Masi.

Good afternoon, Members. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Mr. Speaker, on April 1, 2018, the minimum wage in the Northwest Territories will increase from $12.50 to $13.46 per hour, the third highest minimum wage in Canada.

To ensure that our minimum wage continues to work for employees and employers, the minimum wage rate is reviewed by a Minimum Wage Committee every two years. The decision to increase the minimum wage to $13.46 per hour was informed by options and extensive research provided by the Minimum Wage Committee, including current minimum and average hourly wages in other Canadian jurisdictions, as well as social and economic influences specific to the Northwest Territories.

I am confident that this increase will be both good for workers, who will earn a better wage; and good for business, which will be better able to attract workers for minimum wage positions. Most employers in the Northwest Territories already pay more than the minimum wage because higher wages are required to attract and retain employees here.

The Department of Education, Culture and Employment informed employers of the scheduled increase at the beginning of January to provide time for planning and implementation. The department will continue to inform employers, employees, and the public through advertising and reminders of the increase leading up to April 1st.

Mr. Speaker, this government is committed to maintaining fair and competitive wage rates while encouraging economic activity and supporting small

businesses. I believe the increase to the minimum wage strikes that balance. Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker.

Ministers' statements. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.

Mr. Speaker, one of our government’s mandate commitments is to implement online delivery of a community government training curriculum to build the capacity of community governments. I would like to inform Members about the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs’ progress in the development and implementation of web-based training opportunities for community governments.

Web-based training enables community governments to access training at a reduced cost, lessening both travel expenses and time away for staff. The department’s new training opportunities aim to meet the diverse needs of community government learners by offering a variety of ways to learn. There remains a core group of courses delivered in the traditional face-to-face learning environment. However, we now have virtual classrooms where instructor-led, full-length courses are offered. As well, we now offer shorter, self-directed online workshops on a variety of topics that meet the training needs of community governments and their elected officials.

Mr. Speaker, we regularly reach out to community government staff in every region to determine if we should offer additional opportunities to update staff knowledge and skills. Based on this input, we design short webinars, which are broadcast, recorded, and saved online for unlimited future access, as well as video conferences broadcast between our distance training facility in Yellowknife and similar facilities in the regions. These webinars allow us to respond to particular issues in a timely manner. For example, we can deliver a webinar on how to complete a report for a specific federal infrastructure program.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to report that the department, through the School of Community Government, now has two web-based training programs on the topic of community governance; six workshops for municipal councillors; and six more for Indigenous government councillors. In addition, we now offer full-length courses in bylaw enforcement, basic emergency management, and climate change. The climate change course is helping us meet another mandate commitment, which is to assist community governments as they develop innovative strategies to address the effects of climate change.

I would like to share one student success story. It is about a young Inuvialuit man living in Yellowknife, who had career hopes of one day becoming a municipal bylaw officer. He completed the department’s online bylaw enforcement training. The certificate he received, together with other qualifications and his interview skills, helped him secure his current employment as a bylaw officer with one of our municipalities.

Mr. Speaker, our virtual classrooms have been busy this winter, with groups of students taking courses in the areas of community government management and recreation programming. Some of those students have successfully completed their courses, and others will be finished shortly. Prior to the end of the fiscal year, the department expects to bring the total number of online training opportunities available to community governments to 23.

I would like to offer another example of the benefit of this new virtual classroom delivery. A community government staff member needed just one more course to complete her ten-course community finance program. Unable to travel to take the course face-to-face, she began the course online. Thanks to additional one-on-one support she received from her online instructor, she was able to complete her course and has now received full certification in the School of Community Government’s Finance Program.

Mr. Speaker, the department is also receiving inquiries from other departments and governments about our self-directed online programming. For example, we are working with the Minister for the Status of Women in the redesign of the Campaign School for Women to promote women running for municipal and Aboriginal Governments. As well, the School of Community Government staff will be meeting with their counterparts from Nunavut’s Municipal Training Organization in March. The Nunavut officials are travelling here for the second time to explore partnerships with the Northwest Territories in online course delivery and to discuss our best practices.

Mr. Speaker, we are confident that the department’s web-based training will make our courses more accessible and help us build capacity in all of our community governments. These courses and programs also meet the learning needs of individual students and allow them to gain the skills and knowledge to build their future with community governments. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Ministers' statements. The Honourable Premier.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise Members that the honourable Glen Abernethy will be late arriving in the House today due to a personal matter. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. Member for Nunakput.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in December 2016 the federal government announced that it would be developing a new Arctic Policy Framework (APF) in collaboration with Indigenous, territorial and provincial partners. I would like share some of the work and feedback that Inuit of Canada are proposing in response to a draft Table of Contents shared at a recent meeting.

The APF proposes four themes, Mr. Speaker:

1. Economy and Trade;

2. Defence, Safety, and Security;

3. Environmental and Scientific Cooperation; and

4. Social and Cultural Cooperation.

Mr. Speaker, the Inuit Circumpolar Council of Canada (ICC) recommends a reorientation of these themes, focusing on Inuit self-determination:

1. Changing "economy and trade" to "sustainable economy and trade," emphasizing the fact that, while the GDP in Canada's Arctic is 150 per cent higher than the Canadian average, most of the wealth generated in the region does not stay in the communities;

2. Changing "defence, safety, and security" to "peace, safety, and security," emphasizing a reorientation from defence to peace;

3. Changing "environmental and scientific cooperation" to "healthy environment, healthy people," focusing on considering environmental health and Inuit well-being as one, and equal consideration of traditional and scientific knowledge; and finally

4. Changing "social and cultural cooperation" to "Inuit-Crown partnership for social, cultural, and global cooperation," emphasizing meaningful Inuit participation in international agreements and bodies.

Mr. Speaker, the inextricable linkages between issues of sovereignty and sovereign rights in the Arctic and the Inuit's self-determination and other rights require states to accept the presence and role of Inuit as partners in the conduct of international relations in the Arctic. The foundation and projection of Arctic sovereignty and sovereign rights all require healthy and sustainable communities in the Arctic.

Mr. Speaker, there is an opportunity for Indigenous groups in the Arctic to get involved in developing of the new Arctic Policy Framework. The work that ICC has done today is a good example and shows how Inuit division of policy takes shape. I encourage other Indigenous groups to participate in meaningful engagement with federal government and other partners on this important framework. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the dream of a "road to resources" in the North first became part of the national conversation about 70 years ago. It was a dream of economic growth, prosperity and wealth, jobs, and comfortable lifestyles for all Canadians.

Back then, Canada was a very different country. Today, Mr. Speaker, we are resolving land rights and building Indigenous partnerships. We know about climate change and the urgency of reducing our carbon emissions. We know it is essential to manage any resource development responsibly and respectfully.

Something that has not changed, Mr. Speaker, is our need for economic growth. Our early economy largely grew from gold mining. In this century, diamonds have been our biggest economic driver. Unlike our gold mines, our diamond mines were developed within an environmental plan, and a restoration strategy built in.

In the 18th Assembly, we have focused significant energy on the need to grow new economic sectors, but in our economic discussions, we always come back to one fact. For the jobs we need now to build the health centres and schools we need now to afford junior kindergarten and social supports and care for elders that we need now, we can rely on one sector: mining.

That's why I'm speaking today about the road to resources, Mr. Speaker. Specifically, the road to the Slave Geological Province. Just outside our backdoor, the Slave Geological Province is formed of Archean age rock. Around the world, this kind of rock is known to host deposits of diamonds, gold, silver, copper, zinc, and many more important minerals.

From our back door, the Slave Geological Province extends up through Nunavut all the way to the Arctic Ocean. This resource-rich area has the potential to create wealth for us and our sister territory and ultimately to grow into a new national corridor of opportunity for this country.

Any development brings risks and challenges, Mr. Speaker, and we must manage them with our best knowledge and proven practices, but the benefits to our communities and to future generations rely on us to take bold steps and build on our opportunities. Mr. Speaker, the dream started 70 years ago. Let's make it a reality today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Nahendeh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With our Arctic Winter Games less than a month away, athletes and coaches are excited about getting there to represent Team NWT. Unfortunately, today we will not be talking about this.

Mr. Speaker, during the territorial trials four athletes from the Nahendeh region did not get the chance to compete for a spot, due to no fault of their own. On January 19, 2018, I ran into one of these athletes here in Yellowknife and was informed that he would not be in the Arctic Winter Games. When I asked him about the reason, he said he could not get there due to weather.

I have witnessed him training for the past two years, and the other three. He made every possible attempt to try to attend. The chartered flight was supposed to leave Fort Simpson on Thursday, January 19th, but was unable to land due to fog in Fort Simpson. The trials were delayed due to this cancellation. The athletes were informed that the charter would be arranged for the following morning and that it would be the last chance to get out. Not wanting to be reliant on the weather, he and another athlete drove from Fort Simpson, arriving in Yellowknife at 2:00 a.m. Friday morning. They went to check in for the flight to Inuvik at 9:00 a.m. and were told that there was a delay due to weather. By 9:30, they were informed that the flight for Inuvik was cancelled.

Once this happened, the athlete contacted the organizers to see if there were options. They were willing to compete on all the required trial events by video and willing to go do back-to-back events.

After he was told they would not entertain this idea, the athlete appealed this decision. The athletes had to wait over three weeks to hear the appeal be denied. He was told weather cannot be appealed. I'm wondering why it took so long, and if this was already in their appeal process. The athlete was directed to appeal to the international committee, asking to see if Team NWT could add a fifth athlete to the roster. They denied the request because they would have to add in an additional spot to each contingent.

Mr. Speaker, this athlete started training for these games right after coming so close to breaking a world record. Then this happened. It's not fair. I have received a number of phone calls from across the NWT and face-to-face meetings saying the same thing: not fair, and why wasn't the government prepared for this type of thing?

The department needs to address this so it doesn't happen in the future. I'll have questions for the Minister later on today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Frame Lake.

Merci, Monsieur le President. One of the commitments made in the mandate of the 18th Assembly was to create a Northwest Territories Energy Strategy because the previous one expired in 2015. A draft NWT Energy Strategy was finally released to the public on September 25, 2017. It would be fair to say that very few of the standing committee's comments were incorporated into the draft.

The strategy proposes a confusing array of energy targets as follows:

• A 25 per cent reduction of GHG emissions from electricity generation;

• A 10 per cent reduction of GHG emissions from road vehicles;

• A 40 per cent increase in renewable energy use for space heating; and

• A 15 per cent increase in residential commercial government building energy efficiency.

No energy targets were specified for the largest energy user industry. There are no visible links to the Climate Change Strategic Framework, or to any potential carbon tax revenues. No roles are contemplated for the NWT Power Corporation. In the future, the Arctic Energy Alliance receives almost no attention. No specific actions are identified in any detail and no funds are identified for implementation.

The draft energy strategy is overwhelmingly focused on electricity generation, which represents about 10 per cent of the energy used in the NWT and our greenhouse gas emissions. It's difficult to understand the complete failure to address energy use in the industrial sector, which is over half of all Northwest Territories energy use and over 40 per cent of our greenhouse gas emissions.

What's missing is an overall direction to move us toward reducing fossil fuel consumption, not vague statements. I had expected to see something like a bold vision of the Northwest Territories where communities and householders are energy self-sufficient. The Northwest Territories Power Corporation, doing itself out of a job, bolstered Arctic Energy Alliance with resources to build community energy plans leading to self-reliance and programs for householders to conserve energy and switch to renewables. Clear energy targets are needed for each sector that should be related to reduced energy demand, fuel switching, improved efficiencies, and improved technologies. These targets should be linked to GHG reductions in the Climate Change Strategic Framework. Carbon tax revenues and potential federal funding also need to be incorporated into the strategy.

Later today, Mr. Speaker, I'll have questions for the Minister of Infrastructure, who also has responsibility for the Energy Strategy. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Deh Cho.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Since we returned to the House at the beginning of this month, I have often shared stories of the challenges faced by Deh Cho communities calling on the government to fulfill its commitments to Northerners. There are stories of Deh Cho resiliency, Mr. Speaker, in our communities, innovations, and ambitions. Today, though, I want to celebrate another part of the Deh Cho: our sense of fun, our community spirit, and our celebration of tradition.

That's right: it is K'ambaa Carnival weekend. The K'ambaa Carnival has been held every year since 1984, Mr. Speaker, when Fred Martel Jr. and Diane and Paul Tourangeau organized their first one to celebrate the return of the sun and the season's first days of warming weather.

Since then, the carnival has continued to flourish. People from all over come to join the fun from Hay River, Fort Resolution, Fort Providence, and other Metis communities, even other provinces, including Alberta and Saskatchewan. It's something we all look forward to.

Last year, the K’atlodeeche K'ambaa Carnival committee, mostly women, even won the NWTs Outstanding Volunteer Group award. This year's fun and games will kick off the K’atlodeeche K'ambaa Carnival on March 1st at 5:00 p.m., and yes, Mr. Speaker, I have bought my tickets. Have you? That night, we will see our youth compete in the annual talent show, showing off their skills in jigging, singing, and fiddling.

Mr. Speaker, I'm sure to go over my time if I list all of and every activity planned for the carnival weekend. We can go with the most important: dog races, drum dances, pancake breakfast, hand games, raffles, a poker derby, a youth mini carnival, youth and adult outdoor events, you name it, the K'ambaa Carnival Committee has probably got it on offer. To see it all, you will just have to come out to the Hay River Reserve for yourself.

Please join me, Mr. Speaker, in thanking the volunteer committee and recreation coordinator Sharon Pekok for their hard work making this special event happen. I'll see you this weekend. Mahsi.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Sahtu.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Several years ago, the Sahtu region's future was poor at best with the low world commodity prices, closure of the Norman Wells oil field. Mr. Speaker, two projects initiated by the Government of Northwest Territories, they were the Sahtu Health and Long Term Care Facility and the 12 kilometer Canyon Creek all-season road.

Mr. Speaker, these two projects greatly contributed to the region's economic downturn on providing employment and opportunities; respectfully, the Tulita Health Centre also.

Mr. Speaker, today is federal budget day, and the Sahtu residents are anxiously waiting on the announcements under the National Trades and Corridor Infrastructure programs on the long awaited Mackenzie Valley highway, connecting the last frontier of the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, connecting the region, the Sahtu region, in my view, is a sound investment. The early NWT mining discoveries were in this region. The region's 26 per cent land quantum to the NWT holds vast, virtually untapped, resources.

Mr. Speaker, it is the Sahtu's respectful position on returning assistance for the two aforementioned projects in its contributing acknowledgment to the NWT GDP by allowing an all-season road connection. Later, Mr. Speaker, I will have questions to the Minister of Infrastructure on the Canyon Creek and the regional health centre project benefits. Mahsi.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With the knowledge economy emerging and becoming an ever more vital contributor for continued sustainability of northern economic growth, it would seem like a sector this government would seek to stimulate through strategic investments and development and innovation strategy that rewards private sector investment in innovative solutions. This would also prepare us for the coming reality of carbon pricing and green economy solutions to northern mining and manufacturing. For, in the end, innovators will move to jurisdictions that support innovation. That is why I am quite dismayed to find that our Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment has not commissioned a strategic plan on how to benefit from the emerging knowledge economy.

On March 22nd of last year, the Government of Canada committed in its 2017 budget the next steps for an innovation in jobs skill plan. This is a long-term plan to create jobs and strengthen the middle class by helping Canada's highly skilled work force develop the skills they need to evolve and keep up with the demands of a changing workplace. This was followed by the announcement of $1.26 billion in the Strategic Innovation Fund on March 30th, which will ensure that Canada remains a top destination for businesses to invest, grow, and create jobs. This is the kind of investment that we desperately need here at home, Mr. Speaker.

Business innovation funding is available to Canada's aerospace and automotive firms and will expand to support high-growth tech sectors such as clean technology, information, communications, and agri-food.

Mr. Speaker, it's very clear to me that this indicates that not only does the federal government appreciate the need to invest in our innovators, but they are giving a helping hand to provinces and territories by contributing some of this money to our local governments so we can develop innovation on a local level. This government should not only take its note from its federal counterparts, but also attempt to capitalize on that funding to support our local innovators.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the deputy minister of the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment, and I'll quote what he said here: "Other departments are looking at research facilities, but I don't think, to be honest with you, it's fair to say that we don't actually have a focus now in ITI that is looking specifically at the innovation and knowledge agenda."

Mr. Speaker, let me remind the Members of the other side of the House that the first commitment in its mandate of this government is, and I quote: "Making strategic investments in infrastructure, resource development, work force development and the knowledge economy." Failing to even implement the strategic plan is not what we expected when we all concurred on this document.

Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Minister on ITI on innovation and knowledge economy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last fall I brought forward concerns for my constituents about the loss of extended ferry service. I warned the Minister that, without those services, the government risked leaving communities in the Delta to face heightened costs of living, restricted travel between communities, heavy commercial traffic, and potential fuel shortages.

Well, Mr. Speaker, I take no joy in the fact that my fears are justified. As I committed to doing last fall, I monitored ferry use for the rest of the season and kept track of private and commercial traffic as well as community needs. This winter, Fort McPherson, a community of more than 900 people, ran out of gasoline, and Tsiigehtchic ran extremely low on groceries, along with many other communities in the region, including Inuvik. Suffice to say, the communities are disappointed, as I am, Mr. Speaker.

This is simply not the kind of message we want to see from a government that says it wants to help small communities. Our small communities want to know that government hears their concerns and understands their needs, and that the government won't save a few pennies at their expense.

I will have further questions later today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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