076 Hansard

Whitehorse, Yukon

Thursday, March 27, 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 at this time with the Order Paper.

Tributes.

Introduction of visitors.

TABLING RETURNS AND DOCUMENTS

Speaker:    Under tabling returns and documents, the Chair has for tabling a report from the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly on the absence of members from sittings of the Legislative Assembly and from its committees.

Are there any further returns or documents for tabling?

Mr. Inverarity:   Mr. Speaker, I have two letters for tabling.

Speaker:   Are there further documents for tabling?

Reports of committees.

Petitions.

Are there any bills to be introduced?

Are there any notices of motion?

NOTICES OF MOTION

Mr. Nordick:    I give notice of the following motion:

THAT this House urges the Government of Yukon to introduce in the Legislative Assembly a bill to establish an act creating a child advocate appropriate for the Yukon no later than the anniversary date of the proclamation of the Child and Family Services Act following consultations with Yukon First Nations and other stakeholders.

Mr. Mitchell:    I give notice of the following motion:

THAT this House urges the Deputy Premier to explain to Yukoners why she said in the Legislative Assembly that $36.5 million in investments made by the Government of Yukon were guaranteed by a bank when in fact they were not.

Mr. Edzerza:   I give notice of the following motion:

THAT this House invites witnesses to appear before Committee of the Whole when debating the proposed Child and Family Services Act so that the voices of Yukon First Nations and other affected parties can be heard on this substantial piece of legislation.

Mr. Cardiff:   I give notice of the following motion:

THAT this House urges the Yukon government to develop legislation and regulations around the use of all-terrain vehicles, or ATVs, in the territory with the primary objective of increasing public safety and reducing injury and death, particularly involving young people.

Mr. Hardy:   I give notice of the following motion:

THAT this House direct the Public Accounts Committee to meet no fewer than four times each fiscal year to review the spending policies and practices of the Government of Yukon and to conduct public hearings on any matter that is the subject of a special report by the Auditor General of Canada or on any matter noted in the Auditor General's annual report on the public accounts of the Government of Yukon as warranting additional consideration.

I also give notice of the following motion:

THAT this House praise the efforts of Whitehorse City Councillor Jan Stick to seek to ban plastic shopping bags in the City of Whitehorse as a means of reducing the negative impacts of plastic in landfills and in our environment and urges the Yukon government to create a similar territory-wide ban on plastic shopping bags as a significant environmental health measure.

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 report promised to have been tabled the first day of this sitting from the Department of Highways and Public Works detailing measures the department is taking to address issues raised in the Auditor General's report of 2007.

Speaker:   Is there a statement by a minister?

This then brings us to Question Period.

QUESTION PERIOD

Question re:  Asset-backed commercial paper investments

Mr. Mitchell:    Mr. Speaker, I have some questions for the Minister of Finance. I would like his opinion on something.

The Auditor General investigated the minister's $36.5-million investment in junk bonds. She found the government did not follow the law when it made these investments. The Premier's first response was to publicly criticize the Auditor General and dismiss her findings as "just her opinion". The Premier was not content to stop there. He decided he needed a legal opinion to refute what the Auditor General said.

Can the Premier tell the House when he requested the legal opinion? Was it before he invested the $36.5 million, or after?

Speaker's statement

Speaker:   Order please.

Before the Hon. Premier answers the question I'd just like to remind the Leader of the Official Opposition about the guidelines for all Question Period, and specifically Rule No. 2: "A question ought to seek information and cannot be based on a hypothesis or seek an opinion, legal or otherwise."

So, keep that in mind, please.

Hon. Mr. Fentie:   Mr. Speaker, it's coming from the Official Opposition, it's the same old tired question and, frankly, the government side has moved on. We are more interested in dealing with the public interest and building Yukon's quality of life, better and better every day. The suggestions that the member has just made, once again, are, in fact, incorrect. Most of what the member has put on the floor of the House on this matter is incorrect. I guess that's the approach that the Official Opposition wants to take. It's not the approach the government will take.

Mr. Mitchell:    Yukoners are telling us that they have 36 million questions that they would like to see answered. Mr. Speaker, one of the sharpest criticisms in the Auditor General's report centred on the fact that the government didn't follow the act. She said that one of the ways that could have been avoided was the government could have sought a legal opinion before the investments were made to ensure they followed the act. This would have been the prudent thing to do.

While the Premier was busy criticizing the Auditor General, his Deputy Premier took a different approach here last fall. She said, "The Auditor General of Canada has agreed to conduct a review and we certainly look forward to the outcome of that review, and we will accept all findings and recommendations made." It's obvious the Premier and his new deputy have a difference of opinion on this issue that needs to be resolved.

I'll ask again: when did the minister seek out a legal opinion? Was it before or after he gambled with $36.5 million of taxpayers' money?

Speaker's statement

Speaker:   Before the Hon. Premier answers, I want to refer the honourable member again to specific rules. A guideline for oral Question Period is that a question ought to seek information and cannot be based on a hypothesis or seek an opinion, legal or otherwise. Hon. Premier, you have the floor.

Hon. Mr. Fentie:   Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are well of the fact that the Official Opposition has a position that Finance officials were gambling with taxpayers' money. We understand that. That's not the view that we have of our Finance officials.

Furthermore, how convenient for the member to just simply ignore and leave out the fact that the Auditor General said these investments were being made in good faith all along. In every year, these investments were duly disclosed and reported. They were looked at by the Auditor General's office. We all know that. It only became an issue when the bank liquidity agreements -- which were in place, contrary to what the member says; and we all know that the member says many things, not necessarily correct -- they were in place and the banks simply did not live up to those liquidity agreements. We are in a process now with many other governments, corporations, public corporations, and many other stakeholders developing a restructuring process for these investments to ensure they are going to be made good.

Mr. Mitchell:    Again, what the Auditor General said in her report was that this government -- and this government alone, she referred to -- did not comply with the act.

Since the minister either doesn't know or is too embarrassed to admit it, I can inform the public that the legal advice was sought on February 1, 2008. It was obtained from a Vancouver law firm seven months after the minister gambled with our tax dollars. The minister didn't even bother to ask for expert advice until after the fact. This is just more proof that the Finance minister was not doing his job. He was negligent in his duties.

The result of this incompetence is that the Government of Yukon didn't follow the act and millions of our dollars are locked away for five to eight years. Why didn't the minister seek the advice before he made these misguided investments? Why did he only bother to get it after the fact?

Hon. Mr. Fentie:   Mr. Speaker, speaking of experts after the fact, the member opposite certainly has become an expert after the fact, but that is easy to do. The hard work is being done by officials in the Department of Finance today. As I said, there are many other governments, many other corporations, many other Crown corporations, and many other stakeholders working on this issue.

But I have a question for the member opposite. How does the member view Mr. Greenspan's role in the subprime mortgage fiasco in the United States? How does the member view Mr. Greenspan's role? Was Mr. Greenspan gambling with U.S. dollars?

Some Hon. Member:   (Inaudible)

Point of order

Speaker:   Order please. On a point of order.

Mr. McRobb:   Point of order, Mr. Speaker. The rules of this House clearly do not permit us to answer a question posed by the government side. If they want to ask questions, they should be on this side of the House.

Speaker:       On a point of order. Go ahead.

Hon. Mr. Cathers:   Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my humble opinion, I submit to you there is no point of order. There is simply a dispute between members. Members are free to pose questions in any debate, or in reply to a question.

Speaker's ruling

Speaker:   From the Chair's perspective, the comments by the Hon. Premier were hypothetical. The member has been in this Legislative Assembly long enough to understand that the government cannot ask questions of the opposition that one can only conclude as hypothetical; therefore, there is no point of order.

The Hon. Premier has an opportunity to reply now.

Hon. Mr. Fentie:   I have more time, Mr. Speaker?

Speaker:   You do indeed.

Hon. Mr. Fentie:   Thank you very much. Once again, the member opposite is incorrect in his assertions and is wasting the time of the Assembly.

Question re:  Asset-backed commercial paper investments

Mr. Mitchell:    I know that the minister is a keen student of economics; he has certainly demonstrated that. I would suggest that he should write to the former or the current chair of the Federal Reserve to seek advice and counselling.

When the Auditor General investigated this minister's bad investments, she raised the question of why the government failed to seek expert advice before making these decisions. It's obvious that the minister was not doing his job or providing any oversight. The minister only decided to seek advice after the fact. Now, the minister's response to the Auditor General's investigation was quite interesting. For years, the Auditor General has been his best friend, but now when she has something critical to say, the minister dismisses it as "just her opinion". I can tell the Premier this: Yukoners will take the Auditor General's opinion over his every day of the week. The minister got legal advice after the fact. How much did it cost and why did he get it only after the fact?

Hon. Mr. Fentie:   Oh, the opinions the member has. I can assure the member that Yukoners will take the Auditor General's view and opinion any day of the week over the member's opposite -- that's a fact. No matter how the member tries to address this issue in his attempts to criticize the Department of Finance or government and anybody else involved here, it's not going to work. So, let's go over this issue. No, I'm not going to resign. As Premier, I'm not going to fire myself as Minister of Finance. No, I'm not going to attack Finance officials. This government will not do that. No, I'm not going to bite on the member's approach here, because it's not factual. If the member wishes to move on to a constructive, factual debate, he'll find the government side very willing to engage, but on this matter, nothing is going to change from this side of the House. The answers have been given and we'll continue to give the same answers. Whether the member likes it or not, that's just the way it is, so he's going to have to get over it.

Mr. Mitchell:    I don't know what the Minister of Finance is hiding here. We certainly haven't criticized officials or suggested that anybody should be dismissed.

Some Hon. Member:   (Inaudible)

Point of order

Speaker:   The Member for Porter Creek North.

Hon. Mr. Kenyon:   The word "hiding" has been ruled on many times in this House.

Speaker's ruling

Speaker:   From the Chair's perspective, there is no point of order. The Leader of the Official Opposition has the floor.

Mr. Mitchell:    Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Now, the Minister of Finance went to great lengths when the results of the Auditor General's investigation were released to try to discredit her findings. Public officials didn't do that; the minister did it.

He dismissed her work as "just her opinion" and said he had other opinions. He has had a few weeks to think it over now. Has he come to the same conclusions that the Deputy Premier and everyone in the Yukon has -- namely, that the Auditor General was right and he was wrong? Or, does this difference with his Deputy Premier continue today?

So I'll ask again: what did the legal advice cost, and why did he get it after the fact?

Hon. Mr. Fentie:   Once again, the member is putting incorrect information on the floor. Nobody has criticized the Auditor General. When Finance officials were asked in a public forum if they had other opinions on the matter, they responded factually -- yes, they do. That's exactly how the Department of Finance responded to the question on the matter.

That is their work; it's part of their operations. They were fully disclosing all that took place here, as we've done each and every year, as governments have done as far back as 1990 -- fully disclosed these investments. They're in each and every year-end -- our public accounts.

The member is twisting in the wind. It's time to move off the cunning approach and take the constructive approach.

Mr. Mitchell:    I actually think that is quite interesting, because I am not aware of any government from 1990 on, prior to this government, that has had its investments frozen -- a third of their cash surplus frozen. It happened on this minister's watch.

The day after the report was released, despite what he is saying now, the Premier was critical. He went on the radio and dismissed the Auditor General's report and said it was just one opinion. It is clear that the Deputy Premier and the Premier have a difference of opinion on this. The Deputy Premier is right. The correct course of action would have been to accept the findings and move on. Instead, the Premier decided to try to discredit the Auditor General and spend taxpayers' money on legal advice from a Vancouver firm. Now he is refusing to say what it cost and why he waited until seven months after the investments were made to get it.

Unlike the Premier, I don't take issue with the Auditor General's findings. He is right. I do respect her opinions, so will the minister release the instructions he sent to the law firm? What precise questions did he want them to answer so many months after the fact?

Hon. Mr. Fentie:   Well, Mr. Speaker, I am about to demonstrate once again just how far off the facts the Member for Copperbelt really is.

The fact of the matter is that the Auditor General asked the Department of Finance to seek another legal opinion. I hope that answers the member's question, though it doesn't fit with the approach the member is taking -- I understand that. But it is the fact of the matter. The Auditor General asked the department to seek the legal opinion.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

Question re:  Child and Family Services Act

Mr. Edzerza:   Yesterday the government tabled its new Child and Family Services Act. I would like to acknowledge the significance of this, because the new act has been a long time coming, and it is a very important piece of legislation.

Obviously it is going to take time to go through this bill in detail and give it the consideration it deserves; however, I have a few preliminary questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services.

First of all, why did the minister decide to ignore the wishes of several First Nations who asked for more time to provide informed input into this legislation that will have such a profound impact on First Nation children and families?

Hon. Mr. Cathers:   I thank the member for his comments, appreciating, of course, that he has not had time to go through this act and to see that, in fact, it's not only a very thick piece of legislation but it is leading edge in Canada in addressing these matters and providing appropriate protection to children. It is also taking the important step of involving the family and First Nation citizens in efforts to cooperatively plan and take all necessary and appropriate steps to prevent bringing children into care when at all possible, while keeping them in a safe situation.

I would point out, in response to the member's question, that this is the result of a joint effort between the Yukon government and First Nations, a partnership that saw joint public consultation, joint policy development and jointly informing the legal drafters. Although, as the member noted, there were a few First Nations who encouraged us to delay it, I must remind the member there were others who encouraged us to get on with the work, to table the legislation and to put in place this step, which they regard as a very important step for their families, their citizens and their children.

Mr. Edzerza:   The minister avoided the question. I believe in giving credit where credit is due. One major improvement since a consultation draft came out in November is the commitment to develop legislation for an independent child advocate within a year after the new act is proclaimed. This was very high on the list of things that were asked for during the consultation.

As the minister knows, I recently tabled a motion calling for a children's advocate. In fact, as far back as 2000, the NDP MLA for Ross River and the Southern Lakes tabled a private member's bill to establish an independent child's advocate, but it was shot down because of the possible cost.

What kind of consultation can the minister promise in developing our child advocate act and how soon will that process start?

Hon. Mr. Cathers:   Of course the consultation will start very soon. As the member will note, part 12 of the new bill says, "The Minister shall develop an act to establish a child advocate, to be independent of the director of family and children's services and of any director appointed under paragraph 173(c)."

That reference to "any other director" -- I would remind the member -- is to allow First Nation service authorities to establish -- If they wish to deliver the services to their citizens, they have the ability to use this legislation. A key part of the policy development process is that this is designed and is an improvement, which will improve the services for all citizens, including First Nation children and will allow First Nations to utilize this legislation if they wish to deliver services themselves. Should they not do that, they can utilize the greater opportunity provided through this act for greater involvement and cooperative planning, greater involvement up front in being informed and in being involved in decisions related to children and to citizens of that First Nation.

In answer to the member's question specific to the child advocate -- that will come in shortly, and of course, by virtue of the bill tabled, must be completed within a year; it will include First Nations and it will include the public.

Mr. Edzerza:   A number of First Nations have expressed serious concerns about the draft Child and Family Services Act. These concerns include the amount of unilateral power held by the director and social workers, the lack of alternatives to court systems, the limited roles that are given to grandparents and other extended family members -- this is just a small sample. Certainly, in my own initial review of the act, I am concerned about the number of areas where it says the director "may" do this or that, rather than the director "shall" or "must". These are serious issues. If those concerns are still there, would the minister be willing to allow First Nations and other witnesses to appear before Committee of the Whole when this proposed act comes up for debate?

Hon. Mr. Cathers:   I appreciate the member's concern. I would encourage him to in fact read the current Children's Act and then to read this new bill, the new Child and Family Services Act. In fact he will see that, under the new legislation, the unilateral powers of the director are reduced. It is far clearer in the need to involve First Nations in cooperative planning. It is in fact a much more inclusive process.

As the member will be aware and I have indicated in the House before, through policy, some measures have already been implemented. To see that greater involvement, there are some areas that did require legislative amendment. That is an important part of this piece of legislation. Again, this legislation provides greater opportunity for involvement by the family and greater opportunity for involvement by the First Nations, and other steps requested by First Nations, such as the recognition of custom adoptions and creating that mechanism.

Again, while the member points out and I acknowledge that there are a few First Nations who asked us to delay this process further, in fact there are others who have encouraged us to table this bill and bring forward what is a significant improvement in legislation that will benefit their citizens and all Yukoners.

Question re:  Whitehorse Housing Co-operative

Mr. Cardiff:   I have another question for the minister responsible for Yukon Housing Corporation. I'm not interested in hearing the minister reconstruct history one more time. I would like him to address the current reality regarding the dispute between the Yukon Housing Corporation and the Whitehorse Housing Co-operative. It would be nice if the minister would refrain from attacking the credibility of the co-op board and acknowledge the hard work that they've done over the past five years to get the co-op back on a stable footing.

One of the two national housing co-op bodies has agreed to lend the co-operative about $250,000 to discharge some of its current obligations. Can the minister explain why Yukon Housing Corporation as receiver/manager blocked that move so that the money is now sitting in a trust fund instead of being put to good use?

Hon. Mr. Kenyon:   Once again, the matter is fairly complex. It's disappointing that the member feels that looking at the historical aspects of where we are today isn't relevant.

I think most Yukoners, knowing that they can't pay their bills, would realize that increasing the size of the bills isn't the way to get out of it. The organization the member opposite refers to has offered a loan, which simply increases the debt load of the organization. That is why, at the request of the cooperative, a third party in Toronto -- a company specializing in these sorts of evaluations  -- was engaged at the expense of the Yukon taxpayer. They determined that this likely was not a viable operation.

The Yukon taxpayers and the Canadian taxpayers have a huge sum of money invested in this. The only way that the corporation can get out of being a court-ordered receiver is to return to the courts for the court's direction. And that is what we have agreed to allow the corporation to do. It brings it back into the courts, and it allows the courts to make those decisions -- not the corporation and certainly not the government.

Mr. Cardiff:   Well, yesterday the minister did finally admit that the co-operative is not bankrupt. Reading the Blues, however, I was left with the impression that the minister feels that the co-operative is a huge financial burden on Yukon taxpayers, and that simply is not the case.

I can't help wondering if the minister simply has some ideological objection to people acting together to meet their housing needs. If that is the case, it's no wonder we've seen so little action from this government on the big, big problem we have regarding the need for affordable housing here in the Yukon.

Will the minister give his assurance that if the Housing Corporation agrees to work with co-op board and voluntarily withdraw as receiver/manager -- through the courts, of course -- that he will not interfere with that process?

Hon. Mr. Kenyon:   For the member opposite, that is why the courts are involved. The housing co-operative was placed into receivership and the member opposite is right -- the word "bankrupt" was used in the letter and that has been corrected. They are, however, in receivership and that leaves the board of directors as the receiver, by Canadian law.

We have no choice but to go back to the courts and seek their direction. The Canadian taxpayer has bled over $1 million into this co-operative. If the member opposite wants people to look at their own housing needs, or if somebody wants to give me or a few friends $1 million, I would be happy to accept it.

We will live with the court's decision and again, if any of the other organizations want to take over as receiver and continue to subsidize this, and if the New Democratic Party and their good offices want to take this over and pour the money into it, we are more than happy to live with this. We'll support it.

Mr. Cardiff:   The minister is not recognizing the contribution of the board and the people who live in that housing cooperative or the work that they have done over many, many years. It is ironic that next week this minister is going to be flying to Ottawa to meet with federal and provincial housing ministers to discuss social housing. This is a major concern across the country and especially here in the Yukon, in every community in the Yukon.

A lot of the problem we are experiencing right now can be traced back to the decisions of previous federal governments to walk away from their responsibilities in the social housing field, and I hope the minister is planning to make a strong case on behalf of the Yukon and won't accept any excuses from the federal minister for why the federal government isn't doing more.

Can the minister tell us what targets he is hoping to achieve next week in terms of the number and kind of social housing units that should be built in the Yukon, and will he consider housing cooperatives as a viable way for that to be done?

Hon. Mr. Kenyon:   I do thank the member opposite for recognizing the fact that the Leader of the Third Party has offered to pair with me to allow me to attend these very important meetings in Ottawa.

I have to correct the member opposite. There certainly has been a lot of work on all sides within the co-operative, but we still have to look back to October 2003 when the co-op's bank account was closed because it was overdrawn. In November 2003, the debts incurred by the co-op were approximately $125,000. In October 2003, the co-op missed July, August and September mortgage payments. In November 2003, the president and the vice-president of the co-op resigned. There is a long story involving this. We are now continuing to ask CMHC to issue comfort letters because of the difficulties that they have had with the mortgage. The court may come up with any decision.

The court may very well allow the co-op to continue and if that is the case then we would certainly support it. But the opinion of the Mintz report, which I do hope that the member opposite has had a chance to read, is fairly clear that given the limited human resources within a co-op that small, the chances are that they will continue to go down. In which case, they could sell off assets and settle their debt. But because of that, they would become a much smaller group and then there would be the question of who gets the money.

Question re:  Liquor Act amendments

Mr. Inverarity:        Mr. Speaker, in October of 2002, the Yukon Party declared as part of its election campaign that it did not support the introduction of new types of licences to the liquor market. In a letter to the B.C. & Yukon Hotels Association, the Leader of the Yukon Party rejected the idea of neighbourhood pubs because it would be unfair to existing liquor licensees who had to build hotels and motel rooms as a condition of their licence. At the time, two government ministers owned hotels.

Well, Mr. Speaker, these are exactly the changes that are proposed under the new Liquor Act amendments. Why should Yukoners trust this government when they do the opposite of what they say they are going to do?

Hon. Mr. Kenyon:   For the record, there were two ministers who owned hotels. I spoke at length with both of them and both had no objections to continuing to review the act and look at the good work of the consultation in 2001 and that the act be amended. Much of the concern was in totally other quarters who looked at neighbour pubs as being, for want of a better description, the belly-up-to-the-bar-and-spittoon-in-the-corner sort of establishment. That was not what we saw as a reasonable approach to a neighbourhood pub. I think most Yukoners would agree that that is not what they wanted to look at.

However, we did, over time, come up with a proposal that was acceptable to the many others. As I say, I have spoken with our two ministers who owned hotels and many other people who have owned hotels, and to their credit, not one had a concern about changing this legislation. That was not the problem.

Mr. Inverarity:   This government has a credibility problem. In September of 2006 during the last election campaign, the Yukon Chamber of Commerce was informed by the Premier that the Yukon Party was, and I quote, "not convinced that reviewing the Liquor Act was necessary." The Premier promised the chamber at the time that the Yukon Party would keep the existing legislation. Well, here it is 18 months later and they are doing precisely the opposite. I ask again: how can this government be trusted when it does not do what it says it is going to do?

Hon. Mr. Kenyon:   I do have a degree of sympathy with the member opposite who, having not been in government, has obviously no concept of how government works.

At the time, we felt that simply changing parts of the regulations would solve the problem -- the most notable being the word "brew" in brew licence. Our legal opinion over time -- and it was not an easy opinion to get by any means -- is that you brew beer; you do not brew wine; therefore, the act had to be opened in order to deal with farm-gate wineries or distilling, manufacturing or producing spirits.

It was our feeling and certainly my feeling at the time that also simply looking at the definition of the word "meal" would solve a lot of our problems. In fact, we got exactly the same advice that we had to open the act in order to do this. What we assumed we could do in regulation we found required a legislative change, so we proceeded with that. If we had continued on the way the member opposite sort of thinks, nothing would be done and we wouldn't be moving anywhere.

Mr. Inverarity:   Let us make sure there are no misunderstandings here. The Official Opposition Liberals support these amendments. It was, after all, the previous Liberal government that did the hard work. The Liberals performed the review and developed the recommendations. That was more than seven years ago. Unfortunately the approach taken by this government was to stall in implementing the recommendations that have left us with proposed amendments to the Liquor Act but no regulations to go along with them.

Will the minister ensure that these regulations are presented before the amendments are passed?

Hon. Mr. Kenyon:   As I have said many times to the media, the regulations are being worked on by the same incredibly competent and hardworking people who got the act together, literally. The regulations are being worked on now and they will be ready, if not by the end of the sitting when this hopefully passes, but very shortly thereafter. We hope to have that in place by June 1 in time for summer.

For the member opposite, I will certainly recognize that the Liberal government did a lot of work on that, and we appreciate that. The shortest lived majority government in the history of the Commonwealth of Nations -- at least they did something in their 22 months.

Speaker:    The time for Question Period has elapsed. We will proceed to Orders of the Day.

ORDERS OF THE DAY

GOVERNMENT BILLS

Bill No. 10: Second Reading

Clerk:  Second reading, Bill No. 10, standing in the name of the Hon. Mr. Fentie.

Hon. Mr. Fentie:   Mr. Speaker, I move that Bill No. 10, entitled Interim Supply Appropriation Act, 2008-09, be now read a second time.

Speaker:   It has been moved by the Hon. Premier that Bill No. 10, entitled Interim Supply Appropriation Act, 2008-09, be now read a second time.

Hon. Mr. Fentie:   I will have very brief remarks in regard to interim supply. It is a standard tool and mechanism always when it comes to the appropriations of government in the budget sitting.

The act requests spending authority of up to $277,856,000. Its purpose is to defray the charges and expenses of the public services of Yukon for the three-month period commencing April 1, 2008, through to May 31, 2008.

Of this total amount, $197,976,000 has previously been authorized by special warrant as outlined in Schedule C of the legislation. The amount required -- as I said, $277,856,000 -- is broken down into operation and maintenance expenditures, as a total of $201,123,000 and capital expenditures of $76,733,000.

Of course, the full details of all these estimates will be included in the main estimates for 2008-09 and Committee of the Whole will have ample time to debate in detail all the expenditures of the main budget.

In closing, I move that we quickly put Bill No. 10, Interim Supply Appropriation Act, 2008-09, into Committee and move it through the necessary processes that we must so we can get on to the many other items of business that this government has brought forward on behalf of the Yukon public.

Mr. McRobb:   The Yukon Liberal caucus has stated for the record on several occasions that we would cooperate in expeditious passage of any interim supply bill. This is certainly no exception. We look forward to discussion, albeit a quick discussion, in Committee and assent later this afternoon.

Mr. Hardy:   In regard to the interim supply appropriation bill, we have no problem with it; it's a standard procedure; it's recognized from past practices and we recognize the need as we come to the year-end that money is available to ensure that the bills are paid and projects don't stop and businesses receive money and employees keep working. However, as we have always stated, we do not believe that there was a need for a special warrant.

We believe that there was time enough to bring the interim supply bill forward and have it passed by the Legislative Assembly.

I just heard the Member for Kluane indicate that they will work with something like this. Of course the NDP will as well. The history of the Legislative Assembly has always been that we do pass interim supply bills.

Reading the first page of Bill No. 10, it states: "From and out of the Yukon consolidated revenue fund, there may be paid and applied a sum not exceeding in the whole $277,856,000, $197,976,000 of which has previously been authorized by a special warrant, as shown in Schedule C."

I would like to put on record clearly that I don't consider that special warrant authorized, from my own perspective, because it has not had the proper debate that should have happened in the Legislative Assembly. Special warrants have -- as the name implies -- a special purpose. Generally, in emergencies facing the Yukon or situations that arise that are not planned for, a special warrant would be utilized. 

But a special warrant is not to be used in this manner. This is our particular viewpoint. Obviously, the Yukon Party does not share that viewpoint. They have used special warrants consistently, even though the opposition has consistently asked them to stop using special warrants in this manner. So, obviously, we are not in agreement at all around this.

What is disappointing, of course, is the fact that we have indicated -- the NDP, anyway, from the opposition side, and the Liberals just recently now -- that there would not be a problem with an interim supply bill being brought forward. So there is really no need for a special warrant in this case.

However, as I say that, it's obviously just a very different way of operating and different way of being accountable to the public that we would have if we were in government. Obviously, the Yukon Party prefers to use special warrants. It could be based on distrust; it could be based on many reasons. However, I still would like to see the government, at least once in their next mandate, not use a special warrant and bring forward an interim supply bill, so we can go back to the way all other governments have worked in this Legislative Assembly: trusting the opposition that it will go forward and ensure that bills are paid.

Saying that, I look forward to the debate on the spending in the budget debate -- in the departments. And I won't spend any time debating the interim supply bill. Our debate will happen in the course of the next -- how many days? -- 30 days or whatever in regard to the budget that has been brought forward by the government, and the departmental budget as well.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Speaker:   If the Hon. Premier speaks, he will close debate. Does any other member wish to be heard?

Hon. Mr. Fentie:   Well, in my brief closing remarks, I can assure the Leader of the Third Party that, in our next mandate, we'll take his comments under advisement. But for the rest of this mandate, we will continue to ensure that spending authority for government is not interrupted, and there is good reason for that.

Some of us who are in this House today were in this Legislature some years ago when an opposition party filibustered the interim supply bill, and the government was left with no spending authority. This government will never, ever take that chance.

The interim supply bill before us is complete, as it should be, on the government's spending needs for three months into the fiscal year, and we are backing that up with a special warrant to ensure that there will be expeditious passage of interim supply.

You know, I have another interesting point to make. I noticed something that may be subtle, but it is of great interest here. There was another special warrant out a few weeks ago -- not this one, another one. It was a special warrant covering the increase for MLA salaries -- the increase for MLA salaries made retroactive based on the motion moved by the Leader of the Official Opposition. There was not one criticism of that special warrant, Mr. Speaker, yet there is criticism for merely a mechanical and technical instrument to ensure the government does not have an impediment to spending authority. I'll close my remarks on that point.

Speaker:   Are you prepared for the question?

Motion for second reading of Bill No. 10 agreed to

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:       Committee of the Whole will now come to order. Do members of the Committee wish to take a brief recess?

All Hon. Members:   Agreed.

Chair:   Committee of the Whole will recess for 15 minutes.

Recess

Chair:   I will now call Committee to order.

Bill No. 10 -- Interim Supply Appropriation Act, 2008-09

Chair:   The matter before the Committee of the Whole is the Interim Supply Appropriation Act, 2008-09.

Hon. Mr. Fentie:   We've already delved into the total amounts requested for interim supply in second reading. I will just give further detail now on where the expenditures are appropriated for or profiled for. The appropriation act is required to allow public service, for example, to continue to make certain expenditures while the main estimates continue to be debated and considered during the spring sitting of our Assembly here in this fiscal year of 2008.

The interim funding, of course, will extend through to May 31, 2008. The amounts, in case the members are interested  how the amounts are derived at, is by canvassing departments for this period, to have departments bring forward what their spending requirements will be during the two-month period.

The amounts are significant, however, and largely due to the fact that a number of government-funded organizations, such as the hospital, the college and other non-governmental organizations receive the bulk of their appropriation in the first quarter of each fiscal year. In addition, a large percentage of capital commitments and expenditures are made during this period of the year so that capital projects can commence and/or continue should they have already been started.

So with that, Mr. Chair, I will then entertain comments and questions from the member opposite and move the bill through Committee to third reading for passage.

Mr. McRobb:            Again, for the record, the Yukon Liberal Party wants to demonstrate its complete cooperation with the government -- and that would apply to any government -- by demonstrating that we can participate in expeditious passage of an interim supply bill; therefore, we do not have any questions at this time.

Mr. Cardiff:   The New Democrats as well have no questions for the minister in Committee of the Whole. We will be asking all our questions when we get to debate the main estimates. We recognize the purpose of the interim supply bill and agree to its speedy passage.

Thank you.

Hon. Mr. Fentie:   I want to extend, on behalf of the government side, our appreciation to the opposition benches for their contribution and the expeditious movement of this bill through Committee. I will stand down on any further remarks.

Chair:   Is there any further general debate?

We'll proceed clause by clause in Bill No. 10.

On Clause 1

Clause 1 agreed to

On Clause 2

Clause 2 agreed to

On Schedules A, B and C

Schedules A, B and C agreed to

On Title

Title agreed to

Hon. Mr. Cathers:   I move that Bill No. 10, entitled Interim Supply Appropriation Act, 2008-09, be reported without amendment.

Chair:   It has been moved by Mr. Cathers that Bill No. 10, entitled Interim Supply Appropriation Act, 2008-09, be reported without amendment.

Motion agreed to

Hon. Mr. Cathers:   I move that the Speaker do now resume the Chair.

Chair:   It has been moved by Mr. Cathers that the Speaker do now resume the Chair.

Motion agreed to

Speaker resumes the Chair

Speaker:   I will now call the House to order. May the House have a report from the Chair of Committee of the Whole?

Chair's report

Mr. Nordick:    Mr. Speaker, Committee of the Whole has considered Bill No. 10, entitled Interim Supply Appropriation Act, 2008-09, and has directed me to report it without amendment.

Speaker:   You have heard the report from the Chair of the Committee of the Whole. Are you agreed?

All Hon. Members:  Agreed.

Speaker:   I declare the report carried.

Unanimous consent re: third reading of Bill No. 10

Hon. Mr. Cathers:    Pursuant to Standing Order 14.3, I would ask the unanimous consent of the House to proceed with third reading of Bill No. 10, Interim Supply Appropriation Act, 2008-09, at this time.

Speaker:   The Government House Leader has, pursuant to Standing Order 14.3, requested unanimous consent of the House to proceed with third reading of Bill No. 10, Interim Supply Appropriation Act, 2008-09, at this time. Is there unanimous consent?

All Hon. Members:  Agreed.

Speaker:   Unanimous consent has been granted.

Government bills.

GOVERNMENT BILLS

Bill No. 10: Third Reading

Clerk:   Third reading, Bill No. 10, standing in the name of the Hon. Mr. Fentie.

Hon. Mr. Fentie:   I move that Bill No. 10 entitled Interim Supply Appropriation Act, 2008-09, be now read a third time and do pass.

Speaker:   It has been moved by the Hon. Premier that Bill No. 10, entitled Interim Supply Appropriation Act, 2008-09, be now read a third time and do pass.

Motion for third reading of Bill No. 10 agreed to

Speaker:   I declare that Bill No. 10 has passed this House. We are now prepared to receive the Commissioner of the Yukon, in her capacity as Lieutenant Governor, to grant assent to the bill, which has passed this House.

ASSENT TO BILLS

Commissioner:   Please be seated.

Speaker:   Madam Commissioner, the Assembly has, at its present session, passed a certain bill to which, in the name and on behalf of the Assembly, I respectfully request your assent.

Clerk:   Interim Supply Appropriation Act, 2008-09.

Commissioner:   I hereby assent to the bill as enumerated by the Clerk.

Commissioner leaves the Chamber

Speaker:   I will now call the House to order.

Bill No. 11: Second Reading -- adjourned debate

Clerk:   Second reading, Bill No. 11, standing in the name of the Hon. Mr. Fentie; adjourned debate, Mr. Elias.

Speaker:   Member for Vuntut Gwitchin, you have 24 minutes left.

Mr. Elias:   Again, it's always an honour and a privilege to rise on behalf of my constituents and address the Assembly in response to the budget of 2008-09. Yesterday, as debate adjourned, I was speaking about the caribou issue. I think it's important to note that in a recent poll conducted in the United States of America, 50 percent of Americans still oppose drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, and 42 percent of Americans still support oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.

There is an issue in my riding with regard to education, which I do believe needs some attention here in the House today. Mr. Speaker, there should be no child left uneducated in our public education system, yet in my community of Old Crow, there is still a small group of students who simply do not fit into the current system.

We need alternative learning opportunities for these children as soon as possible. One idea suggested by a parent could be that we initiate a satellite program operated out of Yukon College in Old Crow with curriculum being delivered by the Individual Learning Centre here in Whitehorse. This is an idea to do something for these children who do want to be educated but simply don't fit in the system. I'm speaking of about five to seven children here, Mr. Speaker. We need to find funding immediately to address the situation and find a way to deliver some special program support, and a satellite program could be one solution to the problem.

I ask this because one of the parents of the children asked me what the education system is doing for these children in Old Crow. I said that I didn't know but that I would ask the minister and get back to him. So I hope that the Minister of Education is listening and can answer this parent's concern and question of the Yukon education system and how they are providing for these children who don't necessarily fit into the Yukon education system. It is my hope that the minister can find a way to be responsive and act quickly regarding the situation.

Another issue in the Chief Zzeh Gittlit School is the lack of an education assistant. It's an issue that has arisen with a couple of parents why isn't there any funding for an education assistant in the Chief Zzeh Gittlit School? So that is another question that I hope the minister could address and why it's not addressed in the budget.

I will conclude by saying that, yes, it is important to upgrade the Whitehorse Airport and the Campbell Highway and the new initiative for the nursing program at Yukon College -- that is a great initiative -- and there is the $685,000 for capacity development for First Nation in the budget and $175,000 for the Forty Mile cultural heritage site. However, what is not in the budget is also important.

Social assistance: there is no money for an increase. There is no money for the downtown receiving home. There is no money for the dying trapping industry, which is the oldest industry in our territory. We have been advocating this on this side of the House for a long time, and there is still no money for the dying trapping industry.

There's no money to open the Thomson Centre. Where is the implementation money for the education reform project? A new F.H. Collins Secondary School -- again, no money in the budget. There's no money to continue the rate stabilization fund, which means higher power bills for every Yukon family. I wanted to touch on an issue with regard to the $36.5 million, which is, in my opinion, a catastrophic error in judgement of the government. Some leadership styles are different. If the Premier and the Deputy Premier had stood up and told Yukoners that they had made a mistake, that would have been good. "We're not perfect, and here are the steps how we are going to correct that error."

But what I've heard over the days is that it's everybody else's fault; it's the banker's fault; it's the officials' fault; it's the Auditor General's opinion; it's everybody else's fault except the minister responsible. Difference in leadership -- express you are deeply sorry; find out how to correct the problem and move on. But that's not what I heard from this Yukon Party government -- it's everybody else's fault but theirs.

In closing, I would like to continue to impress on the government that these issues are important to my constituents and Yukoners and I will continue to be a strong voice for the Vuntut Gwitchin riding in this Legislature and hopefully continue to make a positive difference. I wish all MLAs well in this sitting, and that's all I have to say.

Hon. Mr. Hart:    Honourable members, it's a pleasure to be back in the House representing my constituents of Riverdale South. My riding has changed substantially over the years since I was elected the first time. The demographics have changed substantially with regard to the people living in the riding.

Right now, we have probably had a 20- to 25-percent turnover in those people living in the riding. Many of the new people coming into the riding now are young families. Because Riverdale South has five schools within the riding area, it is very favourable for young families with children. It accommodates all their needs, besides the fact that it is also close to downtown.

As I stated, there are five schools within the riding: two Catholic schools, two elementary schools and one high school.

With regard to other aspects in general, Riverdale South is like many other constituencies within the City of Whitehorse. Many of the concerns are urban in nature; however, I will say that thanks to you, Mr. Speaker, and to the assistance of our officials, we are looking at developing a youth centre -- or at least looking at the possibility of a youth centre in Riverdale. We are currently looking at providing a questionnaire that will go out to the constituents of Riverdale South and Riverdale North. Depending on the results of that, we will move forward on the issue of a youth centre for Riverdale in the very near future.

It gives me great pleasure to respond to the 2008-09 budget -- the second budget of our second mandate. The capital and operation and maintenance budget for 2008-09 is the largest Government of Yukon budget ever, at $899 million. The operation and maintenance budget totals $697 million, of which $61 million is recoverable.

The capital budget totals $202.7 million, of which $81.7 million is recoverable.

In October of 2006, we presented Yukoners with a vision of the territory in our election platform entitled Building Yukon's Future Together: A Clear Vision for a Bright Future. From our platform, our government's vision is based on four major pillars: achieving a better quality of life for Yukoners, protecting and preserving our environment, promoting a strong, diversified private sector economy, and practising good governance with strong, fiscal management.

With the budget, we are able to implement our vision for the Yukon and we are able to strengthen the four pillars of our platform to build a better life for Yukoners. We are making progress toward our vision. Under a better quality of life, our vision is to improve the health, safety and social and economic well-being of Yukoners and Yukon communities. Our government is committed to providing Yukoners with lifelong learning opportunities and to provide opportunities to increase knowledge and skills. By providing learning opportunities, Yukoners can enrich both their personal lives and their working lives.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to mention some highlights in the 2008-09 budget that demonstrate how this budget supports our platform and strengthens the four pillars I mentioned earlier.

I will just touch on some of these items covered by the Department of Education. The education reform project aims to provide a broad review of what Yukoners are looking for in our education system. This has been a collaborative project with Yukon First Nations. The Department of Education will work with the Council of First Nations and other partners to develop the implementation plan.

Another successful project is the whole child program. It is a fine example of how a school community can work together and build a positive environment for children. The program includes two schools and their students and families -- Whitehorse Elementary and the Elijah Smith Elementary School.

Literacy, of course, is an important aspect of lifelong learning, and this government supports literacy through a number of programs. There is a partnership with the Yukon Literacy Coalition and public libraries to promote family literacy and reading throughout the Yukon communities.

Each May, there is a week-long Yukon writers festival promoting Canadian literature and literacy. There are readings done by the authors throughout the Yukon and it allows people to hear literature spoken by the authors -- a special event indeed.

The Whitehorse Public Library has expanded its service to include separate programs for babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers in order to promote pre-literacy and social skills. This provides an environment for little ones that fosters lifelong reading enjoyment.

The public libraries branch is introducing a program that allows a subscription to electronic databases. This program will enhance library resources by providing public access to subscription databases, including information on auto repair, encyclopaedias and reference sources, history, book reviews and homework support for students. Yukon libraries have something for everyone -- young, old and all ages in-between.

L'École Émilie Tremblay school has introduced a new experiential learning program called Académie Parhélie and for the high school grads, that allows young francophone Yukoners to become engaged and feel a sense of belonging while remaining true to their heritage.

The road for many people, after spending time in the education system as students, is to enter the workforce. In fact, in our platform on page 1, there is the heading "Educating Today for Jobs Tomorrow".

In this area this government is also making progress, and in today's thriving Yukon economy, we all know there is a shortage of skilled and entry-level workers. Our government is undertaking a number of initiatives to address this demand for workers. A labour market framework will be developed to address labour market shortages over the next 10 years.

A growing economy and a growing population mean growing pressures on the health care and social service systems. The Department of Health and Social Services is addressing this growing need. The territorial health access fund provides money that will be used to support a number of projects: advancing the health and human resource strategy; improving emergency planning and risk management; implementing a nurse information line service; enhanced dental health services in the communities; improving supports to community mental health; early identification of mental health concerns; improved support to increase tuberculosis patient outcomes; implementation of advanced directives; expanded telehealth services; development of a palliative care program; increased health promotion activities related to reduction of tobacco use, new health promotion initiatives related to injury prevention and healthy living; nutrition; advancing policy work on health information; and privacy and electronic records issues.

We will continue to focus on keeping Yukoners and their communities safe and healthy. The transfer of emergency medical services, or EMS, to the protective services branch in the Department of Community Services is advancing as planned. The branch met with the community representatives and the EMS volunteers and with other key stakeholders, where we had an opportunity to hear their perspectives on the Yukon's EMS service. The EMS staffing is being filled through recruitment, and 160 community-based EMS volunteers are actively involved in 15 communities, delivering emergency medical services to the general public.

Mr. Speaker, we have hired two full-time primary-care paramedics, or PCPs, in Watson Lake and, at this time, we have one in Dawson City and a second one will be hired very shortly. I'm very pleased with the work completed to date in bringing the EMS program into the protective services branch of EMO.

Mr. Speaker, dealing with alcohol and drug abuse was a major commitment in our 2006 election platform and our government has continued to initiate measures on the Yukon substance abuse action plan.

The Department of Justice is undertaking an initiative called the development project and the funding will be provided for the community justice coordinator, who will work with the communities to facilitate development and planning to identify the particular factors that contribute to substance abuse in the communities.

The Community Wellness Court is another initiative established under the Yukon substance abuse action plan. The wellness court provides court-monitored treatment for offenders with drug or alcohol addictions, symptoms of FASD or mental health issues.

Another major undertaking is the development of a new Yukon Corrections Act. The new act will be modernized to support correctional systems that promote healing and accountability, as well as offenders taking responsibility. There is a consultation team that works with the partners from the Council of Yukon First Nations and the Kaska to consult with Yukoners in creating the new Corrections Act.

Mr. Speaker, the Women's Directorate is responsible for ensuring that gender considerations are integrated into all aspects of the government policy-making, legislation and program development, and to advance the social, legal and economic equality of women in the north. To that end, the Women's Directorate is focused this year on addressing aboriginal women's issues and developing housing for single parents that provides a safe place for single parents and their children.

Mr. Speaker, these are some of the areas that this government is working on to support our platform commitments to build Yukon's future together.

I'll just briefly go over a couple of the other departments, highlight a few of their items and carry through.

With regard to the Housing Corporation, they are working in collaboration with the Women's Directorate on a single-parent housing facility, as I mentioned previously. This facility has been identified by the Women's Directorate as a very important need, especially for single parents with children. It's an item that has been identified very clearly by the Women's Directorate. It's very important for this particular segment of our economy to feel safe and protected. This is the method with which we will be going out there to try to meet their needs, as well as protect them.

We are also looking at adding three additional suites to the Haines Junction facility for seniors.

In addition, Mr. Speaker, many of us here will know of the flooding situation last year in Marsh Lake. We are working on that flood relief program through the Yukon Housing Corporation. We have a substantial number of claims within the corporation to date. We are currently working with a consultant who is reviewing the flood situation throughout the Marsh Lake area. We are expecting a draft report from that consultant sometime next month, with some recommendations on what we can look at in the future and what our possibilities are for mitigating some of the situations that we faced last year.

I will say though that from talking with many of the residents in the Marsh Lake area, I found that they are very thankful for what the government has done to assist especially those who were directly affected by the flood. Many of them are looking forward to hearing from the consultant on what the ideas or recommendations will be for their area.

In addition there are six new energy initiatives, including grants and loans at low or no interest, which will be handled through the Yukon Housing Corporation. Basically these will make the facilities throughout the Yukon more energy efficient, thereby reducing the cost of fuel to the households. Given the cost of the price of oil these days, it can't be too soon for many of the units throughout the Yukon.

With regard to Community Services, we are also this year making an increase. This is our first initial take of the increase to the comprehensive municipal grant to our communities throughout the Yukon. That is an increase of $805,000 that will be made available to these communities. We will carry on with a similar increase over the next four years. It is money that is much needed and will be much accepted by the municipalities, especially in the rural areas.

I have received many letters from the mayors and councils of the rural areas thanking the government for this initiative, as well as the fact that the money will be ongoing. I am looking forward to working with other members of AYC in the future.

Also during the community tour, we came upon issues that required some immediate attention in some of the rural communities and the need to assist some of the unincorporated communities with some of their much-needed facilities. We did provide some funding to assist those areas and get the immediate work underway for this upcoming year.

We're also working with the Association of Yukon Communities under Community Services to go forth with consultations on changes to the Municipal Act. This is underway; I believe consultations are due to be completed tomorrow; the results of that consultation will be put together over the next month or two and recommendations will come forth, proposed changes will be made and we will go forth with legislation, hopefully this fall.

As I also mentioned previously, the movement of emergency measures services from the hospital to Community Services and the modernization of the entire system of our first responders is well underway. We have had very good success with EMS people to date. I have been to Watson Lake and viewed the facilities there and talked to the paramedics. In addition, I have been working with our team that is putting together the necessary facilities and equipment, as well as identifying the needs in each and every community throughout the Yukon. Our staff has been to all the areas throughout the Yukon and gotten feedback from all of our first responding agents throughout the Yukon. 

So we're putting information together and looking at providing a very modern facility for all our first-responding areas throughout the Yukon covering EMS, EMO, our volunteer fire department, as well as search and rescue. In addition to that, we are also providing new fire trucks and ambulances to the fleet.

With regard to sport and recreation, we are continuing to provide funding for enhanced athletes, coaching and development. We recently signed a bilateral agreement with the Government of Canada to extend our best ever program from 2004 to 2007 and our new agreement will take us to 2010. That fund will be to utilize and enhance our coaching facilities, as well as provide additional support for aboriginal and rural athletes throughout the Yukon.

Under Tourism and Culture, funding for museums, interpretive centres and First Nation culture centres continues. Funding for the Yukon Arts Centre is still there. We also have provided funding for the Dawson City Arts Society. We have worked with the Vuntut Gwitchin on access to the Forty Mile historic site, which is also another example of the collaboration between the Yukon government and First Nations.

On protecting and preserving the environment, as the Premier indicated, we are working on a climate change action plan. We are also continuing with the project on the Yukon River Inter-tribal Watershed Council to determine the climate change impacts on the Yukon River.

We are looking at the preservation and protection of the Porcupine caribou herd and the harvest management strategy. We're maintaining park officer programs, ensuring parks and campgrounds are family-friendly; this is a service, I might add, that has been very well-received by the tourists and many of the locals who utilize our parks throughout the Yukon, because it basically keeps the rowdiness down to a dull roar in our park facilities. As I said, it is being very well-received throughout the Yukon.

We are also looking at the completion of the Tombstone visitor reception centre, which is scheduled for completion this summer. We are also looking at running, through the Public Service Commission, the recycling program for government documents, which is currently diverting approximately 30 tonnes of material from the landfill every year and employing people with disabilities.

Statistics Canada reports indicate a capital growth of the Yukon of 15.1 percent in 2008 over 2007. The Government of Yukon capital spending is decreasing and private sector spending is increasing and this is a very good sign of health for the Yukon economy. I think it was mentioned by the Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources that the mining industry is expending more money in the private sector than the government currently, and this is a very good sign.

The Department of Energy, Mines and Resources is implementing a new placer mining regime. Energy, Mines and Resources is developing the first energy strategies to address energy production and supply, as well as management, consumption, efficiency and conservation of energy.

Through Energy, Mines and Resources, our government is working with the First Nations to fully involve them in the resource sector. Examples include the following: ongoing support for the Alaska Highway Aboriginal Pipeline Coalition; successful collaboration with the Selkirk First Nation on the Minto mine development; working with the First Nations in Teslin, Watson Lake, Ross River and Haines Junction to complete and implement the strategic forest management plan. Our government is also working cooperatively through partnerships with the First Nations to develop closure plans for abandoned type 2 mine sites such as at Faro and Mount Nansen.

Mr. Speaker, tourism is a major driver the Yukon economy. There has been a national marketing campaign launch of an initiative called "Destination Yukon", which is designed to promote the Yukon as a tourist destination. We are using a new Web site, http://www.travelyukon.com/, to do multimedia advertising and television advertising, such as can be seen on Hockey Night in Canada, the Jay Leno show, et cetera.

Following up with the national marketing campaign, we are promoting Yukon for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics with unique marketing initiatives with our sister territories, Northwest Territories and Nunavut, called "Canada's North". The Whitehorse Airport terminal will expand to accommodate more air traffic. After a successful pilot project, there will be continued use of the old fire hall in Whitehorse in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce and the Yukon Arts Centre. . The Destination: Carcross initiative will upgrade the Carcross Visitor Information Centre.

Under Highways and Public Works, the Shakwak project expenditures for this fiscal year include construction of the Slims River bridge, reconstruction of the Duke River bridge, removal and disposal of the existing Donjek bridge, reconstruction of the Alaska Highway from kilometre 1700 to 1717, and pavement construction from Haines Junction to Haines, Alaska. This is a continuation of the work done in 2007-08. We are looking at BST application and re-vegetation from kilometre 1700 to 1717.

Also included is the deck replacement of the Lewes River bridge at Marsh Lake and many other highways and infrastructure projects throughout the Yukon.

The Department of Economic Development's community development fund assists community groups to undertake projects that help build social and economic capacity. The Department of Economic Development is also working on the film and sound incentive program and producing great value to the Yukon and also providing additional exposure.

Finally, practising good government involves training, developing, recruiting and retaining a representative professional public service, working in a safe and healthy workplace. It also involves working with all levels of government across jurisdictions in a healthy and positive way.

First Nation Training Corps -- filling positions with First Nation employees, cooperating with the First Nation governments for secondments -- these are all items that show our collaboration with the First Nations, and we all gain benefit from these secondments.

Also, the French Language Services Directorate increases our capacity to deliver government services in French, meeting our obligations under the Languages Act.

I thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, for your time.

Mr. Hardy:   I am very pleased to be able to speak briefly on the budget of this government, one of many I have seen, but definitely one that I feel has really lost momentum for the Yukon Territory and has not demonstrated any vision, sense of direction and no real commitment to Yukon families and communities from my perspective.

So, of course, it's going to contradict what you hear from the Yukon Party government side. There are a substantial number of issues we need to cover. First, I'd like to thank the riding I represent for the support I've received, which I've always said is probably the only real urban riding in all of the Yukon.

Many provinces, of course, have many urban ridings that share common issues, but Whitehorse -- downtown Whitehorse anyway -- has a lot of issues that are shared by urban ridings Outside but not necessarily by other communities throughout the Yukon.

Like everybody in here, we all feel our riding is unique and has very unique needs and characteristics and also reasons why we actually live in that riding.

I have been asked that on many occasions: why do I live downtown? There are many people in the Legislative Assembly here, including yourself, Mr. Speaker -- in a conversation we had awhile back on a plane, you had indicated that you had lived downtown before you moved to other places around Whitehorse.

Most people have lived in the downtown core. They started their life in the downtown core or when they arrived here, they rented in the downtown core. Once they got steady jobs or became more financially secure, they often bought places either in Riverdale or Porter Creek. Back then, the main areas were Riverdale, Porter Creek, Hillcrest.

Now, of course, there are more choices. What that means and what I am saying is that the downtown core, the downtown riding, has a very high degree of transient population. We have people who come there and live there from six months to six years. We have long-term people who have lived there most of their lives. I am one of those who has lived predominantly in the downtown core for most of my life. I have lived with the wonderful experience of being in a downtown core, but also with all the side effects and the problems that we face.

It is a unique riding in that it is seeing a tremendous amount of activity in that area. There is a building boom that is happening right now. Most of it is around condominiums and not rental units.

That's a change for the downtown core. It's a different type of lifestyle and it's attracting a different type of people. Of course, they come with their own wants and needs for the area they live in. Sometimes that clashes with the people who have lived there for a long time and sometimes it clashes with people who are only there for a short time. But there are common themes that everybody wants -- and what I think is a common theme in the Yukon -- and that's safe communities. There's a common theme that they don't want to see drugs and alcohol on the streets; they want to have a place where children can be raised in a secure and a harmonious environment.

They want a clean environment; they want a healthy environment; they want legislation; they want regulations; they want people to act in a manner that's respectful of each other's rights as individuals, but also as a society or a community. Trying to find that balance is not always easy, but it is reflective, of course, of the needs and wants of other communities as well.

In my riding the issues that we face are a huge challenge. Poverty is very, very high in many of the areas. Housing shortages are very high and I don't mean the high-end condos that are being built, because they are high-end. Most people in my riding could never afford them. We need social housing; we need affordable housing. That's one area where this budget doesn't meet that requirement and I'm very concerned about that; and I think people in this Legislative Assembly know how much I care about housing and have spoken very much about it. I still, after five years of this government, do not see any real initiative in the housing area, especially affordable housing. I'll come back a little bit to the housing issue.

There's a lot of violence in the downtown core -- and there's a lot of violence that we have to face everywhere -- but the number of bars in my riding is really out of proportion to the number of people who live there. One of the big problems that has come to my attention and one I'm really worried about, of course, is what has been happening outside a couple of the bars, one in particular. I've heard five to six examples of this already, where a person will step out at closing time -- they could have been having a good time dancing or whatever -- they will come out of the bar and there will be four, five, six, seven guys standing there. They will let him walk a bit away from the bar and then they'll jump him and beat the living heck out of him. I'm not joking when I say they beat him. A few of them have ended up in the hospital.

Then they'll leave him lying there. This is becoming common, and I have heard this from people who go to these bars for a night out, a break. They have seen it and they have experienced it. I have talked to the people this has happened to and I have talked to people who have seen it. Two weeks ago my daughter, who is a medic, had to stabilize a person who was lying on the ground when she came out because he had been jumped by a multitude of guys.

This is what is happening on some of the streets in my riding. Talking to some young people, I heard that this is about the sixth or seventh incident at one particular bar in the last four months. There is a common denominator here and it could be the same guys doing this.

This does not create an environment anybody really wants to live in, and yet they are getting away with it. That raises the question of what is happening in our society that something like this can go on and be repeated and still be repeated at the same location, and nothing is happening.

Drugs, of course, are a huge issue in the territory. What is the government doing? What is in this budget that indicates any concrete steps for dealing with this? I know we had a substance abuse summit -- it was a gathering of five or six people, who I arranged years ago to meet with to talk about something like this. Out of that meeting, which was in a downtown hotel, the substance abuse summit came together in which over 200 people participated. A lot of great ideas have come out of that, but I don't see much of it reflected in the budget. I would ask the government, if they consult with people, to at least take that consultation seriously enough to follow through with it, or else tell the people that it is just a talk session and you don't plan to do much about it.

Shelters are a big problem. Shelters for youth, for women and for men are a necessity that we need to address. The government has indicated that they are going to build a shelter and second-stage housing for women. I applaud them and thank them for that because it is a good thing to do. However, that is just one group of people and there are other groups that need it just as bad.

The youth need a shelter and we have asked this government time and time again to address that. Again, it is not in the budget. And yet, I have heard the Premier stand there and say that there is a $107‑million cushion. That is a lot of money for this little territory. Don't you think that some of that money could be put toward shelters, Mr. Speaker, and many other areas?

This is a massive budget -- $900 million -- and yet in many areas that money is not getting to the people and to the needs of our society, and that has to be addressed. There are a lot of revotes in this budget. It would be interesting at the end of the day, probably in the fall, to see how many revotes there really are being carried over. How much of this is really new money and how much is just being carried over from year to year to year and being announced half a dozen times? People keep thinking that something is happening but very little is moving along.

We have many, many problems in our society. We also have looming -- I say this, but I hope it doesn't come true -- a recession. It is definitely being felt in the United States. I have lived here long enough -- 40-some years -- to have experienced the boom and bust and ups and down. When you are on an up, things are great, governments work well, there is lots of money and you don't have to make too many hard decisions. The big decision is where you are going to spend your money. It is like going grocery shopping when you have money in your pocket. When you have a lot of money, you buy a lot of stuff; it is not a big decision.

When you don't have money and you have to go shopping and feed your family, you've got to make some really tough decisions. How do you spread that money out as much as possible to feed the family and ensure the nutritional values are there? How do you do that?

It is easy to be government when there is a lot of money. It is not easy to be government when there isn't a lot of money, and that is the real test. The Yukon Party has been very fortunate the last five years: there has been a lot of money. But there are indications in our structure that that might be coming to an end, and it might be two years, or three years, or four years -- it is a cycle. We've gone up; we may come down. Hopefully, if we do come down, it won't be very far and we will be able to ride it out quite well.

But, it is incumbent upon a government to know that we live in cycles and to budget accordingly, to put money in areas that will have the best return, even when you are wealthy and you have a lot of money -- put the money where people want it. Be fair and equitable about it -- how to benefit the Yukon the most. Then when the hard times come, maybe there are other pillars to hold that community together and help people. But if there is no sense of vision, no sense of direction when it changes, you won't know where you are going and you won't know what to do, and people will suffer. They will suffer because the government wasn't looking down the road and being prepared.

That is the concern I have about this budget and others I have seen. It is interesting when you look at that and what was said when the Yukon Party was first elected. Five years ago it was said that it is a simple fact that the growth in government spending cannot be sustained. We hit an economic upturn and guess what -- the growth in economic spending in government has not been sustained; it has been accelerated. The reliance upon the federal transfers has also increased.

The interesting side to that is the amount of taxes collected -- and some people look at it as paying our own way -- and regenerated back into the Yukon has dropped. So, is that working toward diversification? No, it's not. Is that working to strengthen the Yukon -- a greater reliance upon federal transfers? No, it's not. It's nice to get more of that, and I will applaud the government and the Premier for the work they've done in getting our fair share, as he likes to point out.

I applaud the joint venture of "one voice across the territories" -- Nunavut, N.W.T. and Yukon -- for working together to make that come about. That's a good thing. But we can't just rely on that. We can't assume that that flow of money will never cease and will continue to go up and up and up. That's not reality. That's not planning ahead. There is no sense of direction and there is no vision.

What we need to do is take that money and stimulate this economy in ways that, if one sector goes down, the other sectors hold it up. Those are your pillars; that's your strength. You don't put it all on one pillar when all the other ones are weak. It will tip over; it will fall. And I'm worried that that's what this government has relied upon far too much and, because of that, we have an economy that is vulnerable.

In 1999, federal transfers were 67.7 percent of the budget; territorial revenue was 12.6 percent. Roughly 10 years later, in 2008, federal transfers were 72.3 percent. We have increased our reliance on the federal government by almost five percent -- on a percentage basis. I'm not talking about dollars -- how much.

Territorial revenues were 8.9 percent and that's including the $4 million that is being predicted for the new tobacco tax, so I don't know what it would be -- maybe it would be eight percent. But that's a drop of over four percent in what we generate here in our tax base.

Now, if the federal government decides to turn the taps off or cut back, and we don't have the tax base here to absorb that, there are going to be cuts; there are going to be tough decisions to be made. From my perspective, it's the inability of this government to not pay attention to that. It's not good enough to brag about how much money you get from Ottawa; what you need to do is look at how you're strengthening the economy within the Yukon.

We all know that the economy right now is being driven by a few factors, but the majority, the one thing that hasn't changed, is our economy is still driven by federal transfer payments. The amount of people employed by government is higher than ever. No other private sector businesses combined -- I shouldn't say combined -- no private sector economic engines, such as mining or tourism come anywhere near the amount of money that is put into the economy from those transfer payments.

There are very few other industries that this government has been able to stimulate with a vision -- I don't mean just giving them money, but having a vision of what that money will build. I'm talking about building for the future, not just getting one budget to the next budget to the next budget, but actually building. Again, that takes vision. I don't see it here. 

I'm very concerned about that. Now, I've already recognized the good work that has been done in regard to increasing the funding to the territory, and that is good because it has helped us a lot. I would also like to recognize a program that is being offered -- the licensed practical nurse program. I'm glad to see that because we asked for it, and everyone in the Legislative Assembly has asked for it. The Yukon Party government has obviously listened to a lot of people and felt it was a good thing themselves, and that is going forward. I'm really pleased to see that, because it has long-term applications for some of the needs that we have in health and social services.

Pre-employment trades training at Yukon College continues and that is excellent as well. There are so many other areas that are still being funded on an ongoing basis, and I'm glad they have not been cut yet.

There also has been a lot of talk about ABCP investments -- I'm still talking about Finance here. You know, we could stand here and ask questions over and over and over. The Finance minister will get up and give his version of it, and we on this side will give our version of it. The Auditor General obviously gave her perspective and version of it and truthfully, we're not going to get very far, because no one is going to agree. It has become very, very clear to me -- I didn't ask any questions about ABCP, and there is a reason why I didn't today. I wanted to know what happened for the record. I wanted to know for the people of this territory how we got to this type of investment and why we invested so much? What was said in this Legislative Assembly last fall? Where are we today and what may happen? That is for the people.

I am not interested in assigning blame and fault where it shouldn't be or being malicious about that.

I don't believe -- and I agree with the Auditor General -- there was malicious intent by anyone in these investments. I agree with her. But, still, we need an explanation so it does not happen again.

The people need to know how it happened, because it is the taxpayers' money. It's the Yukon people's money. Of course they have a right to know, but asking those questions in the Legislative Assembly doesn't get us very far.

I would like to see those questions asked in hearings with the Public Accounts Committee. Maybe I feel a little bit of ownership. I feel fairly attached to the Public Accounts Committee, because I did put a fair amount of my energy, time and belief into that committee.

To see the state that it's in today saddens me personally. It also saddens me that the people of this territory do not have one more vehicle within their elected body as an oversight of the financial actions of the government. It has a role to play; it should be used.

It's my belief that the Public Accounts Committee is as important as the Legislative Assembly. It has a role to play.

It is the responsibility of each and every one of us to sit on that committee, to put aside partisan politics. That is a responsibility; it is not a luxury. It is not something like we pick and choose when we turn on our political stripes or not. When we walk into that room, we leave politics behind and we do the people's work.

It would be nice if it were non-partisan but it's not now. It was basically shut down in 1991 or 1992 -- somewhere in that period -- because politics entered into the meetings and basically destroyed the Public Accounts Committee. It became dormant and didn't do its task for almost 11 years, and that was a loss for the people of this territory.

That was something that all politicians should be ashamed of, because you are elected and you are hired to sit on these committees and do them to the best of your ability. It was resurrected and I believe good work was done because we as people on that committee -- and I do thank the people I sat with; I was the chair of it at the time. I thank the people I sat with and my colleagues because we seemed to have been able to work together. We took on some tough issues, but we were able to do it.

Now it doesn't function any more and I put the blame on both  the Yukon Party and the Liberals.

I would ask that we move on from that, resurrect Public Accounts Committee and, again, that people do the tasks they're assigned to, fulfill the roles that they're expected to do and that they're paid to do. Let's not forget that we're paid to do this; we're not volunteers here. We're not volunteers on these committees. People expect us to do this work. If we're going to collect a paycheque, then let's fulfill all our duties, not just the ones we want to.

Let's get the Public Accounts Committee up and running again. Let's utilize the Clerk's office and the Auditor General's staff to continue the work that is necessary to ensure that the spending priorities and the actions of the government -- it doesn't matter which government -- that the government has a committee that can be non-partisan and take a look at it in a non-partisan manner to get to the point where departments are once again accountable to such a committee, that the boards are once again accountable and the government is once again accountable. That's my request in that regard. It would help a lot in any kind of budget planning.

There is very little in this budget for environmental initiatives -- very little. The Minister of Environment talks a lot about adaptation, but we have to go far beyond adaptation. That's a nice word, but we can't keep adapting. We also have to try to get out in front of adaptation and make changes, both in how the whole structure of government works and sets examples -- what their priorities are -- but also in how people themselves impact the environment and what direction we want to go in. 

We have very serious issues in the environment, and they are going to continue to grow. Let's not pretend that tomorrow we're going to wake up and there is going to be an announcement that there is no longer an environmental issue in the world or in the Yukon. This is a problem that will continue to grow unless we as a territory make changes and the country makes changes, Canada-wide, which hopefully we could influence by our actions up here, and internationally as well. We need to make that commitment for a future to be possible for our children and our grandchildren and even for ourselves as we age. It is probably the single most important thing facing the human race today, and we still treat it like we don't have to pay much attention to it -- economics overrule everything. That is not the way that it is going to work. I don't want to be 30 years down the road looking at environmental devastation, knowing full well that we had a chance to make a change, but we didn't.

I was talking to some people this week about land shortages. There are no lots. This government dropped the ball. They didn't keep a stock of lots available, and it drove prices up and it created serious shortages. In many ways, it is part of the problem around affordable housing, but it is also part of problem for people who want to build their own home. There are businesses that rely upon lot availability and all of a sudden, it wasn't there.

I spent 10 minutes sitting at my desk thinking about what is coming down the pike in terms of lots over the next three years. I think that I counted, in 10 minutes -- and I'm missing a lot -- over 400 lots and this is going to be all at once -- in three years. There is going to be a massive amount of property available.<