This is page numbers 4243 - 4266 of the Hansard for the 18th Assembly, 3rd Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was community.

Topics

Wally Schumann

Wally Schumann Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to remind the House that this was a key milestone in the mandate that we secured, so it was nice to see funding for this project.

The funding that has been secured to date will help with the construction of the Bear River Bridge, the planning and environmental studies that led to obtaining permits, the road construction between Wrigley and the newly completed Canyon Creek All-Access Road, as well as construction to an access road from Wrigley to Mount Gaudet.

Canyon Creek All-Season Access Road represents the first step in converting the existing Mackenzie Valley Highway winter road into an all-weather highway. I am pleased to advise Members that the official opening of this road will take place in November in Norman Wells. More information will be coming shortly on that.

Work is now in progress on acquiring permits for the Great Bear River Bridge. The Department of Infrastructure has been undertaking engagement with communities and residents in the Sahtu region to gain input, to finalize aspects of the project, and working to complete applications for permitting. The department also, so far, has held meetings in Deline, Colville Lake, and Tulita, including a public meeting and separate meetings with the hamlet, and meetings are scheduled later this month with Norman Wells Land Corporation Membership and the public, as well as a public meeting at Fort Good Hope.

In terms of next steps for the environmental assessment development and access road to Wrigley to Mount Gaudet, we are examining options that are available to make the determination of the best approach to proceed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Daniel McNeely

Daniel McNeely Sahtu

Thanks to the Minister for that reply. My next question, Mr. Speaker, then: the GNWT already had an environmental assessment under way with this project through the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board. What is the plan for continuing with that, what are the next steps, and when can we expect to see the environmental assessment move ahead? If you can condense that into one reply, please.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. There were several questions there. Minister of Infrastructure.

Wally Schumann

Wally Schumann Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, there were, but I think it is important that we get this information out there.

The environmental assessment process was initiated by the government in 2013 for the full proposed Mackenzie Valley Highway. The proposed project was rescoped in 2015 to focus on the section of highway from Wrigley to Norman Wells. In February of 2015, the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board released its terms of reference, requiring further studies to be undertaken by the department in order to complete the developer assessment report for the environmental assessment.

The Department of Infrastructure is in discussions with staff from the board to confirm options available and next steps in terms of proceeding with the ongoing environmental assessment. Before any final decisions are made, the Department of Infrastructure will also be discussing next steps with the Sahtu Secretariat Incorporated and the Pehdzeh Ki First Nation.

Daniel McNeely

Daniel McNeely Sahtu

Thanks to the Minister for the continuation of where our government was leading off in the past. My next question: I am glad to hear that things are moving ahead. Who has the department met with to date to discuss the environmental settlement for the Mackenzie Valley Highway?

Wally Schumann

Wally Schumann Hay River South

The department staff, as I said, met with the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board to discuss the environmental assessment options. Staff will be meeting with the board of the Sahtu Secretariat Incorporated and Chief and Council of the Pehdzeh Ki First Nation next week, as well as officials from the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency Northern Project Management office.

These discussions will influence how the department will approach the environmental assessment and the timing of any associated activities, consistent with an overarching objective of proceeding through environmental review and permitting process as effectively as possible, while ensuring all related concerns are mitigated and all required approvals are obtained. A final decision on the best approach will be made in the coming weeks once the discussions have concluded, and that decision will inform the path forward, including next steps and timeline.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Sahtu.

Daniel McNeely

Daniel McNeely Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My last question, Mr. Speaker, is: will the Minister offer my office a schedule of upcoming events? Say, for example, if there is to be a community consultation in Tulita or Norman Wells or various impacted communities, will that schedule be provided to me so that I can accompany the project team? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Wally Schumann

Wally Schumann Hay River South

Yes, we will closely work with the Member on his particular region around these projects. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Hay River North.

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the Department of Health staff for taking steps to address an issue that I brought up in the last sitting. Even though dialysis treatment is offered in Hay River, it is always fully subscribed, and as a result, there were a number of residents who were living at Vital Abel House in Yellowknife so that they could access dialysis treatment.

What the department did was give these residents an option to fly to and from Yellowknife from Hay River three times a week so that they could receive treatment, and by all accounts, this has worked out very well. My constituents are very happy with this option. There have been no hiccups with transportation.

My first question is: when I see my constituents on the flight home later today, can I assure them that this pilot will continue and that they can go home to their bed every night? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The short answer is yes, but there are always conditions. We want to keep working with our residents to make sure that they are getting the support that they need. We also acknowledge that it has been good so far, but we have also had pretty decent weather, and the flights have all been on time.

If it looks like we might be having some complications, we need to be flexible. We may have to bring them in for a week or two from time to time depending on those things, but our intention now is to continue to work with our residents across the Northwest Territories, not just those in Hay River, while we do our review of dialysis services in the Northwest Territories and come forward with larger solutions and larger options. In the interim, we will work with our residents one on one. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

I understand that everywhere else has it worse, really, than Yellowknife and Hay River when it comes to dialysis, because those are the only two places to receive treatment. I appreciate that. I believe there is someone from Fort Providence and Fort Resolution who drives in three times a week to Hay River for treatment.

The last time that I spoke about this, the Minister stated that he heard loud and clear that we need to do more to provide dialysis services closer to home, and he would prefer not to have people going from Hay River to Yellowknife to receive that service. He stated there is a lot of work to be done, and "we are prepared to start that work." Can the Minister please detail the work done to date?

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

This is a territorial problem. We have residents across the Northwest Territories on dialysis. We are looking at it from a territorial lens, recognizing, of course, that both Hay River and Yellowknife are the only places that dialysis is currently located.

The authority and the department have already begun their analysis. They are looking at other options like home-based dialysis. I think one Member did mention a travelling dialysis. There are some concerns about that, especially the models that exist in the South, but we have started to explore those options.

Also, recognizing that we need a big solution, a big comprehensive solution for the whole territory, we are also trying to find some short-term wins, and we have been exploring the opportunity of sharing some resources between Stanton and Hay River to balance out where the resources need to be, where the existing machinery exists today. We are working on some of the details.

We are open to having some short-term solutions as we continue to move on finding some larger, more appropriate territorial solutions.

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

I appreciate that. It sounds like a lot of work has been done so far.

The Minister mentioned sharing resources between Stanton and Hay River. Could the Minister please elaborate on that, and would that entail, perhaps, bringing resources to Hay River physically so that these residents wouldn't have to fly back and forth?

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

We are not intending to move equipment back and forth, obviously, but we have trained professionals here in Yellowknife, and some really great trained professionals in Hay River. The question is whether or not we can actually have some of our staff go back and forth, rather than some of the patients.

There are some complications there. We are trying to figure out whether that's even a possibility, but right now, we are exploring all options. Like I said, we are trying to find some short-term solutions, some short-term wins, to support our residents, but also, this has to be done in view of territorial solutions as well.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Hay River North.

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Could the Minister please provide us with some timelines on these possible short-term solutions and on the longer-term territory-wide solution to this issue? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

We have certain processes within the Government of the Northwest Territories' budget planning and whatnot. I imagine larger-term solutions will have to follow that cycle, but we are trying to find some short-term interim solutions with existing resources that we can actually implement during the 2018-2019 fiscal year. We are hoping that we will be able to finish that work, recognizing that that is part of the solution, and it will not be the comprehensive solution that will follow our normal processes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

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

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh

Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I talked about capital in the riding of Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. I would like to ask the Minister of Finance some questions on the capital planning process.

I would like to ask the Minister: in this House, who is responsible for the capital plan? Who has final responsibility? Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Minister of Finance.

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there is an interdepartmental working group. They analyze the capital assets coming forward from each department and make recommendations to the Deputy Minister Capital Planning Committee, and that is shared by the Deputy Minister of Finance and includes all deputies.

They review the recommendations made by the working group and either accept or vary the recommendations. Then they provide recommendations to the Financial Management Board, and the Financial Management Board will review the recommendations of the planning committee and either accept or vary the recommendations.

The next part of the capital plan is provided to committee for review, and in camera reviews are scheduled. Feedback from committee can result in capital plans being varied, and then the final review of the capital plan takes place on the floor of the House. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh

I was going to ask the Minister to lay out the process, which he has already done. I guess what appears to be missing from the process is the weight, and I am not talking about W-A-I-T but the weight of each of the projects as they are brought forward by the various Deputy Ministers through the capital planning process.

I don't know which process has priority, and I guess coming down to the question would be: how does the GNWT prioritize the actual projects once they have gone through each project that comes up through the capital planning process?