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Speaker: I wi= ll now call the House to order. We will proceed at this time with prayers.<= /p>
Prayers
DAILY ROUTINE
Speaker: We will proceed at this time with the Order Paper.
Tributes.
TRIBUTES
Hon.
Mr. Nixon: Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tr=
ibute
to National Victims of Crime Awareness Week taking place across
“Moving Forward,” the t=
heme for
this year, encourages us to move forward in compassion and respect for vict=
ims,
ensuring a voice for victims in our criminal justice system and improving o=
ur
services to victims. Addressing victim issues requires the support and
dedication of the whole community and our Victim Services workers will be
holding community events throughout
Many agencies have come together to=
take a
collaborative approach to make a difference in the lives of victims. In Whi=
tehorse,
the RCMP, Health and Social Services, the Public Prosecution Service of Can=
ada,
women’s groups and First Nations have contributed to the Domestic
Violence Treatment Option Court, to the Community Wellness Court, to the Victims
of Crime Strategy advisory committee, to the domestic violence and sexu=
al
assault framework committee, to the sexual assault response committee, and =
to Links,
a multi-disciplinary team to coordinate approaches for child and youth vict=
ims
or witnesses of crime.
Our Victim Services unit is most gr= ateful to Latitude Wireless for their support in creating a safety option for Yuko= ners with their emergency cellphone campaign. This was launched at the Victims of Crime Awareness Week last year.
In April of last year, Yukoners gen= erally donated over 100 cell phones to the initiative. Latitude Wireless collected= and refurbished the donated phones and, as a result, Victim Services was able to distribute over 50 emergency cellphones to victims of crime as part of their safety planning. Latitude continues to partner with Victim Services for the next phase of this initiative.
I would like to make a special ment=
ion of
the work underway to enhance our day-to-day collaboration with others in ru=
ral
communities. For example, in
Victim Services workers appreciate = these ongoing partnerships and the strong working relationships that are being de= veloped. I would like to take a moment today to recognize the value of these collaborations. Without our partners these projects would not have the depth and community relevance needed to achieve results for victims.
Awareness events are taking place in
several communities. We are hosting events in
We are moving into the third year o= f our five-year Victims of Crime Strategy and have made significant progre= ss in several areas, in part due to the commitment and cooperation from our community partnerships. Their dedication has ensured that victims have incr= eased access to information and a more effective voice in the criminal justice and corrections system. Building on this momentum will help us move forward and= continue to make meaningful change for victims of crime.
Ms.
Moorcroft: I rise on behal=
f of the
Official Opposition to pay tribute to National Victims of Crime Awareness W=
eek.
There was a time in the history of = the world, and not always that long ago, when victims of crime or their families were the only ones who could rectify a wrong done to them. Simple justice w= as equated with revenge. Vigilante groups would be formed to make amends for crimes upon victims. Unfortunately, this has not been totally eliminated in some cultures.
With the development of courts and =
jails,
the victims of crime were often overlooked as an important element in the
complex legal system and procedures. The concerns of victims of crime final=
ly
emerged in
Victims of crime principles are fur=
ther
involved in restorative justice programs, where the focus is between the vi=
ctim
of a crime and the instigator who harmed them. Since it is necessary to face
the person charged, it is important in restorative justice circles to provi=
de
full support to the victims. Women victims of violence who must face their
assaulter need special consideration, which is unfortunately not always
provided.
Even in courts where restorative ju= stice is not available, there are often few charges and fewer convictions in cases w= here women are victims of violence. Many women believe there is little point in pursuing a charge when they have been sexually assaulted because of the inadequate or indifferent responses of the criminal justice system to them = as victims.
The passage of the
The continuation and expansion of f= unding for projects, such as sexual and common assault awareness, advocacy and services for victims and public education on the availability of programs f= or victims is vital to real support for victims of crime. We look to the future development of greater support for them.
The concept of righting the wrongs =
done to
victims continues to be an important consideration in the courts and their =
services.
There are challenges in balancing t=
he
rights of the accused and the rights of victims and providing adequate
financial resources for victim services, whether they are in government or =
in
non-government organizations, and in the delivery of services in rural
Mr. Elias:= 8195; I rise on behalf of the Liberal caucus to pay tribute to Nati= onal Victims of Crime Awareness Week from April 22 to 28. The theme for 2012 is “Moving Forward”. This is an opportunity to raise awareness abo= ut victim issues and the programs, services and laws that are in place to help victims of crime and their families. Victims of crime have rights. There is= a Victims’ Bill of Rights and the Victims of Crime Act. These rights include the right to information about the justice system, the right to express their view, the right to have their property returned when it is no longer needed as evidence, and the right to have their needs considered when victim programs and services are developed= .
The Victims’ Bill of Rights a=
lso
includes three basic rights: the right to be treated with courtesy, caring =
and
respect; the right to privacy; and the right to expect that the justice sys=
tem
will do what it can to reduce their inconvenience and protect them from int=
imidation
and retaliation. Being a victim of crime can be a life-altering experience.=
How
the victim chooses to move forward after being victimized will be unique to=
the
person and the situation. =
All victims deserve to be treated w= ith compassion and respect for their dignity as they move forward on their jour= ney toward healing. We would like to thank Victim Services and the professional= s, volunteers and front-line workers who help victims of crime move forward as they try to help rebuild their lives. Thank you.
In recognition of Arts and Cultu= re Week
Hon. Mr. Nixon: I rise to pay tribute to Arts and C= ulture Week.
As members of this House will know,=
Yukon
In speaking with visitors during th=
e
Government of Yukon
Just three weeks ago we shared the =
results
of
I have come to appreciate the richn=
ess of
Not only do we enjoy wide public
participation, but artists contribute to a flourishing tourism industry. In
speaking with the tourism industry representatives and my officials, it is
clear that our guests choose to come to
In March, we provided funding to he=
lp
artists find new audiences through the Mike Lane
Our government is proud of our
Mr.
Barr:=
195; I rise on behal=
f of the
Official Opposition to pay tribute to Arts and Culture Week in our territor=
y.
I am especially excited about the revitalization of aboriginal culture. It was not that long ago that a potla= tch was against the law. In residential schools, it was prohibited to speak your language and you were punished if you did so. I would like to offer homage = to the elders who kept these intact and now pass on the drums, songs and dance= to the young and the old and share it with us once again.
The Yukon Territory
Arts and culture are available to Y=
ukoners
and visitors alike at events throughout the year in all parts of the territ=
ory.
To name just a few: there are plays at the Guild Hall — and, I might =
add,
the Homegrown Festival is just coming up; check it out — the Dawson C=
ity
Music Festival — I thought the Member for Klondike might like that
— paintings in several galleries and readings by writers. The Klondike
Institute of Art and Culture in
When you think of it, there are als=
o the
tourists who come to our territory. Arts in the Park will be starting up ag=
ain
at
The policy of enhancing our arts and
cultural programs and projects through government funding and support is one
that should be recognized and protected. The many festivals and other means=
of
expression of appreciation for our beautiful territory are not only an
intellectual pursuit, they expand the experiences that tourists will have w=
hile
they are here, as I mentioned, and they therefore play an important economic
part as well. Millions of dollars pass between hands as a result of the arts
and cultural sector here in the territory. Without the Yukon
I would like to end by saying that = arts and culture grounds us, helping us to unite as one, respect all in creation, an= d be in touch with our souls. Thank you.
Mr. Silver:&= #8195; I rise today on= behalf of the Liberal caucus to pay tribute to Arts and Culture Week, 2012.
Arts and culture are a proud part o=
f our
The Yukon Arts Ed-Venture program i= s used by artists to bring music, art and drama into the elementary schools to eng= age students in learning. We have the Adäka cultural festival, which brings First Nation artists together with artists from around the world to share a= nd celebrate their creativity and culture. The Yukon International Storytelling Festival draws local, national and international performers in an exchange = of cultural sharing.
During the summer months,
We as a multicultural society have =
many
strong and vibrant artists from many cultures living in the
Speaker: Introduction of visitors.
Are there any returns or documents = for tabling?
Are there any reports of committees= ?
Are there any petitions?
Are there any bills to be introduce= d?
Are there any notices of motion?
NOTICES OF MOTION
Ms. White:<= /b> I rise to give = notice of the following motion:
THAT this House urges the
(1) their failure to bring forward = state of the environment reports;
(2) their failure to name members t= o the Yukon Council on the Economy and the Environment;
(3) their failure to bring forward =
a new
(4) their failure to address proble= ms of efficiency and consistency around regulations and practices involving air e= missions, recycling waste, storage tanks and other issues raised by the Government Au= dit Services.
Mr.
Silver:&=
#8195; Mr. Speaker, I =
rise to
give notice of the following motion:
THAT this House urges the minister responsible for the Yukon Housing Corporation to investigate options to ass= ist prospective home builders to bridge the gap between the lower appraisal val= ues, based on existing homes and the actual cost to build, by guaranteeing the g= ap that private banks will not lend based on the appraisal, but that home-builders otherwise have the income and stability to qualify for.
Mr. Elias:= 8195; I rise to give notice of the following motion:
THAT this House urges the Minister = of Community Services to partner with the community of Old Crow to address cur= rent housing constraints by developing a new subdivision with service lots ready= for new home construction.
Speaker: Is there a statement by a minister?
This then brings us to Question Per= iod.
QUESTION PERIOD
Question re: YESAB recommendations<= /p>
Mr.
Tredger:=
This fall will =
mark
seven years that we have been living under the Yukon Environmental and S=
ocioeconomic
Assessment Act, commonly called YESAA. YESAA was agreed to by First
Nations, the
Since November 2005, YESAB has asse=
ssed
1,433 projects. The bulk of these projects — 1,122 in fact — we=
re
recommended by YESAB to proceed with certain terms and conditions. However,=
of
those 1,122 — 65 percent of those projects — the
Can the minister explain why this g=
overnment
changes or varies the terms and conditions on such a large number of YESAB
decisions?
Hon. Mr. Cathers: I would point out to the member tha= t in fact those matters are dealt with by officials at the departmental level and that some of the areas relate to a learning process on the part of the assessors hired by the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Bo= ard. Some of the recommendations that are made in some cases do not line up with= the regulatory authority, so some of those adjustments are relatively minor in nature to reflect the regulatory authority — whether it is the Depart= ment of Energy, Mines and Resource, Department of Environment or Executive Counc= il Office — of some of the common decision bodies under YESAB. They must, of course, reflect what they have the legal authority to do.
Mr. Tredger:= The draft repor= t on the five-year review of YESAA says, “due to regulatory and institutional gaps, it is not clear that the YESAA process is fully managing potentially adverse impacts to all environmental components in an integrated mannerR= 21;. With anticipated increased activity in extractive industries and more proje= cts going before it, it is extremely important that YESAB’s credibility is not undermined. That is why the government needs to explain the high number= of variances it issues. This number rises. The government has taken exception = and varied 88 percent of quartz exploration projects that have come from YESAB = with terms and conditions.
Can the minister explain what accou= nts for the even higher number of times his department varies YESAB’s terms a= nd conditions when it comes to quartz exploration projects?
Hon.
Mr. Cathers: Mr. Speaker, I did answer the
member’s question before. These matters are dealt with by officials at
the department level. The designated decision bodies are set out under the
structure that is put in place to implement YESAA. When there are variances=
done
by whichever department is the decision body, that is based on a sound reas=
on.
In some of the cases, some of the recommendations that have been made by YE=
SAB
in the past by different designated offices do not line up with the regulat=
ory
authorities and the legislation that exists, because all recommendations are
subject to the
Again, I have confidence; this gove= rnment has confidence in the staff of departments. We have consistently seen the N= DP stand here in the House and express a lack of confidence in the staff of certain departments, including the Department of Energy, Mines and Resource= s.
Some Hon. Member: (Inaudible)
Point of order
Speaker: The Member for Mayo-Tatchun, on a point of order.
Mr. Tredger:= The member oppo= site is imputing motives. We did not bring up anything to do with the department. We are talking about ministerial responsibility.
Speaker: Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources, on the point of orde= r.
Hon. Mr. Cathers: On the point of order, Mr. Speaker,= I am referring to NDP’s past comments in this House on matters within departmental authority. I believe it is a dispute between members. <= /p>
Speaker’s ruling = p>
Speaker: This is a dispute between members.
Hon. Mr. Cathers: What I would note in conclusion is = that the NDP has consistently stood in this House and talked about matters and decisions that are made at the departmental level, testing that is done at = the departmental level, and the NDP has expressed a lack of confidence in the w= ork that is done by staff. This government has confidence in them.
Mr. Tredger:= Yukoners are ge= tting more familiar with YESAA and many participate in the process, attend meetin= gs and provide comments to help improve projects. But what if a project’s proponent fails to live up to the expectations in the assessment decision? There have been some cases where that is what happens.
Will the minister tell this House h= ow the government is providing oversight and ensuring that projects comply with YE= SAB terms and conditions and final decision documents?
Hon.
Mr. Cathers: Again, what I would point out to the
member is that YESAB makes recommendations to the relevant decision body. In
most cases, that is individual departments within the
For projects on First Nation land, =
a First
Nation would be the decision body. Those terms, of course, have to be imple=
mented
in accordance with applicable legislation. YESAA, the federal legislation, =
does
set out the terms for how they do the assessments but the actual authority =
to
implement the recommendations and the terms and conditions of the approval =
are
done by the relevant regulatory body, which in most cases is a
Question re: Legislation =
updates
Ms. Moorcroft: In this sitting= , the government has presented legislative amendments to the Financial Adminis= tration Act, the Business Law Act, the Liquor Act, the Child C= are Act, the Condominium Act and Land Titles Act.
How does the Minister of Justice de=
cide
which
Hon. Mr. Cathers: Mr. Speaker, it is really surprisin= g to hear this type of question coming from the Member for Copperbelt South. The member, from her previous experience in an NDP government, should be aware = that the decisions about legislation come from Cabinet approval and Cabinet authority, that there are a number of elements that feed into this, includi= ng public concerns, operational issues, departmental recommendations, and of course, commitments made by a party in its election platform. Those are a number of the factors. It’s really surprising that the member doesn’t know that.
Ms. Moorcroft: I guess the min= ister was so surprised that he decided to speak out and answer for the Minister of Justice.
Our Coroners Act has seen li= ttle change since it came into effect in 1976, and there are many concerns with = this archaic bill. The government has the power to appoint or remove the chief coroner at any time, hindering the independence of the position. Our law us= es the passive “may” instead of the active “shall” whe= n it comes to conducting inquests into deaths under certain circumstances. There= is no provision for government to order an inquest in the public interest.=
The offences, fines and penalties a= re not up to date. For example, section 30 says that a person who willfully destro= ys, removes or alters a coroner’s investigation scene could receive a fine not exceeding $500.
There is no right of the family of = the deceased to appeal a coroner’s decision to not hold an inquest. Is th= e Coroner’s Act on this government’s radar as a law that needs to be reviewed= and rewritten?
Hon. Mr. Cathers: If the member has specific concerns= as she has identified here in this House, I would encourage her to write a let= ter to the minister responsible and identify those specific issues. We certainly take comments, including from the members opposite, when issues are identif= ied. A decision about whether or not to review a certain piece of legislation is certainly not going to be made alone by one minister outside of the Cabinet process, on the floor of the House in a period of 60 seconds listening to t= he members of the opposition. I would encourage the member to write a letter to the minister responsible outlining her specific concerns.
Ms. Moorcroft: I did indicate = to the minister and his officials when we were up on the Justice debate that I wou= ld be inquiring about the outdated Coroners Act. The coroner has a high-profile job and deserves to be backed up by legislation and regulations that are effective and appropriate.
When it comes to modernizing the Coroners
Act, we need look no further than neighbours in western
B.C.’s 2007 Coroners Act provides the minister with the authority to order =
the
coroner to hold an inquest if in the minister’s estimation it is
necessary or desirable in the public interest. When will the
Hon.
Mr. Cathers: I would point out to the Member for
Copperbelt South that, as I said before, government takes suggestions about
legislation and legislative amendments from a number of sources. That can
include the public, it can include stakeholder groups, it can include
operational matters that emerge. It certainly includes department
recommendations. It certainly includes any platform commitments that are ma=
de.
In fact, we also will consider suggestions that come from members of the op=
position
and consider them on their merits or lack thereof. But certainly, the decis=
ion
is not going to be made within 60 seconds in Question Period. Again, I would
encourage the member to make a more fulsome submission outlining her concer=
ns
to the minister responsible and the government will, of course, give due
consideration to how much of an issue this is. In large part, it would be b=
ased
on the actual need that exists or the lack thereof, rather than on the
member’s interpretation about the respective age of the piece of legi=
slation.
There are many pieces of legislatio= n across the country that have been in place for decades or 100 years that, in some cases, work quite well. The legislation should be reviewed on how well it works, not on when the stamp was put on it.
Question re: Education,
post-secondary funding
Mr.
Silver:&=
#8195; Post-secondary
education can be very expensive, with a year attending an Outside university
running from $20,000 to $25,000.
Hon.
Mr.
I can tell members of the House that $166,000 is currently budgeted for 2012-13. Last year, we awarded slightly = over $154,000 for awards that were previously earned and expended $167,000 for awards earned last year. For the last full school year, for which we have statistics, we processed 121 applications. Those numbers will, of course, go down with the number of mandatory exams now going down, but we will consider options to expend the excess resources.
Mr.
Silver:&=
#8195; I appreciate the
answer, seeing as this money does add up. Making 80 percent on a grade 9 =
span>
Would the minister consider awardin=
g the
grade 12
Hon.
Mr. Kent: Again, as I mentioned in my previous
answer, we did process 121 applications for the 2010-11 school year and a
significant investment was made by the Yukon Party government in the contin=
uing
education of Yukon students. The changes in British Columbia
Mr.
Silver:&=
#8195; In the past, st=
udents
have been able to earn significant amounts for their post-secondary educati=
on
by performing well on these mandatory exams. If a student did well in grade=
s 9
through 11, they could earn $1,400 for their post-secondary education. If t=
hey
went on to take five grade 12 courses and did well on the associated
standardized tests, they could earn another $2,500, leaving for their
post-secondary education with just under $4,000 in
Will the minister find a way that t= hese high-achieving students can still get the full financial benefit for their = hard work?
Hon.
Mr.
Question re: Education, p= ost-secondary funding
Mr.
Silver:&=
#8195; I will stick wi=
th the
topic of government grants and post-secondary education. After all, educati=
on
isn’t getting any cheaper for our young students. If we want an educa=
ted
and engaged future workforce and population, it is in the
The government will pay out about $=
4.1
million in
Hon.
Mr. Kent: I’m not sure when the last to=
tal review
of the base was done, Mr. Speaker, but I can mention that the government
continues to show support by indexing the Yukon grant and the student train=
ing
allowances to the annual rate of inflation. When one looks at the budget
documents that are currently being discussed in this House, again, the numb=
ers
mentioned by the member opposite — $4.133 million is the total value =
of
Mr.
Silver:&=
#8195; We’re loo=
king at
inflation rates for these increases. One can only look at the current topic=
s in
the national news as far as increases in tuition to see that this is a bigg=
er
problem. It has been some time since the
As mentioned earlier, nearly 800 st=
udents
will use it to fund their education this year alone. The average amount awa=
rded
is $5,300. We estimate the cost to Yukoners to attend university is around
$20,000 to $25,000 per year. That means that the
Hon.
Mr.
Mr.
Silver:&=
#8195; The amount of t=
he
Given the value to both students an=
d the
larger community of having them spend their summer employment in the
Hon.
Mr.
It is those types of initiatives co= mbined with a very strong and vibrant private sector that are giving our students = the opportunity to return here in the summertime, find employment, find high-pa= ying jobs, and save up for their following school year.
Question re: Literacy pro=
grams
Mr.
Tredger:=
Literacy is of =
critical
importance to our students. For 15 years, the Reading Recovery program has =
been
an important component of
Can the Minister of Education share= his long-term plans for Reading Recovery and ensure the House that the benefits= of Reading Recovery will continue to be available to schools in the coming yea= rs?
Hon.
Mr.
Mr.
Tredger:=
Can the minister assure us that the= present situation is a one-year hiatus and that training will resume the following year, in 2013-14?
Hon.
Mr.
Again, those investments are contin= uing to be made and I look forward to working on a number of different literacy ini= tiatives with our partners in education — the NGOs and the teachers and each individual school — as we move throughout the upcoming year.= p>
Mr.
Tredger:=
In order to ens=
ure the
long-term viability of Reading Recovery, we need planning and we need train=
ing.
The Reading Recovery program relies heavily on the training of Reading Reco=
very
teachers. This initial training is very intensive. It is most feasible that
this occurs in the
Trained teacher-leaders are a criti= cal component of this system. These teachers must travel Outside and receive in= tensive training for one year. They then return to train teachers locally. Next year would be an ideal time to train a new teacher-leader.
Will the minister share with
Hon.
Mr. Kent: Mr. Speaker, again, I have witnesse=
d,
first-hand, the value of Reading Recovery on the number of school visits th=
at I
have been able to take prior to the spring sitting of the Legislature. When=
it
comes to literacy initiatives, the support that this government gives to a
number of literary initiatives is very well-documented. Again, I will reite=
rate
the support for the Yukon Literacy Coalition’s Family Literacy Centre
located at the Canada Games Centre. A significant investment is made by the
Minister of Community Services in libraries around the Yukon
Question re: McIntyre Cre=
ek
protection
Ms.
White:=
8195; Mr. Speaker, th=
e photo
essay about McIntyre Creek that ran in the Yukon News recently remin=
ds
us that some things are invaluable. Some of the lands in the public trust a=
re indeed
priceless. We carry childhood memories for a lifetime. I remember each and
every frog I caught and released in McIntyre Creek. Even before I knew there
was such a thing as experiential education, I learned much from hours and d=
ays
spent playing in those wetlands right in the heart of our city, free and
accessible to all people. It is hard to imagine a better, more accessible
location for experiential learning than the vibrant ecosystem of McIntyre
Creek; be it for biological sciences, arts or year-round physical education=
, it
is one of the best classrooms imaginable.
Mr. Speaker, does the government re= cognize the value of McIntyre Creek for experiential learning?
Hon.
Mr. Kent: There are a number of experiential
learning initiatives that are undertaken throughout the Yukon, of course,
including the recently concluded bison hunt, as well as the bridge-building
competition that was held recently at Porter Creek Secondary. So there are a
number of experiential learning initiatives: the Old Crow initiative and th=
e
Ms. White:= 8195; That was a good reference of not including McIntyre Creek.
Good development requires a long-ra=
nge
vision and plans that meaningfully address conflicting values and land use =
demands.
The City of
Does this government recognize the educational, recreational and environmental value McIntyre Creek brings to = our “Larger Than Life” wilderness city?
Hon.
Mr.
So, there’s a tremendous amou=
nt of
experiential learning that can take place throughout Lake
Ms.
White:=
8195; There is no den=
ying
that the City of
Will the government use its influen= ce as the primary landholder to engage with the city and other stakeholders to en= sure educational, recreational and environmental values are considered in the planning for the future of McIntyre Creek?
Hon. Ms. Taylor: I want to thank the member opposite= for raising this important question.
As the member opposite has just all=
uded,
the Government of Yukon has had a long-standing land development protocol in
place with the City of
The City of
When it comes to respective land
designations, that is also by the official community plan for the City of <=
/span>
Speaker: Time for Question Period has now elapsed. We will proceed to = Orders of the Day.
ORDERS OF THE DAY
Hon. Mr. Cathers: I move that the Speaker do now leav= e the Chair and that the House resolve into the Committee of the Whole.
Speaker: It has been moved by the Government House Leader that the Spe= aker do now leave the Chair and that the House resolve into Committee of the Who= le.
Motion agreed to
Speaker leaves the Chair
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE=
Chair (Ms. McLeod)= : Order. The Committee of the Whole will now come to order. The matter before the Committee is Bill No. 6, First Appropriation Act, 2012= -13. We are going to continue general debate on Vote 52, Department of Environme= nt.
Do members with to take a brief rec= ess?
All Hon. Members: Agreed.
Chair: Committee of the Whole will recess for 15 minutes.
Recess
Chair: Order. Committee of the Whole will now come to order. =
Bill No. 6: First Appropriati=
on Act,
2012-13 — continued
Department
of Environment — continued
Chair: The matter before the Committee is Bill No. 6, First Appropriation Act, 2012-13. Today we are going to continue with general debate on Vote 52, Department of Environment. The Hon. Mr. Dixon has the fl= oor, with 15 minutes and three seconds remaining.
Hon. Mr. Dixon: Thank you very much, Madam Chair. W= hen we ended last week, we were going through some of the initiatives that are bei= ng outlined for this year through our 2012-13 budget. So I wanted to take the chance to highlight some of those again for members opposite, in anticipati= on of additional questions that I’m sure we’ll receive throughout = today from both parties opposite.
In terms of the Fish and Wildlife b=
ranch, I
wanted to highlight that this will be the first year of the new, coordinate=
d approach
to establishing base inventories and assessing possible cumulative effects =
of
the recent mineral exploration and development work on Yukon
The actions needed to obtain the cu=
mulative
assessments are strongly supported by affected First Nations, as well as the
agencies responsible for environmental assessment and land disposition
requests. These agencies use the environmental assessment process on a
project-by-project basis. We now require plans, data collection programs and
policies to understand the cumulative effects on regions undergoing increas=
ed
industrial activity.
I recall last week we touched on so= me areas in the Member for Mayo-Tatchun’s riding specifically, as well as a nu= mber of other ones. This new coordinated initiative will utilize resources of the department’s Fish and Wildlife, Water Resources and Environmental Programs branches.
One of the largest areas to look at=
is the
White Gold district, as we discussed last week, where the Water Resources
branch will be installing two new water-monitoring stations. This will help=
us
collect baseline data on existing industrial impacts on waterways, so that =
we
can anticipate the impact of this new activity. As I said, the Fish and
Wildlife branch will carry out a moose survey through the western lower
We will also be sharing the results=
of
those surveys with the respective RRCs, which are the Mayo Renewable Resour=
ce
Council and the Selkirk Renewable Resource Council. Also, we will undertake=
a
ground survey of a small population of Dall sheep in the
At this point, little is known abou= t these sheep in particular, how they move along the rivers. Given their small size= and relative isolation, these groups may be at greater risk of disturbance. As we’ve discussed, baseline information about group size, group connectivity, and movement routes is needed and could be used to mitigate potential impacts of development on these sheep.
There was, in fact, a relatively
comprehensive sheep population and habitat study in the late 1980s, and res=
ults
of an aerial survey in 2007 suggested that the habitat selection by the she=
ep
will help us determine what has to be done to avoid impacts by mining activ=
ity.
The
Two other survey projects not conne=
cted to
the cumulative effects initiatives are in anticipation of more traffic on t=
he
The goat survey will be available f=
or
industry and resource managers to evaluate the potential effects of develop=
ment
on goats in that area.
Another issue that I wanted to high=
light
— and it was discussed a bit last week — is the development of =
our
water strategy. As I said, water is a significant issue and a high priority
within the
It is our hope, of course, that the=
water
strategy will provide long-term direction for economically and environmenta=
lly
responsible development, management and use of water in
That of course will also inform our=
water
strategy. The water charter’s goals are to reduce consumption, increa=
se
efficiency, protect water quality and adapt to the effects of climate chang=
e on
water. I should also say that we are very proud that two years of research,
discussions and web development has resulted in the www.yukonwater website, which I do enjo=
y highlighting
for members. I think it’s a great resource and I encourage members to
visit that site and review the extensive data that is available on it. It h=
as
been up and running during this past fiscal year. It’s a single-source
web portal that helps individuals, industry, governments, non-governmental
organizations and regulatory agencies get the information they need on ever=
ything
to do with water in the
Another important initiative in our= budget for this year is the investment we are making in our conservation officers = in the territory. Of course, these folks are the ones who deal with wildlife i= ssues and the issues of hunters and those out using the land on a day-to-day basi= s, on a first-hand, on-the-ground basis. So we have a lot of respect for what = they do and a lot of faith in their ability to act in the public’s interest when it comes to wildlife and managing wildlife.
We are, as I mentioned before, staf=
fing one
new conservation officer position in Carmacks as of last year, in response =
to
requests from area residents. This year, we will be adding another half-time
field position to the branch to increase our field presence and meet growing
demands for our services. Of course, as I’ve noted, the largest capit=
al
budget this year is the planning and design for the new Watson
When we invest in our buildings like
we’re doing here, not only are we improving the ability of our staff =
to
do the good work they need to do, but it improves our ability to recruit new
staff. Staffing in communities is always an issue — finding folks who=
are
either in the community already, or are willing to move to a community to
perform these important services. So I anticipate that having a new building
that doesn’t leak and actually has air conditioning in the summer will
help us recruit staff to
The new building, when completed in 2013-14, will house two conservation officers, as well as the offices for t= he Fish and Wildlife branch, regional biologists, as well as the seasonal Parks branch staff. So we try to get as much usage out of this facility as we can= by sharing among the different branches of the Department of Environment.
We are also implementing a successi= on planning initiative for our First Nations conservation liaison officer, and we’ll be recruiting for a three-year term First Nations liaison train= ing position in the branch for this year.
We’ll be looking at two new I=
nternet-based
services that are being developed by the Conservation Officer Services bran=
ch.
The first is a pilot project to help
Within the Parks branch, the popula=
rity of
We are working on introducing, on a=
pilot
basis, an on-line registration system for people who want to book their bac=
kcountry
We are considering in 2012 — =
also on
a pilot basis — offering two group camping sites at the
I wanted to also reiterate the very
positive, back-and-forth conversation we had last week with, I believe, the
Member for Riverdale South, about the need for improving existing campsites=
, as
well as expanding them and identifying potential new sites. I think somethi=
ng
Yukoners will be happy to hear is that work is underway in this field. As m=
ore
and more people come to the
As I was saying, the existing parks= — while there are some in the Whitehorse area which are extremely well-used, there are parks throughout the territory that actually see relatively little usage. So those are areas where we could reconsider the resources we devote= to them, in light of the need to divert resources to the potential of new campgrounds or expanded, existing campgrounds.
When we closed off discussion on Th=
ursday,
I believe we were discussing the
Ms.
Hanson:&=
#8195; I thank the min=
ister
for his comments. I would like to just raise a couple of questions based on=
the
debate last week — it caught my attention on three areas that I’=
;ll
focus on this afternoon.
In the reply to questions from the = Member for Takhini-Kopper King with respect to amendments and requirements to revi= se or review the Yukon Environment Act, the minister acknowledged that there are some inconsistencies and/or outdated provisions that make it difficult for the Department of Environment — I’m quoting here — “to continue to operate appropriately.” He then goes on= to say that there really were no plans with respect to changes or amendments to that legislation. I would ask the minister for clarification. I am really hoping that he can help to “square the circle” on this one, bec= ause it doesn’t jive with the comments made by this government at all in p= ast debates.
When we were in debate on the Envir=
onment
department last year, the minister’s predecessor indicated that the d=
epartment
is aware of the need to update the Environment Act. In March 2009, t=
he
Department of Environment commissioned a third party evaluation of the act.=
The
report looked specifically at the impact of legislative and administrative
changes and how these — since 1992 — and how these have affected
the Environment Act. It is clear that the Environment Act
requires updating to reflect the results of devolution and the passing of t=
he
My question for the minister is thi= s: Has that workplan now been completed, and is it available for review? What is t= he timeline for that review?
Hon. Mr. Dixon: As I said last week, we are aware t= hat there are a number of provisions in the Environment Act that are a b= it dated. They don’t reflect, in some cases, the final agreements, devolution, the YESAA act referenced by the member opposite. So there are, indeed, challenges, but I think this actually came up today in Question Per= iod, where government is required, of course, to base its decision on which legi= slation to modernize and which legislation to amend, based on a number of important= inputs. Those, of course, include priorities raised by the government in its platfo= rm, as well as recommendations made by the department.
I would anticipate that an Envir=
onment
Act based on — how do I put this? — how outdated it is, I
suppose, is something that we would be looking at over the next several yea=
rs
as something that we should consider revising. But, of course, as we noted
before, this territory is chock full of old pieces of legislation, some dat=
ing
back over 100 years. Of course, all of those need to be, at some point, con=
sidered
by government. I’d say that we would consider the Environment Act<=
/i>
among all of our other pieces of legislation. I would say that it is someth=
ing
that I think we would be looking at doing in the next several years.
Ms. Hanson:&= #8195; So, I take it f= rom that answer, then, that we are not going to get a copy of the workplan that was drafted and money expended for a third party to actually do that evaluation= and determine the key actions that should be taken to move forward on a legisla= tive initiative around the Environment Act — that that’s not going to be done.
I’ll move to the species at r= isk then, in response to questions last week and discussion on this matter R= 12; essentially, the upshot of which being that the minister indicated that this was something that has sort of gone on the back burner, notwithstanding that there may be an issue — we’ll rely on federal legislation.
The previous minister — this =
is why
I’m raising this because this is the same government that has been in
place for the last almost 10 years, and so these issues didn’t just
appear overnight.
The departmental audit has noted th=
ese
shortcomings and to inconsistencies with respect to the legislation and mov=
ement
on them. So at that time, when the review was done in 2007, there was a
discussion and the department indicated it expected that the proposed legis=
lation
will be redrafted over the coming year. There was, as the minister indicate=
d, a
series of consultations. Prior to this one here, the minister indicated that
“The Yukon government” — this is last year — “=
;is
committed to finalizing the
“Environment
I guess my question to the minister= is this: Really, what will it take to actually get some movement to take the product of those extensive consultations and move forward as the previous Y= ukon Party minister talked about in terms of the importance of this act to maint= ain and enhance Yukon’s natural environment for present and future generations that is an objective of this minister? He has the responsibilit= y to tell this House how he will achieve that.
Hon.
Mr. Dixon: I would remind the member opposite =
that
nine other of my colleagues and I were elected for the first time, at least
this time around, in November of last year. I’m not going to comment =
on
what a previous minister said or didn’t say, but I would say that the=
re
are a number of mechanisms for identifying and managing species at risk in =
There is the Convention on Internat=
ional
Trade in Endangered Species — CITIES — that governs the
cross-border movement of animal parts from species of international concern,
and of course there is the Yukon Wildlife Act, which lists several s=
pecies
as specially protected.
In response to the member opposite&=
#8217;s
question, I would say that we believe that there are sufficient legislative=
and
permitting provisions that collectively can address concerns related to spe=
cies
at risk in Yukon. As I noted to the member’s colleague last week, the=
re
are a number of jurisdictions that have species at risk legislation, and th=
ere
have been a number of developments and changes across
Given these considerations, the
With regard to moving forward with = the potential of a species at risk act, it is something that we have obviously considered numerous times over the years, but it is something that, for the reasons I just listed, we are not considering moving forward on immediately= . We want to ensure that we learn from the experiences of other jurisdictions th= at have undertaken these sorts of processes of developing legislation and have= now gone back and revisited those pieces of legislation. We want to take a step back; we understand through our contact with the federal government that th= ere is the possibility that the federal government might be considering their o= wn legislation. That is something we would also want to keep a close eye on in order to determine what plans they have to amend their own legislation. I t= hink that that addresses the issues raised by the member opposite.
Ms.
Hanson:&=
#8195; I guess, given =
that
response, I should perhaps be hopeful that the minister opposite doesn̵=
7;t
engage in any major review of the Environment Act. I would be concer=
ned
at that stage, because the current preamble to this act talks about his
responsibility as minister. It talks about recognizing that the resources of
the
It also goes on to talk about the
Government of Yukon as a trustee of the public trust. It is responsible for=
the
collective interests of the people of the
We will continue to raise the impor= tance of the issues of the objectives of the Environment Act. It had brilliant foresight when it was drafted — as a result of much consultation with Yukoners. The importance of species at risk legislation has been documented, and the failure to deliver on this by this government over the last number = of years.
I want to come back to an important
element. I will be asking the minister for clarification. In the give and t=
ake
of the conversations, we sometimes don’t quite get out what we intend=
ed
to. So in response to a question with respect to the Yukon Council on the
Economy and the Environment, the minister spoke about that and said, “=
;In
many ways, the realities of devolution and the establishment of YESAA have
really taken over the responsibility of the assessment process for projects=
in
the
The purpose of the Council on the E=
conomy
and the Environment under the legislation is to encourage sustainable devel=
opment
in the
Last year, on February 9, members o=
f the 32nd
Legislative Assembly had the privilege to receive the Governor General in t=
his
House. It truly was a privilege when the Governor General, The Rt. Hon. Dav=
id
Johnston, addressed this Legislative Assembly and spoke from the
Speaker’s Chair. He remarked, in his opening comments, that it was so
good to be back in the
He was part of the movement to get
sustainable development placed in all federal legislation. That’s why=
we
had and have in our environment legislation a Yukon Council on the Economy =
and
the Environment. The Governor General said — and this is kind of a sad
irony — and I quote: “The concept of sustainable development, i=
n a
sense, had its birth right here in
I guess my question is this: What h=
as
happened since? We have a federal government in
We already heard last week and agai=
n today
that the minister has no specific timelines regarding the Environment Ac=
t
or species at risk.
He said that the Environment Act= is, in many places, outdated and he basically said — I think a misunderstanding of what the Yukon Council on the Economy and Environment w= as intended to do. I get the impression that he believes it’s outdated too. So my= question: Does he feel sustainable development is outdated?
Hon.
Mr. Dixon: There were a number of issues the m=
ember
opposite raised here. The first and most unfortunate one is the lack of, I
think, respect for a very important species in the
To respond to a number of her other
comments about species that can’t speak for themselves, I am not awar=
e of
any animals in
In response to her comments about t=
he
council mentioned in the act — many bodies established through the la=
nd
claims process advise government on environmental management. Those include
renewable resource councils, the Fish and Wildlife Management Board and a
number of other bodies like that. Since becoming minister, I have made a po=
int
of trying to develop a very positive relationship with the Fish and Wildlife
Management Board. I look forward to visiting communities throughout the
When it comes to sustainable develo=
pment
— actually, this is not an issue really for the Department of
Environment; it’s in the Department of Economic Development. That
department supports the growth of an economy that will provide for Yukoners=
today
and tomorrow. Sustainable economic development is a concept used by the
department at both the strategic and operational levels. This includes work=
ing
with our partners, both internal and external, to achieve the best outcomes=
for
As well, from the department’s strategic plan, I’ll quote: “Sustainable diversification of the economy will require capturing external wealth, in large part through increasing the numbers of strategic projects and activities. This wealth wi= ll come from diverse sources, including mining, tourism, research and innovati= on and the film and sound industries.” So we see sustainable development infused in departmental planning documents in the Department of Economic De= velopment. I don’t want to spend too much time on this, because I’m sure m= embers opposite have legitimate Department of Environment questions that they would like to get to.
I would conclude by saying that of = course sustainable development, sustainable economic development, is something tha= t we consider very significantly on this side of the House. It’s infused in our planning documents in the Department of Economic Development, and it is something that we take very seriously. Thank you.
Ms.
Hanson:&=
#8195; Madam Chair, the
question was to the Minister of Environment. He has now just demonstrated t=
hat
he does not understand that the Environment Act speaks to sustainable
development and his obligations and responsibilities for sustainable
development. There is a definition of “sustainable development”=
in
the Environment Act. I would urge the minister to be familiar with h=
is
portfolio. We are speaking today on Environment.
“Sustainable development̶= 1; means development that meets present needs without compromising the ability to me= et the needs of future generations. That’s why we need a robust Envir= onment Act; that’s why we need a minister who champions the balance of sustainable development — the challenge of the balance that is requir= ed. That’s why the Yukon Council on the Economy and Environment — t= he objectives that I read into the record — was established in 1991, Mad= am Chair. So it’s unfortunate the minister doesn’t take this role seriously. It is very, very important. It’s important under the legislation as it stands today, and he is obliged to uphold this law in its entirety. He is accountable to this Legislative Assembly for this piece of legislation and its implementation in all aspects. So, as the Official Opposition, we will look to the minister to demonstrate that he actually seriously is cognizant of his obligations and responsibilities. We will work with him to help him understand them more clearly. With that, Madam Chair, = I am disappointed in the responses we got today, because it really kind of shock= ed me. But we will move forward.
I believe the interim Leader of the= Third Party has a number of general questions before we move to line-by-line deba= te.
Hon.
Mr. Dixon: I just want to reiterate my disappo=
intment
in the member opposite for the concern for the little brown bat.
Mr. Elias:= 8195; I would just like to begin by saying today that I have been listening to the debate over the last couple of days. I apologize to the minister and his staff if I am a little bit repetitious — sorry ̵= 2; today on Vote 52, the Department of Environment general debate. It is also = once again a pleasure to engage the minister on such an important topic. I do ha= ve a number of questions that I hope were not asked in the last couple of days.<= /span>
I was going to save this one, but I= will just get right into it. We are only one-tenth of the way through a billion dollar-plus budget that I believe we have actually cleared the lines for. I think we only have about 10 actual sitting days left, so I will try to be as expeditious as I can.
I will begin on the topic of the modernization of the Environment Act. I will take this from a little different perspective. I will start with the Yukon Party platform. <= /p>
It has been a platform of the Yukon=
Party
government — I believe it said “pristine environment”. Wh=
en
something like that is put forward to Yukoners, I think it is very importan=
t to
start to let Yukoners know that, yes, there are issues with the Environm=
ent
Act and the fish and wildlife acts — and the multitude of
regulations, I might add — that are outdated and need to be modernize=
d in
today’s world of self-governing First Nations, devolution, the various
final agreements and dealing with changing times, because if someone out th=
ere
gets a ticket for fishing with the wrong lure or something under the Env=
ironment
Act or the fish and wildlife acts, and the law is being followed by any
person in those pieces of legislation, it breeds contempt for the law when =
the
government doesn’t follow its own legislation in crossing the t’=
;s
and dotting the i’s. I think that in reviewing these types of legisla=
tion
and making solid pieces of legislation to bring it up to today’s times
should be a priority.
I think that Yukoners expect the mi= nister to champion the priority of renewing the Environment Act and the = Wildlife Act and the associated regulations at the Cabinet table, and letting Yukoners know more definitively that, yes, within the mandate, this will get done as a priority for legislative consultation. Some of those clauses with= in the Environment Act are becoming relic clauses and need to be addres= sed.
I think that there is an opportunit=
y here
for a new minister who just got elected to champion these issues and to let=
Yukoners
know that he is championing them. In section 47 of the Environment Act,<=
/i>
it does not say “the Government of the
I will go back to the Umbrella F=
inal
Agreement — if the expectations are for the other parties, federal
government, Yukon First Nations, renewable resources councils, Yukon Fish a=
nd
Wildlife Management Board, when it says “shall” in that agreeme=
nt,
the expectations are exponentially higher that they are going to fulfill th=
at
obligation.
I think the same holds true for ter= ritorial legislation. So I think this is something that can be a shining light for t= he minister. I encourage him to provide more of a definitive answer to Yukoners with regard to the modernization of this type of legislation. I don’t= see anything but a win-win situation here. More of a definitive answer with reg= ard to that would go a long, long way.
I’ll leave that alone. I have=
some
questions with regard to the minister’s responsibilities under the =
span>
I think those are important, and if= we find a way to categorize that, it’s going to bode well for the efficiency = of the renewable resources councils and the Yukon Fish and Wildlife Management Board and the Yukon Salmon Sub-Committee in the future.
I’ve said this before and I= 8217;ll say it again: over the years that I have watched the operations and directi= on of especially the renewal resources councils, they are being rendered ineff= ective, not because of the inner workings of the individual renewable resources councils, but it’s just the way that the governance structure is being implemented. If we are going to strengthen the claims agreements and our responsibilities as a public government in those, I think these kinds of statistics are going to go well, because this agreement is not going away a= ny time soon. That’s a couple of questions.
I do have some species at risk ques=
tions.
I’ll just go ahead and say anyway — the little brown bat. How d=
o I
take an angle on this? Maybe I’ll just ask a general question: If the
minister is able to provide useful and current information to COSEWIC fairly
quickly, and hasn’t reported to Yukoners through his obligations under
section 47 of the Environment Act for reporting on the Yukon state of
the environment report — I believe it was four years ago since
we’ve actually had one. Can the minister provide an update with regar=
d to
the status of species at risk in the
But there is also the northern long=
-eared
bat. There are some plants, some birds, the barn swallow, the Canadian warb=
ler,
the common nighthawk, the olive-sided flycatcher and the red knot. Some wood
bison reporting could happen. I understand there are a lot of unknowns with
regard to our wood bison population. There’s the woodland caribou =
212;
the boreal population. If the minister could update Yukoners with specifica=
lly
the endangered species at risk in the
Hon. Mr. Dixon: I’ll start with the question = about the statistics on the recommendations from the various boards. I don’t have that here. Those recommendations were made, starting about the mid-199= 0s. It would require some significant time and effort put in by staff to collect that data. If the member wanted to perhaps write me a letter or something l= ike that and initiate a case work, we can get staff to develop that body of statistics for him. That would be possible; I certainly don’t have it here in the House today, though, unfortunately.
With regard to the species at risk
question, it sounds like he is looking for a list, I guess, which I believe=
he
noted was on-line.
Allow me to correct myself — the two species of bats oc=
curring
in
In terms of the importance of bats,=
of
course bats are an important component of North America
In terms of others species at risk,= there is a quite list on which that the Department of Environment works with its = federal counterparts. As I said, they do include the little brown bat and the north= ern long-eared bat, but also a number of plants, birds, mammals, fish and amphibians. I won’t list them all here, but they are available on-lin= e.
So the statistics and the species a= t risk — I think I’ve covered the bases there, Madam Chair.
Mr.
Elias:=
8195; I’ll move forward. I thank the minister for the respons=
e.
This was also touched on over the last couple of days in the debate, but I
think it can go into a little bit greater depth about the species management
plan for canis lupus, the wolf conservation and management plan review. Last
year during this time, there was a committee struck and over a period of fo=
ur
months they conducted community meetings throughout the territory with rega=
rd
to the wolf management plan, to renew the Yukon Wolf Conservation and
Management Plan that was dated August 31, 1992 and to receive recommend=
ations
that were made to the Yukon Fish and Wildlife Management Board and to the
minister himself.
Can the minister give a progress re= port as to what stage the Yukon Wolf Conservation and Management Plan is in = the territory? That’s one question.
In the community discussions there =
seems to
be some discrepancy between what the Department of Environment feels the
population of wolves is in the territory compared to the various communities
throughout the
I haven’t seen a status repor= t on the development of the Yukon Wolf Conservation and Management Plan review process. If the minister could provide the House with an update on that, it would be great.
Hon. Mr. Dixon: I would be happy to provide an upda= te for the member opposite. As he mentioned, we have been reviewing the 1992 plan = and updating it and working with the Fish and Wildlife Management Board to do s= o. The Fish and Wildlife Management Board has really put in a considerable amo= unt of time and effort. Several of the members have spent a lot of time and res= ources on it. It is something that has been a very collaborative process between government and the Yukon Fish and Wildlife Management Board.
It is our view that the process fol= lowed by Environment Yukon and the Fish and Wildlife Management Board, for both the = review of the 1992 plan and the development of the 2011 plan, respects the final agreements and the roles and authorities for public management of the non-subsistence species of territorial interest.
The joint review committee, which h= ad representation from the Fish and Wildlife Management Board, as well as the Government of Yukon, identified and communicated numerous opportunities for First Nation engagement, participation and input throughout the planning process that began in February 2011, including a workshop, community meetin= gs, an extension to further support First Nation participation in the plan revi= ew in September 2011, and a further consultation period in January and February 2012.
Also, as a result of this, or a kin= d of a side effect of it, a First Nation land and resource directors forum has been established, which I think will be an effective forum for Environment Yukon staff to address future management planning processes, including First Nati= on engagement. It is just a chance for the technical staff of First Nations and Environment Yukon to touch base on a number of issues.
The current status of the plan, I w=
ould
say, is at its penultimate stage. It is very close to being completed. The
collaborative working relationship between the board — advanced public
management interests on species of territorial interest — and is simi=
lar
to the existing collaboration with the board in addressing public input on =
any
proposed amendments to Yukon’s Wildlife Act regulations.
To address the member’s point= about local concerns perhaps being different or diverging from the understanding = that Environment Yukon might have — one of the components of the plan is to provide additional scope and ability for local renewable resources councils= to provide additional input into things like harvest management and issues like that, where they have the local knowledge and the local understanding of th= eir own populations in their own areas — their own traditional territorie= s, which I think is incredibly important — making sure that the folks on= the ground dealing with, in this case, wolves, on a day-to-day basis. In some cases, communities interact with wolves probably more than they’d like to. So we want to make sure that we provide opportunity to listen to those folks and take their input very seriously.
So I hope that answers the member=
8217;s
question. To reiterate, the plan is at its penultimate stage and will be co=
mpleted
very soon, I imagine. Thank you.
Mr. Elias:= 8195; I appreciate the comments from the minister. Again, I’l= l move on. Something else does come to mind when the minister asks me to write a letter with regard to the statistics about the recommendations from the renewable resource councils and the Yukon Fish and Wildlife Management Board and the Yukon Salmon Sub-Committee. With his responsibilities under the Umbrella Final Agreement, if it= 217;s going to take significant time and effort, we have to start somewhere, beca= use I do see value in these types of statistics as they develop over time. So, consider the debate on the floor of the House today a request to develop th= ese, because it also says in chapter 16 of the Umbrella Final Agreement that the minister provide written reasons. Those are al= so of historical value. So, if we can begin to develop this type of — I = see it as a table — decisions that are made, whether the minister under h= is responsibilities may accept, set aside or replace the recommendations, or b= ury the recommendations within the responsibilities under chapter 16. They could become very valuable in the years to come.
I’ll move forward. The winter=
tick
issue still comes up in my travels throughout the territory with people ask=
ing
if there is an update with regard to this. Have there been any hides submit=
ted
to the Department of Environment that are infested with the winter tick? I
would assume that the department would immediately publicize this and deal =
with
this if that is so or if that were found to be true. I don’t want to =
be
an alarmist, but this winter tick in the south has decimated ungulate
populations because of their emaciation — where their hair falls out,=
anyway.
We don’t want this to happen to our ungulate populations here in the
territory. I know there has been some management effort from the department
over the years, treating elk populations throughout southern
So if the minister can give me a qu= ick update on the management efforts and some of the data with regard to this n= asty little tick, then it would great for Yukoners to get updated on whether or = not the Department of Environment is aware of any wildlife species — whet= her they be moose or caribou, all of the harvested ungulates in the territory — has the winter tick been noticed on their hides?
Hon. Mr. Dixon: To respond to that question, the De= partment of Environment continues to monitor hides; they have since 2007. There have= not been any infested hides; there have been a very, very small number of ticks found. The threshold that they typically go with is 50,000 ticks on a hide would be a level of concern and the numbers that they have seen, in the very few cases they have seen any, have been very small, single- and double-digi= ts — it is very small. Not a number that is of concern.
To respond to the member opposite=
8217;s
request for that information, it is available on our website. So there is
information about winter tick surveys and monitoring available on-line. I t=
hink
that’s it.
Mr. Elias:= 8195; The Department of Environment has a huge and expensive websit= e and navigating through it to find a specific answer is sometimes time-consuming= and difficult. I thank the minister for providing those answers.
With regard to the species of bison=
and
elk, this is a question from the general public. They’ve been on the
introduced species legislation in the territory for quite some time now. The
question that was posed to me and I couldn’t answer was, is there a p=
oint
in time when the introduced species are no longer considered introduced and
that they fall under the laws of general application like native species
wildlife? If not, why not? Are they going to stay on the introduced species
list forever? The main concern is with regard to wood bison and what some
consider the obvious difference in population estimates with regard to the
general public and hunters and the Department of Environment.
I think there was a solution presen= ted: why don’t we put these two species off the introduced list and on the law= s of general application list in order for Yukoners to access the harvesting pri= vileges as they were a native population?
Another question that I have been m=
ade
aware of is with regard to the regional biologist in the Kluane region. I u=
nderstand
that the position is vacant. I looked through the budget and there
doesn’t seem to be any FTE cuts with regard to that. So the regional
biologist position is, as I understand, vacant. I am just wondering if that=
was
a cut. What precipitated that vacancy in what I consider to be a very impor=
tant
position? Hopefully, this wasn’t a resource management directive, a
budget cut or a centralization of the resources in
Hon. Mr. Dixon: I will respond quickly to the last question raised. It is a personnel issue that I won’t be commenting o= n further. My understanding is that an individual resigned and that the position will = be staffed as soon as possible. Other than that, the details are something I don’t get into when it comes to personnel matters.
When it comes to the introduced spe=
cies, I
would say that there are no plans to move them out of their existing
legislative classification. They are introduced species as defined by the l=
and
claim agreement as a transplanted population. To change that could potentia=
lly
require revisiting the land claims agreements, which is something that we
won’t be considering immediately. We do manage both those populations
under their existing management plans and, as it currently stands, they are=
not
considered subsistence species under the First Nation land claims. Removing
them from introduced species and introducing them as some other classificat=
ion
would require the consideration of land claims, as well, so there are some
challenges associated with that.
I would say that there are no plans currently to remove bison or elk from the introduced species legislation and transfer them to another type of legislation.
Mr. Elias:= 8195; I thank the minister for his response, because when Yukoners = come to me to ask the Environment minister a question, it’s good to hear s= ome answers.
Now, just over to special managemen= t areas within the territory and the management plans that encompass them — I believe we have — I lost count. The basic question is with regard to = the special management areas under the land claim: Are there any special manage= ment areas being negotiated in the territory? If so, is there a timeline for the= m to be announced, and where in the territory are they?
Hon.
Mr. Dixon: All of the SMAs we have currently a=
re
identified in the land claims. They’re identified in each specific la=
nd
claim. There are no active negotiations ongoing for others. However, additi=
onal
protected areas can be identified through the regional land use planning
process, as was done in north
Mr.
Elias:=
8195; I guess the same question holds true for habitat protection a=
reas
or — well, I guess I won’t assume that. I’ll ask it. There
are a number of habitat protection areas throughout the
Hon.
Mr. Dixon: I think the member is talking about
management plans for special management areas, rather than special manageme=
nt
areas themselves. The special management areas themselves are identified in=
the
land claim. When it comes to management planning, there is some work underg=
oing
with First Nations, as it is in terms of developing those plans.
He asked specifically about the Kus=
awa
management planning, and I’ll say that we are working with the affect=
ed
First Nations about what their role in park management will be. Discussions=
are
nearing completion regarding a management committee that will help oversee =
the
implementation of the park management plan. Park planning for both Kusawa a=
nd
Agay Mene will be able to resume in the near future, when the terms of
reference are finalized. Similar committees are already established for
Mr. Elias: I’ll start with a species-specific
question here, and it regards the caribou population within the territory. =
The
last time I believe we had this discussion, there was some ongoing manageme=
nt
with the Chisana caribou herd and a lot of work has to be done. I believe
they’re on the special concern list as well, if my memory serves me
correctly. Can the minister give a brief update on the status of population=
estimates?
I believe there are 17 caribou herds throughout the territory — if
they’re stable; if they’re in decline; if they’re on the
increase. What is the status of the caribou herds that we have that use the=
Hon. Mr. Dixon: With regard to the specific herds, I don’t have the specific numbers on the Chisana herd itself, but I can report to the member that we understand the population to be stable. As he knows very well, the Porcupine caribou herd has surprised many with the num= ber we saw as a result of the aerial survey. If he would like more detailed rep= orts on population in terms of specifics, I don’t have those here today, b= ut I could certainly get back to him with the details.
Mr. Elias:= 8195; Hence the need for the state of the environment report. It wo= uld be good to have those kinds of numbers to see whether or not the charismatic megaphone that we have throughout the territory is in good shape — not necessarily just around high interest areas for resource extraction. I have= n’t seen those numbers for a long, long time. It would be important for Yukoner= s to understand the state of the species.
The next topic is about our norther=
n
There is a saying emanating from th=
at: If
we drill in the
I have not heard any updates about =
the
spill-response capabilities of our territory or if we are going to be
participating at all. This could largely be a federal issue, but I still th=
ink
that we have a role to play in representing our citizenry here in the
territory. There is a whole slew of questions around this — the
socio-economic impacts, the increase of tankers that are going to be enteri=
ng
our shallow waters.
I got a call this spring asking if =
we have
any responsibility of protecting the beluga whale shallows where they give
birth on the
The last time I got up — is t=
hat we
do, because we have
Chair: Before the member speaks, would the members like a short brea= k?
All
Hon. Members: Agreed.
Chair: Committee of the Whole will recess for 10 minutes.
Recess
Chair: Order. Committee of the Whole will now come to order. Mr. Dix= on has the floor.
Hon.
Mr. Dixon: We were discussing the
Some Hon. Member: (Inaudible)
Hon.
Mr. Dixon: I stand corrected =
8212;
a humpback. There is some role for the
I had a chance to learn a little bi=
t about
that through the PNWER forum, which does consider the topic of spill respon=
se
of oil and gas under the auspices of Economic Development. I had a chance to
receive an update from — I can’t remember the gentleman’s
name or title, but he was with the Coast Guard in
The marine protected animals are al= so under federal jurisdiction, so we don’t have a management role with those p= opulations. I think that covers the ground, in terms of the questions raised by the mem= ber opposite.
Mr.
Elias:=
8195; I believe my next question has been addressed on the floor of=
the
House today. There is another angle I would like to ask the minister about.
It’s about the audit last year — I believe it was maybe late 20=
10
— with regard to the report on the
It laid out a bunch of recommendati= ons with regard to a number of areas: the state of the environment report; the chang= ing of the actual legislation; policy review; Energy, Mines and Resources formalizing a risk-based approach; monitoring and issuing of permits; demonstrating that conservation is part of the purchasing policies; and the= list goes on and on. I’m sorry, again, if I’m making the minister be repetitive here, but could he give an update to the House with regard to how his department is responding to the 2010 audit? I haven’t heard an up= date in some time with regard to where he’s at with this.
Hon. Mr. Dixon: I would say, in terms of the progre= ss that has been made since that, a number of changes and progress have been m= ade on the recommendations. I point to the budgetary practices around environme= ntal liabilities. It’s something that we addressed and continue to address going forward in terms of how we budget those liabilities both at the stage before they’ve been assessed and after they’ve been assessed. U= sing some finance terms, ensuring we book the liability appropriately was someth= ing that was raised. That’s something we’ve addressed since then, a= s a result. There is a whole suite of issues on which we’ve made progress= as a result. I’m not sure of the specifics on which ones the member oppo= site’s interested in. But one of the things that has been discussed in this House today already and has been discussed previously is some of the legislative issues with the current act. Those would be issues we would consider in a r= eview of the act, which we have discussed at length today.
Mr.
Elias:=
8195; It was signed on
In that agreement, there were a lot=
of
commitments that were to be followed by the parties in good faith. In gener=
al,
I would just like to know how the Minister of Environment is participating =
in
good faith and fulfilling the responsibilities and commitments made under t=
he
joint letter of understanding on the Peel watershed regional land use plann=
ing
process. Can he give Yukoners an update on how he is fulfilling those objec=
tives
and principles and fulfilling the time frames, the plan review, consultatio=
n,
and final approval? If the minister can elaborate on how he is assisting and
finding a balance to protect the Peel region, I’m sure Yukoners would=
be
enlightened to hear from their Environment minister on that specific questi=
on.
Hon. Mr. Dixon: <= span style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-CA'> <= /span>With regard to the LOU referenced by the member opposite, there= were a number of timelines and milestone dates set out in that agreement, or in = that letter of understanding, and First Nations themselves have acknowledged the= y won’t be able to meet those dates as a result of the general election that occurr= ed where all members of this House were elected. As a result, when it comes to= the determination of timing for consultation — and the Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources, Mines and Resources would be able to answer that, I am sure, in the departmental debate — but I do know from listening to hi= m in the House that he will have to engage with the senior liaison committee to determine the timelines for consultation and next steps. So any further questions about the process of the regional land use planning or the specif= ic Peel Watershed Regional Land Use Plan I will defer to the Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources.
In terms of the department througho=
ut the
process so far, the Department of Environment has been very involved in pro=
viding
information and data to the commission and sharing it amongst other departm=
ents
in government. As all of my colleagues I am sure will agree, we look forwar=
d to
completing a land use plan for the Peel region and, hopefully, completing t=
hat
process as soon as possible. The end result, of course, should be one that
protects the environment and respects all sectors of the economy.
Mr. Elias:= 8195; I guess I’ll have to wait for the Department of Energy,= Mines and Resources to be called for Committee of the Whole to get into greater detail.
I don’t have many more questi=
ons
until we get into line-by-line, Madam Chair. I just have a couple of specif=
ic
ones about Dall sheep and the new rules that have been established. I belie=
ve
there have been some hunting rule changes in southern
Hon.
Mr. Dixon: I believe I have the information the
member is looking for. In the subzones between
Those recommendations came from departmental staff, based on the scientific data available to them. =
Mr. Elias:= 8195; Okay. I was hoping I was right in my assumption that it was t= hose sheep populations. I have actually flown with a number of pilots over that = area for some years now. Even the airline float plane pilots have shown me the d= isplacement of those sheep populations. They have actually come and gone. We’re talking about hundreds of sheep here that used to exist on the southwest of Fish Lake, but are no longer there in that number. But they do come back periodically, apparently. So I’m just wondering if that was the population we were talking about. There is a lot of new access to those she= ep populations over the years that does make a difference.
I guess my final question is about =
chronic
wasting disease in the territory and the risk it poses to our wildlife. That
will be my last question for today in general debate. I think we have exhau=
sted
a lot of time over the last couple of days.
It would be interesting to go into line-by-line here. Again, I want to thank each and every employee with the Department of Environment for the good work that they do. I encourage the minister to heed opposition members’ recommendations in his new responsibilities as Environment minister. If I can help the minister in any= way to achieve his departmental goals, I would be more than willing. I look for= ward to going into line-by-line, and I appreciate the debate today with the Mini= ster of Environment. I think that’s all I have today, Madam Chair. Thank y= ou.
Hon.
Mr. Dixon: I’ll respond now to the membe=
r opposite’s
question about chronic wasting disease. It’s an issue that is a conce=
rn
for many Yukoners. It has been raised by a number of individuals and
organizations with me before, including the Yukon Fish and Game Association=
.
Chronic wasting disease is spreading
unchecked wherever it occurs in the wild and other areas of
The Yukon Fish and Wildlife Managem= ent Board recommended that government amend the regulation to restrict the impo= rt or possession of cervid parts. To implement the board’s recommendatio= n, Environment Yukon is conducting further consultation as a part of the government’s legal obligations. We are working with our First Nation counterparts to determine how best to do this. In fact, I believe acting or Deputy Chief Danny Cresswell is in my office right now waiting for me to conclude to discuss this very matter.
So, working with the First Nations =
on this
issue, for the member opposite — it’s a very important issue, a=
s I
said.
Also, this is an issue where having=
a
strong chief veterinary officer and a well-supported chief veterinary offic=
er
— which is a program that the government initiated in 2009 under the
comprehensive animal health program — becomes very important. So
it’s good to have that expert advice of someone like a chief veterina=
ry
officer to provide that information. As I said, we’re currently
conducting some consultations with the First Nation to decide how to reduce=
the
risk of introducing CWD to
Chair: Is there any further general debate? We’re going to mov= e into line-by-line examination in the Department of Environment, Vote 52, startin= g on page 10-7.
On General Management
On Operation and Maintenance Expenditures
On
Deputy Minister’s Office
Deputy
Minister’s Office in the amount of $424,000 agreed to
General
Management Total Expenditures in the amount of $424,000 agreed to
On Corporate Services
On Operation and Maintenance
Expenditures
On Assistant Deputy MinisterR=
17;s
Office
Assistant Deputy Minister’=
s Office
in the amount of $875,000 agreed to
On Communications
Mr. Elias:= 8195; Can I get a breakdown of this line item, please?
Hon. Mr. Dixon: These dollars provide for the commu= nication of the department’s programs and activities to the general public and relevant stakeholders. The small increase is a result of the collective agreement and long-term disability benefit cost increases.
Mr.
Elias:=
8195; Can the minister comment on whether or not any of these
communications had to do with the
Hon. Mr. Dixon: The primary delivery of issues arou= nd land use planning are done through the Department of Energy, Mines and Resources. These dollars are for our communications staff and the website, which the member opposite is all too familiar with.
Ms. White:= 8195; Under the said communications budget, is there any part that is print advertising?<= /p>
Hon. Mr. Dixon: There would be a small amount for p= rint advertising, but individual branches do their own — through their own funds, they do their own respective print advertising, including the development of brochures, and hunting and angling brochures. The Department= of Environment puts out a number of different brochures for public consumption= .
Ms. White:= 8195; Are those print= ed or designed in the territory?
Hon.
Mr. Dixon: Yes.
Communications
in the amount of $294,000 agreed to
On
Financial Services
Financial
Services in the amount of $444,000 agreed to
On
Information Management and Technology
Information
Management and Technology in the amount of $1,103,000 agreed to
On
Client Services
Client
Services in the amount of $1,086,000 agreed to
On
Policy and Planning
Policy
and Planning in the amount of $1,051,000 agreed to
On
Claims Implementation and Aboriginal Affairs
Claims
Implementation and Aboriginal Affairs in the amount of $361,000 agreed to
On
Inuvialuit Final Agreement (IFA)
Inuvialuit
Final Agreement (IFA) in the amount of $1,017,000 agreed to
On
Human Resources
Human
Resources in the amount of $413,000 agreed to
On
Climate Change Secretariat
Mr. Elias:= 8195; It seems there has been a pretty substantial decrease in this= line item under Climate Change Secretariat. Can the minister provide some explanation for this line item, please?
Hon.
Mr. Dixon: The decrease is due to the completi=
on of
the Northern Climate ExChange community adaptation project and a slight off=
set
as a result of personnel — for managers’ salary increases ̵=
2;
collective agreement increases and long-term disability benefits. The north=
ern
strategy community adaptation planning project had some federal dollars, ob=
viously,
from the northern strategy, which explains this decrease. Those three proje=
cts
that were done under that program were the
Mr. Elias:= 8195; Is the report going to be tabled in the House before the end = of the sitting? Can we expect to see the level of detail that was mentioned in the northern strategy projects in those three communities before the end of the sitting?
Hon.
Mr. Dixon: Well, for the
Climate Change Secretariat in th=
e amount
of $649,000 agreed to
Corporate Services Operation =
and
Maintenance Expenditures in the amount of $7,293,000 agreed to
On Capital Expenditures
On Information Systems, Equipmen=
t and
Furniture —
Ms. White:= 8195; Can I please ge= t a breakdown of that number?
Hon.
Mr. Dixon: The ongoing project provides for sy=
stems
development, expenditures and support of the
Information Systems, Equipment a=
nd
Furniture —
On Information Systems, Equipment and Fur=
niture
— Information Technology Equipment and Systems
Ms. White:= 8195; Can I also get a breakdown on that number?
Hon. Mr. Dixon: Okay. $64,000 is for computer workstations; $39,000 is for network infrastructure; $100,000 for environme= ntal licensing, administration and monitoring systems. For those specifically — the computer workstations — this ongoing capital project prov= ides for the purchase of standard hardware and software to replace or upgrade computer equipment that is no longer adequate to meet program requirements = and to provide computer hardware and software for new programs.
Planned expenditures in 2012-13 inc= lude $32,000 for workstation replacement; $17,000 for laptops/notebook replaceme= nt; $6,000 for monitor replacement and $9,000 for other related hardware.
In the network infrastructure colum=
n, this
supports the department computer network, including certain hardware requir=
ed
for connectivity with YG’s corporate network architecture managed by =
the
Department of Highways and Public Works, Information and Communications
Technology division.
Planned expenditures in 2012-13 inc= lude enhancements to departmental printing and network capabilities; replacing o= ne large format colour printer used for resource mapping; purchase of a backup tape drive to support the large server purchased in 2011-12; and the additi= on of hard drives and other hardware components.
In the final piece I mentioned, the environment licensing administration monitoring system — this project provides for expenditures to develop the environmental licensing administra= tion and monitoring system to replace several existing mainframe-based licensed harvest, revenue and enforcement systems and better integrate various small= er systems used to administer other licence types. The 2012-13 project involves working with ICT and consultants to replace the RRCO and another system = 212; with an acronym I won’t read — with new systems and move all other dat= a and scripts from the government mainframe computer to PCSAS. It is estimated th= at this project will create additional 20 person-weeks of private sector consulting and contracting.
Information Systems, Equipment a=
nd
Furniture — Information Technology Equipment and Systems in the amoun=
t of
$203,000 agreed to
On Information Systems, Equipmen=
t and
Furniture — Operational Equipment
Mr. Elias:= 8195; Can the minister provide a breakdown for this line item, plea= se?
Hon. Mr. Dixon: This ongoing capital project provid= es for the purchase of new and replacement operational equipment, as required, as replacement of existing departmental equipment is required at the end of its useful life; and acquisition of additional equipment is required to meet expanding needs and program delivery requirements. This budget of $300,000 = will be used to purchase and replace equipment as required, based on a detailed, five-year departmental equipment plan. Around $121,000 will be spent on new equipment and $179,000 to replace older, worn out or obsolete equipment.
Mr. Elias: What = is the equipment being replaced?
Hon. Mr. Dixon: Any of the equipment used by staff includes boats, four-wheelers, trailers — I don’t have the spec= ific details of this particular one, but typically when a piece of equipment bec= omes unsafe to use, we replace it in the interest of safety for our staff.
Ms.
White: Is that equipment purchased locally=
?
Hon.
Mr. Dixon: Whatever is available locally is pu=
rchased
locally.
Information Systems, Equipment a=
nd
Furniture — Operational Equipment in the amount of $300,000 agreed to=
On Lands and Facilities — =
Capital
Maintenance and Upgrades
Lands and Facilities — Cap=
ital
Maintenance and Upgrades in the amount of $202,000 agreed to
On Lands and Facilities — =
Mr. Elias:= 8195; Is this line item referring to the new conservation office bu= ilding that’s deemed — I forgot the word today — that the honour= able minister used — derelict, dilapidated, time-to-tear-it down. Is this = what this line item is talking about?
Hon.
Mr. Dixon: Yes, the purpose of this project is=
to
demolish the existing conservation officer services building and the current
fish and wildlife management trailer and replace them with a new structure =
that
integrates conservation officer services and fish and wildlife into one
building.
The current structures are in very = poor condition due to age and deferred maintenance and do not provide adequate s= pace or facilities for the number of employees who occupy the space. Planning and design of the new facility is estimated at $137,000. It will be completed in the 2012-13 fiscal year with the construction phase slated for completion during 2013-14 fiscal year.
Successful completion of this proje=
ct will
ensure a safe and healthy work environment for existing
Lands and Facilities —
On Lands and Facilities — =
Carmacks
District Office Addition
Lands and Facilities — Car=
macks
District Office Addition in the amount of $32,000 agreed to
On Lands and Facilities — =
Prior
Years’ Projects
Lands and Facilities — Pri=
or
Years’ Projects in the amount of nil cleared
On
Claims Implementation and Aboriginal Affairs — Prior Years’
Projects
Claims
Implementation and Aboriginal Affairs — Prior Years’ Projects in
the amount of nil cleared
Corporate Services Capital Expenditures in the a=
mount
of $1,029,000 agreed to
Corporate Services Total Expenditures in the amo=
unt of
$8,322,000 agreed to
On Environmental Sustainability
On Operation and Maintenance Expenditures
On
Assistant Deputy Minister’s Office
Ms. White:= 8195; Can I have a br= eakdown on the number of personnel in the office, please?
Hon. Mr. Dixon: This provides for the office of the= ADM, so that includes all Animal Health, Fish and Wildlife, Parks, Conservation Officer Services, Water Resources and Environmental Programs. As for the nu= mber of FTEs in the department, I believe it’s four staff.
Assistant Deputy Minister’=
s Office
in the amount of $450,000 agreed to
On Animal Health
Ms. White:= 8195; Can I please al= so have the number of personnel within that department?
Hon.
Mr. Dixon: It’s three total.
Animal Health in the amount of $=
453,000
agreed to
On Fish and Wildlife<= /p>
Ms. White:= 8195; Can I also get = the personnel number in that department, please?
Hon. Mr. Dixon: I’ll have to get back to the = member opposite with that number.
Mr. Elias:= 8195; Can I get a breakdown of this expenditure in the line item of= Fish and Wildlife, please?
Hon.
Mr. Dixon: This provides for the management of=
These increases are also offset by a reduction of $56,000 for the completion of the placer mining fish habitat study.
Fish and Wildlife in the amount =
of
$7,248,000 agreed to
On Parks
Ms. White:= 8195; Can I get the n= umber of personnel — full-time equivalents, as well as contract?
Hon. Mr. Dixon: With all of these, I’ll have = to get back to the member opposite with FTE breakdowns.
Ms. White:= 8195; I look forward = to getting those numbers during the general debate of the budget. The Premier = said that his ministers would have all those answers, so I look forward to them. Thank you.
Hon. Mr. Dixon: Having the individual branch breakd= owns isn’t a priority for budget debate. Typically, we discuss the budget = and the programming therein.
Parks in the amount of $3,814,00=
0 agreed
to
On Environmental Programs
Mr. Elias:= 8195; Can I get a breakdown from the minister on this line item, pl= ease?
Hon.
Mr. Dixon: This provides for the management
protection of
Environmental Programs in the am=
ount of $1,944,000
agreed to
On Water Resources
Ms. White:= 8195; Can I please ge= t a breakdown on this line item?
Hon.
Mr. Dixon: The Water Resources branch provides=
for
management of the territory’s water resources in accordance with
government policy and objectives through the directorate: hydrology, water
inspections and water quality unit. We will see and increase for manager
salary, collective agreement, long-term disability benefit and cost increas=
es.
Additional funding was provided to offset rising fuel costs and some amounts
were provided to meet program support requirements for snow surveys and flo=
od
forecasting.
Water
Resources in the amount of $2,205,000 agre=
ed to
On
Conservation Officer Services
Mr. Elias:= 8195; Can I get a breakdown, please?
Hon.
Mr. Dixon: This amount covers conservation off=
icer
services. So it provides for conservation officer services throughout the
territory, management and development of compliance programs and enforcement
legislation and delivery of public education and youth conservation program=
s.
Mr. Elias:= 8195; Can the minister elaborate on how many conservation officers = we have in the territory?
Hon. Mr. Dixon: There are 14.
Conservation
Officer Services in the amount of $4,178,000 agreed to
Total Operation and Maintenance Expenditures in =
the
amount of $20,292,000 agreed to
On Capital Expenditures
On Fish and Wildlife Management = — White Gold Baseline Study — Equipment
Ms. White:= 8195; Can I please ge= t a more — can I know what the $60,000 is used for, please?
Hon.
Mr. Dixon: I did explain this in my opening
comments, but the purpose of this budget is to purchase new equipment to
install robust water-quality/quantity stations in two important receiving w=
ater
streams in the White Gold district to complement cumulative effects watersh=
ed
assessments work in this highly active region. Thistle Creek and Scroggie C=
reek
— I believe — are the two creeks. Currently the department has =
no
available equipment to monitor this activity and plans to purchase the requ=
ired
equipment at the beginning of the fiscal year. By having the equipment and
stations in place, a better understanding of existing industrial impacts on
waterways in the mining exploration area will be gained.
Fish and Wildlife Management =
212;
White Gold Baseline Study — Equipment in the amount of $60,000 =
agreed
to
On Parks — Five Fingers Ra=
pids
Recreational Site
Ms. Hanson:&= #8195; Could I get a clarification? Does this $93,000 represent the cost increase, in terms of estimates over what was forecast in 2011-12, and is this a one-time project= ?
Hon. Mr. Dixon: Once again, as I said in my opening comments, this is a one-time project to replace the existing stairways and viewing decks located at the Five Fingers Rapids recreational site. Phase 1= of this capital project was completed last year, as the member noted, and this year, phase 2 is ongoing. An engineering consultant performed an assessment= of the facilities, and the existing structures have been deemed unsafe for pub= lic use. The stairway and landings were constructed 25 years ago and have had minimal maintenance. A number of repairs and upgrades need to be done in or= der to meet outstanding code issues. These repairs will be done as soon as reasonably possible before tourist traffic begins. Successful completion of this project will ensure a safe environment for visiting tourists and the general public.
Parks — Five Fingers Rapids
Recreational Site in the amount of $93,000 agreed to
On Parks — Prior YearsR=
17;
Projects
Parks — Prior Year’s=
Projects
in the amount of nil cleared
Environmental Sustainability =
Capital
Expenditures in the amount of $153,000 agreed to
Environmental Sustainability =
Total
Expenditures in the amount of $20,445,000 agreed to
Ms. Hanson: Madam Chair, I would just like to place on the record that we = will get a confirmation of the numbers requested from the minister with respect = to personnel.
Chair: I believe that is already on the record. If the member has fu= rther questions of the minister, Ms. Hanson, when it’s time for general deb= ate, you can put those questions to the minister.
On Environmental Liabilities =
and
Remediation
Chair: =
Is there any general debate?
On Operation and Maintenance
Expenditures
On Remediation Expenditures
Mr. Tredger: Could I get a b=
reakdown
of that?
Hon. Mr. Dixon: Let’s see if I can find my li= st of contaminated sites. The site assessment and remediation unit is responsible= for the investigation, assessment, remediation and administration of YG contami= nated sites, including the Marwell tar pit. Activities of the SARU branch include interdepartmental coordination, project and site management and procurement. The 2012-13 budget includes $310,000 for three full-time staff; $400,000 for assessment contracts, with the remaining $112,000 for travel communications= and other support costs.
As I have explained at great length=
, there
are a number of sites throughout the Yukon that are on our books as contami=
nated
sites, and we process those and attempt to remediate them and reduce our
government’s liability. The projects that are provided for this budget
year are the Klondike River highway maintenance camp, the former Dawson hig=
hway
yard, Haines Junction environment compound, the Del Van Gorder School in Faro and, of course, the Marw=
ell
tar pit, as a part of the work done under the agreement with Canada.
Ms. Moorcroft: The estimate for 2011-12 was $1,987,000 for the remediation expenditure. In the current year budget, that is considerably reduced. $785,000 is estimated for the current year. Can the minister explain why this reduction is estimated?
Hon.
Mr. Dixon: I believe that the significant expe=
nditure
in the previous year was a result of the work being done on the
Remediation Expenditures in the =
amount
of $785,000 agreed to
On Site Assessment and Remediati=
on
Mr.
Elias:=
8195; Can the Minister of Environment explain to the House why his
department is taking the lead on remediation of sites that should be in the
Department of Highways and Public Works? It seems to be highway camps in ar=
eas
that are being remediated. If one department is actually doing the contamin=
ation,
why on our green earth would it be the Environment minister taking the lead=
on
this? Wouldn’t it be the responsibility of the Minister of Highways a=
nd
Public Works to actually take the lead on this? Yet the expenditure is in t=
he Department
of Environment, which could be used to do a lot of other good things like
develop an environment act, for one?
Can the minister please elaborate o=
n why
his department is taking the lead on remediating the Highways and Public Wo=
rks
areas within the
Hon.
Mr. Dixon: The Department of Environment takes=
the
responsibility for historic contaminated sites. If a department, for instan=
ce
Highways and Public Works, were to create a new contaminated site today, th=
ey
would be responsible for the cleanup and payment of that. If Yukon Housing
Corporation were to have an overflow of their fuel tank in
Mr.
Elias:=
8195; So, let me make this clear here. The Minister of Environment =
is
responsible for the remediation of sites that are how old — 50 years =
old,
60 years old?
Is there a cut-off time for the act= ual department to do its own remediation of contaminated sites?
Hon. Mr. Dixon: Of course, this idea that the Depar= tment of Environment would take the central corporate role is something that came= out of the Auditor General’s recommendation to have a centralized approac= h to dealing with historic contaminated sites. I stand to be corrected, but I th= ink 2009 is the sort of unofficial date of when the Auditor General had its rep= ort. So the sites that were contaminated before 2009 the Department of Environme= nt manages. Now, going forward, any new contaminated sites that occur are the responsibility of either given department — if it’s government = or the proponent if it’s a non-government organization.
Ms.
Hanson:&=
#8195; I was following=
along
and getting the rationale for the Department of Environment, but reference =
was
made to the historic aspect of it, and then I looked to the explanatory not=
es
on page 10-15.
It just compounds, then, the confus= ion in his reference earlier to some fact that might have occurred with an Auditor General’s report. So I can see where in 2010-11 — it was — maybe that was the historic figure fixed at $7.6 million, but suddenly it j= umps with the accrued liabilities. Can the minister explain the difference for m= e? I am just trying to understand how it goes; if that was historic and suddenly= we have $5 million or $6 million more?
Hon.
Mr. Dixon: I do appreciate the question. It is=
a
relatively complicated matter of booking these environmental liabilities. T=
he
reason it increases is that when we do an assessment of a site, at the first
stage we don’t know what — we can take our best guess at what t=
he
cost is going to be to remediate it. Once we do the first phase of assessme=
nt
work, we determine a better characterization of the spill or the contaminat=
ion,
so we understand to a fuller extent how much it is going to cost to remedia=
te,
ultimately. So, to give an example: if site A we know is contaminated, we g=
ive
our best guess at the early stage as to what it is going to cost to clean u=
p.
We then conduct the phase-1 assessment in which there is some on-the-ground
work done in which we characterize the spill. At that point, it is very lik=
ely
that the cost would go up once we understand how much work has to be done. =
In
some cases, it could go down, but that hasn’t been the case in my
experience so far.
Once we know the extent of the spil= l, we can better assess the value or the cost that it would take to remediate that site. This process has been driven largely by the recommendations of the Auditor General and has changed over the last couple of years as a result of those recommendations provided by the Auditor General.
Site Assessment and Remediation =
in the
amount of $822,000 agreed to
Environmental Liabilities and
Remediation Total Expenditures in the amount of $1,607,000 agreed to
On Revenues
Revenues cleared
On Government Transfers
Government Transfers cleared
On Changes in Tangible Capital A=
ssets
and Amortization
Changes in Tangible Capital Asse=
ts and
Amortization cleared
On Restricted Fund Conservation<= o:p>
Mr. Elias: Pursuant to Standing Order 14(3= ), I request unanimous consent of Committee of the Whole to deem all lines in Vo= te 52, Department of Environment, cleared and carried as required.
Chair: Mr. Elias, I don’t think you will find that is necessar= y, as this is our last question, but thank you for your kind consideration. Perha= ps we can use your creativity on the next one.
Restricted Fund Conservation cle=
ared
Department of Environment agr=
eed to
Chair: = We’re going to resume debate on Vote 3, Department of Ed= ucation. Committee of the Whole will recess for 10 minutes.
Recess
Chair: Committee of the Whole will now come to order.
Department of Education — =
continued
Chair: We’re going to resume general debate on Vote 3, Departm= ent of Education. Mr. Tredger has the floor.
Mr.
Tredger:=
Thank
you, Madam Chair, and thank you to the department officials for coming agai=
n at
the end of their day. I appreciate it and appreciate their answers or their
help with the minister.
I’d like to start by taking a look at violence in the schools and violence in t= he classrooms. Safe schools have been a priority for teachers and for this government for quite some time. We’ve been hearing quite a bit about bullying over the last number of years. There have been a number of responses to it. I would just like to hear from the minist= er what system-wide systems are in place? How are they being evaluated? Are th= ere any specific plans for future endeavours? Are parents in local communities involved in the planning?
Hon.
Mr. Kent:&nbs=
p; Before
I answer the member’s question, I’d like to just take a brief
moment to address a question that came up earlier today with respect to Rea=
ding
Recovery and why 2012 is not an intake year.
Reading Recovery training is on a t= wo-year cycle and that means the teachers are trained every second year and not eve= ry year. This coming year is not an intake year, and that is why there is no cohort plan for the upcoming year of 2012. This has always been the case, a= nd this does not represent a change of practice for this year. There was a coh= ort training in the fall of 2009 and 2011, and the next planned cohort will ent= er the training in the fall of 2013 and then 2015, et cetera. That is in respo= nse to a question raised by the Member for Mayo-Tatchun during Question Period today.
With respect to bullying, I’l=
l just
draw members’ attention to page 19 of the 2010-11 academic year annual
report tabled earlier in this sitting. It’s with respect to the health
behaviour study. I know I answered some questions from the Member for
Bullying is a major area of concern=
for
students in
Again, the results that we received= from this health behaviour study will help guide health promotion programming and curriculum development, selection and school policy. Members from both side= s of the House are familiar with a number of initiatives and tributes that we ha= ve heard on the floor of this Assembly regarding Be the Change and the day a couple of weeks ago where we wore the pink shirts — those types of initiatives.
I really have to thank and commend =
the
various schools for taking on those initiatives. I know that I attended a
number of events prior to Christmas at F.H. Collins and
Mr.
Tredger:=
Again, what I am
looking for is specific and targetable strategies — something that is
measurable.
The minister mentioned Be the Chang= e and the Challenge program, to which, by the way, I would like to send accolades= to the people involved. From anecdotal information, it has been getting very positive reviews from teachers, parents and support staff. Has there been a= ny data collected or any systemic way of evaluating the program in terms of its effectiveness? What is being done to support that program? What I see is th= at it’s being driven by very involved and committed teachers, staff and parents. I would ask what supports are needed to make it more sustainable? = It seems to be working. What’s making it tick? If we can get some identi= fiable measures and get them working, why or how can we get it working in other schools and what would it take to replicate that program in other schools in the system?
Hon.
Mr. Kent: With respect to Challenge day, the
program was developed in the United States and was designed with the goal of
helping students increase their personal power and self-esteem, to shift the
peer pressure into positive peer support and to eliminate the acceptability=
of
teasing, violence and all forms of oppression. The evaluation of that progr=
am
is underway now. It was introduced into F.H. Collins in 2005. Since that ti=
me
There have been some concerns regis=
tered by
the
Mr.
Tredger:=
In June of 2007=
, the
Yukon Teachers Association commissioned a report called, How Safe are Our
Educators? In it, it was found that the majority of teachers and studen=
ts
had witnessed violent incidents from attack with a weapon, spitting, kickin=
g,
rudeness, and threats of violence toward staff. This led to increased stres=
s,
increased emotional and physical stress. Some teachers were leaving their
positions. It certainly was affecting – or is affecting —
classrooms and the teaching and learning environment. The report from YTA a=
lso
indicated that there was severe under-reporting for a number of reasons.
At that time, both the YTA and the department agreed that documentation and reporting of incidents and forms should be developed, and then they could be responded to and an action plan developed, including ideas for safety response, for improved communication = and the improved working and safety conditions and, consequently, improved lear= ning conditions, relating to workplace wellness.
Can the minister tell me if there i= s such a reporting as a first step? Are incidents being reported, and what is being = done with that?
Hon.
Mr. Mr.
Tredger:=
Thank you to the
minister opposite. One of the results of that — other than affecting =
the
learning — is that the disability costs for the The costs are escalating. The incre=
asing
stress leave and time away from classrooms is continuing to pile up. Can the
minister tell me if they are also working with YTA, with principals and oth=
er
involved parties on specific plans to address the rising disability costs?<=
/span> Hon.
Mr. Mr.
Tredger:=
A very small pe=
rcentage
of the children in our schools are at risk and are being seen by many diffe=
rent
departments — by the Department of Health and Social Services, by
Justice, as well as by Education. Is there a formal collaboration wit=
h other
departments involved with at-risk students that would lead to more producti=
ve
solutions to family and community problems, probably involving a principal =
and
local officials? Hon.
Mr. Mr.
Tredger:=
I would ask tha=
t the
minister ensure that principals and local counsellors know how to access the
multi-departmental committee. At one point, counsellors were reco=
mmended
for all schools and trained counsellors are often dealing with pretty severe
situations that some of our children have been subjected to, from violence,
from neglect, from bullying. Training and communication is critical, and I =
must
commend the department for working with sets and starting to establish that=
and
providing a base for these people. I believe that counsellors should be ava=
ilable
for families of at-risk students and their families for school concerns suc=
h as
absenteeism, bullying, trauma, implementing psychologists’
recommendations for career and personal counselling, and to interact with l=
ocal
parent groups, school councils and First Nation supports. Has there been any
attempt to ensure that each school in our territory would have a trained
counsellor? Hon.
Mr. I would have to get back to the mem=
ber
opposite as to which schools actually have counsellors. I will go through my
notes on staffing allocation and get back to the member opposite with respe=
ct to
which schools have counsellors and which ones do not. Mr.
Tredger:=
Attendance has =
been an
issue, as we have known for quite some time. The minister opposite has refe=
rred
to preparing a comprehensive action plan on that. My question would be: When
would we expect that? Hon.
Mr. I have to thank the During Question Period some time ag=
o, I was
able to speak to the attendance issues we have seen in schools, ranging fro=
m a
low, in 2010-11, of nine days missed in an urban or Whitehorse-based elemen=
tary
school, to a high of 64 days missed in a rural high school, and then everyt=
hing
in-between. It’s certainly an issue. I have talked about resurrecting=
the
student advisory committee to assist with the types of incentives that it w=
ould
take — whether it’s bursaries or other incentives — to ge=
t students
to attend school, and engaging parents through school councils and looking =
for
other means. I have asked the department to iden=
tify an
official to coordinate all the information flow, and I expect to begin to r=
oll
out action plans in time for the next school year. Mr.
Tredger:=
Yes, it is a
multi-faceted problem; hence the need for a comprehensive plan with specific
targets and goals. I’m glad to hear the progress that the minister is
making on that. Early childhood support — in =
many
communities, the daycare is critical to language and literacy. It’s an
opportunity for Education to work with Health and Social Services and other
agencies that are currently providing early childhood support by integrating
the daycares and the schools, certainly in terms of personnel and support. =
One
suggestion from one of my communities is that it was an opportunity to have=
a
First Nation language nest in the daycare. So there are many opportunities
around that. We all recognize and know how critical early childhood practic=
es
are to literacy. So I would encourage the minister to think about how schoo=
ls
and daycares can support one another and ask that they come up with a
comprehensive strategy around that to promote literacy in the territory. =
span> Hon.
Mr. Yukon educators are working to iden=
tify children
for early intervention using a number of strategies, including school-based
screening and data collection for kindergarten and grade 1; information sha=
ring
with the Child Development Centre; ongoing training for teachers in the are=
as
of formative assessment and differentiated literacy instruction; and, of
course, utilizing the Reading Recovery methodology that has garnered some
attention here today. Mr.
Tredger:=
Many schools ar=
e served
by the Food for Learning program and I commend the department and the minis=
ter
for continuing to support that program. I am wondering if there has been any
thought to expand that program to include nutritional activities, things li=
ke
how to run a household, and making sample menu plans. How to cook meals and
stuff like that are more and more involved — like a fuller integratio=
n of
the Food for Learning program which already is doing some very, very good
things — but to expand that so that all schools are able to benefit f=
rom
a nutritional program. It is an opportunity waiting and it would take a lit=
tle
development between the department and Food for Learning, but it certainly
could take advantage of an NGO and achieve some success. Hon.
Mr. Boys tend to make poorer food choic=
es than
girls and rural students make poorer choices than urban students. While the=
rural-urban
difference may be explicable through the cost and availability of healthy
foods, the gender difference is almost assuredly affected by gender attitud=
es
toward healthy food. More than 25 percent of I would agree with the member oppos=
ite that
we need to look at what is being done through the Food For Learning and sup=
port
those schools, through their school growth planning, that want to provide t=
he
type of programming that he was speaking of in his question. Mr.
Tredger:=
Just a quick qu=
estion
on Gadzoosdaa residence: How is it determined who gets priority with rural
students coming to town? Has it been full? With increased programming in to=
wn
around specialty programs, skills programs, and I would be remiss if I didn’t
congratulate the staff for the support that has been given to the many stud=
ents
from rural communities who live at the Gadzoosdaa residence. It has been qu=
ite
a success, and it is something we may want to expand. Hon.
Mr. Kent: Madam Chair, just to go quickly bac=
k to
the member’s previous question, Food for Learning — I believe t=
he
former Minister of Health and Social Services expanded the budget during his
time by $50,000 to $94,000, so he more than doubled that budget under his
watch. Thank you and congratulations to him for recognizing that need and m=
aking
those budgetary expansions. With respect to the Gadzoosdaa resi=
dence,
it is my understanding that there is no wait-list for that residence right =
now.
The priority essentially goes more to those communities that don’t of=
fer
grades 10, 11 and 12, such as Teslin, Old Crow and Again, the CHAOS program, for insta=
nce, is
something that is attracting more and more students from out of town, but we
also talked last week about possibly giving students going to Old Crow or <=
/span> So, with those options, that’=
s where
our accommodation subsidy will come into place when it comes to providing a=
ccommodations
for those students. Mr.
Tredger:=
Another success=
story
is the Teen Parent Centre. Again, I must congratulate the staff involved th=
ere.
Have there been any evaluations of the programming in terms of measuring
success and what is working? Is the need growing? Are there any plans for t=
he
future? Will they be looking at a new facility when a new high school is bu=
ilt?
Are there any plans or thought of how to accommodate out-of-town students? A
number of students from rural communities might make avail of that. Even if=
it
was a visiting and sharing of information back and forth, it would be a real
boon to children who have children in communities. Hon.
Mr. Subsequent to that, I have arranged=
a
meeting with the board of directors which will be taking place this week, T=
hursday
evening. I am sure there are a number of issues that they would like to dis=
cuss
and I look forward to those discussions and, again, reporting back to the
Legislature should there be any significant changes to what we are doing. We
are not planning on making any changes to the facility or to the programming
right away. Again, I think it is a tremendous success, the type of work tha=
t is
going on over there, and I do commend not only the board of directors but t=
he
staff who works at that facility. Madam Chair, seeing the time, I mov=
e that
we report progress. Chair: It has been moved by Mr. Motion agreed to Hon.
Mr. Cathers: I move that the Speaker do now resu=
me the
Chair. Chair: It has been moved by Mr. Cathers that the Speaker do now resu=
me the
Chair. Motion agreed to Speaker
resumes the Chair Speaker: I will call the House to=
order. May the
House have a report from the Chair of Committee of the Whole? Chair’s report Ms.
McLeod: Mr. Speaker, Committee of the Whole=
has
considered Bill No. 6, entitled First Appropriation Act, 2012-13, and
directed me to report progress. Speaker: You have heard the report of the Chair of Committee of the Wh=
ole.
Are you agreed? Some
Hon. Members: Agreed. =
p>
Speaker: I declare the report carried. Hon.
Mr. Cathers: Mr. Speaker, I move that the House =
do now
adjourn. Speaker: It has been moved by the Government House Leader that the Hou=
se do
now adjourn. Motion agreed to Speaker: This House stands adjourned until The
House adjourned at
872 &=
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p; &=
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p; HANSARD &n=
bsp;  =
; &n=
bsp;