Good afternoon, colleagues. Item 2, Ministers’ statements. Item 3, Members’ statements. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’re getting to the midway point of our term in the 17th Legislative Assembly, and as I have been

known to do on occasion in the past, sometimes we like to talk about ministerial performance. I don’t have any speaking notes here, so I’m just going to wing this.

When we come here elected as 19 Members, we come here all as equals, all equally elected. Then we go into our territorial leadership and choose seven from amongst us to sit and hold positions of responsibility and leadership in certain areas of government performance. In my opinion, the “us” and “them” begins, which I think is a problem, but we continue to work on it. It’s our form of government. I think it needs to be reviewed and I think it needs to be looked at. We call it consensus government but it has traits of party politics, which is kind of a hybrid. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t work that well, which I think we can all talk about.

When we choose the seven from amongst us to take on these special roles and responsibilities, we have expectations, I think, from all of us, because we’re all MLAs. Even if we’re Cabinet Ministers, we’re still MLAs and we all come here hoping to make a difference and use our contribution to better things. I believe we’re all here for noble and very good motives.

From this side of the House, the things that we look for in our leaders on the opposite side of the House is we would like them to be hardworking. We would like them to be knowledgeable so that when we ask

them questions, they can answer them. We would like them to have good communication skills. We would like them to be very responsible to the tasks before them. Obviously, they are all honest and honourable Members. We expect honesty. We expect sensitivity. If they are a Member who represents a large city, we expect them to be sensitive to the issues that we bring to them on behalf of our constituents that might be unique to our region or community. We like sensitivity. We’d like them to keep a global perspective, that they’re there to represent the entire Northwest Territories with fairness and equity.

Having said that, I don’t know if I have time. I had jotted down some comments on each one of these folks, but now I see that the clock is ticking here and I don’t know if I’ll have enough time. Maybe I’ll have to make that my statement for tomorrow. It’s unanimous consent to conclude your statement, not to extend your statement. I will leave it at that for today. Tomorrow is theme day, but I’ll get it in there tomorrow. It’s actually theme day on bullying so it will have to be very, very nice.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Tomorrow is Anti-Bullying Day, otherwise known as Pink Shirt Day. Now, I know this is the eve of what should be another great awareness day, but I wanted to make sure that I left everyone here today with a homework assignment in preparation for tomorrow.

In preparing for tomorrow, I came across a unique video by Shane Koyczan on bullying that has been going absolutely viral. Shane Koyczan is a BC poet who is definitely no stranger to being bullied as a kid. In fact, if you recognize the name, it’s probably because you remember him from his inspired performance at the Vancouver Olympics opening ceremony where he read his poem We Are More.

Earlier this year Koyczan, who admits that bullying can leave psychic scars that can last for years, teamed up with artists from all over the world to

animate a seven-minute video called To This Day. In this video Koyczan narrates a poem of his experiences of being bullied in school, as well as two other victims: a girl with a birthmark on her face and a boy who struggles with depression. This is a powerful animation that tackles bullying head on and strikes a nerve with everyone who experiences the vulnerability of his storytelling. To This Day is a wonderful animated tool that can help schools and families confront the problem of bullying, or at least allow for the starting point of discussion.

I’ll leave you with this: If you think this is just another southern artist who doesn’t understand what bullying means in the North or has any clue of what it means to be of First Nation heritage, I beg you to think again. Shane Koyczan is a true Northerner, born here in Yellowknife, and had a childhood of being bullied right here. His story is our story.

My pink shirt is ready. My pink tie is ready. Let’s get ready for tomorrow, shall we? Before we do, I ask everyone here at the Assembly and listening in, to take a minute to watch Shane Koyczan’s To This Day with your kids.

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Canada is currently negotiating with the European Union for a Canada-Europe trade agreement. It has been some four years in the making and, I gather, they’re finally getting to a possible end point. Much of the negotiations have been withheld from the public, but provinces and territories, at least, are party to the negotiations. We have to hope that our interests around this agreement are being adequately represented by our government, the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment.

So why should I discuss a federal issue here in the NWT Assembly? Well, because this agreement has the potential to impact our government, our residents, and we should be concerned about that. A submission from Alternatives North last year stated it is precisely the people and small businesses in the NWT who stand to lose the most should CETA become a reality.

The question for me is what will Canada give up during negotiations to satisfy the European Union and reach the agreement the federal government seems so desperate to achieve. The most recent negotiations were just last week and the European Union trade commissioner has been quoted as saying, “On a number of issues they have to make additional steps. What was on the table is not enough. Very simple.”

A few weeks ago a radio commentator stated we know what Europe wants. We don’t know what Canada is willing to give up. That’s my concern. What will Canadian citizens lose and is our territorial government fighting to keep that from happening? They are the only ones who can represent our interests to the federal government.

The intent of CETA is to open new markets for Canadian goods, and I’m all for that. But what I cannot conscience is an agreement that ends up costing Canadians more for certain goods and services, and that’s a distinct possibility. The likeliest culprit is the European Union demand for extended patents on prescription drugs. This remains one of Canada’s most difficult decisions in these negotiations as drug costs for provinces and territories could jump significantly.

If the European demand is agreed to, Canadians will not be able to use generic drugs for five years, instead of the current two or three years. With the cost difference between generic and patented drugs, we could see our own government drug costs increase a great deal.

I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

The GNWT has to make sure that Canada understands the impact such a change will have on us and our hold-the-line fiscal strategy, as we hear very often from Mr. Miltenberger. My fingers are crossed that the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment will adequately negotiate on our behalf before CETA is concluded.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Both the Premier and the former federal Minister have said they expect to have a final Devolution Agreement very soon. I don’t want to rain on anyone’s parade, but First Nations in my constituency are not participating at the devolution table. The Dehcho First Nations would like to see movement in their own negotiations to finalize the land use plan for the region before devolution goes ahead. As well, they strongly believe that 25 percent of what the GNWT gets shared with all regional Aboriginal governments is not a fair allocation of resource revenues.

From the First Nations’ perspective, devolution, so far, is nothing but a GNWT money and self-government grab. Most First Nations don’t have self-government agreements. In spite of reassurances, it’s hard to see how devolution won’t prejudice these negotiations. In fact, the possibility

of Dehcho First Nation’s involvement in devolution is one reason the K’atlodeeche First Nation recently left the regional lands and resources table. As Chief Roy Fabian said, we’re not willing to give up our jurisdiction to anybody until we are finished negotiating.

I must ask what has the GNWT given up or compromised on to reach this deal. What more will they give up for a final agreement? I’m concerned that this deal is already forcing us to inherit environmental and resource management arrangements weakened by the recent federal omnibus bill. Can the regions and small communities even count on a share of the 170 jobs to be transferred to the GNWT after devolution? Devolution should be good for everybody, but will it be good for First Nations in my constituency?

I will have questions for the Premier later today. Mahsi.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The recent tragedy along our highways has once again reaffirmed and reminded us about how important our first responders are. They are critical to the fabric of the Northwest Territories and certainly to the health of the people. It’s only in times when urgency is required we often think about what pillar of society that they play and that important role that they represent.

Not everyone has the experience and training a first responder typically would go through, and depending on where you are in the sense of where you’re located in the Northwest Territories as a first responder, will sometimes in some ways, unfortunately, dictate the type of level and skills you’ll get. What I’m saying is large centres may have the benefit of having more training than other, maybe, small centres, which is a problem in itself.

I draw this type of dichotomy out only to talk about in a way what we could be doing. A number of months ago, I raised the issue of teaching First Aid to our youth who are in grades 9, 10, 11 and 12, and I’ve heard from a number of teachers where they thought this was a great idea. The schools would like to do this, but they’re unable to do it under the current funding model.

The question that really rises is why wouldn’t we be teaching them First Aid? It’s such a critical skill. How many skills out there do we learn over the course of our lifetime that we can say that skill can actually save someone’s life?

It’s been well written, well documented, well said many times over that even bad First Aid is better

than no First Aid. There are critical components of First Aid that are so meaningful. I look around the room and even across the territory, and First Aid has seen results by first responders who have taken even the basics, who have gone out and rescued and changed a person’s life by being able to be there to help them and save them.

These are skills that we could be giving back in a way where we’ll say we’re saving our community, we’re protecting our community, we are giving to our future. In short, the importance of such a skill is such a liberty that we should not be hiding it and keeping it confined to a very few. Let’s unshackle the inability for everyone to have it, and say today, this territory will lead by example, we will show the rest of Canada we are forward-thinking as a government and as a people, and we will teach all our students in grades 9, 10, 11 and 12 First Aid, because as I said earlier, the skill is a lifesaving skill and who knows, the life it may save may be one of ours. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. I just want to speak about the vacancy rates throughout the Northwest Territories and particularly my riding of Nahendeh. There is some recent documentation, I believe my colleague Mr. Bromley received, that shows that there's a 32 percent vacancy rate in our home ownership units throughout the Northwest Territories. That means that one out of every three homes that we’ve built remains empty. With respect to my constituency of Nahendeh, the vacancy rate is actually 25 percent, so one out of four homes that we built in Nahendeh remains empty to this day.

Especially with the riding that has the highest core need in the most recent Housing Needs Survey that we had, I think some of the solutions that we had in the past was having a community liaison worker in each of the communities as a part-time position. I believe that this will go a long ways; it did in the past. Whereas, if the community liaison worker is in the community addressing and working with the clients there, I know that as I’ve travelled to my communities, often when the regional staff make visits, they’re doing their best at making visits, their clients are out of town travelling and they miss their appointments. So they’re often asking me, when is Housing coming. I say, well, they were just here last week. They say, well, they didn’t know about it. However, a liaison worker will know this, will work with the clients; in fact, maybe even upping the number of applications that the corporation receives.

I would like to urge the Minister to look at the past practice, because we do want to house people. It’s a shame in the communities that I visit, there are empty houses and people are in need, and they’re seeing empty houses. I know the Minister has a strategy and I’d like to ask some questions during the appropriate time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It was to my surprise and great interest that on February 21st when I opened up the Inuvik Drum there was a very educational and historic story that was told by my father, and it was entitled The Mad Trapper Case Recalled. It’s about some oral history that’s never ever been told in the books, and I was really surprised to hear that my father decided to let the public know, and let the historians know, some of the things that had happened during one of the biggest stories in the Northwest Territories, and that was the Mad Trapper of Rat River.

This is something that my father had spoken to me about not too many years ago and was it was really interesting to hear, because everything that I ever knew about that whole story were things that I had read in books. So I was very impressed and very encouraged to hear my father speak up on something that a lot of historians did, and that he shared it not only with family members but with community residents in Inuvik and the Beaufort-Delta to share a little part of history here. Then I was even happier to see it in yesterday’s News/North, dated February 25th . This story is not

only shared in the Inuvik region, but it’s shared throughout the Northwest Territories.

With that, I’d like to encourage all elders within the Northwest Territories to share these types of stories so that our youth, and our historians, and people that are continuing to work to help with the culture and what the Northwest Territories is, can hear some of the real stories. Our history helps define us and makes us who we are. Much like my father who spoke up on his father and seemed to be very proud to share his story. Today in the House I’m very happy, I’m very proud to speak of my father on his courage to bring this story forward. Better late than never. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The urgent need for a complete restructuring at Stanton Territorial Hospital has been under review since before the last Assembly. We’ve patched cracks and tinkered with failing and mouldy systems for too long. It’s time to get serious.

Emergency physician and current CMA president Anna Reid has been quoted as saying, “there is no place in emerg for doctors to privately use a phone, not even enough surface space for a doctor to sit and fill out paperwork.” That’s the critical care portal at Stanton Territorial.

Patients wheel through the waiting room to X-ray, there’s room for only four crammed beds in the ICU unit. Files overwhelm office space and surgeries get backed up through long waiting lists for a lack of operating room time. The facility is poorly laid out for modern medicine, causing serious issues of safety, efficiency and privacy.

We strive to control travel costs, but then ship patients south for want of facilities here. The cost in employee stress and to patient care can only be imagined.

In August 2011, the Minister of Finance was quoted as saying, “Stanton needs some very, very critical work.” He estimated $200 million in needed renovations would extend the facility’s life by 15 years and cost $300 million less than replacing the hospital. We’re spending $1 million this year and we’ll be lucky to see $5 million next. That’s what, 20 or 30 years?

With elections won, where is the real money? Well, it will be paying for a bridge for 35 more years, 80 to 90 million dollars for the Inuvik-Tuk highway is on the spending list, with tens of millions more for yet more new initiatives. All new dollars while critical capital spending to meet human needs is postponed, delayed and deferred.

Stanton Territorial Hospital is the foundation of our most important and often most urgent medical facilities serving all of the citizens of this territory. Three hundred fifty million on a bridge, Tuk road and other new projects won’t save lives and ease suffering. The conditions at Stanton for patients and staff border on disgrace. Members have been calling for action from the Health Minister for a decade. Two hundred million dollars now to save $500 million later is a fiscal no-brainer.

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

---Unanimous consent granted

We’ve fiddled and faddled so long the midlife window for Stanton Territorial has

almost passed. The Finance Minister urges thrift today for a better tomorrow, but tomorrow is here.

I’ll be working with all Members to put the human needs of our constituents first on the list of our next capital budget and I will have questions for the Minister later today. Mahsi.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There’s a song sung by Johnny Cash. It goes “I walk the Line.” I believe today the people in the Sahtu are also walking the line. The Minister of ITI has clearly said no fracking, no development. That’s a clear indication not to frack, not to develop, but can we have it both ways? That is the question.

Many people are divided over the issue of hydraulic fracking. Some people think the social and environmental risks outweigh the benefits. Others believe that the benefits of development and continued oil and gas resources outweigh the risks. People need to decide.

The Northwest Territories is moving ahead to guide practices and make decisions about how we use this technology. Economic development has responsibilities. Are we prepared to be responsible?

Last fall the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment hosted a Sahtu Exploration Readiness Session in Norman Wells. This session brought together the land owners, the oil companies, and GNWT representatives to talk about the benefits of the Canol shale play and the upcoming winter activity that’s going to happen this season. It became clear that everybody has to work together to find solutions to the challenges and to advance the people of the Sahtu. Social issues and addictions prevented some people from benefitting from the economic activity. We must prepare not only for today’s exploration, but for long-term development and production. At the end of the session, participants agreed on some of the action items and the Government of the Northwest Territories has taken the lead on some of these important initiatives.

ITI was the lead on the Mackenzie Gas Project. We have an opportunity to apply some of the lessons learned from the pipeline readiness to the development of the Sahtu. The Sahtu Aboriginal people have developed a comprehensive regional strategy for addictions prevention and treatment. This is a serious challenge and the people are up for that challenge. We have already seen mining companies that cannot meet their hiring targets from socio-economic agreements because of lack

of skilled workers and other reasons, we are told. In order to deal with this challenge and to advance our people in this new development, we must be ready.

I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

There is great potential for the Sahtu in the Northwest Territories. We need to act wisely and make the best use of our time now. We have a chance to strike a balance and get things done now. In the words of Johnny Cash again, when he’s saying I walk the line, I also keep my eyes open all the time.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery.

I’d like to welcome our visitors in the public gallery here today. Thank you for taking an interest in our proceedings.

Item 6, acknowledgements. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment. We have an amazing group of people in Hay River who are highly interested in agriculture. I know the Minister has received a briefing from a very enthusiastic young lady, who has a market garden in Hay River, by the name of Jackie Milne who is now the president of the NWT Farmers Association. Ms. Milne has come up with an outline for training so that she can share her knowledge with others and encourage more interest in the idea of growing our own food, which we know is very, very possible here in the North.

The Northern Farm Training Institute is about to get underway. The Minister has heard the presentations. I’d like to ask the Minister what support ITI is offering for this new initiative to share this information with the surrounding communities and Hay River.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. David Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m going to have to be very nice on my answers to the Member here today, considering she’s going to be grading us tomorrow. We have met with Ms.

Milne when she was here in Yellowknife and my understanding is she is coming back to Yellowknife, I believe, on March 5th . Our department, and

hopefully myself, will be able to meet with her again. We are anxious to see her progress with her initiative and help out in any way that we can.

As I have mentioned a number of times in the House, we are moving forward with negotiating the Growing Forward 2 Agreement with the federal government, which will provide us $6 million over five years, and we’re hoping to access some of that funding to help with this initiative. Those discussions are underway.

I do thank the Minister for his interest in this topic. Everything can’t be about the non-renewable resource sector. We have to put some of our attention to renewable resources and small-scale operations.

I’d like to ask the Minister, within his department, what kind of human resources and resources are dedicated to this issue of agriculture.

Over the past four or five years, we’ve had many more staff working on agricultural initiatives. They’re balancing their workload with other things as well. I would be guessing, but I would say five staff in the area that would deal with this type of work on a day-to-day basis.

I think that it’s safe to say that agriculture is catching on across the Northwest Territories. We’ve always had the greenhouse in Inuvik. We hear wonderful stories coming out of Norman Wells. I think the real impetus and the real push for agriculture in the Northwest Territories, I have to give credit to the folks from Hay River who have kept this little struggling organization of the TFA alive, and have actually put their actions where their words are and have started market gardens and all kinds of different endeavours in that area.

I’d like to ask the Minister, does he not think that it would make sense to put the positions that are dedicated to agriculture in a place like Hay River.

As I mentioned, we have staff. They are multi-tasking on a number of economic initiatives here in the Northwest Territories. Certainly as things progress, and if we do have dedicated staff that are working in the area of agriculture on a day-to-day basis, it would certainly make sense for them to be located in Hay River.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Final supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m not intimately familiar with people in ITI and what they do, but I believe there is one long-term public servant in Yellowknife with ITI that has been

focused on agriculture. Certainly, we also have another long-term staff position in Hay River, which we do appreciate.

When you’re talking about decentralization around the table with respect to agriculture, has there been any consideration to supporting agriculture in Hay River by looking at decentralizing that one full-time position that we know about in Yellowknife?

We haven’t done that analysis on those positions, but it’s certainly, as I mentioned earlier, as we move forward we get the deal done with the federal government on Growing Forward 2 and we put more of an emphasis on agriculture, and we’re getting closer to the devolution deal being done, once that’s complete and we take over responsibility of land management here in the Northwest Territories, positions like that may certainly make a lot of sense for us to have. As to a location, I think I said it earlier that Hay River would certainly make a good case for those positions.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister responsible for the Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission. Some time ago, in September 2010, actually, the WSCC Safety Advisory Committee started a revision of the Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission’s Occupational Health and Safety Regulations. That’s a big mouthful. These regulations were definitely in need of updating.

There was considerable backlash when the first draft of the regulations was put forward for consultation. There was a great deal of input from many businesses, so the board heard the criticism and the safety committee went back and they revised the regulations.

They produced a report in January 2012 which recommends acceptance of the second revision of the regulations. That report on the regulations would have been forwarded to the two Ministers for WSCC prior to them coming into force. It’s my understanding that these regulations are still not in force. They have not yet been approved by the Ministers. This is a huge amount of work on the part of the WSCC Board and the WSCC Safety Committee and the stakeholders. I want to know from the Minister what the status of the revision and implementation of the regulations are.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Minister responsible for the Workers'

Safety and Compensation Commission, Mr. Jackson Lafferty.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First, I would like to commend those individuals who have been involved with providing input into this. It’s a very comprehensive and complex regulation system that is before us. There has been some input and amendments to the regulations themselves. Right now, as it stands, I have forwarded that to WSCC Board of Governors. They are meeting in early March in Iqaluit. They are going to be reviewing that and they will provide recommendations back to me. From there I need to work with the Nunavut Minister responsible for WSCC, my colleague. From there we need to move forward on the regulations.

To the Minister, I couldn’t agree more that we need to move forward on this. This has been two and a half years from start to the point where we are now and we still don’t have these regulations in force. The report went to the two Ministers one year ago, over one year ago, and I don’t understand what the holdup has been. I’d like to know from the Minister if he can explain to me why a report that is dated January 2012 has not yet been acted on.

As indicated, this is a very complex document. The Board of Governors will be reviewing it next week in Iqaluit and they will be reporting back to me, and I will be meeting with the chair and the counsel. My colleague from Nunavut as well. That’s where it’s at at the present stage.

I understand where things are at. I thank the Minister for his response. I guess I’m struggling with why they are where they are at.

The Minister stated that he is reviewing something and he’s going to send it back to the board. The report that came from the Safety Advisory Committee recommended acceptance of the regulations. What is the Minister currently reviewing and why does it have to go back to the board?

I have to work with various groups, whether it be the Safety Committee, the WSCC, the Governance Council, and also my colleague in Nunavut. It’s just a process that we’re going through. I realize that it is taking some time. Again, it is a complex issue but once it’s in my deliverance, then I need to consult with my colleague in Nunavut and possibly tabling the document, then we can move forward on the complex document that’s before us.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just have one question for the Minister and a nice, short question for the Minister at this point. When does the Minister expect that these regulations will come

into force, considering all the approvals that apparently have yet to be received?

They are meeting next week, the WSCC board council. Then once we get the report back, I need to hear them out as well. This came from the safety council, so from there we are hoping by this calendar year to deliver that package to part of the Assembly here. I will keep the Members up to speed on the process itself.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today I made a statement on devolution. I wanted to ask the Premier a question in terms of the status of groups that haven’t signed on to the AIP, including the Dehcho, the Akaitcho, and also the Tlicho regions that haven’t signed on. I wanted to know what the status is of the engagement process for those regions.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’re days away from having a devolution deal. I’ve written to all three of the Aboriginal governments. In order, I’ve written to the Dehcho First Nation a couple of weeks ago. Actually, I met with the grand chief at lunchtime today. We’ve agreed to a bilateral process to try to resolve outstanding land issues with the Dehcho First Nations, with the objective of getting the agreement for the Dehcho First Nations to sign on to devolution. We’ve had a number of meetings with the Tlicho and a similar offer has been made, inviting the Tlicho to sign on to devolution as well. They have responded with an offer. We are trying to set up a meeting for this week to try to finalize the arrangements. We also have written to the Akaitcho First Nations, and we have been trying to organize a leadership meeting to identify the issues that we need to discuss with the Akaitcho.

I wanted to ask the Premier what provisions is the government making to protect the interests of First Nations in the devolution process, given that most NWT First Nations do not have self-government agreements and most in the southern NWT do not have lands and resource agreements.

In our view, and the legal advice that we’ve been given, and with all of the non-abrogation clauses that we have concluded in the Devolution Agreement, we don’t feel that devolution will negatively impact on either negotiation of land claims or of self-government. Those negotiations will continue and there should be no negative impacts on those processes.

Perhaps this question will help in terms of bringing to light some of the positive impacts of devolution. What is the government’s target for the number of jobs transferred to the GNWT as a result of devolution? Positions that will be located outside of Yellowknife.

We have identified decentralization as a priority for this government. There are approximately 350 jobs that will be involved with devolution. Approximately 175 of those jobs are already located in the Northwest Territories. We expect approximately 175 or so jobs will be moved to the Northwest Territories. As part of the devolution negotiations, the Aboriginal partners that have signed on have clearly indicated that locating jobs to their regions where they come from will also be a very important consideration. As soon as we finalize our organizational design, and we’ve already identified the principles for decentralization, then we will identify where those jobs will go.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The question is: What scope is there for changes to the resource revenue sharing regime now and after a final agreement is reached?

We’re very close to finalizing a resource revenue sharing agreement between ourselves and the Aboriginal government partners that have signed on to the AIP. Once that is concluded, it will be very clear to everybody involved what kind of arrangements we have negotiated.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I hearken back the House’s attention to Committee of the Whole on Tuesday, May 29, last year. I had asked the Minister clearly, on the record, about possibly delivering support to school districts so they can teach their students, grades 9, 10, 11, 12, First Aid, by giving them the resources and empowering them to do this. There is an interest at the school level.

The response from the Minister on the record is that that’s something that they need to explore. It’s getting close to a year. What has the Minister found out on this particular question? Of course, these are obviously going to the Minister of Education. Thank you.

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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. These are part of courses that are being delivered throughout the communities. It’s not really part of the schools. Some of the schools are currently delivering these modules, the First Aid and CPR, so we encourage those individual students that are willing to take First Aid and CPR training, because a lot of them are being delivered in the communities. Whether it be through various training, heavy equipment or other training that’s happening in the community, they always provide WHMIS or First Aid or CPR training that’s happening.

That’s what we’ve found out from our research into the communities. That is what is being delivered as part of a training package within the communities.

I swear the Minister’s reading the same paper that I am, because his answer is almost identical to what he said back on May 29, 2012. I’m not sure what WHMIS and heavy duty equipment has to do with grades 9, 10, 11 and 12. I’m talking about building it into the school curriculum through their normal programming. I’ve had a number of teachers say that they’d like this.

What’s holding the Minister back from having a real dialogue that talks about delivering resources to schools so they can hire, for example, St. John Ambulance to deliver this training or even train within, to have instructors that do this?

When I talk about WHMIS and other training that’s happening in the community, there is always training happening in various communities and it does relate to First Aid and CPR as well. That’s what I was referring to.

Within our education system, currently there is no mandated requirement for students to take First Aid training. However, various boards and various schools are offering First Aid and CPR, and I commend them for that as well. At the same time, there is nothing stopping school boards or the schools to deliver that training, that First Aid and CPR. Like I said, it’s always happening at the community level. There is always training that’s pertaining to safety.

I’ve heard community so many times here today. I’m not talking about community; I’m talking about all education boards. That means all of them, not just one in particular. There is no mandate and, therefore, there is no technical support from the Department of ECE which can further support all education boards.

The Minister is correct; a few offered to a very few students. All students deserve this skill. What can the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment do to ensure this type of mandate and support gets out there to all our students and all our school boards from his department? What is he willing to do?

When I say communities, I’m talking about 33 communities that we service here in the Legislative Assembly. My department services eight school boards within the Northwest Territories, so I work closely with them.

Again, there are schools out there that are delivering First Aid and CPR and they continue to do that. When I say community, whether it be Yellowknife, whether it be Tsiigehtchic and a small community, you know, there are always, like, these different, various training programs from agencies that come in to deliver those programs. We, as a department, will continue to work with them and provide assistance in every fashion that we can, and produce those highly qualified people with safety standards. We do encourage those students to take advantage of those safety programs that are happening, whether they be in the schools or in the communities.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s clear the Minister is confused. He’s not the Minister of community. He is the Minister of Education, and that’s what I keep trying to say. It’s about mandate. There is no mandate; therefore, there is no support at the board level and at individual schools.

Would the Minister of Education be willing to expand the mandate and support the schools and the school boards who would like to deliver this program, because teachers tell me it’s a critical skill and there are youth that would like to learn this. It’s not a community-based program. It’s a school-based program I’m asking for.

If the school boards feel that it’s a critical part of the safety program, then they can deliver that in the schools. We provide annual funding to the school boards based on enrolment. So we will continue to support the school boards, the eight school boards that we have, and 33 communities. I must emphasize that I am Minister responsible for 33 communities, not only one school, so I have to be responsible for all 49 schools. Mahsi.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today in follow-up to my Member’s statement yesterday on last week’s devastating highway crash north of Fort Providence. The names of the families were released yesterday, and our thoughts and prayers reach out to those families.

In my questioning to the Minister of Health and Social Services and the Minister of Municipal and

Community Affairs, my questions will not deal directly with the accident itself, as it is still under RCMP investigation. However, they will deal with the level of medical knowledge of our Department of Transportation, of our highway workers, and the protocols of our emergency dispatch and support.

My questions today are for the Minister of Transportation. Due to the fact that we do not have a community highway emergency response program in the NWT, could the Minister of Transportation explain to the House if our highway road maintenance or their supervisors have been trained in the basics of First Aid responder care? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do know that the Government of the Northwest Territories has highway emergency learning protocols in place, and these describe responsibilities, by region, as to who will respond to emergencies on our highways, and these protocols are developed in partnership with our Department of Transportation, MACA, the Department of Justice and also Health and Social Services. As to the exact level of training of, say, a grader operator, they would certainly, I think, have different training than our highway patrol officers would have. But I could certainly get back to the Member and the House on what exact training each of our front-line staff has. Thank you.

I appreciate the Minister’s response. Can the Minister of Transportation indicate what are the protocols for the Department of Transportation when our workers are faced with an accident on our highways? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, they would just follow the protocols that are in place. If they come across an accident scene, they’re to alert the authorities and monitor things. Again, if the Member wants specifics, I would be more than happy to get him specifics. It is different between a highway patrol officer… We have a number of front-line staff out on our highways. We have highway patrol officers and also equipment operators, so it’s much different. Thank you.

Can the Minister of Transportation indicate what are the capabilities of our highway ground fleet in terms of communication? Do we have the capabilities of full communication or through dispatch along all our highway systems? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, as I am aware, our highway patrol officers are equipped with the best in communication equipment, and are able to communicate with other enforcement agencies in the territory and emergency response personnel in the territory.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The words of the Minister today are encouraging; however, we’ve heard a lot of generalities and I think there are lots of opportunities that we’ve heard today in terms of our training of our road fleet, possibly a review of our protocols with highway accidents when they first become a responder, and probably the needs to improved communication. Again, we’re hearing generalities. I think the Minister should endeavour to address this House and address the people in the Northwest Territories, but more specific. So I challenge the Minister if he’d like to provide that level of detail to this House and table it in the near future. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, we certainly have protocols in place when it comes to emergencies on our highway system; however, we don’t have those types of protocols when it comes to whether or not air rescue is brought into play. That is an area that we will continue to work on with the other departments that I mentioned earlier – Health and Social Services, MACA, Department of Justice – on enacting some protocols when it comes to air rescue. But for highway rescue, we do have protocols in place. Again, I’d be more than happy to share those protocols with the Members. We will get that to them as soon as possible. Thank you.

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

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Earlier I raised the issue about NWT Corporation home ownership units that are vacant. I’d like to ask the Minister responsible for NWT Housing Corporation what strategy is the department currently using to address these vacant units in our communities. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It was quite a growing concern a few years ago with the number of vacancies that we had in our home ownership portfolio. I always credit a lot of that to the good work done by the corporation in making use of the money that we got from Ottawa. We had to use the money or we would lose it, so we tried to get as many units on the ground, and that left us with the problem of trying to fill a lot of these vacant units.

I think in the last year or so, we’ve done a very good job in filling these units. We’ve converted

some of them over to public housing. We’re trying to find qualified clients to put into these units. We just had our intake here recently. The number escapes me, but I think we have about 21 potential approvals across the Northwest Territories. I think there are three in the Member’s riding.

We still realize that we have about 67 vacant units now. We’re going through the application cycle. We are hoping by end of summer to have as many people into those units as possible. If we can’t find clients for them, we may have to look at possibly converting them to public housing again. We’re also starting to use some to rent out to professionals that move to the communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, so the Minister was talking about the intake cycle. Is that complete now? Are they currently evaluating all of the clients to see if they can match them to the home ownership programs such as HELP and PATH right now? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, the Member is correct. The intake cycle is over. We are evaluating a lot of the applications. There are some that get approved fairly quickly because of the information they provide. There are some we still need to work on. I’m not quite sure when the exact evaluation of all applications is done. However, when it is, I will inform the Member and Members of the House. We will see, at the end of that cycle, how many vacant units we have and then our plan going forward with those. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, some of the issues that face my communities are they actually missed the deadlines. I had raised the issue of liaison workers in the communities. We had this program about six to eight years ago. I’d like to ask the Minister if he will review that and maybe even consider that once again. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, there was a program a few years ago. However, I think when it was determined that we were going to have government service officers in each community, part of their role was going to be exactly that, advising people of all the program deadlines and that with all government programs, including the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation. However, I can inform the Member that, as a corporation, we are looking at roles and responsibilities of our LHOs so we can better serve a lot of these smaller communities. We are developing proposals that we’re hoping to bring forward to committee for their input and see where we go from there. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. The Minister mentioned that the smaller

remote communities, too, even though they are much smaller, they do need assistance with the clients filling out the application, meeting the deadlines. I would like to ask the Minister if part of the strategy is to be aware of that. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, we’re going to review how we deliver our programs in the small communities. We want to ensure that our residents in the small communities feel like they are well served by the NWT Housing Corporation in filling out applications. I think we have said in the past that, if there is a need to supply translators so they know exactly what they’re getting into, then we will provide that too. There is still a little bit of work that needs to be done. I think we’re taking some good steps in ensuring all of our residents across the Northwest Territories have equal access to our programs, and have the opportunity to fill out all the proper applications by the deadline so they won’t miss qualifying for any of the programs that we offer. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just following up to my Member’s statement earlier, the North has a big history of work that the RCMP division has done not only in the Northwest Territories but across Nunavut and the Yukon as well. I’d like to ask the Minister of Justice if there’s any type of museum infrastructure or some room dedicated to all of the history, and the good work and significant events that the RCMP “G” Division has done in the North, and is there somewhere dedicated in the Northwest Territories that our residents and our public can be part of that history and learn that history. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Moses. The Minister of Justice, Mr. Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s a good question. Unfortunately, I don’t know if a room exists where this information can be displayed and shared. You’re right; the “G” Division has a long and distinguished history here in the Northwest Territories, from the lost patrol of Rat River, the Mad Trapper, travel up and down the Mackenzie River, travel into the Eastern Arctic when it was part of “G” Division. There is a real solid history here.

I have had an opportunity to travel to a number of the detachments and I’ve been in the detachments. Many of the officers in those buildings actually have a real connection to the past and you will see pictures and historical sort of documents available. But as far as where it’s all brought together and

whether it has been all brought together, I don’t know, but I will check with the RCMP to see how they present this information so that they can share their impressive history with all Northerners. Thank you.

Thank you, and I do agree with the Minister’s comments. We do have a very strong history of the RCMP here in the North and we’re well aware of that. I’d like to commend the Minister for going and taking a look at that, but would he be willing to dedicate a specific museum here in the Northwest Territories, perhaps through Yellowknife which is one of our hubs of all the communities? Would he be willing to dedicate some type of infrastructure towards the history of the RCMP “G” Division and all of their significant events, their members, lost members in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.

Thank you. I remember as a kid, going to the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre here in Yellowknife, they had a lot of fantastic displays, and one of the displays actually had a significant amount of RCMP history and memorabilia. I believe that display is now gone, but I would be happy to talk to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment to see about bringing those materials back together and creating a display that maybe could go to different museums throughout the Northwest Territories.

We do have a number of facilities that may be able to show a display like this, but I’d also be interested in talking to the RCMP to see how they would like some of their history presented.

Budget constraints being what they will, anything that’s going to cost money would have to go through committee for consideration. Thank you.

Thank you. Would the Minister not only look at the detachments here in the Northwest Territories, but also work with other jurisdictions that might have possibly taken some of the artifacts, some of the archives from the Northwest Territories when we didn’t have specific detachments here in the Northwest Territories and look at possibly bringing them back to the North? So our Northerners, our residents, can see those archives, see those artifacts, and be proud of the RCMP and the heritage that they have in the Northwest Territories. Would the Minister be willing to look at other jurisdictions and see what artifacts and archives should belong in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.

Thank you. Yes, I’d be, obviously, happy to talk to the RCMP about their history and where some of the historic items may exist. But I would also suggest to the Member that helping people in the Northwest Territories understand our history and the important work that “G” Division has done is only part of it. Getting that

information out to other people in the country is important.

“G” Division has a long history that stretches back as the Territories has become a smaller jurisdiction. So there are other individuals outside of what is the Northwest Territories now that have some history with “G” Division as well. I think if we could find a way to share that information, we should take that opportunity. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to follow up on my Member’s statement with questions to the Minister of Finance on the Stanton Hospital. We put tens of millions of dollars into a Fort Smith hospital and a Hay River hospital, and now, when we should finally be going after the long overdue Stanton Territorial facility, what are we doing? We’re building new highways on the most costly terrain known, paying off poorly-thought-out bridge infrastructure and pursuing other new and expensive projects.

I’d like a clear commitment from the Minister that this fall’s capital budget will contain a proposal for a full and comprehensive start and an end to nickel and diming this project forever. Will the Minister give us that assurance? Mahsi.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The territorial government and this Assembly have committed to a broad range of infrastructure development, and I agree with the Member that Stanton is our flagship when it comes to acute care. We’ve started the process, it’s been some time in the making, we’ve dealt with a lot of issues on an ongoing fashion, but we are now fully committed to engage in a process that will see an investment of at least $200 million to do a much needed midlife retrofit and the capital plan is coming forward. The Minister of Health and the Minister of Public Works, sitting to my immediate right here, are listening carefully to the discussion here today. As we come forward with the capital plan, it will reflect the importance of this project. Thank you.

Thank you. Thanks to our fiscal procrastination we are now passing the point of completing a half-life retrofit on this asset.

The Minister of Finance commented publicly that we need to spend $200 to avoid replacing the hospital for $500 million, but I’m sure everyone here will agree that’s very much lowballing the estimate of these costs. Many suspect our procrastinated

renovation may be pushing toward 300 and 400 million dollars in the billable amount, the longer we wait and current proposals are again nickel and diming. You’re stretching this out over decades, despite the Minister’s commitments.

So does the Minister agree that in the interests of both better patient care and wise fiscal management, we need to accelerate planning and implementation on this project starting in the next capital budget?

Thank you. We agree that this is our flagship, it’s a critical piece of health infrastructure. We’re laying out a plan that’s going to allow us to do much needed renovations and, at the same time, keep the operation in Stanton, for the most part, functioning and providing service, which is another critical piece that will add a time and complexity to the completion of the project. But, yes, we agree with the Member that we’d like to get this thing fully in the pipeline as fast as we can without compromising patient safety, and get this much needed project on the road to completion. Thank you.

Thank you. A strange kind of priority when we’re spending hundreds of millions of dollars on other projects and dragging this out over the decades. Because this is an operating and jam-packed hospital, carrying out the renovation during hospital hours will be difficult.

Does the Minister anticipate any extraordinary costs resulting from having to refer patients to southern institutions when wards, operating theatres, clinics, diagnostic and other facilities are closed for renovation? Mahsi.

Thank you. It clearly makes good management sense as we look at the scope of this project, and trying to maintain services as well as complete a major renovation and upgrade, that we have to look at other places, backups for services on a temporary basis, that we may have additional pressure on our medical travel and such. But that will be part of the planning and one of the reasons it’s taking time to get this project to the state that it is.

Once again, we agree with the Member that once we move down the path past the planning, once we get into this, the intent is to try to get it done as quickly as possible, but as well done as possible. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I agree with the Minister. We want to do this properly, we want to do it quickly, and we want to do is safely. How can we do that when we’re nickel and diming this project?

As we have been talking about, we’re talking about a fairly substantial number, a number that, at the end of the day, will exceed the cost of the bridge. We’re talking $200 million, possibly greater, to do this. We’ve committed the resources. It’s in the capital plan. The money has started to flow. We’re going to try to make sure the steps proceed in as timely a way as possible without compromising patient safety and efficiency, and making sure we can manage to run the hospital as we renovate around it.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement I talked about a song that Johnny Cash sang, called I Walk the Line. I want to ask the Minister of ITI, in light of the oil and gas exploration in the Sahtu, and I also talked about the people in the Sahtu walking the line. We are at the brink of having both development and protection of the area in the Sahtu. I understand the Minister is going to meet with the Aboriginal leaders who are involved in the Bakken shale play in April. I want to ask the Minister how he is going to bring this report back to us and report on it on how Aboriginal people are handling development on their land.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The trip that we envision in April to southeast Saskatchewan and to North Dakota would be to meet with Aboriginal leaders. I would certainly hope to have some Aboriginal leaders from the Sahtu accompany me on that trip so that we can meet with them there to see how Aboriginal people in the Bakken have benefited from development on their land. That is something that we certainly look forward to and I certainly hope the Member can make some time in April to come with us.

I’ll have to check my schedule and get back to the Minister on that. I certainly would like to go with the Minister to the Bakken field.

I want to ask the Minister, with the government’s increased budget for programs and services, and that’s one of ITI’s mandates, I want to ask the Minister how his department coordinates activities with other departments since the oil companies said the oil plays in the Sahtu are encouraging and they want to further develop those areas.