thankful for all of the input that I have received. It takes a great deal of courage to speak out, and a special thank you to those of you who have shared your own unique personal situations with me and other MLAs.

A couple of days ago the Minister of Health issued a press release stating the implementation of the changes would be delayed from April 1st of this year

until September 1st . This certainly shows that the

Minister and government finally have woken up and realized that there are many legitimate concerns out there on the proposed changes to supplementary health benefits. However, I am very sceptical of the date of September 1st , which will

come right on the heels of a summer recess where Members go back into their ridings and into their regions. My belief is that between now and

September 1st , I do not have the confidence that the

work, analysis and meaningful consultation can take place on such a large issue. I believe that the delay is intended to take the heat off of the government and off of the Minister in this session and that the intent is to pursue it on September 1st with the changes, without a real chance for Members to ask questions and be involved in this process. What type of consultation can take place over the summer months when many are enjoying spending time with family or away from home?

The real answer is to send this back to the drawing board, get some real answers, consult and engage the public in a meaningful way and put all of the information on the table. The Minister has been quick to say that the proposed changes will be cost neutral, but she has never provided any evidence whatsoever to back this claim up. I understand and appreciate the gap that exists with lower income earners and families. I believe, as a government, we should address this gap. However, it should not be on the backs of seniors and families coping with chronic illness.

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

---Unanimous consent granted

Mr. Speaker, the income thresholds proposed are miserably low. Means testing individuals or families dealing with chronic illness is something we certainly need to re-examine. As a government, we cannot continue to make half-baked policy decisions that detrimentally affect the psyche and feelings of our residents. We need to keep people here in the North, not keep looking for creative ways to drive people away. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

There are so many issues addressed to Members of the House in terms of the important issues that are coming up in this session here. I want to put forth in terms of the economic crisis that is happening in Canada, the Northwest Territories and people in our region, that for certain some things that have shifted from our people in our communities and have shifted in other areas that this government sees as a priority.

Lately I have been getting some calls from my region about what is going to happen, what is going to get done in our communities to feel some security by this government in terms of one looking out for them and helping them with the part of the

recession. The population of unemployed people are very high in our small communities. There are basic needs that are being discussed and studied. Nothing is really happening in some of the areas of my region. Mr. Speaker, the economic stimulus that we are hoping that we could hear from this government through these budget sessions...I am going to be asking questions on what is being done for our people in our communities, such as dearly needed infrastructure for our communities.

Now we come from different parts of the Northwest Territories where there is actually, within the Northwest Territories, have and have-not communities. A case in point, RCMP. There is not one type of indication from this government saying that they are going to have one in Colville Lake. Other communities are also asking them for the same type of basic service that other communities take for granted. We talk about roads and some communities have discussions on maintenance of roads. In the Sahtu we don’t know what a road is all about because we don’t have roads into our communities.

Working with our seniors, also, in terms of their basic health care, Mr. Speaker, these are basic services that we want for our people and putting our people first. I will be asking questions throughout the Assembly in terms of what is going to be done for our people in the Northwest Territories and I will stand up for my people. Thank you.

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

Thank you. It has been an interesting couple of months since we last met in this House. A lot has happened. My big issue, which is a major concern to me and my constituents and residents of the Northwest Territories, is the announcement made by the Minister of Health and Social Services two weeks before Christmas, that the Department of Health and Social Services would be eliminating their four very popular supplemental health benefits program, programs which are currently available to all residents of the Northwest Territories, specifically the extended health benefits for seniors program, the Specified Medical Conditions Program, the Additional Drug Assistance Program and the Indigent Program. The Minister mentioned that these programs would be consolidated into a single income tested program that would provide assistance to low-income families and residents who do not have medical coverage through their employers.

On the face of it, providing to these low-income families is the right thing to do and a good idea. The problem is that Cabinet, in their infinite wisdom, decided that the cost of the changes must be on the backs of NWT seniors who live on fixed incomes and families with members who suffer from chronic conditions. This is a bad decision. The proposed program is a bad program fourfold and will create more problems than it fixes. Ultimately, I believe it will cost more than it saves.

Clearly the Cabinet did not do the research or cost analysis to identify the ramifications of implementing such a thoughtless program. I know this because I and other Members have continually asked for research and cost analysis information that Cabinet should have used to make an informed decision. To date, they have been unable to provide anything. Personally, I don’t believe that any research or analysis exists.

Fortunately, we have a slight reprieve. The Minister has announced that she is deferring the implementation date. She has indicated that some elements of the proposed program might create undue hardship for some Northerners. Mr. Speaker, the Minister has indicated that the program design will be reviewed before the program is implemented on September 1, 2009. There are several problems with this.

First, the right thing to do, in light of the hundreds of concerns raised by residents of the NWT and the lack of evidence that Cabinet used any real analysis or financial information to make a decision, would be to eliminate the proposed program altogether. To go back to the beginning and design a program to support low-income families without adversely affecting those receiving support through existing programs. It’s the right thing to do for seniors and those with chronic medical conditions.

Second, the timeline proposed by the Minister is ridiculous. There is no way that a comprehensive research and effective consultation followed by program design, final review and implementation can adequately be done by September 1, 2009. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

I won’t take too long. I have two sentences left.

This is clearly nothing more than a delay tactic. If the timeline is upheld, the Regular Members won’t have an opportunity to debate the program until after it has been implemented. This is inappropriate. Mr. Speaker, I’ll have questions on this topic for the Minister responsible for the

Department of Health and Social Services at the appropriate time. Thank you.

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

Mahsi cho. [English translation not provided.]

Mr. Speaker, today I want to make a Member’s statement to the people of Tu Nedhe, to advise the people of Tu Nedhe of the items that I will be working on in the next 25 days while I sit here in the Legislative Assembly. I will be working on the fact that the homeownership program in housing, which is a major issue in Tu Nedhe, seems to be progressing very slowly. I find that the programs are not assisting the people that they are intended to assist at this time. In the Northwest Territories there are approximately 17,000 residents and about 3,000 of those residents are residents considered to be in need, yet the NWT Housing Corporation has made a decision that four programs could cover the needs of all of those various needs across the Northwest Territories.

I also want to talk about the Income Support Public Housing Program, which has put 2,200 to 2,400 residents in the Northwest Territories who have never been on income support in their lives on income support. I want to ask the government why that is continuing and why the last government was allowed to put 2,200 to 2,400 residents on income support and this government continues to carry that through.

I want to ask this government why there is dust in the communities. Why is there no way of controlling the dust? There’s dust all over the communities. It’s a health hazard to elders and everything and yet nothing is done about that. Simple solutions could be looked at.

I want to talk about the youth and the need for youth workers in the communities, how the youth need assistance to be able to get out of their current situation and the situation of problems we’re having with youth; how elders are dying outside of their communities, away from their family, away from their friends and so on. Why are there no proper addictions services, mental health services in the communities?

Mr. Speaker, I’d also like to speak about important things like the cost of living in the communities of Tu Nedhe. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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