Notes from the legislative assembly
Inuvik-Tuk Highway to open in November
Union protests budget cuts outside legislative assembly
Kirsten Fenn
Northern News Services
Saturday, February 11, 2017
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway will officially open on Nov. 15, Transportation Minister Wally Schumann announced Feb. 6.
Union of Northern Workers president Todd Parsons wears a sign protesting job cuts at a rally outside the legislative assembly on Feb. 8. - Kirsten Fenn/NNSL photo
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"The official opening will be a celebration of national significance, marking the first time Canada has been connected by highway from coast to coast to coast, and has been designated one of four Canada 150 infrastructure projects by the federal government," Schumann said.
Celebrations are being planned in the two communities for this fall.
The Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment is planning another celebration in June of 2018 to promote business and tourism in the communities, Schumann said.
He added the government is looking into new features for the road, such as way-side pullouts, rest stops and an RV Park in Tuktoyaktuk.
 | People before roads | 
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More than a dozen people from the Public Service Alliance of Canada North protested cuts proposed in the 2017-18 territorial budget on Feb. 8.
It was part of a four-day lunch time rally outside the legislative assembly to support regular MLAs' budget requests, according to PSAC North regional executive vice-president Jack Bourassa.
"At a time when the economy is in a depressed state, pushing down or tabling an austerity budget is not really a good idea," Bourassa said. "The governments here are intended to take care of people, not to be focused on the bottom line."
He said he's disappointed with cuts at Aurora College, to government jobs and the amalgamation of GNWT departments.
Union of Northern Workers (UNW) president Todd Parsons said the union is also "quite concerned" about cuts to Aurora College's social work and education programs.
He feels the government is investing more in things like roads than in Northerners, he said.
"The UNW is very supportive of investing in infrastructure," Parsons said, "but not to the extent that it means a reduction in current programs and services that are provided."
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| Walk to health centre dangerous |
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The public works minister promised Feb. 7 to set up temporary lighting along the route to Hay River's health centre after an MLA pointed the finger at "a failure in government planning" that is putting citizens walking to the centre in danger.
"The health centre was built with absolutely no safe pedestrian access," said Hay River North MLA RJ Simpson. "Everybody who has to walk to the hospital, including seniors and parents with young children, has to dart across the highway at a point where there are no pedestrian crossing signals, no crosswalk, and not even enough light cast on the highway from nearby streetlights to assure anyone that they'll be seen."
Minister Wally Schumann said a bid to install lights last year came in "well over budget," delaying the project.
The government is working to get the issue resolved, Schumann said, although they'll have to wait until the ground thaws for a permanent set of lights to be installed.
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| Budget tensions flare |
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Budget tensions flared Feb. 8 when Health and Social Services Minister Glen Abernethy rose as a regular MLA to deliver a budget reply aimed at regular MLAs' solidarity against it.
"In my 10 years, Mr. Speaker, I have never seen a budget process where there has been such resistance to the budget and drawing of such incredibly hard lines," Abernethy said, adding an "all or nothing" approach doesn't leave room for compromise.
He critiqued budget comments made by Yellowknife MLAs Julie Green and Cory Vanthuyne and said he disagrees with Kam Lake MLA Kieron Testart's characterization of the budget as an "austerity budget."
"I thought about this a lot and tried to understand exactly what was being said," Abernethy said. "So, I went and looked up the definition of 'austerity budget.'"
He concluded it wasn't a fitting definition for the budget presented this year.
Meanwhile, Julie Green was firing back on Twitter: "Use dictionary to look up working together in light of previous remarks. Bomb."
While Abernethy spoke of the need to work together, Kam Lake MLA Kieron Testart was also tweeting away.
"There is NO consensus on #budget2017," Testart said.
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| Jr. K issue 'slippery as a dead fish' |
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The education minister was in the hot seat over junior kindergarten again last week in what seemed like a game of 20 Questions.
When asked whether school boards would still be required to implement cuts they had planned on making before full funding was announced for the program on Feb. 6, Alfred Moses wouldn't say.
"The reductions . is a decision on the school boards themselves, and that is something that they are going to have to go back and look at," Moses said.
He said the department continues to have discussions with school boards about issues like staffing, busses and inclusive schooling.
"Nailing down this junior kindergarten funding issue is almost as slippery as a dead fish," said Frame Lake MLA Kevin O'Reilly.
On Feb. 9, Deh Cho MLA Michael Nadli asked Moses what the department is doing to address concerns of parents and educators who don't want junior kindergarten rolled out where Aboriginal Head Start already exists.
In a similar fashion, Moses replied that there are discussions taking place.
The department is engaging with Aboriginal Head Start staff and has visited communities to discuss the implementation of junior kindergarten, he said.
