This is page numbers 5977 – 6020 of the Hansard for the 17th Assembly, 5th Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was plan.

Topics

The House met at 1:31 p.m.

---Prayer

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Good afternoon, colleagues. Orders of the day. Item 2, Ministers’ statements.

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

Mr. Speaker, three years ago the 17th Legislative Assembly made it a

priority to establish sustainable, vibrant, safe communities. Today I want to speak about some of the work being done by the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs to help reach that goal by strengthening community emergency preparedness and fire protection.

In the past 12 months, NWT communities have experienced some extreme events that have tested their ability to respond to natural disasters and community fire incidents. These events can occur at any time and in any place, with or without warning. Effective response requires a continual planning and capacity building.

Mr. Speaker, emergency preparedness and community fire protection are critical. Our collective efforts need to focus on helping communities reach a suitable level of readiness. To this end, MACA is committed to several important goals that will help create and sustain a foundation with which to support and strengthen community preparedness and response.

MACA continues its efforts to help community governments improve community emergency management capacity. This includes the delivery of community planning workshops and tabletop exercises. Since 2011, 20 communities have updated their existing emergency response plans or created new ones. Last year MACA launched a new tabletop exercise in Whati, which is now available to communities to help validate emergency plans.

Mr. Speaker, work continues at the territorial level as well. Recently, MACA began a review of the

government’s civil emergency response efforts from last summer. The review will identify gaps and deficiencies in last summer’s operations and allow us to improve procedures and plans. It will also inform work to update the territorial Emergency Response Plan that will commence in the spring.

MACA is also coordinating the GNWT’s participation in Operation NANOOK 2015, which provides a great opportunity to practice and evaluate components of the NWT’s emergency measures regime. This annual Canadian Forces live exercise is scheduled to take place in August and will involve working with key partners to respond to a simulated wildfire event in the vicinity of Fort Smith.

Last summer the department completed a territorial hazard identification risk assessment which provides communities guidance concerning risks that pose the greatest threat to people, property, environment and the economy. This tool can be used to update community emergency plans, develop municipal disaster risk mitigation plans and guide development of emergency response exercises.

MACA also started work on modernizing the Civil Emergency Measures Act to ensure it provides the GNWT and community governments with effective tools to respond to our current hazard environment. Work is well underway and it is hoped that we can pass in the 17th Assembly.

Mr. Speaker, not all emergency events occur from natural disasters. Many originate in our own homes and have a profound impact on families. According to the National Fire Protection Association, households can expect a home fire every 15 years. While most will be small fires resulting in little or no damage, some will be greater. This means effective community fire protection needs to remain a high priority for the department and community governments.

In 2014 MACA continued implementation of an NWT Community Fire Protection Plan, focused on key priorities identified by fire protection stakeholders. The department recently worked with partners to implement a territorial-wide Carbon Monoxide Awareness Campaign and a volunteer firefighter recruitment and retention tool kit for community governments. These efforts combine to

help improve the efforts of smaller communities with limited equipment, capacity and volunteers. Future efforts will continue to build on local capacity by providing templates and tools that can be implemented by fire departments in communities across the NWT.

To help ensure adequate first aid skills, MACA is delivering first responder training to community volunteers and staff. Since June 2014, six communities have received training, with several more sessions planned for the remainder of the year. This effort has been combined with a unique opportunity to increase public access to automated external defibrillators. Working with the Heart and Stroke Foundation, we are combining efforts to place more than 60 defibrillators in recreation and public facilities throughout the North and to deliver user training to volunteers.

Central to this goal are our continued efforts to help community government staff and volunteers achieve certification and accreditation as firefighters. In 2014, eighteen individuals were certified as fire instructors and eight individuals as fire investigators.

Mr. Speaker, improvements in community fire protection require a sustained effort and effective collaboration on behalf of all stakeholders. It also requires an effective foundation with which to ensure adequate oversight and authority for all levels of government. To this end, MACA is making good progress towards an updated Fire Prevention Act that will reflect our true operating environment. A draft bill is expected early in the 18th Assembly.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to commend community governments for their continued efforts in this important area and to thank our partners for their ongoing support. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Mr. Speaker, it makes me very proud to share an important milestone with this Legislative Assembly. At the Truth and Reconciliation Commission event in Inuvik in 2011, I committed our government to educating students and teachers in the Northwest Territories about the history and legacy of the residential schools.

For the year following that TRC event, Education, Culture and Employment staff worked closely with the Nunavut government, the Legacy of Hope Foundation and, in particular, former residential school students, to complete a resource package of teaching and learning materials.

In October of 2012, all NWT northern studies teachers were introduced to the new teacher’s guide. At this in-service, many survivors shared their experiences with our teachers. The experiences shared during this in-service helped the teachers not only in their delivery of northern studies but in their understanding of their students and the communities they are working in.

Since this initial launch, I committed our government to train not just the northern Studies teachers but all K to 12 teachers in the NWT on the history and legacy of residential schools. It has taken us over a year to accomplish this goal, and as of February 19th every NWT teacher has

participated in an in-service. We will now be offering this in-service to all new teachers arriving to the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, this is an important accomplishment, and I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank several groups. I want to thank the principals and teachers who listened respectfully to the difficult truths.

I want to thank the Vision of Hope and Health Canada for supporting the process through their counselling services and attending every in-service. They also provided follow-up support for those who needed it. I want to thank Maxine Lacorne who is an intergenerational survivor and also travelled to many communities and provided hope through sharing her experiences and journey of healing. Most importantly, I want to acknowledge and thank the many former residential school students all over the NWT who graciously shared their experiences with open hearts.

In June I will be hosting meetings with my counterparts from across the country, the Council of Ministers of Education Canada. At these meetings we will be discussing how to make it a requirement in every province and territory across Canada for all teachers to be familiar with the issues related to the history and legacy of residential schools, regardless of where they study or where they teach. Together, we are understanding the past and seeking reconciliation to build hope for tomorrow.

Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories can be very proud of the leadership role we have played right across this country in assuring that never again will another generation be able to say, “I didn’t know.” Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Abernethy.

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Minister of Health and Social Services

Mr. Speaker, each year we celebrate March as National Social Work Month. Social work is a profession for those with a

passion to help improve people’s lives. Social workers help individuals, families and communities by providing support and resources and working through challenging and complex circumstances.

Social workers can work directly with individuals to provide counselling services or other supports. They also contribute to the broader improvement of our territory through policy development and helping to improve the way services are provided and delivered at the community level.

Social workers have an ethical obligation to advocate for broad social change to address social inequalities that will benefit the marginalized members of our communities and, ultimately, all of us.

When families are in crisis, social workers are there to help people get back on their feet. Social workers show outstanding dedication and professionalism to help people achieve success and realize their best selves. The hours are tough, as help is required around the clock.

Social work requires determination, devotion and a sense of purpose to make a real difference for people in need, and I have seen many positive outcomes as a result of social workers’ efforts.

For these reasons and many more, social work is being celebrated this year as a profession of choice. As the Minister of Health and Social Services, I want to express how much the Government of the Northwest Territories appreciates professional social work not just during Social Work Month but every day.

I am pleased to have this extra opportunity to celebrate these outstanding professionals and express the Government of the Northwest Territories’ recognition and thanks for all their hard work on behalf of the people of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Item 3, Members’ statements. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Kevin A. Menicoche

Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Stanton Territorial Hospital Renewal Project must include a wellness centre that beats for the hearts of all Aboriginal people and culture. Our territorial hospital, when renovated, has to incorporate the Aboriginal identity that over 50 percent of our population has. “There is one thing stronger than all the armies in the world, and that is an idea whose time has come,” said Victor Hugo, the famous writer. I believe it’s true in this case.

Colonialism and, consequently, the residential school system for Aboriginal peoples in Canada has resulted in the loss of control over their lives and culture and they continue to struggle for self- determination on almost every level, including the health care system.

Aboriginal people die earlier, live in conditions comparable to Third World countries, experience housing and living crises, obtain lower education levels, experience unemployment and poverty and are at increased risk for suicide, tuberculosis and diabetes.

Improving and recognizing a unique Aboriginal health care model is beneficial because it has been shown in other jurisdictions that having close Aboriginal ties to traditional healing works wonders. Cancer rates decrease, diabetes rates decline and the general health and well-being improves because our people are comfortable and relaxed in a setting they recognize.

Francois Paulette, chair of the Stanton Elders Council, has recently called upon the Department of Health and Social Services to include an Aboriginal wellness centre at the Stanton Territorial Hospital. I support this and I will look to all my colleagues to support it as well.

He and all the members of the Elders Council envision a facility that would blend traditional and western medicine at the hospital to enshrine and recognize Aboriginal culture and traditional healing practices to complement our NWT health care services.

The council has seen how this works by observing other hospitals that incorporate traditional healing into their facilities. Two unique northern examples are the Alaska Native Medical Center which is home to one of North American’s most unique health care environments, the place where the highest quality care and cutting-edge technology meets special Aboriginal cultural and traditional services and patient experiences.

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

---Unanimous consent granted

Kevin A. Menicoche

Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh

Then, in the Yukon, the First Nations health programs promote the provision of quality culturally sensitive holistic health care to Aboriginal people by providing social and spiritual support as well as access to traditional food, medicine and healing practices.

I am pleased to hear that the Department of Health and Social Services is supportive of the concept and has identified and set aside land at the Stanton Territorial Hospital. Regretfully, an Aboriginal wellness centre was never included in the Stanton Renewal Project. But with political will, no army can stop us from including it in the plan. We must find a

way to provide funding for a business plan and get this facility on our books and into the Stanton Renewal Project before we complete it in five years’ time.

I will have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services during question period. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Daryl Dolynny

Daryl Dolynny Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Reading about a WSCC stop work order of the Fort Resolution fire department in December of 2014 did leave many asking how. How did this hamlet get itself in this predicament?

Although little was said or reported, the concern was about the safety of the volunteer firefighters. But what was never discussed was the root problem of why there were so many safety deficiencies, training and equipment maintenance issues.

Armed with more questions than answers, I attempted to peel back the layers surrounding this concern. Interestingly, through my findings, this is not an isolated case in the Northwest Territories. Actually, many, if not most communities in the NWT, struggle with the capacity to provide reliable fire service. For the most part, there appears to be a lack of buy-in for a proper fire safety culture. There are few volunteers, constant turnover, very little training, let alone recertification, unmaintained equipment and what appears to be insufficient budgets. Researching further, we know that training modules have been developed, but there is a gap in whether competencies are being tested.

So I’m concerned, should this be left as is, we are putting our residents at grave risk. So, when this government is supporting a global presumption of basic emergency services at community levels are working safely and efficiently, this, in my opinion, is wrong.

We should be asking our leadership, when was the last time communities were assessed for their ability to deliver emergency services? Where can we find community information that indicates compliance to codes and standards of emergency services? Where is this report and are the findings made public? Is money being wasted? We are not sure, but it is clear we are surrounding this issue with too much politics and drowning it by design.

I will be discussing this topic later today with the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Bob Bromley

Bob Bromley Weledeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A silver lining may emerge from a catastrophic fire season the Northwest Territories experienced last summer. A bumper crop of morel mushrooms is anticipated this spring. Buyers of these delicacies will be again on site, bringing millions into the NWT economy.

While the potential abundance and ease of access are welcome, potential administrative and other nightmares could derail the industry. Members have called for regulation of the industry, and the government may be responding with legislation governing the mushroom harvest in the NWT. This is welcome only if timing issues do not undermine this new industry start-up.

Buyers and pickers will be at harvest sites by early to mid-May as the early harvest begins at that time. Buyers and pickers will be, of course, unaware of any law brought into effect after the 1st of May,

being out in the forest doing their job. Harvesters working in the forest will not have the communications to find out about new requirements for business licences or permits, should they happen.

If legislation calls for registration and permits, these must be available prior to May 1st . If not, we will

unintentionally put buyers and pickers into a situation of being offenders of the law. Buyers could leave and the industry fail.

This is a potential recipe for disaster and I expect the Ministers of ITI and ENR to be aware of this situation and to take steps to avoid it. Proper planning and implementation of any new law and regulations can avoid unnecessary and costly confusion. Licence and permit forms need to be designed, printed and distributed for this industry to key communities by May 1st and as readily

obtainable as a fishing licence. Communication of the new rules will need to be proactive with signs posted along the highways from the south, alerting harvesters to their new responsibilities. User- friendly visits to picking sites by renewable resource officers to explain new regulations and issue the required permits will be needed.

Finally, consideration needs to be given as to where picking should be encouraged and what areas should be restricted. While most edible mushrooms are clean and safe to eat, those from some areas have been found to carry contaminant loads including lead and arsenic.

To foster and safeguard the industry and consumers, it is essential to have the technology to test soil samples in the first mushrooms from possible picking sites prior to the harvest. With proper timing and communication of regulations and responsible testing of soils and products, a

sustainable mushroom industry can contribute to the NWT economy for years to come. I will have questions. Mahsi.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Alfred Moses

Alfred Moses Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday afternoon I had the opportunity, along with my colleagues here, to attend a luncheon over at the Explorer Hotel with participants who are attending this year’s Weaving Our Wisdom Gathering, a territorial wellness gathering. I just want to say it was a really great opportunity to meet and catch up with old colleagues who I used to work with in the Department of Health as well as the Department of MACA, and also look at some of the leaders who were at the event itself.

It was really unique in the sense that the Department of Health put on this conference. We had volunteers, we had elders, we had community leaders, chiefs, mayors all speaking with one another about how we make our health systems and programs and services that we provide better, and how we work together to create healthier individuals in the Northwest Territories.

One other thing that was really great to see was all the youth who were in attendance. I think there were youth representing all the communities across the Northwest Territories, bringing their voices to the table, like I said, with mayors, with chiefs and with community leaders all striving for the same goal and objective.

One thing that was really great to see in these three days of meetings that they had was they had an online webcast. So if people couldn’t come in for the conference, or it was already at capacity, then people could participate online, something that this government hasn’t really done before. They were able to listen to presentations, download the presentations from the site, ask questions in real time and just be part of the conference from up in the Beaufort-Delta, to the Sahtu and the Deh Cho. I’m not sure what kind of uptake was on that website, but that’s where we need to move in order to get the information out, to have people from the Northwest Territories participating on how we do business, how we create action plans and strategies moving forward.

I think the Department of Health did a great job, an excellent job in providing this gathering, Weaving Our Wisdom, to everybody in the Northwest Territories. I’m sure it was even available to people down south. I heard the presentations were great, the keynote speakers were great, and I applaud the

Minister and his department for doing such a great job on this gathering here. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’ve heard a lot in the House about GNWT jobs and vacancies. But something not often spoken about that is a huge drain on our resources, both human and financial, is absenteeism.

According to the NWT 2013 Public Service Annual Report, the work absence rate for the GNWT public service was 12.3 days per employee. This is a decrease from 2012, when it was 13.2 days, and 2011, when it was 14.7 days. I guess it’s a good thing that that number is going down, but this statistic means that every NWT employee was absent from work one day every month of the year. That’s a lot of days off.

The reasons why people are absent are many, but one we seldom talk about, and hardly ever admit to, is days away from work because of poor mental health or mental illness.

A 2011 study showed that one in three workplace disability claims are related to mental illness. Many of those claims are stress related. Stress is causing disability due to mental illness in many people.

Of those 12.3 days absent per employee in 2013, how many were due to poor mental health or mental illness? I’m sure all of us know people who have taken mental health days away from work, whether they were really mentally ill or just taking advantage of their sick days allotment. Either way, it’s a day away from work when the work did not get done.

Any illness at work can have a significant effect on employee morale and productivity, so it’s advantageous for the employer to protect its biggest investment: its people. Physical illness we talk about, but mental illness we do not. Four in 10 people say that they would hide or ignore a mental illness from their workplace, and less than 25 percent of people would talk to their employer about their mental illness.

The stigma around mental illness and the shame that people feel because they have a mental illness prevents their mental health concerns from being properly addressed. We must change that. We have to start talking about it. We need to accept mental illness as an illness as normal as any physical illness and we have to de-stigmatize mental illness in our conversations. We need to make it normal to talk about it and to ask for help with mental illness, just like a physical illness. If we do that, there will be a greater understanding and

support for our co-workers who suffer from mental illness, and if we get that greater understanding and provide greater support we will create a healthier workplace with reduced absenteeism.

I will have questions for the Minister of Human Resources at the appropriate time.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.

Frederick Blake Jr.

Frederick Blake Jr. Mackenzie Delta

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Moose Kerr School was constructed in 1969, exactly the same time as Samuel Hearne High School was built in Inuvik. Samuel Hearne was demolished and replaced a couple years ago. My constituents would like to know why is Moose Kerr School still standing. At 46 years old it’s overdue for replacement. The Minister of Education stated in the House that Moose Kerr School is slated for replacement or renovation in 2019. That’s four years from now.

I’m concerned about potential safety hazards at the school, specifically whether asbestos poses a risk to children’s health. Asbestos was routinely used in building products until the 1970s and 1980s, so a building like Moose Kerr School, constructed in 1969, very likely contains asbestos. Indeed, Samuel Hearne was built at precisely the same time and in the same region of the Northwest Territories, and it contained asbestos.

There is scientific consensus about the harmful effects of asbestos. Whenever material containing asbestos gets disturbed, the tiny microfibers are released into the air. When they are inhaled, they can become trapped in the lungs and stay there for many years. Over time, the fibers can cause serious health problems such as lung disease and cancer.

Now is the time to start planning for the replacement of Moose Kerr School.

I will have questions for the Minister of Public Works later today.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Norman Yakeleya

Norman Yakeleya Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to talk to the issue of the transboundary water agreements that this government has undertaken since the Minister has taken the lead on this. The transboundary water agreements are very important, especially from our neighbours in the south of the Northwest Territories, specifically Alberta, because of the development that’s

happening in the Alberta province and that the flow from these rivers have come from the majority of the rivers here.

I want to talk because in the Sahtu Land Claim Agreement it speaks to a chapter where the quality and the quantity of our waters would not be altered by any type of development and we would know for sure that our water will remain the same as it was when we started to negotiate our land claim agreement.

I understand that the Minister has been working very hard and the staff has been doing some excellent work on concluding some of the agreements, and I wanted to ask the Minister how this will affect our land claim and people’s water in the Northwest Territories, especially around the area of Great Slave Lake, coming down the Mackenzie River with the recent spill of the coalbed incident last year and the water monitoring stations along the Slave River, around the Great Slave area up around the Mackenzie River. This agreement will have an impact to ensure that future generations will have clean quality drinking water. A lot of the animals rely on the Mackenzie River, people who live and trap along this great river.

I’ll have further questions to the Minister on the transboundary agreements with the provinces that we’re dealing with. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Hay River Midwifery Program
Members’ Statements

Robert Bouchard

Robert Bouchard Hay River North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Hay River Health and Social Services Authority is excited to announce the birth of the first baby in Hay River with our new Midwifery Program.

---Applause

On Wednesday, February 25, 2015, the first Hay River mother who planned her birth in the community with a midwife delivery delivered a healthy baby boy, 7 pounds, 9.5 ounces. Mother and baby are doing well and were able to return home after 24 hours.

The staff at H.H. Williams were welcoming of the new child and honestly were very excited that they’ve been trained to take on this new responsibility and were excited that Hay River is going to be back on birth certificates.

I’d like to thank everybody in the House here that supported midwifery. We look forward to seeing Hay River on the birth certificates out there. Thank you very much.