Good afternoon, colleagues. Please be seated. Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise this afternoon on a point of privilege. I would like to speak to a point of privilege from a quote by Mr. Menicoche on Friday, October 18th . I did wait for

this opportunity to bring the point up. I wanted to check unedited Hansard. I will quote from unedited Hansard, page 35 from Friday, October 18th . Mr.

Menicoche says, “Thank you very much, Madam Chair. The media was quick up that in the capital plan there’s nothing for Yellowknife, and I’m glad.” Laughter.

I think the Hansard crew may have missed out a couple of words. I think it should say, “The media was quick to pick up that in the capital plan there’s nothing for Yellowknife, and I’m glad.”

Mr. Speaker, I want to say that I am offended by the comment from my colleague. I would like to also say that my constituents are offended and all the constituents in Yellowknife. Almost 50 percent of the population of the NWT is here and I don’t feel that that comment is one that they will take lightly.

In my view, this is against the very nature of our consensus government that we should be working together, and I don’t believe that comment indicates that we are working together and I think I will find it difficult to ensure that we work together in the future.

There is a code of conduct which all Members signed when we were sworn in to the Assembly in October of 2011. I will just quote a couple of things from the code of conduct: “As a legislator, I will do my best to fulfill my duties to the Legislature, the public, my constituents and my colleagues, with integrity and honour. To the Legislature, I owe respect. To my colleagues, I owe fairness and respect for our differences.” Those things, Mr. Speaker, I feel were contravened by the comment from Mr. Menicoche on Friday.

It’s one thing for us as Members and it’s well known that there is a bit of a competition, I guess, between Yellowknife and small communities, within the walls of this House and within the Legislature. It’s one thing for us to make these comments when we are in private when we are speaking with two or three of our colleagues, or when we’re in a committee meeting or a Cabinet meeting. It’s quite another, Mr. Speaker, to say it publicly and that’s what happened on Friday.

I think perhaps Mr. Menicoche was trying to be funny, but it was not funny. It was offensive. I would like to ask the Member to withdraw his remarks and to apologize to the Yellowknife residents of the NWT. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. To the point of privilege, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I take my role as MLA very seriously and when we are in the House, everything is certainly public, Mr. Speaker. But I do stand on my opinion on this matter. I regret that I have to stand in this House on a point of privilege by a Yellowknife Member and the community of Yellowknife because they were offended. I don’t believe I said anything out of the ordinary and stand by my opinion, Mr. Speaker.

Unfortunately, of all the good work we are doing together, this is not a vision I would like to see for a voice from a small community, an MLA from a small community, to be asked to withdraw his view that Yellowknife has benefited from capital expenditures over the years and, indeed, this fiscal year being proposed. I am glad that here we have a unique situation that finally our regions and communities have a major share of capital expenditures. Certainly this is my opinion and I would venture to say the sentiment of many across our great Northwest Territories. People can’t get everything all the time, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. I will allow some debate on the point of order. Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I side with my colleague Ms. Bisaro in this discussion. As the Speaker knows, our Members’ conduct also says we will promote the equality of all our people, distribute resources fairly and justly, and to the

public I owe the responsibility to work for the well-being of all residents of the Northwest Territories.

The Member has inferred that resources are unfairly distributed and that Yellowknife has over-benefitted. Now, he presented no data to back that up. There have been some summaries done, and I am willing to state that, in fact, on a per capita basis, there probably are more resources dedicated to those outside of Yellowknife, but that’s neither here nor there.

We need to be standing up for all residents of the Northwest Territories equally. I also have constituents who are personally offended by that statement in the House on Friday, so I seek the same recourse as Ms. Bisaro and I refute the statements by the Member Mr. Menicoche. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. To the point of privilege. Any other comments? No comments?

My role on this point of privilege that has been raised is to determine whether or not this was at Ms. Bisaro’s earliest convenience, which was today. Now that that point of privilege has occurred, I will take this under advisement. Ms. Bisaro and Mr. Menicoche, I will reply back to you Thursday afternoon.

I want to remind Members again, and I said it the other day, we have a unique way of dealing with business, being we are not in party politics, so we have to work together for the betterment of all the people of the Northwest Territories. We are here for them. Let’s move forward.

Item 2, Ministers’ statements. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. McLeod.

Mr. Speaker, the Accountability Framework for Community Governments is now complete. This framework will be an important tool that will allow MACA and community government stakeholders to better coordinate our working relationship based on defined indicators that measure the health and success of community governments.

It builds on the New Deal and emphasizes the importance of responsible and responsive community governments. It provides tools, in the form of standardized key indicators and checklists to ensure they are being met, that community governments can use to assess their performance and determine what support they need.

When community governments find areas where they need help, MACA will work with them to build

capacity to deliver programs and services to their residents.

Reporting completed through the framework will help community governments anticipate problems early on. They can also use the data and reporting format to communicate with residents about their progress and successes. That information will also help the department in setting priorities for programs and training to community governments, and will play an important role in our business and strategic planning.

The department has regularly consulted and worked with partners at the Northwest Territories Association of Communities and the Local Government Administrators of the Northwest Territories.

These partner groups were invaluable in helping us refine the framework to ensure it meets the needs of community government stakeholders, so I would like to thank them for their continued assistance.

With the framework completed, we will be working with community governments on implementation. Municipal and Community Affairs staff will be delivering three regional workshops, starting in November. We want our stakeholders to know how to use the framework and how we will support them if they are having challenges carrying out their responsibilities. We are hiring new assistant regional superintendents in all regions to support community governments in the implementation of the Accountability Framework.

Good governance at the local level is integral to building sustainable, vibrant and safe communities. Through this framework, we will continue to provide community governments with the tools and support they need to respond to community priorities and manage their responsibilities effectively. We look forward to strengthening our relationships with community governments and remaining active, supportive partners.

Copies of the framework will be distributed to all Members of the Legislative Assembly in the near future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Item 3, Members’ statements. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The NTPC standby charge has acted as an effective barrier for those who wish to install solar panels or any other forms of alternative energy.

Over the last five years, customers who generated power to their own homes using alternative energy were forced to pay a standby rate based on their generating capacity. I am pleased to say because of the hard work of Regular Members on this side of the House, as of October 1st of this year this

standby charge was removed.

We also heard this summer that NTPC drafted a proposal for the new net metering program. Net metering allows customers to use NTPC’s system to bank their power back onto the grid so they can use a credit at a later time of the year. Originally, Cabinet presented this as a thermal zone project only. However, there is a ray of sunshine out there that consensus government is appearing to work, as Cabinet responded to Regular Members’ early input on this and, as a result, standby charges are now gone and residents of both thermal- and hydro-zoned communities are now eligible to participate in this program.

It is good that Cabinet and NTPC are listening as all our communities, not just thermal zones, operate diesel generators and collectively we all pay that much more for it, both in terms of our pocketbooks and our environment.

Northerners are very interested in using alternative forms of energy. We see and feel our power bills and heating costs. We understand how destructive fossil fuel extraction is to our environment, communities and our future, and it’s long past time that we adopt real efficiencies and reduce our ecological footprint.

Net metering is a great opportunity for Northerners to think globally and act locally. Customers who have the gumption to install their own solar and wind generators should get full credit for what they produce, as similar initiatives have paved the way in other parts of the world. The Northwest Territories should not rest on their laurels now. We should be pushing the envelope even further to stay ahead of the pack when it comes to incentives for renewable energy.

Power rates are only going to go up, and customers throughout the Northwest Territories need some relief. The majority of us who want to install self-generating power systems are simple wage earners, taxpayers, and supporters of our local economy. A photovoltaic system, or PV for short, or any form of generation unit involves a significant outlay of cash. More people would be willing to make that investment if they knew it would pay for itself a little more each month and make an immediate difference to their power bill.

Not everyone will, or can, subscribe to this program, but those who do, this government needs to give them all the credit they deserve. They are not only doing something for themselves, they’re also benefiting their communities, the environment,

and the common good of all. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. As previously mentioned in this House in many of my Member’s statements, the people of Trout Lake need a stand-alone school.

Officially known as Charles Tetcho School, the school is currently housed in a multi-purpose building. The building is also used as a community hall. The school portion essentially consists of a single classroom. For the number of students, the school is overcrowded and the facilities are inadequate. The Minister of Education has toured the school with me, so he has witnessed the problems firsthand.

Trout Lake has grown in size in recent years and school enrollment has grown with it. Enrollment is expected to remain steady, or even increase in the coming years.

In terms of the quality of school facilities, there’s a wide discrepancy between urban centres and small communities. This is simply unfair.

All students deserve a quality education facility, regardless of where they live. These concerns should be considered in light of the department’s explicit and well-publicized objective to eliminate the achievement gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students. The community is reaching out for help. As the MLA responsible for Trout Lake, I’m also seeking support from colleagues and decision-makers.

One proposed option is to expand the school portion within the community complex. However, that would limit space for community activities. I am pleased to say, since then there has been agreement by the community to increase the area being used by the school, but once again it means less community space for local programming.

This is like a band-aid remedy. Upgrades don’t address the fundamental problems. The school isn’t large enough and it has no room for future growth. By the year 2018 there will probably be improvements to the school infrastructure, but we have no assurance of that. In any case, five years is too long a wait.

A planning study should be undertaken for a stand-alone school. Residents are not asking for a super-school, only for a school that will begin to level the playing field for Trout Lake residents and students. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The government Department of Education, Culture and Employment has brought forward amendments to the Education Act, in response to a motion passed by this House almost two years ago, February of 2012. I’m very pleased that the government took notice of the request from Regular Members and subsequently took action to bring legislation forward. I do have concerns, however, with the legislation that’s presented.

Bullying is an issue throughout our society. It is not confined to our education system and our schools. As stated by an expert on bullying from Simon Fraser University, dealing with the problem requires politicians to not develop a one-size-fits-all approach.

Bullying perhaps affects our youth the most, but it occurs in our workplaces, as well, and it occurs both in and outside our schools. This legislation and these proposed amendments to the Education Act deal only with schools and should be considered nothing more than a start to combating bullying. It’s also recognized by experts and non-experts alike that legislation cannot be the only action we take to combat bullying. Members of this House recognized it in the motion we passed. It calls for the GNWT to “establish a territory-wide campaign to denounce bullying, including cyber-bullying, and to provide information and resources for schools, parents, victims and bystanders.” If we approve this bill amending our Education Act, it will have no effect unless we also run a significant awareness campaign.

In early August of this year, Nova Scotia’s cyber-bullying legislation came into effect. Even the Nova Scotia Justice Minister acknowledged “that this law and this legislation we put forward here isn’t the panacea for this issue.”

The question is often asked, and is as yet unanswered, can cyber-bullying laws really work. I say not on their own they can’t. To be effective, in addition to legislation, they must also have an awareness and education campaign. More importantly, we must have programs to address the root causes of bullying. There must be help for the victim, of course, but there must be help for the bully and his or her family as well.

Lastly, Mr. Speaker, we will not be effective in our battle to defeat bullies unless we develop broader legislation, legislation which addresses bullying wherever it occurs in our society, at school, at work, at home or at play.

I am glad the Minister of Education brought forward these amendments, but they must be considered as

a first step towards combating bullying, not the last one. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I joined the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment and colleagues in a recent tour of the fracking fields of Saskatchewan and North Dakota. We were joined by leaders from the Sahtu, as well as ITI and ENR staff. We learned a lot and I am pleased that there is much interest from the public and the media in hearing our impressions.

I was invited, this past weekend, to speak to a local chapter of the Council of Canadians and a group of concerned citizens during an organized global day event of protest against fracking. Titled “Global Frack-Down,” the event called for a ban on fracking because people think it is inherently unsafe. It included gatherings of concerned citizens in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, Senegal, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Tunisia, Ukraine and the United Kingdom, and 26 states and many communities across Canada. Obviously, people who have questions on fracking should not feel alone. Many countries and regions have banned the practice.

Fracking is not banned in North Dakota. Our tour was busy and informative, with meetings from morning until night with industry, regulators, legislators and First Nations. It was also very one-sided, with little on the environmental and social side. Granted, it takes specific direction to find and hear such perspectives.

Consider these examples: Though North Dakota has over 800 open produced water pits, we did not visit one. We did not hear about them, nor did we learn about the 25 percent that overflowed, with an abnormally high rainfall event this spring.

We visited the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation. The leaders were hospitable and informative, but there was no mention of the fracked well blowout on the reserve last winter which sprayed oil and unknown fracking chemicals into the air and into Lake Sakakawea, part of the Missouri River.

Local media and even inspectors covered that one up. Nobody wanted to get in the way of the oil companies who are making billions, but also paying the reservation $25 million per month and climbing.

Finally, while on our tour, one of the largest ever oil spills on U.S. soil was happening in the area and no one mentioned a thing about it.

I would like to get into my concluding paragraph, so I seek unanimous consent from my colleagues to complete my statement. Mahsi.

---Unanimous consent granted

Though one-sided, many people spoke candidly, saying look out, there is a freight train barrelling down on us. They have been overwhelmed with the demands of fracking put on local infrastructure and they said you must get prepared ahead of time. This means hundreds of millions of dollars for the installation of pipelines for oil, for gas, to supply fresh water and to take away the dirty water, a permanent network of roads, housing for big influxes of workers, and so on.

I am doing a little mini-series on fracking, so I will be continuing on this subject. As I said, we learned a lot and I will have more to share on this in the coming days. I will have questions for the Minister. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to talk today about the Nats'ejee K'eh Treatment Centre, which used to operate on the K’atlodeeche First Nation just across the river from Hay River.

Some of my colleagues have referred to this in the House already, and this weekend I had an opportunity to read a post on Facebook, which said, “Where are the Hay River MLAs? Why aren’t they saying something about it?” So this is my chance today to say something about it.

I thought I had already said some things about it. I have already met with the deputy minister and Mr. Andrew Langford, who came down to Hay River to meet with our local Metis government. I had spoken to the mayor and council about this. I spoke with the Chamber of Commerce about this, but I guess I haven’t spoken in a place where everybody could hear what I have to say on the record. That is why I take this opportunity today in my Member’s statement to talk about it.

I was there in the beginning of the Nats’ejee K’eh Treatment Centre. I was at the airport when I saw Pat Martel, John Pollard and a group of people all off on a mission to lobby the Government of the Northwest Territories to build a treatment centre on the Hay River Reserve. So I have been there kind of from the beginning.

The Nats’ejee K’eh Treatment Centre was the vision of a group of people, and some of these folks had been serving on the board up until very recently. A lot of the vision of that treatment centre

revolved around a spiritual, cultural, traditional approach to addressing addictions. That was well and good. The building was built to reflect that as well. It did serve its purpose for many years, but things change and things evolve. The facility became unionized. It is a strange piece of infrastructure in that it is a GNWT-owned facility located on a reserve, managed by a health authority some 600 kilometres away in Fort Simpson that does fall under the Deh Cho Health Authority. It was a bit of a strange anomaly as it was managed.

Things, as I say, do evolve. Addiction evolved. The facility evolved. Addictions now, if you can believe pictures on Facebook, have the ability to give people flesh-eating and bone-eating disease, if you can believe that; but things have really changed. A lot of the vision of the original forerunners on this project was not deliverable at this facility. The Department of Health and Social Services…

Could I have unanimous consent to conclude my statement?

---Unanimous consent granted

The cultural and traditional diversity of many of our regions in the territory also came into play, because you can’t just take one set of cultural practices and traditions and apply it to everybody who is supposed to come to a territorial facility on the Hay River Reserve, so that caused some issues as well.

The facility is closed. The contract has ended. For the record, I did not appreciate not knowing about it, because there were many people who are from Hay River who worked there. I didn’t appreciate that.

However, it is now a new day. It is time to move on. It is time to work with the government and the department to find out what that facility can be re-profiled as, and to look at the many good recommendations of the Minister’s Forum on Addictions and find out how we can best use those resources to address a very, very challenging need in our territory, that of addictions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the short time that I have been here, two years, the time has flown by so fast. One of the practices that we do within one of our committees is that of public accounts. The NWT doesn’t actually have a public accounts committee, and that responsibility goes to

the Government Operations committee of the Northwest Territories.

In March of 2013, this past year, we had the opportunity of having a public accounts practice with the Comptroller General of the NWT, where we sit down and we go through the consolidated and non-consolidated reports for the GNWT, where it really comes down to the financial accountability of the Northwest Territories and how dollars are spent within this government. It was almost a practice that was done backwards, where we did the public accounts practice after we approved a main estimates budget and operations budget for the GNWT. That needs to be addressed on a better situation within this government.

Members of the Government Operations committee had the opportunity over the last year and a half since we have been elected into this House, to go and get some training, to go to these conferences and meet with public accounts committee members whose sole job is to keep the government accountable. It was an eye-opener for me as a new legislator, and I’m sure it was an eye-opener for a lot of members from the Government Operations committee who were able to attend this conference.

What it comes down to is we have to do things better within this government. It talks about being accountable for the dollars that this government spends, but doing it in a practice where we get the reports before we make the decisions on how these dollars are spent. Usually, like I said, what we’ve seen is that it has kind of been a backwards practice after we have approved the dollars. Sometimes you go and say, well wait, this department didn’t spend their dollars properly. What we’ve also got to do is, in the future, not only question the Comptroller General, but we’ve got to start looking at bringing more witnesses to the table. I know this government has contribution agreements with district education authorities, health authorities, Aurora College, all these organizations, where we give them millions and millions of dollars without seeing the programs and how those dollars are spent.

I commend the work that the Government Operations committee has done, and continue to support the work that they do in bringing all departments and witnesses forward to make sure that our dollars are spent wisely. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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