Good afternoon, Members. Ministers' statements. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs was recently the subject of a performance audit conducted by the Office of the Auditor General of Canada. The audit assessed the department's performance as it relates to supporting community governments with the provision of essential services to residents.

The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs is always looking for ways to improve our programs and services. Given this commitment, we welcome the report and recommendations of the Auditor General.

The report of the Auditor General was tabled in this Legislative Assembly in October 2016 and included 13 recommendations, focusing on four key areas:

1. Supporting the delivery of essential services;

2. Developing tools to support community governments;

3. Supporting designated authorities; and

4. Supporting community government capacity.

Municipal and Community Affairs developed a comprehensive plan to take action on all 13 recommendations. This action plan was presented to the Standing Committee on Government Operations on January 17, 2017.

We anticipate receiving feedback from the standing committee to help us ensure that our action plan is on the right track and represents the broad interests of the Office of the Auditor General, community governments, and Members of this House.

Mr. Speaker, Municipal and Community Affairs is committed to building stronger relationships with community governments and collaborating and fostering government-to-government relationships with Aboriginal governments.

The department is open to changing its practices and processes where it will result in better services to community governments. The department has a strong relationship with community governments as well as the Northwest Territories Association of Communities and the local government administrators of the Northwest Territories.

These well-established and cooperative relationships will be vital in ensuring that the action plan and its implementation respond to the needs of community governments.

Mr. Speaker, I remain committed to supporting community governments and ensuring that the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs is providing programs and services in the best way possible, delivered by our dedicated and professional staff. This report of the Auditor General will help further focus the work we are already doing to improve our services. I look forward to providing updates to Members as we proceed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Ministers' statements. Minister of Transportation.

Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories has made a commitment in its mandate to increase online accessibility to driver and motor vehicle services as well as commercial permitting services. I'd like to tell Members today about work the Department of Transportation has done to fulfill that commitment.

Over the past four years, residents and businesses of the Northwest Territories have been able to access a number of secure online driver and motor vehicle services such as vehicle registration, renewals, driver abstracts, driver testing appointment booking, rescheduling or cancelling, access to commercial permits, and much more.

Mr. Speaker, more and more people are taking advantage of these online services. I am happy to say that there have been over 185,000 online services performed to date. Due to the recent additions, such as commercial vehicle permitting, the use of online services has grown by 90 per cent from a year ago.

The Department of Transportation recently completed a successful soft launch of new services for driver licence and general identification card renewals. Residents from the communities of Inuvik, Norman Wells, Tuktoyaktuk, Fort Smith, Hay River, and Yellowknife participated in the soft launch by applying online for their drivers' licenses or NWT identification cards.

This process allowed the Department of Transportation to work out any issues with the new services beforehand in order to ensure a successful future official launch. We are now ready to roll these services out more broadly, along with online accident reporting and personalized license plates. This will allow the residents to access even more services from the comfort of their homes.

The new services will reduce the need to travel for people living in communities without a local Driver and Motor Vehicle Office. The services will also decrease wait times at all offices, making for a more enjoyable client service experience.

Businesses, meanwhile, will have online access to commercial fleet management for upgrading or downgrading vehicle weights and self-managing tolling transponders for the Deh Cho bridge.

Mr. Speaker, the Department of Transportation has budgeted $1.2 million in capital to continue improving online driver and motor vehicle services over this fiscal year, and we continue to pay $350,000 for the program's operation and maintenance.

The online services have also achieved operational efficiencies, enabling the department to discontinue services provided by southern contractors, which now saves the Government of the Northwest Territories $360,000 annually.

Online service delivery is part of our government's Service Innovation Strategy, which supports effective and efficient government. The Department of Transportation is committed to ensuring that these services are accessible for as many residents of the territory as possible under its 25-year transportation strategy. I'm proud to say that residents from all NWT communities have now subscribed to online services. The department has also provided training to community government service officers so that they can help elders and other clients use our online services in their communities.

Our achievements in delivering online motor vehicle services affirms our government as an industry leader among other jurisdictions. None of these innovations would be possible without the commitment of our staff. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the Government of the Northwest Territories employees involved with this project. The Department of Transportation looks forward to continuing the success and improvement of online driver and motor vehicle services to ensure residents get the services they need from anywhere with Internet access. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Ministers' statements. Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations.

Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories made a commitment in its mandate to pursue an agreement with the federal government on the management of offshore resources.

As Members are aware, in late 2016, the Government of Canada took a significant potential economic development opportunity off the table when they declared a moratorium on offshore oil and gas development in the Beaufort. While I understand the reasons for his decision, the Prime Minister's announcement of a moratorium in the Arctic Canadian waters was disappointing. Equally disappointing was the lack of consultation on the part of the federal government prior to coming to a decision that has the potential to significantly affect the future development in the territory and the lives of the people who live here.

Our economy depends heavily on resource development as the major contributor to our GDP and a source of jobs and income for our residents. Ensuring that there are options for Northerners and economic development alternatives must be part of the decision-making process. One of the ways we can ensure our people have good options is by working in partnership with Nunavut and Yukon on a pan-territorial sustainability and development strategy.

I have spoken about the need for a strategy like this with the Prime Minister, and he has indicated the Government of Canada is willing to work with us to develop comparable opportunities for our residents.

Mr. Speaker, despite the moratorium, advancing negotiations for the management of offshore resources remains a priority for the Government of the Northwest Territories. Yes, there is currently limited offshore activity in Canadian Arctic waters and, given the cost of production in the Arctic, world prices would need to substantially improve to make Arctic extraction viable. However, it is important that we do not sit back and wait for the economy in the Arctic to "get better."

Based on current market conditions, Imperial Oil has suggested a maximum remaining life of 10 years for its Norman Wells operation. The temporary shutdown of its facilities in February has emphasized just how critical a permanent closure would be for the governments, communities, and people who are reliant on the investment that is realized from exploration and development in this sector.

In my view, the low level of resource development occurring presents us with an opportunity to invest our efforts now in developing a management regime for the offshore, including sharing resource revenues, that will be well supported by the people of the Northwest Territories should activity levels increase.

The time is right to get on with these negotiations, Mr. Speaker. This is the message that I have conveyed to the Prime Minister and I look forward to receiving his positive response in the near future.

I am optimistic that, with a renewed commitment from all parties, we can proceed quickly in our negotiations for the management of oil and gas resources in the Beaufort Sea in a manner that balances economic and environmental considerations, and respects the interest of all parties, particularly those of us who live and work in the North. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Ministers' statements. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories made a commitment in its mandate to continue the integration of the health and social services system to improve care for our people. Today, I want to provide an update on our work to transform the Northwest Territories health and social services system.

This work reached a major milestone with the establishment of the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority on August 1, 2016. I would like to thank all of my colleagues here today for their support in reaching this important goal.

At the same time as the authority was established, the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Leadership Council, chaired by Mr. Jim Antoine, began its work to inform future changes to the way we deliver care and services. The council has met numerous times, with two formal public meetings taking place in September and December of 2016 and further meetings are being planned in March of 2017.

Members of the Leadership Council continue to be supported in their information gathering and decision making by the new Regional Wellness Councils. The councils have all participated in development sessions that allowed members to build a shared understanding of their new roles, with an emphasis on engaging residents in their regions.

Regional Wellness Councils have all held at least one meeting in their regions with many more planned. Taking their meetings beyond regional centres so residents in all our communities will eventually have the opportunity to meet their members is part of the plan.

Mr. Speaker, creating a responsive, high-quality health and social services system our residents have confidence in is a priority for us. Giving residents an easier way to bring any concerns they might have to our attention so we can find solutions is one of the reasons we created the new Regional Wellness Councils. We also look to the Regional Wellness Councils to provide a strong and clear voice for their regions at the territorial level.

Another area where progress has been made is in the move to a single Territorial Medical Staff, a priority item that will have an immediate positive impact on our system.

A unified medical staff will be able to deliver more consistent care as they set shared standards and work across geographic boundaries to make improvements to our entire system. Fostering an environment of collaboration among our medical professionals is an exciting development and I look forward to seeing it roll out.

Mr. Speaker, change will not happen overnight. The new governance and administrative structures are foundational building blocks to improving our system, but there is still much work to be done. We are also developing a robust evaluation plan to ensure that we can measure and monitor progress as change occurs.

Behind all of the work in our system is a dedicated staff. We have made it a priority to engage staff throughout the transformation process and asked them to help identify what areas of our system need improvement. In support of this goal, senior staff from the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority completed a number of regional visits to have face-to-face conversations with those on the front lines.

In this time of change we will continue to focus on delivering the best possible care and services to patients and clients. I know that our front line workers throughout the Northwest Territories work hard every day to ensure the people of the NWT are taken care of, and I continue to commend every one of them, every individual involved in this work.

I am confident that with the help of these staff and our new councils, we will be able to deliver improved cultural competency, enhanced quality and consistency of care, and better outcomes for those who rely on us.

Mr. Speaker, I am optimistic that we will continue to see improvement, and I look forward to providing updates on system transformation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, something remarkable happened yesterday down on Yellowknife Bay. For the 22nd time, the Snowking's Winter Festival kicked off its annual celebration of all things snow, ice, and winter.

Mr. Speaker, as Northerners, most of us grew up knowing that it's fun to play in the snow. More than 22 years ago, Yellowknifer Tony Foliot took that concept and ran with it and, if he could build a castle out of snow, well, it is only right that he should be the king of the castle!

Now the Snowking festival has evolved into a celebration of winter that draws visitors from across Canada and other parts of the world. Starting just after freeze-up, a hardy band of souls is down on the lake every day. They cut the ice to make windows, steeples, and sculptures of all kinds. Then for two months they scoop and shovel and pile and blow and shape the snow.

What emerges from this labour is an amazing castle. With a courtyard and slide, a grand ballroom, and various nooks and crannies, the Yellowknife snow castle has evolved into a masterful thing of beauty that is bigger and better every year.

Its programming has evolved too. Every day in the month of March there's something unique and fun going on at the castle. The festival provides a venue for many local musicians, and also brings in national musical performers. Everything from DJs at the Royal Rave to country to rockabilly and blues and roots, even a Burlesque show and a comedy night.

The festival is great for families, and not just to go down the slide. It features children's plays and music and stories. It's a venue for art of many kinds. Its art shows feature the works of local schools and celebrations of uniquely northern groups such as Arctic FOXY.

There is a hockey tournament, a fish fry, a film festival, table tennis, and a TV screening, and its snow carving competition, which ends today, Mr. Speaker, now draws participants from as far away as China. 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, this celebration of arts and music and life in the snow has evolved into a true treasure for our community and territory. The ingenuity, commitment, teamwork, and inventiveness of the Snowking and his team has become a significant asset and an important feature of our winter.

I invite my colleagues to join me in congratulating the Snowking on beginning his 22nd season. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Nahendeh.

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Chief Julian Yendo School junior high school students have been working really hard all year to be able to be part of the annual Jasper and Edmonton field trip. The school staff, the District Education Authority, and the parents worked together to come up with guidelines the students need to fulfill to be able to go on the trip.

Mr. Speaker, some of the guidelines involved the students to have good attendance, complete their assigned work, be well behaved in school, and be respectful of their fellow students, visitors, and school staff. On top of this, the students needed to help out with fundraising events such as movie nights and monthly recycling days.

Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to say that almost all the students from grade 7 to 9 were able to participate in this trip. These students are considered to be role models for the younger students and you can hear them speak highly about this trip. The younger students look at this trip as something to work for and it motivates them to stay in school, work hard and keep up with their school attendance. It is like they are preparing themselves for when they get to grade seven.

Mr. Speaker, this year the school trip took place from February 8th to 16th. From all accounts, it was a very positive experience for the students, staff, and one young adult chaperone -- the community's recreation coordinator.

All students got along great, they bonded as a group, gained self-confidence. As well, this trip helped promote healthy life choices and build on the school's spirit.

Some of the highlights involved them participating in snowboarding, swimming, staying in hotels, and eating out at restaurants. The funny thing about eating out, the students really enjoyed having pizza. Some things don't change!

Mr. Speaker, the students had the opportunity to visit the Telus World of Science Centre where they got see the various science displays and watch an IMAX 3D documentary titled "Wild Africa." To round out the trip, they went to an Edmonton Oilers game at the Rogers Centre and witnessed an Edmonton Oilers win. Believe that? Oh, that's pretty impressive.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the Wrigley District Education Authority, Pehdzeh Ki First Nation, and Municipal and Community Affairs for helping to sponsoring this trip. As well, the students and the staff, for all the hard work they did to go on this trip.

Mr. Speaker, these extracurricular trips continue to be of great value to the students, and the students continue to be great ambassadors for the school, community, region, and the NWT. Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker.

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

Marci cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, [English translation not provided]. Today I wish to speak about the land lease policy of our government's Department of Lands. Mr. Speaker, it is absolutely unbelievable that the Minister of Lands can say with a straight face that it is a fair policy. An elder tells me that she cannot afford a small second-hand car due to her high cost of living and low income, yet the lease payment for her lot is over $2,000.

Elders who are making under $25,000 per year are being asked to pay over $2,000 per year for their property lease or lot rental. This is actually a discounted amount. People who are not elders yet pay the full amount of over $4,000 per year.

Mr. Speaker, the Department of Lands must take a second look at this extremely unfair policy. There are situations in the riding of Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh where people cannot afford to apply for a lease of the land they have occupied for many, many years, let alone afford to pay the extremely high yearly lease cost.

Mr. Speaker, if people could pay these lease rates, they would eventually pay for the value of lot, but Mr. Speaker, they would still not have title to this land.

At this point, Mr. Speaker, I don't even think the Government of the Northwest Territories has the right to tax people on our land. I realize the leases are not truly taxes, but our forcing people into leases or rentals is just another way of taxing the people.

Mr. Speaker, when poor people are telling me if they were to pay their leases they would have to go without food or shelter, never mind the fact that people cannot afford to buy new clothes for their families, there is something seriously wrong.

I will ask the Minister to re-examine the land lease policy, or ask him and his Lands staff to start paying 10 per cent of the value of their property per year for land tax and see how fair they think the policy is then. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Frame Lake.

Merci, Monsieur le President. Our government signed off on several legally binding environmental agreements covering diamond mines in the Northwest Territories as follows:

• BHP NWT Diamond Project in 1997;

• Diavik Mine in 2000; and

• Snap Lake Mine in 2004.

These agreements are part of the network of arrangements that includes impact and benefit agreements, socio-economic agreements and licences, and permits that allowed the diamond mines to proceed in advance of Indigenous land rights settlements and a complete environmental management regime with air and wildlife regulation.

The diamond mine environmental agreements were also necessary given the need to build public confidence in this new economic commodity and to help dispel doubt as to the capacity and willingness of governments to properly protect the public interest. The agreements formed an important component of what has been called the social licence for the diamond mines to begin operation.

There are a couple of other special features of the diamond environmental agreements. The federal, territorial, and Indigenous governments are all involved or signatories, and there is an oversight body formed for each mine. The oversight bodies vary from independent and technically focused to representative and, finally, more consultative. Each has its advantages and drawbacks, but in general these oversight bodies have helped create and maintain public confidence in environmental performance of the mines.

A couple of years ago, partly as a result of devolution, there were efforts to amend the diamond mine environmental agreements. The then federal government was withdrawing from its environmental responsibilities and severely weakened its legislation and functions. At the same time, our government was doing its best to rid itself of any federal presence at the expense of the experience and funding that the national government brings to the table. The weakening of the diamond mine environmental agreements was questioned and even resisted by almost all Indigenous governments here and in Nunavut.

With a change in federal government, this effort was put on the back burner and I understand that there is a renewed interest in amending the agreements, in a proper fashion, to reflect the residual federal responsibilities over matters such as fish, transboundary issues, species at risk, and toxic substances.

I will have questions later today for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources on the current initiative to amend and hopefully strengthen the diamond mine environmental agreements. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Deh Cho.

We had a tragic accident happen on the K'atlodeeche reserve, and I wanted to say thank you to everyone who pulled together in a short period of time to bring the family back home. With the amounts of donations accepted from communities such as Yellowknife, Fort Providence, Kakisa, Enterprise, Hay River, Fort Smith, and Fort Resolution and so on, they were able to furnish a whole house plus more for the Buggins and Chambaud family.

Mr. Speaker, the response of compassion and support and donations for the family speaks volumes of the true northern spirit. The family are back home on the Hay River Reserve and have been assisted by the Hay River Dene Band with a house to live in. Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Sahtu.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The Deline Got'ine Government has started after many years of negotiations. Preservation of their culture and heritage is high on their mandate.

Mr. Speaker, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission came out with a number of recommendations, one of them being preservation of traditional knowledge.

Mr. Speaker, recognizing the resource staff in this building and coming to know the wealth of knowledge and supports given by the staff members, in particular the library and resource centre we have here, this archived wealth of knowledge is exactly what the Deline Got'ine Government is pursuing to add to their administration as well as capture the great wealth of knowledge and archive this knowledge the traditional elder community has. Later I will have questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we know that our seniors want to stay in their homes and in their communities for as long as they can.

Elders want to maintain their independence. They also want to stay close to their family and friends, and to the places where they grew up and where they built their lives.

They also have knowledge and expertise to share, knowledge that they want to give back to their communities, to help the next generation learn and grow. Having to move to access suitable housing or long-term care can be frightening and stressful, particularly if you primarily speak your traditional language and have to move to the city.

Mr. Speaker, when you come from our smallest communities -- like Tsiigehtchic, for example, with a population of around 178 people -- even the move to a relatively nearby town, to long-term care in lnuvik, can be jarring.

It's not what you know and it's not your home. My constituents have come to me to talk about these challenges, and we as Members know that seniors' housing and care needs is an oncoming storm facing this government.

The Department of Health and Social Services has clearly identified the shortfalls we are facing in the long-term care beds. The department is also planning work to improve rates of chronic disease like diabetes in the NWT.

As you know, Mr. Speaker, Regular Members have advocated for increased support for homecare in the communities. Prevention work like that means healthier elders, elders who can stay comfortable and safe in their homes longer.

I want to talk about where the NWT Housing Corporation fits in. In Tsiigehtchic, there are just four dedicated housing units for elders as part of a row house. There is a real demand for real space. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement. Thank you.

---Unanimous consent granted