This is page numbers 3665 - 3710 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 know.

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I know each community and region in the NWT have amazing volunteers out there. They are individuals that make things happen for the betterment of our residents.

This year, I would like to recognize three ladies from the Nahendeh that were nominated for the outstanding volunteer award. As you heard me speak earlier today in my Minister's statement, the NWT outstanding youth volunteer was Madison Pilling from Fort Simpson.

Madison has been a volunteer in Fort Simpson for many years with a variety of organizations. She sits on volunteer boards and committees in local hockey, curling, NWT speed skating, and Sport North. Madison has helped organize community events, coaching various sports. To add to this list, she's an active member of the Fort Simpson volunteer fire and ambulance department for over five years, spending many hours taking the ambulance calls and acting as a leader on the fire grounds. In 2021, Madison was named the department's training officer where she designed, trains, and tracks the training of her fellow volunteer members. Madison acts as a role model within her community, and her volunteering efforts have impacted the life of many in Fort Simpson.

Mr. Speaker, Beth Hudson has been recognized by her peers in Fort Simpson for her volunteerism and leadership. And during the 2021 flood that ravaged the community, Beth's contribution helped residents in need get access to food, water, shelter, firewood, among many other necessities. Beth also lends her hands-on approach to mental health support in the community, mentoring youth, volunteering at community events, and hosting archery competitions, both in Fort Simpson and around the NWT.

Mr. Speaker, Vanessa Merceau was born and raised in Fort Simpson and has volunteered in many different facets throughout her life. She was most recently nominated for the NWT volunteer award for the time, effort, and leadership she dedicated to the Fort Simpson volunteer fire and ambulance department. In 2021, Vanessa was promoted to the rank of lieutenant within the department in recognition of her hard work. In this role, Vanessa volunteers her time for training and administrative duties in support of the department in addition to activities providing medical and fire support for emergency calls within the community. Vanessa's dedication to the Fort Simpson fire and ambulance department has been invaluable to the village of Fort Simpson and she makes the lives of residents safer daily.

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour of knowing these three ladies personally. I can say they are amazing individuals and make a difference in everybody's life. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Nahendeh. Members' statements. Returns to oral questions. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Honourable Premier.

Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery
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Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to recognize Premier Jim Antoine, the 8th Premier of the NWT. When I first met Premier Antoine, I asked for wise words of advice. He said, "Get'er done." I took that pushing our departments. With 22 priorities and halfway through this Legislative Assembly, I take those wise words even more appropriate today. I apologize, Mr. Speaker, I know this more of an acknowledgement but I'm not sure how long he will be in the House today, so I apologize. But I do welcome him in the House. Thank you.

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The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Honourable Premier. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Yellowknife South.

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Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Antoine's leadership didn't end when he left this building. Since the inception of the NWT Health and Social Services Authority, he's been chair of the leadership council, and he has provided strong leadership through the transformation of our health system. And he continues to provide wise counsel, and I sincerely appreciate his role. Thank you.

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The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Frame Lake.

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Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

Merci, Monsieur le President. I too would like to recognize Jim Antoine. I first met him probably over 30 -- about 35 years ago as a former Chief in Fort Simpson, and I can vouch that he's still a pretty good hockey player. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

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The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Deh Cho.

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Ronald Bonnetrouge

Ronald Bonnetrouge Deh Cho

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Although I can't see past honourable Member Jim Antoine, I'd like to acknowledge that he's a respected Indigenous leader in our region for the Deh Cho First Nations and whatnot, and welcome him to the House today. Mahsi.

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The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

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Richard Edjericon

Richard Edjericon Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too want to recognize Jim Antoine, former Chief and Premier. I also had the privilege as a former Chief going to Dene Nation meetings et cetera and serving, and so I just want to recognize Jim Antoine.

Also, I just want to recognize also Dennis Drygeese, a translator from Lutselk'e, and all the translators in the House that are doing a wonderful job. Mahsi.

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The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Sahtu.

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Paulie Chinna

Paulie Chinna Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also want to recognize former Premier Mr. Jim Antoine as well too. And as I sit here as an Indigenous woman and being a member of Cabinet, it's a paved trail for Indigenous people to put their names forward and it's a line of encouragement. And I'm in -- in complete awe, to be honest, and I just -- it's an honour to be in his presence. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Nahendeh.

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Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

Jim, thank you very much for being here. Jim is a constituent of mine, and he's done amazing work. Everybody's acknowledged him here so I thank him for the work that he's done for Nahendeh, Fort Simpson, and the Deh Cho region and the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Welcome. If we have missed anyone in the gallery today, welcome to the Chamber and I hope you're enjoying the proceedings. It's always good to have an audience in the House. Mahsi.

Replies to the budget address. Member for Kam Lake.

Ms. Cleveland's Reply
Replies To Budget Address

Page 3669

Caitlin Cleveland

Caitlin Cleveland Kam Lake

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to reply to the 2022-23 Budget Address. I'd also like to acknowledge the work of staff across the government who have worked hard to prepare the budget.

Mr. Speaker, in total, the budget increased by $43 million, representing a 2.1 percent increase in expenditures over the previous fiscal year. In various ways, departments report on the progress of their initiatives that relate to the Assembly's priorities. However, it would be helpful if the budget reflected both the budgets and expenditures for those priorities come budget time. This would allow us to see the return on our investment, the financial effectiveness of the money we are spending, and make some judgement whether these investments are worth it. It's been said that what gets measured gets managed. So it would be worth measuring what we are spending on our priorities to ensure that these initiatives are well managed.

Mr. Speaker, while this is largely a status quo budget, four departments do show decreases and the most significant budget increase is for the Department of Finance at 13.9 percent. This increase needs to be evaluated along with what I would like to speak to today -

  • The almost 2 percent decrease in the NWT population over the last five years,
  • The 5 percent increase in inflation over the previous year,
  • The forecasted approach of the debt cap, and
  • The Assembly's housing priority.

Mr. Speaker, this government has been largely silent on attracting new Northerners. With the economic and social potential from growth, this government needs to take every opportunity to remind the world that we are open for business not to mention a great place to plant roots. Budget time is a great time for this by identifying the specific and broad potential that infrastructure investment creates. For example, the Road to Whati opens access to bismouth deposits for the Tlicho people, and the multitude of R and D investments across the government open doors to reimagine the way the GNWT serves the NWT.

Mr. Speaker, inflation alone could increase costs significantly beyond budget projections, especially when petroleum products have increased by as much as 33 percent. This will affect operational costs in every building the GNWT occupies as well as the fuel it uses in government and medical travel. As costs rise, departments will find it difficult to operate within their budgets. The GNWT's reliance on government renewal to change the way it uses its budget is clear - find the path to change or start cutting. And Mr. Speaker, what is required may be a bit of both.

Mr. Speaker, we can't talk about government spending without talking about COVID-19. The reality is COVID-19 has cost governments worldwide, and our fragile system is not immune to these expenses. Although the eruption of further variants is unpredictable, the country as a whole, recognizing increasing vaccination rates, is quickly opening. Even here in the NWT, we expect to see the end of a two-year public health emergency within the month. Even though future variants may require public health restrictions or new vaccines, we should now have a less onerous mechanism to protect our health and galvanize individual responsibility for mutual care with less public oversight and enforcement.

Mr. Speaker, after the introduction of seatbelt legislation, buckling up did eventually become nearly automatic behavior every time we climb into our cars. Managing the pandemic needs to cost less over time.

This fiscal year will see the Covid Secretariat budget reduce from $26 million to $12 million, but the number of people employed by the Secretariat remains untouched. About half are directly involved in compliance, monitoring, and enforcement. Given the demands on our system, surely there are positions around the territory that would better support the ability of our territory to thrive.

Mr. Speaker, this is a business-as-usual budget, But these are not business-as-usual times. This is an opportunity to budget for a different future.

For instance, even after COVID global political disruptions just aren't likely; they are already happening. Look at the devastating realities of the war in the Ukraine. Here at home, these are likely to disrupt supply chains and especially the availability and cost of refined petroleum resources.

This increase in cost of living, coupled with the caution imposed by COVID, will continue to affect specific industries like tourism, our overall capital investments, operational costs and, yes, our cost of living.

Climate change will have increasingly wicked impacts. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change tells us we are still on a collision course with average temperatures warming greater than two degrees Celsius in our lifetime.

Increased extreme weather will continue to disrupt food production and transportation. Last year, we experienced historic Mackenzie River flooding with huge impacts to Jean Marie River, Fort Simpson, Fort Good Hope, and Aklavik. The West Coast experienced the same with significant impacts to key highways and the cost of food. We will continue to see climate change increase rainfall, flooding, and coastal erosion here in the North. Increasing temperatures will affect habitat, change the availability of country foods, especially meat, disrupt Indigenous subsistence, and increase the cost of living.

Although we are moving forward toward a 30 percent decrease in GHG emissions by 2030, our goals depend on the mitigative actions of industry and the expansion of the Taltson, and neither of these are assured.

Mr. Speaker, I question whether it is the efforts of our government or the reduced mining activity in the North that has reduced our GHG emissions. We have a lot of work to do, and implementing the GNWT portions of the approved 2030 Energy Strategy largely depend on federal contributions.

In June 2021, the federal government renewed its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and passed Bill C-12, raising the bar to a 40 percent GHG reduction and a target of net-zero by 2050. The spectrum of issues will change and the costs will increase, Mr. Speaker.

Demographically, we are becoming fewer in number but older in age. Housing options and care will need to change for seniors to live in place with dignity or, alternatively, further hollow out our small communities through rural to urban migrations. The spectrum of housing and care requirements will change, and the costs will increase, Mr. Speaker.

Although the legacy of colonization has been recognized through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Inquiry, the repeated discovery of unmarked graves at residential schools, the work of decolonization and its impacts on collective trauma, structural inequality, and political self-determination, has hardly begun. The spectrum of issues will change, and the costs will increase, Mr. Speaker.

My point is that the future is uncertain and more complex than before. If we are trying to build resilience to return to business-as-usual following each coming disruption, we will not win, Mr. Speaker. A status quo budget does not serve us at a time when the world is anything but status quo. At the least, we must innovate and adapt. But the goal, really, is to innovate and transform.

A sense of urgency needs to pervade government renewal exercises. We need to redirect our little remaining debt capacity toward a very different and even more prosperous future. The word "bold" was peppered across the first half of the 19th Assembly, but this budget is not bold. Instead, I want to see this government take risk by rethinking the way it serves its residents and developing realistic budgets to implement the most desired futures while preparing to prosper through the worst-case scenarios. We need to make budget decisions that position us with the flexibility, strength, and courage to choose wisely and be well prepared to pivot. I hope the government renewal process will evolve GNWT program evaluations to focus on outcomes and value for dollar of the programs. In keeping with that I would like to see the government move to a results-based budget format in the future, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, this seems like a good place to end. But I'm not done. And I ask that if you only remember one thing I say today in response to the 2022-2023 Budget Address, remember this: The Housing Corporation cannot meet its mandate with a capital investment of $11 million.

The Housing Corporation owns 2500 public housing units. At an average cost of $600,000 per unit, the Housing Corporation holds $1.5 billion dollars in public housing assets. The industry standard for O and M costs to upkeep units is 2 percent per year. That is $30 million for 2500 units. The standard life of a public housing unit is 50 years. And industry standard says that the annual cost of unit replacement is 2 percent per year. This is another $30 million. This means, Mr. Speaker, that the average cost to maintain 2500 public housing units is $60 million a year. This budget allocates $11 million in capital funding to the Housing Corporation, leaving an annual shortfall of $49 million.

Mr. Speaker, you might be thinking but what about all of those federal funding announcements? And this is great news story. But the new funding from the federal government is not for operations and maintenance or replacement of existing stock. It is to build new stock.

The Housing Corporation has to fulfill its mandate to provide suitable, adequate and affordable housing and has a fiscal responsibility to upkeep and care for those investments. This budget does not do that. The NWT Housing Corporation cannot be responsible for its mandate within this budget.

This session, Regular Members have spent hours grilling the NWT Housing Corporation about the GNWT's investment in housing. The Housing Corporation responded that it follows the budgeting processes of the government. But over the last ten years, the Housing Corporation has seen incremental increases of 31 percent to its budgets while the GNWT has seen an average increase of 51 percent to its overall budget. In this budget alone, we see a 13.9 increase to the Department of Finance.

In truth, Mr. Speaker, this is not solely on the Housing Corporation. This responsibility lies with all of Cabinet who have heard Regular Members, for three budgeting cycles, beg for increased funding to housing, who demanded it in budget negotiations, and now I stand here with the main estimates for Housing Corporation that is lower than the previous two years. Do not tell me that Cabinet hears our demands because these numbers show they clearly do not. This budget shows that housing is not a key priority of this government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Ms. Cleveland's Reply
Replies To Budget Address

Page 3670

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Replies to budget address. Member for Thebacha.

Reply 16-19(2): Ms. Martselos' Reply
Replies To Budget Address

March 2nd, 2022

Page 3670

Frieda Martselos

Frieda Martselos Thebacha

Mr. Speaker, today I am going to provide my response to the 2022 Budget Address, which was tabled by the Minister of Finance last week on February 22, 2022. As I prepared my budget reply, I reviewed my speech from last year's budget reply and much of what I said last year is largely still how I feel today about this year's budget.

Mr. Speaker, as someone with several decades of experience with business in the private sector, my primary focus has almost always been about the economy. First of all, now that our government is changing its approach towards COVID-19 and treating the virus as an endemic rather than a pandemic, it is now high time that our government also shifts its approach toward the economic recovery. I've said this before and I will say it again, if we don't have an economy then we don't have money to pay for all the social programs or services.

Mr. Speaker, at the moment our government is not on a sustainable fiscal path. We have an ever-increasing amount of debt, and we are already very close to our federally-imposed debt ceiling. At this rate by this time next year, if not sooner, we are more than likely going to need to ask the federal government to raise our borrowing limit which would be the second time doing so during the 19th Assembly. That's twice our borrowing limit would increase within just three years. Our debt is rising at an accelerated pace, and it is going much faster than our revenue streams can keep up with. That is worrisome.

Our government needs to find some concrete, long-term solutions in addressing the debt that we continue to accumulate. I am not seeing that in this budget address for 2022.

Mr. Speaker, further adding to our fiscal uncertainties is the record level of national inflation that Canada has reached. Statistics Canada reported last month that the country has reached a 31-year high for inflation, by increasing 5.1 percent since last January. Costs in the NWT for consumer goods have increased for just about everything.

I shared several statistics last week about the costs going up for everything from food to shelter to gasoline. These costs hurt everyone, but especially people who are low income, persons with disabilities, and seniors. Plus, with a war brewing in Eastern Europe, costs for goods will almost surely increase even further. The world finds itself going from fighting a global pandemic into what I hope will not be a global war. I understand that this a worrying statement to make but that is the reality we are living in right now.

Furthermore, Mr. Speaker, another major issue that the NWT is facing is a crisis of housing. There are housing waiting lists that are sky-high in all communities and regions of the NWT. In Fort Smith alone, there are 212 people on the housing waiting list and some folks have been on that list for many years. There is not nearly enough housing supply being created to keep up with the needs of the communities.

There are also many structural and inherent flaws within the NWT Housing Corporation as it currently stands. There are many outdated policies it has which simply do not help people. Mr. Speaker, despite our government releasing the Emerging Stronger document last May, I have not seen any real substantive plan outlining economic recovery for the NWT.

For the last two years our government has been reactive to the evolving situation around COVID-19. Much of the response towards the economy was to provide temporary financial relief to help industries stay afloat and not close entirely. Well, we've now entered a new chapter with COVID-19 therefore our government must now shift how it engages with the economy. We need more collaboration with Indigenous governments and organizations, such as the NWT Indigenous Leaders Economic Coalition. We need more results on the review of our government's procurement policy. An Indigenous procurement policy and improvements to the Business Incentive Policy are needed as soon as possible. We need to eliminate inefficient and time-consuming red tape in certain areas.

Moreover, Mr. Speaker, we also need to advance the work on settling and implementing the various treaty, land, resource, and self-government agreements. Doing so we would create greater economic stability and conditions to attract and secure more investments in the NWT. We also need to consider devolving certain powers and responsibilities to Indigenous governments. That would cut costs by our government and provide greater autonomy to Indigenous governments. Changes in those areas would go a long way to improving our long-term economic outlook in the NWT.

Mr. Speaker, we also need to continue to pursue large infrastructure projects, such as the Mackenzie Highway, the Slave Geological Corridor, and the Taltson Hydro Expansion. These projects need to go forward, and they need to be done in partnership with Indigenous governments. We also need to continue with other projects such as the new territorial fire centre and construction of new seniors facilities that are currently underway in several NWT communities.

Overall, Mr. Speaker, given the unprecedented situation we endured with the pandemic and the speed with which governments acted in responding to it, our government now must also respond with urgency and haste toward our economic situation. I've said this before, we need to be able to think outside the box and to move with greater pace to improve our delicate economic situation. We need to come up with innovative ways to retain more of the wealth that is generated here in the NWT. We need to find new sources of revenue to help with our debt load, and the best way to do that is to increase the level of business and economic activity across the NWT. That is how we pay the bills and create a stronger economy for future generations. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Reply 16-19(2): Ms. Martselos' Reply
Replies To Budget Address

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The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Replies to Budget Address, day 7 of 7. Member for Monfwi.

Reply 17-19(2): Ms. Weyallon-Armstrong's Reply
Replies To Budget Address

Page 3670

Jane Weyallon Armstrong

Jane Weyallon Armstrong Monfwi

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the people in my riding make up 6 percent of the territorial population and represent four of 33 communities. The Government of the Northwest Territories' budget is $2.3 billion. Mr. Speaker, if that money was allocated based on population, Tlicho would be at least $120 million. I am waiting on the Minister to provide me with the information but I estimate the amount we receive is half.

According to the 2019 Government of the Northwest Territories Health Status Report, their own report says Tlicho region has the worst outcome in education, health, social issues, crimes, mental health, and housing yet no additional funding is being allocated to the Tlicho region.

Mr. Speaker, with this in mind, Tlicho people did not negotiate land claim and self-government to be part of the North Slave region.

On August 23rd, 25th, 2003, Tlicho Agreement was signed by all three parties - Government of the Northwest Territories, federal government, Government of Canada, and Dogrib Treaty 11 to the Tlicho Land Claims and Self-Government Agreement.

Mr. Speaker, the Tlicho region should not be considered as part of the North Slave region administrative boundaries. The North Slave region boundaries bring the Tlicho into Akaitcho territory and the city of Yellowknife. Being part of North Slave is not helping to serve Tlicho people.

Socioeconomic Condition

Mr. Speaker, earlier this week I spoke about social and economic challenges in the Tlicho region. We have high rates in income assistance, low levels of family income, low levels of education. We have high rates of addictions and substance abuse. Mr. Speaker, we have little options for housing. We have highest overcrowding in the NWT, with many homes in need of repair. We also need safe shelter options for women and children fleeing domestic violence.

We are also lacking infrastructure and services. Mr. Speaker, most of our infrastructure is over 30 years old. For example, Mezi Community School in Whati and Chief Jimmy Bruneau School in Edzo is over 50 years old. The Mezi School in Whati was originally built to serve elementary school children. It was not built to accommodate high school students. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, the school is beyond their capacity and is in need of retrofit or replacement. Chief Jimmy Bruneau School is also over 50 years old. The community wants a new school built in Behchoko. Wekweeti and Gameti health facilities are also over 30 years old.

What I would like to see, I would like to see the following:

  • Transfer child and youth care counsellor to the Tlicho government without restriction;
  • Dedicate funding to create a safe shelter for women and children in the Tlicho region;
  • Additional houses built in the Tlicho region and housing policies that meet the needs of the people;
  • An evaluation of both community and Government of the Northwest Territories infrastructure in the region.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Reply 17-19(2): Ms. Weyallon-Armstrong's Reply
Replies To Budget Address

Page 3671

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Replies to budget address, day 7 of 7. Colleagues, we will take a short recess.

---SHORT RECESS.

Reply 17-19(2): Ms. Weyallon-Armstrong's Reply
Replies To Budget Address

Page 3671

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Premier. Today I spoke about the less-than-spectacular Cabinet plan for economic recovery called Emerging Stronger.

Can the Premier tell us whether there were any comments submitted on the document and what, if anything, was done with those comments? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Madam Premier.