This is page numbers 179 - 228 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 going.

Topics

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

The Bathurst Caribou Range Plan made nine recommendations to manage the range of the Bathurst caribou herd. Habitat conservation is recommended in areas of importance to caribou, such as key water crossings and land corridors. ENR is supporting Indigenous governments to document these key habitats and features. We will then work collaboratively to identify legislative tools to establish conservation areas. The Bathurst Caribou Range Plan recommends managing the total level of development on the range of the herd, including industrial development in communities and roads.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Frame Lake.

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. It's clear to many that we cannot afford an all-weather road into the Slave Geological Province, and that it would likely be the final blow to the Bathurst caribou herd. If our government is actually serious about caribou protection and intends to fulfil its legal obligations under the Species at Risk Act, when barren-ground caribou are listed as threatened, an all-weather road through their range should not proceed in the absence of successful recovery efforts. Can the Minister provide any assurance that this government will actually back off the unaffordable Slave Geological Province road until there is a demonstrated recovery of the Bathurst caribou herd? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

I can't talk about another Minister's department, but what I can do is talk about what ENR is doing. We are committed to protecting the caribou population by making sure that our decisions consider any potential impact on caribou herds and their habitat. We make sure we understand that, and make sure we present the information to the boards and everybody else like that. We have a strong regulatory system in place. It ensures all projects are reviewed before permits and approvals are granted, and the department actually does have comment on these projects moving forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are also for the Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation. In a couple of her answers today, the Minister suggested that there may be problems with the building. I would like her to elaborate on what she thinks those problems are. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife Centre. Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.

Paulie Chinna

Paulie Chinna Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was just referencing the feasibility study that CMHC had not recognized. I haven't seen the document, but then, that was one of the reasons why the application was -- I don't want to use the word "denied," because they are encouraged to resubmit. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

I find it very puzzling that there is no way of sharing information between the CMHC and the NWT Housing Corporation when both are anticipated investors in this project. What can the Minister do to obtain information that has already been filed with the CMHC so that she can independently evaluate it?

Paulie Chinna

Paulie Chinna Sahtu

I am not aware of the documents that have been filed with CMHC in regards to the federal application that was submitted, but I would like to really stress in this session that I would need the Yellowknife Women's Society to contact us so that we could go forward and we could resubmit that application.

With any other additional information in regard to the submission of the application, I would have to follow up with the Member. Right now, I'm not aware of any documents that the Housing Corporation has received as I have not seen the application myself.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

I appreciate the answer from the Minister. In my mind, the premise of a co-investment fund is that applications are jointly reviewed and decisions are made, so I don't understand or appreciate the siloed approach between what goes to the CMHC and what goes to the Housing Corporation if both are requested to be investors in this project. What can you do to try and work more effectively with the CMHC so that you have the same information at the same time that they have the information?

Paulie Chinna

Paulie Chinna Sahtu

The co-investment fund has been available to the Northwest Territories through the federal government process. Going forward, I would like to see both applications as well. I would like to be more involved, so I will direct my department that any co-investment applications going forward -- because this is a federal financial opportunity for the federal government to come up with 75 percent, and then the territorial government to come up with the 25. This is something where we'd be, as the Northwest Territories, able to go forward and in partnership.

My comment to the Member is that I will be more involved in the applications as they come forward, and I'd be more mindful of sharing those applications. Not sharing the applications, the ideas, that if they do have interest in another region and that they are looking at homeless initiatives or constructing new units, just so I can keep the Members informed of what is being constructed throughout the Northwest Territories.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you to the Minister for that. Minister, you're going to need to be bossy with the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation to assert your right to see the information at the same time, to have a common evaluation method so that you can explain to us and to the public how decisions are being made about that co-investment fund. It was touted as a great bonus to this territory to have the $60 million carveout, but if it turns out that we are in the back seat here, I don't think it will be as useful as we all hope it will be in creating new housing for vulnerable populations.

My final question is: how do you think that the Housing Corporation will evaluate applications in the co-investment fund to decide whether they are worthy of the GNWT investment? Thank you.

Paulie Chinna

Paulie Chinna Sahtu

I just want to inform the Member also that CMHC, currently, we have the lady that has been working for the three territories, Nunavut, Yukon, and the Northwest Territories. She is retiring this year. Right now, this position could possibly be relocated in the South, which, right now, is a conversation that I am having with the federal government to try to keep this position here in the Northwest Territories, so that we have access to the partnership and bringing the applications forward. That is going to be something that we're going to be challenged with going forward.

Also, evaluating the applications, I wanted to just advise the Member that we do assist in completing the applications with the client, but ultimately, it's up to the federal government whether they deny them or not, what their criteria are, and what they're looking at. We just get that after the fact, once they have reviewed the application. Right now, it's the feasibility and affordability of the unit. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Hay River South.

Rocky Simpson

Rocky Simpson Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Minister responsible for health a couple of questions. I am going to go to something that was brought up in the last Assembly, and it was to do with dialysis. In the North, it's an issue getting that service, and in Hay River, we have a dialysis unit, and it's kind of running at half throttle. We're looking after eight people when we can be looking after 16, and it's partly due to funding.

What I'm hoping the Minister of health -- I've got three questions for her. I'm hoping that the answers will just be one word, "yes," "yes," and "yes." We need something positive. We have to roll something out to the communities. I would ask the Minister of health if she is willing to have her department, commit her department, to work with the Hay River health authority to look at expansion of the dialysis? Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Diane Archie

Diane Archie Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes. Our department is committed to working with the Hay River Health and Social Services authority, and actually, I was in Hay River last week, and I was able to go and have a look at the dialysis unit. The Member is right. It is under-utilized, so thank you.

Rocky Simpson

Rocky Simpson Hay River South

That's one yes. For the second yes, is she willing to direct her department to immediately start building a business case to make that happen?

Diane Archie

Diane Archie Inuvik Boot Lake

Second yes. We will commit to doing the necessary work.

Rocky Simpson

Rocky Simpson Hay River South

That wasn't too bad. The final one, so hopefully it will be a yes here. It is an easy question. Will the Minister of Health ensure that her department keeps me in the loop as well, and updated on what's happening?

Diane Archie

Diane Archie Inuvik Boot Lake

The third yes, and the Member gets what he wants.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

This is easy, Member for Hay River South. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiiledeh.

Steve Norn

Steve Norn Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't think I will get the same magic that my previous colleague just got, but I will give it a shot. My questions are to the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. It goes to my comments earlier from my Member's statement on the Teck decision to withdraw.

I want to speak a little bit about the transboundary water agreement with NWT and Alberta. I really thought about this for the last couple of days. I was really surprised at the amount of silence we had from that end of the Chamber. It concerned me because I know that if we had a large project in the territories and the water spilled the other way, and we had any sort of environmental impact going the other way into Alberta, I guarantee you the Alberta government would be saying something right now. I guarantee you some other government organizations would come back, and there would be some backlash to that.

My question to the Minister is: what benefits did the NWT receive as part of this NWT-Alberta Transboundary Water Agreement? Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker.