This is page numbers 4379 – 4414 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 thence.

Topics

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Final, short supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Jane Groenewegen

Jane Groenewegen Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That education that is provided to patients who are diagnosed with diabetes, I’m going to ask the

Minister if he is familiar with the concept that came out through previous reports to Health and Social Service on the concept of centres of excellence for different types of activities within the health care system.

With this increase in the incidence of diabetes, has any thought been given to a centre of excellence for the education and treatment of diabetes in the Northwest Territories and perhaps could he consider that the Hay River hospital that’s going to be soon moved into a new hospital as a centre for something like that? Thank you.

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Minister of Health and Social Services

Thank you. We are committed to working with residents on this particular issue and we’re committed to doing a number of things, including some prevention and direct supports to our residents. We have run a number of pilots in different communities on diabetes programming, but I hear the Member, it’s an interesting idea. I would love to sit down with the Member and committee and get a little bit more input on specifically what they’re making reference to and I would be happy to have some additional discussion on that. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Mr. Yakeleya.

Norman Yakeleya

Norman Yakeleya Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to ask some questions to the Premier in regard to the Sahtu Land Claim Agreement. In our agreements we have institutions, we have set up institutions that would bring some decision-making authority and control within the Sahtu. Now with devolution and Mr. Bromley’s questions on the environmental assessments and stuff like that, will our institutions still be restricted because of the institutions that we set up? We have set them up for a reason and for a purpose. Will these institutions still be in place or is it the GNWT’s intention to take over these institutions and not follow authorities set by our land claims?

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Premier

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We were participants in the negotiation of land claim agreements and we certainly stand by what was negotiated. The Devolution Final Agreement provides for non-abrogation of treaties or land claims. We have that language throughout the Devolution Final Agreement where there will be no negative impacts on those areas. Where or if it ever happens then what’s in the land claim would trump what’s in the Devolution Agreement. Thank you.

Norman Yakeleya

Norman Yakeleya Sahtu

Over the years of hard work that the people have set, that institutions set out our own rights within our own land claims. Now we also

have our own land in the Sahtu. Is that also in the type of response I get back from the Minister that the Sahtu people are making decisions on their own lands, through their own institutions and that’s the process that will continue? Is that what I’m understanding from the Premier?

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Premier

Thank you. That’s the whole premise of the agreement under the Intergovernmental Council that the Aboriginal governments that have land claims, who are the largest land holders in the Northwest Territories – I think together they hold about 193,000 square kilometres of freehold land – the way we see it, the management regime is that each Aboriginal government would manage their own land that they own and we would work together to provide for best practices and some consistency across the Northwest Territories. Together we’ll all manage the land in the best interests of all the people of the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Norman Yakeleya

Norman Yakeleya Sahtu

Thank you. I recall from the days of negotiating we want more land, that’s what we kind of negotiated with the two governments. So I want to ask the Premier within our land claims, the constitution, the protective document that sets up certainties, securities, institutions in the Sahtu, is it the intention of the territorial government to work with the Sahtu people through their institution to look at issues in a way that satisfies the people of the Sahtu, such as the operations of the oil and gas explorations, using the hydraulic fracking, that due diligence is followed and all the concerns that we have heard are followed, investigated, looked at and reported so that any application isn’t taken for granted, but each application would receive a thorough body of due diligence?

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Premier

Thank you. We had a meeting with our Aboriginal government leaders on March the 7th where we discussed the

Intergovernmental Council and the proceedings and all of the different leaders all raised some of the issues of concern to them. Certainly, the Sahtu Secretariat leadership expressed issues that they are interested in and together we’ll work to deal with these issues. I don’t recall, I don’t think fracking was raised, but there is a body through this government that will deal with it, as the Minister of ENR has indicated would be coming out with a document on that as well. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Norman Yakeleya

Norman Yakeleya Sahtu

Mr. Speaker, I want to ask the Premier, when does it become the tipping point for any region that outside influence will have an influence in the Sahtu region? If it’s our decision through our institutions and our land claims that we are to make decisions based on what we have set up, when does there come a point where, okay, we need to look at other areas where people outside

the Sahtu will start to influence and start making decisions for the people in the Sahtu?

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Premier

Thank you. I believe we’re already seeing that happen and I think that we will continue to work with the Sahtu leadership to try to work with what the people in the region want to see happen. I think that’s the way we will approach and that’s the way the land claims have been negotiated and settled on a regional basis. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Daryl Dolynny

Daryl Dolynny Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier in this session I brought up the issue of unresolved property damages in Yellowknife, Behchoko and Detah in the wake of an extended power outage that took place on December 29, 2013. Mr. Speaker, I brought to the floor information regarding millions of damages, which was echoed also by the media. Unfortunately, I was trying to get some more information here for the public and I was put on notice, which means I was shut down for asking more questions. So I asked the Minister to table a written response to what happened, what was the chronology of events, which was then later tabled to the House.

So, I have questions that continue that journey with the Minister responsible for NTPC on what was tabled. Clearly, within the framework of the chronology, there was some faulty equipment in this outage and that was kind of echoed also by the Minister in other dialogue that we had during this session.

Can the Minister indicate to the House here was this equipment repaired and to what cost? Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If it hasn’t been all done, it will be done. I haven’t got the final costs yet.

Daryl Dolynny

Daryl Dolynny Range Lake

As we indicated a month or two ago here, well, at least six weeks ago, we had millions of dollars of damage anticipated with this. Can the Minister indicate whether his office or NTPC have performed a full cost accounting on this recent power outage to evaluate the extent of the current and potentially future damage caused to residents and businesses, and if not, why?

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

We have looked at the impact and cost of the event, the weather event that triggered this cascading of events resulting in a power outage. We’ve had this

discussion in the House. We have our policies and approaches to responding to acts of God. Where there are situations where we are responsible for because of our actions or things that have happened that come back on us, we have looked at that approach, as well, but the broad-sweeping assessment that the Member has asked about hasn’t been done that I’ve seen.

Daryl Dolynny

Daryl Dolynny Range Lake

This is clearly the point of my argument here. If we don’t know what the damage cost us, if we don’t know what the damage cost taxpayers, how do we know the severity of the situation?

Can the Minister indicate if the concept of an income-tested contingency fund for disaster relief directly associated with such things as extended power outages at extreme cold temperatures has ever been discussed by this government, and if not, why?

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

No, it hasn’t, and because the position of the government at this point is that what is currently in place is sufficient.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Daryl Dolynny

Daryl Dolynny Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Giving the word sufficient to some of the residents of the Northwest Territories saying you’re stuck with the bill, I don’t think is sufficient. Given the reported damages of almost over $2 million, and given the fact that we’ve heard that faulty equipment was to blame and that the equipment was not working properly, according to what was tabled in chronology, and given that the government has not performed any cost accounting with the recent disaster, how can the Minister sit here in the House and indicate very little to satisfy the public’s outcry for financial help? What is this Minister prepared to do to mitigate the situation?

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

The Member makes a lot of assertions and a lot of statements that he cites as fact. There was an initial event, a weather event that initiated the cause. We’ve looked at that. We’ve set out an extensive review to make sure we improve our services and our communication, but we have existing processes in place to deal with circumstances related to those types of outages. We’re going to continue to work on our quality assurance and our communications and improvement to services including a $10 million battery that would potentially level out and give us 15 minutes time to adjust to power outages. I can stand here quite easily to discuss those types of things which are, in fact, facts and reality.