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Speaker: I will now call the House to order. At t=
his
time, we will proceed with prayers.
Prayers
DAILY ROUTINE
Speaker: We will proceed with the Order Paper.
Tributes.
TRI=
BUTES
In remembrance of Peter Eric Jensen
Hon. Mr. Lang: Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tr=
ibute
to the late Pete Jensen. Originally born on a farm in in the spring of 1965. Up until his deat=
h at
the age of 70, Pete remained the longest serving big game outfitter in
His commitment=
to high
quality wilderness experiences was proven throughout his 45 years of servic=
e.
His mentorship has produced young outfitters who remain successful in the
business today.
His wife Sharo=
n played
an important role in their outfitting business. Pete had her start as a coo=
k in
the camps in 1969, as long as she promised to be quiet. Pete Jensen wa=
s not
only a giant in the local industry but was presented last year with the Leg=
end
Award by the Grand Slam Club/Ovis, an organization of hunters and conservat=
ionists
dedicated to improving and perpetuating wild sheep and goat populations
worldwide. This distinction is bestowed on people who make a contribution to
the big game industry. I ask my colle=
agues to
join me in recognizing the late Pete Jensen, a legendary Yukoner, who for o=
ver
45 years passionately showcased the best the I would like t=
o take a
moment to introduce Applause In recognition of National Immunization Week Hon. Mr. Hart: M=
onsieur le
président, j’invite mes collègues à se joindre
à moi pour souligner la Semaine nationale de promotion de la vaccina=
tion,
qui a lieu du 24 avril au 1er mai 2010. Immunizations =
save
lives. They have saved more lives in In While Canadian=
s have
easy access to vaccines, a number of us are behind on our immunizations.
It’s easy to forget to bring our children in for their booster shot o=
r we
might put off making an appointment until we have more time. This can lead =
to
outbreaks of measles and mumps as recently seen in other jurisdictions. To help Yukone=
rs get
their children up to date on their immunization during National Immunization
Week, Whitehorse Health Centre has extended its drop-in times for immunizat=
ions
for children five years of age and under. A=
fin de
permettre aux parents yukonnais de mettre à jour la vaccination de l=
eurs
enfants, le Centre de santé de Whitehorse a prolongé les heur=
es
d’ouverture de la clinique de vaccination sans rendez-vous pour les
enfants de 5 ans et moins durant cette semaine. Children are n=
ot the
only ones susceptible to vaccine-preventable illnesses. Many immunizations
require a booster after a number of years. Teenagers and adults are encoura=
ged
to call or to visit their local health centre to ensure that their
immunizations are up to date. Not only are under-immunized adults at risk of
contracting the disease themselves, they can also infect others, such as
infants who may not yet be fully immunized. We are encoura=
ging
pregnant women to get the unadjuvanted vaccine for H1N1 in the event of a t=
hird
wave this summer. I encourage all Yukoners to ensure that their immunizatio=
ns
and their children’s immunizations are up to date by calling their lo=
cal
health centre. We have the tools to protect ourselves, our children and oth=
ers
around us and we need to use them. Speaker: Any further tributes? Introduction of
visitors. INT=
RODUCTION
OF VISITORS Speaker: Honourable members, I’d like you t=
o join
me in welcoming the former Information and Privacy Commissioner and Ombudsm=
an,
Hank Moorlag. He’s here with several of his RCMP colleagues in a trib=
ute
to outfitter Pete Jensen, so please join me in welcoming Mr. Moorlag. Applause Speaker: Returns or documents for tabling. TABLING RETURNS Mr. Cathers: <=
/span>I
have for tabling today a letter I wrote to the Minister of Community Servic=
es,
asking that he work with the City of Whitehorse to make the rural well prog=
ram
available within municipal boundaries to my constituents and others. Speaker: Any further documents or returns for tab=
ling? Any reports of=
committees? Any petitions?=
Any bills to be
introduced? Any notices of=
motion? NOTICES OF MOTION Mr. Mitchell: THAT this Hous=
e urges
the Yukon government to call a public inquiry, under the Public Inquiries Act, to investigate a=
ll
matters relating to the death of Raymond Silverfox on December 2, 2008, whi=
le
in RCMP custody in order to: (1) determine =
whether
there were steps that should have been taken in the care and custody of Mr.
Silverfox that would likely have prevented his death; (2) determine =
whether
changes made in RCMP procedures for dealing with people in custody since the
death of Mr. Silverfox are sufficient to prevent the occurrence of a similar
incident involving the death of individuals in custody; and (3) consider w=
hat
additional steps, including but not limited to the establishment of a Mr. Elias: I give notice of the following motion:SharonWhitehorse Mr. Speaker, on behalf the House, I=
rise
today to ask my colleagues to recognize April 24 to May 1 as National
Immunization Week.
THAT this Hous=
e urges
the Government of Yukon to conduct public consultations about the establish=
ment
of a
Mr. Cardiff: I give notice of the following motion:
THAT this Hous=
e urges
the
(1) ensuring p=
atients
will receive flexible and appropriate care, including medications;
(2) providing a
protective and supportive environment for patients;
(3) alleviatin=
g the
overuse of hospital and ambulance services for substance abuse problems;
(4) preventing
needless deaths; and
(5) allowing f=
or
immediate follow-up counselling and after-care services post-detoxification=
.
I give notice =
of the
following motion:
THAT this Hous=
e urges
the Yukon government to provide a cost-benefit analysis to support the deci=
sion
by the Department of Health and Social Services and the Yukon Hospital
Corporation to use private agencies to recruit registered nurses on contrac=
ts
for periods ranging from two weeks to one year.
Mr. Cathers: <=
/span>I
rise today to give notice of the following motion:
THAT this Hous=
e urges
the Yukon government to enter into discussions with the City of Whitehorse
aimed at reaching an arrangement that allows Yukoners living inside municip=
al
borders to access the rural well program.
Speaker: Any further notices of motion?
Is there a sta=
tement
by a minister?
Hearing none, =
that
brings us to Question Period.
QUESTION PERIOD
Question re: RCMP holding cell policy
Mr. Inverarity: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> On Friday afternoon the coroner’s =
inquest
looking into the death of a Carmacks man wrapped up. The inquest heard the
individual was left largely unattended in the drunk tank for about 13 hours=
. He
was found unresponsive in the cell and was rushed to the hospital where he
later died. The events we are talking about occurred in December 2008, some
sixteen months ago.
The Minister of
Justice signs the policing contract with the RCMP on behalf of the governme=
nt.
Can the minister tell the House and all Yukoners who have been following th=
is
tragedy what has changed since the death occurred in terms of treatment of =
individuals
who find themselves in the local drunk tank?
Hon. Ms. Horne: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> <=
/span>If
the member opposite was following last week, we had an announcement that the
RCMP and the
I would like t=
o extend
my condolences to the Silverfox family. It was a tragedy, and we hope that =
will
not happen again. I look forward to the review that is going on throughout
Yukon.
Mr. Inverarity: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> It is 16 months too late, I think, for t=
he
individual involved.
Mr. Speaker, Y=
ukoners
are very upset about the events of December 2, 2008.
The coroner=
217;s
inquest has been full of very disturbing testimony and people are shocked at
what went on. The minister is responsible for the contract with the RCMP in=
the
territory. She has, and the government has, the responsibility to make requ=
ests
of the RCMP with regard to that contract. Some time ago there was a request=
to
the RCMP to put more focus on street crime reduction, for example. Yukoners
want to ensure that the event that happened in 2008 never happens again.
Has anything c=
hanged
since that day to today, other than what was announced last week, and has t=
he
minister given any direction to the RCMP regarding any changes?
Hon. Ms. Horne: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> <=
/span>As
we know, the coroner’s inquest just completed the process over the
weekend and it did contain four recommendations: three to the RCMP and one =
to
the commissionaires. Again, I reiterate, this is the reason that we are wor=
king
cooperatively with the RCMP to review our policing strategies in
Mr. Inverarity: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> Mr. Speaker, my colleague, the MLA for
Mayo-Tatchun, sat in last week on the inquest. He said there is so much
frustration there among the family, First Nations and others, and improveme=
nt
needs to take place. That’s the essence of the question I have been
asking today. It has been 16 months since this event took place. What impro=
vements
have been made, and is the minister satisfied that better policies and proc=
edures
are now in place?
Hon. Ms. Horne: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> Mr. Speaker, as I just said, we are=
going
out to review the policies regarding inmates, or people held in custody. I =
am
sure the results we get from going out to Yukoners will be favourable. We w=
ill
have changes. As I said last week, now is the time for change, because we h=
ave
a new contract coming up next spring.
Question re: RCMP holding cell polic=
y
Mr.
Mitchell: M=
r.
Speaker, I would like to follow up with the Premier on the same issue. Under
the Public Inquiries Act, the Government of Yukon has the a=
bility
and the authority to call a public inquiry into any matter of public concer=
n. A
coroner’s inquest that wrapped up on Friday raised as many questions =
as
it answered. The main question left in everyone’s minds is: could this
death have been prevented? A public inquiry could help answer that question=
.
Will the Premi=
er call
a public inquiry into the events surrounding the death of Mr. Silverfox?
Hon. Ms. Horne: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> Mr. Speaker, as I just said, the co=
roner’s
inquest just ended this weekend. The recommendations have been put forward.=
We
had four recommendations: three to the RCMP and one to the commissionaires.
We’ll have to follow the process through, and we are going out for a =
review
with Yukoners on the policing policies in
I’m conf= ident we will have favourable results and make changes after that. It is the season = for change; we’re coming up to a new contract with the RCMP next spring.<= o:p>
Mr. Mitchell:
Again, this qu=
estion
has not been resolved by the recent coroner’s inquest. The government=
has
the ability and the authority to call such a public inquiry. Will the Premi=
er
or the Justice minister call a public inquiry to examine the events —=
all
of the events — surrounding the death of Mr. Silverfox?
Hon. Ms. Horne: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> <=
/span>I understand
that the RCMP are now reviewing the recommendations put forward by the coro=
ner’s
inquest and will be making a statement in the coming days as to how they in=
tend
to implement them. In the context of the review of the Yukon
Mr. Mitchell:
Hon. Ms. Horne: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> The Yukon
Question re: COR certification
Mr. Cardiff: In light of the news that we received this morning, t=
hese
are important questions — but difficult questions — to ask toda=
y.
The certificate of recognition program was designed to create safer workpla=
ces
and thus reduce injuries. The January 1,
2011. Mr. Speake=
r, worker
safety delayed is worker safety denied. Can the minister tell us why the de=
lay?
Hon. Mr. Lang: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank y=
ou for
the question from the member opposite. Certainly, we are working inside the
government putting COR certification together, not only for the contractors,
but also for ourselves as a government. This is a fairly recent process and=
we
certainly were committed to have it phased in over a period of time. We fou=
nd
through the process that the lower figure or the number of individuals and =
the
work that would have to be done — we gave any individual under $100,0=
00
— I think that is that figure. I don’t have the figures right w=
ith
me. We are working with them so that in 2011 we can come out and be COR-cer=
tified
throughout the territory for any contractors who work with us here in the g=
overnment.
We have to mak=
e sure
that we’re reasonable about this. As the member says, if you have a s=
mall
contract doing lawn work in front of the Education building, do they need q=
uite
the certification if, in fact, a gentleman does it by himself as a contract=
or?
I’m not diminishing the fact that people get hurt on the job and that
it’s important, but we were approached by many, many individuals who =
just
didn’t have the expertise on hand nor the manpower to get the thing d=
one,
so we gave them a 12-month extension.
Mr. Cardiff:
To date, only =
seven
small employers are certified and when it extends the deadline by a year, t=
he
government is saying, don’t worry about getting certified. What will =
the
impacts of this delay be on the safety of workers?
Hon. Mr. Lang: We’re doing just that. WeR=
17;re
working with those small contractors to make sure they can conform and, by
2011, that they will be COR-certified. But we have to understand that it do=
es
take individuals to go out and do the coursework, which is demanded of us w=
hen
we’re COR-certified. Also, the paperwork is very extensive and some of
our local contractors felt if they had another opportunity of 12 months, th=
ey
could do this. This government decided to work with those individuals and g=
ive
them that extension.
Mr. Cardiff: Well, Mr. Speaker, some employers took the government=
at
its word the first time around and invested in getting COR-certified or
SECOR-certified. Now the government, by creating this extension, has create=
d a
double standard by allowing some employers to skip out for another year, ba=
sically.
The minister should have done more to promote this issue. He needed to
communicate a culture of safety better. He needed to be more aggressive in
encouraging companies to get COR-certified instead of just backing off the
issue. I would like to hear what the minister’s plan is to avoid this
failure happening again. What is he going to do to get more businesses sign=
ed
up for the safety certification before the deadline, or are they going to
extend it again?
Hon. Mr. Lang: In addressing the member opposite, =
we are
working with those individuals or companies to get them COR-certified. That=
is
exactly what this government is doing. When we went out and worked with the=
se
responsible contractors, they found, because of their lack of expertise and=
the
lack of the manpower in their offices or whatever, that they needed an exte=
nsion.
This government gave them the extension and we are working with those
individual contractors to make sure that they eventually, within 2011, are =
COR-certified.
This is exactl=
y what
governments do. We listen to people. A big part of our major contractors is
COR-certified. We are working internally to get our departments COR-certifi=
ed.
Everybody is working toward a common goal: to be COR-certified. We are work=
ing
with those small contractors to make sure they are comfortable with COR cer=
tification
and that they can do the work that’s required to stay COR-certified.
It’s not just the fact that you are COR-certified, it’s what yo=
u do
when you are in fact COR-certified, and how do you maintain that over a per=
iod
of time? We are talking about small contractors here, Mr. Speaker —
people out there in the communities. People in
Speaker: Thank you. New question.
Question re: Health and safety inspections=
Mr.
Cardiff: Mr. Speaker, recently food inspectors closed down
some
Hon. Mr. Hart: <=
/span>We
are working through the Workers’ Compensation Health and Safety Board.
They are our policing aspect for holding out the Occupational Health and Sa=
fety
Board recommendations and following through on their inspections. Our offic=
ers
are on schedule throughout the entire
Mr. Cardiff: We know that in 2008, four Occupational Health and Sa=
fety
officers dealt with more than 400 referrals, leading to 115 investigations =
and
369 compliance orders to
Is the workpla=
ce
inspection process working well? Do inspectors have the power to shut job s=
ites
down? When there are safety violations, do we have adequate rewards or
penalties to effectively change the situation? It appears we do not. After =
all,
the Workers’ Compensation Health and Safety Board president and CEO s=
aid
the injury rate is going up. The number of injuries is the same, but the
workforce is smaller.
Will the minis=
ter
immediately order a review on how workplace inspections are conducted, staf=
fing
levels, penalties for violations and other important matters that will redu=
ce
workplace injuries and deaths in the
Hon. Mr. Hart: I’m not sure how I will respo=
nd to
that, although I will indicate to the member opposite that he had ample =
212;
we will look at providing for the Workers’ Compensation Health and Sa=
fety
Board to come in as witnesses, We will provide that service as we do on an
annual basis. I’m sure that he can bring up that question for the cha=
ir
and president to respond to.
Mr. Cardiff: Well, Mr. Speaker, it’s about safe workplaces a=
nd a
culture of safety. Within a culture of safety, every worker would be
responsible for work safety and would be empowered to speak out and refuse
unsafe work. Within a culture of safety, every business would live up to th=
eir
responsibility of providing a safe workplace.
How do we crea= te a culture of safety? We must open a very public dialogue. Restaurants that violate public health rules, bars that break the Liquor Act, shopkeepers who sell tobacco to minors — there’s a public notification process where the public is notified. <= /span>Why is there a different standard for unsafe workplaces?
Workers should=
know if
their workplace is unsafe and we should not continue to prevent the disclos=
ure
about employers with a bad safety track record. It’s done in other
jurisdictions.
Is the minister
prepared to change his mind and order the Workers’ Compensation Health
and Safety Board to publicly disclose the names of businesses with bad safe=
ty records?
Hon. Mr. Hart: <=
/span>To
respond to the member opposite, I think he has already had a discussion with
the witnesses of the Workers’ Compensation Health and Safety Board wi=
th
regard to the last question. I will state, though, for the record, that the=
Workers’
Compensation Health and Safety officers have the authority to go in. For
example, in road construction areas, they have gone in and where workplaces=
have
unsafe conditions or workers are working in unsafe conditions, have closed =
down
that unsafe condition and advised the contractor of so being. That is being
done in the process. Also, yes, we are very busy under that process and
ensuring that everyone is working under a safe process. We are working on a
schedule that ensures that the entire
Question re: Civil Forfeiture Act
Mr. Inverarity: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> Last week the Minister of Justice indica=
ted
that she had no reason to delay the Civil
Forfeiture Act. For the record, we supported the motion last fall that
called for the development of this legislation. At the time, we believed th=
is
was a good idea in principle and we still do. The fact that the government =
only
consulted with two stakeholders is a concern however. Crown prosecutors and
police cannot provide representation for all Yukoners.
I would like t=
o set
the record straight. The proposed C=
ivil
Forfeiture Act does not have adequate safeguards in place to protect the
innocent. Why does the minister refuse to get wider consultation on the Civil Forfeiture Act? Is she afrai=
d of
something?
Hon. Ms. Horne: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> <=
/span>We
are very open to receiving amendments from the members opposite, from the
Liberal Party, to let us know where our act can be corrected. If they feel =
that
innocent people will be prosecuted, give us your suggestions of amendments.=
Mr. Inverarity: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> If the Minister of Justice actually aske=
d more
Yukoners what they thought about this legislation, she would find out what =
is
actually missing. She would hear Yukoners tell her that they don’t wa=
nt
the government to have the power to seize property and wealth without adequ=
ate
oversight in place. If the minister were listening, she would hear Yukoners,
and they are telling her to include advocacy and representation in this
legislation.
If the governm=
ent is
seizing a Yukoner’s property through civil court, then the government
should also provide legal representation if it’s warranted. The crimi=
nal
justice system has the same service. Will the Minister of Justice include p=
rovisions
for the government-appointed legal representation in the Civil Forfeiture Act?
Hon. Ms. Horne: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> <=
/span>If
the courts find that forfeiture of property is not in the interest of justi=
ce,
the court would refuse to issue or limit the application or put conditions =
on a
forfeiture order. This same type of legislation was put in place in eight o=
ther
jurisdictions in
Mr. Inverarity: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> In a lot of jurisdictions around the cou=
ntry
and the
The Minister of
Justice told us last week that SCAN legislation was in fact developed from
targeted legislation also. We are very concerned about the fate of Bill No.=
82.
We know the government can pass this bill without any further debate or
consultation and we want to make sure that does not happen.
Will the Minis=
ter of
Justice make a commitment to Yukoners that the Civil Forfeiture Act will at least receive further debate in th=
is
House before it’s passed?
Hon. Ms. Horne: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> The act does ensure that there are
sufficient remedies in place for those whose property is in question, to be
able to show that the property is not being used for unlawful activity with=
out
their knowledge. The ones who have something to fear here are the ones who =
are
doing activities that are unlawful. They are the ones who have to worry.
Question re:
Civil Forfeiture Act
Mr. Elias: Same minister, same topic. Mr. Speaker, there are good
reasons to delay the Yukon Party’s Civil
Forfeiture Act. The legislation does not have adequate provisions in pl=
ace
to protect the innocent. The government will be granted the power to seize =
any
person’s property and wealth with this law. Maybe the minister can
correct me if I’m wrong, but I understand this also includes
corporations. There is very little that protects an individual from a
government-initiated civil action and nothing that assists the individual if
this actually happens. The fact that the Yukon Party government only consul=
ted
with two stakeholders is of concern to us, Mr. Speaker.
Crown prosecut=
ors and
police want this legislation, and we want it as well, but not like this. Wi=
ll
the minister delay the passage of the Civil
Forfeiture Act until protections can be put in place?
Hon. Ms. Horne: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> Mr. Speaker, there are many safegua=
rds in
place to protect the innocent parties involved. This is just another tool t=
hat
the police can use and the government can use to make safer communities for=
our
Yukoners, to have a safe community to raise our children and to ensure that
criminal activity is not welcome in
Mr. Elias: First of all, we are not going to predetermine what
Yukoners would say about this legislation, and that appears to be what the
Minister of Justice has done. Mr. Speaker, it is obvious that the Minister =
of
Justice needs to talk to Yukoners about this legislation. She needs to hear
Yukoners tell her that they want the government to be tough on crime, but n=
ot
at the expense of innocent people. I’ve said this before: in the other
eight jurisdictions the Minister of Justice keeps referring to, there are i=
nnocent
people who had to go to civil forfeiture court and defend their house, defe=
nd
their personal property, try to get their vehicle back, and that’s why
we’re trying to make sure that does not happen in this territory. The
legislation needs solid and appropriate safeguards and support services in
place for the innocent before it becomes law.
Does the Minis=
ter of
Justice care about the innocent Yukoners who could be affected by the Civil Forfeiture Act?
Hon. Ms. Horne: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> <=
/span>I
think we’re using this again as a political tool. Of course we care a=
bout
innocent Yukoners.
Some Hon. Member: (Inaudible)
Point of order
Speaker: Member for Kluane, on a point of order.<= o:p>
Mr. McRobb: On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, for the
minister to suggest we’re using this issue as a political tool is cle=
arly
contrary to our Standing Orders, and I would ask you to suggest the minister
should withdraw that remark.
Speaker: The Government House Leader, on the poin=
t of
order.
Hon. Ms. Taylor: =
Mr. Speaker, first off the Member f=
or
Kluane, the Official Opposition House Leader, did not reference a Standing
Order, and I believe that there is no point of order, but I’ll leave =
that
for you to determine.
Speaker’s statement
Speaker: If the honourable members would allow the
Chair to do some research on this issue, I’ll get back to the members
this week.
The Minister of
Justice has approximately 15 seconds left.
Hon. Ms. Horne: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> <=
/span>We
have adequate protection for innocent parties in this legislation.
The Civil Forfeiture Act was developed=
based
on best practices and experiences of other jurisdictions across Yukon
Mr. Elias: The Minister of Justice continually says this is
happening in eight jurisdictions in our country. What concerns me is that we
want to hear from Yukoners about how this will work in Yukon
Yes, go after =
the
criminals; yes, take away the proceeds of crime; yes, teach our children th=
at
crime doesn’t pay. The message we really want to give everyone is that
crime isn’t worth it. This legislation will go a long way to help tha=
t,
but it’s not ready yet. The legislation is not ready to become law an=
d Yukoners
are not ready to accept this law as it is. Will the Minister of Justice inc=
lude
safeguards and support services in the Civil
Forfeiture Act?
Hon. Ms. Horne: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> Again, if the property is being use=
d for
unlawful activity, then we would stop that criminal activity. Again, I say,=
if
the Liberal Party has problems with this legislation, we are certainly open=
to
hear comments. Nothing has been put forward constructively to help with this
act to make it safer for Yukoners. If they feel it isn’t, please come
forward and let us know.
Speaker: The time for Question Period has now ela=
psed.
We will proceed to Orders of the Day.
ORD=
ERS OF THE
GOV= ERNMENT BILLS
Bill No. 85: Act to Amend the Motor Vehicles Act, 2= 010 — Second Reading
Clerk: Second reading, Bill No. 85, standing in the name of the Hon.= Mr. Lang.
&nb=
sp; Hon.
Mr. Lang: =
I move that Bill No. 85, entitled Act to Amend the Motor Vehicles Act, 2=
010,
be now read a second time.
Speaker: It has been moved by the Minister of Com=
munity
Services that Bill No. 85, entitled Act
to Amend the Motor Vehicles Act, 2010, be now read a second time.
Hon. Mr. Lang: I am pleased to reintroduce Bill No=
. 85, Act to Amend the Motor Vehicles Act, 2=
010,
and to make related consequential amendments to the Liquor Act. The proposed Motor
Vehicles Act amendments will provide the legal framework for the
Mr. Speaker, t=
he
changes to the Liquor Act conta=
ined
in this bill will respond to that concern, as the Yukon Liquor Corporation =
will
no longer be producing its own liquor ID cards. Application provisions for =
the
general identification card and the driver’s licence will also be
similar, which will make it easier for Yukoners to apply for both. This will
help the Motor Vehicles staff and the public as we roll out the new licences
and general identification cards this year. The cards will be produced right
here in
In rural commu=
nities,
Yukoners will still be able to apply and have their photo taken for
drivers’ licences or general identification cards at the offices of t=
he
territorial agents and territorial representatives. Their information and p=
hoto
will be transferred electronically to the Motor Vehicles branch in <=
st1:City>
Of course, the=
re will
be a period of transition. Existing
I
think it is very exciting news and, with the support of this Legislature for
this bill, Yukoners can look forward to a new secure driver’s licence=
and
general identification card being available by the end of this summer.
Mr. Inverarity: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> First, I’d like to thank departmen=
t officials
for moving along with the amendments to the Motor
Vehicles Act. I have to say it has been a long time coming and I unders=
tand
that, while these are required for the next step, which is the actual issua=
nce
of them, I think we’ll all support the amendments as we come up for t=
he
vote later today.
I would like t=
o state
for the record two or three things, if I may. The first one is that, as you
know, I’ve been advocating for a new driver’s licence for about=
two
years now. So it gives me great pleasure to see that it will be coming alon=
g.
My original th=
ought on
this, or what was said I believe last fall, was that we should have these in
place by this June. I’m a little concerned to hear that the minister =
said
it will be late summer now, in the fall that would be coming forward. I hope
that target date will be met at this point because there are a lot of people
out there who have had a lot of issues regarding their drivers’ licen=
ces.
In fact, as late as last January when I was out in
It does bring =
up the
question, as the minister had indicated, that our existing drivers’
licences will continue to be valid until they have expired; however, perhap=
s in
the final statements, the minister might be able to clarify a couple points.
One would be: if I want to get one sooner than my expiry date — becau=
se I
believe that could go as long as five years — would an individual be =
able
to go in ahead of time to get a new one — particularly if they travel=
a
lot, for example, and they want to use their driver’s licence for get=
ting
on aircraft and along those lines? Certainly, for identification purposes it
would be helpful.
I’d also=
like to
know whether or not there’s going to be any additional costs involved
with regard to this legislation. Is it going to be the same price as it is
currently, or will there be an additional amount to absorb the costs of mov=
ing
to a new driver’s licence? I’d be concerned about that.
Also, I think =
that the
same-day production of the driver’s licence should make the public ha=
ppy.
I believe that the original concern I had was that the actual production of=
the
card would be sent Outside to some of these secure vendors that exist that =
do
this sort of work. Having it kept in-house is a positive step forward, I wo=
uld
say, with regard to this particular act, so we look forward to supporting t=
his
at second reading.
Mr. Cardiff: This is good news, I believe, for Yukoners. As has be=
en
indicated by the Member for Porter Creek South and many of us through our o=
wn
personal experiences and stories that we’ve been told, the use of the=
The only conce=
rns
— I shouldn’t say “the only concerns”, but many of =
the
concerns have been communicated already. What I would like to know from the
minister, as well as answers to the questions that have been asked by the
Member for Porter Creek South, is about the security provisions of the lice=
nce.
It’s my understanding that there are three, one of which is secret, w=
hich
I can understand, because you don’t want to give that information out=
to
those who might try to counterfeit the licence. What I’m interested i=
n is
what type of information is connected with the licence and what are the
security provisions?
In some other
jurisdictions, there are concerns that the secure driver’s licences
— and ID cards in those jurisdictions — and the personal
information attached to those driver’s licences, can be accessed by
electronic means, similar to what happens with bank card fraud or credit ca=
rd
fraud. I’m not totally sure whether or not those safeguards are in pl=
ace
here in the
I think it is a
positive step forward and I think it will alleviate a lot of the concerns t=
hat
Yukoners have had about the current driver’s licence. As long as the
protection of personal information is looked after, I would be happy to sup=
port
this. Thank you.
Hon. Mr. Kenyon: =
As the minister responsible for the Liqu=
or
Corporation, I am very pleased today to share my support for the initiative=
to
provide a modern driver’s licence and general identification card to =
Perhaps I shou=
ld make
comments to answer some of the questions that have been brought up by previ=
ous
speakers.
There is a very
distinct difference between secure drivers’ licences and so-called
enhanced drivers’ licences. One of the reasons — the primary
reason, actually — for the delay in how long this has taken has been =
the
decision of whether or not to go for a secure driver’s licence or an
enhanced driver’s licence — which one do we choose?
The enhanced
driver’s licence is, effectively, passport-compatible and, therefore,=
how
that would be accepted by the Department of Homeland Security and the
In order to go=
to an
enhanced driver’s licence, it would require extremely secure faciliti=
es
here, which we don’t at this point have; extremely secure equipment,
which is expensive to procure; and an extremely secure staff, which would
involve training and everything else. The additional cost would be substant=
ial,
so the Minister of Highways and Public Works made, I think, the right decis=
ion
to go to a secure driver’s licence.
The concerns b=
rought
up by the Member for
It has been a =
long
time coming, needless to say, and I’ve had — I’m not sure
whether it is the good fortune or the bad fortune — to have worked wi=
th
PNWER, the Pacific Northwest Economic Region, which was a driving influence=
in
trying to get this thing going. For reasons other than the rather simplistic
drivers’ licences that we have in
Our situation,=
by
going to a secure rather than enhanced driver’s licence, will
additionally address several things.
First of all,
regarding the drivers’ licences — which, quite frankly, a kid w=
ith
a computer could have done a better job in some cases — the equipment
necessary to produce those drivers’ licences is now, for the most par=
t,
unavailable and even eBay is getting pretty thin in terms of getting the
equipment, so it’s necessary to make a change.
The other thin=
g, from
the Liquor Corporation perspective, is the Liquor Corporation has issued ID
cards. The problem is under the existing act — and this is addressed =
in
this consequential amendment — in that you could only issue a liquor =
ID
card to someone who is of drinking age — 19 years or older. That was
brought to light most dramatically several years ago when a young couple
— 18 with a baby — who were visiting the
Providing Yuko=
n-issued
secure identification for our residents was a platform commitment that we m=
ade
in relation to our strong support for the initiatives identified under the =
Yukon Substance Abuse Action Plan.
I’m really pleased that the new, secure drivers’ licences and
general identification cards will be available soon. It remains to be seen
whether we go to the fully enhanced drivers’ licences, but the minist=
er
has done this in such a way that we can most easily make that transition in=
the
future, should circumstances warrant that. Again, having not made those
provisions and rushing into it quickly would have cost us potentially milli=
ons
and millions of dollars.
We also have t=
he
potential situation if you take what the Minister of Education brings up:
children in the educational system flying out to sporting events and cultur=
al
events and educational events who don’t have a driver’s licence=
and
may not have government ID — they’re going to have to get a pas=
sport,
but they have no way to simply get on the plane and say, go to Saskatchewan=
. So
it might require a passport actually to just simply fly to another province=
.
The issue of p=
ersonal
security and identification is important to all of us. Nothing is more pers=
onal
than one’s identification. It’s an official confirmation of who=
you
are as a resident of the
More and more
frequently, Canadians are being asked to produce identification for a numbe=
r of
commercial purposes. It could be renting a car. I think we’ve all had
fun, and the Member for Porter Creek South brought to light a number of iss=
ues
but, again, that did not address the problem that we had to do it in such a=
way
that it would be an easy transition to an enhanced driver’s licence, =
or
whatever, and could potentially have wasted millions of dollars. In renting=
a
car, using a credit card, or applying for a bank loan — confirming le=
gal
age to buy liquor, is part of it. I know of one fellow, who, at 52,
couldn’t buy a beer in the State of with his driver’s licence — =
even
to be in an age-restricted licensed premise.
So for the fir=
st time
a general identification card will be available to Yukoners who may not hol=
d a
driver’s licence, who are under 19. The reason for this, for people to
really think about, is someone who, because of physical disability, injury,=
age
or for whatever reason, loses their driver’s licence — to many
people, to most people, that is a huge blow. It’s just removing a huge
part of that. To have a general identification card that is not a
driver’s licence, but somewhat looks like it, but clearly is not and
can’t be misinterpreted as such, it is a way of making people feel li=
ke
they still have value in society. They’re available, as I say, to you=
ng
people who have been travelling elsewhere in
So the new gen=
eral
identification cards will have a number of sophisticated security features =
that
will make it extremely difficult to produce counterfeit versions. In licens=
ed
premises, staff will have a greater confidence in the validity of the ident=
ification
presented to them as proof of age. This will help licensees to keep underage
youth out of bars and to prevent them from buying liquor. I am very pleased
that the security of these cards will be paramount and certainly, dealing w=
ith
licensed premises and purchase of alcohol, which is my perspective — =
Mr.
Speaker, I was actually rather flattered and felt really good, being carded
when I was in the Seattle airport and having a glass of wine. I thought that
was a real compliment until I realized that in the State of
Those who live=
in the
rural communities will still be able to apply and have their photo taken for
drivers’ licences or general identification cards at the offices of
territorial agents and territorial representatives, so there is a way for t=
he
communities to stay involved in this. Debating the bill today is one of the
many steps along the way to getting a new secure system in place and new ca=
rds
into the wallets and purses of all of us. I know all members are eager to s=
ee
the new system up and running and serving Yukoners but it has to be done the
right way.
Like many Yuko=
ners,
I’m looking forward to having these new cards available. Passing this
bill will put us one step closer to completing the project so Yukoners can =
be
assured that their new identification will be reliably valid and will serve
their needs when they are conducting business or confirming they’re of
legal drinking age — or for any number of other uses for which identi=
fication
is required in their daily lives, of which, of course, there are many. Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Hon. Mr. Rouble: =
<=
/span>I
wanted to rise today in support of this piece of legislation. Through the
Department of Education, we have certainly become aware of the greater
security-conscious nature of many of the events going on throughout =
I am very plea=
sed to
say that the government has responded to this concern and is making amendme=
nts
through this legislation to allow for the provision of a general identifica=
tion
card that will be applicable for
I will caution=
people,
though, that this is not a passport and will not take the place of a passpo=
rt
and, if they are to leave the country or to enter into the States, they wou=
ld
need that type of appropriate identification, such as a passport.
This is a good=
step
forward for the government to take and I encourage all members to support t=
his
legislation.
Mr. McRobb: I just want to put a couple of concerns =
on the
record. We’ve now seen two Yukon Party ministers, other than the mini=
ster
who presented the bill, speak to this bill. I would submit that’s not=
a
very productive use of our time in this Assembly. We’re not past the
halfway mark and we need to attend to the record-setting $1.07 billion budg=
et.
There is other
legislation on the Order Paper that’s going to require some time to d=
eal
with, such as the Civil Forfeiture =
Act.
We presume everyone on the side opposite is in favour of this bill, otherwi=
se
the government wouldn’t have presented it. These comments can merely =
and
simply and effectively be conveyed through how they vote on the second read=
ing.
We’re ready for the vote now.
Hon. Ms. Taylor: =
Mr. Speaker, I just wanted to put o=
n the
public record that — just to remind the Member for Kluane that we as =
Members
of the Legislative Assembly are indeed able to respond to all matters of
importance as put forward by the government and members of the opposition. =
So
these amendments to the Motor Vehic=
les
Act are in fact a very important matter. It has been an issue that has =
been
raised both by the government side and members of the opposition. In fact, =
the
Liberal caucus has been raising it for a number of months.
So, Mr. Speake=
r, I did
want to put on the public record that if in fact members of the opposition
wanted to make better use of their time, that is, of course, incumbent upon
each and every member to do just that. But in terms of putting forward and
responding to matters of pertinent importance, that is in fact an obligatio=
n of
all of us.
In terms of th=
is
particular amendment to the Motor V=
ehicles
Act, I would also like to lend my support, as Minister of Tourism and
Culture. There has been great debate, not only in this country, in the
I believe that=
has
just been rolled out to a more definitive program no longer on the pilot ba=
sis,
in terms of
We very much a=
pplaud
and commend this bill going forward. It is very important for a whole host =
of
reasons, as we mentioned — economic and, of course, for education
purposes, and just conducting life on a day-to-day basis. Mr. Speaker, agai=
n, I
just wanted to put on the record that it is very important to speak to piec=
es
of legislation such as this and again, just urge all members of the Legisla=
ture
to make better use of their time, if in fact they feel they are being press=
ured
to not take part in matters of importance.
I would put on=
the
public record that we have actually reached — as I believe has been
forward — the solstice of the legislative sitting already, and that d=
ays
are numbered, in terms of how much business we do have to conduct.
I would very m=
uch urge
all members opposite to make good use of their time, as we will on this sid=
e of
the Legislature as well. We look forward to debate on, again, another recor=
d-breaking
budget — over $1 billion in expenditures throughout each of the
departments. We haven’t even reached the first department. Hopefully,=
we
will be reaching that later on today, but again, we commend this legislation
going forward, and I thank you very much for the opportunity to speak to it=
.
Speaker: The minister’s speech will close d=
ebate.
Does any other member wish to be heard?
Hon. Mr. Lang: I would like to thank the members
opposite and the other members in the House today for the comments on Bill =
No.
85, Act to Amend the Motor Vehicles=
Act,
2010. I look forward to more debate as we move through the sitting here=
in
the coming days, and I commend this to the floor here in the House. Thank y=
ou.
Speaker: Are you prepared for the question?
Some Hon. Members: =
b> Division.
Division
Speaker: Division has been called.
Bells
Speaker: Mr. Clerk, please poll the House.
Hon. Mr. Fentie: =
Agree.
Hon. Ms. Taylor: =
Agree.
Hon. Mr. Hart: Agree.
Hon. Mr. Kenyon: =
Agree.
Hon. Mr. Rouble: =
Agree.
Hon. Mr. Lang: Agree.
Hon. Ms. Horne: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> Agree.
Hon. Mr. Edzerza: Agree.
Mr. Nordick: Agree.
Mr. Mitchell:
Mr. McRobb: Agree.
Mr. Elias: Agree.
Mr. Inverarity: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> Agree.
Mr. Cardiff: Agree.
Mr. Cathers: Agree.
Clerk: Mr. Speaker, the results are 15 yea, nil=
nay.
Speaker: The yeas have it. I declare the motion c=
arried.
Motion for =
second
reading of Bill No. 85 agreed to
Bill No. 84: Labour Mobility Amendments Act — Second Reading
Clerk: Second reading, Bill No. 84, standing in=
the
name of the Hon. Mr. Lang.
Hon. Mr. Lang: I move that Bill No. 84, entitled Labour Mobility Amendments Act, be=
now
read a second time.
Speaker: It has been moved by the Minister of Com=
munity
Services that Bill No. 84, entitled Labour
Mobility Amendments Act, be now read a second time.
Hon. Mr. Lang: I am pleased to rise and speak toda=
y to
Bill No. 84, the Labour Mobility
Amendments Act. With this act we will provide for labour mobility betwe=
en
By eliminating
barriers to the free movement of people, goods, services and investment wit=
hin
The
The labour mob=
ility
provisions of the
By complying w=
ith the
As a signatory=
, Yukon
The
Doing research=
for the
legislation before us, government officials contacted all impacted professi=
onal
group concerning the changes needed to make Yukon
Employers of t=
hese
professionals will also be positively impacted by this legislation. Address=
ing
labour mobility will help to promote
In summary, th=
e Labour Mobility Amendments Act is =
part
of
I am very plea=
sed to
be sponsoring this legislation today. It demonstrates the
I look forward=
to
discussing this bill further in Committee and to answer any questions membe=
rs
opposite may have. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Inverarity: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> It gives me pleasure today to speak to B=
ill
No. 84, Labour Mobility Amendments =
Act.
I’ll be fairly brief this afternoon as we want to move forward with
general debate on the budget. I know it’s important to everyone.
My biggest sin=
gle
concern — first of all, let me state that I think we’ll be
supporting this bill this afternoon. I think it has been awhile coming. It
certainly enables individuals to be able to use their skills, not only here=
in
the
I know, for ex=
ample,
that my own daughter, who is a journeyman baker, had a situation where she =
got
her red seal in
One of the oth=
er
things that I have a concern about is that, in the explanatory notes on the
back of the cover page, there is a reference. I will read it. It took me a =
few
minutes to try to understand it, if in fact I do. It is bullet 3, and if I =
may
quote: “Allow Yukon regulators to impose the same terms on an incoming
worker’s licence as are applied in the worker’s former home
jurisdiction.” Now if I am a welder, for example, or if I am a —
well, let’s pick one of these — a certified management accounta=
nt,
and I got my
What’s m=
issing
from this statement is what happens to Yukoners who are CMAs here? Are our
regulations better or worse than those of the individual who is coming in f=
rom
another jurisdiction? Really, all it’s saying is, if you’re
licensed in another jurisdiction, you can come here and work. It doesn̵=
7;t
matter about anything else; we’ll bend our rules and regulations to m=
eet
you.
While I agree =
with the
fundamental principles of being able to transport my certifications from one
jurisdiction to another, I find this statement to be cumbersome, at best, a=
nd I
think it needs to be clarified and perhaps that will come out when we go in=
to
Committee of the Whole.
Hon. Mr. Kenyon: =
As a member of the Committee on Internal=
Trade
for
Through addres=
sing
obstacles to internal trade and mobility, we can certainly build a stronger
Canadian economy. As part of its ongoing work to keep
The objective =
of the Agreement on Internal Trade is for
provinces and territories to reduce and eliminate, to the extent possible,
barriers to the free movement of persons, goods, services and investments
within
Now the goal o=
f the
labour mobility chapter is to allow a qualified worker in the jurisdiction =
of
any one of the parties to the Agree=
ment
on Internal Trade fair access to employment opportunities in the jurisd=
ictions
of any other of the parties.
A new chapter =
7 on
labour mobility has been endorsed by all First Ministers and came into forc=
e in
Improved labour
mobility will provide a wider pool of skilled workers to
Mr. Cardiff: I would like to say a few words about the Labour Mobility Amendments Act.
It’s linked to the Agreement on Internal Trade, and the=
Agreement
on Internal Trade is more about policy-making through trade deals.
Oftentimes trade deals are done in back rooms. The Agreement on Internal Trade has provisions where different
jurisdictions can challenge the actions. It’s much like the free trad=
e agreement,
and there are penalties that are attached for non-compliance, and thereR=
17;s
a tribunal that rules on those violations.
So this is bas=
ically
all part of a free trade agenda that has recently, to a large degree, been
discredited by the recent global downturn. It’s an agenda that’s
directed, in large part, by transnational corporations, and it’s
basically seeking to eliminate barriers to trade, and not so much help out =
the
average working person.
We on this side believe in fair trade. Trade deals like this basically erode the public’s ability to shape its own economy, to put rules in place that encourage local production and local consumption. Given climate change, we = are facing a future where we must question globalization and turn to more local solutions. Trade deals that take away our rights fly in the face of the kin= d of social and economic change necessary to address our ecological crisis.
A recent paper by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives shows that increasing trade liberalization is anti-environment, and environmental protection and increasing trade do not necessarily go hand in hand. In fact, trade liberalization is actually counter to environmental protection, becau= se the standards —
I see
the look of consternation on some of the members’ faces, but look at =
some
of the challenges under NAFTA that have taken place and actually harmed the
environment in
So I understan=
d that
the goal of this piece of legislation basically is to comply with this trade
deal among Canadian jurisdictions. The goal is to somehow allow someone with
certification obtained in another province or territory to be recognized he=
re
in the
I don’t =
know
— in the business that I was in before — the trade that I was in
— I was a journeyperson sheet metal worker. I worked alongside journe=
yperson
electricians, carpenters, welders, plumbers, pipefitters, and drywallers. M=
ost
of those trades had what’s known as an interprovincial standards red
seal. That was a certification that you could take anywhere in
What I have co=
ncerns
about is that, in some instances — and we’ve had this conversat=
ion
in this Legislature before, along these same lines — the concern is t=
hat
we don’t go to a lower standard. When you look at the list of acts and
professionals being regulated under this bill — as the Member for Por=
ter
Creek South said, certified management accountants — we’re look=
ing
at the Boiler and Pressure Vessels =
Act
— that’s something that I have a little bit of familiarity with
because, if you work in construction in the heating business, we’re
talking about boilers and pressure vessels, we’re talking about public
health and safety. You need to ensure that the highest standard is maintain=
ed by
the people who are doing that work — whether they’re working on
those boilers or pressure vessels or whether they’re inspecting them.=
We look at som=
e of the
health professions — chiropractors, dentists, denture technicians, he=
alth
professions. “Health professions” covers a lot of different hea=
lth
professionals — optometrists, the Medical
Profession Act, Licensed Practi=
cal
Nurses Act. There’s a reference in the explanatory notes: “=
The
Act applies on proclamation, except that its use of the term ‘nurse p=
ractitioner’
is delayed until the relevant amendment to the Act to Amend the Registered Nurses Profession Act comes into
force.”
Now, a lot of =
these
— if you look at chiropractors, dentists — a lot of the health
professions, the nurses — they’re the ones — many profess=
ions
— and they set their own rules and their own standards for certificat=
ion.
The way that I read this piece of legislation, the way that I understand th=
is
piece of legislation, is that it takes the power and the oversight away from
those professions, those professional people who set their own rules and th=
eir
own standards for the occupations they practise — the codes of conduc=
t,
the standards of practice, the standards of care that people rely on.
This may not b=
e as
contentious as some of the other things that may end up being covered under=
the
Agreement on Internal Trade, but
there are other chapters to the Agr=
eement
on Internal Trade that are yet to be brought before this Legislature to
have pieces of legislation that are created here in the Yukon changed or
implemented.
Some of those =
that are
potentially coming in the future are ones about environmental protection
— chapters on environmental protection, chapters on energy — so
more of a national standard. We need to know that we are maintaining the ve=
ry
highest standard, just as we are for these professionals who are providing
services to Yukoners.
I would be int=
erested
to know — consultation on legislation has become a concern for member=
s on
this side of the Legislature. On one hand, the government is willing to go =
to
other jurisdictions and take a piece of legislation and adapt it for use in=
the
I have a lot of
questions regarding this piece of legislation, and I’m going to put t=
hem
on the record. I look forward to the minister providing responses to all th=
ese
questions in a timely time today.
I’d like=
to know
which of the professions that are covered under this act were consulted,
whether or not they had concerns about labour mobility issues, whether or n=
ot
any professional designations are planned to be exempted from labour mobili=
ty.
As I said earl=
ier,
there’s a concern that trade deals go to the lowest common denominator
and that the lowest standards will prevail. I want the minister to respond =
to
that concern and tell me whether or not it is going to erode the standards =
of
care, the standards of service that are provided by these professionals.
I’d like=
to know
what other professionals and other designated trades are going to be covered
under this act in the future. We’d like to know what the next steps a=
re.
We’d like to know what the next major policy areas are that are slated
for change in the Agreement on Inte=
rnal
Trade. As I said earlier, it’s our understanding that there are
chapters related to environmental protection and energy, and there may be
others with regard to investment or even contracting. I’d like to know
how this is going to impact — specifically because it’s referen=
ced
here in the explanatory notes — the Registered
Nurses Profession Act, and how is that going to impact on the Registere=
d Nurses
Association here as a self-regulating authority. Are they still going to ha=
ve
the ability to set the standards and regulate themselves?
I’d like=
to ask
the minister what effect this is going to have on that inter-provincial red
seal program and designation for journeyperson tradespeople. I believe
that’s an important issue.
The minister
referenced in his opening remarks that there’s much work — and
we’ve had this conversation before a little bit in here as well ̵=
2;
departments of the government are doing in order to ensure that we’re
compliant with the Agreement on Int=
ernal
Trade, whether we like it or not. How much work is happening at a
departmental level and in what departments is that happening?
The other thing
I’d like to know about that is, is that work being tracked by one
individual department? What’s the coordinated approach?
We know there&=
#8217;s
one department that’s basically responsible for labour market program=
s,
but how does that relate to this piece of legislation?
The concern ab=
out the
dispute resolution mechanism of the Agreement
on Internal Trade — we’d like to know what impact that will
have on this Labour Mobility Amendm=
ents
Act. Is there a possibility of disputes or an appeal process? What is t=
he
citizen engagement in an appeal process if they feel that they are unjustly
treated or unfairly regulated through this piece of legislation? Is there an
appeal process if you feel you’ve been unjustly treated or unfairly
regulated?
So there are q=
uite a
few questions regarding the act and the Agreement
on Internal Trade. We would also like to know whether or not there is a
schedule to the amendments to regulations that the
What I’d=
like to
know is this: what professional designations exist that have the expertise =
when
it comes to specifying or setting regulations or deciding which regulations
from which jurisdiction should apply to any of the professions that are des=
ignated
in this act?
I see my time =
is up,
and I look forward to hearing from the minister with regard to the questions
I’ve asked.
Hon. Mr. Hart: I’m going to be brief this
afternoon. I’m going to try to concentrate on just a few items.
The Yukon, in
partnership with the other provinces and territories, has amended chapter 7=
of
the Agreement on Internal Trade
— labour mobility — basically to reduce and eliminate, to the
extent possible, barriers to the movement of persons and goods, services and
investments within Canada, and to establish an open, efficient and stable
domestic market.
The goal of th=
e labour
mobility chapter is to allow a qualified worker in a jurisdiction of any on=
e of
the parties to the Agreement on Int=
ernal
Trade to access employment opportunities in jurisdictions of any of the
other parties, and vice versa for the
We have signed=
on to
this agreement. We’ve been negotiating this agreement for many years =
now
— many years. We now have the majority of the jurisdictions all signe=
d on
to the process. On the medical profession side, there have been national
negotiations going on for some time with regard to this mobility standard f=
or
medical professions throughout
The jurisdicti=
on that
the resident is currently in will take priority. The only issue is that your
ability to provide the professional services of your profession not be put =
into
question.
If you are a q=
ualified
doctor in
We are working=
with
Community Services to increase our understanding of the importance of manag=
ing
the regulation of health professionals to be able to effectively and
efficiently manage the health care system here in the
We are also lo=
oking at
proposed amendments that fall into four categories: changes to registration=
of
qualifications; enabling a registrar to impose conditions, limitations and
restrictions on a licence when necessary to protect the public; removing
residency requirements and changes to the names of the act and the licence =
or
profession. We are all working in concert with Community Services, along wi=
th
the Minister of Economic Development, to ensure that we conform to the rules
and regulations under the Agreement=
on
Internal Trade, and to ensure that we will not be in contravention of t=
he
agreement, thus facing any fines. We look forward to working with Community
Services on issues related to Health and Social Services to ensure that we =
are
providing the general public of the
Hon. Mr. Rouble: =
Mr. Speaker, the Department of Educ=
ation
is the co-lead with Community Services on this file. The Department of
Education in our jurisdiction also has responsibility, in addition to K to =
12,
for post-secondary education, but we’re also responsible for labour
market initiatives. We also do an extensive amount of work with trades,
education and red seal certification programs.
I thank you fo=
r the
opportunity to speak today in support of this piece of legislation and also=
to
help to clarify some of the misunderstandings that are apparent with regard=
to
this legislation. This builds upon Canadians’ commitment and dedicati=
on
to ensure that Canadian opportunities are there for Canadians and that, whi=
le
our provincial and territorial borders are political borders, they should n=
ot
be boundaries that constrain and restrict people.
The purpose of=
this
piece of legislation is to continue to keep Yukon’s economy strong an=
d to
ensure that qualified workers across Canada have fair access to employment =
opportunities
across Canada; to ensure that those opportunities that many red seal certif=
ied
journey-level people have recognized in the past that having national
recognition of their skill and their qualification is now available for a w=
ider
variety of professions and occupations.
This piece of
legislation has been created because of a strong working relationship with =
the
different jurisdictions across
I have to addr=
ess a
comment that the Member for Porter Creek South made. I’ll have to ref=
er
to the Blues to ensure that I had the correct quote, but I believe that he =
made
a statement something along the lines of, “We will bend our rules to =
meet
you.” No. No, Mr. Speaker, that is not the intent of this legislation.
That is not what this legislation does, and I would encourage the Member for
Porter Creek South to take a deeper look at the legislation, maybe ask a few
more questions about it, and maybe go over some more of the background mate=
rial
that has been provided. But no, this does not create a situation where
This is a situ=
ation
where we, the different jurisdictions across Canada, will work together to
ensure that the certifications, qualifications, accreditation and recogniti=
on
of the different people’s skills for backgrounds for the list of area=
s in
the act are recognized across Canada — that if you are, for example, a
boiler and pressure vehicles operator in one part of Canada, then you can
become an operator in another part of Canada.
I look forward=
to the
oncoming debate in the next couple of days where we will be able to clear up
some of these issues. Also, Mr. Speaker, I was sitting here rather
incredulously listening to the Member for
If there are t=
hese
cases, let’s enter them into discussion; let’s bring them into =
the
debate so we can take a look at these cases and take a look at what actually
transpired in these cases. I’ve heard a number of times in numerous
different debates in this Assembly where people make an illogical assertion
that there are many examples of this where it has been bad in the past;
therefore it will be bad in the future.
Some Hon. Member: (Inaudible)
Hon. Mr. Rouble: =
I’m sorry, the Member for Mou=
nt
Lorne has said something. Could he repeat it again so I can hear?
Some Hon. Member: (Inaudible)
Hon. Mr. Rouble: =
No, I didn’t hear the Member =
for
Mount Lorne when he was making his comments off-mic — would he please
repeat them again so I can respond.
Mr. Speaker, if
we’re going to enter into some debate on this, and if the members do =
have
cases that are appropriate to the situation, then let’s hear them;
let’s have a full and thorough debate about these cases and see if
Yukon’s legislation that is before us is actually applicable to that
case.
I would sugges=
t that
Justice officials in the Government of Yukon, when they work at drafting th=
ese
pieces of legislation, have looked at many other jurisdictions and looked at
the cases that have been brought before the courts and the challenges that =
have
occurred and that, when we create legislation on this and on other matters,=
we
take that into consideration and we look at the past examples and learn from
that and amend legislation in order to ensure that the previous issues are
appropriately addressed.
I will conclud=
e my
comments and, once again offer my support for this piece of legislation. It=
is
a piece of legislation that is being implemented across all jurisdictions i=
n Canada
to ensure that Canada continues to be a strong and healthy nation and that
opportunities for Canadians are being put into place to ensure that we
don’t have needless barriers of prohibition, discouraging or disallow=
ing
Canadians or Yukoners from working at other parts of the country.
It allows for =
the
protection of regional differences and allows for appropriate conditions to=
be
put in place where there are certainly justifiable conditions. It allows Yu=
kon
to be responsive to the needs in our community and to ensure that additiona=
l or
specific requirements are also met by some of our operators here. It’=
s in
the legislation; it’s in how we work with these occupations.
By passing this
legislation, it also opens the door to Yukoners, should they desire to trav=
el
to other places in
I’m sure=
as we
go through the debate on this over the next couple of days that the questio=
ns
or the concerns brought forward by the members opposite will be addressed i=
n a
meaningful manner and we’ll be able to satisfy the thoughts or concer=
ns
of the people in the opposition.
I thank member=
s for
their time and their support for this piece of legislation.
Hon. Ms. Horne: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> <=
/span>Günilschish,
Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to rise and speak today to support Bill No. 84, Labour Mobility Amendments Act. Th=
is
will address local labour shortages by eradicating barriers for Canadians to
live and work in
These labour m=
obility
amendments support Yukon’s commitment to enable workers certified for=
an
occupation anywhere in Canada to access employment opportunities in Yukon. =
With
this bill, Yukon joins other Canadian jurisdictions to make it easier to mo=
ve
around the country for work — what a bonus that will be. By eliminati=
ng
barriers to the free movement of people, goods, services and investments wi=
thin
Canada, we are promoting equal economic opportunity for Canadians and
competitive business practices.
Labour mobilit=
y is a
key element of labour market efficiency. It contributes to sustaining econo=
mic
growth, innovation, productivity and Canada’s competitiveness in an
increasingly knowledge-based global economy.
The labour mob=
ility
provisions of the Agreement on Inte=
rnal
Trade apply to regulated occupations, those for which provincial
certifications are available or required.
By complying, =
Yukon
demonstrates support for its obligations to the national agreement and prov=
ides
new opportunities to attract a wider pool of skilled workers to Yukon to
address labour shortage in the workforce. Yukoners in turn will have the sa=
me
opportunities to work in other parts of Canada if they choose. By removing
barriers to employment, professionals — particularly health professio=
nals
— will want to come to Yukon. It provides Yukoners with the best poss=
ible
access to health care in an era where we have shortages of doctors and nurs=
es
in other jurisdictions — kudos to the Minister of Community Services.
These professional groups involved are engineers and technicians who operate
boilers and pressure vessels, certified management accountants, chiropracto=
rs,
dental professionals and denturists, lawyers, lic=
ensed
practical nurses, clerics performing weddings under the Marriage Act, medical practitioners, notaries, optometrists,
pharmacists, private investigators and security guards and real estate peop=
le.
The amendments can be summarized into six main areas: (1) removing residency
requirements; (2) creating more specific language to recognize certificates
issued from other jurisdictions; (3) creating the ability to add conditions=
on
a Yukon licence or certificate to match those in their originating
jurisdiction; (4) requiring additional training or education if an individu=
al
has not practised in two years — again, for public safety reasons; (5)
moving specific registration requirements from acts to regulations for later
development; (6) enabling Yukon to quickly implement registration, educatio=
n or
training-harmonization standards.
Addressing labour mobility will hel=
p to
promote
Mr. Speaker, I=
am very
pleased to support this legislation today. It confirms Yukon is open for
business and that it is a place where professionals and their families can =
come
for employment and have their qualifications recognized. This will only have
positive impacts for Yukon and our Yukoners. Günilschish, Mr. Speaker.=
Speaker: If the member now speaks, he will close =
debate.
Does any other member wish to be heard?
Hon. Mr. Lang: I would like to thank all members i=
n the
House for contributing to the debate this afternoon, and I commend this bil=
l to
the floor here this afternoon. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Speaker: Are you prepared for the question?
Some Hon. Members: =
b> Division.
Division
Speaker: Division has been called.
Bells
Speaker: Mr. Clerk, please poll the House.
Hon. Mr. Fentie: =
Agree.
Hon. Ms. Taylor: =
Agree.
Hon. Mr. Hart: Agree.
Hon. Mr. Kenyon: =
Agree.
Hon. Mr. Rouble: =
Agree.
Hon. Mr. Lang: Agree.
Hon. Ms. Horne: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> Agree.
Hon. Mr. Edzerza: Agree.
Mr. Nordick: Agree.
Mr. Mitchell:
Mr. McRobb: Agree.
Mr. Elias: Agree.
Mr. Inverarity: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> Agree.
Mr. Cardiff: Agree.
Clerk: Mr. Speaker, the results are 14 yea, nil=
nay.
Speaker: The yeas have it. I declare the motion c=
arried.
Motion for second reading of Bill No. 84 =
agreed
to
Hon. Ms. Taylor: =
<=
/span>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 i=
nto
Committee of the Whole.
Motion agreed to
Speaker leaves the Chair
COM=
MITTEE OF
THE WHOLE
Chair (Mr. Nordick): =
Committee of the Whole will now com=
e to
order. The matter before the Committee is First
Appropriation Act, 2010-11. We will now continue with general debate. Do
members wish a brief recess?
All
Hon. Members: Agreed.
Chair: Committee of the Whole will recess for 15
minutes.
Recess
Chair: Order please. Committee of the Whole wil=
l now
come to order.
Bill No. 20 — First Appropriation Act, 2010-11 — continued
Chair: The matter before the Committee is Bill =
No.
20, First Appropriation Act, 2010-1=
1.
We will now continue with general debate.
Hon. Mr. Fentie: =
Mr. Chair, I think we will turn this ove=
r to
the member of the Third Party, who didn’t have time the other day to
engage in the debate. With that, I’ll await the member’s questi=
ons
and comments.
Mr. Cardiff: I don’t really have a lot of questions for the
Premier today. We had a fairly extensive debate during the supplementary bu=
dget
general debate. We covered off a number of items. I read a bit of the debate
that took place last Thursday and would just like the Finance minister to
confirm that the numbers on page S-4 are indeed correct. It shows that
we’re forecasting a $23-million shortfall for this coming year, as of
these estimates.
Hon. Mr. Fentie: =
Actually, we’re in the 2010-11 mai=
ns.
The number the member references is merely one number from a previous fiscal
year which, when you take that number and all other matters that must be
accounted for and factored in, you then create the estimates for the fiscal
year that we’re in. The actual position of the government, if you cal=
culate
and take all factors, shows — and this is one component of what you m=
ust
calculate — shows at year-end, noted by, in brackets, “a”,
$2,907,000 surplus. Then you also notice that, going forward, as you contin=
ue
on with the budget — and this is to ensure that we’re inclusive=
on
all matters that must be accounted for, we show a net financial resource
position at end of year of over $40 million.
I recall havin=
g the
discussion with the member regarding this net financial resource position, =
and
did provide the member the fact that, if you take comparisons of the way we
budget today under full accrual accounting and how governments budgeted in =
the
past, the net financial resource position is very similar to what was in the
past budgeting processes, the surplus/deficit in the budget at that time. W=
ith
full accrual accounting, obviously we’ve added a lot more information=
and
do much more of the counting of the actual fiscal position of
I confirm that=
, in
closing out last year, we still have a lot of work to do before the public
accounts are completed and we can talk about the actual year-end factors. T=
he
government will not speculate or be premature in drawing conclusions on that
process, but all estimates show going forward for 2010-11 that we are situa=
ted
with a $40-million plus net financial resource position at end of year, and=
one
of the factors that creates that number includes a surplus/deficit at year-=
end.
Mr. Cardiff: I was referring to the previous year, actually —
that we just ended. So if you go from that to the $2.9 million that the
minister was just talking about — about the surplus that is forecast =
or
estimated — we are forecasting a $23-million shortfall with $70 milli=
on
in net financial resources at the end of the year here. When you look at the
surplus of $2.9 million and net financial resources of $40 million at the e=
nd
of the year, what I’d like to know is — I understand the fact t=
hat we’re
spending money from the net financial resources because it is money that was
received for projects. I believe this is the way the Finance minister expla=
ined
it to me the other day. We have received money for projects, and it is on t=
he
books already. There has been a change to that, so that it’s booked in
the year — if I have this right — you book it in the year you s=
pend
it. Is that correct?
Hon. Mr. Fentie: =
There are actually some variances in how
things are accounted for, but we have to recognize that — when the
Auditor General and those who are involved in grading and providing public
sector accounting guidelines — sometimes there are variances in how y=
ou
account for things.
Let me try to =
explain
it this way: in many cases, trusts that are set up between the federal
government and the territorial government are booked in the year that the t=
rust
is created, and the agreement reached between the federal government and the
territorial government. That is how we established, for example, the northe=
rn housing
trust and the northern strategy. These are examples of funds that carry with
them substantial dollars that were accounted for — booked — in =
the
year they were established.
That also appl=
ied at
the time when the Building Canada fund was created, but it was after the fa=
ct
— and that was probably a year or two years in; probably one fiscal y=
ear,
into the second fiscal year — public sector accounting guidelines, and
the Auditor General in viewing this determined that for Yukon we must change
how we account for Building Canada and only book the relative amounts of wh=
at
we expend in any given fiscal year. I would add, however, that that is not =
the
case in all jurisdictions in the country. Other jurisdictions in
Going back to =
the
member’s questions and concerns around the budgets themselves, let me
point out that the estimates from last year create a start number for the m=
ains
for 2010-11. It would not be correct to compare one number out of the estim=
ates
from last year and then try and calculate that against another number in the
mains of this year.
All last year&=
#8217;s
budget does, once everything is accounted for and all the calculations requ=
ired
are done, is create a start number. Then we go into the process of distribu=
ting
the funds for departments and expenditures and investments in other areas t=
hroughout
the course of the budget, which gets us to where we’re at in estimates
for the mains for 2010-11, and that shows us at a $40.255-million net finan=
cial
resource position. If the member is asking why that number has gone from $6=
9 million
from last year to the $40.255 million for this year, a large part of that is
due to spending down funds like the northern strategy.
I would cautio=
n everyone
to recognize that we yet have to do our public accounts, and there could ve=
ry
well be changes coming forward in the fall, when we do our year-end supplem=
entary.
We can discuss this at great length, but we are talking about something that
has yet to have the actual values provided once the public accounts have be=
en
done after being duly audited by the Auditor General.
Mr. Cardiff: Now we’re going to get to the crux of the quest=
ion.
If you look at the multi-year plan, when you look at the net financial reso=
urces
that are being projected for the next few years, they are not coming down at
the same rate. I realize that these are all just projected estimates, but w=
hat
I am looking for is — basically there is $29 million, and the rationa=
le
is that some of that money is money that was held in trust — this
isn’t like what we’re doing with the other, where we’re
booking it in the year that we are expending it. Are there any other funds =
like
that — like the northern strategy or the northern housing trust ̵=
2;
that are part of those net financial resources? That’s what I’m
asking. It doesn’t look like that to me, because it doesn’t look
like we’re planning to spend down in that same manner in coming years=
.
Is that a corr=
ect
assumption — that those monies that would be part of the $29 million
— that account for the change from 69 to 40 — that those funds =
are
being spent down this year and there aren’t — or when are those
funds wrapping up? Maybe that’s a better way of putting it.
Hon. Mr. Fentie: =
First off, northern strategy does end, s=
o it
won’t show up in out-years. Secondly, if the member looks at the long
term or the financial projections of the government that go out to 2014, the
member will see that the net capital expenditure amount has dropped in the =
next
year, 2011-12, from $119 million to $105 million. One of the reasons for th=
at
will be that we’re not going to build an airport terminal again in the
foreseeable future. So the capital expenditures that are in past years R=
12;
once a project is completed, we’re not going to re-build that project=
. Therefore,
there is a relative downward pressure to capital expenditure at that time. =
Secondly, we h=
ave to
recognize that there are significant stimulus funds at work here in the Yuk=
on
that aren’t part of this because that is something that flows from
Canada, based on agreements of eligibility.
Thirdly, we al=
so have
to understand that the estimates show that we will continue to increase our=
net
operation and maintenance expenditures. That’s why the government has
stated that the financial management over the years that has produced some,=
I
believe, some $150-million plus of surpluses has allowed us many more optio=
ns.
This trend began back in 2004. Forward to today, where the last actuals tha=
t we’ll
be dealing with show that we have accumulated over that period of time
$150-million plus more than we have — we’ve brought in that much
more than we’ve spent.
So, going forw=
ard, we
maintain the fact that we can continue to pay our liabilities while still m=
aintaining
a positive net financial position. That’s very important because the =
Government
of Yukon and the
We have option=
s, we
have room, and you will see capital going down and that’s relative to
what we’ve been doing over the last number of years. You will also no=
tice
that O&M is going up, but that’s relative to a number of things, =
and
that also includes the growth factor in the Yukon
So, all things
relative, going forward, the member will also see a trend of reduction in n=
et
financial resource position, which will then begin an upward trend in the y=
ear
2013-14. But I would also add that governments could try and spend more, sh=
ould
they choose, but our management approach is to maintain that forward-looking
fiscal management, as we have since 2004, because of what that has accompli=
shed
to date, and what we believe strongly will continue to allow us to accompli=
sh
positive things into the future.
Mr. Cardiff: I understand the northern strategy money does end and=
I
understand what the Finance minister was saying.
The estimate of
surplus or deficit for the year — with “(A)” beside it, o=
r if
you go to the top of the other page, it is there as well — is $2.9 mi=
llion,
but there are a number of expenditures that we can identify — one bei=
ng
work done at the Thomson Centre. We know that there are probably going to be
increased costs for other commitments that will be made over the coming mon=
ths
leading up to the fall. So I am just wondering if the Finance minister can
identify some of those. I’d also like him to identify what funds
aren’t shown in the revenue stream that may still be coming to the =
span>
We are showing=
under
“revenues” a little over, well $1.048 billion. What I’d l=
ike
to know is, are there any other funds with regard to either infrastructure
monies, stimulus monies or health transfers that may be coming that are goi=
ng
to improve the revenue side of the ledger in this coming year as well?
Hon. Mr. Fentie: =
Mr. Chair, here is why fundamentally
speculating and trying to presume things and pre-empt due process can get a=
ny
government into trouble in managing the finances. Building
It’s also
important that we recognize that the estimates of third party recoveries and
recoveries from
So if we look =
at what
we have presented, in terms of the estimates, which are part of what we mus=
t do
to budget, we must always reflect on the fact that a very important element=
of
this going forward, that will probably create shifts in the numbers, is the
public accounts coming this fall that close out the prior fiscal year that =
we
were in.
I guess the ge=
neral
purpose of what the government side is presenting is clearly a demonstratio=
n of
a very positive financial position for Yukon, and we can relay that and app=
ly
that to years past, as far back as 2004. We can now, as we’ve shown in
our longer term estimates, show that we have a positive fiscal or financial
position going forward.
The member also
mentioned projects that aren’t accounted for possibly — that are
into the future. Not all of the gross capital amounts, for example —
because of recoveries and other matters — are shown on the estimates,=
and
there’s always still room in that capital factor. We have not committ=
ed a
full $105 million, but if you look at the long-range capital plans, you will
see that there is a substantial portion for 2011-12 projects and into
out-years.
So, what we=
217;re
trying to show, especially here for debate and to work with the opposition =
on,
is to give a longer term window and picture of the financial position of Yu=
kon
and what has been committed to date, so that there is a clear understanding=
of
the fiscal position of Yukon to try and remove some of this speculative
approach to the what-ifs and recognize that the “what is” is ve=
ry important,
always keeping in mind that we must adhere to that discipline of the public
accounts for any given fiscal year that has been closed out to be concluded=
, so
we then have the actuals that will be applied to the estimates before us.
Mr. Cardiff: This leads me to the next question. We talked earlier
about the booking that has changed with the Building Canada fund. Bear with=
me
— so on page S-7, Building Canada fund, with the little “2̶=
1;
beside it, it shows no money coming in. We’re talking about revenues,
transfers from
I want to know=
why it
isn’t reflected here?. Where is the money accounted for and how does =
it
get to the department? Why aren’t we showing it here?
Hon. Mr. Fentie: =
It won’t show in the traditional f=
orm of
transfers from
In our case, t=
he
exchange of a transfer from
Mr. Cardiff: I have a couple of other questions about the multi-ye=
ar
capital plan. Specifically, the Premier talked about the fact that the capi=
tal
plan reflects that we’re not going to be spending as much money on
capital in the coming years because we’re not building another airport
terminal, but we’re continuing to build a correctional facility. We a=
re
going to be building a school.
There are a nu=
mber of
other projects. Interestingly enough, there was money at one time —
there’s a line in here under Health and Social Services for McDonald
Lodge replacement, which is zero/zero and then $1 in each of the next two
years. I think I understand why that is — probably because the Hospit=
al
Corporation is going to borrow the money to build a replacement for the
McDonald Lodge in
I don’t =
even
want to go to the highway construction part of it. I just want to look at
highways rehabilitation. There’s less money being spent in future yea=
rs
on highway rehabilitation, both for primary highways and for secondary
highways. I’m concerned as to why the government would actually plan =
to
do less work on the vast network of highways when the discussion that we had
just last week indicated that there was much work to be done on some of the=
se
highways. It’s my understanding as well that there have been commitme=
nts
to do some other major work or discussions around doing major work on some =
of
the Yukon’s highways, like as far as major road reconstruction.
I’m just
wondering why in the five year plan we see a reduction in these areas.
Hon. Mr. Fentie: =
I understand the member’s concern =
in
looking at the budget as he is. That is the danger of picking out one area =
of a
budget, especially a budget the size of the Yukon government’s, and t=
hen
trying to extrapolate that as in fact we would be reducing highway investme=
nt.
In some specif=
ic projects
we may be, because the project is done. That is understandable because you
wouldn’t rebuild the same 10 kilometres of highway that you just
finished.
The member als=
o has to
include a number of other things. The member has to include the fact that t=
here
will be a $12 million annual building maintenance program. There will be, in
other capital projects, million of more dollars available. So you cannot is=
olate
one section here and say, “Well, that’s the way we are going to
expend monies going into the future on highways,” when in fact there =
are
a number of other areas that in all likelihood may very well have investmen=
ts
going forward.
So we have to =
look at
it in the full context. That’s the problem with the Liberals — =
the
Official Opposition — in this House, when they try to manufacture a
budget by one estimate. As I said to the Leader of the Official Opposition =
the
other day, that would be the same as reporting only part of your income to
Revenue
So what weR=
17;ve
provided here is much more detail in our budget documents to show all-inclu=
sive
that there are significant investments being made going forward, even to the
point where the member asked something about the corrections investment, I =
believe,
which shows that the projections to 2011-12 include, in that year — in
2010-11 — $28 million for corrections and $10.423 million in 2011-12.=
The member ask=
ed about
McDonald Lodge and one dollar. That’s got nothing to do with the Hosp=
ital
Corporation; that has to do with the fact that McDonald Lodge — the
facility that exists today — is time expired; therefore, the dollar s=
hows
that, in the budget cycles, McDonald Lodge is a valid project.
Mr. Cardiff: I do recognize that. Okay — that makes sense. B=
ut
there hasn’t been any work done with regard to — because I beli=
eve
there was money in previous budgets for that.
My point isn=
8217;t
about construction and building. I understand you don’t build the sam=
e 10
kilometres of road year after year in the same spot. You build it in differ=
ent
spots over years, and it’s a reconstruction. What I’m talking a=
bout
is the rehabilitation of existing roads.
If you look at=
that,
the figures drop fairly dramatically — by 50 percent in future years,
basically, on both secondary highways and primary highways. Maybe the feder=
al
government will have another infrastructure economic stimulus package that =
will
allow the government to spend more, but I’m just wondering why they c=
hose
those areas to forecast spending less.
Because it is =
about
public safety on the highways, and it’s about the safety of the touri=
sts
and the truck drivers who are carrying goods across those highways, whether
they’re carrying them through the territory or distributing them to t=
he
various communities in the territory. It just seems to me that we’re =
getting
to the point where we’re getting the infrastructure in shape, where w=
e do
have reasonably safe highways, but as was admitted to by the minister last
week, there’s still much work to do and it’s about priorities. =
If
it’s about priorities, why are we forecasting reductions?
Hon. Mr. Fentie: =
We have to not ignore the fact that prim=
ary
highways are part of this — airports and so on — and so is the
Building Canada fund. Let me go directly to the highway rehabilitation issue
for the member opposite. We have rural roads, and these are secondary roads
— they call them secondary highways, but they’re actually roads=
.
We have a set
allotment for a rural roads program, and I think what the member is referri=
ng
to in the 2010-11 is that there has been a bump-up, and you can delve into =
the
detail with the minister responsible. There has been a bump-up, which could=
be
— and I would stand corrected — from a lapse from last year tha=
t is
brought into this year. Relatively speaking, highway rehabilitation and
secondary roads is showing a $700,000 allocation, and I believe that is a
representation of the rural roads program.
But there are =
many
other areas of investment in highways. Okay? So it is not just the one fact=
or.
And primary is also investing monies — you will see bridge investments
and primary highways actually going up. So it is relative to what projects =
the
department has at the ready and what they believe they will have at the rea=
dy
in any given fiscal year. I think we also have to remember there is a lot of
work that has to be done before any highway reconstruction is at the point
where we can determine the value of investment we will be making and also t=
he
fact that you’ve got to create a tender. A tremendous amount of engin=
eering
specifications must be developed.
So we’re=
dealing
with exactly what has been presented through budget cycles, including
forward-looking representations of projects, but not excluded or limited to=
.
Chair: Is there any further general debate? See=
ing
none, we will proceed with Vote 54, Department of Tourism and Culture. Do
members wish a brief recess?
=
All
Hon. Members: Agreed.
&nb=
sp; Chair:
Recess
Chair: Order please. Committee of the Whole wil=
l now
come to order.
The matter bef=
ore the
Committee is Bill No. 20, First App=
ropriation
Act, 2010-11. We will now proceed with general debate in Vote 54,
Department of Tourism and Culture.
Department of Tourism and Culture
Hon. Ms. Taylor: =
<=
/span>I
am very pleased to be able to present the 2010-11 operation and maintenance=
and
capital budgets for the Department of Tourism and Culture.
First, I would=
like to
open my remarks by extending my heartfelt thanks to the Department of Touri=
sm
and Culture for all of their hard work and their diligent efforts in puttin=
g forward
and working with the government on the development of this budget. I would =
also
like to thank each of the officials within the Department of Tourism and
Culture for their ongoing support to our office. It has really been a privi=
lege
and pleasure to be able to work with the department over the years.
As I have refe=
renced
over the years, I continue to learn a significant amount from each of the o=
fficials,
and it is a very diverse department. It encompasses a whole host of areas,
which we will get into in the next few minutes. But again, I thank them for
their expertise, for their thought, for their consideration of ideas put
forward by me and by industry and very much so by sector-wide tourism opera=
tors
from the arts community, the cultural sector and many others.
This fiscal ye=
ar we
have approximately $20 million identified for operation and maintenance. It=
is
indicative of our ongoing commitment to Tourism and Culture, and especially=
in
recognition of the social and economic well-being of the territory. With the
staging of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and Paralympic Games, 2010 has been a
year of unprecedented success — an opportunity for both raising global
awareness of
By signing on =
as a
contributing partner with the Vancouver organizing committee for the 2010 g=
ames
a few years back, we were able to position ourselves as an integral part of
Canada’s games and overall national identity, cultural fabric and eco=
nomic
climate and ultimately position the Yukon as an amazing, unique place in wh=
ich
to visit, live and invest. For our department, an investment of approximate=
ly
$1.7 million went toward showcasing
All that we presented in Vancouver =
in every
venue, at every celebration live site —I was very pleased to be able =
to
participate in a number of live sites — as well as Canada’s Northern House, the aborig=
inal
pavilion, and B.C. Place, Yukon very much shone and we were able to celebra=
te
Yukon as a place that is truly naturally spectacular and culturally unique.=
I
believe that all Yukoners are to be commended and congratulated for their
efforts, for their hard work and for their humour, for their talent. It was=
an
amazing experience for
I keep likenin=
g our
investment in people, and really, that’s what
There were eld=
er
ambassadors. Overall, I believe there were up to 150, if not more, <=
st1:State>
As we know, =
span> and were represented by visitors to the game=
s. We
built on this exposure to these key markets and that which we invested in
during the Olympic period — but not only that, we built upon the succ=
ess
of the national marketing campaign, the Look Up North marketing campaign th=
at
we were able to kick off in 2006-07, and we also carried on other marketing
investments, partnering with our two sister territories.
We were really=
pleased
to be able to enhance our marketing operations in and .
As we all know=
,
One other way =
to reach
potential visitors in these areas is through trade and consumer shows. Tour=
ism Vancouver
In addition to
Destination: Yukon, marketing operations in North America also include a
continued $110,000 toward participation in Tourism North, a partnership with
the Alaska Travel Industry Association, Tourism British Columbia and Travel
Alberta, to again cater toward those coming from the United States, but also
throughout Canada, whether it be on our highways or whether it be by air ac=
cess.
We are also ve=
ry
pleased to contribute well over $600,000 to a number of key organizations
delivering tourism products and initiatives, including Wilderness Tourism
Association of Yukon, also Yukon Convention Bureau, and the Yukon Quest Int=
ernational
Sled Dog Race. These are just but a few, and there are many, many other
stakeholders — in fact, I believe we have well over 200 stakeholders =
in
the Department of Tourism and Culture, when one covers heritage, culture or
tourism organizations through our respective funding agencies.
We were, of co=
urse,
very pleased to provide ongoing dollars toward marketing overseas. We will
continue to focus on marketing overseas in
The public rel=
ations
value generated for
We are very pl=
eased to
also be able to enhance the dollars to the tourism cooperative marketing fu=
nd.
Formerly, it was coined at $500,000. This is an increase of $200,000, which
provides direct funding to businesses, governments, First Nations and munic=
ipal
organizations, partnerships — again, for the purpose of marketing
products and services to prospective visitors around the world.
The beautiful =
thing
about this particular funding mechanism is that when we first introduced th=
is
fund back in 2004, I believe, we designed this program in consultation with
industry. Again, it is an amazing fund because it’s designed as a 50:=
50
cost-shared program. So for every dollar that is put forward by industry, t=
he
In addition to
administering the tourism cooperative marketing fund, the product developme=
nt
research unit supports a number of programs aimed at advancing tourism prod=
ucts
to meet and exceed standards and to grow year-round tourism products.
The unit also =
provides
relevant and timely business data and intelligence to support tourism and o=
ther
stakeholders’ marketing investment decisions. As we know, issues arou=
nd
land use and resources also impact the tourism sector. The department also =
participates
in and contributes to environmental assessments, as well as regional land u=
se,
park and other government planning initiatives. We also communicate with to=
urism
operators and industry organizations regarding land use resource issues that
may affect tourism activity and potential. For potential travellers and tho=
se
already here, we demonstrate great
We are very co=
mmitted
to working with our partners in industry, in particular with the Tourism
Industry Association of the
It’s thi=
s ongoing
willingness to be flexible, adaptive and responsive to building relationshi=
ps
with tourism and business sectors, and to continue to be industry-led, which
contributes to Tourism
I am very than=
kful for
the good work that TIA Yukon and our Senior Marketing Committee has provided
over the years, for their commitment to growing Yukon’s tourism secto=
r,
but also looking to the future to see how we can continue to grow this sect=
or
and take advantage of momentum that has already been created.
It’s unf=
ortunate
that I’m running out of time because I have pages and pages of more
information. I think members opposite know how passionate I am about this v=
ery
sector and I have a lot to share with members opposite. I look forward to
sharing a lot of that information over the next coming days.
Our commitment=
to
culture is supported with approximately $9.2 million toward the arts, herit=
age
resources, historic sites, museums, First Nation cultural interpretive cent=
res
and
Again, I wante=
d to say
thank you to Yukon Archives for the continued programming that they do prov=
ide.
One only has to take a look in the papers or listen to radio advertisements
about ongoing public lectures, workshops about working with other groups su=
ch
as the Hidden History group, for example, on Asian history or Black history.
There are a multitude of stories to be told here in the Yukon and it is tha=
nks
to the good work, collaborative work, of Yukon Archives together with other
organizations and individuals that we’re able to continue to share th=
ose
stories about Yukon’s history.
We have approx=
imately
$885,000, which is allocated to research, preservation management, developm=
ent
and interpretation of
We continue to=
help
our heritage institutions, the family of
Mr. Chair, see=
ing the
time, I will wrap up my remarks. I look forward to revealing all the other
information and exciting news about the Department of Tourism and Culture.
Thank you.
Mr. Inverarity: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> I thank the minister for those opening
remarks. It’s always good to hear what’s going on in the Depart=
ment
of Tourism. I look forward to our coming days of debate over the department=
and
finding out everything that has been going on over the past year.
I’d like=
to
thank the officials for the work that they’ve done in preparing the
supplementary budget. I know it’s difficult and always challenging for
the departmental officials to try to get a balanced budget, especially when
this year it’s a razor-thin edge in trying to have an overall balanced
budget.
The mains are,=
as I
said — it’s always difficult to do that. I know this year, with=
the
surplus that they’re projecting — that $2.9-million surplus =
212;
and considering the $40-million plus turnaround they had last year, it̵=
7;s
always a challenge to try to make sure that we don’t run a deficit.
So I think thi=
s year
will prove to be an interesting challenge, as there is certainly a lot less=
in
the proposed surplus for the year than in the previous year. It should be
worthwhile seeing how that’s achieved.
With regard to=
tourism
specifically, overall I think it’s good there has been a refocusing
somewhat on some of the domestic marketing. So we look forward to having so=
me
discussion about how that money is being spent and where the money is ̵=
2;
or the return on the investment in that, along with the North American
marketing.
At this point,=
what
I’d like to do is focus for a minute or two on the tourism operators =
and
the people in the
But tourism
isn’t all just about the tourism operators. Tourism is about the peop=
le
who work for the tourism operators. I was in business in the 1990s. As a bo=
ard
member for the Tourism Industry Association, I was frequently questioned as=
to
why I even sat on the board of the TIA and I pointed out that I was in the
tourism business and although I sold radios and TVs and little widgets and
electronic parts at the RadioShack store, I believe that my business was pa=
rt
of the Tourism Industry Association. It was certainly part of the tourism
industry, because we had people coming through our door who were tourists. =
When
we look around in the Yukon in general, the tourism industry is made up of =
mechanics
who are fixing tires on cars in places like Watson Lake, Haines Junction and
certainly coming off the Dempster Highway — mechanics — and even
the people who are fixing the flat tires are all part of the tourism indust=
ry.
Look at the restaurants around the
Earlier today =
we
talked a little bit about labour mobility. The bill is in second reading, a=
nd
we will go into third reading of the Labour
Mobility Amendments Act that will give individuals the ability to trave=
l to
the Yukon and to work, whether they’re in trades or whether they̵=
7;re
just summer students coming up looking for summer wages.
I think that
it’s important for us to recognize the hard work and the dedication of
these individuals who come, because they’re presenting our best foot
forward. I think labour mobility gives us that ability to do it. I would ha=
ve
to say that I may have misspoke myself earlier this afternoon when I was
talking about the labour mobility, because I do support it and I referenced=
the
TILMA project. That was probably a misspoken word on my part because I mean=
t to
refer to labour mobility rather than TILMA in general. We were opposed to i=
t.
There were a lot of other things wrong with it, and I think it’s impo=
rtant
for us to recognize that the discussion this afternoon was around labour
mobility and the ability of individuals to come from other jurisdictions and
work in the
It’s imp=
ortant
for us also to recognize that it’s these young people. I know that
frequently in the summertime I would pick up the odd hitchhiker heading up =
to
In looking at =
the 2010-11
Tourism Yukon implementation plan — I see it’s dated April 14, =
so
it’s just barely 10 days old, or 12 days old. I wasn’t actually
expecting to get a copy of this until the TIA convention, so it was much to=
my
surprise that I saw it on the website and was able to briefly go through it=
and
look at some of the information with regard to the tourism plan for the com=
ing
year, so we can seriously get into some questions about this today.
I notice that =
the plan
builds upon the foundation of previous plans and takes further action to
promote the Yukon tourism brand, “Larger than Life”, by taking =
a targeted,
market-driven approach.
I notice that =
this
year again, as I mentioned earlier, the tourism numbers seem to be down aga=
in.
I know there’s a redirection to do some more North American marketing,
but I’m quite concerned that there’s a general trend here. I th=
ink
that perhaps the marketing strategy, the marketing plan, may need to have s=
ome
— I’m not sure; qualifiers isn’t really the word I’m
looking for — maybe ROI put on it to make sure that we’re getti=
ng
the best value for our money.
I notice in 20=
09 the
department reported about 282,000 travellers who visited the
I think that t=
here was
also a total of 16,000 fewer visitors — I guess those are Canadian
— reported in 2009, making it the second consecutive year of declining
visitations. I guess some of this was attributed to the motorcoach traffic.
Perhaps the minister in her response — and I know she’s eager to
tell us everything that is going on that is really good — could just =
give
us a bit better overview of some of these numbers that were there. I know t=
hat
I am looking forward to hearing about it.
I guess I am a=
little
concerned about trends and numbers overall and the dollars spent. It is alw=
ays
good to pay attention to the dollars spent. I have been looking at some of =
the
visitor and tourism numbers that we have and I think that — if I just=
go
back to my page here — we have around 282,000 — around 282,000;=
I
came up with 283,000 but that’s just because the numbers aren’t
broken down by Canadian, U.S. and “other” and they are giving
percentages so there might be a bit of a rounding error there.
What I have de=
termined,
though, is that, if I look at the past 15 or 17 years of tourism numbers, t=
here
have been some significant changes. For example, in the period from about 1=
995
to around 1999, there was about 1.6 million or 1.678 million people who tou=
red
the Yukon in that period of time, but from 2000 to 2004, there was actually=
a
decline — I’m taking these in five-year breaks — that we =
were
down about 153,000 visitors over that period of time from the previous.
I suppose that=
might
be attributed to the 1998 year of the anniversaries here because, what
I’m showing is that from 2005 through to 2009, they were back up a
little, not as good as we were from the anniversaries year, but we’re=
at
1.52 million people. That’s about 27,000 more than we had for the
previous five years, but it’s still down 125,000 from the time of 199=
5 to
1999.
When I say I=
8217;m
concerned about those numbers, really the indication is they’re really
fairly flat. For example, this year, 282,000; in 2006, 315,000; in 1999 it =
was
330,000. Mind you, in 2001 we were around 283,000.
What I’m=
seeing
here and if you were to graph those numbers, our numbers are actually fairly
flat. There are not significant increases and, as the report had indicated,
there’s a general decline in the numbers even as we speak now.
I know I’=
;m
actually anxious to hear from the minister as to why this trend down is
happening; I suppose the dollar might be part of it but I’ll let her
explain those issues and just see what they are.
I think my tim=
e is
— so let’s leave it at that and I’m kind of curious to he=
ar
the minister explain some of the trends in the marketing, where she expects=
them
to go over the next little while. I’m anxious to see the industry grow
and become vibrant again. If there’s anything I can do to help, IR=
17;m
anxious to do that.
Hon. Ms. Taylor: =
Thanks to the member opposite for h=
is
remarks. Lots of great questions, and I’d be happy to answer them, gi=
ven
the time allotted. First of all, I did want to just back up the discussions
regarding our tourism operators. I would be the very first to concur with t=
he
member opposite that tourism operators aren’t just those providing
tourism-related products. You’re absolutely right — sorry, Mr.
Chair — the member opposite’s words are very true. It is from t=
he
service attendants at our local gas bars or people working in the restauran=
ts,
to people even working at our auto-parts store. In fact, that’s why we
have often coined tourism as a very large private sector employer. We very =
much
appreciate their contributions to the economic well-being of the territory.
There is a whole host of sectors within our own tourism sector. In fact, th=
ere
are about eight, to be exact.
In the Departm=
ent of
Tourism and Culture, a key mandate is to bring more people to the
We have been f=
ocusing
on a number of various areas within Tourism and Culture and there have been=
a
lot of travel trends that we have seen. I mentioned before that you wonR=
17;t
find a more resilient sector in the territory than you will with tourism
because, through the ups and the downs, tourism does continue on. Everywher=
e I
go, I ask operators — whether they are owner/operators of RV parks, f=
or
example — how is business? I talked to one of the major operators in =
He also qualif=
ied that
remark by saying that he also had to change the way he does business. He al=
so
had to change who he caters to in terms of the market and how they were com=
ing
up and so forth. I could go on at great length but the key is that Tourism,
thanks to industry and our strong working partnership over the years, has b=
een
able to reflect on our successes, but we’ve also looked at the
challenges. One of the first challenges was starting with 9/11 and then it =
went
from 9/11. If that wasn’t one of the largest challenges posed for our=
air
access, I can’t think of any others since then. There have been other=
s,
of course. I was just reminded of the western hemisphere travel initiative
— and we talked about that earlier today — and providing enhanc=
ed
secure drivers’ licences.
The uncertaint=
y and
the confusion that was leading up until that date of compliance as to what
would be required as a form of secure documentation identification created =
some
confusion in the marketplace. That also deterred people from potentially co=
ming
to places like the
We experienced=
SARS,
for example, in
There are sign=
s of
optimism but there is still a great degree of uncertainty that remains in t=
he
marketplace.
Demographic ch=
anges
— we talked about travel trends back in the 1970s. Here we are in the=
21st
century, and there are changes in age, changes in retirement, changes in how
people travel, changes in how people book. These are all things that are
reflected continuously by industry. I attribute the good success — and
again, I refer to a 5.6-percent decline last year. But, you know, relative =
to
other jurisdictions in the country, we fared relatively well, and I attribu=
te
that to measures to mitigate some of these losses that we knew were coming =
from
the
We continue to=
work
with our partners, our organizations — Wilderness Tourism, Yukon Quest
and many, many others — the efforts of which have a great impact on
visitors coming to the Yukon, and raising awareness of the Yukon as a desti=
nation
of choice. That has been a really major shift in how we market as well.
So those are j=
ust but
a few examples of how we have reflected on the past, but also how we’=
ve
come up with an implementation plan. The 2010-11 implementation plan, as I =
understand,
was adopted by industry only days ago. I don’t think it was even post=
ed
on our website. I could be wrong. But it does set the blueprint for the road
forward, in terms of where we are to invest in changes or perhaps to stay t=
he
course. Again, we rely on the industry-led, the research-based, and the
market-driven approach in everything that we do when it comes to marketing =
Mr. Inverarity: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> I thank the minister for those comments.=
I
know we’re both sort of on the same plan here in trying to make touri=
sm
great.
I did get a co=
py of
the Tourism Yukon implementation plan off the website earlier today, so it =
is
there now and it’s kind of what I’m going through here as part =
of
the plan.
I have a few q=
uestions
to ask. Before I do, I wanted to go back to these tourism numbers. I know t=
hat
they’re always a concern and I’ll be the first to admit that wh=
en
you get into numbers, you can make them good or bad or different or however=
you
want to make them. It’s good to have them just stated so that we can
refer to them and make sure that people are aware of them.
I mentioned ea=
rlier
the decline in visitations, and I’ll just quote here from the guide, =
if I
may. It says on page 12: “Significantly lower visitations by motorcoa=
ch,
18,709 visitors, was a major contributing factor to the total decline, as
private visitations was actually up by 1,723.”
I note in the
marketing plan they have that there are additional revenues that are going =
to
be spent on marketing to — if I’m correct — Vancouver,
Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto and that they’re going to be targeting
those individuals. I am assuming that is primarily toward the air traffic a=
nd
the highway traffic for those individuals who may be coming up and perhaps =
the
minister might be able to clarify if that is true.
My concern is =
that I
know we have a large French population here in Yukon and I would have thoug=
ht
that Montreal would have been probably included in that marketing plan,
considering the number of French-speaking Yukoners who live here and try to
bring their family to visit over time. I recall when I lived in Nova Scotia=
for
a year or so that they had a “Come on home” kind of campaign and
tried to encourage all those Nova Scotians living in western Canada to come
back home.
It might be an
opportunity to look at targeting other — perhaps Quebec — to have the French community to =
come
to the
In addition to=
that
target market, I know I was having dinner the other night and it came up a
couple of times. I may have mentioned it before, but at this time of year we
hear on the radio about all the farmers who are out there trying to get the=
ir
crops in, trying to get all of their seeds sowed, so to speak, not only in
Canada but in the midwest of the United States, where there is a significant
farmers population.
It was brought=
to my
attention that, during that period of time, after the seeds are sown farmers
frequently have a lot of time on their hands, maybe up to six weeks. A lot =
of
them own RVs. They don’t listen to CFUN radio in Vancouver or in Calg=
ary
— the big Calgary radio station — and I’m not sure if you=
’re
even marketing on radio, but they are more interested in the Farmer’s Digest and the radi=
o that
plays the hog futures and what the price of wheat is going to be from a fut=
ures
perspective, and it might be worthwhile looking at that market because these
farmers certainly have the time and I know that they’re always looking
for somewhere to go in that six-to-eight-week period that they have where t=
heir
seeds are planted and they’re waiting for their crop to come in. Not
being a farmer, but it’s something — it’s another target
market and perhaps the department has already looked at it and written them
off, but I’m not sure.
Perhaps the mi=
nister
could mention if they’ve looked at other target markets outside of th=
ose
four specific cities. It strikes me that we probably do a lot of marketing =
in and
I would like t=
o know
whether or not the money invested in the Olympics, from a marketing perspec=
tive
and from a cultural perspective, is going to bear fruit. It may be too early
for that, but it is something we always need to keep an eye on, in terms of=
numbers.
Just getting back to this document: “Visitor origin data of 2009 reve=
als
that visitation from the
Visitation fro=
m other
countries was down 11 percent — it’s only 3,497. Helping to off=
set
some of the declines was an increased visitation from other parts of
It looks like =
a mixed
bag. Certainly the Canadian visitors and the highway traffic were up.
That’s good to hear a little bit. However, I am concerned that our
American friends are not coming here in the droves that they used to come i=
n. I
know in the past that we depended heavily on that
From an incent=
ive
perspective — and I would have to defer here to the good employees th=
at
work within the Department of Tourism and Culture to correct me if I’m
wrong, but it may be a way to increase domestic, if not highway, traffic
— certainly, we could target air traffic — by offering some sor=
t of
incentive to some of the American market to come to the north. I know that =
the
Destination: Yukon — which is the Vancouver and Calgary area in terms=
of
the target market there — obviously is a form of incentive. It may no=
t be
direct but it certainly is helpful and it is worth looking at.
I also found it
interesting that, as I skim through this, 87 percent of the travellers
interested in I know the gov=
ernment
hasn’t come out yet with a policy on the Peel, but certainly the three
rivers that we have up there have received significant comment from the tou=
rism
perspective. I know a lot of people like to canoe down them and travel in t=
hat
area, but we also have Just to get on=
to some
of the comments that I have here regarding the plan. I notice on page 8 of =
the
plan that they talk about SMC marketing recommendations and then in bracket=
s it
has got “2009 Strategy Retreat/Strategic Priorities.” I would a=
sk
the minister in her next comments and reply to me if she would comment on t=
he
strategic retreat component of this title as to what that means and how it =
is
affecting the tourism industry and certainly the Department of Tourism. I
noticed that the government is providing $500,000 in additional monies for =
the
domestic Destination: Also,
on the same page, under the marketing recommendations, they talk about
allocating 45 percent of the overseas marketing budget to the retention mar=
kets
of In the action item next to that, if
it’s for that, is, “department to incorporate the recommended
budget allocations into the overseas marketing plan.” When I looked at
the budget, I noticed — if I’m not correct — that the
overseas marketing is actually down by about $400,000 or $500,000. I’m
seeing approximately $400,000 there, and I know that the airline Condor is =
playing
a strategic role in trying to bring Germans and Europeans over to I’m going to be interested in=
seeing
what the minister’s comments are regarding the allocation of the over=
seas.
Now, is the minister looking to reduce the amount of marketing done in
Also, the othe=
r area
that is of concern — I’m kind of wrapping these all together he=
re
because I know I’m probably not going to get an opportunity to go int=
o a
lot more detail on it — on the adventure programs. I touched briefly =
on
this. It says that marginally decreased adventure-focused expenditures over=
the
next five years and touring programs, marginally decreased touring-focused
expenditures over the next five years — this is what concerned me. Ov=
er
the last two years, we’ve been hearing about adventure tourism and the
significant role that it’s playing and what adventure tourism is actu=
ally
doing.
I see decrease=
s in
this and certainly it looks like the focus is changing from going after that
high-end ecotourism. I would be kind of curious to see if this is a strateg=
ic
change and what they’re talking about. That’s a major concern f=
or
me.
I think, seein=
g the time,
perhaps we could report progress.
Chair: It has been moved by Mr. Inverarity that
Committee of the Whole report progress. Do members agree?
All
Hon. Members: Agreed.
Chair: I declare the motion carried.
Motion agreed to
Hon. Ms. Taylor: =
Mr. Chair, I move that the Speaker =
do now
resume the Chair.
Chair: It has been moved by Hon. Ms. Taylor tha= t 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: Committee of the Whole has consider=
ed
Bill No. 20, First Appropriation Ac=
t,
2010-11, and directed me to report progress on it.
Speaker: You have heard the report from the Chair=
of
Committee of the Whole. Are you agreed?
Some Hon. Members: =
b> Agreed.
Speaker: I declare the report carried.
Hon. Ms. Taylor: Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.
Speaker: It has been moved by the Government House
Leader that the House do now adjourn.
Motion agreed to
Speaker: This House now stands adjourned until =
span>
The House adjourned at
The following document was filed <=
/b>
10-1-146
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gram;
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