MEMBER’S STATEMENT ON NWT ANTI-POVERTY STRATEGY

MEMBER’S STATEMENT ON
NWT ANTI-POVERTY STRATEGY

Just before Christmas a group of concerned, socially conscientious organizations came to the Legislative Assembly and gave us all a Christmas present. It was a gift of 14 reports detailing the causes and effects of poverty. In addition to their presentation, the group had but one request and, to quote them, “All we want for Christmas is an end to poverty.”

Just this past weekend the NWT Association of Communities passed a resolution which urges the GNWT to proceed with the creation of a strategy for eliminating poverty. It’s a follow-up to a motion to develop an anti-poverty strategy passed in this House on February 11^th. As the Premier mentioned, it’s a motion which asks the Premier to initiate discussions with the Anti-Poverty Alliance Partners and requests a response to the motion in 120 days.

In a Member’s statement in February I made the following comment: that present, the one made to the Assembly, an end to poverty for members of the alliance and for our residents is one that this government needs to start work on. I was going to upbraid the government for not having done anything, but now, some 90 days after the motion, I’m very pleased to hear that the government is ready to move forward towards an end to poverty. But I have to wonder how the government will provide the requested comprehensive response less than 30 days from now if we are only just starting the process.

As the Premier also mentioned, all Members, Regular and Executive alike, acknowledge the huge impact that poverty has on our residents. The effects are evident in our schools and in the overloading of our health care system. Poverty in the NWT is exacerbated by our isolation, the high cost we pay for food, shelter and fuel, our housing shortages and inadequacies, and just the logistics of living in the North. To counteract those effects, our government spends quite literally hundreds of thousands of dollars on income support programs for our residents.

An effective anti-poverty strategy will be financially beneficial to the GNWT as it will reduce the dollars needed for income support programs. Our people will be better off. The GNWT bank balance will be better off. We all win in the long run.

The Premier spoke of establishing an advisory committee, but I feel that’s not enough.

I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

MS. BISARO: We have an offer of assistance from community partners to develop an anti-poverty strategy and it’s a great opportunity that must not be ignored. We have organizations concerned for the welfare of NWT residents willing to donate their labour and advice and considerable experience to this project, but we must engage them in a meaningful manner. They want to work, not advise, and we have to take advantage of that.

I will have questions for the Premier at the appropriate time.

MEMBER’S STATEMENT ON
RECOGNITION OF GRADE SIX STUDENTS FROM HAY RIVER

Teachers today: Rita Moizis and Jennifer Tweedie. Students: Kaed Blake, Novi Bordeny, Tia Buckley-Cayen, Nick Buth, Tristan Cross, Ashley Felker, Dawson George, Amber Lamalice, Meagan Loutit, Josely Mabbitt, Robert MacLeod -- and if you’re ever interested in politics, you’ll have a very good chance of getting into Cabinet.

---Laughter

Shanise -- and I suggest you get a picture taken with two other Robert McLeod’s here -- Shanise Mandeville, Shalaine Moore, Larissa Nekurak, James Pennell, Janna Roach, Uzair Sipra, Kira Tatti, Will Tonka, Danna Webster, Don Wilson, Bret Allinott, Anastasia Antony, Michael Beaulieu, Arry Bertrand, Russell Bouvier, Susie Chambers, Chelsea Dumas, Kendra Gaede, Sara Gibbons, Tristan Graham, Rachel Harder, Alex Huang, Christian Laboucan, Darwin Lawrence, Jared Leblanc, Kierra Mandeville, Jaymar Marzan, Daniel Melanson, Elliot Pinto, Ruby Lee Powder. Our chaperones here today: Rodger Blake, Allan Buth, Doug Lamalice, Linda Antony, Kelly Allinott, and Cheryl Melanson.

And I’d also like to recognize my constituency assistant and thank her for her help in organizing this today: Wendy Morgan from Hay River South.

MR. SPEAKER: Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

MEMBER’S STATEMENT ON
BUSINESS INCENTIVE POLICY AND
LAND CLAIMS AGREEMENTS

The Government of the Northwest Territories adheres to the following principles when implementing the policy: the government referential practices should maximize benefits for the residents of the Northwest Territories to the government policy and procedures; should enhance the Northwest Territories business environment, ensuring sustainable economic growth; and the policy should not prejudice any present or future self-government treaties or land claim-based rights.

I have a problem with (3). I believe that this policy undermines the land claim agreements and undermines the whole objective of the land claim agreements to have stable and subsistent businesses in the land claims agreements. Ensuring that we have self-relying people and self-relying communities by making capital investments to develop the economic liability of those businesses to be sustainable, when you have businesses located in two communities… I’ll use the illustration of Inuvik. You have two hotel companies in Inuvik. One is owned by the Gwich’in Development Corporation in partnership with a company. They spent $12 million to put this facility in place. Now we’re finding out that the Government of the Northwest Territories is only using one hotel for government employees, which is the Mackenzie Hotel. For one reason or another they are not using the Gwich’in business in Inuvik. This totally undermines the whole principle of land claim agreements.

Why should aboriginal companies invest their monies in the Northwest Territories to provide an economic benefit to their benefactors by these types of businesses? Yet again this shows the disregard for land claim agreements, land claim corporations, from doing business in the Northwest Territories, especially in the Inuvik region.

I don’t know what it is, but it seems to me there’s a line drawn in the sand and this government is doing everything it can to undermine those land claim agreements and the Gwich’in Tribal Council and these business arms by trying to do business in the Northwest Territories.

This has drawn a wedge in regard to the aboriginal business…

---Unanimous consent granted