This is page numbers 5095 - 5126 of the Hansard for the 16th Assembly, 5th 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

Floyd Roland

Floyd Roland Premier

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The work of this Legislative Assembly on an annual basis covers a large area that affects the poverty of the Northwest Territories in the sense of trying to eradicate it by those programs we have but not going down that path instead to the work that has begun. I committed to Members in this House that we would begin to do our work in Executive. There has been an internal working group established with them. The Executive supports the work and an advisory group of external stakeholders to help. They are looking at the work that has come through. Some of that was recently held. That will also be fed into this system to see what areas we could look at strengthening. Thank you.

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Mr. Speaker, thanks to the Premier. One of the other recommendations, a major recommendation from the summit was that any work done on eliminating poverty has to involve everyone -- NGOs that are providing services, local governments, social justice organizations -- not just the territorial government. If we hear as already mentioned and we do know that there has been a working group established, but that working group is composed of GNWT staff. The advisory group is made up of stakeholders. That basically contravenes the recommendation from the summit. I would like to ask the Premier if he is willing to change the format of the working group to not only involve GNWT staff but also involve key stakeholders involved in dealing with residents who are enduring poverty. Thank you.

Floyd Roland

Floyd Roland Premier

Mr. Speaker, as the work that is just getting underway, again, the internal

working group because it takes a number of departments who are in that delivery that will have to go to their departments if things are to change or if there is a requirement for enhanced resources. The external group is there to guide that work as it happens. That is a process we have established. If it clearly shows it is not working, then we would be prepared to look at what we can do as we go forward. Thank you.

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Mr. Speaker, I am somewhat dismayed by the Premier’s answer, because I think what the summit said was that we need to not just have the work done by GNWT people at the outset, that we need to involve everybody at the outset or else we are not going to get meaningful input or analysis of what we currently do.

As well, during the summit, in terms of the work that needed to be done, it was stated that we needed to start to work from the ground up, not look at what is existing but basically start with a clean slate, a zero-based review, so to speak. I would like to ask the Premier what kind of work is anticipated in terms of the working group, whether it is with or without the NGOs. I would hope it is with, but what kind of work is the government going to do? How do they intend to go about developing an Anti-Poverty Strategy? Will we start from what exists or will we use the blank slate approach? Thank you.

Floyd Roland

Floyd Roland Premier

Thank you. The process we’ve engaged in is one where we have to first measure where we are and what we have in place. At that point decisions can be made as to the approach of coming up with a strategy that will work for the NWT. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Your final supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have to say to the Premier’s offer to measure, absolutely we must measure where we are. Much of that work was done during the Anti-Poverty Summit and that work cannot proceed if we don’t involve everybody who is currently involved in anti-poverty actions, whether it be territorial government programs or non-government groups that are working to help people out in the trenches, so to speak.

So I guess I would like to ask the Premier again if he will reconsider this working group and reconsider expanding it to include the key stakeholders at the outset, not in an advisory capacity but in a working capacity. Thank you.

Floyd Roland

Floyd Roland Premier

Thank you. One of the things I’ve realized is that the bigger the group gets, the longer it takes the process and decisions. What I will say is that I’m prepared to discuss with the Executive to see how this working group can do its work along with the advisors on this and see how that can function, or how we can improve that relationship. But as the Member has stated, one, to

see something come forward in the lifetime of this Assembly and one of the things we have to realize is it’s one thing to establish a working group or come up with a strategy, it’s another thing that we have to come up and fund that and we have to make sure that we line up all of those as well. So I’m prepared to go back to the Executive and have a discussion about that process and how that work gets done. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

David Ramsay

David Ramsay Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ve got questions today for the Minister of Transportation. It gets back to my Member’s statement in regard to the Deh Cho Bridge and potential financial liability for the Government of the Northwest Territories with that project.

Back in the spring Members were talking to the Minister and the department about a construction audit that was to take place on the project. It was supposed to, at the time, take a couple of months to perform that construction audit. There hasn’t been any report come back through standing committee or to this House. So I’d like to ask the Minister what is the exact status of that construction audit and are there any potential financial liabilities in regard to that audit. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Minister responsible for Transportation, Mr. Michael McLeod.

Michael McLeod

Michael McLeod Deh Cho

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s good to see a Member consistent in these questions on the Deh Cho Bridge. The Deh Cho Bridge is proceeding very well. Over the summer months we’ve achieved our targets for the summer construction. The steel is en route and we’re expecting to start seeing the superstructure starting to be put up in the next little while.

As to the report that the Member is referencing, the draft is completed. We’re now doing a reconciliation with staff on it and we don’t anticipate there’s going to be any additional cost to the government. Thank you.

David Ramsay

David Ramsay Kam Lake

If the audit was to take two months and it’s taken six, I’m just wondering if that’s cost the government any additional money to have the construction audit finished. Thank you.

Michael McLeod

Michael McLeod Deh Cho

I don’t believe it has cost us any more. Thank you.

David Ramsay

David Ramsay Kam Lake

Can the Minister let us know exactly when the report will be coming through to standing committee and Members of the House on the construction audit? There was a number of

concerns regarding the scour rock in some of the structural components of pier 3 south and I’d just like to ask the Minister when that report might be coming through. Thank you.

Michael McLeod

Michael McLeod Deh Cho

We’ve committed to provide that information. We will provide the information to the Members as soon as the reconciliation of the audit is done. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

David Ramsay

David Ramsay Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will that information also be posted on the Department of Transportation’s website for the public to see? Thank you.

Michael McLeod

Michael McLeod Deh Cho

We will release the report once it’s finalized. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

David Krutko

David Krutko Mackenzie Delta

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In regard to my Member’s statement I noted that this process, yes, it has gone on for a while, but the whole intention of the devolution process came about because of the settlement of the Dene/Metis Land Claim in 1988, which spells out the provisions of the Northern Accord and how the Dene/Metis were going to be involved under the section of the Northern Accord, which is called the Aboriginal Rights section. In that section, Mr. Speaker, it clearly stipulates that the government has an obligation to ensure that those parameters of the land claim agreements are upheld.

So I’d like to ask the Minister when we talk about the majority of Members on board, I know in the past there were letters by way of Ron Irwin in regard to asking for a majority of the groups on side, and also in the previous government in regard to Mr. Handley’s government, that you had to have a majority of the Members on side. So I’d like to ask the Premier why are we now taking the position where we’re basically going with a simple minority and moving forward without having the majority of aboriginal groups on side. It seemed to be good enough. So what I’d like to know is why have you come to that conclusion?

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Premier, Mr. Roland.

Floyd Roland

Floyd Roland Premier

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the Member’s lead up to the question he talked about the comprehensive Dene/Metis claim that was concluded. Mr. Speaker, that was not concluded. It was a discussion that was going on, but that process then led to the regional claims process and those are in place and we continue to

work with those in implementation in fulfilling the agreements.

On the area of how many groups it takes to go forward, the draft AIP is in the hands of both the Government of Canada and ourselves, as well as a letter has been sent to the aboriginal organizations, and they have to the end of this month to decide how they will participate in this and we’re awaiting that outcome. Thank you.

David Krutko

David Krutko Mackenzie Delta

Again, under the land claim agreement it’s pretty clear that the Government of the Northwest Territories shall involve the Gwich’in in the development of an implementation of a Northern Accord for oil and gas development in the Northwest Territories, pursuant to a negotiation enabling agreement, September 5, 1988, between the Government of Canada and the Government of the Northwest Territories, which is the Northern Accord agreement. So I’d like to ask the Premier, are we sticking to the elements of the 1988 agreement in ensuring that we have the conclusion of those negotiations with the Aboriginal Rights section which clearly identifies that this includes land claim settlement agreements in regard to these agreements? Thank you.

Floyd Roland

Floyd Roland Premier

Throughout this whole process -- and the Member talked about this -- this has been ongoing for a number of Assemblies. In fact, as I stated, half of my lifetime we’ve talked about devolution and resource revenue sharing or the Northern Accord in trying to move those authorities to the North. So there has been inclusion at all levels in the Northwest Territories, including aboriginal leaders and negotiators at quite a number of tables. In fact, if you look, we work with the claims that are in place and that are protected and we continue to honour that protection. When you look at the Tlicho Agreement of Section 2.4.(1), you look at the Gwich’in Settlement of 3.1.(10) and the Sahtu of 3.1.(9) and the Inuvialuit have a similar provision in their Section 20.(1). So we use the existing claims as our processes in how we conduct ourselves in our discussions. Thank you.