These are two separate programs. They are facilitated through the RCMP. The first program, the Aboriginal Community Constable Program, is in its second year pilot. We don’t know if that program is going to continue to exist after this second delivery. We would like it to and we continue to work with the RCMP and encourage them to continue this program because we see it as valuable.

The second program, the Aboriginal Pre-Cadet Program, that’s an ongoing program and the intake is actually completed for this fiscal year, but it’s an ongoing program so there will be intake in future years. We already have candidates in it during this May to August session. In fact, there is one candidate in Inuvik. We have had uptake on this program on a fairly regular basis over time. We hope that it will again and I will continue to promote the program, I will continue to work with the RCMP to promote the program, and I would like it if Members could work with us to promote the program as well. We want northern youth and we want Northerners to get involved in the RCMP. We see a significant opportunity here and we don’t want to miss it.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the lead Minister on the Anti-Poverty Strategy, Mr. Abernethy, and I want to note that there are good things happening on the Anti-Poverty Strategy development. I’m told by my people, constituents and acquaintances, that good collaborative basis has been established in carrying the work forward. I’m also encouraged that there’s at least one roundtable, maybe a couple established to get together and discuss this as it develops.

The one thing that I am concerned about is that there is an inexplicable attachment to a December 2012 deadline. A pretty tight time frame, but seemingly to be achieved at almost any cost. Now, there’s plenty of time for Mr. Abernethy to consider business plans in September, so there’s lots of time for planning there. Given that perhaps another month or two would add to the value of it, can the Minister explain why there is such a tight adherence to this bizarre deadline for an integrative process that has been set and whether or not he will commit to ensuring the process is given the time needed, regardless of the end of the calendar year?

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. I just want to remind Ministers and Members that preamble on your answers and your questions, shorten them up a little bit. I still have four more Members to go and we have 12 minutes. Fourteen minutes. Thank you. Lead Minister responsible for the Anti-Poverty Strategy, Mr. Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is a lot of work being done on the Anti-Poverty Strategy. We are happy with the progress that has been done to date and we are looking forward to continue working with committee and the public on the completion of an Anti-Poverty Strategy.

Ultimately what we want is the right Anti-Poverty Strategy as opposed to right now. We think we can get it done by the end of the calendar year but we are open to input from those involved, including the committee and Members, and if it doesn’t look like we’re going to have the right policy at the end of the calendar year, we’re open to further discussion.

I appreciate the Minister’s flexibility there. It sounds good. Even the best Anti-Poverty Strategy could fail to produce strong results without concrete action to carry it out.

Because the solutions to poverty lie at the community level, we will need to work out our partnerships, roles and programs to ensure success. As the lead Minister begins the work to create an Anti-Poverty Strategy, recognizing that he’s already drawing upon work done as he mentioned and so on, will he also commit to

creating an implementation and action plan as an integral part of that strategy?

The first part is obviously to get the framework done and the strategy done. We will be working with our partners. This has to be done with partners. For anti-poverty to be successful, we do need to work with organizations and agencies outside of government. Once we have the framework, then we will be able to have the discussions on next steps, which would include action plans. Those action plans will involve actions from individuals outside of government, so we will have to work with them to come up with that.

Thanks for the Minister’s remarks there. Nunavut has obviously been very successful in developing an Anti-Poverty Strategy thanks to their approach of community participation. One big lesson was that community events such as the community-based review of a draft plan must be carried out with the support of locally hired conveners.

As plans are put in place to create the draft strategy and take it out for community review and NGO review, will the Minister assure us that wherever possible community members will be hired to help carry out the community participation?

Right from the beginning when the Premier announced this, he indicated that this would be a collaborative process and that’s the model that we’re following. We have engaged a large working group, which consists of a significant number of NGOs, Aboriginal governments and industry, and we will continue to engage that. That group has identified a steering committee which is chaired by the Government of the Northwest Territories but includes Aboriginal representation, NGO representations, as well, and this is one that I’m really excited about, an individual who has actually lived in poverty and is contributing first-hand knowledge. That group will be steering everything. There will be a meeting in Hay River in late June to bring the working group together to start looking at everything that’s been pulled together to date, look at other jurisdictions that have done things, like Nunavut, Manitoba and Newfoundland, where positive work has been done, and to engage any other stakeholders that might be interested. Then there will be a validation project after that.

As we move forward we are collaborating with people. We will be bringing people in from communities. It’s not just Yellowknife. It’s not just government. It’s the Northwest Territories.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Your final, short supplementary, Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks again to the Minister. I’m assuming that that will

include hiring local people to help with those local meetings.

The other aspect of this, of course, is that this is a very cross-departmental approach, and the Minister is leading this cross-departmental approach. Ultimately, the delivery of the program will depend on our public service across departments, again, delivering it. This is stepping out from the normal course of events. It will require an unusual degree of cooperation. What is the Minister doing to ensure that those mechanisms are in place and that our public service is able to work effectively across departments to deliver this?

We recognize that although this needs to be beyond just government, there is going to be some government responsibility and action required at some point. We have pulled together a committee of the deputies of the social programs departments who will be working on this file on behalf of government. But also, I happen to be the chair of the Social Envelope Committee which consists of the responsible Ministers and we are talking about this, monitoring the progress and providing direction with support of committee and committee’s input as well. We are working across departments as well.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I just want to follow up with my question with regard to the seasonality of operations at Parks Canada and how they impact the operation of Nahanni National Park. I’d like to ask the Premier: Has this government been updated on the reductions and the cutbacks that will be affecting those operations? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Like everybody else, and listening to the federal budget of 2012-13 where we learned that 19,689 jobs will be eliminated from the federal civil service, I have not been apprised of the specifics of where the cuts are or what departments and how we will be affected here in the Northwest Territories as of yet other than media reports that we hear occasionally.

The concern is being raised from the communities that I represent, Nahanni Butte, Fort Simpson, the leadership that’s there, only because we just recently created this new national park reserve. There were increased operation expenses. As well as they’re looking at some capital expenditures in Nahanni Butte and

Fort Simpson, and the increase in jobs. I was very pleased to see that lots of local people did get hired there. But for this season alone they’re saying it’s a very limited impact. But my concern there is that our government hasn’t taken a position. Because I believe that they’re decentralizing some jobs perhaps in the future, and I don’t want to see Fort Simpson lose any jobs because we’re a have-not region and any job loss – you know the story of the marvelous bouncing buck and the impacts – for every job we lose it impacts the community. I’d like to get the government to take a position on the reductions and possible job reallocation with the Nahanni National Park Reserve office in Fort Simpson.

As a government we’re very concerned about any reductions in any kinds of jobs in the Northwest Territories. As a matter of fact, it is a priority for us to focus on getting more people to live and work in the Northwest Territories. We certainly want to make sure that we keep the jobs that we have, and as a matter of fact, even increase it.

I have already written to the Government of Canada, asking for specific information as to quantify the cuts and also how the Northwest Territories will be affected.

I’m pleased that our government is taking action on this. I believe that if the Premier can raise more specifically the Nahanni National Park Reserve, the operations, the future plans. Like I said, as far as I know right now they’re just affecting seasonal operations, but long-term plans, I’m concerned because we have lots of young people that have been hired by our parks system in Fort Simpson, and hopefully they’ll stay in that system and stay in the communities.

I might add that as soon as I read the Member’s press release we did the letter to the Government of Canada. But we will approach the Environment Minister to get some more specific information as to how the amount of cuts and also how they’re affecting the operation of the federal park system in the Northwest Territories.

Thank you, Mr. Premier. The Member for the Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to ask some questions to the Minister of Finance. This morning I heard the Minister of Finance on CBC talk about the budget, and one part that he mentioned was about the Inuvik gas situation and he also added in a couple comments on the Norman Wells gas situation.

I want to ask the Minister what type of support will he be giving to the residents and to the businesses of Norman Wells once they make a decision as to what types of options they have to convert household supplies and appliances and also for the businesses to also convert to either propane, diesel or any other options that we see viable.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In regard to Norman Wells, we have assurances from Imperial Oil, and NTPC will still be able to operate on gas, which takes a huge pressure off of the community, unlike Inuvik where we have had to switch NTPC to full diesel to protect and extend the gas reserves for the citizens of Inuvik. We also have ongoing work with consultants, and folks at ENR are looking at other options in terms of the biomass, in terms of some people wanting to switch to diesel and looking at, with consultants, what would be the best plan and the most feasible alternative for when the day comes when there is not gas available to the people of Norman Wells. As that work progresses and it becomes clear what the options are, we will continue to work with the community, with the MLA trying to sort out the best way forward. A lot of individuals are also making their own determination that they are going to switch already. Thank you.