This is page numbers 43 - 80 of the Hansard for the 19th Assembly, 1st 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

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to acknowledge Walt Humphries, winner of the Distinguished Service Award at last month's Chamber of Mines gala.

Following his graduation from the Haileybury School of Mines, Walt made his way to Yellowknife 50 years ago to establish himself as a prospector. That is still his business. He is also an avid promoter of prospecting, having taught 50 courses across the North. He is a fixture of the Yellowknife Historical Society with a passion for preserving our mining heritage, but perhaps he is best-known for his newspaper column, "Tales from the Dump," and for his artwork.

Congratulations, Walt, on this well-deserved award. Mahsi.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member. Acknowledgements. Item 7, oral questions. Member for Hay River South.

Rocky Simpson

Rocky Simpson Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The question that I have today is for the Minister of ITI. Recently, the tender for the construction of a fish processing receiving plant in Hay River was cancelled. When I saw this, I concluded that it was due to the bid amounts received, which were considerably over budget. Can the Minister confirm the reason for cancelling the tender at this time? Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.

Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member is correct; the bids that were received for the construction of the new fish plant in Hay River were significantly higher than anticipated. As the Member is aware, demands on the public purse are high, and we want to make sure that we are fully considering these types of decisions. We remain committed to the revitalization initiative, and we want to move forward as quickly as possible with the fish plant. However, we have decided to take the time required to consider what other options we may have. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Rocky Simpson

Rocky Simpson Hay River South

Knowing the work that it takes to prepare a tender such as this, and knowing that only two tenders were received, has the Minister's department met with or considered meeting with the lower bidder to explore options that would bring the project within budget and keep the work, I guess, in Hay River?

Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

The bids were very high compared to the budget, especially given that the budget was disclosed to the bidders at the pre-tender meeting in July. The gap was significant enough that we couldn't reasonably anticipate negotiating it down to within the budget. Cancelling the tender was the only option available to us to maintain an open, fair, and transparent process.

This does not mean that are not exploring options to bring the project budget down. One of the areas where we think that we may have some room to make changes is in the proposed fish processing lines and equipment requirements and the impacts that they will have on the building.

Rocky Simpson

Rocky Simpson Hay River South

Will this project be retendered or sent out for RFP fairly soon?

Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

That is one of the things that we must consider. Our first step will be to get some better understanding of why the bids were so high. Ideally, we will find a way to move the project ahead within the budget that we have, but this will take some time. While it is too early in the process to know how we will proceed, I will confirm to Members that we remain committed to building the plant.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Member for Hay River South.

Rocky Simpson

Rocky Simpson Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This project is very important to not only the NWT fishers but the community of Hay River as well, in terms of employment and contracting opportunities. Will the Minister commit to providing me with an expected timeline to move this project ahead in a timely manner, once she has that? Thank you.

Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

First, let me assure the Member that I recognize how important this project is to Hay River. Our plan will mean greater returns for fishers working on the lake. It will mean new jobs in processing, packaging, selling, and transporting NWT fish for market. When it comes to the plant, however, I will be fully transparent. The answer is no, we don't have a new timeline yet, but we will get one, and I will share that with you. While we consider next steps for the plant, we are also moving ahead with other elements of the overall revitalization strategy. We will be establishing a fisheries support officer to work out of Hay River. We are working with Memorial University to develop training programs around fish handling, processing, and filleting. We have partnered with the marine training centre to deliver relevant training for fishers. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Thebacha.

Frieda Martselos

Frieda Martselos Thebacha

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Sorry for being so anxious on the economy. Mr. Speaker, to attract potential industry and major proponents to invest in the NWT, the Taltson River hydro expansion must remain a priority. My question is: does the Minister and her department consider this a priority?

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member. Minister for Infrastructure.

Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

I got off easy yesterday. The Taltson hydro expansion project is a priority of this government as it will allow us to establish long-term energy infrastructure that can provide cost effective energy to communities, residents, and industry. It is identified as one of the priorities of the 19th Legislative Assembly, as one of the strategic infrastructure investments that connect communities, expand the economy, or reduce the cost of living.

The Taltson hydro expansion project will also help achieve the 19th Legislative Assembly's priority to reduce the cost of power and increase the use of alternative and renewable energy. The Taltson hydro expansion project is a central element of the 2030 energy strategy, supporting targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 30 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. This project can help the NWT meet our commitments under the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change. The Government of the Northwest Territories is currently developing our mandate which will outline specific actions that we will undertake to advance the priorities of the 19th Legislative Assembly of which the Taltson hydro expansion project is an important one. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Member for Thebacha.

Frieda Martselos

Frieda Martselos Thebacha

Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member. Oral questions. Member for Monfwi.

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Masi, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I made a statement at my Member's statement. There is a lot of housing in Behchoko that are boarded up and also burnt houses. I would like to ask Housing Corporation Minister the question [Translation ends].

As I alluded to in my Member's statement, we have a lot of boarded-up and burned units in my community of Behchoko, which I believe is the responsibility of NWT Housing Corporation. They are obviously an eyesore and potentially dangerous to my community. What is the process of dealing with these houses that can no longer be lived in, especially these burnt units in the community? Masi, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member. Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.

Paulie Chinna

Paulie Chinna Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Lafferty for your comments. The Housing Corporation right now, I would like to look at options in regards to home insurances for new homes that are being built, looking at the abandoned units that are in your community. I would like to go into the community and take a look at what we actually have there, what is our inventory for Behchoko. I am really looking at the safety, as well, too, and looking at the options that we might be able to provide as NWT Housing Corporation in regards to insurances. I will look at options going forward. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. I was just going to remind you to please address your remarks through me. Thank you.

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Some of these units, especially the burnt units, have been an eyesore for the last 10 to 15 years in my community, and still is today. The families who lived there continue to struggle. A lot of them are homeless now. These are families that are desperately in need of help, and those pleas have been ignored for a very long time by this housing corporation.

The Minister did talk about going to the community. I am just wondering if there is a plan in place today to deal with these burnt units, if they could be replaced so these families can have homes again. As it stands, they are homeless right now, couch-surfing in the community. They do not have a warm place to go to at times, so what is the current position of the Housing Corporation to deal with these burnt units so we can have the family go back to their community homes?

Paulie Chinna

Paulie Chinna Sahtu

In regards to the burnt units that are in Behchoko and the homeless that are there, I am not familiar with the number of units that are available in the community, and I am not familiar if there was a report that had been done in the past, but I will make it my priority to review them, and I will get back to you with numbers for you, how many vacancies we do have in Behchoko. Also, for the burnt units, once again, we will explore options for the home insurances.