This is page numbers 2063 – 2092 of the Hansard for the 17th Assembly, 4th Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was health.

Topics

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement today I talked about the need for a new territorial courthouse. Needs have certainly changed, but the space has not. You can only reorganize the existing courthouse so many times before it becomes unpalatable. I just want to say two more things, which is, the courthouse as it exists now doesn’t flow nicely when you consider the responsibility and sensitivity needed towards sexual assault victims where sometimes accused, the victims and the witnesses are all huddled together in the same area. It just makes it unpalatable.

The last thing I want to say on this point is, quite often when the judges call people to appear before court, whether it’s the day’s docket or for jury duty, they’re not only in the room standing against the walls, they’re standing out in the hall, down the spiral staircase, and into the first floor. All problems with the existing courthouse.

My question will be to the Premier. Will the Premier direct the program review office to review the functionality of our existing courthouse, and weight and balance that fairly to evaluate the need for a new independent courthouse to serve the citizens of the Northwest Territories, and ensure that people are getting justice safely and fairly?

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Yellowknife South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’ve worked very closely with the committee and asked the committee to identify the areas that they want the Program Review Office to review. I’ve reviewed the list and I don’t see the Yellowknife courthouse on that list.

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

That’s one of the worst answers I’ve heard from Premier McLeod in a long time. The fact is, the 15-year-old study said we needed a new courthouse. The existing building was built in 1977 when we only had four judges and limited staff and processes. The territory has practically doubled in size. What will it take to get the courthouse situation reviewed by this government, weighed and balanced fairly, not an emotional decision? Because does this Premier have an issue with investing in Yellowknife or is he thinking that our needs in this territory don’t matter when it comes to a territorial courthouse?

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Yellowknife South

Maybe if he asked better questions, he’d get better answers. I’ll leave it up to the committee. We did, as the government put it, have that project, called the NWT Law Courts Project, and we put $40 million in the capital budget in 2005-2006. Committee took it out of the budget. If the Member wants to put it back in, he would have to get the support of all the Members of the Legislative Assembly, especially the committee.

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

Now is another fine example of divide and conquer. Urban versus rural, committee versus process. Maybe the Premier, being such a maven when it comes to court space and experience, maybe you can explain why the existing courthouse, in its existing form, works and meets the needs of health and safety of our employees as well as, as I mentioned earlier, those accused, those victims and those witnesses when we’re working on their initiatives for the people.

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Yellowknife South

I’d like to remind the Member that we don’t do capital planning in this Legislative Assembly. We do it in a separate process.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Where else would you do capital planning and discussion other than asking questions in the Assembly? What is the problem that’s holding this particular issue back? Is it because it’s an investment in the city of Yellowknife, or is it because the Premier has other ambitions or obligations that he is afraid to meet and cause conflict with this idea?

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Yellowknife South

I’d suggest that the Member make his case with the committee and that at the appropriate time, through the capital process, he tries to get that amount of money approved.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Kevin A. Menicoche

Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to ask the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources if he has received an update from Enbridge Pipelines about the reported contaminated soil on the remediation digs outside of Fort Simpson.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, we have an update. There was some contaminated soil found a week or so ago, about 30 cubic metres. There was no visible spill. The pipeline was shut down as a precaution as they did the check. Then on the 8th, sorry, the 10thI believe it is, they put a sleeve around the area where they thought there was potential weakness and the pipeline was re-opened.

Kevin A. Menicoche

Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh

The media report that I had looked at wasn’t really clear whether it was contaminated by crude oil or something else. Was Enbridge able to tell the Minister in their briefing exactly what the source of that contamination was?

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

The National Energy Board will have the lead on this. They collected all the soil and they’ve sent it away for analysis. They’ve put the precautionary sleeve around the pipeline, and when we get that information back or when I’m made aware of the results of those tests, I will make sure that we share that with the Member.

Kevin A. Menicoche

Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh

Members of the public, the community and the people that use the land are concerned if there’s a public safety or hazardous risk. Can the Minister tell us if that’s the case?

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

All of the appropriate precautionary measures, processes and procedures have been activated. There was a spill report done. Enbridge kicked into gear their response. The National Energy Board was informed. We’ve been tracking the issue. They’ve collected the contaminated soil for testing, and they’ve put a precautionary sleeve around the affected area or what they believe could be the affected area of the pipeline. We’re waiting for the test results. The matter, as far as I’m aware, seems to be in hand at this juncture.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Kevin A. Menicoche

Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’m glad that ENR is now working with Enbridge Pipelines. How soon does that information get to the Department of ENR should there be another incident, as it were?

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

The protocols are such that once we’re aware of it, there’s a response kicked into gear by Enbridge and the National Energy Board as the responsible agencies involved. As next in line, ENR is involved, and we activate all our processes to make sure we’re working closely with the National Energy Board and Enbridge. That process is in place. Then there’s a communication strategy that kicks into gear, as well, to make sure that folks are aware of what’s happening and what the circumstances are.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Michael Nadli

Michael Nadli Deh Cho

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today I acknowledged the reality of the expansion of telecommunications in the small communities. My question is to the Minister of Finance. Recently, we had a very successful lobbying effort to go to Ottawa, pound the pavement over there, and score at least seven major projects. One of them was the fibre optic line. I just want to ask the Minister if he could provide an update, in terms of the plan and the vision, in terms of how that project might unfold.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The Minister of Finance, Mr. Miltenberger.

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Very quickly, the project description work is being done and will be concluded in the next couple of months. We have, as well, put out an expression of interest to the industry about building, running a fibre optic line. There has been substantial interest in that. We’ve met with the Aboriginal governments up and down the valley. A specific interest has been evidenced by the Inuvialuit, Gwich’in and the Sahtu. We are working with them on the joint venture approach. At the same time, we do have an ancillary effort with P3 Canada that is inching along. Our main focus is on the joint venture approach with the Aboriginal governments. There has been significant interest expressed by industry, by countries, Germany, Sweden. We have the Defence department.

There is consultation happening now. We were in Wrigley and Simpson this week. They are going to be going up the valley to talk to all the communities, bringing forward and laying out the models of what’s going to happen winter and summer as the project is put in place. We are going to have a breakfast up here mid-week next week for those folks around Cabinet and staff to just have the models there so they can see what’s being presented to the people up and down the valley. The consultation will continue all the way up to Tuk about the work that’s being done.