This is page numbers 6965 - 7000 of the Hansard for the 16th Assembly, 6th Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was assembly.

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Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

The SRC did withhold some funding for applications that were not approved, and they’ve also had the opportunity to clarify most of these applications and will be providing information to all the partners on the funding process for them by the end of this week.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister for that response. I mentioned the appeal process in my Member’s statement. Appeals, regardless of the organization or structure, are usually heard by independent bodies, not by a group or body that the appeal is actually being filed against. This is not consistent with the appeal process utilized by the SRC. In this appeal process the appeal is heard and ruled on by the SRC itself. Further, the SRC has indicated that appeals can only be based on errors in process, not whether the process was fair or equitable to all parties.

In the case of this appeal, the SRC will be reviewing the Sport North appeal and will be making binding ruling but will not be considering whether parties were treated equitably. Some got multi-year funding while others didn’t. This is an odd process and doesn’t really sound like an open, transparent, or fair process. Sport North wants the right to be heard in a fair process. They would like an oral hearing with an independent person hearing their concerns. Would the Minister commit to working with the SRC to have them appoint a fair and independent person to hear and make recommendations on this current appeal?

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

Sport North will be advised by the SRC on the results of their appeal by the end of the week. The appeal won’t be heard by an outside person or panel. The appeal process is stated in the SRC investment guidelines that were available to all applicants during the application process and, granted, through this exercise that we’ve gone through, we realize that the appeal process can be approved and we’re looking at doing a review of the appeal process for the 2012-2013 funding cycle.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

Norman Yakeleya

Norman Yakeleya Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of ENR. We heard through the grapevine and have been notified that the federal government, through Environment Canada, has suspended 21 of the 23 water quality monitoring stations in the Northwest Territories. I want to ask the Minister what his assessment is of how long Environment Canada would be suspending these operations, and does the federal government acknowledge their signed commitments under the Water Strategy agreements with our government.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The government is aware of its responsibilities under the Water Strategy. We’ve had recent correspondence from Minister Duncan to that effect. This move by Environment Canada to put all these monitoring stations on hold while they do a review is, I believe, a part of the Deficit Reduction Program that the federal government is undergoing right now. The assumption is that once they’re closed, that they won’t reopen, however, there’s still the faint hope that once the assessment’s over, that some of them will be implemented or started up again. The fact of the matter is, we don’t have enough monitoring right now with everything going flat out. This will be a detriment to the overall work that we’re trying to do through the Water Strategy.

Norman Yakeleya

Norman Yakeleya Sahtu

I guess the question here is how serious is our federal government in Ottawa closing down these 21 monitoring stations at this time saying that they’re committed to environment and water. What is it costing them through this reduction of the funding? Hundreds? Millions? Tens of millions of dollars? They’re only keeping two, one in the South Slave and one in Hay River. I want to ask the Minister here what other things we can do to convince this government that they need to pay attention to the water and put more balance to the funding, and not to allow industry to spoil our land here.

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

We know that the federal government’s taking somewhere in the neighbourhood of $4.3 billion a year additional money out of the federal civil service programs across the land. What those specific budget targets are, or deficit reduction targets are, I don’t know. We do know that we are engaged in transboundary water negotiations. We do know we’re involved in

negotiations on devolution through the AIP, which includes water. We also know that we’re engaged with the Alberta and federal governments in setting up a monitoring system that was supposed to be world class, according to Mr. Baird who was Environment Minister at the time, to deal with some of the significant concerns about the downstream effects of the oil sands. We have those areas, plus we’ve been in correspondence with the government raising our strong concerns about what these cuts are doing to our ability and their ability to do their jobs where the federal government still has fiduciary and legal responsibility.

Norman Yakeleya

Norman Yakeleya Sahtu

The Government of the Northwest Territories is actively engaged in negotiations with the Devolution Agreement-in-Principle. In there it states 23 monitoring stations. Right now we’re reduced to two. What is it going to cost us? Even in the list here, there are parks in the Northwest Territories that are not going to have any type of monitoring station there. What is it going to cost our government if we want to continue with all these 23 that the federal government is only going to fund two stations? The federal government totally disrespects the people of the North and the land claims agreements, because certainly it’s not abiding by what they signed. Can the Minister tell me how we hold the government’s feet to their commitments, to the fire, that they signed in these agreements with the Northwest Territories and the Aboriginal governments?

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

Of course, the best security we have is to negotiate the agreement-in-principle so that we get the resources and we control the decision-making and the processes, and from here on in if there are any changes, it will be done by people in the Northwest Territories.

At this point in time we’re still subject to the broader planning of the federal government where they issue out broad targets to departments, $4.3 billion to the government, and they’re going to find the money from everywhere. We’re caught in that process. There are layoffs across the land from the federal government side; layoffs in other jurisdictions as they all fight deficit reduction. The best way is for us to conclude, as fast as we can, a good solid deal that will ensure that we have that security and protection.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

Norman Yakeleya

Norman Yakeleya Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to ask the Minister, does the Water Stewardship Strategy or any transboundary agreement include the provision that can be done if a responsible authority like the federal government does not uphold their commitments to protect water for the people of the Northwest Territories.

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

Currently the federal government does have that responsibility. What we are negotiating now is an arrangement with Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia, mainly to, in fact, have a legally binding agreement that will address the quality and quantity issues as they pertain to water flowing to us as a downstream jurisdiction. We are, in fact, negotiating with the federal government to take over that responsibility within the Northwest Territories. But in the meantime they do still have the legal and fiduciary responsibility when it comes to water, when it comes to honouring, and they will continue to have, with relation to land claims and treaties, that responsibility to Aboriginal people.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

Jackie Jacobson

Jackie Jacobson Nunakput

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Listening to my colleague Mr. Bromley bring it up before, and in my Member’s statement regarding the news that we had from the Prime Minister today, my questions are asked to the Department of Transportation. What are the chances of seeing if we could get extra funding this year to start from the Tuk side to kilometre 22 on extra funding to bring it up to 90 kilometre standards to get work in the community of Tuk and to bring outside people in the riding from Inuvik, such as Sachs Harbour and Paulatuk, to get jobs in the community? What are the chances of that?

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. The honourable Minister responsible for Transportation, Mr. Michael McLeod.

Michael McLeod

Michael McLeod Deh Cho

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are a number of things that we would like to continue doing and working on. Source 77 road is, of course, always on our agenda. We also want to do more work on the Environmental Impact Review Board submission. We’ve earmarked some dollars internally to address that and we want to continue those discussions. We also need to start our discussions with the Inuvialuit on some of the gravel sources that we’re going to need, and use of the land, and purchase of the land. There are a lot of things we’d like to do. We want to keep the momentum going on this project. Of course, the final decision will be resting with the 17th Legislative Assembly to decide

whether this all-season road goes ahead or not. Thank you.

Jackie Jacobson

Jackie Jacobson Nunakput

The federal government gave us $150 million for this project to open up the highway system sea to sea to sea. I think the question that I’m asking is pretty straightforward. Do we have money in the government transportation to see if we could keep the roadwork

able to start this winter for 90 kilometres standards between 177 in Tuk? The review board and that is doing the rest of the highway, but do we have funding in place that we could start?

Michael McLeod

Michael McLeod Deh Cho

First of all, the money identified in the federal government’s announcement is to start next year. The decision whether construction can start will be done and made by the 17th Assembly. We as a department

and all our officials along with other departments are working towards doing all the legwork that’s required, all the discussions that need to happen prior to the election, and during the election the work will continue. We want to have the information available for the Members as they return or the Members that are part of the 17th Assembly.

I’ve also asked Minister Aglukkaq to have a meeting. We don’t have a whole lot of time, but I’d still like to have the opportunity to sit down face to face, whether it’s in the territories or in Ottawa, to discuss the terms of the funding. That hasn’t been sorted out completely. Our officials are having those discussions, but we would really like to have a better handle on how the money is going to be flowed, to who and how much. There are lots of things that have to happen and they all have to be paid for from internal sources within our departments. Whether I can commit to the Member that the work will happen this year on the request he’s just made is difficult. We are trying to fund a number of initiatives on this project with a very limited source of funding.

Jackie Jacobson

Jackie Jacobson Nunakput

Mr. Speaker, with the project, all of the regulatory processes are in place for 177. With the money starting, I mean, with the 17th Legislative Assembly over a four-year term, I won’t say the numbers, but it’s doable, and I hope to be here to push it through. At the end of the day, from 177 to Tuk, we have no work in the community this winter. All we’re going to have is the ice road. The ice road work that is yearly, $600,000 a year. The government has to try to stimulate the economy up north.

All I’m asking for is if we’re sure of the federal government’s commitment for the $150 million, would the Minister commit monies to go forward this winter to start work in the 177.

Michael McLeod

Michael McLeod Deh Cho

I hear the Member loud and clear. The reality is there are a number of initiatives that we have to embark on to get the information that is required to help the 17th Assembly make the decision on a going-forward basis. We want to ensure that they have the best information in front of them as possible. If I was to commit to finishing some of the work on source 177, then in all probability we wouldn’t have the money to do the environmental impact report, which is close to a million dollars.

I can commit to the Member that we’ll look very closely. The money that’s required will have to come from internal sources, and at this point we don’t know if it will be available for contingent work in that area.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Your final, short supplementary, Mr. Jacobson.

Jackie Jacobson

Jackie Jacobson Nunakput

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Moving on to the meeting with the federal government, will the mayors of Tuktoyaktuk and Inuvik be invited, and the parties that are involved with this project be invited to the meeting?