Thank you to Pastor Kirk Tastad from the Yellowknife Lutheran Church for leading us in prayer this afternoon and to Jesse Casey for the beautiful version of O Canada.

Madam Clerk, would you ascertain if the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories, the Honourable George Tuccaro, is prepared to enter the Chamber to open the Fifth Session of the 17th Legislative Assembly?

Good afternoon, colleagues. On behalf of all Members, I would like to thank Commissioner Tuccaro for opening the Fifth Session of the 17th Legislative Assembly.

This House extends its welcome to everyone who has joined us here today.

Item 3, Ministers’ statements. The honourable Minister of Transportation, Mr. Beaulieu.

Mr. Speaker, as we prepare to commemorate Remembrance Day, I am pleased to confirm the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) is designating a section of Highway No. 1, from the Alberta border to Enterprise, as the NWT Highway of Heroes. This designation will serve as a reminder of the sacrifices made by northern soldiers, police officers, firefighters, emergency medical and rescue personnel, and other first responders who have died in the line of duty.

Recognizing our northern heroes demonstrates our government’s commitment to the Assembly’s vision of Believing in People and Building on the Strengths of Northerners. Our first responders are committed to keeping our communities sustainable, vibrant, and safe, and we honour them for their service and sacrifices.

Mr. Speaker, the Highway of Heroes is an initiative to honour Canadians who dedicated their lives to keep our communities and residents safe. This social movement started in 2002 when people of all ages and walks of life began gathering as a sign of respect along overpasses crossing Highway 401 between Trenton and Toronto. Sadly, this length of highway is travelled by convoys of vehicles that carry a dead soldier's body, with his or her family, from Canadian Forces Base Trenton to the coroner's office at the Centre for Forensic Sciences in Toronto.

In August 2007 the tribute received formal recognition when this segment of freeway was renamed the Highway of Heroes.

Since then, other Canadian provinces have similarly dedicated stretches of their highway networks with special significance to the men and women who serve our great nation. After considerable consultation with the RCMP, Canadian Armed Forces, and representatives of our fire, rescue and ambulance services, the highway between the Alberta border and Enterprise was chosen as our own Highway of Heroes.

Mr. Speaker, the GNWT and key stakeholders have developed special highway signs for installation along the roadway between Enterprise and the Alberta border, recognizing it as the NWT Highway of Heroes. These signs will remind travellers of the sacrifices our soldiers, police officers and first responders have made.

The GNWT, Canadian Armed Forces, the RCMP and the NWT fire chiefs are holding a dedication ceremony three kilometres south of Enterprise this Friday at 2:00 p.m. The signs will be unveiled and the highway dedicated to honour all fallen soldiers,

police officers, firefighters, rescue and medical personnel, and first responders who serve their nation and their community. I invite Members to attend the ceremony to honour those who contribute to our safety through their service as members of the Canadian Armed Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, fire departments and emergency responders. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Item 4, Members’ statements. Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to reflect a little on the events of this past weekend as we commemorated and thought about the 20 year anniversary of this building. It was wonderful to see Members from the past here, sharing their thoughts, and it was truly inspiring.

I’m not a person who stops and ponders the past very often. I’m usually very much in the present moment and pushing forward in whatever that moment is. I was looking at the calendar just now and realized that it was 39 years ago today, on November the 4th , that my parents took a 17-year-

old to the Union Station in Toronto, the train station, and dropped her off. When my mother cried, my father said, “Don’t worry, we’ll see her soon because she won’t make it past Northern Ontario and she’ll turn around and she’ll be back,” but almost 40 years have passed. I’m like a lot of people; I chose the North. I didn’t come here with my family; I didn’t come here because my father got transferred here with the military. I was 17 years old and picked it off the map in Grade 12 geography class and I chose the North, and I chose Hay River specifically.

When the Pacific Western Airlines jet touched down on the tarmac in Hay River, I truly felt like I was home, and I have always felt like I was home. It wasn’t very long before I became involved with the Youth Justice Committee, with school boards, the town council. We talk about the North as a place of opportunity. I tell young people if you want to be involved, the Northwest Territories is a place of wonderful opportunities, you just have to look for those opportunities around you. If you are a willing helper and you will lend a willing hand, you will find many, many things to do.

That led to a position on town council when I was 22 years old, and 25 years ago then-Premier Nellie Cournoyea appointed me to the board of directors of the NWT Power Corporation, which took me all over the North and it was a wonderful experience,

which ultimately led to being elected to this Chamber.

It is definitely the North of possibilities, and as our Commissioner shared today, much of the work lies ahead. This weekend as we listened to the work that has gone before us. It is an amazing, amazing place of possibility. I look at the work we do, and some days we feel that maybe it’s not that interesting, but when we capture it as the Commissioner did today, it is a wonderful place of potential and opportunity and I’m very proud to be a part of it. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This summer I was given the honour of accompanying local RCMP and municipal enforcement division officers as they carried out their duties. With that we owe a debt of gratitude to the members of police forces across the NWT for the hard work they do and the sacrifices they make to keep our families safe from harm.

As legislators we also have a duty to assist our local police forces to do their jobs efficiently and effectively as possible. We can do this by helping create the right legislative environment that promotes ease of enforcement. Recently at our Yellowknife town hall meeting on public safety, we were all sadly reminded of the devastating effects of alcohol abuse in our communities across the Northwest Territories. We see the impacts of this abuse on Yellowknife streets where incidents of public drunkenness and open liquor are often too common.

It is a well-known fact that alcohol is a factor in the vast majority of crimes committed in the capital city, but it is sobering to consider the facts that support this. According to Statistics Canada’s Crime Severity Index for 2010, Yellowknife ranked third out of 238 Canadians cities with a population over 10,000 people for severity of its crime.

Given these facts, it might come as a surprise to you, as it was to me, to learn that unlike the RCMP, municipal enforcement officers are limited in their ability to enforce NWT liquor laws. They have the authority under the Motor Vehicles Act to make traffic stops if they suspect impaired driving on municipal streets. They also have the authority to inspect and deal with liquor infractions taking place in licenced premises, but they do not have the authority to deal with public drunkenness, open alcohol or underage drinking outside of licenced premises.

This means that our municipal enforcement officers are powerless to deal with public drunkenness even when we know that abuse of alcohol is the single biggest factor contributing to crime in the city.

This makes no sense to me. Peace officers, who have a duty to protect public safety, whether they are RCMP officers or municipal enforcement officers, should have the tools and authority they need to deal with all alcohol infractions. Members of the public would expect no less.

Enhancing the authority of municipal enforcement officers to effectively deal with alcohol infractions can only serve to reduce the frequency of alcohol-related problems, which in turn can help reduce the alarming incidents of crime plaguing our city and communities.

I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

I am hopeful, through proper process, Members in this House will have the ability to consider this issue requesting the Minister of Finance to discuss and bring forward any amendments to the Liquor Act or other legislation as required to provide municipal enforcement officers with the authority to adequately enforce liquor infractions. The end goal will allow any municipality within the municipal enforcement presence to fully enforce NWT liquor laws within municipal boundaries if they choose to do so.

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Unfortunately, I must return to an unpleasant topic which has already received considerable air play in this House this year. That topic is the rude treatment of income assistance clients from government officers who administer the program.

The March 2013 Auditor General’s report contained shocking confirmation of service delivery failures. We heard Education, Culture and Employment is inconsistent in its treatment of clients. We heard that front-line workers don’t receive enough guidance or training. Income assistance officers were also found to be overburdened with case files and were found to perform too many of their duties without adequate supervision from managers.

I represent the Hay River Reserve and I’ve heard numerous recent accounts about rude behaviour from income assistance officials. There seems to be a culture of condescension towards people who rely on this government service. There are no checks and balances when allegations and

decisions are made by government officers. There are also reported disparities in payments from one client to the next.

The Hay River Reserve is an economically depressed area. There aren’t a lot of job opportunities. For many of my constituents who live there, the Income Assistance program is the last line of defence against the line regarding poverty.

Income security programs were designed to assist our most vulnerable citizens. When these clients are treated rudely and with contempt, that’s just plain unacceptable. I must reiterate statements already made in this House. Treating clients with respect and dignity should be a non-negotiable principle of public service. To treat clients with rudeness and contempt is to violate a sacred trust. It is painful enough for people to have to rely on the Income Security Program. It is simply unbearable when they have to endure rude and stigmatizing treatment.

During oral questions I will have questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you, Mr. Nadli. Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I’d like to raise the concern of publishing our public sector salaries. I’m referring to our senior public service, not those who are in the middle or the lower end of the pay scale. This obviously has true accountability and transparency measures and wants that are desperately called for by the public.

In the past, I’ve pointed out that New Brunswick, Alberta, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Manitoba and B.C. have seen the light on this particular issue, and each province, in their own way, have found a range of salary and public disclosures to ensure that they continue to publicly show accountability and transparency to the public. I think it’s time for the Northwest Territories to look at publishing salaries over $100,000 a year.

It’s our time, as I’ve said, to do our part to demonstrate public accountability on public expenditures. But, to date, there is no mechanism in place, or I should say, rather, there are mechanisms preventing public transparency.

Each person like myself who would file a public access to information request, all I would receive back is either nothing or, of course, it would be so redacted it would be a waste of everyone’s time. Although I’ve thought about providing an access to information request, and I haven’t consulted Mr. Dolynny how many pop cans that may take, the fact is that it would cost a lot of money and waste everyone’s time. So it’s time this government looks to start addressing public transparency.

As I said, other provinces have done this. I have even gone to, oddly enough, the Vancouver Sun website and they actually publish by name, title, agency, sector, remuneration in the year and, of course, they also point out where this individual ranks. It’s funny; I just typed in the last name Clark and up popped the fellow who makes over $820,000 a year, and he is third out of 1,000 employees in B.C. Ferries, he is also seventh overall out of almost 10,000 Crown corporations, and he’s still seventh overall out of 70,000-plus employees.

The public demands accountability of where their money is going. The government will in some cases rightly argue these are privacy rules, but the demands of public disclosure, transparency, accountability and certainly the public good should stand firm on reasons why we should do these things.

I will have more examples and, obviously, I will be asking questions to the Minister of Human Resources, who I hope is reading his briefing book and give the public answers that they rightly deserve. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I recently encountered an unfortunate situation that was brought to me by a constituent regarding habitation in a family home. My constituent was living in a home with a spouse, and the long-term relationship was breaking down. The title to the home was in the spouse’s name only. My constituent was extremely concerned that occupancy of their shared home would be denied during or after the marriage breakdown, basically thrown out on the street.

Although it’s not well known, this situation is covered under our Family Law Act. Section 51 of the act states, “If the home is only in the name of one spouse, the other spouse’s right to occupy the home ends six months after they have separated.”

This is the situation for common-law spouses. For married spouses, the right to occupy the home ends when the divorce is final. That period – six months or longer – will ensure that a spouse is not left homeless during the separation in both common-law and married spouse cases. The spouse who does not have an interest in the family home has a period of time when he or she is guaranteed occupancy in that home.

I wanted to talk about this today because separation and divorce happen all too frequently in today’s society and the NWT is not immune. Many spouses, women particularly, often do not have a

legal interest, and by that I mean ownership in the family home. At the time of separation or divorce, when partners are unduly stressed and emotionally distraught already, the thought of becoming immediately homeless would be an additional worry.

I wanted to give this issue some publicity and some awareness, provide some assurance to NWT residents that there is a period of time during divorce or separation when they cannot be thrown out of the family home. They do have the right to possession of their home for six months or until the divorce is final.

I raised this issue with the previous Minister of Justice and I have been assured that the literature which discusses this issue will be updated when the pamphlet is reprinted. I hope the current Minister will make sure that it happens, to give residents as much correct information as possible during a very difficult period of their lives. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As a new Member, I had the great honour and privilege to be present and participate in the 20th anniversary of

the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly this past weekend. The event itself and the presence of past Members and staff who attended really put in perspective the great legacy and important work that Members and staff of this House do on behalf of the people of the Northwest Territories. I would like recognize all the hard work, dedication and sacrifice of all past Members who have paved the way and set the foundation so the present Members can continue to do the important work in such a prestigious building.

I would like to mention a few highlights from this past weekend. First of all, and first and foremost, was the Premiers’ panel discussion, Moments in Time, illustrating the evolution of the governments and the historical events that each Premier achieved while in their position. I have to say that I was very inspired by every one of the stories that each Premier shared.

One story that was talked about on more than one occasion was that famous Electra flight to Ottawa to lobby the federal government on Aboriginal rights. That was a part of history that I didn’t know and I was very honoured to hear that story on many occasions.

Another highlight that was mentioned is that in the past 40 years there have only been 10 women who

have had the opportunity to sit in this House as a Member. As a Member and as a community member, I hope to see more women run for office in the future and become Members of the House and future Assemblies.

On a personal level, another highlight for me was meeting Mr. Stuart Hodgson, who has many accolades within this building, but also in many other aspects throughout the Northwest Territories. Also, listening to the trivia for Members of those who have passed on and the continued respect that is shown for Members in this House.

We have come a long way and it would not be possible if not for the past and current Members who have contributed to the strong legacy of the government and of the Legislative Assembly.

I want to take this opportunity to address all current and future Members that will sit in this Legislative Assembly to not take for granted the opportunity that you have by sitting in this House and speaking up for the people that you represent and to make decisions that affect all residents of the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

Lastly, I’d like to say a special thank you to those that have kept this House in order for many years, the courts and the staff of the Legislative Assembly. And a very special thank you, Mr. Speaker, to your office, to the staff of this Assembly and to the Clerks and all those involved in making this past weekend a very memorable one, and also continuing to be active in historical events and the legacy of this government and building. Mahsi cho.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last week the Giant Mine Project Team released its response to the environmental assessment. I’m glad they released it. Having the government play the role of proponent and regulator is confusing. If this was a mining company cleaning up its own mess, we would demand that there be no secret communications with the regulator, so there should be no secrets here either.

As a co-proponent, the Giant Mine Project Team includes part of our government. They are proposing to do work that would normally be done by mining companies, but they are not doing this to make or save money for their shareholders. The strange thing is that in their response, they are

acting like you would expect the worst of the mining companies to act.

They want to reject or modify over half of the review board requirements. They reject any need for an environmental agreement or independent oversight. They reject the need to do research on a better solution or to spend money where needed. Modern mining companies know that you need to have the public’s trust. They call this their social licence. Such companies know that public engagement and independent oversight creates that level of trust.

Both the federal and territorial governments previously had the opportunity to send this project to an environmental assessment, but they declined, saying trust us, we’ve already come up with the best solution.

Thankfully the City of Yellowknife asked for an assessment, because guess what, there were many areas where their plan could be improved. The environmental assessment was one of the most thoughtful, well-considered documents I have seen. Unlike the project team, the agency consulted with the public, listened to their concerns and made requirements that addressed those concerns. The public agreed. City council, the Yellowknives Dene, the NWT Legislative Assembly, unions, church groups and private citizens all came out and said we support this, implement it. The requirements gave the project team their social likeness. Now the project team says trust us, we don’t need to implement these requirements.

The reason they had to go through an environmental assessment was because the public doesn’t trust them. This team is acting in the role of a modern mining company. They should be setting the standard for best practice in remediation, but by rejecting the requirements put forward by this environmental assessment, they destroyed the public’s trust in all forms of mining. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have a housing problem in the Northwest Territories. That’s no surprise to many of the people in our small communities. According to the 2009 community housing survey, we have an alarming housing shortage, adequacy and affordability. We must do better. Everyone deserves to be sheltered. With our rich resources in the North, we can do that.

Let me state clearly what our numbers are telling us with the 2009 housing survey in the Northwest Territories. When we look at core need, core need

is the picture of our housing needs in the North, and we look at these criteria for the following:

• Suitability:

problems

of overcrowding, and the

number of bedrooms in that house;

• Affordability: problem exist when a household

pays excessive amounts for a shelter; and

• Adequacy: having the basic utilities to provide a

safe and healthy environment.

When we see a high number of housing problems we must do better, because in Colville Lake with 97.1 percent of housing problems there is a problem. Why is it we still have TB cases coming out of the community? In Deline it’s 71.8 percent. There is a problem, and people are living in makeshift warehouses. In Fort Good Hope, 68.1 percent. There is a problem with homelessness. In Norman Wells it’s 25.4 percent. There will be a problem soon with the rents that are going sky high. In Tulita, 47.5 percent. There is a problem with people couch surfing.

We must put our energy and our focus on bringing these numbers down, and we can do it. I call upon this government, all of us, to roll up our sleeves and get behind the Housing Corporation to deliver more houses in our communities.

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

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I want to speak about the Deh Cho Health and Social Services and having no board, but firstly I wanted to quote from the report on the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples that was concluded in 1996.

“Aboriginal people are at the bottom of almost every available index of socioeconomic well-being, whether they are measuring educational levels, employment opportunities, housing conditions, per capita incomes or any other conditions that give non-Aboriginal Canadians one of the highest standards of living in the world.”

This is the same for health in my riding. My riding is majority Aboriginal and coupled with the fact that health and delivery of health service is an entrenched Aboriginal right. My people in my communities want to see authority and autonomy restored once again over the Deh Cho Health and Social Services. This is empowerment of health by the people for the people.

They are very concerned and have no information on the plans by the Department of Health. What are the next steps with Deh Cho Health and Social Services? When will the board be in place? How long will it take? When will we have our own CEO?

I do want to add, I am glad that there is a commitment in this House that the CEO will not be from outside the Deh Cho. My constituents of Nahendeh and the people of the Deh Cho want to get back to the business of running the Deh Cho Health and Social Services by our people and by our own staff once again.

I will be asking questions of the Minister at the appropriate time.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. For the life of this Assembly and longer we’ve been hearing reports that all is not well in the land of health care governance. The Beaufort Health and Social Services Authority is one of four regional authorities where the Board of Management was dissolved and replaced with a public administrator.

The people of the Beaufort-Delta deserve to know how this situation is being resolved. We’ve been told the board structure as a whole isn’t working. The mandate of the board is too broad and ill-defined. This has led to a fragmented experience for patients, inefficiencies and cost overruns. Staffing issues have also come up with boards competing against each other for the same positions.

On February 8, 2012, the previous Minister of Health said in this House that his desire was to reinstate the board in the Beaufort-Delta within the year. Then on June 6, 2012, the Minister said he planned to put an advisory board in place. My understanding is that an advisory board would have less control and autonomy than a board of management. The idea behind advisory boards is to centralize health care administration so that things are run more efficiently and cost effectively.

At the end of May 2013, the Minister said work on a new board has been on hold while the new CEO is being hired in the Beaufort-Delta. Then the Minister stated, “The process of appointing a new board is going to start immediately... Once we have a good system that we think we are comfortable with right across the Territories, we are going to put the board in place.” He said, “I hope to have the Beaufort-Delta health board in place, whether it is an advisory board or a management board, before the end of this government.”

Then in August of this year, Debbie DeLancey, the deputy minister of Health, told the media that before boards can be restored, the roles and responsibilities need to be updated and outlined. “Our legislation is quite out of date,” she said. “It’s quite vague with respect to what the responsibilities

of a board actually are and what the responsibilities of the ministry are…”

I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

I’ll just go a little further back.

“It’s quite vague with respect to what the responsibilities of a board actually are and what the responsibilities of the ministry are, so it needs some updating. There needs to be some clarity.” On that point, we agree. More clarity is needed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Blake. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, acknowledgements. Item 7, oral questions. Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As an MLA, we get concerns from constituents on many topics. One concern I’ve had raised recently by constituents is in the matter of trying to advance in the workplace or be direct appointed, if that’s a policy that’s applicable to them. It seems that there is information about professional development, about applying for and successfully obtaining a job that they want that is not available to them.

I would like to ask the new Minister of Human Resources if the method or policy of direct appointments is one that is still employed by this government on a large scale or on any scale. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Minister of Human Resources, Mr. Beaulieu.

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Yes, the various departments still go forward with direct appointments. Direct appointments are made by Cabinet. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, could the Minister outline for us briefly what is the purpose of direct appointments? We had a Minister’s statement on Aboriginal inclusion just recently in this House.

I would like to ask the Minister, for the most part, what is the purpose of the direct appointment policy? Thank you.

Direct appointments are used often when a competitive process will not give better results than somebody that we have in the system that is eligible for direct appointment. Also, Mr. Speaker, direct appointments can be used for the advancement of an Aboriginal candidate that would be qualified that would be a front runner for a

competitive process. So then we’d skip through the competitive process and go to a direct appointment for advancement purposes. Thank you.

How does the potential or possibility of a direct appointment come to the attention of Cabinet? What is the process for it getting there? What instigates it? Does it take a director, a deputy minister; do the Ministers themselves hear of opportunities for direct appointments? What is it that triggers the review of a direct appointment? Thank you.

Direct appointments are initiated by departments. So if the departments have a need in a specific area where they feel that fulfilling that position with a direct appointment, usually again from internal resources, sometimes from individuals in other departments and sometimes bringing someone else in that is new. The departments initiate the direct appointment. They are vetted through various deputy ministers within the government and from the deputy minister, then it’s presented to Cabinet who have the appropriate Minister. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to ask the Minister if an employee themselves can instigate a direct appointment. Can they express interest in a position and bring it to the attention of their superiors that they would like to be considered for a direct appointment to a specific job opening? Thank you.

I do not believe any of the departments would be closed to that idea. I think that if there’s a good performing individual in the system that sees there’s an advancement opportunity within their department or other departments and sees there’s going to be a competitive process or a job that has become vacant and they have shown interest in it, I believe that we would facilitate people that may be interested in the position, for a direct appointment by their own request. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Member for Range Lake, Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is probably the third or fourth time in as little as four months I’ve had to remind Members of Cabinet, especially the Department of Health and Social Services, as per page 21 of the Guiding Principles and Process Conventions of the 17th Assembly,

number 3. “Except under extraordinary circumstances, Members of the Legislative Assembly should be made aware of and have

opportunity to discuss significant announcements, changes, consultations or initiatives before they are released to the public or introduced in the Legislative Assembly. Use of the element of surprise is inconsistent with consensus government.”

Mr. Speaker, this morning I find myself reading News/North introducing a brand new pilot project initiative for youth addictions treatment that will be launched soon in the Deh Cho. Funny thing, Mr. Speaker, as deputy chair of Standing Committee on Social Programs, this is the first time I’ve seen this information and was surprised to read about it in the local paper.

My questions today are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Can the Minister of Health and Social Services please inform the Members here what exactly is this new youth addictions treatment pilot project announcement? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Minister of Health, Mr. Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This initiative that was identified in the paper today is actually an action item that was identified in the Shared Path Towards Wellness, A Mental Health and Addictions Action Plan 2012-2015, which has both been tabled in this House but also brought forward for discussion with committee. I will check Hansard over the last couple of sessions, but I’m pretty sure the Minister of Health also mentioned it in this House. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, I’m very familiar with the initiatives the Minister tabled in the House. Unfortunately, this is a pilot project which had nothing to do with those recommendations per se and was never brought to committee for detail.

Can the Minister indicate here what are the terms of reference for this new pilot project and is this open to all youth across the Northwest Territories?

Youth addictions prevention promotion activities are key factors in addressing mental health and addictions in the Northwest Territories. This is, once again, outlined in a Shared Path Towards Wellness, A Mental Health and Addictions Action Plan 2012-2015. Within that are a number of current projects that are ongoing which include training of health and social services authorities staff to use early intervention screening tools and counselling techniques to more effectively identify and support youth in dealing with their addictions and/or mental health issues.

Also, the project that the Member is talking about today, working with the Deh Cho communities to develop a youth on-the-land pilot program, this pilot project is currently in the planning stages and will be implemented during the spring/summer of 2014 in the Deh Cho. This is a pilot project to help us

develop a program that we’ll hopefully be able to roll out to different communities and regions in the Northwest Territories. This pilot project is where we’re going to learn and develop something that we hope works. Once again, this is an initiative that has been discussed and identified within the action plan. We want to work with youth throughout the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I assume from the Minister’s response that this pilot project is going to be only reserved for youth in the Deh Cho. I guess my question was: Will all youth have an opportunity in the pilot project? We didn’t quite hear that today here.

Can the Minister indicate what are the budget parameters in reference to this pilot project and where did he get the money from? Thank you.

One hundred thousand dollars of existing territorial services program budget for 2013 has been reallocated to cover the expenses associated with the initial planning and this pilot study. Once again, we’re going to run a pilot project in the Deh Cho and when we figure out what aspects of it work, how to make a program that works across the Territories, we’ll certainly work with committee to find a way to roll that out in the rest of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Dolynny.

I’m assuming this $100,000 oops was a little misnomer that happened during the changeover. I’ll give that to the Minister.

Can the Minister reassure the Members of this House that all future significant announcements or initiatives from his department will be properly vetted with members of the Standing Committee on Social Programs for the remainder of his term? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I think I was pretty clear on that last week. I plan on working with committee as we move forward on major initiatives within the Department of Health and Social Services over the next two years. This is a consensus government. We need to be partners and we need to work together. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier I spoke on how people receive income assistance on the reserve. My question is to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Can the Minister provide assurance that he will personally look into the treatment of clients at the Hay River Reserve by the income assistance officer? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Nadli. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Through the Office of the Auditor General, this has been earmarked to our attention. We need to deal with the personnel within our income support office, especially the client service officers. We have implemented some changes already. At this time, we are developing a competency-based training program for our staff and it’s going to be developed through initial discussions with CSOs and we are having a trainer come up. This is an area that has been earmarked by the Office of the Auditor General, so we are moving forward, along with the Hay River Reserve and other communities that may have faced these types of incidents in the past. It’s been brought up in the House, so we are seriously looking into that. Mahsi.

I think the Minister reminded me of the significance of the Auditor General’s report, in terms of program service delivery of his department in terms of meeting the needs of people.

Once again, can the Minister outline and explain to this House the immediate steps in terms of improving that service to clients? Mahsi.

Part of the plan is, again, a competency-based training program that is going to be broad across the Northwest Territories that the client service officers deal with, so we can develop a professional base dealing with the clientele. There’s also going to be a work-based training program that will be introduced, exchanging information and so forth. Also, there will be a conference for CSOs in January 2014, enhancing staff and knowledge so they’re aware of who is working, skills and abilities, and also on-line discussion and information sharing. These are just some of the key areas that we are implementing within our department to enhance our client service officers, the professionalism that they should be delivering to the clientele. Mahsi.

Thank you. The Minister indicated that he’s taking measures in terms of ensuring that workers received competency-based training and at the same time ensuring that the people are treated with a little respect in terms of receiving department services.

What is the priority at this point? Is it ensuring that the employees receive competency-based training or client satisfaction? Mahsi.

Mahsi. My belief is that it is a combination. We need to satisfy both. We need to have individuals that are working, client service officers that are providing dignity and

respect to our clientele and also having those individuals that we have to deal with clientele. So we are developing programs that will capture that, providing competency-based training and identifying caseloads. We have some of the communities that have a high number of caseloads, so we are currently reviewing those caseloads. That will capture the attention of client service officers, especially in the small, isolated communities. Mahsi.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I understand each GNWT employee is bound by a Code of Conduct. I wanted to know how can the Code of Conduct of any GNWT employee ensure that, indeed, GNWT employees work in a professional manner and, indeed, provide services to clients in a manner that’s respectful and dignified. Mahsi.

Mahsi. That’s the very reason why we have this competency-based training program. There is a Code of Conduct within our Education department, within the income support division, and at the same time we have to work with other departments as well. They do have their own disciplinary procedures, as well, the social envelope departments. We work with MACA, Housing, Social Services, Health and other departments. When we deal with the clientele, it’s not only income support. There are other departments that we have to work with. That’s the whole reason why we developed this competency-based, based on the Office of the Auditor General. We want to make it work. We want to make it work for our clientele and that’s what we’re doing. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement today I talked about the need for public sector salary disclosure and this is not the first time I’ve raised this particular matter in the House. I’ve cited several provinces across this country that have databases or have even tabled public reports, a sample of course, an excerpt of a public report from Ontario that does this.

I’d like to ask the Minister of Human Resources what’s stopping him from publicly tabling a disclosure paper or document that demonstrates and clearly shows transparency of all salaries over $100,000 and more, and that would include, of course, public sector employees, boards, agencies, et cetera. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Minister of Human Resources, Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My understanding at this time is that there’s a privacy rights issue for individuals not to have their names and exact salaries printed in a paper. GNWT salary grids including everybody that makes over $100,000, that would be the deputy senior management. All of those salary grids are on the Human Resources website right now. Thank you.

Thank you. I appreciate that good attempt at an answer by the Minister, because he talked about privacy rights. I’d like to draw the public’s attention, and more specifically the Minister of Human Resources’ attention, to a document I found on Northern News Services website. It’s dated April 27, 1998, and it’s quoted as such that Premier Don Morin, oddly enough the old Member for Tu Nedhe, had succumbed to the pressure of Regular Members and tabled all salaries of these employees with their names attached to that.

So if we’ve done it in the past, what’s stopping us today from doing it going forward? Thank you.

Thank you. Likely the law is stopping us from doing it, but I can check with the Department of Human Resources and if there are no privacy laws that we are breaking to print people’s individual salaries, then I can discuss that further with the Members across. Like, probably go to the committee as opposed to just saying that I’m going to table people’s salaries here in the Legislative Assembly. Thank you.

I suspect that laws have evolved in such a manner that we can only use the black highlighter when we explain things. Quite often Members want information.

I’ve invested quite a bit of time in a document that’s a few pages and it’s potentially a private member’s bill. It’s called the Private Sector Salary Disclosure Act.

I’d like to know if the Minister of Human Resources would be interested in co-sponsoring this act me with so the public can finally have true accountability, which is happening across this country from Nova Scotia to B.C. Now it’s time the Northwest Territories joins the rest of Canada. Thank you.

Thank you. Likely I will not join in the sponsorship of that bill. It sounds like the majority of the jurisdictions are still not disclosing all of the individuals’ salaries publicly. Another thing is that the Territories has a very small population. I suppose when you’re dealing with millions of people, and people make the decision to print people’s salaries, most people don’t know who the specific people that have their salaries printed are. But in our jurisdiction I know that there are very few people and everybody knows everyone, and I don’t think that that would be something that would be appropriate. But I would still check legally. If we can

do it legally, then like I said, we’ll work with committee to get something like this done.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s one of the few times we’ll ever say this, but apparently size doesn’t matter on this particular issue. In Vancouver, you just type a person’s name and it will give you the information.

As I tabled in this very House, I only tabled a small excerpt, but in Ontario they go very detailed, down to the name, the position and whatnot.

The last thing I’ll say is I’ve drafted a Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act. Would the Minister be interested in this particular project that I’ve been working on and would he see what he could do to get behind it? Thank you.

Thank you. The department and myself would be glad to review that bill. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister of the Housing Corporation. I’d like to follow up on a bit of a pet subject of mine and that’s homelessness.

Some time ago, I guess it was in 2011, we received a report on homelessness in Yellowknife. Following that there was a commitment from the government to hire a homelessness coordinator. That has been done and I’m very pleased to see that we’ve had that coordinator for going on to a full year now, I think.

The Premier and the Minister both promised an evaluation of the two programs that we had before we got the homelessness coordinator and my understanding is that the evaluation of those two programs has been done. But about a year ago, not quite, the Minister indicated a review of cross-departmental, throughout the whole government evaluation of homelessness programs and what was required was going to take some time.

I’d like to know from the Minister if that fulsome review of homelessness within the GNWT has been done and when we might be able to see it.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our homelessness coordinator actually started in August of this year, and she has had the opportunity to meet with some folks here in

Yellowknife and in Nahendeh, I believe, and it’s her intent to try and go across the Northwest Territories to meet with all the stakeholders and get their input on some of the programs they’re running and some of the improvements that could be made. As far as an overall report, this will be part of the process. I will commit to try to see where we’re at with that and get some information to the Members as quickly as possible.

I’m a little surprised that it was August when we hired the coordinator. Some months ago it was going to be January. I’m very glad that we have somebody hired and we have somebody in the position. I’m very glad that homelessness is going to be under one person’s authority and purview.

I’d like to know from the Minister if there are any plans, in terms of homelessness, for the 2014-15 budget that he can share with us at this time. Are we going to have an increase in the amount of money that’s available for homelessness programs?

As far as the infrastructure goes, I think we’ve made it well known that we’ve made some contributions to some organizations to help with the infrastructure, and we do that throughout the Northwest Territories. I think one of the things we do quite well is make some contributions to some of the infrastructure that they’d be running.

As far as the programs go, that’s under a different department. But 2014-15, we will be having discussions on the business planning process, I think, come December, and there will be an opportunity there for Members to have some input into that. I believe for the last few years it’s been about $350,000 in the two different pots that we administer, so we will be able to have that discussion during the business planning process in December.

It’s unfortunate we don’t know at this point that we’re going to get more money for homelessness; $300,000 is a pittance, and it really doesn’t address the needs that we have across the territory. But I thank the Minister for the opportunity to provide some input in December. I look forward to that.

A response that I got to some questions I sent to the Minister some time ago mentioned that the Housing Corp is working with Health and Social Services to keep seniors in their homes and he referenced a project that they were working on. I wondered if he could tell me whether or not that project has been determined, if he could share some of the details of that project with the House.

I’m not sure if the Member is talking about the pilot projects that we’re trying from each community or for four communities

as far as helping with homelessness goes. I know on the seniors side of it we have about 300 units that are in our public housing portfolio that are specifically earmarked for seniors and we try to keep seniors in their homes as long as possible. As well, are the programs that we have for seniors that do own their own homes? We have a Preventative Maintenance Program that we’re able to assist them in working with Health and Social Services on the home care part of it. They do a good job in keeping a lot of the seniors in their units. There are a number of initiatives that we’re working on right now.

As far as details on the pilot project that we’re working on, homelessness in some of the communities, we’ll have further details. We’re still early in the planning stages right now and locations haven’t been determined yet, but as soon as we have more information I will be sure to pass it on to the Members and seek their input as to how they would like to see this rolled out.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister. I look forward to that information and those details. Lastly, the Falvo Report in 2011 referenced the need for standards within the homelessness facilities, particularly within the city of Yellowknife here, and I’m talking about the Centre for Northern Families and the Salvation Army. I’d like to know from the Minister if the idea of establishing standards for homelessness centres is something that is on the radar of his department.

We would like to think all the homeless shelters, emergency shelters, transition homes would be of the highest standards. As far as standards go, I will follow up and see where we are with that, but I would expect that all of our units, and I know the ones that I’ve been to, have very high standards. I’ll follow up on the Member’s request and I’ll communicate that to the Member and Members.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I talked about the NWT housing survey, and I want to ask the Minister will there be another survey coming out, since 2009 was the last one?

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Minister of Housing, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have started work on the new housing needs survey and we’re anticipating early 2014 to start the survey.

I certainly look forward to the next survey. That leads me to my second question. With the 2014 survey, hopefully that will give us some measurements to let us know how we’re doing in regard to bringing down some of these numbers from 2009.

I want to ask the Minister, in his tenure as the Minister, has he been, I guess, getting a sneak peak of the housing issues in the Northwest Territories. Has he seen numbers coming down from the 2009 survey?

As far as the numbers coming down, I think we’re going to find out in 2014 that with the investments we’ve made since the last housing needs survey, I think we are going to see the numbers come down. I know in the Member’s riding alone, in the Sahtu, since 2009 when the report was done, we’ve spent approximately $14.7 million in trying to improve that, and we’re looking at a further $13 million investment within the next three years, so I think that will go a long way in addressing some of the concerns that were raised in the last housing needs survey. I think once we do the survey in 2014, I think it’s going to be reflective of the investment that we’ve made in the Northwest Territories.

I’m glad the Minister was able to indicate the amount of dollars that went into infrastructure for the Sahtu people. Even though those numbers are high, we still have a case in Colville Lake where there is a TB case. Why is that? What causes TB? You know, there are a number of factors in the case of TB or the homeless in Fort Good Hope or the couch surfing in Tulita. You know, there are issues in the Sahtu where these situations are still being dealt with today.

I want to ask the Minister, these types of situations in the Sahtu that we have, hopefully, with the new type of infrastructure, how can the Minister reassure me and the people in the Sahtu that these issues will be looked at where we won’t have to deal with them on a day-to-day basis.

There are many different reasons why we have these situations in some of the communities with the couch surfing and the other issues that they do have. I think one of the things that I’ve seen during my time as the Minister is a lot of people were being evicted because of arrears and that, but I have to admit that across the Northwest Territories the numbers of people that are honouring their commitments has gone up by quite a bit and we’re very encouraged by that, and we look forward to the next few years where we see less and less evictions because people are honouring their commitments.

As far as the other issues go, I mean, there are many other reasons why we have these particular issues in the small communities, and I don’t think it’s my place to touch on the TB question. But I

think we’re seeing across the Northwest Territories a lot of the public housing tenants are actually starting to step up to the plate and honouring their commitments, and as we go forward, I think it’s going to be reflective with less and less evictions in many of the communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just on the point of the TB case I made reference to is because I looked at the factors. One of the factors is the condition or suitability of the house and the high number in Colville Lake, where the percentage is 97 percent with housing problems. That could be a leading factor to the TB case that we had in Colville Lake.

Are there any types of initiatives where the people could challenge the people in the Sahtu, in the Northwest Territories, to look at how we can put more houses in the communities such as something that is a very well program run? They have a program we can get behind and the corporation can say we can do this, if you allow us to put some of our sweat equity and ideas into building housing in our small communities.

Mr. Speaker, I think, when the 2014 needs survey is being worked on, we are going to have to be more specific in some of the questions we ask. If you ask anybody anywhere, is there something wrong with your house, I’m sure all 19 of us in here could find something wrong with our house. So that affects the adequacy issue and I think sometimes the numbers aren’t truly reflective of the condition of the units.

As far as the overcrowding goes, we have a public housing replacement program where we’re trying to get as many housing units into the communities as possible where the need is the greatest. I think we’re going to see that our investment in the next few years is going to try and address that very issue.

Again, it’s been a work in progress. There has been a lot of good work done on this not only by the NWT Housing Corporation, but by the clients and tenants across the Northwest Territories. We have different homeownership programs that we’re hoping to see some uptake on those.

So work is being done. There has been a lot of progress. I think, once we do the needs survey in 2014, we’re going to see a decrease in the need across the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services about the Deh Cho Health and Social Services Authority. It has been pretty much out of commission since the springtime when members weren’t reappointed.

I would like to ask the Minister, what are the plans for restoring the board of governors at the Deh Cho Health and Social Services Authority. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There’s no question that there is an important role for regional boards to play in ensuring that local culture and language are reflected in program delivery and that also the concerns of the communities are heard. We do need to find a solution to this problem.

The boards were originally put in place when the responsibility for Health and Social Services devolved down to the GNWT. At that time, we heard clearly the communities and the people want to be heard. As we know, as I have heard from both Member Menicoche and Blake, it’s not working exactly right and there are certainly some challenges. We need to make some changes to the system if we are going to provide best care to our residents. That’s the bottom line, it’s about the individual patient and/or client.

We need to find a way forward. I have an opportunity to talk to the public administrator for the Deh Cho Health and Social Services Authority. I understand that the public administrator is going to be doing a tour through the communities to get some feedback from all residents of the community and all residents of the region on how to move forward. I am looking forward to working with the Member and with the public administrator to find a way to help us meet that objective. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I did my fall tour and I spoke with the leadership and the people in my riding. There is only one thing worse than knowing, it’s not knowing. The people don’t know when they are going to get the board back, what the plans are for it. I think it’s important that the administrator does get out to the communities. It is also more important that the department also communicate their plans through public consultations.

The other important thing is that many rumours abound because of not knowing.

I would like to know from the Minister of Health and Social Services about the hiring of the CEO position

in Fort Simpson, that it’s going to be done under the Deh Cho Health and Social Services Authority. Thank you.

I would certainly like to sit down with the Member and have that conversation. We do have a hiring practice and procedures that we utilize here in the Government of the Northwest Territories and our authorities. The public administrator will play a key role in the recruitment and retention of a CEO for that health authority. I look forward to having discussions with both the public administrator and the Member on how we’re going to move forward with that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, then the Minister can probably clarify for me, because what I heard is that the Deh Cho Health and Social Services will have its own CEO. I’m hoping that position is the same as it was before, established in Fort Simpson to deliver health to the people of the Deh Cho from a local central body from Fort Simpson. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, that’s the way it is now. We actually have an acting CEO in the Deh Cho Health and Social Services Authority. As I indicated, I believe we will be moving forward and I look forward to working with the public administrator to see exactly how that’s going to work out. I will keep the Member informed and I’ll have more discussions with the Member as we move forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you very much. Once the Minister works with the public administrator in establishing dates, I’d certainly like to be informed. Should I be available, I would certainly like to attend those meetings as well. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. More of a comment. Oh, Mr. Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know the Member knows who the public administrator is. I encourage the Member to talk to the public administrator about maybe participating in some of those tours. I also know that the former Minister of Health and Social Services made a commitment to the Member to go into the community and have a public meeting in Fort Simpson with the entire region and I’m going to live up to that commitment. We’re going to work out the dates. It would likely be after the public administrator has finished his tour, but I look forward to coming to your community and having the discussion around the authority and how things will move forward with your community once we get some dates confirmed after the public administrator has finished his tour. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions will be for the new Minister of Health. Earlier today I gave the Minister a brief update of what’s been happening in the Mackenzie Delta region.

With no board in place for years now in the Beaufort-Delta, how are residents of my region supposed to provide input on health care in our region? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Blake. Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said in my responses to MLA Menicoche, there is no question that we want the input from our citizens and our residents. Right now, as the Member knows, we do have a public administrator in the Deh Cho. The previous Minister of Health and Social Services made a commitment to reinstating the Beaufort-Delta Health and Social Services Authority before the end of this government and we will live up to that commitment. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, that’s great news. The previous Health Minister said in May the process of appointing a new board in the Delta would begin immediately. What progress has been made? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, as I indicated in my last response, we need to make some changes to this system. It’s not working. We want to make sure we are getting the input from the people and from the communities and regions. We also know, as the Member has clearly outlined in his Member’s statement, that there are some real challenges. We want to focus on the care of our residents, the individuals. We want to focus on the person. So we do need to do some work. We need to finish that work before we move forward with re-establishing the authority in whichever capacity we move forward in, whether it’s a board of management, as the Member identified, or an advisory board. We need to know what we’re doing because we want to make sure that the delivery is effective and efficient and it’s the best services that we can provide to our people.

We need a bit of time. But as I have indicated, we are going to live up to the previous Minister’s commitment and we will have something established in the Deh Cho before the end of this government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would just like to remind the Minister that I am from the Mackenzie Delta, not the Deh Cho.

---Laughter

My next question is Deputy Minister DeLancey spoke recently on changing legislation, but that is the first I’ve heard of it. No such legislation is before the House. The process takes time, as we all know. So what changes are being made and when will this legislation come forward? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.