Good morning, colleagues. Item 2, Ministers’ statements. The honourable Minister of Finance, Mr. Miltenberger.

Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to update Members and the public on our fiscal situation and discuss the ways we are addressing our challenges during the remaining life of this Assembly.

To date, 2014-15 has included a number of fiscal challenges. The most severe fire season in NWT history has cost $55 million, or 3 percent of this year’s budget. A record 64-year low water levels at Snare Hydro required the government to intervene with a $20 million contribution to the NWT Power Corporation to ensure higher electricity costs of 13 percent are not passed on to NWT residents and businesses. On the revenue side, total gross revenues forecast for the next number of years are expected to grow at less than 1 percent annually. Resource revenues are expected to be slightly lower than originally estimated last December, averaging approximately $113 million annually over the next five years, down from $120 million annually, and they are extremely volatile in that the expected revenue stream could fluctuate by as much $30 million from the expected annual average. Resource revenues are also finite in the sense that we cannot rely on receiving them from the same sources forever. These two facts are the reason why this government has decided to not include resource revenues in our operations and maintenance budget to fund programs and services.

The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) will only use resource revenues to fund infrastructure, pay down debt and invest in the NWT Heritage Fund.

As a government we will remain fiscally vigilant because average annual revenue growth over the next five years is expected to be significantly lower than historical growth rates. The fiscal reality is that we depend on the Territorial Formula Financing Grant to provide the majority of our revenues. Over the next five years, the grant is projected to grow about 2 percent annually due to a declining NWT population and reduced provincial and local government spending as provinces attempt to balance their budgets.

Next week I will be tabling the GNWT Public Accounts for the 2013-2014 fiscal year. The annual report from the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) on the Public Accounts is positive overall, a clean opinion, noting significant progress by GNWT over prior years. One such indicator of progress is the OAG cost of the audit has decreased approximately 20 percent from the prior year, which is a decrease from $929,000 to $756,000. This is mainly due to the fact that there were fewer errors and audit issues noted during the course of the audit, which resulted in improved efficiencies on the part of both GNWT management and the OAG audit team. Additionally, the GNWT has managed to shorten the public account time frames by continuously improving reporting and quality over the last three fiscal years. As the 17th Assembly prepares its final

budget, the fiscal objective remains the same: hold the line on expenditure growth to allow us to make the investments necessary to protect our infrastructure and grow the economy. The achievements of this objective are reflected in the 2015-16 Capital Estimates tabled in the Legislative Assembly yesterday. Including the proposed housing investment, the total planned infrastructure investment in 2015-16 will be $314 million.

Being fiscally vigilant also means returning to a reduced capital plan after the 2015-16 Capital Estimates. This reduction will be difficult given the government’s current infrastructure deficit, the contribution public infrastructure spending makes to local economies and the fact that we need critical infrastructure to grow our economy.

NWT economic activity is only three-quarters of what it was eight years ago because resource production is declining and business capital investment is significantly lower. The lower levels of

economic activity are one important reason why the NWT population is declining.

We are attempting to grow the NWT economy through a number of strategies that complement each other. As announced in this year’s budget, our target is to increase the NWT population by 2,000 people over the next five years, and we are taking steps to grow the NWT economy through important initiatives such as Industry, Tourism and Investment’s Economic Opportunities Strategy and Mineral Development Strategy and Education and Culture and Employment’s work to attract skilled immigrant workers along with providing training opportunities for NWT residents to take the jobs here in the NWT.

A robust economy combined with an increased population is key to our fiscal sustainability. The NWT population has not increased significantly since 2004 when the NWT was experiencing very strong economic growth while the rest of Canada was not. The NWT is competing with booming economies, especially in Western Canada. The Department of Human Resources is continuing to take steps to improve our internal recruitment and retention actions, and through Industry, Tourism and Investment’s Come Make Your Mark program, we are working with the private sector to support their recruitment and retention efforts. On October 8, 2014, I met the senior management of NWT’s three operating diamond mines, the NWT Chamber of Mines and the NWT Chamber of Commerce to continue our discussion on labour market challenges faced by the private sector, particularly the mining industry, and in doing so we are gaining a better understanding about what companies are doing to encourage more NWT resident labour and how the GNWT can work with the companies to make their actions in this regard more successful.

These economic development strategies will depend on transformational investments such as the Mackenzie Valley Fibre Optic Link, the Mackenzie Valley Highway and addressing our energy challenges. We need to focus on these strategic investments, and other investments, to lower costs for residents and businesses and open corridors to previously inaccessible markets and resources.

Funding these strategic investments require operating surpluses. Given the medium-term revenue outlook, these operating surpluses will only be achieved through making choices about what programs we fund and how much we fund them.

With respect to energy costs, we know that the GNWT cannot sustain its investment in subsidizing power rates. Since the beginning of the 17th Assembly, our government has provided $58 million in subsidies in order to shield NWT residents and businesses from ever-increasing electrical costs.

As you heard from the Premier yesterday, this level of subsidy cannot continue and the GNWT will be holding a second Energy Charrette November 3rd and 4th in Yellowknife where people from across the

NWT will be invited to discuss their ideas on how best to address our energy challenges.

Going forward, the next Assembly will face the same difficult challenges we are currently addressing. That is why we will use the last annual public budget tour for the 17th Legislative Assembly

this fall to discuss the GNWT fiscal situation, fiscal objectives and strategy with NWT residents. The information and feedback we collect will be a key piece in the transition to the 18th Legislative

Assembly.

Since the first budget of this Assembly, we have successfully worked to maintain a stable fiscal environment while managing the fiscal risks of the many things outside of our control. Our prudent management of expenditure growth has meant that we have achieved the fiscal targets that permitted increased infrastructure investments for 2014-15 and 2015-16. Our commitment to fiscal discipline gives us the assurance that we will have the fiscal flexibility to address our challenges as they arise. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Abernethy.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to provide this House with an update on the Med-Response system.

Med-Response is the first program of its kind in Canada – or anywhere else, as far as we know. Other jurisdictions have call centres to coordinate air ambulance triage and dispatch, or call centres to provide clinical consultation, but Med-Response is breaking new ground by combining these functions into one operation.

Mr. Speaker, Med-Response has the potential to transform how we provide care to patients who are injured or critically ill. Today we have a patchwork of protocols and processes that govern how we deal with urgent situations in communities outside Yellowknife. When a community health nurse wants to arrange an air ambulance, he or she may have to make five or six phone calls. They have to contact a regional nurse in charge, a medical director, the medical travel office and possibly other clinical experts. They do all this while trying to care for a patient who may well need urgent attention. They can be on hold for minutes or even an hour waiting to speak to a physician.

Med-Response will change all that. There will be one dedicated 1-800 number for all health care

workers to call when they need an air ambulance or when they need advice or consultation that is beyond the capacity of local expertise. When a call is received, an emergency medical coordinator will immediately assess the urgency of the patient’s condition and then take the appropriate action. That might include getting a dispatcher to start arranging a medevac, or patching in an ER physician or specialist to provide advice and support. Both these things can happen at once. The phone system provides for up to nine callers to be involved, so that everyone with a role to play understands what is happening in real time.

Another benefit of Med-Response is that it provides an immediate support for new staff, casual staff and locum staff that may be dealing with an emergency situation but not be familiar with our system. In some cases, having immediate access to specialized clinical support may help to avoid having to medevac a patient.

Because all calls will be recorded, Med-Response will introduce a new level of quality assurance into our system. The data tracking capacity will allow us to monitor air ambulance usage and regional patterns, providing the basis for future program improvement.

I have heard concerns about the delayed implementation of this innovative system, but it’s more important to do it right than to do it right now. The team at Stanton Territorial Hospital is in place and has been working through looking at programs in other jurisdictions, customizing the phone system and dispatch software, training staff and developing operating procedures. We are now getting into the final stages of implementation, which involve reaching out to practitioners in every region to ensure that systems are thorough and accurate and that nothing has been forgotten in the design.

In the very near future, the team will kick off two weeks of intensive scenario testing as the final step before the system goes live early in the new calendar year.

Later today I will recognize in the gallery the dedicated team of professionals who are working to make Med-Response realize its potential. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.

Mr. Speaker, investing in the health and well-being of our people and our communities and building prosperity in the Northwest Territories is at the heart of this

Assembly’s priorities, but it is not our priority alone. These goals are shared by many non-governmental organizations in our territory, by our citizens and by our employees.

The United Way NWT is one such organization and I am pleased today to stand as the United Way’s NWT Government of the Northwest Territories Workplace Campaign honourary chair to announce the kick-off of this year’s staff payroll campaign.

Mr. Speaker, the United Way NWT began about 14 years ago as United Way Yellowknife but has expanded to provide support across the territory. Over the past three years, more than $180,000 was allocated to various charities across the Northwest Territories.

Like this Assembly, the United Way NWT is committed to building strong and healthy communities through their three areas of focus: • From poverty to possibility – moving people out

of poverty and meeting basic human needs.

• All that kids can be – improving access to early

childhood and development learning programs, helping kids to do well and complete high school and supporting the healthy transition into adulthood and post-secondary education.

• Healthy people, strong communities – improving

access to social and health-related support services, supporting resident and community engagement and supporting community integration and settlement.

Each year the Government of the Northwest Territories has a month-long United Way Workplace Campaign. During this month, employees and Members of the Legislative Assembly and Ministers can sign up for payroll deductions and hold fundraising events. Payroll deductions are an easy way to support the United Way and other registered non-profit organizations that are based in and focused on the Northwest Territories. A few dollars off each paycheque will go a long way towards supporting non-profits and probably will not even be missed. I challenge all my colleagues here in the Assembly who do not already participate to sign up.

This is the 12th year of the Government of the

Northwest Territories Workplace Campaign. Many Members of this Assembly are donors or volunteers and our Government of the Northwest Territories staff have been generous contributors to the United Way. This year, Mr. Speaker, through the Workplace Campaign, we hope to increase the number of Government of the Northwest Territories staff who currently donate by payroll deduction to 10 percent of our employees. This would be a tremendous boost to the community and territorial organizations that United Way NWT supports.

I have said many times before that Northerners need to work together to create the kind of strong,

prosperous and environmentally sustainable territory that we want. The United Way NWT has taken up that challenge and is an important partner with us in supporting beneficial programs and services across the Northwest Territories. The Government of the Northwest Territories payroll campaign begins today and will end on November 21st .

I understand departmental coordinators are organizing events that will occur throughout the month and that deputy ministers are leading a government-wide interdepartmental challenge that will feature a number of friendly fundraising events.

I want to thank the United Way NWT and its volunteer chair, Tracy St. Denis of Industry, Tourism and Investment, our Government of the Northwest Territories Workplace Campaign departmental coordinators and all the staff that are donating and signing up for payroll deductions. Your efforts make a real difference in the lives of our fellow Northerners, and I am very proud to be your honourary chair. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to congratulate the Town of Hay River on opening a new skate park this past August, one month before the town’s BMX and skateboarding competition. Mr. Speaker, this may not seem like a big thing, but I’ve got to tell you it’s something we talked about in Hay River for many, many years, so it was great to see it come to fruition.

Residents of Hay River have worked long and hard to build a bigger and better skate park for the community. Skate parks are a great way to keep youth healthy and engaged in outdoor, unstructured play. They can hone their skills and compete with other stunt artists in a safe, specially designated public area to practice their skills whenever they have free time.

Hay River’s skate park was designed with expertise from the Canadian Ramp Company, which recently finished work on the largest steel ramp park in Atlantic Canada.

Complete with rails, ramps and jumps, the skate park was host to the Hay River’s 4th Annual X-

Games on September 13th , open to participants

from across the territory to show off their tail whip, board slides, 360s and other tricks on two and four wheels.

This skate park is not only a valuable asset for youth across the NWT but a testament to what a group of dedicated, community-minded volunteers can accomplish. I especially want to recognize the hard work of the Hay River BMX Skate Park Committee that went above and beyond to bring this facility to life.

Volunteers spent the summer stripping copper off of waste wire donated by Diavik and selling it for profit. The committee also entered a contribution agreement with the Town of Hay River to raise funds for the skate park. They can be proud of what their hard work has achieved. The skate park has had lots of use before the snow started to fly this week and will be used for many seasons to come.

I’d like to thank all of the volunteers who made this year’s X-Games possible and once again commend the determination and community spirit that made this skate park a reality. I encourage the young people of Hay River to enjoy this new facility and not forget to wear their helmets. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. For years we’ve been hearing about our sound fiscal strategy of surpluses, paying down our short-term debt and maintaining a $100 million cushion to our current $800 million borrowing limit. Yet for years there have been a number of pressures that have negatively impacted this fiscal framework. Such things as the personal and corporate income tax estimates for the 2014-15 season that created more than a $30 million void in tax revenues. Plus if you add on top of this fiscal pressure such things as the recent fire seasons of approximately $55 million and last week’s $20 million NTPC low water rate rider offset, and of course ongoing items such as the Inuvik-Tuk highway, that’s $300 million, Stanton Hospital at $400 million, the Mackenzie Valley Fibre Link Project at around $80 million, the replacement of our fire suppression air fleet, which is price unknown at this time, continued pressures of our health and social services programs and more than $3 billion of infrastructure deficit, one has to truly wonder: where is the Finance department hiding this pot of gold?

Clearly, there is no pot of gold, yet this administration feels justified in spending us into a corner at every opportunity while we struggle to pay off our public Visa and MasterCard payments. But fret not, because although we hit the wall of worry some time ago, apparently all we have to do is fill out the Joe Oliver American Express Card application form and presto, we’re back inking those cheques.

Unfortunately, this is not the way to deal with debt management or insult the intelligence of the taxpayer. So how does this administration keep this incredible debt wall secret from escaping? What Jedi mind tricks are fogging the truth about our financial health?

Admittedly, over the years we are drilled repeatedly how our disciplined spending has produced better than average results and fiscal responsibility. On other occasions they toss around such terms as Moody’s ratings, debt to revenue or debt servicing matrix; all too impressive results by design, but by whose design? The Department of Finance? The Minister himself? Has anyone stopped to evaluate exactly what financial bill of goods the people have been getting?

Clearly, when this government talks about debt, they are focusing primarily on direct debt. However, this mirror approach misses a large portion of total government liability.

I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

We fail to look at the complete picture of the state of this government’s debt load and must not only consider direct debt but also debt guarantees, contingent liabilities, contractual commitments and unplanned program obligations. Sadly, while most jurisdictions in North America are looking at ways of debt reduction or enacting laws for expenditure, this administration has been doing the exact opposite and is spending each and every one of us into a corner. The people deserve answers.

So, with the Finance Minister’s budget dialogues coming to a community near you, I challenge the people of the NWT to filter through this Department of Finance magic show and to please, please ask the tough questions, because ensuring our future starts with you knowing the truth. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As you all know, the residents of the Northwest Territories this summer hit a wall, the wall of cost of living. They’re concerned with the rising cost of living in the Northwest Territories.

It saddened me this summer to hear a lot of long-term Northerners talking about leaving the Northwest Territories because of the cost of living. The low water rates and the potential 13 percent increase in the cost of power was one of those things that basically hit the wall and they said, that’s

it, we have a crisis, we need to leave, we’re talking about leaving.

Yesterday the Premier announced, and last month they announced, that they were going to pay the $20 million to eliminate that 13 percent. But that’s only a quick fix.

Yesterday the Premier talked about an Energy Charrette, and we need to look at that energy cost because that’s one of the biggest factors. We need to look at alternative energies, biomass options, conservation of energy as well as the natural gas and LNG options out there for us in the Northwest Territories to lower the cost of living for the taxpayers.

But energy is only one situation. We need to look at our taxation. Our Cabinet wants to talk about increasing the population by 2,000 people over the next few years. It used to be that people came to the Northwest Territories as an opportunity. But the problem is that the cost of living is rising and the cost of taxation is rising, so the money that they’re taking home is decreasing.

We need to talk to the federal government about increasing northern residency deductions. We need to look at other options for taxation. We need to lower the cost of gas. We need to lower personal taxes. We need to lower small business taxes. The NWT needs to be the place of opportunity again. We need to take action on the cost of living in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Unbeknown to newcomers to my riding, the sticks people carry are not broomsticks to fly upon; they are weapons to ward off dogs. Dogs running at large in the small communities are a major issue, and it’s time that the current Dog Act showed some teeth. We need to step up enforcement to make our communities safer for both people and animals.

Dogs are an integral part of the northern lifestyle. Some people feel their homes are not complete without an iconic husky. Municipalities, no matter how small, need tools to manage dogs and enforce the bylaws and legislation created in everyone’s best interests. We can’t just throw the problem a bone and hope it will go away.

Like wolves, dogs left running loose form packs that are known to attack people and other animals. Compassionate people across the NWT are constantly rescuing stray, neglected and abused dogs and finding homes for them or sending them to the SPCA shelter in Yellowknife. But that only happens to the lucky ones. Many dogs die or live terrible lives of abuse and neglect.

We need to do more to enforce the Dog Act in remote communities and more to manage dogs in remote places. In the past, Sahtu communities, in partnership with veterinarian medicine programs in the South, put on clinics and public education workshops for responsible care of dogs.

I encourage MACA to work with Health and Social Services to bring spay and neuter clinics to small communities throughout the North. We need more public education on caring for dogs, what to do as you encounter aggressive dogs and where to report cases of abuse.

We say dogs are man’s best friend, but they can be as much of a nuisance as any wild animal if they are not treated properly. We need to enforce legislation and enact bylaws to promote better dog control. As a government we need to find ways to work with municipalities to manage issues of dogs and harness solutions that really work for small communities. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mr. Speaker, the recent release of the Bureau of Stats numbers would give most people an opportunity to celebrate. What they do say is the fact that unemployment rates have reached a new one-year low. This is normally a good thing. But normally this doesn’t always tell you the whole story when you take a look at the bigger picture of what all the stats say. When you look closely at them, you actually see what the true figures are.

Employment figures have actually dropped, and I mean in this case they’ve gone south, literally and figuratively.

Participation in the employment sector, trying to get a job out there, is seeing a new low. What this is really telling us is Northerners are giving up looking for work. So when you aggregate that together with the unemployment rate, it looks like more people are working.

The true question is: What are the employment figures? Have employment figures changed? Actually, employment figures are dropping as well.

The numbers tell the true story, not just half a story publicized about unemployment figures looking better. Yes, they are looking better, but the point being is, as made earlier, less people are looking for work because they just can’t find it.

When I was in Fort Smith this summer I talked to a lady named Betty, and she was telling me how challenging it is to find meaningful work in Fort Smith. Meaningful work means work she can afford to take care of herself and her children. I can’t

imagine hearing more painful words when I hear that from somebody, because you know what? Every person wants to take care of their family.

When I was in Inuvik this spring, I talked to a guy named David. He told me how he has given up looking for work because he can’t find work to help pay for his rent, his gas bills, his cost of living is through the roof. What social assistance can offer him just can’t cut the mustard.

The true unemployment rates don’t tell the whole story as publicized by the NWT Bureau of Stats, because the figures, if they were actual figures, they would tell you that the actual unemployment rate in Yellowknife is about 3.4 percent, but the community rates are over 30 percent. Sure, when you average them, they look good, but the fact is, what it’s telling me here are job opportunities are few and far between in the communities, employment is tight in Yellowknife, and we’re doing very little to address this problem.

Minister Kenney has made some really serious changes to our EI program. He’s changed the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.

My question for the Minister of ECE will be: How prepared are we as a government? How ready are we as a government to pick up the slack that the federal government has downloaded on us unfairly? Are we prepared?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, October 17th , marks International Day to Eradicate

Poverty. Across Canada, food banks and anti-poverty advocates are joining together to call for a federal anti-poverty plan. The ask: that the federal government enact systemic change to eradicate poverty and hunger for the thousands of people, some 830,000 in Canada, who use food banks each month and for the millions of others struggling to get by. If food banks, soup kitchens and other front-line agencies across the country were to shut down tomorrow, poverty and hunger would become far more visible.

Food banks were started in Canada in the early ‘80s as a temporary way to address hunger. They were never intended to be a permanent measure, but now they are, and we do not have a national plan to address and eradicate poverty in spite of calls from committees of the House of Commons, the Senate and the United Nations, all who have said that Canada needs a federal anti-poverty plan. Today in Canada, one in eight people experience some level of food insecurity, but it’s a whole lot worse in Canada’s North. Hunger Count 2013 is

last year’s edition of an annual publication of Food Bank Canada, and the Hunger Count 2013 report found that, “…many Northerners are not getting enough to eat. Food insecurity in the North, and particularly in the Arctic, is a dire public health emergency.”

Statistics in the report, which unfortunately list the three northern territories as one category, show that 38 percent of users across the North are children. From 2008 to 2012 there was a 163 percent increase in the number of residents using food banks in the three territories. From 2012 to 2013, one year, across the North there was an increase of 52 percent in food bank use. At the same time, seven provinces across the country reduced their food bank use.

It doesn’t have to be like this. The research shows that there are strategies that work, specifically anti-poverty strategies. When properly resourced and implemented, they can make a difference.

I believe this government is still committed to our own Anti-Poverty Strategy and Action Plan, that they are committed to reducing poverty wherever possible, but actions speak louder than words.

To that end, I will be asking the Minister responsible for our Anti-Poverty Strategy what we have done, what we’re doing and how we’re measuring any successes.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I’m going to speak about the Aurora Campus in Inuvik. On June 10th members of the Standing Committee

on Social Programs had the opportunity to meet with the Board of Governors, the executive, as well as the Minister and his staff up in Inuvik. Along with those meetings we had the opportunity to go on some tours. We toured the college, the classrooms, the residences. We looked into the mobile trades unit as well as going over to the Aurora Research Institute. Great facilities, great staff, and I think the Members can agree with that, and great work that’s going on up there at the Research Institute.

However, when we were walking through the halls, they were pretty bare. You go into the facilities and there was hardly anybody that was around or utilizing them. The facilities are not being fully utilized to their potential. You heard it earlier in the Minister of Finance’s comments, the NWT economic activity is low and that we want to provide training opportunities for NWT residents to take jobs here in the NWT.

The realities for this campus are there’s a lack of programs that are being delivered, there are low enrolments and they’ve been getting lower every

year, in fact our Office Admin Program is not being delivered this year because there is low enrolment.

As well, our single units as our family units are not all being used, and I do believe that the Aurora College does a have an agreement with one of the rental organizations for those family units, but because the enrolment is not there we’re paying for empty units.

Great facilities, great staff provide great opportunities. We have great opportunities here in the North. We’re looking at the satellite farm, you know, the fibre optic link. Early childhood development, we have a great facility that this government has contributed to within this government, the Children First Centre. The Aurora Research Institute has great opportunities with the research that they’re doing, as well as the mobile trades unit that we can get some of our workers in to help build these roads, infrastructure that we want to do in the years to come.

I seek unanimous consent to include my statement. Thank you.

---Unanimous consent granted

I just listed off a lot of great opportunities that this government has invested in, except investing in our people. Where are the programs, where are the education opportunities, the training opportunities for great facilities like this, and staff, in the northern region of the Northwest Territories? It’s just not there.

I’m going to ask the Minister later on, where are the plans for this campus? Where are the plans for the staff? What are the plans for residents of the Northwest Territories, our students and our families, for the northern region of the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. GNWT labour relations recently informed the Union of Northern Workers that Stanton Territorial Hospital’s eight maintenance services workers are likely to face layoffs, possibly as early as June 2015. While Cabinet communications recently softened and confused this announcement, the writing is on the wall.

Stanton’s food services and housekeeping employees have already been privatized. With the public-private partnership approach to the Stanton rebuild project, this government is committing itself to yet more privatization of government jobs and long-term provision of formerly government services to profit-focused private enterprise.

Should the P3 rebuild of Stanton go ahead with these layoffs, Stanton Hospital will lose the knowledge, experience and demonstrated dedication these long-term employees provide.

Housekeeping and food service jobs were the beginning. Now it appears this approach is to be applied to facility maintenance, and what other services go remains to be seen.

We have little experience with P3 projects and for good reason. Our record of success, and that of many others, is poor. Seldom does outsourcing provide equivalent quality work or match the cost of public services. Outsourcing can have far more serious consequences than bland food or dirty floors. Lowest-bid contractors will not have the institutional memory or services background with Stanton that long-term employees now bring to work every day.

Current safety and maintenance standards will likely be compromised when dealing with the highly stringent requirements of ventilation and sterile environments hospitals require. Lives are often at stake if essential structural systems within the hospital fail. The first time the power goes out or the oxygen system fails or the boiler bursts, consequences will become clear.

The current maintenance staff at Stanton Territorial Hospital are considered by all who work there as an integral part of the health care team. They should be treated that way. Instead, the equivocal government communications on their future has destroyed the previously positive working atmosphere of the maintenance services workers currently at Stanton.

Workers want honesty and certainty and a clear option to continue on the job under a new employer with comparable compensation. This government apparently wins awards for how it employs people and treats employees. Let’s see a demonstration of this worthiness here. Provide the workers with clear information and ensure that any P3 partnership contract include a fair opportunity for them to continue their role and apply the experience they have gained under our watch.

I will have questions. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. News media in Canada and the world are talking about the decline in gasoline prices. The reason is because of the international glut of oil, which is causing the decline of global oil prices. The southern media reports that in New Brunswick a

gas pump buyer said it’s just like winning the lottery, he was so happy gassing up.

The average price of gas across Canada has declined about 23 cents since the end of June. The decline is forecasted to continue well into Christmas, giving people an early Christmas present, so to speak. But closer to home in our small and remote communities, sadly there will be no lottery winning or Christmas present because government-delivered fuel prices are fixed.

Gasoline and heating oil prices are the single biggest driver of the cost of living there. The residents of my communities and all of the other smaller and remote communities across the NWT will suffer with the exceptional high cost of fuel while the world benefits. This is simply not right.

I will be calling upon this government to do something to help our people in small communities who depend on gasoline to make a living from the land and heating fuel for their homes. They should not be penalized by our outdated policies and procedures for delivery of fuel to their communities. We have seen this government come up with $20 million to help with the power costs. This government can once again be a champion by reducing the cost of fuel in our small communities to reflect the realities of lower oil prices in Canada and throughout this world. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Recently on a visit to Aklavik, constituents raised the need for more housing units in the community. This government has done a great job replacing units, but we now need to focus on adding units to our small communities.

We have a huge demand for both single units and duplex units in Aklavik because many people are moving back to their home community. I have constituents who have been waiting for up to two years for a unit and today they are still waiting. How can we expect to have healthy communities when we have a shortage of housing?

Thank you. I’ll have questions for the Minister later today. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Blake. Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Today I’d like to pay tribute to a young Rhoni

Morgan Beaulieu of Fort Resolution. Rhoni was born February 24, 1998, and passed away on August 15, 2014, at the tender age of 16. Rhoni died of smoke inhalation in a house fire.

Rhoni was raised in Fort Resolution by her grandparents Ronnie and Cecile Beaulieu, and she referred to them as mom and dad.

Rhoni had completed Grade 10 and would be going to Grade 11 this fall. She was very active in all kinds of sports from a very young age and was considered a great team player. She had many friends from all over the NWT and other provinces. Rhoni was not shy. She was very outgoing, spoke her mind and was not afraid to express her feelings and thoughts. She was culturally strong and enjoyed going on spring and fall hunts with her father, Ronnie. She enjoyed learning and speaking Chipewyan language and impressed me by speaking Chipewyan to me each time she saw me. She used to walk up to me and say…[English translation not provided.]…which means how are you, for me things are beautiful. The young and old in the community were deeply touched and very saddened by Rhoni’s passing.

Rhoni was predeceased by her aunties Dolly Beaulieu and Annie Lafferty; uncles Tinker Delorme, Roland, Harry and Bruce Beaulieu; grandfather John Beckwith; great-grandparents August Beaulieu and Louis “Mickey” Lafferty.

Rhoni is survived by her biological parents, Melanie Beaulieu and Dave Beckwith; her sister Rhonda Beaulieu; her brother Kelly Betsina; grandparents Ronnie and Cecile Beaulieu and Margaret Beckwith; great-grandmothers Lizzie Beaulieu and Virginia Lafferty.

My condolences go out to the late Rhoni Beaulieu's parents, sister, brother, grandparents and great-grandparents, many uncles, aunts and friends. Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday in Inuvik Canadian North flight 444 landed in Inuvik like it does seven days a week, weather permitting. The significance of this flight was it was being piloted by Cece Hansen, who is retiring. It was his last flight and he wanted to fly into Inuvik.

Cece has been flying since 1967 and I believe he’s the first of our people to be flying commercial jets, so I think it’s important that we recognize and acknowledge the achievements of a lot of those who came before as they helped pave the way for

lot of us in the Assembly and across the Northwest Territories.

I would ask the Legislative Assembly to join me in wishing Cece a happy retirement, thank him for being a role model to all those who came after him, and thank him for all the work that he’s done for the people in the Northwest Territories, getting us safely to and from. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Minister’s statement today I spoke about the Med-Response program, and I’m very pleased to have the team that are working on this innovative and exciting project in the House today. I’d like to take this opportunity to recognize them and thank them all for their efforts. First, David Keselman, director of ambulatory care and medical affairs at Stanton; Janie Neudorf, the territorial emergency medical supervisor with Med-Response. We have a couple of emergency medical coordinators: Justin Davi, who is an RN; Carolyn Ridgley, who is an RN; and Vladislav Portnick, who is an RN. We have emergency medical dispatchers Lori MacMillan-Gallant, Kanina Clorey, Samantha Moynes, Justin Youzwa, and Ali Budgell. We have Melody Nikiforow Tkachuk, who is a senior medical travel officer; Carol Bucknor, who is the manager of medical travel; Kevin Taylor, who is director of system innovation; Ashley Geraghty, senior project manager for Med-Response; Amanda White, evaluation specialist; Dr. David Pontin, who is the clinical lead; and Dr. Kue Young, who is the dean of the School of Public Health at University of Alberta, who is helping lead our evaluation team on this important project. Thank you all for being here, and thank you for everything you’re doing.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d also like to welcome Dr. David Pontin into the House today, a constituent in the Weledeh riding, and any other constituents that I don’t know. Thank you. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Although not technically in the gallery, just on the other side of that wall, I’d like to recognize my constituency assistant today, Wendy Morgan, who is celebrating a very special milestone birthday. So if you see her today – I don’t want to name the number, but you can guess. It’s a big one.

---Laughter

Wait a minute. I didn’t mean that. It’s an important one. It’s an important one.

Wendy has worked as my assistant for over 15 years. I just texted Mr. Miltenberger; his assistant, Denise, has been with him since he was elected, I believe. So I think these two ladies hold the record for constituency assistant. I could not do my job without her. I know she has helped others of you in this House as well. I just wanted to say happy birthday to her today. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. I would like to welcome everybody here in the public gallery today. Thank you for taking an interest in our proceedings here. Welcome.

Item 6, acknowledgements. Item 7, oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In follow-up to my Member’s statement, I’d like to ask the Minister, when will the department be adding units to the community of Aklavik?

Thank you, Mr. Blake. The Minister responsible for NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If the construction of a new seniors centre counts as units, we’re doing that right now. See how quick the Member is? As soon as he asks, it happens. But we continue to try and identify a lot of needs across the Northwest Territories, and we’re working on that. We continue to try to identify all of our needs. We just had a new community survey done. We used a lot of the information from that to determine where some of our strategic investments are going to be. Again, we continue to replace a lot of public housing units. I have to add that since 2006 we’ve spent over $18 million in Aklavik.

As I mentioned in my statement, I applaud the department for all the replacing of units, but there’s a big demand for new units as we have many people moving back to the community in a lot of our small communities. But with waiting lists of over two years, some young people who want to start their lives need units. There’s a big demand for single units like the multiplex units that we’ve discussed in this Assembly.

I’d like to ask the Minister, are there plans for a multiplex unit for the community in the near future?

One of the challenges that we face with the declining funding from CMHC is the ability to add new units. A lot of our public

housing units now are replacement units and we’re replacing units that are already there. We’re struggling with that. We’re fortunate that the Legislative Assembly stepped up last year and filled in some of the gap, but it’s going to be awfully costly for them to be doing that every year.

Again, I’m not sure of the exact capital allotment for Aklavik. I will find the information and I will share it with the Member. We just, I think, replaced 10 units in Aklavik here just a couple of years ago because the old units were failing, and we put in five duplexes. The Member is correct; we are going to more of a multi-unit type configuration to help with energy costs and keeping our costs down.

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

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Earlier I spoke about how gasoline prices are, on average, being reduced across Canada. I am well aware that Public Works and Services runs our fuel delivery program. However, in general, I’d like to ask the Premier of the NWT some questions regarding this.

More specifically, I would like to ask the Premier, how can he address this inequity where fixed gasoline prices are in our small communities and will remain there until next year when the fuel is delivered this winter but prices will be fixed.

How can our government be involved to address the needs in the small communities when the rest of the world’s gasoline and heating fuel prices are declining?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The communities that the Member is referring to are those where we resupply once a year, and whatever the price is at that time we pass it on to the consumer. We have a revolving fund, and in a lot of the small communities when the revolving fund is in a surplus position, we reduce the costs, in a lot of cases, by 10 cents a litre. But, generally, we pass the cost on to the consumer. It’s very unusual for the gas prices to go down. Usually they go up. We’re still waiting here in Yellowknife for the gas prices to go down, so I think you’re referring to a temporary spike and it will probably go right back up.

Well, gasoline prices in Yellowknife are a whole different matter, and I challenge the leadership of Yellowknife to address that with those companies that keep them there. But in the small communities, it’s the government that keeps the prices there. So I’d like to ask the

Premier again, will he consider the special exceptional circumstances of world prices declining and people benefiting from it?

How can this government affect change in the small communities, so that communities like Nahanni Butte aren’t paying $1.79 for the rest of the year, Tsiigehtchic paying $2.01 per litre for gasoline? Those are fixed costs in the rest of the world and at some point Yellowknife will benefit. How can small communities benefit from the changed realities in the world? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The prices in the small communities will not change until the next resupply. So a year from now, when we do the resupply, at that time hopefully there will be lower prices in place. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I’m kind of saddened to hear the short-sightedness of that response here. But I believe our government can do better for our small communities and look at a solution for the interim to help reduce those prices in the communities because it is just so shameful. They are sitting there while the rest of the world’s gas prices, and heating fuel for that matter, that effects cost of living and poverty in our small communities.

I’d like this government and Mr. Premier to seriously consider the effects of gasoline and heating fuel prices in the small communities for this coming year. Thank you.

The government already has a Petroleum Products Stabilization Fund and it has a maximum value of $1 million. This Petroleum Products Stabilization Fund is intended to temporarily compensate for differences between the purchased cost and the sale price of petroleum products. There is always a delay between the day when new fuel products are delivered to communities and the date when prices to customers are changed. So, we already have a Stabilization Fund. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you very much. I know those are technical details that the Minister of Public Works and Services can certainly answer, but I’m asking, I know that the Stabilization Fund was used already and I’d like to ask Mr. Premier when can this government review that and also review a further reduction using this Stabilization Fund for this coming year, given that gasoline prices will continue to decline at this quarter. Mahsi.

Of course, we can always look at every situation, but generally the market determines the price and we pass the cost on to the consumer. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to follow up on my earlier statement today with questions I believe are probably most appropriately directed to the Minister of Finance on the P3 projects for the rebuild of Stanton Hospital that’s proposed, although there are certainly elements for Health, Public Works and Services, Human Resources and so on as well.

On September 30th the Union of Northern Workers

received an alert that eight maintenance services workers at Stanton Territorial Hospital may be laid off next summer. At the recent Stanton Hospital AGM on October 7th , Minister of Health and Social

Services gave what has been described as a confusing array of answers to questions posed. In particular, workers have heard that the timing of layoffs may be anywhere from June 2015, to once the project has been completed, to never.

My question is: Will the Minister provide the desired certainty to the workers and say what is the most likely time of layoff, given the government’s current schedule for this project? Mahsi.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There has been no final determination as to what is going to transpire or even if there is going to be any layoffs. There are some things being considered as part of the P3 process and what services and what requirements will be in the final agreed to RFP. So when we have that certainly, we will be sharing it with all affected parties as well as all the MLAs. Thank you.

Thanks for the response from the Minister. Members of the hospital medical staff describe the maintenance workers as critical components of the health care team.

Will the Minister give me his assurance that if the important functions performed by these long-term GNWT employees are to be lost from public service, the P3 contract will ensure that the provider must give these experienced employees an opportunity for continuation under the new employer with comparable compensation? Mahsi.

It’s a hypothetical situation posed by the Member, but we have very clear processes as an employer on how we deal with affected employees. We will use those procedures and policies to the full extent to ensure, should there be, if there is, maybe, that that eventuality occurs, we will ensure that every step is made to address the issues raised by the Member.

Thanks for that response. During the rebuild of Stanton Hospital when the hospital

basically becomes a construction site, it will be difficult to maintain the level of service that patients expect and require. The changeover period will be critical, and maintenance of the systems will be very challenging.

Will the Minister reassure the people of the North that the workers who know the physical plant and systems of the hospital best, those with up to 33 years’ experience maintaining the building and its functions, will be there to ensure their safety? Mahsi.

On a go forward basis, the Member is correct, when you do a renovation as opposed to a new build, there has to be these extra, very critical steps taken to protect the quality of the air, infection control and those types of things. I know this personally, as well, because we just went through that situation at the health centre in Fort Smith. It requires that extra special step which will be done. We will ensure that, of course, we will use all the resources available, including all the human resources available. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s unfair to the long-time and loyal maintenance services employees at Stanton to have the uncertainty of the timing of their layoffs and whether they will be laid off at all hanging over their heads. Indeed, they reported a destroyed workplace atmosphere compared to conditions before the critical government pronouncements, and we heard the many equivalencies here today from the Minister.

When is the Minister prepared to provide some certainty to these employees, given that this Minister sets the schedule here, so that they can make appropriate plans based on clear information about their future and so that a healthy and positive workplace atmosphere returns to Stanton maintenance services, something I know the Minister and all of us desire. Mahsi.

The key focus I think we have to keep our eye on is we are going to invest something in the neighbourhood of $350 million to do a major retrofit, expand the footprint and service capacity of the Stanton Hospital by about 40 percent and modernize it into the 21st Century. It’s a big operation. There is going to be more staff coming on board.

As we move forward with this process, we will continue to inform everybody. The CEO has already met with staff. The process is not finalized. The final agreement, contract, hasn’t been signed. As those issues become clear, we will sort them out.

We are very sensitive to the concerns raised by the Member and that is being considered as we move forward as well. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Following up on my Member’s statement that I made earlier, I will be asking the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment about some of those issues that arose with Aurora Campus.

Can the Minister let me know, and the people of the Beaufort-Delta and the Sahtu region, is there an action plan moving forward for the Aurora Campus, whether it’s a five-year or 10-year action plan, short term or long term? Can the Minister give us any indication if there’s an action plan and is it being implemented? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. This is an area that Aurora College has been exploring, the Board of Governors, for some time now. They are currently in the process of developing a long-term plan, a five-year plan on how they can deal with the community deliverance of certain programming. So we are, as the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, also working very closely with the college as part of their overall goals and objectives of what kinds of programs will be delivered, whether it is Inuvik, Fort Smith or Yellowknife and the surrounding communities. So those are some areas we are continually monitoring and working very closely with the Board of Governors.

We want to have our input into the system, as well, because we are currently in the preliminary stages of Skills for Success, where we are identifying and doing a needs assessment for communities and delivering that part of programming into the communities. Mahsi.

It is a growing concern that has been happening over the last two to three years about the programs being delivered, enrolments dropping, and there’s a reason we have a low enrolment. It’s because we don’t have the programs.

With the programs that are being delivered at Aurora Campus at the moment, what is the campaign strategy that Aurora College is doing to try to get students not only from the Beaufort-Delta and Sahtu regions to that campus but from all the Northwest Territories and other jurisdictions possibly? What is the department doing to increase the awareness of the programs to try to increase

enrolment at the Aurora Campus? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

There is a wide range of marketing approaches happening within Aurora College. The Board of Governors is responsible for the three main campuses, including Inuvik. There are various programs delivered, whether it is trades and apprenticeship, education, health, arts, sciences and business. So we want to expand beyond that. There is the ALBE program as well.

As the Member alluded to, we need to attract more students into our programming. That is the ultimate target of the Board of Governors, and we as a department are responsible for training of those individuals. We have various federal programming, as well, and territorial programming which will be integrated into Aurora programming. Those are some areas we are tackling with the Board of Governors of the college. Mahsi.

I’m glad to hear that the Board of Governors is responsible for the programs and how they are delivered throughout the three campuses here in the Northwest Territories.

How is the Minister working with the Board of Governors? He is the Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment in the Northwest Territories. How is he working with the Board of Governors to ensure that we have equally distributed programs in Yellowknife, Fort Smith and Inuvik? How is the Minister working with the Board of Governors to ensure we have equally distributed programs so that all regions can get the education that they deserve? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I agree with the Member that there should be equal deliverance of programs to the three main campuses and also the 23 community learning centres across the Northwest Territories out of 33 communities. Those are some of the areas that I have captured with the board chair and also the president. We meet on a frequent basis, highlighting the needs of the communities based on the needs assessments that we are currently developing through Skills for Success. We are at the preliminary stages, but we are currently re-evaluating our program deliverance and working, again, very closely with the college on this particular subject, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement I mentioned a few great opportunities such as satellite farm, fibre optic link and early childhood development possibilities with the great facility that this government committed to with the Children First Centre.

Would the Minister, when he meets with the Board of Governors, look at increasing the programs in

the Inuvik Campus and one specifically, especially with our Early Childhood Development Strategic Plan, creating an early childhood development program to train our employees in the Beaufort-Delta region? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi. Yes, most definitely. Those are programs that are currently being discussed by my department and perspective with the college. There’s also federal programing with respect to scientific research programming that we’ve been trying to access for a number of years now. So we are making progress along the way. So those are just some of the areas of innovative programming that we want to be delivered into the three main campuses that we have. Mahsi.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister responsible for the Anti-Poverty Strategy. I mentioned in my statement that I would be asking him for an update. That’s my first question.

Can the Minister advise where we’re at in terms of our Anti-Poverty Strategy and Action Plan, what we are doing, what we have done and what we are doing? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Minister Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Member knows, the GNWT established an advisory committee to help us lead and prepare the development of a territorial action plan. They have been working throughout the summer, they’ve been working on a number of different initiatives, including the development of a plan and they’re hoping to bring the draft plan to a roundtable that we’re planning for December.

Also, over the summer with the participation of this advisory committee, the GNWT allocated the $500,000 that was supported by this Assembly to support the different anti-poverty initiatives. We had 18 applications; we supported 14 of those. Thank you.

Thanks to Minister Abernethy for that response. I think I and many others are looking forward to seeing the action plan finally come to the public.

I mentioned in my statement about a report from 2013, and there’s a number of recommendations in that report. One of them is that there is a need for a federal northern food security innovation fund, and the intent of that fund is to help jumpstart and sustain community-based, community-led food

initiatives across the North. This is something which, I think, definitely needs to be addressed.

I’d like to know whether or not the Minister, when he talks with his federal counterparts, if he ever raises the issue of food insecurity in the North, particularly in the NWT. Thank you.

Thank you. That wasn’t actually one of the agenda items on the last Health Minister’s meetings that was in Banff earlier this summer, but it’s certainly an initiative and certainly an important topic, and I’d be happy to raise it with my territorial counterparts to see if we can get a little bit of a northern wave on this one. Thank you.

Thanks to the Minister. I think it’s really an important topic and I think it’s probably a much bigger issue in Nunavut than it is here in the NWT, but we definitely have our problems here.

Another recommendation that was from this report talked about food programs for breakfast, school breakfast programs. My brain is still dead from yesterday, I guess. Breakfast programs in schools is something which the GNWT has put some emphasis on. I believe it is one of the things that is being considered by the Anti-Poverty Strategy Working Group.

I’d like to know from the Minister if that is indeed correct and if there will be a focus on providing adequate funding and adequate resources to run school breakfast programs. Thank you.

Thank you. In the action plan, the territorial response for the framework, there was some money identified by the Department of Education, Culture and Employment to put towards food initiatives. I will get the specifics and share that with the Member, but I will also point out that in the $500,000 that we allocated a number of the initiatives that we did support were based on food security. We had a healthy living application that was submitted, we had Growing Gameti’s Wellness that was supported, which actually supported the largest community garden outside of regional centres, there’s a community soup kitchen in Liidlii K’ue. We also supported the Inuvik Community Kitchen Program and Taste Makers nutrition education program. So a number of the initiatives that were supported fall clearly under one of the five pillars of anti-poverty and we have been supporting food security. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister again. It kind of leads into my last question. Another recommendation from the report was that there needs to be an investment within infrastructure within the communities related to food security and provision of foods, specifically construction of community-identified resources as

community centres and/or community freezers. So I’d like to say to the Minister, I’m really glad that we have this $500,000 that is being used.

Is it intended that this $500,000 will be an annual amount, and will it be eligible to be spent on things such as community freezers and centres to help increase food security? Thank you.

Thank you. The $500,000 is part of the base, so it will be available every year. It’s application-based. So we are open to any application that comes in. The catch is the applications have to fall clearly within one of the five pillars identified within the framework to improve the lives of people throughout the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement I talked about concerns with employment rates, so I have questions for the Minister responsible for employment. In this particular case, that would be Mr. Lafferty.

Could Mr. Lafferty provide some examples of true unemployment figures in several of our communities, and I’ll allow him to pick his own examples of what the true unemployment figures are in some of our northern communities, please.

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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The detailed stats I don’t have in front of me, but I can provide that to the Member. We have been closely monitoring the stats that have been coming in, whether it be nationally or even our own Northwest Territories jurisdiction. We’re coming out with some solutions to deal with those matters as we move forward with the federal government as well. So those are some of the programming that we need to put more emphasis on to deal with those individuals at the community level. Mahsi.

Thank you. By way of example, the last figures I can find, of course under our NWT Bureau of Stats, is Beau-Del was at 54 percent, Deh Cho 50 percent, Sahtu 55, South Slave 63, Tlicho 39 percent and YK at 79, and that’s sort of territory-wide for the Minister’s benefit.

What job creation programs has this department created under the tenure of this Minister, and can he provide some examples of how many new jobs have been placed on the ground and where?

Mahsi. The Member is asking for more detailed information and I can certainly provide the breakdown of the stats. Again,

I don’t have the breakdown of the stats in front of me, but I can assure the Member that the Canada Job Fund is an area that we’ve negotiated with the federal government to deal with those individuals at the community level where there’s high unemployment at the community level. Not only that, there’s also a Labour Market Development Agreement where we’re currently negotiating with the federal government to provide more flexibility for those individuals that are on EI as well. So these are some of the areas of programming.

The Small Community Employment Program is another initiative that this government has been very successful to date. So I can forward that detailed information to the Member. Mahsi.

Thank you. Although actual employment rates are trending downwards, we’re going south, as I said, literally and figuratively. We’ve noticed that the federal government has slashed the EI program, which is going to now fall onto the territorial government to pick up the slack. As I said earlier today and I’ll just make one more point, which is the Yellowknife rate of unemployment is closer to 3.4 percent, and of course, as we all know here, the community unemployment rate is closer to 30 percent, if you’re lucky to be that low.

The reality here is, and my next question leads into, if the Minister can’t offer any details, maybe he can speak to what specific programs he’s seen initiatives create new jobs in territorial communities and provide some examples. Thank you.

Mahsi. I thought I did that in my last answer where different programs, Canada’s Job Fund is a national program. Specifically for the Northwest Territories, we are receiving funds towards those individuals that do not qualify for EI and we’ve created some incentives, as well, where we have $500,000 in addition to other provincial jurisdictions because of our uniqueness, our remoteness and the highest unemployment in the Northwest Territories. So that’s one particular program.

There’s also the Labour Market Development Agreement. There’s the small communities programming, employment programs that we’ve initiated. These are just some of the programs that are available. There’s on-the-job training within my department too. I can have the breakdown to the Members, all those programs that relate to this particular initiative.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ll gladly take any one of those commitments, all or some or who knows what I’ll get, but I’ll certainly welcome every single one of them. Since, as I highlighted, the changes to the EI program, it now makes it

more challenging for our northern workforce to find consistent, meaningful employment options. We’re now talking that you have to find well over five months of actual work to qualify for EI. Now, in a robust, working economy, not a problem. I accept any changes. But what is the department prepared for in this new shift where they’ve extended the hours one must have to work but community options and employment options are not keeping pace with this immediate demand? Feel free to use any briefing note you want to answer this question too. I’m here for the facts.

We’re fully aware of all of these different stats and the calculation that has been changed by the federal government. It is a federal government administered program, the EI, so I will provide the facts that the Member is alluding to.

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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. As I stated earlier, my questions are to the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs regarding loose dogs in the communities. It’s a common site in one of my communities at least, to see people carrying sticks. I myself have taken walks and you feel safer carrying a stick. At the local communities, some of them being small and remote, some of them are settlements, some of them are hamlets, some of them are band councils.

My question to the Minister is: What tools are available for remote communities to help manage dogs if they have issues in terms of loose dogs in their communities?

Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A few years ago we strengthened the Dog Act so the communities have the legislative authority to deal with the dog situation in their community, and we also fund them through the O and M allocation to deal with that if they choose to.

Currently, the Minister has indicated the Dog Act was recently updated. What enforcement options exist within the Dog Act? For example, I think some communities, whether they’re settlements or maybe hamlets, they have perhaps at their leisure with the O and M dollars that MACA commits to hire a bylaw officer. What if some of those communities don’t have bylaw officers? What enforcement options exist within the Dog Act for those communities?

We’ve given them legislative authority to deal with this. If they have

bylaw officers, they can empower them to deal with the dog situation. If they don’t have bylaw officers, they have the authority to appoint someone as dog officers and deal with the situation, and they are funded through the O and M funding to do so.

It seems, once again, we put great effort in updating legislation and regulations, but then we really leave it to the communities. The Dog Act is basically left for communities to enforce the dog control measures, so my question again to the Minister is: Does MACA offer any training or guidance to communities on dog control matters?

Through our School of Community Government we do offer some training; however, we offer some bylaw training, I believe. I am not sure if dogs specifically are on there. If not, I will find out and relay that information on to the Member.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think there could be a workable solution in terms of trying to bring MACA and communities together and try to take a constructive approach in terms of dealing with this matter that’s pretty common throughout the NWT.

Would MACA consider partnerships with veterinary schools to bring clinics to small communities in the NWT?

Part of MACA’s mandate now is to deal with the communities. We work with the communities. We leave all the decision-making up to the communities, which I believe is the way it should be, and it’s something that the communities have wanted for a long time and have grasped. They’ve taken that on and done an admirable job doing so.

If there’s a need in the community to bring some veterinarian in to work in the community, that again would be a decision. We’ll work with the community and help try and facilitate this.

At the end of the day, as I’ve said for the last five or six years, the ultimate decision is the community’s, as it should be.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.