This is page numbers 3003 - 3034 of the Hansard for the 16th Assembly, 3rd Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was work.

Topics

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister. Yes, I think Members have taken him up on his offer to discuss the document in detail. I think there are going to be some interesting, philosophical debates on many of those parts of the report. I would like to ask the Minister whether or not once there has been a report done and all the comments have been compiled, is there an intention on the part of the government to forward this to the federal government and basically tell them how we think we should go forward? Thank you.

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Deputy Premier

Our approach is that we are partners in this process with the federal government. We expect the federal government to recognize us as such. We have been in discussions and correspondence with Minister Strahl. We are going to continue to correspond with him. We are going to be sharing the information that we are bringing forward with his officials and the department. We want to make sure and the reason we are moving the way we are is because there is a need for us as the Government of the Northwest Territories, the public government in the Territory, to have our position out there in anticipation of Indian Affairs possibly putting out a position on their own without fully engaging all their partners and other stakeholders. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of MACA and in follow up to my Member’s statement from earlier today. I have heard some really positive remarks on the Volunteer Summit that was held last week and I am optimistic that the feedback that was provided by the participants was clearly heard by the government. I am curious. When will some of the detailed feedback on the summit be provided to both the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Infrastructure and the Standing Committee on Social Programs, as mandates of the different voluntary sector organizations cross both of the mandates of both of these committees? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Volunteer Summit this weekend was very successful. I had an opportunity to go there on Friday when it opened up. There was a lot of enthusiasm in there about discussing the options for volunteers across the NWT. The draft summary is being put together right now. That will be distributed to a lot of the participants in the summit to capture all of their feedback and make sure that we captured all of their input into it. Once that is done, we will provide copies of the final report and final draft to Members and the public. Thank you.

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

I was wondering if I can just get a bit of a timeline on that. I am curious how long it is going to take before we can see some of those results. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

Mr. Speaker, the timeline will depend on how quickly the participants get back to us with their feedback. Once that is done, we will put something together. We are looking, hopefully, at four to six weeks at this particular point. Thank you.

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

I would like to thank the Minister for his response. Now that the feedback and input has been sort of received from the sector during the meeting itself, how do the two departments plan to move forward and incorporate these recommendations into the day-to-day business and partnerships with these organizations? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

Mr. Speaker, that is one of the reasons that, once we get the feedback from them, it will open up options as to how we can conduct business better with them. We are looking at having all of the positive feedback come back from the participants and we can use this in going the next step, how we can engage them on a more regular basis instead of waiting once every few years to have a summit of this sort. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement today, I talked about my concern about not feeling as if we are fully in the loop of the work being developed over in that program review office. This concern is shared by a number of Members over on this side of the House. My questions will be directed to the Minister responsible for refocusing government. Mr. Speaker, what the issue really comes down to is while the program review office is out doing their work, long before all of the scope of the work is defined and they have galvanized their opinions on what should be done, or change whether it is a policy or program should be adjusted or dropped, when will Members be able to go through this line by line and be included in on this program review and have our opinions validated and certainly considered through this process? Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister responsible for the committee on Refocusing Government, Mr. Miltenberger.

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would suggest that that process has already started, that there has been involvement in briefings and there will continue to be. The Program Review Committee is working. We do have two

Members from P and P on the committee, two committee chairs from EDI and from the Social Programs. We would be happy to provide a briefing on work to date with the P and P as soon as that could be arranged. There is work to date. The program areas of review in health and education have been, I believe, shared. The specific detail of what is actually being reviewed and the findings and the work to date, we’d be happy to brief the committee on. Thank you.

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

Mr. Speaker, I’m actually coming from it at a ground-level point of view, not at 10,000 feet in the air about, you know, yes, we’re reviewing the programs, we’re reviewing education way up here. Mr. Speaker, I’m speaking from a ground level, nuts and bolts, everyday point of view.

Mr. Speaker, what the issue really comes down to is what are the details that are being reviewed and would the Minister provide that to all Members so we can go through those long before any galvanized position is made by saying we’re going to cut here and don’t worry, trust us. When will that detail be forwarded to us? Thank you.

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

Mr. Speaker, there is a value given where you are in the process to looking both at the forest and the trees. I agree with the Member that we have to do both. We need to provide the broad context and oversight and direction. As well, as we get down to the actual practical realities and implementation issues that we’re looking at and programs that we’re looking at, it is in considerable detail, and I’ll restate the commitment to share that information. Thank you.

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

In talking to one of my colleagues here who sits on that joint committee where they involved some Members from our Priorities and Planning, I mean, I still get a sense that not a lot of work has been accomplished to date. Again, it’s all about high-level work. The fact is we all came into this Assembly in the context of gangbusters saying we want to do government better, we want to do it more efficiently, we want to make a difference. Mr. Speaker, my fear is that this work is going to be done so slowly and it’s going to be so protracted from our day-to-day work that it won’t get implemented in this term. When can we actually see clear, defined elements of recommendations for our opinion to be able to implement them in a timely way? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

Mr. Speaker, that’s like suggesting to somebody go ahead, back up. Sometimes you get confusing signals. We are hard at work on this. One of the challenges for the Refocusing Government committee -- and I don’t think anybody will differ on this -- one of the big challenges, especially over the last six weeks, is actually finding enough time to be able to do justice

to all the work that’s being done. We’ve booked some meetings now coming into April to have a full half-day to look at the program review, to look at some other issues that we’re also tasked with, with housing and with board reform and those types of things. As I indicated to the Member, we’d be more than willing to sit down and come and brief committee with the work we have to date, get feedback, get some suggestions if there are concerns about where we are going and the work that’s underway or areas that folks may think that we’ve overlooked. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

Although I can emotionally accept his offer to brief committee, I’ll have to leave that up to our committee chair and, obviously, our committee staff to accept that formally. Mr. Speaker, it’s the detail. Like everyone says, the devil is in the detail, and I want to make sure that that detailed review doesn’t go past us in such a high level that we miss it. The fact is, I don’t want it to miss the next set of business plans that are, I hate to say it, already being worked on, that are coming forward in the summer for finance review that will be offered to Members in the fall. Mr. Speaker, I just want to make sure that that detail is provided. If I could get that clearly emphasized, and I’m sorry, once again, but the clear detail that emphasizes what specific areas in education and health you will be reviewing to make sure that we’re on the same page and we’re all going forward on this concerted effort together. Thank you.

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

Mr. Speaker, I’ll commit to ensure that we’re on the same plane that’s going over at 10,000 feet; that we’re in the same vehicle that’s on the ground as we go through the terrain that’s before us; that we’re sitting in the same room as we develop business plans; and that we sit in this same Legislature to provide direction to government. We have every intention of bringing forward all that work and we are aiming fully to be able to lay out that and all the other work so that it can be considered for business plans. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement I talked about the need to address senior citizens’ home repair in Tu Nedhe. Mr. Speaker, I have questions for the Minister of Housing. Can the Minister agree to signing a contribution agreement with the communities of Lutselk’e and Deninu Kue for the repair of the

homes of the seniors in that riding? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation, Mr. Michael McLeod.