This is page numbers 3067 – 3106 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 communities.

Topics

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Kevin A. Menicoche

Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’m glad the department wants to see improvements. My constituents and my parents want to see improvements, too, but dropping the Alberta achievement test, I’m just not convinced that’s the right thing to do right now. You’ve got to have some other baseline to measure student performance if we are going to improve it.

So will there be an overlapping time period and how will we ensure that we’ve got quality baseline that we can measure improvements in our students in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

As I indicated, Alberta is changing their Education Act as well. The Alberta achievement test may be in a different format, some sort of an assessment that we need

to follow as a guideline. We’ve done that for the past how many years now and with this whole Education Renewal Initiative and the Early Childhood Development Framework, that will definitely improve our education system throughout the Northwest Territories, K to 12, even at that early age. At that point in time, those individuals that are doing their 3, 6 and 9 assessment tests, we’re hoping that it will improve over the years.

So those are our goals and objectives and we are reaching out to the general public to seek their input and we’ve sought that and we’ve got that already. So we are moving forward on this on the right path. Mahsi.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.

Frederick Blake Jr.

Frederick Blake Jr. Mackenzie Delta

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Following up on my Member’s statement earlier, I’d like to ask the Minister of Transportation what training opportunities are available for residents of Aklavik in connection with the Willow River access road and other roadwork going on in the region? Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Blake. The Minister of Transportation, Mr. Ramsay.

David Ramsay

David Ramsay Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In respect to training opportunities for communities in the Mackenzie Delta, I would expect there would be training opportunities as a result of the Inuvik-Tuk highway.

In regard to the Willow River access road, we still haven’t got the funds earmarked for the Willow River access road. So without any funding for the construction of that road or advancing that road project, there would be no training opportunities. Thank you.

Frederick Blake Jr.

Frederick Blake Jr. Mackenzie Delta

Is the Minister willing to work with the leadership in Aklavik on next steps in the implementation of their feasibility and planning studies? Thank you.

David Ramsay

David Ramsay Kam Lake

Yes, I would like to, at the earliest opportunity, get a chance to meet with community leaders in regard to the Willow River access road in Aklavik, and going forward we do have to find a way to get some further funding into Willow River access road program. The community can avail itself of accessing the Community Access Road Program that they have in the past. So that opportunity is still available to the community. We’re also hoping with the new Building Canada Plan that communities across the Northwest Territories will have opportunities for additional funding programs to look at programs like the Willow River access road, also communities have access to gas tax

funding as well that they could earmark for projects like the access to the Willow River. Thank you.

Frederick Blake Jr.

Frederick Blake Jr. Mackenzie Delta

I’d just like to ask the Minister, will he accept my invitation to visit my riding? Thank you.

David Ramsay

David Ramsay Kam Lake

Yes, at the earliest opportunity in the schedule, we can work out the schedule, but as soon as my schedule permits, I’d be more than happy to visit the communities in the Mackenzie Delta. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. I would like to ask the Minister some questions as a bit of a follow-up to the motion that this House passed the other day with regard to the Giant Mine Remediation Project. I think the Minister is well aware that Members on this side of the House, particularly Yellowknife Members, are very interested in the recommendations from that report and are very interested in knowing what the GNWT is going to say about that report.

So my first question to the Minister is to know from him how Regular Members, particularly Yellowknife Members, can have input into the GNWT response into the Giant Mine Environmental Assessment Report. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With the federal process that we’re engaged in as one of the responsible Ministers, there is no real opportunity for input into a separate government, into our position as we work at the table with the other responsible Ministers from AANDC, NRCan and Environment Canada. Thank you.

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Thanks to the Minister. That’s unfortunately what I was expecting. I appreciate this is a federal response, but I also know that we as a government are sitting at a table and we are presenting a position. I think it is a responsibility of this government to allow Members to have some input into that position.

So I would like to know from the Minister, my question is whether or not I, as a Yellowknife Member, other Yellowknife Members, other Regular Members who want to, why can we not, or can we not have an opportunity to sit down with yourself, as Minister, or with other Members or staff of the government to know what the GNWT position is

and to have some input on to the GNWT position, not the federal position, but what we’re saying at the table with the feds. Thank you.

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

There are officials from all the responsible Ministers’ departments working collaboratively on a response to the recommendations of the review panel, and that process precludes the ability to sit down with us specifically to lay out what the Members would like to see. If the Member wants to have a discussion with myself and with officials from ENR about the report, we’d be happy to do that, but there is no door or no table where the MLAs can come to the seat, come to the table with all the other officials as we collectively work on the response. Thank you.

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

That is what I’m asking. I’m asking for an opportunity for Members who want to hear from you as Minister and from staff, what we are putting forward in this joint group that is developing a response, a federal response. We get briefings all the time, and what I’m asking is for a briefing on what the GNWT is saying at the table where this federal response is being developed.

Will the Minister commit to a briefing to myself, in particular, but to any other Members who wish to attend to know what we are saying at the table with the feds?

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

I will make a commitment to sit down and provide a briefing of what is possible, given the constraints that we function under, and it may not be the full detail that the Member is requesting. This is a process that is defined under the federal process and it’s not one where there’s an opportunity for that type of debate, but I will commit to check to see what is possible, given the Member’s request.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thanks to the Minister for the commitment to look into it. I would certainly hope that there would not be anything except perhaps a legal requirement that stands in the way of this kind of consultation. We are a consensus government. We share the responsibility with the federal government and we as Members share the responsibility with our Minister on this particular response. I think it is imperative that the Minister do everything he can to allow Members on this side of the House to have some input into what we’re saying to the feds. I’d like to know from the Minister when I might expect a response on his commitment.

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

Before we prorogue at the end of next week.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Michael Miltenberger. The Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.

Michael Nadli

Michael Nadli Deh Cho

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Premier, Mr. McLeod. I just wanted to highlight I reference several elders and I just wanted to mention the elders like Leo Norwegian, the late Leo Norwegian, Gabe and Mary Cazon, George Boots, the late Paul Wright. Just a few elders that were at the meeting with Mr. Martinez back in 1999, and a lot of them have passed on. It’s unfortunate that a lot of the promises that were made in the treaties remain unfulfilled.

What recourse do First Nations have at this point to address especially the unsettled land claim areas? Now, we take the view that those regions that don’t have settled land claims are basically called historical treaties and First Nations are encouraged to negotiate at the table. Sometimes there are conflicts and what recourse do First Nations have? My question is to the Premier. What recourse do First Nations have when governments ignore and do not address their concerns?

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The honourable Premier.