This is page numbers 4627 - 4656 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 communities.

Topics

The House met at 1:37 p.m.

---Prayer

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Good afternoon, colleagues. Welcome back to the Chamber. Orders of the day. Item 2, Ministers’ statements. The honourable Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Robert McLeod.

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to extend best wishes to the 350 athletes, coaches and managers of Team NWT as well as the officials that will participate in the 2010 Arctic Winter Games taking place in Grande Prairie, Alberta, this March.

Young people from across the Northwest Territories have been preparing themselves physically and mentally for this biannual multisport games event. They have been spending many extra hours on the ice, in the gym, and on the trails readying themselves to compete against young athletes from around the circumpolar world and to display their talents to the many thousands of spectators.

While only some will come home with medals, all will return with new friendships and an experience that will last a lifetime. I wish to commend our young athletes who have set a goal to challenge themselves by being the very best that they can be at the games.

Mr. Speaker, as these athletes and cultural performers complete final preparations, I feel it is important that we acknowledge the monumental contributions that volunteers and parents make to support our youth.

Without the coaches, managers, referees, scorekeepers and the thousands of others who give freely of their time, there would be no Team NWT. These volunteers are the backbone of Team NWT and are deserving of a heartfelt thank you.

I would also like to thank community governments, who support their youth in so many ways by hosting selection and training events, and our sport and recreation partners who contribute tirelessly to the success of this event. These partners provide guidance and support, and organize the many selection events across the NWT that results in the final selection of Team NWT.

Mr. Speaker, as Team NWT completes final preparations before the opening ceremonies on March 6th , I wish to encourage our young athletes

to continue to work hard to achieve their dreams. Congratulations to all and good luck. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister responsible for the Status of Women, Ms. Lee.

Sandy Lee

Sandy Lee Minister Responsible for the Status of Women

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to announce that the Status of Women Council has named the recipients of the 2010 Wise Women Awards.

This is a prestigious award. The Status of Women Council of the NWT has been honouring northern women since 1992 for their wisdom, strength and accomplishments and particularly in working to make our communities better and stronger for all.

Mr. Speaker, these women are all known for their ability to stand with dignity no matter what hardships life has handed them.

They are known for fighting for the disadvantaged and downtrodden. They are known for thinking of others and offering a helping hand. They don’t take no for an answer, as many of my colleagues here can attest to. And, most importantly, they know how to laugh.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to announce the recipients of the Wise Women Awards of the NWT for 2010:

Sister Faye Tremblay for the Beaufort-Delta region. Sister Tremblay arrived in Tuktoyaktuk in October 2005 and took the community by storm with her wisdom, energy and commitment to people of all ages and abilities.

---Applause

Gina Dolphus of Deline from the Sahtu region. Gina is known as a counsellor, community advocate, and her work to enhance the place of traditional arts and crafts. She is often sought out for her input and wisdom.

---Applause

Lyda Fuller of Yellowknife for the North Slave region. Lyda has expanded the understanding of the cost of family violence to our society, expanded shelter services and developed transition housing for families starting over.

---Applause

Elaine Lamalice of the Hay River Reserve for the Deh Cho region. Elaine offers counselling and teachings on healthy living and encouraging young people to move away from making bad choices.

---Applause

Rosa Lafferty of Fort Resolution for the South Slave region. Rosa is admired for her kindness, that she lives by example and encourages young women to keep their tradition and culture and for her world-renowned sewing. She shows young women that you can do it all.

---Applause

Mr. Speaker, the ceremony presentation will be taking place at noon in the Great Hall on Monday, March 8, 2010. I would ask the Members of this House to join us in congratulating the recipients of the 2010 Wise Women Awards at this celebration on Monday. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Item 3, Members’ statements. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Norman Yakeleya

Norman Yakeleya Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Over the last couple of decades many programs that were once provided by the NWT have been turned over to non-government organizations to deliver, known as NGOs. NGOs would also offer additional programs. These programs are vital as they improve the quality of life for people in the North. Many are programs that provide social services. For example, in the NWT our family assistance and counselling, emergency and transitional housing for homeless families, shelters for women and children, services for adults with disabilities and mental health issues and quite a few other programs.

Mr. Speaker, about $20 million is provided to NGOs. A recent government list indicates there are

472 NGOs in the Northwest Territories. Yellowknife alone has 291 NGOs, Mr. Speaker. Yellowknife has as many NGOs as Colville Lake has people. To put it in perspective, that means every YK NGO can advocate for every member of Colville Lake and then some. Not only do these NGOs deliver programs, they have goals and objectives to help people in need and to advocate for people.

Saying this indicates that there are no NGOs in the Sahtu, Mr. Speaker. None. Zero. Nothing. Why doesn’t the Sahtu have its own NGOs? It’s because our people aren’t used to the concept of NGOs or that NGOs aren’t treated the same as government programs. More specifically, our communities are too small that there aren’t enough people set up as registered societies let alone prepare proposals, maintain financial records and complete all the other related tasks.

NGOs choose to locate in larger centres where there’s enough people to sit on the boards, do administrative work and to deliver the programs, plus create a service that helps all people in the Northwest Territories.

The Sahtu may get some services through the NWT-based NGOs, but it’s always that my constituents are losing out on a lot of social support and assistance, because no money enters into the Sahtu through the local NGOs. I believe it’s unfair, Mr. Speaker, and that the Sahtu residents should receive a share of funding that goes to these programs and services. We don’t have an NGO to help with the homeless or to support families in crisis or in shelters. This has to change and the change must happen now, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

International Women’s Day
Members’ Statements

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This Monday coming, March 8th , is International

Women’s Day. The Canadian theme for 2010 International Women’s Day is Strong Women, Strong Canada, Strong World; an apt phrase, I think. This Territory, this country, this world has been shaped by strong women and I would like to highlight a few.

First off, as we are hard on the heels of the 2010 Winter Olympics I have to mention the very strong women athletes of Team Canada who garnered so many medals for us in our record-setting total.

Canada has had, and still has, many strong, political women. I want to mention a few:

Agnes McPhail was a pioneer on the federal political scene. The first elected woman to the House of Commons. That was in 1921, only two years after women gained the right to vote federally. She was not joined by another

woman in the House of Commons until Martha Black in 1935.

Ellen Fairclough was the first woman appointed to sit in a federal Cabinet in 1957.

Jeanne Sauve was elected as the first female Speaker of the House of Commons in 1980 and then appointed as the first female Governor General in 1984.

Hazel “Hurricane” McCallion, the current long-serving female mayor of Mississauga, Ontario, first elected to her post in 1978.

The NWT has many strong women of our own:

Lena Pedersen, first woman elected to the

NWT Legislature in 1970.

Nellie Cournoyea, the first woman Premier of the NWT in 1991.

Ethel Blondin-Andrew, NWT’s long-serving first female Member of Parliament.

There are many, many more strong women in our Territory who are little known and who don’t ask to be known. They are the backbone of our families and our communities. They are our grandmothers and our mothers. They are the volunteers at our schools and community events. They are the caregivers for our residents and our children, the organizers of fundraisers to help a needy family, the leaders of our councils and our boards, and the elders that we look to for advice and wisdom. We don’t acknowledge them because they go about doing normal things and they don’t ask for recognition, but without their contributions our society would be sadly lacking in strength and character.

On Monday, as you’ve heard, the NWT Status of Women Council will honour five strong women at the 2010 Wise Women Awards. I wish to extend my congratulations to Frame Lake resident Lyda Fuller, this year’s recipient of the North Slave award.

International Women’s Day
Members’ Statements

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.

Mackenzie Gas Project
Members’ Statements

Jackie Jacobson

Jackie Jacobson Nunakput

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I want to talk about the Mackenzie Gas Project and to be on the record again to say that I support it. The Mackenzie Gas Project has been called the economic lifeline for many of our communities in the NWT.

This project is important for the people of my riding of Nunakput. It will bring jobs, business opportunities, ownership of the pipeline. Just as important, exploration will start up and the gas will have to make its way down to market. The good thing about that is the offshore holds amazing

potential. We just needed the industry to come back and get started exploring in our region.

Exploration is important. It provides jobs and gives our businesses opportunities that are scarce now. My people have been a part of the oil and gas exploration business for generations.

Right now the people need hope. My people are facing high levels of unemployment and suffering from poverty. My people hope the future gets them out of this cycle. The future includes their children getting training and taking advantage of employment opportunities from the Mackenzie Gas Project. It’s a key part of making this hope move into reality.

Another thing I wanted to mention is the natural gas is a clean fuel. The Mackenzie Gas Pipeline will bring a clean, natural gas to the South, which will allow people to burn natural gas in their homes instead of dirty fuels like coal. That keeps electricity plants going.

We see the impacts of climate change here in the North every day. One of the solutions is getting southern Canada and the United States off their dependence on coal and getting them turned on to natural gas.

I fear that these are critical times. I urge the federal government and the proponents to come to a solution when it comes to the pipeline. A pipeline is a good thing for Canada. We have heard many times in the House of the pipeline that will bring Ontario and Alberta economic benefits. The federal government should see this pipeline as Canada’s pipeline and not just ours.

I’m worried that the pipeline is taking as long as it is to get to where we are today. I urge all parties to work together and to get things moving. My people are relying on them. Quyanainni.

Mackenzie Gas Project
Members’ Statements

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

Service Level Standards
Members’ Statements

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As Members we are often busy lobbying for more programs and services and certainly more facilities for our constituents and ridings. As we all have become well aware that our job, number one, is to make sure that our constituents’ issues are brought forward, and our roles as MLAs make this very important as we try to demonstrate the needs in our ridings.

Every community, I believe, needs to be treated fairly. Therefore, I want to use my Member’s statement today to talk about the importance of community and regional standards. By that I mean standards that provide direction regarding decisions

that make certain facility levels and service levels provided in any community and certainly regions. For instance, the NWT school capital standards and criteria offers direction that when a new school needs to be built in a community, it provides standards that help people understand and certainly follow the transparency of what that means. If there’s a school that needs to be built, whether the school is unsafe or a community is larger than 100 people, that tells everyone there needs to be a school. We also know that the challenge of providing renovations to a school is usually balanced by the cost of repairs versus the new school, and certainly the future demands of that school as perhaps a learning facility needs to definitely be taken into consideration. There are many considerations, as I’m trying to stress, but the fact is we need a formula that helps improve the way our services are provided to our communities.

Mr. Speaker, I could go on about could we provide every service to every community or region, but we all know that’s certainly impossible. But we always have to ask ourselves is it cheaper to offer them in a regional centre or is it more reasonable to offer them in a regional centre than it is to always pull them into Yellowknife, and vice versa. Sometimes it’s just more reasonable to bring them here.

So, Mr. Speaker, there are a lot of standards we need to weigh and balance: the human standard, what it does to the family, and certainly the cost standard, what it does to our books. Mr. Speaker, I’m calling for a provision that the government will demonstrate fairness and clarity of services to the people of the Northwest Territories and have a policy that makes sure that these factors are always clearly considered. I’d like the government to demonstrate this in a transparent and measurable way so all standards are understood so every region understands that maybe the next community centre, next pool, next arena or health centre, when it comes around, it could be their turn and certainly when they deserve it. It won’t take the politics out of the system, Mr. Speaker, but it will certainly maybe even help the fight that many Members here fight for when they demand services to be provided in the communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Service Level Standards
Members’ Statements

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Jane Groenewegen

Jane Groenewegen Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I’d like to talk a little bit about consensus government. I’m not going to do justice to this very, very big topic in two and a half minutes, Mr. Speaker, but coming up on 15 years working in consensus government, Mr. Speaker, I am starting to not think that this is the best way to govern our

Territory. I don’t want to be particularly critical of anybody or anything, it is the system in which we work, but, Mr. Speaker, there are some downfalls.

Mr. Speaker, the consensus government purports to have significant cooperation between all Members. We come here as 19 Members all independently elected to serve in this House, and then consensus government dictates that we should all get along and work together. In a perfect world maybe that would happen. But, Mr. Speaker, the fact of the matter is that we all come from diverse backgrounds, we have different ideas about what the priorities of the government should be, and then we get into the system and we choose our Cabinet and our Premier.

Mr. Speaker, in that system there’s a significant gap between that leadership we put in place for four years and the public and the electorate, the people who put us here. I think that is one of the downfalls of consensus government and it’s one of the advantages of party politics.

Mr. Speaker, party politics they say is too adversarial. Well, I think anybody that’s been watching the 16th Assembly would say that perhaps

consensus government is not the most congenial way of getting business done either. So that’s one of the arguments against party politics.

Mr. Speaker, people who really purport to support consensus government say, “but it’s a great system because we get to see everything in advance. They tell us all the details behind closed doors in advance, in secret.” Well, what good does that do us if we can’t go out and talk to our constituents about it?

Me, personally, I want to tell you, the valuable debate that goes on on that stuff goes on behind closed doors, and by the time it ever makes it onto the floor of this House, everybody’s kind of worn out of talking about it. So, Mr. Speaker, I’m not so sure that getting information in advance is a great thing. I’d rather see something, put it on the table, and then let’s have a meaningful discussion, dialogue and debate and then let’s take a vote on it.

Mr. Speaker, I have often said this, I don’t like going over things two or three times. It’s a waste of time. Like I said -- I only have a few seconds left here, but, Mr. Speaker -- I think that there are other opportunities for governing this Territory that should and could be, and need to be looked at at this time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

Deh Cho Bridge Project
Members’ Statements

David Ramsay

David Ramsay Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I’m going to again discuss the Deh Cho Bridge Project.

I’d like to thank the government for providing the technical briefing to the media yesterday, although I still don’t understand why it had to be held downtown in a boardroom when we have a dedicated meeting room here at the Legislature, and it should have been held with the Minister of Transportation and the Minister of Finance there to answer questions.

Mr. Speaker, this was a technical briefing introducing some new members of the project management team to the media. The briefing lacked any clear and concise financial details for the media and, ultimately, the public to see.

Mr. Speaker, the fact is that a contract was signed with Ruskin yesterday to complete the project. Why, then, can’t the government come clean to the public about the current financial disposition of this project and the impact this project has had and will continue to have on the finances of this Territory, not just today, Mr. Speaker, but well into the future? This is a very key issue, Mr. Speaker. Germane to all of this is whether or not the entire $165.5 million borrowed against the project will be entirely on the Government of the Northwest Territories’ books. If this happens, Mr. Speaker, it is a nightmare scenario for this government. Beginning next year we’ll need to cut expenditures, reduce infrastructure spending and our ability to look at new or strategic initiatives will be greatly curtailed.

Mr. Speaker, I will not and cannot divulge the contents of briefings Regular Members have had on this project and I appreciate the confidential nature of these efforts, but I’m having a difficult time understanding why some of the information presented was not given to Regular Members in hard copy. What happened to open and transparent government, Mr. Speaker, and when will the public know about the financial status of this project?

Mr. Speaker, it is best practice and an industry standard that when a general contractor is removed, as well as a project management team, a full audit is done of the project. How can you move forward with any financial certainty when you don’t know where you’ve been?

Our Department of Transportation and the new management team have inherited a project that has been mired with problems from the onset. This audit should have been conducted. The Deh Cho Bridge Corporation’s records and books should be audited. This before any contract is signed or entered into. But, Mr. Speaker, as we know, it’s too late to do that right now. We are pressing forward, we have negotiated a one-sided deal with one company.

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

---Unanimous consent granted.

Deh Cho Bridge Project
Members’ Statements

David Ramsay

David Ramsay Kam Lake

We’re pressing forward, we have negotiated a one-sided deal with one company. Again, the public purse is not being protected here. Mark my words, we have set ourselves up for further cost overruns on this project by not tying off all of the loose ends. Taxpayers will again be taken for another ride on the second half of this project. We have set the stage, Mr. Speaker, for it to be a very expensive ride.

Mr. Speaker, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again today, that this project has the possibility of crippling the Territory’s finances. Mr. Speaker, this is the sad reality we are faced with and I’ll have questions for the Minister of Finance at the appropriate time. Thank you.

Deh Cho Bridge Project
Members’ Statements

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

2010 Arctic Winter Games
Members’ Statements

March 3rd, 2010

Kevin A. Menicoche

Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh

Mr. Speaker...[English translation not provided.]

Following up on the MACA Minister, I, too, will talk about the Arctic Winter Games.

Watching the Vancouver Winter Olympics, Canadians had the pleasure of cheering their athletes on to glory. Next week many of our young NWT athletes will be participating in the 21st Arctic

Winter Games in Grande Prairie, Alberta. They will be competing with eight other teams, four Canadian and four northern international teams. Given the Canadian success at the Olympics, I think all athletes will be pumped, I predict lots of fun, lots of personal bests and lots of medals.

I want to recognize the athletes from Nahendeh who will be attending the Arctic Winter Games. Not only am I pleased to see what a bumper crop of athletes we have going from Nahendeh, but they are participating in a wide range of events. Twelve youth will be attending representing nine different sports:

Carson Mantla, junior male category, Dene

Games;

Charlene Deneyoua, Junior Female Snowshoeing;

Michael Gast, Midget Male Cross-Country

Skiing;

Blair Kotchea, Junior Female Biathlon

Snowshoe event;

Madison Pilling, Juvenile Female Speedskating;

Thomas Roche, Junior Male Basketball;

Napem Moses, Junior Male Snowboarding;

Sydney Rowe, Junior Female Hockey.

The team with the most representation from Nahendeh is the Intermediate Female Soccer Team. There are three members: Amanda Bradbury, Jacqueline Thompson and, last but not least, Nicole Cholette-Antoine.

I don’t know if Arctic Winter Games mittens will be a best seller or not, but I would like to take this opportunity to wish the very best of luck to these young people from Nahendeh and to all NWT athletes in their sports. Also, a special greeting to the coaches, parents and volunteers who will be there. Don’t forget to take in the entertainment and cultural events.

Once again, good luck and have fun. Cheer each other on. Previous cheers at Arctic Winter Games have always been NWT, NWT, NWT! Mahsi cho.

2010 Arctic Winter Games
Members’ Statements

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As politicians we all must be impeccable with our words. Our residents listen closely to what we say and make personal and professional decisions based on what they hear in this House and statements quoted in the press. This is especially true for Ministers. When a Minister or one of his or her staff makes a statement to people of the Northwest Territories, those people take those statements at face value. As a result, there is significant value in thinking about the statement and understanding the ramifications of the words before making them public.

Unfortunately, from time to time incorrect statements are made by Ministers and/or their representatives, statements which only residents rely on in good faith and make decisions which ultimately hurt them, decisions they wouldn’t have made had they not received incorrect information from the GNWT. When people rely on incorrect statements from Ministers or their staff to their detriment, that Minister and department have a responsibility to work with that resident to mitigate the damage as much as possible.

Precedent has already been set. There was a significant flood in Hay River during the 2007-2008 fiscal year. After the flood a representative from MACA met with affected residents and provided them with some incorrect information indicating that many of them would be covered for flood repairs. These individuals relied on this incorrect information and made the repairs believing they would be reimbursed. Afterward they were told by MACA that they would not, in compliance with their

policies and procedures, be reimbursed as originally promised.

Fortunately, the new appointed Minister of MACA, R.C. McLeod, recognized that these individuals relied on this information to their detriment, showed some common sense and compassion, and arranged for the promised reimbursements. This was the right thing to do and I imagine that MACA will be very clear on policy direction to residents in this area in the future.

Recently a similar situation has occurred. During a barren-ground caribou meeting on December 18, 2008, a senior ENR official informed attendees that their access to tags -- 750 in total -- would not change for the 2009 or the 2010 hunting seasons. These outfitters relied on this information and proceeded to book hunts for the 2010 season. Then the Minister put in the emergency measures cutting them off completely. As a result, outfitters who relied on the department’s information and commitments are facing significant financial challenges as a result of returning deposits which had already been spent as part of doing normal business. They would not have booked these hunts had ENR not indicated...

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Mr. Abernethy, your time for your Member’s statement has expired.

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

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

---Unanimous consent granted.