Good afternoon, colleagues. Welcome back to the Chamber. Before we begin today, I would like to draw your attention to the Canadian flags that are on your desk, marking National Flag of Canada Day.

---Applause

February 15

th

was declared National Flag of

Canada Day in 1996. We commemorate the day in 1965, when the first red and white maple leaf designed flag flew proudly over Parliament Hill.

I quote the words of the Honourable Maurice Bourget, Speaker of the Senate, on that occasion:

“The flag is a symbol of the nation’s unity, for it, beyond any doubt, represents all the citizens of Canada without distinction of race, language, belief or opinion.”

The distinctive design of our Canadian flag has become a powerful and prominent symbol of Canada. It is recognized all over the world as the flag of a people who cherish the ideals of democracy, freedom, justice, diversity and respect.

It is a particularly fitting day to celebrate not only our flag but also this grand and beautiful country we live in. Thank you, Members.

Orders of the day. Item 2, Ministers’ statements. The honourable Minister of Justice, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I’m honoured to speak to the recent commemoration of a police patrol that has been known as The Lost Patrol.

On the 21

st

day of December 2010, in memory of

the 100

th

anniversary of this historic event, the

community of Fort McPherson joined members of the RCMP and numerous leaders and officials to honour the members of The Lost Patrol. The day-

long event included a memorial service, a wreath laying ceremony and a community feast.

As history informs us, from 1904 to 1921 there was an annual Royal Northwest Mounted Police tradition to make a trip from Dawson City, Yukon, to Fort McPherson, Northwest Territories, which is approximately 620 miles, to deliver mail and dispatches.

In December 1910 the Commissioner of the Force asked instead that the trip be made from Fort McPherson to Dawson City. The patrol was led by Inspector Fitzgerald, who was accompanied by constables Taylor and Kinney, and guide, Special Constable Sam Carter. The four set out from Fort McPherson on December 21, 1910, with provisions for one month. Unfortunately, the patrol faced conditions that would prove fatal.

With the patrol long overdue, Corporal William John Dempster left Dawson City on February 28, 1911, in search of the patrol. On March 21

st

all four

members were found. They had succumbed to the harsh conditions. Two of the members were found just 40 kilometres from Fort McPherson.

Although I was not able to participate in the events, I do share in remembering and honouring the dedication and sacrifice of the members of The Lost Patrol. It may have happened over 100 years ago, but the legacy of these officers has served as a foundation of the partnerships we share today in the delivery of policing services, a legacy of respect for the need to work together to meet the challenges of policing in a northern environment.

We need to take the time to reflect back on our history and the lessons we have learned from the loss of the members of The Lost Patrol and others who have lost their lives in the line of duty. These lessons all speak to ensuring we support one another and the community-at-large as we work together in building a police service that reflects on the needs of the North.

As an Assembly we have set ourselves the goal of creating sustainable, vibrant, safe communities. Each of us has an important role in pursuing that goal and making our homes and communities safer places.

This March the RCMP and the community of Fort McPherson will be further commemorating the 100

th

anniversary of The Lost Patrol by making a

snowmobile trip to the area where the officers perished.

The community of Fort McPherson and all members of the RCMP should stand proud as they continue to build on the legacy of the members of The Lost Patrol.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Deputy Premier, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to advise Members that the Honourable Floyd Roland will be absent from the House today to attend devolution discussions in Deline.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Item 3, Members’ statements. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good progress has been made towards preventing trespass in the Yellowknife area and on sustainable use of the resources of the Yellowknife block land transfer area. The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs is making good progress both in controlling unauthorized use and developing a plan and I want to recognize that.

A freeze on new leases was announced in December 2009, and legal and administrative action is underway to deal with squatters. Of 16 unauthorized occupancies in the Prosperous-Walsh Lake area, four sites have been voluntarily vacated, five sites have been legitimized, legal action is proceeding on three trespassers, and legal action is pending on four more. Perhaps best of all, the department’s actions in advertising, media relations and gazetting of legal actions is sending a clear message that squatting in the block land transfer is not on.

Work is also underway on development of the recreational land leasing plan. The block land transfer area is the critical watershed of this city’s water supply. It is a precious recreational and wildlife habitat resource and obviously there is a limit to the use this area can support. Analysis of that capacity has been taking place through a study, which I’m told is addressing the factors of water quality, occupation density, habitat, passive use and the like. Area residents and their organizations have been consulted thus far. I’m told that the City and Yellowknives Dene First Nation are being kept informed and involved.

This is good work and I thank the Minister of MACA and his staff for the leadership and action they’ve shown. I met with him recently and pressed my case for the next and essential stage in developing the recreational land use framework, the full involvement of citizens through a public consultation process. We may have been slow off the mark, Mr. Speaker, but MACA is now on track with this issue and my constituents and I appreciate it. Mahsi.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It was announced by the Minister of Health and Social Services last week and we are now in the middle of the 6

th

annual Drop the Pop campaign.

Last year 84 percent of our schools enthusiastically took part in the program. Ecole William McDonald School in Frame Lake had planned to drop a fake pop machine off the roof of the school to prove that they had moved pop out of the school, but insurance concerns intervened and they had to cancel the event, much to the dismay of the students, I’m sure.

But it is time to expand the Drop the Pop campaign to include energy drinks, Mr. Speaker. Students and adults looking for the rush that a sugary pop used to provide are instead replacing pop with energy drinks. It is absolutely the least healthy alternative to pop that can be found and it is dangerous. One energy drink contains far more than the recommended daily maximum limit of caffeine for a child, and that’s 85 milligrams. A can of Coke has 26 milligrams of caffeine. A much smaller can of Rock Star has 200 milligrams of caffeine. An indication of the potency of energy drinks is that they have well-known and listed side effects: nausea, vomiting, irregular heartbeat, tremors and diarrhea.

Health Canada reported 69 reactions to energy drinks between January 2006 and January 2011. That doesn’t sound or seem like a lot, Mr. Speaker, but one of those reactions was death for an 18 year old. One-third of the reactions occurred in young people between the ages of 12 and 30.

Mr. Speaker, last July a Canadian Medical Association Journal editorial stated that caffeine levels in energy drinks are hazardous to the young and that they must be regulated. It went on to say: “Caffeine loaded energy drinks have crossed the line from beverages to drugs delivered in tasty syrups.” These drinks, like drugs, are addictive. The well-known drink Red Bull has been nicknamed the drink of future junkies.

The government must consider banning energy drinks, Mr. Speaker. At least ban them from purchase by our youngsters. We can put in place the same restrictions that we have for the sale of cigarettes to young people. We need to encourage NWT school boards and educators to ban them from our schools.

Next year, Mr. Speaker, the Drop the Pop promotion should include pop and energy drinks. Maybe we can call it eliminating evil. Our kids will be healthier for it. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On June 2, 2009, the Minister of Human Resources committed to increasing the representation of persons living with disabilities in the GNWT public service. To accomplish this, the department and the Minister initiated several actions. These include the creation of an Advisory Committee on Employability, the implementation of a diversity officer to help counsel persons with disabilities through the GNWT hiring process, inclusion of specific references in job ads to applicants asking them to identify that they live with a disability and may require accommodation, and sensitivity training has also been offered to GNWT staff.

Mr. Speaker, these are all good things. However, new initiatives do take time to become commonplace in the workforce. There are certainly some departments that are supportive, and clearly there are some departments that are resistant to supporting this new direction.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Human Resources is the gatekeeper of all HR policies and procedures. It is the department’s responsibility to make sure that all departments, boards and agencies adhere to the GNWT’s hiring processes and procedures. I’d say that the Minister’s department is doing a good job in this area. Unfortunately, not all departments, boards and agencies are adhering to the government’s position.

For example, I have recently been involved in assisting a constituent who applied on a job at Stanton Territorial Hospital. He is a young Aboriginal man living with the effects of FASD. His effects are very minor but he does require minimal accommodation to be successful in a job. Specifically, clear direction on his role and responsibilities is important. This is required both up front and when significant changes occur in the role.

He applied for a manual position at Stanton. He was screened in. He was interviewed. He passed the interview. His references were called. They gave positive references. They both indicated that clear direction would be valuable and that he would be an excellent employee, and both references were excited and were confident that this young man would get the job. Unfortunately, he was rejected by Stanton. He was told that they would not be able to accommodate his disability. They didn’t have the time to provide clear direction in their busy environment.

Mr. Speaker, this smells like discrimination to me. Mr. Speaker, clearly, good work being done by HR is being ignored by some departments, boards and agencies; in this case, Stanton Territorial Health Authority.

Later today I will be asking the Minister of HR how his department, as the gatekeepers of our hiring policies and procedures, intend to make sure that all GNWT’s employees involved in the hiring process understand and adhere to policies in this area. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have heard countless discussions with my constituents regarding the lack of student boarding facilities and other resources for high school students in our small communities; resources such as expansion of grades, high school services for small and remote communities in Nunakput.

Mr. Speaker, the DEAs, the teachers and parents are working hard to reduce the dropout rates. We are working to keep kids motivated to stay in school, showing our kids the value of education. But we can’t do this alone, Mr. Speaker. There are many reasons why students in Nunakput drop out of school, but the biggest concern is that they drop out because we don’t support them. Expanding grades in the communities will allow these students to stay in their communities longer. Flying them into Inuvik and having them stay in boarding facilities is obviously not working for everyone.

If we are asking our kids to stay in school, we need to help set up and meet them halfway. We need to provide them with the resources, moral support, a good school environment, a safe and reliable place to live, and provide them many of these services. And that, Mr. Speaker, is a shame that we are not doing this. I am concerned that with the approach of the end of this government’s term, that other issues will take priority while leaving these students behind another year.

Mr. Speaker, that is unacceptable. In the last session there were eight students in Sachs Harbour alone, for various reasons, who have left high school, moved back to Sachs; reasons such as nowhere to live and not enough resources, moral support, and, according to my recent notes, it has not changed. Things have not improved. I ask this government why.

Mr. Speaker, our kids are to be competitive in an increasingly global market. This government must get serious about providing equal standards of schooling all across the Territory, not just in larger centres, resources allocated for expanding grades and services to our students. As I expressed in previous Members’ statements, the recent closure of homes for students of many regional centres across the Northwest Territories emphasizes problems. Many of us who lived in the North all our lives, and some for a length of time, all heard the challenges, problems and statistics related to students from small, isolated communities and all hearing situations that make me wonder if these are some of the causes.

Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment at the appropriate time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank the Minister of Justice for his statement in regard to the hundredth anniversary.

Again, Mr. Speaker, I am standing here talking about an issue close to the heart of people in Tsiigehtchic especially, policing services or the lack of policing services in our small communities. Mr. Speaker, we have some 10 communities in the Northwest Territories that don’t have policing services year round, but yet require assistance of police detachments to provide additional services.

Mr. Speaker, the lack of RCMP presence in Tsiigehtchic is not only a stress on the local residents and its resources but also the local council. Mr. Speaker, there is only one bylaw officer who is responsible not only to implement local bylaws but enforce liquor regulations and be the person that is responsible for dealing with those issues in regard to the breach of prohibition order for the community of Tsiigehtchic and criminal activities that take place late into the evening. But yet, Mr. Speaker, as we all know, the RCMP members are not able to respond to any callouts without backup. Yet, Mr. Speaker, we have our local bylaw officers who are there all by themselves

with no backup, no one to support them and they take these efforts on themselves.

Mr. Speaker, I think it’s important for the Minister of Justice to continue implementing police services in all our remaining 10 communities. More importantly, finding ways to improve those services. If that means scheduled community visits, developing programs on the local radio station, working with the schools, working with the community councils and also having annual meetings, or even monthly meetings with the local council to inform them of improving that working relationship with the RCMP. More importantly, Mr. Speaker, support the local bylaw officer who is there and left all by himself with no backup support. That’s why it’s important the RCMP and bylaw officers work in conjunction with each other and also provide the training that’s required for the bylaw officer to carry out his responsibilities.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister and department should seriously consider looking at recruitment and retention programs for summer students so that they can also assist the bylaw officer during the summer months on community patrols.

Mr. Speaker, I think it’s an essential service that we all sometimes take for granted.

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

---Unanimous consent granted

Again, Mr. Speaker, a lot of times we take policing for granted, except those communities that don’t have it. I think it’s important that the Department of Justice, the Legislative Assembly and the Government of the Northwest Territories take this issue seriously. It is putting our bylaw officers’ lives on the line, but more importantly they do require that support. All 10 communities that require policing services should be enforced.

At the appropriate time I will be asking the Minister of Justice questions on this matter. Thank you.

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

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. On January 20

th

to 23

rd

it was an exciting

time to be in Fort Simpson as the town became the Village of Champions.

---Applause

The Village of Champions event celebrated hockey, but more importantly the achievements of many individuals and organizations, coaches, volunteers, parents and supporters. The event attracted

approximately 500 people from Fort Simpson and other communities, including five hockey teams who participated in the weekend-long tournament.

This day was also recognized on Hockey Day in Canada on CBC North on Friday, February 11

th

.

To kick off the festivities, Parents for Playgrounds hosted a great community feast that was followed by a ceremony to recognize individuals who had been involved in development of hockey in Fort Simpson. Parents for Playgrounds also provided breakfast for participants and a canteen service all weekend. The Village of Champions also featured a silent auction fundraiser with all proceeds going to Fort Simpson Minor Hockey, and the Fort Simpson Hall of Fame that showcased a listing of past and present hockey leaders in the community, a collection of photographs and newspaper articles about hockey over the years. The young adults had a good laugh when they saw their minor hockey pictures from years ago, Mr. Speaker, an interactive area for guests to share their hockey memories. As well, local musicians from the Open Sky Creative Society provided entertainment at the Saturday evening dance.

This event celebrated not only individuals but also a strong community spirit. This event would not have been possible without the support of the Village of Champions event partners, the hardworking dedication of the families and individuals on the organizing team. A big thank you also goes out to those who generously participated in the silent auction. The Village of Champions event was entertaining and inspirational for everyone and showed there are many champions among us. Mr. Speaker, I look forward to the many years of Village of Champions events that will be coming in the future. Mahsi cho.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to speak to a number of concerns related to the perspective of the Liquor Board where the Liquor Act and the regulations are silent.

The NWT’s Liquor Board is made up of nine members appointed by the Minister. Members are selected on a regional basis to ensure that there is fair representation. Looking at this closely, I notice that there is a clear gap in board representation in the context of fair representation. Quite simply, there is no representative from the hospitality industry formally included. The only way someone from the hospitality industry can be on the Liquor Board is simply by chance. That doesn’t seem fair or reasonable, when considering the matter.

The Liquor Board issues licences and permits and is responsible for regulating our licence and permit holders and their operations. Among other roles, the Liquor Board advises the Minister on liquor policy, legislation and administration in the NWT. Undoubtedly, an industry rep would bring considerable value to the board’s discussions and functions as they work to fulfill them.

Some people may cry foul if someone from the hospitality industry was on the board, but one person out of nine can hardly be a deciding factor to create that conflict. On the conflict matter, we have a conflict of interest guideline that would apply to them no less than anyone else.

Many of our territorial boards make special allotment to ensure industry reps are included in some form. By way of example, the WSCC has both business and labour as reps. Accordingly, could it not be argued that both have singular focuses to grind away at the other perspective rather than bring insight and understanding to the table? I believe that they’re both valued on that board and I would think it would be less a board without them.

As well, while looking into the rules that govern the Liquor Board, residency requirements of both the chair and the board members is silent. If you are a member of a public board in the NWT, I expect, as many Northerners expect, you should be a current resident of the NWT. I do respect that there may be occasions when that need arises that we must seek representation outside of the Territory, but that is a very rare circumstance. I believe all boards and commissions should have territorial residence written into their rules. However, by and large every agency needs good people and I believe Northerners living in the North are the people that can represent us on our boards. As it stands, to be a member on the Liquor Board, residency is not a requirement under the Liquor Act or its regulations. As many others are concerned over the years that someone could see that someone who is on this particular board leaves the North, is once again rolling out the paternalistic attitude our Territory has been fighting for many years.

Later today I will have questions for the Minister who is responsible for the Liquor Board regarding this and other matters.

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

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

The community of Lutselk’e has not been able to maintain their Tinkering Tots Daycare and

Preschool Program. There simply isn’t enough money for this essential service in Lutselk’e.

These programs are very much needed. In the fall of 2010, negotiations between Lutselk’e First Nation and Education, Culture and Employment to offer preschool at the Lutselk’e Dene School occurred, but due to renovations not being completed in the summer of 2010, the program could not get final approval. The Lutselk’e First Nation would like to see the program get final approval and put into place in the near future.

Lutselk’e presently does not have a suitable building, government or non-government, or even a large room within a building to house and facilitate a daycare and preschool program. At the present time, many youth and young parents in Lutselk’e are interested in taking local upgrading programs but do not have a daycare that they can rely on.

The Lutselk’e Dene First Nation is in full support of a daycare and preschool program and is in definite need of a facility to house those programs. They also require training dollars to mentor a few individuals to become certified child care practitioners, as current regulations and funding sources require daycare/child care staff to be fully accredited and licensed in order to operate.

In order for students to have the maximum benefit of kindergarten and be ready for school, students must have the basic language skills in place, an ability to express themselves, and needed social skills that will allow them to listen, follow directions, to focus with interest, to ask and answer questions, to express themselves, and to respect and learn and cooperate with their peers.

Preschool is an essential part of education. Many four-year-old children who do not have the advantage of supportive, literacy-rich home environments and the experience of at least one year in preschool often arrive in kindergarten several years ahead at this time.

I will have questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment at the appropriate time.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to again speak today about the issue of sterilization equipment at Stanton Hospital. It is not my intention to cause undue alarm as the Minister stated yesterday, I just want to ensure that I get the right information out there for the public. The information I’m after for residents, and as if having a procedure such as a hip replacement is not a traumatic enough experience, can you imagine what it would feel like to get an infection which requires the

massive wound to be reopened, cleaned and then closed up again? This is what I’m questioning.

When were elective surgeries cancelled? What surgeries have taken place between then and now? The Minister states that post-operative infection rates have been below the national average for the period of 2006 to 2009 and that there is nothing to worry about. When did the five infections she mentioned yesterday in the House actually occur?

Also I’d like to understand what the Minister mentioned yesterday in regard to waiting for parts. What parts are they waiting for and where are they coming from? With elective surgeries being cancelled, is that not going to put our residents awaiting surgeries in a difficult and sometimes painful holding pattern? We need to get this situation rectified as soon as possible so that the hospital can get back to providing the valuable services it does provide to our residents.

This whole episode, as well, has got to be hard on the great staff that we have out at that hospital and CSR in the operating room, and I know that they’re patiently waiting to put this all behind us and move forward.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, acknowledgements. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment and I’d like to ask some questions about the student financial assistance client satisfaction survey that was held last year. The survey indicated that in general the student financial assistance staff are doing pretty well, but I was really struck by the answer to one question where 11 percent of the respondents were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the way staff explained their answers. I’d like to ask the Minister what action the department is taking to lower that percentage to improve the customer service for this particular measure.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. That information that we received we are following through with the various comments that were initiated. The customer satisfaction is, of course, our first priority. We need to rectify if there’s an issue or concern or challenge that’s before us.

My department has been instructed to look at it seriously on the comments that came to our attention. We will follow through with that.

I thank the Minister for that response. I appreciate that the department is taking action. I would hope for a little bit more specific response.

I would like to talk a bit about the results of another question. This was a question asked about the usefulness of the student handbook. The answers there were very disturbing to me: 71 percent of the replies were negative; 32 percent of them said they never use it; 39 percent of the students said that it was somewhat useful. It seems to me that it’s obvious that a revision is needed. I’d ask the Minister what plans the department has to revise the handbook.

This particular issue has been addressed, as well, by some students; the usefulness of the student handbook. We are looking at a revision. It may not be useful to some students because a lot of information is on-line right now. This is an area we are making some changes to. As you know, there will be review of the SFA overall as well. This could be part of that. It’s been brought to our attention, so the revision, seriously we are looking at that as well.

I’m pleased to hear that the revision is going to be part of the overall evaluation of student financial assistance.

One other result struck me as probably not the best. Table 5 in the report shows the results of student financial assistance service objectives. I was really surprised by the measurements used there. They asked whether or not appointments were met within 15 minutes of the appointment time, whether e-mail replies were received within two days of them being received, whether phone messages or voice messages were replied to within two days. I thought those were pretty lax measurements. As the Minister mentioned, this is a customer service-oriented program. We should be seeing people at the appointed time and responding in the same day.

Can the Minister explain to me why these particular measurements are so easy, I guess? So lax, to put it another way.

Again this could fall under SFA review. As you know, we service over 1,400 students for the Northwest Territories. There are some issues that may come before us. There might be some delays in responding, depending on the certain days. Customer service has been addressed here in the survey. We will do what we can as a department to rectify the issue, because expedience is, of course, our priority. We want to respond back to the students as soon as possible, but there are occasions that there may be some

delays. Our priority is to respond back to the students, each and every student, as best as possible.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister. I appreciate that they try to respond to people but I guess, you know, as soon as possible, in my mind, if I have an appointment, I want to see my person at the appointed hour.

The Minister says that things are in the works. I’d like to know -- with a school year starting again, they want applications in by July of this summer coming up -- when can the Minister tell us that we will be able to see some of these revisions? When will there be some concrete action for us to look at?

The school this fall is just around the corner. A few months. I can’t guarantee that all the revisions are going to be in accordance with what’s been said, but we’ll do what we can as a department to follow through with the issues that are brought to our attention as the Department of Education, Culture and Employment and lay that out. It will be shared with the Members as we make progress on these matters.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My Member’s statement today was on the housing situation and the high school dropouts in my communities that I represent in Nunakput. Given the current way the government provides high school to students from the small communities and it’s so problematic that many students all together leave high school and go back to their home communities, will this government immediately commit funds and resources for one high school teacher per community so that the students can at least get high school courses in the community and not fall so far behind?

Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. The honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. We do provide funding to the district education council which flows down to the district education authority. They decide which staff they’re going to be hiring. I’m not in a position to say you should hire these positions. We gave them the authority to do that. We empowered the DEA to make those decisions, the DECs. I have to respect their decision. If there are issues or concerns that the Member is raising that information should be shared with the DEA and DECs, I will do my part as

ECE to share the Member’s concern with the local school board.

Mr. Speaker, will this government conduct a thorough review to identify why so many high school students from small, isolated communities are dropping out of school? Mr. Speaker, we know the reasons already. It’s not worth going and getting another review done. This government is failing the education system in the small, isolated communities. Kids are staying home and not going to school.

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister send a Minister’s directive and tell the DEAs in the Beaufort-Delta region to work with the community of Sachs Harbour to get something done on this issue? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, we do have boards that represent those small communities. I also meet with the chairpersons that are responsible for each region. That information is brought to our attention and we work together collaboratively. At the same time, there is the Aboriginal Student Achievement Initiative that’s underway and we will be going to the Beaufort-Delta. Those issues have been addressed in other regions, as well, similar to what the Member is raising.

It is clearly our discussion around the table on numerous occasions already, Mr. Speaker, since we started in September. At the end of the day, we will have a package. The plan of action will include that and I’m sure what the Member is referring to will be addressed in that format. Mahsi.

It’s one thing of being addressed and one thing about getting something done. Mr. Speaker, we’re failing the students of Nunakput. Not only Nunakput, all small communities. Will this government allocate appropriate resources to address the serious problems regarding the high school dropouts to ensure that quarterly reviews and benchmarks are carefully monitored for the future on this issue, Mr. Speaker? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, that is the very reason why we’re doing this initiative. Concern was raised by the parents, the community members, the leadership, the educators in the communities, all communities of the Northwest Territories. That’s when the Aboriginal student achievement has been undertaken. That’s been identified where the students’ attendance is an issue and the quality of education has been brought to our attention as well. There is a strategy that’s been developed through the action oriented coming from the people of the Northwest Territories. It’s not my department saying this is good for you; it’s the voice of the North. We will be tabling the document in this House, as well, with an action plan.

Similar to what we had done with the Languages Strategy, Mr. Speaker, I think this is an opportunity for the Beaufort-Delta to provide us with the ideas and suggestions on these matters as well. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Your final supplementary, Mr. Jacobson.

Well, Mr. Speaker, I’ve been here for three years and I’ve been trying to provide that information. Mr. Speaker, if we have a house in the community of Inuvik that is able to take students from the small, isolated communities and put them in a safe house to have a safe place to stay where they could do their studying and stuff to get their education in Inuvik, will the Minister commit to putting resources and dollars behind that unit in Inuvik? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, again, the funding does flow through the school boards. What the Member is referring to, we will talk about that as the Department of Education, Culture and Employment with the school boards and with the ASA, the forum. That’s an ongoing discussion that we’re having. We need to find a solution. We can say throw money at these different schools and different areas. We need to find out where we need to focus our priorities. I understand where the Member is coming from, so I will follow through with that with our ASA and the school boards as well. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement today I raised a number of issues about the Liquor Board and its regulations and rules that govern it. Mr. Speaker, quite simply, the residency and the fair representation are the points I’ve been trying to raise. I feel that they could be addressed quite reasonably and fairly here today. Would the Minister of Finance, who represents this particular area in his portfolio, be willing to go back to the table and review the particular regulations that we have accordingly at this time and make residency a requirement as well as acknowledge representation on the board of governance that needs to be addressed? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister of Finance, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Right now there is no clear specific requirement in terms of residency for board members or who should sit on the board. We do look at regional representation and we also, as a

matter of course, expect that board members and the chairman will be residents of the Northwest Territories. I will commit to discuss the issue with the deputy minister and take a look at those issues. Thank you.

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

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement I spoke of the importance of preschool and daycare in small communities; Lutselk'e today. Mr. Speaker, does the Minister and the Department of Education, Culture and Employment recognize that preschool is paramount for the success of students from kindergarten to grade 12? Thank you.

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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I agree with the Member that we need to focus on early childhood. That’s when the students learn. We need to invest heavily in that area. We have been doing that and will continue to do that, Mr. Speaker. I agree with the Member that we need to focus on those early childhood students that are in our elementary schools or preschools and onwards. Mahsi.

Mr. Speaker, does the Minister and the Department of Education, Culture and Employment realize that daycare is an essential service in the communities so that parents can make productive choices? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, daycare is a service that has been provided in the community. We provide funding and resources and also operation costs, as well, to make it operational at the community level. Those individuals that may drop their children off at the centre, they will be well looked after. That’s one of our mandates as the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, to provide funding and resources to those establishments that provide those services. Mahsi.

Mr. Speaker, will the Minister direct the staff at ECE to develop a program and provide financial support to accredit daycare workers and preschool teachers? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, this is an area that we are currently exploring. It has been brought to our attention about the credentials that individuals bring to their positions and to recognize those credentials along with the funding sources and resources. It has been brought to our attention, so we are seriously looking at it and then if we can come up with some options in that respect. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Your final supplementary, Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Minister begin a process including building a building to house daycare and preschool in the department’s infrastructure plan? That could even be a renovation to the current school, Mr. Speaker, into the infrastructure plan. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, we don’t allocate funding for infrastructure-wise or renovation but we do provide funding for operation costs, programming and also parts of a mortgage and rents of the establishments in the communities. This is an area that we haven’t really explored, but we do provide funding in other sources. Mahsi.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are to the Minister of Justice in regard to my Member’s statement in regards to policing services in the community of Tsiigehtchic. As we all know, there are some 10 communities in the Northwest Territories that don’t have policing services and yet there was a commitment made by this government and also the 16

th

Assembly to

improve policing in the communities and improve on safety of our communities in the Northwest Territories. I would like to ask the Minister of Justice exactly what are we doing to implement that decision and direction that was given by the 16

th

Assembly to improve policing services in all of our communities.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister of Justice, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Since the beginning of the 16

th

Assembly,

there has been a goal that was set by the Justice department. We are following through with those goals to provide policing services. We may not have police officers in Tsiigehtchic, but we’ve hired an individual to be stationed out of Fort McPherson to look after Tsiigehtchic and provide more policing services. That individual is dedicated to Tsiigehtchic.

I have frequent meetings with the chief commanding officer in this respect. At every opportunity, Mr. Speaker, I have always pushed for more presence in the communities, because Mr. Krutko, the Member, is always reminding us that we need more presence. At every opportunity, Mr. Speaker, I provided that to the chief commanding officer. There has been some slight increase. I would like to see more as well. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, again, I think it is important that we do look at implementing some of these ideas, not just increasing the community visits but the RCMP and also the developing of programs, educating not only the public but the students, and also working with community leaders on exactly how they can improve not only policing services but ensuring that there are laws being abided by in their communities and working with the local bylaw officer. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell me if there has been improvement in regards to the RCMP working in conjunction with the local bylaw officer to ensure that there is ongoing dialogue and also communication between those two individuals so they can have a system in place to communicate?

Mr. Speaker, I can’t say today, but I can certainly find out from the chief commanding officer to see what the status is with the communication dialogue. Also the Member raised the issue in the past about sharing some resources as well. There have been talks about mobile units, radios and so forth. Those are areas that we are exploring as the Department of Justice with RCMP ‘G’ Division. Mr. Speaker, I will follow through and I will inform the Member of the status. Mahsi.

Mr. Speaker, again, I think it is important that we do have bodies on the ground regardless if it is bylaw officer, special constables or trying to find ways to be motivated to get people on the ground in the communities. They may not have the training like the RCMP members, but at least give them the training, give them the tools that they can also do the jobs when the RCMP are not there. They can have some sort of a presence regardless if it is through a bylaw officer or a special constable. Is that type of a program being implemented in the Department of Justice working with communities to look at the special constable, sort of reinstate that program by working with the bylaw officer in the communities? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, we do have three officers that are in training right now that have started the training at the depot. It is a Community Constable Program. Those are the areas that we explore with the RCMP ‘G’ Division and at the federal level. They finally listened. We are unique in the North so they gave us three positions. They will be graduating.

Mr. Speaker, this is an area of interest for us as well. We want to increase those numbers. We will do what we can, as the Department of Justice, to provide more information on this and possibly creating more similarities. The Member referred to the bylaw and other positions that may be workable with preventive measurement. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I thought we were well on our way with the reinstatement of policing services in Sachs Harbour. We were hoping we can hit other communities, but it looks like that is not being achieved through this government.

I would like to ask the Minister if he would seriously bring forward any recommendations or suggestions by way of improving policing services or similar type services to those 10 communities that don’t have policing services, but improve the systems we have to give the residents of those communities some assurances that their well-being will also be taken into consideration when it comes to policing services through the bylaw officer or whatnot. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, there was a commitment made with two communities, Gameti and Wrigley. We did hire those officers out of the GNWT budget. Now we are waiting for federal infrastructure. We made a commitment. We followed through with it. I understand where the Member is coming from. I will follow through with the ‘G’ Division and the chief superintendent as well.

The important part is the Member also raised that there should be community meetings with RCMP and the chief in council. I fully support that as well. I will be sharing that with the chief commanding officer and other areas that the Member has raised as well. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to follow up on my statement regarding Commissioner’s land trespass and the recreational land use framework being developed for the Prosperous-Walsh Lake area.

Although slow to start, I appreciated the work being done by MACA to crack down on cases of trespassing. Can we have the Minister’s assurance that all cases of unauthorized occupation from this day forward will be considered squatting and steps will be taken to remove this occupation by administrative or legal means, bearing in mind Aboriginal rights and their use of land? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Robert McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can assure the Member and all Members that MACA will take all necessary steps to deal with illegal squatters. The uptake on suspending the strategy has been very good. We have had a lot of folks come forward to legitimize their leases, not only in the Yellowknife area but in other areas in the Northwest Territories. We actually had 100 percent uptake in the other communities, so the message is out there. I can assure the Member that all illegal squatters will be dealt with. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, thanks for the Minister’s comments there. Good work has also been done on the development of the recreational leasing framework. Information is being gathered towards a comprehensive understanding of the resource base and the use of the area can bear while maintaining our vital interest in preserving the watershed of Yellowknife for our drinking water supply. The next essential step is an invitation of the general public to contribute its knowledge and suggestions. Will the Minister commit to a full public consultation, keeping in mind the need to allow sufficient time for full consultation should they happen and go ahead in the summertime? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, we are in the process of finalizing the density study and it is our intent to meet with the Cassidy Point-Prosperous Lake Association and hold a stakeholders forum, and the intent is to hold that in June of this year where we will be able to get input from all interested stakeholders and members of the public. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the Minister’s commitment to include all of the public in that consultation. The work this government is doing in the block transfer area is good, but, unfortunately, similar action from the federal government and protection of the commons is missing. For those who set up a metre outside the block land transfer boundary, they are home free. The federal government must be kept accountable and be called upon to meet its responsibilities. How is the Minister keeping the pressure up on the federal government to hold them accountable? What steps are being taken to bring them to the table for an effective partnership on this issue? Mahsi.

Mr. Speaker, we do have a working group that does include the Aboriginal group. INAC is also invited to the table to take part in the discussion. So I can assure the Member that we’ll do what we can to continue to invite them to the table and have their input.

Some of the federal land, obviously, would be land that would be identified in some of these land claim processes that are going on, but it is our intent to

always make sure we have the stakeholders, including INAC and the Aboriginal governments at the table to have a good discussion. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m afraid that is less than a satisfactory response. I’m sure the federal government is welcome at any of our tables, but here we need to go to their table and do some real work here. So I would have to grade that quite low, Mr. Speaker, and I’m sure the Minister can come up with better.

But I don’t just lay this on the Minister of MACA, Mr. Speaker. Every MLA and especially Cabinet has a role to play, because as the Minister recognizes, this is dealing with the federal government, big daddy out there. I’m wondering what role the Minister sees all of the MLAs and, for example, a block land transfer of this area, the Yellowknife MLAs, but throughout the NWT, I know the Minister is working in the Delta, and Cabinet. What role does he see all MLAs and Cabinet playing in working with the federal government to get them going? Particularly, how is he working to get this accomplished through the devolution discussions? Obviously those are going to take six to eight years and at the rate this problem is developing, we’ll be looking at doubling to quadrupling of this problem by the time we have authority to the land. Thank you.

Thank you. I would grade that question B or B plus.

---Laughter

We’re starting to grade everything here and I’ll work on improving mine for the next report card.

We’ll continue to work with the federal government. I mean, obviously there’s a lot at stake here. I mean, there are devolution talks, which you know would speed up the whole process because we’d have more authority over the lands in the Northwest Territories. But I mean, I can assure the Member and all Members that it is our intent to constantly work and put pressure on the federal government to realize that they have some responsibilities up here and they need to take those quite seriously, they need to become involved in discussions we have. We can have discussions between the Aboriginal governments and the territorial government, but we also need to make sure that we have discussions with the federal government and I can assure the Members that I will continue to push that issue quite strongly. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister responsible for HR. As far as HR plans go, Brilliant North 20/20 is a pretty good document, in my opinion. It goes a long way to increasing the representation of persons living with disabilities in the GNWT public service. But as outlined in my example earlier today, clearly not all department boards and agencies are supporting the government direction on hiring persons with disabilities; in particular, accommodating those individuals. So I’m wondering if the Minister could tell me what he and his department are doing to ensure that everybody who is participating in a staffing action understands the policies and procedures related to accommodating persons with disabilities and increasing the representation of persons with disabilities in the GNWT workforce. Minister of HR.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Minister responsible for Human Resources, Mr. Bob McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can assure the Member that all departments are committed to increasing the representation of persons with disabilities in the territorial public service. 20/20: A Brilliant North public service strategic plan, which government developed with all departments, makes it a priority to increase the representation of persons with disabilities in the territorial public service.

Now our GNWT employability working group, as the Member indicated, in 2009 we invited the Yukon workplace diversity office to come and talk to us about best practices and we learned a lot from that and it is our objective to become something similar.

Now HR is working with all departments to establish human resource plans so that we can begin to work to increase our percentages. Right now it’s 0.5 percent of persons with disabilities working in our government and we’re going to start working to increase it to 0.8 percent, which will get us to having a representative public service. Thank you.

Thank you, and I appreciate that. I’ve read all that in the Brilliant North 20/20, which, like I said, I think is a good document. What I’m more interested in right now is already we’re including the reference on job ads to indicate that persons with disabilities should identify their disability and indicate that they need to be accommodated. We’ve also got this great diversity officer that this young man in question actually contacted and got information on how to apply, what to do, what to indicate in his cover letter, and he applied on the job at Stanton. At the end of the day, after he passed the interview, after he screened in, passed the interview, had good

references, he was told by Stanton that you’re not getting the job because we won’t accommodate your need.

This is a job pushing a cart in a hospital, Mr. Speaker. So I’m curious what is HR going to do so that in the future this type of thing doesn’t happen again. What we want to make sure is that departments are abiding by our rules. So how do we as a department... How does HR enforce the rules? How are we going to make sure that people understand and implement them as intended? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We are working with all departments to establish the disability framework so that all departments will be able to follow this framework to increase our representation. Right now our focus is on employability, increasing the education and awareness of all departments with regard to dealing with persons with disabilities in the workplace with the sensitivity training. We expect that we will go a long ways to increasing the numbers of persons with disabilities in the workforce. Thank you.

Thank you. Once again, I appreciate the Minister’s response, but I come back to this example. The person was told that they weren’t getting the job after they passed and the references were good and they were told that Stanton would not accommodate this person’s disability. So we know it’s happening. Does the department have any recourse where a department clearly isn’t abiding by the rules? Does the department have any recourse or ability to make sure that departments do adhere to the policies and procedures of this government? Thank you.

Thank you. We have established a GNWT Advisory Committee on Employability that’s making its recommendations to the government so that we can increase the representation of persons with disabilities. What we’re trying to do is strengthen our relationship with not only our government, but with non-government organizations, and the Union of Northern Workers and other unions so that we can increase our percentage of persons with disabilities in the workforce. Right now we’re working on developing a communications strategy that will go out to all people in the Northwest Territories and advance to a disability survey that was developed by what we call GACE, the GNWT Advisory Committee on Employability. We have developed a disability awareness training module that we’ll be sending out an RFP very soon to finalize that so we can start awareness training in the near future, and we are also dealing with the recommendation to revise the definition of disabilities in our Affirmative Action Policy. So that will give us greater awareness and will give us more ability to deal with different

departments when it comes to employability. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and once again I appreciate the Minister’s response. I know a lot of good work is done, but we’ve still got this situation where it seems to me that a department could ignore all the good work that the Department of Human Resources is doing in this respect if they choose not to accommodate, they just choose not to accommodate and they don’t hire, but we have a policy that says we’re going to accommodate. So what action are we going to take to make sure the departments actually live up to the policies and procedures that we have? What is the department going to do when those departments choose to ignore HR? HR is the gatekeeper, Mr. Speaker. What’s HR going to do to make sure that these departments who are choosing to ignore, choose to ignore? Also, what mechanism exists for a person who applies on a job like this when there is no appeal process because nobody filled the job? Ultimately, this job wasn’t filled by anybody. There’s no appeal mechanism for the person to say hey, I was discriminated against, what’s my recourse? To the Minister, thank you.

This is a process that will not happen overnight. As to what I’ve outlined, it will allow employees with disabilities to self-identify. We also have to work with all departments so that we can match people with jobs. We see this as a role of the diversity office and all of HR working in conjunction with the departments. As we go along we will identify jobs and people and do the matching so that we can increase our representation.

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

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to ask the Minister of Transportation some questions regarding the Liard River ice crossing. In November I raised the issue that the department had plans to use their own forces to build an ice bridge. That’s certainly something I don’t support. I’d like to ask the Minister what the plans are for this coming year’s ice construction schedule.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m not aware of any changes at this point to how we’ve constructed ice bridges historically, so I’d have to look into the issue.

I’m sorry, Mr. Speaker. I did not realize the exchange was completed. I just want to raise the issue that the ice is being constructed by local companies employing local people. It’s been a source of income for seasonal workers for many, many years. I certainly support the continuation of contracting that ice crossing out. I’d like to ask the Minister, I’m not too sure if the contract is up this year, but it’s certainly something I’d like to see continue.

Our practice has been to utilize local contractors and generate local employment as much as we can. Construction of ice bridges and ice roads has always historically gone to private contractors. We have been looking at ways to save money or cut some of our costs and I’m not sure if this is one of the areas that may have been targeted. I will review the situation and reply to the Member directly as to what our findings are and what our plans are.

I certainly look forward to the Minister’s response and, as well, we’ll have another opportunity to discuss this during his departmental business plans in Committee of the Whole. I just wasn’t clear; did the Minister say that the contract was up this year or was that for the information that he requires to see?

We have quite a few contracts that are signed with communities and development corporations across the Northwest Territories. I can’t say with any certainty whether the specific contract referenced is up this year. I will find out, though, and provide that information.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ve got some more questions today for the Minister of Health and Social Services getting back to my Member’s statement where I was talking about the sterilization of surgical equipment at Stanton Hospital. Again my main concern here is the public that are out there waiting for surgeries and residents who have gotten post-operative infections being upset and concerned over how this has all played itself out. I’d like to ask the Minister when exactly the decision was made to cancel elective surgeries at Stanton.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all I need to clarify some of the confusion that might be created as a result of our exchange here.

There are incidents of infections that I had reported yesterday, but there is no connection between those infections and the sterilization equipment that we’re talking about.

Stanton is maintaining and upgrading the sterilization equipment. They are waiting for parts. For that reason they have had to cut down on surgeries. They are doing emergency surgeries as well as those that require medical travel when people travel here to have surgery. They are doing those. They are delaying elective surgeries. That is a separate process from incidents of infections that the hospital has identified, which they are following up on.

Based on that information that they need to be serviced and maintained -- and I’m speaking about the equipment -- can the Minister give me a date that would coincide with a decision being made to delay or cancel elective surgeries at that hospital? I’m looking for a date from the Minister.

I don’t have a specific date, but Stanton has delayed and lowered the number of elective surgeries in January and February.

The Minister talks about parts and we’re waiting for some parts. I know the CEO had mentioned that in a news report, as well, that they’re waiting for a part. I’d like to ask the Minister exactly what parts we’re waiting for and why it’s taking so long to get those parts to arrive at the hospital.

I’d like to reiterate what the CEO said in her interview, which is that all of our equipment meets national standards. They’ve decided to improve the steam quality of the sterilization equipment. They have recently installed a new reverse osmosis system and are in the process of installing a steam filtration system to improve steam quality. In doing so, they have had to have a new part and they are waiting for that. That is the situation with this.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It doesn’t get much more vague than they’re just waiting for a part. I’d asked the Minister a specific question: what part are they waiting for and why is it taking so long?

That’s a highly specific and technical question and I’d be happy to undertake to get the information on exactly what equipment, exactly what part, and exactly from where that Stanton is waiting for this.

I should note here, though, that our biomed department at Stanton is second to none. They have a very good staff and well-trained staff who maintain and look after our medical health

equipment from all over the Territories. In my entire time of 12 years here, I don’t remember something like this happening. I have full confidence in the authority to do the job and this is an extraordinary situation, but I’m sure it’s a normal situation too. The hospital is in need of equipment and they are ordering a part to be able to do that.

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