This is page numbers 5399 - 5430 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 northwest.

Topics

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

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

---Unanimous consent granted

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

I have a suggestion for the Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment. I recognize that red tape is not the creation of the Northwest Territories and that local, community and city governments, as well as the federal government, also contribute to the load.

However, as the territorial government, we have the ability to contribute to solutions to help reduce the overall red-tape load. During question period today I will be asking the Minister to consider working with organizations such as the NWT Chamber of Commerce and NABA to conduct research on red-tape burns on our local businesses, have them help us identify the overall burden and make recommendations which the GNWT can action to begin the process of reducing the burn.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I want to talk about the government and how they can support a very important part of our northern business economy, that being our NWT artists. By way of fact, approximately 18 percent of the NWT population considers themselves an artist in one form or another. That’s almost one in five, which is an amazing population in our Territory. That could be your friends, your neighbours or whoever, but when you look around, one in five is a lot of people who consider themselves in a special area.

These artists are involved in carving, sewing, needlecraft, drawing, painting, creation of jewellery, visual arts, literary arts and publishing, performing arts, photography, film and video production. It’s a big list not to be considered as important.

Sadly, there are not very many of these people that we call artists that can make a full-time living through their skills and talents. Of all these people, they certainly make a serious and considerable contribution to the richness of the North and certainly our economy.

Last summer the Government of Saskatchewan enacted a law called the Arts Professions Act, which protects the intellectual property of artists and supports the development of properly prepared contracts. That law includes a definition of a professional artist and commits the Saskatchewan government to develop a cultural policy framework and action plan.

With Northerners and Southerners alike always raving about northern arts and culture, be it traditional or even modern art as I’ve made note of earlier, it is time that this government trade its lip service by providing a backstop by protecting and enshrining what artists mean in the Northwest Territories by recognizing them, supporting them, and protecting their works.

I believe with legislation similar to the Saskatchewan Arts Professions Act it is something that the GNWT in partnership with our northern

artists should consider. If the artist community thinks it’s important enough and similarly needed in the NWT, a lot could be benefitted here. I believe this is something that the government should take seriously and work towards.

As I’ve often said, business may be known as the engine of our economy, however, arts and culture will definitely always be known as the soul of our economy. Let’s tap in to our one-in-five artists in our Territory who definitely make a considerable difference in our day-to-day lives.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

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

Norman Yakeleya

Norman Yakeleya Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It gives me great pleasure to recognize an elder from the Sahtu and advisor to me, Mr. Andrew John Kenny.

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

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Item 6, acknowledgements. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Kevin A. Menicoche

Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement I spoke about the sawmill operations being relocated in Jean Marie River. I would like to ask, I believe it’s the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources some questions on it. In the springtime they had First Nations funding from the federal government to relocate the sawmill. They’ve only completed half the job. I’d like to ask the Minister, at what stage has their department been assisting the community in relocating the sawmill.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Minister responsible for Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Environment and Natural Resources has been working with the community. As the Member knows, Jean Marie River has indicated interest in biomass and we are hoping it would be the site of a pilot project that would take advantage of their location in the boreal forest and the work that they’ve done. They’ve been involved on this project, but I am not aware of the specific information that the Member has mentioned about the shortfall of the funding. Thank you.

Kevin A. Menicoche

Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh

The Minister may not have seen the proposal yet from the community, but what

type of programming would be available from Environment and Natural Resources to assist the sawmill operation like this and relocating them? Thank you.

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

Mr. Speaker, Environment and Natural Resources has the lead with the file as it pertains to the development of the Biomass Strategy and implementation across the North. We, as the government, have put $60 million over four years for alternative energy. One significant piece of that is dedicated towards biomass. There is funding available for different projects.

Once again, I’d have to check with the department and maybe talk to the Member and get some more detail, but there is a biomass plan, there is funding in place to assist with biomass projects. The question would have to be to see what flexibility is there. Thank you.

Kevin A. Menicoche

Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh

I’m pleased to see that there is some programming. Hopefully, what they would like to do will fit in the guidelines.

My next logical question is: Have all the programming dollars been taken up for this fiscal year? Is this an opportunity for the community of Jean Marie to relocate the rest of the equipment this coming winter? Thank you.

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

We’re breaking trail in a lot of different areas and as we’ve discovered with this whole initiative, we’re moving ahead in many places but there is often some slippage.

Once again, I will commit to the Member that I will look at what the proposal is -- I have yet to see it -- and then I’ll talk to the deputy minister and we’ll see what’s possible. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

Norman Yakeleya

Norman Yakeleya Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I spoke earlier about the elders and the passing of them. Mr. Speaker, I want to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services, I know it’s been a wish of the elders prior to them passing, that a lot of them want to stay in their own communities and be laid to rest there. However, sometimes that’s not possible. I want to ask the Minister, in terms of helping with the families with the elders’ wishes, what type of palliative care do they have in the Sahtu region in terms of helping with the elders and their last days in their communities.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

Sandy Lee

Sandy Lee Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Currently, the palliative care or support for elders or those who are suffering from other medical conditions in small communities are supported by local health staff and home care staff. Thank you.

Norman Yakeleya

Norman Yakeleya Sahtu

Mr. Speaker, the support that is there, sometimes it is not meeting the needs of these elders and their families. What can be done to increase the support so that families do have time to rest and take a break to take care of their families?

Right now we have six families, possibly, in Deline who are going to need support for the families. What can the Minister do and what can this government do in terms of supporting these families, in terms of the needs for these elders?

Sandy Lee

Sandy Lee Range Lake

Enhancing home care service and community support is one of the goals of the department. We appreciate that extra resources are needed to expand those services, but for now we deliver those services with the staff and resources we have in the communities. Thank you.

Norman Yakeleya

Norman Yakeleya Sahtu

Certainly we want to enhance the resources and the support in the communities and certainly that is one of our goals. However, I want to ask the Minister: When can we reach that goal? What is it that she needs us to do in terms of going into the communities in the Sahtu, going into Deline and saying we have these dollars, here, we are going to help these families in need?

Right now there are six families that do need palliative care support. Right now we are not meeting them and soon we’re going to have these families make some tough decisions as to sending their families into Inuvik or Yellowknife and that’s where they’re going to die. I want to ask the Minister what is she going to do to help these families in the Sahtu region.

Sandy Lee

Sandy Lee Range Lake

That’s the first time that I’ve heard of the six clients that the Member is mentioning. I will be happy to undertake to get those names and get information from the authority as to what work we are providing for them. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Your final supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Norman Yakeleya

Norman Yakeleya Sahtu

Mr. Speaker, I will certainly be happy to give those six names to the Minister. Also, there are other elders in the Sahtu who have already passed away and should have had support by this department to know that they can die an honourable death in their communities rather than come to Yellowknife and...(inaudible)...other facilities that passed away. This has put a lot of stress on the people in the Sahtu. I want to ask the Minister what is it that she needs to do to put extra support within her department, extra support within the communities to have palliative care support in

the communities right now. Right now, it’s not adequate. What does she need to do?

Sandy Lee

Sandy Lee Range Lake

For the immediate future, right now I need to get more information on the situation with the families and to talk with the authority to make sure that the resources needed are supported for those families. In the long-term and mid-term, the MLA knows that this is what we want to do more of. It’s part of our Foundation for Change action plan. We want to be able to change our system so that we strengthen our local and community delivery and find more resources so that we can support our elders, and chronically ill, and persons with disabilities in our local communities. Thank you.