The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Ministers' statements. Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment.

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Mr. Speaker, twice a year we all adjust our clocks by one hour. First, we move them forward, and then we move them back. People have always questioned the wisdom of this annual tradition but in recent years a number of jurisdictions have taken concrete steps towards eliminating seasonal time change.

On Monday, April 4th, the Government of the Northwest Territories will begin a six-week public engagement to help us determine when and how we will eliminate seasonal time changes. The public engagement will invite residents to share their views on seasonal time change through an online survey. The survey, which is anonymous and only takes about five minutes to complete, will ask residents whether they want to continue changing their clocks twice a year, or if they would prefer to permanently stick with daylight saving time or standard time. We will also reach out directly to key stakeholders and partners including Indigenous governments, community governments, relevant businesses, and non-governmental organizations.

The results of the survey and the feedback we receive will be compiled in a "What We Heard" report that we anticipate releasing publicly later this year. This information, along with developments in other jurisdictions, will help us determine the best path forward for the NWT.

I encourage all Members of this House and residents to complete the survey to ensure their views are taken into consideration. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Ministers' statements. Minister responsible for Municipal and Community Affairs.

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the flood of 2021 was extraordinary, and they caused life-altering hardships for so many residents, families, and communities. I am very pleased to advise that the majority of these who were impacted are now in their homes.

I would like to acknowledge the commitment and effort of the local leadership in the flooded-affected communities. It has been nearly a year since the flooding took place, and during that time leaders have been carrying out the day-to-day business of running the community government while also being shouldered with the aftermath of the flood.

This government thanks you for your efforts and your resilience. As the ice broke on the Mackenzie River and Little Buffalo River last spring, residents in several small communities witnessed the devastation as the water and ice conditions to rise and destroy or damage homes, businesses, and community infrastructure throughout the South Slave and Deh Cho regions.

As communities in the South Slave and Deh Cho region were flooding, communities to the north were able to learn in real time from their neighbors and implement response measures that helped to reduce the damage caused by these floods.

In total, the GNWT has addressed approximately 140 structures owned by private residents, small businesses, non-government organizations, and community governments - either damaged or destroyed. We have processed disaster assistance claims from impacted residents and organizations which has helped repair and replace some of those that have been lost.

The challenges caused by these floods are beyond what the Northwest Territories has experienced in the past and our government met these challenges with extraordinary and unprecedented recovery measures.
We took a centralized approach to support the recovery efforts, which allowed the GNWT to cover the repairs or replacement costs of homes. To manage those massive repair and rebuilding efforts, the GNWT coordinated contractors to complete 28 repairs, 18 home replacements in Jean Marie River, Fort Simpson, Little Buffalo, and Fort Good Hope. The total cost to the GNWT was approximately $39 million.

Work is underway to change how the GNWT undertakes disaster recovery work and how we provide disaster assistance in the future. We are conducting an after-action assessment of the 2021 flood response.

Mr. Speaker, we have learned many valuable lessons over the last year, and those lessons are helping us prepare as we must turn our attention to this year's flood season. With spring breakup coming soon, so too is the risk of more flooding in many NWT communities. No matter the water level, ice jams can cause flooding at any time. All of us, from individuals, to families, to businesses, to government, need to be ready for the possibility of flood every single year.

Throughout the winter, all emergency management partners have been doing their part to prepare for this spring. Last summer, community governments have worked hard to prepare for the upcoming flood season. Our government has been supporting this work, and communities are ready and equipped to handle the next emergency no matter when it comes.

Our emergency management staff are working closely with local governments to ensure their emergency plans are up to date. They have offered training to local governments on emergency management and are prepared to jump in and assist should local governments need it.

Mr. Speaker, being ready for emergencies is not just about government. It is about every resident's responsibility to be prepared before an emergency strikes. Our role as government is to ensure that residents understand that risk, are informed about what is happening, and are equipped with the tools that they need to stay safe and help if they can in the event of an emergency.

The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs is rolling out a social marketing campaign called Be Ready NWT. It will appeal to the community's values and responsibilities we have to each other. It provides us with the information and the tools we need to be ready for any disaster.

We are making significant investment to make sure those messages reach all residents, using a variety of platforms - radio, social media, and newsprint.

Let us all work together to help our constituents be ready as we prepare for the upcoming flood and wildfire season this spring and summer.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Ministers' statements. Minister responsible for Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.

Paulie Chinna Sahtu

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to rise again today to announce the completion of another step in the strategic renewal of the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.

Mr. Speaker, in a few short days, the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation has been operating in the Northwest Territories for 50 years. In 1972, when the territorial law creating the corporation was passed, a different Prime Minister Trudeau was in Ottawa, and his first child Justin had just been born only a few months earlier. Canadian musician Neil Young was topping the charts with the song Heart of Gold.

Mr. Speaker, although 1972 may have been a good year for music, as I have stated in this House before as a government, we need to change to keep up with the times.

The strategic renewal of the Housing Corporation calls for a review and a refresh of the identity of the Housing Corporation. I am thrilled to stand before you to announce the changes resulting from that work.

First, beginning April 1st, 2022, the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation will be known to the public as Housing NWT. This new name better reflects the new mandate and the commitment to our clients, our partners, and our staff what we are about.

We are not a business in the usual sense. We are part of an integrated social support network.

Second, Mr. Speaker, the visual identity of the corporation will change. The northern lights are an image that all residents are familiar with, and fond of, creating the feeling of connection between this land and the people who occupy it. An image of northern lights will replace the very traditional NWT shield logo surrounded by elements of a house that has represented the corporation since its earliest days.

The new visual identity and name will be implemented on a phased basis beginning April 1st in order to economize on costs.

Mr. Speaker, while we turn a page with this anniversary and the renewal of the Housing Corporation, we should also acknowledge and celebrate its past successes. This is an opportunity to reflect on where the corporation came from, and where it is going in the future.

The list of former board members of the Housing Corporation reads like a short course in the modern history of the Northwest Territories board members that include Nellie Cournoyea, Stephen Kakfwi, and Jim Antoine - all of whom went on to become Cabinet Ministers and Premiers for the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, in reflecting upon these stories past, Housing NWT will be organizing a series of activities to connect with our employees, past and present, throughout the NWT. I hope that my colleagues in this House will have the opportunity to join in some of these activities and to offer their thoughts and encouragement as we continue with the strategic renewal. I ask the public to stay tuned to print and social media for further details.

Mr. Speaker, these changes to the identity of the corporation and reflections on the past are a small but important symbolic step as we renew the corporation to meet the next 50 years. I look forward to updating the House on further actions in the renewal in the coming months.

Mr. Speaker, I do not have a story of how I first landed or relocated here to the Northwest Territories. I have lived here all my life. I can reflect on the evolving of housing in the North, I can see the effects, and the need for adequate affordable housing.

These terms are political terms but not being, as a Dene woman from Fort Good Hope and in a settled land claim area, I have had the benefit of hearing from elders and previous and current leaders. The message is clear: Listen to the people and do with respect. Don't let the politics misguide you and remember to look after your people of the North.

Mahsi to the people of the North for the information collected. Mahsi to my colleagues for identifying housing as a Number 1 priority. Mahsi to the staff of the Housing Corporation for their commitment to continue this historical work. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Ministers' statements. Members' statements. Member for Monfwi.

Jane Weyallon Armstrong Monfwi

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I'm going to do it in my language, Tlicho language, for some and then I am going to do some in English as well. Mr. Speaker [Translation unavailable]

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Member for Monfwi, the audio's not working.

Jane Weyallon Armstrong Monfwi

[Translation unavailable].

I'm going to do this in English now. Mr. Speaker, I have heard many times from elders that every animal has a spirit and it is not good to talk about them all the time. So what I want to share with you today about the caribou is done with great respect.

We have an important relationship with caribou. We have been living with the caribou forever, and they have sustained us. Mr. Speaker, many elders and hunters have said -- have shared with me that it is difficult too maintain this important relationship with the caribou because of the mobile core Bathurst caribou management zone. I've heard from Tlicho people who said they drove by thousands and thousands of caribou before they got outside of the boundary.

ENR is making the boundary so big that there is no caribou outside the boundary.

Mr. Speaker, people are driving long distance and come back home without caribou to provide for their families. This is a hardship for many with the rising price of fuel, cost to maintain a skidoo, and all of the supplies needed to hunt. In the communities, the prices of groceries are so high that many people cannot purchase meat like steak or chicken that is common in Yellowknife.

Mr. Speaker, as I have said before I appreciate and respect the work of Indigenous governments, elders, and the respected boards on their endless work to protect and conserve the remaining Bathurst and Bluenose caribou in partnership the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

With that said, ENR budget reduction to research on Bathurst and Bluenose caribou does not line up. It doesn't make sense when caribou is considered species at risk and you reduce the research fund. Instead, more money is being put into enforcement to monitor and chase harvester in the tundra.

Mr. Speaker, as previously mentioned by director of lands and culture from Tlicho government, as a society "we need to do our part to preserve the caribou herds. With this in mind, we all have a to work together to take care of caribou." Mr. Speaker, I will have question for Minister of ENR at appropriate time. Mahsi.

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Monfwi. We were having trouble with the beginning of your statement so maybe what we could do is let you go at the end. I think we did -- we will have the staff contact you to see what was missed. But everything in Tlicho was missed because we're having challenges with our audio with translation so we'll get the staff to contact you and possibly come back to you at the end of Members' statements.

Members' statements. Member for Thebacha.

Frieda Martselos Thebacha

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on June 22nd, 2022, in just under three months, it will mark 20 years since the Salt River First Nation Treaty Land Entitlement agreement was signed at a signing ceremony in Fort Smith.

Mr. Speaker, Salt River First Nation has been very patient in their negotiations with the federal government and the Government of the Northwest Territories throughout the whole process of their treaty land and entitlement agreement. First of all, it took over a hundred years before the outstanding land provisions in Treaty 8 were finally fulfilled for Salt River. Treaty 8 was signed in June 1899, and the outstanding land provisions of the Salt River were addressed in the 2002 agreement.

Secondly, it has now been 20 years since the Treaty Land Entitlement agreement was signed, yet the agreement has not been fully implemented by the federal government and the Government of the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, while the signing of the 2002 agreement was an historic occasion, it pains me to say that despite that agreement being signed, Slat River has almost nothing to show for itself in terms of advancing full implementation of the agreement. Despite the signing ceremony in 2002, there are still some sections of the agreement that continue to remain outstanding and have not been settled in subsequent trilateral negotiations with the federal and territorial governments.

For example, it was only just last year in May 2021 that the government -- that Salt River members lived on Indian Affairs' branch lands in Fort Smith were able to finally convert lands they resided on into free simple ownership.

Furthermore, Mr. Speaker, when this agreement was signed in 2002, all three parties agreed that they would continue negotiating on details around funding for core infrastructure and the development of the Salt River reserve. In fact, specific sections of the 2002 agreement, which remains outstanding, include:

• The impact on the finance and delivery of programs and services, including infrastructure and housing of the Salt River members moving onto reserve.
• The potential cost implications of such options for each party.
• An agreement on cost sharing and implementation of each mutually acceptable option.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Overall, Mr. Speaker, Salt River First Nation wants to receive the same treatment as any other reserve that is south of the 60th parallel. Salt River is one of only two reserves in the NWT. Currently the other reserve gets funding for their operations and maintenance. However, Salt River does not have that same arrangement. I do not want to see anything taken away from the other reserve; I just want to see Salt River receiving the same treatment and on the same footing as other reserves. I will have questions for the Premier later today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Members' statements. Member for Frame Lake.