Good afternoon, Members. Ministers' statements. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.

Mr. Speaker, this is Small Business Week in Canada. Over 90 per cent of the NWT’s business is being defined as small businesses. This important sector provides employment opportunities for our people, the economic diversity to balance the ups and down of the resource economy and makes our communities great places to live.

The Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment helps create the economic environment NWT entrepreneurs and small business owners need to invest, take risks and prosper.

We do so with targeted policies, programs and funding initiatives, and in partnership with organizations such as the Business Development and Investment Corporation and Community Futures Organizations.

As individual entrepreneurs and businesses succeed locally, they contribute to regional economic growth and the sustainability of the NWT’s economy overall. Mr. Speaker, our government invests daily into small businesses in the NWT. During this session, I will be tabling a number of documents that will highlight the different ways we support economic growth and diversification through local and regional businesses and programs.

Among these are the grants and contributions delivered every year through a variety of programs to individuals, entrepreneurs, businesses, governments and groups with an economic interest across the NWT. This investment in our economy totalled $18.7 million last year. It includes initiatives like the Support for Entrepreneurs and Economic Development, or SEED

Program that assists businesses looking to expand their offerings, build their knowledge base, and fill niches within the NWT economy.

With challenges from sparse population to high shipping costs, our small businesses are often reliant on our support to respond to the market with a new product, build new skills at a tradeshow, or purchase needed equipment. This is the kind of support that is provided by the SEED Program. I will also be tabling an Annual Report and a Corporate Plan of the NWT Business Development and Investment Corporation. Last year, the BDIC distributed $7 million in financing to 58 northern business enterprises, and also 80 per cent of which were outside of Yellowknife.

BDIC’s subsidies saw 16 per cent growth in employment and a 21 per cent increase in sales in 2015 and 2016. They directly employed more than 16 full-time equivalent positions and generated $843,000 in sales of made-in-the-NWT products. Through them NWT products are available for sale in retail outlets across Canada and parts of the United States. The Community Futures Program also plays an important role in advancing grassroots support for up-and-coming businesses in our territory. I will also be tabling an annual report detailing the performance of the independent Community Future Development Corporations that deliver this program in each of our 33 communities.

The GNWT supports NWT business through its Manufactured Products and Business Incentive Policies, which are designed to support the creation and the growth of competitive local businesses by guiding government purchasing to NWT operators, which provide investment into small business and the manufacturing sectors. During this session, I will be tabling the annual report of government contracts over $5,000. It will highlight a further investment of almost $216 million in NWT businesses.

As a businessman myself, I want to thank the entrepreneurs and small businesses, economic development practitioners, and business advocates that support our territory’s business community. I addressed the Northern Business Development Practitioners conference last week. These people work hard to support business development in communities around the NWT with their ideas, energy, and ingenuity. We will continue to contribute to their work in line with our mandate to support community economic development and diversity, and as our government continues to move forward with the suite of economic development initiatives, small businesses will continue to be at the forefront of our approach. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Ministers' statements. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier this year, I committed to reviewing the 2008 Ministerial Directive, Enrolment of Students in French First Language Programs. In conducting our review, we undertook a comprehensive engagement process targeting the rights holder population in the North. A total of 140 people responded either to our survey, attended a session in Hay River, or attended a session in Yellowknife. We reviewed legislation, current GNWT policies, and the responses from the stakeholder engagements and survey and conducted a jurisdictional scan. The objective of the review was to have a directive in place by the start of the 2016-2017 school year to avoid a protracted process and enable the Commission scolaire francophone to utilize a new directive without delay.

During stakeholder engagement, two overlapping views were expressed by stakeholders. The first was a strict interpretation, focusing on exclusive admission of Section 23 Charter rights holders, and the second was a broader perspective, focusing on the open admission of non-rights holders. I feel the balance established by the new directive addresses the issues raised from each perspective and continues to help grow and sustain the culture of the schools and community. The Directive allows all non-right holders eligible under the directive to be admitted until the physical capacity of the school reaches 85 per cent. This translates into opportunity for population growth in the NWT’s French first language schools where each of the two schools is below capacity and ensures space for future rights-holders, as required by law.

The new Ministerial Directive,

Enrolment of Students in French First Language Programs

came into effect in August 2016, with three streams of admission for eligible non-rights holder parents:

● Reacquisition: the parent would have been a rights holder but for his or her lack of opportunity to attend a French first language school or his or her parents' lack of opportunity to attend a French first language school;

● Non-citizen francophone: the parent meets the criteria of Section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms except for the fact that he or she is not a Canadian citizen; and.

● New Immigrant: the parent is an immigrant to Canada, whose child upon arrival, does not speak English or French and is enrolling in a Canadian school for the first time.

The first three requests for admission have been reviewed, resulting in approval of all three applications under the Reacquisition Stream of the directive. The new NWT directive has been compared with the recently renewed directive in the Yukon. The eligibility criteria established in the NWT and Yukon are very similar. The Yukon policy identifies two types of admission: Admission by Right and Admission by Permission. The Admission by Right categories are all established by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and include First Language, Primary Schools Instruction, and Family Continuity.

There are seven admission streams under the Yukon policy, all but one are closely aligned with the renewed NWT Directive. The one stream that does not exist under the NWT Directive is the Yukon category for Anglophone. The Commission scolaire francophone Territoires du Nord-Ouest continues to have the authority, as delegated by me, to grant immediate admission to students who are rights-holders under Section 23 of the Charter. I have retained administrative control over the three streams of admission outside the criteria defined by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Mr. Speaker, the francophone community is a significant and distinctive part of the cultural fabric of the NWT. Northern francophones have a vibrant and rich culture which certainly begins in the home, but is enhanced by the education they receive in environments dedicated to preserving and celebrating their language and culture. We want to ensure they have the ability and the capacity to do that. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

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

[Translation] Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On August 11, 2016, the Minister of Education published a new directive on education in French as a first language. The directive was as a result of what was supposed to have been a collaborative process. Unfortunately, the association in Yellowknife, which launched the lawsuit, and the Francophone School Board of the Northwest Territories were not directly consulted regarding the directive and they do not support the changes.

Almost at the same moment the Yukon was able to manage legal undertakings, which were quite similar, regarding education and French as a first language but with very different results. The Government of the Yukon adopted an approach to those based on consultation and negotiations regarding admission to the francophone school system. All the parties agreed on the result and nobody had any unpleasant surprises. This is not the case where we were concerned.

The Government of the Yukon used a regulation pursuant to its Education Act, followed by written delegation of authority. The policy allowed to officially delegate the issue of admission to Francophone schools concerning the school board which wants to demonstrate transparency in the context of its annual report. In the Northwest Territories the Minister is still responsible for admission and there is no delegation of authority. Of the 28 Francophone school boards outside of Quebec ours is the only one to not enjoy such a delegation. Why?

We should note, the Yukon is limited to 5 per cent the number of non-rights holders Anglophones who are immigrants who do not speak French nor English. There's no limit for any other category of non-rights holders. In the Northwest Territories a limit has been imposed on all non-rights holders when the admissions reach 85 per cent of the school capacity. So the attendance at both francophone schools is approaching that threshold, especially with the addition of pre-kindergarten in 2017. A directive will have an effect to limit seriously and artificially the growth. This is going to lead to more lawsuits. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask for additional time to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my opinion, if we had adopted a more cooperative approach we could have had the same satisfactory conclusion for everybody. I will have questions to ask the Minister of Education later today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. [Translation ends.]

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Minister for ITI alluded to earlier this is Small Business Week and I commend him for his statement earlier. Mr. Speaker, today I want to speak about support for entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs are people inspired by an idea, investing in possibility; people with a passion for their new concept who are creative, want to share ideas and have a willingness to take risks; people who believe in something new and groundbreaking; something that, while successful for them, can also make our community better and stronger. So this week, Small Business Week, is the time to look at how we support entrepreneurs. If I have an idea for a new business, where do I go to get help? Who can offer me experienced advice? Where can I get some start-up money? If I'm new to business, how do I know I won't get totally drowned and blocked by rules and redundancy at every step?

Thankfully, Mr. Speaker, there are some good options out there for people with new ideas, and the Minister alluded to some of them earlier. The NWT Business Development and Investment Corporation is a Crown corporation that exists directly for the purpose of developing new business in the NWT. Similarly, the Akaitcho Business Development Corporation works to build partnerships and business skills development as well as access to business capital. Futurpreneur Canada is another business support initiative through which I have the privilege of being a business mentor to a young entrepreneur currently.

Futurpreneur is an excellent program which includes connecting an experienced business owner with young entrepreneurs, conducts business boot camps, assists with business planning and provides other support mechanisms for new start-ups. The Bizpal System started by the GNWT and just launched by the City of Yellowknife and now available in 16 NWT communities will support fledgling businesses by reducing the time and effort it takes for permitting and licensing.

Mr. Speaker, these are just some of what we can do to support the emergence of small business community with. Offering business counselling, easing of red tape and providing start-up funding are all ways to support entrepreneurs, to encourage innovation and to build wealth and capacity in our communities and across the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you colleagues. Finally, Mr. Speaker, I believe that private enterprise entrepreneurship and diversification are the keys to our Territory's economic success. I strongly encourage our government to foster an environment which facilitates economic investment, reduces red tape and encourages creativity. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Marci cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, [English translation not provided.]

Mr. Speaker, today I would like to talk about employment in small communities. The Department of Education, Culture and Employment has two programs that I will speak of. Firstly, Mr. Speaker, is the Income Support Program. This program is designed to provide income to families mostly in areas where there are very few jobs. This program is needed but should not be a way of life.

The second program I wish to speak of is a Small Community Employment Support Program. The budget for this program is limited but should be increased by transferring some income support dollars into it and put people to work. Mr. Speaker, the Small Community Employment Support Program can be used for short-term employment so that people have a purpose for getting up in the morning and sending their kids to school and then going to work. Mr. Speaker, only if it is totally necessary should a family rely on income support.

Mr. Speaker, I've spoken to many people who have told me that a lack of employment is causing many problems in our communities, including disagreements over who is getting the few jobs available in the communities. The Minister of Education knows the importance of children attending school and the best way for children to attend school is giving their parents employment. I don't have to go into the positive long-term impacts of increasing attendance in our small communities, but the obvious one is increasing graduation rates.

Mr. Speaker, just one statistic I will mention is a person with grade 12 has a 25 per cent better chance of getting a job than a person with less than grade 12. Mr. Speaker, just that statistic is not all of the other benefits are associated with a healthier working society. This should be enough to make the Minister with his department to take a closer look at the Small Community Employment Support Program.

Mr. Speaker, the solution is to transfer $1 million from the Income Support Program to the Small Community Employment Support Program. This will increase employment rates in small communities by 3 to 4 per cent based on having about four to six months’ worth of employment per year. The rest of the year perhaps they could draw Employment Insurance bringing thousands of federal dollars into the communities. Mr. Speaker, this is just one initiative that can grow the economy in our small communities. There are many government programs that can be targeted to increasing employment in small communities which will improve the lives of all Northerners. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members’ statements. Member for Kam Lake.

Merci, Monsieur le président. Mr. Speaker, it's Small Business Week, a time when we take a moment to appreciate the efforts of our entrepreneurs and growing economy and creating jobs and providing solutions to many Northern challenges. Can't imagine talking any further about business without talking about my riding of Kam Lake.

Mr. Speaker, often when we think of Kam Lake it's about big lots, industrial aesthetic and the sound of sled dogs. These are just a few examples of what Northerners would say if asked that question, but if you delve deeper you will find the heart of Yellowknife's entrepreneurial spirit. For over 40 years Kam Lake has been the commercial hub of our capital and home to some of the North's most successful businesses. Sometimes these entrepreneurs start out in a Quonset hut or a gravel pit, but through hard work and determination they evolve into a multimillion dollar business employing dozens of Northerners.

Since its humble beginnings and continuing into the present day, small businesses have found a home in Kam Lake from Starvin Marvin Bistro food truck serving quality meals to Paul Bros. Nextreme providing steel and services throughout the North. The variety of small businesses is incomparable to anywhere in the NWT.

At the recent Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce 70th Awards Business Gala the businesses of Kam Lake were well-represented. Ron's Auto, Weatherby Trucking, Best Movers and Basset Petroleum were all nominated for awards celebrating the dedication and hard work of these great entrepreneurs. It's wonderful to see the Yellowknife Chamber celebrate the success of our business community, and I want to commend them for keeping these awards going for 70 years and for their tireless efforts at advocating for our businesses, small and large.

I'm proud to serve and represent a constituency brimming with so many entrepreneurs and potential for growth and opportunity. These are individuals and businesses that are the backbone of our economy how are not just serving the North, they are committed to it, and I am committed to assuring their voices are heard in this House and by this government.

Mr. Speaker, again, I would like to thank all Northern entrepreneurs and I wish them well and continued success over the years to come. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members’ statements. Member for Nahendeh.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Today I want to speak about an amazing event that happened in Fort Simpson this past summer. For people who had the opportunity to see the Pope in Fort Simpson almost 29 years ago, on the Papal site you will notice that the teepee and the stage has been moved last year, and it is now replaced with a much larger teepee.

Mr. Speaker, it took five days for a company from B.C. to replace the empty site and turn it into what may be the tallest wooden teepee in the world. From what I understand, the teepee's structure is between 15 to 17 metres in height, the teepee is built from yellow cedar logs. According to the Deh Cho Drum, one of the logs is from a tree that is almost 750 years old.

Mr. Speaker, the Liidlii Kue First Nations Chief, Gerry Antoine, spoke about wanting to repair this site and had the support from the community. He has been heard numerous times saying that it is an important element to rebuild the community and its spirit.

Mr. Speaker this teepee is an important part of the community and we had the privilege of hosting the Pope in the community in the past. It is a historical moment and it is a historical gathering site as well for the people of the Deh Cho.

Mr. Speaker, I'm happy to say two people who are on band council are behind and supported this project. I'd like to say thank you to Kele Antoine and William Michaud, they helped bring in Timber Kings, a company based out of Williams Lake, B.C., to construct this structure.

Mr. Speaker some of my colleagues may have heard about them or even seen them on TV, this company has been in business for 43 years and is filming the fourth season of its reality TV show. This project will be part of the fourth season. I understand that the yellow cedar being used is resistant to rot, insects, and could be around for hundreds and hundreds of years. I've been told that they worked 12 hours a day to make sure the teepee was done on time.

Mr. Speaker, I would have been advised that this teepee marks the first of its kind for Timber Kings; they never built one before. The owner of the company was very impressed with the community's support and helpfulness. Mr. Speaker, the community knows that this project was going to have some challenges, and brought a trailer full of equipment, including special fasteners and tools that were not available locally. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement please.

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank my colleagues for giving me this extra time. Mr. Speaker, the week of construction had a positive impact on the community and people commented on the positive energy throughout the community and region. Mr. Speaker, on September 15th the elementary school and the high school attended a fire-feeding ceremony and drum dance where the community celebrated the construction. During this ceremony they brought in an elder from Wrigley, Angus Ekenale, who sang a special song to honour the ancient spirit of the 750-year-old tree. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to recognize this great event and the organizers for bringing this special structure to the community, region, and the NWT. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Members’ statements. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Today I offer my congratulations to everyone who operates a small business in the NWT during this Small Business Week. Last year in Yellowknife the city licensed 146 new businesses, most of them small businesses, and it's clear that small business is a major driver in our economy, creating jobs, spending and tax revenue.

Mr. Speaker, I have some insight into the effort involved in developing an idea for a small business into a money-making proposition. I was self-employed before I was elected, but the experience I want to reflect on today is the development of our family business. First, the idea: a couple of evenings a week my partner would check the funeral home websites in her hometown, that casual interest moved her to recognize that Yellowknife didn't have a funeral home and from there into thinking about whether she wanted to become a funeral director. She spent a year doing online courses to become a funeral director while continuing her day job as a social worker. Second, the plan: near the end of her training she spent a couple of months working in a large funeral home in Edmonton. She loved working with the families, and made a decision to go into business.

She began working out of Stanton offering funeral services in 2008. A family friend housed the caskets and hearse in her garage and the office for the business was in our laundry room. There were many sleepless nights at this point about giving up the certainty of a government cheque, benefits and pension in order to start a business. She had never run a business before and she worried about whether people would use her services. Government provided critical support by providing employment insurance while the business got rolling, alleviating some of the concern about cash flow.

Third, the expansion from funeral services to funeral home. We were referred to Akaitcho Business Development Corp. for mentoring. Together we developed a business plan. The bank agreed to finance the purchase of a building and renovations. We held our breath while acquiring hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt, but believed community would support this business. At this point, the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment provided support by offering a year of interest payments on the commercial loan. McKenna Funeral Home opened November 1st, 2010. This summer, with almost eight years of business, experience under our belts, we expanded the funeral home to include a garage and casket storage. The business has one full-time employee and three part-timers. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement. Thank you.

---Unanimous consent granted

Mahsi, colleagues. Masi, Mr. Speaker. We are grateful for various kinds of support provided by the federal, territorial and city governments as well as family and friends. The government programming I've mentioned, the employment insurance supplement, BDC mentoring, and ITI commercial loan interest payment support was targeted very effectively and showed that these organizations know what kind of help small businesses need in the early start-up period. Kudos to them. Our biggest thanks go to the people of Yellowknife and beyond who buy our products and services and have enabled us to turn an idea into a viable business. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members’ statements. Member for Deh Cho.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, October is fire prevention month. It is a good time to remind everyone to replace the batteries in their smoke alarms, make sure the fire exits in their houses are clear of obstruction and talk to family members about an escape plan if fire breaks out. It is also an opportunity to pay tribute to those individuals in small communities who give their time, put their lives on the line and serve the communities as volunteer fire fighters.

Mr. Speaker, volunteer fire fighters provide an essential service; one that is critical to the safety and wellbeing of the community and its residents. It takes a special person to serve as a volunteer fire fighter. People who do this work give their time without being paid. They undertake the training necessary to do the job properly and safely and they contribute to the maintenance and upkeep of the community's fire-fighting equipment. They are called to work long hours at any time of the day or night and often in the worst northern weather conditions. In addition to fighting fires, volunteer fire fighters in the Dehcho communities, such as Enterprise and Fort Providence, also serve as first responders to emergencies on the highway. Above all, these volunteers have the courage to put their own safety aside to help others in need.

Small communities need volunteers to keep our communities alive and to provide vital services such as firefighting. Firefighting is not easy work. It demands courage, commitment and personal sacrifice. In small communities, it is especially challenging to find people with the right qualities who are willing to do this work. For this reason, I want to give a special shout-out to the Enterprise Fire Department. Just last year, Enterprise was down to four or five volunteers, making it difficult to find a crew large enough to take out the fire truck and making the community rely on Hay River, almost 40 kilometres away for firefighting support.

Now, Fire Chief Blair Porter and the 11 residents that are currently signed up as volunteer fire fighters are back to a full crew. As a government, we must do everything in our power to assist community fire departments and the volunteers who make them run. We need to provide financial support to the municipalities to make sure volunteers have safe and operable equipment. We need to support communities to provide firefighting training.

We also need to make sure that the Fire Prevention Act is up to date in providing the right legislative framework for support in community fire departments. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to continue my statement. Masi.

---Unanimous consent granted

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker, and mahsi, colleagues, for giving me some more time. Later today, I will have questions for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs about the work her department is doing to support community fire departments. Mahsi.