This is page numbers 4361 - 4398 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 going.

Topics

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Infrastructure. I fully understand that the federal government sets guidelines for its infrastructure programs. My concern is with the lack of transparency on what our government submits. Is there a general call put out to departments? It is just not clear to me.

Can the Minister explain how his department and Cabinet as a whole determines how and what projects are developed, reviewed, and approved for submission by this government for federal infrastructure funding? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Minister of Infrastructure.

Wally Schumann

Wally Schumann Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When Infrastructure was putting forward our requests for federal dollars for the bilaterals we signed, along with all of the other sources of funding that we are trying to secure, the first thing we did is we checked the mandate. That is the first thing we have done. We checked the mandate and identified the priorities that were within the mandate. We have looked at the 20-year capital-needs assessment and the annual capital-planning process.

That is the process, we have done that, and then, when we do that, we also have to look at the alignment of objectives and outcomes that the federal government has laid out, the eligibility criteria that they establish for this federal funding. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

I want to thank the Minister for that. It sounds like the mandate, the 20-year capital plan, is driving what we submit, but I had hoped to hear that there were some other kinds of rigorous analyses around the number of jobs that would be created, greenhouse gas reductions, regional distribution, and a balance between physical and social infrastructure. If the Minister has these criteria that he and his Cabinet colleagues use internally, can he share those with this side of the House?

Wally Schumann

Wally Schumann Hay River South

I can certainly check with the department for exactly what we used and share that with the Member.

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

I would like to thank the Minister for that commitment. As I said, I hoped that the criteria would include things like the number of jobs likely to be created, greenhouse gas reductions, regional distribution, and balance between physical and social infrastructure.

The Minister has committed to share whatever criteria he has developed with our side of the House. How does he intend to share those criteria with the public?

Wally Schumann

Wally Schumann Hay River South

I will have to check with the department to see exactly how we could do that, and I can certainly get back to the Member.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

Merci, Monsieur le President. A few commitments out of the Minister here today. I appreciate that.

I talked earlier today about how, on the Infrastructure Canada website, it shows that 79 per cent of our federal infrastructure dollars since 2002 have been spent on roads and highways. This has led to a big imbalance. I have referred to this as the "big toys for big boys" approach.

Can the Minister explain this imbalance and how he will work to ensure that more social infrastructure projects make it through Cabinet's processes and into GNWT submissions for federal infrastructure funding? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Wally Schumann

Wally Schumann Hay River South

You know, we have had a lot of discussions in this House about where infrastructure money should go, and a lot of people believe that it should go to education, health, and housing infrastructure.

When we go down to these meetings with our federal colleagues and provincial and territorial colleagues, the criteria is clearly laid out. The federal government has said that our bilaterals are for green infrastructure; public transit; social infrastructure, which is community, culture, and recreational bilateral; rural northern communities; and Arctic Energy Fund. That is the criteria that I have to work with.

When my fellow colleagues go down, they have to lobby for their own pots of money, be it health, the ones I just laid out, and there are federal engagements on those, and they have their own pots of money.

A lot of people, and particularly this Member, thinks that there is a lot of money in this program for social infrastructure, and there isn't. The criteria is clearly laid out by the federal government. We had to line up, as I said, our mandate, our 20-year capital needs, the priorities of this Legislative Assembly, and work with the criteria the federal government gives us to try to access these dollars.

Now, I'm not saying that we don't go down there and argue for some stuff. We are continually down there trying to fight for every dollar we can get, and, thankfully to Minister Sohi when we signed our bilateral, between myself and the finance minister, he clearly listened to us that we don't want it on a per capita basis. We want it base-funding plus, and he did that. We got more money than the Yukon, Nunavut, and PEI. We did very well on our bilaterals, but there seems to be this notion that we can just take these pots of money, there's $570 million, and spread it around the Northwest Territories where we want, and we can't. That's not how this program works. We have to work within what they have laid out, and we will continue to do that. 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. On my Member's statement, I talked about the impacts of alcohol in the small communities, or I guess impacts of alcohol in all our communities. You probably know the answer to this, but I'm going to ask the Minister of Finance if he could look at the possibility of reinvesting some profits directly into the issues of the impacts of alcohol in the communities. 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, I completely agree with the Member that alcohol is a widespread program all across the Northwest Territories, all walks of life, and I believe it is something that we need to continually battle. It has affected probably everybody in this building, and I'm sure most families in the Northwest Territories have been affected and are still being affected by alcohol.

Having said that, the money that we get from alcohol sale goes into general revenue, and that money that is in general revenue is then used to deliver a lot of the programs across the Northwest Territories, including those that are specifically designed for mental health and addictions.

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh

One of the key issues in the communities is bootlegging. I know that the government put some money into general revenues, and then, this rolled out. I know that the social envelope gets their fair share, but I'm not sure that there is anything that is in there at all in all of government that directly combats bootlegging.

I'd like to ask the Minister if there is any possibility that there could just be a pot of money that comes from the sale of alcohol hearing what he just said, but if they could reconsider this and put something directly into combatting bootlegging?

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

The Member is correct. Bootlegging is widespread across the Northwest Territories, unfortunately. We would not like to see that, but it is a fact of life. I think the law enforcement have been doing a good job in trying to crack down on some of the illegal bootlegging or the illegal sale of alcohol. I think we see it quite regularly in the news now, the fact that they are posting pictures of alcohol that they have seized. That's a good start, and I think there are more people that are speaking up about those that are bringing in alcohol, and that is needed, those that bootleg alcohol, if we have people willing to come forward and testify against those. As the Member said, a lot of small communities, I mean we are a small jurisdiction, you know who the bootleggers are in each community, and unfortunately, without those coming forward to testify against them, then they continue to operate.

As far as identifying a set amount of money to combat that one particular issue, again I go back to the fact that money goes into general revenue. I suppose it is a discussion that we could have with committee, and, if it's something that they feel quite strongly about, I can't guarantee that it's going to happen, but we need to start the discussion somewhere.

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh

I'd like to ask the Minister, just along the same lines, a little bit of difference: is there a possibility that, without any prohibition or anything, that the government or the liquor stores themselves can set a restriction on the amount of alcohol an individual can purchase in one day?

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

My understanding is, going back in history, that it has been tried in a few communities. They tried to restrict the sale of alcohol, but it didn't work out. I think that was just more of a business opportunity for bootleggers because I think they did quite well off of this. They went back to non-restricted sales.

Again, we would have to have a conversation with the liquor stores. We would have to hear from the communities. I know people in the territories have very strong opinions on alcohol and the effects of alcohol in the community, and we've all seen it firsthand, and we've seen a lot of people that have sobered up, and they are doing quite well for themselves. Some of those folks are the biggest opponents of alcohol sales. We would have to have a discussion and see if we are able to work with restrictions. I do know it has been tried before, but it was very beneficial to those that bootleg.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don't have the answer, either, and I don't think anyone does. It is next to impossible to get somebody to buy alcohol off a bootlegger then see the whole thing through to court. Therefore, people just don't engage in that. Like the Minister said, small town, no one wants to be seen as the person that is blowing the whistle on bootleggers, even though no one likes them.

Is there a possibility, then, that, not in communities, where you would restrict alcohol? I recognize that some of those things in the past have failed, but where the liquor stores themselves set their own restrictions, if they know there is a bootlegger coming in every day to buy booze, is there a way that the liquor store can or the government can work with the liquor stores to prevent that from happening? The restrictions could be well within the needs of anyone in the Northwest Territories, but it would not be well within the needs of what the bootlegger needs to continue to operate. I would just like to ask the Minister: is there anything there, at all, that can be done by the government? Thank you.

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

This is a topic that needs more investigation. As the Member is aware, a lot of these people that bootleg wouldn't actually go into the liquor store to buy the alcohol themselves. They would use, and the word is "use," other people to go to buy the alcohol for them, which takes some of the pressure off of them. They have ways that they work around it, and I think restrictions have been tried before. If there was a known bootlegger that came in, again, we would have to have a look at this because I can't stand here right now and say, yes, we're going to do it. I'm just pointing out reality is that they use a lot of different people to go to get their supply for them, and then they sell it. It is something that is widespread. It is widespread, and it is something that we would not like to see happen, and we would like more people to stand up and take a stand against this. Good on some of the folks in the community that battle alcohol, and the effects it has on the communities. All the power to them. If there is any support that we can provide them, it is something that this government should consider. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.

Cory Vanthuyne

Cory Vanthuyne Yellowknife North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier today, I spoke about the Thaidene Nene and the critical path towards finalizing the establishment of that unique park. My questions today are for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. We have, as you know, three main participants taking place in the establishment of that park, Lutselk'e Dene First Nation, Parks Canada, and of course ourselves. There are a lot of, I will call them, milestones and obligations that we have to meet in order to establish this park. I would just like to ask the Minister: can he advise if the Government of the Northwest Territories has in fact fulfilled all its commitments to make the park a reality?

I'm not talking necessarily about the protected area strategy. I'm talking about all the other benchmarks and commitments that we have to meet as a territorial government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.