This is page numbers 5293 - 5320 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 language.

Topics

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

NWT Tourism Outfitters
Members’ Statements

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. For many years the outfitting industry has been significant to our northern economy. It has represented a good balance between tourism and promotion, conservation, economic investment, business and certainly local employment. For decades lodges brought tourists to the North. That was new money to our territorial economy that helped diversify our economy and certainly employ people.

In a market like ours, there was great confidence, and businessmen, women and families alike met that confidence with investment and kept investing in their lodges and in the North.

Now things have changed. We’ve all heard about the mysterious disappearing caribou and the outfitters know the writing is on the wall. They see the realities before them and they do want to play a

part. But where is the government in their time of need?

Most outfitters feel they’ve been rolling out the proverbial red carpet for many years for our economy. Now in their time of need that carpet has been pulled out from underneath them by this government. Most of these people have no other option of where to go or what to do. Furthermore, the reality is these old warhorses of the outfitting industry are not an easy group to retool and say everything will be fine. Many have invested millions and now, without any customers at all, there are no options for those million dollar lodges. They all become worthless because of our new position with the lack of caribou. Where is the government in their support?

Some will say ecotourism is your new herald opportunity. The hard reality is very few people will pay $3,000, $4,000, $5,000, who knows how many thousands to go take a picture and smell some flowers. ENR said in the hearings that the outfitters were not responsible for the decline. Instead they were an asset, providing biologists samples, by only taking the bulls, and certainly being the eyes and ears on the Barrens. Yet the outfitters are suffering without government support.

We’re in a critical time for many of these people. Folks will say they should sit it out and wait, but the reality is they’ve poured every dollar they earned into their nest egg with the hopes that someday they could sell it as their retirement package. Those millions have turned into pennies, if at all. Surely they can’t wait. Most can’t start over in three to 10 years because that’s really what it takes to rebuild the economy after they can start again.

In closing, the late Jim Petersen said, “Outfitters are an endangered species.” I think he missed the mark only by a hair. They’ve become an extinct species.

NWT Tourism Outfitters
Members’ Statements

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

It gives me great pleasure today to recognize a constituent of mine. His Worship Mayor Kelly Schofield is in the gallery today. With him is the town manager from Hay River. I’d like to welcome you both to the Assembly.

The honourable Member for Monfwi, Mr. Lafferty.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. It gives me great pleasure to recognize an old colleague of mine as well, Mr. Harley Crowshoe. He’s the regional director for aboriginal policing from Edmonton, Alberta. Also Julie Day, policy analyst with aboriginal policing from Ottawa, Ontario. Both of these individuals are here as part of the federal aboriginal policing directorate and

participating in self-government meetings. Welcome to the Assembly.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Roland.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

Floyd Roland

Floyd Roland Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize a long-term resident, very busy and very active yet, Ms. Cece McCauley, who was recently elected as the president of the Norman Wells Land Corp. Also with her in the gallery are Larry Tourangeau and Margaret McDonald.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize Snookie Catholique, former resident of Lutselk’e.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

Jane Groenewegen

Jane Groenewegen Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would never argue with you, but I would also like to recognize my constituent Mayor Kelly Schofield and my constituent, town manager Terry Molenkamp.

Also today it’s a pleasure to welcome especially Cece McCauley. She’s not only the elected representative of their land corporation, she is the chief of the Women Warriors.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. If we’ve missed anyone in the gallery today, welcome to the House. I hope you’re enjoying the proceedings.

Item 6, acknowledgements. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I talked about the need to provide more funding for aboriginal programs in the Akaitcho. I have questions for the Minister responsible for aboriginal languages, the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Jackson Lafferty.

Does the Minister recognize that keeping the regional languages committee alive is a vital part of preserving the aboriginal languages?

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The regional languages committee and the committees play an important role in promoting and supporting the revitalization of our languages and enhancing our aboriginal languages. The

committee plays an important role in the development and implementation of strategic plans to meet our unique needs, circumstances and priorities of the respective languages. They will be part of the ongoing discussion when it comes to implementation of the strategy.

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe

I’d like to thank the Minister for that response. Mr. Speaker, does the Minister recognize that the sum of $17,000 funding allocated to each Akaitcho community is insufficient to do what the communities need to do with an aboriginal language program? Thank you.

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Mr. Speaker, the GNWT spends on an annual basis approximately $12 million on the aboriginal languages support, including $1.9 million received from federal funding.

I do recognize that we always need more resources and support to support the grassroots people in the communities. Those are the areas that we are working towards in improving those resources at the community level. Mahsi.

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe

Mr. Speaker, although the 10-year Akaitcho Aboriginal Languages Plan was fully implemented, they received less than 3.5 percent increase in funding over that 10-year span. This is not enough. Will the Minister commit to increasing the base funding for this program that’s run in Akaitcho? Thank you.

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Mr. Speaker, I am fully committed to seeking a way to, of course, provide increased support to the communities, especially in the aboriginal language communities. We are also looking very closely at our existing resources where we can improve in certain programming and increase our investment as well. Those are the areas that we are closely monitoring and with this strategy in place we want to make some changes, as well, on how we distribute funding as well. I will be having further discussion with our federal counterparts, as well, the federal Minister. This has been addressed through the provincial/territorial Ministers meeting, the importance and the uniqueness of language and culture preservation in the Northwest Territories. I will continue to stress that with them to increase funding, possibly. Mahsi.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Your final supplementary, Mr. Beaulieu.

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the past there was some funding for the communities that were used for training translators, interpreters and so on. Will the Minister commit to returning money to the communities for training for aboriginal languages by increasing the necessary core funding to support training in the communities as opposed to at more of a territorial level? Thank you.

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the Member for that particular

question, because I am very much in support of community-based training programs that take place close to the Members’ homes and also to the Northerners’. The communities have the best understanding of their core needs and the priorities of their communities. I am committed to having my department work closely with the community and work closely with the Member to make this an effective and successful training program. That is part of that package. That is part of the strategy. Mahsi.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

David Ramsay

David Ramsay Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions again today are for the Minister of Health and Social Services, getting back to my Member’s statement.

I talked earlier about the growing deficits at both Stanton authority and other authorities around the Territories. Mr. Speaker, around this country, other provinces and territories are taking quite seriously the growing cost to deliver and provide health care services to their residents, and I just do not see the determination or the effort being put forward by our government when it comes to addressing these ever-growing costs. In fact, the way we manage through that is to just simply bail out authorities to the tune of millions and millions of dollars on an annual basis. It’s just not a way that we should move this forward.

I’d like to ask the Minister, the first question I have is: How am I and the residents of this Territory supposed to believe that the government is actually doing something when it comes to the growing cost to deliver health care for the residents here in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.