Good morning, colleagues. Before we get started today, I have a couple of things I’d like to say.

I lost a real good friend in the community of Tuk last week. All the people of the Beaufort-Delta knew him well, Lawrence Thrasher. He was born in 1947 in Whitefish Station to Billy an Alice Thrasher, with 17 siblings. Lawrence was a professional boxer and he had his black belt in karate. He did various jobs in southern Canada: worked for CP Rail and he worked for the RCMP in ’67 and ’68. He served as custodian at the Mangilaluk School for the past 11 years. He was a very talented musician and it showed in all his children. He was a singer. He was skilled at hunting and fishing and was a real family man. Our condolences go out to Shirley Thrasher, his spouse; his daughters Jennifer and her common-law, Ian; his daughter Chantel, and Kenny; his son Lawrence and his wife Jennifer; his daughters Carrie and Margaret and Charity; and his grandchildren Marissa, Cherish and Darian. He served as the worship leader in our church the last 26 years. He will be sadly missed.

Yesterday, there was a celebration in Helen Kalvak School. I’d like to honour the three graduates, Kayla Kaodlakok, Tracey Kanayok and Rheane Kanayok. I wish you well and the best in the future whatever the future brings you. I’d like to thank the staff at the Helen Kalvak School, principal Chip Bryant and all the staff for the work they do for the people and the students of Ulukhaktok. The last day of school in Ulukhaktok is June 14th . Have a good summer

holiday. Thank you, Members.

Item 2, Ministers’ statements. The honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.

Mr. Speaker, later today I will table a document that represents a major step toward fulfilling the 17th Legislative Assembly’s

priority of building a strong and sustainable future for our territory by strengthening our relationships with Aboriginal governments.

This document, titled “Respect, Recognition, Responsibility: The Government of the Northwest Territories Approach to Engaging with Aboriginal Governments,” is the foundation of our government’s engagement approach, upon which all of our actions and commitments are built. Respect, recognition and responsibility is our formal commitment to a set of principles and key actions to strengthen and renew our relationships with our Aboriginal government partners.

Mr. Speaker, this government represents all the people of the Northwest Territories, and we are committed to engaging with and representing the interests of all residents. But our relationship with Aboriginal governments is unique and different than our relationships with other governments and organizations in the territory. That special status is recognized in our Intergovernmental Relations Policy, which affirms our government-to-government relationship with all Aboriginal governments that have negotiated or are in the process of negotiating self-government agreements in the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, in recognition of this unique relationship, our government is taking steps to strengthen and renew our partnerships with Aboriginal governments. Since being elected in October, we have been doing business in a new way, finding new approaches to working together with Aboriginal governments on behalf of all residents.

Part of this new approach includes a commitment to meet with leaders from all Aboriginal governments bilaterally. Since October, I have met with Aboriginal governments and community leaders on over 20 separate occasions in all regions of the

territory. The discussions at these early meetings focused on identifying areas of common ground between our governments and discussing ways we can work together. My Cabinet colleagues and I have also held formal joint meetings with the Taicho Government, the Northwest Territory Métis Nation, the Beaufort-Delta Regional Council, the Gwich’in Tribal Council and the Dehcho First Nations.

The issues we discussed and the comments we heard at these meetings shaped the development of respect, recognition and responsibility. Many of the comments we heard focused on our successes and areas where improvements can be made. What was most important and encouraging is a willingness on the part of all parties to engage in strengthening these relationships and working together to find solutions for the benefit of all Northwest Territories residents.

Mr. Speaker, our government makes the following formal commitments to our Aboriginal government partners: that we will continue to recognize and respect the constitutionally protected rights and treaty rights of Aboriginal peoples, as well as existing Aboriginal rights agreements. We will be open, flexible and responsive in working with the diverse governance structures of regional Aboriginal governments and understanding the unique interests and challenges of each region and community. More specifically, we will make every effort to share information and knowledge, help build capacity, enhance our government’s participation at annual general assemblies and other important events, and establish regular formal meetings with each Aboriginal government in the Northwest Territories.

In support of the commitments, our government is also developing an implementation guide for our staff. We need a consistent approach and this guide will provide direction and outline specific actions staff will take to strengthen relations with Aboriginal governments and communities through our everyday interactions.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, our public commitment and overall approach to engaging with Aboriginal governments will be supported by a public awareness campaign intended to increase Northwest Territories residents’ understanding and knowledge of Aboriginal rights, and how these rights form the basis of our commitment and efforts to build mutually respectful government-to-government relations. This campaign is expected to consist of a series of informative documents to be released between June and December 2012.

Mr. Speaker, in order to take advantage of the opportunities that are before us and to successfully address the social, economic and environmental challenges our territory is facing, we need to build strong relationships with our Aboriginal government partners at all levels: leaders, senior managers and

all staff. Aboriginal governments are our partners and colleagues as we work together to serve the people we represent. We may not always agree, but we must always be willing to talk to and seek to understand each other, and be willing to work toward solutions in a spirit of mutual respect, recognition and responsibility. Our government is committed to a new approach to building greater collaboration and participation in our partnerships with Aboriginal governments so we can all achieve our shared goals. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Premier. The honourable Minister of Justice, Mr. Abernethy.

Mr. Speaker, later today I will table a copy of the 10-year Strategic Plan for the Department of Justice.

Our department envisions a safe society where the rights and freedoms of residents are protected, and residents have confidence in the justice system. The plan identifies values that will guide us:

•

We will promote safety in homes and

communities.

•

We will deliver services that respond to our

clients’ needs.

•

We will work with others to encourage shared

responsibility.

•

We will pursue excellence, fairness and integrity

in all of our work.

Together, this vision and values support this Assembly’s goals of healthy, educated people free from poverty, and sustainable, vibrant and safe communities. We started by determining the most pressing needs and challenges. We did reviews and consulted with MLAs, community leadership and stakeholders. Three strategic directions emerged from our reviews and consultation. We need to improve the justice system's approach to reducing crime. We need to improve access to justice programs and services, particularly in small communities. We need to build and maintain a strong foundation of financial, human and technology resources to support our core programs and services.

These three strategic directions form the foundation for our long-term goals and actions. They are the basis for a five-year implementation plan that will be brought forward this fall.

We are sharing the strategic plan with our partners and stakeholders. Our business plan identifies our priority activities: improvements to policing services, advancing a Community Safety Strategy, developing effective programming and access to health and social services for offenders, improving services for victims of crime including victims of

family violence, and improving supports to families, children and youth.

We can’t do this work alone. We need to partner with other departments who work with families and individuals at risk or in personal crisis. We will continue to be involved in government initiatives to address poverty, homelessness, addictions and other social issues.

Mr. Speaker, a strategic plan is an essential planning document at any time, but particularly during a time of fiscal restraint. There are real constraints and pressures, some that are externally driven, like the federal government's restraint measures and tough-on-crime legislative agenda, and some that are our own. We need to be strategic about where we place our resources so that we are meeting our legislated and operational requirements while keeping our clients and staff safe.

As the Minister of Finance said when presenting the budget for this year, our government's approach to making improvements is more like a marathon than a sprint. The strategic plan is the document that will help us to build capacity within the justice system over the next 10 years so that we can continue to deliver quality services and supports. We will make innovation the cornerstone of our work over the next decade so Northerners have access to justice and so the rights and freedoms of all are protected. We will make strategic adjustments as lessons are learned and the environment changes. I will provide regular updates so Members and the public can see our progress.

Mr. Speaker, the 2012-13 fiscal year is the first full year that the 17th Assembly can truly shape the actions of government to respond to Caucus priorities. The business plans and proposed budget are key documents to put these priorities into action. It is my hope that this strategic plan will assist the Department of Justice to contribute to the goals and aspirations of this Assembly. I look forward to working with Members and communities as we build a more responsive and accessible justice system for the residents of the NWT. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Ramsay.

Mr. Speaker, we have incredible resource potential in our territory, and with it, significant opportunity for economic growth. But to truly have a diversified economy that provides all communities and regions with opportunities and choices, we need more than just

resource development. Today I would like to talk to you about the Sustainable Economic Development Strategy.

This Assembly has indicated that we need to grow our economy carefully and sustainably. MLAs have identified a comprehensive, sustainable economic development strategy as a priority.

Mr. Speaker, economic conditions in the NWT are changing.

A Sustainable Economic Development Strategy will give us the opportunity to keep pace with the incredible growth potential that our territory has, ensure we are positioned to guide and manage this investment and growth, and to use it to build capacity in our communities and self-sufficiency in our people.

We need to plan for the use of currently underused resources to stimulate regional opportunities and competitiveness. We need to modernize and adjust our approach to economic development to increase our regional focus, and we need to take a more integrated approach to business development programs.

The Sustainable Economic Development Strategy will go right to the community level to identify the best development practices in each community and region, identify local economic growth opportunities, and recommend ways to improve business and economic development programs.

Our work to prepare this strategy will also serve as a review of our government’s support of economic development. It will examine the status of current NWT industries and economic sectors, identify strengths and weaknesses in our economy, and establish a foundation of principles, goals and priorities on which to build and implement economic policies, programs and services for the future.

Mr. Speaker, a healthy economy is an essential component of a healthy NWT. Increasing opportunities for employment and self-sufficiency will play a crucial role in the development of our Anti-Poverty Strategy.

The Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment will be leading the development of the Sustainable Economic Development Strategy in the coming year. But it will be a collaborative effort and establishing an effective strategy will require the involvement of businesses, industry and the Government of Canada. Regional meetings will begin in the fall, and we are aiming to have a completed strategy in place by next summer.

The development of this strategy will be a major undertaking. We will be engaging with partners – including the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency, the NWT Chamber of Commerce, the Northern Aboriginal Business Association, the NWT Association of Municipalities

and Members from this Legislative Assembly, to provide guidance and input. To ensure a fully representative strategy, a panel of regional representatives will consult with the public throughout the territory. This is key to ensuring the strategy reflects needs throughout the NWT.

This initiative complements other initiatives the GNWT is undertaking, such as a comprehensive Mineral Development Strategy and development of NWT energy resources. This includes development of our renewable energy resources and expansion of our hydro grid, a key to long-term sustainability for communities.

Mr. Speaker, our vision as Members of the 17th Assembly is to responsibly realize our full economic potential and use it to ensure lasting prosperity for NWT residents and their communities.

The Sustainable Economic Development Strategy is a critical next step to creating a diverse, multi-pronged economy that will allow us to meet the economic challenges that lie before us, and realize the economic opportunities and potential that we have long sought as residents of the NWT. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mr. Speaker, on May 13 to 16, 2012, 17 youth from the Northwest Territories participated in the national skills competition in Edmonton, Alberta. There were 500 competitors from across Canada at the competition, with a team from every province and territory.

There were about 40 contests at this event, and our team competed in Auto Service, Carpentry and Industrial Mechanics, Cooking, Plumbing, Electrical Wiring, Welding, TV and Video Production, and Graphic Design.

I am extremely proud to report that three of these competitors returned home with national medals in hand:

•

Antonio Lewis, gold in Welding at the secondary

level.

•

Sébastien Rémillard, silver in Cooking at the

secondary level.

•

John Spoelder, silver in Auto Service at the

post-secondary level.

We also had a number of other strong finishes:

•

Colin Miller, Plumbing;

•

Richard Neary, Electrical Installations;

•

Katharine Thomas, Graphic Design;

•

Tony Liske, Industrial Mechanic/Millwright;

•

Jeanne Yurris and Nick Walker, TV/Video

Production.

Congratulations to these talented individuals. They all worked hard for their results, in some cases training for many hours each week outside of school and work.

Winning national medals in skilled trades and technology has significant impact for youth in the Northwest Territories. It increases respect for people working in these sectors. It helps connect youth with other youth who know the value of careers in skilled trades and technology. It fosters pride in quality of work and accomplishment, which helps our youth to know what they can achieve if they love what they do and work at it. The trades are critical to strengthening and diversifying our economy. By becoming skilled tradespeople, our residents in every region can have opportunities and choices.

I want to thank the deputy chair of the Standing Committee on Social Programs and MLA for Range Lake, Daryl Dolynny, for attending this event with me. I also want to thank executive director Jan Fullerton and the other staff of Skills Canada NWT for the incredible work that they do with northern youth. In partnership with government and industry partners, Skills Canada NWT is promoting careers in skilled trades and technologies to northern youth and helping to build the future workforce of the North. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Item 3, Members’ statements. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In our communities in the Northwest Territories, there’s excitement, Mr. Speaker; excitement in our youth and in their recognition of achievement; excitement that the people in the communities are celebrating achievements for our youth; excitement that those who entered kindergarten are now finishing Grade 12 and getting their diploma; excitement from parents, aunties, uncles, cousins, grandparents and friends to witness this young person and their rite of passage, stepping into the world of choices, stepping into the world of opportunities, stepping into the world of their dreams and stepping into the world of their leadership capabilities.

We say sometimes this is just like the scenario of an eagle, the mother eagle which slowly nudges the baby eagles out of the nest until we say they’re

gone. As parents, as uncles and cousins, we know this. We raise our children to one day know they are going to step into this world and they’re gone.

They say it’s an empty nest feeling. I truly understand that. We know that when they take flight, they will fly and they will challenge and they will strengthen their wings, their feathers and they will balance, but we’ll be there for them. We’re excited not because we finally said they’re gone, we can have the house to ourselves, we’re excited to know the potential these grads have, the potential to what they can become and what they believe in. I tell these grads, we have what you want, you can believe in your dreams. Believe me, Mr. Speaker, dreams do come true.

To those grads, congratulations to all of the grads in the Northwest Territories, especially the ones I am going to miss in the Sahtu. I am very, very proud of you. I’m proud of the parents. I’m proud of the teachers in the schools. Way to go, grads. Live a good life. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wanted to address a few different issues today, but seeing as I have only have two and a half minutes, I wanted to talk about a significant event that’s happening in Yellowknife this weekend. That’s the Relay for Life. The significance behind it is that it’s an important event that celebrates and remembers those that we have lost to cancer. In past years in Inuvik, I was fortunate enough to emcee the event the last two years in Inuvik, and participated in Yellowknife previously when I lived here.

I’d like to talk about what this event does for the people of the Northwest Territories. They go on three different themes here where they celebrate the lives of those who have battled with cancer, remember those that we have lost, and empower individuals and communities, and in this case now that I’m in the House, empower this government to fight back against this terrible disease in any way we can.

I’d like to honour all survivors in the Northwest Territories as well as their caregivers who do a lot of hard work to keep their spirits up and help them as they move forward. I’d like to wish all those who are participating this weekend in the Relay for Life here in Yellowknife the best of luck as they walk around the track for 12 hours. Everybody that’s doing that this weekend, you’re all an inspiration for your dedication, for your support, and for your compassion to this terrible disease and those who have battled it.

I’d also like to take this time to thank all the volunteers and organizers for this significant event. Their hard work and dedication goes without saying. A big thank you should be put forth to them, not only in Yellowknife but for all those events that are happening across the Northwest Territories as well as Canada. It brings a lot of funding but also gives an opportunity for us to remember those we have lost and those who have battled cancer and won.

Tonight they start their celebrations. I know I will be there for the opening ceremonies. Due to our busy schedule I wasn’t able to get on a team, but I will make sure that I go out there and walk a few laps in remembrance of those who we have lost. I encourage all Members to join me and go out and walk a couple laps.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It gives me great pleasure to rise in the House today to celebrate a significant event in my riding and indeed in the city of Yellowknife. The Yellowknife Condominium Corporation No. 8, Northlands Mobile Home Park, has gathered enough votes, received the approval of their members to move ahead –

---Applause

…to move ahead on a deal with the City of Yellowknife to replace the crumbling sewer and water lines in the park. Under the deal, the city, acting on behalf of the condo corporation, will borrow $15.7 million for the construction project. Homeowners will repay that loan through a local improvement fee, an extra property tax attached to the property. The payback period will be 25 years. The end result will see the roads and water and sewer infrastructure at Northlands transferred to the City of Yellowknife. Northlands property owners will be just like the rest of us property owners in Yellowknife, something they’ve been looking for for a long time.

A minimum of 60 percent of homeowners had to sign on to the agreement for it to be approved. By the end of the day Wednesday, 80 percent of Northlands owners had signed the petition. The corporation had 60 days to gather those signatures. It took them two weeks.

Supporters of Northlands started a Facebook page a year or so ago. Here are a few of the comments posted to that page in the last couple of days:

“I slept better last night than I had in a long time.”

“OMG. This is too good to be true.”

“Best news I have heard in a long time.”

They’re very happy residents. I’d like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the hard work of the Condo No. 8 board members over many years. I would also like to thank the City of Yellowknife for being the only order of government that stepped up to the plate, accepted the moral responsibility to help, and worked countless hours with the board to hammer out the details of the process. Lastly, but definitely not least, I would like to congratulate the residents of Northlands on finally reaching this milestone. Good job, guys. Let’s get digging.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There have been a few raspberries for Ministers in recent days, but today we’re talking about strawberries. Later this summer I may be able to give a few to the Ministers to put on their ice cream.

I’m happy to say that my community is on its way to becoming the strawberry capital of the Northwest Territories, as reported in the Deh Cho Drum yesterday.

Once again our young people are showing us the way. It was the Grade 7 class of Deh Gah School that decided to grow a crop of strawberries and show that it can be done. I find this is a very cool project because it builds on traditional knowledge in the community. Strawberries do grow wild on our land; we already know a lot about them.

To get back to my story, the students at Deh Gah School brought in 1,000 strawberry plants of different varieties. I would like to thank Nora Dorgan at Westech, the farm in Prince Edward Island that donated them. With great minds, students planted hundreds of them in the community garden. They also did a little fundraising by offering great deals to community members for their own gardens, complete with planting service. About 25 people took them up on their offer, so now strawberries are growing all over the place. The school has kept about 150 plants to use for cuttings to start even more. I would also like to thank teacher James Hatch for helping the young people with those projects.

There are many lessons we can learn from our students. As I mentioned a couple days ago, we can grow food in the Deh Cho region and across the South Slave area. It is an opportunity to improve the access to fresh, healthy foods. There are, no doubt, some business opportunities in agriculture as well. We should follow the example of our students that look for products that are both

suited to our land and popular with people who love to eat them.

I would like more thinking like this within the departments of Environment and Natural Resources and Economic Development. Pretty soon the Ministers will take the taste tests. I’m betting our strawberries are better than California’s. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ll be speaking about fruits, but fruits of labour, Mr. Speaker. The long service awards are being held in the Deh Cho region, most particularly in Fort Simpson today. I, too, would like to offer my congratulations to the employees of the Government of the Northwest Territories who will be honoured for their dedication and commitment to our public service.

The celebration this afternoon in Fort Simpson, which I attended last year, is always good for employers to recognize our hardworking employees, and especially those that have very long service awards. There are 70 employees that will be recognized and about 60 of them come from my riding alone. I would just like to say congratulations once again for achieving this milestone in their careers.

I do want to say that we, as government, as MLAs, as Ministers, often talk about general policy guidelines. We handle appeals from our constituents and we make changes, but it’s the front-line workers out there in our communities and the regions that actually carry these out on a daily basis. I want to say that I recognize it. I’m sure that all my colleagues here recognize their hard work in carrying out our directions, some of it not very popular at times but, at the same time, they’re good, hard workers and they carry out our initiatives as we think that it’s good for the government and for the people of the Northwest Territories.

I would just like to congratulate them for working so hard, especially in Fort Simpson. There will be some good food this afternoon and they’ll be having their festivities on our tourism infrastructure, as I like to call it, which is our golf course. I wish them a great afternoon and, once again, keep up the good work. Mahsi cho.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On April 11th the NWT coroner issued her report on the

tragic death of Alice Black in February of 2009. Out of respect for Alice Black and all our victims of family violence, we mustn’t let that report pass without comment.

The report details a horrific sequence of events leading to the brutal homicide of Ms. Black. In her comments and recommendations, Coroner Cathy Menard pointed out the devastating impact of family violence on people and communities, but said it is largely preventable using interventions developed in many northern communities. Ms. Black’s case, the coroner said, lack of these supports, particularly the lack of a safe haven contributed directly to her death.

Statistics on NWT conditions are startling. An NWT rate of 246 incidents of family violence per 10,000 persons, second only to Nunavut at eight times the national average. In 2010-11 there were 223 family violence reports to GNWT Social Services where 483 children witnessed the violence. The 2008 survey of family violence attitude says a third of people still think family violence is a private matter. Ninety percent of people believe more family violence shelters and offender programs are needed.

Much good work has been done to address family violence since the submission of the Coalition Against Family Violence’s first recommendations in 2003. Its phase 3 report last year offered 19 recommendations in three major categories. It recommends funding a pilot, a 24-week program for men who use violence, plus the need for more community outreach and the need for a strong campaign to shift attitudes in the long term.

Following up on these recommendations, the Minister told us on Wednesday of his recent meeting with Coalition members and his intention to fund the 24-week pilot program. He also spoke of moving to consider core funding and to continue cooperation on addressing the other recommendations.

Analysis shows that the new emergency protection orders are a very successful tool. This is all welcome news. However, outreach programs funding for regions without family violence shelters has been cut. We still have far too few community safe havens and adequate policing is lacking in many communities. The situation is alarming. We have a long way to go.

Let’s work hard to resolve these conditions. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is a great day today because we have lots of youth here in the gallery. I want to say hi to everyone up in the gallery.

It was a pleasure attending the 18th Annual National

Skills Competition with Minister Lafferty. We attended along with 17 youth. The tireless work of the executive director was Jan Fullerton and other tireless workers of Skills Canada NWT. What we witnessed in Edmonton during this national competition was incredible energy, pride, talent and a lot of passion, an Olympic-style event which made us very proud, especially as the Minister just mentioned, we saw three medal finishers. As I said, there is nothing that makes one more proud than seeing your flag on the huge Jumbotron, so great to see NWT pride in action.

---Applause

Equally, though, we have to be very proud of all our competitors. They did a great job. They showed that they trained very hard. They had some great help. Again, my thanks go out to all participants from NWT and all the trainers.

But more importantly, what we saw during these competitions – and it was taking place on the sidelines – were opportunities of learning with things like technology demonstrations. What we saw were with robotics, graphic design, and these were interactive and very exciting to see. I think our students saw that firsthand, but most interesting was the interactive Try-a-trade where you could touch, you could feel, you could work firsthand with these career options. This is where we both saw an opportunity for our youth, especially those communities in remote locations who would never get a chance to see such a showcase. We need to find a way to get our youth from remote communities in NWT to such venues so they can experience firsthand these lucrative career options and to explore them firsthand and what they can do for them.

As the Minister mentioned today, we need to help build the future workforce of the North. I couldn’t agree more. I challenge a department to a skills challenge to find a way to open this opportunity of sending not only our delegation of Skills Canada NWT winners down to such national events, but to those youth who need that spark, that little push, that opportunity. We have many youth who are diamonds in the rough. They just need a little polish. Let’s give them a hand. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to rise today to continue to speak about the Deh Cho Bridge and the fact that our contract is not being implemented as it was written out.

Back in 2010 the government heralded the new opportunity because of the situation that they had to work through the failed partnership with ATCON and they developed a new one with Ruskin directly. They negotiated a revised cost for this superstructure to complete the project, but at the time it was seen as the path forward.

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to remind Members of the Honourable Michael McLeod’s comments in January 2010 in the House, which was, “the project is on track for completion by November 2011,” and of course he also highlights that’s one year later than originally planned. Well, at that time there was a fixed contract in place so we could proceed toward the completion of the Deh Cho Bridge.

I rise because of the fact that I’m concerned that the contract is not being fulfilled and I wonder to myself if this is an issue of why even bother having contracts if we’re not going to ensure that they’re fulfilled. There are always dispute mechanisms and problems about every major construction project. That’s considered normal business. People have disagreements and there are problems and processes, but it just seems as if as soon as our folks ask them to do a little more work, work a little harder, complete by the agreed deadline, all of a sudden now we have to pay them more money because they dispute and dislike our direction.

Again, what’s the point of having a contract if we can’t fulfill it? It’s funny, because I look at comments made by the former Member Dave Ramsay, now Minister of course, when he talks about the darker days are still before us and I think some days he may be clairvoyant, because another up to $10 million is referring to potentially darker days.

The fact is, we had a fixed price, why are we not fulfilling that. That’s the obligation being asked today, is the fact that we don’t have any clarification what the real problems are and why we’re not fulfilling or implementing those. That’s the discussion that’s being avoided.

What we have here is the Minister coming forward saying, as he said yesterday, he wants another $7.2 million to $9.5 million up to potentially $10 million to fulfill this contract and that he hopes it will open this fall. That’s essentially the problem. What is the money really for? Why aren’t we fighting for a contract that we had signed and a partnership made in good faith?

I will have questions later today on this particular subject to get the facts of the contract.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate the 2012 graduating class of Moose Kerr School in Aklavik. I wish you all well in the future and I wish I was there to celebrate with you all.

I’d also like to congratulate the teachers and parents on a job well done. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Blake. The Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don’t have much of a statement today, so I thought I’d make it quick.

Well, I’ll start off today about the 2012-2013 operational budget.

Executive for 25 million, now 50 million for ITI, 65 million for ENR, 120 for Transportation, now 300 to Education, 300, 300, 350, 350. Sold to Health to Minister Beaulieu and the Department of Health and Social Services.

Mr. Speaker, the past five years the budget has gone from 600 million, 600 million, now 7, 7, now 8, 8, now 9, 9, now 1 billion, 1 billion, now 1.2, 1.2, 1.2, now 1.3, 1.3, now 1.4, 1.4, now 1.4 is now 1.5, 1.5. Sold to Mr. Miltenberger.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger, for doubling the budget over the last 10 years.

Don’t forget, folks, to pay your taxes and thank your MLAs for all their hard work.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. Thank God it’s Friday.

---Laughter

And almost a different language. You’re going to have to get an auctioneer into one of our booths to translate for you.

---Laughter

Thank you. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Dolynny.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It brings me great pride today here we’ve got some of our students, the Grade 6 class from Range Lake North School and I’d like to just take a moment to introduce them one at a time. When I do, just stand up and wave to everyone so we know who you are. I have Melissa Clarke, Peyton Doherty, Darian Pederson, James Drew, Ryan Walsh, Cameron Hobbs-Peddle, Jesse Roberts, Jillian Riles, Robert Maraygan, Obed Duru, Devon Hodder, Matthew Szarkowicz, Joshua Stuckless, Joshua Elford, Rayden Dunphy-Nash, Emma Smith, Spencer Scott, Nicole Rein, and their teacher Jodi-Lee Lewis, and Brendan Callas, who is assisting. I would like to thank and welcome you to the gallery. Have a great day. Thanks for joining us today.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am also extremely pleased and proud to rise and recognize the Grade 6 French class from Ecole William McDonald School. They’re up here behind me. I would also ask them to stand and give us a little wave when I read your name. Apologies if I mispronounce any. Kienan Ashton, Allya Aumond, Dasha Bassarguina, Nicholas Bennett, Grace Clark, Sophie Clark, Daniel Enge, Noah Hache, Kacie Hall, Delilah Hashi, Chloe Hoechsmann, Madison Hunter, Sean Irwin, Shiri McPherson, Jack Panayi, Jasmine Powder, Jacob Schubert, Lauren Seabrook, Taylor Soloy, Jesper Sorensen, Niva Stephenson, Sarah Taggart-Miles, Anne Thomas, Elizabeth Thomas, Robyne Walsh, and not to be missed and looking after all these guys, teacher Melanie Parisella, and I’d like to also recognize my assistant, Amanda Mallon. Welcome, everyone.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, wish to acknowledge a couple of constituents. First off I would like to recognize Brendan Callas. He’s a constituent of Yellowknife Centre and he was recognized earlier today. I know I’ve got a few others up there. It’s actually a pleasure to give note to Kim Doyle, who is my constituency assistant and it’s the first time I’ve gotten to recognize her in the gallery. She’s a very hardworking lady and I appreciate all the work that she does.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I’d like to recognize first of all a constituent from the Weledeh riding, Master Kienan Ashton. Kienan today was visiting me in my office and he and his friend Jesper were very proud to shake the

Premier’s hand. Also Jack Panayi of Ms. Parisella’s class. Also Sophie Clark and Grace Clark, twin members of the Aurora Fiddle Society Fiddlecats.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to take this opportunity to recognize my two Pages from Hay River North: Tassie Lockhart-Drygeese and Chantelle LaFleur. I’d also like to recognize their chaperone, Kathleen Lockhart-Drygeese. Thank you very much, ladies.

Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. Item 6, acknowledgements. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ve made my Member’s statement on the graduates from the Sahtu. There are about 25 students this year. I want to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment if there is any mechanism within this department to track graduates that are graduating this year to see how successful they will be in post-secondary institutions, or what they will be doing a year from now or two years from now. People like my nephew or other people in other communities that are graduating this year.

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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Through the divisional education councils in the regions we monitor those students that are graduating from secondary school. Post-secondary is a bit different. Students are on their own, but we track them through student financial assistance. Once they’re sponsored by the department, we know who those students are, which field they’re in, the year they’re in the program. We’re definitely keeping track of secondary and their pursuance of which program they’re interested in. That is information that is available through the divisional education councils as well.

I have a list of 25 students that are going to graduate in the Sahtu this year. I’m going to challenge the Minister and the department. Next year at this time in the House I’m going to ask about these people who graduated. Some of them are going to be in post-secondary, maybe some of them may be working, training in other institutions. I want to challenge the Minister, this department, I’m giving them a heads up that I’m going to ask them

where these students are, how are they doing, have you tracked them, and things of that nature. Is the Minister up for the challenge?

First of all I’d also like to congratulate those 25 students that are graduating. It’s always great to hear the graduates of the Northwest Territories. I wish them all the best, whether it be post-secondary, workforce entry, even on-the-job training or further upgrading. We’ll do what we can as a department, but we have to work with the organizations at the community level too. They are keeping track of their community students, whether it be in the workforce. We can’t really keep track of those students who enter the workforce. We keep track of those students who are still in the K to 12 education system and through SFA, will monitor who the students are, the ones that we’re sponsoring. We’ll be keeping tabs on those students that are graduated this year and see where they’re at next year, but we have to keep in mind that communities will have to work with us as well to provide that information.

I think the communities have been saying this. We need to work with the department. I again challenge the Minister, for example, young graduate Samuel Kodakin, next year I want to ask if the institution has talked to him, the department, have you gone to school? If not, why not? Are you working? Has it helped you? Those type of things to see where the graduates have gone once they finish school. Maybe he’s going back to Aurora College to do upgrading to further his career in another field of specialized knowledge and needs to do that. I want to ask the Minister, that type of tracking, keep track of these students who are graduating this year to see where they are. Ask the questions. Do the interviews with them. Let them know that we want to see them succeed. I want to ask the Minister that type of detail working with our government.

That’s the very reason why we need the assistance of the principals, the teachers, the guidance counsellors, the school boards, the chairs, the board members, the leaders, to give us that information. We cannot keep track of 3,000 students on an individual basis where they plan to be. We’re going to do our part to monitor the best we can as a department, working with the career counsellors at the community level, the regional representatives through our department. Yes, we’re going to be working with the department, and I take up the challenge to work with the community organizations. We have to look out for all the students so they can be successful upon their return to the Northwest Territories.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As Members in this House, we are all proud of our

graduates this year. I ask the Minister, there’s nothing impossible. There’s a can-do attitude here. Can he set things in motion that can look at how we track the increase of students. It’s not impossible. We can do it. We have 5,000 people in our workforce here. We can do it if the Minister puts things in place in motion that can be done. Can the Minister make it so?

Since it’s Friday, we have to all think positive and, definitely, it’s doable. It’s an initiative. It’s an opportunity that we need to work together, a collaborative approach to monitor those students that have graduated this year, where they’re going to be next year, the next five years, 10 years. Definitely, we’ll do our part and work with the communities in the regions. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Colleagues, before we go on, I’d like to thank my two Pages here in the House. On my left I have Ms. Brianna Wolki from Paulatuk. Thank you, Brianna, for all your hard work. To my right I have Jerry Ruben-Bennett. I feel safe with my Pages around. Moving on. The Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are to the Minister of Justice, recognizing that the issue of family violence has to be dealt with across many departments. As I noted, the numbers speak to a dreadful situation of family violence and suffering in our communities: 223 family violence cases; 483 children witnesses; the second highest rate of family violence in the country and so on. The need for action is clear and desperate. Will the Minister of Justice commit to making action on family violence one of his foremost program priorities, and implement a plan to carry out the 19 recommendations of the phase 3 Coalition Against Family Violence report, and work with all of his Cabinet colleagues on integrated solutions? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The Minister responsible for Justice, Mr. Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There’s no question that the NWT has one of the highest rates of family violence in Canada. This has long-term negative effects on the physical, social and economic health of the people of the Northwest Territories, so it’s clearly something that we all need to be working on, both on this side of the House and that side of the House.

On May 3, 2012, Premier Bob McLeod, as Minister of the Status of Women conference, confirmed his support, and Cabinet’s support, for the Coalition Against Family Violence’s prioritized recommendations to further address family

violence. These are a social media campaign, the piloting of the 24-week program for men who use violence, and community outreach that projects the increased safety for women and children in their care. That’s the commitment of Cabinet and the government to move forward on this, and you will see some of this stuff actually has appeared in our budget this time around. There’s some money in the budget for an additional family violence coordinator with the RCMP, so we are working on that.

Personally, I am committed to this. I will work with my colleagues, and quite frankly, we all need to work together to find real solutions to this. I’m committing the department to working in collaboration and partnership with my colleagues and we will work with the Regular Members and we’ll try to find some real solutions. Thank you.

Thanks to the Minister for those comments and commitments. His reference to the Premier’s commitments, I think that’s very important and it’s appreciated. We need to now turn those commitments into action, and I know this side of the House will be willing to work with our Cabinet on that.

Ms. Alice Black’s death could have been prevented if there was police stationed in Gameti. Her killer was wanted on a criminal warrant at the time of the events. RCMP were unable to secure his arrest because they make only occasional visits to the community. They didn’t know it well enough, I suspect. We have a new police services agreement and it’s said to give us more control on the stationing of officers. Advocates repeatedly point to the need for beefing up police presence as a proven means of protecting families at risk of violence. What plans are in place to increase the number of communities with resident RCMP officers? Mahsi.

There are a number of communities in the Northwest Territories that don’t have permanent RCMP located in them. I have been meeting with communities, and I will continue to meet with communities along with the commanding officer of the RCMP, to work on community-based solutions. The RCMP may not be the right choice for every community every time, and we need to look at creative opportunities. I have met with the community of Tsiigehtchic and we are working on something there. I have met with the community of Colville Lake and we’re working on something there. I do plan to get to every community in the Northwest Territories, where we can have an opportunity to try to find some of those real solutions that work for the communities. Thank you.

I appreciate the Minister’s comments there. I know it’s tough. Resources are tight and so on, but I’d say the evidence speaks for

itself here. Increasing the number of community shelters is also a critical need. Shelters now exist in only three communities. Lack of a place of refuge frequently means that women must stay in their homes and be subjected to repeated assaults. Not only that, funding for outreach programs has been cut for communities lacking shelters. What steps is the Minister going to take to provide women and children with places of safety from abuse and assault?

We do have some programs in place. One of them is the emergency protection orders that are available to individuals in this situation. We do have the new RCMP family violence coordinator position, which is going to be a real important resource to RCMP in the field, to help them focus priorities and focus solutions for individuals.

With respect to shelters and whatnot, that’s going to take more than the Department of Justice. We need to be a partner. We’re willing to be a partner. I will commit to working with the Minister of Health and Social Services, and my other ministerial colleagues, to address this. We will discuss this, obviously, in the Social Envelope Committee, and we will continue to work with our colleagues on that side of the House. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks again to the Minister. I know the protection orders mechanism has certainly been much appreciated and seems to be helping the situation. The 2008 survey of attitudes towards family violence shows too many people still think that family violence is a matter to be handled solely within the family. That’s the same place violence occurs. The need for a campaign of public awareness and education is a primary recommendation of both the Coalition phase 3 recommendations, as the Minister has mentioned, and of Ms. Menard, in the coroner’s report on Ms. Black’s death. The Minister says he is seeking further details on the form of such programming, and that’s good, but will he commit to making the introduction of that programming a priority for the coming year’s business plans? Mahsi.

I have had an opportunity to talk to representatives from the Coalition Against Family Violence, in particular, about the social media campaign, and I’m looking for information from them on what types of programs they see, what kind of campaign they see, because they’re saying exactly the same things: We have to change the attitude, we have to change the fundamental beliefs and ideas around family violence. I will work with my colleague, once again, and the Premier, who has indicated that we support the prioritized recommendations of the

coalition. We will be working on this and we will be having more discussions, once again, with Ministers and Regular Members as we move forward.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In March 2010, former Minister McLeod talked about signing a contract with Ruskin for $6 million to $8 million. Minister McLeod of the day, continues to refer to the firm schedule on the Deh Cho Bridge. My question for the Minister of today, that is: Who is still responsible for the Deh Cho Bridge contracts, certainly, the implementation that is, is why isn’t the fixed price and the fixed schedule being fulfilled by our contractor Ruskin on this particular project? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The Minister of Transportation, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, that was a decision the previous government made to get into the current contractual obligations with Ruskin. That contract follows a typical DOT contract which shifts only some of the risk to the contractor. It’s not a fixed price. There are eligible areas where we could see costs being overrun. That was a decision the previous government had made. Thank you.

The Minister keeps trying to do a smoke and mirrors show on this particular problem. He says the old Minister. Every time he keeps referring to the old Minister. The old Minister actually signed the contract. That’s the difference here. The present Minister is responsible for the implementation for the contract while it’s still active, live, valid, et cetera. The Minister keeps avoiding that reality. Why does the Minister refuse to take responsibility for the present legal contract? Has it already been struck down and thrown away that we’re not aware of? We need some clarification why he’s refusing to deal with the present contract on the books. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, we have a team of lawyers that have been working on the contractual obligations, what our responsibility is going forward. I know the Member continually wants to go back to decisions that were made by the previous government. I have said it yesterday and I will say it again today, decisions that I have made since I became Minister last fall are decisions that I take responsibility for, I am accountable for. With our best advice and the options that were presented to us, we are doing the best for the taxpayer here in the NWT to get this project

finished. We will continue to work toward that end to finish this project in November. This is the best option that was available to us to allow us to do that. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister keeps misunderstanding the issue. It’s not going back to a story long told in history. This is an active contract. So maybe that’s particularly the question that needs to be asked. In some way or some form, has the 2010 contract signed with Ruskin with the GNWT as a partner to get the bridge built, has that mysteriously dissolved in some manner and been replaced with some formal acknowledgement and information passed on to Members?

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned earlier, the contract that the Member is talking about from 2010, we are working within the confines of that contract. It is not a fixed price contract. There are opportunities there and the contractor is paid as progress is made on that project for fixed prices, yes, but there are opportunities for costs to continue to go on. Certainly, we have taken every look at our options. Again, going forward, this is the best option for us. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. All we hear are options of somewhere between $7.2 million and $9.5 million. There has been no clear explanation as to why that money is really needed. All we hear is the platitude saying our lawyers say this, but where is the real discussion in our committees, in the Assembly about that particular discussion? Has the AIP formally been signed as the Minister pointed out? Has it formally committed us to some type of contractual obligation that we have no other choice of supporting it? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I have been quite clear in answering other questions from other Members yesterday. I will say it again. Going forward, this money has helped us negotiate our way out of a myriad of claims, construction claims on the project. We are going to work together with the contractor to see the project get completed this fall. I am not sure if the Member would prefer that we throw our hands up, we fight with the contractor, we go to court for years and years to come, we spend untold hundreds of thousands if not a million dollars-plus on legal fees and we don’t have a bridge open this fall. That was one of the options. But going forward, we are taking the option that chooses to work with the contractor to negotiate an end to the claims that are out there and gets us some budget surety and also schedule certainty. That is what we have done. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. On May 28th the

Minister made a statement in the House. He talked about an accountability framework that has been developed by MACA in conjunction with the Local Government Administrators of the NWT and the NWT Association of Communities. I applaud that. I wanted to just ask the Minister a couple of questions relative to this accountability framework and his statement. There are a few things that I would like to get clarification on.

It is not clear to me from the Minister’s statement, and I would like to ask the Minister if he could kind of advise me and the House what is the purpose of this accountability framework. What is the intention of the department and of its partners in establishing an accountability framework for communities? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Because we have given the communities a lot more responsibility and a lot more financing, the purpose of the accountability framework is to work closely with the communities to have a pretty transparent system of how that money is dealt with. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, thanks to the Minister. We give communities a grant, an infrastructure contribution and we have given them the responsibility of using that money. Does the Minister mean that the department is trying to keep tabs on communities? Is that kind of what this accountability is intended to do? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I wouldn’t say it is to keep tabs on the communities. I would call it work closely with the communities to ensure that public funds are spent the way they should be. It is more of a communication tool. We want to make sure that public funds are well looked after. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, thanks to the Minister for that. I appreciate that. I firmly agree with the Minister that we should be making sure that public funds are used properly. But in the Minister’s statement there is a statement he made that I really don’t quite understand. I would ask him to clarify. The Minister stated, “We will be asking communities to provide quarterly reports to ensure the framework continues to meet their needs.” Does this mean that communities are required to do quarterly reports on their spending or does it mean something else? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, we do keep tabs on the community spending. We work with communities. This here is just to see if this accountability framework is meeting their needs. Is it working for them? Is communication between the community and MACA? Are there ways we can improve? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final, short supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister. I appreciate this is intended to be a communications tool and a back and forth. I guess I just wanted to say that asking communities to report quarterly may be kind of onerous. It sounds to me that the Minister is open to suggestions for improvement on this framework. Is that correct? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, we could have asked them to report once a year. That may not have been enough to satisfy some Members. We could have asked them to report 12 times a year. We thought for the first part, this would be a good starting point. If there are other options we can explore in the future such as less reporting once things get rolled out really good, then there may not be a need for further reporting. I am sure the communities will let us know that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today I spoke about the great work that our youth were doing at our national skills competition, mirroring the similar comments mentioned by the Minister of Education himself, as well, on today’s subject.

There is no doubt that we are very proud of the previous Assembly who continued funding for Skills Canada. I applaud the government of the day for making those commitments, because I believe this is an incredible opportunity for our youth. Being part of it and seeing with my own eyes, with the Minister, the great things that we can do with the money that we give organizations. With that, one of the things the Minister and I saw when we were down there was the opportunity for these things called Try-a-trade demonstrations which clearly showed other skill sets that could be promoted and enhanced for the NWT youth. Because the Minister of Education was with me and we saw it with our own eyes, can he commit his department in investigating a department skills challenge and making this possible maybe in the future events? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I feel that we definitely need to explore this area where demonstration of other skill sets, those talented individuals from the Northwest Territories can be exposed. The Member and I talked about this in length, about the possibility and where we can explore opportunities. I will definitely commit to the Member and this House that we will be further exploring this opportunity on the demonstration of other skill sets at the National Skillset Competition. So I’m committing to that.

Thank you. I do appreciate the Minister for his thinking in this capacity. Again, we saw great things that we could do for our youth to open up doors, polish these gems as we’ve called and talked about. But adding one step further, would the Minister commit to potentially bringing, when we have our own skills competition in our own territory, bringing some of these quality, gifted, talented people in the trades area, bring them here to open it up a little bit better? Again, budgets are tight, I understand that, but sometimes we can bring these people to the Northwest Territories, these talents, so that we can actually encompass and touch more lives in the Northwest Territories. Would the Minister commit to looking at that aspect as well? Thank you.

Mahsi. This is an area where we need to work with Skills Canada. We provide funding to them. I believe its $80,000 on an annual basis and they also have corporate sponsors to bring in those individuals or send those individuals out, those talented Northwest Territories individuals. But I am pursuing this in looking further into potentially having those individuals from the Northwest Territories, maybe one per region, just for exposure at the national stage. They may not be competing, but to see them in action. So those are the areas that I seriously want to look at and possibly having those individuals from outside coming to the Northwest Territories when we have our competition here in the Northwest Territories as well. So that’s an area that we definitely want to explore and see the benefits of it. I’m sure there will be plenty of them. Mahsi.

The Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of ITI. I’ve been a strong advocate of communities for some time. Recently we highlighted the cost of goods in terms of bringing goods from down south and making it available to

communities. Our communities are really relying on subsistence activities at the same time and whenever they can they grow their own gardens.

My question is to the Minister of ITI to see what programs exist to support initiatives such as schools undertaking to ensure that people grow their own foods in the community. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I really appreciated the Member’s statement today. I think it’s good news for the community and for his riding when community and especially youth take the opportunity to look at growing locally produced fruits and in this case strawberries.

The Government of the Northwest Territories certainly supports that type of initiative. We’ve got a number of programs. We’ve had the opportunity to get some real money into communities through the Growing Forward federal program and we’ve also augmented that with some of our own programs in the area of Agriculture Development Infrastructure Program. We’ve got about $263,000 going out and $60,000 earmarked as well for the Deh Cho. We’re certainly looking forward to the opportunity to expand the programs that we have, because we do realize the potential that exists of the locally produced produce, vegetables and meat, and fish products as well. Thank you.

I’d like to thank the Minister for his response. It seems the government is encouraging people to undertake those initiatives and it does have existing programs, which is good.

My question to the Minister once again is: Has there been an agricultural assessment or study to indicate whether there’s potential for communities such as Fort Providence to look at some long-term investment planning to undertake community gardens and initiatives so that people can be able and communities can be able to grow their own food? Mahsi.

Thank you. I believe some of that work has been done in conjunction with the Territorial Farmer’s Association, a group that I’ve had the opportunity to meet with, and I’d be more than happy to try to get that information for the Member and put that together for him.

We also have this Community Gardens Program and I mentioned this earlier in this session in relation to a question that I was asked I believe by one of the other Regular Members. When I was down in Fort Simpson recently, we ran into two young university students who are working for ITI delivering the Community Garden Program, and they were in Fort Simpson just on their way to the community of Wrigley to help the community plant a garden. I think we’ve been in 29 communities across the NWT with this Community Gardens

Program and we’ve met with great success in that. Thank you.

Thank you. My question is, agriculture seems to have been cited as a very important potential for us to develop an industry so that we support our farmers that would like to make a living, at the same time to ensure that Northerners are independent to grow their own food. I know this government has committed to develop an overall Northwest Territories economic strategy. How does agriculture fit in that strategy? Mahsi.

Thank you. We hope that when the Sustainable Economic Development Strategy gets rolling, agriculture certainly will fit into that strategy and will be thoroughly examined. Some communities have a lot more opportunities in that area than others, especially communities, of course, in the southern part of the Northwest Territories. But as I mentioned in my Minister’s statement earlier today, it will be at the community level where opportunities exist. Again, agriculture for many communities is going to be one of the areas that we will target. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions will continue to be to the Minister of Transportation regarding the Deh Cho Bridge. For clarity, did our engineers ever order Ruskin to take steps to complete the Deh Cho Bridge by the end of 2012 at Ruskin’s cost and by what authority are they instructing that direction?

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Minister of Transportation, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the contract that exists with Ruskin, again, it is not a fixed price contract. When there are change orders, some of those change orders are the responsibility of the owner, in this case the Government of the Northwest Territories, and we would certainly work with the contractor on a schedule and on costs, and we’ve been doing that all along.

Again, in March of this year it became apparent that the contractor would not be able to complete the project by November. So we had to look at different strategies to allow us to get that accomplished, and the option that we chose was to work with the contractor to make sure that that happened. Thank you.

Thank you. Will the Minister table the 2010 contract signed with Ruskin, along with the 2012 new agreement signed with Ruskin and then finally supply a copy to my office as soon as possible?

Thank you. The Member keeps talking about a contract from 2010. That was a contract signed by a previous government and I would not be in a position to respond to a decision of the previous government, but there were a number of questions asked in this House in 2010 and I don’t believe the Member asked any of those questions at that time. Thank you.

Thank you. In 2010 a particular Member of this House had pointed the Cabinet to stop blaming previous governments for their problems and certainly take decisions and responsibility. Just a moment ago, the Minister referred to the present contract in the present terms, which is the 2010 contract. So it’s still relevant. So the question is: Would the Minister supply the 2010 contract with Ruskin alongside the companion document that I’ve asked for, which is the 2012 document signed with Ruskin? Thank you.

I believe that was the same question I asked the previous government, whether or not I could get a copy of that contract. I believe at the time the answer was no and it would remain no.

Maybe the Minister then could help the public understand why it’s not a reasonable question now when it was a reasonable question before, because the public has no idea on how this contract is being implemented and yet all of a sudden it’s not worthy and we’re scrapping it and putting in a new contract. There are a lot of mysteries out there. In short, explain why we can’t get to the bottom of this contract, find out what the clauses are in there that have us on the hook for more costs. The public wants to know.

I may not be able to supply the contract in its entirety to the Member, but what I would put out there is, perhaps, we can get the details. They don’t have to be exactly specific, but when it comes to costs and who is responsible for what, I believe certainly the Member and the public both deserve to know that. We can’t produce the contract itself but perhaps we can get some of the details on how the contract works so that both the Member and the public would have a better understanding of why we’re in the position we’re in today. I think that may be a worthwhile exercise and I’ll endeavour to get that for the Member.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Final supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to ask the Minister when we will get those particular details. Of course, we are running short of session days and it would be useful for both myself and the public to get these questions out in a timely manner. That’s simply the question. When can we get it? Can we get it before Monday?

It’s taken the Member about six years to start asking questions about the project. I can try to get that information to the Member by early next week.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Item 8, written questions. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Human Resources.

1. Please provide a list of senior management

performance bonuses, including those to deputy ministers, assistant/associate deputy ministers, awarded in 2011-2012 in all GNWT departments, boards, agencies, commissions and corporations, by position and range, as follows:

(a) Less than $5,000,

(b) $5000 to $9,999,

(c) $10,000 to $19,999,

(d) $20,000 to $29,999, and

(e) $30,000 and up.

2. What is the total amount of bonuses paid, by

department, board, agency, commission and corporation?

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