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

Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories has made a commitment in its mandate to capture opportunities for investment in transportation infrastructure by working to secure funding to improve access into the Slave Geological Province. Today I would like to provide an update on the department’s progress on this project.

Improving road access into the Slave Geological Province has been a long-term objective of the Governments of Canada and the Northwest Territories. This long-term vision includes connecting to an all-weather road and deep-water Arctic port in western Nunavut. Partnership with the Governments of Canada and Nunavut, as well as Aboriginal governments and industry, will better enable us to achieve this vision.

Climate change is increasingly affecting the Northwest Territory’s transportation system, and investment in all-weather roads is one of the ways we can address those impacts. There is increased uncertainty regarding the feasibility and capacity of the existing winter road into the Slave Geological Province. This is due to warmer temperatures, more unpredictable weather, and the increased traffic projected to resupply the region’s mining industry. Already, recent shortened operating seasons for winter roads have resulted in significant additional transportation costs and operational difficulties for mining developments in the Slave Geological Province.

The development of the Slave Geological Province access corridor provides an opportunity to boost

mineral exploration and development in this resource rich region and support our mining industry, which continues to directly contribute more than 30 per cent to the territorial economy.

An all-weather road to the Slave Geological Province will stabilize the resupply system to existing mines in the area, making it feasible to extend mine life. It will also enable new mineral exploration and development opportunities by increasing reliable access to resources.

Mr. Speaker, there are significant base and precious metal prospects in the Slave Geological Province that require all-weather access for exploration and development. By increasing access to the Slave Geological Province, the Government of the Northwest Territories will increase investor confidence and enable our territory to reach its full economic potential.

In addition to collaboration with the Governments of Canada, Nunavut, and Aboriginal governments, the development of an access corridor into the Slave Geological Province requires significant inter-departmental collaboration within the Government of the Northwest Territories.

The Department of Transportation has conducted numerous studies on this corridor over the last two decades. Based on the results of mineral potential and route option studies conducted by the departments of Transportation and Industry, Tourism and Investment, a corridor has been identified that will provide the greatest economic benefit to the region and the NWT. The departments of Transportation, Finance and Industry, Tourism and Investment are jointly conducting a P3 business case assessment of the chosen corridor. This business case is expected to be completed in mid-2017 and will allow the Government of the Northwest Territories to make a better estimate of construction costs for this road, as well as determine an appropriate funding model.

In the meantime, the Department of Transportation continues to focus on next steps, including undertaking environmental studies and finalizing engineering and design work for the road.

The Department of Transportation is also working with caribou subject experts from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to identify any gaps in knowledge and opportunities to support the mandates of both departments.

The Government of the Northwest Territories and the Government of Nunavut have set up a joint working group to collaborate on advancing the project from both territories. Both of our governments look forward to new opportunities to fund further planning and construction of the access corridor.

Improving territorial transportation infrastructure will remain one of the priorities of this government. This supports our commitment to improve the quality of life, lower the cost of living of our residents, support business and employment opportunities, adapt to the impacts of climate change, and maximize opportunities to realize our economic potential. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Ministers' Statements. Minister for Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Legislative Assembly has identified education, training, and youth development as one of its priorities, and the Government of the Northwest Territories has made several commitments in its mandate to advance that priority. Work in these areas is foundational to the future success of our territory, and we have seen some solid progress on many initiatives in education, training, and youth development.

Mr. Speaker, one of our mandate commitments is to implement the Education Renewal Framework, which is guiding multiple initiatives to improve outcomes for NWT students. We have established working groups comprised of multiple partners from across the NWT, including students, teachers, parents, elders, contracted experts, and staff from many agencies and GNWT departments. All of the groups are focused on designing a better learning and working environment in our schools and communities, as well as a more responsive education system for all students.

Education renewal is grouped into four focus areas:

1. Improving student and teacher wellness;

2. Strengthening teaching and learning;

3. Strengthening culture/language programming and student sense of identity; and

4. Increasing system-wide accountability and results.

One of our mandate commitments was to expand the NWT distance learning pilot project to increase access for NWT senior secondary students in all communities. I am pleased to report that we have built on the success of the distance learning program from the Beaufort Delta and expanded into four additional communities. This is one of a number of initiatives flowing from the four education renewal areas at various levels of development and implementation, many in pilot projects. For example, the Elders in Schools program and Residential School teaching resource have also been well received over the past few years.

Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories currently has the highest number of instructional hours across Canada, resulting in our teachers working approximately 52 hours a week, and yet our education system continues to struggle to dramatically improve student outcomes. Research shows that teachers have the strongest impact on improving student outcomes. There is also substantial research that indicates that, by providing teachers with more time to plan, assess, collaborate, and engage in professional development and training, student outcomes improve.

For this reason, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, in partnership with the Northwest Territories Teachers' Association and the Northwest Territories Superintendents' Association, have agreed to focus on both improving and strengthening teacher instructional practices, as well as reducing teacher workloads by participating in a three-year pilot beginning in the 2017-18 school year. This pilot will allow interested schools to redirect a portion of their current instructional time.

All schools participating in this pilot will be evaluated to determine if the redirected hours do, in fact, improve student outcomes and improve overall teacher workload and wellness.

The GNWT has also made a commitment in its mandate to develop options to increase the pathways available to students who lead to graduation and provide greater linkages to post-secondary education, training, and employment opportunities. High School Pathways is another education renewal initiative under way. Many jurisdictions have implemented versions of this initiative, focused on redesigning their high school curricula, making stronger connections between high school and post-secondary entrance requirements, connecting labour market needs with high school course offerings, and aligning workplace expectations with students' competencies.

Mr. Speaker, this is an exciting initiative, as it has the potential to lead students down pathways that they have strengths in, are interested in, and want to explore. This will provide them with a clear path into fulfilling careers and meaningful work. This work will be connected to the changes that Alberta Education is currently making within their High School Redesign program, and I am very pleased that our department staff have been participating in various Alberta Education curriculum working groups which will help to inform changes within our senior secondary programming. This initiative will connect well with the work we are doing on Skills 4 Success and our Apprenticeship Strategy. We are committed to increasing northern participation in all job categories in demand in the NWT, including the skilled trades, to prepare residents to be first in line for the many jobs that exist and that will be coming in the future.

Another of this government's mandate commitments is to work with stakeholders and communities to explore options for free, play-based care for four-year-olds. Further to the independent review of junior kindergarten implementation and subsequent report, we engaged with communities, early childhood operators, and education stakeholders for the better part of 2016. We have committed to fully fund the implementation of junior kindergarten in all remaining NWT communities and have identified $5.1 million dollars in the proposed 2017-18 budget for this. We look forward to seeing junior kindergarten in all our schools across the NWT beginning in the 2017-18 school year.

As all Members are aware, we have been using the Early Development Instrument, which provides a snapshot of children's school readiness at age five. We have been using the instrument for five years, and we now have a year of data which gives us some information on children who attended junior kindergarten. The Early Development Instrument measures vulnerabilities in five different domains of a child's development and shows us where we can focus our efforts. Though our results are preliminary, they are very promising. They indicate that children who have attended junior kindergarten show improvements in many aspects of their development.

Mr. Speaker, the GNWT also made a commitment to promote and improve Student Financial Assistance to support NWT youth in developing the skills and abilities to meet their potential, as well as territorial labour demand. The NWT has one of the most successful and generous Student Financial Assistance programs in Canada. In the 2016-17 academic year, we have paid $12 million dollars in benefits to 1,286 students thus far.

As well, over the past 18 months we have increased our benefits for applicants, which have been very well received. These improvements include:

● Up to $2,950 per semester for basic grant funding for tuition and books, an increase of $625;

● Increase in loan remission rates;

● Reduction of interest to 0% for students who are residing in the NWT;

● Removal of the 20-semester funding limit and re-introduction of the revolving loan limit to further support continuing students; and

● A new Northern Bonus for students residing in the NWT for a year since ending full-time studies. They are eligible for $2,000 per year to a maximum of $10,000. Southern students are also eligible.

● Since September 1, 2016, we have received 110 applications for the Northern Bonus.

● As well, we support students with permanent disabilities, providing the option of studying at a reduced course load, a $2,000 yearly grant to assist with educational expenses, and up to $8,000 per year to assist with extraordinary expenses like a tutor.

These improvements, combined with the national marketing campaign promoting the Student Financial Assistance Program, are providing vital support for our students. We are hopeful that we will see more students remaining and/or returning to the NWT, and that we will begin to see some successes from our national campaign that will support the GNWT's population growth objectives.

Mr. Speaker, education and training are the cornerstones of healthy, fulfilled residents, and a robust economy. We will continue to ensure our youth, residents, and communities have the programs, services, and opportunities they need to achieve their goals. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Ministers' statements. Colleagues, I would like to draw your attention to one of the pages who are here with us, just starting today. I would like to highlight Denae Lafferty. She is my daughter, of course. We have such a fantastic page program that this is my third child in the page program. Masi.

Item 3, Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I want to speak about the need to invest in the biggest asset of the Northwest Territories -- our people.

Mr. Speaker, for many years we have focused on the resource sector, mining and oil and gas. In the last 20 years, we have turned to diamonds. Our natural resources are world class, and they have done well for us. As much as 30 per cent of your GDP comes from these resources, but nothing lasts forever.

In Yellowknife, where famously the gold was paved with streets, the two founding gold mines are now closed. Imperial Oil wants to sell off its Norman Wells assets after a hundred years of operations. Fossil fuel prices are low worldwide. Corporate headquarters are moving South, and we are entering the declining years of some of our diamond mine projects.

These prospects all sound pretty gloomy. The challenge for us as leaders is not to be discouraged by the bad news, but to creatively seek new opportunities for growth.

That means focusing on our greatest asset. As I mentioned, that is our people. Our people are expanding the economy into new areas every day. We have a growing agricultural sector, with a new agricultural strategy on its way.

Our new film rebate program is encouraging Northerners to create original, ground-breaking works of art, including an original award-winning feature film and a couple of new television series. We have newly published authors and musicians releasing original works that are turning heads at the highest levels across the country. We have entrepreneurs investing in tiny homes. Our tourism numbers are at an all-time high and climbing and our fish and furs end up in markets around the world.

There are many areas with great potential for diversifying the economy. So we, as leaders, have to make it possible for people to thrive in these areas.

That is why we must take every possible step to drive the cost of living down. We must develop our transportation infrastructure so goods and services can move freely and more cheaply.

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

---Unanimous consent granted.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, colleagues. Mr. Speaker, we must build a made-in-the-NWT education system so our young people are equipped with the real skills to succeed and our businesses receive the capacity they seek in these alternative economies.

Mr. Speaker, in changing times the outlook can be bleak, but times of change are also times of opportunity. We in this Chamber can lead the way forward towards new days and new opportunities, by investing in our greatest resource: our people. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there can be no denial that Northerners are resolute when it comes to surviving the cold winter months. We are tough, and we can take whatever February throws at us. Whether it is digging out vehicles buried beneath thick layers of snow or trudging through icy cold wind with a coffee in one hand and a frozen cell phone in the other, Northerners know the winter and it does not break us. We also know that it does not give us any breaks, but our government can, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, Mr. Speaker, I think it is about time Northerners deserve a holiday in February!

Mr. Speaker, across our great snow-covered nation are statutory holidays occurring on a Monday in February. In the provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Saskatchewan, a holiday is observed on the third Monday of February. British Columbia began observing Family Day on the second Monday of February in 2013. Even in the Yukon, one Friday in February is deemed Yukon Heritage Day. That means two thirds of Canadians live in a province or territory that observes a February holiday.

A mid-winter holiday is something many Northerners want, but more importantly deserve, and we in this Legislature can make it happen. This new holiday will give Northerners more time to spend with family and friends, just like the majority of their fellow Canadians, Mr. Speaker. Who would not want an extra day to spend time with the family, kick back with a cup of coffee, or spend or spend an extra day at the cabin?

Mr. Speaker, although a holiday in February may not seem like the most pressing issue facing this Assembly, a day of respite during the coldest of months is one way to improve the mental health and well-being of Northerners. Stress takes its toll on each of us, Mr. Speaker, and leading research shows that taking a break from work improves our personal relationships, creativity, job satisfaction, career development, sleep quality, general mood, blood pressure, and much more.

Mr. Speaker, consider this a call of action to the honourable Members of this House: it is time for us to take the initiative in order for Northerners to have that well-deserved day of inaction. Thank you, Mr. Speaker

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Deh Cho.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, minor hockey brings people together in communities across the Northwest Territories and Canada.

Fort Providence has not seen organized hockey for children since the late 1980s, but it has recently made a comeback thanks to the efforts of the Parents' Minor Hockey Committee and its newly elected president, Mr. Tim Cragg.

Mr. Speaker, many Members of this House and people listening to our proceedings today have good memories of growing up with minor hockey. Some of us still play hockey, thanks to participation in minor hockey leagues.

Mr. Speaker, minor hockey led to the development of players like Jordin Tootoo, who once played for the local team, and the eventual formation of the Fort Providence Bulls, a dynasty that defended the Kingland Ford Tournaments champions' title for years.

This past year, Deh Cho constituents Tim Cragg, Edward Landry, Bertha Landry, Trisha Landry, and other parents raised funds to buy new equipment for children to play minor hockey in Fort Providence, also applying for funding through Jump Start to get 20 new sets of hockey equipment for the other students to play.

Mr. Speaker, hockey is a great way to stay active and get kids involved in sports. Hockey helps them develop skills that that they can apply to other sports and activities out on the land, like shooting straight, working hard, and using the right technique and equipment.

Mr. Speaker, playing hockey is an opportunity to learn life lessons about goal setting, winning and losing, fair play, working as a team, and keeping your stick on the ice.

Mr. Speaker, this past weekend, parents and 12 youth took part in their first hockey tournament in Fort Smith, and the kids ages from five to nine sure enjoyed their time on the ice, scoring, making new friends, and finding a new passion for themselves in hockey.

Mr. Speaker, it is exciting to see youth in my riding taking to the ice. I would like to take this opportunity to applaud the efforts of the Parents' Committee as well as the community for its support in bringing hockey back to Fort Providence. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Sahtu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The communities of the Central Mackenzie Valley are not linked to the rest of the NWT and Canada by an all-weather road. Ground access to the Central Mackenzie Valley is only by the winter road season. The federal government, through Public Works Canada did significant work in the 1970s on highway surveys, geotechnical investigations, environmental studies, bridge and culvert designs, through the great recognized Hire North program. The reasons for building the Mackenzie Valley Highway through the Sahtu Settlement Area are the same as when first proposed in the 1960s, as follows:

1. Provide a year-round transportation link connecting the Central Mackenzie Valley as phase 1;

2. Decrease the cost of living by increasing access to good and services;

3. Significantly reduce transportation costs for the government, businesses, and industry;

4. Stimulate local workforce and business development in the resources sector; and

5. Develop hospitality and tourism markets and other businesses and international destination clients.

This project is a mandate of our 18th Legislative Assembly. Preliminary efforts are in the $700 million application and supported by the business case application. The Mackenzie Valley Highway is crucial to unlocking the Sahtu potential and benefits to lowering our dependency on social programming, a combined budget factor of 63 per cent.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, to date a large investment has been made on the route Wrigley North for over 25 bridges and approaches, an amount that exceeds $200 million. Mr. Speaker, I ask: why stop there?

As we know, aside from this pre-construction investment, the phrase "shovel ready" is defined on the $70 million structural section, the BRB, or Bear River Bridge. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude. Thank you.

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you, colleagues. The Bear River Bridge, a project that this government supported through the designs/build, permit approvals, and regulatory developments of the application, and procured with even steel being purchased back in 2006.

Mr. Speaker, if this segment can be reviewed as a first portion of the project execution, it would provide a number of positive benefits towards resiliency commerce to the community of Tulita, not only annual access to granular materials for community expansions, but also community or industry certainty. Thank you. Mahsi. Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Frame Lake.

Merci, Monsieur le President. If we finish early enough today, I will be playing hockey tonight; but more seriously, Mr. Speaker, GNWT has negotiated a number of transboundary water agreements with the following jurisdictions:

● Alberta, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Yukon, and Canada for the Mackenzie River Basin Master Agreement in 1997;

● the Yukon in 2002;

● Alberta in 2015; and

● British Columbia in 2015.

These are very important agreements for the health of our aquatic life and communities on our shared watersheds, which includes the vast majority of our population. These arrangements also help fulfil commitments made in Indigenous land rights agreements where right is established to ensure waters which are on or flow through or are adjacent to Indigenous lands remain substantially unaltered as to quality, quantity, and rate of flow.

Our government has invested a substantial amount of time and money in the negotiation of these agreements, and Cabinet says this continues in the proposed budget of 2017-18 with an allocation of $2.1 million. While this may seem like a large amount it is a small price for pure and drinkable water at a time when our planet's fresh water supply is shrinking and in danger.

While our government made good progress on these agreements in 2015, I can find little evidence of further work. There are no annual reports as required under the agreements on the Environment and Natural Resources website. The agreements are found there, and some background information, but very little on implementation. There are a couple of baseline reports on groundwater in the Mackenzie Valley and water quality in the Hay River watershed, but nothing else. What is the status of negotiations with the Yukon, Saskatchewan, and Nunavut? Have water quality objectives and learning plans been started under any of the agreements? Are the bilateral management committees actually set up and meeting?

These transboundary water agreements were of such importance that Cabinet included them in our mandate. If we are truly to live up to these agreements, and nothing is more important than water, we need to better communicate what is going on with the public and MLAs on these transboundary agreements and fully implement them. I will have questions later today for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Nunakput.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, for over 80 years the Northern Transportation Company Limited has provided several essential marine transportation services in the Northwest Territories.

Recognized all across our vast region, NTCL has carried much-needed fuel and freight from the shipyard in Hay River to the furthest regions of the North.

As a result of changing market conditions, business declined over the last decade and NTCL filed for creditor protection in 2016.

Mr. Speaker, reliable, dependable barging service is our lifeline for the communities in my riding. The barges serve other communities along the Mackenzie River and industries that have no other way to bring fuel and other goods into the community.

Failure in the barge service would disrupt the petroleum product supply for the Northwest Territories communities, and the way of life for everyone who lives there. The Government of the Northwest Territories issued a tender to find a new transportation provider, but was unable to identify an alternate contractor.

Mr. Speaker, the GNWT's recent purchase of NTCL assets was based on an evaluation of their market value. It will help ensure that our communities can keep getting the fuel and goods they need and reduce the chance of higher transportation costs, raising the prices of power and other goods in these communities.

Mr. Speaker, the high cost of living is a significant problem throughout the Northwest Territories, and especially for residents of small communities.

Mr. Speaker, NTCL's specialized equipment is essential to marine re-supply along the Mackenzie. People are looking forward to when a contract for the marine re-supply is successfully negotiated. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to oppose cutting the social work program at Aurora College. I believe, and my constituents have told me, that eliminating this program is the wrong thing to do for several important reasons.

Mr. Speaker, social workers provide essential services by supporting the well-being of individuals, families, and communities. They work with some of the most vulnerable people in society, including children, youth, and disabled adults. To be effective, social workers must understand the dynamics of the community they work in and develop the respect and trust of residents. Social workers deal with serious life-changing issues every day.

Mr. Speaker, given this background it's easy to understand why it's a benefit to train Northerners in the North to become social workers. In fact, the program description for the Aurora College program says:

"The program is designed to be of particular relevance to the Northwest Territories and its social issues, cultural groups, and delivery systems and resources. The courses and the field practicums are planned to meet the educational needs of students who will be working in the North after the completion of the program."

Providing southern social workers with a cultural introduction to the North, as the Minister has suggested, is no substitute for training homegrown social workers, which was the goal of this program when it began 35 years ago.

Mr. Speaker, we need social workers. The ECE labour market forecast estimates 158 social workers with degrees will be required in the next 15 years, along with 479 social and community service workers with diplomas. These are good-paying jobs, paying an average of $68,000 a year, the report says.

Mr. Speaker, also consider that most social workers are women. I believe women become social workers because they are drawn to the role of caregiver and they find the job one that they can relate to. Some of the Aurora College students are mothers as well as students. They didn't start college right after high school, but decided to enrol in post-secondary education a little later in their lives. Imagine the decision that a woman or a family must make to move to Yellowknife to access this training; it's a significant upheaval. It's a testament to their determination that many students go through the access program before enrolling in social work. Now ask yourself whether this same woman or family is likely to move to Edmonton or Regina.

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

---Unanimous consent granted

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi, colleagues. Mr. Speaker, there are 17 students in each of the two years of the program, but the number of graduates is much lower. The answer to low completion rates is not to cut these programs, but put supports in place which will help students in their academic journeys. Cutting the programs will cut off access to education to a significant number of Northerners, and that access will have a domino effect. Education, as we all know, is a way out of poverty and into self-determination.

Finally, and I echo what my colleagues have said, I find it incomprehensible that the program is being cut before we see the contents of the new Aurora College strategic plan.

Mr. Speaker, I'm aware the Minister has said it was not his decision to cut the social work program, but the board of Aurora College answers to him. He needs to tell the board to change their minds and reinstate the social work program. I will have questions. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, overflow is disrupting the highway in the Mackenzie Delta. It's no surprise, Mr. Speaker. Overflow happens every year in two spots along the highway, between Inuvik and Tsiigehtchic near Caribou Creek, and just past Tsiigehtchic on the way to Fort McPherson at kilometre 142, also known as Georgetown, Mr. Speaker, because a man named George lives there; or used to until the overflow got so bad he couldn't drive to and from his house.

Mr. Speaker, the chartered community of Tsiigehtchic has asked the Department of Transportation for help. No money, we are told.

Mr. Speaker, in the past the department has come and cleared out the culvert and diverted the water. This work was done under the maintenance contract for the Dempster as an add-on, I believe. Now the department is telling the chartered community to hire its own contractor.

Mr. Speaker, water has been running through the culvert, which the department put in about a year ago, since before Christmas and gradually froze up. We know these areas cause problems almost every year.

Mr. Speaker, we could save money in the long run by putting in a heat trace like they do on the Yukon side of the Dempster Highway instead of paying extra every year to deal with the overflow. We could budget a fixed amount for a generator when we have problems with the overflow.

Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories is about to finish building a highway over some of the most challenging terrain on the planet. I'm sure our government has the resources to manage some of the problem spots and get the overflow off the existing highway system. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I'll have questions later today.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Nahendeh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this past weekend, I had the pleasure of returning home to attend and help out the Connie Loutit Memorial Soccer Tournament.

Mr. Speaker, Ms. Loutit was a secretary at the Bompas School, and the manager of their family plumbing company. She was very active in the community, whether it was sports, school, or community events that improved youths' lives. Her and her husband have two daughters who love soccer, and she could be seen at every game. She was very supportive, did a lot of fundraising and chaperoning through her life. To keep her memory alive, the Mackenzie Recreation Association asked the family if they could name the annual soccer event after her.

This year, they had 20 teams from Hay River, Detah/Ndilo, Fort Resolution, Fort Liard, Saamba K'e, and Fort Simpson, plus athletes from Wrigley, Nahanni Butte, and Whitehorse, a total of 140 athletes. This year, each community was successful in winning at least one banner for their community.

Similar to the Paul Stipdonk Memorial Tournament, it was a great weekend of soccer, but most importantly, connecting old and new friends. Arriving at about 9:30 on Friday, I came into the community hall, and all I heard was a lot of laughter and chatter among the athletes and fans. It was great to see. As well, I was honoured to have the athletes and coaches take the time to catch up with me.

As the previous tournament, the parents and fans came out in full force to support all the teams. The whole weekend was full of "oohs" and "aahs" cheering for each team. I had a number of coaches and referees and athletes comment on how friendly the fans were throughout the weekend. I'm proud to say my home is in Nahendeh riding.

Mr. Speaker, to help the athletes recognize Connie Loutit and Paul Stipdonk, and help future athletes understand why these tournaments are named after them, the organizers are going to make a plaque and a brochure and a poster that will be hung at the recreation centre.

Mr. Speaker, I'd like to thank the following:

● the referees;

● the Fort Simpson Speed Skating Club;

● the Dehcho Friendship Centre;

● Thomas Simpson School;

● the recreation staff;

● Brendan Welly;

● MACA sport and recreation funding; and

● the Mackenzie Recreation Association.

A special thanks to Jackie Whelly, Ashley Gillis, and Nathan MacPherson. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Colleagues, I'd like to draw your attention to people in the gallery. We have with us, Dolphus Nitsiza, Behchoko constituents. Masi for joining us. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and you beat me to it, but I would also like to recognize Denae Lafferty, resident of Kam Lake and my constituent; and I'd also like to recognize the grade 6 students who were here from Ecole St. Joseph School earlier today. Thank you.

Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Nahendeh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was going to do it on Thursday, but I guess I will do it today and I can embarrass Briann Nelson and Hailey Sassie, both from Fort Liard, who are pages here. Briann was actually one of the individuals I was talking about who won the opportunity as part of the NEG Games team. Thank you very much for being here.

Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Did we miss anyone in the gallery? Welcome to our Chambers. Always good to have an audience as part of our proceedings. Masi. Item 6, acknowledgements. Item 7, oral questions. Member for Nunakput.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today my question are for the Minister of Transportation. Mr. Speaker, my first question to the Minister is: what is the status of the marine resupply contract? Thank you, Mr. Speaker?

Minister of Transportation.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The department is presently in the process of entering into a contract with the staffing contractor to provide crew, operations of tugs to operate the tugs and the barges for this year, and we are hoping to have that in place this week. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I appreciate the response. Mr. Speaker, my second question is: when will the barging schedule be drafted and shared with the public so the communities and suppliers can start preparing?

Traditionally, NTCL publish their sailing schedule closing to the operating season, in May, if I remember correctly, of each year. The government is committed to providing a firm sailing schedule prior to that date. I know the people in the Department of Public Works and Services who are taking on this work are working very hard and diligently to put this altogether so we can come up with a schedule that will satisfy the communities and staff so they can start their planning session. We are hoping to have something out to them by April.

That's very helpful, Mr. Speaker. My third question is: what steps is the government taking to ensure that, under the new contract, the price of petroleum products and other goods will be kept at levels that are similar to previous years?

As I had the opportunity in committee to explain some of this stuff, the department is looking at all aspects of costing out of revenues and expenses moving forward. There are a number of business opportunities that have also come forward since the purchase of these assets, and we believe that, if these come to fruition, it will help spread the cost out and keep the fuel prices down to where they are, close to the present levels, subject to the markets on the fuel in the open market.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nunakput.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the response, Mr. Speaker. More of a comment than a question, Mr. Speaker. My final question is: when will further information be available to Regular Members? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe I committed to keeping committee well-informed as we move forward, as we secure opportunities of different types of revenue of moving forward, the sailing schedule, the staffing issues and stuff, and in the coming months and weeks I am hoping to update committee on where we are at with these new assets.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Merci, Monsieur le President. My question is for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. Earlier today I spoke about the importance of our Transboundary Water Agreements. We need to finish these arrangements and fully implement them. Can the Minister tell this House and the public whether there are any actual negotiations going on with the governments of the Yukon, Saskatchewan, and Nunavut for the remaining agreements? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I do know that the negotiations with Saskatchewan have occurred and are expected to resume this year. We have had some preliminary discussions with the Government of Nunavut to start the work towards a Transboundary Water Agreement. We do have an existing bilateral water agreement with the Yukon. This was signed in 2002. We are having discussions with the Yukon regarding the renegotiation of this agreement to better align it with the other agreements that we are working on. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you to the Minister for his response. It looks like we have at least one of the three in active negotiations. That is helpful information. I wish the Minister could put that sort of detail on the departmental website.

Have water quality objectives and learning plans been started under any of the existing agreements with Alberta and British Columbia?

We are still a little early in the process. We do have the representatives on the board. They are continuing to meet. I will get an update on the plan, and I will share those with committee.

I appreciate the answer from the Minister. These agreements have been in place now for about a year and a half with Alberta and BC, and I really look forward to getting that information, and hope that the work has actually started. We actually have a more environmentally friendly regime in Alberta right now, and I would have thought we could make very good progress towards full implementation of that agreement. Are the bilateral management committees under the Alberta and B.C. agreements actually set up, and are they meeting?

We do have a bilateral management agreement committee with Alberta. We do have representatives on there. As far as the actual meetings, I will confirm that, but we do have representation at the meeting. I just don't have that level of detail. I will find out for the Members. The same can be said with the one with the Government of BC, we do have our representative's name. Again, as to the actual meetings that they have had, I will gather all that information and I will share it with the Members.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Again, I would like to thank the Minister for his answer. I did give him a head's up on what these questions would be. It looks like this progress and implementation is not happening nearly as quickly as it should be. I am just wondering: what is the problem here? Is it funding, political will? Can the Minister please explain the lack of publicly available information, real progress on finishing these agreements and fully implementing them? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I do appreciate the head's up that the Member gave me on his line of questioning. I can assure him that this is a partnership that we have to work out with our colleagues south of the NWT. I will work to get an update on all the work that has been going on. If there is a lack of engagement, then I will ensure that this government initiates that engagement, so we can have these very important transborder agreements not only completed but implemented.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Sahtu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question today is for the Minister of ITI on agriculture and homegrown harvesters. As we draw towards our home growing season and the season of federal Nutrition North competition, this program on principle is a very good one to the smaller remote communities; however, subsidizing only one side. My question is: what is the Department of ITI doing to provide agricultural home growers support for the upcoming season? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Member for the question on Growing Forward 2, because this is an important initiative that the Government of the Northwest Territories has been working on in collaboration with the federal government on bringing agriculture to the Northwest Territories. For the past five years, we have spent approximately $6 million on this program in the Northwest Territories and invested it directly into NWT agriculture. I thank him for that.

In the upcoming season, I suspect that I would have to get that directly from the department, but I am assuming that it is probably relevant to what we did last year in all of the communities. In the Sahtu region in particular, we have done a number of initiatives in the last year. We invested approximately $117,000 in the Member's region under Growing Forward 2. We have made investments to new and expanded infrastructure at the Sahtu Gardens and the McNeely Nursery in Fort Good Hope. We have done summer maintenance programs in the community gardens of Deline, Tulita, and Fort Good Hope, as well. We have also, last year, taken the opportunity to send a number of residents in the Sahtu to Hay River and Yellowknife to learn more about agriculture on some training and a conference that we had here in Yellowknife. I suspect that moving forward in this coming year will be very similar to that. Thank you Mr. Speaker.

I welcome those answers. They are all positive. They are good. They provide positive dialogue to the home growers who are listening here. In some cases, in one community, the Nutrition North program is advertised stating it is subsidized at $2.90 per kilogram. Is there some form of subsidy that could go towards the actual poundage of vegetables or homegrown products there for the people?

Nutrition North is a federal program to increase access to perishable nutritious food across the Northwest Territories and help reduce the cost. Its objective actually lines up quite a bit with the agriculture strategies of the Northwest Territories. Ideally, we want to get the agriculture in the Northwest Territories to a point where we wouldn't need to have Nutrition North to help subsidize the cost of food in the NWT, but we are not there yet. We will have to continue to work with our federal partners and Nutrition North and our commercial producers in the Northwest Territories on how we can work on these programs. I will continue to do that as the Minister of ITI.

My last question is: will the Minister support a gathering to discuss the new agricultural strategy and how could that work in harmony with some of the key stakeholders in the region? It is a small area, so we can pretty much guarantee the names and provide the names to the individuals who are taking an active investment into that home grower program of their own.

As I made a comment in my earlier statement, we brought a number of Sahtu residents to Yellowknife in particular last year for an agriculture conference; this is some of the stuff that we heard there that we put in towards our agriculture strategy. I don't think we need to have another conference already to do that. If the Member from the Sahtu would like us to work closely with the residents of the Sahtu, we can have our superintendent reach out to him and see how we can facilitate that.

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

Marci cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have questions for the Minister of Transportation on his Minister's statement. As we are proposing more P3 projects adding Slave Geological to the previous P3 proposal for a Whati road, I would like to ask the Minister if there is any indication on when the P3 approval of the Whati road would occur. Thank you.

Masi. Minister of Transportation.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As we have announced in this House, the federal government has made a commitment to the Whati-Tlicho all-season road. We are working on a number of initiatives within the Department of Transportation presently. One of them is to get through the environmental assessment process with the Mackenzie Valley Environment Impact Review Board. That was brought forward in July of the past year. We continue to work on that. The next step on that process is we need to draft an adequacy statement response that satisfies the requirements of the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board. We will do that, and we will continue to move it through the regulatory process for now. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I asked the Minister if there is any indication on when the P3 portion of the Whati road may be approved.

All that is probably going to depend on what is going to happen with the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board. We have no control over what they are doing. The other thing that we are looking at doing is we are going to put out a request for qualifications on this process for this road. That should be coming out shortly. We don't want to get ahead of the environmental process.

I would like to ask the Minister why we are not going after the National Infrastructure Fund for the Slave Geological Province road.

We haven't totally decided that right now. As I said in my statement today, we are doing a P3 business case assessment on the corridor of the Slave Geological Province. When this business case is completed, which we are hoping to have done by mid-2017, this will give us a better idea how to make a decision on how we move this process forward. It is going to give us a little better idea on the cost of construction of the road, as well as determine the appropriate funding model, and that is what we will determine at the end of that.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask the Minister a very similar question to my last question, and that is: why are we proposing a P3 as opposed to going straight to the National Infrastructure Fund? The National Infrastructure Fund, if approved, would be 75 per cent funded by the federal government. Also, it would be something of national significance because, eventually, Slave Geological Road could end up joining up with something from the Port Road of Nunavut, so it is definitely significant nationally. I was wondering why they don't move to the National Infrastructure Fund first, before attempting P3. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The reason we are doing the P3 business case, as I've said, moving forward is it is going to give us a better idea on construction costs on the construction of this road now that the route has been determined, which took a number of years to get that figured out. This is just going to give us a better idea of costing of the project. Once that is done, then we will probably sit down, no different from the Whati road, and see which makes the best case; national infrastructure process, which is the federal government hasn't clearly laid out the rules around that yet, or a P3 business case. We will determine that and probably have that conversation with committee as we move forward.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the last couple of weeks, we have been asking questions of the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment about the proposed cuts to the education and social work programs. Today I will be asking some questions on behalf of the students of the education program. Mr. Speaker, when looking at the cuts, can the Minister advise this House: did the college consider looking at reducing administration costs first to save some program funding? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, that was considered, the administration costs. A review of the college's operations deemed several support positions non-essential, and any remaining duties of those positions will be reassigned to other staff. To meet the target reduction, there were three administrative positions that were affected. With this reduction, Aurora College will be required to be innovative and become more efficient and effective in their administrative process moving forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the Minister for his answer. Mr. Speaker, when looking at these cuts, can the Minister advise this House: did the college consult with the students on ways to improve the program and save it, or did they just go out and make these cuts without consulting the students?

No, the students were not consulted about reductions moving forward. It was the Department of Education, Culture and Employment that was working closely with Aurora College to identify where reductions could be coming from. Evidence-based decisions on low graduation rates within these two programs were identified. Sometimes tough decisions need to be made, and those were the decisions that were brought forth to this government.

I just want to let Members know that Aurora College is continuing to support the students in these two programs to completion, working with them, supporting them to make sure that all the students in both programs do graduate to completion over the course of the years.

I thank the Minister for his answer. However, I would like to inform the Minister that the access program students, they are not accounted for, to graduate in the North, and that is a challenge. Mr. Speaker, with the majority of the TEP and social work students tending to be young parents, did the college or the department consider the effects of making them uproot their families and lose some of their family support system here to attend school in the South?

The Member did bring up the access students. The Aurora College staff has worked with the access students to look at the next steps for them in their career path, so they are working on that side of things. As I mentioned, we still continue to support families and students wherever they want to get their post-secondary education. As I mentioned earlier, we spent $12 million in Student Financial Assistance, and that affects over 1,200 students who are getting post-secondary education at this moment. Any families that have dependents, there is an increase in the Student Financial Assistance that they receive, as well.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I thank the Minister for his answer. Dependents are one thing. Family support is another, and that is the biggest challenge for us people living in the north. Mr. Speaker, it is my understanding that, in the fall of 2015, the Aurora College Board of Governors signed an Indigenous Knowledge Declaration. Mr. Speaker, some of the students are not sure that the college was sincere when they signed this document. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister explain how cutting this program helps Indigenous people share their knowledge among their peers if they are attending a southern program where people may not recognize, respect, or share the same process? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Of course, Aurora College and the Department of ECE take that declaration very seriously, including the respect for and importance of Indigenous knowledge. Aurora College will continue to seek new ways to incorporate Indigenous knowledge, world views, and approaches in all of its programs. All Aurora College programs serve Indigenous learners, not only in social work or the TEP program but through all the programs that it does serve. As well, the department has done a lot of work around residential schooling as well as cultural training for our Northerners but also for southern workers who come up and work in the Northwest Territories.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. My questions are also for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. In my statement, I talked about the importance of training Northerners as social workers out of Aurora College. The program has been in place for 35 years, and some of those who completed the training when it began are still working in the field. My first question is: what kind of information and analysis on the low completion rates for the Aurora College Social Work Program have been used by the Minister in making the decision to cut the program? Thank you.

Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I mentioned, the department had worked with Aurora College to identify reductions. On average, there are about 38 students who are enrolled within the program. Over the last three years, we have graduated four every year. This June, we are expecting to graduate three students out of the social work program, as I mentioned in this House before; two of the students in the TEP program, as well as the students in the social work program. I encourage them to work hard, study, and complete their programs through the course of the years. We are slowly phasing out these two programs, but we looked at the enrolment rates as well as the graduation rates when we were making these decisions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Rather than cutting the program, what does the Minister think he could do to help the college remove barriers to completing the social work program and improve graduation rates?

I am not really too sure of what a lot of these barriers were for students who enrolled in both programs, and we got low graduation rates out of the two. We also currently support students who are going down South, I believe 19 students who are taking a social work degree. We continue to support them. I am not too sure what some of the barriers were. Obviously, everyone has their own challenges when they're going to school, and some of those are probably taken into account. Our department, they have a great Student Financial Assistance program that supports students financially, and the Aurora College also has support staff who try to work with the students to help them succeed and get the best outcomes.

I am shocked that the Minister is not sure what the barriers are and that he didn't spend or have his department spend any time looking at what they are in order to understand why both graduation and enrolment rates fall off so dramatically over the period of time that the students are in the program.

Will the Minister commit to looking at these barriers so that he can make an informed decision to reinstate the program?

As I mentioned, I know the Aurora College does have a good support staff to help their students graduate in whatever program that they are currently enrolled in. We can take a look and see why students weren't graduating from the social work program or the TEP program as well, and what the successes we have down south are in terms of the 19 students who are going to school down South. We can take a look into it, and definitely with the Aurora College strategic plan and review coming into place, or the strategic plan, hopefully we'll have some good outcomes of that and get better supports for the Aurora College.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it seems like an exit interview for people who are dropping out of the program would really facilitate collection of information about what the barriers are. In my statement I noted that social workers with degrees and diplomas will be in high demand over the next 15 years, a total of 600 jobs, so we want people who live here to take these jobs, not come for two years and then move away. Doesn't the number of people required in this profession make the case that social work training is, in fact, a going concern? Masi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, we are going to be needing social workers over the next 15 years. It was recognized in the in-demand jobs that are going to be needed here in the Northwest Territories, and we continue to support students who want to go get that degree education, and the students who are currently in the program, we want to continue to support them should they want to come out of that diploma and go and seek a degree down South and help them with that smooth transition. We are continuing to support them as the program itself gets phased out to make sure that all students who are in that program can complete the social work program and become part of the public service here in the NWT.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today my questions are for the Minister responsible for Transparency and Public Engagement. Mr. Speaker, we made a commitment as a government that we would ensure that the public has the opportunity to be involved in our process and that we would certainly be better informed in our decision-making. So I want to ask the Minister: his shop is responsible for establishing the open government policy; can he please maybe provide us an update as to what the status is of the policy, what's included in the policy, when are we going to see a draft of the policy? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister responsible for Public Engagement and Transparency.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can advise that we have been having sessions with the public; we've had one in Fort Smith, and several days ago one in Hay River. So we're waiting to hear from the public as to what their concerns are and ideas are, and once we've accumulated that information we will be bringing forward a policy. Thank you.

I guess I've got to continue to elaborate on this line of questioning just for a moment and maybe ask the Minister if he can explain a little bit more to us as to how much more public consultation is going to take place on this and when does he, in fact, anticipate a draft coming forward to the House or to Members?

Thank you for the question. We will be visiting approximately another nine or 10 communities, and I expect that will take place in the next two months. So as soon as that process is completed and we've heard from the public we will be developing policy.

I appreciate the elaboration from the Minister. Mr. Speaker, we indicated as well, as one of our mandate items, that we will develop and implement an effective communications plan to make residents aware of the mechanisms available to appeal government decisions. In there, we referenced that we will implement an effective communications plan. Can the Minister describe for us what that communications plan is, what it consists of, and when will that plan be coming forward?

Yes, of course, we do take seriously all of the items that are in the mandate. Perhaps I could undertake to supply the Member opposite with some more detail. I know that this is an important aspect of the mandate and we are working on it, but as to dates and progress, perhaps if I could undertake to give the Member opposite more information directly.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and, yes, most certainly, in the interests of open government, I would appreciate that the Minister provide additional information when he can.

To that, Mr. Speaker, my last point. Of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't raise the aspect of the ombudsman and the legislation that we are anticipating coming forward from the Minister's shop on this matter. So again another question is: where are we at with the draft legislation with regard to the ombudsman? It's expected that we would see something within the first two years of this Assembly, but are we waiting for the 24th month to present that or are we going to see something sooner? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Members will recall we met in the summer in the caucus retreat, at which time we discussed this very issue of the ombudsman. There were several options that were discussed, and I can advise that we will be coming forward with a legislative proposal by the end of the summer.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Transportation. In follow-up to my Member's statement earlier, I'd like to ask the Minister: can the Minister explain why the chartered community of Tsiigehtchic was asked to hire a contractor to deal with the overflow that has been dealt with under the highway maintenance contract in the past? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister of Transportation.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd have to get the exact particulars from the Member of which incident he's talking about and the location. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Maybe the Minister wasn't paying attention earlier during my Member's statement, but I was referring to Georgetown near Tsiigehtchic. Mr. Speaker, for many years this has been an issue. Will the Minister please answer that question again?

I guess I can go into a little story about this situation. There was a place built there in 2000, where the Member is referring to, just off the access of the Dempster Highway. This was built in an area where a lot of drainage was a problem. The Department of Housing got involved; the Department of Transportation got involved. We moved the particular residents out of this area at the two departments' expense and relocated them. Another individual has now since moved into that location, knowing that all the particular problems were there. Along the course of that timeline, a couple of culverts were put in at the departments' expense to help alleviate the problem, which was off the access of the right-of-way, which is not even on our right-of-way, but we went ahead and did that to help with the drainage situation.

As far as the overflow going, it doesn't impede the safety of the highway or the travelling public to be able to travel up and down the highway. I believe at some point that it did, and we went in there and spent almost $5,000 on a contractor to clear the slush and snow out of the area to make sure this highway was of a safe usage. We will continue to monitor the situation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. That is quite a story.

---Laughter

Actually, just to add to the Minister's story, people have been living there for as far as I can remember, which is early 1980s, even into the 1970s, Mr. Speaker. With climate change, like everything else, things change. Will the Minister agree to get a contractor to divert the water at kilometre 142, as he is doing between Tsiigehtchic and Inuvik?

I will have a look at the situation. We will get back to the Member, but if it is not impeding the safe usage of the highway, we will not be looking at doing anything.