This is page numbers 4757 - 4776 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. View the webstream of the day's session.

Members Present

Hon. Glen Abernethy, Mr. Beaulieu, Mr. Blake, Hon. Caroline Cochrane, Ms. Green, Hon. Jackson Lafferty, Hon. Bob McLeod, Hon. Robert McLeod, Mr. McNeely, Hon. Alfred Moses, Mr. Nadli, Mr. Nakimayak, Mr. O'Reilly, Hon. Wally Schumann, Hon. Louis Sebert, Mr. Simpson, Mr. Testart, Mr. Thompson, Mr. Vanthuyne

The House met at 1:30 p.m.

---Prayer

Prayer
Prayer

Page 4757

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Good afternoon, Members. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Minister of Infrastructure.

Wally Schumann

Wally Schumann Hay River South

Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories made a mandate commitment during this Legislative Assembly to continue to develop and advance initiatives to displace diesel generation in the Northwest Territories, including advancing the Taltson Hydroelectricity Expansion project.

With the Department of Infrastructure at the helm, the Government of the Northwest Territories has continued to work with the federal and Indigenous governments, provinces, territories, and Northwest Territories residents to promote a cleaner, more reliable energy supply in rural and remote communities, reducing pollution in Canada's North and creating new opportunities for social and economic development.

Mr. Speaker, last month the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Intergovernmental and Northern Affairs and Internal Trade, joined the Premier and myself to announce over $1.2 million in federal and territorial investments in the Taltson Hydroelectricity Expansion project. This funding will advance technical aspects of the project and help support our Indigenous partners to develop a business framework for their participation in the opportunities the future expansion will bring.

This announcement demonstrates the Government of the Northwest Territories' ongoing efforts to work with the Government of Canada to realize our long-term vision and approach to energy and climate change and we will enable the Northwest Territories to transition to a strong, healthy economy that is less dependent on fossil fuels. It also supports our goals outlined under the 2030 Energy Strategy and is part of a full service infrastructure corridor that will provide clean energy to a region rich in materials required for low-carbon technologies, such as cobalt, lithium, and nickel.

The proposed initial expansion of the Taltson project will deliver 60 megawatts of clean energy to the North Slave hydroelectric system, more than doubling the current hydroelectricity capacity in the territory, while improving energy security and stabilizing the cost of energy for all NWT residents. This project will also contribute to a cleaner environment and stronger economy, as it will remove up to 240,000 tonnes of polluting emissions from the air each year, stimulate local economies, and provide employment opportunities for Indigenous and northern residents. Later phases of the expansion will connect the Taltson hydroelectric system with provincial electricity networks, creating a more integrated energy system that will allow for increased north-south energy trade.

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned earlier, this federal support will help advance the Taltson Hydroelectricity Expansion project in two key areas.

First, the funding provided will advance the technical aspects of the project, such as ensuring all previous engineering and design work is up to date, environmental baseline work is completed, an engagement strategy for all affected people is developed, and a business model framework is established.

Second, it will support our partners from the Akaitcho Territory Government, the Northwest Territory Metis Nation, and the Salt River First Nation to establish their business model frameworks to actively participate in the development of the project.

Partnering with Indigenous governments is an integral component of this project, incorporating Indigenous rights, knowledge, and cultural values into project design and implementation, and that all stakeholders experience its far-reaching benefits. The Government of the Northwest Territories will continue to engage directly with communities and Indigenous organizations on this project to ensure their participation, partnership, and empowerment.

Mr. Speaker, this funding announcement is just step one in realizing the full Taltson project. In addition to the announced funding, the Government of the Northwest Territories has also put in a request with the Government of Canada for additional financial support to further advance the project over the next three years. We are hopeful that we will have a response back from that ask in the coming months.

The Taltson Hydroelectricity Expansion project is more than a transmission project. It represents a key element in the Government of the Northwest Territories' vision for a lower-carbon economy that will increase the availability of clean, renewable energy to help us achieve our mandate commitment of displacing diesel generation, as well as lowering the cost of living for residents, and allowing the territory to meet its commitments to address climate change. This project also reflects the important role clean energy infrastructure plays in growing and stimulating the economy.

Mr. Speaker, this is an exciting time. We are looking forward to working together with all our partners in this project to realize our vision of clean energy for our communities and our economy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Ministers' statements. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to update Members on our government's recent work on cannabis public education and community health engagement.

Northerners have told us that they want more evidence-based, culturally relevant information on the health effects of cannabis. In response to that call, the Department of Health and Social Services has been working in partnership with other departments and agencies, as well as the federal government, to ensure that NWT residents have access to the information and resources that they need in order to make informed choices.

When it comes to considering cannabis use, there are very real health considerations and risks, especially for youth, pregnant and breastfeeding women, and those who experience struggles with mental health. To make sure residents have this information, public education efforts are under way in communities throughout our territory, and will continue over the coming years.

Since January 2018 a government working group has been working together on potential public education and awareness initiatives. The initial phase of the GNWT's cannabis awareness campaign was launched in April 2018 and included web content, a direct mailer to all households and businesses, parent talk kits, social media advertising, and in-school education events. Using traditional and modern forms of advertising, we've been able to bring this information to people throughout the Northwest Territories.

Educational events have been delivered in schools and to our frontline health and social services professionals. Part of this work included having our Chief Public Health Officer present a question and answer session to Indigenous governments. We've also hosted expert seminars, bringing national experts to share new research and information on brain development, stigmatizing language, pregnancy and fetal development, and more. These learning opportunities have given our healthcare providers the chance to explore these topics in depth and learn about best practices being used around the country and the world.

Mr. Speaker, just a few weeks ago, thanks to the support of federal Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor and our Member of Parliament, Michael McLeod, Health Canada made an investment of $1.8 million to support community-based cannabis public education here in the Northwest Territories. This funding will support our approach for a harm-reduction model for cannabis that builds off Canada's Lower Risk Guidelines for Cannabis Use, developed by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. Our harm-reduction approach and community-based outreach plan allows us to engage residents in a dialogue about the realistic impacts of cannabis and other substances. Our goal is to provide factual information that won't glamourize or instill fear, but will educate youth, elders, and families about substance use, allowing them to make informed choices for a healthy lifestyle.

Recently, I unveiled an exciting new augmented reality poster series as part of this campaign, designed by northern artist Cody Fennel, with input from youth and elders across the Northwest Territories. These posters are generating discussion, but their effect is clear; this new approach to messaging has a significant impact on how young people, and their communities, are reacting to and are engaging with cannabis education.

As our public education campaign continues, we will be expanding efforts into our communities. This will include an arts-based workshop series, in partnership with the Northwest Territories Association of Communities, that gives communities an opportunity to explore what substance use and abuse looks like to them, what resources they have, and their unique perspectives on health and wellness. These workshops will be adjustable for communities so they may create local content that focuses on their distinct needs and realities.

Mr. Speaker, we are committed to providing accurate and up-to-date information about cannabis to our residents, in particular our youth and other people in higher-risk demographics, in ways that resonate with them. We have heard that, when it comes to meeting this commitment, that our residents want cannabis information from government that is interactive, honest, and balanced. We will continue to work with Northerners as we roll out the next phase of our cannabis public awareness and information campaign as it makes its way to every community in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. Member for Kam Lake.

Kieron Testart

Kieron Testart Kam Lake

Mr. Speaker, the public is clearly confused over the situation of binding arbitration. It seems that some in this Cabinet are unaware of how a strike will affect Northerners. It seems that some believe that everyday people should just get a loan to make ends meet, or just tighten their belts and cut back on their "luxurious" spending. These ideas are sadly out of touch with the concerns and realities of everyday people and businesses alike.

I've heard just in the last few days from so many concerned constituents; nurses, civil servants, business owners, and students, to name a few. Students of Aurora College have informed me that, if the strike goes through, they will be unable to complete their schooling in time to get back to their regular jobs, being left with incomplete credentials while still being saddled with the costs and debts of having attended course and programs. There are countless more stories, but I do not have time to go through all of them here today.

The Minister of Finance understandably worries about binding arbitration setting a dangerous precedent, yet the UNW has publicly stated, "This would be a one-time, non-precedent-setting offer." I urge the Members of this House to consider these words carefully.

Mr. Speaker, to quote the words of the Honourable Premier, "If you don't like the process, change it." Well, Mr. Speaker, I believe our constituents have heard this message loud and clear. They have heard Ministers say, "We are just following the process." They have read that the Premier hasn't been briefed on all the options available. They know that time and the process are running out, and they know that this process has been going on for years. They know that time is of the essence, and are afraid of the consequences of a looming job action.

I implore the Members of this House to heed the requests of our constituents and to remember that we are serving here at their pleasure. It is not only the union members who want to see change; students, families, business owners, the list goes on. Our constituents want to see a fair resolution to this dispute. Yesterday the vast majority of people made it clear to us that this process is broken, and it is now up to this House to step up to the plate and fix this broken process before the worst happens. Now is the time to act. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife North.

Small Community Micro-Grids
Members' Statements

Page 4758

Cory Vanthuyne

Cory Vanthuyne Yellowknife North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I was happy to hear the Minister speak about energy today.

Mr. Speaker, for a lifetime in the North we practise just one way to power our thermal communities: fill up the tank farm with fuel; turn on the massive generator; and let it run and run and run.

That fuel costs a lot of money. Transporting it costs even more. Now, Mr. Speaker, there's a generator running full speed ahead even when its power isn't needed. Across the NWT, there are many communities running like that right now as we speak.

Diesel is very inefficient. As much as 70 percent of that burning fuel literally evaporates into thin air. Can you believe only 30 percent is used for energy?

Mr. Speaker, we need a better way; a way that doesn't break the bank, doesn't cost more every year, and won't hurt the planet. Thankfully, Mr. Speaker, there are ideas out there. One Northerner, Jeff Phillip, shared his new idea with our committee last fall. You might know him from his SSI Micro, but his new company SSI Energy is promoting new and efficient energy systems. His idea is based on his family's owned assets in Fort Providence that have been operating off grid for many years.

Mr. Speaker, it works like this. Instead of one big generator, hook up a series of small ones. They're easier to ship, easier to install, and easier to maintain. When you need less power, turn one off. If one goes mechanical, you've got backup. With a small network, it's easy to add another energy supply component: solar panels and a wind turbine. Burn less fuel, much cleaner energy.

What about the wasted heat? Use heat exchangers to send that heat to homes, schools, businesses, even a community greenhouse.

Mr. Speaker, critics say that sun and wind is great, but you can't reliably store the energy. New super batteries can store more energy. They charge fast and discharge slowly. They can work in the cold and are environmentally sound. They are made of grapheme. Now, join all these pieces together with an energy server and you have a district energy system providing power and heat to neighbourhoods, commercial ventures, and entire small communities.

Mr. Speaker, environmental factors aside, cost alone dictates that we must get off diesel. If thermal communities can be powered more cheaply, subsidies will not be required. All Northerners will pay less.

Lastly, Mr. Speaker, as Jeff says in his presentation, "This is not rocket science." All of this technology exists and is being used in other parts of the world. I ask, why not here? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Small Community Micro-Grids
Members' Statements

Page 4758

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Sahtu.

Education and Succession Planning
Members' Statements

Page 4758

Daniel McNeely

Daniel McNeely Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one of the gratifying experiences of this position is knowledge about programs and services and, coming from a small community, I can understand the need in designing funding applications for community development. Programs or initiatives tailored to our northern territory, more specifically education and training, is a fundamental process in management career security in our workforce readiness procedures.

Mr. Speaker, announced last October are two initiatives: number one, Indigenous Career Gateway Program; number two, Indigenous Management Development and Training Program.

Mr. Speaker, our youth is our greatest resource. Offering supports to this new and upcoming workforce on enhancing and promoting their skills and abilities, we must encourage succession planning of these two initiatives.

Mr. Speaker, as said in the news release, "The Government of the Northwest Territories was recognized as one of Canada's best diversity employers for the sixth consecutive year 2018."

Mr. Speaker, allow us to market and advertise employment opportunities through designed training plans. These plans can then be shared within our schools or regional agencies. Later, Mr. Speaker, I will have questions to the Minister of Finance. Mahsi.

Education and Succession Planning
Members' Statements

Page 4758

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, two years ago the Finance Minister made a commitment to explore a sugary-drink tax in the NWT. He is now making good on that promise, although the effort looks half-hearted. The discussion paper on the tax was posted on January 22nd. Consultations began five days later. Don't look for a news release. There wasn't one. Be prepared to dig around the Department of Finance website to find the online survey. The whole exercise feels less like fulfilling a promise and more like a cynical box-ticking exercise.

Here's why this discussion matters. I am going to repeat some of the facts and figures available in the discussion paper on the sugary-drink tax: 39 percent of NWT residents are obese and sugar-sweetened beverages are the single largest dietary form of sugar, in the form of pop, iced tea, iced coffee, and energy drinks. They have no nutritional value, none at all. Children who experience high levels of tooth decay would benefit from a sugary-drink tax. A tax would also reduce obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. In other words, it would do us the world of good.

The challenge in this discussion is to find evidence that sugar taxes reduce consumption. The issue has not been well-studied. There is some concern that a sugar tax would steer people into spending their money on other unhealthy food that is not taxed. A sugary-drinks tax would be an experiment to encourage people to reduce consumption. Economists estimate that consumption will drop between 8 and 10 percent for every 10 percent increase in price.

This proposal is not about generating revenue for government, or at least it isn't in my mind. If there was no change in consumption, the tax would generate $2.6 million, but revenues would shrink if consumption fell, and that would be good. Businesses that sell sugary drinks would have more paperwork to do, as retailers do now who sell cigarettes.

The anticipated benefit of the tax is improved health for residents and decreased healthcare costs. The government has already acknowledged the harm inflicted by sugary drinks with its Drop the Pop Campaign. Drop the Pop would be more robust if there was a financial reason to reduce consumption. I believe more good than harm is possible from the introduction of a sugary-drinks tax. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Frame Lake.

Diamond Policy Framework
Members' Statements

Page 4759

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

Merci, Monsieur le President. On December 6, 2018, changes were announced to the Diamond Policy Framework. The framework was established in 1999. It was intended to foster a secondary diamond manufacturing industry and provide local employment. It has obviously not succeeded, and I have to wonder whether this new approach is going to be much better.

The new policy allows manufacturers to export a portion of their NWT rough diamonds in exchange for other investments in the NWT economy, such as jewellery manufacturing, retail outlets, tourism partnerships, and other related endeavours. The hope is that approved NWT diamond manufacturers will cut and polish higher-quality rough in Yellowknife while exporting a portion to lower-cost places such as India.

NWT manufacturers will have access to 10 percent of the roughly $1.5 to $2 billion worth of diamonds that flow out of the Northwest Territories each year. Manufacturers will need to provide and get approval for business plans that meet the GNWT's investment requirements.

A review was done to lead to this new approach. The review was done by the Constell Group, an international consultancy firm. That study has not been made public.

The new policy does not include any public reporting and no monitoring framework. The evaluation matrix for determining the investments required for export of diamonds is not on the ITI website, so there is a lack of transparency in how any applications and/or business plans might be reviewed or evaluated.

I'm all for development of a secondary diamond industry, but clearly our best way to retain lasting benefits is to secure an adequate share of the $2 billion worth of diamonds flowing out of here each year through a public review of the royalty regime. When our total royalties from all extractive industries are around $15 to $80 million dollars a year, something is definitely not right, and that's what ITI's own consultants have said. In any event, lots of questions for the Minister later today. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Diamond Policy Framework
Members' Statements

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The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

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

Homecare Services for Seniors
Members' Statements

Page 4759

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh

Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I'd like to talk about a subject that I've touched on many times in this House, homecare in the NWT.

Our current situation in the communities, Mr. Speaker, is that seniors, once unable to continue living independently, are moved into long-term care facilities. It is my opinion and the opinion of many people that the vast majority of elders do not want to be in long-term care. Long-term care is costing the GNWT about $140,000 per year, per patient. So if an elderly couple was to be forced into long-term care, it would cost the GNWT $280,000 per year. However, if the Housing Corporation was to retrofit their home for $100,000 into a barrier-free unit and HSS was to provide full homecare in their home, it would cost about another $30,000 per senior. There are economies of scale, Mr. Speaker. Each homecare worker will have numerous clients, and each client will have various workers.

Mr. Speaker, allowing seniors to age in place is essential for our history, heritage, and languages. The benefits include employment positions in homecare in our communities. Some further benefits are higher graduation rates, as families with higher incomes are healthier and their kids are more likely to attend school. Another benefit would include house construction jobs.

Mr. Speaker, getting back to homecare and looking at the whole of the NWT, the Department of Health and Social Services has completed a survey on long-term care. The survey found that, over the next few years, long-term care needs will be 258 beds. It's mind-boggling to think about the cost of constructing and maintaining these facilities. If the government was to help some of the seniors to remain in their homes for an extra 10 years, they would spend a lot less money, including in Yellowknife, by creating good jobs and having much happier seniors. If successful 40 percent of the time, the GNWT would defer spending $140 million.

Mr. Speaker, I have completed a quick scan in Fort Resolution, and I believe that there are about 40 seniors over the age of 70. If we were to provide the supports that I speak of today, HSS would defer expenditures of $28 million. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Homecare Services for Seniors
Members' Statements

Page 4759

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Hay River North.

Landa Aviation
Members' Statements

Page 4759

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to thank the good people at Landa Aviation for taking it upon themselves to help reduce Hay River's cost of living by offering affordable scheduled flights between Hay River and Yellowknife six days a week.

Prior to May 2018, when Landa Aviation began offering scheduled passenger flights, the cost of a return plane ticket between Hay River and Yellowknife was $1,200. As I stated before in this House, depending on when you booked, you could fly from Yellowknife to Beijing for less than it cost for the 25-minute flight over the Great Slave Lake. That's why when Landa came on the scene offering return tickets at half the price there was a lot of excitement. Instead of $1,200, they charged $600. Landa also offered smaller books of tickets, so that businesses didn't have to shell out $5,000 a pop to get a deal on flights.

I travel back and forth from my home to the capital quite often, so I have had the pleasure of flying with Landa many times over the past nine months and I can attest that they always offered great service, have cheerful staff, and have the most comfortable seats in the business.

Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, Landa recently announced that it would be ending passenger service at the end of next week.

It is a great loss to our community, and it is going to be another financial hit to those who have to pay out-of-pocket to fly between Hay River and Yellowknife, because I have a feeling that the discounted tickets being offered by the competition aren't going to stick around past next week.

I don't think that the folks at Landa ever thought that scheduled flights were going to be a big money-maker. I honestly think they did it to help out our community because they are good corporate citizens, like many of the small businesses in Hay River. I wish that their contribution to Hay River had been recognized and supported by this government and that the GNWT had opted to fly Landa a little more often. Who knows what could have been if they did?

However, with that being said, Mr. Speaker, I want to once again thank everyone over at Landa for the great service they have provided, and I will be seeing them tomorrow. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Landa Aviation
Members' Statements

Page 4759

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Nunakput.

Wolf Harvest Incentive Program
Members' Statements

Page 4759

Herbert Nakimayak

Herbert Nakimayak Nunakput

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to see the announcement made by the Minister of ENR on the Enhanced Wolf Harvest Incentive Program launched in the North Slave region. Mr. Speaker, wildlife management in the Northwest Territories is key to ensuring that residents can continue their ways of life, living on the land and practising our cultural ways, whether it is out hunting, fishing, or in the sewing circles across the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, conservation of our ecosystem as a whole is important to ensure that future generations can hunt, trap, and fish the lakes and rivers across the territory and beyond.

Mr. Speaker, as an Inuvialuk who grew up hunting and trapping, I see this incentive giving back to the men, women, and youth who continue to keep our cultures strong and vibrant across the territory. This helps harvesters with the high cost of living. Mr. Speaker, kudos to the Minister and his team for acting on their behalf.

Mr. Speaker, Indigenous and local knowledge across the territory can set a solid foundation to develop conservation policies for all departments of the Government of the Northwest Territories as we work in co-management with Indigenous governments on species, environment, and so on. Mr. Speaker, one day I hope we can achieve full authority and control of our ecosystem in our land claim regions across the territory. This means developing policy together from the ground up to improve upon the coordination and cooperation we see today.

I look forward to ENR's Knowledge Agenda Action Plan, Mr. Speaker, and today I will have questions for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources on extending the Wolf Harvest Incentive Program to all barren-ground herds across the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Wolf Harvest Incentive Program
Members' Statements

Page 4759

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Members' statements. Member for Nahendeh.

Eulogy for Tommy Betsaka
Members' Statements

Page 4760

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on June 18, 1947, Thomas "Tommy" Betsaka was born to Jimmy and Eliza Betsaka in the Netla area. He passed away in his sleep on January 6, 2019. He was 72 years old.

Tommy was one of 13 children. To know Tommy, he was always busy. He enjoyed being outside, fixing or adjusting something, often on his skidoo or boat. He loved his traditional lifestyle. Whether he was hauling wood, hunting, or fishing, he loved being outdoors. Family and friends spoke about how he was an excellent provider for his family and friends. He was a generous man. Tommy was very selfless, always ready and willing to help out regardless of the situation.

Tommy raised two daughters, Dorothy and Susan, whom he loved and cherished deeply. As a father often does, he worried about his girls. He raised them to be strong, independent, and hard-working. He stressed important teachings, such as generosity, being direct, and loving and caring for your family. These values, he held close to his heart.

Tommy loved and appreciated his nieces and nephews. They were a very important part of his life. He never wasted a moment to share his knowledge with them.

As Tommy got older, it was not uncommon to see him walking with a walking stick. Because he enjoyed being outdoors, exploring the land around him was part of his daily routine. Tommy was a man of gratitude. He was grateful to the Lord for providing this great country with daily opportunities for him to learn and appreciate each day.

Although Tommy had a serious look about him, he had a great sense of humour. This was evident as you got to know him better. He took each moment as it came and had a light, kind, humour-filled attitude about his life. His sense of humour and laughter was extremely contagious. Before you knew it, you would be laughing along with him, which helped Tommy make friends very easily.

I had the personal pleasure of chatting with him a number of times, and I have to say that he was very knowledgeable. He shared stories about the land, his life, and his family.

Tommy will be deeply missed, and the one valuable trait that he will always be remembered by is his patience and laughter.

Tommy is survived by his five brothers, five sisters, two daughters, three grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and numerous nephews and nieces and great-nephews and nieces. The Betsaka family would like to thank everybody for their loving support, prayers, and donations during this difficult time.

Mr. Speaker, Tommy will be sadly missed. Thank you.

Eulogy for Tommy Betsaka
Members' Statements

Page 4760

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Our condolences to the family, as well as to the community. Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery.

Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery
Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery

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The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Colleagues, I would like to draw your attention to the visitors in the gallery. [Translation] We have Dolphus Nitsiza in the gallery. I would like to thank him. [Translation ends]

Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Hay River North.

Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery
Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery

Page 4760

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. She came back. I would like to recognize my constituent and my girlfriend, Ms. Chantel Lafferty. I would also like to welcome back, again, my aunt and my constituent, Ms. June Simpson. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery
Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery

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The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Nunakput.

Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery
Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery

Page 4760

Herbert Nakimayak

Herbert Nakimayak Nunakput

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier on, a lady by the name of Lena Schofield, who was part of the development of the Yellowknife Inuit Katujjiqatigiit, which is an Inuit organization started up in Yellowknife to help Inuit who don't live in their land claim regions with funding, so that some kids can play hockey, play soccer, attend sports, and things like that. I just want to welcome Lena if she is still around. Also, Mr. Speaker, to my high school buddy, Mr. Dolphus Nitsiza, welcome and quyanainni, Mr. Speaker.

Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery
Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery

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The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Deh Cho.

Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery
Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery

Page 4760

Michael Nadli

Michael Nadli Deh Cho

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wanted to recognize two Pages, but unfortunately they are somewhere in the building. I wanted to recognize two students from Chief Sunrise School, Allora Cayen and Keyarah Yakinneah-Sabourin, and also their chaperone, June Simpson. I would like to welcome them to the House. Mahsi.

Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery
Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery

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The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Inuvik Boot Lake.

Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery
Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery

Page 4760

Alfred Moses

Alfred Moses Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to recognize a couple of Pages who have joined us here today, Corbin and Aeva Grace Dempster. Thank you for all the work that you have been doing for all of the Members of the Legislative Assembly. I hope you enjoyed your experience and promoting the program to your fellow colleagues back in Inuvik. Welcome and thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery
Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery

Page 4760

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, acknowledgements. Item 7, oral questions. Member for Nunakput.

Herbert Nakimayak

Herbert Nakimayak Nunakput

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier I spoke about the Wolf Harvest Incentive Program by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. My questions are for the Minister of ENR.

Mr. Speaker, there are harvesters who harvest wolves in the territory, and sometimes, rather than bringing them to ENR, they would like to sell them to a family member so that they can make crafts and sometimes clothing. Mr. Speaker, I think what my question is: are harvesters who sell their wolves to private members in the community still eligible for the prime fur bonus incentive from ENR? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, to be eligible for the prime fur bonus, their fur needs to be sent to the fur auction and must sell for over $200. Then it would be eligible for the prime fur bonus. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Herbert Nakimayak

Herbert Nakimayak Nunakput

I appreciate the response. There was a bit of confusion of maybe communications in some regions of the territory for that. Mr. Speaker, that leads to my next question: will the Minister extend the enhanced wolf harvest incentive program to the rest of the barren-ground caribou herds across the Northwest Territories?

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

The wolf incentive program is being run as a pilot project this year, this winter, to support the conservation and recovery of the two specific barren-ground herds, the Bathurst and Bluenose-East. We heard from our travels around the Tlicho a couple of weeks ago that many of the people there and a lot of the elders felt like the caribou were one of the main, or they took a fair share of the caribou, and they wanted to know what our plans were in trying to deal with that. This particular program is a pilot program that is aimed at those two specific herds for now.

Herbert Nakimayak

Herbert Nakimayak Nunakput

I appreciate the response. Pilot programs like this are definitely a good indicator of what we need to do looking forward and definitely a good opportunity to look at other herds.

Mr. Speaker, grizzly bears and eagles are also a contributing factor of declining caribou herds during the calving season. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister consider co-management with Indigenous groups to better monitor barren-ground herds during those fragile times?

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

Absolutely. In my conversations with a lot of the Aboriginal leaders that I have been speaking, I said the only way this is going to work is if we work with our Aboriginal partners. We have a number of programs that we are trying, but we have been working very closely with them. We are trying to monitor the herds. We have a couple of programs that are out. One is Boots on the Ground. Another community has Moccasins on the Ground, I believe. We are looking to expand on those programs because what we heard in our tour again was the fact that maybe you should send these monitors out two times a year, once during the winter and once in the summer. I thought that was great advice, so we are looking at that.

I have directed the department to come up with a plan and identify some sources of funding and where we can access those from. The program is well received. We had a great presentation on the Boots on the Ground program during the tour that we had. We had some great video footage, actually, and I am going to see if I can find that video footage and post it somewhere where folks will have access to that footage. I found that footage that we watched, I think, was very helpful and it kind of demonstrated the value of the monitoring programs.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nunakput.

Herbert Nakimayak

Herbert Nakimayak Nunakput

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate that response. It looks promising and, as we move towards co-management, self-government, and our own self-determination, it looks like we have something to work with, and I think this is something that we can improve upon as we move forward.

Mr. Speaker, grizzly bears also play a huge role during the calving season and definitely the numbers around the communities in the Northwest Territories have been rising from reports from harvesters and even community members, and bears coming into the communities during the summer and fall season. Mr. Speaker, my question to the Minister is: will the Minister look into better incentives for barren-ground grizzly bears in the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

The GNWT, we currently don't have any specific incentives for the harvest of grizzly bears in the NWT. Again, we will work with our co-management partners and see if we can come up with initiatives towards that if we find that they are a threat. As part of the monitoring program too, we are thinking that they would be able to monitor the number of grizzly bears that are actually following the caribou.

One of the stats that I found quite alarming when we were doing our tour was the fact that I think they followed them and they did the calf count at a certain time of year, and I believe they did a calf count again in the fall, and it was down by almost 80 percent, I believe, so the calf survival rate was very low and a lot of that. It showed right on the video where the wolves in the video were actually stalking the caribou. At the end of the footage, it showed a wolf actually walking away with a calf that it took out of the herd. So we feel that, through enhancing our monitoring programs, we would probably be able to be of a little more of assistance to the caribou and try to control the predators. 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

Marci cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I made a Member's statement about homecare and was going to ask the Minister of Health questions on homecare, but the Minister of ITI trumped my Member's statement with the Taltson statement, so I have questions for him. I would like to ask the Minister of ITI if, during any Indigenous engagement, he would present the idea retrospective environmental assessment from their original project at Taltson. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.

Wally Schumann

Wally Schumann Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I clearly laid out in my Minister's statement today, there are one or two things that we want to do. One of the first things we need to do is dust off some of that old work that has been previously done with the Indigenous partners that they had at the time, the Deze group. There has to be a significant amount of work that has to be done, the technical aspect of it, as well as the environmental assessment part of this that has to be revitalized, so we are going to be looking at all those things.

As I have said, we want to ensure that all the previous engineering and design work is up to date and that baseline work is where it needs to be in engaging with our Indigenous partners that are affected. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh

In case in the Deze daze it hasn't been covered, I would like to ask the Minister if he is prepared to review all of the processes of approval with the original project back in the 1960s.

Wally Schumann

Wally Schumann Hay River South

I don't think there is a need for us to go back to the 1960s. I can see where this line of questioning might be going, but, you know, back in the day when they built the Taltson project, that was a federal initiative. They were in charge of land and resources in the Northwest Territories at that time. We have since just passed devolution and we are moving forward with our legislation to address these things, but I don't think there is a need for us with our Indigenous partners moving this project forward to go back to the 1960s.

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh

Maybe a simpler task would be to look at the history of Taltson River and how it related to the people that were living off the land. Would the Minister be prepared to have his department look at the history of what happened on the Taltson River prior to the construction of the Taltson River dam?

Wally Schumann

Wally Schumann Hay River South

As I said, we are working with our Indigenous partners. We have also had the prior history with the Deze group, who also supported this project going forward. I have had engagement with all three Indigenous governments on the funding announcement. They are willing to participate in this. We will be going out and engaging communities on these projects and Indigenous organizations to ensure that their participation and partnership is going to help us empower this project, and we will work on that basis going forward.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

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

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister if he would be prepared to share the findings of the Indigenous engagement for the money that was issued from the federal government for that purpose. I would like to ask the Minister if he would commit today to share those findings with the Legislative Assembly. Thank you.

Wally Schumann

Wally Schumann Hay River South

I'm not sure exactly what the Member is asking. We did the federal announcement. Prior to the federal announcement, I gave the Indigenous governments a heads-up. In fact, I even flew to Edmonton to meet with two of them and have discussions about them supporting this project and how we want to work on this thing going forward. There seems to be a lot of goodwill in the room on this project, and that is why we are moving forward on it. 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. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Finance. In my statement, I spoke about the cynical box-ticking exercise that the Minister has undertaken to engage NWT residents on the question of a sugary drink tax. My question for him is: why is consultation happening now, when your only remaining budget has already been tabled? Mahsi.

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, respectful of the process that this Assembly undertakes, we have decided that we are going to go out for a consultation like we normally do when we are presenting these types of new initiatives and get feedback from the public, which we take very seriously, and that will give us an indication of where we need to go moving forward.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

My question is why the consultation on this issue is happening now, when there are no more budgets to come in this Assembly.

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

Regardless if there is any budget coming forward or not, we still need to do the consultation because what people out there say is very important to us, budget or no budget session anymore.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

My next question is: what is the end result of this consultation going to look like, then? Is it going to be something that is added in a supplementary appropriation? Is it a recommendation to the 19th Assembly? What's the point?

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

I wish I knew what the future of this particular consultation would look like. I would buy lottery tickets for tomorrow. The work needs to be done and, much like the work with the formula financing a couple of Assemblies ago, that was going to be quite an undertaking, so it was decided that they would do the work before the end of the Assembly to determine exactly what the gap was and how it might be utilized going forward. So that work was done, and I see that as this, as well. We will do the work now. There will be an opportunity to, if the work is done quickly enough, maybe come forward with the request. We do not know that until we hear back from the people of the Northwest Territories. Having failed that, then it may be a recommendation to the 19th Assembly, but we won't know until we hear from the people and we can conclude the consultation.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my last question is: what efforts is the Minister going to make to engage residents of the Northwest Territories by giving some profile to this consultation on the Department of Finance website?

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

I take the Member's point. I will follow up and ensure that this is given the attention that it should be getting. I do know from being in a couple of places that there were some signs going up in the communities as to consultations that were happening there. I have seen some early indication of some of the consultations that are going on in the communities, some of the comments that were coming out. Obviously, they were in the paper, and because you mention the word "tax," everybody always says, "Well, I am opposed to any type of new tax." We will always have comments like that, but this is a consultation. We are very interested in hearing what the public has to say, and then we will put a plan together going forward. I take the Member's point, in response to her question. I will follow up and make sure that this is given the attention that it deserves. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are going to be for the Minister of Health and Social Services again in regard to the regional wellness councils. Mr. Speaker, it's great to hear that the councils move their meetings to communities in a region, and it's been very helpful. Unfortunately, there seems to be a lack of community awareness of the meetings. Can the Minister advise us what the council does to advertise their meetings and how do they encourage public involvement in these meetings? 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. Mr. Speaker, I will answer the question, but before I do so I just want to take this opportunity to apologize to the Member. Yesterday he asked me some questions on the regional wellness council and gave me an example, and I responded that I had responded by way of email. It turns out that email was in my draft account and I had never actually hit "send," so I am embarrassed, and I really apologize for giving that wrong information. This morning, I did send the Member an email with the correct information. So I do apologize for the confusion and the frustration that response yesterday may have caused.

When it comes to regional wellness councils, they are required to make sure that the public has timely notice of the date and times of meetings. Advertisement for regional wellness council meetings is usually organized by the regional wellness council through the authority that they are responsible for, so it may look different in every region and community, depending on what the best means of getting that information out is. I know in some cases it's posters. In some cases they have gone to local radio. There really is no one method for getting that information out. I do hear that there may be some concerns. I will certainly talk to the department and get them to work with the authorities to see if there are better mechanisms to get information out to support our regional wellness council to make sure that these meetings are well-attended.

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

Before I go on to my next question, I appreciate the Minister for the correction in our communication. These things happen all the time, so I greatly appreciate him making that announcement here.

My next question is: do the regional wellness councils have agendas that have spots to allow public involvement in the meetings? If not, will the Minister and the department work with the NWT Health and Social Services and have it as a standard part of their agenda?

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

The regional wellness councils approve their agendas for every meeting, so there is an opportunity to make amendments. Typically, the meetings do not have activities to have sections for public input, but that does not mean they can't. So, if the regional wellness council wants to open the floor to take questions or comments, that is certainly something they could do on a one-up basis. I am not sure that it would occur on every agenda. It's really up to the regional wellness councils. We do not want to be too prescriptive on what they are discussing. We want to hear from them.

Having said that, Mr. Speaker, attending the regional wellness council meetings is not the only way to get information. We anticipate and we expect that the regional wellness council members are going to be hearing from their community members, people in their communities, in and outside of those meetings. So there are lots of opportunities for them to get input from their communities and filter it into the system so that we can make good decisions.

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

I thank the Minister for his answer. Yes, it's important if we are going to be having these meetings in communities that there is some avenue for people to participate in it, and I thank the Minister for that. So I will be able to share that with my constituents and talk to the regional councils about that, and I appreciate that each agenda and each organization has different ways of different things. My next question is: are stats such as walk-ins, medevacs, training, and development plans shared with the regional wellness council members when asked and, if not, why?

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

It's my expectation that those will be shared when requested by the regional wellness councils.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I greatly appreciate that answer. I look forward to working with the regional councils because they have been asking me for that information, so I greatly appreciate the Minister with his answer. My final question is: can the Minister explain why the council is not able to hold meetings without having a chairperson in attendance? Do they not have a vice chairperson identified when they do this process?

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

Mr. Speaker, I attended a meeting with the leadership council in the spring, and one of the issues that the board members actually brought to my attention was that in our current setup there was no possibility for deputy chairs of the regional wellness council, which meant it was sometimes difficult to hold meetings. Two things have to happen. There has to be the chair, and there has, and there has to be quorum.

At that meeting, I actually directed that the Department of Health and Social Services work with the territorial authority to amend that so that we can actually have deputy chairs appointed. I also asked the board members to work with the members to select the deputy chair from within their own ranks. I understand that a number of the Regional Wellness Councils have already identified individuals to be deputy chairs. Others haven't at this point, but they certainly have the authority to select and appoint a deputy chair. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

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 Industry, Tourism and Investment. I certainly gave him a heads-up about this first question I want to ask him. Can the Minister tell us the maximum annual value of rough diamonds used for manufacturing here in the Northwest Territories, and what that figure is as a percentage of total production in that year? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.

Wally Schumann

Wally Schumann Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all, I can't answer part of his question because it is considered proprietary, because there is only one manufacturer. What I can tell the House is the producers make available 10 percent of their production by value to the manufacturers. Over the past eight years, only an average of 0.6 percent or $10.6 million annually has been used by the manufacturers. That's one of the reasons you could see why we took this initiative to change this policy.

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

Thanks to the Minister for that. Wow. We're not using very many of those diamonds that are supposed to be made available. I know that the changes to the Diamond Policy Framework are relatively new, but can the Minister tell us how many approved NWT diamond manufacturers there are now and if any new ones have applied under the new policy framework?

Wally Schumann

Wally Schumann Hay River South

There are currently two. We've got Almod Diamonds, Limited, who recently was approved as our latest one. Crossworks Manufacturing Ltd., who operates uptown. These two are both actually working at updating their business plans to meet our new matrix. Also in response to this news when we announced this policy, I want to let this House know that these amendments were positively received. We've had preliminary discussions with two more international manufacturers who are interested in setting up here, and additional discussions with diamond brokers and industry experts who represent other manufacturers have also got hold of the department.

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

I'd like to thank the Minister for that, telling about the new interest. In my statement earlier today, I said that there is a lack of transparency around this new framework. The valuation matrix is nowhere to be found on the ITI website, so I hope these two new companies were able to find it somewhere. There doesn't seem to be any monitoring framework or public reporting under the new framework. Can the Minister explain how potential manufacturers can put together an application without knowing how they will be ranked or rated?

Wally Schumann

Wally Schumann Hay River South

The development of the approved diamond manufacturer application process is a lengthy collaborative process. ITI has determined that discussions with the interested manufacturers and brokers are most effective when changes to the DPF are represented in a manner that clearly outlines the department's new amendment in investments requirements. This methodology allows the manufacturer to better understand the environment and the key investment drivers. Following these preliminary discussions, ITI has shared the matrix with others, and relayed the information to recent interested parties. I can also at this time commit that we will post this online.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

Thanks, Mr. Speaker, and I want to thank the Minister for that really helpful commitment at the end. The matrix that is used to evaluate the proposals is finally going to get posted to the website.

Over the last 20 years, our efforts to establish and maintain a viable secondary diamond industry have been a failure. Would the Minister agree that the easiest and best way to retain benefits is to ensure that we would collect a fair royalty for the extraction of diamonds and other minerals and that this should be accomplished through a public and independent review?

Wally Schumann

Wally Schumann Hay River South

As the Member knows, and I've said it publicly, I've said it in committee, this government is committed to looking at all the taxes that are around the royalty regime. We made the decision to put that up to the 19th Legislative Assembly. Our department, I've directed them, and they have already started to do some of the legwork that is going to have to be needed to be done in the 19th Assembly so we have a full comprehensive review of what is all included in this. 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, my questions are for the Minister of Infrastructure. Earlier today the Minister of Infrastructure spoke eloquently about the transformational energy that the Taltson hydro expansion could offer the North. I spoke earlier about a new idea that SSI Energy presented to our committee with regard to a concept for district energy systems that could really be transformational for remote communities on thermal energy. I'd like to ask the Minister, simply: has the Minister seen the presentation? Has he watched the video from SSI Energy to the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Minister of Infrastructure.

Wally Schumann

Wally Schumann Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I have. I've actually had the opportunity to meet with Mr. Jeff Philipp and Mr. Cadwell, I believe, and he discussed his idea with me at great length here about two weeks ago.

Cory Vanthuyne

Cory Vanthuyne Yellowknife North

That's good news. I appreciate that the Minister has seen the presentation and has met with Mr. Philipp. That said, Mr. Philipp publicly stated in the presentation to our committee that his company would supply, fund, and guarantee such a system. I'm wondering if, in the Minister's discussions, did they have an opportunity to talk about any potential partnerships to invest in and put in or install this type of a system into any one of our thermal communities as a pilot project, even?

Wally Schumann

Wally Schumann Hay River South

First of all, I'd be very curious to see reaction from committee when Mr. Philplipp did his presentation. As we all know, he's a very high-energetic guy. I call him the Elon Musk of the North. He has a lot of ideas. He's got a lot of stuff going on there.

In our discussions with Jeff, there are a few things that he wants to try to accomplish all at once, and I suggested that we need to piecemeal this a little bit if we're going to even have a look at this thing. He wanted to know who he needed to talk to within our department, and I directed him to our energy division to sit down and have those discussions with them. One of the things I was a little concerned about was which community he wanted to do it in, and maybe we should have a look at a, bite off a little smaller piece somewhere else, but he's adamant that he thinks he wants to do it within his community of Fort Providence. He's been asked to task my department to have those discussions and see if there's anything even possible.

Cory Vanthuyne

Cory Vanthuyne Yellowknife North

Well, it sounds a little bit promising. I wonder if the Minister, knowing that there are many communities that have these large generators of which a number of them are scheduled at some point in time in the future here to be replaced, will the Minister work with his colleagues, in particular the Minister responsible for the Power Corporation or in his capacity as chair for Ministerial, Energy and Climate Change Committee-of-Cabinet, have a discussion about the opportunity of replacing one of these large generators with this multi-small-generator system that is being proposed by SSI Energy?

Wally Schumann

Wally Schumann Hay River South

That's why I've actually asked Jeff to go talk to our energy division to have a look at what's possible. I'm not saying we're not going to do it. The whole idea of our action plan and our 2030 Energy Strategy is we have a three-year action plan, and we know technology is going to change significantly over the next 10 years on how we're going to address the greenhouse gas emissions reductions in the Northwest Territories, and Jeff has a great idea. I've asked him to have a serious chat with our department, and when I get the feedback from that, we could seriously have a look at this thing as viable and looking at changing out something in one of these communities if it's going to work.

At present, right now, we're still moving forward with our plan around wind and solar and biomass and LNG and the Taltson and variable speed generators in different communities. We will continue to work on that. I am not saying we are not against this project. We will certainly have a serious look at it.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.

Cory Vanthuyne

Cory Vanthuyne Yellowknife North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do truly appreciate the intentions that the Minister has, and it seems that they are well-meaning and that we are heading in the right direction.

The district energy system that was proposed is certainly a game-changer unto itself, but a portion of that district energy system consists of these new super batteries made of graphene. These being used unto themselves can be used for multiple purposes; the Colville Solar Project, the Inuvik Wind Project, even remote mines. Would the Minister make a commitment to at least have the energy division look further into the use of these new graphene batteries? They alone could be used for multiple purposes, not having to change over small communities to whole new entire system, but just the use of these graphene batteries alone. Will the Minister commit to having his energy division look at little more into the graphene batteries? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Wally Schumann

Wally Schumann Hay River South

I am well aware of these batteries. Jeff actually met with me probably almost a year ago and had a discussion around these things. I think he has become now the actual Canadian supplier for these things. I don't think he has actually sold any quite yet. He is working on a number of initiatives right across the country on what he is trying to do.

We are having a look at these things. They have not been installed anywhere in Canada yet, but we have to have a serious look at how we are going to tackle these battery situations across the Northwest Territories, particularly around the wind and solar aspect of it. Most of these systems need a battery. The Member is well right that these things load up and keep power a lot longer. They can't freeze these things, so we have to have a serious look at it, and I have directed our energy department to have a look at it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Sahtu.

Daniel McNeely

Daniel McNeely Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Following up on my questions today, they are for the Minister of Finance on the Indigenous Career Pathways Program and the secondary program here, the Indigenous Management Development and Training Program, as well. My experiences have found that the Sahtu Region, with the government and the agencies, runs a workforce of 375 employees. Given that amount, in preparation for the readiness and awareness of these programs, can the Minister commit to the designing and promotion of a brochure for the delivery and awareness of these two programs? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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 was a news release that went out in October of 2018 that talked about a couple of new programs to open new career pathways for Indigenous Northerners. As far as there being brochures to promote that, I am not quite sure if I have seen any brochures yet, but I could follow up. I am sure that information is also available on our website with the proper information for those that want to take advantage of these programs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Daniel McNeely

Daniel McNeely Sahtu

Thanks to the Minister for that reply. I find it very encouraging, the inspiration on these types of programs that we see in this institution, and sharing that with the smaller communities would really create awareness of the opportunities that are out there, but they all are subject to fulfilling your education and so on. It will encourage the youth to visualize themselves in taking over some of these opportunities as the age group of the workforce goes.

My next question is: after the development of this brochure campaign profile, can the Minister share that with the schools, the EAs, and other agencies within the Sahtu, and the whole territory, for that matter?

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

One of the things that we are very proud of in the Northwest Territories is the number of Aboriginal people in our workforce, Indigenous people. We continue to try and enhance those numbers. There is a lot of value that is brought to the positions. We continue to promote that. If there is an opportunity in this particular situation to promote these programs at, say, educational fairs and things like that, I am not sure of exactly the details of our department's plans on promoting the program. I will follow up, and I will share any information that I can gather with the Members and Members of the Assembly.

Daniel McNeely

Daniel McNeely Sahtu

I am glad for that answer on the issue of promoting these two initiatives. In doing so, it will create inspiration to our youth that there is opportunity out there beyond post-secondary classes.

Our group is promoting a youth inspirational tour in the Sahtu sometime this spring, April or May. Can the Minister commit to providing some promotional brochures about the program and the criteria and so on, so that we can distribute the pamphlets during our Sahtu tour?

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

The Talent Acquisition and Workforce Planning Unit attended career fairs, and that goes back to the Member's first question, in many different regions. Recently they attended the Aklavik Healthy Living Fair and the Fort Providence Skills 4 Success Career Fair. They plan to attend a career fair in Behchoko that would be attended by all high schools. Again, that is an opportunity to promote some of the opportunities. They recently finalized the guidebook on careers in health and social services professions, an NWT- focused career guidebook, which will be shared with all schools. Any opportunities that our departments have to share information on potential opportunities and training, they will do so at a number of fairs that they attend across the Northwest Territories.

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. I have some questions for the Minister of Infrastructure regarding his earlier Minister's statement about Taltson Hydro Electricity Expansion. I recall that last year the MLA for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh questioned the government about why they weren't consulting with local Indigenous groups in the Fort Smith area regarding the expansion of Taltson. The answer was that there were no customers for the hydro power that could be generated by an expansion, so there was no point in consulting because there was no customer.

I see that there is money now for consultations, and I wonder if there is now a customer. My understanding is that the plan is to ship the energy north towards, presumably, the diamond mines, but given that this might not be completed until the mines are all shuttered, I want to know: do we have customers who have signed on the dotted line for this power? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Minister of Infrastructure.

Wally Schumann

Wally Schumann Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I have clearly laid out in my Minister's statement today, we had two parts to this. We were going to clearly have a look at the regulatory process, the environmental process, the engineering around this thing, and then the Aboriginal participation on it. They need to build a business case on that. That will be some of the ongoing work that we will be working on, and hopefully, in the coming months, as I said in my Minister's statement, with more federal funding to help us support this, we will be able to look at all of those aspects. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

That leads me to my second question. The Minister stated that there was an application for more federal funding. I think that in the last Assembly there was about $15 million spent on looking at expanding Taltson. I know we have another couple of million now. What is this federal ask, and how much of it would have to be GNWT dollars?

Wally Schumann

Wally Schumann Hay River South

Yes, we clearly announced that we had $1.2 million with the federal Minister of Northern Affairs, Minister Leblanc. We don't have an application as such. We are hoping that there is going to be something in the coming months that the federal government will get behind and help support this project. I would probably closely watch the federal budget to see if there is going to be any extra funding in there.

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

I just saw on the Minister's statement it said that the GNWT has put in a request for additional financial support, so I guess it is not an application per se. It is just a request.

I know that the Minister says that phase two is looking at an interprovincial connection and I have asked in this House before about talks with Saskatchewan and I understood that that was one of the customers they were looking at. Have there been any recent talks with Saskatchewan that the Minister can update us on?

Wally Schumann

Wally Schumann Hay River South

I believe that the department has not talked to Saskatchewan lately, as we have changed our refocus on joining the North/South Slave grids at the present application.

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. My final question is: how do we expect to pay for this expansion? I know that it might pay for itself over time, but the budget just came out yesterday. We are almost right up against the debt wall. You know, maybe at the beginning of this Assembly, this was viable, but our borrowing limit is almost maxed out. How does the Minister think that this is going to be paid for? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Wally Schumann

Wally Schumann Hay River South

As I have said, we have a lot of work to do. We have to work with our Indigenous partners and do all our preliminary work that needs to be done. So it would be kind of pre-emptive on how we are going to pay for this if we can't prove that there is a viable project, but I'm sure the Minister of Finance has been in discussions with his federal counterpart on looking at different ways that we may have to change our borrowing limit on this.

There are different opportunities on financing this project, and that is what we need to scope out. It might be through the federal infrastructure bank. It might be private equity. There are a whole bunch of different business cases that could be presented to finance this type of project. There are a number of things that need to be done, as I have clearly said. We will continue to hope that we get some more federal funding to move this project out. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.

Frederick Blake Jr.

Frederick Blake Jr. Mackenzie Delta

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in follow-up to my Member's statement last year, I have a couple more questions for the Minister responsible for Infrastructure. Mr. Speaker, it has been almost two years now since the windbreak has been taken from kilometre 4 on the Dempster Highway because it is deteriorating. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister: when will the department replace this windbreak at kilometre 4 on the Dempster Highway? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Minister of Infrastructure.

Wally Schumann

Wally Schumann Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My recollection on the kilometre 4 windbreak was that, in discussions with the Gwich'in Tribal Council, they asked us to take this down, but I would have to follow up with the department if there have been in any more discussions with the GTC and see if they want us to replace this, or what the procedure is going to be moving forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Frederick Blake Jr.

Frederick Blake Jr. Mackenzie Delta

As I recall it, I believe the community of Fort McPherson actually asked to take it down because it was an eyesore because it was falling apart at the time. You know, it was probably built before we had pressure-treated wood. Will the Minister ensure that this work takes place this summer, as it is really affecting road closure due to high winds?

Wally Schumann

Wally Schumann Hay River South

I can certainly follow up with the department and get them to have a conversation with our superintendent in the region to reach out to the local community and talk to our contractor on that section of the highway to see what is happening on the ground and get back to the Member on what our plans are moving forward.

Frederick Blake Jr.

Frederick Blake Jr. Mackenzie Delta

I know last year the department was saying that they haven't noticed any more closures than usual, but this year, because we have had more snow, higher winds, we have had this troubling spot at kilometre 4, to be specific. Once the Minister finds out from his department that this really is a problem, like I am bringing up, will the Minister ensure that they work with the community or the contractor over the summer to ensure this work is done?

Wally Schumann

Wally Schumann Hay River South

If this does prove out to be a situation that needs to be addressed, depending on what the cost is, I suspect that this is something that we can possibly look at doing from within, but I will not commit to doing that until I get the exact details. I'm sure, if it is a situation where we need to address it to keep the road open for the residents of the Northwest Territories, we will have a serious look at doing it.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.

Frederick Blake Jr.

Frederick Blake Jr. Mackenzie Delta

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, you know that windbreak I'm talking about, it can't be more than a couple of thousand dollars we are talking about. We are holding up goods that are coming into our region, and also not to mention all the extra hours to maintain that highway. You know, we are talking about 20- to 30-foot drifts here, you know, in that one specific area. It is pretty easy that the cost of this windbreak is not more than what it takes to open that road, and not to mention all the goods that are waiting to go by. Will the Minister ensure that this is done over the summer? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Wally Schumann

Wally Schumann Hay River South

As I said, I will get all the information pertinent to this information that we need to make a decision on this. If it clearly needs to be done and it is something we can finance without going for an appropriation from our Finance Minister, we will certainly look at doing 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

Marci cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services on my Member's statement. I would like to ask the Minister if there have been any instances where a senior or seniors, a senior couple, have had their homes retrofitted to a barrier-free state and are now embroiled in full homecare for that unit. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Minister of Health and Social Services.

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

Mr. Speaker, I am not off the top of my head aware of the specific retrofits that may have been conducted through programs available through the organizations like the Housing Corporation, but I'm happy to sit down with the Minister responsible and figure that out and get back to the Member. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh

Mr. Speaker, this is, I guess, a question to the Minister of Health, because my assumption is that, when homecare is involved, even though the Housing Corporation may be responsible for retrofitting the unit, it would fall under Health and Social Services, but I'm not 100 percent sure. I would like to ask the Minister if he is aware if the Housing Corporation and his department have any plans to create barrier-free units out of home ownership units for seniors so they can age in place?

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

As I have said before and I will say again, this government is committed to aging in place. Following up on the Member's statement, I agree with much of what the Member said as far as finding ways to keep our elders in their homes and their communities for as long as possible. I don't agree with all of his conclusions as a result of long-term care, but we are committed to aging in place.

With respect to the Housing Corporation, they are working on a senior housing initiative that will help them actually make the determination in this particular area. When it comes to homecare, every homecare activity has to be based on a medical-type referral. In order to receive homecare, you have to have some type of a referral. That may include homecare support workers or occupational therapists or others to help them keep seniors in their homes. So, yes, the Housing Corporation is working on that.

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh

I'm aware that homecare can be applied in houses that are owned by the NWT Housing Corporation for seniors' housing, but the main target group, as I see it, would be the homeowners. I would like to ask the Minister if there is any plan to budget any actual money? Maybe it would be a better way to ask: is any money actually put in place to allow seniors to age in place in their home in their communities?

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

It is my understanding that the Housing Corporation is actually working on that exact initiative to find ways to support homeowners who need to do retrofits to help individuals age in place. Related through Health and Social Services, we can have occupational therapists, when there is a referral, come into people's homes and help them with other supports to help support activities of daily living, to identify the types of grab bars and other things that might be valuable or alternatives to ramps and those types of things. So occupational therapy, upon referral, can go into communities to help make those assessments.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

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

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is really an initiative or a mandate that requires good timing. The mandate says taking action so that seniors can age in place, so, according to the mandate that we set out four years ago, we should actually have seniors aging in place in their homes right now, but we do not, and we are just crossing the last budget. I am asking if the money is going to be used from homecare now in order to hire new staff so that we can expand homecare, so we can allow seniors to age in place, so we can meet that mandate. That is an important mandate. I think the federal government knew that when they put $6 billion into homecare when they were elected. So I would like to ask the Minister again: will there be new staff, new money, put into the field of homecare, targeted at our mandate of aging in place?

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

Thanks to the Members, earlier in this Assembly we actually put $1.5 million, and some additional dollars as well, into the creation of new homecare positions throughout the Northwest Territories. We have struggled to fill all those positions, but those positions have been created. We are also moving forward with an initiative to support aging in place through family and paid community caregivers. We are getting ready to roll that pilot out as we speak. It should be out early in the new year. I also understand that we already have the CARE Mobility program in place, which is where homeowners can apply for money to make upgrades to their homes to help them age in place. We have the ability for our occupational therapists, upon referral, to go in and help individuals determine what kind of supports they might need in their homes to help them age in place.

Mr. Speaker, we are committed to supporting those who age in place. We are currently in the middle of the homecare review, which we anticipate will be completed on March 31st. That will help us make informed decisions on where additional resources need to go, but it will also give us the ability to refocus the dollars we have into areas that are actually going to make a direct impact.

As I mentioned earlier, we have put in a number of home support positions as a result of the budget that the Members supported. We are having some difficulty in some of our communities filling those positions, and I am certainly willing to and I will be reaching out to the leadership in those communities soon to figure out how we can work together to fill those positions. 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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am glad to have the opportunity to just ask a couple more questions, a little bit of a change. I want to thank the Minister for the responses. I appreciate that. However, I would like to ask about the caregiver program. The Minister just mentioned the caregiver program. The caregiver program could be a huge part of aging in place. I would like to ask the Minister if there has been some sort of program developed for caregivers. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Minister of Health and Social Services.

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are moving forward with a pilot on that particular initiative, family and/or community caregivers. There are a number of different opportunities how this might roll out in the future. We want to test a couple of those, so we are going to be moving forward with a number of initiatives in different communities to test that exact principle. From there, we will be able to build a business case in whichever model seems to be the most effective so that we can build a business case to roll out at a territorial level. We are looking to go out in pilot on April 1st. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Following up on my colleague's questions, I have a general question about homecare funding as represented in yesterday's budget. The budget seems to indicate a significant decrease, of more than a million dollars, in homecare spending, and I am wondering if the Minister can tell us how that relates to the answers he just gave to my colleague. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier in this Assembly, we had a large amount of money put into homecare. We used those monies to create a number of positions. There was more money allocated than the positions that we had identified, and we had been trying to use those monies for different programs.

Unfortunately, there was $600,000 that was lapsing. Recognizing that we were going to be lapsing the $600,000 in this coming fiscal year, we had to make a decision on where we could get best bang for buck on those dollars, and it was decided to put them in, for this fiscal year, to Child and Family Services, which is an area where we are experiencing some significant difficulties.

Having said that, Mr. Speaker, that is not the only pot of money that we have. We have been working very closely with the federal government, and we are anticipating making a number of significant announcements over the next couple of weeks on areas where we are going to be investing in homecare with federal support, which will offset some of those dollars that we are now focusing into Child and Family Services.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the Minister's answer. What I heard him say is that there was more money than there were positions filled. If I have that right, could he tell us how specifically he is going to strengthen recruitment for homecare?

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

I am not sure that's exactly what I said. We created a large number of positions as a result of that budget, but not all of those resources were specifically for positions. When it comes to recruitment, we filled most of the positions, but, in some of our communities, we have gone out time and time again and we haven't had any success. I have had conversations with a couple of the MLAs about the challenges that we are facing in the regions, and we will be reaching out to leadership here shortly to find out if there is any opportunity to work with them to identify people in the communities who can do these home support worker positions so that we can provide training on the job to fill those.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Could the Minister tell us what the requirements or qualifications are to work in homecare?

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

It really depends on the job. Homecare nurses must be registered nurses. We have also got homecare LPNs. They must be LPNs. When it comes to home support workers, normally we need somebody who has got some skills in areas related to resident care or other things. There is some training that is available in the Northwest Territories, but, personally we believe that's a job where we can train on the job. We have the regional recruitment program that we are certainly willing to use to train people to do those jobs on the job, without necessarily coming in with the skill set prior.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my final question is: where the department has been unable to or the authority has been unable to recruit the appropriate homecare supports, then how is homecare being delivered, or is it not being delivered at all?

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

Not everybody in every community, obviously, needs homecare. It's based on a referral system. If we do not have a home support worker in the community who can do that, there are other opportunities to have individuals like CHRs provide the support that they can and other nurses provide the support they can and other professionals that happen to be in the communities. It's not ideal. We have created these positions to provide a certain level of support.

In some cases, they may not be receiving the full scope that has been requested under their medical direction, but we are trying to fill these positions, and we will continue to do so until we fill them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Oral questions. Item 8, written questions. Item 9, returns to written questions. Item 10, replies to Commissioner's opening address. Item 11, replies to budget address (day 2 of 7). Item 12, petitions. Item 13, reports of standing and special committees. Item 14, reports of committees on the review of bills. Item 15, tabling of documents. Member for Frame Lake.

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

Merci, Monsieur le President. I would like to table the following document. It's a letter dated February 7, 2019, from the Union of Northern Workers to the Minister of Finance, regarding arbitration on GNWT and Northwest Territories Power Corporation negotiations. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Tabling of documents. Member for Kam Lake.

Kieron Testart

Kieron Testart Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to table the following document, a letter from February 7, 2019, addressed to the Premier and Cabinet from Samantha Morandin, Student Association President at Aurora College.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Tabling of documents. Item 16, notices of motion. Item 17, notices of motion for first reading of bills. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.

Bill 34: Mineral Resource Act
Notices Of Motion For First Reading Of Bills

Page 4766

Wally Schumann

Wally Schumann Hay River South

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Monday, February 11, 2019, I will move that Bill 34, Mineral Resource Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Bill 34: Mineral Resource Act
Notices Of Motion For First Reading Of Bills

Page 4766

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Notices of motion for first reading of bills. Item 18, motions. Item 19, first reading of bills. Item 20, second reading of bills. Item 21, consideration in Committee of the Whole of bills and other matters: Minister's Statement 131-18(3), Sessional Statement; and Tabled Document 322-18(3), Main Estimates, 2019-2020, with the Member for Hay River North in the chair.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 4766

The Chair

The Chair R.J. Simpson

I will now call Committee of the Whole to order. What is the wish of committee? Mr. Testart.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 4766

Kieron Testart

Kieron Testart Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that the Chair rise and report progress. Thank you.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 4766

The Chair

The Chair R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. Testart. There is a motion to report progress. The motion is in order. All those in favour? All those opposed?

---Carried

I will rise and report progress.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 4766

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

May I have the report, Member for Hay River North?

Report Of Committee Of The Whole
Report Of Committee Of The Whole

Page 4766

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Mr. Speaker, your committee has been considering Minister's Statement 131-18(3), Sessional Statement, and Tabled Document 322-18(3), Main Estimates, 2019-2020, and would like to report progress, and Mr. Speaker, I move that the report of the Committee of the Whole be concurred with.

Report Of Committee Of The Whole
Report Of Committee Of The Whole

Page 4766

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Do we have a seconder? Member for Kam Lake. The motion is in order. All those in favour? All those opposed?

---Carried

Masi. Item 23, third reading of bills. Mr. Clerk, orders of the day.

Orders Of The Day
Orders Of The Day

Page 4766

Deputy Clerk Of The House Mr. Ball

Orders of the day for Friday, February 8, 2019, at 10:00 a.m.:

  1. Prayer
  2. Ministers' Statements
  3. Members' Statements
  4. Returns to Oral Questions
  5. Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
  6. Acknowledgments
  7. Oral Questions
  8. Written Questions
  9. Returns to Written Questions
  10. Replies to the Commissioner's Opening Address
  11. Replies to Budget Address (Day 3 of 7)
  12. Petitions
  13. Reports of Standing and Special Committees
  14. Reports of Committees on the Review of Bills
  15. Tabling of Documents
  16. Notices of Motion
  17. Notices of Motion for First Reading of Bills
  18. Motions
  • Motion 31-18(3), Request for Government of the Northwest Territories to Enter Binding Arbitration with Union of Northern Workers
  1. First Reading of Bills
  2. Second Reading of Bills
  3. Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
  • Minister's Statement 131-18(3), Sessional Statement
  • Tabled Document 322-18(3), Main Estimates, 2019-2020
  1. Report of Committee of the Whole
  2. Third Reading of Bills
  3. Orders of the Day

Mr. Speaker, I wish to remind Members that the Standing Committee on Priority and Planning will be meeting at the rise of the House today.

Orders Of The Day
Orders Of The Day

Page 4766

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi, Mr. Clerk. This House stands adjourned until Friday, February 8, 2019, at 10:00 a.m.

---ADJOURNMENT

The House adjourned at 3:10 p.m.