This is page numbers 3585 – 3618 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 going.

Topics

Highway Safety
Members’ Statements

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

Northern job opportunities continue to be denied to the everyday Northerner. Hardworking Northerners want these opportunities, so again I’m saying this not because I am frustrated but I can tell you that they’re frustrated. They’re frustrated because they hear about this job fair in Ottawa, but they are saying to me, why didn’t they do the whistle stops all throughout the Northwest Territories first? Does it mean we can’t go to Ottawa to look for special skills, certain types of hard areas to hire? Absolutely not. It doesn’t mean that. We should show Northerners we care about them first. What it does demonstrate is we think about them second or maybe even third.

In the Northwest Territories we’re now at an 8.2 percent unemployment rate. That isn’t just a 10-year high, that is a 13-year high. We have something to celebrate there I am sure.

I would like to point out the fact that yesterday we heard that there are 1,150 vacancies on the books with the Government of the Northwest Territories, yes, for various reasons, but that still represents 20 percent of our public service workforce. Am I worried? Yes. Is the public concerned? Absolutely. What it does is show people and certainly causes them to wonder: how does the government operate, missing 20 percent of their workforce?

We hear that the government is doing everything they can to fill the 571 vacancies. I can tell you the public is doing everything they can to find those 571 job postings. If you go to the website, as I said yesterday, all you see is about 100. So where are the rest, almost 470-some jobs? Are they being saved for the who’s who, the friend’s friends? Wink, wink, nudge, nudge. Nothing is telling me that these jobs are open for Northerners to apply on. One hundred sixty-one dormant jobs, as pointed out by the Minister. Dormant what? Where? When? How long? Where has this money been going?

We just know that approximately $57 million of human resource money is sitting there, slushing around, waiting for opportunity. Not even the mention of the missing gap of the 400 jobs when you add all of these things together, and they say, well, don’t worry, they are transfer assignments, they are holding, et cetera, et cetera.

Long story short is, is this confusing? Absolutely. Is the government doing anything to get to the bottom of this? Apparently very little. When we hear that departments leave certain jobs vacant to meet their

goals, what about the Legislative Assembly goals? They are being forgotten. Thank you very much.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, acknowledgements. Mr. Yakeleya.

Norman Yakeleya

Norman Yakeleya Sahtu

Mr. Speaker, I would like to acknowledge Mr. Wilfred Jackson from Fort Good Hope, who was presented the 2014 Elders in Motion Active Elder Award on February 11th .

The Elders in Motion seek to improve access to physical activity opportunities for NWT elders. Elders in Motion works to enhance independence and efficient mobility for older adults.

Mr. Jackson is well known for his endeavours and active lifestyle both in the community and out on the land. He is a master trapper.

Mr. Jackson is a positive role model for our elders and communities across the Sahtu and NWT.

Please join me in congratulating Mr. Jackson on his well-deserved award. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Item 7, oral questions. Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.

Bob Bromley

Bob Bromley Weledeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to follow up on my Member’s statement with questions to the Premier today. I would like to start by noting that Bill C-15 is making its way through Parliament in Ottawa. Our Member of Parliament is working hard, but without our support he is having a hard time convincing the federal government to separate the changes to the MVRMA from the devolution part of the bill.

I’m sure the Premier has had some time to think about this. What steps does he propose that he could take to limit the damage that will be done by forcing the closure of the regional boards? Mahsi.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Yellowknife South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’re working very closely with the Aboriginal governments. We have five out of seven Aboriginal governments that have signed on to devolution. We’re just finalizing signing ceremonies with two more to sign on. We’re working with the Dehcho

First Nations. We expect that we’re making good progress on the discussion of land use. We expect that after a short period of consultation, there’s every indication that the Dehcho First Nation will sign on, and we are entering into a similar process with Akaitcho First Nations.

It is our intention to work very closely with the Government of Canada and the Aboriginal governments to continue to work and improve our regulatory system. We have always said that we want an efficient and effective regulatory framework. We will also maintain a presence in regional centres and we will work very closely so that we are all working together to move forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Bob Bromley

Bob Bromley Weledeh

Thanks to the Premier. The Premier has done a very good job of getting our Aboriginal groups to the table with devolution but, of course, that’s not what we’re talking about here. We’re talking about amendments to the MVRMA and they’re speaking with one voice and the Premier has been silent on this.

Again, I mentioned the idea of meeting with our Aboriginal partners to discuss what can be done on this specific issue to get that regional voice in there, which has been silenced and not supported by our Premier so far.

Has the Premier had any discussions with our Aboriginal partners on how we can help maintain strong regional voices in the new system? I might point out that all studies have indicated that those systems are very effective and efficient. Thank you.

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Yellowknife South

We’ve had a number of discussions with all the Aboriginal governments that have signed on to devolution and the so-called Northern Regulatory Improvement Initiative.

Our government stands by what we negotiated in land claims over 20 years ago. For example, the Gwich’in Agreement, which was signed and negotiated 20 years ago, reads that “Where, by legislation, any other land and water board is established having jurisdiction in an area which includes the settlement area, it shall assume the powers and responsibilities of the land and water board in 24.4.1 and shall become the land and water board for the purposes of this agreement. Legislation may provide for regional panels of the land and water board in (a)” and “The Gwich’in Tribal Council shall be consulted with respect to any such legislation.”

Notwithstanding that, we will be working with the Gwich’in Tribal Council. We have an MOU that we signed with them. We also will be working with them in the Intergovernmental Council. That is in the process of getting signed this week. Thank you.

Bob Bromley

Bob Bromley Weledeh

Thanks to the Premier. Our Aboriginal partners are talking about a court challenge to Bill C-15. Clearly, we’re not being

effective if that’s the case. So, devolution is one thing and, again, what we’re talking about here are amendments to the MVRMA which the federal government has included in Bill C-15. I’m sure the Premier agrees that this will bring uncertainty to the future of devolution, this legal action in the courts itself, as well to future mineral extraction applications.

Is there anything we, with our newly developed authority, can do to alleviate the concerns of our regional partners? Mahsi.

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Yellowknife South

Aboriginal governments are governments in their own right and it’s not up to me to take away that right for them to legislate as they see fit to do so. That’s part and parcel of being a responsible government. We will continue to work with them and we have five years after devolution whereby we will be reviewing the MVRMA, at which time we can work together during that period to improve the system, and even as we go forward after five years, to develop a system that will work better after that. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Bob Bromley

Bob Bromley Weledeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Premier again. I don’t question the right of the federal government to do their legislation, but our Aboriginal partners, the mass are speaking against this. So what I’m talking about here is mitigating the impacts of this. It’s going to happen. The Devolution Agreement commits us to stick with the MVRMA for at least five years, but the current federal government only has a mandate until 2015.

Will the Premier show some leadership and begin working with our partners on a strategy for re-establishing regional boards when a new federal government is in place? Mahsi.

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Yellowknife South

We will commit to working with our Aboriginal governments to improve in every area. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Norman Yakeleya

Norman Yakeleya Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Health and Social Services. Although I know that the Housing Corporation will be building independent living housing for seniors in Fort Good Hope in 2014-15 and that there’s a schedule already set out by the Housing Corporation and they’re working with the community of Fort Good Hope, I’m hoping that all plans are on target and that construction would begin, with elders moving into the facility in the spring of 2015. I wanted to ask the Minister of

Health and Social Services about the programs and services of that facility.

Will there be plans to train some additional staff members, maybe one or two that would support the facility in Fort Good Hope?

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Abernethy.

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just confirmed with the Minister of Housing that that project is definitely going ahead. They’re going to be starting during this fiscal year. I’ll leave it to the Minister to confirm the actual opening date, but the Department of Health and Social Services, the Sahtu Health and Social Services Authority and the Housing Corporation are collaborating on the development and programming for the new independent living units. A common area has been identified and incorporated into the design of the new housing units, and in the plans it is proposed that seniors day programs and health and personal care services will be delivered in that area through the new independent serviced seniors living unit. This will be assessed in 2014 by the department and the health and social services authority, and the department will work with the authority to determine the best range of services to the clients to be delivered in that area. At that time I’ll be able to give the Member more detail. Thank you.

Norman Yakeleya

Norman Yakeleya Sahtu

In our planning for our elders and our long-term care facility in Norman Wells, which is going to happen for a territorial long-term care facility, we also have this additional independent senior housing unit in Fort Good Hope.

Can the Minister inform me if it makes sense to look at the training or this training happens in the upcoming years, that the residents in Fort Good Hope will also have the opportunity if the training is assessed and that they can also be tagged on to the training program that is scheduled for the territorial long-term care facility that is going to be located in Norman Wells?

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

Until we do the analysis of that facility and the programs that will be delivered there, it’s hard to give a definite yes. I can say that it may be possible for us to deliver personal care and coordination of the programs in the Fort Good Hope independent living unit using existing home care staff in the community. However, if additional staff are required through the analysis that’s being done, we’re happy to work with our training partners, such as Aurora College, in the community to coordinate training for future staff.

Norman Yakeleya

Norman Yakeleya Sahtu

Looking at the schedule from the Housing Corporation, the seniors are expected to move into the independent seniors facility in Fort Good Hope in the spring of 2015, I believe.

I want to ask, do we have enough time, I guess, to say, yes, we can look at an additional one or two staff members, given that there is going to be a caretaker there, and that we also need to have some kind of medical personnel at that site also?

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

We will continue to work with the Sahtu health and social services in the community and identify the needs for the community with respect to the new independent living unit. Where additional resources are required, we will plan for them through the normal business cycle, which will give us time to have positions in place if necessary and required in the ’15-16 fiscal year.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Daryl Dolynny

Daryl Dolynny Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With the recent announcement by the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment on the future investment and rollout of the publicly funded junior kindergarten plan, it begs to ask what is to become of well-established private daycare facilities or, in some cases, societies such as Montessori that provide similar programming? Today my questions will be for the Minister of ECE.

Has the Minister or his staff entered into any formal dialogue with owners of private daycare facilities or providers of similar competing programs to the publicly funded junior kindergarten plans?