Good afternoon, colleagues. Welcome back to the Chamber. Orders of the day. Item 2, Ministers’ statements. The honourable Premier, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the opportunity to provide Members of this Assembly with an update on the work our government has been undertaking related to the devolution of public lands and resources from the Government of Canada to the Government of the Northwest Territories.

Following a delay caused by the federal election, the GNWT recommended main table negotiations with Canada and the Aboriginal governments that are signatories to the Devolution Agreement-in-Principle: the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation and the Northwest Territory Metis Nation.

Detailed work has also begun on many issues, including the categorization of waste sites; determining where the boundary between the NWT’s onshore jurisdiction and Canada’s offshore jurisdiction should be; and on cooperating and collaborating on transboundary oil and gas administration and regulation. There is also important work to do on information technology systems; assignment of contracts, licences and copyrights; and the transfer of assets and records.

Our Human Resources professionals are working with Canada on preparing for the eventual transfer of employees and positions to the GNWT. We are committed to ensuring federal and territorial employees stay informed of the progress being made. I am confident that federal employees that join us in the future will find an employer where their careers can grow and they can feel the satisfaction of making real, visible contributions to their communities and neighbours.

I want to stress, Mr. Speaker, that we will continue to be mindful of the interests of Aboriginal

governments and will update them on our progress as negotiations proceed, consult them as required, and encourage them to be as involved as they wish to be, all in keeping with the duty and honour of the Crown.

We would prefer all Aboriginal governments to be directly involved in devolution negotiations, and continue to encourage them to join us at the table. This is important work that all NWT residents have a stake in, and I have extended an invitation both in person and through correspondence to all regional Aboriginal governments that are not yet part of this process.

This past spring and summer I attended many regular meetings and assemblies, including the Dene National Assembly, the Akaitcho Assembly and the Gwich’in Assembly. I provided updates on the devolution process and repeated my invitation to all those who have not yet joined us.

I’m encouraged by some of what I hear, Mr. Speaker. I have heard from some people that there is an interest in coming back to negotiations. I know there are leaders who feel their governments should be at the table. They want to engage constructively in building the future of the public government that serves all Northerners. I am confident that we’ll see more participation in the devolution process, from more parties, as we continue to move forward.

We respect that not everyone will share the same views. There are some leaders who do not accept that responsibility for public lands should be transferred to the public government of the Northwest Territories. There are those who feel that they must finish their own processes first, before engaging in this important initiative with us.

The GNWT is the public government of our territory. It is our duty and responsibility to represent the collective interests of all northern residents, whose hard-earned and legitimate rights our government continues to respect and honour.

Mr. Speaker, devolution has been an objective of NWT public government for decades. The luxury of time is not something that we can afford. Every day we delay, we lose over $165,000 of resource revenues, based on this past year’s projections, to the federal government.

That is money we could put toward our hospitals or our children’s education, money that could directly benefit all people of the Northwest Territories. Every day we delay means more decisions being made in Ottawa, not in the North. That is not what we want and that is not what successive Legislative Assemblies of the Northwest Territories have wanted.

Mr. Speaker, this is the last devolution update that I will be providing to this Assembly. For years we’ve been talking about what great potential the North has. We can’t keep talking about that potential forever. The time has come for us to make decisions that will allow us to realize that potential. The future is in our hands but we need to get to the table and make decisions that will give the future a chance to become a reality. We could wait until all our historic grievances are addressed, but waiting only means that somebody else is making the decisions that affect us and our people. The people of the Northwest Territories are capable of making those decisions and taking control of our own destiny. As their elected representatives, responsive and accountable to all people of the NWT, it is the responsibility of this Assembly to make the choices that will create the greatest benefits for all our people and our territory.

I would like to close with some words of advice for the future decision-makers that will soon fill this Assembly. Leadership is about making decisions. It is about doing what is right for the population, not what is right for popularity. Consensus government doesn’t mean avoiding tough decisions, but it can mean that we have to work harder to find the common ground we need to move forward. I hope future leaders will choose wisely and will provide their support to their new leader to give him or her the strength to make the hard choices and the wise decisions that will guide our great territory towards a prosperous future for all of us, our children, and our grandchildren. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Minister of Transportation, Mr. McLeod.

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

The 16th Legislative

Assembly worked to refocus government to achieve greater effectiveness and efficiency in how the Government of the Northwest Territories operates and delivers programs and services. In order to provide a high level of service to the people of the Northwest Territories, we must continue to develop and maintain a professional and well-managed public service.

Later today I will be tabling the 2010 Public Service Annual Report. The Public Service Annual Report highlights the overall results of public service performance achieved in the context of 20/20: A Brilliant North, the NWT Public Service Strategic Plan. Together with its client departments and agencies, the Department of Human Resources has worked to improve effectiveness and efficiency in delivering programs and services. Highlights include:

• establishing the Aboriginal Employees Advisory

Committee to help increase representation of Aboriginal people within the public service;

• establishing the Government of the Northwest

Territories Advisory Committee on Employability to help increase representation of persons with disabilities within the public service;

• reviewing and improving the business

processes for pay and benefits services;

• launching eRecruit to improve and streamline

the staffing process; and

• launching an Associate Director/Superintendent

Program which focuses on increasing the number of Aboriginal people in senior management positions.

I appreciate the interest Members have shown in summer student employment. As of August 12, 2011, the Government of the Northwest Territories hired 286 students. This is approximately an 8.7 percent increase over the final hires in 2010; 58.4 percent are indigenous Aboriginal students, 40.2 percent are indigenous non-Aboriginal students, and 1.4 percent are non-indigenous students.

Mr. Speaker on behalf of the Legislative Assembly, I would like to thank our public service for all of its hard work in delivering quality programs and services on behalf of the Government of the Northwest Territories. I would also like to thank all the Members for their support, advice, and contributions to the NWT Public Service Strategic Plan during the 16th Assembly. Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Item 3, Members’ statements. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know some Members will be doing a reply to the opening address today and I have chosen today for my Member’s statement to say thank you to some of my colleagues on the other side of the House. I will be making another statement tomorrow, but today I want to focus on those who served on Cabinet in the 16th Assembly.

Mr. Speaker, starting with Premier Roland, who I have had the privilege of serving in this Legislature with for 16 years. There are only three of us who can say we’ve been here that long. I want to thank Premier Roland for the leadership that he’s provided to this Assembly and to this government. I always had confidence that when he was dealing with matters of the Northwest Territories, that he would present our case in a very articulate, intelligent, and passionate way and I do thank him for that.

To Minister Miltenberger, who is not... Oh, I shouldn’t say where he is, but anyway. To Minister Miltenberger, who I also had the privilege of serving with for 16 years, I’d like to thank him as well, and to tell the people of the Northwest Territories that this is a Minister who is well known for his very, very hard work ethic and has introduced and carried to fruition many meaningful things in this government. I know people who are interested in the environment know that’s a huge passion of Mr. Miltenberger, and some of the policies and programs that he’s put in place will serve this territory well for many, many years to come.

To Minister Michael McLeod, defending some issues in this government that put him under fire many times when he stood up but he never lost his cool, never lost his professional demeanour. Although riddled with many, many questions, I was always amazed at how he could continue to stand up to question after question and provide answers in a way that was professional and also doing a very good job of heading up the departments that he did.

To Minister Bob McLeod, I’d like to thank him as well. A former bureaucrat. I love the way you could see that translated into his communications skills. When you send an e-mail to Minister Bob McLeod, you know that you would get an answer right away because he was used to that modern communication, which I can’t say everybody was. He went out of his way, and to great effort, to keep Regular Members informed of what was going on. I always appreciated that. When I would see his name come up on my e-mail there, I’d know that he

was updating us on something important that we needed to know.

To Minister Robert C. McLeod, I’d also like to thank him. A somewhat shoot-from-the-hip-but-tell-it-like-it-is kind of a person who does not mince words and maybe isn’t a true politician in that sense, but certainly we understand him. We know he speaks from the heart and we do appreciate that as well.

I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

Lastly, I would like to thank Minister Jackson Lafferty who took on two very important departments in our government, two in our social envelope, two very challenging departments: Education and Justice. I know that he had a passion, as well, for these two departments. Like I said, very challenging departments but he took them on. He did well and he served all of us very, very well in these capacities.

On behalf of Hay River South, I would like to thank this Cabinet, these Ministers, for the way that they treated my constituents and the constituents of the North.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We should not be downloading an inadequate regulatory regime under the proposed Devolution Agreement-in-Principle. An April 13th Canadian

Press Report indicates a loophole in environmental rules is allowing a growing number of unregulated waste incinerators to release extremely toxic chemicals into the land and water. Citing a federal report, CP says levels of highly carcinogenic dioxins and furans up to 10 times higher than those from an uncontaminated lake were detected near the Ekati mine. The reason? Air emissions from incinerators aren’t controlled due to inadequate law.

This is the regime we’ve proposed to take over under the AIP: inadequate regulation, funding, and staffing. If we pursue the AIP as written, the GNWT will be seeking internal resources to patch this and other holes in the laissez-faire federal law. How many gaps can we really expect the modest net fiscal gain to cover?

When we last looked at taking over the operations of DIAND’s Northern Affairs Program, there was an independent review of the funding being offered by the feds. That review indicated a major shortfall between the funding being offered and the operating costs of the program that would be assumed. We smartly turned that deal down as not

good enough. So the money is lacking. We know the management regime isn’t up to snuff.

Our devolution process clearly leaves a lot to be desired. We have yet to ask our citizens exactly what kind of resource management regime we should put in place after devolution. Yet it’s obvious we need to do this before devolution, not after. When we take on new powers, we must be ready to move with new law, despite the pitiful AIP requirement for us to enact mirror legislation. Without fully defining our legislative goals, no costing will reflect the aspirations of our citizens and we can’t cost the future without asking our citizens what that future should be.

I remind the government that this deal has costly gaps that demand resolution. I’m hoping the next Assembly will take a much harder look at the numbers, take a much more collaborative and empowering approach with our partners, invite the many good ideas of all our citizens, and hold out for a deal with money to protect our birthright. Mahsi.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We assume in this country that universal health care, the timely access to affordable health services, improves the health of our socially disadvantaged groups. A while ago, research performed by a group at the Institute for Clinical Evaluation Services tested that assumption and found, as published in the journal “Health Affairs,” that the results of the study contradict our assumption.

The research team found that people with low income and/or low levels of education suffered from higher than normal incidences of cardiovascular disease, a not surprising and well-known situation among poor people. The researchers, through their project, tried to determine if universal access to health services would change that finding, but their research showed that the poor use more health services than the wealthy, but that does not mean that they get better health outcomes because of it. A quote from the Globe and Mail said the poor visit physicians in hospitals more often, not because it’s free but because they are sicker. All of us, whether rich or poor, use health care services when we have to, when we’re sick. Few of us use health care services in a preventive way.

The message in the research findings is this: universal health care does not get us healthy and keep us healthy. Medicare is not the silver bullet to ensure a healthy population. What we need are tools to get us healthy in the first place, to attack the causes of poor health, to be preventative instead of reactive.

In Canada, Mr. Speaker, we spend about 40 percent of our budgets on health care, about 25 percent on education, and only 15 percent on social welfare programs. By comparison, European countries spend twice as much as we do on social welfare programs, and the result of that spending is that Europeans spend less on health and have better health outcomes.

We need to put greater effort into tackling poverty, low education levels, and poor and inequitable housing. No surprise to us in this room. Improvements in these areas will create healthier environments and, by default, healthier citizens.

In light of these findings, Mr. Speaker, the development of an Anti-Poverty Strategy is even more necessary. Throwing more money at health is not the answer. Universal health care is not the answer. Until we improve living conditions for the socially disadvantaged of our territory, we cannot hope for universally healthy residents. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to thank the Minister of Health and Social Services for tabling, earlier this week, the Northwest Territories Health Status Report. There is obviously some very valuable information contained in that report. I’ve spoken many times about the government’s need to measure and evaluate the success and/or failure of our ability as a government to exert change in key social and health indicators. This report, Mr. Speaker, should be used as a baseline for the incoming government which will be elected this fall.

I’d like to point out a few statistics contained in the report that would indicate that we need to re-evaluate how we’re dealing with some key areas of concern.

Self-reported health relates to how healthy a person feels and is an important precursor to future health care use and mortality. On a national comparison, 61 percent of Canadians reported excellent or very good health, where in the NWT that number was 52 percent, which is well behind. In fact, from 2005, when we were at 63 percent, the number has dropped in the four reporting years to 52 percent in 2009.

Obesity is another area where the Northwest Territories is continuing to seem to be not able to swing those numbers in the right direction. Mr. Speaker, 63 percent of adults in the Northwest Territories are overweight or obese. The NWT rate is 10 percent higher than the national average of 51 percent. The link for these high obesity rates is the fact that since 2003, when 54 percent of our

residents reported to be active or at least moderately active, that number has fallen drastically to 41 percent in 2009.

Even though we’ve had campaigns targeting sexually transmitted infections such as Chlamydia, syphilis and gonorrhoea, the prevalence of these STIs in our territory, especially in the smaller communities, is simply shocking. The rate per 10,000 across this country is 24 per 10,000. In the Northwest Territories it’s 199.5 per 10,000 and, Mr. Speaker, 396 per 10,000 in our small communities; numbers that we certainly have to address, Mr. Speaker.

In the area of mental health hospitalizations, 58 percent of all hospital stays related to mental health were for substance-related disorders. This certainly comes with a cost to our health care system, Mr. Speaker, and could make a very good case, once again, for a treatment and rehabilitation centre here in Yellowknife.

I’ll have questions for the Minister of Health at the appropriate time. Thank you.

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

The director of the Income Support Program in Education, Culture and Employment visited Tuktoyaktuk recently to announce that her department will start using a voucher system for their clients. She was apparently responding to the question of the local hamlet. Mr. Speaker, at the time I would support anything that the Hamlet of Tuk does, so I supported it as well.

Mr. Speaker, going over it, I want to air some questions to share with many community members about the program change. First of all, how are the people going to pay for babysitters, taxes, buy groceries and emergency telephone services.

Secondly, what consultation has been done with the community? At this time there was only the one meeting. We have to do proper consultation.

Thirdly, the voucher system hasn’t worked in any northern community. Can I have these questions answered simply? People won’t be able to pay babysitters, taxes or telephone services to get the vouchers, and no cash. There was no consultation with income support clients to tell them what was going to happen.

As for a voucher system, to my knowledge it has never worked for a long time in northern communities. Education, Culture and Employment has four main goals in their vision statement of income security: encourage self-reliance, treat individuals with respect and dignity, have clear

policies and procedures, and target benefits to those most in need. Mr. Speaker I don’t see the goals of having a voucher system for income support. I see that takes away people’s ability to make choices in their own responsibility of money.

I have said to people in this House before, I have never been one to tell people how to spend their money. The benefits will go to businesses where they can be used, such as the Northern Store, Stanton, and the community or food mail.

Hardly a day goes by that I am told in this House that the policy is under review. These things take time. As a Member, be patient. But this time, income support in Tuktoyaktuk seems to be a new breed. Mr. Speaker, we have to deal with this.

I will ask questions to the Minister at the appropriate time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Today I’d like to talk about support for traditional healing practices.

Mr. Speaker, traditional healing practices have been part of the Dene culture practices going back decades. There was no such thing as doctors, nurses or western medical practices in the early 1900s when the Dene people lived nomadic lives.

Mr. Speaker, some of the Dene people have special gifts for working with and using traditional medicines to heal certain illnesses. They are called traditional healers, and Dene naidi k’orel?a in Chipewyan.

Mr. Speaker, I believe the GNWT should seriously explore how traditional healing practices could be supported. I have spoken to a constituent of mine who has been healed by a traditional healer in Saskatchewan. The same constituent tried western medicine practices by seeing doctors and specialists for many years, to no avail. After making a few visits to the traditional healer, my constituent believes that he is healed.

Although traditional healers do not set charges for their service, there are other expenses involved for a person wishing to make a visit to a traditional healer who may live in another province or another part of the Northwest Territories. The cost of expenses for travel and accommodation can add up for one trip alone, and normally a total of two trips are required before a person begins to feel the healing process work.

Mr. Speaker, although traditional healing is different from western medicine practices, it’s similar in terms of healing. I believe the GNWT should consider recognizing and supporting traditional

healing as medical expenses and help support those who believe the only alternative to healing themselves is seeing a traditional healer.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Tomorrow is the last day that we’ll be together in this Chamber as the 16th Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories. There will likely be a wide range of emotions. Some of the Members will be making their last statements and leaving the Assembly for the last time.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Premier Roland, David Krutko, and you, Speaker Delorey, all of whom have announced that they won’t be seeking another term, for all of your hard work and your dedication over the years. In your own way you have each made a difference to the people of the Northwest Territories. Your contributions will not be forgotten. Thank you.

For the rest of us who I believe are seeking re-election, it will be both a sad day and possibly the last day for some of us as well, but also an exciting day as we re-engage in the campaign process.

I’ve had a great four years. I’ve learned something from each and every one of my colleagues. I’ve had the opportunity to travel throughout the North and meet residents in almost every community from every walk of life and I’ve learned from each and every one of these people as well.

This is significant because to me people are the reason that we are all here. People create the business. People create the partnerships. People create the opportunities. People commit to their communities and people drive change. I believe the strength in the North comes from its people. As leaders, we must work with the people to create accessible programs and services to ensure that all Northerners have the opportunities and resources to live healthy and productive lives.

I want to take this opportunity to thank my constituents for all of their support and encouragement over the past four years. The Great Slave riding is my home and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed representing its residents. I’ve enjoyed being your representative in this Legislature and having the opportunity to bring your thoughts and concerns to the floor, committee rooms and offices of this Assembly.

I will be seeking re-election in the riding this fall and look forward to the opportunity to represent the Great Slave riding in the 17th Legislative Assembly.

I also hope to see some of you back here in six

weeks to carry on the important work of the Government of the Northwest Territories. It has been an honour and privilege to serve with each and every one of you.

I’d like to end with one of my favourite political quotes by Joseph Howe, which has been taped to my office window for all to see for the last four years. I look at it every day and it helps focus me on what I’m doing here in this Assembly. It says: “When I sit down in solitude to the labours of my profession, the only questions I ask myself are: What is right? What is just? What is for the public good?” These are important words for politicians to live by.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, after hearing the Minister’s statement on devolution, I have to sort of cringe, knowing that the Dene aren’t part of the process. They make up almost 45 percent of the NWT population consisting of five regions in the Northwest Territories. They’re the region most impacted by resource development in the Northwest Territories.

I believe the Dene/Metis claim clearly stipulated that they shall be involved in the process. They didn’t have to ask to be invited, as has been suggested in the Premier’s comments. They have the right to be at these tables. Yet I quote in regard to a Globe and Mail article which states that Mr. Roland now worries that he may have been heavy-handed in ramming it through. Well, you definitely were heavy-handed and it’s definitely something that shows here today, that the Dene people are again being trampled on by a government that has no say on Dene lands without their consent and involvement.

I know we heard from a lot of Dene leaders when the Devolution Agreement was being signed, directed at a lot of the Aboriginal MLAs to resign and step down. For myself as an MLA being here for 16 years, that is one of my reasons for leaving. I think it’s important to realize that this government’s approach to Aboriginal people, especially the Dene people up and down the Mackenzie Valley, is totally unacceptable on how we deal with our First Nations people in the Northwest Territories. More importantly, those people who have constitutional rights, whether it’s under Section 35 of the Canadian Constitution or treaties under Treaty 8 and Treaty 11 and modern-day treaties.

I, for one, take offence from the comments in the Minister’s statement that the members are being invited back to the table. To be invited to a party

means you basically send out an invitation and say come to the party. The Dene do not have to be invited to the party. They have the right to be there.

I will question the Premier on this later.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When the federal government began to establish itself in our communities and to assume the responsibilities of our lives and to govern all aspects of our lifestyle by first signing the treaties and the Metis script, then to work with the missionaries to convert our people into civilized people, and furthermore, to support the trading companies to begin the first economic development programs with fur trading, slowly over the years more and more established structures began to be part of our present life today. One of the biggest single established infrastructures that was brought in was public housing.

Our elders, as a matter of fact, my grandfather once told his chief that we as people should not move into government housing. This would not be good for us, he said. It’s a trap. We’ll always be in debt to the government. We are independent people and we need to continue to be independent. However, with the promise of $2 per month rent, it’s too good of a deal to pass up.

In Colville Lake at the Sahtu Secretariat Annual General Assembly I heard stories again and again from the elders talking about the government officials telling people that if they move into the government houses, they would only have to pay $2 a month for staying there. These testimonies are very strong and true today as we rely on our elders to continue guiding us and providing direction to all our lives. More importantly, what was said during the treaties.

Today I see the true words of my grandfather and my elders. We are so dependent on the government for everything: to get us water, to turn on our lights, to heat our homes, to feed us, and even to police us. We were so independent at one time. Today I see, and I hear, and I know my people are now living in warehouses and tents and overcrowded houses. Today the Housing Corporation says we owe thousands, no, millions of dollars for rent. We see the Government of Canada is going to stop the funding by 2038. That’s 27 years from now. Meaning that my son, who is nine years old today, when he turns 36 there will be no more social public housing in Canada. Good.

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

I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

We are often asked to rise up and begin to take full responsibility for our lives today. We have created it and now we must take back what once was ours. My only hope is that we do we act when the time comes. Remember, we continue to be slaves to the NWT Housing Corporation’s policies and they determine our fate in life. I say this doesn’t need to be our destiny anymore.

Housing is essential. It’s our home, our identity, our place we call home. NWT Housing Corporation needs to be really shaken up to help our people to keep their homes and start keeping people in the houses they once built and were once promised to us.

I witnessed our Minister work with one of my leaders this morning with the housing issue. I want to say thank you to the Minister for his leadership, and I know that we can solve our problems when we get our thoughts and minds together.

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

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

The change in season reminds us how important it is to secure an adequate, affordable, suitable home. Hundreds of Northerners depend on our public housing system for this shelter. It is a constant source of challenge for our governments. These challenges are frequently debated in this House by MLAs.

I believe that the Northwest Territories would be better served if the Housing Corporation became a department of our territorial government. As a department, the Housing Corporation would prepare full government business plans and have the support of our intergovernmental resources. Core need in our communities is directly related to infrastructure planning. Preparing and being involved in our business planning process along with other infrastructure expenditures would help determine how to best spend our scarce infrastructure dollars. We would be more proactive in our approach to the decline in funding from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. Core need is steadily on the rise and we need to reverse this trend as quickly as possible. The department also reports directly to the Assembly. Therefore, there would be greater accountability and oversight in how the Housing Corporation operates, resulting in greater transparency. There would also be an

opportunity to address the old arrears and get them off our books once the NWT Housing Corporation is dissolved.

In certain ways the Housing Corporation is already similar to a department. Members review its annual business plans and reports, and have regular contact with senior officials through the Minister. Restructuring the corporation as a department would not come at a significant cost, I believe. It is an opportunity to streamline our system, leading to greater savings in the long run.

As a government we should constantly strive for ways to improve our services to Northerners. We need to look beyond our four-year term and make changes that will benefit people over a longer period. Restructuring the Housing Corporation into a department is a viable option and one that is worthy of the 17th Legislative Assembly’s

consideration.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Some months ago the Minister of Health and Social Services announced the suspension of midwifery services in Yellowknife. This was not welcome news for many women and families who had benefited from the services and those who would like to plan for the future. A recent petition supporting the program had 304 signatures. To me that speaks out loud and clear about how important the services are.

When midwifery services were first offered in Yellowknife, it was part of a plan to expand the Midwifery Program that began in Fort Smith, to reach out to other centres across our territory. Then the plans changed. While the Health department figures out what they need to now do and how to focus on the territorial program, we seem to be going backwards, according to constituents, certainly not forward on this premier health care service that has been offered in the past.

Many months have now passed without people knowing where the program is going, and accordingly this is a concern to many constituents who are trying to plan ahead, because they believe strongly in the Midwifery Program and they want that to be part of their childbearing experience. They have heard, and I truly believe this, that the NWT has one of the best midwifery programs and certain reputations in Canada second to none. As many people know, the birth of this spectacular program came out of the well-known small community called Fort Smith, hand delivered to our

Northerners by Leslie Paulette. To her I owe a great compliment.

I worry, as many others do, about what is the plan to re-establish this program here in Yellowknife. It’s a much needed service to help take off the pressure of our health care system while at the same time providing families with real options as they grow their families here in the North.

Later today I will have questions for the Minister of Health to find out how this program is evolving and when, hopefully, we’ll see the re-establishment of midwifery services here in Yellowknife that are in great need.

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

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

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Rarely do I get an opportunity to recognize in the gallery some young men who have been a big part of my life, and they’re a bigger part of my life now, my sons: Mitchell, who is the youngest, Samuel, Quincey and Justin. Along with them, joining them in support for me here today is Ms. Angela Young.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. Robert McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize Mr. Herbert Blake, chief of the Nigtat Gwich’in in Inuvik. I’d also like to welcome Mr. Steve Baryluk, a resident of Inuvik. Welcome to the Assembly. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like today to recognize all the Pages who have been working so very hard for us in the last couple of weeks. I would especially like to recognize a constituent of Frame Lake, Jaida Brunet. Thanks to all of you for your work.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to also welcome Mr. Herbert Blake from Inuvik. Again in the House I have Mr. Frank Pokiak, chair of the Inuvialuit Game Council, and Mr. Larry Carpenter, chair of the Wildlife Management Advisory Council.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to take a moment to recognize a couple of people. I’d like to recognize Chief Tsetta. I believe he’s up there in the gallery; I saw him a moment ago. He’s the chief for Dettah, as we all know. I’d also like to make special note of Lee Mandeville. He’s with the Dene Nation. And a long-time friend of mine, Sonny Lenoir. We were kids together growing up in Fort Simpson.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Bob McLeod.

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to recognize Morag MacPherson, the founder and creative force behind ArtsEnergy. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s my pleasure to recognize Chief Edward Sangris of Dettah and chief of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation. I’d also welcome Chief Tsetta if he’s here too.

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

Item 6, acknowledgements. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement I talked about the public housing issue and I talked a little bit about the elders and what the past historical counts that were discussed amongst the government officials and our people today. I want to ask the Minister of Housing, because of all these past grievances and what was told to people and what we’re living today is…(inaudible)…two different stories. I want to ask the Minister, in light of the federal government, he has already declined their funding to housing for the social housing programs, what other initiatives other than the review going on and being brought up in the 17th Assembly, what is he doing now or

his department doing now to make sure that people do not remain in the tents or the warehouses that they’re living in in their communities?

I’ve seen some of this work this morning and I’m truly impressed that the Minister is looking at other creative ways as to how to get people out of tents or into houses and stop them from going into the warehouses to house their families. What is the

Minister looking at as other ways we can do some work before the first snow comes?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We try to work very hard with residents to keep them in their units. It’s not our intent, as I’ve said on a number of occasions, to put people out. They have to understand that they have a responsibility. A lot of people have lived up to that responsibility.

The Member was making a reference to the $2 a month. I think as a Housing Corporation we’re doing a lot better than that right now when you see 798 seniors paying zero and housing still paying to maintain the unit. Obviously, we’re faced with a challenge in trying to keep the CMHC funding flowing. It’s something we have to continue to work with Canada on, and hopefully we’ll be able to come up with some kind of solution so we’re able to still provide public housing. It’s one of the reasons why we’ve put such an emphasis on arrears, because it helps us offset some of the money we’re losing from CMHC.

I’m certainly very appreciative that the elders are paying zero. And it should be. These are all seniors across the North. That’s my understanding from our elders about the public housing. However, I’d like to go back and ask the Minister what the Corporation is doing right now.

When I go back to the Sahtu, people right now are living in warehouses and their families are living in warehouses. People are living in makeshift tents in the communities. We know right now, I heard from the Minister and I heard from the rest of the MLAs about the responsibilities of rents and arrears. As a matter of fact, Mr. Speaker, they’re living in warehouses and tents. What else can we do in the short term to get people out of those situations? Because fall is coming around.

Mr. Speaker, I’m not sure if the Member is referring to those that have arrears that have been evicted from their units having to live in the conditions that he’s describing. If that’s the case, then obviously they’d have to work something out with the local housing authority to try and clear off their arrears and then they’ll be able to get accommodation again.

I mean, I have to point out that during the life of the 16th Assembly with the investment made from the

federal government and the only jurisdiction in the country to match the federal investment, we’ve been able to do over 600 houses on the ground. As part of our vacant unit strategy, I’ve informed this House that we’re proposing to turn those that can’t be allocated into public housing. So we’re looking at getting more public housing on the ground.

Again, if it’s arrears, then it’s something that they have to work out with their local housing authority. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With the housing and all the dollars that have gone to investing, we’re well aware of. Still, the point, Mr. Speaker, is that people are living in warehouses and tents and people are living in overcrowded units. Maybe it’s a bigger government. I’m looking for a solution here. I’m reaching out here. How do we get people who are right now living in warehouses and tents, as we speak under this roof right here, move them back in? I mean, there’s got to be another way than just saying it’s your responsibility and this is what you need to do. Obviously, they’re not getting it. What can we do to get them into a unit there?

In the Member’s Member’s statement he talked about how people were once very independent and now they’ve become dependent on the government. There are all kinds of opportunities for people out there to be independent. They’re given every chance and every opportunity by the Government of the Northwest Territories and there is a very good support system. The Member said that I keep saying the same thing, and obviously, that’s what it comes down to. It comes down to the same thing.

To stay in a rental housing unit, you have to pay your rent. If you don’t pay your rent, you’re evicted until you can make some kind of agreement to take care of the arrears and then you would end up back in public housing. Without the public housing portfolio, there would be a lot of people out there who wouldn’t be able to house themselves. I think this is a good solution. We ask people to work with us. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final, short supplementary, Mr Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today and tomorrow when we finish our House business here and we go back to our communities, we will still go back to where people are going to be in their tents, in their warehouses, and we need to let them know. Certainly we can let them know about the options that are there for housing that’s provided for them. I guess that’s one of the cruel realities of not taking full ownership or full responsibility for your issues. There are two sides to a story. I guess what I want to ask a Minister is: is his corporation going to be putting some of the stronger homeless policies in our communities where people now have to look at homeless shelters in our communities, not only in Yellowknife but other communities? We are going to have to start looking at smaller centres where we need to have a stronger homeless Shelter Policy.

As part of the overall Shelter Policy review, homelessness is one of the

aspects of the review that we are looking at along with the rent scale review. We are hoping to have the work done and it would be then put into a transition document for the 17th Legislative

Assembly and they can decide at that time what the priorities of the 17th Legislative Assembly are.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today my questions had to do with the income support situation in Tuk with the voucher system being implemented September 1st . I had more than a few

calls that we were rushing into this, to step backwards to try to keep people independent, giving them independence and make the right choices. It’s bad enough that they are on income support and there are no jobs in the community. Mr. Speaker, I just wish this pipeline would get started so we would have work and the...(inaudible)...would get going. But, Mr. Speaker, until then we are on income support, a good majority of Tuk.

We are rushing into this. Could the Minister reconsider his decision on the voucher system that was supposed to start September 1st of this year?

Could the Minister defer this until April 1, 2012, so we can have a proper implementation for the community and maybe put it to a community vote? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. It is a credit system that we’ve been talking about since fall 2010. The Member approached our office and also the Tuk Hamlet Council also supported the process. The DEA also supported the initiative. Based on that, we decided to go ahead from what we heard from the community leadership.

If the Member wants to have this deferred, I need to have some confirmation from the DEA and the Member himself and also the Tuk Hamlet Council that they want us to defer the matter until the new fiscal year. I am more than willing to work with that, Mr. Speaker, but I need some confirmation from the community of Tuk. Mahsi.

I was a supporter of this because, like I said before, I support anything my leadership of the community of Tuk, the mayor and council, supports, and the DEA.

Mr. Speaker, if I was to get these letters within the next few days from the Hamlet of Tuk and the DEA and myself, is the Minister committing to me that he would defer this until April 1, 2012? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

If that is the wish of the community of Tuktoyaktuk, then I’m willing to work with that and we can make a decision to defer this matter once the confirmation letter comes in from the three parties. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement I talked about traditional healing practices that should be supported by the GNWT. I was generally referring to our own GNWT staff. I have questions for the Minister of Human Resources on the matter.

Can the Minister advise me if he has had any discussions at all in his department on traditional healing practices as an alternative to healing for our staff? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have had some discussions on it, mainly because of the fact that we have had some requests from Aboriginal employees that have been to visit and seek traditional healing from different places in Canada.

This is something that is starting to be recognized in formal medical circles. We are trying to make sure that we can deal properly with employees that want to seek traditional healing. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Can the Minister tell me if there is a plan to add traditional healing to recoverable expenses for GNWT employees when seeking alternative medicines for healing? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We don’t have a plan, per se. As the Member may know, within the Government of the Northwest Territories most of our expenses are either covered through our insurance policies or through the government programs. I guess the difficulty we’ve been having is to identify -- how would I say it -- in a formal medical sense we have to deal with certifications and we need approved medical criteria that we deal with. We don’t necessarily have that with traditional healing. Generally we deal with it on an ad hoc individual basis, but we are doing some work to promote cultural awareness and diversity within the government. I think that would be an area where we can start to look at it.

Can the Minister briefly explain a little more on what some of the barriers or some of the obstacles would be for us to move into

supporting the traditional healing as an alternative? Thank you.

I can think of a number of barriers. I think it’s very similar to when the government developed the Traditional Knowledge Policy. In a lot of cases at the community level, people, when there were no other medical services, used traditional healing or traditional knowledge with regard to traditional medicines and how they dealt with different kinds of illnesses or accidents. So there is the formal. It’s the same when you look at scientific knowledge and traditional knowledge. It’s a question of how do you recognize it. So we would have to work with our Department of Health because traditional healing generally falls within the health care system.

As a government, for those employees that have been accessing traditional healers, we’ve been using our Employee Assistance Program to try and deal with it. I think in the longer term we would have to look at different areas and try to identify people that are traditional healers or that provide traditional holistic medicine, I guess.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Minister then work with the Department of Health to sort of look at what we would refer to as best practices maybe across the country, maybe across the territory, and look at the whole issue around traditional healing and allow traditional healers to be a part of the system when people are seeking an alternative healing method?

As I indicated, we are looking at how to increase cultural awareness and diversity. I think that would be a start. We’ll get our consultant to help us in identifying those areas and make sure that those employees that practice it are not dismissed out of hand and we can try to work together to find ways to deal with it.

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

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Health and Social Services and getting back to my Member’s statement where I talked about the Northwest Territories Health Status Report that was tabled in this House on August 22nd . Some very

concerning details included in that report. I spoke of those in my Member’s statement: the overall health of the territory dropping 11 percent in four years; the rate of diabetes continuing to climb; obesity 10 percent above the national average; activity rates falling from 54 percent in 2003 to 41 percent in 2009; the prevalence of STIs in our territory is

shocking and alarming. I want to begin by asking the Minister of Health and Social Services what will become of this report. What are we going to do with this report and the information contained in it?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is an important planning document. It comes out in five-year increments. It’s one of the core pieces of information that we use as a department and Legislature to look at where do we focus our attention, what’s working, what’s not working, what are some of the alarming trends, as the Member pointed out. We get back to the inevitable return to the issue of prevention and the abuse of alcohol, smoking, improper diet, lack of exercise; fundamental things that we have not yet instilled into the people of the Northwest Territories; personal choice issues that have not yet been picked up by the people. It is a very important document.

In the eight years I’ve been a Member of this House I’ve seen campaigns come and go. We’ve had Get Active campaigns. We had the former Minister of Health and Social Services just a few years back handing out posters and condoms and changing from a sexual transmitted disease to an STI, sexually transmitted infection, and drawing attention to that. The numbers aren’t getting any better.

I’d again like to ask the Minister if we are going to use the data that’s contained in this report to re-evaluate the campaigns and the programs that we’re spending money on every year that really, when you look at the numbers, aren’t making much of a difference.

The over $300 million that we do spend provides a very high level of service to the people. The Member’s point is a good one. We’ll never have enough hospitals, enough facilities to put people back together, to get them healthy once they’re sick, and the challenge is an unmet challenge, is the one that the Member lays out.

Will this be used? We’re going into an election here in a couple weeks. There will be in the next few months an Assembly elected and a Cabinet picked. Through the business planning process and the priorities of the next Assembly, they will be targeting where they think the resources of government should be spent, and what improvements should be made, and what changes should be made.

I thank the Minister for that reply. I’d like to follow up by asking the Minister, who takes ultimate responsibility in evaluating the programs and services that we provide in these

various areas, if we can enact some changes so that the money that we’re spending is actually going to make a difference.

Ultimately the broad issues, the broad decisions, the review, the voting of the public money comes to the floor of this House. There are MLAs elected, there are committees put together, there’s a government selected, business plans are done based on the initial fundamental direction that comes out of the Legislative Assembly.

As we’ve attempted to do in the 16th Assembly in

terms of program reviews, the government, working with the committees and MLAs, has the fundamental task of ensuring that the money is spent, and that the program priorities are the right ones, and that there is value for money. That is where the fundamental responsibility lies.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Once again I thank the Minister for the response. In closing, last question, I guess with technology and systems being what they are today, and I’m very appreciative of the report that was tabled on the 22nd of August, but we’re dealing with

two- and three-year-old data in most cases. I’m just wondering if that’s the best we can hope for going forward. We should be trying to get some more up-to-date information when dealing with these things.

This is a longitudinal look at trends across the land in different areas. If you take this five-year increment and put the other three reports before them, you’d see, as the Member has indicated and as the report demonstrates clearly, a lot of our statistics continue to go in the wrong direction. We have some more current statistics on different areas that we could look at if the Member has a specific request, but in terms of gathering this kind of broad data that’s going to give us those trends and available for planning purposes, it’s those five-year increments that give us that kind of necessary information.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In regard to the statement made by the Premier on devolution, I asked a few questions regarding the Dene leadership, regardless it’s the Gwich’in, Sahtu, Tlicho, Akaitcho, or Dehcho, which make up a large part of the Northwest Territories land mass which encompasses some of the riches like oil and gas and minerals. The devolution process, the whole reason it got to where it was is because of

the Dene/Metis claim which was signed in 1988 in what is now Behchoko and was back then Rae-Edzo, in which they signed it with the idea that the Northern Accord was part and parcel of the Dene/Metis land claim because the Dene/Metis could not negotiate participation agreements like they negotiated the Inuvialuit Agreement and the agreement in Nunavut. That’s why they demanded that “shall consult” and “shall include” the Dene/Metis in the Northern Accord process was fundamental to the Dene/Metis Agreement back then and it is today.

The Gwich’in have similar wording, and the Sahtu have similar wording, and the Tlicho have the same wording. It says the Government of the Northwest Territories shall involve the Gwich’in in development and implementation of the Northern Accord for oil and gas development in the Northwest Territories and which negotiations between the enabling agreement dated September 5, 1988, between Canada and the Government of the Northwest Territories.

I’d like to ask the Premier, noting from your statement, you make reference that you’re inviting the participants back to the table. Like I noted, the Dene/Metis have the right to be at the table, especially the Dene groups that basically were part and parcel to the land claims, but more importantly, to the rights they have. I’d like to ask the Minister why there is such an inconsistency between your statement and what’s in the land claim agreements.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Quite clearly, I think there is a lot of consistency in the statement. The fact of the way we’ve behaved as a government. When you look at the agreement-in-principle, that got its origin… The Member talks about the Northern Accord of the Dene/Metis comprehensive process. That agreement never got signed and moved forward. That’s why the Gwich’in were the first to do a separate agreement, followed by the Sahtu and now the Tlicho. Other groups are negotiating. In those claims that are settled, those groups that have settled are already benefiting from royalties as part of the claim process. That’s one thing, for example, the Inuvialuit don’t have, because theirs was the first and that option wasn’t on the table.

There are groups benefiting from royalties of developments already in the Northwest Territories. Not this government but some of those groups. The invite, as I’ve worded in my statement, is there, the table is set, the chairs are there, they are ready to be filled if they want to come to the table. They have been a part of the process. They have developed the agreement-in-principle that was signed. They helped pen some of the sections. When you look at chapters 5 and 6 of those

sections, those are the strongest parts of an agreement that actually put in place in a final process a government-to-government approach. Not just ad hoc but an actual process that would be protected going forward. So the table’s there and the chairs for all of the groups are at the table. They just need a body to fill them. By signing and moving forward, they would be full participants once again, and the option’s there for them. They have to make the decision to come to the table.

I believe the concern that the Dene have is the way the approach has been taking place, in which I quoted the comment made by the Premier in the Globe and Mail where he stated that he worries he may have been too heavy-handed in ramming it through. I believe you were heavy-handed and you continue to be heavy-handed by not trying to find a workable solution to get these parties involved in the process, but more importantly, how they’re going to be affected through these negotiations and not being party to those talks. I’d like to ask the Premier what you meant that you have been too heavy-handed by ramming it through.

I guess I could do the proverbial “I was misquoted,” but, no, the fact is I was speaking frankly with an interviewer and he asked, well, some people have said you were too heavy-handed in your actions.

Clearly, these were not my actions. They were the actions of the Assembly. The majority of Members agreed that we need to move forward with this process. We decided to do that. Taking the stance and holding the stance, some may consider that heavy-handed and I guess I would look at it that there are some people who would believe that is the action I took and followed.

Quite clearly, one of the things I’ve said right from the start of this Assembly, one of the things I’d heard for decades about Northerners needing to be the leaders in their own land and making decisions in their own land, this is absolutely about that. Let’s take our rightful place. Let’s be the leaders. Let’s be the governments. Let’s not just talk about it.

The only group in the Northwest Territories that really have real ownership of land in the Northwest Territories is the Dene people. They have been here for countless generations. They have Treaty 8 and Treaty 11. They have a fundamental right to the land in the Northwest Territories, regardless if it’s lands through treaties or lands through modern land claims. They have the right to those lands that you’re talking about. If you’re imposing legislative decisions on those groups on their land without them at the table, to me that’s a fundamental flaw of where you’re going as a government.

I’d like to ask the Minister how you can state that you are willing to continue to race full speed ahead

and not include those groups that have a fundamental right to lands in the Northwest Territories and have a proven track record to those lands, regardless through the Paulette court case or the land claim agreements.

Before I respond directly to the question, I must thank the Member, I guess. We can have one more lively question and answer process. This is going to be our last opportunity. We have one more day coming up to debate such an important subject, and I must say the Member has been very consistent in his approach and his values placed on Aboriginal leadership and the fact that we need to take our responsible place in decision-making here in the Northwest Territories.

Along with that, I think we’re so close, and I’ve said this to the Aboriginal leadership in the territory. We’re speaking almost the same language. In speaking to the president of the Gwich’in Tribal Council at the assembly, he said a lot of times we get tangled up in the process, and I think that is one of the things here. The process is what we’re tripping up on, but we believe in the principle that we need to be making decisions and benefiting from those decisions in the North.

When you look at the land claims, Mr. Speaker, we’re following those land claims. They do have a right. That is why they were part of the development of the agreement-in-principle. They also have a seat at the table should they choose to, and it is their decision to choose to. We have opened the door. The seat is ready for them. It’s not about saying, well, you can come in if we think about it.

In another instance with the regional leadership process we started in the 16th Assembly well over a

year ago, I put on the table the concept of the Council of Federation, much like we’ve taken place, and prior to that, and I believe it was the premiership of Premier Kakfwi of the day who signed that agreement on behalf of the Northwest Territories. Prior to that we were on the outside in the hallway waiting to be invited in. When you look at that principle, we have now created a table where they can be in there, should they choose to.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to reverse the statement made by the Premier. That’s exactly how the Dene people are feeling today. They are feeling they’re sitting outside the room and they’re waiting to be invited in, and technically they don’t have to be. I think that is the problem with this process and I think the Premier nailed it right on the head. How we felt when we’re basically sitting on the sidelines of the federation of the governments across Canada is how the Dene people feel today because of this Devolution Agreement.

I’d like to ask the Premier, prior to signing off the agreement there was an attempt made for a protocol agreement to try to work out these arrangements through a workable situation moving forward, and also those sections of the land claim agreements you noted, they have to be implemented by way of whatever legislation we come forward with. I’d like to ask the Premier exactly what are we doing as government to find a way to get those groups back into the tent, to the table, and allow them to raise issues and concerns that are going to affect them through resource development into the future?

Through the process we’ve been engaged in, we continue to update all of the Aboriginal groups including those who haven’t signed and are not right now a part of the formal negotiations. But as I said, there is a spot at the table. There is a chair waiting for someone to take up that seat and become part of the process. The door is open for them to come in. It’s a decision they need to make. In fact, we’ve put through this government a request for dollars to help with the Aboriginal groups to be a part of that process. We’ve opened the door, we’re providing funds, and we continue to keep that door open.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Colleagues, I’m trying to give the Members as much leeway as possible in questions here, but at the rate we’re going with the preambles, we’re going to be lucky to get eight Members in. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will try to be brief. My questions today are addressed to the Minister of Health and Social Services and the Minister responsible for homelessness. In our last sitting in May I asked some questions about the GNWT Homelessness Strategy. The response from the Minister and follow-up from his office indicated that the development of a Homelessness Strategy and framework is being led by the Homelessness Coalition chaired by the City of Yellowknife. I was very surprised at that, and I asked for clarification from the office and I haven’t received it. I’d like to know from the Minister, is a non-government organization -- that would be the Yellowknife Homelessness Coalition -- developing a framework or a strategy which will govern GNWT activities related to homelessness?

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Yellowknife Homelessness Coalition provides a valuable service in Yellowknife. There is also an interdepartmental working group

when it comes to the issues within the Government of the Northwest Territories and shared jurisdiction by different departments in dealing with this issue. So to the question from the Member, the answer would be, in my opinion, no.

I thank the Minister for that. That leads me to the question. We have a homelessness framework. It was developed in 2007. I’m given to understand that we are currently still following that framework, which is now rather outdated. I’d like to ask the Minister whether or not or he can advise me when there will be some plans in place to update that 2007 framework. Thank you.

I think there’s a general recognition that this area has been somewhat untended. The Minister responsible for homelessness doesn’t have the actual budget. There’s a need to work closely with other departments and there’s a need to look at that type of ongoing coordination. At this late juncture with one more sitting day left in the life of this Assembly, I would suggest it will be one of the challenges for the 17th Assembly and the incoming MLAs to

decide on this issue, among many others.

Thanks to the Minister for his words of commitment, I think. I take it that he recognizes that there’s a lack of coordination. He indicated, I think, if I heard him correctly, that there needs to be some coordination and work done in the next Assembly, so people may be quoting Hansard from the 16th in the next Assembly.

Part of the answer that I got was that the Homelessness Interdepartmental Working Group develops programs. I’d like to know what activities in terms of developing programs that that working group has taken. Thank you.

They work, in many cases, more with the small community funds, working with communities outside of Yellowknife, in many cases, responding on a one-off basis to situations that arise in different communities dealing with homelessness or some hard-to-house issues. The broader idea and need for government planning across departments is one that there needs to be more work done. At one point in the 15th Assembly there was a Social Programs

Ministers Committee that came together on a regular basis because of issues such as this, seniors, as well, because of cross-departmental mandates and the need to integrate that kind of service and figure out how we’re going to better manage this and try to coordinate what money is there. That is still before us.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Your final supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thanks to the Minister. I gather from his response that this interdepartmental group does not do program

development. They simply seem to be reactive, if I understood him correctly. To the issue of the coordination and the work that needs to be done, I’d like to ask the Minister, if he is lucky enough to return to this House, will he make homelessness and the coordination of it a priority? Thank you.

I mean, this is an issue for every Member. It’s been on the table for the 16 years that I’ve been here. It is a challenge. It will continue to be on the table of the legislators of the 17th Assembly, and whoever’s

standing in this position a number of weeks hence will be having to discuss and indicate to the people how we intend to move forward on this. It will be based on the direction, of course, of the Legislature and the priorities set and the business planning process that’s going to follow. It’s an issue that’s on the list and it will have to be dealt with. We know there are things that have to be done better. Thank you.

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