This is page numbers 5945 - 5992 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 public.

Topics

Kieron Testart

Kieron Testart Kam Lake

I thank the Minister. I think this House is well aware of the excellent work that has been done on the northern part of the territory, the fibre optic line and the future potential it has, but the southern part of the territory still has these issues; in particular, our capital of Yellowknife. Can the Minister bring the public up to date on what is known about the incidents on May the 8th, July the 13th, and August the 12th of this year where the fibre line was cut?

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

My understanding is three of the incidents did not occur on GNWT infrastructure. Northwestel is the owner and operator of the infrastructure associated with these three incidents. We are unable to speak on their behalf. In some cases, and I think the Member mentioned in his Member statement, there are active investigations that are under way.

Kieron Testart

Kieron Testart Kam Lake

Obviously, I wouldn't ask the Minister to respond on behalf of Northwestel if he has no information from them, but is the department or the Minister's office in active communication with Northwestel? They are our sole service provider in many regions of the territory. Is there a way they can coordinate better flow of information, sharing the information, when it comes to these events in the future?

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

My office, myself directly, have had no discussions with Northwestel. They may have had discussions with my officials, and I will follow up to see if those discussions have taken place, but with my office, personally, I have not had any conversations with them. I will reach out to department to see if we have had conversations with their officials, and, if I am able to, I will share that information with this Assembly.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

Kieron Testart

Kieron Testart Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Finally, one of my largest concerns is how these disturbances can disrupt the productivity and livelihood of business owners in particular, many of whom rely on that service to sell their goods. Shutting it down can have economic consequences, as well. Can the Minister update the House as to what efforts the service provider has been pursuing to improve redundancy to Yellowknife, in particular?

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

Again, I would have to have that conversation with the service provider. I am not sure if they have any particular plan for the capital. I have not had those discussions, but I do know that there is some infrastructure that was available. I'm not sure if they have accessed that. I think it's a conversation that needs to be had because I think the incident, the last three incidents, how it can lead for some redundancy, and in the southern part of the Northwest Territories, in particular in the capital. I will commit to the Member that I will have those discussions, and then I can report back to Members, or report back to this House, assuming those discussions happen before September 2nd. 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. In follow-up to my Member's statement, I have a few questions for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. As I mentioned, we have a problem with grizzly bears in Aklavik. I am sure the Minister is aware. I know they have the same issue in Inuvik at the moment, but I would like to ask the Minister: what steps can the department take to deal with their grizzly bear problem in Aklavik? 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. The Member is correct. We have had some incidents in Inuvik with grizzly bears, particularly around the garbage dump. I have seen some pictures, actually, of them right outside an apartment building, just down the road from where I am at. I have actually seen one out at the dump when I was throwing some garbage away three weeks ago. It has been a bit of an issue. I think the Inuvik side is not so much a big of an issue as it has been the last few years with the number spotted there, but this is not about Inuvik. This is about the Member's constituency.

I know there have been some bear occurrences in Aklavik. I think there were about 10 of them. They usually average about 100 sightings and incidents a year. I think, this year, we're down to only about 32. That doesn't take away from the problem that there a number of problem bears at the dump in Aklavik. I would have to check with the local ENR officer to see what steps that they are taking. As we get later and later into the fall and the bears are foraging for more food, I think there have been some sightings probably within the community. I know our ENR officer up there is well aware of that, and we will continue to monitor the situation closely to ensure that the public safety of the residents of Aklavik is not compromised.

Frederick Blake Jr.

Frederick Blake Jr. Mackenzie Delta

Clearly, our grizzly bear population is at its highest, as many people do not harvest them anymore. Will the department increase the number of tags of available and not have a zone which limits where hunters can harvest?

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

I think one of the reasons that they put the tag system in place was a number of years ago, when there was no tag system, there was a large amount of bears that were harvested, and I think there was a belief at that time, and this might have been 10 or 15 years ago, that, had they not put restriction on it, then that might have hurt the grizzly bear population quite a bit more. I think what we are seeing today is a result of some of those measures that were put in place to try to protect some of the grizzly bear population. We would have to work with our co-management partners, we would have to work with the Aboriginal organizations up there to see if there maybe is a way that we can increase the number of tags that are distributed every year. I do know that they do have tags up there, and the number has gone down in the last few years, and I think it's having an effect on the population. We will work with our co-management partners to see if there are measures we can put in place to increase the number of tags in the Beaudel.

Frederick Blake Jr.

Frederick Blake Jr. Mackenzie Delta

My constituents want to see some clear action, so will the department collar and relocate the majority if not all of the grizzly bears from Aklavik?

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

That is what I appreciate about the Member for Mackenzie Delta. He just asked "will you." I cannot give you a clear answer. I would like to. I would like to. Again, I would have to work with my department, and we will have discussions with the local officer as well as the local hunters and trappers, and, if they feel that it's a problem that needs to be addressed and if relocation is one of the options, if disposal is one of the options, then, those, we would have to consider. Again, you know, I would be reluctant and I would not just send our folks in there to start disposing of the bears without working with the local leadership to see what are the best options that are available.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.

Frederick Blake Jr.

Frederick Blake Jr. Mackenzie Delta

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would just like to ask the Minister: does had department know the cost to relocate, say, five to 10 bears? I am sure they know the price for one, but, you know, you just have to multiply that by how many bears there are, so does the department have a clear idea of how much it would cost if we had that option?

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

I am sure the department has a clear idea of some of the numbers or some of the costs that it would take to relocate some of these bears. The department might have a clear idea. The Minister actually, unfortunately, does not have a clear idea as to exactly what it would cost, and the Minister will commit to working with his department to find the cost and then work with the Member and the community of Aklavik to see if those can be implemented. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister responsible for NWT housing. As I said in my statement, there have been no new units for seniors built in Yellowknife during this Assembly, while, at the same time, the population of seniors has continued to grow rapidly. Can the Minister tell us what plans are in place with funding attached to meet those needs going forward? Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.

Alfred Moses

Alfred Moses Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I appreciate the Member's questions. As Members know, we have done a comprehensive seniors' planning study throughout the Northwest Territories. We did recognize that there are communities across the Northwest Territories that need action addressed to seniors' housing and to help seniors out moving forward. The two communities that we have recognized, as I have said in this House before, are Yellowknife and Hay River, and the other one is Norman Wells. We are looking at creating partnerships with our stakeholders, and, as I have also mentioned in this House, we did get a carve-out for the co-investment fund that we do not have to apply on, that we can work with our partnerships to address the issue.

Moving forward, we are working with AVENS towards a possible partnership for the development of more seniors' housing in Yellowknife at this time. It's probably something that might not take place until the next government, but we are out there. We are working with our stakeholders to address all housing issues. Specifically for seniors, it will be Yellowknife and Hay River at the start, and focusing on Norman Wells and other communities. One big part of that is going to be the community housing plans that we have been addressing and looking at the priorities that communities see are priorities that we need to address, and seniors are going to be part of that.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

I appreciate the Minister's wide-ranging answer, but, if he could provide some specific information about whether there are any projects that are in the hopper with funding attached to meet seniors' needs at this time, that is what I am after.

Alfred Moses

Alfred Moses Inuvik Boot Lake

We do have a lot of major seniors' housing initiatives. Some of them are the seniors' aging in place retrofits, ongoing seniors' marketing and promoting the campaigns through our district offices to our seniors in the regions. Also, the transfer of a family home program is another one that we have worked on, which facilitates the transfer of family home if a senior does need to relocate due to a medical or other urgent reason. We are also piloting LHO repair services to private residents and not people who are living in public housing units, especially for seniors who have difficulty securing contracts. The CARE program is one that we have been working on, programs for major repairs, preventative maintenance; we also have the fuel tank upgrade; like I mentioned earlier, Aging in Place; and emergency repairs.

In the 2018-2019 fiscal year, we did approve 540 applicants for repair, for assistance for seniors. We will continue to do that. As long as we get that information out there in our district offices and our staff and as Members representing our seniors can get that information out there, then we can work on assisting our seniors throughout the Northwest Territories.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

No one could say that the Minister is not getting the information out there. Answering the questions, that is another story. Another means to ensure that seniors have appropriate housing in Yellowknife is to assist them with retrofitting their homes, and this is a very cost-effective solution, more cost-effective than providing a whole new place to live. The budget for the CARE program, as one example, for the whole of the NWT is only half a million dollars, so can the Minister tell us how many seniors' households were assisted with retrofits in the last fiscal year?