Good afternoon, colleagues. Before we proceed with the orders of the day, I wish to make a ruling on the series of written questions submitted by the Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses, on Monday, March 4, 2013.

Mr. Moses and all honourable Members need to be reminded of and respect your rules governing written questions. Written questions may only contain one initial question and four supplementary questions. Members may not circumvent this rule by simply renumbering their questions into smaller subsections. This is contrary to the spirit and intent of your rules.

I must rule Mr. Moses’ initial series of questions out of order, as they did not conform to the rules. After I brought these limitations to Mr. Moses’ attention, he continued with “new written questions to the Minister of Health and Social Services’ which did, in fact, adhere to our rules and I will allow these questions to stand. However, I will ask Mr. Moses to resubmit his earlier series of questions in a proper format on a subsequent day.

I would ask all Members to keep these parameters in mind as you formulate future written questions. Thank you.

Item 2, Ministers’ statements. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Beaulieu.

Mr. Speaker, few social issues are more visible in a community than those that stem from addictions.

Not one community in the entire Northwest Territories can claim to be free from the health and social problems caused by addictive behaviours.

That is why prevention and enhancing established treatment facilities in the NWT are priorities of the 17th Assembly.

Homelessness, poverty, violence and chronic disease all become part of the cycle of addictions that destroy lives and communities.

Our government spends over $9 million annually on counselling and treatment. The department continues to enhance existing programs to provide treatment and solutions to addictions. Unfortunately, many residents still suffer and are unable to break free from alcohol and drugs. Mr. Speaker, it is time for a different approach. We need to encourage more personal responsibility and provide more support to those who make the choice to remain clean and sober.

We want our people to stop suffering and to have access to treatment that works, so that they can become productive members of society and proud residents of the NWT.

That is why we have taken a stand and established the Minister’s Forum on Addictions and Community Wellness. Mr. Paul Andrew chairs the forum and its 11 members come from across the NWT. Members break into teams to hear from the residents who have firsthand knowledge about the damage addictions can cause. We want people to share their ideas about solutions that will work in their communities.

The forum has already visited Fort McPherson, Hay River, Enterprise, Fort Resolution, Hay River Reserve, Lutselk’e, Fort Smith, Fort Good Hope, Norman Wells and Deline to seek out answers to addictions issues.

Common themes so far are the need for parenting skills, cultural activities for youth, and on-the-land activities for families. We realize that we have to adapt these ideas for each community, as there is no single solution.

This is an important first step in implementing our Mental Health and Addictions Action Plan, A Shared Path Towards Wellness.

We will hold discussions in every region of the Territories. The focus will be on what works for our people and our communities. We will talk to people who are sober, people who are struggling with

addictions, and family members who experience firsthand what living with addictions is like.

Communities have developed effective practices and responses to addictions and mental health issues that need to be supported. I want to know what makes people stop drinking and want to live a healthy, fulfilling life.

The forum will make recommendations on the direction of community-based addiction programs by May 1st . The final report will provide advice

about how to enhance our territory’s community-based addictions programs. I look forward to reporting its results to this Assembly. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Minister of Human Resources, Mr. Abernethy.

Mr. Speaker, the universal skills required to lead people, champion innovation and manage change are becoming even more important, given the GNWT’s complex and ever-changing work context. These skills combine with our staff’s technical skills and knowledge to make them strong, capable leaders. I am pleased to announce that our new Senior Management Competency Model will guide the development of management expertise within the public service as we work to achieve the 17th Assembly’s vision and

goals.

The Senior Management Competency Model provides a description of the patterns of behaviours that are valued by the GNWT and are required for success as a senior manager in the public service. A senior manager means a job with titles such as deputy minister, president, chief executive officer, assistant deputy minister, director and superintendent.

Mr. Speaker, we all expect both leadership and management from the top levels of government. Based on those two qualities, the senior management competencies define how managers can be successful in their roles.

Leadership excellence focuses on personal and interpersonal conduct, how to strategically think about problems and strategies, and building relationships with stakeholders to achieve the goals and priorities that are important to Northerners.

Management excellence focuses on setting a plan in motion and getting it done. That means creating the conditions to allow people to achieve results and maximizing effectiveness and sustainability of our human, financial and environmental resources.

Mr. Speaker, creating an effective and efficient government is a priority of the Legislative Assembly. The new competency model supports

the objectives of the NWT Public Service Strategic Plan, and provides a solid business foundation to transform our strategic human resource processes, from hiring to succession planning. Our expectations for senior managers will be clear and we’ll give staff the help they need to develop as leaders.

Training for senior managers on the new competencies is scheduled for March. Our next steps are to develop a competency model for all other GNWT roles that will work hand in hand with the ePerformance module of PeopleSoft. ePerformance, approved through the Department of Human Resources’ 2012-13 Capital Estimates, will streamline our manual performance evaluation process and support the performance management process for all departments and agencies.

Mr. Speaker, as we work together to build a strong, sustainable future for our territory, the Senior Management Competency Model is an important public service investment. It will support our staff to meet the needs of all of our residents as they provide critical programs and services throughout the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment continues to improve its income security programs to ensure that residents of the Northwest Territories receive the support they need to tackle barriers they face to enter the workforce and meet their financial needs.

In April 2009, the office of the Auditor General began its financial and performance audits of income security programs in the Northwest Territories, completed in September 2012. In anticipation of recommendations coming from the audit, the department has already begun work to improve accountability and streamline services.

To highlight some of the recent changes we have already made, we improved upon the Child Care User Subsidy program by including it as an enhanced benefit under the Income Assistance program. We have increased child care rates, introduced shorter payment wait times, and are supporting part-time daycare. We have also made the program more flexible to accommodate our clients who work more than the standard work week. Mr. Speaker, we are very pleased to announce that, as a result, participation in the program has increased by 56 percent. These changes also support our early childhood

development initiatives targeted at raising healthy children.

In December 2012, the department set up a new exemption for clients that receive Impact Benefit Agreement, Treaty and land claims payments up to $500 per household. This is in addition to the annual $1,200 exemption. Neither of these exemptions affects clients’ benefit levels. This change recognizes that these monies should actually benefit those who are affected by development and not penalize those at a lower income level.

I am also happy to announce a partnership with the Department of Justice to allow fully eligible clients to pay for criminal record suspensions as an income assistance benefit. This partnership will assist clients in attaining valuable employment and help to strengthen the Northern economy.

Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize the client service officers who deliver this program across the territory. These workers often come from the community and face enormous stress every day to balance the need for supporting people’s progress and the need to account for program expenditures. As a rule, they treat people with respect and dignity and diligently focus on promoting healthy and productive choices for their clients.

We recognize that we have more work to do to meet the needs of our income assistance clients. With the pending recommendations from the Auditor General and the improvements we are already making, I am confident we are on the right path to ensure we have healthy, educated people free from poverty. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Item 3, Members’ statements. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Hay River Community Channel is owned by the Hay River Community TV Society and is licensed for their channel on an annual basis. The daily operation and funding to run the community channel, also known as Hay River’s Green Screen, is donated by the Hay River Elks Club.

The Hay River Community TV Society is a member of an organization – and this is where this gets interesting – called CACTUS. CACTUS stands for Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations, which was created to educate consumers to improve access by Canadians to two specific media services: local media, especially

video and television programs, and media production training and equipment at the local level, especially video and television.

CACTUS approached the CRTC a little over a year ago regarding seven communities in Canada that are members of CACTUS and operated a community service channel the same or similar to the Hay River channel. They requested a review of small community channels, suggesting that the community content in smaller communities was being lost. Can you believe the CRTC passed a ruling that Bell Expressvu would take on these seven community channels and order them to run on Bell satellite? Hay River was one of those seven communities and now is being televised coast to coast.

The challenge is that volunteers like Gary Hoffman, who is with the Elks, have been doing this all on their own. It’s a non-profit organization; it’s pretty low key. If you go on the Hay River Community Channel you can play bingo on Tuesday nights. We have people contacting us, asking us to send them bingo cards down south because they’re not from Hay River. The Anglican Church tapes their services on Sunday mornings and plays it Sunday afternoon. Then there are community announcements which rotate on there. It’s kind of low key. Town council has a live feed for town council on Monday nights.

I’ve had friends and relatives from down south contact me for weeks, saying that Bell has been promoting the fact that there is a new Hay River channel coming on. They’re going, what’s going to be on it? Well, I didn’t know it, but it’s the community channel that’s going to be running and it’s gone live. They’ve already flipped the switch.

We have this amazing opportunity, and would you believe that the channel is 649? We have won the lottery in Hay River with this channel. The Northwest Territories has won the lottery. If we can use this 24-hour channel and we can get some staff into that office to run it, can you imagine how much we can publicize Hay River and the Northwest Territories? I’m obviously going to be asking the government for some money to get this going and get a paid position.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last December the Yukon Court of Appeal issued a very important ruling on the duty of the Crown to consult with First Nations. The Ross River Dene case concerned the Yukon court’s Mining Act. This act provides for a free entry system by allowing an

individual to physically stake a claim and then record it. The officials have no discretion to refuse to record a claim unless certain technical requirements are not met. The court found that the Yukon government does have duty to consult with First Nations when recording claims in asserted traditional territory. This decision calls into question the Yukon’s entire mineral rights system.

Others have also questioned the fairness of free entry systems generally. In the NWT we also have a free entry system which is now governed by the Canada Mining Regulations. The Yukon decision should make us ask whether the federal regulations also fail to reflect the duty to consult with First Nations.

It is my understanding that the Canada Mining Regulations will continue to apply in the Northwest Territories after devolution, possibly in the form of mirrored legislation. It concerns me that we could be taking on legislation that does not reflect Aboriginal rights.

It is critical that mineral development in the GNWT involve consultation with First Nations, by both government and industry. We need to make sure our legislation reflect this and this could mean we need to make some changes. I hope we are prepared for this.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I want to highlight the work of a young Frame Lake constituent. Ms. Jazzy Hans is a 10-year-old student at J.H. Sissons School and she has taken the occasion of the annual Heritage Fair at her school to follow her Olympic dream.

Jazzy decided to do research about her role model, Christine Sinclair. After Ms. Sinclair’s performance at last summer’s Olympics, hopefully Members know that she is a spectacular Canadian Olympic soccer forward, that she plays for the Portland Thorns Football Club and is captain for the Canadian National soccer team.

Jazzy has been hard at work writing letters to various people in Yellowknife, including me, her MLA, and members of the soccer community in the NWT. As part of her research, she’s also asking Ms. Sinclair to come and visit Yellowknife. Jazzy’s Heritage Fair activities are a great example of project-based experiential learning, learning that positively engages our students.

Heritage fairs in the NWT are coordinated by the NWT Heritage Fairs Society, and the society is a volunteer-based organization dedicated to encouraging young people to explore and share the

history of their family or their community, as well as the heritage of people and places of the Northwest Territories. The opportunity to take part in a heritage fair is enriched when students explore a personal connection to their heritage, like my young constituent, Jazzy Hans, has done. Heritage fairs present opportunity for students to create projects about persons, places, events and traditions of the Northwest Territories or Canadian history, culture and heritage.

These projects encourage students to develop good research skills using a wide variety of sources. Projects are intended to encourage students to pursue topics that have a meaningful connection to their lives. Research that goes beyond the use of books and the Internet is encouraged and it may involve various skills such as interviewing, collecting artifacts, photography and so on, including writing letters.

Over the years, heritage projects have proven to be a very engaging way to make learning meaningful. Families, multi-generations of community members and students all benefit from the conversations and the resulting projects and displays.

Students can participate at three different levels of fairs. The first is class, school or community, the second level is regional, and the third level is territorial. Jazzy, by taking part in any one of these, can be considered for the territorial showcase, which will be held this May in Fort Smith.

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

---Unanimous consent granted

I ask all Members to join me in wishing Jazzy good luck with her Olympic soccer hero Heritage Fair presentation. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to touch base from what we heard yesterday in Committee of the Whole and what the Transportation Minister, Mr. David Ramsay, said during his opening budget comments on the northern portion of the Mackenzie Valley Highway system.

Admittedly, the Minister clearly has indicated that we have reached what he referred to as an important crossroad on this project. For the record, I agree. According to the Minister, the formalities of the environmental approval is imminent for the project to go forward, and with 85 percent of the design of the highway complete, the department has now sent a postcard to the Prime Minister’s

office of an updated cost estimate of $299 million. I guess we better start ordering the party hats, or should we?

I stood in this House on a number of occasions now, and I said I would support this project if the math was sound and if all the risk was clearly laid on the table. I stand firm on this commitment to the people of the Northwest Territories. I wish I could rejoice with the Department of Transportation on this announcement, but I do have some grave concerns on the current math that is before this House, and I further have questions on the lack of the formal risk matrix of the project.

With all the excitement in trying to rush for the upcoming construction season, Minister Ramsay has failed to provide to this House the formalities of what is still unknown about this project such as:

• With 85 percent design completed in

preparation of this updated cost estimate, what if the remaining 15 percent of the highway is plagued with design issues or complications?

• Does the cost-sharing agreement with the

government take into consideration the already $12 million spent by taxpayers in doing our due diligence for this project?

• Do we know for certain what total royalties will

be paid to the Inuvialuit Land Administration for buying their gravel?

• What should happen to the cost-sharing

agreement with the territorial taxpayers if the project exceeds $299 million of that threshold?

• Are we accountable for 100 percent of the

overages?

As well, the Auditor General of Canada was very clear on her analysis of the Deh Cho Bridge that our risk matrix for that project was, indeed, very poorly conceived and practically useless, so where is the risk matrix for this northern portion of the Mackenzie Valley Highway system? Have the people had a chance to look at this yet and ask the appropriate questions? One only has to look at our historical report card on projects on the Deh Cho Bridge and the E-3 School to realize that our government’s performance and cost overruns on large-scale projects speaks for itself.

All the public wants is a fair and reasonable presentation of all the facts before this government pressures this House to hurry on closing this deal. Therefore, it is with protecting the public purse in mind that I’ll be asking some of these fundamental questions to the Minister of Transportation later today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Previous programs to help businesses acquire renewable energy equipment and technology have been cut back. These programs promoted business prosperity and success, by cutting the consumption and high costs of electrical and heat energy. Given our reliance on fossil fuel, greenhouse gas production is also cut, an important bonus. But even with adequately funded programs, many businesses can’t take advantage because they lack the seed funds to go ahead. Programs provided up to $10,000 for projects of up to $40,000, but first you need to have the $30,000.

The savings available from improved technology are no mystery. Our Arctic Energy Alliance and equipment suppliers can document the savings to be achieved. There’s even a phrase, “the payback period,” the time it will take for the savings from bills to pay the cost of buying and installing the new equipment.

Other progressive utilities have programs to overcome the problem of business cash flow by upfronting the cost of the new equipment. The loan is paid back from the savings realized over the payback period. The customer continues to pay the same higher energy bill they would have anyway, and the loan is paid down by the amount the new lower differs from the average former bill. When payback is complete, energy bills drop.

This is just one example of the program innovations that are old news across the South, lessons waiting to be learned. Simple, progressive and, above all, tailored to the realities of doing business in the Northwest Territories.

One opportunity is a more proactive and progressive approach by our utilities. We are already bankrolling our wholly owned Power Corporation with massive taxpayer subsidies because it produces power at a huge loss. The Town of Hay River’s economic development coordinator was recently quoted as saying that high energy costs are the biggest disincentive to new business start-up and the biggest damper on business success. Families suffer because these high costs must be passed on in consumer prices.

Our new Energy Strategy is still in the works and there’s time to do the research, to cost the programs and include some new ideas. The last expensive review of NTPC took us nowhere, we’re still shovelling in taxpayer money. Without progressive action, it should be no surprise that as we wait for volatile fossil fuel costs to take off again, we will sink ever deeper.

I’ll be looking for a serious, innovative and helpful funded approach to a new energy program for

businesses in the upcoming Energy Strategy. Mahsi.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m going to continue on today with some of the findings that I had read in the Mental Health Act. What brought me to there is how many people are slipping through the cracks in the Northwest Territories. When I read the document it raised a lot of questions and I tried to get some of those addressed in my written questions yesterday.

Some of the questions that came across to me that I wanted to make sure that our government knew and the people of the Northwest Territories knew about were protocols. What are our protocols in the small communities in the health centres when nurses, lay dispensers, RCMP, peace officers what they have to deal with when they deal with somebody who has a mental disorder in a small community. Specifically, somebody in an isolated community where it takes a lot of time to get into that community to get it addressed.

Another couple questions were in terms of psychiatrists. We heard yesterday that we have two full-time psychiatrists, one full-time psychiatrist who made up of a group of locums that come from down south, and do these locums understand what our protocols are in the emergency rooms, in the hospitals, in the health centres?

Under the Mental Health Act, when we talk about the interpretations of what a psychiatrist is, another question that came to me was whether or not the Minister had approved any qualifications of anybody that can become a psychiatrist and has he made any of those appointments to date or approved them.

Other things that I was really concerned about was the time in which a written report was to be sent to the Minister’s office for the detention of anybody that would be going to the emergency, to the jails, to the health centres; that a written report on the detention of certain individuals that would be under the Mental Health or that might be showing mental disorders and that they can be detained; and whether a written report within that 24-hour time frame was sufficient enough to detain that individual; and whether or not these psychiatric assessments could be completed within a 24-hour period, at the same time writing that report, and whether that needs to be looked at and amended in the Mental Health Act so that we are providing the best services and programs. I will have questions

later today for the Minister of Health and Social Services on those issues. Thank you.

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

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It’s been well documented, and I’ll repeat it again, I certainly support the Inuvik-Tuk Highway Project as a project and I believe very strongly in the aspirations of the people of the Beau-Del region. I think they deserve their project in their own way and, in time, I have great confidence this project will come.

So when I talk about the Inuvik-Tuk highway I only talk about it as in the context of the work that still needs to be done. There are many details and many questions that still are outstanding, and no matter how we try to poke away and get to the facts or to the bottom of these issues, the threads keep unwinding and we still are not given the true story of the risk of this project.

I call the government to lay before the House and the people of the Northwest Territories a plain language document, one that discusses the risks, one that talks about the government’s plan to mitigate the risks. This is not a hypothetical situation. These are realities before any large, major project. These are jobs that they would do anyway. The people of the Northwest Territories need to know and understand what deal has the Government of the Northwest Territories brokered with the federal government.

We have to understand what happens if cost overruns do not meet the expectation of the $299 million on sale highway for the Inuvik-Tuk highway. This is not a deal held firm and held strong by targets, this is a deal where the Government of Canada will leave the people of the Northwest Territories hanging if cost overruns skyrocket.

I want to use the opportunity to harken the Members of this Assembly back to January 20, 1985. I received some documents from the Minister of Transportation that reflect this next point. If things are missing, I point the finger at the department for missed gaps. So I’m working, simply, with the information before me. It says, “DIAND shall be responsible for approving and providing funding for…,” and if you go to one of the clauses, it says, “the construction of a new bridge at the Yellowknife River,” and we’re referring at Fort Providence, so we’d be referring to the Deh Cho Bridge.

Well, if I go back to the first statement, “DIAND shall be responsible for providing funding for…,” you can see how well that deal worked out for us.

We have a $202 million project that even they said in their transfer agreement that they would be behind.

There are many, many questions before this project. It’s not a question do we like the project, we just want to make sure it gets off in the right way. Thank you very much.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to welcome a former resident of Inuvik, Mr. Dez Loreen. Welcome to the gallery, Dez.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mr. Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also would like to welcome a former resident of Inuvik, Mr. Dez Loreen, who also was a student youth councillor when I was on town council at one time, and a very good advocate for Inuvik in terms of reporting the news as well as other information that’s happening around Inuvik, Northwest Territories. Welcome, Dez, to the House. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Moses. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize today, probably no stranger to anyone, Mr. Kevin Wallington from Hay River, former town councillor now the big push on the Polar Egg initiative here in the North and a close family friend. You know he’s a close family friend when he’s a groomsman in both my sons’ weddings. I’d like to welcome him here today.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Today I would like to welcome, too, Dez Loreen. Welcome to the House, Dez. It’s always good to see people from back home. Also, Mr. Colin Eade, our good friend from New Zealand, our counterpart from New Zealand. This is his last day here today in the House. Safe travels back home. I’d like to welcome all visitors in our public gallery here. Thank you for taking an interest in our proceedings.

Item 6, acknowledgements. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Health and

Social Services. Quite frankly, I’d just like to ask the Minister how the Mental Health Act is being enforced in small communities where there is no psychiatrist and, in some cases, no nurses to complete a psychiatric evaluation or assessment, specifically in the isolated communities.

Thank you, Mr. Moses. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Mental Health Act is something that we, in the Department of Health, recognize we need to have a lot more resources to be able to address every single issue that can be covered under the Mental Health Act. The act allows us to do a few things within the act. Some with the assistance of a nurse, if there is a nurse in the community, with the assistance of a peace officer, RCMP. Individuals who are reported to have some mental health issues could be apprehended by the RCMP, evaluated by a nurse, if that is what is available. In the small communities we use the resources that are available to try to follow the Mental Health Act if there are mental health issues.

The Minister flowed perfectly into my second question in terms of evaluation put on by the nurses. In the Northwest Territories we have eight communities that do not have a resident nurse. When we come up with these issues dealing with someone with a mental disorder, what is put in place for those eight communities where there is no resident nurse readily available to do that assessment? What is the protocol for the communities that do not have a nurse, that can’t provide that type of assessment?

Previously, in the small communities, we had used lay dispensers to assist us in all of the physical health and mental health aspects. Those positions have been converted into community health workers. In those communities where we don’t have nurses, we have community health workers. Community health workers are used to try to address as many of the mental health issues that may arise in those small communities where there are no nurses.

Can I get a confirmation from the Minister that all the lay dispensers underneath the Mental Health Act were actually transferred to the new job term health workers, and whether these health workers are covered under the Mental Health Act to provide those types of services, and whether they’re going to amend that changing and add health workers to the Mental Health Act so that they understand they’re covered for any type of liability to provide any type of emergency services?

The main function of the community health worker definitely is physical health and the addressing of physical health. Mental health is an issue that sometimes the

mental health worker would have limited knowledge of what to do in a situation and would have to draw on regional resources. In some of these communities, however, we have community wellness workers that can also be used to try to address people that are suffering from mental health issues in the communities. It’s very difficult to have all the right resources and all of the right communities to be able to address mental health issues.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final supplementary, Mr. Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When an individual is brought to a health centre emergency room by a peace officer or someone in the community under a mental health disorder, a written report has to go to the Minister’s office to ask for the individual to be detained. How is this addressed in the small communities when we have, possibly, communication challenges as well as somebody in the community possibly not being able to fill out the proper forms and allowing these people to get back out into the public when they really do need the help? How is this addressed with these written reports and does he feel a 24-hour period is sufficient enough to get the assessment and the report done?

Thank you, Mr. Moses. I want to remind the Members, short supplementary. Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In those situations, although I can’t specifically recall receiving any reports from RCMP officers that have apprehended somebody under the Mental Health Act, I do know that we have a director within the system who would maintain a registry of any of these type of encounters or issues that result from an individual that may be apprehended and then the report is provided through the office. The reports don’t come directly to me but should eventually make their way. I don’t believe that 24 hours is a sufficient time in the small communities to allow that report to go through the director, registrar, and then over to the Minister’s office.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are directed to the Minister for the social envelope committee, Mr. Abernethy. Late last year a draft Anti-Poverty Strategy was released. There has been review and comment on that document from organizations, and I understand public feedback was formally collected through a survey, some focus groups and even street interviews. Could the Minister update us on the

current status of the Anti-Poverty Strategy, and when we can expect to see a new draft and when the completed strategy will be coming to this House?

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Minister of Justice, Mr. Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member is correct; a draft came out in December. It was a rough draft and we’ve taken it out for public consultation and discussion, and we’re seeking feedback and input on that. Much of that has now come in.

On behalf of the steering committee, we’ve got a team of dedicated staff who are actually finalizing a draft. We will have the final product out on March 31st . We will have a draft done before that which,

hopefully, we’ll have an opportunity to share and discuss with committee and other stakeholders.

I guess the draft should be coming out very soon, obviously, if the final is expected by the end of the month. This time frame stretches us, I would say, based on that, into the spring, and yes, we want to get it right to have a strategy that public groups can support and be ready to resource the strategy adequately.

The budget address noted that funding for a strategy would be brought forward as a supp before the next main budget, which is good news. Since we’re gathering comment on the final draft strategy now, will the Minister commit to contracting peer review from outside experts so that we can get the benefit of experienced input from those familiar with other jurisdictions’ efforts and ensure our strategy is the best it can be?

The first step is to get the foundation document done, which will be March 31st . That will be available for public distribution at

that point. The second step is with the steering committee that’s been established that includes members from the Anti-Poverty Coalition as well as Aboriginal governments and other organizations. We’re going to continue to work with them and our working group to actually pull together a response to the framework which will be our action plan which will identify what things the government and other groups need to do to fight and combat poverty here in the Northwest Territories.

As the Minister of Finance indicated, we expect there to be some financial implications of that but we don’t know what those are yet and it’s too early to assume what the working group and steering committee are going to come up with. Once that’s done, we’ll be coming back to the House for some further discussion on what we need to fund in that area.

As far as a peer review, we are but a partner in this project. We are working with NGOs and different organizations, and we are relying on the steering

committee for a significant amount of direction on moving forward. If they are interested in peer review, it is something that we would certainly be interested in talking about, but we do have a desire to get this out as quickly as we can. We have done a significant amount of research with our partners and they will be involved throughout the whole process. They are the stakeholders out there who are dealing with people on a day-to-day basis. I’m not 100 percent sure that a peer review is going to be 100 percent necessary, but we look to the steering committee for some advice.

Thanks to the Minister’s comments. I’d say that’s being a responsible partner, being willing to discuss that idea. There are a number of strategies out there, as the Minister knows, that are very successful and others that are not. We’d prefer to be in the former category. We know this strategy needs to be not only an action plan for integrated cross-government action to reduce the alarming poverty and growing inequity in NWT society. It also needs to fully involve Aboriginal government partners and the business community. I know the Minister has a particular interest there. The need to raise the awareness of society at large, the benefits of reducing poverty is clear.

How will the Minister enhance the energetic participation of Aboriginal governments and business partners, and how does he intend to sell the benefits of poverty reduction as the strategy moves to being released?

The Member is right; that is pretty much exactly what we’re going for, which is why we’ve engaged a steering committee that does have Aboriginal government representation as well as NGO engagement. We have been, and I have personally been, sending letters to the different Aboriginal governments and organizations of the Northwest Territories seeking additional input. We had Aboriginal governments involved in the working groups as well. I will continue to do that. We know that is critical. We know we have to engage all of our partners.

With respect to industry, our steering committee does have a member of the NWT Chamber on it and I have had a discussion with him personally, indicating how important this is to us and how important it is that we have business engaged. We maybe haven’t had as much engagement from business and industry as we have hoped, but we will continue to push and I will continue to talk to industry representatives and Aboriginal government representatives at every opportunity. We are developing a comprehensive communications plan which we will use to get more of that information out and seek input, and the next step is still coming, the development of an action plan which we plan to engage all of our partners on.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Final supplementary, Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just a comment. I found in these sorts of things that local businesses are the ones that are the real workhorses in this area of social responsibility. Keeping all departments coordinated in the development of the strategy has been a major challenge.

Will the Minister build in the creation of a funded secretariat to introduce the strategy, guide its integration into our programming, and do the evaluations we’ll need for continued improvement, working with our partners, of course?

The government will have a continued involvement in the implementation of any action items that come out of the foundation. I won’t commit to a secretariat, but I will commit that the government will maintain being actively engaged. We will work with our partners as we move forward and we’ll continue to monitor the results. Without seeing the final plan, it’s a little hard to say exactly how that’s done. We expect some recommendations on how to monitor it and move forward with it to actually come from the steering committee as part of the action plan.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Given the circumstances of the time for the NWT kind of moving toward devolution, at the same time, economically speaking, we’re trying to develop a strategy. Part of that is to develop a mining strategy. My question is to the Minister of ITI.

Given the concerns raised about free entry mining system in the Yukon and elsewhere, has this government started any research into what we will need to do to make sure the NWT mining legislation reflects the duty to consult with First Nations?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Government of the Northwest Territories is monitoring the situation in the Yukon. We have to continue to analyze the implications of this decision over the next little while, and we certainly have to be cognizant of the implications that it could have here in the Northwest Territories. We are following this and we are paying close attention to what’s happening in the Yukon.

Has this government started any research on what alternative approaches to the

mining regulations are out there other than the free entry system?

As I mentioned to MLA Nadli earlier, we continue to analyze this decision. We have to make sure that we know what the full implications are of that decision, and of course, the Government of the Yukon has appealed. We are following this along as it happens, and we need to pay very close attention to decisions that are made in the Yukon and how they may impact us here in the NWT.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. I’d like to go back to something that I’ve been talking about for quite some time. Since the 16th Assembly, I’ve been

after the Minister and the government to increase minimum wage and to bring us on a par, or at least close to par, with the rest of Canada. We did have an increase in our minimum wage on the 1st of April

of 2010, and then again on the 1st of April of 2011.

They were, thankfully, not an April fool’s joke.

Since 2011, I’ve been anticipating the development and the publication of a department policy to guarantee regular increases to minimum wage so we don’t have to lobby for it every three years. In 2010, the Minister specifically said in a Minister’s statement, the department is considering ways to implement future increases that will see regular and reasonable increases linked to other economic factors such as inflation and cost of living. I’d like to know from the Minister whether or not the department has acted on that promise.

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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. When we first introduced the minimum wage increase, there has been a very positive vibe in the Northwest Territories. Although it’s just a small increment, at the same time, we’re trying to be compatible to other jurisdictions. We have been working on this incremental comparable to other jurisdictions, as well, what kind of mechanism do they have in place, so we’ve done our research in that area. The standing committee also provided some suggestions to the department on the recommended method. We are working on that and also working with employers and employees, just various representatives on this particular topic. It is anticipated that a committee will be established to

begin work in the spring of this year. That’s the target date.

Thanks to the Minister for the update. The Minister said that a committee will be established and start work in the spring. I need to ask the Minister what this committee is intending to do and what work they will be undertaking.

When we first discussed this particular area where we should have a format where on an annual basis the increment to the minimum wages, how it’s going to be reflected and when is that going to be happening. The committee will be established to look at those areas and how we can make those changes, and working with various provincial counterparts as well as territorial. Those are some of the anticipated discussions that will be taking place. It will be established in the spring of 2013.

I’m struggling to understand the Minister’s response. I think I heard him say this committee will be established and it will be looking into how to set up something to have regular increases to minimum wage. Could I get him to clarify for me? Is that the intent of this committee?

This Assembly wanted us to set up a mechanism to reflect on the wage incremental on an annual basis, a wage increase. We’re trying to establish that through our networks, through our research, through various discussions with employers and employees, and also the representatives of the Northwest Territories. That’s what we’re embarking on, and we’re going to be establishing a committee to deal with that.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister. I’m hearing that this committee will be established and I gather that it’s a permanent committee. It will look at increasing minimum wages on a regular basis, I gather.

I’d like to know from the Minister how many people are part of this committee. I would think it would be rather cumbersome, and I’d like to know what kind of an expense this committee is going to cost us.

When we talk about committee, we want to be cost efficient and effective, as well, so just a small group that we can move forward and we can make decisions right away, part of the recommendations that will be brought to my attention. I want this to be, of course, a small cost to our department. We have to use it internally. Those are just some of the factors that will come into play. We want a small group that will provide recommendations to us that represents the Northwest Territories as well.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today as this is formally the second time we have heard from the Department of Transportation on a shared cost estimate proposal with the federal government on the northern portion of the Mackenzie Valley Highway system. It appears, once again, that we have been given a glass-half-empty program that appears now to have been formally fast-tracked to the feds for review.

I have said on more than one occasion in this House that I support this project only if the math was sound and a full risk matrix was on the table. It is clear that the project glass is, again, half empty. Questions still remain unanswered, yet it appears that the department is hastily, once again, taking an untested number to the federal government for a decision on cost-sharing and playing guesswork with the public purse.

Can the Minister of Transportation indicate how certain the department can be with only 85 percent of the design work for the highway being completed? What contingencies does the department have to address the unknown variables for the remaining 15 percent of the design/build and the cost estimate that was given recently to the federal government?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member knows that we haven’t gotten the approvals back from the federal government, and the Member also is well aware of the fact that the Department of Transportation appeared before the Standing Committee on Priorities and Planning two weeks ago, and provided a thorough update on what the risks were and where the project numbers were at.

I do appreciate the Minister’s reply, but this is why we’re still asking the same questions. The public has yet to have seen these.

It appears that the Department of Transportation almost forgot about the $12 million that has been advanced to this project in preparation for such a cost estimate for the federal government. Can the Minister of Transportation indicate if this $12 million is included in the $299 million cost estimate? If not, why?

The briefing to the standing committee was a confidential briefing because we haven’t got the formal approvals from the federal government. There is a reason the briefing was confidential. We’re hoping to get the

approvals in quick order so that we can make some decisions so that Members can ask some questions. Right now, the questions the Member is asking are hypothetical.

I think the question is not hypothetical. The question is whether or not the $299 million is including this $12 million. Again, this was opened up in your statement yesterday in the Minister’s own words.

We’ve heard a number of times of the granular royalties involved with this project are due to the Inuvialuit Land Administration. Can the Minister of Transportation share with this House what is the percentage of royalties and the total dollar cost to taxpayers within the cost estimate of this $299 million?

I just didn’t want to, and I don’t want to, divulge confirmation information that was provided to the committee two weeks ago. In answering the Member’s question, those discussions are still currently underway. We are trying to sort those out. We’re working with the Inuvialuit on getting answers to those questions, and when we do have those questions fully answered and we have a package from the federal government, we’ll be back in front of committee and ready, willing and able to answer all the questions the Members have. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’re hearing again, from the Minister’s own words, we have a lot of unanswered questions. How do we come up with the $299 million? It’s beyond me.

We all know that this government has had its hurdles in dealing with cost overruns on many of our large-scale projects of the past. The Auditor General of Canada has confirmed this. Can the Minister of Transportation indicate to this House what will happen to our cost-sharing agreement with our federal counterparts should the price of this road project exceed $299 million? Are taxpayers left holding the bag? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

First off, we haven’t made any decisions on the project. We’re still a ways off on making those decisions. Secondly, that is a very hypothetical question. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In follow-up to my Member’s statement today with this very exciting news about a community channel for Hay River going on to Bell Expressvu, as I

mentioned, currently the community channel is managed by volunteers from the Hay River Elks Club. Now, there is a TV Channel Society, but it is all based on volunteers. I would imagine that now that we have gone live nationally that there will be a lot of people interested in having some input into the local content of that new TV station.

We have many photographers, videographers, media, people with interest in our community that do amazing work that would really promote the North. I would also say that we have events in Hay River that I think the rest of Canada would like to see. Just this past weekend we had dogsled races, snow machine races, we had the Kamba Carnival with every kind of traditional and northern activity you can think of. This could have all been videotaped, and this could be broadcast now right across the country and it’s local Hay River content.

I’d like to ask the Minister of ITI if he can see the value of this in terms of promoting Hay River and having a very positive effect on our economy. But the downside being that, right now, is it’s all being undertaken by volunteers. Is there any money allocated or earmarked within the government, within ITI, that an organization like the Community Channel Society could access to get some help to now orchestrate this amazing project? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Member for her statement and questions today in the House. I think it’s a great opportunity, not only for Hay River but for the Northwest Territories, and if we can plug in the tourism angle, and arts and crafts, and a number of other things around the territory into that channel in promoting the Northwest Territories, I think that’s a good initiative. We’d be more than happy, at ITI, to sit down with the Member and see what support the community needs to have a staff person located there to maximize our opportunities through that channel. Thank you.

That’s what I wanted to hear and I’ll look forward to working on this with the Minister. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have to say that the $299 million was not hypothetical; those are the Minister’s own words. So let’s roll down to some of this.

It’s not hypothetical when the GNWT is brokering a deal with the federal government. So maybe the

Minister can enlighten this House, and educate the public, on what the risks are with this particular deal if and when cost overruns do happen. And that’s not hypothetical because there’s not one single GNWT project that hasn’t had cost overruns. These are real risk matrix problems that the department will be working on.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That confidential briefing was provided to Members two weeks ago. It included a risk matrix. I also committed during that meeting to provide Members with an updated risk matrix.

We don’t have a funding agreement with the federal government. We haven’t wrapped up negotiations with the Inuvialuit on royalties and land tenure. There are some things that we have to finalize before we can get that number into committee and get another presentation before the standing committee. No decision has been made on this project. We are still awaiting word from the federal government. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I can’t argue with the facts that the Minister just said. He’s right; no decisions have been made. But I can tell you, clearly, that there is a deal being brokered that sounds like a decision made by Cabinet.

Speaking to the risk matrix, would the Minister be willing and certainly be innovative by providing a plain language document of the risk matrix based on the Inuvik-Tuk Highway Project so Northerners can fully understand what their territorial government is taking on and what burden they may be burdened with? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, that would be pages 9 and 10 of the briefing that was provided, the deck that was provided to the committee. The Member is well aware of what the risks are. We laid them all out on the table two weeks ago.

As the project moves forward, we will continue to lay out the risks associated with this project. For a project that’s close to $300 million, there will be some risks. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, when it goes $299 million and you say it’s close to $300 million, that is pretty well $300 million, so we can’t undersell this. I do not have the authority to release the risk matrix, but the problem is that the public is being denied the facts of how risky this project is and how scary it looks from this side of the House. Only the Minister has that authority.

Will the Minister release a plain language document, the details, the risks that have been identified and what potential burdens that Northerners may be taking on similar to what just

happened to the Deh Cho Bridge? They need to be fully informed.

Mr. Speaker, we will have a project soon. Hopefully sometime this week we’ll get answers back from the federal government. Our objective is to have that risk assessment, the risk matrix out for public consumption hopefully by the end of this week.

For the Member to stand up in the House and say that it’s only going to be Cabinet’s decision on this project and that we are brokering a deal, he’s making it seem like we’re doing this behind closed doors. That decision will be made on the floor of this House by Members of this Legislative Assembly. Thank you.

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

Mr. Speaker, I think the Minister’s light on detail when it comes to how risky the risk matrix actually is. It talks about potential problems.

Will the Minister fully commit to this House in a clear answer as to all the particular risks in a plain language document so Northerners from north to south, from east to west, all Northerners will have a full opportunity to realize what risks are involved in this project and how serious the GNWT is in ignoring some of the risks and what we may be taking on as taxpayers? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we are not ignoring the risks. The reality is, in a project this size, there are risks. There are risks in everything. There are risks when you walk outside the door. We will, like we provided to the Members of this House, provide publicly the risks associated with this project. We are still trying to put this together. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask a few more questions to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment and try to clarify what he’s describing in terms of steady increases to our minimum wage. On that process, I’m a little confused.

I think the Minister has explained that there will be a committee and that this committee will do some investigation. They will then make a recommendation to the Minister. If that is correct, he can clarify that for me and confirm that.

The other question I have is: Who will be on this committee? He said it’s a small and efficient group, but how many members and who will they be? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The recommendations will be brought to my attention to factors in setting up a minimum wage for the NWT. As you know, we increased our minimum wage in April 2010, another one in April 2011 and we’re still working on 2012. So those are just some of the areas we’re currently exploring. The people that will be part of the standing committee, I don’t have the actual list in front of me, but I can provide that to the Member once they’re established. Mahsi.

Thank you. I hear the Minister saying that this is going to be a committee. I didn’t hear how many members. I’d like to know how many people are going to be sitting on this committee. I presume it’s going to be GNWT employees and I worry about the added workload that it’s going to mean for them. I gather this committee will be a permanent committee. So all these things I’d like the Minister to clarify. How many members on the committee, is it a permanent committee and how much time does he expect this will add to their already heavy workload? Thank you.

Mahsi. This particular committee, obviously, will be established. Definitely we’ll have some staff on there because we deal with the minimum wage, cost factor and so forth. But we have to minimize the hours, the costs towards the committee.

Again, I don’t have the detailed information because this is all new. We’re just establishing the committee in the spring, within the next couple of weeks. So once I have all of the information, I will be providing it to the Members. Mahsi.

Thanks to the Minister. I guess if the Minister is looking to be efficient and to reduce work, I really don’t understand why he’s establishing a committee. We are committed to death, I think, in this government.

I’d like to know from the Minister why we would not simply do something as simple as tying minimum wage to the cost of living and do increases to the minimum wage when our cost of living increases. Thank you.

Mahsi. Obviously, that will be taken into consideration, as well, and I want to hear from the employers, the employees and the representatives, not only my staff telling me this is good. I want to hear from the general public. So that’s why we’re establishing this committee. Mahsi.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess if the Minister is going to establish a committee, then that’s going to happen, but I think we could canvas our employers once, agree to tie it to the cost of living and then we’re done.

My question to the Minister now is, if this committee is established in the spring, when are we going to see our next increase to the minimum wage? It’s been two years since we’ve had one. Thank you.

Mahsi. Once the committee is established, they do their work and get their recommendations to me, I’m hoping that either the spring session or early this year I want to reintroduce that to this House. Mahsi.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To no surprise to the House, and certainly the Minister, I have a few more Inuvik-Tuk highway questions. I’ve been getting feedback from people in the Beau-Del region that the GNWT, in this Inuvik-Tuk Highway Project, will be buying the equipment and turning it over to the contractor. Would the Minister be able to provide some highlights as to what type of contract and deals are being put together for the potential proponent who will be building the Inuvik-Tuk highway? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The Minister of Transportation, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If we haven’t made decisions in this House on whether to move the project forward, we haven’t got the funding agreement from the federal government and the approvals from the federal government, that hasn’t happened. So, obviously, we have not made a decision on procurement for the Inuvik-Tuk highway. That will happen after we get all the approvals. When we get the decision to move forward in this House is when we will make decisions on procurement and not until then. Thank you.

Thank you. The Minister has an interesting point, but the fact is, it doesn’t preclude the opportunity to do and work out some of these deals informally, or even formally, until the final decision is before the House.

So has there been any deals worked on by the Department of Transportation with perspective proponents who will construct the Inuvik highway and whereby we buy, as in where the GNWT buys, the construction equipment and we turn it over free of charge at the end of the project? Thank you.

Thank you. I have no idea who the Member is talking to, but it’s not the same people we’re talking to. Thank you.