The current plan has us working to stabilize our emissions at 2005 levels or less. We have laid out - and I could go on at great length but I appreciate your direction on short answers - the things we have underway with the resources we have available. We’re going to continue to work on those. We’ve met with local groups. We’re pursuing the work on carbon tax, emission standards, all those types of things in addition to the ongoing work. We’re in fiscal restraint so we don’t have the same amount of money that we did in the 16th Assembly, so we’re

trying to be as creative as possible. We would appreciate all the guidance and assistance we can get as we move forward with the resources we have to deal with this issue.

Thanks for that response from the Minister. I appreciate that. Will the Minister commit to immediately revising the Greenhouse Gas Policy to remove the policy of allowing greenhouse gas emissions to soar to 100 percent above earlier emissions by 2020 and replace it with a more responsible policy in line with the science with which he agrees?

As I’ve indicated, we’ve set the target for ourselves at reducing our emissions to 2005 levels or less. If that is through the course of the business planning process not deemed adequate by the Legislature and committees as we come forward, we will look at making whatever adjustments are agreed to. This is the result of the Greenhouse Gas Strategy that was just renewed at the tail end of the last Assembly. Of course, it’s subject to ongoing review and we’ll be happy to work with Members opposite as we go through the business planning process.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks for that response from the Minister. There are two main keys to achieving a reduction of greenhouse gas output and both of them also provide many opportunities for economic development reducing cost of living and so on. One is getting this government and our communities off carbon-intensive fuels and onto renewables. Another is requiring all future major industrial development to achieve carbon neutrality as a condition of approval. When will the Minister table a plan for achieving these crucial objectives?

We have tabled a Biomass Strategy that speaks to that particular initiative. We’re concluding a Solar Strategy. We’re doing a Hydro Strategy. We’re looking at wind as well. Geothermal. We, as well, are clearly on track. We have a plan that’s called devolution. Devolution will give us the authority to control land, water and resource development, and it will allow us to make changes that are appropriate to the North on regulatory regimes to address some of the very issues that the Member talks about. With his full support, we could have that agreement signed by 2014. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At this time the funding from the Department of Health and Social Services for seniors’ groups in the Northwest Territories is to the NWT Seniors’ Society which, in turn, works with the seniors’ societies at the community level.

The funding that goes to the NWT Seniors’ Society is project specific. It goes to fund things that are clearly outlined in terms of programming, the NWT Seniors Helpline, and various things like that. There is no money that is given to the NWT Seniors’ Society which then is passed on to a local seniors’ society such as the one in Hay River.

I would like to know if it would be possible to identify funds that could be applied for directly by local seniors’ societies. Thank you.

The Department of Health and Social Services offers a range of programs to all seniors across the territory in all the

communities. They range from home care to long-term care, extended care and other seniors’ benefits across the territory. I don’t believe there are any monies actually marked for specific seniors’ societies in the communities, but there is money given to the community for those very seniors. Thank you.

I don’t think anyone could deny that we, as a government, are mindful of the needs of seniors in the Northwest Territories, and the programming that Mr. Beaulieu articulates is correct. There are very good seniors’ programs in place for many different things. However, the seniors themselves like to get together, plan activities, and these kinds of activities give the seniors something to look forward to and there’s a lot of well-being in them being able to get together and do things together.

We fund youth in the communities. Why not seniors? Thank you.

I will work with the NWT Seniors’ Society, which is made up of seniors from all the communities – I believe the president of the seniors’ societies in the various communities for the NWT Seniors’ Society – to see if we could redistribute the money that’s going to the seniors. If it’s possible to put little pots of money into the communities so they can do those functions, I will make note of and discuss that with the NWT Seniors’ president and the society. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Your final, short supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would ask the Minister, if he has time and if his schedule permits, would he commit to meeting with the NWT Seniors’ Society on this matter to get the information from them firsthand on whether these representatives of the various seniors’ societies believe that specific funding for communities would be appropriate. Would he have time to do that? Thank you.

Yes, Mr. Speaker, I will meet the NWT Seniors’ Society. I have met with the Seniors' Society once since being appointed the Minister responsible for Seniors, and they know that I’m prepared to meet with them again any time that they wish to meet with me. I think we may actually have a meeting scheduled in a very short time here. I will bring that specific issue up at that time. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I talked earlier about the need for a Sahtu tech in our region

here. I want to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment what has this department and Aurora College done to find out what types of employment needs, training needs are needed in the Sahtu, the oil patch and how can they be met.

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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. In the Sahtu region there are four community learning centres: Norman Wells, Deline, Fort Good Hope and Tulita. Each of those community learning centres have their own adult educators as well. There is also a Sahtu Regional Training Committee that deals with the long-term planning for the region. We are part of the process as well as the department. Those are ongoing initiatives and discussions that are happening at the regional level. Mahsi.

Some of the facilities that Mr. Lafferty spoke about, our people in the communities are saying that we need more than what the campuses are providing right now. They’re providing very minimum training for our people, and we need to advance it to a technical college in the region to take advantage of the potential of the oil and gas exploration, mining, construction. I want to ask the Minister if he can move this level of education to a new era that we would actually see a Sahtu tech college being planned for the region.

Those types of discussions I believe are happening in the Sahtu region. Part of the committee, the Sahtu Regional Training Committee that deals with the five-year plan, I’m sure those types of discussions have occurred. I will find out from my departmental representatives if there has been discussion in that capacity with respect to the Member’s request of a tech in the Sahtu region. Those types of discussions and also a lot of the training needs of the regions are part of the five-year training plan that’s been produced by the region. Mahsi.

The people in the Sahtu will look at opportunities such as the building of the new wellness centre or the long-term care facility in the Sahtu, and we want to prepare for that through that type of programming that could be available. That’s one of the things I ask of this Minister: what type of programs that we could start initiating with the training of construction.

There’s oil and gas coming in. We’ve spent up to $70 million in the Sahtu this winter. There are oil and gas companies coming in for the next four or five years. We need to initiate. Can the Minister tell me if his department is planning to meet with the leadership, the oil and gas industry, any type of construction company and this government, to start looking at a Sahtu tech?