Good afternoon, colleagues. Before we get started, I’d like to recognize Mr. Peter Taptuna, Deputy Premier, Minister of Economic Development, Transportation, Tourism, Housing, Nunavut Business Credit Corporation, Nunavut Development Corporation and Minister of Energy. Welcome, Mr. Taptuna.

---Applause

Item 2, Ministers’ statements. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. [English translation not provided.]

Mr. Speaker, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment is committed to providing quality education opportunities for all residents of the Northwest Territories. Healthy, educated people are the backbone of a strong and prosperous society, and a goal of this Assembly.

Strong working relationships with partners, such as the district education authorities and schools, make this possible. The education a child receives in the classroom is essential to their continued success in life. Our educators help each student achieve and celebrate new milestones every day, whether socially, mentally, emotionally or physically. Learning does not start, nor stop, when students walk through the school’s doors. Learning is a lifelong journey that includes family and community.

Mr. Speaker, I want to acknowledge two incredible educators who received Canada’s Outstanding Principal Awards for 2013: Ms. Lois Philipp and Mr. Dan Summers. These are exceptional leaders in their schools and communities. They engage their communities, mentor their staff, and create safe

and nurturing environments for students. Each has implemented changes and innovations that improved student achievement.

With passionate leaders in our schools working with the department and their communities, our students will receive strong learning foundations that will help them recognize opportunities and follow productive paths. Deh Gah School and Deninu School have these leaders already in place. They have encouraged parents and community members to take active roles in their children’s education. They are paving the way for others in our territory toward improved education outcomes and a sustainable future.

Please join me in honouring Mr. Dan Summers of Deninu School in Fort Resolution and Ms. Lois Philipp of Deh Gah School in Fort Providence as two of Canada’s Outstanding Principals for 2013. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Before we go on, I’d like to welcome a former Member back in the House, Mr. Fred Koe. Welcome back to the House, Fred.

---Applause

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

Mr. Speaker, consistently investing in parks infrastructure is essential to strengthen and diversify our economy. Parks improvements ensure more people visit our communities, spend money at our local businesses, and spread the word about our spectacular territory. The Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment maintains 33 territorial parks, and today I am pleased to share the highlights of an on-line survey conducted this past summer that shows our investments are paying off.

Many visitors and residents use our parks to enjoy the outdoors, visit with friends, and explore our diverse and beautiful territory. However, our parks system faces many challenges. Our financial resources are limited, we face stiff competition from other destinations, and visitors want more from their parks experiences.

We need to remain competitive, encourage longer visitor stays and ensure visitors have the best experience possible. Surveying park visitors is one way to better understand what they want and need from their park stay.

We had a good response rate: 684 visitors from Canada, the United States and around the world completed the NWT Park Visitor Satisfaction Survey.

The results speak for themselves. We were proud to find out that visitors are choosing our parks because they are clean, safe and well run. They also liked the campsites, the scenery and the fact that they could have a campfire. Some of the most popular activities were resting and relaxing, swimming or playing at the beach and going for walks.

Visitors gave the highest ratings to the courtesy, friendliness and helpfulness of our parks staff. They also praised the condition and cleanliness of the parks, campsites, playgrounds and buildings.

The survey also gave us ideas for improving the parks experience, including more educational and interpretive programs, interpretive trails and displays, as well as stores in the parks.

Respondents also wanted recycling bins, wireless Internet and more amenities for RVs and trailers including sani-dumps and water hook-ups.

We will be investing over $2 million in capital expenditures to ensure our parks and campgrounds are at their best. Some areas for improvements are a new kitchen shelter at Blackstone Park, a sports recreation area and improved hiking trails at Gwich’in Park, and upgraded shower facilities at Lady Evelyn Falls Park.

Mr. Speaker, since the survey was on-line, we were able to monitor the results each week. This meant we could identify issues or concerns as they arose and send our staff out to make things right.

We were also able to hear about all of the great experiences our visitors were having and we were proud to hear that they will be recommending our parks to their friends and family, and have plans to come back.

The final survey report is nearly complete and will soon be posted on the Industry, Tourism and Investment website.

While the survey results show that we are doing a good job in providing quality services and amenities for our park visitors, they also show we need to keep investing in our parks. C

ontinued investment is key to supporting and growing tourism in the NWT, and reflects this Assembly’s priority and commitment to strengthen and diversify the NWT’s economy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Minister of Human Resources, Mr. Abernethy.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to confirm that the Government of the Northwest Territories has signed a memorandum of agreement with the Union of Northern Workers on procedures for employees to safely disclose allegations of wrongdoing.

I want to be clear that we have always encouraged our employees to feel they could safely disclose information about illegal acts; gross mismanagement of public money or public assets; or substantial and specific dangers to health, safety or the environment. Our staff is our most valuable resource. We trust them and respect their judgment. When they suspect wrongdoing, we want them to let us know so we can investigate and take appropriate actions.

What is new is that the memorandum of agreement sets out a process for this kind of disclosure, building on existing processes. There were times when employees may not have been sure who to contact with their concerns. We will create a safe disclosure coordinator, and a safe disclosure panel that will report annually. This process would be useful for other public servants who are not covered by the UNW Collective Agreement, and the GNWT supports extending it to them.

Mr. Speaker, this agreement demonstrates what can be accomplished when the GNWT and its partners work collaboratively to reach a common goal. As part of the 2012 collective bargaining process, the Union of Northern Workers and the GNWT established a joint committee to work together to reach unanimous recommendations on safe disclosure processes. I want to commend both the UNW and GNWT representatives for aligning our interests and reaching agreement so constructively.

This memorandum of agreement comes into effect on April 1st. It will become part of the Collective Agreement and will remain so until the Legislative Assembly passes legislation on safe disclosure. Our government remains committed to the creation of public service disclosure legislation that will apply to all public servants during the life of the 17thAssembly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Item 3, Members’ statements. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My statement today is a continuation of some of the discussions that were held in the House yesterday. This morning I woke up and listened to all the reports on the news about inclusive schooling that had a lot of Members here asking a lot of really tough and difficult questions in the House.

I want to clarify, because there was a statement in the House that there was direction from a standing committee that money be taken out of inclusive schooling, and I just want to clarify that over the course of our budget dialogue and our 16 months in the House, there’s a lot of ways that we got to where we are today and yesterday and where these dollars came from.

On the website for the Department of Executive, there’s a program review office. Under the program review office on the last government, they reviewed a couple of departments, specifically the pupil-teacher ratio as well as the inclusive schooling. They reviewed those programs with the intent of the results coming towards this government so we can make the decisions and choices for the betterment and effectiveness of programs. That’s what the program review office intended to do, review our departments, our programs and see where we can better spend our dollars more efficiently, more effectively. Mr. Speaker, that’s what we did.

On this side of the House, we have a lot of Members who put a lot of time in and know the investments of early childhood development. The Members on this side of the House made a recommendation based on what the program review office had said and had told committee, and what they did in the last government, all the hard work they’ve done.

What good is having a program review office if we don’t act on those recommendations, this government? That’s where we’re looking at spending our dollars more effectively so that other programs and services can actually thrive and flourish, and we can put those other dollars into other programs such as early childhood development.

I did take a little bit of offense yesterday when it was said the direction/recommendations that the million dollars comes out of inclusive schooling was on the direction of standing committee and I don’t believe that’s the case. We did make recommendations on both programs and it was the direction of the Minister to look at possibly taking those dollars from one program. We have to work together to find the best ways to spend these dollars.

I just want to state that it wasn’t standing committee that directed that the one million comes out of inclusive schooling and into ECE. I just wanted to put that on record. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are certainly times when our education system doesn’t support our students or support the good decisions made by their parents.

In many of our small communities, students have to go away to a larger centre to complete high school. That can be really on both the student and the parents. For example, Mr. Speaker, a parent I know in Trout Lake wants to send their child to Yellowknife for high school instead of Fort Simpson. This parent has considered the various factors and made a decision. However, the education authority does not agree with this choice and will not support it. What does that mean? It means they will fund high school in Fort Simpson, but not Yellowknife. Basically it means that the parent’s judgment is written off. The system seems to think it knows better, Mr. Speaker.

School funding is largely based on enrollment, so if a student enrolls in a Yellowknife school, it will be funded accordingly by the Department of Education. We are paying to educate that Trout Lake student anyway. Why does the parent have no right to choose where their son or daughter goes to high school?

On one hand, Mr. Speaker, we want and expect parents to be true partners in the education system. On the other hand, we fail to support those parents who try to take reasonable, concrete steps to help their children succeed. It is a mixed message at best. Really, it is shameful.

I want to be absolutely clear. Our system must support what is best for the students. Our system must support decisions made by parents in their children’s best interests. Our government is in part responsible for Aboriginal education in the Northwest Territories. If our residents seek training through the federal Department of Aboriginal Affairs, they can seek it anywhere within reason. This is the example we need to follow. I don’t think it takes a full reform of our education system to make changes like this one. The Minister can, and should, order it done.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to convey the sensitivity of my topic today, and that topic is about cremation and the regulations around the functioning of a crematorium. Admittedly, I’m very respectful of the topic around some of our Aboriginal cultures and for that I ask some leniency for today’s Member’s statement.

Approximately 30 percent of people who die in the NWT are cremated, according to Janice McKenna of McKenna Funeral Home. As striking as this statistic is, it is equally interesting that the NWT and Nunavut are the only two jurisdictions left in Canada that lack legislation for providing regulation of a crematorium. For the record, Yukon has enabling legislation but has no regulations at this juncture.

It is also important to point out that the City of Yellowknife has a by-law covering the operation of cemeteries and how remains are to be disposed within the city, but the by-law does not cover the operation of a crematorium.

As well, I must point out that the NWT regulates the disposal of cremated remains in the Vital Statistics Act and that act just came into effect January 1stof this calendar year. However, again, this act does not regulate the operation of a crematorium.

The question remains that the costs of cremation are typically much cheaper than embalming, casket and burial, but because we lack legislative capacity, we are not able to offer families of the NWT a viable cost option at the time of their grieving. I believe we owe it to these families to have such options.

The regulation of a crematorium in Canada is a provincial/territorial responsibility in which municipalities often play a role, and it is with this in mind that I will be asking the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs to which degree his department will be able to facilitate that legislation for the people of the Northwest Territories.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is more news and recognition to the City of Yellowknife’s achievements on the environment. Recognized by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities recently, the city has taken steps to reduce greenhouse gases and improve energy efficiency, thereby achieving the fifth milestone of the Partners for Climate Protection Program. The program is a network of municipal governments that have committed to reduce greenhouse gases and act on climate change. Fort Smith and Fort Simpson are also partners for climate protection communities.

Municipalities progress through five milestones that help build capacity to reduce greenhouse gases. They create a greenhouse gas emissions inventory and forecast, then set an emission reduction target and develop a plan to achieve it. They implement the plan and, the milestone being recognized now, they monitor progress and report results. This is professional program delivery.

On the basis of the plan, the City of Yellowknife has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 10 percent and decreased its reliance on non-renewable energy by 20 percent. The Pellet Fuel Conversion Program, introduction of the EGH 80 Building Standard, expansion of the trail system, use of Energy Star equipment, and other measures have pushed the city forward in achieving this goal.

Municipalities have control over approximately 44 percent of Canada’s emissions while all other orders of government need to work together to reduce Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions. Municipalities are taking effective action themselves. In total, PCP members have invested over $1 billion to date to mitigate climate change, implementing over 700 green projects or measures and reducing emissions by 1.7 million tonnes. NWT municipalities are thinking globally and acting locally.

Our communities, the NWT Association of Municipalities, and this government are leading efforts to control and cut greenhouse gases. We need to roll this success out across our territory, setting territory-wide standards for building energy efficiency, increasing investment in non-renewable energy sources and, yes, even choosing the right water heaters are important steps along the way. They lower the cost of living and help the environment.

Congratulations to the city. Let’s use their example to spur our own efforts. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to talk to talk about a great worldwide initiative entitled Girls Fly Too. The year 2012 was the first year to celebrate more than 100 years in aviation, and it was called Women of Aviation Worldwide Week. As part of that week, last year, under the leadership of Yellowknife helicopter pilot Kirsten Brazier, Yellowknife Airport earned the title of the Most Female Pilot-Friendly Airport Worldwide.

There were over 400 girls and women who participated in the event, and they weren’t just from Yellowknife. Families drove in from Tlicho communities, there was a group from Fort Smith, and there were a number of delighted visitors to the NWT who came with their Yellowknife families.

There were helicopters taking off with multi-generations of families on board. More importantly, there was interest and engagement in aviation from young girls and women and their families.

Kirsten Brazier has returned to YZF – the airport code for Yellowknife – to defend the title that we won last year. On March 9th, from 9:00 to 5:00 p.m. at the Yellowknife Airport, fun, interactive and educational activities are planned for everyone. There will be free flights for eligible girls and women of any age. Taxiway “Kilo” will once again be buzzing with girls and women, pilots and helicopters spending the day going up and down, up and down. There will be both civilian and military aircraft on display, attended by flight and maintenance crews, and participants will be able to interact with them and ask questions of them.

The site manager for the Yellowknife Airport, Tammy Wotherspoon, has offered to conduct tours of the NAVCanada facilities so people may better understand what happens behind the scenes in air traffic control and aviation weather services.

This is a true community event with many sponsors and volunteers. The Girls Fly Too event is about educating girls and women about the opportunities in aviation, but it’s also about inspiring and motivating them. To quote Ms. Brazier “Only about 4 percent of helicopter pilots with a commercial helicopter pilot licence are women. We are trying to change perceptions and let people know that, hey, women do do these jobs and that there are so many career options available.”

These career options range from an office job doing accounting, to helping prepare aircraft for flight, to piloting them. There are numerous opportunities for women in the aviation industry.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted.

I encourage everyone, male and female alike, to experience the magic and the uniqueness of this event and get involved. Girls can register for a flight at

www.girlsfly2.ca

, volunteers can sign up to help with the event by contacting Ms. Brazier at

[email protected]’s get as many girls as we can from as many communities as we can at the Yellowknife Airport March 9th. Other airports worldwide are after the title that the NWT now holds. Let’s make sure we keep the title of the World’s Most Female Pilot-Friendly Airport for another year. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. People are living in warehouses, they are living in tents, they are drifting from house to house, sleeping on floors and couches, they are overnighting in RCMP cells. As NASA would say, Houston, we have a problem.

I want to ask a question that I often hear, is where are we supposed to go. We like to think that homelessness is a big city problem. It seems community homeless are out of sight and forgotten, except for those people who face the unfortunate situation themselves.

I want to put it on record, loud and clear, there are homeless in my region and in other regions too, no doubt. Why is this happening? I can only speak to what I see myself. Why do people lose their homes or get kicked out of one of them when they have alcohol addiction, which is one of the biggest causes. We know that the easiest way to get addictions treatment is to go to jail, which also puts a roof over their head.

People get kicked out of public housing too. It could be for not paying their rent for too long or for other reasons.

Let me go back to my original question. Where are the people without their homes supposed to go? There’s no homeless shelter in the Sahtu region, unless you include a few jail cells. Other regions do have shelters. I know there are emergency shelters in Inuvik, Fort Smith and, of course, Yellowknife. Some Sahtu residents end up in Yellowknife for that reason. There is at least some help for them here in the capital. I’m not sure how much money our government spends to help fund these shelters – probably not enough anyway – but not one measly dollar is spent in the Sahtu region.

As Members, we set our priorities more than a year ago for healthy, safe and sustainable communities, but we still struggle with the basics. Where do you go when you have no home? Where do you go to escape family violence? Where will you get help to beat an addiction or restore your mental health? For starters, we need emergency shelters in the Sahtu region. What we need is some help to solve these problems closer to our home. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to congratulate Ms. Lois Philipp, principal of the Deh Gah Elementary and Secondary School in Fort Providence, on being recognized as one of Canada’s outstanding principals for 2013. The Learning Partnership announced Ms. Philipp was one of 51 exceptional educators to receive the Award for Excellence in Public Education.

Through her leadership at the Deh Gah Elementary and Secondary School since 2004, the school has evolved from a community school with cultural inclusion to a school that is truly culture-based. In the last few years, 28 students have graduated from the school, and registered secondary school students have doubled the number of credits previously obtained in a year.

Ms. Philipp… [English translation not provided]

[Translation] …she wants to be a good leader in the community of Fort Providence. She also grew up in Fort Providence. To help young students, she had become principal. Because of that, we have a lot of young people that are well educated and become good people. This is why Ms. Philipp took this avenue in her career. This is why I am speaking up it today. She is a good role model for young students. [Translation ends]

… when she led the planning of a four-day river trip from Fort Providence to Jean Marie as the cultural component of the program. The trip was such a successful learning and a bonding experience that it became a metaphor for all classroom-based learning to follow. She is always asking, what will make a difference in the life of a student, and she has that uppermost in her mind when introducing new approaches and programming. She truly understands the strength of combining education, culture and community into a solid foundation for her students, an effective tool for her colleagues and an open door for the community. Please join me in congratulating Ms. Lois Philipp. Mahsi.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Some diamond mines are not living up to their employment targets as prescribed in their legally contracted socio-economic agreements. The Government of the Northwest Territories and the mines signed these agreements in good faith, where we wanted 60 percent of the mines’ employment to be northern workforce. Right now there are some mines making up less than 40 percent of that workforce.

Industry flies some of these, if not most of these, workers from the South. Minister Ramsay seems to downplay this in a CBC interview a few weeks ago and seems in my view, and in the view of many Northerners, that he’s ignoring the problem. He seems to be quoted as, “that’s just part of the reality we’re living in in Canada.” Then again, the other day in unedited Hansard on February 14th, he says, “I’m not here to defend industry, the mining companies. They signed those agreements in good faith.” So is the Minister defending the mines or is he defending northern jobs?

Increasingly, I know that we live in a time where people can live anywhere, but who’s defending the small communities when unemployment rates reach as high as 70 percent? Are there too many jobs in that community? Do people just not want to work? I say people want to work. Only a handful of people in the Sahtu and, as a matter of fact, four people in the Sahtu work at this mine. Four people in the Inuvik region. Is that too many? Have we oversaturated the employment opportunities? No. People in those regions need job opportunities.

What good is the Mineral Development Strategy if we have no one working at the mines and Northerners aren’t benefiting from these? It was only a few short years ago the same person was complaining in the House about mines subsidizing workers to get to Edmonton to catch the big flight to the northern mines. We need better attitude over here from that side of the House, the Cabinet side, because we should be demanding these mines subsidize the workforce to come south from those hard hit areas that have low unemployment.

We could be going to the Sahtu, we could be going to the Inuvik region, we could even be going to the Nunakput region to put people to work, because people want to work. In some cases there is over 60 percent of our mine force that can only be described as a tourist. That should go on our stats.

So I want the Minister to stop blaming education, stop blaming the mines. What is he going to do to protect our northern legacy? Let’s get our people working. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. [English translation not provided.]

I want to congratulate Mr. Dan Summers, principal of Deninu K’ue School in Fort Resolution, for being recognized as one of Canada’s outstanding principals for 2013. The Learning Partnership announced Mr. Summers as one of 51 exceptional educators to receive the Award for Excellence in Public Education.

Through his leadership at the Deninu School, since 2009 learning outcomes have significantly increased. In 2012, 87 percent of Deninu School students achieved a national average or better on a group reading achievement and diagnosis evaluation, more than 10 percent above the national average. This is almost double the results of 2008 when only 46 percent of the students achieved the national average. In 2011, 100 percent of the Deninu School grades 3 to 6 met the national standard on the Alberta Achievement Test for reading and writing. This test is one of the highest standards in the world. Through his positive attitude and focus on working effectively in partnership with others, Mr. Summers has been instrumental in changing the culture of teaching and learning in Fort Resolution.

Upon announcement of this award, Mr. Summers graciously attributed the success of his school to the strength in each of his staff and all hands-on-deck attitude. He is truly an inspiring man, and on behalf of the town of Fort Resolution, I want to thank him for all his hard work thus far in Fort Resolution. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Item 4, reports of standing and special committees. Item 5, returns to oral questions. Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a return to a written question asked by Mr. Dolynny on February 6, 2013.

…(inaudible)... Item 10, returns to written questions. Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a return to a written question asked by Mr. Dolynny on February 6, 2013, regarding the itinerary for the 2013 diamond tour. Later today, at the appropriate time, I will table a document, entitled Itinerary for 2013 Diamond Tour.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Item 6, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m pleased to recognize the leaders of the Gwich’in Tribal Council that are here in the audience. President Robert Alexie and Chief Operating Officer Fred Koe.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s an honour and privilege to recognize a colleague from Nunavut, Deputy Premier, the Honourable Peter Taptuna. He’s also the Minister of Economic Development, Transportation, Tourism, Housing, the Nunavut Business Credit Corporation, the Nunavut Development Corporation, and also the Minister of Energy. Welcome to Minister Taptuna.

With Minister Taptuna is his executive assistant, Pat Angnakak. Welcome.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Lafferty.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Oh, I thought you said Abernethy.

---Laughter

Close enough. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize Gayla Meredith, who is here with us today, the president of the NWTTA. She is here to witness our Canada’s Outstanding Principals statement today.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Now you can rise, Mr. Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize 22 international students visiting Yellowknife as part of the Rotary Club’s Tip Toe with the Caribou program. The Rotary Club hosts exchange students from around the world for one year within Rotary District 5370, which encompasses parts of Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon and the Northwest Territories. The students with us today drove from Edmonton, stopping in Hay River and Behchoko before arriving here for a four-day visit. They will be touring Yellowknife and experiencing all that the city has to offer, and while they’re here they’re going to be billeted with local Rotarians.

I apologize if I mispronounce any of these names. With us today is Jakub Taptik from Slovakia, Niek Looze from the Netherlands, Teresa Viktova from the Czech Republic, Wei Huang from Taiwan, Joel Zeller from Switzerland, Carl Waskiewicz from Sweden, Moritz Goerner from Germany, Alan Monterro from Bolivia, Marcos Herrera from Brazil, Christian Demmelbauer from Austria, Jose Andres Mera Villacis from Ecuador, Alise Rolland from Norway, Ada Niemanen from Finland, Pernille Lange from Denmark, Rue Brasil Neto from Brazil, Mustafa Can Bildirici from Turkey, Lily Phornwisetsirikun from Thailand, Thayna Tomiyoshi from Brazil, Sixtine Biais from France, Nora Kurzwelly from Poland, Jane Surattanawanich from Thailand, Roberta Sa Rivera from Brazil. Welcome and thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Mr. Blake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize two constituents from Mackenzie Delta, Mr. James Ross and Mr. Charlie Furlong. Also the president of the Gwich’in Tribal Council, Mr. Albert Alexie Jr.; and Fred Koe.

Thank you, Mr. Blake. Mr. Bouchard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d also like to recognize two long-time curling friends, Fred Koe and James Ross.

Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. Mr. Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to take the opportunity to welcome the president of the Gwich’in Tribal Council, Mr. Robert Alexie Jr., as well as the chief operating officer, Mr. Fred Koe. Welcome, enjoy the proceedings. I’d also like to make a special welcome to Gayla Meredith, the president of the NWTTA. It is Education Week and I hope the campaign and everything is going great this week.

Thank you, Mr. Moses. Mr. Dolynny.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to introduce, to and through you again, the International Rotary students here. Welcome to the House. We have two guests from Calgary who are on their first time here to Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. We have Laura McLeod and John Humphrey from Calgary who are friends with Minnie, who works in our cafeteria. She’s got a great, beautiful last name in German I cannot pronounce. Welcome to the House.

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. I’d like to welcome all visitors here in the public gallery here today. Thank you for taking an interest in our proceedings today.

Item 7, acknowledgements. Mr. Nadli.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In recognition of Education Week, I’d like to rise and acknowledge and congratulate my constituents Augustine Minoza, who received his Journeyman Red Seal for completing four years of carpentry with the Housing Corporation in Fort Providence. Also Delmar Bonnetrouge and Rod Bonnetrouge, who both received their Red Seal Journeyman tickets as electricians. They both live and work in Fort Providence.

Thank you, Mr. Nadli. Item 8, oral questions. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement I talked about the emergency shelters and that there are none in the Sahtu region. I know there are some here in the larger centres. My questions today are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. I want to ask the Minister if Health tracks the origins of people using emergency shelters. I would like to know how many of those people are from the Sahtu region from last year.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, the organization that is responsible for the day shelter here in Yellowknife tracks where the individuals are from. I don’t, unfortunately, have the breakdown with me in the House today of where each of those individuals are from.

I would appreciate if the Minister could help me out here and maybe get the breakdowns, especially for the Sahtu region, on the emergency shelters. We are seeing an oil and gas boom in the Sahtu region and pressure on services and housing, and there are more alcohol problems. I want to ask the Minister why there are no emergency shelters in the Sahtu region.

Although I was not involved in the original decision to bring the shelters to the larger centres, I can assume that the shelters were based on people who were considered to be absolute homeless versus relatively homeless. What happens is, essentially people who are absolutely homeless are people who have absolutely no place to call their own and the relatively homeless people actually don’t have a place to call home but do have a place to live, such as people who sleep on couches, as the Member indicated. Why we don’t have shelters in all of the communities is largely due to the cost.

The Minister raises a good point. We’re at the point now where people in the Sahtu, specifically if I name the community of Deline, people are staying in warehouses there. I know of at least five people who are living in makeshift warehouses and people are living in tents in the middle of 40 and 50 below weather. I want to ask the Minister how much support will be available through Health and Social Services if an emergency shelter was started in the Sahtu.

If an emergency shelter was started in the Sahtu, then the O and M to operate that shelter would come back to the Assembly. There would be a determination of which department would support the shelter and then that decision would come back to the Assembly on how much support would be needed and what type of support would be issued to such a shelter.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will follow up tomorrow with questions to the Minister of Housing on this type of situation.

My last question to the Minister of Health and Social Services is: People who are categorized as disabled or with a disability, some of them are living in these shacks that I witnessed in Deline and probably other communities.

What provisions within the Department of Health and Social Services can these people receive for emergency shelter or some type of home that would assist them with their living conditions?

That is something I would take back to my department. I know there are no shelters or any type of homes targeted specifically for persons with disabilities. There is not, where such a category exists. There are categories of housing designed to accommodate persons with disabilities, but there are no programs targeted only for persons with disabilities.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today I spoke on a sensitive topic pertaining to lack of legislation around the functioning of a crematorium. I want to convey again my respect of such topic to the many cultures sensitive to the subject.

The costs of a cremation are respectfully more affordable than traditional embalming, casket and burial. As I mentioned earlier today, without the proper legislation means we cannot have a functioning crematorium in the Northwest Territories. As a result, families must incur extra expenses to send loved ones to southern facilities. It is with this topic in mind I wish to address my questions today to the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.

Could the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs indicate any recent NWT statistics on the number of residents who are cremated versus traditional burial?

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The honourable Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Robert McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs doesn’t keep statistics related to death. However, based on the death registration statements filed with Vital Statistics, there were 113 burials and 34 cremations in 2012. These numbers are approximate as some members did not put burial or cremation on the statements.

I appreciate the Minister’s response to that. Seeing that regulation of a crematorium in Canada is a provincial/territorial responsibility, without the proper legislation could NWT municipalities grant status to the operation of a crematorium in the absence of NWT legislation?

We have not received any type of request from the funeral industry or from the community governments to establish cremation services in the Northwest Territories. In order to establish this industry, we would need to complete further research to better understand the legal requirements or the need for enabling legislation.

I agree that there ought to be a stepped approach for requirements. Is it safe to say that the need of a proper legislation for the functioning of a crematorium lies in the hands of the territorial government, yet we’re waiting for a request, I guess, from the general public or organization? Given that fact, we are only one of two remaining jurisdictions in Canada without such legislation, it bears to ask the question, could the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs consider such legislation in the absence of requests from public. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We would have to weigh this against any other legislation that we are planning on bringing forward. Given that we haven’t had much contact with those who provide the service, it may not be a priority right now. However, that could change. If there’s a feeling that we need to proceed with this, then we’d have to step back and look at that, again considering the financial costs and the other legislation that we have right now. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Dolynny.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess my last question for the Minister would be: If there was a formal application from an organization or municipality to start up the crematoria functionality, would the department or Minister be willing to look at legislation upon application? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to follow up on some questions that were asked by my colleague Mr. Dolynny yesterday. He asked some questions of the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs with regard to safety within our buildings.

I share Mr. Dolynny’s concerns about home safety, about construction of homes, installation of furnaces and so on. I feel, I think as he does, that the NWT lacks adequate inspection capabilities.

My first question to the Minister is: What building codes or what building standards exist in the NWT to guide construction? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The National Building Code of Canada guides construction in the Northwest Territories, where all buildings built in the Northwest Territories have to be code compliant and they have to follow the National Building Code. Thank you.

Thanks to the Minister for that clarification. I realize that we are following the National Building Code, but my concern lies more with enforcement. It was my understanding that the Minister, yesterday, said we really don’t have any enforcement capabilities. I’d like to ask the Minister if he can advise that if I as a private homeowner am building a house, who inspects the construction of my home to ensure that it conforms to the Canada building standards. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, it depends on what part of the territory you live in. In a place like Yellowknife, for example, and some of the larger communities that do have community building inspectors, when you’re building a home you would have to get a building permit from them, they would review the plans, and then once your home is completed, they would inspect it to ensure that you conform to all local building practices and the National Building Code. Thank you.

Thanks to the Minister. As the Minister points out, it’s all well and good if I’m building my home in Yellowknife because there are building inspectors here who do do that service here. But if I am in a community outside of Yellowknife or outside or in any community that does not have a building inspector, what am I to do? How am I to know that the building that is being constructed is safe and it has conformed to the Canada Building Code? I’d like to ask the Minister that. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, that’s a question that we’ve had a number of times in the past from some of the communities out there. They’ve asked about building inspection services…

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Start over? Right from the start?

Mr. Speaker, that is a question that we’ve had a number of times before from those regions outside that are not covered by a municipal building inspector, and it’s one that we continue to look at.

If you’re building in a small community, obviously if it’s a house, that’s through one of the NWT housing programs, we have project officers that would inspect the building to ensure that it conforms to code. However, if you’re self-financing this or financing it through the bank, I’m not quite sure yet – I’d have to check on that – but I’m sure there would be a requirement to have the building inspected and conform to code for insurance purposes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister again. I think the Minister is agreeing with me that we don’t have the capability to do the kind of inspections of buildings that we should. I want to ask the Minister whether or not there’s a possibility that we can look at this seriously. The subject has been raised a number of times. Can we seriously look at providing those services, particularly where we have no building inspectors in our communities, and maybe we should consider having a Minister who is responsible for our building standards and building codes. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, again, that is a question we do get a lot. It’s one that I think, as a department, we would have to explore to see… Well, we’d have to weigh everything, the finances and all the other things that go with it.

I will commit to the Member that as a department we will have a look at this, and we’ll do a bit of research as to what areas are covered, what’s not covered. I know for commercial buildings they’re pretty well covered. I know for houses, through the NWT Housing Corp, inspection is covered. However, we do have very few private homes going up into the smaller non-market communities. So there’s a bit of a gap there and we’ll have to do some research. I will commit to reporting my finds to the members of the committee. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I just wanted to follow up on my Member’s statement and ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment why parents in small communities are, essentially, not allowed to decide where their students will go when they have to complete high school away from home. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The students are encouraged to attend the local district school system. If not, if they go elsewhere, then the funding follows them. So if they’re in, let’s say, Yellowknife, St. Pat’s for example, based on enrolment, they will get additional funding for an additional child in the school.

We’re not saying no to the students who want to explore other schools, but it depends on the school enrolment, they funding they receive. So when the Deh Cho region receives funding, if an individual student decides to go to another larger centre, then they will lose that portion from the enrolment. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

I understand a bit about that, how schools are funded by each education authority. I guess my question was more related to home boarding. When students from small communities go to Fort Simpson, the education authority takes care of the home boarding and provides them a place to stay. But when the parent makes the choice to send them to another district – in this case to Yellowknife – why are we not supporting costs for home boarding in relatives’ homes or other areas? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, this has been an ongoing discussion that we’ve been having in this House about home boarding, and it’s all across the Northwest Territories. We are trying to deal with this matter as best as we can, dealing with the school boards.

At the end of the day, it’s the school board that makes the decision. If it’s outside their district, then obviously they won’t be supporting a student in Yellowknife. We give them the discretion to expend that funding to the best needs of the community, best needs of the students that are in their region. I will continue to work with the school board, all the school boards across the Northwest Territories that deal specifically with home boarding issues. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, in my Member’s statement I spoke about treaties and Aboriginal rights. We are responsible for Aboriginal education and if that student moves to whatever community, I feel that home boarding should be covered. Thank you.

Sorry, Mr. Menicoche. There is no question, but I will allow the Minister of Education, Mr. Lafferty.

Mr. Speaker, we are not denying students to be educated. We provide the facilities all across the Northwest Territories and the education system as well. We continue to provide funding to the school boards so they can have their children educated in their system as well. We will continue to enforce that on to the school boards. Mahsi.

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

Mr. Speaker, thank you for your leeway in continuing debate with the Minister of Education. The parents know the value of good education and that’s why they are choosing other districts based on their own selection and guidelines that they would like for their children.

Once again, can the Minister explore home boarding not only in the district that the student is from but other communities? Also, I want to point out once again, the mitigating factor here is that there are Aboriginal rights and the federal government pays for that, and our government, therefore, is responsible as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we are exploring those areas where I just met with Beaufort-Delta on e-learning. E-learning is the way to go now, where students are taking on the courses that are not delivered in small communities. Those are, I believe, going to be something big that we will probably focus on as we move further along.

When it comes to the residence for those students, I still have to deal with the school boards, so I can relay the message on to the school boards. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I had to refrain myself yesterday from getting involved in the inclusive schooling discussions. Today, after listening to news reports this morning, looking at Hansard and following up, in my questions today I just want to get a little bit more specific answers to the inclusive schooling. My first question is for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Has the Minister and the Department of Education, Culture and Employment received the report from the Department of Executive with recommendations on pupil-teacher ratio and the inclusive schooling and the cost savings for the government? Has he received a review, a report, or some type of communication? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. There are various reports that my department receives. One of them is PTR inclusive schooling. We continue to review those files. Mahsi.

Mr. Speaker, I’m glad to hear that he did see the report, possibly. I didn’t really get a concrete answer there, but he did mention PTR and inclusive schooling.

In terms of recommendations, what is his department doing to address those recommendations made from the program review office which is supposed to make our programs and services in the Government of the Northwest Territories more efficient and more effective in spending our dollars? What is the department doing to act on the recommendations from the program review office that he said his office has received? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, as I stated in the House yesterday, there is a review of the inclusive schooling. There is a linkage with the early childhood development and it all falls into play. We want to assess inclusive schooling. How is it being delivered? Is it exhausted in all schools to the best of its ability to assist those students? That’s what we’re doing, based on what we’ve heard from the communities, what we’ve heard from the standing committee and other stakeholders out there. That is based on that. We decided we should move forward on re-evaluating our inclusive schooling, so that’s what we’re doing. Mahsi.

Mr. Speaker, I’m glad that the Minister mentioned that he’s reviewing the inclusive schooling again, because that is something that I heard on the radio and I heard it brought up many times yesterday during question period. Was the review process from the Executive not sufficient enough to move forward in the program review office that this department has to do a second review and spend dollars to review this program again when the program review office has already reviewed it and brought recommendations forward? Can he justify why they’re reviewing a program that has already been reviewed from an internal source for the government? It just doesn’t make sense, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, today we are reviewing our inclusive schooling. We want to reach out to the stakeholders. We heard yesterday that we should be talking to those front-line teachers. We should be talking to those students, the teachers, the professionals, the educators. So that’s what we are embarking on. We are doing our own research, as well, across Canada, across the United States and various places. We want to have a product that will be best suited for Northwest Territories, and based on what we’ve heard and what we will hear from the general public across the Northwest Territories. We are pursuing that and we will be delivering that to the standing committee once it is available. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a few questions here. Does the Minister know if the last review from the PRO did not address those or go to the same stakeholders? Whose decision was it to go and review this inclusive schooling again? Who made that decision to review a program that has already been reviewed previously? Who made that decision? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, as you know, inclusive schooling falls under the Department of Education. I am the Minister responsible for inclusive schooling, so I pursued with my department, gave my department instruction to re-evaluate that inclusive schooling. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to direct my questions to the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources and focus on the Giant Mine Remediation Project. Aboriginal Affairs Northern Development Canada, GNWT’s partner on this remediation project, has filed a water licence application to carry out demolition of the roaster complex at the Giant Mine, requiring removal of 700 tonnes of deadly arsenic trioxide and 90,000 cubic metres of waste, but there are serious concerns with the federal government plan for site. Most disturbing is a lack of a comprehensive dust management and air quality monitoring component. The demolition is metres from the Ingraham Trail and boat launch, and upwind from the city.

Why has this proposal gone forward without rigorous dust control and air quality monitoring provisions, and will the Minister consult with his co-proponent to correct this deficiency? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Member of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member has raised a very specific concern. I will commit to consult with my ENR officials first, and then we will look at what steps need to be taken up to and including the recommendation by the Member that we talk to our federal partner on this. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, thanks to the Minister. This is a very serious concern, obviously, dealing with arsenic trioxide.

The water licence applications submitted under the auspices of an emergency, which excuses it from review process and so on, contains additional provisions to carry out work underground. So this work will not be regulated by environmental conditions governing the overall remediation project. AANDC argues the underground work is urgent, but YKDFN, the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, doesn’t agree, and others question the work qualifies for the emergency exemption required to go ahead now.

As co-proponent, what independent work has this government done to evaluate the urgency of this aspect of the project? In other words, are we making our own decisions here or just following the federal proponent, which is also the regulator? Thank you.

We have some very capable individuals that are at that table representing our interests. So they have collectively come to that decision, but the Member has raised, once again, another specific issue and I will check back with the officials at ENR to look into the specifics of that concern. Thank you.

I appreciate the Minister’s response again. I think we really want to use those emergency provisions only when there is an emergency, otherwise it needs the oversight. Now, these problems could have been avoided if we had an effective community-based mechanism for independent oversight. Yet, despite six drafts of an oversight discussion paper and eight drafts of an Environmental Agreement, the working group hasn’t met since last August.

The Minister stated his support for independent oversight at a March 2012 workshop. So will the Minister direct his department and encourage our federal partners to get to work on independent oversight moving to conclusion? Mahsi.

Yes.

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