This is page numbers 3027 – 3066 of the Hansard for the 17th Assembly, 4th Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was community.

Topics

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

Thank you. Well, I guess the next question is: How does the Minister know they can’t cross the Texas gates? Thank you.

David Ramsay

David Ramsay Kam Lake

That bison, to my knowledge, was observed jumping the guardrail and not going across the Texas gate. The Texas gate is utilized across North America as a way of keeping cattle out of an area. It’s certainly something we see a lot of in Alberta and it works. Thank you.

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

It reminds me of a joke my kid would say, is why did the buffalo cross the bridge.

---Laughter

Obviously, to get to the other side.

But in all seriousness, how much will this cost now to fix this new remedy or new hole we’re finding out in the Deh Cho Bridge process and system? How much more money is required now to keep the buffalo from jumping from the side onto the bridge, and what remedy does the Department of Transportation have in its pocketbook of plays to deal with a buffalo in the middle of the bridge while people are coming over it and while they have no choice? Something is going to happen.

David Ramsay

David Ramsay Kam Lake

Thank you. It wouldn’t be a great deal of money to get that fixed and that guardrail raised up. I certainly will make a commitment to get that figure to Members. We have to remember that where the Deh Cho Bridge is, bison that are in the area, that river is frozen six and a half months out of the year. They could certainly walk across there, and bison have been known to swim up to a kilometre at a time. So they could certainly swim across the river.

Our objective, in all of this, is public safety and keeping bison off the bridge. The cattle gate was put in to ensure that bison stayed off the bridge. Obviously, we had a bison that went around the gate and jumped the guardrail, and we will make every effort to ensure that that does not happen. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m really glad to hear what the Minister had to say, but he avoided my last question, which is simply: What is going to happen if there’s a buffalo on the bridge and somebody comes along and goes over the

hump of the bridge and all of a sudden sees a buffalo? The buffalo has nowhere to go but on the side or jump over. Potentially someone could hit the buffalo; there’s nowhere to swerve. I mean, we know how narrow that bridge is. So the question essentially is: Is public safety being compromised with this failed solution to keep the buffalo off the bridge?

David Ramsay

David Ramsay Kam Lake

Thank you. No, it’s not and we are making every effort to ensure that it doesn’t happen again. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.

Question 354-17(4): Low-Cost Daycare Programs
Oral Questions

October 21st, 2013

Bob Bromley

Bob Bromley Weledeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to follow up on my earlier Member’s statement with questions to the Minister for Education, Culture and Employment. During the last election campaign, the NWT Status of Women Council in the NWT asked all candidates the following: “If elected, would you commit to helping all communities in the NWT build affordable, quality, licensed child care facilities”? I will be tabling that later today.

I’m happy to report that candidates Bob McLeod, Glen Abernethy and Tom Beaulieu, and most of us on this side of the House made that commitment. The Minister himself did not reply.

Could the Minister answer the question today? Now that you have been elected and put on Cabinet with this responsibility, how is this government planning to fulfill your colleagues’ commitment to helping all communities in the NWT build affordable, quality licensed child care facilities? Mahsi.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Throughout the Northwest Territories we have child care centres and also daycare establishments, and throughout Yellowknife as well. At the same time, there is always room for improvement, as well, within my department. We’re always exploring ways of improving, whether it be the facility, whether it be changing the policies or programming. We’ve done that in the past where we’ve provided funding to the daycare establishment, where we pay for part of the mortgage and part of the operation cost as well. We will continue to make those changes that will reflect and be a positive outcome for the children in the centres.

This is an area that we are also discussing with the Early Childhood Development Framework, an overall framework. Now we are going to be focusing on the action plan. As we move forward, these are some of the changes that will be coming. Mahsi.

Bob Bromley

Bob Bromley Weledeh

Thanks to the Minister. We are certainly a planning Assembly, and we are hoping for action. After two years in office, people, of course, are starting to get tired of hearing statements of commitment and intentions. I feel that they are starting to look for actual actions.

Could the Minister estimate how many affordable daycare spaces have been created since we were elected?

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

I don’t have those exact details, dates and times for establishment of those facilities, but I will provide that to the Members.

Again, with the Early Childhood Development Framework, we’ve engaged the general public, the educators, the daycare workers, on what’s required, what’s needed. That is just some of the feedback we received through my department and also Health and Social Services, Again, as we move forward, those are some of the discussions that we will be starting to implement, along with the support or guidance of the standing committee as we move forward.

Bob Bromley

Bob Bromley Weledeh

We are in the process of reviewing the capital budget, and the government claims its spending the vast majority of the available funds building highways is an investment in our future. I would suggest that investing in our children has been demonstrated to have a better result, including economic result.

How much money is the government planning to invest in new daycare spaces over the remainder of our term in office as of today?

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

I agree with the Member that investing in our children is a priority of this government and we must continue to drive that forward. With respect to the capital planning process, we are still going through the process itself on an annual basis. We provide that information through the capital planning process and we will continue to do so. Next year, the following year, we have two years in our terms, and we will continue to push that forward with respect to the centres in the Northwest Territories.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Bob Bromley

Bob Bromley Weledeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister. It’s clear. The data are in and they’re accumulating more rapidly by the day. Universal daycare provides huge returns. The Quebec and Scandinavian examples prove those returns on dollars invested. Most recently, Quebec, Canada, $1.49 for every dollar invested, Mr. Finance Minister.

Will the Minister commit to examining this model closely and reporting back to committee soon so we can take action? I know he did express interest

when this was brought up in committee. Sorry. I retract that remark. I know that the Minister is interested in this question, so will he look closely at it and bring it to committee for discussion?

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

We have been gathering information or doing our research, especially with respect to Quebec, the daycare, the $7 daycare a day, and also just recently, 2013-2014, they are beginning their junior kindergarten. Those are some of the things that we are monitoring, and we are moving forward within our own initiatives, as well, and then we will provide that information to the Members, that research that we’ve done throughout the other jurisdictions as well.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.

Daryl Dolynny

Daryl Dolynny Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is a given that privacy is the very hallmark of security we have bargained for in subjecting ourselves to the rule of law. However, in the same breath, access to information for Members of this House is the cornerstone of democracy, consensus government, transparency and accountability. Democracy itself is weakened and public accountability crippled when access to important information is hampered or refused.

As a follow-up to my Member’s statement today, I wish to address questions to the Justice Minister on improving access to information for Members of this House and the public at large.

The Information and Privacy Commissioner of the Northwest Territories has recommended numerous times, through her annual reporting, a need for the Department of Justice to review the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act. What have been the barriers for the Department of Justice not to follow through with these repeated requests?

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The Minister of Justice, Mr. Abernethy.

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I understand the Member’s comments, and I understand the desire for Members to have access to all information that the Government of the Northwest Territories has, but I can’t stress enough that individuals do have a right to privacy, as do corporations. We do have a process where Members who need or desire specific information can request information, and if we, as Members and Ministers on this side, know who it’s coming from, we’re certainly happy to work with the Members to provide as much information as we

can. But there will be situations where there are individuals or corporations who have specific information that they have a right to have private, and we have to all, as Members, respect that.

Daryl Dolynny

Daryl Dolynny Range Lake

My question didn’t ask for a schooling on the rule of law here. My question simply is: When will the Justice department begin a comprehensive review of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, which was recently recommended by the Information and Privacy Commissioner and, as well, by the Standing Committee on Government Operations?

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

The standing committee made a number of recommendations with respect to the ATIPP Act, and recommendation number three asked the exact question that the Member is asking here today. In our response, which was tabled earlier this week, we indicated that we are doing that detailed progress report, and we will certainly have that to the committee within this current fiscal year.

Daryl Dolynny

Daryl Dolynny Range Lake

It’s encouraging that we’re hearing a progress report, but will the Minister of Justice commit to the Members of this House that when we do this ATIPP review that one of the goals of this review will be to investigate MLAs having a broader range of information access under such rule of law?