Good afternoon, colleagues. Welcome back to the Chamber. Orders of the day. Item 2, Ministers’ statements. The honourable Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Robert McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to extend best wishes to Team NWT’s 120 athletes, coaches and mission staff...

---Applause

...who will be participating in the 2011 Canada Winter Games being held in Halifax, Nova Scotia, from February 11

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The Canada Games are an important event that demonstrates the benefit of healthy, active living. The GNWT continues to provide funding for NWT youth to participate in multisport games as a way to encourage youth to be physically active and achieve this Assembly’s goal of healthy, educated people.

Our athletes have been preparing themselves physically and mentally for these games. They will compete in biathlon, cross-country skiing, curling, figure skating, hockey, speed skating, snowboarding, judo, badminton, squash and gymnastics. All have spent countless hours training hard in preparation for what will be the pinnacle of their sporting careers to date.

The hard work and long hours put in by the athletes and coaches in preparation for the Canada Games is worthy of our recognition and applause. Not only do these athletes represent the Northwest Territories on the national stage but they are also excellent, healthy, lifestyle role models for the entire North.

The hard work of Team NWT’s athletes could not be accomplished without the behind-the-scenes

efforts and support from members of their communities. The extra hours of preparation, the fundraising, the organizing and support from family members are all critical to the athletes’ experience and ultimately their success. To all of those behind-the-scenes -- volunteers, parents, staff, schools and community governments -- thank you.

As Team NWT sets out for Halifax as ambassadors for the North, I wish to commend them for their efforts and, whether or not they come home with medals, let them know that they will return better for the experience, with new friendships and experiences that will last a lifetime.

The Government of the Northwest Territories is working hard to build our future by promoting healthy and active living among children and youth. Improving the physical and mental well-being of our youth will create healthy, educated Northerners as envisioned in the 16

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Assembly’s vision of

Northerners Working Together.

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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Support for apprentices is a key part of the Government of the Northwest Territories’ plan to maximize opportunities for Northwest Territories residents and contributes to achieving this Assembly’s goals of healthy, educated people and a diversified economy. The Department of Education, Culture and Employment, along with our partners and apprentices, celebrate the success of the Northwest Territories apprentices and journeypersons during the Northwest Territories Apprenticeship and Occupational Certification Week, February 7

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The department supports training and certification in 53 designated trades. Thirty are eligible for interprovincial Red Seal endorsement. In addition, the department supports certification in 25 designated occupations.

Currently there are 421 apprentices in the Northwest Territories. More than half are Aboriginal.

We invest over $1 million in apprenticeship technical training and another million dollars in job wage subsidies each year, available to employers of Northwest Territories apprentices.

For the 2009-2010 academic year the department issued 110 certificates for qualification, 69 with interprovincial Red Seal endorsement, to journeypersons. We also issued nine certificates of competence for people in designated occupations. During February and March each regional Education, Culture and Employment service centre holds apprenticeship and occupation certification awards ceremonies recognizing academic achievement of apprentices. Forty-one apprentices will receive top mark for achieving the highest mark in their respective trade or occupation during the 2009-2010 academic year.

Mr. Speaker, I invite you and other Members of this House to join me in congratulating the Northwest Territories apprentices and certified journeypersons. I also want to take this opportunity to thank and recognize our many partners in apprenticeship training, skilled trades and occupational certification. In particular, we want to acknowledge the employers who participate in the program and without whom the program could not exist.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This Assembly has made it a priority to focus on prevention by promoting healthy choices and lifestyles and the role of personal and family responsibility. One of the ways that the Government of the Northwest Territories supports this is through the delivery of programs like Drop the Pop. This year the Drop the Pop campaign takes places from January 17, 2011, to February 28, 2011.

Since 2006, Drop the Pop has encouraged students across the three territories to make healthier choices. This year the campaign is more important than ever as childhood obesity continues to be a serious issue across Canada and is considered an international epidemic. According to the Public Health Agency of Canada’s report, Overview: Curbing Childhood Obesity: A Federal, Provincial and Territorial Framework for Action to Promote Healthy Weights, more than one in four children and youth in Canada are overweight or obese.

Mr. Speaker, a child’s risk for obesity increases with every additional daily serving of soda. Drop the Pop, now in its sixth year, raises awareness of the negative impacts of sugary beverages and

encourages children to make healthier beverage choices. One of the ways to reverse the trend towards obesity is by reducing the amount of sugary beverages that children drink. Last year 43 of the 51 schools in the Northwest Territories participated in the challenge. This is more than a 300 percent increase from its inception in 2006. I would like to see all schools participate in this year’s challenge. Along with the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, we encourage all schools to visit www.dropthepopnwt.ca website and register for this year’s campaign.

Mr. Speaker, this year’s theme is Take the Lead. This was recommended by school staff and students. To be successful, Drop the Pop needs to involve everyone: students, teachers, parents, elders, stores and the community. This is why I am strongly encouraging everyone to take on a leadership and championship role when it comes to healthy eating and beverage consumption. Together we will make a difference. Certainly the Legislative Assembly, by dropping the pop, has taken a leadership role in this regard.

Health and Social Services is pleased to continue working with our partners, Education, Culture and Employment, communities, parents, as well as food and other retail stores across the NWT to provide support and education about drinking too many sugar-sweetened beverages. Without their support, this campaign would not be as successful as it is.

Mr. Speaker, Drop the Pop and the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs Get Active campaign are important initiatives that raise awareness of obesity and engage our children and families in a fun manner that creates supportive environments for change. These initiatives help maintain a very important goal in the Foundation for Change action plan to ensure health promotion is delivered effectively across the NWT through resources that help Northerners make healthy choices.

Mr. Speaker, the Department of Health and Social Services will continue to raise awareness about the negative effects of drinking sugary beverages through our Drop the Pop campaign and will have an added school lesson plan-based program that is being piloted this spring called Sip Smart NWT.

To my colleagues and our residents, I encourage everyone to think about what can be done to change the trends towards obesity at homes, school and in your community. Be a role model and join us in promoting healthy lifestyles by dropping the pop. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Item 3, Members’ statements. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The 4th Annual YK Film Festival kicked off last week and runs until this coming Friday. I encourage everyone to get out and watch some of these films. A complete list of events can be found at Western Arctic Moving Pictures’ website.

This event is hosted by the Western Arctic Moving Pictures, which is often referred to as WAMP, whose mandate it is to promote, encourage, support, showcase and produce independent film, video, audio and digital media with the social, cultural and artistic community of the Northwest Territories. In addition to acting as an advocate to the film industry and supporting events throughout the NWT such as the YK Film Festival, the 48-hour music video competition and film screenings, WAMP supports northern filmmakers by offering advice, equipment and community.

Early last calendar year my colleague Bob Bromley and I facilitated a meeting with representatives of WAMP as well as other filmmakers from throughout the NWT and the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment to discuss the value of a sustainable film industry within the Northwest Territories

The artists present explained in detail the concerns they have with respect to support currently provided by the Government of the Northwest Territories to this industry and how this industry could be a real contributor to our Territory’s economy. Personally, I believe the industry could be a real sustainable portion of our economy. It brings many advantages, including promoting the Northwest Territories as a place to visit, tourism. It will result in employment and training opportunities across the Northwest Territories and it will help circulate money throughout the NWT as filmmakers travel to different locations throughout the Northwest Territories and engage other small local business for assistance in their productions. It is a win-win industry, Mr. Speaker.

I was very pleased when the Minister indicated that he would have his department conduct some research and develop a report outlining the pros and cons of supporting the film industry and expanding the role of the film commission in the Northwest Territories. I believe the findings will be positive and I look forward to the final report.

Later today I will be asking the Minister of ITI some questions concerning the status of this report. Mr. Speaker, it is time that this government support this industry in a more meaningful way. There are significant opportunities for northern stories, and for films and other media; stories such as the "Lesser Blessed" by Richard Van Camp. It tells a story of growing up in small northern towns like Fort Smith and Behchoko. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The people from Fort Liard have some serious concerns about social services in their community. The community needs a second social worker to support the one that is currently there.

Minister Lee and I travelled to Fort Liard in the fall of 2010. She had heard from the concerned citizens about this. There is a second social worker. However, due to medical reasons, she has been off work now for about eight months. Deh Cho Health and Social Services did have a plan for extra coverage, but it is difficult to do from Fort Simpson.

There has been a case where a previous social worker from Fort Liard resigned due to job burnout. During the Christmas holidays the health addictions counsellor went on holidays, leaving the social worker to do the job of three people.

The community wants a social worker and it needs them to be supported. The Minister advised that it was not possible to fill the position in Fort Liard on a casual basis. I think that this is a mistake. We need to find a way to have full-time casual workers or another solution to the problem. We must take this issue seriously and do all we can to help Fort Liard. Staff has been available from Fort Simpson to support Fort Liard, but short visits and long-distance phone calls is not the same as having local staff.

At the appropriate time, Mr. Speaker, I will be asking questions for the Minister. Mahsi.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I speak today on the need to maintain Aurora College’s vital Nurse Practitioner Master of Nursing and Introduction to Advanced Practice programs. The introduction to the Nurse Practitioner Program offered since 1989 is a six-week program running three times a year with an average of 12 nurses attending. Graduating nurses gain advanced health assessment skills and techniques needed to practice in remote rural communities.

According to the course instructor, this training has been proven to prevent the sometimes disastrous treatment and cost consequences when “nurses

were hired who were not adequately prepared to work in advanced practice.” What are these consequences? The inability to distinguish between medevac cases and those who could be treated in the community. It includes nurses who “arrive in the community, stay for two or three days, realize they were in over their heads and leave on the next available plane.” Imagine the cost both in money and patient care.

The Nurse Practitioner Masters Program was established in 2001 on the recommendation of an independent program review in the ‘90s. There have been 14 graduates, 12 of whom are still working in the NWT. Four more are expected to graduate this year. ECE tells me this program will continue until 2012, depending on demand and funding. However, other sources tell me that the program will end when federal funds are cut in 2012.

The value of the two programs is unanimously endorsed by graduates, employers and community members. Yet, despite the fact that the 2010-2011 Health and Social Services business plan says that “the GNWT is committed to increasing the number of nurse practitioners in the NWT,” it appears that both programs will probably disappear.

This government struggles with health professional recruitment and retention and high position vacancy rates. These two programs train professionals who save us money in recruitment and operating costs and who provide masters level health professional care and deliver high quality treatment relative to the communities we serve.

Mr. Speaker, nurse practitioners, nurses skilled in rural practice and the nursing station health care model are the way to go. How could we possibly risk this loss? I’ll be asking the Minister of ECE and possibly Health and Social Services questions. Mahsi.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to talk about how badly we need our youth in the Northwest Territories today to stay alive. Mr. Speaker, it’s very hard in our small communities, and I’m pleading right now to the youth in the Northwest Territories. There are families right now in the North that are dealing with issues of suicide, family violence, drugs and alcohol and with our youth. There are families right now that need help and our youth are so valuable and they’re bombarded with so many issues.

Mr. Speaker, I had to deal with one in Colville Lake and I’m asking the youth how hard sometimes they

put the families of their communities through. A lot of youth want to give up on life. I’ve asked an elder on the Hay River Reserve, Daniel Sonfrere, how to deal with this kind of issue where youth have all the reasons why they want to end their lives. He says that’s something new. We never had this in our culture. It just became new. I said, “What did you have before?” He said we had all the reasons they wanted to live. It was a good life, a beautiful life. Today the elders are saying that the youth have changed that. So I’m pleading with the youth to go and sit down with the elders and talk to them.

I have done many workshops in the past on suicide prevention across the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Mr. Speaker, as a government we need to save lives. More importantly, we need to give them hope and inspiration to live and to get up and live life, but we need to teach them in the right way. We need to listen to them. I applaud any initiatives this government does to keep one youth alive, but more importantly, to help the families. So I ask the youth again…

Mr. Yakeleya, your time for your Member’s statements has expired. Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to speak today about a very significant and disturbing issue here in the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, family violence continues to plague our Territory. In 2010 there were 640 reported incidents of spousal assault. This is 20 percent higher than last year and, incredibly, 107 percent higher under this government’s watch than it was four years earlier, in 2006.

A parliamentary committee recently visited the Northwest Territories to discuss abuse against Aboriginal women. The root causes of abuse should come as no surprise to Members of this House: poverty, addiction, poor housing situations and a lack of services in our smaller communities.

Mr. Speaker, I know our government is live to the statistics. We have developed action plans, we’ve brought in the Protection Against Family Violence Act back in 2005 and we were spending millions of dollars in an effort to lower the incidence of family violence. However, if we are doing all of these things, why do the numbers continue to climb? Why do we have five times the national average of violence against women?

We have only five family violence shelters to serve our 33 communities, Mr. Speaker, and our shelter usage rate is four times the national average, even despite the travel factor to get to these shelters.

I’d like to share some further evidence that we need to take immediate action. We have the highest crime rate in Canada, the second highest rate of violent crime in this country. In 2008, close to 70 percent of all adults in custody in the Northwest Territories were sentenced for violent crimes compared to 49 percent in 2001-2002; a staggering 43 percent increase over seven years.

As if the statistics are not bad enough, it seems in the Northwest Territories perpetrators of family violence continue to get woefully inadequate sentences. For example, how could an individual with over 40 prior convictions -- almost half of them of a violent nature -- beat up his partner and get five months in jail? What message does this send to the victims and what message are we sending to people out there inflicting violence in the home?

I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

The Northwest Territories is in desperate need of more awareness and education about family violence. Later this week I will be highlighting V-Day, a global movement to stop violence against women and girls.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I’d like to respond to the Minister’s response to the Standing Committee on Social Programs with regard to child and family services. After glancing through the report, I have some real problems with the recommendations not being supported by the government; especially the 10 that are being rejected. Without those 10 recommendations being implemented, it very much undermines the community involvement in a process that should include communities, should include families and working with the families to find solutions to keep our children in our communities.

This legislation has been around as long as I have. It was introduced in the 13

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some 15 years ago. Yet the problems that this thing has, at that time the cost of this program was $2 million. Right now there are over 600 children in care in the system and it’s costing us $12 million a year. I go through this report and it says, well, because of fiscal challenges -- well, I think if you reinvest that $12 million, re-profile the program from what we heard going around to the majority of the communities throughout the Northwest Territories,

and getting those people to come out to the meetings stating the concerns they have with the Child and Family Services Act, clearly requires some major changes and those changes are going to cost us money.

At the end of the day, what happens to the children in the system? As we heard lately in the news, these young people who are under permanent custody of this government are taking their lives. We have to do a better job to improve the quality of life of not only the children in care but of their families and their communities.

I, for one, have put a lot of time and effort into going out there, hearing from the general public, the people in the communities, the caretakers, the people who take care of children in foster homes, and most importantly, the children who have been affected by this system. I feel that we have to do everything we can to implement the 73 recommendations that were put forward and save the lives of the children in our system.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As we begin the consideration of the Health and Social Services budget today I want to give voice to my concerns about the Foundation for Change planning document apparently in use by the department. It apparently guides the department’s operations and activities, but this “strategic document,” to quote the Minister, contains little detail on how it does that. That is my concern.

The idea of a strategic document to reform the Department of Health and Social Services was first presented to Members through the Standing Committee on Social Programs about a year and a half ago. I was excited to hear of the department’s plan and anticipated some fundamental changes to the way Health and Social Services delivers its programs; changes which would increase efficiencies and the coordination of their programs. I looked forward to further information and some specifics from the Minister; a fleshing out of the document, so to speak, to have the department put some meat on the bones. That information, that detail, never came. Since the initial briefing by the Minister to the Standing Committee on Social Programs, Members have heard consistent reference to the Foundation for Change in response to questions, queries for information, and in briefings, but without any details provided.

The Minister has referenced us to a website that she says tells us everything we want to know, that it gives us the detail we’re working for and provides

quarterly updates on the Foundation for Change. I’ve checked out that website several times and have been disappointed each time I go there. The actions listed under the priorities are more fittingly titled objectives, and the actions necessary to achieve those objectives are very much missing. Priorities and desired results are there, but there’s little to show how the department will achieve those desired results. The detail which would explain how the promised reform will happen is just not there. As of today, the most recent update on the Foundation for Change website covers the period January 1 to March 31, 2010, almost a year old.

As Mr. Ramsay often remarks, we Regular Members are here to stay on top of things and keep the government accountable. I agree with that view and, like the Member for Kam Lake, I take that responsibility seriously. But how can I, how can we Regular Members do our job in the absence of valid, meaningful information?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The division of health care services located in Inuvik is called Health Services Administration and has 22 positions that deal with health card registrations, renewals, vital statistics, births, deaths, marriages and insured services benefits administration; for example, medical travel, extended health benefits for specific diseases, seniors’ benefits, Metis benefits, non-insured health benefits, and some of these benefits are partially administered by Alberta Blue Cross or DIAND as they are non-insured health benefits.

There are parties in Hay River, persons in Hay River that would like to see a satellite office for health care services located in Hay River. There are a large number of patients that come from the Deh Cho and South Slave regions to attend medical appointments in Hay River, have testing done, blood work done, ultrasounds, mammograms, et cetera, and these patients would then have an opportunity to visit a health care office, health insurance office in Hay River rather than trying to contact the Inuvik office to file a claim or obtain assistance.

Inuvik is very busy and it takes too long to respond to claims and inquiries, and there have been numerous complaints about the time involved for waiting for claims to be processed and reimbursed. An office in Hay River could relieve the backlog and take the pressure off the Inuvik office. This would alleviate some of the waiting time and reduce the frustration of communicating long distance, as well

as provide on-site communication with patients. Health insurance workers could meet face to face with patients, providing more effective and efficient services to clients.

Inuvik, I’m sad to say -- I’m sorry, I hope the Premier and Mr. McLeod are not offended -- is frequently off line when their Internet is down or they have power outages. This is an interruption in service that would not affect a place like Hay River. The delays in receiving claims causes emotional and financial hardship on some people, especially seniors and small businesses who cannot afford to carry the cost in the interim. An office in Hay River could work directly with the people involved and provide efficiencies in the system. Hay River is a large enough community that experienced and skilled staff could easily be recruited to such a satellite office.

Opening an office in Hay River would also provide an economic benefit of the jobs that it would create. There are local businesses and much community support for an office such as this to be opened in Hay River. I want to say that I do believe in decentralization. I’m glad the office is in Inuvik and not Yellowknife, but we’d like a piece of it in Hay River.