SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The way the territorial government is responding to the proposed Mackenzie Valley pipeline's Joint Review Panel's recommendations needs to be more transparent, Weledeh MLA Bob Bromley said in the legislative assembly on Monday.

Bromley said he only found out about the GNWT's response to the recommendations the Joint Review Panel made to the National Energy Board when he read a letter online on the board's public registry. He said the lack of transparency was undermining the government's mandate of consensus government.

But Bromley was mistaken about the intention of the GNWT's comments to the board.

He said he objected to a suggestion the GNWT made relating to climate change. He thought the GNWT was trying to reject emissions targets. He called it a "major failure of this cabinet," particularly after spending money and dedicating time to studying climate change and attending the climate change conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December. In actuality, the GNWT asked for more specific predictions of what the anticipated emissions from the Mackenzie Gas Project would be.

On Tuesday, Environment and Natural Resources Minister Michael Miltenberger told Bromley he was wrong, saying the GNWT "has called for additional information to be prepared and considered with respect to anticipated greenhouse gas emissions."

Bromley acknowledged he made a "grievous error " but said "with consultation, these sorts of errors can be avoided but better than that, we can put forward much better information."

The public and the regular MLAs should be given the opportunity to give input on the GNWT's response before it's given, Bromley said.

School upgrades overdue: Hawkins

Building a new gym for two Yellowknife schools should be a priority, said Robert Hawkins, MLA for Yellowknife Centre.

On Feb. 15, Hawkins said while Mildred Hall and J. H. Sissons schools received "facelift" upgrades in recent years, they still required major renovations. Education, Culture and Employment Minister Jackson Lafferty said an education review in the fall would address needs relating to the schools' age, space and enrolment.

"We're going to highlight the most critical needs and emergency requirements," said Lafferty.

As MLAs reviewed the Department of Education, Culture and Employment's proposed expenditures last week, several MLAs brought up concerns about gymnasiums in their ridings. Nahendeh MLA Kevin Menicoche asked the department to incorporate plans for a new school and gymnasium in Trout Lake in the multi-year capital plan. Frame Lake MLA Wendy Bisaro said a gym for Ecole Allain St. Cyr needs to be included in the 2011-2012 infrastructure plan, and Hay River South MLA Jane Groenewegen said Ecole Boreale in her riding also requires a gym.

Funds for food

MLAs defeated a motion to eliminate $400,000 allocated in the budget for a steering committee or co-ordination committee on nutritious foods on Feb. 10 – after a debate focused on how money could best go directly to children.

Bob Bromley, MLA for Weledeh, who moved the motion during a review of the Education, Culture and Employment budget, called the earmarked funds the third possible response for calls for a milk subsidy program. He said while a milk subsidy would assist children, the proposed committee was a "meaningless … and particularly bureaucratic" solution.

Education, Culture and Employment Minister Jackson Lafferty objected to this description, stating the money wasn't just for studying the issue. He said giving it to organizations in communities would allow "90 to 95 per cent of it" to get food to children in schools.

Discussion surrounding the motion focused on finding ways to offset the price of food, particularly in smaller, more remote communities. Nahendeh MLA Kevin Menicoche and Nunakput MLA Jackie Jacobson said the need for food in their schools was so serious, they couldn't justify removing the money from the budget.

Health and Social Services Minister Sandy Lee said she wanted to focus on nutrition, instead of milk specifically.

"Milk is not necessarily something that everybody is used to drinking or something they have grown up with, and there are some people who are allergic to milk," she said.

The motion was defeated but on the following day, Feb. 11, Lafferty said all of the $400,000 would go directly to food programs with no mention of the co-ordination committee. The minister said 42 out of 49 schools already have Breakfast for Food programs but the money might help cover an additional seven schools.