096 Hansard
Whitehorse, Yukon
Thursday, May 1, 2008 — 1:00 p.m.
Speaker: I will now call the House to order. At this time, we will proceed with prayers.
Prayers
DAILY ROUTINE
Speaker: We will proceed with the Order Paper.
TRIBUTES
In recognition of Sexual Assault Prevention Month
Hon. Ms. Taylor: Mr. Speaker, May is Sexual Assault Prevention Month. On behalf of the Yukon Legislature, I rise today to pay tribute to all the people who work to eradicate sexualized violence and to those who educate the public about violence and sexual assault.
I also rise today to pay tribute to Yukon women and men whose strength and courage and response to personal experiences of sexualized violence have changed our personal, our legal and community response to this issue. The statistics on sexual assault show that assualt does not affect all Canadians equally. More than one in three Canadian women report having had at least one experience of sexual assault since the age of 16. Yukon’s rate of sexual assault is more than double that of the provinces. Young women under 25 also report higher rates of harassment and sexual assault.
Gays, lesbians and bisexuals also report experiencing higher rates of victimization for violent crimes, including sexual assault and physical assault, than heterosexuals, according to new data from Statistics Canada.
Statistics like these can help us understand the severity and prevalence of sexual assault. Statistics, however, cannot tell us how it feels to experience violence or what it is like to feel fear either of a person you know well or of a stranger on a darkened street.
Sexualized violence and all of its social ramifications has no place in society. For this reason, the Yukon government supports a number of initiatives within government through the Women’s Directorate, the departments of Education, Health and Social Services, and Justice, and through numerous agencies and non-governmental organizations to raise awareness and address violence in our communities.
This year the government is acknowledging Sexual Assault Prevention Month through the work of women’s organizations and releasing new tools to support the work of violence prevention.
The Victoria Faulkner Women’s Centre and Les EssentiElles are partnering to present a program of activities and events for the month. Events will include an evening of poetry, readings, singing, dancing and visual arts at the Yukon Arts Centre on Wednesday, May 21, at 6:30 p.m.
The organization’s planned activities during the month of May will also include an artistic contest for teens on the theme of safe partying, violence prevention discussions in schools and self-defence courses for women.
Later this month the Women’s Directorate, in partnership with the Department of Justice, will also release two Yukon-relevant violence prevention videos and an accompanying manual to be used by front-line workers and those providing support to persons who have experienced violence.
The campaign materials are part of the government’s long-term public education campaign on violence prevention and were developed by CORE — Circles of Respect and Equality — which is an inter-agency committee of 17 front-line workers dedicated to enhancing public education tools with Yukon-relevant content.
An inter-agency team of front-line service workers, otherwise known as the Yukon sexual assault response team, has also been established to promote collaboration among the many member agencies in order to investigate and successfully prosecute cases of sexual assault, while supporting victims through the process.
Building on this initiative, the Department of Justice also recently announced a new approach in collecting and protecting evidence. Kits on Ice allow for DNA evidence to be collected and securely stored for up to six months, allowing victims additional time to report their case to the RCMP without fear of losing evidence.
We applaud all of the many people in these and other progressive efforts for their continued dedication and their hard work to address sexualized and all forms of violence against women and children. I encourage everyone to take part in the planned events and to join the voices of men and women who speak out against violence in our communities each and every day.
Thank you.
In recognition of the Historica Fair
Hon. Mr. Rouble: Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of the 10th annual regional Historica Fair. Each year, schools around the territory host their local Historica Fair; winning projects are selected and they are invited to participate in the regional Historica Fair here in Whitehorse.
The regional Historica Fair opened this morning at the Yukon Convention Centre with heritage projects from across the territory. Five of the students from this event will be selected to represent the Yukon at the National Historica Fair in a week-long culture camp this July in Victoria, B.C.
For Historica fairs, students create displays to tell a story about Canadian heroes, legends and achievements. Most of the students feature Yukon components in their displays. Some of these displays were purely visual and some included music, DVD presentations or even performances of songs, dances and plays. Mr. Speaker, it’s great to see such excellent work coming from our young people.
I would also like to recognize the steering committee, the judges, the sponsors, the teachers and the parents who offered their support in making this event such a success.
But most importantly, I’d like to acknowledge the students for their hard work investigating history and putting together displays that tell some really important and engaging stories.
Learning about our history is an important part of celebrating our community and heritage.
Thank you.
Mr. Elias: I rise on behalf of the opposition to pay tribute to the Yukon Historica Fair. This is the 10th annual Historica Fair being held. There are approximately 120 students participating. These grades 4 to 9 students are from the communities of Dawson City, Mayo, Destruction Bay, Haines Junction, Pelly Crossing and Whitehorse. The fair is a learning initiative developed and sponsored by the Historica Foundation to help increase public awareness and interest in our Canadian heritage.
Our Yukon students are given an opportunity to explore the many aspects of their heritage and their efforts are presented in a public exhibition. The students have a chance to interact with fellow students from across the Yukon. They are interviewed on their projects and volunteer judges evaluate their work.
After the judging results, five students and their projects will be selected to join with 165 other students from across Canada for the National Historica Fair and a week-long culture camp in Victoria, B.C., being held in July.
I would encourage the public to drop by the Yukon Convention Centre and view the many projects and talk with the students. I was just at the fair and I must say that it was evident that the students put their heart and soul into their projects, which range from the great Rocket Richard to Roberta Bondar, the first woman in space, to individual family heritages, to our historic sites throughout our territory and the age-old trapping industry.
All the presentations were just wonderful. Congratulations to all the participants on a job well done. You are all winners.
In recognition of International Workers’ Day
Mr. Cardiff: I rise on behalf of the Yukon Legislative Assembly to pay tribute to May Day, also known as International Workers’ Day. May Day and the message of labour solidarity and remembrance of struggle are celebrated around the world, although the celebrations tend not to be as robust in North America as they are in other areas like Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa. It is strange, because May Day actually came into being on this continent in response to the Haymarket affair in 1886 in Chicago after the unjust hanging of three labour activists.
May Day is an international celebration of the social and economic achievements of the labour movement. There are many gains that the labour movement has made to improve the general welfare of all people, including the right to organize and to bargain collectively; the eight-hour work day; pay equity or equal pay for work of equal value.
Health and safety measures to prevent injury and death on the job were the result of long, hard struggles by the labour movement. Unemployment insurance, minimum wages and other key components of our social safety net were all part of the struggle of the labour movement.
Labour has always played a major role in international issues of social justice as well. Inside South Africa, trade unions fought the apartheid system while outside labour from around the world increased the pressure so that finally after years and years of struggle that racist regime was shown the door. Labour-sponsored boycotts have forced changes too. The California grape boycott led to significant improvements for workers in that industry. Just today, the Canadian Labour Congress sent a message of solidarity to the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions praising their efforts to protect workers’ rights, democracy and human rights in that country.
Labour has exposed sweatshops in multinational corporations who have profited handsomely from these “dark satanic mills” — that’s a quote from William Blake’s line about early industrial work in England. There are many challenges that labour and working people still face. The gap is widening between the rich and the poor — globally and right here at home in Yukon, Mr. Speaker. Labour needs to organize workers who aren’t receiving their fair share of the benefits of their labour. Labour’s chief mission from day one to the present has always been about challenging capital and about wrestling concessions that benefit working people. Labour’s motivation is still relevant today: that a better world and a fair economic order is there to be created, built on cooperation, solidarity and participation and not profit, competition and greed.
The global environmental crisis we face makes it even more relevant that we work for a more equitable world and that we challenge the view that progress is built and measured on profit.
Speaker: Are there any further tributes?
Are there any introductions of visitors?
INTRODUCTION OF VISITORS
Hon. Ms. Taylor: Mr. Speaker, I would ask all members of the Legislature to join with me in extending a warm welcome to Mr. Michael Kuhn, general manager of Fulda Reifen, and his wife, Suzanne. Welcome.
Applause
Hon. Mr. Lang: I would like the House to welcome my niece, Laura Lang, Hector Rowan Lang and Sophia Lang.
Applause
Speaker: Are there any further introductions of visitors?
Are there any returns or documents for tabling?
TABLING RETURNS AND DOCUMENTS
Mr. Fairclough: I have for tabling a portion of the Pan-Canadian Assessment Program for 2007.
Speaker: Are there any other documents or returns for tabling?
Are there any reports of committees?
Are there any petitions?
PETITIONS
Petition No. 5
Mr. Nordick: I have for presentation a petition regarding the need to support Tibetans in their struggle. It is signed by 136 people.
Speaker: Are there any further petitions for presentation?
Are there any bills to be introduced?
Are there any notices of motion?
NOTICES OF MOTION
Mr. Nordick: I rise today to give notice of the following motion:
THAT this House wishes the Special Assistant to the Yukon New Democratic Caucus, Mr. Ken Bolton, a happy 65th birthday and thanks him for his many years of service and wishes him well in his retirement.
Mr. Cardiff: I give notice of the following motion:
THAT it is the opinion of this House that:
(1) economic data from the 2006 census shows that median earnings among those in the bottom one-fifth of full-time full-year average wage earners fell 20.6 percent;
(2) over the same period, the median earnings among the top one-fifth of full-time full-year earners increased by 16.4 percent; and
THAT this House urges the Yukon government and the Government of Canada to address the widening gap between the rich and poor through a range of measures including progressive tax changes, introduction of an annual guaranteed income, and the creation of a comprehensive anti-poverty strategy.
Mr. Edzerza: I give notice of the following motion:
THAT this House urges the Government of Canada to prohibit the use of food crops in the manufacture of biofuels until such time as it can be proven that such use will not contribute to human hunger or malnutrition anywhere in the world.
I give notice of the following motion:
THAT this House supports Private Member’s Bill C-517 calling for the mandatory labelling of genetically-engineered foods, which would bring Canada in line with some 40 other nations that have legislation ensuring consumers the right to information about the food they consume, and urges the Yukon Member of Parliament to speak and vote in favour of Bill C-517 when second reading debate on it resumes in the House of Commons.
Speaker: Are there any further notices of motion?
NOTICES OF MOTION FOR THE PRODUCTION OF PAPERS
Mr. McRobb: I give notice of the following motion for the production of papers:
THAT this House do issue an order for the return of the Watson Lake co-gen study done for the Yukon government as referenced by the Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources in the Yukon Legislative Assembly on April 29, 2008.
Speaker: Are there any statements by ministers?
This then brings us to Question Period.
QUESTION PERIOD
Question re: Education standards
Mr. Fairclough: The Council of Ministers of Education in Canada recently oversaw national tests in three core subjects. The minister here is part of this council. At least 85 percent of the children age 13 were tested in each reporting jurisdiction.
They were tested in reading, mathematics and science. The results for Yukon are depressing. Regarding reading, the report said, “…the mean score for Yukon students in reading is significantly lower than that of Canadian students overall.”
What explanation does the Minister of Education have for parents and students?
Hon. Mr. Rouble: I’m very proud of the work the Department of Education and the teachers and administrators in our schools do — the work they do with our students, school councils and parents.
It’s not news to people in the Yukon that we have some challenges in our education system. We have some extreme successes; we have many very positive outcomes from our education system. We recognize there are areas we need to improve on, which was one of the initiatives behind the education reform project and some of the reasons behind changes in curriculum and the changes in programming. We’ll continue to work in all areas of the education system in order to close the performance gap between those people who are performing well and those who aren’t and to increase the performance level of all in our system.
We also recognize that when we look at other indicators, such as the Yukon achievement tests and provincial exams, our results give a much truer representation of the performance of the students in our school system, as opposed to the results from this voluntary participation test that is used.
Mr. Fairclough: The results don’t get any better in mathematics and science. In mathematics, the report says, “The mean score for Yukon students in mathematics is significantly lower than that of Canadian students overall.” In fact, Mr. Speaker, it’s second from the bottom. In science, “The mean score for Yukon students in science is significantly lower than that of Canadian students overall.” In fact, Mr. Speaker, in science, we in the Yukon claim the sole possession of last place. These results are alarming.
Other than working with many partners and cutting the public school budget and cutting teacher positions, what does the minister propose to do to address this alarming situation?
Hon. Mr. Rouble: Mr. Speaker, the member opposite isn’t reflecting the true reality of Yukon’s education system or the reality of the staffing going on in the Department of Education. For some reason, he isn’t recognizing the fact that the number of teachers in our education system has grown, that the investment in public schools, in advanced education — indeed, across the board in all aspects of Yukon education — has grown in recent years. We are increasing the number of teachers; we are increasing the number of education assistants, and at the same time the number of students in our system is decreasing.
We recognize that this isn’t the only way that we can improve the education system for Yukoners. We’re going to work on the curriculum that’s taught in our schools; we’re going to work on the way it’s taught, and work with our partners in education — as the member opposite rightly says — with teachers to design learning environments that work for all Yukon students. We will work for students here in Whitehorse, our urban centre, and also in our rural communities. We’ll be sure to reflect all the results of all students in our testing, unlike other jurisdictions.
Mr. Fairclough: Well, the minister can’t ignore these test results —he can’t do that — and if ever there was a case to be made for the necessity for education reform, we just heard it. Yukon spends in excess of $15,000 per child per year, and this is one of the highest rates of expenditures in Canada. We have one of the lowest teacher/student ratios, and we have a highly competent and dedicated group of teachers in our classrooms. This is not the time to reduce the public schools budget. It is not the time to cut teaching positions. It is not the time to hide behind doors and pretend all is well. It is time for decisive leadership.
What is the minister going to do — commission another three-year study? What is he going to do?
Hon. Mr. Rouble: Mr. Speaker, I agree; we do need to reform the education system. That was the whole impetus behind the education reform initiative. That’s the reason why we are working with our partners on the New Horizons project. I recognize, and I appreciate the member opposite for recognizing, that we do have the best teaching staff in Canada. We do have the highest per capita investments per student. We do have one of the lowest student/teacher ratios in Canada.
Mr. Speaker, we’ll continue to make investments in our education system. We’ll continue to work with our teachers and our partners. We’ll continue to reform and evolve our teaching practices, our content, our curriculum and the manner in which we teach our students, so that we close the gap between those students who are not performing to expected results and that we raise the bar and raise the performance level of all students throughout our system.
Question re: Whitehorse Correctional Centre rebuild
Mr. Inverarity: I have a question for the Minister of Justice. The years have gone by and Yukoners have seen little if any progress in the new Correctional Centre. Last year, in December 2007, the minister stated, and I quote:
“We have accepted DGBK Architects to prepare the schematic designs…”
Mr. Speaker, this is the same company that did the original design for the corrections facility back in November 2001. The very same contracts have been extended for more than six years and amended to more than a million dollars.
My question to the minister: what value have we received for a six-year delay and a million dollars’ worth of schematic designs?
Hon. Ms. Horne: I’ve very pleased to respond to the member opposite’s question on this. This government is committed to practising good governance, and we deliver what we presented in our throne speech. We are committed to responding to Yukoners by delivering all items in the strategic plan, which, by the way, includes the new correctional building.
With vehicles such as the safer communities and neighbourhoods legislation and the street crime reduction team, we are delivering safer neighbourhoods and communities to Yukon. The new Corrections Act is one of the foundation pieces for fundamental change to the operation of the correctional system so Justice, First Nations and other service providers are better able to deliver high-quality correctional programs.
The new Corrections Act is very important to enable Yukon to become the best correctional system in Canada. We knew this act would enable Yukon communities to become safer. I am pleased with the direction this government has taken and the priorities the government has placed on the new Corrections act.
The new Correctional Centre is part of the strategic plan. The Correctional Centre will serve the needs of programming, not the other way around. I call that “good planning” and “good governance”.
Mr. Inverarity: The Justice minister has made numerous statements about building the best correction system in Canada. What the minister has not stated is what this Crown jewel of Yukon justice will cost Yukon taxpayers.
Six years have gone by; some $6 million has been budgeted for the design this year; construction costs are expected to hopefully be around $32 million; and we haven’t even heard what it will cost for commissioning or operations yet.
We want to know what the real cost of the project is. Perhaps the minister beside the Minister of Justice could answer this question: what will it cost for construction, commissioning and the completion of the Correctional Centre?
Hon. Mr. Lang: In addressing the member’s question, we certainly are working on the correctional institute that we’re building and it will fall together as we put the contracts out and move forward with the plan that’s in place today. Stay tuned; we’ll be working with contractors and the department to come up with the correctional institute that we’d like to see at the end of the day.
Mr. Inverarity: We’ve been tuned in for six years and we’re still waiting.
Mr. Speaker, the RFP for the construction project is finally out and this government has some explaining to do. $32 million is just the opening bid for the project. Now add in all the other extra costs, contingencies, furniture, management fees, demolition of the old building and overhead.
It’s hard to imagine at what point those extra costs are going to be. As the Premier has stated, this is potentially a very large capital project that will benefit many Yukoners, as well as members of the Kwanlin Dun First Nation — a large capital project indeed and it’s getting larger. What we really want to know right now is what this is going to cost in real dollars today and what it’s going to cost all of us down the road.
Hon. Mr. Lang: We certainly are concerned about all costs. We’ll be working on the bidding process to resolve those questions. We’ve committed to build a new correctional institute here in Whitehorse. Obviously, there is money budgeted for it and we’ll be working over the next three years to get the job done.
Question re: Mental health services
Mr. Edzerza: Two years ago, the Department of Health and Social Services contracted Professor Elliot Goldner of Simon Fraser University to review Yukon mental health services. Dr. Goldner’s report identified a substantial need for support of housing for people with serious mental disorders and substance abuse. Without post-treatment housing and counselling supports, there is a high risk of relapse for patients. Caretaking families become stressed and exhausted with no respite.
In a news release 18 months ago, the minister said work had already begun to identify housing options for these patients and announced $50,000 to support planning for this project.
What has the minister done since that announcement in response to this serious need?
Hon. Mr. Cathers: I thank the Member for McIntyre-Takhini for the opportunity to again remind the member of some of the good work that has been done to date by staff within the Department of Health and Social Services and within other departments such as the Department of Justice, in the substance abuse action plan, the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act. Also, work has occurred in expanding our mental health services, including the hiring of a youth clinician, the funding to develop programming around early identification of psychosis and early supports to be provided in that area, a rural clinician hired based out of Dawson City to assist those with mental health challenges and another one is being hired to support the southern rural areas of Yukon and the fact that counselling for mental health is now available through the teleheath network, which, as of earlier this year, is available in all Yukon nursing stations — making Yukon only the second jurisdiction in Canada to provide access to telehealth services in all communities. Mr. Speaker, this is some of the work.
Work is ongoing on other recommendations made in the report by Dr. Goldner, including the development of enhanced supports for those who need support in accessing housing. That is in addition, of course, to the work that has already been done for people who have fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.
Mr. Edzerza: Well, the minister didn’t answer the question. I agree that the staff do good work. The minister needs to keep up. In Whitehorse there is an average of four mental health patients at any one time waiting for in-patient care. There are many more who need addiction detoxification and follow-up treatment.
In-patient facilities and services were deemed a high priority and waiting was deemed unacceptable by Goldner. Patient safety is at risk and there an inadequate specified staff. Patients are sometimes sent outside, disconnecting them from family and community supports. There is little integration of mental health and addiction treatment services between the Yukon and provinces, according to Goldner. The minister rejected the idea of using the Thomson Centre for in-patient mental health and addiction care — which the hospital supported.
When can we anticipate seeing the long-lasting improvements to mental health services this minister promised 18 months ago?
Hon. Mr. Cathers: Again, the member is conveniently not reflecting the facts in his statements here in the House.
The member knows that we have acted on and expanded mental health services to Yukon citizens beyond what was in place before. This includes the programming that is going on right now in expanding the early identification of psychosis and improved supports for people who have such challenges. This includes the work that has been done in providing increased programming for youth and the creation of a youth clinician position based out of Whitehorse to assist youth who have mental health disorders. This includes expansion to rural areas, as I mentioned in my previous response.
Again, good work is being done. It is unfortunate the member is failing to recognize this and failing to recognize that the supports are, as part of the overall plan, being extended and being improved, and we will continue to do so.
Future planning and enhancement of mental health services include increased support for those who have challenges when it comes to housing. That work is also augmented by work funded under the territorial health access fund for dealing with what is referred to as “dual-diagnosed clients”, clients who have both mental health and alcoholism challenges. That work is being done, and it is unfortunate the member doesn’t recognize it.
Mr. Edzerza: A lot of fancy talk just doesn’t cut it. The minister always uses his famous response that no one knows the facts but him.
This week we brought forward the case of a woman who had been left without access to mental health and addiction services she badly needed. This case reveals a number of alarming practices, including treatment plan meetings held without minutes or an agenda, no communication with the patient of decisions made on her behalf, no communication of the basis for the decision to discharge her, and no follow-up meetings.
This minister’s job is to oversee policy and procedure, and to respond to the health needs of Yukoners, including their mental health. When policy and procedures are not in place or are not followed, he has an obligation to do something.
What is the minister doing to ensure that mental health and addictions clients are accorded their full rights to information, consent and communication about decisions and discharge plans?
Hon. Mr. Cathers: First of all, I have to take umbrage with the assertion being made by the Member for McIntyre-Takhini that staff have not followed policy. It’s unfortunate he’s choosing to go after the employees of the Department of Health and Social Services. It is uncalled for and I want to make that very clear for the record. They do their job and they follow policy, as they are expected to do.
Mental health professionals, addictions counsellors, family doctors and psychiatrists all collaborate to provide quality care to persons with psychiatric and addictions problems. In my first two responses, I provided the member with a list of some of the enhancements that have been made by this government and under me as minister through the work departmental staff have been doing in expanding the supports we provide to people with mental health challenges, increasing the level of services available and, as I failed to mention earlier, the contracting of a second full-time psychiatrist to provide roughly double the level of access to psychiatric services to Yukoners that was previously in place.
A number of initiatives have been performed. There will be more work ongoing in this area.
The Member for McIntyre-Takhini should be aware that every client does have the right to accept or refuse treatment offered. In most cases, the client and the treatment team can work together to arrive at a plan that is ethical, effective and caring. However, the member should be aware that —
Speaker: Thank you.
Question re: Low-income earners, consumer protection
Mr. Cardiff: According to the latest figures from Statistics Canada, between 1980 and 2005, median earnings among the top one-fifth of full-time wage earners increased by 16.4 percent. During the same period, the median wage earned by those in the bottom one-fifth fell by 20.6 percent. In simple terms, that says the gap between those at the top and those at the bottom of Canada’s wage-earning population has increased dramatically.
There’s no reason to believe the Yukon’s pattern is any different. What steps does the Minister of Health and Social Services intend to take over the next four years to improve conditions for Yukoners who fall into the category known as the working poor?
Hon. Mr. Hart: I will state that Community Services has been working diligently to increase the minimum wage. We currently have the third highest minimum wage in Canada. In addition to that, Mr. Speaker, we have increased the fair wage schedule, which assists all working class throughout the Yukon and provides a fair wage for all those who are working in all fields of construction and assistance with the government.
Mr. Cardiff: I would like to congratulate the Member for Riverdale South for getting another portfolio. The minister is always ready with a litany of all the wonderful things that this government is doing, and I’ll respond with a litany of some of the hard cold facts facing Yukon people right now.
Gas and heating fuel costs are soaring; food costs are on the rise and could increase dramatically in the coming months; house prices are at an all-time high and decent low-cost housing is almost non-existent. Food banks and soup kitchens have become permanent fixtures in our society that has so much wealth that it’s almost criminal that we need to resort to these last resort measures.
With the signs of a recession already emerging in Canada, what specific steps is the minister taking to shield lower income Yukoners from the crunch that is obviously coming?
Hon. Mr. Rouble: Mr. Speaker, there are a number of different initiatives that this government is doing from department to department to department.
It has been said many times in this Assembly that one of the best ways to assist people, to give them that hand up, is to increase the training and educational opportunities available to them.
Mr. Speaker, with this budget we see the indexing of the student grant that is available to help people continue in post-secondary school, whether that be at university or college. This budget includes initiatives for training programs, some community training funds throughout the territory, in a variety of different industries.
As well, Mr. Speaker, we are starting a number of different initiatives and continuing different initiatives to assist people such as the targeted initiative for older workers, initiatives for people with disabilities, initiatives for people in rural communities.
Mr. Speaker, this government believes in increasing the capacity of Yukoners to participate in the economy. That means adding to their training, adding to their knowledge, adding to their experience, so that they can fully engage in Yukon’s growing economy.
Mr. Cardiff: It appears the government doesn’t have an answer because they can’t even decide which minister to put up to answer this question.
I’m sure the Member for Porter Creek North will be rising to answer the next one.
Two days ago, the Minister of Community Services made the remarkable claim that this government has increased social assistance rates. If so, the Minister of Health and Social Services has been unduly modest about it, because there hasn’t even been a press release. Yes, we know the minimum wage did just go up a little bit — a teeny, tiny bit last month.
My question —
Some Hon. Member: (Inaudible)
Mr. Cardiff: Have I got the floor or is the Premier going to talk?
Speaker: You’re doing fine.
Mr. Cardiff: Thank you.
My question is more about the working poor who are facing serious economic pressures in the near future. What is the Minister of Health and Social Services doing to develop a comprehensive Yukon-wide anti-poverty strategy to ensure that no Yukon person has to make the choice between paying this month’s rent or heating bill, or putting proper food —
Speaker: Thank you. You’re done.
Mr. Cardiff: — on the table for their family.
Speaker: You’re done.
Hon. Mr. Cathers: In answer to the member’s question — the point contained in his question — about different ministers responding, I point out to the member that it’s because work is ongoing in many departments on these issues that three of us are responding on behalf of the government — the Minister of Education on initiatives being done and the Minister of Community Services. There are others who would be happy to stand up, should he wish to continue this line of questioning, and list the many good initiatives being done in their departments.
Particular to Health and Social Services, I remind the member opposite that last year, December 1, we significantly increased the childcare subsidy for low-income families by 25 percent. As well, we increased the maximum income at which someone can receive the subsidy, resulting in significantly more Yukon families benefiting from the childcare subsidy for low- and moderate-income families.
That is in similar areas that apply across the board, whether your child is in childcare or not. The Yukon child benefit has been increased by a significant amount of $20 per month, from the previous level of $37.50 to a new level of $57.50 per child. We raised the eligibility rate so that more families would benefit.
I see I’m out of time. I look forward to future opportunities to outline initiatives that are underway.
Question re: Old Crow road conditions
Mr. Elias: I have a question for the Premier today. In September of 2006, the Premier attended the general assembly in Old Crow just before the territorial election. At that time, the Premier was asked by a community member if the Yukon government could repair and upgrade the roadways and water drainage problem, as they were in a deplorable condition and still are. The Premier promised to find money and address this problem quickly. Last year, $150,000 was approved under the northern strategy fund to address the issue and I did express my constituents’ gratitude at that time.
Yet, in this year’s budget, there is only $30,000 listed for the project. Can the Premier please explain to my constituents what the plan is to fulfill his promise and fix the roads in Old Crow?
Hon. Mr. Lang: In addressing the member opposite, the engineering was done last year and hopefully we can move forward on advancing the program in Old Crow this coming year.
Mr. Elias: We all know, just because the Yukon Party government budgets money, it doesn’t mean that they are going to spend it. This is a community concern because no physical work has taken place yet. I have risen in this House on three separate occasions asking for the Premier to live up to his promise, and he has asked me to exercise some patience. Well, it has been almost two years and the Premier’s promise is still unfulfilled. The time is now for the Premier to fulfill his commitment.
There was $150,000 approved and set aside, yet I only find $30,000 in this year’s budget. The residents of Old Crow want to know when the Premier will be fulfilling his promise and fix the roads and drainage problems. When is the Premier going to deliver on his promise to the people of Old Crow and actually do some physical work to fix the roads?
Hon. Mr. Fentie: I know that the member opposite, the Member for Vuntut Gwitchin, is certainly working hard to represent his constituency and we’ll give him that. I think the member has to recognize that, before you fix roads, you have to have the material necessary to actually do the fixing of the roads, so hundreds of thousands of dollars have been expended in Old Crow crushing gravel on Crow Mountain and preparing material — material that was invested in upgrading the runway, which was a major priority for the community, and also the significant investment in a new airport terminal and a big investment in bank restabilization because, without that, there soon would not have been any roads in Old Crow to fix.
Question re: School busing contract
Mr. Fairclough: I have another question for the Minister of Education.
Yesterday we learned the minister had come to a special arrangement with a company from Watson Lake to allow them to get out of their contract for busing students to school. This is a one-off decision. It is not something that is happening across government. Companies who have lease arrangements are not allowed to renegotiate their contract to cover off higher heating fuel costs, for example. The company that has a medevac contract has not been invited to come back and get extra money for the higher cost of fuel.
The minister said the decision was based on a request from the contractor to end the contract early. Will the minister table the request so Yukoners can see it?
Hon. Mr. Rouble: I certainly don’t have the request. It wasn’t made to me. This is an operational issue between a contractor and the Department of Education. The minister’s office is not involved in contracting issues. I hope he is not encouraging me to become involved in contracting issues.
The contractor in this case, who has been providing the service for a number of years now, made a request to end the contract with the Department of Education. The Department of Education, after consideration of this, accepted their request and have ended the contract. The contract for busing services is being tendered in a fair and open manner, and I encourage the member opposite to follow the tendering process on the government Web site or through contract administration.
Mr. Fairclough: The minister is sure trying to get around that question. Lots of companies would love the opportunity to get a better deal on a contract with the government. They’re not given that opportunity. Only this one company from Watson Lake has been given that special consideration.
The minister said yesterday, and I will remind him again, “We have had a request from the contractor who has been delivering this service to end the contract one year early.” As a result of that request, the minister gave significant due consideration to it and has agreed to retender the entire busing contract.
I’d like to see the request from the contractor in question. Was it in a letter? Was it done verbally at a meeting? Will the minister table the request made by the contractor and will he tell Yukoners who made the decision to retender this contract? Was it the minister? Who made the final call?
Hon. Mr. Rouble: I appreciate the member has a script of questions before him, but I would encourage him to dispense from the script on occasion and follow the answers.
I’ve stated for the member opposite that the minister’s office was not involved in this. This is an operational issue between the department and a contractor. A request was made by the contractor to the Department of Education. After due consideration, the department ended the contract. At the request of the contractor, it is now being retendered in an open and transparent manner. It’s felt that a new tender and a new contract would be the best interests of the territorial government and all taxpayers. That will be done in a manner that is fair to the taxpayer, the government and all contractors in the Yukon.
Mr. Fairclough: This isn’t fair to other contractors who have contracts with this government. It isn’t. The minister said he wasn’t involved. This is a major decision that was made here, and other contractors may want to follow suit.
Is the government ignoring that and didn’t take part in it? We want to know who was involved in the decision-making. Why is the minister so reluctant to put this back on the department when he knows full well that they have been involved?
So I ask him: who was involved? Was it a Cabinet decision or not?
Hon. Mr. Rouble: Mr. Speaker, sometimes the imagination of members opposite astounds me on a daily basis. I am reminded often in this Assembly of an interesting Yukon saying, and that is, “If you haven’t heard a good rumour by 1:00 then it is time to start one.”
I have been very clear with the member opposite about this situation. The contract is in the paper now, the tender call is out there, and the member is encouraged to take a look at the documents. But this minister will not be involved in the contracting process; this minister is not involved in staffing issues, picking teachers or choosing which teacher to put in the minister’s favourite classroom. I don’t get involved in those things, nor do I get involved in picking the school bus that is going to pick up people’s children.
There are ministerial responsibilities; there are departmental responsibilities. There are issues that we deal with here in this Assembly as a matter of policy and budget, and it is up to the professionals in the Department of Education and other government departments to address the policy and operational needs of the government.
Speaker: The time for Question Period has now elapsed. We will proceed to Orders of the Day.
ORDERS OF THE DAY
INTRODUCTION OF VISITORS
Mr. Fairclough: Mr. Speaker, with your indulgence I’d like to welcome in the gallery, Robert Hagar and his wife Christine. I believe they have their grandchild with them. I’d like all members to give them a warm welcome here today.
Applause
GOVERNMENT BILLS
Bill No. 53: Third Reading
Clerk: Third reading, Bill No. 53, standing in the name of the Hon. Mr. Fentie.
Hon. Mr. Fentie: I move that Bill No. 53, Act to Amend the Tobacco Tax Act, be now read a third time and do pass.
Speaker: It has been moved by the Hon. Premier that Bill No. 53, Act to Amend the Tobacco Tax Act, be now read a third time and do pass.
Hon. Mr. Fentie: Mr. Speaker, it is indeed my pleasure to move third reading of Bill No. 53, Act to Amend the Tobacco Tax Act. This bill amends the Tobacco Tax Act in four aspects. First, the tax rate on cigarettes and loose tobacco has been increased. The tax on a cigarette will change from 13.2 cents to 21 cents, and on loose tobacco products there will be a 21-cents-per-gram taxation.
Second, the act amends the methodology by which loose tobacco and cigars are being taxed to a manner that is consistent with all other jurisdictions in Canada.
Third, the act modifies the offences section to differentiate penalties by severity of each offence and sets the penalty levels to levels similar to other jurisdictions.
Fourth, the act amends provisions to improve the administration of the overall Tobacco Tax Act itself.
Mr. Speaker, it has been acknowledged by all parties in this Assembly that tobacco taxation is indeed a very effective deterrent to smoking. It is one of the tools that we debated at great length here with the passage of Bill No. 104. This is especially so among our youth.
Despite the importance of the Tobacco Tax Act as a deterrent to tobacco use, the rates have only changed four times since 1974. Often those changes were minimal in their context.
Consequently, the Yukon today has the lowest taxation on tobacco and the fourth lowest taxation on cigarettes in Canada. These are the most comprehensive changes to the Tobacco Tax Act ever. Our long-term goal is to see a significant reduction in tobacco use in people of all ages, but especially among Yukon youth.
With this act, the Yukon will have the highest tax rates in Canada for cigarettes and cigars and the second highest rates in the country for all other tobacco products. A 10-percent increase in the price of tobacco products reduces consumption, as we all know now, statistically between two and five percent. However, for youth, especially those who have not started to smoke, the effect of a 10-percent price change can be up to three times larger than it is for adults.
In the long term, we expect these changes will be a significant enough deterrent to using tobacco that our revenues will indeed decline. However, it takes time for behaviours to change; therefore, we expect to see an increase in revenue of approximately $3.9 million due to this bill.
Finally, unfortunately, illegal activities related to tobacco products take place in our society. The Tobacco Tax Act has been around, as I said, since 1974. This bill introduced the first-ever changes to the offence provisions of this act.
This bill sends a clear message that activities such as smuggling and illegal sales of tobacco will not be tolerated. This bill sends a clear message: we are placing a high emphasis and priority on the reduction of tobacco use here in Yukon.
Mr. Mitchell: As I said at second reading, we in the Liberal caucus, the Official Opposition, support the goals as stated by the minister for this change in the Tobacco Tax Act. Therefore, we will support the tax increase, as much as we do not support tax increases in general.
It is important to discourage new people, and particularly our young people, from commencing smoking cigarettes and using other tobacco products. If this tax increase will help to do that, as stated, then we support it.
Hopefully, it will also discourage existing smokers from smoking as frequently or perhaps encourage them to quit the habit altogether.
We have pointed out that this tax increase will be difficult on some long-time smokers, particularly those who are on limited means, fixed incomes, pensioners, and elders.
We do note that, as the Premier said, there will at least in the current year be projected a $3.9-million increase in tax revenue as a result.
We have asked for smoke cessation aids, various aids, and indeed even the possibility of prescription medicines that assist people in quitting the habit, to be made available at subsidized costs. The Health minister has made announcements promising to do that. We look forward to seeing those plans come into effect expeditiously, so that people will have assistance, hopefully paid for by this tax increase, to quit the habit.
We will be supporting this bill.
Mr. Cardiff: We, too, in the New Democratic caucus will be supporting Bill No. 53, Act to Amend the Tobacco Tax Act. We are supportive of the increases in both the tax on tobacco and the penalties around smuggling and illegal sale.
Obviously, with the introduction of Bill No. 104, the Smoke-free Places Act, we look forward to not only the success of that bill, but hopefully down the road — as the Premier said, it takes time for people to change habits — the increase in cost through the tobacco tax will encourage smokers to either stop or smoke less, and will discourage young people and new smokers from even starting, so we will be supporting it.
Speaker: If the Premier speaks, he will close debate. Does any other member wish to be heard?
Hon. Mr. Fentie: I extend to the members opposite — on behalf of the government side — our appreciation for their contribution in this matter. It began with the third party’s tabling of a private member’s bill, Bill No. 104, and continued on through public consultation and all the efforts made by this Assembly and its members to address a serious situation in the Yukon.
It’s alarming when you look at the statistics that we have one of the highest rates of smokers, but what’s even more alarming is that the incidence of those who begin smoking is higher in the Yukon than anywhere else in the country. The time had come to do something about that. All these measures will better enable government and Yukon in general to address this very challenging problem, especially the downstream impacts on our health care system.
By way of some enlightenment for the Leader of the Official Opposition, who voiced concerns about initiatives for cessation of smoking and other matters, I must remind the member that many of those initiatives have already been implemented. These include prevention measures, educational measures, along with taxation measures initiatives that, along with Bill No. 104 and the taxation initiatives, will better enable us to address this very challenging matter for Yukon.
Motion for third reading of Bill No. 53 agreed to
Speaker: I declare that Bill No. 53 has passed this House.
Bill No. 47: Third Reading
Clerk: Third reading, Bill No. 47, standing in the name of the Hon. Ms. Horne.
Hon. Ms. Horne: I move that Bill No. 47, entitled Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2008, be now read a third time and do pass.
Speaker: It has been moved by the Hon. Minister of Justice that Bill No. 47, entitled Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2008, be now read a third time and do pass.
Hon. Ms. Horne: The Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2008, corrects inadvertent errors in several statutes. This set of amendments does not make substantive changes to the statutes. The correction of errors in legislation enables greater clarity in Yukon laws.
This legislation will address errors in the following acts: a drafting error in the Ombudsman Act; an omission in the Personal Property Security Act; a numbering error in the Economic Development Act; a drafting error in the Legal Profession Act; and a drafting error in the Act to Amend the Employment Standards Act.
This is a housekeeping amendment. We are all human and make errors. A miscellaneous statute law amendment act was last introduced in 2005. These errors are very minor but the public expects that the government will keep its statutes in good order.
Thank you.
Mr. Inverarity: I think the minister said pretty much everything that needs to be said regarding this particular bill. We in the Official Opposition support this bill and look forward to its passing.
Mr. Cardiff: The minister has explained it, and she has even offered an apology for the fact that we all make errors — and I agree, we all do make errors. That is pretty big of the minister to do that. We will support this.
Speaker: If the member now speaks she will close debate. Does any other member wish to be heard?
Hon. Ms. Horne: I thank the House for the support for this act.
Motion for third reading of Bill No. 47 agreed to
Speaker: I declare that Bill No. 47 has passed this House.
Bill No. 48: Third Reading
Clerk: Third reading, Bill No. 48, standing in the name of the Hon. Ms. Horne.
Hon. Ms. Horne: Mr. Speaker I move that Bill No. 48, entitled Act to Amend the Summary Convictions Act, be now read a third time and do pass.
Speaker: It has been moved by the Minister of Justice that Bill No. 48, entitled Act to Amend the Summary Convictions Act, be now read a third time and do pass.
Hon. Ms. Horne: The reason the government is bringing forward amendments to the Summary Convictions Act is to allow territorial prosecutors the authority to enforce probation orders that arise as a result of a conviction under a territorial act. Territorial prosecutors prosecute territorial offences, such as those related to the Wildlife Act, Liquor Act, Occupational Health and Safety Act, et cetera. These prosecutions are undertaken in accordance with the Summary Convictions Act.
Although a territorial prosecutor can seek a probation order as part of a sentence when a conviction is made under a territorial act, there is no provision in the Summary Convictions Act that permits these probation orders to be enforced.
Currently, if the territorial Crown wanted to enforce a probation order, the territorial Crown would be required to ask the federal Crown to enforce the order under the Criminal Code provisions regarding a breach of probation order. While enforcement under the Criminal Code may be too harsh, failing to enforce the breach would bring the administration of justice into disrepute.
Amending this legislation will provide territorial prosecutors with a way of enforcing probation orders so an individual does not receive a Criminal Code conviction and a criminal record. By amending this legislation, we are now enabling a territorial prosecutor to enforce probation orders and to amend a probation order.
I believe this legislation addresses the concerns raised. It allows probation orders arising from Yukon summary convictions to be enforced without imposing an overly onerous penalty on the offender.
Mr. Inverarity: Again, I think the minister has done an excellent job of explaining the intricacies of this particular bill. I have to thank the minister for her legislative return in regard to the committee. I had asked some questions regarding numbers of people who actually would have been affected by this over the past number of years, and those were not significant — I think six in total over the last six to 10 years.
Clearly, those individuals didn’t — or shouldn’t have deserved and rightly so — to get a criminal record. However, with the passing of this act, along with some due diligence, those individuals who have breached their probation will now be dealt with within the definitions of the territorial law. We will be supporting this bill.
Thank you very much.
Mr. Cardiff: I’d like to just briefly indicate our support for this bill as well. I thank the minister for her comments at third reading, and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the officials, because I didn’t have an opportunity to do that previously. I thank the officials for the very thorough briefing that they gave us on this bill and the explanation of it and the necessity for it. We will be supporting it.
Thank you.
Speaker: If the minister speaks, she will close debate. Does any other member wish to be heard?
Hon. Ms. Horne: I’d like to correct the record. There were no criminal charges against any individual due to probation orders. I appreciate the support this Assembly has shown for amending this legislation.
Motion for third reading of Bill No. 48 agreed to
Speaker: I declare that Bill No. 48 has passed this House.
Bill No. 49: Third Reading
Clerk: Third reading, Bill No. 49, standing in the name of the Hon. Mr. Fentie.
Hon. Mr. Fentie: I move that Bill No. 49, entitled Act to Amend the Financial Administration Act, be now read a third time and do pass.
Speaker: It has been moved by the Hon. Premier that Bill No. 49, entitled Act to Amend the Financial Administration Act, be now read a third time and do pass.
Hon. Mr. Fentie: It’s my pleasure to introduce Bill No. 49, Act to Amend the Financial Administration Act, for third reading.
The bill repeals section 46 of the Financial Administration Act, which established the property management revolving fund. The property management revolving fund is no longer required by the Property Management Agency, because it is changing to a branch of the Highways and Public Works department for the 2008-09 fiscal year.
Beginning with this upcoming fiscal year, the full costs of property management will be reflected in the budget, improving both accountability and transparency.
Thank you.
Mr. McRobb: As mentioned during the second reading stage, this is essentially a housekeeping bill. We’ll be supporting this act.
Mr. Cardiff: We in the NDP caucus will be supporting Bill No. 49 too, recognizing the changes that have been made to the Property Management Agency. We will be talking more about the Property Management Agency in the budget debate I’m sure. We will support this.
Thank you.
Speaker: If the Premier speaks, he will close debate. Does any other member wish to be heard?
Hon. Mr. Fentie: Once again, the government side wishes to extend its appreciation to the members opposite for their support. This change reflects the ongoing work by Highways and Public Works in addressing the recommendations of the Auditor General. That work will continue, but we’re very pleased we were able to so expeditiously implement this particular change.
Motion for third reading of Bill No. 49 agreed to
Speaker: I declare that Bill No. 49 has passed this House.
Hon. Mr. Cathers: Mr. Speaker, I move that the Speaker do now leave the Chair and that the House resolve into Committee of the Whole.
Speaker: It has been moved by the Government House Leader that the Speaker do now leave the Chair and that the House resolve into Committee of the Whole.
Motion agreed to
Speaker leaves the Chair
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
Chair (Mr. Nordick): I will now call Committee to order. We will continue with general debate on Bill No. 11, First Appropriation Act, 2008-09.
Do members wish to take a brief recess?
All Hon. Members: Agreed.
Chair: Committee of the Whole will recess for 15 minutes.
Recess
Chair: Committee of the Whole will now come to order. The matter before the Committee is Bill No. 11, First Appropriation Act, 2008-09.
Bill No. 11 — First Appropriation Act, 2008-09 — continued
Chair: We will now proceed with general debate.
Mr. Mitchell: It was interesting to look back and try to see where we were last at in this somewhat disjointed approach to having general debate every other week but never general debate today.
I’d just like to return to one of the Premier’s favourite subjects on which we almost fully agree — because we agree with the number $36.5 million — and the ABCP investment. Of course, since we last had the opportunity to speak with great fervour and eloquence back and forth about this topic, much has transpired. There has been the buyout, so to speak, of the small investors — some 1,400 investors who were owed some $300 million plus or minus — who have been told they are receiving all of their money back in order to dissuade them from voting down the proposed pan-Canadian arrangement that was being voted on a week ago.
With Yukon’s participation, that restructuring deal was ratified by the vast majority of the remaining noteholders, although there is still a bit of a court process to go through.
There was an interesting story today — I know the Premier likes to stay on top of all this news — this is from CBC news coverage today, last updated Thursday, May 1, at 2:26 p.m. eastern time, and it has to do with Magna Profit Dips on North American Weakness and ABCP Charge. I’ll just read the salient paragraph here for the Premier’s benefit: “The company said its bottom line was also hit by a $17-million charge during the quarter to cover impairment of the asset-backed commercial paper that it holds. The ABCP market in Canada has been in limbo since last August. The company said it reduced the value of its ABCP holdings to $104 million from $121 million.”
For the benefit of the Premier — although I know the officials will have these numbers very quickly for him — that is about a 14-percent writedown.
Again, it begs the question of why so many private sector companies, as well as several government agencies, are announcing writedowns, loan/loss provisions, for potential losses of their investments, while the Premier persists in saying that we have not lost anything; we won’t lose anything; the money is all there; we have just extended the term slightly — “slightly” being from 30 some odd days to eight years.
This is certainly a point that we don’t need to discuss too long. I see the Premier is eager to enter into the debate, because obviously this Premier cannot prove his point that we will get all the money back if we just wait eight years, because no one knows what will happen in eight years.
But all public companies, or certainly the vast majority of them who have these types of significant investments — even before all the details of the restructuring deal have been decided upon, even before the final court approval — are making announcements to try to better reflect to their shareholders what the reality of the investments may be, and so have some government agencies across the country.
I will send this over for the benefit of the Premier and other members. I’ll file this. It’s only one page long. The paragraph I read from is third from the bottom.
Is the Premier waiting for something specific? A month or two from now, if this is all approved and is restructured for a term of five to eight years, we won’t know, until after eight years, for sure what we get back. That’s why companies make provisions for it. That’s what the Auditor General told us when she met with us here in this Chamber. She told us what she would be looking for — some indication reflected on the books by the Yukon. It certainly wasn’t present when the main estimates were tabled.
Is it that the Premier is simply waiting until the fall, when the public accounts for the preceding year are tabled? Is that when he intends to make a note on this? How does he intend to address this? Tied to that, I previously asked in general debate — on the supplementary, I believe — what the loan/loss provision policy was for the Yukon. He said it was clear; it is determined by the FAA.
Could he just state for the record how the FAA directs him to report this?
Hon. Mr. Fentie: I know this member has tried at great length for months now to make a case that he has just simply not been able to make.
The reason the member can’t make the case is because he is not dealing with the facts, and that has been made clear again by the statements he just presented.
Let’s delve into this somewhat, although I’m not going to take a lot of time because, frankly, we’re getting nowhere with this member on this issue. The member will refuse to accept any response from the government side that is factual and that actually addresses the issue.
First off, the member is confusing how the corporate world does their books versus governments that follow the public sector accounting guidelines. Hopefully, the differentiation between the two is clear to the member opposite.
Furthermore, in many instances the corporate community will take the writedown because it provides them the situation that is very positive for their fiscal situation, and that is called a “tax write-off.” Any allowance for bad debt — if you want to put it that way in the corporate world — comes right off their taxable revenue; therefore, it is a tax saving that is realized. That’s not something that the government does.
Secondly, the member has been, over and over and over again in his statements, very premature considering the process that has evolved here in dealing with this matter. The government has to follow the public sector accounting principles and guidelines as issued by the Public Sector Accounting Board. That is exactly what we are doing in this case, and this is mandated by the Yukon Act. I hope that clears up the member’s final question there.
Furthermore, the Auditor General’s Office has advised the government that it is too early to know what the appropriate accounting treatment for these investments will be. We respect that advice. Now the member has continually tried to make some sort of case of wrongdoing in this matter, and I want to remind the member that it is this government that provided full disclosure to the Auditor General and to the public with respect to this particular area of investment. The member continues to try to create a perception of loss, when in fact the investments of the Yukon government have not incurred a loss at all, but have incurred substantial and significant earnings.
The list of these questions that the member has brought forward — and each one of them can be refuted by fact — continues on. The government won’t be premature in what it does. The government will follow the guidelines we are required to follow. The government will work closely with the Auditor General’s Office and with the group that has been working on this restructuring of these investments.
I want to point out another issue that the member brings up — here’s a comment that is in the public domain now and this member has yet to stand up on his feet and correct the public record and that is very irresponsible, Mr. Chair. Here is the member’s comment, effective April 28, on one of the local media outlets: “It is anybody’s guess whether all of these promises will be kept, because it is the same people who originally promised to return the money in 30 days who are now saying, ‘Trust us for eight years and then you’ll get your money back and the interest’.” This comment is irresponsible. It is not factual and it requires the member opposite to stand on his feet, be accountable, address this issue, correct the record and apologize to the public.
It isn’t the same people involved here at all. The leading Canadian law firm of Goodmans is now involved; JPMorgan, a global leader in the finance industry is providing advice; a new company, BlackRock, Inc., one of the largest financial asset managers on the planet, is hired to manage the new investments; and finally, Mr. Purdy Crawford, a lawyer with a distinguished record — this member may not agree in that regard, given his track record and how he has approached his view of financial officials — and a member of the Order of Canada chaired the process. These are all new entities, individuals and corporations involved in this process.
The member has to correct the record and I challenge the member to do so, so we can get on with a constructive debate.
Mr. Mitchell: If the Member for Watson Lake, the Finance minister, wanted to have constructive debate he could try answering a question. He hasn’t answered a question, but let’s see some of the things he has just stated.
He said that the Auditor General’s Office says it’s too early. He says it’s premature to know. He also said he’s guided by public sector accounting guidelines, as opposed to private sector guidelines.
If the member had bothered to walk down a flight of stairs and sit in this Assembly the day that Madam Fraser — I believe it was February 12 — presented her report, if he had done that, along with other members of his caucus who were here, and members of the third party who were here, and the Official Opposition who was here, he would have heard me ask that question of Madam Fraser. I said, “In this case, recognizing that public sector accounting guidelines might be different from the private sector, what would be the way in which the Government of Yukon would need to account for this? What sort of provisions would they need to make?” I said that I recognized how it was done in the private sector but it may be different.
Madam Fraser said — and I have to paraphrase because I don’t have a written transcript; I’m not sure if we even have a transcript of that, but there were certainly sufficient members there — in this case, it’s the same.
Some Hon. Member: (Inaudible)
Mr. Mitchell: She didn’t say it was just her opinion; that would be the Premier. She said, in this case, it’s the same.
It’s the same and she said they would be looking for that.
If the Premier wants to tell us that he has been updated by the Auditor General’s Office since then and been told, “Don’t do anything yet. Do it later,” then he should just say so. He should say when he’s supposed to do it, instead of saying we’ve got it all wrong. Or he should try listening when the Auditor General comes to address this Assembly. She’s not here that often. I don’t know — it was before the hockey playoffs, so he wasn’t in his office watching television, but it was still an important date for most Yukoners.
As far as the investments being totally different and being new investments, I would suggest that since the investments were frozen, the underlying assets in these investments — be they Visa acceptance, be they auto loans, or any other kind of investment — they’re the same underlying assets; they’re the same investments in a plain brown wrapper. It’s the same underlying assets and when Canaccord Capital and the other company that sold some assets to pay off the small investors — the investors of under $1 million — they reported they received some 60 cents on the dollar from those investments.
So what the minister is really saying is that if we wait eight years, and if they manage to trade successfully in the markets, perhaps they can get back into the black — because right now they’re not.
That’s why responsible companies and responsible governments are making provisions for potential losses. It’s the Premier who likes to say when he tables a budget that one of the reasons for tabling it is this is the most up-to-date information available, reflecting the true financial or fiscal position of the Government of Yukon.
It’s not very up-to-date when there is not so much as an asterisk beyond the projection of $108-million surplus for yearend of net financial resources, to indicate that $36.5 million of them are not available to us.
Without knowing that the assets may be worth less than that, what we do know is that there is $36.5 million in those assets that are not current assets in the sense that we do not expect to receive them in the current 12-month fiscal period. Surely there should be an asterisk that at least would indicate that a portion of these assets are in the new permanent trust that the Premier has set up. He closed the previous one; I guess he wanted a larger one because now he has established an eight-year trust. That is his legacy.
While the minister is busy saying that everyone else’s information is wrong, almost every responsible agency, corporation and government across Canada is making a genuine effort to accurately report on the status of these assets, except for this Premier.
I want to make it clear, before the Premier stands on his feet and says that we are blaming officials, it is the Premier we hold responsible. He is the ultimate decision-maker. He is the head of government. The buck stops there. You don’t blame officials for what happens under your watch, except if it happened under a previous government, and we are talking about a Crown corporation, and then this Premier is only too quick to criticize the former board members of the Yukon Energy Corporation over a power line. That is an arm’s-length corporation, I might add. When he criticizes the former Liberal government and talks about a power line, he is really criticizing a Crown corporation. That is what he says every time we raise one. That is what he says when we talk about the Hospital Corporation or the Energy Corporation or the Workers’ Compensation Health and Safety Board. He says, “arm’s-length — we don’t know, we don’t touch that.”
The Department of Finance is about a 33-inch, in-sleeve arm, I would suggest; maybe 32 inch, and that is who signs the cheques.
I would like this Premier to give us some straightforward answers, instead of dancing all around and trying to convince Yukoners that investing money for 30 days, and then telling us there has been a slight change in the term of the loan — we’ve extended it ever so slightly from 30 days to eight years; don’t worry, everything is great — is business as usual.
If that happened to any individual investor or family in this territory, if any family in this territory invested money and was told, “We told you we’d give it back to you in a month, but it turns out we’ll give it back to you in 2016. Do you have a problem with that?”, it would be a major problem, Mr. Chair. It would be a big problem.
If the Premier would like to make a second attempt, or a third attempt, at actually answering the question and telling us if it will be in the public accounts that are tabled this fall, and if he finally fesses up to when it is going to be, instead of blaming previous governments and officials, we’d appreciate that. Thank you.
Hon. Mr. Fentie: Mr. Chair, as long as the member opposite continues with his wild accusations, there is little hope or purpose in having any discussion with this member.
If you follow this member’s logic, he would now say that a Canada bond issued for a longer term maturity date needs a writedown too. The member doesn’t understand this process whatsoever, and there is no point in trying to provide information to the member that may help him understand. The member is on a mission here and the mission is one that is to, certainly — and I can’t say it because I’d be called out of order, but we all know what it is. There is a word for it; it starts with “s”, ends with “r” and has —
Some Hon. Member: (Inaudible)
Point of order
Chair: Mr. Mitchell, on a point of order.
Mr. Mitchell: Mr. Chair, Standing Order 19(g), imputing false or unavowed motives, and also one may not do indirectly what they cannot do directly, which are clearly out of order.
Chair’s ruling
Chair: On the point of order, the Chair would like to remind members that you cannot do something indirectly that you cannot do directly. I would like to urge members not to do that.
Mr. Fentie, you have the floor.
Hon. Mr. Fentie: Now that we’ve got over that sensitive response by the Leader of the Official Opposition, it is clear that the mission is ongoing. I appear to have smeared my notes, Mr. Chair; that is fitting, however, given this discussion. However, the member is not going to get wrong answers from this government; the member will be given the facts as we have relayed them in this House over and over and over again.
Here is what we can do: I am more than willing to allow the member to go far beyond his 20-minute slots here in Committee. We’ll go for coffee and the member can stand here and fill the pages of Hansard with his rubbish.
Unparliamentary language
Chair: Order please. “Rubbish” is definitely not a term that is expected of members in this House and I’d ask the members not to use that word, please.
Mr. Mitchell: I do appreciate the Premier’s kind offer to send out for coffee for all members present and we’ll take him up on it. I’m sure the officials who are standing by will arrange to change the Standing Orders so that we can have that sent in.
Apparently all members on the government side want coffee, Mr. Chair. They are having sleepless nights and they want more of them. They are worrying about $36 million. There is a difference between 19(g) and some humour, I would suggest.
Mr. Chair, we’ll keep this short; we don’t want the Premier to spend too much time getting coffee. The Premier just suggested that I didn’t understand the difference between the term of a bond and suggested — actually, he didn’t suggest, he stated and asked whether I would think that if we had a Government of Canada bond or a treasury bond with a longer term that would mean we wouldn’t know what would be coming back.
My question for the Premier: does he equate a long-term government bond entered into with the knowledge of forethought of what the term of that bond would be — as opposed to a short-term 30-day or 60-day treasury bill, let’s say it is a five- or 10-year bond with the guarantee of the Government of Canada — does he equate that with a forced restructuring? Even the esteemed lawyer who was in charge of the restructuring said on many occasions in the last few weeks that, if the restructuring were not approved he would be very worried about the complete collapse of the process and what would happen. Mr. Crawford has stated there would have been a serious loss in value if they would not have a successful restructuring.
Is that the Premier’s assertion, that investing money in Opus and Symphony for 30 days, or just over 30 days, and now having to wait seven months for a process of restructuring to take these assets and try to create something that will repay us in eight years — with the Premier’s excellent investment record and his knowledge, because he has been doing this for five and a half years, is he suggesting that is one and the same as a long-term government bond? That is fascinating news, and I’ll let the Premier explain that one, since he put it on the record.
Hon. Mr. Fentie: Well at least the Premier puts the facts on the record, unlike the member opposite, who has got a lot of correcting of the public record to do. We started with that particular point that he articulated to the public on April 28.
I think there is another way to look at this, and I find this of great value. We’ve got a long-term investment here. The member has just stated that, according to him, this is the same group of people, but he did mention one of the new parties involved here. He failed to correct the record on that count, but he did mention one of the new parties had a great concern that if the deal of restructuring did not go through, there may have been some negative impact. When you look at the over 90-percent vote in favour and the overwhelming support of the restructuring, I think that should answer the member’s question.
However, I think we can look at this as a long-term investment. Investments by the Yukon are making money, and this long-term investment is important because rue the day that that member may be in charge of the finances of the territory between now and the next eight years. At least the member couldn’t get his hands on $36.5 million and blow it.
Mr. Mitchell: Well, thank you. I guess the Premier has said that he has indeed created a permanent fund. He has changed his policy on that too.
I am not going to go on much longer on this. The Premier has no answers. He hasn’t been able to answer to Yukoners; he hasn’t been able to answer to the members of the third party; he hasn’t been able to answer to members of the Official Opposition; he hasn’t been able to answer to members of the media. I think the clear fact is everybody knows that under this Premier’s watch, for the first time in the history of the Yukon — the first time ever — the Yukon invested in an approximately 30-day note and will wait eight years to find out what it is worth when it matures.
That’s his record. We hope he stays in good health, because we all want to talk to him in 2016 about how that’s worked out.
We’ll move on to other matters, because I know we have a lot to get through in this sitting. We certainly know that yesterday the minister responsible for Economic Development spent several hours educating all Yukoners about all kinds of fascinating material regarding radioisotopes and his fascinating history of medical research, rather than doing due justice to the motion brought by the third party.
Some Hon. Member: (Inaudible)
Mr. Mitchell: As the Member for Kluane says, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” Well, I will say one thing: the minister responsible for Economic Development is pretty good at talking out the clock.
Let’s ask some other questions and maybe we can get some straightforward answers.
Can the minister give us an update on what progress we’ve heard on land claims? We asked last year about the Fitch report. Has that report progressed to the point where there are some decisions being made at the Canadian government level?
Does the minister have anything to tell us about the three outstanding land claims and what progress he has made with the three First Nations and with Canada, in terms of re-establishing a mandate and reopening negotiations?
Hon. Mr. Fentie: Well again, Mr. Chair, the member has put information on the public record that must be corrected.
The member said that the Official Opposition and the third party haven’t received answers on the matter of government investments. I will refer the member to the pages of Hansard. There are copious amounts of answers in terms of response to the member opposite. Most recently, the government side provided advice to the third party in the form of an answer when it comes to this particular investment issue, not to listen to the Leader of the Official Opposition on the matter. That will help them greatly in understanding the facts of the issue.
Again, I’ll correct the public record for the member opposite. The government has answered for months on this particular issue, whether here on the floor of this Assembly or through the media. The Department of Finance, along with many others involved in the restructuring, have worked diligently over those months to come to this point where there’s an agreement on restructuring. Now we just await the court’s approval of this whole arrangement and we will move forward. We’ll continue to work with the Auditor General on this and many other matters we are required to do. We’ll continue to follow the public sector accounting guidelines.
We’ll continue to invest Yukon fiscal resources in a manner that continues to earn revenues for the Yukon, as we have. Unlike the member opposite and his party, when in government, we were cash poor, in trouble and in an overdraft position just to pay our daily expenses. It is a positive sign that now the government is not cash poor, has in excess of $150 million available today, has short-term investments — I stand corrected. We actually have now today $250 million cash available, short-term investments, long-term investments, a growing economy, a better quality of life, an improving health care system, an ever-improving education system, more investment in infrastructure, continuing investment in programs and services to Yukoners to ensure that Yukoners are receiving, to the extent possible good governance, in all facets. The list goes on and on.
Now to the land claims. We can’t provide definitive responses to the member’s question because the process known as the Fitch review and report is somewhere in the works, between Mr. Fitch and the federal government and the federal minister responsible. We have continued to have discussions with the federal government and the federal minister responsible to always encourage the federal government to come forward quickly with a new mandate to address the unfinished business here in the Yukon.
It’s important to note that, out of 20 plus — I believe it’s 22 — settled claims in Canada, 11 of those settlements are here in the Yukon Territory.
I think that is a significant demonstration of how our process in the Yukon has worked over time, and we are getting a very positive reception from the federal government in regard to that. We will continue to work with Canada to ensure that we can conclude the unfinished business in Yukon; we will continue to work with Canada on the implementation of the 11 agreements and self-government agreements that have been concluded. We will continue to work with the three First Nations who have not concluded, as we are required to under the law but, more importantly, through the vision and plan that this government has for the Yukon in partnership and collaboration with Yukon First Nations. That is part of the good governance initiative that we brought forward as far back as 2002.
All these matters are being taken care of, and I would encourage the member opposite to once again recognize that the processes here in Yukon are being reflected out there in the public. The public just simply isn’t buying into the Leader of the Official Opposition’s approach whatsoever. We all recognize that. I congratulate the Leader of the Third Party on his rise in the polls, outdistancing the Leader of the Official Opposition, so that tells us on the government side that the public is more comfortable with the NDP than they are with the Liberals.
We will continue to work with the Liberals to try to shore them up and bring them up to standard and make sure that they are a constructive, contributing factor to this territory’s future. It is a difficult challenge, however. It is most difficult to try to raise the bar with the Member for Copperbelt and his colleagues. But we will not be deterred; the government side will work very diligently to ensure that, at some point in the future — hopefully in the near future — the Official Opposition will become a more constructive element in governance in the territory. That is what we will strive to do and, with a little receptiveness from the Leader of the Official Opposition, we may be able to accomplish great things.
Under the circumstances, the government side progresses, the third party progresses, the territory progresses, but unfortunately there is a regression at the level of the Official Opposition.
Chair: Is there any further general debate?
Mr. Mitchell: I guess the vast majority of that last response we can ignore, because there was a bunch of words and a response but no answers, actually. I’m going to leave the issue of the $36 million for now. The minister clearly has no answers. We can ask these questions as long as we wish but the minister can’t answer for it because it is his problem. He keeps hoping that the officials or somebody else will bail him out, but I don’t think there is going to be bail on this one. It is the minister’s problem.
I asked about the three outstanding land claims and the Fitch report. I think I asked a very straightforward question; instead the minister felt compelled to say, “We’re doing everything as we’re supposed to; don’t worry, things are progressing.” That is really a pretty sad answer for this House, Mr. Chair. It didn’t inform us of anything other than they are working on it. We presume they are working on it. We were wondering how it was going. We didn’t get an answer; that’s fine. We’ll try some more and maybe there will be something that the minister can answer.
We retained $17.5 million out of the of $50-million northern housing trust when the $32.5 million was transferred directly to First Nations. Some of that is now assigned to the single-parent-family housing where there will be some 30 units completed some time in the future at some unknown location in the City of Whitehorse.
Does the minister have any information he can give us on how the government plans to spend the remainder of that money in that trust, or is all of that $17.5 million going to be held for that one particular project? It is a very straightforward, simple question and I’d like to get a straightforward, simple answer from the minister. It is Thursday afternoon; I’m sure he can calm down and do that.
Hon. Mr. Fentie: Actually, we’re very calm on this side of the House. A straightforward answer: all the money retained, the $17.5 million, will be invested in affordable housing, as is required, and we’re working on it.
Mr. Mitchell: I think the Premier got it half right: it was a simple answer. I’m not sure if it was straightforward.
He said, “We’re working on it.” Does he have any other programs that he can inform this House about that aren’t top secret, Cabinet eyes only, regarding that money, or is it simply more, “Don’t worry, be happy; we’ll let you know”?
Some Hon. Member: (Inaudible)
Chair: Is there any further general debate?
Mr. Mitchell: Well, from what he said, it’s clear, so I guess we’ll have to reread Hansard and see if it was clear.
The much-promised social assistance rate increase that has been announced and reannounced several times over the past year, and referred to again this spring — the last we heard, it would be coming forward shortly, but I don’t believe anybody has yet received the cheques. Can the minister give us an update? As the Minister of Finance, he would know.
I know the government was waiting for approval from Canada, having to do with the federal obligations toward First Nations. Can the minister update this House and, more importantly, update Yukoners on when the new rates will be in effect and the first cheques will flow with the increased rates in effect, and what those rates will be?
Hon. Mr. Fentie: Not wanting to be presumptuous, I believe the member is asking about social assistance rates. That is within the purview of the Department of Health and Social Services. The government has committed to restructure, if you will, that area, and I’ll let the Minister of Health and Social Services expand on the work the minister has done. Under his leadership, good things are certainly happening in that particular area, also.
Mr. Mitchell: Not so quick, Mr. Chair, because we know when we ask these questions in Question Period, the Premier is very pleased to jump up and say, “I can’t help