This is page numbers 4889 - 4926 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 million.

Topics

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Wrigley Water Tanks
Members’ Statements

Kevin A. Menicoche

Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. [English translation not provided.]

In this month’s edition of The Native Journal there’s a news brief about investment of $7 million by DIAND in the Atlantic region. Almost half of this funding is being directed to water and wastewater projects in First Nation communities. Funded projects include water and sewer lot development, water and wastewater improvements, and water tank maintenance. All across Canada there are issues and challenges related to water and wastewater management. There are also problems in the Northwest Territories.

Presently the health inspector is checking Wrigley’s water tanks in the homes to determine their safety, and residents have also asked the doctor in Fort Simpson to do some tests. The people in Wrigley have experienced problems with their water tanks. The water in Wrigley is very hard and this leads to scale forming and building up on the inside of water pipes. This, in turn, leads to clogged water pipes that block the water tank flow. Eventually the pipes are clogged and these tanks and pipes must be replaced.

Many homeowners cannot afford to replace their water tanks. If there are arrears with the Housing Corporation with payments, they cannot access funds from any of our housing programs.

Clean water is a health issue. There are cases where DIAND had provided funding for tank replacement. I believe that this government, either through the Housing Corporation or Health and Social Services, should provide program funding to residents of Wrigley to maintain and replace water tanks. In this way the most basic necessity of healthy, clean water, will be available to them.

Wrigley Water Tanks
Members’ Statements

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

Green Energy Initiatives
Members’ Statements

Jane Groenewegen

Jane Groenewegen Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Not by collusion, I want to speak to the electricity rate review and the good news. Minister Bob McLeod was down to Hay River on the weekend and spoke to the NWT Association of Communities, and the news about the power rates was well received and the people are looking forward very much to those next couple of years of some relief on their power bills.

We need to view that two years as a window of opportunity to get very serious with that substantial amount of money that we have set aside as a government to consider green energy initiatives. One of those is the whole idea of biomass. I’m happy and proud of the government that they have been moving toward pellet boilers in some of the capital infrastructure in the South Slave and even here in Yellowknife. We only have this money set aside for a certain amount of time and we need to make sure it is well used.

I have characterized this temporary offset that will help with the cost of living over the next two years as just a time in which we need to take that $60 million and literally do an end run on some of the things that are costing the people of the Northwest Territories so much in our communities. That is in the area of energy.

We have an opportunity with the vegetation and inventory of trees in the Northwest Territories to create a pellet mill here to make pellets. We have a transportation infrastructure in Hay River to even ship those pellets down the Mackenzie River to other communities. The inventories are there. The capital, I believe, is there and the money that we’ve set aside. And we need to find a proponent, maybe an operator, we need to find a location. Might I suggest it should be Hay River? We have people there who are already very experienced in the sawmill business. The product that would be turned into pellets could be a by-product of the harvesting that would be done and the loggable, sizable trees that could be turned into lumber.

We have a great opportunity before us, but I would like the energy and heat created from the $60 million to be more than the BTU created by the burning up of the many studies that we could waste it on.

Green Energy Initiatives
Members’ Statements

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Colleagues, before I proceed with the orders of the day I’d like to draw your attention to the visitor’s gallery and to the presence of Mr. Bruce McLaughlin, former Member of this House and representative from the riding of Pine Point.

Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

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

David Ramsay

David Ramsay Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize, as well, Mr. Bruce McLaughlin, former Minister, former Member of the House.

As well in the gallery today is Ed SchlemKo, director of flight operations for Airco from Edmonton, Mary Anne Stanway, who is with the Kingsway Business Association in Edmonton, and Dr. Joseph Fernando, aviation medicine specialist.

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

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. If we’ve missed anyone in the gallery today, welcome to the Chamber. I hope you’re enjoying the proceedings. It’s always nice to have an audience in here.

Item 6, acknowledgements. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.

Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 6-16(5):

BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION CERTIFICATE AWARDED TO KAREN HORN

Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the accomplishment of Frame Lake constituent Ms. Karen Horn. Ms. Horn is employed by Aurora College and she has been a stalwart at the Yellowknife Campus for many years now. She recently completed the first step towards a bachelor degree in Business Administration. At the YK Campus graduation held May 1st, Karen was one of the graduates receiving her Business Administration Certificate. I offer my congratulations and wish her every success as she continues her education journey.

Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

David Krutko

David Krutko Mackenzie Delta

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are directed to the Minister of the Housing Corporation. In the last session there was a document tabled regarding the housing needs in the Northwest Territories. It showed that we are not meeting the needs of the residents of the Northwest Territories. If anything, things are getting worse. I think it’s important to realize that, as a corporation whose responsibility it is to deliver social housing in the Northwest Territories and to ensure that we’re able to bring down the needs of our residents and meet the challenges that we are facing.

One of the biggest challenges we’re facing, as I stated, in our term in the area of Fort Wrigley was a problem they are facing with overcrowding and mould in a lot of their residences. This is a problem not only to the health effects of the residents but also to the social effects of overcrowding.

One of the things that I’ve also mentioned in my statement was the number of houses that are sitting empty and boarded up, not being used. I think we have to do everything that we can to fill those residences. We’re hearing problems with staffing challenges with regard to staff housing. I know they’ve found a solution for Fort Resolution and hopefully they can implement that solution in other communities.

People in our communities are paying over $2,000 a month for rent in a social housing unit. Why aren’t those people qualified for lease units in those communities so they can occupy them so they are not left empty? Why is that the case?

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Robert McLeod.

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Housing Needs Survey that was recently completed does show that the needs have gone up, and I’ve said in this House before that our capital budget for the 2011-2012 fiscal year will use the Housing Needs Survey to determine where we allocate a lot of our capital projects.

We do have a lot of units that are vacant right now. I think at last count we had 224 across the Northwest Territories and 130 of them are under repair. We did have quite a significant investment from the federal government as far as the Housing Fund goes, so we have 130 under repair and we have some that are up for sale and some that are slated for demolition. So we are trying very hard to address the needs in the community and the Housing Needs Survey will go a long way in determining how we allocate our money.

David Krutko

David Krutko Mackenzie Delta

Again, I believe one of the challenges we’re facing is dealing with the applications for these units and the length of time it’s taking to get people into these units. I’d like to ask the Minister, in light of the solution he found for Fort Resolution with regard to professional housing development where they put teachers into public housing, is that something we can look at for other communities? Can we look at the clients in social housing who are paying over $2,000 a month? Can we get them into a mortgage program, get them into these housing units so that these units are being occupied?

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

That is our goal. This was a gap in the housing programs that I’ve referred to in the past. We do have some people that are in the public housing system that are paying fairly significant rent. It is our desire to get them in. We have some options that we’re exploring for that right now. It is something that’s out there.

As far as the housing for staff goes, we have had real good uptake from a lot of the community groups that are looking at providing housing for staff. There is an incentive that we provide to them if they want to see that come about. They would be the ones that would be the landlord and they would be providing the housing for staff. I think we have about 64 units across the Northwest Territories that have been identified by these community groups as possible housing for staff.

David Krutko

David Krutko Mackenzie Delta

I’d like to ask the Minister if it’s possible for his department to come forward with quarterly reporting to this House regarding the vacancies of these units, where they are, and what efforts are being made to fill out those vacancies so that we have houses in the communities that are being occupied.

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

I can commit to the Member and the Members of this House that I’ll provide some statistics every three or four months as to the status of the vacant units.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

David Krutko

David Krutko Mackenzie Delta

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d also like to ask the Minister regarding the Housing Needs Survey that was completed, if the Minister can also report back to this House on exactly what action is going to be taken by the department in light of the report on housing needs showing that we do have a major problem in the Northwest Territories with housing.

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

I will commit to providing regular updates on our plans to deal with the Housing Needs Survey. We do have a couple of things that we’re working on right now. The investment that’s being made on housing repairs I think will bring the core need down, because adequacy is one of the conditions of the needs survey. I’ll make a commitment to the Members that I’ll provide regular updates on how we’re addressing the needs survey.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

David Ramsay

David Ramsay Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have questions today for the Minister of Health and Social Services going back to my Member’s statement where I talked about a thousand medevac or ambulance flights that originate in the Northwest Territories that head for Edmonton and use the City Centre Airport in Edmonton, Alberta. There’s talk now of closure of that airport and I’m wondering if the Minister of Health could let us know what the closure of the City Centre Airport in Edmonton will mean to our health care expenditures here in the Northwest Territories.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

Sandy Lee

Sandy Lee Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is not a new issue to us. There have been two referendums passed by the people of the municipality of Edmonton going back to 2007. The final report was in 2009. So the department has been working very closely with those involved on the ground to make sure that our medical transportation issues are taken care of. I think we’re fortunate that we have somebody within the department who is very familiar with the workings of the Alberta government as well as the municipality of Edmonton. We are deeply involved in making sure that the needs of the NWT with regard to transferring our patients are taken care of.

David Ramsay

David Ramsay Kam Lake

The patients will be looked after once they arrive in Edmonton, that’s not the case. The case is with the City Centre Airport closing down. The international airport, as everybody knows, is about a 40-minute ride into the city of Edmonton, and if you require STARS air escort into a major hospital in Edmonton, that’s 30 minutes and at a cost of $2,500.

The Minister didn’t answer my question. What is it going to cost the Department of Health and Social Services should the City Centre Airport close in Edmonton? I’m talking about ground ambulance and STARS service into a major hospital in Edmonton. Thank you.