Michael Nadli

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Ms. Elaine Keenan Bengts has served as the Information and Privacy Commissioner for the Northwest Territories since 1997. During her time in office, Ms. Keenan Bengts has demonstrated a passion for information and privacy rights and a long-standing commitment to the work of her office that the Standing Committee on Government Operations respects and admires.

The committee is pleased to hear that Ms. Keenan Bengts will be continuing her important work on a full-time basis as the Information and Privacy Commissioner for the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

As the 17th...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know that we can all agree on the importance of elders and seniors in our communities and the importance of respecting our elders. We can show our respect in many different ways. We learn from the traditional knowledge and wisdom of our elders. We recognize their lessons about the land and its history. In our homes and in our families, we celebrate the role of grandparents, aunts, uncles and other role models in raising our children.

But today some of our seniors are at risk. Today I want to talk about the Deh Gah Gotie Senior Citizens Home in Fort Providence.

Communit...

I’d like to thank the Minister for making an effort in trying to reply. Initially I wanted to ask the Minister of the Housing Corporation, but obviously he’s not here.

My other question is with the budget plus the efforts of this government, there seems to be maintaining the status quo of the health and social services programs. We have an increasing aging population of people who want to continue living in their communities and in their homes. The Department of Health and Social Services has made efforts to maintain the status quo. The real effort should have been perhaps to increase and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I raised concerns with regards to security at the seniors home in Fort Providence. My questions are to the Minister of Public Works and Services. Currently I wanted to ask the Minister if, within his portfolio, he’s become aware of an assessment of the seniors home in Fort Providence and the deficiencies including security considerations. The building was constructed in the mid-70s. I just wanted to see if there’s been an assessment of the building including perhaps an eye of assessing the security for shortcomings as well. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Standing Committee on Government Operations is pleased to provide its Report on the Review of the 2013-2014 Annual Report of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of the Northwest Territories and commends it to this House.

The Access to Information and Protection of Privacy (ATIPP) Act came into force on December 31, 1996. The law was created to promote government accountability by balancing access to government information with the protection of individual privacy rights related to that information.

Under the act, the Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC or...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I’ve got the blues, but I want to tell you why that’s a good thing. Today I want to talk about LEDs. LED stands for light emitting diode, and these lights offer a way to replace old-fashioned incandescent lightbulbs and less efficient light sources.

LEDs light up the lives of NWT residents every day at home, school, work and while travelling, from household lightbulbs, televisions and laptop computers to vehicles, streetlights, runway lights at the airport in Lutselk’e and even Christmas lights.

Yes, I’ve got the LED blues. Each of these lights uses a unique blue...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. This government needs to do more to tackle the high cost of living. In the remote communities the cost of food and household essentials are double or even triple what you pay in Yellowknife. Nutrition North, which is run by the federal government’s department of Aboriginal and northern affairs, has replaced the old Food Mail Program.

In theory, Nutrition North makes healthy food more accessible and affordable. Its key mechanism is a transportation subsidy given to retailers.

A litany of complaints from northern residents and legislators about the program’s effectiveness was...

I think this government has a long history of a very good written relationship with First Nations. Recent efforts to try to move forward are really commendable in terms of some of the leaps and bounds we have made thus far. My hope is there could be greater efforts to at least bring on board the remaining outstanding regions that have unsettled land claims. That’s the Tlicho and Dehcho First Nations.

I understand the Premier has committed to meeting with the Dehcho First Nations. He stated recent offers between DFN and the GNWT have been rejected. I’m inclined to ask why those offers were...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s encouraging that the three northern regions, the NWT, Yukon and Nunavut, are working together to try to tackle and meet the needs of our Northerners in terms of trying to curb the high cost of living.

In the interim, as the three governments are trying to work together, would the Premier agree to bring back the old Food Mail Program? Mahsi.

At the territorial level, what specific actions does this government take to track, report, compare and offset the costs of basic goods in remote Northwest Territories communities? Communities such as Tuktoyaktuk, Deline. Sometimes our communities that are located off the road system have to fly their goods in.

Is this government keeping track of how goods are distributed in those communities? Mahsi.