This is page numbers 673-724 of the Hansard for the 18th Assembly, 2nd Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was thanks.

Topics

Members Present

Hon. Glen Abernethy, Mr. Beaulieu, Mr. Blake, Hon. Caroline Cochrane, Ms. Julie Green, Hon. Jackson Lafferty, Hon. Bob McLeod, Hon. Robert McLeod, Mr. McNeely, Hon. Alfred Moses, Mr. Nadli, Mr. Nakimayak, Mr. O’Reilly, Hon. Wally Schumann, Hon. Louis Sebert, Mr. Simpson, Mr. Testart, Mr. Thompson, Mr. Vanthuyne

The House met at 1:30 p.m.

---Prayer

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Good afternoon colleagues. Ministers’ statements. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Yellowknife South

Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories has made a commitment in its mandate to develop and implement an agriculture strategy to increase domestic food production, improve distribution networks for NWT-produced foods and to increase producer and supplier opportunities.

The price of food is a significant driver of the Northwest Territories' high cost of living in all of our communities, Mr. Speaker. Equally important in supporting and growing our vibrant communities is diversity in localized economies. Mr. Speaker, the need for an agricultural strategy to advance economic opportunities in the agriculture sector was first identified in the NWT Economic Opportunities Strategy. An agriculture strategy will also assist in lowering the cost of living by improving food security by encouraging local food production.

Thanks to the investments and hard work of dedicated producers in all communities with the support of the federal government Growing Forward Two Agreement and departments across the Government of the Northwest Territories the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment is now in a position to formalize an Agriculture and Food Production Strategy to address our commitments in these areas.

This strategy, Mr. Speaker, is built upon input received through community engagement events hosted during the summer of 2015. The Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment worked in partnership with the Territorial Farmers Association, Northern Farm Training Institute, and the NWT Association of Communities. These findings were collected and released in a What We Learned Report. The report identified five pillars that the strategy will be based on.

The first pillar is planning, which will encourage the proactive development of community-specific approaches to food production and government, both territorial and local, doing their part to ensure legislative and regulatory regimes are in place to support safe community food development.

Knowledge, the second pillar, focuses on training and food production, developing an online public agriculture info base supporting mentorship and getting youth involved through experiential training. Leadership will include localized community committees to identify and support individuals with a strong interest in and commitment to food growing and gathering across the territory.

Mr. Speaker, the marketing pillar will see the review and revision of policies surrounding food production in the Northwest Territories, investing opportunities to create incentives for local food production and consumption. Developing marketing channels and exploring opportunities to encourage greater value-added opportunities for food production in the Northwest Territories.

Our strategy's final pillar, enhancing access to resources, will include increasing the availability of soil, land, energy, heat and financial and food production infrastructure through strategic investments and incentives. We are preparing to share the draft strategy with Standing Committee, Mr. Speaker, with the recent groundswell of support for agriculture in the Northwest Territories, I look forward to discussing this plan with Members and to moving it forward so that we can begin delivering on these pillars for our citizens.

Mr. Speaker, I would be remiss if I were not to recognize the organizations who have worked tirelessly building our agriculture capacity to where it is today. The Northern Farm Training Institute has provided opportunities for mentorship and education and farming and agriculture to Northwest Territories' residents for two successful years. We are confident their dedicated staff will continue to play an active role in the sector's future. Our Northwest Territories Territorial Farmers Association has also worked in tandem with various organizations to deliver innovative programming to Northwest Territories' communities over the years. We thank them for their efforts and look forward to working with them in the future.

We are pleased to have partnered with CanNor to provide further funding for feasibility studies and for greenhouses in our communities. With the installation of greenhouses in communities on the Beaufort Sea we now have a food production sector stretching the length and breadth of our territory. To that end, the Inuvik Community Greenhouse also deserves recognition for supporting investments and initiatives to bring growing capacity to communities in the Beaufort Delta where there once was none.

Finally, we must recognize the great work done by our largest commercial success story in Polar Egg. The company has been providing fresh high-quality eggs to our Northern jurisdictions for many years. We salute these entrepreneurs who brought life to the Northwest Territories' first commercial agricultural venture. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

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

Alfred Moses

Alfred Moses Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment provides many critical programs and services for some of the territory’s most vulnerable residents through its Income Security programs. Through our ongoing efforts to continually improve these programs, I’d like to share with you today a significant change to the way we will be supporting families with children.

On March 22nd, the federal government announced a new Canada Child Benefit to come into effect in July 2016. This benefit combines a number of previous federal government benefits available to families with children. The new Canada Child Benefit will provide more money for low and modest income families with children.

These changes have implications for our Income Assistance Program. Under the current system the Income Assistance Program considers some of the previous federal children’s benefits as income. We are revising our program so that none of the new Canada Child Benefit is considered as income, to ensure our residents receive the full benefit.

This is extremely good news for our residents, and the steps we are taking will help our most vulnerable residents immensely. Mr. Speaker, in addition to not counting the Canada Child Benefit and the NWT Child Benefit as income, as of August we will also no longer be considering any child support a parent may receive when calculating income assistance payments.

While we continue to believe child support is an important component to ensure both parents contribute to the cost of raising a child, we are no longer requiring income assistance clients to pursue child support as part of the Income Assistance Program. I am also pleased to announce a joint initiative that is underway with our colleagues at the Department of Finance. The departments are working together to make enhancements to the NWT Child Benefit that will provide additional financial support to more low and modest income NWT residents with children, and not just those accessing Income Assistance.

As we need to work with the federal government and make changes to the NWT Income Tax Act, we plan to implement these changes to the NWT Child Benefit in 2017.

Mr. Speaker, this is significant. We believe that these improvements to the Income Assistance Program will help to raise children out of poverty and are an investment in the future of the North. For a family with two children that is receiving income assistance, these changes along with the new federal Canada Child Benefit could add up to $614 in increased monthly income. Mr. Speaker, I am proud of the work completed in support of NWT children and families. I look forward to updating Members as we continue to work to implement the changes across the Income Assistance Program. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Ministers’ statements. Minister of NWT Housing Corporation.

Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories has made a commitment it its mandate to work in partnership with other orders of government to address affordable housing requirements and to support Aboriginal local governments in their housing aspirations and initiatives to address homelessness.

We are delivering on that commitment, and I am pleased to tell you today that a new partnership initiative between the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation and K’atlodeeche First Nation that will let us deliver housing services and programs on reserve land.

The core housing need for the Hay River Reserve is nearly 40 per cent, Mr. Speaker, one of the highest rates in the territory. So it was imperative that progress be made in this area. Delivery of social housing on reserve land presents unique challenges because of the requirement for secure land tenure. However, recognizing their members need housing programs and services, the K’atlodeeche First Nation went through the land designation process, allowing the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation to secure a land lease for property on the Hay River Reserve from the Government of Canada. The K’atlodeeche First Nation and the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation worked closely and diligently to achieve this result, assisted by the Department of Justice and the Department of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada.

As a result of this work, the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation has recently acquired 10 units on the land designated by the K’atlodeeche First Nation that will be rented to their residents under the Public Housing program. We are also working to acquire six more properties. These are significant actions to bolster and stabilize rental housing on the reserve, which totals less than 90 households.

Mr. Speaker, a collaboration of this kind with the K’atlodeeche First Nation, under such unique land and governance related circumstances, is an example of what we can accomplish when we come together to remove barriers and work on solutions across all levels of government to meet the needs of our community residents. We hope that the spirit of this partnership can act as a blueprint for future collaborations with other Aboriginal and local governments to overcome challenges they may be facing in meeting their housing aspirations. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Ministers’ statements. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Yellowknife South

Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories has made a commitment in its mandate to finalize and implement the Commercial Fisheries Revitalization Strategy. I would like to share with Members of this Assembly, the work the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment is doing to revitalize the Northwest Territories’ commercial fishery and broaden the NWT’s economic horizons.

I look forward to sharing and discussing the Revitalization Strategy with Members in detail but would like, today, to provide a high-level outline of how our collaborative approach aims to jumpstart commercial fishing in the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, this Strategy is built on four pillars: increasing lake production, building processing capacity, growing the Northwest Territories market, and accessing export markets. These will guide the tactics of industry and government stakeholders moving forward.

Increasing lake production will focus on support for re-establishing the winter fishery and incentives to increase participation in the fishery. There will be collaboration among stakeholders to assess and implement the price structures necessary to attract and retain talent in the fishery across all seasons in the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, building processing capacity is also essential to success as local processors in Hay River and Yellowknife are already operating close to maximum-capacity and servicing only 15 per cent of the Northwest Territories' potential market. We will focus on collaborating with our federal partners to fund a processing plant in Hay River with the capacity to process large custom orders, hold product for up to six-weeks, and meet Inspection Act requirements to appeal to large retailers. There will be consistent work with the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation to develop appropriate supply-chain measures to support the viability of processing operations in the territory.

Growing our local market goes hand-in-hand with increasing processing and harvesting capacity. This Strategy identifies a target of 230,000 kilograms for the Northwest Territories' market; a target which current production capabilities cannot fulfill. The Strategy outlines options for industry and government to achieve our ambitions.

Mr. Speaker, accessing export markets will be essential to bringing our commercial fisheries to the next level. It will require all stakeholders to do their parts in optimizing and aligning processing and production cycles. Discussions between the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation and the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment to find the most feasible way forward in these pursuits have already begun. We will be working with fishing co-operatives already doing great work here to ensure their interests are well-represented in the process.

Mr. Speaker, with smart development, careful management, and strategic partnerships, our world-class fish stock has the potential to provide significant employment opportunities and revenues to entrepreneurs and individuals within our territory. We as a government have a duty to act on these kinds of opportunities. At a time where our constituents’ desire for a more diverse economy has seldom been stronger, the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment is pleased to be doing its part in making growth in this renewable resource-based industry a reality. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

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

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Mr. Speaker, sole-source contracting is the buying of goods or services without competitive bidding. In February, the Finance Minister announced changes in the limits for granting of sole-source contracts. The sole-source contract limit for goods and non-professional services was increased from $5,000 to $25,000, for professional services from $25,000 to under $50,000, and for architectural and engineering professional services, to under $100,000.

Sole-source purchasing is governed by the procurement guidelines of the GNWT contract regulations. The procurement guidelines list a series of criteria, standards, and evaluation points which must be met. They allow purchases where delay would be "injurious to the public interest," or "only one party is available or capable of doing the work."

Sole-source purchasers must complete an authorization request explaining the circumstances which make sole sourcing necessary. The criteria would appear to make the practical exceptional. In reality, it is common place. The most recently published 2013-14 GNWT Report of Contracts over $5,000 shows that $41.6 million was spent on sole source. Sole source appears to be a mechanism allowing mid to senior managers to conveniently make purchases without the delays or administrative burdens of bid contracting or price negotiation.

Now, those levels of convenience are dramatically larger, raising large concerns. At the very least, routine use of sole source purchasing can lead managers to resort too frequently to non-competitive supply. Without reporting to the marketplace occasionally, purchasers may be unaware of product improvements, price shifts, and the availability of new sources of supply.

Competitive bids which accrue savings of as little as $1,000 per contract could accumulate major savings across the volume of small contract purchasing. It is a fact that $25,000 to $100,000 is no longer a small purchase. Raising the ceiling on sole source contracts will negatively impact many Northern small businesses. It is the smaller contracts that Northern businesses bid on because they are compatible with their capacity. While we may not like to speak of it, these higher levels raise the possibility of malfeasance and corruption in the spending of public funds. These elevated amounts increase the--

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Member for Yellowknife Centre, your time has expired for Members’ statements.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

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

---Unanimous consent granted

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, colleagues. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. These elevated amounts increase the possibility of kickbacks and preferment. I'll be looking for a much more rigorous oversight in this process, and I'll have questions for the Minister. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Nahendeh.

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I stand in front of you and our fellow colleagues to speak about one of the communities I represent.

Mr. Speaker, in 1796, the Northwest Company established a post on Trout River. However, it did not become an organized community until the late 1960s. Trout Lake is one of the most remote, beautiful, and traditional communities in the Northwest Territories. The residents are very proud of their culture and language. Approximately 70 per cent of the residents between the ages of 15 and 39, and 100 per cent of residents ages 40 and up speak their traditional language of Slavey.

Mr. Speaker, the community of Trout Lake is governed by Sambaa K'e Dene Band chief and council. As in the past, hunting, fishing, and trapping are still part of their daily lives. According to the 2015 NWT Bureau Stats, approximately 85 per cent of the community still hunts and fishes, approximately 48 per cent of the population traps, and approximately 47 per cent of the population produces arts and crafts. As you can see by these numbers, these percentages, you can guess that consumption of country food would be high, and you're right. Eighty-five per cent compared to NWT's average of 26 per cent.

Mr. Speaker, for the past 23 years that I've worked with the community, now representing them, September is a time for the community fall hunt. Mr. Speaker, it's amazing watching the community pack up and go out on the land for the number of weeks. It is about tradition, sharing knowledge, family, and community time.

What I find amazing is this community has continued to grow in population since moving to the region. I witness the population grow from 70 residents to 110. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to say the community has done well, has done a good job increasing the territorial formula financing for the GNWT.

Mr. Speaker, I'm proud to inform this House the Executive Council has approved the change of the name of the geographical place and community known--named as Trout Lake. Mr. Speaker, the change in name from Trout Lake to Sambaa K’e will take effect on June 21st, 2016. Mr. Speaker, Sambaa K’e means Place of Trout in Slavey.

Mr. Speaker, I'd like to congratulate the Sambaa K’e First Nation chief, council, and residents for doing all the hard work to request returning their traditional name to the community. As well, I'd like to thank the Minister of Education, Culture, and Employment for his recommendation and Executive Council for approving this. Mr. Speaker, there is this first step of the community as they work to bring back our traditional names in the surrounding areas. In closing, Mr. Speaker, I'd like to give a big round of applause for the community soon to be named Sambaa K’e. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Mackenzie Delta.

Frederick Blake Jr.

Frederick Blake Jr. Mackenzie Delta

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The mandate for Skills Canada National Competition is to encourage and support a coordinated Canadian approach to promoting skilled trades and technologies to youth.

Mr. Speaker, this is the only national multi-trade and technology competition for students and apprentices in the country. Every year, more than 500 young people from all regions of Canada come together at nationals to participate in over 40 skilled trade and technology competitions. Students must compete at our local, regional, and territorial events to gain their place, to represent the Northwest Territories at the Skills Canada National Competition.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate one of my constituents, Gord Papik, who in fact is already in the House working as a page representing the Mackenzie Delta. Gord competed and placed in regionals and territorials. He moved on to nationals in Moncton, New Brunswick where he demonstrated workplace safety.

Mr. Speaker, upon returning home to Aklavik, Gord had one night's sleep after which he boated to Inuvik to get on a plane to travel here to Yellowknife to work as a page. Mr. Speaker, please join me in congratulating Gord.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. That's what you call dedication. Members' statements. Member for Nunakput.

Herbert Nakimayak

Herbert Nakimayak Nunakput

Quyananinni, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I just wanted to pay respects to one of the Elders in Tuktoyaktuk. Lucy Dillon was born in 1951 in Kittigazuit in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region to Kelly and Rosie Ovayuak. Lucy was the fifth oldest of 11 children. She attended the Anglican school in Aklavik, Stringer Hall in lnuvik, and Akaitcho Hall in Yellowknife.

After moving back home to Tuktoyaktuk, she began a career working as an administrator. She worked at that for years before she embarked on a new direction in her career. She worked as a secretary for Mangilaluk School for several years. From there, she moved to the wellness side of community service, where she spent many years with the GNWT, Mr. Speaker. She eventually worked for the Regional Wellness Division of IRC at the community level.

Lucy was common-law to Eddie Dillon and they eventually married in 1972. They had five beautiful girls together and adopted a son. She was diagnosed with colon cancer and went through the treatments. She had a tumor removed after complications from cancer treatment. On June 14that 1:00 a.m., Lucy peacefully passed away at home with family by her side. All five girls and her 16 grandchildren and four great grandchildren gathered in Tuk. Rest in Peace Lucy, as you are in a better place now. Quyananinni, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Our condolences and prayers go out to the family as well. Members' statements. Member for Kam Lake.

Kieron Testart

Kieron Testart Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in almost every province and territory, organizations have been set up to provide essential legal information to the public at large. These non-profit and non-governmental groups believe that citizens cannot fully understand, much less exercise their legal rights unless they are informed and understand the laws that affect them. These groups differ from a lawyer's office or a legal aid clinic by providing general information on the law rather than legal advice for specific problems.

Mr. Speaker, I was curious about public legal information in the NWT, and through the Canadian Bar Association, I was directed to a defunct page of the Department of Justice here in the Northwest Territories. I would like to advise the Minister, if I may, that the department ought to address this before it's more than just a curious MLA trying to find information.

Luckily, Mr. Speaker, Google exists, and it directed me to the Northwest Territories Legal Services Board. Although it has no website, when I called their number, I was redirected to Legal Aid, which is by no means responsible or expected to provide public legal education. I wasn't giving up so easily though, Mr. Speaker, and Google, rather than the information provided by the Department of Justice for the public, came through again.

The Law Society of the Northwest Territories is the governing body for all lawyers in the Northwest Territories, and thankfully, also provides some resources for public legal education. All these dead ends shows that this territory lacks the public legal education provided in almost every other jurisdiction, but at least we have the law library, or not.

Recently, the Department of Justice announced plans to close the territory's only law library by the end of this fiscal year, and I quote from the Minister, "it is just not economically responsible to keep it open."

Mr. Speaker, no library was ever opened to be economically advantageous. They exist as a resource for the public to expand its knowledge and awareness through having free and easily accessible sources of information. Libraries are important, a law library even more so, and if the government goes through with this policy, the NWT will be the only province or territory without a physical law library. Mr. Speaker, I want to ensure accessible, free, and public legal education and information is available to Northerners, and I will have questions later for the Minister of Justice. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Sahtu.

Daniel McNeely

Daniel McNeely Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, my statement is directed to the Minister of Lands in regards to the remedial cleanup opportunities along the shores of Bear Lake. As the public would know, there is a number of old mine sites that have taken a long time for their remedial cleanup, and as a part of devolution, I think these need to be concentrated on. The flip side or the other opposite side of the remedial cleanup opportunities is the economic wealth that it would generate.

During the slow economic, idle times now, what better way than to review the environmental land management system and do an audit. If so, if maybe there is one underway that could be utilized and expedite this a little bit faster. Later on, I will have questions for the Minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.