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.