Thank you, Mr. Moses. The Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize two Languages Board representatives from the Sahtu: Dora Grandjambe from Norman Wells and Ann Orlias from Colville Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Item 6, acknowledgements. Item 7, oral questions. The Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to follow up from my statement earlier today with questions for the Minister of the Environment. I’d like to ask the Minister if he does indeed agree with the science that has overwhelmingly been stated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, that global emission must be reduced by at least 25 to 40 percent by 2020 from the levels in 1990. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The science as it pertains to climate change is not under dispute or question by the government. Thank you.

Thank you. I appreciate that response. Still, given that and given that we are one of the richest countries in the world – and indeed on average one of the richest regions in Canada – how can this government justify doubling our greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels or 66 percent from 2005, 66 percent-plus, when we need to reduce by 25 to 40 percent by 2020? How can

we justify that and expect other partner jurisdictions around the world to reduce their emissions when they’re in a much poorer and more strident state? Mahsi.

Thank you. What we as a territorial government can justify is the $60 million that we’ve put into alternative energy, the work we’ve done with our Greenhouse Gas Strategy, the work we’ve done in the areas of biomass, wind, geothermal, hydro, the work that we will have done and will continue to do in those areas. The construction standards, the attempts to look at efficiencies across the North. So we are a northern jurisdiction and we recognize we have a heavy reliance on fossil fuels, but we are doing things that I think are very progressive and I have no trouble speaking to those. Thank you.

Thank you. Again, given what we know and given what’s required, will the Minister commit to developing a firm track of actions to achieve the necessary 25 percent or greater reductions from 1990 levels in our emissions by 2020? Mahsi.

This government intends to follow through on the work that’s been laid out in a recently concluded Greenhouse Gas Strategy, and the path laid out in that strategy to look at how we will set targets and meet our obligations as a territory within Canada, of course, and as inhabitants of planet earth. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I did note the Premier’s statement today that we must be responsible stewards of our environment so our land and water can continue to sustain future generations. Indeed, it’s future generations that we’re talking about here.

This morning in Durban, the Canadian youth delegation was kicked out of the talks because of their civil disobedience. The Canadian Youth Coalition, of course, includes some residents of the Northwest Territories that I’m very proud of. They stood up during the talks, turned around and on the backs of their sweatshirts or T-shirts were the words “Turn your backs on Canada.” I have to ask why would they go to such extremes. It’s simply because these are the people that we are making policies for. These are the people that will be dealing with all of the impacts, et cetera, of such policies. So I would like to ask, because they are the ones who will suffer the consequences of our policies and actions, what words does the Minister have to explain our policies, which essentially amount to a crime against humanity, given our understanding of the science, as the Minister has stated today. Mahsi.

Thank you. It appears we’re going to take up where we left off in the 16

th Assembly.

I totally disagree and reputed the Member’s allegation that somehow this government, this Assembly is engaged in crimes against humanity. We are doing an enormous amount of good work, not up to the Member’s standards maybe, but very, very progressive work as it pertains to water, as it pertains to mitigation adaptation to climate change, putting significant amounts of money to that, and to put us in the same category as Gbagbo and some of these folks from Serbia and other folks that have been charged over the years, Nazis and stuff with crimes against humanity is I think to me unacceptable and does nothing to help us carry on a respectful dialogue on the best way forward. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was very pleased to hear the Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation announce a freeze on the evictions for public housing tenants who have arrears. I wanted to ask the Minister when will this policy come into effect and what steps will the people who have arrears have to take to address them between now and April 2012.

I want to thank the Minister and this government for a good Christmas present for the people in the Northwest Territories.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister for Housing, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The moratorium actually will take effect right away.

As far as the Member’s question goes as to what steps do they have to take, we want to encourage public housing tenants to go to their LHOs, enter into repayment plans, not only enter into them, we would ask that they honour them, because, as I said in my Minister’s statement, come April 1

st for

those that haven’t entered into and honoured their repayment plans, evictions will happen.

I’ve received notice from Deline that there were a lot of people on the eviction list that have to go through that legal process. This government, through the Minister, has put a moratorium to not go through that legal process. I want to ask the Minister, given the time to educate the people on the arrears if the tenants are not quite there and given the amount of time that we have, and not honour their repayment plan or to look at what the Minister’s hoping to do, what are

the consequences for those tenants not quite there to start working on their arrears?

The process that the LHOs are going to follow is all the processes that are in place right now will continue to move ahead. So if there are terminations or rental officer hearings, those processes will not stop. The actual evictions will not happen until April 1

st . This gives

people ample opportunity to try and get into repayment plans.

The Member asked about the consequences, obviously, and as much as we don’t want to do it, come April 1

st evictions will happen, and then it’s

going to be a shame that these people haven’t stepped up to the plate after having another opportunity on top of the many that they’ve already had before.

I take this announcement as a golden opportunity to educate people in public housing units with arrears, to look at the responsible side of paying your bills and look at some of the consequences of not paying them. Some of the tenants that we have are fairly young. They think that whatever you damage or break in these units, windows and that, that the government will be there automatically to fix these places. What about the people – I just want to confirm – who are not being responsible for their units, through partying or damages? Will they be part of the evictions as the Minister has stated?

The process won’t change at all for those who are being terminated or evicted with cause, damaging units and the likes of that. Those terminations and evictions will go ahead. The moratorium only applies to rental arrears and rental arrears only.

I believe the Minister is being very clear that this is a one-time event and that people really need to address their arrears. I’m hoping that the Minister has a good educational plan to help people become informed as to their arrears and how they can be able to start paying off their arrears. Can the Minister inform me in the House here what type of plans they have with the Shelter Policy review and the rent scale review?

The Member makes a very good point, that this is another opportunity to deal with the tenant arrears. Our TROs actually work very closely with the tenants to try and educate them on the responsibility that they have as clients. In many cases in the past we’ve had numerous opportunities where we’ve tried to contact tenants, in some cases up to 18 times, and tenants are given chance after chance after chance. We’re hoping that they don’t see this as another opportunity to put off what they should be taking care of.

I still believe that some people will step up to the plate and that’s our goal in all of this, because this is, as the Member said, a one-time opportunity. It will not happen again.

This is the beginning of a new Assembly, the beginning of a new government. We thought this would be a good leeway into the work of the Shelter Policy Review and the rent scale review. That work has for the most part been completed. We’re looking for an opportunity to meet with committee and share with them some of our findings and recommendations and options and try to have that implemented as soon as possible. This is a piece of work that has been going on for a while and it’s one that people across the Northwest Territories, I think, are going to embrace. It addresses a lot of the concerns that we’ve heard during the campaign and from Members of this House and Members of the previous Assembly. That work is pretty well complete. We’re just going to inform Members and then we’ll go public with it.

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