Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’ve all been hearing loud and clear about the problems in the city over this past summer. These are problems, destructive problems of violent behaviour that has been reaching and affecting all people from across the city from tip to tip.

When in a civil society did we call this normal? When do we consider this acceptable? I assert to you it is not normal, but the calls of action I think have been over shone by the calls of status quo.

Politicians have been called to lead, but in my view, they seem to rather be led. Politicians are expected to act, but all I hear from our politicians across the way is you’re asking what would others do.

It’s time this government wakes from its deep slumber. There is more going on in this city and there is more going on in this territory with the hopes and dreams of the sugar plums of devolution dancing in their heads.

There are real problems in this territory that are being ignored by the hopes of devolution. A year ago I asked the Health Minister, and he agreed to the idea, about creating a collaborative plan, working with the RCMP and Health. It was an idea I brought to the table. It was an idea about getting social workers to join in partnership with the RCMP on our most active nights down on the streets. It would create a positive relationship, a great contact, sometimes when people need friends most. It would help people to provide guidance of

those who are in trouble and in need of a little help. It gave them the opportunity sometimes to find a friend who had no friends.

As I’m sure is no surprise to this Health Minister and to many people in this room, many of those folks who are in the throes of addictions have nowhere to go. Many people on those destructive tailspins end up making choices that change their lives, but seriously affect the lives of many others. So the unacceptable behaviour continues and the slumber goes on.

I read even this morning in the paper, as recently we see that destructive behaviour once again rearing its ugly head as it preyed upon an innocent family at three in the morning and threatened their safety. The people want more foot patrols by the RCMP and you can see they’re responding, but the RCMP cannot do this alone. They need a collaborative partnership with Health.

So, once again, I call upon this sleepy Cabinet and, more specifically, the tired and restless Minister who is doing nothing on this problem to get social workers on our streets and help our people and take back our city. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On October 15th Professor James Anaya with the UN Special

Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples concluded a nine-day visit to Canada. As a Special Rapporteur, Professor Anaya has a mandate from the UN to monitor the human rights condition of Aboriginal peoples worldwide, to address situations in which their rights are being violated, to promote practical solutions to human rights abuses by governments.

In his closing statement, Mr. Anaya said, “From all I have learned, I can only conclude that Canada faces a crisis when it comes to the situation of indigenous people of this country. The well-being gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in Canada has not narrowed over the past several years, treaty and Aboriginal claims remain persistently unresolved, and overall there appear to be high levels of distrust among Aboriginal peoples toward government at both the federal and provincial levels.”

This is a damning indictment of the government’s treatment of Aboriginal peoples in Canada. When is the Government of Canada going to listen? When are they going to do right by Aboriginal peoples, to recognize not only their fiduciary obligation to deliver programs and services but their moral

obligation to improve the lives and living conditions of Aboriginal peoples in Canada?

While I’m glad to see rapporteur Anaya shine a light on the truth on the appalling conditions faced by Aboriginal peoples in Canada, it is unfortunate that he did not come to the North. The last visit of a rapporteur to the NWT took place 13 years ago. What has changed since then?

In 1999 elders figured prominently in addressing the UN Rapporteur Martinez regarding the testimony of treaty-making and promises. Today most of those elders have passed on and those promises are unfulfilled. Elders like Ted Landry of Fort Providence, who is regarded as a Dene political historian, are incredulous about the lack of integrity displayed for the Government of Canada in honouring the treaties it has made. Since the Royal Proclamation of 1763, which marks the first big recognition of Aboriginal rights for the Crown, Aboriginal peoples have struggled to see those rights realized. Here we are 250 years later and we still have unsettled claims in the NWT. Self-government negotiations are underway.

I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

Here we are 250 years later and still we have unsettled claims in the NWT. Self-government negotiations are underway in almost every part of the NWT but only one Aboriginal group, the Tlicho Government, has achieved the goal of governing its own people. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Nadli. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, acknowledgements. Item 7, oral questions. Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have made my Member’s statement on the hydraulic fracking that potentially is going to happen this year in the Sahtu. The company of ConocoPhillips is going to do two exploration wells. With the recent trip to the Bakken formation and seeing the activity down in North Dakota and southeastern Saskatchewan, it certainly was overwhelming. There you can see the different jurisdictions, the different rules that apply in that area, and so it is like the Wild West, really. Up in the Sahtu we have some provisions and some regulations in place, plus we have some time to do it right and do it responsibly.

I am going to ask the Minister of ITI for getting it right and doing it right and doing it responsibly what are types of things we need to look at between now and when Conoco starts their experimental, exploratory hydraulic fracking this winter, so we know that we’re in control, we’re in the driver’s seat on hydraulic fracking in the Northwest Territories.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My belief is we are on the right track when it comes to getting ready and preparing ourselves. Part of that getting ready has been the fact-finding tour to southeastern Saskatchewan and to North Dakota. Also, last year we had another fact-finding mission to Calgary. I think more of the education component has to be front and centre, especially for community leaders, people in the communities in the Sahtu who are going to be most impacted by development. We also need to continue to work with community governments, leaders in the area. We have to continue to work with industry.

In speaking to industry, the Northwest Territories today has the toughest regulations when it comes to oil and gas, and the development of oil and gas, the exploratory drilling of wells. It’s the most costly and most regulated part of North America, from what I understand. We need to ensure that we continue the dialogue and continue to move forward with the sustainable development of our territory. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, with the technology of hydraulic fracking and understanding that there is a risk to the hydraulic fracking, we saw that in the Bakkens and we’re certainly going to see it in the Northwest Territories.

I want to ask the Minister what types of mechanisms are in place right now to limit, to address some of the risks that potentially could happen. It is no different than the people in NASA when they started out to put a man on the moon. There were risks associated with it. It is no different than what we are doing in the Northwest Territories with hydraulic fracking. How are we going to address these risks that this new technology would bring us prosperity or it could bring us devastation?

Mr. Speaker, we have to just continue with developing industry best practices when it comes to developing the resources that we have here in the Northwest Territories. I think that will bode well for us.

There has been a lot of research done on the integrity of wells that have been drilled and fracked. Again, I think it all comes down to putting the facts on the table. I know the United States government has done a great deal of work in that regard in trying to identify any contamination of groundwater

from the drilling and fracturing of wells. I don’t believe in a million wells that were looked at that they found one instance of groundwater contamination.

I think the facts really do have to get out there. We will try to get the facts on the table so that the people of the Sahtu, the people of the Northwest Territories can make these decisions as we move forward. Thank you.

Certainly when we were in the east part of the east corner of Saskatchewan, we were actually at a frack site. We were actually in the operation and actually we were fracking. There was no earth shattering water spewing out of the hole. It is actually quite safe. I would like to point to the Minister in terms of having the information out there. Clearly, the facts need to be looked at.

I want to ask the Minister in regards to the employment for our people. In 2010-11 $976,000 was paid to income support clients in the Sahtu. We want to reduce that. How is the Minister going to address the needs in our communities in regards to the employment and the exploration activities in the Sahtu so that we can reduce the income support payments to our members in the Sahtu?

Mr. Speaker, through education and training programs, and opportunities through industry, through government and working in partnership with land corps in the Sahtu, I think that’s how we are going to realize people taking control of their lives and getting opportunities to get jobs and provide for their families. I mentioned it in my Minister’s statement earlier today. We need to do something about the fact that people are on income assistance, and this opportunity that we have in front of us in the Sahtu is a great opportunity, something that if we go about it the right way and we plan for it, I think that the Member and Members of this House will be really impressed with how we can turn this into a real positive story and get people to work in the Sahtu, not only people from the Sahtu but also people from other regions of this territory. They will have work available to them in our territory. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In regards to equality in the Northwest Territories, we see and I’ve read in the newspaper – the Yellowknifer – this morning, that the federal government approved another mine for the Yellowknife area, another diamond mine. So all its benefits, once this mine is approved, this region will see it.

I’m asking the Minister why we don’t have the same type of benefits in the Sahtu region that we know the hydraulic fracking can bring to us. I ask the Minister, would he then seek the guidance of the

EDI, maybe working with the EDI committee members to go into the communities and go and look at some of the guidelines to move on the hydraulic fracking.

We need the same opportunity as down here in the Yellowknife area up in the Sahtu. You don’t see our Members talking about the diamond mines in this area.

I ask the Minister, would he look at working with the EDI committee on how to involve people through the education process, in supporting the issue of hydraulic fracking.

Mr. Speaker, fundamental to all this is a diversified economy here in the Northwest Territories. It’s great news that the federal government has approved Gahcho Kue, and that will be very beneficial for the territory and the North Slave region.

There are opportunities elsewhere in this territory. The government has done a lot of work in advancing the Economic Opportunities Strategy where we’re going to talk about how we’re going to diversify the economy with agriculture, forestry, fishing and also tourism. This is an opportunity that’s before us, it’s something we can plan for, it’s something we can work toward, and it’s a very exciting opportunity.

It’s been a good last week here. We also have talk by Imperial about revamping the Mackenzie Gas Project. The prospect of that would have a profound impact on this territory, and certainly the development happening in the Sahtu, the exploration and development, because they’re after the oil that’s in the ground in the Sahtu, but a big by-product of the extraction of that oil is gas. So I think if this gets some legs, the talk again about the Mackenzie Gas Project, it could be very, very big news for this territory. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Earlier in my Member’s statement I spoke about the Alberta achievement tests and some of the failings in our teaching in our small schools, in achievements, and concern of parents. When the Minister talks about education renewal, what exactly is he renewing and is he aware that what’s being taught is not what’s expected to be learned with that type of approach? Concerned parents have come to me time and time again. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Minister of Education, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Part of the education renewal is to look further into our educational system, how we can improve the programming and the courses that are being delivered, especially in the small, isolated communities. It has been brought to our attention in this House and by Assembly Members, as well, that we need to improve our education system. That’s where we’re at.

We have reached out and gauged the general public, the parents and educators, to hear their views about where we should improve. Some of the highlights that they’ve come across are: system accountability; professional capacity, with respect to teachers and also the support staff; assessment practices in the small community schools, which has been a priority topic within the small community schools; and also the Early Childhood Development Framework that’s before us in this House, and now we’re going to be developing action plans towards that inter-departmentally between Health and Social Services and my department. There is also an inter-departmental approach with respect to all the different departments that need to work together. These are some of the areas of focus within the Education Renewal Initiative that we are moving forward on. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

The Minister said something interesting about getting out to the communities and that’s what I’ve also heard is that parents want to be engaged. So I look forward to the rollout of that plan, but more specifically to my issue, what alternatives are Education, Culture and Employment considering to the Alberta achievement test and why is the department thinking about changing the way it measures student performance? Thank you.

Mahsi. We are closely monitoring Alberta education changes. There are changes that are coming and we’re monitoring very closely. The Alberta achievement test, it’s also changing in their jurisdiction. So how it’s going to look, we’re not sure at this point, but we are working closely with them and there are various assessment tools that we use within the schools within the Northwest Territories as well. Assessing students will continue to be a priority of this government, this department. The education system will not change as a result of the Education Renewal and Innovation Initiative that’s before us.

So assessment is part of the whole Education Renewal Initiative and again, Alberta is changing their overall educational system. They’re changing their Education Act and we are following their curriculum, as well, the Grade 12 examination and so forth. So if there are any changes that are coming then we need to be prepared for it.

So within our Education Renewal Initiative within the Northwest Territories, we are making changes

that will benefit the students, benefit the communities of the Northwest Territories. Mahsi.

In my research from the past six years, our students have not improved when they’re taking the Alberta achievement test. So do we actually understand why our students are failing the Alberta achievement test and can the Minister explain this phenomenon? What factors are involved here and why are we consistently failing these Alberta achievement tests in our grades? Thank you.

Mahsi. We’ve also done our research, as well, throughout Canada, national and also international research. We also sought out some information and ideas from positions from the northern people and provided direction for the changes that we need.

The Education Renewal Initiative is based on the fact that we need to change our educational system and share in the feedback of the general public, the parents, the grandparents, our educators, who feel that we need to change our educational system. We’ve heard over and over from Regular Members on can we improve in those areas so our Grade 12 students can go directly to post-secondary. We are working on that with the Education Renewal Initiative.

The Early Childhood Development Framework is another area where we’re focusing on the early ages so they can be prepared when they graduate from Grade 12 and go directly to post-secondary, university.

The Education Renewal Initiative will also address these issues through the development of a comprehensive K to 12 Literacy Strategy that’s based on the input of the general public as well. So these are just some of the key initiatives we are pursuing as a department and we’ll continue to push that further. Mahsi.