Good afternoon, colleagues. Item 2, Ministers’ statements. Honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to announce that the Government of the Northwest Territories and its single window service centre model has been recognized for its innovative management by the Institute of Public Administration of Canada, or known as IPAC.

The Government of the Northwest Territories was one of 10 national finalists for the IPAC/Deloitte Public Sector Leadership Award for 2014 in the Federal/Provincial/Territorial category. This prestigious award recognizes organizations and their leaders that have demonstrated outstanding leadership by taking bold steps to improve Canada through advancements in public policy and management.

I am delighted to inform this House that the single window service centre model was awarded the bronze medal. This is the fourth IPAC Award the Government of the Northwest Territories has received. Previous recipients include the Government of the Northwest Territories Executive Council, Department of Transportation and the South Slave Divisional Board of Education.

On Thursday evening, Celine Proctor, our government services officer from Fort Good Hope, representing all of our government services officers, along with George Morin, manager of the single window service centre program; Dan O’Neill, regional director; Penny Ballantyne, deputy minister of the Department of Executive; and Betty Arden, administrative assistant, represented the Government of the Northwest Territories at the

Gala Awards Dinner at IPAC’s 10th Annual Leadership Conference in Toronto.

Mr. O’Neill and his staff in the regional office, in collaboration with regional director Peter Clarkson, have championed this program and have worked diligently to ensure its success. During the gala, a short video was presented showcasing the uniqueness of the Northwest Territories, and how this service delivery model is helping residents in small communities gain access to much needed government programs and services.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased with this program, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff in the Department of Executive, and the community government services officers, who have worked hard to improve resident access to our programs and services and provide outreach to all our citizens, particularly our elders in our most remote communities.

As I mentioned earlier, in the audience Thursday night was one of our government services officers, Celine Procter, who started with the program when it was first launched in 2010. Celine is from Fort Good Hope, she speaks the language of her community and has helped countless residents. This includes elders, sitting at their kitchen tables, helping them to navigate their way through the sometimes complex federal and Northwest Territories programs and services.

As Members know, the single window service centres are located in 18 offices across the Northwest Territories, soon to be 20, with new offices being established in Trout Lake and Wekweeti. This model has been a resounding success and has reached out to residents in our more remote communities. To date, over 19,000 resident inquiries have been assisted through these offices.

Mr. Speaker, supporting all communities and regions is a priority for our government. We have funded from within these additional government services officer positions, which supports this Assembly’s priority of providing employment opportunities in small communities. The single window service centres and government services officers program proves that we can provide more efficient services by creating positions in smaller communities to help residents connect with the

programs and services they need. I want to thank Members for their continued support for this initiative. It is truly making a difference and is now a nationally recognized model that is the envy of other jurisdictions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mr. Speaker, in January the Premier and I led a second trade mission of NWT business representatives and government officials to China and Japan. Our delegation included NWT tour operators, partners in our fur and fashion industries, and a member of our territory’s diamond manufacturing sector, Ms. Verda Law of Yellowknife Tours, Mr. Ragnar Wesstrom of Enodah Wilderness Adventures, Mr. Hideo Nagatani from Aurora Village, Mr. Andrew Stanley, a trapper from Hay River, Mr. Fernando Alvarez of Jacques Cartier Clothing and Mr. Dylan Dix of Crossworks Manufacturing.

Collectively we offered a significant, multi-sector mission highlighting the opportunities that exist within our territory’s key sectors. In the interest of NWT businesses, our objective was, in part, to leverage a greater share of the immense and growing market in Asia for luxury products and travel vacations.

To that end, we showcased our fur and diamonds in foremost international fashion venues like the 41st Annual Fur and Leather Show in Beijing and the International Jewellery Fair in Tokyo.

Due to its high quality, limited supply and the sustainable and humane manner in which it is harvested, our Genuine Mackenzie Valley Furs are being increasingly sought by socially and fashion-conscious consumers in Asia.

Almost immediately following our meetings with fur buyers at the Beijing Fur and Leather Show, we were advised that five new clients had registered to buy our wild fur at the upcoming March sale in Helsinki.

Meanwhile, our endorsement of a proposed MOU between the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the Fur Institute of Canada has advanced that initiative to a point where it may be signed in the next three weeks. This is a big step not only for the spirit of cooperation that it represents but also for the fundamental role that it will play in protecting our collective interests in the fur industry.

Our presentations and meetings on tourism netted similar immediate results. Two new and major tour operators have come forward since our mission,

with plans to package and sell the NWT product in China. With upwards of 100,000 Chinese travelling annually, it represents an extraordinary potential return on our investment and the possibility of even greater growth in our territory’s Aurora industry, already reaching record performance measures.

The Premier and I also met with the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency to provide an update on the creation of the Mackenzie Valley Fibre Optic Link and growth of the Inuvik Satellite Station Facility. The establishment of a fixed fibre optic link opens the door for a broad range of satellite-related activities for investors interested in projects relating to data harvesting. We believe the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency could be a strong partner with the NWT and Canada with a joint venture similar to those already established with other international partners.

Mr. Speaker, beyond our work to stimulate interest, investment and economic growth for NWT businesses, our second mission to China has served to add prestige and credibility to our relationships with the governments that guide and govern this trade. The Canadian Ambassador to China, Mr. Guy Saint-Jacques, communicated to us and to Chinese government officials during our meetings, the significance of the GNWT’s investment in building relations through this return mission to China. Our trip served also to open doors with investors interested in learning more about the exciting opportunities that exist in our territory. I would like to express my appreciation to both Ambassador Saint-Jacques and to Mr. Mackenzie Clugston, Canada’s Ambassador to Japan. The success of our trade mission would not have been possible without the outstanding support given by both of the Ambassadors and their staff.

Opportunities for investment are being increasingly sought and recognized by the Chinese in particular. These investments are not necessarily limited to non-renewable resources. Since our mission, the Canadian Consulate in Shanghai has received an inquiry from a company currently exporting Canadian freshwater fish to China and looking for additional sources of high-quality products.

Mr. Speaker, we are acting on the momentum established by this mission and responding to immediate inquiries. I look forward to sharing more detailed information with Members of this House in person and in subsequent meetings and briefings.

I can assure Members that we will continue to encourage and nurture a strong network of relationships and investments in China and Japan and in other international markets. Our growing political and reciprocal relationship with these nations is one that articulates the full value of the potential that exists for our territory and the returns that can be realized from investors, corporations

and even nations that are interested in partnering and investing in the North. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Item 3, Members’ statements. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The government is supposed to provide high-quality health care to the NWT residents no matter where they live. Yet, in the smallest communities, places like Tsiigehtchic, people don’t have year-round access to a nurse.

I’ve raised this concern many times. It’s a stressful situation. Residents are scared that something terrible may happen and they won’t have backup when they need it most. The idea for a full-time nurse made it into the Health and Social Services 2010-11 Business Plan, but the Minister of the day reneged on that commitment.

On February 7, 2013, another promise was made. Then Health Minister Tom Beaulieu stated that the department was working with the community leaders in the Beaufort-Delta Health Authority to try to provide nursing services and physician services in Tsiigehtchic. When I asked Minister Beaulieu if he would commit to an interim measure, a pilot project to hire a licenced practical nurse, he said an unequivocal yes. That was two years ago but nothing materialized.

My last exchange on this topic took place October 27, 2014. Minister Abernethy assured me that the government is, “always looking for ways to enhance the services that we provide in our communities.” He stated that the department is doing research to bring forward new tools for enhancing care in our communities. Minister Abernethy also acknowledged that a community without a full-time nurse is vulnerable in the event of a medical emergency.

All this, and yet the Minister hasn’t brought about any substantial changes. For too long Tsiigehtchic residents have had unreliable access to health care.

I will be asking questions to the Minister at the appropriate time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Blake. Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My Member’s statement will be somewhat close to

what Mr. Blake has been talking about, some of the communities that have not some of these essential services in our communities. Mr. Blake is talking about full-time nurses in our communities, and I believe there are eight communities that do not have full-time nurses in our communities and, you know, we do with what we have. The small communities pull together, you know, and do the best they can.

Year after year as an MLA, we come before the government and ask if it would be possible to put in a full-time nurse, or even, in one of our 11 communities, to put in an RCMP officer, and the government always comes back with some enormous cost to meet that request, and they always have come back with not having enough money or haven’t planned for it, or it doesn’t quite meet the criteria. Even with our schooling, with the quality of education. It’s a matter of fact that the latest report from the Department of Education, Culture and Employment says that in our small communities, 50 percent of our students are not up to par in the grade level. You know, in 2015 we’ve got to fight doubly hard to get the grades that we want for our students, otherwise we’re just toying with them.

We want to ask this government, are there other ways that we can help on this side, and I believe that we can. I believe we can help make some changes with the bureaucrats for their own people’s attitudes and minds of how do we do things. You know, why do we have to spend $100,000 to house one inmate if we change some behaviour? Or when people are drinking excessively, we spend somewhere around $14,000 at Nats’ejee K’eh to put them in a 28-day treatment program.

I believe we need that type of thinking amongst ourselves, in our communities, to make changes to deal with what we have to do within today’s budget.

I’ll ask the Minister questions later on. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One of the most important recommendations to come out of the last Energy Charrette was the need for the creation of an NWT energy efficiency act. Some of us have pushed for this throughout our term but have been sloughed off by costly ministerial statements like, “I believe communities know what needs to be done.”

Getting this act in place needs to be a priority for this government. Given the dollars that go to energy costs and the effect energy production has on the

cost of living and environment, it’s unbelievable that we don’t have one already. Leaving this for the 18th Assembly is unacceptable.

Government has been quick to see the savings realized through our own use of alternative energy sources: pellet boilers, solar arrays and energy conservation initiatives. With a short five- or six-year payback, Diavik has shown that wind power is eminently feasible here.

Liezl van Wyk, Diavik rep speaking to the Energy Charrette regarding their wind power project, stated that building this sort of infrastructure should be a condition for any future project and asked, why didn’t the GNWT require this a long time ago? Indeed.

BC, Alberta, Ontario and other jurisdictions in Canada have energy efficiency acts and have for years. The opportunity to draw on their experience and our own considerable internal experience can easily be tapped and drawn together for timely legislation this term. Such an act can provide long overdue energy efficiency standards that must be met for buildings, equipment and operations.

Studies by Jaccard and Associates have indicated that savings enabled by energy efficiency legislation can amount to 14 percent on greenhouse gas emissions and that actions will more than pay for themselves. Such savings will directly lower the cost of living, decrease harmful environmental impacts and help build sustainable communities.

We do not need to reinvent the wheel in the Northwest Territories. We do need to set standards for a sustainable, long-term Energy Strategy. The government is ready; industry is signalling cooperation, and the people of the North are calling for action now.

Mr. Speaker, let’s acknowledge the obvious relevance of the charrette recommendation for such an act and get it done. With our new responsibility, this government must set clear targets for government, residential and commercial/industrial energy efficiency. We executed the Energy Charrette; we must start to work towards completing a sustainable, energy-efficient, economically and socially responsible NWT energy policy. Mahsi.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s usual for people who have the experience from traumatic events in their lives to have flashbacks, nightmares or intrusive memories when something terrible happens. What I’m talking about is post-traumatic

stress disorder, also referred to as PTSD. It is a mental illness that affects a lot of people. It doesn’t matter which demographic you’re in, it affects people all over the world. It’s exposure to trauma that might be involved in death or a threat of death; it could be a serious injury, an accident, violence, natural disasters, even crime.

There are various symptoms when people are experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder. I won’t get into all the details there, but what I really want to focus on in my Member’s statement today is those people in our communities who are helping our residents and helping government-run programs: the first responders, the service providers that we think are strong enough to do the work. These are the ones that are going to the accidents, going to the deaths and trying to help people out. Paramedics, physicians, doctors, nurses, firefighters, RCMP, in some cases, the big ones are our coroners across the Northwest Territories. I do want to give recognition to the Department of Justice for the compassionate training they are putting on for the coroners across the Northwest Territories.

In some cases, these are our hard-to-recruit positions, so if we don’t have the services to help them out when they’re dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder, there’s a good chance that we will lose them and they’ll go somewhere else.

There’s a need for awareness and education in this area throughout the Northwest Territories and within our own service system and we need people to speak up about their experiences, and as a government we need to provide the proper quality of support to help these individuals with the mental illness that they will be experiencing.

Mr. Speaker, I will have questions later today for the Minister of Health and Social Services on what kind of services are we providing to our first responders and service providers in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I want to raise the idea of a seniors advocate. As seniors represent an increasing percentage of the NWT population, the initial mandate of a seniors advocate could focus on helping seniors who are seeking or receiving health care supports and services.

This is a fairly new concept. Not quite a year ago, the Government of British Columbia announced the appointment of Isobel Mackenzie as Canada’s very first seniors advocate. As the voice of seniors in BC, Ms. Mackenzie has the broad mandate to

monitor and review system-wide issues affecting the well-being of seniors and raise awareness about resources available to them. The BC seniors advocate will also make recommendations to government and to those who deliver seniors services related to health care, personal care, housing, transportation and income support.

In the NWT a seniors advocate could work in concert with the NWT Seniors’ Society. It could help them expand our services to our growing older population. The seniors advocate could perform any or all of the following duties:

First, advocacy, such as identifying gaps in our services, providing policy advice to government about services for seniors and proposing legislative changes.

Second, provide information and advice to government and to seniors. This could build on the good work that the NWT Seniors’ Society does now, things like providing resources, ensuring the flow of information to and from seniors and advocating for seniors issues.

Third, they could receive and refer concerns and complaints. This is especially needed in regards to elder abuse and health care services.

Fourth, improve public awareness and communication. Awareness and promotion of the role of a seniors advocate, coordination of education about seniors and seniors’ issues and respond to inquiries from the public.

Lastly, collaborate and engage with seniors and other groups. The advocate can work with voluntary and community advocacy groups to help identify key issues of concern to seniors, seek out the opinions and priorities of seniors and ensure that their views are heard and understood.

All of these concepts should be explored by the GNWT for value. This is an opportunity for the GNWT to meet head on the challenge of responding to the aging of the NWT population. By providing assistance to our elders, we can promote healthy and productive aging and create a society in which older people’s voices are heard and respected.

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

---Unanimous consent granted

The office of a seniors advocate could have a key role in supporting a shift in public attitude by promoting and celebrating the positive aspects of aging, including the invaluable experience and wisdom that comes with older age. I urge the government to consider this initiative and to respond. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last Thursday our Finance Minister said, “We do not have the revenue growth necessary to make all these investments possible and we are constrained by our $800 million borrowing limit to borrow to make strategic investments.” As I further listened even closer, he points out that on the revenue side, resource revenues are expected to be $41 million lower and corporate taxes $24 million lower than estimated in the last budget. He points out that this is a perfect storm of shocks that has reduced our $100 million cushion borrowing limit to $70 million.

This is unwelcome news. Let me start off by saying this, I think we can all agree that our Stanton Territorial Hospital needs a mid-life upgrade, but we heard the state of our finances and I certainly am sure that we can all agree to some extent that we all believe strongly in our gold standard health care offered in the North and it needs to be protected. However, when we need to make strategic investments, we must examine them extremely closely, especially after hearing the Finance Minister’s state of our financial affairs.

If this government’s coffers are bare, as highlighted by our Finance Minister, where is the money going to come from, because this government has chosen the most expensive path to retrofit or renovate our Stanton Territorial Hospital.

When communities and regions are screaming for infrastructure dollars, this government is throwing them to the wind.

I have talked to many people in the construction industry and I’ve even talked to two of the three bidders on the Stanton Territorial Project, and everyone is in full agreement, renovating Stanton while the doors are open, full business and operating is the most expensive option this government could even dream of. This government must have more money to throw away than ever, because it’s not a question of the merits of the renovation, it’s about the process of how we’re going to renovate.

For years I’ve been asking about this process. Why don’t we build new? Why don’t we connect to the existing hospital? Because it would be cheaper, and the government always said, well, if the bidders want to come back that way with that option, then we’ll look at it. I’ve been recently informed that that option has been pulled from the table so only the three contractors welcome to bid on the Stanton Territorial Project provide a renovation option. This will grossly lead us down to the lane of the poorhouse. We must find a more financially suitable way to do this. It is expensive. We should have that discussion now, and we will later today in this House.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am proud to say I’ve been smoke-free of cigarettes since November 10, 2014. Before this time, I would wake up first thing in the morning and have a coffee and a cigarette, smoke up to about four packages of cigarettes a week, and experience exhaustion and fatigue. I could only smoke outside, and the smell of cigarettes clung to my clothes.

I thought of quitting smoking cigarettes for a long time. [English translation not provided.]

Like many of my peers, I started smoking as a teenager as it looked cool and helped me fit into the crowd. Tobacco use also extended to my parents and grandparents. Smoking or chewing is very common in my community.

Smoking causes cancer, and I found that out with the passing of my parents who both died of cancer. Lung cancer caused by smoking is usually fatal, and so is throat or oral cancers related to smoking.

I challenge other MLAs and leaders to quit smoking cigarettes.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Recently, the Department of ITI launched a new brand promoting Great Slave Lake fish. The Hay River MLAs were pleased to participate in the launch in Hay River. We would like to thank the local ITI staff as well as Super 8 and Steve Anderson. I would also like to thank Poison Graphics for my apron. It was exciting to encourage Northerners to buy more local fish.

As you know, Hay River has a strong history in fishing. In the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s we had many fishing companies in Hay River. The fishing industry has changed. We have a few dedicated fishermen currently that catch at least a million pounds a year of the two million pound quota, so we have lots of room to grow.

We need to increase this industry. It’s renewable, it’s good local quality, and we know that fish is a healthy living choice. We need to have northern fish in our hospitals, correctional facilities, restaurants, grocery stores, and at all our kitchen tables.

Right now most of the fish caught in the Northwest Territories on the Great Slave Lake is shipped south with the Freshwater Marketing Corporation. We need to sell more locally. The recent promotion

was great but we need to make the next step. We need to be able to package it in the North, sell it in the North, sell it in all the stores in the North and all those facilities I spoke of earlier. Dozens of people came to me during that promotion and said, can I buy the fish here in the store, and the answer is no. So we’ve missed that connection. We need to work on that next step of getting that fish packaged in the Northwest Territories in a fish plant in Hay River, and I will have questions for the Minister on how we get there. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What was touted as a band-aid approach upon closure of the only territorial addictions treatment centre in the NWT, our current Minister of Health and Social Services assured all Northerners the southern withdrawal management and treatment services would be temporary.

If we fast-forward to today, we see this temporary promise is now permanently enshrined in policy. Therefore, the recommendation of the Standing Committee on Government Operations from its work on Bill 24, An Act to Amend the Liquor Act, the government commissioned a report to look at the best options for withdrawal management in the NWT. This report was completed on March 31, 2014, shared with committee on August 27, 2014, and is on the department’s website.

For starters, we need to set the right definition in place. What is meant when we say withdrawal management? Simply put, withdrawal management, commonly known as detox, can involve either medical or non-medical intervention. Those with severe risk of withdrawal problems, such as shock or seizures, require medical supervision and this service is only available in Yellowknife and Inuvik hospitals. Those who are deemed non-medical risk for withdrawal services only have the option of a six-bed facility provided by the Salvation Army in Yellowknife.

Therefore, one could safely say that initial withdrawal management is extremely limited in the NWT and as of today there are still no follow-up residential treatment options for our residents on home soil. Sadly, in addition, the NWT does not support any home base, mobile or on-the-land withdrawal management services in its toolbox for addictions.

The good news is we do have options to improve and enhance our current Withdrawal Management System. Even when faced with geopolitical challenges, the question is: Do we have the vision

for such investments? We need to understand how the future changes of withdrawal management will fit into the new, yet to be seen Mental Health Act, especially with respect to involuntary admissions.

Lacking still is our establishment of multiple points of entry for withdrawal management at regional and community levels where policy is quiet. As well, we cannot forget about all our first point of contact people, such as RCMP and child protection workers. These folks need ongoing training in such areas as withdrawal management, best practices, harm reduction and assessment tools.

I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted