Good afternoon, Members. Item 2, Ministers' statements, Minister of Human Resources.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the GNWT has made a commitment in its mandate to continue to implement the Regional Recruitment Program to assist with increasing regional employment opportunities by linking residents with on-the-job training. In 2014, the GNWT introduced the Regional Recruitment Program to help increase regional recruitment and retention by providing a link between vacant regional positions and northern residents seeking employment.

The Regional Recruitment Program supports participants by providing them with developmental plans and on-the-job training. This enables participants to gain valuable experiences before taking on an indeterminate position.

During the training period, participants receive 80 per cent of the position's salary. The remaining 20 per cent supports the employee's training, which could include travelling to other communities or attending specialized courses. Once the training is complete, successful participants move on to indeterminate positions with the GNWT and, of course, receive full salary for the position.

Mr. Speaker, since the call for applications for the Regional Recruitment Program was first distributed to departments in January 2014, 32 individuals have been appointed to trainee positions. Thirteen of these have been appointed to indeterminate positions. A significant majority of the program participants are priority candidates under the Affirmative Action Policy.

Mr. Speaker, the Department of Human Resources is looking at ways to enhance the Regional Recruitment Program. Commencing January 2017,

the department will begin to implement a communications plan to increase uptake on the program by enhancing communication within the regions about it.

The Regional Recruitment Program is a valuable recruitment and retention tool and has an important role to play in workforce and succession planning over the coming years.

Mr. Speaker, having the staff in place to deliver programs and services to all NWT residents is essential to the overall productivity of the GNWT. By filling vacant regional positions with trained northern workers, we strengthen our labour force and provide employment opportunities where they are most needed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Honourable Premier.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise Members that the Honourable Glen Abernethy will be absent from the House today and tomorrow to attend the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Ministers of Health in Toronto, Ontario. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Item 3, Members' statements. Member for Sahtu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I sit here today from our last day session in June with highlighting some of the events that happened throughout Sahtu in the summer months and the activities going on and new recognitions of endorsements. In Colville Lake, we had the community initiate a learning basics training of labour. Deline was recognized for two fronts. Number one is the recognition of the biosphere reserve underneath the international UNESCO for the Great Bear Lake and their initiation of self-government starting this September 1st. It's the first one of the territories as well as of the region.

In Norman Wells, we seen a bidders' site visit, there, in the potential and proposed reclamation of the Heritage Canol Trail and the Imperial Oil client announcing their intentions to release their two-thirds interest in that particular location. In Fort Good Hope and Tulita, we've seen preparations under way to finalize the one year extension of the fibre optic project, so it's a job creation that people are looking forward to, and in Fort Good Hope we initiated or the community seen under construction for the summer season the new senior's nineplex and a couple of smaller duplex facilities.

In Tulita, they held their annual handgame tournament and also developed their priorities list for the communities seeking direction and directives and different initiatives, social, economic development, housing, education and so on; and, in particular, they're still in support greatly for the highway extension as well as looking forward to the Capital Plan for the creation of their new health centre, which is a greatly needed facility. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Nahendeh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I stand before you here today to speak about some of the things that happened since we were sitting this past June. First off, I need to apologize to the Minister of Transportation and his senior staff. During the business plans, I said I did not receive a letter regarding positions within the public service. In reality, the Minister did send a letter to the standing committee with this information. Unfortunately, I didn't get a copy until later on. Therefore, I again would like to apologize.

Mr. Speaker, right after session or the sitting, I headed to Ottawa and helped out with Northern Youth Abroad Program with the orientation for the next phase. Mr. Speaker, it was refreshing to see these young adults work hard and achieve everything set out in front of them. These 16 helped me be grounded and reconfirmed the one reason we are here today or one of the reasons we are here today: the youth, our future.

Mr. Speaker, upon return to Yellowknife, I met with the Rules and Procedures Committee as we worked on a number of projects that were assigned to the group. I have to say it was a lot of hard work, and I have to thank everybody involved. Mr. Speaker, upon my return home, I had the opportunity to attend a Dene assembly in Fort Simpson. It was great to hear about the challenges each community faces as well as getting the opportunity to speak to a number of constituents about their issues, wishes, and wants. A number of these issues have been addressed, and a number will be brought to the floor during this session or sitting later this month.

Later that month, I had the opportunity to give my youngest daughter away to a nice young man from Fort Simpson. The wedding was held outside of Edmonton. This is the first time in a number of years I had all my children under one roof. It was a great wedding and a great reunion. In August, I returned to Ottawa, where I had the opportunity to connect to reorientation with the next in the Canadian phase during Northern Youth Abroad. It was amazing to see how they had grown over the past months, and I'm very thankful to see what our future looks like.

After leaving Ottawa, I had the opportunity to visit my daughter, the City of Fort McMurray and the arrival of my sixth grandchild, Adelee Anne Lindberger who arrived just before I returned home. Mr. Speaker, in late August we had Caucus retreat in Fort Providence. I'd like to thank the community, their leadership, Mr. Nadli, and his staff for a great meeting and awesome community reception.

In September it was back to Yellowknife where we worked on the 2017-2018 capital plan and development business plans. It was interesting as we worked together for the people of the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thanks, colleagues. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Minister Moses, Minister Cochrane, and Minister Abernethy for coming to the region and hearing the concerns first-hand. In my opinion, the tour was very successful and beneficial. As well, I would like to thank the whole Cabinet for coming to Fort Simpson on October 3, 2016, for the open house and coffee shop meeting. There were over 50 folks attending, which included Ministers' staff and general public, in attendance.

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to this session as we move forward. Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Kam Lake.

Mr. Speaker, one of the priorities set by the mandate of the 18th Assembly is to address our high cost-of-living. Affordability is the number one issue for Yellowknifers and it affects everything from power, to housing, to even job opportunities. Recently, claims have been made that Yellowknife consumers are possibly being overcharged for power, and frankly, Mr. Speaker, if this is true, I find that most egregious.

Northland Utilities has been driving this public discussion and has stated that the Northwest Territories Power Corporation is overcharging the residents of Yellowknife by setting the rate at 114 per cent of the cost to generate and transmit power to the City. This translates into Yellowknifers paying $500 more than residents of other communities.

Furthermore, Mr. Speaker, Northland Utilities claims, since 2008, the government has overcharged Yellowknife residents by $28 million. These claims by Northland have been followed by an aggressive media campaign and even a poll of residents conducted by foreign research, while the government's response to this has been silent to date. In fact, the last time I saw the NTPC in the media was over power rate increases.

Needless to say, this is not instilling confidence in our consumers. Communication has been a constant problem with this government and this is another clear example of that. It would be beneficial to Yellowknifers, residents of the small communities, and Members of this House if the government would make the effort to explain if there is a plan to make power generation more equitable and more affordable.

Mr. Speaker, I have heard from many of my constituents that this is an issue that means a lot to them. It is the subject of conversations around the water cooler, at the dinner table, and every time someone opens their power bill. What I have heard consistently is Northerners all want to be treated fairly in paying for power, and I want some clarity on this issue from this government. It's time for the Minister to demonstrate real leadership by explaining to this House and to Northerners what his plan is to deal with the high costs of power generation and how each community is treated fairly. Later, I will have questions for the Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Marci cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Today, I would like to do my Member's statement on DOT's Community Access Road program. Mr. Speaker, the Community Access Road Program currently has about $1 million for distribution to the communities. I realize that application for this program runs about $1.4 million; however, I feel that the budget should be increased to $1.5 million for the next fiscal year, then increased to $2 million the following fiscal year. The new budget for this program should be set at $2 million moving forward.

The Community Access Road Program is a very good program in our small communities where little road infrastructure exists. It is a program that is used each year to employ a few people in the small communities. As I have said many times, we need to put our people in the small communities to work.

Mr. Speaker, it is well documented that there is a clear correlation between employment and the health of our citizens. When people are working, they are healthier and happier. Mr. Speaker, it is a well-known fact that, as income goes up, health and social issues go down. We all know the high costs of poor health and the high costs of social issues on education, justice and housing.

The Access Road Program is used by the communities to access traditional culture areas near their communities so it also continues to pay dividends for years as it supports people to be out in the land, doing something productive and healthy.

Mr. Speaker, I can go on and on about the benefit of this program. However, I would rather ask the question to the Minister of DOT about his initiatives on this program moving forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today is an important day. It is the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, as declared by the United Nations and marked each year on this date since 1987.

I believe all of us understand that poverty is a problem here in the Northwest Territories, as it is in much of the world. According to 2014's CRA tax filer data, 17 per cent of families and 22 per cent of children live in poverty in communities across the NWT.

In March, the federal government announced it would help families with income under $80,000 a year with the cost of raising their children. The Canada Child Tax Benefit came into effect on July 1st this year. The Minister of Education, Culture and Employment celebrated this new benefit by announcing that, starting in August, the GNWT would not count this new benefit as income "to ensure our residents have the full benefit." This sounded like good news and a much-needed lift for people caught in the never-ending cycle of making ends meet.

Alas, the expression "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is" applies in this situation. Let's take a single parent with one child, receiving income assistance and living in Yellowknife. Since August 1st, she is receiving an additional $450 from the federal government. At the same time the federal government was giving, the territorial government was taking away. Her food allowance from income assistance decreased by $137 a month and clothing by $31 a month. So instead of getting the full benefit of the new $450 Canada Child Tax Benefit, she is getting just $282. No matter the size of the family or where in the Territory they live, the amount of income assistance they receive for food and clothing has decreased.

The Minister has been clever about making these changes. It's hard to describe them as clawback, because he's not clawing back either the Canada or NWT child benefits. In fact, he's not counting them as income anymore. But at the same time, he has reduced the benefits available to families who rely on income assistance for food and clothing. It's not a clawback; it's a reduction. Because the federal government has increased the Child Tax Benefit, families have a little more income than they used to have. Mr. Speaker, I would like to seek permission from my colleagues to conclude my statement. Mahsi.

---Unanimous consent granted

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I'll go to the bottom line, and this is what it is: the GNWT is helping to perpetuate the poverty trap. They are not allowing families to experience the full benefit of the new federal anti-poverty initiative. Shame, Mr. Speaker, shame for trying to save money on the backs of the most vulnerable residents of this Territory. Mahsi.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mark an important occasion for the northern business community, as the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce is marking Small Business Week. It's a time to recognize and celebrate the men and women who work in small business, the backbone of our local economy.

Small businesses offer so much to our community. They support sports and recreation, they support youth and seniors, they contribute to the arts, and their generosity supports Yellowknife's vibrant and colourful festivals. Most importantly, as they succeed and grow, they create jobs, making our economy and community stronger and more robust.

I also want to take the opportunity to congratulate the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce on 70 years of representing, supporting and advocating for the business community in our capital city. The Chamber works tirelessly in support of Yellowknife businesses and is a great benefit to our vibrant community and the North. Examples include initiatives like Small Business Week in support of the independent entrepreneurs in our community and region. The annual tradeshow sponsored by the chamber brings together businesses from around the community and the whole Territory promoting and facilitating creativity, innovation, and the sharing of ideas. Other initiatives include business luncheons and the Afterhours Networking Program. All these programs are set up to encourage the interchange of ideas, independence and progressive growth in business. The healthier climate for exchange of ideas in networking among business owners supports a more robust and active economy. The chamber also advocates for businesses with the city, territorial, and other levels of government. It deserves credit for good relationships and communication between these different entities which help us as a community and a territory to move forward together.

Mr. Speaker, a healthy diversified economy with a vibrant small business community is crucial to our ability to move forward as a territory. Small businesses create jobs and wealth and disposable income that goes right back into the economy. As our economy grows broader and more diverse it becomes healthier, more secure and more robust. Mr. Speaker, the chamber is an important supporter of healthy NWT business community and we all benefit from that. Through you, Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to please join me in congratulating the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce on its 70th anniversary. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Merci, Monsieur le President. Water management in the Mackenzie Valley region of the Northwest Territories is done differently than elsewhere in Canada. We have a public co-management system that is constitutionally entrenched through land rights agreements with Indigenous governments. Water management in the Northwest Territories underwent a very significant change as of April 1, 2014, when our government was delegated authority over inland waters from the federal government. Devolution over resources had been discussed and negotiated over more than 25 years.

NWT residents wanted more control over decisions, but to what end? The current and NWT Premier of the day, Bob McLeod, promised that we would "devolve and then evolve" our resource management systems inherited from Ottawa. Aboriginal governments and observers have raised serious concerns about a recent GNWT decision on a water licence amendment by a diamond mining company. The board held a public hearing, took in evidence from a broad range of parties, and came up with a reasoned decision. It set effluent levels from dredging in a manner that was protective in the short and long-term for aquatic life. The effluent levels were tougher in some ways than the original licence and the company request.

The Minister of Environment and Natural Resources received the amendment licence and had the authority to sign off on it, or send it back for reconsideration. In this case, the Minister made an almost unprecedented decision to send the licence amendment back for reconsideration. The company wrote to the Minister twice after the public hearing, claiming that the process was unfair. After receiving the second letter from the company, the Minister wrote back stating that he could not accept any further representations due to procedural fairness concerns.

By sheer coincidence, the Minister sent the licence amendment back to the board for reconsideration on the same day, due to procedural fairness concerns. The direction for reconsideration caused an enormous amount of confusion, stress and work on the part of many participants. Recently, the company withdrew its amendment request when it realized that the reconsideration process would stretch out until the completion of the construction season. The company did not offer any new evidence to dispute the licence amendment. Mr. Speaker, this is a very dangerous precedent in a place where many rights and interests are finely balanced, and where we still have an opportunity to get it right when it comes to water management. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker, and mahsi to my colleagues. This is why NWT residents fought hard for land rights, co-management, and devolution. We have much higher expectations for our political leadership and will need to work very hard to restore public confidence. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Item 3, Members' statements. Member for Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Ms. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Fort McPherson was buzzing with excitement on September 25th as the Gwich'in Tribal Council's Department of Cultural Heritage hosted the first screening of the film, "The Sun at Midnight". This 90-minute film was shot entirely in the Northwest Territories, in and around Fort McPherson, the Dempster Highway, the Richardson Mountains, Yellowknife, and Behchoko. This film is about a young girl raised in the south who, following the death of her mother, went north to stay with family. The story goes on that the young girl tries to escape and ends up at the hands of a Gwich'in Hunter who teaches her the skills to survive.

Mr. Speaker, to be able to understand the rest of the story, you'll just have to watch the movie. The film was also played at the Yellowknife Film Festival on October 1st where the GTC Department of Cultural Heritage hosted a gala event following the screening. In attendance were Gwich'in members, filmmakers, politicians, and select individuals to help celebrate the film.

Mr. Speaker, future screenings will be held at various film festivals worldwide and on media platforms. This being the first time a feature film has been filmed in the Delta, with high hopes that future films will be shot in the NWT to open doors, full of opportunities for our local actors and story tellers. Congratulations to the Department of Cultural Heritage staff, writer and director Kristen Carthew, and producer Jill and Jackfish Productions, in association with the GTC Department of Cultural Heritage, the GNWT, and Telefilm Canada. Also to my constituents who took part in this. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Nahendeh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm pleased to recognize two pages that are selected from my riding, Sambaa K'e, Charles Tetcho School, the two students that were working as pages during this week. The two pages are Jada Lamalice and Atanda Kotchea and Norma Jumbo is the chaperone. So I thank them and welcome them to the Legislative Assembly. Thank you.

Masi. Item 5, recognition of visitors in gallery. If we missed those, anyone in the gallery, welcome to the Assembly. It's always nice to have a great audience in the gallery. Masi. Item 6, acknowledgments. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the passing of my great friend and mentor Ruth Spence. Mrs. Spence was a force to be reckoned with from the time she arrived in Yellowknife. She was the first Executive Director of the YWCA in Yellowknife. She built the Y from a 12-bed home for single women to the 84 apartments at Northern United Place. Mrs. Spence served several terms on the Yellowknife City Council, was chair of the Stanton Territorial Hospital, and the Yellowknife Health and Social Services Authority. She was honoured with one of the first Orders of the NWT last year. She lived the famous saying of another great Canadian woman, Agnes MacPhail: "Never apologize, never explain, just get the thing done and let them howl."

Masi. Our condolences to the family as well from the House. Item 6, acknowledgements. Item 7, oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Marci Cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on my Member’s statement today I talked about Community Access Road Program for DOT. I'd like to ask that Minister questions on that. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask the Minister if he's had discussions with his department about increasing the community access road program? Thank you.

Masi. Minister of Transportation.

Thank you Mr. Speaker. I have had a number of discussions with the department on the Community Access Road Program, mostly around funding applications and where certain applications are at, but I have never had the discussion about increasing funding. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, as I indicated in my Member statement, there are more applications than there is budget in the program. Although there has been discussion but none on increases as the Minister indicated, has the Minister had any sort of discussions with his colleagues at Cabinet and specifically the Minister of Finance to increase this budget for the community access road program?

No, I have not had this discussion with my Cabinet colleagues or the Finance Minister. The discussions we have had are how do we live within the fiscal means that we have based on revenues that we have and expenditures. That is the only discussions I have had around money.

Mr. Speaker, I think it is obvious from this answer, but I will ask the Minister anyway, if the Minister recognizes the positive impacts of community-based spending in the NWT for the entire NWT?

Of course we recognize the positive impacts that this money has in the communities. This fund actually increases seasonal employment in many communities in the Northwest Territories as well as helps with project management and helps these communities look at some of these projects moving forward. We do recognize the positive impacts they have and that is some of the reasons why we are going through our fiscal policies we are promoting for this next fiscal budget so we can have money to invest in some of these small community initiatives.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh

The Minister hasn’t had discussions with colleague Members or the department. However, I would like to ask the Minister if he can commit to taking a serious look at increasing community access road program through forced growth if necessary or a new initiative or any other method that the Minister may have in his repertoire?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can commit to having a look at how we can increase this, but as I said, looking at our fiscal situation that we are in, light of the next budget cycle year, we can have a look at how we do it. It doesn’t meet the definition of forced growth, so I can’t use that to increase it. But it would take all 19 Members of the Assembly to help straighten out our fiscal situation where we can, like I say, put money into small communities in this type of initiative.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for recognizing me here. We heard in the news that the federal government has put the Mackenzie Valley project on the backburner. Can the Minister please explain why we have to hear about this in the news and not through the normal process? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Minister of Transportation.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The department drafted a letter to inform the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Infrastructure of the federal government’s decision to temporarily suspend the Mackenzie Valley Highway funding proposal. Unfortunately, the correspondence was delayed to Committee. I appreciate the importance of keeping Members informed on decisions around the federal infrastructure funding and have taken steps to ensure decisions are communicated in a timely manner. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the Minister for his answer. I guess we are going to have to work on our mail service here in the Legislative Assembly so that we can actually get these documents on time instead of through the news. Can the Minister confirm if the federal government has not put this just on hold or the backburner and when did he find out if it has been put there?

The federal government has informed us that the review of the Mackenzie Valley Highway project proposal under the new Building Canada Fund national infrastructure component has been temporarily suspended until the federal government makes a decision on phase two of the capital infrastructure money, their long-term plan. Phase two planning fund is expected to be announced early next year in communicating the temporary suspension of the Mackenzie Valley Highway project. The federal government indicated the desire to align such project with the Minister of Infrastructure and communities’ mandate, which includes strategic projects such as transportation corridors, ports, borders, gateways, etc. The Mackenzie Valley Highway project, as the House knows, is a key strategic transportation corridor, and we have reminded Minister Sohi of the importance of this project as well as other priority transportation corridors in Northwest Territories.

I thank the Minister for his answer. I am thankful he is actually promoting this. Can the Minister please say what type of promotion, besides just talking to him? Has there been a business study that they have presented to him or anything like that?

One of the priority actions outlined in the mandate of the Assembly is to capture opportunities to invest in transportation and infrastructure by working to secure funding to advance the Mackenzie Valley highway, the all-weather road to Whati, and to improve access to the Slave geological province. I can assure the House and Members that I am taking every opportunity to encourage and invest – investment in the key of these three corridors. I personally met with Minister Sohi in the federal department to talk about this as well as Minister Garneau to reiterate the importance of the corridors to Northerners and the Mackenzie Valley Highway Project and the need for federal investment. My communications with Minister Sohi have focused on the need for phase two funding under the long-term federal infrastructure plan to address the infrastructure deficit in the North and, in particular, the need to advance the three priority corridors including the Mackenzie Valley Highway. We have also submitted to Minister Garneau in support of implementation recommendations to the North made in the CTA report panel, which we always talk about every time we have a chance to meet federal Ministers. I will continue to bring this to the federal Ministers in promoting the Mackenzie Valley Highway.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi cho to the Minister for his answer. Will the Minister please commit to provide us on this side a quarterly or bi-annual report on the status of this project so we don’t lose it? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

What I can do is commit to provide updates on the Mackenzie Valley Highway project as they become available to us. I will commit to providing them to the Members as they come in.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. I wonder if the Minister could tell me what the rationale is for reducing clothing and food benefits to income assistance recipients since the introduction of the Canada child tax benefit? Masi.

Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, previous, before we made the changes to the income assistance program, the federal child benefit was actually counted as income. What we did was we took that child tax benefit out of the assessment, which came out of the food and clothing and used it to recalculate how we get the new funding going forward. So it was actually part of the food and clothing. That came out, so it wouldn’t be re-assessed again. The NWT contribution remained the same. That is what is shown. It was just taken out to do a different way of re-calculating. That is what the Member is referring to, I believe.

I appreciate that the Minister has now enabled income assistance recipients to keep a wider range of income than was previously the case. However, the amount of money paid for both food and clothing has been reduced for income assistance recipients. How can the Minister justify reducing these assistance amounts when they are meant to alleviate poverty for the people who are most in need?

When we restructured the program, the Federal Child Tax Benefit was included in the assessments. We took those assessments out. Our contribution, the NWT's contribution, hasn't changed. That's what the Member is seeing, that number now, not included with the federal dollars. So not that the federal dollars are out and we're not assessing it. It does look like the funding went down for food and clothing, which, in fact, it hasn't. Actually, more families are getting more money.

Since we haven't had any concerns brought forward since we did the implementation, as a result we did do a review. We reviewed 171 families since we did the implementation. I just want to share a couple of quick stats, here. Since we put the changes in, we have seen an increase in approximately 14 per cent from July to September for our families. In July, approximately $79,000 of children's federal benefits was counted as income. September of that year, families were getting a reported total approximately of $166,000 extra in that month. So instead of taking $79,000 back, we actually increased it to $166,000. On average, that's about $500 extra per family, and then 17 of the 171 families received a total of $10,120 in September in child support payments. The government has not reduced its food and clothing allowance. It has remained the same. We just took out the Child Tax Benefit and have actually given families more money since the implementation.

The information I'm drawing on is information that the Minister provided. We're talking about the amount of money that's paid to income assistance recipients. In every example that the Minister provided, the amount of money paid for clothing and for food has gone down. While the bottom line for most people is better, it's not as good as it could be because the overall effect of the Canada Child Tax Benefit has been diminished. So my question again is: how can the Minister justify not enabling families to collect the whole amount that they are eligible for?

In fact, they are collecting every cent that's come from the federal government. As I said before, our dollars didn't change, their contributions didn't change, and all the examples that the Member is referring to in the presentation we gave her, we took out the Federal Child Tax Benefit and it has been recalculated so that families actually get every cent that they were supposed to get from the federal government. Our contribution hasn't changed. So every example is just that Federal Child Tax Benefit coming out so that families can get every cent that they were entitled to.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and

thank you to the Minister for that answer. I think one of the major issues here is that I needed the help of the research department to understand exactly what was going on in the administration of these benefits. I stand by the remarks that I made, that every example shows a decrease in both food and clothing allowances. So I understand the Minister doesn't believe that this is the case, but that's what my research shows. So maybe -- and this is going to turn into a comment rather than a question. I'll follow up with written questions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. I'll take that as a comment. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation explain if the corporation is, in fact, overcharging by 114 per cent for the costs of power delivered to Northland Utilities for resale in the Yellowknife market? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation.

Mr. Speaker, there is no basis for NUL's assumption or assertion that we are overcharging by 114 per cent. As the House will know, electricity rates and cost of service percentages are regulated by the Public Utilities Board, which is an open and thorough process. So residents here are not being overcharged. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Can the Minister also explain if the Yellowknife rates are being used to subsidize rates in other rate zones throughout the NWT?

Yellowknife rates do not subsidize those in other rate zones, such as the South Slave or the thermal communities. This could never be the case, as cost of service in one zone is not applied to other zones.

Just to return to my first question, the Minister made a comment about overcharging by 115 per cent. The reality is it's a 100 per cent rate versus 114 per cent rate. So are Yellowknifers being charged 14 per cent more than other communities?

No. Residents of Yellowknife are not being overcharged and are not paying 114 per cent of other zones. If that's the question; I'm not sure that I understood the question fully.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Either way, the rates for power generation are far too high in the Northwest Territories. Making the North a more affordable place is an important priority for me and for every Member here. Can the Minister explain what this government is doing and how it's working with the Power Corporation to reduce the high cost of electricity? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, as I'm sure Members of this House will recall, a new board of directors was put in place in the spring of this year, which in itself represented a considerable savings. If I recall, the number is approximately $1 million. The new board has been tasked with many things, but clearly they are there to examine the costs of providing power in the Northwest Territories. We are faced with certain difficulties in that the population is stable, or declining in some cases, and yet costs continue to go up. So we are working with the corporation, the board, to reduce costs. We recognize that this is an important issue. We are looking as far afield as perhaps supplying power to southern jurisdictions. So this is a primary focus of the new board, the corporation and the Minister.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today I spoke of a most disturbing decision by the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources to not accept a decision by the Wek'eezhii Land and Water Board on a water license amendment and to send it back for reconsideration. I would like to ask the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources whether this has happened before under water legislation for the Northwest Territories, where a Minister has refused to accept a decision and sent the matter back for reconsideration? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. ENR is only aware of one instance, in December 2011, where the federal Minister of the day of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development was unable to render a decision on the renewal of a type-A water license. It was actually held by the NWT Power Corporation. The Minister identified that the decision could not be rendered until an issue that was outstanding was resolved. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

That's an interesting example. I thank the Minister for it. That water legislation has basically been in place since 1970, early 1970, so this is a very rare occurrence, indeed. I don't understand why the Minister did not write to the company after the first letter and say no further representations could be considered after the public hearing by the board. Some may view this as a breach of procedural fairness. Why did the Minister not tell the company that the proper avenue for questioning procedural fairness was to seek judicial review? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member is correct. It was sent back to the board because there was a question of procedural fairness. As he said before in his Member's statement, with devolution we will have more responsibility and ability to deal with these a lot quicker than they have been dealt with in the past, and I can commit to the Member and this House that we take that responsibility very seriously, and we will be looking at ways in the future where we can avoid the confusion.

I'm glad to hear the Minister is prepared to clear up this confusion, but can the Minister tell this House and the public whether there are any specific measures or policies in place to prevent this kind of approach of accepting submissions from water licence applicants after public hearings?

Mr. Speaker, we can't control the correspondence from any external parties during the ministerial decision phase of the water licensing process, and correspondence received during the decision phase is not considered in making the decision. The Minister, we rely on the board's reasons for the decision, and, as far as any policies in place, I would have to do some research and follow up with the Member.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I am pleased to work with the Minister to make sure that we can protect the integrity of our co-management systems, but some would say the GNWT has shown its cards by siding with the mining company rather than the protection of the environment and thrown the integrity of the evidence-based co-management system into doubt. We'll also have to convince Ottawa that we are capable of managing our own resources if we hope to get any further jurisdiction or powers under the devolution agreement and process. Mr. Speaker, how does the Minister intend to rebuild public confidence in our co-management systems, ensure procedural fairness, and convince Ottawa that we can properly and fairly manage our own resources? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don't think that it's true that the government is siding with the mining companies, and as far as restoring public confidence, as I said before, there was a bit of confusion and we will take steps to ensure that this doesn't happen again, and we will have a clear set of rules that everyone is going to need to follow, and I believe Ottawa will come to the conclusion that we are quite capable of managing our resources. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Hay River North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to talk about agriculture. I know it seems odd now there's snow on the ground, but we need to be ready for next spring. In the summer of 2015, the Government of the Northwest Territories underwent community consultations for the development of the NWT Agriculture Strategy. We're now in the fall of 2016, and so I would like to get an update from the Minister of ITI to see where that strategy is, to make sure that it's ready to be implemented for next spring? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We've had the opportunity to bring the Agriculture Strategy to the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment, and, based on their review of the document, we are revising the daft presently and putting in their recommendations, and once it's completed the draft will be circulated to other departments and include their internal reviews, and once that's done it's our goal to bring the draft back to committee next month.

Thank you to the Minister. There's been other issues with agriculture in the territory, good issues. Industry is moving quickly. The problem is government needs to catch up. There's been issues with selling domestic meat. We don't have the proper regulations in place. There's regulations in place for the sale of wild harvested meat, but, when it comes to domestic farm-raised animals, we're not quite there yet. Is the government doing something to address this so next season in the spring there will be something in place where farmers who wish to have livestock will be able to sell this meat?

During the review of our agriculture strategy, there has definitely been some challenges that were identified in this and one of them was the sale of and safe sale of locally produced meat. We are working on it. We are working with a number of departments, Health and Social Services in particular, to ensure that locally produced food can be sold to the public safely in the Northwest Territories, and I can update the Members now. The Department of Health and Social Services is reviewing its Public Health Act and regulations to address these gaps related to the food inspection, so hopefully by next summer we will be able to sell locally produced meat to the public of the Northwest Territories.

I appreciate that answer, as well. That's good to hear. We have a program, an agreement with the federal government, Growing Forward 2. It matches GNWT contributions 60:40, and it's used to grow the agriculture sector, particularly commercial agriculture. At the current rate of GNWT contributions we're going to miss out on over $1 million of this federal funding. Does the department have a plan to increase its contribution to take full advantage of the federal funds before the five-year agreement ends?

The Member is absolutely right. This is a 60/40 plan cost-shared with the federal government, and the annual contribution last year from the federal government was $732,000 and the GNWT was providing up to $488,000 in this program. The movement of programming dollars to ENR’s Take a Kid Harvesting and Take a Kid Trapping programs has negatively impacted ITI's Growing Forward equity funding, so what we've done is ITI is currently checking with other departments such as Health and Social Services and ENR to see if they have any programs that could fall under this funding requirement to help us to build our equity portion for the Growing Forward position. ITI is meeting with the federal government representatives next month to see what additional equity we can be using, and I will gladly get back to the Member on how that works out.

Masi. Oral questions, Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise again. This is the second time this week that this matter has been raised. My questions are for the Minister of Transportation. It's with regard to the safety of Highway No. 4 on the stretch from Niven Gate into town, the four-way stop in front of the Explorer Hotel.

Mr. Speaker, I continue to get correspondence from concerned citizens with regard to the safety of that stretch, and, as most know, now we have two hotels there with visitors as well as higher vehicle traffic in the area. It's becoming really concerning, given that there is no delineations on the roadway whatsoever right now as it relates to painted lines, and, as we're getting into the darker days, Mr. Speaker, this is all very problematic and troublesome as it relates to public safety; and so my first question for the Minister is: first, does the Minister recognize that this is now a commonly used active transportation corridor for walkers and cyclers and the like? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister of Transportation.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is a commonly used area. As I walk it every day when I come to work, I have crossed the highway and I come up the side of the highway and then take the secondary road to the Legislative Assembly. As I have stated in the House yesterday, we are working on this. We've met with the City of Yellowknife, user groups from Niven Lake, and we will continue to meet with them, and, as of even recently today, I've mentioned to another Member from the City of Yellowknife that at our next meeting I will gladly invite all the MLAs from the City of Yellowknife to participate in those talks. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Although I appreciate that the Minister continues to give this reply, the meetings are not being productive; and what do the meetings mean, anyway? This is not the city's stretch of road. This is not the hotel's responsibility. This is not the other stakeholders' responsibility. The bottom line is, this stretch of road is under the ownership, operation, and maintenance of the Department of Transportation and it is their budget that needs to be invested in the public safety of this highway. We are putting people at risk. When are we going to stop the meetings and pushing this aside, and when are we going to start to invest in public safety? Will the Minister commit his department to this capital budget in putting in a delineated line where the public can walk safely and ride safely from Niven Gate into town?

As I stated in the House yesterday, we want to move forward with painting the lines on the highway, weather permitting, and this would be including the line along the edge of the highway where people can walk. Weather permitting, we are committed to doing that within the next coming weeks, so long as the weather is there.

Thank you to the Minister for his reply. Also in addition, as it has been requested a number of times and now that there is a significant amount of foot traffic, bike traffic, and in some instances, parents pushing strollers, now with the new hotel and seemingly traffic coming in four different directions in and out of the Ledge, in and out of the new hotel, in and out of town, will the Minister make a commitment from his department to put an illuminated pedestrian crosswalk from the entrance to the new hotel across to the Legislative Assembly so people can safely cross that stretch of road?

No, I cannot make that commitment here today because I believe, if we are going to do this, this is the same similar situation we had in Hay River. There had to be a traffic study done and bring all user groups together, how we would move forward with this, what type of even traffic stuff we would have to have in place there. There are various things that would have to be considered. But what I do commit to in this House is I would sit down with all the user groups, as I said yesterday, the City of Yellowknife, the Niven Lake working group, Alternatives North, the Yellowknife Members, and bring it back to this House if we need to put some infrastructure into place there.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Minister for that response, because it sounds to me like now we might be able to do a traffic study. I'm not sure that we need all of these stakeholders involved to give the approval that they would want one done. I think I can speak freely for them now and say, let's get on with it. Will this government commit do doing a traffic study as soon as possible, meaning immediately? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I've said, we have to include everybody. We're not going to exclude everybody. We have to involve everybody in this process and make sure it's done in a fair and equitable manner and everyone has an opportunity to have input. I appreciate the Member's comments that he'd like us to commit to doing it right away, but there has to be a process in place where everyone can have their input and make sure it's the best decision moving forward.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Marci cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today the Minister of Human Resources made a Minister's statement on the Regional Recruitment Program. I have some questions on that. I would like to ask the Minister what the duration of the training would be for 80 per cent of the salary? Thank you.

Masi. Minister of Human Resources.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Generally the duration is about one year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Can the Minister advise the House if it is possible for the duration of the Regional Recruitment candidates to have their training extended beyond one year, like maybe two years or more, if necessary?

Extensions could be considered on a case-by-case basis. So as they go through the training, if there's a need to extend the training further so that they can work on their qualifications, then it would be considered on a case-by-case basis.

As the Minister knows, I represent Detah and Ndilo. I would like to ask the Minister, for the purpose of this program, is Yellowknife also considered a regional centre that would include all the positions in Yellowknife, not just the regional office? Because of the proximities of the communities I represent, I'd like to know if all of Yellowknife is considered a region for the purpose of the Regional Recruitment Program.

My understanding is that the folks in the Detah-Ndilo area, are they eligible, the short answer is yes, they are.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister indicated that, under the Regional Recruitment Program, that 32 persons would be recruited to GNWT positions. I'd like to ask the Minister if he has a target for how many regional recruitment candidates he would like to have at the end of this fiscal year, and what that target would be? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We aim to support a minimum of 15 each year, no target at the year end. Applications are being received continually over the year, and we would strongly encourage the regions to utilize this program. We feel that there is a lot of value in this program. As Members of this House have heard us say a number of times, we have to start looking at succession planning, and this might be a valuable tool in achieving that. So I would strongly encourage NWT residents that, if they are interested in any particular type of training, to approach HR and the GNWT to see if there are opportunities for that training.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.