This is page numbers 6757 – 6826 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 health.

Topics

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Kevin A. Menicoche

Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I want to ask the Minister of Transportation some questions with regard to working with municipalities and street lighting on the highway system.

I would like to ask the Minister: What type of program does the Department of Transportation currently have to assist with the street lighting on our NWT highways and close to municipalities? Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Minister of Transportation, Mr. Beaulieu.

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It would be generally a maintenance program. Safety is a priority for the department, and there were issues with some corners that were dark and we were able to put up some lights. I know the Member is concerned about a road that runs off the main road that’s been maintained by the department that doesn’t have adequate street lighting. So we are going to be working with, most likely, the Power Corporation for poles and lighting on that access road the Member had asked me about earlier. Thank you.

Kevin A. Menicoche

Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh

To be specific, yes I’ve been asking the Minister about installing some street lighting on the access road that goes from our 6 kilometre, the Wild Rose subdivision, down onto the Four Mile subdivision, and that’s been a safety concern raised by the residents, most particularly in the last couple of years, with more and more bears being in the community and it being very dark at night.

I’d just like to ask the Minister, has he been contacted by the Village of Fort Simpson with regard to identifying exactly where street lighting should go? Thank you.

Tome Beaulieu

I personally have not been in contact with the municipality, but the information was passed on to the department and it’s possible the department has initiated some discussion with the municipality on this issue. Thank you.

Question 944-17(5): Fort Simpson Access Road Streetlights
Oral Questions (Reversion)

October 6th, 2015

Kevin A. Menicoche

Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh

It’s probably correct that the Village of Fort Simpson contacted the department officials to identify certain locations and I’m up here in the House today to ensure that we move forward with those. I think there are about three sites there, so if the Minister can confirm that the department is working with the Village of Fort Simpson to install at least three new LED street lightings on that access road. Thank you.

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe

Certainly the department will not be ignoring the request from the community, so I think it’s just a matter of having the department regional staff from DOT get in touch with the community at a time convenient for both of them to be able to work together to resolve the issue. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Kevin A. Menicoche

Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Certainly the priority areas for this access road have some residential houses, but the longer access towards the Four Mile subdivision, maybe they can look at that as well, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe

Certainly the people down by the riverbank at Four Mile have been there for many, many years, so it would be nice to be able to light up the roadway, as well, going down to Four Mile. So we’ll have the department look at that area as well. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Jane Groenewegen

Jane Groenewegen Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We only need to listen to the media these days and we hear that there is a great deal of interest in the public in how people in elected office spend the taxpayers’ money when it comes to claims for travel and other expenses. We’re very fortunate in this Assembly that we have very good staff who take some time and due diligence to ensure that the claims that are being made are correct, and when they are not, as we’ve heard today, these things are remedied very quickly.

I’d like to ask the Minister of Finance; today my colleague spoke about the monitoring of expense claims and travel claims on behalf of Ministers, and I think that when the public looks at us they see all of us as one group, as government. I also think that there are probably committee chairs and some Regular MLAs who travel just about as much as Ministers do, so I would just like to know, in fairness to the public and to this effort for transparency, I’d like to ask Minister Miltenberger if it would be the government’s intention to also monitor closely the expenses of Regular Members.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The Minister of Finance, Mr. Miltenberger.

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

We do have a policy. We quite rigorously police ourselves. As was raised in the House earlier, the issue with Minister Ramsay has been dealt with and the file is closed for a very, very small discrepancy. Things have been tightened up. Yes, we believe that we should have an even hand when we apply overdue travel claims since there are cases where MLAs accompany Ministers on foreign travel. There are some outstanding claims and we are encouraging those outstanding claims to be completed.

Jane Groenewegen

Jane Groenewegen Hay River South

I’d ask the Minister, then, if the same rigorous and strenuous monitoring and checking of expense claims for the Ministers that Minister Miltenberger has spoken of, if that would also apply to Regular Members, because, as I said, I think the public is very interested in being assured of that and knowing that that is the case.

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

Our specific involvement comes when MLAs travel with Ministers on trips, usually abroad, and there have been a number of those and there are outstanding claims that we’re still waiting for from an MLA that we hope will get cleared off so that we can end this session and the mandate of the 17th Assembly on a clear note.

Jane Groenewegen

Jane Groenewegen Hay River South

That raises another interesting question. Why would there be a delay in the filing of expense claims when a Member would travel with a Cabinet Minister or the Premier, whether it be to a federal, provincial, territorial or on foreign travel or as a committee member of a committee designated member or a committee chair? Why would there be a delay in the filing of those expense claims?

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

What I can indicate is that we have been pursuing and made repeated requests to in fact have all the necessary travel claims submitted so that we can in fact close the file on the various trips. We have been using the power of persuasion. We don’t have a lot of direct authority over MLAs. They have travelled with us and we’re trying to make sure that we close the books, and we’re going to continue to pursue that and hopefully conclude it.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Jane Groenewegen

Jane Groenewegen Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have watched government for a long time and I know that there have been instances in the quite far past now of Ministers that were travelling with Regular Members and that there became a question after the fact about whether the people who were sponsored with taxpayers’ dollars to go to some of these events actually ever did attend them. Do we have any mechanism in place to ensure that when people do travel on government business that they do indeed attend the functions that they are travelling for?

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

We tend to travel on the honour system but there is an implicit understanding that MLAs would be reporting back, because they’re usually there representing a committee that they would be reporting back to the events that they attended, the meetings they attended, and the important affairs that they dealt with and discussed while on those travels. At this point, that’s basically the extent in terms of compliance or reporting back as to exactly what events were attended. The Ministers, of course, have more accountability and are prepared and will disclose all the meetings they’ve had and all the functions they have attended and have their expense claims, I can assure you, scrupulously reviewed by a whole number of folks to make sure that everything is appropriate.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Robert Bouchard

Robert Bouchard Hay River North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday I was speaking of business and some of the issues that I have had with the GNWT over the last four years. My questions today are for the Minister of ITI. I’m dealing with a client for the Business Incentive Policy and getting them BIP’d, and it’s specific to the plow trucks that Transportation continues to buy and we’ve tried to get King Manufacturing BIP’d for that project.

Can the Minister indicate to me why the application for King Manufacturing for plow trucks was denied this year?

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. Mr. Ramsay.