This is page numbers 5993 - 6030 of the Hansard for the 18th Assembly, 3rd Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was work.

Topics

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

That is great to hear about improvements in two of the many communities that the fibre optic line passes by or through. In addition to the examples I cited, though, we have the Premier on November 23, 2016, talking to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology, "We are connecting all of our communities up and down the Mackenzie Valley." Given that the promise was to have service in the communities, what steps will the Minister take now to deliver on the promise and literally go the extra mile to ensure that the improvements and Internet service actually happen?

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

I would be interested to hear from some of the smaller communities down the valley to see if their services have improved at all. We know of the federal announcement where they have committed a whole bunch of money to improving broadband in northern communities, and I think our service providers up here was able to take advantage of some of that. We own Mackenzie Valley fibre optic line. I think we're responsible for getting it out to pop-out, as it's called in the community, and then their service provider would go from there.

Again, Mr. Speaker, we shouldn't be throwing around promises. I don't recall making a significant or a particular promise. What we have committed to do, and "committed" is probably a better word, is to improve the service to people down the Mackenzie Valley. I think that is happening, maybe not to the speed as to what the Member might like, but you can talk to people in a lot of the smaller communities, and I am sure they will agree that their service has improved significantly, and will continue to do so.

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

I didn't make those promises. Ministers did in this House, or even outside the House. All I am pushing for is to make sure that we fulfill those promises. There were further promises made to extend the fibre optic link to Tuktoyaktuk. Can the Minister explain the status of this work, its costs, and whether it will happen in advance of real connections and improvements in the communities that were supposed to be served by the fibre link in the first place?'

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

The GNWT has done some high-level estimates regarding the cost of extending the fibre line to Tuktoyaktuk. This project is being considered as part of the Investing in Canada Plan. The GNWT, we are committed to working on a more detail plan related to this project which will ultimately determine the final cost and timing.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the Minister for that. Let's move on to the promised revenue stream from the fibre link, which seems to be in the neighbourhood of about $3 to maybe $20 million, I'm not sure. The costs are set out in the public accounts at $3 million a year. Can the Minister explain what the anticipated revenues were supposed to be for this project and why they haven't panned out? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

Mr. Speaker, revenue forecasts were developed for the project that were projected to increase over time. Revenue has grown at a pace of around 20 percent a year since the inception of the Mackenzie fibre optic line in 2017, and has met its projected forecast. With the recent approvals related to the Inuvik satellite station, I expect there will be more interest and, coming from small communities such as Inuvik, we see that interest firsthand. Finance continues to work with the federal government on the development of a satellite station facility to further increase revenue. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Oral question. Member for Hay River North.

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I mentioned earlier, ITI's relationship with the NWT Fishermen's Federation and its economic arm the Tu Cho Fishers Co-operative have fallen apart. This is very concerning because of major changes in the commercial fishing industry, such as the construction of a new fish processing plant and changes to the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation. I have some questions for the Minister of ITI. The first step in solving a problem is acknowledging that it exists. Does the Minister acknowledge that the relationship between the fishers and the department are strained, and that the strain is negatively affecting the prospects of achieving the goals of the revitalization strategy? Thank you, 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. No, I do not believe the relationship with the Tu Cho fishermen are strained. Just because there was an article on CBC and an interview based on what an individual has said in the Northwest Territories, I would not say it is strained. I have talked to most of the fishermen since that article came out, and there is some real concern about what is being put out there by the press and our relationship with ITI and our staff. In particular, I don't appreciate this individual trying to single out our staff in Hay River who are doing a great job on this. He reaches out to the co-operative all the time, and we will continue to deal with him on a professional basis. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

No problem, I guess. Everything's peachy. Traditionally, when the GNWT would put forward a name of someone to sit on the board of the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation, they would consult with the Fishermen's Federation. Earlier this year, the fisher who sat on that board received a letter saying that he had been removed. The federation had not been consulted, so it came as a surprise. They later learned that a bureaucrat would be filling that seat. The move directly contradicts the very first recommendation of the report of the Ministerial Advisory Panel on the Transformation of the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation that was released last month by DFO after years of study. Why did the government choose to remove the fisherman from the Freshwater Board and fill it with a GNWT employee?

Wally Schumann

Wally Schumann Hay River South

I am well aware of the Member's relationship with the person who we removed from this board. This guy was on the board for the last 20 years. You have a look at the fishing industry in Hay River and the challenges that we have had around the fishery in the Northwest Territories. The DFO was making changes. They have a governance model that they are looking at changing around the Freshwater Marketing Corporation, and due to the transition of this period that has to take place, I took the precedent of removing this person from the board when his appointment was done and insert our superintendent from Hay River.

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Earlier I talked about the fact that the federation doesn't have a budget to hire the type of expertise that could help them fully engage on the development of the processing plant and move forward with the revitalization strategy. Can the Minister commit to providing adequate funding so that the federation can have someone who is working for them and in their best interest?

Wally Schumann

Wally Schumann Hay River South

As I have said in the House, we work very closely with the Tu Cho Co-operative fishermen. We continually meet with them on a regular basis as the plant has moved forward. As all the Members know in this House, the plant is out for tender right now as we speak. We have already bought some of the equipment for this thing. Minister Moses announced a number of funding projects yesterday, and one of them is actually for the lift station to support this plant in Hay River, and we will continue to work with the Tu Cho fishery going forward. We are supporting them and will be assisting them with the manager of the fish operations of their plant. That is going to be developed around their business plan. They don't want to be locked down by some long-term person who we want to put in there. We have to continue to work in partnership and collaboration with the fishermen. We will continue to do that.

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 know that the president of the federation and possibly some other members or advisors would like to meet with the Minister to iron out these issues and help repair this relationship. The fishermen are out on the lake. It might take some work to arrange a meeting. Can the Minister commit to making some efforts to find the time to make that meeting happen? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Wally Schumann

Wally Schumann Hay River South

Actually, they have already reached out to me. We set up a tentative date, and they could not make that date. I said that I would make myself available, but before I commit to doing that I told them that I wanted an agenda of what we want to talk about and who is going to be present at the meeting. I don't have an issue meeting with them. 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 Justice. As I mentioned, there are growing concerns with the wills and estates with my constituents. I would like to ask the Minister: what options do people have when trying to deal with a loved one's estate? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Minister of Justice.

Louis Sebert

Louis Sebert Thebacha

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are certain factors that are very important in dealing with estates; certainly, the size of the estate and whether there is a will or not. Now, the public trustee, in certain cases, will assist. Generally, however, they will accept administration of estates where the only beneficiaries are children, the beneficiary is a spouse and a senior citizen. It says over the age of 65, I think, on the website, but they will go as low as 60 in age. Or the beneficiary is mentally incapable or there are significant assets and no next of kin can be found. In other circumstances, generally, the next of kin should contact a lawyer.

If those criteria are met and some other factors come into play, if the deceased person stated in his will that the public trustee was to administer the estate, more commonly, the person dies without a will and there is no one else looking after the estate or the next of kin of the deceased stated in writing that they consent to the appointment from the public trustee as administrator and they have searched but are unable to find a will of the deceased, the public trustee can assist in those circumstances, those criteria that I set out.

I mentioned the size of the estate as being important. Now, estates having a value of under $35,000 fall under a simplified process. The outreach clinic can be of assistance to residents with this simplified process. It is a trying time for families, but there can be help either through a lawyer or the public trustee in some cases or the outreach lawyer. Thanks.

Frederick Blake Jr.

Frederick Blake Jr. Mackenzie Delta

The Minister touched on this, but I will ask it anyway: will the Minister look at expanding the Legal Aid outreach office to cover probating wills?

Louis Sebert

Louis Sebert Thebacha

I realize that this is an important issue; obtaining probate or administration of estate is an important aspect of dealing with an estate. However, we are not contemplating an expansion of services at this time. The success of the outreach program means that there is a full draw on the services now offered. We are not in a position to add new services or enhance the services already offered.

Frederick Blake Jr.

Frederick Blake Jr. Mackenzie Delta

The Minister is a lawyer himself, but I am sure that the Minister also knows that we don't have lawyers on hand in the Mackenzie Delta or even the Beaufort-Delta; I'm not aware of any lawyers situated in Inuvik. Is there any information available to encourage residents to complete wills?