Good afternoon, colleagues. Item 2, Ministers’ statements. The honourable Minister of Justice, Mr. Ramsay.

Mr. Speaker, the Department of Justice is committed to this Assembly’s goals of healthy, educated people and vibrant, safe communities. We contribute to achieving these goals by offering a range of programs and services that give individuals the tools and support they need to address the challenges and poor choices that often result in criminal charges and incarceration. As with any organization, we are always looking for ways, big and small, to improve our programs and services to better help people make healthy choices. Given that commitment, we welcome the report and recommendations of the Auditor General tabled in this House last week.

This performance audit provides us with valuable feedback on our programs and services, many of which are consistent with our own recent observations and the continuing evolution of corrections across Canada. I have accepted all of the recommendations in the Auditor General’s report. I can assure everyone we will address the issues raised. The OAG recommendations allow us to refine and focus our ongoing work to modernize and continue to improve support for inmates and to ensure public safety.

Earlier this session I spoke about the Performance Assurance and Accountability Framework the department is advancing. This framework will be fully implemented by 2016 and will address how we support our staff as they carry out their duties. It will address the ethics and values they bring to their work, inject accountability into the processes in our

system, and allow us to apply policies and directives efficiently and effectively using best correctional practices.

We have a strong commitment to do whatever we can to prepare those who enter Northwest Territories correctional facilities to come back to live in our communities. We believe that people want to live full and productive lives and we will fulfill our role to offer every opportunity for that to happen. We also know we cannot support change by ourselves. It takes the support of you as leaders, our communities and many other service providers.

One of the reasons we work so hard to keep NWT residents here in the North is so they can get support from their families, their communities and ourselves as they work to change their lives. Keeping inmates in the NWT means they can continue to access cultural land activities, traditional and elder counsellors, healing and spiritual ceremonies that are effective and speak to the healing that NWT residents need to advance their rehabilitation.

I look forward to discussing the Auditor General’s report and the work that we are doing in corrections in more detail with the Standing Committee on Government Operations during the hearings in May.

Corrections is only one part of the equation, Mr. Speaker. Helping people make better choices that keep them out of trouble with the law is another critical aspect of our work. I would like to tell Members today about some of the other actions the department is taking to find solutions for our residents besides entering a correctional facility.

As Members know, the Wellness Court began sitting in Yellowknife last year, with the support of partners in the Public Prosecution Service and the judiciary. This alternative court focuses on the offender rather than the offence. It addresses people’s underlying issues, such as drug and alcohol addiction, mental illness and cognitive challenges. Through this program, individuals receive help to address their specific needs in the community rather than in a correctional environment.

The first sitting of the Wellness Court occurred on October 2, 2014, and it continues to sit every second Thursday. As of late February there are five

people participating in the program and 13 individuals have been referred. The department continues to refine the program with the judiciary as well as with other GNWT departments and community stakeholders.

I also want Members to know of a new development with another specialized court, the Domestic Violence Treatment Court. The eight-week program to support this court has been running in Yellowknife since 2011. It provides low-risk offenders who have accepted responsibility for their actions peaceful alternatives to violence in their domestic relationships. Training sessions for staff are scheduled to start this month, and by the end of April, this valuable program will be offered to residents of Hay River, the K’atlodeeche First Nation and Enterprise.

Members will also want to know that we have established an agreement with the Tree of Peace Friendship Centre in Yellowknife to once again provide a healing program for men who use violence in their intimate relationships. A New Day healing program is a part of larger system of accountability and safety to provide men with an alternative way of behaving with their partners and children. It was developed specifically for NWT residents with input and support from the Coalition Against Family Violence. To date, we have 12 clients who are attending individualized counselling sessions and 20 men who have been referred to the program.

Mr. Speaker, I remain committed to supporting the people of this territory and ensuring the Department of Justice is providing the best programs and services possible, delivered by our dedicated and professional staff. This recent report of the Auditor General was timely and will help further focus the work we were already doing to improve our offerings. We are confident this work will be done and I look forward to providing updates to Members as we proceed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Item 3, Members’ statements. The honourable Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, like my good colleague Mr. Ramsay, am happy to be back to work as well. I’m losing time on the clock, so I’d better get going.

The overreaching goal of the Conference Board of Canada is to benchmark the quality of life in Canada relative to its 15 peer countries. Most people agree that without good health care, quality

of life is severely compromised. On February 12th of

this year, the Conference Board of Canada published results on the status of Canadians and their health with their 15 peer countries.

The report is known as How Canada Performs and zeroes in on key health care indicators, and the results are compared across Canada’s provinces and territories as well as other countries such as, for example, the United States, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, Japan and Australia. The Conference Board is not intending to rank Canada’s health care, although the health care system has an impact on population health. The goal of the report is to evaluate health care status of Canadians and its peer countries.

The report tracks many indicators such as life expectancy, premature mortality, infant mortality, self-reported health status, mortality due to cancer, heart disease, respiratory disease, diabetes and suicides.

Overall, Canada earned a B grade on the health care report card, ranking eighth amongst these 16 peer countries. While the overall B grade is good, there is definitely room for improvement. Unfortunately, the Northwest Territories has some of the worst health care outcomes in Canada.

Four jurisdictions in Canada, the three territories plus Newfoundland and Labrador, received the lowest grade of D minus. In fact, the territories scored worst of all compared to other jurisdictions in Canada and the 15 peer countries. Poor health care outcomes among Aboriginal people may be affecting the overall results in the North because of our high population of Aboriginal people.

The Northwest Territories received a D minus in four indicators, ranking worse than the poorest performing peer countries on life expectancy, premature mortality, infant mortality and mortality due to cancer. The NWT also performed poorly on mortality due to respiratory disease, ranking third from the bottom and scoring a D. We only received a C grade when it came to suicide mortality and heart disease and stroke.

There is much more to talk about, but I will have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services about this terrible, if not dismal report on the state of health care in the Northwest Territories and what we are going to do about it. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In 1993 the Government of the Northwest Territories established the NWT Payroll Tax at 1 percent. In 2005 we upped that percentage to 2 percent.

Currently our government collects $42.7 million in payroll tax.

This tax was originally created to tax everybody who worked in the Northwest Territories and then rebate the residents of the Northwest Territories their 2 percent. Since that time, the GNWT has begun to keep that tax from some of the higher paid individuals, higher income earners. We are collecting taxes from out of province, but now were taxing our residents.

In this time that we talk about cost of living, this is a factor. This is a major factor. We’re not talking about exorbitant amounts of people; we’re talking about people who make a certain amount of money who get their money back. That number of people is getting less and less. The average earner in the Northwest Territories now gets taxed that 2 percent and doesn’t get the rebate back.

We need to improve this. This needs to be changed. We’ve had lots of people talk about the fly-in/fly-out workers and that we need to increase this payroll tax to 5 percent and give the payroll tax back to the residents of the Northwest Territories so that they can invest back into the Northwest Territories and help their cost of living in the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, we need this government to give the residents of the Northwest Territories a break, a tax break. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the end of this sitting nears, we are only six to eight months away from a territorial election and with it an opportunity for concerned citizens to take a leadership role in the governance of our people, lands and resources. We have all heard criticisms, frustrations and suggestions from residents and constituents. Now is the time for individuals to consider stepping forward to provide leadership and to put their ideas into action.

As John Todd, an alumnus of this House, was fond of saying, “If you don’t like the government policies, get elected.” Politics is not a career choice; it’s a calling, a vocation. It’s an opportunity to participate in setting standards for government services.

The Legislature used to travel throughout the NWT for session, setting up shop in school gymnasiums and community halls, bringing government to the people where they lived. With the birth of this amazing building, we no longer do this, but outreach remains an essential part of our work to attract people to the political process and give them the skills to succeed.

Democracy depends on a cross-section of our society’s voices being heard. Looking around the House today, I see an uneven ratio of men and women in this Chamber. Women make up to 50 percent of our population, and as Premier McLeod says, we need more female political leaders to participate in our democratic process. Their perspective adds benefit to our governance and they must be encouraged to use their voices. Supports exist with the Status of Women, who recently hosted a well-attended forum for women interested in running for political office, and some unions provide courses on campaigning. Such supports need expansion and enhancement.

Today’s newspaper has an article highlighting a visit to the Legislative Assembly by high school students from Wekweeti and the inspiration they drew from it to enter politics. More opportunities to interact with politicians and school programs specifically aimed at encouraging political involvement are needed. I encourage families to have dinner conversations on political leadership and democracy.

Finally, I and, I’m sure, my colleagues are approachable and willing to

discuss the experience

of being a Member of the Legislative Assembly. We need experienced, thoughtful, dedicated, diverse and representative leadership to take our territory forward on a sound, evidence-based foundation. I encourage residents to give serious consideration to running in the upcoming territorial election this fall. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. How many times do we need to hear Ministers say, “Our staff are our most valuable resource,” or better yet, “We are committed to health and safety,” or finally, “We are developing a robust Occupational Health and Safety Program that meets legislative requirements”?

Every one of our Ministers at one time or another spews these paid political announcements about as freely as the falling snow. Yet the courts have clearly told us our failure of the safety promise. Territorial Supreme Court judge Garth Malakoe on Action 2013-000272 said, “The ultimate goal of workers safety legislation is to create a culture of safety within the organization. Those organizations which incorporate such a culture will avoid breaches of such legislation and the accompanying monetary penalty.”

This was read in just as the GNWT pleaded guilty – and I repeat guilty – of failing to live up to our

obligation as a principal contractor. This guilty plea cost the taxpayers a severe fine and, of course, unnecessary injury to an NWT worker.

When the GNWT doesn’t respect our own laws, how can industry be expected to abide by the same laws? Clearly, the GNWT owes no less than for us to be held to a higher standard than that of industry.

This lack of a heightened responsibility took a different twist on Friday, March 6, 2015, in the House during Committee of the Whole when the Public Works and Services Minister was asked by the Member for Range Lake about the lack of a contractor management system in our shared procurement service model. When asked why basic safety procurement is not used, the reply is, “We would be eliminating the majority of our contractors in the small communities.”

I couldn’t believe my ears it was such a bold statement. Would we really be, as the Minister indicated in his words, leaving people out in the cold, or was this just a means to deflect responsibility and the apparent laziness of the department?

The Safety Act and its regulations are deemed the law that governs the safety and well-being of all Northerners. Again, the courts have reminded us of this, and with the multiple court cases still pending, one would think this wake-up call would resonate at our highest leadership.

Mr. Speaker, I am appalled and dismayed that a Minister would even hint that a responsibility would be excused on the deceptive pitfall of a small community punch line.

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

---Unanimous consent granted

I know that many small community businesses agree with me and are feverishly working on the right path to a safety culture. They want to have contracts. They work very hard to meet the demands of a more robust safety environment, and they want to compete at a territorial and a national level. Clearly, we owe them the respect of having more clairvoyance on our own government. But more importantly, the GNWT owes all businesses and the workers of the NWT a real safety culture that lives up to the rigour of best practice that is in tune with the rest of Canada and one that is not still living in the 1980s. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to speak on a very successful program that this

government has initiated over the last few years and that’s the NWT Youth Ambassador Program.

For those who don’t really know about the program, it’s just a guided and structural volunteer experience for NWT youth that provides the opportunity to develop significant life and job skills. Two programs that they’ve developed – and I believe the second one came out after running the first program successfully – is, first of all, just the Youth Ambassador Program. But what I’ve seen that was more evident – over this past weekend I went and checked out some of the training with the Minister and looked at our youth ambassadors getting prepared for this summer’s Pan Am Games and Parapan Am Games – was the Youth Ambassador mentorship program, where our youth ambassadors who have gone through the program are actually mentors and actually instructing and leading this program now. So, we are getting young leaders teaching young leaders on all these great life and job skills, and how to go out and promote the Northwest Territories and all that the NWT has to offer, be great ambassadors, but also show our culture and our traditions and the great hospitality that Northerners do have.

Last night I was at the Traditional Games component in Inuvik, and it was great watching the youth ambassadors helping their peers develop and understand some of these cultural games. These are just young leaders, as I said, promoting our culture and our traditions to other Northerners and also people across Canada as they participate in many, many events: NWT Days, for one; the royal visit, Olympics. This summer they’ll be at the Pan Am Games and the Parapan Am Games, as I mentioned.

One thing that was brought to my attention is where are the youth ambassadors who initially started this up? We hear things that they’re counsellors, they’re community leaders, they’re professionals now who have gone through education and volunteering. It was really great to see some of these youth who I, in my previous job, worked with and seeing them take it to an extra level.

We have a lot of youth in the NWT who excel in arts, sports, academics, hunting, trapping. This program takes it one step further. It takes all of their strong characteristics and helps build the life skills that they need to succeed in life.

I will have questions for the Minister later on today.

Thank you, Mr. Moses. The Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The negotiations process is a path that is taken when the parties believe they can make an agreement. My hope is

that the Government of the Northwest Territories and the Dehcho First Nations still believe they can work together.

Recently, the GNWT made an offer to the Dehcho First Nations in its efforts to move negotiations forward. However, as well intended the offer is, accusations of a “take it or leave it approach “and terse name calling has taken an unfortunate turn rather than examining the full merits of the offer and contemplating a counter offer.

It is my belief that the negotiations process is about working out issues and arriving at a common point of mutual interests. Before abandoning the negotiations, all options should be explored in the best interests of moving negotiations forward.

I will have questions for the Minister of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations later when I am given the opportunity.

Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Good afternoon, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to support the Dehcho First Nations’ aspirations for a settled claim and a fair and reasonable deal. The talks have indeed stalled and I hope not staled. There must be a way to sit down and find common ground once again.

Our government, Canada and the Dehcho First Nations has spent over 30 years of hard work on negotiations. It will be a shame not to evaluate the situation and to find a political solution.

Our Premier is an excellent negotiator and strong administrator. He will be remembered as the Premier that brought devolution home. I hope he can use that same strength to negotiate a land deal with the Dehcho First Nations, and I believe we are about 15 percent apart.

Mediation, while never popular, must be considered in this situation. Once again, we need the common ground, not a wedge that is driving us apart.

I will have questions for the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs during question period.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This week in the Assembly I will focus on economic and sustainable development in the Sahtu. In the North in all our regions we are rich with renewable resources, also with non-renewable resources and

with our people, our own people. We will continue to recognize our people with their awesome creativity.

If you ask for a comprehensive assessment of all the data on the potential of the great wealth with our renewable resources, it will be incredible. As an example, look at our good trappers and all the well-sought-after Mackenzie Valley furs, or the ever-empowering Great Bear River hydro.

Our non-renewable resources are in the billions, and that is still yet to be tapped. We can be energy independent. We have beautiful works of our designers, makers and shakers in the world of artists. In the olden days our fancy clothing was done because our mothers and sisters and aunties and grandmothers wanted us to dress up well and demonstrate that the makers were well taught and, more importantly, took the teachings of their elders seriously.

Today our way of life is now promoted as these designs are to be fashionable to wear, and we appreciate all people. We have good taste in Aboriginal art. For example, I say to this government, let’s look at an international beading conference in the North in, let’s say, Deline. Let’s bring the world to the North through beading. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, the day after International Women’s Day, many, many women are still far from equal with men. Here in Canada some women are achieving their dreams, but many are not and this is particularly true for non-white Canadian women. There have been some advances recently and today I want to highlight one.

This past January our government joined eight other provinces and territories when it announced changes to our securities rules. Following the lead of Canadian securities regulators, we’ve adopted voluntary disclosure rules for publicly traded companies. They will now be required to report on their strategies to recruit more women to their boards and senior management. They’ll be required to disclose the following: the number of women on the board and in executive officer positions; policies regarding the representation of women on the board; targets related to the representation of women on the board and in executive officer positions; any consideration of the representation of women in the director identification and selection process; and any consideration of the representation of women in executive officer

positions when making executive officer appointments.

Rather than imposing quotas, which some women see as tokenism and which businesses often view as interference, this “comply or explain” approach is designed to increase pressure by government, investors, media and the public on big firms to make them take steps towards gender equality. A company is not required to have any particular gender diversity policies, practices or targets in place as part of its corporate governance practices, but if it does not it must disclose why it has not done so.

The voluntary disclosure approach contradicts a recent action by Germany. They just passed a law which requires that 30 percent of a company’s director seats be given to women, but a recent study from the United Kingdom states, “voluntary targets are the way forward,” and that “legislating to ensure that a certain number of women are appointed to board positions will not solve the underlying reasons for failures in the boardroom gender diversity.”

So how is the North doing in this area? Well, not well. In 2013 in the three territories, an inventory of northern co-management boards identified a total of 34 boards with a total of 210 members. One hundred seventy-six, 84 percent, were males and 34, 16 percent, were females.

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

---Unanimous consent granted

Nine boards were composed exclusively of men and 18 boards had only a single female representative. The land and resource management regimes created through the settlement of our comprehensive land claims have given Aboriginal governments equitable representation and co-management, but have not promoted gender equity and board membership.

A strong case can be made for regulators and government nudging corporations and boards towards greater diversity at the highest levels. There’s ample evidence that companies and boards with women in decision-making positions are more profitable, better governed, more internationally competitive and more responsive to financial crises. In fact, the data suggests the more women, the better the performance. Recent studies in the United States have shown women perform better than men when forced to make decisions under stressful situations. In fact, one study showed that when the stress level was higher, men took greater risks compared to the routes women chose.

I truly appreciated the support from my colleagues on Friday for women and International Women’s Day, but without more women in decision-making

positions we are only paying lip service to women’s equality. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Beaulieu.

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to recognize a good friend of mine. He’s a true Tu Nedhe resident, Tony Buggins. Tony was born in Reliance and was raised in Fort Resolution. Tony is a long-term Chipewyan radio broadcaster, musician and interpreter/translator. So, I’d like to welcome Tony to the House today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize a Page who’s a resident of Weledeh, Linnea Stephenson. I’d like to thank her for all her service to the House the past couple weeks, and also Jacob Schubert, who I don’t know whether he’s working today or not, but thanks to all of our Pages. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Welcome, Mr. Buggins, to the gallery. Thank you for taking an interest in our proceedings here today.

Item 6, acknowledgements, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I want to honour Mrs. Judy Lafferty of Fort Good Hope, who was chosen as the Sahtu recipient at the annual Wise Woman Awards yesterday.

Mrs. Lafferty is a traditional woman who has many skills. Her beadwork is remarkable. Her ability to prepare meat and make dry fish is impeccable, and her care in raising a family is priceless.

Mr. Speaker, Mrs. Lafferty has always mentioned that her learning came from her late mother, Mrs. Mary Barnaby, who is no stranger to the Sahtu region.

On behalf of the Sahtu, congratulations to Mrs. Lafferty and the other well-deserved recipients of the Wise Woman Awards. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Item 7, oral questions, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question today is for the Minister of ITI. I want to ask the Minister of ITI, has his department been investigating or looking at a concept where international beading or design-making or makers come together in the North to share their experience with other designers around the world?

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Not to my knowledge, I don’t believe that’s happened yet. I know the department has initiated some jewellery workshops across the territory, and we’re looking forward to doing more things like that.

The issue with beading and, of course, the beadwork here in the Northwest Territories is it’s probably some of the best in the world. If the Member has somebody in one of his communities in the Sahtu who’s interested in trying to put a program like that together, that’s something that we’d be interested in hearing about and helping support. Thank you.

People in the North are the best source as bead makers and Members around the Assembly here certainly demonstrate the fine work that our people have done in the Northwest Territories.

I would like to ask the Minister if he would maybe instruct his staff to look in the North and see if we could somehow formulate a discussion around having an international forum on beading and making vests or making jackets, right across. It would bring our people together with other international groups so that we could demonstrate our high quality of professionals.

Yes, I can ask the staff at ITI about the concept. The other thing I’ll mention to the Member, if he has someone who can spearhead putting together a proposal, a plan at the community level and advancing that to the regional office in Norman Wells, then we can take things from there. But I will commit to go back to the department and ask them their thoughts on this issue. Thank you.

Has the department initiated some policies or regulations to protect our…(inaudible)…from any type of abuse or any type of stealing of our designs or our beadwork?

That’s something I’ll have to go back to the department and ask them about. I’m not aware of any patents or copyrights on anything like that. That’s not to say that it may be

worth something the department wants to look at, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

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

Thank you. I look forward to that, Mr. Speaker. Also, sewing, beading and making jackets has a lot of power. Has the Minister ever engaged in this type of work with his department in conjunction with the Health department, asking the meaning behind the beadwork or putting together a moosehide jacket or traditional wear such as yours, Mr. Speaker, in regards to helping our people with issues in their life?

I certainly appreciate that there’s a story behind every piece of beadwork that we see, not just here in the House but across the territory, and we certainly respect that. We’ll continue to have a discussion. If there’s a therapeutic side to that type of work, that activity, then that’s something I’ll have a discussion with my colleagues at ECE and Health and Social Services. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today I spoke about the Dehcho and their seemingly stalled talks with the GNWT. I guess what it’s all about is since the onset of devolution, GNWT, of course, takes more of a lead only because now we have the lands in question. So, maybe I’ll ask the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs about our new role in negotiating with the Dehcho First Nations? Previous to this we were leaning heavily on Canada. I’d like to know how much weight we have as the GNWT negotiating with the Dehcho First Nations. Mahsi cho.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The land claims negotiation process with Dehcho First Nations involves three parties: the Dehcho First Nations, the Government of Canada and the Government of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Certainly, the three parties have invested over 30 years of hard negotiating time. I was getting at that I think the GNWT is taking a more important role. In fact, Mr. Premier met with the Dehcho leadership around two weeks ago, and they left that meeting somewhat disheartened. They thought they were there to speak with the Premier at that time that we hosted the meeting and find some more common ground.

They want to complete the negotiations and fulfill their aspirations for self-government.

I’d like to ask the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs once again, how much weight does the GNWT have in our negotiations since the onset of devolution? Thank you.

The Government of the Northwest Territories made a comprehensive offer to conclude the outstanding land and resource issues and a draft agreement-in-principle. The Government of the Northwest Territories offer included a land quantum of 37,500 square kilometres. This would result in the Dehcho First Nations having title to 37,500 square kilometres of land with surface title and approximately 17.78 percent interest in the subsurface of the entire Dehcho Settlement Area.

The Government of the Northwest Territories’ offer also included elements that would guide the completion of a Dehcho Land Use Plan, set out the structure and responsibilities of the Dehcho Resource Management Authority, set out the authorities of the Dehcho Government in relation to renewable resources and set out the process the parties would use during final agreement negotiations to identify settlement lands, finalize protected areas and update the Dehcho Land Use Plan. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I’d like to thank the Minister for that response. Certainly, it almost sounds like a final offer. I guess what I’m in support of is we have to sit down with the Dehcho again. In fact, I think their latest asking is, geez, we’re 7,000 square kilometres apart. While mediation is never a popular way to go about it, I’d like to ask the Minister: What are his thoughts on getting mediation and getting back to the table, finding some more common ground, and let’s continue to move forward with our government and the Dehcho First Nations.

The Government of the Northwest Territories will continue to work in good faith with the representatives of the Dehcho First Nations Process. However, this can only be made with frank and honest conversations. This means that we must be able to lay out the extent of what we can do while still being fair to everyone. This is simply being honest and respectful. It is not being a bully or acting in a threatening manner.

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

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Certainly, I believe that we can continue to do it. We’ve got the power in this House. With devolution, we’re growing up, and I believe that we can find a way. I’ve indicated in my Member’s statement about how much I value Mr. Premier’s

negotiating abilities, and I believe that he can find a way around it.

I guess one of the barriers for those additional 7,000 square kilometres is about the precept or the concept that your population base is based on figures from 30 years ago. I would like to ask the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs, can he revisit that or find a flexible way around that old population base in order that we can expand on the land quantum?

The whole premise and process of land claims negotiations is based on the Dene-Metis Comprehensive Claim from 20 years ago. It’s being fair to a process where we’ve seen four land claim and resources agreements settled based on populations from 20 years ago. For a party to wait 20 years to negotiate whose population increases, it means that there’s a difference between the settlements. That’s why both the Government of Canada and the Northwest Territories government are using the populations that were in place at the time of the draft Dene-Metis Comprehensive Claim 20 years ago. The population numbers from then are significantly different now. Obviously, the numbers are significantly higher now.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too wanted to ask questions to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations. I’d like to ask the Minister, can he clarify whether the offer of 37,000 square kilometres is the take it or leave it offer or the final offer?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Government of the Northwest Territories is working hard to find solutions to the significant outstanding issues at the Dehcho Process negotiations. Part of this work included making an offer to the Dehcho on land quantum and how to conclude a Dehcho agreement-in-principle. This offer took many months to develop and incorporated the work of senior officials appointed by myself and the Dehcho grand chief to consider innovative solutions to these very challenges. When I wrote to the grand chief to clarify our offer, I indicated that we were looking forward to receiving a response by April 6th , so we’re still waiting for that

response.

I think the negotiations process at this point has reached a perilous point where perhaps parties might walk away. There could be a call where negotiations are basically going to come to a halt, and that’s not in the best interests of the

people of the Deh Cho, of the NWT, or even Canada, for that matter, for the uncertainty of the land tenure and the ownership and the jurisdiction to not be clarified.

At what point would the Premier or the Minister call upon his leadership and call upon the Dehcho leadership to step in, instead of leaving the negotiation process and the fate of the whole discussions of land and self-government to their officials and become involved and bring it to the spirit where it’s supposed to happen so that leaders can sit side by side with each other and come to some constructive discussion? Mahsi.

Thank you. Certainly that is what we would like to do if we can get to that.

The Government of the Northwest Territories negotiators advise the Dehcho and federal negotiators that while offers were being exchanged and considered at the highest levels between the parties, main table negotiations should be paused to allow the Dehcho First Nations time to consider the GNWT offer. We are still waiting for a response. Thank you.

Can the Minister provide an update of the Dehcho Process negotiations? I know he’s spent a lot of time explaining where the process is at, but from his perspective, is there hope? Is there a point where we should be concerned? Mahsi.

There’s always hope. From what I’m hearing from the two Members here, it seems apparent that the Dehcho First Nations have rejected the land offer that we’ve made, but that is a bilateral process. It was between the Dehcho First Nations and the Government of the Northwest Territories. We have offered to go to the communities to explain the offer that we’ve made, and we’ve also offered to anyone that invites us to come to present that. Obviously, at the end of the day, there’s always the main table, which involves the federal government, the Government of the Northwest Territories and the Dehcho First Nations, where we can all use that process to decide the way forward. Thank you.

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

Thank you. My final question is in all these negotiations sometimes they come to a point where you can’t really resolve the differences.

Are there any provisions within the negotiations policy of this government or else the framework agreement, that’s been hammered out with all the parties, for any provision for a dispute mechanism? Mahsi.

Thank you. The framework agreement does provide for that and the Dehcho negotiators had requested a main table session today and, ultimately, they decided to cancel it, but

the provisions of the draft agreement do provide for that. So when we come to it, we’d be prepared to discuss it. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have questions for the Minister of Finance today in relation to my statement on payroll tax.

How much of the $42.7 million collected in payroll tax is paid by NWT residents and what percent of those residents can get their payroll tax back? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. The Minister of Finance, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The payroll tax is administered under the Payroll Tax Act and is levied at the rate of 2 percent of employment earnings. The low-income earners get back the tax when they file. The question is in earners; as well, the answer is that the payroll tax is non-refundable. Although the refundable cost of living tax credit was introduced at the same time as a payroll tax, it is viewed as an offset to the payroll tax. The cost of living tax credit is calculated on the basis of net income and can be claimed by tax filers regardless of whether payroll tax is paid. Thank you.

Do we actually know how many people in the Northwest Territories, what percentage of people that file taxes get their payroll tax back in any form? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

With regard to the previous question, over the past five-year period from 2009-2010 to 2013-14, the average payroll tax generated was $38.7 million per year. In 2013-14 the GNWT collected $41.245 million in payroll tax revenue. Thank you.

We’ve been talking in this House about generating more people in the Northwest Territories. Would it not be an incentive for people to stay in the Northwest Territories if that payroll tax was 5 percent? Can we increase the payroll tax to 5 percent, Mr. Speaker? Thank you.

We raised it from 1 to 2 percent. To go to 5 percent would be problematic just because of the cost to administer it and the value to us in the long run and the fact that Canada Revenue Agency looks very carefully at payroll taxes and has a fairly jaundiced view of their appropriateness. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger.

Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bouchard.

My understanding of this tax is it was created to tax those people who work in the Northwest Territories, but we give those taxes back to the residents of the Northwest Territories. When did the Government of the Northwest Territories change the payroll tax? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The payroll tax is the same. The cost of living tax credit is in place that benefits Northerners and allows for some of the money to be recovered through the tax refund process. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today I spoke about a failure to implement a contractor management system in our shared procurement process and that this lack of foresight is a cause of a great many issues in our overall safety culture. My questions today are for the Minister of Public Works and Services.

We have been given updates from the department and the Minister by de facto being in good standing with the WSCC or, in other words, being paid up constitutes a minimum baseline requirement of a safety program for NWT businesses that apply for contract status with the GNWT.

Can the Minister confirm if this is the only standard safety requirement the GNWT uses in procured shared services? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Minister of Public Works, Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No, that is not the only safety requirement. We ensure that the contractors are able to provide a letter indicating they are in good standing with WSCC. However, that’s not the only requirement. We have construction safety on the agenda before a contract is awarded and there are several items the contractor must have in place before they are able to contract with GNWT. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It has been brought to our attention that NWT businesses are to self-register with the GNWT in preparation for RFP application within our shared procurement services.

Can the Minister indicate how are NWT business safety programs or services evaluated for relevance, certification or standardization given the vast array of national safety standards and criteria out there? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Department of Public Works takes safety seriously. We are working with industry to ensure that when individuals are on site

that not only the main contractor has followed all the NWT Safety Regulations under the NWT Safety Act and that all the subs that go on site also follow that. We have several items, anywhere from clothing to regulations with WHMIS need to be taken by employees. I’m not sure I’m following what self-registration is. Thank you.

Almost every other jurisdiction in Canada has, in one form or other, a contractor management system that identifies, assesses and controls the standards of business and workers in the workplace, especially in safe operations. Ironically, the GNWT feels a system will cause small communities to be left out in the cold.

Can the Minister clearly explain and defend the department’s position on its refusal to instill a modern day safety management tool? Thank you.

This is not just a small communities issue. If this is implemented across the board, it will leave a substantial number of contractors unable to work with the GNWT. That includes large companies that are not registered in the contract management system, including subs. There are contractors that are going to be able to get jobs, but their subs won’t be able to go on site. Contract management systems can be used to prequalify contractors. So, in a sense, if a contractor is not registered with the contract management system, then they wouldn’t be able to bid. We could also be able to do an evaluation and could use it for evaluating bids, tenders, evaluating proposals and so on. It is something we are moving towards, but we’re not going to rush in and eliminate all the people we have been doing business with to date. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today it’s really hard for me to know, and any other person listening, what exactly is a baseline of safety required by contractors working for the GNWT, especially if the GNWT is acting as a principal contractor. To be truthful, Mr. Speaker, I don’t think the GNWT knows that either. So we know by de facto, the WSCC is a program they use and we also heard from the Minister “we use several items” and we don’t know what that means.

Can the Minister indicate what the minimum baseline requirements are for safety that businesses must have in place in order to bid on RFPs within a procured service model? Thank you.

In addition to being in good standing with WSCC, the contractor has to have a copy of the safety plan on site. Also, they have to have regular meetings on safety through the process. Depending on the size of the contract and the nature of the contract, if there are hazardous materials such as asbestos, they have

to have an abatement plan for those items. For the real large projects, even our own project officers who go on site, need to have job-specific orientations before they get on site and work with the contractor. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I made comments earlier about the Youth Ambassador Program. We get a lot of youth who go through that program, but we also get a lot of youth who go through various programs through the Northwest Territories. We do have the successes but we also have some youth who fall through the cracks.

I want to ask the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, what type of follow-up does the department do, or the division, in following up with students after they have successfully gone through the program? As I mentioned, there is a mentorship program, but not everybody makes that mentorship program. What are we doing for the youth who don’t make it to that second level? Is there a follow-up component to this Youth Ambassador Program? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Moses. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think of all the programs that are run through the GNWT, the Youth Ambassador Program is one of the best. This is one program that’s going to have long-term benefits for the people of NWT. A lot of these young people are going to be our future leaders. In my time in interacting with them, I think the future of the NWT is in good hands.

To the question, the sport and recreation youth staff are constantly in contact with a lot of the youth ambassador alumni and potential youth ambassadors just to support and encourage them to pursue a healthy lifestyle and set goals and work hard. There is some follow-up with the former youth ambassadors, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

I know the department does a great job. As I mentioned, they have developed a lot of life skills and job skills. A lot of questions we’ve heard through this sitting of the Legislative Assembly are the human resources issue and vacancies in some of the jobs.

Does the Minister and his department work with the Department of Human Resources to look at how we can get some of these youth ambassadors, who are fairly young, anywhere from the age of 18 and 24, to fill some of these vacancies? Has the Minister had these kinds of discussions with the Minister of

Human Resources, or any other department for that matter? Thank you.

My information is there are 11 youth ambassadors who have been hired as summer students and have completed internships. There are six former youth ambassadors who are actually employed within the GNWT, and some of the successes you can measure. We have some youth ambassadors who are holding councillor positions within community governments, and there are some that are executive directors of NGOs. We’ve had some that have taken international volunteer placements and many have had academic scholarships and bursaries. Many of them are in volunteer roles in the community. We’ve had four youth ambassadors who have actually won the Outstanding Volunteer Award for the youth category. So, there’s a lot of opportunity for them there and the department tries to do what it can to ensure that there are opportunities for them within the GNWT. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It’s great to hear all those successes. Aside from asking questions about the success of this program, can the Minister possibly commit to work on some sort of success story on the website? I know on the NWT website there’s a blog where youth ambassadors can post things, but would the Minister be willing to create a success story on all the years that this program has been going? Success stories that we’ve had among our youth ambassadors to showcase how successful the program is but also encourage youth that are coming up to look into the program and also join in the successes of that program? Thank you.

This program has been in effect since 2007. We’ve had about 250 youth ambassadors go through this program. There have been 27 youth ambassador projects. We’re coming up on 10 years here soon, and we’ve had some discussions of maybe doing a 10-year anniversary booklet or something to do exactly as the Member stated, just to measure some of the success we’ve had in the program. But we also have the proud2bnwt youth website, and that suggestion has some merit to it. We could possibly post a lot of the success stories on there, because this is a program that we as a government should be quite proud of in the development of our young people across the Northwest Territories. Any chance we have of highlighting their successes I think will go a long way in the development of them plus future youth who are coming up through the program. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Can the Minister offer an explanation for the wide discrepancy between the NWT’s self-reported health status, which scored an A plus, and their actual health status, which scored a D minus?

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Minister of Health, Mr. Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are large health disparities between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal populations in residents across Canada. Poor health outcomes in the proportionately larger Aboriginal population here in the Northwest Territories, compared to other jurisdictions, is influencing the overall results in the NWT.

To be clear, the Conference Board of Canada’s report, How Canada Performs: A Report Card on Canada, measures health outcomes based on 10 indicators which evaluate health outcomes as opposed to health care systems. Health outcomes are primarily influenced by socio-economic conditions, such as education, housing, income or employment, which are the responsibilities of multiple departments here in the Government of the Northwest Territories. To that end, the government, in cooperation with the social programs as well as economic development, have been working on a number of action plans including the Mineral Development Action Plan, the Economic Development Action Plan, the Mental Health and Addictions Action Plan, the Action Plan on Anti-Poverty, following up on the NWT Anti-Poverty Framework as well as early childhood development. A number of things are being done in this area to help improve these outcomes over time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The only one that the Minister left off the table was devolution to help people’s health.

Can the Minister explain what areas under his responsibility, under health care indicators, why there is such a discrepancy between the report and the D minus received, rather than blaming other departments and referencing other proposals by departments? We’re talking about health care indicators and health.

Once again, to be clear, health outcomes are measured using 10 indicators that evaluate health outcomes, not health care systems. We are making improvements to the provision of health and social services here in the Northwest Territories. We’re moving forward with the health transformation with a focus on all residents of the Northwest Territories.

I just want to point out that the report from the Conference Board of Canada provided several recommendations for the NWT to improve health outcomes such as using a tailored approach including Aboriginal traditional knowledge and health policy, creative programs focused on Aboriginal youth, and developing culturally appropriate measurement tools and indicators to evaluate health and wellness programs. We’re evaluating and considering these recommendations and seeing how we can incorporate them to improve the health outcomes of residents of the Northwest Territories.

I would also just like to highlight that we have created the Aboriginal health and community wellness division which is working very closely with Aboriginal governments and partners throughout the territory to improve the outcomes of all residents of the Northwest Territories.

The Minister cites the MDS, that’s Mineral Development Strategy, and the EOS, the Economic Opportunities Strategy, as the solution for this. I’d like to actually hear what the Department of Health is doing when it comes to improving the outcomes of life expectancy, premature mortality, infant mortality and mortality due to cancer specific to health.

I understand the Member’s point but I do have to continually remind everybody that health outcomes are primarily influenced by socio-economic conditions and it’s going to take all of us working together, all of the departments working together.

With respect to the Department of Health and Social Services, we are the lead on the Anti-Poverty Action Plan; we are a partner on Early Childhood Development Action Plan; we’re the lead on Mental Health and Addictions Action Plan. We’ve also got a number of different cancer strategies that we’re partnering with the Government of Canada to implement here in the Northwest Territories, and we’re working on the development of a cancer strategy. We also have focused programs on chronic conditions like cancer, diabetes and a number of things, and we’re working closely with our partners and the Aboriginal governments through our Aboriginal health and community wellness division, because many of the solutions, we recognize, are out in the communities and the people want to be involved in their solutions, which is something we heard very clearly during our Weaving our Wisdom Gathering here last week.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

My final question is I’m curious as to what the Minister’s briefing note will read as to engagement on a pan-territorial strategy as to improve the D minus across the three territories as

we work towards a partnership for improving Aboriginal health and the health of all Northerners across the NWT and our two sister territories.

We already work with the other two territories on a number of initiatives. I had a conversation with the two Ministers last week and we’ve agreed to get together and have a tri-territorial meeting later this spring to discuss other areas where we can work together to improve the wellness and health outcomes of residents of the Northwest Territories.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a few questions for the Minister of ITI. Earlier this fall there was a forecast that the fur prices would drop this year. It’s been a little over a week now since the February auction. I’d like to ask the Minister, were the fur prices as low as expected this winter?

Thank you, Mr. Blake. The Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Prices of fur did come off last year. As the auction was just held recently, I haven’t got the information back from the department on what prices fur was fetching at this auction, but I would be more than happy to provide the Member and other Members with an update as soon as I get that information.

I’d like to ask the Minister, what affected the fur prices this year? As the Minister may recall, last year we had some of the highest prices for marten and other furs.

Obviously, we’d like to see a return to the very high prices for fur. The more money our trappers across the territory can earn from the sale of those furs goes directly back into the smaller communities and the local economy, so we’d like to see prices back where they were last year.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have some questions today for the Minister responsible for the Status of Women Council. I want to follow up on my Member’s statement. I also want to follow up and ask these questions following a very excellent campaign school that was held in February and because International Women’s Day was just yesterday.

Both men and women acknowledge that there is a need for equality, and I talked today about gender equity on boards and organizations, but I’d like to ask the Minister, first of all, about the vision of he, as Minister for women, but also the GNWT, the government, what is the vision of this government in regards to the advancement of women towards equality in our society?

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As a government, we see equitable participation of women in all aspects of the government. As well, we would like to see improvements made in a number of areas in the communities. Right now we’re working primarily with the Status of Women Council and the Native Women’s Association of the Northwest Territories and we would like to see more representation in this Legislative Assembly. I think that as a government, 64 percent of our employees are female and 50 percent of our deputy minister cadre are women. I think that certainly we want to see more women advance into the senior management of our government, but also we feel that we need to find additional resources to help support the two main women organizations that we work with.

Thanks to the Minister for that response. I am very proud that we have a lot of senior managers who are women and I’m glad that the government recognizes that as an accomplishment.

The fact that the Minister says that we want to get better, I need to ask the next question, which is: How is the Minister, how is this government going to affect that vision, going to effect that change?