This is page numbers 5257 – 5290 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 ombudsman.

Topics

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Sorry; your time for your Member’s statement has expired.

Norman Yakeleya

Norman Yakeleya Sahtu

I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

Norman Yakeleya

Norman Yakeleya Sahtu

Our donations directly support Canadians serving and retired veterans and their families by ensuring we never forget the horrors of war but remember what they stood and did for all of us. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Daryl Dolynny

Daryl Dolynny Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wanted to keep my last sessional statement of 2014 with a simple message of thanks and gratitude. First and foremost, we’ve just heard Mr. Yakeleya mention a very beautiful rendition for our fallen soldiers, and as we approach November 11th , it’s important that

we give thanks to our fallen heroes, past and present.

Our success as a nation stands on the shoulders of their sacrifice. Let’s unite as an Assembly and grant them a moment of silence.

---Moment of silence

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and colleagues. It’s hard to believe that this will be the last Christmas holiday season for the 17th Legislative Assembly. I wanted

to send an early and heartfelt season’s greetings to all residents of the Northwest Territories, and for my hardworking colleagues in this Chamber, I wish you a special time of meaning and cultural tradition with your family and friends. Thank you, colleagues. Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

NWT Arts Centre
Members’ Statements

Bob Bromley

Bob Bromley Weledeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A diverse and committed arts community exists in the Northwest Territories with literally dozens of groups in the areas of dance, theatre, music, film, visual arts, crafts and many more. Organizations may be small, but they are big on hard work, enthusiasm, commitment and inclusive programs that reach out across our communities.

Artists understand and acknowledge how the arts function to support our social strengths, our health and well-being. Hill Research Strategies in Ottawa reports reveal the link between the arts and student engagement and education, positive economic impact and cultural tourism, improved quality of life, importance in Aboriginal health and well-being, the list goes on.

Beyond these, at a time when social changes and challenges are many, the arts provide a valid way to engage community learning, exploration, idea exchange and critical dialogue that ground our culture and identity. These same artists are seeing gaps, key gaps, that are limiting the role the arts can play in diversifying and strengthening our territorial economy. One is the lack of a properly funded arts hub, typically found in every other capital in Canada. Another is a fine arts school. The two could easily go together. A proper gallery could showcase the work made in the regions as well as a place to foster and develop a more sophisticated arts discourse. A place for research, exhibition, education, and documentation of contemporary and modern visual arts. A place to attend screenings, to learn how to felt, paint, sculpt, to participate in group shows, to see contemporary art exhibitions, to hear artists speak and participate in group projects. A place where artists can learn, inspire and be inspired; a place that can expose and motivate people through art made here and elsewhere in the world. An arts hub would enrich our community by celebrating what we do while displaying great works from the past and present, from near and far.

Exhibition opportunities absolutely essential to an artist from the NWT are woefully lacking. We need to develop an NWT arts centre from the grassroots, with guidance from the diverse arts community already here, and developed through partnership and vision from our vibrant community. An NWT arts hub is a place that will require start-up costs and financial support. It can move forward through partnerships of public, governmental and private funding. This is a huge opportunity and the time is right, the players are ready.

Will the Minister take this as a priority, lead the conversation towards realizing this goal, filling this gap and strengthening the NWT community and economy with an arts centre? The talented bunch of artists across this territory, our society and our people deserve it.

NWT Arts Centre
Members’ Statements

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Colleagues, before we hear our next Member’s statement, I would like to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery this afternoon of Mr. Jean-Christopher Fleury, Consul General of France. Welcome to the Assembly.

The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Each year the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, CCSA, joins organizations across the country in observing National Addictions Awareness Week. Organized by CCSA, National Addictions Awareness Week highlights issues and solutions to help address alcohol and other drug-related harm. It provides an opportunity for Canadians to learn more about drug prevention, to talk about treatment and recovery, and to bring forward solutions for change.

In 2014, National Addictions Awareness Week will be held November 17th to the 21st , a little over a

week from now. CCSA will also mark the National Day of Remembrance for Road Crash Victims on November 19th , during National Addictions

Awareness Week, by drawing attention to the growing problem of drug-impaired driving.

Preventing youth from using drugs is a priority for CCSA and our partners, so this year’s theme for National Addictions Awareness Week is youth drug use prevention, especially addressing the use of alcohol, cannabis and prescription drugs among our youth.

I encourage Members and NGOs to join the dialogue, a dialogue to help create a healthier society, one free of harms of substance abuse and misuse. You can follow CCSA on Twitter – some of us are doing that – @CCSAcanada, and you can use the hashtag #NAAWCanada to help support this year’s activities during National Addictions

Awareness Week. You can also share resources on your social media channels.

There are several activities that I am aware of that are planned for Yellowknife during National Addictions Awareness Week. One is the kickoff of National Addictions Awareness Week: a sober walk. Students, staff and community members will march through the downtown streets of Yellowknife on Monday, November 17th . As well, the Tree of

Peace will be hosting an information fair on the first day of National Addictions Awareness Week. Many organizations around Yellowknife that deal directly and indirectly with addictions will be there at the fair.

I invite everyone to take part in National Addictions Awareness Week events in your community, and remember, if you need help, it is available to you. Take advantage of it.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

NWT Parks And Recreation – Walk To Tuk Challenge
Members’ Statements

November 5th, 2014

Alfred Moses

Alfred Moses Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to finish off this session with a real good, feel good news story. It’s about a small office in the Northwest Territories that has been doing great work in getting Northerners very active and can potentially have a big impact across this nation.

The most recent Walk to Tuk Challenge involved over 1,600 NWT participants from 17 communities on 102 teams. Seventy-three of those teams were successful in reaching Tuktoyaktuk, walking a grand total of 207,808 kilometres. Calculating in hours of exercise equalled about 48,918.5 hours of exercising. On average, each participant accumulated 245 minutes of weekly exercise, which is 95 minutes more exercise than the 150 minutes that are recommended by the Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines for adults aged 18 to 64. This was all done during the darkest and coldest times of the year.

As the NWT embarks on the fifth anniversary of this successful program, it is my pleasure to announce that the NWT Rec and Parks Association’s Walk to Tuk Challenge has been selected as one of six finalists in the Play Exchange program and will be showcased on a national television show in January 2015 and will be eligible for up to $1 million to launch this program nationwide.

This is huge not only for the NWTRPA and addressing active living in some of our health issues but it also has a big impact for possible tourism in the Northwest Territories.

The Play Exchange is a national online challenge that was launched in February of 2014, to fund and support creative ideas to get Canadians living

healthier lifestyles. Some highlights of this Play Exchange challenge, in fact the Walk to Tuk Challenge was chosen out of over 400 submissions from across Canada, and the top six finalists each receive mentoring and support from the LIFT Philanthropy Partners to develop a strategic plan for their idea.

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

---Unanimous consent granted

Alfred Moses

Alfred Moses Inuvik Boot Lake

As I said, the challenge will be featured on a CBC Television program and it will be won by voting online.

This is a made-in-the-NWT event that can affect all Canadians from coast to coast to coast.

I would like to personally encourage all Northerners and friends of the NWTRPA to vote when voting starts. I would also like to thank Sheena Tremblay, Geoff Ray and all the staff and volunteers of the NWT Rec and Parks Association who have made this challenge a success. We should support this program and be the national leaders in addressing high obesity rates and mitigate the high chronic diseases and conditions that affect all Canadians. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Moses. Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.

Decentralization
Members’ Statements

Robert Bouchard

Robert Bouchard Hay River North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When we started the 17th Assembly, we set up some

priorities, and one of those priorities was decentralization. Yesterday Mr. Bromley referred to decentralizing his position to Hay River.

---Applause

Seriously, I know Mr. Bromley works hard in Detah and Ndilo, small communities that need his support.

When we started this journey about decentralization, the government gave us issues that we had: housing issues in small communities, office space requirements and residential issues. The government has indicated to me and given us some stats that they’ve created 158 jobs outside of Yellowknife. Mr. Speaker, we would be celebrating that if those were all the facts.

The other facts are we know they started and devolved over 200 in Yellowknife, so decentralization is not happening, Mr. Speaker.

We need to be committed to decentralizing, putting more jobs out into the communities, not only to the regional centres but some of the smaller communities. We need to solve those issues of housing and office space. We need to know the next phase. We’ve had our three phases, but what’s the next phase? What’s happening next

year? We still don’t have a plan coming forward, and we know that this is the last statement for 2014. What is going to happen in February and March? What are we going to hear about a continued decentralization?

We need to get this done. This is the 17th Assembly

and something this Assembly set as a priority. We need to be committed to it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Decentralization
Members’ Statements

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

[English translation not provided.]

I am practicing my French, and some days I practice better than others.

Mr. Speaker, what I was trying to say there was today’s final statement will be on fracking technology. Our environment, our water and our land are very important.

Industry is working very hard to reduce the environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. General Electric and Statoil, a Norwegian oil and gas producer, are working on waterless fracking. Instead of water, these companies plan to use supercritical carbon dioxide to enable the flow of gas and oil to their wells.

Supercritical carbon dioxide is between its gaseous and liquid states. It could be supplied under high pressure in a tank. There are some challenges yet. Collecting carbon dioxide and hauling it into fracking sites is currently more expensive than using water. That statement alone probably says we might not be putting the right price or the right value to what our water really is worth.

GE and Statoil hope to actually inject carbon dioxide into the well and then recapture it at the wellhead. It would then be used again at the next well. If this technology was used widely, much more carbon dioxide would be needed than is readily available. That probably means we could find new ways to capture carbon dioxide from those coal-fired power plants and we’d have a reason to put it somewhere else rather than flaring or venting it.

Two companies have just started a three-year project that would cumulate in a technological demonstration before full commercial launch. This strikes as very promising to me, because with the exploration efforts involving fracking currently on hold in the Northwest Territories, time will be certainly on our side.

It may be that fracking might be done here one day, and perhaps this is the technology for the North. This may not be the complete answer or the only solution, but what it does is it demonstrates that

people are looking in the right direction to the right types of solutions. They’re putting the environment first.

So as I said… [English translation not provided.]

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Your time for your Member’s statement has expired. Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Item 4, reports of standing and special committees. Item 5, returns to oral questions. Item 6, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Ms. Bisaro.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize a Page, Diana Rockwell. I recognized her yesterday, but she pulled a fast one on us and wasn’t here, so I would like to recognize her for her work for the past couple weeks. Thank you.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Mr. Moses.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

Alfred Moses

Alfred Moses Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to take this opportunity to recognize Ms. Sheena Adams. She’s the regional energy project coordinator for the Beaufort-Delta and she’s also worked in the past with the Great Northern Arts Festival and also at the Inuvik Community Greenhouse. She did great work there and most likely will do a great job in her current position as well.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to recognize two Pages that have been with us this week: Ms. Britany Gabriela Prieto and Julia Rogers. I’d like to thank them for all their hard work this week and I hope they’ve enjoyed their experiences helping out Members of the Legislative Assembly. As in the past, I’ve always asked them what they liked best about being a Page at the Legislative Assembly, and they said meeting new people, and they said they’d also recommend the Page Program to all students in the Northwest Territories. They’re also interested in the upcoming Youth Parliament and they’re also very intrigued with the work that goes on in this Chamber. I’d like to thank them for all their work that they’ve done this week. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Moses. The honorable Premier, Mr. McLeod.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Yellowknife South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am very pleased to recognize two Pages from Yellowknife South: Bryanna Steele and Emma du Plessis. They are from Yellowknife South. I also recognize all the Pages who are here. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mr. Ramsay.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

David Ramsay

David Ramsay Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too wanted to recognize the Consul General from

France, Monsieur Fleury. Bienvenue. I also wanted to recognize Andrew John Kenny, former chief and well-respected elder from the community of Deline. Thank you.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Dolynny.