This is page numbers 6089 - 6140 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.

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Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery(reversion)
Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery(reversion)

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The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Monfwi.

Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery(reversion)
Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery(reversion)

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Jane Weyallon Armstrong

Jane Weyallon Armstrong Monfwi

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to acknowledge Minister Vandal. And I'm sure he -- I know he has -- they have a good working relationship with the Tlicho government. And I just want to acknowledge him that he is here in Denendeh and that I want to ask -- just let him know that we do -- you know, like, one of the questions that I was going to ask was that, okay, we have a lot of aging infrastructure in Tlicho region as well. We need a new school and a water and sewer line. I'm sure he probably heard from the community government of Behchoko. So I just wanted to, you know, to say that. But I would like to welcome him. Thank you.

Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery(reversion)
Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery(reversion)

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The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Written questions. Returns to written questions.

Colleagues, we will return after a short recess. Order.

---SHORT RECESS

Returns to written questions. Replies to the Commissioner's address. Member for Yellowknife North.

Mr. Johnson's Reply
Replies To The Commissioner's Address

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Rylund Johnson

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Technically there is no time limit on the reply to the Commissioner's address. My life is in your hands, but I will try to keep this brief.

Mr. Speaker, as March madness comes to an end, and we have passed our last budget, it is time to celebrate fiscal new year's, when all those lovely program budgets get replenished. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this time to use my reply to the Commissioner's address to state that that will be my last budget as I will not be running again in the upcoming general election. Band before I leave, Mr. Speaker, I will try to impart some wisdom on the priorities for future Assemblies and the remaining 150 days or so we have left.

Mr. Speaker, you may assume I'm not running because I am fed up with the GNWT and frustrated at how hard it is to get things done but, in fact, Mr. Speaker, I'm not running because I'm really starting to understand and appreciate the GNWT.

Mr. Speaker, as we saw yesterday with the carbon tax vote, I'm now voting with Cabinet. Mr. Speaker, I think it's time to get out of here. Mr. Speaker, I'm worried if I stay any longer, they might make me a Minister and then I'll be saying things like, well, first we need to complete a review, a "what we heard" report, four strategies and an action plan before I can make a decision on that. Jokes aside, Mr. Speaker, I remain radically optimistic about politics in this territory, and I believe consensus government has never been stronger. This Assembly has navigated conflict - COVID, floods, and record inflation - and the system held up pretty well, Mr. Speaker. Consensus government ensures that Ministers continue to have individual responsibility in their portfolios, something that is being eroded in party systems as premier's offices and prime minister's office centralize power.

Mr. Speaker, we have a Cabinet that works with Regular MLAs, something that is almost nonexistent in opposition parties down south. Mr. Speaker, even when our system wasn't pretty, it held strong and proved that the way we govern here is better than party politics and all Members have a voice. Now, certainly, Mr. Speaker, this is a lot we can improve about the system and I will speak to those things another day. But let us all remember that it's far more important than the system of governments is the people in the system. And, Mr. Speaker, I believe this House's priorities are in the right place.

Mr. Speaker, the key example is housing. This Assembly, with help of the federal government, has done more for housing than any other. I am truly proud of the pressure and nonstop advocacy to house our most vulnerable. It was the theme of this Assembly, and that can't stop, Mr. Speaker. It needs to be the top priority in the next Assembly, and the next, and the next. We got the ball rolling, but it needs to build momentum and it requires relentless advocacy.

Mr. Speaker, I also believe that many of the great work of this Assembly is in driving a culture change in the GNWT. Not an easy task, but I believe we in this House are all genuinely committed to ending a culture of backroom contracts being awarded to friends and to actually think about in how we review our policies and legislation using evidence and data. I believe we in this House are committed to budgeting in a coherent and sustainable manner. The non-glorious work that is at the heart of good governance has been strengthened by us all, and we must let it continue.

And so with that, Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleagues, all of the great staff, and my constituents. And before I go, Mr. Speaker, I would like to finish my priorities for the last 150 days by describing what my ideal fall looks like.

First, Mr. Speaker, I'm going to go to Walmart and I'm going to smile knowing that they are no longer a BIP'd company. And then I'm going to walk up to that cashier, Mr. Speaker, and I'm going to feel great that they have five guaranteed paid sick days, Mr. Speaker. And then, Mr. Speaker, I'm going to do some winter camping, ideally at a leased cabin that the Department of Lands lets people AirBnB now. And then, Mr. Speaker, in the fall, miraculously, nothing is going to happen to the clocks. The time change will not happen at all. And then, Mr. Speaker, I'm going to go to the DMV on a Saturday and finally renew my license after four years. And after I walk out with my new license, I'm going to look up at the Yellowknife skyline and take comfort in the fact that it is not all owned by one company because the GNWT has stopped giving so much money to Northview. Those are my priorities. That is my dream for the next 150 days. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, all.

Mr. Johnson's Reply
Replies To The Commissioner's Address

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The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Replies to the Commissioner's address. Petitions. Reports of committees on the review of bills. Reports of standing and special committees. Tabling of documents. Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment.

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following three documents: Plain Language Summary for Bill 81, An Act to Amend the Education Act, No. 2; Plain Language Summary for Bill 82, Legal Profession Act; Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 1402-19(2), Cooperation Between Income Support and Child and Family Services. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Minister responsible for Finance. Oh sorry, tabling of documents.

Caroline Wawzonek

Caroline Wawzonek Yellowknife South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm not answering any more questions today; I'm done.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following four documents: Plain Language Summary for Bill 83, Liquor Act; Plain Language Summary for Bill 84, An Act to Amend the Northwest Territories Business Development and Investment Corporation Act,
2022 Socio-Economic Agreement: Social Data Report; and, Let's Talk Agriculture: Have Your Say Online Survey Results. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Tabling of documents. Honourable Premier.

Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

Mr. Speaker, MLA Johnson spoke about his accomplishments, what he was proud of this Assembly, I am really proud to table the following two documents: Plain Language Summary for Bill 85, United Nations Declaration on the Rights Of Indigenous Peoples Implementation Act; and,
A Way Home: A Comprehensive Strategy to Address Homelessness in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Madam Premier. Tabling of documents.

Colleagues, pursuant to section 5 of the Indemnities, Allowances, and Expense Regulations of the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act, I wish to table the summary of Member's absences for the period October 13th, 2022 to February 6th, 2023.

Tabling of documents. Notices of motion. Motions. Member for Hay River South.

Rocky Simpson

Rocky Simpson Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River North, that when this House adjourns on Thursday, March 30th, 2023, it shall be adjourned until Thursday, May 25th, 2023;

AND FURTHER, that at any time prior to May 25th, 2023, if the Speaker is satisfied, after consultation with the Executive Council and Members of the Legislative Assembly, that the public interest requires that the House should meet at an earlier time during the adjournment, or at a time later than the scheduled resumption of the House, the Speaker may give notice and thereupon the House shall meet at the time stated in such notice and shall transact its business as if it had been duly adjourned to that time. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Hay River South. The motion is in order. To the motion.

Some Hon. Members

Question.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Any abstentions? The motion is carried.

---Carried

Motions. Member for Thebacha.

Frieda Martselos

Frieda Martselos Thebacha

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is an expression of gratitude to clerk Tim Mercer for dedicated and exemplary service.

WHEREAS Tim Mercer was appointed Clerk of the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly in August, 2003;

AND WHEREAS Mr. Mercer has provided devoted and outstanding public service to the Legislative Assembly and its Members for 20 years;

AND WHEREAS during Mr. Mercer's tenure as Clerk of the Legislative Assembly he was a strong advocate for Indigenous peoples, languages, and culture;

AND WHEREAS during Mr. Mercer's tenure as Clerk, the Legislative Assembly has undergone rapid and significant change;

AND WHEREAS Mr. Mercer will retire as the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly on March 31, 2023;

AND WHEREAS it is customary for Legislative Assemblies to recognize and express their gratitude for such long and distinguished service.

NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, second by the Honourable Member for Hay River North, that the Legislative Assembly expresses its sincere gratitude to Mr. Tim Mercer for his dedicated and exemplary service to this House.

Thank you, Mr, Speaker -- oh, I didn't see the back, sorry.

AND FURTHER, that the Legislative Assembly designate Mr. Tim Mercer as an honourary officer of this Legislative Assembly with an entree to the Chamber and a seat at the table.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

The motion is in order. To the motion. Honourable Premier.

Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

I need my glasses, sorry.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize Mr. Tim Mercer, who is retiring from his role as the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly after serving our territory with distinction and dedication for almost two decades. Today marks his last day in the House with us in that capacity, and it's an honour to acknowledge his significant contributions to our parliamentary institution.

Throughout his 20-year tenure, Mr. Mercer has overseen and facilitated several significant improvements and modernization efforts for the Legislative Assembly, including adapting to the pandemic-related challenges. His leadership and guidance have been instrumental ensuring a team of impartial and professional staff who provide outstanding service to both Members of the Legislative Assembly and the broader parliamentary institution, ensuring that the voice of the people is heard loud and clear.

Recently, Mr. Mercer led the development with the Intergovernmental Council Secretariat members of a consensus government process convention that guides how land and resources legislation, drafted collaboratively with Indigenous governments, will be introduced, considered, and enacted in the legislature. This is a huge accomplishment. This process convention completes the process of collaborative drafting and ensures it applies to all phases of the legislation. This process convention is unique and historic and will remain a significant accomplishment.

Mr. Mercer's professionalism and dedication to duty have earned him respect and admiration. He's been a role model for many and set a high bar for those who will come after him.

On behalf of the government and the people of this territory, I'd like to express our sincere gratitude to Mr. Mercer for his years of service. We recognize and appreciate his dedication to ensuring that the business of the Legislature is conducted with the highest level of professionalism and integrity.

On a personal note, Mr. Speaker, I never had to use Mr. Mercer's services a lot because I was always a Minister and the Premier but when I did, he was always honest and sincere in his answers. I may not have always liked the answers, but he was always honest and sincere. We wish him well in his retirement and hope he will enjoy this new chapter in his life. Thank you. Mr. Mercer, Tim, thank you for your service to our territory, and we wish you all the best in your future endeavours. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Madam Premier. To the motion. Member for Inuvik Boot Lake.

Diane Archie

Diane Archie Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too would like to join my colleagues in acknowledging the service of Mr. Tim Mercer to this institution and Members of the Legislative Assembly, past and present. When I first met Mr. Mercer, as a newly elected MLA three and a half years ago, whereupon he tried to jam 500 years of western parliamentary procedures and 60 years of NWT Legislative Assembly procedures into my brain over a course of a week, my brain still hurts, Mr. Speaker. Sitting on Board of Management, I saw firsthand the quality of work that Mr. Mercer and his staff produce for our consideration, and I always saw his advice as sound and reasoned, even when I didn't necessarily agree with the proposed course of action.

Politics -- Mr. Speaker, politics is a contact sport. Bruised egos, hurt feelings abound. Mr. Mercer acted as a father confessor, as an impartial referee, and a procedural guide to all of us either at one point or another and while keeping in the best interests of the institution and this consensus government in the forefront.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, it is clear that Mr. Mercer, the Assembly's respected gratitude and admiration for an excellent job as clerk over the past 20 years. Personally, I would like to wish Tim all the best in any future endeavours and thank him for his service. Quyananni. Mahsi cho, Tim.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Inuvik Boot Lake. The motion is in order. To the motion. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As is the case with the Member for Boot Lake and for all of us here, the first -- probably one of the first people we met was Tim, and one of the first things we did was look inside the sausage maker that is politics and try and understand how we fit into this very process-oriented and pretty rigid institution. As a person who has a brand-new job, a very responsible job, having just been elected by the voters, it is truly daunting to come through the door and to try and understand which way is up. And so, you know, some of us were here in the 18th Assembly, and Mr. Mercer coached us through some of our learning curve.

I'm going to tell a story on Minister Thompson, has a lot of logo clothing from sports competitions and was always trying to sort of get away with wearing it by wearing a longer thing over it and being told no, that's not what we're looking for.

Soon after I started this job, I unfortunately had a huge burn and I had to spend weeks in bed. I had to spend weeks in recovery, and I couldn't have asked for a more compassionate and accommodating person than Tim to help me through that period. It was just such a difficult time of my life. I had just started this job, and then I was almost immediately out of action. And it turned out that that compassion was really a hallmark of the way that he treated Members and staff, you know, the -- we all lived through the death of Haylee Carlson. I saw great compassion in that and in other instances that were not as high profile. And I think that we've all benefitted from his generosity.

Certainly, as the Member for Boot Lake said, politics can be very rough and tumble and sometimes having a place to vent and trying to figure how to go for a different outcome is a very valuable thing, and Tim has always provided that for me and along with a lot of advice and guidance, which I truly appreciate and which I've benefitted from tremendously.

As far as I'm concerned, his greatest accomplishment was the assistance he gave the special committee on increasing the representation of women. It was he and the Speaker at the time who had gone to the commonwealth conference, had looked to the Samoan model for guaranteed seats for women and launched us on this process of how we could increase the representation of women, hopefully voluntarily, but if not voluntarily then with quotas. And then there were many iterations of that. There was a motion. There was an interim report. A final report. And I think that he deserves a lot of credit for the fact that we were able to really attract, through our efforts as the standing committee, a number of women to run in the last election who were successful and who are here today.

I also want to say that both of us are big fans of Arctic and Antarctic exploration, and that's been really fun to exchange articles and ideas about that, especially the infamous Sir Ernest Shackleton who went to the Antarctic, lost his boat, and came out alive, which is a pretty amazing story in itself.

I want to just note a few good changes. It's true that the focus on Indigenous languages, culture, and representation has really been heightened in Tim's time, and those are all very positive changes from my point of view when I see all the people in the interpretation booths. I'm very grateful that people throughout the territory have the opportunity to hear what we're saying in their own language.

I've also known him to provide opportunities for people to shine. He has been able to coach them to better things, to opportunities to attend conferences, training, to try new jobs, and to explore new boundaries and new successes.

And finally, I think we have with Tim our most foremost champion of consensus government, someone who understands it, somebody who's lived it, somebody who can explain it, somebody who doesn't give up on it when the going gets rough, which it certainly does from time to time. So I think that Tim's leadership here has really been transformative, and I would like to say how much I appreciate that. And I would also like to add that if Kevin were here today, I think he would say some of the same things, but he would argue with others. And he would want me, on his behalf as well as my own, to wish Tim the very best with his -- the rest of his journey in whatever that is coming forward. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife Centre. The motion is in order. To the motion. Member for Nahendeh.

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to -- I had about five pages of notes, but my colleagues took a whole bunch from me and I started crossing them off. I got down two pages.

Mr. Speaker, my first four years being in this -- as an MLA, I had the opportunity to work with Tim during that time. I can tell you the new 11 of us probably aged him about 30 years because, you know, Oceans 11, we kind of had a whole bunch of questions and he turned on the fire hose but we kept on throwing about 11 other fire hoses at him. So he was able to help us there.

I'm very thankful for having him here, though. He was able to provide the history to some of the previous decisions and visions of past Assemblies. Throughout the four years, he provided me and us good advice, suggestions on how to look at things with different lenses that we normally don't use and had strong leadership.

When I first came into the Assembly, I can tell you a friend of mine and former colleague, Alfred Moses, sat me down and talked to me about Tim and all the help and support he received his first time during his first year. I can tell you his experience and support he received from Tim during his first time was the same as mine. In speaking with my other long-term colleagues that were there, it was the same as him. So Tim treated everybody in the same with respect and dignity that the office holds, and I thank him for that.

Mr. Speaker, I'd like to thank him and wish him all the best on his next adventure called life. I believe the Assembly will miss his presence and service but like I've always said, if you can leave your job in a better place than it was when you first started, you've done a great job and I can say Tim has done that. Again, Mr. Speaker, I'd like to wish him the best on his retirement, you've earned it, and all the best. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Nahendeh. The motion is in order. To the motion. Member for Yellowknife South.