This is page numbers 5085 - 5134 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 work. View the webstream of the day's session.

Topics

Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member is right. There is an issue about apprenticeships; in fact, it's a national issue that the numbers are going down, so we need to work on that. Since the Skills 4 Success was introduced in 2015, though, we have had 375 new apprenticeships and 188 certificates of qualification issued. One of the bigger issues that we recognize in doing that work, though, is that, one, it's getting them into it, but it's also supporting our apprenticeships to complete. So that is one of our strategies that we're looking at. In 2017, we did an Apprenticeship, Trades, and Occupational Certification Strategy to address the needs that we have for apprenticeships. We've made a lot of progress, actually, so I want to go over some of that.

Some of the progress that we've done is we've revised the Trades and Occupations Wage Subsidy Program to better support employers; so we've increased that for them. That happened in April 2018. We are also working in cooperation with Aurora College to deliver new programs. That includes the revised Housing Maintainer Program and introducing the Pre-employment Carpentry and Pre-employment Electrical Programs. We are developing a communication strategy, which will be implemented in the beginning of March 2019. We are also doing a training module for career development officers, which will be offered in May 2019. So those are done.

Some of the things that we are also in the process of doing is we are reviewing our apprenticeship record book to streamline the reporting. We get a lot of complaints. People say it's cumbersome, so hopefully this will work to streamline things and make them easier. We are leading a pan-territorial working group to revise and redesign the Housing Maintainer Occupational Standards. This is in process, and we are currently at the second year of our strategy. So we have a lot of work to do, but we've done quite a bit. We recognize that it's an issue, and we are working as hard as we can to address it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

I looked into what ECE is doing. They're actually doing quite a few things, and I think even more than the Minister just mentioned. I think they need to improve their supports for the career development officers. I think we probably need an extra one in Hay River. The community learning centres at Aurora College probably need to be better utilized, as well, to help people train to actually take the trades entrance exam, which is a big barrier to many people. There are a lot of investments there, and I'm not a fan of just throwing money at a problem and hoping that it fixes it. We need to know what the problem is and if what we're doing to address it is effective. That being said, the strategic plan the Minister mentioned calls for the creation of performance measures and indicators and the implementation of an effective data management and information system to track and report on results. What is the status of this work?

Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

I want to acknowledge the MLA for actually talking about some of the things that we have done, because it's nice to hear in the House. We have a lot of work to do, but it's also nice to recognize that we are working at things, so thank you for that comment.

What are we doing? We have developed our measurement plan. It is already done. Some of the indicators that we have been looking at: we will be measuring stakeholder satisfaction with the program, that is normal; the number of apprentices that are registered and that are certified under the program; and the number and the type of new trades programs introduced. Those are a few of the things that we will be measuring. That is done. That work is done.

We are actually, in the next couple of months, going to be reviewing the outcomes of our evaluations to see what needs to be done. This fits really well within our polytechnic visioning because the vision exercise is talking about what we need in the territory. This work is coming at an opportune time to be able to look at where we are moving forward within our polytechnic university.

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

As I have stated, we need a whole-of-government effort to effectively address this issue. We need ECE, ITI, Infrastructure, Finance, the Housing Corporation, and probably even Health and Social Services, all working together.

When I asked questions about training to the Minister of Infrastructure, he directed me to address my questions to the Minister of ECE. This leads me to believe that there is some sort of formal relationship between the departments, which is great. I know that the Minister of Infrastructure has stated that there was training done with the Canyon Creek project and the Inuvik Tuktoyaktuk Highway, but I want to make sure that there are training opportunities for the fish plant in Hay River and the 48-bed long-term care facility in Hay River and all of those projects, Mr. Speaker. We have to utilize every one.

In terms of a formal relationship, are there MOUs or other similar instruments in place with Infrastructure and the Housing Corporation regarding using infrastructure projects for training and with Finance regarding utilizing P3 projects for training? Does ECE have these types of MOUs?

Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

We don't have a traditional MOU, because that is not something that we use traditionally across departments. It is more what we use with contractors outside of the government.

However, in saying that, we do work very closely across the departments. Our deputy ministers meet regularly. We have committees of Cabinet who sit and meet regularly. As well, we have our regional training partnerships that ECE uses. It has representation from ECE, Aurora College, Indigenous governments, and industry partners. We work closely, as closely as we can.

Some of the projects where we have been finding examples of how we work together have been the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk highway and the Canyon Creek all-season road. With the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk highway, approximately 185 people were trained on that. The contractor trained over 70 people using simulators to operate rock trucks, graters, and excavator equipment. We provided additional on-the-job training. They also trained one administrative assistant, one heavy equipment support person, three apprentices, and 40 individuals with class 1 and class 3 driver's licences. As well, within the Canyon Creek project, the contractor provided training for 12 trainees and 16 heavy equipment operators, as well as employment opportunities for 50 people during that.

Those are just two examples. I have a list of them, but I am not going to go through them all, Mr. Speaker. We try to work as closely as possible. We need to do better. We know that, but we are trying.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Oral questions. Member for Hay River North.

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give the government credit for what they have done in the past, but I am looking to the future. That is what I am concerned about.

I know that the deputy ministers meet and Cabinet meets, but there is nothing official in place. In the absence of any official relationship, how, exactly, does ECE engage with Infrastructure, the Housing Corporation, and Finance in the evaluation of capital needs and the development and evaluation of RFPs to ensure that training opportunities are fully realized? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

As stated before, we do have a deputy ministers committee, as well as a Committee-of-Cabinet to work with the economy. We still have work to do. Major projects, such as when we look at mines, socio-economic agreements, et cetera, we sit together. The Ministers actually sit together at the table and discuss what we need. Those are put into things such as socio-economic agreements.

All of the departments, when it comes to capital needs, believe me, we are all at that table. We all have our own interests in that process, though, I think, maybe more so than working collaboratively together. What we are falling down, though, in my opinion, is the evaluation of RFPs. That is something that we actually should be looking more at. I will bring that to the Committee-of-Cabinet for the Economy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I have a few more questions for my friend, the Minister of Finance.

I would like to ask the Minister: of the $411 million of spending on the road to Whati, how much of that will go to Tlicho businesses and individuals over the 28-year period? Mahsi.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Minister of Finance.

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The $400 million that is being invested in the project agreement signed between the GNWT and North Star Infrastructure is designed to maximize the Tlicho and northern involvement. In addition, the Tlicho government has directly invested, I believe, 20 percent into the project.

As far as the actual breakdown of what is going to be staying in the Tlicho region, I think that we will have a better idea of that as the project gets moving forward. As we do with most projects, there is a reporting process, so we will be able to provide real-time information as the project proceeds. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

I am wondering if the Government of the Northwest Territories assisted the Tlicho in taking that participation in the consortium that is going to build the road.

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

If the Member is asking if we assisted them financially to take a stake in the project, the answer is no.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

I would like the Minister of Finance to tell us whether this project can be instructed over a longer period of time so that the construction jobs last longer.

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

No, the financial close has been completed with the proponent, and changing the construction schedule would impact that project cost. Obviously, we would like to see folks working as long as possible. I think, with some of the experience that they gain on this, there may be other opportunities for them to work in other places. It may require some moving around.

I think we have seen a good indication of that with the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk highway project, where 85 percent of the workforce was pretty well from the Beaufort-Delta. A lot of them, with the experience that they have gained, have been able to find other work where they have required operators. There is a benefit that way. It may require some moving around, but we think that that is one of the benefits of the project, and I think that the Tlicho region will see that as well.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Minister for that response. As I mentioned in my statement, in terms of economic returns, it looks like the Slave Geological Province road may be more lucrative because of the advanced exploration that has gone on in that area and because it may be a lifeline for the diamond mines, who are trying to maximize production and minimize costs.

Has the Minister examined the relative economic benefits of the road to Whati to those of the Slave Geological Province, and can he share those results? Mahsi.

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

First of all, a lot of work was done on the Whati road. The project was submitted. Funding was received for it. I don't think that you can underestimate the value of the road to the citizens of Tlicho and Whati and the benefits that it will bring to them. I don't think I need to point out the benefit, but there are a lot of benefits.

The same level of work on the Slave Geological Province has not been done yet, so I think it would be hard to compare the two, but we can never underestimate the value of making work for residents across the Northwest Territories who actually want to work. I think that this is one of those projects that would be beneficial to Whati and to the citizens of the Tlicho. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

Question 632-18(3): Community Government Funding Gaps
Oral Questions

February 27th, 2019

Page 5095

Kieron Testart

Kieron Testart Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs delivered a statement on community government funding. I would like to question some of the contents of that statement. We see the total gap. We see the $8.3 million that the government has invested into this funding gap, and we have a lot of talk about a 50 percent, covering the gap by 50 percent, all this progress that was made. However, the largest pot of funding that remains unresolved is infrastructure, so how much progress has the Minister made on closing that gap?

Alfred Moses

Alfred Moses Inuvik Boot Lake

Mr. Speaker, I know we are going into Committee of the Whole later on and debating the budget for Municipal and Community Affairs. We want to be open with all Members of the Legislative Assembly. Something that we will be bringing up this weekend when we meet with the NWT Association and communities and their membership is that this is an area of issue. As much as we can work and try to get, secure, federal funding to address some of the infrastructure concerns, we will, and we continue to do that. Previous Ministers, previous governments, have worked on trying to reduce that gap that has been involved, and that is the message that I will be sharing with all of our mayors and our councillors this weekend. I think that the Minister's statement says what we have done, and we have seen some successes. I know that, in future governments, this government and future governments, it is going to be a challenge to close that gap, but we have made some progress. We will continue to make that progress, and we will continue to work with our partners, with the municipal and Indigenous governments, to address these issues.

Kieron Testart

Kieron Testart Kam Lake

The Minister just mentioned the federal government's role in this funding. His predecessor also spoke of leveraging federal funds to close this gap. I would just like to get a better understanding of this. Is the Minister saying that this formula that has been developed isn't the responsibility of the GNWT to fill? Can he answer that question?

Alfred Moses

Alfred Moses Inuvik Boot Lake

Mr. Speaker, one of the, I guess you could say, the reputations that I have built as being a Minister is developing strong partnerships, and those partnerships do involve federal government. They involve municipal governments, Indigenous governments. We all have a role to play in this. GNWT cannot be the one-and-all to provide the services. We've got to work together to identify priorities and also address some of our core needs. It takes a partnership between all levels of government, but we do definitely play a significant role in this in terms of working with our municipal governments but also lobbying the federal government to get the funds needed to address some of the concerns that we have been hearing.

Kieron Testart

Kieron Testart Kam Lake

I agree. We need to support all of our communities and work together to do that, but this funding gap is no one's responsibility but the Minister's, so I am going to ask: what is he actually doing to address the other shortfalls? We have a plan for water and sewer or environmental that is 50 percent complete. It shouldn't be too hard to fill the other 50 percent, but the vast majority of the funding, there is no plan. What is the Minister doing to address this?