Good afternoon, colleagues. Thank you to Ms. Brace and her grades 3 and 4 choir from Mildred Hall School for their wonderful rendition of O Canada.

Colleagues, today we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the national flag of Canada. It was on February 15, 1965, that our iconic flag, with its distinctive red and white maple leaf design, first flew proudly on Parliament Hill in our nation’s capital. In 1996, February 15th was declared

National Flag of Canada Day to mark the introduction of Canada’s national flag.

At its inauguration in 1965, the Speaker of the Senate declared, “The flag is the symbol of the nation’s unity, for it, beyond any doubt, represents all the citizens of Canada without distinction of race, language, belief or opinion.”

Since 1965, the flag, as a symbol of Canada, has become known the world over and is associated with the Canadian ideals of democracy, freedom and respect.

Maple trees are not common in this part of the country. However, we proudly fly our Canadian flags across the Northwest Territories as a symbol of unity with fellow Canadians across this country as well as those representing our country around the world.

Later this afternoon in the Great Hall of the Legislative Assembly, the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories, Mr. George Tuccaro, will host a reception marking the 50th anniversary of the

Canadian flag. All Members of this House and all members of the public are invited to attend this celebration of our flag and the great country that it represents.

Please join me in celebrating the 50th anniversary of

the national flag of Canada.

Thank you, colleagues. Orders of the day. Item 2, Ministers’ statements. The honourable Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Ramsay.

Mr. Speaker, the tourism industry offers opportunities for economic development throughout all regions of the Northwest Territories, and federal funding can support this growing and vibrant industry.

On February 9th , along with myself and Mr. Don

Morin, chair of Northwest Territories Tourism, the federal Minister responsible for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency, the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, announced a contribution of approximately $2.8 million to support tourism development in the Northwest Territories. The contribution includes just over $1.4 million for tourism projects supported by the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment and $1.4 million in funding for NWT Tourism. These funds will be spent over the remaining current fiscal year and in 2015-2016.

The funding dedicated to Industry, Tourism and Investment’s tourism projects will include research, the development of a visitor exit survey, community tourism development and training activities.

There will be an emphasis on five communities with emerging tourism opportunities: Lutselk’e, Fort Resolution, Fort Simpson, Deline and Tuktoyaktuk.

I would like to thank these communities for their vision in pursuing tourism for economic development, the well-being of their residents, and cultural vibrancy. Funding will support baseline research to measure the impacts of these investments as well a series of initiatives to build community tourism capacity.

The investment in NWT Tourism will take place over the same time period. This funding will support the implementation of a two-year marketing plan to further promote the territory to target markets in Asia, Europe and North America. Marketing activities include advertising and promotions, attendance at trade shows, market research and the development of a five-year marketing strategy.

This strategy will respond to new opportunities such as the emerging market in China and other Asian

nations. It will guide the annual marketing plans going forward. The overall goal of these activities is to increase the number of tourists visiting and spending money in the Northwest Territories.

I am pleased to share that Industry, Tourism and Investment will also be contributing funding to these two initiatives through existing tourism support programs. Our share includes $5.7 million for the ITI tourism projects and $1.4 million for NWT Tourism over two years, bringing the total investment announced by our two governments this week to approximately $10 million.

Mr. Speaker, the number of tourists discovering our spectacular territory continues to grow every year. Tourism brings around $130 million to the Northwest Territories each year and employs 2,500 people. To further grow this important sector, we need support, and the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment welcomes and appreciates the investment of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency.

Once again we would like to thank the federal government for their continued support. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister of Justice, Mr. Ramsay.

Mr. Speaker, in every community visit, when discussing corrections and justice issues, we hear that on-the-land programming helps people heal and reconnect to their culture and values. In the Department of Justice, we know this to be true. This type of programming has long been a cornerstone of programming in the NWT.

In the Assembly last year, I talked about work the department has undertaken to ensure inmates are receiving appropriate cultural and on-the-land programming while in NWT corrections facilities. Finding capable partners with the right kind of cultural knowledge and experience to deliver these programs is essential to their success.

Our first efforts to identify groups, elders and individuals who could help us deliver the Wilderness Program for low-risk offenders were met with limited response and we were unable to select any qualified contractors. The Department of Justice, however, remains committed to developing this programming and has been actively engaging communities to help identify potential operators.

We believe that significant community involvement is essential for an effective Wilderness Program. Over the last year, corrections service staff have talked with communities to ensure potential operators of on-the-land programs are aware of our interest and will be able to deliver these specialized corrections-based cultural programs. We are committed to building a program with significant community involvement.

Recently, an expression of interest was again publicly advertised. We also sent it directly to those who might be interested in partnering with us in this work. I am pleased to advise the responses are encouraging. Over the next several weeks, community partners who may be able to fulfill the program needs will be invited to come and have an open discussion with departmental staff. These discussions will ensure both the operators and staff have a strong mutual understanding of the Wilderness Program and associated requirements.

After these discussions, we hope potential applicants will have increased capacity to successfully respond to a request for proposals for the Wilderness Program early in the next fiscal year. Aligning the needs of the inmate population and the interests of the operators and staff is critical for the success of this unique program.

Mr. Speaker, in order for inmates to turn their lives around, we cannot underestimate the need for strong community partnerships, support of the corrections service and the willingness of inmates to participate in these on-the-land healing programs. We are working to be supportive and constructive as we build sustainable and effective programs in partnership with our communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise Members that the Honourable Robert C.

McLeod will be absent from the House today and Monday to participate in the Federal/Provincial/Territorial Ministers of Sport meeting and to cheer on Team NWT at the Canada Winter Games in Prince George, British Columbia.

As well, Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise Members that the Honourable Glen Abernethy 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 Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I told my colleagues in the Regular Members’ Caucus this morning that I was going to title my Member’s statement today “The Butcher, the Baker, the Candlestick Maker.”

Mr. Speaker, we talk a lot about jobs in this House; we talk mostly about government jobs. And government jobs are wonderful for those who have them and those who aspire to have them, but our economy cannot function without the janitors, the room attendants, the servers, the cashiers, the gas station attendant.

When I left the building where I live this morning, I passed by the lady vacuuming the lobby. I took an extra effort to give her a warm greeting and a good morning. I know very well the importance of workers in the service sector and the importance to private small business that their dedicated and quality work brings to the operation of business that serves the needs of our communities.

I grew up in a small ma and pa business. I am the butcher’s daughter. My parents worked long days at the store. Our lives revolved around service to our loyal customers. My mother came home tired at night, often falling asleep at the supper table.

I want to say also, thankfully it was a grocery store, because they had enough food then to feed their five kids when they used the product that was past its prime and they couldn’t sell it anymore. We always joked about that because my brothers are over six feet tall, so it obviously didn’t hurt them.

My dad, 18 years ago tomorrow, coincidentally, I got the phone call that my dad had died of a sudden heart attack. I want to say today that he was my mentor, my idol, my hero, and every time there’s something to report, I miss still, to this day, being able to call him up and talk to him about it. So, he was a small business owner and he only had a Grade 3 education, but he was definitely the

smartest man that I knew. He worked hard with integrity to support his family. He loved small business and he loved politics, and I’m so glad that on his last visit to the North, he had a chance to sit in this gallery 18 years ago and be recognized in this House.

But, Mr. Speaker, I’d like to send my respect out today to the hardworking people in the private sector serving the public. It’s honourable work and it’s integral work to the operation of our economy. There are lots of ma and pa businesses and lots of people working in the service sector in all of our communities and I think we should show them the gratitude and the appreciation that they all well deserve. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On April 1, 2014, the NWT achieved our long sought after goal of devolution, and with devolution the GNWT accepted seven pieces of federal legislation as our own. We established NWT acts that mirrored the federal acts.

At the time many residents expressed concern about adopting these laws exactly as written by the federal government, unchanged and unevaluated. Many questioned when the legislation would be evaluated, when it would be amended to suit the NWT, our unique government and territory. We certainly heard a commitment from the Premier to review the seven pieces of devolution legislation. I think he was asked three or four times to make that commitment, but commit did, in keeping with the saying we heard many times last year that we would first devolve, then evolve. Consultation was promised and amendments seemingly forthcoming after that.

But the commitment was a hollow one, Mr. Speaker. To date there has been no indication that these seven acts will see an evolution anytime soon and the consultation has been minimal. There’s a link on the GNWT website which allows for residents to send in questions or comments about devolution, but nothing else that I’m aware of.

A far greater commitment to consultation and action is needed. We need a commitment to face-to-face consultation, a commitment to in-depth analysis of each one of the devolution bills to determine what amendments are needed, a commitment to bring amendments forward as soon as possible and a commitment to public hearings or forums so residents, NGOs and businesses can discuss these acts and the changes needed.

We Members know that there’s a long list of legislation, other than the devo bills, that needs

updating, amending, or new laws that need to be built from scratch, and we know that the government has a priority list of what legislation should be tackled when. So, is there a schedule for consideration and revision of the legislation we inherited from Canada? We’ve not seen any evidence of that. We’re approaching the one year anniversary of devolution. I believe there should have been some action, some movement on this by now, yet there is not. Are we as a government concerned for the NWT and our environment, or are we happy to carry on, safe in a devolved territory, hanging on to the coattails of the federal legislation and willing to ignore the need for legislative change?

If we do care, effecting legislative change in the mirrored devolution legislation very soon will prove that to our people. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know that we can all agree on the importance of elders and seniors in our communities and the importance of respecting our elders. We can show our respect in many different ways. We learn from the traditional knowledge and wisdom of our elders. We recognize their lessons about the land and its history. In our homes and in our families, we celebrate the role of grandparents, aunts, uncles and other role models in raising our children.

But today some of our seniors are at risk. Today I want to talk about the Deh Gah Gotie Senior Citizens Home in Fort Providence.

Community leaders have come to me with concerns about security and safety at this facility. I’ve been told that the RCMP don’t always respond to calls, and even the daytime staff and the nighttime live-in caregiver. These security issues are still affecting the health and safety of residents.

The band has been working with the government to address these problems. Over the holidays the band organized volunteers to visit with the residents and make sure they were not being bothered.

I’m looking forward to these issues being addressed in meetings between the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation and the RCMP. I’m also looking forward to the planned renovations of the Deh Gah Gotie Senior Citizens Home, to make sure our seniors have the quality care, support and housing that they deserve. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to follow up on my comments yesterday regarding our need for revenue to fund our programs. Some jurisdictions worldwide have done precisely what this government says is impossible. Deriving meaningful public benefits from their non-renewable resource extraction, they have built programs and heritage funds that are the envy of the world, through higher taxes and resource revenues, while pursuing progressive policies aimed at mitigating unintended, harmful effects of exploitation activities.

Norway is perhaps the best example we’ve all heard about. Thanks to resource revenue and taxation policies, they have a trillion dollar Heritage Fund to pass on to their children and to remove the “bust” from the “boom and bust” resource extraction economy we both share.

Contrast this with our neighbours to the south in Alberta, a population whose citizens have, in a sense, been subjected to a government-enabled corporate fleecing. Alberta’s Heritage Fund is just $16.6 billion and is only slightly larger than it was when it started in 1976.

Economic globalization has affected the current price of oil, which has them singing the blues, proposing to cut programs and discussing tax increases.

Norway, a progressive nation with smart taxes, sound early childhood and educational programs and a population that understands the benefits of paying taxes, is also an evidence-based country that recognizes its role as a global citizen. With recent science indicating we must move away from fossil fuels and leave them in the ground, they have chosen to divest their National Pension Fund of investments in 114 companies, including all coal mining operations and Alberta’s tar sands. They now regard these resources as liabilities, not assets, and judge “there to be high levels of uncertainty about the sustainability” of their business models.

Companies reliant on fossil fuels and those engaged in harming the environment are seen as morally opposite to Norway’s investment goals and representing an investment risk. Many companies will find themselves stranded in a world that does not want what they offer. Clearly, as our own Mark Carney has indicated, the smart money is moving away from the economy based on destructive fossil fuels.

The Minister of Finance has kindly committed to providing committee a discussion paper on revenue options, outlining in great detail, I’m sure, all the reasons it can’t be done. I would ask the Minister to

show some rare leadership in Canada and include a “can do” discussion of Norway’s enlightened success.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to finish my statement. Mahsi.

---Unanimous consent granted

Mr. Speaker, I would ask the Minister to show some rare leadership in Canada and include a “can do” discussion of Norway’s enlightened success and how we can achieve the same benefits for the residents of the NWT. Mahsi.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It has been several years since Hay River has had a full-time resident judge and remand in its South Mackenzie Correctional Centre, SMCC. It was not too long ago that we had a full-time judge that lived in Hay River, that worked in Hay River and travelled around the South Slave doing work for Justice. Along with that judge came remand, inmates that were waiting on trial. Several years ago the Department of Justice, in their wisdom, decided to remove remand out of Hay River and centralize Yellowknife. We’re very concerned with this. There are a lot of extra costs for travel. We’re shipping inmates up to Yellowknife, waiting for their trials, holding them here in Yellowknife as opposed to closer to home and dealing with Justice in the territory, in the South Slave territory.

We have added pressure on our RCMP who have to travel with these inmates. We are concerned that the next step is to centralize everything back into Yellowknife with our justice system. We need to get back the justice system in the South Slave and in the Hay River area. I will have questions for the Minister of Justice on how we get back Hay River’s judge and the remand.

Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. The Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to take the opportunity today to recognize a very special and iconic lady in the Beaufort-Delta region, Ms. Elizabeth Greenland. Elizabeth and her family have lived in the Inuvik region for years and they’ve contributed to making Inuvik what it is, have helped develop the traditional and the cultural ways of life, and continue to do that today. Ms. Elizabeth Greenland has demonstrated great wisdom,

traditional knowledge, leadership, strength and guidance not only for her family but people in Inuvik and throughout the Beaufort-Delta. Her commitment to cultural and language conservation has been demonstrated within her own family where her own family speaks Gwich’in.

Ms. Elizabeth Greenland, I’ve known her for a very long time, and I’ve actually participated in one of her dance groups. She’s had dance groups for years and years over the years and these dance groups have performed at various functions in Inuvik and throughout the Northwest Territories. She has created a lot of great jiggers, two steppers as well as a lot of great square dancers. Yes, like myself.

On February 10th , Ms. Elizabeth Greenland and her

family celebrated her 95th birthday.

Thank you, colleagues. On Friday, February 13th ,

the community of Inuvik will come together, and members of the Beaufort-Delta will join in celebrating her life and her legacy that she has left behind in Inuvik and throughout the Beaufort-Delta region, at Ingamo Hall with a feast and a dance starting at six o’clock. I invite all people in the Inuvik region who will be in Inuvik at that time to come, say thank you, shake her hand and tell her mahsi for all the work that she’s done for people of the North. I would like Members here to join me in congratulating Elizabeth and wishing her a very, very happy birthday.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all, I’d like to thank Mildred Hall School choir for singing O Canada in the Chamber today, and I look forward to listening later in the Great Hall to the Yellowknife Choral Society’s rendition as well.

Mr. Speaker, as we heard from you, this Sunday, February 15th , will mark a unique day in our history.

As mentioned, not only is this day our annual National Flag Day of Canada but it also represents an incredible milestone. Our flag is turning the big 5-0. It is without a doubt, our Canadian flag is an admired symbol that unites all Canadians from… [English translation not provided.]

It is recognized both at home and abroad representing a country of peace, prosperity and generosity of spirit.

I am happy to see in the House today that our NWT Legislative Assembly recognizes our national symbol of unity and keeps our annual tradition during our winter session.

With Valentine’s Day just the day before, I know there will be lots of love left spilling over for all Canadians to share in celebration.

Therefore, I want to wish all Range Lake residents, all Northerners, all Canadians a special National Flag Day this Sunday in celebration of our symbol of pride and what makes us truly unique around the globe. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My Member’s Statement has to deal with O Canada. Our darkest histories of dealing with Aboriginal people have been a struggle because of the experiences of dealing with the residential schools in Canada. Since the 1800s, Aboriginal people have been subject to injustice in all facets of life.

In the early 1900s, the establishment of residential schools were created in Canada. The goal of these residential schools was to eradicate a nation of people, everything about them. The storm of the residential schools certainly did a good job. They caused a lot of havoc in the lives of survivors, their families and the communities within the nation.

With the help of many good people and organizations, Canada was brought to a place of humility and apologized to the First Nations for their past wrongs. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission did a blanket-type of commission by honouring the survivors by giving them a voice and by listening to survivors’ stories across Canada.

I want to ask, has our government taken an inventory of the number of survivors in our communities, of my grandparents, my parents and people like myself who attended the residential schools? Has our government done an assessment of the residential school survivors in our communities, their health needs, their educational needs, their spiritual needs?

It is a fact that the Northwest Territories has the highest per capita of residential school survivors in Canada. There were almost 15,000 students, 25 residential schools that were opened and recognized by Canada and some not recognized by Canada in the Northwest Territories.

I will have questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment at the appropriate time. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I want to talk about our population in the Northwest Territories. As we all know, as the population continues to decline it puts downward pressure on all of our industries and downward pressure means higher cost of living.

When I look around the Northwest Territories, I see almost every one of our communities losing people. It’s better described in such a painful way as our communities are bleeding their population, which is the lifeblood of those communities. People enrich the lives of everyone in all these communities, both large and small. Not just economically, the jobs are very important, make no mistake, but the social vitality of new families and growth of the communities goes a long way, it keeps those communities alive. Like I say, the growing population in a community is the lifeblood of those communities.

I was looking at some of the statistics recently and I ran across the past 10 years. I saw the Beau-Del population shrink, I saw the Sahtu barely hold on to its population for the last 10 years by the skin of its teeth, I’ve seen the Sahtu’s population shrink and the Tlicho and the YK region barely grew marginally. Sadly, this is not positive news.

We need population growth in all of our territory in every corner of every community because that helps the whole territory. Yes, I am a Yellowknife MLA and I do welcome population growth here, but I also recognize how critical it is to the growth of every community that needs these people, these jobs, this vitality, this lifeblood.

I heard the budget address the other day by our Finance Minister. Only historians will be able to judge whether that was a great blueprint of excellence or was it a piece of art that will be shelved in the creative writing section next to the Brothers Grimm? We don’t know.

With his optimism of saying 2,000 people will be coming in two years last year, and now four this year, are we just adjusting the time schedule to finally meet the stats? Mr. Speaker, that reminds me of the rendition of when I played games with my kids and then they loose and they go, can we do it best out of three now, best out of five next, and we keep going. Is that how the government is measuring its statistics on its growth, by just continuing to move the time frame to say, well, we’ll meet that 2,000 growth population one day, some day?

The announcement the other day sounded really exciting, but we still need a blueprint to show where we’re going to gain traction. As I’ve said at the start, people are the lifeblood of our whole territory, and

that’s critical that every community grows. We need to see a plan. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Item 4, reports of standing and special committees. Mr. Nadli.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Standing Committee on Government Operations is pleased to provide its Report on the Review of the 2013-2014 Annual Report of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of the Northwest Territories and commends it to this House.

Introduction

The Access to Information and Protection of Privacy (ATIPP) Act came into force on December 31, 1996. The law was created to promote government accountability by balancing access to government information with the protection of individual privacy rights related to that information.

Under the act, the Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC or Commissioner), Ms. Elaine Keenan Bengts, is appointed for a five-year term as an independent officer of the Legislative Assembly. The act requires the Commissioner to file an annual report on her activities and authorizes her to include recommendations for amending the legislation to improve the act’s efficiency and effectiveness.

The Standing Committee on Government Operations (SCOGO or the committee) conducted a review of the 2013-2014 Annual Report of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of the Northwest Territories, which was tabled in the Legislative Assembly on November 4, 2014, Tabled Document 173-17(5). This report summarizes that review.

Members would like to thank Ms. Keenan Bengts for her report and for her appearance before the committee at the public review held on January 16, 2015. The committee also wants to take this opportunity to thank Ms. Keenan Bengts for her continued commitment and dedication to all matters relating to access to information and the protection of privacy by public agencies in the Northwest Territories. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Nadli. Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Commissioner’s 2013-2014 Activities

The Information and Privacy Commissioner often chooses to highlight topical aspects of her work in her annual Commissioner’s Message. This year the Information and Privacy Commissioner pointed out that the 2013-2014 Annual Report marks the 17th year since the ATIPP Act came into force in the Northwest Territories. The committee takes note of the observations made by the Information and Privacy Commissioner in her Commissioner’s Message, in which she discusses how much has changed in the intervening years. She notes that the public is becoming more aware of matters relating to access to information and protection of privacy and, as a consequence, are increasingly demanding that governments protect individual privacy and account for their actions through access to information.

In 2013-2014 the Commissioner opened 30 new files, up from 16 in 2011-2012 and 27 in 2010-2011. Of the 30 new files, 12 were requests for review relating to access to information matters, nine dealt with breach of privacy issues and four were privacy complaints relating to the private sector. The Information and Privacy Commissioner noted that she “was pleased to see two breach notifications during the fiscal year in which a public body discovered a potential breach of privacy and reported it to [her] office proactively.” Each of the remaining three new files was reported as the only item in its category: Request for review - fee assessment, Request for comment, and Administrative, respectively.

The Information and Privacy Commissioner dealt with seven public bodies over the year, as compared with 14 over the previous year. Departments with the most frequent files were Human Resources, seven; Transportation, six; and Justice, four.

In her report the IPC devotes significant attention to summarizing the cases for which she issued “Review Recommendations” over the course of the fiscal year (pages 18-34, inclusively). The committee encourages any members of the public who have an interest in this aspect of governance, to take some time to review the IPC’s annual report. The report provides the reader with interesting insight into the work of the office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner and the challenges faced by the Government of the Northwest Territories in discharging its responsibilities under the act.

Of the nine cases resulting in rulings from the IPC, eight included recommendations. Of these, the recommendations of the IPC were fully accepted in six cases and partially accepted in the remaining two cases. In the other case, the complaint was found to have no grounds; therefore, no recommendations were made.

Recommendations by the IPC for Legislative Change

As already noted, the Information and Privacy Commissioner is authorized to make recommendations for legislative change. This year the Commissioner highlighted three legislative issues.

Implementation of New Health Information Privacy Legislation

With the passage of the Health Information Act in 2014, the Information and Privacy Commissioner notes that much work will need to be done by the GNWT to implement the legislation. This includes educating health care workers and ensuring that the appropriate policies and procedures are in place in advance of implementation, so that health care workers know and understand their responsibilities for collecting, using and disposing of information under the act. A great deal of work also needs to be done to ensure that members of the public understand their rights and know how their personal health information will be managed under the act.

Access and Privacy Impact Assessments for New Initiatives (Access and Privacy by Design)

The Information and Privacy Commissioner discussed with the committee her increasing frustration that she is not consulted or asked for input in the initial planning stages when legislation, policies and programs are being designed. It has been her observation that government overlooks consideration of the impact that new initiatives may have on the right to access information and the privacy of the individual. The Information and Privacy Commissioner cites many recent examples of GNWT legislative, policy and program initiatives which might have benefitted from her input if she had been invited to provide it during the design phase. The Information and Privacy Commissioner also correctly notes that public bodies may choose to disregard her suggestions and suggests that they cannot benefit from advice that is not provided.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to turn the reading of the report over to my colleague Mr. Yakeleya. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks, Ms. Bisaro.

ATIPP Legislation for Municipalities

The Information and Privacy Commissioner has repeatedly recommended that the GNWT complete the work necessary to establish legislation governing the collection, use and disposal of information by municipalities. This recommendation is reiterated again in the Information and Privacy Commissioner’s 2013-2014 Annual Report, along

with a notation indicating that the Information and Privacy Commissioner looks forward to providing input on a discussion paper being prepared on this matter by Municipal and Community Affairs.

The GNWT tabled the discussion paper in question, along with its response to the committee’s report on the review of the 2012-2013 Annual Report of the IPC. SCOGO provided a copy to the Information and Privacy Commissioner, and her comments were subsequently forwarded by the committee to the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.

Committee Recommendations to the GNWT

Having considered the information put forward by the IPC in her 2013-2014 Annual Report and the discussion held during the public meeting of January 16, 2015, the Standing Committee on Government Operations provides the following recommendations to the GNWT:

ATIPP Legislation for Municipalities

The committee took note of the explanation provided in the GNWT’s Response to the Committee’s Report on the Review of the 2012-2013 Annual Report of the IPC, Tabled Document 118-17(5), for the delays associated with this project.

The committee wishes to stress to the government the importance of finalizing this legislation so that the rights of NWT residents respecting access to and protection of information collected by municipalities are articulated and enshrined in law.

The committee reminds the GNWT that the IPC’s recommendations for legislation in this area stretch back before the 17th Legislative Assembly and that

previous standing committees have also supported the Commissioner’s recommendation to make municipalities subject to access and privacy legislation.

In their Report on the Review of the 2011-12 Report of the IPC, the committee recommended that an ATIPP bill for municipalities be brought forward in the first two years of the 17th Assembly. The

committee noted its concerns about the slow pace of the initiative at that time.

The committee continues to be very concerned about this. The committee notes that in the GNWT’s most recent response, the deadline for a final report by October 2014, noted in TD 14-17(4), has given way to a commitment to complete the What We Heard report by March 2015, TD 118-17(5), with no further commitment regarding when the final report may now be expected.

Recommendation 1

The Standing Committee on Government Operations again recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories make every effort to complete the work necessary to

bring municipalities under access to information and protection of privacy legislation.

The Standing Committee on Government Operations additionally recommends that the GNWT renew its commitment to complete the final report during the life of the 17th Assembly;

and

That the government table the final report no later than the August 2015 sitting identifying, for the consideration of the 18th Assembly, the next

steps and resources necessary to complete this work in a timely manner and, as the committee has recommended in previous years, a proposal be included for phasing this work such that tax-based municipalities may be brought under ATIPP legislation without any further delay than is absolutely necessary and which leaves open the possibility that smaller communities may be phased in at a later date.

I now turn the report over to Mr. Dolynny.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Dolynny.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya.

Review of the ATIPP Act

It has been 17 years since the coming into force date of the ATIPP Act. The committee notes that many NWT statutes contain a provision triggering an automatic review at set intervals; for example, every five or 10 years. When one considers that the Internet was in its infancy when the ATIPP Act came into force, it is easy to appreciate how information technology has evolved since then. The committee is of the opinion that, by any measure, a review of the ATIPP Act is long overdue. The committee encourages the GNWT, when reviewing the ATIPP Act, to include a triggering provision for a mandatory statutory review, to ensure that the ATIPP Act is kept current in future years.

In her 2012-2013 Annual Report, the IPC made a series of recommendations for modernizing and updating the legislation to, amongst other things, address the use of current day technologies, to provide strict and enforceable timelines for response to access requests and to encourage public bodies to properly document information-related decisions. In addition to these earlier recommendations, the IPC has also pointed to the value of including “access and privacy by design” considerations in updated ATIPP legislation. This latter point is addressed further in committee Recommendation 3 below.

The committee references the Progress Report on the Comprehensive Review of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, provided as an attachment to TD 114-17(4), and recognizes that the GNWT is now looking beyond 2015 for the

completion of this important work. The committee urges the GNWT to make this work a priority as it moves forward.

Recommendation 2

The Standing Committee on Government Operations again recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories provide an updated progress report to this Assembly on work done towards a comprehensive review of the ATIPP Act; and

That the Government of the Northwest Territories undertake a review of all previous recommendations made regarding updating the ATIPP Act and include, in the progress report, a status report on how the committee’s recommendations are being addressed.

Access and Privacy Impact Assessments for New Initiatives (Access and Privacy by Design)

The committee discussed with the IPC the benefits of building access and privacy considerations into the development of programs, policies and legislation at the ground floor. This helps to ensure that the tools required to access information more easily, and to better protect the privacy of individuals are incorporated into the design of any initiative, rather than having to be retrofitted after the fact.

The IPC pointed out that achieving the goal of easier information access and appropriate privacy protections may be as simple as enabling a search function, but there is more to be done than that. The IPC spoke of the concept of open government, where the objective is to put as much information as possible online, to reduce the need for people to want to make access inquiries. The committee was encouraged to hear that the IPC had her first meeting with the GNWT’s office of the chief information officer, to discuss areas of mutual interest.

The committee is supportive of the IPC’s views on access and privacy by design and therefore encourages the GNWT to work with the IPC to integrate this approach into day-to-day business practices. The committee places special emphasis on the development of legislative proposals by departments and strongly encourages the GNWT to consider ways in which access and privacy by design considerations will be incorporated into legislative proposals. The committee would welcome the opportunity, when reviewing legislative proposals, to assess the access by design considerations included by departments.

Recommendation 3

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories work with the IPC to incorporate access by design considerations

into the design phase of program, policy and legislation development, giving particular thought to how these considerations may be built into the legislative proposal process.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I’d like to turn my attention over to my other committee colleague Mr. Alfred Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Mr. Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Dolynny.

Inclusion of IPC in Implementation of Health Information Act

The committee is in agreement with the Commissioner’s assertion that the GNWT can only benefit from involving the office of the IPC in the work that it is doing to implement the Health Information Act and encourages the GNWT to avail itself of the expertise that the office can provide.

Recommendation 4

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories work closely with the Information and Privacy Commissioner on the implementation of the Health Information Act.

Delays and Breaches under ATIPP

As noted by the IPC in her 2013-2014 Annual Report, the ATIPP Act requires public bodies to respond to access requests within 30 days. Certain exceptions are provided for in very specific instances. As the IPC points out, it is concerning that seven out of 12 access matters dealt with in review recommendations pertained to the failure of a public body to reply to an access request in a timely manner. The committee shares this concern.

The IPC pointed out to the committee that, in many instances, the reasons cited by departments in requesting extensions under the act and in explaining the causes for delays are not adequate because they do not fall within the reasons for delays provided for by the act.

The committee shares the IPC’s concern and discussed ways in which this issue may be improved. The IPC offered the following suggestions to departments to improve their response times: institute a GNWT policy to prioritize the response from departments to access requests; use redaction software, which automates the process of censoring materials to be released in response to a request; and train more people to respond to access requests, to minimize the impact of staff absences on response times.

With respect to privacy breaches, the ATIPP Act requires a public agency to respond within 90 days to any recommendations made by the IPC as the

result of investigating a complaint. The IPC did note that almost all privacy breaches are the result of human error and that these are rarely, if ever, caused maliciously or with intent. She also observed that, during the course of her time in office, she is not aware of a public body taking disciplinary action against an employee responsible for a breach of privacy. The IPC noted that the Department of Justice offers ATIPP training for any GNWT employees who want it and that it is important for staff to understand their obligations in signing employee confidentiality agreements.

The committee wishes to stress to the GNWT the importance of meeting its statutory obligations under the act and to ensuring that enough staff are adequately trained to meet those obligations without undue delay.

Recommendation 5

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories work closely with departments to help them improve their response times under the act and that the GNWT make clear what sanctions will be imposed for departments that fail to meet their statutory commitments.

Mr. Speaker, I would now like to pass the report over to our chair of Government Operations, Mr. Nadli.

Thank you, Mr. Moses. Mr. Nadli.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Conclusion

Ms. Elaine Keenan Bengts has served as the Information and Privacy Commissioner for the Northwest Territories since 1997. During her time in office, Ms. Keenan Bengts has demonstrated a passion for information and privacy rights and a long-standing commitment to the work of her office that the Standing Committee on Government Operations respects and admires.

The committee is pleased to hear that Ms. Keenan Bengts will be continuing her important work on a full-time basis as the Information and Privacy Commissioner for the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

As the 17th Assembly draws to a close, the

committee remains committed to giving the Commissioner’s recommendations due consideration, forwarding them as appropriate to this House, and following up with the government on their implementation.

Recommendation 6

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories provide a

comprehensive response to this report within 120 days.

Mr. Speaker, that concludes the presentation of our report. Therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Frame Lake, that Committee Report 10-17(5), Report on the Review of the 2013-2014 Report of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of the Northwest Territories, be received by the Assembly and moved into Committee of the Whole further consideration. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The motion is in order.

Question has been called. The motion is carried.

---Carried

Report 10-17(5), Report on the Review of the 2013-2014 Report of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of the Northwest Territories, is received by the Assembly and moved into Committee of the Whole for further consideration on Tuesday, February 17, 2015.

Thank you, colleagues. Item 5, returns to oral questions. Item 6, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It gives me great pleasure to recognize Mr. Kevin Goodrem. He’s the vice-president of beneficiation with De Beers Group. Welcome to the House. With Mr. Goodrem this afternoon is Tracy St-Denis. She’s our director of secondary diamond industry with ITI. Welcome to the House.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Blake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize two Pages from the Mackenzie Delta, Gordon Blake and Randy Omingmak. Also, their chaperone, Ms. Elizabeth Wright.

Thank you, Mr. Blake. Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Although not a constituent of mine, I’d like to recognize one of the Pages who happens to be the daughter of a friend of mine, which is Davida Patterson, and her mother is the constituency assistant, I think, to Mrs. Groenewegen, Orlanda Patterson.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize the two hardworking Pages from Hay River South who have been able to join us in the Chamber here this week, Jolene Lamalice and Davida Patterson. Thank you for your great services, and welcome.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize a resident of Weledeh, Tracy St-Denis.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. I’d like to welcome everybody here in the public gallery here today. Thank you for taking an interest in our proceedings.

Item 7, acknowledgements. Item 8, oral questions. The Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. I want to ask the Minister, has this department ever done an inventory as to the exact number of residential school survivors in the Northwest Territories?

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The Minister of Education, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. This is an area that we’ve collected information on the residential school survivors of the Northwest Territories. We’ve compiled that information and we worked very closely with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission when they first started off with their programming and voicing all those across the nation and national events, and even in the Northwest Territories, Inuvik. We do have that information. I can share that detailed information with the Member.

I look forward to that information. The Minister has been collecting this information so if I go to the Sahtu and would know how many survivors are actually in Tulita, Fort Good Hope, Tuktoyaktuk…(inaudible)…any other communities, I would know the exact number of survivors that either passed away or that have gone into schools in the early 1900s. Is that what I’m hearing? You have the numbers and I’d be able to get those numbers?

The information that we’ve compiled, obviously with consent from the clientele as well as the survivors and even the families of the survivors, obviously we have work if

we can release those names. But surely, I’ll be working very closely with the Member if we could allow that to happen and then provide that information to the Member.

I respect the survivors’ anonymity or the privacy of the survivors, so some of the information in the Northwest Territories, we know how many survivors or how many, say, students are in a school right now without having them consent to releasing that number. I want to ask why it’s so different with the survivors. If there are some survivors in our community, we can do our own. For example, in the Grollier Hall residential school, from the Roman Catholics report there were 2,500 students that went to the Grollier Hall Residential School, the highest amount of survivors in one residential school.

I’m asking the Minister, is there something like that that he can share, saying in the territory right now there are 6,000 to 8,000 survivors right now?

In the Northwest Territories the number that we do have as part of the claimants is around 5,500, which gives us an idea of the issues that we have to deal with in the territory. We do have a breakdown by community, so I can provide that information to the Member and also other Members, as well, if they wish.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I look forward to that from the Minister. I appreciate the flexibility to share, because that is a very important number for our communities.

I want to ask the Minister, based on that number, are the appropriate programs there to support the survivors today with the programs that we have within the GNWT?

Yes, 2010 we’ve developed a residential school curriculum that we wanted to focus on those residential school survivors to hear their stories, and we have reached out to them. We’ll carry on their stories for generations to come. That’s part of the Grade 10 curriculum within the high school. It’s mandatory. They need to have the Grade 10 residential curriculum before they graduate. That’s just one piece that we’ve developed as part of our programming to deal with residential schools, and there will be plenty of others that I will be addressing with the leadership at the…(inaudible)…of education next month in Banff. I’m leading the task on Aboriginal education, so I will be presenting that to them as well.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ll follow up with my questions for the Minister of Justice.

My first question is: When can the community of Hay River expect to get a resident judge back in the community? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Minister of Justice, Mr. Ramsay.

HON. DAVID RAMSAY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We had a deputy judge that was residing in Hay River up until last summer. We will certainly take the Member’s concerns back to the department and see what we can come up with. Thank you.

With the deputy judge stepping away from Hay River, was that on choice or was it the department’s move, and what is the hiring policy? Are we hiring somebody to fill that position? Can the Minister give me some more information on that? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the circuit in Hay River hasn’t been growing. Meanwhile, here in Yellowknife court time is going up. The demand is here in Yellowknife, but we do take the Member’s concerns seriously. It was the individual’s decision to relocate out of the Northwest Territories from Hay River. Thank you.

My next question is to deal with remand and dealing with inmates, our accused people of the public, and they’re holding in facilities and the Minister just indicated that it’s busy in Yellowknife.

Why do we not have remand in Hay River? Why are we not taking some of that court pressure off in Yellowknife in the Hay River area for South Slave residents? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, in ‘12-13 there were 67 inmates from the South Slave and Deh Cho regions that were in remand. Last year we had 71.

The current facility in Hay River is a minimum security facility. It’s not meant to house remand offenders and we have moved forward now from the decision that was made in 2005. It was a cost-cutting effort, but again, because the program is available here at North Slave Correctional Centre for inmates that are on remand, it was deemed more appropriate to house them here at North Slave Correctional Centre given the fact that the facility in Hay River is a minimum security facility and it would be a security risk to have inmates on remand in that facility. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question about the remand, and it used to be in Hay River and Hay River has always been a minimum security, so I’m not sure, has there been a change in policy? Has there been a change in the facility? Has their requirement for infrastructure for that facility to have remand in Hay River, to get that back in the community, get back to that in the South Slave to relieve some of that pressure in Yellowknife? Thank you.

In my time as Minister of Justice, I’m not aware of any changes in policy. I do know that the facility in Hay River could only house six inmates at any one time and it is a minimum security facility. They don’t have the level of programming that is offered to inmates that are on remand here at the North Slave Correctional Centre. I can get the Member some further detailed information on whether or not there was a policy shift. This is going back 10 years, so I’ll ask the department about that.

The good news is that with the facility in Hay River, we have added three new positions to that facility over the last number of years in working with inmates at that facility. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Premier. I want to follow up on my Member’s statement and ask some questions about plans for amendments and changes to the devolution legislation we passed a year ago.

With devolution, we accepted the federal legislation holus-bolus. There were no changes to any of that legislation when we took it over. We put our name on it but we accepted it as it had been with the feds.

I’d like to thank the Premier for his commitment for us to look at all those pieces of legislation and for us to review them, but I’d like to know from the Premier, what is the government’s plan to review these seven pieces of legislation? Can a copy of this plan be given to Members and to the public? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Since May 20, 2014, the public has had an opportunity to go online and review existing devolution legislation. We have encouraged all interested parties and Northwest Territories citizens to take the opportunity to learn about it a bit and understand the new authorities exercised post-devolution by the Government of the Northwest Territories. We have had two advertising

campaigns, in May and November 2014. The review period was extended to enhance the opportunity for citizens to examine and comment on the legislation. Thank you.

Thanks to the Premier for telling us what has been done. I asked what kind of a plan the government has going forward to review devolution legislation. It sounds from that, that maybe we’re done. I would certainly hope not.

These are very complex pieces of legislation. The education and the advertising campaign that were done, I think that’s great. We needed to advise people of that.

I’d like to know from the Premier, what consultation with groups has been done, or hopefully will be done, because I don’t think it has been done. So, what consultation is planned in order to gauge the interests of the public and organizations with regard to the changes that are required? Thank you.

There have been 2,091 legislative review website views. There have been 272 visits to the Q and A and comment page. Only two questions have been submitted for response. So in our view, the level of response, we don’t foresee any immediate changes to the legislation as a result of the review. Our expectation is that the responsible departments will review the 26 different married regulations and acts associated with devolution in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Thank you. So I gather we have no plan. We’re going to turn the legislation over to each individual department. They will do what they will do. I’d like to suggest, again, this is very complex legislation, and I would also like to suggest that not everybody has access to a computer and asking the question by the computer does not lend itself to making suggestions for amendments to a complex piece of legislation.

So can the Premier indicate to me, if we turn this legislation over to individual departments, what kind of a time frame are we talking about? Can he give me any idea as to when we can expect some sort of a schedule, or an estimated time frame for amendments to these seven pieces of legislation? Thank you.

I should point out that the advertising campaign was focused solely on northern papers. I should also point out that devolution has only been in place for 10 months and previous devolutions when we’ve devolved and evolved, normally it would take about a three-year period. I know that we do have a process already for dealing with legislation and I expect it would go through that process. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Premier, then I guess I would like to ask him to advise me and the public. I know there was a lot of concern about the legislation and that changes were needed. So can the Premier tell me and tell the public how they can get their views to the government, to individual departments so that legislation can be amended as necessary? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, we have already launched two advertising campaigns where we strongly laid out that the objectives of the review are to encourage the general public to better understand the legislative process associated with devolution and give them an opportunity to review the legislation and to ask questions of clarification.

We also have communicated an evolved process and the review was to gather initial public responses, questions and suggestions and also to provide the general public with an understanding of the legislative process for amendment of existing bills and development of new legislation.

We will be bringing forward a final summary report. So, all that information is available online. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today as a follow-up to a statement we heard in the House from one of our Ministers on corrections and on-the-land programs, otherwise known as wilderness programs. I do agree with the Minister that these programs do help our people heal, reconnect with their land and culture and values. But I’m saddened to hear that after all these years we’re still unable to select a qualified contractor. So with that, I do have questions for the Minister of Justice

It is well documented that the proponents who have offered wilderness programs in the past had serious issues with liability, liability in terms of safety of the inmates, safety of the providers and safety of the public.

Has the department considered all of the liability options from the past dealings with proponents and have there been corrective actions as we wait for an expression of interest? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The Minister of Justice, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I mentioned earlier and again yesterday, we’ve had a number of proponents from around the territory that have expressed interest. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to parlay into them

being a service provider. At the end of the day, there are a number of things they have to have. The Member talked about liability, we have had camps in the past. We have learned from those experiences what we want to see happen and we are going to work with the folks that have expressed interest. The Sahtu was one region were we got four expressions of interest. We hope to sit down with these folks as soon as we can, sometime this month, in an effort to get the program up and running somewhere in the Northwest Territories this calendar year, and that is our objective because of the benefits that it brings to the inmates and the healing that can happen through a wilderness program and an on-the-land type of experience. Thank you.

I’m not sure if I got a response to that question. We are right now in a position of a holding pattern. We’re waiting for proponents to come forward. We’re looking at expressions of interest and it has been clearly documented that this government has an opportunity to review, during its so-called quiet period, those issues of liability, maybe better guidelines or framework of action or, in essence, a better framework in place so that when we do have proponents in place they can be operating at efficiency.

Can the Minister indicate, has work been done to look at guidelines, look at framework, look at policies and look at regulations to make this system better? Thank you.

I thank the Member for the question. The answer to the question is yes, absolutely we have. We’ve taken this time that we’ve had to ensure that when we go forward with an expression of interest and we get to an RFP stage that we do know exactly what we’re getting ourselves into. I don’t have that level of detail here with me, but I’d be more than happy to share the work we have done with Members of the House. Thank you.

I appreciate the Minister’s offering on that. We know that from past use of this tool, which is an on-the-land tool, that the costs per inmate were quite substantive and it was quite variant in terms of as high as $1,500 per inmate to as low as about $500 per inmate per day. We know that the average costs for an inmate incarcerated in our corrections facilities is around $378 per inmate per day..

Does the Minister foresee that we’re going to be looking at a fairly large substantial cost should inmates start choosing this as an option and is his department prepared for that? Thank you.

Again, we’re working through all of these details. That is certainly one that we are paying attention to and I’m thankful for the Member bringing that up today. Again, as we get closer to working with a proponent on delivering

this service in the Northwest Territories, we will be back having a briefing with the Standing Committee on Social Programs and Members that are interested in this to show them what we’ve come up with, who we’re working with and how this is all going to roll out. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Minister’s reply on that. As we’ve been told, we’re waiting for an expression of interest from a number of proponents. We are not sure whether or not there will be a sure list of candidates or candidates at all.

Does the Minister have a plan of action should there be no succession planning in finding a proponent? Is the department prepared to take this initiative as a program themselves? Thank you.

Anybody that knows me knows I’m optimistic all the time. We are optimistic at DOJ that we are going to find a proponent to help us deliver this program in the Northwest Territories. We’ve got several who have expressed interest, five from the Sahtu and others. Until we get an opportunity to sit down and talk with them about our expectations, what they’re looking for, I’m sure we will find one of those groups that we will be able to work with and get this program back up and running in the NWT. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I raised concerns with regards to security at the seniors home in Fort Providence. My questions are to the Minister of Public Works and Services. Currently I wanted to ask the Minister if, within his portfolio, he’s become aware of an assessment of the seniors home in Fort Providence and the deficiencies including security considerations. The building was constructed in the mid-70s. I just wanted to see if there’s been an assessment of the building including perhaps an eye of assessing the security for shortcomings as well. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The honourable Minister of Public Works, Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Fort Providence Senior Citizens Home is definitely in the inventory of government; however, it is in the inventory of the NWT Housing Corporation. I believe that the Housing Corporation does work with the Dehcho Health and Social Services Authority to provide some services. The senior citizens home in Fort Providence is not a long-term care facility. It’s an independent living

facility. I’m going to have to get some information from the Housing Corporation on what type of security is provided to the residents there. Thank you.

Recent efforts have indicated because of the age of the facility which was built back in 1970, obviously this government will not make an effort to replace it, but make an effort to renovate it. Recently there was review of request for proposal submissions to renovate the facility as early as January 23, 2015.

Has a contract been awarded and when can the community expect an effort to make improvements to the facility? Mahsi.

The senior citizens home in Fort Providence does have a live-in caretaker who is on shift during the evening from 10:00 until 3:00 at night which provides some security. During the day, Fort Providence has some home care workers who do go into the facility. The home care services are provided primarily by nurses who come into the home and support from other professionals such as physicians and occupational therapists from time to time that go into the facility.

As far as the reconstruction or renovations needed at the home, I’m not aware of the status of that particular project at this time. Thank you.

I’d like to thank the Minister for making an effort in trying to reply. Initially I wanted to ask the Minister of the Housing Corporation, but obviously he’s not here.

My other question is with the budget plus the efforts of this government, there seems to be maintaining the status quo of the health and social services programs. We have an increasing aging population of people who want to continue living in their communities and in their homes. The Department of Health and Social Services has made efforts to maintain the status quo. The real effort should have been perhaps to increase and enhance the Home Care Program, so ideally you have health care professionals working with a team of local people to provide services to elders in their homes.

With that in mind, would the Minister agree to support the community’s desire to elevate the seniors home in Fort Providence from an independent care facility to specialized care, a Level III? Mahsi.

I’m just trying to get up to speed on the situation over there. The senior citizens home has gone through some review and there has been the determination that more services could be provided. The Housing Corporation has issued a request for a proposal for a design required for the changes that are necessary. At this time, the Housing Corporation is looking at the RFP submissions. We were hoping that sometime close to the end of last month they

would be able to review those proposals to see how they were going to proceed with any design changes that may be necessary to accommodate the people at the senior citizens home in Fort Providence. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wanted to understand the Minister of Public Works and Services in terms of the aging inventory of capital assets that the government maintains throughout the communities. In this particular instance, we have an aging seniors home. There have been efforts to perhaps renovate it.

What is the policy of this government, especially the Department of Public Works and Services, of these aging buildings? Do they become, at some point, just not usable and the government has to demolish it? At what point would the government engage with the local community to determine the fate of these buildings? Mahsi.

Most of the buildings designed in the communities right across the Territories that are owned by the government usually go through a retrofit during their mid-life. The retrofit is designed to double the life of the facility at that point. The funds that go into the unit are looked at for amortization. We re-amortize the building to the end of the building. After that reaches the end of its life, the government will do an evaluation and at some point determine the building goes beyond economic repair. Once a unit is beyond economic repair, then we go through the regular disposal of that asset. We use a policy that Public Works has where we offer the building to other agencies or other departments that may want to use it, or community agencies for disposal one way or another. That is the process. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a few questions for the Minister of Justice. As you know, policing has been an ongoing issue in Tsiigehtchic and I’d like to ask the Minister, since the commitment to overnight in Tsiigehtchic, how many times have the RCMP overnighted in the community? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Blake. Minister of Justice, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the best of my knowledge they are still trying to work with the community of Tsiigehtchic to identify accommodations so that the members can overnight in the community of Tsiigehtchic up to

eight nights a month, but they have to first identify suitable accommodation in the community and they’re working with the community to do that.

From what I understand, the main problem here is that the detachment is looking for an in-kind service. It was stated a couple of days back that we just have a $3.8 million increase in the Justice department.

Will the Minister ensure the detachment in Fort McPherson has adequate funds to secure accommodation so they can overnight in the community? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

If that is the case, I’ll go back to the department and we’ll have a discussion with the RCMP on that topic. That shouldn’t be a hurdle to having members overnight in the community of Tsiigehtchic. If it is, we’ll try to correct that. Thank you.