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

Bob Bromley

Bob Bromley Weledeh

I guess that is recognition that the fracking education workshops are a partial education indeed. As we learned in North Dakota, the cumulative environmental and social impacts of fracking are very much related to how many wells were fracked and the rate at which we permit this development. So under devolution, could the Minister explain how much authority the GNWT will

have to control the scale and pace of that development; that is, who will say this is too much and how will we decide that. Mahsi.

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

There’s going to be a number of things that are going to happen after April 1st and the MVRMA will continue having

a role to play. We will be defining our role as it pertains to being the regulator.

In terms of development, we will work with the land and water boards that are there, we will work with industry and all the other processes that are there to look at cumulative impacts. We are going to focus initially as well – and we’ve already indicated this publicly and to committee – that we are at work through the Environmental Research Fund that is partially funded by industry to look at the groundwater mapping, wildlife baseline gathering information so that we collectively have the information, that critical baseline information, to help us make the assessment and determination about cumulative impact.

There’s going to be, clearly, a political component about the pace of development. Member Yakeleya mentioned that as well. We all want to do this the right way. We want to do it in a balanced way and we want to make sure we maintain the balance between the environment and resource development. So we are very cognizant of our responsibilities and our role collectively to be good stewards both in this Legislature and all Northerners, I would suggest. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Bob Bromley

Bob Bromley Weledeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This type of development, fracking well pads every four miles with up to 40 wells per pad now, roads and pipelines criss-crossing the land has never taken place in an area this far north and with the challenges the Sahtu poses. I know the Minister is aware there’s a world of difference between what we saw, for example, in North Dakota/Saskatchewan where you can put in a road in an afternoon and reclaim it in a couple of days.

Could the Minister explain how ENR will decide how much fracking or development associated with fracking is too much, given that we don’t have these sorts of baselines on which to base this information? Mahsi.

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

One of the things that is happening with devolution is we are setting up a lands department, and one of the ideas and plans with the lands department is between the lands department, ITI and ENR we will be able to form a development assessment component or process that will allow us to provide the oversight and proper input in all those areas. Of course, in this case we’re working with exploration. As exploration is done and if it proves out, clearly we

will be moving ahead with that process, with tour discussion with the Sahtu members, the people in the Sahtu, the various environmental assessment process to determine the rate and intensity, the issue of cumulative impact, that we’re not going to be dealing on a project-by-project basis. While there will be a project-by-project approval process, clearly we have a broader obligation to manage the issues that the Member has raised. We’re designing our systems to do that. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Canadians were shocked yesterday when they heard Mike Duffy reveal that it’s the kids in short pants that are pulling the levers in that government, Mr. Speaker. Time and time again I’ve asked the Health Minister about doing things. I’ve asked for support for addictions; he closes the Nats’ejee K’eh Centre. I ask him to put social workers on the street, he quietly behind the scenes ignores it although he publicly, a year and a day, he says he’d be happy to do it and help people on the street.

The question that remains is: Is the Health file too big for him and who’s making the decisions over in the Department of Health, because it clearly isn’t the Health Minister. Who is pulling the levers in the Department of Health and if this file is too big, there’s lots of room over here. Mr. Speaker, will he clear this up for the people of this House?

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Minister of Health and Social Services

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No, the Health file is not too big for me.

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

As I said a moment ago, this Minister committed in this House to provide social workers to help in partnership with the RCMP. The RCMP wanted it, the Minister agreed with it, I went upstairs to his office and talked to him and he thought it was a fantastic idea. Little to anyone’s knowledge, the mandarins behind the scenes all made these decisions that nothing would happen and the Minister was fine with this. What happened to that promise he made publicly here? Look at the streets today in this city. What has he done to improve this city and the health of Northerners? I would like to know.

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Minister of Health and Social Services

Certainly putting social workers in RCMP cars is not going to prevent the violence in the city. However, we have looked at the idea of having social workers ride along with

RCMP. We’re trying to identify some of the challenges that surround that. One of the main challenges surrounding that issue is we don’t have the staff to do it. Social workers are very busy. They have a social worker on call that the RCMP can call upon in a child and family service issue. If it’s a child protection issue, then a social worker is on call to do that, but to have social workers riding around with the RCMP to prevent violence in the city is not something we can do. It is something we aren’t funded to do and something we don’t have the human resources to do.

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

This Minister, a year ago, said this was a good idea. I talked to him in his office and he said it was a great idea. He said he’d appoint someone to solve this problem and work on this problem. A few days ago I heard from this very Minister, oh by the way, there’s a briefing note on my desk we never sent to you that explained over and over why we couldn’t do this. To this day I still have not been informed in any way why we can’t do this other than the fact of the Minister stating, I don’t know why we can’t do this. Who is in charge of this department and if he isn’t, come on over here. We’ll welcome you back in great arms because we’ll put someone over there that can do the job because this Minister doesn’t.

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Minister of Health and Social Services

On October 15th at 9:23

a.m. I sent an e-mail to Mr. Hawkins explaining the problem. So if he hasn’t heard about it to this day, it’s because he hasn’t read his e-mail. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

Mr. Speaker, the Minister knows this is nothing. He could have come a year… It took a year to get any response from him. A couple of days ago, he then all of a sudden broaches the idea of, oh my goodness, I’m surprised… Mr. Speaker, I quote the paper, “Lately it seems things are getting a little rougher around here than they’ve been.” Again, I ask the Minister of Health and Social Services, other than doing nothing, put something on the table that he’s truly done to improve the lives of Northerners, or get out of Cabinet because you don’t belong there.

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Minister of Health and Social Services

Sorry, Mr. Speaker. I don’t know what else to say other than there’s an e-mail here; it’s got four points on it. It explains the situation. It explains that we’re continuing to work with the RCMP. We have a good relationship with the RCMP, and Mr. Hawkins asked me about this in March and today is November…

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

October 22nd …

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Minister of Health and Social Services

I thought there was 12 months in the year, not six. Thank you.

---Interjection

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Hawkins. Member for Yellowknife…

---Interjection

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

No. Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.

Daryl Dolynny

Daryl Dolynny Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Hard to follow that. My questions today are going to be for the Minister of the Department of Transportation. Earlier in my Member’s statement I noted that many community teens did not have drivers’ licences and I brought forward an idea that the Department of Transportation should consider a driver education and licensing program in our Northwest Territories schools.

The late Ed Jeske would be really proud today and I’m sure he’s got a smile on his face because he taught many Northerners how to drive. I think some of his students are actually here today. So his concept was very simple and I’m just asking if we looked at modernizing it for a purpose. Let’s get drivers’ licences in the hands of drivers in all of our communities.

So with that, aside from the Graduated Licensing Program, can the Minister tell us what other programs or initiatives does the DOT subscribe to that helps teen drivers with skill improvement, provide experience and teach safe driving? Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

David Ramsay

David Ramsay Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Member for the question. It’s good timing; this is National Teen Driver Safety Week. We’ve also launched Project Gearshift, which is aimed at getting the types of behaviours and schools engaged in learning about safe practices when it comes to driving.

The Member asked what else we’re doing, and I know that in the Northwest Territories in the past when I grew up here in Yellowknife that we did at one time have driver education in the high schools here in Yellowknife. That’s no longer the case, but students in the high schools here in Yellowknife and in Hay River, where we have professional driver education training, can still get high school credit toward their diploma through learning how to drive through a professional driving instructor. We also are working toward having an app made and working with, it’s called The Passing Zone Inc., it’s flashcards, an app that’s going to be available in high schools across the Northwest Territories in the coming year. It’s based on the NWT driving manual and I think that’s going to go a long way, as well, to getting students in high schools across the

Northwest Territories more information and the ability to get a driver’s licence. Thank you.

Daryl Dolynny

Daryl Dolynny Range Lake

Great, thank you, and I appreciate the Minister’s response. As he mentioned, a new project that we just received here, a new news release from his office, Project Gearshift, we’re looking forward to reading the terms of that and looking forward to that.

Can the Minister of Transportation inform the House what percentage of our teen drivers aged 16 to 20, how many of them have a valid driver’s licence and if there is any regional disparity in that data? Thank you.

David Ramsay

David Ramsay Kam Lake

I don’t have the parameters that the Member wants, but I’ll give him the stats in the House, the stats that I do have. Yes, there is regional disparity in that. The number of young drivers, youth that have a Class 7, a probationary Class 5, or a Class 5 licence among youth aged 15 to 24 is the parameter that we have, if you look at Yellowknife, Hay River and Fort Smith, 67 percent of youth 15 to 24 have one of those three types of drivers’ licences. If you get outside of those three centres, that number drops to only 33 percent and it is something, through this work that we’re doing with Project Gearshift and other initiatives, that we’re actively trying to target small communities and get programs and services in there that will enable young people in the small communities to get a driver’s licence. Thank you.