Good afternoon, colleagues. Welcome back to the Chamber. Welcome to our guests in the gallery today.

---Applause

Orders of the day. Item 2, Ministers’ statements. The honourable Premier, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in February, this House passed a motion calling on the government to develop a comprehensive anti-poverty strategy for the Northwest Territories. This motion also noted the need to work with key stakeholders to develop a definition of poverty and to include measurable targets and mechanisms for cross-departmental coordination.

As Members know, addressing low income in the Northwest Territories is a complex matter that is linked to social, economic and cost of living conditions that exist in our communities.

Poverty strategy from jurisdictions in Canada often focus on activities that improve education and literacy, support people in finding employment and continue to improve access to child care and other factors that create barriers for individuals trying to improve their living conditions. The reality is that several of the strategic actions that have been advanced during this Assembly have been designed with similar objectives including strategic activities aimed at:

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improving skills for living and working;

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supporting economic diversification and

working to maximize benefits from development;

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expanding programming for children and youth;

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encouraging healthy choices and addressing addictions;

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taking steps to address factors that impact cost of living;

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undertaking activities to improve shelter; and

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ensuring support for families and individuals in need.

These actions build on many existing programs that are aimed to address low income and focus on the underlying causes of poverty. Our programs to support individuals in need are based on the Income Security Framework which emphasizes that programs should be designed to help ensure individuals in greatest need are able to meet their basic requirements for food, shelter and clothing and are in position to participate in community life.

Mr. Speaker, we are prepared to undertake the work required to develop an overarching discussion paper that would address issues of defining and measuring progress on poverty, summarize current programs and strategic direction related to reducing poverty and identify areas for further action.

This work cannot be done alone. We will establish an advisory committee with representatives from key stakeholder groups that will help guide this work. In addition, we will need to develop approaches for broader input from residents on issues associated with poverty. We also need the advice and input of Members of the Legislative Assembly and we need to ensure significant interdepartmental cooperation to reflect the complex nature of the subject matter.

I believe that this government’s priorities and actions are already focused on addressing the underlying causes of poverty. However, our fiscal environment requires us to continually examine our approaches to ensure our resources are being used in an effective manner. I am hoping that the work we are proposing will help identify areas where we can improve on our current activities. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Later today I will be tabling the NWT

State of the Environment Report – 2010 Special Biodiversity Edition. The report celebrates the value of biodiversity and is part of the Northwest Territories contribution to the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity.

The State of the Environment – Special Biodiversity Edition presents the latest findings on the status and trends of biodiversity, ecosystem integrity and the status of traditional knowledge, growing trends in the sustainable use of biodiversity and trends in threats to biodiversity. The report is in collaboration with the Government of Canada, the Wildlife Management Advisory Committee (NWT), the Gwich’in Renewable Resources Board, the Sahtu Renewable Resources Board, the Wek’eezhii Renewable Resources Board and the North Slave Metis Alliance.

This initiative, as outlined in the department’s framework for action, will help keep residents and decision-makers informed on the state of biodiversity in the Northwest Territories. Compared to other places in Canada, the Northwest Territories diversity of plants and animals is essentially unchanged. However, disturbing trends such as widespread declines in some bird species are of concern.

Biodiversity is the web of life. It is the diversity of plants and animals that make the NWT’s forests, tundra, mountains, lakes, rivers and skies their home.

Biodiversity in the NWT is a combination of healthy ecosystems, the variety of our northern species, and the sustainable use of our genetic resources. A loss of biodiversity can threaten the health of people and the ecosystems that we live in.

The environment is of great importance to the people of the Northwest Territories. Residents are fortunate to have clean air and water and productive forests, land and wildlife, but pressures on the environment, including climate change and fragmentation of our landscape, exist and must be monitored and mitigated. Loss of biodiversity reduces nature’s capacity to adapt to a changing environment, reducing its ability to provide the vital services we require to survive. By monitoring the changes in biodiversity we can be better prepared to mitigate them and adapt to a changing environment.

In response to the United Nations’ 2010 Biodiversity Targets, the report is divided into six sections: status and trends of NWT biodiversity, ecosystem integrity, status of traditional knowledge, sustainable use, threats to biodiversity, and a section on planning, programs, and partnerships for the future.

The Northwest Territories continues to meet the 2010 United Nations’ Biodiversity goals and targets. The State of the Environment – Special Biodiversity

Report provides the required information to help us understand the complexities of the NWT’s biodiversity, how it’s changing, and why. Up-to-date revisions to the full NWT State of the Environment Report are available on the Department of Environment and Natural Resources website and will continue to be updated annually. We invite communities, aboriginal organizations, industry, and interested individuals and groups to review this report.

In honour of 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity, I hope this report helps teach NWT residents and all Canadians about the importance of biodiversity in our changing environment. By monitoring and reporting on the status and trends of biodiversity we can better mitigate environmental changes so future generations can enjoy a healthy and prosperous future.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Bob McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last weekend our territorial parks were opened to the public in every region except Inuvik where those parks will open on June 1st . This kicks off the

summer tourism season here in the Northwest Territories. We will also celebrate NWT Tourism Week from June 7 to 13. With these events taking place and with this being the last session until the fall, I think this is an appropriate time to highlight the importance of the tourism industry to our Territory.

That importance is demonstrated in dollars and cents. Last year tourism contributed $130.3 million to the Northwest Territories economy. It is also demonstrated by the fact that tourism is a sector that can be viable in all 33 of our communities. With the right idea, enthusiasm, and hard work, tourism can succeed almost anywhere.

The fact that tourism can be viable anywhere makes it an important contributor to the 16th Legislative Assembly’s goal of diversifying our economy and providing all regions and communities with opportunities and choices. In every corner of the Northwest Territories there are wonders to be seen and experienced that you won’t find anywhere else. These wonders provide business opportunities for our residents.

Tourism is also a renewable, sustainable business sector. It takes advantage of some of our greatest attributes: our people, our unique culture, our beautiful scenery, our wildlife, and our traditional arts and crafts. These attributes have staying power. We can depend on them year after year.

The Government of the Northwest Territories recognizes the importance of our tourism industry. That is why we are investing $5.5 million into the industry this coming fiscal year.

We are supporting the industry in both big and small ways. The big ways can be seen in our efforts to promote the Northwest Territories as a place to visit during the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics Games. It can also be seen in the programs like the Tourism Diversification and Marketing Program, which provides funding for Northwest Territories operators to enhance or expand their products and operations in this competitive and ever-evolving industry.

The Government of the Northwest Territories supports the tourism industry in many ways, including regional product development workshops and the Marine Safety Training courses. Last year these courses were delivered to 59 tourism operators and their guides. As well, we have provided assistance to improve infrastructure across the Territory such as the conference facility in Inuvik, airport signage and displays in the Sahtu.

Mr. Speaker, the success of our tourism industry relies on the success of our partnerships with tourism operators. The board and staff of Northwest Territories Tourism share with the Government of the Northwest Territories a commitment to the development of the industry and I would like to recognize this important and valued partner, which promotes the Northwest Territories through their marketing activities. We appreciate their ongoing engagement and commitment to keeping the tourism industry vibrant in the Northwest Territories.

Of course, no mention of our tourism industry would be complete without tipping our caps to the hardworking men and women who make up the Northwest Territories tourism industry. The determination and strength of these individuals have built our industry, and they are not only valued businesspeople, but also ambassadors of the Northwest Territories, bringing the warmth and wonder of our Territory to the world.

Mr. Speaker, as we enter what we hope will be another busy summer tourism season here in the Northwest Territories, I ask all the Members of this Assembly to join me in saluting our tourism industry and the men and women involved in it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister responsible for Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Robert McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to share

with my colleagues the great success stories about all 33 community governments in the Northwest Territories.

As Members know, the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs is the lead department working with community governments to implement the requirements for funding under the Canada-NWT Gas Tax Agreement.

One condition of this agreement is that all 33 community governments in the Northwest Territories complete an Integrated Community Sustainability Plan, or ICSP, by March 31, 2010. The ICSP includes a community strategic plan, as well as three sub plans: a capital investment plan, a community energy plan, and a human resources plan.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to report that all 33 community governments successfully completed and adopted their ICSPs by the required March 31, 2010, deadline.

As we all know, good planning is an essential requirement for success. Through the development of an ICSP, a community government has created a roadmap that outlines where it wants to go and how it is expected to get there.

Between November 2009 and January 2010, 26 of the 33 community governments worked with MACA and its partners, the Northwest Territories Association of Communities and the Arctic Energy Alliance, and attended regional workshops to assist with the completion of their ICSPs. The workshops were deemed a great success. The remaining seven community governments took the initiative to work with external consultants with expertise in the field, and also completed their ICSPs by the March 2010 deadline.

Mr. Speaker, because of the hard work of all 33 community governments to complete their plan by the required deadline, I am pleased to inform Members that the Gas Tax Agreement will flow $60 million to community governments in the Northwest Territories over the period 2010-11 to 2013-14. During this period, community governments will be putting their hard work to use and in implementing their ICSPs.

With the success of community governments in approving their ICSPs, they are now better equipped to focus on priorities, analyze their opportunities, and implement any needed organizational or operational changes. The ICSPs will also provide community governments with information to correct any poor performing areas, give a clear sense of direction to community government staff, and provide a frame of reference for their budget.

To support community governments with the implementation of their plans, MACA and the Northwest Territories Association of Communities,

the Arctic Energy Alliance, and the Local Government Administrators of the Northwest Territories will support communities with the ongoing development and implementation of their existing ICSPs, and will assist community governments in facilitating larger community engagement and citizen involvement. MACA and its partners will also provide technical advice and assistance related to all aspects of ICSPs; engage partners, both government and non-government, to advance broad community goals and strategies; and assist community governments with required tools and resources.

Mr. Speaker, with completed strategic plans for all 33 community governments, a clear path forward has been laid out that will bring great results in the areas of capital infrastructure development, increased energy efficiency and the investment in building local capacity, which is an integral part of the 16th Legislative Assembly’s priorities to create

sustainable, vibrant and safe communities for all residents of the NWT. Congratulations to all 33 community governments. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister of Human Resources, Mr. Bob McLeod.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to clarify my response to Mr. Hawkin’s question regarding summer students yesterday in this House. There are two categories for hiring summer students. Summer students are provided with hiring priority between April 15th and August 31st .

The first category is students hired within the progressive experience and relative experience programs. These programs are specifically designed to provide students with job experience related to the student’s field of study where the emphasis of the job is on providing relevant work experience.

Priority 1 is an indigenous aboriginal student and priority 2 is an indigenous non-aboriginal student or resident disabled student. No priority is all other student applicants.

Mr. Speaker, the second category is students hired outside the progressive experience and relative experience programs.

Outside the Progressive Experience Program are jobs that fulfill a specific departmental need but are not necessarily related to the student’s field of study.

Staffing priority is granted to the designated groups specified in the Affirmative Action Policy. Priority 1 in this category is considered an indigenous aboriginal student or an indigenous aboriginal person (non-student). Priority 2 is an indigenous

non-aboriginal student or resident disabled student or an indigenous aboriginal person (non-student) or resident disabled person. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Item 3, Members’ statements. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to take this opportunity to recognize a new chief and council of Lutselk’e. Chief Antoine Michel and a new council were officially sworn into office on May 7, 2010. Mr. Speaker, I had an opportunity to speak with Chief Michel about various issues and projects in Lutselk’e. We talked about many things we want to see for Lutselk’e. It was especially good to hear that he wants to improve programs and services for the people of Lutselk’e.

Mr. Speaker, Chief Michel has been the Lutselk’e First Nation chief in the past and more recently a councillor at Lutselk’e First Nation. He has a strong background in local politics, and is also a lifelong resident of Lutselk’e and has seen the community through many changes. During our discussion, Chief Michel mentioned that he wanted to see a new productive relationship with the GNWT and would like to see the Lutselk’e First Nation become more involved with delivery of GNWT programs and services.

Mr. Speaker, in Lutselk’e, the First Nation is a local government and the only government. In addition to overseeing programs and services in Lutselk’e, they must also be involved with equally important issues outside the community within the Akaitcho Territory Government. One can say they are doing double duty. Often many people don’t realize that of the chiefs.

With respect to a new band council, the community elected Gilbert Abel, Ron Desjarlais, Terri Enzoe, Ron Fatte, James Marlowe and Emily Saunders. Of the six council members elected, only Terri Enzoe was an incumbent.

Mr. Speaker, the new chief and council represents a new direction and leadership for the community. However, at the same time, they acknowledge the work of the previous chief and council. They look forward to continuing the good work that they have done.

Mr. Speaker, Chief Michel would welcome the opportunity to foster a positive working relationship with the GNWT for addressing the various community issues and concerns. I look forward to working with Chief Michel and his new council. I am

travelling there next week to meet with them. Mr. Speaker, I congratulate Chief Michel and the Lutselk’e Dene First Nation Council. Thank you.

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

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. [English translation not provided]

Mr. Speaker, this summer the Deh Cho Hall in Fort Simpson will be demolished. The building that dates back to the late 1950s has housed many different activities over the years.

The Deh Cho Hall was originally named the Lapointe Hall. It was part of the residential school system. Many Northerners were students at this facility. Until recently it was the home of the ECE support office and the Open Door Society. It also housed Aurora College, and several other local organizations benefited from that space. Most notably, I should add it was the John Tsetso Memorial Library, which still needs a home. It is a monument to the past and a symbol of the era of residential schools.

Many aboriginal people have been working on healing in order to find closure to their personal residential school experience. It is a very interesting parallel that as reconciliation is about forgetting the past, taking down the Deh Cho Hall seems to be a way of literally taking down walls and shaking off the past. Taking this building down is a means of moving forward. On one hand we are removing a legacy and on the way out creating new positive ones.

Fort Simpson did get a new ECE administrative building to house all our education needs and is now becoming a central place. The demolition is turning out to be a huge employment opportunity. A local company, Nogha Enterprises Limited, has been awarded a contract to demolish the building. This contract will provide 25 jobs to the community and these jobs will give a lift to our economy. They will have the ability to learn new skills, and employability in other areas.

Every time I hear about new jobs in Nahendeh, I know that constituents and the community will be happy. This will remove a very big building and change the face of Fort Simpson, and I am hopeful we can use the space for new future infrastructure. Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Monday morning I was contacted by a constituent who was very concerned about a recent Department of Health public tender. Their business received a fax Friday afternoon from Inuvik Health to which they only noticed Monday morning and, by the way, Mr. Speaker, it closes this Thursday. To understand this situation and appreciate the complexity, I will describe it this way.

The tender was faxed to this office Friday, May 14th .

The fax was examined on Monday morning, May 17th , and the tender closes on May 20th . Simply put,

this business is only allowed four business days to reasonably respond to a complex tender. So is it reasonable, or is it fishy, Mr. Speaker? I’ll let the public decide on how this process will roll out.

However, if the problems stop there I’m sure we can simply chalk this up as an oops or an oversight. But when you read the tender document, a chill of unfairness starts to roll down your spine. When you read the details of the 13 pages of request on the tender document you will see that they use one name of a local competitor against another here. The Department of Health uses the spreadsheet of a local business, which can only cause you to wonder who actually wrote this tender, but if it only stopped there, the story would probably end. But, Mr. Speaker, the Department of Health then uses specific product numbers from this one local business in their public tender, which really can only be attained from this private business. So how is that fair competition?

As opposed to using industry standards and product names that everyone knows and understands, like Johnson and Johnson and Phillips as an example, they decide to use product numbers, descriptions and product names you can only guess came from one company. Mr. Speaker, if you get into the product description now, the wording is very vague and ambiguous, which causes you to be forced to guess on what the Department of Health reads.

So if you’re a northern business and you want to compete on this public tender, you actually have to call your local competition to ask them for pricing so you can compete. Is that fair? I would definitely say not. Mr. Speaker, again, it causes me to wonder what’s going on.

Mr. Speaker, this process is kind of a strange stage of many things that arise and surface as to what is really going on. Mr. Speaker, I think the Minister of Health and Social Services is forced with only one option which, I brought to her attention, is to cancel the tender, issue it fairly and make sure northern competitors aren’t competing each other in such an unfair, blatantly biased manner, which I think brings

disrespect to this government and it can be corrected today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to speak today about the proposed changes to the supplementary health benefits. I’ll begin by stating that I am encouraged that Premier Roland and Cabinet Ministers actually were listening to what Regular Members and the public were saying about the proposed changes.

We’re looking now at a joint working group formed between Cabinet and Regular Members to come up with a plan to move this forward and I appreciate Cabinet wanting to work through the issues with Regular Members. I’m hoping for positive results from this effort. In the spirit of consensus government we do need to work together.

However, I do remain sceptical of the timelines. We have an opportunity before us to get this right and make decisions based on solid analysis. As a government we cannot afford to deliver a haphazard, inferior product for our residents. It will be up to us to ensure that it does get done right.

Having the ability to move the implementation date until after Members come back here in October will give us the opportunity to question the Cabinet. For me this is very important as it will give us the ability to ask more questions on behalf of our constituents. September 30th was solely a political date intended

at avoiding another round of questions. I want to thank those Cabinet Members who agreed with having some flexibility.

Over 3,000 Northwest Territories residents signed one petition or another voicing their displeasure with the actions of government in regard to this policy. We had over 150 protesters in front of the Legislative Assembly. A motion passed unanimously in the recent Elders Parliament. A motion passed at the recently held NWTAC. Hundreds and hundreds of e-mails, letters and phone calls from concerned residents. And finally the government has listened.

Politics is a serious business. I recall a former political science professor of mine stating that in politics there are two things you cannot fool around with. The first is health care and the second is education. If you must do so, it will require much finesse and diplomacy. To date we haven’t done this. Can we not find a way forward without unnecessarily infuriating the public? The first step in this process is listening to people.

I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

In her handling of the issue, the Health Minister has shown a propensity to be narrow minded and not listen to the arguments put forward by Members on this side of the House, and I want to go on record today as saying she has got to improve her listening skills. Thankfully some of her Cabinet colleagues understand what consensus government means and what it means to listen to the Regular Members of this House and the public of the Northwest Territories. I want to thank them for that.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m not sure if I should thank the Premier or chastise him for stealing my statement today.

Just before Christmas a group of concerned, socially conscientious organizations came to the Legislative Assembly and gave us all a Christmas present. It was a gift of 14 reports detailing the causes and effects of poverty. In addition to their presentation, the group had but one request and, to quote them, “All we want for Christmas is an end to poverty.”

Just this past weekend the NWT Association of Communities passed a resolution which urges the GNWT to proceed with the creation of a strategy for eliminating poverty. It’s a follow-up to a motion to develop an anti-poverty strategy passed in this House on February 11th . As the Premier mentioned,

it’s a motion which asks the Premier to initiate discussions with the Anti-Poverty Alliance Partners and requests a response to the motion in 120 days.

In a Member’s statement in February I made the following comment: that present, the one made to the Assembly, an end to poverty for members of the alliance and for our residents is one that this government needs to start work on. I was going to upbraid the government for not having done anything, but now, some 90 days after the motion, I’m very pleased to hear that the government is ready to move forward towards an end to poverty. But I have to wonder how the government will provide the requested comprehensive response less than 30 days from now if we are only just starting the process.

As the Premier also mentioned, all Members, Regular and Executive alike, acknowledge the huge impact that poverty has on our residents. The effects are evident in our schools and in the overloading of our health care system. Poverty in the NWT is exacerbated by our isolation, the high cost we pay for food, shelter and fuel, our housing shortages and inadequacies, and just the logistics

of living in the North. To counteract those effects, our government spends quite literally hundreds of thousands of dollars on income support programs for our residents.

An effective anti-poverty strategy will be financially beneficial to the GNWT as it will reduce the dollars needed for income support programs. Our people will be better off. The GNWT bank balance will be better off. We all win in the long run.

The Premier spoke of establishing an advisory committee, but I feel that’s not enough.

I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

We have an offer of assistance from community partners to develop an anti-poverty strategy and it’s a great opportunity that must not be ignored. We have organizations concerned for the welfare of NWT residents willing to donate their labour and advice and considerable experience to this project, but we must engage them in a meaningful manner. They want to work, not advise, and we have to take advantage of that.

I will have questions for the Premier at the appropriate time.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m going to use my Member’s statement today to welcome the Grade 6 students, teachers and chaperones from the Princess Alexandra School in Hay River. Recognition of visitors in the gallery is supposed to take less than 15 seconds, but Members’ statements are two and a half minutes, so I’m going to take my Member’s statement to recognize them. I would very much like to welcome them here and I do apologize if I do not pronounce your name right.

Teachers today: Rita Moizis and Jennifer Tweedie. Students: Kaed Blake, Novi Bordeny, Tia Buckley-Cayen, Nick Buth, Tristan Cross, Ashley Felker, Dawson George, Amber Lamalice, Meagan Loutit, Josely Mabbitt, Robert MacLeod -- and if you’re ever interested in politics, you’ll have a very good chance of getting into Cabinet.

---Laughter

Shanise -- and I suggest you get a picture taken with two other Robert McLeod’s here -- Shanise Mandeville, Shalaine Moore, Larissa Nekurak, James Pennell, Janna Roach, Uzair Sipra, Kira Tatti, Will Tonka, Danna Webster, Don Wilson, Bret

Allinott, Anastasia Antony, Michael Beaulieu, Arry Bertrand, Russell Bouvier, Susie Chambers, Chelsea Dumas, Kendra Gaede, Sara Gibbons, Tristan Graham, Rachel Harder, Alex Huang, Christian Laboucan, Darwin Lawrence, Jared Leblanc, Kierra Mandeville, Jaymar Marzan, Daniel Melanson, Elliot Pinto, Ruby Lee Powder. Our chaperones here today: Rodger Blake, Allan Buth, Doug Lamalice, Linda Antony, Kelly Allinott, and Cheryl Melanson.

And I’d also like to recognize my constituency assistant and thank her for her help in organizing this today: Wendy Morgan from Hay River South.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My statement today is dealing with the Business Incentive Policy. I think there’s a major problem with the policy. I’ll just go through some of the principles of the policy that are supposed to be applied.

The Government of the Northwest Territories adheres to the following principles when implementing the policy: the government referential practices should maximize benefits for the residents of the Northwest Territories to the government policy and procedures; should enhance the Northwest Territories business environment, ensuring sustainable economic growth; and the policy should not prejudice any present or future self-government treaties or land claim-based rights.

I have a problem with (3). I believe that this policy undermines the land claim agreements and undermines the whole objective of the land claim agreements to have stable and subsistent businesses in the land claims agreements. Ensuring that we have self-relying people and self-relying communities by making capital investments to develop the economic liability of those businesses to be sustainable, when you have businesses located in two communities… I’ll use the illustration of Inuvik. You have two hotel companies in Inuvik. One is owned by the Gwich’in Development Corporation in partnership with a company. They spent $12 million to put this facility in place. Now we’re finding out that the Government of the Northwest Territories is only using one hotel for government employees, which is the Mackenzie Hotel. For one reason or another they are not using the Gwich’in business in Inuvik. This totally undermines the whole principle of land claim agreements.

Why should aboriginal companies invest their monies in the Northwest Territories to provide an economic benefit to their benefactors by these types of businesses? Yet again this shows the disregard for land claim agreements, land claim corporations, from doing business in the Northwest Territories, especially in the Inuvik region.

I don’t know what it is, but it seems to me there’s a line drawn in the sand and this government is doing everything it can to undermine those land claim agreements and the Gwich’in Tribal Council and these business arms by trying to do business in the Northwest Territories.

This has drawn a wedge in regard to the aboriginal business…

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

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

---Unanimous consent granted

This totally undermines the whole concept of land claim settlements in the Northwest Territories and for aboriginal groups to develop an economic base so they can provide for their benefactors and the people in communities so that we are able to be self-reliant people. When this type of practice is done by the government to undermine those land claim agreements, the policy itself is in question. This policy, as far as I see it, shouldn’t be put forward to the implementation of the land claim agreements and see how it draws up to the land claims agreements. Are they exactly undermining those agreements by these types of policies?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday in the House the Minister of Health and Social Services announced that the Legislative Assembly has created a working group of Ministers and Regular Members to assist in the review of specific items that Members and the public would like to have reviewed prior to the implementation of the new Supplementary Health Benefits Program. The intent of this working group is to improve upon the program that the Minister has already presented.

According to the press release from yesterday afternoon, the working group will consist of three Regular Members and three Ministers, one of which will be the Minister of Health and Social Services.

For the record, I am supportive of this group. I have a significant amount of confidence in my Regular Member colleagues as well as any additional Ministers that are appointed to this committee. I believe that they will listen to what Regular Members and the public have to say and attempt to incorporate those comments and concerns into any future direction that the Minister of Health and Social Services may take. I’m supportive of this group and I’m optimistic that this could result in a new Supplementary Health Benefits Program that is in the best interest of all people of the Northwest Territories.

However, I am concerned that the Minister is limiting the discussion to three key areas: personal third-party coverage responsibility, which is important; approaches to limit employer and individuals from dropping third-party insurance, which is also important; and the issue of accumulated high cost and capped threshold, which once again is also important.

These are clearly areas which need to be addressed. However, I feel that addressing these fairly could necessitate the need to modify much of the Minister’s current plan. This could mean that other areas outside of the scope of the committee must also be considered. As such, the Minister must be open to making changes to all aspects of the plan if the committee directs her to do that. If the Minister is open to these, this process could easily work and result in a fair and equitable supplemental health care plan. If past predicts future, I’m worried that the Minister will remain committed to her existing plan.

I encourage the Minister to have an open mind and listen to and work with this working group. No options should be disregarded without reasonable consideration.

Lastly, I’m concerned with the implementation date presented by the Minister yesterday. Yesterday the Minister indicated that a program will be implemented on or before November 1, 2010. On or before means that the Minister may, or could, still implement the program on September 30, 2010, as she originally intended, which is prior to the next sitting of the next Legislative Assembly. To me, this could undermine the intent and good work of this newly established working group.

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

---Unanimous consent granted

Mr. Speaker, I strongly encourage the working group to take the time needed to do the work required and develop a reasonable and appropriate Supplemental Health Benefits Program. Mr. Speaker, it’s more important that we get it done right as opposed to get it done right now. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, for three years there has not been a resident social worker in Tulita. How can that be? Don’t you think or feel that people should have help and support when they need it? Don’t you think or feel that all communities should have a solid social safety net? Don’t you think that three years is just too long, far too long to not have a social worker?

People in my home town of Tulita deserve better. Every community in the Northwest Territories deserves better. Right now people are thinking when this government or our board follow through on their commitment to get a social worker in Tulita, or better yet, how about giving the responsibility to the communities to get their own social workers, because all we get are excuses as to why we don’t have a social worker there today. People are having to deal with tough issues over the phone or having to wait a long time until the social worker comes to the community.

How can anybody have trust in such a system? It’s a system this government has put in place. We created this dependency and now we abandoned them. I believe we must allow the community to take control of this position, because here’s what a representative of the Sahtu Health and Social Services Board told me or implied to me: We can’t put a social worker in Tulita because they’ll get culture shock, there’s no housing available, you have to maybe even fly a worker in and out of the community of Norman Wells. He also implied that if we had a social worker that went into Tulita, the spouse got a job in Norman Wells, so we can’t split the family up. Well, how about helping the people of Tulita being front and centre? Shouldn’t that be the most important consideration, Mr. Speaker?

We need a resident social worker in Tulita right now. Mr. Speaker, don’t you think communities like Tulita should be treated equally and fairly by this government when it comes to the health of our people? Or don’t you think 1,995 days without a resident social worker is long enough? Would you accept any more excuses, Mr. Speaker? Please help us.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to relay the personal experience of

a constituent whose unfortunate workplace injuries have resulted in a two-year odyssey of frustration, delay and uninformed support.

In September 2008, my constituent suffered a workplace accident resulting in severe damage to his ribs and spine. He is left with six to nine permanently detached ribs, nerve damage and great chronic pain with no hope of surgical correction. He can never again resume full duties and must make the choice between pain and debilitating narcotic medication.

He has experienced an apparently endless series of applications, highly legalistic processes and tribunal appeals with inadequate case support and denial of access to legal advice. He’s even had to pay fees for access to his own records. Along the way he’s waited, at times, for the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission medical advisor’s determinations and learned that according to the compensation standards of WSCC policy, his psychological pain is the basis for compensation but not his physical pain. In the end, he has been offered lifetime compensation equal to 5 percent of his former earnings.

For help in navigating this maze, he has relied on the help of an excellent worker’s advocate and now worker’s advisor, who works flat out but lacks the expertise necessary to unsnarl many legal questions. As a result of my inquiries, the agency finally informed the commission that funding was available to provide legal advice with the Minister’s approval.

His Appeals Tribunal hearing was in March and he’s still waiting to hear the WSCC’s reaction to the decision. While past WSCC statement and ministerial correspondence said the medical advisor determines the percentage of impairment as the basis of compensation, he’s learned that actually this is just advice and can be varied according to circumstances, something else the commission didn’t know or admit. He has now filed a human rights complaint to challenge the distinction between psychological and physical pain, and tries not to take too many of the pills that are the best comfort the WSCC seems able to give.

Mr. Speaker, when accidents happen in the workplace, workers are required by law to seek relief through the Workers’ Compensation benefits and support system. They depend on the commission for help in their times of greatest needs.

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

---Unanimous consent granted

They depend on the commission for help in their times of greatest need. I have been impressed with this person’s patience, dignity, intelligent approach and calm in seeking meaningful

relief. Because of his perseverance, he is often breaking new ground and doing so partly in recognition of the standard-setting impact he may have to help others that follow with similar issues. He continually asks the question: if this is what’s happening to me, how many more people like me are there out there? That’s a question I’ll be looking into with questions to the Minister. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This summer in the Nunakput community of Paulatuk, Darnley Bay Resources Ltd, a mining exploration company based in Toronto, will be continuing their studies of ground surveys and taking seismic readings of the community, a section of potentially mineral rich land bordering Tuktut Nogait National Park. Similar to projects all across this Territory, this project has experienced slowdown due to the global economy. Fortunately, this project has again built some momentum and financing to move forward.

Nunakput needs this project. Paulatuk needs this project, Mr. Speaker. Nunakput realizes this project is still in the early stages. That’s why we’re getting involved to ensure that economic development projects such as these progress.

In addition, along with the development of this project, concerns of the community regarding wildlife and environment must also be protected. I believe Paulatuk could benefit socially and economically from this Darnley Bay project while maintaining and protecting the traditional way of life and the environment, Mr. Speaker.

As I mentioned previously, in our Nunakput communities, every year we go through the same thing: people having to leave the community. The primary reason is the lack of real jobs and opportunities in their hometowns. This is going to be a serious problem in the future. Our communities are going to places where we go for holidays in the summer. Communities are empty of our youth. This government needs to get active to assist remote communities with serious programs so jobs can be created for our residents that have to leave their homes.

One concern raised by a constituent is this government doesn’t really care about small communities. The residents leave the communities just because of the federal transfers. All regions must be treated equally, Mr. Speaker. The unique conditions and the economic limitations are considered, while allowing resource and various programs all across the North. The unemployment situation in the communities is a serious issue and

we’re failing, Mr. Speaker. The lack of opportunities for our youth in the communities of Nunakput, we’re almost failing them too.

Mr. Speaker, creating jobs is the best way of having vibrant communities, but Nunakput needs job creation in unique and difficult challenges.

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

---Unanimous consent granted

Mr. Speaker, this government must do more to assist regions to develop the capacity and infrastructure to attract industry, investment and jobs. This government needs to place more attention to resources in small communities and remote communities regarding economic development programs. Mr. Speaker, this program needs to develop a coalition of partners and stakeholders in the Nunakput region due to the unique set of challenges, and promote and coordinate a truly northern, regional and intergovernmental approach at rejuvenating our economy in Nunakput and all across the Territories in the small communities, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Premier at the appropriate time. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Bob McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to recognize Mr. Ron Ostrom, director of marketing with NWT Tourism and also Janine Carmichael with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, an organization powered by entrepreneurs. She is a representative for Western Canada. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Welcome everyone in the gallery today. I hope you are enjoying the proceedings.

Item 6, acknowledgements. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today in my Member’s statement of Darnley Bay project and the lack of jobs in the communities, I have questions for the Premier. Can the Minister identify the actions that this government is taking to keep small and rural communities alive and growing? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We could probably take up the rest of the question period if I were to go into a lot of detail in that area. A number of things that we are highlighting, Mr. Speaker, a number of things that we are doing and one of the areas that we have been working on with Members of the Assembly is the electricity rate review and implementing our recommendations that will affect the commercial cost of doing business in our communities. The fact that within the Department of ITI, we have put more focus on small businesses in our smaller communities as well as traditional activities in that area, as well, to offset the cost of living. We have a number of subsidies in place that help people in our smaller communities with the cost of living; an increase, for example, of our Territorial Power Support Program. In this day and age, we know we have to do more but we are challenged with our ability from our side to implement some of these changes or enhance some of our services because our revenue base isn’t growing. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, it is really good that we are giving 70 percent off to Sachs Harbour, finding a way to be able to buy some food in Sachs. It is such a high cost of living in the community. It is a good government. I am happy we work together. That is one thing. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister commit to working with the coalition of Regular Members to businesses and aboriginal partners to develop new strategies for small and remote communities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the Member has actually highlighted another area this government has taken an initiative on. It is forming a committee, between Regular Members and Cabinet, on small and remote rural communities. I would say that would be an avenue that we could use if that group wants to seek some input as to what options they may be able to work on and present back to the Members of the Assembly. I think we have an avenue there. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, what success can the Minister point to for this government that we are making for families and youth that want to live in small, remote communities, or what should the Members expect to see from the government that will encourage families or the youth to remain in our small communities and not move to Yellowknife or Inuvik? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, there are quite a number of programs that we have in place that assist families in remaining in their communities; for those that are employed, our wage package as well as our northern allowance to help people stay in those communities. As well for those that our housing packages and our support

under Income Support is another area. The fact is we have enhanced our capital plan over the last number of years to try to get as much infrastructure into our communities and throughout the Northwest Territories. We have invested significant amounts of money as the Government of the Northwest Territories who try to level off the playing field, so to speak, of the cost of living in our smaller communities. One of our other things now we have expanded is on our Youth Employment Initiative, which will again allow support in our smaller communities. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Jacobson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The wages are good for working for the territorial government but not everybody in the community has government jobs. There are about three or four jobs in each community. And income support is not enough. People are going hungry during the third week of every month. Mr. Speaker, all I am asking for the Premier is to see if we can work together to get work for the people up in the Beaufort-Delta in the small communities, with meaningful long-term employment with the diamond mines or the oil and gas section. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, a committee on Rural and Remote Communities is looking at how we do business as the Government of the Northwest Territories in a whole number of areas, and again, I am sure that that committee will be happy to pull their resources together to look at these types of initiatives to see what we can do.

Let’s not forget, Mr. Speaker, for example, our capital plan, what we are doing to keep people in businesses operating in the communities of the Northwest Territories, our infrastructure program with airport expansions, renewal of many of our infrastructure habits. For example, in Tuktoyaktuk we did the access to the gravel pit, things like that. We have put money on the table to keep people working. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess I found the timing of the Premier’s statement today rather interesting. I get the impression that the pressure is on, Mr. Speaker, because we have a resolution passed by the NWT Association of Communities and recently the Premier, the chair of the Standing Committee on Social Programs and the chair of the Caucus were all recipients of not one but two congratulatory letters from two Canada-wide anti-poverty organizations.

One of the organizations said in the letter, the NWT is the first of the Canadian territories to prioritize anti-poverty and as such demonstrates leadership for the other provinces and territories who have yet to act, which is great. The other one says as well, we certainly strongly encourage the territorial government to commit to a process involving all key stakeholders that will result in a visionary, comprehensive practical plan for combating poverty.

Those things are great. The congratulations are welcome. I am really glad that we seem to be a bit on the leading. I would like to ask the Premier when Members on this side of the House and when the community partners, the Anti-Poverty Alliance people, can expect some action, the scheduling of a first meeting. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Premier, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The area of the anti-poverty strategy, the work that needs to be done, as I just made a statement earlier, we are going to work on forming this group as well as set the time frames that we would need to respond by. We will go to committee members and Members of the Assembly to seek their input, as well, on some of the timing and how this should work. Right now we are very early in establishing the specific work plan and the membership of this advisory group. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, thanks to the Premier and we are early in this work, but I guess I have to say we are behind the eight ball, because we are 30 days away from a comprehensive response by the government. To the Premier, I would like to know what he intends will be the make-up of this committee. Will the Anti-Poverty Alliance members be an integral and respected part of this group? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, we are looking at across-the-board representation to seek membership in the advisory group. We will have representation from across the field of organizations involved in the anti-poverty work that happens here in the Northwest Territories. I don’t have details to that but, again, I’m prepared to have our staff sit down and pull as much as we have together and have that presented to Members for their input. Thank you.

I thank the Premier for that. I guess I would have to say that it is the Anti-Poverty Alliance that initiated this and Members simply accelerated the process to a certain extent. So I would hope that the Premier is going to get in touch with the Anti-Poverty Alliance. That was the request they put forward way back in December, after all. I sense that in some cases developing this strategy may not be considered a high priority, but there are, as has been noted, many reports which show the

correlation between poverty and living conditions. So I’d like to know from the Premier, he talks about getting things going and getting things started and we have no dates, we have no details, but what kind of a priority does Cabinet place on this strategy? And, you know, I’d like a bit of a shorter time frame than “soon.” Thank you.

Thank you. There are times when I take action and I’m told I behave like a dictator, and then there’s times when I take the time to try to consult and I get told you’re not doing it fast enough. So which is it? It’s getting a little tiring at times. I’m not sure if I’m coming or going, depending on what Member is saying what in this House or in a meeting.

This is important work. The simple fact that it’s at this table and we’re going to put the energy and the resources and we’re going to bring the people in to come up with something in the Northwest Territories that works for us here in the Northwest Territories, and I have to recognize the efforts of Members who have helped bring the Anti-Poverty Coalition together and present the work that they have. We’re going to work with them, one of their representatives, or have a number of their team as part of the representatives, but unfortunately right now I’m being absolutely forthright here in saying that we’re in the early days and to get that information I’ll have the staff pull what we have together, present it to Members in committee, Social Programs, and copy other Members and seek your input and we’ll put a two-week turnaround time to get some of that input from what we have now. As I say, it’s very early, so there might not be much on the bones at this point. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Premier. I apologize if I got his blood rushing to his head, but I really am trying to....

---Laughter

I’m really trying to get some timing and some idea of when we might get progress.

Mr. Speaker, the Premier mentioned in his statement that the government will establish an advisory committee and I’d like to ask the Premier whether this committee will only advise or if we will actually be using the people who volunteer for this group to actually do some work for us and to speed things up. Thank you.

Thank you. The blood is always pumping.

---Laughter

Many would say I’m passionate about my work. Mr. Speaker, the area that we want to pull together and

the people together and the time frame, as I said, this is an important initiative for us. We’re reacting and acting with the Members, in a sense, to pull all of this information together.

It is early for us in response. You know, I apologize if the Member feels we’ve been delayed in doing this, but we are here, we are moving forward with this. I say that with the opportunities before us we’ll be able to pull a plan together and that’s where we are right now, is the advisory group is to help us pull the plan together and once we have a plan then we have to talk about what we can implement, then we will pull the people together and hitch them up to the team and make them work. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Premier in follow up to my Member’s statement earlier today. First off I’d like to applaud Cabinet for taking this unprecedented move to develop a joint working group…

---Applause

…to find workable solutions on an issue that is clearly of significant importance to Members of this House and residents of the Northwest Territories. I strongly agree that working together on this is important and in the best interests of all people in the Northwest Territories. This is definitely a positive step.

However, I do have some questions on process. Mr. Speaker, the working group that has been established has an incredible opportunity and significant importance. Could the Premier commit that this working group will be given the authority to set real and official direction for future changes to supplemental health programs, and that their recommendations to Cabinet will be fully considered? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The area of the Supplementary Health Program and policy is of vital importance to residents of the Northwest Territories as well as to this government. Hence the number of times we’ve taken this back and reviewed it, and at this point worked with members of Priorities and Planning to come up with this approach to a number of initiatives within that program.

We have to start from a basis. The existing program as it is and the policy as it is, and the work that’s been done to date, we’ve highlighted and worked with committee as to the key areas that we need to move forward on and I believe the Member raised those points in his Member’s statement. But at the same time, we’re also listening to the Members of the Assembly and when there’s talk of parody with NIHB is one of those items that we seriously have to take a look at.

I would say that the working group, as it does its work, recommendations that come back will both go to members of Priorities and Planning, and Cabinet will take that work seriously and have a look at what can be incorporated, how can we amend this and make it work for the future. Thank you.

Thank you. I’d like to thank the Premier for that response. I really do appreciate that they’re going to listen to the recommendations of the working group.

The second question is if the working group makes a recommendation that is contrary to the direction that the Department of Health is taking right now, can the Premier please ensure to us today that the committee’s direction will be adhered to, or will the Minister actually have a veto over what the working group is suggesting or recommending?

Thank you. The working group is that, a working group. The recommendations that would flow out of that would go through Priorities and Planning as well as back to Cabinet. Cabinet would have that ultimate decision as to what gets implemented. It’s not a department has that final authority. It is a Cabinet position that would be taking to look at changes that would have to occur within that policy. Thank you.

Once again, thank you to the Premier for that. I’m also happy to hear that he’s going to give Priorities and Planning an opportunity to look at that and make recommendations as well. I think it’s important to the operations of the working group that the operations are transparent. Given that the Minister of Health and Social Services is responsible for the final design and ultimately the implementation of the Supplemental Health Program, it’s important that she be open to recommendations from this committee. Based on that, I’m a little worried that if the Minister of Health and Social Services were to become the chair, it might be perceived in the public that this is a rubberstamp, which we don’t want. We want this to be transparent and clear. I’m not saying that she’s biased, but I’m concerned that that might be the perception. So would the Premier commit to assigning a chair to this committee that doesn’t already have ultimate responsibility for implementing the recommendations of this working group, this new working group? Thank you.

Thank you. There are a number of occasions and I know the supp health policy has brought heated debate here into the Assembly, but no policy goes through under just one Minister.

The Minister, under department advisement and their work, brings forward a policy, goes through to Cabinet. Policy, as our protocol is, we hand it over to committee for their input and it comes back to Cabinet for potential other changes to the policy that gets sent out.

So in this case we have agreed to three Members of Cabinet and three members of the Standing Committee on Priorities and Planning that need to get together and I believe they’re trying to pull those people together before we leave the capital as session is drawing to an end. So they’re trying to pull a work plan together and under their advisement we’ll be looking for how that should be structured, if it’s co-chair or if it’s a chair. I mean, co-chairs are a possibility.

Again, this is not a Minister or a department running the show. This is going to be a Cabinet decision as to what policy gets put in place at the end of the day and remind people even our last policy that was signed, it’s the Premier-of-the-day that signs off on the policies. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Your final, short supplementary, Mr. Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Premier, and I appreciate all that and I understand what you’re saying, it’s just last night after the announcement came out I had some constituents and other residents of the Northwest Territories talk to me and I spent a lot of time defending what we’re doing and that we’re working together and are coming together to work as a working group to find some reasonable solutions.

One of the things that came up a couple times is some people don’t trust, necessarily. What we’re talking about is restoring public confidence. Unfortunately, some people have labelled this as Minister Lee’s plan. I think to increase some transparency and return some public confidence, it might be better to have Minister Lee as a Member and not a chair. I’m just suggesting that it might be appropriate to appoint a different chair than Minister Lee. We don’t know who the chair is, but if the Premier could make some recommendations that the chair be somebody other than the Minister of Health who will ultimately implement this program.

I think this is one of, well, maybe not the first time, but rarely do we have brought up in the sitting of the Legislative Assembly who should be the chair of a working group or committee.

We will sit down, as I said. They are trying to pull the people together. If it’s co-chairs that go through it, we’ll go through it.

Since it’s been raised about the work of a Minister, well, the Minister was directed to deliver some work. That work has been debated for quite some time. It’s Cabinet overall that looks at those policies with input from Members. Again, the same process will be used. We will have to use the expertise that’s in the field and, of course, the experience of Members as well to make sure that we develop a program that does work and is deliverable.

As for appointment of who the chairperson would be, I’m not prepared to say that at this point. I think we should get the committee together and get some feedback from them as to should it be one chair or co-chairs.

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

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement today I talked about a request for tender that went out to a local business. When you have a chance to read the documentation that went out for tender, there are 13 pages as the attachment of fine, detailed requests. But it’s all vague and it all points to a catalogue of a local competitor. In my Member’s statement I mentioned how I believe it’s fraught with bias and I think the only respectable thing to do today is the Minister say that she’ll withdraw this tender of goods that I’ve made aware to her and to issue a clean, clear, unbiased request. Would the Minister of Health and Social Services heed my request and withdraw this present tender and reissue a fair one that shows no bias whatsoever?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The information I have is that this RFP went up on the website as is the process. This is the normal process. It went up on May 7th to be closed on May

20th . There were half a dozen inquiries about the

RFP. The Beaufort-Delta materials management section noticed that one large supplier in Yellowknife did not inquire about this RFP and, in fact, the Beaufort-Delta Health Authority took it on its own initiative to fax the information to this large supplier a few days later, which is when this business got the fax. The information we have is that the process has been followed and there is no need to cancel this process.

It’s interesting how the Minister paints the light as if it’s been fair and open. To say it went on the web page, she is correct, but the fact is that the Inuvik Health and Social Services was chasing down this… Obviously it’s clear that they were chasing down this business to participate in a public tender. But if you read the public tender, it says a specific company; we’re using their catalogue and references and numbers. How does the Department of Health and Social Services expect them to compete fairly and openly with what clearly looks like a sole-source contract dedicated to one business only? How does the Minister expect that without it being withdrawn and treated fairly?

The Member is correct that the detailed information on products were catalogue numbers. But we do have a situation where we’ve had a number of businesses responding to this RFP. It would be unfair to those businesses that are interested and have responded, to cancel the RFP now. The Beaufort-Delta Health Authority is aware that they need to do a better job of describing the products and they will do that.

We also have a situation where these are for medical supplies that need to go to communities of Tuktoyaktuk, Paulatuk, Ulukhaktok and Sachs Harbour, and they have to meet the barge deadline. So it is important that we do this for the May 20th deadline. The businesses out there still have the opportunity to respond to supply these products.

I think this is where the Minister clearly misunderstands the situation. This looks like nothing other than a sole-source. Clearly it says one supplier’s name. Anybody who wants to compete has to call the local competitor and say, well, I need to understand what these local product numbers are. Are these catalogue numbers out of your book? Because they’re certainly not out of any of the national suppliers’ books, they’re out of a very specific company’s book. They also used the spreadsheet off this specific company where they have to go to to get pricing in order to compete. To pull this back and make sure that everyone’s aware that they all know what they are at least working against would be the only way to do this. If it’s anything but that, it seems wrong and unfair. Why won’t the Minister admit to that and see it and treat it fairly by pulling it back and saying let’s do this openly and honestly, make sure everyone has a fair chance?

As I have indicated, since the RFP went up on May 10th , the staff reviewed the

inquiries. On May 14th they noticed that one major

supplier did not respond. They took it upon themselves to contact this business, so they wanted to make sure that everybody who could supply these supplies were contacted. I don’t

believe there is a situation of a sole-sourced contract. There has been time to respond to that.

I do take the Member’s point that the product description could have been done better and they will do that, but as I’ve indicated already, we do need to provide these supplies in time for the barge order. So we will improve the system, or the Beaufort-Delta knows to improve the system next time. They do need to go ahead with this tendering process.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Final supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Whenever I, in my 10 years of politics here, whenever I heard the phrase “I hear your point” or “I take your point,” that usually tells me that someone’s going to vote against me or speak against whatever I just said. It couldn’t be clearer here today. The Minister has clearly dug in and is protecting and reaffirming a bad decision. And let’s face it, that’s exactly what it is, because it’s a sole-source, no other way around it. Why do you think so many people were looking into how does this make sense?

The Minister wants to improve this situation. As she has made it very clear today, well, we’ll do it next time. To heck with next time. Let’s do it this time. Let’s show some initiative. Will the Minister show initiative by improving the situation by withdrawing this contract and reissuing it fairly so that everyone can compete fairly?

There is some public interest consideration here. We do need to supply, the Beaufort-Delta needs to supply the medical supplies to these four isolated or off-the-road communities. We need to meet the barge deadline. The tender was out for 20 days. The authority made sure that one major supplier that hadn’t responded was contacted with the information so that everybody had a chance to respond.

Like I stated already, there have been a half dozen inquiries onto the website. The authority did more and went above and beyond to make sure the competition was fair.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are to the Minister of Health and Social Services. I want to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services as to when she thinks that the people in Tulita can receive a resident social worker in the community.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The residents of Tulita do have social services being provided there. I can’t recall all of the details, but I do believe the person had moved to Tulita, but because either that person was promoted or there were some personal reasons. I would have to take the question under advisement and get more information on where that issue is. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister and I did tour the Sahtu and one of our stops was in Tulita. We did have a talk with the grand chief and people of Tulita and we were advised of the number of excuses why we did not have today a social worker in the community of Tulita. One of the suggestions was how can we work out a solution that we can have a social worker. We have not had one in that community for over three years. We need a permanent social worker in the community. I want to ask the Minister if she’s willing to look at some options in terms of how do we get one within the next couple of weeks.

We did tour all of the Sahtu communities and there were a number of issues like this, because Sahtu Health Authority have combined duties of different positions and they’ve had to move positions around to make sure that they are able to use their existing human resource services to provide the services necessary. So I will undertake to take this question about the permanent social worker in Tulita and acquire more information on it and get back to the Member in short order. Thank you.

I certainly look forward to the Minister getting back to me in short order. Would the Minister look at possible time frames as to when we can expect a social worker to be in Tulita, having all the excuses being exhausted? When can the people in Tulita get a social worker in the community? How soon can the Minister get back to me?

I will look into that as soon as possible and get back to the Member in the next few days. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the community of Tulita has offered some solutions in terms of getting a social worker into the community. Will the Minister be open to those types of suggestions from the people of Tulita to get a social worker in there, in terms of the solutions of certainly that position, as soon as possible?

Yes, I will check my notes from that tour and I will review the situation again and I will look at all options to see what is available

to us and the Sahtu authority, in consultation with the local leadership. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have questions about the proposed location for the new hospital in Hay River. I’m not sure if I should ask my questions to the Minister of Public Works or the Minister of Health and Social Services, but let’s go with the Minister of Public Works.

Mr. Speaker, we have, for many years, had a desire and a need for a new hospital in Hay River. This is something that, Mr. Speaker, yourself and myself over the years have worked on. We have had a little slippage. We haven’t stayed right on the front of the line for this capital project. It’s a very big project. It’s an expensive project. Now we’re down to starting to allocate the money for this. We’re very happy about this, but we’re not sure where it’s going to be located. I guess my concern, Mr. Speaker, is that the unresolved issue of the location of the hospital does not result in any slippage, in terms of the schedule for the planning and construction of the new hospital.

So I’ll ask the Minister of Public Works, does he know today where the new hospital in Hay River will be built? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister responsible for Public Works and Services, Mr. Michael McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The hospital, as the Member has indicated, has been on the drawing board for a number of years. A lot of work and effort has been done by the community and by ourselves, as Public Works and the people at the Health department. A number of sites were looked at over the last while. There were a total of 29 sites that were proposed as potential properties that could be used to locate the new hospital. All these sites were looked at and reviewed and it was narrowed down to two sites: one at the current ENR facilities, or where the offices of ENR are currently located, and the other one was a new area called the Sundog site. A review was done. It was looked at and a team from… A number of people were put together to review. Some preliminary work was done, soil sampling and a cost analysis was done, and it was decided that the Sundog site was the preferred site for a number of reasons, and that was presented to the community of Hay River. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, from the information that the Minister of Public Works has been able to get from his officials and people who are looking into these proposed sites, can the Minister tell us today in the House that he is very confident that the Sundog Industrial Subdivision, as it’s called, will have proper drainage concluded by then and that the choice of this site will not result in any delay in the start of construction of this? Because when you look at that site today, Mr. Speaker, it doesn’t look very ready for construction. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, the Member and myself did look at a couple of options that were proposed. The Sundog site has some concern over drainage. We have done some real preliminary soil sampling and analysis. Some further work has to be done and that will determine whether it’s suitable. But we are fairly confident that this is going to be the site that will be able to accommodate the new facility. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, the MLAs for Hay River were involved in a process with the then-CEO of the hospital, Mr. Al Woods, and the public administrator of the hospital, of also receiving a lot of information about prospective sites for the new hospital. At that time I believe it was determined that the ENR/ITI site was the most suitable site. However, I appreciate that Public Works has done their homework and that there may be a better alternative.

Mr. Speaker, how does the proposed site of the Sundog industrial area, how does that take into account the issue of it being on the west side of the railway tracks in Hay River? People may think we don’t get a lot of trains in Hay River, but we do get fairly regular train service in Hay River. How was that taken into account in the choice of that site? Thank you.

We certainly can share the report that has been compiled with the Member. It takes into account all of the issues that are being raised, including some of the work that was done on cost analysis, a cost/benefit analysis. The site on the river where ENR is currently located would cost roughly $4 million more to house the new hospital as we would not be able to co-locate, as the findings have told us, and we would have to move all the facilities off there and relocate and start anew with those facilities. But I’d be glad to provide that information in terms of what was taken into consideration with this new report. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Your final supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I said at the outset, my main concern is there be no slippage in the timing and the schedule for the construction of the new hospital. I think that the site or the location is

probably of a secondary nature to the timing, as far as I’m concerned. But, Mr. Speaker, at the same time, the proposed site that is the choice of the government, I guess, or the town -- I’m not sure who was mostly pushing that -- is an industrial area.

I’d like to ask: have the people of Hay River been consulted in any fashion in this, in terms of the public? A hospital is usually a place that’s quiet. You don’t think of it being right beside railway tracks and you don’t generally think of it as being in an industrial park. I understand the footprint may be large enough that you’d be far enough away from your neighbours that it won’t matter, but, Mr. Speaker, I’d like to know if the people of Hay River had any input into this. Also the fact that Woodland Manor, which is a seniors care facility, will be slated at some time to be retired and that that facility will also co-locate with the new hospital, if all those things are being taken into consideration, as well. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, the municipality of Hay River was consulted. There were people from the hospital and people from the municipality that were involved. We do have a letter from the municipality that was signed off by the mayor, indicating that their preference for location would be the Sundog site. Our report looked at it on practicality terms, cost and other features that needed to be included in terms of what we needed to be part of this hospital and including further expansion. This was what the findings were. This is what was reported to us. Again, I will share that with the Member.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission. Jurisdictions have enacted workers’ compensation legislation to ensure every worker is protected when they suffer injury in the workplace, yet I can’t help feeling my constituent would have been wiser to have a car accident with instant free access to legal advice, medical examinations and other services through his insurance company. Why does it take months for WSCC to move files when all that is needed is the prompt advice of its medical and legal advisors? Mahsi.