This is page numbers 79 - 104 of the Hansard for the 19th Assembly, 2nd 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 housing.

Topics

Iron Law of Bureaucracy
Members' Statements

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The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Members' statements. Member for Monfwi.

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Masi, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] I'd like to speak on the winter road and all-round access road. They signed the agreement last year; that was February 14th, that they signed this agreement with the GNWT and the Tlicho government, and also the company that is going to do the work. It started last fall. I want to make a statement on that. [Translation ends]

Mr. Speaker, on February 14, 2019, on Valentine's Day last year this week, the NWT government signed an agreement with the Tlicho government and a project company for the construction of a 97-kilometre road that will connect Whati to Highway No. 3. The construction costs for the road are expected to reach $213.8 million, while the overall P3 contract to design, build, finance, operate, and maintain it will cost $411.8 million over a 25-year period.

To date, there are 137 workers on site, and there are 49 Tlicho citizens working there. Out of these, five were hired as heavy equipment operators, two as mechanics, 23 in the general labour area, and 18 as truck drivers. There are also 18 northern workers from the Yellowknife community and, get this, Mr. Speaker, 70 non-NWT workers at site. That's 51 percent of 137 workers being non-NWT, from the South.

Mr. Speaker, the construction site is located in the heart of the Wek'eezhii Boundary and Monfwi Gogha De Niitlee Boundary. By rights, the contractual agreement should directly benefit the local Behchoko and Tlicho communities, as opposed to a southern firm and southern, non-NWT workers. As my former colleague would put it, it's a crying shame to allow outsiders to take all the benefits. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Members' statements. Member for Great Slave.

Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think that anybody who has known me prior to this role in my life is not going to be surprised at the topic of my Member's statement today. On December 22, 2015, the United Nations passed a resolution to declare February 11th the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. This is a topic that is near and dear to my heart. As an engineer, I have worked tirelessly over the last decade to promote and advocate for women in STEM, so I just wanted to share with the Members and the Assembly some statistics around women in STEM in Canada.

In 2016, women made up 34 percent of STEM, which is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, bachelor's degree holders, and 23 percent of science and technology workers among Canadians aged 25 to 64. In my specific professional area of engineering, women only account for 12 percent of professional engineers.

Most women who departed from STEM did so early in their studies. By the start of their second year, 17 percent of women in STEM had either switched to non-science-based programs or left undergraduate degrees altogether. Between then and the start of the third year, another 10 percent left.

Among Canadian-educated workers aged 25 to 34, 54 percent of women with a bachelor's degree in computer and information sciences worked in science and technology occupations, compared with 74 percent of men.

Despite extensive research and a high degree of policy concern, Canada's progress on improving women's representation in STEM is very uneven. In 2016, women's representation among Canadian-educated STEM bachelor's degree holders was 36 percent for 30-year-olds, similar to 37 percent for 40-year-olds, and then both figures were much higher than with women's share of 22 percent for 65-year-olds.

Women, though, one stat that is in our favour is that we graduated faster than the men did from STEM programs, regardless of the field of study. For example, 27 percent of women and 16 percent of men who started out in computer and information sciences completed a STEM degree within four years. I just wanted to take the opportunity to mark the day as it is something that I feel very passionately about. Again, as we have all been hearing a lot throughout this session and the first one, I am very proud to be part of such a radically changed Assembly and showing a new face of governance in Canada. Thank you very much.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Great Slave. Members' statements. Item 4, 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 Frederick Blake Jr.

Members, I would welcome those who are tuned in on television and on Facebook. We are gaining more and more people following our proceedings. Thank you.

Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 5, report of committees on the review of bills. Item 6, reports of standing and special committees. Item 7, returns to oral questions. Item 8, acknowledgements. Item 9, oral questions. Member for Monfwi.

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Masi, Mr. Speaker. I spoke earlier about the Tlicho All-Season Road to Whati. I would like to ask the Minister of Infrastructure: just how certain is the Minister that the contractor has met all of the requirements for Tlicho construction labour and Tlicho business operation as outlined in the contract signed between the three parties? Masi, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Minister of Infrastructure.

Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is my understanding from the department that the contractor is meeting all of their requirements under the negotiated contract or the contract for employment of hiring of Tlicho citizens. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

That leads into my next question. I understand that there have been some changes in catering contractors at the site. How is it that the catering contract at the site wound up in the hands of an American firm, the Aramark American catering company, that is on site right now?

Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

I am not 100 percent sure of the question. If it is just to ask why an American company has ended up on site, it is my understanding that the way the contract was worded, it was about employment of Tlicho citizens, not of that specific company. However, I could clarify that for the Member and return with a written answer if he would like.

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

We are talking about two areas: the hiring and, also, business opportunity. This is a business opportunity for Tlicho companies, local companies, but they missed their opportunity.

I will move on to a third question. I am assuming, as with any other government contract, that the process will follow to favour northern hires, northern businesses. What was the process that allowed a non-Tlicho, not just a non-NWT, but rather an American firm to service the Tlicho All-Season Road project, especially when they are operating in Monfwi borders?

Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

I would agree with the Member that we have all had lots of discussions around ensuring that northern businesses are used on northern contracts. I can't speak to the specifics of knowing, in this particular contract, details, but it is my understanding from the department that this has all been within the contract that was set forward and negotiated between the Government of the Northwest Territories and the Tlicho as well as the third party. It is my understanding that that was all decided upon together as a group. I am concerned to hear of businesses that are coming from not only southern Canada but from the US and taking work. It is definitely something I spoke to during my campaign. All I can do is commit to the Member that we will look at this and learn lessons from this and move forward.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Monfwi.

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Masi, Mr. Speaker. I still can't believe, in this day and age, that we are allowing an American firm operating on our traditional land. It is very difficult to accept. I would like to proceed with the next question. Is the project meeting the commitments to use the minimum participation rate of northern and Indigenous participation? Who is monitoring this? Masi.

Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

It is my understanding from the department that, yes, they are meeting the requirements of the contract for northern and Tlicho engagement or employment. However, I will commit to the Member, if he would like to have a further discussion with the department, we can bring departmental staff, and we can have a conversation about the monitoring that is happening to assure the Member that we are committed to engaging and working with northern companies and northern employees. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Oral question. Member for Deh Cho.

Ronald Bonnetrouge

Ronald Bonnetrouge Deh Cho

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. My questions are related to the NWT Housing Corporation program delivery to the communities and directed to the housing Minister. Can the Minister ensure district program advisors are visiting the communities on a more frequent basis to advise of the housing programs and services that are available to the people? Mahsi.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Deh Cho. Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.

Paulie Chinna

Paulie Chinna Sahtu

Thank you, Member, for your statement. Mr. Speaker, I will commit to having my programs' advisors who visit the community offices going forward. We do have a significant amount of programs and services that we do deliver as the Housing Corporation. Right now, we are going forward, and we are looking at advertisements. Then we are able to meet the needs of the Northwest Territories through our program delivery. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Member, for your question.

Ronald Bonnetrouge

Ronald Bonnetrouge Deh Cho

Mahsi to the Minister for that answer. We have had program advisors visit the community recently, before the holidays, but they weren't taking down specific information on people who approached them for their program delivery. That wasn't being followed through. Can the Minister ensure district program advisors are available to assist potential clients with the onerous applications process?

Paulie Chinna

Paulie Chinna Sahtu

Thank you, Member, for your statement. I am quite surprised to hear that the programs' advisors are not seeing the applications thoroughly and that they are not meeting the satisfaction of the clients coming to the programs' advisors. I will ensure to the Member that, when the district officers come into the community, that we do end up with a status report. I want to know what those community visits were like. I want to know how many applications were received and if they were completed or else if there was some information that we are missing. I will ensure that the programs' advisors are following up and that we are accountable as the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation. Thank you, Member, for your comments.

Ronald Bonnetrouge

Ronald Bonnetrouge Deh Cho

In my Member statement, I alluded to the fact that the LHOs had program advisors previously. Can the Minister advise as to when we may see program advisors continue back into our communities?

Paulie Chinna

Paulie Chinna Sahtu

Thank you, Member, for your question. Going forward, I have realized that we have increased the population within our communities, and program delivery in our increased public housing units means that there is a need for more positions within our communities. I will be looking into this question because it is a concern to me that we do have a number of units on the ground, but the number of employees that we have currently, we need to review that. Going forward, I will follow up with the Member with the changes that we will be making throughout the community offices, the local housing authority.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Deh Cho.