This is page numbers 5221 – 5256 of the Hansard for the 17th Assembly, 5th 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 development.

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Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Michael Nadli

Michael Nadli Deh Cho

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Economic Opportunities Strategy and the Mineral Development Strategy are documents that this committee had time for at least playing a hand in forming the documents. As my colleague Mr. Bouchard had indicated, he feels good about it and my sense is that I am fairly confident this is a go-forward document and I’m looking forward to the rollout ensuring communities and regions and

territories and the whole NWT as a landscape. We become involved with this whole document.

What I do want to highlight is that there needs to be at least a clear reporting mechanism. The Minister has indicated there could be possible periodic reviews of the timeline of the strategies, both the Economic Opportunities Strategy and the Mineral Development Strategy. I think it’s essential that we have, at least in the mid-term, some status reports in terms of the major sectors that have been highlighted or at least been part of the strategy. At the same time, there needs to be a final analysis of how the strategies work.

The strategy, essentially, is not identifying the goals and how we are going to employ economic initiatives across the NWT. For the most part, I feel that this is a good constructive document. At the same time, we need to remind ourselves that some communities are have-not communities. It’s just the way that geographically where we’re located, some of the smaller communities, and we need to ensure that we don’t forget about the traditional local economies and that’s the hunting, fishing and trapping. Arising out of that, if we could maybe develop opportunities.

The whole area of tourism, we have to remind ourselves, too, that there are some local initiatives that are happening. Like in my riding, we have Dene Fur Clouds and we have the service sectors that operate at least a service for the travelling public, and we need to remind ourselves of those important mechanisms and pillars need to remain so that we have a vibrant economy in all of our ridings. At the same time, we have to look into the future in terms of being optimistic. I’m very hopeful that at some point we’ll realize our wood pellet initiative in the riding that I represent, that all communities will be able to be involved and benefit from the project.

Last, but not least, because in the North where we’re at there’s a strong propensity for natural resource development. It’s a matter of fact that we need development to happen so that we can invigorate the economy, create businesses and jobs. At the same time, we need to be reminded that it has to be done in a balanced way. Recently this government came up with the Land Use Framework in terms of how it is that we’re going to engage the land and water of the NWT. So we play it fairly safe and, at the same time, we have a balanced perspective. The big thing in that too, and one of my colleagues raised it, is there has to be proper engagement with the Aboriginal governments. We can’t roll out these initiatives in a silo. There has to be multiple partners ensuring that we have maximum involvement for maximum success. Mahsi.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair Daryl Dolynny

Thank you, Mr. Nadli. Before we continue, committee, I’d like to draw your

attention to the gallery. With us we have the Languages Commissioner of the Northwest Territories, Ms. Snookie Catholique. Thank you for joining us today. General comments. Minister Ramsay.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

David Ramsay

David Ramsay Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate the opportunity and I wanted to start off by thanking the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Infrastructure for their time, their input and their efforts in providing us with valuable feedback on the development and implementation of the Economic Opportunities Strategy and the Mineral Development Strategy.

I’ll start off talking a little bit about the EOS first and then get into the MDS. The timing of our work on the implementation plan for the EOS was intended to respect SCEDI’s considerable workload and the recognized priority of matters arising from devolution and the review of the main estimates for the GNWT. Committee members can be assured that all investments identified in the EOS Implementation Plan were previously addressed and approved in the 17th Assembly’s consideration

of individual departmental main estimates.

The implementation plan was a formalization of the department’s plan for the purpose of public presentation. The EOS engagement process that Members were a part of was extensive and far-reaching. The strategy itself was very much a partnered approach, and themes and recommendations of the NWT EOS are a reflection of that collective process.

Again, I want to thank SCEDI for the input and their assistance in defining a more pragmatic approach to illustrating our multi-layered, multi-faceted approach to implementation. A number of changes in the proposed implementation plan were made directly in response to SCEDI’s feedback. Recommendations for implementation by the Department of ITI were separated from those identified for implementation by other strategies and/or departments.

In both cases recommended actions were presented according to the four pillars of economic development targeted by the EOS. They are improving supports to the NWT’s small business community, growing a stable and attractive entrepreneurial environment, pursuing major investment projects and preparing and positioning NWT residents to benefit from future opportunities, while attracting and retaining residents with key skill sets.

Recommendations to be addressed in the short term were distinguished. Related recommendations were noted. Recommendations for which incremental funding has already been approved by the Legislative Assembly in the business planning process were identified.

I just want to talk about communications, if I could. Through public media announcements, news releases, advisories and interviews, all of the EOS partners are committed and have been committed to highlighting investments, actions and initiatives related to the implementation of the EOS. Members of the EOS Governance Committee will continue to seek opportunities to champion, inform and highlight their individual participation and partnered goals and principles of the NWT EOS process.

The NWTOpportunities.com website is being maintained as a portal to all EOS-related communications. Content from this website is also being highlighted on the EOS Facebook page which is experiencing a steady gain of likes and views. A monthly newsletter will be delivered to a publicly subscribed list and distributed by EOS partners to their members and stakeholders. A working group comprised of communications representatives will work to maximize communications opportunities including speaking engagements, discussions and presentations advertising and media features. Alongside the work that we are doing to implement this strategy, the department is taking inventory of its communications tools and products with a view to communicating better or more efficiently in areas that the EOS has pointed out to us.

I heard some Members speak of the economy and the resource development, and really the EOS was intended for us to diversify the economy. We believe it’s a valuable product and is going to set the stage for us growing the economy in all regions in the territory for the future. We’re happy with the input SCEDI has provided.

If I could, I just wanted to touch base on mining and the MDS. The mining industry in the Northwest Territories is the backbone of our economy and provides thousands of Northwest Territories residents and businesses with jobs, training opportunities and business advantages. The creation of an environmentally sustainable NWT Mineral Development Strategy was a key priority of the 17th Legislative Assembly, and it establishes a

comprehensive plan to ensure the long-term growth of the sustainable mining industry that will create jobs and economic opportunities for the people of the NWT.

The MDS and the implementation plan was a partnership effort and were developed in conjunction with the NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines. In 2013 NWT’s mining industry contributed nearly $1.7 billion in production value. Diamonds presently account for about 90 percent of the total estimated value of mineral and non-mineral production in the NWT.

The development of the MDS and the subsequent implementation plan was a consultative process. From the very beginning, we worked with our

partner, the Chamber of Mines, to hold targeted representative meetings. Meeting attendees were actively engaged and I’ll point out that more than 40 meetings were held across the Northwest Territories. Attendees represented 65 different organizations including municipal governments, Aboriginal governments, organizations, industry, regulatory boards, chambers of commerce, development corporations, education and training institutions and non-government organizations. Guiding these engagement sessions and the creation of the MDS was a three-person external expert advisory panel which included Mr. Rod Brown, a Yellowknife resident who spent his entire career as a leader in the mineral development service industry; Mr. Murray Duke, who worked with the Geological Survey of Canada for 18 years and since retirement has worked with the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada on major review of public policy as well as consulting on projects for Natural Resources Canada, the Saskatchewan Ministry of Energy and Resources and the Geological Survey of Newfoundland and Labrador; and also Mr. Angus Robertson, who has an extensive background in the public service at both the federal and provincial/territorial level as well as a devolution expert with his time with the Yukon government and also in land claim negotiations.

We’ve had an ongoing correspondence with the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Infrastructure and provided them with updates and various opportunities to review and provide input. The committee’s input was extremely valuable and we considered each suggestion that they presented.

The investment climate has been declining in the NWT for several years. It is essential to encourage grassroots exploration to ensure the long-term health of mining and mineral development and have a flourishing industry here. The MDS and several of the short-term launches, such as the Mining Incentive Program, are an important first step in achieving this.

The implementation plan to put the Mineral Development Strategy into action was released just last month. Many of the implementation activities are ongoing across GNWT departments. Two activities recommended in the MDS have already been put in place: the hiring of two specialists at the NTGO and the development and implementation of a Mining Incentive Program. The Mining Incentive Program was very successful and launched in July of 2014. This grant program is tailored to the unique NWT operating environment and attempts to maximize return on investment through innovative and effective exploration. The Mining Incentive Program was modeled on similar successful programs operated by other jurisdictions. The 2014 budget of $440,000 was

fully subscribed and, in fact, we had over $1 million in requested funding.

We continue to work closely with other organizations, including Aurora College, the Mine Training Society, Aboriginal governments and the NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines, to put the recommendations in place. To ensure the implementation plan stays on track, I want to assure Members that we have a performance management plan and results reporting document that will be developed through report tracking on the GNWT’s performance. In 2015-16 an updated implementation plan will be released that highlights early achievements of the MDS and objectives for the continued implementation of this strategy.

With that, I just want to thank the standing committee, as I believe others highlighted. We are moving forward with other strategies. It’s important that we get feedback from Members on how best to go about getting public consultation in place following the steps we need in order to get the strategies that we want. Certainly, we’ve learned a lot. These were two big pieces of work. I do want to thank my department at ITI and the staff that I have there and the help that we’ve had in putting these plans in place. We really do believe that they will certainly help us grow the economy here in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair Daryl Dolynny

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. General comments. Mr. Bromley.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Bob Bromley

Bob Bromley Weledeh

Thank you, Mr. Chair. It’s obvious the Minister hasn’t heard a word that we said, the ongoing record of committee bringing concerns to the Minister and getting no joy.

I appreciate that committee’s done a good job laying the issue out here in this report. I hope the Minister will, at some point in his life, read it over and really take it to heart.

The motions that I have are the motions that are in the paragraphs on the last page. There are no changes to those. We thought, let’s formalize them and just see if the Minister might eventually acknowledge that a lousy job was done on the consultation, that the public interest side was under-represented and so on, all the things that are talked about in the report.

We’ve moved on. We’re not attempting to change the Mineral Development Strategy. I know Mr. Yakeleya was worried about that. The committee has moved on from this. We’re moving ahead. It would be great if the Minister would look to the future to improve his performance and the department’s performance in this regard.

Certainly, the mining is the backbone. There’s no question about it. It is a priority. I don’t think committee has any problem with that. What committee wants to do is maximize the public benefits given that this is such a fundamental part

of our economic activity. The Minister clearly didn’t hear a word we said on that front now. That’s not true for the economic opportunities panel as profiled in the report. That was well consulted and so on. It wasn’t a third party there. We actually had input and made decisions on what would be included in our strategy as opposed to mineral development which was adopting the industry perspective without input despite how valued our zero input was to the Minister.

I would like to move… First of all, committee recommends that when departments adopt third-party recommendations, such as the stakeholder panel… Let me start over again.

Committee Motion 98-17(5): Committee Feedback On Third-Party Recommendations, Carried
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Bob Bromley

Bob Bromley Weledeh

I move that the committee recommends that when departments adopt third-party recommendations as the basis for public expenditure and policy direction, that the responsible Ministers be prepared to respond to feedback referred to them by committees. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Committee Motion 98-17(5): Committee Feedback On Third-Party Recommendations, Carried
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair Daryl Dolynny

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. There’s a motion on the floor that is just being distributed now. Committee, the motion is in order. To the motion. Mr. Bromley.

Committee Motion 98-17(5): Committee Feedback On Third-Party Recommendations, Carried
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Bob Bromley

Bob Bromley Weledeh

I think I’ll just leave it at that. Thank you.

Committee Motion 98-17(5): Committee Feedback On Third-Party Recommendations, Carried
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair Daryl Dolynny

To the motion.

Committee Motion 98-17(5): Committee Feedback On Third-Party Recommendations, Carried
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Some Hon. Members

Question.

Committee Motion 98-17(5): Committee Feedback On Third-Party Recommendations, Carried
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair Daryl Dolynny

Question has been called. The motion is carried.

---Carried

Mr. Bromley.

Committee Motion 99-17(5): Public Engagement Process, Carried
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Bob Bromley

Bob Bromley Weledeh

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that committee recommends that when developing future strategies, that government departments undertake public consultation in a thorough, transparent, meaningful public engagement process, free of perceived biases, with ample opportunity for public response and a reasonable time frame for dialogue between government departments and all Members of the House;

And further, that expertise in public interest policy be an integral part of such strategy development exercises.

Committee Motion 99-17(5): Public Engagement Process, Carried
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair Daryl Dolynny

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The motion is on the floor and it just being distributed. The motion is in order. To the motion.

Committee Motion 99-17(5): Public Engagement Process, Carried
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Some Hon. Members

Question.

Committee Motion 99-17(5): Public Engagement Process, Carried
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair Daryl Dolynny

Question has been called. The motion is carried.

---Carried

Does committee agree that consideration of Committee Report 7-17(5) is concluded?

Committee Motion 99-17(5): Public Engagement Process, Carried
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Some Hon. Members

Agreed.

Committee Motion 99-17(5): Public Engagement Process, Carried
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair Daryl Dolynny

Thank you. Consideration of Committee Report 7-17(5) is now concluded. What is the wish of committee? Ms. Bisaro.

Committee Motion 99-17(5): Public Engagement Process, Carried
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that we report progress.

---Carried

Committee Motion 99-17(5): Public Engagement Process, Carried
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair Daryl Dolynny

I will now rise and report progress.

Report of Committee of the Whole
Report of Committee of the Whole

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Good evening. I will call the House back to order. Can I have the report of Committee of the Whole, Mr. Dolynny?

Report of Committee of the Whole
Report of Committee of the Whole

Daryl Dolynny

Daryl Dolynny Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your committee has been considering Committee Report 7-17(5), Report on the Development of the Economic Opportunities and Mineral Development Strategies, and I would like to report progress with two motions being adopted and that Committee Report 7-17(5) is concluded. Mr. Speaker, I move that the report of Committee of the Whole be concurred with. Thank you.

Report of Committee of the Whole
Report of Committee of the Whole

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Do I have a seconder to the motion? Mr. Blake.

---Carried

Item 22, third reading of bills. Mr. Beaulieu.

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, that Bill 29, Human Tissue Donation Act, be read for the third time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The motion is in order. To the motion.

Some Hon. Members

Question.