This is page numbers 2725 – 2750 of the Hansard for the 17th Assembly, 4th Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was community.

Topics

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I agree that radio is an effective means of communicating throughout the Northwest Territories and we must support that in any means we possibly can. There’s also a federal partnership. The federal government contributes to NCS and we contribute up to $6,000 per community for the operation. The Member is asking why it hasn’t been increased. This is an area that we can definitely look at. Again, it’s based on our agreement with the federal government and our funding within the GNWT. So this is an area we can definitely look at. Mahsi.

Michael Nadli

Michael Nadli Deh Cho

It’s encouraging that the Minister is committing to review such a priority for small communities. Has ECE taken the steps to review or evaluate the community broadcasting program, and if so, when was it done and what was the conclusion? Mahsi.

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to community broadcasting, we work closely with the NCS. NCS does the overall Northwest Territories broadcasting in Aboriginal languages. Those are the avenues that we work with.

In re-evaluating our own programming, I’ll have to get back to the Member if there has been a review of all programming. If not, then we’ll need to pursue that in those areas. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Michael Nadli

Michael Nadli Deh Cho

Mr. Speaker, in the spirit of trying to lay the foundation, and this government has indicated, quite publicly, it’s partnership principle of working with communities and agencies such as NCS, would the Minister commit to ensure that that partnership is developed and supported, and at the same time, would the Minister increase the maximum grant per community and the overall budget of the Community Broadcasting Program? Mahsi.

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

We are putting a lot of pressure on the federal government. We’ve met with the CEO of NCS. There’s another meeting on June 3rd to deal with that matter. There’s been a

proposal submitted by NCS for upgrading equipment and so forth. Part of that discussion is the $6,000 maximum that we’ve been allowing to the communities.

Again, the Member has raised a point of possibly reviewing the program. That’s a commitment I’m making, that we’ll be re-evaluating our contribution. Mahsi.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Michael Nadli

Michael Nadli Deh Cho

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s encouraging, once again, to hear the Minister commit to a working relationship with NCS. I know this, perhaps, could take a medium- to long-term solution, looking at trying to draw the federal government in as well.

In the interim and in the immediate need, would the Minister work with NCS to set up a maintenance and technology fund to address the immediate needs of long-term health of community equipment, especially with communities that right now are not able to access the House and be aware of what’s happening in the NWT? There are some communities that don’t have radio stations because the equipment is down.

Would the Minister step in at this point and commit to work with NCS immediately? Mahsi.

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Mr. Speaker, as I indicated, June 3rd is a meeting with the CEO of

NCS. I do believe that type of discussion will take place. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister of the Department of Human Resources. I’d like to ask him some questions with regard to northern allowance that’s paid to our employees.

As a matter of course, the northern allowance is determined under the Collective Agreement between the government and the Union of Northern Workers, but the northern allowance is based on a base rate at Yellowknife rates and I do have some concerns with that. I don’t know that Yellowknife necessarily is the cheapest location in the territory. It is in some areas, not in others. I realize that this is a difficult problem because it is in a Collective Agreement, but I’d like to ask the Minister initially if he could explain the methodology that is used to determine the northern allowance and what’s the rationale for using Yellowknife prices as a base. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Minister of Human Resources, Mr. Abernethy.

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is a long question or a question demanding a long answer, but I’ll do my best to do it in a short period of time. The northern allowance is a negotiated benefit and it cannot be unilaterally changed or reduced or eliminated by the GNWT.

Many, many years ago – in the ‘90s – we used to have a housing allowance and a vacation travel assistance allowance. Those were eliminated as part of a negotiation. As a result, housing was rolled into the salary. At that time, there was a significant increase in salary, whereas VTA wasn’t. VTA became part of what is known as the northern living allowance.

On top of that, we’ve also calculated in a transportation component, which is the old VTA plus a cost of living component, which is based on a basket of goods and includes things such as food purchase from store, household operations, house furnishings and equipment, operations of automobiles and trucks, recreation, clothing and footwear. It does not compromise housing or electricity.

This is, as I’ve indicated, a negotiated amount. Yellowknife was selected as the base, and the bottom line of the northern living allowance is it’s intended to equalize the communities that are outside of Yellowknife to the rate and cost of doing

business and living in a community like Yellowknife. It is for the North, it’s about the North, and it’s trying to provide equal opportunity for GNWT employees. And remember that the northern living allowance is just for GNWT employees who live outside of the centre. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

It’s “Mr.” Speaker, Mr. Abernethy.

---Laughter

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

I want to thank the Minister for that explanation. I realize that this is a difficult topic to discuss, but I am a little concerned that Yellowknife employees may be at some kind of a disadvantage. So one of the things that the Minister referenced was a basket of living expenses, I guess you would call it. It struck me that this basket does not include transportation. Transportation is outside of this basket. The other thing that is outside of this basket is mortgages.

So can the Minister explain, from his experience in negotiating this particular issue, why transportation and mortgage expenses are not included in the basket of living expenses? Thank you.

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

I indicated in my previous response that transportation is one of the primary components of this. There are two components. There is transportation, which used to be the VTA, and then there is the cost of living component.

If you go back and look at the history of negotiations over time, when we got rid of the housing allowance in the Government of the Northwest Territories in the ‘90s, that amount was negotiated by way of an increase into the base salaries of all GNWT employees. So housing has already been incorporated in. If you look at the increases that have occurred to the salaries over many years, the increases that have been negotiated exceed CPI by over 10 percent over the last 12 years. That is where that particular thing is negotiated.

We also need to remember that northern allowance is non-pensionable. The union has – and it makes sense – focused on increases to areas that are pensionable as opposed to non-pensionable. This allowance is intended to equalize the communities to Yellowknife rates, and it works and it is a negotiated formula and the union hasn’t sought to renegotiate that formula. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

I totally agree with the principle for equalizing rates for our employees across all of our communities.

The Minister mentions that the union has not asked to evaluate or do any kind of revisiting of this particular methodology. I’d like to know from the Minister when the last time was that this methodology was reviewed. When was the last time it was looked at across the territory and was there

an evaluation to determine if the fact that Yellowknife is the base rate is actually appropriate still? Thank you.

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

Once again, going back in time into history, the VTA that we used to have in the ‘90s became part of the component of the northern allowance. When we factored in the transportation component, that transportation component works out to about $3,400 in Yellowknife and we’re trying to equalize to those rates. Those are no longer realistic rates. The cost of getting out of Yellowknife has actually decreased in the last number of years as opposed to increased. So if we were to actually base the rates on the cost of getting out of Yellowknife, it would be a drop, and that hasn’t been negotiated.

I know for a fact we haven’t negotiated northern allowance changes for the last two Collective Agreements, but I can’t tell you for sure when the last time that occurred. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you to the Minister. My last question has to do with transportation, as he just mentioned. I appreciate that the transportation costs are rolled in. I appreciate that the living allowance has been rolled into salaries. It’s my understanding that transportation is weighted fairly heavily in the criteria that make up the methodology that determines northern allowance, so I’d like to know from the Minister why transportation is weighted so heavily compared to, say, living costs.

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

The transportation component provides compensation to communities relative to the value of the cost of return transportation between Yellowknife and Edmonton via air and/or road. The cost of living component provides compensation to communities relative to the average expenditures for a food basket of goods and services compared to Yellowknife. Yellowknife would be a base. We would be looking at the cost of goods or the basket of goods in every other community as part of the formula to determine what other communities are getting, but if we’re using Yellowknife as a base, we need to make sure that it is an appropriate cost, and that cost was negotiated between the Government of the Northwest Territories and the UNW. As I have indicated, the cost of transportation out of Yellowknife has actually decreased but they haven’t bothered to negotiate down the price.

Right now, we have a formula – it works – that we use, and the union is supportive of that formula.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Alfred Moses

Alfred Moses Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m just going to follow up to a Member’s statement I made earlier this week, and it’s in regard to the gas situation that’s happening in Inuvik. We’re looking at finding solutions and actually making things a little bit better for our businesses and our residents in Inuvik. Actually, my questions for today are for the Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation.

I’d like to ask him, in regard to a statement that he had made March 13th of this year, in regard to the

policy review considered in terms of replacing the net billing with the net metering program. I’d like to ask the Minister responsible if he can give us an update on where that policy review is, whether that’s in place now so that our businesses, our residents can start looking at these alternative energy sources that would cut down the cost of living in some of our higher communities.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Moses. The Minister responsible for the NWT Power Corporation, Mr. Miltenberger.

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That review is pretty well done. We’re migrating from net billing to net metering. That work is underway. We’re going through the process. We anticipate that by this fall we will be ready to move to go to the PUB and such. We, as well, have a briefing scheduled next week with committee to update them on the status of this particular initiative.