Good afternoon, colleagues. Before we start today, I’d just like to send a message to my family in my home community of Tuktoyaktuk. Yesterday was a very sad day in our home with the passing of two well-respected elders. My condolences go out to Adam Emaghok and his family with the passing of his wife, Annie. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family at this time.

With the passing of Anna Cockney, to all her family, our thoughts and prayers are with you at this time. I always say when we lose loved ones in our communities, it hurts us all. We work together and pull together to get things done for the families because of what they are going through at this time. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all at this time from this Assembly. May God bless you all and I look forward to seeing you.

Item 2, Ministers’ statements. Honourable Premier.

Mr. Speaker, on Friday, February 27th, provincial and territorial Premiers and Ministers, federal Ministers and national Aboriginal organization leaders will gather in Ottawa to discuss how best to collaborate and coordinate action to prevent and address violence against Indigenous women and girls.

The National Round Table on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls is an unprecedented gathering of partners from across Canada who collectively agree that concrete and identifiable actions are needed.

We know from national research and reports that indigenous women and girls are three times more likely to experience violence than any other population in Canada. We also know that good work is being done across many jurisdictions and organizations at the local, regional and national

level to change this. But, as of right now, no comprehensive or coordinated action plan exists.

The goal of the round table is to create a dialogue among all partners to develop and act upon coordinated solutions to end violence against indigenous women and girls. The discussion will focus on prevention and awareness, community safety, and policing measures and justice responses.

Careful consideration has been given to how the round table will recognize and include the views of the families of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. The national Aboriginal organizations will be hosting a family gathering on February 26th. From that gathering, families in attendance will nominate four witnesses, representing the four directions, to attend the round table to share the vision of the families and provide their reflection on the discussion from the day.

Mr. Speaker, I have been asked by the national Aboriginal organizations to serve as the official chair for the round table. I am encouraged by the willingness of all levels of government to collectively engage in respectful and meaningful dialogue, set aside political differences and focus on our common goals. We have all acknowledged that work needs to be done to address the far too common tragedies of murdered and missing indigenous women and girls.

A family member of a missing Northwest Territories indigenous woman will be part of the delegation. My Cabinet colleague, the Honourable David Ramsay, Minister of Justice, will also be joining me to share the perspectives of the Northwest Territories with the rest of Canada.

The round table is the first meeting of its kind and the start of an important national conversation. I look forward to a shared national commitment to increased, ongoing collaboration and the development of regionally and community-based solutions to prevent and address violence against indigenous women and girls. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister of Public Works and Services, Mr. Beaulieu.

Mr. Speaker, as our government continues to work towards achieving its goal of an environmentally sustainable and prosperous Northwest Territories, I would like to highlight one of the ways that the Department of Public Works and Services is helping to ensure that we maximize investments to improve the operational performance of our existing infrastructure.

First established in 2007, the Capital Asset Retrofit Fund (CARF) Program was created to target energy efficiency investments in our public buildings. At its core, the program strives to:

• reduce energy consumption and operational costs of government facilities;

• improve overall comfort for building users;

• reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with the operation of our public buildings;

• increase the usable life of government assets; and

• identify new energy technologies appropriate for our northern environment.

Through the CARF Program, buildings undergo a rigorous energy audit that includes benchmarking a facility to see how its energy usage compares to other similar buildings.

Once baseline energy data is collected, Department of Public Works and Services determines which buildings will most benefit from an energy retrofit under the CARF Program. In the last four years the department has completed over 30 retrofits ranging in size from $10,000 to over $1 million in 19 different communities, large and small. These energy retrofit projects not only reduce our energy consumption but create much needed business and employment opportunities in our small communities

Looking forward, the department has 19 energy projects planned for 2015-2016 in various communities. This includes retrofit projects for the health centre in Fort Good Hope, Aurora College in Inuvik and schools in Deline, Fort McPherson and Fort Smith.

Mr. Speaker, this government’s investment in energy retrofits not only improves the performance and comfort of our public buildings but also generates net operational savings that we expect will make the CARF Program self-sufficient in future.

The first step in making the CARF Program self-sustaining was achieved in 2010-2011 by re-profiling $645,000 in ongoing operational funding from the department-managed utilities savings to capital infrastructure expenditure funding.

In addition to the savings achieved in 2010-2011, an additional $832,000 in ongoing operational savings was realized between 2012 and 2013 for a total of $1.47 million annually, which has been redirected to permanently fund the CARF Program. By the end of 2014-2015, the department is projecting the total annual realized savings to reach $1.72 million.

The CARF is meeting program objectives by reducing our energy consumption and lowering the operational costs for government buildings and facilities. Projects include biomass boiler installations, building envelope upgrades, installation of LED lighting and replacing building components with more energy-efficient and responsive systems.

Mr. Speaker, programs like the CARF provides our government with creative ways to maximize infrastructure investments while achieving high standards for energy efficiency which reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The results of our government’s continued investment in the CARF Program will be published in the Department of Public Works and Services 2014-15 Energy Conservation Projects Annual Report later this spring. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Item 3, Members’ statements. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I join my colleagues in recognizing Pink Shirt Day. We’re taking a stand against bullying by wearing pink today.

Pink Shirt Day had unlikely beginnings. It started with a spontaneous protest in 2007 following a bullying incident in a Nova Scotia high school. A ninth grade male student had been bullied for wearing a pink shirt, and in a gesture of solidarity, two older boys bought 50 pink shirts and gave them away to fellow students. To the organizers’ surprise, the protest made national headlines. Shortly afterward, provincial Premiers began to designate Pink Shirt Day as an official day against bullying.

Bullying describes a number of acts of aggression: swearing or shouting, punching or shoving, spreading rumours, engaging in nasty practical jokes or invading someone’s privacy. The effects of bullying are devastating and can last a lifetime. In extreme cases, even suicide can result.

The 2010 Minister’s Forum on Aboriginal Student Achievement and, more recently, the National Health Survey on School-Aged Children told us that students and families in the Northwest Territories are severely affected by bullying.

But there is good news, Mr. Speaker. Bullying is being taken seriously across the country and in our jurisdiction as well. Anti-bullying activities are in full swing, in part because of anti-bullying legislation that this Assembly passed in 2013. The Department of Education, Culture and Employment has launched a campaign to convey one clear message: bullying is never acceptable. Students in schools are pledging to stand up and stop bullying and also compete for prizes by creating videos, photos and art.

It will take a collective effort to stop bullying and we are on the road to change, but we’re not there yet. So I am joining my colleagues in calling on every single person in the Northwest Territories to stand up against bullying. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Item 2, Ministers’ statements. Honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise Members that the Honourable Jackson Lafferty will be absent from the House today due to illness. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Item 3, Members’ statements. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too would like to rise here in support of anti-bullying day. In preparing for this day, I did find myself reflecting on the work of this Assembly and asking, did we actually put a dent in bullying? Before I respond to this question, I did find myself going full circle in trying to grasp leadership on this subject.

I, like many in this room, voted in the fall of 2013 suggesting changes to Bill 12, which is the legislation, An Act to Amend the Education Act, thus making our schools safer by instilling a stronger Safe Schools Policy.

Like anything, we are politicians, not magicians. One has to truly wonder if this legislation had an impact, and without any formal survey of our education system since its inception, we are guessing at best. Moreover, aside from what we can legislate between the hours of nine and four on school days, I can assure you that with the modernization of communication technology and the continued misuse of new social media we are destined to have an uphill battle and war on bullying. That’s a given.

I live in the real world, so until such time that all children understand the hidden perils on the Internet, we will never combat bullying. Until such time as Internet trolls continue to hide in the shadows unpunished, we will never combat bullying. Until such time so-called “avatar armchair critics” continue to feel first amendment rights give them the freedom to twist our cornerstone of democracy, we’ll never combat bullying.

I said I’d respond to my earlier question, have we put a dent in bullying? Like I said earlier, I have gone full circle on this subject. I am proud of what we accomplish in this Assembly, but fear we have fallen short of really guaranteeing a bully-free environment many had set out to do at the beginning.

Legislation cannot work in isolation. It requires awareness, which I think we have done and will continue to do.

However, until we have the power to enforce what is right, to punish those who inflict wrong, and to turn misuse of power into fear and remorse, we will fail on this delivery. All we can do now is wait until the right legislative trade winds draft a better Criminal Code of Canada that catches up with the reality of ever-changing technology and its misuse. And this, Mr. Speaker, may never happen. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last week, as Members know, I attended a celebration for Elizabeth Greenland who had her 95th birthday. It dawned on me at the event, when I looked around the Ingamo Hall and saw all the elders who were in attendance and the long-term care facility staff that brought all the elders from the hospital to celebrate in these celebrations – and many of them participated in the dancing and the feast – they had looks of joy on their faces, happiness, and they looked alive.

As we stand up here today on Pink Shirt Day, what dawned on me on that day was it was great to have a lot of the elders there, but we were still missing a few. We were missing some that might have been caused from death, but what I want to talk about today is the abuse and the neglect that our people have committed on some of our seniors in the small communities.

I’ve brought it up before, Mr. Speaker. These can be of all natures: financial, verbal, physical, psychological. They can do things to elders that make the elder feel guilty, when we should be celebrating their life and their existence. Because our elders are the keepers of traditional knowledge, culture and language and, just as important, they have the history, stories of a past that we don’t have, and this is an opportunity for us to celebrate that, to talk to them, to engage them, to help them live that life longer and more independently.

So, last week when I was at the celebrations, I was glad to see all the elders that were there. A really good suggestion or remarks that were given to me by another elder is, they said, “Listen to your elders because they don’t have much time left on this earth,” and to listen to the elders because they have the stories to tell, they have the information that they want to give you so you can carry it on and pass it on to your children or to other people in the Northwest Territories and to the school and education systems.

Today I just want to talk about our senior population, and I want to encourage anybody who sees any of this type of abuse on their elders in the communities, speak up, talk to the authorities, talk to people that can help, whether it’s a social worker or a teacher or some type of other authority and make sure that it’s addressed now. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank all those who are working together to battle bullying, to the parents, the teachers, the volunteers and the students, also the RCMP and leaders throughout Canada.

The issue of bullying has come to light for a few years, but in many cases bullying has been going on for many years. As we work together, eventually we will put a stop to bullying. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Blake. Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. This year’s potential fire season is of great interest to all residents of the NWT. Minister Miltenberger was quoted on February 9th in the Northern Journal that the 2015 forest fire season is likely to pick up where the last, considered worst in the NWT’s history, left off. This is a dire warning, and residents would like our Department of ENR to be prepared, and residents and community should be prepared as well.

In Nahendeh, while we were somewhat spared in 2014, we did have a fire cross a river at Jean Marie River that was very scary. Fortunately, the winds helped and it turned out positive.

Nahendeh region has great stands of mature forests and the residents are expressing great concern about what is to come. The Minister further states, “Unless we get a lot of snow in the rest of winter and then a lot of rain, the drought codes are going to start the year as bad as they ended last summer, which does not bode well for the type of fire season we may encounter.” This in particular reference of what our scientists are calling our third year of drought in the Northwest Territories.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources has been hosting open houses across our territory over the last two months as an opportunity to learn more about the wildlife fire management in the Northwest Territories and talk about the 2014 wildland fire season. I am pleased that the department undertook these community consultations. It was a great job by the staff who were there and answered questions of concern that the public had.

How are we going to prepare for the 2015 fire season? Well, they should consider and listen to what is being heard from the public. I attended and heard that we should fight fires early. This can save us at a later date. A good case in point is that there was a fire some 50 miles away from Kakisa in early spring that was not actioned, and for good reason based on swamps and risk levels by the Department of ENR. Yet, because the swamps dried up later during mid-summer, the fire later became a real threat. Through the actions of ENR and God willing, the village was saved with little or no damage.

Having initial attack exercises on early fires, no matter where they are, may seem costly at first but the benefits are many. It can used for training and testing aircraft and other equipment.

I’ll have questions for the Minister during question period. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The crime rate in the Northwest Territories is eight times higher than the national average. The rate of violent crime in our jurisdiction is the second highest in the country. That’s not all, Mr. Speaker. Bullying, belittling and name calling are commonplace in our communities.

The situation is compounded by a familiar list of social factors: alcoholism and drug abuse, poverty, low educational attainment and the multigenerational effects of residential schools.

I believe life in our small communities would really improve if we had more homegrown police officers. We should be on the lookout for bright and responsible young people who want to serve in law enforcement. The RCMP has a new program called the Aboriginal Pre-Cadet Training Program. It’s part of the RCMP’s national strategy to recruit Aboriginal people who are interested in law enforcement. Students take a three-week training course focused on collaborative problem solving, law enforcement techniques, cultural diversity and physical fitness. After that they are posted for eight weeks at the RCMP detachments in or near their home communities. For many of these young people the program is a life-altering experience.

Aside from ensuring that young people participate in the RCMP’s Aboriginal Pre-Cadet Training Program, the Department of Justice could develop its own version of this program. What I have in mind are community-based policing opportunities for young people, mentored not only by experienced police officers but also by caring and strong community elders.

To tackle the culture of crime and bullying in the NWT, we need to be thinking outside the box. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Nadli. Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last March the government adopted sweeping devolution legislation without one iota of public review. Members of this House insisted that a meaningful process for public input be put in place. The process now in place is pitiful. The outreach to citizenry on the seven substantive acts is limited to a few newspaper ads inviting people to go to the government website and fight their way through menus to get to a place that they purportedly can leave comments and ask questions.

Then what happens? Constituents report that the response time to questions posted to the site is glacial. A message sent on November 28th asking two questions was ignored until a resident sent a follow-up message on January 9th. Promised an answer within three business days, 10 days later she was still waiting and contacted the office again. Finally, two months after initially posing her questions she received a reply. Hardly responsive.

Another resident had questions but, after composing them and trying to post them, was disappointed to see that they had not been posted. They simply disappeared. After a second attempt with the same results, she gave up in disgust. Again, hardly user friendly.

In response to questions in the House regarding the failure of this approach, the Premier said, “Perhaps in view of the lack of response, we could extend the process and start another communications process to acquaint people to the legislation.”

Devolve and evolve, the Premier has said, I couldn’t agree more. What would responsible consultation on such comprehensive land and resource legislation entail? I would suggest committee involvement, discussion papers, public meetings, an interactive process to actually engage and debate the merits of the law and where changes are warranted would be a minimum effort. Putting the onus on the public to consult a murky and underperforming website is hardly the hallmark of an open and transparent government. Where are the public meetings to discuss these comprehensive and complex new laws? Where is the much touted claim to make it made-in-the-North legislation?

In these critical areas of policy and law, our government is not only not listening but it seems completely disinterested. I ask what will this Premier do to put in place a meaningful consultation process in the eight months left in our term.

Mr. Premier, tick tock, tick tock. We are running out of time. We either go on record as failing our people and our claims of transparencies and inclusion once again or we get it done. What will it be?

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As you’ve already heard, it’s Pink Shirt Day. We should be all yelling this and bellowing it in the highest of our trumpet voices and saying we need to help join in the fight to help eliminate bullying, all types of bullying, any type of bullying. It’s often a struggle carried alone, as we all know, but it should never be that way. Today many of us wear pink shirts or pink apparel to show our support for this cause.

Today is February 25th, just another day on the calendar for many. But there are others out there. Today is just another day in a long nightmare where they’re struggling with a bully. Bullying affects all our lives. Bullying affects people’s life outlook. It affects their friends. It affects their families. It affects their hopes and certainly affects their dreams. Imagine being one of those bullied, feeling alone, feeling as if the world doesn’t like you, that you’re not worth anything.

But it should never be that way. Everyone can help stop the bullying. Let us not fool ourselves though. It is a struggle to stand up to a bully. That’s why we must do it together and not let people feel alone. That is why we need everyone’s help.

We’ve often heard that there are four main types of bullying, but it doesn’t end there. We’ve heard about verbal bullying, social bullying, physical bullying and certainly cyberbullying. Watching someone being called names or hearing sarcasm or teasing or spreading rumors is terrible. Making one feel inferior about their cultures, their ethnicity, their race, or their religion is terrible. The power is within all of us to help support that person who is getting bullied.

Often bullies don’t know that they are the problem, and that’s why we need to do our work much, much harder. We must redouble our efforts, as they say, and we must find meaningful ways to help those who are being bullied and help to encourage those who are doing it to not do it anymore.

Be the voice of change. Be the friend to someone who has no friend. Let us not let this day go by as just February 25th, another day on the calendar. Let it sink in within all of us and realize that someone out there is being bullied right now, feels alone and has no friend. As I said earlier, let’s be the voice of change. Let’s be the friend when someone has no one.

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