Masi. Item 3, Members' statements. Member for Frame Lake.

Merci, monsieur le President.

The Wek’eezhii Renewable Resources Board released part A of its decision on the joint Tlicho Government and GNWT management proposal for the Bathurst caribou herd on May 26thof this year. This decision focused on the state of the herd, harvest restrictions in time for the 2016-17 season, and wolf control. Part B will come later this summer and will feature recommendations on biological and environment monitoring and cumulative effects.

Mr. Speaker, the board found that "despite all the management actions taken over the past seven years, the herd is still declining and recovery of the herd remains uncertain," and that "this is an issue of serious conservation concern." Furthermore, the board said, "With the Bathurst herd in such a perilous state, all peoples who harvest in Wek’eezhii must do their part to ensure the recovery of the herd. Users and managers must act now in whatever way is possible to protect the herd so future recovery may be possible."

What is our government doing to help with recovery of the Bathurst caribou herd? This government actively opposes resource development in the calving ground of the herd on the Nunavut side of the border. This was the GNWT position taken in the recent review of the Sabina Gold and Silver project by the Nunavut Impact Review Board. I commend our government for taking such action, but what are we doing on our side of the border?

While we have set up mobile caribou protection areas to restrict harvesting, there has been no such protection from disturbance caused by mining activities. Such measures were used in the 1980s in the Kivalliq region to help protect the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq caribou herds from disturbance caused by mineral exploration. In addition, there has been no temporary or permanent protection of important caribou habitat on the GNWT side of the border. There are no thresholds for disturbance that have been established for the herd. No legally binding land use plans for Crown land exist for the herd's range on the NWT side of the border. Can we afford to wait for the Bathurst range planning exercise to be completed before our government finally starts to act to protect habitat?

I have raised the issue of who bears the burden of management responses in our efforts to save the Bathurst caribou herd. I will have questions for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources later today.

Masi. Item 3, Members' statements. Member for Deh Cho.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, northern agriculture is a success story waiting to happen, and residents of the Deh Cho want to be part of the local-food movement that is enhancing the health and sustainability of our communities.

Mr. Speaker, [English translation not provided].

Mr. Speaker, an enterprising resident of Fort Providence wants to put locally produced food on the shelves at northern grocery stores. He is trying to spearhead an initiative that would eventually see locally grown produce in our stores all year. With support from the Northern Farm Training Institute and community members, he is now developing a proposal to launch a greenhouse pilot project to grow produce year round. The concept could eventually be expanded to become a commercial operation in the future.

Mr. Speaker, greenhouse technology is advancing all the time. The Yukon Research Centre's Agridomes grow upwards of 600 plants throughout the winter months in 32 square feet of space, using as little as 1.9 kilowatts per hour. The University of Guelph is working with NASA in experimenting with the idea of growing food on Mars. They have taken interest in Fort Providence and want to build a prototype greenhouse in the NWT that could be monitored remotely from Guelph while local residents assist with day-to-day operations.

Mr. Speaker, northern food production is nothing new. It is only since southern foods became more easily and cheaply imported that the local sector declined. Now, as food prices continue to climb and people are beginning to understand the benefits of local food production for the community and the planet, we are experiencing a resurgence of interest and enthusiasm for northern agriculture. Dollars are available for greenhouse projects like the one we want to see in the Deh Cho.

Mr. Speaker, action on the NWT Agriculture Strategy is long overdue. Northerners want to produce, process, sell, and enjoy locally grown food on their own plates. As the expression goes, the time is ripe. Let's make strategic investments in northern agriculture right away and reap the benefits in all of our communities. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Item 3, Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, an application to the Office of the Public Guardian is the last resort for people who don't have the capacity to make decisions about their own health and wellbeing because of disability or disease. The Public Guardian provides this vital service of monitoring the care and wellbeing of its wards. Most of us will never have to call on the Public Guardian, but young adults who have aged out of permanent foster care, people with mental illness or intellectual disabilities, and older adults with Alzheimer's or dementia are potential candidates for guardianship.

Not to put too fine a point on it, the NWT Public Guardian's office is swamped. There are 50 applications pending, and the waiting time is a year. To make an order of guardianship, an assessment by a psychologist or psychiatrist is needed to establish the applicant's capacity. Once complete, the applicant goes to court for a guardianship order. The Public Guardian contracts out the assessment, but there is a shortage of health professionals to complete them.

The first thing we must do is better resource the Office of the Public Guardian. They need to be able to contract psychologists who can clear up the backlog. The people waiting are vulnerable. A year is too long to wait for someone who has no one to help them make life-changing decisions. A second problem after wait lists is the size of the case load. The Public Guardian and her assistant now have 68 people on their case load, and that number will become bigger once the 50 pending applications have been sorted out.

The Public Guardian's job is to monitor the care and wellbeing of her clients. How much monitoring can she do with such a large case load? How long does it take to get a response when one of her clients has a health crisis: an accident or a new diagnosis? This is not motor vehicle licensing, Mr. Speaker, where people can take a number.

In the meantime, there's an ounce of prevention any of us can take to assist those who might care for us when we are unable to do so, ourselves, and that is to create a power of attorney and have it signed and ready to go. It will set out who your decision maker is so that you don't need to go through the Public Guardian's office. This document can then be updated as needed. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement. Thank you.

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, colleagues. Taking care of vulnerable people is at the core of government services to residents. These services need to be delivered in a professional, timely manner. It's time for GNWT to better resource the Office of the Public Guardian so they are part of the solution rather than the problem. I'll have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Masi. Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, we held the 7thAnnual Education Hall of Fame celebrating individuals for their hard work and dedication through education, across the Northwest Territories. We have a bunch of inductees here today, role models, mentors, and very respected elders. I would like to recognize our Beaufort Delta recipient from Inuvik, Ms. Sarah Jerome; our Deh Cho recipient from Fort Simpson, Valerie Gendron; our Sahtu recipient from Tulita, Vivian Pellissey; South Slave recipient from Fort Smith, Ms. Jane Dragon; our North Slave recipient from Yellowknife, Ms. Rita Mueller. And, unfortunately, Mr. Jim Martin from Behchoko and Ms. Muriel Tolley from Yellowknife, who is also the recipient of the Minister's Choice Award, were not able to be in attendance today. I also would like to welcome their spouses and their family members who are able to join in the celebrations and join us in the gallery today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Thebacha.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize educator Jane Dragon of Fort Smith. Thank you.

Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to use this opportunity to recognize two constituents from Inuvik Twin Lakes: Sarah Jerome, who we've spoken about numerous times already today; I appreciate the work you've done. With her is her husband, Freddy Jerome. So welcome to the gallery. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Nahendeh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to congratulate all the inductees, specifically starting with Valerie Gendron, who actually taught five of my children and she survived. I thank her for that. Her husband, Roger Pilling who is a good friend and a good volunteer for the fire department. I'd like to welcome and thank him for coming here. And Rita Mueller, a dear friend, it's well deserved, and she's very humble, as is Val. And then, of course, Ms. Jane Dragon, who I've had the opportunity to speak with numerous times, and her daughter, Joyce. Welcome to the Assembly. Thank you.

Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to recognize Sarah and Freddy Jerome, who spent a lot of time within my riding visiting family and friends. Also I recall when they used to live 12 miles north of Tsiigehtchic. I still remember those days. Welcome to the House. Mahsi cho.

Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Sahtu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize Vivian Pellissey from Tulita for her huge contribution as one of the inductees, and the rest of the group as well for this huge personal contribution to the whole environment of education capitalization. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. I, too, would like to welcome all the inductees, all the award winners of the NWT Education Hall of Fame. Welcome and thank you for making a huge difference in our children's lives and for the Northwest Territories. Masi. Those who we may have missed in the gallery, welcome to the Chambers. It's always great to have an audience in the gallery. Masi. Item 6, acknowledgements. Item 7, oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. What can the Minister do now with discretionary reserves and funds to hire more resources to clear the backlog of applications to the Public Guardian? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Member has indicated, the current wait list for the Public Guardian is unacceptable in all ways, and I have already directed the Department of Health and Social Services to review the business processes to make sure that the business processes make sense and we're getting the most efficiencies and utilizing our money in the best way. As part of this business process review, I have asked them to analyze how applications flow, assessments, referrals, and also do some trend analysis on the increased demand that we're having on the Public Guardian Office. This review won't be done until the end of the calendar year and we do have a significant backlog at this point in time, so the department is actually looking to do some in-house training to train more assessors, whether they are in the Northwest Territories or outside the Northwest Territories, so that we can move on the number of assessments that need to be done so that we can start reducing that list while this review is taking place. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you to the Minister for that answer. He referred to the assessor, and my question is whether that assessor training will happen in this fiscal year and whether there are intake resources at the regional health authority level for the Public Guardian?