This is page numbers 4467 – 4510 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 services.

Topics

Kevin A. Menicoche

Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh

Thank you very much. I note that on the NWT fire website that we’ve had four fires to date and there’s two current. One is being monitored, but constituents have been asking. The fires that are being monitored late last year that caused excessive smoke in the communities causing some health effects to the elders, to young people, people with health conditions.

Can the department consider being more proactive in putting out these monitoring fires early? Particularly when there’s so few of them, I’m sure we can use some extra resources and put them out before more heat comes and more winds that cause bigger fires. Thanks.

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

We proceed by the policies laid out and directly laid out through the values at risk. I appreciate the Member’s concern, because smoke can travel a long way. I will talk to the department about the fires the Member is mentioning, to see what is in fact possible. Thank you.

Kevin A. Menicoche

Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh

Earlier in my spring tour as I toured the smaller communities in my riding, the leadership was asking about updating their firebreaks and getting that cleaned up. I’m wondering if the department has been to the communities and are working the communities to update and even clean out their firebreaks so that they’re out of danger. Thank you.

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

There has been work done through the FireSmart Program. It is not heavily resourced. What we have been doing is trying to work with municipalities, with individuals to make sure they fire smart their own properties, and where there’s an opportunity early in the fire season or when there’s a lull in fire season and if the crews are available, we’ve been putting those crews to work, as well, in the various communities, trying to look at firebreaks and the thinning of brush and the removable of flammable under-forest to help limit the spread of fire. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Kevin A. Menicoche

Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Just getting back to the health effects of smoke from forest fires, does the department work, say, with the Department of Health with an information campaign so the residents can best be prepared for the fire season? Thank you.

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

Yes, we will ensure that, as usual, folks are ready. This is the time of year, as well, where there’s a dusting off of emergency measure plans and the need for, as the Member indicated, a communication between Health and fire and in the event of heavy smoke that everybody knows what to do when that situation arises. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister for Education, Culture and Employment and I’d like to begin by asking the Minister one or two of the questions which I mentioned in my statement, which have been provided to me by constituents and are questions which I would love to get an answer for as well.

The first one from a constituent: How can the Minister add one whole cohort of students – and by that I’m referencing junior kindergarten – and reduce funding to the boards and at the same time still maintain that the boards are able – the Minister is saying that the boards are able – to maintain the same PTR? So we are adding one whole grade, junior kindergarten, we’re reducing funding and

apparently still maintaining PTR, which I have great difficulty in believing. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. When we are rolling out the program this fall, as I mentioned earlier, 22 out of 29 communities are going full force with the introduction of junior kindergarten and the rest will follow a year after and then the third year phased approach.

As I stated yesterday, two days ago I met with the board chairs of YCS and YK1 and we gave them some information that will be a useful part of their calculation of numbers. So we need to have actual, concrete, factual numbers and those are the facts that we want to lay out. The information that was introduced in the media is misleading; it wasn’t accurate information. So, the numbers that will come out early next week will be much different than what we’ve seen based on enrolment. So at that time I will be sharing it with the public. Mahsi.

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Thanks to the Minister for the information. I think I and the public will wait with bated breath to see this new information and see how it’s presumably going to assist the boards. I still have difficulty believing when you take money away that it’s going to make things better.

The second question from a constituent: How can the current level or quality of education be maintained with the slashing of funding to the school boards? Thank you.

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

When we first introduced junior kindergarten, we worked with the superintendents and they gave us some ideas of how we could mitigate and also work with the existing funding that has been introduced. Based on that, we came up with some numbers, a first and second and third year approach based on the 29 communities and then on to the regional centres and, finally, the Yellowknife school boards. Based on that, I’ve also committed that anything beyond 16 to 1 student teacher ratio I will be subsidizing as a department, as the Minister responsible for education. Based on that, the PTR, that’s why I don’t really want to say much in this House as of yet because those numbers are being crunched by the two senior staff, YK1, YCS and my department as we speak. Mahsi.

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

I didn’t hear much reference to how this is maintaining the quality or the level of education that we currently have when the boards are losing money.

I’d like to also ask the Minister: It hasn’t been stated outright, but certainly in recent actions and statements by both the department and the Minister, there’s been an indication that there’s a

new policy which is being instituted by the GNWT for boards. That seems to be, from what I’m gathering and what I’m hearing, is use your surpluses to fund your budget shortfalls. You’ve got surpluses and we want you to use them up, we’re not giving you any more money until you do that.

I’d like to know from the Minister if this is a new policy on the part of Education, Culture and Employment and are they implementing it on their own, or is it a part of a Cabinet decision? Thank you.

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Mahsi. The board surplus is at the discretion of the school boards at this time. Mahsi.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister. It’s nice to know that, if I hear the Minister correctly, he’s not going to claw back surpluses, but by reducing funding, that in effect requires them to use their surpluses to fill in the shortfalls.

So I’d like to know from the Minister, in Yellowknife, obviously the situation is different, the Minister is well aware, if he’s forcing the boards in Yellowknife to use up their surpluses, a portion of that is taxpayers’ money. So does he feel that that’s fair in that my taxpayer dollars are being forced to fill in a shortfall that the GNWT is instituting? Thank you.

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

I’m glad the Member is referring to taxpayers’ money. It is public money, the surplus that’s been accumulated. Some are substantial amounts and those monies should be expended into educational programming, so we support that as well.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Frederick Blake Jr.

Frederick Blake Jr. Mackenzie Delta

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Public Works and Services. As I mentioned in my Member’s statement, the high cost of fuel prices in the community of Tsiigehtchic. It’s not bad enough we’re paying $8 per litre of milk, now the price of heating fuel has gone up.

I’d like to ask the Minister: Can the Minister explain the huge increase in the price of fuel for Tsiigehtchic?

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Blake. The Minister of Public Works, Mr. Beaulieu.

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. The biggest contributor to the increase of heating fuel has been the wholesale cost of fuel. The

wholesale cost of fuel over a 12-month period from early 2013 to early 2014 was 20 cents a litre. That is the price increase of the wholesale price when we purchased it Edmonton, and somehow that contributed to, for example, an increase of 17 cents a litre in Yellowknife.

Frederick Blake Jr.

Frederick Blake Jr. Mackenzie Delta

I was actually asking about Tsiigehtchic. I wasn’t too concerned about Yellowknife. The prices here are, I believe, $1.38 per litre. The residents of Tsiigehtchic want to know why they feel the communities are always hit with the highest prices. As well, Tsiigehtchic is on the Mackenzie River system.

Can we reduce the cost by bringing fuel in to the community by barge?

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe

I was just making a comparison to the increase in YK. The Member is right; the increase in Tsiigehtchic, although we purchased the price of wholesale fuel for 20 cents a litre more, we charged 19 cents a litre more in Tsiigehtchic, so we did that by trying to use our Stabilization Fund to hold the price for a few months until the winter season was over so that the individuals in the smaller communities weren’t hit with the high fuel prices that we purchased in January. We held the price using our Stabilization Fund until the end of the winter season so that we would try to somehow keep the cost as low as possible for the homeowners.

Frederick Blake Jr.

Frederick Blake Jr. Mackenzie Delta

One of our priorities for this government is to reduce the cost of living in our communities.

How does the Minister plan to address the impacts of increased fuel prices on the quality of life in our smaller communities?