This is page numbers 6353 - 6412 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 assembly.

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Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

That is going to have to be a decision of the future Assembly and the future government. What I do know is that, through the transition document, there have been some suggestions on how we roll forward or, rather, the future government rolls forward with their budgeting process. I anticipate that this will be an area of discussion. We are hoping to have the information necessary so that there can be an informed discussion in run-up to that budget process.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Question 847-18(3): Seniors' Home Care
Oral Questions

August 22nd, 2019

Page 6365

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I receive a lot of calls from seniors who are concerned about homecare services. Ultimately, what I would like to leave them with is when they will see the benefit of the recommendations of this report. Thank you.

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

It won't be in the life of this government, and I would hate to presuppose what the priorities of the next Assembly are going to be. Unfortunately, as much as I would love to give the Member an answer saying, "This will happen on X date," I just can't do it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. 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 Environment and Natural Resources. My understanding is that regulations must be in place to enable final protections for Thaidene Nene. Is this the case, and when will regulations be completed? Mahsi, 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. As the Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh said before, it was a great event that we went to yesterday, and a lot of that came as a result of our passing the Protected Areas Act, so anyone who had anything to do with that should be very proud of how it turned out for the folks in Lutselk'e.

To the Member's question, the signed establishment agreement legally binds the GNWT to establish Thaidene Nene. However, protected areas are formally established under the Protected Areas Act by regulation. Site-specific to Thaidene Nene, skeleton regulations have been drafted to establish Thaidene Nene territorial protected area and will be signed by the Commissioner shortly. The full comprehensive set of regulations will be developed within 18 months of establishment. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

I want to thank the Minister for that. At yesterday's announcement, there were financial commitments made by the Government of Canada, but I'm not aware of any from this government. Can the Minister tell us: what specific capital and operations funding has this government committed towards Thaidene Nene?

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

The GNWT has committed $290,000 annually to the ongoing management of Thaidene Nene. Additionally, as the Member pointed out, they are getting some funding from Canada. These funds will allow the GNT Lutselk'e Dene First Nation, Deninu K'ue First Nation, Yellowknives Dene First Nation, and the Northwest Territories Metis Nation to effectively manage Thaidene Nene for the next four years.

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

I'm not sure that $290,000 from our government is going to do it, but I guess that will be up to the 19th Assembly. I was on the ENR website this morning, and there is now a rudimentary public registry for protected areas. Can the Minister tell us what the plans are to complete a public registry, and when will it be fully functional?

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

Before I respond to the Member's question, the first question on the funding, there is significant funding coming from Canada as part of their agreements with the local Aboriginal governments on the federal portion of the park, and the $290,000 is on our portion of the park. They will be significantly funded, and it is going to help with the work going on in the park in the future.

ENR is working towards establishing a new website registry early in the life of the next Legislative Assembly.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

Merci, Monsieur le President. Thanks to the Minister for that. As I said in my statement, it's one thing to create a protected area on paper, and it's another to have a vision and a role for protected areas in the NWT economy. Can the Minister explain this government's vision and commitments towards the conservation economy?

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

A lot of the governments across the Northwest Territories have a vision, and we heard from the vision from the folks in Lutselk'e yesterday on 50 years. It was a 50-year vision, a story, and I'll share it today that I noted yesterday was one where it said, a former chief had gone down to Ottawa. They said: "Sign this. We're going to establish a park." The chief says: "I'll go talk to my people first, and we'll think about it." They thought about it for 30 years. That's the vision that they had. They wanted to make sure that they have consulted with their people, and made sure they come up with a product that was good for the people that they represent.

The conservation economy, they support the preservation of biodiversity through the creation of protected areas, and I think we did a lot of work in this government on that. We are protecting wildlife. Needless to say, we are protecting a way of life for Northerners. We are also trying to strengthen local economies in respecting culture and values, and we are committed to work with the Indigenous governments to realize a shared vision, a shared vision toward a strengthening conservation economy. Opportunities and products that support Indigenous economies, eco-tourism developed within protected areas would be a focus. This would benefit local Indigenous government communities and the NWT economy overall by providing local, meaningful employment, new infrastructure, and new local business.

Mr. Speaker, the GNWT along with all our partners have a vision for the future of the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

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. As a follow-up to my Member's statement, I have a few questions for the Honourable Premier. As I mentioned, there are a few issues with the network that our GSOs are using, computers freezing. It seems like there's a problem when they're entering the data. That's a whole issue here. It's not filling out the forms. They've been doing it prior to this. I'd like to ask the Premier: is the Department of Executive aware of problems that some GSOs are having navigating the federal system? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackson Lafferty

Masi. The Honourable Premier.

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Yellowknife South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our GSOs are there to provide services to community members who need it, in whatever capacity, if they are having problems connecting with federal programs. Generally, our GSOs are aware of it, and they try to take steps so that we can improve the connectivity. As well, we all know how difficult it is to access federal programs. If you want to talk to somebody at the CRA, you've got to phone, wait on the line for 10, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, and then it will cut you off automatically because that's the way their programs are designed. It is very difficult to get through. You've got to spend a lot of time, and then we complain about it. I guess the best example is where everybody was getting audited on an annual basis for filing and claiming VTA travel, and we complain about it, and they check it out, and it was true. We were being audited a lot more than the rest of Canada. CRA took steps to set up headquarters in each of the three northern territories. We work with them. We don't have all the detailed information, but we are aware of most of the concerns.

Frederick Blake Jr.

Frederick Blake Jr. Mackenzie Delta

I'd like to ask the Premier: what does the department do to obtain feedback from GSOs on how things are going, and is there a formal process for them to give feedback?

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Yellowknife South

Through our government setup, all the GSOs are in regular contact with regional directors. Also, we bring them to Yellowknife at least twice a year for a regular gathering to discuss all of the issues, and it's also an opportunity for us to brief them and bring them up to date on programming. We also invite the federal government to do the same with their programming that reaches out into the communities.

Frederick Blake Jr.

Frederick Blake Jr. Mackenzie Delta

As I mentioned, there are concerns from a couple of GSOs talking about how the program is being offered. They know it's a great program. You know they're happy doing what they do, but their challenge is dealing with the federal government's outdated network. That's the whole issue here. Like they say, they're always listening, so I'm sure they will tackle it pretty quickly here. What is being done or can be done to address the concerns raised by the GSOs?

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Yellowknife South

We bring these concerns to the attention of the various federal department contacts. Also, where we've been working with different federal departments, we try to work with them so that we can get them to address some of the specific complaints. For example, the CRA, they have an NWT office here in Yellowknife, so it makes it a lot easier for us to contact them and tell them what the specific problems are. Certainly, we get much faster service now where we can just go down the street to talk to them instead of trying to contact somebody in Winnipeg by telephone.

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. This pilot project started in Tsiigehtchic, actually, and I have been in full support of this program right from the start. I would like to ask the Premier: has the original pilot project now been turned into a permanent arrangement with Service Canada, and do you have plans to expand the federal part of the program to the remaining single-window service centres? Hopefully, that will be full-time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.