This is page numbers 3413 – 3448 of the Hansard for the 17th Assembly, 5th 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 education.

Topics

The House met at 1:30 p.m.

---Prayer

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Good afternoon, colleagues.

Before we start today, I would like to take this opportunity to recognize the achievements of my aunty in Alaska, Mrs. Sally Smith.

Sally Smith received the Shirley Demientieff Award on October 24, 2013, at the Alaska Federation of Natives Convention in Fairbanks.

The award, presented each year at AFN, was given by Governor Sean Parnell for advocacy on behalf of native women and children in Alaska.

A Yu’pik from Dillingham, Sally Smith has served as a health care advocate and leader for 45 years. Smith has worked tirelessly in Alaska and across the world to improve the health of Alaska natives and native Americans. She has dedicated her life to establishing culturally and scientifically appropriate cancer clinical research for Alaska native people.

Sally Smith serves on the board of directors for the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and has previously chaired the National Indian Health Board of Directors. She is the current chairman of Alaska Native Medical Centre.

On behalf of Members of the 17

Assembly, I would

like to send my congratulations to Mrs. Sally Smith.

Item 2, Ministers’ statements. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Ramsay.

David Ramsay

David Ramsay Kam Lake

Mr. Speaker, tourism is a vital industry here in the Northwest Territories. Of all sectors, tourism presents the greatest likelihood of creating economic opportunities in each region, especially in the smaller communities. This is especially true of our Aboriginal tourism sector. Through the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment, the Government of the Northwest

Territories has been working with the Aboriginal Tourism Champions Advisory Council to advance and develop Aboriginal tourism in the NWT.

This week at the NWT Tourism Conference and Annual General Meeting, the council will publicly launch its recommendations for the Aboriginal Tourism Strategy and Action Plan, a recommendations report that I will be tabling later today. I am happy to share the highlights of these recommendations with all Members.

The Aboriginal Tourism Champions Advisory Council is the lead organization responsible for overseeing the planning, product development, and promotional initiatives and implementation of the Aboriginal Tourism Framework Strategy. The council includes Aboriginal people with a passion for tourism, representing the diversity of Aboriginal cultures in the Northwest Territories. I want to thank the council members Ms. Ria Letcher and Ms. Jenni Bruce, our co-chairs; Mr. Grant Beck, Mr. Knute Hansen, Ms. Peggy Jay, Mr. Doug Lamalice, Ms. Margaret Nazon, Mr. Moise Rabesca, Ms. Judith Wright-Bird, Ms. Karen Wright-Fraser and Mr. Richard Zieba for bringing us one step closer to making Aboriginal tourism a viable sector in the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, the council has recommended increasing awareness and support for Aboriginal tourism among Aboriginal communities, organizations and governments. They have recommended improving skills for Aboriginal businesses involved in the tourism industry.

They want to see us make full use of youth and elders’ involvement in tourism. They have recommended that we promote Aboriginal culture and language through tourism.

The value of developing the Aboriginal tourism sector is not just about additional revenue and jobs at the local level. During the time the council spent talking to people to develop these recommendations, many said that the true value of developing this sector is in revitalizing and invigorating a sense of pride in Aboriginal culture and traditions.

Communities are already benefiting from visitor interest in authentic Aboriginal tourism experiences. For example, the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment worked with the community of

Deline to organize a familiarization tour with a group of travel wholesalers. The visitors were impressed with the experiences available there and have made plans to visit Deline next year with other groups.

We are going to take action to grow Aboriginal tourism in our territory. The need for input from various other departments, agencies and Aboriginal organizations is noted in the report, so the next step we are taking now is to discuss these recommendations with them.

These discussions will take place through this winter and next spring, and on the basis of the feedback received, we will draft a comprehensive strategy outlining how we can develop and promote Aboriginal tourism in the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, we will continue to work with communities, the Aboriginal Tourism Champions Advisory Council, and other Government of the Northwest Territories departments to ensure a prosperous Aboriginal tourism industry, which will help to ensure a diversified and healthy economy that provides all regions and communities with opportunities and choices. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Yellowknife South

Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise Members that the Honourable Jackson Lafferty will be absent from the House today to attend the Labour Ministers federal-provincial-territorial meeting in Toronto. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Item 3, Members’ statements. Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.

Frederick Blake Jr.

Frederick Blake Jr. Mackenzie Delta

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My statement today will focus on policing, especially in our smaller communities like Tsiigehtchic.

Mr. Speaker, and Members of the Assembly, it is crucial that the RCMP be seen and heard in our communities. It is crucial for our community members to build a relationship with the RCMP in order to have a safe neighbourhood and safer communities. Back in the day, Tsiigehtchic, known then as Arctic Red River, had one of the strongest detachments in the Delta right up until 1969. Arctic Red River had two members stationed in the community, along with a special constable.

These members used to patrol the Delta with their dog team. Two or three dog teams used to travel to Fort McPherson, visiting people and checking to see if everything was alright. These dog teams then travelled throughout the Delta, visiting families who were at their traplines. Many people remember these old stories of when we had RCMP in Tsiigehtchic.

After 1969 we have had no one stationed in Tsiigehtchic. Members from the detachment in Fort McPherson do come over to Tsiigehtchic to patrol when they can, but there is a need for law and order right now in Tsiigehtchic. People have to phone to Fort McPherson, and in most cases, they get the station here in Yellowknife. They then need to explain what the emergency is and then wait an hour or more for the RCMP to show up in Tsiigehtchic. If there was a family dispute, can you imagine what the consequences would be?

I’m speaking for the people of Tsiigehtchic when we ask, time and time again, to have RCMP posted in the community. Special constables were a common practice in the past. Special constables were the lifeline to RCMP members. They were translators, guides and more or less introduced them to the Delta. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Blake. Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.

Daryl Dolynny

Daryl Dolynny Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You know that question we all asked our Grade 11 teacher: When am I ever going to use this in the real world? Well, today that question is being put to the test.

I am pleased to say that I took statistics in Grade 11 some 30 years ago, and with this ancient knowledge my office took the liberty to evaluate statistically how well Cabinet responded to Regular Members’ oral questions from October 17

to November 4

of this year.

You’re probably wondering why this Regular Member would go through such trouble. This is a good question, and in truth, the science geek in me thought it would be a fun exercise, but the political side of me wanted to use this opportunity to get a mid-term report card for our Cabinet by evaluating the responses of concerned Regular Members. In essence, a small snapshot in time would speak volumes to the stewardship and effectiveness of Cabinet on how they are seen by the public.

So, before I share the results with you and the Members of this House, I want you to be assured that all the rules pertaining to statistical protocols were adhered to, aggregate parameters, qualifiers, as well as other determinants were clearly established in the onset of data collection. In fact, if

a response failed within the question determinant, the results went in favour to the Cabinet.

So, what did we discover during these 11 sessional days? There were 478 questions asked during oral questions by Regular Members. Of those questions, 313, or 65.48 percent of the time the Minister answered the question asked. Of the remaining questions, 165, or 34.51 percent of the time the Minister did not answer the question asked. The standard deviation or response phrase have a plus/minus rate of 3.8 percent error. Thank you Grade 11 statistics course.

What does this report card tell us? Clearly, we have to ask ourselves is roughly two out of three questions being answered by Cabinet is a good grade or is this something that can be refined during the remaining life of the 17

Assembly.

I will not answer that question today, but I will leave this with Cabinet to reflect on until we return next February and allow the bank of public opinion the opportunity to weigh in. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Kevin A. Menicoche

Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My statement today is directed toward our new Minister of Transportation. It’s just to let him know about my two favourite words in this Assembly: Highway 7.

I would also like to welcome the Minister to the file. Seriously though, my constituents want to be sure that their new Minister knows just how valuable Highway No. 7 is to the Deh Cho. Road conditions are always at the forefront when it comes to local and territorial elections, federal engagement and budget debates.

Highway No. 7 is the gateway to the North. The highway makes our living and brings work to us. Highway No. 7 is also an asset to tourism in the Dec Cho. From the legendary Nahanni National Park to big game hunt, from the Horne Plateau to day trips on the Mackenzie River, the Deh Cho region and the Nahendeh riding is one of the most spectacular of the Northwest Territories, but road conditions on Highway No. 7 scare most of our tourists away.

I’m sure the new Minister is aware of the dollars added to the budget this year to promote tourism. To pave the way to increase tourism in the Nahendeh, all we have to do is improve Highway No. 7.

Highway No. 7 is also vital to industry. Already, oil companies are travelling through the Nahendeh riding, in Fort Liard, and also on their way to the

central Mackenzie Valley shale resources. Canadian Zinc’s Prairie Creek Mine is in the heart of the Nahanni and adds to the pulse of the Northwest Territories economy. One of the mine’s greatest needs is a reliable transportation corridor.

Finally, Highway No. 7 is the lifeline for the people who live in the Nahendeh. Too often they try to escape to B.C. when the chipseal turns to chowder and they risk their wheels in bathtub-sized potholes.

I hope by now the map to a robust economy, not only for the Nahendeh riding but also the Northwest Territories, is becoming clear to the Minister. Highway No. 7 belongs to the people of the Northwest Territories and reflects the pride we take in our region, the value we place on our resources and the importance of our communities.

I would also like to invite the Minister to ride down Highway No. 7 at his earliest opportunity.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Remembrance Day Services
Members’ Statements

Jane Groenewegen

Jane Groenewegen Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With this being our last day in the Legislature and Remembrance Day coming up on Monday, I’d like to dedicate my statement today to Remembrance Day.

There will be a service in Hay River sponsored by the Royal Canadian Legion. I have been very proud to participate in that service in past years. This year, as well, my colleague MLA Robert Bouchard and I will be proud to lay wreaths at the cenotaph at the Legion Remembrance Day service and read the scriptures for that service as well.

After I mentioned this week earlier, having left home at such a young age and coming from a family of veterans, I adopted the veterans that I learned to know and love in the Northwest Territories and in Hay River. Sadly, many of them have now gone on, have passed on and are fewer and fewer now, and we remember so fondly spending Remembrance Day services with them. I can’t name them because I would surely forget some, but their families know who they are and they are still dear to our heart.

As we commission the Highway of Heroes on Friday with our Minister of Transportation, and as we look for ways to remember the proud tradition and service of the Canadian military in peacekeeping and in war actions, I hope that we will all take the time to live up to the commitment that we make that we will remember them.

Remembrance Day Services
Members’ Statements

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Norman Yakeleya

Norman Yakeleya Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m going to do my Member’s statement from a song that is sung by Merle Haggard. No, it’s not the one We Don’t Smoke. It’s called The Fighting Side of Me.

I hear people talking bad about the way we do things here in the House, harping on words we use in debating and griping about the way things ought to be. I don’t mind switching sides and standing up for things I believe in, but when you’re running down my fellow MLAs, they’re walking on the fighting side of me, running down a way of life our countrymen have fought and died to keep. If they don’t love it, leave it. Let these words that I’m reading be a sign. If you are running down my Bill 24, you’re walking on the fighting side of me.

I read about the oil and gas guys who claimed they don’t believe in reporting. I just wonder how long the rest of us can count on being contamination-free. They love our oil and our diamonds and they preach about some other way of living. They are running down my regulatory board. They are walking on the fighting side of me.

They are walking on the fighting side of me, running down my Sahtu winter road funding, which hardworking men and women have fought for and kept it rut-free. If they don’t love it, leave it. Let these words that I’m reading be a sign. They are running down my wish for a $7 a day daycare. They are walking on the fighting side of me.

Finally, I want to say to you all, to all the heroes who give their service, and to the families for lending their support to us so that we could be standing here fighting for our own people. That is truly a grateful thanks from the Sahtu and the people of the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m going to be speaking on the Deh Cho Bridge and the need for an independent audit and a process regarding a number of the problems.

All I can say is, if FDR was alive today, I’m sure he would describe the Deh Cho Bridge as this: The Deh Cho Bridge is a project that will live in infamy. Why? Because it has been cursed with problems. I may describe it as a ship of our great territory. I would say that it appears to have been launched without the bottle being broken, cursed from the beginning.

We all know that the 1,045 metre structure was supposed to be the pride of every territorial citizen. It has been a dream upon many since the ‘50s, but it wasn’t until that magic pen signed that original deal back in 2007 and the sod was turned. I would say that this project would have never seen the light without that initiative.

From the start it seemed to be under some type of grey cloud. Now, as we start to reflect and look back and, as I say, we look forward, do we want to continue the same types of errors?

The Deh Cho Bridge itself was built on complicated and ever-shifting sands. We are here today because of those things. To begin with, we can’t even continue without mentioning the fact that it was even launched without a reliable design, which was only finished halfway through the project. How do we be proud of a project like this and realize without taking the opportunity to look back? It’s time for an independent audit on this whole process.

As a Member of this Assembly during that time, it was a turbulent and emotional problem. As I recall, there was much political will being tugged and towed in both directions. Do we help the people from Providence who wanted the bridge under their leadership, under their vision and under their guidance, or do we continue to hunker down and plow our way through it and say, shame, this bridge will never work?

I believed in the bridge concept from the start, but there always seemed to be problems with it, even in the Assembly here. I had often heard stories about Members calling and complaining to the Toronto lending company about the instability of the bridge organization and the inability for Members to support the project. It’s things like this that sank the process and caused problems all the way through. We need to find out what the truth was. Why did the GNWT get saddled with the $200 million line of credit, or I should say loan in this case, and in the end that could have collapsed this government?

I will have questions for the Minister who now is the Minister of Transportation, to ask him about some of the failings of this particular project and maybe what we need to look into for public scrutiny. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Bob Bromley

Bob Bromley Weledeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the middle of October, over 50 volunteers dragged six truckloads of garbage from the bush north of the Vee Lake Road boat launch. This area hosted events like the annual Yellowknife Ski Loppet and Frostbite 45, and is used by local recreation clubs

as well as individual mountain bikers, bird watchers, hikers, hunters and leaseholders.

I want to offer my thanks and congratulations to all involved. The volunteers came from Great Slave Snowmobile Trail Riders, Scouts Canada, the Yellowknife Multisport Club, NWT Motor Sports Club, Yellowknife Amateur Radio Society, and local cabin owners.

The GNWT and members of the local exploration industry provided $24,000 in funding to the community groups. The City of Yellowknife provided garbage bags and waived tipping fees on small items. The cleanup effort was initiated and coordinated by TerraX Minerals as part of their consultation process with user groups in the area that they are exploring. They have provided, through this work, an excellent example of how to reach out to the community and get something useful done in the process.

Apparently there is still more out there to clean up, including larger items like old cars and fuel tanks. There are plans in the works for a larger cleanup next year and I look forward to it.

I am aware that Weledeh constituents David Connelly and John Stephenson – and I see John in the gallery today – played key roles in this project, and there were certainly others not mentioned here.

Again, I would like to offer, on behalf of all of us here I’m sure, congratulations and thanks to all involved. Mahsi.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to follow up today on Mr. Bromley’s statement from Monday and express my concerns with the response from the Giant Mine Remediation Team, their response to the recommendations in the environmental assessment report from the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board about the Giant Mine Remediation Project.

It’s been almost four months since the Mackenzie Valley Review Board released its final report on the old gold mine’s remediation. I’m on record that I was pleased with the report’s recommendations, recommendations which directed the federal government to go above and beyond the existing cleanup plan, recommendations which responded to the concerns of residents and Aboriginal governments.

The report has 26 recommendations and it lays out a solid and a collaborative path for remediation. The MVERB report was positive and reflected the views of NWT residents, Yellowknife city council,

the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, the North Slave Metis Alliance, Yellowknife Members of the Legislative Assembly, and our local MP, Dennis Bevington. All have indicated their support for the recommendations.

Now we hear from the proponent, the remediation project managers, one of whom represents the GNWT, “The cleanup team has a responsibility, like any other project proponent, to answer questions and explain how the review board’s report would affect its proposal to clean up the mine. That may include doing cost estimates.” I’m sure they do have that responsibility, but it gives rise to a number of real concerns for me.

It concerns me that the developer, the Remediation Project Team, is the same organization as the decision-maker, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, or AANDC. It concerns me that AANDC is getting internal input from the cleanup team on the report. If the team is providing new information to whoever is going to be putting together the response for the Minister, will anyone else have the same opportunity? It concerns me that government officials who have the final say on the project seem to be evaluating the review board’s recommendations based on cost.

The cleanup is already expected to cost almost $1 billion, and in the grand scheme of things, the added cost resulting from the review board’s recommendations are but a drop in the bucket. Costs should not be a limiting factor in doing the project the right way.

I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Mr. Speaker, it concerns me that the project team speaks as if the decision is done. The team itself responds to the public as if their decision is final. This quote appears on AANDC’s website Frequently Asked Questions: “The answers are in and it’s time to move forward with a solid long-term plan.” For me that solid long-term plan must include an independent oversight of the project. It would help build public confidence if people from this community have further input into this project, rather than just the project team itself.

In closing, I want to quote one of the questions from the AANDC Frequently Asked Questions. It says, “How do you know you’ve got it right?” And that’s exactly the point, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Alfred Moses

Alfred Moses Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier this week I did a Member’s statement on the legacy of

Members in this House who have served for this government. Today I’m going to talk about a different legacy: building a legacy in our youth, in our communities and in our future leaders.

Today I want to talk about the Northern Youth Abroad Program. The Northern Youth Abroad Program specifically is designed to meet the unique needs of youth living in isolated communities in Canada’s North, specifically the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. This program was initially designed to help find Nunavut teachers to help with the success in education. Yesterday we went through a little theme day here, talking about the challenges that we have in the Northwest Territories, and yet we have an organization down in Ottawa that’s providing these types of services to our youth in the Northwest Territories.

Today was the deadline for applications for the Northern Youth Abroad Program. There were 44 applications across the Northwest Territories; however, the group will only select 20 moving forward when they’re putting the program on. Some of the successes that this program has done for students in the Northwest Territories is increased graduation rates, it’s given students high school credit and it’s also given people the opportunity to volunteer in the North, allowed volunteering in the South as well as create volunteer abroad students, specifically in Africa.

This program works on developing leadership development, healthy living, producing self-confidence and self-esteem in our northern youth. Like I said, although today was the deadline, they are going to accept applications until November 12

. I encourage all Members to speak to their

youth in the communities, as well as all educators to get their students signed up for this program. Thank you.